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violetmina · 9 months

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Chokehold - Ch. 10

Chokehold Masterlist

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Pairing: Billy Butcher x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 5,067

Warning: Swearing, adult themes, mentions of bodily harm, blood, and good ol’ Butcher himself.

A/N: Honestly, this chapter is basically a whole lot of whump and comfort. And despite my best efforts, Butcher might be a bit OOC for it. Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoy.

"Jesus, Butcher!"

With a flurry of fingers you snatch your phone from the floor before you can step on it, discarding it on the counter to approach the bloody man. You turn on the faucet after seizing a washcloth from one of the drawers, your stomach clenching at the sight of so much red swirling down the drain. It's then you finally notice your first aid kit on the other side of the sink, already half gutted by your unexpected visitor.

He's awake and something akin to alert. But you can tell that Butcher isn't processing on all cylinders. It's not until you wring out the cloth and turn to him that he catches your intent. He bats at your hand when you reach to wipe at the left side of his face. "Nah, nah. Stop. Stop! I don' need fuckin' motherin'!"

"No, but you could use a hand," you quip with strained patience.

"I told ya, I got it!"

Both of you swear when he reaches for the first aid and his bloody hand slips on the edge of the basin, nearly sending him into the mirror. You grab his belt and begin to gently tug him back towards the toilet. "C'mon, Billy. Sit down, just for a min-"

"Fuck off! I can-!"

"Sit!"

He glares at you through his seeping war paint. He grunts when you give a good yank on his belt, causing him to totter before he begrudgingly slumps onto the toilet lid. The glare grows into a full-on man pout, and in any other circumstance you might have laughed. Instead, you nudge one of his boots to the side with your foot and stand between his knees. You begin cleaning at his temple, making quick but gentle work of trying to find the source of blood.

"I'd have done it me self just fine," he grumbles when you clear around his eye. "Wasn't expecting you home this early anyway."

"Early? Butcher it's late. It's been nearly twenty-four hours since you left the office."

The pout gives way to confusion. "Has it really?," he asks, more to himself than you. He smears blood from the face of his watch and squints at the time. "Christ. S'pose you're right."

"What happened, Billy? How'd you end up in my bathroom like this?"

"Well I let myself in."

The groggy smirk he gives you is a double-edged sword. You're not certain if it's an indication that he's fairly ok, or if he's using humor to deflect. You take a slow, deep breath before replying, "I can see that. What happened after you left the hospital last night?"

"What'd MM tell ya?"

"He told me about the girl. No one has seen you since then. I'm asking you."

The biting edge of worry begins to gnaw at your guts as you rinse the cloth and try to clean his cheeks, what you can dab out of his beard. What if his head injury is worse than you thought? How impaired might his memory be?

A look of concentration flits in his eyes before he finally speaks. "Tracked down the club she told us about. Paid their security a little visit. Was waiting to be led back to their surveillance room when I got ambushed."

"By whom? Vought?"

"Not Vought," he winces when you swipe into his hairline. "Couldn't've gotten there ahead of me like that. I think Walsh used Vought's squawker to stay ahead of the company lackeys when they went snooping. But now he's gonna know somebody else is digging up his side hustle. Bastards he hired looked like third party thugs."

You rinse the cloth again and begin gingerly sweeping through his hair, his wince your first clue of where his wound may be. Your free hand works at parting the thick, sodden strands. "You mean he's hired people not part of Vought, to cover his tracks, right?"

"Believe so. They didn't act like the usual company muppets. Fuckin' hell, love!" He hisses before sending you an annoyed glance. "Don't mind a hair-pulling kink but you're fucking scalping me here!"

"I'm sorry. You're clotting so bad it's matting. I need you to move to sit on the edge of the tub."

"What? Why?"

"Please don't make this any harder," you sigh, gripping his belt again to help him shuffle over to the lip of the bath. Once he's seated and balanced to your liking, you unhook the shower head and start a slow warm flow. "I have to get some of the blood out of your hair. I can't see your scalp."

"Should probably clean this one first," Butcher grits as he starts fiddling with his shirt.

You turn from the water with a frown. "Clean what one f-? Oh my god!"

A knot of nausea squeezes your belly at the sight that appears when he slips off the left side of his shirt. The rivers of blood trace from his fingertips up to just under the end of his clavicle. There in front of the socket is a lumpy, pocket-like wound just under the skin from which the blood oozes, a long gouge trailing back from it towards his sternum like a thin, shallow comet tail. As his fingers begin to prod about the lump you realize that it is a pocket, and in it-.

"You didn't tell me you were shot!" You drop the shower head and reach for some of the clean gauze still left in the first aid kit. When you turn back, it's just in time to watch him squeeze the pocket with gritted teeth and watch the bullet slip out. He fumbles with a pant of relief as it drops into his slick palm. Before you can even process, he gives it a feeble toss over your shoulder. It clatters in the sink.

"Least it wasn't a hollow point," he mumbles. "Woulda been real messy."

"No. Nuh-uh," you stammer finally. "I'm taking you-."

"Nowhere." Butcher manages a steely look in your direction. "Can't go to the hospital. They'll be looking for me."

"Ok. Maybe if I call MM then-"

"Not doing that either. We split at the ER for a reason." Then almost under his breath, "Shouldn't have even come here."

You dart forward, cursing as you press the gauze against the wound firmly. He manages to sneak his right hand under yours to take over. "Calm down, it was more of a graze. Superficial. Hardly needs packing."

"Calm down? Any deeper and this-!" You cut off at the realization; if it had entered a mere inch or so further back it likely would have torn through the top of his lungs, his lower windpipe. Not wanting to dwell on it, you glare at his reckless face before ripping through your kit for packing, a sterile q-tip and an ampoule of sterile water. You pry his fingers and gauze back long enough to clean around the shallow pocket, trying to rinse without saturating. Then follow suit on the graze. "Don't know how the hell you got so lucky," you spit as you place the miniscule amount of packing needed into the bullet hole once the bleeding had been staunched. "Didn't even know this was possible."

"Nah. Seen weirder in my bootneck days," he says with a lopsided shrug, holding the left side still as you apply a dry dressing.

"I don't wanna know." Again, you rinse the cloth, which now is tinted a stubborn pink and set to cleaning off his arm. When he tries to take it from you, you snatch it back. "You're going to let me finish. Now what did you mean? Why did you come here?"

"I shoulda gone to my place," he admits quietly, eyeing the cloth in a way that tells you he is not going to fully cooperate. "Just couldn't quite get there on foot."

His skin finally loses its sanguinous sheen and you abandon the cloth in the sink for a fresh clean one. Setting it aside on the edge, you reach back down into the tub and retrieve the shower head. He attempts to slip it from your fingers but you manage to evade. "I'm almost done, Billy. How about you chill for five minutes of your life?"

"I think I can manage washing myself," he snaps.

"Didn't say you couldn't. You need to mind your shoulder though." You maneuver back between his knees. "If it doesn't make you too dizzy, you need to tilt your head back. Let's see if I can keep from soaking your new dressing. I can't speak for your shirt."

"Oh God forbid you get me bloodstained shirt a little wet." Butcher slips the right side off with a shrug and dangles the shirt between you with his good arm and a bit of exasperation. He tosses it onto the floor, next to his jacket in the corner you realize, before trying yet again to snatch the shower head. He nearly falls off the edge of the tub in the process and you bite back an expletive when you help right him again with your free hand on the back of his neck.

"Please, Billy." It comes out soft, almost tired.

He scowls at you for a moment. You almost wonder if he had heard your plea over the water. Then finally he grips the edge of the tub and slowly tilts his head back.

You dive in before he can change his mind, moving your hand from his neck to his hairline to block water from running into his face. In mere seconds your bath resembles your sink, bloody water dripping in little streams from the back of his skull. There had been many times over the past couple months your fingers had itched with want to run through Butcher's unruly locks. But you never pictured it being like this, easing and crumbling clots from his hair, fingertips only ghosting the roots for fear of pulling at the injured scalp beneath.

Briefly there had been a moment where you thought he might be coming around. But you still catch glimpses of it in his eyes, the brain fog that rolls in and out like a tide. When he begins to lean too far back and blindly reaches out to catch at your waist instead of the tub, you don't comment. But your worry grows in the sound of the running water, then doubles in size at a sudden thought.

"Please tell me I'm not about to find a bullet here, too."

The corner of his mouth curls and the brain fog ebbs out of his eyes. Mischief replaces it. "Don't be daft. I'm not a zombie out for your brains. Those twats were piss-poor shots anyway."

"Your spanking new dressings say otherwise," you deadpan. A second after and you finally find it. A long jagged gash arcing just behind his left temple and back, stopping a couple inches before his ear. You lower the shower head into the tub again to inspect further. "Definitely not a bullet wound. What made this?"

"Dunno," Butcher replies. "One threw something, didn't see what. Clocked me right as I rounded a corner."

"Threw it at you?"

"Pretty sure his gun jammed just before. Fucking amateur," he says smugly.

You shake your head. "Whatever it was, it got you good. Luckily it's not too deep. Just made you bleed like a stuffed pig. And I suspect a slight concussion. Those steri-strip things would be best but I don't think they'll stay with all your hair. I should have some liquid bandage stuff in the kit though."

You pick up the clean cloth and start dabbing at the broken skin, trying to be gentle. Once it's a bit more dry, you slip back just far enough to turn and dip into your kit. After a bit of rummaging you find the little tube you're looking for. With the faintest tapping on the back of his skull, you signal for him to ease his head to forward. You start applying the gel on the wound, working from the back towards his temple.

If he notices the sting that usually comes with liquid stitches, he says nothing. As a matter of fact, he's rather quiet as the minutes pass. Enough to unsettle you again as you reach the end of the gash. Satisfied with your work, you discard the tube with a toss back into the kit before carefully dipping both hands into his hair. When he arches a brow at you, you reply, "Just checking for any other wounds. And making sure the rest of your skull is still intact."

Still he says nothing and allows you to examine him further. He's already got a hell of a knot forming around the gash. But as you tread your fingertips along his scalp, you find no further injury. When your fingers reach far enough to touch, lacing round the back of his head, he makes a small hum in his throat. You glance at his face, finding his eyes flitting just a bit, more foggy than before.

When you snap your hands back to hold his face, he comes straight back to alert. "Wha-?"

"Look straight ahead. Need to see your eyes."

He stares back at you, brow arching again. "The hell you doing now?," he asks dryly.

"I'm checking for nystagmus."

"Plain English, Nurse Ratched."

"Involuntary eye movements. Like when you look at something but your eyes keep ticking away then right back. Thought I saw it a second ago."

He surprises you with a chuckle, and it manages to smooth out some of your concern. "I think I'll live if I have a lazy eye for a minute, darlin'."

"Not a lazy eye. Nystagmus often happens if there's neurological issues. Surgical sedation can cause it. Or, you know, someone or something trying to bust your head open like a damn pinata. If you have it, I'm calling MM."

His hands on your waist tighten slightly. "No, you're fucking not. I'm fine."

"Shut up and keep your eyes open, William."

Both brows shoot to his hairline for a moment. But they settle and you continue looking into his pupils, waiting for any rhythmic twitching, or any indication of stroke. Long seconds pass and you sigh with relief. No sign of nystagmus. He's got issues for days but at least for tonight it's not brain damage.

"That was a first."

You blink at him, noticing his pupils dilate slightly. "What's a first?"

"You called me William." A smirk starts to form on his face, and your eyes linger a little too long on his lips. "Wasn't that serious, was it?"

"Oh." Caught off guard, you suddenly realize your position. Up close with a shirtless and damp Butcher, cradling his face. You go to drop your hands to his shoulders but remember the bullet wound, and they stutter to an awkward stop on his neck instead. "I was…"

Butcher cuts off your train of thought when he pulls on your hips and leans forward, bringing your foreheads together. "Relax, love," he breathes, still smirking as he flips the roles on you - now he's studying your eyes. "M'alright. Been in way worse shape than this."

"Billy…"

"That's better."

And his lips press against yours without hesitation. It's short, perhaps teasing. But there's that underlying note of tenderness again, and it pulls a smile and a small sound of contentment out of you. Prior doubt slithering away like the water down the drain.

His response to your smile is quick, eyes flashing before his mouth captures yours again, but much firmer. Warm, borderlining hot. When you sigh one of his hands slides up from your waist to cradle the back of your neck. Butcher's mouth moves slow but unyielding against yours, wiping your mind clean of any thought and leaving only awareness of this. A tug on your bottom lip between his teeth morphs your next sigh into a tiny gasp. But it's all he needs to dip his tongue just within, testing, just tasting.

His hand on your hip glides to the small of your back, pulling you till you're almost flushed with him. You give no resistance.

It's not until your shins hit the tub that you realize too late you probably should have. The next second you're both fumbling to catch your fall with a yell. Butcher manages to get one hand on the lip of the tub, and you wrap one arm around his shoulders. Your other hand shoots out to slam against the wall, stopping your awkward, tangled crash. But not before Butcher's head thuds against the faucet.

"Aw fuck me!"

"Shit! Hold on!"

It's a mess, but with a bit more cursing you both strain to an upright position again. Butcher's eyes screw shut with a hiss as he holds the edge with a death grip. "Well if I wasn't concussed before I sure as shit am now!"

Before you can reply a knock sounds from your front door. "Shit! I forgot about the pizza! Don't move, okay? I'll be right back."

"Hold on a tic-"

"Don't. Fucking. Move!," you hiss before darting out the bathroom.

You scramble about till you find a little cash, just enough for a tip. Despite your best efforts, you still managed to get a little blood on the hem of your shirt, tiny specks of it drying on your palms from cleaning up the reckless mess in your bathroom. If the delivery guy notices when you answer the door, he says nothing. Just gives you a bored look and equally flat "have a nice night" as you exchange him for the food, then leaves.

You secure the door and move quickly into the kitchen to drop the pizza on the counter. You snatch a glass and fill it with water then turn back to head to the bathroom for tylenol. Instead you find Butcher filling your bedroom doorway, rubbing the back of his head.

"Damn it! I said don't move!"

"I heard ya. And I'm starving. Gotta do something for this bloody headache." He shuffles to the counter as you slink past him.

"Hold on, just getting you some medicine right now. Give me a sec and I'll see if I can find you some food," you call back.

"It's right here, innit?"

You pop two pills into your palm, then remember you have yet to finish the graze on his chest. Washing your hands and grabbing a packet of ointment, you head back to the kitchen. "Yes, but that's probably one of the worst things for a con-" You let out a sigh at the sight of Butcher already happily halfway through his first slice. "Nevermind. Here."

"Much obliged." He takes the tylenol greedily between bites and washes it down with the whole glass and a wince. Once he takes the last bite of food you rip open the packet and approach him. He shakes his head when you raise a hand towards the graze. "Now hold on-"

"Your hands aren't clean. So hush." When he rolls his eyes you pause in applying to give him a pointed look. "Not going to let you undo all my hard work by getting an infection via pizza grease."

You make quick work of it, focusing on applying just the right amount of ointment to hold off the thoughts of his mouth on yours moments before, or the fact he's standing in your apartment still shirtless. It's hard to ignore, though, what with the planes of his long torso before you, and his broad chest under your hands. But you manage.

With a nod, you step back. "There. Done. I'm going to grab your shirt, maybe I can still save it with a wash."

"Don't bother, love," he replies, seizing another slice from the box. "A wash ain't gonna fix the bullet hole."

Oh no. You're not doing this to me.

"Fair enough. Umm. I might have something then? Give me a minute."

You turn back to your bedroom again, making a beeline for your closet. For several minutes you rife through your clothes and your thoughts. You have no complaints of the kissing, aside from the embarrassing tumble. But you do feel a twinge of guilt. He's not completely well, and you certainly don't want to make things worse. You finally find an old, oversized t-shirt. A dark blue, ragged unisex thing you had kept for housework and "just in case" situations like this, it's hem riddled with holes. It may just fit him.

When you return you find him on your couch, eyes closed, right arm draped lazily across the back.You can't help looking him over. You're not sure what you had expected under those tacky shirts all this time but it wasn't this. He's not chiseled, which you're actually glad for, pleased by the hint of lean muscle under his skin. He's built for useful strength, not showboating. The urge to map his large ribcage and where he's soft or firm with your hands makes your fingers twitch. And the lines of hips you'd only peeked before are now on full display, framing a thin dark trail under his navel, and sloping sharp into his jeans. You'd heard a couple different names for hips like his, Apollo's belt being one. The other was Aphrodite's saddle.

Fuck Aphrodite! That one is mine!

The man has been shot! Can we fucking NOT?!, you snap at the little voice.

You call his name softly and he opens his eyes. A good sign, all things considered. You toss him the shirt before stepping back to get some pizza yourself. "Full already?"

"Nah, just pausing before thirds," Butcher quips as he stiffly tugs on the shirt. Thankfully it's not too snug.

You give him a look when you sit down beside him with your plate. "You got nauseous, didn't you?" He shrugs dismissively but you know better. Not a good sign. After a hesitant bite you decide to switch back to the other pressing matter. "So this lead at the club is a deadend then?"

"Fraid so," he nods solemnly. "Even if one of the others goes back for it, that footage is good as gone now. There'll be another person like that girl, you can count on it. Just have to wait."

"She got lucky," you frown between bites. "We don't know how many others there have been that weren't."

"We can't do anything bout that. We'd be chasing our tails if we tried digging that hard, and Neuman will wonder why our other cases have slowed down all the sudden. Too risky."

You finish your first slice and sigh. Now your appetite is compromised. "So now what?"

Butcher's all too familiar smirk returns. "We do our day jobs as usual, and prep for that gala like we planned. But right now?" He shifts in his seat, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you into him. He hooks one of your thighs despite your protest and manages to pull you into his lap to face him. "I recall telling you last night that we ain't done."

"Seriously?" You scoff with a wry smile. "Even now?"

"Well no better time than the present, now is there?," he grins. When he leans up to kiss you, you press your fingers against his lips and the other hand on his good shoulder, and push him back. He gives an indignant look.

"As a matter of fact, there is a better time than the present." When he frowns you shake your head and continue. "Billy, you have a goddamn bullet hole under your collarbone. And you're concussed. Almost twice. You need rest, and the less stimulation the better. Not TV, not music, and definitely not getting to know you carnally."

