#but then mike was there and he was really nice and we played video games together. somehow

[99probalos]

had a dream last night that i started working for jay/rlm as some sort of production assistant and i had to go to jay's house to help with merch sales and he lived in a giant mansion in LA for some reason. and after we finished packing up some (very awful) merch we all (me + every rlmember) went to the dingiest diner ever and attempted to have a nice meal. i woke up right before i wouldve eaten my "fresh" "homemade" "pie"

[steddiealltheway]

When Eddie gets excited, he gets a bit overwhelmed. At least, that’s what Steve has noticed, with the way Eddie has to take a quick running lap, bounce up and down, etc. whenever he gets too happy.

Steve secretly thinks it’s adorable and tries his best to induce these little happy zoomies.

It doesn’t take much. Sometimes it’s just a small compliment such as, “That shirt looks nice on you,” that has Eddie bouncing on his heels and fidgeting with his rings with a smile on his face. Sometimes, Steve tries to notice something new like when Eddie trims his bangs or paints his nails, that makes Eddie flush red and mumble, “Yeah, I did,” before taking a quick walk around Family Video before making his way back to him.

This time, Steve isn’t really trying to get a reaction out of Eddie who is angrily storming around the break room of Family Video after Steve had seen his face upon entering the store and ushered him to the back.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Eddie mutters out, running a hand over his face. Steve sits back quietly, letting Eddie go on a little rant. “He said, we were allowed to have the basement for our campaign. All of it. Then, Ted Wheeler in all his glory suddenly says that we’re too loud, and we can’t do the campaign at their house anymore. I mean… it’s one more session! He could’ve sat in that damn recliner and shut him mouth for one more session! Fuck.”

Eddie groans dramatically and sits on the ground, head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do. It’s summer so we don’t have access to the school. And I can’t risk breaking in and having them take away my well earned diploma. Plus, my trailer is too small, and no one else has the privacy of Mike’s basement. We’re done for!”

Steve shrugs, seeing a clear answer to the problem. “You can do it at my house. My parents are never home, and I can stay in my room for as long as you need.”

Eddie’s head snaps up. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, not really sure why he’s so shocked.

Eddie stands up quickly. “You’re positive you can deal with all the Hellfire members in your house?”

Steve nods. “I’ll even buy you guys pizza if you want.”

“Buy us pizza…” Eddie mumbles under his breath in disbelief. “Steve Harrington, are you granting me permission to use your house for Hellfire Club meaning hours of us yelling maybe even late into the night while we play our nerdy game?”

Steve nods and shrugs again. “Yeah. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” Eddie repeats, once again in disbelief. He slightly smiles. “We’re going to be able to complete the campaign.” He bounces on his heels excitedly. “We’re going to complete the campaign!” He runs up to Steve and hugs him tightly, jumping up and down, successfully jostling a laughing Steve in his arms. “We have a place to complete the campaign!!”

Eddie puts him down and pulls back with a big smiles. “Thank you! Seriously thank you. This means so much I could just-”

Before Steve can react, Eddie is leaning forward and pressing his mouth against his in an enthusiastic kiss.

Eddie pulls back quickly and puts his hands over his mouth in horror. “Oh my gosh. I’m so- fuck. I’m so fucking sorry. I just got uh…”

Steve waves him off as Eddie backs as far away from him as possible. “You just got excited. It’s okay.”

It’s okay as it can be considering that Steve really wants to kiss Eddie again although he’s not sure what that really means. But suddenly the urge to make Eddie happy makes a whole lot of sense.

Shit. Okay. He can work with this.

He glances up at Eddie who looks petrified in fear. “I just got excited…” he whispers out.

Steve slowly makes his way to him and puts his hands on his shoulders. “It’s okay, Eddie. Really. I uh, enjoyed it.”

“You enjoyed it?” Eddie echoes uncertainly.

“Yes. But if it was just an excitement thing, I understand.”

Eddie breathes out, “And what if it was more than an excitement thing?”

Steve takes a step further into Eddie’s space and tilts his head. “Then I’d ask if I could kiss you.”

Eddie swallows harshly and leans forward. “It was definitely more than an excitement thing.”

Steve smiles softly and asks, “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes,” Eddie says, slipping his hands into Steve’s hair as he moves forward again.

This time, Steve knows to respond, moving his lips against Eddie’s gently before tracing his tongue against the seam of his lips, exploring the inside of his mouth when Eddie lets him in.

When Steve reluctantly pulls away from the kiss to check on Eddie, he gets a quick nip to the lip.

Eddie flushes red. “So, I sometimes bite when I’m happy.”

Steve leans in again and whispers against his lips, “Thank god I’m into that.”

And he’s going to make sure to learn all the ways to elicit these responses from Eddie, but first, he’s going to learn all the ways Eddie likes to be kissed.

[peachhcs]

multi-million university of michigan soccer complex with samy hughes (speical guest star: will smith!)

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

samy shows mike around the umich women's soccer complex with will tagging along (i figured we needed some happy content between the breakup angst, so here’s some happy content before the breakup happened :))

2.7k words

another little lost in the drafts blurb. this was entirely inspired from will's video where he showed the conte forum with mike. i think that's my favorite video, so i recreated it with samy showing off umich's. (i don't know actual numbers for the umich women's soccer team so i made some up oops) i've never really used gifs for the pictures, but wowow take a look at him HAHA

au masterlist

"alright everyone, this week i'm in the heart of michigan, the university of michigan in ann arbor. i'm here with a hughes legacy and also the youngest sibling, samy hughes," the brunette quickly waved at the camera with a smile. "just in her rookie season she's led the women's soccer team to the ncaa finals this past season and now she's here to give me and will smith a tour of the athletic complex," mike rounded off the intro and the camera panned into samy and will's faces. the two smiled.

"so, it's the first time i've had a young couple on before. i just interviewed you a few months back and now we're in michigan with your girlfriend," mike said to will and motioned to samy.

"yeah, thanks for having me back again on the channel," will chuckled.

"yeah, of course. i mean i was so excited when samy said she had time to do this with us and when i leaned you were in umich too i just had to get in on it. you guys have been like the talk of the internet for the past few months, so i'm excited to get my take in," mike laughed and so did samy and will.

"we have a bet going on who's gonna get more views on their video," samy said.

"oh really? who do you think is gonna win?" mike wondered.

"i said her because everyone always wants to know what she's doing," will chuckled.

"are you two really competitive with one another?" mike pointed between will and samy. the two exchanged a glance, shrugging.

"i mean..yeah kind of. sometimes we can get really competitive over the summer when we're playing street hockey or something," samy explained briefly.

"makes sense. so we're standing in the locker room, can we see your stall?" mike asked and samy nodded. she led the boys to her stall where her name was up on the outside door.

"wow, i like these doors. that's kind of fancy," mike said quickly opening and closing the door.

"yeah it's nice so like our stuff isn't out everywhere and it makes the room look more clean and put together so our stuff isn't everywhere," the brunette explained.

"so you're next to some of the older girls. shannon and carrie," mike read off the names on either side of samy's stall.

"yeah, it's nice having them next to me. they definitely spread out the freshman so we're by an older player and like can talk to them when we want."

"do they offer good advice?" mike raised his eyebrow.

"yeah, i'd say so. they treat us good." samy chuckled. the girl led the boys through the kitchen area and into the lounge.

"here's where we hang out a lot before games and sometimes on the weekends. we can watch tv, talk, play games, whatever."

"what do you think will? are these more comfier than the ones at bc?" mike asked and sat down in one of the chairs. will sat down, relaxing back into the cushions.

"they feel like the same to me?" will laughed.

"okay, same is good," mike nodded and stood back up.

"what's your favorite activity to do in here before games or on the weekends?" mike asked samy.

"probably just talking and getting to know everyone more. we like playing cards a lot," the girl chuckled.

"what kind of cards? poker? uno?"

"a lot of uno, sometimes we play bs," samy grinned.

"bs?"

"like bullshit?"

"i don't know if i've played that before.." mike scratched his head while samy and will's mouths dropped open in disbelief.

"you've never played bullshit before? you've had to," will exasperated.

"wait, explain it to me."

"it's like you have a certain amount of cards and you have to convince people you have however many cards of 1, 2s , aces, spades, whatever and if someone doesn't believe you they call bullshit," samy explained the game.

"oh, wait. that does sound familiar. maybe we don't call it bullshit where i'm from," mike laughed.

samy continued leading the boys through the facility. she showed them their gear room and recovery room where girls went to get treatment for something that was hurting.

"wow, here's a sign for you. 15 final fours. 5 national championships," mike nodded in approval.

"yeah, we walk by this sign going out to the field. it's great motivation for every game and i probably stand in front of it before every game just...you know taking it all in," samy nodded.

"that's pretty incredible. now it will be 16 final fours after this past season," mike nudged her shoulder making the brunette chuckle.

"it's definitely a really good achievement and something i'm very proud of for just being a freshman."

"i mean you should be proud. you basically led your team to the finals. that doesn't happen a lot. when you guys argue do you ever like bring up how many national titles your schools have to one up each other?" mike teased samy and will.

"not that we argue, but sometimes i bring up the fact that our hockey team has 9 national titles," samy laughed and will rolled his eyes.

"does that make you wanna get a national title to get closer to michigan?" mike also laughed.

"yeah, sometimes," everyone grinned while samy led the boys to the mini shooting room where girls could practice their goals.

"damn, this is nice," mike nodded.

"it's open pretty much all day. i mean if i can't sleep sometimes i come here and shoot goals to get my energy out," samy chuckled.

"really? i mean i would do if i had open access to something like this. do you have any superstitions before games?"

"yeah, i have a few. i've had a lot of them since high school, but i have to always wear the same pair of socks before every game. i need to eat exactly 2 apples and i have to always wear a braid in my hair," the girl chuckled.

"wow, those sound intense. have you ever forgotten to do one and it messed up the game?"

"one time in high school i only ate one apple and we lost the game by a point. i believed then that i needed to do all those things to lead us to victory," the three of them laughed.

"alright, i wanna do a quick 1v1 or 2v1 situation. loser runs the entire football field. i made will do this when i was with him in boston," mike said, eyes sliding towards the blonde.

"yeah, alright. let's go to 2 goals then," samy immediately agreed and picked a soccer ball out.

"you getting in this smitty?" mike asked the blonde standing to the side.

"i mean..i don't know. she's a good shooter, so..i'm not sure if i wanna run the entire football field," will laughed.

"oh, he sounds scared," mike looked at samy. the girl only shrugged.

"come on, get in here. it's two of us and a pretty small area.," mike urged will to get in. the blonde gave in and got in next to the older man.

they got into position to block samy's shots, but the girl was good. they could hardly keep up with the ball as she passed it through her feet and dodged will's advances to make her first goal.

"damn," mike said.

"i told you she was good," will said and mike waved him off. they set up again and samy went in from a different side. she managed a small hat trick and kicked the ball over their heads.

"wow, you are good," mike nodded.

"i mean she goes to a d1 school," will pointed out and samy chuckled.

"is this what happens every time she makes you play with her back home?" mike looked at will.

"yeah, pretty much. i can't ever get past her if we're on different teams," will admitted almost shyly.

"i mean you have to at least be better on the ice then?" mike wondered. will grimaced, looking at samy and slowly shaking his head.

"not..not always. maybe now because she hasn't played in awhile, but before..she had me," will said with a small blush.

"oh right, i forgot you dominated on the ice for a good sixteen years. you're just better at everything then," mike said and samy nodded.

"yeah, pretty much. my brothers taught me everything i needed to know on the ice. soccer was all me," the girl smiled.

"so tell me, what was your decision and commitment process? i mean..did growing up in ann arbor play a big role in that?" miked asked as the three walked back out into the hallway.

"yeah, pretty much. quinn and luke both came here and i really loved the campus because i was at every home game. it's also super close to home and i love the idea of being close to home and my parents. plus, knowing i was continuing my brothers' michigan legacy was really special to me and i wanted to follow in their footsteps because i look up to them a lot," samy explained.

"that's really special that you and your brothers have such a close bond. were they excited when they found out you were going to umich?"

"yeah, they definitely were. they showed up to my high school signing day and i had no idea they were coming so they found out i chose michigan there and that was a really special moment," samy nodded.

"there wasn't any way smitty could convince you to go to bc with him?" mike teased a little.

"i toured the campus with him and i mean, it was absolutely beautiful and i actually was torn between bc and umich for the longest time, but ultimately, michigan is always where my heart will be in the end."

samy led the boys into the workout room where they had training and lifting every morning.

"your trainer here is insane, i heard," mike commented and the girl nodded.

"yeah, he's one of the best. he's been with women's soccer for years and he knows how to push us the right amount to get us to our full potentials."

"alright, i wanna see you two do a pull-up contest. smitty, if you get more than her, you redeem us and we don't have to run the football field," mike proposed with samy and will exchanged a laugh.

"okay, deal. we see how many we can do in like 30 seconds?" the hockey player looked over at his girlfriend.

"yeah, sure," she chuckled.

the two grabbed onto the pull-up bars side by side and started their pull-ups. they made it look easy with how smoothly they went through each pull-up. mike had the timer going, making impressive faces at the camera at how easily samy and will did their pull-ups.

"okay, that's 30," mike stopped them.

"i did like 43," samy breathed out, hands on her hips.

"i got 47.," will said and pumped his fist in the air. the girl rolled her eyes as mike and will high five.

"looks like you're doing a football length sprint," will taunted and samy just shook her head.

"so, as we walk out to the field, i wanna know what got you two together because i know you grew up together and are childhood best friends," mike redirected the conversation.

"basically we just got our shit together and finally realized we have feelings for one another. i think we realized it at the draft this past summer and then at my draft party we had a bit of a..a confession," will explained.

"that's very classy. that awkward like..i think i like you thing," mike nodded with a laugh.

"it's funny because so many people knew we had feelings for one another before we even did. like a bunch of our friends and family always looked at us like: you're for real not together?" samy added.

"that's really funny. you guys are a really great pair i think and you bounce off one another really well. do you guys find it hard sometimes to navigate this new relationship being in different states?"

"it's been a little hard at times because we're so busy and don't get a lot of time to see one another. like..this is the first time we've seen each other probably since new years, but we're definitely making it work. it's easy because we already know one another so well so we know how we work and we skip the awkward phase," samy said and will nodded in agreement.

"wow, first time since new years? i guess that makes sense though because will's pretty busy with hockey," mike said and the two nodded.

"we call and text everyday so we're still talking. we try to facetime every night too and just debrief on our days and try to make it as normal as possible," will added.

"well, i know boston's looking good for a possible national title and you're looking really good for a national titles as well next season, so i hope when i talk to you guys again that will be true," mike said and the two grinned.

"yeah, let's hope so," samy chuckled.

the three made it out to the football field where they graciously turned the lights on for them.

"how about i do it with you and we see who can make it back the fastest," will offered.

"oh, look who's being a good boyfriend and not making his girlfriend run the field alone," mike chuckled.

"you're making these bets like you're gonna win," samy laughed.

"what does that mean?" will looked shocked.

"uh oh. don't tell me she beats you in sprints too."

"she's..she's pretty fast on the field. on the ice sometimes i beat her," will defended himself.

"alright, if you beat him and get under..let's say a minute, i'll give you a prize," mike told samy.

"easy. deal," she said and threw her sweatshirt off. will threw his hat off and rolled his sleeves up.

"on three okay?"

when mike said go, the two were off. samy already had a significant lead, proving that she was faster than will on the field. she started racing back down towards mike who showed the camera that they were at exactly 30 seconds.

samy came in first, high fiving mike's hand and then doubling her to catch her breath. will came in a few seconds later, also panting from how fast he ran.

