#the spinning wheel of parental disappointment

[chestharrington]

Girls On Film || Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: Steve's absentee parents gift him a camcorder for graduation. What better way to find out how it works than making a sex tape?

Couple: Steve Harrington x fem!reader

Rating: Explicit (18+, MDNI)

Content Warnings: explicit smut (f!receiving oral, handjob, p in v sex ft. girl on top), sex on camera, filming a sex tape, lovey-dovey adorable dorks in love

Word Count: 3.7k

Your heart soared with pride as Steve walked off the football field towards you, wearing a goofy-looking gown and graduation cap. As soon as he reached you, he lifted you up and gave you a tiny spin, smiling ear to ear. 

“You’re looking at a college grad,” he said with a smug smile after he put you down. You beamed at him as he lifted his hand and showed off the shiny gold class ring. “I’m never taking this thing off.”

You grinned, tugging at the graduation gown. “What about this thing? You willing to take this off for me?” You smiled wryly and pressed a kiss on his cheek. 

A throat cleared behind you both and you turned, looking at the party and Robin standing with various levels of disgust evident on their faces. 

Robin wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Keep it in your pants, please. Or, I guess keep it in your large, nylon zippy robe.” She squeezed between you and kissed Steve on the cheek. “I’m so proud of you, Steve.”

Dustin stepped forward next and gave Steve a big hug— he’d hit a growth spurt since you last saw him and was nearly as tall as Steve. Lucas, Will, and Mike all offered their congratulations combined with complaints about how boring the ceremony was after they got through the H last names. 

Max crossed her arms as El wheeled her over, trying her best to be nonchalant. “I can’t see you, but I know you look dumb in that stupid hat.” Steve gave a fake laugh, took the hat from his head, and placed it on hers. “Ew, it’s all sweaty, you jerk.” She smiled despite herself and held the hat against her chest.

Steve wrinkled his nose in a way that told you he was trying his best not to cry. You knew it meant a lot to him that they’d shown up. 

“Why don’t we all go for lunch?” You suggested. “My treat.” Not wanting the reunion to end, and not wanting to turn down a free lunch, everyone piled into their cars and headed to Steve’s favorite place.

When you and Steve got into his car, you were greeted by the shrill sound of his car phone ringing. With a furrowed brow, he reached over and retrieved the bulky device from its bag and answered. Even from across the car, you could hear the tinny noise of his mother speaking on the phone. 

“Yeah, the ceremony is over,” he said, jaw ticking. “I sent you both the invitation two months ago.” He looked over with an exasperated look, so you grabbed his hand to give a comforting squeeze. “Well, we’re all going to lunch if you can make it.”

You frowned, but didn’t say anything. Despite their apparent lack of care, you knew that he valued their approval and time.

“Oh. Right, I understand.” He sighed deeply. “Well, I appreciate it. Okay. Okay, bye.”

He hung up and sighed, running a hand through his hair. “They, uh, they got double booked. They’re in Buffalo for a conference right now.”

Your gaze softened at the sight of his disappointed expression. “I know they’re proud of you, Steve.” He nodded, but didn’t look entirely convinced. You pulled the hand intertwined with yours up and placed a soft kiss on his knuckles.

————

When you arrived at your shared condo, you were greeted by a gift-wrapped box on the porch. You had to help him carry it in through the door, huffing as you both dropped it onto your coffee table. 

Steve shrugged off the graduation gown he was wearing and kneeled to unwrap the present. A large card taped to the top revealed the senders, as if that were in question. 

“To our firstborn son— congratulations! Love, Mr and Mrs Harrington.” The emotionless text almost made you grimace. You’d never read something more blatantly written by a personal assistant in your life. 

“Jesus,” he muttered as he tore away the wrapping to reveal the gift. “This thing must’ve cost a fortune.” You glanced over as he held up a plastic case and found nothing that might have revealed its contents. 

“What is it?” You asked, kneeling down beside him and leaning in close. He popped open the case and held up a hulking piece of machinery. 

“It’s a camcorder,” he said with a grin. “It’s the best one on the market.”

You raised your eyebrows and tried not to ask what he even needed one of those for. Video cameras were for new parents and aspiring filmmakers, not college grads.

Your own gift felt tiny in comparison, even though you’d been saving for a few months to afford it. Between rent for you and Steve’s condo, groceries, and gas for your cars, it wasn’t easy to have expendable cash to buy nice gifts with. 

You stayed quiet as Steve marveled at the fancy gift, holding it up to his face like he was testing how it looked through the viewfinder. 

“Gorgeous,” he said, peeking out at you. “I think I found my muse.” You scoffed and covered the camera with your hand even though it wasn’t charged. 

“Plug it in and we’ll see how it works later,” you said. “For now… I have a gift for you.”

He sat up, wearing a grin. “Is it lingerie? Is it dinner at The Olive Garden? Is it a bubble bath?” He leaned in and nipped at your jaw teasingly. “C’mon, tell me—“

You giggled as he pinned you down on the rug, peppering kisses on your cheeks. “Steveeee,” you groaned. He finally stopped, hovering over you. “You’re such a spoiled brat.” That made him grin even more. He pecked your lips chastely, then sat back on his knees. 

You scrambled to stand up and grinned. “Stay there, alright?” He nodded and you disappeared into your shared bedroom. 

Hidden away in your bedside table was a glass trinket box you’d thrifted a few months ago. It was shaped like a heart, with little gold foil embellishments. You couldn’t leave without it. You knew the real gift was inside, but you still hoped that Steve would like the box. 

Steve was fiddling with the camera when you stepped back into the living room, trying his best to plug it in to charge. When he saw you, though, he smiled and sat down on the couch, waiting for you to join him. 

“It isn’t much,” you insisted as you handed it over. “I hope you like it though.”

He smiled and nudged your cheek with his nose. “Are you joking? This is adorable. I love it. I’m gonna keep all my important stuff in here.”

You smiled and shook your head. “Babe, open it.” He looked sheepish as he lifted the lid, then his expression softened. You watched with a fluttering in your chest as he lifted the chain from the box.

It took months to save up for real gold, and then for the pendants after. Two initials— his and yours. “If you don’t like it, I can take it back and get something you actually w—“ 

 He cut you off with a quick kiss that made your head spin. “It’s perfect. Best gift I’ve ever gotten, hands down. And one year I got Yankees tickets behind the plate for my birthday.” He was quick to put it on, smiling over at you. “How do I look?”

You pecked his cheek. “A million bucks, babe.” He leaned in and gave you a real kiss— deep and intense. You smiled against his lips and melted into his touch. You’d never loved someone the way you loved him. 

“Wanna know what’s crazy?” He said after he pulled away. You nodded and he gestured towards the bedroom. “I bought you something too. Stay here.”

You sat patiently as he got up and hurried into the bedroom. You heard scuffling and the sounds of moving drawers until he returned, holding a wooden box. 

“Your gift is inside this, by the way,” he teased as he sat back beside you. You watched him with anticipation until he flipped it open and your heart stopped. 

“So, uh, I got you jewelry too,” he said softly, or maybe your ears were just ringing. 

Inside the box, nestled in the middle of a tiny silk pillow, was a diamond ring. 

Like, a diamond ring. The kind you get married with. 

“That’s—“

He nodded. “Yeah, it is,” he said, grinning ear to ear. “Will you marry me?”

In lieu of a verbal response, you put the ring on and kissed him like he was your one and only source of oxygen. It felt like it anyway— that if you parted from him even a little you’d cease to exist. 

“Yes?” He asked, smiling nervously. “That’s a yes?”

You kissed him again. “It’s a yes, Steve. I wanna marry you.”

———

Steve forgot about the video camera in the excitement of the engagement. Because he had to call Robin’s hotel and let her know, and then she spilled the news to the party, and suddenly it felt like everyone from Hawkins was in the tiny condo. 

After hours and hours of catching up and celebrating the day, you and Steve were left alone in a quiet house. 

“So… the future Mrs. Steve Harrington…” you turned and rolled your eyes at the sight of Steve holding the video camera that had been charging all night. “Anything you want to say to the camera on the night of our engagement?”

“How do you know I’m not keeping my last name?” You asked as he got closer, putting the lens right in your face. You giggled and ducked out of the way as the lens came close to knocking against your nose. “You’re such a child.”

He grinned. “Alright, give me something to remember this night by. For posterity, baby.”

You smiled wickedly at him before lifting the hem of your shirt, flashing your tits at him and the camera. By the time you lowered your shirt back down, his mouth was ajar. “We are never showing anyone this video now.”

You grinned. “Nuh-uh, baby, this is all for you.” You raised your brows in a challenge and stepped into the bedroom, leaving him to hurry behind you with the clunky machine. 

He stood in the doorway, camera focused on you as you slipped off your blouse and skirt. The whirring of machinery inside the camera indicated he was zooming in on your tits. You stifled a laugh at the noise as he zoomed out again, taking in all of you.

“Strip for me,” he directed behind the camera. You gave a wry grin as your thumbs slipped behind the waistband of your panties and dragged them down your legs slowly. “Fuck, you’re so sexy. Gonna put on a show for me?”

You settled on the bed on all fours, back arched as you crawled towards the headboard. Steve groaned at the sight, breath shuddering as you flipped around and spread your legs for him. Without needing instructions, you slipped one hand between your legs and let the other move to your chest, kneading your breast between your fingers. 

He moved from the doorway— the magnetic pull of you too much to resist for long. He settled at the end of the bed, the camera so close it made butterflies swell in your tummy. He moved the camera to your hands, one between your legs, teasing your clit and dipping into the pool of arousal at your center, and the other toying with your nipples, the shiny diamond on the engagement ring glinting with each small movement. 

“Christ, baby hold the camera—“ he said suddenly, passing it over to you. You laughed as he practically threw it into your hands and you had to scramble to turn it right side up. 

You laughed as he tore off his clothes, probably popping some buttons here and there. “Steve, what are you— oh!” 

Without hesitation, Steve buried his head between your thighs, moaning at the taste of your juices as he lapped at your pussy. It was a struggle to film him and enjoy the moment, especially since you had to watch him through the viewfinder. But something about capturing something so intimate on film made a thrill run through you. 

“Fuck, Steve—“ you moaned, being more vocal than you normally would for the camera. Fuck the neighbors, honestly. It was your engagement night! “Your mouth feels so good, honey.” 

His brown eyes peered up at you, at the camera, framed by pretty long lashes. His lips formed a seal around your clit and he sucked lightly, making your legs tremble. Your free hand moved to his hair, tangling in the soft locks as his mouth elicited gasps and moans. 

A slick sheen had formed on the tip of his nose, his mouth, and chin from his ministrations. The sight made heat bloom in the pit of your stomach. His eyes fluttered closed as he lost himself in you— relishing in your sounds, your smell, your taste. 

A light pat on your thigh was his wordless signal for you to move and accommodate him more. You acquiesced, spreading your legs as much as you were comfortably able to, and he let his fingertips tease at your center. 

“Relax for me, baby,” he said, his words vibrating against your clit. He gave the bundle of nerves a light kiss before he looked up at you. “I’ve got you. Just…” He pushed his middle finger into you and you moaned low in your throat, instinctively pushing back against the intrusion. “That’s it. Just like that.”

He was always so gentle with you during foreplay— taking his time to really explore every single spot that he knew made you tick. You shuddered as the pad of his finger pressed against a particularly sensitive spot within you. He knew you like the back of his hand— probably better. He slid a second finger beside the first, coaxing moans and gasps from you as he gave all his attention to your clit and g-spot.

Your thighs trembled as you fought the instinct to close them around his head, the stimulation bordering on too much. The softness of his mouth on you, the press of his fingers against the most sensitive spot inside— making you cum was simply too easy for him. You barely had time to gasp out a breathy “I’m cumming—“ before your orgasm hit you. Your walls gripped his fingers like a vise as he worked you through it, muttering praise against your cunt before he withdrew his fingers completely. 

