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kwillow · 2 months

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People are too nice to me and send me so many intriguing and prescient questions and scenarios about my imaginary friends. Some of these I would have a hard time responding to with drawings, so I've gotta just use my words (SO MANY WORDS) instead!

So, for all interested parties, in response to those questions, here come some LORE RAMBLES: THEO EDITION.

Asks and answers under the cut!

Thank you! “Strange but interesting” is what I aim for with him.

I don’t think I’ve talked about Theo’s voice before! To be honest, I often struggle to imagine precisely what my character’s voices are; the qualities of my mental performance for them varies from day to day. Still, I think with Theo I can formulate a description of some kind.

I imagine his voice to be on the higher end for a man, though not exaggeratedly so, along the tenor range. He can deepen his pitch purposefully to sound more imposing or masculine, but his voice tends to rise in pitch further and further when he’s tense, like a violin string on the verge of snapping. He speaks clearly and distinctly, sometimes to the point of almost biting off the ends of words rather than having them sloppily run into each other, and only rarely uses contractions. His voice has a slight nasal quality to it at times. When he’s angry, a bit of a rattling growl can edge the end of his words.

When he was young, he was a terrible stutterer. He made a concerted effort to train himself out of stuttering in his adolescent years, but he will still lapse into r-ruh-ruh-repeating his syllables if anxiousness gets the better of him and makes him forget to swallow those extra sounds.

He is an expressive speaker, far more so than he’d prefer. Like his pitch varies, so too does his volume, and he can swing from speaking so softly as to be almost inaudible to screaming with all the volume his lungs can muster in a moment. His cadence is full of exaggerated pauses for effect mixed with swift traipses through less important words said simply for the music of reciting them to himself; his conversational tone sounds more like a performer going through a soliloquy than casual speech. In large part, that’s because he’s had more pleasant experiences with theater than conversation.

As many have noticed, he has also a vocal tic. He makes nasally sounds and guttural grunts and growls involuntarily, more often when he’s nervous or upset about something. As he gets older and his body is less able to shrug off the effects of his little smoking habit, he wheezes and coughs in the middle of his sentences as well.

For most settings, I imagine him speaking in a highly affected Transatlantic accent, but in Amaranthine (which is what I assume people are asking about and what I’m defaulting to for these answers), his accent might be more typically British posh-y, like Received Pronunciation. Or maybe not, I mean, it’s a funny animal fantasy setting, so he could have any accent I like. :P

If you want auditory examples, I think something mixing the high-pitched, sibilant, nasally breathiness of Peter Lorre with the refined yet expressive voice of Vincent Price would get you pretty close to what I imagine. To break from the classic horror actor category, you can also throw in this animated series’ depiction of Doctor Octopus to add the all-important ingredient of “nerd factor” to his voice, haha.

He’s a bookworm, yes, but that means he likes to learn! In his case, he’s also someone who enjoys mastering (or at least getting competent at) new skills and is extremely likely to learn to do something well just because someone thinks he can’t. He also has the benefit of being kicked out of school and extremely unemployed, so for most of his life he had lots and lots of free time to take on all manner of niche hobbies if he so desired!

His drive to learn a new skill is motivated by a combination of practicality, gentlemanliness, a need to know how to handle his own business to have as little outside interference as possible or simple intellectual curiosity (which itself is often a cover for boyish whimsy about Cool Stuff). To give examples of practical skills he taught himself: most people probably wouldn’t expect him to be a good cook, but he learned to do that because his family lost their household staff, and someone had to figure out how to cook beef – and because he wanted to take better care of his mother after she fell ill. He’s a great seamster because he wanted to make alterations to his clothes to better fit his unusual proportions without suffering the indignity of being prodded and measured by some nosy tailor. Where he lives, engines are extremely uncommon, being used only for agriculture if at all, but if Theo did own his own automobile, he would learn how to fix the thing himself as best as he could because he wouldn’t want some stranger poking around in his precious baby. He does know how to repair basic clockwork mechanisms, though! (Even if he won’t fix his own pocket watch for weird sentimental reasons.) He taught himself to be ambidextrous purely because he worried about losing a hand in a freak accident one day. He never wants to be caught unprepared or feel like he can’t handle something on his own if he needs to.

For skills in the “oh but if I could do this it would be so cool – I MEAN GENTLEMANLY” camp… yeah, actually, he does like to fence. He might not be able to hold his own all that well against a trained opponent, partly just because of his own physical limitations, but he knows the footwork and he certainly enjoys fighting stationary enemies while role-playing in his head as a knight. (He would be exceedingly embarrassed if anyone knew that part.) He can dance – but only as half a pair – and play the piano – or at least the chords his fingers can reach. He makes model ships and is familiar with all their parts even though he’s never seen the ocean. He knows a fair bit about women’s fashion and could probably help a lady pick a flattering dress for a gala… if she didn’t mind dressing about decade out of style. He’s a fine marksman, though that does overlap with “practical skills” when you live in a world with monsters creeping around on the edges of towns. And that’s not even getting into his self-taught anatomy lessons! But maybe we shouldn’t get into that, for the sake of our stomachs.

I could keep rambling, but to summarize, Theo lacks worldly experience, but he is a curious little guy and has all kinds of weird skills rattling around in his skull. You never know what he’s gonna know! Except for anything involving successfully interacting with other people. He’s never going to know how to do that.

Theo is the sort of person who enjoys collecting things, in that he is often captivated by the history and sentimental value of objects that catch his eye, likes to have a little hoard he can lord over like a dragon, doesn’t see value in minimalism and is loath to get rid of anything he owns.

However, he’s a homebody who rarely traveled far from his hometown of Northcrest, a small and remote barony, and his family (and therefore he) did not have the kind of financial situation that allowed for many frivolous expenditures. Therefore, he cannot regularly obtain new items for his collections because he would quickly exhaust everything that caught his eye in his own town, and he would be wary of spending his family’s dwindling funds on something that only served to satisfy his own whims. If he were in different circumstances, able and willing to travel more broadly and possessing the kind of wealth that allowed him to fully indulge his fascinations, I’d imagine he’d have quite the collection of art, weapons, antique books, clothing, and other fineries. As it stands, he only rarely adds a new object to his own collections, and he instead contents his inner dragon by attempting to maintain and catalogue the acquisitions made by past Norths that have accrued in their manor over the generations. Still… a toy store in his town has made quite a profit off him by having new model trains in stock around his birthday and holidays.

I don’t think he’d be terribly enthused with an insect collection, regrettably. At least not a live one. Preserved, exotic kinds might at least hold the intrigue of far-off places, but something more mundane (and wrigglier) would repulse him more than fascinate him.

I’m going to say somewhere along the line between “absolutely not” and “it’s complicated.” Theo obviously gets fulfillment from looking after the people he cares about, and in Amaranthine, he’s been in a caregiver role for so long he takes a certain amount of comfort in it. Even so, if he somehow knew people thought that he “wants” the people he’s close with to fall ill, or have chronic poor health, he’d be horrified. Theo’s not exactly the most hale and hearty fellow himself (and he’s also made his health notably worse through the years via his own actions, good job on that bud), so he knows first-hand how miserable frequent illness is. He wouldn’t want someone to suffer through that. Also, witnessing his mother’s slow decline and death was harrowing for him, and part of why he flings himself into caring for Hyden is that he doesn’t want to see something like that again and is doing all he can to keep Hyden stable. It brings him comfort, but the stress of feeling responsible for someone’s health – and the stress of only being able to manage their symptoms and never fix the problem – takes a toll on him, too, even if he wouldn’t say so.

So, he wouldn’t blame a sickly partner for their condition, and he’d be willing to care for them and want to help them, but I don’t think he’d ever say he “wants” someone he cares about to be sick. Would he nonetheless be more likely to get close to someone sick versus someone well? Well, maybe. Theo has a bit of a dependent streak, not in that he needs someone to dote on him, but that he doesn’t feel like he has any worth in a relationship unless he can provide protection or assistance. But someone could easily satisfy his need to be needed in other ways, too. Like someone being clumsy and needing their clothes mended regularly, or having a deadbeat husband they need murdered, you know, stuff like that.

He doesn’t know much, and never cared to ask much either, like you imagine. He mostly just knows they’re not nobility, they do have some mage ancestry and ability, and beyond that aren’t important (according to Jocosa). Besides, as a history nerd, he has little interest in learning about his father’s side when his mother’s side has biographies, tapestries, records of badges and achievements and personal spellbooks in such great measure that he couldn’t hope to go through them all in his lifetime. Does Leonard’s side of the family have even one tapestry? No? How dull.

For his part, Leonard isn’t close to or fond of most of his family and isn’t very candid about his past life before becoming successful, so he was amenable to not talking much about his childhood or ancestry. He would prefer if Jocosa was similar restrained and didn’t extoll the virtues and history of her bloodline constantly, but alas, no. One of the consequences of marrying into snotty nobility, I suppose.

Oh, you’re on to something there! :)

Now, with someone like Theo, whose brain is a Gordian knot of congealing gray matter basting in a cerebral soup of self-deception, neuroticism, and concentrated hatred, it’s hard to point to one thing as the sole cause for any of his many issues. At the same time, I don’t want to just dump the entirety of Theo’s issues with his family and how they impact him psychologically because I worry that I could write a thousand words about it and still have five thousand more in me, and we all have other things to do with our time than read all that. That said, to briefly (ha) touch on what you’ve mentioned…

Many of Theo’s problems with intimacy, with needing to feel useful, with fearing connections with others, and so on do stem from his troubled family history. At least some of his self-loathing is borne from him, at a glance, looking more like the man he most despises instead of being the same long, slim, elegant creatures that form the roots and branches of his mother’s family tree. Although, the irony in that is that all the “bad” genetics that cause him grief and suffering come from his mother’s side – but he alternately blames the cruel gods and himself for being a freak, not his mother or grandpa or any of his weaselly ancestors for that.

It’s also true to say that Theo’s self-sacrificing and self-effacing acts of kindness towards his mother and to others he cares for are done in part to make up for the fact of his own existence. The fact that his beloved mother had to couple with a disgusting, loathsome, degrading, unfaithful cur of a man (have I mentioned Theo really hates his dad yet?) in order to bear him weighs heavily on his mind and warps his self-concept. As much as Theo knows his mother loves him, he also knows – and despises – that he if he’s his mother’s son, he’s also his father’s spawn.

Jocosa doesn’t talk at length about her problems to Theo, or anyone – she wouldn’t want to make Theo feel responsible for her woes and she isn’t the kind of woman to whine about her life’s tribulations besides – but Theo isn’t so ignorant that he can’t pick up on the tension in other’s conversations, read meaning into words left unsaid, or work backwards from what he is told to deduce the rotten truth behind what little he’s told. He knows that everything involving his conception was hard for her, even if she doesn’t say it, and he feels he needs to do everything in his power to make up for the suffering bringing him into existence put her through. ...And I could go on but I think that’s enough to get the picture for now. Have I mentioned I can write a lot of words about Theo??

I think Hyden would know better than to say something like that – out loud. Hyden does try to push Theo into a personal valet role. But Theo has his limits and Hyden is smart enough to not press them (too much, right away). Being referred to as a kind of servant is one of those limits that really pisses him off and would be a one-way ticket to not getting any more pillow fluffing. Also, for as much as he helps Hyden with daily tasks and provides whatever dotage he feels is required of him as an apprentice, caregiver or host, there are tasks a manservant would be responsible for that Theo categorically refuses to do (even though Hyden wishes he would).

I am greatly amused by the thought of someone trying to get a flower crown on Theo. I can’t imagine it’d ever go much better than people trying to put shirts on their cats. He just really doesn’t like situations wherein Stimulus I Have No Control Over Is Happening To Me.

He does tend to flip from fury to (relative) calm depending on the circumstance and the source of annoyance, so you’re spot-on with the variable reactions he could have to a floral intrusion. I would say he isn’t likely to use “witch” as an insult for the same reason as he wouldn’t use “harpy” or “ice queen” as an insult, which is that any kind of derogatory comment his mother was ever called might as well be a compliment in his books. “Harlot” is completely fair game, though.

Thanks a bunch for the kind words on my weird rat guy. So happy you like him!

(Also “dark fantasy rose type flower” made me laugh. God. He’s such an edgelord. Emphasis on the “lord”, with a title and arms and everything.)

Glad you like seeing him! I guess one of the benefits of me not getting particularly exotic with the colors or markings on my furry designs is that you can find associations to actual animals like this! I hope your pet rat had a better temperament than Theo does, though.

…Which sounds a little stupid considering quite a lot of these answers involved me talking at length about Theo being sad and self-sacrificing and crap like that. I swear to God he’s a nasty little bitchboy most of the time. I need to draw him biting someone on the face or insulting someone for being poor or eating someone’s eyeball or something again to balance the scales here.

Note to self.

#WHO WANTS TO READ 2800 WORDS ABOUT THEO?? WAIT COME BACK #i wrote this joke about anonymous letters but actually looking at these -#like half of them were actually sent by people non-anonymously #YOU ARE ALL SO BRAVE #also sorry to those of you who sent in asks months or years ago who either are in this or are worse AREN'T...#i do have plans for the asks I get but well #timeliness is not one of my skills #my draws #doodles #asks #theo #amaranthine

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spiraling-voids · 5 months

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I’m going to rant about my NPMD au because yes

I know not a lot of people wanted me to share more about it but there are people who like this idea au thing, so I’m gonna share some things :D

They have different names but for the sake of new people finding this, I’ll use their non au names

• Wiggly is basically his younger siblings guardian, he helps them with anything (as long it’s not emotional stuff, that’s Webby’s job)

• Webby is more on the cool side of “get bullied by Max” radar, but in between that and being a nerd

• Pokey is in theater and when he does shows for the school he always invites Webby, since she is the sanest sibling out of everyone

• Nibbly seems to always have a lollipop on him at school, there isn’t a day or time in school you see him without a lollipop

• Tinky is a huge history nerd, he also likes legos to build stuff

• Blinky is a quiet kid in school who likes to stare, people think he’s just antisocial when he just likes to observe people

• Blinky grows out his hair to hide better while Nibby grew out his hair because Blinky did

• the whole story for this au, Webby and Wiggly had a huge fight that made them hate each other…well Webby doesn’t really hate Wiggly but Wiggly doesn’t see her as family anymore

That’s all I’m gonna share today, I might share more later, who knows?

#starkid #nerdy prudes must die #au thing…i guess #wiggly #wiggog y'wrath #blinky #bliklotep #nibbly #nibblenephim #pokey #pokotho #tinky #t’noy karaxis #webby hatchetfield #nerdy siblings au

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sourcherryandsprinkles · 11 months

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Hey. I would like to request a smut one “You’re so beautiful all spread out like this…just for me.’’ For Mindy Meeks-Martin with some overstimulation. Your last Mindy smut was great. I wish more people wrote for her.

Who else watched Jennifer's body when it came out and had heart-eyes looking at her? I didn't understand it, but she was HOT...and I couldn't stop watching it

Warnings: smut, fingering

Request: What if Chad had an eye on you first, but reader is a fruity pillow princess so she picked mindy?

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

The funniest thing about your and Mindy’s relationship was that Chad was actually the one who tried to get a date with you. Unfortunately for him, his charming smile, cheesy pick-up lines and big muscles didn’t have any effect on you.

You preferred his film nerd sister who was mocking his flirting.

Three weeks later, you were sitting beside Mindy at a party, your legs pulled over hers with one of her hands resting protectively over your knee. If anyone didn’t already know, you were her girl.

‘’Is this why you didn’t want to tell me your Halloween costume? Because you wanted to surprise me by looking this fucking hot?’’

A light flush tinted your cheeks. ‘’That’s actually not the look I had planned, but I realized her cheerleading uniform was more practical and less messy than the pool scene. I would’ve put fake blood everywhere.’’

‘’I like fake blood. I also like Megan Fox. I remember seeing Transformers in theaters and telling my mom ‘mom, I’m a lesbian’. She choked on her popcorn. It was hilarious.’’ Mindy slid her hand from your knee to your thigh, right where your purple cheerleading skirt stopped. ‘’When I’ll get you to myself I’m gonna eat you up.’’ She gave you a dark look of desire and you clamped your thighs together, feeling your core tighten and your body get hot.

You fought the power she had over you and used your character to respond. ‘’I’m the succubus. I feed on people. Not you.’’

