#/ref for many of these phrases. sorry

[elliotly]

the art of pleasing princes is like what if your short term short distance low commitment casual situationship framed a sweet autistic honey for murder

[tallatonk]

wilburs first interactions with the french and brazilians players are just gonna be them screaming "A PLU PLU" at each other with 15 different songs and videos playing in the background

edit: corrected its "j’en peux plus" :D

[hakusins]

hakudean note: finally found time to do this!! anyways here is a long overdue mini event to celebrate 360+ followers on tumblr! first, i want to say thank you to all of you for your support and love through these few months!! when i dabbled into the dol fandom, i honestly never thought i'd get a lot of engagement and was content with just having fun. BUT HERE WE ARE! 360+ and probably still growing! no amount of words can thank my friends, mutuals and followers for this! i honestly would've lost interest long ago had it not been for all of you guys. so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the support! as a thank you and to give back to the community that supported me these past few months, i've decided to open this mini event!

Mini Event - Drawing Requests! (5/5)

for a limited amount of time, i'll be accepting drawing requests! at the moment, i'll only accept 5 at a time. i can't promise that i'll open requests again after drawing the original 5, but i will do my best!

also i am planning on streaming the drawing process for these requests! however, right now im still in the process of testing the streaming site, so no promises on this part ! INFO ON STREAMING (UPDATED): hey guys so i overestimated my laptops capability to handle streaming 😭 i couldn't even draw a single line without the fans going crazy, so i'm gonna have to cancel streaming overall :(( hopefully one day when i get a pc, I'll be able to stream! but for now as a compromise i'll be recording the drawing process and then posting it! sorry again for not being able to pull through on the streaming stuff.

before sending requests, PLEASE READ the rules down below! otherwise i won't accept your request!

DETAILS BELOW!

rules:

no anons and please only send your request ONCE so everyone has a chance to request art! if you want to remain anonymous, just let me know in the message and i'll be sure to post the art with your request and block out your username + profile!

no nsfw + furry + mecha- big fan of them, its just unfortunate that i don't have a lot of energy and these pieces take a lot of my energy to make!

maximum 3 characters at a time!

not really a rule but a strong recommendation: if you want me to draw your oc/pc, pls send as much ref pics as you can! that way i can draw your babies to the best of my ability!

there's a counter on this post on how many requests i'm still accepting. i will possible add onto this post if i want to refresh that counter and accept more requests!

the list will probably grow as the event goes on, so please keep an eye out on updates in case i rebump this post a few times!

Finally: if you've read all of the rules and are ready to request some art, be sure to mention the phrase 'Lightswitch', in your request! That way I'd know you've read all the rules. (Requests that don't have this phrase will be deleted).

[cringelordofchaos]

Before You Follow

This isn't a threat, just a heads up

I tend to vent at times, which will be tagged as #tw vent most of the times

I sometimes post about rather triggering topics and I do everything in my best effort to tag common triggers properly, so just make sure you have your triggers blocked in settings

At times I threaten myself with suicide, do not take it seriously - and do not worry - I do not actually want to kill myself, but sometimes I get upset and impulsively post things like "I'll kms" and tend not to tag it, though I'm trying to not do this anymore

I am fine with gendered terms such as girl, dude, queen, king, bro, and anything else ; they do not alleviate my gender dysphoria so feel free to call me anything

I tend to get obsessed with a thing, typically a franchise, and post a lot about it, too much even, make a ton of mutuals from the fandom associated with it, and it lasts for about.. a month or two? Until I switch to another thing - so just a heads up if it looks like I'm a fandom blog, I'm not - just obsessed but it doesn't last too long usually

I choose not to publicly disclose my gender identity or pronouns because I'm unsure of what I actually am, and I don't want others to know what's in my pants, and quite frankly I don't think they need to

I make mistakes ; I don't know everything ; if I said something wrong, point it out! that way I can edit my post so no further misinformation spreads, and I learn what not to say in the future. I am pretty sensitive and tend to take others correcting me as a threat at times but I'm trying not to - but if you can, please be somewhat tender with your criticism

Sorry if you compliment my art or anything else and I don't respond !!! I highly appreciate it, it makes me sooo happy but I tend to either forget to respond or not know how to respond !!!

I'm not actually as old as my bio suggests (plus I'm a minor, so no "funny business" or you could potentially face some unnecessary charges)

If you send me an ask and I don't respond, it probably has nothing to do with what you said, I just forgot to respond or didn't know how to respond but will eventually ("eventually" can range from days to months to more)

Do not worry about being "cringe" or "weird" around me!!!! I know what it's like, I won't judge the way you phrase anything, or the way you approach me,

Don't need tone tags most of the times, and I generally don't really used them, sometimes for sarcasm or reference ("/s" or "/sarc" and "/ref")

Most of my posts aren't screenreader friendly due to reblogging posts with undescribed images, writing in fonts or ways not all screen readers can read, and many times forget to tag it. When I do I tag such posts as "screenreader unfriendly"

I don't have a dni, I'm fine with any blogs following me or interacting with me, even ones I disagree with or feel uncomfortable with. However if someone is doing something that breaks Tumblr TOS (that I agree with.. wink wink teehee) I will report them

You aren't being annoying for initiating conversation or interaction with me !!! (I am, though)

I tag fandoms reblogs with acronyms and not the full name most of the times. (Eg I tag sonic the hedgehog related reblogs as "sth")

More to be added

[quitealotofsodapop]

The isekai idea sketches, ignore how miserable the guy looks and my bad sence of humor

ignore the kobold ask too

Ref.

OC DRAWINGS!?

TYSM!!! <3

I love your Kobold designs - somewhere between dogs and rodents with human characteristics. They likely have very little fur save for those living in places where there's harsh winters.

DnD has them be lizard-like, so I'm wondering if that would translate into them being "mammal-like reptiles" (my main inspo being Cynodonts), having all the physical traits of mammals save for the fact that they lay eggs.

In mythology they could take the form of feline and mustelid animals like martens and "wet-looking cats", basically any creature that could make its home underground. Some old accounts put them at the height of a human four-year old/toddler. Short dudes.

One cool design I've seen is by the amazing @pocketss; who I believe has the best depiction of goblins ever.

Communal and hard-working, they often get looked over or taken advantage of by the other races. They are closest to humans, and will frequently "adopt" themselves into a household - especially if the humans decided to build their home just above a kobold burrow. This led to the perception that they are "house-spirits", depite the fact that they pay rent.

Kobolds are interesting creatures to think about mythology-wise, since they're prevalent all over mainland Europe in someway, and influenced a lot of modern culture. The name for the ore "Cobalt" even derives its name from "Kobold" - the toxic ore's effect blamed on magic. Now I'm thinking they would have a preference for deep blues.

One old phrase; "laugh like a kobold" means to laugh openly and heartily. Which makes me think of this photo of a pair of mole;

And SEKAI, MY BOY!!

That feel when you get tossed into a fantasy setting but you got cerebral palsy and spinal bifida, and the demon you tried to make a deal with is now stuck in the inactive parts of your brain and wants to rip the world apart.

Sekai is pissed. He misses everything to do with living in a modern metropolis. He misses snacks he didn't even care about. He misses bathrooms with toilet paper. His shitty futon. Watching tv. Public transport.

Once he finds what asshole caused him to be here, he's punching him.

I love how you've drawn his baggy clothing and his messy hair. Not one for personal grooming he is. The way his clothes bows to his form is so cool. My dude still has the backpack he had on when he got isekai-d on the subway.

And Wormwood extending out of him like branches is such an amazing concept. Wormwood is somewhere between a nature spirit and a symbiote - all goopy on his own, but when anchored becomes something "else".

if Sekai's life ever gets truly threatened and Wormwood is forced to "take the reins"; they would transform into something that don't look natural to anyone.

Other Character: "What in the gods name is that!?" Sekai, transformed: "Sorry, I got a parasite."

I have so many thoughts about fantasy and how someone who "very much doesn't want to be there* would deal with it.

[theweirdhybrid]

Quick question, do you have any visual guides to your future Donnie from „Just this once, everybody lives“ aside from the description in chapter 3?

Cause I love the story and I want to draw him

I unfortunately haven't gotten the chance to make a ref sheet for F!Donnie yet! But @somerandomdudelmao (sorry for the ping) has made some absolutely wonderful art of him you can find here, here, and here!

