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#I mean - i have character from that game i loathe but i can back it up with receipts

inbarfink · 8 months

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Okay, so I already wrote a bunch of stuff about how that scene, although it is really sweet, is also kind of a Bad Sign for Simon - how he refuses to learn the Obvious Lesson from the Winterworld adventure (that being the Ice King again is probably a really really bad idea). But I want to talk about it also a little more about what it means for Fionna’s character as well.

Because while sitting around and wallowing in self-loathing is probably bad for Fionna, especially after being told that she shouldn't be allowed to exist, and Simon is right to try and get her out of her funk. It's also still worthwhile for Fionna to have some introspection about the Consequences of Her Actions. Because she and Cake really did not consider them at all at first. They have a sense of morality and an instinct towards heroism, but they also tend to kinda forget the fantastical worlds they visit don’t exist entirely for their fantasy and have kind of a Protagonist-Centered-Morality fallacy.

Most obviously you can see it in the market in Ooo. How Cake, in her excitement, damaged and hurt and even killed

A bunch of innocent marketgoers without even noticing. And then Fionna immediately jumped to Cake’s defense against these ‘weirdos’, who were actually just normal kinda-righteously-angry Oooian citizens.

It’s actually very similar to the whole Winterworld situation. Fionna’s assumption that she’s automatically the hero and protagonist of the story and black-and-white view of the situation and her tendency to kick ass first and ask questions later meant that she just recklessly injured a lot of innocent people.

(It might’ve been worse actually cause at least in Winterworld she was at least manipulated by an evil Wizard)

Fionna and Cake clearly have a great potential for heroism, but they do need to be a bit more considerate of the situation and people around them. And it does make sense considering that from their perspective - they’ve been living a very ordinary life up until now (and Cake was literally an animal. A very clever animal, but still not bound by the same standards of morality as the talking animals in Ooo). Action and adventure and fantasy stuff has been purely the realm of daydream and video games for them - and Fionna literally speaks about it in these terms.

(also, Fionna's Main Character Syndrome was undoubtedly validated when God literally told her that she was created to be the main character of her universe)

So yeah, it takes them some time to really process how to be heroes - they need to grapple with questions that Finn and Jake already kinda dealt with seventeen years ago. And actually a lot of those; how to resolve a situation without necessarily using violence, when does a 'villain' actually deserve sympathy and kindness, the importance of the larger context of any given conflict... their confrontations with Ice King all played a big part in that. It was never just him, but he was still a very major part.

And for Fionna and Cake right now, learning these lessons require some amount of personal introspection. So while it was a sweet attempt at comforting, I dunno if Simon’s little ‘the only problem with that universe is that this Alternative Me was terrible because he didn’t even acknowledge or remember Betty as the love of our life and the light of my entire universe’ thing is actually Good.

I’m not quite sure Simon is the best person to teach Fionna and Cake heroism 101, because he is so focused on the Crown Quest as the thing that brings back Meaning to his life, and because his fatherly instincts just kinda go “Sad Young Person???? MUST GIVE COMFORT!” and also on account of the kidnapping.

I’m sure Fionna is going to become the heroine she dreams about eventually, it’s just going to be a bumpy ride. The best we can hope for is that they accept Simon’s comfort, that she doesn't start believing that she is nothing but an Error for the entire universe like the Scarab claims, but don’t necessarily listen to all of Simon's his words either.

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tubbytarchia · 3 months

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Traffic/Life series roster as dinosaurs

A lot of these don't make for very good hybrids unless you wanna get into freaky territory or full on centaur but... Hope it's a fun scroll nonetheless!

Grian - Novialoidea

A small birdie... The name also means "New wings" which I find fun. New lives and death games to be part of, new wings to accompany him... (Honorable mention to "Shuvuuia" the "desert bird" who unfortunately is not a pterosaur (doesn't fly)) (Yes we're including pterosaurs! Just using "dinosaur" as a conveient blanket term)

Tango - Aratasaurus / Pyroraptor

Fire raptor! Either works just fine and Tango as a skittery little raptor is perfect for a creature like him

Scar - Apatosaurus

"Deceptive Lizard" harkening back to Scar's scamming tendencies. Though I've always liked the idea of him being some larger gentler animal in any hybrid scenario and a long-neck fits the bill well. He can poke his nose into people's conversations easily to start marketing something useless to them and swishes his tail to ward off anyone who's about to stop him

Impulse - Nasutoceratops

Ren - Regaliceratops

Horns. COOL horns. I don't know what else you want from me ceratopses are just way too awesome. Nasutoceratops is a wicked cool dinosaur for having its horns point so forward much like a bull and I for one can jive with some Impulse bull symbolism. Bulls are often viewed as strong, sturdy and loyal, traits also assigned to Impulse a LOT of the time. But though he IS intensely loyal in many cases (+ Ceratopses are also known for how they defend their own!), and he's not very outward about the following traits, he can get quite petty and bitchy and hold grudges. Still, you don't think of that when you look at him and he seems to agree! Eg him feeling like he should be accepted into Cleo's alliance in 3rd life without actually proving himself when Cleo was rightfully hesitant, at which Impulse more or less rolled his eyes. And him proclaiming "betrayal!" when killed by Bdubs when their alliance was as firm as a rat's tail

(And I feel the need to point this out too just in case: "bulls are also known for their temper" yeah but they're not like that! Bulls like many animals become defensive when exposed to aggravating behavior or movement! Which you could work into Impulse's grudge holding and intense loyalty...? I don't know enough about him sorry but do with that what you will)

Regaliceratops! Regal!! Crown shaped frill!!! Need I say more?

Gem - Therizinosaurus

Theris are so bad bitch coated to me and I would love to have one as my wife I mean um I couldn't decide on a less generic specimen so Gem can just be a Theri! A herbivore - often associated with the belief that herbivores are gentle passive creatures, but far from it, especially with Gem! She bares her claws like it's no one's business

Martyn - Stygmoloch

A Pachy with a tough head and a tendency to bonk people - I think it fits Martyn's tendency to perpetuate drama haha. The Stygmoloch's name though more or less translates to "demon of the styx river", the river of the underworld representing loathing of death. To me this makes sense with all the watcher lore (that I have a hard time understanding but whatever!!) especially with how Martyn became in LL. The watchers themselves don't loathe death (??) of course. They're death games. But someone within the game trying to stay alive and win? Probably loathes the idea of themselves dying. I have no clue what Im saying

Pearl - Carnotaurus

Ok maybe a hot take not to make her into a pteradon or even a raptor with wing-like features but those just didn't fit that well in my opinion. Rather I wanted her to have some kind of horn motif in place of her wings as visual symbolism for her character. I'd like to imagine her having fine horns, to then have them damaged (one broken off) and simultaneously the other more grown out. Think of how domesticated goats for example have their horns trimmed. I think human hybrids with horns would do the same to keep them from becoming a bother but Pearl would neglect to after her heartbreak in DL. I was heavily considering the Diabloceratops for this, especially because of the name (Devil horned face - good ostracizing material) but Pearl strikes me a lot more as a carnivore and there are only two horned carnivores out there so... Carnotaurus it is haha. And even now I'm making her horns unrealistically big but.... We can suspend some belief

BigB - Oryctodromeus

"Digging Runner"! I've already talked plenty of why BigB is very rabbit behavior to me and my reasons for assigning this burrowing dinosaur to him are similar. Tldr he is fidgety and cautious yet clever and constantly buries himself underground

Lizzie - Anurognathidae

I don't even fucking know man it made me think of Lizzie and then I wasn't able to assign anything else to her. Lizzie often claims to be confused and if any dinosaur looks to be in a perpetual state of confusion then its this one. I know a lot of people like to portray Lizzie as a butterfly also so there you go, wings!!! And it's quite cat-like too for those who like to draw her as a cat

Mumbo - Leinkupal

I really struggled with Mumbo... So many different dinos fit him imo but I figured it should be at least something moderately large (so "Technosaurus" was out of the question lol). Then I rediscovered this dinosaur whose name translates to "vanishing family" and then I thought about LL and SL and how Mumbo went out quickly after the initial death/s and left a very felt absence in someone's alliance and then I became really emotional and forgot what I was doing

Joel - Nodocephalosaurus

Bdubs - Psittacosaurus

"Knob Headed Lizard"

Joel as an Ankylosaur has been stuck in my head from day one of assigning dinosaurs to the Lifers and I'm frustrated that I can't truly explain why. You'd view an Ankylosaur as a slow and docile creature, even compared to other herbivores, but...

1. Maybe not so much nowadays, I don't know what non-dino nerds think, but I feel like ankylosaurs were largely believed to be HUGE back in the day, much like velociraptors, when in reality they're not that big. The Nodocephalosaurus is especially small even among other ankylosaurs. But, well, we all know what Joel loves to say about himself

2. Joel is or likes to make himself look well in control, just as ankylosaurs have little to worry about as far as predators go. Especially in earlier series where he was content basing mostly by himself. It's always when things get dire and he enters his red life that he becomes very impulsive and erratic like an ankylosaur flipped on its back

3. I know there's a distinction between Traffic Joel and Empires Joel and whatever other Joel but... Even in death games his more charitable traits shine through here and there. He really becomes a dangerous rascal for a large majority of the time and he's very good at it, he's not putting on a mask or anything, but I like to remember that underneath that tough spiky armor is gentleness and caring. His care towards Lizzie and Pearl and Etho etc etc

4. The image of Joel as a hell of a spiky creature is just really fun to me. Yet heavy and blunt ones! And someone once proposed the idea of him having a club tail but having chiselled it to be sharp to mirror him being a menace. (Added benefit also that it's lighter that way haha) To me he's always been an obvious heavy hitter rather than stealthy or particularly creative etc. Him as a carnivore just doesn't work as well for me

The name bares no fitting meaning but when I look at Bdubs I think of Psittaco. All other species close to it in looks are already ceratopsians and we have like... 3 of those already lol. Im sorry Bdubs you look so stupid

Cleo - Lythronax

There's so few predators in this roster lol oops, but Cleo deserves to be an apex one! The name translates to "Gore King" because you know, zombies... and you know, Cleo is very king so true. If any of the Lifers should be able to boast rows of razor sharp teeth to gore others it should be ZombieCleo

Scott - Theiophytalia

I've been really struggling with Scott but how about the dinosaur whose name translates to "Belonging to the garden of Gods". There's only one known specimen of this species and it's an Iguanadon looking dinosaur which I think a lot of people would regard as the most basic, possibly boring type of dinosaur (if it weren't for the Allosaurus which already takes the title of "basic straight white guy") but that further fits Scott imo. It's always been a strong point of appeal to me how MUCH there is to his character that so often goes under the radar or unexplored, and how he's very often portrayed as just some handsome looking guy as opposed to a hybrid etc. He's not at all extravagant yet has mastered his craft of bending fate in his favor, he so often has things perfectly under his control just as he wants them, etc... reflective of the name "Theiophytalia" even if you wouldn't think such a dinosaur to sport one of the most prolific names a dinosaur can have. Also garden something something flower husbans. Basically whatever Bree's take on Scott is lol. I don't wanna blab for 5 paragraphs about that blue mf here but. I hope this makes sense

Jimmy - Yinlong

I struggled with this mf the most because he's another very hashtag deep character. I felt really bad to remove his bird motifs completely because the canary is so essential to him, but a raptor nor a pteradon fit my image of him at all. I spent so much time looking into various species but it just aint it, but Yinlong was possibly quilled and we can still cover him in feathers, even if he has nothing close to wings haha... BUT ANYWAY. Yinlong is a small kind of pathetic looking dinosaur, and Jimmy definitely isn't small but he'd sure be made to feel that way. Yinlong translates to "Hidden Dragon" however, a rather thought-provoking name for such a dinosaur. Given his character, it sure does feel like there's a soul of a dragon laying dormant somewhere in him, buried by all the self deprecation and curse labels. Honorable mention to Tianyulong, a very similar dinosaur who was named after a museum, but "Tianyu" also translates to peace and content. Something that Jimmy can't yet but deserves to be

Etho - undefined raptor

Already made a loong post about raptor Etho haha which I assume yall have seen since the support towards that post is the only reason I'm even making this post

Skizz - Olorotitan

"Titanic Swan" close enough to an angel right. I feel the whole angel thing is a bit overdone when Skizz can become a malicious little creature every now and then, but swans much like angels do get viewed as beautiful and taken as symbolism of love. Much like Skizz is largely viewed as an angel and often as someone who can do no wrong. But mostly I wanted Skizz to be a hadrosaur/duck-billed dinosaur, because those are dinosaurs known for their speculated vocalizations. And what is Skizz good at? Talking and voicing his love and appreciation? Yeah? Yeah... I'm so sorry Skizz btw this hybrid idea does not work out

Again, a lot of these don't work so well as hybrids... Some like the long-neck ones I cant imagine to have more than a spiky spine back and a tail, but! These picks aren't based on hybrid potential but rather what I think genuinely fits. I did really work on this all day looking through a bunch of dinosaurs and research haha, but I do love dinosaurs a lot... If you disagree with any hey thats cool! Feel free to give me your opinions if you've any and I hope this was fun to scroll through regardless

#oh boy here we go with the tags #grian #tangotek #impulsesv #rendog #I feel bad tagging these Im not gonna tag them all alright forgive me #zombiecleo #joel smallishbeans #geminitay #ldshadowlady #ok thats more than enough forgive me traffic gods #trafficblr #but also blabber?#rendog is my fave... and Joel but I have ankylosaur bias #ankylosaurus best animal sorry to every other animal #oh and Gem of course haha....... Theris are so cool man #second best animal #tubby art

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awoogayanderes · 11 months

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BSD MEN WITH THEIR TOXIC TRAITS

➪ characters : osamu dazai, chuuya nakahara, ryūnosuke akutagawa, fyodor dostoevsky, sigma, saigiku jouno

➪ other notes : i love writing silly angst with silly characters from my favorite silly anime / manga <3 non-edited

osamu dazai :

running away at any conflict with you

- whilst dazai has a lot of toxic traits and red flags, this issue is the biggest one by far

- running away is all dazai has left when it comes to arguing with you

- you’re someone he can’t lose, so instead he pushes everything under the rug, expecting it to go away

