#and if i say anything about it i just get called a weeb

[nocreativityfornames]

Random Obey Me! Headcanons

Belphie doesn't know how to swim and is too lazy to learn. The brothers have tried to teach him multiple times, but he always ends up giving up before he can make any real progress. He even fell asleep in the water while Satan tried to teach him once, and after that, the brothers just collectively gave up and accepted he'd probably never learn how.

Lucifer is terrible at baking and making any kind of sweets in general. This is funny, considering he's one of the best cooks in the house when it comes to preparing literally anything else. And Satan absolutely thrives off of this, as he actually masters all areas of the kitchen and will brag about how it's one of the things he's better at than Lucifer.

Beel loves rock and metal, they're his favorite music genres to listen to and motivate him when he's doing his morning run, practicing for future games, or going through his workout routine. He actually learned how to play drums because of it, and even performed in a concert when a friend's band was doing a show, and the friend called him a few hours earlier saying he couldn't make it and needed him to take his place. That day, multiple videos of the concert were posted to DevilTube and went viral. Everywhere, people were discussing how talented Beel was, and the brothers even encouraged him to enter the music industry. He refused though, saying he wanted to focus on sports as it was his main passion.

Satan was born a baby, though he grew faster than any other demon or angel. The way I picture this is that he would stay the same age for a few months and then jump to another out of nowhere, for example: he'd be 3 years old for a few months, and then suddenly jump to 5, staying that age for another set of time till he jumped to 7 and continued the cycle. This only stopped when he reached the age he'd originally have if he had born when first formed as an emotion in Lucifer's body. And so he now ages normally, as any other demon would.

There's a magic barrier around the House of Lamentation that stops any demon that's not one of the brothers, Diavolo or Barbatos from even passing the gates. But as mentioned, it only works on demons, hence why Luke was able to sneak in without the others even noticing during season 1. And this is the same for the Demons' Lord Castle, that also has a magic barrier around it.

Mammon smokes. It's his way to relax after an especially stressful day, he'll stand on the balcony staring at the view outside, alone in his thoughts for as long as he needs to. The brothers understand, as they all have their own ways to cope with stress, and always make sure to check on him at some point while he's there or after. Sometimes though, on very rare occasions, Lucifer will actually go and join him. They'll vent to each other about work, their day in general, and whatever is on their mind while smoking together. Those times are very special for both of them, as they can just chat and relax together without worrying about anything else, knowing they'll always have each other.

The characters' speech gets jumbled when they're drunk, they just start speaking multiple languages at the same time and it only gets worse the more drunk they are. For example, Levi will start spilling Japanese words and sentences in the middle of conversations, Solomon will talk in Old English and confuse everyone, and Lucifer, as the affectionate drunk he is, will just start mumbling I love yous and a bunch of soft praises in Infenal to his brothers and MC. It's a mess.

Levi is one of the most popular streamers in the Devildom when it comes to gaming, anime reviewing, and weeb content in general. He's everyone's favorite, and the one people go to for opinions before purchasing anything. He gets sent games before the official release, merch, figurines, etc. And although most of his streams involve just him, sometimes a brother will join. Mammon and Beel for the most part, but the others have all participated at some point. ( Fun fact: Levi broke his record of views when Lucifer accepted to join him after years and years of pestering. They played Minecraft together, chatted about random stuff, and the viewers were blown away seeing a new side of the eldest, as they only viewed him to be intimidating and unapproachable. To this day fans beg for another stream between the two, but Lucifer always refuses, saying that was the first and last time. )

Lucifer taught Satan how to play piano when he was younger. The fourth born however grew to resent the instrument, lumping it together in the long list of things he'll never pursue again because of how it only makes him more similar to the eldest. He does miss it sometimes though, and very rarely, when he's alone at home, he'll play one or two songs to himself and think back to the lessons Lucifer gave him long long ago.

Beel gives the best massages ever for some reason. You'd think not because of his size and clumsiness, but he actually knows how to control his strength and be a perfect mix between gentle and rough. Oftentimes Beel uses his skill on his brothers, mostly Lucifer and Levi as they're usually the ones staying sitting for too many hours at a time and end up stiff as rocks afterward.

Asmo has an OnlyDevil account where he shares spicy pictures/videos of himself that his fans go absolutely crazy for. His account is very popular and he's actually one of the most sought creators on the platform. Needless to say, the amount of money he makes out of it is no joke.

For some time after lesson 16, Beel didn't know how to interact with Belphie or how to even feel about what had happened, making him avoid the twin completely. It got to the point where he couldn't even stand sleeping in the same room as him, seeking Mammon every night to sleep with him instead. The second born never minded, as sharing a bed with the younger one kept the nightmares of MC's death away.

Satan has always been extremely sensitive to certain sounds, textures, and tastes. For example, there's a brand of milk he absolutely despises for how weird it tastes, despite all the brothers ( including Beel ) insisting that it tastes the exact same as any other milk they've had. There's also a certain type of fabric he can't wear because of how it feels on his skin, numerous foods he can't eat as they give an unimaginable ick, and noises that make him physically cringe at how uncomfortable they sound. The brothers have been aware of these things ever since Satan was born, and although they don't completely understand it, they always have it in mind when buying something for him or finding themselves on cooking duty.

In the Devildom, birthdays are celebrated every 100 years. Diavolo however is an exception to this rule, as he is of royal blood, and his birthday is made into a huge annual event across the entire kingdom. Following this, the brothers only began celebrating their birthdays annually once MC came into the picture, as they wanted to experience as many birthdays as they could while they were still around.

Lucifer regrets not accepting Satan as his son from the get-go, cursing his past self for denying responsibility for the blond when he was first created and the poor way he treated him. But he didn't know any better, he had just fallen after facing a war against his own problematic father, and the last thing he wanted was to label himself as someone's parent. But now he really wishes things had been different, though he's already accepted that it's far too late now, as thousands of years have passed and he believes he's lost his chance to make things right an eternity ago. It still pains him to this day though, to see the change in Satan's expression whenever someone makes the even slightest suggestion to them being anything more than brothers.

I've already made a separate post about this one, but the brothers can sense their sins on other people and feed off of it. Also, demon blood is dark black, while angel blood is bright gold.

#yes satan is neurodivergent here #obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me post #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me mc #obey me diavolo #obey me solomon #obey me headcanons #omswd #thoughts thoughts thoughts! (⁠๑⁠•⁠﹏⁠•⁠) #☙ no creativity for names ✾

[laurentdirosetti]

"Support character"

{Idia Shroud x gn/MC}

Tags: hiding, cute, shy, curing wounds, soft touches, breathing onto the neck.

You have always been a passionate video game player, so you wanted to get to play with the weeb himself, Idia Shroud. You knew his reputation wasn't the best, among other nicknames, people called him otaku, freak, weirdo... But that didn't really mean anything to you, since you were pretty much the same. Despite being an introvert, you wouldn't define yourself as a shut-in kind of person. You enjoyed spending time with your friends and talking to people from time to time. 

Nevertheless, you were having a hard time approaching Idia, he almost never leaves his room and it was difficult to locate his floating tablet. But one day destiny kicked in: you were walking to your next class with professor Crewel when you heard people arguing in one of the classrooms next to your locker. There was a group of bullies making fun of your well-known floating tablet. 

They spitted out a lot of hurtful things like "you're gonna die alone because you're a weirdo", "if it wasn't for your brother nobody could go near you" or "what's so great about you when you can't even show your face?". You didn't know such pea-brains had the audacity to pick on him, he’s known for being a genius after all, but you couldn't stand it any more and entered the class bravely.  

MC: hey! Stop bothering him and f*ck off!

They turned around infuriated and gave you a glare.  

Bullies: mind your business, you're so little you wouldn't even protect yourself, loser.

Nonetheless, that wasn’t going to move you from there. On one hand, you decided to protect Idia, maybe out of admiration, maybe because of another motive you couldn’t figure out yet. On the other hand, even though you tried your best to look sharp and intimidating, you were actually very scared of those giants—all Savanaclaw students have to be this buffed? 

Noticing you weren’t moving, the king bee started walking towards you at a slow pace trying to look menacing, which was pretty much working, honestly. Your shoulders began to shake. It would be a lie to say you stepped in with a plan to start with. As in games, you never had a plan for attacking the enemies, you just go with all your force —but you haven’t that strength in real life.   

MC: leave him alone… 

That big guy was in front of you and ready to punch you in the face, but Idia's tablet got in the way. The machine screen bursted into pieces that flew all over the place and cut one of your cheeks. The bullies laughed loudly and made fun of Idia's intent to protect you, cutting your face in the process and breaking in pieces. But that didn’t end there,the big one wasn't satisfied with the results, after all, he wanted to hit you.

Without thinking, you took the remains of the tablet in your hands and ran out of the classroom. All the bullies followed you along the corridor. When you turned to the left you felt someone grabbing your hands, making you enter one tiny room. 

Your face bumped with a hard surface, so you placed your hands trying to figure out what it was. Your fingers detected what was a boy’s chest and you rapidly open your eyes and looked up to your savior. The room would be completely in the dark if it wasn’t for Idia’s blue fire hair which let you see his embarrassed expression. His eyes were wide open and his mouth strongly shut. You tried to let some air between the two of you but there wasn’t really too much space to move, so you couldn’t move away from him. 

Idia: so- sorry to bring you to the storage room…I- I had no other alternative in order to lose those NPCs. 

He stumbled over his words, even though he tried looking up to avoid direct eye contact. From your perspective the view wasn’t so bad, it was your first time meeting Idia and from that close. His skin was so pale you couldn’t even find a mark on his body, whiter than the snow itself you would say. The darkness of the storage room added to the light of his hair, highlighting his bones and muscles as he breathed and moved his head to one side. He kept on trying to make space between you, without success. You felt sorry for him and tried to calm the atmosphere, maybe if he gets to know you better he wouldn’t mind making eye contact with you —and even playing videogames together, you wish. 

MC: NPCs? They were more like minor bosses from the in-between levels. 

Idia let out a small laugh and then remained silent. That was definitely not the typical answer he gets when he talks that way. Nobody has ever followed his videogame slang. Most people would hush him or ignore his comments, since they don’t know what he’s talking about to start with. This little word exchange warmed his shaking heart and gave him the courage to look a bit down to see your face. 

MC: that sure scared me, I usually try to avoid trouble. 

Idia: the- then why did you… suddenly charge in?

MC: well… they were shouting bad things at you… 

Idia: oh… really? I was on mute all the time. 

You both stared at each other astonished. He wasn’t having any problem after all, he couldn’t even hear them. Suddenly, you felt really ashamed and your face started to show it by making you blush blatantly. Idia noticed your expression and was kinda amused by your reaction, enough to make him smile viciously while staring directly into your face. Then, among all the red your face could hold, he saw a tiny line of blood that went from your cheek down your neck. 

Without realizing it he was rising up your chin to closely examine your little cut. 

He took one handkerchief out of his hoodie and cleaned away the blood. He was being really careful not to hurt you, giving soft touches to wipe the blood. His other hand was gently placed on your shoulder. You didn’t know this side of him and surely wasn’t disappointed at all. His face was closer than before and you could feel his warm breath mix with yours. 

Once he finished, he realized the situation he inadvertently created: face to face with you, one hand on your shoulder, the other caressing your cheek with a handkerchief, eyes to eyes… He jolted and glued his body against the wall the best he could. It was his time to get red, but ridiculously red, not only his face changed colors, his hair too. 

MC: your hair turned red, are you all right?

Idia: do- don’t look a-at it, ple-please!

His long and trembling hands covered up your vision. You could feel his cold touch and trembling fingers on your eyelids. 

MC: what 's wrong?

Idia: you- you obviously think I’m strange right?? my hair is on fi- fire and even changes co- colors, what a weirdo ri- right??

MC: well, Grimm’s ears are on fire too and your brother’s hair is also on fire, what’s so bad about it?

Idia: Wh- What’s so bad!? I want to live inadvertently and it’s impossible because everyone would lay their eyes on a head on fire, it’s frustrating.

MC: I think it looks very cool, actually.

Idia: I see, yo- you approached me because you think I’m some fair attraction right? 

MC: No! That’s not true! 

Idia: but you approached me because I’m weird right?!

MC: That’s no why I approached you!

Idia: then why did you approach me!?

MC: because I want to play videogames with you!

There it is, you finally said it. After all that yelling, it was easier to shout it out. Now, the room was dead silent. Idia’s hand were still on your eyelids, but you couldn’t feel his shaking anymore. He was calm and his touch felt warmer than before. You took his hands and slowly moved them down. 

Frankly, he was surprised. Nobody, other than Ortho, has ever asked him to play videogames together. It was a first for him and he didn’t know what to say or how to react. He was repeating your last sentence again and again on loop in his head. 

He is a genius, that is true for him, he’s sure his mind and creations are brilliant enough to awe anyone. Nevertheless, he felt so dumb right now…

To be continued

#twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland smut #twst smut #Twst idia #twst idia shroud #Twst idia smut #idia x you #idia x mc #idia x yuu #idia x y/n #idia shroud smut #idia shroud #Twisted wonderland idia #Twisted wonderland idia smut #Smut #idia smut

[bullet-prooflove]

Hiiii! Could u do Tim Bradford with “He want lipstick, lip gloss, hickeys too” plss. Tysm

On rare nights Tim requires a little more from you. He’s spent his entire life in the service of other people, sometimes he just needs someone to take care of him, to make him feel loved, wanted. You sense that in him this evening, the desire for something more specific. It’s in the expression on his features, his body language. He gets a little soft, a little clingy, like he can’t stand the thought of not touching you.

“Tell me.” You whisper as you straddle his lap. “Tell me what you need tonight.”

He swallows hard as he looks up into your eyes because vulnerability doesn’t come easily to Tim, it never has.

“You’re safe with me.” You remind him, your fingertips trailing along his jaw. “You can ask me for anything.”

“Mark me.” He murmurs against your lips. “Lipstick, love bites I don’t care. I just need to feel like I’m yours.”

You know where this stems from. The two of you were at a bar tonight, Tim had stepped away for a couple of minutes to take a call and come back to find Richards from Robbery Homicide chatting you up. The other man was a star on the rise, you’d just finished up working a case with him…

Tim’s not an insecure man but there was something about the way detective looked at you that just made something in his chest ache. He’d carried it with him on the way back home because sometimes he thinks you should be with someone better than him, someone more charismatic, less surly.

He watches as you reach over to the nightstand and pick up the gold Dior lipstick that you’d placed there this morning. You uncap it, before applying the red pigment carefully over your lips. There’s a sensuality in the gesture and for a moment he’s mesmerised as you purse your lips together and pout.

“Better?” You ask quietly and he nods before tilting his head away from you, baring his throat.

Your lips brush over his pulse point and his breathing hitches, your teeth graze that perfect little spot and his grip on your thighs tightens just a little.

“Harder.” He mutters and the noise he makes when you bite down…

Christ it’s perfect.

You take your time with him, guiding him back amongst the sheets as you leave a trail of red lipstick marks down his body. When you pause to reapply, he whines a little, but you shush him, reassuring him with a light nip to his thigh.

He looks stunning underneath you, all that hard muscle decorated with your marks. Some of them will bruise tomorrow, marring his skin for days in the aftermath and he relishes the idea of wearing the evidence of your love for him underneath his uniform.

