#It is funny. I have actually mained all three classes over time...

[blackwaxidol]

Let it be known I did NOT make Valin with love when I was creating a Warlock for myself. I'd made it to the Farm twice with two other attempted Warlocks but the vibes were off, so I decided to try a new beast entirely and made a Valin. He was originally going to have black hair and patternations but I found it too boring...

The red was garish and I wasn't too sure I liked what I had made but I decided to commit to that horrible beast and he has since grown on me like a fungus.

[southparktexts]

Enemies to lovers with the main four?

i love this concept so much anon !! thank you !!!

Enemies to lovers w/ main four

Kyle :

- i know damn well you guys became enemies because of grades.

- academic award fights.

- this literally all happened because you two wrote on the same topic but you had one mark more than kyle.

- gave you the biggest side eye

“I can’t believe that THEY out of all people got 100! i got 99 why couldn’t i just get a 100, it was the same topic!”

“…dude. y/n is kinda smart its not that surprising.”

- he complains about you whenever you ‘beat’ him with grades

- you dont even know he got beef with you tbh 😭

- you guys didnt even talk at all, you were just in the same class as him unironically.

- one day, you got paired up with him for a history presentation

- he literally rolled his eyes when he heard that and had a mood when you talked to him.

“so.. ill to information and research and you can summarise my points?”

“yeah. whatever. i don’t care.”

- eventually, after days of the two of you guys doing the project he realised you weren’t that bad of a person.

- i can see, after you guys did your presentation he would ask to be your partner more and you happily accepted

- one day, after having kyle over to do another assignment the two of you went to mcdonald’s together.

- that was probably the first time he talked to you, outside of school work.

- he definitely caught feels for you

- unironically invited you to game night with the main 4

“..dude i thought you hated her.”

“….shes not that bad.”

“I TOLD YOU THAT??”

- definitely got jealous when kenny tried flirting with you.

- after that he unironically got more touchy with you.

- holding hands when you guys hung out after studying maths together.

- one day he asked his dad for advice and he said just to ask you out.

- he did… on text.

- my guy wrote a whole essay on you.

Eric :

- you guys definitely became prank wars enemies. full stop.

- prank wars.

- this definitely started because eric thought it would be funny to put a whopee cushion on your seat

- you saw it before you sat down and he got so fucking pissed.

“WHO DOES THIS BITCH THINK THEY ARE? NOT EVEN SITTING DOWN ON IT. WHAT THE FUCK.”

“fatass it isn’t that personal.”

- from there you and him back to back prank each other.

- ..they got worse as they progressed.

- he put a lot of laxatives and arbys sauce into your lunch once

- in return you put a lot of melatonin into his milk and made him sleep during an exam.

- yall are both fucked up like that 😭

- definitely spends a lot of time thinking how he can prank you and you do the same.

- you’re the only thing on his mind at this point.

“i fucking hate how that BITCH is always one step ahead of me.”

“you gotta admit.. theyre kinda hot..”

“NO KENNY. NO.”

“cartman you talk about them a little too much, its like you like them or something.”

“WHAT?! NO. CMON GUYS.”

“..sure fatass.”

- after stan said that he started questioning his feelings towards you.

- he kinda realised you both are kinda similar in your own fucked up way.

- after that day he made a glitter bomb card with a note inside telling you to meet him at his house.

- you arrived and you guys actually worked out well..

- gradually eric started introducing kenny into the group.

- the three of you started planning pranks on the teacher.

- eventually eric started falling. hard.

- you were always so funny and unique with pranks and he loved that.

- eventually asked you out with a cupcake.

“will you go out with me?”

“hm? yeah sure. ..this cupcake doesn’t have arbys sauce and laxatives in it, does it..?”

Kenny :

- to be honest time !! i personally think you guys wouldn’t be enemies.

- more just mutual annoyance.

- i feel like hes not the type to personally hate someone.

- the only reason he would find you annoying is because you would take the girls when he was trying to flirt with them.

“hey doll.”

“you’re talking to me?”

“oh tammy !! exactly who i was looking for!”

- he gets so annoyed because each time he was trying to talk to them you’d interrupt and drag them away to talk to them.

- one day he was fed up with it but didn’t do anything about it.

“how come y/n knows literally every girl i try to flirt with?!”

“because dude, y/n is cool and popular. their going to know everyone dude.”

“yeah bro.”

“plus they hang around the girls as well”

- after that, you kinda stopped hanging around the girls since they were doing a whole protest about something that you didnt want to be involved with.

- kenny eventually just say you walking around the school, just being yourself.

- he oddly, like it. he liked seeing you act like yourself. not pretend like you did with the girls.

- eventually he invited you to game night with the boys.

- you guys played dnd and had fun!

- after that, kenny would invite you to game night more and you eventually unironically replaced butters.

- you and kenny slowly became close friends and he became more possessive over you.

- one day he had enough of these thoughts about you and just asked you out out of the blue.

“hey y/n! doll!”

“hm? oh hey ken.”

“wanna date?”

“uh sure?”

Stan :

- if im going to be honest.. he doesn’t get enemies, except for craig.

- he definitely gets angry but doesn’t hate you.

- he probably got jealous because of you though, that what ticked him off.

- this is probably right after stan and wendy broke up

- you were wendy’s friend but also being stans.

- he once saw you comforting wendy and he got jealous.

“that backstabbing bitch! y/n is with wendy right now.”

“..dude i thought you said you were over wendy.”

“i- i am but still!”

- complained about you to the boys, slowly he would have something against you.

- since you were also friends with him he would give you a moody response when he replied back.

“how are you holding up, stan?”

“fine. just fine. its not like you care.”

- became more cold and colder.

“god look at y/n over there. at the swings with wendy.”

“dude, why are you looking at y/n so much. do you like them or something.”

“what?? no?”

- he kept looking over at you and he slowly started noticed little details of you.

- how you bite your nails when your shy, how pretty you look when your studyin.. wait.. what..

- slowly started noticing more details about you and since you were friends with him he would hang out with you more.

- became more touchy while you hang out.

- he realised now you were just being nice to both sides. trying to be there for both.

- wrapping his arms around your waist while you two walked together.

- blushing as you talk to him.

- eventually he bottles up all his feels about you and breaks down but in a good way?

- going to your house at 3am, crying as you hold him in your arms on your bed.

“and- and my dad keeps putting all this pressure and me and i love you and its so fucking difficult.”

“i know stan, i know… its alright.. wait. you love me..?”

[tadc-harlequin-au]

I’ve been having this question for a while now and I suppose it’s not the most important but I can’t get it out of my head- is the world like earth? Were there areas/continents more impoverished say than the main area that everything is taking place in- areas that don’t have as much technology I mean, maybe not even puppets. Knowing humanity I wouldn’t put it past that there were villages and uncontacted tribes out there- before the fall I mean and all humanity got wiped out. Ig what I’m trying to get at is if the world just became a giant monoculture or if there was still different collections of people doing things they’re own way. (Sorr if this is a really weird thing to ask)

No no, you're fine. Funny enough, a while back, I was thinking about some rough drafts of literal worldbuilding for the harlequin au, and while this absolutely isn't final (it's TOO small), it does help me establish some rules for what I want this world to be.

It is a giant monoculture-esque/ethnocentric setting, yeah.

The world is NOT Earth. There are similarities yes, but it is significantly smaller than regular earth.

Some areas, lands, or archipelagos are even uninhabitable due to mostly environmental and a strangely paranormal(?) reasoning. Any attempts to expand beyond results in monumental losses whether resourcefully, financially, or just straight up casualties/no one returning ever. They don't have the necessary technology to be able to actually overcome this hurdle, so they cut their losses for now (that was the plan before everyone died that is lol).

That doesn't mean they don't try to harvest whatever resource they can that's in reach. Because they totally would.

The world would be fashioned like a giant cog; leaders say the cog symbolizes unity amongst the cities, and also marks the steady progress of everyone towards "The Future", as a cog helps keep a machine running. Very ironic, considering what state this world is in today.

Yes, I made City of Gears canon from Scarlet's story, I will not hear any objections /lh

The cities are HUMONGOUS. There are a total of 7 Megacities, all connected via giant bridges.

There are large docks for expeditions ALL over the edges of the cog. Planes are very, VERY less popular to use as mode of transport.

But you know what is popular? SKYBRIDGESSSSSSSSSSS BABYYYY

What's a skybridge? Think of "the floating train" + Skylines from Bioshock: Infinite's concepts, but it also spans THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Now, obviously you can smell that a well-hidden dystopian world like this has a lot of systemic corruption in place such as absolutist thinking, stereotyping, outdated societal "norms" and intense class oppression to name a few. I will not be delving incredibly deep into how shitty the old world was for three reasons:

For the sake of my sanity;

Out of respect because I'm severely uninformed and do not actually have the biggest brain nor all the time in the world to research; and

This old world is already gone anyways. There is no need to pick it apart piece by piece in incredible detail, because that's not the main focus of the story anyways. The main focus is how would everyone conform into their new lives, essentially a new beginning for everything?

As such, anything story-related will only be implied through the main cast. Besides, I'm clearly not the only one who's got a lot of ideas for this au, so as long as it's within the realm of possibility, I encourage people to worldbuild if they have ocs for this au, as well as if they so desire. Whether simply implied or directly referenced, go ahead. :)

P.S. some things may be added in the future.

[stench-blossom]

The Strokes on meeting each other

Various excepts from the book “Meet me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001–2011” by Elizabeth Goodman

“NICK VALENSI: I remember what Julian was wearing the day I met him in middle school: blue jeans and a white button-down shirt. The shirt had the name of his former school on it - which was funny to me, that he wore the uniform from his old school to the first day of his new school. I was thirteen, he was fifteen.

JULIAN CASABLANCAS: We met at orientation at the Dwight School.

FABRIZIO MORETTI: Dwight sucked.

…

NIKOLAI FRAITURE: Julian was cool even before the band. He was cool from first grade. We went to Friends School, on the Upper East Side. I don't remember meeting him but I remember when our friendship was solidified. We were six or seven. Our school had a water main break. It was in the morning so it was right after class started and everyone had to go home. My parents were working and they couldn't come to pick me up, so Julian told me to come home with him. The water main didn't get repaired for three days so I just stayed over.

FABRIZIO MORETTI: Nikolai was always around. Julian has this very attractive way of being, even on a subconscious level. People run the risk of wanting to bend towards his wishes. And at that time, the way I saw it, Nikolai was the only one who Julian would bend to. That changed, but I remember Nikolai's school got out later than ours, and Julian would wait for what seemed like a long time, for him to come home and just hang out.

NICK VALENSI: Fab was in my grade at Dwight-I didn't have classes with Julian, but I had English and French with Fab.

FABRIZIO MORETTI: Then they found out Nick was actually better at French than they initially graded him so he moved. We were all friends. But I always felt like I was chasing them, like I wasn't cool enough. They would kinda let me in every once in a while. They were thick as thieves, those two. I would try to hang out with them, and it always felt like a privilege when I did.

…

NIKOLAI FRAITURE: The first time I met Nick, were going to a music store on Forty-Eighth Street, Sam Ash. He was much younger than Julian and I were-he was thirteen and we were fifteen- but then we got home and he played "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix and I was like, "Holy shit."

NICK VALENSI: Right away Julian and I started doing music together. He started writing songs basically right away.”

…

RYAN GENTLES: Those guys all go so far back. Albert knew Jules since they were eight years old. He met Jules when he was eight!

ALBERT HAMMOND JR.: Julian and I went to boarding school together in France.

JULIAN CASABLANCAS: Before Dwight, I was kind of messing up in school as usual so I got sent to the boarding school that my father had gone to and that he loved. I had a roommate who had some video games, Street Fighter II and shit. People would come over and play.

ALBERT HAMMOND JR.: We connected in a way where he was like an older brother. We hung out in his room and played video games, that kind of thing. I was like a little kid to him, even though really, it was only a two-year difference.

JULIAN CASABLANCAS: Albert was a little younger so I wasn't really friends with him then, but he was one of the only other Americans there. I kept a pretty low profile at that school. I mean, it was a pretty big culture shock.

…

ALBERT HAMMOND JR.: I met Julian and Nikolai first, before I even tried out for the band. We went to Ryan's Daughter and had margaritas. I was never a big drinker. I was more of a stoner in L.A., so I was pretty wasted already, and then they were like, "Let's get forties!" I was like, "You want beer after this?" So we get forties and we're hanging out on the east park, Eighty-something, drunk.