‘’We’ll see about that…’’

Mindy stayed true to her words, getting her hands underneath your small skirt the second her dorm door shut. She pressed you against the door, her mouth hovering over yours. You thought she was going to kiss you, but she didn’t.

She teased her finger over your panties, feeling the wetness seep through them. ‘’Fuck, you’re so fucking wet.’’

You moaned, the desire that was coursing through your body growing hotter.

Mindy pulled your panties to the side and started to stroke the seam of your pussy. She then dipped her fingers in the wetness and moved her finger up to swirl and press against your clit. You choked out a moan as your hips jerked against her hand, getting needy and so fucking horny.

‘’Please, Mindy,’’ you begged, wanting the feeling of your girlfriend’s mouth on you and her fingers deeper inside of you.

‘’I thought you wanted to eat me tonight?’’ Mindy said, continuing to move her fingers over your soaking cunt. ‘’But look at you, you're so needy and pliant on my fingers.’’ Her long fingers separated your folds, taking her time to run up and down your wetness. ‘’Want my fingers inside you, my little demon?’’

You whined, wishing she would stop being so mean and give you what you wanted.

‘’Yes— yes, please.’’

Mindy inserted her pointer and middle finger into you in one swift motion. The feeling of her knuckles now pressing against you caused a sharp moan to leave your lips. You couldn’t mutter anything coherent as her slim fingers relentlessly pushed in and out of you. Only the sound of her name and moans filled the dorm as you fell apart against the door. Her fingers hooked up inside you, a feeling you tried to mimic when you touched yourself on nights she was busy.

While this was fun, the doorknob was digging into your lower back and it was getting very uncomfortable. So Mindy pulled her fingers out, crashing her mouth on yours as you moved to her bed. She lowered you down on the mattress and settled between your legs without disconnecting your lips.

You reached to run a hand through her short hand, careful to not get it stuck in your rings. It happened before and it was a painful mess…and mood breaker.

One of Mindy’s hands reached down your body and underneath your skirt again, but instead of touching you where you wanted her, she grabbed your panties and slid them down to remove them. You helped her kick them off when they got stuck at your feet, laughing through it.

You watched Mindy’s hands traveling up your calves and kissing your knee before pushing your legs apart. A shiver ran through your body, feeling cool air on your pussy.

Mindy’s eyes gravitated to your center with hunger. ‘’You’re so beautiful all spread out like this…just for me.’’

A needy mewl left your lips, finally accepting that you were a pillow princess.

—

Scream taglist: @misfityanii @beautybyfire @iluvscream191 @mariposa555 @bella7866 @o638 @lulubelle14 @luvvtxinityy @frasersgf @Eddiefrickenmunson @jasperr-the-friendly-ghost @ghostf4cee @thesebitcheslovesosadotcom @wandaswigglywoos @xjennyx2 @jennasslut @thatonesblog @mikaelsonsstuff @icarly23 @tcddszn @bt.oliana @skyesthebomb @a1mzcruml3y @red1culous @iluurmom @popeheywardssecretgf

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs @gillybear17 @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @rosie-cameron @Caxddce @laylasbunbunny @gemofthenight @beautyb1ade @hi-bored-as-fcuk-rn @lovelyy-moonlight @mellabella101 @vxnity713 @marzipaanz @bisexualgirlsblog @queenofslytherin889

#mindy meeks martin imagine #mindy meeks martin #mindy meeks martin x reader #mindy meeks martin x you #scream 6 imagines #scream 6 #mindy meeks martin smut

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nzia-writes · 5 months

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The Marvels 2023 dir. Nia DaCosta

My Honest Thoughts:

I’m actually kinda sad that this movie is performing so poorly at Box Office, and I’m all the more sad that it lacks the excellence that I’ve imagined for the last two years in the narrative sense.

The cast is strong, the visuals are strong, the action is strong, the direction is strong, but it all came crashing down because Marvel has been doing a horrible job at choosing its writers for movies. It is also fair to mention that the studios have refused to pay the actors fairly, thus causing another fatal blow at the box office!

—monthly delays

—no promotion from actors and poor promotion from marvel

—toxic incels and misogyny

—some of the audience’s disinterest in the characters

—The current MCU’s bad handling at storytelling

There was just so many forces against this movie and it was evident that this would be the outcome. Had the storytelling took a new approach at these characters and gave a more interesting villain — or even a villain with a more developed story— and gave us at least ten or fifteen more minutes with these characters for a more fleshed out story, the outcome could have differed.

Not even lying, this movie has some of the BEST action scenes in the mcu, some FRESH and creative stylistic choices in directing, some killer ass comedy, and some jaw-dropping visuals! It has given Carol an even better character arc and has brought some clarity and direction to the multiverse saga that has otherwise been handled poorly in phase 4 and 5. Nia DaCosta is a certified nerd and she did exceptionally well with building up the cosmic corner of the mcu!

Let me just say that Academy Award Winner, Brie Larson, shined so bright in her sequel! She channeled so many new emotions and character dynamics that make up Carol Danvers! She was able to find a nice balance between Carol’s stoicism and emotional vulnerability which so many people have criticized before! She also went about Carol’s regret beautifully with raw and heartfelt interactions that push said character to correct her mistakes as a hero and as a human.

And let us not forget about the outstanding performances from Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani as Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan. The charisma of Monica Rambeau and the creative handling of her powerset is one that I will hold close to my heart. And the STAR that is Kamala khan and her family is one element that stole my heart early on in the film!

This movie deserves its flowers and it’s unfortunate that the writing had to weigh it down so much. I’m fucking OVERJOYED and grateful that I was able to experience this movie in the theaters—and to have theorized for a good six months on end!

It is going down as one of my top 5 mcu movies, not because it was perfect, but because of my attachment to the cast and the characters. They knocked my positive reception up 30 notches because of the hard work and the un-fucking-deniable chemistry! I know everyone may not agree with my sentiments, but I don’t care because this is deeper than box office success and audience reactions. Yes, It is unfortunate that my happiness wasn’t shared much, but what can I do now other than enjoying it as the phenomenon it is? 🤷🏾‍♀️

#the marvels #captian marvel #ms marvel #monica rambeau #kamala khan #photon #wandavision #nia dacosta #the marvels 2023 #marvel mcu #black women #brie larson #teyonah parris #iman vellani

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filthyfluffyfantasies · 6 months

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✧ ˚ 　· 　　 . DL;DR - this fic is not meant for anyone under the age of 18 as it contains the following: unprotected p in v, teasing, oral sex, use of petnames for reader/you, breeding k!nk related dirty talk, semi public foreplay, marking, oral sex. writer does not give permission for her works to be reposted, with or without permission. ✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

prompt thirteen - creampie / breeding kink

character | fandom - rockstar!eddie munson | stranger things

reader | original character - female reader, groupie turned girlfriend & non -or vague, description.

words - roughly 4.4k

tagging -< taglist here >

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 . you and Eddie have reconnected after the one night stand that brought you together years before. bonding with his daughter has made him realize just how much he wants to be a father and he can't think of anybody else he wants to have his kids.. ✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

Hawkins, Indiana, December 1996

You smile softly to yourself as you pause in the door to Rosie’s bedroom to find Eddie seated on the floor, Rosie seated between his legs as Eddie tries -and fails, at French-braiding her hair, the landline phone cradled between his neck and shoulder.

❝ I’m doing that, Emerson. It’s not workin. Hold on..❞ he turns his attention back to Rosie’s braid and swears to himself as he shakes his head. It’s crooked again and he was trying so hard to get it just right for her. He laughs as he starts to talk to Gareth again, ❝I was trying to braid Rosie’s hair for her. Can’t get it right. Poor kid has my hair, man. It’s too fuckin thick t’ do anything with.❞ Eddie’s statement is enough to make you giggle softly as you step into the room.

Eddie’s face lights up and he ends the call with Gareth, pulling himself off the floor to make his way over to you. Rosie is squeezing your legs, talking non-stop about how she spent the whole day with daddy and he taught her how to play some game called Dungeons and Dragons.

Eddie chuckles, scooping up the 5 year old as he gives her a peck on her freckled nose. ❝ Your ma was a nerd, sweetheart, she doesn’t know what that is.❞ -and he’s teasing, you know it. You pout a little and give his chest a light smack. Then you smirk. ❝ Since you think I’m so nerdy, Munson..❞ you dig around in the pocket of your leather jacket -his leather jacket, and find the tickets you stopped by the theater in town to pick up, ❝ Then I guess that means you don’t wanna go see Scream with me and the baby bat..❞

❝ Daaaaddy, you hafta say yes. I’ve been waitin a thousand years t’ see it. Please?❞ your daughter is looking up at Eddie, giving him those big begging eyes. Eddie pretends to think it over, both of you know damn well he’d never turn down a horror movie or your daughter’s begging.

❝ Are we sure she should see this, sweetheart?❞ Eddie’s just being a shit now, you laugh softly and Eddie rubs his chin as he continues, ❝ I mean.. This is Wes Craven. It’s gonna be a blood bath.❞

You laugh. ❝ Yeah but it’s also not real. Our daughter’s smart, she knows that.❞ you step up into Eddie a little more, your hand finding purchase in the front of his old Hellfire t-shirt. He’s distracted, staring down at your hand. You clear your throat, ❝ I bumped into Nancy earlier… Apparently, Will is taking both of Rosie’s best friends to see it.. With Mike.❞

Rosie’s really begging now.

Eddie pouts and pretends to be upset. ❝ I thought we talked about this, sweetheart. You were gonna marry daddy, remember? Now you wanna go see a movie with those dumb boys?❞ but Rosie is insisting. She pretends to gag when Eddie mentions the fact that she may or may not have just a little crush on little Johnny Byers or Argie, his best friend.

❝ Eww, daddy! I really meant it, they’re my friends. And if I don’t see it now, Argie’s a blab. He’s just gonna spoil th’ endin.. Pretty please? With cherries an’ chocolate?❞

Eddie snickers. ❝ Yeah, that tracks for him. Okay, alright.. What are we waiting on, huh? Let’s go see Scream.❞

As Rosie runs off to find her favorite jeans and change, you melt against Eddie and wrap your arms around his neck, your lips crashing against his in a long and deep kiss. His hands wander,settling on your ass.

❝ Dungeons and Dragons, babe?❞ you pout at him just a little when the kiss breaks a few seconds later. You’re honestly not upset, you’re just teasing him a little. Watching them together always makes you happy but lately.. Lately, watching him with Rosie has your biological clock ticking all over again. And earlier, when you were talking to one of the girls at work, she mentioned the fact that she thought she might be pregnant. And naturally, that got you daydreaming about another little mini Eddie running around. It made you stop and think too.

Everyone is always asking when you and Eddie will have more -and you do want another kid but honestly, you’ve been afraid to bring up the subject because things are still so new. The two of you only just reconnected. And there were definitely more than a few hiccups, - considering that you had no way to tell him about Rosie until last year, when your paths crossed again for the first time since 1988- and you’re just trying to enjoy everything the way it is.

Besides, you think to yourself as you hug against Eddie and breathe in the scent of his cologne and the faintest hint of those cheap cigarettes he still smokes, what if Eddie doesn’t want another? Am I really willing to mess up everything between the two of you? I’m in love with him and I just found him, I just got him back..

Eddie pulls away to look down at you and snickers at the dazed look on your face as he gets you looking up at him. ❝ What’s got you so spaced out, huh?❞

He doesn’t say it but.. He hopes that maybe it’s the same thing he’s spent a lot of time thinking about lately. At first, he thought it was regret, longing to see what he missed out on when you were carrying Rosie. But then, while you were snuggled up in the bed reading The Shining to her, as he stood in the doorway watching the two of you, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

He wants more kids. He wants you to be their mom. He wants a big family and he doesn’t want Rosie to be an only child like he grew up. He wants her to have the actual younger siblings that he formed Hellfire specifically to find for himself back in high school.

The problem is, he’s afraid that bringing it up now, that’s going to be too soon. And he’s driving himself crazy over it because the harder he tries not to bring it up, the more he almost does.

He almost blurted it out this morning over breakfast. Twice.

You’re the one laughing now, cupping his stubble lined jaw to get him looking down at you. You’re biting your lip as you stare up at him. Every cell in your body is dying to say something, to bring up the subject and see how he takes it but you’re also a little scared.

❝ N-nothing.. I wasn’t the only one spaced out, Munson.❞ you mumble, swallowing hard as you melt into him just a little more. ❝ Where were you at just now, hm?❞ you’re turning the whole thing around on him because you know if you don’t, you will blurt it out.

He chuckles, a ringed hand caressing your face before kissing your forehead. ❝ You’re spacing me out, woman.. If we’re gonna go see this movie..❞ he drops his voice to a husky whisper, ❝ you might want t’ go get ready.. Before I change my mind and take you to bed..❞

You whimper quietly as he drags his tongue around the shell of your ear. Reluctantly, you pry yourself off of him and make your way down into the bedroom you’re both sharing to change.

Eddie takes several shaky breaths and leans against the wall. ❝ Emerson doesn’t know what he’s talkin about. It’s not like I can just blurt out the fact that I wanna knock her up, that I think she’s even more sexy when she’s pregnant and I wanna have more kids, there’s a time and place t’ say that shit..❞

Laughter from the doorway of Rosie’s bedroom has Eddie wanting to disappear into the floor. Rosie’s looking up at him, big doe eyes shining in mischief. She pushes the door closed behind her quietly.

Eddie tries to act as if she probably didn’t just hear every single word he said. ❝ You uh.. We all ready now, baby bat?❞

Rosie nods. After a little digging, she finds the pair of Vans she’s currently always wearing, red and black. She holds them out to Eddie. Eddie goes down on one knee, slipping the shoes onto her feet, pretending that they’re a glass slipper, making a fuss when the shoe fits her foot perfectly. She throws her arms around his neck and he breathes in the sweet and clean smell of his little girl. Every time he thinks he can’t possibly love her more, he’s proven wrong.

Even when she’s being every bit as hard-headed as he is.

The hug breaks and Rosie giggles. ❝ I wished for a little brother on my birthday candle… Remember when you were askin me what I wished for?❞ Rosie goes quiet. She’s fiddling with the sleeve edges on her favorite black longsleeve. It’s a Corroded Coffin shirt from the last music festival Eddie tagged you and Rosie along to before Corroded Coffin finally declared they were done, they were retiring to go out on a high note.

Eddie lightly grips his little girl’s jaw. ❝ You did, huh?❞ he asks. Rosie nods quietly. Drops her gaze and shuffles her feet against the bedroom floor. ❝ It’s just.. I’m glad you’re my daddy and I love mama but.. I don’t have anybody t’ play with when Argie and Johnny are being stupid.❞

Eddie nods. Fluffing at his daughter’s hair as he chuckles. ❝ Well, it was a birthday wish. Those do have a lotta power, baby bat.❞

Rosie smiles and throws her arms around him again, you step into the room just in time to watch the little moment. To have overheard the little conversation between father and daughter. Eddie’s reaction was so vague that you’re not sure whether it’s a good idea to tell him Rosie isn’t the only one who wants Rosie to have a baby brother or sister.. You study the two for a few seconds and laugh. ❝ Okay, you two conspiring against me already?❞ you joke and Eddie smirks. ❝ Maybe we were, babe.❞

❝ I’m gonna go play with my Legos in th’ living room. Can I watch MTV?❞ Rosie asks. Both of you nod and Rosie goes into the living room to play. This leaves you both alone together in some thick tension.

At first, neither of you seems willing to shatter it. But Eddie can’t take it a second longer and this results in him, exploding in a passionate rant as he paces the bedroom until you think he’ll pace a hole right through the floor.

You choke on air when you hear him say that while he thinks you’re sexy, he thinks you’d be even sexier if he knocked you up but then he throws up his hands and swears in frustration because he didn’t mean for that to be the first thing he blurted out in regards to having another kid, wanting a small army of kids with you. You’re stunned. Jaw dropped, eyes wide as you watch him have his little rant and stay quiet because you’re still frantically trying to process.