You stared at the ceiling, trying to find your breath. “C’mere. It's your turn,” you said with a grin. 

Steve simply shook his head. “Not done.” He moved his mouth back to your cunt, this time without the hungry ferocity. You sighed at the sensation, your legs twitching when the tip of his tongue brushed against your clit. His movements lost purpose with each pass of his tongue until he was practically making out with your pussy.

Your head fell back against the pillows, soft gasps slipping past your lips. Steve moaned against you as you tugged his hair, a furrow forming between his brows. So utterly lost in you that he hadn’t even noticed that he was rutting against the bed for friction. 

“C’mere,” you said softly. He pressed a final, wet kiss to your pussy before resting his head on the plush of your thigh. Your stomach flipped as he licked his lips, chasing those last remnants of your taste. He pressed a soft kiss to your belly before crawling up to meet you.

The kiss you shared was hungry and slow. The camera was shoved to the side so you could put your mouth on his— tongues meeting, the tang of your arousal and his spit flooding your senses. 

A low moan escaped his lips as your hand snaked between your two bodies, where you took his length into your hand and stroked slowly. His mouth fell open, a small furrow between his brows. 

“Fuck, baby,” he groaned. You smiled up at him innocently and let your thumb glide across his tip. A full-body shiver overtook him, and you couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. Steve was easy to love all the time, but especially when he was needy. “Switch spots with me.” When you furrowed your brows he nodded towards the camera. “Please?”

When he sat back on his heels, you moved from beneath him and let him settle with his back against the pillows. You were slightly annoyed that he had control of the camera, because goddamn. His thighs were bowed out slightly, cock resting against his stomach. The sight made your heart hammer as you straddled his thighs.

Steve took the camera back into his hands, a wide smile on his face. “Alright, just do what you were doing,” he instructed. “Left hand though.”

You glanced down at your hand and smiled softly. The engagement ring— your engagement ring— glinted up at you. You spit onto your hand and Steve groaned at the sight. 

“Haven’t even touched you yet,” you teased.

“Don’t let me stop you.” His voice wavered, revealing just how needy he really was.

He cried out the moment your hand wrapped around his length, head tossed back against the headboard. His cock pulsed in your hand as it glided up and down, aching for more. You leaned down, spitting onto his tip, giving you more slickness to work with. 

“Fuck,” he groaned, his chest heaving. You moved your right hand to his balls, kneading them as you focused your attention on the head. “Jesus, look at that fuckin’ rock, huh?”

You rolled your eyes and chuckled wryly. “That’s what you’re thinking about? Not— y’know— the handjob to end all handjobs?” To prove your point, you twisted your hand and let your thumb glide over his slit. He practically whimpered, bucking into your grip. 

You redoubled your efforts, relishing in each desperate, whiny noise you were able to elicit. He was getting close— you could feel it in the way he throbbed in your hand, and hear it in the desperate pants and moans passing his lips. Before he could finish, you slowed your pace and let him come back from the edge. 

He sat there, arm slung over his eyes, just catching his breath. “Earth to Steve?” You teased, placing a kiss on his tummy. He made a low noise in the back of his throat and took another deep breath. 

“Okay, I’m good,” he said, a breathy laugh escaping his lips as he finally lowered his arm and looked at you. “Just needed a minute so I didn’t—“ You giggled as he mimed an explosion, completely unabashed about the effect you had on him. 

He grabbed the camera and placed it on the bedside table, doing his best to angle it just right. “Alright… wanna take a ride on the Harrington Express?” He patted his thighs with a smug expression and you groaned in annoyance. 

“Steve.”

“Fine. I’ll be so cool. I’ll be totally normal. But just know… you’re marrying a loser.”

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly as you straddled his thighs. “I wouldn’t have it any other way… most of the time.”

He stared up at you like you hung the moon, all doe eyes and heart-shaped pupils. He pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, tender and slow, and you hummed contentedly at the feeling. 

“I love you,” he murmured against your lips. He moved one of your hands from his shoulder and down to his chest, where his heart thumped steadily. For you.

Your own heart lurched in your chest as a swell of emotions overtook you. “I love you too, Steve.”

You reached between the two of you, taking his cock into your hand so you could position him at your entrance. You breathed slowly through your nose as you sank down— the prep and attention he had given you made the stretch comfortable and bearable, so all you felt was the pleasurable full feeling that he gave you.

Once you were fully seated, you gave an experimental roll of your hips. A moan escaped you at the feeling— as each tiny movement made delicious electricity run along your nerves. 

He sat up fully, his chest pressing against yours, holding you firmly against him. “That’s it, baby,” he groaned, cutting himself off to plant wet kisses along your jaw and throat. “Feels so good. Love the way your pussy feels around me.”

He cried out as you began to ride him in earnest, not caring how thin the walls of the condo were. His hands gripped onto your hips and dimpled the plush skin there as he began to meet your thrusts with his own. With each movement, you could feel him getting deeper until you could practically feel him in your guts. 

“Steve,” you gasped out, meeting his gaze as he fucked up into you. The sound of his name seemed to spur him on.

“Say it again,” he demanded. “Touch yourself while you do,”

You whimpered at the tone of his voice, snaking a hand between your bodies to toy with your clit. Your limbs felt like jelly as he continued to fuck the life and brains out of you. “St-Steve, fuck, baby,” you cried between the hiccup-y sobs of pleasure that were punched from your lungs.

“Fuck, you’re squeezin’ me so tight. Not gonna last like this.”

“Don’t,” you managed. “Cum for me. With me.” You leaned in and kissed him in a way that felt like more saliva than lips. 

When you pulled back, he nodded, forehead pressed against yours as you both worked each other over the edge. Your vision was spotted with pinpricks of light while he worked you through it, his moans distant in your ears. 

You were both panting, nearly tacked together with sweat as you came down. You chuckled lightly as you tilted your head to look at him. “That was one hell of a celebration.” He intertwined your fingers and placed a kiss on your ring finger. 

“And we have the rest of our lives to do it again, and again, and again, and ag—“ 

You shut him up with a kiss. You figure that for the rest of your lives, that’s always going to work. 

It does.

#steve harrington #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfiction #lazy ghoul’s kinktober

[bengiyo]

Our Dining Table Ep 8 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Yutaka revealed the details of his family history to Minoru, including the fact that he can't remember the cooking of his birth parents and that his adopted brother ruined his ability to enjoy food. Papa Ueda became our champion by keeping Tane occupied long enough for that to happen. Tane remained the cutest for getting mad at Minoru for potentially making Yutaka cry, and then comforting Yutaka. They enjoyed rice balls together in a moment of stellar comedy. Finally, Minoru said that Yutaka approached them first, and kissed Yutaka on the stairs after trying on his glasses.

Was it a dream? It better not have been!

Oh, it was a really tender cheek kiss. Honestly, that's actually better, considering their dynamic. Minoru's feelings have been boiling out of him for likely months at this point.

A new week, a new note about how terrible the motion ghosting is on Gaga.

Minoru has a great smile, but the fake one is not the moment.

I like the owner/manager of the ramen joint Minoru works at.

Oh no. Ohata is having problems with her paramour. Time to watch Yutaka get stuck in his head.

Yes! Minoru reached out first!

They're at a restaurant named spring. If this turns into an awkward separation conversation I'm going to be disappointed. Please protect us, boyfriend scarves.

Yutaka is so funny. He isn't really processing the kiss, and is instead focused on the first meet he doesn't remember.

Flashback Minoru is wearing a faced Patriots shirt. I'm gonna lose it.

Minoru thinking about a small act of kindness from Yutaka for two years is going to be the end of me.

Only the Japanese can make me ache for a handhold like this.

The scarves didn't save us. Minoru put his feelings out there while trying to keep from pressuring Yutaka, and now the distance is growing.

Inukai hasn't spoken much this episode, but you can feel the wheels spinning in his head.

Oof, that's a difficult place to finish.

Ah yes. A J-BL lead will be running next week, hopefully not FROM his confession.

#our dining table #bokura no shokutaku #japanese bl #bl series #Ben watches

[revols-headcanons]

aoba johsai pet headcanons

oikawa literally begged his parents for a pet bird when he was in middle school, even though he’s rarely home to take care of it (his parents take care of it). the bird is called tweety and oikawa’s private snapchat story (tooru’s hoes; has all of aoba johsei’s team and many of his volleyball rivals) has tons of videos of him making fake retro/beatboxing/2016 youtube channel intro noises while spinning his phone around his bird. the birds like “…🧍🐥🐦🦜 what is this giant creature doing.”

iwaizumi had a bulldog who he defends with the world. the dog will literally try to eat oikawa, forcing that poor man to climb a tree while screaming, and iwaizumi will be like “oh he don’t bite. he’s chill don’t worry.” the worst part is that the bulldog loves everyone else on the team but hates oikawa. oikawa uses it as a sign that either he’s too sexy for every being on the planet that the universe sent him a mere pet in spite of him or that aliens are real and sent this demon dog as a way to lure him away.

matsukawa has three pet fish; one for himself and the other two for his siblings. their names are, respectively; titty, princess sparkles, and sharknado. he’s disappointed that his siblings didn’t get the memo. he often spends his time wrestling with iwaizumi’s dog because of this. whenever the others brag about their adorable pets, he says ‘well at least i have a clean car that I can drive’ to shut them up. iwaizumi and hanamaki always respond with ‘well fair enough’ while oikawa glitches out of existence like ‘we- you can’t just- that’s not fai- i have volleyball!’

hanamaki has an orange cat that never gives him a break. the cat will hide inside the couch until hanamaki’s mid-breakdown searching for it while thinking it died or ran away. the cat has purposely shat on his laptop multiple times. his teachers are tired of the excuse ‘my cat destroyed my homework/laptop, so I didn’t finish the work’ but it’s always true. the cat has also clawed up $200 shoes before. hanamaki’s private snapchat story (‘satan’s furry little shitbag’) where it’s just him recording what his cat has done with the caption of ‘orange cat tings’ or ‘bruh ur scaring da hoes’ or something similar.

kyoutani has two dogs (as previously mentioned), and they’re both the sweetest pets in the world. he unexpectedly gets hit on a lot because he looks less threatening with two happy dogs dragging him along, and he has to awkwardly reject people while trying to play fetch with his dogs. multiples times he’s sat down in front of his dogs like ‘listen here guys. you are actively destroying my reputation. i need you to be mean, cold hearted, and ruthless from now on, okay?” and the dogs will just have these dumb, happy looks on their face while panting, and then lick his face. he responds by sighing and then cuddle/wrestling his dogs because they are the most important thing to him.

watari has an elaborate hamster set up for his four hamsters. it takes up a whole wall of his bedroom and there’s this whole wheel and upwards maze for them. he’s incredibly precise when he cleans the cage and feeds them. he brags about it often, and makes sure he has a hamster on his head or in his lap whenever he video calls someone. their names are turbo, milk, porkchop, and sticky. he let a random english word generator name them and then didn’t put any extra thought into it.

yahaba has that crusty white dog that’s prim and proper. he regularly washes it and feeds it, even though he’s upset that his dog started to hate him after he dyed his hair. he’s been like ‘even though my hair isn’t white, i’m still me! don’t hate me now!’ whenever he has to wash his dog. his dog also has separation anxiety so yahaba wakes up most mornings with his dogs ass in his face became the dog refuses to sleep anywhere that isn’t touching her owner (even after yahaba spent the money and put the effort into making a literally royalty passage/mini bedroom for his dog to sleep comfortably (yahaba now just throws his shoes onto it because he’s accepted that his dog will never sleep on it)).

kindaichi has no pets so he often visits this giant aquarium near his house. he’s gone so often that, more often than not, they let him in for free because they know all he’s going to do is stare at the dolphins for an hour and then try to over compensation financially for it. he’s gone so frequently that he’s been allowed to meet the dolphins in person and pet them. the dolphins adore him because his hairstyle reminds them of their fin. the employees see how sad he gets when he sits by the dolphins, so they started actively tutoring him on how to take care of them, in hopes that he’ll work a part time job there.

kunimi also has no pets, but he’s fine with that because he hates doing any form of work and also hates messes. though he does appreciate sitting in parks and watching squirrels run around because it brings him peace. he started internally naming all of them after his teammates after a while. out of the team, he favors yahabas crusty white dog the most because the dog loves attention and is fluffy, though he would never admit that out loud.