NIKOLAI FRAITURE: Oh yeah, Carl Schurz Park, with the L.A. boy.

ALBERT HAMMOND JR.: It was a fun little bonding experience. Then I went home and threw up everywhere.

…

[once-upon-an-imagine]

There Are Worse Things I Could Do (Chapter Three) - Eddie Munson

A/N: ahh! I know Steve was supposed to be next for series, but inspiration was flowing so... here it is :D 

Warnings: I think none, but let me know if I missed anything!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Stranger Things :D gif isn’t mine :)  

Your name: submit What is this?

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

There Are Worse Things I Could Do

I could flirt with all the guys Smile at them and bat my eyes

“Seriously? We have been through this for like four hours now! Even Erica gets it and she’s ten years old!” Mike snapped at you.

“First of all, she’s eleven, Michael! And secondly, you do not talk to me that way! Time out for you!”

“What? You can’t give me a time-out! I’m fourteen-!” he complained, standing up.

“Time out, Michael Wheeler” you said between clenched teeth as you stood up and looked up at him. You may be shorter than him, but you could still see the same fear in his eyes. “Now!”

Mike turned to look at Dustin, who simply shrugged, knowing they would not argue with you whenever you put one of the guys in time-out. He sighed and looked back at you.

“Fine” he said, walking over to the kitchen. “But I’m leaving because I want to” he mumbled as he walked over to the kitchen to grab something to drink and then to the living room.

You rolled your eyes, frustrated, sitting back down. Dustin and Mike had been trying to teach you how to play Dungeons & Dragons for the entire afternoon—trying being the keyword.

“Don’t listen to Mike” Dustin said, placing his hand on your shoulder. “You know he has like zero patience and I think he’s fighting with El or something, I don’t know” he tried to cheer you up. “Why is this so important to you anyway? I mean, you told us Eddie said he’d teach you” he said, confused.

“I know” you sighed. “I just… didn’t want him to think that I knew nothing about Dungeons and Dragons” you explained.

“But… you know nothing about Dungeons and Dragons” he chuckled. “And that’s the whole point of him teaching you, isn’t it?”

“I guess” you said.

“You know how when we were little, you could always tell when one of us was lying?”

“I still can” you informed him.

“Well, so can we. We can tell when you’re lying” he told you. “And I know there’s something you’re not telling me” he said.

“Really? You all can tell when I’m lying?”

“Fine. Will and I can” he confessed, making you smile. “So, what’s going on?”

“I hate that you are growing up” you chuckled. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to laugh at me” you said.

“Pinky swear” he said, sticking out his pinky and you took it.

“I don’t want Eddie to know that I don’t get this because… he’s the first person that hasn’t made me feel dumb” you muttered.

“What?” Dustin asked, offended. “Including us?”

“Dustin, I love you, but yes, you are ridiculously smart, and sometimes you need to get your ego checked. It’s funny when you do it to Steve but sometimes you have done it to me” you informed him.

“Sorry” he muttered.

“It’s fine. I know you don’t do it to be mean” you smiled. “Look, I know you guys have noticed I’m not really the most liked girl in school” you rolled your eyes. “And Eddie has been one of the few people to be nice to me. He always has been nice to me and he actually stood up for me in our math class so I just… I don’t know I don’t want him to think I’m dumb-”

“You’re not dumb!” Dustin argued.

“I’m not… the brightest, okay? I’m not top of my class or anything and I really struggle with math which is like the main thing of this game!”

“So… if you don’t like math, why do you want to play it? We have been trying to get you to play for years” he said confused and then he gasped. “Oh, my God! You like Eddie!”

“What? No, I don’t!” you scoffed. “He’s just my friend!”

“Are you sure?” he asked, smirking and resting his head on his hand.

“Yes, I’m sure” you glared at him.

“You don’t sound so sure” he laughed.

“You know what, I’m gonna go grab something to drink” you said, getting up.

“Sure, change the subject, that doesn’t prove my point at all!” you heard him all the way from the pantry as you walked over to the fridge.

You grabbed a soda and tried to shake Dustin’s comment off your head. You didn’t like Eddie. Not like that. He was just nice. And sweet. And funny. And…

“Why is Mike sitting down on the couch grumbling about being in time-out?” Steve asked, closing the fridge door and snapping you out of your thoughts. He then grabbed your soda making you roll your eyes and get another one.

“Because he is in time-out for yelling at me” you explained as Steve laughed.

“Why did he yell at you?”

“Because I can’t understand Dungeons and Dragons” you admitted.

“Dungeons and Dragons? Why are you trying to play their nerdy game?” he laughed.

“Yes, (Y/N), why are you trying to play our nerdy game?” Dustin said, appearing in the kitchen and looking extremely interested in this conversation.

“No reason” you shrugged, widening your eyes at Dustin. “I’m just… thinkingaboutjoiningHellfire” you mumbled, looking away from Steve.

“You’re what?”

“I just may… be… joiningHellfire” you said.

“Talk normally” Steve scowled at you.

“Fine! Eddie asked me to join Hellfire” you said, avoiding Steve’s look. Steve froze for a moment before he turned to look at Dustin.

“Henderson. Time out. Go with Wheeler” he said, calmly.

“What? You can’t give time-out-”

“Go!” Steve said, pointing at the door. Dustin rolled his eyes and left to the living room.

“You know that they are just going to listen through the door-”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Steve asked, a little upset. “Why are you even hanging around with Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson?”

“Don’t call him that!”

“Oh, what? He’s your friend now?”

“Yes, Steve” you glared at him. “He happens to be my friend-”

“(Y/N)” Steve said, getting serious. “What is going on with you?”

“Nothing” you insisted. “There’s nothing going on with me and there’s nothing wrong with Eddie being my friend-”

“Yes, there is!” Steve argued.

“Just because you don’t like him because Dustin suddenly has another role model, doesn’t mean he’s a bad person-!”

“That’s not what this is about! Munson is bad news, okay?”

“Why? Because he used to sell you weed?” you said, suddenly making Steve glare at you. “Oh, you think I didn’t know?”

“That’s not the point!”

“Then what is your point, Steve?”

“Is this about Jason?”

“Oh, my God! This has nothing to do with Jason! Why do you have to bring him up every time I’m upset about something?”

“Because you won’t even tell me why the two of you broke up in the first place!”

“It’s none of your business!”

“And now, what? You’re hanging out with people like Eddie Munson? What about your friends?”

“I DON’T HAVE ANY FRIENDS!” you yelled, making Dustin and Mike appear at the door, peeking their heads in. “Happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?” you snapped, as Steve looked at you, confused.

“W-what are you talking about?” he chuckled. “Of course, you have friends-”

“No, Steve, I don’t” you told him. “Jason made everyone stop talking to me” you explained.

“What? Why?”

“Because that’s the kind of person he is, okay? So, I have no friends. Except for Mike, Dustin, Max, sometimes Lucas, Robin because she’s your friend, Nancy because she’s too good of a human being to still talk to me after all the shit she has been through, and Eddie Munson” you said. “I’m not the (Y/N) Harrington anymore, okay? And I like hanging out with Eddie and he’s nice to me so…” you sighed.

“Hey-”

“Don’t look at me like that” you chuckled sadly. “Please. Everyone looks at me like that” you said. “Except Eddie” you admitted. “So, I honestly don’t care if you like him or not. He’s my friend” you said before leaving the kitchen.

Steve turned to look at Mike and Dustin and they entered the kitchen. “You two knew about this and you didn’t tell me?”

“She made us pinky promise!” Dustin complained.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

“So you asked her to join? You actually talked to her and asked her to join Hellfire?” Gareth asked as he and Eddie walked down the hall.

“I did” Eddie rolled his eyes.

“And she said yes?”

“Yes, why is this so hard to believe?”

“Seriously? You’re asking me why I’m having trouble believing that the girl that you have practically been in love with for God knows how long has now suddenly agreed to join your club?”

“Well, she did!”

“So, have you told her you love her yet-?”

“Shh! Shut up!” Eddie said, pulling him to an empty hallway, hoping that nobody had heard that. “We literally just became friends, you expect me to tell her that I am in love with her so she never talks to me again?”

“Fine” Gareth laughed. “I’ll leave you to your girlfriend” he said, nodding his head towards the door next to them. Eddie looked inside and saw you painting some of the sets for this year’s play. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” he smirked before he left Eddie alone.

Eddie opened the door and walked, instantly smiling when he heard your voice. Not talking, singing.

I'm nothing special, in fact, I'm a bit of a bore If I tell a joke, you've probably heard it before But I have a talent, a wonderful thing 'Cause everyone listens when I start to sing I'm so grateful and proud All I want is to sing it out loud

He had never heard you sing. He walked closer to you, noticing that you had your Walkman on and you never heard him come inside. He didn’t want to frighten you but he didn’t want to look like a creep and just stand there listening to you sing, which he could very much do without complaining.

So I say, thank you for the music The songs I'm singing Thanks for all the joy they're bringing

Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty What would life be? Without a song or a dance, what are we?

So I say thank you for the music For giving it to me

He finally made it to the stage and slowly walked over to you trying his best not to scare you.

Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk She says I began to sing long before I could talk And I've often wondered, how did it all start? Who found out that nothing can capture a-

“Hey, princess-”

“HOLY FUCK!” you turned around as soon as you felt a hand on your shoulder, and you waved your paintbrush, making the purple paint fall all over Eddie’s face and hair. “Oh my God!” you felt your cheeks burning, dropping the brush next to you and quickly grabbing your towel to clean his face. “Eddie, I am so sorry! You scared me, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay, princess. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you” he chuckled, smiling adorably at you, which definitely did not help your growing crush.

“Um, here” you said, handing him the towel.

“Thanks” he gladly grabbed it from you. “So, how come you’re here all by yourself painting at lunchtime?”

“It’s lunchtime?” you asked, looking down at your watch. “Oh, I guess I lost track of time” you chuckled. “So, you brought me lunch?” you asked, noticing he had two lunch bags in his hand.

“Wha- n-no” he asked, blushing a little. “I mean, I do have one to spare, if you want it” he offered.

“Oh, n-no. If it’s yours I don’t want to um-”

“Seriously, princess. Take it. If you don’t mind peanut butter and jelly sandwich” he laughed.

“Well, that happens to be my favorite” you admitted. “But it’s yours, I can still go buy something-”

“Oh, please sweetheart, nothing in that cafeteria is eating-worthy” he insisted, making you laugh a little. “I insist” he said, handing you one of the bags. You felt your heart beating a little faster at the new nickname he called you and you grabbed the bag from him, smiling.

“Okay, but lunch is on me tomorrow then” you insisted.

“It’s a deal” he said, offering you his hand to walk down the stairs from the stage and over to the chairs. You gladly took it and couldn’t ignore the butterflies in your stomach. No one had made you feel like this before.

“Um… how come you noticed I wasn’t at lunch?” you asked, feeling your cheeks burning a little. As you sat next to him, you started going through your bag, which also had a bag of chips in it.

“I uh- w-well, um, H-Henderson pointed it out” he covered it up. He was not just going to blurt out the fact that he always noticed if you were at lunch or not. “Plus, I remembered we both have next period free so I could teach you D&D” he smiled.

“Oh… right” you smiled nervously. “D&D” you said, quietly, making his smile drop.

“W-what? Did you change your mind about that? Because it’s fine, I mean-”

“N-no, it’s not that” you assured him. “Um… okay, if I tell you something, do you promise not to laugh at me?” you asked, nervously looking away.

“I would never laugh at you, (Y/N)” he said, truthfully. You looked back up at him and found him smiling. There was something about Eddie that made you feel like you could be yourself and he really wouldn’t judge you for it, unlike your former friends.

“W-well, I kind of asked Dustin and Mike to teach me a few things about D&D because I didn’t want to seem like a complete idiot in front of you” you said, feeling your cheeks burning. Eddie wasn’t really sure how to feel about your confession. He would never want you to feel that way with him,

“I wouldn’t think that. I know you’ve never played before-”

“It’s just just that” you sighed. “Look, my brother and I got… pretty good at not doing something if we’re bad at it” you told him. “I honestly think I will be the worst D&D player you’ll come to encounter” you chuckled nervously.

“Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to” he insisted. “But… how do you know you’re bad if you haven’t even tried?”

“I think I will just feel a bit stupid, I mean, you and your friends, and Dustin, and Mike have been playing for years” you told him.

