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atimeofyourlife · 1 year

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Steve loved people easily. Too easily. He thought there was something wrong with him, because no one ever seemed to love him back in the same way.

The first time he loved anyone was his parents. It was the natural, unconditional love that a child would hold for their parents. Even from a young age, he would do anything he could to make them happy, make them proud. For the first few years, it seemed to work. His mother would show him off to her friends, who would coo over how adorable he was. His father would brag to his associates about how good Steve was, how he would grow up to be strong, athletic, smart. Occasionally, he'd be left with a babysitter, or his grandparents, for a weekend if his parents had to attend a conference, but it wasn't enough for him to feel left behind.

That changed shortly after he turned four. His parents decided he was old enough to be left with nannies most of the time, so they could travel whenever to fit the needs of the business. Even when they were home, which was often little more than a week out of each month, most of the childcare was passed off to the nannies. They didn't seem to care enough to talk about, or even to him anymore. Any attempt he made to show them love was met with "Not now, Steven," or "Don't be so childish, Steven." And as he got older, they cared less and less. After he turned nine, they decided he was old enough to look after himself outside of that one week each month, only having the housekeeper checking in on him twice a week when cleaning the house and restocking the groceries. By the time he was twelve, the amount of time they were home had dropped to one week every two months, and they started missing holidays, coming home two days after Thanksgiving, and then not being home again until well into the new year. He was thirteen the first time they forgot his birthday.

Once he'd turned fifteen and got his learner's permit, they cut the housekeeper. He was more than old enough to take care of the house on his own, and as he could drive, he could get the groceries himself. They'd leave money each time they were home, a little over what was enough for the two months of groceries. A few days before they were due home, they'd call with a list of groceries they expected to be stocked by the time they got back. They actually remembered his sixteenth birthday, buying him a brand new BMW to replace the small second-hand black car they'd got for him to learn to drive in. But they missed the date by six weeks.

At eighteen, he only saw or heard from them if there was something they weren't happy about. Like his poor grades, or not getting into college. They didn't bother to acknowledge his graduation, taking the attitude that it didn't matter as he wasn't going to be making anything of himself. They made him get a job to cover his own expenses, believing that he needed to take life seriously if he wanted their help. They didn't even make the time to come home after hearing he'd been injured in the mall fire. Just leaving him a message saying that they'd give him a two-month grace period before he would be expected to find another job.

He hadn't even reached nineteen the last time he heard from them. After the earthquake he got a call, not to find out if he was injured, just to find out if the house was ok. A couple of days after that, they called again to inform him that they'd found a new house and movers would be coming in to collect the rest of their belongings. They'd wanted to sell the house, but the property market in Hawkins was nearly impossible after everything that had happened, so they were going to sign it over to him. It was after the movers had left Steve realized, they hadn't even left a forwarding address or their new number.

------

Steve loved each of his babysitters and nannies until he realized that they were being paid to take care of him. They gave him a love and attention that he didn't receive from his parents. They cared enough to let him ramble about his day. They spent enough time with him to know his likes and dislikes. To keep track of his hobbies. They were the ones to look after him when he was sick or injured, to comfort him after a bad dream. They would see when he needed new clothes, either from wearing through or growing out of his old ones.

But they were temporary. They only loved and cared about him for as long as they were getting paid to. Two or three times a year, a new nanny would take the place of the old one. He was seven when he realized that they didn't actually care about him, they only cared about getting paid. Overhearing one talking on the phone, "This kid is a bit too clingy, but at least the pay is good for this family." Once he was old enough to be left alone, he missed the companionship of having a nanny, but he couldn't bring himself to miss the false love they brought.

------

As soon as Steve met Tommy and Carol, they meant everything to him. Meeting Tommy at age six, and Carol two years later, when she moved to Hawkins at age eight. He clung to them, the first people his age that seemed to return his love for them. And it was all good, at least while they were young. They spent most of the time together, with each of them inviting Steve over at least once a week. Bringing him into their families, giving Steve a chance to see how bad his own was.

Steve couldn't see it at first, but the friendship between him, Tommy, and Carol became less about the love they had for each other, and more about the love they had for what he could provide. When they were eleven, they realized that Steve having the house to himself most of the time meant that they had somewhere to escape from supervision, and to get away with doing whatever they wanted. As they got older, it meant they had a place where they could have sex without being caught by their parents, siblings, or the police. They loved that he would feed them, always having the best snacks, learning how to cook their favorite meals, giving them food off his lunch tray at school. Once they started high school, they loved the empty house for the ability to throw the biggest parties, securing them top spots on the Hawkins High social ladder. After Steve had received his car, they loved the free rides, basically treating him as a taxi service. His car was much nicer than anything either of them could afford, and gave them a taste of freedom as long as they could give to them.

Steve noticed it after his fight with Jonathan. When they cared more about getting even than how Steve felt. They'd wanted to get revenge on Nancy, framing it as them helping Steve, rather than finding out what Steve actually needed them to do. Wanting to get back at Jonathan instead of being concerned about how Steve was after the fight. Steve couldn't help mourning the friendship, as they had meant so much to him for so long. But he couldn't believe how long it had taken him to realise that they had stopped loving him, and instead loved what he could give to them.

------

He fell in love with Nancy hard and fast. She was beautiful and smart, ambitious and determined. He didn't care what his friends thought of the relationship, he just wanted to make it work. He tried to find ways to bring her into his world, trying to include her in plans with his friends, inviting her to parties. Then Barb went missing from his yard. He knew he handled it poorly, but he felt lost on what he could actually do. Paired with the uncertainty of what his parents would do upon hearing about it, and the encouragement from Tommy and Carol, it pushed him to do things he later regretted.

He apologized, and she accepted it. They got back together a month after the Upside Down happened, just in time for Christmas. He vowed to himself that he would do better, be better for her. He made her happiness his top priority. He used small surprises to cheer her up, little gifts and imaginative dates. He comforted her through the sadness, grief, and guilt, making himself available whenever she needed him. He supported her in the difficult moments, like going to regular dinners with Barb's parents. And he found himself falling deeper and deeper in love with her. She seemed to hold the same love for him, so he didn't feel wrong for daydreaming about a future together. A family together. Every word of love from her, every action that showed her interest, it cemented it a little more. She would show up to the pool while he was lifeguarding over the summer, with the excuse of bringing Holly, but really just staring at him while he was on duty, and chatting during his breaks. She would be at every basketball game, every baseball game, every swim meet. For the first time in his life, he consistently had someone to cheer him on in the stands. Despite the difficulties they'd had, Steve felt like nothing could bring them down.

Then it crashed and burned. Steve genuinely didn't see any issue with the relationship, any sign that the love was unrequited, until his heart was being ripped out and shattered on the bathroom floor of Tina's Halloween party. His head spun with the words. "Like we're in love," and "You're bullshit." He started questioning himself, how long had she felt like that? Had she ever loved him? How had he never noticed? He got Jonathan to take her home, feeling hurt but with the love and care he had for her, he wanted to make sure she got home safe. He tried to isolate himself from her, not picking her up for school. But she wanted to talk while he was in gym. Pinning the problems on him. Denying the words she said while drunk, refusing to take responsibility for them. Not even being able to lie and say she loved him. It was like a knife to the chest finding out from Tommy that she'd run off with Jonathan after less than a day. He still tried to make it right, showing up at her house to apologize, for her not to be home. When everyone finally grouped together, seeing her with Jonathan, the confirmation he hadn't wanted. Nancy looked at Jonathan with a love and adoration that Steve had never seen directed at him. If it weren't for the fight needed for the Upside Down, he would've isolated himself and broken down, wondering why he wasn't good enough. Why he was unloveable.

------

Having a younger brother figure thrust on him wasn't something Steve expected at seventeen, but he would be eternally grateful. Dustin burst into his life at possibly the best time for him. After Nancy broke his heart, he needed somewhere for the love to go. He gave advice, was a listening ear. Doing what he could to help build Dustin's confidence. He was there for the kid whenever he was needed. And Dustin gave him so much in return. A place where he could take himself less seriously, where he didn't need to be Steve Harrington, or King Steve, or 'The Hair'. He could just be Steve, with no expectations or strings attached. Dustin showed up to his graduation, was there to cheer and clap for him when no one else was, and singlehandedly organised the other kids into surprising Steve after. With a grocery store cake that they'd pooled their money to buy, and a handmade card that they'd all signed. He'd missed him like crazy while he was away at camp. And having him back after improved his mood so much, despite being thrown into the Russians.

Steve could feel it changing slowly. Right from the first mention of Eddie Munson and Hellfire Club. He knew he was being replaced as the older brother friend, being swapped out for someone Dustin considered cooler because of the shared love of D&D. Dustin had become more abrasive to him, and was spending less and less time around. It almost felt like a repeat of losing the love of Tommy and Carol, only being wanted when he was useful, for what he could provide. Even after the fight with Vecna, Eddie was still the preferred older brother friend. The one Dustin sought for rides and advice, only coming to Steve if Eddie wasn't available. Dustin had endless patience for Eddie's questions, despite not extending Steve the same courtesy. He never once insulted Eddie's intelligence, despite the fact that the man took three years and a shady government department intervening to complete his senior year of high school, whereas Steve's intelligence was a free for all, overlooking the fact he was the one that was able to pass enough classes to graduate on his first attempt, just because he didn't have much direction in life. Losing the love of Dustin hurt, but it wasn't surprising. Steve knew he was replaceable, expendable. Only needed until a better choice came along.

------

The love he had for Robin was unexpected. He denied it and pushed it away at first. Partly because he felt certain that she didn't like him back, but mostly because he felt wary about loving again. Not wanting to get hurt again, to feel unloved again. It was slow at first, the playful insults having a charming quality to them. Then it hit fast, when he saw how smart she was, how brilliant she was. He could picture being happy with her as his girlfriend, different to other girls he'd dated or been with. He confessed his love while high on Russian truth serum.

She didn't love him back like that. She couldn't love him back in a romantic sense. He didn't have time to feel hurt about it, being caught in the centre of the action. By the time his head had cleared enough to be able to think clearly, he realized that a different kind of love between them could be just as good. Loving each other platonically, best friends, soulmates. It wasn't the love he'd first thought of and expected, but it was the most love he'd ever received. And he didn't doubt it for a second.

------

The love he had for Eddie scared him. It was unplanned, unexpected. What he initially felt for Eddie was mostly distaste, and a little jealousy. Until spring break. He was wary at first, knowing Eddie's reputation. In any other town, it would have been as simple as a drug deal gone wrong. But Hawkins had to be different. Eddie got dragged into the mess of the Upside Down in the worst way possible. Steve didn't really notice the change in his feelings, other than that of friendship, until after it was over. It wasn't until they'd got out of there, injured but alive, that Steve let himself read into the comments, the flirting. Steve started to love Eddie quickly and it terrified him for two reasons, it was his first time having romantic feelings for another guy, and he didn't have a good track record of people loving him back.

Eddie was the one to start it. Steve had come out to Eddie and Robin, and it was a few weeks later while they were a little drunk. Eddie kissed Steve, and took him to bed. Eddie was the one to address it the next morning, asking Steve out. Steve allowed himself to fall again. He loved all of Eddie's quirks, how passionate he was about his music and D&D. How he was anything but a morning person, but always wake up enough to kiss Steve goodbye in the mornings before work. How when he was sat doing nothing, or just watching the tv, his fingers would be constantly moving as if they were moving across the frets on a guitar. Eddie was the first to say I love you. That was what pushed Steve further, into believing it couldn't go wrong. Because there'd never been a time where he hadn't been the first.

And it seemed to go right. Weeks, months passed. It was nearing the year before it fell apart. Steve had noticed that Eddie kept him separate from his other friends, his bandmates. He didn't blame him for it, he'd been an asshole in high school, and while he couldn't remember doing anything to Eddie's bandmates, he'd never given them much reason to trust him either. He would have liked a chance to meet them properly, to make it right, but he wasn't going to push it. He didn't want to give Eddie a reason to have second thoughts about the relationship. It blew up when Steve was planning to surprise Eddie at the trailer. He let himself in using the key Wayne had given him, trying to keep as quiet as possible. It threw him a little, to see a couple of boxes stacked by the tv that hadn't been there a few days before. He started to make his way down the hall, but stopped short when he heard voices. "You're not going to call off whatever you've got going with Harrington before you leave?" It was one of Eddie's bandmates, but Steve couldn't identify which one. He held his breath while waiting for Eddie's reply.