"damn, that was..that was fast," the blonde panted.

"she's definitely got some speed on you," mike nodded and samy laughed.

"i told you. she's..she's fast," will chuckled.

"well, as promised, here is your prize. custom nike sneakers in michigan colors with your name across the side," mike presented his prize for samy.

"oh my god, that's awesome. thank you so much," the girl beamed, showing off the shoes to the camera.

"alright, i'm hungry. how do you guys feel about jersey mikes?" mike asked and the two nodded.

view all comments

user1 STOP RHEYRE SO CUTE OMG

user2 jesus samy's so good at scoring no wonder why she led the team to the ncaa finals

user3 LMAO WILL PANTING AFTER RACING SAMY ACROSS THE FOOTBALL FIELD

user4 god they're so in love it's so cute i love them sm

user5 literally the best d1 couple

user6 i understand why will is dating her. i'd fold so fast for her

user7 AWWW THEY LIKED EACH OTHER AT THE DRAFT???

user8 god big10 schools are insane. i get the hype now

user9 this girl has a big future ahead of her for sure. i see an ncaa title in her near future

user10 THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HER WHEN SHES TALKING OH MY GOD I CANT DO THIS RIGHT NOW SJDJDJDJSJ

user11 will admitting how better she is at him in everything biggest green flag ever we love a man who gives his woman the credit she deserves

user12 god i just know if she stuck with hockey she'd be insane like her brothers but soccer's such a good fit for her too

user13 samy explains bs to mike is hilarious i can't

user14 they're so well spoken. i'm sure samy's learned from her brother's interviews

user15 golden retriever and golden retriever fr

user16 they KNEWW what they were doing putting will in this video too

user17 to be samy hughes ugh i can't anymore

user18 god they're both so lucky

user19 HELL YEAH WILL KNOWS HIS GF IS BETTER THAN HIM IN EVERY SPRINT AND ON THE ICE

user20 the fact that she's also a poli sci major and has a 4.0 is incredible to me like DAMN WILL he pulled a good one

[phoebebuggers]

modern party high school/college headcanons that will maybe kind of end up in my text au if i ever go back to it

mike is a tote bag user and a letterboxd fanatic!! he listens to alternative rock especially weezer but he's not a music elitist he likes pop and stuff too. he still plays dnd and i feel like he probably reads like classic fantasy book bro books u know (brandon sanderson, GOT, LOTR, prolly also like steven king and stuff which the rest of the party also like.) cat person. he is such a film bro it's obnoxious and he has to shove his letterboxd account down your throat every 5 minutes after meeting you. says he's bitter and evil but would do anything for his friends (canon.) video essay watcher. dirty-ass pair of falling apart converse at the end of their life begging for mercy that he refuses to replace. ADHD diagnosis.

will loves thrifting and coffee shops and museums but not in a performative pinteresty way he just genuinely likes these things. had an art hoe aesthetic phase around 2020 and will never live it down. subverting all gay stereotypes by not knowing anything about gay/stan twitter and being happier for it. kind of a music elitist ('can i see your spotify wrapped??') but not as much as jonathan who he learned from. still loves the smiths, the cure, etc but i think he would also be into modern indie nowadays. i feel like he would have a huge chapsticks/lip balm collection bc his lips are chapped all the time and it's just like a running joke atp. major art kid draws all the time we been knew listens to podcasts while he does art. goes to therapy

lucas is still kind of a jock but i'm kinda anti jock lucas because he will never truly fit in with them he will always be a nerd first!!!! still plays basketball tho and runs cross country (all men who run cross country are a little bit unhinged and free.) wears a hairtie on his wrist in case max needs one. kind of matches will's evil music complex from the other side with objectively good music def likes tyler, brent, frank, SZA (max likes the same their music taste kind of bled into each others.) very good social media presence like color coded feed, highlights, pinterest worthy pics etc (digital camera user.) likes to cook. chronic notes app list user. wanted to be a youtuber as a kid. type of guy to say "um, guys, that was awkward!" etc etc and everyone clocks him for it

dustin is a reddit user but not in a weird incel way in a genuinely helpful and knowledgable way. he also wanted to be a youtuber because he fucking loved matpat as a kid. he also would love the green brothers. a sneakerhead. keeps his keys on a carabiner (max tells him he looks like a lesbian.) also very up to date on pop culture like max is, probably quotes that one baron trump suitcase video daily among other things. does a few very good very niche impressions. i feel like everyone in the party is a good student but dustin is definitely the best a genuis future engineer or smth. he's the friend who always has those party games but can't read a cards against humanity card without laughing (max has to read for him)

el knows it's trash but loves reality TV (real housewives) and also glee. probably volunteers a lot. she was probably like the most boy-crazy fictional man/celebrity obsessed tween but ended up being bisexual/questioning lesbian. chronic story liker and responder so everyone thinks she's in love with them but she's actually just really nice and maybe doesn't 100% understand the social cue. she was also in theater because i want her to be her own genre of nerd maybe not in big roles because i don't see her as someone who loves being the center of attention but in ensemble. type of person to make goals like "try a new type of apple every week for a year".

max is up to date on tiktok/internet memes and kind of speaks fluent reference. probably watches real housewives and dance moms with el (will will join in occasionally for glee.) she also thrifts a lot of her clothes and has very cool style in kind of an idgaf what anyone else thinks way. huge flannel collection. does stage crew. i know she skateboards in canon and she still would but i feel like she would also do roller-derby or like speed skating or something. similar music taste to lucas but also a swiftie from a young age. had a panic at the disco phase and did crazy 2020 eyeliner (it's not a phase, mom) and will never live it down. keeps a journal. goes to therapy

bonus:

mike and max never shut the fuck up during class and always have to whisper something objectively hilarious to each other/one of their friends while the teacher is talking

will el and max have a book club where at least someone lies about having read the book every month and they spend the whole meeting gossiping and eating snacks

will forced them all to get airbuds and airbuds reacts mike listening to mcr with mildly disappointed faces and cat emojis

mike and dustin had a phase where they were really into like conspiracy theories and UFOs and cryptids and stuff

lucas bought a stanley cup with no shame because 'it's so functional'

el is an ex-larry

[freestyle-crocodile-trashpile]

Mama's Boy

Summary: You didn't understand why you felt so bad while at Miles house

Type:Scenario:Angst:Miles Morales & M!Reader

Version: Itsv

~

I never understood why I felt so horrible at Miles's house. Every time we were there while his parents were home, I felt like crying. I didn't get it. His parents were amazing, really nice, and welcoming, yet they made me feel so bad. I always had a sad look on my face when I left, a strong feeling that made me want to break down right there in tears. Or maybe it was because I had to go home? It never clicked to me. I loved going to his house, and every chance I got, I was over there. Luckily, Miles and I were good friends. His home felt more like home than mine. I didn't get it, I loved my home, it was cozy and nice, I didn't get it. Especially today.

I was over at Miles's house, laughing while playing some video games in his room. I was wining, and he was trying to distract me.

"Admit it Miles! You suck at this game!" I laughed at him.

"No! Your cheating, you dirty cheater!" He practically pouted as he pushed me away with his foot.

I laughed harder and bumped him with my shoulder, causing us to start shoving and pushing each other like brothers. Miles tacked me onto his bed, putting me in a headlock as he gave me a nasty noogie. His mom opened the door and stopped, huffing playfully before chucking

"Boys, get off each other and come eat." She smiled at us before closing the door.

I could feel my smile brighter slightly, Rio always made me feel warm. But not in a love way, in a homey way, like I was truly welcome and wanted there. It was odd. Me and Miles got up and went to the dining room, shoving each other before racing to the table. I got there first and flipped him off as his parents weren't looking. He did it back before we both started to eat. After dinner, Miles and I sat on the couch, just talking to each other his dad walked over.

"Y/n, do you need a ride home? We could drop you off at home if you want" Jefferson smiled at us, his car eyes in hand.

"Oh, no. I can walk, you don't have to drive me" I returned his smile, not wanting him to have to drive me home this late.

"You sure? Its a quick drive" Jefferson looked a alittle worried.

"Yeah, it's a nice walk of fresh air anyways" It made me feel giddy that someone was worried about me.

Jefferson nodded and walked away, not wanting to push anymore. I turned to Miles, and we continued talking for a bit before I went home. It was a peaceful walk, the quiet and chill night drowning out most of my thoughts. I let out a soft sigh as I unlocked the front door and walked in. Immediately, I'm welcomed by my drunk mother and passed out on the couch. This was a normal occurrence. My mother was always drunk and drinking, even when I was younger. It was normal, it's all I knew, when I was born she started drinking again. My mother probably drank while she was pregnant either way. I sighed and locked the front door before walking over to her and drapping a blanket over her. I gently kissed her forehead before mumbling a soft good night and going to bed. The next morning, I woke up to my mother yelling at me from downstairs. When I went downstairs, I almost got hit with a bottle. I was so tired I didn't even hear what she said before storming out the house. I stare at the door, confused before quickly rushing to clean up the glass and going back to bed. I went to Miles house again today, I waved happily and instantly noticed the look of concern on his face

"Y/n? Why is your hand bloody? And your arm" Miles sounded really confused, and worried.

Miles stood up and walked over to me, I narrowed my eyebrows and looked down at my hand, turning it my hand around and gasping. When did this happen?

"I'm not sure..." I was confused, I wasn't fully sure how this happened. Maybe the glass from earlier?

I shrugged, but Mike's gently grabbed my hand and led me to the bathroom and patched me up, cleaned my wounds, and bandaged it skillfully. Probably because his mom was a nurse. The same thing happened today: I messed around with Miles, played video games, talked, ate dinner, and went home. My mom wasn't home. It was quiet in the house, meaning a peaceful night of sleep. The following morning, my mom yelled at me again, hitting me a few times before leaving and making me clean up the kitchen from her. Then I went to Miles house. As I was over there, he looked concerned but didn't say anything, and that day I realized I mainly ate at Miles house, my mother didn't cook much, and I couldn't really order take out, I didn't have the money for it.

I felt it again.

When I was at his house I could feel my heart beat louder in my ears as I watched him hug his mom and say a small I love you before we both left the house to go to the store. I was quiet for a bit. There was a growing pain in my heart, like I had been stabbed or someone tore my heart. I didn't know why. Was it the affection? I never really got affection from my mother. When I got home, my mom was drunk, but awake. And she was pissed. I gulped and tried to sneak by, that didn't work. I slept in pain and paranoid that night. When I went to Miles house he was quiet when he saw me, staring at me with these big eyes of concern. Why? Was there something wrong?

"Y/n...are you okay? You keep coming here with...injuries. " Miles voice was quiet and soft, something I wasn't fully used to. It was filled with so much. Concern.

"Oh, that? Don't worry about it" You didn't want to worry him, when he saw your reassuring smile he gave a small smile back and didn't ask about it.

When you went home today, you finally realized why you hated going home from Miles's house. The first thing you saw was your parents fighting. Your mom was clearly drunk. Your heart sank as you stood in the doorway watching your parents fight. They did this a lot. You sighed and walked by them, mumbling a small hello before going to your room. You wanted to go back to Miles's house, where there was no yelling or fighting there, it's nice at his house. Peaceful, but you have to wait until tomorrow, like always.

~

[A/n:I'm not sure if I like this or not. I hope you enjoyed]

[cherryredstars]

so about your 1k prompt what about babysitting reader ? How about that as Mike simchits (from the FNAF movie ? If you want to🥹 but if not Miguel)

Mike sicmith x fem!reader

who the reader take care of Abby while Mike is doing his jobs. (A new jobs since all the fazebear thing and he got a new job that does midnight shifts or day shifts) And Abby and reader play with each other every day and loves taking care of her and sometimes take her out to see the fazebear restaurant only the outside (the parking lot of course). and Abby be telling you about her friends and wanting to go inside to see them which it hurt poor reader heart that she care for her friends. (In which reader see a lot in her drawing) and which it scares Mike a lot since everything that happened there. and a lot happens there and with reader and Mike. And you guys are close enough as friends and look like a sweet family when you guys goes out to play with Abby. But after all the babysitting reader finds to be interest in Mike and slowly having a crush on him.

FLUFF PLS

1K Prompts

Pairing: Mike Schmidt x fem!reader

Warnings: Fluff

Summary: It’s all so weirdly…domestic.

A/N: Woah… are we all reading the pairing right?!

Word Count: 1.4K (Not Edited)

A lot of things have been different lately. 

But it’s a good different, a welcomed different. Mike is doing good at his new job (that does not involve late night shifts and creepy animatronics), Abby is doing better in school as each day goes by, and now they have you. New to town you. You who have no idea what a Fazbear Pizzeria is (you jokingly asked if it was some weird cooking video game), you who have never seen a prescription of sleep pills, or an orange toy plane, or a poster of Nebraska. Perfectly blank slate you. The blank slate that both Mike and Abby need. 

You had moved in next door, bumping into Mike as you were moving in boxes. You had given him and Abby a polite smile, introducing yourself. You were nice and pretty (not that Mike was paying all that much attention to that) and you knew how to cook on a budget. It was something Mike learned the first time he asked you to babysit Abby. He was called into an early shirt and had to work overtime, not having a babysitter on hand after what happened to the last one. He didn’t trust strangers around Abby, but he had no choice. You had agreed instantly, listening to Mike’s instructions as he got ready for work. You nodded along, giving the occasional ‘yup’ and ‘got it’. 

When he had come home, exhaustion in his form, he was surprised to not find you in the main parts of the house. It made his brows furrow, anger running through him in the weirdly silent home. Did you really leave Abby by herself? What kind of fucking babysitting was that? He was grumbling about how this would be the last time he left you to babysit and how it’s his fault for trusting strangers when he walked into Abby’s room. 

He panicked for a second when Abby wasn’t at her desk or in her bed. But he quickly relaxed as he looked deeper into the bedroom, finding you and Abby on the floor asleep. Abby’s body was inside her fort, her head poking out and resting on her arms as she slept. You were laying on your side facing Abby, one arm under your head and the other folded in front of you with a crayon in your weak grip. Papers were scattered around the both of you, some blank and some with drawings. Markers and crayons and colored pencils were sprinkled throughout the pile, some of them Mike has never seen before. Guessing by the empty supply boxes on Abby’s desk, they belonged to you. 

He felt his anger dissipate, pinching the bridge of his nose before his body relaxed. You both looked…cute. Relaxed and happy. He was slightly jealous, never being able to draw with Abby without her complaining. But, it was nice that she liked you so much already. Mike had gently shook you awake, your eyes foggy as you blinked up at him. You had welcomed him home sleepily, mumbling something about dinner waiting for him on the kitchen counter. You had almost knocked heads with him as you sat up, rubbing your eyes sleepily as you started to clean up the mess. Mike had carried Abby into her bed before helping you, both of you working in silence until everything was done. He tried to hand your art supplies back to you, but you had simply shook your head and whispered that Abby can have them. 

He had walked you to your house, thanking you for watching Abby and making him food. You had shrugged him off with a yawn, being happy to do it again whenever he needed a babysitter. After that, it became routine. You came over in the mornings, helping Abby get ready for school as Mike got ready for work. Sometimes you’d bring over breakfast, preparing coffee and their lunches in the Schmidt kitchen before Mike left and you dropped Abby at school. It was domestic, something that Mike hadn’t had in his adult life or felt since he was a child. 

