#anything even close to that ballpark is what we want

[sophiethewitch1]

me and what we want are going through a lovers spat rn because i desperately want to write more for it but i constantly feel like shit so its really getting in the way of our relationship. also if youve sent me any asks that i havent responded to i am geniunely so sorry about it i am in the trenches right now

[hotheadedhero]

Like 'em Big

AN: I have so many stories to write but I had to do this. Blaming being sick, m'kay? Fever has got me bad and these meds got me loopy. Thinking we need some good, silly fun in our lives, right? Plus, now that I've watched Rise, I'm hungry for some big Raph appreciation. I know I ain't the only one

Part 2

All characters are aged up

Raphael x Reader

Warnings: near peril, easily smitten, possible errors due to fever (what kind of fever is up for deliberation🥴)

Cutting right to the chase. You like big dudes. That doesn't necessarily mean muscles, either. You just love you a big man - someone with a bit of something-something to them. More to love, you know? Given your track record with the greater world, it shouldn't be all that much of a mystery. Cats? Get yourself a tiger that you can cuddle into. Jumpers? Comfort central, baby. Beds? If you can't spread eagle then you see no point. The old-age saying does declare that the bigger the better, so who are you to disagree? How true that is may be up for debate but it’s merely as simple as understanding what your preferences are.

However, this makes dating a difficult ballpark to play in. No matter how tall, jacked, or voluptuous someone is, it never feels like enough. Human biology and genetics can only go so far in the conceivably possible sense. You just want to be absolutely engulfed when you get a hug. Is that such a crime? Apparently, it is. Unfortunately, you also seem to come across the worst jerks when you attempt to date within this set of criteria. One might argue it's your karmic justice for being so superficial and picky but a woman has needs. Not those kinds of needs, either. Get your head out of the gutter.

All hope seems lost and after yet again, another failed date, you decide to call it in for the evening and make your way home. A fresh failure and another wonderful outfit gone to waste. By no means is it anything flashy but you put a lot of work into it: pencil skirt, turtle neck sweater, and a nice pair of boots to compliment the look. The whole shebang! All of that effort for nothing. This is the last time you spend three hours doing your hair and makeup. Block after block, your feet grow heavier with every step. What you would give to come across a mountain-like man you can climb who is also a kindred spirit. Perhaps this dream guy will forever be that - a dream. Men like that don't just fall out of the sky.

"Look out!!"

The sudden shout almost scares you into tripping over and you look behind yourself, wishing you hadn’t. Two very large, very dangerous-looking figures entangled in battle, those of which are approaching your helpless little self. You quickly duck as the giants hurdle over you. One falls on its side whilst the other claws and skids against the ground, regaining its balance. It shakes its head and locks onto you, a guttural snarl rumbling past its jowls. Such a creature is surely from the stuff of nightmares. An indescribable nightmare whose sights are set on you. The smart option would be running away but it's as though your shoes have melted into the pavement. Pawing into the tarmac, the beastly thing growls and lunges for you. Great. This is how you die: torn limb from limb by a demon dog. Well, assuming your clothes join you, at least you’ll look like a total babe in the afterlife.

"Oh no ya’ don't," the other one yells from behind the predator, grabbing it by its tail. “Pretty ladies are not food!”

With a mighty tug, he pulls it back and swings it as far away from you as possible. You release a shaky breath, legs trembling beneath you. That was far too close for comfort. The fight isn’t quite over, however. Just as it approaches him, the green goliath swivels on his feet, full 180, and whacks the creature's jaw with a closed fist. His speed alone has you in awe but the force is astounding, practically earth-shattering. It completely knocks the air around you and pushes you onto your backside.

When the dust clears, the first thing you see is your saviour panting, his spiky shell(?) pointed towards you. Just past him in the distance, you notice three more figures in blue, purple, and orange taking a closer look at the unconscious tyrant. You swear one of them pokes at it with a stick. Witnessing strange beings such as this isn't entirely new. Anyone who's watched Chateau Pretenche knows about the celebrity chef turning into a grotesque pigman. To describe it in one word? Horrifying. It's just whether people choose to believe it genuinely happened or if these bizarre entities exist. Being up close and personally observing it now puts your scepticism in check.

As the humanoid turtle calms, he turns to face you, recapturing your attention. A red mask sits over his eyes and there’s a noticeable snaggle tooth poking past his upper lip. Typically, the prerogative is keeping out of sight but it’s much too late for that. He gradually advances towards you. You watch him warily and he keeps his movements slow for that very reason. It wouldn’t be a shock if you were to try and make an escape. He wouldn’t blame you. Currently, all he wants to do is make sure you weren’t hurt during that fiasco provided you don’t suddenly come out of your bewilderment and run off. You have good reason to but he just saved you. Either that or he’s as ravenous as that beast and wants you all to himself. The irrational conclusion remains as such - irrational - when he descends to one knee and outstretches a hand. There’s an irrefutable kindness in his eyes; a caring nature that can’t be replicated in the face of savage brutes.

"You okay?" he asks.

You continue to gawk without a word but, bit by bit, you reach out for his offer. Your fingers lightly trace the centre of his palm before comfortably trusting the proposal. His hand engulfs yours completely and Raph hopes to mercy that you don’t realise how sweaty he’s getting. He can feel his heart beating like crazy. He wonders how much of that is the adrenaline from the fight and how much of it is being in the presence of such a beautiful gal. As he helps you to your feet, he rises to his own. Someone of his stature shouldn’t be capable of being this delicate but he is. It has you running through a loop and you unintentionally stare at the remarkable behemoth.

Quite pathetically, you nod, unable to verbally respond to his question. How can you? You are effectively starstruck. Once you gloss over the turtle-y features, all you see is the sheer size of him as he towers over you. Height, width, the magnitude of those arms! All of it is glorious. You can hear the universe asking, “You want a big man, huh? How about one who isn’t human?” to which you answer, “Who gives a damn?”. If the only way a man can be this big is not to be human, so be it.

Amidst a whisper, your mouth moves on its own, "You're beautiful."

"What?"

"Huh?" Blinking out of your trance, you realise what you’ve said and giggle sheepishly, "I mean, you're be... ba... booming! Totally awesome with the whole- uh... saving thing." Nailed it. 

He blinks right back down at you. This is certainly a first. He can feel his face heating up and he withdraws his hand lest you endure the wrath of his bashfulness, opting to hold the back of his head. At this moment, he seems to look anywhere but you.

"Heh. Gee, thanks." His humility is adorable and you’re glad he doesn’t question your initial statement. He turns to you once more, regaining some composure. "You sure you're okay, though? That thing was pretty scary looking."

It’s clear that you haven’t sustained any physical injuries but even bearing witness to something so unsightly can have lasting effects on one's mind. His brows furrow gently in concern down at you and it occurs to you that there’s a soft heart under all of that shell and muscle. Bonus points. This makes you smile for the first time in front of him and Raphael is sure that the streetlights got brighter.

You laugh fondly, “Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you.” Twiddling your fingers, your lips purse up in his direction.  “Is there any way I can repay you?”

He places his hands on his hips and chuckles cutely, “Just doing my duty, ma’am.”

He may be indulging in his alter ego - the Red Angel of Preventing Harm - but it’s not every day he gets paid thanks when he saves someone. It’s also not every day he gets to save such a pretty woman, either. You, however, can’t just leave it at that. There must be some way in which you can properly thank him. Ulterior motives include getting to know this already loveable lug better but shh. It feels like the odds are finally turning in your favour and you won’t let this slip away from your grasp. That’s when it hits you.

Muttering under your breath, you erratically search through the confines of your little handbag. You are certain that you had one in here somewhere. In the spare pocket maybe? Ah! Found it. Fumbling to take the lid off of your pen, you hold out your hand, gesturing for his. He slowly complies, to which you jot down a series of digits on his palm accompanied by your name and a tiny 'x'. 

"Gimme a text sometime," is the last thing he hears before you disappear around a corner.

Oh? Oh. Ohhh. Wow. Getting your number is the last thing he expected. Did he get hit on the head during that scuffle or something? Was everything from the last few minutes a dream? He bores holes into the writing on his skin, scanning it over and over, scared that it’ll disappear if he so much as blinks. A dumb, wobbly smile not so gracefully decorates his lips as he trudges back to the turtle tank. He takes his seat but it’s obvious that he isn’t all there. Being so caught up in his rose-tinted bubble, he doesn’t register his brothers' voices. In an effort to gain his attention, Michelangelo jumps onto his shoulder, partly intrigued by what their leader is so absorbed by.

"Oh me gosh!” the young brother screams in shrill excitement, “Raph's in love!"

Careful not to smudge the neat ink, he’s quick to hide his hand against his chest. "That's crazy talk!”

Donatello sniffs the air and mockingly covers his nose. "The overwhelming manifestation of your nervous stink indicates otherwise, dear brother."

"I got a girl’s number!” he continues to defend, feeling his face go all kinds of red. “'Course, I'm nervous but that don’t mean I’m in love."

Lies and slander. It was practically love at first sight. He just doesn’t like the idea of his brothers knowing that. It’s easy pickings to be made fun of.

"Don't worry, Big Red. Lucky for you, you got a guy who knows all about the charm." Leonardo points both thumbs at himself as he falls back into his seat and props his legs up on the dashboard. "First, you just need to..."

The "helpful" advice drowns out as the large snapper opens and gazes at his palm again. He just can't comprehend how a gorgeous individual such as yourself could take one look at him and give him your number. It's puzzling but he supposes there’s a first for everything? That also doesn't mean he won't text you. The only thing getting in the way of that is fear. Raphael thinks he’d rather go toe-to-toe with that mutant dog again than have to face the risk of embarrassing himself. To anyone who knows him, it’s no surprise that he caves under pressure. No. He will do it! A chance like this is one in a million.

Oh boy. What could possibly go wrong?

[fcthots]

jason x depressed!reader with "Do you want me to wash your hair?"

You're in your bed, trying to take a nap. You were exhausted, but couldn't fall asleep, and even if you did, it wouldn't go away. Picking up your phone and seeing all the missed texts and calls made it worse. The tv was on some show that you used to love, but now it was just pissing you off. Sleep wouldn't come and everything was making you upset or angry, but you also felt numb. Everything was stupid and you felt trapped in your own head.

Until you heard the door open.

You weren't worried about it being an intruder or anything. Jason made sure your apartment was equipped with oracle approved safety measures when you moved in, but that meant that there were very few people it could be.

You don’t move from your spot, only your eyes and greasy hair peeking out from the blankets. Maybe you didn’t have the energy to get up and run to the bathroom to get ready, but that doesn’t mean you particularly liked anyone seeing you this vulnerable.

He gently opens your bedroom door. The lights are off so he can't tell right away if you're awake or not. He squints until he spots your eyes watching him. He sighs.

His footsteps feel louder than they are. You avert your gaze from his and instead focus your eyes onto his feet walking closer to you.

When he finally makes it to his destination, he doesn't look at you right away. "I'm gonna turn on the lamp."

You shut your eyes and reopen them after you hear the click of the lamp. You squint at Jason's feet again.

His voice holds no judgment or accusation. "Why weren't you answering your phone?"

You want to respond, you do, but you have no excuse to offer him. Your mouth feels heavy with the weight of your guilt. You worried him. He has other things to do and now he's checking on you because you wouldn't pick up the fucking phone and send one text message. And why? Because it was too stressful for you?

He lightly peels the covers back from your face.

"Come back to me. Don't lock yourself up in there. I'm not mad. You didn't do anything wrong. Stop trying to punish yourself."

You finally look at his face in order to squint at him in faux offense. He knows you too well.

He trails his thumb gently up and down your arm. "You good to answer questions?"

You think about it for a minute and nod, despite the fact that you don't exactly feel like like answering questions, afraid of what they will be, but this is Jason after all. He's always mindful of your limits. The hand stills.

"Cool. Do you know how many days it's been since this started? Ballpark?"

You avert your eyes. You feel shameful for not telling him when it started, knowing he asked you to tell him when it happens.

He starts trailing his thumb again. "Try and stay out your head for me. I promise I'm not mad, I'm just trying to figure out how bad the episode is."