"It's not like it's anything serious. I just keep him around because he's hot and a good fuck." Steve's heart shattered at Eddie's words. He was torn between running out of the trailer, bursting in to confront Eddie, or staying put to try to hear more. In his inner turmoil, he missed the other guy's response, but he heard Eddie's next words loud and clear. "It's not like I even care about him that much. I'll leave town and in a week he'll be back to chasing skirts. He'd probably just strike out, because look at him. I don't understand how could anyone love Steve Harrington."

Steve fled the trailer, not caring about the noise as he moved, choking back sobs that were desperate to burst out of his throat. He threw himself into his car and just drove until the tears blurred his vision so much he couldn't see the road. He couldn't understand how he'd been so stupid, so blind. It was the same pattern repeating again, and Eddie's words had destroyed him, it was the question he'd asked himself so many times before.

How could anyone love Steve Harrington?

My last fic ended fluffier than I first planned, so my brain went have 3k of angst with just a brief fluffy platonic stobin interlude. I'm sorry. I did plan to get this up like 2 days ago but migraines decided otherwise.

#steve harrington #steddie fic #steddie #eddie munson #steddie angst #steve harrington angst #steve x eddie #steve harringtons parents #steve harrington has bad parents #nancy wheeler #dustin henderson #robin buckley #platonic stobin #unrequited steddie #tommy hagan #carol perkins #pretty much everyone other than robin is an asshole to steve in this #atimeofyourwrites

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inkmemes · 2 months

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never stop blowing up ( 2024- ) e02 : and that's whirred up sentence starters ↪ taken from dimension 20's 22nd season. alter as you see fit ♡

“i'm just a lanky boy.”

“hello! nobody's home.”

“don't mess with brooklyn.”

“and what if i swallow it?”

“i wish you wouldn't.”

“i'm not hearing no!”

“it's beautiful.”

“you gettin' a little fucked up already?”

“i mean, i feel pretty fucked up.”

“that's for… that's for me? you want me to put that in my body?”

“okay, why don't you try some first?”

“you all right? you're looking a little green around the gills.”

“we can't afford this.”

“oh, um… i'm just being funny today.”

“i didn't get it. it didn't seem funny to me.”

“when you do drugs, sometimes you have ego death and it doesn't feel like you're you anymore.”

“this is paid for? this is, we got this? this is fine?”

“what are you asking?”

“i actually thought we were bonding.”

“wait, so you're not mad at me?”

“nothing you could do would ever make me mad.”

“i'd date him.”

“god, cutie alert.”

“this guy brought dogs to a nightclub!”

“he's really old. he has like, no teeth.”

“just taking notes on a fucking conspiracy.”

“see, when someone doesn't answer right away, you feel the need to keep going.”

“oh, okay, so you're making accusations.”

“i'm like, a little nervous that we left things in a weird place.”

“i don't even know this guy.”

“snort some and then sell the rest for money.”

“i don't want me to be happy!”

“i guess let's have some more of these drinks.”

“i didn't write down where i was supposed to go.”

“what's going on?”

“oh my god, he's dead.”

“you're on top of a building.”

“wait, a man just jumped off of a building?”

“i think [name] is attracted to this man.”

“is this a gun?”

“wait! come with me!”

“did i love him?”

“it was all a blur. i was getting thrown around like you can't believe.”

“yeah, he really gave it to, huh?”

“i wanna go out on the town.”

“we don't have the same room?”

“he left me up here on the street?”

“that was cool, man. i don't know what you want me to say.”

“i've been shot!”

“i've never been in a hotel this nice.”

“it's so hot. it's so hot.”

“there's dead guys all over the ground.”

“the floor is sleek with blood.”

“don't know how to spell that.”

“what the fuck?”

“sneak is like their primary fucking thing.”

“it's crazy that they just straight-up advertise that.”

“dude, this movie fucking rules!”

“i'm gonna need that from you.”

“tell me what i was supposed to do.”

“i think he's just starting to sweat.”

“you are wearing a tuxedo, baby.”

“just getting my sea legs, man.”

“could you send me a ping?”

“come on, man. we got bigger fish to fry. you gonna get hung up on this right now?”

“i've watched this.”

“i can't wait to see you.”

“i'm not the only one feeling pressure.”

“i'm probably not even gonna show up to work.”

“you told me what to do, i'm gonna do it, no argument.”

“i hate doing what people tell me to do.”

“he didn't think you were a shithead. there was trust there.”

“you were given an impossible thing to do.”

“i'm going so fast.”

“i'm still on my learner's permit!”

“i don't know who you're talking about!”

“does it look like the car is like, toast?”

“get outta there. those guys are some bad dudes.”

“i fucking love it.”

“i didn't know!”

“i fucking think it's a great fucking choice.”

“none of these are good enough.”

“[name], i thought you were dead.”

“that's why he hates me and that's why he stabbed me.”

“that's why he hates me and in turn why i hate him.”

“that was a weird interaction you just had.”

“oh, don't worry. i'm not gonna do anything with it. i'm just kinda holding it 'cause it feels necessary.”

“they can take care of themselves.”

“i'm getting it under control.”

“oh my god. this must be my fault. what did i do?”

“i hate new technology.”

“how the hell did you get that number? never call me on that line.”

“they're dancing together.”

“why the fuck are you calling me at the bureau?”

“can i get a second one?”

“oh fuck, they're all dead. they're all fucking dead.”

“goddamn it! [name], did you fuck us?”

“no, don't you fucking hang up on me!”

“we are gonna find a way to make this right.”

“did you get nabbed by the feds? what happened?”

“what do they want you to do?”

“but you know who you are.”

“it made so much sense in my brain.”

“what are you talking about?”

“yes! oh my god, fuck!”

“you had it in you all along, kid.”

“it's crazy. it was crazy down there.”

“can't say i'm surprised.”

“you must not have been invited.”

“that's a really interesting question i'm not willing to open up.”

“don't tell me what to do.”

“and it's weird 'cause it's not… it's like an emotional feeling. it's not a logical thing, right?”

“you're the guy from the movie!”

“i have a motorcycle.”

“we should go to a bar or something.”

“let's go get a drink. i wanna see the town!”

“i'm already deciding that i'm making that for you.”

“i mean, we're in a fucking movie together.”

“it's the '80s, baby.”

“i'm fucking pissed.”

“i wanna get out and i wanna solve this crime!”

“oh, are you looking for companionship?”

“oh, she sounds mean.”

“i think you're getting your groove back.”

“i want an appletini.”

“we're doing a drink crawl or something like that.”

“you look awful. you look bad. worst i've ever seen.”

“what, you want me to pretend i'm happy to see you, [name]?”

“watch where you're going!”

“i was just trying to like, prank.”

“someone wants to decapitate you.”

“you're probably the strongest dude i've seen.”

“just really good to be touched.”

“i think you need it.”

i'll go find parking, but i'll meet you at the hotel bar.”

“oh my god, [name], how are you doing? you look great.”

“oh, you've been waiting for that for so long.”

“wait, what?”

#rp meme #rp sentence meme #rp sentence starters #sentence meme #sentence starters #rp starters #rp prompt

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knightofthenewrepublic · 11 months

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Percy would have worked with Octavian, but the Augur never gave him a chance

(or Why Octavian's actions weren’t justified)

As people spend more and more time critically examining the Riordanvese (often to a fault, it must be said) one of the most common revisionist arguments is to try and absolve the mortal villains of the consequences of their action; usually by exaggerating their motivations. That includes the argument that Octavian was so quick to war partially because he was treated poorly by the Greeks. Particularly by Percy Jackson.

But does that actually hold up?

People will argue that Octavian was not evil, because attacking Camp Halfblood was justified from his perspective; he thought they had broken a truce with New Rome and attacked it. And that would be a fair argument, IF that was the only bad thing Octavian had done, or even the worst thing. It wasn’t. And Octavian had begun trying to trigger conflict well before that. Percy, on the other hand, did his best to prevent it.

The first scene where Percy meets Octavian, is also the first time we see his sinister side. And that is of course when he tries to blackmail Hazel into supporting him for Praetor.

Now there is an aspect of the context of this scene that I think a lot of people overlook; their ages. Octavian is 18, or near enough, and Hazel is 13. This is a guy old enough to vote, (the only one of them who isn’t a child soldier) blackmailing a girl too young to get a learner’s permit. Just before this, Percy says Octavian reminds him of someone; which is obviously a reference to Luke Castellan. This type of nearly grooming behavior would have really reinforced that impression; which explains Percy’s hostile reaction to it.

Percy slipped his hand into his pocket, and grabbed his pen. This guy was blackmailing Hazel. That was obvious. One sign from Hazel, and Percy was ready to bust out Riptide and see how Octavian liked being at the end of a blade.

But Percy keeps these urges internal. He doesn’t voice his anger, and doesn’t give any visible reaction. The other two keep talking like he’s not there. This is a pretty good demonstration of Percy’s hard won self control; on his first day at Camp Half-Blood he doused Clarisse with toilet water for less, without even meaning to.

The next interaction he has with Octavian isn’t much better.

“Recruit,” he [Octavian] asked, “do you have any credentials? Letters of reference?” Percy shifted. “Letters? Um, no.” Octavian wrinkled his nose. Unfair! Hazel wanted to shout. Percy had carried a goddess into camp. What better recommendation could you want? But Octavian’s family had been sending kids to camp for over a century. He loved reminding recruits that they were less important than he was. “No letters,” Octavian said regretfully. “Will any legionnaires stand for him?”

Now just asking this question is obviously standard practice, so Octavian isn’t wrong for that. It’s his condescending reaction that is the unsubtle putdown.

But then things come to a head very quickly, when that night’s game of capture the flag ends in a visit from the god Mars, and the command he delivers; a quest to retrieve the legion Eagle, and free Death.

Now what’s really important here is that, while people often think of Leo attacking Camp Jupiter as the point where Octavian turned against the heroes, THIS is the actual point. THIS is where he goes from being a nuisance to being an antagonist.

It starts in the Senate meeting the next day, when Percy tries to make sense of the situation:

“This Giant, the son of Gaea--he’s the one who defeated your forces thirty years ago. I’m sure of it. Now he’s sitting up there in Alaska with a chained death god, and all your old equipment. He's mustering his armies and sending them south to attack this camp.”

Percy is just repeating what Mars literally told them the night before. Octavian’s reasonable reaction to this is:

“Really?” Octavian said. “You seem to know a lot about our enemy’s plans, Percy Jackson.”

Him, and everyone else who was conscious at the end of the war games.

In spite of being almost outright accused of treason, Percy still keeps his cool. This shows a lot of growth on his part, compared to where he was in the second book of the previous series:

This was so completely unfair, I told Tantalus to go chase a donut, which didn’t help his mood.

After a bit more discussion, Octavian makes his move. First he gets in another insult.

“Mars has clearly chosen the least likely candidates for this quest. Perhaps it is because he considers them the most expendable.”

And then he argues that the senate should not give any of the support that would normally be given to a quest. The odds of them succeeding are already so low; better to use their resources to protect the camp.

It’s pretty easy for us, the readers, to overlook what a dick move this really is. Of course WE know that the heroes are going to come back alive; but in universe, there is nothing to guarantee that. Even a small magical trinket could be the difference between life and death. And Octavian is trying to deny them that.

This could be understandable, if there was any sincerity to it. A sad but necessary sacrifice for the greater good, to protect the camp. But after arguing that all their resources have to be saved for the battle, Octavian proceeds to do nothing with them. When the giant’s army arrives, the legion simply marches out and fights them with conventional ranks and swords. Aside from a few roman scorpions (large crossbows), no specialized weapons are brought out, no magical items are used, they didn’t even build a wall or a trench. So there was no real reason not to give them anything; even if he sincerely believed the quest was doomed, that was all the more reason to help. The right magical tool might have at least given them the chance to get back alive. Depriving the questers served no purpose other than to make them fail.

You can also see this, in the fact that all Octavian’s stated reasons don’t actually win over the senate.

