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#rewriting scenes
aetherialpiplup108 · 2 months
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So, I've always been a little upset at the way Thalia was cast aside after TTC considering how important she was as a thematic clinch for the narrative (like, how wild is it that her death was a primary instigator pushing Luke towards his warped ideology—bro literally spends books 1 and 2 going "oh, you want to talk to ME about Thalia?? Well guess what, she'd be on my side"—and then she shows up with an uno reverse card, effectively ensuring his downfall etc. etc. etc.) and the neglect of her character comes to a head in the climax where she's irritatingly not present even though the entire moment centered around her dynamic with Luke and Annabeth.
But.
There is something to be said about how the only reason Annabeth is there to shock Luke into disillusion is because Thalia shoved her to safety, getting trapped underneath Hera's statue in Annabeth's stead. Thalia never gets the "lost family" emphasis that Luke and Annabeth get because she's always pushed out of the storyline (spending the first half as a three, the latter as a hunter) but even so, her love for them is embedded into every action she takes throughout the series. Luke might have been the one who made the promise to the little girl they found on the streets, but Thalia's the one that kept it.
Still…how cool would it be if the statue fell after the gang already reached Luke—forget Hera, what if it was Kronos/Luke that caused it to fall—and Thalia instinctively pushes Annabeth out of danger at cost to herself highlighting that the main difference between her and Luke is not their feelings towards the gods but that Thalia can't hurt Annabeth or another innocent demigod whereas Luke is so blinded by his personal anger, he's forgotten who he's supposed to be fighting for. And Annabeth sees this and just snaps because this is her family, the only people who were there for her as a kid, and they keep hurting each other over and over for a cause they each believe will serve her. It hurts so much that Annabeth doesn't even look up as Kronos stalks over and Percy screams for her to get out of the way, but she does spit out a bitter, "Family, Luke. You promised", and Luke flinches, turning unconsciously to look at Thalia and sees the legs she broke trying to stop him from hurting Annabeth of all people, and realization crashes upon him like a pile of bricks that he's hurt the two most important people to him in the world. So then he begs Percy—who's watching all of this with a damn, what soap opera did I just walk into expression—for the knife and tries in his last moments to rectify the ridiculous mess he's made and offers a well-deserved apology to the girl who stepped up when he did not and the other who never gave up on him.)
or maybe that's ridiculously cheesy and dramatic and totally stupid. idk.
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swedenis-h · 1 year
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They went together au! (X)
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loveinhawkins · 10 months
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“Still super jealous as hell by the way,” Eddie says; Steve laughs, elbows him in the chest—disguising a want to touch by shoving him away.
There’s a brief flash of warmth against his skin before Eddie teeters back.
He stays close though, dances in and out of Steve’s space as they walk, almost close enough to…
“D’you know what’s adding an extra layer of, uh…” Eddie clicks his fingers then says with relish, “Of batshit insanity to everything?”
“No,” Steve says, and he feels a smile growing; he couldn’t fight it even if he tried. He doesn’t want to. “But I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”
“My, uh. One of my favourite games as a kid was… uh well, it didn’t really have a name, it was more—”
“No jump rope for you?” Steve asks in mock surprise.
Eddie snorts. “Nah, nothing as normal as that, Harrington, honestly. Kid me was a visionary.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Steve says.
The words hover in the space between teasing and genuine; he means both, of course.
“At, um. When I was at my dad’s.”
Eddie’s smile flickers, and Steve tries to fill in the gaps: has vague memories of middle school halfway through one year, of murmured interest, you seen the new kid? He just moved here.
“Our place backed onto some woods, and I’d just… kinda wander.”
Eddie scoffs—his foot makes an aborted motion as he walks, like he’d gone to absentmindedly kick a twig and thought better of it.
Better safe than sorry, Steve thinks. Hive mind and all that.
“So your favourite game was wandering?” he prompts when Eddie goes quiet.
A tease again. Softer. Really means you can tell me. I want to know.
He wonders if Eddie can hear it.
“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds shit. And it was more, like, active up in…” Eddie taps his temple. “I’d just… uh. Pretend the woods were haunted, stuff like that.”
“Oh,” Steve says, amusement growing. “So all this,” he gestures to the vines and trees, to the fog creeping along the forest floor, “is real immersive for you, then. Got it.”
“Um, no,” Eddie says, and his voice is going up into that wobbly tone that only comes from suppressing genuine, ugly laughter. “The stuff in my head was gothic, Harrington. It had class.”
“God, man, I’m sorry. Is the alternate dimension not living up to your expectations?”
“I’m gonna make a complaint.”
“Yeah, do it in writing. Make it professional.”
“To whom it may concern,” Eddie starts, all comically snooty.
Steve laughs.
And Eddie’s up close again, grinning, and Steve presses the side of his forearm up against his chest; the moment lingers, until Eddie moves back, until Steve drops his arm a fraction too late.
“I’ve found the experience provided—”
Steve snorts. “Experience?”
“—thoroughly lacking in both atmosphere and charm. I expect appropriate compensation as soon as possible.”
“Tell you what,” Steve says, “show me a picture of your haunted woods when we’re outta here. I wanna see how they compare.”
“Um,” Eddie says through the tail end of a chuckle. He sounds embarrassed. “I don’t have… My dad, uh, he wasn’t exactly the kinda guy to take a lot of pictures, y’know?”
And Steve doesn’t know—or at least, he thinks he doesn’t.
What he does know is that in the back of a cabinet there’s an old baby book: he can tell exactly when his grandma first began to get sick—and when everything else went to shit—because the milestone entries stop a third of the way through.
He doesn’t mention it. He can’t find the words, not here, not now—even if he could, he’s worried it’d sound a clumsy, weak comparison at best, self-centred at worst.
So he waits. Feels when the abrupt silence becomes less heavy.
“Did you, like, do speeches to yourself in the game, too?”
Eddie gives him a sideways, bemused look. “Maybe.”
Steve pretends to mull it over. Nods. “Yeah, figures.”
A pause.
“Uh, hold on,” Eddie says, chuckling again, like he’s been surprised into it. “You can’t just leave it there, man, you—”
“Nah, it’s just.” Steve smothers a grin. “Just fits you, that’s all. Like, you would’ve dramatically narrated your own birth if you could, I know it.”
Eddie laughs hard; he nearly drops his flashlight.
“You’re funny,” he says eventually, still smiling.
“Oh, sorry,” Steve quips back, “was I not supposed to be? Ruined your doctrine again?”
“No, just—” Eddie laughs again. Sighs. “Just timing, man. Wish I was finding out in a more, uh, low stakes kinda way. Like…”
His eyes go a little far-off, and for a second Steve can see that kid in him, the one who kept himself company in his own imagination.
“Like we’re just walking past the lockers, or something.”
“Yeah,” Steve says, with probably more feeling than it strictly calls for. “Anything beats these goddamn vines.”
He could add that there is no ideal timing, really: that if there’s one thing he’s learned throughout all this, it’s that there’s hardly ever time to dwell on things. It’s more do or die.
Besides, he thinks, you could wait all your life for a perfect moment, and it still passes you—
The earth trembles.
Eddie sways; Steve lunges to the side so Eddie falls backwards, away from a nearby vine. He tries to plant his feet, realises he’s inevitably going down, too, and course corrects.
Falls.
Feels the rise and fall of Eddie’s chest against his hand.
“M’definitely filing that complaint,” Eddie says breathlessly.
He turns so he’s facing Steve. Stays close.
They’ve both dropped their flashlights. The effect is dazzling—Eddie’s face is illuminated, eyes bright.
No atmosphere, my ass, Steve thinks.
“You okay?” he murmurs.
“Y-yeah,” Eddie says—gasps, really. Steve feels how his breathing shakes.
There’s barely a disguise now; they’re both leaning in.
And for a moment, they’re not here at all; they’re just at school, hiding by the lockers.
Then again…
Maybe it could only happen here.
Maybe wandering—maybe everything—has been leading up to this: the moment before a chance taken.
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cohlumbo · 2 months
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We gonna have to call this in, Rust. Oh, we don't wanna do that.
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theserlingbucket · 4 months
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To the one staff member on the sonic prime team who ships Sonadow and keeps sneaking in moments, this goes out to you
Gods strongest solider
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How You Turn My Word; Chapter 2
The day continues, and this time you find yourself in an entire new world... a world called The Underground.
Character; Lilia Vanrouge
Content; Gender-neutral reader, more shenanigans, reader isn't happy
Content Warning; Intoxication (Lilia), swearing
Word Count; 2.7 K
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |
Don't put my work into AI; I'll make sure you end up in the Bog of Eternal Stench.
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Lilia’s night was not going according to plan and he was mentally cursing himself over it.