❝ And I just… I never thought me, I.. Eddie Munson, would be sayin this shit. T’ anybody. Ever. But damn it,❞ Eddie trails off, going quiet as he takes a few deep breaths, ❝ I can’t even look at you lately without imagining you pregnant. All our kids rushing around the house, chaos every morning.. I want this and if you don’t..❞ but you cut off his words by climbing into his lap as you cup his face with both hands and kiss him until you feel his mind starting to quiet down, his hands roaming all over your body. When he squeezes your ass and rocks you right over the way he’s strained almost painfully against the faded jeans he’s wearing, you whine against the shell of his ear, ❝ You’re not playing very fair right now, Eddie..❞ and he just chuckles. You lean into his ear, melting against him as you mutter softly, ❝ I want all of that too.. You were saying you want to fuck a baby into me later, I didn’t hear you wrong.. Right?❞

He growls quietly. Groaning as you bare down against the way his cock is hard enough to push against the zipper of his jeans. He nips at your neck roughly and his hands settle on your ass, squeezing. He’s guiding you back and forth over his lap and you whine, nipping at the way the tip of his spider tattoo just barely peeks out over the neckline of his t-shirt. ❝ That feel like a misunderstandin’, sweetheart?❞ he asks quietly as he stares up at you. You bite your lip and whine, the friction you were getting has slowed down drastically and you want it back. You’re desperate to get it back.

❝ How soon?❞ he asks a few seconds later. Your hand fists the front of his shirt and you pull him against you, your mouth just barely grazing against his as you laugh softly. ❝ Tonight. I.. I wanna start trying tonight.❞

❝Fuck.❞ he groans out as you rock yourself against the way he’s strained at his jeans all over again. His breath catches in his throat and he grabs your ass roughly just to slow you down because if he doesn’t, he’s going to make a mess of himself right here, right now. He leans into you and nips at your neck after he’s nosed some hair out of his way. ❝ It’s a date, sweetheart. Think you’ll be able t’ keep your hands off me ‘til then?❞ and the gleam in his eye tells you that this is a challenge.

That you’re in for it, Eddie is going to do everything in his power to make you cave…

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ ･｡ﾟ ───

It’s just getting to the part where Billy’s about to reveal the truth to Sidney when you feel the cool metal of Eddie’s rings against the inside of your thigh. You can feel your entire body as it heats up. You shoot him a little pout and some side-eye, but he smirks. Slips his hand off your thigh to grab himself some popcorn after he mumbles ❝The bucket is in your lap, woman.. You expect me to control myself?❞ and pouts right back.

Rosie is sitting in the row right in front of you both with her friends, their eyes glued to the screen, a hand paused midway to her mouth to take a bite of popcorn she hasn’t taken in over three minutes.

Eddie’s hand creeps higher, a finger dragging ever-so-slowly right up your center. He chuckles when you squirm and shift around just a little in your seat. As his finger drags over you again, your legs clamp together, holding his hand between your thighs.

Your ears feel like they’re on fire. Eddie bites his lip when the two of you lock eyes, two long fingers pushing the soaked fabric to the side as they make contact with your bare cunt. You shiver before you can stop yourself. Shoot Eddie a dirty look and nod to an usher that’s just wandered in, flashlight in hand.

Eddie leans into you, breath warm against the shell of your ear as he whispers quietly, ❝Fuck.❞ breathing heavily as he raises the fingers he just had buried in your dripping cunt to his lips, licking them clean as he holds your gaze. You bite back a whine and he leans back into you, whispering quietly, ❝I can’t fuckin wait to fill up your pretty little pussy when we get back home, babe..❞ as he grabs your wrist and guides your hand to his lap, letting you palm at the way he’s strained through his jeans. You bite back another whine, helpless.

❝Eddie.❞ you whine, helpless. Soaked through in seconds. He chuckles. Your hand ghosts over the bulge strained against black jeans and he bites his bottom lip. Both of you glance at the seat in front of you to make sure Rosie is okay. She’s arguing with Argie in a hushed tone about who the killer is, throwing her hand in his face when he insists a second time that it has to be Randy. She thinks it’s Billy, Sidney Prescott’s boyfriend.

After you’ve made sure Rosie isn’t too scared, Eddie turns his attention back to teasing you. Bucking himself up into you as you continue to clumsily palm at the bulge in his jeans. His head falls back against the seat and he bites back the urge to groan as you drag a finger over the zipper of his jeans slowly. He leans into you to whisper ❝Fuck, sweetheart.. All this teasin me is only gonna get you in real trouble.❞ against the shell of your ear. You lean into him to mumble back quietly, ❝Oh? Maybe I like the sound of that, Eddie. Maybe that’s what I want.❞

The movie is coming to an end. Rosie’s triumphant outburst from the seat in front of you when the killers reveal themselves -and Johnny Byers arguing with Argie about her being right all along, is accompanied by snickering from Will, Mike and Jane. As the lights begin to come on, you pout a little to yourself but you pull your hand away from Eddie’s lap. You don’t even mind that you both missed huge parts of the movie, your heart is racing as the two of you file out of your row and wait by the door leading out of the theater room for Rosie and her friends to come out so the two of you can take Rosie home.

❝Can’t wait to get you home, sweetheart.❞ Eddie laughs quietly as he scoops up Rosie when she starts to yawn and then slips his other arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side closer. You look up at him and bite your lip suggestively, squeaking just a little when Eddie’s hand wanders down, giving your ass a little squeeze.

As Rosie drifts off to sleep in the backseat of your car, Eddie takes a hand off the steering wheel and skims it right up the inside of your thighs, growling before he can stop himself when he feels just how much slicker your thighs have gotten. You slip your hand into his lap and he bucks against it as you palm at the way he’s hard enough to break through his jeans and only getting harder. You’re five minutes away from home but it might as well be five thousand years and it feels like the drive is only getting longer.

Eddie’s fingers brush past the soaked barrier of your panties and bury inside of you and you give the inside of his thigh a squeeze as you just barely gasp. ❝Almost time, sweetheart..❞ he chuckles quietly as he turns down the street you live on..

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ ･｡ﾟ ───

You’ve both just finished tucking Rosie into bed. Eddie turns on Rosie’s Scooby Doo nightlight and tucks her favorite stuffed animal into bed with her. As the two of you step out into the hallway, your back meets the closed door with a soft thud as Eddie’s restraint vanishes in a split second. His hands are all over you, finally settling on your ass as he lifts you up. You wrap your legs around him and he rocks himself into you, making you whine.

❝Ready for bed, sweetheart?❞ he asks the question in a breathy whisper as he nips his way down your neck. You whimper and rub yourself against him, needy. His mouth finds yours as he carries you down the hallway, navigating forgotten toys, a box or two from his old apartment in California and other obstacles that crowd the hallway with ease. He kicks the bedroom door open carefully and steps inside with you. Clothing that litters the top of the dresser is swept off and he sits you down in the space he’s just made, eyes gleaming as the kiss breaks, a strand of saliva between your mouths keeping you connected. You’re rocking against him and moaning out his name, shaky hands tugging the old Hellfire t-shirt up over his head as he strips off your crop top and slips his finger beneath the back of your bra, unhooking the clasps with ease and speed.

The clothing settles in a pile on the floor and he leans into you, pushing you up against the wall behind the dresser, his mouth moving down your body. He pauses at your belly button to stare up at you, tugging down your panties. You reach out and work the jeans and boxers he’s wearing down and he steps out of them, kicking them to the side. That cute little denim mini skirt you’ve been wearing is pushed up to your hips as Eddie gets caught up in the moment and decides that he can’t wait another second, he has to taste you now. He sinks down in front of you, your legs settling over his shoulder as his mouth moves up the soft dough of your thighs, licking clean the mess he’s made. Your hands tug at his hair and grip the edge of the dresser as he pushes your legs apart a little better and buries his tongue and three fingers inside your drippy cunt. Groaning as the taste of you fills his mouth. ❝C’mon, princess.. Pull harder.❞ he moans out against your sex, fingers pumping into you as his tongue swirls. You rock yourself towards his mouth and he chuckles. ❝Thatta girl.. Gettin’ nice and wet for me..❞

You can feel your orgasm building, prepared to wreck you and you tug his hair a little harder. Eddie pauses and you pout. He stares up at the way you’re about to come completely apart for him and bites his lip, ❝You’re gonna be so fuckin cute all knocked up, princess.❞ he mutters quietly and you whine, begging for him. ❝Eddie,❞ you plead, ❝I-I.. I need you now.❞

❝Not until you give me what y’ know I want, princess.❞ Eddie’s permission to get off needs no further explanation and your orgasm rips through you, soaking his tongue and fingers as he growls quietly, the taste of you filling his mouth. He raises up again, his mouth conquering your mouth as he ruts into you while scooping you off the dresser to toss you gently onto the bed. He follows suit, your bodies tangled.

Touching. Biting. Kissing. He’s marked you up, hickies and bite marks litter your skin from neck to cunt, there are even a few sore bruises lining up the inside of your thighs.

He lines his cock up with your throbbing cunt, dragging the head down your center. When you shiver because it feels so good, he chuckles against your ear. ❝I’m gonna fuck a baby into you, sweetheart. You gonna be a good girl and take it f’ me?❞ his voice is sex, gravel and velvet all in one as he asks the question. It’s so different than the sweet things he usually says that you’re whimpering, begging him to do it, to take you already.

He thrusts into you slow. It’s an agonizing pace and you can feel every single inch, every vein that runs through his thick cock as he pushes into you. His hips beat against yours hard enough to bruise and he’s got you caged in beneath his body, his mouth all over you. You meet every one of his thrusts eagerly and when he comes to a stop, you whine about it.

❝You feel so fuckin good, sweetheart. Your pussy clenches around me so fuckin tight.❞ Eddie growls out, ❝Can’t wait t’ fill you up.❞ as he fucks into you slower. At one point, he has to reach out an arm and push the headboard against the wall so it’ll stop banging at it. But the way you squeeze him feels so good and you’re so wet that a minute or two later, he’s fucking at you faster and he’s used his grip on your hip for leverage, angling your hips upward just a little, bottoming out. You’re seeing stars as another orgasm builds, stopped at the brink every single time Eddie feels you tense and dig your nails in his back.

❝Fuck, princess. –ah shit, I can’t..❞ he groans out against your neck, ❝I’m gonna cum, shit. You feel too good, sweetheart.❞ and you whine, begging for it. It’s so hot that Eddie’s thrusts speed up, fucking into you faster and deeper, hips stammering as his orgasm shatters through and biting at your neck as this prompts you to pull him even deeper inside by wrapping your legs around his waist. His forehead finds your own as his thrusts slow down and he presses soft little kisses against your mouth and cheeks. ❝I love you.❞ is said in unison, the two of you laughing softly in the dark about it because if there’s one thing you’re both good at it’s doing everything perfectly right BUT.. completely backwards.

Eddie’s still fucking into you, slow and steady. ❝Don’t wanna stop, princess. Your pussy feels sooo fucking good wrapped around my cock.❞

When he’s finally finished fucking the seed that leaked out back into you, he rolls the two of you so that you’re on top. You’re both yawning now, sleepy kisses are landing against each other’s skin as he removes one of his hands from your ass to cup your cheek, dragging his thumb across. ❝Wanna go t’ sleep just like this.❞

❝Me too, baby. I love the way you feel inside me.❞ you drawl, sleep making you stumble over words, making your voice all dreamy as the two of you drift off…

#eddie munson #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴsᴘɪʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏɴʟʏ #🔞ɴғᴡ. ᴍɪɴᴏʀs ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ʀɪsᴋ.#( ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ʟɪsᴛ ✓ )#lazyghoulskinktober2023 #( ᴍɪɴɪ sᴇʀɪᴇs ; ᴘᴛ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴏғ ᴛᴡᴏ )

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moreespressoformydepresso · 1 month

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Just curious but are vipsania and treech your favourite mentor and tribute dynamic to analyse and headcanon for ?

Yes 🥰

Treech is my favorite tribute because Snow calls him an “unknown” but there’s still so much to read into, especially in the books. Swinging his feet on the scoreboard, choosing to not fight until Lamina’s death (which implies it kind of broke something in him to me), and also he juggles walnuts in the zoo so he might be some kind of performer. And I’m a theater nerd so of course I like him. My favorite character overall is Lucy Gray and part of it is how she’s a performer (but honestly she’s just a good, well written character). Also, district 7 is my favorite district and I wish we knew more about it. So yeah, Treech’s relationship with his mentor is naturally something I like exploring.

And boy is there a lot to explore, even when we know barely anything about either of these characters. Because what little we do know has so much to theorize about. One of the few things we know about Vipsania is that her aunt works at the academy as gymnasium mistress and they’re both very competitive. Already a lot we can do with that given that the tributes are mostly seen as tools by the mentors. I already told you I think Vipsania mostly tried to win by sabotaging others rather than helping Treech, and the first part comes from the guitar thing. The second part? It comes from the fact that Treech repeatedly does things for himself that are her responsibility. He performs in the zoo, which means at the very least he isn’t given enough food by Vipsania. During the games, he chooses to steal food multiple times, which means he doesn’t trust her to send him any.

Sorry there’s just so much to unpack despite how small their presences were in the book. I love them so much and several fix-its of mine revolve around their dynamic and how it changes over time. I especially love exploring mentor/tribute relationships that aren’t just good or bad. Say about Snow what you want but he was a good mentor that went above and beyond, and while he saw Lucy Gray as “his” he did genuinely seem to love her. Festus Creed was trying to be a good mentor, he just sucks as a person thanks to his prejudice. Those relationships are fun to write too, but it’s more interesting to me to explore a relationship that’s complicated, and Vipsania gives me the room to do that. Her being angry/upset at Treech’s death can be read as her being a sore loser, but maybe there was also a little bit of her actually caring about him there. She is a sore loser, but there may be more to it and I ran with that.

#the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #treech tbosas #treech #thg treech #tbosas treech #treech thg #vipsania sickle #treech analysis #character analysis #analysis #I guess?#anon ask #i love them your honor #also I push the men and women can be just friends agenda

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harringtonstilinski · 2 months

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Always The Babysitter - Chapter Eighteen: Suzie, Do You Copy?

Author: @harringtonstilinski Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,233 Warnings: fluff, some teasing, robin (yay!!) Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! Season 3 is upon us!! WE FINALLY GET ROBIN!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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“And if your path won’t lead you home, you can never surrender,” I sang, putting on a layer of mascara. I had to take the kids, minus my brother, to the mall.

Hawkins got a new mall built; our very first one, and it was the new hangout spot. You either shopped or you hung out, which is what I did most of the time.

When a knock sounded on my window, I knew it was go time. After I opened my bedroom door, I walked down the hallway and to the front door. For some reason, Mom was still awake, so I asked her if I could borrow the car to go see my favorite person, which she smiled and agreed.

When the kids piled in the car, I drove straight to Hawkins new mall; Starcourt. It literally had everything; shops, a food court, - hell, even a damn movie theater.

“Liv, hurry up, we’re gonna miss the opening!” Will groaned.

“Do I detect whining coming from a Mr. Will Byers?” I asked, looking at him through the rearview mirror. “Blame Mike. His ass had us waiting for him. Plus, I’m going the speed limit.”

“We’ll miss it if you keep complaining,” Mike said.

“Oh, look,” I said, pointing to the big ass building. “We’re here.” I parked in the closest spot I could find, the kids and I piling out before we walked inside the mall.

Lucas was making fun of Mike for being at El and Hop’s house… making out with her the whole time. Gross. But I guess I couldn’t say anything. Steve and I made out half the time.

Will and I laughed at Lucas’ tactics, the latter saying, “See? Even Will and Liv think it’s funny.”

“Because it is,” we said.

“Yeah, it’s so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend,” Mike said. “And, Liv, you can’t say anything. That’s all you and Steve do.” “Yeah, but doing nothing but making out isn’t romantic,” I said. “You have to take her out, like on a picnic or something.”

He stopped and turned to face me, giving me a look that I chuckled at.

“Okay, I know it’s hard because of Hop, but you can take her on the front porch with a couple sandwiches or something.”

When we reached the escalators, we walked down them instead of enjoying the small ride it gave, everyone exclaiming out “Hey!” as we walked around them. We walked by a few people, me giving apologies to everyone the kids bumped into, someone saying, “Watch it.”

“Yeah, watch it, nerd,” Erica said. She was sitting by some plants, a waffle cone in her hand from the ice cream shop.

“Isn’t past your bedtime?” Lucas asked.

“Isn't it time you died?”

“Erica!” I chuckled.

“Psycho!” Lucas said.

“Butthead!” Erica retorted.

A couple more names were thrown at each other before Lucas blew a raspberry at her, Max grabbing his arm and telling him that what he did was mature.