The senators’ eyes moved back and forth between Octavian and Reyna, watching the test of wills. Reyna straightened in her chair. “Very well,” she said tightly. We shall put it to a vote.”

No one gives their support to Octavian before this. The senators are waiting to follow the person they see as more powerful, not the argument that was more convincing.

As for motivations, there is only one that Octavian could have; with the election just days away, he wants to prevent a rival for the praetorship.

Is the fulfillment of an epic quest a silly basis for entrusting someone with supreme executive power? Yes, in the real world, it is. But demigods don’t live in the real world; and in their world, everything revolves around quests. Quests drive every important event in the series, and are the ultimate standard by which the skill and power of a demigod are demonstrated. As Annabeth puts it in TLT:

“At camp you train and train. And that’s all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That’s where you learn whether you’re any good or not.”

If Percy returns from a land that wiped out half a legion of demigods, with the long lost legion Eagle, the mob that is Rome will raise him up on the fanciest shield they can find. And Octavian isn’t the only one who has put that together. The very next chapter sees Reyna tell Percy that he could stand for praetor if he succeeds; and we are reminded several times that Octavian is far more politically savvy than she is. If she’s put it together, you can bet that he has.

But going back to the senate meeting itself; we see another example of Percy choosing not to start a conflict with Octavian, even when he seems to be trying to get him killed. Instead, he focuses on the important issues:

Frank jumped to his feet. Before he could start a fight, Percy said, “Fine! No problem. but at least give us transportation.”

Percy is more concerned about succeeding in saving the camp than satisfying any grudges. Octavian is more interested in how many insults he can fit into one meeting.

“A boat!” Octavian turned to the senators. “The son of Neptune wants a boat. Sea travel has never been the Roman way, but he isn’t much of a Roman!”

(The insult proves to be quite a hypocritical one in BOO, when Octavian has boats built to surround Camp Half-Blood.)

Octavian’s next attempt to start a conflict with Percy is slightly more subtle.

They were only halfway across the forum when someone called, “Jackson!” Percy turned and saw Octavian jogging toward them. “What do you want ?” Percy asked. Octavian smiled. “Already decided I’m your enemy? That’s a rash choice Percy. I’m a loyal Roman.” Frank snarled. “You backstabbing, slimy–” Both Percy and Hazel had to restrain him.

Why is Octavian talking about being enemies? It doesn’t say Percy asked angrily, or Percy growled, or Percy glared at him. It’s a very dramatic reaction.

And Percy has done nothing to suggest that he wants to be Octavian’s enemy. Sure he has grown to dislike the augur, as most people would with someone who insults them and blackmails children:

Nico put his finger to his lips. Suddenly all the lares went silent. Some looked alarmed, like their mouths had been glued together. Percy wished he had that power over certain living people . . . like Octavian, for instance.

But he’s been keeping those critical thoughts to himself. He even avoided arguing in the senate meeting so as not to escalate things. The worst thing he’s done was knocking Octavian out during capture-the-flag which was both a perfectly fair move and a good strategy. Hardly something to base a feud on.

Most likely, this is a freudian slip on Octavian’s part. He’s already started to see Percy as an enemy, for no other reason than he might be a rival. That, or it’s an attempt at gaslighting Percy into thinking he somehow provoked Octavian into trying to get him killed. In any case, the augur hardly seems unhappy to see him, and the two legionnaires at his side, go off to their deaths.

Octavian smiled wickedly. “The last person she [Reyna] had a private talk with was Jason Grace. And that was the last time I ever saw him. Good luck and goodbye, Percy Jackson.”

If he’s happy to see them go, he’s certainly not happy when they come back alive.

The look on Octavian’s face was priceless. the centurion stared at Percy with shock, then outrage. Then, when his own troops started to cheer, he had no choice except to join the shouting: “Rome! Rome!”

Not the appropriate reaction when Percy is saving the city, not to mention Octavian’s own life. The auger doesn’t have a single kind word to say.

The Roman symbols burned into Percy’s arm: a trident, SPQR, and a single stripe. It felt like someone was pressing a hot iron into his skin, but Percy managed not to scream. Octavian embraced him and whispered, “I hope it hurt.”

Just before this, Octavian kills a teddy bear and reads the future from it, announcing:

good omens for the coming year–Fortuna would bless them!

It has been suggested that Octavian actually had a very different vision at this moment; that he saw the Argo II opening fire on New Rome, and kept that to himself, but turned against Percy and the other Greeks because of that. This doesn’t seem likely. It would serve his purposes better to share that information; and he would have seen that vision in front of hundreds of demigods hardwired to notice small details, none of whom notice him having any visible reaction to it. Besides which, this can’t be the point when he turns on Percy, since he’s already been trying to sabotage him for most of the book.

Now if there is some big conflict between Percy and Octavian, this is the time for Percy to win it decisively. To use his new power and authority to put the auger in his place.

But Percy doesn’t do that.

“Why should we trust these Greeks?” Octavian was saying. He’d been pacing the senate floor for five minutes, going on and on, trying to counter what Percy had told them about Juno’s plan and the Prophecy of Seven.

Rather than simply steamroll over the discussion, and try to use his authority to silence any opposition, Percy allows Octavian a reasonable amount of time to air his concerns, before finally stepping in with his counter argument.

When Percy lays out the details of why they must join the Greeks, Octavian never comes up with a logical counter argument. Instead, when a messenger reports the Argo II has been spotted, he resorts to paranoid rambling.

“Praetors!” The messenger cried. “What are your orders?” Octavian [who is not a praetor] shot to his feet. “You have to ask?” His face was red with rage. He was strangling his teddy bear. “The omens are horrible! This is a trick, a deception. Beware Greeks bearing gifts!” He jabbed a finger at Percy. “His friends are attacking in a warship. He has led them here. We must attack!”

Yesterday when he last read the entrails, Octavian said the omens were good. Now, they’re suddenly horrible. That pretty well justifies Percy’s growing disregard for Octavian’s auguries.

Not only that; he is accusing Percy of treachery, while at the same time suggesting they attack a ship that can be seen bearing a white flag.

And this is before a single shot has been fired on New Rome. That false-flag attack by Gaea can not be the inciting incident for Octavian’s hostility to the Greeks. Not if what he wanted to do before it happened is the same as what he wanted to do after it happened. The attack is just what incentives the rest of the camp to support him.

The last interaction between Percy and Octavian is pretty much the first two chapters of MOA, where Octavian does his best to offend the Greeks.

“You’re letting these intruders into the camp!”

When Reyna orders Octavian to go make a sacrifice to the gods, Percy adds:

“Good idea. Go burn your bears Octavian.”

An insulting way to put it; but no more so than calling the Greek ambassadors (including a Roman praetor and Percy’s own girlfriend) “intruders.” And no more harsh than the insults Octavian has used for legionnaires below himself, like Frank and Hazel. And Percy has been given enough reason not to trust Octavian’s auguries any more than he trusts him.

The last exchange between them is about the praetorship:

Octavian snorted. “Which means we have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two! “On the bright side,” Percy said, “both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up.” Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump.

I can only imagine how long Jason has been waiting for someone to say that to Octavian. It has been suggested this is an abuse of power on Percy’s part, but there is no reason to think so. They are surrounded by the senior officers of the legion, some of whom will be on Octavian's side, and no one raises an objection. And it's not like Octavian actually treats it like an order.

“I’ll step aside for Jason,” Percy said easily. “It’s no biggie.” “No biggie?” Octavian choked. “The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?”

No need to go into detail about how the rest of the series goes. Gaea triggers a war between the Greeks and Romans, and Octavian walks right into it. There is no reason to think he was working for her; but he was plainly looking for an excuse to start hostilities.

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whohasthecards · 1 year

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part 1/add on

Mav is Jake's biological father and both of them only find out recently.

Ideas on what happens later on/Time skip when Jake is on shaky ground with everyone, but doing his best.

---

"He taught you how to drive?" Jake asked, throat tight. He didn't know why that hit him more than whatever else Bradshaw told him, but it did.

"Yeah, my mom kept my dad's Bronco, and when I was little, Mav promised to teach me how to drive it. Plus, mom didn't want to teach me how to drive, anyways, she was too anxious for it." Bradley said, chuckling softly.

"Oh," Jake said dumbly, looking down at his lap.

"Yeah, Mav always tried his best to be stationed near us, and he was pretty close when I was a junior in high school, after work he'd take me out to practice. Sometimes, on weekends, Mav would let me drive us to somewhere fun," Bradley said wistfully before breaking out in a grin. "But sometimes his version of 'fun' was doing groceries, so he wouldn't have to do it during the week."

When Jake was a junior, he managed to cash in enough favors that he asked a friend to teach him how to ride a bike without telling a soul. His other friend was throwing out an old bike, and asked Jake if he wanted it. He rode that bike to work, cut down the 30 minute walk to a couple minutes.

He didn't get his learner's permit until after high school, and learning how to drive was a pain because he didn't have anyone to teach him. He spent a good portion of his savings for some driving lessons, and begged his friends to let him drive their car for practice (most of them said understandably said no).

Javy was a saint and let him drive his car the most. He did his best not to give his best friend too much heart attacks. Javy brought him to take his driving test.

He managed to past his test, grinning at Javy as he left the car, heart thumping in his ears. He was scared that he would have let Javy down, thankfully he didn't.

Afterwards, car hunting was hell, but he managed to find something that wouldn't break his savings account while getting him from point A to point B. He got one as fast as he could, not wanting to rely on other people anymore.

He loves driving. Loves the freedom it gives him to get as far as he could, whenever he wanted to.

"Sometimes I got annoyed at him because he would wake me up at some unholy hour in the morning, the sun wasn't even out yet, man." Bradley whined, while Jake furrowed his brow, looking down so Bradshaw wouldn't see.

"At least you got practice driving at night," Jake said, voice even.

"Yeah, guess so," Bradley mused.

"Listen, I gotta go, okay?" Jake said, dusting his pants as he stood up.

"Sure, see you tomorrow, man," Bradley said, clapping his shoulder as Jake nodded and started to walk away.

Jake took out a toothpick and started chewing on it as he walked to his car, running a hand over the side as he walked around it. It was a newer model, not the barely pieced together car he got years ago. He made sure to do maintenance on it daily, and kept the exterior neat and shiny.

He got himself where he is now.

He clenched his jaw and he closed his eyes tightly as he rested his forehead on the driver's door.

He wished that he didn't have to all the time.

#fanfic #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #pete maverick mitchell #top gun #top gun fandom #top gun maverick #mavdad #bradley rooster bradshaw #mavdad is the best dad

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dreamersbcll · 10 months

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Waiting Room

plus i know whatever happens to me- know it’s for the better

for @psychofreakforc and their brilliant idea

——————————————————————————

Thirteen was a young age. Tara knew that her friends knew that, and her sister knew that. Thirteen was too young to get a learner's permit, get a job, or even hold a position of importance in anyone’s life.

Tara knew that, too. She knew her time being the love of her sister’s life was over, and now, her position as Sam’s baby sister was also fleeting. There wasn’t much time left to be anything of importance in Sam’s life.

She knew Sam was leaving. She’s known for a while. It wasn’t a difficult thing to figure out. Her big sister wore her heart on her sleeve, her vengeful tongue always sharp, constantly lashing. Sam Carpenter was a force to be reckoned with, shaking every room she walked into, commanding it to her will. No matter what her big sister thought of herself, Tara saw her as the girl who put the moon and the stars to shame.

Sam was beautiful like she had never seen before. Her big sister was something to behold indeed—strength, grace, and courage, all wrapped up in the package of a beautiful big sister. Even as Sam tried to ravage her body inside and out, using anything and everything to destroy herself, Tara still saw her beauty.

How could she not? Sam was her big sister, her angel, her guardian. No drug or alcohol could ever change that, even if Sam tried her hardest to clean her insides out with the taste of sin.

That was her big sister. That’s all Tara needed to know that she would love her forever.

It wasn’t hard to figure out Sam’s plans after five years of silence— conversational silence, that is. Tara never gave up on Sam. She did her best to show her big sister the love and support she deserved, even if Tara wasn’t what she wanted.

Tara really wasn’t what anyone wanted anyway.