Thing Lilia did not plan for #1; he got lost. To be fair though, many a thing had drastically changed since the last time he romped around the mortal realm. A few hundred years would do that though. Humans now seemed to live in tall metal boxes rather than the humble cottages of ages past. 
Thing Lilia did not plan for #2; a red flower deceiving him and containing something akin to liquor. So he was flying around lost while under the influence, which only worsened his situation. (Lilia did not know it, but the red flower was in fact a hummingbird feeder with sugar water which had been left out in the sun for too long and had fermented. Make sure to change your hummingbird feeder often on hot days so you don’t cause a nectar-loving friend to fly while wasted) 
Thing Lilia did not plan for #3; getting himself stuff in one of those tall metal boxes, and he was now stuck inside some cursed metal labyrinth. At least it was not iron or silver, as it did not burn, apparently, humans no longer fortified their abodes with those metals. Perhaps the times have changed for the better?
But Lilia finally escaped the infernal metal labyrinth, perhaps luck was finally on his side tonight after all! He bumped around a few corners. My my, what a small hovel. Perhaps things have not changed all that much from the last time I was here… But Lilia was rudely pulled from his thoughts when something swatted him clean out of the air. And the culprit? A rather rotund grey cat with large blue eyes, which was now carrying Lilia into its lair, most likely to play with him for a bit before deciding that it had had it’s fun and ultimately put him out of his misery.
His night went from a jolly and somewhat embarrassing tale he would regale about at the local tavern, to a bedtime story parents would tell their children about the dangers of going places that you really shouldn’t. Should he get out of this sticky situation Lilia would not live this incident down. 
The cat placed Lilia in a collection of socks and then sauntered off, calling out at the top of its lungs. Great, it's getting company for supper, and I’m the appetizer. How lovely. But Lilia knew he would have a better chance of getting out of this situation if he stayed calm and waited for an opportunity to escape. Even while tipsy, he could keep his cool.
And the feline was back and yanked Lilia out of the sock hole. Cracking open his one eye he saw that the cat did not come back with its hungry friends, but rather, a human. That was both good news and bad news. Good news; he most likely was not going to be eaten tonight! Yippee! Bad news; the last time he was in bat-form in a human’s abode, he was chased around with a torch, which he really did not want to go through again. So his best course of action was to play dead in this situation.
When the human left the room though, he took his chance and took flight once again, trying to find a way out. The cat was trying to catch him again, but Lilia knew of its tricks this time and dodged every swipe it sent his way.
But he was pulled out of his thoughts when the human screeched at the cat, “YOU CAUGHT A FUCKING BAT?!” 
Oh yeah, they did not sound happy, not at all, but it seemed to be directed more at their feline companion rather than him.
As he was busy flapping around, trying to find an escape but to no avail, he also heard the human whispering to him. “Don’t fly towards my head, bat. I’m just trying to get you back outside. You’re a nice bat, right? Nice bat, nice bat.”
Were he not preoccupied and in a better state of mind, Lilia would have been amused by this. Currently, though he was occupied with trying not to be eaten and finding a way out of this cursed place. He was not in a laughing mood. All Lilia wanted to do was get back home, pass out in his bed but he would also be happy with his sofa as well, and pretend that this was nothing more than a bad dream after a night spent tavern hopping. Dealing with a horrid hangover would be better than this… and he was most likely going to have one of those anyways. Tonight really wasn’t Lilia’s night, not at all.
Then the human grabbed the cat, and Lilia was finally left alone. The window was open, but he didn’t know that, as his mind was too preoccupied with you know, not dying, that he hadn’t noticed that the human had opened it for him. So where did Lilia go? Well, he went back into the metal labyrinth (air duct), and fumbled around until he tired himself out. It wasn’t the most ideal of spots to crash for the night, but it was better than going back and possibly being eaten, Lilia would rather avoid that. So this was going to be his bed for the night, a lonely quiet corner of the air duct system, where he could hopefully wake up sober tomorrow. But he yearned for his warm quilts that awaited for him back at home, back in Faerie, or as some call it, the Underground.
Lilia wasn’t even supposed to be in the mortal realm in the first place, but curiosity had won him over, and he even ignored the travel advisory that was in place. Some crow fae had travelled there about a century or so ago and had yet to return back, hence a travel advisory. But yet here he was in the mortal realm, tiny, drunk, and utterly lost. His bad decisions could be looked into further detail once he got some shut-eye. So he wrapped himself in his wings and passed out in the corner of the air vent. Hopefully, when he woke up he could turn this disastrous day around.
Upon waking up, Lilia groaned — or rather, in this case, squeaked — and stretched his wings out. So the wretched metal maze and last night's fiasco was not some liquor-hazed dream; how lovely. Utterly delightful.
At least the strange maze echoed sound quite well, so he knew what exits to avoid. Not that one, he could hear a dog barking, and the feline encounter was enough for him. No, not that one either, he could hear children screaming.
Finally, he came to an opening, there was some quiet chatter, but it was far enough away where Lilia felt comfortable enough to explore this potential escape route. 
Why does this look familiar? AM I BACK IN THE BUILDING?! Yes, yes he was. At least there was no sign of the ca–
“Mrp?” Speak of the devil.
The cat got out of its den and lept at Lilia, who dodged the attack, and the cat pushed some books off a desk. The cat was also screaming at him, and causing an all-around ruckus. Lilia managed to outmaneuver the feline, but soon a brand new human came into the scene.
The new human took one look at Lilia and backpedalled out of the room. But the human had just created another escape route for him, and Lilia flew, well, like a bat straight out of hell for it. Too bad the next room contained two more humans, including the one he had encountered from last night… maybe they would be nice again and spare him for trespassing on their small abode?
In the midst of the chaos, the human from last night knocked him out of the air with a broom. Okay, that hurt little Beastie. But that swing and the crash landing into a table caused Lilia to shift back into his human form, which also caused sparkles to happen. Did humans still think magic was evil? Well, he was about to find out.
Everyone remained silent, and after the sheer noise of the chaos, it was deafening, even the cat was quiet. And Lilia stared at the human that had knocked him out of the air, you. And you were staring straight back at him, looking utterly baffled. Well, this is awkward… I think I have overstayed my welcome… 
Lilia snapped his fingers, and he started to disappear into sparkles yet again, this time going home since he wasn’t able to use his magic when stuck in bat form. And it was happening without a pinch, but you seemed to trip on thin air and crash landed on his feet, disappearing with him; a stowaway coming to Faerie. 
… Well this is no good now, is it?
 When the green sparkles subsided, you found yourself sitting in some sort of bog, and the water had made it into your mouth by some twist of fate. While you were busy spitting the bog water out of your mouth, the stranger was standing by the bank, dry, without any sulfuric-tasting water in his mouth, and looking better for wear.
Pulling yourself out of the bog water — eugh, you smelled like eggs now, great — you pointed an accusatory finger at him, water dripping from the end. “Where,” you spat out some extra bog water from your mouth, “am I? And why does it reak of eggs?!” You would have looked and sounded more imposing, but you were sopping wet, covered in mud, and spitting out coughs trying to get the bad taste out of your mouth; which wasn’t really commanding any sort of respect.
The stranger, Lilia, snorted before letting out a cough, trying to hide his amusement very poorly. He waved his hand, green sparkles surrounded you and you were now dry, still covered in mud, but dry. “Faerie, although some call it the Underground.”
You opened your mouth, but he wagged his finger at you. “And before you blame me for bringing you here, you have no one to blame for this but yourself!” Despite the cheeriness, there was something cold and off putting in his eyes, like he was calculating something. But that moment passed, and the almost annoying cheerful facade came back in full. “As for the smell? That so happens to be The Bog of Eternal Stench!”
“Like eternal eternal?” You really didn’t need to smell like rotten eggs for the rest of your days.
The stranger just chuckled, “Fret not, Beastie, I decided to return the favour, since your feline friend decided not to eat me. But it is indeed ‘eternal eternal’ if you don’t have the means to get rid of it.”
Beastie? “Uh, okay.” not the most eloquent of things to say, but really, could anyone blame you? You just fell through some kind of portal, magic(?) was real, and oh yeah, so were fae/faeries or whatever the hell they called themselves. So ‘Uh, okay’ was perfectly fine in this situation.
Mr. Sparkles — if he was going to call you Beastie, he deserved a dumb nickname — just gave you a smile, exposing the barest hint of his fangs; despite his small frame, he was still dangerous, and the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end. It was as if he was assessing you, to see if you would be worth the trouble to help. You didn’t know if either option would be good by the way his magenta eyes twinkled with mischief.
He let out a huff and started walking away, and you followed. “I wouldn’t recommend following me, Beastie,” he hummed, and you tripped over a rock, vines keeping you to the moss. “The court would not take kindly to you.” 
You glared at him and tried ripping the vines off of your feet, but they didn’t budge. “And why should I listen to you?” 