Thank you anon! I'm honestly blown away by how well my silly little fic has been received, I genuinely didn't expect that this many people would like it haha

As for writing tips, the first thing I want to say is to try and avoid reusing words or phrases in the same sentence or paragraph. Adding variety to how you describe a scene, a setting, or a thought process can help captivate your reader and keep them interested in what you have to say. Avoiding run-on sentences is a must too, unless you're trying to amplify or highlight a character's distress. When humans are reading something in their head, they tend to take "breaths" while reading, and placing a comma or period gives them the break they need to catch their breath again. Let me give you an example:

Run on sentences like this can be used to exaggerate or highlight when a character is having a moment of distress or they're experiencing adrenaline and or having one long thought in a moment of panic or they're having some kind of mental break due to stress or some other outside factor because your brain will read this without taking a moment to stop because you the writer have not provided a comma or period or some kind of sentence break for the brain to slow down and stop. See what I mean? Your mental voice may not need to breathe, but it still acts like it does. This can be used to a writer's advantage, but it can also be their downfall if used incorrectly.

Doing a lot of reading will also help you tremendously. I was one of those kids who always had a book in class, and I remember my teacher confiscating one of my books only for me to pull another out of my desk. It helps you expand your vocabulary and see real world examples of how a book can be formatted. But, and this is important, be careful not to use POVs wrong. A POV (or Point of View) can make or break a book or fanfiction. Remember, when you're writing a fanfiction, you're narrating what the characters are doing, you are NOT the character.

First Person ("I went down the road to the bookstore."), for example, is best suited for original works, essays, or a retelling of something. It doesn't tend to work well for fanfictions because it's too intimate - for lack of a better word - for most people. People who read fanfiction are looking to read about the characters, not to be them. It also makes describing things a LOT harder, because you won't be able to point out things the person you're writing from the POV of has missed. HOWEVER, you CAN succeed in using First Person in a fanfiction if done correctly, but it's a tricky thing to do.

Similarly, Second Person ("You went down the road to the bookstore.") also isn't suited for fanfictions. Second Person is predominantly exclusive to quizzes, questionnaires, or choose-your-own-adventure stories. (And sometimes original works, if executed correctly.) Again, people read fanfictions to read ABOUT the characters, not be them.

Third person ("Charlie went down the road to the bookstore.") is your best friend when writing a fanfiction. It lets you describe what's happening from either one character's perspective and multiple at the same time, AND you can "pan the camera" away to show something else that the characters haven't witnessed but is important for the readers to know about to build suspense and or give answers.

I WILL say that I am by no means a professional writer, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I do have many years of writing experience under my belt and I've learned a thing or two. Don't be afraid to experiment with different POVs when writing anything, you may find that you can use multiple POVs in the same work (original or fan) and doing so enhances the readers experience to a degree simply sticking with one POV would never have been able to do. Writing is all about experimenting and learning as you go!

If you have any specific writing questions just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them!

[mxrp-official-steve]

are you planning on curbing insta disconnects? or perhaps implement a whitelist alongside the blacklist?

and (sorry for all the questions) are you going to enforce people using filters? perhaps before they start to search, they can filter what characters they wish to rp with and ones they don't?

Insta-disconnects being penalized are probably going to include the current system being tweaked. I.E. not being able to connect to the same person over and over eventually leading to a deadzone.

However.

Ok so there's an open and well-established SFW side to the site but the NSFW side makes this complicated. Because let's say I want to RP with a Kanaya, but I'm not into a kink in one of their mods/favs in their flist. Or I just dont like their refs. Thats an insta-DC for me, and I feel like punishing that with direct moderator action is a little much? Like, sure. You can add the mod to the blacklist, but the many different ways to phrase things makes that difficult. This also applies to SFW RPs that demand being put in NSFW. Hard abuse as a vehicle for fluff and hurt comfort, etc. I'm a smuthound, I'll just disconnect.

As for filter enforcement, the issue above persists again. I can't conclusively prove that the issue isn't one of modifiers/kinks.

I'll do some thinking. Again I'm gonna have to see the internals of the site on the moderation end.

Sorry if this is all a little weird. I've been working all day lmao.

[thiefking]

(ALERT. WARNING. OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THE FOLLOWING POST ARE NOT MEANT TO INSINUATE I THINK THAT PEOPLE WHO USE TONE TAGS ARE BAD OR HAVE BAD INTENTIONS. I AM SIMPLY POINTING OUT SOME OF MY FRUSTRATIONS WITH THEM AND HOW THEY WORK, OR RATHER DO NOT WORK, IN AN EXAGGERATEDLY ANGRY/LOUD MANNER AT A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION, NOT A SPECIFIC PERSON OR PERSONS OR INCIDENT, AND IT WASN'T EVEN THE MAIN POINT OF THE POST I WAS ORIGINALLY WRITING WHICH WAS JUST ABOUT SOME ANNOYING OVER-COMMENTED STUFF ON MY POST. ALERT. WARNING)

i am still pleased and amazed at the amount of people on my tone indicator parantheticals post who AREN'T being weird and aggro, but i will say. while i got tired of the aggro ones the moment the first one showed up i have also grown tired of the "this is just tumblr tags/congrats you just reinvented tumblr tags" observation. it has been made many times, i can never tell if it's a teasing joke or if they're seriously like "umm dumbass this is the same thing" (because of course they are not paired with any indication of intent, such as a word encased in a pair of parentheses, because for some reason being overfamiliar with strangers on the internet has become very normalized, and they just expect that if they say things to people they have never met that the person they say that to will be able to tell whether they are kidding or trying to insult them, which is highly variable per person) and either way it's like...

i mean. yeah. on tumblr, that is the same thing as what you could use the tags for

but tumblr isn't a messaging app

even its in-built dms do not have tags

if you are using discord if you type a # it would prompt you to pick a channel you are referring to

The Primary Location You Would Use Tone Indicators Is In Conversation With Others And Tumblr Is Technically A Blogging Platform

also a bunch of people are like "ummm or you could just put it in the SENTENCE like a NORMAL PERSON" and first of all shut up. secondly nowhere in the post did i say that i specifically would rather someone use random parantheticals instead of just stating their intent in the actual sentence, i said i would prefer parantheticals over highly abbreviated tone tags. obviously i would prefer people just say properly what they mean, that is literally what i do when i have a genuine question to ask, i don't do "what do you mean (genuine) (sincere question) (confused)" i say "sorry i'm a little confused, what do you mean by xyz?". literally did not fucking say that i think parantheticals would be better than just saying what you actually mean to begin with IN the initial question. however THIRDLY sometimes you just fucking have adhd or the conversation is fast and you don't think to phrase it carefully. and in that situation you might realize after you already sent the message that it's ambiguous what you meant or if you were sincere, so you send like "(JOKE)" or "genuine question" or if you make a reference "(you know like xyz meme/show/game)" immediately afterwards so people know and can respond appropriately. and i would so much rather see people spell the fucking thing out instead of saying /j or /gen or god forbid /ref (WHAT!!! ARE YOU FUCKING REFERENCING!!! YOU CAN'T JUST SAY IT'S A REFERENCE AND LEAVE IT AT THAT THAT DOESN'T HELP!!! WHY IS THAT EVEN A TONE TAG!!! YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN ME ANY CONTEXT FOR IT, THIS IS NOT A TONE TO INDICATE, IT DOESN'T INDICATE ANYTHING, I COULD PROBABLY TELL FROM THE PHRASING TO BEGIN WITH THAT IT WAS SOME KIND OF REFERENCE ANYWAY, YOU HAVE GIVEN ME ZERO INFORMATION AAUUAUAAAAGGGGHHH the fucking autistic person who would not be able to tell that you were making a reference without the tag would probably also not be able to tell what the goddamn joke was supposed to be! i AM that autistic person sometimes!!! you cannot just /ref your way out of that if you are ACTUALLY TRYING to HELP AUTISTIC PEOPLE then make it clear you can be ASKED TO CLARIFY THINGS and then SUCK IT UP AND EXPLAIN THE JOKE EVEN IF IT MAKES IT LESS FUNNY!!! and this is entirely specific to Me who has never once wanted someone to use tone tags even when i do ask for clarification on something, but if you don't want to ruin your joke by explaining it and i already Understood that it was a joke, the /ref and or /j you put on it is actually. equivalent. to explaining the joke and ruining it...... because in this scenario i knew it was a joke already...)

ahem. anyway. i think the people who say "ummm orrr you could just bake it into the sentence :/" do not realize they are the ones being stupid while calling me stupid. because of the fact that they cannot read the post, where i don't say even once that i don't agree with them, because i am talking about something else, which is that if you gave me a choice between tone tags or tone parantheticals i would choose parantheticals

conversely i'm NOT tired of the elcor comparison, even a little bit, even though that one was also made a thousand times. i actually like that one a lot. i never played mass effect or anything i just think that's funny and cool. entire species that has autism... so beautiful ♡

[jokertrap-ran]

[スタオケ] La Corda d'Oro Starlight Orchestra Main Story Chapter 1-11 Translation

*Starlight Orchestra Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Main story tag will be #Main Starlight *T/N: The “MINE” here is a ref to “LINE” the popular JP messenger app.