The tension ebbs from his muscles and he finds himself relaxing into the mattress. The exhaustion he’s been feeling lately, the burn out that takes it’s toll it starts to float away. When you reach his cock, he’s hard, it’s a physiological reaction to how good you make him feel but the truth is mentally he’d tired. It’s not the sex he craves, it’s the intimacy.

“Not tonight.” He mumbles cupping the side of your face. “I don’t have it in me.”

You understand in that moment it’s not about you, that it’s about him. It’s about feeling a sense of relief without having to give a part of yourself away. You’re the only person who has ever got that part of him, the only one who can truly deliver what he needs.

You kiss your way back up his body and Tim smiles softly, his thumb trailing over the shape of your mouth.

“Thank you.” He whispers and you can see in his eyes that it means the world to him that you aren’t taking something from him tonight.

“Sleep.” You say softly, your lips brushing over his. “I’ll still be here in the morning.”

Love Tim Bradford? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

@malindacath @anime-weeb-4-life @burningpeachpuppy @viridianphtalo @vermillionwinter @redpool

#tim bradford #tim bradford x reader #tim bradford x you #tim bradford the rookie #the rookie

[littlemisssquiggles]

The Missed Potential of WISH

It’s funny.

Last year, I really wanted to watch the new Wish animated film from Disney.

While everyone else were hating on the art and animation style, I actually kind of liked it and was genuinely looking forward to possibly viewing it on the big screen.

Then the reviews came in. Needless to say, I didn’t watch Wish.

I remember a time when people used to complain about Disney making “too many love stories”. Then Disney stopped making love stories leading to films like Moana, Coco, Encanto and even Turning Red, which weren't bad.

Following the failure of Wish, the biggest complaint I’ve heard for that film is that “it probably would’ve been more successful if it were a love story”.

The last romance Disney had we’re the protagonist was a “black girl” was Tiana from The Princess and the Frog which was technically their last 2D animated feature film.

And don’t get me wrong, til this day, The Princess and the Frog still tracks. Second to Tangled, I still very much love TPATF and it's one of Disney's classics that definitely have the rewatchability.

That being said, Wish is the first Disney film I've seen where the missed potential of what its story was originally supposed to be (herego a love story between a human girl and shape-shifting star boy) versus what we actually got is more popular.

Aww Disney, what were you thinking?! How could you think a film where the main character, who is a PoC, the first "black girl" (well technically I think Asha is meant to be mixed) female lead/love interest that you've had since Tiana in The Princess and the Frog in 14 YEARS where she is actually human for all of the movie and gets to share a love story with a handsome "star boy" who can literally make all of her dreams come and think that that's NOT gonna make you money!

I haven't even watched Wish yet I've seen more artwork and fan-made animatics of Asha and Star Boy than anything from the actual film.

At this point, Disney should just take all of the original ideas they left on the chopping block for Wish and revise them into a future title which is an actual love story they could market from.

Or…as an audience, we can just wait for one of their competitors, like Dreamworks to smell the blood in the water like the sharks they are and capitalize on Disney’s latest flop by taking the ideas they didn’t use and coming up with something that could potentially usurp the popularity of Wish’s failure.

In the case of Dreamworks, they don’t even need to make a new star boy since, technically, they already have potential “star boy” they can use.

Remember Rise of the Guardians?

Hahaaaaa OF COURSE you do, since it gave us the original immortal boy internet heart throb (also ironically voiced by Chris Pine who played King Magnifico in Wish) ---Jack Frost.

I find it hilarious that another reason why folks are hating on Wish so much is because Disney could've given us another potential immortal boy heart throb "Star Boy" to finally usurp the chokehold that Jack Frost has had on our generation of weebs and artists for the past 12 years since RoTG first dropped.

We could've had it all.

But as I mentioned Rise of the Guardians, did you know that there is character in the original series it was based off of called Nightlight?

While technically not a “star boy”, Nightlight is the closest thing to one in an already established universe from a Dreamworks property and since this squiggle meister never misses a beat to push for continuation of Rise of Guardians, hear me out:

Imagine a Rise of the Guardian prequel-sequel about the character Nightlight and make it a love story.

(Because apparently there's a girl that Nightlight grows close to in his story called Katherine. It's just a friendship but needless to say, there is potential there).

I know it’s been 12 years since Rise of Guardians first dropped and I know I've be hollering for a sequel since 2012.

But c'mon, if there was ever a time for Dreamworks to capitalize on an RoTG sequel, it's now.

As Wish has proven, the internet is hungry for another handsome immortal boy with magical powers.

Dreamworks set the ball rolling with Jack Frost.

If Dreamworks were to revisit RoTG again, take Nightlight's story. Take his design and give him the "Jack Frost" treatment and make it a love story on top of that.

I'm not saying it will happen. Not even saying it could happen.

But if somehow thought becomes reality and something like this does actually happen, whoever does it will be rolling in dough.

This is just a longwinded way of me to say that somebody needs to bank on the concept of a star falling in love with a human and do it now since as the internet has shown, it's what the people want and what Wish failed to give.

~LMS (2024)

#squiggles talks: wish #wish #disney wish #rise of the guardians #jack frost #rotg #rotg nightlight

[luminnara]

Cherry Bomb | Billy Hargrove x Reader || PART TWO

PART ONE

The official Cherry Bomb Playlist (tm)

Masterlist

Is this beta read? No. Did I finish this at 1 am? Yes. Is it good? I sure hope so! 12,800+ words of Cherry Bomb goodness, for your reading pleasure!

Warnings: f slur/homophobia, verbal abuse, vague nsfw stuff

Tags:  @smenny @infinitelyforgotten @littlewinter1917 @djiafjaidjcj  @pans-fav-shank @notwithawhimper @buckysjuicyplums @local-yn @northwmar @ttomholland2008 @secretly-a-weeb @jaynorama @all-bi-myselfs-blog @eddiemunsonswife21 @kingexplosionm @jaziscool @killer-queen101 @hannahnikohl @piper570 @slut4fictionalcharacters @pawneeismyhome @eirugybrkhs @a-rockstars-bitch @queenofstarsanddarkness @smelly-sock @frogtits1 @itwasagathaallalonggg @kat-ara6 @ifyouwerethemoon @aangsupremacy @bilesxbilinskixlahey @itsnanabun @makepastanotwar13 @brooklynmarie @multi-fandom205 @lanalanaban @fanatics30

“Hey, Hargrove.”

“Hey there, Doll.” Billy greeted you as you stepped out of your car. He looked just as gorgeous as ever, brilliant blue eyes trained on you and following your every movement. “It’s icy. Careful.”

“I think I know a little more about icy winters than you, California Boy,” you snorted a laugh as you shut the car door and faced him.

The morning air was chilly, your breath coming out in little puffs. You were used to it, the sometimes frigid Indiana weather, but you could tell that Billy didn’t like it one bit. Not that he liked anything about Hawkins anyways.

“Whatever,” he sneered, amazing you, as always, with his ability to have so much attitude so early in the morning. You wondered how hard he had to try at it, or if he even had to try at all.

He was wearing his jean jacket, smoking a cigarette, and looking like someone shoved a particularly rough stick up his ass. Everyone in the parking lot was watching him, the girls still hoping they had a chance—because, after all, wasn’t Billy Hargrove a total player? How could he not be?—while the guys called to him with the hopes that they could get his attention and then get on his good side. He was focused on you, though, looking down at you with an expression you had come to discover was his version of warm. He was still way too cool to do or say anything mushy, of course, and neither of you had clarified where exactly you stood, but you were something, and everybody seemed to know it. 

After all, they watched the way Billy carried things for you, how he opened doors, how he always seemed to want you up against his side. Tommy H had already started a rumor that you were a total slut and you were totally good at it, because how else could you have Billy Hargrove eating out of the palm of your hand like that? You were obviously actually very experienced, and you probably did it in the back of your car, and the Camaro, every day after class. Obviously. 

You didn’t really care about the rumors, not even the nastier ones that Carol was spreading out of jealousy. You were happy with Billy around. You knew a side of him that he’d never allow anyone else to see, and after the night he had climbed through your window, something had changed between you. There was some sort of a silent understanding developing, an agreement that you wouldn’t bring it up and he would maybe not be an ass. And he wasn’t, at least not to you—he was polite, or at least his version of polite, and that was fine. He was sweet when he wanted to be, and now, you were starting to see why he was always so ready to fight and rage at anyone who looked at him funny. 

You never brought it up, though. You held his face so gently whenever the two of you were alone, and you stroked his cheeks with your thumbs in a way that he totally thought made him look like a pussy but he appreciated nonetheless, and you spoke softly and just sat with him when he needed the peace. Billy didn’t explain anything about why his father was so rough on him, and even though you wanted to know why Neil Hargrove was like that, you didn’t ask. You didn’t press. Because you figured maybe Billy needed a refuge from it, and maybe he would talk about it when he was ready. 

When he trusted you enough. 

Because Billy did trust you, but he didn’t know how to tell you what it was like living with his father. He didn’t know how to go about explaining how much he missed his mother and wished she hadn’t walked out on him, or how fucked up in the head he was from all of it. He was too afraid of hearing himself say anything out loud.

So he didn’t. Not yet. 

He just followed you around like a lovesick puppy instead, because that’s what he was, and that was the only thing he could do.

“Everyone is staring,” you said in a hushed voice as Billy grabbed you by the hips and pulled you up against him. 

“So let ‘em stare.” 

“Billy…” 

“What, doll?”

There it was. The pet name that always made you melt a little. 

“Let’s just go inside,” you grumbled, picking at the front of his jacket in an attempt to ignore the heat of everyone’s glares.

“What, you suddenly shy now?” He sneered. Because, as you had come to learn, Billy Hargrove didn’t know how to tease. He only knew how to taunt. 

But still, it was his way of being playful, and you were slowly learning how to speak his language. 

“No,” you snapped. “I just prefer having you all to myself…”

Your tone made him grin as he leaned down to catch your lips in a kiss. “There she is.”

“Who?” You asked when he pulled away.

He smirked. “My girl.”

You felt your heart flutter a little bit, a blush spreading across your cheeks. “Yeah, yeah...”

“Thought you were all tough and didn’t care about the staring,” he commented as he threw his arm around your shoulders.

“I just hate the way Carol’s always undressing you with her eyes.” You said matter-of-factly, glaring at the group of girls standing with Tommy H and a few other guys from the basketball team.

Carol and Tina scoffed when you made eye contact, immediately turning away to pretend they hadn’t been watching and imagining themselves exactly where you were. You weren’t looking forward to the next time they caught you in the locker room alone, but at least if one of them swung first, you’d have a good excuse to finish the fight.

Billy looked over at Carol and wrinkled his nose. Yeah, if he didn’t have you around, she’d probably be an easy fuck. Never mind that she was dating Tommy, the guy who loved gassing Billy up and always acted like he wanted to be his friend. Carol would probably jump at the chance to be alone with him, and then sleep with him as her own way of getting back at her parents or her boyfriend or whoever else was pissing her off. Because that’s what Billy was used to—getting physical attention from girls who liked him for his looks and his dick and the fact that he was the wildest thing in a town like Hawkins.

Besides you, it turned out.

And he hadn’t even gotten in your pants yet.

As you walked inside, he glanced down at you. You were always more tired in the morning, always a little sluggish. He thought it was cute. He thought just about everything about you was cute, and it drove him a little crazy knowing that he hadn’t even made a serious move on you yet, and you hadn’t tried to fuck him in the back of the car. He knew you wanted him. He knew you liked having him around, and he knew you liked making out with him. So why weren’t you trying to ride his dick, too? It’s what girls always wanted from him. Some guys, too…even though he’d never hear the end of it from Neil if he got caught with another guy.

But that was an entirely different issue, and he was more interested in you.

Were you scared? …were you a virgin? The thought brought a smirk to his lips. If you were, he wanted to be your first. And your last. And your only. Although you’d probably look real cute with another guy’s dick in your mouth, but as long as Billy was still involved, it didn’t count—

“Earth to Billy? …hello?” You saved your hand in front of his face and he realized that the two of you had reached your locker. “Were you even listening to me?”

“Sorry, babe,” he said smoothly as he leaned up against the lockers next to yours. “Got distracted.”

“By what?” You growled.

“Thinkin’ about how good you’d look on your hands and knees for me.”

You stared at him. You willed your face not to flush, and you just kept your mouth shut as you stared at him.

“Shut up,” you mumbled as you opened your locker, trying to ignore the butterflies in your stomach.

“What? You’re so bashful today, doll.” He leered at you.

You rolled your eyes as you pulled a textbook out. “It is eight in the morning, Billy.”

“So?” He grinned. “Why don’t you wanna talk about it?”

“Because I don’t feel like it.” You said, avoiding his handsome face as your own began heating up.

He gasped dramatically. “Princess, are you…a virgin?”

His mocking tone was starting to piss you off, and you suddenly slammed your locker shut before glaring at him. “Fuck off, Hargrove.”

“Oh, that’s it, isn’t it?”

Your nostrils flared angrily as you turned on your heel. “I’m not talking to you!”

“See you at lunch, sweetheart!” He called after you, watching you go with a wolfish grin on his face. Oh, you were a total virgin.

It was cute.

———————

You didn’t feel like explaining to Billy that you were not, in fact, a virgin, but you sat and simmered about it all morning rather than just ignoring your conversation. He was so fucking annoying when he wanted to be, an absolute menace. You had grown used to him, the way he talked and behaved, but even you had your limit.

And besides, why should you want to tell him all about your awkward sexual escapades? None of them mattered. You’d been stupid sophomore year and hooked up with a guy who had no idea what he was doing, and it had left you feeling weird and in pain while he got to go brag to all of his friends. Then, the same thing happened junior year…only that time, the guy had decided to tell the entire world, and in return, you had beaten the shit out of him. So far, your only pleasurable experiences had been a few drunk nights with Robin…and you could only imagine how long Billy would go on and on about that if you told him.

So no, it wasn’t that you were a virgin. It was just that sometimes, when you thought about it for too long, you wished that you still were. It was kind of corny, but you wished your first time had been with someone you actually liked, rather than some dude you never really spoke to again.

Someone like Billy.

You tried to stay focused and not think about it too much. By the time lunch rolled around, though, it was hard not to let your thoughts wander…especially with Billy smirking across the table at you.

And you already knew exactly what was on his mind.

“You know, my brothers would probably kill you just for thinking like that.” You said haughtily, digging a sandwich out of your bag and throwing it at him.

He caught it easily, grinning that stupid grin at you. “Better not let ‘em find out then, huh?”

“You’re insufferable.”

“I seem to recall you kissing me first, doll,” he drawled as he unwrapped his food. “You remember. Down at Lover’s Lake? When you practically jumped me and sucked my face off?”

You rolled your eyes. “We seem to remember things a little differently.”

“Oh? Then why don’t you enlighten me? And don’t leave out any of the juicy details, I wanna hear everything.”

You fixed him with a glare. He had laid a trap, and you had waltzed right on into it. You couldn’t be too mad at him, though, not when his eyes were sparkling like that and the side of his mouth was pulled up in a lopsided grin.

“Actually….” You returned the look, biting your lip. “…I think I might need a reminder.”

“Oh, baby, you sure do speak my language…”

He leaned towards you and you stopped him with a hand in his face. “Take me out for food tonight and then maybe we’ll talk.”