Mr. Sparkles booped you on the nose, “Well, it would ensure that you made it out of here alive, which I believe you would find beneficial and all.” 
Obnoxious prick. But he did have a point, you would rather make it back home alive rather than fucking around and finding out (aka dying). “So what? Are you going to just leave me here? No welcome brochure? Thanks.” 
You were being sarcastic, since it was either sarcasm or having a full-on existential crisis, since hey, magic wasn’t real in your world! Dimension? Galaxy? Where the fuck was this place?! How the hell did you end up here?!
“Hmm good point…” he snapped his fingers and there was now a book sitting in your lap. “This should suffice, do be warned though, Beastie, I may call on you later to return the favour. For now though,” he started to turn into green sparkles, “toodaloo!~” And he turned into a bat, flying off into the sunset, leaving you alone at the edge of the swamp with the only things to your name being the clothes on your back and a book in your lap.
How to Survive the Underground; For Humans! … Did he just give you this world’s equivalent of a For Dummies book? What the fuck? Was this kind of sick joke to him?
Once some of your ire had subsided, you decided to sit down on a boulder and read a bit of the book while there was still some sunlight out, but it was dipping into the horizon fast.
How to Survive the Underground; For Humans! By Yelworc Erid Preface …… i - iv Chapter 1; Surviving Your First Night…… 1 - 10 Chapter 2; Edible Food for Humans …… 11 - 31 Chapter 3; The Basics of Fae Etiquette …… 32 - 35 3.1; Species Specifics …… 36 - 146 3.2; Government Specifics …… 147 - 169 Chapter 4; Help! I Have Been Indentured to a Fae! …… 170 - 200 Chapter 5; Adjusting to Fae Social Life …… 201 - 224 Chapter 6; Transmittable Illnesses & Diseases …… 225 - 261 Chapter 7; Fae Courting Practices …… 262 - 264 7.1; Species Specifications …… 265 - 366 7.2; Government Specifications …… 367 - 389 7.3; Accepting a Courting Proposal …… 390 - 393 7.4; Refusing a Courting Proposal …… 394 - 401 Chapter 8; How to Handle Fae Children …… 402 - 452 Chapter 9; How to Leave the Underground … 453 Chapter 10; Adjusting to Life in the Underground …… 454 - 482 Acknowledgments …… 483 - 485
Looking back up to the horizon, you quickly turned the pages to Chapter 1; Surviving Your First Night.
“If you are unable to find yourself some suitable shelter, one should find themselves safe by camping out in a rowan tree. These trees can easily be found by their vermillion clusters of berries. They keep away all native species of the Underground,” you read out loud, turning your attention to the trees nearby, searching for those berries. “Rowan tree, rowan tree–”
A loud screech coming from the undergrowth only pushed you further. 
Nope, I do not want to find out what THAT was! Nope! NoPe! NOPE! 
Finally, you found a tall enough tree and you hauled your ass up it like there was a fire below you, and you were up in the canopy, far enough up that nothing could reach you, but also high enough where you needed to be careful, since you didn’t want to meet an early death because you made a wrong move. But for now, you were safe.
“Nice try buddy,” you muttered to yourself, trying to get comfy. Wood wasn’t the comfiest thing in the world, but you weren’t really in the position to be complaining. “I am not on the menu.”
The screech came again, this time closer; yeah, you weren’t sleeping tonight. The sun was now beyond the horizon, and there was no moon, the only light coming from the stars above; it was very pretty, but you could see jack shit. This was going to be a long night… and not a fun one, since you could also see the glowing eyes of unknown creatures which were, quite frankly, freaky as fuck. So yeah, no sleep for you.
“This fucking sucks,” you grumbled, and a chittering from the bog seemed to mock you. “This really fucking sucks.”
Tags; @busycloudy, @eynnwwyjth, @identity-theft-101, @ithseem, @krenenbaker, @lucid-stories, @ryker-writes, @twistwonderlanddevotee, @xxoomiii
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Author's Note; This chapter is shorter, but it felt natural to end the chapter like this. This chapter, and the previous one, were both rewrites of an old WIP, so from here on out I don't have to rewrite! YIPPEE!!! Rewriting takes me forever, so we shall see what I come up with next.
If you liked this, do check out my masterlist for more content!
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dwobbitfromtheshire · 6 months
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Steve and Eddie are walking through the woods in the Upside Down when Eddie tripped over a vine. In order to steady himself, he reached out to the nearest object, which happened to be Steve’s tit. Eddie stared at him, and Steve stared back.
Eddie: *cracking a grin* I got to second base with Steve Harrington. . .second base is a boob grab, right?. . .how many guys can say that they went to second base with Steve Harrington?
Steve: A couple, actually. *slids a hand over Eddie's hand, smirking* one of them even made a home run.
Eddie: Damn.
Steve: Problem?
Eddie: Yeah. I'm hella jealous again.
Steve: You don't have to be.
Still clutching Eddie's hand to his tit, Steve moved into Eddie's space and placed a kiss on Eddie's cheek, right on the corner of his mouth. Steve moved back a bit, his lips hovering over Eddie's for a moment before pulling back. He smirked, dropped Eddie's hand and started walking ahead.
Eddie: *spluttering* Fucking tease!
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infamous-if · 3 months
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After the scene with Dakota they put they number on MC's arm. When MC talks to Seven, don't they see the number there? If so, aren't they curious?
That’s in the rewrite 🫶
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oceanatydes · 6 months
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you mean to tell me, gale dekarios, the man who wove stars into the sky to tell you he loved you, who literally made love with you in the astral plane, just says "i suppose i am" at the epilogue if you ask him if he's proposing to you? he doesn't even actually ask you? gale, the most romantic, loving, fervently devoted lover of the bg3 characters?
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ganondoodle · 7 months
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the golden dragon zelda she only does the transformation for the final fight in the sky, here she is just after doing it chasing after 'ganondorf' to save link, she tackles and bites gan to make him let go of link
design notes:
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(notes written here again for better reading) - horns are vaguely shaped like the hyrule crest - she has feathers and markings on the nose to reference owls - green mouth to switch the colors around (and neat contrast), bc gan has a blue mouth, zelda now has green, and if link ever was a dragon hed have it red -markings on the head feathers are a reference to the lil things satori and rumi (blupee?) have on their head
(totk rewritten project)
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flowery-laser-blasts · 3 months
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I'd love to imagine that Shego went through several photo albums of Drakken, while he was frantically looking for that one vinyl record of his great-great-pop-pop Bartholomew in his mother's attic.
Based on that one Spongebob meme from 'Party Pooper Pants'
+ My headcanon is that Drakken's first name is Andrew and Drew is just his nickname.
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exilethegame · 2 months
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Hi Pheo! So, I heard the Gorgon MC can actually bite Nikke in a fight? Absolutely feral. How does you get this option? 🤔
Hello!
Okay so-- first things first, I know there are multiple ways to get the bite, but there's so much variation here that I have a hard time combing through everything. That being said, I did find what I believe to be two fool-proof ways to get the bite. They're super niche, though, and they work if:
A.) Your MC has Strength and Strategy as their two highest stats OR B.) Your MC is VERY TALL, and has Strategy as one of their two HIGHEST stats, and strength as one of their two LOWEST stats (this method should work for werewolves too, but it doesn't have as much cultural flirtation as the gorgon bite scene does)
Like I said, I believe there are other ways, but these were the only two I could easily find. So!
1.) Choose the physical romantic path for the fight 2.) Choose any of the fight options, then "Wait for him to come to you." 3 [METHOD A:] Choose "Dodge him" IF your dexterity is not one of your two highest combat skills -> Choose charisma + flirt choice "You sure you wouldn't want to do anything else...?" IF charisma is not one of your two highest combat skills -> Bite him! (Alternatively, Nikke can bite you if you pick "This is your chance to bring it home" IF charisma is one of your highest two stats.) 3 [METHOD B:] Choose "Duck" IF strategy is one of your two highest stats -> Choose run at him IF strength is not one of your two highest stats AND if MC's height is "very tall" -> Bite him! (Works for werewolves too)
With all of this being said, as I rewrite fight scenes I am actively making guides for them as I write, so hopefully this won't be a problem in the future 😭
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melverie · 5 months
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Hey you guys know what's funny
In the og game, it's the love interests (and Luke) that constantly have to deal with the reality of one day losing MC. Some try not to think about it, banishing these thoughts out of their mind as to not grief them while they are still here. Others cling to the hope that maybe, somehow, through some miracle MC will become immortal and stay by their side forever
But no denial and no wishful thinking can change the fact that MC is still human with an oh so fleeting lifespan, especially when compared to a demon's, an angel's or that of an immortal
Meanwhile in Nightbringer, it's MC who is reminded with ever single night they stay in Cocytus Hall, every single word exchanged, every single glance stolen, every single second they spend in their presence that they can't stay. That one day, they'll have to return to their time and leave everyone here behind
They know this won't be forever, that once they return they'll find the same demons and angels they have longed to see again for so long
But they also know they will forever lose this version of them
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annymation · 1 month
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My Thoughts On Wish Deleted Scenes
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Now that we got all the deleted scenes out, I thought it would be fun to share my thoughts on them... Mostly rant, yeah, I might get pretty heated with this heheh but it'll be fun.