It was a nice thing to fall into. Something was comforting about you yelling at Mike before he left to not forget his lunch, shoving a warm thermos of coffee into his hands and hurriedly telling him to have a good day at work. He liked rushing out the door, hearing you calling Abby to not forget her pencil case on her desk and to bring her stuff to your car right before he closed it. It was nice to be taken care of for once. He didn’t feel embarrassed when a friendly coworker sat with him during their lunch break, asking him where his fancy lunches were suddenly coming from. He didn’t find it weird when he said you made it for him, but he wasn’t highly appreciative when they made teasing remarks about you being his mother or maid. 

Especially when you hangout with them, like a family. When you constantly got mistaken for his wife and Abby’s mother. He can’t keep track of how many times the three of you went to the mall or to the diner and a kind old woman or another parent came up to gush about how cute their little family was. It made you blush furiously and Mike was quick to say that he was Abby’s brother and you weren’t her mother. But the idea of it was nice, not being Abby’s father, but the idea of you being part of their family. You already acted like it, spending mornings and dinners with them and caring for them at every opportunity. Abby didn’t seem to mind the misunderstandings, looking up at the stranger before turning to you with a contemplative look and going back to whatever she was doing before.

The idea was cemented in his head for a while. It wasn’t until a Friday night, where he was coming home from a late shift, that he wanted to make it a reality. He had come home, walking through the door just as you walked out of Abby’s room. The two of you paused and looked at one another, a smile forming on your face as you mouthed that Abby was sleeping. Mike had nodded, mouth going dry at the sight of you. You were wearing a basic outfit, jeans and a hoodie. It was paired with one of Mike’s jackets, one he let you borrow after Abby accidently spilt something on one of your other hoodies last week. He had studied you, only breaking out of it when your voice reached his ears. 

“Why don’t you chill in the living room? I’ll heat up your food and get some beers. I’m sure some trashy reality show is on.”

So he did, he sat and you joined him with one of your amazing meals and two cans of cheap beer. You talked in hush whispers, snickering and making off handed comments as you watched the show. Sometime during it, Mike had turned to you, watching the way your face glowed from the TV and how your mouth formed the prettiest shapes as you laughed and smiled. After you had caught him looking, only turning to make another joke, he had gotten up from the couch to get the two of you another can of beer. 

He had stopped in his tracks when he entered the kitchen and saw the new picture on the fridge, front a center. It was obviously Abby’s, but Mike looked at it in astonishment. It had three people in it, him, Abby, and…you. Both you and Mike were behind Abby, but it was obvious the two of you were holding hands. All three of you were smiling and happy, each figure labeled with the corresponding name. Mike’s hand traced the rough crayon texture, a small smile forming on his face. You called his name and he quickly came back with the two beers. 

He sat closer to you this time, hand thrown over the back of the couch without looking at you. He had gulped loudly, hoping the TV ws loud enough to hide it. You had leaned into him, head falling to his shoulder so you could talk quietly and make comments. Between the beers and late night hours, the two of you had eventually fallen asleep. 

The next morning, Abby had found the both of you on the couch. The two of you had moved to a lying position, Mike’s arm draped lazily over your waist as your head nuzzled his chest. It made Abby smile, standing and watching what she hoped to be her new family. The moment quickly ended though as her stomach grumbled. 

“Mike! Wake up, I’m hungry!”

[3416]

Why the Leafs should give Matthews and Marner a chance to play together

by Jonas Siegel | November 19, 2017 | The Athletic

MONTREAL — Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner werewaiting a while for this opportunity.

You could feel it in the excitement of the two youngest Leafs after they not only got to play together for the first time all season on Saturday in Montreal but connect on a couple goals in their team’s sixth straight win.

“Obviously me and Mitchy have a pretty good relationship off the ice – Marty as well,” Matthews said of himself, Marner, and Matt Martin, the third member of a trio Mike Babcock concocted in the second period of a 6-0 win. “Kind of gives you a nice spark when you play with a couple of your buddies that you don’t really get to play with a lot.”

Babcock threw cold water on their excitement pretty quickly. He said he planned to revert back to the line combinations he started with against the Canadiens when the Leafs hosted Matthews’ hometown Coyotes on Monday night.

But maybe the Leafs coach should give it a chance.

Matthews and Marner, for one, seem eager to pursue the connection. Both said they were curious about what it would be like to play with the other having barely done it so far in their young NHL careers. The two were on the ice together for just under 71  5-on-5 minutes last year and just over 11 minutes this year before Saturday night.

Both have also played consistently on separate power-play units.

“Yeah, of course,” Matthews said, when asked if he was intrigued to play with Marner. “We got a little bit of time together last year and never really – we made some plays and had a lot of fun, but I don’t think we ever really scored a goal so it’s nice to get out there with him and obviously create some offence and put some in the net.”

The pair are close. The kind of pals who drove to the rink together all of last season (though not this season with Matthews moving places). The kind who play video games and wear matching throwback suits — complete with fedoras. The kind who famously sang along to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” on the bench at about this time last year. The kind who finish pre-game warmups by passing pucks back and forth to one another before exiting the ice in near-unison.

“We’re very close with each other,” Marner said. “It’s exciting when you get out there and get to play with those guys.”

The connection might just work, too.

Marner hadn’t registered a single assist on Matthews’ first 50 goals in the NHL before setting up two (No. 51 and 52) against the Habs. He delivered a bullet backhand pass to set up the first one and added another when the American ripped his 12th of the season past backup Antti Niemi.

“I think when we first got together the chemistry wasn’t really all there,” said Marner, born four months before Matthews in 1997. “But I think in the third period we kind of turned it around and got back to what we wanted to do and got the puck towards the net.”

Though they’ve ripped off their longest win streak since Dec. 2014, it’s not as if the Leafs have been beating down the doors of the opposition, especially when it comes to the offence. They weren’t quite struggling with 15 goals in the previous five games (three on the power play), but they weren’t really electrifying either — especially without Matthews, who was playing his first game since Nov. 6 on Saturday.

“I think what our guys are finding is last year a lot of our games were way looser than this year. The opposition plays way tighter against us; there’s less room and so it’s harder for you,” Babcock said of the offensive grind prior to the game against the Habs.

What also had become evident before Matthews sat out four straight with a mysterious upper-body issue was a diminished connection between himself and William Nylander. Babcock actually broke up the duo in a Nov. 4 loss to St. Louis only to reunite them again two nights later.

Nylander had zero goals and only three assists in his previous eight games with Matthews (Oct. 23 – Nov. 6) and while the 20-year-old, who’s up to 21 points in 17 games, was still producing, he did so almost in spite of Nylander, who finally broke an 11-game goal drought on Thursday.

It’s also worthwhile for the Leafs to see what kind of chemistry exists between Matthews and Marner if only to answer lineup questions — both now and later.

(Photo by Mark Blinch via Getty)

Marner has only ever played with one centre consistently in Toronto and that’s Tyler Bozak, who might well be gone after this season. Since it’s unlikely that the Leafs other 20-year-old teams up with Nazem Kadri in a matchup role, Babcock might as well see what’s there with him and Matthews. The Leafs coach leaves himself only one centre otherwise (Bozak) for Marner to play with.

Then there’s the potential future in which Nylander slides over to centre and plays without Matthews — something that gets easier in theory if another winger finds chemistry with the team’s No. 1 centre.

Constructing a lineup with Matthews and Marner together is a little dicey, but if Babcock is willing to separate Leo Komarov from Kadri (a pairing he’s used almost without exception in recent years for defensive purposes) then something like this might work:

Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner

Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Connor Brown

Matt Martin – Dominic Moore – Leo Komarov

Both Matthews and Marner are hoping their coach gives it a shot.

“Obviously it’d be nice to stay with him,” Marner said. “We’ll see what happens though.”

*Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

(Feature photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

[findafight]

I’m a sucker for Steve learning about the party’s interests, do you have any thoughts about the kinds of things he’d do for each party member? (E.g. he has the ability to recognize tony hawk, despite his inconspicuousness, because of max’s skateboarding)

Actually now I'm obsessed with the idea that Steve is one of the few people who are not personal friends with him who is able to identify Tony Hawk without a skateboard. Like. Steve is an athlete and respects athleticism, and gives credit where it is due. (He does NOT allow making fun of Olympic athletes, even the weird sports, just because some people don't appreciate how hard you work for it.) So he's like "wow that Tony guy sure is talented. He is so high in the air. Good for him." And never forgets his face. At some point someone shares one of those "didn't recognize actual skate legend Tony Hawk " stories except it ends with "and then the guy in pastels standing beside Eddie Munson slapped his (Eddie's) chest and went "hey!! That's Tony Hawk!! Let's see if we can get an autograph for Max!" And I realized I had been making awkward small talk about cocktail weenies with sports legend Tony Hawk while working up the courage to ask Eddie Munson for an autograph."

He also tries to learn how to Ollie but he's actually really nervous and wears all the protective gear possible and is only able to go forward. (This is from my personal experience being post concussive and not a good skater. It's scary! My brain meat is delicate!) But Max tells him it's okay and talks about the skatepark in California and some of her old friends from there, and he tries to teach her how to make fried rice.(one of the only actual meals that isn't breakfast food he can cook really well completely from scratch) She gets him to do her hair with El because Steve is the only other person who understands that for El hair is a means of control, and that taking care of it is something important to that feeling.

He and El do jigsaw puzzles together and listen to folk music I think. El would appreciate having the option to talk or not, and likes listening to Steve talk too. Also I like jock El so he gets her overly invested in the Cubs like tells her all the lore and she's obsessed with the goat and she joins a softball team. When she first yells at an umpire for a bad call Steve almost cries of pride. Like. Finally. He's not the only one who Gets It.

Lucas and him bond over basketball yes. But Lucas doesn't yell at refs, and Steve gets why but thinks it's very fun when people yell at officials. Also I think they watch clouds together after practicing. Just nice peaceful, laying on warm blacktop and staring at the sky. Maybe El joins them and Lucas and El can bond this way too. Steve and his little jock siblings. (Why does no one consider max a jock for skateboarding? I guess it wasn't really seen as a sport for a long time...hm..)

Steve also bought a flat of new coke before they stopped selling it and keeps it for Lucas on movie nights or whatever and everybody always yells and groans because where is getting that!! It was discontinued!! Also they watch anime together. Erica and Robin join.

I can see him getting into some video games with Dustin and Mike and Lucas. Only the two or more player ones though he doesn't like playing alone. Like. Okay this whole post has anachronisms but please imagine him playing Lego Star Wars (complete saga) with Dustin. The chaos. The yelling.

He's absolutely a pinball guy. They go to the arcade and everyone does their thing but then end up cheering Steve on as he goes for idk star trek pinball glory. Without even tilting it! Idk what to tell you but Steve def loves pinball.

Also before his dad cut him off or after he gets some kind of inheritance he does a very financially secure impulse buy: he purchases an arcade game. Full size. I am partial to Asteroids because that's what my dad impulse bought in the 80's and had it in our basement growing up but let's keep this going he has a themed pinball machine. Icon.

He 100% reaches Dustin to drive. Mrs. Henderson asked him because Steve just looked sad when she mentioned teaching him and she was like well...we could BOTH teach him :) (because she has mentally adopted him. She told him to call her Ma and he does and Robin is like Steve. That's your mum now. And Steve's like no... Everybody calls her that. And she saysnSteve. Only Dustin. Her actual literal son. Calls her that. Guess what that makes YOU.)

Steve and whole party Lego Building Buddies? Mayhaps?

I wish tamagotchis were out in the 80's because Steve would be so diligent a Tama babysitter Erica would sell his services to her friends if they needed it lmao. He'd get all squinty and concentrated you know he'd highscore jump rope but not get the shapes game (me too buddy). Alas. Not to be.

Instead he listens to her talk about her elementary and middle school drama while looking for four leaf clovers. He also has watched MLP with her and may have teared up a little. Also, of course, she is his one true Game Master. Sorry Eddie

Mike is harder...maybe they bond over making snarky comments about people in movies, and then talk about how actually is car racing a sport? And it'd be sort of awkward because Mike has Nancy as an older sibling (even if they don't get along) and he's holding on to animosity that's pointless now. Plus Dustin and Lucas both seem to see Steve as a big brother and friend figure, but like. It's a bit weird for Mike. But still, Mike knows if he bikes to Steve's at two am he'll be hauled in and forced to sit down and asked if he wants a hug and hot chocolate.

Same with will, except Will has Jonathan (El does to but it's different) so at first they're sorta🧍🧍 staring at each other. Steve has to be like sooooo wanna. Tell me about Wizards? Or something? Cool...rocks? And Will would realize that this guy's just, y'know. A guy. Probably similar to Mike except he's not begrudging about it.

I guess a lot of Steve and the party is him listening to them and letting them actually be silly and kids, making snarky comments about the highschool dramas happening, and encouraging them to try different things (he did!) And figure out what they like outside of what they think the rest of the party likes.

[libraryofgage]

WIP Wednesday!

Here's another look at Modern Steve in 80s Hawkins! This time, he's met The Party

“What look do I need to enjoy the arcade? Video games aren’t restricted by fashion choice.” A few seconds pass where the kid doesn’t say anything. When he finally does speak, it’s because a ghost managed to catch him. “Fashion choice? You mean your mom didn’t force you to dress like that?” “Woah, harsh,” Steve says, unable to help the slight grin that tugs at his lips, “Especially from someone wearing a hat indoors.” “It’s cool!” “And so are my high-tops, Kid. You don’t make fun of them, and I won’t make fun of your hat.” At this point, the kid stops playing entirely, allowing Pac-Man to get caught by a ghost once more. Steve still can’t see their face, but he just knows the kid is grinning, like he’s passed some kind of test. “I guess you’re pretty cool,” they finally say. Before Steve can respond, the kid turns around and waves to their friends. “Hey, guys! Come meet…” they trail off, looking up at Steve. “Steve.” “Come meet Steve! He’s cool despite looking like a jock.” From the Galaga machine, three kids turn to face them. Steve can actually see their faces, and he can’t help the feeling that they’re familiar. He tilts his head, trying to place them as one of the kids says, “Dude, I’m a jock. Are you saying I’m not cool?” “When you’re trying to make us attend a game instead of DnD, yeah,” another kid says, eyes rolling behind their glasses.  “You guys play DnD?” Steve asks, relieved to hear them mention something he’s also somewhat familiar with. He’s really not looking forward to someone asking him about something that’s no longer around in his time. The kid trailing behind him, one with a tragic bowl cut that Steve wants to fix himself, seems to hesitate when he speaks. “Yeah, we do,” they say slowly, their voice budding with suspicion. Steve flashes a reassuring grin at all of them when he realizes that they all look a little wary now. “Cool. I played once. My character was a…barbarian, I think? I can’t remember exactly, but it was a fighter. I couldn’t get super into it, though,” he says, shrugging it off as all four kids relax.  “Maybe you just had a shit DM.” This comes from the kid closest to him, the one who has officially lost their game of Pac-Man, and Steve realizes it’s just really inconvenient to not know their names. “Maybe,” he agrees, “I still don’t know your names, by the way. No fair when you know mine.” “Oh, I’m Dustin, the coolest one here.” “Mike.” “Lucas. The real coolest one.” “Will Byers. It’s nice to meet you, Steve.” Oh. Steve… Steve is probably fucked, huh?  Here’s the thing, Steve knows he shouldn’t be messing with the fabric of time. He gets it; what’s happened has happened, and it’s happening is what created the future Steve knows. Changing one small thing could create a butterfly effect that results in the future being even more fucked up than it already is between politicians and billionaires and the environment. There isn’t nearly enough guarantee that things will be okay for any rational person to risk changing the past in any tiny way, much less one as significant as preventing six kids from disappearing or dying. That being said, Steve is going to save these kids. Because none of those people who debate about continuity and the butterfly effect have ever actually stood in front of people whose future they know. They’ve never truly faced the choice, but Steve is right now.  And Steve has decided, timeline and future be damned, that he’s going to save these kids.