“That’s true, but we all started at one point” he shrugged. “I never took you for a coward, Harrington” he smirked, making you scoff, offended.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me” he said, eating another one of his pretzels. “I mean I would at least try before saying I failed, but, like I said, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to do it” he smiled.

“I know what you’re doing” you smirked.

“What’s that, princess?” he acted innocently.

“Fine, I’ll try, but if you make fun of me, I’m done” you informed him.

“Fair enough” he said. “So, we know being cool enough to play D&D is not your thing” he said, making you glare at him. “So, what’s your thing?”

“What?”

“You said you and your brother don’t do things if you’re bad at it” he explained. “So, what are you good at?”

“I don’t know” you mumbled.

“Oh, come on, princess” he laughed. “I thought we were getting to know each other” he said, getting a hair tie from his jeans and pulling his hair back. If you hadn’t been fully convinced, you now definitely were. You had a crush on Eddie Munson.

“W-well, I um-” you struggled with your words. Eddie Munson with his hair pulled back was a menace to the world. Well, to your world specifically. “I like painting” you said, grabbing the brush from your apron.

“Cool, what else?”

“Um…” you bit your lip nervously. You really couldn’t concentrate on anything with him looking like that. And the worst part is that he obviously noticed.

“What?” he chuckled.

“Nothing… I just… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair up” you smiled.

“Do you like it?”

“Well, I think the purple on it really brings out the color of your eyes” you mocked him “But… yes, it looks good on you” you admitted, smiling shyly.

“Thanks, princess” he smiled.

“Um, y-you know” you said, looking back at the stage. “Um… I have always wanted to audition for the school play” you said. You had never told that to anyone. Not even Steve. And you told Steve everything. Well, except why you and Jason broke up.

“Really?” Eddie asked and you nodded. “Why haven't you? From what I can hear you’re a kick-ass singer” he said, making your cheeks burn.

“I don’t know” you shrugged.

“Come on, princess” he smiled, looking at you with his big brown eyes.

“I have stage fright” you confessed, making Eddie almost spill his drink.

“You have stage fright?” he repeated and you nodded. “You, (Y/N) Harrington, have stage fright?” he chuckled.

“Yes, why is that so hard to believe?”

“How can you have stage fright when you were a cheerleader? You had to dance in front of everyone” he laughed.

“That's different, everyone is looking at the players nobody really looked at us” you argued.

“You know that’s not true, right?” he smiled. “I mean everyone is looking at the cheerleaders when they do their whole things- with the pom-poms and all” he said, mocking a little cheer with his hands and making you laugh.

“Well, nobody looked at me, I was always in the back” you said, shyly.

“I looked at you” Eddie blurted out, making you look up at him.

“N-no, you didn’t” you chuckled.

“Uh, yes I did” he argued.

“You were never at the games” you said, confused.

“Yes, I was. Just because you didn’t see me, doesn’t mean I wasn’t there” he said, eating another pretzel.

“Well, be that as it may, that’s different. I didn’t sing” you insisted.

“You were singing now” he informed you.

“Because I thought I was alone!”

“Sing something” he said, casually.

“W-what?”

“Sing something to me” he insisted.

“Like… here? Right now?”

“Why not?”

“I told you, I have stage fright-”

“Come on! It’s just me” he laughed. “And you’re not on a stage” he raised his eyebrow at you. “Come on, princess, you can sing anything you want, and… I’ll tell you my favorite ABBA song” he winked at you.

“Really?” you asked, not believing him. “Wait, you like ABBA?”

“Well, you told me something about yourself. I tell you something about me. That’s how this whole friendship thing works, sweetheart” he said. “I promise to tell you my favorite ABBA song. Scout’s honor” he said, making the scout sign.

“I really doubt you were a boy scout, Munson” you chuckled.

“You’re breaking my heart, Harrington” he smirked. “Either way my word is worth more than a scout’s” he insisted. “Fine” he said, sticking out his pinky. “Pinky promise” he smiled.

You smiled back at him and linked your pinky to his. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. And then…

I don't wanna talk ‘Bout things we've been through Though it's hurting me Now it's history

I've played all my cards And that's what you've done too Nothing more to say No more ace to play

The winner takes it all The loser has to fall It's simple and it's plain Why should I complain?

The winner takes it all The loser's standing small Beside the victory That's her destiny

“Wow” Eddie said, unable to form any other words.

“What?” you asked, feeling your cheeks burn and getting extremely nervous.

“That was… shit, princess, that was beautiful” he smiled.

“R-really?” you smiled.

“Yes” he nodded. “And, you may not believe this but… that’s my favorite Abba song” he told you.

“No, it’s not” you chuckled.

“Now it is” he smiled at you. “Seriously you have a beautiful voice” he told you. “You should try out” he suggested.

“How? I can’t sing in front of people” you told him.

“You just sang in front of me-”

“You made me!”

“I can help you” he told you.

“Y-you can help me?”

“Of course, I can. You are not only looking at the guitar player in Corroded Coffin, sweetheart, I also sing” he smirked.

“You, Eddie Munson, sing?”

“I do” he nodded.

“Sing something to me” you smirked. “Sing me your favorite ABBA song” you challenged.

Eddie finished munching on his pretzels and took a deep breath. “Okay, you promise not to tell anyone I like ABBA?”

“Girl scout’s honor” you mocked him, making him laugh a little.

So imagine I was glad to hear you're coming Suddenly I feel all right And it's gonna be so different when I'm on the stage tonight

Tonight the super trouper lights are gonna find me Shining like the sun Smiling, having fun Feeling like a number one

Yes, you 100% had a crush on Eddie Munson.

“That was beautiful, Eddie” you smiled. “I never would have guessed that was your favorite ABBA song” you told him.

“Yeah, my mom used to sing it to me when I was a kid” he admitted.

“Well, she has very good taste in music” you said. You knew that Eddie lived with his uncle, everyone did. But nobody knew why, and you didn’t want to step on any boundaries asking him now.

“So, what do you say? You want my help?”

“For what?”

“The school’s play. You should really audition” he reminded you.

“Oh, um… well, I uh- I’ll think about it” you promised. “I just… get really anxious at the thought of standing up there” you said, nodding your head towards the stage. “But… maybe it might be easier if you’re on the crowd” you suggested.

“Are you stealing my ABBA song, princess?” he asked, making you laugh, which was music to Eddie’s ears. “Oh, I almost forgot, I have something for you” he said, grabbing his bag and he then took out your camera.

“Oh, my God! Eddie! It looks just as if it was new! How did you-?”

“I told you I knew a guy” he smiled.

“Thank you so much” you said, throwing yourself at him and wrapping your arms around him before you kissed his cheek. “Oh, uh-” you said, pulling away and looking down. You felt your cheeks burning horribly. “I uh- I’m sorry if that w-wasn’t okay” you stammered.

“It was” Eddie said, gently lifting your head and brushing his thumb against your cheek. “It was okay, princess” he smiled at you.

You weren’t sure what it was. If it was because Eddie had been the kindest person to you since you came back to school. The way he smiled at you. The fact that you couldn’t stop thinking about him and each time you dreamt about him it ended up with him kissing you. But now here he was, so close to you, with that goofy green and those big, beautiful brown eyes. And all you could think of was to lean in and pulled him to your lips. The minute his lips touched yours, the entire world melted around you. You had never felt something like this. Eddie widened his eyes in surprise but he quickly gave in. He was on cloud nine. You were kissing him. You were kissing him. But as quickly as it started, it was over.

“Oh my God!” you pushed him away nervously. “Eddie, I’m s-so sorry, I shouldn’t have done that-”

“N-no, it’s fine-” he tried to reassure you.

“It’s n-not!” you chuckled nervously as you started grabbing your things. “I’m sorry. I- I have to g-go” you said, walking away from him.

“Wait, (Y/N)-”

“I’m s-so sorry” you said, stumbling on your own to feet but managing to not fall down and you kept walking to the door. “Sorry!”

“But-” before Eddie could say anything else, you shut the door behind you and you were gone. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated, and sighed. “Shit!”

To Be Continued

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

[Ch. 1] [Ch.2]

Songs: Thank You For The Music -  ABBA The Winner Takes It All - ABBA Super Trouper - ABBA

A/N: sorry about the cliffhanger! I hope to have the next chapter up soon! xD I hope you loves like it! Also, do yourself a favor and listen to november_ultra’s cover of The Winner Takes It All, it is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard! also let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist

tags:@lady-loves-a-lot , @rand0m--fangirl , @avitute , @lelenikki , @anti-herosprettybby , @ordinarylokix​ , @alainabooks143 , @moviefreak1205 , @boomhauer , @webslinger-holland , @megumimind , @huffledor-able541 , @bubsonnobx , @slytherinambitious , @edwrite-munson , @navs-bhat​ , @th0swh0res , @ marianita195, @peaches-and-plums-motherfucker 

[tyrantisterror]

Woah, that’s pretty heavy, dude. I’ve never seen anyone analyze the series that way, but now that you brought those themes up, they seem pretty damn obvious. Can you elaborate on this interpretation of the shorts and the series? As well as each version’s respective symbolism? How do you think the main cast gaining new colors at the end of the original, only to lose them for the new series factors in to this interpretation. What do Roy and Lesley represent?

Each of the original shorts puts the three main puppets in the role of students and has a different teacher force a "lesson" upon them.

In Creativity, the teacher keeps telling the students how great creativity is, while constantly shutting down their attempts to actually express their own thoughts and feelings, whether it be by questioning the purpose of her arbitrary rules for what they should do or by making artistic choices she doesn't approve of - "Green is not a creative color" isn't just a funny joke, but the whole point of the short and how education often fails when trying to teach art. Because schools put so much emphasis on "objective" evaluations of student progress, they often fail to truly teach inherently subjective subjects like art and creative writing - you can't let people express themselves freely if you have to force them to fit a super strict rubric. "Be creative, but only use the colors I allow you to, only do the activities I've assigned, only think the way I think" is inherently contradictory advice, and by the end of the short the students are so frustrated that they express their creativity in a way that gets them banned from doing it ever again - "let's all agree to never be creative again" is where the short ends.

In Time, the teacher tries to explain the concept of time in an inherently over-simplified and often borderline inaccurate and nonsensical way, to the increasing frustration of the students. The teacher specifically puts a big emphasis on 1. being punctual and 2. believing that the past was generically shitty but it's done so we don't have to worry about it, and the future will be great so don't worry about it. All of these "lessons" are designed to make the students think about time only in the sense of it being a rule they have to obey - a schedule to stick to. When the students actually ask insightful questions about time - "Is time even real? Does anyone know?" - the teacher gets angry and punishes them by forcing them to contemplate their own mortality, all to reinforce the idea that time is just an arbitrary set of rules they have to obey or else.

In Love, the yellow puppet is given lots of empty platitudes about how great love and compassion is and how he should value them, only to then have a bunch of arbitrary rules about how and when one should love heaped on him once he agrees that love is important, with the rules eventually saying his love should be to some nebulous authority figure - "Our king" in the cult imagery of the episode is very much a stand-in for authority in general. We're shown how education can make even the most wholesome-sounding of lessons twisted for a purpose of controlling and manipulating students, forcing them to believe in things that aren't real for the benefit of a select few.

I feel I don't need to explain the Computer episode to anyone who's been in a public school's computer class in the 90's/early 2000's, it kind of explains itself. But a huge problem in education to this day is the persistent belief that you can make students teach themselves by throwing shitty yet expensive "cutting edge" education programs at them - it's what 90% of school budget increases go into because it makes the politicians who buy them look like they care without actually putting any work into understanding what education really needs.

The nutrition episode makes fun of how goddamn mercurial nutrition education has been over the last few decades - one minute eggs are good for you, then you're having too much of them, then you need more of them again, it's fucking madness - and how ultimately all nutrition education does is give you so much anxiety about the foods you pick for yourself that you just buy whatever's advertised for you the flashiest, even if it's really bad for you (like canned meat from one of your few remaining friends).

In the final episode of the original shorts, the Red Guy, having escaped his teachers, finds himself in the dreary adult world, and despite everything actually pines for the simpler days of being a student. He decides to look into the nature of his education, and sees not only how shitty and half-baked a system it is, but also the true root of it: that it wasn't made for the benefit of students, but for the parents who made those kids and want them indoctrinated so they behave better. That's what Roy represents - the parent who doesn't really care about their child learning anything useful beyond "obey the people in charge."