Tomoharu: Maybe I should make this Phrase stand out more…

Kabayama: Yo, I heard that you guys had a blast last time!

Kabayama: And I heard that you guys got lots of girls to come? You should’ve called me~

Sakuya: I did send you a message on MINE, didn't I?

Kabayama: Well, I didn’t expect the performance to get that big.

Kabayama: So, aren’t you guys going out to perform today?

Sakuya: Only after practising internally for a while more. We haven’t exactly done a proper analysis of our performance yet.

Kabayama: The general eds are doing an analysis…?

Tomoharu: What do you think, Kabayama-senpai? I think we need more “oomph” for our performances.

Kabayama: Huh? Oh, I… Err…

Kabayama: Isn’t it fine if you stay in tempo? Otherwise, it’d only be unconventional.

Tomoharu: I suppose it’s not good to lay it on thick either. How about this then? After this phrase ends, we can—

Kabayama: (What a pain… Are they taking this seriously?)

Kabayama: Ah, oops. I just remembered that I had something on today. Sorry!

Sakuya: Huh? Wait, but we’re still—

Sakuya: We’re not on the same wavelength, are we?

Sakuya: ……

Sakuya: Well, I guess there’s no need for us to meet up and practise. We need to brush up on our individual parts too.

Sakuya: I’ll be leaving first then.

⊳ Choice: (This can’t go on!) / I need to make an opportunity for them!

Tomoharu: Together? I guess we can. Let’s lock up and head back.

Tomoharu: This might actually be the first time we’re all heading back to the dorms together despite living under the same roof for so long.

Sakuya: You’re always part-timing right after class. Don’t you have work today?

Tomoharu: I do. I’ll be heading out right after I get some food down. I’m on the late shift.

Sakuya: …You have my respect. Isn’t it hard just having to deal with the Orchestra alone?

Sakuya: Nothing special will come out of it just because you know how to play the Cello, either.

Tomoharu: Haha, that’s true. I’m much busier now than I was before.

Tomoharu: But, somehow… I just thought “what if?”

Tomoharu: What if I joined the Starlight Orchestra and actually grew to love music?

Sakuya: Narumiya…?

Narumiya: Oh! Look at the street over there!

Sakuya: I didn’t know that there were still so many cherry blossom trees in bloom…

Tomoharu: I never knew that there was a place like this so close to the dorm.

⊳ Choice: That’s why I wanted to invite you both.

Tomoharu: That does make sense. It’s such a beautiful sight to share with others.

⊳ Choice: I wasn’t aware of it either.

Sakuya: Yeah. I don’t think we ever passed this street either.

Sakuya: ……

Sakuya: It would be nice to play here. Just like the cherry blossoms here… bright and clear…

Tomoharu: It would.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Sakuya: ……

Sakuya: …Sorry about before.

Sakuya: No matter what the reason, a performance that can attract an audience is good.

Sakuya: …But, it just means that we’re not up to that standard yet.

Tomoharu: I was at fault too for being inconsiderate.

Tomoharu: Spreading the word about the Starlight Orchestra to fill the seats in the Auditorium doesn’t mean instant success.

Tomoharu: Our goal is to enter the National Concours after all.

Sakuya: And what about you? Do you also intend to participate in the National Concours?

Tomoharu: I’m game.

Sakuya: …Wow… We’re a true bunch of reckless idiots, aren’t we?

Tomoharu: Now you’ve gone and said it. But, well… I’ll do a better job of it next time.

Sakuya: Huh? Next? Are you planning on doing something again…?

Tomoharu: But, of course! Do look forward to it!

Sakuya: Enough of that. Just practice, for crying out loud.

Sakuya: What? Why do you look so terribly happy about this?

⊳ Choice: I’m glad you’ve both made up with each other.

Tomoharu: Well, it’s thanks to you and your brilliant cherry blossom plan.

⊳ Choice: I’m glad I managed to do something as your Concertmistress.

Sakuya: And you’re oddly serious about it too.

Sakuya: I see, so that was your plan all along. No wonder you dragged this guy along with us.

Tomoharu: We’ve never had a chance to talk to each other like this till today.

Sakuya: We fell for your trap none the wiser. What a cunning Concertmistress.

Sakuya: *shivers* It may be spring now, but it’s still cold out at night. Let’s hurry and get back.

Tomoharu: Why don’t we buy some Oden at the convenience store on the way back?

Sakuya: For a self-supporting student, you really are a splurger.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Nono: Yay~ The members of the Orchestra managed to get through this conflict together~

Nono: Perform more, butt heads more, and deepen your bonds with each other…

Nono: I’m sure you all will turn out to be a brilliant Orchestra~ Keep on keeping on, Concertmistress!

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬Main Starlight♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Previous Part: (Chapter 1-10) Next Part: (Chapter 1-12)

[spicy-seaweed]

Howdy!

<-——————————————<<<

Current requests: 4

Writing requests are CLOSED - Art requests are OPEN

20 | Any pronouns | 💖💛💙 | ♒️ | more info under the cut

Right now I have all posts relating to us politics filtered out so…please do not reach out to me to discuss. Also, please do not send promotional/coverage asks for things like gofundme to my inbox. I’m sorry, but I will delete them. Ask/reblog chains and games are perfectly okay, though.

As of right now I have one working au ( @voice-from-the-depths ) - Asks/requests are OPEN

Tear-Stained Wood Masterlist <- (on hiatus)

My tumblr family~

🪐Chaos sib💫 - trippygalaxy

✨wine aunt/big sis✨ - wailingwailer

💜surprise adoption parent💜 - peepthatbish

😇Mine now😇 - xxbuttercup

😎Dysfunctional bestie😎 - fairly-linked

-

schlorped by korokarmy

somehow related to treasure-goblin

Currently existing nicknames: May, Cucco, Spice

Current fandoms: Legend of Zelda (among many loz aus), Epic the Musical, CoD, the Riordanverse novels (haven’t read anything past the Sun & the Star tho…)

Audhd, and suspected to also have some kind of cognitive processing disorder, so I apologise if sometimes something I say doesn’t make sense if we interact. I do try to use tone indicators where I can. Also, I rely heavily on autocorrect when I type—so I also apologise if spelling or grammar is a little wonky sometimes

I speak English as a first language, but I also understand Spanish, and I am in the process of learning German, Italian, and Portuguese (primarily German atm, which I can understand some basic phrases in)

I have a terrible sleep schedule. So, sorry if it takes a bit for me to respond to your messages if you send something. The request counter above the cut will change according to when I see your requests, though, I promise. My queue is constantly stocked, and is set to 24 posts a day, so if you wanna figure out whether I’m online or not, check and see how close my posts are to one another.

Requests can be made via inbox, comment section, or DMs—I’ll write up a rules page eventually, if I have to

I am open to casual interaction—anon is always on. It could be about anything really, I love just being able to indulge the brainrot. If you happen to ask about my works (especially any existing aus) I will love you forever, and will happily bounce off ideas about the blorbos 🥰 I love getting to know peoples’ OCs, as well, for which there is ALWAYS room to meet more😌

Oh yeah also I do have discord, if anybody would be interested in talking, fandom or otherwise

>>>—————————————->

Saved posts for easy access (feel free to ignore)

meal help post

stretches

gravestone recipe post

how to grow the fuck up post

‘how do I’ accts post

art help post

art ref photos post

cool YouTuber post

traditional art technique post

shoelace post

poses website post

bookbinding post

executive dysfunction help post

the piano post

boil the frog music thing

elmo misses a line vid

Updated 08/09/24 09:57

[perpetuelledaydreaming]

18 | chapter four

summary: you met a strange girl and her gang, although you honestly couldn't focus on anything with billy on your mind. Oh, and billy wants to rip jason's head off.

warnings: a softy chapter

listen to: Breakfast - Dove Cameron | Uptown girl - Billy Joel |  These boots are made for walking - Nancy Sinatra (playlist here)

word count: 2.2k

series masterlist + read the next chapter early on my ko-fi!!

“You seem like you’re having a bad day,” the blonde girl with wavy hair that had sat down next to you in the last couple of classes muttered as you pulled your bag into your shoulder. 

You hadn’t really talked to anyone since meeting (for the second time) the infamous Billy Hargrove. You weren’t sure what annoyed you so much about him, maybe it was his bright smile or his eyes, those damn blue electric eyes. 

Sure, you understood the appeal, he might be handsome and look hot and drive a really fucking nice Camaro but it wasn’t about that. It was about his actions, the ones that you knew by heart already, make a girl fall in love with him, deeply, take advantage of her and take her to bed, use her as many times as he wanted to, and then discard her. 