#haikyuu #haikyu headcanons #haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #haikyu #haikyuu!! headcanons #haikyū!! #aoba johsai #oikawa tooru #iwaizumi hajime #seijoh #matsukawa issei #hanamaki takahiro #watari #yahaba shigeru #kunimi akira #kyoutani kentarou #hq hcs #kindaichi yuutarou #still don’t know his first name

[rallamajoop]

Theme, character, and a few more thoughts on the RE4 Remake

So, having played the Resident Evil 4 remake, I had a ton of fun – but in the end, I think it worked better for me when they remade this game as Resident Evil Village instead.

As every gaming outlet on the net has already told you, there’s a lot to recommend this title. The gameplay is terrific, new!Leon is still stupidly endearing to me, and there are so many little details in his character animation that I love to bits (seriously, he and Ashley actually managed to make me feel guilty about making them run back through the pouring rain hunting that one treasure on the map I’d missed – it’s that good).

But story-wise, I can only wish they’d had the guts to remake this thing a little harder. And while I have sunk a truly stupid number of hours into getting every achievement in RE8, RE4 seems to have tailored its own post-game ecosystem specifically to turn me away. And that's just a little disappointing.

The full RE4 experience is roughly twice as long as Village, but it feels like it has about half the actual plot. Most of what happens once you leave the village area feels like padding, the game spinning its wheels to fill in time. The lore makes less sense the more I try to get my head around it. Parts like Ada’s role feel so unfinished I can only hope there’s more coming in DLC. And despite token attempts to link events thematically to RE2, the result probably works better if you haven’t actually played the RE2 remake lately.

And while you can always say, “C’mon, it’s RE4! No-one remembers that game for the plot!” I’m left going, well, sure, but they remade Leon’s story in RE2 so well! And everything that left me wanting here was stuff they did just as well in RE8 – which was already basically a stealth remake of RE4. Was it so unreasonable to hope they could pull off the same here?

But enough hand waving. Let’s talk specifics. I’ve already talked Luis. So it’s time to talk Leon and Ashley.

I have so many mixed feelings about RE4-remake!Leon. So many.

In so many ways, he just works. He’s not the same Leon of RE2, but he’s changed in ways that make sense given several years of special ops training. He's taken several levels in badass and he's a lot more jaded, but at heart, he’s still a sweetheart who does this work because he wants to help people. And yet people who know him still call him ‘rookie’, still insinuate he hasn’t changed, and it’d be nice if that was something the game was more interested in exploring.

But while RE2 was inarguably the biggest day of his life to date, RE4 ultimately feels like just another day at the office for new!Leon: beat the bad guy, save the girl, fail to figure out what the fuck Ada’s deal is, go home. Nothing that happens to him in RE4 feels personal. Everything that’s changed him between RE2 and here has already happened, off-screen, and I can’t help but wish we were telling one of those stories instead.

It's not for lack of trying. RE4 opens on a heck of a thesis-statement about Leon: what he’s been through since RE2, hints of conflict with his current employer (“I was ‘asked’ later to join a top-secret government program. Not that I had a choice. The training, the punishing missions, almost killed me.”) There’s also one hell of a mission-statement about his feelings on the Raccoon City incident: “If I could just forget what happened that night, the pain, even for a second, this time, it can be different.”

That’s great as an opener! First question: different how?

What difference here is worth celebrating? This time Ada got away, blatantly alive and with the prize in hand, not even pretending she wasn’t using you? This time you got to save the little-infected-blonde-girl (who-was-only-involved-because-of-her-parents’-career-choices) yourself, instead of Claire doing all the real work? This time you rode out the explosion with only one other survivor for company instead of two? You still saw more people die than you saved! You still left a whole infected-and-dying population behind when you left! Seriously, what’s supposed to be different here?

The game seems to want us to believe that saving Ashley is enough to make it "different." On my second playthrough, I even caught Leon repeating that line, ‘it has to be different this time!’ as he carries her into Luis’ lab. But this doesn’t land for me, because – again – Leon got out of Raccoon City with Claire and Sherry. Claire didn’t need a whole lot of rescuing (much as I gripe about her story, she objectively achieved a whole lot more than Leon did), but she certainly appreciated his help. RE4 even shows us a shot of them all walking off into the sunrise together in its Raccoon City flashback.

The lore surrounding this franchise suggests that post RE2, Leon becomes almost family to Sherry ‒ you'd really think she'd count. I’m sure there’s an angle you can find somewhere where Leon would feel like saving Ashley is ‘different’ enough ‒ guilt isn’t a highly logical emotion ‒ but it’s really not coming through for me. And that makes the game's whole thesis statement feel awfully hollow.

Some other token thematic attempts are made: on the boat with Ada, Leon says, “you try to save one person, you get a hundred more killed.” Well, in the process of saving Ashley, they got Luis, Mike, and both those Spanish cops from the opening sequence killed. Saddler and his cult do get wiped out in a way more definitive way than Umbrella did in RE2 ‒ and that surely saves more lives in the long run than saving just Ashley ever could ‒ but that doesn’t seem to be what "has to be different" is going for. This is a lot like my issues with how Jill’s PTSD was dealt with in RE3 – we’re just vaguely waving at a past conflict as a way to lend nebulous weight to the present, and hoping the audience will fill in the blanks without further prompting. This is not how successful theming works!

Really, what makes this so disappointing to me is that it’s not like Capcom has never done PTSD-backstory well. See, as exhibit A: Resident Evil 8. Game opens with multiple reminders that Ethan is still dealing with trauma from RE7, the feeling that he ‘never really left the Baker’s basement’ – and as the story progresses, we learn that in a very real sense, he never did.

The reveal is the answer to a mystery that's been teased repeatedly since RE7, and coming to terms with it is a vital part of Ethan’s character arc. Though plenty is still left to the audience’s imagination, the pieces are all there. Ethan’s no longer in denial about how much his experience has changed him, but what matters to him hasn’t changed. If he’d come out of the Baker’s basement still human, he’d never have survived long enough to save Rose ‒ hell, there'd have been no Rose at all. There’s no going home again for Ethan, but he’s at peace with that. It’s really that simple: give us specifics, and specifics that make sense.

Ultimately, I think trying to frame RE4 as RE2-but-different was a mistake. The original RE4 wasn’t conceived that way, and the remake hasn’t been remade hard enough to make it so.

That doesn’t mean there’s no Leon-centric thematic material to explore. That opening also sets out a wealth of great potential surrounding Leon’s ‘not that I had a choice’ position. Build on the conflict between the Leon who’s out here trying to save a girl’s life, vs the Leon who’s out here trying to protect US political interests. Play with the idea that he’s still being used by the US, just as Ada was using him back in RE2! Let the enemies point out that Leon is as much a puppet of the US administration as the ganados are puppets of Saddler! Fucking do something with Krauser: one of the very same people who put Leon through all that ‘training that almost killed him’ has turned around and decided that their job is a sucker’s bet ‒ that should be a thematic goldmine! And then let Leon turn around and tell them all to go to hell. It’s all right there, c’mon!

The game toys with the question of whether Leon’s changed since RE2 – Krauser says he hasn’t, Ada says he hasn’t – heck, even Luis’ final words, a guy can change, right? are poking around the edges of similar themes. Leon’s problem back in RE2 was never a failure to save people, it’s getting too caught up in other people’s power plays to make any real difference himself. Is that still true here? It's really not clear.

Similarly, it’s so easy to imagine Leon was chosen for the job in RE4 because he’s got such a hero-complex he’s obviously going to work hardest to keep Ashley safe – because no, Leon may have taken a dozen levels in badass, but at his core, he hasn’t changed. But I’m pretty sure he’s going to be okay with that, just as long as he’s changed enough to be able to get the job done.

And think how much more it should give Leon and Ashley to bond over too, when… oh, right. Time to talk about Ashley.

The general buzz about remake!Ashley has been overwhelmingly positive. She’s so much better than the infamously-annoying original!Ashley, she feels like a real person now, people legitimately care about protecting her, and so on. And I sure as hell don’t want to tell anyone they shouldn’t like new-Ashley. She’s not annoying. I didn’t dislike her as a character. But the longer I spent with her in this game (and you spend more time with her than another other non-Leon character), the less she felt like an actual person to me, and the more glaring it was just how little I knew about her.

Here’s what we do learn about Ashley. She’s a college student, apparently 20 years old (she doesn’t really look that old, but what the hell, there are 20yos who look like Ashley, let’s not get stuck on this one). Her father is the president of the United States. She develops quite the crush on Leon over the course of the game (and who can blame her?) Leon handles this as deftly as you could ask for under the circumstances – he doesn’t want to lead her on, but he also doesn’t want to shut her down any harder than he has to. Ashley is understandably terrified, but coping with it with enough composure to keep her head most of the time, and the one time she does freak out and run off, it leads to one of my favourite scenes in the game – where Leon comforts her, and gets to show his gentler side.

Over the course of the game, she gains a certain level of confidence – in herself, and in Leon’s ability to protect her. All that talk about being his partner and wanting to become an agent like him is probably just her crush showing, but again, Leon treads a careful line to validate her as much as possible without ever really saying yes.

And this is all fine, but nothing really changes in Leon’s feelings about Ashley as they spend more time together. He’s 100% there to protect her before they met, and after spending all that time with her, sure, same deal. That’s his job. Nor does Ashley herself really get to change much. In her early chapters, she's already capable of smashing a window to save Leon from a burning building. By the end, she's... still completely helpless to save herself without him. Nothing really pays off.

Alright, now let me tell you about Ashley.

Ashley is a fucking political prisoner, a pawn to people who see her only as a means to an end, and yet the notion she’s in a situation any bigger than herself never enters the picture. At an age when a girl should be earning some independence, she’s going to be officially pigeonholed as her father’s daughter in the minds of the entire world. For four to eight years of the past and/or future, she’s going to be one of the most important and over-protected people on the planet. And yet, within the last day or two, all that security failed. People she and her father trusted – heck, that the whole US government administration trusted – betrayed them. She’s been kidnapped out of the blue, presumably bundled into a plane and flown across the world to some hick-village in rural Spain.

Surely Ashley should have some kind of opinion on all that, right?

There are all sorts of plausible reactions someone might have to this kind of situation. She could blame herself for not taking security more seriously. She could blame her security team for letting her down; her dad for putting her in this position, the possibilities go on. The game does vaguely wave in the direction of Ashley having (reasonable) trust issues when Leon first appears, given she attacks him with a candlestick and runs off, but then she, well, sees some ganados out the window, and everything is forgotten? It’s all over very quickly. Her only opinion on her situation is that she doesn't want to be taken over by a parasite. Such character!

Later in the game, we discover that Krauser was personally involved in her abduction. Ashley never gets to have an opinion on this. Did she know Krauser personally, or was he just pulling strings from a distance? Wouldn’t she have questions for Leon about his relationship with Krauser? Wouldn’t this have been a great opportunity to expand on Leon’s barely-a-footnote history with Krauser and that whole messed up political conspiracy ‒ even to talk about why Leon was trusted enough to be sent on this mission alone? Well, too bad – we’re on the back foot of the Ashley-two-step throughout both Krauser’s appearances, so Ashley’s not around. And Krauser’s own motivations are apparently no more complicated than "wants to be more macho than everyone else." What a damn waste.

