I got- I can't!
Imagine being 15, you've grown up your whole life with this one belief in this one God and you were told you were Chosen by Him, for Him. And you're 15. You believe so fully in the spirit of your religion, not necessarily the word, that you want to go to a non-religious school to try and help other kids maybe find your God because you genuinely believe that could be helpful to some of them, because it's all you know, and it's helped other strangers (human trafficking victims she helped in the black pit before) so why not other kids her age? You're 15 and all you can think about is helping others. And you start thinking about your religion, and reading books, and asking questions and you come to the conclusion that maybe your God and His Father aren't actually all that great. Maybe the church you're in has done some really bad things that you can't possibly make up for. Maybe that church is still doing bad things. And then you find out your family is actually in a cult for that God, not just part of the normal church, and you suddenly have to undo all the cult shit in your brain you were raised with, while that cult stuff you know about is actually useful to your friends, like having that knowledge is helpful for them! You're 15 and you stop going home. You have no real adult supervision or carer, just your other 15 year old friends.
Imagine you're 16, you're gay and figuring that out on top of navigating your first full romantic relationship and being the sole creator and cleric to a new God that you honestly find to be very two dimensional and empty. You're on a quest to find an evil being and stop them. You nearly die. Your friends nearly die. You're 16. You're 16 and feel something calling out to you, you know it's divine because you've felt that sort of pull before, but you've never felt one like this. You find memories and hints and pieces and you figure out that the evil being you have to stop, isn't evil, she's just hurting. She's hurt and She's a God. She's your God, and she's so happy to see you, and she has so many ideas, and so many hopes.
You're 17. You've spent your rest time (summer vacation) tearing across the world chasing down and defeating another evil thing that you and your friends accidentally released in the first place. Your God is with you, you have no time for Her. No time for anything but trying to survive and stay sane. You know She's disappointed in you, but you're one person -ONE PERSON- and you're 17. You missed your birthday. again. You've saved the world; again. You're so fucking tired -like always. You're Chosen, and alone, and have no idea what to do with your life, let alone your God. You aren't very good at school, but you go to every class. You're drowning as you try to rewrite your understanding of the world from what you grew up with, having no idea how to do anything without a book and godly hand to guide you. You only ever followed before, your new God is demanding you Lead. You don't know how. You're only 17. You see your horrible, abusive parents spitting abuse and racist rhetoric at your baby brother, who you haven't seen in two years, on the front steps to your school and for the first time ever you are filled with righteous fury. Your God answers your call, not knowing what you need but so eager to help, eager for your attention, she starts talking to you but you're busy -why can't she understand that you're fucking busy? trying to not die, trying to be safe, trying to keep your friends alive, trying to navigate a world that hates you, you're 17 and you're busy goddammit just wait!- and she snaps back at you and flees. The next time you see Her, maybe an hour later, She's got a creature with Her that nearly destroyed you and your friends last year sitting in her lap, so smug to see you again.
You're 17- no, 16- no, 15 years old and you're expected to build and carry the world on your shoulders, Chosen from birth, raised a lamb to follow a Shepard, not to be followed behind. You have no one and nothing and everyone expects everything and you can't back up, you can't pause because if you do someone dies and doesn't come back. You have to be a hero, a chosen, a saint. The steps behind you crumble to dust with each step you take forward and the new one is already cracking under your weight. There are only wrong choices. There's no hand reaching for you. God, you were taught, will save and guide you. God knows best. Why is your God looking to you, a mortal human, to be saved, raised and guided? You're a child.
You're just a child.
You just want to go home, wherever that is. You thought it was your God, but She's not exactly helping you out either, is She? She's just disappointed. Like everyone else. Like you.
You're 17. You think it would have been better to never do any of this. It would have been easier to stay, blind and naive. Sometimes you think you should have stayed in heaven. Sometimes you think about the God you killed by not being good enough for it. Sometimes you lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling and pretend you don't exist for awhile. Sometimes you work your body so hard you forget it's there and your mind shuts up and you exist without being you. Sometimes you wish you never asked any questions or read any books. You're 17, but sometimes you wish you were 15, with no idea yet.
You're 17. You wish you were good enough.