"Stimulation sounds much more fun," he grumbles, still teasing.

"I'm not kicking you out. You can stay. As a matter of fact, I insist."

"Well I'm glad the lady insists."

"But," you press, darting around his flirtatious tone, "It's late. I'm tired. And more importantly, you are tired. Don't lie, I can see it."

"What? Don't fancy me bedroom eyes?"

"You need to heal, Billy," you intone, low but emphatic. "And that requires a quiet place and restful sleep."

He gives a bit of a pout, looking you over as his thumbs rub circles on your thighs. "No pizza, no TV, no sex. Fucking hell, you really are Nurse Ratched."

"You should be supervised for at least forty-eight hours. But you and I both know damn well you're not going to let that happen. Just let me keep an eye on you tonight and I'll quit being your nurse by morning. Okay?"

"No dice. You best have a better deal than that."

"Butcher-"

"How about…I pick some boring drivel on the telly, keep it real low…" His palms smooth warmly over your thighs. "...And you keep more on me than an eye, eh?"

"I keep both eyes on you then," you counter. "And I pick what's on the TV. Final offer. Otherwise, I'll cut the TV cord, kick you to bed and nap here on this couch-"

"You're not kicking yourself outta your own damn bed," he says with a bristling glare. The flirtatious tone returns after a beat. "And I ain't going near it unless you're in it."

"Well look at that, you being a gentleman," you tease. "So? Final offer?"

He stares at you, summing up the options. He's not pleased, obviously. But you can see the fatigue in his face, and you're determined that he makes it through the night without complications. His eyes narrow.

"...What you thinkin' of picking?"

"Something mild, kinda monotonous," you shrug. "Maybe one of those David Attenborough nature docs."

"Oh come off it!," he groans. "Bloody concussion won't kill me but you will bore me to death! I might as well just go to Bo-peep!"

"That's the point," you faux whisper.

He lets out a heavy sigh, minutely shaking his head. "Fuck me…Where's your remote?"

"Thank you," you beam before hopping off his lap. You snatch the remote before he gets any ideas, and set everything up, volume down to just audible. You grab one more slice of pizza from the kitchen, putting the rest away in the fridge, then turning off the lights. You set up an alarm on your phone for the end of the show, then a couple more about two hours apart to check on him through the night. The last would be your usual morning wakeup call.

You pad back to the couch where Butcher promptly pulls you down to tuck into his side. He throws an annoyed look at your triumphant expression, before finally easing back into the cushions, his eyes already heavy. You make quick work of your second slice as you feel his breath start to become rhythmic, ready to begin your watch…

It's not till the sound of the first alarm goes off that you realize you, too, had been lulled to sleep. You jolt, scrambling for your phone to quickly silence the alarm. You're disoriented to find that you're still tucked into Butcher but not as before. At some point you must have dozed a little heavier than him, allowing him to shift you both onto his good side. His left arm is draped over your hips, and when you reach for the remote to turn off the TV, it wraps a little closer.

"Billy?," you call softly over your shoulder. He stirs, giving a small grunt in response. Groggy but responsive, so far so good. You start to shift to get up. "I'm going to get you a blanket."

"No," he grunts into your shoulder. His arm pulls you back flush with him. You feel him wince at irritating his wound with the movement, then mumbles, "Don't need it."

Within moments his breathing becomes warm and steady on the back of your neck again, and his grip slowly softens as he slips back into sleep. You consider trying to sneak out. But honestly…this is more than you could've asked for. If anyone had told you not too long ago that you'd be cuddled by big, bad Billy Butcher, you would have told them to get their head checked. After all these chaotic, frustrating, dirty months this is the nicest thing you've experienced since joining the Boys. Then immediately after realize that this must be an even more rare moment of peace and comfort for him.

Smiling, you check to make sure the alarms are still ready on your phone, then set it aside on the coffee table. You let your eyes drift shut, determined not to take this for granted, soaking in the warmth, the silence…

^^^

Your eyes snap open, the room still dark. You sigh, waiting to hear your alarm. It doesn't sound. It's silent and you glance about, confused, why are you awake? It takes only a moment, the tingle of hairs standing on end, and you find your answer. The feeling is back. The feeling of something wrong.

You slowly raise on one arm, peering around. Only then do you notice something missing, warmth and weight. You turn your head and find Butcher sitting upright on the couch, your legs in his lap. You realize he must feel it, too. His face is turned from you, looking towards the windows.

"Billy?"

He turns his head at your whisper, his face a mix of brooding and alertness, all muddled with fatigue. The second you recognize it, the moment you realize it's the feeling of being watched again, it dissipates. His brow furrows.

"Billy, wh-?"

"Nothin'," he mumbles with a faint shake of his head. "Go back to sleep." He slides lazily back up the couch to reclaim his spot. You're on the verge of asking again but he hooks a finger under your chin. "Hey, what'd I say? I'm fine. It's nothin'."

He pulls you back in again, the solid weight of him behind you and the briefest press of lips upon the back of your neck both bring the tide of sleep over you, slowly but surely. You silence the alarm just before you close your eyes. When the next one wakes you, he's the one to shut it off.

You can't help but notice that his grip softens less in his sleep this time.

#billy butcher x reader #billy butcher #the boys fanfic

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brucebocchi · 4 months

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Ranking every new anime I watched in 2023, Pt. 4: #5-1

hey, i just started a ko-fi for my writing and possible other creative outlets. this post will also be available there, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i'm currently between jobs. the tumblr version of part 1 can be found here, part 2 here, and part 3 here.

The list is complete! This took a lot of work but I'm over the moon to get this out there. Please consider leaving a tip if you've enjoyed reading.

Here goes, my top five anime of 2023:

5. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Zom 100’s debut hit like a freight train, especially coming from a brand new studio. It had everything: Visceral satire of Japanese work culture, incredible animation, vibrant colors in unexpected places, clever cinematography, wish fulfillment for everyone who’s ever wanted to Stone Cold their boss, and most importantly: Zombie titties.

The premise is magnetic: When your job makes you feel like a zombie, an actual zombie apocalypse means certain freedom from the grind. Akira Tendo realizes that he can finally use the vacation time he amassed while being exploited and overworked at a legally dodgy black company, so he writes a bucket list of everything he’s ever wanted to do, with all intention of checking off every single line item before succumbing to a zombie bite. He manages to rescue his hunky fuckboy bestie from college, and they embark on a road trip across Japan to finish out the list, along with a beautiful, risk-averse tsundere and a big-tiddy German weeb.

It's a perfectly fine elevator pitch, and a welcome break from the guns-and-grit quagmire the zombie genre has been stuck in for the past two decades, but what makes any good zombie-flecked media resonate is the human element, which Zom 100 delivers expertly. You’re quickly given reason to care for all the characters, their motivations are clear and relatable, and you want to see them survive and live out their dreams. But more importantly, you just want to hang out with them through their hijinks. It even delves into more serious matters, like what we owe our parents as adults, the ways isolation and bitterness can drive people to act out in their worst moments, and even the factors that push abuse victims to stay with and even return to their abusers.

Above all, though, it’s a powerful (if extreme) story of finding joy in the direst circumstances. Akira, Kencho, and Shizuka are all kindhearted, well-meaning people whose situations kept them from what they truly wanted to do with their lives, and there’s something kinda beautiful to be found in them finding a new opportunity during the possible end of the world (Beatrix is a sweetie too, but aside from the whole zombie thing, she’s already exactly where she wants to be). The final arc of the season, in particular, looks you dead in the eye and asks you: If you were suddenly faced with the ultimate freedom, would you use the opportunity to better yourself, improve the lives of others, or do whatever the fuck you want at everyone else’s expense? You may not like the answer at first if you’re honest with yourself, and that’s okay. The world isn’t over, and there’s still time for you to be your best self.

Zom 100, unfortunately, fell prey to a cruel irony in the form of production issues. Bug Films is a new studio made up of a former team from OLM that was responsible for similarly gorgeous projects such as Komi Can’t Communicate and Summer Time Rendering. They clearly saw so much of themselves in Akira's workplace exploitation that they had to swing for the fences here. The firm he works for is named “ZLM” in this adaptation, for fuck’s sake, and he fully destroys his zombie boss in the first episode. But new studio or old, the anime industry is a grind, and Bug had trouble keeping up; animation quality did take a bit of a dip after the stunning first episode, and episodes were frequently delayed as the summer broadcast season wore on and ended without the entire seasonal run making airwaves. Hell, it was impossible to watch the final three episodes until just a few days before I could write this sentence.

For what Bug were able to pull off, though, Zom 100 is outstanding. The paintball-colored blood splatters everywhere are an instantly-iconic look that strike the balance between horror and spectacle. Everything and everyone looks gorgeously faithful to Kotaro Takata’s art, and delivers an appropriately cinematic look that the manga always deserved. I almost don’t know what else to tell you but that this show is a fucking blast.

There’s also a zombie shark. What more could you want?

4. Oshi no Ko

I spent a good chunk of 2023 just assuming Oshi no Ko was going to be a layup for anime of the year. Shortly after moving on from Kaguya-sama, I rushed to binge Aka Akasaka's subsequent manga in time for the anime's feature-length debut. I was taken in by OnK's bonkers premise and sudden dark turn and quickly fell in love with the characters, and my anticipation only grew. I had high expectations for the screen adaptation, but nothing could have prepared me for just how lovingly it all came together. This is as close to a perfect adaptation as you can find, and the same can be said about both the preceding and following entries on this list.

Oshi no Ko is an audiovisual feast. Doga Kobo cleaned up Mengo Yokoyari’s character designs just a smidge, but put just the right flourishes on them to make every single cast member instantly iconic. One look at Kana Arima’s eyes will tell you everything you need to know about the level of care put into the visual design of this anime. The performances are on point as well; though many of the main cast members are relative newcomers to the world of seiyuu, you can tell they truly came to understand the characters before they even recorded one line. I’ve already gushed about Rie Takahashi in earlier entries, but her turn as Ai Hoshino is easily one of the best voice performances all year. Takahashi makes a meal out of every single second Ai spends on screen and gives you every reason to care about her as a character.

Showbiz manga in general is obviously missing an audio element, and when an adaptation can expand on that aspect well, it can help turn even middling source material into something transcendent (see also: Rock!, Bocchi the). Music is central to Oshi no Ko, and the OP/ED combination is already iconic; YOASOBI’s “Idol” has had the best worldwide chart performance of any Japanese song ever, and the prolonged intro to Queen Bee’s “Mephisto” became a meme in Japan in the same vein as JJBA’s iconic use of “Roundabout.” Rather than taking manga characters’ word for it that someone is a terrible actor, we actually get to cringe along to an amateur actor’s hammy emoting. We get to see and hear what turned a fictional idol group into a national phenomenon rather than just see cute girls posing on the page. All of this is to say that while Oshi no Ko is an excellent manga, it needed a screen adaptation, and especially one of this quality.

Oshi no Ko deserves every shred of its success. I've never seen an anime make a splash this enormous with just its debut episode, even if it’s kind of cheating to say so because the first episode is almost literally a movie, and if I were to give an award for the best single episode of anime this year, it would be that one, hands down. Adapting the entire first volume into a feature-length debut was the correct move (mostly because it’s a tonal rollercoaster, and the Big Event that defines the entire story wouldn’t have happened until the fourth episode otherwise), and the investment paid dividends. The hype naturally died down a bit as the season wore on and settled into a more consistent tone and rhythm, but it remains an essential anime to 2023.

You may have noticed that I have said very little of what this show is actually about, and that’s by design: If you still don’t know the plot of Oshi no Ko’s first episode by now, I refuse to tell you: you need to go in blind. All I will say is that it is an idol anime that glorifies nothing. If you've read this far and still trust what I have to say about anime, I beg you to just take my word for it. It's an incredibly rewarding experience.

3. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

There's just something so wonderful about taking in an adaptation of a work you’re already familiar with and knowing, almost instantaneously, that every single person working on it genuinely loved the source material and relished the opportunity to bring it to life. Nearly every single member of the original cast is in the dub (including the ones who went on to be MCU mainstays), Edgar Wright is back on as executive producer, Anamanaguchi reprise their soundtracking duties from the video game, and even Bryan Lee O’Malley himself helped co-write everything.

That last detail is probably the most important thing about this entire production: It’s not exactly a secret that the original Scott Pilgrim comics are very imperfect portrayals of a very imperfect young man. I knew reading them at the time that the comic did not have a great grasp on relationships and the dynamics between men and women, and that was at a time in my life when I myself was pretty terrible with and to women. O'Malley has said that he would only revisit Scott Pilgrim if it was “the right thing” and that he was leery of a straight retelling of a work he has since outgrown.

So instead, we have the Rebuild of Scott Pilgrim, to put it simply. Takes Off is a completely new story that reexamines the Scott Pilgrim comics, movie, and even game without undermining what came before it. This series is not a repudiation of Scott Pilgrim (the character or the franchise)’s flaws, nor is it purely fanservice; it splits the difference perfectly. It’s both more mature and completely self-indulgent. This show so easily could’ve marched to the familiar discourse drumbeat of “Scott isn’t the hero here” or “he’s actually not a good dude,” but it instead focuses on what should always be the second half of that sentence: “But Ramona still sees something in him.”

Yes, Ramona Flowers is effectively the protagonist of a new work that doesn’t even have her name on it, and it tackles some surprisingly necessary questions: What was her responsibility in creating seven evil exes in the first place? What made them evil? Are they even that evil? This series opens up entire worlds of possibilities within the extended cast and gleefully dives into them. Though Takes Off may not flesh out every single character, it does take its time with several of the ones who really did need a little more meat on their narrative bones, and even gives some characters new roles just because it would be fun to see them in new situations.

I still cannot believe they got Science Saru to make this show. “They made a Scott Pilgrim anime” and “They brought back the movie cast” are already good enough fodder for that Vince McMahon meme, but “It’s produced by the motherfuckers who made Devilman Crybaby” had me falling out of my chair. The animation maintains O'Malley's chunky, cartoony character designs and works wonders with line weights and simulated camera effects to give everything a tactile, weighty feel, like it’s somehow (and very appropriately) splitting the difference between a comic, a film, and even a video game. There’s a wide array of visual effects that helps to place all of Scott Pilgrim’s influences further on its sleeve: Dynamic action scenes, camera depth and chromatic aberration, and our beloved pixel art inserts. It looks like every Scott Pilgrim, everywhere, all at once.

The live action film’s cast did a (mostly) great job reprising their roles for animation, and there are some wildly unexpected cameos in there. Voice acting is not quite the same as stage or film acting, but everyone pulls their weight, and dialogue feels far more naturalistic than your average anime dub. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong and, surprisingly, Chris Evans are outstanding in their respective roles. I’m gonna have to watch this again in Japanese, though. Fairouz Ai as Ramona, Aoi Koga as Knives, and Yuichi Nakamura as Lucas Lee? Sign me the fuck up.

This is not an apology or revision of Scott Pilgrim the character or work, it is a celebration that still acknowledges and improves on the flaws. If you’re a Scott Pilgrim fan who’d been clamoring for a proper cartoon adaptation, Takes Off may not exactly be what you’ve wanted, but it may be what you needed. Chances are pretty good that you’ve grown since the first time since you read, watched, or even played something with Scott Pilgrim’s name on it, and it’s a blessing to say that while the character may not have grown, Scott Pilgrim the franchise finally has.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen, season 2

I’m so glad I picked up JJK this year, if only because I would’ve otherwise been caught in a mudslide of memes I didn’t understand.

Season 2 follows in lockstep with the manga from where season 1 left off, beginning in extended flashback with the Hidden Inventory/Premature Death arc, covering Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto’s high school life and the events that would eventually create the rift between them that came to shape Jujutsu Kaisen’s story. We see very different versions of Gojo and Geto here, much younger and more naive, but only marginally less powerful as they’re sent on an escort mission with the future of the jujutsu world in the balance. Because this is Jujutsu Kaisen, and because Jujutsu Kaisen is for masochists, nothing happens as planned.

We unfortunately do not get the precious slice-of-life hijinks the OP suggests, but if you watched season 1, you should know better by now than to trust an OP. While the initial arc does have its quieter and goofier moments (and some delicious homoerotic subtext), it wastes little time in declaring that this is a new version of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime: Lines are thinner, character models are looser, and action is buckwild. Two of the best fakeouts in the series happen in the span of five minutes. Those unfamiliar with the source material may have wondered for a bit why there needed to be a five-episode prequel arc to start the season, but the pieces would soon fall into place.

And then came Shibuya.

The Shibuya Incident arc was what made Jujutsu Kaisen a must-read in every new issue of Shonen Jump. It reset the status quo for the story and shaped it into something far beyond another “teenagers with special powers go to a school for teenagers with special powers” battle shonen. Needless to say, the hype for its anime adaptation was astronomical.

The Shibuya arc sets the stakes early: Nobody is safe and there may be no happy ending. Triumph is short-lived, and every threat is existential. Everyone who has been in the series up to this point plays a role, and you’re not going to like a lot of what’s needed of them. This arc punches you in the gut, repeatedly, and in between each blow is some of the most intense and innovative action you’ve ever seen. It will hurt, and you will beg for more.

I liked this arc a good amount in the manga, but by the end I was ready for it to be over. I didn’t get the hype around Toji, thought the deaths were cheap, and was so. FUCKING. sick of Mahito. Seeing it in fluid motion onscreen, though, everything just clicked for me and I couldn’t get enough. I fully get now why the girlies have been wetting themselves over Toji; the character modelers were HORNY horny this season. I see now how even the most unceremonious deaths fit into the narrative, or at least one will make perfect sense to me once Gege Akutami and I have a little chat :). And holy hell do I understand now that Mahito is one of the best shonen villains in the history of the medium, that sick bastard. Season 2 was my Rosetta stone for Jujutsu Kaisen; I see it all now. My sixth eye has been opened. Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am the literate one.

JJK’s second season has a markedly different feel from the first from a presentation standpoint, and I feel it’s for the better. Every aspect of the presentation is on point, and I want to call attention to the audio element: The production music, with a heavy focus on jazz piano, is wonderfully unique for the genre, and the voice acting remains top notch. These are banner performances from the likes of Yuichi Nakamura, Kenjiro Tsuda, Takahiro Sakurai, Asami Seto, and Nobunaga Shimazaki, but the performance that defines the Shibuya arc (and by extension the entire season) is Junya Enoki as Yuji Itadori.