Beyond the initial section set in the village itself, it’s disappointing how much of the plot of RE4 basically comes down to: Ashley gets captured, Leon rescues her, rinse and repeat. There are variations, sure (Ashley freaks out and runs off, Leon has to find her, Leon gets trapped, Ashley has to free him) – but the overall pattern gets pretty monotonous. Ashley frees Leon, then immediately gets captured. Leon tries to rescue her, but fails, and is thrown down a hole. Leon almost catches up with Ashley, but she’s being moved to the island. Leon finds Ashley on the island and rescues her, finally! Ashley swiftly gets captured again. Leon rescues her, again. But don’t you dare let Ashley get carried off by one of those goons out of sequence, that’s an insta-fail state. What, you think this is a situation where the bad guys can just carry Ashley away with impunity? Ha.

This is what I really mean when I say it feels like this game is just spinning its wheels for so much of its runtime. There is some additional plot surrounding Luis to break things up a bit, and a few allusions to the idea Ada’s up to something, somewhere, with a grand total of 4 named boss-villains popping up to monologue and/or fight you. But they're all kept pretty rigorously segregated from one another, like cast members who will no longer appear in the same scenes for contractual reasons. 'Wants power' or 'is under mind control' is as complex as the villainous motivations get.

The villains of RE2, 7 and 8 all had their own relationships, conflicts and internal power struggles, all presented for you in cutscenes and dialogue, and the result created some of the most memorable characters of the whole franchise. In RE4, you're lucky if you glimpse a vague hint of history in a document somewhere. C’mon, game, you’ve put Sargent Rambo and Midget Napoleon on the same team, and I don’t even get to see how much they must hate each other? That’s just not fair!

Ada’s role in this game feels like such a missed opportunity too. The final note she and Leon end on in RE2 could have gone in so many directions (how much did she genuinely care about him? Was she just bluffing by lowering her gun?) if they’d only had the sense to play into it. But RE4 seems to have picked up the tune a few verses earlier, back at ‘Ada’s evil and using Leon without a care’, and just keeps on repeating that until the scene fades out. Leon gets no answers. Maybe Ada sees him as slightly more than a useful tool, but who’d know? Ada’s just… there. Remember Ada? She’s a thing that happens to Leon sometimes.

But there was still the potential to do so much more. Tell me more about Ashley, to begin with! What’s her relationship with her father like? What’s she studying at uni? How well did she know her security team? Does she even know what country she’s in? Let her and Leon bond over their positions as human pawns in political schemes so much bigger than them as people. Let someone wonder if it’s better Ashley dies than comes home infected. Let the goal of saving-Ashley come into conflict with the goal of defeating-Saddler! Let Leon question his superiors' priorities! It's all right there to play with, I promise you!

Heck, let Hunnigan (or some other official voice in Leon’s earpiece) disagree with him at some point. Delve deeper into the scale and implications of Krauser’s betrayal! Contrast him with Luis – they’re on virtually opposite tracks as people who’ve switched sides, but they’ve both made more meaningful decisions about who to work for than Leon ever has. Let me feel all the different interests at conflict here – between Luis, Ada, the US government, Krauser’s rebellion, and Saddler’s cult, there should be enough of them. Let Leon question what he’s doing there – saving one girl or saving the whole US administration, but ultimately just saving one girl. And if you still want to tie it to RE2, it doesn’t have to be about it being different, it can be about Leon feeling like he’s made a difference this time. There’s got to be something you can find here that’ll resonate.

Going by the general reception to the game, these don’t seem to be issues that have bothered the masses. Given how revered RE4 is in gaming history, I can well believe there was real resistance at Capcom HQ about to trying to rework it more than a relative minimum, without trying to build any real thematic weight into what originally worked as a fairly cartoony rescue-the-princess caper. It’s still got great gameplay and some lovely character moments – I wouldn’t dream of debating that. But as a whole, RE4 felt thematically empty in a way I didn’t get from RE’s 7, 8 or Leon’s story from the remake of 2. If anything, it reminded me more of my problems with RE3 or Claire’s story in 2 – there are ideas here, but what they add up to is less than the sum of its parts. And that’s a disappointing feeling to come away with.

The remake still has a lot going for it. But remade a little harder, I can’t help but feel it could’ve been so much more.

#Resident Evil 4 #Leon Kennedy #Ashley Graham #Ada Wong #Resident Evil 2 #Resident Evil #meta #RE reviews

[omg-kawaiikitty]

Apparently I have a type when it comes to enemies to lovers trope. For me if the ship isn’t too toxic then I would be into it.

1.Dasey-Canadian tv show about 2 step siblings who couldn’t stand each other but have sweet moments and show that they become closer as series progress. They were literally enemies (not really but Derek likes to prank her and she would get annoyed and try to get back to him to piss him off) to friends to lovers trope. They have such a strong chemistry and we all wanted them together growing up. Truman was literally Derek 2.0 but toxic. The fandom is still growing strong to the point we have a spin off movie and hoping it becomes a TV series because there’s so many unanswered questions. Like Casey is obviously sick of her husband and seemed burnt out AF plus I want to see him be uncomfortable and a third wheel in front of Dasey since everytime they have a love interest they automatically become a third wheel aside from Sally (she was an amazing love interest) plus I just want Dasey to act more like a married couple.

2.Zutara-Zuko and Katara were enemies to friends. I was really hoping for them to be lovers by the end of the series and was so disappointed. They have so many things in common with parallels that they would be each other ying Yang. They both lost their mothers, both are stubborn when they get mad, he rises with the sun, she rises with the moon, water and fire are polar opposites. He was the blue spirit and she was the painted lady alter egos. She was the first one to trust him and he betrayed that but also tried really hard to make up for it. He was the only one who gave her closure to find her mother’s killer and let her decide on what she wants to do and they became good friends from that mission. The Ember Island play showing us that Zuko and Katara were into each other but also making fun of Zutara. June always calling Katara Zuko’s gf whenever she makes an appearance. Then the battle between Zuko vs Azula and how he saved Katara from lightning and almost died in the process, that was a powerful scene I have ever seen in a child’s cartoon. Plus if they were a couple Katara would make an amazing fire lady since she already has the skills from travelling with the Avatar and solving problems whenever they travel, Zuko would see her as an equal plus it would show that the fire nation is serious about ending the war by marrying a waterbender and show a balance to the rest of the world. Plus if they were parents they wouldn’t Favorite one or the other and treat their kids as equals since Zuko knows how to fight without his fire bending and could teach his son/daughter and Katara has Sokka. I’m still bitter on how it ended and even to this day Zutara is a pretty popular ship.

3.Chilumi-Ever since Childe came over and said “Hey Girlie hold still” comment or even the Japanese dub. Many people ship them as a couple since they are enemies but he’s so kind towards her and even after their fight he is still kind. It gives off enemies to lovers and if it was an anime where Lumine is the main character and Aether wasn’t a main character, then the writers would 100% make Chilumi a thing and probably just kill him off by saving her. It’s one of the most popular ships in Genshin.

4.Catwoman and Batman-Enemies to lovers but Catwoman is more of an antihero, yes she is a criminal but if it’s to save Batman from another enemy or he needs her help, she would do it since she loves him plus they can hook up afterwards. They even get married afterwards in the comics.

5.Martin and Diana from Martin Mysterh. Not really enemies but they also like to fight alot but then have their nice moments. In the cartoons they are opposites and would argue but when it comes to saving one or the other they would in a heartbeat and have sweet moments plus in the comics they are literally a married couple and never were step siblings…

6. Flash and Killer frost. In comics they were enemies but in TV series Killer Frost is Caitlin Snow. During the TV series they have a really amazing friendship and have many things in common and I thought the writers would pair them together since that’s what it feels like during S1 and how so many villains would kidnap her and he had to save her. Even in another dimension when he was fighting Killer Frost he told her he doesn’t want to hurt her. When Caitlin frost became killer frost again he didn’t want to hurt her and she worked with Evil Barry (Savitar) now Killer frost and the flash work together when it comes to fighting. I really dislike WA because WA was the toxic ship I have ever seen and the fandom were so toxic and I stopped watching The flash.

7.Maou and Emi from The devil is a part timer. They were enemies since he’s a devil and she’s a hero. She defeated the demon king Satan but wanted to make sure he was defeated so she followed him to the human world. During the human world Maou would show Emi kindness while she was hostile towards him. In one scene he saved her by treating to her wounds. They became frenemies, he apologized but she still doesn’t 100% forgive him from his past but is willing to understand and become a friend to him. They even became parents which made them closer into having a family bond.

8.Nick and Adalind from Grimm. They were enemies and became lovers because she got pregnant while pretending to be his ex gf. They gotten closer and Nick was willing to protect her to make sure their baby is safe and they became a couple in the end.

9.Caroline and Tyler. Not really enemies but since Caroline is a vampire and Tyler is a werewolf…it makes sense that they would not like each other plus before they became occults. Tyler thought she was selfish and spoiled, Caroline thought he was hot headed and temperamental. They became a couple later on in the series and broke up…I stopped watching Vampire Diaries when she got with Klaus and Elena got with Damon.

10. Aerrow and Cyclonis-Stormhawks was a Canadian cartoon and I loved it as a kid. Whenever I seen Aerrow and Cyclonis fighting I was just thinking dang I wish they were an enemies to lovers couple. Idk why I thought that but apparently some people agreed with me since there’s fanfiction.

#multicouples #dasey #pro zutara #life with derek #chilumi #vampire diaries #dc comics #snowbarry #martin mystery #the devil is a part timer #genshin impact

[avvail]

tw: past/implied child exploitation, terrible parents

The car slowly pulled to a stop beside the house at the end of the street, engine humming softly before it finally shut off. Sonny pressed his hands against the window and bounced in joy in his seat, finally able to take in the familiar sight of his home.

His fingers scrambled against the door handle, but he was more than annoyed to find the child locks were still on. He shot a glare towards Edward, where the old man was watching him through the mirror.

“Come on,” Sonny moaned, his brows pinching slightly at the old man’s conceited look. “You’re not going to make me go through those awkward, unnecessary goodbyes, are you?”

Edward and Sonny had never got along during their time together. They didn’t argue very often, but it was nothing the child wouldn’t miss. He could tell Edward didn’t like babysitting him and he hadn’t been happy with the idea either.

The man raised a brow, his finger tapping against the steering wheel. “No. An apology. I understand if you’re disappointed Adam couldn’t see you off.”

Sonny bit the inside of his cheek. His chest stung at the thought; the mercenary had been busy with a contract over the past week, and still hadn’t returned. He had said he would be back in time to drive Sonny back to his home, but it was clear he hadn’t been able to make it.

The child didn’t know if he was upset, or angry at him. Maybe it was a mix of both. He tried not to like the mercenary, but it frustrated him that dealing with his altercation with Silver and escaping the business had become a little easier when he was by his side. It would have been nice, to hear a goodbye from him.

Sonny doubted he would ever see them again.

Edward had pressed he had to stay quiet, and stay out of trouble. He had no way of contacting them. He was being ripped from this world and back into a normal one.

He was happy. But he was going to miss it.

“I don’t care,” Sonny mumbled bitterly, folding his arms across his chest. “He wants to go and kill people rather than say goodbye. What does it matter? He can do what he wants.”

Edward watched him with a hard stare, before he finally unlocked the doors. Sonny perked up, pushing the door open as the excitement quickly squashed all grim thoughts.

He felt the fresh air tickle his face and grinned, pushing the door shut. He stepped onto the familiar pavement, eyes staring at his home, before he turned back to the car.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, and although he didn’t want to, he thought it would be best. “Thanks. For looking after me. You did a terrible job, but...thanks.”

