#to the people who came here for dnd things sorry but not sorry

[artandstarstuff]

The latest owl house ep destroyed me. Have a sketch comic. Please click for better quality.

#the owl house #toh hollow mind #toh season 2 #toh fanart #the owl house hunter #hollow mind #toh season two #toh #the owl house darius #the owl house fanart #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #toh comic #the golden guard #please forgive the quality I couldn’t be bothered to ink #something something having to take care of a version of your dead mentor #who was probably someone who protected you in an extremely horrible place #to the people who came here for dnd things sorry but not sorry #notstarstuff #don’t fucking tag as ship 🔪

[nonbinary-eddie-munson]

Steve hadn't meant to evesdrop on eddies new band. Really, he was an innocent party here.

Once things had calmed down in the aftermath of Vecna, Steve and Eddie had scrounged up every penny they could -steve even sold his precious beemer so they could have the extra cash- and got the hell out of dodge. Eddie couldn't stay in a town where everyone still looked at him like he was a murderer and Steve loved Eddie too much to keep him trapped in a town that hated him.

They had settled into chicago nicely, far enough away from the hellmouth that was hawkins, indiana that they werent constantly jumping at the sight of their own shadows, but still close enough they could be back in less than a day if shit started going down again.

The metal scene in chicago was just starting to take off, and Eddie quickly fell in with a local band that was in need of a new lead guitar. Steve had yet to meet any of Eddies new band members, his work and class schedules keeping him entirely too busy and exhausted for socializing. All of which led to this moment, Steve hovering awkwardly at the end of the hallway leading backstage as Eddies new bandmates tore him apart.

"Seriously how'd a guy as hard core as Ed end up with a preppy little asshole like that, i mean did you see what he was wearing?" The drummer scoffed

Self-consciously Steve worried at the hem of his black polo, he had stressed over his outfit all evening before they headed out to the venue. Eddie assured him that he looked great telling him he looked "like a sexy little gothed up jock" in his black polo, his tightest jeans and just the barest hint of eyeliner and mascara to make his eyes pop

"I know it must have been slim pickings back in butt fuck nowhere but Ed's got options now. Sure, the guy has a nice ass, but Ed could pull someone who's not gonna ruin our cred by dating a guy who looks like a narc" the bassist added on meanly.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat Steve turned to head back to the bar when Eddies voice stopped him in his tracks.

"People who disrespect my boyfriend dont get to talk about his ass" came Eddies sharp reply "Steve is more metal than all of you dumb fucks combined, and he's the inspiration behind all of the lyrics that are making us so big in the scene right now. If you cant fucking respect my boyfriend, you sure as hell dont deserve to get famous off the songs i wrote about him so im fucking out and im taking my songs with me."

"Ed you cant be fucking serious" the drummer started

"No, fuck you guys! You act all high and mighty but your just as fuckin shallow and small minded as the dumb hicks Steve and I left Indiana to get away from. Good luck finding someone to replace me and my songs before the fest next month" Eddie spat, his footsteps thundering against the concrete floor and around the corner into the hallway, coming up short as soon as he spotted Steve frozen in the hallway shocked at Eddies fierce defence of him.

"Oh sweetheart" Eddie crooned bringing a hand up to cup the side of Steves face his thumb gently swiping away the tears Steve hadnt even realized had begun to fall "I'm sorry you had to hear that baby. Lets go home" Eddie took his hand back from Steves face, wrapping it around his waist and tucking Steve firmly against his side ushering a still dazed Steve down the hall, out of the bar and into the cool night air

"Your didnt have to do that Eds" Steve said quietly, reluctantly pulling away from Eddie now that they were out in the open where anybody could see.

"Of course i did baby. You're the love of my life. You matter more to me than anything else in this world. More than my guitar and metal and dnd. And certainly more than some mouth breathers who wouldnt know what metal is if it got up on stage and took a bite out of a demon bat" Eddie replied with a grin and a wink swooping down to press a quick peck against Steves mouth as he stood in the middle of the sidewalk frozen in shock at Eddies declaration

"Im more important to you than music and dnd?" Steve asked in a quiet awed voice, his heart beating rapidly as if it was trying to physically escape his chest and burrow itself into the flesh of Eddies own ribcage.

"Sure are sweetheart, now why dont you get that sexy ass of yours moving so we can get home and I can show you just how much I mean it" Eddie replied, his voice lowering into a deep gravel that drove Steve crazy, hands reaching out to pull Steve forward a few steps urging him in the directon of the van parked furthur down the street.

Steve stumbled after Eddie, letting the other man lead him, his brain still not fully back online after Eddies bold decleration of love.

Steve didn't believe in any god, but he found himself thanking every god he could think of for bringing Eddie Munson into his life.

#im sleep deprived and idk where this came from but here you go #anyways they definitely went home and fucked real nasty #and then Eddie went on to make a new better band and they all became best friends with Steve and then they got a record deal #and eddies old band could suck it #okay thats enough internet for me its time for bedtimes #steddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve x eddie

[somnambulic-thing]

wrong number 2.2k

A/N: Just had an idea for a fic I will very probably never write in a fully flashed out way because I have a million wips and no attention span and no deisre to have more wips but don't want to fully let this idea go to waste so here it goes in very shortened form and probably very messy and rough.

Eddie x afab!reader || imagine them in their early/mid 30s

cw: mental health themes, reader has a broken leg, angsty shit, fluff, happy end

You moved cities to have a fresh start after a rough time came to an even rougher but long overdue end. You know nobody here, a clean slate to draw new blueprints on.

Two weeks in and despite your grumpy hermit ways, you are friendly with some of your neighbours already. They are nice, helpful people which is a win you take like it was a million bucks.

Three weeks in, you fall down a flight of stairs, break your leg and bump your head. Brilliant.

Back from the ER you sink into your bed, looking at still unpacked boxes and biting back bitter tears of frustration when your phone beeps. You eye it suspiciously, anxious your past might be knocking already, bloodhounds of days past sniffing your weakend state and their chance to inflict a little more pain.

You figure you're overracting, turn on the sceen and find a message from an unknown number.

[Hey Rick. Sorry to drop this on you on such short notice, but I won't make it to your get-home-from-prison party tonight. I can swing by next week with a six-pack or something. You have a good time, yeah? I'll explain when we see each other.]

[Hey there. I'm afraid you got the wrong number. I don't know any Ricks. But gratulations to him from me for getting out of prison, when you get a chance. Unless he's a serial killer or something comparable. Then I want you to run.]

[Well, shit. Sorry.]

And then after a few seconds: [I get back to you in case I need a place to hide.]

And somehow this sparks a conversation that lasts for hours. His name is Eddie, you learn after some minutes of back and forth which are unsuspectedly remarkably funny. But he's surprisingly also really concerned about your leg and your mild concussion and the fact that you mentioned you will give yourself one day of rest and then try to catch up on and get as much stuff done as you can with your cast and crutches. Luckily you can work from home, you say. Eddie isn't sure how he feels about that.

He makes you swear you take it easy. He asks if there are people that can take care of you and you lie to that concerned stranger who is the first person to make you laugh out loud in a too long time. You tell him your friends are taking turns to look after you. Why lie to a stranger? It's complicated... He keeps checking in, keeps chatting with you about all kinds of things all day long no matter what he has to do: Work, band practice, DnD, being out with friends or his uncle, Eddie keeps lighting up your phone all day long. The later the day, the deeper your conversations and you soon get the feeling that Eddie isn't all just fun and jokes but when you actually try to poke softly, he evades you.

[When you feel better and still are interested in my bullshit, I'll share. Promise.]

Okay, fine. Why would he want to trust you with his private struggles? He's just a stranger, with friends and an support system, who probably will lose interest to invest his time into you sooner than he himself is expecting. Which is fine... really... would be fine if he wasn't really funny... and interesting with a hundred interests and hobbies... and so weird and oddly caring... and living on the other side of the country.

But four days in and you wake up with a text from him, asking you if you finally could sleep a little better than the days before.

And then at 3am and endless hours of exchanging messages filled with thoughs and musings and dreams, he offers to send you a copy of a book he is sure you would enjoy. That he really needs... you to read for important reasons. One of them is to remedy the boredom inflicted by bedrest in those hours Eddie is busy and can't entertain you.

You give him your address almost without second thought, despite your mind telling you to maybe think about it first...

You had avoided anything outside of texts - no pictures, no calls - and he hadn't pressed the matter by himself. Which was a relief because you're not sure if you could witstand the temptation if he were to offer.

Getting more pieces of him... It just felt too dangerous. But a book was just a book, right?

You rely on your 72 year old neighbour for food and other errands and chores around your place. Mrs P is such a sweet old lady eager to help as much as she can, bending over backwards for you. So you naturally try to bother her only when it's really dire.

Seven days in and you see the postman stuff a small parcel into your mailbox. You hurry to snatch your crutches, not even thinking about what you are doing and you limp down the six stories to your mailbox way too fast. Your head is not happy and neither is your leg and it takes you and your ego ages and all your strength to get back up to your apartment.

You fall into your bed, exhausted, sweaty and in pain and crying in frustration and you fall asleep on the package from Eddie before you can even think of opening it.

Your phone rings and wakes you up when it's already pitch black outside. You've slept most of the day away.

Answering the phone on autopilot, still half asleep you don't check the name on the screen.

"Yeah?" you drawl.

"Jesus fucking Christ you're alive."

"What--? I--"

"I haven't heard from you in hours and your messages sounded so antsy and sad all day and I had a bad feeling somehow. Are you ok? Did I wake you?"

"Eddie?"

"Yeah, sweetheart. Hi, that's my voice. Anxious edition."

You're overwhelmed. Finding no words while his words dig deep trenches of longing into your brain which are hard to get out of...

"You still there?"

"Uh-hn, yeah..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just woke up, like you said. That's my voice. Sleepy edition."

And then he laughs. Oh god, what a sweet sweet sound.

"Hmm, sorry I just was really worried here..."

You tell Eddie there is nothing to worry about but that he's very sweet and he asks you if you have a little time to chat, tells you he likes your voice, likes it a lot and of course you have time but something weighs on you and the flutter of bats in your stomach.

You can't say if it's the aftershock of your staircase ordeal or the fact that your wonderful stranger keeps getting more and more real and more and more precious or a mixture of both. Suddenly there is silence on the other end of the line.

"Eddie? You still there?"

"Something's off."

You shuffle and feel the parcel poke into your ribs. You dig it out from under you, face heating up from two sources - the gift and his tone - and you start to fumble the parcel open.

"I'm sorry--"

"Don't be. I just want to help. Let me help."

You finally fully unwrap the book. It's a well loved worn paperback copy. You run your fingertips over every wrinkles and cracks in the cover. Your voice sounds dazed to your own ears when you speak.

"I got your book..."

"Oh. Okay, yeah, great. And?"

You notice the excitement in his voice, notice that it matches your heartbeat when you open the book and find it full of notes. On some pages the margines are completly filled with Eddie's toughts.

"I just unwrapped it, like, ten seconds ago."

"Oh."

"I didn't realize you would send me... such a personal thing... looks like a diary..."

"Kinda is. Too weird?"

You stare at his handwriting which is somewhat of an elegant scratch and all those little sketches and something inside you gives way.

"I'm not okay..."

"I know. Tell me?"

You tell him that you lied, that there were no friends despite your eldery neighbor looking after you and you tell him about your little ordeal this afternon and about feeling tired and lonely and scared and starved for joy and he listens through it all.

Now it will be too much, you think but then you look at the book in your lap and keep talking. When you're done, there is silence on the other end.

"You still there."

"Processing."

"Mad?"

"Nope."

"Too much?"

"For me?" He chuckles. It's bitter and wonderful. "Sweetheart, it's not me who's dealing with all that shit right now. If you can handle living it, I can handle listening to it..."

"I hear you swallowing a but."

"But I know what you're talking about..."

You talk a little longer and despite him saying everything is alright, something is different. He seems distant, distracted, not fully with you. You keep leafing through that book, gently tracing the lines that are proof of his existance, marks he left in the world, preparing for him to ask you to send it back as soon as you can. You prepare for him to realize this was a mistake. A charity case gone wrong.

Eventually you get tired and a headache and he tells you to go rest, voice soft and deep and you're preparing for this to be the last time you'll hear it.

"Sleep well, yeah?"

No more sweetheart.

"I will. You too."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

You have a restless night and wake up to a message from him.

[Good Morning. How did you sleep?]

You smile, feeling stupid, like you overreacted and you exchange some messages but they are short and flat and there is still no sweetheart. Around noon, your phone has gone silent. Inside your chest, the echoes of disapointment are deafening.

You bury yourself in his book, and it feels like you're having a conversation with him through his notes for they are like direct replies to your own thoughts about the story unfolding. You can't put it down, probably look up from it for the first time in hours late in the evening when you're full on crying, holding the book away from you to not get tears or snot on it.

And then there is a knock at your door. Three sharp raps. Quick.

And you think it must be Mrs P with your groceries, you feel guilty that she has to carry all the stuff upstairs while her knee is bothering her. You make your way out of bed, get your crutch and slowly move towards the door.

"Coming!"

You realize you still have the book in your hand and you wedge it under your arm to open your door and--

"Hi."

Your heart is racing as your mind tries to keep up with what is happening. You consider pinching yourself, consider reaching out to touch him, see if he's made of flesh and blood or delirium, feel the dip of a frown-made crease betwen his brows under your fingertips, the fine stubble on his cheeks under the slide of your thumb.

"That's my face. Worried edition... why are you crying?"

You lean against the crutch, wipe at your cheeks with one hand, dry your fingers on your shirt and pluck the book from under your arm, holding it up wordlessly. Eddie's face lights up in a big, wide, gorgeous smile. Now there are dimples you want to explore. Suddenly the floor is moving.

"Easy, easy." Warm hands steady you. You hear the door fall close behind you and then it finally dawns on you.

The dreamy guy from inside your phone is inside your flat.

He's holding you steady by your shoulders on outstreched arms, searching your face with big, incredibly dark eyes.

God he's fucking beautiful.

"You gonna faint, beautiful?"

You shake your head. That's all you can do.

