#even worse bc in the end she was still with jonathan?? so what was that all abt

[basicrese]

no bc UR RIGHT. im rewatching stranger things from s1 rn as we speak and the camera moment was such a reasonable reaction??? like who wouldn’t be pissed off and creeped out by the fact that this other guy was secretly taking pictures of the girl he’s seeing as she was undressing??? and YES i love nancy actually but she’s done Steve wrong way more than he has and idk personally i don’t know if she’s actually realized that herself because we’ve seen Steve grow from his immature ways and ofc Nancy has also grown BUT IDK IF SHE’S EVER ACTUALLY ADDRESSED HOW SHE WAS ALSO PRETTY MEAN TO STEVE IN A WAY OUTSIDE OF THE WHOLE “BULLSHIT” MOMENT? IDK LET ME KEEP REWATCHING AND GET BACK TO THIS 😭😭

Does anyone else hate the way Steve was made believe that he was a bad guy and a shitty boyfriend? When he was literally the one who got cheated on and was dumped for some other guy?

Steve was never a bad person and he was never a bad boyfriend. He was a teenage boy who did maybe two bad things. What Nancy did to him was way worse.

Now he’s still in love with her? BITCH BYE. If he dies for her, I will throw up. I can’t stand her for the way she treated him and for how she gave him false hope again.

[la-plum-sefue1]

ok so, i once read this byler fic, which is one of my faves. i LOVE the concept. it was simple, but it payed off pretty well. so this is post s4 ending, not a s5 au. (if you don't want spoilers for the fic, read the spoiler free ONE SENTENCE summary at the bottom of the post :3. link will also be attached) my boys have been flirting, being snarky with each other this and that just being cringe fail like always, super attached... one thing lead to another and it begins with them being about to kiss. they somehow start with jokingly flirting and end up with mike cornering will against a desk in a corner of his unlit room as they are about to kiss until jonathan and nancy barge into the room to let them know dinner is ready. they don't get caught, but there is still so much tension in the room. nancy is real "no nonsense", so she's rushing them into coming downstairs for dinner. THEY AREN'T ABLE TO KISS. and even worse, the WHOLE GANG is staying at the wheeler's and the original sleeping arrangement between mike and will was just the two of them in mike's room AND THEY CHANGED IT TO LUCAS, DUSTIC, MIKE AND WILL ALL IN MIKE'S ROOM. so when they thought they'd just eat dinner and go back upstairs to finish what they started, THEY CHANGE THE ARRANGEMENTS. the tensions are HIGH at this point and everything's going south for their "plan", if you could even call it that. always trying to get a moment alone, but they can't. it goes on for a while, building up tension, while MORE SHIT HAPPENS TO PREVENT THEM FROM HAVING THEIR KISS. until FINALLY, after the shitshow that happened before they got back home (almost a whole day after their almost-kiss), they have to clean up and so they go alone into the basement bathroom and well there you have it. the fic keeps torturing with more situations and you're just like RRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH JUST KISS and it's just super cool, i loved it. SPOILER FREE SUMMARY: mike and will almost kiss, they're interrupted and shit keeps happening to prevent them from doing so, so tensions are HIGH. >> the link bc this fic is so kool:

[findafight]

i agree w all of your r*nance thoughts. i also think a big issue for them would be nancy never being robin's Person bc of steve; i do not think that's something nancy could stomach. tho at this point, even if i had liked it originally, i would despise it bc of how often ppl have robin or nancy or both do absolutely sick and twisted things to steve. like the amount of fics where robin doesn't tell steve/actively lies to him about it for extended periods of time then he just has to be okay w it or they have robin just start putting nancy above steve in every aspect of life is ridiculous. then there's the really bad ones, like the fic i saw where the entire premise is r*nance fucking in steve's bed w/o his knowledge (and robin specifically doesn't feel bad at all which ???? like they have nancy feel bad but not robin? i will never understand) or the ficlet i saw where robin asks steve for sex advice then either 1) tells him it's nancy and he makes the advice specific (wtf) or 2) doesn't tell him but he figures it out later bc nancy thanks him since she realized the advice came from him (demonic). like what the actual fuck. sorry i had to complain about the things i've been forced to see against my will by tumblr.

so many things to complain about having seen on the hellsite. carry on fellow soldier 🫡

dsakjhfaksdhkf ya like. the concept of either of them starting to date someone they like and not immediately busting the other's door down like candace_momholyFUCK dot jpeg is just absurd to me. Robin would kiss a girl for the first time and as soon as she gets home she's dialing Steve up and twirling the phone cord around her fingers and kicking her legs, giggling. They were having boobie talk in the car at 7am. they def share if they actually get a date with someone they have a crush on!! (the exception being if that person didn't want to come out, like I could see Steve telling Robin he kissed a guy or had a boyfriend but not saying who because the bf wasn't ready for other people/people he didn't know well to know? but robin would still know he had a bf and details about what they do, just not personal details.)

I find it actually laughable that people would consider Robin would put some romantic interest above her most specialest boy in the whole wide world. Like. She was obsessed with him when she held her tammy and bagel crumb grudge and hated him! Now she loves him? Do people thing she isn't obsessed with him now?? Absolutely not she's worse and she steals his shirts to prove it.

Which I agree with you. Nancy obviously wants to be her romantic partner's priority and number 1. Jonathan's priority is his family and we saw in both s3 and s4 that this causes strain in their relationship! To the point they kinda break up in s3 about it! Robin and Steve both can no longer give that to their partners, because they have each other, scoops troop, and, by extension, the Party. Which is wild because s2 Nancy was Steve's priority.

idk whyyy people have Robin be mean to Steve :( stopppp that's her special little guy. her sweet cheese. her rotten soldier. She might say or do something that hurts him but she would try to apologize as soon as she realizes!! Just like he would for her! I think it might come from people still prioritizing romo ships over platonic ones and trying to have those be the most important and special and deep relationship the characters have.

lldkfjlakdflkajlfdj anon those are WILD fics wow. I think some are trying to acknowledge past st4ncy, but neglect all the hurt that happened at the end of that relationship, and that for the characters, in s4, Steve and Nancy broke up less than a year and a half ago! very messily and hurtfully! (once again, regardless of whether or not steve knows Nancy cheated) that is so short between the end of the relationship to be hooking up with your best friend's ex! that he has expressed romantic feelings for recently! or trying to emphasize robin and steve's weird little qpr comfortable in one another's space and oversharing relationship but missing the mark. like. it's one thing to sleep in a friend's bed with a different friend. it another to have sex in a friend's guest bedroom. it's another level to have sex in your friends bed? that's bonkers.wild.

I do think it'd be funny for Steve and Robin to exchange sex tips/stories but the first time i think Robin asks and Steve just blanks and goes "cut your nails. watch your teeth." which like. yeah. Robin figured. They're weirdos who live inside each other's pockets and brains but they probably do have some levels of comfort to work up to (they've been friends for less than a year! even if it feels like they've known each other forever)

(also. there is a weird thing sometimes where Nancy is closer to Steve/cares more openly about him than she would. I think it might be a bit of a backlash to people pointing out that she cheated on him in s2 and then seemed to not talk to him at all between then and s3 and again between s3 and s4? hmm...)

[stevie-petey]

hi i’m back!! first of all let me just say how mind blowing your writing is????? EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU M FOR THE AMAZING CHAPTER!!!

im so glad dear billy is ur fav ep from season four too because it’s mine too and oh my god. you did so well in making everything fit so perfectly together bc yk bug not being in st is still such a sad truth for me (and it’s shocking how you aren’t in the writers room for st s5 rn)

but anyways THERES ALOTTT TO UNPACK IN THIS CHAPTER !!

steve and bug first bc holy shiti swear i could feel my heart dropping multiple times while reading about them 

bug asking steve to choose max over her?? and steve pleading with her not to make him choose max over her and saying

“I’m choosing you, Y/N.” and adding 

“I’ll always choose you.” YK WHAT HERES THE FULL SCENE BC IT BROKE ME IN HALF.