[sifya]

Without noticed my angels take a lot inspirations from dragon age 2 characters(I have played that game a lot!), Gabriel is a mix of blue Hawke and purple, an amazing ambassador but in her heart a true rogue who can be sweet but also ruthless.

I has thought about Raphael as anime healer turned in bastard, which idea I got idea this video(anime healers vs mmo healers), but he is more like Bethany, grey warden, only difference all his rancour is direct to Lucifer,

so I find fair to quote the best scene between Bethany and Hawke from legacy.

PS: Lucifer original name before the fall was Samuel. He is the oldest with Michael of 8 angels.

Raphael, in silence after hearing Michael words from his secret record: I have never know our brother was full of doubts too. He looks so impenetrable.

Gabriel: The fact our brother most time acts as robot, doesn’t it mean he is!

Raphael: I wish he has spoken to us. Maybe the things would end up differently

Gabriel sighing: You know, they wouldn’t.

Raphael, sad: I know. Everything went down after the war, no matter how much we try, the evil is up to us not matter how much we defeat them, it is never ending. I endure because I must but not because I believe we can stop. Maybe we should have left the old elders destroyed the Earth and start again. Maybe we should do it now.

Gabriel: Michael didn’t believe that ,neither you. Not really.

Raphael: Poor Mike; all my power I cannot save him neither giving death.

Gabriel wanted to remind to his brother, all them have failed Michael, it wasn’t only Raphael’s burden, but the seraphim with green eyes has never forgiven himself for the losts of war between Hell and Heaven, his beautiful and kind smile turned in ice expression and nobody ever heard again the singing voice of seraphim of music that was replaced by sarcastic comments.

Gabriel playfully saying: Raphie!

The seraphim with copper eye started without thinking a ridiculous dance, when the thought about who created that dance made her lost a heartbeat. Luckily Raphael didn’t get mad he laugh: Mike and Sammy’s jig!

Gabriel: The antidote for every broken wing or toy or nightmares!

Raphael: I miss them so much. They always tried so hard. I miss my students and Heaven. But we cannot came back until we don’t finish here.

Gabriel decided not asking about comment on Samuel, it was the first time centuries Raphael did say something nice about Samuel, known as Lucifer.

Because for the healer, his brother Samuel was dead the moment he opened the portal from Hell for attacking the heaven 10000 years ago.

Gabriel preferred giving all the blame to Lilith, the hungry power woman that once she called friend. The woman who corrupted his brother and sold Eve to the evil for her own ambitions.

But like Uriel said to her: I agree it was Lilith plan but he didn’t stop her.

Gabriel knew Lilith was missing in Hell, so in case Samuel found about them and Michael, she was sure he wouldn’t attack them again. But if he did … nothing would stop her blade to cut his neck.

Actions always had consequences.

Now coming back to my fic! Silence is golden

[springbloggy]

The Nightmare Capitalist Undertones of FNAF 4

I was watching Hippie Rat's newest fnaf retrospective, a great video btw that I highly recommend. At some point in the video he proposes that every fnaf game except for fnaf 4 is ultimately anti-capitalistic, focusing on the horror that is the lack of care that companies have on both their consumers and employees. However, thinking about it, I have realized not only does FNAF 4 have anti-capitalistic undertones but looking at the game under this lens made me realize that perhaps the answer to the game and what was in the box hinges on this concept rather than spoopy ghost stuff or even dream theory like many assumed.

First off, I have to give a name to the crying child. Mostly out of laziness of typing Crying Child out every time. Since the current most popular name for the kid is David, I will refer to him as that. But feel free to just internally replace that name with whatever you believe his name to be, as I don't really have a set answer myself.

Anyways lets set the stage for this theory, first we have to address a question of how popular Fredbears was in the universe of fnaf 4. I know that may seem odd when theres a lot more interesting things in the story, but trust me this is important for viewing the game under an anti-capitalistic lens. The first large clue is a tv playing something Fredbear's related, a show called Fredbear and Friends. You can deduce this is a show and not a commercial for the restaurant due to a teaser for fnaf 4 with words that can be filled in to say "Property of Fredbear's Family Diner", a clue hinting the location and year of the main story. So, thanks to the TV show, we now know that either the cartoon was popular enough to spawn a restaurant or the restaurant was popular enough to spawn a cartoon. But which came first? I think the answer lies in the bullies masks. In FNAF 3, the phone dude mentions finding a Foxy head.

"We found another set of drawings, always nice, and a Foxy head! Which we think could be authentic! Then again it might just be another crappy cosplay. "

When looking around, you can find said Foxy head and it seems to be made out of thick plastic and maybe even felt like what the official animatronic may have had.

Fnaf 4, being the direct sequel to FNAF 3 and (at the time) being the finale to the franchise makes it highly likely that the Foxy mask that Mike wears is the same Foxy head that Phone Dude found. Which confirms that Fredbear's was popular enough to possibly get official halloween costumes/masks that didn't have to be cut out from paper. If Fredbear's was a restaurant first, then a cartoon, it would be a lot less likely for Mike and the other bullies to have plastic masks.

The final answer to the question of "how popular was Fredbear's" is of course the toys. Several children in the game has either a set of Fredbear toys or a single Fredbear related toy.

These details help showcase what a media empire Fredbear's was. It was a popular cartoon, enough for not only a toylime and Halloween costumes to be made but also for an animatronic restaurant to be deemed as necessary. A way for children to meet their favorite characters in person.

So now I got the boring popularity stuff out of the way, it's time to analyze what makes how Fredbear's is depicted in the game so nightmarish.

First off, let's talk about the neighborhood kids. Each kid either talks about something Fredbear's related, usually pertaining to the toys they own of the characters.

Or mentioning David/his party

with one character doing both

This shows that David has no close friends and that no one in town is really all that concerned about his mental well-being. The implication given is that everyone in town is so obsessed with Fredbears, with maybe the exception of the jeans guy who might be the Bonnir mask bully seen in the final minigame, that the only reason they know about David at all is due to his upcoming birthday party, a chance to visit the location for free.

The second thing to note is the lack of parents, specifically David's parents, in the game. I personally believe Purple Guy was always intended to be David's father in the story for reasons that I will go into further, but even if you view the game under the assumption that David was originally not related to Purple Guy it paints a picture that his family is so busy with work that they can't take care of him or address his fears, leaving Micheal's actions during the day unchecked. It leaves open the question on if the parent(s) of David and Mike weren't forced into a position where they couldn't have the time to take care of their children would have the events of FNAF 4 had happened at all?

This gets to my next point, Psychic Friend Fredbear. Later games show that he might be controlled by William Afton through walkie talkie and merch refers the plush as being possessed. But I actually think the merch isn't true about the whole "possessed plush" thing and that William Afton isn't always controlling the plush. The main reason why I believe this is due to the dialogue of the Springbonnie plush kid, who asks where David's plush is, implying that he doesn't always carry it around. It is important to note that during the day this kid asks David this question, the plush is littered around the environment, at one point even appearing as a head of a flower. I think that the plush is actually at least partially David's imaginary friend, a source of comfort he pictures all around him during times of duress. This also explains why the plush's eyes are empty during the day where David interacts with the other children, there is no physical plush there, and David's imagination is only so strong to visualize it being there. The detail of the plush imaginary friend pushes the anti capitalistic message to the extreme, David has no true friends in town, so he can only imagine what he knows for comfort, which ends up being a plush toy of a corporate mascot.

This makes the last day before the party really interesting, as it is the only day without the words of the plush friend comforting David as a he cries locked up in the backroom surrounded by animatronic parts.

I think this scene, regardless if it shows a dead kid/springlocked adult in Freadbear or not, helps illustrate the true nature of Fredbear's, especially since this minigame takes place directly after the one where David interacts with the other children. While Fredbear's has a bright, cheery exterior that children love, deep within is a cold, metallic corporation that has little care for anything but profit. If this scene truly does showcase the aftermath of someone's death, it adds to the message of lack of care within the Fredbear's corporation, something that carries on once it rebrands to Freddy Fazbear's and continues on throughout decades.

So now the big one...

What I Think Was in The Box Under This Theory

Picture this: You beat the Clock Ending in FNAF World. The scene fades in to reveal The Box. Excited, you watch the two locks get unlocked and the lid of The Box opens. From The Box appears a legal paper dated 1983. On the paper is an assessment, perhaps from police or hospital, addressed to the owner of Fredbear's Family Diner, telling him the critical condition of his son post-bite. After the words appear to settle in, another thing arises from the box, a security badge with blood streaks on it. The badge is from the killer - the killer is the father of the crying child - the father is the owner and creator of the Fredbear's brand.

---

Why I Believe that Purple Guy was always meant to be Crying Child's Father

You may have read this note and been really confused. If you are new to the fandom, the killer being the father of the fnaf 4 protagonist is a well known fact. If you are a long time fan, it is something that is well accepted. But if you are like me, a long time fan that has been around since the beginning, you may remember not only how intense the 1983 vs 1987 debate was, but you may also remember how intense the backlash was to Purple Guy not being just an average guy who may or may not have been posing as a security guard with no motivations other than to kill kids. The reveal that Purple Guy was not only a father, but the owner of the Freddys brand and that his motivation was possibly to bring back his own son tore the fandom apart during Sister Location. This is part of why I believe that he was always meant to be the father of the fnaf 4 protagonist. According to Scott, whatever was in the box was something that the fandom may not accept. And the purple guy having more of a story than being just a motiveless psycho and there being two bites is/was absolutely controversial enough to fit the bill.

There's some other smaller details within fnaf 4 that make me believe this was always the case. The largest is the infamous easter egg of the purple guy suiting up an employee.

In Matpat's Dream Theory, he proposed this is what David saw and caused him to be scared of the restaurant. However, under this theory, I have come to another conclusion. Under this theory, this easter egg answers the question to why would David visit the restaurant he is so scared of before his birthday, and why his birthday is happening there to begin with. It's because his dad works there, but not only does his dad work there, he is also the infamous purple guy. I find that an interesting detail often overlooked is that purple guy isn't wearing his infamous security badge as seen in fnaf 2, but rather a nametag, implying that before he became a security guard he was in another position, cluing in the possibility he was also always meant to be owner of the Freddy's brand in some way or at least had some sort of employee position that wasn't security guard.

Some more stretchy details is the purple toy telephone during the nightmares, a possible reference to Matpat's purple guy is the phone guy theory, adding a clue to the connection between the purple guy and the child seen in the minigames.

Another potential, but heavily stretchy clue is this blue car in front of the fnaf 4 protag's house, which has a similar color to Bonnie as well as a similar design to the the purple guy's car as seen in fnaf 2. All of this is an admitted extreme stretch and should be taken with a grain of salt.

The main reason why I believe why Purple Guy was also always meant to be the owner as well is mainly due to FNAF 4 being meant as the final game, and the purple guy's story was a major one to wrap up. By making him the owner, it answers the question of why Fazbear Entertainment couldn't contact the owner of Fredbear's, he was already there right under their noses. It also provides a bit of hubris in the story, the reason why Fredbear's/Fazbear's management is so poor, the reason why his son died, it is all because of him. But like many managers and ceos, Afton fails to attribute these failures to himself, potentially blaming others in the company or those who took the company from him post-bite, leading to his stream of murders and leading to his ultimate downfall.

The primary reason why I believe all of these details would be revealed with a legal document and not a cutscene of some sort is to follow the trend the franchise had at that point, fnaf 1 ends with a paycheck hinting at the date, fnaf 2 ends with a termination slip, fnaf 3 ends with a newspaper. Thus it would make sense for fnaf 4 to have some sort of legal document or even newspaper tying the events of the bite with the larger story of the company and the murderer.

But you can see why this hypothetical ending would be controversial right? Not only would fans be unsatisfied by the date of the story, they would be disappointed by the murderer's status of former owner and father, the seeming lack of answers of crying child's fate for those who ignored fnaf world, the lingering mysteries of the puppet, and the loose thread of springtrap's whereabouts caused by the fnaf 3 newspaper.

This is why Sister Location and eventually Pizzeria Simulator was deemed necessary, a way to clean up all loose threads that may have been caused by this hypothetical ending. Which leads me to my next point.

The One Retcon

Many fans debate on the One Retcon, a retcon mentioned by Scott Cawthon that no one noticed. Under this theory, I think I have discovered what the one retcon may be. I think the one retcon is Henry becoming a game canon character. In the original story, there was no Henry, William Afton/Purple Guy was the sole and only creator of the Fredbear characters and brand before it got forced out of his hands after the bite of 83. There was no co-creator. Henry was only a book only character in order to give Charlie closer ties to Freddy's. I'm not really sure at what point Scott decided to make Henry a canon factor in the games, but I can guess as to why he did it.

My first guess is that Henry became canon in order to help tie up loose threads neater. His existence in the games helps add motivation for why Charlie's death was different from the other characters and why the Puppet is so special. It also makes the storyline of the failed contact of Fredbear's owner and the convicted killer in Fnaf 1 a lot cleaner. Now, you can say it was Henry who was convicted/contacted, rather than William, explaining Henry's absence as well as William being freely able to tear apart the animatronics after the events of fnaf 1. A storyline that is a lot messier if Henry wasn't introduced in the game canon.

Another possibility is that William being the sole creator of Fredbear's could have potentially made Scott feel uncomfortable, especially during a time frame where fnaf itself has become the multi-media franchise Fredbear's represented. Henry could have been canonized in order to provide a softer alternative to Afton for fans to look at in order to show that not ALL business owners are super evil.

I find it interesting that in the fnaf movie, Afton is heavily implied to be the only owner in that universe, with no Henry equivalent. Is his position in the movie a representation of what could have been in the original pre-henry lore? Is it a way to further decanonize him being the only owner in mainline fnaf? Only time will tell.

In conclusion, fnaf 4 shows a world in which corporate influences create a world where people show little care for each other or have the time to care for one another, ultimately leading to a long line of tragedy, in which the narcissism of those in charge makes them fail to realize that their actions can affect themselves as well.

[blairsanne]

Pretend to Be Nice - 3 - Bathed in Love

For the @deanobingo 2023 event!

Prompts: Anders Johnson - Smoking

The Almighty Johnsons - Anders & female Reader 5098 words

Summary: You find out what Anders did to deal to the mortal who'd drugged you, and try to get back to normal as 'friends'. Anders tells himself that that's all you are, despite asking his brothers for insight into your previous conversations and being unable to stop touching you.

CW: Alcohol consumption, marijuana use, mention of hookups, mention of drugging. Angsty? Slow burn I guess? (This is a multi-part story.)

Series Masterlist here

You took a deep breath as you climbed the steps to the front door of Axl’s place. In the bright, warm light of the early afternoon, the house had a cheery, welcoming look, despite what had transpired the last time you were there.

You knocked on the door and chewed your lower lip as you waited for an answer.

“Oh hey!” Axl lit up when he saw it was you, then tilted his head, gesturing in confusion to the case of cold beer in your hand. “You brought piss?”

“Yeah, I- I was actually hoping to speak with Zeb. Is he in?” “Oh. Yeah, come in.”

Axl ushered you down the hall toward the living room, where Zeb was laying on the couch playing a video game.

“Zeb, you have a guest.”

“Oh- hi!” Zeb paused his game and scrambled to sit up.