Villain Couple
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So let's begin with my personal favorite, the villain couple that we could've had
I am literally scared with how I nailed their characterization in my rewrite, like, that's them, that's King Magnus (Magnifico) of Rosas and Amaya (Amable) of Rosas right there. The dramatic, power hungry dude that can barely control his temper + a cunning, calm and collected queen that thinks before acting but is just as vicious as him.
AND THEY CALL EACH OTHER SO MANY PET NAMES! SHE CALLED HIM "GOOD BOY"!!! HE PULLED HER FOR A ROMANTIC DANCE UGHHH DISNEY YOU TOOK THEM FROM MEEEE!!!
Now let's talk about... WHY this was scrapped, according to Mark Kennedy, the head of story in Wish, he says in the Behind the Scenes documentary that the reason they changed this, and I quote:
"We didn't want people to know Magnifico was evil right away, we wanted the people of Rosas to love Magnifico, and have only Asha realize he's not as good as he seems"
... Okay? That's not a reason to not make him SECRETLY evil, just have the rebels be like a group of people who are considered ungrateful weirdos by the people of Rosas, and the king spreads rumors that they're a threat, since they think NO ONE should get their wishes granted. So we have Asha being part of this rebellion, that doesn't fully know what Magnifico does with the wishes, but they know he's doing something bad, so it's up to Asha to find proof and open the eyes of the citizens of Rosas who love Magnifico, easy.
"Also it serve the story better to have Amaya be a good person"
Why? Because she distracted Magnifico and told them about the pulleys they needed to open the castle's ceiling? Just have one of Asha's MANY FRIENDS be a spy of the rebels that became close to the king and queen, maybe the king's apprentice, let's say Safi, and he tells them that info and also distracts them if needed, there, no need for good queen.
This one is the cheery on top, are you guys ready? I don't think you are, but here goes... "Additionally we couldn't really answer the question of why Magnifico wanted a star, and what it would do for him."
............................. I don't know if I can put into words how ENRAGED this make me feel, but I will try.
Mark, my guy, I'm sure you're a lovely person, but I know for a fact that you are lying. Because in a room full of professional screen writers THAT MADE IT TO DISNEY there's absolutely NO WAY no one stepped in and said "Oh but why does the villain want power though?"... THAT'S LIKE ASKING WHY JAFAR WANTED THE LAMP OR WHY URSULA WANTED THE TRIDENT!!!! HE'S A VILLAIN!!! VILLAINS ALWAYS WANT POWER!!!
"Oh buT MaGNiFicO Is DiFfERRenT bEcAuSE He'S A kINg sO He alREadY HaS pOWeR" SO WHAT??? Villains are never satisfied! Magnifico says it himself in the deleted scene
"I can't take it, this wanting that is never satisfied"
THERE! That's your villain motivation, he wants to fill a cup with no bottom, he wants more and more than he already has! Which makes him a PERFECT FOIL to Asha, because Asha wishes for more to her people, because they indeed are struggling, she wants what they need! And she'll fight for it, while Magnifico will only lie, cheat and steal his way into more power! GAAAAH IT WOULD BE SUCH A NEAT CONFLICT I'M GOING FERAL!
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Anyway, on to the next one
Wishing Tree
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Deleted Sabino my beloved, you only get one scene in my rewrite, Tiana's father style, but I love you so much you sassy old man
I love this concept of the wishing tree so much, because this is actually a tradition here where I'm from, we take colorful ribbons, think of a wish, and tie them on a tree.
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Would be lovely if Wish showed many types of different traditions of wishing besides just wishing stars, like blowing dandelions, throwing a coin down a well and soon.
But I digress, Asha has such an inspiring personality here, her writings show how she's fierce, longing for adventure
SHE HAS KNACK FOR SWEARING LMAO
She has an undying hope in her, and she wonders if it'll take Magnifico to DIE for her people to be free to wish, this is amazing, this is what I wrote my Asha into in Kingdom of Wishes
@uva124 joked the other day saying I might secretly be one of the disney writers just pretending to be a fan and sharing the original script, guys I swear that's not the case, they just communicated with me telepathically.
Jokes aside, this scene is so beautiful, Asha had everything to be an amazing protagonist.
Now for what Mark said in the documentary... Oh boy...
"The people of Asha's village keep their wishes a secret, and don't say them out loud, because if they do Magnifico will find their wishes"
Now THIS is very interesting, making Magnifico this almost omnipresent threat that even if you just SAY what you desire he might hear with his magic, maybe with a crystal ball or something Idk but regardless this is a great way to make him aware of who Asha is.
Cause think about it, Asha does make a wish, upon a star, so Magnifico would probably feel that wish, and thus he'd know Asha is the one who summoned a wishing star, so the chase would begin.
Heck, with this concept he could manipulate Asha into giving away star by promising that if she did so all her people would be free and he'd stop eating wishes all together because he wouldn't need more power anymore, obviously that'd be a lie, but it would make Asha have to choose between taking the easy way out and giving away her friend/love interest in exchange of her wish coming true, or risk it all and protecting him at all cost, ya know, a internal conflict.
"We wanted people to love Magnifico, and Asha to be the only one who finds out about his true evil nature, that way, when she tries to tell people, nobody believes her, and that's make fighting him much harder for her"
See Mark, that's a good idea, thing is, that's not what happened... Asha didn't try to tell people, and the times she did tell her family that Magnifico would never grant their wishes, they DID believe her, and Sabino got mad she wanted to tell him his wish. And when she told her friends, they didn't question her much about the fact she challenged the king, Dahlia just rolled with it like it was no big deal...
So yeah it would've been great if Asha tried to spread the truth but people didn't believe her, it really would, but that's not quite what we got
Star and Asha Chase Scene
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And there it is, the closest thing we'll ever get of Star Boy, and I love him
Star can take shape of any animal in this version, and that made him too similar to Maui and the genie, well, dear Disney, riddle me this, why didn't you just scrap the idea of him being a shapeshifter? There are many ways for a being to embody magic and creativity that don't involve them turning into animals, maybe have them be- oh I don't know- ANIMATED IN 2D???
"The ability to change into anything made star very powerful"
Here's an idea, make Magnifico MORE powerful than star, by making forbidden magic Star's weakness
"We wanted Asha to be our hero, and we wanted her to solve all her problems by herself, without too much help from star"
Bruh, Walt Disney said himself "You can design and create, and bild the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make that dream a reality" Asha could NOT do this on her own, and that doesn't make her weak or less of a hero, it just means the threat was too big.
And if she was the one who had to make her wish come true, GREAT, just use Blue Fairy logic, she couldn't make Pinocchio a real boy right away, all she did was give him life so he could pursue that himself, same could happen to Asha, star gives her some magical intervention, but he can't do everything for her.
Also let me just say, that interaction between Asha and Star?
"Star we'll have to be very discreet" "Discreet? Got it, sounds like another plan, I'm getting pretty good at this planning stuff" "Uh you know what would help that plan? If you weren't so bright" "Oh-hoho thank you!- oh wait, you mean-" "Shinny, glowy, way too much light, turn it down"
I can SEE KOW!Asha and Aster having this exact same interaction!
And then that scene Star holds her hand under water! Bruh don't tell me they wouldn't be a thing Disney!
And all the sea creatures coming together to make a big spectacle, THAT felt like Disney magic, that WHALE!!!
That would've been so beautiful to see fully animated.
In The Dungeon
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Can't believe that I also wrote a scene of the 7 teens and Asha going to the dungeon before this scene came out, like, it's such an specific scenario
Anyway, so once again we see this better version of Asha, that is caring, smart and inspiring.
And Magnifico being a freaking DESPICABLE monster, saying that Dahlia is a burden that no one would miss because of her disability, like DANG that's something I never considered writing because it's so heavy, but they almost did include it, and I think it would've been great to show just how evil he is, and in turn, how amazing Asha is because of what she says next
"He underestimates you, and that's a good thing. When you're underestimated, they don't see your power coming until after it changed the world"
Thank you Wish deleted scenes, I'mma take this line and fit it in my rewrite somehow cause WOW imagine that, the 100th disney princess teaching something very valuable for children of today!
Think of all the disabled kids that would've felt seen in this scene! Instead Dahlia's disability is more of an after thought, and from what I've read, the way she walks doesn't even seem like she's disabled according to some crutch users.