[“I’m choosing you, Y/N.” Steve whispers, lips pressed softly against your hair. Your body stiffens, he feels it, but he holds you tighter instead. “I’ll always choose you.”

“Steve…” 

“Please don’t make me say no to you.” He pulls away, grabs your face and makes you look at him. You’re pale, tears wet your lovely face, and all Steve wants to do is fall asleep with you forever. He strokes the crest of your eyebrow, kisses your forehead. “Please don’t make me lose you.”]

PLEASE DONT MAKE ME LOSE YOU?????!?!?!?!?!!? just stab me with bugs pocketknife please.

and before that scene i remember the conversation between them about how steve recalled feeling gutted after seeing nancy and jonathan thinking his night couldn’t get any worse UNTIL HE SAW THE LOOK OF HEARTBREAK ON BUGS FACE and how it made him feel worse knowing he couldn’t have done anything to prevent her from feeling that hurt

[“But that night, it just-it really fucking hurt, you know? Thought I’d never feel anything shittier, that my night couldn’t get any worse. But then… I saw your face.”

“The heartbreak on your face, that fact that I couldn’t do anything to protect you from it. That’s what hurt me the most.”]

..AND THE MOST IMPORTANT LINE OF ALL (TO ME) [“And it’s why I won’t let anything else happen to you.”] and i know steve will try his best to protect her if it meant ensuring bugs safety in the end.

sooooooo who’s gonna tell them that they’ve been eachother’s protectors since day one without even knowing it!

these two are so special to me and it’s just so heartbreaking to see them this way, steve feeling so much fear, and anger :(

i understand his frustration with bug bc everyone can clearly see how she’s putting her own issues aside (despite her literally being cursed with the same thing as my baby max) just to save max and that’s not good bc it’s the BOTH of them that needs saving and bug being stubborn about it isn’t helping steve’s current state :( also i saw ur reply and YOU USING a beatles song is so evil and i love it so so much!!!!!

i’m not ready for bugs visions cause ik shes been carrying sm guilt…with the recent deaths of hopper and billy AND OMG THE NIGHTMARES???? dustin hearing her yell out billy’s name in the middle of the night ☹️ dustin’s being a champ rn LIKE i know he’s not showing it for the sake of his and bugs sanity but i know he’s going crazy in his head bc ITS HIS BIG SISTER?? AND HIS BEST FRIEND?? my poor baby is scared pf losing his bestest friend in the world :( i just need my Henderson siblings happy please </3

and lucas oh lucas!!!! my poor guy he’s literally never been so scared and worried in his entire life until now. THE POSSIBILITY OF LOSING BOTH THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE AND HIS BIG SISTER IS SO ☹️i need to hug him.

steve and nance r gonna be so best friends (alongside with the loml robin) and i love how they’re becoming more friendly with each other now like the playful banter im ready! (i know they were civil and were already somewhat friends but still) i didn’t particularly enjoy the love-triangle thing in s4 so i’m interested to see how you’ll be dealing with all of it 😭

btw i’m purposely ignoring jon rn. WE DONT SPEAK ABOUT HIM. (he’ll fall to his knees the minute he gets to hawkins and finds out about the curse that vecna gave bug)

ALSO SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT I KNOW YOU DONT LIKE TO CHANGE THE CANON TOO MUCH so idk what your plan is with max and bug…but oh my god the survivors guilt bug will carry…im not even ready. max and bug to me is like a literal reflection of each other and their relationship in this story is definitely my favorite thing ever. i don’t even wanna talk about that one scene where bug was yelling at vecna to take her instead. i don’t. i just mentioned it bc i feel so devastated and unready for what’s about to come.

i read smth about how u said there aren’t anymore disagreements between bug and steve!!! and how the rest will just be sad ones AND CUTE ONES (im holding u to that ml) 

does this mean they’ll talk 🤞🤞 i need them to have a proper conversation so i’m crossing my fingers and wishing that we’ll have that conversation alongside with the later conversation between steve and nance (and i believe that it was definitely done for good reasons!)

i listened to in my life while writing this btw and i feel so brave!! 

okay i’m done !! i’m sorry this was long but i appreciate your works and i’m in awe of you !! pls never stop being great!! i hope you’re doing well <333 sending u sm love today lovely <3 e

-🌟🍓

dear billy supremacy !!!

and the entire steve and bug i choose you scene ,,, oh boy theres so many layers to that one specific conversation that i simply cannot wait to dive into later. for now, the entire notion of their relationship is that they chose to love one another !!! bug chose to wait, steve chose to trust her, and they chose to fall in love <333 i firmly believe that true love is choosing to love your partner, not just the chemical reaction in our brains, but the act of staying and trusting to be loved in return - THATS true love.

and steve revealing hes always wanted to help/protect bug <333 i love the porch scene. i love tying things together and also just seeing their growth throughout the seasons. in season 1 the porch scene was heavy with insecurity. bug was weak, back then. she didnt want steve to see how hurt she was (but failed). now we fast forward years later for season 4 and shes actively leaning on steve !!! seeking his comfort !! yet shes also standing her ground, doing what she believes is right (even if shes wrong). and STEVE !! he failed her in season 1, he refuses to fail her again in 4 :((

now bugs whole "hey gang lets focus on max not me haha" will cause a few rifts within the group - everyone knows its unneeded, they all hate shes doing this, but they also know that they cant change bugs mind. its very bittersweet and :///

max and bug ,,, u Get It. they ARE reflections of one another. max is fifteen, same age bug was in season 1. its very very very reminiscent of how bug was back then, stubborn and slightly cold but still so full of love and concern for her friends. max is where bug was, confused and scared and unused to asking (or accepting) help. bug sees this and she also is struggling with this. theyve always had a close relationship, but billys death changed everything and brought them closer together. bug feels a kinship to max, she feels responsible for her, and max knows this and almost resents her for it. its messy and very sad and hard and me not changing canon too much will make things even MORE heartbreaking and sad :(

but on a happier note: YES STEVE AND BUG DO ACTUALLY TALK !!! they have a whole lovely conversation later (in the very last ep lmao) that resolves a Lot i promise guys theyre end game i just like drama and growth.

in my life <333

[boyswanna-be-her]

I spent the last five days & nights w BFR, and before that we'd spent TWENTY of the previous 25 days together, usually only pausing to sleep separately. And although we'd been joking about it, I didn't actually realize what a mindfuck for me specifically it would be to spend several years alone and then most of a month with someone and then need to abruptly be apart for two weeks.

Emotionally on a day to day level that's just so not an issue. I spent years and years of my past relationships craving freedom and alone time and the ability to do whatever i want whenever i want it without waiting on someone else or having to take their opinions into account. I was definitely sweating being lonely and probably I still will eventually feel lonely on this trip--but getting on the highway today to head to Denver ended up feeling good and familiar and right.

But this morning was not that way. PTSD is fickle and I'm still learning my triggers. Being around someone I really care about is dredging up a lot of things that didn't get metabolized in my last relationship. And this morning, I woke up at 1 am on my couch with BFR in a full-on panic. Something about the fact that we'd fallen asleep in front of a movie instead of bed was the first thing that set me off (idk man, idk). I woke them up, they said they would come to bed, I went to bed in my panic and put on sleep noises and exhaustion managed to override the panic and I cried myself to sleep assuming I'd wake up w BFR.