As for the show being about the horrors of the mundane adult world, well, I think that's pretty obvious. One episode is literally about getting jobs. Another is about confronting your own eventual death. They're not subtle about it. And hell, it builds off the finale of the original shorts - Red Guy already transitioned from childhood to adulthood, it's only fitting his pals came with him.

[batsplat]

also I’ve seen some (well a lot) photos of dani & sete together and like were/are they friends? obviously I know about the honda connection + them both being spanish but not much more then that. kinda hilarious that dani was/is friendly with both of them……

time to bring back the world's funniest photo

this is a genuine work of art. quite possibly one of the greatest photos of all time. I'm in love

yeah dani hired sete in 2017!! that's what gives us that great moment where valentino forgets about jerez 2005 with sete in the room - like that's why sete is even attending pressers in the first place. this is what sete had to say about it start of 2017:

honestly this is one of my fave sete interviews, I've had it in my drafts for a while to discuss but I might as well throw it in here. so yeah, him and dani have known each other since dani was a kid!! which will have been partly due to the honda link - they were also both gresini riders in 2004-05, if in different classes

plus they had the spanish link, back when that was like. something a little more noteworthy. they've regularly trained together for years!! dani had already asked sete to be his coach for two years!! they have a "great relationship"!!

but yeah obviously we do have to address the valentino of it all. "in recent years [dani's] dropped a little, as a result of bad luck. when you try many times and don't succeed, your enthusiasm and motivation are less" uh huh...? like, say, when someone puts a curse on you and however much you try and try and try again, you can no longer win another race? it would be horrible if that curse gave you all manner of ill fortune, yeah? that sure would sap your enthusiasm and motivation, wouldn't it?

note too that the phrasing for what sete's attempting to give back to dani echoes what he says valentino still has: enthusiasm and motivation. the joy and the will. sete believes nobody should attempt to become the 'anti-marquez' - the very phrase implies a single chosen challenger to finally take down the sport's current king. focusing too much on that person can only come to your own detriment. you'll eventually become your own main rival... eventually, you'll defeat yourself, and your enemy won't even have to raise a hand. dani/sete parallels isn't the sort of thing you'd necessarily arrive at yourself, so it's always kind of the involved parties to do your work for you. what valentino and marc never lost was their 'inner spark' - and the two of them can cause the kind of misfortune for others that gradually eats away at their 'enthusiasm and motivation'. if you've been marked out to defeat one of them... well, beware

and. of course. "we've always had a great relationship, given that we've shared so many great moments together" buddy WHAT are you talking about. ALWAYS??? sete has a funny habit of acting as if he's like, worked very hard to repress everything that happened to him between 2003 and 2005 as some kind of weird ass curse-induced trauma response. but it's actually the "I've never done any interviews in which I've talked badly about valentino" that's the most revealing - which is a) kinda debatable, but at the same time b) ... well, yeah, sete has been awfully restrained in what he's said post-2005! which has always been super annoying to me, as someone on a fact-finding mission about that era, but it's also... it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? of course, sete was still committed to managing the image of that rivalry. so determined to be respectful that he's avoided giving his side of the story. and sure, you can take him at his word that he's let bygones be bygones, that he really only remembers the positives of that time, but... it's complete and utter bullshit! he's finally started talking about THIS decade (transcribed for the sete post):

if there's one good thing that came from him going on that bloody three hour australian podcast, it's in him opening up about how obviously extremely not Over It he is:

if you think that valentino has had a lasting negative impact on the sport, that he made it more dangerous, that this is something that can directly be traced back to what he did to YOU... then why are you NOT 'talking badly' about valentino? why didn't you complain about the overtake at the time, publicly rather than feeling frustrated with race direction in private? but that's sete all over, isn't it... casey, for all his sins, has not exactly been quiet about valentino post-retirement - and while I'm also not going to ascribe any especially altruistic motives to that, while he does also obviously sell a very particular version of their story, you at least don't get this kind of blatant disparity between his stated principles and his public output. it's like when commentators were talking during assen 2004 about that magazine cartoon, the one with the gag that valentino just had to put a mirror on the back of his bike to defeat sete. (which is obviously very mean-spirited, yeah, and there's plenty to critique in how sete was portrayed as this vain foppish pretty boy.) sete has always, always cared too much about appearances and it was always going to be what killed him in that rivalry. he truly is the perfect foil: valentino manipulates image to his own ends, while sete is a slave to it. and that's how we've somehow ended in this situation where both parties have been perfectly willing to let the facts of that rivalry dissipate into obscurity over time. valentino erases sete from the narrative of his career as an act of punishment, whereas sete lets himself be erased because he does not wish to be associated with something so very ugly. and thus the story sinks over time towards oblivion

anyway. sorry. uh, back to dani. reportedly that was quite a close partnership he had going with sete:

a rich kid with a fancy bike collection to the last. here's a joan instagram post about said training:

and here's another interview sete gave about dani - unsurprisingly he's once again very complimentary:

"we have noticed that the machine is developing in a certain direction" uh huh? something about riding for honda, who you believe are geared only towards making one of your rivals succeed? must be tough, eh

probably a complete coincidence, but as it happens 2017 was the closest dani and valentino ever really got to a public spat - over valentino's sturdy defending in aragon. "if he's not happy, he has to race alone" indeed. obviously, dani did not end up winning a title - though 2017 is still the closest he'd gotten since 2013. he was very much in that title fight, pretty much until the wet race at misano, even if as the fifth of five contenders... so 13 of 18 rounds in, not bad. (incidentally, that's also the race that ended valentino's title aspirations by dint of missing it entirely.) and when dani was pushed out of honda and decided to call it a day in 2018, here's what sete had to say:

more recently, dani's spoken about the advice sete gave him late in his career:

"in my last years" does make it sound like he's being put down, eh. so yeah, a rider coach, but probably more importantly a friend. wonder if they're still close

[your-unfriendlyghost]

How'd you end up discovering your art style?

Well, it wasn’t much of a discovery- it’s just how I draw, I guess! It evolves over time and changes based on what artists I’m looking up to and what styles I’m into

But I can give ya a (recent-ish) evolution of my style/a break-down on all its influences over the past two years if ya wanna see how it all happened!

-

Some stuff from July-October of 2022

Two-three-ish years ago, for instance, it was more classical painting inspired. I was real into Over the Garden Wall and also just…general American history back then don’t judge I was coming off of my first American history class since elementary school and I thought it was so cool So my art had more of like…that going on yk? It wasn’t as good as my stuff now at all, because I’ve since improved my anatomy skills, learned how to draw fabric folds (sorta), and learned a bit of color theory lol. But they’re ok for what they are, I guess.

I think my main problem back then was the fact that I did not fully know how to use references- and a lotta my references were like. Cartoons. And stuff that was very much not meant to be painted in the amount of detail I aimed for at the time.

(Even here, you can tell I was dissatisfied, because they all look pretty different from each other yk?) (and you can see how hardly any of the fabric has folds and how little I understood lighting 😭)

-

January-March ‘23

Anyhow, after this, in uhh early 2023, I had a 80s-90s comic book/pop art phase, which was a pretty drastic swing in the opposite direction. I still rendered things sometimes, but things were less soft/warm. BUT I was starting to use real photos as references which was vital

I was also watching a lotta tmnt with my kid brother, which is what I blame for why the proportions got so stylized- folks in the 2012 version of that show were just kinda built funny, which I think subconsciously impacted my art. My posing did get a bit stronger in this time as I practiced more, and I think things got less stiff

-

June-August ‘23

Next, as the summer months came, I had a lotta changes in inspo and also just in life lol. I had temporarily moved to my neighbor’s place, and I didn’t have a car yet/any friends who I liked enough to hang around with, so all summer long I rewatched a lotta 80s movies, fell in love with the first season of Stranger Things (not the others as much tho 😭), skateboarded, and watched a lotta art tutorials online. (I specifically remember Jackie Droujko’s yt shorts saving my assss- I loved her stuff so much. Definitely check ‘em out she explains things real well)

I improved slowly, but I DID IMPROVE a HELLUVA LOT. I focused a lot on trying to draw people who looked recognizably like themselves, but also stylized because realism (usually) bores me. I also got better at coloring- the first two here ain’t great in terms of colors, but I was learning. Plus, back then I was very into oddly saturated color schemes. (I mean it is a solid vibe. I may not do this a ton anymore but I can dig it still)

-

October-November ‘23

As autumn came, I was pretty enamored with all the like…✨fall vibes✨ that time around. My life was goin’ well, so I had a lotta optimism and a re-ignited love for nature, forests, and fantasy. Plus I was dating this girl who was really into vintage-y Wes Anderson stuff so I think some of that uhhh twee-ness rubbed off on me lol

My influences here were mainly old storybooks, a hint of Lord of the Rings (as you can probably tell by the hobbit), and a decent amount of Fantastic Mr. Fox. And for faces I was mainly using the Laurenillusrated Brushpack at the time I think? I don’t use the “Sketchy” brush in it as often anymore as I did then, but I should. It’s a great brush, and I actually am really liking all the little sketchy lines. It adds a nice touch.

also don’t look at my goddamn long hair in that self portrait on the left. I hated it on me then and I hate it now too. I cannot believe I ever let it get that long it was really bad

-

December ‘23-April ‘24

I honestly did like a total of like. Seven drawings in these four months. As opposed to my usual…uhhh I wanna say 25 every four months. Idk what was up- art just wasn’t fun at the time. I mean, it was also just a lousy few months in general, so I’m sure that’s a part of it lol, but yk. This style is pretty close to my current one- my inspiration just came from x-files-ish sci-fi and American gothic stories/images as opposed to nowadays’ Beat generation and greaser inspo.

May-Now (October) ‘24

The Outsiders kinda dragged me back into enjoying drawing again honestly. I’d read and loved it back in 2023, but upon rereading it/watching the movie in February of 2024, it just sorta…entered my headspace and stayed this time. (Still, I didn’t really draw any Outsiders/greaser-y things till May)

Lately, I take artistic inspiration in 2d animated films, like the ones by Disney with the real nicely drawn fabric folds. And also just a lotta inspo from real life. I also do a lot of black and white comics, because I find that I generally have a “Go big or go home” mentality about most things- which can be a LOT of pressure! By allowing myself to draw simpler doodle-y things, I’ve regained that love for drawing. I think for a while it just felt like work, but in letting myself take it easy, art’s become a good time again :))

[echobx]

One Chance 4 - Leo Grecco × fem!reader

summary: y/n's relationship with Leo takes a few bigger steps

word count: 1.6k

warnings: hard launch of relationship, making out, smut, oral (fem receiving)

author's note: hmmmm I wish he'd do that shit to me alright. I'm so fucking serious. you'll see what I mean.

masterlist part 3

   The worst part that morning is definitely walking into school, your fingers intertwine with Leo's and every guy's eyes lock down on the gesture. 

   “Can't wait for this to blow over,” you sigh while opening your locker. 

   “Oh, it won't,” Sean tells you, and you throw your head back with a groan. 

   “What do I have to do to make it stop?” 

   “You can't do anything about this,” Jack whispers just as a group of boys come closer. 

   “You know, you could do way better than Grecco,” the tallest one of them looks you up and down. 

   “Fuck off,” you hiss before Leo puts himself between you and him, not letting you spit any more venom at the guy. 

   “Get lost, Miller,” he growls, and the guy keeps walking, taking his friends with him, yet you don't feel like it will be your last encounter with them. 

   “This is what happens when you don't claim your territory, man,” Sean claps on Leo's shoulder. 

   “That's bullshit,” you scoff, but the three boys look at you as if you're crazy. “I'm going to class.” 

   “It's not bullshit,” Leo says while following you. 

   “It is. They should stop being assholes. Actually, they should've never even started,” you argue. 

  “They won't do that though,” he takes your hand and pulls you to his side. “You should really mark your territory,” he whispers, before entering his classroom and leaving you standing in the middle of the hallway, baffled and unsure what to do next. 

   “What if you just fuck me in the middle of the cafeteria,” you suggest more as a joke than anything, and you're glad that Leo is amused by it, instead of considering it. He was waiting on the opposite side of the classroom you were in when you walked out. 

   “Only if you can magically make us not get expelled for it,” he laughs. 

   “Making out is so old school and also, who'd wanna see that?” you sigh, letting your head fall to his chest. 

   “Or, you can just wear my jacket,” Leo proposes, and you pick your head up to look at him. “I never wear it, it's at home. You can have it if you want,” he shrugs, and you pull him down by his neck to kiss him, his hands finding your waist to pull you closer into him. 