Enoki’s been great this year in lead roles in goofy works like KamiKatsu and Girlfriend Girlfriend (not to mention minor roles in Skip and Loafer and the vending machine isekai), so it’s no surprise that he continues to crush it as JJK’s protagonist; Yuji Itadori is a goofy dude. But the Shibuya arc, for as much ground and as many characters as it covers, is ultimately Yuji’s story as he is forced, time and again, to endure the cycle of the “suffering builds character” meme. His peers and mentors in the first season told him repeatedly that the life of a jujutsu sorcerer is a short and unhappy one, and he now has to shoulder that burden for everyone. Enoki nails every single part of a wide spectrum of emotions Yuji is forced to endure over the course of the Shibuya arc, be it determination, naive confusion, or just pure unbridled trauma. If this isn’t the best voice performance of the year, it’s top five at worst.

Like every major battle shonen release in the age of social media, this season has had its detractors. Reviewers at Anime News Network kinda hated the story, but that’s something you take up with Gege Akutami (and get in line behind the manga readers). I've seen people complain about the animation. Which, like. If you don’t like the new visual style, sure, fine, that’s up to personal taste. But if you think this season isn’t well-animated, you just plain don’t know ball. It may not have a cohesive look, but that was the draw for me: Season 1 was good, but at times I felt like it looked a little too rigid, a little too shiny, a little too samey. Season 2, especially the Shibuya arc, looks like everything. Sometimes it looks like an action film, sometimes it looks like Mob Psycho 100, and at points it looks, most crucially, like Akutami’s most iconic panels brought to life, stroke for stroke.

The varying styles weren’t an accident: Nearly each episode had its own director, and those resumes cover top-tier animations like Mob Psycho, Devilman Crybaby, Kill la Kill, Heavenly Delusion, Oshi no Ko, FLCL, even Akira and goddamn Golden Boy. While the episodes don’t look entirely consistent from one to the next, the variance is less jarring and more “holy fuck, what am I going to see next?”. The looser style of animation is what Jujutsu Kaisen always needed; Akutami’s art is very loose and dynamic, and his action panels are borderline inscrutable at times. Season 2 nails the feel of JJK to a degree that its adaptation always needed and lets its directors, storyboarders, and animators run wild. At times, characters will look like they leapt right off the page; others, they will look like something you have never seen before in your life.

It is unfortunately impossible to talk about this season without also bringing up MAPPA’s working conditions, and how animators were frequently overworked against nigh-impossible deadlines. It was an open secret last year as Chainsaw Man aired that MAPPA’s animation schedule was a meat grinder, but that came bubbling to the surface quickly as JJK’s second season aired. Word got out midseason that MAPPA had its animators sign NDAs about their work conditions, but complaints still broke containment and several staffers took to social media to apologize for their work looking incomplete, and some even publicly announced that they are leaving the studio. It is stunning that the finished product looks the way it does under such conditions, and I respect the animators for putting in such incredible work, but something has to give. Several major series suffered from major delays this year, some of which I gave significant praise, but MAPPA is lucky that all of JJK came out on time. I wish I knew what could push them to treat their workers with the dignity and respect (and pay) they deserve, but that’s a conversation that covers much wider ground than just anime.

MAPPA has already announced that the series will continue through the next major arc. While there is quite a bit of it that I would love to see on screen, I can only hope that the animators get to rest. For now, though, we can be proud of what they made under duress, even if some will forever wonder what it would look like if the staff were treated like something a notch above cattle.

1. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Fucking hell. This is why I watch anime.

I was curious about this one because a couple major anitubers I watch had reviewed the manga and were effusive in their praise. I knew the anime adaptation was on the way, so I decided to hold off on reading and see what the anime would be like, and with Keiichiro Saito (director of Bocchi the Rock! and key animator for Oshi no Ko’s instantly-iconic OP) at the helm, my excitement was piqued. That guy turned a B-minus 4-koma into an innovative hit comedy, so what can he do with a beloved source material and the backing of a legacy studio like Madhouse?

I've had so much to say about Frieren since the premiere, and I still have so much to say now, but to talk about what I love about this show is to talk about everything about this show. When the first four episodes dropped, I described it as “Mushoku Tensei without the baggage,” and I stand by that. There were multiple points throughout Frieren’s first cour where I'd nearly forgotten that I wasn't watching Mushoku Tensei. Every single element is on point: The animation is fluid and expressive, backdrops are consistently gorgeous, voice performances are quickly memorable, and the music is evocative and instantly iconic. This is, plainly, one of the most beautiful pieces of television I have ever seen on nearly every level, be it visually, sonically, or thematically.

The initial four-episode debut was a masterclass in establishing the setting, building emotional investment into the characters, and slowly but deliberately laying out the premise of the season to come. The titular Frieren is an elf mage who, for a very brief decade of her millennium-long life, lent her skills to an adventuring party to slay the Demon King. Though she helped save the world, she was never one for stuff like adulation or socializing, so she breaks away from the group to continue her hobby of collecting various spells and arcana. She regroups with them after 50 years, having kept in contact with none of them, only to find them older and frailer. The party’s leader, the hero Himmel, passes away shortly thereafter, and Frieren breaks down at his funeral, having realized exactly too late how important he was to her and that she’d never really bothered to get to know him as a person.

Some time later, she’s called by the surviving human member of the party, Heiter, under the guise of translating an old text, but soon realizes that he duped her into helping train the young orphan girl he adopted, Fern, as a mage. Upon Heiter’s death, Frieren and Fern head out together, carrying out odd jobs and retracing Frieren’s steps from the journey that changed her more than she realized. They soon learn from the other surviving member of the party, Eisen, that (ooh) heaven is, in fact, a place on earth, and that Frieren may be able to properly pay Himmel his final respects in person. In order to do so, they must make a trip to the north, past the Demon King’s castle. The story of Beyond Journey’s End is, quite literally, a nostalgia trip.

Frieren's story is one of grief and regret, but also how we can use those emotions as a way of moving forward rather than looking backward. Her history is a long one and her memories seemingly everlasting, but she uses them to pave the road ahead of her rather than let them shackle her to the past. This is best exemplified by Fern herself, as well as the other companion they pick up the way in Eisen’s former trainee, Stark. Frieren can carry on the legacies of Heiter and Eisen by helping their young wards grow into the capable young adults they’re meant to be, while Himmel’s legacy lives on in the memories of the towns and villages he helped save along Frieren’s new path, and most importantly, in Frieren herself.

The degree to which Himmel truly mattered to Frieren becomes more apparent to her as the story goes on, and it becomes more evident in her actions. Himmel was a gentle, selfless (if self-aggrandizing) man who was every last bit the hero the modern world believes him to be. With every statue of him she cleans, every flower she plants in his name, every core memory that returns to her, we are watching Frieren become more and more like him in real time. You would expect a thousand-year-old woman to be pretty set in her ways, but we see her holding off on old, bad behaviors because of how Himmel would react to them back then. As Fern and Stark grow into young adults, we see her beginning to treat them the same way Himmel treated her. Frieren doesn’t realize it until later in the season, but it’s apparent to us early on that Himmel well and truly loved her, and I feel that it’s dawning on her that she loved him too and didn’t recognize it. That is tragic in and of itself (this show absolutely is a tearjerker at times and I will cop to getting misty-eyed as I write this), but there is something beautiful, well beyond my grasp, in being able to honor the memory and carry out the legacy of a loved one in how you treat those around you. I don’t think anything could have made Himmel prouder.

Frieren herself is a really goddamn good character too (and expertly voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki, best known for voicing Anya Forger in Spy x Family). Though she is portrayed as quiet and uncaring for the early part of the story, it’s been really delightful to watch her open up, and above all, inadvertently reveal that she’s actually just Really Fucking Weird. For as self-assured and put together as she always seems on the surface, it was great to learn that she’s just an enormous slob (she just like me fr), and any outward expressions of smugness or her offbeat sense of humor are always a joy. “Deeply weird person trying to act normal” is always fun, and there’s just something so consistently delightful about seeing someone so typically calm and intelligent get caught in a mimic chest every single time.

I still can’t get over how fucking good this show looks. Beyond Journey’s End features some of the most intricate, loving animation I’ve seen for stuff as simple as someone putting on a jacket. Action scenes are few and far between, but not a single frame is wasted when shit pops off. Not everyone is as detailed as possible at all times, and they don’t need to be, but everyone looks incredible when they need to be. It’s well above my pay grade to accurately say so, but this show could be a lesson in proper animation budgeting. I could go on and on and on, but I’ve written nearly eighteen thousand words about anime, so I’ll wrap it up.

The debut season of Frieren will continue into 2024, and if the quality remains a constant, it could very well be one of the best anime of next year too. It has remained as MyAnimeList’s top-rated anime ever for its entire run, warding off the legion of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood fans. Frieren deserves it. I say with no hyperbole that this is one of the most perfectly realized things I’ve ever seen on television. This is an essential watch for anyone who likes fantasy anime, anime in general, or fantasy in general.

#anime reviews

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sadhours · 9 months

Text

simmer down - chapter two

billy hargrove x hagan!oc

read on ao3 • masterlist • prev chapter

requests are open!!

warning: 18+ minors dni, smut, tiddie fucking, p in v, oc x steve, slow burn

summary: Gina has it easy being Tommy’s little sister. A spot with the cool crowd. Invites to all the parties. Everything she could ever want. But it seems to be more a burden when the new guy from California shows up and becomes best friends with her brother. At least she has Steve, or does she?

word count: 10k

—

Gina wore the outfit Carol picked out. She paired it with the fancy cropped leather jacket her parents had bought her for Christmas. She’d painstakingly curled her chestnut hair with her butane powered curling iron. She had to wake a whole hour earlier to do so. It was a lot of work to go through for a boy, but Gina was determined to catch Billy’s attention. She even wore foundation makeup, which hid the majority of her freckles and she spent too long doing her winged eyeliner. She had to skip breakfast but she hoped it was a worthy sacrifice.

When she gets downstairs, she’s glad she catches her parents before they leave. She bounces on her tip toes and makes big doe eyes at her mother, “Can you schedule me an appointment at the salon? I need my hair permed again.”

Her mother smiles, “Of course, sweetie. You look pretty.”

“Thanks,” Gina beams.

Tommy snorts, shoveling a spoonful of his cereal into his mouth. “She’s trying to impress my new friend,” he says around the Wheaties.

“Shut up!” Gina groans and her mother gives her a knowing look.

“That kid with the Camaro?” their dad asks, “He seems like a good kid. Very respectful.”

“You two should ask him over for dinner. I’d like to get to know him,” their mom says, double checking her briefcase.

“He’s joining the basketball team,” Tommy adds, standing from the table to dispose of his bowl in the sink.

“What’s his name again?” their dad asks.

“Billy Hargrove,” Gina says with a dreamy smile and Tommy smacks the back of her head.

“Thomas Michael Hagan! Do not hit your sister,” their mother scolds.

Tommy mocks her, swinging his backpack over his shoulder as their little sister wanders into the kitchen. Gina double checks the small girls braids. She’d done them last night before bed and wants to make sure they’re not too messy from sleep.

“Invite that nice young man over for dinner,” their mom repeats, “I’ll make shepherds pie.”

“Yeah, I will, mom,” Tommy says exasperatedly and he ushers Gina out the door, tugging her by her backpack.

She climbs into the front seat and Tommy does the same in the drivers side, he turns the key in the ignition but before he shifts any gears, he turns to his sister and she meets his intense gaze. It’s a look he hasn’t given her before and if she’s honest, it scares her a bit.

“I told you he’s off-limits,” he tells her sternly.

Gina swallows the lump in her throat, “I’m… I know. I wasn’t wearing this to impress him.”

Her voice is shaky and she hopes Tommy can’t pick up on the obvious lie. She wonders if Carol talked to him last night. While she did consider Carol to be her best friend, she wouldn’t put it past her to tell Tommy their plan.

“Don’t fuck this up. I want to be his friend,” he continues, “I don’t have a guy friend to do cool stuff with anymore. Since the shit with Steve, I just hang out with you and Carol and no offense, you guys aren’t that fun.”

“You don’t think your girlfriend is fun?” Gina scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tommy groans, shoving the gear shift in reverse before looking behind him as he pulls out of the driveway. “I didn’t mean it like that. Don’t go telling her I said that,” he retorts. “I just mean, I get bored doing whatever the hell you two wanna do.”

Gina sighs, shaking her head, “I get it. I don’t like Billy, okay?”

“It’s not a matter of if you like him, just don’t try to sleep with him,” Tommy replies, turning on the stereo to cut their conversation short.

Gina doesn’t mind, though. Sometimes her and Tommy got along so well and then other times, she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him. When they pick Carol up and Gina moves to the backseat, it’s like the conversation never even happened at all. Carol’s ranting about her parents the whole drive to school, not even sensing the tension between the Hagan siblings. As they pull into the parking lot, Gina sees Billy leaned against the side of his Camaro, talking to Tina. It makes her heart sink a bit but she remembers quickly that Tina doesn’t listen to the same music as him. Maybe it’s silly but she thinks it gives her an upper hand.

Gina doesn’t head over to Billy and Tina right away. Due to the conversation with her brother, she hangs back and pretends to be looking for something in her backpack. While she’s doing so, Steve pulls up and parks beside Tommy’s car. He’s alone and he looks forlorn, turning his car off and sinking into the seat. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back. She’s tempted to open the passenger door and sink in beside him, try her best to comfort him. However, she’s sure he’d tell her to get lost. Her eyes follow the curve of his nose down to his lips and she gets lost in memories of how it felt to kiss them. Then Steve lifts his head and opens his eyes, meeting her gaze.

Steve lifts his hand and waves, a small smile spreading across his lips. Gina’s sure she’s blushing as she waves back and pulls her backpack over her shoulders before turning to walk towards her group of friends. Tina’s excitedly talking to Carol and Tommy’s showing Billy a sports magazine. Gina’s fingers play with the strap of her backpack as she takes her place next to Carol, replaying the small moment she’d just had with Steve over and over in her head. She thinks it means something. An acknowledgment from him was all she’d been wanting for months now.

“What are you smiling about?” Billy asks as he kicks against her shoe, their eyes meeting.

“Nothing,” Gina replies, her smile not faltering.

Her stomach is full of butterflies, turning her head to watch as Steve walks towards the building. She suddenly can’t wait for study hall, the whole plot of impressing Billy with her outfit has fallen by the wayside. Steve’s name dangles on the tip of her tongue, those feelings of infatuation flooding back from such a minuscule interaction.

“Ya want a cigarette?” Billy offers and when she turns to look at him again she doesn’t miss the way his eyes travel down her body and back up.

“Sure,” she shrugs, taking the Marlboro perched between his fingers.

Billy leans forward to light it for her and Gina can feel everyone’s eyes on them. Especially the narrow ones of her brother and Tina. She sinks her shoulders a bit, turning away from Billy and instead involves herself in the conversation the girls are having. Carols worried about some test and Tina’s relating. Gina is suddenly reminded that next year she won’t have the security of her friend group. They’re all seniors. Come this June, they’ll be free of Hawkins High and onto whatever awaits them next. Tommy and Carol have plans to attend school out of state. Gina’s not too excited to assimilate into another group. She’s scared of being lonely.

——

Steve smiles up at Gina when she walks into study hall and takes her seat. Unintentionally, her effort in getting ready this morning has clearly caught his attention. She smiles back at him before opening up her backpack and pulling out her binder, shuffling through the pages to get started on her math homework. Steve’s eyes are burning holes into the side of her face. She’s happy about it but she still feels shy so she untucks her hair from behind her ear and lets it fall against her cheek. She wonders what this means. Perhaps Steve and Nancy are broken up now.

A note is tossed on her desk, coming from Steve’s direction. When she turns to look at him, he stretches his arms up and fakes a yawn, not looking nearly as inconspicuous as he’s trying to. Gina’s cheeks hurt from the smile spreading across her lips and she’s pretty sure she hasn’t stopped blushing since she walked in the classroom. Her fingers unfold the paper to see Steve’s messy handwriting scrawling out the simple message next to a smiley face:

Gina chews on the end of her pencil as she reads it, glancing up to see Steve tapping his fingers against the top of his desk. This is more than an acknowledgment, it’s a conversation. Tingles run up her legs, her heart beating a little faster as she reads it over again. Her pencil meets the paper, jotting down her reply.

Hey

She carefully folds it back up, darting her eyes to their teacher. He’s focused on whatever he’s working on at his desk. Since the coast is clear, she slides the note back to Steve before trying to get back to her homework but the numbers don’t hold her attention for long as she eagerly awaits his reply. Out of her peripheral, she sees Steve writing on the note before folding it back up and passing it to her.

How have you been? Missed you.

Gina’s heart about jumps out of her throat, her stomach flipping as she focuses on the last two words of his reply. Possibilities of the implications race through her mind. Did Steve miss her in the way she missed him? Was this friendly or romantic? She’s got to play it safe and assume it’s friendly so as to not embarrass herself. Gina writes back:

Bored. Missed you too.

Steve’s fingers brush hers as she passes him the paper back, their eyes meeting and Gina recognizes the glint in his brown ones. Steve is flirting. It’s very safe to assume Nancy is no longer his girlfriend, at least Gina thinks so. Unless her attempt to get Billy’s attention inadvertently caught Steve’s. Which was odd, Gina didn’t show up looking like a completely different person. Steve had seen her dolled up plenty of times before. Maybe Nancy and Jonathon really had something going on.

Steve tosses the note back, lounges back in his desk a bit and glances up at the clock.

Me too. We should get together soon. Do something fun.

Suppressing the excited giggles rising up her throat proves to be a difficult task as a few of them escape. Gina blushes an even deeper shade of red, quickly covering the note with her homework as their teacher snaps his head up to look at her. She quickly purses her lips and pretends to be mulling over her math problems, scribbling circles on the margins of the page.

“I don’t need to remind you all that study hall isn’t a free period,” the teacher announces, “Keep quiet and do your work.”

Gina couldn’t do her work even if she really, really wanted to. Steve’s at the forefront of her mind now. She imagines all the things they could do for fun, each scenario leads to a familiar excitement between her legs and she actually has to cross them for a bit of relief. After a few minutes have passed, Gina uncovers the note and writes in her best cursive:

Sure, I’d like that.