I woke up again at 4:00. They hadn't come to bed from the couch. Legitimately I recognized that this meant nothing but that didn't matter. My mind has gone FULL police sirens now. I go back to the couch. They fully wake up and apologize for falling back to sleep and make room for me and I try to get comfortable w them on the couch but NOPE somehow this process makes my mind actually tip from being skittish to having a full-blown anxiety attack. I realized after a minute of sitting with the feeling of overwhelming panic and terror (which it took me TWO more hours to identify as a panic attack btw wrow) that none of the feelings were coming from the sleeping situation, but I failed to figure out WHERE they were coming from. So Iay there on the couch trying not to sob, so so so fucking confused about what was happening beneath the surface of my consciousness.

I just couldn't parse it. Like, BFR is great and our time is great but I don't know them well enough to be in love with them or even to miss them THAT much. Like christ, not sobbing over it! Not heart beating like I'm running type of upset.

Finally after I'd done every errand and packing task I could think of, I was still sobbing off and on so went to my Mom's place for a xanax (she was sleeping but luckily my dad knew where she keeps them). Then i came home abd I woke BFR up and basically said "i think I'm having a panic attack and I could use some company, like, fucking yesterday about it, and at least until the xanax i just took kicks in." And they got up and got their act together and immediately started uhhh taking care of me in a healthy way. Just sat with me and listened, said everything was going to be ok. And I talked at them and cried and cried and finally worked out that it had been a panic attack since I woke up at 1:00, I just had been deflected thinking it was bc I was sad to leave BFR.

In reality, there was this deep and abrupt CERTAINTY that I woke up with that my life had somehow fundamentally changed overnight and there was nothing I could do about it. It's almost 24 hours later and I'm still all shaken up to even approach understanding that headspace, but there it is. Between the fast onset of Jonathan's mental illness, his unexpected suicide, and the really awful way D ended their relationship with me a few weeks after Jonathan died, I have a very deep-seated belief that everything in my life can and will change without warning, for the extreme worse, ESPECIALLY when I feel safe, secure, loved, and excited about my future.

I just woke up and "knew" that it was all changing. I felt deeply that one or several devastating events were going to take place once I left town. Top on my list, when I drill into it, is that one of my parents or friends will get a devastating injury and/or die before I can say goodbye (lmao no idea where that comes from 🙄). It also felt/feels (when I let myself feel it and put it into words) 85% likely that BFR will change their mind about me while I'm gone and pretend like all of this never happened. Which honestly when I look at it with my logic brain is even less likely to happen than someone dying.

So I really got in there and sat with those feelings. It only helped a little bit to say it all out loud to BFR. It only helped a little bit to get their reassurance. That's how it is with this shit: it's not logical or evidence-based, so you can't logic your way out of it.

Eventually the Xanax got me, and I fell asleep in bed with BFR being the best and watching me and stroking me and waiting for me to either wake up on my own or need to be woken so I didn't miss my day of travel.

I slept HARD for two hours. When I woke up they were there waiting for me, sitting in bed. They had quietly continued cleaning my apartment, as well as gathering up all the snacks they had to send with me on the road trip today.

I felt so much less insane after the third attempt at sleep. Without talking through it AND a healthy dose of a sedative, I don't know that I would've been able to get on the road. I cannot think of a time other than during the sheer ego death of Effexor withdrawal in December when I was that completely panicked and inconsolable and SCARED.

I was two hours behind but after all that i was ready to go. I got the dogs loaded up and ran into a friend who said BFR was "a cutie" and we "would be a perfect couple" (i'll tell her later we already are 💕). I finally dropped them off on their side of town and hit the road for my first leg to Tennessee.

It is definitely taking lots of bandwidth for BFR to be there for me in the way that they are currently showing up. I know more about their history now and it makes me even more appreciative of the monumental effort it has taken to let someone new into their life. They had therapy this afternoon (let's goooo weekly therapy havers!!) and I could absolutely tell by the VERY serious tenor of their texts this evening that they'd been talking about us in therapy which is 1. Something a partner has NEVER done before, I'm always begging my partners to get therapy and they dont and 2. Incredibly fucking encouraging/affirming that they are indeed putting thought into me and I'm not stupid to be doing all the communication groundwork to build something nice. Shit is so pleasantly NOT one-sided. Like my last therapy sesh was me asking how I can avoid becoming codependent and wrecking my own life for someone, and their sesh had an apparent focus on communication with me and how to be vulnerable with me. The fuck? How healthy? Go off, I guess. We had a really thoughtful and helpful communication session (I had to pull over while driving but I did so happily bc it's really worth it), which in retrospect was not an easy conversation for either of us. We both were acknowledging some difficult truths about ourselves and setting expectations for what that means about a relationship. It's honestly quite doable things to overcome, and EARLY to be digging in, but it's also really fucking helpful to be in the loop with what they're thinking/fighting and I'd imagine vice versa.

But they sent me thoughtful texts all day (more than I sent them), did their yoga class, therapy, called me once I was settled in the hotel, listened to my stories about the day, asked if I wanted to stay on the phone and watch a movie together. I went to the hotel gym instead. Solo travel is going to be tough on my sobriety, and getting physically worn out has been helping a lot. Doesn't matter much what I do--just gotta tire out the software by running the hardware or something like that.

So. It was an awfully hard day. BFR took it in stride but I did not. I tripped up and kind of rolled down a fucking jagged hill. But all I can do is show up and try again and not sweat it too much that PTSD is going to be a part of my life until it's not. There's a lot that makes it worth it right now.

I think I have a lot of potential to create something special and rare with this person who has found me. Usually when someone cares about me this much and fawns over me and wants to help me in areas where I really need it, I find it a huge turn off. That's always made me feel misanthropic, but idk. Maybe there was always some thin-slicing going on and I felt that there would be a catch. But with BFR there's something I recognize there. The care they give me isnt a donation, or an investment, or a down payment. They genuinely like to see me succeed, like to see my pain eased or erased, even when there's nothing they can gain from me. They're happy to make me happy in a way that I actually don't think I've ever encountered from someone who was interested in me. Like I hate to just relegate them to the cliche of service top but they are indeed panning out to be someone who gets off in every way by overachieving in helping or pleasing me--and they're talented at making that service-y aspect somethinf that I'm the boss of, instead of making me feel like I'm a pet project or something to be changed.

That's my ramble. Needed to vomit it all out somewhere. I'm retroactively editing so my apologies for the everything. Pictures to come.

[spider-xan]

Throwing around ideas for Mina and Jekyll relating to each other in the LXG filmverse and thinking about what if Mina hasn't been keeping up with a diary since Jonathan died bc her life now sometimes feels like a worse version of when he went missing where there's no hope he'll finally write back this time, and Jekyll thinks a lot about how maybe he should write a letter to Utterson telling him he's been alive all this time and hasn't forgotten him, and Mina points out that she would give anything to get a letter from Jonathan saying he's alive out there somewhere, thinking of her, loving her always, and she remembers the joy and relief she felt when she received Sister Agatha's letter all those years ago, so maybe you should write that letter to the person dearest in the world to you who thinks you're dead and give them hope again, extra points if Mina's vampirism played a role in Jonathan's end and she would therefore understand feeling responsible for a loved one's death the way Utterson would feel as if he had driven Jekyll to suicide, and in turn, Jekyll understands her shame and guilt about her monster self killing someone close to her bc he feels the same way about Lanyon, even if he still can't bring himself to accept that, and it's Hyde as his unrestrained inner monologue reminding him of his selfish choices and responsibility compared to Mina being a victim of circumstance, but he does finally decide she's right and considers writing to Utterson after all, if only to relieve his last surviving friend of undeserved guilt and grief, and in return, he encourages her to start keeping a journal again, if that helps her work out her feelings about her husband and cursed existence.