You sigh. "Three?" Your voice comes out cracked from disuse.

He watches his hand move against your arm. "Close enough, although I think it may have been 4 days, maybe 5."

You grunt in acknowledgement.

He sighs, not out of exasperation, but in thought. "Do you want me to wash your hair? Like in the sink."

"No. The rest of me is gross too, I don't wanna wash just my hair."

"Well do you feel up to a full shower?"

You feel like you want to cry, but you won't. "No...but I don't want to just wash one part. I don't wanna use all the energy I have left only to get one thing done, but I don't have energy for the rest."

He softly brings his hand to your face. His thumb trails over your cheekbone. "That sounds overwhelming" after a beat, "and exhausting."

You groan and try to hide yourself under the covers, dislodging his hand.

He peels the covers back again. His voice holds sincerity. "How about I give you a bath then? You don't have to do any of the work. I'll do everything. How's that? Sound good?"

You take a moment before tentatively nodding your head.

Jason takes his time helping you up. He supports most of your weight which seems silly because you can technically walk just fine, but you don't pull away all the same. His arm feels warm around your waist as you walk.

"I'll make you something to eat after you get out, assuming you haven't eaten in a while." He's right. You nod. Something eats away at you.

Your steps get slower as you feel heavier with guilt. "You know it won't fix me, right? None of it can." You don't look him in the eyes as you speak.

You watch the furrow of his brows from the corner of your vision. He stops walking so he can look you in the eyes. "I don’t care. I don't care if I have to do this every day for months at a time. I don't care if I have to cook every single meal for you. I'll do all of it and more because I care about you."

"I'm already too much of a burden, I won't allow you too do that for me"

"But you can't make yourself do it right now so what's the plan? To rot away? No. Not happening. You are not a burden. I want to help you. Let me help you."

For him, you'd do anything.

[oh-no-its-bird]

Madara as Regina Mills and the Infinite Tsukuyomi as his curse, season 1 of Once Upon a Time style

Tobirama as Emma, coming in to break the curse, and Hashirama kind of filling the roll of Snow White, the brothers unable to recognize or remember each other but feeling each other's loss all the same (which in itself is kind of the greatest punishment for Izuna's death that Madara could give, save for actually killing one of them)

Maybe Kagami as Henry? Him somehow breaking through the curse and finding Tobirama and trying to bring him back to the little town of Konoha, knowing he's one of the only people who can get through to Madara. But also Tobirama doesnt remember anything anyways, so to him he's just humoring this kid

Ok actually scratch, rewind, lets take this from the top;

Ok so. Madara casts the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but instead of it being a dream it casts Konoha into the modern world, where everyone is given some role to fill in the little town of Konoha, and only Madara remembers how they all got there.

Madara sets some stuff up, like gives certain people certain roles and memories, and also bc something something magic something something the perfect dream, within the bounds of the town, Izuna + some other dead people exist. Madara isn't especially focused on the other dead, just Izuna, so he actually is partially unaware of the details of who else may have gotten revived (Itama is totally there somewhere, lost in the crowds)

Now, Madara did not truly design this town, nor the lives of the people in it. He could have, but he didn't bc he was a bit focused on just his own wants. So a lot of families got separated, things got mixed up, that sort of thing. Including the Senju brothers. Hashirama and Itama have no idea that they're siblings, and Tobirama is another ballpark all on his own.

You see, in a bit of a petty act and also a bit of paranoia bc 'something something best sensor in history' something something 'dont wanna take any chances' and also definitely a bit of last minute impulsive 'hey fuck you, I get my brother back but you dont, bitch' Madara pressed the "you are just a normal man who has no family" illusion onto Tobirama then kicked him out of town

With that said and done, Izuna by his side, Hashirama also positioned suitably close (maybe as an aid since he's Madara is the mayor?) Madara goes ahead and pats himself on the back and enters the Infinite Tsukuyomi himself, forgetting it all and able to truly live that happy, blissfully unaware life he had worked so hard for.

(Just ignore the burning fires in the background where Madara didn't think to double check if anyone else's roles lined up well with their original selves. Or the fact that Itama and some other dead people are totally wandering around in the bg, both them, their families, and even Madara none the wiser)

So anyways, just like in Once Upon a Time, time itself is pretty much frozen. No one ages, every day runs about the same, and honestly who knows how long this town has been here now-- because its residents sure as hell dont!

But then.

One day, somehow little Kagami somehow awakens the Mangekyō Sharingan, possibly through a pure chance fluke of the illusion wavering for unrelated reasons (bc it also supresses any chakra use) and Kagami's mangekyō's ability, whatever tf it is, allows him to break himself out of the genjutsu.

Making him now the only person in the town who's aware of the fact that they're all in some sort of illusion-- though the details escape him bc hes like. 13 and didn't know everything happening behind the scenes.

Oh also note, the ages and time frame of this is just all over the place and we will not think ab it too hard.

So Kagami ofc begins to investigate, he has very little idea of whats going on at all but he does quickly pick up on the fact that he can find just about anyone in Konoha here-- but not his sensei. And Sensei always knows what to do, so now he has a mission

Queue Kagami somehow tracking Tobirama down in the outside world, just like Henry did with Emma. Don't know the specifics of how tho!

So now cut to Tobirama:

First off, him as a parallel to Emma Swan is actually so good its kind of funny. I say he gets to keep being somehow able to 'know when someone is lying' (it's the traces of his obnoxiously powerful sensing abilities leaking even through the best of genjutsu)

He's some kind of private detective maybe? Idk but whatever he is, he's freelance and travels a lot

(Which helps keep attention from the fact that he, even removed from the town, does not seem to age-- something even he himself has not noticed)

So Tobirama is just living his kind of shitty, honestly a little depressing life. He has no attachments; He always feels like he's missing something or someone; He can never seem to connect with anyone, and people even seem to forget he exists when he's out of sight for too long (almost as if they're made to forget, as if he really was never meant to be here or be seen)

And then one day this tiny kid is banging on his door calling him Sensei and begging him in tears to come back to the village because everyones gone crazy and someones cast a genjutsu over EVERYONE and Izuna is somehow alive again and--

Woah woah slow down. First, who the fuck are you actually.

*insert stressed Kagami brain car crash noises here*

So yeah !! Tobirama doesn't know who tf this kid is, but he will drive him back to town and give his parents a good talking to.

Hikaku, Kagami's polite and stressed looking uncle, is very relieved to see him back home

Kagami is literally begging Tobirama to stay it's actually painful to watch and no one can understand why he's so fucking pressed about it. And for some reason, Tobirama decides to stay. But only for a little bit, you hear?

(It will not be for a little bit.)

And just like that, the clock tower begins to move, and time begins to pass once more. And both Kagami and Tobirama slowly piece together what exactly happened to get them here, and how the town might be broken out of it's enchantment

OK SO WITH THAT SET UP / PREMISE ON THE GROUND LETS TALK FUN DETAILS

So like. Tobirama and Hashirama having no idea they're brothers. Double to that, Itama is somewhere around! And no one fucking knows it!

Madara does not know what he's done, he is living his best life fr fr, but in contrast to how Hashirama and Tobirama seem to instantly click, Madara just kind of fucking hates this guy on sight for some reason. There's a lot of tension there and everyone in the office is making bets on if they're gonna kiss (Izuna has money riding on it)

So like Madara, Izuna, Hikaku and Hashirama running the mayors office n stuff, with Madara as the mayor

Tobirama eventually ends up as Sherrif just like Emma which is also irony bc smthn smthn Uchiha police force agenda or whatever. And then him and Madara regularly get into very public fights over clashing ideals

Im tied between saying that the timeline for this is like, just wishy washy "hey dont worry ab it" and tossing in Kakashi's generation + others for fun and to fill in spaces

Or saying that just like how the Infinite Tsukuyomi seemed to bring some people back to life within the boundaries of the town, there are some legit time bending aspects of it, and just like how we have people who are supposed to be dead, we also have people who just shouldn't be born yet. Fun stuff!

But like Kakashi Obito and Rin are totally around. Somwhere. Also Sakumo but Kakashi still believes his father is dead and Sakumo can no longer remember Kakashi exists (rip)

Itama is the towns one weed dealer and also a plant scientist bc I fucking refuse to give up on the stoner Itama agenda, that is my default Itama in every AU now. Oh also he's like an adult, and we're also sticking with the him and Tobirama being twins agenda

He and Tobirama meeting for the first time with sheriff Tobirama arresting him for selling weed pass would be the funniest thing

Touka is the deputy sheriff and she and Tobirama get along like a house on fire, and then bc convoluted reasons they somehow rope Itama into working w them for parole/community service or smthn. Dream team!!

But yeah thats it thats the post thanks for listening Im gonna go stare at a wall now

[daistea]

i have a very unsubstantiated suspicion that mithrun was young, around 80s, when he got drafted to the canaries

1. we know pattadol is that age and that's legal age, implying that they take anyone who reaches the age of majority - possibly even younger given that pattadol is a middle child and still wondered why she was the one chosen out of the three. she never mentions her younger sister being too young or anything. but I think we can still take 80 as a ballpark estimate

2. going with 80 as an estimate, I think it's interesting that the three guards with canon ages from mithrun's generation of the draft are all so close to being the same age (mithrun, milsiril, flamela). we know elves have a pretty low birth rate and very long lifespans. what's the chance that three from the same draft happened to be the same age, unless they all reached the age requirement around the same time and got sent off? (side note: flamela wasn't drafted, she joined willingly but she seems to be from that generation since she replaced milsiril as vice captain. if her twin sister died very young and she joined as soon as she could, she probably had to wait for age eligibility as well)

3. the pre dungeon shenanigans with mithrun and milsiril? so NOT 30 year old behavior. that is high school mean girl clique bullshit. either they were young when all of that happened or they never grew up properly from the stress of getting sent away young

i don't know if i'm being subconsciously influenced by how the military works where I live, which is that mandatory service starts the year you turn 18 (or 19 depending on what type of school you go to), but in my brain they all join up fairly young

I think for Pattadol at least, it’s implied that her parents sent her instead of her older or younger sister just to get rid of her LOL

If Mithrun joined around 80, then became a dungeon lord around 140-ish, that would mean he’d have been a canary for 60 years. Time moves differently for elves so I mean 60 years in the canaries may only feel like a decade or two to him?? And even then like a decade prob isn’t a large amount of time for elves either.

I want to agree because why wouldn’t the canaries draft Mithrun right as he turned 18? Why would they wait until he was older? He didn’t join willingly. However….

Pattadol’s thing implies that it wasn’t a ‘this noble family’s child is 80 now lol!! Time For War’ but rather a ‘hey send us one of your kids, we don’t care which one’ kinda situation

The manga mentions that he had to join in his brother’s place, and most of the nobility are presented by their families as a show of loyalty. Sooo his parents were all ‘let’s send the bastard child instead lol’

But he also was sent instead because his brother was so frail. It’s a mix of those two factors i believe. Both his parents being dicks and his brother being too weak.

ANYWAY it makes sense for him to be drafted/volunteered right as he turned 80. So it’s completely possible! But it’s also hard for me to imagine him being in the canaries for so long before becoming a dungeon lord…. If he’d been a canary for that long wouldn’t he know what a demon is and the dangers of becoming a dungeon lord? Or was he just too far gone and too arrogant and too overcome with emotion to care at the time?

Idk ��‍♀️

Love u patty, queen of coping

[synchodai]

HotD Episode 7 Live Reaction

But if you close your eyes, does it always feel like nothing's changed at all. But at least there be dragons.

I stiil don't like that Seasmoke fell in Addam's lap. Addam should have been the one to actively claim Seasmoke. I just really don't like HBO's insistence on "power is better wielded by those who don't want it."

"I may appear lowborn but I know much and more of service." Those two statements shouldn't have a "but" between them.

Maester Orwyle continues to be the surprise MVP of the greens.

The Master of Laws Iron Rod getting dialogue? The rumor mill works fast in Westeros.

I like that the nobility are putting so much resistance to lowborn claiming dragons. If there's anything that threatens highborn, it's social mobility.