Discard you, you thought. 

“Really bad first day?” the blonde girl asked again and you finally turned to see her. She had an amazing set of freckles that seemed like a Milkyway under her eyes, through her cheeks and nose. She had pretty soft blue eyes and a goofy smile. 

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” you shrugged as you both walked out of the class. 

“Really? Because Hawkins honestly sucks,” she admitted and you laughed in return. God, how many people hated their own town, you thought. You’d never hated Chicago, not even after what happened with your parents or everything else. It was your home, it would always be your home. 

“So, everyone hates Hawkins here?” you asked her, but she squinted her eyes a bit as she examined you. 

Suddenly, realization setting on her face. 

“Oh, so you’ve never lived in a small town,” she replied as if it all made sense now and you nodded. “Where did you come from?”

You frowned at how she phrased the question. “Chicago, it’s the best place to live truly, I-” you replied and she snapped her head towards you before grabbing your wrist and pulling you through the green and yellow hallways of Hawkins as people turned to watch. 

“Look what I just found!” she screamed as she waved at a group of people that were huddling in their lockers. You suddenly felt the small urge to run away but you knew it was better to have a couple of friends than none in a new place, especially now that you didn’t know if Hargrove had ruined your chances of getting into the cheerleading team. “A city girl with an open mind!” she babbled as she placed you in front of them. 

“And you’re scaring her, Robin!” one of the guys muttered as he rolled his eyes. He was handsome, a fact, he had a nice smile and the hair, it wasn’t neat but it felt like it was styled to perfection. “I’m Steve,” he said as he shook your hand with both of his big hands. 

You nodded and then turned to the others who followed suit. 

“Nancy,” A small girl said with a small smile, she was holding the hand of the other guy that was next to Steve.

“Jonathan,” he muttered, clearly a lot more shy than Steve and the last one next to him. 

That guy was clearly not shy, he didn’t give you his hand or a smile. He instead moved his long hair to the side and made a rock sign with his hand as he took out his tongue like Gene Simmons from Kiss, “Eddie,” he mentioned casually. 

You nodded and they stared at you for a little longer than what you’d like, until you got that it was your turn and you cursed mentally. 

“I’m y/n y/l/n,” you replied fast before passing a hand through your hair. “Just moved here,” you explained as you twiddled with your fingers. 

“Yeah, we figured,” Jonathan muttered. 

“Sorry, that was stupid,” you replied before pinching the bridge of your nose in exasperation before giving a step back as if it was a reflex. 

You weren’t usually one to get nervous, there were few moments when people actually figured your emotional state. But it honestly hadn’t been your day, it hadn’t been your week or your month even; you’d come to wonder if your life would be like this forever but you refused to believe it. 

You had a plan in mind. 

“No it wasn’t!” Steve intervened, a little bit to excited as you raised your head with a frown, was he trying to be nice? you thought. “I think I saw you before. You live at Oakland, right?”

You blinked a bit, surprised that someone had actually been paying attention to you. Someone other than Billy Hargorve. “Yes, just moved in,”

“Oh so you are neighbors!” Robin exclaimed. 

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Steve replied and you simply smiled. “I can give you a ride, if you want,” he muttered but you shook your head. 

“I already have one, it’s fine but thank you,” you replied politely with a smile before turning to Robin. “And thank you for introducing me to your friends even though you didn’t even ask me my name,” you said with a smile as you took her hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“I’m sorry I tend to miss social cues all the time,” she muttered as her cheeks blushed a bit. 

“It’s okay,” you replied sweetly. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” She said and you nodded with a smile before you made your way to the entrance of the school and into the school parking lot.

As the warmth air of the summer hit you, you smiled. It was the first time in all day that you felt like you were actually able to breathe. Not even in class you had been able to push your anxiety and Billy Hargrove to the side, you felt like you had been stuck alone with your thoughts, unable to even use class as a means to escape those blue electric eyes and what had happened at lunch. You had tried to follow the exercises, especially on algebra, but you found yourself unable to concentrate on the equations on the page. It wasn’t until Robin had talked to you that you finally had thought about anything else.

You almost wished that you had actually spoken to her before, you’d rather busy yourself with trying to make new friends than have to cope with the reality that you were stuck in a town and the fucking King of the high school had put a target on your back.

As if you didn’t have enough trouble already.  

You felt eyes on you in that second and you turned to where you felt them, snapping you from your thoughts. You were immediately met by Billy’s blue electric eyes. He was surrounded by a group of people, some hadn’t even noticed you but others had turned to where Billy was looking and some even frowned. You scoffed automatically and although usually, you would turn away from his gaze, not even giving him an ounce of your attention, you didn’t. You instead stopped walking and maintained eye contact, challenging him. The wicked smile that appeared on his face made goosebumps appear on your skin while you still stared at him as you puffed your chest a bit and raised your eyebrows. 

You couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind but he didn’t falter either, he kept looking back at you and he raised his eyebrows back at you while sticking his tongue out a bit. You tried your best to stay level-headed because you knew what he wanted, you knew he wanted a reaction out of you but you weren’t going to give in. 

Not at least on purpose and although you would’ve kept staring at him as long as he insisted on maintaining eye contact, a voice made you back down from the challenge. 

“New girl?” the voice said and you turned around to see a tall blonde guy with a bright smile and dull blue eyes staring at you, he was wearing a uniform you’d seen during the day on most of what you assumed was the basketball team except for Billy Hargrove. He was unashamedly looking at you and for a moment you were particularly startled by his presence.

He looked like every guy next door. Pale, blonde, strong, all-American white guy. You wanted to roll your eyes to the back of your skull but you digressed. You didn’t particularly like the type of people, you were a cheerleader and you knew the two-face nature of those jock types. 

“y/n, actually,” you replied uninterested as you kept walking to where you’d parked. He didn’t take the clue though, he insisted on following you while Billy glared from afar. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” he said and you turned to see him once more. “Chrissy told me about you,” he commented again as if you knew who he was. 

You didn’t even want to know but then again, if you were stuck you would take every little opportunity if it meant something going right. 

“Yeah, and you are?”

He blinked at you and then shook his head, he seemed genuinely distraught that you weren’t aware of his existence.

“Oh, Jason Craver,” he said as he extended his hand to you, you took it but made the handshake faster than what he apparently hoped for. “First mate of Hawkins basketball team,” he continued with his chest puff. 

“Cool,” you replied before spinning on your heels and turning towards your joy ride. 

And yet, he persisted. 

You sighed in frustration once you heard his voice again. How could you expect guys like this to take a clue? 

“Uhm, I know you move into Oakland street,” he continued and you stopped. 

“Does everyone here lives there too?” you asked. 

You remembered that you knew some stereotypes of small towns, everyone gossiped and everyone knew everything about everyone. There wasn’t privacy in small towns like that, not the privacy that you’d always used to have. In a big city, nobody even noticed you and you were hoping nobody noticed you either here. 

You were so wrong. 

“No, no but close,” he said and you nodded curtly. “I was wondering if you’d like a ride home?”

You shook your head quickly while thinking to yourself that you’d rather chew off your right arm than have him take you home. 

“I have a ride,” you replied as you shrugged your shoulders and tsked with your tongue. 

He stared at you with a frown. 

“Really?”

“Yeah,” 

“So, I see someone shot-gun you first,” he said as he passed a hand through his long and perfectly combed blonde hair. 

You didn’t understand the connotation and first. Even though you probably understood the thing he said, you hoped that it was a joke. You wondered if people still talked about owning women like that in small cities, but your hope died down as you stared at Jason’s blue dull eyes, you knew he was being serious. 

“Yeah, a pretty girl like you was obviously flagged down the first day,” he sighed with a shrug. 

“I wasn’t flagged down by anyone,” you snapped at him with a bitter and angry tone. 

“Not even Hargrove?” he asked before walking closer to you. 

The mention of the name made you want to run and hide, yet, you turned around towards where Billy was. He was still staring at you but the mischievous gaze was gone and replaced by a glare. You scoffed mentally, was he jealous? Your gazes linked for a moment, he watched you carefully but you tried to refocus. 

“No,” you lied, before walking to your final stop. 

“So, how are you getting,” Jason continued but stopped mid-track and you smirked to yourself as you took your helmet from your bike and quickly placed it on your head. “Oh,” he muttered. 

“Yeah,”

He stayed quiet for a few beats of silence as you got on the bike and turn it on. The roar of the engine caused goosebumps to appear over your skin and a satisfied smile to appear on your lips. You glanced at Jason who now had his hands on the pockets of his white jacket, he seemed a little bit awe-struck. 

“I’m impressed, there are no girls like…”

You stopped him. 