“Hey. I just- wanted to thank you for looking after me the other day.” You put the case of beer down on the coffee table, then stood awkwardly beside it.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. Y’know, I totally would have done it even without the Bragi orders. I’m always happy to help the aesir.”

“What?”

Axl sat down in the chair closest to where you were standing and looked up at you with mild discomfort. “When Zeb was tending to you, that was ‘cause Anders ordered him to.”

“But I would have!” Zeb repeated defensively. “Totally at your service.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose. “I’m sorry, Zeb. He shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, it’s fine.” “I suppose the beer is more of an apology, then.” “I really don’t mind.”

You moved to sit on the couch opposite him. “I’m causing trouble everywhere I go these days.”

“What? Of course not.” Zeb pulled a beer out of the case, cracked it, and passed it to Axl, before offering the second one to you.

“Er- ta.” 

“I’m really sorry Garrett did that,” Axl offered, his voice low with guilt. “I never thought he’d- well he said he hadn’t before, but-”

“Wait, you know who it was?”

Zeb’s brows raised. “Didn’t Anders tell you?”

“No…?” “We dealt with it.”

“Yeah,” Zeb enthused. “Mike and Anders came by to tell us what happened and get intel on the guests. Then Mike tracked down Garrett using his hunting powers.” Zeb’s eyes shone with awe. “Axl totally told him off, and Anders used his powers on him to make sure he didn’t do something like that again.”

“Oh.”

Axl shrugged. “It was.. sort of the least we could do.” Especially when I was the one who wanted you to come out.

“And the best part was-” “Zeb-” “-when Anders punched him! It was awesome!” “Zeb.”

Zeb looked between Axl and you, finally noting the way you’d gone still, staring at the table and trying not to cry, vision blurred.

You had been trying not to think too much about what could have happened, or why you were drugged in the first place, telling yourself that since you didn’t get hurt, it wasn’t a big deal. But knowing that they’d all gotten together to sort the guy out made it feel more real, somehow. Their insistence that he be stopped from doing it to someone else highlighted the luck you’d had this time in a way that made you feel ill.

You took a deep breath and focused on Zeb. “Anders what?”

Zeb grinned. “He punched Garrett in the face!” Axl shifted uncomfortably. “He was… pretty mad.”

You winced. “Well, I gave him a lot of trouble, it seems.”

“Really?” There was a laugh of incredulity in Axl’s voice.

“Yeah, I guess I was really out of it. Honestly, I don’t really remember.” You sipped at your beer. “But, uh… it’s nice, knowing you all had my back like that. So, ta.”

“I’m surprised Anders didn’t tell you.” “Yeah, usually he’s keen to brag when he does something good for once.”

“Maybe he’s had his fill of me,” you suggested lightly. “Nah. No way.” You were startled by how quickly and adamantly Axl denied the idea.

Zeb nodded to himself. “Probably just wanted to give you some space.”

“Yeah, I was kinda nervous to text you, if i’m honest,” Axl admitted. “Why?” “I thought… you might be cross with me? Since it was my mate, and my party…” “No. I know you’d never do something like that. Or approve of it, or what have you.”

You turned your gaze to Zeb, remembering how you’d immediately ruled out that he could have had a part in it. 

Everyone’s always looking over me.

“Thanks again, eh?” “Of course, any time.”

--

Ty stepped into the lobby at JPR to find Anders sitting on the edge of the long table, sorting through various ad mockups as he rubbed at his chin.

“Hey.” Ty held out a black box with an envelope taped over the front. “Special delivery.”

“You’re giving me your package, bro?” Anders snickered as he took the box, surprised Ty wasn’t trying to get Dawn to sign for it.

“Sign here, dick.”

Anders did so, then nodded to Ty when he turned to leave. Dawn and Ty made eye contact, but he rushed out without another word.

Anders pulled the envelope off and chucked it on the table as he whistled at the label on the box.

“Now that’s a bottle of whiskey.”

He set to work opening the box to pull out the hefty bottle inside.

Dawn scooted over from her desk and swiped the envelope from the table. She opened it up to find a card that she read out loud.

“Anders, Your brother told me what you did. Thank you. You’re a good friend and a good man.”

Dawn snorted and looked at Anders incredulously. 

Anders paused, looking past the bottle and into space as he realized this was a gift from you. Thanking me? ‘A good friend’, eh?

“Not signed,” Dawn noted. “Mm.” “So… Who’s it from?”

Anders plucked the card from her fingers and tucked it away. “A friend.”

She raised a brow, suspicion lacing her voice. “If they’re a friend, why not just bring it themselves? Why courier it to you at work?”

Anders frowned. It was a fair question, but he understood somehow. Your confession had put an unfamiliar wall between the two of you. Even he felt strange when he thought of calling you directly now. If you were really friends like you’d said, then he shouldn’t hesitate to treat you as he’d always done.

“There’s that nosiness again,” he chided her, instead of answering the question honestly.

“Well, the last time you had a mysterious friend couriering you things at the office, we ended up running Colin’s mayoral campaign.”

Anders snickered. “Fair cop.”

--

A few days later, Anders found himself standing in Ty’s living room, drinking beer with his brothers and grandfather.

“-and so we went our separate ways,” Olaf concluded, wrapping up a story about a former lover.

“You ghosted her, you mean,” Mike amended.

“No?” Olaf squinted at his eldest grandson. “She was quite alive.”

“Okay. So, hypothetically-” Anders shifted his weight and gestured. “A woman says she’s in love with you, but then refuses to sleep with you. What’s that about?”

“Virgin?” Olaf guessed.

Ty groaned.

“Or Christian,” Olaf amended, grimacing.

Anders shook his head. “Neither, I’d reckon.”

Olaf gestured, squinting. “Non-Christian vow of celibacy.”

Anders rolled his eyes. “She’s not a virgin, grandpa.”

“But she doesn’t want to root?” Axl snickered. “Isn’t that all you do?”

Everyone had a good laugh while Anders huffed. “What I’m saying is- why tell me if she’s not up for it? I mean, isn’t that the point?”

“Maybe she wants to feel loved in return?” Ty offered. Anders looked at him with confusion. “You know, not just a root, but a relationship? You do know what those entail, right-” “Okay, no need to be sanctimonious.”

“I think what Ty is saying, Anders-” Mike interrupted, putting his hand on Anders’s shoulder. “Is that maybe this woman has seen what you’re usually like with women?”

Anders tilted his head up, stroking his chin. “Charming, irresistible, desired-” “Dismissive, easily distracted, unloyal…”

“I’m saying-” Ty interrupted, knowing Mike’s harsh tone was going to irritate Anders. “Maybe she’s only interested in pursuing a serious relationship.”

“Bad luck falling for Anders, eh,” Axl quipped.

Anders narrowed his eyes as he looked between his brothers, not really disagreeing with them but unhappy about the situation all the same.

“Did your Bragi powers not work on this mystery woman?” Olaf asked suddenly, a teasing glint in his eye.

“I didn’t use them on her.” Anders shook out of Mike’s touch. “She dumped her feelings on me out of nowhere, and then announced that nothing would come of it. I hadn’t even considered it before.”

Axl laughed. “And now you want her ‘cause she rejected you?”

Ty grimaced, rolling his eyes. “Don’t take that as a challenge, Anders.”

“Ty’s right,” Mike agreed. “Best to let it go.”

“Maybe it was reverse psychology,” Axl suggested.

Anders hummed dismissively. “Doesn’t seem the type for that. But then why tell me at all?”

Olaf shrugged and pulled out a joint. “Women are the eternal mystery.”

“Aw, grandpa- Not in the house,” Ty complained.

Olaf tilted his head and gestured to convey his deference. “I will take it outside.”

Just then the doorbell rang, and several more guests arrived.

--

A short while later, Anders was helping Ty move beer into a chilly bin while everyone else was outside.

Anders paused, looking over at his brother with a guarded expression. “You’ve been in love before.”

“Yeah?” Ty pulled another case of beer out of the fridge and placed it on the counter.

“So, when someone says they’re in love with you, what does that- actually mean?”

Ty raised a brow and turned to Anders. He’d thought they’d finished with this topic, but clearly Anders was still bothered by this mystery woman’s confession.

“To- be in love?” “Well, how do you know?” Anders gestured with his hands. “Is it just- do you wanna root, or-?” “Oh.”

Ty licked his lips and contemplated it seriously. It wasn’t the sort of thing he usually discussed with Anders, but his brother was being surprisingly earnest, so Ty decided to respond honestly.

“Sure, yeah, that’s part of it. But it’s not only that. It’s like- Well, for me, anyhow, I just… Want to be around them, because that makes me happy. And I want them to be happy. Even if that means not being with me. It’s… caring about the other person enough to put their needs over your own, even when you really just want them to yourself.”

He met Anders’s contemplative gaze and shrugged. “Though I reckon it’s a bit different for everyone.”

Anders chewed his lip for a beat. “What about… a friend? That you also want to root?”

Ty hesitated, unsure how to respond. “Sure? That’s… similar? But there’s a difference between a friend and a partner. Being in love is more like a partner feeling than a friend feeling.”

“Like your friend Dawn?”

Ty scowled. “Like your friend Dawn?”

Anders frowned. “But I so don’t want to go there.”

“Good.”

Anders looked at Ty in annoyance. “But if I did, then that’s what being in love is like? A friend you want to shag?”

“No, it’s- It’s more complicated. Sure, maybe you want to- shag- but it’s more than that. It’s something you- you should just know, when you feel it.”

“Okay, so then what about the chick that told me she was in love with me?”

Ty shrugged, sighing as he realized that Anders really was stuck on the whole idea. “I have no idea.”

“Does she see me as a friend she wants to bone?” “How would I know that, Anders?” “I dunno, you think like a chick.” “Okay, very funny.” Ty rolled his eyes and got back to his task.

“But she said she was in love with me.” “Then she’s in love with you.” “But she also said nothing would come of it.” “Then- don’t worry about it.” “So why tell me?”

Ty sighed in exasperation. “You’d have to ask her, I reckon.”

Anders grimaced. Fat chance.

--

You laughed as Stacey and Olaf argued over her driving his car.

You were sitting in Ty’s backyard with them and Ingrid, passing a joint back and forth that Stacey was abstaining from.

“I’m just saying, you shouldn’t drive high. Last time you hit like three rubbish bins.”

You stilled when Anders sat down next to you, so close you were touching, his thigh and arm pressing against yours.

You took a long drag of the joint, then offered it to him, feeling your pulse in your neck as you watched him casually puff at it before passing it to Ingrid.

The others continued the conversation, and after a moment, Anders turned to you. “Got your delivery.”

You met his gaze, unsure what he thought of it. “And?”

“It’s mint, but if you’re trying to get in my pants, I’m actually a cheap date-”

You let out a groan and rolled your eyes. “That wasn’t what I was-”

“I know.” He let out a humming giggle, chuffed to have gotten such a reaction from you. Even if part of him was confused why you didn’t want in his pants.

The joint made its way back to him and this time Anders blew the smoke out his nose while smirking at you. 

You shook your head at him. “I was just trying to thank you.”

You took your toke and passed it off again.

“You didn’t have to thank me.” “No, I did. It could have been a lot worse than it was.” “But it wasn’t.” “Thanks to you.”

“Mm.” Anders put his hand on your knee and gave you a serious look. “I would never let someone hurt you if I could help it.”

On some level, you already knew that. Anders always protected the people close to him.

“Well, ta. You’re a good friend.” “And yet you don’t call, you don’t write.” His slightly teasing air was undercut by the genuine concern you read in his eyes.

“Well… After Michele’s,” you hedged, not wanting to directly reference your confession. “I thought maybe I should leave you alone. I didn’t want to annoy you.”

He flashed you a slightly stern look. “You never annoy me.”

“Bullshit.” “I annoy you, and then you laugh it off.”

He poked at your side until you elbowed him to stop, laughing despite yourself. “You’re such a dick.”

He smiled to himself as he took the joint back from Ingrid. You might have called him a dick, but the way you’d said it couldn’t possibly be interpreted as an insult, amused and affectionate.

You took another puff when he was done, then leaned over to hand it back to Olaf.

Anders joined in on the conversation the others were having, and as you did the same, you found yourself relaxing somewhat, falling back into the easy chemistry you’d always had. It felt nice to know with certainty that he wasn’t trying to avoid you. That he didn’t seem to think less of you for having been honest about your misguided feelings. That he was willing to be nice about it and pretend you’d never said so.

He turned to you as the conversation topic shifted to something he didn’t care about, lowering his voice. “Hey, come out with me and Axl tomorrow.”

You pursed your lips, contemplating it.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun.” He lowered his head and raised a brow. “You do still know how to have fun?”

You rolled your eyes, but smiled as you felt yourself won over by his playfulness. “Oh, fine.”

He tried to contain his grin as he took the joint back from Ingrid, quite pleased with himself.

Everything’s back to normal, he told himself, even as he kept constant contact with you.

--

Some time later, you and Anders were standing inside debating which of the clubs you should hit up the next night. There was a new one you hadn’t been to before that you were suggesting, but Anders wanted to go to his favourite spot, knowing he’d get lucky there.

He was making his case, leaning in toward you as you found yourself glancing at his lips a little too often. Standing this close, you basked in having his undivided attention, the smell of alcohol on his breath not enough to overpower the lingering notes of cologne on his warm neck.

“We already know the layout, and the bar always runs us a tab. Plus they have those fruity shots you like.”

“-Is he bothering you?”

Michele’s voice startled you out of the spell you were under in Anders’s presence, suddenly making you aware of your surroundings again.

You shrugged and smiled at her, signaling that everything was fine. “No, we were just making plans to continue the Frigg hunt.”

Michele winced, knowing exactly what sort of Frigg hunts you ended up on with Anders and Axl. “More like planning another night of filthy shags in the bog.”

Anders grinned, expression caught between offense and amusement. “I thought it was Ty making things cold in here, but I see it was just your usual warm personality.”

Michele laughed. “Because you’re known for your congeniality?”

“Most women find me quite charming, actually.” “Mortals. Using your powers to trick people into overlooking your being a prick isn’t exactly saintly behaviour.” “I’m not a saint, Michele, I’m a god.”

You rolled your eyes, not interested in listening to the two of them bicker, even as they continued to do so.

It hadn’t been as bothersome before, but now that Michele knew about your feelings for Anders, it seemed more like she was purposely putting him down in front of you, and you hated it. Almost as much as you hated thinking about Anders rooting around Auckland. He can do whatever he wants, you tried to remind yourself. He’s a grown man, and not mine.

You listened to them spar a few more seconds, then decided you’d had enough. “Fucks’s sake,” you muttered as you walked off.

Anders turned his head to watch you, unsure why you’d gotten fed up. Usually you’d jump in to defend him, or at the very least change the topic. It was you he’d been wanting to talk with, but Michele seemed to be extra pointy with him these days and he could never stop himself from sniping back.

Michele caught the confusion in Anders’s expression before he forced his usual aloof air again to turn his attention back to her. She made eye contact with him long enough to sneer as she started walking away herself to find Mike.

Anders gestured in mild offense and confusion at having you both just walk away from him mid-conversation. And they call me rude.

He shook his head and looked over to see that you had instead struck up a conversation with Axl, who was towering over you with a chuffed expression. Whatever you were saying, he’d lit up, and Anders found himself smiling softly as he watched Axl duck down slightly to give you a hug.

A moment later he approached you both with three open bottles of beer.

“M’lord,” he greeted Axl, offering him one. Axl snorted as he took it.