"I'm going to use your very understandable shock to ramble for a moment, okay? Okay. The obvious first. What the fuck am I doing here without invitation? Offering you my help. I rearranged all my shit and I can stay for two weeks, if you like. I have a hotel room booked and ready if you don't want me to stay the nights. Next: Why didn't I ask on the phone first? Because I kinda feared you would just say no and be all tough and stupid about needing help. I am way more charming in person and I was counting on me actually being here, a real guy, showing you that I mean it, would make it easier to convince you... Am I pushy? Yeah. I guess I am. But... if you really want me to piss off again, I will piss off. We pretend that I was just getting back my book because you're not fit to get to the post office right now and I'll never bother you again... but I could stay and make you dinner while you tell me which part of the book made you cry, decide over my fate when you're fed and calmed down? I left a whole load of food with your neighbor downstairs. Nice lady. Thinks you're a stubborn thing, by the way."

You swallow around something enourmous and try your vocal cords on something simple.

"Hi."

He tilts his head, smiles softly.

"Hey sweetheart."

You inhale deeply. Your exhale either carries bravery or invites doom but suddenly you're really, really hungry...

"You're really here."

"Yeah, shit, I know... to be honest, my knees are really wobbly right now?"

"You're crazy."

"Hmm, totally... bad case... started about a week ago..."

And there you see it. He's nervous too. That finally makes him real.

"So," you say, reaching out to cup his cheek, your touch coaxing out those dimples again. "What's for dinner then?"

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #long fics I will never write #my fic

[ask-the-royal-absol]

(It has been one year since I joined the pokeask community with my silly absol. One whole year. How did I get here? Like, damn. It’s just been such a lovely community and I’ve met some truly wonderful people.

I’m sorry I couldn’t get more of you on here. I wish I had the time to draw each and every one of you. This is why I needed the head shot so thank you to everyone who sent it over. Thank you to everyone in this community for being my inspirations, my joy and my friends. I cannot thank you enough. If I could make you all something more to say thank you, I would. (Also forgive me if the image quality is garbage. Tumblr does that sometimes. If you click on it, it'll be clearer.)

I suppose I’ll just go on and say I’ve always admired the community from afar. So many stories I was following. So many inspirational people. The events. The characters. They are all so wonderful. And I followed these blogs for years.

Getting hooked into everything about the ask blog community. At first, I was going to making an ask blog about a royal Goodra/Vespiquen fusion who goes to other places to make political connections for their hive. I drew up a couple of concepts but I didn’t go ahead with it.

I kept following the community, constantly being inspired and amazed by everyone inside of it. I’d wanted to join a community for a while. At first, I joined the Pokémon fusion community. It was fun. I met some great people. But, after a few years, it didn’t fill me with joy. I did fusions on multiple platforms, even making some fusions for the infinite fusions game (they’re still in there). I had a go with commissions. It just became a bit of a chore.

I tried making my own region. It only lasted a month. It left a gap which I didn’t know how to fill. I also did dnd with friends which mostly satisfied this but we didn’t do it consistently enough. I definitely miss doing it. I probably did fusions for 6 years. The blogs are still up. There was nothing I wanted to draw consistently.

Near the end of last year, I had a really tough time. My mental health took a really big dip and I was struggling. It was an incredibly dark time. I didn’t have much going on. Maybe we were doing dnd. I don’t remember though. I started drawing Pokémon because I wasn’t in the mood to draw dnd art.

I don’t know why but I started to draw an absol. I think it may have been inspired by my current dnd character. As I was drawing this absol, ideas started to form in my mind about who this absol was and the world they were from. Ideas kept flowing and flowing.

Once the absol was finished, I drew another character, and another and another. And I just kept drawing. Soon, I started drawing maps and a prophecy for this absol and their world. The name Destino came from the word Destiny. It brought me so much joy. I worked on it for a few days and put it to the side.

Then came around the 27th December 2022. I looked back on my planning for this world and thought perhaps I could turn it into an ask blog. At first, I was so nervous. I didn’t want to go through with it. My partner convinced me to make the blog. That’s when I began to draw the first post. And on December 29th 2022, I created the blog and made a reference post for Destino.

Soon, the first post was posted and I got asks. Exciting stuff! And it was so much fun deciding how Destino would respond. More asks kept coming and I eventually started sending asks to others. The most exciting part would have to be seeing people follow me who I was a huge fan of. Gonna be honest, I’m still so incredibly excited when talking to these people and when they like my stuff.

My love for this blog grew and I’ve spent a lot of my time working on it. I have loved each and every moment of it. It was fun having this smug, egotistical absol interacting with many characters who I am a huge fan of and entertaining to see their reactions. Destino was becoming a bit of a thing. Memes were made of Destino. Destino was insulting every legendary they could come across. For me, it was hilarious. And it seemed others were enjoying their antics too.

I am incredibly thankful each day with every interaction, every like, every follow, every reblog, etc. I’ve had. I’m grateful for this entire community. Every one of you has been so friendly and I love talking to you. This community has filled a void which I wasn’t sure would be filled. And I hope I can continue loving being in this community for a while. Destino is going to stick around for a while. I’ve got big plans for them and I hope to enjoy this journey with you all.

Thank you everyone. I hope I can continue to work with you all and have fun! Let’s get ready for another year of Destino.)

#pokemon ask blog #pokemon #pokemon askblog #pokemon oc #ask blog #ask the royal absol #destino the absol #pokeask #ask #askblog community #pokeask community #mod goomy #long post #fanart Friday

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Have You Ever...

Danny gets invited to a hero convention as Danny Phantom, and his booth is next to none other than the legendary Ben 10, one of Danny's own favorite heroes. But when the two start playing a modified version of Never-Have-I-Ever to alleviate their boredom between handshakes with fans, they accidentally expose some things they didn't really mean to.

You can also read it on AO3

Written for X-over Danuary Week 2024, Day 1: Ben 10 | Prison Thanks @crossoverdanuary for running this!

I got a late start because I had DnD today, and I finished this at like 10pm, so I didn't have time to edit. I'm planning on editing it later this week, but until then, sorry for any mistakes. [Edit: it has now been edited]

[Warning for mentions of past traumatic experiences]

It was weird to see such a huge convention center so empty.

Well, it wasn't completely empty, but a few people carrying boxes and setting up displays was a significantly smaller crowd than Danny would normally expect to see in a place like this.

"Ah! Danny Phantom you're here!" A woman with a high ponytail and a convention staff t-shirt walked over to him. "Wow, I'm so excited that you actually came!" 

Her voice was familiar.

"Sally, right?" he guessed. "Sally Braddock?"

"You remembered!" She said brightly.

Sally had been the one who'd convinced Danny to come to this convention. She'd offered him pretty substantial payment, but it was only when she told him he could have three free tickets to the convention as well that Tucker told him he had to agree or they wouldn't be friends anymore. 

So here he was, at San Diego Hero Con, halfway across the country, to sit at a table and sign autographs for a few hours each day, and then do an hour-long panel with a bunch of other teen heroes, and another tomorrow on specifically ghost hunting. (He was still debating whether he should actually show up to that one, or if it would be too dangerous.) The worst part, though, was how early he had to wake up to set up his booth before the event started.

"Here's your presenter badge," Sally said, and handed him a bright yellow name tag clipped to a blue lanyard with the convention's logo on it. "Celebrity meet-and-greets are over there. I'll lead the way. We try not to put them too close to each other or the lines get out of control, but your booth is right next to Ben 10's."

Danny perked up at that. "The alien guy?"

"Yup!"

Oh, man, he hoped he'd get the chance to talk to him. Ben 10 was Danny's favorite superhero. He got to fight real life aliens, sometimes in actual space! And sure, Danny had been to space before that one time Technus had taken over a satellite, but it had still been a ghost fight. It wasn't the same.

"So, this is your table," Sally said, pointing to an empty, white folding table. "Do you have a tablecloth, or banners or headshots or anything?" she asked him with a tight smile.

"Uh.... I don't photograph well," he replied.

Sally sighed. "Well, I can bring over one of the convention tablecloths, but you really should get some kind of poster or cardboard cut-out or something that shows people who they're meeting. And you'll definitely need something to sign. Comic books, or T-shirts. Anything, really. There's a portrait artist in Artists Alley who works pretty fast, her name is Jess. If you get something from her, I can send a gopher to make copies for you to sign." 

"Uh, okay? But, I can just call a friend to bring something."

"Whatever works." With that, Sally left to go organize something else.

Danny called up Sam, who was back at the hotel with Tucker—Tucker would no doubt still be sleeping—and asked her to find a nearby print shop and get a Danny Phantom Banner to hang up and a whole bunch of 8x10 illustrations of him. He let her pick the picture, but asked her to please not pick anything too embarrassing.

Right as he hung up, a pair of people approached the booth next to him carrying plastic tubs. It was none other than Ben 10 himself and a tall, furry, blue alien who was no doubt one of his allies. (That or a cosplayer, but since they were with Ben 10 himself, Danny felt safe in assuming that they really were an alien.) The two of them placed their tubs on the floor and opened them up to start unpacking their display.

"Woah, hi!" Danny said, louder than he meant to.

Ben 10 snapped his head around, muscles tensing. Danny recognized that response all too well, and tried not to let out a sympathetic wince.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said. "You're Ben 10, right? I know this is cringey to say, but I'm a huge fan."

"Uh, thanks? Just Ben is fine."

"I'm Danny Phantom, but you can just call me Danny."

"I can see that... uh... nice to meet you?" Ben replied. He seemed uncomfortable. Had Danny come on too strong.

"Something wrong?"

"What? No, of course not," Ben said, though it wasn't very convincing.

"I am Rook Blonko," Ben's companion said, offering Danny a handshake which he excitedly accepted. "It is an honor to meet another hero, though I will admit, it was only recently that I came to learn about you." 

"Oh, yeah," Danny let out an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "My scope is a lot more regional and sometimes not very... in this dimension." 

"That would be... the Ghost Zone, right?" Ben said casually. "What's it like? Anything like the Null Void?"

So he was at least somewhat familiar with Danny and his exploits. Danny tried not to let that go to his head, but he couldn't help feeling a little giddy nonetheless. Ben laid down a black tablecloth with his logo on it and spread it across his table. This definitely wasn't his first rodeo.

"I don't know about the Null Void," Danny said. "It's like the bottom side of this dimension. It's where ghosts live... or... not live. Reside. Almost everything is green because of all the ectoplasm there, and when humans go there, they can pass right through walls and objects just like ghosts can in this dimension."

"That does not sound like the Null Void at all," Rook observed, pulling rods and boards out of one of the boxes and assembling them into a small standing shelf.

"What's the Null Void like?" Danny asked.

"Mostly red," Ben said with a shrug. "Full of floating islands and enormous aliens. Used as a penal colony for this dimension's worst criminals."

"Oh... yeah, no. Aside from the floating islands, that doesn't sound anything like the Ghost Zone," Danny agreed. "Although it's kind of a cool coincidence that we both have experience with alternate dimensions."

"Yeah, I guess so." Ben looked over at Danny and his sad excuse for a booth—really looking for the first time. "First time at one of these things?"

"Oh yeah," Danny confirmed. "My friend is bailing me out at a print shop right now, but I was so unprepared."

Ben snorted. "Here," he said, digging through one of his boxes and pulling out a bright green swath of fabric. "You can use one of my tablecloths. I brought an extra, just in case. It has my logo on one side, but if you turn it around so the logo faces you no one will be the wiser. We have basically the same color scheme, so it works out."

"Thanks," Danny accepted the tablecloth, slightly surprised, and spread it out over his table. It was almost exactly ectoplasm green, just a shade or two darker. "Have you been to a lot of conventions?"

"A few," Ben said.

"This is your fourth," Rook said.

"That sounds right. If it hadn't been for Rook, I probably would've been just as lost as you at my first one. He's all about preparing in advance. But yeah, I've been a public hero for over a year now, and since my identity isn't a secret anymore, it's easier for the people who run these things to get a hold of me."

"About that... why don't you have a secret identity?"

"It wasn't exactly my choice," Ben replied. "Some kid found it out and exposed me on the internet. It turned out surprisingly well, though, for the most part. Must be nice for you though, not having an alternate identity—not that being dead is nice or anything like that—I mean, it's not a bad thing—or it is a bad thing? I uh... yeah, I don't know what I'm saying."

After taking a moment to parse that rambling sentence, Danny burst out laughing. 

"Hahaha! Is that why you're acting so uncomfortable around me? Because I'm dead? Ha! You don't have to worry about that. You're fine."

"Serious?"

"Dead serious," Danny replied with a smirk.

Ben shook his head with a soft laugh. "Alright, fine.... Actually, that's not the only reason. Back when I was ten and just starting out I had... a bad experience with a ghost-like alien of mine. Ever since, ghost stuff just puts me a little on edge."

"Oh... I see. Well, don't worry, I won't take it personally," Danny said. "Did you really start doing this when you were ten?"

"Yeah. Although I kinda retired for a few years when I was eleven, and started up again when I was fifteen."

Danny did some quick math in his head. "Oh, so altogether, you and me have been in this for about the same amount of time. 'Cause I got started a little over two years ago."

"Yeah?" Ben was silent for a few moments. He pulled out boxed figurines of his alien forms and lined them up on the shelf Rook had assembled. "So... when did you...."

"Die?" Danny finished for him. "I was fourteen. I'm almost seventeen now. In about three months, I mean."

"Do you still age?"

"Sort of?" Danny shrugged.

He and Jazz had come up with an answer to this question a little while ago, when people noticed that Danny Phantom was starting to look older, even though ghosts supposedly didn't age.

"A ghost's body is a reflection of their mental image of themself. In the Zone, ghosts don't really age or change unless something specific happens that makes them feel older or different. Because I spend so much time in the human world still, because I learn and grow with each fight, I still feel like I'm growing up, so I look like I'm growing up, too."

"That is fascinating," Rook said. "I would love to learn more about ghostly biology."

"I would love to tell you about it. Problem is, I really don't know that much," Danny told him apologetically. He shrugged. "Sorry. I'm a superhero, not a scientist."

"I'm here!" Sam called, her heavy combat boots tromping into the room. She was carrying a large cardboard box. "I would have been here sooner, but I had to put together a design for the banner. Luckily I found a printer that could make one for you on short notice like this, or you'd be screwed."

"You're a life saver!"