She meticulously folds it back up and slides it back on Steve’s desk. He quickly scrawls out his reply and hands it back over. Gina unfolds it slowly, checking to make sure the teacher hasn’t turned his attention back to her.

I’ll let you know when, babe.

Gina bites her lip to make sure no more excited sounds bubble out of her. After she’s folded the note back up, she tosses it into her backpack and spends the next excruciating twenty minutes daydreaming about the brunette boy next to her while failing at solving the rest of the problems on her worksheet. The bell rings finally, alerting the class that it’s lunch time and Gina starts putting her things away. Steve stands before her, puts his palm on her desk and smiles down at her. He looks so handsome in his jeans and pressed polo, the collar sticking up over his Member’s Only jacket.

“I’ll see you around, Gina,” he purrs and it takes everything in the freckled girl to not melt into a puddle on the seat.

Her voice is a dreamy whisper when she replies, “See you, Steve.”

His fingertips tap against her desk before he turns and walks out of the classroom, leaving her a little breathless and unbelievably elated. Steve Harrington wants to hang out with her again. It’s almost like she’s dreaming, she considers pinching herself to confirm she’s not. Gina’s practically dancing through the halls as she makes her way to her locker. She wonders if Steve will take her on a proper date this time. Every time they hung out before were under different implications, either Tommy was around or they were having sex. She hopes this time will be different.

By the time she makes it to the parking lot, everyone’s already gathered around Billy. Tina is curled into his side but Gina is quite literally so ecstatic that she can’t find it in herself to care. She’s getting Steve back, she’s so sure of it that the crush on Billy has slipped to the back of her mind. All she can think of is how soft Steve’s hair is, all the moles that scatter across his body and the way it felt when he kissed her. Steve, Steve, Steve. She’s basically chanting his name in her head. And the worst part is she couldn’t speak his name into existence around her friends. At least, not unless it was attached to an insult.

“Hey, Gina,” Billy greets in his low drawl, smirking lopsided. Just this morning that would’ve had her knees shaking but now, it reads as friendly.

“Hi, guys,” she chirps, “What’s up?”

“Billy joined the basketball team,” Tommy announces, beaming so bright it’s a little uncomfortable. Gina wonders why he’s so excited. Then she’s reminded about Carol’s comment about Tommy wanting Billy all to himself and Gina can’t bring herself to look at her brother.

“Very rad,” she muses, craning her head to look for the stupid boy she can’t get out of her head. She’s curious as to what Steve’s doing for lunch if he isn’t dating Nancy anymore. He never had trouble making friends but she doesn’t see him hang out with anyone besides Nancy these days. Aside from the group of middle schoolers he babysits.

They used to all sit in the cafeteria until Billy came around. The blonde doesn’t each lunch, ever. All he does is chain smoke during the hour. In fact, Gina realizes she’s never seen Billy eat but she knows he has to eat quite a bit for him to have muscles like he does. The new routine isn’t one she likes to much, she’s always starving when she gets home from school. Tommy is too. They started raiding the fridge and pantry as soon as they get through the door. However, Gina is pocketing the lunch money their parents give her and that’s been a nice bonus.

“Can’t wait to see him on the court,” Tommy continues, “He’s gonna devour Harrington.”

And there it is. Gina shouldn’t be shocked, Tommy can’t go an hour without shit talking his former best friend.

“Speaking of that,” Carol butts in, “Who’s all betting on him and Wheeler being over?”

“I have five on it,” Tommy snorts.

Tina giggles, “I’ll bet ten that they’ll get back together before the week is over.”

God, Gina hopes that isn’t the case. She also has some insight they don’t. Steve’s note is burning a hole in her backpack. She desperately wants to show it to someone, but it wouldn’t be received well. In fact, it’s guaranteed that Gina would be the only one to feel positive about it. And as much as she loves these assholes, that’s what they are— assholes. No doubt they’ll twist it and make Gina second guess Steve’s advances.

“Who fucking cares?” Billy seethes around his Marlboro, “Harrington’s love life is a bore. This place must fucking suck for each and every one of you to have such a vested interest in it.”

That’s one thing Gina’s noticed and liked about Billy; his disdain for gossip. Which is funny because that’s all her friends do. She’s guilty of it herself because well, the Californian is spot on. Hawkins is so dull that there’s not much else to talk about besides the people in it. The group kind of mumbles in agreement though it’s all a show for the new guy.

“And you know what I’ve noticed? Gina’s the only person who doesn’t talk about the guy,” he continues and all eyes fall on her.

Gina’s red cheeks are back, though in utter embarrassment. Thank god Billy can’t read minds because then he’d know that Steve is all she thinks about.

Tommy cackles, “That’s because she’s had a crush on him since she was like ten.”

“Shut up,” Gina fumes, smacking her brothers arm, “I do not.”

Billy’s eyebrows are raised as he looks at the small girl amused, “No shit?”

“I don’t not have a crush on Steve,” she defends herself and it’s true. It’s not a crush, she’s full blown in love with him.

“Tommy, you’re such an asshole,” Carol scolds, hooking her arm with Gina as she guides her away from the group but making sure to shove her shoulder against her boyfriends on the way.

Once they’re out of earshot, Carol continues, “Sometimes I have no idea why I love your brother. He’s the fucking worst.”

Gina swallows back the tears and hates herself for how easily it is to make her cry. She lets Carol drag her back to the cafeteria, they grab a small lunch each and Gina is eternally grateful she has Carol. They sit down at a table and Gina heaves a huge sigh.

“I hate him so much,” she complains, cracking open her Coke before shoving a straw into it. “That was so embarrassing.”

“I’m sorry,” Carol frowns, opening her pudding and shoveling a mouthful. “Tina’s really digging her claws into Billy anyways. Let them run their course and then make your move.”

Maybe the crush on Billy isn’t entirely dissolved, she was mortified with him finding out about her infatuation with Steve. Gina shakes her head, “I don’t want Billy.”

Carol rolls her eyes, “Oh, shut up. We all want him.”

Gina opens her bag of chips carefully and raises both her eyebrows at Carol, “Why don’t you dump Tommy and go for him then?”

The older girl heaves a sigh, resting her head on her hand as she looks at Gina, “Unfortunately, I love him.”

“Do you think you’ll marry Tommy?” she asks before munching on a handful of the Lay’s.

Carol giggles then, her face reddening at the thought and Gina’s happy for them. They really do love each other. It’s pretty gross.

“Hi,” the familiar voice catches Gina off guard, her and Carol look up to see Steve standing at the edge of the table, holding tightly onto his lunch tray.

A deep blush rises up Gina’s neck to her cheeks, staring up at big, dark eyes and a hesitant smile. Steve’s alone. It must feel awful given he’s walked up to Gina and well, Carol of all people. But he doesn’t glance to the redhead, keeps his eyes firm on Gina’s light brown ones. Of course, the older girl is shooting him daggers.

“What do you want, Harrington?” she seethes, mouth turned in disgust.

“Do you wanna join us?” Gina asks, voice sweet to offset Carol’s harsh tone.

“If that’s okay,” Steve replies, a little shy and still acting as if Carol isn’t there.

Gina nods, scooting further down the bench to accommodate the lanky brunette. Steve sits next to her, their thighs touching. The freckled girl sips her coke while she look’s curiously towards Carol. She seems amused and a little confused. She kicks Gina under the table and then stands.

“I’m gonna go find Tommy. See you after school?”

Gina nods, smiling wide, “Okay, sounds good.”

Once Carol stalks off, Steve heaves a sigh, “Well Carol still hates me.”

Gina giggles and offers, “I don’t.”

It almost looks like Steve is blushing, his cheeks swollen with the smile spread across his lips and he shakes his head. “For which I’m very grateful. I was kind of… a dickhead.”

Gina doesn’t want Steve to know how heartbroken she actually was from his departure. Always trying to be the cool girl, the one with no feelings and just a desire to have a good time. Something bred within her and Tommy, the biggest need to fit in and be liked. Their parents instilled in them how important it was to not stand out, do good in school, not catch too much attention.

“Yeah,” Gina breathes out, “I get it, though. I’m not mad at you.”

Steve smiles at her, offering the other cookie from his lunch while he bites down on one. Gina takes it with a grin, biting into the sweetness and holding her hand out to catch the crumbs falling from it. Steve looks at her with this intense, contended gaze. It makes her skin crawl in the best way, she likes his eyes on her. Gina likes attention, it’s a fault at most times. That’s why she has such a hard time saying no, always eager to please.

“How’s gymnastics?” Steve asks, suddenly.

Gina flushes, remembering how Steve used to go to all her meets and cheer her on. She always tried a little harder when he was there.

“Oh, I quit,” she says after swallowing the cookie, tucking her curly hair behind her ear.

“You did?” Steve’s eyes widen, in disbelief. Gina had been doing gymnastics since she was six years old. The Harrington’s paid for it until her parents could afford to. Barbara used to take her to the meets, Steve and Tommy in tow when her parents were too busy working. Gina was unbelievably competitive, she would cry if she came in second place. Gymnastics was her life for the longest time. She worked really hard to excel at it. When she wanted to quit, her parents were pissed.

She nods, reaching for her soda again, “I joined the cheerleading team. So I’ll be cheering you on during games.”

“You’ll be the best cheerleader with all that training,” Steve replies, stars in his eyes and it takes everything in Gina to not touch him. Her fingers tense, pressed firmly on her thigh.

“I’m a flyer,” she brags, “I’m not as tiny as Chrissy, but I can land just as good.”

“Probably better,” Steve compliments, “I remember going to all your meets. You always got first.”

“And when I didn’t, I’d throw a fit,” Gina reminisces, giggling in embarrassment.

Steve nods, chuckling with it, “You worked really hard.”

“So, maybe tomorrow we can hang out after school?” Gina offers, biting her lip.

“Yeah, my parents are in New York. For the month,” he explains, looking just a bit forlorn.

Steve used to brag about how he was always home alone, but Gina always figured he got lonely and that’s why he used to invite her, Tommy and Carol over everyday. She knew how reserved Nancy was, could only imagine that Steve spent more time alone than with her. For a good few months, Gina was over at the Harrington’s every day. She’d made out with Steve on practically every piece of furniture in his house and thinking about it now, she has to squeeze her thighs together. She recalls one time they’d made love on the piano displayed in the living room. It was a bit awkward, but nevertheless got her aroused to think of. She wonders if Nancy would let Steve take her anywhere or if she only let him have sex in bed. Gina wonders if her and Nancy are similar at all. She doubts it.

“Okay. I’ll come over after school,” Gina smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Cool,” Steve nods, stealing a chip from Gina. She wants to ask Steve about Nancy but she doesn’t.

“Is that boy coming over?” Gina’s mom asks after Tommy and Gina walk through the door.

“Yeah,” Tommy says, “He’s gotta watch his sister until his parents get home, then he’ll be over.”

Gina completely missed that conversation and within the excitement of Steve finally acknowledging her again, she forgot Billy was supposed to come over for dinner.

“I’m gonna do my homework,” she mumbles, rushing to her room and shutting the door behind her. She drops her backpack on her bed and fishes through it for the note from Steve. Gina’s fingertips smooth over it, the butterflies in her stomach swirling around fast. It’s a little pathetic on her part, how easily she’s back wrapped around his finger. She throws herself on her bed and lets out a fit of giggles, holding the note close to her chest. She reads their conversation over and over as she begins imagine what they’ll do tomorrow. The mention of his parents being out of town gives you a slight indication, but she wonders if Steve will be different, now. Maybe Nancy sparked something in him and now he’s romantic. Gina hopes he asks her to be his girlfriend and she knows how foolish that is, because him and Nancy just broke up. But maybe Steve missed her. Maybe he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

After an hour or so of daydreaming, she lifts herself from the bed and files through her records. She pulls out Fire of Unknown Origin by Blue Öyster Cult and puts it on the record player, dropping the needle down and turning the volume up. She opens her closet up, delicately picking out her outfit tomorrow and lying it out on the chair in the corner of her room. She picks a turquoise shirt with white stripes and a white tennis skirt while imagining how she’ll style her hair and makeup. However, a particular blonde crosses her mind and she turns her eyes back to her closet. Just because she’s got the promise of Steve doesn’t mean she can’t look cute for Billy. She can’t help but wanting to catch his attention.

Settling on a pair of comfy, cheer shorts and leaving her Metallica shirt on, Gina sits at her vanity and begins touching up her makeup. It wasn’t too bad, but it did need to be freshened up. After, she reaches for a scrunchie and ties her hair up in a messy ponytail, making sure to pull a few pieces out to frame her face. The goal is to look effortless while actually putting the effort it. Gina grabs her bottle of cherry almond scented lotion and rubs it into her legs and arms. She glances at her alarm clock. It’s almost five thirty. Billy should be over soon. She grabs a copy of Cosmo and travels to read it in the living room.

An article about how to get your man’s attention is particularly enthralling. Gina takes notes mentally. Be mysterious, make lots of eye contact and laugh at their jokes. She hums, thinking about how Steve often makes her laugh. He’s very funny.

When she’s about halfway through the magazine, the doorbell rings. She remains calm, doesn’t jolt up from the couch to answer it like she desperately wants to. Besides, she can hear her mom answer the door and greet Billy.

“Billy, right?”

“That’s right. Nice to see you, Mrs. Hagan.”

“Please, call me Kathryn. Come on in.”

“Thank you, Kathryn.”

Billy walks into the living room, peeks over the couch at Gina and drawls out, “Cosmo, huh? Anything juicy?”

“Hi, Billy,” she says without looking up. Mysterious.

“Tommy’s in his bedroom,” her mom tells him before trailing back in the kitchen. “Dinner will be done soon.”

Billy reaches forward and grabs onto Gina’s ankle, jostling her playfully and then winks as he descends down the hall. Her breath catches her throat, flipping into her back as she stares up at the ceiling. Tries to ignore the tingling feeling where his fingers just were, closes her eyes and pictures Steve’s face. It works okay until she hears her brother’s obnoxious laugh, muffled by walls but loud enough to hear in the living room. She opens her eyes again and sighs, sitting up and wandering into the kitchen.

“Do you need help?” she asks her mom.

“Sure, sweetie,” Kathryn smiles warmly, “You can go ahead and set the table.

Gina nods, walking over to the cabinet and carefully grabs six plates. She carries them to the table and places them in their designated spots, realizing the usually empty seat is right across from her. She’ll be staring at Billy for the duration of their meal. Awesome. She tears off six squares of paper towels and lays them out. Next, Gina collects the silverware and places a fork next to each plate. She retrieves two wine glasses, sets them in front of her parents plates before grabbing three glasses and then Bridgette’s special plastic cup with cartoon characters decorating it. She fills Bridgette’s cup with milk and then fills the other glasses with juice.

Just then her dad walks into the kitchen, kissing her cheek and then her mothers.

“How was school today, sweetheart?” he asks.

“It was good. I’m going to stay late tomorrow to work on a project for science class,” she explains, chewing on her lower lip while she hopes it doesn’t sound like she’s lying.

“Alight, honey,” her dad smiles and turns to his wife, “Smells good. Almost ready?”

“All done,” Kathryn nods, “Gina, go grab your brother and his friend.”

Gina waits until she turns away to scrunch her face up, unsure why she’s suddenly so nervous. Once she gets close to Tommy’s bedroom, she hikes her shorts up just a smidge. Her knuckles wrap against the door, her stomach fills with butterflies as she opens it up and peeks in to see Billy and Tommy lying very still on their backs on his bed.

“What are you guys doing?” she asks, tilting her head.

Billy has his hands on his chest and Tommy’s are in fists by his sides. It looks weird. Even weirder when Tommy sits up and Gina sees his cheeks are flushed, hiding his freckles.

“Nothing,” Tommy says, “What do you want?”

Gina glances at Billy, as he remains on his back. She almost wishes she hadn’t knocked and just barged in to see what they were doing.

“Dinner’s done,” she narrows her eyes at Tommy. She’ll be sure to ask him once Billy leaves.

“Okay,” Tommy says, “We’ll be right out.”

Gina opens the door wider and leans against the frame, “You guys look suspicious. What are you hiding?”

Tommy reaches for a pillow and chucks it at her, “Get out. We’ll be out soon.”

“If you guys have grass and you’re holding out, I’m gonna be pissed,” she whispers, picking the pillow up and throws it back at him before retreating back. She heads to her sisters room, smiling at the small girl as she rearranges her stuffed animals on her bed.

“Bridgette, it’s time to eat,” Gina smiles and the little brunette hops up to her feet.

She slaps Gina’s leg as she runs passed her, “Tag, you’re it!”

Gina goes to chase her but Billy’s exiting Tommy’s room and she almost collides into him. He grabs her wrist and hip to catch her, chuckling softly as their eyes meet.

“Careful,” he says lowly, “Ya almost took me out.”

“Yeah, well…” Gina taps his chest and runs passed him, calling back, “Tag! Billy’s it!”

Billy walks into the dining room casually, eyebrows raised as he watches Gina round the table and hide behind her younger sister, the both of them giggling. He pouts at them, “No fair. I didn’t even know we were playing tag.”

“That’s what makes it fun,” Gina grins, using Bridgette as a human shield.

“What’s fun?” Tommy asks when he finally makes an appearance.

Billy pats his shoulder, “Tag— and you’re it.”

Tommy just rolls his eyes before sitting in his seat, reaching for his glass of juice and taking a big gulp. Gina notices his cheeks aren’t as flushed but his lips look swollen. Her stomach turns suddenly, wondering if her suspicion are true. Maybe Carol was right all along. She quickly pushes the thoughts aside, feeling sick at the thought of her brother kissing Billy.

“Tommy doesn’t play tag,” Bridgette complains as she sits in her chair, pushing her hair out of her face. Gina walks behind her, pulling her hair up and ties with the the hair-tie from her wrist. Then she sits in her seat, watching as Billy sits across from her.

“Thanks for dinner, Kathryn,” Billy smiles, “I appreciate it. Bless my step moms heart but she’s not the best cook.”

“Oh, well you’re welcome to join us whenever you’d like,” Kathryn smiles at the blonde.

“My mommy’s the best at cooking,” Bridgette beams, “She makes me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for school.”