Anders turned to you with confidence, and you caught him giving you a lookover before turning on the charm. “Goddess,” he purred, holding out another bottle.

You hesitated, caught in the blue of his eyes even as you reminded yourself that you weren’t going to take open drinks from men anymore. But it was Anders. “Ta.”

He sucked on his lower lip briefly as he watched you take a sip, then turned to Axl. “Band’s back together.” “Right! She was just saying we’re all going tomorrow.” “Should be fun,” you said with forced enthusiasm.

In truth, you weren’t really convinced. It was difficult to say no to Anders, and Axl had looked over-the-moon when you’d told him, but you knew the reality of watching Anders try it on with women all night was going to make you sick.

Anders caught the lie in your tone, and assumed you were worried about a repeat of Garrett’s actions.

He placed his hand on your back, voice soft. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.” He tilted his head toward you. “Always.”

“I’m fine, really. You needn’t worry.”

He narrowed his eyes at you, unconvinced.

You lightly batted at his chest with your free hand. “I mean it. Don’t be weird.”

He raised his brow in mock offense - lips curling up betraying his amusement and relief that you did seem to be alright - and his hand slid up your back to squeeze your shoulder. “It’s weird to watch over my friend now? You wound me.”

You smiled and looked up at Axl. “The focus is meant to be on finding the Frigg.”

Axl nodded. “Several dozen women down, several million to go.” “That’s the spirit.” “D’you think we could bring Zeb?” Axl suggested.

“Oh, sure-” you started to answer. “Absolutely not.” Anders scowled. “Three gods together, that’s something the Frigg might take notice of. You and your weird flattie? Not the right look.”

“Don’t call him weird,” you complained softly.

Axl scowled. “Hey, Zeb’s a good mate.”

“Irrelevant. A Frigg-magnet he is not.” “Well- I don’t want the Frigg to be into him anyway-” “He brings down the whole vibe.”

“Anders,” you chided. “That’s not nice.” “I’m not trying to be nice, I’m trying to be a god.” He gestured at you with his beer. “You just want him there because he’s got a crush on you.” “What?”

“I saw how chuffed he was to have you in his lap that night. Not that I blame him- You’re probably the hottest chick who’s ever said more than three words to him-” “Don’t be a prick, Anders,” Axl interjected. “Zeb’s really sweet. You shouldn’t say those things.” “Why not? They’re true.” “Because I like Zeb.”

Anders’s fingers pressed into your shoulder slightly where he was still holding on to you. “Oh, is that what you go for now? Spindly mortals who’ll follow you around making moon eyes?”

You’d caught the mild offense lacing his mocking tone, but couldn’t help but feel like he was making fun of you. You looked down at your beer. What I ‘go for’ hasn’t changed at all.

“I’ve just had a gutful of hearing shit-talk about people I care for, that’s all.”

Before Anders could crack a joke about you caring about Axl’s flattie, Axl gestured. “Yeah, stop talking about him like that. He’s my best mate.”

Anders raised his brows and ran his tongue over his teeth, seeing he was clearly outnumbered on the issue, despite not thinking it was all that deep.

He was quiet for a beat, then, hoping their offense had subsided, piped up. “That aside, my point remains.”

“Fine, I get it. Just gods.” “And one goddess.”

Anders squeezed your shoulder, shaking it somewhat until you met his gaze again. When you did, he flashed you a smile that you couldn’t help but begrudgingly return.

“Yeah, yeah.”

--

The rest of the night passed in relative ease, drinking and laughing with the other gods and goddesses. 

Whenever Anders was around, he was on you; sitting or standing so close you were pressed against each other, his hands finding reasons to touch you. It wasn’t completely abnormal for him, but it was more than you were used to, and you told yourself not to read anything into it despite your feelings. 

If anything, most people would be hands-off after an undesired confession like that, but you wondered if he was trying to reassure you that it was fine. He’d seemed so relieved that you still wanted to be friends when you’d left his flat that day, after all.

The sun had long set when you were sitting on the couch in the living room, Anders on the floor in front of you, his shoulder against your bare leg. He had ditched his jacket at some point, the top buttons of his collared shirt open and sleeves rolled up. Ingrid was sitting across from him, getting ready to do a tarot card reading for him.

Anders had always thought it was bullshit, but a bit drunk and a bit high, he was open to anything entertaining at this point.

Ingrid pulled a few stones from her pocket and rubbed them against each other, but after a moment she frowned. She looked up to you hopefully. “Do you still have that amethyst I gave you?”

“Oh-” You dug around in the pocket of your shorts while Anders turned to look at you with surprise as you produced a smooth purple stone from it. You’d been carrying it around ever since, but if she needed it back, you were more than happy to oblige. “Here.” “Thank you, dear.”

Anders grinned to himself as he stared at your chest, getting a great view as you leaned over to hand it to Ingrid, but had the sense to turn his attention back to Ingrid before you would notice.

“Yes, that’s much better,” Ingrid murmured, waving the stones around in front of her, eyes shut.

Anders watched her in great amusement, excited to see what was going to come of all the woowoo hippie posturing. Was she going to tell him how many hot chicks he was going to bed that week? What sort of client the next big campaign JPR landed would be? 

Michele walked over, tilting her head at you. “Can we talk privately for a mo’?”

She turned her attention to Anders as you nodded your assent. “That’s a good spot for you. On the floor, like a dog.”

Anders grabbed one of your bare legs and ducked under it, hugging your calves against his chest on each side of his head. “I’m quite comfortable between a woman’s legs, actually. As I recall, so are you, eh, Michele?”

You shoved Anders’s head with both hands, making him laugh as he let go to fall away from you. You scrambled to your feet, shaking your head at him as you followed Michele away from the living room.

--

Standing just inside Ty’s bedroom, Michele gave you a worried lookover.

“I just wanted to see how you were, with the Bragi situation.”

You shrugged defensively. “What do you mean?”

“You avoided us for a while, and now you’re all over him again.” “I am not.” “No, you’re right; he’s all over you. Like grabbing at your legs just now? But what’s worse is you’re letting him.”

“What am I supposed to do?” You hugged yourself defensively. “It’s never been an issue before, so I can’t just get cross with him out of nowhere.”

“You can, actually. Just tell him you don’t want his perverted little hands all over you.” “Right, except that I actually do, and he doesn’t mean anything by-” “Ah! That!” She pointed her finger at you accusingly. “You’re letting him get away with it because of your feelings for him.” “And I don’t mind.” “You should mind. He’s a wanker.” “Could you stop?” “No, not until you come to your senses. He is a lying, conniving little pervert who-”

“Stop it! You know I care about him, so just-” You took a step back, gesturing. “You can think whatever awful things you want, but I don’t want to hear it. You’re as bad as he is.”

You turned to leave, but stopped when she reached out to touch your forearm.

“I’m sorry.” She sighed heavily. “I just… I don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all.”

Too late for that.

You debated telling Michele that you’d already confessed, and that nothing had come of it, but you worried that would only make her hate Anders more. He didn’t owe you anything, and the idea of her harassing him over it was even more pathetic than the rejection itself. Wanting to protect Anders, you decided to continue keeping that confession a secret, just as he seemed to be doing.

“She’ll be right,” you said finally, defeated. “He’s just handsy with friends. I’m not an idiot. I know he doesn’t want me that way. ”

Michele’s shoulders eased, expression softening as she realized it was already too late to protect you from being hurt by the situation.

“That’s because he’s an idiot. Any man in Midgard would be lucky to have you on his arm.” She pinched your chin. “Don’t forget that. You are a powerful, beautiful goddess. And too kind for your own good.”

She let go of you and sighed, looking away. “And since you’re my friend, I’ll try to go easy on that wanker when you’re around.”

“Thank you, Michele.”

You stepped forward to hug her, and she tensed up, fighting her instinct to push you off.

“Yeah, no worries,” she managed between gritted teeth.

--

Back in the living room, Ingrid was softly clapping her hands together as she examined the cards that she’d spread out on the floor before Anders.

“Well, this is a very auspicious reading! How lovely.”

Anders wasn’t sure what to make of any of the strange images on the cards himself. “Oh?”

“Yes, a time of great social well-being. Basking in the warmth of those closest to you. Good time for getting along with family and friends.”

“You saying I’ll make heaps of new friends?” He smirked as he imagined a pile of blondes joining him in his bed. Maybe our night out will be even more fun.

She hummed. “No, more like… the ones you already have will be extra kind to you. Those closest to you.”

Your face came to his mind first. Then his brothers and grandfather. Then Dawn.

He tried to think if anyone had been particularly kind to him of late. Well, they hadn’t been as unkind as usual, at least.

She looked up at him and gestured around his head, running her hands through his auric field. “Bathed in love and good will. How nice.”

“As I should be.” Ingrid let out a small laugh. “Yes, quite right.”

Anders snickered to himself and finished off the rest of the beer he’d been nursing before leaning back against the couch, wondering where you’d gone off to with Michele, but too munted and pleasantly tired to get up to find you.

Bathed in love… Whatever the fuck that means.

---

Part 4 here

---

A/N: This chapter originally was supposed to be mostly their night out... but ballooned into this... so please look forward to next time, haha.

Tags: @laurfilijames @the-poldarkian @i-did-not-mean-to @the-butterfly-blues @midearthwritings @ichoosechoasandbeingqueer @feeweeeee-deactivated20230423 @missihart23 @spngingerbread21 @fortheloveofdurin

As always if you'd like to be added or removed from tagging (for a specific character/fandom/everything) just let me know any time!

[golbrocklovely]

i saw marianas trench the other day (sept. 30) and here is how all of that went down lol

so i stayed in the city at a hotel for the night bc it was just easier to do that than to drive all the way back home after the concert.

i had to get to the venue early bc i got the vip package so that i could meet the band. honestly, i didn't even really want to meet them, i just wanted to get as close to the stage as possible and that was honestly the only way.

and fun fact, i basically got barricade so it worked out well for me lol

i had to be there at 3, but that was also when i was supposed to check into the hotel. luckily i was able to check in early, and then the venue was only a five minute drive down the road. i get to the venue at 3ish. i went alone to this concert, bc in the past i would go with my ex best friend… but since clearly we aren't on good terms anymore, i was by myself. i was thinking "oh my god, am i gonna be alone the whole time and speak to no one??" bc i am an awkward person and don't know how to make friends. but luckily, standing in line for so long, i ended up making friends with the girls behind me. one of them was even giving out friendship bracelets which was cool and i got two of them :)

we all hung out pretty much the entire time, even well into the concert. it ended up being like ten of us in the end, all women minus two guys lol i had a lot of fun with the group i became friends with and now i follow a couple of them on insta which is nice.

so we did the q&a first, which was cool. i'll be honest i kinda forget everything that was asked. here's what i do remember:

what are josh's inspirations for their music?

he said he's not really into pop music anymore (or it doesn't inspire him like it once did) and he listed hans zimmer as an inspiration. he also stated that he's always trying to outdo himself and the band from the previous record.

2. was it intentional to make MPT, EA, and Astoria almost like a trilogy?

no, but he did purposefully choose to make things connect later down the line bc he never heard that in pop records and he wanted that to be the case with their music. also an ex of his gave him the idea to use the line from say anything in MPT 3.

3. if they were a type of egg what would they be?

one of them answered for all of them. josh - scrambled, matt - over easy, ian - rotten??, mike - also rotten, or hard boiled lol

4. if they could all switch jobs in the band, what would they be?

no one wanted to do josh's job lol matt said mike bc playing bass is easy. mike said matt bc he could be a shitty guitarist and still get paid (obviously a joke). ian said mike, and josh said ian.

5. what do you guys do when you have a day off?

nothing really. explore the city if they can. josh stays away from everyone and doesn't talk and just watches netflix or plays video games.

there were other questions but i'm blanking on them now tbh.

then afterwards it was time for the meet and greet. and boy… was that awkward lol

see, i kinda knew it was gonna be a bit weird only bc we weren't allowed to hug or touch the guys at all. which hey, i get it. the first five shows got cancelled and rescheduled bc josh got sick and couldn't sing. and even if that wasn't the case, we gotta respect boundaries and if that's what they wanted, so be it. my only problem is that…. why have a meet and greet in the first place if you are so scared to get sick?? just do the q&a and maybe give us more merch or something. or charge less. idk. not only that, but josh literally runs into the crowd every night and DANCES WITH THE AUDIENCE so i don't get the whole needing to keep their distance from fans. it just felt really weird walking up and saying hi and having to keep a distance.

i love mtrench and have been a fan of them literally since the beginning. like i was supporting them on myspace, that's how long ago i've been a fan (since roughly 2006/7 when i was 10/11). but i've always felt like they are a band that never wanted to be famous, they just wanted to make music and perform. like, they don't feel like the type to want a fanbase, if that makes sense. or at least what we would say fanbases act like nowadays. absolutely no parasocial relationships whatsoever. i'm not bashing them for that, don't get it twisted. it's just… you can tell they keep their distance in more ways than one, which is why i think meet and greets are just something they shouldn't do.

so when i went up to finally meet them, i told them that i had been a fan of them since 2006, when i was 10/11 years old, so i've been here for forever. they all kinda nodded their heads, matt said "wow you've been here a long time" or something like that. i think mike said "thank you", and then i said i really love fix me, which is their first album, and then i said "please play something from it soon" and josh gave me this look of 😬 so………… let's just say i felt the vibe shift sksks then we took the pic and i waved goodbye.

remember kids, don't meet your idols.

(i'll be honest, it wasn't a bad meet and greet. but it was just very awkward. and i think weirdly i would have rather it been bad than awkward. or maybe i'm just judging both myself and mtrench too harshly bc i was so in my head about it. especially since i asked about fix me and that album is very heavy and when josh was going thru the worst shit so again…. i think i'm just too in my head about it)

afterwards, my group and i bought some merch (which btw i had to pay $5 extra for bc it was plus size… thanks so much) and then we were all lined up outside with everyone else in vip. then we waited out there for like an hour or two. ordered some food from a place near by, all sat around and just talked about mtrench. we made friends with the ppl in front of us which was a couple and a friend of the fiancé. and then a girl behind us as well.

everybody in our group was super fun, truly. but i will say something i noticed that i thought was kinda funny was the engaged couple, imma give them the names jack and sally (not even remotely their names): it became very apparent that girly pop was not too keen on us girls talking to her soon to be husband. very much giving territorial. at one point we were all exchanging instas to keep in touch and she said "why don't you guys follow me and i'll get him to follow you" which…. babe, he's right there. i'm just gonna ask for his insta. please don't make this weird.

(i'll be honest, it felt like she didn't like me in particular, but not bc i said anything but bc i was the only name he remembered just bc it was unique compared to the other girls. and at one point when i left, he said "oh everyone, angelica's back!" which was sweet of him to do but please know he was not being flirty at all whatsoever)

like this man could not have made it more abundantly clear he loved her. i'm talking he introduced her as his fiancé. he talked about how he proposed. he was holding her and kissing her the whole night. like, it was adorable. but she was very much giving the cold shoulder at times and was making eyes at all of us (which was extremely funny given half the group was either lesbians or taken or both). but in the end we all had fun and even "sally" loosened up a bit.

the concert itself was a lot of funny. the openers were fantastic. some of the best singing/songs i've heard from an opener in a while. and somehow, right before mtrench came on, i somehow got right behind the barricade. or rather, right behind the person that was standing at the barricade lol

mtrench was so fucking good, but that's expected. they are always somehow better live than on the album which is an insane thing to do, especially with vocals like that. i will say, at times you could kinda see josh struggle a bit (since he's still getting over being sick) and instead would do these runs instead of the usual vocals. nothing's wrong with that, and it still sounded great, just something i noticed.

also, i've seen mtrench 3 times before this concert, and it had been a reoccurring joke between me and my ex best friend that they won't play my favorite song from whatever album they are touring. like on almost all occasions they played the entire album except my favorite song, so we would joke they were taking it out on me personally. but this time around, they played BOTH of my favorite songs from the album. so i'll be honest with you, i don't think it was a me curse. it was a her curse. thank god that's broken now lmao

i made the dumb decision to try and break in new shoes and literally by the end of the concert i was limping and couldn't feel my toes. but other than that i had a good night. got back to the hotel, chilled out, ate some food, and passed out until the morning.

overall i had a really good time. i enjoyed myself a lot and i'm so happy that i made friends while there bc i genuinely thought i wasn't gonna.