- you don’t dare mention his habit, but this fighting and forgetting habit has your hands tied together, not knowing what to do

- one minute you’re at each other’s throats, the next minute he’s gone, with uncomfortable silence choking you

- when you wake up, he’s hugging you tightly in the middle of his sleep as if your previous night’s encounter never existed

- he brings small bouquets of flowers to you when he comes back, wilting away once you get up and put them in a vase

- it’s almost a routine at this point, you fight, he leaves, you go to sleep angry, he comes back with flowers and lies next to you

- a relationship is staying with each other when things get difficult at times, but what happens when they leave you and come back into your arms with no other words said ?

chuuya nakahara :

over possessiveness and accusing of cheating

- this all roots from his previous betrayals where he thinks he’s found a family, only for it to be gone in a split second

- he’s a darling partner except that he can’t seem to trust you as much as he tries to

- ‘it’s just for precaution’ he says when he sends his men to be with you when you go out, it makes you feel weird having someone by you at all times

- if he ever gets the feeling that you’re being too friendly with a random waiter it always ends up with him accusing you of cheating on him

- you beg him to believe you when you say that you aren’t like the people he had in his life before, that you wouldn’t leave him

- he wants to trust you but when someone gets too close to you, it’s almost like a primal instinct to get you away from them

- he spoils you to no end but nothing materialistic compares to being alone without someone breathing down your neck

- it’s overwhelming not having time to yourself, always being surrounded by someone because they’re afraid to lose you

- you love him like a human so why does he love you like a trophy in fear of betrayal ?

ryūnosuke akutagawa :

lashing out at you for caring

- what else were you expecting when you started dating someone with so much trauma that he can only express with anger

- he doesn’t mean to lash out at you for no reason, he wants to make it work but instead of improving, his attitude continues to grow

- he doesn’t like you “nagging” at him to take better care of himself

- you know that there’s a big brick wall that stops you from reaching his heart but at what point is too much, too much

- when you nod at him after he screams at you, it almost angers him more because he thinks you aren’t listening even though you are, not wanting to argue back and cause more chaos

- there’s times where he makes up for his behavior, sometimes he picks a random flower from grass and gives it to you

- he doesn’t know why he gets so angry that you care for his wellbeing, isn’t that what couples normally do for each other

- it’s saddening seeing the own man you let into your life berate you for no reason

- it’s so hard to love someone who just seems to loathe you so much even with his small actions of caring

fyodor dostoyevsky :

seeing himself as your superior and seeing you as a pawn in his own game

- another man with a shitload of red flags and toxic traits, this one rising above them all

- he cares about you, he does ! but not in the way you’d like, he cares about you like how humans care about their pets

- sure he’d give you the world if he could, but he’d also give you up for his ideal world if it ever came down to that

- a relationship is a balance where each partner sees the other one as an equal, yeah not with fyodor it’s not

- you’ve proven your worth to him so many times for him to see you as the same as his level, instead it just makes you seem as a pawn under his control

- despite this, there are times where it almost seems that he cares about you like a person should, when you’re hanging onto his arm walking in a park humming quietly

- he indulges in your needs every so often, not before bringing you right back down to your place beneath him

- not even death would allow you to escape this cycle of rising and being kicked down

- why does he expect you to see him as the righteous hand of god when he sees you as a mere pawn ready to be sacrificed

sigma :

unintentionally guilt tripping you every time you get frustrated at him

- he’s been used so many times, his naivety is something he hates to the core, all he wants is someone to settle down with, a family

- he’s another sweetheart partner when you can push past the teary eyes and begging for you to not be mad at him and to not leave him

- his biggest fear is losing you, someone who doesn’t use him, he’d rather abandon his casino than end his relationship with you

- whilst he doesn’t realize, you notice his wording when he begs you to stay, often saying that he’s nothing without you, that he’d rather die than be without you

- maybe it’s heartwarming for the first few times but once it becomes a cycle you start to truly wonder if he’d actually go crazy without you or if it was all bluff

- even then, you can’t deny him when he guilts you into staying, he doesn’t know any better

- if you ever mention this to him, he’ll burst into tears, thinking you were breaking up with him, it takes hours trying to convince that you were here to stay

- it’s a repeating cycle he doesn’t notice and you can’t break for the sake of both of you

- love is a powerful thing, powerful enough to guilt you into staying with a man who loves you a bit too much

saigiku jouno :

putting his work above you at all costs

- he swore to protect those that need him, he’s not going to break that just for you

- you knew what you were getting into when you started dating the hunting dog, yet sadness can’t help but fill you when he misses important events with you

- after all you’ve been through with him, and not a single happy birthday text, not a single note for your anniversary, nothing

- he knows when you’re upset with him even if he can’t see your face, he can feel you rejecting his touch, and that’s when he reminds you of what he swore and what you agreed to

- it doesn’t help when he has his snarky attitude and almost mocking voice explaining to you why he can’t just walk out of a meeting

- despite this, he does love you, otherwise he wouldn’t waste his time on you, he loves that you still stick with him no matter what

- you really don’t ask for much, you understand his work and what he has to do, but he still thinks you make a big deal out of nothing

- as hypocritical as it sounds, he always expects you to be there for him even if he’s not

- you knew you were never going to be his first priority but it hurts so much more when he makes sure you know

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cutecatlov3r · 1 year

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"𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

kenma kozume x reader (fem)

some drabbles on your rivals to lovers relationship with kenma !

words: 1.4k

warnings/tw: all characters are 18+, college AU(?), mean! kenma, enemies to lovers, and some suggestive themes.

a/n: I just needed to write about kenma being mean to you and you being mean back, if you want I can make a smut version as well... heavily inspired by the Netflix series "The Beef", made me cry sm . like, comment, re-blog ily ! don't copy my work . not proofread .

★ As soon as he met you he despised you . He couldn't stand the sound of your annoying ass voice, all he wanted was to sit in peace . Usually he doesn't mind being around loud people but you... You pissed him off for some reason, he never wanted to be around you.

"I don't think Kenma likes me..." you whispered in Kuroo's ear. You started to sense Kenma rolling his eyes at you and scoffing every time you spoke. He annoyed you, if he had something to say, you wanted him to say it to your face .

It was so obvious you were talking about Kenma, he sat in front of you and Kuroo. You talked so loud, you couldn't even whisper silently, it irked Kenma even more.

"You're fine Y/n, everyone loves you," Kuroo reassured, patting your back, gently.

Kenma furrowed his eyebrows as he played his game. Yeah right, he can't even stand you. He would never be able to like someone so childish and annoying...

★ He hates the fact that all of his friends adored you. He knows damn well they only like you because you are somewhat attractive. He knows what you are thinking when you show up to their practices in skirts and tank tops, he knows that you're just there because you're a slut .

"Stop distracting our team, just get out of here... We don't want you here anyway," Kenma mumbled, sweat dripping from his forehead.

To be fair, you were kind of distracting Kuroo and Lev by talking to them whenever they got the chance to speak with you. But still! It infuriated you that Kenma worded it like that, it was rude!

"No need to be rude Kenma, I'm here to support my friends," you retorted, crossing your arms. you've about had it with him, you know he doesn't like you. And it pisses you off because you did nothing!

★ Kenma loathed the way his friends talk about you any chance they get. You are a cute girl, those boys just can't help themselves. Still, it makes Kenma frustrated.

"Y/n is so sweet, she made me some brownies today," Kuroo swooned. Kuroo had a little thing for you, you weren't aware of this but all of the boys knew.

"Oh yeah? Well she's planning to wear my jersey the next time we have a game," Yaku teased.

"She said she'll be cheering for me at the next game too. Only me," Lev added, punching Kuroo's shoulder playfully.

Kuroo started to visibly sulk.

"...I hate you guys... She won't be doing any of that, she's going to-"

"Can you guys please shut up? I'm tired of hearing about Y/n, that's all you guys ever talk about. It's annoying," Kenma said, his eyes glued to his phone.

★ Finally, you confronted him at a party in front of everyone. After that day, the two of you HATED each other, or so you thought. You could never see yourself being friends with him, ever.

"What the hell is your problem?! You spilled that drink on me on purpose!" you yelled, very angry at the situation. You were embarrassed, everyone saw, it made you feel like crying. You had issues when it came to having everyone pay attention to you. You only liked being around your group of friends, not the whole damn party.

Kenma did spill his drink on you but it wasn't on purpose, it was a simple accident. He bumped into you as you were dancing with Kuroo and Bokuto, causing his cup to spill on your clothes. Still, he found it amusing when he saw you get angry at the situation, so he did not apologize or even acknowledge you until you called him out.

"I didn't do it on purpose so..."

"Yes you did!" you exclaimed, Kuroo held on to your shoulder, trying to calm you down.

"Let's calm down y/n," Kuroo tried to say.

"Stop trying to defend her idiotic ways. She can handle things herself, she's not a damn baby," Kenma commented, feeling more aggravated

Kenma pinched his eyebrows together.

"What did I ever do to you?! Seriously! You're always so mean for no reason! I knew you didn't like me but holy fuck, spilling a drink on me is a bit much!"

"So bothersome... I'm going to tell you this once. I. Did. Not. You fucking idi-"

Slap!

★ After the whole slap situation Kenma saw you in a different light kind of... He still hated your guts but he did notice how strong and confident you were. He couldn't help but admire some of the good aspects of you. So instead of dreading you, he openly speaks to you, only making rude comments of course. And you did not hold back either.

"What should I wear to Akaashi's party?" you asked, showing off a few outfits to Kuroo and Bokuto. The men sat on the floor, they loved listening to your rants and their favorite thing to do is tell you what to wear.

"The black skirt is cute," Bokuto said, pointing at the skirt in your left hand.

"No way! I like the dress, it always shows off your natural curves," Kuroo added, giving you a sly wink.

You giggled at their suggestions, Kuroo and Bokuto were your favorite friends.

Kenma groaned, bored of the conversation, he was dragged there because he is Kuroo's best friend so he was forced to go wherever he went.

"Do you have an issue?" you asked, sassily, placing your hands on your hips.

"Your voice is so damn annoying,"

You pretended to gasp, gripping your chest. "How mean Kenma!... Is what I would say if I cared. I didn't even want you here so please refrain from making any unnecessary comments,"

Kenma rolled his eyes at your bratty attitude.

★ You two banter all the time, some would consider it flirting but you never saw it in that way. Mutual disrespect for each other... Yeah, only mutual disrespect.

You whined, begging Kuroo not to leave you with Kenma. He was on his way to class, if he went to class, you'd be left with Kenma.

"Please Tetsuro!" you begged, giving him the best puppy eyes you could. "Stay! Skip class! Please!!"

Kuroo smiled, he loved seeing your bratty side, it excited him. "You know I can't n/n, just stay with Kenma, I'll be done in an hour,"

You groaned. Kenma cocked his eyebrow at you.

"Trust me, I'm not happy either," he mumbled, his hands shoved deep into his sweatshirt pockets.

"Oh of course you are Kenma! I know you're in love with me, you love being around me!" you cheered, sarcastically.

Kenma visibly gagged, causing Kuroo to laugh.

★ Eventually though... The two of you were forced to be around each other more, creating an unusual bond. You both don't directly hate each other, you just don't have a super stable friendship. But! You guys can be with each other without having the mean tension.

"Sup bitch, have you seen Kuroo?" you asked, placing your legs on Kenma's lap.

He shoved them off him instantly.

"Disgusting. And I don't know where he is, I think he went to grab some snacks for movie night,"

You hummed to yourself. A happy tune was in your mind and you couldn't help but hum.

"Can you hum quieter? Holy shit, so annoying," Kenma said, pulling his own hair. Obviously he was joking.

And with him saying that, you hummed as loud as you could.

★ Uh oh... Why did he have to walk in on you changing your clothes... That just made some things weird between you two...

"Idiot, where are you-"

Your face burned with embarrassment, you were in the middle of removing your shirt in your room. Why the hell did he have to come in right now?!

The two of you just stared at each other... In complete silence, unsure how to break the awkward tension.

Luckily, Kenma slammed the door shut.

"What the fuck," he thought, taking a deep breath. "No fucking way..." he continued thinking, looking down at his pants.

Kuroo ran to the scene, worried about the door being slammed.

"What's up with you? Oh shit man you have a boner," Kuroo commented, pointing at his pants.

"No shit!"

You heard the whole conversation, shaking your head, wishing you didn't hear anything.

★ After that the two of you just teased each other, meanly, sometimes being harsh. And actually started building a friendship, not a friendly one though.

"Slut,"

"Pervert,"

"You wanted me to walk in on you," Kenma yawned, placing his hands behind his head.

The two of you were currently walking through the hallways, planning to meet up with Kuroo. This was the first time you guys spoke about the situation. It made your cheeks burn thinking about it. But... It made Kenma feel other things.

"Shut up! You probably were spying on me! You wanted to see me like that,"

Kenma shrugged. "I still think you wanted me to walk in on you,". He faked a gasp "Are you in love with me?!"

"You wish," you rolled your eyes.

That's all I have for now... Maybe I'll make a part 2, just wanted to drabble some scenarios :x

#kenma kuzome smut #kenma smut #kenma kozume #kenma x reader #kenma #kozume kenma #kenma x you #kenma hc #kenma x y/n #kenma angst #kenma drabble #hq drabbles #haikyuu #haikyuu drabbles #hq scenarios #haikyuu scenarios #kuroo tetsuro angst #kuroo tetsuro drabble

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tomurakii · 5 months

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My last post about bloodweave was pretty negative (though necessarily so imo) so I wanted to talk about the little things about the bloodweave dynamic that I DO like and want to see more of in fic (under the cut).

- the orb means Astarion can't start their relationship transactionally. Gale can't give Astarion blood, and also can't have sex with him (and presumably would refuse casual sex anyway). How would the relationship develop without Astarion being able to rely on the give-and-take, forced instead to just trust Gale will watch his back? Astarion isn't a plans guy, I imagine having to come up with something on the spot (considering none of the other companions are reeaaaally an option either) would lead to a lot more emotional vulnerability as he tries to take a route he has much less experience with. Not to mention that the flirty and standoffish front isn't exactly going to endear him to Gale, who approves of the capable, loyal, and righteous. How long can Astarion pretend to be invested in Gale's wellbeing before it becomes true?

