#but why can't he make phonecalls for the group like???

[will80sbyers]

How the phone gets used in stranger things..aka I was bored and looking for patterns, idk what this means exactly but it's often about miscommunication and lies or like people not understanding each other for some reason/not reaching the other side:

(I have omitted some phonecalls that were just one character on the phone so that they could know something about the research they were doing (like Nancy and Hopper usually) and also a phone call Karen is doing talking to one of her friends and keeping the phone occupied... I'm also not counting the "calls" through the walkie talkies!)

Season 1:

Joyce calling Karen searching for Will

Joyce receiving phone calls but no one is speaking on the other side

Joyce trying to call Lonnie and having to talk to his girlfriend and not him

Hopper calling his ex on the phone and her telling him to not call her

Nancy calling Barb's mom and lying about where Barb is

Dustin calling Mr. Clarke (lying about why he called)

Season 2:

Joyce calling Bob but hanging up on him when she didn't need his help anymore, not telling him about the upside down

Mike trying to call the Byers but not reaching them

Nancy calling Barb's mom again to lie about meeting at the park

Joyce trying to call Hopper a lot of times but he's not available immediately

Nancy calling her mom and lying about where she is when she's at Murray's with Jonathan

El's aunt making the phonecall about her to the Hawkins police and making El run away to not be found

Season 3:

El calling Mike and Mike lying to her about why they can't see each other

Nancy calling Jonathan after they fight to ask him to talk to Will

Joyce calling Karen to check on Will and Karen telling her the lie that the kids are at the movies

Season 4:

Joyce calling random people for her job

Joyce calling Murray and him picking up late because he was busy at karate

Mike barely calling Will or calling but not reaching him

Max and the group calling the Byers but not reaching them

Dustin saying Mike is always calling and no one answered because of Joyce's job

Joyce calling Enzo to know about Hopper

Yuri talking to Enzo to tell him that he betrayed him before he gets taken as a prisoner too

Joyce and Hopper calling that lady that works with Owens from Russia

Mike and the Cali group calling the number to find Nina but not receiving a clear answer but only those sounds from the computer

Jonathan trying to call someone to get a flight to Hawkins

Karen calling the police to her house about the kids

[veryfuckingtrans]

Been really fucking miserable because i started in the work group that i'll be in for the rest of my internship yesterday

And they have to give me a username so i can access the system and actually get to work (i doubt i will do much, really, but still) and they haven't given it to me yet, so i've been just sitting around, trying to work on this other project, and just being anxious about not doing anything and about potentially having a lot to do soon and just. Very anxious and very idle. Also, i asked my new "boss" if i should work from home 2 days a week like i did before and he said yes, but today i simply did not go to the office because 1) i can't do anything without access and 2) i would have to see the other interns and feel awkward and explain why i'm working in a different project and 3) i do not want to waste money (for the bus), having to eat out, and just sit in a chair for 8 hours waiting for them to give me access.

Which i think a normal person might've asked his boss like "hey, is it ok if i just stay at home until i have access?" But i don't want to be a nuisance to this guy who has several work groups and probably doesn't even remember my name by the end of the day. So i'm just at home hoping he doesn't ask. Lol.

Also, for a therapist they've called me a few times which makes me feel anxious because phonecalls and because why are all these people being told "hey, this guy has so much dysphoria he needs a specific therapist for it."

idk i know i'm just making all the anxiety and It's Not That Deep but. Anxiety disorder and all that.

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

I think with Dracula I've reached the saturation point of loving it so much that I've ruined my ability to watch any adaptation like I simply have too many strong opinions about all aspects of the story no one who isn't me could come up with a version that hits all my adaptational preferences. I've flown too close to the sun.

[narancias-headband]

Why is the DuWang Gang calling you at 3 a.m.?

(+ Mikitaka)

Josuke

He's just calling to let you know he finally beat that one level in the game he's been talking to you about.

If you don't remind him to quiet down, soon you'll hear Tomoko yelling at him in the background.

WOO! YES! "Josuke, quiet down! It's 3 in the morning why are you yelling?" I FINALLY DID IT. "Shhhhhh." I finally beat that level!

Further conversing will not be very fruitful. He's still focusing on his game and spares you little brain energy to hold a conversation.

Okuyasu

Oh... No reason. Everything is good! :)

There is definitely a reason. His creaky, old house can start feeling really lonely at night. He just wants to hear a familiar voice.

Hey, [Y/N]. How are you? You busy? "Okuyasu, it's 3 a.m. Is something wrong?" Noooo... "Can't sleep?" ... Yeah...