“I bet,” Billy smiles, picking up his fork. “Do you guys say grace or?”

Their dad laughs, “Nope. We’re a godless house. Go ahead and dig in.”

“If you say grace, we can,” Kathryn says, always wanting her guests to feel at home.

“Oh, we do at my house but that’s my dad’s thing,” Billy explains, his cheeks a little pink suddenly. “I just didn’t want to be rude.”

The Hagan patriarchy chuckles again, “Rude? You’ve met my kids. Hard to surprise me anymore.”

“I’m not rude!” Bridgette whines.

“So, Gina,” Kathryn changes the subject, “Who are you working on this science project with?”

Gina swallows the lump in her throat. She was hoping they wouldn’t bring it up in front of her brother and Billy. Even though she was gonna repeat the same lie to them tomorrow. She shrugs, waving her hand, “Some kids from my class. We’re just gonna work in the library.”

“You’re gonna walk home then,” Tommy mumbles with his mouth full. His mom shoots him daggers across the table.

“The car came with the responsibility of driving your sister around, Tommy. You’ll pick her up,” their dad says, reaching for his glass of wine.

“I’ll get a ride from someone, it’s fine,” Gina insists, “I don’t know when we’ll be done anyways.”

“You know your curfew,” Kathryn says.

Gina nods, finally lifting her eyes to Billy and noticing he’s staring right at her. Her skin feels warm as she wills herself not to blush. His eyes are so intense but she likes them on her.

“Oh and I have cheer practice this week, but it’s the same time as basketball practice,” Gina adds, still looking up at Billy.

“I heard you joined the team, Billy. You play before?” their dad asks.

Billy turns to look at him, “Yeah. Back home, I played basketball and baseball.”

“We actually have a chance this year,” Tommy adds, beaming from ear to ear.

“You competitive, Billy?”

“Yeah, I don’t like to lose,” Billy says with a laugh.

“Gina’s like that. She was a gymnast for ten years,” Kathryn smiles at her daughter, “Placed at least second every meet, if she didn’t win.”

“Yeah,” Tommy snorts, “And she’d throw the biggest tantrum is she didn’t get first. Water works, stomping around, the whole nine yards.”

Gina rolls her eyes, “I did not.” She did.

“You were a gymnast?” Billy asks, an amused look on his face. “Why’d you stop?”

“I wanted to join cheer. The schedules conflicted,” she shrugs, “If I don’t like it, I’ll join gymnastics again.”

“Win any trophies?” he asks, and it feels like they’re the only two people at the table. Her heart flutters as she pushes her food around her plate with her fork.

“A couple,” she shrugs again.

“She has a whole bunch in her room!” Bridgette exclaims, bouncing in her seat.

Billy laughs, turning his attention to the younger girl, “Do you play any sports?”

“I’m in tumbling,” she says proudly, “That’s how Gina started. I’m gonna get a bunch of trophies like her.”

“Very cool,” Billy smiles at her.

“Do you have any trophies?” Bridgette asks.

“Mhm,” Billy hums as he chews his food, swallowing before answering her, “I have a couple for surfing.”

“Surfing?!” Bridgette squeals, eyes wide, “Like in the ocean?!”

“Yep,” Billy tells her, “I used to live right by the ocean.”

“I didn’t know you surfed,” Gina says, surprised.

Billy nods, “Can’t do it here. But yeah, I used to go out every morning at like four to surf before school and then during summers, couldn’t keep me away from the ocean. I started when I was eight years old.”

“The ocean scares me,” Kathryn admits, “So vast. So unexplored.”

Billy frowns, “Huh. Yeah, plus sharks and stuff. But in my experience sharks are pretty laid back.”

“You’ve seen a shark?” Bridgette gapes at the older boy.

Billy grins wide, “Yeah. I used to pet them.”

“And they don’t bite you?” she looks at him alarmed, almost like she can’t believe him.

“Nope. Well, not the ones I pet. But some of them bite,” he tells her. “I saw a lot of Leopard sharks. They’re harmless. But we had Great White sharks out there and those ones are mean. I didn’t see them often, though.”

“How do you not run away when you see them?” Bridgette wonders, her eyebrows knit together.

Billy tilts his head, “If you act calm, they don’t bother you. If I tried to get away really fast, they might come after me.”

“I’m not going to touch a shark,” she says, “I don’t want to get bit. Have you been stung by a jelly fish?”

Billy smiles at her. He’s got this sweet look on his face that makes Gina a little smitten, seeing this bad boy facade kind of fall while he talks to her baby sister is the cutest thing. She thinks Billy would be a good dad and then goes down this short spiral of daydreaming about having a baby with him. Clearly Tommy can read her face because her kicks her under the table.

“I have, actually. My friend had to pee on me,” Billy tells her while scrunching up his face.

“Ew! Why?”

“I don’t know. We heard you had to do that,” Billy says, “But I think it just made it worse.”

Bridgette giggles, “And it’s gross.”

“It was gross,” he agrees.

“I’ve never been to the ocean,” Gina admits.

Her mother sighs, “One day, you will. We’re due for a vacation soon. I’m thinking Disney world.”

Bridgette gets excited, starts begging her parents to go. Their dad sighs, “See what you’ve done, Kathryn.”

—

Gina’s cleaning up after dinner. Her parents are enjoying glasses of wine on the back patio and Bridgette is watching a movie in the living room. Billy wanders into the kitchen, leans against the counter.

“Need help?”

Gina smiles at him, “I’m just about done. I always have dish duty.”

“Me too, usually,” Billy admits, “Kind of weird not to.”

“Enjoy it while you can,” Gina tells him as she scrubs the last pan with the sudsy sponge.

“So, you’re pretty flexible, then?”

“Excuse me?” Gina turns to him as her face erupts in red.

“Well, being a gymnast and all… you’ve got to be flexible to do that,” Billy explains, smirking at the younger girl.

Gina gapes at him, his tone and eyes seem to indicate that he’s flirting yet she can’t bring herself to believe it to be true. So she doesn’t really know how to respond to him. If Tommy hadn’t told her to back off and if Billy wasn’t so goddamn handsome, she’d flirt back easily. But she just… can’t.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so. I was kind of gunning for the Olympics but well, I don’t know if I’m that good,” she explains a little sheepishly.

Billy bites his lip, nods at her slowly before he tells her, “You’ll have to show me sometime.”

Gina smiles awkwardly at him, “I think I’ll be doing some stuff for cheer. I’m a flyer, so they’re gonna be throwing me up in the air to do flips.”

“Guess I’ll see it then,” he muses, “Can I see your trophies?”

Her stomach flips, thinking about Billy being in her room.

“Uh, sure…” she sets down the last pan to dry and nods towards her room, “They’re just on a bookshelf in my room.”

She trails down the hallway until she gets to her bedroom, slowly opening the door and scanning her eyes across the room like it’s the first time she’s seeing it. Wonders what Billy will think of it. Her carpet is a dusty rose pink and her wallpaper is floral stripes, daisies and roses. She’s got a full size bed pushed up against the wall on the right side, a white frame with pink and white floral bedding. Her nightstand is white as well, has a pretty pink and blue dolphin lamp on it next to her alarm clock and the latest romance novel she’s picked up. Next to her nightstand is her matching vanity, where all her hair products, makeup and perfumes are displayed delicately. Her walls are decorated with posters, mostly bands she likes but a couple of framed prints her mother picked out as well. Across from her bed is her dresser, her record player on top of it and next to that is her bookshelf. The first two top shelves meticulously display her trophies, the middle one stores her books and the bottom two keep her records and cassettes.

“Interesting,” Billy says, sounding amused.

“What?” Gina asks, suddenly really nervous.

Billy shrugs, “It’s very pink. I thought it would be different.”

He’s thought about her room. Gina tries not to bounce on her feet in excitement.

“What did you think it’d be like?”

“Well, you listen to metal… so more… that,” he chuckles and Gina laughs with him.

“Oh… well, here’s my trophies,” she gestures to the bookshelf.

“I thought they said you threw fits if you got second,” Billy mumbles, fingertips grazing the pieces of plastic, “All of these are first place.”

“Well, I’m not gonna display that I lost,” she explains, her cheeks hearing up, “Those are in the garage.”

“Ha,” he scoffs as he squats down to look at her records, “but you’ll display this?” He pulls out an album, flipping it to show Gina. The Go-Go’s.

“I like that album,” she frowns, bending down next to him as he slides it back in.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Billy whispers, looking up at her with a glint in his eyes, “but I like it too.”

“You really do have good taste then,” she giggles.

Just then, her door swings open and Tommy bursts through.

“What’re you doing?” he asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“Billy wanted to see my trophies,” Gina explains, standing up as Billy does.

“Well, I better get back home,” he checks his watch, “Curfew.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Tommy insists.

“I’ll see you later,” Billy says on his way out, before Tommy follows him, he turns to Gina with narrowed eyes.

—

Steve’s house is quiet as the two of them walk in the door. He leads her up the stairs and to his very familiar bedroom. She drops her backpack on the floor and looks up at him, expectantly. Steve smiles, walks towards his bed and sits on it.

“Make yourself at home,” he says.

Gina smiles awkwardly back at him, walking towards the bed and sitting beside him. It’s kind of strange being so close to Steve again. Gina feels eager, has to keep her fingers busy fussing with her skirt so she doesn’t push him back down on the bed and straddle him.

“So,” Steve says, but doesn’t continue. Instead he just looks from Gina’s eyes to her lips.

“So,” she parrots.

Steve cracks a grin, moves his fingers forward and tucks Gina’s hair behind her ear. The shell of her ear tingles from the touch and she drops her eyes down to his lips. He bites his lower one, let’s his fingers ghost the supple skin of Gina’s cheeks.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, still smiling at her.

“Steve,” she whines, raising her hands to cover her face.

He grips her wrists as he laughs, pulling her hands down, “I mean it. I’ve really missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” she admits shyly, looking back up to meet his big brown eyes.

“You don’t hate me?”

“I could never hate you,” she promises, her heart skips a beat as he links their fingers together.

“Yeah?” Steve whispers, scooting closer to her. Gina nods at him.

Then Steve leans in, ghosting his lips over Gina’s. He seems like he’s hesitant, like he thinks she’ll push him away. So she lets go of his hands and grips onto his shirt, pulls him close so their lips finally collide. Steve’s hands shoot up to hold Gina’s face, he makes the softest little moan against her plush lips and she can’t help but squirm at it. His tongue grazes her lower lip, Gina parts her lips instantly to allow him entrance. Her thighs tingle as their tongues meet. Kissing Steve was always her favorite. She found no other boy could kiss like him. The way it made her head swim was addictive.

He lays her back on the bed, situating himself between her thighs as he deepens the kiss. It’s urgent, desperate. Gina clings on to his polo like she’s scared he’s gonna float away. His nose bumps against hers, causing them both to smile into the open mouthed kiss. He lowers his hand down and starts feeling Gina up through her bra and shirt, squeezing softly. She hooks her leg over his waist, pulling him even closer.

Usually, Gina would be content to lay here for hours just kissing Steve but it’s been so long since she’s had him and she’s pretty eager for more. She pulls his shirt over his head, breaking the kiss for just a second and then smoothing her hands over his chest. While they continue kissing, Steve kicks off his Nike’s and they land to his floor with a dull thud. Gina takes that as her cue and does the same, but hooking her leg back over him when she finishes. Steve pushes her shirt up, exposing her bra to him and he lowers his head to place delicate kisses over the curve of her breast. Gina gasps out, hooking her fingers in his soft hair. Steve sucks a pretty sizable bruise into her cleavage before pulling her bra cup down enough to get his lips around her hardened nipple. Gina’s particularly sensitive there and her back involuntarily arches at the feeling.

“A-ah, Steve!” she moans out, eyes fluttering shut.

He swirls his tongue around it before sucking it back between his lips. She pulls on his hair, rolling her hips up against him. He grinds back, giving the tiniest bit of friction with his jeans. Gina gasps out as Steve flicks his tongue against her nipple before he’s pulling away. He pulls her shirt over her head and she sits up a bit so he can unclasp her bra and pull it down her arms. He cups her breasts in his hands, pushing them together and then jiggling them as he gazes down with hungry eyes. Gina giggles, her cheeks flushed while he plays with her tits. He used to compliment them a lot, tell her they were the biggest he’d seen.

“Can I fuck your tits?” he asks, his eyes going dark as he glances back up at her.

Gina nods frantically. She’d let Steve do anything he wanted, “Please.”

He grins, pulling away to shove his pants and briefs down his legs. He straddles her middle, hand wrapped firmly around his long cock. He strokes himself a few times, squeezing his tip and then pressing his slit to her perked nipple. The coolness of his precum smearing against her sensitive bud makes Gina squirm.

“Fuck, that’s hot,” she mumbles, watching the action with her eyebrows knit together.

“Mhm,” he grins, rubbing the head of his cock against her nipple a couple of times.

Then he spits in his hand, spreads the saliva over his cock and lays it between Gina’s breasts. She props herself up on her elbows, watching as Steve pushes her tits together. He rolls his hips slowly, the head of his cock appearing from the top of her cleavage. Gina giggles before sticking out her tongue, his tip meeting it with each thrust. Steve groans lowly, his hips snapping a bit harder each time.

“Jesus, Gina,” he whines, “You’re so hot.”

Eventually, Steve gets fed up and scoots up. He rubs the head of his cock against Gina’s lips so she sticks her tongue out again. He slaps the tip against her tongue and she wraps her lips around it, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Such a good girl,” he coos in a dreamy voice, pushing her hair back while he slowly thrusts into her mouth.

Gina hums around him, relaxing her throat to take his length. He’s always gentle though, doesn’t shove it too far down. Steve likes her to focus on his tip, while he squeezes the base.

“Gina,” he whines, his lips bitten pink and shiny with the way he keeps licking them.

She loves the view, staring up at him with adoration. She thinks Steve might be the prettiest boy she’s seen. Gina absolutely loves his floppy hair, his big brown eyes and the slight hook of his nose. The moles too. The two on his cheek and the two on his neck.

He pulls back, gasping as he does so. Gina licks her lips, looking up at him all doe-eyed and Steve curses, squeezing his dick.

“Gina— Christ,” he pants.

“Need you,” she begs, rolling her hips up.

Steve lowers himself to the ground, forcing Gina to sit up right to watch him. He pulls her leg warmers and socks off, grazes his fingers against her calves before pulling her closer to the edge of the bed. He reaches up, pulling her underwear down her legs. She goes to pull her skirt down but his hand stops her.

“Keep it on,” he insists, bunching it up above her waist before pressing kisses to her freckled thighs.

Her breath catches in her throat, watching him closely as he spreads her legs further apart. Steve lips dip down, pressing a kiss against her soaking cunt. She hisses when he slides his tongue up her slit. Steve’s the only one who’s ate her out. And he’s still the only person who has made her cum. He’s done it with his mouth a number of times, but his dick has been the only one big enough to reach her g-spot. So she was kind of spoiled with him being her first sexual partner. Everyone after had been incredibly disappointing, the only thing she gained from them was a quick confidence boost.

“Oh, Stevie,” she hums, knotting her fingers in his hair while he licks through her folds. “Feels so good.”

She can feel him hum against her, vibrating in the best way that has her back arching at the sensation. The feeling almost has her eyes close but she needs to watch him. He looks up at her while he does it, mouth pressed flush against her pussy and the sight is absolutely delicious. She wants to tell him how pretty he is but she thinks men don’t like being called that.

He swirls his tongue around her clit, raising his eyebrows as he does so. She whimpers for him, pushing his hair off his forehead. Her shoulders tense up, mouth hanging open while soft moans tumble out. It’s like time stops with Steve’s mouth on her. All the bad blood and history falling away. It’s like he never ditched her for Nancy in the first place. It’s like Steve loves her.

“Steve,” she preens, her thighs tightening around his head as she feels her orgasm creeping up on her. “Need you. Need you now.”

He pulls back, Gina scoots up the bed and spreads her legs for him. Steve positions himself between her thighs, kissing her deeply as he does so. God. She’s still in love with him. Gina loves him.

She clings onto him tightly, gasping into his mouth as he sheathes himself inside her. She can’t believe it’s finally happening. It’s been so long, months and months of waiting. He gets his cock about half the way inside her before he stills, the two of them panting into the kiss. Steve does that a lot, stops for seconds at a time. Gina thinks it’s because he’s trying not to cum and for some reason, that’s really sweet. All the boys after Steve didn’t care about her pleasure. She felt used afterwards. And even if Steve drives her home right after this, she’ll still be madly in love with him.

“Steve,” she moans against his mouth, wrapping her legs around his waist as she pulls him the rest of the way inside.

He makes a strangled noise, moving to shove his face against her neck. It’s a stretch she’s missed dearly. A stretch her fingers or the handle of her hairbrush couldn’t replicate. Not to mention, the breath on her neck. The weight of him on top of her. She’s not sure she can go any time without this again.

Gina has to roll her hips up because Steve’s still not moving, panting into her neck and grabbing onto her elbows.

“Slow down, baby,” he grits out, “You feel so good.”

The pet name makes her walls flutter, clenching tightly onto him. He chokes out a laugh, pulling his head back as he grabs onto her jaw. Steve turns her face and plants a big, fat kiss on her cheek. It makes Gina giggle, wrapping her arms around his shoulder and squeezing him. All the desperation inside her subsides and is taken over by a warm, heavy feeling of love for Steve. She realizes she wants to take this slow, wants to savor the moment. She pushes his hair back, gazing into his eyes. He smiles down at her, she returns it.

“Missed you,” she mumbles softly, “Missed this.”

“Me too,” he admits, cupping her chin and stroking his thumb against her lips.

“You’re pretty,” she finally says.

Steve scrunches his face up before he laughs softly, “You are.”

He rolls his hips against her slowly, his tip brushing against the sensitive, spongy part deep inside her. Gina gapes, eyebrows furrowing while she whines out softly. Steve builds a languid rhythm, petting Gina’s hair with every slow thrust. They keep the eye contact, lips parted as soft moans slip out. Even Steve’s voice is pretty, almost melodic. She thinks he’s a good singer, used to tell him all the time, though that seems inappropriate now. Gina recalls a time when they got into his parents records. Steve had put on a Three Dog Night album and sang to her, trying to be silly with a cigarette between his fingers. As funny as Steve was being, he sounded good.