Rather than deflate, Billy actually seemed to make himself look larger, taking your demands as a challenge more than defeat. If nothing else, he was tenacious. 

“Deal, babe.” He said before sinking his teeth into the sandwich your mother had so lovingly prepared for him that morning. “I’ll pick you up. Six o’ clock.”

“Fine.” You said. “Six it is.”

And just like he said, Billy Hargrove showed up on your doorstep at six, wearing his leather jacket and a silky red button down that exposed a fair portion of his chest. He had spent the better part of an hour getting ready for you, and yes, he had patted cologne on all the spots that mattered, because he was, of course, hoping that he might get lucky tonight.

He was leaning with his elbow on the frame when he saw the knob twist and the door swing open, but he was greeted by the sight of not you, but one of your brothers instead.

Curtis.

The one who liked him the least.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” he sneered.

Billy met him with a sharp glare. Curt was definitely the meanest of your brothers, and even though the two of them had managed to share a few laughs in the time since Billy had met your family, Curt still wasn’t a fan of the town bad boy dicking around with his baby sister. Billy couldn’t really blame him; he didn’t even get along with his sister, and he still wanted to chase off any snot nosed kid who looked at her for too long.

“Curtis, who are you glowering at now?” a woman asked.

Her voice had Billy’s glare immediately softening. He loved your mother. He really, really did. He was too afraid to admit how much he liked your family—even with Curt and his constant shitty attitude towards him—but he actually felt at home there, in your little old house next to the auto shop, and a lot of it was due to the way your mother treated him.

“Hello, ma’am,” Billy greeted in his friendliest voice as Curt reluctantly moved out of his way.

“Hello, Billy,” you mom smiled. She was watching from the front hall, seemingly on her way towards the living room, leaning on her forearm crutches as she paused to say hi.

Billy didn’t know exactly why she used them. He had never asked, because even though he could be a total asshole, getting too nosey with the best maternal figure in his life wasn’t something he wanted to do. All he knew came from the few snippets you had told him, things like how she had to stop driving for some reason and how she hated the pitying looks she got at the grocery store. Billy couldn’t really imagine anyone pitying your mother, because it seemed very clear to him that she was very much in charge of your family and so far all of her kids had turned out perfectly fine, but he, much like you and your brothers, would sock a stranger in the jaw if they ever disrespected her.

So, yeah. Billy was a big fan of your mom.

“She’s still upstairs,” she said with a warm smile. “I’m sure Curt would love to make himself useful and go get her. Wouldn’t you, Curt? And no yelling, please. You know Danny is trying to sleep.”

He huffed and gave Billy another glare before jogging up the stairs, finally giving Billy some breathing room. He didn’t hate Curt. He really didn’t. But god, he wanted to get in a fist fight just so they could settle their shit.

“C’mon, hon.” Your mother said, making her way through the doorway to the living room. “She’ll be a minute. She was helping the boys in the shop this afternoon and got a little behind.”

Billy should’ve known that you���d be the one running late.

He followed your mom, sitting down on the couch you had once let him sleep on after a party. She settled into her armchair, reaching for a mug on the side table and taking a sip before smiling appreciatively.

“Hot cocoa,” she said, nodding towards a matching mug on the coffee table. “Made you some, too.”

And, as always, Billy was taken aback by your family’s kindness towards him.

“Thank you, ma’am, but you didn’t have to—“

“Don’t give me that, Billy,” she growled. “You’re a guest in our home. Besides, haven’t you seen my boys? When I make hot cocoa, I have to make gallons of the stuff so they all get enough. There’s plenty to go around.”

That was a theme he had noticed in your house. The table was always covered in food, there was always extra juice at breakfast, and you never seemed to run out of snacks. It wasn’t like his family was totally broke, but the way Neil ran things, he and Susan always seemed more concerned with acting put together rather than actually enjoying things like family dinner time or an extra helping of dessert. In fact, Billy had been on the receiving end of angry words more than once for going for that extra helping.

At your house, though, eating to your heart’s content was encouraged, and the food was always so good that there shouldn’t have ever been leftovers, except somehow there always were, and your mom always insisted that Billy take some home with him.

He picked up the warm mug and the hot cocoa was absolutely delicious. Your mother must have been able to see it in his face as he tasted it, because she chuckled and leaned back in her chair slightly before giving him some lighthearted teasing.

“I thought the California boy might need some hot cocoa to get through our midwestern winters,” she laughed.

“It’s wonderful, ma’am.” He said. “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” she smiled. “But I appreciate it nonetheless.”

“Curtis! Get out of my fucking way!” You yelled upstairs.

“No yelling, shrimpy!” Curtis yelled back.

“Will you two shut up? I’m trying to fucking sleep in here!” Danny snarled from his room.

Billy immediately tensed. To him, shouting inside the house meant fighting, and fighting meant that he was about to be shoved up against the wall by two big fists as they grabbed handfuls of his nice shirt. To him, it meant that he had done something wrong, something that he deserved to be punished for even though he didn’t really get what it was. To him, while it was normal, it was a big deal, an event that would have his ribs aching for a while afterwards.

But in your house, it was nothing more than a few siblings, all born fairly close together, who bickered and fought just like any other family. It was just your most annoying brother doing what he did best, and you yelling about it because you were the youngest and the smallest which often meant you had to be the loudest. That was all. You fought with your brothers all the time, but they never hurt you—never on purpose, at least—and they never even said anything very bad.

It made Billy a little jealous.

Your mom saw the way he was suddenly so alert and she sighed. “Never a moment’s peace around here.”

Billy cleared his throat and nodded, trying to cover it all up with his usual attitude. “Seems like.”

“How’s your sister?” She asked, prodding slightly.

“Max?” Billy thought for a moment, looking down at his mug. “…she’s fine, I guess.”

“She’s lucky to have you, you know.”

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. “What?”

“You’re a good boy, Billy.” She reached over, patting his hand. “Max is lucky to have you there to protect her.”

He didn’t know what to say, so he simply stared. Max hated him. And he didn’t like Max very much. He kept an eye on her, sure, because he had to, and because they had been forced to come to terms with their new blended family and forced to admit that neither of them could control their circumstances. Billy had a bad attitude, yeah. So did Max sometimes. And he wanted to keep her safe, he really did, because even though he didn’t like her and she was annoying and always in his way, they were pretty much stuck with each other.

He wished he could be there for her the way your brothers were for you. Even though that meant that they didn’t trust him as far as they could throw him—which, actually, for Kenny might be pretty far—Billy figured that they were right not to. He wouldn’t trust a guy like him around his sister, and he really couldn’t blame these guys for the way they acted sometimes.

Except Curt.

Curt was just an asshole.

Luckily for Billy, you came rushing down the stairs just in time for him to avoid furthering the conversation, and when you appeared in the doorway, he immediately jumped to his feet. You looked perfect, wearing a dress that was a little more than casual but by no means formal, and even after all your scrubbing and fussing, there was still some grease on your arms.

Billy loved that, because it was so you.

“Hey,” you said, smiling at him. “You ready?”

“Are you?” He scoffed, forgetting that your mother was right there for a moment.

You scowled are him. “Yes. I am. And I’m starving, so let’s go.”

He said a hasty goodbye to your mother and she chuckled, watching as you seized Billy’s hand and practically dragged him out the front door. You could see the Camaro sitting there in the driveway next to your Barracuda, its midnight blue exterior appearing almost black as dusk fell.

“Where we goin’, Princess?” Billy asked as he walked around to the passenger side, opening the door for you.

“That little diner in town,” you said as you slipped in. “I’m seriously in the mood for a shake and a greasy burger.”

He shoved the door shut once you were comfortably situated, walking around to the driver’s side and climbing in. As he jammed the key in the ignition and turned it, he lunged for you, finding that you were already waiting with your chin tilted up and your hand reaching for his.

Billy’s kisses were always hungry. Starving, practically, as if his lips crashing against yours was the only thing that could keep him alive. His hand found your thigh and gave it a warm squeeze before drifting to entangle his fingers with yours, brushing the pad of his thumb over your knuckles. It was one of his gentler habits, something small and soft amidst the flames of the wildfire that was Billy Hargrove, and it was something that reminded you that despite all of his rage and bad attitude, he was still just a confused boy who had put up as many walls as possible to keep himself safe.

“I missed you.” He admitted as he pulled away, hand on the gearshift as he backed out of the driveway.

“You saw me just a few hours ago.”

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you.”

You couldn’t help but smile at that one. “You know, you’re kinda sweet, when you wanna be.”

“I’m always sweet.” he grunted as he turned into the road and floored it.

You snorted in amusement. “Sure.”

He gave you a sidelong glance. “Y’know, about this morning...”

You sighed and looked out the window. “You mean when you were being an annoying asshole?”

He scrunched his nose angrily, eyes dark and narrow. “I was not an asshole.”

“Well, you were sure as hell being annoying.” you huffed. 

He wanted to yell, or at least stomp away before he got the chance to. But he was trapped in the car with you, and he didn’t really want to shout or swear or blow up, even though that was his first instinct. 

“Sweetheart...”

“I’m not a virgin.” you mumbled, cutting him off. “So you can kiss that fantasy of yours goodbye.”

He glanced at you again. Your head was resting on the window, eyes focused on nothing in particular. Billy suddenly felt bad, because he felt like it was his fault that you were so put out now, and he really fucking wished that he could just...be better. 

“That doesn’t matter to me.” he said, assuming that you were angry with him because you thought that’s all he cared about. 

“But the thing is...I sort of wish I was, because I would way rather my first time be with you.”

His nostrils flared as fresh anger coursed through him. “Who was it?”

“You don’t need to beat anybody up, Billy.”

“I want to.”

“It’s fine.” you sighed, finally looking at him. “Nothing that bad happened. It just...wasn’t great. And I just figure it would be...better...with you.”

He watched you carefully out of the corner of his eye for a moment. 

Better.

Yeah. 

It would be. 

Billy wanted to worship you. He wanted to show you how much you meant to him. He wanted to take as much time as he could with you so that he could do things properly, and when he got the chance--if he got the chance--he fully intended to make you forget all about your past experiences. 

“Look, babe.” he cleared his throat. “I won’t lie. I wanted to be your first...but only because I’d do it right.”

You felt heat creeping up your neck and face. “I know you would.”

“Damn straight.” he growled. 

“And don’t, uh...don’t beat anybody up. Okay?”

“Why not?” he asked angrily. “If some guy hurt you then I’m gonna--”

“Because I already did.” you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest. “And he didn’t really hurt me, he just went and told literally everybody about it. It just...sucked.”

You could see that Billy was still angry, his grip on the steering wheel tightening until his knuckles were white. “Point him out if you see him.”

“Billy...”

“What?”

“I appreciate it. Really.” you put a hand on his arm. “But it’s not important.”

“It is.”

“Billy.”

“What?”

“It’s been years. And I would rather not think about it.” you gave his bicep a squeeze, your fingers lingering on the sleeve of his leather jacket. 

He glanced down at you and you could see a fondness in his eyes, something he never offered anybody else. “I just wanna see you happy, baby.”

You felt your heart skip a beat at his admission. He’d said things along those lines before, but this was the most straightforward he had ever been...or maybe you were just really learning how to speak his language, and if he had said that to anyone else, it wouldn’t have had the same impact. But for you, that was practically a declaration of love, and you could feel it settling in your chest like a warm ball of butterflies. 

“I am happy, Billy.”

His lips spread into a lopsided grin--not a smirk, a real grin--and by the look in his eyes, you could guess that if he wasn’t driving a car entirely too quickly down a residential street, his lips would be on yours. 

“Good. Now lemme buy you dinner.”

You mirrored his grin. “Yes please. I’m fucking starving.”

-----------

Whenever the two of you went out, which really wasn’t all that often, you received stares. Billy, the bad boy all the way from California, and you, the mechanic’s aggressive daughter, painted a picture that had had Hawkins’ more uptight residents clutching their pearls. It didn’t bother you any more than Carol did, though, and if it got to Billy, he never showed it.

“You got a curfew, Princess?” He asked as he watched you sink your teeth into a cheeseburger.

You shook your head, then paused to swallow. “…I mean, it’s sorta ten, but you know it’s not a big deal. Why? Do you?”

He leaned back, one arm draped over the back of his seat. “Nah. Neil and Susan are gonna be out late.”

At the mention of his father and stepmom, you frowned. “Aren’t they gonna be pissed that you’re out, too?”

“It’s a free country.”

“But shouldn’t you be watching Max?”

Billy rolled his eyes and grabbed his chocolate milkshake. “She’s out with her shitty little friends. She’s fine.”

“Won’t they be mad that—“

“They’re not gonna know,” he said. “How are they gonna know? Are you gonna tell them?”

“What? Shut up.” You scoffed. “I just don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Thanks for the concern, but it’s fine.”

You could tell that it wasn’t, but you dropped it anyway. “How’s your shake?”

“It’s alright.”

“Only alright?”

“Fine. It’s good.”

You grinned. “It’s okay to admit that you like things like shakes, you know. It’s not like it’s embarrassing. Everybody likes them.”

Billy made an annoyed sound and you laughed before taking another bite. You could tell that he was enjoying it. In fact, you could tell that he had quite a sweet tooth, specifically for chocolate, and you thought that it was…well, sweet.

Billy knew he had a thing for chocolate. It was his favorite flavor of soft serve, shakes, and cake. But…his dad loved to crack shitty jokes and make wise comments at Billy’s expense, and it left him a little ashamed. Maybe, if that’s all Neil ever did, Billy would care less, but coupled with everything else he liked to throw at him, it just made Billy want to hide it all.

Not from you, though. He liked sharing chocolate shakes with you, and he didn’t like hiding things, even though he barely knew how to open up. 

“How is she?” you asked, trying to get him to keep talking. 

“Who?” he grunted.

“Max.”

“Why does everyone care so much?” he growled, shooting you a glare. 

You glared back at him, ever stubborn. “It’s just a question, Billy.”

“You’ve never even actually met her.” he grumbled, returning to his shake as if it would save him. 

“No, but I mean...I could,” you suggested. 

His glare only hardened. “She’s an annoying little sister with a bad attitude who makes my life harder. That’s all there is to it. She’s got annoying friends and annoying hobbies and--”

“Billy.”

“What?”

“You know that I know what it’s like to have annoying siblings,” you laughed. “I mean, Curt tried to throw me down the stairs this morning.”

“So?”

“So I bet Max isn’t all that bad,” you shrugged. “And I bet she doesn’t hate you as much as you always say she does.”

“Then why’s she always being a little shit and getting me in trouble?” He snapped, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back against the back of the booth.

You frowned. “Because she’s a little sister, and she probably doesn’t realize what she’s doing. I’m sure she cares about you—“

Billy scoffed. “If she cared, then she’d stop finding new ways to get him pissed off at me.”

You closed your mouth and let his words simmer. You didn’t need to ask to know that he was talking about his dad, and you weren’t about to pretend that you were an expert on Billy’s family. In fact, he kept you as in the dark about it as possible, avoiding the subject whenever it came up, and you couldn’t really blame him. Nothing that you knew about Neil made him sound like a good guy, much less a good father…but Max was just a kid having a hard time, not totally unlike Billy.

You decided to change the subject. “Soooo…Valentine’s Day is coming up.”

“What about it?” Billy asked, even though he was very aware.