[sky-neverending]

Hiiiii ! So for the prompt anything that is ronance centric, maybe something involving patching each other up after the battle !

ok so this is actually part one of a two chapter fic, bc i got another ronance prompt that i think i can combine with this one timeline wise! of course this is still able to be read alone, but that second part should be up in a day or two! this’ll also be on Ao3 in about half an hour! also this has background jargyle and steddie in it, but it’s like very minor

tw for descriptions of injury, brief mentions of weed, and discussion of death. it’s really nothing bad tbh

Robin hissed as warm, soapy water rushed over a large wound below her left knee. She threw her head back, inhaling sharply as she tried to contain her pain.

Nancy glanced up at her apologetically as she pressed a wet washcloth into the injured area. “Sorry.” She muttered, rubbing the fabric over the bloodied skin. “It’ll be over soon.”

“I can handle it.” Robin said through clenched teeth. “Not like I haven’t been through worse.”

She meant it as a joke, she really had. But instead of earning a laugh it was met with a frown and a heavy silence that weighed down on both of their shoulders.

She stayed quiet after that, holding her breath as Nancy continued to tend to her wounds, cleaning and bandaging them. She started with the largest ones. The one below her knee where she had fallen and her skin had ripped against a sharp rock. The one near her shoulder where a bat had come down and taken a nasty bite out of the flesh there, leaving a decent sized chunk missing. That one was wrapped in Nancy's thin white jacket to contain the blood flow for as long as possible. That one would probably have to be looked at by a doctor. That one, they didn’t have time to fix completely. Not right now. So some soap and a tight bandage would have to do.

There was another, on her heel, that had been snapped at by a demodog in the middle of a chase. It has grabbed at the skin, ripping it off and leaving her to try and run while a trail of blood was left behind.

That was the one Nancy was tending to when she finally spoke.

“What would you be doing right now? If all of this had never happened.” She asked quietly, like she was scared to even think about it. Robin tilted her head.

“I don’t know.” She admitted, letting the tension in her shoulders drop as scenarios played through her head. “Maybe looking for colleges? Still working at Scoops to pay for my tuition? Lurking in the shadows, still afraid of being myself because I didn’t have anyone who understood me?” She twisted her head around to look at Nancy. “What about you? Where would you be?”

She shrugged in response. “Probably on my way to Emerson. I was so excited to go to school. Away from my family and Hawkins and all the pressure. Sometimes I wish it hadn’t all happened, you know? That I could’ve spent my high school years like every other teen girl. Getting into trouble behind my parents back, dating boys and going to parties and being a star student all at the same time.” She paused as she soaked her rag in more water. “I suppose I did do some of that. But not without all this in the way. Plus, look how it turned out.” She glanced across the room into the kitchen, where Jonathan was standing, his hands tucked into the pockets of Argyle's jeans, while Argyle chatted away with Eddie, who was leaning against the counter with a very tired looking Steve resting his head across his shoulder.

Robin chuckled lightly. “I’m sorry about that, by the way. I know it hurts to see someone you like end up with someone else.” She smiled at Nancy, soft and sincere.

Nancy smiled back as she began to wrap Robin's wound. “It’s okay.” She said with a shrug. “It’s better this way.”

Glancing up at her, Robin pulled her lower lip in between her teeth, chewing on it idly as she thought of a response. It tasted like dirt mixed with the raw, metallic flavor of blood from a cut above her eyebrow that had trickled downwards.

“Do you plan on going? To Emerson, I mean. You got in, didn’t you?” She asked, watching as Nancy nodded.

“Yeah, I got in. But I don’t know if I’ll go.” Her shoulders slumped and her head ducked down as she finished dressing the wound. “Doesn’t really seem worth it.”

Mindlessly, Robin reached out a hand, reaching out toward a now standing Nancy. She leaned forward and laced their fingers together, squeezing tightly and beckoning her closer with a reassuring smile.

“You’ve been through all this. You’ve quite literally walked through Hell. If you want to go, it is absolutely worth it. You deserve to follow your dreams, Nance. Don’t let this stop you. Not now. Not when we’re so close.”

Nancy sat down on the couch next to her, their two hands still intertwined. “What if we don’t make it?” She muttered, voice weighed down by fear. “What if I get my hopes up, and then something terrible happens?”

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Robin said, placing a hand on Nancy’s chin and gently tugging it upward so they met eyes. Nancys were wet, glossed over with tears that she was holding back. “Not on my watch.”

There was silence. It seemed to go on for a decade, just Robin looking at Nancy and Nancy looking at Robin and pure, deafening quiet that stilled the room. Robin could feel her heartbeat in her fingertips, and she could feel Nancy’s too, and the back of her hand where they rested softly.

“Nance.” She muttered, unaware of anything else around her. The room seemed to blur as Nancy spoke back.

“Rob.” She said, small smile forming on her face as she slowly moved in, and suddenly her lips were pressed tenderly against Robins own and everything else washed away, and all she could think was Nancy, Nancy, Nancy.

The kiss was nothing and everything at once, soft and warm and faint, but at the same time insistent and full of passion. It didn’t last very long. Almost before Robin could even register what was happening they were gone, Nancy pulling away with cherry coloring dusting her cheeks.

There was a loud exclamation from the kitchen and both the girls startled, turning to see all four boys grinning wildly at them.

“Finally!” Steve slurred, and Robin could make out the redness in his eyes. He was wrapped around Eddie like a koala, a sure sign he was high off his mind.

“Way to go, brochahcas!” Argyle giggled. Robin rolled her eyes and turned back to Nancy, biting her bottom lip as nerves rushed over her.

Nancy simply grinned smugly. “Come here.” She muttered, and then they were kissing again. And the weight of the world seemed to get a little less heavy. Because now? Now Robin had something to fight for.

[will80sbyers]

Idk why you think romance will save the day when Max literally ended up dying and in a coma even though she hid in her best memory. Mike, Jonathan and Joyce can help Will to an extent but it is a fact that Will is still bound to Vecna tbh even he tries to fight back his situation is worse and more dangerous than Max's. Plus, Vecna already knows what Will thinks and feels bc of their connection lol. So good luck honestly but i just think it is a little bit unrealistic to think that Mike and Will kissing will save things just fine.

bro obviously Vecna will not die of heartfailure immediately after they confess their love lmao but I want to remind you that Max is not dead yet, season 4 was the part of the story structure where all goes bad for the heroes before their final win and this is a basic story about good vs. evil like the DUFFERS told us many many times in many different interviews.... so yeah, love will save the day, both platonic & romantic ❤️

Max ended up dying because it was inevitable for the story structure + HIDING doesn't save you (coming out does 😉)

Also it's not like we don't have a precedent of this, love already saved the world all of the past seasons, it was one of the basis of the story since the start 🤣

honestly if you want depressing stuff you should try watching HBO they have a lot of things you could like there!