The conversation doesn't need to be interesting in the slightest. Just talk to him about your day or retell stories from that vacation you were just on. Even if you start falling back to sleep, your company on the line will make him feel so much better.

Koichi

"Koichi? Why are you calling so late?" Oh my god, I'm so glad you picked up [Y/N]. Did you finish the study guide for the test tomorrow? What did you put for number 5?

He's up late studying for a test tomorrow, and he could really use your help on a question.

He will only call once, not wanting to bother you, but please for his sake pick up the phone. He's panicking.

Please help him. He's desperate. And if you forgot about the test, well at least you just got a reminder.

Rohan

He's phoning in a favor you may or may not actually owe him.

He's up late working on manga panels and is calling you to bring him food.

Hey, I'm up late working. Will you bring me something to eat? "Rohan. It's 3 in the morning. Where is even open?" Well, you could make me something. "😐"

If you do bring him food, there is a slight chance that you could possibly finally get on his good side. Maybe.

Yukako

If you haven't been up to anything suspicious with Koichi (i.e. any time one on one with him for any reason whatsoever), she's probably calling you up to gossip about someone else who did do something she deems suspicious with Koichi.

She stays up late thinking about this and/or trying to dig up any possible dirt on her newfound 'enemies'.

So you know that blonde chick that's always hanging around Koichi? "Yeah... The girl he got assigned to do that group project with?" Exactly. Well I just found out that when she was 5, she called the cops after she lost her dog. "..." Now get this, the police report states that the dog was later found in her yard. How dumb do you have to be-

Just be thankful she's your friend. She can be downright terrifying. How does she find this information?

Bonus: Mikitaka

He doesn't understand why this is an inappropriate time to call.

He's just figuring out how phonecalls work. Please cut him some slack.

Greetings, [Y/N]. I hope you can hear me through this interesting device. "Yes, I can hear you. Why did you decide to call at 3 in the morning?" Is this not a usual time for using a phone? "Not really... Most people around here are sleeping at a time like this." Oh, apologies. Can you present me with an average phonecall schedule?

[abbynx]

Goodbye

Richy Rogers X Gender Neutral Reader

A/N: Because Episode 10 fucked me up, enjoy some Richy angst my people.

Warning:

So this goes without saying, spoilers for episode 10

Mentions of commiting suicide

Alright thank you, now cry with me.

This can be interpreted as platonic or romantic.

"All of it... All of it was you...?"

"It was."

It ripped him to shreds to see the long held reservoir in your eyes finally break, flooding and streaming from your face. Suddenly, the gunshot didn't feel as painful as the heavy weight from his chest.

Y/N L/N, the major piece of the puzzle, the string that kept the group together— through the threats, through the danger, from the doubts, from the circumstances, the pain and all that to find Hannah Donfort. Even if they were a stranger, that mere stranger was the one who managed to pull the group together whilst simultaneously doing everything in their might to find Hannah Donfort, a girl that they didn't even knew existed. He envies them, there were moments of them caving in anxiety, but he has seen them power through it again and again... And he finally saw you giving in and crying.

He wanted to tell them not to cry, but what right does he have to say such a thing? Guilt, he is the very reason why you were hiccuping and taking sharp intakes of air, he thought that you'd lose your breath and faint.

"The threats? You were the one sending me videos and messages? The video with Cleo? Jessy? Oh my god, you hurt Jessy!"

"It didn't have to be this way I—"

"Have you any idea, how I cried myself when you were 'captured'? I couldn't breath, I almost didn't want to continue the investigation, I was scared because now I crossed the line but it was you! Jessy, Lilly, EVERYONE! EVERYONE WAS SCARED! I thought you would have died, we lived in constant fear of the man without a face, Michael Hanson, would take one of them away again and we'd lose another one!"

They struggled to get through words, gasping and sobbing, but every single line were arrows heavily impacted him. It was clear to him, even if it seemed incoherent.

"I was considering ending it all to escape from it, you know... Just like Amy... If it weren't for the small hope that I'd find you and Hannah again and it will all be over..."

The mechanic's chest tightened, he never thought it could get worse. But in your words, things could always get worst.

"I cared about you, you know? You were my friend. I know you guys were wary of me from the beginning, but you were always welcoming even if you didn't trust me... The way you joked and made things light-hearted when things were getting heavy, when things were going tense... I knew the fact that I can always count on you, our cherished our moments together in the legend of duskwood groupchat... You and I were even planning to make a 'marked by the sign of the raven' clubhouse with Cleo..."