[masonhawthorne]

What I read in April!

Many times this month I have thought "oh no! I've not posted April's reading list yet!" and then I continued to not post it.

But now is the time.

The Hungry Earth, Nicholas Kaufman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heiress of Duniyasar, Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Obsidian Island, Aiden Powell ⭐️⭐️

From the Depths Anthology, Ed. Mike Ashley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wheel of the Infinite, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Community Minded (ss), Carmilla Voiez ⭐️

Conversion Therapy (ss), Carmilla Voiez ⭐️⭐️

Their Heart a Hive, Fox N. Locke ⭐️⭐️

City of Bones, Martha Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Meeting Infinity, Ed. Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rosemary & Iron, Dorian Valentine ⭐️

Bridging Infinity, Ed. Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reach for Infinity, Ed. Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Infinity's End, Ed. Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️

The Beetle, Richard Marsh ⭐️⭐️

The Forty Hour Train Murder, Derek Des Anges ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oedipus the King(sp), Sophocles trans. David Greene ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cold Fire, Dean R Koontz 😡

The Rise & Fall of the Third Reich(nf), William l Shirer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So this month felt pretty slow, but I actually did get through quite a few books. Where I really got bogged down was Cold Fire by Dean Koontz, but we will discuss that in a moment.

This was my first reading of Oedipus the King in any form, and I have to say that it was a fantastic experience. Even getting the book was a really nice experience. Not that there are many occasions where getting a book is a bad experience. Anyways. I had decided to stop by the local Collective Bookshop in town after work, because I had seen their posts on the facebook community groups about how they were raising funds for the next year of their operation, and I thought well, I could be part of the community and go buy a cup of coffee and maybe a book or two. So I did! It's a weird sort of space up some stairs from the main road, and I think it probably used to be an apartment or something because the layout is not very shop-like. Which is nice, the different rooms each have some seating space, and every wall is full of shelving which is full of books. Different genres in different rooms, artwork on the tiny bits of wall not obscured by books, and a decent space for small community events like book launches, art shows, and video game nights. I found a very nice copy of Oedipus the King, and my sole complaint is that it is a standalone play, and now I really want to read the other two Oedipus plays that Sophocles wrote. I also found a paperback of Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves, which I haven't gotten around to reading yet. But y'know. Soon.

Oedipus the King is one of those plays that as I was reading it, my latent theatre kid pathology started waking up. I could imagine how I would stage it, and the kind of casting that I would want to do, and how many fun ways you could use the chorus for dramatic effect. I even know which local theatre group I would trust to do the staging with enough flamboyant set dressing and costume design. I read it on the train to Sydney, now and then reading aloud some of the most killer lines for the friends I was travelling with. If you like reading plays, do give this one a go, the dramatic irony is delicious, and just about every character has some ripper smart arse lines.

And from there, we'll have to discuss something less fun. Cold Fire by Dean Koontz. Now, granted, the first three quarters of this book are very fun. It's an action-movie-like plot with some pretty cool set pieces, and characters that are fairly cardboard cut-out-y but in a way that works just fine for an action thriller. Unfortunately after all of that run-up, the book entirely fails to stick the landing in a way which retroactively makes the whole thing awful. The plot is essentially that there is a man travelling around the USA (and around the world), showing up in random places just in time to save random people from random events where they otherwise would have been killed. He then leaves without sharing his identity or sticking around to talk to reporters about his deeds, and so for a long while, this goes under the radar as a bunch of unrelated local interest stories. Until one day he happens to perform one of these rescues while a journalist is already on site, interviewing someone else, and witnesses the whole event.

The journalist corners the guy, gets his name, and they part ways. She then goes back to her unsatisfying job, writing about small town stuff, and she gets an idea. Maybe she should investigate the guy, and find out what he's really up to. So she finds a whole bunch of news reports that can be linked back to him, and starts putting together a timeline of the crazy rescues he's been doing. Meanwhile this guy is off rescuing some people as usual, and so on and so forth. Eventually the journalist decides to track him down at home, and finds his house, starts canvassing people who know him to find information, and then she shows up at his place and demands to be let in with the threat of writing a big story about what he's been doing. So he lets her in, and at this point the story falls apart.

Cold Fire sets us up with a few options for what might be happening, some of which are very cool, some of which are a bit goofy, and then it goes with the goofy option, with a side order of misused psychological terminology, and a baffling about-face from action packed set pieces, to a sedate tour of a small town, including a long slow interlude at a retirement home. Apparently, the main guy is a psychic, with DID (not that what is represented here resembles DID, but we'll get to that), and one of his alternate personalities is eeeeevil, and has been doing all of the horrible scary things that the protags have been stressing out about. Such horrible scary things as: feeding death threats and psychic torture directly into the journalist woman's mind, while they're supposedly falling deeply in love over the course of three days, and she sets out to 'cure' his DID with the Power of a Good Woman.

The thing is, the 'DID' in this story sure does read a lot more like maladaptive daydreaming. Apparently after the trauma of watching his parents be murdered as a kid, this guy got heavily invested in a sci-fi novel about a kid who speaks to an alien living in a space ship in the pond on his family farm. He then psychically then manifests his own 'alien presence' on his grandparent's farm, but adds the figure of an evil alien who wants to do bad and naughty things. The character 'gets messages' from the 'good alien' which are how he gets the information on how to perform his daring rescues, and he has nightmares about the 'evil alien', and is afraid that the 'evil alien' is going to show up and do...something bad. The alien 'personalities' aren't taking over so that the guy can get through a truamatic time, they're fantasies that he has the power to make visible because he's a psychic.

Anyway, the whole thing's a moot point because after a long, boring conversation at the retirement home, the journalist loves him hard enough to exorcise the mental illness out of him or whatever. It sucked, and at that point I was so annoyed at the experience of reading this book that I had to put it down and do some vigorous pacing around my office.

Did I mention that the 'evil alien' (the main dude) psychically tortures the journalist woman and threatens to kill her? Like a lot? In graphic detail? And she decides that she needs to marry this guy? Immediately?

Ugh.

A more interesting reading experience was The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L Shirer. The author had been a journalist, posted in Germany for the duration of WW2, and after the war had access to files and documents that the US seized after the fall of the Reich. It is a very interesting book as an artifact of the time it was written in, and as a recount of first-person experiences of the author being a reporter in that time and place. The of-its-time of it has bizarre moments, though. For instance there's a vibrant homophobia which pops up at various points throughout the book. It was striking how often the author was able to rightly point to examples of Germans being 'duped' by what he thought of as obvious propaganda, and outright fabrications, but then that he turns around and does the same thing with his own prejudice. It's an interesting example of reportage which makes use of the writer's own experiences, but I probably wouldn't rely on it for strict factual accuracy for events outside of the author's personal experience.

I'll finish off here with an honorable mention for The Hungry Earth. It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was fun! It is what I would call a 'fungal horror', and it is actually a fairly shining example of its genre. Finally. I think fungus has such a great potential for horror writing, but it seems like every time I find one, it ends up being bad in weird and uncomfortable ways. Usually to do with gender. If you want to have fun, fungal body horror, check out The Hungry Earth.

And that's that for that.

[discoursedeity]

Disappointed, bored & hurt, the worst trifecta:

I don't care what anyone else thought if the movie, if you liked it, good for you, I am happy you were able to enjoy it. I am not going to argue with you and tell you you're wrong for liking it and just being happy it actually got made because I don't want to ruin it for you. But I am going to say my piece regardless because I have been thinking about it all week and it is really bothering me and I want there to be helpful criticism out there for Scott Cawthon to pull from the fan base.

So I will start by saying that yes, I have been a fan since 2014 when Markiplier first uploaded his first video, and I have been watching countless YouTubers since then for it. Ranging from gamers who play the games, to theorists who disect them, and I cant even begin to count how many hours I have sunk into this franchise to watch all of those videos, so this isn't just someone coming in later and not getting it or something. Of course I caught things like Sparky the dog, and the Ella spring lock suit and thought "Oh my God, what a deep cut, how nice." But that in itself does not make a movie. Nor do the YouTuber appearances like MatPat being a waiter named Ness (as much as that moment was the highlight of the film) A movie needs to be written to make the audience CARE about it, it's world, it's characters. And this movie sadly just did not do that for any of the characters, be they human, ghost or animatronic.

Vanessa info dumping is a quick way to get the lore across, and yes fans already know the lore so I understand WHY things were done that way, but you should always SHOW not TELL. We fans would have loved to see it all unfold before our eyes, rather than just have some cop hang around for some reason to just spew lore out her mouth at us. We want to SEE the restaurant being established and built up, we want to see William spiral and finally decide to kill the kids, we want to see each conversation he had with each kid to get them to follow him, we want to see him kill them and put them in the suits, we want to see the kids ghosts adjusting to the suits and begin their rampage of killing guards.

That's Fnaf, that's what we are here for, the lore of the restaurant franchise, its history, its animatronics, that is all important for getting us invested, that and the mystery of it all since we like trying to solve things. So of course you don't have to show every single little thing lore wise, we do like to try to theorize and figure things out for ourselves when we are given enough pieces of the puzzle to do so, like if you are going to carry over that William also had 2 sons but you're planning to have them both be dead (one to Fredbear and one to Circus Baby) then you don't need to show us explicitly which one died first, but some things you really do need to layout for the audience to be able to feel invested in the movie. Again, like the characters, we have no reason to feel attached to Vanessa.

We don't know enough about her to care about whether or not she comes out of her coma. We have vague implications that William wasn't the best dad and that she has lasting trauma from that experience as his daughter, but we don't know what the trauma is or how severe her suffering was, so we can't truly empathize with her. Was she beaten by him? Or just yelled at or neglected? We don't know. And when building a character those sorts of things need to stated or at least hinted at more clearly to build intrigue and investment in the character. But they must be likeable as well, and non of the characters in the movie were relatable or likable enough. Mike was relatable, but his likability factor went out the window when he sold out his sister for a long dead brother that we also knew nothing about so we could care about him. The ghost kids weren't established enough as characters either, and while that may be because they have been there so long that they are not fully themselves anymore and you wanted to emphasize that it isn't really them just the negative emotions like anger and such that were left behind, it made it impossible for us to care about them beyond going "Oh dang, dead kids, poor things...Oh well, hey look at that animatronic." The only one who speaks is Golden Freddy's kid, and he was a brat.

On the topic of the animatronics, they were perhaps the biggest disappointment in the entire movie. It seemed like they were left as silent vessels for the kids both to try to make them scarier and fit the first game since they never talked in Fnaf 1, as well as to try to further emphasize the fact that this was about the ghost kids from the MCI situation. But it didn't work in either of those favors. The bots weren't scary, like the only time they had any level of intimidation factor was when Freddy stomped over to Mike when they were first introduced, and that was purely because of their size difference. The animatronics just came across as goofy. Like, how could they be threatening when they are so weak and slow that Bonnie and Freddy have to work together to lift one single little table? What makes them scary in the games is what they are capable of, how we see them move fast, how they are capable of intricate thought and planning, how they hide behind a friendly and calming facade but they are truly sinister and can outmatched any human in speed, strength and durability. But seeing the bots in the movie move so slow, barely be able to lift, go down so easily from one shot of a stun gun, it just takes any chance of them being perceived as an actual thing to fear away immediately. Not to mention the red and orange glowing eyes. It's like they are playing red light green light with their eyes and I could only laugh whenever I saw them. Where was was the iconic and chilling black with white pin pricks we all know and love? Those would have sent chills down any player's spine seeing them. The animtronics just looked so silly, and didn't have anything to backup their danger factor aside from killing some random break in thugs, 2 of which walked right into their own Demise so the bots didn't even have to work for it to show what they are capable of, (Freddy and Bonnie). And I get it, I know they were staged this way because the people in the suits probably can't see or move that well in them, and those physical limitations inhibit what can be done for the movie. But if that is the case, then why even bother making real suits and animatronics for this? If it is going to negatively impact the movie by posing such limitations, then don't waste the time or money on them, just use CGI. I would have preferred that even, since it would have allowed the animatronics to be as close as possible both look wise and feel wise to the game. As it is, Chica is the only one who perfectly matches how she looks in Fnaf 1. The boys all have slight color issues that keep them from being accurate adaptations. Really getting the creature shop to make them real was a mistake in every way except for the fact that it gives a chance for people to meet them irl at exhibits and stuff. But that isn't worth it if it requires shooting the movie in the foot. The animatronics should have been present more, they should have DONE more, they ARE Five Nights at Freddy's. We need them to be more involved, otherwise it feels less like a FNAF movie and more like the Fnaf bots making a cameo in some family drama movie.

Also, let's talk more about Mike and his whole dream thing. We got it the first time, we didn't need to see it over and over and over again. That was boring. Heck, the whole first 1/3 of the movie was just tedious and dull with all the setup and family drama, it felt like I was left waiting for the movie to actually start, like I was watching a required video before I could actually watch the movie. Yes, it was important to establish how down on his luck Mike was and why he needed a job and how this was his only option for work so he had to take it, even if it wasn't ideal. But the bots didn't even attack him until around night 3 or 4. So it was less about Mike coming back to the job despite the danger, and more about Mike just coming back despite it not working great with his schedule. And his backstop could have been established far faster and with less monotony. It took up so much of the run time that we could have spent better elsewhere, such as fleshing out William some more or on the animatronic side of things like I said earlier.

And God, William, oh William...He is just never going to be an actual threat again, is he? Like, odd enough to shift him from being British to just being American, but he was portrayed as so goofy as well in this movie. As Steve Raglan, I understand him being an upbeat and lighthearted guy, but when we are shown him in the suit, he should have had more buildup, there should have been more suspension and hype to make him FEEL like more of a threat. Him controlling the other animatronics should have also been shown, I don't care if it was him disguising himself as a friend via sound illusion disc's or some stereotypical remote control or what. But leaving it vague for anyone to see there to theorize about (or forcing them to read the books to understand) just takes any tension out of it by making it feel like a rushed cop out. His whole little speech about him creating disobedient monsters just felt sad and weird and out of place. And his delivery of his iconic line felt shoehorned in to be able to point at it and say "look, look, ah ha he said the thing" and was really just pathetically given, rather than it being more of a menacing and knowing promise. Plus, when we only know of 6 kills under his belt and all of them were children who couldn't fight back and we didn't even see how creepy and cunningly he lured those kids in to their deaths, we really have no frame of reference for what he is capable of and why we should fear him. Like, sure maybe he wasn't actually aiming to kill his own daughter, but if he shoved a big knife through her gut and she didn't even die and he actually WAS trying to kill her, then that's pretty sad. Makes him come across like a failure of a killer and more of a joke than anything. He couldn't even kill Mike for crying out loud, and Mike didn't have a gun like Vanessa did.