Suddenly, he jerks his hips abruptly against hers. Hammering against her g-spot in a mind numbing fashion. Every damn thought in her head dissolves and that neediness takes over again. Gina writhes against him, scratching down his back while squeezing her eyes shut. He builds up a quick pace, makes Gina’s eyes roll back as he cries out. Steve drags his hand down her stomach, presses the pad of his thumb against her clit. The sensation makes Gina jump, grabbing onto Steve’s shoulders when he rubs firm circles against it.

“Stevie,” she cries, moving her fingers into his hair again.

Steve pistons his hips quicker, little grunts and pants falling beautifully from his lips as he brings Gina to completion. The orgasm is almost violent, makes her yell out as it seizes through her body. Steve makes the prettiest sound, a cross between a whine and moan. Once she’s recovered enough, she presses her palms against Steve’s cheeks, looking into his eyes while he pumps his hips into her.

“Oh, Steve,” she moans, feeling the tears collecting at the corners of her eyes, “Cum for me, baby.”

Steve grunts, his face contorting in pleasure, “Where?”

Gina sticks her tongue out, meeting his intense gaze.

“Fuck,” he whines, pulling up and quickly shuffling up to straddle her chest.

Gina wraps her lips around his tip, sinks down as much as she can and hollows out her cheeks. She looks up at him with glassy, wide eyes. The brunette whines repeatedly, emptying in her mouth with his fists gripping her hair.

“Gina!” he grits out, “Fuck, fuck…”

She continues sucking, milking every bit of cum out of him. Steve collapses down beside her, breathing heavily while Gina swallows his spunk down. She giggles, turning to cuddle up against her. He pants, holding her loosely as he comes down from his high.

“God damn,” he exhales after a minute, turning to the freckled girl.

“Mmm,” she hums, leaning close to peck his lips. After a beat she bites her lip, “I need a cigarette, I think.”

“Fuck, me too,” Steve chuckles, sitting up slowly. He stands, reaching for Gina’s hands and pulling her up with him. They silently dress and then Gina grabs her pack of cigarettes and follows Steve out to the backyard. They sit in lounge chairs and light a smoke each. Gina closes her eyes as she inhales, feels like her body is vibrating.

“So… how mad is Tommy?”

“At you?” Gina replies, turning to look at Steve, “I think… I think he just feels like you chose Nancy.”

He seems to visibly deflate at the girls name, which doesn’t make Gina feel all that great. But she’s just telling the truth. It was like ten years of friendship down the drain because some girl didn’t like Tommy. Carol told Gina that Steve said they were all assholes, but Steve was too and used to be worse than Tommy.

“Yeah, I kind of did,” he says after a beat. Gina doesn’t mention how he chose Nancy over her, too. Because her and Steve never solidified their relationship. They had to hide they were sleeping together and Gina was always too nervous to ask him what they were.

“He’s pretty mad,” she offers slowly, “But I think more than anything, he’s hurt. Don’t worry though, he’s found someone else to follow around.”

“Oh, yeah… Billy. God, that guy is such a dick. Like royally.”

Gina bites her lip, takes a deep inhale from the cigarette and feels the heavy smoke fill her lungs. She turns to Steve, “He’s nice to me.”

Steve scoffs then, “Gee, wonder why.”

“I don’t know,” Gina replies, “I haven’t really seen him be mean to anyone.”

“Oh, come on,” Steve raises his eyebrows, “You’re a pretty girl. Why else would he be nice to you?”

Gina sits up at that, tosses her cigarette to the ground before standing up, “I’m gonna go home.”

“Wait— Gina, I didn’t mean it like that,” Steve stands, following her into the house.

She ignores him, trudging back up the stairs to Steve’s room to retrieve her school bag. He doesn’t let up, footsteps right behind her. When Gina turns to exit the room, he grabs her wrists.

“I know guys like that,” he mumbles, “I used to be one. I’m sure he’s gonna try to get you in bed and I think you’re better than that.”

“I’m a big girl, Steve,” she narrows her eyes at him, “I only sleep with people I like.”

He sighs, pushes his fingers through his hair and nods. “I know… I really just don’t like that guy. I don’t really like that you’re hanging around him.”

Gina scoffs, exaggeratedly looks around his room, “Well I don’t see him here. I came here to spend time with a guy I like.”

“You like me?” Steve asks, his cheeks reddening slightly while his lips curl up.

Gina’s jaw drops, “Is that news to you?”

“Kinda,” Steve replies, chuckling softly.

He places his hands on her hips, leaning down to catch her lips in a soft kiss. As mad as she was two minutes ago, the second he touches her it all melts away. Her arms wrap around his shoulders, standing up on her tip toes to meet his mouth. Steve deepens it and Gina gives in, kisses him for a while before she’s pulling away.

“I really should get home, though,” she whispers.

Steve pouts, wrapping his arms around Gina and squeezing her, “You can’t stay for longer?”

Gina sighs, resting her head on his chest, “Yeah, I gotta get my homework done at some point.”

“I’ll drive ya,” Steve kisses the top of her head.

The ride home is like old times. Steve’s cracking jokes and turning Gina into a puddle of giggles. However the air in the car turns awkward instantly when they’re up the street from Gina’s house and Billy’s pretty Camaro is parked out front. Steve pulls over a block away, nods down the street and asks, “He come over a lot?”

Gina shrugs, “Sometimes.”

Billy’s only been in town a week and he’s been over three times, maybe that is a lot but Gina’s not sure. Steve sighs and puts his BMW in park, he turns to her.

“I’ll see you on Monday. Maybe you can come over again,” he tells her, looking a little deflated.

“I’d like that,” Gina smiles, leans over the center console and gives Steve a quick kiss. “Bye.”

She grabs her backpack and opens the door, walking the short block to her house. She turns to see Steve make a u-turn and head back towards Loch Nora. Inside, her house is quiet. She can see Tommy, Billy and Carol sitting out on the back patio. Her parents must be at Bridgette’s tumbling class. Gina sets her backpack in her room and wanders out back to meet the other teens. Tommy and Carol are messing around in the grass, so Gina walks up next to Billy. He reaches in the cooler and hands her a beer.

“Who is he?” he asks, taking a swig from his own can.

“What do you mean?” she asks, knitting her eyebrows together.

“I can always tell when a woman’s just had an orgasm,” Billy quips, smirking at the small freckled girl.

Gina’s cheeks heat up and she can feel her eyes water in embarrassment, so she quickly opens the can of Miller Light and takes a long drink of it. She swallows hard, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure ya do,” he chuckles, turning to her. “You’ve got all the markers. Messy hair, swollen lips, glassy eyes, you’re walking kinda funny. Plus you seem happier than usual. So who is he?”

Gina’s been caught. She didn’t know it could look so obvious. She smiles softly, thinking about the sex with Steve, “I’m not telling you.”

Billy frowns, “That embarrassing?”

Gina gapes, quite the opposite. She’d love to scream from the rooftop that she was just in bed with Steve Harrington. But Tommy might actually murder her.

“No,” she huffs, “No one would believe it anyways.”

Billy raises an eyebrow, looks her up and down before he laughs, “The King?”

“No!” she denies, her eyes widening, “Absolutely not.”

“That’s fucking funny. Tommy would kill you, huh?” Billy retorts, chewing on his bottom lip.

“It’s not Steve,” she presses, bringing her drink back up to her lips.

Billy sucks his teeth before reaching for his pack of Marlboros, “Don’t worry. Secrets safe with me, darlin’.”

#billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove #billy hargrove x original character #billy hargrove x oc #billy hargrove x original female character #steve harrington smut

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mojowitchcraft · 4 months

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2024 Fic Tracker

I decided to start tracking the fics I'm reading for 2024 and I thought I'd maybe do a monthly round up of my favourite fics and post on here, but I'm one week in and there's already so many great fics that I'm reading that I wanted to yell about!

Not sure how consistently I'll post these, but I love hyping up my fellow writers and friends, so here's some of my recent faves, mainly Steddie fics but some others in here!

change your mind

by helix_stomper [@pixelizedrifles] Rating: E | Words: 168k | Chapters: 13/17 | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

After his breakup with Nancy, Steve Harrington keeps it a secret that he hasn’t made an effort to meet his soulmate. When he accidentally wakes up next to them a few days after his 18th birthday, he’s surprised to find that it’s not only another guy, but somebody else in Hawkins. Between losing all his old friends, learning how not to be an asshole, and balancing his newfound sexuality in a closed-minded town, Steve has his work cut out for him. Eddie Munson doesn’t believe in soulmates, but that doesn’t stop him from waiting in the dreamscape every night for his. Balancing life as an openly queer, drug-dealing super senior in Hawkins, Indiana is no cakewalk, especially with Billy Hargrove on his ass. But maybe, just maybe, there’s something to that whole soulmate thing after all.

📓 💭: [Read most recent chapters of this ongoing WIP] I was so excited when I saw that helix_stomper was writing a soulmate fic, and it does NOT disappoint. It's a totally different vibe from the Boots & Budweiser series but it's so so excellent. A completely fresh and interesting take on the soulmate trope with dreamscapes, a healthy dose of identity porn and some *drama*

they're going to send us to prison for jerks

by @greatunironic Rating: E | Words: 16k | Chapters: 1/1 | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

GARETH 11.46am it’s been like five hours should we do a welfare check on him? JEFF 11.47 am why? you think it’s possible to die from jerking it too much? GARETH 11.47am ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah In which Eddie is TikTok famous, and his personal favorite creator just had an unexpected face reveal.

📓 💭: I love me some modern au / alt format / social media shinanegans and this did not disappoint! Super fun and cute

Paint & Glitter

by unhappy_peaches [@ghast1yghosts] Rating: T | Words: 2.3k | Chapters: 1/1 | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

"face painter Steve's next in line is an excited 20 y/o Eddie who wants a dragon"

📓 💭: [Reread] This came up in covo with a friend and I had to reread it cause it's so damn cute.

Tentative

by Eddywow [@eddywoww] Rating: E | Words: 90k | Chapters: 11/? | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

“Oookay," The woman drew out, one ringed hand sweeping at Stevie's hair. "Hey there, Uhh. You're kind of in my lap. Can you get up?" Rude. Couldn't she see Stevie was trying her best?

📓 💭: [Read most recent chapters of this ongoing WIP] I was a little late to the party starting to read this but it's SO FUCKING GOOOOOOOD!! (would we expect anything less of Eddywow? Doubtful) Love going wild with my friends about stressy depressy big tiddy Stevie. Such a fun dynamic between them in this gender bent girl band modern au.

We Can't Both Be Billy Joel

by audacity_of_bluejays [@audacityofbird] Rating: E | Words: 34k | Chapters: 4/5 | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

Classically trained concert pianist Steve Harrington’s dreams went on pause when the world shut down in 2020. When you’re the last one in, you’re the first one out when the concert halls shut down, no matter how much time, effort, work or talent you put in. So, three years later when his adoptive father and owner of Skeleton Keys Piano Bar in Indianapolis calls him home from New York City to help save the family business, he finally has a way to use his skills and experience. Turns out you can come home again. The only problem is, the plan is to bring in dueling pianos and Steve has to work with the current piano player on staff. Eddie is stupidly talented, annoying and friendly even when Steve isn't. It's infuriating. Can they work together and save the bar from closing? Or will they both get more than they bargained for?

📓 💭: [Read most recent chapters of this ongoing WIP] love love loving my gal Birdie's modern au piano bar fic. Honestly did not expect to get turned on by them playing the piano but the 'playing the piano as foreplay' tag did not lie to me! This is super fun and sweet and the final chapter is getting posted tomorrow!

Steve & Robin

by audacity_of_bluejays [@audacityofbird] Rating: M | Words: 46k | Chapters: 8/22 | Pairing: Evental Steddie, with on and off Stommy as a treat

Summary:

It's 1995. Two sets of best friends find themselves in Chicago and in each other's orbit as they try to figure out how to best navigate the world, work, relationships, family, and friendships in their mid-twenties. Chrissy is starting a new job in a new city with only an old friend to help tether her. Eddie tries to help his band find their big break. Steve tries to get his matchmaking family off his back and Robin hatches a plan to help him do that in an unconventional and seemingly logical way. They're all finding themselves and their way to each other. So, who cares if they stumble along the way? At least they have each other.

📓 💭: [Currently catching up on this ongoing WIP] Another one that I was putting off reading and I'm now obsessed with!! Birdie has really found her niche with this fun screenplay style alt format. The way she describes the scenes and the cuts between things is SO FUCKING FUNNY and I can totally visualize it. My new fave sitcom.

stand still (so i can see your sillouette)

by audacity_of_bluejays, pizzabones [@glitterfang] Rating: E | Words: 4k | Chapters: 1/1 | Pairing: Stommy

Summary:

Immediately following the events of Chapter 7 of Steve & Robin, Tommy and Steve consummate this new version of their relationship. Will this be the beginning of something beautiful or the end of something that's run its course? Maybe Both. Tune in:

📓 💭: oh my god it's like if my favourite sitcom had a late night special. wowoowoweeeee!!! Love me some Stommy smut but also I couldn't relax and enjoy it the whole time cause I don't trust that man!!

sidelong

by Adure [@toburnup]

Rating: E | Words: 5.8k | Chapters: 1/1 | Pairing: Stommy

Summary:

Tommy draws his knees up toward him and leans his folded arms on top. He stares, unashamed, at the length of Steve's neck as he looks around. His chin. His nice smile. Tommy's drunker now that they're sitting in the brunt of the sun, and maybe that's why it takes a few extra seconds for him to realize that Steve's stopped talking. "Is there something on my face?" Steve asks, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand. He looks confused. And he's waiting, because Tommy is slack-jawed and a little bit in love and he's really, really not ready for this shit. (Tommy can't help but look, and Steve can't stop catching him.)

📓 💭: some soft and squishy Stommy to heal the wounds that the above rec might give you. I love me some happy ending Stommy, just two dudes in love with each other trying to figure it all out!! Absolutely adored seeing my bestie Becca @glitterfang partner up with Vio and do some amazing art for this fic!!

Hungry Like The Wolf

by beetlesandstars [@beetlesandstarss] Rating: M | Words: 10k | Chapters: 1/1 | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

“Are you a manifestation of my subconscious?” Eddie asks, tentatively shuffling closer to the wolf. He sways a little, stage-whispering, “What are you trying to tell me?” He knows the pills he took were strong but, well - he didn’t think they were ‘hallucinate a giant dog’ strong. (Or, the one where Steve turns into a wolf and befriends Eddie Munson.)

📓 💭: Werewolf Steve!! WEREWOLF STEVE!!! I need so much more of him!! Absolutely loved the identity porn of it all and wolfy cuddles. So good.

Sneaky Link

by morningberries [@morningberriesao3] Rating: E | Words: 121k | Chapters: 17/20 | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

HailToTheKing: tell me what you look like ELMst01: tall, pale af, few tats here and there Steve lifts his eyes from his phone. He must be wondering why Eddie is smiling like a fucking idiot. He pretends not to notice Steve sizing him up from head to foot. Judging bastard. HailToTheKing: sounds hot HailToTheKing: just my type OR The only thing worse than Steve Harrington, is the fact that Eddie got paired with him for his college assignment. At least the sexy guy he subscribes to on OnlyFans is a good distraction to keep Eddie's mind away from Steve, and the annoying crush he hates that he's starting to develop on his project partner.

📓 💭: [Read the most recent chapter of this ongoing WIP] I've been loving this fic since the begining. I'm always feral for a modern au + university/college au + only fans? Come on!!! So much good soup in here. Plus the added Eddie is a thick headed dummy is so good

Slide It In

by gayhandshake Rating: E | Words: 1.7k | Chapters: 1/1 | Pairing: Steddie

Summary:

Without thinking, he yanks his hand back, Steve yelping, “Eddie!” in response. “Why does it feel like that?” Eddie asks, his mouth pinched. His voice is high-pitched and whiny and incredibly embarrassing, but seriously, why does it feel like that? He shakes his whole body out, wiggling his arms to dislodge the sensation. Steve cranes his neck to glare at him. “Like what?” “Like ‒ squishy and weird!” --- Eddie struggles with some features of the human body.

📓 💭: okay this is just pure silly crack and it made me laugh so fucking hard.

a snowfall kind of love

by @hexiewrites Rating: E | Words: 46.5k | Chapters: 7/11 | Pairing: Steddissy

Summary:

Chrissy has always been top of her class at the North Pole. She’s worked her way up to the matchmaking department, and has an impressive track record of successful Christmas relationships under her belt. This year's assignment should be easy, which is good, because if you asked her out of earshot she might tell you the whole thing is getting a bit… tired. Still: a happy but lonely mechanic meets an ornery author in the biggest slump of his career, whose bike breaks down outside of his secluded cabin in the woods where he's settled for his annual winter writing retreat. A house call, a little bit of that ‘snowed in, only one bed’ magic, Chrissy knows she’s in for an Elf of the Year award for this one. Only... what happens when the mechanic and the author are just as charmed by Chrissy as she is by them? When her little bit of snow gets a little bit out of control? With three of them snowed in, still with only one bed, and an elf fully cut off from her powers, can Chrissy still pull it off and help her marks find love? Or, can her marks help show her that there’s even more magic when Christmas ends, but the love is here to say?