Edward almost laughed at that, but his face remained stoic. “I won’t be doing it again.”

Sonny grinned wryly. “Good. I don’t want you to.”

The old man shrugged lightly, before twisting the key, and letting the car roar to life. Sonny stepped away from the road, giving the old man a small wave. He nodded his head, before rolling up the window as the car swirved back onto the road.

It took a second for Sonny to gather himself. That was it. Everything was over, just like that.

He rubbed his fingers gingerly, his heart feeling slightly heavy. He let out a quiet sigh, before spinning round, and bounding up the drive and towards the front door. His heart instantly became light again as he stopped on the porch, getting a look at the decorations.

He had missed this place so much. He missed his foster mother and father, and all he wanted was to feel their hugs one more time.

Should he knock? Surprise them?

His knuckles were rapping against the door before he could stop himself. Nerves tickled his stomach, but all it did was make him feel jittery and excited. He saw a shadow, and when the lock clicked, Sonny couldn’t contain himself.

The door was pulled open, and he was greeted with the face of his foster mother, staring down at him with a shocked expression. It took her all but a few seconds to react, throwing her arms around him.

“Sonny!” She cried, her voice breathless. “Oh, my darling. You’re back!”

The touch made the boy melt into putty. He pushed his head into the crook of her neck, his eyes almost burning with tears at the familiar scent coming off her cardigan. Her hand flew to the back of his neck, rubbing the hair gently. He heard a noise and the sight of his foster father greeted him, eyebrows raised.

“George!” His mother shrieked, and the man placed a hand on her shoulder with a chuckle.

“I’m right here,” he smiled, before his eyes landed on Sonny, and the boy threw himself into his arms. “Hello, champ!”

He wanted to tell them how much he missed them, but the words were stuck on his tongue. His grip was tight. This was everything he ever dreamed of. He couldn’t have been more happier.

“Mama?”

A small voice pulled him from his bubble. Sonny lifted his head to see a small toddler, wobbling on its leg, tugging at his foster mother’s leg. The woman sighed gently, surprised to see the little guy by her side.

Something cold gripped the child in that moment. But he didn’t know what.

“Sweetheart,” she breathed, using that same, soft voice she used with Sonny. “Don’t wander off on your own. George, can you take him into the living room? And get me the phone number for the social worker, please?”

He moved away from his foster father’s grip, his eyes bouncing between the two in fear and confusion. His heart was pounding in his chest, and this time, it wasn’t from the excitement. His lip trembled.

“Who’s...that?”

He was sure he had heard it correctly. Mama.

His foster mother cleared her throat, suddenly looking a little awkward. “Well, darling. You... disappeared for a while. You understand we needed the income from the foster care, don’t you? We needed to make up the money somehow for...”

She trailed off, glancing towards his father as he scooped the small toddler into his arms and exchanged a passive look.

“The social workers were happy enough to let us foster another. Your father and I...need the money, sweetheart.”

Sonny swallowed the dry lump in his throat. Dread was pooling through his stomach. “S...So? I-I’m here now. You can still look after me.”

His mother pressed her lips into a thin line, shrugging her shoulders. “Ah, don’t be silly! That would be too much of a financial burden, darling. We wouldn’t want that.”

The child could feel his breathing pick up. “I don’t understand...send the other one back. I’m your son, I-I’ve been here since I was a...”

The words died on his tongue. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.

“How long?” He breathed quietly, choking up. “How long was I gone before you replaced me?”

His foster mother hummed in thought, her body relaxed. Sonny couldn’t fathom how normal she was acting, as if she wasn’t explaining that they fostered another child in his absence simply for money. Was that all he was to them? A way to earn some money?

“It was so long ago, darling...” She sighed. “Possibly two weeks. Yes, that seems about right. We haven’t seen the social worker since then.”

The child wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Two weeks was all it took before they moved on with their lives and fostered someone else? Sonny had been on Coral Row by then. He had been put through horrific things because of Silver, and his family hadn’t even been looking for him.

That was what had kept him going. The trust he had that his parents would be searching and searching. Two weeks. They stopped after two weeks.

He rubbed his arms as the memories stirred. He didn’t know what to feel.

“I thought you loved me...” He choked. His foster mother met his gaze, those eyes soft and innocent.

“Oh, honey, of course I do!”

Sonny shook his head. “You...only loved what I...could give you.”

His foster mother’s smile faltered, and was replaced by a sad, pitiful one. How could she act so nonchalant when she was tearing his heart apart like this?

“Sonny, you ran away,” she whispered, tilting her head. The child felt his eyes burn with tears.

“I was kidnapped.”

His mother shook her head, another sigh tumbling from her lips. She reached forward and cupped his cheek, thumb softly wiping away a stray tear that had trickled down his cheek. The touch was warm. It was comforting. It was everything Sonny wanted.

But he still felt cold.

“You’ll have a new family that’ll look after you!” She chuckled, straightening up when her husband joined her side. He handed her a slip of paper and grinned lovingly, pecking her cheek. “Won’t that be exciting?”

His father turned to face him. “Come on in, champ. Let’s cook you a nice meal while we wait for your social worker, hm? Sound fun?”

His mother sent him a warm smile, before she pulled her phone from her pocket, and excused herself into the hallway. His father pushed the door open further, inviting him in.

Sonny couldn’t move. He couldn’t find the strength to even speak. The doorway seemed to become a blend of swirls and colour, stretching away from him. He swallowed as nausea built in his throat, taking a shaking step backwards. His foster father noticed, grin faltering.

“Sunshine?”

Sonny turned around, and he fled. He heard the shouts of his mother and father from the doorway, but he drowned them out, taking off across the road. He wormed his way through the streets, shoving past the traffic of people, feeling the tears sliding down his cheeks.

He didn’t want to look back. If he did, he was afraid he would see nobody, and have to come to terms with the fact his parents wouldn’t ever run after him.

#writing #my writing #child and mercenary #mercenary and child #mercenary #mercenaries #child #adam and sonny #foster #terrible parents #drabble

[imsparky2002]

Class of Villainy - The Ivan Oogie Song

Of all the things Principal Damocles could be doing during the holidays, being kidnapped by a group of children was the last thing he expected. As he barrelled down the chute, he fell onto the center of a large circle. As he opened his eyes, he saw that he was lying on a giant roulette wheel, with his hands tied above his head. Actually, the entire room had a sort of casino-esque theme. Bats were flying around, sharp weapons and tools were pointed at his head. His heartrate increased as he realized that the room looked familiar. It was very similar to Ivan Oogie’s quarters, except everything was larger. This must’ve been Ivan’s home. Oh, how stupid he had been! What had he been thinking when he agreed to let these students out during holiday break! He had supposed that the school’s illusions and spells made him appear to be an all-powerful wizard, when in reality, he was a mere mortal principal. Miss Mendeliev had warned him, and he had brushed her concerns away. He knew that some trouble could possibly occur, but not in a million years did he think he would be kidnapped. He would have kept on pitying himself, if not for a sinister laugh that echoed around the room. As the laughter got closer, a shadow loomed over the principal. By the purple skin and rainbow dreadlocks, Damocles could tell that this was Mylene Haprele, the young sea witch with a knack for snatching up voices. Upon seeing his true form, Mylene felt a wicked smile grow on her face.

“What is going on here?!” Damocles roared, though his voice was pitiful compared to the booming roar of the one provided by the school. She simply chuckled and put a tentacle over his mouth to shut him up.

“Why, nothing at all, my dear Principal. At least... not at the moment.” she crooned. Mylene took a moment to look at the old man, her face riddled with disgust. This was the supposed “Damocles the Powerful” that they had been cautious of upsetting? “I must say, sir, your true appearance is quite disappointing.” Mylene sneered. She quickly pulled out her phone, snapping some photos. “Though I give you credit for the acting abilties, not as good as my Daddy, but a decent performance.” Mylene smiled as she thought of her wonderful father, Fred. Sure she was evil, but that doesn’t mean she can’t love her parents. Damocles ignored this, he had no time for small talk.

“MISS HAPRELE! This is no way to be spending your holiday vacation! Now untie me right this instant!” he fumed, sputtering as he attempted to remove the rope binding his hands together. The sea witch just let out an amused laugh as she spun the wheel, eagerly watching the shock on the man’s face. She stopped the wheel from spinning with one of her tentacles.

“Now why would I do that? Spookums and I have so much fun planned!” Mylene crooned, before letting out a wicked cackle. The principal’s eyes widen in terror as he remembered who the sea witch was referring to. He was barely able to make a coherent response. “Y-You, you don’t mean... NO! OH GOD, NOT HIM!”

“The one and only, my dear.” she said, before turning away and calling for her beloved in a singsong voice.

“Oh, Buggybooo! He’s all yours!”

The sound of ominous laughter echoed throughout the room, positively booming as Mylene eagerly clapped her hands. Bugs crawled underneath the door in anticipation. The room lit up and skeletons were illuminated as Ivan Oogie entered the room. He walked up to Mylene, who giggled as she lept into his arms.

“Howdy, scallop.” Ivan drawled, nuzzling her face as she gently stroked his cloth skin. “Told ya I’d make this the best date ever.” His wicked witch responded by passionately kissing him, not caring as a few bugs from his lips crawled into her mouth, wanting to spend time with their mama. They ignored the principal’s gawking and gazed lovingly into each others eyes.

“And as always, my precious nightmare, you’ve delivered!” she exclaimed, pulling out her phone and showing him the pictures she took of Damocles. “We have to show these to the others! Wait ‘till they see that THIS is the “big man in charge!” Mylene sqealed in excitement. Ivan saw the pictures, and begin howling with laughter, various types of insects fell out of his mouth as he did so.

“Oh, I’m gonna have some fun!” he chuckled. “Now sit back and relax, Pun’kin. Leave the rest to me.” She got out of his arms and slithered away, turning to face Damocles right as she was about to leave.

“Such a poor unfortunate soul!” She exclaimed, dramatically raising a hand to her head in mock sorrow, before grinning once more. “You’re lucky that we don’t want to kill you. Ivan and I aren’t ones to turn down a murder, but we have some special plans cooking. Plans that require a whole gang. So we’ll have to save your death for another time.” Mylene explained, obviously referring to the friendship formed from the two reform classes. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t hurt you.” she said, looking once more at Ivan. “Make him suffer.”

As she shut the door, Ivan Oogie pulled out his favorite pair of dice. He gave it a good roll, before tossing it right into Mr. Damocles’ beard. A bright light illuminated Ivan’s face, causing his eyes to glow a bright white.

Ivan:

Well, well, well, what have we here?

Damocles, huh? Ooh, I’m really scared!

So you’re the one who thinks they can push us around!

(He cackled widly as rotting bugs fell out of his mouth and onto Damocles’s face. The man was too stunned and horrified to reply. Ivan circled around the principal, like a predator hunting their prey.)

Ivan:

You’re jokin’, you’re jokin’!

I can’t believe my eyes!

You’re jokin’ me, you gotta be!

This can’t be the right guy!

He’s ancient, he’s ugly

I don’t know which is worse

I might just split a seam now

If I don’t die laughing first!

(He opened up the tip of his cloth hair, allowing a glowing spider to pop out, before it went back inside his body. Damocles whimpered as the teen picked him up, performing a demented waltz with his captive.)

Ivan:

When Mr. Ivan Oogie says there’s trouble close at hand.

You better pay attention now, ‘cause I’m the Boogie Man

And if you ain’t shakin’

There’s something clearly wrong

‘Cause this may be the last time, you hear this Oogie’s song.

(The villain walked over to a group of bloody corpses, a couple of skeletons and some bats.)

Ivan:

Woaah!

Corpses:

Woaah!

Ivan:

Woaah!

Skeletons:

Woaah!