But she persevered because Sam was worth it. Sam was so goddamn worth it, worth all the stress, the silence, the heartbreak. All because that was her big sister, and her big sister would never be alone.

It took Tara a bit to adjust to the cold shoulder and silence, but she adapted. She figured out that Sam got thirsty after long nights out and that she often threw up between 2-3 a.m. In preparation, Tara would fill a water bottle and leave it by the upstairs toilet, along with anti-nausea tablets and clean hand towels.

She also learned that Sam coughed a lot when she smoked, and that often led to long fits of coughing up blood. When Sam disappeared into the night to wrap herself in the comfort of fleeting smoke, Tara would ensure her big sister had water bottles and paper towels by the back door. There were nights that it was too warm or too cold to stand outside, and Tara would leave scarves and ice packs at the back stoop.

Her big sister may have wandered away from their home, but Tara would always leave the porch light on whenever Sam found the need to come home.

As the warm spring started to transition into steamy summer nights, Tara could sense that something was changing. Sam had turned after that fateful fight in December- the one Tara was too young to remember but old enough now to know that it changed everything. That fateful night it led to five years of silence, of change, of broken bodies washed ashore, alone and dead as they arrived. Even though Tara lived with her mother and sister, the three were never alive.

They were just three ghosts living in the same house, all standing in the places they used to be. None of them could remember how it truly felt to have a heartbeat. But none of them could leave the house they were shackled to.

Until Sam decided to leave first.

It started slowly, as all things did. Sam stopped going to school at the beginning of May, instead choosing to do all her work and turn it in, knowing that even as she could fail every class, Woodsboro High wanted nothing more than to get rid of the latest Carpenter that haunted their halls. Her big sister stopped going to her shitty part-time job as a gas station attendant and stopped staying at the Carpenter home altogether.

The final warning was the night Sam stumbled into Tara’s room, wasted, her hair wild and her eyes unfocused. It had been years since the two sisters slept in the same bed or even stayed in the same room for ten minutes.

Her door slowly opened, creaking at the ¾ mark, like it always did. Tara wasn’t sleeping anyway, knowing something was wrong, and she couldn’t prevent it, only anticipating it when Sam wandered in. Her big sister was stumbling, a crooked smile on her face illuminated by the dim hallway light. Tara sat up in bed, her head cocked, wondering why her seventeen-year-old big sister was staring at her in the middle of the night.

Thousands of words swirled between the two, pleas of mercy and love and rageful rants of how dare you leave me like this. But nothing was said by either party. They just stared at each other, wild eyes meeting gentle ones, two pairs of lips unmoving.

Eventually, Sam left, mumbling under her breath about goodbyes and something else Tara couldn’t catch. But she knew what that meant.

Sam was leaving soon, and Tara had to be ready. No matter where Sam went or wanted to go, Tara wouldn’t allow her to do it alone. They were sisters, for god’s sake. Blood was thicker than the hometown they suffocated in, and it was thicker than the people they were surrounded by.

She knew her big sister wasn’t capable of packing Tara’s stuff anymore or even knowing what Tara needed to survive. It had been years since they talked, really talked. Tara would do it herself, packing and tying up loose ends. She researched rigorously about being a middle school dropout, seeing what she needed to find a school to finish her education. Christina left their papers hidden under her bed, and it took Tara five minutes to find her social security and birth certificate, along with her hospital records.

It took two suitcases to hold all her belongings, and it took an hour for her to decide what she could keep and forgo. Sam held up her world. Tara could live without every stuffed animal and pair of fuzzy socks she had. All she needed was her big sister.

Two nights before Sam’s birthday, Tara dragged her bags to her door, settling them under the light switch. She knew they would leave in the dark, probably after midnight, once Sam turned eighteen. It didn’t matter where they went, whether they were rich or poor or had a good time. They had each other, and that would always be enough for her.

Tara would bleed out if it meant Sam’s heart could beat soundly; she would throw her body in the way of a moving train if it meant Sam would be able to breathe. No matter what, she was Sam’s, and Sam’s was hers. That’s all she would ever need.

Or so she had thought.

On the eve of Sam’s birthday, Tara heard movement in the bedroom next to her. Sam’s bedroom. She sat up in her bed, knowing that something was wrong. Sam never made that much noise at this time of night, and they weren’t supposed to be leaving until well into the wee hours of the morning. Something was right.

This wasn’t right.

Once she heard the front door open and slammed shut, she scrambled out of bed, racing down the staircase. Her mother’s sleep be damned. Sam was leaving.

Sam was leaving without her.

Tara threw herself out the front door into the muggy summer night. There, she saw her big sister closing the door on the car across the street, buckling herself in.

A thousand words sat on her tongue, begging to be told. But she couldn’t; she was frozen, rooted in the dewy midnight grass, shivering despite the humidity that engulfed her body. All she could do was stand in place, watch Sam turn the car on, and pull out and away from their home.

From Tara.

She found herself wandering into the middle of the street, ignoring how the gravel embedded into her feet and how the midnight air suffocated her.

None of it mattered anymore. All she could do was watch the leaving taillights of the only person who once loved Tara like she was worth it.

As the red lights faded into the night, Tara fell to her knees, letting her blood paint the street, a reminder of the lights that would haunt her every day for the rest of her life.

Thirteen was too young to hold any importance in the life she knew. But she was young enough to know that she used to know everything, used to have everything she ever wanted.

But, it was young enough for Tara to know that maybe it was for the better. She could wish all that she wants, but it won’t bring them back together.

Plus, she knew deep down that whatever happened to her, It was for the better.

#scream #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #carpenter sisters #waiting room x scream #little tara waiting #and sam always leaving #ao3 author

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imsoquarky · 1 year

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OKAY IM GONNA TALK ABOUT TMNT MM NOW

WARNING FOR SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!!! THIS IS A RAMBLE POST, I AINT TIPTOEING AROUND IT!!!

Also, probably gonna start making # for post types. I feel like I reblog so much stuff that it's hard to find my actual content-

♠️ - ♣️ - ♥️ - ♦️

Starting off the bat, everyone who said Rise lovers were gonna love MM were absolutely correct. I adored this movie with every fiber of my being and I really think it could bring new people into the TMNT fandom just as ROTTMNT did.

While I will always be sad that Rise did not get the merch it deserved, I am over the moon that MM is getting it. The toys I've seen and merch I've gotten are already extraordinary. For the most part they are very very well made and most of it doesn't look like they've seen their entire family be brutally ripped limb from limb.

But moving away from my opinions about merch which is a whole other bag of worms being the physical item lover I am. THE MOVIE WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!

The storyline, the characters, the voice acting, the line delivery, the writing, the comedy, and ofc most of all

THE ART!! OMG THE ART!!! I LOVED EVERY SINGLE BIT!!! I see so much dragging on the art of this movie because it's ugly BUT THATS THE WHOLE POINT!!! It's meant to be messy, asymmetrical, even uncomfortable at times. Every character is so vastly different from the last, including every single background character. Some of my favorite overall designs were Splinter, April, Stockman, Superfly, Mondo Gecko, and even that fuckin BEAST Superfly turned into at the end.

This was the first iteration I watched where Splinter started out as a rat, being only into the more modern media, I had no idea that he was originally a pet. I could go on and on about MM Splinter and that is what I am going to do. I LOVED HIM. SO MUCH. He was such a dad, and an absolute badass when he wanted to be. Kicking ass to save his sons and just worried out of his mind about them. Despite his distain for humans, he was willing to take their help when it was offered. Instead of reprimanding his sons right then and there, he'd give them a hug and make sure they were safe beforehand. And when he saved them from getting their blood taken (I'm not calling it milking, please don't make me omg- /lh), he was like "I told you so!" but not in like.. a toxic way?? I never thought Splinter would end up as my favorite of any iteration, yet... here we are.

But y'all probably aren't all that interested in my gushing about Splinter yeah? Let's talk about the turtles, going from my favorite to least favorite (not to say I don't absolutely love them all, I just like some more than others.)

Raphael and Donnie are tied, but I'll start with just Raph. Raphael very much reminded me of when I was younger. Down to the struggled with volume & um... well, anger issues. Deep down, he loves and cares about his brothers, but he wants to branch out and meet new people. It's not that he doesn't want them to be there when he dies, it's that he wants to know other people outside of them. He loves them, but it's only natural to not want to ONLY have them.

Donatello was a silly guy, lots of playful jabs at his brothers and I just loved him. Also, the guy can DRIVE. Technically, being old enough, most places I know you can get a learners permit, so he probably realistically could drive. Despite complaining about having a "giant stick" much like 2012 Donnie, I found myself less annoyed by his complaints. Maybe I'm bias? Who knows. Point is, I loved him.

Leonardo, like Raph, was extremely relatable. With his upbringing and having a very anxious father, it makes sense to have such chronic anxiety. I swear, sometimes I feel like a mix between MM Leo and MM Raph. While ofc, I wasn't a fan of the little crush on April, it's not unrealistic. This is the first girl they've met and he has dreams of getting a girlfriend, obviously a 15 year old like that is gonna fall head over heels for the first girl he sees. Hell, when I first found out girls could like girls I honestly wasn't much different. (Ofc, I'm not a girl anymore, but that's besides the point here). But April shutting him down at prom was a relief, I'm hoping it just stays as a little puppy crush. It was handled SO much better than 2012 ever did, and I'm standing by that.

Now Michelangelo. Mikey was the SWEETEST OMG. Him and Mondo were an adorable duo and I'm hoping in future content we get more of them. Also, what is with Mikey and almost getting hit with cars in this film? I think the mans needs to keep away from the streets because he's like the critters down here in Kansas, very bad luck with cars. Only reason he's probably my least fav here is because I guess I don't have much to say about him, like, specifically?

Anyways. That's a lot of rambling, someone please talk to me about MM.

#tmnt #tmnt 2023 #tmnt mutant mayhem #mutant mayhem #clem's rambles

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satashiiwrites · 3 months

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wip wednesday, part 2

and a second time, just for fun and because I haven’t in a while. Catching up on a day off 🙃

Graphics by me.

Title: Welcome to the Jungle

Fandom: 911

Pairings: Buddie, Robert Nash Jr/Daniel Buckley, assume other canon pairings will make an eventual appearance.

Fic Summary: From the concrete jungle to the actual jungle, five players will be summoned to Jumanji to save it from the wicked Van Pelt.

Rating: Explicit (sex, stereotyped villain)

Tags/warnings: explicit sex, canon-typical violence, Jumanji AU, time travel fix it, slow burn, long fic, pod fic welcome, deviating from canon where it suits the story, canon timeline is a mess and we’re just not going to stress about it, author doesn’t do straight up adaptations, eventual happy ending, mention of divorce and canon character deaths, aged up Robbie and Brook, mentions of child neglect/abuse from the Buckley parents

Tagging @dannyreader8 @shipperqueen6 @tiny-reader @killerpeguin @victory-in-my-veins @idealuk @aida-sparks @piratepyxis @lesbianswiftie137 @buddiesmutslut @haderaide @zimes89 @rosieposiepuddingpie @lilylovesthings @spoodle-monkey @rasquirrell @blue-winged-boy . If you’d like to be tagged/or removed from posts related to this fic, interact with this post.

December 2009, St. Paul, Minnesota

It’s a week after Thanksgiving and St. Paul is starting to enter the deep freeze of winter. It’s not fully taken hold yet, afternoons still are warm enough that the snow flurries aren’t sticking around and the four inches of snow they had the day after Thanksgiving has melted away like a premonition of the deeper snows to come.

School’s out for the day and Robbie is walking home with Brooke, neither of them in a hurry to get to their destination. Home has been tense as of late. Mom and Dad are fighting more and more but trying to keep it away from Robbie’s ears but he’s old enough now that he picks up more. Brooke, despite being three years younger, also knows.

They all know that Dad’s off the wagon again.

Rehab didn’t stick.

Robbie’s not sure what will make his Dad stay sober. He’d thought that Dad had been doing well until Uncle Charlie had visited for Thanksgiving and then it’d all gone to hell. There’d been yelling and Mom telling Uncle Charlie to leave which had almost led to a fist fight over the turkey. Robbie had been ready to back up his Dad but instead, Dad had put on his coat and shoes and taken Uncle Charlie down to the corner pub which was open even on holidays.