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to do anything.”

“Isn’t the guy supposed to be asking the girl out?” He asked.

“Well the guy is taking too long,” you growled. 

That managed to pull a chuckle out of him and he sat up again, elbows on the table as he leaned towards you. “Maybe the girl is just bein’ too impatient.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes, something that Billy Hargrove made you do a lot. “I don’t think I am. I’ve never really had a Valentine, though, so I guess I don’t—“

“You haven’t?” He asked, actually looking surprised. “Sweetheart, you should have guys linin’ up to ask you out.”

“Nope. Just you.” You sighed. “Not that that’s a bad thing, though, you’re more than enough—“

“Less competition.” He grinned, grabbing his straw in between his teeth and finishing his milkshake. “You wanna get outta here, baby?”

“…you didn’t answer me—“

“Don’t worry about it, Princess.” He started to stand, pulling some cash out of his pocket and tossing it onto the table.

“…whatever you say, Billy.” You grabbed the rest of your burger, holding it in one hand to finish as you walked out while Billy slung an arm around your shoulders.

You knew the two of you looked like troublemakers, maybe even more than usual as Billy lit a cigarette and an old lady practically jumped away as you passed her. You really didn’t care, though; in a town like Hawkins, where everybody knew everybody, you couldn’t avoid the stares and the rumors.

So you didn’t bother trying to. You just got in the car, talking about normal, benign things while Billy drove out to the lake, and then you both climbed into the backseat and he kissed you so gently that you could tell he was holding himself back.

“It’s okay,” you murmured, fingers clinging to his red shirt as he hovered over you. “You can do more.”

“Baby…” he groaned against your collarbone, “I don’t wanna fuck up with you…”

“You won’t,” you smiled, tilting your head back against the seat. “I promise.”

You could feel his grip on your waist tighten and then the windows were steaming up and your dress was bunched up around your hips while Billy showed you that his mouth was good for way more than just talking. Your face was flushed as he looked up at you, your fingers tangled in his curly hair, and he knew that he could stay there for hours if you let him. Because you were the best thing that had ever come stomping into his life, and he was determined to show you that.

———————

Try as Billy might to discourage you from meeting his sister, Hawkins was too small a place not to bump into her eventually. It was only a few days later, in fact, when you spotted a red headed girl standing near the Camaro impatiently, and with Billy preoccupied with basketball practice, you knew this was your chance.

“Hey!” You called, jogging towards her. “You’re Max, right?”

“…yeah,” she said, looking you over warily. “Who the hell are you?”

“Oh, I’m—“

“Forget it, I know who you are.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re always with Billy.”

“…yeah, I guess I am.” You leaned against your car as you looked at her. Maybe Billy was right about her attitude. “Are you waiting for him?”

She sighed and held up her skateboard. “Yeah. Can’t exactly get very far when the roads are all gross and slushy like this.”

You smirked. “Yeah, the Midwest isn’t exactly great in the winter. But, uh…I can give you a ride, if you don’t feel like waiting. It’s kind of shitty out.”

Max stared at you for a moment, as if she couldn’t bring herself to trust someone that hung around her brother so much. But the weather really was shitty, and it looked like it was going to start sleeting or something, and she really didn’t want to deal with Billy.

“…okay. Fine.” She decided, looking at your car. “You don’t drive like him, do you?”

“With you in the car? No way.” You snorted, walking around to the driver’s side door. “With him? Maybe.”

Max cracked a smile and climbed in, and soon, the two of you were actually chatting and laughing, and you were finding that Max Mayfield really wasn’t that bad. Maybe it was because Billy wasn’t around, or maybe it was just because you were a girl, but Max was actually almost friendly, and you were starting to feel a little bit hopeful that you could have a good relationship with her even if Billy couldn’t. 

“Turn here.” she said as you approached a street sign that read Cherry Ln. 

You did as she instructed and turned slowly, the Barracuda rumbling as you crept up the street. The houses on Cherry Lane were small, and to some Hawkins families, it wasn’t a great place. Some of the residences tended to look a little rundown, a little in need of love, and compared to places like the Harrington house...well, actually, they couldn’t compare at all.  Cherry Lane just wasn’t a spectacular place, and that was that. 

“It’s up here. 4819.” Max said. “You can let me out here. I’ll walk.”

You glanced at her. “Why? I can pull into the driveway--”

“Because if my mom or Neil are home, they’ll see that Billy didn’t give me a ride.” she said, looking down. “And he was supposed to.”

“...oh. Right.” you cleared your throat as you hit the brakes as gently as you could. “Well, this is your stop, then.”

“Thanks.” she mumbled as she grabbed her bag and skateboard.

“No problem,” you said, watching as she climbed out and started up the road. You couldn’t see any cars in the driveway at 4819, but you weren’t about to take the chance. It hadn’t even occurred to you that you could be getting Billy into more trouble, and you hated the idea that you had the potential to cause him more pain at the hands of his dad. 

As you drove home, you hoped that Billy would make it home before his parents did...and as luck would have it, he did, and until Max mentioned exactly who had given her a ride, he was seriously pissed off at her. The universe was on his side, though, because there was no sign of Susan or Neil.

There was no sign of Susan or Neil because, as it turned out, Susan was still at work, and Neil was busy arguing with a mechanic. 

A mechanic you happened to know very well. 

When you pulled up to your house and hopped out of the car, you could see that there was a customer in the shop. That was pretty normal. Someone coming to pick up their car--even yelling about it--was something that came with the territory of working on cars. You had come home from school only to chat with the Wheelers or the Harringtons or Byers plenty of times. This time, though, as you walked up to the garage, you didn’t recognize the customer’s voice. That also wasn’t super strange; while Hawkins was small, there were tons of people you didn’t interact with, and you weren’t exactly a social butterfly. 

“What the hell do you mean you don’t have the goddamn parts?” a man asked, his voice raised to a level just below yelling. 

As you slipped into the shop, you saw a middle aged man standing near the desk, your father and Kenny just on the other side of it. When you glanced around, you spotted Danny and Curt working on cars…but when you looked closer, you realized that they were paying way more attention to this customer than their work, and that was…weird.

The customer was kind of a big guy. Not bigger than your brothers or your dad, though, but his shoulders were broad and he held himself with a very square posture in an effort to seem larger than he was. It would have made you laugh if you weren’t so put off by him.

“They’re on the way.” Your father said as politely as he possibly could, his voice somewhat strained. “Should be in by the end of the week. We’ll give you a call.”

“You know damn well that’s not good enough,” the man growled. “I bring my car to you, I expect service, not waiting an entire extra week for parts that you should have on hand.”

“Unless you wanna go all the way to the factory and walk ‘em back yourself, I suggest you sit tight, Mr. Hargrove.” Kenny growled back.

Your eyes widened.

“I wasn’t talking to you, boy.”

Your eyes widened even more.

You heard the clatter of metal on concrete and glanced over to see that Curt had dropped a wrench. He and Danny were both straightening up, glaring daggers at Billy’s father, and you finally understood why they had been so interested in what should have been a boring conversation.

“Neil, your car is fine to be driven. Your parts will be in in a few days, and we’ll take care of everything then.” You dad said.

“Did you not hear what I goddamn said?” Neil snapped. “That’s not good enough—“

Despite the fact that this was Neil Hargrove, despite the fact that this was the guy who abused your best-friend-maybe-boyfriend, despite the fact that he was bigger than you and louder than you and scarier than you…you cleared your throat.

Everyone turned to look at you. Your dad looked exasperated. Your brothers looked concerned. And Neil looked pissed off.

“Mr. Hargrove,” you piped up, gripping the strap of your backpack tightly, “there’s nothing else you can do about it right now. Yelling won’t get anyone anywhere.”

You could see his face growing red, but instead of scaring you, it just made you angrier.

“Don’t interrupt when the men are talking,” he snapped.

You felt like you had just been slapped in the face. Maybe you were being foolish, or maybe you were simply blinded by your anger, but you wanted to punch him in the nose more than anything. Before you could, though, Danny was dragging you back out the door, and you were resisting with all your might.

“Hey! What’s your problem?” You asked angrily, digging your heels into the gravel as he pulled you towards the house.

“Would you chill out for a second?” He asked.

“How can you ask me to chill out when that’s—“

“Billy’s dad.” Danny stopped and sighed. “I know.”

“So you see why I can’t just—“

“Hey.” He gave you a serious look. “Stay out of it. For real. He’s a dick, but he’s still a customer. Dad ‘n Kenny’ll take care of it.”

As much as you wanted to argue, you were really starting to run out of the footing for it. “…yeah. Fine.”

“I’ll come get you when he’s gone. Deal?”

“Deal.” You grumbled.

“Good.” Danny nodded.

You slunk into the house, saying hi to your mom before sinking down into a chair at the kitchen table. You had finally met Neil Hargrove, and he was just as bad as you had heard.

And that’s how he acted in public.

If you didn’t already have an idea of what he was like at home with Billy, you didn’t think you’d be able to imagine it. Neil was a raging douchebag, and in the five seconds he had paid attention to you, you had seen how little he thought of what he saw. Billy had told you snippets, mentioning how his dad thought that surfing and conditioner were for fags and things like cooking and cleaning were women’s work, but actually seeing and hearing the man in person was on an entirely new level.

Your mom tried to make small talk, but all you could think about was breaking Neil Hargrove’s nose. Was that illegal? You’d catch an assault charge if it meant he would fuck off and leave Billy alone. And it would be worth it to see the look on Neil’s face when a girl fought back like that. Wasn’t that the right thing to do? It’s how you always solved your other problems, so why not this one?

…because it might make things worse. You knew that. But at some point, didn’t somebody have to stand up to the bully? You knew Neil was bad. He was probably even worse than you’d heard, if Billy, who was so tough, was scared of him. But Billy was his kid, and you weren’t. You were stupid and angry and you rarely lost a fight, so a big part of you was confident that you could win against Neil.

You considered telling someone. Who could you go to, though? Your family already had some idea, just because of the way Billy always acted around them, but it’s not like they could do that much. Could they? …could anybody? It wasn’t uncommon for dads to be rough with their sons in a town like Hawkins. You figured even if you called the sheriff, there wouldn’t be that much to be done…and Billy would hate it if you did. He would probably hate hearing that you had a run in with his father, too..but that wasn’t your fault. Would it make things worse for Billy, though? …did Neil even know who you were? He didn’t, right?

As the table was set around you and your mom put out some leftovers for dinner, you didn’t budge. You were busy wishing that you had a way to fix things and get Billy away from his dad. Was it your business? Were you trying to intervene in something you shouldn’t? You sort of felt like the moment you helped Billy climb through your window it had become your business, and you weren’t about to back down now.

“God, that guy sucked,” Curt complained as he sat down across from you.

“Curtis, that’s rude,” you mother chastised, taking her own seat again.

“No, I mean it this time.” Curt said. He reached for a drumstick and tore into it, speaking with his mouth full of chicken. “He was all pissin’ and moanin’ because he can’t wait a week for parts we don’t have.”

“It was Billy’s dad.” You spoke up, leaning on your hand as you stared at your empty plate.

“…ah.” You couldn’t see the way that your mom’s usually pleasant expression turned hard.

“I feel bad for the guy,” Curt admitted. “I mean, i see why he’s so pissed off all the time. His dad’s a fuckin’ nightmare.”

“He wouldn’t want you talking about him like that,” you sighed.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

Yeah, you thought. It sure is true.

“I’m guessing that’s why a certain someone came storming in here.” Your mother said, looking towards you.

“She tried tellin’ him off,” Curt said.

“What was I supposed to do?” You asked, finally looking up. “He was being a dick and he wouldn’t shut up. I mean, it’s obvious he’s got control issues, and he totally hates women—“

“Yeah, that’s why Danny dragged you outta there,” Curt interrupted. “So things wouldn’t get worse.”

You sat back in your chair, grumbling. “I just think somebody should teach him a lesson.”

————————

The next morning, rather than his usual greeting, Billy gave you a harsh glare as he waited for you to get out of your car.

“Good morning to you too,” you said, shutting the door behind you.

“What’s your problem?” He snapped.

“Is this about Max?” You asked, rolling your eyes. “She needed a ride, Billy. I wasn’t about to leave her standing out here in the cold.” Then, you softened your tone. “You didn’t get in trouble, did you?”

His eyes softened slightly, too. “…no. Max didn’t say anything. Susan was still at work when I got home. But Neil…”

You cleared your throat and stood a little taller. “What about him?”

Billy looked down, reaching for your hand and taking it in his. “…practically ripped the front door off its hinges. Came home ranting and shouting about the shitty mechanic and his shitty kids. Especially the girl.”

You could feel anger bubbling up inside your chest. “Your father can kiss my ass.”

He looked back up at you. “I don’t want you talking to him. I don’t want him to even fucking look at you. You understand?”

“I understand that I hate his fucking guts,” you spat. “He can’t go around acting like he’s king of the fucking world. If he can’t even handle a girl telling him to shut up and calm down, then that’s not my problem.”

“Then he’ll make it your problem,” Billy said, voice raised. “Do you fucking get what I’m trying to tell you? Don’t talk to him. Don’t interact with him. I want you to stay as far away from him as possible. And don’t pull your tough guy act with me, Princess.”

“Why not?” You asked stubbornly.

“Because my dad’s not above hitting a woman.”

His words stung. They were as harsh as his glare, scathing, even. But as they sank in, you found yourself uncovering another piece of the Billy Hargrove puzzle, because judging by the look in his eyes, he’d seen Neil hit women before.

And you could guess at least one of them was Billy’s mom.

“…right. I’m sorry.” You tugged on his hand gently, pulling him towards you. “But…do you think we could talk about this? For real?”

Billy wrapped his arms around you, pulling you up against his chest as he mulled it over. He wanted to talk. More than anything. He wanted to tell you about every detail of his life, from his childhood back on the beach to how his morning drive was. But…could he manage that? He knew that you deserved to know everything, and he knew that he trusted you. Because he did. He actually did trust you. But he had never said so many of the words he wanted to, never in his entire life, and he was afraid of saying them out loud.

“…we can try.” He decided.

And that was good enough for you.

“He was a total asshole.” You said as Billy took your bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I mean, he was practically throwing a tantrum over parts he could have ordered himself if he knew what he was doing.”

“…sounds right,” Billy muttered under his breath.

“And he wouldn’t even let Kenny talk. God, he’s such a dick…he called me girl. He’s such a misogynist. I don’t understand how he hasn’t been laid out on the concrete by now.”

“As much as I love the thought, I wanna hear you talk about somethin’ nicer, sweetheart.” Billy said.

It was just about the closest he had ever come to admitting that the topic made him uncomfortable, especially in a public setting, and the sincerity of it had you keeping your mouth shut for a few seconds while you tried to change the subject.

“…I’m failing math.”

“That’s more like it.”

———————————

It went without saying that Billy spent more time at your house than you did at his. In fact, apart from knowing the address, you knew absolutely nothing about the Hargrove residence…and Billy wanted to keep it that way. He always picked you up for dates, he always snuck in through your window, and he always grabbed breakfast with your family when it was an option. Never the other way around.