Mike went into the ice cream shop, Scoops Ahoy, walking up to the counter and ringing the bell. A girl I came to know as Robin, hollered out, “Hey, dingus, your children and girlfriend are here!” before the window doors opened up, Steve coming into view, saying, “Again? Seriously?”

Mike just rang the bell a few more times before Robin let them in the back, where we followed Mike to the back door that Steve opened up for us. The kids went out first, Steve telling them, “I swear if anyone hears about this–”, the kids replying, “We’re dead!” before I tried to sneak by him, but failed as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said. I could hear the smile in his words.

I giggled as he walked me back into the back room of the shop, pressing my back against the wall. “Steve! I have to-” Kiss. “-get back-” Kiss. “- to the kids!”

“Later,” he breathed, diving back in for another kiss. “You have to kiss me stupid.”

I smiled, feeling his lips on my teeth before laughing.

Steve groaned, resting his head on my shoulder. “Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiv.”

“I’m sorry,” I laughed. Taking in a breath, I said, “I’m sorry, I’ll stop. I’ll stop.”

He looked at me, that look of really? in his eyes. I honestly couldn’t help but laugh at his look, him walking away towards the door to the front of the store before I walked up to him, grabbing his hand and turning him around. “I’m sorry.”

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he said, “Uh-huh, sure,” before kissing me again. He pulled away when Robin called, “Hey, dingus! Customers.”

“We’ll finish this later,” he said, nose brushing mine.

“I look forward to it,” I smiled, diving in for one last kiss before he disappeared. Not even five minutes later, the power went out. I stood up and went to the door that led to the front of the store, poking my head out as Steve came walking to the switch by the door. “What happened? Is there a storm coming?”

“I don’t know,” he said, flipping the switch up and down.

I watched Robin walk closer to him, watching him for a moment. “That isn’t gonna work, dingus.”

“Oh, really?” He annoyingly flipped the switch rapidly.

“I give you full permission to murder him,” I said, looking at Robin. Looking back at Steve, I said, “It looks like you’re jacking off.”

When he flipped the switch for on, the power came back on. Steve walked back to the ice cream buckets, saying, “Let there be light.”

“You’re lucky you’re hot as fuck,” I muttered, walking back into the back room. I picked up a book I kept back here for when I came to visit Steve… which happened to be almost every single day.

I guess I had fallen asleep because I woke up to feather-light kisses on my cheek.

“Liv,” Steve said, gently. “Come on, baby, it’s time to wake up. My shift’s over. You have to take the kids home.”

I groaned, opening my eyes. “Shit. I forgot.” I stood, placing my book back in its hiding spot before walking over to Steve at the front of the store so that he could close and lock the door that almost looked like a garage door.

The kids knew to meet me at the front of the mall, so I knew they were there. What surprised me was that Erica was standing there with them, waiting. Then it hit me; I needed to take Erica home as well.

Before I walked to my car with the kids, I kissed Steve goodbye and told him I’d be at his house later. I always dropped the car back at the house before biking to Steve’s, where I slept like a baby in his arms.

~~~

I woke up with a start and sat up in the bed, the word shit on repeat out of my mouth. Steve woke up as I threw the blankets off of me before I got out of the bed. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” I swear I looked like a chicken with its head cut off as I ran around his room, opening drawers and his closet door, looking for clothes.

“What time is it?” he asked, groggily.

“Uhm… 7? I think,” I said, pulling on some shorts. I grabbed my favorite graphic tee and put it on before finding my socks and Converse, sitting on the bed to put them on. I felt Steve’s fingers under my shirt, lightly stroking the skin of my back above my shorts.

“What’s the rush?” he asked, yawning.

“I forgot I have to go with Mom today,” I said, standing up, running my fingers through my hair. “We’re picking up Dustin from that camp.”

Steve nodded, remembering what I told him earlier in the week. “Will you come see me?”

I smiled. “Of course.” Bending down, I placed my lips on his, feeling his hand on the back of my head. I squealed when he pulled me down on top of him, peppering kisses all over my face. “Steve! I have to go!”

“One more,” he said, bringing his lips to mine once again in a sweet kiss.

I pulled away, looking at him. We haven’t said those three words yet, mainly because I didn’t want to feel rushed. I do feel it, but with his track record of that four letter word, I wanted to make sure I actually felt it, and I do.

Smiling, I said, “I’ll see you later.”

He smiled back at me, repeating my words.

I gave him one last kiss before getting off the bed once again to walk to the hallway then the staircase before going outside and getting on my bike to pedal myself home.

When I got home, I ran inside to my room for a moment, spritzing myself with my favorite perfume Steve got me for my birthday before my mom and I got in the car to go get Dustin.

Her and I talked about almost anything and everything, her main questions being about Steve.

“So,” she said. “Have you said it yet?”

I shook my head, forgetting she was driving. “No, not yet. I want to make absolutely sure.”

“Well, you have since you two were kids. What’s the holdup?”

I sighed. “His track record. The last girl he was with–”

“Nancy Wheeler,” Mom interrupted.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “She didn’t love him, and it messed with him for a few days. I guess I’m just waiting for the right moment, the right time.”

Mom put her hand in mine, squeezing a little. “You’ve always waited for the perfect time or place to say or do anything.”

“I-is that a good thing?” I wondered.

She laughed a little. “A very good thing. When it comes to you. Now, Dusty on the other hand–”

“He’ll blurt things out without thinking, do things without thinking,” I chuckled. “But that’s what makes him our Dusty.”

“And that’s what makes you you,” she said.

I looked at her and smiled before looking at the sign for the camp Dustin had been at for the last month. Oddly enough… I missed the little shithead. I smiled big when I saw him before I got out of the car and gave him the biggest hug. “I missed you, shithead.”

“I missed you, wiseass,” he said. I could hear the smile behind his words.

Mom telling us to come on caused us to break out of our hug. He tried to go around me to get in the front seat, but I beat him to it. As he got into the backseat, he whined, “Mom, Liv won’t let me sit up front.”

“Okay, first of all,” I said, turning to face him. “Every single time we’re both with Steve, you always sit in the front. On the way to drop your ass off at camp-”

“Livvie,” Mom said, driving back towards Hawkins.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “You got to sit in the front. So it’s my turn. You can sit up front when we leave again.”

“I’m gonna try and hang out with the party today,” Dustin said.

I groaned, turning and resting the back of my head against the headrest.

“He’ll understand,” Mom said.

“I know,” I dragged. “He was asking me about Dustin the other day on the phone.”

It was quiet for a moment before I heard Dustin say, “This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.” A few seconds later, he repeated his words. Since no one answered him a second time, I could tell he was frustrated when he repeated it a third time. No answer, so he proceeded to say, “I repeat: This is goddamn Gold Leader–”

“Dusty!” Mom and I exclaimed.

“What?”

“Relax, for goodness sake,” I said.

“Liv, I’m in range, they should be answering.”

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun,” Mom said. “Maybe they just… forgot.”

Tension rose in the car as Mom continued to drive us back home. When she pulled in the driveway, she parked the car under the awning. Dustin made his way inside the house as soon as Mom turned off the car, his duffle bag in his hand.

I went straight to the kitchen to get myself a glass of water, drinking about half of it before hearing Dustin say, “Liv, are you seeing this?”

Smiling to myself, I set the glass in the sink, rim side down before walking into the living room, seeing Dustin knelt beside his toys. Feeling hands on my arms and shoulders, I tried not to laugh as I counted from three on my fingers, five out of the six kids blowing their noisemakers.

I laughed as Dustin screamed and turned around, spraying something in Lucas’ eyes causing him to scream as well from the pain. “Dustin, stop!” I laughed. Grabbing Lucas’ shoulder, I led him into the kitchen. “Flush your eyes out.”

Max came in after us, turning on the water and sticking his eyes under the faucet.

I heard my phone ringing, so I ran to my room to answer it. “Hello?” “There’s that voice I adore so much.”

I smiled, laying on my back on my bed. “Steve,” I said. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I am,” he said. “But considering it’s only 10 o’clock, no one really comes in for ice cream this early.”

“Not even for some USS Butterscotch?” I asked, almost seductively.

He chuckled on the other end. “Not even for that. Hey, are you coming up here today?”

“Yes. You think I’m gonna miss you flirting with other girls just to get a sale?”

“I can’t believe you’re okay with that.”

“Well, as long as you don’t leave me for one of those other girls, I have no problem with it,” I smiled. I really did trust him. They really didn’t flirt back with him, which was honestly shocking.

“Dingus! Counter!” I heard Robin say. Steve sighed before saying, “I gotta go. But I'll see you two later?”

“Just me. Dustin wants to hang with the party today since he just got back. Not sure when I’ll bring him up.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll see you later then.”

I giggled. “Sure. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I hung up the phone, smiling to myself. I was so incredibly happy with Steve. I just hoped nothing would mess it up. I ran out of my room when I heard the word girlfriend come out of Dustin’s mouth.

Popping my head in his room, Will, Mike, El and myself all exclaimed, “Girlfriend?”

~~~

After Dustin had told us about his girlfriend, whose name was Suzie with a Z from Utah, I got on my bike and rode to the mall, needing to tell Robin about this new piece of information. She didn’t know Dustin all that well, so she wouldn’t judge… or really care. Steve, on the other hand, needed to hear this piece of information from Dustin himself.

I ran into the mall, running down the escalators and straight into Scoops Ahoy, where I ran past Steve with a customer. Robin was in the back, so I quickly rushed out my words, out of breath.

She had her board in her hand, giving me a look that said I really don’t care.

Sighing, I said, “I needed to get this piece of information off my chest.”

She opened the window, the back of Steve’s head coming into view. I watched him scoop some ice cream on a cone before handing it to the customer, saying, “Alright, one scoop of chocolate, that’s a buck twenty-five. Anything else?”

The customer handed him some bills before he asked, “Ooh, Purdue. Fancy.”

“Yeah, I’m excited.”

He messed with the register as he said, “Yeah, ya’know, I considered it, Purdue, but then I was like, ya’know what? I-I really think I need some real-life experience, ya’know, before I hit college, see what it feels like.”

I facepalmed before looking at Robin, asking, “Why am I with him again?”

“Kinda like, uhh, I don’t know, see what it’s like to earn a working-man’s wage, ya’know? Uhh…” The register beeping distracted him for a second before he said, “I think that’s, like, really important.”

“Yeah, totally,” the customer said.

“Yeah, anyway, this was, like, so fun,” Steve said, almost throwing the girl's change back at her. “This is… my first day here,” he said, as the girl and her friend walked away.

“Aaaand another one bites the dust,” Robin said.

Steve turned around to face as she handed me her marker.

I looked at the board, counting the tallies as I marked one and said, “You are oh for six, Popeye.”

“Yeah, babe, I can count,” Steve said.

“You know that means you suck,” Robin said.

“Yep, I can read, too, but that doesn’t matter ‘cause I have my beautiful girlfriend right here,” he said, holding his hands out towards me.

“You can read?” I asked, feigning shock. “Since when?”

“Okay, you know what,” he said. I giggled before he added, “It’s this stupid hat. I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature.”

“Your heart?” I said, reaching over the counter to press my fingertips to where his heart laid beneath his chest.

He looked at me with a deadpan look. “My hair, wiseass.”

“Company policy really blows, doesn’t it? I mean, you don’t want your customers to eat Faberge with her USS Butterscotch.”

“Haven’t you considered… telling the truth?” Robin asked.

“Oh, you mean, that I couldn’t even get into Tech and my douchebag dad’s trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour, and I have no future? That truth?” Steve said.

“Hey now,” I said. “Future is standing right here.”

“Hey, twelve o’clock,” Robin said, pointing behind Steve.

He turned, saying, “Oh, shit,” before turning back to face me, saying, “Gotta flirt.” He turned to Robin and said, “You know what?” before tossing his hat off in my direction. I caught it and placed it on my own head as he said, “Screw company policy.”

“Oh, my god,” Robin and I said. “You’re a whole new man.”

Steve backed away saying, “Right? Ooh,” before turning around and yelling at the customers. “Ahoy, ladies! I didn’t see you there. Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I’ll be your captain. I’m Steve Harrington.”

“Kill me,” I whispered. “Kill me now.”

“Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee? No? Anybody? Banana Boat? Four people, four spoons?”

“Give me the marker,” I said to Robin.

“You still have it, dingette,” she said.

I looked down at my hand, the marker, in fact, still there. I walked over to the board, putting another tally on it before capping the writing utensil and going over to where my book was, grabbing it and sitting on the corner of the counter to lean back against the wall to begin reading.

Once Steve’s shift was over - like, always when I biked - we loaded my bike in the trunk of his car, or what would fit, and drove back to his house, where we took our showers, got dressed in our pajamas and fell asleep, teasing each other about his antics at Scoops Ahoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~

A/N 2: hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note:

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24 @stixnstripesworld @fandom-princess-forevermore @quanticobae @mischiefandi @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on February 26, 2024

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blackwolfstabs · 5 months

Text

30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 25

MOVIE

The Core Four + more go to see the FNAF movie.

Chad added Mindy to the group.

Chad added Tara to the group.

Chad added Sam to the group.

Chad added Danny to the group.

Chad added Kirby to the group.

Chad added Gale to the group.

Chad named the group chat “🐻🐰 FNAF 🦊🐤”.

Chad: Made this bc we can’t talk during the movie. I’m gonna start by saying that kid showed all signs of being kidnapped tf? Mike shouldn’t have been fired for that 😑

Tara: actually u made it bc Mindy told us to “shut the fuck up” lol

Tara: but fr fr

Mindy: ARE YOU SERIOUS?? You made a chat…

Chad: Yup

Gale: This defeats the whole purpose of watching the movie.

Sam: And phones aren’t allowed in the theater.

Tara: oh really?? Kirby r u gonna arrest us for texting in the movie theater???

Chad: I’m not gonna be able to stay quiet. I have thoughts and I must speak them.

Chad: Somebody quote that

Danny: Quoted.

Kirby: No, I’m not but I might mute the chat fr

Chad: Thank you Danny 🫡

Gale: Seriously. How are you all going to text and watch at the same time?

Sam: Bet it’s just going to turn into Chad and Tara texting “wait what just happened” after ever moment the music gets loud and they were too busy looking at their phones

Chad: Joke’s on YOU Sam cuz you’ll be missing the movie trying to tell us what happened lmfao

Tara: yeah and that’s literally ur boyfriend all the time. Danny’s clueless 24/7. #sendhelp4danny

Kirby: Just watch the damn movie!

Danny: replied to “yeah and that’s literally ur boyfriend all the time. Danny’s clueless 24/7. #sendhelp4danny”: What was just said on screen?

Tara: . . . . .

Sam: That’s what I thought. #sendhelp4Tarabcshesclueless in the chat

Danny: emphasized “That’s what I thought. #sendhelp4Tarabcshesclueless in the chat”

Danny: #sendhelp4Tarabcshesclueless

Kirby: #sendhelp4Tarabcshesclueless

Gale: #sendhelp4Tarabcshesclueless

Chad: #sendhelp4sam&dannybctheyareannoying&interruptingthemovie

Sam: 🖕

Tara: PFFT

Mindy: HOLY FUCKING SHIT AKJBDFLADSGFLWKSKLBFLA EVERYBODY SHUT UP STEVE RAGLAND LOOKS JUST LIKE STU MACHER HOLY FUCK

Gale: No fucking way…

Kirby: OMFG YES FUCKING WAY

Sam: I’m uncomfortable

Chad: God Mindy you’re such a nerd

Tara: she’s not wrong tho fuck. . . 🫢

Danny: Who?

Mindy: STU MACHER THE ONE WHO WAS KILLED BY THE TV IN THE OG STAB!!! HE WAS THE OTHER GHOSTFACE ALONGSIDE BILLY LOOMIS

Tara: see??? i told u. buddy’s cLuElEsS xD

Sam: Tara, will you stop?

Danny: Oh okay.

Tara: no

Gale: Wait, isn't there that conspiracy that he didn’t die and is still alive?

Chad: So what, he became an actor and is in FNAF?? 😂

Tara: could be a doppelganger?? i’m convinced we all have one running around the world somewhere lol

Mindy: Uhhhhh YEAH OBVIOUSLY

Gale: It’s not Stu Macher, Mindy.

Mindy: But what if it is?