“Like me? Yeah heard that a bunch of times and it’s not that good of a line,” you grumbled as the bike started and you glanced at Jason with disdain. “Bye,” you muttered before you were driving off into the road.

Billy took a shaky breath as he watched you leave, he jerked his sunglasses out of his back pocket and flicked the cigarette to the floor. He straightened his blue shirt and pulled on his Aviators before walking to the driver seat of the Camaro, muttering a small bye to the group that was huddling around him. In all honesty, he wanted to run Jason over with the Camaro when he saw him talking to you, the charming smile he gave you made him want to rip his head off. He knew it was stupid, he shouldn’t be angry that he was talking to you Billy was never angry when other guys talked to the girls he was interested in.

But it was you. 

And there was something about you that he couldn’t seem to shake off.

***

author's note: once more I'm flabergasted by all the support I've received over this new series, LIKE REALLY THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TOREAD IT. I really can't believe it and although I know these chapters are a bit short like I CAN'T WAIT to let you see what will come next it's going to be a wild ride. THANK YOU SO MUCH and as always lmk what you think of the chapter!!!

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Taglist: @happypopcornprincess @hannahnikohl @thescarlettvvitch @nymphadora000 @phishyie @amethystx3 @jaziscool @vixionix @gloryekaterina @alicetweven @frogtits1 @meg11 @pillowjj @fan1237 @bucky-daddy-barnes @starloriha @make-me-imagine @piper570 @dedicated2viktor @zanmorgan @queenofshinigamis @literally-a-ferret @slutformaddyperez @milkiane @mysterygirl-14 @oli-leo-ska @tsukibaby1 @samwilsonlove @theshinyrock @belledawnidk @the-mysterious-miss-s @rio-mx @nobody-000 @rlvslouis @linkpk88 @daygirl26 @steveharringtonswifey09 @alwaysbeenfamous @kazbrekkersangel @ilovewomen711 @allazay101 @dacresgff @nymphadora000 @that-levi-kenma-kinnie @riffcrusader @useless-snail @patheticreative @emmettcullenswife @milenadixon @whiskeypowder @ponyboys-sunsets @yunho-leeknow @kaillou66 @randomeddieblog @gifcottage @storeybook @nikt-wazny-y @kneelforloki @niviiera @pumpkin-kings @anitatvd @fanatics30

please let me know if there's a problem with the tags or if I forgot someone.

***

feedback is always welcomed!!

buy me a coffee or help me with my laptop? thank youu

[kaiijo]

Ruggie with 16. "If you’re going, I’m going.” from the fluff list? Your writing is super cute!! 💗

ruggie + fluff prompt 16

16. “If you’re going, I’m going.” notes: reader gets concussed

Spelldrive isn’t a sport for the faint of heart. It requires a lot of athleticism, keen senses, and focus. None of which you have, which is why, you realized, it was a supremely stupid idea to agree to play with Ruggie and his Savanaclaw buddies. You’ve seen those guys — apex predators, the lot of them.

Jack had used his magic to throw the disc and you were supposed to use your magic to catch it.

Supposed to is the operative phrase because, instead of catching it, you were hit square in the forehead with it. Pain shoots through every fiber of your being, concentrated in the bone of your head. Whoever is reffing this match calls a time out, and you vaguely hear people shouting and some approaching you.

“Nice going, Howl,” you hear Leona grunt as he, Jack, and Ruggie lean over you.

“I’m so sorry,” Jack says. His ears and droopy and, if you had the wherewithal to lift your head, you probably would see a droopy tail too.

“It’s not your fault,” you say and your words slur slightly. “Should’ve caught it.”

Ruggie is the one who carefully helps you sit up, keeping a steady hand on your shoulder. He holds his hand in front of you. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

You squint, head pounding, and say, “Four.”

If Ruggie’s grimace is anything to go by, you guess that wasn’t the right answer. Someone suggests that they bring you to the nurse, which Jack immediately volunteers to do. You let him sling your arm over his shoulder and stand you up. Ruggie stands too and says, “If you’re going, I’m going.”

Leona doesn’t volunteer to tag along but he pats your shoulder a little awkwardly and huffs, “Feel better.”

Jack and Ruggie drag you to the infirmary, where the nurse confirms that you do, indeed, have a concussion. You’re drifting off as you hear her tell the boys that you need to rest for now, but you don’t get to hear their responses as you slip into a dreamless sleep.

You wake up hours later, a little disoriented and still nursing a headache. You turn your head and find Ruggie in the chair beside you, head tilted back and soft snores coming from him. “Ah, you’re up,” the nurse says as she approaches. She hands you two pills and a cup of water. “Painkillers.” Then, she looks between you and Ruggie as you take the pills. “He refused to leave. Said he had no more classes for the day but I’m pretty sure he skipped them.”

You laugh quietly to yourself despite the throbbing pain. “That sounds like Ruggie.”

She nods and leaves you alone, and you glance at Ruggie one more time before settling back into the bed.

This time, you dream of Ruggie.

[kaypeace21]

Stranger things & Door symbolism (narrative analysis)

We see doors have a lot of symbolism and different meanings but to a certain extent it’s about respecting/not respecting boundaries &privacy, and being open or closed to others emotionally.

In s2 Max picks the door of the av club (trying to easedrop on the boys)-and it goes wrong (and causes dart to escape). Similarly, in s1 Karen picks Nancy’s bedroom door lock (and Nancy does not open up to her emotionally despite Karen saying “you can talk to me”). BUT in s3, we see Karen contemplating picking Nancy’s door again-and right after she decides not to try and pick the lock and respect Nancy’s boundaries (Nancy finally opens up the door and herself emotionally to Karen).We even  see Jonathan in s1 pick Lonnie’s car door (which we know is not a healthy dynamic).

Nancy also tries telling Jonathan not to break into Lonnie’s car-similar to Jonathan trying to convince Nancy (in s3e3) not to break into mrs. Drsicol’s via opening the front door.

We also see because jonathan doesn’t respect Lonnie (can’t blame him). So,Jonathan walks in uninvited through Lonnie’s front door -to investigate-similar to what Nancy did to mrs. Driscoll in s3 . These prior examples are also similar to El  breaking into Heather’s house  by using her telekenesis to unlock the front door (for her and Max’s investigation) . Or doing the same thing to Becky in s2 (for her solo investigation ). Why we have a shot of just El, Nancy, and Jonathan peaking through the doorway.

El unlocking latches also mirrors how the demogorgan ALSO used telekenesis to unlock the front door latch of Will’s house .

In fact flayed Bruce attacking j*ncy in s3, mirrors Will first being attacked by the demogorgan in s1. Jonathan & Will both lock the doors- than Nancy & Will try calling for help- but the supernatural creature unlocks their latches and both Nancy & Will drop the phones because of this.

we also see through every season-given El’s upbringing- El doesn’t respect  boundaries with doors -since she never received it with Brenner (who would come into room whenever he pleased/closed the door and threw her in solitary) .in s2-3 she uses her powers to pick/UNLOCK doors -to open them . And in s1 she used her powers to LOCK a door- and forcibly CLOSE the door to trap the boys in the room  (akin to the closed door in solitary).

This scene directly contrasts an earlier scene of Mike respecting El wanting the door open -by having El later NOT respect the boys’ desire for the door to be open . Mike asks if she wants the door closed and she says “no” so he lets it be open. When Lucas tries to open the closed door- she closes it and says “no”. (she had other in universe reasons for doing this- but this scene is later also paralleled to Hopper in s3 locking Mike in the car against his will, when he tried leaving. Similar to el closing the door on Lucas in s1 when he tried leaving.

In s1 (with El’s ptsd and) with El not understand privacy- she wants her door open . But in s2 when wanting privacy she closes her bedroom door (as Hopper demands she open it, and she cries). in s3 she also closes her door (now wanting privacy) when kissing Mike/ being on the phone with Mike/ hanging with Max ( and Hopper again yells at her to open the closed door).  Max even criticizes Hopper by saying   “do you knock? JEEZE”And in s3 flayed Billy yells at El and co to “OPEN the g*ddamn door”. In s2/3 we also see Hopper yell for el/Murray to ‘OPEN the damn door’  (despite murray having a “keep door CLOSED”sign).

*flayed-Billy also smashes the glass on the door to try and unlock the door-similar to flayed Bruce at the hospital.

And In s2 we see Neil tell Billy to  “open the door” . In fact the first word uttered after the door is opened, is by Billy -who says “what’s wrong?”. The same thing occurs when Hopper in s3 says to “open the door” -the door opens and Mike says  “what’s wrong?” (as another parallel) .