"You wish," she scoffed. "I got you a banner and three hundred head shots."

"That's not gonna be enough," Ben said immediately.

"Ya think?" Sam asked.

"Trust me."

She sighed heavily in annoyance. "Okay, I can go back and get some more, but you so owe me, Danny."

"Yeah, I know," Danny said, taking the box from Sam. "You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, taking one of the head shots off the top of the stack and leaving again.

"Is that your friend?" Ben asked.

"One of them," Danny confirmed, setting the box down on the table. "That's Sam. She and Tucker have been with me since the beginning. He's probably still asleep at the hotel."

He pulled out a stack of head shots for the table and slid the box with the rest underneath. She'd picked a good picture. It was a poster illustration for a local ghost awareness presentation he'd done a while back, and he nearly sighed with relief when he saw it. He'd been half afraid she'd pick one of the grainy newspaper photos of him in his underwear.

"That's cool," Ben said. "Yeah, I don't think anyone could do this job without allies. When I first started, I had my Grandpa and my cousin, then my cousin and my best friend, and now I have Rook as my partner."

"We have been together for a year," Rook added.

"Like... together together or...?"

"Working partners," Ben clarified insistently. "It's not like that."

"Oh, okay, my bad."

Hoping to alleviate his embarrassment, Danny unfurled his new banner and flew up to hang it on the wall behind his booth. It looked cool, but not too complicated. Just his name and logo and a little bit of ghost designs around the edges. Sam had done a good job with it.

"You are not the first to think that," Rook consoled. "It is a more common assumption than one might think."

They continued chatting idly while they set up their booths. Danny got to ask Rook what kind of alien he was, and what his home planet was like. Sam showed up with a whole bunch more photos and then immediately abandoned them to get a sneak preview of artist alley before she came back as an attendee.

Just before the convention center officially opened, Danny worked up the courage to ask Ben for an autograph, and Ben obliged him with a smile, offering an exchange, rather than asking for payment. Danny eagerly accepted, signing one of his own pictures and trading it for Ben's. Ben's looked far more professional than his own. He hoped people wouldn't be disappointed.

As people started trickling in past the security checkpoint up front, both heroes only got a few people in the beginning. After only about twenty minutes of boredom, Ben suggested they play a game.

"Sure," Danny agreed. "What game?"

"My buddy Kevin calls it Reverse-Never-Have-I-Ever, and my cousin calls it Have-You-Ever." Ben said. "See, we could never play regular Never-Have-I-Ever, because we all knew all the weird stuff we'd done and we'd target each other mercilessly. With this version, You say something you have done, and anyone who hasn't done it loses a point. If everyone's done it, no one loses a point."

"Okay... I think I get the idea, but why don't you start? Five fingers or ten?"

"Let's start with five," Ben said. "Rook, you playing?"

"I will pass," Rook said. "I always lose this game."

"Alright, if that's what you want." Ben shrugged. "Alright, Danny, have you ever... transformed into a different species?"

"Yes."

"You have?!"

"Uh, yeah. I went from human to ghost. Duh."

"Oh... right, duh," Ben agreed, shaking his head at how foolish he'd been to blow his first question like that. "Wow, I can't believe I didn't even think about that...."

"My turn, right?" Danny said. "Have you ever fought an evil alternate version of yourself?"

"Yeah, like six of 'em."

"Okay, well, now you're just showing off."

Ben smirked. "Oh, I never get to use this one on my friends. Have you ever been to space?"

Danny smirked right back. "One of my rogues possessed an orbital satellite."

"Damn it!" 

Someone walked over to Danny's table and he smiled at her, pointedly ignored the way she shivered when he shook her hand, and signed a photo for her.

"Okay," he said, shifting his attention back to the game, "have you ever... been cut in two."

"I regenerated, but yeah."

"How?" Danny demanded.

"Plant alien."

"I should've guessed. Stupid plant creatures with their stupid regenerative powers. Undergrowth-ass alien. Lame." 

Ben laughed at him while he signed a figurine for a fan who came to his table. "How about this. Have you ever fought a medieval-style knight?"

"A knight? Hold on." Danny considered that for a moment. Had he? He'd rescued Sam from Dora's realm that one time, and yeah, he'd definitely had to fight the ghosts of knights then. Oh! Also Fright Knight. How could he forget about him. "Yes, I have definitely fought knights on several occasions. Ghost knights, obviously."

"Ugh! I really thought I had you with that one. Why do ghosts who died a thousand years ago have to stick around for so long?"

"Nope!" Danny teased. "Okay, how about this one. Have you ever fought a ghost?"

"Define ghost?" Ben asked.

"The law defines a ghost as any creature which produces ectoplasm, is composed of ectoplasm, or requires ectoplasm to survive," Danny recited. 

There was no need to say which law—that would be the anti-ecto acts. It was stupid that those stupid acts were still even law when public support of ghosts had never been higher. Although, they hadn't been as heavily enforced the last year or so, since the G.I.W. lost a lot of funding after repeatedly failing to catch their most wanted, Danny.

"Then yes, I have," Ben said. "Have you ever fought an alien?"

"Define alien."

"A creature originating from a planet or plane other than Earth."

"Then yes, ghosts."

"Ah ah ah!" Ben argued. "Ghosts are the spirits of dead humans, which means they originate on Earth."

"Except that not all ghosts are the spirits of dead humans," Danny countered right back. "Many ghosts originally formed inside the Ghost Zone, which makes them, by your definition, aliens, and I have fought them, too. Also I fought off some Incurseans back when they invaded the Earth a little while back. It was awesome." 

Ben groaned.

"Haha! Gotcha!"

"Just go already."

"Have you ever died?"

"Ha! Yes, I have," Ben said, as if dying was some huge victory. "You probably thought you had me, but you were wrong. I may have been brought back through alien magic and/or time travel, but yes, I have died. Speaking of which, have you ever time-traveled."

"Psh, have I time traveled?" Danny scoffed. "I have literally met the Ancient, omniscient Master of Time. He's a huge pain in the neck."

It was at this point that more people started accumulating at the two heroes' tables. Some got in line for autographs, though both Ben and Danny were too engrossed in their game at this point to give their full attention. Others just stood, watching, and listening to the two of them. A few even started filming their little game.

"Alright, my turn," Danny said. "Have you ever... oh, I have a good one! Have you ever had to fight your best friend after he copied your powers which then caused him to lose his mind and become evil?"

"Literally how?!" Ben shouted.

"Is that a no?"

"No, I meant 'literally how' as in how has something that specific happened to both of us?"

"No way!"

"Yes way! That's happened to Kevin more than once."

"What?!"

"I know, right?"

"It is also strange for this game to go so long without any of the participants losing a point," Rook said. "I believe it is at this point that I would have lost, had I been participating."

"You put up a good fight, Rook," Ben joked.

"But... I was not playing?"

"I was teasing, Rook."

"Ah, yes."

"Whose turn is it now?" Ben asked. "Mine, right?"

"Yeah," Danny confirmed.

"Have you ever had a limb severed?"

"Yes, but I'm a ghost, so I reattached it pretty easily. Have you ever altered the fabric of reality?"

"I once had to recreate the entire universe after it got destroyed, and then went on intergalactic trial for doing it. And the worst part is, ever since then, grape smoothies just don't taste the same. It's so frustrating. I did get this super comfortable hoodie out of it, though." 

"Ew, smoothies?" Danny grimaced. "What are you a yoga mom?"

Ben stood up, slamming a hand on his table and with the other, he pointed accusingly at Danny. "Smoothies are delicious, screw you!"

"You're just frustrated because I'm winning."

"You're not winning, neither of us have lost a single point! But you will!" Ben declared. "Have you ever saved the whole entire universe."

"Yes."

"What?" Ben fell back into his chair, deflated.

"A while back, this one group, the G.I.W. tried to destroy the Ghost Zone with a special anti-ghost nuke, and I stopped them. The Ghost Zone is the flip side of our dimension, so if it had been destroyed, it would have taken our universe along with it. Hence, I saved the universe. I just didn't let it get all over international news first."

"Boo!"

"Isn't that my line?" Danny said. 

Ben threw a sharpie at him and he turned intangible and let it pass right through him while he laughed at his own joke.

"Anyway, have you ever visited an alternate timeline where the entire earth is barren and desolate and the alternate version of you rules supreme?"

"Yes, I call it the Mad Universe, because it looked like Mad Max, you know?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess I can see it. But really? You have?"

"Yup. The alternate version of Rook was a jerk." 

Rook frowned but didn't have the chance to say anything before Ben kept talking.

"Have you ever... I don't know... every time I go weirder, you just match me. Have you ever had a family member be friends with one of you enemies?"

"Yeah, my dad considers my archenemy his best friend in the world," Danny said. "The feeling is not mutual, though. Have you ever been imprisoned by one of your enemies?"

"More times than I can count. Have you ever asexually reproduced?"

"Do clones count?"

"No!" Ben refused.

"Yes," Rook argued, possibly still upset about Ben's jerk comment. "Technically, cloning is a form of asexual reproduction."

"But could they fly?"

"I don't see how that's relevant to asexual reproduction, but yes," Danny said. "They were ghosts. They could fly. Most of them were too unstable to survive though. There's only one left." He frowned.

"Oh... sorry."

"It's... fine." It wasn't fine. He still found himself lying awake at night thinking about them sometimes. Danny shook his head and plastered on a determined grin. "I really think I've got you this time, though."

"Do you?" Ben did not sound convinced.

"Have you ever had to fight sentient food that was not still alive?"

"Y—wait...." Ben frowned as he thought about it for a long moment. "No... I haven't."

"Yes!" Danny cheered and Ben buried his head in his hands, humiliated. "This puts me in the lead."

"Not for long," Ben said. "Have you ever eaten food from another planet?"

"Wha—noooo...." 

"Ha!"

"We're dead even again." 

Their game continued.

"Have you ever fought a cult's subject of worship?"

"Have you ever had a Christmas-themed battle?"

"Have you ever fought on the same side as one of your enemies?"

"Have you ever been called upon to end a war?"

"Have you ever unexpectedly developed a new power that caused you trouble?"

"Have you ever used your powers to get out of other responsibilities?"

"Have you ever had to skip out on something you were really looking forward to and save the day?"

"Have you ever been blamed for property damage your enemies caused just because you happened to be there at the time?"

"Have you ever been mind controlled?"

"Have you ever fought an evil circus?"

The game kept going on and on, while they absently shook hands and signed autographs, with neither of them giving up another point. Until Sally showed up to tell them it was time to go to the teen hero panel they were on. 

It was only then that they looked up and saw all the cameras that had been recording their game. How long had they been recording? How much had they gotten?

"Uh... right," Ben said. "Sorry everyone. You can come back for autographs after the panel. And Danny, I think we're gonna have to call it a draw."

"We'll have to have a rematch some other time," Danny said, trying to keep his tone light, despite his sudden anxiety. 

Sally led the two of them to a large room with rows upon rows of empty seats, right down the aisle to the stage up front where a man in his thirties was already standing, and a masked teenage girl with glowing pink hair and eyes was sitting behind the table.

"Hello, I'm John and I'll be moderating this panel," the man introduced. "This is Lucky Girl, another teen hero we invited. Lucky Girl, this is Ben 10 and Danny Phantom."

"Nice to meet you," Danny said.

"I can't believe they roped you into this," Ben said, smiling at the girl like he knew her.

"Shut up," the girl barked back. "We can't all gain international fame overnight, and I have to pay for student housing."

"You two already know each other?" John asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah, we've known each other for a long time," Ben said. "All our lives, in fact."

"Ben, I swear if you give me away I will hex you so bad your children's children's children will travel for miles just to spit on your grave."

Ben put up his hands in surrender, and took his seat without another word. Danny followed his lead. This Lucky Girl didn't seem like the kind of person he wanted to mess with.

Once they were all in their seats, John gave them a quick run down of how the panel would go. He would ask a few questions. They would answer. He would open it up to questions from the audience, and they would answer those too. After an hour, the panel would be over, and they would return to their booths, or in Lucky Girl's case, simply leave, as she apparently didn't have a booth.

"She uses her powers to disguise herself, but she can't keep that up for more than an hour and a half," Ben whispered to Danny, clearly sensing his confusion. "She'll probably hang around for a little while after to greet fans, but she'll have to leave when her mana's drained."

"Oh, okay, that makes sense," Danny whispered back, nodding. "I was worried it might be like a sexism thing."

"As if she'd stand for something like that," Ben scoffed.

Soon enough, the doors opened, and people started trickling in. The seats filled up with mostly teens and young adults, with a few parents and older adults sprinkled in. Danny noticed Sam and Tucker come in and sit in the back row and waved at them. Rook was also sitting in the back row, trying not to draw attention to himself. Although, it seemed like most people thought he was a cosplayer, so he didn't really have to bother hiding.

When the doors closed, John started the panel.

The first part was easy. 

John asked questions like: "How do you balance being a hero with the other responsibilities you have as an adolescent?"

"Honestly, not well. You know how people say 'you can sleep when you're dead'? Yeah, that's a lie." 

"I'm lucky enough to have a good memory so I don't have to study much, otherwise my grades in school would tank. For me, the real struggle is finding time to do chores." 

"I prioritize my other responsibilities. I don't usually face world-ending, city-destroying threats like these two, which allows me the luxury of saving hero work for after my homework is finished."

And: "Where do you go when you want to de-stress after saving the day?"

"I usually go over to my friends' and play video games. I feel safe around them."

"If the sun's still up, Mr. Smoothie. But if it's late, I like to go out for chili fries."

"The library. I know it makes me sound like a nerd, but whatever. I am a nerd. Who cares."

And: "How do your parents figure in to you heroic activities?"

"They... don't know. They don't exactly have a great opinion of ghosts, and they don't recognize me when... I mean, they don't recognize me anymore. So I guess they don't figure in." That wasn't entirely true, but Danny wasn't about to say they shot at him in front of a crowd of hundreds of people.

"My parents are actually very supportive. At first, they wanted me to quit, because they were worried about my safety, but I changed their minds. They raised me to know right from wrong, and to help others whenever I can, and they're proud of me."

"My parents don't know either, and I don't live with them right now because I live on my school campus, so I guess, like Phantom, my parents don't really figure in either."