"Also, Asha already had 7 friends, and we thought adding another one was too many"
I agree Mark, so here's a thought, make ONE OF THE 7 TEENS the apprentice that gets locked up in the dungeon, like Safi for example, and they find him by hearing him sneeze! There, suddenly the character whose only personality is sneezing get's something to do!
Magnifico breaking the wishes of people "No one would miss" is actually a thing in my rewrite, I didn't explore it that much cause it wasn't that important, but I'm glad I also got that right
Star was more useful in this clip than he was in the whole movie
Climax
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Not much to say about this one, hot take, but I'm actually glad this one was changed, sure I like Magnifico eating a bunch of the wishes to get more powerful, but personally I'm not a fan of him turning into a giant muscular monster, but I understand if you're into that.
Though, it's still a funny scene, it's silly yeah, but it's definitely entertaining, which is more than what I can say about the movie
Also Valentino is cute here
I like how Magnifico uses the wishes to shine a spotlight on Asha
This face, lmao
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"THATS JUST A GOAT!"
The thing about this scene though is that... I can't imagine where they were going with this, like, then what? Magnifico climbs the tower to get star and Star manages to defeat him somehow? If so then yeah no wonder you deleted star for doing all the work for Asha, what's Asha supposed to do now that the king is all powerful???
Star saying "We just need one more ingredient" YALL MAKING A POTION??? This feels weird, a magical being making a potion... Wait hold up, I thought of this in this second, was the last ingredient Asha? Like she goes up there to warn them and it turns out she was what they needed to figure out how to defeat Magnifico?... Probably not but who we will never know.
Wish Worth Making
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This made me CRY when I first watched it, like WOW Disney, are you TRYING to make this movie as soulless as possible???
This is such a powerful moment that would make us actually CARE about Sabino, feel what Asha feels, and it's a calm and beautiful moment in this movie that never stops to just BREATHE.
Can you imagine Magnifico showing up after THIS?? It would've been so scary because it was the calm before the storm.
Imagine him breaking not only Sakina's wish but also Sabino's lute!
If I was Sabino's voice actor I'd be pissed to find out they deleted my song but kept the chicken dance song... That was a thing.
Anyway, hope yall had fun with this little rant, let me know YOUR thoughts on these scenes too! See ya next time!
Thank You For Reading!
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stevie-petey · 3 months
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episode four: will the wise
“What do you want, Hargrove?” Steve asks, situating himself so that more of his body is in between you and Billy.  He sucks his teeth and then lets out a cold chuckle. “Nothin’, just didn’t know that this little sweetheart had it in her.” “Don’t call her that–” “I mean, her boyfriend runs off with your girlfriend?” Billy chuckles again. “I’m surprised Y/N Henderson ran into your arms, Harrington.”
summary: jonathan is gone for one day and suddenly all hell breaks loose, your hesitant friendship with steve is already rocky (thanks billy) but steve is hot when he's angry tbh, you become a couple's counselor to lucas and max (sorry dustin), and you're now officially the world's worst cat owner ever. and babysitter. but what else is new ?
Rating: general, swearing
Warnings: use of y/n, fem!reader, mentions of blood and scars and knives
Words: 5.7k
Before you swing in: hello ! happy friday, heres chapter 4 :) before i say more, i wanted to inform yall that i started doing blurbs for come home if youre interested in seeing more lil scenes between everyone. they can be found here x. anyways, i absolutely cannot believe we're already halfway through the season (im skipping episode seven obviously, since its just an entire el ep). this chapter we see a liiiil more of readers dynamics with the kids, so im super happy about that. next chapter we finally get steve, dustin, and reader so !!! hella excited about that. for now, pls enjoy <3
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Mike and Lucas split up and go outside while you, Dustin, and Max start running through the halls, shouting Will’s name. 
“Will!” You’re more pleading rather than shouting. It’s happening again. It’s fucking happening again. Your mind is running a million miles a second, you feel the cold hand of fear twist around your throat. The last time you felt fear like this was when you showed up at Jonathan’s house and collapsed in his arms right after finding out Will had gone missing. 
And now he’s gone again, but Jonathan isn’t here this time to keep you steady. 
Dustin cups both hands over his mouth. “Will!”
You all turn a corner but Will isn’t there. Nothing. 
“Dustin!” Joyce rounds the corner, alarmed. “What’s going on? Where’s Will?”
The woman is moreso asking you than the kids, but you can only shake your head at her helplessly. “I don’t know, Mrs. Byers.”
Joyce holds your gaze and you feel so ashamed of yourself. You’ve let her down again. She’s always been so trusting of you with her children, and here you are, once again a fucking wreck trying to find the son you’ve lost. 
Down the hall, a door flings open. “The field!”
The four of you turn and find Lucas standing there, panting and out of breath. He motions for you all to follow and in a heartbeat you begin to run outside after him. 
There, you find Mike in the field with Will standing next to him, and for a second you feel relief wash over you. He’s okay, he’s safe and isn’t in another dimension. But as you get closer, you notice the stiffness in Will and the way Mike is shaking his shoulder. 
Something isn’t right. 
“I just found him like this!” Mike is shouting. “I think he’s having another episode!”
This would make two in two days. 
When you reach Will, you finally grasp how dire the situation is. He looks horrible, his eyes have rolled into the back of his head and are spasming. His body shakes, his fingers twitch by his side and the veins in his neck strain. 
Joyce quickly grabs him and starts shaking his shoulders, pleading with him. “Will, sweetie, wake up! It’s mom!”
You cover a hand over your mouth as you watch, horrified. Dustin and Lucas stand next to you, each clutching your shirt in fear. Their fear grounds you, making you focus back on them and pull them closer to you. You try to give them as much reassurance as you possibly can, but you know it’s useless. All you guys can do is wait for the episode to end. 
Max stands across from you, watching the situation unfold with her own uncertainty. She doesn't understand what any of this means. Why this is happening to Will, and why you’re close to tears as Joyce pleads with her son to come back to her. 
The fear on her face is why you agree to Mike to not let Max into the party. They’re all so fucking young. Too young for any of this. 
“Will, can you hear me?” Joyce pats Will’s face and you pull the boys even closer to you. Mike refuses to leave Will’s side. 
“He’ll be okay,” you whisper to the kids, but you’re selfishly trying to comfort yourself. 
Tears form in Mike’s eyes and you just want it all to stop. Will isn’t waking up and Dustin is shaking against you and Joyce’s pleas have become more like begs and it’s all too much. 
Then, Will’s eyes snap open and he takes a sharp breath that hurts your own chest to hear. 
You release the breath you’d been holding. The worst of it is over.
Will looks around shyly, as if he already knows it’s happened again. Joyce exhales and kisses his cheek and wraps him in her arms. Mike and the others look around, uncertain but relieved, while Max stands off to the side. 
You wish you could explain it all to her, but it wouldn’t be right.
Slowly, once Will has recovered, you and the kids walk with Joyce back to their car. Dustin’s hand hasn’t left yours and you secretly wouldn’t let him go anyways if he tried. 
“Have the episodes always been like this?” You ask your brother, now remembering that he had to witness that alone on Halloween night. 
“Yeah,” Dustin responds, his voice small. 
You squeeze his hand and follow after Joyce. In your head, you’re creating a list of all the baked goods you can make with the ingredients you know you have in your kitchen. They all deserve some oatmeal raisin cookies after this.
When you get to the car, you break away from the kids and step in front of Will. He’s pale, paler than he’s been in a while, and it’s only now that you see the bags underneath his eyes. He’s gotten worse, how could you have missed that?
You should’ve seen the signs sooner. 
“Did I scare you?” Will asks, and you immediately grab his hand. 
“No, never. You just… gave me a reminder that I love you. Go get some rest, little bee.” You kiss his cheek goodbye and he quietly gets in the car. 
Joyce is behind you, and once Will is safely in the car you turn to face the woman. “Call me if anything else happens, please?”
She nods at you, already understanding why you need the reassurance. There’s a warmth in her eyes, even if every other part of her seems exhausted. “I will.”
“I know I’m not a scientist, or–or a licensed therapist but I just–”
“Sweetie, I understand. Apart from Hopper, you’ve done more research and reading than anyone else. If Will gets worse, I’ll call.”
You smile at the woman appreciatively. “Thank you.”
She squeezes your shoulders and then gets in the car, driving off. You stand there for a moment, needing a second to compose yourself, before turning around to join the kids standing on the school’s steps. 
They seem to have all forgotten about Dart, but you sure as hell haven’t. Dustin fiddles with his walkie and won’t meet your eye, which only reminds you of how weird he had been acting in the bathroom earlier when he conveniently couldn't find Dart.
The two of you are definitely having a code blue tonight. 
“Dustin, you’re my ride to work.”
“What?”
“Jonathan can’t take me, so I have to ride on your pegs.”