[thestobingirlie]

i've been reading this fic for a while that's handling the s2 cheating so strangely. like, it's flat out acknowledged as cheating and jonathan tells steve what happened at murray's. steve just kind of swallows down his reaction then never talks about it again which imo doesn't align at all w his previous behavior but if it was further addressed later i wouldn't mind that much. then, nancy (and jonathan as her doormat) keep forcing steve to spend time w them even tho he's clearly uncomfortable; steve also doesn't say anything about this even tho, in the situations shown, he would have no reason to be willing to force down his feelings about this. then eddie (this is set immediately post s2 btw and makes steddie friends for unrelated plot reasons) is like "she cheated on you, that's fucked up, why are you still friends w her" and steve says it's complicated bc of the upside down but nothing to do w the upside down is happening at this point to make steve willing to look past this. this is also made further annoying by a scene of eddie and wayne talking where wayne outright says eddie seems more bothered by the cheating than steve which ???? this all keeps going until nancy ends up apologizing for hurting steve w the bullshit speech and w/e but not for the cheating or the lying by omission which led to jonathan telling steve instead of her? as in the cheating is not mentioned at all in the scene. then stoncy are all besties. like it makes no fucking sense to me. steve should be absolutely furious for like 15 different reasons at this point. like nancy cheated on him, lied to him about it by omission, put the onus of the breakup on him in the process, just let him say all that stuff about being a shitty boyfriend (tho she did apologize for that specifically and said he wasn't), forced him to interact w her and her new boyfriend she cheated with despite steve clearly being uncomfortable, and potentially just let jonathan be the one to tell steve about the cheating w no comment or acknowledgement. it's unclear whether nancy knows jonathan told steve. but steve just does not get to be angry or feel any type of way about any of this, forgives nancy after one conversation that barely touched on any of that, and is now completely comfortable being friends w jancy. anybody would be Going Through It atp but esp steve considering his canonical issues w infidelity like wtf. then i feel like all of this is made worse by the purposeful juxtaposition w eddie's reaction which is heavily implied to be bc he's jealous since he has a crush on steve, as opposed to him possessing baseline empathy for other human beings. it's just so baffling but i am unfortunately invested in the main plot of this fic so i just keep suffering. sorry this got so long it is just so confusing to me.

people are so weird about the cheating. some of it comes from the person writing preferring j/ncy, and so not wanting to acknowledge it. and then i think some of it comes from people just not wanting to… shit all over jonathan and nancy? they don’t really know how to fully recognise that the cheating was bad without totally vilifying jonathan and nancy.

i think fics like you’re talking about are also influenced by the way steve’s depicted as a total doormat within the fandom. people just don’t know how to write him standing up for himself, putting himself first, and not needing someone else to fight his battles.

this is obviously just my opinion, but i fully believe neither steve or nancy spoke, like, at all post s2. steve because he was heartbroken, and nancy because it was fucking awkward! and she’s not gonna put herself through that lmao. so i always find it… idk, maybe a little ooc when people have them immediately jump to spending time together post s2.

i think with eddie, people want to push the romance as quickly as possible, so any empathy or anything he feels for steve is obviously being influenced by his feelings. so, you end up with stuff like the fic you’re talking about, where eddie only seems to feel bad for steve because he wants to date him.

[that-thing-that-feeling]

The phrase "heart skips" seems purposely vague, but the constant praise for Steve in the script is bizarre. Not to mention the part about Robin "understanding Steve's pain"...I think Robin has it a bit worse than Steve wrt finding love and I'll just leave it at that.

Agreed even “heart skips” is vague and that’s what they were going for, but it comes across as their aim was unresolved feelings (but for the nuggets; I still don’t see how that was unresolved when she called it a nightmare, but not sure the writers got that).

And then I’m just afjgdshkkhg at the “All too Well (Steve’s Version)”, bc come on, I don’t think he was 🎶 a crumpled up piece of paper lying here🎶. Not to diminish Steve’s feelings which he seems to had gotten over (so weird to put him back in them), but like he hit on his ex who has a bf, was fantasizing about having six kids together and in that end scene looked kinda just peeved that “oh and here’s Jonathan again smh” (seriously the tension between stonathan needs to be explored I’m telling you). And yes def Robin has it harder than Steve pls! So that direction was a bit ott lol. And then it’s still annoying they didn’t give us enough of Nancy’s pov but cut her off in the woods for s5 reasons ig.

[laughing-drawing-aces]

I'm fascinated by Stancy because the fandom has so many ways to interpret that ship. Like strong antis and Steve or Nancy haters say it was abusive. Fans of that ship say it's a beautiful tragic love story. Either way I have never seen a ship be so divided or misunderstood in a fandom lmao.

Imo Stancy is a middle thing. For Steve, it was a beautiful love story, and for Nancy, it felt like a trap she put herself in. They never were on the same page in that relationship.

In s1, Nancy was infatuated with Steve, and if Barb hadn't died/gone missing, I feel like they could have had a cute high school romance. But alas, Jonathan entered Nancy's world, whom she wouldn't have hung out with otherwise. They bonded in a way up until the last episode she didn't bond with Steve in that way. Yes, he saved them, but they don't have matching scars or a journey together. Jonathan was there when Steve didn't believe her. But then Will came back, and Barb was still gone. Jonathan went back into isolating, and Nancy was alone again. However, Steve was still there now, and despite longing for someone else, she chose him to be with out of desperation to not be alone. You can see it at the end of s1 when she looked at Jonathan in the way Steve looked at Nancy. She never looked in love with her boyfriend because she wasn't. I think she wanted to love Steve she tried to convince herself. And maybe she even loved him in some moments because it lasted for a year, but she was never in love with him. She lied to him, and she never reflected on that in the show. Which is an interesting character take but people want to make her completely innocent when the subtext screams otherwise.

Steve loved her completely. He would do anything to protect her and see her smile. He was planning to stay back to arrange stuff so he could be in her life after school. He never lied about his feelings towards her. And I truly think if Nancy would have given him the chance to fix things or talk about Barb in a non drunk way, I think he would have listened. He should have definitely asked her more and not just assume things are fine, but at least he tried, unlike the complete monster some people paint him. His way of coping with shit was extended to Nancy because Steve believed he helped her with that. And in a way he was. He helped Nancy through the initial shock of her best friend dying. He was the distraction she needed in moments, or she would have snapped earlier. (Also, we never saw Stancy in their relationship only beginning and end, but you can tell Nancy has communication problems the way she handles Jancy)

When Stancy came to an end, it was because of Nancy. Her inability to lie to Steve about her feelings combined with the guilt of Barbs death. But again, the not loving Steve is the major reason. I wish the show would allow Nancy to explain herself to Steve so he can also find closure from it. Stancy ending deserved to be handled in a more nuanced way instead of letting Steve take the entire blame, and everyone else is off the hook.

How can people watch the show and not see how one-sided Stancy was. And that the major blame lies on Nancy. The way Steve left his friends, bettered himself, constantly looking love-sick around her, wanting to be grown up and work for his dad (he hates) to provide for her. Compared to Nancy, who looked uncomfortable saying I love you to him, only looking in love with Jonathan and then admitting she waited for him to make a move. It's baffling to me that people say Steve was the person who hurt Nancy more or the sole problem when he was the only one who put in effort. It's surprising that people want that ship back, given it never stood a chance because Nancy just doesn't love Steve. It doesn't make her a villain, not loving a guy, but the way she went about it was kinda cruel if you think about it. (If you don't agree, just switch the genders bc if Nancy was the guy, oh lord, would people have a field day with it)

What is worse, protecting your partner from self-destructive ways and trying to cheer them up in a way you think it's helpful because your partner never communicated otherwise. Or is it worse when you go into a relationship knowing that person is a placeholder because the actual person you want isn't available right now so you lie about your feelings until you can't take it no more?

going to put under read more

honestly same like i’m so fascinated by stancy! especially because like you said so many people have different interpretations of the ship but also lol like some of them are just plain wrong. same never seen people be this divided.

i love how you described them here! with the second paragraph because you are so correct!

yep nancy really was infatuated with steve but also i wonder if it was because of what steve represented to her. i think after barb died she saw steve in a different light because he represented something more sinister to her. i think nancy loved what steve represented to her at first: attention and a way to try new things. despite steve not being dangerous in a bad boy way: nancy saw new opportunities for herself. then after barb died she just saw steve as tied to the loss of her innocence despite the fact that she did want that in some way but because tragedy happened: steve can only be seen as the bad person because of where he and her were that night. and despite the fact that she has guilt of her own it’s pretty clear that she sees steve as also the killer of her best friend despite the fact that he didn’t kill barb. lol i know i just went on a whole rant but i absolutely fucking love what you say in that third paragraph! you said it so beautifully!