You knew that he had good reason for it. After seeing Neil Hargrove in the flesh, you didn’t really want to inhabit the same room as him for very long…unless it was because you were beating the shit out of him. Giving him a taste of his own medicine seemed fair, you reasoned, and while Billy changed the subject whenever his father came up in conversation, you were pretty confident that he wouldn’t mind you breaking Neil’s nose. Or…maybe he would. The guy was still his dad, after all. It was easy for you to tell him that he should just move into your house and leave his family behind, but for Billy, who always avoided talking about it, you suspected it was a bit more complicated.

“I hate him.” He mumbled into your chest one night, a week before Valentine’s Day. “So fucking much.”

“I know, baby.” You murmured, hand rubbing circles against his back as he laid on you.

His head was resting on your boobs, one arm wrapped around your waist while the rest of his body laid on your bed. It was midnight, and Billy had woken you up right after you’d managed to fall asleep. When you turned your lamp on, insisting on doing so even though Billy tried to stop you, you didn’t see any black eyes or split lips like part of you was expecting; instead, you saw only his tired, teary eyes, and you were once again struck by how small and vulnerable he looked. During the day, he was fire and rage, like a caged lion. At night, in your arms, he was broken, and you just hoped you could give him a safe enough place to glue the pieces of himself together again.

“Wanna talk about it?” You asked.

Billy was quiet, hesitating for a moment as he thought. “…alright.”

Well, he wasn’t giving you much, but it was the closest he’d gotten so far. “What happened?”

“…Max ran off again.” He heaved a sigh that you could feel throughout your whole body.

“She does that a lot, I’ve noticed.”

“Yeah. Back in California, before we moved, she actually got pretty far once. Cops grabbed her just before she hopped on a bus.” He shifted, resting his cheek on your chest instead of burying his entire face in it. “They blamed me for it.”

“Why?” You scoffed. “It’s not like it’s your fault.”

“Respect and responsibility,” he spat. “I’m older. I’m supposed to keep her safe. I can’t fucking do that when she’s runnin’ around the entire fucking town with Harrington and those other little shits.”

“Why are you two at such odds with each other?” You asked. “I know neither of you asked for this whole family thing, but…I dunno. Feels like it would be easier if you could work together.”

“…we didn’t ask to be stuck with each other and I didn’t ask for a new fucking mother.” Billy growled.

And then it dawned on you.

He never spoke about his mom.

You sat up a little straighter, trying to pull him with you. “Can I, uh…” you cleared your throat. “Can I ask what happened?”

Billy was quiet again. He was staring up at you, brilliant blue eyes alight with cold flames. You wished you knew what was going through his head.

“She left me.” He admitted, looking away.

“What?” You asked. “She just…abandoned you?”

He winced and closed his eyes, and you felt your heart break.

“They weren’t happy. He got worse. So she just…up and left.” He turned his head again and his voice became muffled by your shirt. “I miss her so fucking much.”

Your fingers found his hair and you ran them through it. “How old were you?”

“Not that old.” He mumbled. Then, he managed to move again, resting his cheek against your collarbone as he stared at the wall. “We used to go to the beach together. She’d wear these dresses she always loved and she’d teach me to surf. I’d stay out there all day while she picked out shells or just watched…she fucking loved the ocean.”

“She sounds nice.”

“Yeah.” He let out another massive sigh, practically deflating on top of you. “We would go to this real quiet beach. It was like our special place. But my dad didn’t like me surfing. Said it’s for pussies. The older I got, the more he’d say shit like that.”

“That’s fucking stupid.” You said.

“I don’t even like basketball.” He admitted. “I just like winning.”

“Is that why you’re so good at it?” You grinned, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little. “I mean, you totally humiliate Steve Harrington whenever you play. You’re like, the best on the team.”

He snorted a laugh. “Guess i practice hard because I hope it’ll make me like it. Hasn’t really worked yet.”

“…oh.” You frowned. “…there’s not much in the way of beaches around here…I guess you can kinda surf on Lake Michigan sometimes, but it wouldn’t be the same…”

“I gotta get back to California.” He said.

“Is that your plan?” You asked. “After graduation?”

“Yeah. I mean…it was.” He glanced up at you. “You could come.”

Your heart leapt. “I’ve never been to the west coast at all.”

“I’ll take you. I’ll work. Get some money. Then we can go.”

He sounded so desperate, so sincere, that you knew he believed it could happen. “…maybe. We’ll see.”

“You’d love California, Princess.” He said.

“I’d only go if you promised to teach me to surf.”

He looked at you. “…deal.”

You smiled and grabbed his arm, tugging on him. He got the hint and pushed himself up, crawling over you until he could lean his forehead against yours. His arms were caging you in, his body hovering over yours in a suggestive way that was anything but. This was more like the Billy you saw during the day—protective, big, strong. He was still so soft, though, far from the prickly and easily angered guy he was in front of Tommy and Carol.

This was your Billy.

Your hands slipped around the back of his neck to tangle in his hair. He smelled so good, like him, and he was so warm you wanted to curl up and sleep. He was so still. So calm. So quiet. The rage was gone for the night, leaving in its wake a tired, emotionally exhausted boy who didn’t know what to do with himself.

“You spending the night?” You asked.

“…yeah.” He rolled to the side, the bed bouncing gently under his weight. “If that’s cool.”

“Of course,” you said as you reached to turn the lamp off. “I like sleeping with you.”

“You haven’t even tried that yet,” he grinned, grabbing your hip and pulling you back against him.

“…i like sleeping next to you.”

“I think you’d like the other version more…”

You wiggled back into him, smiling to yourself as you felt his chest on your back. His hand was soft, holding you gently as he pressed a kiss against your neck. He was eager, and you knew that his flirting was more than just pretty words. But at the same time, you got the feeling that he wasn’t hoping for anything more than a night of cuddling. Because even though he refused to admit it, Billy Hargrove was a sucker for a warm embrace and a quiet, cozy bed.

“I wanna stay like this forever.” You sighed.

“Yeah.” Billy said, laying his head down on your pillow and burying his face in the back of your neck. “Me too.”

You couldn’t stay like that forever, but you could at least stay there until morning. Billy was back out the window before dawn, giving you a long kiss before setting off. Sometimes he drove to see you, but more often than not, he walked across Hawkins, using it as a chance to think.

You always watched him go, leaning in your open window and wishing he could stay. Sometimes, he left things for you—a shirt, an earring—but this morning, you were left with nothing but his fading scent as you climbed back into bed. It wasn’t enough, but it was all you had, so you buried your face in your pillow and pulled the sheets as tightly around yourself as you could before drifting off.

When you woke again, your hand brushed something cold. There, between the sheets, was the gold chain he always wore around his neck, and you knew he hadn’t left it on purpose. He always wore it, almost never taking it off, and upon closer inspection, you saw that the clasp had simply come undone. Nothing was broken, at least…but you needed to get it back to him before he realized and got pissed off, which, knowing Billy, would probably happen before noon. 

Unfortunately, it was Saturday, which meant you wouldn’t be able to just meet him at Hawkins High and give it to him then. Unless he randomly appeared at your place over the weekend, he’d be waiting until Monday…and he wasn’t exactly known for his patience. You could imagine him irritated and stressed about it, and it would just be one more layer added to his problems. Of course, you could alleviate that by simply going to his place to drop it off…

…but it was Saturday morning. Which meant that there was a good chance his parents were home.

You sat up, holding the chain in your hand as you mulled it over. This was perfectly innocent. All you wanted to do was bring his jewelry back to him. It was a nice chain, too nice for you to be holding on to for very long. You didn’t trust yourself—or your brothers—not to break it somehow on accident. And besides, were you really afraid of Neil Hargrove?

No. 

You weren’t.

Maybe you should have been, but you weren’t. As you got out of bed and changed out of your pajamas, you felt like you were on a mission, and after a quick breakfast, you were running to the car with Billy’s chain safely tucked away in your pocket.

“Excuse me, missy.” Something suddenly caught you by the hood of your jacket, yanking you back violently. “Where’re you going so early on a Saturday?”

You twisted to see your brother. “Fuck off, Curt.”

“Not til you tell me.”

You squirmed, struggling helplessly in his grip. “…fine. Billy left something here and I’m going to return it. Happy?”

“…you’re going to his place?” Curt asked.

“Is that not what I just—“

“I call shotgun.”

He let you go with a shove, stepping around you as he walked off towards the Barracuda. You were left staring after him in shock for a few seconds before you sprinted to catch up, just barely beating him to the car and hopping in before he could.

“Get out.” You said as you slammed your door.

He was making himself comfortable in the passenger seat, already grabbing for his seatbelt. “No way, shrimp. You’re not going there without backup.”

“Who said anything about needing backup?”

He gave you a skeptical look. “I’ve known you almost two decades now. You think I can’t tell when my baby sister is planning something stupid?”

“I don’t need your help, Curt.” You growled, starting the car.

“Would you just shut up and drive?” He snapped. “Look, I know you’re about to go knock on that front door and try to fist fight Neil Hargrove. Hell, I’d like to see you land a hit or two on that asshole, especially since we finally got his car taken care of and he’s out of the shop. But I’m not about to let you go there all alone, dipshit.”

“I won’t be alone,” you argued as you pulled out onto the street. “Billy will be there.”

“Billy is scared shitless of that man,” Curt said. “You think I can’t see that? I can’t even blame him. If Dad acted like that, we’d all be way more fucked up, too. There was this guy I graduated with, name was Frank, ‘n his old man was a hard ass too—“

Your brother continued but you were zoning out as you drove. It was nice to have him along for the ride, even if he was your most annoying sibling, and as you drew closer and closer to Cherry Lane, you were growing more and more glad that he had decided to come along.

This time, you pulled right up to the house. If anybody inside was near a window, you were sure they’d be able to hear the rumble of the engine. For a moment, you considered running—Billy could wait a couple days, couldn’t he?—but then you thought about how badly you wanted to give Neil Hargrove a piece of your mind, and you steeled yourself.

“Don’t start anything,” Curt warned as you opened your door.

“I won’t.” You said. “Promise.”

He stayed in the car, keeping an eye on you as you marched up to the house. It was almost hard to believe that Billy lived in something so normal, though you figured he probably wasn’t very fond of it. As you reached out to knock on the door, you hoped that he was awake, because seeing his face would make this a lot better than not.

Billy was awake, just barely. He had made it back through his bedroom window before anyone could notice his absence and had managed to doze off, but at the sound of someone banging on the front door, he was groggily sitting up.

At the sound of Neil saying “Who the hell—you.”, Billy was on high alert.

And at the muffled sound of a feminine voice that he recognized instantly, he was up on his feet, grabbing a pair of sweats and a tank, and exiting his bedroom as quickly and as quietly as he could.

“—I just wanted to swing by and give Billy something he dropped at school yesterday,” you half-lied, hands held behind your back as you tried to look as innocent as possible.

Neil wasn’t buying it.

“How the hell do you know where he lives?” Neil growled. “Been here before?”

Your eye twitched and your hands tightened into fists behind your back, but you reminded yourself that you had literally just promised not to start a fight, and did what you could to swallow your anger. 

“It’s a small town.” you shrugged. “Everybody knows where everybody lives.”

Neil leaned forward slightly, trying to make himself seem larger. He was a big guy, he really was--he took up the entire doorway, and you could see that Billy got his broad shoulders from his father--but you were determined not to show fear. If you did, then he’d think he could push you around. And he absolutely could not.

“What exactly did my boy drop that was so important you needed to hand deliver it?” he asked, hand still on the door as if he was prepared to slam it shut at any moment.

“…is he home?” You asked. “I would rather just give it to him directly if that’s cool.”

“You can give it to me.”

You did your best not to make a face. “Mr. Hargrove, I would really rather—“

“Give it to me.” He interrupted, holding his hand out. “Now.”

Your already short fuse had just about burnt out. As your eyes flicked down to his expectant palm, you felt more annoyed than you had in a long, long time, and when you met his gaze once more, your peaceful and reasonable facade had already dropped.

“Mr. Hargrove,” you growled, “I’m gonna ask again. Is Billy home?”

The tone in your voice shocked both Billy and his father. For Neil, it was rage inducing, but for Billy, it was awe inspiring…and worrying. He felt frozen in place, unable to take even a single step towards the door. He could feel himself shutting down as his father’s demeanor grew more tense, but at the same time, Billy was desperate to get to you, because he knew what Neil was capable of and you didn’t.

Somehow, he willed his legs to move, and you suddenly saw him appear just behind his father. Your gaze softened at the sight of him, and you half smiled.

“Hey.” You said, looking past Neil as you finally pulled out the necklace that has started all this. “You left this.”

Those three simple, innocent words made Neil Hargrove snap.

He looked back to see Billy standing there, looking like a deer in the headlights with those big, wide eyes that Neil hated but you loved. Then, Neil looked back towards you, and he was even angrier than he had been when his car was in the shop.

“You’re one of his fucking whores, aren’t you?” He sneered. “I shoulda known. He always did know how to pick ‘em. Get the fuck off my property.”

“But I didn’t—“

“You think I fucking care if he gets that stupid chain back?” Neil scoffed. “You ask me, he’s better off without that faggot shit.”

Billy winced, a movement that did not go unnoticed by you.

“Before I go, can I ask you something, Mr. Hargrove?” You said, eyes still on Billy as you put the necklace back in your pocket.

You were vaguely aware of Neil grunting in response. Your focus shifted back to him.

“…why the hell are you such a bully?”

Billy’s eyes widened in alarm at the same time as Neil’s narrowed in anger.

“Excuse me?” The latter snarled.

“You heard me.” You said, voice raised, mustering as much of that brazen, stupid courage as you could. “You’re a big fucking bully and you always have been and you always will be.”

“You’ve got a lotta nerve—“

“I do!” You snapped, glaring up at him so harshly that he should have crumbled into dust. “I do have a lotta nerve because I’m sick and tired of the way that you beat the shit out of the only son you have!”

Neil’s expression was darkening like storm clouds. “He went crying to you?”

“He didn’t have to.” You sneered.

Billy could see the way his father’s arms were flexing and it threw him into a panic. He recognized the movement. He could see the signs. Neil was deciding whether or not he should beat the tar out of you, whether or not it was worth being known as the guy who beat the mechanic’s daughter.

You could see it, too, only you didn’t panic.

“You put one fucking hand on me and I’ll knock every last tooth out of your ugly skull.” You spat.

Billy couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but he didn’t have time to worry about that, because Neil was starting to move and Billy had to do something.

“Hey!” He finally barked, seizing a fistful of his father’s shirt and yanking him back.

It was the last thing Neil expected, and he lost his grip on the door as he stumbled backwards. Billy took the opportunity to slip past him, standing with his back to you as if it was his job to act as a shield, and by the time Neil collected himself enough to circle back, you were already trying to wiggle around Billy to get at least one good shot in.

Neil ignored you, though. That might have been the worst part, that he actually ignored you and went for Billy instead, grabbing a handful of his shirt and pulling him forward. With Billy, he didn’t have to consider whether or not hitting him was a good idea. With Billy, everything was on the table.

And Billy was bracing himself, because he was prepared to take whatever his father threw at him.

“This is the kinda shit you’ve been hanging around with?” Neil hissed in his son’s face. “What happened to that respect and responsibility we talked about, son?”

“Leave her alone.” Billy managed to say, jaw clenched.

“Yeah? Or what?”

“Or you’re gonna have a lot more to deal with than just her.” A new voice growled from behind you.