“Who’s Jonathan?” Max asks. 
You give the girl a thumbs up. “Love the enthusiasm to understand everything, unfortunately I need to get to work and lecture my little brother.” 
“Good luck, Dustin.” Mike snickers. 
Your brother waves him off. “Yeah, yeah.”
You say goodbye to the kids, giving a stern warning that if they find any signs of Dart to tell you immediately. “I’m looking at you, Wheeler.”
Mike groans and you leave him to wallow as you hop on Dustin’s bike pegs 
“She always this bossy?” Max mumbles to Lucas.
He shrugs. “Yeah, but she’s also always right, so.”
You blow a kiss towards the boy, and he blushes. Once Dustin is ready, the two of you head towards town. 
The bike ride is quick, one of the small perks of living in a small town. The entire ride, you and Dustin are quiet. You both know that you have many choice words to say, but Dustin still looks shaken up from Will’s episode and you’re not doing too well, either. 
When Bookstrordinary’s sign greets you, you tap Dustin’s shoulder to alert him to stop. You can walk the rest of the way, you don’t want him out too late in the dark. 
“You’re lucky I can’t call off tonight, otherwise I’d kill you right now.”
“You’re such a great big sister, Y/N.”
“Thanks, I try.”
You hop off the bike and sigh. “When I get home tonight, you and I are talking.”
Dustin looks down, but takes a deep breath and salutes you halfheartedly. You laugh a bit, salute back, and then tell him to bike home safely. 
– 
After a very long and anxious shift, you ask your coworker for a ride home.
Alex almost drops his keys and looks around, as if you could be talking to anyone else in the empty store. “M–me?” 
“Yes, Alex. I need a ride home.”
“Where’s Jonathan? I won’t like, die if I drive you, right?”
You roll your eyes. “No, he’d only kill you if you didn’t drive me home since it’s late.”
Alex exhales, relieved. “Okay, yeah. I can take you home, then.”
By the time you get home, it’s later than you anticipated. Alex was kind enough to drive you, but had you known he was a new driver who went ten below the speed limit, you would’ve just walked. 
You walk inside and all the lights are off. Your mom is on the couch with Mews, softly snoring while some program plays on the TV. She tends to do that now, fall asleep on the couch rather than her bed. Too many memories, she explained once to you. 
Quietly you take your shoes off and grab some leftovers in the fridge. Dustin’s door is closed and his own light is off, which you sigh at. 
“Shit.”
He could be tricking you into thinking he’s asleep, but you could just be overthinking it. Dustin has been having more nightmares recently, you’d feel horrible if you knocked on his door and woke him up from his much needed sleep. He’s been through enough today. 
You eat your dinner, alone at the table, and you wonder how exactly you’ve wound up here again. Monster on the loose, Will in danger, Jonathan off with Nancy. 
Seems like you can never have a normal November ever again. 
After you’re done eating, you tiredly head to your room and collapse on your bed. Except, instead of landing on your soft pillows, you land on a hard body instead.
“Oomph–” A voice groans underneath you. 
You fling yourself off, finding Jonathan laying there. “Jonathan Byers, what the fuck are you doing in my bed?”
He rubs his eyes. “Said we’d call tonight.”
You stare at him. “That doesn’t at all answer my question.”
“We said we’d call tonight, but then Nancy and I realized our calls could be traced here, too. To your house, but I promised to keep you updated, so… Here I am.”
“And napping in my bed was just something you had to do?”
Jonathan yawns. “Yup.”
You flick his forehead. “Scoot over.” 
He makes room for you on the bed so that you lay side by side. Technically he’s not supposed to sleep in your bed, but your mom never said anything about naps or cuddling. You nuzzle against Jonathan’s chest, allowing the fear and anger from today leak out of your bones as you rest them. He’s always had that effect on you.
Here, in Jonathan’s arms, you feel the safest.
“What did I miss today?” You ask once you’re settled in. 
Jonathan thinks for a moment. “Well, Nance and I got the tape recorder and then drove to her house. She called Barb’s parents, told them she had to confess something about Barb and to meet her tomorrow at Forrest Hills Park in the morning.”
“She’s a genius.”
“She is,” Jonathan lazily responds. He’s drawing small circles against your hand, which is splayed against his chest. His sweater, one you bought him for his birthday, is soft against you. Jonathan seems happy right now, or at least content, and you almost don’t want to ruin the moment. 
It’s so rare to have him like this these days. The old Jonathan, shy and quiet and bashful. 
But he has to know about Will and Dart. It’s only right that he knows. 
“Something happened today, at the middle school.”
There must be something in your voice, because the second the words leave your mouth, Jonathan sits up to look at you. “What happened?”
“My brother found a baby monster from the Upside Down, named him Dart, hid it from me, and now he’s lost.” Jonathan stares at you and you can only sigh. “Will also had another episode. His second one in two days.”
“Fuck…”
“Yeah. Got to the middle school and suddenly I was chasing around some lizard looking thing from the Upside Down. Pretty typical day, honestly.”
“I wish I could’ve been there, I’m sorry. I can help you look for Dart tomorrow–”
“It’s okay,” you reassure Jonathan. “If anything, this all just proves that you and Nancy are onto something. I mean, it’s been a year and we’re still dealing with so many fucking problems due to their carelessness. How the fuck does a creature from the Upside Down just happen to survive and find its way to my brother? I mean, what if someone else had found it?”
You shake your head. “Something’s going on. You and Nancy need to keep going. Expose those evil fuckers.”
Jonathan frowns. “But what about you? What if the baby monster has a bigger, angrier mom and you get hurt?”
You hadn’t thought about that, honestly. “Huh, that’s a great question.”
“Bug–”
“I’ll be fine, bee. Those assholes at Hawkin’s Lab need to pay.”
Jonathan throws his head back, closes his eyes, and sighs. He knows he can’t argue with you about this, you already willingly took over the role of babysitter, but he still doesn’t like it. Sometimes your selflessness makes him want to scream.
“I hate that you’re always right.”
“I personally love it.” You respond, and Jonathan laughs. He uses his whole chest, it’s breathy and deep and full of warmth, and you smile and kiss his cheek as he laughs. 
No other conversation follows, you and Jonathan are content with just laying there in silence. It’s been a while since you guys were this close. Limbs tangled with limbs, the warmth from the body heat almost too much to stand, yet just enough to love. 
He stays for a while, but eventually he kisses your forehead and tells you he has to go. “Early morning, but I promise I’ll be back the next day.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
Jonathan laughs again and untangles himself from you. He presses another kiss to your forehead, playfully tucks your blanket underneath your chin like a child, and then wishes you a goodnight as he leaves through your window.
– 
For some goddamn reason, you miss your four fucking alarms this morning and oversleep. By almost an entire hour. You’ve never, ever slept through your alarms this horribly before, and you’re blaming the Hawkin’s Lab people for it. 
Now, you know the real reason is because you’ve spent every night for the last three weeks obsessively researching post-traumatic stress disorder, but blaming Hawkin’s Lab makes you feel better. 
You get ready as fast as you can, and of course this happens the one morning Jonathan can’t drive you to school and you have to bike. Your mom and Dustin have already left, which. Fuck. You still have to talk to Dustin about Dart. 
Not off to a great start this morning. 
It takes a burnt piece of toast for breakfast, cramped calves, and a lot of prayers, but you manage to make it to school only minutes before the first bell rings. When you arrive, you have just enough time to notice that both Steve’s car and Bllly’s car are parked in the lot. 
Great. You have to deal with them both alone today. 
As you’re walking inside, you hear a few people whispering about Jonathan and Nancy. Seems like word has spread that they skipped fourth period together yesterday and still haven’t returned yet.
Awesome. Steve will definitely be in a great mood today once he hears about that.
He can’t seem to catch a damn break. 
And neither can you, because you quickly realize how weird it is being at school without Jonathan and Nancy. It’s lonely, and Steve still seems to be hiding from you. 
No, not hiding, you remind yourself. He’s still hurt, he asked for space and the least you can do is give it to him. You told him where to find you.
And find you Steve does. 
You’re in the lunchroom, staring sadly at your pathetic lunch consisting of a handful of granola bars, resolving yourself to a lonely lunch without your friends, when Steve’s body slides into the seat next to you. You look up, surprised, and he raises his eyebrows at you. 
“We need to talk.”
“Okay… About what? I forgot what topic we’re on. Are we still on the whole friends conversation?”
Steve isn’t in the mood for this. “Where did Jonathan and Nancy go?”
Fuck. 
You look around the lunchroom, scared that the wrong people could be listening in. “I… Okay, I know we just had a whole conversation about being honest and I begged to be your friend again but… I can’t tell you.”
Steve takes several seconds to respond. You know he’s doing everything he can to not completely snap at you. “You… can’t tell me where my girlfriend ran off to?”