   “Real boyfriend girlfriend shit,” you whisper a giggle and he smiles. 

   From that on it gets easier at school, and Leo even introduces you to his parents instead of sneaking around all the time. Other than that, things mostly stay the same. You make out and teach him dirty talk, which was a funny experiment with a lot of giggles and kisses. 

   Your dad is painfully unaware of what is going on with you, because you think it's easier to introduce the two of you once you're too close to finishing the year for it to be okay to switch schools again. 

   “Your birthday is coming up, right?” Leo asks, lying on your bed while you were trying to do some homework that was long overdue. 

   “How do you know that?” you ask, eyes still fixed on your laptop. 

   “I'm attentive,” he says, and you turn to look at him. 

   “I never even mentioned my birthday.” 

   “You did an Instagram post last year. You think I wouldn't check your insta?” He seems amused by your perplexed reaction. 

   “Why is my birthday an important topic right now?” you ask, and he gets up and leans over you. 

   “We could do something special,” he suggests, and you gulp while staring up into his blue eyes. 

   “What kind of special?” you whisper and he smirks. 

   “When you're done, we should take a shower, it's hot in here without AC.”

   “You said it was okay,” you pout. 

   “It's not your fault that it broke. And that wasn't my main focus either,” he whispers and kisses you, pulling away almost instantly. “I will go take a shower now.” 

   You are nervous when you walk into the bathroom. Leo makes you nervous. Doing things slow makes you nervous. And showering with him is a big step, one you didn't plan. Yet here you stand, watching him through the milky glass of the shower door and debating whether you should step in or not. 

   “Are you getting in or not?” he asks with a chuckle. 

   “Maybe we should wait and-” before you can finish your sentence, he has opened the door and picked you up to stand in front of him. “Now I'm all wet,” you complain, feeling your shirt and shorts soak through and stick to your skin. 

   “Should've taken your clothes off first,” Leo rasps and kisses you, demanding and harsh. You gasp and melt into him, how his hands hold onto your head, fingers threading through your hair. 

   When he pulls back, you know you've lost. Whatever he wants, he can have, you'll give it to him no matter what. 

   You try to pull your shirt up, but the wet fabric doesn't like to cooperate until Leo helps you peel it off and throws it over the shower door onto the tiled floor. Your shorts and bra follow soon after. 

   It's only when he looks down at you that you realize that you're both naked. You’ve pictured him a lot, but reality was even better. A silent “wow” leaves your lips, and you can't seem to be able to look away until Leo pulls your head up. 

   “I wanna fuck you,” he whispers against your lips before kissing you again, pressing his whole body into you, caging you in between him and the cold tile behind you. 

   “You should fuck me,” you sigh as his lips travel over your neck, sucking on your sweet spot right below your ear and making your hips buck against him. 

   “Wanna do something else first,” he smirks and you nod. There's nothing in this world you would say no to if it ended with him rearranging your guts. 

   “Anything, please,” your lips are trembling with need when he picks you up, and you wrap yourself around him. 

   He lays you down on your bed, standing over you like Adonis himself. The longer you are together, the more he opens up, becoming more flirty and cocky because he knows how much it turns you on. 

   “Lock the door,” you remind him quickly, not wanting any kind of interruption, and as soon as it's done he's back with you. Leaning over you and kissing himself down your body, humming sweet nothing's and making you whimper. 

   “Need you,” you moan, and Leo looks up at you before softly biting your hip. 

   “My pretty girl,” he muses, pulling your dripping slip off and throwing it to the floor. 

   Before you can register what is happening, he's kissing your clit, and you're arching your back into his touch. His arms are looped around your thighs, holding you down and making it impossible to move away from him, even if you wanted to. 

   “Oh God!” you moan as he begins to lick long strides up your cunt and swirling his tongue over your clit. No one has ever done this to you, and you're glad about it, because you decide that it's the best feeling in the world. Leo is worshiping you with his mouth and bringing you closer to an orgasm with every move he makes. Your fingers thread through his hair, pulling on it and shoving him deeper into you to grind against his face. When his thumb attaches to your clit to rub slow circles, and his tongue plunges into your tight cunt, you can feel the band inside you snap. Moaning his name louder than you thought yourself possible, you come undone for him, falling limp under his hold while your pussy flutters around nothing. 

   Leo gets up and places himself by your side, but all you can manage to do is roll onto your stomach and scream into your pillow, out of pure bliss. 

   He brushes your hair to the side to be able to look at you. “Good?” 

   You turn your head to look at him fully, his wet grin, the dilated pupils, hair hanging into his face. “I love you,” you breathe and although it's not what you had ever thought to tell him, not yet, you know it's true. 

   Leo smiles, scooching closer and brushing his nose against yours. “You taste incredible,” he whispers before pecking your lips. “And I love you,” he says more clearly, making sure you actually heard him before pulling you on top of him. 

   “How did you know how to do that?” you ask, your head resting on his chest. 

   “Lesbian sub-reddit,” he whispers, and you have to laugh. 

   “Why didn't you just ask me?”

   “Would've ruined the surprise,” he smiles and rubs his warm palms over your back. 

   “I'd thank you, but I don't think I have any control over my body right now,” you mumble, kissing his sweaty skin. 

   “Next time,” he chuckles, and you sigh contently. 

   But the tranquility that is wrapped around you doesn't last long when you hear the front door open and, a view minutes later, your father's voice bellows through the apartment. 

   “Y/n, what's this mess,” he yells, and you jump up, quickly putting any clothes on you can find. 

   “Shit,” Leo hisses under his breath. 

   “Where are your clothes?” you ask him desperately, but he doesn't have to say anything for you to read his mind. He got undressed in the bathroom, where your dad is standing right at this moment. 

   Quickly, you grab a pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt of your and hope that they'll both fit him. “Put this on, quickly,” you whisper-yell, and he follows your command.

read part 5 here

please don't copy and/or post my work onto other platforms! ~e©ho

taglist: @redhead1180 @princessmaybank

[resident-gay-bitch]

Day One of @steddie-week - hunger / pining / somebody to love

Eddie’s having a smoke out by the old bleachers. It’s a warm day out, the sun’s shining down and there's a cool breeze that drifted through his hair to cool the back of his neck. It was nice. He wished it could be a little nicer, though. 

Tommy Hagan, the stupid oaf that he was, had just attempted to utterly humiliate in the middle of his English Oral on To Kill A Mockingbird, and despite his shocking grades, Eddie was actually very good at English and dissecting a text. He focused the main part of his essay on the prejudice themes within, granted he could understand and relate to them in one way or another, and pulled out a bloody brilliant essay if he did say so himself - though, he knew that he’d be coming close to a fail again, because Ms Click had it out for him and she hated his ‘vulgar language’ and ‘woke themes’. Bitch. Tommy had picked up on how Eddie reflected his own experiences to the text, and decided to start heckling him. You feeling a little left out, Munson? Gonna have a cry because you’re at the bottom of the food chain? All stupid shit that didn’t even make much sense because he’s pretty sure Tommy didn’t actually do the reading. 

Eddie gave him a grin and kept going until he just wouldn’t shut up, and Eddie was about to run out of time and he still had a whole paragraph to go, and so he just turned to Hagan and said, I know you can’t go three seconds without everyone's attention on you, Hagan, but don’t you think it’s a little pathetic how desperate for my attention you are? 

He got thrown out of the class instantly, and a big ‘F’ stamped on his essay. 

Whatever. 

Eddie didn’t care for all the attention he got. I mean, sure, he’d get up on tables and stomp around, preaching his shit and making a fool out of himself, but he only did that on the good days. The Confident days. The days he had something to say. Every other day, every other minute, he wished to go unnoticed. To blend in with the crowd and just live it out until graduation. But there's never a moment of peace with these jackasses. They’ve always got something to say. 

For a group of people who always like to tell Eddie how unimportant he is, they sure do take up a lot of their own time talking about him. 

It’s kinda funny, actually. 

Either way, Eddie was sick of it. He just wanted to get up there, give his oral, sit back down, and get on with his school day. He had a campaign to host tonight, and then band practice after that since Gareth was going up to Florida to visit his grandma on the weekend. So he was kind of thankful he got kicked out of class… maybe he was asking for it, he didn’t care. Now he could stand out here and smoke in peace, rather than getting balls of paper with studpid drawings or dumbass notes thrown at his head for the rest of class. 

Okay, scratch that, Eddie would prefer the bullying right now. 

From here, he had a clear view of the outdoor basketball courts. They were shitty and dinged up pretty well, the hoop no longer had a net on it - save for a singular ratty old string hanging down - and there were marks all over the backboard. The courts were mostly used by the freshman during lunchtime for dumb basketball, and as a safe ground for the science class when things were too dangerous to stand near or if they’d swell up and explode. 

But there, on the shitty courts, were Hargrove and Harrington. Two of the biggest dicks to ever grace the fine halls of Hawkins High. Eddie found their petty rivalry absolutely fucking hilarious. 

One minute ‘King Steve’s sitting all high and mighty on his throne, pretty girl on his arm, and then in walks Billy and threatens everything he stands for. 

Comedy fucking gold. 

Though, Eddie did start to feel a little sympathy for Steve about it. After having his first real interaction with Billy - a quick deal at his own goddamned school locker - he realised how much of a cunt he was. And jeez, for Steve to be Billy’s main target, he’s gotta be going through it. And not only that, but it seemed to be getting worse after Steve got dumped by Nancy Wheeler. God, that was the talk of the school for weeks. And now Steve had lost his crown and was like… nobody. Steve was actually getting heckled in the halls now - nowhere near as much as Eddie, but still. 

Yeah, maybe the little homoerotic rivalry between the two ‘Kings’ of Hawkins High wasn’t as funny as Eddie thought. 

Eddie hated when people noticed him when he wasn’t actively seeking attention, but he kinda wished Steve would. He didn’t even look at Eddie when he’d jump up on cafeteria tables anymore - which is definitely not the reason why Eddie has made this a tri-to-quater-weekly occurrence or anything - nothing. He wouldn’t pay him any mind. 

And yeah, okay, this was stupid. God it was so fucking stupid. Eddie knew that. He knew that better than anyone because why on fucking earth would the universe decide that Eddie the Freak had to trip and fall head over goddamn heels for Steve motherfucking Harrington? 

What had Eddie done - in this life or the last - that was so horrible to have deserved this fate? 

He hadn’t a clue. However, he did know it must have been utterly terrible because he’d been sporting these dumb feelings since Harrington's freshman year. Four years. For long years. 

And for what? 

He’s pretty sure they’ve spoken a total of (give or take) twenty words to one another in that time, and most of them would have been Eddie apologising for ‘accidentally’ bumping into Steve in the halls. 

Okay, the crush was dumb, super fucking dumb. Steve was a popular straight jock. But at least Eddie didn’t fall for one of his bullies. Sure, Hagan gave him a hard time just about every day, but Steve didn’t give him a word of it. He’d either just stand there with a bitchy look on his face (which Eddie often thought about when daydreaming in class… or other times), bored out of his mind, waiting for Tommy to finish, or, he’d be standing there with the girl he’d claimed that week and would either talk to or suck face with her. 

Eddie hated that last one. 

A lot of the time Eddie would zone out on Hagans ranting and stare oogily at Steve kissing whatever girl it was and imagine Steve would just push her away and storm over to Eddie and just… just fucking grab him and slam their lips together. It’d be like in the movies, you know? With… with some dramatic love song like Dream Weaver or some shit playing in the background, and there'd be cartoon hearts in Eddie’s eyes and stars floating around their heads. And maybe Steve would shove him up against the lockers and kiss him like it was the only thing he’d know how to do, and then they’d peel away and look at Tommy and just laugh at him - because Eddie can definitely see that Tommy’s feelings for Steve ran a little deeper than the best friendship he claimed it was. 

But that would never happen. 

Steve has never- and would never kiss Eddie, passionately or not. 

So now all he could do was stare.

He stared off at the basketball courts as Steve tried to steal the ball from Hargrove, watching the way his thick thighs moved in those tiny little shorts, the way his ass filled them out when he’d bend over, the way his biceps flexed when he’d managed to grab the ball and shoot, the way his hair would flop over his pretty eyes before it’d get swept back by his large hand that Eddie has also thought about… a lot. 