Dad had smelled like a liquor store when he’d stumbled home after midnight.

He’s smelled of it on his days off ever since.

Mom’s tongue has been sharper than a knife and demanded that they come straight home from school so they don’t get into trouble, which means that Robbie’s had to drop out of basketball and Brooke out of cheerleading.

Robbie misses his friends. All of his friends are on the basketball team and don’t understand why he can’t stay after school anymore. It’s not like he’s a little kid and needs a babysitter anymore and Brooke was taking classes to be a babysitter, so she doesn’t need one either.

Instead, they’re both reluctantly headed home two hours earlier than they used to, backpacks heavy with homework.

Walking home—because Mom wouldn’t let him use his learner’s permit to take him and Brooke to and from school like he had been. There was no reason for Mom to drive to the school to let him then drive home if they could just walk.

Robbie’s pretty sure he’s not going to get his full license when he turns sixteen—that he’ll have to wait until Mom’s okay with it. Not with how Mom’s been restricting like she did the last time Dad got this bad. When Dad gets like this, Mom needs control. When Robbie was younger it’d been annoying and scary, now it’s frustrating and he’s getting mad. Last night, Mom had taken away the GameBoy he’d gotten for his birthday telling him he needed to focus on school, not games.

He doesn’t like being mad at his parents and he kicks a piece of paper that is crumped up on the sidewalk.

“Robbie!” Brooke scolds, picking up the dirty paper and holding it up between pinched fingers. The face she’s making at him is full of disappointment. “There’s a trash can right over there,” she points, holding the paper out for him to take.

The trash can is next to an alley and is over full. Trash pickup got delayed last week because of the holiday and people have been stashing bags wherever they can, a broken bag likely the source of the litter Brooke is holding. Rolling his eyes and with a heavy sigh, Robbie takes the gross paper and stuffs it between two bags. “There? Happy?”

Brooke frowns, cocking her head which makes her blonde pony tail sway. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Robbie asks even as he feels the low thrum of a drumbeat in his bones, making him want to shiver.

“The drums? Do you hear them?”

“I do. Where is it coming from?”

“It’s coming from the alley,” Brooke whispers, eyes wide as she stares down the narrow alley between apartment buildings. They’re only two blocks from home .

Robbie, suddenly feeling contrary, decides to investigate. So what if they’re five minutes late getting home? Mom can deal with it.

“Robbie!” Brooke hisses, trying to catch his coat as he slides past the mountain of trash. “What are you doing?!?”

“Seeing what’s making the noise,” he tosses over his shoulder as he moves deeper into the alley. It’s dark in here, the late afternoon sun rapidly fading this far north and the angle of sunlight is blocked by the tall buildings on either side. Soon, they’ll be walking home from school in the twilight, Robbie thinks as he twists around a broken fire escape ladder that is stuck in the down position.

He should tell his dad about the broken ladder. This building is connected to theirs and Dad likes to make sure exits are always clear for evacuations.

The drumbeats grow stronger, seeming to echo from everywhere as it bounces off the brick walls until he stumbles across a trash bag that spills open at his feet, dropping something heavy on his left foot.

The drumbeats cease and the only noise is the distant sound of traffic that is ubiquitous anywhere in St. Paul.

“Ouch,” Robbie grumbles as he crouches to see what fell on his foot.

“Robbie?” Brooke calls, having followed him into the alley.

“I’ll be right there, Brooke,” he says as he uncovers an old GameBoy.

#Welcome to the jungle #911 #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #jumanji au #wip wednesday #first draft #robbert Nash jr #Brooke nash #daniel buckley

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science-lings · 2 years

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Fuck it, LU headcanons for Sky and Wild exclusively derived from Mario Kart

They have the same face, aside from Sky’s slightly more kissable lips and Wild’s scars, their facial features are eerily similar.

They are also the exact same height of short as fuck but somehow exactly average for a Link. (this is also canon in LU, I just wanted to point it out, you know that old height chart that jojo made...)

They are the only ones legally allowed to drive in a modern AU, Time and Twilight literally just ride horses everywhere or have one of the mario kart bros drive them. Warriors always has either Impa or Athena drive him and Tetra got her learners permit before Wind did so she drives him around. Legend takes public transportation which is why he’s so angry all the time.

Wild and Sky are complete adrenalin junkies, they may be legally allowed to drive but they both prefer motorcycles and they love going fast. Neither of them have just been caught for speeding yet.

If they happen to be driving next to each other, they will race, that is a fact. It doesn’t matter who wins though.

They both eat mushrooms when they’re angry

If they can do something with a dramatic flourish, they will, these bitches pull out a sword while they are in a moving car purely because it looks cool and they do similar things while fighting, whether that be twirling their swords while in the middle of a battle, or spinning themselves around even if it will make them dizzy, if it looks cool and there’s an opportunity, they will do it.

they’re both incredibly competitive and will actually cry a little if they lose at something they’re really passionate about. This is also derived from my feelings about the horseback archery mini game in botw, I have cried after almost getting enough targets but having to go get more bows and arrows just to try again just for some ugly horse armor. And you can’t tell me that Sky wouldn’t have cried from anger if Groose won the loftwing race and was alone with Sun. He just seems like the type.

They both can canonically feel happiness sometimes

They are both part of the MBCU (mario bros cinematic universe) and will appear in the mario movie (2023)

They have a complex relationship with turtles, it’s difficult to tell if they hate them or love them. Also every time they see a turtle they have the impulse to chuck it at the other.

The Hyrule Castle course in Mario Kart is exactly what Hyrule looks like after it’s established, yes there is a giant master sword in the temple of sages (fuck you it’s not the temple of time) and the knights all have ugly ass outfits but somehow not as ugly as the ones they had on skyloft (specifically when they’re on patrol and riding their loftwings, what fashion disasters)

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu sky #lu wild #linked universe sky #linked universe wild #if you can discern between the crack hcs and the real serious hcs ill give you a kiss on the forehead

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darriness · 1 year

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His Life - A Buddie Fanfiction

Author's Note: Am I a little angry at the show and it's handling of Buck and Eddie? Yeah. But at least there's fanfiction! This idea (and one of the visuals in it) wouldn't leave my head so now it's in yours. Hopefully you enjoy!

Rating: G Category: Fluff, fluff, and more fluff Pairings: Buck/Eddie

Buck’s just finishing the last (and arguably most enjoyable) of his tasks when the front door opens and two voices filter down the hall: one now as familiar as his own and reminds him of comfort, love, and home and one much deeper than it was seven years ago when he first heard it.

The Diaz boys are arguing - a common enough occurrence in the house though nines times out of ten it’s good-naturedly like it is now - and Buck smiles as he makes his way into the living room.

Chris is on the couch, his face and body fitting the fifteen-year-old voice (Buck is continually shocked by the seemingly instantaneous but in fact gradual change from the boy of seven he was introduced to all those years ago). Eddie is standing between the living room and dining room huffing and rolling his eyes even as he laughs at whatever argument Chris is trying to make.

They both become aware of Buck at the same time and thus begins one of Buck’s favourite parts of any day it happens in - both Diaz boys make grabby hands for the two-month-old in Buck’s arms.

Buck chuckles and shifts his two month old daughter in his arms (in a fresh new outfit after her bath), looking down into her bright blue eyes. She may only have Buck’s DNA running through her veins but she’s no less Diaz because of it.

He hands their daughter to her Papa, the usual winner of the grabby hands contest, before asking to see the new learner’s permit their teenager should now be the owner of.

Chris pouts slightly at not getting to hold his sister quite yet but perks up and proudly shows Buck the piece of paper declaring him, almost, a legal driver. Buck doesn’t think he and Eddie are going to survive the change.

Buck looks down at the paper and his heart lurches just like it does every time he reads Chris’s name now. He may only have Eddie’s DNA running through his veins but he’s no less Buckley because of it.

“Christopher Buckley-Diaz. Driver.” Buck says in awe.

“Ummmm almost driver.” Eddie’s voice is slightly muffled from where he’s got his lips against their daughter’s head.

And the argument Buck had walked into ‘rages’ again and he just sits back and watches - his little family. His life.

#buck/eddie #buddie #911 #911 fanfiction #911 fanfic #my stuff #my firemen #christopher #the buckley diaz family

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cutelittleriot · 8 months

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Return to origin band together chapter 2 Spruce

The troll trio have just left Bergen town and are on their way to find the rest of Brozone.

"Operation family harmony is on and poppin!" Branch exclaims as his tail wags a little but he notices Poppy looking at him. "What?" He asks. "I just....well if I didn't know any better I'd almost say you were excited" She says giving him a sly smirk. "Uh it has nothing to do with my brothers" Branch tells her trying to deny it but in all honesty he was secretly excited but also a bit nervous so far John hasn't said anything about his new look but the same can't be said for his other brothers.

"All right,all right!" A certain voice echos the speakers as the two trolls look up in surpirse. "Tiny,Branch,Poppy,and this random dude-" "What?" John dory says confused at the extra passenger. "Are on another musical adventure filled with heart hilarity and happiness" Tiny tells everyone over the speaker and the three trolls head up to the drivers seat and low and behold Tiny Diamond was driving.

Normally a normal troll would freak out because Tiny is only a month old but glitter trolls oftentimes are born walking and talking like any other troll. It was some kind of evolutionary thing apparently though they still acted young and all that even if some did claim to be adults.

"Tiny! What are you doing here?" Poppy asks very confused and rightfully so. "Well aunt Poppy for your information I am no longer a baby. I am a big boy now,and I’m on a mansized rite of passage to learn lessons of life, courage and maybe love." He explains while Poppy coos at his cuteness as if he isn't a month old he may think he is a adult but there was plenty of stuff he had to learn and mature.

"Uh should we be letting a baby drive?" John dory asks rightfully worried,he really didn't want Rhonda to crash or anything even if she can mostly handle herself without much interference it's always good to be safe.

"Not to worry, fellow grownup.I have procured my learner’s permit" Tiny explains waving off John's worries by showing a very much fake ID with Tiny wearing a mustache.

"Who is Adulty McManface?" Poppy asks confused. "The better question is, are you a narc?" Tiny asks with a serious face and it causes John to snort in laughter while Poppy denies it, this kid was hilarious. He seems to have everything handled so he will leave him be for now he will check up on him often though as he only has a learners permit even if it was fake.

"Enough chitchat, Adulty McManface. Step on it!" John tells Tiny who happily complies. "Okay guys we need to find our brothers and fast. But don't worry old Branch has got it handled. All we have to do is follow the clues" He says revealing a clue board with all kinds of brozone stuff with a smirk while John wonders how he was able to that so fast.

"Wow. Check out your old outfits,puffy jackets,puka shell necklaces,denim tuxedos?!" She exclaims looking over each pic before noticing one and gasping. "Branch, did you have frosted tips?!" She asks she needs to know.

"Yeah it was an era" He says with a small smell as he reminisces the good times before....well the break up. Back then they were just having a good time being a boyband and John Dory's perfectionism wasn't as bad. "Oh and don't froget his perm" John tells Poppy who jumps on him and hold his face with her paws. "No way pictures or it didn't happen" she can't believe her boyfriend had a perm as a baby.

John quickly pulls out the pic with a sly smile "Look at you! You were so cute. I love it!" She says wanting to cry at how adorable he used to be. "But we had to pull the plug when he tried to frost his perm" John Dory says with a grimace. "Oh come on it was an era!" Branch says annoyed his tail flicking a few times while Poppy was gushing like crazy. He couldn't help it! He was just a baby at that time though he was glad it was stopped he could only imagine how that would have looked like.

"While you two are strolling down memory lane,I'll work on finding Spruce" He grumpily tells them heading back to his clueboard. "I’m gonna need copies of that pic,wallet size" She whispers to John Dory even though Branch knows that she knows he can hear her when she whispers due to their enhanced hearing.

"Listen, baby brother,we don’t need your little board to find Spruce" John Dory tells him putting a hand on his furry shoulder. "Its not little" Branch grumbles. "Because I got this!Ha! Booyah!" He says pulling out a postcard. The two trolls look at the postcard it looked old at least a decade old. "A postcard that says, “Wish you were here?That’s it? It’s not even signed." Branch says taking the postcard and looking it over. Though the postcard had a ever so slight smell of a beach? It was almost completely gone as it mostly smelled like JD and Rhonda.