They were easy questions to answer, even if Danny didn't always tell the whole truth. John kept things light, focusing mostly on them being teenagers, and how being a hero affected that aspect of their life, rather than the other way around. There were a couple questions about battles and enemies, but for the most part, they avoided the heavy stuff.

Then, about halfway into the panel, John opened it up to the audience to ask questions.

They didn't shy away from the heavy stuff.

"Hi, I'm Mandy, big fan," said a girl with curly brown hair. "I have two questions for Ben, first is, are you dating anyone?"

Ben chuckled, trying to sound amused, even though, up close, Danny could tell the question made him uncomfortable.

"No, I'm not dating right now."

The girl giggled for a moment before asking her next question. "My next question is: when you're fighting an alien invasion basically by yourself, do you ever feel afraid?"

Ben didn't answer right away. He took a breath, and nodded.

"Yes," he said. "I know I'm strong, and there's a lot that I can do and have done, but when I'm outnumbered a thousand to one, yeah, I'm a little afraid."

"Not that you were ever actually by yourself," Lucky Girl pointed out.

"Heh," Ben rubbed his neck awkwardly. "That's true. Even if there weren't many, I've always had people in my corner."

The next person who stepped up was a guy in a Danny Phantom T-shirt which read 'it's not gay if he's dead.'

Danny immediately groaned and Ben grinned hugely. "Before you ask your question, I have a question for you. Where did you get that shirt?"

"I got it at a souvenir shop when I went to Amity Park, but I think you can buy them online, too," they guy said.

"I'm getting one."

Danny groaned even more insistently.

"My question is for Phantom. If you hadn't died, do you think you still would have become a hero, and protected your home from ghosts?"

"Honestly? I don't know," Danny admitted. "Amity Park does have other ghost hunters, the Fentons and Red Huntress, for example. If I hadn't d... if I didn't have my powers, I wouldn't really have the ability to protect anybody. I'd probably leave it to the ghost hunters who were better equipped."

"And for Lucky Girl, are you single?"

"Ha ha no," she said flatly. "I have a boyfriend."

"Figures."

Next up was a girl in some pretty fantastic Lucky Girl cosplay. Her wig even lit up. Although she looked like she was quite a bit taller than the real thing.

"Lucky Girl, do your periods ever interfere with fighting crime?"

"Uh... that's a bit personal," Lucky Girl said instantly, as if the answer was instinctive. 

But when she saw the way the girl reacted like she'd been slapped, hunching in on herself with shame, Lucky Girl bit her lip and answered anyway. 

"Actually... the life of a superhero is really stressful. The kind of stress that has... biological effects. When I first started fighting crime as, like, a regular thing, I didn't have a period for months. When I finally did again it was... you know what, I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say, it was really bad. Like, my doctor prescribed me pills to stop me from menstruating bad. So... I guess the answer to your question is 'not anymore' and also sorry for the TMI." She finished with a short grimace.

"Thank you for answering," the girl said before going to sit back down.

Ben covered his mic and turned to her. "How come I never knew about that?"

"Are you kidding?" Lucky Girl muttered back. "Like I'm gonna discuss my cycle with a fifteen-year-old boy."

Ben didn't even attempt to argue with that.

As... much as those questions were, it was the next one that really stopped everything in its tracks.

"Hi, I'm Michael. I don't know if you know about this video that's going around. It was only posted, like, less than an hour ago, but it's really blown up in fan circles already," the young man said. "The video shows Phantom and Ben 10... I guess playing a game or something? Where you guys are asking each other if you'd done certain things and basically comparing experiences with each other? Do you know it?"

Ben and Danny shot each other anxious looks.

"Uh... I haven't seen it, but I think we know what you're talking about," Ben answered cautiously. "Is that your question?"

"No, my question is... well, in the video you guys are talking about alternate timelines, and fighting evil versions of yourselves, and getting mind-controlled, and changing reality. I guess my question is. Did all that stuff really happen to you guys?"

Neither Ben nor Danny wanted to answer. They didn't look at each other, or the crowd. They deeply regretted playing a game that revealed such personal secrets in a public space.

Finally, Ben cleared his throat. "Yes, all that happened." Danny nodded his own confirmation. "The life we lead is a dangerous one, and it demands sacrifices, and it takes a lot from you, and it puts you in a lot of strange situations that few others can understand. It's... not for everyone."

The next fan stepped up to the mic. "Follow up questions. First, how are you guys like... functional? Because I mean, if I'd gone through the kind of stuff you were talking about in that video, I think I'd have a mental breakdown. Second, why would you put yourselves through all that?"

"Well, first off, bold of you to assume I've never had a mental breakdown," Danny said. "And secondly, if we don't do it, who will?" he asked. "We're not just random ordinary high schoolers who up and decided to subject ourselves to unspeakable trauma just for the fun of it. 

"We do this because we have the power to do things others can't, to fight enemies other people can't fight. We do this because if we don't... if we don't, people die. Or worse. People experience the kind of things we do trying to protect them. So I guess the answer to both of your questions is, what other choice do we have?"

"Yeah, exactly what Danny said," Ben agreed. "I tried to give up my powers, and my responsibilities once, and people got hurt because of it. My grandpa.... Because I wanted to live a normal life, to take it easy, there was no one else to protect them. It is every individual's responsibility to do what they can to help others. It just so happens that we can do more than most, and that comes with drawbacks. 

"Lucky Girl, care to weigh in? You weren't in the video, but I know you've had your share of superhero related trauma."

"I think you guys pretty much covered it," she replied. "I don't think I've been through quite as much as you two, but I definitely know about the sacrifices we make for this life. I also know that it's worth it to know that the people and places you love are safe and protected because of you."

The boy's both nodded in agreement.

The questions didn't really lighten up after that. "What's the worst experience you've ever had as a hero?" "Have you ever failed to protect someone?" "We heard Ben 10 say so already, but have you ever wanted to quit, or wished you never had powers in the first place?"

After a point, John noticed how uncomfortable they were getting and had to step in and ask that the next few questions not be so dark.

A younger girl, maybe even a middle schooler, hand mercy on them at last, and asked, "What was the funniest thing that ever happened to you while you were saving the day?" and from there the questions finally eased up.

It felt like it had been far longer than an hour when the session ended, and they left the stage and returned to their booths to sign autographs and shake hands and listen to dozens of people gushing, "I'm you're biggest fan!"

They didn't pick up their game again, even when things got slow. Evidently they'd learned their lesson. And they kept learning it as more and more of the people who came to visit them asked about that video. Each time Danny had to smile and laugh it off, the regret deepened. 

It had been a while since he felt like such a complete idiot. Since he'd done something so thoughtless. He'd gotten a lot better at keeping secrets over the years, but he'd just been so excited to talk with someone he had so much in common with—and yeah, he'd probably gotten a little too competitive also. He should have known better.

"So uh... I was at your panel earlier," said a girl who placed a science magazine on the table for him to sign. The cover touted an article about 10 Things You Didn't Know About Ghosts (they have their own culture!). Danny remembered doing that interview.

"That's nice, thanks for coming," Danny said, his smile tensing. "Do you want me to sign the cover, or the page with the article."

"The cover please," the girl said. "For Marnie. And um... I was too nervous to stand up and ask before, but... I was really curious."

"Oh?" Danny asked, keeping his eyes on his hand as he signed the cover 'To Marnie, stay spooky'.

"Why would you make it a game?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be better to try to forget all those things?"

"Easier said than done," Danny said. "Things like that stay with you. Turning them into a joke or a game takes the power away from those bad memories. When you're laughing at your fears, what can they do to you? That's the way I see it. Ben might have another reason, and technically, it was his game. He came up with it."

"So... what you're saying is, laughter is the best medicine?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Danny agreed. He slid the magazine back to her. "Thanks for coming by."

Finally, Danny's shift was over, and Ben's ended at the same time. Just in time, too, because Danny was just about out of photos. He'd have to get more for tomorrow. He signed his last picture with a sigh of relief, thankful that the convention staff had come by to cut off the line when it was about time for him to be finished.

"You finished too, Danny?" Ben asked.

"Yup."

"You wanna go get lunch with us? Wait... do ghosts eat?"

"We do, but I was gonna meet up with my friends for lunch today, and then explore the convention a little." Danny said. "Are you gonna be here tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'm here for the whole con," Ben said. "Here, let me give you my number. We should keep in touch."

"Totally!" Danny agreed. "It'll be nice to have an actual superhero friend. I love Sam and Tucker, but there are some things...."

"Yeah, I get what you mean."

After swapping numbers the two of them headed off to their separate engagements. Danny transformed and got to experience what else Hero Con had to offer without getting swarmed by fans like he saw happening to Ben that afternoon.

They met up again the next day. Chatted at their booths, had lunch together, checked out the fan artists, just hung out for a while. This time around, Danny didn't have his human form to protect him from the crowds. 

That video of their game haunted them both for the rest of the convention. People kept bringing it up until it became almost more annoying than mortifying. 

When Hero Con finally ended, they both breathed sighs of relief. The convention was over, but Ben and Danny kept in touch. They never did have that rematch though. In fact, they were both pretty much done with 'Have-You-Ever'.

#dp #danny phantom #danny fenton #ben 10 #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #fic #things i wrote #crossover danuary week #crossover danuary week 2024 #crossover #party games #past trauma #humor #dp x ben 10 #dp crossover #dialogue heavy

[alpaca-clouds]

The thing that bugs me about Cazador

Allow me to ramble about a thing that really bugs me about Cazador and his character design.

Let me start out with the fact, that it is super iffy that Cazador is the one recognizable east asian character in the entire game. At least from what I came across. And, you know. It is iffy if you take a minority and make their only representation the "sadistic vampire who wants to sacrifice 7000 mostly white people to become a god". I hope I don't have to explain that.

And yes, technically speaking... yeah, Karlach is technically also East Asian. With just one problem: Her being red-skinned and having the make-up very much hides this fact. Like, I did not realize this until I saw the mod that removed the make-up from the companions.

But outside of the basic issue with the trope... Well, look. I do not think that the folks Larian were like: "Hehe, we will use this character to show how evil the Asians are!" or something like this. But the game very much shows that there was a lot of internalized biases. And be it just in the fact, that we barely come across non-white characters in the entire fucking game. All non-white characters are basically tokens.

And before someone comes in with: "Faerûn is based on medieval Europe!" First off: "Shut up." Second: Going by official DnD Lore Faerûn is a super diverse place, where you will find all sorts of Asian, Arab, and Black people. I mean, just look at the DnD movie, where they made an effort to have half of the cast be non-white. Like, the Faerûn that Larian depicts is basically the Faerûn of 3e, not 5e.

And then... Well, when it comes to Cazador, then there is the Early Access design.

Now, this is actually where WotC stepped in and was like: "Yeah, you cannot do this." Officially by explaining that elves do not have facial hair. But I do imagine that someone at WotC actually looked at this design and was like: "... Do they realize that this is Fu Manchu?"

Because yeah, this design is simply just Fu Manchu. And for those who are not aware: Fu Manchu is a character popular in pulp fiction of the early 20th century, that arose mostly from Yellow Peril stereotypes.

He was a Chinese magician, who was up to all sorts of evil schemes, which suspiciously often involved sacrificing white people (mostly white women) to evil gods or demons. He made appearances in all sorts of media back then, including movies (where he obviously was portrayed by white actors in yellowface) and some off-brand Sherlock Holmes novels that were not written by Doyle but other writers.

Fu Manchu was also what the original Mandarin in the Marvel Comics was based on.

This is one of the Renditions of Fu Manchu in one of those off-brand Sherlock Holmes stories.

And here is the earlier Mandarin design:

And, like, I am sorry. But that stuff leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Again, I do not really think that this stuff was done on purpose. My best guess is, that Cazador was either based on the Mandarin, or on some of the other "Chinese Magician" villains that some American Kung Fu movies put into their media in the 70s and 80s.

But I also think there was nobody at Larian who did any sort of sensitivity consulting when it came to the inclusion of non-white characters.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #astarion #bg3 cazador #cazador szarr #fu manchu #yellow peril #anti asian hate #racism #larian studios #this is why you need sensitivity advisors

[roguesscribbles]

Sorry I've been so dead recently! I've got a little project going on that's taking up my art time. Hoping to unveil it soon!

In the meantime, here's my new OC! I made her for a Mass Effect DnD group I'm joining! Her name is Raina Akiyama, she's a human engineer that abandoned her smothering military life to explore the galaxy, settling on Illium following the Reaper invasion.

You can read the full backstory under the cut:

Raina Akiyama was always destined to join the Alliance Military. From the day she was born on an Alliance ship to two parents with a decent military ranking, she spent the majority of her formative years on various Alliance ships or bases following wherever her parents were stationed.

At the time, she could count how many times she has been to Earth on one hand. Her father was from Japan and her mother was from Britain, so she had been to visit family members that she doesn’t remember the faces of. Her upbringing was lonely at times, her parents were busy working and other children were not that common. However, with the absence of people, she found her love in the mechanical instead.

She could always be found tinkering away at some piece of tech she found, sneaking into the engine room to look at the inner workings or pelting the engineers with all sorts of questions. And the Alliance were happy to support these dreams of hers, educating and pushing her towards a career as an Engineer.

There was just one problem, Raina didn’t like the way the Alliance ran things. She was never a fan of the authority, of the training exercises and the expectation to give it everything she had, with instructors and crew members who were always a bit too strict with a child, most likely already seeing the soldier she would become. She always felt trapped, forced into enlisting, because where else would she go? She was raised here, with a line of family all expecting her to join as the next generation as they once did, and she knew very little of the habited planets that dotted the galaxy.

Eventually, when she turned 18, she enlisted officially as an Engineer, continuing her training and enhancing her skills. If there’s one good thing she can say, it’s that the Alliance provided her with almost unlimited funding to tinker with whatever gadgets were put in front of her. She became intimately familiar with both the massive hardware of the Alliance vessels to the weapons and armour the troops relied on. She never fully felt like she belonged, but she could at least surround herself with the things she loved.

Things changed about 2 years later. She was stationed on a small base with an equally small squadron. Something that was meant to be safe, somewhere to train her and other recruits. For the first time in her life she felt like she had friends, people she could rely on and actually talk to, who had her back. Things finally started to fall into place, and she started to feel that yearned-for feeling of belonging.