Ivan:

Woaah!

Bats:

Woaah!

Skeletons/Corpses/Bats:

Yeah, he’s Ivan Oogie, man!

(At this point, Damocles decided that he had had enough.)

Damocles:

Release me now, or you will face the dire consequences

So stop this sick, sadistic game, and just come to your sences!

(Ivan let out a bark of laughter as he prevented the principal from being shot by toy robots with guns mounted on the wall.)

Ivan:

You’re jokin’, you’re jokin’!

I can’t believe my ears!

(He twirls Damocles around and around before kicking him to the floor.)

Ivan:

Will someone shut this feller up?!

I’m drownin’ in my tears!

It’s funny, I’m laughin’!

You really are too much!

Now if you’d put a sock in it

I’m gonna do my stuff.

“W-What are you going to do?” Mr. Damocles trembled. Ivan just smirked.

“Why, I’m gonna do the best I can.” he responded, as a snake came out of his mouth, hissing at the principal.

(Ivan pulled out another pair of dice, and hollering with joy when it landed on Snake’ Eyes.)

Ivan:

The sound of rollin’ dice to me

Is music in the air!

‘Cause I’m a fan of gambling

Although I don’t play fair.

It’s much more fun, I must confess

When lives are on the line

Not mine, of course, but yours, old coot

Now that’d be just fine

(He grabbed the long end of the white rope, attaching it to a hook, and began turning a crank, causing Mr. Damocles to be lifted off the ground.)

Mr. Damocles:

Release me fast, or you will have to

Answer for this heinous act!

Ivan:

Oh partner, you’re something!

You put me in a spin

It seems you ain’t quite graspin’

The position that you’re in

It’s true, you ain’t dyin.

So you can save a prayer.

I hope you learned to fear me

‘Cause Ivan Oogie is everywhere

(Damocles lost it, and began screeching in utter terror. The teen boogieman let out another deep booming laugh, looming over the principal, relishing in his fear. Deciding that the old man had been scared enough, Ivan blew some sleeping powder in Damocles’ face, knocking him out cold. When the principal came to, he was back in his office, with a little playing card on his desk, obviously a calling card from Ivan. The principal frowned and furrowed his brows. Those two were in for some big trouble when school started again. He decided that a week of detention would surely be enough of a punishment for them to learn their lesson.)

Here’s part 2 to Weeby’s post! I really hope you enjoyed this, because it took me a while to really work out the story, which once again, I couldn’t do without the awesome help of @msweebyness. As you can tell, Damocles is far from a good principal. Oh well, here’s hoping the staff will grow some brain cells at some point (Aside from a few intelligent ones.) As always, @artzychic27 and @msweebyness. Make sure to reblog, reply, ask, and post your opinions. We always love to hear them. 

#ivan bruel #ivan #mr damocles #principal damocles #damocles #mylene haprele #mylene #miss mendeleiev #ms. mendeleiev #oogie boogie #ursula #the nightmare before christmas #nightmare before christmas #the little mermaid #little mermaid #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #class of villainy #disney #disneyau

[ragingstillness]

Shadow and Bone spoilers - random thoughts from my notes (e3)

Alina's new red outfit is really cute.

The mausoleum the crows are hiding out in is shaped like a ship. Why? No explanation? Ok just for drama then.

Can the show just leave Inej alone, she gets hurt every time.

Oof floating on a barge of waterlogged dead plague victims is quite the trauma.

Quoted directly from my notes here: "Haha he [Aleksander] moved her [Baghra] to a little cage. He's gotta know that's useless."

I'm genuinely quite confused what side of the fold they are on when they enter on the Hummingbird and what the purpose of being in the fold is. Is it a genuine attempt to tear it down or are they just trying to cross through it? (Callback to a thought I've had before, has anyone tried flying over the fold? Tunneling apparently didn't work but would flying? They seemed to enter at the top of the fold anyway.)

Speaking of which, why would Nikolai be willing to take the King's money when Alina just promised it to him randomly? This makes sense for Sturmhond but Nikolai knows he's Sturmhond and doesn't separate his identities that much so surely he knows the king is sick and that as prince Nikolai doesn't even need his father's money. So what was his reasoning for being willing to risk his crew to take Alina to Os Alta? Or into the fold?

Nice to finally get a good look at the Volcra. They're ugly, but at least we can see them now.

Wow the soldiers got to the site quickly. Isn't the fold like miles and miles long splitting the whole country in half? And the show keeps consistently forgetting that the fold is pretty much the only way to get messages quickly from one side to another so Nikolai couldn't have alerted them beforehand. Hell of a coincidence. And continuing this, how did Nikolai manage to assign the Spinning Wheel as a sanctuary for Grisha without getting a message across? How does news make it from any country to country?

Genuinely quite disappointed that the king is just sick not dead. Seriously, why isn't he dead? There's literally no point, plot-wise, to keeping him alive.

Why is Aleksander acting like he thinks Alina is dead? Did he not notice that she seemed to have decent control over her light before the Volcra went at him? He has pretty much no reason to even imply that he thinks she's dead. It's a very weird line.

What "enemies' is Aleksander concealing him and his Grisha from? Yes we can assume but given the many threats I'd love to know who he's specifically referencing.

Yay Nadia, more gorgeous lesbians plz.

Zoya "not finding her family." Does that mean she found their bodies? Does that mean she just never found them among the survivors? I'm confused by this line.

"Because I know how it feels to lose someone you love" - full offense Alina, fucking who? You didn't lose Mal, you didn't love any of your cartographer buddies and their deaths were your fault, your parents died before you were old enough to remember. You've lost literally no one.

Haha bet y'all [the writers] thought I'd miss that Zoya winked at Alina when talking about Mal during the fight in the first season and now she's winking at Alina while talking about Alina.

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone season two #shadow and bone spoilers #s&b #s&b season two #s&b spoilers

[svndrenched]

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be? (for *spins the wheel* murphy, sioned, and joni)

WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS

God. 😑 What an abysmal bunch.

How to Disappoint you Parents in the Bloodiest Ways

They'll just stand on stage and talk about how great they are. The only reason people watch is because they were threatened.

Christ almighty.

It's incoherent ramblings about Atom and His Division. They have a gamma gun. Everyone's uncomfortable.

Bigfoot's Real and He has a Humiliation Kink

Exactly how it sounds. She's well spoken and engaging. The only one worth going to. It's packed.

#murphy;; asks #sioned;; asks #joni;; asks #hellweep

[mander-moo]

Happiness: a state of well being or contentment.

There’s a heavily played song on the radio right now that vibrated every ounce of emotion within my body. From those I feel every day to those that I had shoved deep down to maybe confront when “the time was right”, “when I was ready”. Cowardice or protecting my mental health.. that is a battle I face every Friday at 4 PM. I didn’t truly understand the inner workings of my mental state or who I am for that matter until the words of this song evoked enough tears from me to flood the Sahara. As I sat in my car after a long day of work, the harsh realization came barreling towards me. I don’t know who I’d be if I was truly happy.

I have historically played the role of people pleaser to a fault. Molding myself to the likings of what others wanted or needed from me at the time. I pushed myself too hard in my younger years to even be a fraction of the “outstanding” member of society my parents wanted me to be. From which the birth of my ambition came to light. My goals and dreams… they were powered by the intention of being enough for others. I had to be the provider, the mentor, the peacemaker,and the achiever. I never stopped to smell the roses or admire the views. Thusly, I never stopped to think about my wants or needs. Nearly, 28 full rotations around the sun and not once did I ever fully allow myself to truly be the person I always wanted. To be frank, I couldn’t tell you who that person is. I have subjected myself to such severe people pleasing tendencies for so long that each person I gave myself to, took a piece of me with them and replaced it with their version of a shiny “replica”. I spent my life being the clay on a pottery wheel for anyone to take a spin on. I had been turned so many times that no matter how many times the sculptor would squash me down, dig their fingers into my sides, or pinch and pull… I would never come out the way they wanted so they’d toss me a side for an untouched piece of clay. Never once did I think to find the flow of the wheel myself and let my shape form on its own to what felt right to me. I never gave myself that right because I didn’t know it was an option. Now that I do, I have this lingering stench of regret that looms just under my nose. A constant reminder of all the greatness that I assume could lie within me that I snubbed out to avoid confrontation, conflict, awkward scenarios, or disappointment. I know that I put myself in this situation and I am the only one who can set me free. I know I need to do what is best for me to make myself happy, but where is the starting line when all you’ve known is the happiness of those around you facading itself as your own?

[person-destructuring]

Let's go for a spin

From a small town on Earth, the kid has badgered his parents to take him to the Carnival and get him a ride in the ride which has animals on its carriages. The kid likes the ride because when the wheel spins fast, the animals seem to be running after each other, which he loves to see from the distance.

When he actually does go on the ride, it would be nothing like he expected, he would be so disheartened, disappointed and scared at the same time, when it would start spinning so much. He would be dizzy, his throat rasp with all the shouting he was doing, STOP! STOP!! After 5 minutes when the wheel would stop, he'd have already puked his guts out in the carriage. He would never ride a Giant Wheel again. He would grow fond of collecting miniature animals though.

[occasionalsurveys]

How much did your senior prom dress cost you?I I I want to say maybe $200? I paid for it myself though with money I earned from my job at the time and I was super proud of that!

What dreams have stuck with you since childhood?

Wanting to learn Japanese

Have you ever been in a serious romantic relationship?

Yes

Did you ever take your dog to school?

No..why would you?

If you had had a baby in high school, what would you have named him or her?

I have no idea, I didnt think about that stuff then

If you had a baby now, what would you name him or her?

Not sure, my Husband and I have very different opinions on names so we'll see what we decide when that time comes

Have you ever seen someone throw up on a plane?

No I havent but my husband has come close!1

Do you get motion sickness?

Yes, but only on like spinning rides

Has God ever healed you of anything? If so, what?

Um no?

What is the most boring church you have ever attended?

Most, really.

What is the most lively church you have ever attended?

I went to a Youth Group with my friend in HS and that one was actually pretty fun

Do you find church fun or boring?

Mostly boring but my feelings about Church are different than my feelings on Religion.

What do you hate the most about summer?

The heat and July/August are horrible in the Summer! But again, I live in FL so I should be used to it by now

Which part of your body is the most muscular?

My legs maybe?

Did you ever take Latin in school?

No, it wasn't offered

Which major holiday is closest to your birthday?

Its on May Day :)

What is your favorite Japanese name?

I'm not sure

Have you ever ran a cash register?

Yes, I worked at Kohls just out of HS

Did you collect Bratz dolls when you were younger?

No, those were popular when I was a bit older. I did have an American Girl doll though

Do you think your mom is attractive?

Yeah but I also always hear how much I look like her

What was the last thing that disappointed you?

Um, I'm not sure

Do you like the feeling in your stomach on a big drop on a roller coaster?

No ><

Skeletons or scarecrows?

Scarecrows I guess

Do you own pumpkin earrings?

Nope

What computer game did you used to play all the time?

I play Stardew Valley Expanded now pretty often

When was the last time you read a book?

Tuesday. I'm almost finished with the Wheel of Time series (like 250 pages into Book 14)

Would you allow your children to date prior to 16? (assuming you want any)

It really depends on what my kid is like and who theyre interested in dating

What was the last restaurant you made a reservation at?

Its been so long since we've actually made a reservation, I have no idea

Which app on your phone do you tend to get the most notifications from?

Tumblr or Twitter

What is something you gave up on after many failed attempts?

I go back and forth on learning Japanese and also on writing this Harvest Moon fanfic..I'll start then get super discouraged and pause for a long time then get back into it. Its a viciois cycle.

Do you watch political shows?

No, i get so sick of politics ESPECIALLY around election time. But the only one I've ever actually enjoyed was is Louder with Crowder

Do you play any fantasy/roleplaying games?

