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slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years

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road less travelled - m. tkachuk

I was throwing together a list of ideas yesterday, and this one stuck out to me for some reason. So I started writing, thankfully had a pretty free weekend, and finished today! It was a fun piece to right, I hope you all enjoy it! As always, I read all my tags, so reblogs are a writer’s best friend! You’re also more than welcome to come into my inbox and yell at me if that’s more your speed.

word count: 4.5k+

March 18 (thurs)

Elsie couldn’t believe she had gotten herself in this situation again. Every time she woke up in his bed she swore it was the last time, but one drunken mistake turned into another, which turned into a threepeat, and now she wasn’t so sure it had been a mistake in the first place. There was just something about Matthew Tkachuk, something so intoxicating that she was able to ignore the every fiber of her being that was screaming at her to stop this, stop things before it turned sour. Stop it before her brother found out.

It had been easy enough to keep things from Johnny when they first started hooking up; they’d meet at a crowded bar, somewhere where the cover of anonymity was all but guaranteed, or a late-night text, a few words by the other communicating everything they needed to know. He was lonely. And Elsie Gaudreau was the only one who could help. It had been easy enough to keep things from Johnny at the start, but then they started texting before 11 PM, and then they decided they were exclusive, and then, Matty decided that it was about time that they put a label on it. And suddenly it wasn’t so easy to keep their secret anymore.

The team knew that he was seeing someone, but much to everyone’s surprise, he had said precious little about their relationship. He called her Leigh in the locker room, or out with the boys — her grandmother’s middle name, one he felt toed the line as well as possible between complete fabrication and some semblance of the truth — and they knew the couple had been together for a few months, that she made him laugh, and that he was more into her than they had seen him act with anyone in recent memory. She didn’t come to events because she was shy, Matthew said, and he didn’t want to subject her to the kind of spotlight he knew she might be scrutinized under the moment they went public. He wasn’t lying when he said she’d been to games — Elsie usually made it to a few a month, usually on Johnny’s invitation — but left out the part where she wore the number 13 in the stands instead of 19, or where she caught a ride home with her brother after media availability instead of her boyfriend, the man she’d been sleeping with for the past five months.

“Leaving already?” Matty mumbled, slinging one arm over her waist as Elsie tried to sit up.

She twisted over, kissing him softly. His stubble tickled her cheek. “Got class, remember?” Of course he remembered. Class was the whole reason she was in Alberta; most of it, at least. She had done her undergrad in astrophysics at Wellesley in Massachusetts, and when the time had come for her to decide where to do her graduate studies, Johnny had been all too quick to offer up Calgary. “It’s a great program!” he had said. And it was, but Elsie also had her doubts that her brother knew much about astronomy beyond the ability to find the Great Dipper on a clear day. They had always been close, even when he went to go play in Dubuque when she was 13, but their time together had naturally been more than a little limited ever since he turned pro. So when the opportunity arose for them to be in the same city full-time for the first time in a decade, he was jumping at the prospect of being able to look after his younger sister again. And, especially after he offered to pay her tuition, she wasn’t about to say no. International fees didn’t come cheap.

Matty groaned, pawing at her hand as she got up from the bed, throwing the covers back over him. “Do you have to go?” he whined.

Elsie rolled her eyes. “It’s an 8 AM, and it’s,” she glanced at her watch, “already 7. I’d love to stay in bed with you, babe, but I’ve still got to eat and get dressed and grab all my stuff. Plus, it’s at least fifteen minutes to drive and find a place to park, so I’ve got to build that in too.”

“I still think it’s dumb that they make you pay to park at your own school. You’re already paying tuition, plus you TA that one course, so it’s not like you’re doing nothing for them,” he said.

“It’s dumb,” she agreed.

Matthew clicked his tongue. “It’s highway robbery, is what it is, Els.”

She laughed, bending over the bed to run a hand through his curls. She loved those curls. “Be that as it may, Matty dear, I’ve still got to get there on time. Experimental space physics waits for no man.”

He pouted. “Fine.”

Elsie shot him a sympathetic look. “I’ll try to swing by after my classes let out, how does that sound?”

“Can’t. Johnny and some of the guys are going to be over after morning skate, we’re going out to lunch then they’re coming back here. I’ll call you if they don’t stay too late?” he proposed, looking over at her.

She gave a tight smile. “Works for me.”

---

Matthew couldn’t believe he had managed to keep things from Johnny for as long as he had. As pretty much anyone could tell you, he was the world’s worst secret-keeper off the ice, and even more so when it came to his friends. And every time Johnny would lean over to him in the locker room, showing him a picture Elsie had posted on Instagram, or recount a story from the intro astronomy class she TA’d, he had to bite his lip and pretend like he hadn’t been the one to take the picture, or he hadn’t been the first to hear about the kid who didn’t believe you couldn’t see the Southern Cross from Alberta. As much as Matthew hated it, he knew that part of what made his relationship with Elsie so exhilarating was the illicit nature of the whole thing. Something about sneaking around with your best friend’s little sister made everything that much more exciting.

The first time they hooked up hadn’t been a mistake, but it hadn’t been planned in any possible sense of the word. Elsie had moved to Calgary in August, a few weeks before everyone had stated trickling back into Alberta for training camp. Matthew was pretty sure it was mostly Johnny not wanting her to only be surrounded by “space nerds” — his words, not Matty’s, because while he had endless admiration for his sister’s dedication and academic skill, he understood approximateky 0.2% of what she was studying — all day, so by late September or so, she had established herself as a core member of the Flames’ “going-out” group. Which led to one particular night at a bar in October, with Johnny having already headed home thanks to an early breakfast with his fiancée and most of the rest of the group leaving around midnight. And it was a Friday, so Elsie had let herself have a few more drinks than usual; the team didn’t have practice until noon, so Matthew let himself shrug off any worry of a hangover. And Matty and Elsie already knew each other, so they got to talking, then they got to drinking, then they got to kissing. And then Elsie cancelled her Uber to get into Matthew’s, and before she knew it they were stumbling through his doorway, her fingers tangled in his curls and her legs wrapped around his waist as he walked her back to his bedroom.

There were a few people who knew the truth, and only a few people. Matthew had Brady and his mom. His logic being, as soon as Brady knew he was even vaguely interested in someone, he never took no for an answer and would have annoyed her name out of him regardless of whether or not he was being particularly forthcoming with any personal information. His mom because if he needed any advice, if he needed someone to turn to that wasn’t the incredibly vague commentary he gave the boys in the locker room, he wanted to have someone there who wouldn’t judge him and would have his best interests at heart. Okay, scratch that. Chantal definitely judged him, lifting her eyebrows over FaceTime as he called to break the news. She knew Elsie from the one trip with Johnny she’d made out to St. Louis and the times the Tkachuks had travelled up to Canada to visit the boys, and as much as she told Matthew that keeping it a secret was just about the worst thing he could do to his friend, she couldn’t say she was exactly surprised he had fallen for Elsie.

Elsie had Ines, her best friend from college. It was easier with her, much more straightforward with a lot fewer of the conflicts of interest she felt she got with talking with anyone in the “hockey world.” Ines knew hockey, she obviously had met Johnny and some of the other boys before. Wellesley was only a twenty-five minute drive away from the Boston city center, so the one time a year the Bruins played Calgary at home she’d go with Elsie. But Ines was compassionate, objective, and one of the smartest people Elsie had ever met in her life. She didn’t have any stake in the matter that wasn’t named Elsie Gaudreau, and she wasn’t about to mince her words because she was afraid of what Matty — or Johnny for that matter — would think. So there were people who knew, but the list was very short and, at least for the time being, they wanted to keep it that way.

For anyone on the outside looking in, who didn’t know them as well, they might have said that it was a long time coming. “It” being Matthew and Elsie’s relationship. And, if she was being honest, Elsie might have agreed. She knew Matty since he joined the team; he and her brother were thick as thieves from the beginning, and he’d visited them on the East Coast pretty much every summer since his rookie year. Visited Johnny. Not her. Johnny had made it crystal-clear from the beginning that under no circumstances was their relationship ever allowed to proceed beyond friendly.

And it didn’t. For four years, almost, it didn’t. Sure, Elsie may have carried a torch for him from the moment they were introduced, but she was far too concerned about Matty’s physical and mental well-being to pursue anything. Even if, once or twice, she could have sworn that he felt something too. But then she moved to Calgary for grad school, and Johnny started bringing her out with the boys, and she finally got to see him in his element, really in his element. She got to see Alternate Captain Matthew Tkachuk, the one who’d go to the ends of the earth for his team, who would score goals and drop gloves and do whatever needed to be done whenever it needed to be done. And it didn’t hurt that Matty looked hot as fuck whenever he got into fights, his curls flying as he stuffed his helmet under an arm, skating over to the penalty box. It only hurt that she had let herself fall for him.

March 22 (mon)

Johnny was over at Matthew’s apartment; he had come over under a pretense of going over some tape from their last road trip, but it had quickly devolved into a very heated game of Super Smash Bros before the pair took a break for dinner. “Dude, your laundry’s in the way,” Johnny said as he made his way to the bathroom, Matthew staring at the half-cooked pot of pasta on his stove.

“It’s clean, you can just dump it in my room,” he called down the hall. He didn’t hear the tell-tale click of the bathroom door, so he looked down the hallway, only to be greeted by a site he hoped he’d never have to see.

A conspiratorial grin on his face, Johnny held a black, lacy pair of panties between two fingers. His sister’s panties. The half-second it took for Matthew to reach, jumping forward and grabbing them out of his hands, unfortunately wasn’t enough. He held them behind his back, almost as if he was hoping that if Johnny couldn’t see them, they weren’t really there.

“Leigh’s?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.

Matthew rubbed his temples with the hand that wasn’t holding the panties. “Yeah. Just...Pretend you never saw those, okay?”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Who would I tell? The boys? They wouldn’t care. You? You already know. Elsie?” Matthew froze. “She’d just slap me and get mad at invading your privacy.”

“And you are,” Matthew mumbles, stuffing the panties into his back pocket.

Johnny’s brow furrowed; he leaned up against the doorframe. “Seriously, though, Chucky. What’s going on with you and this girl? You know everyone respects your decision to keep things quiet and private, but I’m your best friend on the team.” The look on his face betrayed the hurt he felt inside. “I would have thought you’d say something, to me at least.”

Matthew let out a deep breath. How was he going to talk his way out of this one? “I know, and I feel bad that it seems like I’ve been keeping things from you.” But he was keeping things. Very important things. “I think with Leigh and I, we just want to take things slow, make sure what we have is real. And I think it is,” he said, hazarding a glance at his friend. “I don’t know if it’s love, yet, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about a girl before. But we both agree that we need to know before we open it up to the opinions of the rest of the world, before she gets shoved into the public eye. And she understands what that’s like better than most, but it’s still not fair.”

Johnny’s ears perked. “Better than most?” Matthew froze. “What is she, like an Instagram model or something?”

He smirked, pushing him with one hand. “No, she’s not.”

Johnny realized quickly that he wasn’t going to be getting any more information out of Matthew anytime soon, so much to his chagrin, he dropped it. Johnny left Matthew’s apartment that night with a weird taste in his mouth, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. And he didn’t like that.

April 3 (sat)

Everyone was at Gio’s house, one of his quarterly team barbecues that had quickly become one of Matthew’s favorite things as soon as he joined the team. By “everyone,” that meant the players and their families, kids, partners, parents if they were in town. Johnny hadn’t invited Elsie — he assumed she’d be getting ready for finals, which was true, but Matthew knew she could have spared an afternoon — and Matthew couldn’t think of a way to invite her himself without arousing suspicion, so she was back in her downtown apartment while the boys were busy grilling up an inhuman amount of meat for dinner.

After everyone ate and the dishwasher had been loaded, someone decided to light the fire pit, and the conversation turned to relationships. For once, Matty didn’t tune out.“It’s the little things, you know?” Gio said, tipping back his beer. “When I see Lauren in my jersey at the games, or when she’s fallen asleep on the couch waiting for us to get back from a road trip. Makes you realize that what really matters isn’t so much how many goals you score or how big a contract you have. It boils down to the quality of people in your life, and we’ve got some good ones.”

“It’s the same thing with Leigh and I,” Matthew said. His words caused everyone to listen. There were precious few times Matthew willingly volunteered information about his relationship, and as much as his teammates genuinely did respect their penchant for privacy, that didn’t mean they wanted any fewer details. “Sometimes when she stays over and doesn’t have anywhere to be the next day, I’ll walk out to the kitchen and she’ll just be dancing around the stove, making pancakes and singing along to a Fleetwood Mac song. Usually takes her a minute or two to notice me.”

The guys laughed, and Matty took a long pull of his beer. He wasn’t really risking anything by saying that. Plenty of people liked Fleetwood Mac. “And she’s got this little scar behind her right ear, got it from falling out of a tree as a kid. She always tries to cover it up, but I like it better when she lets it show.” Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was Matty’s frustration about not being able to say anything about the woman he was falling in love with finally coming to a head, that made him say something he maybe shouldn’t have.

He realized, as he hesitantly met Johnny’s eyes, and could see the gears in his head turning, that he definitely shouldn’t have said anything. Johnny was looking in between his beer and Matthew, then Matthew and his beer, then his hands and Matthew’s, which were tapping nervously on the arm of his deck chair. And then he started to put things together. The orange blossom soap at Matthew’s apartment — Elsie’s favorite scents were citrus. Fleetwood Mac was one of her favorite bands. Their maternal grandma’s middle name was Leigh. And the scar. He remembered the day she got it, falling off an oak tree in their backyard in New Jersey, running into the house to get their mom and then in the car to the emergency room with a six-year-old Elsie who needed four stitches from the accident. And with an extremely uncomfortable feeling, he realized that that more likely than not, that meant the pair of panties he had picked up that one afternoon in Matthew’s apartment had been hers. He wanted to throw up.

Matthew was sweating as Johnny finally looked him in the eyes, realizing that the secret he and Elsie had tried so hard to keep for so long wasn’t going to be a secret much longer. “Matthew,” he began, his voice dangerously low. Matthew winced. He couldn’t remember the last time Johnny had called him by his first name. “Her name’s not Leigh, is it.” He said it like a statement, because, well, it was. He knew the answer, he just needed to hear it from someone other than himself, that the one thing he had asked of his best friend had apparently proven too much.

Matthew shook his head slowly. “No.” Everyone else’s eyes flitted between the pair, Markstrom and Gio and Andersson and everyone else very clearly confused.

“Something going on here?” Gio asked carefully.

“Tell them what her name is, Matthew.” Matthew squeezed his eyes shut. If he didn’t see everyone’s reactions, everyone’s disappointed faces, maybe they wouldn’t happen.

“Elsie.”

“Elsie what?” he prompted.

“Elsie Gaudreau,” Matthew finished. You could have heard a pin drop, the backyard was so silent.

“Dude, you’re dating his sister?” Noah asked.

Matthew nodded, one hand still tightly gripping his bottle.

“How long?” Johnny asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

“Just under six months,” Matthew admitted.

He sucked a breath in. “You’ve been dating my sister for six fucking months and nobody ever thought to maybe, I don’t know, tell me?”

“It didn’t start as dating, we were just—”

Johnny cut him off. “I can see where that’s going, and I don’t want to fucking hear it, Matthew. This was the one thing I asked you to not do. You’re a fucking All-Star NHL player, Matt. You could have any girl you wanted, you could wheel half of Calgary and I wouldn’t care as long as everyone was into it. But my little sister? The one person I told you years ago was off-limits? You had to fall for Elsie?”

“I—” Matthew stammered as he set his drink down. “I didn’t expect anything to happen. Neither of us did. But then it did, and I fell for her, and for some ungodly reason she’s decided to stay with me, and I don’t know, Johnny,” he finished weakly. “I felt terrible about keeping it from you, and for what it’s worth, Elsie does too. I feel awful about how you found out, you deserved better than this. But I won’t apologize for my feelings.”

Johnny scoffed, standing up and grabbing his keys. “She deserves better.”

April 4 (sun)

The first thing Matthew did the next day was go over to Elsie’s house. He had already called her the night before to tell her what happened; even if he didn’t, she had the numbers of half the guys on the team and more than one had texted her to check in after seeing how Johnny left things. When he opened the door, Elsie wasn’t doing well, to put it mildly. She was sitting on her couch, wrapped up in a blanket with a barely-touched mug of tea on the coffee table in front of her. She gave him a weak smile as he walked over. “Hey.”

He bent down, kissing the top of her head. “Hey, Els. How are you doing?”

“Not great.” At least she didn’t try to hide, not like it would have been any use with Matthew. He could read her almost as well as her own parents could. “I tried to call him last night and this morning, sent a few texts, just trying to explain. Asking to talk. But he hasn’t responded to anything, I called my mom and she said she hasn’t heard anything either.”

Matthew sat on the couch beside her. “He hasn’t talked to Gio either.”

She rested her head on his shoulder; his fingers carded through the soft hair at the base of her neck. “I feel like it’s my fault,” Elsie said despondently. Coming in between her brother and one of his best friends was the last thing she would have wanted, and she was starting to feel like everything was falling apart because of her. “It never would have happened if I wasn’t there,” she mumbled into Matty’s shoulder.

Matthew immediately shook his head. “No, no, don’t say things like that, babe. It’s not your fault, don’t put all the blame on you. Everyone dropped the ball on this one, and you shouldn’t have to take responsibility for how your brother decided to react.”

They were jolted out of their relative peace by a frantic knocking on the door. Elsie furrowed her brow. “I’m not expecting anyone?” she questioned as she threw the blanket off of her lap, She opened the door to see Johnny, staring bashfully down at his hands, an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Elsie raised her eyebrows. “You should be.” After a moment, she stood aside to let him in the door.

He scratched the back of his neck, avoiding Matthew’s eyes. “I talked to Mom, she kind of chewed me out about the whole thing. Not talking to you when you called or texted, the way I kind of blew up at you yesterday,” he nodded at Matthew, “but mostly the leaving. Neither of you deserved that. You deserved to have a chance to sit down, explain yourselves, and have an adult conversation.” A flash of regret shot through his eyes, which steeled again as soon as he saw Matthew’s arms around Elsie, who had returned to the couch. “But that doesn’t mean I like it. I’m still pissed that you went behind my back, and that you two decided to do the one thing I asked you not to do, and how you blindsided me—”

“You’re not my dad, Johnny. You don’t get to decide how I live my life,” Elsie said sharply.

He screwed his eyes shut. “I know, but I love you and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, and—”

“No more ‘ands.’ I know you don’t like it, Johnny. You’ve made that much very clear,” Elsie said in frustration. “Pretty much everyone knows that if you could make a list of guys you wanted to date your little sister, Matthew Tkachuk would be in last place. But just think,” she paused, looking up at her brother. “Think about all the things you said to look for in a guy when I started getting old enough to date. Divorce who Matty is from your feelings about us being together. You always gave me three things. Someone who cares about me. Someone who respects me. And someone who’s honest.” Johnny nodded, his hands in his pockets. “Matty is all of that and more, Johnny. He treats me better than anyone I’ve ever been with, and I love him. And that’s what you’ve always wanted for me. Nothing more and nothing less.”

Johnny leaned up against the bookshelf. “I guess you’re right.”

Elsie cracked a tiny grin. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

He groaned in response. “Don’t make me say it again, I’m not going to.” She shrugged. He looked between her and Matthew, sighing. “I overreacted, and I’m sorry about that. If you love him,” Elsie smiled, “and he cares about you,” Matthew frantically nodded, “then there’s really nothing more I could ask for. I think it just hurt that you two felt like you couldn’t come to me as soon as things progressed, as soon as you got together.”

“We were afraid you’d react like you did,” Elsie said, reaching over to grab Matty’s hand. “We never wanted to hurt you, and I might only be speaking for myself, but I think I was worried you’d try to come between us, or say something about the relationship, or…” She trailed off. “I don’t know. Sure, you shouldn’t have reacted that way, but you’re not the only one to blame. We shouldn’t have kept things from you, or from Mom and Dad for that matter.”

Johnny laughed. “Honestly? I’m pretty sure Mom called it from the beginning.” Elsie frowned. “What do you mean?” “You know when Matty came over to Jersey in the summer when you guys were about 20, and we all took that vacation on the beach?” She nodded. “There was one time when she saw you together, running into the ocean together. You were laughing as hard as I’ve ever seen you, Matthew was splashing water back at you, and you kept trying to tackle him into the waves. Mom, Dad, and I were back up on the beach. She just looked at you two, looked at me, and smiled.”

Matthew rubbed his thumb over the back of Elsie’s hand. “You think she knew?” he asked curiously.

Johnny nodded. “I think she knew even before you guys figured it out for yourselves.”

“How could she tell?” Elsie asked.

Johnny gave a soft smile, looking over towards the couple. “You’ve never been a good liar, Elsie. And you can’t hide love.”

#hockey imagines #hockey smut #hockey writing #hockey imagine #hockey #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl smut #nhl writing #nhl #Matthew Tkachuk #matthew tkachuk writing #rat king

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yes-another-obey-me-blog · 4 years

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I feel like any of the demon boys would be very dangerous if they got possessive jealousy but like yandere them getting possessive jealous would be on a whole level worse. What do you think? Hc? Scenarios?

Hehehehhehehehehehe I've been waiting for a Yandere ask! Thank you so much anon!!

Also, these are getting long so imma post them in parts.

here is Lucifer's and Mammon's

Yandere Bros get possessive/Jealous

GN Mc

TW: Yandere content, violence

Lucifer.

He rarely gets jealous, demons tend to stay away from what he claims as his. But when he gets jealous, he makes it known. His demon form is out, wings on full display as he approaches with calm, collected steps. His face screams murder with eyes narrow and sharp, the aura around him is pitch black as he places his arm around your shoulder.

"I suggest you start explaining why you bothering my dearest."

His voice is a deep rumbling growl. The demon in front of you starts to back away in fear. Who wouldn't? Everyone knows what he does to Mammon, and that's Lucifer being gentle.

"I-I-I didn't know they were-" Lucifer's eyes get sharper as his wings puff up more. He reaches for the demon's neck, yanking them off the ground, their feet kick as they panic.

"Didn't know what? That they're mine?" The other demon gulps, panic, and regret in their eyes. They look at you begging you to help them. Please, call him off their eyes scream. Lucifers growls deepen. "Did I say you could LOOK at them!" His grip crushes the demons windpipe, if they were human they would have been killed.

"I'm going to pluck your eyes out then, rip out your tongue and teeth one by one, and if you think I'm stopping there then you-"

"Lucifer, my dear friend what seems to be the problem here." The boisterous voice of Diavolo cuts through the hall. Lucifer carelessly drops the demon. You flinch as they gasp for air, taking in deep gulps. Diavolo surveys the scene with his big flashy grin and nods.

"I see, someone tired to take your darling." Diavolo tuts looking down at the perpetrator with a sadistic grin. He then looks back at you his grin gets impossibly bigger, with a whimper you bury your face in Lucifer's chest. His arms wrap around you instantly, pulling you even closer he hums in approval as you shakily hold on to him.

Diavolo smiles at the lover's embrace reminded of his own darling. With a dreamy sigh, he picks the demon up by the back of their shirt and drags them behind him. He stops and pats Lucifer on the shoulder and whispers.

"Bring your beloved with you tomorrow for tea, my love has been asking about their dear friend and refuses to settle down about it." He sighs thinking about his love. "and while they talk we can enjoy some special entertainment." He gives the passed out demon a shake. "What do you say to that?" Lucifer's grin matches Diavolov's.

Simply put Lucifer is the kind of yandere who is cruel and sadistic to others but not his darling. He wants them to love him and trust him. Make them think he's the only one they can turn to when they're in danger.

He will gaslight his darling until they only trust him, they'll seek him out for help, whether it be classes, or other demons bothering them it doesn't matter.

He'll also treat them as a child. Your classes are too hard? Well of course they are there for wise demons, not simple humans like yourself. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed from everything? Here sit on his lap and he'll hold you for a bit, don't worry about your tasks or his brothers. You obviously can't handle them, they're too much for a little human-like yourself.