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Hey, remember the awful audio quality back in C1, especially with the liveshows and the Skype-in episodes, and how nobody blamed the cast for having loud reactions or said that they should stop yelling and shouting despite the literal blowouts? Hey, remember when Percy used to take over every other group conversation and push for his ideas over the rest of the party’s suggestions, and people just went “Yeah, he’s being a dick, but that’s the type of person Percy is and Taliesin is doing a great job of role-playing as this character”? Hey, remember when Joe Manganiello came in with a clearly evil PC with his own agenda who ultimately ended up betraying the party, but no one complained that Joe was making the cast uncomfortable and should leave the show? Hey, remember when Kashaw was interested in Keyleth back in the early days of C1, and no one mocked him for pursuing a PC who wasn’t yet in any canon relationship but had hints of romance with other characters?
Gotta take another peek at those standards because they sure are looking doubled right now. But hey, I’m sure those are the only reasons why people are criticizing Erika so much for things that other cast members and guests get away with and are even praised for.
Now, this might be a wee bit of a controversial take, but the Critical Role cast are in fact adults who have been playing D&D on and off the Internet for a long time and who have invited many guests to play with them. They’ve spoken extensively about safe play environments as well as open communication both at and away from the table. If anyone was uncomfortable even for a minute with someone’s character choices or play style, they’d bring it up off-camera. If Matt thought a character concept wasn’t a good fit for the table or the story, he’d work with the player to develop something that was. Hell, Erika is a long-time personal friend whom most of them have played with before. If they didn't like how Erika played D&D, or weren't comfortable with something they did in-game, they're perfectly capable of having that discussion with each other as friends and professionals.
Y’know, you don’t have to like either Dusk or Erika, but you do have to examine how you’re talking about them because right now, a lot of the flack they get boils down to “I don’t like them for doing the exact same thing that white cast members are doing/have done, and I assume that because I dislike how they're playing D&D, they must also be making the cast uncomfortable.” And it does not matter whether you had any conscious racist intent or reasoning, because the impact of your words is singling out the sole nonbinary person of colour at the table and treating them as some kind of aggressive "threat" towards the white cast members, whom I will reiterate, are their long-time personal friends who invited them to play in this campaign in the first place.
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Ring Pop Proposals
Just kinda a stupid thing to go w/ the Harringrove Week propmts list.
Fair Mart, a summer holiday, and Max + Cheese {The last 2 have very small roles.... very.}
Also warning for gay slurs because Hawkins is ho-ho-homophobic
Billy and Steve had gotten into a pretty nasty fight this afternoon. Robin had come over and made a one off-joke about how Steve should’ve gotten with someone better than Billy, and that was supposed to be the end of it, but Billy felt insecure about it because Steve had agreed with her. Jokingly or not, he had agreed with her and that just rubbed Billy the wrong way.
Billy Hargrove was famous for not caring about what other people thought, but he cared about what Steve thought about him. So Billy had brought it up while they were making lunch, and Steve got defensive, and Billy spit out that he didn’t like Robin, and one thing led to another and spilled macaroni was all over their kitchen floor while they screamed at each other.
And now they were both silent in Billy’s car as they drove to Fair Mart to get some birthday supplies because they had totally forgotten it was Max’s birthday. That was a new low for Billy. Despite whatever happened to him, he never forgot Max’s birthday. But of course, Steve Harrington had to change that.
They were both well aware that Fair Mart would only have the bare minimums for what could be seen as ‘party food’, but the party was in 30 minutes and they had a 20 minute drive from their place to Max’s trailer park. They stormed out of the car and went into the small store, splitting up to find things that Max would like.
Billy was looking around for some drinks to bring that those freshman losers would like when he turned his head to see Steve in the candy aisle, trying to remember what type Billy’s step-sister liked the best. He stopped searching for drinks and instead focused his attention on Steve as his nose was scrunched up and eyebrows were furrowed, pouring all his concentration into finding the right candy for that little redhead.
And Billy couldn’t stay mad at him. Steve was his god damn everything. Steve was his fucking world. Steve didn’t even know how important he was to Billy, but he didn’t mind. He was more than satisfied to remind Steve every single day how important he was to the former bully. Billy was willing to wake up a little earlier to make them both coffee. Billy found a new movie that he might wanna watch? If Steve didn’t want to watch it, Billy would throw it out the window. Steve was struggling with something in his class? Who cares if Billy had a paper due the next morning? He was willing to push it to the side to help Steve.
Steve could find someone better than him, Billy didn’t doubt that. He definitely had his moments, like when some 30-something-dude in his science class wouldn’t shut up and Billy chucked a water bottle at his head. Or when Max was getting too annoying, so he clamped his hand over her mouth for her to finally shut up. Or when Billy snapped at some cashier for dropping his food. Yeah, he could be an asshole, and yeah, Steve could get with someone so much better than him, but Steve had stayed. They had been together for a good 2 years now and Steve had yet to leave! He had every opportunity to! Billy had given him plenty of chances when he was at his lowest, but Steve fucking stayed.