Amidst the tears and snot, you managed to laugh, even if it was pathetic. Richy finds himself recalling the pleasant memory, smiling fondly yet sadly. At the middle of a grim situation of your troubles with his threatning phonecall, Cleo's stalker, and the mark on his garage, and yet you find the moment to make light of the situation.

"When you staged that video of you bleeding from the mouth... I got sick in my stomach at the fact that I should've tried harder to stop you. I cried and cried for hours while maintaining my cool in the chat with the others... And when Michael— heh... When the man without a face— he called me again, that I'll regret this, telling me that what happened to you wasn't enough, that he'd kill everyone and then me... I can't... Breathe..."

"I'm sorry... I truly am..." His voice cracks.

"Richy... Oh my god... What am I going to do, how am I going to tell the others?" Your voice has gotten weak, all used up and tired of it all.

"Please... Forgive me..."

"I don't know, Richy..." You swipe the bottom of your palm under your eyes, taking shaky breaths and choking out a sob.

Then, you hung up with a shaky breath.

You might just be the strongest person Richy ever knew, from the amount of pressure piled into you and even through your tumultuous times, not a slip nor crack did he caught a glimpse of it.

But now, he knows that the strength has a limit.

He now knows what it means to break someone and will continue to know once the others found out.

As of cue, Jessy's chat bubble erupts from his screen.

It turns out, it can get even more worse.

[reachthezeneth]

PRIDE!AU (bonus panel)

SUMMER: Watermelon Sugar

It starts with George saying, "if Gianni were here, he'd agree with me", when GiGi and Lando gang up on him. So GiGi tells Lando to text Max, having exchanged numbers at Pride, and invite them over to their backyard. They spend the summer, the five of them, in each other's pockets

SUMMER: FaceTime

It starts early on, really. A month or so of texting, and Max lost all patience when Lando wouldn't reply, having gotten sidetracked. So when Lando makes dinner, or does things that require attention, he leaves Max on FaceTime. Usually, Max is playing video games, so there's long silences, with the random comment or question. Max finds himself getting killed in COD more than usual because he's too busy watching Lando than the game

AUTUMN: Smokes and Giggles

Lando hasn't done much, in the alcohol and drugs department. Max is happy to show him the world. It becomes tradition, then to sneak off from the group and smoke, just the two of them. It's not like Lando cares for it really, he just likes the warmth of Max at his side in the chilly weather, and enjoys it more when it's a blunt, their fingers brushing, passing it back and forth. Max also gets touchy and runs his hands through Lando's hair, his neck, rubs circles on his back

AUTUMN: From Lando to Mum

Max is confused at the flash, even more so when Lando explains his mum asked him what Max looks like. "Or I could meet them, you know. You met my family." Because he did, at Max's birthday party. So he could wait for Max to meet his family next month, or he could do it now. He just, doesn't want to share Max and although he wants him to meet his family, he wants Max to be all his... in a friend way

AUTUMN: Strawberries and Cigarettes

Lando loves music. George and GiGi love him for it, as he's usually the one to find perfect songs to play at their parties. So it's normal, he thinks, that he has a Max playlist. Just some tracks that remind him of Max... sure they're mostly of the romantic nature but that's only cause there's not a lot of "I really love you as a friend" songs. And he does love Max, more and more with each passing month.

WINTER: Of Wallpapers

Max likes to think he's not impulsive. He usually thinks about his actions and the consequences they bring. So he's got no excuse, really, when he's in the kitchen with Lando, and he's got sauce on his hands, and a hissing pan. He throws a "can you read me the next step?" and he's forgotten, although he left his phone unlocked on the website, it doesnt guarantee his safety. Lando's brows draw together and Max looks over to see why he's confused, maybe the recipe is in Dutch and he's forgotten that. When Max sees it though, he freezes. He's got an early picture of Lando, from maybe the first or second time they hung out, and that's his wallpaper. He can't explain why he did it, really, only that he felt summer whenever he saw it, warmth and sunshine, so he kept it. Dreary winter needs warmth. Lando just says, "erm", then pulls the recipe back up and everything is back to normal. Yes, Max's phone wallpaper is Lando and that's completely normal.

WINTER: Sleepovers in the New Year

What does it matter, really, that Lando is surrounded by Max, his scent, his warmth, his everything, in Max's bed, in Max's room, in Max's house. It's redundant, he knows but he keeps repeating it, grounding him. Max's family hosted a huge New Years party and it ran late, and it only makes sense that Lando stayed instead of going home at past 3am, but the feeling of waking up, sunlight streaming through the window, ghost of Max's breath on his hair? Well he can get addicted to this faster than nicotine, alcohol, and weed put together.