If you think Diavolo is going to save you your wrong, he's quite happy Lucifer's found a darling of his own and is more than happy to withdraw you from RAD and let Lucifer, have you. Sure, you can still go to RAD but Diavolo just has you sit in his office with his own darling. Barbados babysitting you both as Diavolo is a busy demon lord and all.

Lucifer doesn't really want you to befriend anyone else but, Diavolo is persistent that his darling and Lucifer's become friends.

His overall goal is to have you dependent on him that way you walk into his cage willingly.

Mammon.

He doesn't get jealous, he loves the attention you bring him, one could say he's greedy for it. However, its a look but don't touch kind of thing he made that clear at one of his modeling gigs

"Hey, smile treasure, we got others watchin ." He mumbled in your ear giving it a kiss. "I want everyone to see how nice and shiny my treasure is." You grumbled as he dragged you around the party, laughing and talking with other demons. They all stared at you with smokey eyes, gestured at you with manicured claws, and smiled with perfectly shaded lips.

Mammon sat down on a sofa and pulled you down on top of him while he grinned down at you, you sighed and nestled into him. he'd throw a tantrum if you didn't play the part of loving darling.

All the other demons cooed and fawned over you asking you to look their way causing Mammon to laugh. "My treasure is just shy, aren't ya?" You nodded, face still buried in his neck, he laughed once more and talked with the other demons until he suddenly sighed.

"Hey treasure, I need to get up, some magazine editor wants ta talk to me." He easily maneuvered you off his lap and got up, giving you a quick kiss. "Don't miss me too much treasure~" Mammon then disappeared into the crowd.

"Well aren't you a beautiful diamond." One of the she-devils said sitting down next to you crossing her long legs shamelessly looking you up and down.

You grumbled in discomfort and moved away from her looking around for Mammon. If you had to deal with a demon you would rather deal with the one you knew. "Awww come now darling don't be like that," She placed her hand on your face forcing you to look at her. "I just want to get a nice long look at you."

"Let go." You slapped her had away, where was Mammon? You wanted to go home you're tired and had you still had homework to do. "Mamm-" The she-devil grabbed your face and yanked you her way, her perfect black claws digging into your face. The other demons around you falling silent.

"I'll have you know pet I don't take kindly to being denied." She hissed digging her claws into your cheeks. "When I want something I get it!" Her claws cut into your face, blood running down your face and covering her hand. "Awww now see what you made me do? I ruined that adorable little face."

"Ruth, let the human go." Another demon said a look of terror on his face. You recognized him, Mammon works with him often what's his name again? Ifrit or something? Ruth rolled her beautiful smokey eyes.

"If you want a pet, go find your own Ifrit this one is-"

"Mine." Mammon's voice boomed, ripping Ruth's hand off you. She looked up in horror and Mammon met her with a snarl. "Did ya really think ya could touch the Great Mammon's treasure?" Mammon griped her wrist until it snapped, Ruth screamed grabbing at him trying to force him to let go.

"I didn't know they were your's Mammon! I sware I didn't know!" Mammon rolled his eyes at the pathetic display, of course, only when he was angry would demons remember he was the second born of his brothers. None the less, he let the she-devil go, watching her tumble to the ground in pain.

"Ya lucky I'm in front of my treasure, I don't want them to fear me as you all should." He said fixing his sleave.

"Mammon," you whimpered grabbing your cheek, Ruth's claws dug in dipper than you thought. The blood just kept coming.

"Yes, tres-" His eyes went wide as he saw the blood seep through your hands. "Treasure! What happened to ya?!" He ran to you gently taking your hand off your face. "Here, here let me see, its ok treasure I need to see how deep the cuts are. There, there that's a good treasure." He sighed in relief, the cuts weren't that bad but they must have stung like hell. He placed kisses all over your bloody cheeks. "There all better right?" Mammon pulled back smiling, your blood dusted his lips.

"Ifrit, do me a favor, take my treasure outside." Mammon glared at Ruth. "I've got something to take care of. If ya do well, I'll put in a good word with Diavolo and see to it ya get a darlin of your own." Ifrit nodded and carefully dragged you out, the screams of Ruth ringing out behind you.

When Mammon returned he was in demon form, the only thing off about him was the blood caked in his hair. He smiled and hugged you dismissing Ifrit with a wave of his hand. "Its all right treasure, she won't hurt ya ever again." He smirked. "and trust me, after what I did to her no demon will ever touch ya again." He pressed a kiss to your lips, you could taste the blood on them, the funny thing was that you couldn't tell if the blood you tasted was yours or Ruth's.

Hcs.

Mammon is truly one of the sweetest yanderes you can get in Devildom. Between Constant kisses and gifts, you'll be well cared for. not to mention he's also slow to anger. Normally.

He likes the attention you bring him, he'll buy you anything you ask for if it means you'll be with him.

He won't isolate you but he will keep you on a tight leash, his arms are around you every time you head out. Kisses are given whenever some demon gazes at you too long.

You're dragged to all the parties held by other demons in the modeling business. These parties are mainly to show off darlings, Asmo even accompanies Mammon to some of these events.

Mammon needs to feel needed by his darling that's why he spends so much money on them. If they need him they can't leave him.

I wouldn't push him though, one escape attempt and you'll be sitting pretty on his hoard for years to come.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me!#obey me swd #shall we date #obey me otome #yandere obey me #mammon obey me #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me mammon x reader #obey me lucifer #yandere lucifer #yandere lucifer x reader #yandere mammon #yandere mammon x reader

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thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

Can you do 60 for indruck, NSFW? Thank you so much! Love your work!

Here it is! I set it in the same world as this sternclay fill. Credit to @bellafarallones for playing in this space on discord. Apollo is from my Super hero AU

“All I’m sayin is it seems mighty unfair to me that one fella gets a handler-assistant type deal and the rest of us don’t.” Duck crosses his arms as Ned fiddles with the pen on his desk.

“You’re not wrong, dear boy, but Apollo was in high demand from the higher ups-”

“Because he’s a shallow dipshit with a mean streak who’ll be good for ratings?”

“Precisely. He demanded in his contract that we allow his twin to continue his work as his photographer and assistant. He has over a million followers on Instagram, so those photos will be a boost to the show. Just try to get along for the camera’s?”

“His brother ain’t even on camera.” Duck mutters.

“I meant with Apollo.”

Duck shrugs, defeated, “sure thing, Ned.”

As he walks back to the main house, he mulls over the fact that the twin (Indrid, he thinks that’s the guys name) bugs him more than Apollo does. Apollo is vain, mean, and selfish, but at least that gets him things, even makes sense for the kind of show they’re on. Indrid gains nothing by helping him out here. Except protection from the bully, which Duck finds to be the worst kind of cowardice. Hopefully Vincent, this season’s bachelor, will see through the “influencer” and send him packing ASAP.

-------------------------------------

Four weeks in, and this is exactly what Duck was worried about. Not only is Indrid hovering around his brother like a nervous moth (excet when cameras are near, at which point he ducks out of frame), he’s doing fucking nothing to reign him in.

A few frontrunners are starting to emerge, and with that claws are coming out. Barclay, a chef and all around nice guy, is the target of choice. Nico and Josh both took bites out of him this morning. But Apollo sunk his teeth in like a dog on a fox, calling him, among other things, a pathetic, six-foot puppy dog who no man would ever want. The cook left noticeably teary eyed. Duck was about to block the cameras from following when Joseph beat him to it. Which is weird, because he thought Joe couldn’t stand Barclay. Apollo flounces off, but Duck corners Indrid where he’s been stoically watching his brother be a raging asshole.

“What the fuck man?”

‘Wrong twin.” Indrid says flatly, indicating his silver hair, tied back in a half-bun. His dark roots are showing and his eyebrows are black, unlike Apollo’s immaculate blonde dye job and bleached brows.

“Nope, right one. You’re his handler, cant’ you fuckin intervene when he’s doin’ shit like that? Or are you just here to let him hurt whoever he feels like?”

Indrid fixes him with a bitter smile, “If there were a way to make my brother be kind or, indeed, see others as people, don’t you think I’d have found it and used it everyday since?”

“I-”

“You people have no idea how much I’m already doing. I kept him from going after you yesterday by reminding him he looks ugly when he yells on camera. And if nothing else console yourself with the fact you all have only to deal with him for a few months. Some of us have endured twenty-eight years of it.”

With that, he turns and stalks from the room. As he leaves, Duck can’t shake the thought that his black denim jacket and worn jeans fit him better than Apollo’s designer ones ever could.

-----------------------------------

Indrid understands why there’s so much alcohol on set, but he can’t partake (too bitter) and it makes Apollo even harder to handle than usual. Which is why Indrid is out on the grounds at ten p.m, intending to hide from his brother until dawn.

At six weeks in, fan favorites are getting more established and Indrid, needing to predict Apollo’s mood in order to do his job, is keeping a close eye on them. His twin is well-liked for being snarky and hot, though he suspects the large number of contestants means there have been limited chances for his unpleasant side to be showcased. Joseph is another, because of course he is, movie-star handsome with an interesting past. Barclay is beloved for the very things that the other contestants torment him for. And Duck? Duck is quickly becoming the one people think Vincent will choose.

Indrid thinks they’re right. He’s charming in an understated way, funny, and while Apollo needles him for his “dad bod,” Indrid and Vincent have both noticed the muscles in his arms. Who gives a damn about flat abs? Indrid would much rather have something soft to rest his head on while those green eyes look lovingly down at him. His crush on Duck is useless, persistent, and must be hidden from Apollo at all costs.

His foot catches something solid and he tumbles over the obstacle to land ass-first on the lawn.

“Ow.” He glares at the object. The object turns out to be Duck Newton, who's obviously drunk as he sits up.

“Sorry man, thought no one’d come out here. Oh it’s you, it's, uh, fuck, fuck c'mon” he snaps his fingers as he searches his thoughts, “It's cute Apollo!”

“Indrid.” Surely Duck didn’t mean to use that adjective. Right?

“No, I’m Duck?”

He snickers, “No, I meant I’m Indrid.”

“Ohhh, right. You're Indrid. I'm Duck. That's the big dipper” He points at the sky. Indrid follows the line and grins, delighted.”

“It is!”

“Uhhuh. C'mere, can show you more.” Duck pats the spot beside him and lays back. Indrid scoots closer and reclines as well, making appreciative sounds each time Duck shows him a constellation.

As they’re studying the sky, the other man whispers, “Can I tell you a secret? I, I think Joe’n Barclay are into each other now."

“The way they look at each other is not exactly subtle.”

‘“Heh, yeah.” he links his hands across his belly, “I think they're in love. You ever been in love?”

“No.” He sighs, not wanting to dwell on that pile of baggage, “You?”

“Nope. And, uh, don’t, don’t tell anyone but I don't think I am with Vincent. Maybe I could be? Does that make me a bad person? He's nice, think he likes me a lot but, I, I dunno.”

“Not being in love with someone doesn’t make you a bad person. No more than loving someone does.”

Indrid is hard to surprise; years of getting out ahead of his brother and father taught him how to see things coming. But nothing could prepare him for Duck rolling to hide his face against Indrid’s chest. Not knowing what else to do, he pats his back, notices a woodsy scent tingling his nose.

“You smell good.” He winces; that was too creepy, now Duck will pull the comforting bulk of his body away.

“Thanks. I bought a bunch of cologne when I realized I was actually going to be a contestant. News clothes too. Thought it would give me an edge but...I dunno, can't compete with a guy like your brother.”

“Join the club.” Indrid reaches up to toy with a lock of Duck’s black hair, expecting Duck to bat him away. Instead, he sighs and turns his head to give Indrid better access.

“You could compete with ‘im. You're cuter. Nicer too.”

“Oh. Ah. Thank you.”

Duck’s fidgets with the mothman pin on Indrid’s jacket, “You wanna cuddle?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“No one cuddles with me. And we ain’t allowed to cuddle Vincent yet.” He looks up, lips pouting just enough to be charming.

Indrid let’s a purr enter his voice, “That’s a shame. I’m happy to cuddle.”

Duck rolls more of his body onto Indrid, resolutely nestling his head under his chin and tangling their legs together. His hands stay on Indrid’s chest and shoulders, though he’s now drunkenly petting Indrid’s collarbone, making him shiver. He expends four months worth of daring in a second, wrapping his arms around the curves of Duck’s torso. When Duck’s fingers brush skin instead of shirt, Indrid whimpers, then bites his lip and prays it went unnoticed.

“You don’t get cuddled much either, do you?” Duck murmurs thoughtfully.

“No.”

“Damn shame, you’re real good at it. Can cuddle me any time.”

Indrid “mmhmms” knowing the promise is like the stars; bright and comforting in the darkness, but ultimately beyond his reach.

Three day later, he drops his guard; Apollo’s been on his good behavior since Vincent’s been spending more time with him. You’d think Indrid would learn by now that all his venom has to go somewhere.

He’s huddled down in the rec room trying not to cry; it’s pathetic enough that he let such childish insults get to him, but to cry over them would confirm everything his brother said.

“Indrid? You, uh, you okay?” Duck’s reflection in the darkened T.V approaches his own.

“I'm fine.” It’s the same inflection he’s used hundreds of times, but Duck sits down on the couch all the same.

“Do you, uh, need a hug?’

“No.” He replies a hair too quickly.

“Do you want one?”

“......Badly.”

Duck opens his arms and Indrid shifts on the cushions, doing his best to curl his long limbs so they’ll fit in his embrace. The shorter man notices, concern flashing on his face.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“Okay. You, uh, wanna hear the most exciting news of the day?” He waits for Indrid to nod, “there was a cougar sightin’ in the foothills near here!”

“That is both very exciting and alarming.”

“Doubt it’d go after folks, they try to steer clear of people. We don’t have ‘em back home, but you learn what to do when you’re also learnin how to deal with bears.”

“How does one deal with a bear? Other than buying them a drink.”

Duck snorts, relaxes further into the couch, “Depends on how soon you see ‘em…”

They emerge two hours later, and Indrid is so engrossed in their conversation about hiking incidents that he runs smack into a camera man. While he’s apologizing profusely, Duck guffaws, steadies him, and leads him off in search of somewhere to watch the sunset.

-----------------------------------------

“Oooh, ooh, look, sea lions!” Indrid points to the distant wharf.

“Good eye. Man, those fuckers are big. Glad none of ‘em were in the water when we did that fuckin cliff dive.”

“I for one would pay good money to see my brother chased by a sea lion.”

Duck chuckles, pops the tab on his WhiteClaw. They’re having dinner on the beach, a gourmet spread meant to encourage them to show off their pallets. Indrid took Barclay’s recommendation and ordered the whole, grilled snapper, which he assumed he’d be eating alone; Vincent’s attention has been on Duck ever since he went swimming this morning. Duck seems to be enjoying it, but come dinner time he demurred (“gotta let some of the other fellas have a chance”) and brought his basket of fried oysters over to join Indrid on the sand.

“Speakin of your brother, kinda surprised he didn't make any digs at this whole, uh, situation.” Duck gestures to the torso Indrid is currently aching to lick droplets of saltwater from. To subdue the craving, he licks salt from his fingers before replying.

“I, ah, the last time he tried to, I reminded him of all the pictures I have of him eating. He hates to be seen eating. Most of the time.” He tilts his head towards his twin, who’s chowing down next to Vincent without a care for the cameras. Indrid sets his hand on the warm sand, “I’ve been trying to, well, reign him in as you suggested. Or at least make him think twice about his choices.”

(Indrid omits the part where he’s most likely to risk it if Duck is the one with the target on his back).

Duck sets his hand down beside Indrid’s, brushes sand from the side of it with a calloused thumb, “Mighty good of you. But, uh, think I mighta read things wrong that day. You gotta handle him how you think best. Just, uh, just promise me you won’t sacrifice your own well-bein’ for my sake, or anyone else’s. We’re all grown-ass men; we can handle it.”

“I promise.” He lies.

The other man leans back on his hands, green eyes drifting across the waves. Indrid would gladly sit in silence the rest of the night, it’s so easy to be comfortable in the lull when it’s Duck filling the space beside him.

Eventually, the ranger murmurs, “It’s so fuckin breathtaking. The ocean, I mean. Maybe if you live on a coast you get used to it but man, it is somethin;.”

“More so than the forest?”

Duck smiles, “It’s like apples and oranges. Monongahela got its own charms; you’d have a blast takin pictures and drawin there, believe me. If, uh, if Apollo and I both make it to the final four, uh, maybe we could take a few hours durin’ my hometown visit and I could show you my favorite spot.

Indrid imagines the two of them beneath the trees, walking hand in hand.

“I’d like that.”

---------------------------------------------

“You know you’re just a distraction, right?”

Indrid doesn’t look at his brother, just flips the page in his book, “I doubt that. You’ve said, often, that I’m too off-putting to be interesting.”

“Not when there’s competition for someone superior; Duck knows he might not win. You’re his back-up if he doesn’t, and a way to kill time until the end. Once Vincent sends him home, which he most definitely will, he’ll keep you around until something better comes along.”

“Don’t act like you know him.” Indrid hisses, looking up just in time to see something scurrying behind the triumph on Apollo’s face: fear.

So, his brother has a new weakness. He’ll tuck that away for later; this is shaping up to be an unpleasant conversation, but not one requiring quite that degree of weapon.

“You should thank me. If I weren’t so captivating, Vincent would spend all his time with Duck. Then you’d be without any attention at all. Even Duck’s taste isn’t that abysmal.” He grins his several thousand dollar smile, “he and Vincent are probably laughing about it right now.”

Indrid stands, crosses the tiny room, “Shut up, Apollo.”

Then he slams the door. There’s a yelp, followed by “you hit my nose, you pathetic excuse for a man, ow, open this door this instant I’m not done with you!”

He flicks the lock and sits back on the bed. There’s a tin of sensory putty on his nightstand and he opens it, playing with it between his fingers. Duck brought it for him after a museum date with Vincent. The image of him not only thinking of Indrid when he saw something, but then buying it for him just to see him smile makes him want to grin and hide his face in a pillow like a teenager who just got asked to prom.

But maybe this date is going differently.

Indrid squeezes the putty, repeats the mantra he’s had since he was a child, “Apollo always lies. Apollo always lies.”

Eventually, he’s calm enough to work on some tattoo commissions, is coloring away when there’s a knock on the door. A secret knock Duck invented as a goof. Throwing open the door reveals the shorter man wearing a suit jacket and an exhausted expression. Indrid gestures to the bed, shuts and locks the door as Duck slumps on the mattress and sets his head in his hands.

“Whelp, that was a shit-show.”

“What happened?” Indrid sits cross-legged beside him.

“Vincent went in for a kiss and I, uh, I turned him down. I mean, he took it well because he’s a sweet guy but I, I feel like shit.”

“There’s no shame in not wanting to kiss just yet.”

“That ain’t the problem. I, I wanna kiss someone on this set, but it ain’t him. Indrid” he looks up, green eyes watery, “Indrid, I think I’m fallin in love with you.”

“Oh. I, are you sure-”

“The whole night, and I mean the whole fuckin night, I was thinkin about you. Thought how nice the trip to the botanical gardens would be with you there to point out color combos and get excited about butterflies. Wanted to hold your hand over dinner. Fuck, when they brought out the dessert menu all I could think was how fun it’d be to order one of each thing to surprise you so you’d do that thing you do with your hands when you’re real excited.” Duck turns, sets his hands on Indrid’s shoulders, “‘Drid, if you don’t want this, I’ll back off but-”

Indrid cuts him off with a kiss, let’s strong arms pull him down to the bed and presses as close to Duck as he can, as if any space between them might be a way for the universe to push them apart.

“Than fuck” Duck pants, cupping his face, “wait, fuck, what do we do now? I can’t string poor Vincent on.”

“We’ll get them to let you out of your contract. It can’t be that hard, right?”

--------------------------------------------

“Absolutely not” Ned shakes his head, “dropping out of the show is out of the question.”

“But that ain’t fair to any of us. Can we at least tell Vincent the truth?”

“No, it needs to look as if he naturally decided not to choose you. If not, we could be accused of manipulating results; the last time that happened, the ratings tanked for that season and the next. And my predecessor was fired.”

Duck looks at Indrid, “Guess I’ll just...pull back? That way Vincent won’t have a reason to choose me and’ll let me go soon.”

----------------------------------------------

“Droppin out is outta the question, huh?” Duck mutters to Indrid as they watch Barclay and Joseph walk off holding hands, the host eagerly asking them questions as they go.

“I suppose he didn’t drop so much as sprint.” Indrid glances at the rose in Duck’s hand, “congratulations on making the final...well, final three now.”

“Thanks? Guess Apollo’s pretty happy about it too.”

“Yes, but his ego needs no stroking.” Indrid smiles, “maybe this means you’ll get to show me the woods?”

“I hope so. Huh. What are they gonna do with the rest of us when it’s not our turn for the hometown visit?”

The answer turns out to be: drag everyone to each hometown. Because they no longer have Joe’s trip to do, Ned decided they needed more scenes of the contestants exploring where their competitors came from.

Kepler is first, and tonight is the night Duck’s been dreading. His romantic, home-town date that everyone expects to end with at least some kissing. He manages to make it through dinner, even enjoys showing Vincent the down-town he spent years roaming. But as they start down the river walk for a romantic stroll, his heart is trying to smash its way out of his ribs.

“It’s alright, you know.” Vincent stops, guiding Duck to face him, “the fact you want to be with Indrid.”

“I, uh, fuck, I, I don’t not know, uh, fuck-” he closes his eyes, “how’d you know?”

“I’m more observant than I get credit for.” Vincent brushes his cheek, “I’ve had a hunch for weeks now, but I kept you around because I liked having you here, even if I suspected it wasn’t going to end with us together. I’m very fond of you, Duck. You deserve someone who makes you happy. I promise I’ll send you home this next rose ceremony”

“Christ” Duck chuckles, “you’re a hell of a guy too, Vince. I hope whoever you pick treats you right. I, uh, can I, should we…?”

Vincent plants a chaste kiss on his cheek, then smiles, “go get him.”

----------------------------------------

“Any twos?”

“No. Go fish.”

Apollo grumbles as he takes another card. Given Duck and Vincent are on their date, neither he nor Indrid is having a good night. Before Indrid can make his ask, his twin says, “How do you get people to like you?”

“Why do you care? You’ve made it this far, so obviously Vincent likes you a great deal”

“I don’t just mean him. I, I mean, I want him to like me. To want me. But I suspect he’d like me better if other people did.”

Indrid idly taps his cards, “I suggest you stop acting like our father.”

“I’m nothing like him!” Apollo squawks.

“Oh, but you are. Everything he taught us you still hold as true; you’re just the newest version of men like him. Self-absorbed. Cruel. Shallow. I’m amazed you’ve gotten this far with Vincent, given that the age difference means you’d be caring for him in his old age.”

“I, I can care for him. I will!”

“Apollo, I wouldn’t trust you to care for a potted plant.” He sets his cards down.

“At least I’m not a-”

“Ambitionless deviant who has to ride his brother’s coattails to survive?”

“Wha--how-”

“Like I said; you’re just like him. Down to your insults.” Indrid stands, “I’m going to bed. I suggest you do the same.”

His brother remains speechless--a rare state for him--as he closes the door and heads for his room. He doubts Duck will do anything on the date (hell, the two of them have only been able to steal some kisses now and then), but the whole charade has him feeling low.

There are far more cameras in the rented house than there were a few hours ago. Which means the rest of the crew is back. Does that also mean…

“Hey, sugar. I was just lookin for you.”

--------------------------------------------------

Duck’s glad his door is open, because otherwise Indrid would have smashed it to pieces dragging them both through it. He’d only gotten out the barest explanation before the taller man was kissing his face and tugging at his clothes, purring “mine” over and over again.

“Yep, all yours.” He shuts the door as Indrid mouths at his neck, “which also means you’re all mine.” He yanks Indrid’s black sweater up and over his head, sends the matching t-shirt after it a moment later. Indrid whines, fumbling with Duck’s dress shirt, and he gets an idea.

“Uh uh, only good boys who show me why they deserve it get to feel me up.”

Indrid groans into his shoulder, fisting the fabric of his jacket “What constitutes good behavior in this instance?”

“One sec, don’t go nowhere.” He starts to step past him, pauses to grips his chin and pull him into another kiss, “and no peekin.”