When Hargrove shoved at Steve's chest (like a good damned toddler who didn’t get their way) so hard he went skidding to the ground, Eddie had to fight the urge to just run over there and punch Billy’s lights out - though, if he were to do that it could be justified with about a million other reasons, but he wasn’t looking for another detention right now - and cradle Steve in his arms. To check if he was okay. To kiss all the parts that hurt. 

Lord, Eddie was so far gone over nothing. 

Absolutely nothing. 

He sucked on his cigarette and celebrated quietly to himself when Steve got back to his feet and shoved his shoulder aggressively into Billy’s before running to get the ball. He watched them fight over it again, and couldn’t help his smile as Steve made one of those goal things. You know… the one that’s made from the middle of the court. The big one. He couldn’t help the little blush in his cheeks as he watched Steve do a little happy dance, the wriggle of his hips as he shook his fists like he was holding maracas. Billy was not happy, and that seemed to make Steve even more proud. 

It made Eddie proud. 

Jesus. 

Why was he so set on this asshole? 

Why couldn’t he like someone a little more in his own league? I mean, he still probably wouldn’t get them then either, but he’d at least have a chance. 

You know the worst part about this is Steve's tendency to be a little bit of a whore. Because like, he gets around. Skull Rock - that was once Eddie’s escape and eventually smoking spot - was only deemed the ‘hookup spot’ after Steve took multiple girls there within the span of a month. So, like, Eddie has to see him with girl after girl after girl every week, and know that he’d never be one of those girls. 

He was a little ashamed to know that he’d spent a good few nights crying himself to sleep over it. 

It was hopeless, this crush. It was helpless too. Steve was beautiful. The most handsome man Eddie had ever seen, and always had been, and yeah he was an asshole - so was Eddie - but he wasn’t a cunt. 

Eddie didn’t understand why it stuck around so long. 

He sighed and sucked on his cigarette again, blowing the smoke out as he smiled at Steve's little happy dance one more time. Right as he was crushing the butt of his cig with his sneaker, Steve turned his head and looked at him. 

The smile that still lingered on Eddie’s lips dropped in an instant, and he swallowed the lump in his throat and ground his sneaker into his cigarette one more time so Steve would know he was out here for a smoke and not to perv… even though he definitely was.

Steve flashed him a small smile, the smile that he flashed teachers or past hookups or casual friends or just people he knew in the halls, and nodded his head once as a sort of ‘hey’, his hands perched on his hips as it was happening, his hair flopping back down over his eyes. He flicked his head back to clear his vision again, and then he turned back to Billy without so much of a second thought and crouched into ready position to get the ball again. 

Oh. 

That’s why. That’s why Eddie’s crush had never ended. 

Because every so often Steve would give him one of those ‘I know you, hey’ nods, or a tight lined ‘I just realised I was walking past someone I know’ smiles, and Eddie would melt. 

Eddie would melt so much because no one with Steves status would give those to Eddie. And he knew he was scraping for crumbs right now but that… oh, he recognised Eddie and he said hey, and- Oh, fuck! Eddie didn’t do it back… again. 

Jesus, he never fucking does. Always too distracted by Steve’s pretty features and the fact that he noticed him. 

Maybe Steve did notice him, sometimes.

Eddie just wished Steve would see him too. 

**

super late submission but whatever :) it's in before it's over and that's all that matters to me rn lol.

read Day Two here

\/ a dodgy art piece for this one \/

[dinoplantsghost]

pairing: Tom Riddle x fem! original character

warning(s): tom is a warning in itself, 1940s: time accurate r@c!sm (xen0ph0b!a) and comments, canon-compliant prejudice, teenage behavior (boys smh), language (swearing), mentions of murder & death, violence, bodily horror

word count: ~3783

Disclaimer: I have a huge google doc that holds all of my drafts and I'm quite literally just copypasting everything, so if there are any typos/errors, no there isn't!! :)

-- really pushing it with the out of pocket comments here but it's the 1940s bro, these dingdongs wouldn't know how to be nice tbh 😭💀

Chapter List

Defense Against the Dark Arts [3]

Saoirse didn’t know whether she enjoyed the Ravenclaw Tower or if she wanted to jump out of the windows that surrounded it. True to the House, everything was blue with a hint of the brown notes bronze held. It was almost always cold, something Saoirse hated the most about the Ravenclaw Tower; as the end of the year and the end of the first term creeped closer, the colder nights became, the shorter the sun seemed to stay before running back to its hideout in the west away from Scotland. Saoirse wasn’t fond of the school colors either, though she supposed it was better than the awful standard pink or gold Mahoutokoro had to offer. 

Begrudgingly getting out from the thick blue duvet, Saoirse forced herself to dress, tears pearling in her eyes as she fought her hair with a hairbrush until she finally used magic to untangle her cerulean strands. She ignored the other three girls she had to share a dorm with; they were none of her concern. Having shared a dorm prior, the other girls were huddled on one bed together, the morning gossip seeming commonplace between them as they got ready, albeit very slowly, Saoirse noted. 

Without a word, the Asian girl left the dorm and her legs were already dreading walking up the spiral staircase to the main lounge of the eagle common room. Saoirse thought the use of a spiral tower as living quarters was quite nice, actually, despite her other thoughts concerning the interior designing. It gave the common room an endless feel as her legs continued their way up the stairs. It allowed for a full study room, something she presumed to be a staple of the Ravenclaw students as they were expected to be academic and diligent in their classes. The lounge held bold ingenuity; the roof was an exact reflection of the night sky, no matter the time it was in the day. It was helpful for students taking Astronomy, as Saoirse saw last night when she woke up to grab a glass of water. Her eagle peers were huddled in the lounge, as they always were, parchment thrown around and ink pots dispersed, risking the chance to fall over and ruin the rugs. 

When she finally made it out of the Tower and onto the moving stairs of the rest of the castle, her mind cleared. Though she had met with the lady yesterday, Saoirse had no time to speak with Merrythought in private. Her lesson was very boring, she noted; Saoirse had been taught those spells long ago, when she was about twelve years old. The girl walked past the Great Hall, ignoring her need to eat as she made her way to the professor’s office in her classroom. 

Merrythought seemed to be a very cluttered person. Once Saoirse found herself opening the door to the lady's room, her feet instantly rubbed against piles of parchment and books that covered the tile floors. “Oh, Saoirse," Merrythought said, popping her head out from a hoard of stuff from a far away desk. “I apologize for the mess in here; I can never get things done sometimes. Time is funny that way." 

"That's alright, I just had a few questions. I would have asked yesterday but there was no time for privacy.” Saoirse carefully stepped over to Merrythought, wincing as she heard cracking under her feet. Hopefully the professor wouldn't notice. "When I first met you, you inspired me to explore the Dark Arts, to experiment; you said I was a natural. But during my tour, the boy who walked me through Hogwarts, I always forget his name; Don Fiddle? Anyways, he said that you never advocate for the use of Dark Arts, which is the exact opposite of what you have told me in the past.”

Merrythought nodded, a hum of understanding passing through her lips as she reached for her bifocals to clean the lens. “My dear, I only say that because not many understand that, the Dark Arts is not evil inherently. It is the intentions of the user that determine whether it is evil or not. Your reason for being expelled, it was because your experiment failed and that girl died. You had no intentions of harming her and she willingly offered to help. I see no reason why that should stop you from continuing fueling your curiosity.”

“But the book I was reading, The Soul and Its Properties, said that a soul unable to latch onto the chosen object would latch onto the nearest living specimen. Does that mean I'm cursed, ma’am?”

Truthfully, Saoirse had no clue what she was doing with the ritual. The book was difficult to translate and the pages were extremely faded, but somehow she was able to capture even a sliver of understanding through the step-by-step pictures. That girl, Himiko, was Saoirse’s disturbed roommate. She happily offered herself up to help when she found a bunch of surgical materials on Saoirse’s side of the room under a floorboard. Saoirse herself had never really talked to her, the experiment was the one of the first times she had ever talked to the girl. The Ravenclaw vividly recalled how the lamps flickered, so the ritual had worked in a sense.

“Define cursed," shrugged Merrythought. “Usually you are only cursed when there are bad intentions. If a soul is angry, then yes, you would be cursed." She walked off, going back to her paperwork piles up on her desk. 

Merrythought had always been a cryptic person in one-on-one conversations. During the training camp she had met the woman, Saoirse had constantly heard how confusing Merrythought was, and those sentiments were coming back in harsh waves now as students struggled to complete assignments even with the lady’s direct help. She was a good teacher, yes; her lessons always allowed for hands-on experiences for students, but when it came to writing notes for an exam, or an essay deep diving into the nuances of a spell, Merrythought was not the person to go to.

“I think I’ll figure it out myself later on, then.” Saoirse murmured, sweat dropping as she coughed in her hand before pivoting on her foot to make her way out of her office. 

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

The classroom filled quickly as students made their way out of the Great Hall, like ants in a single file line. Defense Against the Dark Arts was fairly easy for the group of boys who had designated spots in the middle of the room, who were forced to sit there by Tom, who liked being in the professor’s direct vision. When they walked into the room, however, Abraxas groaned under his hands, light waves of platinum blond tickling his cheeks the moment he saw the annoying color of Cerulean near the front of the classroom. 

Eloise, being nosy as he is, turned his gaze to Abraxas’ predicament. “It’s her,” he gasped dramatically. “Oh, Merlin, she looks so exotic—look at the color of her hair!” 

Patrick hit Eloise in the shoulder, causing the boy with copper strands to stumble on his feet. “You’re always so loud, El’.” 

Eloise shrugged, pushing Patrick back harder and laughing as the thin teen fell to the ground. 

“Can you stop messing around,” Abraxas frowned. “Sometimes I hate being around you guys, honestly…” 

Miles helped Patrick up, swatting his back to get rid of dust and grime from his sweater. 

“Do you think I should try to talk to her?” Eloise asked, a sparkle in his eyes that the rest saw often. “I can see it now; she’ll be swept off her feet by my gorgeous smile and my luscious hair. I’m so glad I decided to wear my good cologne today.” Without consulting with the rest of the boys, Eloise marched up to the quiet girl at the front of the room, tapping an index finger against the wooden table. Saoirse glanced up, raising her eyebrows in confusion as she waited for him to speak. “Good morning,” he said. “You’re the new student, right? I’m glad Hogwarts gained a new beauty in our midst, though it would have been much better if you wore a bit of green on your person—it would really bring out those gorgeous eyes of yours.” 

Saoirse was stunned. This random European boy was flirting with her from the get-go. “Thank you,” she coughed, her cheeks and ears cherry red. “I’ve always been told my eyes are weird…” 

Eloise kissed his teeth, shaking his head in disappointment as he promptly hopped over the elongated desk to sit next to the foreigner. “Well those gits are colorblind, I doubt those squinters could ever fully witness your exotic beauty.” He said, running a hand through his hair before putting his arm around her shoulders, blissfully unaware of the way she tensed up under the sudden contact. 

Miles, Louis, and Patrick walked over, faces flushed red as they fought to drag Eloise out of the chair. “We’re so sorry about him,” laughed Miles. “Sometimes he just sees a girl and he can’t control himself—ew, are you biting me?” He yelled, tugging on Eloise’s red hair to get him off his hand. Patrick was elbowed in the face by Eloise, his glasses clattering to the floor in the process. 

In turn, Abraxas and Orion joined the fray to help the other three, careful to not touch or interact with Saoirse as she leaned down to pick up the Austrian boy’s frames. “Here you go,” she said, taking Patrick’s hand by the wrist to plop his glasses into his palm. 

Eloise pulled away from Miles and the other athletics as he saw Patrick being touched by the girl, yelling as the boy’s neck and ears turned pink. “No, don’t touch her,” he cried, tackling Patrick to the ground in front of a flustered Saoirse. “I’m supposed to be the one having a moment with her, not you, you stupid, scrawny nerd!” 

“Avery, get off of the floor, you look like a desperate peasant.” 

At Tom’s words, the boys coughed, straightened out their backs as they muttered apologies to the raven haired teen, falling in line as they followed him up the steps to sit down. 

“I can’t believe she touched you. You’re not rotting, are you, Patrick?” Orion asked, frowning as he witnessed the meek boy scratch at his wrist. 

“I feel itchy…” Sniffed Patrick, his bifocals barely balancing at the tip of his slim nose. 

“You’re just falling in love, Patrick,” sighed Eloise, stretching out on the table as he squished his cheek against the wood. “It’s okay, though, I won’t pursue that girl any longer if you fancy her; I’m happy for you. Maybe she’ll cleanse you of that nerd energy and make you join the Quidditch team.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with reading, Eloise. Besides, maybe she likes reading.” Louis said, shrugging his broad shoulders as the rest of the classroom filled in with other students.