WINTER: Max's Trip

End of winter brought Lando more sadness than he thought. He usually looked forward to this time, Spring around the corner, but Max was going to be away for over three weeks. "A whole month" he'd keep telling Max, who'd laugh and say, "yeah that's how that works". They have a plan, sure, text, FaceTime, phonecalls. Lando knows it's not the same. He's not particularly interested in why he's feeling like his heart is being torn, when he didn't feel this way in autumn when George left for two weeks. So he says goodbye at the airport, and goes to see GiGi to cry on her shoulder. He just keeps thinking, she's been there before, when George left, and he's not sure why he compared Max and him to a dating couple of three years. It's not the same, right? Except it feels like it

SPRING: Animal

"I'm high, high high high, no one's got me quite like you. I want you all to myself"

[astronomicallymessywriting]

"That sounds amazing, in theory, but why have I never met any of your friends?" said Ambra.

"Oh, well, you know how it is, right? People get old and they die." said her grandfather, with a shrug.

"But surely you can't mean every single friend? You're not even that old!" said Ambra.

"Sadly, yes... just yesterday I got a call saying Jason died."

"Ah, so that's why you were talking about Jason so much today..." said Ambra.

"I suppose I was" chuckled Marcus "but as you get older you start living more and more in the past, because the present is not as interesting"

"I'm sorry, nonno, I'll try to visit you more often." said Ambra.

"Nonsense, you've got your life to live! I'm sure you have much more interesting things to do with your time than listening to your grandfather relieve his glory days." said her grandfather.

"Oh! I know! What about Grace? You told me about her! Have you ever visited her?"

"I did, a couple of times, but then I had to take care of you and I couldn't find the time for anything more than a phonecall here and there. He died last month."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know! Okay, okay, what about Sarah? "

"She died three months ago."

"Fuck. Uhmmm, Dean?"

"He died back in January."

"Shit. So four months ago. Barry?"

"He died in November last year"

"I...nonno, I think someone is killing your friends." said Ambra.

"Nonsense! They were all old, that's all." said her grandfather.

"Nonno, I love you, but you're not that old. You're 75 and in good health. Jacob was, what? 78? And the only problem he had was that bum knee."

"Grace had high blood pressure! And Sarah had arthritis..."

"Okay, but do you know how Grace died?"

"I... no, they told me she was found in the bathtub."

"Isn't it suspicious? You told me that since that time with piranhas she only took showers...And Sarah? What happened to her?"

"She... broke her hip and fell."

"She was barely 70! What about Dean?"

"He had a heart attack."

"Dean? I-think-triathlons-are-fun Dean? That Dean? They were fitter than me!" She started counting her breaths. Four in, hold for seven, out for eight. "What about Barry?"

"He had an allergic reaction to shrimp...while eating...steak..."

"...nonno..."

"Dammit all to hell! You were right. But why?"

"Did you ever kill someone?"said Ambra.

"And by 'you' who do you mean? The group? Or me?" said Marcus.

"Both; either or. I don't know, nonno! I'm just trying to piece this...this thing back together." said Ambra.

"I didn't kill anyone. I'm fairly sure. As for the group...Sarah found the fight exhilarating: with her training, she was a nightmare. Dean was always very pragmatic and didn't shy away from making the hard calls. Barry was...he was colder than anyone else; he would fight for you until he reached his limit, and then he would keep fighting, but if you weren't with him you were against him and he... was not squeamish."

Marcus gaze was focused on the hedge bordering the property he could see from the windows.

He paused briefly, sighed, his lips twitching quickly upwards and then started talking again:"Jacob didn't like violence, he tended to take cover and try to solve our predicaments with logic and an encyclopaedic knowledge of just about everything. Grace had steady hands and was the best medic we had; she used to use paralytic darts very liberally. " said Marcus.

"And you, nonno? what was your role in the group?" asked Ambra

"I was... the fool, the one that thought up crazy plans that somehow worked. I was the captain and the bard. The distraction." said Marcus.

"We're going to have to go through all your adventures. I will write down the people that seem suspicious."

"All right, just get me a glass of water first, would you?"

"And don't embellish the stories! We need an accurate timeline to find your enemies." said Ambra going towards the kitchen.

On the route back she snatched some loose paper and a pen. After handing the water to her grandfather she sat down cross-legged in front of his chair, pen in hand.

"Okay! I'm ready. Tell me about the first time you met Barry..." said Ambra.

"I was new in town, fresh from the countryside, with a strong accent and barely enough for a meal..."

“But the real treasure was the friends we made along the way”, your retired adventurer grandfather always finished his tall tales by that sentence; but the thing is; you never met any of his so-called companions.