Yes, all the time

Do you like salami?

Yes

When was the last time you ate meat?

I had a really good cheeseburger at Buffalo Wild Wings last night lol

What was the last hot drink you drank?

Coffee

Have your parents met your boyfriend/exes?

Yes, not all of them though

How about your boyfriend’s parents? Met them?

Yes but again, not all of them

Do you know how to say I love you in at least 4 languages?

No ><

Do you find the sound of a cat’s purr relaxing?

Yes

Do you know your mum’s first pet’s name?

Yes, it was a dog named Shep (she was in her teens).

Would you ever want to be famous? If so, for what?

I did when i was younger as a Singer but now that I really really value my privacy (aside from spilling my guts in these surveys LOL), I'm glad I'm not.

Would you ever get a heart tattoo or your back?

No! But I do have a heart tattooed on each ankle

What fruit can’t you stand?

I like all fruit

Do you know anyone autistic?

Not personally

How about someone bipolar?

Yes, a girl in HS

What do you consider private to you?

Information about myself. Aside from these surveys, I don't share anything about myself with people unless they ask.

Name somebody you know who deserves a better life than they have:

I'm sure a lot of people do

Name something that you’re good at but don’t like:

My job, ugh!! I'm a Registered Assistant at a Financial Firm and I really don't like it but it pays pretty good.

Name something that you’re bad at but DO like:

Singing in my car lol

Name somebody who has tried to help you and ended up hurting you:

No one comes to mind

Name a date that has a lot of significance to you:

March 9th for 3 reasons:

1. I passed one of the most difficult exams for my career on 3/9/2017.

2. This exact same date - I'm driving home after passing the exam and I get a message from my brother that him and his gf were expecting a baby (baby Kai - born 11/15/17)

3. My husband proposed to me 3/9/2018

Name something in your life that was a blessing in disguise:

Our house construction being delayed multiple times (was supposed to be finished April 2022). We've been so disappointed by how long its taking and the many times its been delayed but looking back, we're so happy it didn't get started until after Hurricane Ian! They started it about 3 weeks ago now and we see progress each weekend we drive by 😊

Name something that you’ve done that would be considered rebellious:

I dont know, I was always a goody-goody lol although I have been to death metal concerts so not sure if that counts lol

Name something you wish you had enough money to do:

Travel more.

[stisdale]

A Winner Every Time

When I was fourteen, I went to the county fair to work on the midway. I looked older than I was; I felt simply old. I longed to leave my family, my dismal school, the smallness of that big county. My parents and I lived in a fragile cease-fire. I was frantic for a different life, and I didn’t see a way out that didn’t involve burning everything down. I was already halfway to a bad end.

At the start of the fair, I had gotten a carny initiation, a free ride on the Octopus that didn’t stop when it was supposed to but kept gyrating until I was screaming to get off, until I cried. Then I was part of the crew, with their dirty hands and easy smiles. I worked the milk bottle game, trying to talk men into knocking over the pyramid with softballs. “You, sir, you look like a winner!” I shouted, often to boys I knew from school. The three bottles were numbered 2, 6, and 14. “Under 9, over 19, a winner every time!” I shouted, trying to get the customers to aim for particular ones. But the bottles were weighted with lead, the balls were mushy, and I had been shown how to stack the bottles off-center. I knew a lot of the boys and they knew me, and yet somehow we were strangers there. This was a different play on a different stage. They took my bait and I took their money and they hurled, eyes on the giant panda bear over my head. The bottles tilted and rocked, but didn’t fall. “Oh, that was so close!” I yelled. “Try again!” All around, the other talkers shouted in a goodnatured battle for customers: “Hey, buddy, give this a try!” Through the hot, dusty afternoons, I straightened the heavy bottles and gathered the scattered softballs. On into the night, I called out to the passing crowd. It only costs a dollar to win! A winner every time.

Was I disappointed to discover the game was rigged? No. The cynicism of a smart fourteen-year-old is ancient and deep. I knew that grown-ups had fixed all the games long ago; the rules weren’t fair, justice was never served. So I gathered the softballs and swung my long hair in a flick of disdain as the young men threw.

The sweat dried under my arms as the shell of sky paled into turquoise and black. The neon flickered into rainbows and the crowd got older, noisier for a while, then quieter; then the last few people wandered out and the taillights faded. The music stopped and we cleaned up. Sometimes we took a quick roller-coaster ride or a spin on the Scrambler before we shuttered everything for the night. I had met a boy, a young man of about eighteen, traveling with the carnival. Toward the end of the week, just as everything was closing up, we stepped onto the Ferris wheel—a few minutes just for us, a favor from the ride jockey. We held hands and rode my deep, inchoate longing up and around and down and around. I could see into acres of darkness, the distant lights of a town I had lived in all my life, the headlights of travelers going away. I gazed out at the dark world, at whatever came next.

He pulls me close, leans over, holds me with gentle, grimy hands: “Come with me.”

-Excerpt from new essay in Oregon Humanities Magazine, Fall, 2022

[alltoowelltom]

pink lines [part one]

a/n: aaaah part one of my first ever series! i'm so excited and nervous for this, but she's my little project so mainly excited ;) did i choose to start this just as i start classes again? yes. was that wise? probably not, but here we are. i apologize in advance for delays which are bound to happen, but i am holding myself accountable and proving to myself that i can do it! let me know what you think! x

tom holland x reader

series summary: when you find yourself alone, pregnant and scared, there's only one person you can turn to. but where do you draw the line between friendship and more...

updates tuesday nights EST (maybe?)

warnings for this part: pregnancy, crappy boyfriends (mention of cheating and abandonment), swearing, bad relationships with parents, brief allusion to abortion.

+ series masterlist!

✧･ﾟ: chapter one ･ﾟ:✧

Your hands shake as you grip the steering wheel tighter, desperately trying to stay in your lane as the tears blur the road lines. Did they mean it? Did they really mean it? Your mind races to try and piece together the argument that finished with your father exploding out in anger as your mother shook her head in disappointment.

“How could you show up here and drop that on us?!” cried your mother. “What will people think of you? Of us? Pregnant and alone!” she shakes her head in disgust.

“What will people think of you?” you rage. “I come here to tell you that I am pregnant and all you can think about are yourselves?”

“We have a reputation and a family name to uphold!” she shouts back. “People have certain expectations of us! When you get pregnant, you get married. That’s what is done in this situation.”

“Nico doesn’t want to get married, Mum! He doesn’t want me at all. He doesn’t want the baby!” You sob.

“And he’s right about that!” your father buts in. “You’re too young and not married. Either you get married, or you get rid of it. Simple.”

“Get rid of it? How could you say something like that about my child?” you shriek, anger clouding your vision. “I came to you out of courtesy to let you in on an important thing happening in my life and you sit here and tell me to get rid of it?!”

“Either you get rid of it or you never come back here,” your father thunders, banging his fist on the table.

“Fine!” you choke out. “We won’t be back here,” you sob, and pick up your bag, running out to your car.

Wiping your sleeve harshly against your burning cheeks you pull your car off the road to a rest stop, fishing your phone out from where it had slipped under your seat. You swipe it open, scrolling through your contacts until you find the correct person. It feels like the phone rings for an eternity, though the call connects after just three rings. “Hey love, what’s up?”

“Tommy?” you sniff. “I need your help.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Tom paces back and forth in your kitchen while you sit on a stool at the counter, biting your lip.

“He said that? He said he doesn’t want the baby?” Tom questions.

“Yes.”

“But actually, in those words? He said it?”

“Yes Tom! He told me that he doesn’t want anything to do with it, and that he’s been seeing someone else behind my back anyways,” you trail off, eyes on the ground in shame.

“That son of a- I’ll kill him if I get my hands on him, I’ll fucking kill him!” Tom runs his hands through his hair impatiently.

“Tom stop, you're making my head spin!”

Tom freezes in his tracks. “Sorry.”

He reaches out and places his warm hand over your shaking one. “Have you- have you told your parents…” he trails off at the end of his sentence as he sees the anger flash across your eyes.

“They cut me off.”

“What?”

“THEY. CUT. ME. OFF.”

“Because you’re pregnant? They won’t have anything to do with you because you’re pregnant? I know you have a bad relationship with them, but this seems extreme still?”

“It’s not just because I’m pregnant, Tom. It’s because I’m pregnant out of wedlock and Nico won’t have anything to do with it. They’re worried what people will say.”

“So they cut off their only daughter?” Tom splutters in anger. “Because you're pregnant out of wedlock?”

You nod and curl in on yourself, tears beginning to fall once again. Tom reaches out to gently wipe them away. “That’s absolute bull. You know what, fuck it. I’ll marry you.”

Are you hearing him right? Your best friend since childhood, Tom, the boy who bounced you off the trampoline in his parent’s back garden when you were eight, the boy who copied your homework every single day when you were fourteen, the boy who teased you mercilessly through your hardcore One Direction phase in 2013, the boy who had been a constant in your life for as long as you could remember, was saying he’d marry you?

“No, what the fuck are you saying?”

But once Tom gets an idea, there’s no stopping him. “Yeah. Yeah! I’ll fucking marry you, darling.” And with that he’s up, socks slipping on the hardwood floor as he runs toward your bedroom.

“Tom! Get back here!”

You hop off the stool, chasing your crackhead best friend down the hallway.

“Why not? We already know everything about each other. We already spend all our free time together. My parents think of you like a daughter already, and my brothers think of you like a sister. We’ll get married, you’ll have the baby, and this way it won’t be out of wedlock! I’ll be the father and we’ll just like, get wedded!” he rifles through your jewelry box as he shouts excitedly.

“Get wedded? You can’t just get wedded to someone, Tom. That’s not how it works. That’s not even a word!”

“Ah HAH!” Tom holds up a purple plastic ring. He holds it out to you. “And we’ve already got the ring!”

“That ring came in a McDonald’s kid’s meal, Tom.” you shake your head. “And we can’t get married, that’s crazy. I don’t care about marriage anyway. My parents have never understood me, we’ve never had a good relationship. I don’t need them or their approval. That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it about?”

You shake your head as you melt down into a puddle on the floor, wrapping your arms around your legs as though you could physically hold yourself together. Tom sits down next to you with an over exaggerated ‘ooof’, making you giggle slightly as he wraps his strong arms around your shaking frame. “What’s with the waterworks, darling?”

“I don’t want to get married. It’s 2022 for Christ’s sake, a woman doesn’t have to be married to have a baby or raise a kid. I’m just- just scared to do it alone,” you hiccup.

Tom hums in understanding and strokes the back of your hair while gently pushing your face into the crook of his neck, allowing you to hide from the world for a brief moment in time.

“I meant what I said.” he says quietly when your tears dry up and your body stops shaking.

“What?”

“I understand if you don’t want to get married, but I meant what I said about being the father. You don’t have to do it alone, I’ll be a dad.”

You frown. “But you’re not the father, you know that right? It’s Nico’s kid.”

Tom chuckles. “I know that, you looney bin. We’ve never had sex, how the hell would it be mine? But screw Nico, that guy has always been a dickhead and he’s proven it tonight. I’ll be the father.” he nods his head as he speaks, confident with his solution.

“But, what does that mean?” you’re more confused than you’ve ever been.

“We’ll co-parent. I’ll come to your appointments, change diapers, heat up formula, co-parent. You’ll be the mum, and I’ll be the dad. Look, I know that whole mum-and-dad-and-two-kids-and-a-dog thing is bullshit, 'cause families are all different and honestly, you’d be smashing on your own. You’d raise that kid better than any kid has ever been raised before. But you know I’ve always wanted to be a dad, and you shouldn’t have to do it on your own if that’s not what you want. So we’ll do it together, just like we always have since we were kids.”