Today’s class was an extension of yesterday’s lesson: the evasion of spells. The main focus was the realization that you will never know all the spells in the world; some are either too complicated to know or newly created by the caster themself. Being aware of your surroundings is better than trying to fixate on spells that are close to burning your face off. 

“It is important to try and find your opponent’s weaknesses. Now, they might not be as obvious, but becoming detail-oriented is imperative to your success. This skill will sharpen with time the more you come to rely on it.” Merrythought waved her thin wand, white chalk hovering in the air as she drew a simple model of two stick figures, their wands magically moving as they threw dusty chalk spells at one another, puffs of white flying off the board. “Now,” she continued, the desks and chairs clattering as they were shoved to the edges of the room. “To figure out who was listening to the lesson, I will need two volunteers. Whoever wins this duel will gain 20 points for their house.”  

Murmurs flew around the room, uncertainty and excitement from many. With multiple hands beckoning in enthusiasm, one hand in particular stood out to the professor; one so dainty and fair it could be mistaken for a maiden’s. It belonged to a boy, a boy with auburn hair, its length falling to his cheeks as it fell from it side-parting. He was ever one to usually participate in one-on-one demonstrations, often opting out in exchange for “free entertainment” as he had put it countless times before. 

Curious, Professor Merrythought pointed her wand towards the male. “Avery, it's interesting to see you participating.” 

The boy in question let his hand fall back to the side as he feigned innocence through his gleeful smile and squinted downturned eyes. “Well, I’m not particularly concerned with participating myself, you see,” he laughed. “I want to personally suggest two perfect candidates who are more than exceptional for the demonstration, Professor.”  On que, he jabbed a finger downwards to Saoirse, then leaning back to point to his friend in the middle of the row. “I volunteer Saoirse and Tom to duel, Professor.” 

Voices echoed throughout the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. A duel between the presumed posterboy of Hogwarts and the transfer that had only been in class for less than forty-eight hours? It was clear to the audience how unfair this was as the boy with coal hair had a large advantage. 

Galatea Merrythought clapped her hands in anticipation. “For once I like the idea that came from your head, mister Avery; five points to Slytherin!” The lady waved her hands, shooing the students to the sides of the room, making space for her two most prized students. 

Tom, with irritation bubbling in his throat as he thought of the numerous ways he was to have a talk with Eloise later, watched as the girl was pulled to the side, nodding as she was given personal words from the teacher. How she was sorted into Ravenclaw was beyond him. There was no way she knew any spells with Latin roots, especially with her accent. 

Saoirse rolled her robe off her shoulders, her dress sleeves now to her elbows as she strode up to him in full confidence. In her right hand was a wand of dark wood with a long, notch shaft, her thumb placed snugly under the hilt. 

Merrythought coughed in her hand. “The rules are simple: de-wand your opponent using all spells you know, as well as deflecting techniques we discussed earlier. Do not intentionally harm one another or I will have you in detention as quickly as a snitch.”

TR~S

An eagle and a snake, back to back, wands in hand. Others watched as they took ten steps forward, with each making them more and more agitated. Flicked their wands to the side, they stood in silence. The snake struck, turning around and throwing a spell toward the eagle, who was able to successfully redirect the jet of red towards the crowd. It was a mystery as to how many tricks the girl had up her sleeve; being a new transfer, no one knew of her potential. The spell hit a nearby desk, making it explode upon impact. The shards were raised in the air as the eagle was quick to make use of the situation. “Oppugno!” 

The shards flew to attack the boy, ready to piece and stab him, but with a quick Incendio Duo the shards danced in flames, smoke forming. Closing in on his opponent, Tom waved his arm to throw in multiple incantations of the arrow-shooting spell and Diffindo. Smoke swelled and whirled around the two at the hands of the eagle and her Nebulus charm. 

Their vision darkened as the smoke burned their noses, blocking them from the concerned crowd on the outskirts of the gray, fluffy barrier. The faintest shouts from rowdy boys could be heard until Merrythought got onto them for yelling in her classroom. 

“How did you learn Latin-based spells,” Tom asked, yelling slightly over the hum of the moving smoke. “I doubt whatever school you went to previously used any.” 

Saoirse hummed, blinking slowly before flicking her wand at the boy. “Dueling camp comes in handy.” She frowned as Tom raised his own wand to get rid of her hex. “Professor Merrythought said I could use any spells I’d like this time around; she said that you would be on par with me.” 

“What did she whisper to you before this duel? It’s hardly fair to give a student the upper hand.” He pulled a desk from outside the smoke barrier to throw at her. Her eyes widened, running off to the side before tripping and falling on her feet as the desk crashed next to her, her knees rough and red against the concrete. 

“She didn’t whisper anything of that sort to me,” she argued, her glasses skewed on her nose. “She said I could use the spells I’ve been working on for the past few months. But I don’t know if you’d be able to handle them.” 

Tom scuffed, his usually sculpted hair dancing in wild strands as the smoke barrier picked up enough momentum to create wind. He had created his own spells before, ones he doubted she knew any solution or counterspell to. His patience was growing thin; Eloise was a fool for throwing him into this stupid duel. “Stand up, you stupid girl,” he hissed. “I have better things to worry about than some weak foreigner. I’m surprised your wand hasn’t blown up in your face with how thick your accent is, you bloody Jap—”

His chest tightened, the air knocked out of him as Saoirse threw an Expulso his way. His eyes stung as he flew back and fell to the edge of the smoke barrier, coughing and heaving as his lungs begged for fresh air. The smoke was becoming less and less controlled due to the sudden fluctuation in Saoirse’s demeanor. Struggling to sit on his knees, Tom stuck his wand out to let a spiral of wind fly out of his yew wand, the smoke dissipating before closing in again, the barrier tightening as Saoirse kept the smoke up. 

As he stumbled on his feet, Saoirse shot a spell he did not know, nor was he able to figure it out. It was in Japanese—or at least, that was what he thought it was. A jet of orange hit his shoulder, a flutter of stinging pain similar to that of nettles echoing in his skin. Ignoring the tickling sensation, ropes conjured from his wand with Incarcerous, wrapping around Saoirse’s wrists, ankles, and neck so effortlessly, constricting her from any movement. 

Her eyes widened as she raised her joined hands to scratch at the bind around her neck, desperate to get the tiniest bit of air. “You’re pathetic,” he laughed, the tickling in his shoulder spreading to his neck. “Merrythought will be disappointed to see her favorite student on the verge of asphyxiating.” 

Dots appeared in her periphery as her hands struggled to pull away the rope, choking her red and irritated neck even further. With a lack of strength and concentration, the smoke barrier fell, revealing to the long-forgotten crowd a passed-out girl with blue lips and a red neck littered in scratches and a prominent rope burn. The boy standing in above her, who quickly pivoted around to pack up his belongings, ignored the professor’s calls as he left the classroom. His posse followed suit, and the bell rang, ending Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

13:15 - Lunch

“She really tried doing that to you?” Abraxas asked, listening intently to Tom’s influential words like the rest of the group. Tom nodded, his fork flinging a piece of vegetable across his plate. “She also used this foreign spell, I couldn’t figure out a counterspell because it was in a different language.” 

“Was it harmful,” Patrick chimed in, closing his book in front of him. “That smoke barrier blocked the entire duel; it takes a lot of concentration to keep something like that up for so long.” 

“My shoulder has been irritated the entire time since it made contact,” Tom frowned. “Though I doubt it’s of any concern. The pain hasn’t spiked at all.” 

The Austrian boy shook his head, pushing his frames along his nose bridge. “You said it yourself, though, she said she knows Dark Magic.” He leaned close across the table, careful to speak in a low voice. “What if the spell was fatal?” 

“There’s no way, she’s too pretty to be that dangerous,” Eloise said. “I refuse to believe it; my exotic muse being a sly minx is beyond any reasoning, Patrick.” 

Louis rolled his eyes, looking off to the side as he drank his pumpkin juice. “That girl isn’t anything special, Eloise, there’s better looking girls in our house.” 

“Oh? Then why don’t you introduce me to them, Louis? I didn’t know you fancied any girls in our house.” 

“That’s not what I said, I—”

“What Louis meant,” Miles smiled. “Is that you can’t make assumptions off of someone based on their appearance.” 

Eloise made a noise of disagreement, wagging a finger into the boy’s face. “No, I can make all the assumptions I want when peacock boy over here literally theorized the girl to be a murderer.” 

The boy with platinum hair kicked Eloise’s leg under the table, making sure to make a bruise into his delicate skin. “Don’t say that so loud, you idiot—and stop calling me that, those peacocks have been in my family for generations!” 

Tom pinched the dip of his nose, a terrible headache coming along as the floating candles from above made harsh glares on the metal of the numerous goblets in the Great Hall. His neck buzzed, and so did his upper arm now. “Excuse me, I need to use the lavatory.” He muttered, getting up from his seat before making his way to the Prefect bathroom. 

Somehow, the tickling sensation had turned into a sting, a pain he was familiar with. Swinging the door open, Tom let his Hogwarts robe fall to the ground as he undid the first two buttons of his dress shirt. As he looked upon his skin, a sharp breath flared his nostrils as he winced at the desiccated flesh now pale and gray, flaking in a way. The scent finally hit his senses, the faint but recognizable smell of putrid, rotting dead skin all the way from his upper bicep to his jaw. The spell he was hit with, the one he didn’t deflect, was rotting him from the inside.

Credit(s): Dividing banner (^^^) by Chen Lu (1436 - 1449) - "Plum Blossoms in Moonlight" scroll painting; sourced through Pinterest

[iantimony]

oopsie, two missed tuesdays!

and i almost missed this one too!!!! i was moving apartments. ough. this is a random mishmash of everything i remember of the past .. three ?? ??? weeks.

listening: finished s1 of the silt verses! faulkner is my poor little meow meow etc. i am rotating it in my brain. will have more thoughts next week probably.

some fugazi because they were referenced in a mina le video on merch and i was intrigued. they're good!

fugazi waiting room

brat charli xcx on recommendation of beloved mutual png jpeg. i liked it, i don't normally go for her style but there's some good earworms in here. really good gym album. not sure which specific song to drop here because it was a Full Album experience imo.

in terms of relistening/older stuff, the dear hunter antimai, more franz ferdinand. finally listened to sound & fury by sturgill simpson all the way through, it's really good. boyf also got me to listen to die antwoord and ohhh i do like this. a lot.

i fink u freeky (die antwoord)

also more bionicle playlist. it's just a dose of early 00's-10's music delivered via iv directly into my bloodstream. sorry.

reading: this was from a few weeks ago actually but i forgot about it. we stopped over in pittsburgh for a night and briefly entertained the idea of going to a museum or something road-trip style and found this museum review. surprisingly she is not a lesbian.

and then related to the watching, wikipedia pages for victor ninov and darleane c hoffman!

watching: mina le: the merch industry has gone too far, WAGs, blokecore, and the “feminization” of sports

swell entertainment: the marketability of celebrity eras, how to destroy your audience's trust

started dangelo wallace's ozempic video. the fatphobia had me tapping out pretty quick tho. also watched about half of joy achill's "the george r r martin problem" about asoiaf stuff, gonna finish it tomorrow i think

watched "the man who tried to fake an element" with the boyf, really fascinating, i knew a little bit of it from one of my undergrad classes but this was a really good deep dive.

also watched two episodes of space dandy with the boyf. so much to unpack there.

playing: more dnd but otherwise fallow. made a little dungeon crawl type thing so that's pretty straightforward.

making: coasters mostly right now! the main ones are a Surprise so i will not be posting them yet. instead look at my worm

i've also started knitting a magic the gathering card sleeve as a semi-gag gift for a friend. it's really really stupid i love it so much. it is just ten rows of a rectangle in stockinette right now but i'm going to mock up a little texture work to get the swamp land symbol in the back.

eating: did a lot of takeout right after moving because, Yeah, but i finally started settling back in to home cooked meals. made my favorite orzo salad for a temple potluck, an ungodly amount of gyudon, and a garlic butter shrimp pasta thing.

misc: my new apartment is good!! the insulation isn't great, i know i'll have to shrinkwrap some windows this winter for Sure, but overall i'm settling in. i have a lot of organization and purging to do, especially of my House Clothes, craft supplies, and makeup/beauty shit, and i need to get one or two pieces of furniture still (like a couch......i have a funny little bachelor chair in front of the couch right now which is very funny). i got myself some fun plants from the farmers market as a housewarming gift to myself. i am finally the owner of a monstera, yippee, she Really needs a repot though. i also got a hoya lisa because i liked the name and it was cute and cat friendly and i got a vaguely labia-adjacent succulent. i have so many little household Needs and Tasks (mat for in front of the sink! blackout curtains because i have to sleep with an eye mask right now because the blinds dont do shit! etc!) and also every grocery bill i do is like $100 because of getting kitchen essentials that will not run out any time soon but that i do need (white vinegar. aluminum foil. flour.) so everything is so expensive. this is a big wall of text. at least the spare mattress is out of my weird haunted hallway now <3 i'm very excited to start hanging up my art.