"Don't worry Branch it’s definitely Spruce. I mean, he’s the only one I know who talks that way." John says trying to reassure his baby brother. "There’s no return address. It’s blank,this could be from anywhere. We can’t find Spruce with this" He complains. The scent is so faint he couldn't even track it if he tried to.

"Yeah, we can!All we have to do is find this sunset!" Poppy says enthusiasticly while Branch walks off to the front. "Liking that optimism Poppyseed. One word Branch keeper!" John tells him he can tell that Branch and Poppy were made for each other.

As Branch walks up to the front of Rhonda John Dory can't help but keep glancing at his baby brother. Just what happened to him? When he crashed the wedding he looked for his baby brother and he was shocked at what he had become. Even though Branch was physically different John could easily tell it was his baby brother even with his new self his face remained mostly unchanged and he could recognize Floyd's old vest. Also his big brother instincts told him it was Branch and they were never wrong.

But still those legs why were they shaped like that? He has paws now too alonf with pawpads? He also caught sight of fangs in his mouth. And don't even get him started on the tail that was the most jarring thing for him by far. Watching the limb react to Branch's emotions was something else. It took alot in him to not touch said limb becuase he knew Branch would probably not like that. Also when he put his hand on Branchs shoulder he could feel longer fur. John Dory knows alot can happen in twenty years but this much isn't normal.

It also seems that whatever affected Branch affected Poppy too as she had similar characteristics as Branch. He wants to ask Branch he really does but something tells him he isn't going to get a answer. If it was something Branch wanted to tell him he would have told him already.....right? Maybe after this whole ordeal is over Branch will tell him if not then he will ask.

Branch heads to the front of Rhonda he needs to clear his head,so much happened in the span of just a few hours. "Hey, man. I know about being treated like a baby. But while it’s just the two of us,you want some of this?" Tiny sneakily asks him as he pulls out.....a ring pop.

Ugh he remembers those, a certain other group introduced him to those. At first he liked them,it eased his mind and took away his worries but over time he grew to like thin a bit too much and he knew he had to stop it took time but he managed. "Nah,Thanks, man. I....I can’t get back on that train." he refused albeit nicely he knew Tiny was only trying to help him out. He wonders where he managed to get one though.

"I mean, hey, look at this.We’re never gonna find Spruce with this.I bet this sunset doesn’t even exists" Branch says only to look up and see the exact same sunset.......he really wants to scream at how ridiculous that is so he settles for a facepalm instead.

"Ooooh hot dog!" Tiny exclaims excited. "You've got to be kidding me of course it exists why wouldn't it?! Hey, guys! You’re gonna want to see this." He calls the other two trolls over.

Poppy grins at seeing the sunset "Alright! I knew we’d find it."She says giving John Dory a high five. "Spruce must be on that island" She says pointing out the obvious. 'No he must be under that island partying with techno trolls!' Branch sarcastically says in his head

John quickly spins Tiny out of the drivers seat and takes over thankfully Branch was easily able to catch Tiny with his paw. "Woah easy there goggles!" He exclaims not liking the sudden change before climbing onto Branchs tail,it was one of his favorite places to be other than his dad's hair it was so fluffy and while he loved aunt Poppy's her tail isn't as fluffy.

"All right, y’all. Let’s mobilize!" John says grinning as he pulls down his goggles. "Yeah, pedal to the metal, JD!" Poppy calls out excited her tail wagging as they get closer to the island .....AND A CLIFF!

"Uh John Dory what are you doing?!" Branch says very much scared with his ears pinned back and his fur fluffing up as he tries very hard to not grip at something with his claws. "Worry not my friends Rhonda here is completely waterproof" Joh tells them trying to ease their worries. That doesn't help Branch in the slightest he is more worried about THE CLIFF THEY ARE RAPDILY APPOROACHING!

Before Branch could get another word out Rhonda is jumping over the cliff all the while everyone is screaming,well Tiny and Jd are screaming Poppy and Branch are making noises similar to screaming but with a more animalistic sound sort of like a screech until they enter the water.

Soon enough they reach land and Rhonda's door opens and out comes a bunch of water along with Jd,Poppy,Branch and Tiny Diamond with the two transformed trolls fur being completely damp. Poppy spits out some water before shaking herself off. Branch meanwhile is coughing finally able to get some proper air before he shakes himself off too. "Good old Rhonda,completely waterproof, huh?" He asks his brother very much annoyed who Just coos at Rhonda.

The four begin to make their way through the island and John who has a machete has been cutting through any obstacles that block their way. Though it was a bit hard at times to keep their balance on whatever it was they were walking on so Poppy decided to start walking on all fours much to the confusion of JD, while Branch absolutely refuses to do so in front of John Dory so he just uses his claws to keep balance.

"Uhm just curious why are you walking like that?" John asks gesturing to the whole walking situation. "Oh! Well it's hard for us to keep our balance on these things" She gestures to the thing they were walking on. "This way of walking is much easier for us" She explains as John turns around to see if Branch was doing the same thing but he wasn't he was still walking on 2 legs and,were those claws?! His baby brother has claws now?!

Looking at them they were sharp and they were gripping the ground pretty good so he doesn't think he will be falling anytime soon so he leaves it be for now,though he wonders just what else can he do? He definitely heard screeching coming from the two as they were falling and no troll would be able to make that sound normally. "So walking that way doesn't hurt or bother you at all?" He asks Poppy. "Nope sure doesn't, in fact walking this way feels natural for us and we like to walk this way more than walking on two legs" She explains as she follows him.

John decides to not ask anymore questions about this for now,as long as they were comfortable and not in pain who was he to judge? "So, John Dory, who wrote that song 'Girl, I Love Your Love, Girl'?" Poppy asks she needs some details about her favorite boyband and now is the perfect time to ask. "I did" John replies grinning.

"Cool,who wrote, 'Girl, You Break My Heart, Girl,?" She asks her tail making a heart shape. "Wrote that one too" John replies. "So cool,who wrote, 'Girl, I love your love, girl,you break my heart, girl, I still love you,but I seriously think we should have a talk about our relationship, girl?" She asks and John winces a bit,yeah he wasn't the best at naming songs back then.

"Oh Branch wrote that one" John tells her wanting to mess with Branch a little for old times sakes as Poppy uses her hair to lower a limb down for them to walk on. Branch just stares at him shocked. "Shut up!That was my favorite BroZone song, like, ever!" Poppy couldn't believe her Boyfriend actually wrote a song and it was her favorite one!

"Jk that was also me" John says chuckling. "Branch has never written a song" He explains though he wonders if Branch wrote a song now it has been 20 years after all. "No duh I didn't I was a baby.What did you want me to write about, diaper rash?" He asks sarcastically.

"Okay, take it easy, Bitty B" John jokes as he takes a leaf and begins to slide down using it as a sled. "Hey, what’s wrong?" Poppy asks feeling concerned for how her boyfriend has been acting. "Nothing,super happy,This is our most fun mission yet. Yay." He says very much sarcastically sliding down as she follows.

"Branch, do you know how lucky you are?A brother is a friend who can never leave you.It’s the strongest bond in the world.I would kill to have a sibling to sing with, Branch" She says as she thinks about the possibilities if she ever had a sibling. "Ha! Yeah, well you can have mine" He grumbles.

"Okay fine" She simply replies and walks away. Branch sighs he really needs to get better at expressing himself. He knows Poppy means well but she hasn't gone through what he went through,she doesn't understand. "Poppy wait" He says holding out a paw but she is already too far away. Tiny who was happily laying on Branchs tail speaks up. "Grownup stuff. Am I right?"He says chuckling. "You know, I’ve still got that thang, if you want it" He offers pulling out the ring pop.

"Whoa, whoa. Don’t be waving that thing around!" Branch says he really doesn't want Poppy or well anyone seeing Tiny with that around and Tiny simply sticks it in his mouth content. With a sigh he gently places Tiny back onto his tail.

"All right, y’all we’re getting close to something,I can feel it"John says his big brother senses were tingling he could tell that Spruce was nearby well until he walked into something and that something was a person! It was no troll or bergen that's for sure.

They all scream in shock while Poppy and Branchs fur puffed up in shock and fear. "Whoa,what do we got here?Hey, guys. Looks like I found some fellow rock climbers." The person says to others who were below him. "Hi!" They happily reply back. "Welcome to Vacay Island.Where every day is a vacay." The vacationer gestures to the beautiful landscape.

The four of them make it to the beach and to be honest it looks amazing and to be honest Branch wouldn't mind coming here to relax every once in a while but right now he has a brother to find. The four of them look around when Branch picks up on something.

The smell he could smell Spruce! His scent is all over this place he must be here alot for it to be this strong. He follows the scent albeit discreetly and he finds himself in front of them...ocean? Why was Spruce in the ocean? His question is soon answered by a certain troll that's surfing while singing. Wow he looks....so different but in a good way. He looks so happy here much better than when he was back at the pod stressing over his abs.

Meanwhile Poppy looks at a poster she brought with her. "The hearthrob?" She asks herself. Soon he finishes singing and heads off to a resturant 'Bruce and sons and daughter'. "Oh yeah I totally see it" She says smirking as they head to the restaurant.

They make their way into the resturant and wow it looks....amazing so many people eating and relaxing.Though all these loud sounds and smells were a bit much for Branch and Poppy but they could deal with it.

"Running drinks to the back twotop.Lenny! Seaweed floats are almost out" Spruce tells another vacationer a worker perhaps? "Thanks boss" they reply back. "Hey, yo, Spruce! Spruce! Hey!" John calls out only to get hit in the face with a menu which almost makes Branch laugh and Poppy snickers. "Specials are on the back.Don’t order the clams. Don’t ask why.Fricassee squid and one jellyfish slider." Spruce not knowing who was talking to him.

"Spruce wait!" John Dory calls out and that finally seems to get his attention. "Huh? Oh, no. I knew this would happen one day. Listen, I know you recognize me from BroZone,and I’m happy to give you an autograph or whatever.

But can you please be discreet about it?" Spruce says it was only a matter of time before someone recognized him surprised it took twenty years but still.

"Spruce it's us your brothers!" John says excited to see someone else from his family. Spruce turns around and gasps. In front of him was John dory his older brother and to be honest not much changed other than his slightly muted colors and semi downward ears. But the other one....he could recognize easily. It was Bitty B but what happened to him? Why was he so furry? What happened to his legs and oh sugar is that a tail?! He looks over to the pink troll that was beside him and she has the same features so whatever happened to B happened to her?

Well it looks like Bitty B is fine for now but he is definitely asking for details later. "Whoa. Bitty B?!" Spruce exclaims so happy to see his baby brother again even with his new.....features it was still his baby brother. He runs over to Branch much to John's shock and sadness though John knew he probably deserves it.

Spruce picks up and tosses Branch in the air pretty easily while laughing. It feels good to toss him around he used to do that all the time when Branch was a trolling and he enjoyed it all the time as his laughter would echo in the pod. "No tossing okay? I'm too big to be tossed!" Branch tells Spruce who was still laughing. Even if the tossing brought back good memories.

"The last time I saw you,you were in diapers" Spruce tells him with a grin man his baby brother really has grown. "Diapers right" Branch says annoyed. "Wet willy!" Spruce says giving Branch one while laughing,he honestly couldn't help himself he keeps being brought back to the good old days and he would give wet Willie's to all his younger siblings for fun.

"Stop it that's disgusting! I am a grown up!" He Branch tells him annoyed as he shakes his head trying to get the saliva off, why do his brothers keep treating him like he was still a baby?! He was 23 years old!

"Oh sorry a whet william" Spruce grins before he's stopped by Poppy. "Hi, Spruce. I’m Poppy.

Wow. It’s, like It’s so cool to meet you or whatever.This is Tiny Diamond" She introduced the tiny glitter troll only to see he was wondered off to a bowl of nachos. "Hey, what’s up?Killer nachos you got here, by the way.Yeah!" He happily jumps into the bowl having the time of his tiny life.

"Okay, Spruce. We’re here because Floyd-" John starts before he's stopped. "Actually no one’s called me Spruce in years. I go by Bruce now" He explains much to Branch and John's surprise. "I’m sorry. Did you say Bruce?" John asks to make sure. He couldn't believe it one of his brothers changed their name? Well it wasn't too different from Spruce he can get used to it although it will take some time.