Tara: sPoOkY 👻

Kirby: Does anyone want any popcorn? I can pass it down

Tara: yes pls

Tara: ok 🛑‼️KAREN ALERT‼️🛑 this aunt jane lady is a full-blooded KAREN fr

Danny: 👆

Chad: Karen facts

Sam: True that

Mindy: Yeah it’s her first scene and she’s already annoying the shit out of me

Tara: gEt hEr oUtTa hErE

Tara: why can i see that being Gale tho?? PFFT

Kirby: LMFAO I see it 🙋🏼‍♀️

Sam: Soooo ur saying Gale’s a Karen????

Tara: yes

Kirby: I can’t unsee it

Chad: Bahahaha!

Mindy: Don’t even get me started on the parallels 😆

Gale: Oh please, I’m not THAT much of a bitch.

Tara: yeah ok suuurree

Kirby: You literally radiate Bitch-Karen energy idgaf I’ll be the bigger person to say it

Chad: GET WRECKED

Gale: replied to “You literally radiate bitch-karen energy idgaf I’ll be the bigger person to say it”: I hate you. 🖕

Danny: If Gale is Aunt Jane, then Kirby is Vanessa because she’s a cop.

Gale: Tara is Abby. HA! There.

Danny: Because she’s an annoying little sister?

Sam: o.O

Gale: Precisely.

Tara: no. no fucking way. that’s NOT me AT ALL

Kirby: I’m processing this information

Mindy: Lmfao YES and Sam’s Mike 😂😂😂

Tara: replied to “Because she’s an annoying little sister?”: shut up Danny, nobody asked you. just do what you’re good at and look like ur paying attention 😤🖕

Mindy: Stubborn, immature, feisty… it definitely sounds like you Tara.

Chad: and Mike is quiet, traumatized, and has family issues. That’s Sam.

Chad: Ok fine it’s canon, sorry babe 🫡

Danny: emphasized “Stubborn, immature, feisty… it sure sounds like you Tara.”

Danny: emphasized “and Mike is quiet, traumatized, and has family issues. That’s Sam.”

Gale: At first I was just throwing a thought out there, but now that you mention it, they’re pretty good analogies for the Carpenters.

Kirby: Ditto

Kirby: Guess we’re FNAF characters in another universe 😂

Sam: Their relationship isn’t anything like ours tho

Chad: Sure, it is!

Danny: Mike and Abby love each other a lot, but they fight every other day, if not every day. You and Tara do that. They have absent parents. You two do too. Mike is constantly holding down a job to support him and Abby. Sam, you do that. Abby does what she wants, regardless of what Mike says. Tara does the same thing. Sounds pretty accurate to me

Mindy: I respect the resemblance 🫡

Kirby: Whoa— 🤯

Gale: See? I know what I’m talking about, Tara. 😉

Tara: no. . . that’s 1000000% INACCURATE

Sam: Ok maybe it’s a little similar, but still…

Chad: Round of applause for Danny! Guess he’s not so clueless after all 👏👏

Gale: 👏👏👏

Mindy: Kudos Danny kudos 👏👏👏👏

Kirby: 👏

Sam: Kudos

Tara: NO. fuck ur applauding. you guys don’t know me at all smh

Mindy: Hey T, wanna draw a picture for your friends at Freddy Fazbear’s??

Mindy: Sam, you’ll let her, right? They’re just innocent animatronics that wanna play with your sister 😁

Tara: GODDAMMIT I AM NOT ABBY!!!!

Sam: I’m not sure how to respond to that 🙃

Gale: Everyone in favor of Tara = Abby, say “aye”

Mindy: Aye 🙋🏽‍♀️

Chad: Aye-aye, dare I say (love you Tara 😘)

Kirby: Aye

Danny: Aye 🫡

Mindy: replied to “I’m not sure how to respond to that 🙃”: Just say aye

Tara: Sam don’t you dare

Sam: I’m not. I still don’t think they’re us…

Kirby: You two are no fun

Gale: It’s all fun and games until the games turn against them.

Sam: The fun was supposed to be watching the movie!

Danny: Alright, I’m out

Chad: Same

Tara: yeah everybody shut up so we can watch k thx bye

Mindy: Lol victory is sweet

Sam: emphasized “Alright, I’m out”

Kirby: 👌

Gale: replied to “Lol victory is sweet”: It sure is.

this one's for you @dreamersbcll - i hope you're doing a little better but if not, i hope reading this stupid little text chat will make u smile 🩶

All my best ♡ - parker

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its-been-rose · 8 days

Note

May I ask who your headcannon couples are(or like who you think can work together?) and what trope they all are? AHHHHHHH I very much love your art btw!

Okay so I’m going to assume you’re referring to my Killer Frequency headcanons because I’m a KF blog so here goes

Also THANK YOU!! That means so much!!! I really do appreciate the support!

My headcanon couples range from practically canon to lmao what if.

The first couple is Marie and George. Yes, they’re canon, but lemme explain my headcanons for their dynamic. So basically they were originally the jock x nerd stereotype, but instead of Marie being that quiet geeky stereotype, Marie was excitable, energetic and peppy. George was quite shy around most other people except for people he knew, and really came out of his shell around her (and also around Jason whom he knew well). She was big into theater and suggested he try out for the play and he did and he found out he loved it so they just became a pair of little geeks in love doing everything together and not caring what other people were doing. But he still loved sports obviously and we all know how that ended up.

Next down is Leslie x Sara (the Deputy). Y’all you cannot tell me they do not have a thing. The way Leslie got flustered when she got caught calling Sara by her first name—— aaaaaaaaa. Ok so I think their dynamic would be like they’d both try to act super cool and professional but would just end up flirting constantly at work like a bunch of idiots lol. They’d each try to impress the other and they’d find it super cute.

Further down in the lmao what if category we’ve got Forrest and Sandra. This is only here because I thought the scene of Forrest aggressively trying to slide into Sandra’s DMs was HILARIOUS and they’re both older and I think they deserve each other lmao. Their dynamic would be like Forrest is the black cat and Sandra is the golden retriever. She needs someone to chill her out and he needs someone to put some fun in his life that’s NOT just sarcastically quipping at everything lol.

Next down is Eugene and Carrie. I don’t really have much evidence for this except for the fact that they both got hunted and maybe could like bond over their experiences lol. Idk I just think Eugene deserves a nice girl who will give him the time of day, and Carrie deserves a nice boy who won’t prank her (or go along with said prank) and will treat her RIGHT.

Other than that uhhhh maybe like Peggy and Ricky??? Maybe??? I don’t really see much of a romance there but like at least platonically they’d DEFINITELY be buddies. Also the age gap is a little big but also they’re both well into adulthood and it’s not CRAZY big like Forrest and Peggy would be and also there’s no power imbalance cuz they’re both kinda doing their own thing. Idk. Would Max like a step mom?

Feel free to chime in with your headcanons or pairings either anonymously in the asks or in the comments and we can chat about it lollll

#killer frequency #ask me anything #shipping discourse

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fromasgardandback · 2 years

Text

The Dungeon Master and the Theater Nerd

Eddie Munson x Reader

description: Eddie meets a girl who’s in the theater club while setting up for hellfire.

word count: 1.1k

warning: none, pure fluff

a/n: did i write this because i’m a theater nerd and would’ve loved to have someone like eddie? yes.

masterlist | oneshots

Y/N was a senior at Hawkins High and the star pupil of the Drama Club. She was a very talented actor and aspired to go on to be one of the best actors of her time. But growing up in Hawkins didn’t show her what she could really do with her life other than being a caddy housewife to an unloving husband. She knew that this was not something she dreamed of, yet that’s where her life was headed. Ever since she was young she was different than her friends. While being different from the others in town, she was left out of a lot. It was easy for her to fall into being someone different for the night. She spent all her time outside of school devoted to the Drama Club and everything that had to do with acting. Her parents were the opposite of the romantic love stories she read in books and plays. So when the opportunity showed itself to be away from them, she took it.

This night was not any different. There was a week before the school’s opening of the play and Y/N was still working on set designs. Friday nights were also the nights that the Hellfire Club would meet backstage in the auditorium where the storage was. Eddie was in there alone setting up for the campaign when Y/N walked in.

“Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your game. Just wanted to get a few items.” She said, blushing slightly seeing her crush look this good in the low-dimmed lighting of the room. Eddie slowly looked up, hearing a soft female voice.

“Uh. I-it’s alright. Get what you need, you’re not bothering me.” He offered a gentle smile. She nodded awkwardly, walking past him to get the items. There was a few moments of silence before he looked over and spoke.

“Uh, so how's the play going?” Eddie mentally smacked himself upside the head.

“It’s going good. Just trying to finish the sets. Hopefully, by early next week, they will all be off-book, then we can really dig deep into the acting.” She smiled at him. “How’re your campaigns going?” She said standing up.

“They’re good. Didn’t realize you knew anything about D & D.” He leaned against the table.

“I’ve seen and heard my cousins play it. It sounds really fun and it's fantasy, maybe one day I’ll bribe you into teaching me?” She chuckled. Little did she know that he would love that. He has been trying to find a common ground to even speak to her.

“You don’t need to bribe me, but I won’t be opposed.” He slyly smirked, earning a giggle from her.

Eddie’s campaign went on while she went to work on the backdrop. She paused her music taking a break. She could hear them laughing and yelling at each other. Y/N smiled to herself finding it adorable, only to imagine what Eddie looked like at that moment. She’d be lying if she said she wished to be sitting outside the room to hear them clearly. She knew Eddie since they were in kindergarten. He was always kind and loving, but something about him just made him stand out. Then in middle school, he became more interested in different music, games, fantasy, etc. Y/N liked those things too but liked to keep that part of herself to only a few people. Not that she didn’t want to be outcasted, cause she already was, just that she wasn’t as into it as Eddie was. Y/N admired Eddie for being different and loved everything about him. Her crush truly started when they were kids and it just kept growing.

Their campaign ended for the night and while Eddie was packing up he could still hear Y/N’s music in the background. He walked around to see her moving some heavy boxes on the stage.

“Y/N!” Someone called her name. She turned around to see Eddie running towards her. “Hey, let me help you with those.” He took the boxes out of her hands, walking back into the auditorium with him.

“I didn’t think you were still here. Thought your game ended a while ago.” She said leaning against the stage.

“It just ended, but I was cleaning up. Then got an idea to add to the storyline, so lost track of time.” He smiled lightly at her.

“Well, I’m near my curfew, so I should get going.” Y/N frowned a little.

“You driving?” He asked.

“No, walking. Can’t afford a car.” She shrugged.

“Let me give you a ride. It’s late and Hawkins can be creepy at night.” She graciously accepted his offer. Eddie led her to his van, being the gentleman that he is, and opened the door for her. They talked the whole way to her house about their shared interests. Being in theater she loved stories and being in the hellfire club he wrote stories. Their creative brains connected on a deeper level than either of them expected.

“Oh my gosh, I love Star Wars! It’s so cool and George Lucas is a genius in his works. The only thing of his I don’t like is Labyrinth. Puppets freak me out.” She shivered talking about it. Eddie just looked at her and laughed.

“Don’t laugh at me. It’s been a fear of mine since I was a child. Muppets, puppets, literally anything Jim Henson freaks me out.” She said hitting his arm.

“Woah, not even the Dark Crystal?” Eddie gasped when her reaction was a no.

They continued talking and laughing, eventually having to end the conversation when he pulled up in front of her home.

“This is me.” She sighed. “Thank you for driving me home. You didn’t have to.”

“I didn’t really have a choice. Can’t let a gorgeous girl go missing because I didn’t care.” Eddie smirked. He didn’t realize what he was doing until it happened. Eddie leaned over and gently held the side of her face in his hand. Without thinking, he kissed her. She was surprised but quickly kissed him back. After a few minutes, they pulled away, both faces redder than a tomato.

“Go out with me tomorrow night?” Eddie asked boldly.

“I’d love to.” She kissed his cheek. “Goodnight, Eddie.” She wrote her number down on a piece of paper before getting out and walking into the house, waving him goodbye. He loved this newfound confidence and cannot wait until tomorrow night.

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toasted-valentine · 27 days

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Even more Adamandi Things That Got Me Feral

Fair warning, a lot of this is me speculating and nerding out about stage craft, I’ve work set crew for three shows and used to perform when I was younger, so stuff like this scratches my brain in all the right spots. I had to quit cause the new director in my school had the habit of throwing objects at student’s heads when angry. I love theater, wish I could’ve done it more, but I was not willing to risk my own safety for that man. More than one person got hurt, and I took that as a sign to exist stage left.

I’m gonna refer to the actors outside their characters with gender neutral pronouns because I don’t know any of their pronouns, except Vincent’s actor since I follow his Instagram for his art. Dudes got a really cool digital painting style.

•Beatrix mimics The Admin’s hand motions at the end of Read All About It, visually showing how they’re just mimicking what Admin wants, even being a bit freaked out from it. They stumble after The Admin leaves, and look around a tad dazed. These aren’t Beatrix’s own desires, she’s just as much of a puppet as anyone else at Ardess.

•Vincent’s costume patterns clash against each other, stripes, pentagons, and plaid making him stand out. Vincent’s clothing doesn’t even fit in, fighting against itself.

•Vincent’s attempts to join the crowd in Word To The Wise are off sink and off beat, they’re literally being pushed out by the rest.

•Beatrix’s hand movements within Me, Myself, and I cue the others to start singing at the end, a visualization of her pulling the strings. They’re the last one to start singing the “Me, Myself, and I” line when all three groups join in together.

•Vincent completely misses that he could’ve just become a painter, that they’re good at that, and it goes right over their head in Student Body. Like, yes bitch, “as natural as painting” you’re already good at something, don’t gotta go the extra homicidal mile.

•Vincent changes costumes several times within the show and it visually shows his progress into becoming Ambrose. They start not wearing a jacket when freshly in New England, then the long jacket makes him stand out against the rest of the cast so he doesn’t fit in, the yellow cardigan is what Ambrose was wearing at the beginning during Word To The Wise showing Vincent wants to be the Ambrose he remembers from freshman year, later becoming Senior Bassford with the letterman and lashing out to try and bash Beatrix’s head in like Ambrose tried to do to him, and finally settling on no jacket when he’s in his most complete and satisfied form in death.

•Quincy asks if Vincent would kill them, questioning what happens when it’s just the two left, and Vincent holds true that they’d never hurt Quincy. Admin does end up deciding that Vincent wins between the finalist, and Quincy kills Vincent. Vincent keeps to his promise, but Quincy never considers their own potential danger to Vincent in that moment.

•The fact Quincy is too tall to kiss Vincent when standing up, so the actors have to hug when standing, and can only kiss when sitting. It’s so fucking funny to me, cause it would’ve been too awkward a visual to have Quincy’s actor bend down to kiss Vincent’s actor, and due to the height difference they couldn’t do the same staging trick done with Beatrix and Portia’s kiss. The theater kid in me finds this hilarious.

•The red string Beatrix used to remember the lie to Vincent is longer than the rest, allowing the audience to have a constant visual reminder of what Beatrix did. The rest are blue and short, so it’s visually distinct, the bright shade helps it be seen from the seats.

•The actor for Beatrix does a fuck ton of really good visual storytelling, round of applause to them, I like the little bit when they start wrapping the string around their fingers when Portia starts asking about Ambrose’s death and it potentially being motivated by someone wanting to off the other nominees. They do it multiple times, and it’s a great way of showing where the character’s mind is at without saying anything out loud. Plus the little horrified reactions they have during Read All About it, little hesitations throughout the entire show are a nice touch of making it clear the character isn’t very sure about their actions.

•Vincent flipping the typewriter around to face the audience during Oh, Miss Reporter!, showing that he’s imagining the interview and desires one, but can’t really have one due to the nature of his crimes.

•The “fill the fake cigarette with flour” trick to make it look like Beatrix is smoking, really old trick, but such a fun one. When the actor blows into it the flour puffs out, making it look like smoke. I’ve done it a few times in the past for a show my sophomore year, could only do it once tho since we didn’t have time to refill it, so it was up to the actor to decide when it was appropriate to take the puff.

•Roswell hands Beatrix the key to the prize section in Word To The Wise, shoving them out of sight out of mind, and they keep the key on until the end. Roswell and co also give them the jacket and hat. All of it is removed at the end, having them in their best when out of Ardess society.

•You can see how fast each character assimilated based on how long it takes for them to get in step with the ensemble during Word To The Wise, Ambrose first, then Beatrix, then Quincy, and Vincent never manages to join the rest.