everything in that fourth paragraph! honestly i hate how people see one talk and just determine how steve handled nancy’s trauma and that was to a) dismiss it. because he’s not dismissing her trauma if people actually watched the scene: he’s dismissing the action of telling people what they saw because of the fact that the gov will kill him and his loved ones. we just had a huge plot like in season 1 about how the gov will do anything to save their own asses yet people don’t think for one second that these characters would very much be afraid of them. also it’s wild to me because we see nancy who also loved to pretend just like steve. she pretended her whole relationship with steve was real because she couldn’t handle the fact that jonathan was helping out his own family. she wanted to be just a normal teenager! but people just think steve completely gaslight her into being a ‘normal teenager’ and ‘pretending’ meanwhile nancy of her own free will was legit pretending! do y’all seriously think that steve would want nancy to pretend to be in a relationship with him because of her trauma? ngl nancy has the worst communication skills and i do love know messy it can lead things into but i need some people to wake up and realize that this is a flaw of hers!

fucking everything there!!!!

everything here too! stancy is sooo one sided and steve was the only one to put in any effort! the dude while he was dating nancy was like ‘alright i won’t have to go to college and i can just work with my dad even tho i know i won’t like it so that we can be together’. i’m listen nancy has done a bunch of things but i still think it was cruel of her to knowingly know that steve was willing to do something he hated because he loved her and she didn’t let him know that she didn’t love him. it took her alcohol to admit that she didn’t love him! again nancy knew that steve was going to waste his own hopes and dreams for her and she would have let him if it wasn’t for the alcohol and jonathan coming in.

that question you posed fr thinking about it and i’m just going to leave it open ended

[zablife]

@brummiereader I've been anxiously awaiting this fic since I watched the gorgeous trailer you made and now I'm finally sitting down to read it 🤩 I'm in love with the summary bc it has such high potential for delightful hijinx! Now it's time to dive in! Here's my running commentary...

You've immediately created sympathy for the family's plight with Y/n's recollection of her mother. They will be yours one day, my darling girl. Her voice whispered to you like a passing summer breeze as you closed your eyes. The grief you still felt for her loss now weighed down with that of your father's recent death. 😭 Not me feeling bad for the little rich girl already!!

The introduction of her brother made me feel even worse for what she (and poor Frances) endure. He sounds like an overgrown child, selfish and completely insufferable 😩. I'd love to hear granny's take on his gambling, but I have a feeling that's coming later! (EDIT: He's TEN years OLDER?!?! Holy shit, grow up!!)

But let's address their father's plight bc that is bleak...Your warnings mentioned suicide so I assumed this was in ref to his debts, but WOW! How horrific for his children.

The gangster!" her voice pitched to an even higher note as she clutched her chest in horror... 🤭 I love granny's flair for the dramatic, but I'm upset to learn she's a Jonathan apologist 👎 At least she seems to be equally supportive of her grandchildren. I adore the advice she offers Y/n when the Shelbys arrive!

Thanks to your beautiful trailer, I could perfectly picture Tommy's arrival. I had to giggle at Arthur's reaction, pretending not to be impressed by his surroundings. Someone take him home where he can take in the fine aroma of the shit house!

A spark neither one of you expected to be ignited that day as your shared gaze remained fixed on the other and time suddenly seemed to dissipate, with everything and everyone around you blurring into nothingness. I'm squealing bc it's love at first sight and now they're going to spend a lot of time fighting it! Yup, right on cue🤣 (Bonus points for Tommy calling her sweetheart.)

I was curious to know the details surrounding the deed to Arrow House and it warmed my heart to know her mum was looking after her. "sparing you from a life of chains beautified with gold and satin ball gowns she never envisioned for you." 🥹 It's also quite sad tho as you consider the lack of choice women had when trapped in a bad marriage the way her mother was.

Secretly loving the complication of the paperwork to keep these two in the same house (even if a greedy lawyer is to blame)! I'm already loving their spirited interactions 😍 "Like hell I will!" You blurted (That's granny coming out!) And the fight over the statue was priceless 😂 But nothing could have prepared me for the explosive ending to this chapter!!! I was giggling all the way to the end when the gunshot left me gasping. This means war 😬

Amazing start to your new series, darl! I can't wait to read more!

MASTERLIST TRAILER

Uptown Girl (Part One)

Summary: When your high society life comes crumbling down around you. You are left to deal with the inherited mess your father's love of the casino tables had landed him in, and the gangster he had settled his debts with. Mr Thomas Shelby. But when heads butt during your first encounter with the notorious gang leader over the deeds to Arrow House. You both stubbornly refuse to back down, begrudgingly accepting each other as an unwelcome housemate. With your future on the line, and the arranged union you want to be free from rapidly approaching. You come to the quick realisation that if you can't force the blue-eyed squatter from your house, then you would drive him out. One way or another.

Warnings: Language, angst, mentions of death by suicide

Word Count: 4535

Authors Note: £200-£300 sterling pound in 1924, was worth between £10000-£15000 in todays value.

"So it's agreed then, Miss?" the smartly dressed man with hungry eyes questioned you, swiping his tongue over his bottom lip as he greedily beamed down at the delicate diamond necklace sitting on the plush red velvet cushion below it. "£200 for the Elysée necklace, and it's matching earrings?"

"£250 for the necklace alone, Mr Burton" you quickly corrected his value of the precious jewel sat in front of you. The last of your mother's cherished collection gifted to her on her wedding day.

" £300 for the lot" his eyes narrowed in on the lustrous stones adorned with a cluster of diamonds weighing down your ears. He would have the full collection, or nothing at all.

" Scandalous! " your Granny's voice quivered as she sat in the corner of your father's office. Exceedingly displeased with the intentionally low estimation of your family's jewels as her satin gloved fingers clutched tightly around her walking stick.

" It is but business, Mam" the Jeweler replied with an avid, gold-toothed smile. His arms flamboyantly hovering in the air as he bowed to the former Duchess of Arrow House with anything but the respect she was once shown.

" Hm!" your dear Grans voice hiccuped as she turned her head in displeasure to the gentleman who was a far cry from the considerate businessman he claimed to be. But rather, that of a man who had fallen upon a family's suffering through yet another death brought on by the woes of a troubled mind.

" £300 it is then" you announced with your head held high, removing the last remaining item of value you possessed from the soft lobes of your ears to join its sister necklace.

With reluctant hands, you gracefully placed each earring onto the cushioned fabric. The tips of your fingers brushing over the passing memories of you sat as a small child on the edge of your mother's bed. Mesmerised by her beauty as you watched her adorn her gown with each jewel that would accompany her on a soiree of dancing and champagne. They will be yours one day, my darling girl. Her voice whispered to you like a passing summer breeze as you closed your eyes. The grief you still felt for her loss now weighed down with that of your father's recent death.

" Wonderful!" the Jeweler's voice snatched you away from your cherished memories. Snatching the precious stone from under your fingers and replacing them with a stack of King George banknotes." Pity old George couldn't help you out, hm?"

" Pity? Pity?!" your Granny's voice rose to a squeaky pitched tone of offense as her stern expression homed in on the jeweler that was about to get a good old-fashioned telling off. " Well I never. If you were any the wiser, Mr Burton. I would take your insolent, blithering..."

"Yes, thank you, Granny. Good day to you, Mr Burton" you interrupted your Grans inevitable barrage of flustered insults as you ushered the jeweler from the study. Saving him from not only her sharp words but your family's faltering reputation from another scandal you wished to avoid.