📓 💭: [Read most recent chapter of ongoing WIP] Man I LOVE this, Steddissy is so much fun, plus the added hallmark cutesy christmas holiday of it all is so fun. I was howling with laughter about Chrissy being a covert Christmas elf, ducking behind things with bells in her hair wearing the LOUDEST Christmas outfits. Super cute and fun (and now smutty cause they doin the do and it's yum yum delicious)

#2024 fic tracker #mojowitchcraft fic recs #mojowitchcraft wip recs #steddie fic recs #stommy fic recs #steddissy fic recs #steddie #dividers by #eloquentreverie

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thefloatingstone · 2 months

Note

Hi C-puff. Since you know your manga/anime, do you have any suggestions for a person feeling nostalgic for Chobits but not looking to re-read it?

hmmmm~ 🤔

I think it depends what it is you liked about Chobits itself. A Magical Girlfriend anime (not to be confused with magical Girl anime) that I quite like but which is a little all over the place with its anime adaptations is "Oh My Goddess" or "Aah My Goddess" depending on how it's translated. it's a lot lighter than Chobits in tone, but it does have a weird mix of magical girlfriend romance... and a SEVERE interest in motorcycles. The laborious detail the manga has on its machinery is ridiculous. Fujishima Kousuke just completely indulging himself. It's great. Also it has one of the most interesting concepts for how its whole "Goddess" system works. I recommend the movie from the 2000s (which wasn't attached to any specific anime at the time) which if only in aesthetic is one of my favourite "easy to watch" anime movies. It also had a proper anime tv series made for it around 2005 I think?

youtube

For something a little grittier that really explores relationships and especially heartache a little more in depth, I'd recommend "Video Girl Ai" which is a 6 episode OVA which is based on the manga Denei Shoujo. It's far more mature (in themes, not in adult content) regarding loneliness and relationships as experienced by normal Japanese teenagers in a way that focuses on the emotional side of things. So if you need something a little less wish fulfillment and a little more personal I'd recommend it.

If you don't mind an ecchi, there is Mahoromatic: The Automatic Maiden which I still have to watch myself past the first 3 episodes, but I find the plot synopsis extremely juicy;

Mahoro Andou is a powerful combat android designed by Vesper, a secret organization protecting the world against alien invaders. Unfortunately, her remaining operational time is running short. If she continues to fight, she will shut down in about one month. However, if she chooses to avoid combat, she can live freely for over a year.

Suguru Misato is a high school boy who lives alone in a large house left behind by his late parents. Like any other boy his age, he has trouble taking care of the house on his own, so he decides to enlist the help of a maid. His problem is solved in the most unexpected way: when a couple of thugs hijack the bus he is riding, a young, beautiful girl wearing a maid outfit saves the day. It turns out that this girl is Mahoro, who has chosen to live her remaining days as Suguru's new maid.

Mahoro makes the best of her remaining time and develops bonds with Suguru and his friends during their peaceful yet lively everyday interactions. However, Mahoro is hiding her true intentions behind becoming Suguru's maid, that being that she is the one responsible for his father's death.

Again, just be aware it IS an Ecchi and as such has a lot of adult humour, however if you're familiar with the Chobits anime it's about on par with that (although the Chobits manga is not as sexually focused as the anime is). Mahoromatic is also a show created by Gainax around the same time as Chobits but before the studio had made FLCL. (it also has some INSANE sakuga in it). Just be aware you're in for a lot of anime tiddy.

Then there's DearS but I wouldn't recommend DearS because it's literally a Chobits ripoff. They have the exact same plot except DearS is even more of an ecchi than Chobits with none of the interesting meta-human commentary and more "look at my hot alien waifu who has the intelligence of a child" thing.

I see a lot of people on MAL also recommend an anime called "Plastic Memories" but I am not familiar with it myself. It's got a pretty decent score tho, and the premise seems interesting as another Android/human love story which also has the plot point of the robot girl's lifespan being on a short timer.

I hope one of those might be what you're looking for!

#C-Puff answers #anime

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theintrovertbean · 2 years

Note

Now after seeing the *cough* 18+ stuff, I wonder if you have just sweet, wholesome headcanons of Nadia. I have one, tho very specific: Nadia is not really used to physical affection or talking with people 20 years younger than her but when she met the younger sibling of MC she made them feel like the most special person in the world (platonically) and everytime they would hug in greetings and goodbyes, Nadia cradles their head and it melts the kiddo's heart and MC's when they noticed.

Nadia is such a sweet person, and your headcanons melted my heart 😭

And I completely agree that she is not really used to interacting with such young people. No one said anything about her siblings having children, and since Nadia is still called the baby princess, she's the ultimate youngest Satrinava. And well, people in their late 30s/early 40s and people in their 20s/teens are two entirely different worlds, and our dear Countess knows that. That's why she was probably nervous as hell before meeting MC's younger sibling. But, of course, we're talking about Nadia, so it went extremely well, and the head cradling part is just incredibly wholesome. I wish she would do that to me. I imagined her doing it to my younger brother, but I quickly perished the thought because he's like twice her size. And he's a little bitch, so, Nadi, put my head to your tiddies instead.

As for the physical affection part, I have to agree with you again. She isolated herself during her marriage to Lucio, so there was definitely no affection of any kind. While living in Prakra, she mentioned in her tale that she had some distant crushes, so I think she has never had any proper romantic relationships before meeting MC, only a few physical ones. She also had trouble making friends or at least keeping those friends because everyone thought that her siblings were much cooler. She really needs a hug.

I added a few headcanons of my own. Most of them are pretty general, but I added some cute, wholesome stuff too.

Thanks for the request! I loved it (maybe a bit too much), and your headcanons are beyond amazing!

Nadia Satrinava headcanons

Nadia was a timid child, hiding behind her mother's skirt type. She was quite insecure, sometimes stuttered, never really had friends, and always blushed and avoided eye contact until she became a young adult. Then, with a lot of hard work, she turned herself into the strong woman she is now.

If MC has a younger sibling, it helps her grow as a person. She can finally become the older sister she never had, and baby the kiddo would be spoiled to death. In addition, it would help her see things from her siblings' perspective and potentially bring the Satrinavas even closer. Being an older sibling is a whole job; this younger sibling would help Nadia realize it.

An MC who is the eldest of their siblings can be an interesting experience for her too. She always pays attention to how MC treats their younger family members, and a part of her might wish she had an older sibling like MC.

Nadia has never held a baby. Ever.

When she is with MC, and they make her laugh very hard, she sometimes snorts and then covers her mouth. She apologizes, but it's just so cute. Only MC sees her like that.

Sometimes she zones out during meetings.

If MC can cook, Nadia subtly hints that she would like them to cook for her. She would help them, but it's not a very good idea. A sandwich is the best she can do.

Nadia is a great listener. She's not the best at giving emotional support, but this woman can come up with the most amazing logical solutions.

Sometimes she really wants (and needs) to be held, but she might be a little shy when asking for it. Putting her head on MC's chest and listening to their heartbeat is one of her favorite things in the world.

She thinks about MC all the time when they're not together.

Even when things are not exactly perfect between Nadia and MC, she stands up for them against anyone who dares to disrespect them.

Nadia loves physical affection; she just didn't know it until she met MC. From the moment she first saw MC, she was dying to touch them, and it was very surprising to her. Nadia is not used to a lover's gentle and loving touch, but she has secretly longed for it her whole life.

Her love languages are giving gifts and physical touch. She melts when MC gives her hugs for no reason, simply because they love her.

Nadia likes cheesy romance novels and has a hidden bookshelf filled with them.

She giggles and smiles whenever she looks at something that MC gave her.

As a child, whenever Nadia played alone (so most of the time), she made up stories in her head about the toys she was playing with.

Nadia is very independent, but it warms her heart when MC offers to help her with something. She could really use a hand once in a while, and while she wouldn't ask MC to take over some of her Countess duties, if they offer, she doesn't turn them down.

She dies of happiness whenever MC shows interest in her hobbies.

She was definitely a daddy's girl as a child. Her amazing fashion sense comes from Namar, and there's no doubt about it.

It's probably no secret, but Nadia is kind of an obsessive type of lover. She wouldn't rob MC of their freedom or control their life for them, but she would do anything for them. They're the light of her life, and she wants to share everything with them. So yeah, she can be a little clingy.

She secretly wishes to be a random rich woman without all the Countess duties so that she could spend her whole life spoiling and loving MC.

Nadia is extremely intelligent and talented in many things. She is interested and educated in almost every subject. Mathematics, Physics, History, Geography, and languages are her favorites, but she also enjoys the arts, such as music. Biology is not really her thing, tho, but she knows some basics.

For Nadia, loving MC is like being a teenager again. They bring out her carefree, playful side.

She gives long, soft, and very warm hugs, the kinds that make you want to melt in her arms.

It might be surprising, but Nadia doesn't think highly of herself. She is aware of her beauty, rank, and knowledge, but as a person, she feels like she's not someone interesting. She never had any close relationships, and she thinks the problem lies within her. Therefore, when MC is very much in love with her, it gives her a huge confidence boost.

Nadia likes it when cats curl up on her lap.

Her kisses are simply magical and full of love.

#nadia satrinava #arcana nadia #countess nadia #the arcana nadia #arcana #the arcana #nadia x apprentice #nadia x mc #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #nadia please marry me

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arcplaysgames · 1 year

Text

hey guys have you met kanji tatsumi

he's like the best dude

wait lemme sum up other stuff first before getting to my good good punk boy

I'm good enough friends with shrine fox that he'll give me a discount on healing which is good because HOLY SHIT THIS BITCH IS EXPENSIVE, what the hell. 9 THOUSAND yen, bro? what the fuck. i'll just go home and sleep thanks.

Hung out with Yosuke and like the retail core of my soul just shrivels and dies every fucking time because yep YEAH YEP THAT SURE IS A THING.

Like... it is horseshit the amount of hours retail sucks out of your life, but leaving other people to take on your hours and thus grind that other person further into the ground just. hate it.

Yosuke is both trying not to be The Junes Kid but everyone around him expect him to basically be a ad hoc manager and that shit fucking sucks so much, I'm sorry, dude.

also he burst into Reverie's room looking for porn. ah, life before the more widespread proliferation of the internet and its cavalcades of erotic content. someday, yosuke, you will be able to just look up tiddies.

i know everyone has probably said all of this already but out of everyone, yosuke feels the most like he's Trying to be hetero and it's painful to see.

Over in the Hierophant SLink, I got enough eloquence to talk to Dojima and this conversation took me tf OUT. Dojima, you HAVE to try harder, Nanako hangs out more with my high school friends than you and it SUCKS.

That said, the whole family working on the garden is very heartwarming and gives me hope. Dojima needed me to level up my stats to even TALK to me, so there is this gap he has to bridge to reach out to Nanako, and it's painful to see because I'm sympathetic but also you GOTTA do better, Dojima. This is not optional.

I read the first few chapters of My Immortal.

AND IN THE SUN SLINK THERE IS LIKE SO MUCH FUCKING DR-- drama. there's. drama in the drama club. i see what they did there. Yumi's mother collapsed. but ho ho!

It turns out that her deadbeat dad collapsed and mom lied to get Yumi to come, and it's a fuckign MESSSSSSSS.

Then in the fucking Adachi SLink that apparently exists??? The game gave me the option to flirt with him and he actually let me down very smoothly, which.

WHY IS THIS HERE? Was there a hankering for this weird side character to get an SLink? I'm baffled.

And then Nanako asked me why people die and I am not equipped to handle that one, honey! Not yet! Whoo boy! Your dad sucks!

here nanako, do you have a psp? play this game, persona 3 portable, it'll explain everything, okay? make sure to use the arcade games to boost your stats, you'll be fine.

KANJIIIIIIIIIIII

hang on the entire scene with him is so good i need another post, brb

#p4 #persona liveblog

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increasinglygeeky · 2 years

Text

Uhhh. Stranger Things Season 4 VOL 1. thoughts

I'm conflicted about the whole Mileven/Byler dilemma b/c I've been a Mileven girl since the beginning but hey, whatever happens in Vol 2., happens.

Mileven deserves rights just b/c El has been through so much she needs to be happy no matter what when it's all over.

RONANCE BROMANCE HELLS YEAH!!!

why the fuck weren't Dustin and Steve being my fave funky duo of this show???...DUFFERS EXPAIN

LUMAX LIVES BITCHES!!!!

Eddie being my new fave skrunkly scrimblo

Why the f is no one talking about Fred?? (His name is deadass Fred Benson hehehe) What did he kill a bunch of people????

Also did they seriously force Nancy to go through the loss of TWO close friends in the span of 3 years???

Also Chrissy deserved better she was so cute

EDDIE AND HER COULDVE BEEN BFFS MAYBE EVEN MORE B/C I DOUBT THAT PRICK JASON ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT HER TO NOT EVEN SUSPECT ABUSE!!!

Robin is....diff in this season but I'll let that slide b/c she was adorable

I feel so bad for Lucas. Baby sacrificing all his healths to just help out his friends.

Still Anti-Billy. Just beacuse of his dad gave him NO right to treat Max the way he did.

Although the letter scene did hurt especially when you think about how much Max probably wanted a normal, big, family no matter what....

I also feel so bad for Jonathan he's probably going through so much internally if he's giving himself over to weed.

EL DESERVED TO BEAT ANGELAS FACE IN I SCREAMED YOU GO MY FUNKY LITTLE GIRLBOSS!!

ERICA MY OTHER FUNKY LITTLE GIRLBOSS NOW APART OF THE PARTY HELL YEAH WHAT A QUEEN SHE WAS THIS VOLUME.!

Love the look of how you communicate from the Upside Down its probably the only comforting thing there

Honestly I'm Argyle in THAT situation

Why did we stop the California plot line midway???

Suzie is so goddamn funny

Her family helping her out was the best ever

I feel like this season/volume dials up the comedy and it actually works

I nearly had a stroke when the boys were asking about the Internet.

You could've gave Will some friends of his own or something Duffers, gotdamn.

Why did they fuck up his role so bad??

At least he actually gives a damn about El.

Im so glad will and Jonathan do refer to themsleves as El's brothers its what she deseves.

El and Will being in sibling sync had me hollering.

Seriously Mike, wtf were you thinking with those letters???

Loving the Nightmare on Elm Street shoutouts and parallels it's my fave horror series.

THEY DEADASS GOT ROBERT ENGLUND HELL YEAH!!!

NO NO STEVE/NANCY ENDGAME ARE YOU KIDDING ME NO!!! HE LITERALLY WENT THROUGH HALF OF THE SERIES GETTING OVER HER FUCK OFF.

At least their interactions reminded of how much Natalia and Joe would be so good as Nancy Thompson and Glen Lantz in a proper Elm Street remake/reboot I'm frothing at the mouth thinking about it.

STEVE HARRINGTON STOP BEING SO HOT WHEN YOU'RE BEATING THE SHIT OUT HELL BATS HAIRY TIDDIES OUT AND SPITTING UP BLOOD!!

I am in desperate need of a reader fic where we react to Steve in that scene.

Max is strong...stronger than all of us.

Wait was it Vecna who killed Barb and not the Mind Flayer??

I felt SO BAD for El when they buzzed off her hair especially when you remember her commenting that Argyle's is longer than hers she probably wanted to grow it out for as long as she can.

The rope going through the Upside Down was chefs kiss.

At least we get a proper reason to why they call it the Upside Down.

When Hopper found the church and peanut butter I almost cried b/c that's obviously the most peace hes gotten in like a year.

JOPPER JOPPER JOPPER JOPPER JOPPPER REUNION WAS BETTER THAT MY EXPECTATIONS IM SO HAPPY MY PARENTS!!!!

DID VECNA TAKE WILL THIS WHOLE TIME!?!?

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teamrocketmemes · 2 years

Photo

KYO PLAYS THE SIMS 4

These are all taken from Nijisanji’s Kyo Kaneko’s Sims 4 stream where he created himself and the rest of ILUNA on the game and shenanigans insue. Alter where necessary.

“I don’t know if yall know but, listen, I’m tired as shit.”

“Why didn’t I just sleep for 2 hours??”

“My wallet is looking a little bit hurt right now.”

“I'll buy the magic one, then the other one, then the other one…”

“I used to be obsessed with this game.”

“This dude is a gigachad, this is no one in [group].”

“I’m trying to find like a good base… Person.”

“I hate all of these default faces.”

“The hair is gonna make or break simoleon me, okay?”

“We’re going to a fucking Hawaiian wedding. Let’s gooo!!!”

“This is not a real option.”

“Man, making people in the Sims is hard.”

“Maybe it’s the eyes…”

“I swear on everything this was easier.”

“It looks like a 40 year old cosplaying as a teen.”

“Maybe this is what we needed the whole time. This.”

“Well now I just look depressed.”

“I don’t care enough to make this shit look like– perfect.”

“It’s always the correct colors but in reverse.”

“I might just go with this and call it a day.”

“look, he’s trying his best, okay?”

“I’m trying to make myself look cute but it’s hard.”

“It would limit out gameplay experience for the sake of accuracy.”

“THEY GOT FURRIES IN THIS GAME???”

“Fuck accurately portraying me. What about who I am??”

“At this point, I’m so indecisive I don’t even know what I like.”

“There’s not a mood outfit. I’m depressed.”

“Don’t ho-ho me again, bitch.”

“I feel like, realistically, this is the closest in style to what I need.”

“The game cannot handle the lack of booba.”

“[name], they have your outfit in here. That’s crazy.”

“Where’s my plad pants at?”

“Every time I catch a W, I catch and L at the same time.”

“Like I said, speedrun.”

“If you sleep with a shirt on, that’s an L on your part.”

“Now that I got the basics, I’m speedrunning.”

“I feel like I’m kind of a goofball, you know?”

“Whoever wrote this is stereotyping like crazy.”

“I [blank] twice today, okay?? I deserve pizza.”

“I literally paid $20 for this pack so you could be an Enchantress.”

“No parasocial, baby.”

“First order of business: everyone gets pizza every day.”

“Every day is National Give [name] Love Day.”

“I have a thesis paper due in the morning.”

“He probably fell on the fucking toilet or something.”

“He’s fighting for the pizza right now.”

“You had me at garlic.”

“Gimme the tiddies I deserve, which is the biggest ones.”

“I’ll be lurking.”

“Making female Sims is just better.”

“We’re about to make you fine as fuck, bro.”

“You’re welcome. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

“You’re not paying me shit but if you do, you owe me money.”

“[name] feels like she sleeps with oversizes shirts.”

“You were hard doubting but look at me now.”

“The red has more personality.”

“I’m a fucking master Simologist.”

“I wasn’t taking a dump. I was getting food.”

“I’m so good at making female Sims, it hurts.”

“The hair is where we’re really gonna struggle a bit.”

“Hmmm… Thinking emoji.”

“If they have an eyepatch, I’m gonna lost my shit.”

“Please, por favor??”

“Pigtails are just cute, you know?”

“Yeah no, this is not gonna work.”

“Maximum poofy. Poorf 100.”

“She has these thick ass boots.”

“Bro, do these not show up??”

“Jewellry is like, not my thing.”

“I just feel like that’s the most [name] shit ever.”