As he digs through his bag for the strap on he brought just in case, he keeps an eye on Indrid to be sure he’s following the directions. The taller man’s fingers twitch, but his head stays still. God, Duck is going to memorize the shape of each of the tattoos decorating his skin with his mouth.

“You did real good.” He slips around Indrid once more, resting his back on the wall. Indrid notices the new bulge in his pants and thuds to his knees.

“May I?”

“You better.”

Indrid undoes the button of his fly. Then he looks at Duck over the rim of his glasses as he takes the zipper between his teeth and pulls it down. When the black silicone of the strap breaks free, Indrid cocks his head as if unsure of his options. Duck doesn’t really have a plan--he just wants to be with him, to make him feel good and show him just what weeks of pent-up desire have done to him--but he’s starting to regret that choice.

Indrid flicks hair from his face and wraps his lips around the head of the cock experimentally. He hums, sucking on it a moment, then pulls back blushing, “This is going to sound strange but, ah, I, I really like that. It’s such a lovely texture on my tongue, it’s, it’s almost soothing to suck.”

“Guess you better keep suckin it then, huh?” Duck runs the fingers of his right hand through Indrid’s hair.

“Is that really alright? It can’t feel like much on your end.”

“Don’t mean it ain’t fun to watch. But, uh” he touches the edge of Indrid’s red glasses, “it okay if I take these off?”

Indrid nods and Duck slides them free, tucks them into his breast pocket for safekeeping as Indrid draws the cock into his mouth again. He focuses on the head at first, humming and moaning as it bumps his cheek. Then Duck sees him swallow and relax the muscles of his jaw as he presses closer. Little puffs of breath tickle Duck’s skin as Indrid gets most of the cock in his mouth, cheeks hollowing and head bobbing as he sucks. Hungry noises burlbe up his throat, and the more he lets himself go the messier he becomes, spit coating his lips and eyes fluttering closed in bliss.

“Okay, I lied.”

Brown eyes shoot him a disbelieving look.

“This ain’t fun. This is one of the hottest fuckin things I’ve ever seen.”

Indrid wiggles happily on his knees, left hand dropping to rubs his own cock through his jeans.

“Needy little thing, gotta have somethin down your throat and around your dick at the same time.”

“MMMhhmmm” Indrid purrs, the picture of filthy perfection.

“If, if you swallow the whole thing, I’ll let you finger-fuck me.”

Both hands fly to his thighs with an excited moan. Indrid’s brow crinkles with determination as he slowly, carefully brings his lips to the base of the toy. Duck groans out “good boy” and shoves his pants down, Indrid helping to drag them to his ankles. Indrid keeps his left hand on Duck’s hip while the right hovers below his folds. Duck takes it, the toy making the angle a bit awkward, and guides it against him.

“Start with one.”

Indrid nods, moans reverently as he obeys. Duck curses, looks down to find Indrid watching him attentively. Duck is going to wreck him. Then he’s going to cuddle him to sleep and wonder at the fact he got this lucky.

“You’re doin’ great, sugar. Promise I’ll tell you if you need to adjustOH, ohyeah” he lets his head rest against the chipped white of the door, “that’s the spot. Fuck it, add one more, Ahfuck, yeah, those artists fingers are fuckin perfect for this.”

Another purr and then a sharp, choked noise. Duck looks down, realizing he rolled his hips without meaning to. Before he can apologize, Indrid grips his thigh and shakes his head.

“You like that?”

“Mmhhmmm” Indrid traces a heart on his belly.

“You’ll pull off you need to?”

“Mhmmmm.” Indrid curls his fingers as his stretched lips manage to grin.

“Fuck!” Duck giggles, “okay, if my darlin wants his face fucked, that’s what he’ll get.” He keeps a hand on Indrid’s shoulder as he lets loose, grunts and curses mingling with the increasingly wet moans of his cock claiming Indrid’s throat. Soon he’s out of words, too busy with the sight of himself forcing Indrid’s lips apart as he tightens around his fingers. Handjobs are a toss-up for him most days; sometimes they work, other times he can’t cum from them at all. It turns out what makes it very easy to do so is-

“‘Drid, fuck, fuck, sugar, yeah, right there, rightthererightthere ohfuckyeah.” He cums, jerking his hips hard enough to punch a new, high sound from Indrid’s throat. The other man pulls off, rests his cheek on Duck’s belly with shuddery, satisfied sighs.

“Y’know” Duck unbuttons his shirt from the bottom up so Indrid can more easily nuzzle the skin there, “I had this whole plan where I was gonna fuck you with this and then ride your face to cum.”

“I’m not opposed.” Indrid grins, bouncing a bit.

“Yeah, but I’ve only got one in me tonight. So” He tosses the shirt away, pulls off the harness as Indrid nibbles his hips, “if you wanna cum, you’re gonna have to do all the work.”

An edge enters his smile, “I can manage that.”

Duck hits the floor with a whump, Indrid trapping him on his back and climbing atop him, all the while kissing him with abandon.

“May I fuck you?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Condom?”

“Dop kit, bathroom, aw come back.”

“Patience, sweetheart” Indrid blows him a kiss, returns a few moments later doing an inelegant dance to kick his jeans and boxers away, “got one!”

“Good, now get back down here before I-AHfuck!” Indrid is on him and in him so fast it knocks his breath away.

“Before what? You’re not going anywhere, you’re mine, alllllll mine.” He drags kisses across Duck’s cheek, then bites his chapped lip as he looks down at him, “right?”

“You know it, nnng, fuck, that’s it sugar, be a good boy and cum for me. Fuck, darlin, wanted this so bad.” He locks his fingers into silver hair to keep Indrid in kissing distance as the other man whimpers, thrusts shallow and rabbity.

“Want you too, so much, I’ll be worth it, I swear, I’ll be good, I’ll, I’ll make you so happy.”

Duck rests their foreheads together, “You already do.”

There’s a high, gasping moan, almost like a chirp, and Indrid rides out his orgasm in drawn-out rolls of his hips. Then he collapses, laughing, on Duck’s chest.

“I, I’m sorry, I just never thought I’d get this. Someone wanting me. Choosing me.”

“I mean, I went on a T.V show to find love, so I know a little somethin about that fear. But I also know findin you is better than anythin I ever imagined.”

“Likewise.” Indrid nestles closer, one hand reaching out to hold Duck’s where it’s flopped on the rug.

“...You realize this means there’s a fifty-fifty chance your brother will win.”

Indrid shrugs, lifts his head to smile at Duck, “I leave that to Vincent. I already got my prize.”

#indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #bachelor au #meet ugly

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slashhinginghasher · 4 years

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Stargazing with the slashers

TENDER BOY HOURS

Bo Sinclair

You knew it bothered Bo sometimes (a lot of the time) that he couldn’t take you on a real date. Real dates required money and proximity to interesting things, both of which were in short supply in Ambrose. You honestly couldn’t give a shit - you had Bo, what else could you need? - but it chafed his pride, being unable to provide something that even pimple-faced teenagers could do.

He also got defensive if you ever tried to make suggestions, so you had to be sneaky about it. You’d casually mention how your sister’s high school boyfriend had taken her stargazing, had packed a little midnight picnic, and how it was one of her favorite dates, and if Bo got inspired, then it was obviously due to the powers of his mighty intellect and creativity.

(It had actually been your high school boyfriend, but Bo didn’t need to know that. He was a jealous man; comparing him to another guy, however inadvertently, would not end well.)

So now you were cuddled up in the bed of his truck, which had been transformed into a nest of blankets. Miles from the nearest town, there was almost no light pollution, and the night sky was as crisp and clear as you’d ever seen it. The two of you had talked about this and that, nursed a few beers, eventually winding up flat on your backs, a position you rarely found yourself in with Bo unless you were asleep or...

Ah, yes, there it is.

A touch of lips on your neck, hot but fleeting, sent tingles across your skin. Bo pressed a few more kisses to your neck and jaw before sucking on that spot that drove you wild. At the sound of your blissful sigh, he raised himself up on his forearms to hover over you.

“Bo,” you scolded teasingly, “you’re blocking the view.” He flashed his signature smirk, equal parts sexy and infuriating.

“I am the view, baby.” You groaned and rolled your eyes.

“Swear to god, Sinclair,” you grumbled, fighting back a grin, “one of these days I’m gonna kick your ass.”

But you didn’t complain when he lowered his lips to yours.

Jason Voorhees

Jason hated the lake, but he hated the idea of you wandering around alone at night more, so when you announced that you were going to go stargazing on the dock, he insisted on joining you. But now that you were actually there, you could tell he was starting to regret his decision a little. The sounds of chirping insects and the gentle lapping of the lake were almost enough to lull you to sleep. Jason, by contrast, was as stiff as the boards he lay on.

Your heart gave a painful little squeeze. You hated seeing him so unhappy. You almost wanted to tell him to head back to the cabin, but were afraid he’d think you didn’t want his company. Instead, you reached over and took his hand.

“See those three stars?” you said, pointing with your other hand. “The ones in a straight line? That’s Orion’s belt. He was a mighty hunter. So mighty that the gods put him in the sky to live forever after he died on Earth.” You felt Jason relax, just a little. Encouraged, you pointed to a bright star near the Belt. “And that’s Sirius, his dog.”

You pointed out other constellations and stars you knew: the Big and Little Dippers, the North Star, the Seven Sisters, Betelgeuse. You told him the stories behind their names, which were probably half wrong, but he’d never know or care. Soothed by the touch of your hand and the soft sound of your voice, the tension slowly seeped out of Jason’s body until all thoughts of drowning were replaced by the stars, and you.

Maybe the lake wasn’t so bad after all.

Asa Emory

Asa wasn’t doing a lot of things right now. He wasn’t letting the dogs spend extra time out of their kennel because the brush of their noses against your hands made you smile. He wasn’t thinking about how cute the way your furrowed your brow in concentration was as you pored over star charts and fiddled with lens focus dials. And he definitely wasn’t admiring how great your ass looked in those jeans.

Nope. Definitely wasn’t doing that.

He’d bought you the telescope on a whim, which in Asa’s world meant after weeks of research instead of months. You were something of an amateur astronomer; the intricate mathematics of orbits and light refraction escaped you, but you’d always loved the stars. Childhood trips to the planetarium, camping trips in the mountains, an epic road trip once to view a solar eclipse. The sky was your happy place. Asa was your happy place, too, but he wasn’t always around. The stars were, every night without fail.

You’d lit up like the sun when he’d set the heavy box in front of you with zero comment or explanation. You’d squealed and thrown your arms around him, and if you’d been looking at his eyes, you’d have seen something that almost looked like tenderness.

Now you were set up in Asa’s backyard, searching for Jupiter. It was trickier than you expected - there was a lot of sky - but excitement tempered your frustration. You had read the telescope’s user manual cover to cover - twice - and pulled up maps of the night sky from no fewer than four different sites. You never half-assed things you cared about, a trait that Asa both understood and admired.

“Asa!” you shrieked. “Asa, I’ve found it! You’ve gotta see this!” You’re practically bouncing with excitement as he peers through the eyepiece. “Do you see that little dot near the middle? That’s Io, one of the moons.” Asa nods, stepping back and allowing you to resume your admiration of the distant planet. As you continue to gush over the cloud bands, the Great Red Spot, the tiny moons, a faint smile appears on his lips. Perhaps he’ll start acting on his whims more frequently in the future.

Thomas Hewitt

“Mama? D’you think Thomas and I could have the night off tomorrow? There’s gonna be a meteor shower and I wanna show him.” You and Luda Mae are working through a mountain of dishes side by side at the kitchen sink.

“How’d you know it’s gonna happen tomorrow?” Luda Mae asks.

“It comes every year around this time,” you reply. “My daddy and I used to watch it every summer when I was little. I just thought Tommy might like to see it.” Luda Mae’s face softens. Playing on her motherly tendencies does that.

“Well, ain’t that sweet. Course you can, dear.” She shakes a wooden spoon at you. “And don’t let Tommy give you no for an answer. That boy works too hard as it is.”

The Texas heat is a lot more bearable when the sun is down. You and Thomas are propped up on the rusty hood of one of the wrecked cars that dot the lawn. He’d been confused when you pulled him towards the front door after dinner, but a sharp look from Luda Mae quelled any protest he might have made.

“Look!” You grab Thomas’s arm as a thin streak of white flashes across the sky. More and more meteors fill the sky, until they’re coming nearly every minute. You ooh and aah over the brighter ones, oblivious to the fact that your hand is still gripping Thomas’s arm.

Thomas, on the other hand, is very aware of your warm skin on his.

“This was always my favorite part of the year,” you sigh after a particularly bright meteor. “I always wished on shooting stars and there’s so many of them now, I figure if I wished for the same thing on each one, at least one of them’s gotta work, you know?” You glance over at Thomas and are once again struck breathless, this time by the intensity in his blue eyes. Your cheeks heat and you return your gaze to the sky, moving your hand away from his arm.

An hour or more passes, the silence between growing thicker with each minute. You’re beginning to wonder if you made a mistake, if Thomas really didn’t want to be here with you.

A large, tentative hand brushes your cheek with aching tenderness, turning your face back to Thomas. He seems to be steeling himself for something, and before you can ask what’s wrong, he leans over and brushes his lips against yours. The kiss is chaste, but it sets your heart racing, and when you lay a hand on Thomas’s chest, you can feel his galloping along as well. It’s an eternity and an instant before he pulls back, slowly.

“Wow,” you whisper with a smile as bright as a shooting star. “It came true.”

#bo sinclair #house of wax #jason voorhees #friday the 13th #asa emory #the collector #thomas hewitt #texas chainsaw massacre #my writing

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nat-20s · 4 years

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MEDIA THAT I RECOMMEND YOU CONSUME INSTEAD OF SUPERNATURAL FOR BOTH HEART AND HEALTH BROKEN DOWN BY TYPE OF MEDIA AND WHY YOU MIGHT LIKE IT IF AT ANY POINT YOU, LIKE MY POOR POOR SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD SELF, WERE INVESTED IN THIS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE FIRE OF A SHOW

with apologies to anyone on mobile who’s readmore function APPARENTLY doesn’t work

(I haven’t watched supernatural for at least five years and, given any sort of luck, I will never do so again, do not @ me)

hello babes. I am talking to you know bc I keep seeing supernatural, unironically, on my dash, and I think we can all do better. I see what’s happening and I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU3i_o5Xd4g

Supernatural is fudge stripes. You are Megan. We can fix this.

So a list of alternate things that I think are overall better written/characterized/just generally more enjoyable that might scratch some of those itches:

TV SHOWS

Good Omens

okay look if u were on tumblr last year u probably already watched this show but like. If u haven’t, it’s only six episodes babe and there’s a large enough fandom that u can go down a fanart hole for days on end

Basic summary: the antichrist has reached that lovely young age where he’s supposed to bring about the apocalypse. An angel and a demon who have decided that actually they like the world as is, thank you very much, try to stop the end times. They’re not very good at it though, which makes for a comedy of errors.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: theologic (mostly christian) exploration/parody/imagery without inherently being a religious show. Fighting off the apocalypse narrative, which I think pretty much always goes hard as hell, but that’s just me. There’s a gay angel who’s socially awkward. There’s a fun very British demon. Touches on the hierarchies of heaven and hell, with framing Heaven as a bureaucracy and blurs the differences between angels and demons. Pining. Tenderness. A deep nostalgia for 80s music, though in this case it’s specifically queen, and who doesn’t love queen. Main character has a weirdly strong bond with his black vintage car. Satan is (sort of) fought.

Gravity Falls

sometimes...things that are kids shows...with a set story and a predetermined ending...are better

(also this isn’t relevant to any of what I’m talking about but I really appreciate that Gravity Falls specifically went against the thing that most begged me about ATLA aka that a 15 year old girl would be like yeah I’m into a 12 year old boy because the 12 year old boy has a crush on me and I apparently don’t get to really have a say in this. How does that make sense.)

Basic Summary: Twelve year old twins Dipper and Mabel go to stay with their Grunkle Stan for the summer in a small Oregon town called Gravity Falls. Turns out this town is filled with all sorts of strange phenomena that they often have to confront, work around, learn about, or befriend!

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: The core focus of the show is a close sibling duo, but like It’s obvious that the siblings actually like and love each other and while they have their spats it’s still incredibly clear that they deeply care about each other even with their differences LIKE SORRY SUPERNATURAL YOU CAN’T JUST TELL ME THAT SIBLINGS CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER AND THEN THEY SPEND ALL THEIR TIME FIGHTING AND LYING TO EACH OTHER AND GENERALLY ACTING LIKE THEY CAN’T STAND EACH OTHER’S COMPANY BUT THEN OOOHHH YOU CRY ON TOP OF THE HOOD OF A CAR EVERY THREE EPISODE AND SUDDENLY THEY’RE SOULMATES OR WHATEVER

Anyway. Yeah. GF has a solid sibling dynamic. Monster of the week that builds up to greater over-arching plot. A little bit of body horror, you know, for humor. Fair amount of meta humor playing with the tropes of the genre. A Good Ol Big Bad that tries to pit the siblings against each other. Have to fight the apocalypse (you’ll see this point on like a good half of these recs, I really like ‘what are we gonna do about Armageddon’ media). Interesting creature design. Planned, satisfying ending (which supernatural absolutely does not have, but I still think if it had ended with the season 5 finale like it uhh pretty obviously was supposed to, that would sort of counted. Don’t revive shows that have clearly already told their stories kids.) Tie in media that gives you some fun extra stories when you miss the characters. (yes I read some of the supernatural novels when I was a c h i l d, yes I’m pretty sure there’s one or two of them still buried somewhere on my laptop, no I don’t wanna talk about it.) Older father figure (?) who owns a tbh kind of shitty shop. Both already in place and found family.

It’s a good show, and it’s two seasons. John Mulaney Voice: I dunno it’s 40 episodes

MINI REC ALERT! (mini recs are basically things that I’m not gonna go into detail about for whatever reason [probably either due to i’m not familiar enough with it OR I just don’t like. Have a bunch to say about it in regards to how it will scratch the itches presented to u by spn] but still seem like a Good Watch)

Mini Rec: Over The Garden Wall. Spooky Kids Media! Episodic! Miniseries so you can watch it in like 2 hours! Cool ass Animation! About two brothers encountering said spooky stuff! Big Bad tries to pit brothers against each other! Might haunt you for the rest of your life! Check it out!

The Haunting of Bly Manor

I think about this show every goddamn day of my life. (Also not relevant but Greg Sestero makes a brief cameo in it and I was like hi greg my friend greg!)

Basic Summary: An girl named Dani, while staying in London, decides to take on an Au Pair job for two young children, an older brother named Miles (age 10) and the younger sister Flora (age 8) at the spoooooky and mysteeerious Bly Manor, and she gets far more than she bargained for.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: Okay so supernatural doesn’t actually do this but I know I KNOW why we let ourselves be queerbaited in 2012. Four words for you: CENTRAL! GAY! TRAGIC! ROMANCE! You want some pining? Some tenderness? Some LOVE? Some dealing with internalized homophobia but no, like, actual violent onscreen homophobia? HAVE I GOT THE SHOW FOR YOU. If ur favorite episodes where the ones that make you sob (for me it was kevin’s death on god), I recommend this show. If you wished that supernatural literally ever had consequences or perma deaths or didn’t retcon major plot events like every five goddamn episodes so that there could be some exploration of like grief and trauma through the lens of/ higher stakes of horror, I recommend this show. If you really do stay up at night picturing a supernatural that wasn’t made by dumbass cishettie white men hack writers but was actually allowed to have Dean and Cas be in love over the course of the show so they could have like actual development and not the most homophobic gay reveal of all time, I recommend this show. Hell, if you just want a banger ghost story in general, I recommend this show.

As for what they actually have in common: horror setting/aesthetic without actually being all that scary most of the time. A strong sibling duo, though they’re not nearly as much of the focus of Bly Manor. Found family. Strong themes of grief. Questions of what turns someone into a monster (and done much better) An actual, much better noble sacrifice done out of love. Escalation of stakes until there’s a big final confrontation. Semi-big bad trying to tear this family apart. Found and pre-installed family. Sad orphans.

Watch this show. Vibe with me. Cry with me. Yell at me about Owen Sharma

MINI REC ALERT!

Haunting of Hill House- spiritual predecessor to Haunting of Bly Manor, though they’re not actually the same universe/story. However, it’s made by the same dude and has a shared aesthetic/sensibilities/some of the cast. This is only a mini rec bc I haven’t actually seen it, but I’ve heard good things and that it, while much more heavily leaning into family dynamics, has similar themes of exploring Grief and Trauma through ghooossstttsss.

Community

Okay I know that this may seem like a Wild rec considering community is a school sitcom with basically Zero paranormal elements but just like. Hear me out. And no this isn’t just because I think it’s a realy good show and I want more people to watch it, though that is a factor. If I was just recommending comedies that I think are good and more people should watch regardless of them serving as a replacement for supernatural I would demand you all go watch Galavant and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I’m gonna demand it anyway. Everyone go watch Galavant and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Now back to your original program:

Basic Summary: A group of students at Greendale Community College form a Spanish study group, and things quickly go Off The Fucking Rails in the best way possible.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: All right I’m gonna be real honest this rec is for all of my (correct) bitches who’s favorite episodes of Supernatural were French Mistake, Changing Channels, and/or Mystery Spot. You think if Supernatural would’ve been fucking fantastic if it had been a committed comedy instead of a CW melodrama that occasionally landed some admittedly really fucking funny episodes/concepts, Community (and the movies on this list) will gently take you into its loving arms and give you everything you desire. It’s about the Meta comedy. It’s about the discussion, exploration, and subversion of common tropes within the format. It’s about the grand use of group/ found family dynamics in order to max both the goofs and the heart. It’s about fantastic callbacks. It’s about having one of the few “asshole with a heart of gold” leads I can actually stand because. You know. Growth. It’s about the INCREDIBLE genre and pop culture parody. Which genre do they parody, you ask. All of them. They parody all the genres. The glee parody episode is a fucking masterpiece of television. If you don’t want to watch a show that features a Halloween party where everyone turns into zombies and the ABBA discography blasts in the background, you can stop reading right now, because I can guarantee you won’t be interested in a damn thing I have to say.

MINI REC ALERT: The X-Files. I’ve also never seen this but a: everything I’ve seen out of context has been fantastically weird and delightful b: it appears that there’s a general consensus that Scully and Mulder are one of the only valid straight couples so it’s probably pretty fun and c: let’s all be honest. Supernatural was already basically an x-files rip off, it had like half of their original writers swiped from the x-files crew, I’m pretty sure if you liked especially the first couple of seasons of supernatural, you’re gonna like the X-files.

Subcategory: TV SHOWS ( A WHOLE TWO OF ‘EM, OR MORE LIKE ONE AND HALF IF YOU WANNA GET TECHNICAL) I’M SPECIFICALLY RECOMMENDING FOR THAT COCAINE HIT OF PURE UNADULTERATED UNCUT 2012 TUMBLR NOSTALGIA

BBC Merlin

Yes, I know the show ended in 2010. Yes, it still provides that 2012 Tumblr nostalgia. 2012 Tumblr is a feeling, not an actual time period.

I love this stupid show. I plan on rewatching it all over the month of January. I harbor a deep amount of fondness for it. It’s why every time I see literally any depiction of Merlin I get just so fucking excited, and why I’ve consumed as many ridiculous Arthurian adaptations as I have (side note: my two favorite other ridiculous Arthurian legend adaptation are Avalon High, a DEEPLY silly DCOM that is required viewing to level up friendship with me, and The Kid Who Would Be King, which is the only movie that I think truly understands the comedic potential of playing a King Arthur Adaptation mostly straight but everyone in it is 12. I’m not sure it intended to be as fucking funny as it was, but again, they’re all middle schoolers. I have never been more jealous of an actor than I was of the 22 year old that got to play a 16 year old dumbass Merlin who was sometimes also Patrick Stewart and did all of his magic with ridiculous hand gestures That should’ve been me that should’ve been me that should’ve been me. Also Sword in the Stone by TH White is pretty good, because Merlin knows germ theory in the fantasy 400’s and he just uses it to be petty mostly. Also listen to High Noon Over Camelot by The Mechanisms. Also Also I tend to prefer family friendly adaptations because they don’t have the uhhh. You know. Incest and sexual violence of the original legend. Love to Not have that shit!) Whether you watched it initially and are due for a rewatch, or you’re intrigued enough by the concept of the show to watch it for the first time, you should join me on this wild wild ride.