" Oh, how the mighty have fallen" the Jeweler's teasing words echoed back to your Gran still perched on the small cushioned chair, outraged by the sheer cheek of the man, when your brother loudly made his unwelcome appearance through the foyer.

" Mighty, and of good stock!" your brother cheered back, having heard only a portion of what was more of an insult than any compliment his far away thoughts had understood. " Oh, I say..." your brother's eyes widened at the large stash of banknotes stacked in a pile on the polished desk as he entered the room.

" Johnathan. What are you doing here?" you impatiently asked, snatching them away and swiftly making your way across the room to Frances waiting with your brother's shotgun he had lumbered her with by the door after a day of hunting stags on the property. " For the wages, and upkeep" you discretely whispered, handing the money to your most trusted employee with only one banknote remaining for your father's impending funeral.

" Oh sissy, how dire" your brother said upon seeing the lonely note being folded in your hand and safely into the pocket of your dress as he sat down, puffing on what was left of his cigar while eyeing up anything he could sell, having already squandered his estate on the inherited trait of your father that had gotten you into this mess. Gambling.

A mess which was now, your burden. With only a penny left to his name, your father played his last and final hand in the backstreets of London's grottyest alleyway. Foolishly putting all his remaining hopes on the copper coin to win back his wasted fortune. But when the dice turned against his favour, sealing his losing fate. Your father slumped to the muddy floor, removing his gun and shooting himself point-blank in the side of the head. Left to die alone in the dark, penniless. Your father had succumbed to the very thing he had wasted his life on.

" Again Johnathan, what are you doing here? Or rather, what do you want?" you sighed with crossed arms, kicking his muddy boots from the ottoman in front of him.

" Why is everyone so glum, and in black?" your brother huffed, looking around the solemn room that was once filled with gold ornaments and neatly categorised books you would spend your time reading quietly on the feathered cushioned settee as your father mulled over the odds for his next bet at the races.

" Our father still lies cold on the morgue table, Johnathan" you scolded your older brother. Ten years older, to be precise.

Wise beyond your years, an old soul. That's what those dearest to you would say. In reality, you were nothing of the sort. But rather forced into behaving for both you and your idiotic brother, who was intent on staining the family's name with his seedy lifestyle.

" We're in mourning Johnny, my dear" your Granny looked upon your brother with an unwavering sigh of both love and tolerance that only a grandmother would show for her half-witted grandson to whom she was forever bound too. " And preparation. For a dark day has come to Arrow House" she dramatically finished as she turned her head away in disbelief about the morning's unfolding events.

" Preparation for what, exactly ?" your brother asked obliviously, or rather ignorantly to everything that had unfolded in the weeks prior to your father's death.

"Preparation for him. Mr Thomas Shelby." Your grandmother's voice rose as she turned to her eldest grandchild. " The gangster!" her voice pitched to an even higher note as she clutched her chest in horror at the situation her son, your father, had landed you in with the Birmingham gang leader your Granny could only envision to be like that of the viscous darkly creatures she had read in her nightly novels.

" A gangster, you say? How thrilling. This place could do with a little fun" your brother replied, flicking a dusty lamps weathered shade next to him. His need to live life further on the edge than what he was already precariously sat on, horrifying your Grandmother for a second time. "Does this gangster happen to drive a Bentley?"

" Oh god, he's early. Why is he so early?" You panicked at the approaching sound of a car on the gritted drive as your flustered fingers fidgeted with your pearl necklace.

" A gangster with good time keeping, sister" your brother smirked as he watched you smooth down the front of your dress, your lips silently mumbling your practiced speech.

" Johnathan, would you please shut up and stop calling him that. Would you like to get us all shot, and join Daddy in the morgue?" you huffed as the irritated former child in you made an appearance to your only sibling, who was enjoying, as he always did, purposely annoying you to the point of a foot-stomping childish outburst.

" And he brings two accompanying gangsters with him. What a burly looking lot" your brother's eyes narrowed in on the three men exiting the car behind the tempered glass.

" Johnathan! Shu..."

"Children please. I'm far too close to my own deathbed to withstand your bickering. Must I endure it until that very day?" your Grandmother sighed as she slowly approached you, her hand closing reassuringly around your jittery fingers. " Head up dear, don't let him see you falter" your Granny encouraged you, patting your hand and any lingering doubts away. "Stand firm. You'll leave this manor in grace and class" she stated, head held high as her cane came down to the floor with a thud in a show of both strength and dignity as she took your brothers' steadying arm, and he led her into the foyer.

You'll leave this manor in grace and class, your, Grandmother's guiding words sat with the uncomfortable lump of deception now forming in your throat as you followed behind her. For the days events were about to take a very different turn than planned. A plan in motion that neither your Grandmother nor this wretched gangster Mr Shelby could have ever envisioned. One that was imperative for you to escape the dreaded wedding arranged since your birth to the brute of a man you were promised to in one month's time. Cal Astor.

"Here she is, boys" Tommy said, stepping out of the car, lighting a cigarette as he looked at his newly acquired stately home. " Let's hear it then. What do you think?"

" Got nothing on Small Heath" Arthur sniffed as he squinted to the very top of the sturdy bricked mansion, cautiously weighing up its threatening statue. "Nah, give me Watery Lane"

"The mud and shit too?"John asked, twisting his toothpick between his teeth as his face scrunched up at the elaborate fountain of a large busted woman spouting water from her nipples. Your brother's only, and soon to be discarded, ghastly contribution to Arrow House. "Bloody toffs"

"Especially the shit" Arthur replied, checking the imposing house's stability with a firm slap to the bricked wall. "Go on then Tom, tell us aye. What poor bastard did you fool into giving this up?" he said before tipping his hat to one of the many garden staff now scurrying off to safety in fear of his kneecaps being blown off. The result of another mighty tale from your Grandmother's overactive imagination, that had undoubtedly stirred the staff of Arrow House into a dizzy.

"A rich old bastard who had reached the bottom of his pockets" Tommy replied, blowing a puff of smoke from the corner of his mouth.

"Well, where is the poor fucker then? No grand welcome?" Arthur asked, offended the red carpet and all its thrills hadn't been laid out for their arrival for such a grand home.

"Dead" Tommy flatly stated as he approached the towering wooden door, ignoring any of his brothers assumptions that he was the delivering hand of that untimely death. "Right come on lads. Best behaviour, eh?

"Jesus, bloody, Christ" John huffed, flicking his toothpick into the neatly cut grass, wary of what his brother had gotten them into this time.

Stood in the foyer with your only two remaining family members, and the staff under your employment orderly lined up beside you. You waited. Listening to the footsteps of the man you had yet to meet, slowly approaching.

" Mr Shelby, I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding..." you quietly rehearsed under your breath when a loud, heavy fisted knock rattled the foyer door. Startling both you and your Grandmother.

" Must he be so barbaric? This house does possess a doorbell! your Grandmother fussed as you nodded to Frances to open the door and have you face the inevitable you could no longer delay.

As the door slowly opened, a low, gravely voice greeted your housekeeper. Accompanying it, three smartly dressed men, each one sporting a peak cap. As your eyes darted from the youngest of the men in front of you to the tallest with a large moustache neatly trimmed above his top lip, they finally came to land on the man stood in the middle. His steel blue stare instantly locking with yours. It was him, Thomas Shelby.

A painfully awkward silence suddenly settled in the air when all thought drifted mutually from your minds. Embarrassingly halting either one of you from saying or doing anything. Leaving everyone present in an uncomfortable shared state of confusion of darting stares as they stood silently in the foyer.