For "20 years the lords of this realm levied insults against my sons," Jace confirmed to be 20. So he's just one year younger than Aegon? Now that wouldn't make sense because Rhaenyra wasn't even married during Aegon's first nameday during that hunt episode. Good to know Jace has been aged up though. He, Aegon, and Cregan are probably all in the same ballpark age.

I love Addam's acting, he's almost as expressive as TGC. But why are the interaction scenes on this show so short? "The family doesn't know how to communicate their feelings" yeah, yeah, but at least write down for them to have SOMETHING to say. Corlys came to this room literally just to say 6 words.

They should have given Oscar Tully red hair to make him stand out from the Riverlords. The scales on his armor are cool, but there should be more to visually signal that this kid is basically a petty king.

The camera following it's actors from the back is kinda...not doing it for me. I don't wanna see their hunched backs, I want to look at the sets and their faces.

"We honor the old ways." Most of y'all don't, though? Only certain houses in the Riverlands worship the Old Gods, one of them being the Blackwoods who are being accused of going against the "old ways." What do the HBO writers think the "old ways" mean?

Out of all decapitations on this series, this one had the least punch. Music and sound design did all the heavy lifting.

STOP SHOWING THEIR BACKS I DON'T WANNA SEE THE ACTORS' BACKS ANYMORE

Also, I can't imagine how this war will end if the Blackwoods aren't black loyalists. With Daemon executing their House head, I don't see them being that enthusiastic about supporting Rhaenyra anymore. Are they just gonna replace Benjicot with Oscar? And Aly is just...gone now? Who's gonna stop Cregan Stark then?

Again, we're just letting whoever inside the king's room even when he says they can't come in? Guards really suck on this show.

Alyn's voice is like honey. I could listen to this man read audio books.

And they just let the Targaryen princess run off like that? The guards on this show really suuuuuuuuck.

Poor Rickard Thorne dragged into Alicent's impromptu camping trip.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEY JACE, LOVE CLASSIST JACE. LOVE AEGON'S DREAM CRITICAL JACE. EEEEEY JACE AWARE THAT WHEN RHAENYRA DIES PEOPLE WON'T ACCEPT HIM. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. Finally some character drama and juicy interpersonal conflict that makes sense with characters clearly stating their stance through dialogue and we don't have to fill in the blanks as the audience. I was so starved. They actually made what was in the book better with this one.

I like Hugh the Hammer's new storyline, sue me. It's a cliche call-to-adventure fantasy peg, but I like it.

"I need more dragons to end bloodshed." Rhaenyra, what do you think dragons do? Rhaenyraaaaaaa

Beautiful Vermithor shot. And of course they leave all these innocent poor people to the mercy of a merciless behemoth. Ugh, beautiful, blood sacrifice, cruelty, impressive sfx, yessss.

CLAIM THAT DRAGON. CLAIM THAT DRAGON. DO IT NAMED CHARACTER, you have a name and backstory so you can do it!

"Come on!!!" Vermithor: Well...when you put it like that, I suppose.

Nana Silverwing! She looks gorgeous.

WAIT, WHY DID THEY TAKE HER TO KING'S LANDING??? WHY IS KL AND DRAGONSTONE LITERALLY 5 MINUTES AWAY

[todorroki]

Love Sea ep 6 thoughts

the way this show loves to go from backstory → sweetness → [fire emoji x10] should be studied fr

this post is gonna be mega scattered thoughts sorry

i did NOT notice until this episode, but tongrak lives by water which is so fitting.

i know we're trauma dumping in the first 10 minutes, but can i just appreciate the lighting in this scene. again, i don't know a single thing about cinematography, but like the warm glow behind mut and the cool tones of rak's shot being hit with a subtle warm light. is it intentional? I DONT KNOW!! i don't even know if what i'm saying makes sense LMAO but i feel Something. also plus points for showing peat's beautiful eyes. i love seeing them in the light.

and the cuddle scene in bed after this is so chef's kiss. I TOO WANT TO LAY ON FORT'S WARM CHEST!!!!!!

tongrak's mannerisms are so cute like the snuggling, the pouting, etc. i think peat accentuates that so well too (or am i being biased again idk idc)

please this part...... UUUUOOOOGGGGHHHH mut holding rak's hands down, the slow build up to kiss, rak with his tongue out ready to go..... fortpeat know how to dial it up!!!!! their tension is crazy

also thank u for the thighs. i love thighs. fort's thighs in those jeans. and peat's are always out in this series thanks to the short shorts.. brain food.

i want khom's green fit so bad like THE PASTEL and my favorite color. i'm wondering if we'll get to see connor at all besides his voice. in the novel, he shows up with khom during this part.

i'm glad we're getting to see more of rak and vi's friendship. i feel like there's been a lack of that so far so this short scene is good to solidify their closeness. also the way peat smushes his face against the pillow here is SOO cute. he plays cute pouty kitten characters so well.

also vimook... THEY'RE SO UNSERIOUS!!!!!!!! PLEASE mame what is ur plan for them bc i am literally the mf crying emoji seeing their progression. the show is already deviating from the novel (they have extra scenes in the series iirc) so i don't know what to expect.

BRING HIM BACK TO THE WATER!!! HE BELONGS ON THE ISLAND. mut in the city but near water... so close yet so far....

also finally we get meena aka we're truly starting the conflict of this story. i really have to praise nina. fortpeat have said before she's good, but i've never watched anything she's in so i didn't know but yes. she is GOOD. kid/young teen characters can be super hit or miss and i think nina hits it out of the ballpark. she's VERY natural and comfortable with her line delivery and expressions.

i think one of peat's strongest points as an actor is his display for yearning. he's so ridiculously good at internal panic.

also how can i NOT mention the face-fucking nc at the end!!! after getting interrupted twice (once last ep and during the mid-way point of this ep) i was like we have to get Something right? AND WE DID RAAAH I LOVE WINNING!!!!! love sea truly does make me feel like im constantly winning in the nc department.

SHOUTOUT TO PEAT ACTING A CUTIE (and leg... i love leg)

anyways i will be gushing abt fp for a second here LIKE OOH MY GOD THEY ARE JUST SOO SOFT TOGETHER LIKE

DOMESTICITY!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROMANCE!!!!!!!!!!!! COMFORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY CAN DO IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

idk if mmy will have anything for them after this (i think they hinted at SOMETHING but it's most likely not a series) but i need some casting person out there to see them and be like "YES FUCK WE'RE HIRING" LIKE IM GONNA NEED MORE AFTER THIS SERIES PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE the way they fit together..

[green-socks]

I Want Your Daddy Too

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (hangmav) / Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x Javy 'Coyote' Machado (brachado)

Summary: Jake's best friend and rival get together, and Jake is upset about it. He speaks into existence a threat that he ends up fulfilling, though unknowingly.

Words: 2.1k

Warnings: everyone Jake is being dramatic. Mav is Bradley's dad and I will die on that hill. Also obvs age gap with hangmav.

Notes: I thought of this scenario and got excited. Also I just wanted more Rooster/Coyote content and thought "sure I'll make it myself", but then Jake stole this show and I just always let him do anything he wants. This was meant to be very silly and quick, please don't take me seriously. I'm running with brachado for the ship name for now cause that's in line with floychado and that makes me happy.

Jake was appalled. His best friend in the entire world had betrayed him by getting together with Jake's rival. His mortal enemy. And the bastard was even serious about it.

They had both been deployed, Jake and Javy, on practically opposite sides of the world, so contact had been a little difficult. But they texted each other and ten hours later the other replied, and so on and so forth. Didn't offer the opportunity for many long conversations, but Javy still managed to tell him about a guy he had started getting real close with on the carrier. What Coyote had failed to mention, however, was who that guy was. And that Jake already knew him.

He and Javy had been inseparable ever since they met at the academy. Well, almost. It had taken Jake a while to let Javy fully in, but once he did, he knew Javy would always have his back.

Except with this one thing, apparently.

And to think, Jake had ranted about the idiot all through flight school, and Javy had listened, had agreed with him! Hadn't he?

Well, Jake would probably find out more once he calmed down some. Which might take a while. There were surely worse ways to find out your best friend was sleeping with your rival than walking in on them having sex and seeing way too much bare ass this early in the morning, but Jake couldn't come up with any at the moment.

"Javy, what the fuck! Bradshaw?! Are you fucking kidding me?" Jake yelled, not caring he sounded perhaps a little hysterical.

This was not what he'd had in mind for today. Not even in the ballpark. He had just wanted to spend the day with his bro now that they were both back in the same country. But nooo, fucking Bradshaw somehow had to ruin that too.

"How is this even happening? I thought you hated him too," Jake continued.

"Hey!"

"Shut up, Rooster."

"One, I never hated him. I just kind of let you rant, you know. I actually thought the mustache was hot this whole time–"

Jake made a noise, but Javy silenced him with a sharp look. Rooster looked smug.

"Two, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I mean it. I wanted to wait until we were face to face to tell you." Javy really did look sorry about that.

"But three, you know how happy I've been these past few months, so please get it out of your system so you can be civil. That goes for both of you," Javy turned to Rooster. "I'm not gonna listen to you two complain about each other anymore."

Sigh. Jake can't very well refuse his best friend like that (though he's sure he'll have a hard time trying to keep his thoughts to himself), and based on the expression on his face, Rooster reluctantly agrees. Huh. Guess they can agree on something.

Jake sucks his lips to his teeth. "Fine, I guess. But Bradshaw, if you steal my best friend away from me, I swear to god I will fuck your dad." By the way both Javy and Rooster flinch, it seems his threat sounded appropriately serious. Good.

"Jake–" Javy starts, but Jake cuts him off.

"Nope, I'm outta here. Javy, call me when you're done and can hang out. Bradshaw… nice ass." And with that Jake takes his leave, giving himself a proper shake as soon as the door closes.

Why is life like this?

-

Thankfully all three of them did not even need to be in the same place together again until they all got called back to TOPGUN for a special detachment. So everything had been surprisingly calm and easy. Jake tolerated Javy talking about Rooster in a positive way these days. Because if he was honest, he really couldn't hate anyone making his best friend that happy. And Javy was so happy it was kind of disgusting.

But at least he got to antagonize Bradshaw in the flesh again. In a friendly-ish manner, of course. He didn't want to make Coyote suffer after all.

And at least there was a goddamn handsome man buying him beers. Well, technically he was buying them for the whole bar per Penny's rules, but Jake liked to think the man's eyes lingered on him more than any others.

If he wasn't on a self-imposed "no dickstractions" policy while training for a special detachment, and if he hadn't had to throw the older man out of the bar, he definitely would have made a move. Might have anyway, his own rules be damned. But there was no damning Penny's rules, so that was that.

Except that it wasn't, because the next day that same man walked in front of the class and smirked at Jake like he was enjoying the fact that Jake was blushing a little in embarrassment. Now he was really really glad he hadn't made a move on the guy. He wasn't looking to get court martialed or anything, and propositioning a CO definitely wasn't the best way to promote career longevity in the Navy.

But damn, Captain Mitchell was hot. The adrenaline of flying always got Jake's engine going, but never before had he been so turned on just from seeing someone else fly.

He'd always been a bit of a teacher's pet, he could admit that, but he also thought he'd gotten past the age of getting crushes on his teachers a long time ago. And yet, here he was. Jake didn't make any moves – he wasn't digging for blood out of his nose like that – but despite all that, in the privacy of his own head, he thought about the Captain a whole hell of a lot. Maybe in the shower. Or in the evening when he was trying to fall asleep. Or on his morning runs. Maybe he made an effort to talk to the man any chance he got. And, alright, maybe he flirted just a tiny bit. It was in his nature! So sue him.

-

In an unexpected turn of events, when Javy went into g-LOC, Jake found himself comforting Rooster and being comforted by him in return. Javy was the most important person in both of their lives, not to mention the added scare of Phoenix and Bob ejecting. Jake still wouldn't call Bradshaw a friend, but maybe they could be. They had to have more in common than either of them would have liked to believe if they were both so close with the same person. Jake would take it to his grave, but he knew that behind the mustache was a pretty solid guy and a surprisingly comforting presence, when he wanted to be.