“I say we get rid of the socks.”

“This looks like her. It’s very doll-like.”

“Oh wait, I need to do the personality stuff.”

“You’re not gonna give me a vocal sample??”

“I just feel like [name] doesn’t have lips.”

“Oh my god, I made Kendall Jenner.”

“C’mon chat, we’re better than this.”

“I wanna pick this just to piss her off.”

“Hmmm. Massive bow. Let me think.”

“You like the Elsa dress?? Is that what you’re trying to tell me??”

“The top is so hard to get.”

“She working at the local burger joint.”

“What if I just did this??”

“I don’t wanna give her grandma glasses. I think that’s disrespectful.”

“I’ll make you look as wack as I want. No fucks given.”

“I’m like generous as fuck today.”

“What the fuck is her aspiration—??”

“Honestly? Public enemy.”

“Out of pure spite, for the amount of shit he be talking, I’ll make him look like a fucking cat.”

“This moustache? Not cutting it.”

“You built like a camel, my man.”

“I think we have the same pants, like deadass.”

“What do you mean spread them out??”

“He does have rings, though…”

“You can get your horniness elsewhere.”

“I’m just trying to make the Sims accurate.”

“Sorry your dad looks like that.”

“That’s kinda swagalicious.”

“These are just so far off from what I need. It’s crazy.”

“This face is a little too gigachad.”

“We need to enhance the eye with makeup.”

“Holy shit, there’s some wild makeup in this.”

“Bro, he kinda look like Seraphine from League of Legends.”

“I might just make it without his coat, then.”

“He has plad pants, like the rest of us.”

“This is what [name]’s gonna wear doing sports.”

“I have some semblance of like, care for others.”

“Yeah [name]’s jealous. A little bit yandere, you know?”

“Hornless behavior.”

“Is it coping to say I’m more like a jokester?”

“When I roast people, it’s like for fun.”

“[name] in the front, she knows she’s the main character.”

“Ooooh we look swag in this one.”

“Did I buy pets on accident??”

“Can I go back so I can add a pet??”

“Is this the mystique-y world??”

“So magic realm or uni…”

“That’s part of the fun, why would you glitch money in??”

“Guys, we have no house.”

“The dumbasses stick together.”

“Oh shit, it’s mostly in the ocean.”

“We’re on a mermaid arc. Let’s get it.”

“We homeless. We fucking homeless.”

“Wait, how much money do we have?? Are we broke??”

“We might be a little poor for a while.”

“I don’t know, he’s like licking his toes or something.”

“Listen, it just needs to be liveable for now.”

“I don’t need much. I just need a shower that works.”

“Oh yeah, we need doors.”

“It’s not about the layout, it’s about family.”

“We need some kitchen materials.”

“Dying does not seem fun at the moment.”

“That is an interesting ass window.”

“That but less ugly.”

“That one’s cheap. Perfect.”

“I will put lights in a little bit.”

“Holy shit, that’s bright as fuck.”

“Bro, that’s so low to the ground.”

“You can woo-hoo in a bush???”

“Do we need a roof?”

“We got no money and I bought the bare necessities.”

“[name] has no skills.”

“I’m tired of these needy ass sims.”

“W [name], L everyone else.”

“Why is this just half in Spanish??”

“How am I playful for taking a fucking nap??”

“She’s just floating in the water like a crazy person.”

“Come socialize bro.”

“Why did you take a shit and fuck this place up??”

“[name] gets along with everyone, I’m telling you.”

“Bro, everyone hated it.”

”You still fixing the fucking toilet??”

“He still can’t fix the fucking toilet. I’m crying.”

“I think she just broke that shit.”

“Bro, repair the fucking toilet.”

“I’m crying. Everyone needs to pee.”

“Bro, why is this lady still here?”

“Right next to [name]’s sleeping body. That’s crazy.”

“I forgot I hate cooking.”

“I’m doing all the work in this house. Everyone else is fucking asleep.”

“Okay, we need to get employed and fast.”

“Us First Years, you know, we gotta put in all the work around here.”

“She does her science stuff.”

“You’re gonna join the entertainment industry as well.”

“Oh yeah [name]’s gonna be a criminal.”

“Can you make money doing that in this game??”

“Why is he sleeping in my bed??”

“Can you make money of singing??”

“Maybe singing isn’t for you right now…”

“I don’t care if you’re embarrassed, you need to sing.”

#★ mod james.#rp meme #sentence starters #video game memes #vtuber memes #game memes #★ our memes.

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risingsouls · 2 years

Note

🦎 + EXTREMELY predictable question from me, but what do you think makes a good transformation in DBZ- design-wise and narrative-wise?

Momo Talks About Shit So She Doesn't Fall Asleep At Work || Open!

[Gotta get the DBZ questions in and I always welcome them. Ask Nebula and Lea; I can talk about this dumbass series for hours (sorry guys).

I can't say I've given this much DEEP thought. I can say without a doubt that SS4 was the best transformation this series has done TO DATE for a million reasons, and does hit a lot of notes that i feel a good transformation in this series should. First, the look alone is TIGHT and interesting to look at. They even made it VARY for each character which I think is HELLA NEAT and just wish there was like an explanation for it (i.e. why vegeta's eyes are blue and goku's yellow? Red fur vs pink fur? Etc.). We got tails again, fur, different eye and fur colors, long hair without going overboard (don't get me wrong; i actually don't mind SS3 TOO much, but it wasn't peak transformation design by any means), and TIDDIES OUT (which isn't a requirement but I definitely enjoy that personally). It is somehow over the top while not being too much all at once and it just WORKS.

It also dove back into the roots of the Saiyan race and the Oozaru form in both appearance and lore which is absolutely *chef's kiss.* I love that the form sank back into OG Saiyan lore while offering something unique and different from what we had already seen in SS to SS3. Barring the stupid ass way Vegeta gets it (don't talk to me I will never not be mad about it ok), Goku had to get his tail back--cringe as that scene is fuck--transform into the Golden Great Ape, AND find a way to control it and harness that power to achieve a new level of power. It also didn't just fully rely on the sort of "get angy" narrative (even if it IS a little deeper than that in actuality) that had sort of driven other transformations while as I said bringing back Saiyan roots. Don't talk to me about thr U6 saiyans on this either gfdi

So, taking that as the example, I guess my answer would be a look that's more interesting than a pallette change like they have been doing with most transformations of late along with the form tying into the lore or background of the character in both appearance and how it's achieved/how it works. They kind of half ass tried the last bit with SSG by retroactively making it a part of Saiyan lore (that Vegeta didn't know but the Namekians did? Make it make sense), but it definitely just...doesn't work. Plus the ritual they have to use (which also makes no sense for Saiyans and clashes with what we know of them, which is MAYBE the point but doesn't make it cute or unique or creative) becomes obsolete by the next arc/movie so...yeah. It's incredibly flimsy and there is no real understanding of what SSG and its subsequent forms even ARE, let alone what god ki even is. Is SSG actually an inherently Saiyan form, or is it just a Saiyan that has harnessed god ki and then transformed while using it? There is nothing clearly defined about the forms (or really even UI and UE, Frieza's forms, etc.) that makes them interesting or feel fleshed out or related to the characters as a whole. It's just.. oh, he's blue now I guess? Kay.

Plus like...give me crazy shit again. Like Cooler's fifth form? Fuck yeah, cool as shit. Cell's transformations? Even clown boi is intriguing and makes you go wtf Gero? Hideous as Super "He Stole My 'Do" 13 is, it's INTERESTING (and again, wtf Gero). Even FRIEZA'S transformations were interesting and looked really neat and felt organic until its just..."lol I picked gold to mock super saiyan haha stupid monkeys" (that form looks stupid BTW Fite me). What's his excuse for Black Frieza? We gonna get edgy emo Frieza who says he chose black like his soul? Heck. I'll give them props because they KIND OF tried design wise with Ultra Ego, but it still lacks real intrigue in that department and has the same disconnect and 🤷‍♀️ feeling the rest of the newer forms have.]

#.:ask:.#.:ooc:.#viopolis #this was a fun question #im not sure how well i answered it #but the easiest way for me was to use examples and be generic #because it absolutely depends on the character in question for me to be more specific xD

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k1nky-fool · 2 years

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Basic moment, I'm here for Switchblades (idc if it's July and Pride Month is over, these two are milfs who should be loved), Pepper/Silco, and Devo/Viktor

Ahm/Mae/Kugo for serious because they are very hot

23 but its a full bed and not a king, 25, 15, 18, 16

Pep/Sil

25, 3, 22, 24, 21, 16

Dev/Vik

25, 20, 48, 18, 16

(PS: For Switchblades you don't have to do Ahmya's cause its not your OC, if you want to just to Maeko and Kugo you can and I'll think of it myself)

Maeko, Ahmya, Kugo

I haven't actually decided if I'll place Ahmya in What's Left Unsaid just yet. I likely won't have enough space to add a whole extra love story, but I would love to make her canon in my story, even if just briefly.

23. Your OCs are on a trip and there’s only one bed! What do they do?

Bro, these bitches stack. Kugo's got big enough tiddies to have a pillow for both of his wives. But when they wake up in the morning, Kugo has somehow been pushed to the opposite side of the bed, and Ahmya is wrapped around Maeko like a koala.

It's safe to say that they're not wasting any time arguing about this one.

25. Pick a physical attribute that they love about each other.

I think it's safe to say that Maeko's type is spots. Not that she has a specific habit of dating exclusively people with black and white spots, but somehow not one, but BOTH of the spouses she settles down with have some spots. But yea, she adores the patterns on both Kugo and Ahmya's skin.

Ahmya is a little more subtle when it comes to Maeko. She likes to play around with Maeko's quirk, because she likes to see her wife's eyes change colors. She finds it so cool, to the point where she'll tease Maeko into activating it, only to have her eyes turn purple. For Kugo, she's unapologetically obsessed with his hands. Big ass hands and he's not even vaguely bad with his fingers? That's just a weakness for her.

Kugo would never outright say exactly what physical attributes of his wives' he likes most. Because he knows, no matter what he says, he's a dead man. These two women will make it their personal mission to target his biases. However, he is secretly a thigh man, and he will take that to the grave.

15. What names are they saved as on each other’s phone?

Maeko: Ahmya = Babes. Kugo = Seafood

Ahmya: Maeko = Mommy. Kugo = Big Sakamata

Kugo: Maeko = Detective Wife. Ahmya = Little Sakamata

18. How are they like on a road trip together?

Kugo drives most of the time, and he is the best multitasker. He also keeps changing the radio station because he is very picky about songs. Ahmya fell asleep watching a movie after she ate all of the zebra cakes while he was driving.

Maeko is the best driver out of the three of them, but she can't multitask for shit. Radio is off, and while she won't stop anybody from carrying on a conversation, if she yells "shut up!" It's because she needs to focus for a brief moment, and they can't afford her losing her mind or else they find themselves wrapped around a tree.

16. What would they consider quality time?

Maeko just likes when people hang around her. They don't even need to be talking to her for her to consider it quality time. Like, Kugo and Ahmya might just come chill at her office while she works, and that's good enough for her.

Ahmya needs a little more attention, but her spouses are more than happy to give it to her. No shame in wanting some more engagement for quality time. Ahmya's love language is cooking, so she likes making meals for her spouses and having conversations with them. Also compliments about her food are the fastest way to make her light up.

Kugo is a touchstarved motherfucker (pun intended). A hug goes a long way with him, but any chance he can get to either have a spouse cuddling up to him or laying on him is good quality time for him. While they're cuddled up, conversations are appreciated, but so is comfortable silence. It doesn't matter if they're on him and focusing on something else or if he has their full attention.

Pepper, Silco

25. Pick a physical attribute that they love about each other.

I don't think it's a surprise that Pepper loves his hands. He touches everything like it's made of gold, but she also knows the strength they hold. She also loves his nose, but she won't elaborate on that one.

Silco doesn't know exactly what he'd say if he had to pick one, but he learned some things about himself the first time she wore a holster for her revolver that had both a belt and a thigh strap.

3. It’s late at night and your characters want food, what do they order/find in the fridge?

Pepper will go out and find some 24 hour take out place with the most unhealthy food she can find. Anything fried all to hell and covered in some spicy sauces.

Silco made a habit of eating shredded cheese late at night when he was hungry. It's usually the easiest thing to take out of the ice box and finish off. If he's a little more hungry, he'll make some kind of sandwich and just go back to bed.

22. Do they ever share clothes?

One time, Pepper woke up before him, because Sevika was banging on the door, saying Finn was here and refusing to leave until he had a meeting with Silco. The man was knocked the fuck out from exhaustion, and definitely not waking up for love, money, or threat of death.

Pepper couldn't find her shirt, so she just borrowed Silco's vest to fix the problem herself. Suddenly, Finn wasn't as confident as he initially thought. Silco found them in his office, and Finn went quiet, only for Silco to say "No, please continue. Unless it wasn't important enough to have woken me up at some ungodly hour of the morning. And alone, no less."

He also tells Pepper that she should wear that number more often.

As for Silco, not much of Pepper's clothes will fit him. But she does have a sleep shirt that he has stolen on more than one occasion.

24. What do your characters think about marriage? Are they for or against it?

I don't think either of them have much of an opinion on it. Marriage in the undercity is more like partners in crime. Really, the closest thing to a marriage in Zaun is love plus turning down someone offering money or other prizes and lying to them to protect your own significant other. And Silco and Pepper do it very frequently for each other.

To be fair, in order for it to really mean something, it has to be more valuable than what they're already receiving. So someone offering Pepper a better job, or more money than she gets from Silco in exchange for betraying him would be a rare occurrence, and Silco can't even think of any offer that would be worth more than Pepper.

However, they get double marriage points, because when offers like that do come up, they'll take it, and then go tell the other so they can double cross the bastard together.

21. Who is better at games? Does the loser take it graciously?

Pepper and Sevika used to make a bag cheating at cards in various gambling establishments, but she had to learn to play very well in order to pull off these schemes. She can fuck Silco up in any card game. Board games are a fucking nightmare for her. She is a sore loser.

Silco takes game losses very graciously. He's good at not taking competition too seriously and he typically uses games to pass the time. Usually he plays with Jinx when she's not busy, or when they both need a distraction, but playing with Pepper is usually very entertaining, because it's the only time he's ever seen her get so flustered.

16. What would they consider quality time?

Pepper likes talking about things. Nothing and everything. Deep conversations or smalltalk. It's all quality to her.

Silco won't ever admit it, but he likes when Pepper comes up late at night, past closing and just distracts him with whatever. Sometimes it's a drink and conversation, other times she just wants to sit in his lap and just fall against his chest just so she can say she's happily not working.

Devoan, Viktor

25. Pick a physical attribute that they love about each other.

Devo can't explain it, or even come to a logical conclusion about it. But something about his shoulders is just very distracting. She can't tell if it's his posture, or how he expresses emotions with them, but it's something she can't seem to stop noticing.

Viktor has his own troubles. Devo has very long hair, and he's not sure he can say it's her hair he finds attractive, but she will often take small pauses to slide her hands behind her neck, and flip it out for some relief from the heat. But his favorite thing to see is when she's finally had enough of the annoyance of it, and she'll take a few moments to gather herself to tie it up. She has definitely noticed how he always watches when she does this.

20. What are they like when sharing a bed?

Devo is a furnace, and Viktor is usually very cold. He usually takes more blankets, and the two often wake up either very close to each other, or cuddling up like they planned this. However, Viktor's occasional habit of blanket hogging is perfect revenge for Devo's unfortunate habit of starfishing and taking up most of the space.

48. Do they get on well with each other’s family? Is family important to them?

Devo doesn't realize until quite a ways into their relationship that she actually knows Viktor's mother. Both of them having grown up in the undercity, they didn't have much attachment to the idea of marriage, but when Jayce brings it up, their knee-jerk reaction was to say there was no way in hell they had the money for a wedding.

Jayce reminds them, "Guys, we're making money off of the most profitable company in Piltover's history."

And they both just kind of click like "shit, we have the money for a wedding!" Only for them to think on it for a few seconds more Devo just shakes her head. "I don't really want to get married." And Viktor shrugs in agreement like they both just considered taking an early lunch.

Jayce is not only surprised, but almost offended. He convinces them to at least have some kind of party if they choose to move in together, so they do. Several people bring gifts, and have a few drinks. But they also get a gift with a note "I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I couldn't get the time off of work. I guess some metalsmiths just don't get what's really priceless, but I'd love it if you two could visit some time. With love, Leah."

Devo is very confused that the woman she used to sell pickpocketed goods to was giving a gift for her housewarming party. But Viktor takes the note saying "Leah would be my mother."

After some brief clarification, they do indeed realize that Viktor's mother, and Devo's only means of work as a child were one in the same. The gift she gave were two personally designed necklaces for the two of them. Leah seemed to understand that this was their social equivalent to getting married in Piltover, and understood the assignment. They visit her the next month and it turns out that many of the items that Devo procured that couldn't be used would go to Viktor for him to build various things.

As for Devo's family, she states that Grayson was as close to a mother as she's ever had. But Grayson and Viktor aren't permitted much time to meet under the circumstances of their connection to Devo.

However, Viktor does meet Mita, who is very much like Devo's aunt. It's easy to say he was a little intimidated by her. But Mita's only words in regards to her opinion of him and his relationship with Devo was "If I didn't like you, you'd be a lot more scared of me."

So he considered that he's getting along a little bit with Devo's family.

18. How are they like on a road trip together?

Absolute chaos. Modern AU! Devo and Viktor are a nightmare to everyone except each other. This is the car that you are next to for like four hours on the highway, their windows are rolled down and they're blasting some Allstar by Smashmouth… for four hours… on loop. And you actually think one of them is asleep somehow. Turns out it's just Devo trying to figure out what it takes to wake up Viktor after he passed out. It takes four hours of that and Devo carefully placing pennies on his face while she drives before he wakes.

Devo is a great driver, only because she knows there's illegal shit in there, and if they get pulled over, they're both doing 15.

Viktor is also a good driver. But he also isn't quite as cautious of other cars as Devo. Occasionally he'll pull some bullshit and she'll ask "was that legal?" Only for him to say "eh.. probably."

#arcane oc #arcane #arcane fanfic #silco x oc #viktor x oc #kugo sakamata x oc #oc ask game

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