"Yeah. I wanted to put the whole boy band thing behind me now that I’m a dad" Bruce explains walking to a counter. That makes John and Branch freeze. Their brother is a dad? They were uncles?! Wow so much has changed,and....they weren't there to see it. Branch was honestly happy for Bruce,he was able to settle down,relax and even have kids.

"I can't wait for you to meet everybody! Hi honey these are my brothers, unexpectedly" He says to a vacationer. "Oh. Oh! Oh, hello there. So nice to finally meet you" She greets them she would wave but her hands were a bit full at the moment as the trio greet her.

"This is my wife and business partner, Brandy.She is my soulmate.My very tall soulmate.But we make it work." He says smiling much to the confusion of the others. "How?" John has to ask he needs to know otherwise this will drive him crazy later.

"We don’t even really know how it works.I’m kidding. I’m I’m not. I’m I don’t know" Brandy stampers out a bit emberassed,these were the brothers Bruce talked about alot and to meet them all of a sudden caught her off guard.

"Daddy, Daddy, can I have a cookie?" Pme of Bruce's kids asked and he happily hands them a cookie. "Becoming a dad was like a, like a seismic shift in my brain." Bruce explains. "Daddy, Bruce Jr. bit me" another kid complains. "No biting!" He gently scolds the other one. "Daddy, I don’t see how any government stands a chance" another one tells him. Just how many kids does he have?! "Your not wrong kid" He replies back. "I’m stuck in this ketchup bottle" another one asks somehow getting stuck. "Okay,gonna handle all of that.Just give Daddy two seconds, okay? Love you.As a dad-" He says before another one goes up.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Guess what?I have pink eye!" Oner one tells him as if that's a good thing?! "Oh my pink eye!" Branch says while the others are grossed out. "Oh *beep!" Tiny exclaims very much disgusted. "Look, Spruce, gotta cut to the chase.We’re not here to catch up. We’re here because we need to hit the perfect family harmony" John Dory explains.

'Do not sock your brother in the face Bruce do not sock your brother in the face. Your better than this you have matured' Bruce mentally tells himself. He can't believe after 20 years John was STILL going on about that stupid perfect family harmony! Here he was hoping to catch up with his older brother but to hear those words come out of his mouth it....AGH!

"You’re still going on about that?Hey,get these guys their meals to go" He tells someone as he prepares to walk away he didn't want to deal with it anymore. John doesn't realize just how badly he messed up with his perfect shtick. Even to this day Bruce still flinches upon hearing the word perfect!

"No, no, no. You don’t understand.It’s for Floyd. He’s being held captive!" John explains. Bruce couldn't beloved his ears,one of his younger brothers was being held captive?! He really really hopes he isn't being tortured but something tells him that's not unlikely. "What? Well, then, what are we waiting for?We need to call the authorities" Spruce says wondering why they haven't done it sooner?!

"Hit the perfect family harmony.Spruce, it it it has to be us.Floyd’s being held captive in a diamond prison" John says its not like he wants to do it either he wants to put that part of his life behind him. A diamond prison.....why did it have to be diamond.

"Oh. Well, yeah,you need the perfect family harmony for that" Bruce admits. "Exactly" John says grinning. "Wait. But how?We’ve never even come close to pulling it off.You do remember our last show, don’t you?" Bruce says. Remember? As if he could ever froget the very night he screwed up everything,broke their family apart and wished he could take back and fix it.

"If we practice, I know we’ll be able to nail it,we have to" John says jumping up on stage. "At my age? I don't really think that-" Bruce says laughing before being cut off. "See, guys. I told you Dad wasn’t in a band" One of his kids tells another.

"Oh, I was in a band. I was in the band.You ask your mother if I was in a band" Bruce says,he couldnt believe that how own kids wouldnt believe him. "Oh, he was in a band" Brandi tells the kids. "Prove it!Prove it! Prove it! Prove it!" Poppy chants and the kids join her.

:All right I’ll prove it.I’ll prove it right now!" Bruce says jumping on stage with John Dory. "Yes! Bring it in, Brother!" John says he is so happy to see one of his brothers joining him again to sing. "Branch, get up there. Go sing with your brothers" Poppy tells Branch who is still a bit grumpy at the moment, he has to keep an eye on Bruce's kids in case they get any ideas to pull his tail as he has been seeing them eyeing it.

"I’ll do it to save Floyd when I have to. But I’m not doing it right now just for “funsies" He says crossing his arms tail flicking he didn't want to sing with his brothers.....did he? "Oh, yeah. Okay. You’re probably right" Poppy says using a bit of reverse psychology.

"No, no, no. You’re the one who,wait. What did you say?" Branch asks confused normally Poppy would encourage it did she finally learn to stop pushing? "You’re afraid that singing with your brothers again after all these years

will overwhelm you with emotions too powerful for you to handle. I agree with you,

I don’t think you can handle it,so I think you shouldn’t do it" She says hoping Branch will take the bait.

"I think I can handle singing a song" Branch says he can handle singing one song with them besides it could be a good warm up. "Prove it!

Prove it! Prove it! Prove it!" Poppy and the kids chant. "Alright fine,but this is more than likely beneath me" He says sighing he just hopes he could remember the words and steps it has been 20 years. "Yeah whoohoo!" Poppy yells excited to see part of Brozone perform again after twenty years. She uses her tail to play the song.

*one song later again I'm not writing that love the song tho*

"Ah, yes. We still got it!" John says excited it felt so good to sing with his brothers again. "Oh, tell me that didn’t feel good!" Bruce says sharing his enthusiasm. "I can’t believe I remembered every word and every step" Branch says surpirsed but happy tail wagging. "Looks like your band days aren’t behind you" Poppy tells him letting out a purr mixed with what sounded like a churr. It makes Branch turn very red at the face in emberassment as his tail curls to reflect it.

"Um, Brandy, my love.So, I know we have kind of a lot going on here,but do you think it would be crazy if I were to-" Bruce starts to tell his amazing wife. "Uh, leave me here to manage the restaurant and all these kids so you can go on a musically charged rescue missionwith your brothers?" She asks him. "Yeah that" He says wincing he knows thirteen kids is alot for one person.

"It’d be crazy if you didn’t.You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t help your brother" She tells him with a smile as she gently pulls out the kid that was stuck in the ketchup bottle. She knows her husband too well she knows how he is with stuff that concerns his family.

"And you can cover when I go on my girls yoga retreat next month.All month.But you should leave now before you get pink eye.Save yourself!" She tells him pulling off her glasses showing the early stages of pink eye as this kids begin to try and talk to him them all showing the stages of pink eye. "Gross!Love you though!" He says as they all run off to Rhonda and they quickly take off ready to try and find Clay.

Enjoy this long ass chapter I found the transcript online and it has made writing so much better

#trolls #trolls 3 #branch #poppy #broppy #return to origin #jd #john dory #Bruce #Spruce

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storiesbyrhi · 2 years

Text

Bones and All - Chapter 1: Copper Fever

Eddie Munson/Reader Bones and All AU

Warnings: canon typical violence/gore, updated each chapter

Synopsis: What do you hunger for?

Author's Note: The first chapter of the fic is the setup, so Eddie will be introduced in the second chapter. This fic will make sense even if you haven’t seen the film/read the book. However, I have heavily used both the film and the novel by Camille DeAngelis (which are quite different btw). This fic is very much a love letter to those texts and if you’ve recently seen/read it then you’ll spot a lot of Easter eggs.

Chapter 1: Copper Fever 2453 words

The others were all so normal. They had youthful pimpled skin and homework deadlines and weekend plans. They suffered only growing pains and unfair curfews and parental expectations. Yes, some suffered cramps and dark alleys, and some a father’s belt or the mirror’s weight, but...

Empathy.

Empathy is what you wanted to feel. If not, then sympathy. Hell, you’d settle for apathy. Anything but the gnawing jealousy and constant migraine of loneliness.

You couldn’t take it anymore, retreating from the cafeteria out into the main building. The school was abuzz; end-of-year dances and graduation ceremonies had teenage hearts aflutter. And, if you could just keep your shit together for another month or so, you’d be joining your class in robes and diplomas.

Technically, it could have happened a lot sooner but with the way you and your mother moved around, some sacrifices had to be made. Real last names, for example. A legitimate learner’s permit. All normal adolescent rites of passage.

Through the hallways and into the library, there you sat. A twenty-year-old with someone else’s name, alone between the shelves of books.

A stack of paper slammed down in front of you suddenly.

“Are you a vampire or something?” Sherry asked as she sat on the floor opposite you.

“What?”

“Vampires hate having their photo taken. You’re not even in this, you know. Mr Essex kept telling you to go do it. Now it’s like you weren’t even here.”

You looked down at the papers, big red letters spelling out ‘yearbook – final draft’ on the top leaf.

“Yeah… sorry. Been busy,”

“Whatever. You’re coming tonight, right?”

“My mum will never let me,”

“So?” Sherry replied with a grin. “Just sneak out after she’s gone to bed.” She sensed your hesitation. “Just for a couple hours? Please? You’ve never come to a sleepover. We’re almost done with high school and I’ll be at Brown soon. This might be our last chance. Please?”

You looked at her. She smelled so good. Like the peaches she’d eaten at recess.

“Please,” she begged, stretching her hand out to take yours. So warm. Close.

“Yeah, okay,” you said quickly, taking your hand back and gathering your things. The faster you could leave, the better.

…

She’d never get used to it. The sight of you dazed and dripping blood down your shirt was forever etched into the darkness behind her eyelids.

“You didn’t… In the car in three minutes. Whatever you can take in three minutes,” your mother instructed, her voice a pained mix of panic and grief.

You walked to the bathroom and looked at your reflection. Blood.

Blood.

Your mother yelled your name, then, “Move! When the cops get here, we have to be good and gone.”

The sleepover had started well. Sneaking out was easy enough and Sheree’s friends were nice. It was comfortable. Normal. Nail polish and warm beer. Skirts made of tinsel and cheese pizza.

You had been laying on the shag rug in Sherry’s room. Kim, a Junior you hadn’t really met before, was next to you. She was kind, told you that her father had skipped out on her too.

“Try this,” Sherry said, painting Kim’s nails. “It’s called Copper Fever.”

Kim studied her hand. “It’s too orange,” she concluded, then stuck her hand in your face. “What do you think?”

Innocently, you’d held her hand and looked at the colour. It was too orange… or not orange enough. You breathed in the acidic smell of the polish, but it faded fast and all that was left was Kim.

You bit down so hard that when the other girls pulled you away, your teeth had degloved Kim’s finger entirely.

In the bathroom, your mother grabbed hold of your shoulders and shook you back into the moment. “Did you hear me? We have to go.”

…

The cockroach appeared from under the refrigerator. As it scurried around, you watched it. The hunger deep in you was a living creature, and even the small dirty thing mapping the kitchen floor made the creature growl.

It had been three days since your mother left you.

Two months after the sleepover, you thought everything was going okay. Then you woke to find yourself completely and utterly alone. She had not taken all her things, only the things that she loved most. And you had been left behind.

There was a folded piece of paper and an envelope on the kitchen table you had yet to open. The contents of the letter were predictable, as was the pain it would inflict. Instead, you had haunted the house. You had wailed and sobbed. You had broken glass and locks. You had sat motionless for hours on end.

When the cockroach made his kitchen debut, you were reminded of the hunger. You were reminded of who and what you were.

Picking up the envelope, you found it unsealed. Inside was cash and a certificate of live birth. The only piece of proof you were real and not an imaginary monster living in the storybooks of a child.

The letter began with your name.

You’re not going to see me again. I can’t help you anymore. I can’t turn you in to the cops. I can’t do anything someone like me would do in a situation like this. So, I have to go.

The first time it happened, you were three-years-old-

You stopped reading, folding the letter, and putting it in the envelope with the cash and birth certificate.

All your belongings fitted into one backpack. When it was full, you put on the jacket your mum left behind and headed out the door.

You had known the day would come when she would leave. There was only so much horror she could take. You knew she’d leave you a letter and some money. She wouldn’t say goodbye. The jacket was a surprise though. Your dad was its first owner, and your mother wore it like a widow’s veil. She was leaving you both behind, you thought. But you, you were moving forward. Toward your father.