You ponder his words. Maybe it’s the headache that’s slowly kicking in from crying all day, maybe it’s the way he holds you close like he’s protecting you from the world. Maybe it’s just the way he’s always been such a comfort to you, with his loud laugh and infectious positivity. Maybe that’s why you find yourself saying the next word. “Okay.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

thanks for reading! likes, reblogs, and comments always are appreciated and make my day 💖

if anyone wants to be tagged in this series, let me know x

#pinklinesth #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland angst #tom holland fic #tom holland fanfic #tom holland series #tom holland blurb #tom holland smut #tom holland smau #tom holland x famous!reader #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland #peter parker x reader #peter parker fluff #peter parker fic #harry holland #sam holland #harrison osterfield #tuwaine barrett

[mediocre-writerr]

this is me trying [cassie howard]

folklore challenge: day 9

cassie howard x fem!reader

summary: i’ve been having a hard time adjusting, i had the shiniest wheels now they’re rusted

trigger warning: addiction, slight mention of suicidal thoughts

*not my gif*

The city lights were bright tonight as you were parked in the lookout. You sat on the hood of your car as your arms were aching from your rigorous gym session. 

Ever since you tore your ACL last volleyball season, you’ve been working your ass off to get your starting spot on varsity. The opioids that the doctors gave you after your surgery was still in your grasp. You were supposed to throw it away ages ago, but it helped. When the pain was too much during practice, easy pop the pull, and you were good. 

You crushed the Oxycodone in your hand until it was fine dust and you snorted it. The high rested on your body, the pain slowly fading from your arms. You looked down at the lookout, as your thoughts were clouded by your fears.

What if someone saw you snorting an opioid? What if you disappointed your parents again? They were pissed when you tore your ACL and they made your life a living hell right after that. 

Constantly pushing and pushing you to work better than before. They told you that you were stupid for even putting yourself in a position to injure. They told you that you were stupid because you could lose all of your scholarships and college offers. 

It was easy to get rid of all these thoughts. You could just follow your fears all the way down to the bottom of the lookout. Jump down, end it all, maybe it would be better this way. But you didn’t, you couldn’t. 

So you did what you always did, you grabbed a bottle of beer and chugged it. Erasing your mind from the thoughts. You stood up to get back into the driver’s seat when there was a feeling of light headedness that passed through your body. 

The world started spinning and you knew it was a bad idea to drive. Not for your sake, you didn’t care about yourself, you just didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

So you called the one person you trusted with your life. The line started ringing and you took a breath. A feeling of nausea swiping over your, “Hello?” Cassie’s voice rang through your ears. 

“Hey,” you said, your voice slurred.

She let out a sigh, this wasn’t the first time this happened this week. It was only Wednesday and it happened three time. One for each day, “Where are you?” she asked.

“The lookout,” you answered.

“I’ll be there in ten,” 

You sat in the drivers seat of your car, just staring at the steering wheel. Since when did things become so fucked up. Maybe they always were and you just never realized it until now. 

There was a soft knock on your car window and you turned your head to see the Howard sisters looking at you. Cassie looked furious with you while Lexi just stood there awkwardly. 

“I’m sorry-” you began to say, but Cassie quickly cut you off.

“Save it, just get in the passenger seat,” she told you and Lexi gave you a small wave before heading back to her car. 

You let out a sigh knowing you were disappointing her again. You climbed out of the car and stumbled your way to the passenger seat. After talking to Lexi a little bit about the plans for dinner, Cassie came back into the car to find you passed out.

She leaned across the middle console and strapped your seatbelt on. The blonde tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, placing a soft kiss to your forehead. 

She hated seeing you like this. Her best friend, the girl she fell in love with, even if you didn’t know that last part. 

Cassie drove you back to her house to let you rest off the alcohol and the opioids. She tucked you into her bed, slipping off your sweaty gym clothes and throwing on one of her sweatshirts. 

“God, what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours? This isn’t like you,” she whispered to your sleeping figure.

She was trying to get through to you, but she couldn’t. She really was trying. 

The next morning you woke up and saw Cassie sleeping next to you peacefully. The usual pounding in your head that you would wake up to was flooding your senses. You looked at the time and immediately jumped out of bed.

Fuck, your parents were gonna be up any second now. You jumped out of the bed and started heading towards your car. You drove as fast as you could until you reached your house. 

You snuck in through the backdoor, hoping your parents wouldn’t see you. You saw them at the kitchen table, sipping their coffee. You tiptoed past them and to the stairs, “Late night last night?” your dad’s voice cut through.

“Fuck,” you muttered.

“I hope you were at the gym getting your strength back up,” he told you as you fell in front of them.

You nodded, your gym bag slung over your shoulder, “Yeah, but I crashed at the Howard’s house. Cassie needed my help with some homework,” 

“We got your grades from your teachers. How do you have a C in calculus?” your mom asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“It’s been a hard semester,” you whispered and she shook her head.

“Are you going mental? Do we need to take you to a psych ward?!” your mom scolded you, “You know how important your grades are too to keep these scholarships!” 

“I know, I’m sorry,” you told her.

She shook her head, “Sorry isn’t good enough! You’re grounded and I don’t want you to see you with Cassie right now. You need to focus on yourself and she’s a distraction,” 

“Mom, that’s my best friend!” you finally fought back.

“Well she’s not good for you right now and maybe never again. Cut her out of your life or your punishment will be much worse,” your dad added onto the scolding, “Now get to school, you’re gonna be late,’ 

“Fine,” you mumbled.

You could feel the anger boiling in your bones. You quickly grabbed your backpack, rushing out of the house. Cassie was waiting for you in your usual spot in the parking lot. You slammed your car door shut walking right past her. 

“Y/N!” Cassie called out after you. 

She tried matching your speed and she caught up to you, grabbing your wrist and twirling you to face her, “What’s wrong? What happened?” 

“Nothing. I’m fine, just get away from me,” you muttered as you continued to walk.

“No, what the fuck is going on with you?!” she yelled. Luckily, since you were almost late there was no one hanging back in the parking lot, “You’re drinking! You’re addicted to your opioids! And you want me to get the fuck away from you! This isn’t you!”

“You’re not a good influence for me Cassie! I’ve been so distracted hanging out with you that I’ve been falling behind all of my classes! Because I’m hanging out with you this entire time!” you yelled back, the anger from your parents clouding your senses.

She shook her head, “You’re so full of a shit! You rarely hang out with me anymore! You’re so focused on volleyball and school that you barely have time for me! The only time you have time for me is when you need someone to pick you up because you’re too fucking crossed to drive yourself back home!” 

“You didn’t have to do that for me!” you yelled, “I don’t need you to care of me Cassie! Maybe you should try having your own goddamn life!” 

“I did! You want to know why? Because I’ve been in love with you since the third grade!” your eyes softened at the words, “I’ve been in love with you and I tried distracting myself with boys over and over again, but none of them were you! But you want me to leave you alone, fine! Don’t need to tell me twice!” 

Cassie walked into the school without a second look back at you. 

You took a deep breath, throwing your backpack onto the ground. You had to get out of here. So, you drove and you found yourself at a 24 hour bar. Luckily for you, your fake ID works. 

“That was dumb of you to say,” the bartender told you as he poured the whiskey. 

You let out an empty laugh, “I know,” 

“Do you feel the same way?” he asked, “You know about your best friend and how she’s in love with you,” 

“Yeah...I regret everything I’ve said to her. I’ve always been in love with her, I was just too preoccupied to think about anything else. She deserves better though and she’ll never forgive me,” you whispered. 

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, kid. You just need to try harder,” he told you, “By the sound of it you’ve been trying your hardest to keep up this perfect image, but you’re not trying on the things that matter! So try harder to keep this relationship, to keep her,”

You found yourself back at a party on Friday night. You tried talking to Cassie at school the next day, but her posse was intimidating to say the least. Maddy was very scary with her threatening looks. Lexi wouldn’t talk to you either. And Kat, well she called you a fucking idiot and left it at that. 

It was hard for Cassie to be at McKay’s party. Guys were hitting on her left and right and her friends were trying to get her to lighten up, but it was no use. Not when she felt like an open wound. 

Her heart was just ripped into a thousand pieces and she still couldn’t stop thinking about you. How you were doing, if you weren’t dead in a ditch by now. That’s when she saw you walking towards her, a determined look on your face.

“Get away from her,” Maddy said as you tried walking past them.

You shook your head, “Look, I know I fucked up just please let me talk to her,” but Maddy, Kat, and Lexi kept walking in front of you, forcing you backwards, “Cassie! Please!” 

Cassie stood up from the couch and placed her hand on Maddy’s shoulder, “It’s fine, I’ll handle it,” 

You extended your hand out towards her and she hesitated before ultimately taking it. You led her to an empty bedroom and locked the door behind you. You stared at the girl, unsure of where to start. 

“What do you want Y/N?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry and I know sorry doesn’t mean shit! But I love you, okay? I know I haven’t shown it and I know I haven’t been trying hard enough to prove it to you. But I do,” you told her.

She shook her head, “I don’t believe you,” 

“I quit volleyball,” you confessed and she looked at you with her eyebrows furrowed, “It wasn’t healthy for me anymore. I wasn’t enjoying it. My parents put too much pressure on me and that’s why I was still taking my opioids and I was drinking to stop thinking about just ending everything. But I threw away my opioids,” 

“Y/N-”

“I love you Cassie and I don’t want to lose you, so please. I’m so sorry,” you whispered, “I’m really trying,”

Cassie took your face in her hands and kissed you softly. Her lips were soft and it was everything that you imagined it to be. You pulled her closer to your body, taking in her familiar scent. 

She pulled away, looking into your eyes, “As long as you keep trying that’s all that matters,” 

#cassie howard #cassie howard imagine #cassie howard x reader #cassie howard imagines #euphoria #euphoria imagines

[crispin-kreme]

Can I request Malleus and a few other characters of your choice to their s/o being Crowley's adoptive daughter/son. Like he's lazy asf (irresponsible mf) to the school, and then when they were chosen to go to NRC by the mirror, Crowley went lazy to parental mode-

Though I can see him drag his child to one of his vacations-

twst boys reaction to their s/o who’s a adoptive child of crowley

pairings: trey clover x gn! reader, cater diamond x gn! reader, deuce spade x gn! reader, leona kingscholar x gn! reader, jack howl x gn! reader, malleus x gn! reader

warnings: grammatical errors

notes: ok so i was rlly indecisive on which twst character to choose so i used wheel of names (thanks for @atsuwiee spinning the wheel lol-) anyways thank u sm for waiting and i hope you enjoy this! <3

TREY CLOVER

he’ll be a bit shocked

a bit confused how crowley considered you as his adoptive one

well you are confused as he is

gets a bit nervous when you have to tell crowley abt your relationship with him

CATER DIAMOND

quite shocked ig ig

he couldn’t believe crowley considered you as his child

you don’t know srsly

he thinks crowley is getting w e i r d

DEUCE SPADE

surprised but disappointed

pretty much confused on how crowley just went parental mode on you

well you dont know as well

sighs when he knows you have to tell crowley that you and deuce are in a relationship

LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

a bit shocked

not surprised at all (well maybe a little bit)

asks how and why crowley considered you to be his child

leona sighs pt. 2 when knowing you have to tell crowley about your relationship

JACK HOWL

rlly surprised ?

not sure but he may be surprised upon finding out

well he does then need to respect you ( a ton)

kinda gets nervous when you have to tell crowley about your relationship with him

MALLEUS DRACONIA

the “oh..” type of dude

rlly is a little bit shocked

but he’s chill with it dw dw

will be ready when you guys have to tell crowley abt your relationship

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland headcanons #twisted wonderland scenarios #twst imagines #twst x reader #twst scenarios #twst headcanons #trey clover #cater diamond #deuce spade #leona kingscholar #jack howl #malleus draconia