Basic Summary: You know who Guinevere, Arthur, and Merlin are, come on. BBC said let’s make em all YOUNG let’s make em SEXY let’s make em FAMILY FRIENDLY and let’s make magic REALLY SEEM LIKE A THINLY VEILED ALLEGORY FOR BEING GAY BUT TO THIS DAY IM NOT SURE IF THAT WAS INTENTIONAL OR NOT BUT IT SURE SEEMS LIKE IT WAS. @ THE BBC MERLIN CREATORS WHAT IS THE TRUTH BECAUSE THERE WAS SOME INTERVI-

Basic Summary but like a bit more helpful: A BABY version of Merlin (and by baby I mean like 20 year old.) is sent from his small town to the big city the Kingdom of Camelot to find his destiny. Staying with the town physician and friend of his mom’s, Gaius, he ends up as both his assistant and personal manservant to Prince Arthur. But in a kingdom where magic is punished with death and the prince seems hell bent on getting himself into situations that are going to kill him, the young sorcerer has his more than his share of work cut out for him.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: Primo supremo queerbaiting. Like, yeah, okay, it’s queerbaiting, you know it’s queerbaiting, but you watch some of the scenes and ur like okay. I know why I let this bait me. Obviously with a modern show, I would expect more, I would expect better, I would raise my standards, but I gotta admit. Some of these scenes are fuckin compelling as hell, and the subtext is like barely sub. Monster of the week shenanigans. Some awful CGI creatures but like a charming awful. Like the kind of awful that tells you their very limited budget was more focused on cool swords than realistic creatures. Episodic stories build into a more overarching plot, with things getting darker in season 4/5. Shitty father that end up eating shit and while the son of said father is rightfully conflicted and upset over the death it’s cathartic and victorious as all hell for the audience. Multiple hot evil women, and I love hot evil women. There’s also nice hot women, which is a bonus. These women don’t all immediately stupidly die, so that’s a nice change. Also like a LOT of sarcastic humor and shenanigans if u like Sass Merlin is there for u personally name a more iconic line than “Oh I’m sorry, how long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?” AND THAT’S IN THE FIRST FUCKIN EPISODE brilliant amazing fantastic show stopping. Also you know those like dumb hijink episodes where like Dean was possessed by the spirit of a dog or some shit? You bet your bottom fuckin dollar BBC Merlin has those kinds of storylines. Also I know some people go to spn bc it had that HUGE fanbase and like BBC Merlin’s fanbase is still SURPRISINGLY poppin even though it’s been a decade since there was new content so like. Have fun!

Doctor Who but Specifically the RTD Era

Look I’m not here to say that the first four seasons of reboot doctor who are the only good doctor who or inherently better than all the rest (though the RTD era is my favorite personally) BUT when ur seekin that sweet sweet superwholock frenzy nostalgia, this is the ‘who’ that is being referred to. Also like. Stan 9. We should all collectively stan the ninth doctor. Chris Eccleston, the Objectively Best Famous Chris, deserved better.

Basic Summary: An immortal alien that goes by “The Doctor” travels across time and space with a variety of different companions, often to try and save the day or fix a (sometimes self created) mess. It’s distilled campy sci-fi with a family friendly tone that has made me cry on several occasions.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: Monster of the week that, you guessed it, builds into bigger overarching plot style narrative. Fighting off the apocalypse, but like every couple of weeks because worlds are in danger a LOT. A semi-tragic romance that made people go absolutely buck fuckin wild bc pining n shit. Wamen, but they aren’t fridged. (actually for real though none of the main women die and I just think that’s really fun and flirty even though I could go on a COMPLETELY SEPARATE rant about the injustice of one of the character’s ending YES season 4 is my favorite season and one of my favorite pieces of media ever and I am currently actively recommending it to you YES im still fucking pissed over how it ended YES we exist) Specifically, a Wonderful and Very Excellent woman named Donna who goes on a spa trip that doesn’t end up going very well. That seems like a highly specific example, and it is, but it did happen in both shows. (Also, to anyone that continued watching SPN after like idk season 9 what happened to Donna? I always liked her and I know she became a recurring character so like DM whatever probably injustice was the end of her story line pls and thank you) I’m also extra specifically recommending for Supernatural Fans and also The World At Large: Season Four of Reboot Who. I rewatched it last year and it still goes so fucking hard. Donna Noble is the best character in existence. In regards to the appeal for SPN, personally I think the best part of SPN was when people who are soulmates went on adventures and tried to save the day and it was a good mix of banter and sincerity AND GUESS WHAT’S BASICALLY THE ENTIRETY OF SEASON 4 OF DOCTOR WHO. It’s so good y’all I wish Everything was about soulmates going on adventures and trying to save the day.

OKAY TV SHOWS DONE TIME FOR M O V I E S which I don’t have nearly as many recs for but uhh here goes

What We Do In The Shadows/ Shaun of the Dead

I’m lumping these two together bc my reasons for recommending them are largely the same, and I would call them tonally similar enough that if you like one you’ll probably like the other

Basic Summary (Shaun of The Dead): Uh-oh! London’s had a break out of some of that good ol’ zombieism. Shaun and friends decide to hunker down in a local bar, but they have to get there first. Will they survive? Will they fuck up some zom zoms? Who’s to say?

Basic Summary (What We Do In The Shadows): Some vampire roommates dick around. I think there’s technically, like, a plot, but it’s really just about some vampires Doin Their Thing. Vibin.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: This is kind of similar to the Community recommendation, in that supernatural had the opportunity to be one of those things that was both a parody of a genre but also just a really good example of the genre. WWDITS and SotD are both those things for vampire and zombly movies, respectively. Have the aesthetic and some of the themes of a horror but is not actually all that scary. Horror Comedy is a god tier genre and I don’t know why it’s not more widespread. Fun monsters/cast of characters in general, so at least one person in it is probably going to make you go “oh gender” ya know? With SotD you have the fantasy power trip that comes with like any piece of media that involves hunting monsters. With WWDITS I go “yep that’s how bisexuals dress” and I Will Not Clarify which character I’m talking about.

MINI REC ALERT: All of Taika Watiti’s filmography. Thor:Ragnarok is one of like 3 marvel movies that I consider genuinely fucking fantastic completely independent of the MCU and my own tendency to be like “hurr bdurr I love. Superheros”. For the one that is most tonally like Supernatural But Significantly Better and Written By Someone Competent I think I would say try out Hunt For The Wilderpeople. It’s got a reluctant curmudgeonly father figure and I KNOW some of you motherfuckers were so invested in spn when you were like 16 bc you had daddy issues. This is a callout post for my friend [REDACTED], who I should text to watch Hunt for the Wilderpeople, actually.

MINI REC ALERT X2!!!: Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I’ve never seen it but it has both Winona Ryder AND Keanu Reaves so like. Goth bi rights.

Happy Death Day (and Happy Death Day 2 U)

happy death day was one of those movies that I saw the trailer, went “eh”, heard other people say it was great, watched, and went holy fuck this slaps. Not nearly as much of a slasher film as the trailers implied if im remembering the trailer correctly

Basic Summary: Our main character Tree keeps waking up on the day she was murdered. The day resets every time that she dies. That’s right, it’s a time loop storey babey!!!!!!!!!!!

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: If you were anything like me you were foolishly lulled into supernatural for way longer than you should’ve been on the promise that the characters would idk like grow and change and become better and learn lessons and some of that would be through the power of receiving love and kindness. You know. Like how good writers would do it especially if their main characters are kind of dicks that really should make some changes. Well, Happy Death Day fucking delivers on that promise in SPADES. It’s about growth! It’s about change! It’s about making the active decision to become a better person and putting effort into doing so! There’s heavy themes of like grief and trauma and acknowledging them and facing them head on in order to move on and the negative consequences of refusing to do so and just trying avoid it until it goes away. There’s a romance that makes my dumb little self do the pleading face emoji. Tree is also one of the only good asshole with a heart of gold characters. I also think media is improved by having at least one character that is a Good Good Boy (note: Good Good Boy character does not have to be a man.) and Happy Death Day has Carter. Oh on that note: Tree Voice: I’ve only had character for (the same repeating over and over) a day but if anything happens to him I’ll kill everyone here and then myself. Also the movie is funny so like hell yeah.

that’s all I got for relevant movies right now

BOOK RECS

jk i’m illiterate. Everyone should feel free to go ahead and add their own suggestions for this section The best I can do is uhhhh I think y’all would probably like Mira Grant’s novels, particularly the Newsflesh stories, bc sibling dynamics. Also the book The Haunting of Hill House is really good. Ballad of Black Tom slaps? There’s of course the Good Omens novel that the show was based on. I’m about to recommend some podcasts after this section which will include to Welcome to Nightvale because of course it will and the tie in novels for that slap, especially It Devours!, and I’m pretty sure they work as stories even if you know nothing about the podcast. Also also I think you should read “The Long Way to A Small, Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers It’s not thematically similar to supernatural at all but it’s one of my all time favorite sci fi novels and only like four people have read it which is a goddamn TRAVESTY.

Anyway yeah that’s it that’s all there is. Onto the medium that is like books but I can fold laundry or cook while consuming their narratives.

PODCAST RECS

Okay so this is getting uhhh wicked long so I’m gonna limit myself to only three full blown recs and a

mini rec

Alice Isn’t Dead

Fuck me running this show is so good. Literally hands down my all time favorite (and scariest!) horror podcast. Mamma mia, that’s a good fuckin story. The Book version is also good and has fewer Weird events but some further character development so I recommend them both.

Basic Summary: After her wife Alice disappears mysteriously, Keisha takes up a job as a long haul trucker, traveling all across America in order to find her, but ends up finding so much. Pursued by a deadly creature she calls The Thistle Man, the stakes of her journey are raised.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: okay so I have a lost of bullet points of things that appealed to me specifically about supernatural and how no other shows covers all of them which sucks bc it means I basically Yearn for a show that’s supernatural but good. Alice isn’t Dead, however, hits the most of these bullet points AND is so fucking good. It has monster hunting. It has stopping a cataclysmic event BUT also discussion of the cyclical nature of events such as these and how the fight never truly ends but you can make some fucking progress nonetheless. It has a central gay romance that’s actually a central gay romance. It’s the ONLY show on this list that really hits that the weird and dark underside of americana vibe but specifically the americana of not like suburbs and shit but that eerie haunted feeling you get when you’re hours into a late night drive on open roads with no civilization around and an expansive sky and it just Seems like something should be watching you. Have you ever been out for a walk at midnight and encountered a deer and you looked into each other’s eyes and it felt like it was telling you a message that you couldn’t possibly hope to parse? Have you ever felt an incredible sense of deja vu eating in a restaurant you couldn’t have possibly been in before, because you’ve been to a thousand diners a thousand times just like one, and there’s an incredibly sense of homogeneity even though you’re 2000 miles away from anyone and anything that could possibly know you? Have you ever traveled to an area that seems to be stuck in a bubble of time, the only thing that shows any evidence of having aged past 2006 being yourself, and you wonder how your cell phone even works around here? THAT’S the spooky americana I’m fuckin talking about! Messed up road trips! Too much goddamn space! America is scary because it’s big and Filled With Things but also Not Enough Things! Fuck yeah!!!!! That time bubble fuckin EXISTS in Wyoming the most recent song on the radio I heard was fuckin Hey Soul Sister!

Also has a thing where like are there even good guys and bad guys in a conflict or is it all just one umbrella nightmare that you’re trying to stand against in anyway possible (u kno..like how the overarching structures of both heaven and hell were kinda fucked in spn? No spoilers but similar shit be happenin in Alice Isn’t Dead). Exploration of what makes someone into a monster, like how do you go down that path? Also this is the only show on this whole damn list that southern gothic music really suits it so points for that.

The Magnus Archives

You know I had to do it to ‘em.

Basic Summary: Jonathan Sims has just become the Head Archivist at the Magnus Institute, a “research” “facility” that looks into paranormal/esoteric/unexplained phenomena.

John Mulaney Voice, Again: Nobody knows what the archivist is going to do next, least of all the archivist. He’s never been in an archives before, he’s just as confused as you are.

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: Oh fuck this document is over 5k long I said I wasn’t gonna do this hhhhh so lipton lightning round: Slowburn Gay Romance but Actually Canon, Monster Hunting but Hey What Even Is A Monster Anyway, Acts Somewhat like a Loosely Connected Horror Anthology until it DOESNT, Little Things Build to Bigger Narrative, Characters Be Goin Through It (On God These People Need Therapy), Trying to Prevent/Fix The Apocalypse (X2!!!), Smug Asshole Big Bad, Horror as a Metaphor For Various Shit, Basically if you thought that the Men of Letter concept slapped and you think it should’ve been the whole damn show including being Deeply British you would probably really fuckin like TMA. Also if ur like the ideal piece of media is a horror tragedy but also like it’s a wacky sitcom but also also fuck cops. U will like tma.

Welcome to Nightvale

IF ANY 2012 TUMBLR FANDOM DESERVES TO MAKE A MASSIVE COMEBACK AND BE EVERYWHERE AGAIN AND ABSOLUTELY FLOOD MY DASH IT’S WELCOME TO NIGHTVALE WHY DID WE ABANDON THE SHOW THAT TREATED US THE MOST KINDLY DID YOU KNOW THAT EPISODES 108-110 ARE THE BEST FUCKING BUILT UP NARRATIVE REVEAL THAT I HAVE WITNESSED IN MY LIFE DID YOU KNOW THAT IT CONTINUED TO BE REALLY FUCKING GOOD AFTER MOST PEOPLE STOPPED LISTENING DID YOU KNOW CECIL AND CARLOS ARE MARRIED AND THEY HAVE A DOG AND A TODDLER NOW BECAUSE OF ALL THE GAY PODCAST PROTAGONISTS CECIL GERSHWIN PALMER LOVE OF MY LIFE ELDRITCHIAN CHEERLEADER AND CERTIFIED BIMBO KEEPS FUCKIN WINNIN BABY. DID YOU KNOW THAT CECIL THINKS PEANUT BUTTER IS A ROCK.

Basic Summary: Welcome to the sleepy desert town of Ņ̶̏ight V̶͚̰̮͗̔̊̊ale! Community radio how host Cé̵̟͚͕̗̞̙͂͑̽̄́c̵̤̼̞͈̪͓̍̽̋̚̕͜il Pǎ̵̧̨̢͚̻̈̂̄̇͐̇̊̀̆ͅl̶͚͎͕͉͖̬͓͑́̐̒̍̿̈́͢͜͝ͅm̸̧͙̟̖̠̳̬͋́͋́͌̚̚ͅȩ̙̖͎̖͂́̒͐͜͞r̢̢̛̰̻̮̺̩͙̼̈́͋̀͘ is here to k̠̠̰̦͙̯̥̎̄̆͌̎̀̿̔̌̚ê̷̢̬̥̞̩̯̘͒̽̈̓͐̂̔̍e̶̡̝̗̺̫̪̜͆̓̿̈͌͌̆͒͞ͅp̵̹̗̬̼̠̬͙̏͐͐̉̅͊͊́͟͞ͅͅ ỷ̛͙̞̦̦͖̑̉̌̎͞͡͡͝ͅo̧̧̥͎̻̥̲͇͋́́̔̈͌͞ǔ̸̬̯̫͇̦̮͕̤̲̯̽̔̀̔͆͋̈́͘̚ up to date all the local happenings, including w̸̢̢̢̧̡̡͍͖̻̳̹̼̼̰̬̭̱͔̲͙͍̰̠̥̺̝͖̺̖̼̮̼̞̳̞̜͉̤̯͇̖̳͖̠̙̺̲̤͇͈͚͓̮̭̱̭̩͚̟̥̬̟̻̝̼̖͚̘͐̆̅̂̃̈́͆͊̉̏͒́̈́̋͗͑̄̉́̐̌́̿̌͛̾̎̊̾̃̈́̉̔̍̐͛̕͘̚͜͜͠͠é̵̢̡̧̨̨̡̧̨̡̛̹̥̥̞̮̯͙͈̻̝͓͖͙̦̰͍̖̜̲̰̞͎͈̭̯̳͕̗͓͈̭̫̼̯̪̞̯̰̲̘̭͎̪̱̗̝̝̞̤̱͉͙̯͎̬͎̙̜̗͉̩̦͕̪̳͇͙̺̙̰̠͚͎̜̠͔̬͎̺̣͕̜̊̓̃̐̂́͂̎̐̾̔̽̀̉́̍̊̂̿̎͂͐̎̐̄̍̔̋̐̃͗̈́͂̀̒̊̎͘͘̕̚̕͜͝͝͝͠ͅͅa̸̡̧̡̡̨̡̨̛̛͙̣̘̳͎͖̥̝̟̱̩̥͙͉̝̲̙̮̩̩̹̱͔͎̥̹̻̜͚̭̬̳͚̤̙̖̯͎̱̫̞̪̻͖̱̞͔̭̻̺͚͚̯̬͓͓̳͇̳̦͓̞͈̮̤̭̣͉̲̞͚̘͗̆̃͌̅̍͊̓̈̇̌̒͊͑̊̏̊͌̈̓̿͗̒̏̒͊͒̏̃̎̒̀̅̾̍̀͘͘͜͝͠ͅt̵̢̡̨̧̧̛̛̛̯̤͓̘̻̤͓̪̰͔̪̝̫͎̻͔͈͎͔͙͕͈̰͓͍̀̏͒̆͋̈́̈́͂̔͋͆͂̅͗̍̆̍̆̔̑͊̏̈͒́̽͊́̿͂́̓͛̽͐͌̌̐̈̇̃̓̆̍̅̃̔̚̕͜͝͝͝ͅͅh̸̨̨̡̢̢̡̢̧̡̧̢̡̨̡̭̜̬̬̙͕̗̙̻̯̠̘͙̻̥͉͚̼̗͚͇͉̰͍̥͉̗͎̬̫͖͉͔̼̮̯̞̫̬̟̻͉̖̙̥̫͖̬͚̟̜̭͇͎̭̘̝̲̤͕͎̰̭̗̯̮̤̙̙̯͍̞̭͚͔͎̞̹̲̟͉̩̭̖̱̠͍̺͈̟̩̋̆̈́͆̍̆̄̏͜ͅͅȇ̸̢̢̨̨̧̛̜͍̺͎̬̪͙̻̝̣͓͈̺̩̳̟̲̠̣͈͎͎͈͉̙̪͖̳̺͇̹̊̍͊͑̿͊̌͛̿̓͊̾̀͂͛̉͆̾̽͆̈̏͛̊͛̍̈́̇͋̔͂̑͐̂̿͊̽͑͘̚͘͝͝͠͝ͅͅŕ̵̨̡̨̨̢̧̡̧̨̘̟͙̦̲̲̪̦̙̼̠̳͚̞̦̞͖͚͇̳͖̲̭͕̜̫̳̖̙͖͉͎̘̘̤̠͈̬͕̝̻͚̥͍͕̠̥͙̙̪̖̯͍̘̘̲̣̹̜̪̲̭̟̮̫̖̤̰͔̩̩͉̲͚̟̝̦̬̪̘̬̮̱͔̻̦̼̃̐̂͋̐̅̋͒̉͛́̅̈́̒̒͆̑̆͊̒͒̀̍̈́̍͌̍̏̔͋͌̒̍̌͛̓̈̂̐̕͘͘͜͜͝͝͝ͅͅͅ ̶̢̡̨̛̠͇̹̯͕͍̻̟̼̼̗̩̱̗̙̱̥̜̬̫̜͎͉̺̣͓̟̯̱͖̣̞̠̝̥͍̲̳̙̠͔̹̘̲̲̻̖̈́̊͋͜͜ą̵̡̧̟͕̬̳̜͈͈̳̝̜̣̬͔͈͈͎͉͍̯̟̞̺͎̝͇̰̥͖̬̯͙̤̬̼̲̦̯̭͓̠̺̳̱̰̮̎͋͆̈́͌͆̎̉̓̇̐͋͋́̃̉̈̄̏̓̉̿̅̒̉̒̉͂͛̄̀̇̒͊͛́͊̎́͆̌̆́̌͂̈́̽̋͛͗̑̊̀́̍͊̌͆͊͐͆̅̒̊̉̾̄͛̑̕͘͘͘͘͝͝͝͝͠͠͝n̸̡̛̛̛̛̛̙͎̬̦̠̼͓͈̝̾̍͑͛̅̒̾́̌̍͛̇̋̇̓̏͛̔͛̈́͆̿̌͐̿͊̿́͒̍̃̀̈͐̐̆͐̉̒̂̉̀̅̇̾͋̍͒̋̈̌̿͒͐̍́͗̀̌̌̚̕̕̕͘̚͘͘̚͜͠͝͝͝d̴̡̢̢̛̛̛̺̠̳̬͎̞̲̣̲̱̳̪̹͉̝̠̱̗̙̫̠̹̼̙̝͉̲̟̮̙̙̮̻̹͈̦̙̞͚̜̙̖̞͓̙̭͉̃̽̌̅̔̾̈́̒̽͑́̒͋̓̈́͆͋̽̒̃̽̋̐͌͂̍͑́̽̋̍͗̋͗͂̅̽̈̈̾͐̄̃̕̕͜͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅ ̵̡̡̢̛̛̗͚͍̺͇̲̳̯͓̰͍̙̮̙̜̟̞̣̼͕̝͔͙̺̫͈͈̠̻̘̱͍̦̭͔͈̤̺̗̮͕̦̞̘͍̯̻̝͓̤̳̫͔̩͉̬̈́͋̈́̐͒́̔́́̿̓̆͐̎͆̇͒̄̈̿̓̑̾̏̔̿͊̌͆͒̒͊̓̅̓́̔̅̀̀̀̃̿̂̑͂͆̅̎̾̏̓̂̈́͛͌̇̾͌͐̈̂̆͐̅̓̍̓̃̆͗̃͛̏̒̌̀̅͊́̽̐̆̿́̌͘͘̚̕͘̕̕͜͜͜͠͝͠͝͠t̷̢̥͓̄͗̾̄̅̚͜r̵̨̡̨̧̧̢̛̛̛̛̛͍͙͚̥̱̞̜̦̜̼̺͉̠̬͎̰̻̜̼̫̤͓͖͖̤͇̞̥̖̈́͊̆̓͊̑̑̋̒̈́̔̆͆́̐͛͑͊͋̇̈́̓̑̍̏͐͛̽̋̎͑̃̈́͒̇̂̇̌͂̀̍̊̇̓̋̈́̌̏̕͘̚̕̚͝͝͠ǎ̴̡͓͓̯̘̥̱̱͖̦̺͓̘͉͖̞̟̦͈̜̥̰̘̞͈̦̠̼̯̙̭̼͚̟̖̲̠̝̜̐̅͆̏̈́̍́͂̃̾͑̓͋̽̄̾́̾̆̾͒͋̎͂̈́͘̕̕̚͜ͅͅf̷̢̡̡̧̢̨̡̧̢̢̧̡̧̫͖̖͇̲̫̮͕͉͓̩̪̳̹̩͎̖̟̤̤̲̟̪̫̻̻̖̟̦͉̼͎͖̭͍͖͎̖̳̳͙̜͉̝̘̺̖͚̙͉͕͙̯͖̞͚̮̲̻͉͙̺̭͓͎̤͙̦̦̺̯͕̜̰͍̳̙̦͉̪̥́͋̓̅̀͋͐̀̄̊̆̉̒̐͒̀̏̈̇̊̉̆̐̏̾̀̀̓͛͆̍̾͗͌̀̄̔͒̀̍̈́͆̔̒̑̏̍̏͆́̾̐̂͋̂̔̂́̓̓̌͌̉͛́̒̐̽̏́̑͊́̌̆̂̑͋̇̈́͌̑̿̅͗̚̕͘̕̚͜͠͝͝͠͠f̴̨̨̛̹͌̂̓͌͛̀͑̾̓̍͗̽͆̉̊͗̇́̍͌̊͐̔̈́̊̇͆̄̃̑̕̕͘͘͘͠͝͝͝͠i̴̧̡̢̢̧̢̨̨̧̧̧̛̛͎̗̳̦̘̙͓̦̙͔̜̼̘͇͇̺̭͉̠̩̟̤̥̘͙̤̩͔̪̱̻͈̪̼̼̞̠͎̟̹͕̻̭̤̪̲͕̟̺̻̻͖͕͚̣͇̖̰̝̩͈̤͕͇͕̝͙̙̪͔̗̫͇͎̙̲̲͖̗̘͉̲̣̤͎̔̐̆͒̄̈́̀̎̃̃̅͆̌̈́̽̈́̅̈́̑̄̇͒͐̀̐̀̒̍̀̓͌͗̓̽́͗̓̎͂͛̅̑̔̀͛̈́̽̾̃̊͊͆̄̍͑̍̆̌̾͗̄̊̽̉̅̆̀̎̀͑̿̎̋̄̆̃͐̾̏͛͒̍̋̅͘̕̚̕̕͜͜͝͝͝͝͠ͅͅc̷̛̛͚̝̻̣̞̓́̃́̀̃̓͗͌̂͛́̒̊͑̓͆̇̈́͑̏̆̀͌̑͂͂̄͌̉̔̋́̎͒̿͗͒͛̇͛̿̎̍̕̕̕͝͝͝͝͝ ̴̢̧̢̡̨̢̡̨̡̢̢̛̺̘̹̯̤̩̘̯͔̞̟̬̠̣̟̻̥̜̤͔̥͕̠̥̞͎̗̩̱̮͉͔͎̲̯̱̙̜̥̳̮͔̦̣͖͔̜͉̗̪̳̹̦̤͇̣̙͕̯̫̖̝̼̹͍̠͎͓̗͎̦͓̲̯̱̠̰͇̮̹͔̝͉͙̹̜̹͈̹̥͖̣̳̲͖̓́͌̈́̈́̀͌̄͂̌̾́̍̔̊̓̿͋͂͋̈́̋́́̒̓̀̒̃͂̀͑̐͛̆̆͒̈́̅̿͊͌̍͗̌̌͆̂͌́̉̏̒̓͊̾̒̓̋̽͐̏̾͘̕͜͝͠͝ͅͅr̸̨̢̛̪̞̬͓͔̥̤̣͔̭̥̙͉̦̗̠̳̩͙̂̈́͑͑̿̋̓̀͋͆̋̕͝͝ë̴̢̡̨̬͈͉̖̞͔͎͓͖̼̘̬͕̰͈̥͈̝̩͎͉͉̫̜͚͕̤͔̟̯͓͎̟͙̜̭̩̗̮͎̗̤͇̝̩͎̜̺̯͕͇̝͎̯͙̖͙̮̗̮̘́̑͑͛̂̅̄̌̽̓̒̾̿͆̏̏͐͛̾̂̃͑͆̅̄̿͋̅͂̈́̽͋͒̎͐̒̓͆̌̉͑͊́̀̈̾͛̋͑̋̎̈̀̽̀͊̏͘͝͝͝͝͠͝ͅp̴̧̧̡̢̢̢̛̛̛͚̟͓̖̭̪̻̪̲̬̥̙̥̰̼̹͎͕̪̞̮̺̰̬̘̫̤͉̦͙̮̖̙̹̻͔̖̮̲̞̣̻̜̠͇̬͚̱̦̼̲̮̀̂͌̍̈̒̍̋̌̏͐̓͛̉̂̈̀͑̈́͊͗͋͗́̂̎̎̃͆͒̅̑̇́̈͐̾̀̔̒̉͑͒̅̓̈́̋͋̀̍̄̿̌̀̉͆̇̔̈́͗̋̄̓̇͗̎̉̆͊̒͗̚̕͘͘̕̕̚͜͜͝͝͠͠͠͠͠ͅͅͅơ̶̢̡̧̨̡̛̛͔̦̼̰̠̯̰̟̲̣̜͙̲͙̪̱̱͕̺̪͈͉̺̻̙̥̲̩̲̩͔̠͚̩͓̞̠̯̟̫̣̗̦̰͉͚͙̺͎̼͖̥̙͈̯̲̝̞͎̻͕̮͔̰̖͔̭͙̩̼͔̫̹̘͓͔̜̘͍̍̅̄͋͑̋̍̊̉̄̈̽̈͐̀͌͐̆͊͂̐̋̃̎͆͛̐̀̂̿̈́͂́̈̌͐̇̀̒͋͑͐́͌̐̇̊͆̀͂͋̏́͋͆̏͗͂͑̂̓̽͘͘̚̕̕̕̕̚͘͜͜͠͝͝ͅͅͅr̴̨̨̨̧̨̛̘͕͈͔͙̠̬̯̩̗̰̗̬̦͈̗̝̣͓͓̟͕͙͈̠̘̻͓̭̝̘̦̦͓̭̘͙̻̙̼̩̰̝͈̱̝̱̬͉͙̣̖̮̲͈̙̱̩̣͕̦̰̮͔͈͓̙̮͍̳̟̠̞͎̱̣̰͕̩̝̲̝͐́́̍̈͐͋̐̑̌͋̓̈́̈͗̿̈̈́͗̑̚͜͜͜͜͜͝ͅͅţ̴̢̨̧͇͉͎̣̬̣̝̗̬̹͇̮̞̈́̐̌̇̈́̌͊̐̅̂̌̂͒͌́̈͌̂̊͗̍̿͑͋̎̓͂̀̎̎͒̾̏̒͌̃̄͋̌̾̍̈́̐̏͑̊̍͑͆̉̓́̆̌̾̓͊̊̈̑͘̚̕͘͘̕͝͝͝͝͝s̴̢̢̡̛̬̹͚̻͉̦̦̣̦̠̜͕̤̳͓͙̟̬͕̘̦̿͗̉̏̒͆̓̄͊͌͛͂͑̒̃͛͘͜͝͝!