Then, the raid happened.

A group of bandits attacked the base in the night, where there was minimal activity. They wanted the equipment that they had in storage. It wasn’t even very much, they most likely saw them as easy pickings, and they weren’t entirely wrong. Almost all of her squad was killed in the incident, though in the end Raina’s squad managed to barely win. During the scuffle, a confrontation with one of the assailants left her scarred after they slashed her face with an omni-blade. When she came to in the medical wing of an Alliance vessel, she found herself blind in her left eye.

Her entire world came crashing down. Almost all her friends were dead, that belonging ripped away from her in an instant. She was back to the cold, sterile vessels with people who saw her as little more than an asset, who wanted her back up and running as soon as possible as if a great tragedy hadn’t just occurred. As soon as they were able, they installed a cybernetic eye in the one she lost, patching her up like a broken piece of machinery.

Not even her parents were here. They contacted her as soon as they knew she was awake, but neither of them could leave their post to see her. Something in Raina just snapped. She needed away from this place, away from the military. She expressed her concerns to her parents, but they disapproved, encouraging her to just get better and push on. This was the family way. That just made the need to leave even more prevalent.

She was able to push for her to be medically discharged, quoting physical trauma and PTSD. She sent one final message to her parents telling them she was leaving and not to contact her. She grabbed all her belongings and money that she saved, grabbed the first civilian shuttle she could and started exploring the galaxy.

Over the next few years, she moved from planet to planet, exploring and experiencing and just living. She met so many new people, made new friends and went on her own adventures. She used her skills for work, either taking on odd jobs or temporarily joining a crew, which improved her abilities even further. She began to discover herself more as a person, get better at social interaction and just breathe for the first time. Life was good.

Then, the Reapers arrived.

Once more her world came crashing down, but this time it was different. She wasn’t alone. She had been staying on Illium when the news spread, and it wasn’t long before the Reapers made their way to them. Raina sprang into action, helping wherever she could to help the planets militia fend off the invasion, as well as help the people who had been displaced and evacuated to the planet. It kept her busy, and when the Reapers eventually fell, her positive presence put her on a lot of people’s radars as someone who was reliable.

Following this, she decided to take up a more permanent residence on Illium. They may have fended off the attack, but there was always work to be done. Plus, as a mercantile hub, other planets more affected turned to them for aid. She never found herself short for work, and she was keen to continue to improve her skills with the variety of machinery and tech that passed through. She dreams that one day, she can open her own mechanics shop, and make her role on Illium that much more permanent. Because she belongs.

#mass effect #mass effect oc #mass effect engineer #mass effect dnd #mass effect 5e #original character #my ocs #raina akiyama #rogue does art stuff

[fanficfanatic000]

Edward fucking munson

Eddie Munson x fem reader enemies to lovers 18+ TW no minors

Hawkins was a small town but you were always quiet and a loner you didn't really have many friends at all. You worked at the arcade and it was a decent job except for certain customers like a blonde haired basketball player to a adult slob that greased up the machines..It was a normal work day. You were on your lunch break on a normal Saturday the usual customers came and went until a shadow of a short frame came up behind you short curly hair and a lighter voice "hi um one of the games are not working can you check it out?" You were just about finished with your lunch and he seemed pretty kind compared to others you stood up "uh yeah sure just lead the way." He grinned "hi im dustin." "Im y/n glad to meet ya dustin""So do you like nerdy things?"he said walking slowly "mmm i guess yeah i am considered a nerd...." you thought he was trying to make small talk... "do you like dungeons and dragons?" "Well ive never really played but yeah it kinda interests me "He led you to the arcade machine and it wasn't processing the coins hmm there must be a wire loose or a jam but that wasn't in your skill level "sorry kid its jammed or something ill try to get it fixed tomorrow" he looked slightly disappointed You barely noticed the group of people looking at you 2 other boys younger than you and one much younger girl..all wearing the same t shirts Then you looked at dustin as he spun around to maybe his friends "guys this is y/n i think she should join hellfire" a taller much sarcastic boy says "what! But shes a random girl!!" A dark skined boy says back "but eddie said to recruit people he didnt say male gendered"The smaller girl shouts "look mike shes all we've got.. its better to show up with her than no one!" You just watching this happen not knowing what to say The sarcastic one Mike rolled his eyes "fine but if eddie says no im throwing you all under the bus!" Dustin nodded his head"So y/n hellfire is a dnd club at Hawkins high after hours every other day if you want to come play some dnd just meet me outside of Hawkins high at 4:00pm" you nodded "okay i will be there" they left after that and the rest of the night was pretty normal. Sunday passed so fast you basically cleaned your room and watched your favorite movie than fell asleep and it was Monday you got dressed in a tank top your favorite color some ripped jeans and your converse and your favorite jewelry and threw your jacket on. You put some black eyeliner on and you were ready You listened to one of your favorite bands on a cassette player and it was 3:40 so you drove to Hawkins high and you parked and saw dustin he was kinda like a little brother you stepped out of your car and "Y/N yes! You're here!" "Just on time " you look down at your watch and see it change to 4:00 "okay lets go" you followed dustin through the school halls you remembered see you went to public school until freshman year and you got bullied so bad you had to do homeschooling instead you were graduated now though. You watch the door open to reveal a dimly lit room full of people. Mike. Dustin. Lukas. Erica. And 4 others you walk in and dustin moves out from infront of you "eddie this is y/n."A tall handsome intimidating man stands up from a throne of some kind he stepped around the table and stands infront of you his frame slightly towering over you" this is who you found Henderson " he pinched his nose bridge "this girl is what you found she probably wouldn't know anything about dnd or anything!" You felt attacked but little did they know is that you can snap back " this girl probably would probably win anyways" you said with a smirk he stepped closer smugly bending slightly "you think so Princess?" His eyes meeting yours and they felt familiar for whatever reason. "Okay lets play!"

#fandom #eddie munson #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #eddie munson lives #eddie munson x reader #eddie stranger things #stranger things 4 #fanfic #eddie #enemies to lovers #Em enemies to lovers #Edward fucking munson

[quotidian-oblivion]

Okay

I think... i think those are all the posts in my drafts that needed to be posted

Well, there's this one poem that i wrote ages ago but i have no IDEA what its about or where it came from because it was months ago but anyway

So! Hi guys! As you can see, i'm back from my hibernation. With a few new changes!

I am now going to post edits along with fics! Though not regularly, but i have like 15 plans in my docs. Looking forward to thattt. Here's a link to my youtube channel: https://youtube.com/@QuotidianVoid?si=NjSDZAsI2myvUq4L I haven't posted anything on it yet, BUT I WILL!

I won't be looking at every notification on tumblr because I found that it made a bit of an impact on my mental health, so I'm terribly sorry if I missed your post. Just... just send it to me please if I haven't replied to you.

I might still occassionally disappear and reappear for my mental health

And finally! We have two (soon to be three) new friends! In total, I have to add five people to the family tumblrweed

So thats @igotthisaccountunderduress @st4r-fire

And the new people are @its-stairs-time and @foineswoine who are me and @mispeltnostalgia's irl friends. Stairs is also the DM of the DND campaign I'm in and we're just gonna be blathering and rumbling about DND from time to time. There's another irl fwen! And she'll be popping by soon with her brilliant posts (you'll see ;))

Love you lots /p and am so so so honored and melty gooey in the knowledge that you guys still remembered me and tagged me in things ^^

#quotidian convos

[tatakaetime07]

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ time's out e.m

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Gn!Reader!,slight Dustin Henderson x Reader!Platonic!

A/n:I'm so sorry I had to,forgive me😭,and you can interpret what you want of the relationship with Eddie ;)

Summary: As the coward you always ran away,but to protect the ones you love your going to have to make decisions that no one would like,not even yourself

Warnings:Slight St Season 4 spoilers/ending,cursing,Gore,Violence,very very angsty but ends in fluff

Word count-2.2k

*Not edited

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as your best friend, Eddie Munson, urged you to climb the rope faster out of the Upside down.Your friends had come up with a plan to defeat that son of a bitch, Vecna. It had all been going well in your little group until somehow one of the demobats you were distracting had gotten through the vents in Eddie's trailer.After all the supernatural things you had seen in Hawkins over the years, this by far was the scariest.

You were never one to call yourself brave. In fact, you thought of yourself as more of a coward.You would always watch from afar so as to not get hurt yourself.But when you saw how terrified your friends were yet were still able to fight, it gave you a surge of confidence,but there was a gnawing feeling in your gut.

You were the last person to climb up on the rope,but the longer you stared up at the kid who had just started barely living,and the boy you had known since grade school,you started to wonder how you could make sure nothing hurt them,and that is when you dropped back on the ground,turning towards Eddie's room which produced the loud noises of the monsters behind them.

You ignored the yells and screams from the people above you and gave one last look to Eddie.Who was always there for you,who always protected you in your time of need.It was finally your turn to repay him.You smiled gently at the two before yanking the rope so it fell all the way through.Making Eddie's eyes widen.

The bats broke through Eddie's door as you fled out the door,redirecting their attention to follow you outside.

“(Y/n)?(Y/n)!!What are you doing!?”Dustin screamed and they both watched.Dustin quickly looked at his long-haired friend who was mumbling something incoherently.

“Stay here Henderson.”He demanded as he quickly climbed back into the Upisde down while spewing curses.

“What,no!!”Dustin yelled back, but to know use as Eddie had already rushed after you albeit with a limp as he landed on his ankle wrongly.

You were already at the junk yard near the trailer park,thanks to one of the bikes you had arrived there with.All you had was a spear and you had to keep your composure.You were going to make sure those damn bats didn't reach Eddie or Steve and the others,you were going to keep them safe no matter what,even if it meant risking your life.You weren't gonna just sit on sidelines and let your friends risk everything for you.

But as the minutes passed by, you were running out of strength,and swinging the large spear took so much of it.And it didn't help when a demobat came and bit your side, making you yell out in pain.More and more bats then started to gain the upper hand as they bit you relentlessly.You fell on you kness before collapsing on the ground,the taste of metal becoming stronger in your mouth.

Was this how you would die?Were Eddie and Dustin safe?Was everyone else?Thoughts surged your brain as your vision became blurrier.You always saw the kids as little siblings,people you wanted to stay in your life forever.The thought of never seeing them again brought tears to your eyes,but you clamped them shut.You put this on yourself,you were gonna carry this out one way or another.

But the image of Eddie ruined your whole facade.You had always wanted to thank him for being there,and you would never even be able to tell him how much you loved him,how much you yearned to just travel the world together and play DnD,but that would never happen,because they were safe now without you.

You were about to close your eyes,ready to accept your fate.Until you heard a familiar voice.

“You better get away from them you sons of bitches!!”

Your head whipped to the side as you struggled to see clearly.You swore you could have bawled on the spot from what you felt.What was he doing here!?He was meant to stay safe,and you couldn't even do that.

Just then, all the demobats fell simultaneously.Was Eddie actually magic all along?You couldn't focus on that though, as you felt your heart slow.Head drumming louder and louder.You heard a worried Eddie approach you as you felt him move your head to his lap.

“Hey,hey,hey,it's gonna be fine yeah?”He slightly shook you as tears streamed down his face,tapping your cheek gently.In all your years of knowing him you had never seen him cry.

“Is it bad?”You muttered,you could only imagine how you looked,the clothes you had borrowed from Robin tattered and smeared with blood.

He ignored your words as the severity of the situation finally hit him.

“Hey,hey,please stay awake just a bit longer.”He desperately chokes out as he held you close,screaming for anyone nearby.

That's when Dustin finally cought up to you two but was immediately let down as his face fell.

“(Y/n)?-”

“Dustin!Dustin go get help,hurry!”Eddie scrambled out as he never strayed away from your gaze.Dustin ran back to the RV quickly making you grimace.

“Dustin..?Is he ok?”Eddie shook his head as he chuckled waterily at you in disbelief.

“He's fine,but were worried about you-”He stopped himself,he could hear his own hiccups in his words as his heart cracked.The sight of you barely conscious and covered with your own blood imprinted into his mind.

“Oh Eds..it's ok.”You spoke as you placed your hand on his cheek.

He quickly grabbed it squeezing tightly. "How can you say that?!I might never see you again!I can't live without you (n/n)..I just can't.You're my best friend...and I-I love you."

You stared at him longingly,heart hurting for seeing how much pain you had caused him.

"I..,"You coughed up blood as you smiled one last time,Eddie laying his forehead onto yours."I'll love you forever Eddie,thank you for being my friend."

--

You squinted your eyes as they adjusted to the bright lights above you.'What the..'You tried to move your arm but noticed you couldn't as it was attached to something,your gaze followed the tube only to be met with a large whirring machine beside you.You narrowed your eyes.'Were you dead?'

You couldn't understand where you were,it looked like a hospital but the last thing you remember was you were in the Upside Down with..Eddie.Wait,where was he?Where was everyone?

Just then the door to the room opened with a the said unsuspecting man.

"Well,I was only able to get the red flavor,I know,I know the worst one,but hey,jello is jello and-"

The sound of the said snack splattering onto the ground echoed through the room as he turned around and made eye contact with you.

"Hey Eds-"You were abruptly interrupted as Eddie went over to you and held you into a hug.

"Either I'm dreaming or your awake,oh God please dont let this be a dream."He rocked you both back in forth as you snaked your arms around his waist.

"I'm real Eds,I promise."He pulled back and stared at you,breaking into a sob as he smiled largely.

"Everyone was telling me you weren't gonna make it,but screw all them."

Shortly after that everyone came in execpt a certain redhead,which worried you but you didn't bring it up.You still didn't know if you had won but considering that everyone was alive it seemed you had.Dustin explained everything to you while you sat in disbelief,you wanted to see what had become of Hawkins but they said you had to wait a few days.So after a few days they let you leave for a bit,and what you saw shocked you,it was obvious you were terrified but as Eddie held your hand all your fears seemed to drift away.

Everything was far from over,but you would stay together,always.