Maverick also checked in on all three aviators in the hospital, and the Captain's presence calmed Jake down like nothing else could, even though he could see the older man was shaken by everything too.

-

After The Mission, after Jake had flown like hell to get Maverick and Rooster back home, he was buzzing with excess adrenaline and nowhere to put it. He visited the duo in sick bay, celebrated with the others, took a shower, tried some yoga, but nothing could make the pins prickling under his skin stop.

Even after they got back to shore, a weird, uncomfortable feeling persisted, though not as strongly as before. But eventually he ended up seeking out Maverick. Something inside him just yearned for any contact with the man. Maverick had said his door was always open for any of the Daggers, so Jake (not entirely) shamelessly took him up on that offer.

The mission was over, Maverick was no longer their instructor and direct CO. He was still a superior officer, sure, but Jake figured the Captain at least wouldn't punch him now that Jake had saved his life. So Jake decided to shoot his shot.

And Maverick didn't punch him. Instead, after some talking, when Jake kissed him, he kissed back.

-

They had all been given a month of leave after the mission, and three weeks of it had already passed. Jake had spent nearly all of it with Maverick at his hangar, and he couldn't have been happier. The only thing he was missing was his best friend who had taken Rooster with him back home to New Orleans.

Mav had been working on his P-51 all morning while Jake went to do a grocery run and made lunch. After eating they settled down on the couch for a little afternoon nap. The older pilot was still a little sweaty from working, his shirt a little damp, but Jake didn't mind it. He just pressed his face further into Mav's chest and let himself doze off, safe in the strong, warm embrace of his lover. He didn't think he'd ever experienced bliss like this while not in the air.

Until that bliss was most rudely interrupted by none other than Rooster Bradshaw loudly announcing his presence at the hangar.

"What the hell is happening here?" the mustached naptime-hater yelled.

Maverick shot up to a sitting position, making Jake's still sleepy self let out an undignified yelp.

"Seresin, you better not be fucking my dad or I–"

"Your dad?" two voices interrupted the angry growl. One of them was Jake, but who–?

Jake whipped his head to see his very own best friend walking to join them.

"Jake, man, what are you doing here?" Javy asked.

"I was having a lovely nap." He glared at Rooster. "But hold on, back up, what do you mean dad? I thought your dad was…"

Jake and Javy had both seen the picture of LTJG Bradshaw. What he did with that information was not something Jake was proud of, but rest assured he would always remember. 

Rooster sighed deeply. "My father, Nick Bradshaw, is dead, yes. My adoptive dad, the man who raised me and who became my legal guardian after my mom died, is sitting on that couch."

They all turned to look at Maverick, who in turn was looking at Rooster with unshed tears in his eyes.

"You– You still want to– Oh, Baby Goose," Maverick whispered, seemingly overcome by emotion.

"Shit," Rooster muttered. "I mean, I– We hadn't talked about it yet but I do–"

Jake wanted to comfort his lover, but Javy pulled him outside to give the other two some "family time".

"Did you know about all that?" Jake asked once they were out of earshot.

"Not exactly, no. Bradley's always been very tight-lipped about his family matters, and now I know why. He didn't really have anyone for a while. I knew he and Maverick knew each other but I didn't know the depth of it. I guess he brought me here today with the purpose of meeting Maverick as his family and not as our teacher."

"Yeah, same. Mav has some pictures of Rooster as a kid in there but I never realized it went that deep. It's not like we're focusing on Bradshaw when there's a P-51 and a bunch of bikes to fix."

".....Yeah, what are you doing here?" Javy narrowed his eyes.

"Learning about planes?" Jake tried. 

Javy didn't dignify that with a response.

"We're sort of dating? Less going on actual dates, though, and more like spending every minute together for the past two weeks."

"Oh so you in deep," Javy chuckled.

It was true. Jake didn't give up his privacy like that for anyone. Usually the only person he could stand for that long was his best friend and even that was stretching it.

Javy blew out a breath. "Well, better that you're serious about it and not just fulfilling your threat of fucking Brad's dad."

"I told you, I didn't even know!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go check how they're doing and hope my boyfriend doesn't want to kill you."

Jake squawked, but followed Javy back inside the hangar. If he hid a bit behind his friend's back then that was his business.

Inside they found the father-son duo (the thought still gave Jake whiplash) on the couch, hugging tightly and both looking like they'd been crying. Maverick noticed them approaching, and pulling away from Rooster, he asked Jake, "Sweetheart, did you get enough dinner supplies so they could stay over?"

Jake blushed at the nickname, and he secretly thought hearing it would never get old despite Javy smirking at him knowingly.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go get us some beers and we can talk," he said, eyeing Rooster's direction warily. 

This was going to be the weirdest fucking family dinner in history. Beer was needed.

------------------------------------------

tagsies (idk who in the hell is the target audience for this but I'll tag usual top gun list): @wildbornsiren @writeforfandoms @marvelousmermaid @lorecraft @a-reader-and-a-writer @callsign-phoenix @blue-aconite @mayhem24-7forever @lt-natrace @luckyladycreator2 @alexxavicry @footprintsinthesxnd @writercole @blowmymbackout

[jennycalendar]

pls explain the jennyangel thing because i truly do not understand

yes absolutely! my jennyangel tag is a mess. it would help all of us as a society if i consolidated my thoughts.

so let's start from angel's perspective. jenny is someone who in a lot of ways metaphorically represents the enduring spirit of the girl he killed -- the girl who also changed his life by being loved, because her family made him who he is. the fact that such store is placed in that girl as a martyr to the point where her descendants are willing to serve one of their own up on a platter to angelus, putting her in close proximity to him in such a way that will place her in serious danger should he feel inclined to hurt her -- a young woman with lots of potential, her life ahead of her, moving through this world with genuinely good intentions -- is so fucking loaded. jenny being here and believing in him is really significant considering what he did to her family. she represents a chance at redemption. being forgiven by her means that there is a possibility that he, as he is, can be seen as a good person. her belief redefines his curse as something given to him to resurrect a man who she believes can do good in the world -- and i think angel would find that tempting in a whole lot of different ways.

and also -- hello! amends! jenny as the most constant face of angel's torment! jenny as the one who is most effective in pulling him down into the darkness! leaning in all close and being all touchy and whispering about how nice it would be to fuck buffy and give up! jenny represents SO MUCH to angel, even if he doesn't ever actually articulate it!

meanwhile, on jenny's side of the equation, angel is literally the same thing to her that he is to buffy and drusilla. she was introduced to the concept of him in the formative years of her life -- possibly even earlier than buffy and dru, as we'd ballpark their first encounters with him as in their teens, & jenny has known about angelus since CHILDHOOD -- and while she initially comes to sunnydale to watch him, we don't see her as ever actually dedicated to that mission. she's mostly just living her life before the (poorly written horrible bad) backstory kicks in. which, sure, retcon consequences, but also: there is this accidentally created implication that this has never been a mission jenny's wholeheartedly believed in, & that angel saving her life was really the final nail in the coffin (in more ways than one! ha ha ha). she has spent her entire childhood with the threat of him hanging over her head, and i think it would be more than natural for her to be curious in a lot of different ways, including (privately) sexually. there is nothing more Gothic Romance (and also nothing more jenny) than the allure of the forbidden, and this is a mysteriously murderous older man known as "the one with the angelic face" who ostensibly took an interest in one of jenny's family members. AND, again, this is exactly the same sitch as buffy and drusilla! she grew up in the shadows of what was done to the people around her. so much of what she became was in response to shit he did. he had a huge hand in shaping her and i think she'd have very complicated feelings about that.

i say very flippantly sometimes that i think making out would solve them, but my honest onion is i think it is such a compelling and fucked up and deeply weird dynamic & there's definitely mutual unresolved/unrealized sexual attraction in canon. i don't think it's ever anything either of them would pursue or even want to admit to -- and i also don't think that in canon it ever really becomes A Thing -- but i do absolutely think that at the very LEAST jenny considered the notion of being courted by angelus in her teens (in a subconscious sexual fantasy kinda way), even if she's mostly let go of that by the time canon starts. they have had a huge hand in shaping each other's identity and that is so weird and i think they should kiss about it.

[quill-of-thoth]

Letters From Watson, The Noble Bachelor

Part 3: The Fun Bits

- Holmes did NOT have to make this a dinner theater, but he did. Because Watson is trapped at home by the weather? Because Lord St. Simon is footing the bill? So Hattie and Francis would get a much-belated wedding dinner?

- He also appears very ready to argue St. Simon down from his anger. And the feeling is valid but anything St. Simon would do stemming from it would do nothing but make the lives of innocent people more difficult.  - Missing, presumed dead is a trope, but it’s a lot easier to achieve believably in these days with travel and sending messages far more difficult. It’s made more believable by Victorian attitudes about the USA.  - Holmes’ visit to Hattie and Francis is also interesting to imagine. He’s a detective, but he knows you didn’t do anything wrong, you just... planned hastily. Everybody will feel a lot better if you all meet in secret at his place to talk it over - he’ll even provide a nice meal to celebrate your wedding! You mustn’t mind his roommate.  - Hattie must care enough about St. Simon to want this to go as least-terribly as possible for him. And this route does save her father a lot of grief too. St. Simon is... not so quick to cooperate.  - Holmes’ ideas regarding a US/UK global empire are, uh. You know the kind of retrofuturism that is so hopeful but also so fucking cringe? Yep. My dude. I have some READING for you to do. (How long do you think it would take to radicalize a victorian?) - After all this we skip the wedding dinner, which Holmes appears to have attempted to make enjoyable... if all went as he planned, would St. Simon and the Moultons be friends by the end? Does he think he can show off a little, feed everyone a nice dinner, and happily, instead of bittersweetly, resolve what is ultimately a case where nobody is to blame, or at least, nobody acted with malice? He doesn’t get a lot of those. - Love the actual evidence-finding in this case - the recipt. The prices alone narrow it down quite a bit, but were doubly lost on me when I first read this, being a modern american. I’m triply at sea because  the prices here are also so low that they’re really impossible to ballpark using only inflation calculators. The prices of food and lodging do not correspond to inflation anyway, as basically all of us are aware. Maybe I’ll add some historical comparison of wages vs. expenses to my projects along with the ongoing amended timeline. - Holmes gives the Moultons some “paternal” advice. Of note he’s like, barely thirty: Hattie is in her very early twenties and Francis presumably similarly aged. On the one hand, sir you are a hypocrite, on the other hand, I’m thirty and twenty-two year olds are kids. Especially if the solution to the problem is “you need to get over yourselves and talk this out.” - Holmes’ closing comments regarding that he and Watson are unlikely to ever be out both a spouse and an income in the same day are very, very hilarious if you, like me, presume that Holmes is aroace. I have legitimately told friends and acquaintances relating tales of romantic trouble (not theirs! I have some sense of when to shut up!) “Wow, glad I’ll never have that problem.” Also, when one remembers that Watson is weeks away from his own marriage, this could also be a clumsy attempt by Holmes to reassure him. This won’t happen to you, old chap. You’re the first and only person in Mary’s heart. 

[casspurrjoybell-33]

Wreckless - The Camden Yards

*Warning Adult Content*

Emmett

It's a perfect day to be at Camden Yards. The weather is gorgeous, we're playing the Yankees and I have a gorgeous, funny, sweet guy with me. He left my place before dinner last night, begging off to get some work done. I missed sleeping with him and hell, waking up with him but it was all good. Finnegan insisted on buying food, beer and snacks even though I told him they'd come around to the stands. He went a little bit overboard and I am balancing quite a bit on my lap. He bought himself a t-shirt after I turned the offer down and he's wearing it while munching on peanuts. We already had hot dogs and I am enjoying a very frothy beer.

"It's so cool from up here, I love the stadium."

"Ballpark. Not as old as Fenway or Wrigley but it's a gorgeous park. A bit small so there are lots of home runs which is always fun."

"Wait, they're not all the same size?"

"Nope, they just squeeze them into the city however they can."

"How is that fair?" he asks, more perturbed than I expected.

"It's not, darling but teams travel lots which evens it out a bit. The pitching mounds and bases are all the same, it's just the outfields that vary a little."