- they both have bad ascension endings, but different natural outcomes. Gale is considered the more morally upstanding one, but in their solo states (without the player's influence) Gale will go through with ascension and Astarion won't. Would they goad each other on? Gale disapproves of Astarion's ascension, using arguments that could apply to himself about the personal sacrifice and loss of the soul. Would Astarion flip them around, become defensive? Their dynamic could mean the power hungry character ending up discouraging the pursuit of godhood, or the two of them hurtling over the edge together. Or, maybe, Astarion encouraging Gale to ascend and having to trust him to return.

- they're the party members with the most life experience, and they're also both pretty well-educated (even if Astarion's law qualifications may well have expired by the events of the game). He spent his time under Cazador sewing (like Gale in his Baldur's Gate epilogue) and learning languages (of which Gale knows four). They have enduring common interests beyond their circumstances. Gale can help Astarion rediscover the latent nerd potential he lost when he died, and lord knows he would love to pick his brain for a first hand account of the mid-to-late 12th century.

- Astarion recently regained hope for his future when the tadpole freed him, Gale recently lost all of it. While act 1 is a continuous series of positive discoveries for Astarion (tadpole frees him from cazador -> ceremorphosis is held off by the dream visitor -> tadpole can be controlled), Gale's life gets worse with time as his treatment stops working. It's a dynamic that could give Gale hope, force Astarion to practise empathy, or put them completely at odds.

- Astarion's all-encompassing desire to reclaim his life could be inspiring to Gale. Moreover, I imagine seeing just how passive Gale is about his death would infuriate him. To have so little regard for his real, mortal, free life? It's a great source of angst, and also a great starting point for Gale to start wanting to live again. Because after learning about Astarion's past he would agree, he'd recognise how much value a mortal life was supposed to have. He'd think himself ungrateful or impolite for entertaining the idea of throwing it away when Astarion would give anything to have what he had. This would lead to guilt, and potentially self-loathing, unless someone was there to help pick up the pieces.

- If Astarion meets Oblodra before Gale's act 2 romance scene, (or for a fanfic plot, just before Gale is confident enough to confess) they most likely won't have sex until the graveyard scene in late act 3 (or the post-ascension equivalent). It means that rather than the fuckfest we so often see from bloodweave fics, the relationship is almost entirely a slow-burning, emotionally intimate affair. I'd really love to see that play out, the progression from semi-horny yearning on both parts as the orb keeps them apart, to two love confessions that are followed by the both of them experiencing non-sexual intimacy for the first time in years. I doubt Mystra was one to hug her chosen, after all, or hold their hands.

I just love a bg3 ship that forces the characters to take different actions than they do in canon. It makes me feel like I'm developing a broader understanding of the characters, you know?

#perhaps I will write a bw fic. since from the tags of my other post it seems like a lot of people want less-explicit work of them #and i (as the number 1 gale understander /s) have a dif perspective than a lot of bw writers (largely astarion stans)#im workin on a gale/illithid tav postgame whump based on one of my other posts first tho. which could be a chara study for him #and the nature of (this version of) bw is that it puts astarion out of his comfort zone more than gale. so id want to have a good handle on #gale so that the bw fic can focus on the astarion character study rather than me finding both characters kinda finicky #hmm. hmm #but regardless PLEASE PLEASE everyone is welcome to write fic based on/incorporating these and tag me I wanna see em so bad😭😭#bg3 #bloodweave #gale dekarios #astarion ancunin #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate #astarion x gale #baldurs gate 3

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erraticpigeon · 1 year

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hii can u do a peeta or finnick one where reader is very self concious about her body and what other people think of her. and one day (character) finds reader staring at herself in mirror and had tears in her eyes and (character) comforts her and tells her how beautiful she is and plants kisses all over her body and then just turns into abunch of fluff(: !

this was too sweet, i just HAD to write about both. thanks for the request! f!reader x peeta mellark + f!reader x finnick odair, tw for insecurities

[scroll to the bottom for a small disclaimer!]

peeta/finnick comforting you through insecurities

The mirror was mocking you, you promised yourself that that’s what it was. You hated that you couldn’t find your insecurities beautiful on yourself, despite loving them on everyone around you. To have been in the games, in a war, couldn’t that be enough?

You felt your nose and eyes sting and sure enough, your eyes started to fill up with tears of self loathing and anxiety, like so many other times before. You clutched your torso and sobbed, letting the tears fall and drip down your chest.

Peeta

“Y/N..?”

Peeta appeared in the doorframe quietly, taking in the heart-aching state you were in. You were so lost in your self destructive mind that you didn’t hear him sneak in, so you flinched at the touch of his arms curling around you from behind.

You stared at him in the mirror, his head on your shoulder and his lips on your neck. As he softly kissed the side of your face, his thumbs were rubbing circles on your waist, and his lips formed a small grin.

“Oh, wow..” he mumbled, words muffled by your warm skin. Warm wasn’t even the right word, your face was tinted crimson and your skin was nothing short of aflame.

“Peeta.” you whispered, savouring every moment of his skin against yours. When he backed up, you turned toward him with delight glowing in your eyes. Peeta lifted a hand to wipe the damp tears from your features.

You placed each of your hands on opposite sides of his face and leaned his forehead against your own. The scene was so cliché it made you laugh, and Peeta released a breath of relief. Your face was still glowing pink, and the before so obvious sadness had been erased.

Finnick

“Hey, hey! It’s okay, what happened!?”

Finnick was beside you in the blink of an eye, strong arms wrapped around you like a warm, comfortable blanket. His touch was the sweetest relief, faster than any words, more effective than any medicine.

He knew that at times like this, you couldn’t talk, so he just stood there with you in his arms. His hands tended to you, one was in your hair and one was stroking up and down your back as you sobbed into his chest.

Finnick hoisted you into his arms and settled the two of you on the bed, you on top of him with your head on his chest. He wanted to wrap himself around you and never let go, but he knew that it wouldn’t help much, so he refrained from it.

Instead, he brushed your hair out of your eyes as your head rose and fell with each breath he took. It was calm, it was peaceful, and he took great joy in knowing he’d relieved the pain, if only for a moment.

“Y/N, honey?”

“Yeah?”

Your voice was low and croaky from crying.

“What happened?”

There was desperation in his eyes, he had to know what hurt you so he could make sure it never happened again. Your voice was so quiet it was barely audible.

“I just feel like I’m not pretty enough..”

One second you were seconds away from crying again, and the next one Finnick had hoisted you from his lap and pinned you down under him. He started kissing each and every inch of your body, starting on your ribs. As his lips traveled down your body, he whispered in between every kiss.

“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

DISCLAIMER: you’re perfect just the way you are, remember that. the most important thing is that you’re happy and healthy. love you all so so much, and i really mean that! <3

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#peeta mellark x reader #peeta mellark #peeta x reader #peeta mellark drabble #finnick odair x reader #finnick odair #finnick x reader #finnick odair drabble #the hunger games #thg

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theladybarnes · 3 months

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CRIMSON AND CLOVER: CHAPTER FIVE

"It’s time for your suffering to end.”

▸ summary: there’s still time left in the night for more surprise ▸ characters: nancy & mike wheeler, dustin henderson, steve harrington, & eddie munson ▸ word count: 11.8k ▸ warnings: angst, semi-fluff, minor character death, self loathing, ▸ series masterlist

“Why is she here again?”

You glanced away from the small clippings of possibly headers to look over at Fred Benson. Nancy’s new friend from the paper, and currently a small thorn in your side. For some reason, Fred did not like you, and while he was completely involved with Nancy’s small paper world, he did not seem to like her friends outside of it. Meaning you.

“She’s here because I offered to show her how things work here, Fred.” Nancy chimed in before you could respond back with a less friendly answer.

The pale boy raised a brow at you before shooting to follow after Nancy. He’s been trailing behind after her ever since you came into the news room for your free period. The two of them were currently discussing Jonathan, peaking your interest enough that you quietly followed after the two.

“So maybe I’m missing something, but why can’t Jonathan come down here for break?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

You moved to stand beside the slumped Fred as you smirked over at him. “I know that journalists are naturally inquisitive people, Freddie, but you seem to be very keen on knowing the deep details of Nancy’s love life.” you said, watching as his light eyes widened a bit. “Any particular reason for that?”

Nancy chuckled nervously before she reached over to pull you away from Fred’s side. Forcing you instead to walk in front of her. “Stand down, tiger.” she said to you before turning back to the boy. “As for you, because of a lot of reasons.”

“Curious.”

Her blue eyes narrowed at him briefly before glancing down at the work being down on the newest headline. You couldn’t help but stare down at the large font predicting a win for the game tonight. You were never one for sports, but considering Lucas was on the team, you couldn’t help but be a little hopeful there would be a win. At least for your friend.

Fred was quick to bring the focus back to his curiosity.

“You said there’s a lot of reasons he’s not coming. Such as?”

“Why are you being so nosy?” Nancy asked, frustration breaking through her exterior now. But the snap to her words didn’t seem to falter Fred in the slightest. It actually just made him appear more roused at continuing the conversation.

“Call it journalistic instinct.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s called being nosy.” you volleyed with a shrug.

He rolled his eyes, adjusting the large folder in his hands before his face quickly changed to an amusing smirk. “We can always talk about your life, Henderson. Wasn’t it just a while ago that you were dating Steve Harrington? From what I hear from the halls, he’s been going on dates with a couple of the girls from our grade.”

Your spine stiffened up at the mention of Steve. Not fully prepared for that subject to be thrown into the conversation. Nancy scoffed at Fred, shaking her head quickly at her friend as she gently placed her hand on your shoulder.

“You don’t have to tell him anything.” she said to you, eyes checking over your face as if you were back in her car ready to break down again. “Really, Fred’s just–”

“He’s curious.” you butt in, not wanting to give any satisfaction to the boy’s attempt to throw you off. Glancing at him, you make sure to give him a reassuring smile despite the fact that the mere mention of Steve had your chest aching. “We’re..not together anymore. Broke up before Christmas. Things are fine. I’m glad he’s doing well.”

Fred looked a little bit skeptical, eyes narrowed his pale eyes at you. Almost as if he were waiting for you to crack at any second. Nancy beside you was doing the same thing. Nervously watching over you until she decided enough was enough.

“Okay, well, there’s no story there or here, if that’s what you’re after.” she sighed, willingly taking on the main focus again. “Jonathan’s mom works, so he has to watch over his brother. On top of that, he’s not early decision like me, so he’s waiting on his acceptance letter, and he wants to be there when it comes..which I totally get!”

There was a certain higher pitch in her tone that clearly gave away some of the uncertainty in her words. And while you knew that being friends with both her and Jonathan meant being neutral in moments like this, especially considering she just took the heat off of your relationship, you couldn’t help but feel like you’d have to join in on meddling with Fred.

“Okay! Um, I don’t. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Crossing your arms over your chest, you gave your friend a winced look before your mouth finally blurted out a running question you had been thinking over the past week. “You are aware that a letter would be available to read when he gets back..right?”

Nancy looked over at you, a flicker of annoyance before she shook her head, trying to keep positive.

“Well, it’s always different. You know how it is to wait.”

“I also did things like go to school and leave the house. In this case, he’d have a whole week off school that he could use to go see his hot girlfriend and yet he’s at home playing the babysitter.” you scoffed. “Who is he, Steve?”

“You know, he’s your best friend.” she pointed out softly. But you simply shrugged your shoulders, unsure of Jonathan’s reasoning yourself. All he did when you called him about it the other night was say the same excuse as she said.

“He’s also a guy. We both know they’re dangerously questionable at times.”

She pursed her lips at that as Fred snapped his finger at you, nodding in agreement.

“So he’s supposedly the love of your life, right? The guy you plan on going to school with, and yet he’s so nervous about this acceptance letter, he doesn’t have time to visit the most desired girl in Hawkins?”

“Hey!” you chided, glaring at him. “What the hell?”

He rolled his eyes but held a hand up to you. “Fine, one of the two most desired girls in Hawkins.”

Nancy closed her eyes, shaking her head at the two of you as she tried to focus on her work again. You moved closer to her side, nudging her a bit. It wasn’t like this conversation would be easy, but it did make you wonder why neither one would take the time to visit each other when they could. It was something like this that slowly started to cement your feelings about long distance.

“I know Jonathan likes to take on a lot of work at home. But it is kinda unfair to you guys..”

“Not to mention as a part of the many sexually active teens in Hawkins, she’s denied the gratifications of having coitus with her supposed loving partner.”

Both you and Nancy let out a small gasp of disgust from Fred’s blunt words. Of all things that didn’t need to be pointed out in this conversation, it was Nancy’s sex life. Especially from Fred of all people. Beside you, Nancy held up her hand, holding back the full twist of disgust from her face.

“Okay, first of all, Fred, I’m going to try to forget that you said any of that. It’s..”

“None of your business.” you said simply. “Nance here doesn’t need to dive into her personal life for us, but is kind enough to open the floor up for conversation. So maybe keep it PG if you want to keep part of it.”

Fred again couldn’t help but give you another eye roll, probably done with your butting in. Nancy placed a thankful hand on your shoulder as she tried to bring reason back to the three of you. “You just don’t know Jonathan. He’s not like you. He’s caring and compassionate and loyal.”

She set down the tools, thinking hard for a moment until a small smile tugged on her lips.

“He’s so protective over the people that he loves. And he’ll never back down from what’s right, what's moral. No matter the pressure, no matter the personal cost. That’s why I love him.”

You were a little taken back to hear someone else speak so highly of your best friend. But Nancy’s genuine words got to you a bit and you found yourself slightly emotional over it. “That’s so sweet.” you cooed softly, nudging her arm lightly. “I love you guys.”

The girl laughed a bit, rolling her eyes at you but smiling at the comment before she glanced down at the work before. An even prouder smile tugged at her lips as she presented the newly designed headline for you two. “It’s perfect.”

Fred, who had grown quiet since Nancy humbled him down a bit, seemed to easily move on from things without any hesitance. His eyes scanned over the screen briefly. Brows knit together in disinterest.