You already knew it was Curt intervening before things could get worse, but Billy had to twist his head to look back. When he saw who was standing there, he was surprised, because Curtis was the last person he ever expected to come to his rescue.

Something in your brother’s expression must have been enough to seriously worry Neil, because his grip on Billy loosened and he let him go with a rough shove.

“Get out of my fucking sight.”

“With pleasure.” Billy sneered, staring him down.

“Come on.” You mumbled, grabbing his wrist and tugging him off the porch.

As you led him to the car, Billy felt himself starting to lose it.

When the doors had shut and the three of you were driving away, he lost it.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” He shouted, tears blurring the edges of his eyes.

“Don’t look at me,” Curt growled as he drove.

“Neil started it.” You grumbled, folding your arms over your chest and slumping down. “He’s such a dick, I can’t believe—“

“How the hell do you expect me to go back there now? Huh?” Billy yelled, voice cracking and shaking in a way you had never heard before. “Did you even fucking think about that? That I fucking live there? You know what you just did? You just made that house a living hell for me!”

You suddenly felt a pit forming in your stomach. “…oh…”

“See? You didn’t think. You didn’t listen to me. I told you to stay away from him and instead you do—do—whatever the hell that was!”

“Hey!” Curt snapped. “Would you can it for a second?”

“And why the hell are you here?” Billy asked. “You don’t even fucking like me—“

“Don’t put words in my mouth!” Your brother suddenly slammed the brakes, then turned to glare at Billy. “Look. You’re not goin’ back there. Not without one of us around. Got it?”

Billy’s lip curled up in a sneer. “Stay out of my business—“

“I’m not finished.” He growled. “You’re stayin’ away for a couple days. Minimum. And don’t say that I don’t fucking like you when I just tagged along on this stupid ride to make sure you both came out of it in one piece.”

Billy wasn’t sure what to say. That was probably the nicest think Curt, your grumpiest brother, had ever said to him, and as he continued mumbling and swearing to himself, he seemed genuine.

You, however, seemed guilty.

“Billy…”

“No.” He sighed, leaning his head back, “no. Thanks.”

“…for what?”

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a laugh, releasing some of his nervousness now that he could maybe begin calming down. “I’ve never seen anybody talk to him like that.”

“She’s tough as nails,” Curt piped up as he drove off again.

“I know.” Billy sighed. “I definitely know.”

————————

“Hey, handsome. You ready?”

Billy grinned at you. “Shouldn’t i be asking you that, Princess?”

You smiled up at him. He was wearing his favorite red dress shirt and a nice pair of jeans, an earring dangling from his ear lobe and his gold chain visible around his neck. It was finally Valentines Day, and it was time for Billy to show you what he’d been planning.

“I guess so,” you smiled as he took your hand and led you toward the door. “But I am.”

“Then let’s fuckin’ go already.”

His Camaro was waiting outside, just as it had been almost every day since the Neil incident. Just like Curt had ordered, Billy had been staying on your couch—and in your bed, once everyone else was asleep—and far away from his house for the last several days, only stopping there to get things that he needed and check up on Max. So far, Neil wasn’t aiming his anger towards her, but neither you nor Billy were convinced that it would stay that way forever.

Billy was happy living on your couch, though. Sure, there were a lot of awkward things about it—like knowing your brothers were constantly around and having to cover for them whenever they snuck girls home—but compared to living with his dad, it was heaven.

A heaven that paid, even.

Your dad had Billy helping out in the garage after school, and he was a fast learner. He gave him a little cash under the table, too, and tonight, as Billy pulled into one of Hawkins’ nicest restaurants, you finally saw what he was planning on spending it all on.

“Oh, Billy,” you said as he took your hand and led you inside, “this is too nice. No way.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Billy said in that taunting way that you knew was loving, “my girl deserves the best. ‘N pretty soon, you’ll be eating like this every night. Watch.”

“You know, I’m perfectly fine with burgers and shakes, too,” you laughed.

He stopped just outside the door, smiling down at you. “I know, doll. But lemme spoil you, just for tonight. Yeah?”

You bit your lip, grinning up at him. “…yeah.”

And he took your face in his hands and leaned down to kiss you, and you twisted your fingers into his curls, and you admitted to yourself that you loved, you fucking loved, the glorious mess that was Billy Hargrove.

#cherry bomb #billy hargove x reader #billy hargrove

[shrimp1y]

Can someone with brains please please PLEASE talk about the disgusting portrayal of cops, crime, court proceedings, justice system and prison incarceration in genshin impact's fontaine update because I cannot SIT HERE and see people completely destroy their brain cells just so they could play a mediocre game and make some fictional men fuck in their mind

I'm deadass surprised there isn't more people talking about it??? I'm honestly so ??? It's literally presenting prison labour as a good thing. Wriothesley, the prison administrator, got rich off of making his inmates build police robots for the state AND HE'S PRAISED FOR IT. AND THEY'RE PAID IN COUPONS THAT CAN ONLY BE USED IN JAIL. HE WAS REWARDED FOR IT WITH HIS DUKE STATUS.

The fact that the fucking MC's mascot was like "oh the prisoners get one free meal a day? you're making life too good down here what if no one wants to leave :(" what in the bullshit. What in the. There's also a fighting ring in the prison, by the way, and you can bet on it with your coupons you just can't bet on both fighters.

The. This is a scene people think is hot. "But that's a bad guy!" THAT'S HOW THE NARRATIVE IS WRITTEN. THEY ARE ALWAYS THE BAD GUY IN FICTION. THAT'S HOW COPAGANDA WORKS, they make you think people in power can just beat the shit outta anyone and of course the person deserves it because they are clearly always the bad guys! And the people in power are always right! This is sarcasm btw.

Neuvillette and the magic judgement machine are literally seen as undeniable justice ordained by magic and NO ONE KNOWS HOW IT WORKS. NEUVILLETTE HIMSELF HAS NO CLUE WHAT HE'S DOING HE'S ACTIVELY FIGURING SHIT OUT AS WE SPEAK. And yet it's what sends people to The Worst Most Dangerous Super Scary Prison Ever Where There's No Laws [but 1 meal a day's great /s].

"But he feels bad!" Genshin has repeatedly chosen to highlight the pains and troubles of the oppressors [Eula] [Ei/Shogun] and there's literally never any repercussions for them aside from when they portray The Haterz clearly as villains or they turn it around and say "Well it was a misunderstanding all along! No one's to blame here!"

I'm not smart enough to go into details I'm just saying. This. needs to be talked about. I'm not telling you to stop the game bc Hyperfixations not really smth that can be controlled or whatever I get It I Got Back into the game when the first trailer dropped I drew neuvillette fanart and then everything just went downhill since then and I'm like why the fuck did I expect anything better than racist, pro cop dogshit from Mihoyo It needs to be talked about ESPECIALLY by people who still cares about it to critically. assess what the fuck you are absorbing because this shit isn't okay. This is literally paw patrol for weebs they just didn't call anyone a "cop"

PLEASE. TALK ABOUT IT.

#genshin impact #neuvillette #wriothesley #furina #i saw the new trailer and i got so mad. sorry. #THEYRE LITERALLY GOING 'awww the guillotine is coming for your moe waifu who's an incompetent tyrant :(' #also dw i recovered i can't play the game without burning rage so ive stopped #but fr im like why . arent more people pissed off. #if furina comes out w a fucking did storyline. ill blow up #i know i shouldnt care abt it anymore but also i have a wriolette rewrite in my pocket unfortunately i got attached to their designs #way before their writing came out. my bad.m #and the fact that wriothesley and the fortress could have been so easily rewritten to uphold the 'autonomous zone' title it claims to be. #i hate everything #genshit

[lizaluvsthis]

SMG4: CEO OF RIZZ

To where you needed an alternative title, "Boopkins needs some Rizz"

Person: Hey L- *gets crushed by a piano*

HGG OKAY.... SO... first off I just WOKE up. And our usual spot again is that the coffee shop keeps appearing in the episodes.

(Cough- Brewing Romance is still on the line so when you keep seeing the coffee shop getting shown by the episodes, you'll be darned to not stop thinking about Brewing Romance...)

Three and kaizo are shown, which made it very clear that some of us headcanon three as an uncle and kaizo as the nephew XD

So boopkins has a date with this famous girl and three helps boopkins get his rizz in order to achieve his restaurant getting popular.

No... NO... NOOOOOOOO PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS JUST A COINCIDENCE... PLEASE DEAR GOD- I JUST REDREW THIS MORDETWI MEME... IS THIS A F-CKING MESSAGE?

TELL ME THIS IS A COINCIDENCEEEEE *shakes the person who put it there on purpose*

I noticed the igloo...

... LUKE- LUKEEEEEEE????????????

HOW THE HELL DID I PREDICT THIS JUST BY DRAWING THREE WEARING THE CASINO OUTFIT-

There is just no way... @shygirl4991 SHAY... SHAYYYYYYY?????? THEY KNOW.... THEY'VE SEEN...

Thus... the western hat worn by four still remains there...

I somehow found this one very interesting, I mean- I wouldnt be a shock if it's miku already. Since somehow it's boopkins, and the girl he'd been the one to date are something from fictional stuffs. I never guessed miku but I guessed that it was some anime related.

Then we get- to see this...its a side to side comparisson of how four and three act alot like this when they needed something.

Here comes the begging strategy... so if you put two and two together, they ended up giving them what they wanted with the same "fine" to make that person shut up.

This also leads to how three is never that much aware that his actions in public is drawn attention that he is less destructful and is in his soft side.

Like how he did the same in SMG4 during that time before they both got stuck on an elevator? Three gave him a chance to stop his whining ass. Like he didn't even argue or straight up complained to the blue man, he just basically gave him what he wanted.

This portrays the same thing Miku does as she goes back and returns to the date she has with boopkins.

It'd be a shock if I were to say I weren't that much very cultured on anime stuff but Umaru used to be my favorite childhood show.

Its funny that miku has interests on being a fan of other animes since again- miku is a vocaloid character who sings songs out on public.

When boopkins gave out his moral lesson about "just you being you" and "you dont have to change who you are even tho you're not that much of a gigachad" or sh-t

Because we have three- WHO IS DEFINITELY DONE WITH HIS CRAP- I wouldn't be suprised to this honestly- we already know how SMG3 reacts when boopkins is there, and even with those comments about how he has beef with him about "boopkins bein a loser, he really thinks he's part of the crew"

We pretty much understand how Three isn't a much fan on fiction anime stuff or is even a weeb. Just by looks of Boopkins, he's the one who shows as an openly hearted and a very generous, loyal, kindest creature to have.

But three thinks it's a sh-t because no one else is perfect and that this doesnt matter too much at all to him since EVERYONE is broken enough already.

Which defines him as the emo person in question:

"What the hell is the meaning of life, when you know nothing ever changes shit with where we all still suffered?"

Three is just so desparate enough to run his business and would literally want its popularity get expanded for newcomers to try and welcome themselves from the cafe, mostly enough he'd do anything and EVERYTHING with this power.

That calls out for another hyperfixation.

I never have much to say in this but I somehow found the episode a bit on the neutral side between good or bad-

The episode is... well.... i dunno- interesting, but somehow with attempts on making boopkins "uncharacterize" himself to be a rizzler is weird, but this definitely shows why boopkins doesnt have that kind of rizz SMG3 has.

... *suddenly remembers SMG4 singing that gyatt to rizzler song*

AH-AHEHE-M UHH...

A-anyway- again- my point stands out that Three definitely haz rizz, and Four definitely is lying to the fact that he says he 'doesnt' during the elevator episode.

I'd think about wanting to put Three on a rizz attempt on four still XD (people are gonna go crazy on this)

#lizaluv #smg4 #smg3 #smg4 smg3 #lizafixates #fishy boopkins #smg4 boopkins #miku #miku hatsune #hatsune miku #slight smg34 #smg34

[smoshpvnk]

Damien x Shayne Ship Questions (from @zillaphoneswag)

Who is the cuddler?

Damien

Who makes the bed?

Shayne

Who wakes up first?

Shayne

Who has the weird taste in music?

Damien

Who is more protective?

Damien

Who sings in the shower?

Both

Who cries during movies?

Both depending on the movie

Who kisses more roughly?

Shayne, maybe…???

Who is more dominant?

Damien ofc

Who is the most affectionate?

Damien (I can literally give one hundred examples)

Most common argument?

Silly: video games, serious: challenging each other’s thoughts almost therapeutically about body image, guilt and shame, habits, etc

Who apologizes first?

Damien, just bc he’s a very apologetic person, but Shayne wouldn’t have any reason to withhold apologies either

Favorite (non-sexual) activity to do together?

Video games, cooking, silently working on projects side by side

Who drives and who rides shotgun?

I think Damien would more often as a gentleman but idk (I’m recovering from driving phobia, I would be curious what their driving journeys looked like. Were they eager to get behind the wheel, or anxious?”

Who is most likely to carry the other?

Damien (for reference)

Nicknames?

For Damien: Dames, Dee, Damienuh, babe, honey, dude, man, idiot, nerd, weeb (probably)

For Shayne: Shay, Shanyé, baby boy, baby bird, babe/baby, hun/honey, my guy, angel, darling (tbh, anything to get him to blush or laugh)

(bonus: scrub, dumbass, sweetheart, good boy, pet, puppy)

Who proposes?

Damien (either, but my heart says…)

Who sings along with the radio?

Both

Who worries the most?

Damien, but both

Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Damien

Who is embarrassed to take their clothes off in front of the other?

Both, at first

Who tops?

Damien

Who initiates kisses?

Both, mostly Damien (he’s so touchy. his love language is touch)

Who reaches for the other’s hand first?

Damien

Who is more ticklish?

Shayne

Who brings home an animal they found?

Damien

Who holds the umbrella for the other when it rains?

Damien

Who tries to playfully embarrass the other in public?

Damien

Who kills the scary bugs?

(Damien seems more KILL IT, Shayne is more well let’s at least try to release it outside)

Who asks weird questions at random in the middle of the night?

Damien

Who hogs the blankets?

Shayne

Who wants to stay in bed just a bit longer?

Damien (but both if they’re together)

Who always makes coffee for the other in the morning?

Shayne (only because he probably got up first)

Who says “I love you” first?

Damien

Who tells their friends/family about their relationship first?

Shayne is very casual about it even though his friends/family are excited, sappy and want to make it a bigger deal. Damien is nervous and makes it a bigger deal than it needs to be and feels a wave of relief after finally admitting it

Who is more likely to ask the other to dance with them?

Damien

Who cooks best?

Shayne

Who wears the other’s jacket?

Shayne

Who uses cheesy pickup lines?

Both

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

Both

Who makes the other one laugh the most?

Damien

Who needs more reassurance?

Damien

Who would have to bail the other out of jail?

Shayne

What would be their theme song?

Rather Be or Glue Song

What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Text or call with life updates and sappy sweet nothings

Who eats the other’s uneaten pizza crusts?

Damien

Who would accidentally set the kitchen on fire while cooking?

Damien

Who would throw the other into a pool?

Shayne

Who is the morning/night person?

Shayne - morning, Damien, night

Who gives the other person cool-looking rocks?

Damien

Who is the big spoon? Who is the little spoon?

Damien - big, Shayne - little

Who talks smack when playing video games and then loses?

Shayne

Who wants to take lots of pictures of them together?

Damien (have you seen how often Shayne is on his instagram)

Who is most excited to tell their friends they’re dating?