"Oh, that's better. There are so many people here. I know that sounds stupid because of course there are but it's different somehow being in here."

"Yeah, there's an energy. The game is about to start, you need anything else? Looks like you're well provisioned."

"I'm good, just tell me when to cheer," he teases.

"Any questions, just ask. You'll do fine."

We went over a few basic rules on the way here and it's just not that complicated of a game. Once you know how many outs there are and how many innings, you're halfway there if your goal is just to enjoy watching a game. We lost, unfortunately but Finnegan seemed to enjoy himself anyway and I did too. I actually offered to leave at the end of the sixth inning because there was no way we were going to pull ahead but Finnegan wanted to watch the entire thing. I didn't mind, it gave me more time to process my last beer.

"You should come back to my place," he offers.

I picked him up so I have to but I know what he means.

"Sounds good to me, Finnegan."

I am up for whatever is going to happen, whichever Finnegan I get.

He's very, I don't know how to put it because saying 'adult' seems condescending and I'm not sure whether or not he has the infamous 'headspace' I've read about or how he ebbs and flows. Still, I've gotten to the point that I can tell, almost by looking at him, what to expect and right now, it's not cute brief boy. The thing is that we're in public so he may change as soon as we're in the car or back at his place, I just don't know.

I have time to think as we join the mass of humanity and thread our way through the park and towards the car. I wish he'd talk more about it, open up, but none of my prying has done any good and I've learned to keep my mouth shut about it. The drive home is quiet, he mostly stares out the window and I follow him politely up to his door. He walks in, gives me enough room to close the door behind me and then stops, staring at me.

"Would you actually bottom, are you verse or were you just saying that?"

That kind of came out of nowhere.

"I'm verse. I'm happy to let you have your wicked way with me if you'd like."

"Like fifty-fifty or?"

Harder question.

"Uh, seventy-five-twenty-five maybe?"

"Wait, which one is the seventy-five?"

This is ridiculous.

"I prefer fucking, darling but if you want to I am more than happy to be fucked. Why? What's your preference?"

"I dated a bottom once and topped but eh, not my favorite. Too much work. We only lasted like two months."

That cracks me up but it's true, you'd think tops would be a dime a dozen but they're in shockingly rare supply.

"You're funny. Finnegan, how do you want this to go? We've sort of been all over the place so I don't want to assume."

"That's it exactly, I feel like I've been all over the place. It's not usually this complicated but you mess with my head a little bit. I'm not being bitchy, maybe it's a good thing but I sort of feel like my old routines don't work with you."

"Maybe we should stop talking about it and just see what happens" I say right before I kiss him.

He puts his hands around my neck, he loves playing in my hair and I grip his waist. We end up sort of heading for the couch and I decide right then and there that I'd like to put him over it.

"Wanna bend you over the couch."

"God, sounds good. Only thing it's good for, hard as a fucking rock."

"Yes, yes I am," I tease and he laughs.

He steps back just long enough for both of us to take off our shirts.

"Supplies, darling and a towel."

Don't want him coming all over the sofa.

"One second."

I watch his cute ass sashay into his bedroom and I hope he's getting rid of those pants because mine are coming off. I wonder if he'll fit kneeling over the back? Maybe leaning over is better. He's right, topping is hard.

"You're smiling. Where do you want me?"

I pull him against me, skin to skin and grab his ass, teasing his bud while I kiss his neck. He's already prepped, such a good little bottom and he moans sweetly when I slip a finger inside. He's stroking me, as if I need it and right now I hate condoms because I have to stop making his breath hitch like that and get myself ready. Once I'm lubed I reach for him, slicking his cock so that I can make him crazy later. He looks gorgeous bent over the couch, his head resting on one forearm while he slowly strokes himself with his free hand.

"Okay babe. Are you ready?" 

I've never called anyone that before but it feels good to me and he doesn't argue.

"Hmm. Please," he replies, opening beautifully as I slide inside.

I give him a few minutes to adjust and he lets me know when he's ready. He feels amazing and I pause when I'm fully seated, enjoying and appreciating the sensation of being squeezed by his sweet ass.

"Love a patient man, Emmett. Thank you."

"You feel so good, Finnegan. I want to take good care of you."

"Come on then. Show me what you've got."

And so I do.

[the-crafting-gremlin]

I made a bit more sweater progress! I'm nearly done with this second-to-last chart repeat. Then I think I'm going to sit down and do a gauge swatch for the next sweater (or maybe I'll take a break from this sweater to do that...I'll see how I feel).

Unfortunately, I forgot to grab my project binder out of my other yarn bag last night (and I forget anything that's not already with my work stuff in the morning, so there's no way I was going to remember to grab it on my way out the door. I've forgotten to take my meds before even though I leave the bottle right next to my glasses precisely so I don't forget...) but I do have my little notebook of random notes. I'll just take notes in that today and transfer them to the binder after I finish seeing to my grandma tonight. Or tomorrow once I get to work, whenever I get the chance first.

I'm going to aim for a bigger swatch than called for (and than I usually do), and try to measure about how much yarn I use so I can get a ballpark on how big the color blocks will need to be for each color. It'd be a little easier if the planned sweater was knitted in the round, but it's not. So this is going to take more planning on my part to make sure I don't run out of a color and throw everything off. Yes, I could technically just go get more yarn, as long as Joann's keeps it in stock, but I decided I'd rather not.

My whole thing right now is trying to destash, and if I plan this right I should be able to manage with what I have. I hope. (I have enough yardage, I know that, but it's going to be close so I can't just say, "well I'll just make this color block this size and if I have yarn left over, oh well". I also don't have extras of any of the needles I'll be using, so I can't just...knit front and back at the same time. Which would probably solve most of my planning right there. I don't want to have to order more needles, but maybe that's a better plan.)

I've also got a secret santa thing in my department at work, so I need to start thinking about what I'm going to get my coworker. I don't know her super well (she's part-time and works on the other side of the office from me. And is also about a dozen years younger. We don't talk much.) and even with the little slips we all had to fill out, I'm still struggling to come up with ideas. I do know she crochets, though, so maybe I'll get her something crochet-related.

Maybe some cute stitch markers, or a little organizer/case for her hooks? I don't even know if she really uses stitch markers, actually. She's shown us some of her WIPs and I don't remember seeing markers anywhere. (I always use markers pretty liberally in larger projects like what she does, but that's because I lose count and easily lose my place. She may not feel a need to...)

Guess I'll have to employ stealthy methods of seeing what she uses while she crochets.

[bllsbailey]

NBC Forced to Give Trump Two Minutes of Airtime and Boy Does He Deliver: ‘Kamala Broke It, I’ll Fix It’

Saturday Night Live's effort to give Kamala Harris some free publicity backfired spectacularly when NBC was forced to provide Donald Trump equal airtime. And the former president used that time to his full advantage.

SNL had initially refused to allow any presidential candidates to make cameos during their sketch comedy show but then tossed that faux integrity right out the window when Harris made a surprise appearance.

As per usual, Harris was awkward and couldn't contain her cackle. Oh, and she also plagiarized a skit that Trump performed in 2015. 

What made matters worse, however, was that the network was clearly in violation of the FCC's equal-time rule. The rule essentially states that if you're going to offer X amount of time to a political candidate, you have to give the same option to their opponent.

Trump's campaign said they never received an SNL invite, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called them out publicly for "a clear and blatant effort to evade" the rule and thus skirt election law.

With pressure mounting over the controversy, NBC News filed an Equal Time notice with the Federal Communications Commission late Sunday.

"Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president in the 2024 national election, appeared without charge on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' (SNL) for a total period of 1 minute and 30 seconds on November 2, 2024," the notice reads.

The problem, as RedState reported, is that they squeezed Harris' performance in on the last Saturday before the election, meaning even if Trump wanted to do a brief cameo on SNL, it would be impossible.

NBC, backed into a corner over the blatant FCC violation, was forced to throw the GOP nominee a bone. That bone came in the form of two ad spots during Sunday's NASCAR coverage, together with another aired during Sunday Night Football. 

Those are two very pricey timeslots for ads to run, with the Daily Mail estimating each to have a price tag in the ballpark of $1.7 million.

Having very little time to prepare for this, Trump's campaign put together a quick ad of the candidate standing in front of several American flags, wearing his signature Make America Great Again hat.

“Hello to our great sports fans, and I hope you’re having a fantastic time," Trump begins in the NBC-approved political ad. "We’re two days away from the most important election in the history of our country. We’ve got to save our country, and it needs saving; it’s in very bad shape."

He then dove head first into the travesty that is the Harris-Biden administration:

The worst economic numbers in generations were just announced two days ago. We’re losing jobs. We’re losing everything, including viability. We’re gonna end up in a depression, based on what’s been happening. We’ve never seen anything like it, at least for the last 40 years. We have to straighten out our country. We have to close our borders. We have to lower our taxes. We have to get rid of inflation. And we are going to do it. 

Kamala used her two minutes to stifle laughter while the audience screeched after seeing her on camera, delivering flat jokes surrounding the only credentials she believes matter — the fact that she's "a Black South Asian woman running for president."

Trump spoke directly into the camera regarding the economy, something that affects Americans' everyday lives. 

Kamala's performance was a thinly veiled hobnobbing vanity project with her elite Hollywood friends. Trump's message was delivered to NASCAR and football fans watching at home.

The contrast is clear.

"Just remember," Trump concludes. "Kamala and her friends broke it, I’ll fix it."

"Most important election in the history of our country. Go and vote.”

Vote like your wallet, if not your life, depends on it.

[adara-of-the-flame]

thehouseofivo

Well. This was odd. Bradford thought he was the one who hated this the most. Seems someone else might hate it nearly as much as he did…. or at least in the ballpark.

“Greetings. I am Bradford Buzzard, of The House of Ivo.” Not that titles mattered to an entity like this. He turned to Luna. “This being doesn’t seem like it’s interested in speaking with us. Any particular reason why you brought me here to bother it?”

If anything, while he knew exactly why, he wanted to hear her say it and hear the tree’s reaction.

adara-of-the-flame

"Because I enjoy tormenting my fellow elderly." The Seer's answer didn't even skip a beat.

The tree scoffed. 'Elderly? you're barely a sappling. Both of you.'

Luna leaned in close to speak to Bradford. "Tall order for those of us in our second century, but this tree's over six hundred years old."

'Years. Names. Why do you small, fast things fill your time with such nonsense?'

"We gotta fill it somehow." Luna seemed to be taking this irritation in stride. "But, I actually brought Bradford here to speak with you about your life. He needs to get out of his comfort zone of staying in the same place all the time."

'Sounds like a good routine if you ask me.' How does one speak without a voice? There were 'words' in the pair's heads, and yet there weren't.

A tree is not known to speak. Maybe Bradford's and Luna's minds simply translated what was already there. 'I've spent hundreds of 'years' just sitting here minding my own business. Nothing wrong with that.'

All Within It’s Season

It was a short message, written out on large, unassuming index card. 

“Dear, Director Buzzard,

You’ll be happy to know your season of dread had ended, and it’s time for you to accompany me on a trip to the outdoors, as was our agreement. 

Meet me in the morning tomorrow at the Fortress Entrance with anything you wish to bring with you. I’ll provide the rest.

Sincerely,  Luna DelMar, Director of Mental Health.”

[talenlee]

Story Pile: Inside Job

I guess it’s hard to recommend Inside Job. I mean not in the broadest way, where I can just say ‘it’s a funny adult comedy that doesn’t seem to venerate being a selfish asshole, and it looks like a lot of them these days, with the same general level of competence.’ It’s you know, the way that Rick and Morty pissed on its aesthetic to mark its territory and now any animation that puts in too much effort or has lines that are too clean winds up being seen as ‘like that.’

I don’t know if Inside Job is like that, because I haven’t seen Rick and Morty past the opening of the first episode. Didn’t jam with it, and instead watched other stuff I found more engaging instead. Like Inside Job!