…

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” the woman at the bus station asked.

“You’d think,” you replied dismissively.

“I don’t know what that means,”

“It means I’m twenty-years-old and I can buy a ticket if I want.”

The greyhound could take you part of the way, the rest would have to be hitching. The bus was old, cramped, and smelt stale. Sometimes prone to motion sickness, you felt queasy. To take your mind off it, you pulled the letter out and picked up where you left off.

Her name was Penny Wilson. I thought it must have been a satanic cult. All that gore. I was so scared they’d taken you and done unspeakable things. But then I found you in your crib, sound asleep. The blood was dried up on your face. I still didn’t see it though. I didn’t understand until I fished out of your mouth something you were chewing on. It was the hammer of Penny’s eardrum. It’s a small bone. The malleus. I looked it up. You were sucking on it like it was a pacifier. I knew then. I knew what you were.

The letter was rich with information. Succulent and filling. You could only read it a paragraph at a time before you felt too full, verging on ill.

The town you’d arrived in that morning was new to you, but the address circled on the torn-out page of a phone book was seared into your memory. Years ago, your mother got sloppy and left a Christmas card from her parents out on the kitchen table. It had a return address and you’d never forgotten it. She hurried to rip up the envelope and throw it away before you could get your grubby hands on it but it was too late.

You sat on the curb behind a car down the street a little. It was the right place because your mum’s car was parked out front. When she couldn’t parent, she returned to hers. Tears rolled down your cheeks and you burned with shame. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t ask to birth a creature like you. She wanted to be like the other mothers, playing with their children and cooking wholesome meals. But it wasn’t a dinner she served you each night, it was a sacrifice.

The walk back to the bus stop was lonely, but part of you felt relieved. If you couldn’t do it – be out on your own – you could always go back there and beg to be loved.

The Lord of the Rings kept you company while you waited. It would be hours before the next greyhound came through. If you finished Tolkien for the hundredth time, there were other adventures awaiting in your backpack.

“Well hello, little missy,” a strange voice announced themselves.

You startled, couldn’t place the sound until a figure emerged from the shadow of the building next to you. The man wasn’t smiling, but he looked at you with familiarity.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he offered.

“Do I know you?” you asked although you knew the answer.

“I guess not in the way you mean… I smelled you…”

He wore a suit jacket covered in pins, badges, and other things tacked to it. The top of his hair was neatly cut, but a long rat’s tail of a braid curled around his neck. His left ear looked mangled, the top entirely gone, which reminded you of an alley cat scrapping with the others to get his feed.

“You hungry?”

Before you could think, you were nodding. The stranger turned and began to walk up the road, throwing a look over his shoulder to see you apprehensively following him.

“I got rules. One, number one: never, never eat an eater… Think you can do the same?”

You nodded and took his invitation into a grand old house, marked 400 by a sign out front. Inside it was dark but homely. Floral wallpaper and a sign that read ‘bless this house and everyone in it.’

The stranger began to pull things from the fridge and cupboards in the kitchen. Sitting at the small kitchen table, you watched.

“You got a name, missy? I’m Sully. Life’s never dully with Sully!”

His accent was strange. It wasn’t that you’d not heard someone like him, maybe from rural West Virginia, it was that he spoke about himself like he was two people.

“You don’t got to worry about Sully. He never eats ‘em live,” he told you.

“I thought I was the only one,” you admitted.

“Not lots. More than you think…”

Sully told you that you’d probably come across other eaters. They would have given you a funny look or earned a double-take from you. Maybe you’d misread them as being creepy. He also warned you from seeking them out, though. When you commented on the hypocrisy of him inviting you into house number 400, he shot you a look that was equal parts disturbed and lonely.

“Tell me about your first time,” Sully requested.

You realised then that you remembered more about Penny Wilson than you had thought. Sully saw the guilt on your face, telling you, “Can’t help what you are, miss.”

That’s when he retrieved his satchel bag and pulled something wrapped in muslin cloth. You stayed silent as he presented a rope made of braids of hair. It was a rainbow of human life and death. Sully told you it’s how he honoured the eaten. You didn’t know something could be so grotesque and so beautiful at the same time.

You were touching the rope when you asked, “You said you could smell me?”

Eaters can smell eaters. And Sully, well he was extra special. He said he could smell dying. That’s how he avoided killing. He stalked people with numbered days. Your blood ran cold.

“Sully… Whose house is this?”

Suddenly details came into focus. The photographs on the wall. The homemade carrot cake sitting in a Tupperware container.

“Lydia Harmon,” he said with definity. “Can’t you smell her?”

Upstairs, after a fucked up game of hotter-colder, the smell of cooked vinegar and tangy mud lead you to Lydia. She was old, well into her late 80s. She laid on the floor of her bedroom, shallow breaths ready to cease at any moment. Thankfully, she was beyond consciousness.

“We have to help her,” you said.

“It’s gone by, that point… And whatever you and I got, it’s gotta be fed. And if the circumstances are good and if they’re safe… then eat!”

You didn’t move.

“Sully don’t eat the livin’… That just leaves this…” he told you.

You took the spare room and waited for Lydia Harmon to die. Sully told you that you’d be able to smell it happen. You were horrified to discover he was right.

Sully had stripped down to his dirty white underpants. His head was deep in Lydia’s belly and her head was almost entirely gone already. The sounds. Did you make those sounds? Is this what you looked like in the daylight?

You ate and ate and ate until all that was left of her was a pile of bones, some chewed on. Sully said he always ate the hair and nails and bones if he could. Said it was a sign of respect. He put the leftovers in a plastic bag as you licked the floorboards clean.

…

Sully made coffee and began to consume the carrot cake left in the kitchen. Flies had found their way inside the house and were sticking to the blood and gore that covered your faces and chests.

“It’s not hard once someone teaches you,” Sully told you about being out in the world. “You don’t need to be alone.”

That was the thing though. Maybe it was self-punishment. Maybe even a form of self-harm. You deserved to be alone. Deserved to suffer hunger and cold and isolation. You were a monster.

The flies that crawled over Sully’s face, forcing their way into his nostrils and mouth, didn’t seem to annoy him. There was a deadly stillness deep in the man. Lydia’s hair became part of the braided rope and you felt the danger screaming at you.

As soon as Sully excused himself to shower, you cleaned off in the powder room’s sink and fled the house.

On the next greyhound out of town, you went over all the information Sully had given you. How much of it was truth and how much fiction? Maybe that’s how stories start though. We tell them about ourselves like they aren’t the truth because that’s the only way anybody is going to believe them.

Next Chapter: coming soon

End Note: What do we think?! Are we excited about this?! I'm absolutely FERAL about it. I've seen it in the cinema twice so I could take notes, and I'm re-reading the book and taking notes. It's going to be so jam-packed with text-details. Yewwww.

Fic Taglist: @harrys-tittie @azydrateanatomy

All Eddie Taglist: @solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @munsonlives @sweetpeapod @depressooo-expressooo-blog @thorfemmes @hawkins-high @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl @lilzabob @mymoonisalways-in-scorpio @averagemisfit03 @ches-86 @ilovecupcakesandtea @onehotgreasymechanic @hazydespair @lacrymosa-24

#Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson Fanfic #Eddie Munson Reader Insert #Eddie Munson/Reader #Eddie Munson x Reader #Eddie Munson/You #Eddie Munson x You #Bones and All #Bones and All AU

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gildedworld · 13 days

Text

Accident Happen, part 1

Summary: A 16 year old Rosaria recently got her learner's permit during the summer vacations and sneaks out of her house in Greenwich, Connecticut, in her dad's Audi A7 and unfortunately gets in an accident in downtown Greenwich.

Rosaria had a love-hate relationship with summer vacations. On one hand, she loved going home to see her friends and family. But that meant being away from the Academy and her friends at the Academy. This cycle always repeated itself every single year - she'd long for summer vacations to visit Connecticut, and when she would be back home in Connecticut, Rosaria wouldn't stop thinking of her life and friends at the Academy.

This year was no different. Rosaria was back in Greenwich. For the first few weeks, she was excited- she frequented coffee shops and the mall with Jimmy and her friends, watched movies, went to the spa, went swimming at the country club, finished two marathons. And now, the familiar lull of boredom was starting to set in.

At the Academy, Rosaria had no time to be bored - she was always occupied with something or the other. If it wasn't class and homework, it was training in the danger room. And there were always people around- other mutant students, teachers, the Professor. There was always someone to talk to and things to do.

On this fine summer afternoon, both her parents were at work, and Jimmy was occupied by an Age of Empires tournament. That left Rosaria all alone - something she detected. Rosaria loved staying occupied as much as possible because it meant that she wouldn't have to pay much attention to her thoughts. Specifically the voices and shadows that seemed to have made her mind their permanent home. Keeping herself as occupied as possible meant that she was only confronted with their existence at night. Ideally, she'd prefer never to deal with them but if she had to choose, dealing with them at night was probably the best as opposed to dealing with them every waking moment of the day.

But today was different. There was a moment during vacations, after which all the excitement dialed down and people slowly returned to their routines. That usually left Rosaria all alone. In her younger days, she'd ask to be dropped off at the library and would simply spend the rest of her vacation gazing through books to keep her mind occupied. This year, though, Rosaria was finally old enough. Earlier in the vacation, she'd obtained her learner's permit. And so, an idea popped into her head.

How about Downtown, she thought to herself, a smile slowly creeping across her lips.

A moment later, the smile was gone as Rosaria furrowed her eyebrows. But I need an adult to be with me in the car, she thought to herself. After all, she was only 16.

But then again, Downtown Greenwich was only a 20-minute drive from her house. What could possibly happen, she thought to herself excitedly as she lept out of the sofa and rushed to get ready, quickly grabbing her bag with the keys to her dad's black Audi A7, locking the door behind her.

Immediately, a grin extended across her lips as she placed her hands on the steering wheel. Oh, this was fun, she thought to herself as she opened the garage door and slowly drove the car out of the garage.

Rosaria grinned as she began to drive her dad's car on the roads of Greenwich, mindful of the stop signs and signals. She knew these roads at the back of her hands and even know she'd been at the Academy, she was still just as familiar with the roads as she had been before she had left for the Academy.

And sure enough, she began to see the familiar streets close to Downtown Greenwich. As she approached Downtown, the streets grew narrower and busier, framed by a row of parallely parked cars. The number of pedestrians also increased dramatically - people were walking and crossing roads paying no attention to oncoming traffic at all.

In the midst of of this, Rosaria's carefree grin was soon replaced by a pensive expression as her eyes scanned for an available parking spot and avoided pedestrians at the same time.

After what seemed like eternity, she finally found a parking spot - a car was pulling out of its spot, and Rosaria knew that it was now or never. If she didn't get this spot , she'd have to circle around once more trying to find available spots again, and she was definitely not interested in doing so, having already circled around a fair bit.

As soon as the car pulled out, Rosaria quickly accelerated towards the now available parking spot, steering the car towards it. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a couple deep in conversation crossing the street, walking through the available parking spot, paying no attention to Rosaria's attempts to park. Immediately, she slammed her right foot on the break pedal bringing the car to a sudden halt.

A moment later, Rosaria heard a loud crash and felt her body being pushed towards the front of the car - the steering wheel digging into her ribcage and the side of her head hitting the dashboard of the car.

It took a moment for Rosaria to realize what had just happen. There was a dull ringing in Rosaria's ears as she slowly opened her eyes, still slightly disoriented. She slowly took in hed surroundings- a white airbag had deployed in front of her, a street filled with onlookers whispering and taking pictures with their phones, the distant sounds of police officers taking statements.

It didn't take a genius to put together that Rosaria's car had been rear-ended. Still a little disoriented, Rosaria couldn't help but feel overcome with dread and panic - this really happened. Her father's car had been in an accident, and she was driving on a learner's permit with no adult around. I'm so grounded for life for this, she thought to herself with a pensive sigh.

Slowly reaching for her phone on the car console beside her, Rosaria did the only thing she could do in this moment- she called Alex.

#terra xtant #anna oc: rosaria #anna oc: alexander #anna stories #terra xtan year : 2016

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