Damien

Who still blushes when they say ‘I love you?’

Shayne

Who is the protective one?

Damien

Who likes to jump into the other person’s arms?

Shayne

Who likes to take artsy photos together?

Damien

What do they like to watch together after a long day?

Anime, probably

Who is most likely to kiss the other on the cheek?

Damien

Who is most likely to break out in a spontaneous dance?

Shayne

Who would sing a love song to the other in the car?

Damien

Who can’t help but giggle when the other compliments them?

Shayne

What do they say to one another before they go to sleep?

“I hate you” (affectionate)

Who looks at the other person like they are their world when they’re not looking?

Damien

Who would win in a pillow fight?

Shayne

Who loves to be held the most?

Shayne

Who asks the other how to spell a word?

Damien

Who loves to have the other rest their head on their chest?

Both

Who makes funny faces to make the other person laugh?

Shayne

Who puts their hand on their partner's knee while driving?

Damien

Who goofs around in the kitchen more?

Damien

How do they say “I love you” without really saying it?

Damien: “I’m proud of you”

Shayne: “Remember when…”

What would they marathon?

Anime, probably

What would their wedding song be?

Starlight by Muse

Who nuzzles into the other?

Both

Who kisses the other on the head before they go to sleep?

Damien

What position do they fall asleep in when sleeping in the same bed?

One laying on top of the other is my favorite trope, so Shayne crushing Damien

Who initiates the first kiss?

Damien

Who asks the other out on the first date?

Damien

Who gets the other out of a speeding ticket?

Shayne

Who sleeps with their dog cat when the other one is gone?

Damien

Who still has the first gift the other gave to them?

Both

Who likes to see the other wearing their sweater?

Damien

Who is the sleepy cute one?

Shayne

Who gives the other person the best cards?

Both give either funny, possibly cursed cards or extremely sentimental and heartfelt, there is no in between.

Who gives a hilarious speech at their wedding about how they met?

Damien (see: Shayne’s graduation)

Who has a vast knowledge of random facts?

Damien

Who likes to clean?

Shayne

Who would be a lovey-dovey drunk?

Shayne

Who can’t stop laughing at their own jokes?

Shayne

Who distracts the driver by being a bit too provocative in the car?

Shayne

Who is the competitive one?

Shayne (Damien’s argument: there’s no need to be competitive if you’re just good)

Who asks the other’s parents for their partner’s hand in marriage?

Damien

Who puts their cold hands/feet on the other?

Shayne

Who worries more about the other?

Damien

Who is more likely to lock themselves out of the house?

Shayne (Damien can just lock pick, and has facetimed Shayne to teach him before)

Who would slide down the hall in their socks?

I can picture both doing this. nerds

Who is always horny and will have sex at any time, at any place?

(…both)

Who likes to walk around the house naked and who tells the other to go put some clothes on?

1) Shayne 2) Damien

Who takes photos of the other while they sleep?

Damien

Who likes flower crowns more?

Shayne

Who is the meme lover?

Both

Who has to teach the other how to fold a fitted sheet?

Shayne

Who’s afraid of thunderstorms?

Neither, but on a sensitive day, Damien, which of course Shayne is receptive of and gives extra affection and care

Who cries over the ASPCA commercials?

Damien

Who considers the other the love of their life?

#ship questions #did this on my phone at 5am #shaymien #rpf #smosh ships #shipping #txt #prompts #shayne #damien #p

[sunnibearr]

SKZ reaction to you matching with another member. -maknae line-

warnings: one swear word, lmk if theres anything else :)

main skz masterlist // hyung line ver.

HAN ( 한 )

you have a matching gym outfit with changbin

he does not see the appeal of matching with changbin, like at all.

"i could match with you!" "sungie we don't work out together." "well then maybe we should start!"

he goes to work out with you twice and then goes back to his regular workouts.

is so pouty and whiny you need to give him so many kisses.

changbin sends jisung gym selfies of you two just to annoy him.

got you a personalized towel that says "jisung is the best boyfriend" for the gym lmao.

FELIX ( 피렉스 )

you own matching mugs with minho.

didn't realise at first, always wondered where you got the mug.

one time he saw minho drinking out of his. "oh! y/n has a similar one!" "because we got them together." "really!?"

the cutest man on this planet omg.

thinks its funny because they're both your guys' favourite mugs.

was surprised when he learned that it was actually minho's idea to get them. (for your birthday.)

the mugs say "don't talk to me" "i'm a bitch" in matching fonts.

SEUNGMIN ( 승민 )

you have matching keychains with chan.

seungmin actually got them for you.

you'd talked to him about wanting to get something for chris, just as a cute little present.

they're these small lego kangaroos, it's adorable.

you both always have the keychain on you. always.

they've become goodluck charms, the boys call them "the godaroos".

he gets you accessories for the kangaroo for your birthdays so you can customize it.

I.N ( 아이엔 )

you own matching merch with jisung

you both like a lot of the same animes so naturally you own a lot of merch.

you have matching howl's moving castle pillow cases.

he even got you an anime character body pillow for christmas.

you ALSO got him a body pillow for that same christmas.

"you guys are weebs (affectionate)." "worried you're gonna get replaced by mikasa?" "yes :("

dont replace the poor man with your aot pillow pls he will sob.

taglist! send an ask to be added.

nobody rn so sad lol

#stray kids #skz fic #stray kids fic #🌞 sunni #skz reactions #skz x reader #stray kids reactions #felix reaction #jeongin reaction #i.n reaction #seungmin reaction #han reaction #jisung reaction

[prismatic-bell]

So I got part of Avenue Q stuck in my head, and you know how people say something was "a product of its time" when talking about racism, sexism, etc.? It is occurring to me I finally get that. Because while sometimes it's just...wrong and was always wrong, I have to wonder how many people who either weren't into pop culture in the late 90s/early 00s or simply weren't alive then don't realize Christmas Eve is supposed to be poking fun at weeaboos. The show was written at a point in time where America just kind of went crazy about Japanese pop culture for awhile. Like. Everyone. Everywhere. A major pop singer (Gwen Stefani) literally paid for a group of "kawaii girls" to follow her around as part of her image, and Smile.dk (which had zero Japanese members) debuted with a song called "Butterfly" in which the singer "searches for a man all across Japan, just to find my samurai" and featuring some non-lyric vocalizations that I genuinely hope weren't supposed to sound like Chinese tonals because they really sound like someone botching Chinese tonals (and, you know, assuming All Asian Nations Are Japan). Pikachu was on the front of Time magazine, most of the weekday afternoon programming block on Cartoon Network was anime, kimono-style tops (although usually facing the wrong way) were a huge trend, and for those who still wanted tees or regular shirts with long sleeves, well...

Do I have any idea what that says? None. Did I own one of these? I did not--I owned three of them. All three of mine looked like lacquer boxes with koi or traditional flower designs. I found out later the writing on at least one of mine was complete gibberish. The designer just picked some kanji they thought looked cool. And yes, basically every top I owned that wasn't one of these was a kimono-style. Wearing chopsticks in your hair became A Whole Thing if you weren't flatironing your hair (and yes, people used actual chopsticks, not hair sticks--I'm not even sure hair sticks were really a thing in American fashion until this point). On the internet side of things, 2channel was possibly getting shut down and 2chan sprang up, and quickly got so popular in the western hemisphere that we got--yep--4chan, the same year Avenue Q debuted. 4chan is weeb culture, or at least, that's how it started. (In fact I think it's also where "weeaboo" was coined.) A couple of years later, MCR would include Japanese verses in a song just...because. Because that's what we were like at that point in time. 1998-2005 (or so) was when America had its own taste of Japonisme. And into all of this you get Christmas Eve. Who's loud, and brash, and assertive--not at all a docile me-love-you-long-time weeb fantasy. Her English is a little broken, but she's not stupid--in fact as far as we can tell she's the most educated person on Avenue Q (Kate and Princeton both have BAs and Rod probably has a master's in business, but Christmas Eve has two separate master's degrees, which she earned in her secondary language). Her accent is thick, but there's literally a song ("Everyone's A Little Bit Racist") where some of the characters get called out on laughing at her for it. And--crucially--the white man she marries is so far removed from anything related to pan-Asian culture in America he doesn't know he shouldn't call her Oriental. Is this absolutely terrible given he's marrying a Japanese woman? Yes. Is it kind of baffling that another character immediately says "the term is Asian-American," since Christmas Eve refers to herself as Japanese? Also yes. Is it weird that a guy who (according to the timeline) was born in 1970 would be using Oriental? Extremely. Is it a dig at the exoticizing that was going on at the time? Absofuckinglutely. (And that's why that anachronism is there. It's very much pointing out that society was treating Japanese pop culture the same way our Victorian forebears treated Japan in general in the Meiji era.) And like. I'm not saying Christmas Eve is some kind of unproblematic depiction here by any means. Even in 2003 her accent was...icky, and now it's downright unacceptable. And there's the question of whether they fell into one stereotype ("Asians are so smart!") while trying to mock another ("if you can't speak English you must be stupid"), and whether that's an acceptable trade-off. I'm not even going to get into her name being a Christmas cake joke because....look, I could sit here and explain all the puns in the names but that's a whole other post and it's literally easier to say "Brian, Kate, and Nicky are the only characters whose names aren't jokes."

But there's a huge nuance to why she was written as this bizarre stereotype-but-not-but-yes-but-not-but-yes-but-maybe mashup, and I think there's a big possibility you literally just had to be there to understand. It really truly genuinely is a product of 2003. You could not write Christmas Eve in 1983 and have her make any damn sense. You could not write her in 2023 and have her come across as anything but wildly racist. Like. Maybe that phrase isn't just don't-be-mean-to-your-elders bullshit. (At least, not all of the time.)

[ofmermaidstories]

Helloo, I’ve never asked anything before but my curiosity is absolutely killing me lmao.. did you have an inspiration for the kimono reader is wearing in something (just like this)? It sounds so intricate and pretty so I was just wondering ◡̈ I rly love the story btw you’re one of my favorite writers

omg okay so—i collect a magazine called kimono hime!! it’s out of print now im pretty sure (???) but it’s basically like a fashion mag with varying kimonos and yukatas and furisodes in all sorts of amazing prints, like, really contemporary stuff!

it’s such a beautiful magazine if you’re into fashion or design or are a weeb (me).

but as for Reader’s summer fit, there’s no real one-for-one inspo for it. 🥺 i kinda just took my cue from the issues of kimono hime and the designers within it—and tried to think up something fun! black and white stripes seemed fun because a) they were bold and b) could conceivably be imagined on a range of skin tones (like—i personally love wearing pastels and dusky pinks, but one of my besties is quite pale and can’t wear the same shades because it washes her out, so i thought we needed something that could maybe cover more ground than like “you’re wearing a green yukata” or whatever). i love roses, and tiny teeny spiders hiding among them seemed like a nice contrast (and also meant i could have our cool-guy kimono seller make his “you look like someone who’s a mix of both worlds” remark, because like, who among us doesn’t hold conflicting qualities? something pretty, something more repellent unless you really like spiders ig so then it’s like, something pretty and something cool LOL).

when i was on insta i was following a japanese designer who had these amazing patterns for kimonos and things, like, vintage cat faces on the obis and stuff so i knew when giving Reader one we could get away with like, something really neat—so the toads, snakes, roses and diamonds that’s meant to be on it is a nod to one of my favourite fairytales! tbh it’s mostly a little textual inside joke with myself, because the fairytale is about a pair of sisters who are each blessed and cursed by a fairy; the sister that treated the fairy sweetly is blessed so that when she speaks diamonds and precious jewels and flowers fall out of her mouth with her words. the sister that treated the fairy cruelly is cursed—so that it’s snakes and toads instead. it’s the same sort of line of thinking as the “mix of both worlds” comment: it’s the idea that Reader (like us all) is capable of saying both kind and cruel things. 🐍💎🌹🐸

it’s hard trying to come up with outfits in a reader-insert fic! and look, not everyone is going to be happy. but i did do a lil faux-kimono hime mock up, to show the general vibes of what i was going for with Reader’s fit. maybe with more roses though??? hmmm hmmm hmmm.

#ofmermaidstories-asks #hello anon hi hi—i hope you have a good weekend ahead of you 🤲🏽 #thank-you for asking this—i got a little carried away there 😭 #i just really like describing clothes in stories dsjfjsldkjflk #but also reader’s yukata makes a come-back in the last chapter sooo 🥹 #gotta get your yenjamins worth!!! #passion for fashion: the dress-up tag

[imagineanime2022]

Kite's Twin

Kite X Sibling!Reader

Requested: @mushroom-weeb

Request: Heyyyy I just found your page and love the sibling readers, could you maybe do a younger sibling with kite or morel?? If not I understand, thanks!💜😊

Warning: Canon divergence,

Kite tries to keep your existence within the knowledge of you to people that he trusts, not only for your safety but because your work called for a little more discretion than his, his team probably knew about it since you stopped by to annoy your twin whenever you had the time. You and Kite argued in an understated kind of way, you were a hunter hired for messier jobs (blacklist hunter) and he’d often argue about how you choose to keep yourself safe. Your ability allowed you to move from place to place as long as you could see it, you were working on moving people with you but it was still a work in progress. You were able to use a number of different guns though your favourite was the sniper as it leant well into your ability given the scope. Kite never really cared about you meeting the people that he worked with, he did worry about you scaring them though, in the end that was never a problem even when meeting Gon and Killua.

Kite had just ordered Killua and Gon to run, Killua grabbing his friend and running however as he moved through the trees he caught sight of someone in the trees sniper in hand as they aimed in the direction that they had just left.

You knew that Kite was going to get himself into trouble the moment that he entered the NGL and it took a great deal of effort to get your weapons into the country without detection and had a lot to do with a favour that Knov owed you. You were now positioned in the trees ready to shoot the creature that your brother was fighting, with a deep breath you let off the first shot hitting it in the leg, it jumped back allowing Kite a moment to breathe while you shot again this time through the shoulder as Kite started to retreat and the final one in the left side of the torso, you watched the creature stumble back of towards the nest that it had been guarding, you waited to make sure that it didn’t come back or anything like it. You turned away from the nest using your ability to move a safe distance, hiding the weapons that you had before heading for the border where you were sure that Kite and the two kids were heading.

When you got there Kite and his small team were there, you sighed as you saw there were no real injuries. “Are you going to tell me what you were thinking?” You asked. “Thank you for your help.” Kite said as he turned to you, you raised an eyebrow. “Alright what it is?” You asked. “A Chimera Ant, that seems to have fed on humans.” Kite answered. “I do remember you rambling about that being bad news if it ever happened.” You nodded “that thing felt particularly terrifying.” “Um Kite, who's this?” The boy with the darker hair asked. “This is my twin.” Kite answered, you waved, you looked them over recognising the traits of a Zoldyck from a mile away. “You must be Killua.” You guessed. “How’d you know that?” He asked. “I’m a Blacklist hunter and it’s common knowledge that one of the Zoldyck family children is running around unprotected. There are a few inexperienced newcomers that are trying to hire to have you killed, that being said half the hunters that are experienced enough to even attempt that have no interest in it.” You explained. “And the other half?” Killua asked. “The other half are your brother and his psycho clown pet.” You answered. “Hisoka…” The other kid muttered. “Correct.” You nodded. “What’s your name kid?” “Gon Freeces.” He answered. “Ahh, yeah I like him better than I like his Dad.” You decided as you looked at your brother. “I thought you would say that.” He grumbled as you looked at him. “You're okay right?” You asked. “Mmm.” He hummed. “Good then we should head back to the armed part of the world so we talk to some people about eliminating this threat before it becomes one.” You suggested. “No need to start giving out orders.” Kite muttered. “No one was ordering anyone.” You smirked as you turned to the boys “he’s so tetchy when things don’t go his way.” You whispered loudly, fully aware that he could hear you, Gon laughed and Killua smirked. “Come on.” Kite ordered. “Who’s ordering who now?” You teased as you followed him, just happy that everyone made it out of the first encounter alive.