•The red strings are taped to the desk, it gives the actor for Beatrix ease to grab it, and there’s multiple incase one falls and they need to grab a new one fast. Plus, good visual storytelling for certain moments, the reminder of what they did is constantly following.

•Quincy gets annoyed when their race is brought up during their interview with Beatrix, and Beatrix doesn’t push any further when told to stop. It’s a nice bit of just clown to clown communication, Beatrix just getting why Quincy wouldn’t want to discuss it any further.

•During Vincent’s interview with Beatrix you can see them getting distracted by everything around them, and in one of the takes he starts carving something into the table. Nice little detail of Vincent having wanted to be a visual artist, but he couldn’t due to his family. They actually starts carving when they brings that fact up.

•The bag that Vincent carries has the different props they need for act one, the scalpel, magnifying glass, and notebook. He takes the magnifying glass during his interview and returns it later in order to bribe Beatrix, whips the scalpel out later on during the Ambrose fight, and is writing in the notebook during the first act. The props are too big to carry in pockets, so the bag is a good way of getting around it. It makes sense character wise, and helps avoid the actor having to rush to find a prop on stage or it having to be positioned within reach of someone.

•During Where Can I Run, Beatrix is following Vincent with a notepad and pencil, nice little show that she’s still interviewing them. Show don’t tell, it tells the audience that he’s still in the interview, but they don’t have to stop to establish what’s happening so they can stay on track for the song.

•When Vincent and Beatrix are smoking on the roof, Vincent’s actor knocks two of the candles over, and you can see him trying to put the candles back in place while faking smoking to make it less noticeable.

•If I were to take a guess, some of the close up shots were done during dress rehearsals so the person recording wouldn’t have to work around an audience and could get better shots, so you can see the costumes change slightly in the recording. It’s a few small things like Beatrix’s actor losing the lapel that they have on during The One Who Pulls The Strings and the tags not having been cut off their gloves at that point. For most of the show they don’t have the tags or lapel, it’s just most noticeable during The One Who Pulls The Strings. If I were to take a shot in the dark, the costume designer bought the gloves that day for the dress rehearsal, but didn’t have time to tie the strings on or cut the tags off.

•Ambrose calls Vincent by his name right before Sound Body Sound Mind, but later on stumbles over calling him Vincent, he stutters halfway through then corrects to calling them Lin. Ambrose remembers Vincent telling him not to call them Vincent, and Ambrose listens when talking to his girlfriend.

•Ambrose’s jacket has multiple A’s on it, he’s obsessed with Ardess’ culture, and has it plastered all over. The other Marmorius member in a letterman also has multiple A’s.

•Vincent being a little shit by silently reading his notebook the first time he’s asked to read it by the Marmorius. That’s just funny.

•Most of Ambrose’s songs are sung in lower notes, but higher ones for I Love You I Swear, even in his songs Ambrose is obsessed with not having anything even slightly femme. It’s only when alone and vulnerable that Ambrose sings how he’s actually feelings. His actor deserves a pat on the back for absolutely carrying, they have really good range and pull off an asshole jock character super well. Ambrose’s character would not work as well as it does if the actor wasn’t as charming with it as they are. 10/10 casting, did it perfectly.

•"I guess I’m married to my work? God that’s depressing.” Is the funniest joke in the show, the delivery of the line made me laugh my ass off first time I saw it, and it makes me smile whenever I watch Adamandi.

•Each of the characters have distinct ways of sitting, which is such a nice way to add personality. You can see these in the different interview scenes, and Beatrix’s conversation with Vincent in the first act.

-Ambrose is lax, seems generally uninterested, he keeps leaning back to avoid making eye contact, and whenever he does look at Beatrix it’s while doing a jackass hand lean.

-Beatrix sits in the gayest way humanly possible during her discussion with Vincent, taking her jacket off and being more casual than she was during the interviews. You can also see them stress smoking throughout the show, during Word To The Wise, when discussing the previous winners with Vincent, when talking about work and Portia with Vincent on the roof, and when trying to convince Portia to not report Vincent for the murders.

-Vincent puts their feet up on the table and Beatrix has to shoo them off, along with that, Vincent continually gets distracted by different objects. He’s not super interested in the interview, just wanting to get it over with fast.

-Quincy tries to keep focused on Beatrix, but keeps flickering their gaze elsewhere nervously, and fidgets with their hands in their lap.

-Portia is the only one whose completely focused on Beatrix instead of having her mind wander someone else. Occasionally she gets shy and will avert her gaze because she catches herself staring at Beatrix, gay panic ensues lol

•The candles are electric, most likely someone backstage has a remote to them, and they flicker in different ways to emphasize different things. It’s such a fun little detail, and whoever was doing it probably had a lot of fun fiddling with the flames. Such a funky little thing. You can see it a lot in Litany of the Martyrs.

•There’s a fucking A on Ambrose’s sweater under his jacket, he’s such a self obsessed jackass, love that lol

•During Me, Myself, and I, when Beatrix is doing their weird little pose while distracted, the way their hands are positioned makes the red string on the side of Vincent and the Marmorius.

•At the beginning of Read All About It, the way Beatrix’s actor lifts the newspaper allows them to wave the newspaper, but also keeps the red string in direct sight of the audience.

•Beatrix takes up Vincent’s green color in the end, their new jacket being a foresty green, I like to think it’s cause they don’t wanna forget him.

•Portia doesn’t get her Ardess jacket until she’s joined the prize section and Beatrix starts teaching her via the mock interview, she has a click to be apart of so fits in. The pink color keeps her visually distinct, most of the other cast wear more earthy or cool tones, a lot of blues, browns, yellows, greens, and grays. Portia’s make her stand out as a more good natured character in comparison. Even the A on her jacket is in a different style, she’s taking advantage of Ardess, but isn’t apart of the culture.

•After the Marmorius die they all gain red trinkets of some kind on their outfit to indicate they’re dead. Ambrose’s is around his neck since Vincent slit his throat. They’re all made out of a shiny material that the lights catch on and make stand out.

•The desk that is brought out in the second act for when Beatrix and Portia are talking has red strings falling out of one of the drawers, Beatrix is running out of space to tie it to on their hands, so it’s just spilling out onto other things.

•Vincent’s bag has a bunch of little sketches on it, some eyes and a few rats are what I could make out, really nice visual that Vincent is an artist. Makes you think “What if he’d just been an artist?” since that probably would’ve fixed a lot of their issues of feeling unfulfilled and like an outcast.

•Portia’s bag has an eye design on it, even tho she’s not fully apart of Ardess culture, she’s still feeling the pressure of being watched.

•When Beatrix and Portia’s actors are exiting the stage after the Vincent pyre scene, you can see Beatrix’s actor begin to fucking book it back stage when the lights go down and they don’t think the audience can see. They need to switch costume really fast and get into position on the scaffolding, so gotta go fast. The hat is actually different, the old one is left with their jacket on the chair in the prize section set, the new one has a different colored ribbon. Old hat’s ribbon was green with a bow, new one is black with no bow.

•I just fucking noticed that the eyepatch Vincent wears in The Other Side Of Failure has the shape of a heart on it. That’s so fucked up.

#adamandi #vincent aurelius lin #beatrix valeria campbell #quincy cynthius martin #portia harper #ambrose bassford

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starseneyes · 2 years

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Romitri - Rose / Dimitri - Vampire Academy - Season 1 - Eps 1-5

Hello fans of epic metas! Yes, I’m at it, again.

I never read the Vampire Academy books. They came out when I was thick in Musical theater and working at a humanitarian non-profit that specialized in Disaster Relief. I’ve always enjoyed a good YA read, but I missed these at the time.

I did see the movie, and found it interesting. The series has the space and breadth to try new things and flesh out the world in different ways than the constraints of a 100 minute film. That said, Sisi Stringer and Kieron Moore are crushing it as Rose and Dimitri, and I’ve been so bloody impressed, I had to write a meta.

SPOILER ALERT: I will spoil the entire season to this point (halfway through). Please do not proceed if you wish to remain un-spoiled. I go into great detail. Had I knowledge of the books, I’d do that, too. Please feel free to educate me in the comments on book nods!

Pilot

“Lissa!”

Rose approaches with her usual warmness—the warmth shared by two women who had known each other for years and feel the bonds of sisterhood so strongly they needn’t occupy the same space to know that cord is unbreakable.

But it is SO good to see her, and she doesn’t even notice Dimitri evaluating her, aware that something is off about her uniform—something is hidden.

The first strike, she looks at him, completely annoyed. But, he’s good, and he easily takes her down.

Note, though, that he doesn’t take her out. He makes sure her head doesn’t hit the ground when he gets her down. He keeps her in a neutralized position, but she’s not completely restrained. He simply showed her he wasn’t going to let her waltz up to Lissa.

Dimitri doesn’t know their history, their bond, their sisterhood. All he knows is that this Damphir Novice strolled up to his Moroi, and that is not acceptable.

“It’s a super dangerous welcome home present.“

I love how... annoyed Dimitri is. This is not a love-at-first-sight tale. Yes, they both probably noted one another’s hotness (we know Lissa did), but right now, he’s annoyed with her as much as she’s annoyed with him.

He’s an obstacle to what she wants—to be with Lissa—more than she even knows at this moment.

“Will Rose Hathaway be a problem?” “Rose is always a problem” ... “With all due respect, I’m not a nanny. My job is protection.”

It doesn’t matter that Rose is 18. From Dimitri’s perspective, she’s immature and a liability. Dmitri is all about rules, order, discipline, and duty. Anything that gets in the way of him doing his duty is an unwanted obstacle, and that includes Rose Hathaway.

“So you’re just... having a staring contest with the air?”

Ah, their first verbal sparring match. Rose comes in, ready to take this new Guardian off-guard, hoping to show him just how great she is so he feels a little uncomfortable about his place as Lissa’s guardian.

But Dimitri is a natural mentor. While throwing some obvious shade, he lets her in on his process.

“So I suppose you could say I’m having a staring contest with the streets, the gates, the rooftops, and the turrets.” “You’re kind of a Guardian nerd, aren’t you?”

Rose wants to snark at that, but doesn’t have the ammunition. She switches gears, trying to intimidate the great Dimitri Belikov.

“I’m number one. I’m always number one.” “Then perhaps you’re not as good at perimeter control as you think.”

Ohhh, the shade. He knows her ranking has fallen, and he’s not going to tell her outright. Again, he’s a natural mentor. He’s going to let her discover it for herself.

At this point, she’s just a Novice, to him. He sees her as nothing more, and he’s going to speak to her as such. Still, there’s a part of him that is curious about her. If she really is the best, so much so that Alberta asserts so no matter what Rose’s ranking, that’s something worth fostering and a person worth helping—no matter how stubborn she is.

Shirtless on a Tower

This isn’t directly Romitri, but I have to call out the makeup artists for doing a fantastic job covering up Kieron Moore’s tattoos.

If you’re new here, I’m the daughter of a makeup artist. I’m also a demisexual. So, when I see a jacked, shirtless man in a series who I know has real-life tattoos (but his character does not), my first thought isn’t, “OH, baby!” My first thought is, “Wow, great coverup!”

So, kudos to the artists. NOW, back to the Romitri.

Dimitri spots the two rising tributes, and he knows that something’s off.

“I don’t suppose there’s any way we could keep this just between us?”

Oh, Rose. You don’t know this Guardian. This is not Mikhail, who is like a big brother to you. This is not Andre, your other big brother, who was always up to some mischief and could get away with it because of his Moroi status.

This is Dimitri f*cking Belikov. Top Guardian, save for your own mother. You know what a stickler for the rules Janine Hathaway is, so don’t underestimate Dmitri.

And Dimitri is pissed.

Interesting Note: In the Strigoi attack, the Strigoi is atop Rose when Dimitri kicks it off of her. He looks down at her, disapproval dripping from his features. He hesitates on offering her a hand up. After he does, his focus is entirely on Lissa, his charge, the one person he is supposed to protect.

“What you did was reckless and impulsive, no matter how good you are. Strength doesn’t matter. Style doesn’t matter. Courage doesn’t matter. There’s good enough, and there’s gone. Tonight you almost got the person you say you care about most in the world killed. There isn’t a rank low enough on the board for you right now.”

Rightfully, Dimitri goes off on Rose. He’s infuriated that she would put something before her duty of protecting Lissa. Because, at this point Dimitri’s own definition of “protection” is keeping them out of danger. He doesn’t get the heart and soul of Rose and Lissa.

Yes, Rose majorly screwed up. But, Rose was trying to protect her friend in a different way—one that doesn’t require stakes and armor.

The other side of this is Dimitri’s own guilt that he couldn’t save Alexei, his own Moroi best friend. As viewers, we didn’t know about that, at this point. But, Dimitri knows his own regrets and pain, and he knows how it ended for the two of them, and that he’d do anything to go back in time and be there when Alexei needed him.

He looks at Rose and sees frivolity, lack of control, and immaturity. He sees the Novice.

Remember, this isn’t a love-at-first-sight story. They see each other as obstacles, issues, and problems, at this point. It’s not personal.

Dimitri wants to keep Lissa safe and thinks Rose can’t do it. Rose wants to keep Lissa safe and thinks Dimitri is in her way.

But she does feel humbled by his words at the end of the Pilot. You can see how she nods her understanding of his words. And I think that matters to him.

She doesn’t talk back. She doesn’t get sassy. She accepts his words. To Dimitri, accepting responsibility for your own failings is very important. Deflecting does nothing for growth.

SIDE NOTE: Notably, this is the one time we see her in pigtails in the series, thus far. It does a lot to add youth to Sisi Stringer’s stunning features, but is also often a characteristic of immaturity in cinema.

I’ve heard some complaint that Rose didn’t have her “reckless-to-focused” phase that was apparently a big part of the books, but I feel they had to compress it down to a single episode because we really need to root for Rose.

And by the end of the Pilot, I’m rooting for her... even if Dimitri isn’t, yet.

Earth. Air. Water. Fire.

It’s a third of the way through the episode before Dimitri and Rose have a scene together. He spots her in the training area and sits beside her. The natural mentor in him is coming out. He knows she’s good at fighting and sparring. He knows there’s a lot of fire in there. But, he genuinely feels bad for her.

“I heard about the tribunal.” “I guess you think I deserve this... that everything’s my fault.”

He stands up, frustrated. He doesn’t mind being supportive of someone going through a bad time, but not taking responsibility for your action is a classic mark of immaturity, and he can’t bother with that.

Something stops him, and he turns back.

“Not that you’re asking, but the definition of immaturity is blaming others for your own failings... Am I annoyed one of the most promising young Guardians I’ve ever come across is too stubborn to see sense? Yes. Do I want you expelled. No.”

Rose stands, not believing him. Remember, there’s not a lot of love between her and senior Guardians (save Mikhail). She thinks these are hollow words, because so much of Damphir life is fighting against one another to get to the top, then fighting to stay alive. Her own mother is her greatest example of this duty-above-all mentality, at the great expense of compassion and caring.

Rose doesn’t believe that this practical stranger could actually wish her well.

“No? The image of me out there in the Communes doesn’t give you a thrill?” “No, Rose.”

It’s the first time he’s spoken her name to her. And he’s sincere. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

“My mother and sister live in the Communes. That’s not the life I would wish on you.”

And there’s the first crack, for her. He genuinely means what he says. He’s not rooting against her (though he’s not yet rooting for her). She deflects... her favorite defense mechanism besides snark.

“Well, until the Tribunal decides to kick me out officially... I’ve got a leader board to climb.”

There’s that tenacity. There’s that drive. He knows she has that. But he thinks she needs to do some growing up. And while he doesn’t want to care about her, he is starting to care about her fate.

“You’re fighting like a Strigoi.”

Dimitri has to step in on the fight. Rose is feeling the effects of Lissa’s abilities, but she doesn’t yet understand it, and she’s not yet ready to tell Dimitri. And he sees another loss of control.

He doesn’t understand why this is happening, but he’s seen enough of her fighting to know something is off.

Maybe he thinks it’s the weight of the upcoming Tribunal, or the strain of not seeing her best friend in a time of strife... but he decides to help her in the one way he sees proper at this point—training.

“...when you’re back at number one and taking my job, I’d rather not see our future queen under the watch of someone who can’t keep a grip on it.” “How do you do that? You have this way of criticizing me and complementing me in the same breath.” “Perhaps because you have this way of being both extraordinary and infuriating all at once.”

I love this exchange. The more time Dimitri spends with Rose, the more things shift with them. You can see it here. She challenges him as much as he challenges her.