No, what makes it hard to recommend is, and, like, reader – can I call you reader? – sure, okay, reader, the thing is, this is a shortish TV series that draws on modern mythologies of the conspiracy theory griftscape in which I grew up. It uses the ongoing behaviour of an overachieving conspiracy theorist father who doesn’t respect his kid as a plot point. One character idolises toys and franchises from the 80s because it lets him pretend he has an idealised family life that was fun. Oh, and the main character, Reagan, feels like an export of one of my friend’s OCs so closely that she uses Reagan gifs for reactions.

The series doesn’t feature a long form sequence of a character beating a priest to death or a thesis about how game play lets us choose our identities, but like, it’s otherwise hits pretty close to me individually.

Okay, like, it’s a great show! And when I say that it’s just as a sort of puzzle-box version of ‘I liked the experience of watching this show’ so you don’t feel you need to untether that and pick through all the possible permutations of what that might mean by me liking the show so instead we stamp on these labels like ‘good’ or ‘great,’ since I mean, I do think I can give you that ballpark of a generality of how good media is, how, you know, you can’t just necessarily think that media is ‘good’ in and of itself, but when I say ‘it’s good’ you know pretty much what I mean by that, within some bumpers. It’s not going to drop a random slur or something into the conversation, right, and of course, as a conspiracy theory based piece of media there’s going to be a heaping help of Let’s Be Very Clear This Isn’t About The Jews in all the jokes and the structures around those jokes.

It brings in Jeff Bezos for a cameo, then makes him look like a big dumb shithead, which sure, that’s some ‘acceptable billionaire targets’ and it doesn’t matter really, like it’s not praxis or anything but it is nice to watch a mainstream show that goes ‘you know, yeah, billionaires suck and we don’t need to invent one as an example.’ That’s in an episode that makes fun of how much Flat Earthers suck, and I think it’s a bit of a missed opportunity that it doesn’t make a point of how religious Flat Earthers tend to be,

Wait, you didn’t know that?

Oh yeah, like even the most science-brained of flat earthers typically, even for a diffuse group like them, you scratch the surface and you find frustrated catholics and antisemetic fundamentalist christians (but I repeat myself) just waiting underneath, all mad that a literal interpretation of certain phrases in the Bible doesn’t actually coincide with reality (because hey, that happens).

Uh anyway where was I,

Oh yeah like, there’s stuff about James Bond? And how that whole story, like, the whole point of James Bond as the movies depict him, is counter-conspiracy against conspiracy? Right? Like doom lasers and secret bases and all that stuff, that’s conspiracy theory guff, and James Bond is a government counter-conspiracy operative. He can do all sorts of goofy stuff, go where he wants, all his toys and tools? Same thing, conspiracy theory ‘hey, we have this tech we just can’t let the public have it yet.

And then, since he’s part of that space, Inside Job has episodes about what an absolute ass James Bond would be to interact with! It’s pretty funny, especially in the ways it draws parallels between rivalries and relationships and how, y’know, when you – when you – I mean, if you draw them down to their base parts, a lot of how we talk about and engage with relationships, romantic ones, tends to be built out of a language that’s used for conflict and harm. Pretty fucked up when you think about it, but like, not made as a hard point. It’s pretty cool, I liked that episode a lot too.

It was almost as good as how the episode about the 1980s seems really different to those people who grew up promised what they offered and never got it versus all the people who were excluded even from that promise. I mean I didn’t get all of it, because I was too young in the eighties and mostly spent my nineties in a cult that meant I uh, didn’t learn much about 80s culture, but still! It even has a great outburst, too!

Uh what else

What else…

Oh, Alex Hirsch is in it and he’s really funny for his few short scenes.

Like, I don’t know, I feel like all you really need to know about Inside Job is either that it exists, because Netflix haven’t done a good job of making sure anyone knows about it, or you already knew it existed but were afraid it was Just Another One Of Those Shows, and I’ll admit it, it is a show where a woman shouts SUCK MY DICK! at her coworkers before going to contemplate how much easier her work would be if she could just control all of their neurons. It’s not like it’s not wearing its Millenial Edgy But Not That Edgy interests on its sleeve or nothing. But you saw a pitch like conspiracy theory based adult cartoon comedy focusing on an autistic girl who rules and you probably started looking for a torrent before reading the rest of the article, or you were never going to.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[loove-persevering]

Grand Gesture (Steve Harrington x reader!) S4 SPOILERS!

 Description: REQUEST! Steve Harrington x Reader where the reader is seeing how close Nancy and Steve are and the looks they give. When the Reader goes to Eddie Steve gets confused and a little jealous because he actually has feelings for her. It is a fem reader x Steve as that's how I normally write and it wasn't in the request!

NOTE*** This DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS for season 4 the ENTIRE season! If you do not want to see a spoiler DO NOT read. I also tried to be as neutral as I could in the writing with trying not to use descriptions of appearance. If I slipped up at any point I sincerely apologize!

_____

 ‘’I mean it’s like he doesn’t even care that I am around,’’ You say, flinging your hands in the air. ‘’I may as well be nothing compared to her, I try so hard to get him to notice me and all he does is play this game with Nancy.’’ You tell Eddie. ‘’Like am I not good enough?’’ You ask him completely laying out your feelings. 

 Eddie and you had history but not the romantic kind. You used to live right next to each other and would hangout from time to time when you were still in highschool. He would try to explain D&D to you but you would never fully comprehend that game. When Max told you about Eddie being with Chrissy the night she died you knew he was innocent, you knew enough about Eddie to know he could never do such a thing. 

 ‘’You’re great Y/N,’’ Eddie assures you. 

 ‘’He’s been giving me such mixed signals, when Nancy isn’t around I truly think he likes me and has feelings for me but with all this happening it’s like whenever she is around I am like-It’s like he doesn’t even see me.’’ You tell him. ‘’I make it pretty damn obvious that I like him too,’’ You tell him. ‘’Am I talking too much do you want to talk about, well uh your situation?’’ You ask gesturing to the boat house you were in. 

 ‘’Yeah I know you do,’’ Eddie says teasingly. ‘’And not really, kinda nice to get it off my mind for a bit.’’

 You glare at him, ‘’Hey you said I could talk to you, you’re not suppose to judge me while I do it.’’ You tell him and begin to pace around again. ‘’I mean what else can I do?’’ You ask him. ‘’Like how can I compete with Nancy Wheeler?’’ 

 ‘’You don’t compete with her,’’ Eddie says to you. You were confused an opened your mouth to yell at him that he was being absurd but he beat you to it holding a finger up to you, ‘’Here me out, you and Nancy Wheeler…’’He pauses, ‘’Two different ballparks.’’ He says bringing his hands up crossing them over one another. ‘’Think about you and Nancy what do you have in common besides this,’’ He says waving his hands all over the place, ‘’Whole thing.’’ 

 You cross your arms over your chest trying to think about what he was asking. You and Nancy were completely different. ‘’I don’t know,’’ You admitted to him. 

‘’Steve has already dated Nancy right?’’ Eddie asks and you nod. ‘’And she left him for the Byers kid right?’’ He asks. 

 ‘’Jonathan yes,’’ You answer by clarifying the name. 

 ‘’So there are unresolved feelings, he doesn’t know what could’ve happened had they stayed together.’’ He tells you. ‘’So you just need to show him that you are the better option.’’ 

 You groan your head falling back in response, ‘’But I do Eddie!’’ You say walking over to him, ‘’I literally do everything I can to get that boy's attention, I take extra shifts for him, I clean the bathrooms at work,’’ You pause. ‘’Both bathrooms,’’ You emphasized to him. ‘’Both.’’ 

 ‘’Have you ever done anything with him outside of work?’’ He asks you. 

 ‘’Well no,’’ You tell him and he gives you a look, ‘’But we did last night.’’ You tell him. ‘’When we came here and found you.’’ You tell him. 

 ‘’So the first time you hangout outside of work is when you go to hunt the accused town killer?’’ He asks, ‘’Not exactly an environment for a budding romance’’ He gestures around to the dirty boathouse. ‘’Let me tell you exactly what you need,’’ Eddie says, pointing his finger at you, ‘’A grand gesture.’’ 

 You sit down in the nearby stool and rest your elbows back against the counter watching Eddie, ‘’A grand gesture? How do I even do that?’’ You ask him. 

 Eddie gestures for you to come closer to him, you groan getting up walking over to him. When you finally step in front of him he grabs both sides of your arms and stares at you straight in the eye as he says it, ‘’You look that son of a bitch straight in the face,’’ He begins to say and you begin to laugh breaking eye contact with him, ‘’Straight in the face Y/N!’’ He tells you to shake your arms only to make you laugh more. ‘’And then you-’’ He begins to say but he’s cut off by the door slamming open, startling you both. 

 Dustin walked in first bags in his hands as he looked to where you and Eddie stood, everyone else followed in just after him and you noticed the look of shock on Steve’s face as he saw Eddie with his hands gripping the sides of your arms, both of you standing pretty close to one another. Eddie immediately drops his hands against his denim jeans. ‘’Delivery Service!’’ Dustin says cheerfully. 

 ‘’Are we uh-interrupting?’’ Steve asks his eyes specifically focused on you, he glances at Eddie a moment after. 

  ‘’No!’’ You and Eddie both yell simultaneously.  ‘’No we were just talking,’’ You explain walking over to Steve. 

 ‘’About what?’’ Robin asks, giving you an amused look. 

 ‘’Ya know, stuff.’’ You say realizing how much of an idiot you sounded like. As Dustin walked over to Eddie opening the grocery bag you found yourself standing next to Steve. ‘’Hey,’’ You say simply, your fingers intertwining behind your back.

He nods his head, ‘’Hey,’’ He says simply. You purse your lips unsure of what to say next watching Eddie and Dustin exchange words over one of the things Dustin got him to eat. ‘’I went to your house this morning to pick you up, your mom said you left already?’’ He asks you. 

 You turn your head to him shocked by what he had said, ‘’You went to my house?’’ You ask him and he nods, ‘’And talked to my mom?’’ He nods again. ‘’I have a car, you know?’’ You tell him. 

He shakes his head acknowledging the  fact, ‘’I know, I know.’’ He pauses. ‘’I just thought we could ride together.’’ He tells you. You nod your head accepting that he had wanted to actually pick you up first and talk with you. ‘’Your mom was really nice.’’ He mentions it to you. 

 You roll your eyes at him, ‘’Yeah she probably said something embarrassing about me didn’t she?’’ You ask resting your hand on your hip staring up at him.

 ‘’No,’’ He says a sort of mischievous smile on his face, ‘’She didn’t say a thing,’’ He says but you could tell he was lying out of his ass with the smile on his face. He takes off walking over toward everyone else who was sitting around Eddie who was completely submerged in the food he was eating. 

 ‘’Steve!’’ You yell at him jokingly wanting to know exactly what your mother had said. 

 Before you could say anything else to Steve, Dustin interrupted. ‘’Alright Eddie do you wanna hear good news or bad news first?’’ 

 ‘’Bad news, always bad news first.’’ He says taking his hand and scooping up another handful of honey comb cereal. 

 ‘’Well we tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they’re definitely looking for you. Also they’re pretty convinced you killed Chrissy.’’ Dustin tells him. 

  Max speaks up next, ‘’Like a 100% kind of convinced.’’ She tells him. 

 ‘’And the good news?’’ Eddie asks. 

 ‘’Your name hasn’t gone public yet,’’ Robin tells him. ‘’But if we found out about you, it’s only a matter of time before others do.’’ It was true, it wasn’t going to be that hard and all your calls all over town to find him probably didn’t help. ‘’And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow minded mother is gonna be gunning for you.’’ She admits to him. 

 ‘’Hunt the freak, right?’’ Eddie points out. 

 ‘’So before that happens we need to find Vecna, kill him and prove your innocence,’’ Dustin says as if it was no big deal. 

 It was only a few seconds later after Steve had explained to Eddie that El was a girl who normally helped us when things came up in Hawkins that the police sirens got closer. ‘’Get under the tarp!’’ You yell to Eddie pointing at it, ‘’Tarp!’’ You tell him. Eddie quickly pulls it over him sinking into the bottom of the boat pulling the tarp over him. 

  With everyone else you ran over to the windows looking outside, they completely ignored the gravel driveway you had anticipated them coming down zooming down the street to wherever else. It was only a few second later two more cars came down the same road, ‘’Why would there be so many cop cars now?’’ You ask. 