Shared elements with supernatural that you might Vibe with: Honestly, probably bc Nightvale and Alice are by the Same Dudes, a lot of these points are the same as Alice Isn’t Dead, but it’s less scawy and more funney. Also hits the “horror, but make it kind of a sitcom” vibes. Doesn’t have the same road trip vibes, but DOES capture the exact weirdness of South Western USA, so I’m still giving it “fucked up americana” credit. If you’ve never been to New Mexico ur like this is an exaggeration clearly no desert town is subject to like ACTUAL cosmic horror and unexplainable sights but I’m telling you New Mexico is just Like That. (I highly recommend visiting the land of enchantment if you ever get the oppurtunity it is a deeply odd and wonderfully unsettling experience.) Look man it’s gay it’s a horror comedy cecil has a wonderfully soothing voice and it hates capitalism so fucking much like oh my god so much what more could you want.

MINI REC ALERT: Wolf 359! I have nothing deep to say about this I just like it and my gut tells me that y’all would enjoy it too I know there isnt much for physical descriptions in the show but I know in my heart that the main character is so so pretty and so so stupid. I KNOW yall like some himbos that experience character growth.

Okay since It’s my party and I’ll speak if I want to rapid fire list of podcasts I just like and want more people to listen to even though I’m behind on like all of them shhhhh: The Penumbra Podcast, BomBARDed, Dungeons and Daddies, Stellar Firma, Wonderful!

SONG RECS

okay these aren’t like replacement recs or anything they’re just really good and I almost certainly would have put them on some sort of supernatural playlist in 2013 but I don’t, like, have a good playlist for them now so I’m subjecting y’all to them also they all have the youtube link for ease of access

Woah There Kimmy- Felix Hagan & the Family

Devil’s Backbone- The Civil Wars

Blood On My Name- The Brothers Bright

Awake O Sleeper- The Brothers Bright

The Bottom of the River- Delta Rae

Old Number 7- The Devil Makes Three

The Bullet- The Devil Makes Three

In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company- The Dead South

Bartholomew- The Silent Comedy

Pomegranate Seeds- Julian Moon

Curses- The Crane Wives

Tongues & Teeth -The Crane Wives

OKAY THAT’S IT! THAT’S ALL FOLKS! FUCK!

#long post #if you didn't want this blame of-mice-and-mentality for enabling me posting #supernatural

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romioneficfest · 4 years

Text

Tell Me I’m Pretty

Title: Tell Me I’m Pretty

Prompt: blanket

Tumblr name:

Rating: T

Brief summary:

Tags: mentions of insecurity

It had all been Luna’s idea, and like most of them, it started out as something kooky, but quickly became something wonderful.

And that’s how Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna came to be spending the night in a makeshift camp on the roof of the Burrow.

They’d brought up a stock of butterbeers and just about every sweet they could raid from the pantry. They’d sat around in the sun, basking in the summerlight, chatting and laughing; they’d organized a small Exploding Snap tournament, which had come down to a riveting finale between Ginny and Ron (Ron’s charred eyelashes were a sure clue of who’d taken the victory); they’d brought up the radio, tuned it to some Weird Sisters, and had a proper little dance party, stomping on the roof until Molly stormed up the stairs and asked them to please quit it, because they’d woken up the ghoul.

“He deserves it,” had grumbled Ron under his breath, flushed red from all the dancing. “Bugger kept my pajamas.”

It had been a splendid day: for the first time in years, they’d experienced the liberty of being carefree, of being happy, of being young. Silence now seemed not unnerving, like something was preparing to leap out of it, but rather peaceful. As the day had wound down, so had they: they’d watched the sunset from the roof, arms around each other’s shoulders. When the sky had darkened, they’d scattered— and that’s where they are now.

Luna and Neville are in the center, where she’s excitedly explaining the properties of the dirigible plum she’s somehow pulled out of her boot (Neville, like any good Herbology enthusiast, is listening intently). Harry and Ginny have decided to make up for lost time with snogging, and they’d be invisible were it not for the giggles that come every so often from behind the chimney. Hermione is poring over a book, her wand alight. And Ron? He’s sitting near the ledge, still where they all watched the sunset an hour earlier, thinking warmly about how lucky he is to be here.

The Battle of Hogwarts was scarcely a month ago, but everything has changed— so much for the better. It feels strange not to worry, not to have fear throbbing in the back of your mind at all times. But it’s the good kind of strange— ‘like Luna’, he thinks with a fond smirk as her voice drifts over to him, enlightening Neville on the benefits of brewing dirigible plums in streamwater during waxing-moon nights.

He’s pulled from his thoughts by the rustle of a blanket draping over his shoulders, as Hermione sits down on his right.

“I thought you’d be reading?”

“Reading by wandlight strains your eyes,” she shrugs, and tucks the blanket more closely around herself. She’s so close to him, he could reach out and grab her hand if he wanted to. He wants to. He just doesn’t know if he’s brave enough to do it.

They sit in a comfortable silence —though laden with things they both are dying to say—, every so often adjusting the blanket as an excuse to inch closer, and soon their shoulders are pressed together. Now, if she could only tilt her head a bit, rest it on his shoulder…

“Ooh, the sky’s so clear tonight, we should be able to pick out some constellations!” Just like that, it shatters: Hermione scrambles to get a better look of the night sky, but Ron isn’t bothered; he can’t help smiling at the characteristic schoolgirl excitement he’s learned to love. “Come on, let’s get on our backs, you can see the stars better that way.”

And that’s how he ends up laying on his back next to Hermione Granger, pressed together under the same blanket, as she points up to the night sky,.

“That’s Orion, there, the one that looks like an hourglass… That’s Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor— you know what the Americans call these? 'Big Dipper’ and 'Little Dipper’, leave it to them to take the grandeur out of stars…”

Ron’s only half-listening: he’s propping up his head with his hand, staring at her with a soft, loving look. Sure, he’s not getting a word she’s saying, but he’s seeing her go off excitedly about things she loves.

“…anyway, the stars look seriously beautiful with a sky this clear, I’d do this way more often if I lived out in the country like this, Ron,” she continues, and his heart leaps slightly. “It’s strange, isn’t it, how beautiful they are? They look almost like freckles…”

Ron’s heart skips a beat: freckles? He has freckles. Pretty distinctive part of him, actually. Does she mean what he thinks —what he hopes— she means? His heart is leaping, and when he turns to look at her, he’s surprised to see that she’s giving him a smile unlike one she’s ever given him before— one that tells him that’s exactly what she means. “You look really handsome tonight, Ron.”

She’s said it, she’s said what he most ardently wishes for— so why does his chest feel like it’s imploding? Why is his head buzzing? Why is his throat tightening? The smile wipes off his face and he puts down his elbow, laying his head down fully now.

Hermione’s heart sinks at his reaction; flustered, she begins sputtering: “Oh no, Ron, I’m sorry, what did I say wrong?”

Ron tries to gulp, but the knot in his throat has expanded to bind his chest, and he scrunches his eyes closed as it all rushes back. The locket said it: he’s least loved, least preferred, always second— Hermione could never want him. He’s told Harry he knows it isn’t true, but years of feeling inadequate can’t let go that easily, and so, deep down, a part of him holds on to what the locket told him. The locket saw into the deepest part of him: it knew he feels ugly, insufficient, unimportant. How is he supposed to believe Hermione saying he’s handsome?

She seems to sense this, and she also lays down fully, facing him, tugging the blanket farther up around them. She takes a hand up to his cheek delicately: “Do you still hear it?”

Ron raises his own hand to clasp Hermione’s, hold it close against his cheek, hoping she keeps it there, and he feels a hot tear run down his face. He nods, ever so slightly. “And do you believe it?” Another tear, another nod, and his grip around her hand tightens. The silence grows almost unbearable, and then Hermione breaks it tenderly: “Oh, Ron,” she says softly, wiping at the tear tracks with her thumb, “oh sweetheart, oh Ron…”

“It’s moronic, you know,” he says, laughing bitterly. “I spend years wishing you’d say something like that, and then when you finally do, I shrivel in like an idiot and start crying—”

“You’re not an idiot,” says Hermione with stern tenderness, and he feels her other hand wriggle under the blanket to grasp his. “It’s okay to feel like this, it’s okay to have insecurities, but I wish you’d believe me.” He says nothing. She continues. “The locket was horrible, Ron, it was a part of Voldemort’s soul, for Merlin’s sake. Obviously, he was looking to upset you, to make you feel like this, but that’s all the more reason why that’s not true—”

“Hermione,” he interrupts, and she falls quiet. She’s right, but he doesn’t feel like being lectured. There’s only one thing he wants, and he lets silence settle before he ventures to ask for it, his soft voice cracking: “Hermione, tell me I’m pretty.”

She draws him closer, her hand never leaving his cheek, and fits her lips to his, pressing softly and lovingly. The kisses get hungrier: her hands fly to his hair while his clasp around her back, rooting her fingers in his red locks to pull him closer to her, to kiss him more deeply. She pulls away briefly and presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, then begins kissing a line from there to his neck, where she kisses him softly, muttering, “Ron— you're— so— pretty” in between kisses. He just holds her tighter, tears still streaming down his cheeks, hoping the kisses never end.

They don’t: Hermione comes back up and their mouths meet again, moving in time as she keeps whispering “pretty” every time she comes up for air. The kisses start waning as they get sleepier, but their arms just tighten their hold around each other. Hermione presses one last kiss to his neck, mumbles “pretty” drowsily, and falls asleep in his arms, not letting go. Ron comes to realize that he’s tangled in an embrace with Hermione, his Hermione, sharing a blanket on a roof under the starlight, and that she’s told him he’s pretty, that she’s made it clear she means it and she’s staying— and, finally, he relaxes and allows himself to be what he never thought he would: purely, unconditionally loved.

#Romione FicFest 2020 #Fic Post #Romione #Ron Weasley #Hermione Granger #Submission #Queue Up for the Dragon #Rated T #Ace Safe

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doof-doofblog · 3 years

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"I've Got Everything Under Control!"

Friday 8th December 2021

Hello again everyone! Hope you're having a good weekend so far! Before we jump into the review of last nights episode, I have a little bit of a spoiler for you! It's been announced that there's going to be some big changed ahead for the Panesar family! What the entails however, remains to be seen! Part of me telling me that maybe we'll get a new member of the family, like the Father? We've heard a lot about Ash, Vinny and Kheerat's Father being in prison - but for what? Is he really a dangerous man, which is why the Panesar family behave the way they do? Who knows? What do you think the changes could be? Will we see a new family member or will the family go down a really dark road? Either way I'm looking forward to seeing it all unfold!

Firstly, let's talk about Sharon, Ian and their party to celebrate their marriage! It is just me or does anyone else actually feel sorry for Sharon? She's having to put on this absolute charade of actually being in love with Ian! Obviously she is doing this to get justice for her son, but something tells me she won't really be able to carry on for much longer. She is hating every single moment of being in Ian's presence, even more so being his wife! You can see the awkwardness in her face as when everyone is gathered in the pub to celebrate with the couple and she's stood behind the bar with Ian and he makes a romantic announcement and gesture of buying her a ring and placing it on her finger. She looks incredibly awkward and a little nervous also, but even having to kiss him must be awful for her, especially when she doesn't love him. When Ian says the words "I love you, Mrs Beale!" you can tell she can't even say the words back to him, she simply can't. Even if she is trying to play him, she refuses to say it! Even though I feel for Sharon, she is clearly a woman on a mission and she won't rest until her mission is complete, as later as she approaches Phil, he warns her that she needs to tread carefully if she's still planning on poisoning Ian. He's insisting that they wait a few more days until they start giving him more pills, however when Sharon reveals that she got pills from Jean, without her knowledge, Phil is stunned and warns her that she can't be stealing pills from other people and there could be a risk of getting the police involved. Regardless of his warning, Sharon makes it perfectly clear that she wants to job done as soon as possible, and if he refuses to help her, she'll do it herself!

The second thing I want to mention is Sonia. After a visibly emotional couple of days, she seems to have taken Ash's advice and come to the decision to take a flight to India and see her daughter, Bex and have a break. I just want to point out that this DOES NOT mean that Natalie Cassidy is leaving the soap for good, she is taking a temporary break and will be back later in the Spring. The only thing that is bugging me really is, we still don't know for sure what was causing Sonia to have her emotional outbreaks? Was it simply due to the fact that, because of her being a nurse and being surrounded by patients suffering and dying from Coronavirus, had it all got too much for her? And I'm still interested in finding out what that piece of jewellery was all about. She did explain it was from a patient she looked after - maybe I'm looking into too much, but I don't know, something tells me there's more to it? Will this break do her some good? How will she be feeling when she returns? All these questions are going through my head, even though I'm pretty sure the answers will remain a mystery. Before she leaves anyhow, she bumps into Martin and she can see he's got his own worries on his mind. With their history, she encourages Martin to open up to her. Before he does, he makes her promise not to mention it to anyone else, she gives him her word and he reveals that Ruby is pregnant. Sonia is clearly surprised by this news, but she can see from her ex's face that he's not at all happy about it, she questions whether they were even trying for a baby and he reveals that they weren't. Is Martin maybe thinking that Ruby cheated on him? Does he believe the baby is? Before she leaves, Sonia warns Martin that he has to speak to his wife about how he's feeling about her supposed pregnancy. I personally believe that Ruby is NOT pregnant, she's only saying that to keep hold of her husband, gain the attention she's desperately longing for, and also to get one up on Stacey! But if she isn't pregnant, it mean she will have to get pregnant pretty damn quick before her lies come to light! But, if not by Martin, then who? My first bet - Kush!!! What do you guys think? Is Ruby lying or telling the truth about her pregnancy?!

Thirdly, the next brief thing I want to mention is Gray and Karen. After a lengthy amount of time of the Atkins children living with her Grandparents, they have now moved back in with their Dad, even though Gray is happy to have his children back, Karen is visibly saddened. She asks her Son-In-Law whether she could still help more with the kids - take them to school, do their dinners etc etc. But Gray is adamant that he will be fine in supporting and being there for his children, however when Karen mentions that she's been telling the kids stories about their Mother, it looks as if he's not very happy with her interference. Later, when they're all sat at the dinner table, the children ask for a story about their Mum, much to Gray's surprise, Karen explains to him that it's been their ritual since living with them, having their dinner together and talking about Mummy. I have to mention though, did anyone see the disgust in Gray's face as his dinner was placed in front of him? I know it's bad but I found it kind of amusing how he wasn't impressed with the potato smilies and dinosaur chicken dippers placed in front of him! Suddenly the children start asking about Tina and where she was and how much they enjoyed her being around, it seems to get a bit too much for Gray, a little bit of anger gets to him and he informs his children that they won't be seeing Tina again and that she walked out on them! Even Karen is surprised by Gray's outburst - should Karen be more careful whilst she's around him? Something tells me he is going to more and more angry with her, of course she's just trying to help and keep the children close to their Mum, but he will end up resenting her for it and grow more and more angry and think she's interfering. Karen had better be very careful, I'd hate for her to be his 3rd victim! Also I just want to mention how lovely it is to finally see Bailey back! Feel like it's been so long since we've seen her!

The next thing I want to mention is Frankie. I'm so glad she's back and it's nice to see her having some screen time! Interestingly, she visits the Carter household in an attempt to see Mick, but unfortunately he's not there and she's left with Linda. I have to say though, this is the first time Linda has seen Frankie since learning the truth about her identity and I have to say how much I loved her kindness towards her, even offering to give her her number incase she ever needed anything. For some reason, I thought Linda would be full of questions for Frankie, but I think deep down, she knows that whatever happened between Mick and Katy, it's not Frankie's fault and she can't take it out on her. Frankie is innocent in all this and is a victim, just as much as Mick is, the only one who Linda's anger should be targeted at is Katy! Something tells me that Linda would be welcoming to Frankie and let her be a part of their family. It'll be interesting when Frankie finds out that Linda knows who she is. Later when Frankie attends the bar, she seems to be drinking her worries away - everything she's learnt about Mick and her Mum, even her Mum's offer to fly her away to Australia, she must feel that there's something not quite right? I have to mention that it's so nice to have Ben and Callum bumping into Frankie again after such a long time! Frankie was such a big impact on Ben's hearing loss storyline - it's nice to see them rekindling their friendship. However, when Ben and Callum share a kiss in the club, a bystander hurls abuse towards them, to which Frankie takes it upon herself to stand up for her friends. But when he suddenly mocks her, Frankie sees red and lashes out, beating the youth to a pulp. Ben and Callum have to rush to drag Frankie off of him, poor Callum though - after witnessing everything and having to follow his job role, he knows he can't simply let her go, even if she was sticking up for him and his boyfriend. Frankie is arrested for assault. Whilst at the station she decides to make a call to Linda, even though Linda knows it's her calling, she can't answer the phone at that current time as she's in the apartment with Mick. If he knew that she has given her number to his daughter, how would he react?! He's mentioned that he wants to try and forget about it, but I feel it's going to be hard for them not to? With Frankie back and Katy likely to make another appearance any time soon, I think it'll come to clear to the Carter family that Katy needs to get her comeuppance. After not being able to get through to Linda, Frankie then decides to call her Mum - what's going to happen next?!