He has his arms crossed in a defensive position, but also an authoritative one. It’s easier to keep the distance that way. I don’t think that he’s necessarily tempted by her, at this point. But, he’s caring more than he’s meant to.

Something in him wants to see the best for her, even if that means simply surviving her tribunal, at this point.

“I will, Dimitri, because that’s what I do. I survive. I survive car crashes, and loss, and an absentee mother, and a best friend that I’m not allowed to see, and know-it-all Guardians who show up out of nowhere to ruin my life. I will survive whatever shit this world keeps trying to throw at me because that’s what I do. Because I’m strong. And I will survive this fucking tribunal because there is no other option.”

It’s a d*mn good speech. And it even gets through to Dimitri. Before, he was staying on the outside of this, but after that speech, he’s on her side.

“Good. Then I’m rooting for you.” “So, can we be done with wind sprints now?” “What do you think?”

She turns on the cute, but Dimitri Belikov is immune... or so she thinks. As soon as she turns around, a grin breaks out on his face. D*mn, she IS cute.

I think another key thing to remember about her speech is that Dimitri may not be aware of everything Rose has been through. He’s made it his priority to protect Lissa, and while he knows that the Dragomir family was all killed in the crash, save Lissa, he might not realize that Rose was in there. He might now have considered the loss she’s suffered.

And that sets her apart, further, from other students there. Yes, the other students there are isolated, to a point. They don’t really have families, and they’ve learned to cling to one another. But Rose did have a Found Family in the love of the Dragomirs. She lost them. They died.

This loss is another thing that separates Rose from a lot of the other Novices... this intimate understanding of loss and death. Something Dimitri shares.

Death has a way of changing a person. To understand loss and live a life with its grip still upon you takes superhuman strength, sometimes. And in that speech, Dimitri sees the serious side of her. He sees the fire. He sees the passion. He sees the survivor.

And he sees the Novice a little less.

“Lissa.” “Rose.”

Dimitri has seen Lissa’s panic. He can tell that his charge is struggling, Yes, Rose is banned from seeing Lissa. But, Dimitri had a best friend, once. He knew what it was to want to be there for him, no matter what. He can’t get Alexei back, but he can give Lissa and Rose this moment.

“What’s going on?” “It’s nothing you need to hear about right now.”

This is Rose putting Lissa first. And Dimitri can see that. He can hear it. He’s RIGHT THERE this whole time. Yes, Rose thinks she sneaked right by, but we know different.

In this conversation, Rose is hurting just as much as Lissa. They’re both facing exile. They’re both facing the worst possible things that can happen to them, save death.

But Rose doesn’t utter a word of her own strife. She prioritizes Lissa and her needs in that moment. That’s what a Damphir is supposed to do.

“I’ve missed you this week. You staying out of trouble?” “Oh, you know me. I’m always dancing alongside of it.”

And, again, Rose has the chance to tell Lissa what’s going on. But, she just got Lissa calm, and she knows that’s where Lissa needs to stay.

So, she chooses Lissa.

Lissa leaves, but Rose doesn’t. Dimitri looks in to see her standing there, crestfallen. She’s accepted her fate, and he knows it. He can see that she’s not balking it, fighting it, or trying to avoid it. In what might be her last night on campus, she has put Lissa first.

And he’s seen it all. He’s thought, before, that she was prideful and immature, that she was blasé about her fate. No. It’s hitting her so incredibly hard, but that strong woman he talked to earlier with her big epic speech is now showing him who she is... without her even being aware.

He knows, now, that a lot of Rose’s bravado isn’t lack of understanding... but protection. And he knows a bit about that. He protects himself with discipline and training. They’re very similar, though they attack the issue in different ways.

He’s seeing the Novice less and less. He’s seeing Rose. And right now, Rose is hurting.

“I’ve asked around about you. You’re one of the best Guardians around. Second only, maybe, to Rose’s mom. Yet earlier... somehow Rose slipped past you right when I needed her most.”

His definition of “protection” is shifting. I really do think he sees a lot of himself and Alexei in these two... Moroi and Damphir best friends. But, also, he sees Rose for the fighter that she is—full of fire and passion, but also dedicated entirely to Lissa when it matters most.

“Lissa. Has anyone told you what’s happening with Rose?”

You can see the internal struggle. He almost says nothing. He blinks several times, as though fighting internal programming to even get out Lissa’s name. Not Princess... Lissa. This is a personal request.

He could have let it be and done nothing, but when it comes to Rose Hathaway, that instinct to follow duty and the chain of command will be challenged. Essentially, he’s going to the top with this. He’s going over everyone’s heads for the sake of Rose. Now, Lissa’s relationship with Rose makes it possible, but this is still a struggle for our stoic, dedicated Guardian.

“I’m fucked.”

Rose accepts her fate, much as she hates it. As she sits at the bar with her friends, hair flowing beautifully, she looks behind her to catch the eyes of Dimitri Belikov—watching her. He’s concerned. He’s worried. She doesn’t know that, of course, and proceeds to drink with her friends and dance on the bar like it’s the last night of her life.

Dimitri can’t help bopping along the beat as he watches her dance. He can’t join in the chant—that’d be too obvious—but he is finding himself enjoying the show.

Dimitri walks up to pay, sliding a coin across the counter, when Lissa’ snog-fest causes Rose to pass out. He catches her as she practically slides into his arms. And as he looks down, the protective mode kicks in. He sees her, in need, in his arms. He looks back to Mason, who can say nothing.

Of course, Dimitri could have put Rose on a chair somewhere and walked out. He could have asked Mason to come down there to help her. He could have done so many things. Instead, he takes responsibility for what has fallen into his lap... for who has fallen into his lap. He carries Rose all the way home.

He looks to her as he walks, checking on her, worried about her. He doesn’t have to say a word. We can see it in his features—he’s caring for her.

Rose... less and less a Novice in his eyes... more and more his Rose... Roza...

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

“Fucking Dimitri.” ... “You can thank Dimitri for telling me. He carried you here, you know. In those big, manly arms of his.” “What kind of macho shit is that?”

I really feel like Rose isn’t used to love for the sake of love... even kindness. Lissa is the best thing in her life. Everyone else—even Mason—is her competition. Alberta is the resident stick in the mud. Mikhail and she have a great bond, but he’ll still try to help her stay in her place. And Dimitri is a Guardian nerd who’s a stickler for following the rules—her least favorite thing.

It doesn’t occur to her that he carried her there out of compassion. And I think that says a lot about just how much Rose Hathaway has closed herself off from the world, from feeling and caring, too much. Lissa is her exception.

And Lissa is noticing that Dimitri has a soft-spot for Rose. Even allowing that meeting in Rose’s dorm is a breach. That’s three times, now, in one episode he broke protocol for Rose—letting her see a nervous Lissa, telling Lissa about Rose’s tribunal, and letting Lissa visit Rose to tell her the good news.

“I passed out from kissing.” “Mason?”

This is such an intriguing exchange to me. Now, you’re probably wondering, “What is this doing in a Romitri meta?” Welp, I think it sets a huge precedent for how much Rose shares with Lissa.

Rose hasn’t told Lissa about Mason and their hookups. To Rose, it’s nothing worthy of note because it’s just two people who understand one another releasing steam and pent-up whatnot. It’s not a functioning relationship.

At this point, of course, she’s oblivious to Mason’s attachment to her. But, she still could have told Lissa... but she didn’t.

Death Watch

This is one of my favorite episodes for Romitri. Let’s have fun, shall we?

“Eloise. Hi!”

Dimitri runs into an old friend, but it’s not a good chat. The poor dear has been called up to Breed. Even as she has a sweet baby born out of love to raise, now she’s been selected to bear a new Damphir baby.

The wife of his best friend. Forced to sleep with a man. Dimitri’s heart breaks. His own mother and sisters are trapped in the same situation, but he can’t hug them right now. He can hug Eloise, and so he does.

Little does he know that Rose is watching from afar.

And this is the moment something in her shifts.

She doesn’t realize it, yet, but she’s caring more than she should about someone else’s life. She’s bothered, watching him embracing this woman and then joyfully greeting the baby.

Rose barely listens to Mason, who’s talking about her thanking him with sexual favors. And he doesn’t notice her attention on Dimitri. But in the whole conversation with Mason, she’s facing away... facing Dimitri.

It’s a foreshadowing of what is to come.

“Why do you do that to yourself?”

The moment Janine Hathaway struck her daughter in the face, everyone winced, Dimitri included. Now, as she sits with her broken blood vessels on her face, Rose barely acknowledges him. He holds out the ice pack to her as he settles down, sitting next to her for the first time since they spoke of the Tribunal.

That time, they sat next to each other only a few seconds. This time, they’re settled in. He’s here to stay.

When she doesn’t take the ice pack, he runs the back of his hand along the hair hanging from her ponytail so he can gently grasp her neck in the same space where someday she’ll bear Mjolnir marks. He lifts the ice pack with his right hand, touching it gently to her face.

Her eyes trail to him, taking it in. It’s another act of compassion.

Nobody else brought her an ice pack. Nobody else came to check on her. That’s just not the way things work. That’s not how Rose has learned to live. But here’s this man checking on her and bringing her help without her having to ask.

Her lips part as she looks at him, this time without a snarky comeback. It’s not until he asks the question that she shifts, uncomfortable. She takes the ice pack from him, still accepting the help, but putting a little distance between them.

“If you want to be number one, when someone of her caliber gives you advice, take it.”

Rose drops the ice pack at this... it’s a rejection. She’s rejecting him, rejecting this advice, and rejecting his lack of understanding about her complicated relationship with her mother.

Dimitri notes the shift as she moves to stand and he grabs ahold of her thigh—not restrictive, but to gain her attention. It works. She looks to him, surprised, and he leaves his hand there, almost unthinkingly.

“I know how much you want this.”

And there’s her lips parting, again. He’s not telling her advice to needle at her, to try to break her, to try to get in her head, to tell her that she’s got it all wrong where her mother is concerned. He’s telling her this because he genuinely wants her to get everything she wants.

And that’s different. That’s new.

Most people are rooting against her, even in her friend group. But here’s this man who has entered her life and he wants nothing more than for her to get what she wants.

They freeze in the moment, broken only by Janine Hathaway calling for her daughter. Dimitri’s hand slides off of Rose’s thigh and he places his hands together, reminiscent of how he stands on duty with hands clasped before him. It’s regaining control.

Rose stands to go to her mother, but she keeps the ice pack with her, and she looks behind her at Dimitri as she goes. He watches back.

Something has shifted.

“Hi.” “Hi. I hope you dance half as well as you fight.”

In the moment before, Rose was carefree with Mason. He’s her buddy (and f*ck buddy) and they love having fun together. But Dimitri? This is something else entirely.

They both smile in the second before they pair up, but as soon as her hands touch his shoulders, they both freeze up, taking one another in. It’s the first time they’ve ever touched, like this. He’s battled her, sure. And earlier he offered her the ice pack. He carried her home, once.

But, this is different.

This is the first time they’re in a circumstance where they’re allowed to laugh with one another, touch one another, dance with one another. It’s not awkward. It’s charged.

He lifts her up, and instead of throwing her hands in the air, she keeps her hands on his shoulders. No doubt she never pictured a dancing Dimitri, especially considering how much brooding he did the last time they were both in this pub.

As she comes down, Rose connects eyes with Dimitri, and they both beam. Dimitri takes off for the front of the line, and she goes with him. A baffled Mason spies it, and Meredith pulls him back into the dance, eager to keep the fun time from being ruined by jealous brooding.

Rose and Dimitri dance. They twirl. They laugh. He picks her up in his arms, holding her in the same way he did when he carried her home. But this time, when he looks down at her, she’s looking back up at him.

And she’s beaming.

“Have you seen my mother?”

Dimitri is standing outside, drinking alone, one hand in his pocket. It’s possible he knows what Alberta and the others now know—St Jude’s was an inside job.

It’s a lot harder to have fun and engage in revelry when something that dark and insidious makes itself known.

He drinks thoughtfully, but releases his glass when Rose reaches for it.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t drink after just anyone. Rose has no qualms stealing his drink, and it implies a level of trust has been built.

His drink relinquished from his hand, he shoves that hand in his pocket. It’s all about control. He has to keep his hands under control. Rose is here, and this time there’s no valid excuse to touch her.

Rose’s mother’s words echo in her mind. “Maybe you should ask your friend Dimitri if I’m right.” First off, wow, Mom. Calling out your daughter and her man after 2.5 seconds of seeing them together? There’s a reason you’re the best. Second, it plants a seed for poor Rose.

And Dimitri, the poor bloke, has to open up about his best friend, a Moroi, who he was in charge of Guarding.

But my favorite part... is when she asks Dimitri how he lost Alexei.

First off, the language is spoken by someone who has experienced loss. “How did he die?” can be a bit insensitive when you’re talking about the most important person in another’s life. Second, Rose knows what it is to experience great loss.

“How did you lose him?”

Watch Dimitri’s face (and this is ALL Kieron Moore) and how he responds.

Before he speaks, he soaks in the words, likely tossed back to the memories of his friend and the great loss. But, also, I think the irony is not lost on him. He’s aware that he feels something for Rose, at this point. But he thinks he’s keeping it under wraps. He thinks he’s still got control.

But, a small chuckle escapes him. Because his best friend wanted nothing more than for Dimitri to have a life of his own... to have something more than duty to drive him.

And she’s standing right here... right here in front of him.

“He was always on at me to take care of myself in the small ways a Guardian can... Draw clear lines between myself and the job... Take the time off in the rare moments it was offered.”

Rose listens. She cares about Dimitri. She cares about his loss.

It’s a far cry from poor Mason, who will get on her next episode about her lack of interest. But, it’s a poignant juxtaposition of who Rose is with Dimitri versus who she is with Mason.

Dimitri draws something out in her that nobody else can, just as she does the same for him. They’re meeting each other in the middle a little more every day from the far-off points where they first began.

Dimitri is no longer in Rose’s way... not when he’s actively cheering her on. And he seems genuine. He’s real. He’s authentic. And he truly wants good things for her.

And now she can see why.

He has experienced great loss. He has gone through the very heartache he’s tried to spare her from—serving as Guardian to one’s best friend and losing them.

Rose trusts him, now. That’s huge for Rose. But he understands her plight in a way no one else in her life can. He’s been through it. He’s struggled with it. And just as he saw her bravado stripped before Lissa’ Specialization Ceremony, now Rose sees Dimitri stripped of the discipline and duty.

She sees the man, not the Mentor.

“I want everything he wanted for you. I want to do my sworn duty. I want honor. I want to protect my best friend from danger. And I want a life to call my own.”

Dimitri smiles a little at that. Yup. That’s everything Alexei wanted for him... everything he has convinced himself he can never have.

“My mother thinks Guardians can’t have that. And I’m starting to wonder if that’s true.” “I think Janine is one of the smartest women I know.”

Another thing Rose does not want to hear. She turns away... but this time he doesn’t have to reach over to keep her from leaving. His voice does it.

“But. I would never bet against you, Rose Hathaway.”

Rose smiles up at him, and he offers a small smile back. She knows he means it, and he’s finding himself more fond of her smile.

Something’s shifting.

“For it to work, I need to be as good as you. Will you teach me?”

During this exchange, Mason wanders out. He sees the two talking, but neither acknowledge him. Rose can’t see him, and Dimitri’s full attention is on her. I feel for poor Mason, I really do. But coming between these two is harder than breaking super charged magnets with your bare hands.

Ignoring Mason (because I firmly believe Dimitri is too disciplined not to notice him at all), Dimitri drinks in her words. Wow, this is a long way from where they began. Now she actively wants his help. She trusts him enough to ask, which is huge for Rose Hathaway, who is very accustomed to doing things on her own.

He smiles at her, a chuckle escaping. And our favorite rule-following Guardian nerd can’t help laying down a few rules.

“If I were to teach you, you’d have to take it as seriously as every other official class.” “I would.” “And you’d work on my schedule.” “I would.” “And no talking back.” “Mmmm, that last one.”

Folks, he is smitten. I don’t think we’ve ever seen Dimitri smile and laugh as much as this episode, and it’s all been because of Rose Hathaway. He’s completely smitten.

But he still thinks he has it all under control.

Benchmark

Rose Hathaway Tries Not to Tackle her Mentor

Like, seriously, that’s half the point of the training montage. Yes, we see it come back in this episode and in the next, but it’s mostly Rose Hathaway being majorly turned on by Dimitri Belikov.