“Eh, I’m still rooting for my alt.”

He proudly held up his alternative cover that displayed a more negative outcome of the game. It would seem that you weren’t the only one walking around school with a lack of school spirit. Before either one of you could critique the grim headline, the door to the editing room burst open.

“Nancy!” Mike yelled as he quickly stepped in, letting the door behind him bang against the wall before its hinges creaked loudly to close up. The whole room became quiet to the boy who had disrupted the peaceful atmosphere. He stood nervously for a second before his eyes slowly locked on to where his sister was.

“Nancy, hey!” he greeted, as if they had just run into each other in the hall. “Um, do you wanna join Hellfire tonight?”

Beside you Nancy let out an actual seething grunt as she glared over to her brother. You couldn’t help but actually chuckle a bit at the whole interaction.

“I’ll take care of this.” You said with a pat to the shoulder.

Stepping away from the desk with the hall pass, you grabbed onto Mike’s arm, taking him out of the class so that Nancy didn’t have the chance to drag him out herself. The boy grumbled a bit in your hold until you two were back into the quiet hallway.

“I don’t think Karen would approve of you coming into rooms without knocking.” You teased watching as Mike rolled his eyes.

“God forbid she ever does me a favor.” he sighed, adjusting the strap on his backpack. You gave him a sympathetic smile before ushering him towards the classes. Just when you were about to turn to go toward the bathrooms, he gripped at your arm.

“You’re someone!” He said smiling.

“Keen observation, Wheeler. Mind letting me go now?”

“Join us! Hellfire tonight.”

“Yeah, I’d rather be chased around by Russian security again than do that.” you scoffed.

Mike frowned at your past memory before waving his hand. Brushing the comment away.

“It’s only for tonight. Dustin and I need to replace a spot. You wouldn’t even have to work too hard. We can even help you quickly fill out a character sheet before school ends.”

You’re about to tell Mike where he can shove that sheet when his words suddenly stumped you. “Wait, did you say that the game is tonight?’ you asked slowly.

“Yeah, tonight in the theater. Why?”

Looking over at him with a glare, you crossed your arms as you approached Mike. Doing your best to keep down the frustration that easily came along with your friend’s brother. “Tonight is the basketball team’s championship game. So are you guys playing out the campaign after or?”

Mike still cleared his throat as he scratched the back of his neck. His dark eyes stayed cast down to the ground rather than meeting yours. Even without speaking yet, his guilty silence was almost enough of an answer.

“Hellfire’s game is tonight,” he said wearily. “It’s uh..at the same time as the game.”

“And what, Lucas is gonna miss out on the game?”

“..No.”

You can’t help but let out another scoff at Mike. While you knew there was a recent difference in interests amongst the boys, you didn’t expect for any of them to ignore an important event so easily.

“So you guys don’t care at all to go and support Lucas?” you asked, raising a brow at him. “Whatever happened to looking out for a party member? Shouldn’t you guys hold off until the game is over or just wait for you to come back from break?”

Mike let out a big sigh, trying to turn away from you now, but you quickly moved to stand in front of him again. Raising a brow at him until he gave you some sort of reasonable answer.

The boy paled even more, if possible, visibly gulping as he tried to think of what he could say that wouldn’t sound bad. But all he could do was shake his head. “Look, even when we tried, we’re not the only ones in this campaign. Besides, Eddie doesn’t care about things like basketball. He’s counting on us to finish the campaign before the break.”

“And just screw over a friend along the way.” you muttered, annoyed with your friend’s biased views towards other cliques of the school. Glancing down at your watch, you made note of the limited time you have left in your period and quickly turned on your heel towards your next target.

“Wait, so is that a no for Hellfire?!” Mike yelled from down the hall.

“Go to damn class!”

There were thankfully not too many wandering kids in the front of the school. It made for an easy way to find the boy you were looking for. With his stupid hat, stupid shirt, and stupid voice yacking into the public phone.

“Just move your date this one time, come on!” he whined into the receiver.

Instantly you froze behind him. Unable to move or stop yourself from eavesdropping into the conversation. Considering the fact that everyone he knew was in school right now, you knew exactly who he was talking to. Which is what made the subject of a date twist at your stomach.

There’s a beat of silence before he spoke into the phone again.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause I have another older male friend.”

The pride in Dustin’s tone is almost something admirable if it wasn’t such an embarrassing statement to say out loud. You’re pretty sure Steve is most likely unamused by the comment without having to be a part of the call yourself.

“The one? Are you serious? Because I’m pretty sure that wasn’t what you were complaining about last week.” There’s another pause that had Dustin scoffing. “And I’m supposed to believe it’s over? Actually, don’t answer that. Because if I get involved in your love life any more than I already have, my cousin will actually–”

“I’ll actually do what?” you piped up, watching as Dustin jumped in place from your sudden voice. He turned around, staring wide eyed at you before he adjusted the receiver into his ear properly.

“Yes, it’s her.” he muttered, giving you a small glare. “No, I didn’t say anything about..No, I was not yelling out loud, Steve.” His eyes glanced over towards you briefly before he shook his head. “No, I will not– Don’t make me– ugh, Steve says hi.”

You stayed silent, unsure if responding to Steve or not would make things awkward. Dustin looked up at you expectantly, waiting for what should be a simple response. You chose to tap against your watch and signal for Dustin to end the call. He let out a small sigh before he adjusted the phone against his ear. Not at all faltered by your sudden displeasure towards him.

“No, she didn’t say anything..Yeah she’s pissed at me. Must have done something else since this morning.” he grumbled into the phone. Steve must have mentioned something he really didn’t like because he barely muttered out a pleading reminder about the game before he panicked again. “No, you can’t call me back I’m at..” he pulled the phone back and frowned at the item before hanging it up. “..school.”

When he fixed his back pack back on his shoulders, he finally gave you his full attention. Raising a brow at you. “What did I do now?”

You slapped at his shoulder, making him yelp out.

“What was that for?”

“That was for putting me on the spot.” You quickly slapped his other arm, earning the same reaction.

“And that one!?”

“That was for planning on ditching your friend, tonight!”

“I don’t have time for this!” he scowled, rubbing his arms. Without waiting for your rebuttal, he turned on his heels and made his way back inside the building. Leaving you to quickly follow in pursuit.

“Dustin,” you started sternly. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to ditch Lucas for some stupid game tonight? Don’t you think it’d be kinda nice to show him some support?”

“One, it’s not a stupid game. And two, I’m not ditching him, he’s ditching us, okay?” Dustin sighed, shaking his head. “If anything, what he’s playing is stupid and he’s clearly decided that this game is more important than Hellfire. What happens next is out of my hands.”

“Except it is considering you’re literally looking for his replacement.” you scoffed, following him towards one the halls to the courtyard. He’s about to step out the doors towards the quad and ditch you but you’re quick to grip at his arm, keeping him in place. “He might think you’re trying to replace him or something.”

“Well, I kinda am. But it’s only for the rest of the campaign.” he shrugged. “You’re making this a bigger deal than it needs to be.”

A headache began to form in your head again. Causing a splitting ache to pool all around as you tried to think of a way to help fix things before they got worse. “Look, I’m not meaning to make things complicated.”

“And yet you’re not letting me go.” he said, glaring down at your hand.

“It’s just that Lucas could take this the wrong way. You guys aren’t kids anymore. You’re people who have to balance each other out. You can’t just always do what you want and forget everyone–

“Oh, you’re one to talk.”

Rubbing at your tired face, you looked down to the ground almost defeatedly before an idea came to mind. “I could talk with Eddie if you wanted? Try to convince him to hold it off for another–”

“Stop!” Dustin snapped, clearly displeased with the idea of you interfering. "I really don't need you meddling in my business."

The tension between the two today seemed to come to a boiling point. Twisting the knot even more in your stomach. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for the two of you to have a random bickering moment. But something this time felt a little different. A little more personal.

“I’m not meddling, Dusty. I’m just trying to help.” you offered carefully. “Decisions like this could lead to friendships falling apart. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

His expression hardened before he quickly retorted, "You're not my mom. I can handle my own friends. Besides, it's not like you're an expert at keeping friendships intact. Remember Steve? The guy you couldn’t even bother to say hello to?"

The mention of Steve hit a nerve and you sighed heavily. Despite this morning’s conversation, Dustin wasn’t able to fully comprehend the problems that surrounded your relationship with Steve. "This isn’t about me or Steve. It's about you possibly jeopardizing your friendship with someone I know you care about. I don’t want to come back next year and see that you guys have grown apart.”

Dustin's eyes narrowed down at you. "It’s not about you and yet you’re placing yourself right in the middle of something that doesn’t need your presence.” He leaned forward, and despite not having the height over you, his anger managed to make you curl away. “Do me a favor. If it bothers you so much, why don’t you go to the game tonight? Show Lucas some of that support you’re preaching about. Mike is leaving tomorrow, and we’re gonna make the most of tonight.”

With that he quickly turned to leave before your mind could think of something to say back. All you could do was stand there frozen to muddle over his words. Was Dustin truly this upset about you helping? Did everyone see your help as meddling? A mixture of frustration, sadness, and regret nearly caused you to nearly double over as it turned into a physical pain.

Even dorks like him can see through your bullshit. (Tick)

“Stop.” you muttered to yourself, picking yourself up enough to turn towards the direction of the editing room.

Sorry, babydoll, this pill won’t be so easy to swallow. (Tock)

The familiar nickname hit over you like a bucket of cold water. You hadn’t been called that since Bil–

“There you are!”

You jumped a bit in place, not expecting to hear another voice so suddenly. Looking to your right, you watched as Nancy quickly dashed over. A small smile on her face as she made her way to your side.

“Hey,” you said softly, not quite finding confidence in your voice. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?” Nancy repeated, laughing a bit before she thumbed in the direction towards class. “Class is over in five minutes. I thought you were just showing Mike out?”

A flush of heat spread over your face. Slightly embarrassed at just how far you lost the track of time in your quest to change your cousin’s mind. Without saying much, you gripped at Nancy’s arm and led her back to class.

“Do you think the editing team can score me a ticket to the game tonight?” you asked quickly, pushing your way into the door with her in tow.

The girl looked over at you incredulously before she snapped back into the conversation. “I feel like I’m missing a chapter here. Didn’t you have work plans tonight? Why do you suddenly want to come to the game? Don’t you hate sports?”

You felt a little overwhelmed with the sudden rapid fire of questions but tried your best to answer them all in hopes of her helping you out.

“I do, but I’m gonna try and skip out early.” you sighed, pushing your stuff quickly into your bag. “And I want to go because I apparently have the only school spirit left in my family and need to show Lucas that his friends do care. And lastly, yes, I hate sports. But I’m willing to tough this one out for a bit.”

Looking back up at her, you noticed she’s a bit hesitant over your words. The bell interjected before either of you could say anything else and you take a few seconds to calm your heart rate down from the weird voice in your head before.

From the familiar look in her eyes, you could tell she wasn’t a hundred percent believing you. But after lunch with Robin, you knew that having another friend worried was the last thing you wanted right now.

“Are you okay?” she asked shortly after the brief pause, like you expected. “Because I can help with the ticket but..it looks like–”

“I’m fine, Nance. But thanks for the solid.” you said quickly, not wanting to dive in that direction. “I’ll see you tonight.” With a quick wave, you made your way out the room and towards your next class.

Hopefully clear of any familiar voices.

This was a bad idea.

From outside you could hear the crowd of people clamoring inside of the gym. Excited for the final game of the season to begin. For the majority, it was supposed to be a fun, anticipating night. You, on the other hand, were filled with dread.

It came upon you the moment you stepped up to the doorway and caught sight of the beacon of hair that was your ex boyfriend.

Why of all places did Steve think to have a date at his old school’s basketball game? He could have easily gone anywhere in Hawkins. It wasn’t like he was at this school anymore. He didn’t need to pay attention to the high school games! So why the hell was he here on the one game you decided to go see?

From the safety of behind the door, you watched as Steve quickly got up and gave a wave down towards the gym floor. A quick follow to his line of direction and you watched as Lucas on the court floor smiled up at him. Giving him a wave back from the bench.

Stupid caring Steve.

“Hey! You’re finally here!”

You looked away from the door’s window to find Nancy peeking her head through on the open side. A small smile tugged on her face before she finally stepped out to join you in the hall.

“Yeah, managed to guilt Keith into letting me leave in record timing.” you chuckled nervously, patting your nervous hands over your dress. It was a lovely white cotton dress from Yves Saint Laurent’s spring collection. But under the yellow hued gymnasium, you weren’t sure if you looked as fresh and clean as you hoped. Especially with how tired you knew you looked today.

Nancy reached out for your hand, squeezing it lightly before she pulled you closer. “Are you sure you’re okay today? You seem kind of out of it. I’m sure Lucas won’t mind you missing. The game is almost done and he’s sort of distracted for the night.”

“I’m fine.” you lied, not needing to stress out your friend. “Just haven’t slept well lately.” Your eyes glanced back into the room. Going directly to where Steve was sitting with his bubbly date. She’s from your grade, but you aren’t sure you’ve had any classes with her. “Besides, I’m already here. Might as well make the most of it.”

Nancy hummed lightly, nodding her head towards the room. “The place is kinda packed tonight. You’re gonna have to stick by me and Fred.” Her blues turned back to you with a bit of mirth in them. “That is if you don’t try and kill him when he talks to you.”

Your nose scrunched up at the mention of her friend. Behind her, you could see Fred speaking closely to the school’s photographer, giving him an earful as he pointed across the court. “Can’t make any promises.” you snorted. “Just try and keep him at your side if you can.”

The two of you laughed at that and you finally left the safety of the doorway to enter inside the gym. Instantly you’re hit with a wave of emotions as the gym’s atmosphere washed over you. From your left you caught sight of a familiar green and orange combo and noticed Robin in the stands. She noticed you right away and brought her hand up to wave at you.

“You’re here!” she mouthed, making you nod your head at her.

From behind you could see as the interaction caught the attention of Steve who was nearby. The two of you awkwardly held eye contact for a second before you quickly tore your eyes away. Glancing at the scoreboard instead. Things weren’t looking so good for the school.