Finally, the last thing I want to mention is Lucas, Denise, Patrick and Chelsea. Following the previous episode after Patrick collapses after having a confrontation with Lucas, it looked as if Lucas was going to leave Patrick to die. However Lucas did call an ambulance, informing the operator on the end of the phone that Patrick is having another stroke, however when they ask for Lucas's name - he simply hangs up the phone, as he knows he can't give that information. Later, after Denise has had a private word with Jack, she returns home to find Patrick alone and slumped on the couch, it becomes clear to her that he's in desperate need of an ambulance, she begins to panic and starts to call an ambulance. Poor Patrick though is trying to tell her something, only he can only muster one word "Lucas!" - leaving Denise even more terrified. She contemplates what he's trying to say - Did Lucas do this to him? Was Lucas in their house? Suddenly, an ambulance pulls up outside just in time and she rushes them in to Patrick's aid. The next big question is - Who called the ambulance?! Later at the hospital, all the family have gathered to hear on Patrick's progress - Denise, Sheree, Isaac and Kim are all waiting to hear news of the man who's at the very centre of their family. Eventually it becomes known that he has suffered another stroke and that he will have to be given more medication. Suddenly, Denise phone rings and it appears to be her daughter, Chelsea on the other line - interestingly she asks how Patrick is. Now this instantly answer's Denise's question - she wouldn't have known about Patrick unless Lucas knew, which means that he was there in their house when Patrick collapsed. Chelsea confirms this and asks her Mum to meet them as Lucas wants to talk to her. Denise seems very reluctant, but agrees to her daughter's request. Eventually she meets them away from the Square in an unknown Cafe .... (Does anyone know what or where this Cafe is? As I've noticed it's been used a lot in recent months for secret meetings and for revels of character's returning!) ... As Denise sits herself away from Lucas, she notices the bruises on his face, instantly he questions her involvement or her knowledge about his attack. Denise is instantly insulted and claims she has no knowledge about it, let alone has anything to do with it! However, when Lucas mentions Phil - it seems that she might know who was behind his attack, Patrick - but of course she wouldn't tell him that! Before she leaves, she warns him to stay away from the Square otherwise she will call the police! After she leaves, Lucas and Chelsea are sat together when her phone begins to ring, when Lucas proposes to buy her another drink, she steps outside to take the call - this is when things start to look a hell of a lot more interesting. It's unknown who she's on the phone to, but she's telling them she's getting the job done as soon as she can and she has everything under control! It becomes clear that she was in fact the one who was behind her Father's attack! Who is she talking to? Is Chelsea also out for revenge on her Father?! What is her secret?!

Oooooo so many questions and I can't wait to see everything revealed. So many things I'm looking forward to! Katy getting her comeuppance! I pray that Frankie will stay in the soap and become part of the Carter family! What's going to happen between Lucas and the Fox family?! Will Patrick be okay? Is Karen going to be Gray's 3rd victim?! When will Sharon's actions towards Ian come to light, and when will he know that she's aware of his actions due to her son's death?! Oh my gosh! There's so much speculation and I'm loving it!! Ha! I hope you've enjoyed reading! I hope you all have a brilliant weekend! I'll look forward to hearing any comments you may have! I'll be back very soon! Thank you all for your on-going support! Love you all xXx

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kattodoroki · 5 years

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ultimately. (Bakugou x Reader)

/back at it w a fic! hopefully this one is ok since it was a request. likes, reblogs, and comments are welcomed and loved! thank you for reading! requests are always open <3/

You come to the conclusion that you should finally confess.

---

It was the week of graduation and the air was ecstatic. No matter where you were everyone was excited, it was all you heard of. You agreed, even though you felt anxious you were happy because you had something to look forward to; this was your stepping stone for life. Alone you felt indifferent, dismal that you were leaving all your beloved friends. Knowing them for three years helped you get closer to them, and now you were leaving them. Sometimes you expressed your sadness by starting conversations of nostalgia; telling them how much you were going to miss them.

Every time you thought about your friends, and the future, you always ended up thinking about your crush, Bakugou Katsuki. You had liked him since your first year, the first time you saw him you knew you were hooked. The way he gracefully flew through the air after using his quirk, the way he fought so smoothly, the way he thought through every plan, you were enamored. Every thought of him made you giggle and blush nonstop. However; You got scared, now that you both were graduating you were afraid to leave him behind. You wouldn’t be able to see him anymore, or talk to him; you feared that now it was time to confess your feelings.

Unfortunately, you were unaware of how he felt. You never dared to ask his closest friends, fearing they would say something to it about him and having your secret spilled, and you didn’t want to get your hopes up if they said something positive. You knew his pride would never allow him to confess to you, but you had a feeling that he reciprocated your feelings, deep down you were sure that he liked you too. You had seen all the signs, the way he sent you glances your way during class, how he always glanced at you during training, and the one time during that one party; the night you would never forget.

You were at a party Mina invited you to, Kaminari had suggested it too but you never listened to him. You were pretty reluctant with going but when you heard Bakugou was going to attend you knew this was your only chance to see him and talk to him outside of school. You never really talked to him to begin with, but you were confident that he knew who you were. So, with your head held high, you agreed to go to the party with her, silently hoping that Bakugou would actually want to talk to you.

Sadly, upon arrival, you felt all your confidence drop, too many people to count all in one room, and probably more in the rest of the big house. You stayed close to Mina but looked around too often to find Bakugou. You felt so hopeless when you couldn’t find him through multiple parts of the house. After hours, drinking whatever was in the punch bowl and making small talk with people you wouldn’t remember you finally saw him enter the front door. You felt your hands get sweaty, nervousness now replacing the buzz you felt from the alcohol. You continued to stare at him as he made his way across the room with Kirishima. Almost dropping your drink in surprise but you couldn't move to greet him or say anything like your feet had been glued to the floor and your mouth stitched up.

You jumped when a hand hit your shoulder, now spilling your drink a little bit, you look over your shoulder to find Mina, you sighed in relief.

“Guess who I just saw!” She exclaimed.

“Let me guess,” You turned around to face her, “Bakugou?”

Her smile grew wider, “You saw him too?”

“Yeah, I actually saw him enter,” You laughed nervously.

“Of course you did.” She slapped your back and you jumped, slightly agitated that it was probably going to leave a mark.

She got closer, “He’s alone in the kitchen.” She whispered in your ear, obviously suggesting that you should start making your way to the kitchen. You nodded your head and started walking towards the kitchen, and her suspicions were right when you entered you saw Bakugou leaning against the counter, sipping away a beer, staring down at nothing.

You let in a shaky breath and held it, you continued to walk, not stopping fearing that if you did you wouldn't be able to move from that spot out of fright. Bakugou became clearer and you felt the room get smaller with each step. You let out the breath you were holding when you stopped near him, you opened your mouth to say hi but nothing came out. You were glad that he hasn’t noticed you yet but you still felt embarrassed, every minute felt like an hour.

“Oh, uh, hey Bakugou.” You said without even thinking, acting surprised that he had shown up to the party you were at because of him.

He turned his head from hearing his name, now boring his eyes into you, you felt like he was staring straight through you, like someone behind you had called him out.

“Y/N?” He asked and you sighed in relief that he actually knew your name.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” You replied sheepishly.

He scoffed, “You didn’t scare me. I’m just surprised that you would come to a party.”

You looked down at your shoes, “Mina convinced me to come.”

“Figures, she’s always forcing people to fucking do things.” He took another swig of his drink.

You let out a hesitant laugh, “Yeah, I guess. Who did you come with? I didn’t see you come in.” You lied.

“Kirishima dragged me here.” He said.

You acted surprised, “He isn’t around?”

“Nope,” He sighed, “Probably trying to fuck ten girls at once.”

You giggled, “Damn, that’s a lot of girls.”

“Yeah, a little bit too much for my taste.” He responded.

“Yeah same here,” You stopped, “Uh I mean, I wouldn’t want too many people either.” You knew you sounded stupid but you couldn’t think properly right now.

He grinned awkwardly, “I know what you mean.”

You both sat in comfortable silence, still feeling slightly buzzed, you took a big gulp from your drink and you swallowed it and winced at the feeling of the smooth liquor going down your throat. Bakugou cleared his throat and you looked up at him in surprise.

“Well since we both got ditched, do you want to go sit outside or something?” He wasn’t looking at you, and you were glad because you were probably growing redder than a tomato as he continued to speak.

“S-sure.” You stuttered and made your way to the back door. Bakugou bounced off of the counter he was leaning against and followed you outside.

Bakugou closed the back door and you looked around, you saw a group of teens by the fire pit, you silently hoped that Bakugou wouldn’t suggest joining them, you just wanted to be alone with him.

You jumped slightly when someone grabbed your hand, you looked up to find Bakugou leading you towards the side of the house. You didn’t have any choice but to let him drag you along, his grip crushing. Thankfully there was no one around, he pulled you off your feet and had forced you to sit on the ground with him, you scratched your ankles nervously, feeling the grass tickle them distracted you from your crush of three years.

Bakugou was sitting next to you and you started wondering if he could feel the heat radiating off of you, but his explosion quirk probably made him hot all the time. You didn’t say anything, fearing that you would stutter again and he would laugh at you, but he wasn’t being his usual self tonight. The alcohol probably loosened him up a little bit, making everyone around tolerable and worthy of his company. You were glad that you caught him during a good time, a time where yelling wasn’t involved.

“So,” Bakugou started, pulling you out of your thoughts, you turned to look at him, “The weather's nice tonight, not too cloudy.”

“Yeah, I guess.” You looked up at the sky, “The stars look nice.”

Bakugou mirrored your position and looked up at the stars, “Yeah,” He pointed upwards, “There’s the dipper.”

You squinted, “Where? I don’t see it.”

Bakugou scooted closer to you and sighed in annoyance, mumbling how ‘dumb you were’. Hearing his breath on your shoulder made you shudder, you wanted to scoot away, feeling uncomfortable in his personal space, but you couldn’t make yourself move. He grabbed your arm and lifted it, now grabbing your hand and pointer finger, he made you point out into the sky.

“There. You see it?” He said a matter of factly.

You closed one eye and focused, looking down your arm and into the dark sky that was littered with stars. You felt like you were dreaming, you wanted to pinch yourself and wake up, but you couldn’t move, not away from him. You didn’t want to upset him by moving away, not wanting to ruin the moment you both were having.

It took a while to find what Bakugou was talking about, but when you found it you were pretty satisfied with yourself, without thinking you smiled widely and laughed happily, “I found it!”

Bakugou gave you an awkward smile, now looking down at you as you grinned up towards the sky. You whipped your head around to look at him, you locked eyes with him and you felt the world pause. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, now embarrassed you breathed right into Bakugou’s face. You silently worried that it smelled bad, but he didn’t seem to care. You looked away, afraid that you made the moment awkward.

Breaking the silence you asked with interest, “What other constellations are there?”

Bakugou looked away from you, and back up at the sky, eyes moving around to find more constellations.

He grabbed your hands once more, forcing you to point to whatever he was looking at, “There's Ursa Major.” You searched for it.

You nodded and he continued, “Did you know that constellations sometimes tell stories?”

You looked away from the cloud of stars and up at him, he took another drink and continued, “The Ursa Major means ‘the great bear’ the story is about Callisto, a nymph who was turned into a bear by Zeus’ wife Hera who was jealous.”

You nodded, “I never heard of that.”

“Yeah, it’s interesting though.” He said.

You nodded in response, you felt sleepy, the buzz finally wearing off and sleep invading your mind, but you didn’t want to sleep, you wanted to stay with Bakugou. Without thinking about you yawned and leaned your head into his chest, you closed your eyes in bliss.

Bakugou stiffed, now feeling awkward from having you lean against him, he shoved you, “You okay?”

You jumped, now looking around frantically, when you locked eyes with him you softened and sighed, “I’m okay,” You played with the end of your shirt, “I’m sorry.”

“Do you want to sleep?” He asked and you felt your heart speed up.

“No! No! I’m okay!” You smiled at him and he stared back, emotionless.

“Okay, If you get tired just let me know.” He whispered.

You nodded, now returning your focus back into the sky, silently hoping he wasn’t getting disinterested.

You stole little glances and saw Bakugou staring intently at the sky, now searching for more constellations, you sighed in relief and looked up, now searching for nothing you were going to point out.

“There’s another one.” He said breaking the silence.

“Which one?” And like clockwork Bakugou grabbed your arm again and pointed your finger towards the sky, and you searched for the constellation.

“Andromeda.” He said.

“Does it have a story behind it?” You asked.

“Well, It’s named after the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, and she was chained and left for the sea monster Cetus to eat, but she got saved by Perseus.” He explained.

“That’s… very cool.” You didn’t know what to say but you found it interesting. You didn’t think he had this side of him, one that liked stargazing and could tell stories about different constellations, you felt like you were falling in love all over again.

“Am I boring you?” Bakugou said almost angrily.

You went wide-eyed and grabbed him mindlessly, “No! I promise, this is stuff that I never thought about before, it’s very impressive.”

He smirked, obviously satisfied with your answer of praise, “Gottcha.”

He continued to stare at you without saying anything, falling back into the comfortable silence, you calmed down and looked down at your feet, scratching your ankles again.

Bakugou huffed and you looked up, expecting him to say something, but you continued to stare when he didn’t, you moved forward, feeling like a deer in headlights. You were about to get run over.

Bakugou mirrored and moved forward, filling the small space between you both. You felt like time had frozen and you froze along with it, you felt Bakugou’s soft lips meet yours, and it was cold, but somehow inviting, you moved closer, and kissed back, or what you thought was kissing back.

After a few moments, Bakugou pulled back, he looked away, “I’m sorry, I’ve never done that before,” He scratched the back of his head.

You blushed furiously and looked away in embarrassment, “Uh, me too.”

You laughed nervously, worried that he hated it, but you couldn’t believe it. It must’ve been a dream, there was no way this was real life. You waited for Bakugou to laugh in your face, and tell you how dumb you were to believe the lie, you were sure your heart couldn’t take the prank he was probably playing on you.

But it wasn’t, Bakugou didn’t say anything, and for a while, you both just sat there in an awkward presence. No more looking at constellations, no more storytelling; you truly have fucked up. You wanted to cry, but you didn’t want to express any weakness in front of Bakugou: the class hard ass, you didn’t want to make this worse.

“Hey,” Bakugou said unexpectedly and you looked up at him, “You’re cool… I guess” You blinked up at him in surprise. He got up from the ground and you followed him back into the house, he turned towards you, “I’m going to look for Kirishima and get out of here, see ya.” He gave you a small wave and turned around and left you in front of the back door, thoughtless from his statement, so now you’re cool?

You smiled at the thought, but that was over five months ago, but it felt like yesterday. You knew you had to tell him, confess that you wanted to kiss him again. You wanted to hear every story about constellations until the day you died. You needed to tell him.

You decided that the night of graduation would be best, the day that everyone would move onto their futures, you wanted him to be your future. You had told Mina of your plan and she agreed that it was best, you felt confident in your plan. Nothing could stop you, you were sure of your feelings and you felt confident in his, only the best could come from this.

When graduation day rolled around you were eager for later, now looking more forward to talking to Bakugou then actually graduating. You just needed to wait for the perfect moment.

Before the ceremony, your class was in the dorm’s common area, but the dorms themselves were empty. Now that your class was graduating there was no use for them; no longer sleeping with your friends, no longer seeing Bakugou every day unless he’d reciprocate your feelings. You didn’t want to confess in front of all his classmates so you had to find a way to get him alone with you later. You walked up to him, touching his shoulder since he was huddled into a group of the boys in the class, he turned around slowly and his face dropped when he saw you.

You smiled, “Can we talk later? After the ceremony maybe?”

He sighed, “I guess.” He turned back around and focused on his group again, you turned around and silently cheered at your little victory.

You were glad that he agreed to meet you after the ceremony, you just now had to figure out what you were going to say to him. You could talk about that night, you’d like to think that he thought about it a lot too, maybe he’s been wanting to talk to you more about constellations and you would listen, laying in his arms as he would babble about the beautiful night sky.

You smiled and waited for your elders to call your class for the ceremony, you just couldn’t wait till the end.

During the ceremony you wanted to fall asleep, drowning out every speech and every name they called, but you excitedly went up to the stage when they had called your name, one out of the two you were paying attention to; you had clapped when Bakugou’s presence graced the stage.

When the ceremony had finished and everyone broke apart to find family and friends you set out to find Bakugou, finally feeling ready to confess your feelings to him. There was no way you were going to back out now, you would lose him forever if you didn’t.

Once you found him you didn’t hold back, you tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. He turned around to face you and you reminded him of your talk, he nodded his head, rolling his eyes a bit, looking around before following you outside. You stopped in front of the door, you could still hear the crowd inside, trying to keep all your focus on Bakugou. You looked up at him and noticed how the setting sun complimented his hair perfectly, you didn’t want to look away.

“What was it you needed me for?” He snarled.

You could tell he was slightly agitated, but you swallowed your nervousness down, not letting your anxiety get the best of you. You were cool. Bakugou even said it himself, you just had to act like it now.

“Actually, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” You said sounding weaker than normal, but you weren’t going to let that stop you, not after how far you’ve already come.

“And…?” Bakugou said in a hurry, probably wanting to get back to the after-ceremony.

“I’ve been in love with you since our first year.” You spat, you couldn’t see him since you screwed your eyes shut, your hands playing with your graduation gown to keep them occupied. You sighed, “It’s just I’ve been thinking about it for a while and there’s no better time to tell you than now,” You opened your eyes and looked at him, you couldn’t read his face but you could tell he was surprised because of the red that he now wore, “I remember what happened,” You swallowed, “At the party.”

“... At the party.” Bakugou echoed in a small voice, he shook his head; your hands got clammy.

“I’m sorry,” Bakugou said, and there was a pregnant pause, and you felt your world stop, but his kept going, “I was drunk, I don’t really remember anything at all,” He stopped.

You felt your heart beat faster like it was going to explode at any minute, you want to turn into dust, you felt like a star that was dying out, ready to stop burning at any moment, like Bakugou was trying to exhaust you of energy.

“So… It meant nothing to you?” You asked, blinking through tears that had formed unknowingly.

“I’m sorry,” He repeated, “I just need to focus on other things right n-.”

“I can wait,” You said before he could even finish.

He sighed and looked down at the pavement, “Look, I’m just trying to let you down easy, I’m not trying to be that asshole I was back in our first year, please don’t make me do that. Just walk away.”

Your chest heaved and you were shaking, now unable to control your tears. Now letting the waterworks flow and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You didn’t have any feeling; like you were now finally numb to any pain that was getting thrown your way. You forgot Bakugou had even been there, in front of you. Not in the dark. No shining stars to tell stories about. The fluffy, white clouds were laughing at you and the bright sun was your enemy. Bakugou sighed again and patted your shaking shoulder lightly, you could hear the clicking of the door after Bakugou went through; he was the star that was out of reach, one you could never find in the night sky, one that didn’t want to be found, and you were the one that burnt out; dying… dead.

Ultimately, there was no way your heart could burn again after this.

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toothpastecanyon · 5 years

Text

Noie’s Brother, Chapter 10

Thanks to @feferipeixes for helping to beta read this chapter :D

Fate sometimes rhymed, but Alcor felt like this one was a little on the nose. A newborn Mizar fading away in the hospital and a loving father pleading to him from behind a circle of candles.

Fate sometimes rhymed, but Naomi Argenta just wants this stupid vampire to stop harassing her brother. It's making him go... weird.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

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“I need your help.”

Noie stood there for a moment, staring up at the towering figure of the angel before her. This thing... needed her help? Seriously? Before she could put her questions into words, the angel spoke again.

“I see you are bound.”

“Huh?” Noie frowned as she watched an officer start to fiddle with her handcuffs. “Oh, yeah… you did that.”

“I did not bind you.”

“What? You did - you know, with the whole possessing two dudes to drag us up here?”

“Possession?” There was a gentle laugh. “No, no, you misunderstand my methods. A demon possesses; an angel merely guides.”

‘Guides’? Really? Noie fought to keep the skepticism off her face, but the angel seemed to pick up on it; both the officers cleared their throats and swiftly continued:

“It is much better. It is not a subjugation of will; it is a request, one they can simply deny if they are not willing. I guide them towards a goal, but I do not puppeteer their bodies like demons do - why would I, when humans are reasonably capable of performing my tasks under their own volition?”

Noie heard the angel chuckle again. There was a click, and the cuffs around her wrists came loose.

“Yes, sometimes they perform it in a less than optimal way, but possession is so unnecessary, so crude, so… controlling, and I do not like to use it on my chosen people.” The officer drew back from Noie, absently fiddling with the cuffs in their hand. “I prefer you to be free.”

With that, the angel fell silent. She rubbed her wrists, still frowning, still feeling like something was terribly, terribly off… but where to even start?

Dipper was still sagging in the other officer’s grip; she shuffled closer to him, and cast her eyes around the whole classroom.

“Where’s… where’s everyone in my class?”

“I evacuated everyone in the building for this discussion. They will return when it is concluded.”

Noie made a face. “Why’d you do that?”

“For their own safety. I wanted to minimise any potential human casualties that could occur.”

“Um, what?” A startled laugh came out of her. “What on earth do you think I’m gonna do to you, dude?”

Both the officers snorted at that.

“No, no, you are not capable of posing such an existential threat. Obviously I was not referring to you.”

One pointed to the other, at the drooping figure of Dipper Argenta held firmly in his grasp.

“I was referring to that.”

There was an edge to the Angel’s voice, there, a coldness that sent shivers down Noie’s spine. She watched Dipper groan, watched his head loll to the side, and she couldn’t help but notice how tightly the officer was gripping his arms. Her heart sank at the sight of white knuckles, and kept on sinking as the angel continued.

“If your concerns have been sufficiently assuaged, I would like to enlist your help with a demon I have unexpectedly encountered while-”

“He’s not a demon!” Noie snapped. The officers’ eyebrows shot up; the angel was clearly taken by surprise.

“Not a demon? Tell me what you mean when you say that.”

“I mean he’s not!” She glared right at its true form. “He’s not! I don’t know what’s going on right now with everyone trying to tell me he’s some kind of demon - he’s just not, he’s a normal human guy! He’s my brother, my twin brother! How the fuck could he be a demon i-if- well, it just doesn’t make sense, okay!”

Noie paused for breath, and noticed both the officers had started to smile. Her glare darkened.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“The vampire.” As one, they chuckled and shook their heads. “I was confused about why you were jumping to such an unexpected conclusion, but now I see where you were mislead.”

“Huh?”

“It would be patently ridiculous to suggest that your mortal brother is a demon in disguise. Of course he would be a normal human child.”

Noie blinked. “But what-”

“Unfortunately - and this is why your family has gained some unwanted attention - his body is being possessed by an ancient and powerful demon.” The officers’ faces twisted into a grimace. “His name is Alcor the Dreambender, and he loves nothing more than to twist humans into his playthings.”

“But… but he’s not-”

“I already told you, your brother is not Alcor. Your brother is not who I am referring to here. Your brother is normal; the Dreambender is a monster.”

Noie just shook her head. She could hardly form words. “No, no, that’s… he’s not-”

“You mean to say his body is not possessed?” The officers crossed their arms. “I forgive you for denying me, but why do you deny your own truth?”

“N-no?” She stepped back. “What? I’m not-”

“Then why do you deny what your eyes have seen, what your ears have heard? You are a smart young human, in possession of all your mortal senses; tell me, what do they say of Alcor the Dreambender?”

The yellow eyes. The magic headaches. Mabel Pines, all those wikipedia articles, and everything Lucy Ann said-

No, wait! Stop it! Stop it!

All these thoughts were careening nonstop across her mind and Noie tried to block them out, tried to think of something else, anything else, but her mind was fixed on Dipper and her eyes wouldn’t stop staring at Dipper and her foot caught on the leg of a chair and she stumbled and the angel...

The angel was there. Quick as a flash, an officer reached out and caught her before she fell. She yelped, pushed off his hands and backed away.

He remained perfectly still, and Noie could see his expression had turned strangely solemn. When the angel spoke again, it was just through the one man, and it was quiet.

“I did not want to put you through that.” He said. “You must forgive me if this conversation causes you distress; this is not a situation any human would want to find themselves in… especially one already shouldering burdens she finds hard to bear.”

He looked up at Noie, and her breath caught in her throat.

“You are young, child. But I see how old this life has forced you to become.” His face creased with sympathy, and he sighed. “The adults in your life, they have turned their eyes to the screen and not to their responsibilities, and you have stepped up in their absence. Because you needed to. Because your brother needed you to.”

Noie didn’t know what to say; she managed a faint, “What?” and stared at the officer as he began to walk forwards.

“I see that all. I see how deeply it’s hurt you, and how wholly it’s blinded you to the problems you cannot fix: you have learned to ignore them, for if you cannot fix them, nobody will fix them for you, will they?” He stepped right up to her. “And a demon? A child like you cannot hope to stand against such a catastrophic force of evil. What is there for you to do but to simply put it out of mind, to deny the reality and thus the terror, to focus on the issues that are in your power to change?”

With wide eyes, she watched him reach out, and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I can see all of this. I can see you, child, and… I am sorry. This is not the path you were meant to walk.” He shook his head, his brow furrowing. “No, I see this is not the first time the Dreambender has played his games with the ones you love.”