Her little gasps for air? Oh, girl is in trouble!

Even Mason passing by, on his way to class, can see from a distance that these two are spending a lot of free time together.

“You’ve been paying attention.” “I have a fairly decent teacher.” “Fairly decent?”

Woah. You two just turned it up to 11 and I was not prepared for that. They’re openly flirting while sparring. And they’re both having a blast with this.

It feels like the first time Rose has had a real opponent to spar with who also happens to be on her side. And it doesn’t matter that they’re both slowly going mad for one another.

There’s this rhythm between them that grows more natural the closer they grow. In sparring and loving, they are well-matched and growing more in-sync, while still attacking each situation from different viewpoints.

“So the rules work?”

Ah, there’s our little Guardian nerd out in all his glory. Book lovers have mentioned that Dimitri has a lot of rules, so this feels like a nod to them.

Rose gets the upper hand and slams him down on the pew, and that boy breaks out into a mad grin. Oh, yeah, he likes that!

“Still room for improvement.”

Dimitri breaks away and the pair spar, ending on the floor with Rose’s stake in Dimitri’s heart and her legs spread across his body, prone on the floor. His right hand holds her arm on his chest.

Any other situation, this position would be entirely off-limits for them. But, in the spirit of sparring, it’s completely accepted. However, how long they stay in that position after she staked him might seem a little suspect.

They breathe hard together, eyes locked on one another. Rose is savoring this victory over him, and he’s enjoying every moment of it.

And poor Mason has a perfect view of the two. He know Rose prefers it on top. And he knows a look of desire when he sees one. He’s crestfallen.

When Alberta calls time, they stand up, and Rose and Dimitri can’t help but sneak a glimpse of one another.

Control is slipping.

“First rule of being a Guardian. They come first.” “More rules. Goody.” “Rose.”

I don’t know why, but this always sounds like the warning voice of a boyfriend, not of a Mentor. There’s something in his voice that is so familiar saying her name, now, so intimate that it can break through even her most stubborn moment.

Mikhail stands behind Rose (He’s always got her back). Alberta stands before her (the authority figure). But Dimitri stands to her left, facing her. He’s on her same level in this moment, despite being an authority figure. And his focus is on her.

“You aided Eddie in protecting his charge, took on the great Dimitri Belikov and lived to tell the tale.”

Dimitri nods to her in reverence, and she shoots him a small smile.

“Look. You’ve moved up two positions.”

Rose’s attention on the Leader Board, Alberta motions for Mikhail to join her. Dimitri, free from any orders, walks alongside Rose, noting her distress.

“You could complain more, or you could get some sleep.”

I love how Kieron Moore plays that line. The first half is their combative banter they’ve perfected. The second half, his voice drops near a whisper... intimate.

He even offers her a knowing look, quirking the edges of his mouth up as he turns to face her, giving her a little more incentive to go get some sleep because he already knows her well enough to know she’d gladly choose to complain more.

“I plan on coming for you even harder next time.” “Can’t wait. Comrade.”

Alberta looks up just in time to see Dimitri in profile, looking at this Novice in a way he never should—with desire, adoration, and admiration.

As Rose walks away, he turns to follow her, his eyes trailing over her body, and anyone watching would know—Dimitri’s got it baaaad.

“You might not get so lucky next time when it comes to who you’re fighting.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Nothing.”

Mason is jealous. He can see the spark between Dimitri and Rose, but it sounds like he thinks it’s much more one-sided than it is. Also, this is super horrible and sad statement in retrospect considering the next person who Rose will fight will be... Strigoi’d Mikhail... But that’s a story for another Meta.

“We have to tell someone.”

Here it is. That growth that Dimitri was looking for Rose in the first episode. Something horrible and irresponsible has happened. And instead of trying to hide it, Rose realizes there’s a reason for the chain of command. There’s a reason there are rules, even if she loves breaking them so much.

“Rose? You alright?”

The moment he sees her storming across the square, he abandons his post. He can tell that something’s wrong. He’s learning to read her, to understand her, to pick up on those little things that make Rose who she is.

“I hate staying here and following your fucking rules, but he needs more than me right now.”

Rose tries to storm past him, but Dimitri puts out a staying arm. He wants her to confide in him. He wants to be there for her. And as soon as she tells him it’s Mason, the pair of them take off to find Alberta and Mikhail.

“I hate that I wasn’t there to help.”

This vulnerability while they train... it’s so intimate.

It’s strange, because they’re in a wide-open space where anyone could see and hear them, and yet this exchange is somehow entirely theirs. Rose doesn’t talk about emotions and needs, about her fears and wants. But she does with Dimitri.

In Dimitri, she’s found someone she can trust, even with her vulnerabilities. And she doesn’t even realize, yet, that he’s the one she can confide in.

“You don’t think you helped. Because of you, Christian and Mason survived the night.”

They stand back-to-back, so he can’t see her expression. But the grim one on his as she pulls away shows he doesn’t need to. He already knows he didn’t get through.

“All I did was tell you that my friends were in trouble. I didn’t fight! I just sat here while you and the other Guardians saved them. Mason said that I didn’t come after him to protect my ranking.” “He’s wrong.”

Dimitri locks eyes with her. She’d forced them apart in one push, but he takes a step toward her, now seeing the root of her anxiety and frustration.

He takes another step. And another. Closing the physical distance between them with his feet while closing the emotional distance with his words.

“What you did was far harder than fighting tonight... at least for you! You’re number one because you obeyed the chain of command. You did your duty.”

He finally settles an arm’s length away from her. He can see he’s getting through. She has no quips in response.

“Well, it sucked.” “Maybe. But tonight, Roza, you were brave.”

Control. Is. Slipping.

Yes, we can debate the accent all day. But an English actor doing Russian is never going to sound as pure as a Russian doing Russian. Or someone from Spain speaking Spanish (and there are even different accents throughout Hispanic cultures).

I did voice work for years, and I was known for my accents. But I had to have my voice taken out of my headphones to do it. Accent work is tough and I’m not here to judge. Instead, I’m here to enjoy Dimitri Belikov, King of the Nerd Guardians, Enthusiastic Rule-Follower... totally slip up.

He called her Roza.

I understand from book lovers that this is a big deal. Trust me, television-only watchers can feel this moment, too! It’s the first time his affection for her really spills out in a way that he can’t take back... in a way that she can obviously see and he can’t refute.

Well, he could try to refute it. But, he can’t.

“Roza?”

Watch. His. Face.

His face loses so much of the stoicism that carries Dimitri much of the time. He’s taken back to his childhood while also propelled forward to his future. He’s suddenly a shy boy talking to a girl instead of a steadfast Guardian, slayer of Strigoi.

“Sorry. Every now and then my Russian childhood comes out.”

Look. At. His. Face. He is looking for her to believe that... that it’s a slip of Russian childhood and not a slip of, “You are the most important person in my life, please don’t reject me now”.

Roza takes it in, breathes it in, asserting that she likes it. Watch how Sisi Stringer swallows after she says it, too. She’s as nervous as he is, right now. But she’s not going to show it.

And he drinks in her words. It emboldens him. Though, I suspect he also sees the person coming up to “kidnap” Rose for the rest of the benchmarks.

“You also live to fight another day. Which brings us to another important rule: always be ready, ‘cause today is a new day, and the Benchmarks continue.”

He’s closed more of the distance between them, so close he could kiss her. Instead, he leans down, whispering in her ear.

“Good luck, Roza.”

It takes her off-guard. It surprises her. Sisi Stringer does this thing with Rose where her lips part around Dimitri, especially when Rose is turned on by him. Her mouth drops so bloody fast in this moment, his breath whispering against her ear.

She likes his breath on her skin.

And, distraction or not, our boy meant it. He’s settling into his feelings for her more and more. But having a few days away from her is good for him. He needs the distance. He needs to regain his control. And staying here while she’s out there for the Benchmarks is a good way to cool down.

At least, that was the plan...

Near Guard, Far Guard

“Stand down, Dimitri. That is an order, Guardian.”

He was already upset. Now he’s enraged. For the Council to be so thoughtless and cruel is no surprise. But he had hoped for more from Alberta. And his worry for Rose is rising.

“Dimitri will do as he is told.”

Look. At. His. Face. That’s never been an issue for him before. He’s a champion at following the chain of command and doing what the rules demand.

But that was before he met Rose Hathaway.

“How could you?” “Don’t fucking lecture me. I have no choice. I do what I’m told. You should really have more faith in Rose’s abilities, especially considering all the extra training you’ve been providing her.”

Dimitri nods curtly, but he knows he’s caught. He knows his caring for Rose is showing, and he knows that anything he says can be used against them both. He bottles it up.

Alberta takes note of it, and she softens... a little.

I try to think of the motivation behind that shift in her, and I can only think that she knows they are all human, and she can see that despite whatever Dimitri might be feeling, he’s still trying to follow the chain of command and do his duty. That matters bigly in the Guardian world.

“They can handle it. She can handle it. If she can’t, Bravo Team will.”

She stalks off, the decision made. Dimitri can’t keep it together. He heads to church to pray for Rose.

“Prayers won’t help Rose, but you can.”

It’s the permission he needs. He might not have Alberta’s, but he has his charge’s, a Moroi’s, and he’s off to save Rose.

Rose Battles Strigoi Mikhail

In one of the most heart-breaking moves of the series thus far, Rose has to battle one of her best friends who has been turned. As she lays on her back, prone, with the Strigoi on top of her, my mind trails back to the Pilot.

True to form, Dimitri shows up to yeet the Strigoi off of Rose. But this time, he doesn’t glare down at her before offering her a hand up. He reaches down, pulls her up, and the two of them exchange a knowing glance.

We know what to do.

Rose and Dimitri don’t need words. They know the flow of one another’s styles. They know the movements, but more than that they know the feel. That’s what gets them through this fight. It’s not just the training, but the trust.

They move easily together, using the rhythms they’ve established in training to come up on the Strigoi together. When Dimitri realizes he’s getting thrown to the side, he connects eyes with Rose and releases his stake into the space between them. She reaches for it, connecting.

But it’s not enough. The Strigoi knocks her back and she finds herself on her back, once more. But this time when the Strigoi strikes, her stake is true. It finds its mark, and she sees the life drain away.

As she lays there, trapped beneath him partially because of the weight and position, and partly because of her paralyzing heartbreak, she weeps silently.

Dimitri rouses from his spot and rushes to her, wrenching the dead body off of her. You can see the streaked tears on Sisi Stringer’s face, and it breaks my heart every time. We know she’s already been crying.

But, the stake free of her friend’s heart, she now sees him, again. Mikhail. The one who knocked boots with her. The one who constantly reminded her of her worth. Her big brother in the Damphir ranks.

“Mikhail.” “He’s gone.” “Mikhail.” “He’s gone.” “No!”

Rose shoves Dimitri off, and he can feel her heartbreak radiating off of her. He tries to get her attention, fumbling over his words, fumbling for her face.

“Rose. Roza.”

He grabs hold of her chin, stroking it. She meets his eyes. But her pain doesn’t abate. It merely shifts from denying her loss to being forced to accept it. Dimitri’s hand falls away as his face contorts, struggling to find a way to take away her pain and finding none.

She weeps over her friend, and Sisi Stringer crushes the agony here. You can feel every ounce of loss Rose feels in the moment.

Dimitri tries to comfort her, staying close, keeping an arm on her. They don’t note when the other Guardians approach, don’t even hear their voices. The two of them are trapped in a moment. This is a horrible, terrible moment.

But Rose isn’t controlling herself anymore than Dimitri is.

This is their first shared moment of lost control. She isn’t putting on a front and pretending that everything is okay. He isn’t keeping his distance and pretending that he doesn’t care.

To me, this is the moment of no return.

Rose has abandoned protocol to mourn. Dimitri has abandoned protocol to comfort her. In this moment, there’s nobody else there, to them. It’s them, and the fallen body of their one-friend... her big brother.

It isn’t until Alberta’s voice breaks through calling for “Status” that they both freeze, caught in an unsanctioned moment.

They straighten, and both fix their hair as they turn to face Alberta. It’s all about Control... about how they’re supposed to act in this moment as Guardians.

Rose gives the report through her tears, the voice only failing as she speaks the name of her fallen friend.

Dimitri stands to Rose’s left, as he once did... Alberta in front of them. Mikhail behind... But, oh, this situation is so different from that one only a night earlier.

Dimitri turns to face Rose as Alberta gets a good look at Mikhail. She says nothing of him breaking protocol. She says nothing of him allowing Lissa to show up there, unattended. Instead, she looks at her dead friend and tries to keep together while telling Dimitri to take Rose home.

And, yes, I know I’m not the only one who’s curious how that motorcycle ride went.

“How are you feeling?” “Like I’ve just had a thousand people trample over my corpse. I’m fine. Promise.”

She lies. And Lissa doesn’t even notice the lie. She breezes on by. And this isn’t a criticism of Lissa. She’s excited about something amazing she did, and she wants to heal her friend, and she is used to Rose being fine. Rose is always fine. Lissa misses the details.

“Rose. How do you feel?” “Like I killed a piece of myself. Like suddenly I’m beginning to wonder if I even want to do this anymore.”

Let’s start out by saying—Dimitri is in the Novice dorms. That’s insane. He’s stepped out of his world, out of their neutral world, and completely into hers. Yes, he’s still got his hands in his pockets to keep himself in control, but he’s here.

Control is slipping.

And the words falling from Rose’s lips are laced in agony. Her heart has broken, the the faceless Strigoi baddies of her past experience are replaced with the very familiar face of one of her dearest friends... who she killed.

“I wish I could say it gets easier, but” “But it fucking sucks?” “But it fucking sucks.”

I love this moment. They get one another in a way that nobody else really does.

Rose is the only one of her friends to experience such grief upon grief, losing the Dragomirs and then Mikhail. She is the one who had to put a stake in the heart of her friend and big brother figure. Dimitri understands this horror and heartache. He knows what it is to kill people once called friend.

And she’s completely open with him in a way that she can’t be with anyone else. She allows herself to be vulnerable with him, to talk to him about how she’s feeling and what she’s experiencing, instead of only surface-level chit chat. There’s something deeper between her and Dimitri, and she’s beginning to understand that.

So is he.

Watch his face before he starts his approach. He hesitates. Second guesses. But, no, he’s going to do this. He’s already come so far.

He crosses to her, removing his hands from his pockets, and he squats down to face her, putting them on a more equal footing, but not being so presumptuous as to sit on her bed.

“I’m sorry that Lissa got involved.”

This is huge. He’s always said that people need to accept responsibility for their mistakes and actions. That’s what he’s doing, here. He knows how much Lissa means to Rose, and this time it was his actions (if indirectly) that lead to Lissa being in danger.

“I’m supposed to prevent her from getting into danger, on shift or not. My mind should have been on her instead of...” “Instead of what?”

Rose is so tired. Her eyes trail to his mouth, as though reading his lips will make it easier to focus on this conversation.

“You. And whether or not you were safe.”

I love this line reading. His voice starts to break at the end of the sentence. His emphasis on “you” and “safe” tell you everything you need to know about his convictions and his priorities. They’re horribly out of order now.

Control is slipping.

He meets her eyes, looking for something, and she can only stare back in surprise. Of course, she’s felt something between them, but she knows what a stickler for the rules he is. She knows how impossible it would be for them to ever be together. She knows that it’s not going to happen.

Or maybe it is.

She barely moves when she hears Mason’s voice. And when Mason rounds the corner, she’s alone and standing, as though she can no longer occupy the space she shared before without Dimitri... not when she’s facing Mason.

Mason asks how she is, and she deflects. She can’t tell him. And then he confesses to her that she’s the one good thing in this place for him. He places all his happiness squarely on her shoulders. Honestly, it’s the last thing she needs, at this moment.

Rose ends the episode in absolute agony, high on the dark side of Spirit, and shattering the Leader Board in a way she never intended.

COMING SOON: Episodes 6-10, and hopefully a S2 renewal!

Thank you all for reading. I’ll do the second batch at the end of the season. But thanks for sticking around for the first batch! See you around.

#Vampire Academy #VampireAcademy #Vampire Academy Peacock #Sisi Stringer #Kieron Moore #Damphir #VAseries #Romitri #Dimitri Belikov #rose hathaway #dimitri x rose #Rose x Dimitri

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