“No…” 
“You recognize how fucking stupid that sounds, right?”
You swallow. “I do.”
Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. He’s so beyond pissed off right now. Yesterday you were in his car, reassuring him that he’s a good guy and charming and pretending to be his friend again. Now, you won’t tell him where the fuck his girlfriend has gone. 
Steve isn’t an idiot. He knows there’s more to why you ditched him this summer, something you refuse to tell him, and he respected that. He did. He hadn’t wanted to push you too far, but it’s pretty damn ironic that you’re trying to get back into his life while still fucking lying to him. 
You see the obvious frustration on Steve’s face, and you wince. You take another look around, deciding to risk it. This isn’t fair to him, he deserves to know because from an outside perspective, you’d also be incredibly pissed off if your girlfriend just up and left with the guy she has weird feelings for. 
“Listen,” you lean in close, whispering, “Jonathan and Nancy went off to get evidence about who really killed Barb.”
Steve whips his head back. “What–”
“Shh!” You reach behind his head and shove him back down so that you can whisper again. “That’s all I can tell you. There’s… There’s people who could be listening, bad people who could hurt us and–”
“Well, what do we have here?” A voice interrupts.
The hair on the back of your neck stands up. 
It’s Billy.
You and Steve break apart, but he places a hand on the back of your seat in a protective manner. You lean in closer to him, trying to make yourself smaller as if Billy doesn’t already have his eyes on you anyways. 
“What do you want, Hargrove?” Steve asks, situating himself so that more of his body is in between you and Billy. 
He sucks his teeth and then lets out a cold chuckle. “Nothin’, just didn’t know that this little sweetheart had it in her.”
“Don’t call her that–”
“I mean, her boyfriend runs off with your girlfriend?” Billy chuckles again. “I’m surprised Y/N Henderson ran into your arms, Harrington.”
Billy learned your name. 
You don’t want to know how. 
“I mean,” Billy shrugs. “It’s a genius plan. Scorned lovers pissing off their exes. But from what I’ve heard, the school’s sweetheart wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”
“Jonathan and I aren’t together.” You finally find your voice. 
This only seems to entice Billy. He takes a step forward and leans against your table. “So, you’re single then?” 
Steve’s hand tightens around your seat and you feel his body tense. Billy seems to notice this, too, and shakes his head. 
“I know I promised I’d leave you some, Harrington. But this one?” He leans in closer to you, his breath minty and cold as it ghosts against your face. “She’s cute. I think I’ll keep this one.”
A chair goes flying across the room as Steve stands up. He has his fist raised and you’ve never seen his eyes so cold before. He hates what Billy is implying about you, as if he has some claim over you, as if you aren’t a human fucking being. 
You’re so much more than that.
“Don’t talk about her that way.” Steve growls out, his face inches away from Billy’s.
Billy seems to come to life, having finally cracked Steve Harrington, and within a second he has his own fists raised. You’re aware of everyone’s eyes on you in the lunchroom and vaguely you remember Steve confessing to you how much of a hardass his father is on him about school. He can’t get into any more trouble, especially not because of you. 
You shove yourself between Steve and Billy, despite how much your body screams at you to run away for being so close to the other boy. You ignore him, and force Steve to look at you. “Not here. Please.”
Steve looks between you and Billy, sees the pleading in your eyes. He sighs and reluctantly backs down. 
“Seems like the sweetheart has you whipped, Harrington.” Billy remarks, a pleased smile on his face. “Makes me want her even more–Shit!”
Milk drips down Billy’s entire shirt. 
“Oops,” you say, without any ounce of sincerity. You set the empty carton down and give the boy a aren’t I such a clutz? look. “God, silly me! I can’t hurt a fly, but it seems I also can’t hold a milk carton properly.”
Steve stifles a laugh next to you, and around the room a few others are brave enough to laugh as well. You smile innocently at Billy, who looks five seconds away from flipping the table. “Sorry about that.”
Billy, knowing he’s being watched, forces a smile himself. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Oh, I’m sure the shirt was only worth $5 anyways.”
This time Steve lets his laughs out and it calms you, steadies the shakiness you feel as you stand off against Billy. You hope you’re hiding how fucking terrified you are right now. 
You wait for a response, but Billy only storms out of the lunchroom. It’s quiet for a few moments, but slowly the usual buzz in the room returns and everyone goes back to their conversations. You stand there, your heart still in your throat, and Steve’s hand brings you back. 
“Hey, sit.” He tugs you back down and you’re too numb to fight back. “That was awesome, but are you okay?”
“Honestly? No.” 
He thinks for a moment. “Alright, well. I’m still mad at you, so… Would it be shitty if I left?”
Despite everything, you find yourself laughing. “No, Steve. I understand.”
He lingers. “Are you sure? I mean, I can stay…”
“No,” you squeeze his hand. “We can talk more about this later. Alone, without possible psychotic spies around. Go.”
Steve bites his lip, but he’s still angry at you and he has so many things he wants to ask but you’re pale and still shaking from Billy. If he demands more from you, Steve knows it wouldn’t end well for either of you. You both need your space right now, that’s one thing he’s come to learn about you and relate to himself. 
Sighing, he stands up and, to try and make up for being the asshole who leaves a vulnerable girl alone, Steve ruffles your hair. “Stay out of trouble, will ya?”
“No promises.” You smile up at him, though you know it looks as tired as it feels.
He hesitates again, pauses for a few seconds, but eventually he leaves. And then you’re left alone again. 
– 
As soon as school lets out, you march straight over to the middle school, knowing the kids are bound to be there. Dustin, specifically. He’s managed to slip through your fingers three times now. 
Holy shit, you’re really losing your touch.
The second you find the little asshole you’re going to demand a code blue, doesn’t matter where you’ll be, and then interrogate him about Dart and figure out whatever the hell else he’s hiding from you. Then, you’ll make him clean Mews’ litter box for a whole month. 
You’re so lost in your revenge planning thoughts, you almost walk right past Lucas and Max arguing in the parking lot. 
“What is wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?” Max flies past you, her shoulder knocking against yours. You steady her and notice she’s talking to a very nervous looking Lucas. 
Oh dear. 
“I don’t understand!” He calls after her.
“Hey, what’s going on?” You try to intervene, but Max rips herself out of your grasp and gets in Lucas’ face. 
“No!” She’s shouting now. “I don’t understand! You guys act like you want me to be your friend but–but then you treat me like garbage?”
Huh. She’d get along great with you and Steve. 
Lucas looks over at you, helpless. “That’s not true!”
“Don’t look at me, buddy.” You tell him. 
“Yes, it is! You go and hide in the AV Club, keeping secrets like we’re in second grade or something…” Max’s words catch in her throat, giving you a glimpse of the hurt girl underneath her indifferent exterior. “You know, I thought you guys wanted me in your party.”
You step close to her. “Max, I know it might not make any sense but–”
“Don’t tell me you’re in the party but I’m not.”
Now it’s your turn to look towards Lucas for help. 
He sighs. “Look, we want you in our party, but it’s…”
“But what?” Max looks between you and Lucas, obviously becoming more and more hurt the longer this conversation goes on. 
“There… there are just things.”
“Things, yeah.” You unhelpfully echo, but Lucas glares at you. “Sorry.”
He tries again. “There are things we can’t tell you, alright? For your own safety.”
“Lucas,” you warn, scared he’ll say too much, but Max just gets angrier. 
“My own safety?”
“Yes!” 
“Because I’m a girl?”
Well, that’s certainly one way to look at it.
Lucas scoffs. “What? No!”
You step in between the kids. “Alright, no. That’s not it at all and this conversation will just keep going in circles.”
Max ignores you. “Did you keep secrets from El?”
You and Lucas share a look, and then, at the same time, ask, “How do you know about El?”
“Did you?” She presses, but she’s looking more at you now than Lucas. She’s expecting you to take her side, to tell the boys to be nice to her and let her into the party, but the scar on your upper arm burns and your ankle faintly throbs. Those wounds will never fully go away; you’ll carry them with you your entire life.
You know how shitty it feels to be left out, but you also know how shitty the nightmares are as well. Max can never be brought into the Upside Down. Not when she has the chance to live a happy and normal life, free from any danger and turmoil. 
“That was different,” you tell Max, trying to be as gentle as possible. “I really, really wish I could explain, but I can’t. It’s for your own good. If I could’ve prevented the party from going through what they have, I would’ve. But I couldn’t, and it haunts me every day.”
Max stares at you, and you admire how much spunk she has in her. You can see her thinking about what you’ve said, analyzing your words for any lies or deception, and you know she’s spent years doing this on her own. Your heart breaks for her.
Billy’s anger flashes in your mind. Max is an intelligent girl, but you know he’s the reason why.