“You think the team has a chance?” you asked, leaning in towards the two beside you. Things weren’t looking so good for the school.

Nancy pursed her lips, jotting down a quick note on her journal before she glanced back at you. “I’m hopeful. There’s still time left in the game.” she answered, sounding genuinely hopeful.

Fred leaned forward, giving the two of you a cocky smirk as he held up his notepad. “An hour with the opposing team having a six point lead, Carver slowly losing it, and the team lagging so bad they’re fumbling. I highly doubt those sixty minutes mean anything.” he finished with a scoff.

The two of you stared at him quietly for a moment before you leaned over and looked at Fred seriously.

“Benson, do you think you can lighten up?”

Unfortunately, Fred’s prediction seemed to be coming true. Merely four minutes later into the game the other team gained another three points.

“Crap, player eleven just took out ten.” Nancy muttered, “I think he’s done for the night.”

You looked over to where her attention was and frowned as you watched the other teammates help carry out the injured player towards the benchline.

“So they’re bringing in another player, right?” you asked, glancing to Nancy for confirmation.

She looked up from her notepad with a slow nod before the realization hit her. “It’d be the next person up on the bench…”

The two of you excitedly peered over just in time to watch as Lucas excitedly got up from the bench. Tearing off his track suit in order to join the rest of the team in the group huddle.

You couldn’t help but start clapping and jumping as you yelled out. “GO LUCAS!”

The boy, having heard his name thankfully, found where you were and shot you the gummy grin that you’ve seen so many times. It was an oddly familial sense of pride that surged in you and you couldn’t help but actually get excited for the game finally.

“You sound pretty excited for just a benchwarmer.” Fred noted, adding the newest addition to his notes. “You think he’ll turn around the game?”

“He’s a Sinclair.” you said confidently. “They’re stubborn but they sure as hell come through in the end.”

And boy did he.

In just the hour worth of game play, Lucas had managed to not only get the team’s points high enough to be only a point behind. Making it so that with one good shot, they could take the whole thing.

Jason, who you thought had been ball hogging the whole night, seemed to be tied up in a bit of a corner. He quickly called out for a time out in the game. The clock showed it was the last ten seconds of the game. Making whatever last team huddle crucial.

“I don’t know, girls.” Fred sighed, pushing on the bridge of his glasses. “I still think they’re gonna mess it up.”

“Oh come on.” Nancy laughed. “You seriously can’t sit there and tell us that after seeing the jump in points we managed to get to.”

“I’m just a realist.”

“Yeah, a real party pooper.” you teased, glancing over at the team again. “They finally have an ace in the group and you’re praying for their downfall.”

Fred glanced over with you and scrunched his nose a bit. “Sinclair’s got talent. But nothing helps me sleep better at night than being proven right.”

The referee blew into the whistle again and you nodded over towards the court. “Get ready to eat your own words, Benson.” you mused.

The tension in the air was palpable by the time the players all returned onto the court. You could practically feel your own heart race as the game started up again.

Back and forth, the Hawkins teams passed around the ball, getting it to their main goal; Jason. In a quick second, he had a golden opportunity to secure the win. Shooting the ball out towards the hoop in a steady throw. The ball danced around the rim, teasing everyone with the possibility of victory, but it bounced off.

In a split second, Lucas snatched the rebound. Turning away from the others on the swift turn of his heel as he doubled around and leaped into the air. Releasing the ball towards the hoop.

Time seemed to freeze as the basketball circled the rim and bounced against the backboard. Then, with a collective gasp from the crowd, it dropped through the net.

The gym erupted in cheers as the school's victory echoed through the air. Nancy and you shared a shocked glance of excitement before you started to cheer and clap. The entire school community joined in, creating a thunderous applause that seemed to shake the very foundation of the gymnasium.

The team and cheerleaders all gathered into the main court floor, circling around Lucas and eventually picked him up into the air. Chanting out his name in victory.

In the midst of the celebration, you turned around, hoping to spot Robin in the stands. There were bursts of instruments booming into the air and cheers intertwined that added joyful noise to the atmosphere.

However, as you scanned the crowd, your eyes locked onto something you definitely did not want to see. There, in an embrace, stood Steve with a date. The room seemed to freeze for a moment as his date pulled back, shooting him a happy smile before sealing the victory with a celebratory kiss.

New love, how promising. (Tick)

A pang of discomfort surged through you, and a sudden headache gripped your temples. You felt the weight of the past in that moment, the history with Steve crashing back into your thoughts, and all the regret you’ve felt lately come at you. You quickly turned away, hoping to hide your reaction from Nancy before she saw anything.

Guess she really might be the one. (Tock)

You ignored the taunting words as you tried to process what you saw. Trying to picture it as the new normal when you felt a trickle of warmth on your upper lip. Touching it, you realized your nose was bleeding again. Panic set in, and you discreetly covered your face with your hand, attempting to hide the bleeding.

Nancy finally seemed to notice your suddenly odd behavior and called out to you. Reaching to place a hand on your shoulder. But you quickly pulled back, throwing out a quick excuse about feeling unwell and slipped away from the crowd. The gym door closed behind you, muffling the cheers, and you found refuge in a nearby empty classroom.

Fumbling through a desk for tissues, you took a moment to compose yourself. The mix of emotions, the unexpected encounter, and the physical discomfort left you overwhelmed.

Something was going on with you. But you couldn’t pinpoint what.

Just as you were trying to stop the bleeding, the classroom door opened then closed quietly behind you. Startled, you turned to see Steve standing there, a concerned expression on his face.

Whether it be the headache or the current ache in your chest right now, but the sight of a concerned Steve had you frowning at him. Not quite ready for him to see you at your most pathetic vulnerable place again. Especially after a day of awkward waves and avoiding phone calls.

"What are you doing here?" you snapped, your tone sharper than intended.

Steve, only a little taken back by the harshness of your tone, stepped closer towards you. "I saw you leaving in a hurry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

You avoided making eye contact, focusing on keeping the tissue against your nose as you returned to giving him your back. "Just a nosebleed, Steve. It's nothing."

He tilted his head. Eyes scanning over your face before he shook his head. “You sure it’s nothing? You don’t really look too good.”

“Wow,” you chuckled half heartedly. “Thought I actually looked good tonight, thanks.”

“Look, I just meant I can tell you’re not okay.” he sighed, trying to keep the conversation calm. “I know that you might have seen–”

“See you and your date kiss? No, I don’t think I did.” you said sarcastically, chucking the paper into a nearby trash can. A touch to your nose and you were happy to feel that you were clear of any more blood. But your happiness quickly disappeared when you turned to look back at Steve.

His jaw was tightened in annoyance and he carefully pinched at his nose for a moment before he glanced back at you. A more calming face now that he took a second. "That's not fair, and you know it. Besides, I didn't expect you to be here. I'm sorry if what you saw hurt you."

“Don't need to apologize, Steve.” you groaned. It was unfair of you to be upset and the last thing you wanted was Steve to apologize about it. But you struggled to get that out. “I just want you to leave. I mean, really, why are you even here? I’m fine. You have a date that’s obviously into you and ready to celebrate. Why aren’t you focused on that right now?”

Steve remained unfazed, his eyes piercing through your defensive front. "Because I've been watching you all night, and while you might smile and joke with everyone else, it's clear to me that something's eating at you."

A scoff fell past your lips as you tried to ignore the truth in his words. Leave it to Steve to be the only one tonight to see right through you. “I think you’ve forgotten what it’s like for me to watch a sports game. Nothing is wron—.”

“Don’t lie. Not with me.” he cut in quietly, reminding you of all the past confrontations you’ve shared where he slowly broke down your walls.

“God.” you squeezed your eyes shut, forcing them to hold back the emotional tears that seemed to easily come forward when talking to Steve. “You should go. She’ll be wondering where you are, you know?”

His gaze softened, a mix of compassion and frustration. "I don't care about that right now. I care about you. Talk to me."

Anger and frustration surged within you, fueled by your own self-loathing. "You don't get it, do you? We’re broken up. I'm leaving soon, a-and I can't drag you into my messed up head. I don't deserve whatever this is!" You waved your hand between the two of you. The air around you felt heavy and you wished that Steve would leave for the sake of giving your erratic heart a chance to calm down. “I shouldn’t be your concern anymore. Just go, please just..go.”

Steve took a step closer, his voice gentle but firm. "I told you. I don't care about any of that. Not when I know something is going on with you. I can't stand to see you like this. You're not alone, and you don't have to be."

Something inside of you breaks down at the idea of Steve still trying to comfort you when he had no reason to. All he was doing was enjoying his night and you were the one pulling out the theatrics. But for some reason, you lived in a world where Steve Harrington would always comfort the people who hurt him the most.

He deserved better than that.

"Well, it's too late now.” you croaked. Tears threatened to spill as you took a step back. “I can't keep going back to you whenever things get tough. I need to do better."

Just as you contemplated making a run for the door, Steve gently grabbed your arm, pulling you back toward him. The warm palm of his hand ran up the side of your arms, making you shiver at how cold you didn’t realize you were until he was cupping at your cheek.

"You don’t need to do anything, Honey. Just let me in,let me help." he whispered, his eyes locked onto yours.

Your breath turned heavy, and you barely had the chance to realize what was about to happen when he closed the remaining distance, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss. And just like always, the world seemed to fade away as the familiarity of his touch ignited a spark of longing within you.

From the looks of it, Steve felt the same as the two of you wrapped around each other. Wasting no time to soak in this moment.

Steve, with his arms now wrapped around the sides of your waist. And you, with yours locked around his neck to keep the kiss going. Neither one of you seemed to care where you were or what you were just talking about as you staggered back to hit against the large desk.

He reached down to grip around the back of your legs next, using a bit of strength to help get your rear to sit on the edge of the desk so he could wedge himself between your legs. The familiar heat rising inside of your chest when you felt the front of his jeans press against your inner thighs. His fingertips traced along the edge of your dress before he palmed at the thick part of your thighs.

You gasped at the sudden feeling, parting your lips against his and giving him the chance to trace the tip of his tongue against your mouth before he sealed them back together. The sensation of his tongue caused a moan to escape your lips. It’s been a while since you’ve been kissed like this and your head is spinning out of control.

The previous tension that had fueled your argument seemed to dissipate, replaced by the undeniable fire you both shared.

He swallowed your moans as his lips stayed connected with yours, taking every second that he could to make your thoughts go away as you focused solely on him. Your hands eventually found their way to gripping at the collar of his shirt, trying to scratch at the small visible amount of chest hair that peeked through his shirt.

But just as quickly as you were wrapping your legs around his waist was the memory of him and his date kissing cutting in. And it was like a spotlight shined over what the two of you were doing. Quickly, you pulled back from the kiss, curling into yourself in order to try and get some air into your brain.

He seemed to catch onto things and gently reached back to help unwrap your legs from around him. Stepping back a step in order to stand before you but not completely pull away from you just yet. You let your hands fall back to rest on the desk to balance yourself while Steve ducked his face in the crook of your neck. Not quite able to break away from you just yet.

You could feel as he brought a hand up to trace gently against the necklace on your neck. Toying with the single letter that rested in the middle.

“Steve?” you asked softly, watching as he pulled away from your side to look at you now. There was a terribly familiar look of sadness to his eyes. Almost as if he knew what you were going to say next.

“Please..” was all he said back.

Reaching up, you quickly untied the necklace from your neck and gathered it carefully in your hands before you looked down. The sad glint of metal shining up at you finally caused the tears to roll down your cheeks. Feeling guilty again for what you were about to do.

Reaching for his hand you gently placed the necklace down into his palm, curling up his fingers to hold it before you pressed a light kiss to the back of his hand.

“I’m done hurting you, Steve. Please give this to someone who truly deserves it.”

You quickly pushed yourself off the desk, fixing your dress before you made a step to leave. He was quick to catch your hand, looking at you with such a pleading look that you’d fall for any other day. "Don't do this. We can still fix things."

His words held such a promise in them. You knew he’d give you the world if he could.

“I can't meddle more in people's lives than I already have, I’m sorry. I just keep hurting everyone.”

With that, you gently pulled your hand from his grip and left the empty classroom. Leaving behind the person you still loved. Knowing that in your attempt to set you both on the right path, heartache would be alongside the two of you.

It was the hardest pill to swallow yet.

It felt like forever for the crowds to finally pile out of the school.

The sounds of cheering made its way outside of the gym into the parking lot while you hid away near the side entrance to the school. It was hard to avoid everyone after you left Steve. You weren’t sure how you’d be with Nancy or even Robin if they asked what was wrong again.

You severely needed to clear your mind of everything. Not think about the trouble you were causing to your loved ones and instead focus on trying to make most of the night. So after wiping away your tears, you found yourself making your way towards the school’s theater.

It appeared to be clear of any of the hellfire members. Leaving behind its dungeon master to clean up the mess the others left behind.

He was busy stuffing away pieces of the game into a box as he whistled to himself. Looking over all the work with a grin on his face until he heard the sound of your footsteps. A slightly fearful look on his face before he pursed his lips at you.

“You tryna give me a heart attack?” he grumbled, pointing a finger at you. “Coulda swung at you, Henderson.”

You chuckled a bit, joining him at his side as you looked down at the sheets of paper he collected into a folder. “Excuse me, I thought nothing spooked you.” you mused, moving to sit down at the grand chair that was placed by the table. “How was the campaign? Worth missing Lucas’ game I hope?”

Eddie breathed heavily through his nose, looking over at you unamused while he stuffed more supplies into the cardboard box. “I was warned you’d be in a mood.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, two little birds told me, actually.”

The idea of Mike and Dustin as two annoying bickering birds sort of brought a smile to your face before you remembered how mad Dustin was at you. “Birds,” you repeated. “Can’t say they’re wrong. I’m sort of annoyed with all of you.”

“Aw, you’re breaking my heart, Princess.” Eddie cooed, picking up the box. “I think I’m gonna go home and cry about it.”

Not waiting for you to follow, he quickly made his way onto the long pathway out of the theater. Making you slightly worried as you rushed after him. Thinking that he was actually upset with you until you approached the door and saw that he stayed by the entrance doors to hold it open for you.

“You know you owe Lucas, right?”