‘’Another murder.’’ Robin says. 

 ___________

‘’Woah, woah Nance. Nance!’’ You hear Steve call out pausing as you open the car door. ‘’Where you going?’’ He asks her. 

 She turns around to face the rest of you, ‘’There’s just something I wanna check out first.’’ She says vaguely. 

 ‘’Something you maybe wanna share with the rest of us?’’ Dustin asks. You all look at Nancy expectantly waiting for her to tell you exactly what she was heading off to do especially with whatever this thing was going around killing people. 

 ‘’I don’t wanna waste your time. It’s a real shot in the dark.’’ She says. 

 ‘’Yeah, okay. Are you out of your mind?’’ Steve asked, sounding bewildered she would even try and leave the group alone. ‘’Flying solo with this Vecna on the loose? No it’s too dangerous. You need- You need someone to-’’ He begins to say and you watch him expectantly becoming more hopeless the more he talked with Nancy. 

  Turning around to you Steve takes his keys throwing them to you, you fumble as they hit your hand confused as to what was happening. ‘’I’ll stick with Nance.’’ He says and it felt like a punch in the gut. ‘’Take the car, check out that shrink.’’ He says staring straight at you. 

 ‘’You want me-’’ You pause. ‘’To drive? Steve I don’t-’’ You start to say but Max cuts you off. 

 ‘’I can drive!’’ She says casually. 

 Steve had an immediate reaction, ‘’No, never again. Please anybody but you, no.’’ He says pointing at her. 

 Robin looks back at you and so does Dustin. Both of them noticed how flustered you were by the situation. Why would Steve want to stick with Nancy so willingly? ‘’This is ridiculous.’’ Robin says, grabbing the keys from your hands and walking over to Steve putting them back in his. ‘’We will stick together and you four stick together, Unless you think we can’t handle that?’’ Robin asks Steve. 

  You watch as Steve and Nancy glance at one another as if they were both slightly disappointed that they couldn’t do whatever it is she needed to do together. ‘’You just gonna stand there and gawk?’’ Dustin says to Steve as he watches them both walk away. 

 Steve groans turning back to Dustin, ‘’Shut up.’’ He says and you just wait at the passenger side door unsure of what to do next. ‘’Shut up and get in the car.’’ Steve says simply. 

 ‘’What was that?’’ You ask him as he sits down in the driver's seat. He looks over at you confused. 

 ‘’Nothing?’’ He says defensively. ‘’It was nothing-’’ He explains. 

 You don’t bother acknowledging him, you just turn your head to the road putting on your seatbelt. You knew you weren’t the only one thinking Steve was being weird around Nancy but you weren’t sure how much more you could stand to watch. 

 ____________

 Abandoned houses weren’t creepy. Abandoned houses weren’t creepy. That was what you kept repeating to yourself walking around the old Creel house. It was something about this house that just made you on edge, the story behind it was just eerie. 

  Everyone for the majority split up but you stuck with Robin not wanting to be alone in the house, ‘’This place is cobwebs galore.’’ You tell her ducking under another one, ‘’This house probably used to be so beautiful.’’ You say running your hand along a wooden piece of furniture, the dirt sticking to your hand, you quickly wipe it off on your jacket. 

 ‘’Yeah,’’ She says, turning her flashlight up toward the ceiling, taking in all the cobwebs above. For a moment you and Robin stay in one of the rooms upstairs, both of you inspecting different items trying to find anything that could help you. ‘’You okay?’’ Robin asks you shining her light at you. 

 You shrug your shoulders, ‘’Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?’’ You ask her. She gives you a knowing look, ‘’I’m fine really he can be with who ever-’’ You begin to tell her but the sound of breaking glass and a cry aloud made you both stop your conversation. You look to one another and then both head to the door walking in the hallway. 

 Steve and Nancy stood in the hallway upstairs, she had her hands pulling out cobwebs from Steve’s hair. ‘’Don’t go in there.’’ He tells you and Robin both. You nod still staring at Nancy picking the webs out. 

 ‘’If there's a spider in there you’re never gonna find it. Not till it lays eggs and the babies spill out.’’ Robin says so casually as she walks past them just a few feet behind her. 

 ‘’What’s wrong with you? Steve says not missing a beat. You walk next to Steve making eye contact with him before quickly breaking it. ‘’Robin, seriously.’’ Steve says. ‘’She’s got problems,’’ He says, referring to her. 

 Their voices get quieter but you can still hear them in the next room. You hear the conversation between him and Nancy as he assures her that he and Robin are just friends, and then she asks him about you and he says the same thing. ‘’We just hangout at work and I’ve known her for a while.’’ He says. 

  You could see how close they were from in the room you and Robin had just walked into. ‘’Y/N.’’ Robin says, calling out to you. You look at her humming in response, ‘’You’re staring,’’ She says her voice hushed. You glance back up at them and then back to her muttering an apology. 

 ‘’I think I am gonna head out-’’ You tell her. She looks up at you immediately. ‘’My mom- she’s gonna be worried if I’m not home.’’ You admit. It wasn’t completely a lie but it also wasn’t completely the truth. ‘’Plus I might swing by to give Eddie some food.’’ You admit to her and she nods. 

 ‘’What’s going on?’’ Steve says walking in the room. 

 You glance up at him, he had a worried expression on his face looking from you to Robin. ‘’I’m gonna go home.’’ You tell him. ‘’My mom, she'll be worried.’’ You tell him. ‘’And I was gonna bring Eddie dinner.’’ 

 ‘’Oh,’’ Steve says. ‘’Well- you shouldn’t- How are you gonna get home?’’ He asks. 

 ‘’Well my cars outside- I met you here remember?’’ You ask him. You had gone home last night to get your car then went and stayed at the Wheeler house all night helping keep watch of Max. ‘’It’s not that far of a drive.’’ You tell him walking toward the doorway, ‘’I’ll just see you guys tomorrow?’’ You ask and Robin and Nancy both nod. 

 When you turn to leave an arm catches your wrist gently. ‘’Be careful going home,’’ Steve tells you. ‘’Just go straight there, don’t make any stops.’’ He sounds serious. 

 ‘’Aye aye Captain,’’ You say to him. He gives you a half hearted smile but he still looked as if he was worried. 

   You did exactly what Steve said you went home and didn’t stop. You ate dinner with your mom and after she fell asleep tired from her shift at work you slid up the window in your room with a plate in hand as you speed walked to your car. You put the plate in the passenger seat, throwing your backpack which had a big blanket for Eddie in the back of the car. You were careful to not turn on your light when you pulled out of the driveway to your house scared the lights would wake your mom up. 

 It wasn’t a long drive to the boat house, when you pulled onto the gravel road you noticed an unfamiliar car parked outside. You parked off to the side near the trees not exactly next to the car but still close enough in case you needed to get out quickly.  Noticing there was nobody around, you warily got out of the car making your way to the boathouse whose door was wide open. ‘’Eddie?’’ You whisper out into the open. ‘’Eddie it’s Y/N.’’ 

 As you were about to step in you felt a hand clasp around your mouth preventing you from yelling, you thrashed against the body realizing they were soaking wet. ‘’Shh,’’ the voice says, trying to calm you down. ‘’Shhh.’’ You finally push yourself away from the body with all your strength turning around to see a bewildered Eddie, his eyes wide with panic. You were about to say something but he again put his hand over your mouth stepping closer to you, he shook his head at you taking his other hand and raising it telling you to be quiet. ‘’Not here,’’ He says just barely a whisper and you nod. He takes your hand and pulls you with him through the dark woods. 

_____________

  Out of all the things that had happened in the past few years there was a lot of scary shit. But seeing Y/N’s car parked at the boathouse with cops surrounding it was one of the scariest feelings for Steve. Steve listened closely, holding his breath practically the entire time that the cops made their statement, they had found a body. A body that could be Y/N’s. Steve got as close as he could to hear the statement, ‘’Patrick Mckinney.’’ The officer said. A wave of relief flooded knowing it wasn’t you. ‘’We found a vehicle belonging to Y/N Y/L/N. Right now the reason is unknown as to why she was here but we have not found her and police are actively searching for her as we speak.’’ He says. ‘’We are doing everything we can to find her and bring her home safely.’’ 

 ‘’We have also identified a person of interest. Eddie Munson.’’ He announces. ‘’Anyone with any information should please come forward.’’ 

   Steve couldn’t handle what they were saying anymore he walked away putting a hand over his eyes as he could feel the tears coming on. He should’ve checked on her last night, he should’ve drove by and seen if she was home when they left the creel house. He walked away crouching on the gravel road before him holding his hand in his head unsure of how he should feel. 

 ‘’Dustin?’’ A voice calls out through the walkie. ‘’Can you hear me? Wheeler?’’ Steve recognized the voice as Eddie. 

 Dustin fumbles with the walkie pulling it off his back pack. Steve stands up walking over to where Dustin was. ‘’Eddie holy shit!’’ Dustin says into the walkie. ‘’Are you okay?’’ Dustin asks him. 

 ‘’Nah, man. Pretty..pretty goddamn far from okay.’’ Eddie says, answering truthfully. 

 ‘’Where is he?’’ Robin asks. 

 ‘’Did he see Y/N last night?’’ Steve asks, looking down at Dustin. 

 ‘’Where are you?’’ Dustin asks him. 

 ‘’Skull rock, you know it?’’ Eddie asks him. 

 Steve takes the walkie out of Dustin's hands, ‘’Eddie is- is Y/N with you?’’ He asks. There's a moments pause from when Steve asks, ‘’Eddie is Y/N with you?’’ He asks again, speaking as clearly as he could. 

 ‘’Steve?’’ You say into the walkie. ‘’I’m here, I’m with Eddie, I'm fine.’’ You tell him. The words were like a relief to Steve he let out a deep breath the second he heard your voice through the walkie. ‘’Just hurry.’’ You say to him. 

 ‘’We’re coming just-just stay there.’’ Steve says his hands are already fumbling in his pocket for his keys. 

 It was just a little while later that Steve navigated the way to skull rock. ‘’In your face man. In your stupid cocky little face.’’ Steve says to Dustin slightly out of breath, he had practically jogged here wanting to see for himself that you were okay. ‘’Even with it staring you right in the face, you can’t admit it.’’ 

 The thud of the ground made Dustin and Steve turn around, ‘’I concur. You Dustin Henderson are a total butthead.’’ Eddie says. 

 ‘’Geez man, we thought you were a goner.’ Dustin says walking over to Eddie giving him a hug which Eddie reluctantly but eventually gives him back muttering he also thought he was a goner.

 ‘’Steve?’’ You call out. The blanket was wrapped around your shoulders, Eddie had insisted you take it after he heard your chattering teeth throughout the night. Steve turned around immediately, the relief of seeing you was proof enough but he walked over to you embracing you in a hug. It took you a moment to register what he was doing, but when you did you gave in hugging him back with an equal if not greater force. 

 ‘’We got the the boathouse and your car-’’ He began to say pulling away from you hug his hands still touching the sides of your arms, ‘’Your car was there and they found a body.’’ 

‘’I found Eddie after-’’ You pause glancing at Eddie ‘’I’ll just let him tell you.’’ You sigh completely exhausted, Eddie had explained it to you when you made it far enough away from the boathouse but you didn’t want to have them miss out on any details that weren’t important. 

 With Eddie's explanation and Dustin's connection with the compass and something about mordor you found yourself once again fleeing through the woods. Steve had stayed behind with you the entire time, ‘’So you and Eddie?’’ He asks you. 

 ‘’Me and Eddie what?’’ You ask him confused as to what he was insinuating. 

 He gestures up to Eddie with a nod, ‘’Are you two a thing now?’’ He asks. ‘’You just seem to spend a lot of time with him.’’ He points out his eyes looking anywhere but you. 

 You let out a sarcastic laugh, ‘’Me and Eddie?’’ You ask him. ‘’Never.’’ You point out. ‘’He just needs someone right now,’’ You point out to Steve. There was a log in front of you and Steve steps over first pausing as you take your step over. ‘’Nothing going on.’’ You tell him. ‘’What about you and Nancy?’’ You ask him the same question. 