#eddie munson #st4 #stranger things #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x reader #st 4 #st x reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things 4 spoilers #stranger things imagine #x reader fic #dustin henderson #eddie munson x you #eddie x reader #stranger things x reader #dustin henderson x reader #eddie and dustin

[angelst4re]

Hi love! I hope you're doing great. Could I request a Jamie x trans!male where reader is an actor on stranger things with Jamie, except nobody knows that he is trans (because it's not important obviously!) Only Jamie knows, as he is his partner. They attend a comic con and for some reason, a "fan" who maybe happens to know reader pre transition? Basically outs him. Something like "why haven't you told people you are trans?" And reader sort of dissociates. Jamie takes readers hand and pulls him off stage to comfort him and reassure him! Lots of fluff please!!

Something very similar happened to me. I was joining a DnD club and my friend at the time said Infront of them "they know you're trans right?" Which SUCKED because I pass really well! I just wish Jamie could have rescued me 😂

hi my love!!! i really liked writing this it was such a nice idea and i just think that jamie fluff>>> and i'm so sorry that happened to you :( i also wish jamie could've come to the rescue!!!

Comfort- Jamie Campbell Bower x Trans!Male Reader

summary: in the request! :)

warnings: none??

notes: i can't wait to finish college and work placement so i have more time to write <3 i'm hoping to be done by the 10th of july so i may not post much more before then? (it's literally only in 10 days <3)

When you were told you got the role as a ‘friendly orderly’ in stranger things, you knew everything in your life would be a little different. You were invited to premieres and award shows and exclusive parties you never thought you would’ve been let in to before, it really helped your acting career take off. You had a handful of loyal fans and supporters in the beginning, and that has only grown and grown given your role in the new show. And also your boyfriend. 

You met Jamie on set, of course, and even filmed a few scenes together and the tension between the two of you was undeniable. You both got along so well, and you couldn’t deny he was insanely attractive, even when the two of you were in character you found yourself forgetting lines and blushing at the eye contact you two had to hold. 

It took a while for the two of you to go public, you worried about the reactions from his fans, whether they would like you and accept you or not. But there was nothing to worry about at all. They adored you. 

When it was announced that a certain comic con was coming up, and that you and Jamie were both invited and would both be doing photos together, everyone rushed to buy tickets to meet you and him, and although you were obviously excited, you couldn’t help but feel nervous. 

“Are you okay, love?” Jamie asked, taking your hand in his. You were both sitting in the back of the car that was escorting you to the event. 

“I’m not sure.” You frowned, fiddling with one of the rings of Jamie’s fingers. “I’ve never done something quite like this before.”

“It’ll be okay, it can get really stressful when everyone’s being made to rush, but it’s really more fun than anything. I still remember my first comic con, I was scared shitless,” Jamie chuckled as he thought back on the memory, “but it’ll be okay, okay? I’ll be with you for most of the day, and when I’m not there will still be someone with you at all times. Everything will be okay, I promise.” He said before taking your hand and placing a kiss on the back of your palm, “oh look, we’re here.” 

Everything will be okay. 

Everything will be okay.

Everything started off okay. You weren’t expecting so much love from everyone that came to see you, and you weren’t expecting so many gifts either. Your arms were full of bracelets they had made or bought for you and your neck was decorated with different necklaces. Maybe Jamie was right. 

Everything will be okay. 

That was until it was time for the q&a at yours and Jamie’s panel. 

“So, I have a question for y/n,” you felt a tinge of anxiety, as most of the questions were for Jamie, but you nodded your head and gave the person a smile. “I’ve been a fan of your work for a while now, I’ve basically been there since the beginning, so I was just wondering why haven’t you told people that you’re trans?”

You felt cold rush through your body, as if your veins had turned to ice. You felt your stomach sink and everything around you seemed to be a blur. All you could hear was the continuous thumping of your heart in your chest. Your mind felt… empty, as if you had no thoughts at all. But then you heard Jamie’s voice, you couldn’t work out what he was saying, but you knew it was him. 

“Pardon my language,” he began, raising his hand as if to excuse the rest of the crowd from what he was about to say, as he stared the person down as he spoke, “but why the fuck would he need to explain himself? That’s my boyfriend, and he almost didn’t come today because he was worried about cunts like you. If he wanted everyone to know, he would’ve told them, if you’re really a ‘fan’, like you say you are, you should’ve fucking known that.” 

Jamie placed the mic down on the floor as he followed you off stage. He felt a bit bad for the fans that had been waiting all day for the panel and had spent money on it, but right now you were his top priority. He guided you out to one of the private designated smoking areas, glad that no one else was around. 

“Jamie…” You murmured, your hands shaking by your sides. 

“Breathe, okay. Just like me, in… and out… and in…” 

He attempted to calm you down, to ground you again, and it was proving to be successful. 

“I just wanted the ground to swallow me up,” you confessed, “I just- I don’t understand.” 

Jamie kissed your forehead and ran his fingers through your hair. You couldn’t hold it back anymore. The feeling of not wanting to be here, knowing this could have been avoided, the fact that you were overwhelmed, you felt sick, and cold, and tired, and just your overall adoration for Jamie, it had all built up. You wrapped your arms around your boyfriend and buried your face in his chest, beginning to feel tears stain Jamie’s jumper. 

Jamie’s hands rubbed your back as he held you close, a small act that comforted you. This is all you need right now, to know he’s got you. He swayed you both side to side a little bit, kissing your forehead before resting his chin atop your head. 

“Have I told you how good you look today?” Jamie asked, and the corners of your mouth lifted into a smile. 

“You always do, J.” 

“And I always mean it,” he said softly.

“I don’t know if I want to go back out there.” You frowned, looking towards the door. 

“Then it’s a good job we don’t have to. We were leaving after that anyway.” 

“I just can’t believe they said that, though. I knew one day something was bound to come out but I thought I’d- I mean, I feel like- I didn’t think-”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jamie soothed you, his hand gently placed on your cheek as he stopped you from overwhelming yourself again, “you didn’t know this was going to happen, okay? And I swear nothing’s going to change. I’ve always got you, never forget that, love.” 

“I know, Jamie, but my phone- I’m going to get flooded by comments and messages and-”

“Hey,” he took you by the shoulders, causing your attention to be back on him, “that doesn’t matter.” He said with a smile, “how about we get away for the weekend, just you and me. No phones, no social media, let’s just give it some time to calm down, okay? I don’t want you to get upset, seeing you like this just tears me apart. I love you so much, don’t forget that, darling.”

You smiled back at him, feeling tears begin to gloss your eyes again. However, these were happy tears. 

“How about we just leave, I just want to go home.” 

“Sounds good to me.” Jamie smiled as his hand continued to rub your back.

#jamie campbell bower #jamie campbell bower x reader #jamie bower x reader #jamie bower #jcb

[definitelynotshouting]

Hi!! Hello!! Your worldbuilding has once again enchanted and fascinated me! But I have no one to talk to about mcyt-related worldbuilding so I’m just going to (definitelynot) shout (ha ha. I’m funny.) at you if that’s ok!!

Ever since I found this fandom I’ve been fascinated by how to deal with video game mechanics in writing, and I’ve found it a very interesting ongoing puzzle, to come up with worldbuilding or lore to explain the more mechanical, coding-based stuff and cover up the fact that the characters are in a videogame. I think that’s part of why I love your worldbuilding so much, because you went in completely the opposite direction, and made Code the base, the reality-fabric, of all the rest of your universe! It kinda blew my mind!

Anyway, the player inventory and in-game chat are two of the most glaringly Video Game mechanics, and two of the first that I came up with explanations for, which is why I (like Tango) latched onto those few lines and details about them in chapter four. For me, they’re both explained by the very flexible fabric of reality inherent to server-words. Because reality is so easy to manipulate (and be manipulated without breaking down) in these worlds, it’s easy for Players to simply open a small personal pocket dimension they can store stuff in. (The same way it’s easy to make something float by just leaving it there and taking away what connects it to the ground) the chat happenes basically the same way. Server-worlds allow for a very shallow telepathic link across all players that everyone experiences a little differently (you might see it scroll across the inside of you arm, look at it in the corner of your vision, actually hear it quietly in your head, etc.)

But that’s a lot of My Ideas, I am, in fact, here because of Your Ideas. Because I’ve alway seen them as sperate things, and I am So Curious about how you’ve linked them. The chat being on external comms on a watch or phone-like device seems pretty common in the fandom, but linking them the way you have — in that you can’t have an inventory without a comm — raises so many questions!! (/pos) how do they work? Are they mechanical? Magical? Natural? Bio-magical? If they were something that needed to be invented, who invented them? How long have they been around? What did people do before then? How does a new player get their first comm/inventory? If comms can comunicate across worlds, could they theoretically take their inventory across worlds/servers as well? Is cross-void trade a very dangerous, but lucrative, profession? Do they have to exchange comm-phone-numbers or can they immediately contact anyone they’ve ever met? If you have stuff in your inventory and you loose your comm, do you lose the stuff too? Or does it transfer like an ender chest? Could someone else steal your inventory by stealing your comm? Does a player have to attune to a comm like a dnd magic item? How common is it to have to build a new one?

I’m gonna stop now because this is really long, it’s 11, and I Will just keep thinking of more questions. I’m so intrigued by this!! Those few little lines have completely captivated me with their potential!! I’m excited!!

(Sorry if this had a bit too much of my own personal worldbuilding ramble, I just really wanna talk to someone about this stuff!)

Ive been 👁️👁️ at this ask since you sent it in and first of all im so sorry the autism won for a bit and kept me from answering your questions, second of all i think your worldbuilding is SO NEAT :DDD this is SUPER COOL i love your ideas, comms being a telepathic link is so interesting to me!!! Also, im intensely flattered that you like the direction i took with hunger au's worldbuilding so much!! I've been having a lot of fun sorta marrying biology and irl physics with computer programming-based building building blocks for this universe, to the point where im actually starting to put together a legit glossary in my masterlist doc to keep it all straight in my head 😂😂😂 it's an interesting challenge for me to try and meld all these things together so i can make something that feels completely different from our world without losing its relatability, so im super glad you're appreciating it!!!

These are a lot of questions im gonna try and answer all at once, so i'll put it beneath the cut so it doesnt clog people's dashes LMAO

So firstly, the way i view communicators is,,, okay dont laugh too hard but i literally just visualize them as pip boys from fallout SKDNJWNDJS for some reason ive NEVER been able to shake that mental image, so ive just sorta accepted that into how i view them for hunger au. Personally, i see them as sort of a... mishmash of the bio-mechanical, something that isnt QUITE a direct part of them but is very much attached and integrated with their code. So its not like an organ, but an interface, i guess-- comms are how you can access an inventory, which is basically just hammerspace the way you've already described it, and where you can change your own surface code, and its also just... the way Players are able to interact with the worlds around them.

You also send messages with comms, but instead of there being anything like phone numbers, you're forming a direct link between your comm and someone else's!!! Not telepathic the way you've done with your worldbuilding, but because i see comms in this universe as something that latches onto and interacts with your code, its still a very important connection. Once connected, you can talk to that person all the time through your comm, even if they arent currently on your server-- although I do think that this only extends to when youre within the same server cluster.

As for how Players get them in the first place: for spawned Players, they just spawn in with them. Thats where the bio part comes in i think, and its a little hard for me to explain the way i view it, but its something like... i guess a bit like when moons form around planets. The code of an entity has a certain weight to it, and when a Player and their singleplayer world spawns in, the comm does with them, already attached and integrated with their code. For birthed Players, its very different-- they arent born with a comm, so they need a comm made, and then integrated with their code by a skilled code wrangler. It is VERY tricky to make a comm-- theyre incredibly fiddly, super hard to code without mistakes, and they take an extraordinarily long time to put together, let alone integrate properly with someone's code. Im not sure the word dangerous is the most accurate term here, but there are potentially harmful consequences if you integrate a poorly made comm with someone's code.

As for inventory transfer, i think you can bring stuff in your inventory from one server to another. This is mostly used for personal items or gifts, i think-- Player culture and attitude generally emphasizes fun, and whats more fun than giving someone something special that you made/got for them, or bringing a little memento with you from an old world you want to remember?

Theoretically, im sure there are Players who bring supplies or previously used tools with them to new worlds, but i think most Players like the excitement and challenge of starting fresh. It all depends on the person and the community culture surrounding that server if its a multiplayer. Cross-void trade is probably definitely a thing, but i dont think its necessarily very dangerous, just something more personal that you'd do for yourself or for a friend rather than any kind of business model.

As for someone being able to steal a comm, i dont think you can if its attached to the Player it belongs to, because at that point its basically a part of them. They can take them off, though, so someone could potentially steal it then, but unless theyre a skilled code wrangler and can crack into it, i dont think it would work for them or let them access that person's inventory. It would, however, be an incredibly effective (and cruel) way of controlling someone's actions and where they can go/who they can talk to.

This is why, ultimately, lost comms are a huge deal; losing your comm is literally losing access to pieces of yourself, your world, and your community. And while as a Watcher, Grian doesnt technically need a comm to access his code or enter other servers, he does still need it to keep in touch with other people and facilitate those community bonds, as well as keep an inventory. So yeah, Tango fretting over Grian losing his comm was very much warranted.

AAAAAAA THIS WAS VERY LONG i hope it was worth the wait!!! I know you sent another question but im gonna answer that one separately later since its about a different subject, and this is already SOOOO MUCH RAMBLING on my part. Thank you for sending these asks, and you are absolutely welcome to ramble at me as much as you want!!! :D

#shouting speaks #asks #hunger au #minecraft worldbuilding #I FEEL SO BAD I LEFT YOU WAITING FOR SO LONG AAAAAAAAAUGHJHGH #trust me i have been HAUNTED by the asks waiting in my inbox EKDNEJEK #but YIPPEEE i hope this answered some of ur questions satisfactorily!!! #thank u so much for sending them!!!! #txt

[randogirlo-fando-main]

As You Wish - Eddie Munson x Stoner!Reader

Y’all I’m sorry if this isn’t too good, I literally wrote it tonight because I couldn’t stop thinking about how me and Eddie would meet and this is probably how it would go in the beginning lol hope you guys like it.

Part Two

Word count-3.6k+ words

Warnings-marijuana use, swearing, that’s about it

———————————————————————

A puff in your chest you walk through the cafeteria doors, eyes darting for a certain club you’ve only heard about. Well, heard about the leader, not so much the club.