“God,” he said with an eye roll. “Sinclair made his choice tonight.” he pointed out after letting go of the door when you stepped out. “There’ll be other campaigns for him to join in the future. We still have a few months of school left.”

“But basketball season is over and all his friends missed out on seeing him make the winning shot.” you huffed, walking alongside him as he made his way towards the parking lot. “Don’t you think this game could have waited until next week?”

“He helped them win the game?” he said softly, an amused grin on his face. “Those Sinclairs, man. They’re something else.”

You’re a bit confused by what he meant but pressed on in order to get to your point.

“Eddie,” you sighed, watching as he trudged down to where he parked his van. “You’re still missing my point.”

“Your point is that you want all of us to stick together and be best friends until the end of time. Like some gooey family sitcom, right?”

“Not the words I’d use but kinda.”

Eddie glanced over his shoulder to frown at you. “That’s not how shit works but look,” he grunted, setting the box down on the hood of his car before he turned to face you fully. “If he’s really upset about it, the guy knows where to find me. Don’t make a big deal outta nothing.”

The words were oddly similar to Dustin’s from before and you couldn’t help but become silent after that. Fighting with your head to keep the negative thoughts from continuing to ruin your night.

It’s not until Eddie opened up the back door to his van in order to put away the box that he noticed you had gone quiet. From the back you could hear a deep sigh from him until he closed up the doors and made his way over to stand beside you.

“I’ll talk to him, ok?” he said softly, nudging you with his elbow.

His soft promise eased your mood a bit. But even that couldn’t stop your mind from being clouded by everything today. The fight with Dustin, the talk with Steve, and even the weird voices that your guilty conscience kept bothering you with.

"Alright, spill it. What's going on? You’re being off again," Eddie prodded, raising an eyebrow.

You hesitated for a moment, worried that opening your mouth would just make matters worse. But you still replied anyway. "It's a lot of things. For some reason today, I feel like I’ve been just messing up with everyone. It’s hitting me harder than usual."

Eddie's expression softened, and he placed a hand on your shoulder. "Mess up how?”

“Well, Dustin's mad at me, Steve and I are officially over, and I’m making my other friends worried.” You turned your head to look up at him, feeling the slight pain your head returned as you spilled out your worries. “I just feel like I'm hurting everyone around me no matter how much I try to make things right.”

He looked at you with a determined expression. "You can't control everything, and you certainly can't make everyone happy. Why you put that much pressure on yourself is beyond me.”

His slight lecture made you feel a little embarrassed, making you reach up to the chain around your neck until you feel nothing. Slowly you remembered what you just did just a while ago.

You almost felt like crying again.

“Look, Dustin’ll come around. Ok? He’s family and that means he’ll get over the little shit that doesn’t matter eventually. Your friends being worried about you is kinda a good thing because that means they care, and as for Harrington–”

His voice cut off and you glanced up to watch as he painfully tried to spew out some sort of helpful advice for him but all Eddie ended up doing was shaking his head. Looking down at you with a sorry look. “Is he really worth feeling this shitty?”

“He means a lot to me, Ed.”

“Even after he practically broke your heart? Not even considering for a moment to go with you?” he asked, not caring to sugar coat the question at all.

“He has his reasons.” you mumbled, trying not to feel pathetic for sticking up for Steve. Even if his answer did break your heart.

“He has excuses.” Eddie scoffed, looking away from you as a frown tugged on his brows. “Harrington is an idiot for not wanting to follow you.”

“No, he’s not. Don’t say that.” you said quickly. Despite the heartache and sadness that came with everything, you’d hate anyone to think so negatively of Steve. “He’s got his own life to live.”

“And he can’t live it with you?”

The words throw you off more than you expected and you have to lean against the door of the car to keep yourself balanced. The truth was, you weren’t sure what was the right answer anymore. Because at the end of the day, neither one of you were prepared for what the future held.

The more you thought about it, the more it seemed to do your head in. The only promising prospect was the idea of being able to leave Hawkins and go home. It was just unfortunately, alone.

Eddie sighed beside you before he nudged at your side once more. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “This whole thing just..sucks.”

“It does suck.” you confirmed, looking back at Eddie with a sad smile. “Wanna get out of here? I’m thinking of heading home.”

“I can drive you home,” he nodded.

“No, home, as in California.” you said half-joking.

Eddie smiled at that before he wrapped an arm around your neck, bringing you down to tousle at your hair. “How about instead of the road trip, I take you out for a bite to eat? Burgers make a great remedy for heartaches.”

The annoyance of having your hair messed up is quickly changed into a bit of happiness at the idea of Eddie’s attempt to fix your mood. “I’d like that.” you nodded, pushing out of his arms to fix your hair. “Let’s go.”

“All right, but we might have to stop by my place first.” he winced, almost like he was in pain.

“Why’s that?”

“Okay, Eddie, I’m ready to go!” came a shaky voice from behind you.

You turned around to find Chrissy Cunningham of all people standing near the back entrance. Shy smile on her face as she waved over at you.

“What the hell?”

“So, are you two friends?”

From the backseat of the van, you struggled to keep a straight face as you watched the interactions between Eddie and Chrissy. Since she stepped down the steps of the school and met you both in front of the van, there was an air of awkwardness in the air.

Thankfully not from you.

No, you were perfectly comfortable in the back of Eddie’s van. Slightly entertained at seeing the two attempt to make small talk in front of you.

Eddie for some reason did not know how to react as coolly as you knew he could. The girl brought out this inner dorkier side of him that you were unaware of. It reminded you about the first time you truly hung out with Eddie. At Tina’s Halloween party. They held a connection then and seemed casual. So why was it so different now?

“Hello?” Chrissy asked softly.

“I’m sorry!” you coughed, shaking your head from your thoughts. “What were you asking me?”

“I asked if the two of you were friends.” she repeated, eyes flickering between the two of you. Very quickly you leaned forward to pat her shoulder gently, giving her a small smile.

“Only when I need a ride.” you said simply, earning a scoff from Eddie in the driver’s seat.

Chrissy finally seemed to crack out of her nervous state and let out a small laugh. Almost relieved. "Got it.” she nodded. “You guys had me wondering if I had interrupted a moment back at the school."

At that you couldn’t help but ask the question that came into mind since she joined you two tonight. “You have me wondering too. What brings a popular girl like you on a mission for drugs tonight?"

She sighed, her guard dropping for a moment. "Honestly, I just need something stronger to help me sleep. A lot has been overwhelming me lately..I just need to forget. Even for just one night.”

There was an air of desperation in her tone that tugged at your heart. Not even for the fact that it was sad, but because deep down something that anxious and desperate was building up inside of you as well.

“And you think drugs are what’s gonna calm you down?” you asked softly, looking over at Eddie. “What are you asking for anyway?”

“Special K.” they both said at the same time.

You weren’t even sure what that even was but felt a small pang of worry build up in you. Eddie’s side hustle wasn’t the most ethical thing you’d like for your friend to do. But at the same time you understood people had different means of living. And who were you to judge them for that?

“Well, if the special K doesn’t work out as well as you hoped, I’m here to talk if you ever need an ear.” you offered, hoping not to sound as meddling as you have been today.

Chrissy sighed, a hint of sadness falling into her tone. "I don't want anyone to worry about me. Plus, it's hard to explain to people who seem to have it all together."

Her blue eyes locked onto you at that. Did she really think that you had it all together?

“Trust me, Chrissy. The majority of people at our school, including myself, have no idea what we’re doing.” you started, picking at the hem of your dress. “I’m pretty sure my life is about to get turned upside down and it’s not even finals yet.”

The words sounded more light than you really meant to, but it thankfully gave Chrissy another reason to laugh. Hopefully having some sense of relief to hear another peer give off the same sentiments.

“Henderson is right.” Eddie pointed out, turning down the pathway to his house. “If we all had our shit together, I’d have been out of here two years ago.”

“You would have been out of here if you had shown up to class now and then.”

Eddie looked into the rearview mirror to playfully scowl at you. "Hey, I had better things to do!"

“Playing pool in some dive bar outside of town is not something better to do.” you snorted, hearing Eddie’s engine sputter like him as it slowly turned off.

If it weren’t for the fact that you guys were parked in front of Eddie’s trailer, you were pretty sure he’d attempt some sort of reply. But now that it was back to his business, he settled for giving you the finger before he glanced over at Chrissy. “It’s kinda cold out here if you want to wait inside for me to look.”

The blonde nodded her head quickly, unbuckling her seat belt before she hopped out of the van. Eddie was going to do the same when he noticed you weren’t moving from your seat. There was a confused look on his face that had you chuckling a bit.

“What? Aren’t you gonna go inside?”

Eddie licked over his lips, nervously glancing out the passenger window to a waiting Chrissy before he frowned at you. A small pout on his lips. “Well yeah but..aren’t you coming too?”

“To help you make your deal?” you asked, adjusting yourself in the back to get comfortable. “Count me out, Mister. I’m not going to get caught in a drug deal anytime soon. I’d rather freeze my pretty little behind off.”

His eyes widened, "What? No, it's perfectly safe!” he coughed, perplexed. “Besides, you've been in my house before. You know I've got some stuff there."

You waved your hand, ignoring that bit of information before you smirked at him. "Look, Eddie, this is your chance to have some alone time with Chrissy.” Again his face turned into pure shock at your words. “I happen to know that you've had a thing for little Miss Cheer since last year. Now she’s willingly coming to your trailer. Seize the opportunity, my man!"

“She’s here for drugs!” he scoffed. “Just come in with us so it’s less awkward.”

“You’ve been making her wait forever now. She’s probably frozen in that skirt.” you said offhandedly.

He shook his head in disbelief, "This is ridiculous. She’s one of the most popular girls in school. She has a boyfriend."

The thought of Jason Carver made the two of you visibly scowl before you waved your hands. “Popularity means nothing. I mean, I hang out with you and that’s not a big deal.”

“You’re not like the others.” he mumbled under his breath.

You brushed off his comment, focusing on the matter at hand, “Come on, Eddie. Take the chance.” you said, trying to encourage him. “See what happens.”

For what felt like a long minute, all Eddie did was stare at you like he was trying to figure you out. As if the words you said weren’t clear as day and had some other meaning to them. Which they did, you wanted him to find someone too. Someone that had the time to open up their heart properly and not so haphazardly as you have. But you couldn’t exactly say that.

"This is stupid,” He sighed, resigned. “But fine. We’ll be right back.”

From your spot you watched as Eddie lamely excused your absence, waving his hand over at the van before he walked up the stairs to his trailer and opened the door up for Chrissy and entered inside the home.

You took the time alone to dissect the events that happened today.

One thing was Dustin definitely had his own convictions about you. Whether it be about butting into his life, breaking up with Steve, avoiding Steve, or just some other thing you weren’t even aware of.

Then there was Steve..

Well, you felt pretty much like a broken record about him. Not only were you still in love with him, but you were officially over. Returning that necklace would surely cement that now. Even if you regretted that whole day in your driveway. Wishing that you could go back and just..pause like he had wanted. But it was too late for that now and you’ve brought in someone else into your life to ruin.

Another thing would be that Robin and Nancy were both definitely worried about you and you were out of excuses to explain what was wrong. Mostly because you had no idea what the hell was wrong with you. It’s not like you weren’t faced with struggles before. Why was this year suddenly worse?

Maybe it had to do with the fact that there was a recurring voice in your head that laid out all your inner guilty thoughts. Or the nightmares that plagued your night, or headaches that ruined your days, or even the newest addition; nosebleeds.

There’s absolutely no more room in your mind for the list of problems that you already had. If there wasn’t a way to fix at least one of these things, you were pretty sure you’d lose it by the end of spring break.

Maybe you needed to actually take the week off. Go home and see your parents. Get a break from the mess that you got yourself into at Hawkins. Ironically it was supposed to be the place to get you out of your mess from California, but stranger things have happened since then.

“CHRISSY! CHRISSY! CHRISSY!”

The sudden sound of Eddie yelling pulled you out of your contemplative thoughts and you quickly rushed to the back of the van, pushing open the back door so that you could stand before the house. The screams continued on inside but you were frozen in fear at the sight of lights blinking rapidly inside. Sending a familiar chill up your spine.

“No.” you whispered, not ready for this to happen again. It couldn’t! The gate was closed! This couldn’t be happen–

“HELP!”

Without a second thought, you rushed up the stairs into the trailer, nearly tripping your way in. “Eddie?!” you gasped, finding your footing before you noticed the two right away.

Chrissy was standing completely still before a panicked Eddie. He was smacking at the side of her cheek, screaming out for her to wake up when he looked back to see you. “Holy shit, Henderson, she’s like, tripping out!” he yelled, voice cracked with panic.

“What the hell did you give her?” you frowned, joining his side to try and shake the girl. It wasn’t until you were close enough that you noticed the whites in her fluttering eyes. “Shit is she having a seizure?”

“I gave her nothing, man. I don’t know what the hell is going on!” he said, pinching at the sides of her neck, arms, anywhere to get a response out of her. “Chrissy! Wake up!”

“We need to get her out of here!” you urged, knowing the danger that could be lurking with the room’s lights blinking like this. If it’s anything you’ve dealt with before, a panicked Eddie and comatose Chrissy would be nothing against a demogorgon.

You reached for her hands, trying to clap at her hands and get her body to snap out of it. But the more you tugged, the farther she seemed to get away from you. Wait, how the hell is she moving?

Glancing down at her feet, you noticed that her body has slowly started to ascend up in the air towards the ceiling. “What the fuck?” you gaped. This didn’t happen before..

Eddie, having noticed her rising state, staggered back. Eyes wide and shocked at what was going on. “W-what do we do?” he asked you, looking up as Chrissy rose towards the roof of the trailer.

“We-..I-..” your breathing became strained and you felt like your heart was about to go into cardiac arrest the faster the lights blinked. What the hell was going on?

Her body shot up into the air, like a marionette doll manipulated by unseen strings. Eddie fell back from the sudden change, cursing out loud as he fell down to the floor.

You stood there, helpless and paralyzed by fear. The limbs of her body began to twist and turn in unnatural directions. Creating a sickening sound of bones twisting that echoed in the air. The scene unfolded with a nightmarish intensity, and you could feel the tendrils of something dark wrapping around the room.