(Also, I suppose this is a nitpick, but why was he able to kick Mike in the suit without the spring locks going off? That was a hard jarring movement, and the foot meeting Mike was applying resistance, don't you normally have to be careful how you move and breathe in those things so as not to set them off? How can you harshly kick someone AND get tazed without it tripping the spring locks?)

I don't know, the whole thing just felt like it was relying on fans to just be satisfied with seeing Easter eggs, cameos, and feeling what superior or something for already knowing everything? I mean, the whole movie was so predictable, every single plot point of it, even Vanessa being his daughter wasn't a surprise to me or my friends that just went and saw it with. I've seen people say they went in with a Bingo sheet, and that is not a good thing at all. The run time was poorly allocated to the wrong points, and such important things like building the world of the Freddy's restaurant chains and its characters kind of got the screwed over. I watched this thing twice and hesitate to ever watch it again because my opinion of it already started out not so good with the first watch and fell to bad with the 2nd. I might actually cry if I try to watch it again. I don't like knowing I've waited years for this and hoped and prayed for the best, only to see red flags popping up when the trailers were released and then going in with low expectations telling nyself to ignore the warning bells in my head and actually seeing it, it's just so disappointing.

I love this franchise dearly, it's done so much good for so many good people. It gave so many people jobs as YouTubers who are a joy to see spread positivity and light in the world. Heck, the games also got some people to look at Chuck E Cheese in a new light and give it a visit. It's brought so many people together and inspired the next generation of game designers and story tellers. Nothing will ever shake me from its clutch, even back when Fnaf 3 came out and I felt disappointed I didn't give up on it, and that was back when it was still new enough that it didn't have a strangle hold on me yet. So of course I'm not going anywhere even if the Ruin DLC and movie were kind of a flops. I will still be here ready to go to the theater to give the 2nd movie a try when it comes out, I just hope that Scott and the crew learn from this and make better choices for the next one. Because I really want this series to be treated with the love and respect that it deserves.

Regardless of any complaints though, thanks to my fellow fans for being so devoted to the series as well and getting it past the Mario movie in terms of views for streaming, (the Mario movie was bad in its own way, mostly with Peach's...everything, and the voices of all the characters and stuff) so I'm glad to see it surpassed that shamless cash grab of a movie at something. And I am happy that the movie wasn't just abandoned after being in development purgatory for so long.

This again, was in no way meant to deter fans from enjoying it if they found something in it for them, keep enjoying it. If all you wanted was a cheesy movie that wasn't taken seriously and was intentionally bad, then all the power to you. But it truly is not for everyone. Hard core fans, casual fans, it doesn't matter, it truly comes down to what you were looking for in a movie. And I love Scott Cawthon and his dedication to the fans, but this really wasn't it and I know he can do better, so I darn sure will be voicing any complaints I have with the film to push him to push the movie crew to do better.

[alligatorpawnshop]

Rapture - Chapter 1

word count: 2617 rating: mature

In the aftermath of the Great Hawkins Earthquake and the death of Vecna, Robin and Steve find themselves a job at a new mascot-based children's entertainment restaurant. Nancy soon discovers all is not as it seems at the Party Palace.

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This is a Ronance-centric story focused on creating a fun and believable alternate season 5 for the show. Definitely not a thinly-veiled FNaF AU (I promise it's more than that and has actual cool lore)!

read on ao3

next chapter

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"And so, we played the game again, for one last time. It didn't matter that there were no maps, or dice, or no monsters. Pardieu saw the monsters. We did not. We saw nothing but the death of hope, and the loss of our friend. And so we played the game until the sun began to set, and all the monsters were dead."

- ♁ -

August 2, 1986.

"That was a shitty movie," Dustin said, rolling his eyes and setting his paper plate, slick with pizza grease, on the coffee table. 

"What'd you expect? It's called ‘Mazes & Monsters'. Dumb from the start," Lucas' laugh rolled over the credits music as he finished his own pizza. It had arrived, late, three-quarters through the movie.

Mike huffed, but the light in his eyes showed he was just as entertained as his friends. Bad movies with friends always made for a fun time. "It's just crazy that so many people think that about a game, even outside of Hawkins, enough to make a weird-ass movie about it."

"They just don't realize how cool it is," Dustin turned up his nose, smirking in a very uncool way.

Steve held his hands up. "Woah there, don't get ahead of yourself," He said, having only tolerated the horrid movie because the boys found it so entertaining. He had found it pretty boring. Thank God it was over. "Just because the movie sucked and people hate your game doesn't mean you're cool, buddy."

"Be nice," Robin, sat beside (partially on, her legs sideways over his) Steve in the beat-up armchair next to the couch, playfully slapped his shoulder. "Let the dorks be nerds. Haven't they gotten enough shit for it already?" She tilted her head slightly, grinning.

"Can't let them get big heads, Robin," Steve said with a roll of his eyes, pushing his friend off of him to go and collect the group's used plates. He was always the one keeping their apartment clean—if he didn't pick them up, nobody would.

Yes, their apartment. Over the summer, following the earthquake that practically destroyed a fourth of the town, Steve and Robin had gotten an apartment together. Steve hated being alone, as his parents were always out on trips, and Robin hated living with hers. They rather liked each other, so it was an easy decision. Robin wasn't going to college ‘till ‘87 (at least) now, anyway. The earthquake had wrecked her family's house so much that they couldn't afford to send her to college anymore, so she'd be working for quite a while to save up a little money before the loans got her.

Much else had happened in the few months between the Hawkins earthquake and where they were now, the party huddled up around Steve and Robin's TV watching shitty movies snatched from Family Video by its two responsible, trusted employees. For one, the Byers and Eleven had moved back to Hawkins. Tragedy seemed to follow them wherever they went—they might as well stay close to those who could share in the grief it brought.

Max had awoken from her coma in May, blind and unable to walk. In the two months since, she'd regained her vision—somewhat—and had learned to walk again with a cane. She had been spending a lot more time with the party than she did before after Starcourt, unable to do much else and not wanting to sit around at home. She sat on the couch now, sandwiched between El and Lucas, arguing over exactly how stupid the movie really was. She seemed to be doing better, but Steve still worried about her a lot. He worried about all of them a lot.

Steve worried a lot nowadays.

The worrier tossed the plates in the garbage can by the kitchen, just a few steps from the sitting area. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, watching with a small smile as the group exploded into a lighthearted argument about the worst movie of all time. It was nice to see the kids laughing—Robin, too. None of them had laughed much anymore. It was hard, knowing all that they did.

Steve had watched as his kids retreated into themselves over the months following the raid on the Upside Down. He saw them become shells of themselves more than ever before. Most painfully, he watched Robin do the same. Himself, too. But it was over. It was over, for good this time. El had eviscerated Vecna's mind, and Nancy, Robin, and Steve had destroyed his body. The gates…they'd opened, the earthquake happened, but just as soon as that big, ugly gash in the earth had opened, it collapsed in on itself. It left no otherworldly trace, only massive earthly destruction. 

The Upside Down was gone, for good. No more Vecna, no more Mind Flayer, no more Demogorgons or Demodogs or whatever weirdo nerd names the kids gave every Upside Down creature that reared its ugly head at them. At least, Steve hoped.

They'd never been able to figure out if destroying Vecna had destroyed the Upside Down, but it had definitely destroyed all of the gates, barring the other world from theirs permanently. There was no mastermind to force gates open, and El knew now how the original one had opened (though she never told Steve himself) and said there was no possible way it could be opened from their side again. He believed her. He wanted to.

"You zoned there, Steve?" Robin leaned her arm over the back of the armchair, giving him a funny look as the rest of the group continued arguing over the credits scrolling endlessly down the screen. He knew that look well. Are you just chilling, or having an episode, bud? 

Steve ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Just taking in the scenery," He said. Not quite sure on that, Rob. "I didn't think such a shitty movie would have them in such a good mood."

"Movies, no matter the shittiness, are an art, my friend," Contrasting the pretentious tone she took on, Robin climbed out of the chair and over the back with very little grace, sliding over the arm and onto the ground at an awkward angle. She grabbed some stray, crumpled-up napkins and threw them out (Robin Buckley? Cleaning? Maybe Steve should be the one checking on her) before sitting on the counter next to Steve. Voice low, the brunette learned over to him and said, "We oughta tell ‘em."

"Oh, it's not that big a deal," Steve hand-waved her head away. "It's just–"

"What's not a big deal?" El's ears practically perked up like a cat's, and soon did the rest of the kids' as they all turned to look at the two adults in the room. Steve could swear El had super hearing in addition to all her other stuff with all the little strings of conversation she'd caught before. Or maybe it was just the urge to know, to never miss out on anything again. Never miss something that could be a sign of upset, or danger, or…

Or maybe he was projecting.

Robin shot Steve a bemused glance and nodded him along, earning a sigh from the poor man. He stood up, pushing himself away from the counter to clasp his hands together. "Alright, kids, here's the deal. Robin and I aren't working at Family Video anymore."

"What?" asked Dustin.

"Why?" asked Mike.

"So?" Max raised an eyebrow.

"We got a better job," Steve raised his hands, shaking his head dramatically. "At one ‘The Party Palace.'"

"Oh, come on dude, seriously?" groaned Dustin, chorused by the rest. "That's so lame."

The Party Palace was once, in another time, known as the Palace, a cool arcade the boys and Max used to hang out and play games at. However, following the earthquake, the former owner put the business up for sale, and it was bought and turned into a Showbiz Pizza-style establishment just in time to spoil the gang's summer. The kids hated that it was gone; Steve had said that maybe, if he got the money, he'd buy a Nintendo for the apartment for them to go crazy on instead. That had yet to happen, but it remained a possibility, since…

"They pay almost two whole bucks more there, you know. It's a business decision," Robin said, kicking her feet from the counter. She almost caught Steve's back, but he was just out of reach, on purpose.

"A business decision? It'll be a net loss with all the money we'll have to spend at the video store now!" Lucas said, exasperated.

"Yeah, what about us?" The kids huffed and puffed, their nearly endless supply of movies Robin and Steve snagged for them free of charge now at an end.

"Contrary to popular belief, our lives don't revolve around you, dipshits," Steve said, dodging another Robin kick by simply moving one inch forward. "I already pay for pizza at least once a week for the entire pack of you, you can buy a movie or two."

"Lame," El said quietly, followed by many sage nods from the others.

"You guys just suck," Steve said, glancing at the clock. 11:38 PM. "You're all probably cranky from lack of sleep. It's late, go home, get out of my house."

"One, it's not that late, two, it's not a house, it's an apartment, and three, you're zero fun," Mike said as the kids gathered their bags. "No wonder you're working at the loser arcade."

"Go home, loser," Robin threw an empty plastic cup at the boy, thonking him in the head. "It's s'posed to rain in a little, anyway," That earned quite the scoff from Mike, but the kids all went somewhat willingly toward the door. 

"When do you start?" asked Max as the group was corralled through the door and down the outside stairs of the short apartment building, Steve helping her down the stairs as she hadn't quite grasped those with her cane yet. It was obvious by her question and the look in her eyes that she was calculating the amount of movies they'd be able to obtain depending on the length of Steve and Robin's remaining employment at Family Video.

Sadly for the redhead, Steve said, "Monday, why? Want to come visit the dumb baby arcade, Max?"

"Forgive me for asking a question," Max rolled her light blue eyes and climbed onto the back of Lucas' bike. He'd been ferrying her everywhere since she gotten out of the hospital.

Steve watched, hands on his hips, until all the kids had vanished from sight. It had begun to sprinkle. He ran a hand through his hair—can't have that getting messed up, no sir. But man, those kids would be the death of him, he was sure. They already almost had been at least five times. At least.

He turned to climb the rickety wooden stairs leading back up to his apartment, not daring to risk the splinters of the handrail, despite it becoming increasingly slick as the rain began to fall in thicker, heavier drops. He opened the red-painted door to find Robin back on the armchair, ignoring the remaining mess of disposable cups and napkins strewn around the room. Oh, Buckley. He knew her cleanliness couldn't last.

Robin remained silent as Steve began picking up the refuse littering the floor and coffee table, playing with the many thick rings that adorned her hands. "Kids always leave a fuckin' mess, I swear," Steve muttered as he tossed the garbage into the can. "If they don't clean up after themselves next time, they're never allowed over again, and I mean it this time."

"Quit being such a housewife, Stevie," Robin hummed, looking up from her rings to shoot Steve a smirk.

"Oh, shut it, you're just as bad as them," Steve chastised her, getting a paper towel to make sure the coffee table didn't get too many cup rings on it. If only those damn kids knew how to use coasters. "Worse, maybe. If I didn't pick up after you, this place would be a dump."

Robin laughed, a sound Steve had always liked, even when they were nothing but coworkers at Scoops Ahoy. Jeez, that felt like such a long time ago. "I picked up those napkins earlier! Just for you."

It thundered outside. "My hero," Steve grimaced out a smile and fake-half-curtsied as aggressively as possible, causing Robin to grin. He went to wash his hands in the sink and was about to tell her to turn off the TV before the bulb went out when all of the lights suddenly flickered in the apartment.

Steve jumped nearly through the ceiling, going pale as the lights fizzed and flickered before stabilizing again. He steadied himself with a wet hand against the counter, sink still running beside him, and took a deep, shaky breath. Just storming. That's it, that's all.

"You okay, Steve?" Robin's voice, far shakier than it had been moments before. Steve looked up from the blank spot he'd been staring at on the counter as he tried to calm his racing heart to see his best friend's pale face peering over at him from the chair, eyes wide.

"I'm good, yeah," Steve replied, letting out a sigh. He hated being so jumpy—he'd never been before…well, everything. But now, it just seemed to keep getting worse.

He knew Robin was dealing with the same thing. The other week, a black snake (Steve was unsure of the type, but Robin said it wasn't poisonous) got into the apartment and scared the shit out of both of them, who had mistaken it for a tentacle. Every time a lightbulb went out, every time their neighbor's loud-ass grandfather clock chimed, every anything, their hearts jumped into their chests. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Robin nodded. She waited a minute before saying, in a slightly less shaky tone, "Got any beers left?"

"No, but I have some vodka, Coke, and some Twizzlers," Steve moved to open one of their cabinets. Drinking after a little Upside Down-memory-thing had quickly become tradition in the Buckley-Harrington household after a night spent celebrating their brave removal of the snake from the premises. It probably wasn't healthy, but what were they supposed to do?

"Oh, gimme that, then, Harrington," said Robin, who got up to change tape in the player. They were always quick to move on from the topic of the Upside Down—unless they were drugged up by Russians, it was hard to get either of them to talk about their feelings. "What movie?"

"Uh, I dunno," Steve shrugged, pouring them each a nice concoction and tossing the bag of Twizzlers onto the couch. "What do you wanna watch?"

Robin sifted through the stack of rented movies the kids had left on the TV stand and picked one at random. "Oh, hey, they got Back to the Future."

"Bet that was Henderson," Steve brought the drinks to the coffee table and sitting on the couch. Robin shoved the tape in and sat down next to him, putting a Twizzler in her drink to use as a straw. Eventually, it grew too slow for her impatient brain, and she ended up chugging the whole thing.

Steve gave Robin's arm a gentle slap. "Woah, Buckley, slow your roll," He said, concern drawing his eyebrows together just a bit.

"Chill, we don't have work ‘till Monday. It's Saturday," Robin said, grimacing after swallowing the last of her drink.

"You handle drinks as well as I handle not housewifing," Steve replied, taking a sip of his own. Eh. Not his favorite. "I'd love for you to be alive in the morning." "Gee, thanks."