You transferred to Hawkins for your senior year, having only been here a whopping two days before hearing of the infamous Eddie Munson. Moving to a new town, the first thing to find is a new dealer. And how can you beat one that just so happens to also be the dungeon master of the DND club here at school?

Your eyes meet with a table all in matching shirts with “Hellfire” in big bold letters. Jackpot

The clunk of your brown beat up combat boots is deafening to you as you walk across the cafeteria of teens to the end of the table, most eyes at the table on you besides the ones you were searching for.

“Hey, are you this Eddie I keep hearing about?” The smile on your face is bright as you lean your hands on the table to get a closer look. His eyes pierce yours, scrunching with the big smile on his face.

“The one and only. Not scoping out the ‘Freak’ are you?” His tone slightly wavers, but the smile never breaks.

“Nope, you’re the exact person I was looking for. Meet me in the parking lot after the final bell? We’ve got some business to attend to~” Slipping into a sing song voice, he holds back a chuckle before leaning on the table.

“You’re not a murderer are you? You seem a little too sweet.”

“Nope! Doesn’t mean I couldn’t be one if needed though.” You smile before walking away, turning around and putting two thumbs up towards Eddie.

As you leave the cafeteria the table has gone completely silent.

“Dude who the hell was that?” Mike gripes, confused on the new face that just stood so confidently before them.

“I have no idea.” Eddie laughs, completely confused by the entire exchange.

“Guys it’s that new girl, moved here from the south or something.” Lucas butts in, having heard about you during basketball practice.

“Hold up, you’re telling me she’s from the south and she’s just gonna walk up to the Hellfire Club?”

“Well?” Dustin looks at Eddie questionably, waiting for a response from the homie(yall I blanked and had to).

“Well what?” His eyes go wide, having zoned out for most of the conversation.

“Are you going to meet up with her?”

“Uh, yeah. I’ll just be cautious but I’m sure it’s just a sale or something.” He shrugs, going back to his lost train of thought.

As the final bell rings you jump from your seat, ready to head to the door of the school to wait for Eddie. Picking at your nails, you just feel a poke to your shoulder.

“Hey there?” He says looking a little nervous.

“Oh awesome you actually came! Oh shit okay, there’s a lot more people here then I expected so I’ll start with my first question.”

“Oh? There’s a lot more people leaving the school when school lets out then you expected?” He gives you a grin before you pushed his shoulder lightly.

“Shut up, I’m scatter brained I’ve been sober way too long!” He laughs before a light bulb goes off in his head.

“Here follow me I have a feeling I know what this is about.” You follow him to the patch of woods near the parking lot. After a few short minutes you’re at a picnic bench perfectly placed in the middle of the clearing.

“Ah so this is where the deals happen gotcha.” You smile at him before looking around.

“I like it, makes me feel like there should be a creek nearby.” The nerves spitfire as you word vomit, holding your hands together behind your back.

“Yeah, less likely to be interrupted. So how much you need. I’ve got a half for 10 since you’re a new buyer and all.”

“That seems cheap, I’ll go a gram. Probably have to see you again in like a week if that.” You hand him a twenty before he pulls out his lunchbox, grabbing a gram for you.

“Now on to my next question, any chance I could join Hellfire? Haven’t played dnd in a couple years so I’ll need to make myself a character still. I usually go halfling bard for shits and giggles but if y’all need a specific type I can play around. Or I can just sit in if y’all have already started the campaign.” He smiles at your word vomit.

“Well, we’re currently in a campaign but we have roughly two more sessions until it’s done. We’ve gotta make sure you end up a good character though. How about after next session you can show me what you’ve already got?” He smiles widely, making you sigh in relief as you slump into the seat.

“Oh thank god! Dude it’s so fucking hard here. Like I thought it was hard to make friends in the south Jesus Christ. I tried to talk to someone in bio today and she looked at me like I was insane.” He chuckled before nodding with you, sitting next to you and leaving a safe distance.

“Well you’ve heard my infamy so I get it. Honestly it would’ve just taken you sitting alone at lunch for me to come swoop in. I’m known for saving lost sheep.” He nudges your shoulder before looking directly at you.

“I guess me coming to you first shows I’m not a lost sheep. Just a stoner with geeky interests. I mean my favorite movie is the Labyrinth.”

“Oh god please tell me you don’t have the hots for David Bowie.” He rubs his face dramatically.

“I like his music and he is very attractive but eh, not really my thing.” As he stands he holds his hand out for you, assisting you in getting up.

“Well you are giving off hippie flower child so I guess liking his music is sort of fitting?” He says it as a question, what with not really listening to anything other then metal and rock to really know.

“I think that stereotype is more Fleetwood Mac and Abba, which I do listen to a lot. I’m assuming you’re more Metallica, Black Sabbath?” He looks at you stunned, smiling ear to ear with a big nod.

Without realizing, you make it back to the parking lot. You look around for your ride, who you told you would be a little late out of school. Once you see the familiar car you turn to Eddie.

“Well thank you for a better first week and I look forward to seeing more of your little group.”

“Wait, I don’t know the fair maiden’s name?” He stops you, waiting for a response.

“Oh it’s (y/n), see you around Eddie.” You run off to the car, the passenger door opening to reveal Steve Harrington in the driver’s seat.

Eddie was dumbfounded, the former king of Hawkins knows you?”

As you and Steve pull out of the school parking lot he looks at you like an alien.

“Why on earth would you be coming out of the woods with Eddie Munson?” He asks, eyes mostly on the road, but he continues to dart back to you looking for an answer.

“Chill out, I needed a new dealer and I joined Hellfire. Besides, isn’t your son Dustin in the club?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you should be hanging around them. I mean you just moved here and you’re here to finish your senior year with ‘no distractions’ per your mom’s request.” He eyes you at the red light as you sigh in response.

“Well I was tired of no one talking to me! I’d rather have majority of the school hate me and have a group of friends then spend my entire senior year being invisible.” After some long silence you pull up to the Family Video Store parking lot.

“I guess I can pick you up whenever I pick up Dustin, but you have to find a ride when I can’t just like Dustin does.” You nod smiling before getting out of the parked car.

“Thank you again for getting me this job Steve.”

“No problem Cus’ just don’t make me regret it please.” Robin’s shift had started an hour before you and Steve’s. She was slumped on the front desk before peeking up at the sound of the bell on the door.

“Oh it’s just you guys! You ready for your first shift?” Her eyes peer to you, smiling with a thumbs up.

“Ready as I’ll ever be!”

Twenty minutes left of shift before closing and as robin swept and Steve put back returns, you were rewinding all the tapes. As you slip The Shining back into it’s case you hear the bell go off.

“Welcome to family video, how can I help you?” The curly headed kid looks confused before a look of surprise dawns him.

“Wait you’re the girl from lunch!” He points at you, awestruck.

“Oh you’re part of Hellfire! Wait. Curly hair, dopey smile. Hat. Dustin, right?”

“Oh my god how do you know me? Wait did Eddie-“

“Henderson what are you doing here?” Steve perks up, rubbing Dustin’s head.

“I see you’ve met my cousin?” You swore Dustin’s eyes were going to pop out of his head.

“You’re related!? Holy shit Steve you didn’t tell me your cousin went to my school!”

“She’s a senior I didn’t think you guys would intermix until she decided to just walk up to your lunch table.” As they kept talking about you, Robin came up next to you and smiled.

“Dude you know the whole school was watching you talk to Eddie today right?” You whipped your head at her confused.

“Why?”

“Because everyone was saying how you were such a quiet southern belle and then all of a sudden you’re walking up to ‘the devil’ with a smile on your face.” Your face scrunches at southern belle, uncomfortable with the choice of words.

“Dude I’m a stoner dressing like I’m going to Woodstock while cussing like a sailor.” You deadpan as she giggles at the choice of words.

“You’re right, you’re right. I mean your accent is almost non existent except for the ‘y’all’ you like to throw out there.” She over exaggerates y’all, making you laugh.

“What’s so funny over there?” Steve says defensively.

“Have you heard Robin’s southern accent? It’s horrendous.” She starts singing Delta Dawn, causing the video store to erupt into giggles as you all continue closing. Once 8pm rolled around, you turned off all the lights while everyone grabbed their stuff. Steve locks the door behind everyone before all piling into his car.

“How did I end up with all three of you?” He asks, starting the engine.

“Eddie dropped me off here.”

“I always ride with you.

“I live with you.” You all three say as he huffs.

“Wait does that mean I cant come stay in your guest room anymore Steve?” Dustin asks, brows furrowed.

“You get the couch.” Dustin whines a little before you lean over to him.

“You can sleep in my room when you come, I’ll take the couch.”you whisper to him. He looks at you confused before smiling back at you. Something about your eyes make you seem so genuine.

“I’ll take the couch, i-it’s fine. Thank you though.” He looks away before you smile triumphantly to yourself. One more hellfire member befriending you.

After dropping Robin and Dustin home you jump in the front seat before heading to Steve’s.

“If you’re not careful you’ll have that boy drooling over your southern charm.” Steve jokes, waving as Dustin walks backwards to his door.

“Please, I heard all about Suzie poo at work. If anything, he’s probably still confused on how someone as nice as me can be related to you.” You giggle as Steve drives away.

Walking into the apartment you throw your bag on the couch lying face first next to it.

“Steve we need to demust your place.” You say, rolling over.

“Would you prefer it smelling like weed?” He asks, pulling out rolling paper.

“Yes, definitely. What kind of question is that? Do you know how long it’s been for me? Too fucking long.” You grab the baggie of bud from your bag and throw it his direction. He catches it and instantly starts to get it all set up to roll.

“Eddie does have the best stuff. He gets it from Reefer Rick. Plus you can’t really beat 30 for a gram.” You’re eyes widen at the price.

“He charged me 20 but he said it was because I’m a new buyer.” You say, sitting up to look at him.

“Hm.” He just continues rolling, no reaction on his face. Your brain whirls as the thoughts keep coming. Why just ‘hm’? Before you can overthink too much, Steve holds the joint to your lips, waiting for you to react before he lights it. You inhale slightly before pulling away, inhaling a little more through your nose and breathing out.

“God I needed this” you take another before passing it to Steve.

“I could tell, your brain was going a mile a minute it looked like you were reading the wall.”

You keep passing back and forth before putting it out on the ashtray. You slide off the couch, stretching your limbs before lighting a few candles you brought and grabbing your backpack.

“I’m gonna do some homework.” He nods in a acknowledgment before you went to your room and closed the door.

The hammering of Steve on your bedroom door woke you up the next day. Pulling the pillow over your head didn’t help the cause.

“I swear to god if you don’t wake up you won’t have time to smoke and we’re not hotboxing my car!” You groan before getting up, getting ready for the day. When you finally emerge from your room you walk over to the tray to see he had rolled an extra one last night. You quickly light it and inhale, waking up for the day. After finishing half of it you put it out, and stick it in your bag for later.

“Don’t forget breakfast!” He throws a orange at your before ushering you out the door. You both get in the car and finally can breathe. As he gets it started and pulls out of the parking lot you start to peel your orange.

“Steve this was a terrible breakfast choice where do I put the peels?”

“Damn, I don’t know. Put it in that grocery bag!” He continues driving towards the school as your finish your orange.

Pulling into the school you glance at the car clock and see you have just enough time to get to class.

“Jesus you reek dude, spray some of that girly stuff before you go in.” You huff a goodbye before you leave the car, spraying a little bit of perfume, not too much though, before heading inside. Once you get to your locker and get to class the bell rings and you shuffle to your seat quickly. As the teacher takes attendance you stare off at your pencil, shaking it slowly to make it look like rubber.

“Fun trick huh?” You look up to see the dark curls sitting next to you, bright smile on display.

“Makes time go by for sure.” You smile back, looking up to see the teacher starting the lesson. You try your best to take notes and pay attention but a note gets slipped onto your desk and suddenly you can’t pay attention.

Knock knock

Who’s there?

I wish

I wish who?

You see from the corner of your eye as he scribbles as small as possible on the tiny scrap of paper. It takes a minute and suddenly you’re wondering how long this punchline could be.

Goblin king goblin king wherever you may be take this child of mine far away from me

“That doesn’t even start with I wish!” You whisper yell as quiet as possible. He points at you with a surprised face as you fell for finishing the line. You’re cheeks go slightly pink and you quietly giggle. Without even realizing how much time had passed, the bell rings and you sigh having to leave the fun you were having. You both stand up, heading towards your next classes.

“So wanna sit with us at lunch?” He looks at you hopefully.

“I assumed that was already happening?” You say smiling. You continue talking about anything and everything as you teach your next class.

“Oh do you have history too?” You ask, standing at the door.

“Nope, just had to walk the fair maiden to her next venture.” You thank him before heading inside, smiling at him through the closed doors little window.

Lunch time rolls around and you’re all to excited to sit with the club. You practically bounce to the table, sitting next to Eddie as the first two there.

“Well hello again.” He smirks and you curtsy in your seat.

“Good to see you m’lord.” His cheeks go slightly pink at the nickname before he chuckles.

“Why is she in my seat?” You turn to see one of the members standing above you.

“Sorry dude, didn’t know there was assigned seats.” You go to stand up but Eddie stops you, lightly pushing your shoulder back down.

“Gareth there’s plenty of seats, you’re fine.” The member huffs before sitting a few chairs down. Soon, Dustin sits next to you smiling from ear to ear.

“(Y/n)! You’re sitting with us now?” He looks between you and Eddie.

“Yep, she’s joining the club!” You smile at everyone around the table, waving at the ones you haven’t met.

“Wait, you’re Steve’s cousin right? My sister Nancy said you were moving here.” You smile at the boy, you now know is Mike and nod.

“Yep! You must be Mike since Nancy is your sister. Good to meet you.” He gives you a small smile before talking with Gareth about something.

“Oh so that’s why Harrington is your ride.” Eddie says, pulling your focus.

“Sadly, I live with him too. Good thing is I can smoke inside.” He pats your shoulder and can’t pull the smile from his face.

“Woman after my own heart.” You giggle and turn towards Dustin who’s been poking your shoulder.

“Are you coming to hell fire tomorrow?”

“You betcha! I can’t wait to see how y’all do things.” You high five him and he starts telling you all about his character.