Noie’s breath caught in her throat. Not the first time? What did he mean? She’d barely even heard of this demon guy up until now; when was this ‘other time’ he… oh.

Oh, right.

Oh, she did know what he was referring to.

“You don’t remember the first time, it seems.” His words dropped like stones in her gut. “You were too young.”

“You’re talking about what happened with… w-with my father, right?” Her heart was pounding at her throat; she swallowed hard. “So Dipper was right, it was Alcor? O-or he had something to do with it? What happened!”

He just gave a sad smile, and patted her shoulder.

“Do you know what happened?” She watched him turn away from her. “Hello?”

The officer walked up to Dipper, hands clasped behind his back. His boots were loud on the carpet.

“What happened in the past...” he started, and then paused. He stopped in front of her brother. He squared his heels. He cleared his throat, and spoke again: “...is not good for humans to dwell on.”

With two fingers, he lifted Dipper’s chin, and turned his face from side to side as if examining it.

“I came here to set my people free from the past, to rid their world of evils that have plagued them since time immemorial… And I will free you, too.”

“Free me?”

�� “Yes.” Dipper groaned; the officer took his hand away. “I will free you and all of humanity from the whims of this demon. His games of possession are twisted indeed, but they present an opportunity to bring about his downfall. I am already making the necessary arrangements; it should only take a couple of days before everything is in place.” His eyes flitted up to her. “But in the meantime, I do need your help.”

Noie’s frown had been deepening as he spoke, and now she took a step back.

“It is nothing major, but it is important. The Dreambender is a powerful being, and were he to break out of his construct and uncover our plans, he would be… upset with us.”

She made a face. “Okay? What am I supposed to do about that?”

“As I am sure you have noticed, I have a particular effect on victims of possession.” The officer paced around Dipper, but she found her eyes sliding over to the angel’s true form, standing motionless in the front of the classroom. “My presence stirs the demon within them; it invokes from their possessor such a primal surge of rage that they cannot help but distrust me. You can see, I am sure, how this would make it difficult for me to protect your brother from any threats that may arise before I am able to return him to a normal state of mind.”

“Threats? Someone’s gonna attack him?”

“No, no, nothing quite so physical. But the mind here is… complicated. How would I best describe it to you?” For a moment, he seemed to grapple for an analogy. “It is as if the mind stands on thin ice. A vast darkness lurks beneath, and any reminders of that darkness would be like cracks beneath his feet. If it thinks too much of magic, of demons, of Alcor, your brother will fall through and be consumed.”

Noie remembered the headaches he’d been getting over the past few days, the ever-present forehead rubbing he’d do whenever Alcor came up. She gulped, hard.

“Consumed? So wait, he’d be-”

“And remember this.”

Abruptly, he turned and fixed her with a look that sent shivers down her spine.

“Anything that calls itself a friend of Alcor is trying to destroy your brother. Think of that before you make any regrettable decisions.”

At that he fell silent, just watching Noie. That expression he was wearing… nothing about it looked unpleasant, but there was something so inexplicably off-putting that it made her want to melt into the floor. She nodded, hoping it was an answer he was waiting on, and in the moments afterwards all she could think about was

An empty bunk bed. A lonely bus ride. A world without Dipper beside her.

Could you imagine that world?

Could you imagine what her days would look like? Who would she even talk to if she didn’t have her brother? Who would she have to rely on?

Could you imagine if she had to climb past his empty bed every night to go to sleep? Staring up at the ceiling, with nothing but her thoughts and the deathly silence where she used to hear him snoring… Imagine how long she’d lie there, missing him so much it would ache, torturing herself with all the scenarios where he’d still be with her, if only she’d just done something a little differently…

Could you imagine how that would feel if it was all her fault?

Could you imagine!

Could you imagine.

Noie didn’t notice she was being hugged until she blinked and found herself wrapped up in someone’s embrace. It wasn’t the officer - it was her teacher, her math teacher she barely knew the name of, and she realised she was crying when she felt her gasp catch on the lump in her throat. She was full blown sobbing and long past the point of holding it in and when the teacher squeezed her tight she wrapped her arms around the lady and buried her face in her shoulder and for a moment she didn’t even care how embarrassing this was, she wanted to stay hidden away here forever…

“Shhh, child, don’t cry.” Spoke her teacher in that same, dreamy tone. “I am here now.”

Noie froze up.

“Do not worry yourself about this demon any longer. Let me fix what you cannot. Let me take care of this.”

“I-I…” Her voice shook too hard to talk. The teacher gave another squeeze.

“In a few days, everything will be back to normal. I will send for you then. In the meantime,” she let go and stepped back. “You may carry on as if it already is.”

Noie squinted her eyes at the light, then opened them wide at the sight of her classmates filing into the room. In an orderly line, they took their chairs, picked up their pens, and started scribbling down notes on their homework. She looked for Dipper, and found he’d been placed in his assigned seat; he was slumped over the desk like he’d merely fallen asleep.

“Take your seat, please.” The teacher flashed her a smile as she took her place by the whiteboard. “I thank you for agreeing to help me, and again, I apologise for this abrupt interruption to your schedule. I have taken steps to mitigate its effects - unfortunately, I cannot erase your brother’s memories, but I hope this is otherwise a seamless transition.” She waved. “Good luck with your studies, child.”

With that, she uncapped a marker and turned to finish the problem left half solved on the board. The tall, glowing figure of the angel pulsed once, then winked out of existence. Noie stood there, staring at the space it had occupied, still frozen in shock.

What… just happened?

“Now x is- what is x?” The teacher’s voice - it sounded normal now - made her jump. “Can anyone raise their hand and… Naomi, why are you out of your seat?”

Noie saw the whole class turn to her. She blinked.

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything…? Um, I- um...” She shook herself. “No, nevermind! Sorry!”

Then she scuttled over to her desk. The teacher frowned.

“Alright, then. Well, who can tell me what x is? Somebody else other than Audrey, please.”

“No, wait, excuse me?” Audrey was sitting in the front row, nervously fluttering her wings. “Can I, um, can I go to the nurse, please? I don’t feel well…”

Noie frowned at her textbook, already open on her desk. Her math book had today’s problems filled out in a handwriting so neat it looked like a font. She glanced over at Dipper and saw he was lying on a similarly arranged spread of pages, with his backpack zipped up and stashed under his chair.

She wrinkled her nose. When’d he have the time to set up all that? Weird.

This whole thing was just… just weird.

Before she could think on that much more, the bell rang and startled her. Dipper jumped too; he clenched up tight, then spread back out with a long, painful groan.

“Already?” Noie’s teacher made a ‘huh’ sound as she stood up. “Time flies. Well, everyone make sure you’ve turned your homework in at the basket - with your names on it, please! Tomorrow we’ll be going over…”

Noie tiptoed over to her brother. He looked normal enough - clearly in the middle of a bad headache, yes, but still normal. Not a demon, not doing anything weird, just Dipper. His face was down on the desk while one hand rooted around his chair for a backpack, and she’d meant to ask if he was okay but the words didn’t come when she opened her mouth; she just stood there, staring at him, taking in this one moment of normality.

After everything that had just happened, everything she’d been told… she could feel a lump rising back up in her throat.

And that was when Dipper spoke. He muttered something she didn’t quite catch, so Noie blinked back a blurriness in her eyes and leaned forwards.

“Hey, Di- ugh.” Her voice came out hoarse; she cleared it. “Hey Dipper! Morning, sleepyhead, um… how’s that book pillow feeling?”

“I can’t believe you.”

Noie heard that, and her blood ran cold. Her smile froze on her face.

Oh… wow. He did not sound very happy, did he.

“What do you mean, bro br-”

“You know exactly what I mean!” He sat up, shooting her a furious look - and did his eyes flicker for a second there? “I told you we were gonna get in trouble taking that ‘shortcut’, I told you!”

She backed away. “I-”

“But you didn’t listen to me - no, it’s worse, you had to go and rope me into this and I…” Dipper paused. “Wait, are you crying?”

“What? No!” She abruptly turned and started shoving textbooks into her bag. “We gotta go to history, Dipper. We’ll be late.”

“History? Wait, we’re in… math class?”

He sounded confused now; Noie glanced back and saw him looking around the classroom like he’d just noticed where he was.

“But wait, we were… I thought we were getting arrested? How did we get back here? What happened while I was out?”

Noie opened her mouth, then closed it and just shrugged. She tensed up at a hand on her shoulder.

“No, seriously, what happened?” Dipper was frowning at her; she could see it from the corner of her eye. “Noie? Are you okay?”

The concern in his voice made her cringe, even more than when he was shouting at her. “I…” She gripped her bag until her knuckles went white, then cleared her throat again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Then she zipped it up and slung it over her back, ignoring Dipper’s startled “Huh?”

“We off to history class yet?” Keeping her head firmly turned away from him, Noie tried for a weak smile. “I think we’re gonna have to run again. Boo. I’ll, uh, I’ll race you.”

“Noie?”

She started walking. “What’s that?”

“Hey, wait, Noie!” Papers shuffled, and Dipper caught up to her with his bag half-open and his arms full of textbooks. “I just-”

She opened the door for him. “After you.”

“Oh, uh, thanks? Noie-”

“I bet these would make nice drums.” Noie banged out the Nario theme on a row of passing lockers. “Dun dun dun dun-dun-dun, dun!”

“Noie, can you stop for a second?” Dipper rubbed his shoulder. “What did you mean by… you don’t know what I’m talking about? You don’t remember - you know, there was a whole thing where you wanted to take a shortcut for some reason…?”

He was looking to her face for an answer; she kept it blank.

“No?” Dipper frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she repeated, then: “Hey, do you wanna watch me do a cartwheel?”

“But if you don’t remember… and I just woke up in math class - so was that all a dream, o-or something?” He was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice Noie pull off a cartwheel right next to him. “It didn’t feel like a dream…? But yeah, why would we randomly go off on a shortcut and then… get arrested? That doesn’t make sense…”

He trailed off, and Noie just watched him think it over, watched his expression sink further into an annoyed confusion - he could tell he was missing something, she knew, and that made her stomach twist a little.

“Um,” she started. “Maybe it’s like that vampire dream you had?”

“Huh, I mean, that… that might be it. It didn’t have her in it, though.”

Noie could only shrug at that. They kept on walking, out the door and through the grassy courtyard, and finally, Dipper broke the silence with a sigh.

“Noie?”

“Yyyyyes?”

“Um, I think that must’ve been a dream, then.” He grimaced. “I’m really sorry for shouting at you over it.”

Noie blinked, then shook her head. “No, no, you don’t need to say sorry-”

“Yeah, I do, I was all yelling at you about stuff that… well, didn’t happen, I guess.” Dipper tried to laugh, but it came out as a groan. “Um… that’s embarrassing, I’m sorry. This has been a really, really weird week for me.”

She didn’t trust herself to say anything to that. After a moment of looking down at his shoes, he continued.

“I just… I haven’t really been getting anywhere with the vampire thing, Noie. And new, random stuff like this keeps cropping up - it feels like it’s getting worse.” He rubbed his head. “I’ve been getting headaches for days now, but they don’t even seem to be related to magic anymore, they just… happen. Stuff’s just been happening lately, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Noie watched him out of the corner of her eye. She watched him yawn, watched him rub his reddened eyes and the bags, deep and purple, under them. She hadn’t really noticed how exhausted he’d been looking lately, but now it was all too apparent.

“I just…” Dipper started, hesitated, and then sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know, Noie.”

He went quiet, and for a time their footsteps were the only sound to be heard. Noie ran through a million little words of comfort in her head, but they all seemed to come up so short, and came off so shallow in her head. Maybe it was because she already knew what she wanted to say to him; no other words fit so precisely than the ones she wasn’t allowed to say.

After a time, she put a hand on Dipper’s shoulder, and tried out a pale imitation.

“Um, Dipper?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sure… I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this.” Noie gave him a thin smile. “Don’t worry too much about it, okay? I’m sure we’ll find a way to get you back to normal real soon.”

He didn’t look entirely convinced. “Yeah, I hope that’s what happens. What if we don’t, though?”

“Oh, I’ve got a feeling we will.”

“You’re being… awfully optimistic about this. Even more than usual.”

“Yeah, cause you’re being even more of a downer than usual - I gotta balance you out!” She ruffled his hair. “C’mon, everything’ll work itself, bro. Mystery Twins are on the case!”

“Hah…” Dipper’s laugh cut short as she leaned on him. “Wait, Noie- Ow, ow, ow, Noie!”

“What? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, it’s just… my shoulder.” He rubbed it, frowning. “Did I sleep on it wrong, or something? Ow… ”

Noie’s heart caught in her throat. Oh, right, his shoulder… Oh, shit, his shoulder, he was going to put it together any second now, shit shit shit-

Fortunately for her, however, there came a noise from the building up ahead. Dipper looked up, and his eyes went wide.

“Wait, is that the late bell?”

“Yeah, sounds like it.”

“Oh, shoot, Noie! We’re late!” He took off sprinting for the classroom, waving at her frantically with his good arm. “Come on! We gotta run!”

Noie blinked. Then she followed after him, yelling, “Wait up, Dipper!” and thanking the stars for that little stroke of luck with the bell.

Maybe she could keep this up for a few days. Maybe everything would turn out okay after all.

Thoughts like those didn’t make the pit in her stomach go away, no, but it was nice to finally have something to hold onto.

#transcendence au #Noie's Brother #Noie #toothwrites

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thelastspeecher · 5 years

Text

MerGucket AU - Shermie

Ages, ages ago, I mentioned that Shermie, aka the third Pines brother, finds out what his younger sibs have been up to in the MerGucket AU. He finds out after discovering that Stan has a daughter he didn’t tell anyone about, and deciding to go confront Stan, sees him or Ford in mer form. That particular scene is long overdue, and in the spirit of MerMay, here it is. Enjoy.

Shermie walked down the pier, mentally going over what he was going to say to his younger brother.

Just be upfront. Stan doesn’t like it when people beat around the bush. Tell him that you found someone who you’re sure is his daughter. You’re not here to judge, you just want answers. And to meet your niece at some point. He saw a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. Shermie looked over. He gaped. A merman with a golden tail was swimming lazily below the pier, headed straight for Stan and Ford’s ship. Shermie stopped to stare. His eyes landed upon the merman’s webbed hands. Scratch that. His webbed, six-fingered hands. Shermie’s mouth went dry. He rushed down the dock to the Stan O’War and boarded the ship.

“Stanford?” he called. “Stanley?” A splash came from the twins’ bedroom. Shermie approached it as silently as possible and opened the door, not bothering to knock. His jaw dropped open. There was a moon pool in the middle of the room that Shermie had never seen before, which was startling enough. To add to his astonishment, Ford was currently getting out of the moon pool and from the waist down, had a long, extravagant tail covered in gold scales. Ford caught sight of Shermie and froze, only partially out of the moon pool. The silence was broken by a splash. A young woman’s head popped out of the moon pool.

“Uncle Ford, you forgot-” she started. She too caught sight of Shermie. “…Oh. Want me to sing him into forgetting?” She cleared her throat.

“No, no, Emily, don’t,” Ford said quickly. He sat on the edge of the moon pool, his tail partially submerged. “He’s family.”

“He’s-” Emily looked at Ford curiously. “I don’t recognize him.”

“You’ve never met him.”

“Why wouldn’t I have met a fam’ly member?” Emily asked. Her eyes widened. “Oh, wait.”

“Yes,” Ford said. He rubbed his face. “Go fetch your father. He needs to help explain things to your uncle.” Emily nodded. She ducked her head back underwater.

“Stanford,” Shermie said in a low voice, “what the hell is going on?”

“…It’s a long story,” Ford sighed. Shermie rolled his eyes.

“Gee, I never coulda figured that out!” he said sarcastically. “Seriously, why are you a- a merman? And who was that young woman? And-”

“Once Stan gets back, we’ll explain. But in the meantime, would you mind telling me why you dropped by for a surprise visit?”

“Ford, I don’t want to-” Shermie shook his head. “Fine. I thought I’d talk to Stan about something.”

“What?”

“Well, Dipper apparently met up with a researcher named Molly Pines while he and Mabel were with you two over the summer. Caleb told me about it, so I decided to look her up myself.”

“And?”

“She’s obviously Stan’s kid. I mean, she looks just like him. But she’s got blue eyes, like Angie.” Shermie crossed his arms. “So I decided to ask Stan why he kept his daughter a secret from me. But it’s pretty damn obvious he’s been keeping a lot more than that a secret. And so have you, for that matter.” Ford nodded silently.

“Yes. We have,” he said softly. An awkward silence fell. Shermie watched the moon pool, wondering if Emily was going to come back.

She looked familiar. Almost like- He groaned loudly.

��Emily is Stan’s kid, isn’t she?”

“…Yes, she is.”

“Great. He has two daughters I didn’t know about.” Shermie pinched the bridge of his nose. “Does he have any other children I’ve never met?”

“He’ll talk about them when he gets back, I’m sure,” Ford said. “He’s very proud of them.”

“That’s a yes, then,” Shermie said flatly. Ford nodded. Stan emerged from the moon pool.

“Ford, what’s going on? Emily said I needed to help you talk to some family member?” Stan asked. Ford nodded silently at Shermie. Stan turned. He paled. “Oh.” He sat on the edge of the moon pool like Ford.

“I just wanted to know why you kept your daughter a secret from me,” Shermie said. He rubbed his temples. “I didn’t mean to stumble upon a massive conspiracy involving mermaids.”

“Which daughter?” Stan asked.

“Molly.”

“Oh. Yeah, Dipper and Mabel met her while they stayed with us.” Stan rubbed the back of his neck. “Told them not to blab about the kids, but-”

“Neither of them said anything about Molly being your daughter,” Shermie interrupted. “I figured it out on my own.”

“Really?”

“I might not be a certified genius, but I can tell when someone looks like my younger brother,” Shermie said impatiently. Stan held up his hands.

“Okay, okay, geez. Calm down.” Shermie stared at the webbing stretching between Stan’s fingers. “Turn around, will ya?”

“No! If I do that, you’ll leave.”

“We won’t,” Ford said. “I can’t speak for Stanley, but I’ve been wanting these secrets to be done with for years.” Stan nodded.

“I agree. I mean, I haven’t felt like this for years, but definitely since Mabel and Dipper figured everything out. But you need to turn around so we can get dressed. When we get rid of the tail, we’re naked.”

“Oh.” Shermie turned away. “How long have you two been mermen? You weren’t born like this. I’d remember.”

“Over thirty years now,” Ford replied. “It was an accident on our parts.”

“Figures that you two would become mermen on accident,” Shermie mumbled.

“Hey, it wasn’t a full accident,” Stan said. “We didn’t mean to do it. But the MerGuckets did.”

“The…MerGuckets?”

“Angie’s folks. They basically convinced us to become merfolk with them. You can turn around again.” Shermie did as he was told. Stan and Ford were now fully clothed, but had visibly damp hair. “Let’s go talk on the deck.”

-----

Shermie leaned against the railing of the ship, trying to get his mind around the story his younger brothers had just told him.

“So you two have families,” he said slowly. Stan and Ford nodded. “You both have spouses and children.”

“Technically, I only have one child,” Ford corrected.

“Right. Tate.” Shermie looked down at the water. “But Stan, you have…five kids?”

“Yep!” Stan said proudly. “And every single one of ‘em is great.”

“You haven’t changed your mind since meeting Emily’s girlfriend?” Ford asked. Stan sighed.

“Look. Do I wish my daughter didn’t shack up with my ex-girlfriend’s kid? Yes. But they’re happy together, and they’re some damn fine pirates, so it’s all right in my book.”

“Hang on.” Shermie looked at Stan. “Your daughter is dating Sam McCorkle?”

“You know her?”

“Yeah. Sam and Caleb went to school together. Huh. I thought Sam became a florist.”

“Nope. Pirate. Which is way better than what Carla used to do.” Stan’s expression became sour.

“…What did Carla used to do?”

“She was a mer hunter. She actually captured me.”

“Wait, really?” Shermie asked, aghast. Stan nodded.

“Yep. Angie got her to let me go, though.” Stan grinned. “Not gonna lie, I love it when she threatens people with bodily harm.” Shermie and Ford rolled their eyes. Footsteps sounded behind them. The three brothers turned. A young man stood on the deck, holding the hand of a girl about eight or ten.

“Um, I came to drop Lucy off,” the man said cautiously, eyeing Shermie.

“Shi- shoot!” Stan hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I forgot we agreed to watch her today.”

“It’s okay, I can take her to Uncle Harper,” the man started. Stan shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t plan anything else anyways. Lucy can stay with us.” Stan crouched down. “C’mere and give your Grandpa Stan a hug, huh sweetie?” The girl obliged, running forward eagerly and wrapping her arms around Stan. “Aw, you’re still the cutest half-mer I’ve ever seen.”

“Dad,” the man sighed. Shermie’s eyes widened.

“Stan, this is one of your children?”

“Yep.” Stan stood to his full height. “Only son. Emmett.” He ruffled the girl’s hair. “This is his daughter, Lucy. Human mom, so her default is legs. But we’re working on the tail and gills.”

“You have a granddaughter?”

“I’ve got…” Stan frowned. He looked at Emmett. “How many grandkids do I have now?” he asked. Emmett crossed his arms.

“I’m not tellin’ ya. You should know.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Stan turned back to Shermie. “I’ve got fifteen grandkids.” Shermie’s jaw dropped.

“Fifteen?”

“Well, more like twenty,” Stan said. “Can’t remember the exact number, but there’s a lot. Even with Molly and Daisy not having any kids, Danny’s on her third clutch. And she’s having the MerGucket large clutches, since she got with a merman instead of a human.” Stan grinned. “You can’t really say you’re the best grandpa anymore. I’ve got more grandkids than you.”

“Yeah, but you don’t remember all their names,” Emmett mumbled. Stan waved a hand.

“I usually remember at some point,” he said airily. Emmett rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say, Dad. Are ya gonna introduce me to this person you’re blabbin’ all the fam’ly secrets to, or what?” he asked. Shermie chuckled.

“He’s your son, all right.”

“Yep,” Stan said, beaming proudly. He clapped a hand on Shermie’s back. “Kiddo, this is your Uncle Shermie.”

“Uh, the same Uncle Shermie that you guys decided to keep out of…” Emmett waved his hand vaguely. “…mer stuff?”

“Yes, but it’s high time he was brought into the fold,” Ford said. After a moment, Emmett nodded.

“Yeah. Especially since Dipper and Mabel know all the stuff. It’d be kinda weird for some family members to know and not others.” He walked over to Shermie and held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet ya, Uncle Shermie.” Shermie ignored Emmett’s outstretched hand, instead wrapping him in a hug.

“Good to meet you, too, Emmett.” He broke off the hug. “Wow, you’re a tall one.”

“Even taller than Dad,” Emmett said with a smug look in Stan’s direction. Stan rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a real giant. Get on outta here before you’re late for your thing.”

“Yep. Bye Dad, bye Uncle Ford, bye Uncle Shermie.” Emmett ruffled Lucy’s hair. “Bye, Lucy-Loo. Be good for Grandpa Stan.” Lucy grinned at him.

“I won’t!” she chirped. Emmett chuckled and exited the ship. Lucy turned to Stan. “Grandpa, can we practice tails now?”

“Sure thing, sweetie.” Stan looked at Shermie. “We’re gonna have to cut this visit short, Sherm.”

“I understand. Grandchildren take priority. I’ll head out.” Shermie frowned at his brothers. “But I’ll be back tomorrow at three in the afternoon, and all my nieces and nephews better be there.”

“We’ll do what we can,” Ford said.

“Good. I’ll see you then.” Shermie walked off the ship, onto the pier. He glanced back just in time to see Stan jump overboard. He stopped, about to go back on board to help.

No, he’s fine. He probably jumps overboard at least twice a week. Shermie grinned. He probably did that regularly before he got the ability to grow a tail and gills. He walked down the pier. Man. That did not go how I expected it to. Still went pretty well, but… He shook his head. I shouldn’t be surprised. If anyone would turn into mermen and keep it a secret for decades, it’d be those two.