When she can’t find any lies in your words, she just sighs and shakes her head. “You know what? Forget it. Okay? I don’t want to be in your stupid party anyway. I’m out. Have a nice life.”
Lucas stands there for a moment, processing what’s just happened. “Max!”
“You still stink, by the way.” She calls back, and you step back a bit from Lucas. 
“Not to make this worse, but she’s right.”
Lucas glares at you but then sniffs his jacket, cringing with repulsion. “Oh, shit!” 
He throws his hands up in the air and starts walking back towards the school. You don’t follow for a second, instead you watch as Max skates down towards the parking lot, where Billy is waiting. He has his arms spread against his car, and he seems to have noticed you long before you noticed him. 
Billy’s eyes pierce yours and you shudder. There’s a hatred in his eyes that you’ve never seen before, unlike anything else. Again, your heart breaks for Max. You can’t imagine having an older brother like him.
You force yourself to turn around and join Lucas up ahead. Gross, sleazy men are the least of your concerns right now. 
But then Lucas turns and makes eye contact with Billy before you can warn him not to. “Why is that guy glaring at us?”
You shove Lucas to keep walking. You don’t at all like the disdain in Billy’s eyes. “I poured milk all over his shirt today. Keep moving.”
The boy trips over a rock. “You what?”
“Long story, can we please just go inside and find Dustin? I need to talk to him.”
Lucas sighs, knowing that what he’s about to say will only anger you more. “I can’t find Dustin either. We were supposed to meet by our lockers after school to keep looking for Dart.”
You stop walking. “And he didn’t show?”
“Nope.”
“I’m going to kill him.” You know exactly where your brother is: at home hiding Dart and trying to figure out what to do with him. 
Lucas senses you know something. “Y/N, what did he do?”
“Nothing!” You cover for Dustin quickly, because he’s your idiotic brother whose problems are also somehow yours. You’ll always have his back, but you also hate lying to Lucas. “He just probably had to head home immediately. Our mom has guests over.”
“Guests?”
“Yeah! Totally unexpected, I know, but you know how our mom is.” You start speed walking towards the bike rack. You need to head home. Now. 
Lucas doesn’t believe you. “Y/N–” 
“I’m sorry about Max, by the way!” You call as you run towards your bike. “Talk to her! Obviously don’t mention the… Stuff, but just know if it doesn’t work then it’s for the best! We have to keep her safe!” You’re rambling as you unlock your bike and hop on. 
Lucas is not far behind you. “Are you seriously giving me girl advice as you’re running away from me to go cover for Dustin?”
“Yes. Bye, Lucas!” 
He lets out a frustrated groan and calls after you, but you kick up your kickstand and immediately pedal away, leaving him in the dust. You feel bad, you do. Lucas is one of your favorites to interact with, he’s always been the most rational, but right now you have to go make sure your brother doesn’t burn down this entire town.
You’ll bake Lucas brownies later. 
– 
“Dustin Henderson, you’re so dead!” You slam the front door, sweaty and out of breath from your frantic bike ride.
“Y/N! What’s going on?” Your mother clutches her chest, obviously frightened by your sudden entrance. 
You quickly walk towards Dustin’s closed door. “Everything’s fine, just sibling stuff.”
“Oh, well have you seen Mews?”
The door is locked. Of course the fucker locked the door. You start pounding on it. “Dustin, let me in before I radio all your friends.” Then, you call to your mother in the living room. “And no, I haven’t seen Mews, mom.”
You hear her sigh and mutter to herself where Mews could be, and you figure you’ll help her look after your idiot of a brother lets you into the room. 
Again you pound against the door. “Dustin, I swear to god–”
The door swings open and a hand grabs your shirt and flings you inside, before promptly slamming the door behind you. Once you’re inside, Dustin turns to you, worried. “We have a problem.”
“Damn right we have a problem, where the hell have you been–” There, behind Dustin, is his turtle’s tank, completely shattered. Bile rises to your throat. “Please tell me Yurtle suddenly got super strong.”
Dustin walks over to the tank and holds up what looks like slimy plastic. “So, I kept Dart.”
“Dustin–”
“And he grew. A lot. This is his old skin.” He throws it back down. Then, backing away from you a bit, he admits, “I also can’t find him.”
It takes everything within you not to strangle the kid right then and there. You start pacing the room, mumbling to yourself, “I’m a good sister, I’m a good sister, I’m a good sister.”
“Y/N, I’m sorry, alright? I just, I got excited and Dart likes me and–”
A loud growl cuts your brother off. In a heartbeat, he’s back by your side, clutching your shirt in fear. Instinctively, you pull him behind you and reach for your switchblade that you always keep in your pocket now. After everything that’s happened, you find comfort in having the weapon always close to you. 
Slowly, you and Dustin start walking towards where the growl came from. Your hand never leaves his back, ready to push him out the door in case anything happens. There’s horrible grunting noises coming from the corner of his room. As you walk closer, you see a trail of dark red scattered across the carpet and his chair.
It’s blood. 
The realization makes your breath hitch. 
The grunting gets louder as you approach the chair, and then, slowly, you peek behind it. There, you’re met with a gruesome sight.
Dart is eating Mews.
He's bigger than he was yesterday. Way bigger. Dangerously bigger.
You scream, unable to help it, and Dustin quickly covers your mouth so that you don’t alert your mother. The sound seems to alert Dart, however, and he raises his head from Mews’ stomach, covered in blood, and lets out a horrific screech. 
Its mouth opens the same way the monster’s did at Jonathan’s last year, the same monster that had almost killed you and your friends. The sight paralyzes you in fear as the memories come crashing back from that night. The scar on your arm burns again. Your ankle twings in pain, and you feel sick. 
Your cat is dead. 
And Dustin has been hiding a fucking baby demogorgon in your home. 
-
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dragonpropaganda · 5 months
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you should talk about your thoughts on rw fanon (looking with huge eyes)
Oh god, there's a lot of major misconceptions have concreted into fanon, mostly around ancient society and ascension.
First things first! Ascension is not death! They are entirely separate things treated entirely separately by the text of the game. I can see where the interpretation is coming from, but it doesn't really align with how the text treats either subject. Five Pebbles may want to remove the self destruction taboo, but from his reaction to the rot it's clear that he doesn't want to die. Conflation of ascension and death only comes up as an offhand possibility that pebbs makes on iterator 4chan, when he's going into the possibilities of scenarios that even the other sliverists are doubtful of! (let me make clear that I am not a sliverist by any means)
Ascension is more of talked about as a form of transcendence, yeah? A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads talks about their sitution as being "To have grasped at the boundless infinites of the cosmic void…", not as them seeking an end to life.
The beta dialogue goes into more detail, mentioning the "infinities of time and space" and the "boundless fractal planes of spirit and reality...", though this dialogue was cut and it's hard to tell how much it reflects the concept as in the released game.
As for the cultural misconceptions... there's A Lot to talk about, but the first that comes to mind is the common conflation of the five natural urges and the christian concept of sin.
It is true that the negation of urges is mentioned by moon as an alternative method of ascension, but much of what we know about the culture of the people who the fandom calls the ancients (which makes discussion of the depths a mess but that's something for another post entirely) points towards the urges not being seen as shameful.
Even the first urge does not seem to be particularly scorned! Being a warrior is presented as a cause for bragging in the Shaded Citadel pearl, being comparable with being an artist and a fashion legend. The second urge, also does not seem to be suppressed. Multiple sources attribute some level of honour to parenthood! The aforementioned pearl also mentions Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel as being a "Mother, Father and Spouse" without any hint of shamefulness. Nineteen Spades, Endless Reflections expresses pride about having progeny, mentioning it alongside their owned land and esteem among their peers.
After some peer review, an esteemed friend has told me to add a section on purposed organisms as well! This is not so much my area, so I might be a bit off on some things.
As moon says, the majority of purposed organisms were tubes in boxes, and that the primal fauna of the world are almost entirely extinct. A lot of the fandom seems to ignore the first part, and i can't say I blame them, but the evolution of the creatures is so much weirder than people think.
Concept art for the creatures has this interesting quality to it, where the organic parts of the creatures have an almost... melty quality to them.
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In the concept art, the flesh appears as if it's almost defying the machinery to form an animal shape. It's as if it's conquering its own artificiality the way the foliage grows over the (stone, brick and concrete, not mostly metal as some think!) ruins.
Of course, it's hard to really tell how much of this reflects the finalised concept, most of the integration is much smoother in the game, in line with a seamless kind of biomechanical design. There was always an intention of biomechanical strangeness, as shown in this screenshot of the devlog before the term "slugcat" even existed!
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That said, the melty nature of the concept art shows a level of wild change inherent the biomechanical nature of the creatures, as if they truly are the result of these "tubes in boxes" almost revolting against their own boxes.
and considering centipedes... some tubes may not have had boxes in the first place!
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