“You won’t believe it, Eddie had us all thinking we had killed off all the monsters and then all of a sudden a gelatinous cube comes out of no where!”

“Damn those are not easy!” His excitement of telling you the story almost erupts as he slowly starts standing up getting to the climax of the story.

“So Lucas pulled out this sharp blade someone at a tavern gave him as a joke and sliced that thing until it was the size of a pea!” You dramatically fall back into your seat.

“No way! I can’t wait to see this first hand.” You look behind you do Eddie and catch him staring at you. Pink comes to your cheeks as you give him a little wave before being absorbed back into Dustin.

After school you were going to be walking to the apartment because Steve had to work. As you pulled your half joint out on the side of the road you hear heavy metal coming closer. You stopped walking, staying as close to the curb as possible before the loud van slowed to a stop next to you.

“What are you doing walking m’lady?” The voice of Eddie has you sighing in relief.

“Jesus I thought you were a kidnapper! Steve had to work so I’m walking home, gonna finish this on my way.” You wave the joint at him and he chuckles.

“You’ve only got half there. How about I give you a ride? We can smoke while I drive.” You smile and nod before he jumps out of the car. He jogs around the the passenger side and opens the door.

“M’lady” he says with a bow.

“M’lord” you curtsy and get in while giggling. He shuts the door and jogs back around, ready to get on the road.

“Care to light this for us?” He uses one hand to hand you one of his joints and a lighter while he starts to drive. You put it between your lips and light it, inhaling the thick smoke deeply before holding it as long as you can. He shifts his eyes to you a few times to make sure you were good before he saw you handing it to him. He takes a few puffs before handing it back, getting to Steve’s relatively quick. He parks in front of the building still smoking with you.

“You wanna come in? We can have a little after school snack.” He stops the car and smiles at you.

“Sounds good to me.” You both leave the van as you pull your keys from your bag. You go to unlock the door, Eddie right behind you.

“How’d you know where Steve lives?” You ask, getting the door open and leading him in.

“I’ve dropped Dustin off here a few times.” You give a faint ‘ah’ before opening the fridge.

“I can offer strawberries, kiwis, or-“ you close the fridge and open the cabinet to scan.

“Cereal.” You finish, looking at Eddie.

“What kind of cereal?”

“Honey combs.”

“Jackpot!” He smiles and you pull out the box before grabbing two bowls. As you make you both some cereal he comes up to help you put the box away. You both end up on either end of the couch, using the arms as tables while you watch Little Shop of Horrors

“I can’t believe Family video had this, i love this show.” He looks confused at first, watching the movie intently.

“I thought it was a movie?”

“It is, but it was a Broadway musical first. I actually was in my school production of it sophomore year.”

“Oh of course you’re a drama kid!” He chuckles before drinking the milk from his bowl.

“That obvious? Showtunes just really do it for me.” You laugh, going to take both your bowls to the sink.

“Hey have you worked on your character? We could try to get some of the basic stuff done.” He exclaims, smiling widely.

“Okay but first homework because I have to graduate.” He huffs while you pull your textbooks out.

“Come onnn, what’s one days of homework?”

“Something tells me it’s more then one days worth for you.” You tease, writing down some answers to the questions on the work sheets.

#eddie munson x reader #stranger things #dustin henderson #steve harrington #eddie munson

[uglypastels]

Twilight AU

a/n - Here is a little Twilight au headcanon blurby thing I wrote once with vampire!Eddie. Didn't plan to post it but @peetahpahkah convinced me, so here ya go.

Word count: idk i wrote this in the notes app.

Warnings: none? Tension. Vampire!au and twilight

[Timeline wise, I think it would be the most fun if it was post events of s4, but that it would not be canonically eddie's timeline, so maybe he was a first time senior in s4. Now it's 2 years later and he's in his 3rd attempt at graduating. This will lead to same inconsistencies with the canon but just... work with me here.]

The first day at school

• So you move to Hawkins to move in with one of your divorced parents. And its a big adjustment, moving from a big city to Middle-of-Nowhere, Indiana. But it seems nice enough?

• At school, a girl named Chrissy Cunningham, a senior herself as well, shows you around the school. She's extremely sweet and very helpful.

• At lunch time, she tries to give you the overlook of everyone at school (thats where x sits, thats y's table, etc.) When he walks in.

• You notice him immediately, how could you not. A stark contrast to literally anybody there, his big smile absolutely captivating. Beautiful, and yet- you noticed how everybody glared at him. Quick glances, as if they had a lot to say about the guy, but were too scared to actually say it.

• So you ask Chrissy, watching him make his way to a table, also noticing the people around him, all wearing matching "hellfire club" tshirts, whatever that meant.

• Chrissy is a bit apprehensive. "Oh, that's uhm, that's Eddie Munson." And she goes on to explain how he's the leader of the DnD club, bit of a scary guy actually, dangerous even. "He was absolutely fine at first. I talked to him once in sophomore year, he was already a senior then and uhmm- yeah, but then over that spring break, i dont know, something changed. He came back and was like, totally different."

• "Different how?"

• "I cant really explain it" and thats that on the conversation, but something told you that chrissy's initial meeting with eddie had left a mark on her, for she couldn't stop looking over in his direction.  [a/n - basically, she is 2 years younger but just has a one sided crush, no big deal, and now she's 18 anyway so who cares.]

• You cant blame Chrissy though, as you cant keep your eyes off him either. Its like a magnetic force that pulls you to him. And then when he catches your gaze, across the dining hall but you could tell he was looking at you- his eyes practically locked woth yours- your blood ran cold.

• The period after lunch, you get a bit lost (new confusing building and all), but manage to walk into the classroom and are a bit stunned to see the only empty seat was next to eddie's. Having no choice, you sit next to him. His initial reaction is polite, a kind enoigh smile, but for the rest of the class that quickly seemed to change as all your efforts at small talk had gone to complete waste. And once the bell rings, he's very quick to walk out, not even caring to say "bye".

The confrontation

• After some critical thinking and searching in the library, you confront him in the woods, next to the picnic benches. He's a bit cocky, saying how you don't know anything, dont understand what youre talking about.

• "[Insert some vampire lore you seem fit]"

• "You seem so sure of what you want to say, sweetheart, so just spill it out then" he walks up to you, and even though you dont want to be scared of him, there is some kind of danger in his eyes that makes you backtrack your steps. He leads you up to a tree, locking you in between it and his cold body.

• Your voice is shaky. "You- you're a"

• "Say it." He's smiling through it all, making it so much more intimidating.

• "A vampire"

• "Oh, y/n" his voice is delicate, almost as if he felt sorry for you. His hand traces over the bare skin of your forearm, and its what he's looking at before looking back up at you. Eyes that were usually a honey gold brown now dark. Blacker than the coldest night. "If you only knew...you would wish you were right."

• He leans in and your instincts tell you to shut your eyes, not sure what to expect.

• But nothing happens.

• When you open your eyes again, your heart is beating like crazy, you feel weak and confused, but Eddie Munson is nowhere to be seen.

#eddie munson #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson angst? #twilight au #vampire!eddie

[thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls]

*SNATCHES MICROPHONE* YOU, TUMBLR MUTUAL, I AM INTRESTED IN YOUR OCS.

:0 HELLOO OK OK SO *claps hands togheter*

@guess-how-i-stole-this-body FOUND IT

Ajhdjd so my main story is set in a made up town in Florida (I actually don’t know why I chose florida) called Beckenshire. Which was an industrial town in the early 1900s-1930’s. Around the 1970-80’s they built a nuclear plant but demolished it pretty quickly after they noticed it wasn’t all that safe.

This world is basically like our own except with cryptids and monsters. We don’t know where they came from, they’ve been here since the start of time it seems, but they usually live closer to nuclear plants/ruins. Due to the fact they get power from it.

So Beckenshire has a lot of these monsters, and an important one for later is the Sprites which are little spirits that inhabit random inanimate objects and float them around. You can bribe them with sweet treats if you want that random object back. There is also a Spirite 2.0 (i don’t have a name for them) that inhabits dead bodies. Or they make a deal with people on their deathbed (methaporically and literally) that they’ll inhabit their heart to keep the body running for a bit longer but the body will slowly decay.

So onto the characters! (sorry this is so long and I’m not even finished)

You’ve got Ryan Beckett, on the school’s basketball team and plays dnd often. He has a fear of deer thanks to seeing the Devil Heart (a massive deer skeleton with human teeth) in the woods when he was younger. Later in the story he gets his arm chopped off by Carmela (another oc) and gets a werewolf-ish bite from a monster (idk which yet) that gives him yellow pupils, horns, pointy teeth and ears.

Carmela Rivera Luzardo is a soccer player and her and ryan have a rivals to lovers kind of thing thanks to the fact the basketball team has way better funding by the school. She lives with her dad and her mum is in the city for ‘work reasons’. Later in the story she joins a cult called Children of The Woods (which is important later) and cuts ryan’s arm off and ends up having to gain her friends trust again. She didn’t want to cut his arm off i might add.

Dana Bernard is the last of this trio and they are amazing in my opinion. She lives with her two dads at home, when she was very young her mum died of cancer and her dad recently remarried to a guy named Jose. (Her bio dad is called Noah and he has a whole crisis after figuring out he’s bisexual thanks to the fact his wife is dead and he has a bunch of guilt about that still) Later in the story, she gets their eye plucked out by mermaids (their called Nereids) and they have a big fear of water from then on. A monster pretended to be her late mum and tried to drown them.

Oliver Biswar is a side character (kind of?) he’s 10 years old and has bright glowing blue eyes from a sprite accident. He loves dinosaurs.

Now I have a lot of story for the parents but I’ll shorten it down.

Janette Biswar is the current leader of the cult Carmela joined, which was a cult her family made in the 50’s to worship the monsters. She’s seen as a god/messenger of the gods. She adopted oliver after her sister died. (Her sister was oliver’s mum). She tricks Carmela into joining the cult by using her mum against her. She also ends up in a relationship (?) with ryan’s mum, Adele. Which isn’t the best.

Adele Beckett is a monster hunter and she is married to Josh beckett who is a trans guy. They began dating before Josh knew he was trans so they were a sapphic couple and Adele has a lot of ‘diet’ transphobia towards Josh and her son Ryan. She also has a lot of arophobia towards Janette (Janette is an aro lesbian). The two end up in a relationship which is more a sexual one then romantic since Janette has stated multiple times she is not interested in a romantic one. Both of them where fine with that until Adele did catch feelings for Janette and did that thing a lot of people do which is ignore what the person has previously said and tell them their heartless. Also Janette had no idea Adele was cheating on Josh. That kind of brings us to Janette’s first death which is her burning along with the cult building thanks to a molotov cocktail that Adele had.

#But yeah!! #I could go into more detail but I just woke up soo #very tired lmao #ask #my ocs #cryprid hunter blabs #I love making Adele a shitty person/hj #its actually really fun to write shitty people when they’re kind of a protagonist as well? #Like Janette’s the main villain but at the same time so is Adele #yeah :] #I will add more one day #Apologies for it being this long ajdhdjf

[cauldron-burn-and-fire-bubble]

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT NINA!! anything you want to share about her, i want to collect

OOH OKAY ALRIGJT. (btw sorry this took a while i wrote up most of it days ago but The Tasks. you know how it is. here's a sketch for now)

so the thing about nina is that she is a really really old oc that i decided to revive over the summer to see what i could do with my current understanding of science and techmology so she doesn't really have an actual storyline. but here's some tidbits (under the cut because I have a lot to talk about). also warning for discussion of some unethical biomedical practices

- she's from kind of a cyberpunk dystopia where extreme human genetic alteration is possible (in embryos only ofc) but very very expensive because of not only the procedures needed to make an altered zygote but the resources required to incubate it for a full gestation period and because only some will end up viable the lab will have to create and incubate a carefully calculated number of embryos often with slight differences to ensure at least one will fully develop (this will be relevant i swear)

- so the technology is basically only available to the ultra rich

- nina was intended to have superficial birdlike features (think feathers instead of hair, high visual acuity, some minor skeletal alterations) but the lab done fucked up and she's much more bird than intended. im not an expert on emerging gene editing technology maybe the targeting sequences they used were a little off due to a glitch but you can see how she turned out

- the person who commissioned her didn't accept her and culling a fully developed altered human is well. murder. so she ended up in a care facility for rejected lab kids like herself

- she took way longer than a typical human child to start actually communicating when she talked but she was able to mimic words and phrases very very early. kind of creeped a lot of her caretakers out to greet her and hear their own slightly distorted voice repeat the greeting back from the mouth of a like two month old

- she eventually settled into her own voice but you could potentially identify the person who taught her some phrases if you knew them already. she's still a great mimic since she basically has a syrinx in there

- she struggles with verbal and written communication in general, a little better with body language at least for interpreting intentions/tone but different people can have very different body language ofc

- she also tends to be hyperactive (partly due to extremely high metabolism) and sort of impulsive

- incredible vision and spatial reasoning (those big bird eyes)

- technically with how large she is (about 4'3" if she could stand up straight without falling over and 70-80 lbs?) she shouldn't be able to fly but i ignore that

- remember how i said the duplicate embryos would be relevant well she has a secret not-quite twin another survivor from the same batch. idk how they got separated (remember i came up with the bones of this when i was like 10) but her twin had a messier life

- nina herself ended up as some kind of specialized government operative (cue booing) no she gets out of it in the end i swear

- the twin is a major figure in the conflict around rights for altered humans

- at some point the two of them meet and eventually join forces idk like i said there isn't a real story to this

- she has 2 fingers and the thumb free to move on each hand but they aren't very dextrous so she mainly uses her feet for fine motor tasks

- she also has difficulty emoting in a way that most humans can interpret due to the beak

- i have also made nina as a dnd character (her human parents gave her up to a monastery as an infant having frankly no idea what to do with her which she left as a teenager and became a highwayman as her appearance leads most potential benefactors to believe she's cursed) she has +5 dex and -1 con

and here's a little portrait for anyone who read this far. my beautiful daughter who i love so much <3

#nina #thank you for the ask!!! if youd like to know anything more specific go ahead and ask lol i feel like im forgetting plenty #may color that portrait digitally later much to think about #art #pickled-cactus #OH I ALMOST FORGOT! the feathers you liked the stylization of in my last post with her are the primary feathers :)