“N-no.” you said, watching next as her mouth cracked into a haunting angle.

A wave of dizziness washed over you. It was as if the very ground beneath your feet was giving way. You stumbled backwards until you finally fell down into the ground. Your vision narrowed away as the darkness began to take over the world before you.

“No.” you said again, fighting to stay awake. You had to get out of there. But you couldn’t fight this power over you. The last thing you saw before succumbing to unconsciousness was the sight of Chrissy’s eyes sinking into her head and the sound of Eddie’s screams.

A/N: Hello! It’s been so long since I’ve been working on this chapter. I redid it like three times and still aren’t quite happy with some parts. But! It’s up and will hopefully help me to get to the storyline. I know it’s kinda angsty but I promise i’ll have fun in here again and more Steve/Reader. Thank you for taking the time to read this! Love y’all~

TAGGING REQUEST:

@cluz1babe & @starofavolonea

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x henderson reader #steve harrington x henderson!reader #Steve Harrington x female reader #steve harrington x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x henderson!reader #eddie munson x henderson reader #stranger things fic #cac

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celluloidbroomcloset · 1 month

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Are Anne and Mary really that bad though? Their game wasn't nice, they were being mean, but they seemed really happy to see Ed (with no ulterior motive). Also, Ed still thought it was okay/safe to hide under their blanket after dinner, and he still told them 'see you guys' when their house was burning.

Jack only went to see Ed because of Izzy, he did his utmost to wreak havoc while knowing the English were coming, and when Ed learned the truth, he was absolutely furious, he broke the paddles and threw them at sea and he never thought of Jack again (except for self-loathing purpose in the gravy basket). Jack sounds worse to me.

I think they genuinely like Ed and Ed genuinely likes them in a way that Jack and Ed do not, yes. There's a joy that they have with each other, especially at first, that seems more intrinsic to the reality of who Ed is—he's not performing for them in the same way he was for Jack. We tend to overlook that Jack is there with a purpose, and that purpose is to get Ed away while Stede and the rest of the crew are arrested and hung. One of the major guarantees of a violent death in this show is allying with the English, so Jack is indeed an actual traitor.

That being said, Annie and Mary are not exactly nice? Anne, like, assaults Stede for the purposes of creating drama between him and Ed, and while it's largely played off, it's still an assault. Her and Mary use information they glean about both of them to try to create a rift. They treat this very delicate relationship as a game.

Anni and Mary are also another representative of a path that Ed and Stede can follow, one where they don’t grow to love each other better, but fester and fight and resent and (literally) stab each other in the back (or headbutt each other). Ed remarks on Mary destroying a clock that Anne loves, which acts in parallel to the fact that Ed has destroyed all of Stede's belongings on his ship. Even then, Anne and Mary do find a (pretty toxic but comparatively more positive) way forward in destroying everything for a chance to start again together.

All these characters are showing the possible futures—Jack the middle-aged sad sack dying in a puddle of his own piss, Annie and Mary the festering relationship pocked with boredom, violence, and dishonesty about what they really want. Choices have to be made to walk away from those futures and to something better, which is what both Ed and Stede do.

#ofmd #reply #ofmd meta #our flag means death #anne bonny #mary read #edward teach #stede bonnet

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lonleydweller · 18 days

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🥀Yandere Self aware Nubbins (TCM game) hcs🥀

This wasn't a request.. but I thought of the idea and figured it'd be a fun write

Warnings: yandere trope, obsessive behavior, 4th wall break, self aware character, stalking

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● I'm assuming for this concept that you're more than likely someone who mains Nubbins when it comes to playing as family. Always choosing him if someone else hasn't already chosen him during a match!

● The greasy feral man was your favorite, he could easily maneuver through gaps and crawlspaces to pursue victims, moved swiftly, and had helpful little traps you could set around. Little did you know the favoritism would be reciprocated.

● I mean he must be your favorite right? You play as him every chance you get! You always seem to have so much fun playing as him! He knew he was the best! Otherwise why would you choose him over the rest? The idea of being someone's favorite, your favorite, the favorite of what is essentially an omnipotent being to him, makes him giddy.

● He loathes whenever you're away from the game, or when you're unable to play as him in the match because someone else is. He dosen't want these pigs controlling him! He wants you to! Just you. You play him the best!

● You may notice when you play as survivor that all the hitchhiker players you encounter seem to struggle killing you. Even high level players seem to stopping irregularly, missing hits, going the opposite direction of you even after spotting you, and randomly falling over even when no one's barged them. Perhaps it was a simple bug? Lag? Or maybe you were just getting that good at the game?

● If you're playing as a family member and someone else has taken up Nubbins, then the issues aren't as prevalent. However the character still shows irregular behavior. Doing certain animations like stomping his foot, being stunned, or swinging at nothing, even when they're not doing anything that would warrant the animation to be played. Almost as if Nubbins was having a fit, but that would be ridiculous right? It's just lines of code.

● You may notice slight, changes in your game, ones you could easily brush off as luck. Struggling to get a certain perk in the skill tree? What do ya know you got all of them! Nubbins seems slightly faster than normal? Maybe you're just tripping yourself out! Were you struggling to hit victims sometimes? You're getting a few extra hits in now!

● Do you like hearing him talk? Do you smile or laugh whenever he says a line? Do you make comments and talk back thinking you're just talking to nothing? He seems to babble even more as you run around and slash as victims. Especially the lines you seen to like the most.

● Slowly the lines might change. He starts saying the lines he'd say to other characters, like cook, Johnny, leatherface, ect. Even when they're not anywhere in sight. Particularly lines that used words like we, us, our. Maybe they were nearby and you just didn't notice?

● Now I feel it would take awhile for Nubbins to do anything drastic such as look at you through a camrea, connect to other devices, or dig through personal information and files on whatever device you play the game on. If he eventually does however, it will certainly further his obsession. Especially if he finds out you're a fan of the original tcm movie, if you have merch, drawings, or even met his actor, it kicks his obsession into overdrive.

● Many of the irregularities you may notice can just be passed off as bugs, errors, player fault, or luck. Nothing strange. Nothing to indicate that the lines of code were sentient. At somepoint however, the occurrences get to the point they can't be just be brushed off as a faulty game.

● He starts speaking new lines, one's you know aren't in the base game. One's that are too specific. Too direct. Praising you, your skill, what a great team you two make. Insulting other players. Commenting on your appearance, your home, your voice, things you've been recently doing. Then the console won't turn off. The game keeps opening even after you close it. You get loded into rounds where there's no other players.

● Your best bet at this point is to throw out your whole console. Any tcm media too. Hoping he hasn't infected other devices, hoping he hasn't leaked into the real world. Could he? If he could do this what would stop him from going farther? Who says he can't come out from the movie itself? His original source? You'd never be able to know until it's too late.

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#writers on tumblr #dweller's writing #yandere slashers #Yandere nubbins #Yandere nubbins sawyer #Yandere nubbins slaughter #yandere tcm #Yandere tcm game #Tcm game x reader #tcm nubbins #tcm 1974

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genericpuff · 4 months

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Hello, I want to say that I enjoy reading Lore Rekindled. I used to try and get into Lore Olympus back when it was starting, because I'm a huge Mythology Nerd, especially when it comes to Greek. But, even though the comic had so much potential, I really hated it. The art style was very inconsistent and messy. Like I see why it was appealing because it was striking and unique for the time on Webtoon, but it strained my eyes because it was hard to tell who was who half the time. The writing was all over the place with so many plot's that were supposedly to exist but were either settled in an anti-climatic way or just never were addressed at all. And the characters... by gosh, they act more like fake celebrities' and cardboard cutouts than their actual counterparts. It's so laughable when people say "I can relate to Persephone" like... the girl doesn't have any set traits, she's just a self-insert with no actual flaws! And the fact LO labels itself as a feminist retelling, while it pits women against each other, labels them as objects for men and vilify them for having justifiable concerns... yeah that is a laugh. And I'm not even gonna touch on the Apollo plot... you know the one. But when I heard about Lore Rekindled from Dazzling Kate on Youtube, I decided to check it out because I figured a fan version could not be any worse than what Rachel herself created. And holy Hades, I can see the un-to god effort and care this comic has! This is the complete opposite of LO: it has consistent character models with stunning backgrounds and art, the plotline makes way more sense and is easy to follow with no unnessearcy subplots, and the characters actually have separate personalities! I know Lore Rekindled is still in it's early stages, but already it has shown more promise and potential than what Rachel has created in the last six years! This is why ghost writers and fanfiction have a special place in my heart, because they care more about the stories than the authors themselves! Seriously, what you are doing is incredible! I really hope you continue with Lore Rekindled and I will be following the story because you have sparked my interest! It takes a special kind of talent to turn something that an individual like myself loathes, into a piece of work that I can find joy and entertainment in.

On that note, because I really love your story so far, I wanted to ask your permission on something. I have a YouTube channel, it's a small one but I do a bunch of things there like voice dubs, reviews, theorizes, and writing advice. So if it is alright with you, would it be okay if I could do a review of your Lore Rekindled Series and maybe potentially do a comic dub of the story as well? I'll be sure to credit you, I just want people to see this story that you worked hard on.

Ahhh I'm so glad you like it! Everything you mentioned about LO's missed or lost potential was exactly why I set out to make Rekindled, so it always brings me so much joy when people tell me it connected with them, means I gotta be doing at least something right LOL Though I've had to adjust Rekindled's update schedule to make room for other projects and priorities in my life, there's still loads left with it that I wanna tackle.

If you wanna do a review or any sort of video content with it, by all means! DazzlingKate's review took me by surprise (in a good way) because I had no idea it was happening until someone linked me to it after it was posted haha It's a little nerve-wracking sometimes to see it breach outside of Tumblr, but so far all the occasions of such have been generally fair game without any issues so I don't see why not! ~ <3

Thank you again, I hope Rekindled continues to entertain you and bring you joy ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

#lore rekindled #lore rekindled ama #ask me anything #anon ama #anon ask me anything #ama

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havendance · 1 year

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A collection of Helena Bertinelli/Huntress panels that are important to me:

(Detective Comics #653)

Batman: That's not the way I work. I'm not a killer. Huntress: You sanctimonious... You're looking for fair play in Gotham? I got you all wrong, Batman. I thought we became what we are for the same reasons; because the streets took away everything we loved.

Detective Comics 652-653 were my first introduction to Helena's character and this was the panel that really stuck out to me about her and who she was. This is what I kept coming back and thinking about. The contrast between them. They way that they're almost similar. Just "I thought we were the same". That's the good stuff right there.

(Huntress (1989) #2)

Huntress: I'm not strong. On TV... those overgrown wrestlers wear show-off flashy costumes... symbols of how strong they are. But it's not strong people who need costumes... It's the weak ones. Weak people who have to hide behind spooky capes and masks... make themselves seem more fearsome... so no one will see them for the harmless creatures they are... harmless as a frightened little girl who's lost her parents.

One of the things that really compelled about Huntress '89 (and to an extent Huntress '94, though that one just wasn't as good) was the dichotomy between the Huntress and the scared little girl that Helena still felt like underneath it. The contrast between the front she puts up, the way she puts on the mask and lives in it, and just how part of her is still caught up in the tragedy that birthed the Huntress in the first place.

(Showcase '93 #10)

Helena (internal narration): Maybe's not the word for it. Monday morning: David Stone will never have a chance to turn savage, never know a child of his own...but I can't bring myself to think it's better this way. Survival is always better.

Helena throughout the entire two part story that this concludes has been reflecting on the cycle of violence. It's really fascinating to see the way that her cynicism interacts with the fact that she really does want to help this student of hers who's been abused by his father. And the way she reflects on it you can see also thinking about herself and the Huntress as a product of violence and you get this impression of self-loathing as well. It's all just a really interesting story and I definitely recommend checking it out if you get a chance.

(Nightwing #29)

Huntress: How can you do what you do? Nightwing: Meaning? H: Look at this town. How can you play the white knight? How long can you stick to your “code”? N: As long as it takes. H: And if you fail? And you will fail. N: Then I fail, Helena. N: But I won’t let them win by becoming one of them. H: You have to play by their rules to defeat the. N: It’s not broken. H: What? N: Your ankle.

I've talked about this page before in multiple contexts, but like, I just really like it. It's an interesting look at what separates Helena from the bats. Her cynicism of you have to play the game to beat them. And also the last exchange "it's not broken... you're ankle", I just really like it. It works for me.

(JLA #32)

Kid: Do you have super strength? Huntress: No K: Are you invulnerable? H: I'm afraid not. K: Then how are you going to save him? What are you gonna do? H: I'm going to do everything I'm capable of doing!

I think this one speaks for it's self. I just boils down what I find compelling about non-powered heroes.

(Huntress: Cry for Blood #6)

Question: There's still time. Helena: Blood cries for blood, Vic. H: Santo killed his sister. Q: Dammit, where does it end? Q: When is it enough?

I'm going to be totally honest, this one's here because it appeals to me personally. I am obsessed with the motif of "blood cries for blood" (and also the Santo killed his own sister thing, because I'm always this close to catching kindly ones brainrot). Anyway, vengeance. Very compelling.

#huntress #helena bertinelli #the cooler gotham antihero #laurie-juspeczyk I cleaned up this post for you #here's some good huntress content since it's huntress posting hours tonight #or afternoon i guess #comic panel hoard #carthago delenda est #dc #bats + birds + affiliated

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gsirvitor · 2 months

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Are you two okay?

Because you two have been screenshotting my responses too, to act like it's abnormal that I respond in kind is kinda strange.

Responding to someone online means I care about their opinion? That's certainly a take.

I get called many things, that however does not mean it is what I am, just as if I were to call Mitch a knuckle dragging lobotomite, it doesn't mean he actually is one, it means I've insulted him and does not define what, or who he is as an individual, just my perception of him and his character.

@unpopularly-opinionated apparently you are a walking talking paradox, because Jadeaceofspades says so.

And this is the 5th time you've screenshotted mine, not that I'm keeping count, I'm being hyperbolic.

Just because something is not to me, does not mean I cannot respond to it if it is about me, and really, a few lines of text is a dissertation to you? How the education system has fallen...