Who cares what Robin thought? Who cares what anyone thought about the two of them? Steve was Billy’s shining moon in his darkest nights, and no one could take that away from him.
So Billy stomped his way into the candy aisle and snatched a ring pop from one shelf. To Steve’s surprise, Billy popped open the packaging, holding just the ring pop, and kneeled down on one knee.
Steve gasped and held a hand to his mouth. There were like two other people in the store besides them and the cashier, and Billy was doing this.
“Steve Harrington-”
“Billy.”
“Shut up, listen.” Steve held both hands to his mouth, his eyes wide with shock. “You, Steve Harrington, are my fucking moon. You’re my stars in this deep existential void we call space, and I couldn’t be fucking happier. Why should I care what Robin thinks? Why should I care what anyone thinks? I’ve been with you for two long years and you haven’t left me yet, so why should I be insecure now?” Billy could see the cashier from the corner of his eye, and she was staring. “The point of life isn’t about caring what other people think! It’s about delaying your inevitable death and having a fun as fuck time doing it!” Billy pulled Steve’s arm down so he could take his hand. “So, Steve Harrington, will you delay your death with me and have a fun time doing it for the rest of our lives?”
“Billy…”
“And not care about what other people think.” He added. “And will you forgive me for our fight earlier? Jesus shit- I’m sorry- I should’ve written this down I-”
“Yes!” Steve yelped, and Billy looked at him with wide eyes. “Yes! Just- Fucking- Yes to all of it!”
Billy hopped to his feet and planted a big kiss to Steve’s lips while also messily putting the ring pop on Steve’s finger. Billy had never felt happier while kissing his now… fiance? They should probably work out what they wanted to call each other from now on. Billy was content with calling Steve anything he wanted. It was stupid, and this whole thing would usually make Billy gag because it was so ‘cute’ and Billy Hargrove wasn’t cute, but this was Steve. This was his Steve. It might’ve been a little cutesy, but he didn’t care, because he was doing it with Steve.
The cashier gasped. “You guys are faggots!”
“Shit!” Steve hissed, but Billy was already sprinting.
“Get the candy!” He screamed while holding a liter of coke and rushing out the door with Steve not far behind him with an armful of sour patch kids.
They both hurried into the car and started it. Billy’s heart was beating so loud he was completely positive that Steve could hear it - hell, Billy was sure that the entirety of Hawkins could hear it. They were so going to get killed. Billy was going to wake up one day in this apartment and have it burning because some homophobic assholes decided they weren’t worthy enough to live.
And one of those people that wanted to kill Billy and Steve was one of the store patrons who came out behind them, yelling vulgar obscenities and picking up a stray brick to throw at the car. It nearly hit them, but they got away. They were cheering loudly, screaming at the top of their lungs because holy shit was that an adrenaline rush. Billy proposing with a ring pop, stealing shit from Fair Mart, and some angry asshole throwing a brick at them. What else could you ask for on a sunny summer birthday for a step-sister?
Steve was running his hands through his and his wide pupils made it look like had been on some type of acid. “Holy shit- My- Holy shit! My parents are going to find out! Holy fuck- people are going to talk! So- so many people are going to talk! I can’t-”
“Steve-” Billy put his hand on the man’s thigh, but he continued babbling nonsense.
“I mean, they already suspected a lot of things when I moved in with you, but- wow! Wow! They’re gonna fucking know! Oh my god! Oh-”
“Steve!” Billy shouted and Steve snapped his head towards his boyfriend. Fiance? Husband!? “What did I say?” He laughed.
Steve stared at him for a moment, mouth gaping and eyes squinted in confusion before his memory snapped in place. “I don’t care if they know, but like… Holy shit man, they’re gonna know.”
“You’re living with me now. You don’t gotta worry ‘bout your parents.”
“I know, but,” Steve slumped down in his passenger seat. “Jesus shit, my parents are going to know.”
“Hey,” Billy took Steve’s hand. Eyes pulling away from the empty road to stare at his… lover. “I love you. That should be the only thing that matters.”
Steve’s eyes looked like they were filled with stars. “Yeah… yeah it is.” He sat up in his seat and pulled Billy in for a quick kiss before pushing his head back to look at the road.
And when they showed up at Susan’s with a ring pop around Steve’s ring finger, the kids all smiled.
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