The Byers also in opposition to this, respect doors/boundaries of Will’s: 

Will (similar to Muray’s sign) has a “no trespassing” sign on his front door in s1 (also akin to the one at Hawkins’s lab). And when Will rides by the Hawkins sign- what happens, he’s chased by the demogorgan. But Jonathan and joyce respect Will’s sign/boundaries- Jonathan knocking on Will’s DOOR in s2 before entering & Joyce ringing castle byer’s DOORbell (and getting verbal permission) before entering in s1.

However, Jonathan doesn’t respect Lonnie :

so walks in uninvited through the door ,break into Lonnie’s car, and opens Lonnie’s trunk (door) without permission. later jonathan gets angry the cops/ Hopper searched his trunk (without permission) . Sort of matching his later hypocrisy of being ok to break into Lonnie’s car but not mrs. driscoll’s house.

of course - this is because Lonnie doesn’t respect jonathan’s boundaries. again- the demogorgan is called “the deep father” in d&d. And a light-bulb is shown in Lonnie’s shed when it attacks Will. So we see Lonnie behind an open door (of Jonathan’s room) and a single lightbulb. A single red light bulb is shown -when Jonathan doesn’t respect others boundaries and develops photos. Later when the demogorgan is in Jonathan’s house- Jonathan hides in Will’s room and the ‘keep trespassing’ sign FALLS OFF the door - when the demogorgan comes near. And again we had a shot of Lonnie next to the ‘no trespassing sign’ too.

So how does this relate to romance?  Or the supernatural?

For romance

Well what does Nancy do in s3 (unlike Karen in s3)? Well she not once, not twice but 3 times- opens jonathan’s door (despite the sign saying “please,do not  enter” (when red light is on). which is similar to Will’s “no trespassing “ /murray’s “keep door closed” sign).This is despite jonathan telling her not to-over and over. We see the first time she enters and he tells her this- she says “sorry”, but after she rolls her eyes  (and than later she does it 2 more times-showing she’s not actually sorry). It shows a lack of respect for her partner and his photography (light destroys his photos). This is similar to Jonathan busting into Lonnie’s. Or El -not respecting doors in every season (and spying on her bf who in s3 was not happy about this).

Which is one of the reasons j*ncy & m*leven were (verbally) paralleled specifically in s3 .Both pairings have no trust in boundaries/privacy- Jonathan taking those pics in s1 vi*lated Nancy’s boundaries/privacy, Nancy in s3 ruins jonathan’s photos while disrespecting his boundaries,El spies on Mike in s2-3 and says she makes her own rules-and doesn’t care if it made Mike uncomfortable.

We even have in s3e3-nancy & El break into people’s houses via the front door (to show how similar they are). 

This also correlates to my other post- where I talked about the theme of spying on love interests being done by many characters too (Jonathan to Nancy in s1,s2 lucas spying on Max, max on lucas in s3, steve and rando-girl who rejected him in s3. El in s2-3 to Mike.And  on the nonromantic end -the mf /the us gov spying on our heroes, El in s1 being trained to be a spy, karen spying on Mike in s3 via phones, similar to how the government agents in s1 monitored phone calls,etc. The snowball even had  l*max/ m*leven (who that season spied on eachother ) dance to a song about a st*lking ex- while the spying mf watched them as well).

Also as another romantic contrast to doors in s3:

Mike throws El in his closet (gay ref) and closes the door (to his real emotions ). As Karen says to Mike “talk to me’ about Will  (similar to Karen saying to Nancy  “talk to me” in s1 ) .And she says to Mike “I never want you to HIDE anything from me.” (which he literally is doing). 

 Similar to Nancy ins1 who’s door was closed (to symbolize being emotionally closed off from her mom -it signifies he wouldn’t open up to Karen in s1 about Will (cause he’s too occupied CLOSING his CLOSET door for EL- and pretending to be straight). 

Than in s3e1 during m*leven kiss it pans to a the rainbow drawing (which says Mike) & a drawing of Will the wise as the lyrics “just a little more time will open closing doors”plays. After this, at Will’s house in s3e1 ( while Will claims he won’t fall in love) you hear the lyrics in the back ironically  play  “Love that was new to you-you open up the door.” Like - go back to episode 1 -it’s true. After Joyce says ‘ok;- the song gets much louder just for the lyric “you open up the door”.XD I’m not making this sh*t up (they purposely didn’t subtitle the segment panned to Will but it’s clear as day) ! The other song Mike kisses El to in ep 1 is ‘can’t fight this feeling’ (which is about a guy afraid to tell his friend of many years that he loves them-but who is afraid to do so and ruin their platonic relationship- which doesn’t fit m*leven who kissed in less than a week . the song lyric also has the phrase “if i have to ...come crashing through your door, baby I can’t fight this feeling anymore.” XD Than after “time” (3 months/last ep of s3) El kisses Mike- infront of WILL’S OPEN CLOSET door, in Will’s room, while El holds Will’s bear that comes between them. El (similar to Karen’s closet scene) even tries to get Mike to talk about his “feelings” which he avoids doing with El (/ Karen). As mike doesn’t open up to El emotionally he also doesn’t reciprocate the kiss- or say i love you back-and the same song (’the first i love you’) which played when, in s3 ,Robin rejected steve cause she’s gay- plays. And both stobin/mileven s3 confessions also heavily parallel . I mean coming out as gay used to be called “coming out of the closet”...

The supernatural: Doors & upsidedown- “ A doorway between worlds”

Murray ,in s3, (translating for Alexi) calls the gate a “doorway between worlds”. While Mr clarke also calls it a “doorway” and discusses Hugh everete’s “many worlds” theory. So later when NOT respecting Mr.clarke’s boundaries and interrupting his date - Dustin says about the supernatural/deprivation tank “why are you keeping this curiosity door LOCKED?” We also see on the st soundtrack -the song playing while alexi is explaining the upsidedown - is called “the door is opening”. And @ghostgirlinsatin​ mentioned this detail after I orginally posted this-when alexi runs away ‘neutron dance ‘ plays and the lyric is “I’ll just stay behind this LOCKED door.”

We see mr clarke stab a pencil into a plate and Alexi stab a straw into a box to illustrate this doorway. Along with Lonnie hammering a nail into a wall in an attempt to close a open door (and saying someone should be held accountable for what happened to Will). it transitions from Lonnie repeatedly hitting the nail with a hammer to Mike stabbing a plate with a pencil -like mr clarke -and explaining how Will got to the upsidedown. Because ironically- Lonnie is the cause of what happened to Will (and should be held accountable). gif visuals-here.

If you’ve read my  ‘crashcourse of evidence for Will creating the upsidedown/mf” or the longer version called the “did theory” you generally know where this is going.

Like Dustin said- the upsidedown is a “alternate dimension” a “dark echo of our world.”

Which I believe Will created based on suppressed memories. A few things appear to be triggers-bathtubs, clowns, and slamming doors. When Will first sees the upsidedown in s2- the arcade door slams open (making Will jump). And later when first seeing the mf (his front door opens by itself-similar to the demogorgan opening the door in s1). In s3 when Billy yells to open the door- Will senses the mf (and touches the back of the neck-which a season prior was associated with memories).

I think the door imagery (to some extent) represents Lonnie coming home and slamming/unlocking the front door. in s1 when Hopper knocks at Joyce’s door aggressively (she says ‘go away lonnie’). Demogorgan in d&d also means ‘deep father’ & Nancy says the demogorgan is like a “lion” (lonnie’s name means lion). And just all the other connections to the demogorgan and Lonnie I talked about in my ‘crashcourse post’ (baseball, hunting,lights,etc). And the fact Billy and el (who are heavily paralleled to Will) also have Dads yelling to “open the door” is  suspicious too.  I mean Neil calls his son William a “f*g”, and makes him play baseball -just like Lonnie did to Will. And Neil also yells for William (Billy) to open his door, before hurting him. So I could see  Lonnie doing that to Will in the past ...

We even have El see a red door- while in the void

Heck- in s2 , Dr owens said Will’s anniversary affect would make him remember tra*matic memories and OPEN his neurological flood GATES(  and these openings to the upsidedown are also called GATES and DOORS)!