Request Here!!

#hunter x hunter oneshot #hunter x hunter reader insert #hunter x hunter scenario #hunter x hunter imagine #kite #kite imagine #kite oneshot #kite one shot #reader insert #x reader #oneshot #one shot #imagine

[rose-reads-visualnovels]

how do you get so good at analysis? ;_; i'm really dumb and take things at surface value, which i've been fine with up until now but seeing you read umineko so deeply makes me kinda like.... jealous isn't the right word? that sounds too spiteful. it just makes me feel like i'm missing out on a more fun way to experience things. but it seems so daunting i don't even know how to start. to me it seems like picking out every detail and exaggerating it as far as possible but it's obviously more refined than that because you're able to keep things together thematically and make some good theories. do you have any advice for it?

Hi, anon!

Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re being jealous/spiteful with this ask. I also used to want to write analysis on things because they seem fun, and actually this is my first proper try at it! I think I’ve said it before but if I’m not careful I’ll binge everything on first watch/read and miss details. (This is why I rewatch Utena every other month). So yes, I know sometimes I’m grasping at straws but that’s because I’m actively squeezing everything I can out of a page/scene.

I think what sets this liveblog apart and the reason I can pick up threads/themes is that Umineko seems very upfront about what it wants to say.

「MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, EVERYONE WANTED A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW…!」

Utena is the same in that - even though people say it’s too symbolic - I think the fact that it bares its inner mechanisms for all to see is a huge kindness. If everything means something else, or represents both itself and a larger concept, then a show where everything is allegorical is actually discarding layers of obfuscation.

I think a good place to start to Notice Themes is at the very beginning.

The Golden Witch invites you to take things easy and accept them as they come, but The Revolutionary Witch tells you that - in any story - the first introductions matter the most.

Up until now, Umineko has drilled inside our heads again and again, repetition after repetition, that the Ushiromiya’s Western schtick is a product of Kinzo’s reverse weeb affectations. He started many of the “traditions” that seem so inescapable, he invented the name for the fucking chair he sits at the breakfast table and the order of the seats according to his own patriarchal standards.

His Western obsession is tied very obviously with his “black magic” obsession and he even gets angry when you don’t call them “grimoires” because part of the charm of magic is that it’s foreign and cool. He speaks of black magic when ranting about his urges to sexually abuse a dead Beatrice, all his children speak of Western things when recalling their own childhood and abuse.

The only exception to this is Kinzo’s Japanese sword - both a true object and a phallic symbol that doesn’t deny itself its origins - that he uses to spank Jessica’s naked butt.

I feel like, in Umineko, you just need to sit and listen to the characters and wonder at their motivations. But you also need to wonder about the choice of presentation.

For example, Kanon alone in the garden after he left the conversation, being dismissed by Gohda. All he says is “…even me” or something among those lines, very mysterious! But the way this is presented, the camera not caring about the Cousins + Adults but following an actor after he’s being kicked out of the stage? Unusual! Curious! Very interesting! The way the narrative describes it, (paraphrasing here) “you needed to get closer if you wanted to hear the words whispered to his heart”? Why would it be written like that? Who is the narrator speaking to?

So I think - to make an analysis close in methodology to what I’m doing - you need to question what’s onscreen, not in a “this isn’t real” way (it may not be real but that’s not the focus!), but in a “why is this being shown the way it is” way. This is a novel after all. Choices of words, choices of POV, what is described and what’s left unsaid!

Those are the tips from the Revolutionary Witch!

— Rose, the Revolutionary Witch

#anon ask #askbox #umineko #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #on the matter of meta analysis

[bullet-prooflove]

Can i get a litle something for chibs? With the prompt 'I'll be the one you won't forget' thank you 🥰

No Words (NSFW) - You and Chibs don't need words to express how you feel.

Moment (NSFW) - Chibs gets lost in the moment.

His - There's no doubt in Chib's mind that you belong to him.

Different - Things are different with you.

In the time leading up to your divorce you try to forget about Filip. You’re in the fight for you’re life with your husband, it’s a constant battles of wills and intimidation tactics. You don’t have the time or the energy for another man in your life. You make that clear after the first night you sleep with him.

“Trust me love, I’m not looking for anything complicated.”  He tells you when you share a joint out on the loading dock.

It stings a little but it’s true. Your life right now it’s messy. You may have emotionally detached from your husband years ago but he certainly hasn’t detached from you. He’s still calling, still driving by your workplace, still contesting the divorce.

“Yea, I got enough complicated in my life right now.” You say as you blow a smoke ring out of your mouth.

You end up fucking him in the garage, pencil skirt hiked up your thighs as he takes you on the hood of a stranger’s car.

“He could never make you come like this could he?” He murmurs into the curve of your throat at the height of climax. “He could never get you off the way that I do.”

You bite down into the leather of his kutte to suppress the moan that escapes your lips as you come.

It’s later that night that you find yourself in bed with a newly acquired toy. It’s a wand, one you bought for yourself after you’d filed the divorce papers. It’s the first one you’ve owned because your ex didn’t want competition in the bedroom.

You close your eyes and you think Filip, about the rough lilt of his voice, the softness of his touch, the heat, the teasing. When you hit that high, you’re loud, the loudest that you’ve ever been on your own and you know that’s due to your subject matter.

You collapse back into the pillows, your cheeks flushed and body relaxed. There isn’t a chance in hell you can ever forget about Filip Telford, not with the things he does to you.

Love Chibs? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Can’t get enough of Chibs? Check out his Masterlist here!

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

Tagged: @kmc1989 @anime-weeb-4-life @chaoticqueenie98 @thatonesexycancerian @fanfic-n-tabulous @kishie8 @skyesthebomb @nu1freakshow @jtelford @deliriousfangirl61 @darqchilddaydreamz @ankhmutes @goblinenby @just-a-girl-who-wrytes @adaydreamaway08 @keyweegirlie @oklahomapeach @fleureeee @goosterroose @trublu2u @@legally-a-bastard @wnbweasley @justreblogginfics @multiflixshelves @fanfic-n-tabulous @just-a-throw-away @yousigned-upforthis @fangirling-and-lovin-it thekirbishow @laribombarie @pansexualhailstorm @@elixae @buckysteveloki-me

#chibs telford #chibs sons of anarchy #soa chibs #chibs x reader #chibs imagine #sons of anarchy fanfiction #tommy flanagan #filip chibs telford #filip telford #filip telford x reader #filip telford x you

[delusional-mishaps]

I’m going a hiatus but I wanted to ask for something before I doooooo!!! May I ask for some Epic Sans x reader headcanons?

Where the reader and Epic are friends but they unknowingly crush on each other and when Epic finally tries flirting, he learns the reader gets extremely flustered very easily. (Ah yes kabedons….instant melting-)

Thank you in advance! Also it’s been awhile, how have you been?

I NEVER SAW THIS WHAN YOU SENT IT IN IMSO SORRY 😭😭😨

genuinely still dont know much abt epic but hes kinda silly so lets see how this goes!! apologies if he's ooc im too lazy to look up anything about him

also ive been good thank you for asking ^^ livin life in beast mode since i got a cross bodypillow,,

motherfucker is WHIPPED goddamn 👴 always has some degree of a blush on his face when you're around,,,, or when he's talking about you,,, or thinking about you,,,,

you think his lil flushed cheeks are soo cute

because they ARE?? if only u knew they were flushed cuz of you <33

he likes to rant to anyone who'll listen abt how adorable you are. how in love with you he is. how he just wants to kiss your cute little face all over, leave you flushed and dizzy—

cross is FED UP with listening to his simping 😒😡

he's always so giddy around you. boundless energy, like you're some drug that gets his metaphorical heart pumping. really, you ARE like a drug to him. he's ADDICTED to you, the way you make him feel,,

ofc he'd never tell you that... that's too embarrassing!

until he decides to somehow make a stupid pick-up line.

"hey bruh, are you a drug? cuz i feel like im dying when im without you for an extended period of time."

WHY are you blushing at that horrible, stupid line?? he could have made it SO MUCH better, but this is SO him—silly and slightly nonsensical—and while it was kind of dumb, he's using a pick up line on you oh my god

nerd ass weeb anime mf will call you his waifu or husbando or whatever. it always makes you blush when he introduces you as "my awesome (waifu/husbando) whom i love" but you always just. brush it off as a joke. cuz i mean he can't ACTUALLY like you right? haha he's just overly friendly pshh ofc ourse he diesnt actually like you that's crazy—

sorry writing that actually made me cringe i cant believe he would say that 😭 life is so hard when that's my husband's best friend #savemefromepic

for the longest time he doesn't even realise that he's flustering you, but OH BOY, when he DOES become aware,,,, lord help your poor poor SOUL, you won't have a moment of rest

i mean, c'mon, he thinks you look so cute when you're all flustered because of him,,,, so adorable how your eyes widen fractionally, the way your lips press together, how you try to hide your heated face from anyone's view,,, so cute <33

dude double's down in his flirting. no matter how wild what he says is, you always get that cute look on your face that makes him want to kiss you so fucking bad bro

then, one day, after the two of you watched some stupid cliché romance anime where the female protagonist was pinned to the wall by her love interest...

it's like a lightbulb went off in his empty head. that's peak anime romance, so why doesn't he do that to you? he bets you'd get so embarrassed and cute if he did that~

except it kind of backfires. he slams his hands against the wall, effectively caging you between them, but he's a little shorter than you and the force he used rocked him right into your body and it's more like he just body-checked you than anything. it took all of his strength to make sure he didn't accidentally nail you in the nose with his big fat head. still, the close proximity got you all flushed.

he really can't help himself when he leans up and finally, finally kisses you. call it the heat of the moment, but it was the perfect opportunity. pressed up against the wall, so close to each other,,, when you just look so cute, your soft body against his bones feeling just right, like two perfect puzzle pieces coming together...

he could feel when your breath hitched, the way you tensed for but a moment before fervently kissing him back. your face is positively burning, but it makes the kiss all the better, feeling divine against his cooled cheeks, flushed with his own blush.

he pulls back and then...!! leaves. he disappears, falling into his bed and kicking his feet. he's totally squealing, fanboying harder than he ever has before.

you're allowed to kick his ass for just leaving you like that

but he'll text you later that night asking if you wanna be his "official (waifu/husbando)" because he's cringe and can't just ask if you wanna date the normal way.. </3

i keep cringing at him. have fun with your weeb man. i'm judging you for your tastes (/j)

#pokegalla #epic sans #epic x reader #jester writes #sans x reader #undertale x reader #guys im so tired of tagging things #worst part of being a content creator on tumblr tr #fr* #ok i actually had fun with this one though #feel like he may be hella ooc but likr i said #im lazy 😭 #...ignore the lact i had like five other requests before this one #I FEEL BAD CUZ YOU WERE GOING IN HAIRUS 😭

[lily-orchard]

I think the biggest indicator of the fact that my stalkers are fucking insane (aside from everything) is how recently they're trying to paint me as this virulent racist but you ask them to explain themselves they just fall the fuck apart.

This all started when I criticized SU for it's fashy undertones and people were like "Oh Sugar's Jewish you can't say that" and like... That didn't magically change the content but okay.

But then I had to deal with people getting so fucking angry about the fact that I didn't talk about the antisemitic jokes in Harley Quinn and The Big Bang Theory and like... Am I supposed to shut up when Jewish person does it or not?

You tell me to stay in my lane, I stay in my lane, you still get enraged. Pick a lane you psycho.

People try to call me anti-asian because I have to talk about anime sometimes because my job involves the animation industry and it's stupid discourse which means having to talk about weebs. But this is just standard weeb operating procedure. Weebs have been crying "xenophobe" whenever you criticize them specifically (weeb refers to Americans btw) ever since that stupid "JRPG" discourse started.

It's literally the definition of "No U."

My criticisms of the industry are restricted entirely to the industry, talking about how private corporations fleece neckbeards for money and how that fleecing has affected the perceptions of the industry overseas. The culture and the nation and the people are completely excluded from the conversation because outside of fact-checking weebs when they try to deflect criticism by making shit up it's just not what the conversation is about.

The last few weeks people have claimed I just Japan based on anime, but no. I don't do that. I specifically go out of my way to avoid doing that. You're just making shit up. Probably because you're fucking mad I said your favourite shitty cartoon was bad.

Then there's a few special cases claiming I'm anti black almost entirely because I mixed up the words "inherently" and "consistently" one time TWO FUCKING YEARS AGO, apologized, and never repeated the mistake. And I also made the critical mistake of publicly saying that not being that was important to me, which mean the stalkers smelled blood in the water and went for the throat.

This shit is the reason I've just shut off all communication. I can't take any of this seriously anymore because it's buried under so much dishonest bullshit all the fucking time because some obsessive fangirl thought she saw a weak spot.

And look I know that was the point. To coerce me into shutting off avenues of criticism so she can accuse me of living in a bubble or some other insane nonsense. But again: You can't win that kind of battle with someone who has made their intentions clear. She just wants to take more stabs for the sake of stabs.

And when it's not ghoulish dishonestly like this, it's making shit up for no reason.

"Lily sends herself asks! How do we know? We just do!"

"Lily's faking cancer! How do we know? We just do!"

Like, just stop fucking lying. It's so goddamned obvious when you're lunging at me for the sake of lunging at me. One of these loons has been at this since 2015 and always shows up in the replies of anyone who expresses good faith OR bad faith displeasure toward me. Hell she found my Facebook page just so she could fucking rant and call me amliar over stories that DIDN'T CONTRADICT ANYTHING. This "person" hounds me everywhere I fucking go, bothering everyone she possibly can because she just can't let go of the fact that I didn't want to be around her toxic ass any ore BECAUSE SHE DOES SHIT LIKE THIS!

People will call me bigoted because I didn't like a cartoon, but will get behind someone who accused me of faking being trans to get in her pants, which is such blatant terf rhetoric.

The worst part about all of this is how nakedly fucking transparent this harassment is. It's so fucking obvious at a glance and that's without getting into the pedojacketing. You can always trace it to some petty fucking bullshit.

This fucking obsession with tearing me down at all costs to the point that one person has completely forgone any notion of a life to dedicate herself to this fucking psychopathy.

If you sincerely believe any of the shit above, just fucking leave. Keep my name out of your fucking mouth, go find creators you actually like watching, and quit being an emotional burden on everyone you've ever met. Stop fucking lying about people. Just go get a fucking life and stop orbiting around me like a fucking creep.

You know Gamergate was weird, right? You know Kiwi Farms was creepy right? You know this is peculiar behavior. There comes a point you need to just stop focusing so hard on one person and move on with your goddamn life.