[nanistar]

do you have any tips on story writing / comic making? ive got something all plotted out but i just dont know where to start with executing it

hmmm this one is tough because i have a long history of starting and giving up on comics, even if i have a full script written out. i'm personally really bad at the whole planning-stuff-out thing. i tend to work in short bursts and write stuff maybe two or three scenes in advance.

i think my best advice would be: if you have something planned out, and you're excited to start working on it, just start working on it.

don't wait to find the perfect beginning, because in my experience, you'll eventually lose confidence or motivation if you wait too long. the worst thing that will happen is you might come up with a cooler idea later, but the good thing about webcomics is you can always start over, especially if it's early on. my "main" comic- something ive been working on since 2014- i have started and stopped about 6 times, and i have changed the plot/settings completely about as many times. i even wrote it out as a 100+ page novel for a creative writing class in high school. i actually started SBC with the intention of doing a short 1-2 year comic to kinda "warm up"

share some of your process online and with friends for feedback as you go with pre-planning. when i was building up the mojave clan concept, briskwater was intended to be the main character, with vulturepaw, a sunclan cat, having an unrelated but major side story but when i shared my first character sketches with my friend server, they all went bonkers over Saltburn so i changed my plan to focus on her. you don't have to share everything, but just having people initially interested in your story is a HUUUGE motivation boost. if you're having troubles scripting a start, don't script. think about openings to shows/series that you like and just start sketching stuff. i really like the foreboding prose-like openings of Fellowship of the ring and Avatar the last airbender, that tells you everything you need to know about the world itself, and mayhaps foreshadows a bit, but is still opened-ended enough that it can go anywhere. you can also start in media res; AKA start where the action all ready happened/is happening, and do a "teaser" of sorts, and then go back, sometimes called a Cold Open (tho that one is used mainly in TV, and some argue it's different but they're both functionally the same thing). think about how procedural investigation shows will often show you an obscured view of how the episode's victim gets murdered/kidnapped/whatever, and then it launches into the shows opening credits.

also finally, and i mean this so, so genuinely, it does not have to be perfect, and it wont be. you are going to be drawing SO many characters so many times, so many BGs ect, things are going to slip through the cracks that that's OK. you can take shortcuts, you can be lazy, you can have continuity errors. also give characters in the BG funny stupid faces instead of worrying about details because its fun to do

sooo yah. that's all i got TLDR: look at intros to media you like, and steal their style. don't worry about getting it perfect. if you have even a slim idea of what you want, just go for it and it will come to you. if you don't know what you want.... also just go for it.

also. my style of writing/comics works for me, but it might not work for you so take any advice i give with a grain of salt. ask other comic folk, like @razmerry and uh. ive been sitting here for 15 minutes but i literally forgot every other comic person ever. so sorry. but anyone who knows things feel free to add on.

[mx-piggy]

Okay I've finally watched the new Futurama... almost a week after it came out. In my defence, I had a pretty busy week, if you can class 'binge-watching several movies ready to go see stuff at the cinema and trying and failing to get some sleep before job interviews' as being busy. I digress. So, here's my review of The Temp. Spoilers ahead!!

This season has been consistently strong so far.

The Temp is an example of an episode that is all-around good; I'd rank it pretty highly amongst these revival episodes. The story is interesting, most of the jokes land, there's a lot of fun cameos and references for simpletons like myself to point at excitedly. After the devastating end of Quids Game, it was fun to see Futurama showing how great of a sci-fi comedy it is, with a fun, sci-fi, Twilight Zone-esque premise that is packed with strong comedy.

This episode definitely could have turned out more meanspirited than it did, but the crew constantly forgetting who Frank was never, for me anyway, veered into the cruelty of some of the Comedy Central episodes. I'd say that it stayed in the territory of funny, as opposed to doing a disservice to the characters like the Comedy Central era did.

The Temp actually reminded me a bit of Homer's Enemy, not just because Frank shares a name with Frank Grimes, and both episodes are named after each Frank. But, this episode feels a lot lighter than Homer's Enemy.

My only real issue with the episode is that the pacing feels a bit off at the end. I do appreciate its attempt at using a unique structure, and I would love to see further attempts from the revival to use a more a unique story structure without it being reserved for more emotionally-driven episodes like Quids Game. That said, I guess that it feels like, by the time Frank takes over Fry's identity in the main bit of the episode, it only lasts for a few minutes before they find the real Fry again. So, in total, there's only around seven or eight minutes where, as the episode synopsis describes, 'a mysterious temp worker takes over Fry's job, as well as his entire life', and we get around five minutes of that at the beginning, then three minutes in the middle of the episode. That and the six week timeskip leaves the episode feeling a bit rushed at the end, so it made it feel a bit underdeveloped. Again, it's just a minor criticism, and I liked the episode as it was; the structuring did make for an interesting story overall.

Part of me is tempted to write a Homer's Enemy-esque character study of Frank to satisfy my love of exploring characters whose lives kinda fucking suck lmao.

Something I really enjoyed about this episode is all the cameos and references it has. There's the Omicronians, Calculon, the Robot Mafia, Zoidberg's Uncle. And, I loved the incorporation of Amazonian Women in the Mood into this episode's story. It was such a fun, clever choice, and (unlike with Children of a Lesser Bog) it wasn't delivered in a clunky way. I also loved the Professor's 'I'm already in my pyjamas' (and how they subvert it).

And, this episode was so funny that I couldn't possibly list everything that made me laugh. Probably the biggest laugh was Bender's 'who the hell is he?'.

Overall, I probably liked The Temp a bit more than Quids Game and a lot more than The One Amigo, because I really enjoyed having an episode where we got to see the Planet Express crew together. Right now, I'd give this one a 7.5/10. I've used the word 'fun' far too much in this review (my apologies) but I really do want more fun episodes like this with interesting sci-fi premises and a mystery element to them, all the while being comedically strong.

As always, let me know what you thought about this episode!

[munvermaniac]

I saw @zephrr’s post about Russian!Jason and I was thinking (I know, I know, that’s surprising) about the angst that could come from it.

Think about it: it’s the 80’s, the Cold War is still going on stronger than ever. If it gets out that Hawkins’ golden boy is a Russian, he’s going to be just as outcast as Eddie.

Russian!Jason has to keep his entire family a secret, he has to hide his accent perfectly, he can’t bring in lunches from home, or else it’s all over.

A while into their relationship he makes the mistake of telling Chrissy. They’re at the movies seeing the newest Bond movie, and the oh-so-intimidating villain speaks to his henchman in Russian.

Jason laughs, because this scary villain has the same grasp on the language as a three year old. His grammar is all wrong, and his accent is so god awful that Jason can’t help but find it funny.

Chrissy asks what he’s laughing at and he tells her, just like that. Something in her expression changes, and Jason knows their relationship won’t be the same.

She starts ducking out of date night more often, saying she has plans with friends or with family. She won’t let him walk her to class, and they hang out at school less. She doesn’t like to be alone with him anymore.

Chrissy doesn’t say it, but he knows. There’s a distrustful, nervous look in her eyes whenever they’re alone, and it always looks like she’s poised to run.

She breaks up with him after a while. He tries to reason with her, convince them to stay together, but she threatens to call the cops on him.

“I’ll report you as a Russian spy if you come near me or my family,” she says, with genuine fear in her voice. “I don’t want to, but I will.”

Jason can’t even bring himself to be surprised, to be honest. This has been coming for a while. He just hopes she keeps it a secret. And she does, at least until the mall fire.

Everyone in town knows the Russians had a base under there, and Russian-American tensions are at an all time high.

Jason’s on his way to biology when it happens. Andy passes by him and Jason goes to say hello. Andy knocks the books out of his arms and spits, “Commie bitch.”

It takes him entirely off-guard at first, but then he realizes. No one in the school has looked him in the eyes. No one has spoken to him. Not in the normal, popular-boy-privilege kind of way.

In the afraid kind of way. In the whisper-as-he-passes kind of way. In the don't-touch-the-russki kind of way.

And just like that, Jason's completely outcast.

He's kicked off the basketball team, the football team, and the baseball team, he's pushed out of every club he's signed up for. Hell, Jason just counts himself lucky that his grades aren't tanking.

So, he goes where all the outcasts do: Eddie Munson. It's almost freeing, not having to keep his secret any more. His birth name is Dzheysin Karkov. His parents love to tell the story about how the immigration patrol misheard it so badly he automatically became Jason Carver.

Eddie takes to calling him Dzhey, and he lets it slide for now. After all, Eddie gave him the choice between Dzhey or Sin. Not very inventive, but Dzhey was the much better choice between the two.

Eddie always asks Jason to come up with cool Cyrillic character names, and even drags him to a session so he can do the voice for the main villain. He gives Jason a script to read and everything, with little voice lines and comments based on what numbers the club rolls against him. And Jason revels in it.

He actually finds himself having fun, letting loose. He can bring the Hellfire Club to his house and they won't judge the okroshka or the pelmeni his parents make, or the casual use of Russian around the house.

He feels more at home than he ever has in America.

[delyth88]

X-Men rewatch part 4

Next up was X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Now this one I had actually seen before, and very much enjoyed, but it is so much better having watched First Class as well. Funny that. XD

I love me some time travel shenanigans, and this delivered. The dystopian future was really rather grim and I'll be seeing those images in my mind for a while yet I imagine. :/ The sense of inevitable doom was strong! I ended up watching this over three evenings, so perhaps that's given it more impact than it would usually have. And I felt they did a really good job tying the present with the past here.

Random thoughts...

OMG! I did not see Erik actually killing Wolverine coming. I feel like that was a line crossed, and I'm interested to see if that plays out in the last two films of the younger generation. I mean I guess we see that plenty in the original films, but in that case it was always with the hope that things might improve - it's a lot harder to watch things going in the opposite direction. And just how isolated Erik is now - that can't be good.

I didn't remember how the main plot played out, but I love that Mystique created the opportunity for a positive ending, although I'm a little unsure why she didn't just let Erik carry on? Might have to watch it again. Oh noes. Was she wanting to reduce the number of casualties but still get Trask, or something else?

I have enjoyed how Mystique has been a much more important and well developed character in these films so far than in the original trilogy. Makes her feel less like the exotic naked woman thrown in for fun which it kinda felt it was to me in the earlier films.

And Charles. Beautiful heartbroken Charles. I loved his story. While I'm not entirely sure they sold the reasons why quite well enough, it was clear that the last few years had NOT been kind to him. I loved his exchange with Erik on the plane. And I can very much empathise with the desire to block it all out and stop caring so much - and to have a means of doing that, that also coincidentally allows you to walk again - it would have been irresistible.

I thought the conversation with his future self was a good way to push him along the right track and to tie the two eras together. But man, does the message of holding on to hope and working for something better ring differently in 2024.

And I'd forgotten that the impact of these changes meant that Jean was still alive. I did very much enjoy Wolverine walking stupidly around the mansion working out what was going on after he woke up, and his conversation with Charles at the end. Sometimes you just need the soppy ending.

The whole thing with Peter breaking Erik out of the Pentagon, I'd forgotten about that. I've seen that video clip floating around on Tumblr so often now (the one where he rescues everyone from the mansion) that I can't recall if I've actually seen the movie that's from now (I don't think I have because I think I've now seen all the ones I remember). But the rescue scene was just great fun. And the short line about his Mum telling him his Dad had similar powers now meant something to me where it would have gone over my head in 2014.

I am in very real danger of falling in love with another bunch of characters with tragic backstories in films from the 2010s. Sigh. If there's anything equivalent in modern media that I'm missing, please do let me know so I don't have to catch up on it in 10 years time, eh?