[sunsounds]

scrape against my bones and cut away like a butcher—oh, and the butchershop and all the hunks of dead meat dropped onto countertops with thuds and it was alive once but not anymore, and i was alive once but not anymore—just scoop the inside of me away, everything that can feel. i’m insensate, drowning with a mouth flooding with seawater and heavy eyes and i can’t move. i can’t swim, did you know that? or i can, but it’s been so many years that i don’t know what to do with myself but skim fingertips over glossy surfaces, don’t know how to drown my head down and pull myself back out, dripping water and breathing, the way you always do. and there’s your mouth doing this to me—i have a thing for body parts, they keep showing up in my writing, they keep hitting me like something visceral, and your mouth. and you know the way some pictures just mark you like an impact to the stomach, dark-eyed and intimate and curves of spines on bare backs and ribs coated over with skin and dusk-rose lips, the way the word spleen makes me feel—god, that’s what your mouth is. you make your mouth the shape of danger, the shape of a scalpel or a cleaver or something that can split me into pieces. anything that can split me into pieces. oh, you make yourself a cannibal—you take my hollow bones and toss them in a soup and your throat moves with each swallow, spoon by luxurious spoon like you’re not eating of me, not drinking my essence out. one time i dived in water and i couldn’t figure out which way was up, water heavy slickness around me and eyes not opening and stumbling against tiles. maybe you found the corpse of me on that pool bottom and made a feast of my body pieced apart, maybe that’s what this is.

mouth like something dangerous // wto for @julykings

[i-love-side-characters]

hot take for the aoas fandom but i don’t ship curaday. not bc i just don’t like the ship but bc i don’t like how faraday was curie’s previous mentor. idk... it just seems manipulative and predatory to me that they ended up together with the power dynamic so unbalanced.

hmm i definitely see where you're coming with that. and don't worry its fine that you don't ship them!!! that's perfectly acceptable!!!

i have to say a few things first on the predatory aspect, if that's alright. also disclaimer this is quite rambly, i'm sorry i'm just very tired.

additional notes:

important points/things i want to stress in bold

quotes are italicized

thunderhead + the toll quote used!!! not really spoilers, but careful if you haven't read books 2 and 3!!!

if you're not a coward here's my askbox

now in my opinion, there are a few things that might make it seem as though curaday is a very predatory relationship. one, the mentor/apprentice problem. two, the age gap. three, the essence of their romantic relationship. because you didn't state why you felt it was predatory, i'll adress those issues.

1) the nature of their relationship during the mentor years

the "original" curaday as such wasn't really a romantic relationship. there was no hint of the relationship between the two while faraday was mentoring curie. at the time when their relationship was only mentor/apprentice and indeed adult/minor, there were no requited feelings from faraday.

"....then tore [the journal entry] out the next day, when i broke down and confessed my love with eyeball-rolling melodrama. [...] [scythe faraday], on the other hand, was a gentleman [...] and let me down as easily as he could." ― scythe curie, (page 347, scythe)

just to be thorough, here are several definitions of "let down." all links in sources.

convey bad or disappointing news in a considerate way, so as to spare the person's self-respect. ― idioms free dictionary

to try to give someone bad news in a way that does not upset them too much. ― macmillan dictionary

an unrelated expression is let someone down easy. this phrase refers to breaking up with someone in a relationship in such a way that they are not devastated of overly sad. ― writing explained

so it's clearly implied that faraday said no to her. after curie confesses her feelings, she describes what happen after that.

"i lived in [scythe faraday's] house, and remained his apprentice, for two more awkward months." ― scythe curie (page 347, scythe)

note that there is no mention of there ever being a romantic relationship between the two scythes during the remainder of the mentorship. this shows that no adult/minor predatory behaviour had occurred between the two scythes.

just to add on, some thoughts from my friend ref. ( @jam-is-my-food )

"if their romance took place when or anytime around when curie was his apprentice, yes. absolutely that would be a tilted power dynamic and uncomfortable and Not Good."

this, as well as the quotes, removes the "predatory" aspect of your concern. but that's just my opinion!!! you can still believe that is an unhealthy and wrong relationship. but personally i don't think the mentor/apprentice concern is a factor, since the romantic aspect took place much later.

2) the age gap during the years of their romantic relationship

there is a 5 year age gap between the two scythes. according to the wiki, at the start of scythe, curie is 219 years old, and faraday is 224. during scythe curie's explanation of her crush on faraday, she pinpoints their exact ages.

"i was seventeen and full of righteous indignation at a world that was still heaving in the throes of transformation." ― scythe curie (page 345, scythe)

"i was seventeen, remember. childish in so many ways. i thought myself in love." ― scythe curie (page 346, scythe)

"but at twenty-two, [scythe faraday] was just as inexperienced in such matters as i was." ― scythe curie, (page 346, scythe)

the five year age gap during the mentorship would have made it an adult/minor relationship, but as they grew older that simply isn't the case.

"then, nearly fifty years later, when we both had turned our first corner and were seeing the world through youthful eyes once more―but this time with the wisdom of age on our side―we became lovers." ― scythe curie (page 347, scythe)

they became romantically involved until fifty years had passed. which would put curie at around 67, and faraday at around 72. curie even outright says that they had "the wisdom of age on [their] side." this shows that curie believed that both parties were mature in their starting of a romantic connection.

here is some more input from ref. ( @/jam-is-my-food )

"and, adding on to [the earlier statement], if faraday was the one who had liked marie when she was his apprentice. even if a lot of years had passed, that would i think still make it inherently predatory and yikes.

but the thing is, that's not what happened. all that happened when she apprenticed for him was that marie had a crush on michael.

and he turned her down. because she was a kid. and that's the end of it."

this, i would say, addresses the general complaint of the age gap between the two. most often people believe that because faraday apprenticed curie that he was a lot older but that's not true. the gap is only 5 years. now that absolutely does not make their relationship "not predatory", but it does show that both parties were mature in their decisions.

3) after their romantic relationship + friendship

now this part is less technical than the others. this is mostly my opinions. but just to start off, i want to look at their relationship after the 7 deaths and 70 years.

your feeling of their relationship is that it is "manipulative and predatory". now i've never been in an unhealthy relationship before, but i don't believe this is one (please correct me if i'm wrong! i am not speaking from experience here and could easily make a mistake!).

out of everything, their treatment of one another after the romantic relationship stands out to me the most. personally if their romantic had been unhealthy in that sense, i don't believe they would have stayed friends as they did.

i had written an essay a while about curie and faraday together. if you could read it that would be great! however i'm linking my friend nisha's ( @genyyasafin ) reblog of it, as she adds in a small bit at the end about how faraday humanizes curie. [ here ] is the link.

as i was saying, i don't think this is a predatory and manipulative relationship simply from the way they act afterwards. they are described as old friends constantly, and that friendship seems natural, to me at least. now you could be saying that this is a manipulative relationship and neither of them notice, but i don't think that's true.

“seven deaths, and seventy years later, many things had changed. we remained old friends after that, but nothing more.” ― scythe curie (page 348, scythe)

"i have observed the rise and fall of the romantic relationship between [scythe curie and scythe faraday], as well as the many years of devoted friendship that has followed." ― the thunderhead (page 383, thunderhead)

these two show that even the thunderhead, which is an incredibly knowledgeable force, does not seem to be troubled by their relationship.

not to mention this quote:

"other scythes―the ones i'm friendly with―will call me marie." ― scythe curie (page 235, scythe)

and through that quote it is shown that both curie and faraday are comfortable around each other. this isn't every instance in the books, but the ones i found quickly.

"marie―scythe curie that is―...." ― scythe faraday (page 371, scythe)

"and you, marie." ― scythe faraday (page 383, thunderhead)

"where are you my dear marie?" ― (page 102, the toll)

i didn't add in any quotes where its the reverse and she calls him michael, because he never mentioned his policy for first-name-basis, but this shows how comfortable curie is around faraday. not to mention it is implied that curie and faraday talk often, as curie knows about an event that only faraday, citra, and rowan know about.

"didn't you already attend a family wedding?"

citra wondered how scythe curie knew that, but wasn't about to let herself be derailed. ― scythe curie - dialogue, citra terranova - narraration (page 231, scythe)

the comfort in which they speak to and reference one another suggests to me, at least, that there is not a manipulative intent or feeling in the relationship.

4) conclusion i suppose

if you read all the way here, then i applaud you for your dedication and i thank you very much. that seriously means so much to me.

to anon: this essay was a whole 1,429 words. i am so sorry. however i do disagree with your opinion but i hope i've voiced mine in a somewhat coherent manner. thank you so much for reading all this way!!!

5) sources:

scythe curie wiki

scythe faraday wiki

arc of a scythe - book one: scythe

arc of a scythe - book two: thunderhead

arc of a scythe - book three: the toll

let down - idioms by the free dictionary

let down - macmillan dictionary

let down - writing explained

[star-wars-scribbles-ff]

Click for better quality 👀 (ref photo)

IN SERVICE OF THE REPUBLIC

Art depiction from Where I Belong of my OC CT-1917/Lucky

Sneak peak scene snippet from chapter 13 of Where I Belong below!!

The sound of the nearest set of blast doors opening does little to pull a reaction from Arwen as she feels a presence emerge from the interior of the base and out onto the walkway where she was. She didn’t need much time at all to guess who it was. After that speeder-wreck of a conversation, General Kenobi was the only one who’d likely try to speak with her.