#let's be real here Shermie eventually demands to see Stan and Ford's grandkids too #he has no clue what he's in for. there's like thirty total and they all swarm him.#also idk why I threw Emmett in this it just felt like he should be in there #MerGucket AU #Shermie Pines #Stanford Pines #Emily Pines #Stanley Pines #Emmett McGucket #Stangie Family #my writing #ficlet #speecher speaks

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gosecretscribbles · 5 years

Text

MonthofMaybel2019 Week 2: Cryptid Cuties

Summary: Two warring insectoid societies turn the Pines' backyard into a battlefield. Mabel and Dipper care for an outcast from one of these societies, then realize that he is the key to ending the conflict.

A/N:

Well this turned out way longer than expected.

And also way more intense?? I have trigger warnings, just in case!

We don't see it, just the after effects, but our Cryptid Cutie got beat up by his society and made an outcast.

There's a quick battle between cryptids at the end and someone's limbs go crunch. Nothing graphic, limbs are shown healed but a bit bent later. It's minor but it's in there.

It was Saturday and the room was warm without being stuffy. Mabel snuggled deeper into the covers. Waddles was still sleeping, Dipper was mumbling dork words in his sleep, and she could hear her mom making Saturday pancakes in the kitchen. She yawned and, without opening her eyes, reached under her pillow for a pre-breakfast snack of sugar packets.

They weren't there.

Huh?

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Mabel propped up her head and lifted the pillow. No, they were there, only they'd been shoved to the edges of the mattress. And every last one of them was empty! They were as flat as Dipper's bow tie after Waddles had sat on it!

Suddenly Mabel heard a hair-raising shriek from the kitchen, followed by a really loud crash. Instantly she, Dipper, and Waddles ran down the hall.

“Mom!” Mabel called. “Mom are you – what happened?”

Their mother was standing clear across the room, arms plastered to the fridge, staring bug-eyed at an open kitchen cabinet where they kept the flour and sugar.

“Uh, Mom?” Dipper asked.

“You – it – thing!” she said, pointing emphatically at the cabinet. “I told you no more supernatural pets! Especially hair eyeballs that go rooting through the sugar!”

“Hairy what now?!”

Mabel stifled a laugh. She could already see the Grunkle-Ford-like gleam in her nerdbro's eye.

Evidently their mother say it, too. “Oh no you don't. Whatever it, we are not keeping it, you are marching it straight to the backyard and Mabel you make sure it actually gets there and doesn't end up under the bed.”

Mabel gave her a thumbs-up, then grabbed two cereal bowls while Dipper grabbed a spatula and a ladle. The two glanced at each other, nodded, then slowly approached the cabinet.

The sugar container was already open. They couldn't see anything yet, but the piles of sugar were quivering ever so slightly, granules sliding down the sides of the snowy mini-dunes. She held her breath. Dipper slowly extended the spatula...

“GREEEEE!”

The second the spatula touched it, a huge hairy eyeball sprang out of the sugar and zoomed straight for Dipper's face. He shouted and executed a terrific backhand, sending the ball of blurred fur right at Mabel. She caught it one bowl and clamped the other neatly on top.

“Tada!” she trilled. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Did you see that, did you see?” Dipper said excitedly. “I didn't see any wings, do you think it's another kind of eyebat, I only got a glimpse but –”

“Get. It. OUT!”

They got.

They'd barely made it to the back porch when Dipper grabbed her arm. “Wait wait, Mom didn't say anything about recording it! Just let me get my fish tank, we can trap it and I can make a video recording before we let it go!”

“Okay but then we're actually letting it go, right?” Mabel said. “Because Mabel ain't riskin' her pancakes for an eyeball.”

“Yeah okay be right back!” He dashed into the house.

Mabel sighed and sat down, the bowls still in her hands. Guess the pancakes would have to wait a little longer. Waddles settled in next to her with an oink. That was when she noticed it.

Their backyard was a biggish square with low jasmine hedges on either side of the porch, one tree each against the left and right walls, and a nice spread of grass perfect for picnics and leaf-pile-jumping and the occasional mowing of crop circles (Dipper's handiwork, she was 90% sure). But somehow twin termite mounds had been created in each of the yard's back corners, both of them over four feet tall and ringed with piles of dirt that made them look like tiny gopher playgrounds.

“Hmmm...I don't suppose you had anything to do with that?” she asked the bowls.

To her surprise, she heard a very small but unmistakeable groan.

She hesitated.

Should I do it? she asked herself.

You should absolutely look at and nurture what is obviously the cutest fluffy kitten version of an eye bat ever to exist in the universe! (said herself).

“Welp, when I'm right I'm right!” Mabel said cheerfully. She cracked open the lid –

The back door banged open. “Okay, I got the tank, let's – ack, Mabel, close the lid, close the lid!”

“Dipper, look!”

She held up the bottom bowl. Cradled at its center was a creature six inches high, with a brown furry spider butt that turned seamlessly into the torso of a young human boy. The butt part was complete with eight spider legs and a design on the back that looked exactly like an eye, and the boy part of him was a lean athlete's build right down to his chiseled arms and back, with a sprinkle of chocolate-colored freckles under a pair of huge wounded innocent puppy dog eyes. Mabel's heart wanted to burst right out of her chest and proclaim her undying love for him on the spot.

Only two things stopped her. One, his muscular torso was covered in deep cuts and purple bruises, with his two front right legs were twisted at definitely broken-looking angles.

Two, he was curled up as small as he could get, looking absolutely petrified.

“Oooookay,” Dipper said slowly. “So, not an eyebat.”

“Dipper, I think we really hurt him,” Mabel said urgently. “Can you get some floss and toothpicks or something? For splints?”

“Well, sure, but a lot of spiders can be poisonous. What if it bites you?”

“I won't bite.”

It was just a whisper, but it was so unexpected that Dipper jumped and Mabel nearly dropped the bowl. Then she squealed so loudly both boys flinched and covered their ears.

“OMIGOSH YOU ARE SO CUUUUTE! Don't worry, we're going to fix you right up and then we'll go on dates but we're from two different worlds so our romance could never last and we'll be star crossed lovers it's so ROMANTIC!”

“Interesting bedside manner,” Dipper said drily. Then he turned to the spider. “Give me a second to get some first aid stuff. Mabel, try not to plan the wedding while I'm gone.”

“I make no promises!”

She didn't plan the wedding (out loud), but she did take care of the actual bandaging part, using tweezers to tie floss around splints made from toothpicks. Waddles assisted her by oinking encouragement, and Dipper held up a magnifying glass for her to make it easier. He also kept up a running conversation to distract her patient.

“So you are poisonous?”

“Yes,” Anansi said, a little breathless. (He'd told them his name, but they didn't have the extra vocal cords to pronounce it, and he'd agreed that this was a decent substitute.) “But we don't...generally bite...we coat our spears with it...”

“Who's 'we'?”

“The Spider-People.”

“Shoulda seen that coming. But what do you need the spears for?”

“To fight...the Mantis-People...” His face twisted. “Please, is this almost finished? This last splint really ow ow OW OW!”

“Done!” Mabel said quickly, sitting back. “Sorry, I think I tugged the floss a bit when I cut it. Better?”

“Much, thank you.” Anansi got shakily to his feet.

“So I'm guessing those mounds over there, they're for the Spider- and Mantis-People?” Dipper asked, nodding to the termite skyscrapers.

Anansi drew himself up to his full height (he looked so ruggedly angsty.) “Yes. This land belongs to the Spider-People, but it was stolen from our forefathers when they were tricked into signing the Contract. We warriors have fought for generations to reclaim what is ours from the cowardly Mantis.”

“And the land you're fighting for is...?”

Anansi glanced at the backyard.

Dipper groaned. “Of course it is. Look, Anansi, pretty sure we can persuade our mom to leave the yard alone, but we should really get you back before our mom gets antsy. No insect pun intended.”

Mabel sighed, but she got up with Dipper as he scooped up Anansi and started towards the left-hand mound.

“Wait – NOT THAT WAY!” Anansi screeched. “Those are the Mantis-People, they'll kill me on sight!”

“Oh, oh! Sorry.” Dipper started toward the other mound.

“Not them either! They – they'll probably kill me, too.”

They both stopped short and stared at him.

“But what about your family?” Mabel asked. “Even if you're the lone wolf-spider type, every angst warrior needs a family!”

“But...I'm not a warrior.” Anansi hung his head. “Every time we fight the Mantises, all I do is run away. My brother won't even look at me anymore. But all I really want to do is crawl up to the tallest mounds and listen to the stars, to write the poetry of a river, the whispers of a stone...I want to create beautiful works of art. Like the Weaver.” He glanced up at Mabel, guilt written all over his face.

“The Weaver? What're you – oh, oh! The sweaters!” Then she gasped. “THE WISHING SWEATER! The tiny writing, that was you!”

“Not so loud, please!” He thrust out both arms to quiet her and glanced anxiously at the mounds. “Weaving is forbidden, no one else knows how! If they heard you and realized I was here –”

“But you can't stay in our house,” Dipper pointed out. “It was an accident, but you got pretty banged up.”

“That wasn't from –” He stopped short. Mabel started to get a squirmy feeling in her stomach.

“Anansi,” Dipper said slowly, “I thought you said you ran away from battles. How did you get all those other injuries?”

He swallowed. “They...caught me weaving...”

Mabel gasped. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. She locked eyes with Dipper, who looked equally grim.

“You know what? Never mind,” Mabel told him. “You're staying with us. Dipper's got an empty fish tank and Mom's got two pounds of sugar she'll probably toss out anyway. And if anyone from anywhere tries to hurt you, he'll have to get through me, Dipper, and a seriously adorable pig.”

Their mother was displeased.

But once Dipper and Mabel explained the story, she agreed to let him stay, as long as he mostly kept to their room to avoid her (or their dad) squishing him on accident. She even went out to the pet store for little colored rocks, and then to the fabric store for a tiny pair of silver needles, so Mabel could teach him how to knit. Within a day, Anansi had settled in and started Weaving like crazy. His masterpiece was a web that stretched straight across the bedroom ceiling and glittered like an indoor Milky Way. Best of all, the runes in the Weaving were magic, so the constellations in the web moved just like the actual sky. Both Dipper and Mabel <em>loved</em> it.

The yard was a different story. Every day at dawn, the Mantises would climb to their tallest tower and read the Contract, a tiny Weaving no bigger than a butterfly wing, and read it aloud. (Neither Dipper nor Mabel spoke Mantis, but somehow it still sounded smug.) The Spiders would hear it and climb their towers and shout battle cries, and then the two sides would run down and clash in the middle like teeny-tiny titans. The Mantises had blades on their forelegs, which made them excellent in hand-to-hand fighting, but the Spiders could throw spears the way Mabel threw bubble-themed parties.

Mabel tried to do her Lilliputian Peacemaker thing, but that ended just as badly as the first time. The Mantises scraped up her ankles and her legs stung for hours from the Spider-People's spears. After that, Dipper tried to film some of the battle to show Grunkle Ford, but he stopped after just a few minutes.

“It's literally war,” he'd told Mabel, walking into their bedroom and staring at his camera. “Literal, actual war. It's nothing like the movies.”

Anansi had turned away.

By the end of the week, Mabel and Dipper came home from school to find that their backyard had been pitted and cratered so much that it resembled the surface of the moon. Dipper and Mabel glanced at each other and then hurried to their bedroom.

“Hey, Anansi?” Mabel called once they'd reached it. He was sitting in his tank, staring at his sugar bowl, still full to the brim.

Dipper dropped his backpack with a thunk. “Hey man. Listen, the battlefield's getting pretty close to the house. I don't think anybody knows you're here, but just in case, maybe you should start coming to school with us.”

Mabel nodded vigorously. “Yeah! You'd make a totally cute boyfriend-in-a-pocket accessory! Or you could hang out in the Art Room with Waddles. You could spin a web over him as a commentary on the advertisement and consumerism in Sheryl's Net! What do you think?”

He didn't answer.

“Anansi...?”

Mabel looked closer. Anansi wasn't just sitting there. He was all hunched over with his hair hanging over his face. And she almost missed it, because he was so tiny, but his shoulders were definitely shaking.

He was crying.

“Oh, no, please don't cry!” She hurried to her dresser, grabbed a cotton ball and handed it to him to use as a tissue. “Tell us what's wrong, we can fix it!”

“I m-miss them,” he sobbed. “They'd all k-kill me if they found me and I miss them anyway. I can't stop m-missing them. I don't even know if my b-brother's still alive. I'm sorry, you've b-been so kind to me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...” He buried his whole face in the cotton.

Mabel's heart squeezed and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Anansi.”

Dipper started pacing. “There's gotta be some way to end the fighting. Or at least get them to accept you. Just because the Mantises can Weave doesn't mean...” He slowed to a stop. “Wait. Anansi, how did you learn how to Weave if only the Mantises can do it?”

Anansi looked up, then down, twisting the cotton in his tiny fists. “I...when I went up to the tops of the towers...I didn't mean to look, but they read the Contract every morning, so –”

Mabel gasped. “You read the contract?”

“I didn't mean to! It was just there! And then I noticed how some of the patterns matched the words –”

“Can you tell us what it says?” Dipper asked.

Anansi recited it instantly, word for word, but this time in English. Mabel shook her head in disbelief. Talk about a serious bookworm! Bookspider?

Then Anansi got to the end of the Contract and both Dipper's and Mabel's eyes widened in realization. When he was done, Dipper turned to look at her.

“You thinking what I'm thinking?”

She nodded, a fierce grin spreading over her face. “Oh yeah. Anansi, don't worry about a thing. The Mystery Twins have a plan.”

The next morning was Saturday. Dipper and Mabel waited at the back door, listening. Anansi was hidden in the fluffy neck of Mabel's sweater, under her hair.

The Mantis leaders climbed their tallest termite tower, the Contract glittering in their scythe-hands like a creepy gem. But just as their leader took a breath to read it, the twins burst through the door.

“CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!” Mabel roared.

The leader spun around so fast he nearly fell right off. “Challenge?” he sputtered. “What challenge?”

“The one at the end of the Contract,” Dipper said. “The one where whoever wins three contests gets to amend any part of the Contract they want, or even nullify the whole thing.”

The Spider-People began crawling out of their mounds. They'd been waiting, too, spears in hand, and were now staring back and forth between the twins and their sworn enemies.

“The Challenge itself is null!” the Spider-Leader called out. He was about as tall as the Mantis leader, but while the leader was thin with a turquoise shell, the leader was a bigger, buffer, way hairier version of Anansi. “The entire Contract is a lie! We refuse to be bound by any part of it. Besides, it's rigged in the Mantis' favor! They get to decide all three of the contests!”

“You're just unwilling to admit inferiority!” the Mantis leader bellowed. Instantly war cries went up from both sides.

“Wait wait wait!” Mabel said quickly, stepping between them. “You guys are tearing up the land you want with all your fighting! Plus our mom is pretty much ready to hose you guys. The Challenge is the best way to end it. Dipper and I can be your impartial judges. And, and! The Spider-People get to pick one of the challenges!”

“No they don't!” the Mantis leader screeched, just as the Spider guy yelled “ONE ISN'T FAIR!”

“Do you forfeit, then?” Dipper asked innocently. “I mean, either side is allowed to invoke the Challenge. If the other side decides not to accept, it would be a pretty cowardly defeat.”

Within seconds both sides had not only agreed but were throwing Challenge-based puns that would have made Grunkle Stan proud.

The Mantises picked close-range combat for the fist trial. Dipper brought out a breakfast tray to serve as the fighting area and each side chose a warrior. The one from the Mantis side was extra-tall, at least eight inches, with a carapace the color of pale jade and scythes that were the envy of every sushi chef alive. The warrior from the Spider side was so ruggedly handsome he could've been the cover for Gentlespider's Quarterly, and his muscular body moved with a predator's grace.

Anansi gasped and shivered against her neck. “That's my brother!” he whispered.

She swallowed and held up her hands. “Okay! You win if your opponent goes down for a count of ten. No killing or you automatically lose.”

The Spider scowled darkly and the Mantis looked annoyed.

“What if he's jus a little bit dead?”

“No killing! Ready – GO!”

Both warriors lunged. Anansi's brother dug a leg in the tray and swiveled his body in a half-circle so the Mantis' own momentum carried him straight past, then karate-chopped Mantis in the neck joint. But the Mantis threw his armored head back, trapping his hand between the head and the shell, then swung both scythes sideways, hard. The spider's front right legs snapped and he went down with a shout.

Dipper shouted and Mabel jumped to her feet.

“I SAID NO KILLING!”

“You didn't say anything about maiming,” the Mantis said smugly.

“That doesn't – fine, whatever! 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-you-win! Now somebody please help him!”

Two of the Spiders moved forward, their faces stony, and helped their fallen comrade off the tray. The Mantis side welcomed their warrior back with victory cries. Anansi trembled against Mabel's neck the whole time.

The Spider leader stepped forward. “The second contest...IS SPEAR THROWING!” he shouted, and cries of challenge went up from his people. “Let the Encroachers see how well they fair against a skill they deem inferior!”

Once again, each side chose a warrior who stepped to the center of the tray. The Mantises didn't even make spears and had to borrow one, much to the vicious pleasure of the Spiders. Both warriors had to throw the spear at the far wall as hard as they could, without hitting or hurting anyone on either side.

The Spiders won. It wasn't even close.

Once both sides had sort-of-barely calmed down, Dipper indicated the Mantises to announce the final contest. This was the trickiest part of the plan. They were counting on the Mantises choosing a very specific task. If they didn't...

The Mantis leader smiled coldly. “Let the Spiders' fate hang on a skill that they themselves deem beneath them. The tie breaker will be...WEAVING!”

“WHAT?!”

The Spiders shrieked so loudly the windows of the house actually rattled. After three minutes of yelling and insults, Dipper had to threaten the hose to get both sides to calm back down enough for an actual conversation.

“THE ENTIRE CONTEST WAS A SHAM!” the Spider leader screeched. “YOU'VE BEEN ON THE MANTIS' SIDE THE ENTIRE TIME!”

“YOU AGREED TO THE TERMS!” the Mantis leader screeched back.

“AND WE WERE DECEIVED AS YOU DECEIVED OUR FOREFATHERS! WE'LL NEVER HONOR THIS CHALLENGE!”

“IS THAT A FORFEIT?!”

“THERE IS NO CHALLENGE IF THE CONTEST ITSELF IS A FRAUD!”

“You still agreed to the entire thing,” Dipper said, staring the Spider leader down. “And it was discussed aloud, so you can't blame messed-up Weaving for this one. Only a coward would ignore the consequences of his own promise.”

“But we don't even have a Weaver!”

“Yes you do,” Mabel said.

A quivering lump moved under Mabel's sweater, across her shoulder, down her sleeve. She held out her arm, and Anansi stepped out in the open at the center of the tray.

There was dead silence.

Mabel had thought his people would start shouting again, but somehow this was so much worse. They were staring at his back as though they could drill straight through it.

The Mantis leader smirked and gestured to a youngish-looking Weaver at his left. “A youngling of our own will suffice for us,” he sneered. “Though even our novices would outclass every last one of you.”

“The Weaving has to be a poem about peace,” Mabel said quickly, before the Spiders could start yelling again. She took out her stop watch and held it up. “Both sides have five minutes. Begin.”

The spinners began immediately, with the Mantis spitting a thin stream of saliva into sticky string. They started in the corners of the tray and worked their way toward the middle. One minute ticked by, then two. No one moved but the weavers.

At three minutes, though, the Mantises began to shift and mutter. Where Anansi's weaving was tight and even, his runes uniform, the other weaver's loops were too tight or too loose, and there were little knots everywhere that ruined the symmetry.

The timer buzzed.

“The appearance means nothing!” the Mantis leader screamed. “It is the words themselves that hold true power!”

“You're right,” Mabel said. “Weavers, if you please.”

The Mantis weaver stepped forward and read his poem. The faint threads from the shadow grew under the weaving like a pool of lavender, and the knots glowed like stars. It really was pretty.

Until Anansi stepped forward and read his poem. The many delicate lines of his work seemed to shimmer and undulate like waves of grass. Then she realized the air above the weaving actually was shimmering. Fresh greenery grew straight out of the threads, pouring over the sides of the tray, flowing across the broken earth until everything was covered in a fresh layer of moss and clover and tiny white flowers sparkling with dew.

“The Spiders win the Challenge!” Mabel called out, over the shouts on either side. It took a while to get the Mantis leader to actually hand over the Contract. Once the Spider leader had it in his hands, he ripped the whole thing in half.

“How are your legs doing?” Mabel asked.

It had been another whole week since the day of the Challenge. The Mantises had left and the Spiders had stayed, although they mostly kept to their mound. Anansi had retreated back to his tank in their bedroom. He was currently working on a web over Waddle's bed, just like the one in Sheryl's Net.

He flexed his injured limbs. “Better, thank you. The bandages can come off soon. Can I borrow the book again? Human letters are so much harder than runes. Too many curves.”

“Runes are human letters, too,” Dipper called from the bed.

Anansi actually rolled his eyes. “Where do you think you got the runes?”

“Ohhhh were there tiny Norse Spider-People?? There were, weren't there? I bet they had tiny little Norse hats with horns and everything!”

Dipper sighed audibly. “Mabel, real helmets didn't have –”

Tap tap.

They looked up. Three Spider-People stood at the windowsill.

One of them was Anansi's brother.

Mabel glanced at him, checking, but he nodded so she went over and opened the window.

“We are here for the Weaver,” Anansi's brother announced.

“Uh, sure!”

“Not you.” He right past her at Anansi. “You. Weaver.”

“Uh,” Dipper said, getting up.

Anansi just sort of head-bobbed at them and skuttled awkwardly along the wall until he reached the sill. Even with the brother's legs still bent funny, he was at least an inch taller than Anansi and twice as muscular. Dipper hurried to stand next to Mabel and she grabbed his shirtsleeve, watching anxiously.

“The Mantises are contesting our right to the other lands,” the brother announced, like he was giving a public speech. His two escorts stared straight ahead like they were being graded on how well they resembled statues. “They claim that the Challenge was only valid for the land where we won. We will Challenge them again and again until their own laws turn against them. Therefore, we will send Egglings from every tribe, and you will teach them Weaving.”

Anansi looked stunned. “Teach – warriors? Weaving?”

“Warriors do not learn Weaving,” one of the other Spiders snapped, his tone harsh. Anansi's mouth clicked shut. Mabel stuck out her tongue and Dipper scowled.

“We will send the first Eggling in a moonturn,” his brother continued, as if nothing had happened. “I will relay further instructions at that time. Prepare your lessons. That is all.”

At once the other two spiders turned and scuttled away. Anansi's brother turned as well, then sort of half-stumbled, so that his two injured legs brushed Anansi's. Then he was gone.

“Nice guy,” Dipper said drily, moving to shut the window.

Mabel knelt down to put her face at Anansi's level. “Hey, you okay?”

“Fine,” Anansi said, all wide-eyed like a spider in the headlights. He looked at the spot where his brother had touched him. “I'm fine. I'm – I'm wonderful. Did you hear them? Nobody called me a coward! They want me to keep Weaving! They want me to teach Weaving!” He actually jumped five inches straight up, making Dipper jump back and bang his head on their bunk bed.

“Sorry!” Anansi said, not actually looking sorry at all.

Mabel squealed and pinched her cheeks as hard as she could. “Omigosh you are so cute when you're all bouncy!”

“Uh-huh,” Dipper said, his eyes watering. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but you realize we still have a problem.”

Mabel jumped to her feet. “You're right, the Spiders still haven't embraced the true beauty of Weaving! Grab your needles and spinneret-things, Anansi, we're gonna make Weavings so great we'll wow the spider-pants off every last Spider!”

“Not that,” Dipper said. “I mean yes, obviously, but his brother just said he'd be sending a bunch of little baby spiders to hang out with Anansi.”

“So?”

“So – exactly how are we going to explain that to Mom?”

Uhhhhhh, tada? I don't normally write stuff quite this intense (or with heavy political undertones??) but I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to leave comments, and thank you for reading!

#monthofmaybel2019 #week 2 #cryptid cuties #spider #spider-people #not what you're thinking #TINY spider people #and tiny Mantis people #Weaving #Political message???#dipper pines #dipper #mabel #mabel pines #anansi

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