Actually just got back from a two hour hike, not that you care, so I may just take a shower, after all I did work up a good sweat, and no, responding to those who viscerally loathe you, and sticking up for yourself by refuting them is not weird, is standard form.

[Note; I was sent this by a mutual who dislikes the hate boners you two have for anyone who doesn't kowtow to you.]

Responding to others is playing games and immature? I would've thought circlejerking over mutual hatred of another was far more immature, but I guess I'm wrong, who'd've thunk.

Finally one of you has blocked me, now you can move on with your life and stop malding that I exist.

I have discussed the issues Mitch, I'm sorry you can't accept that I won't agree with you.

Echo chamber? I converse, and am friends with people from all over the political sphere, not that it means much, it just means I regularly enter into verbal discussions with those who disagree with me, from Monarchists to Anarchists, I'm far more vitriolic in voice however.

>Liberal echo chambers

No, leftists echo chambers, the political left aren't Liberal, for they do not follow, adhere to or promote Liberalism.

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the-three-pure-souls · 2 months

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Tell us your finest headcanons for Stumbler O'Hare and Chief Wulf, please.

Thank you for asking! :D Sorry for all the Wulf angst in his section ^^' Those were the only headcanons of mine for him I could think of today.

Stumbler O'Hare:

Stumbler looks up to Elizabeth. She makes him feel safe. She's comforting. He wants to be the light in other people's lives like Liz is. She's always positive, always kind. Always able to make you see things just a little bit brighter. He aspires to be like that. They've also exchanged art through some of their emails together. It makes him a little sad they can only talk from behind a screen.

He actually owns the nurse's hat he's seen wearing in the unused Stumbler video. He doesn't remember where he got it from nor does he remember wearing it before, but whenever he looks at it, he's filled with an eerie feeling. Like something is wrong. It shouldn't be here. He doesn't like looking at the hat for that reason.

For the last headcanon I have for him in this post, a small one I have is that the art of him and Wulf that's in the gallery was made by him!

Chief Wulf:

Wulf frequency isolates himself whenever he's depressed. I mean, why should he tell anyone else how he's feeling when it would just make others feel down? Does his feelings even matter anyway? He's a leader, he should be able to cope on his own. He has to be the one to protect and help everyone else! If he can't..what else is he even good for..? Not to mention the self-loathing he's been feeling ever since he started getting his memories back.. Isolating himself was something he only used to do rarely, though with him finding out the truth..well, let's just say it's been affecting him a lot. At least he has Bucky who he can talk too now.

Ever since Pat started helping with restoring the game, Wulf's been avoiding him. He can't bring himself to talk to him. His past as being Connor in my AU is a big reason for that. He feels a lot of guilt. He was a bad father, wasn't he..? Patt shouldn't have to see him again. He feels like he failed him..

Whenever he wants some time alone, he usually goes to the demo maps to reminisce. What could have been, what he had. You can imagine Wulf's surprise when he saw one time he wasn't alone.

Hope these suffice! Sorry this took all day to finish writing, my head's been really messed up lately, especially today. :( I have other headcanons too for other characters Which are mostly for the Starlings! Feel free to ask about them if you'd like! :D I also took the pictures myself ^^ I love talking about this game-

#I hope I feel better in the next couple of days #My AU #ooc #Shipwrecked 64 #SW64 #my posts #My posts #Stumbler O'Hare #Shipwrecked 64 headcanons #SW64 headcanons #Stumbler #Chief Wulf #Wulf #Elizabeth Baker #Elizabeth #Liz #Liz B.#Wulf angst ;w;

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janeicethesiren · 6 months

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Hot take: The Woobification of Sebastian and O!Ciel-How Beauty Clouds Judgement

Hey guys, it’s me again and I can’t sleep. I have another hot take to share! Once again, please don’t take this too seriously, I’m just talking.

So, I just want to start off by saying that I totally get it. I mean it! We’ve been following these characters for years and we’ve gotten so invested in there stories and we can’t help but want them to win, you know? It’s human nature to want to root for the underdog in some ways. And, O!Ciel kinda fits the mold of underdog when you consider his backstory.

But, and this is my opinion, Ciel and Sebastian are NOT the underdogs. And I can’t help but think that if they both weren’t so pretty, you’d see a lot less people excusing their behavior or rooting for them.

I should also stress that I’m not talking about the people who look at these characters through a complex lense, I’m more so talking about people who are insistent that O!Ciel and Sebastian are good people/not evil.

Like I said, I get it and I empathize with the kid, but the kid is a BASTARD. He has progressively become an awful, awful person and that’s the POINT. And I can’t help but find it boring when people try to strip that away from him.

People feel bad for O!Ciel because he’s been through a lot, which yeah he definitely has. And people are mad at R!Ciel for standing against him and at Lizzy for turning on him, at least for now.

And, again, I kinda get it because we’ve been with O!Ciel for so long and it’s natural to root for him. But, O!Ciel is not the good guy! Lol what’s happening right now is that he’s currently being forced to face the consequences of his own actions. Which, let’s be honest, he wasn’t expecting to ever have to do because of his personal countdown death clock, Sebastian.

I can understand why he told those lies, especially at the beginning. But there’s no excuse for them anymore. He should have BEEN told everyone the truth. Would it have been easy? Of course not. But it would’ve been the right thing to do. While it’s understandable why he did what he did, he still took away his family’s ability to grieve and R!Ciel’s ability to rest, at least in my opinion.

Also, I think it’s important to note that, after a point, O!Ciel started to ENJOY being Ciel. So much so that he’s willing to fight the real Ciel for his own name. Which is absurd when you think about it!

His family absolutely ain’t shit for not only not noticing the difference, but also not doing anything to step in and really be there for that boy. But again, that’s part of the point of what Yana is trying to say in that upperclass Victorian society is/and was depraved, shallow, and mostly evil.

O!Ciel may have been thinking of the others when he made his initial decision but the decision was still selfish. I think that it’s ok to say that; while yes, he suffered from heavy survivors guilt and truly thought that his family would prefer for R!Ciel to come back (and unfortunately he wasn’t wrong), he still, if only subconsciously, wanted the power, prestige, and access that R!Ciel’s name carried.

He LIKES being Ciel now and loathes his old name and position. He LIKES the power, the access, the maneuverability, hurting people when they get in his way, killing those who wronged him, the security of Sebastian’s presence, the ability to make his dream come true (made a lot easier with Ciel’s name), the dark mind games he plays with people. ALL OF IT. He loves it and that’s the POINT.

And Sebastian is a demon. Yes we all know that, that’s not news. However, I still feel like we give the man (entity, whatever) too much credit a lot of the time. Again, mostly because he’s pretty.

Is it possible that he grew to care for O!Ciel in someway? Sure! And I do believe he legitimately has a lot of respect for O!Ciel. But I honestly think it’s more likely that the bastard is hungry and the current events are making him worried that he’ll end up being killed or losing his meal in the end. I don’t think it’s impossible or too much of a stretch to say that he’s grown fond of O!Ciel in someways, but best believe that child is food. Yana even outright says that Sebastian LOVES to see Ciel suffer! Only it’s not so fun when Sebastian is also suffering too, lol he’s a narcissist.

TLDR: It makes sense why people root for O!Ciel and Sebastian. But I think we give these two way too much credit sometimes and there’s an over abundance of people trying to absolve them both of their evil. They are both garbage (lovable garbage!) that are currently facing the consequences of (mostly Ciel’s) actions. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Please don’t kill me.

#Kuroshitsuji #black butler #kuroshitsuji manga #o!ciel #sebastian michaelis #character analysis #unpopular opinion #Meta #please don’t kill me #I hope I’m not coming across as condescending and apologize if I am #these are just my thoughts #please don’t take this too seriously #i’m just talking #ciel phantomhive #elizabeth midford

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zingaplanet · 1 year

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Can you explain the carraville ship to me please (like context and the steps of the relation and so on? If it isn't too much)?

I see your posts and I grow curious.

R U KIDDING?? IT'D BE MY PLEASURE!! I feel a huge responsibility to represent the carraville fandom lol, so my dear carraville mutuals pls do help fill the blanks n lol hope you don't regret this ask cause as you know, I have a slight tendency to go on a maniacal j-stor length rant hahaha

So basic's basic first, who are they? They're football pundits! They work for sky sports (the major broadcaster of premier league football in the UK), and their work encompass commentating on matches, giving their analysis on tactics, players etc, we'll go into details later. But there's an incredible background story to how they came to work together and here's where the fun begins!

Righto so, if you know my blog, I'm always most fascinated with enemies or rivals who came together in the end despite their differences (or actually BECAUSE of their differences like fedal!). I just thought that this is one of the most uniquely special and incredibly powerful bonds that represents how amazing human relationships can be, it is often our opposites who understand us the most!

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville encapsulates this relationship perfectly but also perhaps most comically. They are an example of how ironically funny life can be as they are technically THE SAME PERSON but from opposite sides (hey WE LOVE MIRROR OPPOSITES!)

How, you ask? So football pundits don't just get plucked out of journalism school, they are mostly former players, and very specific ones: Those that have strong characters (that ppl actually found interesting to watch on telly), and those that have brilliant tactical minds. So both of them are incredibly witty and funny, and they're great readers of the game!

And this actually comes from their playing days. So both Neville and Carragher were defenders. Carragher especially played centre back (Neville played right back) and were leaders of their team for a long time, which meant they had to organise everyone while reading the game at the same time. But here's the catch:

They played for 2 different clubs who have the oldest, fiercest longstanding rivalry in the premier league (UK football) and perhaps even in the world: Carragher played for Liverpool FC and Neville played for Manchester United. In here they call this the Northwest Derby, as they are both clubs from cities of Northern England who are historically most successful both achiement-wise and size-wise.

So... they used to LOATHE each other, and this isn't just the passive-agressive détente Messi and Ronaldo used to have during el clasico matches, oh no, English football in the early 2000s was quite violent, and both Neville and Carragher were amongst the staunchest characters in their teams. There are reasons for this, which comically prove that they are actually the same person!

Aside from playing in the same position as each other (though on opposite sides of the field), they also have similar backgrounds/relations to their clubs. They are ONE-CLUB MEN. Now this is very rare in football and have gone quite extinct nowadays, but basically, they are LOCAL boys who were born in their cities (i.e., Liverpool and Manchester), grew up supporting their clubs, and their club identity became their identity so much so that they only ever played in that club for their whole professional career (i.e., they were never transferred nor loaned). They also came from working-class backgrounds in Northern England (Liverpool and Manchester are basically only separated by the M62 highway).

Being local lads means they were the most LOYAL of the bunch, and are also rare breed leaders since they've been with Manchester United and Liverpool FC from their youth academies. They've never left the city and usually have quite an important leadership roles within the team.

But Carragher and Neville were never star players (nothing of the Virgil Van Dijk defenders type you found nowadays). They didn't have amazing skills etc yet they have the most caps (number of appearances) in their club games, and they were still playing matches even close to their 40s. Make no mistake they were actually really good players, both with significant england caps (even during the golden generation of Rooney, Ferdinand, Becks, Lampard, etc!) This is because even tho managers can buy star players, they could never buy loyalty nor replaced the way these two know their club and led their peers. They were sort of the emotional backbone of the clubs so to say.

This also means that their roles have always been as supporting characters and with them it's quite literally. So Carragher (or Carra as we call him) is best mates with non other than Liverpool former captain and forever supertstar, Steven Gerrard. Meanwhile Neville grew up and is still best mate with the global superstar, spice-girl married David Beckham. Carraville were often vice-caps for a long time, taking a sidelined but important role.

Even more mirror symbolisms (it's all a bit poetic really): both LFC and Manchester United have red as their club colours! (Everton and Man City are the blue side of their cities). Neville was part of the Man United team that won EVERYTHING in english football (including the unrepeated treble), but they never really dominated Europe (as Carragher likes to point out). Carragher was part of an underestimated LFC team who didn't win much of local cups but did one insane miracle and beat Paolo Maldini's superstar AC Milan team after being 3-0 down IN THE SECOND HALF in the 2005 Champions League final in Turkey. That night was called one of the greatest comebacks in football, dubbed "the miracle of Istanbul!"

NOW on to the crazy bits:

After they retired, both of them were invited to do this programme on SkySports called Monday Night Football. It's actually one of the most prestigious and highly difficult punditry programmes to do in football, since it's hours of LIVE analysis, dissecting the game one by one using statistics, and reacting live to the teams' tactics as they watched the match.

Safe to say the sky producers must have had the biggest balls on the planet when they decided to put those two together in one studio. The first few shows were quite patchy, but LO BEHOLD the strangest things happened: Gradually the animosity of rivalry turned into something more of a friendly banter (AKA what the english calls a very passive aggressive curmudgeon way of saying they're becoming awfully fond of each other but are too 😤 stupidly 😤 manly 😤 to admit it 😤). Once they realised they're not on opposite teams anymore, their walls came down and people called them two peas in a pod as they started noticing how similar they are to each other!

But this old rivalry makes for a hilariously fun relationship! They hold no barrels and take every. single. opportunity. to slander and make fun of each other. This includes turning each other into memes and petty saving all of each other's past football analysis lest the opportunity arrives when the moment proves them absolutely wrong to make fun of each other on social media.

Fact is: Even though they'd rather be shot dead than get caught saying it in public, they've actually become best mates lol. They still argue endlessly over football, and as the English call it, the season's never officially begun before a Neville-Carragher high-pitched argument on live TV. They even left their former teammates speechless, as they were known to be one of the most aggressive loyalists to their clubs. Neville used to not even be able to walk through Liverpool without getting mangled lol once he had to have a police escort just to get to the stadium, yet nowadays they get greeted by everyone in their respective cities 🥲

So in a nutshell: They are basically the definition of school scoundrels who used to beat the shit out of each other every week being put together in detention (by skysports) and ended up becoming besties lol. I have to say they are probably the most hilarious relationship development you could ever witness lol:

Ok so if you've made it this far (I AM IMPRESSED) and by some crazy reason decided that you still want some more, here are some starter packs for you:

This ad they did for fifa perfectly encapsulates the disgruntled fond and hilarious nature of their relationship!