Despite having had almost half an hour to think about the conversation she’d just had with the Jedi Council members, Arwen could feel the anger bubbling back up to the surface. She was angry with them, but even more so with herself for thinking such an arrangement could actually be authentic.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” General Kenobi announced himself, despite knowing she was aware of his presence already. 

Arwen let her eyes shoot to the left as the Jedi came to stand a few feet away from her before he turned to face the view of the Cruiser Staging Area. His aura was relaxed but his tone and posture gave away the most subtle hesitation he was bringing with him. He definitely wanted to say something; he wasn’t just coming for small talk. It’d be awkward if he did.

“I feel that our conversation took something of a wrong turn.”

“Wayii (good grief)- Just spit it out, General.” Corcer turned abruptly, pushing off of the railing her forearms had been rested upon to face the Jedi. His expression was calm, only a slight furrow of his brow indicated his reaction and potential concern or perhaps consideration to her anger bubbling over. “You used me to get what you needed for your investigation. That blasted contract was just a load of fodder-”

“The Council is still deliberating on your greater role, Corcer.” The General responded. “The contract is genuine, I assure you.” He sounded just as genuine however that did little to convince Arwen as she shook her head and looked out over the railing once more, hands grasping the railing tightly. 

“You must understand that the Council simply needs time to evaluate and consider the situation.” 

“All due respect, what else is there to consider?” She shot daggers over her shoulder before throwing the look ahead of her. “My service record? Jobs I’ve taken as a merc just to get by and survive in the mere months since my team was-” The abruptness of Arwen cutting off her own words had to have caught the Jedi’s attention as he physically shifted where he stood.

“Your team,” He stated the phrase with a casual quietness that made Corcer tense.

“Wer'cuy… Jetiise ke nu suvarir (forget it/it doesn’t matter… Jedi don’t understand).” She muttered under her breath with a shake of her head. 

“I beg your pardon?” The question seemed to be one of surprise more than anything.

“A Jedi wouldn’t understand!” Arwen finally barked, not bothering to look towards him. She only kept her gaze ahead, forearms coming to lean back on the railing as she looked down over ledge towards the lower deck where a small airfield was.

After everything; all that had happened. She didn’t know if she had the right to feel insulted or even upset about the position she was in. Granted she did everything in her power on that mission- gave everything she had and intended to give her life if not for the fact that she was somehow still here despite the odds. She gave everything. Herself. Her team- the only family she’d ever known - for the Republic… Was that not enough?

Arwen wished the sound of the ion engines of one of the Republic’s Venator-class cruisers powering up was loud enough to drown out any further conversation that could take place. She felt oddly trapped with this Jedi, despite having plenty of space to move away from him as he stood idly by a few feet away. He was being more civil than she’d like. Mentally trying to stomp out the crumbs of guilt sitting heavy in her stomach at her behavior around this General - a superior - didn’t seem to be working. 

He’s done nothing but be genuine so far. She had no reason to be angry with him specifically. But then again he was a Jedi. Jedi didn’t deal with emotions like other people did. They were cold, calculated individuals; weighing life rarely by worth but by majority… unless you were weighing the worth of a Jedi against Clones of course. Then the worth of one outweighed that of the majority. Jedi were just like everyone else… viewing this army like nothing but canon fodder; easily disposable and replaceable. Her team was nothing but numbers on a spreadsheet to them. She could count the number of Jedi she trusted on one hand. That number was even smaller when considering how many she trusted that weren’t already dead.

The Jedi General was quiet in his movements as he came to stand by her side, posture straight as he rested his hands upon the railing and eyed the view before them. Moving his gaze subtly he eyed the mercenary, noting her eyes had fallen and her expression, for a brief moment, appeared more exhausted and broken than any he’d seen in some time. 

“The Republic owes you and your team a great debt.” He’d considered the proclamation before coming to find Corcer. It was true after all. He’d read the details on the file; what she, as well as her team, had been a part of; how their actions may have very well saved the Republic just months prior due to the information they’d obtained and kept out of Separatist hands. However, that victory came at a cost.

Arwen shook her head at his words. Whether it was out of denial of his words or something else, Kenobi wasn’t completely sure. He was reluctant to dig deeper into her aura, but wanted to at least attempt, if not to get a better understanding of her. 

“Nice payback.” Arwen muttered before crossing her arms over the railing, risking the action of resting her chin down on her forearms. Her back was still tense, and she was ready to act at any time, however this Jedi posed no threat to her. Not at the moment at least.

General Kenobi considered her response before he nodded to himself.

“I understand you feel betrayed, and I apologize for what took place and- has… since taken place.”

Arwen could tell by the split second hesitation at the end of his sentence that he was treading carefully, however she didn’t plan on holding him to his words. She wanted to just knock his statement up to him sweet talking to get her cooperation however she could feel his sincerity. It was clear as day in the air and she couldn’t deny or ignore it.

“I’m sorry about General- Kazar and- Padawan Vorruk… sir,” Her voice lost its confidence rather quickly as soon as she uttered the names. She hadn’t said the names of the Jedi General and Padawan she’d worked with on that last mission since… the mission itself. “I-...” She couldn’t bring herself to continue as her throat tightened and suffocated the words before she could utter them.

I did what I could.

She hadn’t said it out loud, but she knew she didn’t have to.

“I know,” The response didn’t surprise her as much as his tone did. His voice held emotion, despite his professional output. He projected a sense of understanding and mentorship. There was also certainty to his tone.

He must’ve watched the holorecording. 

Arwen closed her eyes, brow knitting tightly as she tried to push the images from her mind. She could almost feel the weight of the Jedi padawan in her arms sometimes; when she’d held his half conscious body, clinging to life, while she tried to relay coordinates and need for extraction to the nearest Republic fleet and simultaneously fend off incoming hostiles. 

And now the Jedi had the footage of her message. 

It angered her that it was memorialized as a recording, but it enraged her that they’d seen it and still saw her as a threat. Like nothing that happened that day held any weight. 

A slight shift in the Jedi’s aura caused her to look subtly out of the corner of her eye and she evaluated his posture as it straightened and he cleared his throat quietly.

“I am currently negotiating with the Council to have you ship out with General Skywalker and I.” 

Arwen’s brow scrunched together at the Jedi’s words and she pushed off of the railing to stand straight and face the Jedi.

“Sir- the Council said-”

“I am proceeding to try and convince them otherwise.” Kenobi responded, hands coming behind his back as his gaze arched over the view in front of them once more before it returned to her. “I read your file and reviewed your training as well as completed missions. Your skillset will be of the most use in the field. Now, it will take some time before we can have you operating openly if this pans out. But for the time being, I am going to do my best to get the Council’s permission to have you work in the background of any ongoing operations within my battle group.”

Alright… This Jedi isn’t half bad.

Corcer eyed him for a moment, overall uncertainty written in her expression before she swallowed and let out a quiet breath through her nose.

“Thank you, sir.” 

I feel like a di'kut now.

The General eyed her quietly for a time before glancing away towards the blast doors down the walkway. 

“0700 tomorrow there will be a meeting on standard operating procedures in the east wing for new clones joining the ranks of the 212th. You’re welcome to attend.”

The offer surprised her, however that surprise was quickly overshadowed by solace. Corcer’s hands swung around behind her back subconsciously, posture straight and attentive as she gave the Jedi General a nod.

“I’ll be there, sir.” Arwen’s tone voiced assurance and even confidence.

Giving her a curt nod and a hint of a professional smile, General Kenobi excused himself and turned to head back inside. 

Corcer watched him leave and once the blast doors closed behind the Jedi, she found herself mulling over the breath sitting in her chest before she slowly let it out and returned to her spot leaning on the railing.

The sense of reassurance was starting to leave a subtle bitter taste in her mouth. On the surface she felt relief, knowing this Jedi appeared to be coming at her from the right direction; easing her into situations where she’d be surrounded by the troops. However the deeper she sifted through her mind… she was terrified. 

How the kark am I gonna fit in with these troopers? I don’t know the first thing about Infantry SOPs.

Then there was the matter of how she would be received. The last thing she wanted was to be on the bad side of these troopers. Then again her very presence was already proving a negative to the 501st troopers as they’ve had to cart her around twice today. If things kept going down the same road, she’d have a difficult time fitting in.

Until she knew exactly what her job would be, if the General could square something away for her, she couldn’t get too comfortable with anything on the base, and especially not with any of the men. That was the only thing she’d need to be sure to do. Don’t let yourself care; don’t get attached. If it’s one thing her past had taught her; it only ends in heartbreak and it leaves you more alone than ever.

Not one of my best arts, but I’ve had it sitting on the shelf for a long time so I figured it was better to share it sooner rather than later. Check the story out if you’re curious for more! Feedback is always appreciated 💕