  He shrugs his shoulders in response, ‘’Jonathans not here I am, I’m not really sure what’s going on.’’ You could tell he was being truthful with his response. 

 You wait a moment before asking the next question, ‘’Do you still have feelings for her?’’ You ask him. 

 ‘’It’s complicated.’’ He tells you. ‘’I don’t think I do.’’ You glance up at him muddled by his response. ‘’I’ve had this thing for another girl for a while and I don’t wanna mess that up anymore than I already have.’’ He tells you. 

 You didn’t know what was worse, him liking Nancy or him liking whoever the other girl was. ‘’Do I know her?’’ You ask him. 

 ‘’I think so,’’ He says, readjusting his backpack. ‘’She’s really cool, has a good sense of style, a decent sense of humor.’’ He begins lifting off attributes. 

 ‘’Sounds like a winner,’’ You say your voice comes out more harsh than intended. 

The daylight had surpassed and it was already dark again, the woods becoming more and more eerie as it got later in the night. ‘’Holy shit,’’ You say, stopping behind everyone else your flashlight illuminating off the water of lovers' lake. 

 ‘’You’ve gotta be shitting me,’’ Steve says aloud, 

 ‘’Lover’s Lake,’’ Robin points out. ‘’There’s a gate in Lover’s lake?’’ She asks. 

 ‘’The demogorgon always left an opening,’’ Nancy points out. ‘’Maybe Vecna is the same way.’’ She says. 

 ‘’Only one way to find out,’’ Steve says. 

 Five minutes later you, Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Eddie were paddling out along Lover’s lake to Dustin's displeasure. It was about halfway out when Robin noticed the compass going absolutely crazy. ‘’Dustin, your compass is going berserk out here.’’ You say talking into the walkie. 

  You were too busy looking at the compass to notice that Steve had begun to remove his clothes, ‘’What the hell do you think you’re doing?’’ You ask him as his eyes meet yours. 

 He says like it was the most obvious thing in the world, Someones gotta go down and check this out.’’ He says. ‘’Unless one of you three can stop being a Hawkins High Swim co-captain, and a certified lifeguard for three years.’’ He pauses taking off another sock. ‘’It’s gotta be me. No complaints, all right?’’ He says not really asking. 

 ‘’Like hell you are, we don’t know what’s down there!’’ You say to him. 

 ‘’Exactly why we need to find out.’’ He says standing up. He lifts his shirt over his head exposing his back and you couldn’t help but Gawk at him, and not only you but Nancy as you caught her looking as well. 

‘’No complaints here,’’ Eddie says, pulling out a bag. He stuffs a light in it handing it off to Steve, ‘’Goodluck.’’ 

 Just as Steve turns around bracing himself for the water, ‘’Steve?’’ You call out to him. 

‘’Be careful.’’ You say staring straight at him, the tone of your voice as serious as it could be. He just nods in response, turning back to the water. A moment later he had dived in, it was pitch dark across the lake you couldn’t see a thing. 

 ‘’Robin let me see your flashlight,’’ You tell her and she hands it to you, trading you for the compass. You move around the boat making it rock small complaints from everyone else. 

‘’What are you doing?’’ Nancy asks you. 

 You sigh completely unsure, there was no way the light would help you see down that far in the murky water but you wanted to make sure if Steve came up quickly you could help. It felt like forever waiting for him to come back up, you waited and waited until finally you saw the bubbles coming up from below. ‘’He’s coming!’’ You tell them trying to prepare yourself for him to break the surface. 

 You jumped when his hands grabbed the edge of the boat, almost pulling you forward into the water, Steve hung on the edge of the boat. ‘’It’s more of a snack sized gate than a mamma gate. But still, it’s pretty damn big.’’ He explains.  

 It was that moment that Steve’s head dunked underwater, everyone being rocked by the boat. ‘Steve get up here,’’ You tell him cautiously, scared to bring your voice even barely above a whisper. A split second later he was completely pulled under his body not coming back up. Everyone began screaming as the boat was rocking back and forth and you pushed yourself back closing your eyes. You squeezed them tightly unsure of what to do, you had to go get him, and you had to do it now. 

 ‘’Y/N,’’ Eddie says seeing you stand up, ‘’Y/N what do you think you're doing?’’ He asks, watching you unbutton your flannel exposing the worn down t-shirt below it. You wrap the flannel tightly around one arm before securing it tightly. 

 ‘’A grand gesture,’’ You say and before Eddie or anyone could protest you jump in. The cold water meets your skin and you can still hear them yelling from the surface. You can see Steve being pulled down just as he makes it to the red entrance way, his arms wailing around terrified. You push with your arms down further and further into the lake until you reach the bottom of it, the red glow illuminating your face. You had no idea where the hell this thing was going but you knew for certain Steve was on the other side of it alone and that terrified you more. 

 You take your hand pushing it through the red opening and like a vacuum you felt the rest of your body being jerked through, it wasn’t as gentle as you hoped and you shot up out of it landing on your shoulder groaning. 

You heard the screeching from the air which made you pull yourself together realizing where you were as you glanced up at the clouded sky. You could see Steve a few yards away his body flailing as he was trapped by his neck with one of the tentacle-like structures. ‘’Steve!’’ You yell out pushing yourself off the ground, you run toward him but stop just before as the bat-like creature slams its face into his side. You look around trying to find anything to use as a weapon, on the ground next to you lay a broken Oar but it was just long enough that you think you could use it. You run over to Steve careful trying not to slip on all of the vine-like things on the ground. 

 You swing the bat once and it hits a bat knocking it away from Steve, just for the other one to bite down on the other side. Steve screamed out in pain as the bats just kept swarming his body. You took the oar once again hitting the bat with it and just when you went to hit the other one another bat knocked it already. You turn to see Nancy next to you with a bat in her hand, more and more bats are coming surrounding the area. You kept hitting the bats so they detach from Steve and eventually they do. You didn’t even recognize Robin and Eddie had shown up as well, both of them with weapons of their own in hand. 

 ‘’Steve,’’ You whisper running over to him, throwing the oar down to the ground. You lean down on your knees noticing the fleshy wound along his abdomen. It wasn’t much longer that you heard more of the creatures screeching in the sky, they swooped down quicker than you had anticipated. Steve gorans pushes himself up and you reach back grabbing the only weapon you had, and you just start swinging, hitting a bat that had swooped down dangerously close. Everyone was fighting off the bats; they just kept coming out of nowhere. You knocked a bat to the ground slamming the oar into its face, blood splattering around the ground. The moment you stop you look over to see Steve pulling apart the creature, blood spilling out of his mouth as he spits out the taste. ‘’We need to get out of here, we need to find a place to hide!’’ You tell them and they all agree. 

 Steve was limping slightly clutching his side, you couldn’t imagine which hurt worse since both sides were gushing blood. You all ran as quickly as you could. You stayed behind Steve in case another attack was on it’s way. You found solace in the tree lines heading into the wooded area where you could probably find better coverage. 

 ‘’Under there!’’ Robin yells pointing to the large rock, it was an open area but from above the bats wouldn’t be able to see you. You glance behind you, noticing there were hundreds swarming the sky now, ‘’Come on! Come on!’’ She yells running. You move forward quickly sliding your body under Steve’s shoulder, he glances down at you doing so a small smile at the gesture was all he gave. You doing so helped quicken his pace just enough to make it under the rock. 

   Steve hissed from the pain in his side as he rested his back against the rock, ‘’Gosh Steve,’’ You say your hand touching his abdomen just above the wound. You unwrap your flannel from earlier around your arm, ‘’Sit up a bit please.’’ You tell him. You rewrap the flannel around your hand using it as a glove of some sort, ‘’We need to stop the bleeding.’’ You tell him your voice laced with concern, your hands pushing against his abdomen and Steve jumps his hand resting on your arm squeezing it tightly. 

 ‘’Nancy,’’ You call out to her needing more than just the thin flannel you had. ‘’Do you have anything we can use?’’ You ask, turning your head, everyone's attention was now on you and Steve. 

 Robin looked terrified and her mouth formed an O shape as she saw the wound on Steve’s abdomen. She walks over crouching down as she sees Steve’s open wound. ‘’So the good news is I’m pretty sure dizziness is not a symptom of rabies?’’ Robin points out the odd fact. ‘’Do you feel Woozie?’’ She asks and Steve squirms as you put more pressure on the wound. You notice Nancy pulling at her pants getting more fabric to secure the wound. 

 ‘’Yeahh,’’ Steve says letting out a rigid breath, ‘’I do.’’ He says. Nancy hands you the fabric and you tell Steve to stand if he can, he pushes himself up and Robin and Nancy come to his side helping to hold him up. You ask him if he’s ready and he agrees reluctantly, ‘’Just do it,’’ He says, holding his breath, he flinches when the fabric touches him. 

 ‘’I’m sorry,’’ You tell him. Trying to secure it. You finally get it tied and he breathes a sigh of relief, ‘’You okay?’’ You ask him.  ‘’He needs to rest for a minute,’’ You tell them both and they agree. 

    ‘’Yeah, yeah.’’ He says his breath is still rigid. You glance over to everyone else who had moved away from you and Steve looking out into the forest of the Upside down. ‘’Are you okay?’’ He asks and you look at him confused. ‘’You were here right after me, right after.’’ He says. The conversation behind you was going on but neither of you were engaged in it. 

 ‘’Yeah, yeah.’’ You repeat his word verbatim, making you both laugh slightly. He clutches his side as he laughs, ‘’Sorry,’’ you say to him. He stops laughing and looks at you just for a moment, both of you not saying anything, you smile softly feeling his eyes on you. ‘’We have to get you home, get you back to that girl.’’ You say trying to avert his mind something more positive.  

 ‘’That girl?’’ He asks you confused. 

 ‘’The girl you told me about,’’ You tell him looking down at his torso adjusting the wrap once again. ‘’The one you have a crush on?’’ You say it as more of a question. 

 For a moment he doesn’t say anything and you just fixate on the wrap, the sounds of bats screeching from overhead, ‘’The girl,’’ He says, making you look up. ‘’Is you, it’s you Y/N.’’ He says. 

 You stare at him completely shocked, it was you? How was it you? ‘’Me?’’ You ask him. ‘’I don’t understand.’’ You say puzzled. 

 He takes a deep breath, ‘’The girl I have a crush on is you,’’ He tells you. ‘’It’s been you for a while..’’ 

  ‘’But you and Nancy?’’ You ask him confused, your tone much lower, scared she would hear you. ‘’You guys have been- you seem like.’’ He tells you. 

 ‘’You and Eddie seemed so close, I was jealous and Nancy was giving attention. I thought it would get yours if I played into it a little,’’ He says and you nod understandingly. ‘’It was dumb. Immature I should've just told you. 

 ‘’Steve this entire time I’ve been talking to Eddie about you.’’ You emphasize ‘’I’ve been trying to get your attention for months.’’ You tell him. ‘’Eddie has had to hear all about it the past two days,’’ You admit, making him laugh once again. 

 ‘’Then when we make it out of here,’’ He pauses, ‘’We’ll go on a nice date? Whatever you want.’’ He tells you and you nod smiling at him. You push yourself forward planting a quick kiss on his cheek, if you were going to kiss Steve Harrington for the first time it was not going to be in the upside down while he was bleeding out it was going to be a real kiss on a date. ‘’Deal?’’ He asks as you pull away. 

 ‘’Deal,’’ You say to him. 

 You hear feet thump on the ground and it finally grabs both of your attention looking back, everyone smiling at the two of you, even Nancy. ‘’What did I tell you?’’ Eddie asks. ‘’Grand gesture.’’

_____

Thanks for reading! I am sorry if it felt like I skipped around a lot I started writing and got so far in and when I Read it back I was like omg I skipped around too much but I have a bad problem with doing request and never posting because I re-read and hate them too much. SOOO here we are I hope you liked it and didn't hate it haha! Again sorry for any mess ups!

Please send more S4 request! Also if you request and want it outside of the plot of season 4 PLEASE let me know I have such a hard time making scenarios in my head that don't follow the plot.