Uncomfortable for all but two, that was. For something far more intriguing had unexpectedly sparked in the silence between the daughter of high society and the Small Heath boy from the hardened streets of Birmingham. A spark neither one of you expected to be ignited that day as your shared gaze remained fixed on the other and time suddenly seemed to dissipate, with everything and everyone around you blurring into nothingness.

That was until the echo of your Grannie's cane booming on the marble floor brought you and Tommy back to the present world.

" Mr Shelby..." you began, clearing your throat as you watched him remove his peaked cap, when your intended words escaped your thoughts once again to the man stood before you. A man not hardened faced, loud and savage like your Grandmother would have you believe. But a man with striking features and a magnetic, demanding stance. Quietly stood observing you. Patiently waiting for formal introductions like any gentleman from your world would do.

"Mr Shelby, welcome to Arrow House" you unexpectedly greeted him with a politeness you had been adamant on guarding as you tried to compose yourself after your state of, confusion.

Did you come with the house too?, Tommy thought to himself, as a curious hint of a smile etched on the corner of his lips for the woman that had suddenly captivated him. Oblivious to who you was, and the pounding headache you would soon create for him.

"I'm afraid...I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding, Mr Shelby" you said, having finally recomposed yourself as you held your head high. Unwilling to, as Granny said, falter.

"Misunderstanding?" Tommy's brow furrowed as he cautiously stepped closer, sharply aware of your Grandmother's sudden snap of her head in your direction.

" I'm here to inform you, that the arrangement you had with my father is void" you cleared your throat, watching your unwelcome guests eyes pierce through the guard you had quickly shielded yourself with as he learnt of your connection to the former owner of the house he was stood in.

" Void..." Tommy scoffed, cocking a brow. His patience with you dancing around the subject and what you really intended on saying becoming tiresome.

" Yes. Void" you firmly stated, defiantly crossing your arms in reaction to his less than pleasant tone of voice aimed solely at you. Both of your unexpected allure with the other suddenly evaporating, and swiftly being replaced with a mutual irritation for one another as the bricked walls of control over the matter began to both mutually stack themselves high. "Arrow House was not my father's to give, Mr Shelby"

" That right, eh?" Tommy chuckled, as he looked back to his brothers shared amusement for your firm, but endearing stance." Then who's is it, sweetheart?"

" Mine" you coldly gave the delivering blow, severing his entertainment before turning on your heel and making your way up the long winding stairs as the staff and your flustered Grandmother accompanied by your brother hastily scattered from the foyer. Leaving Tommy's brothers in a fit of laughter while he glared at you from below on the marble floor as the overseeing eye of the iron-clad documents of Arrow House emerged from an adjoining room.

"Mr Shelby. A word, perhaps?"

" In her name?" Tommy confirmed, clenching his jaw fiercely together as he hunched over what was, for all intents and purposes, his desk.

" Correct, Mr Shelby" your newly acquired lawyer mumbled, nervously shifting his eyes to the two brothers stood uncomfortably close behind him.

" I saw the deeds myself. Watched the lying bastard put them in my name" Tommy lifted his head, pointing his finger accusingly at the lawyer he was now convinced was trying to pull one over on him, and delay his move.

" I don't doubt you, Mr Shelby" he stepped closer, and away from the two pitbulls breathing unnervingly down his neck. " You see, before the recently departed Duke died. The late mother of Miss Y/N Y/L/N made sure the deeds to Arrow House, and its land, were put in her name"

Your beloved mother. Born into a life of poverty not so different to that of Tommy's. She too, had worked her way up the precarious ladder of wealth, further cementing her future after accepting your father's proposal of marriage. But a life of financial worries had not escaped her when she began to learn of her husband's burning pockets, and his love of the casino tables.

In a desperate last attempt on her deathbed, and to guarantee you financial security, sparing you from a life of chains beautified with gold and satin ball gowns she never envisioned for you. Your mother, the fellow owner of your childhood home, had the deeds of Arrow House signed over into your safeguard, and away from the high rolling hands of your father and brother.

" For fucks sake..." Tommy mumbled with a hefty sigh, slouching down into his chair having realised the predicament he now found himself in.

" Really landed yourself in it this time, aye Tom?" Arthur couldn't help but give his younger brother an overdue sibling ribbing.

" Fuck off, Arthur" Tommy huffed in response, earning a snigger of laughter from both his brothers, who were more than happy to see him take a spectacular fall in his climb for the finer things in life.

" There is...something though, Mr Shelby. Something I could look into. For the right price, that is" the lawyer mused, his greedy fingers perching on the edge of the desk, now summed up on who the man was in front of him, and the depth of his pockets. No matter how tainted they may be. " There is a missing signature on the papers the late Duchess had filed before her death. The Dukes, missing signature. It will take some time to look into the documents' validity, but..."

" Get it done" Tommy interrupted the lawyer, ushering with his hand for him to leave before falling back into his chair with a chesty breath. Arrow House was his, he would make it so. One way or another.

After stewing over the predicament he found himself in for the better part of an hour. Tommy sat silent, weighing out the pros and cons of his next unexpected move as his stare homed in on the bronze statue of a stallion on his deck.

" What the bloody hell is he doing?" John impatiently mumbled to his eldest brother, who he himself was lost on what exactly it was Tommy was waiting for. " Tom, what..." John began to say when the office door flew open, and you came charging through. Your own patience with the head of the Birmingham gang's presence in your home wearing precariously thin.

" Mr Shelby, you've spoken with my lawyer. You know the terms of the deeds. Now I would ask you, kindly, to leave" you huffed crossed armed as you walked through the office collecting any remaining items of value in your arms. Cautiously aware of keeping them away from the three men's reputable light fingers.

" Y/N..." Tommy began as you sauntered past him, throwing the curtains open he had closed to dull the buzzing pain rattling in his skull you had welcomed him with.

" Miss Y/L/N" you were quick to correct him as Tommy ran his fingers down his face. His emerging eyes unable to divert from your swaying hips and flowing dress brushing past his leg, capturing his attention for a second time.

Watching you walk away was now, far more pleasant than having your angry frown storm towards him, Tommy thought to himself, clearing his throat as he looked at the pitiful lack of whisky in the decanter beside him. If you didn't have such a stubborn mouth, he'd be inclined to let your pretty face hang around, his petty ego nagged him. Irritated by the fact, he had lost himself in your beauty and allure in a brief moment of confusion earlier that day.

" Mr Shelby. Please" you gestured to the door as you stood defiantly in front of your father's mahogany desk, watching him brush his thumb over the muzzle of the ornament he had taken a liking for. " Mr Shelby..."

" I'm not going anywhere, love" Tommy finally spoke, looking up at your raging face as he picked up the weighty statue in his hand. " There seems to be a slight error on the deeds, Miss Y/L/N. A missing signature. Your father's signature" Tommy raised a brow as he pointed the ornament in your direction, unable to hide the triumphant smirk behind the smugness sitting on his face as he watched the realisation of your rapidly crumbling plan start to fall apart on your flustered face. "So until the deeds are reviewed..." he paused, turning the bronze horse to look at him. "Looks like you'll have to put up with me"

For the second time that day, you were left speechless by the stranger in front of you. This time, however, with a good dose of irritation spurring it on.

"Like hell I will!" You blurted, without a second thought for just how unladylike your reaction and the following response would look, when you reached over the table grabbing hold of the horse in Tommy's hand, and a childish tug of war ensued between the both of you.

" Fine" you huffed, blowing a lock of hair from In front of your eyes as you let go.

" Good" Tommy replied adjusting his tie as he sheepishly looked over to his smirking brothers, having witnessed the entire, amusing display.

"Keep it. A small souvenir" you pouted, pointing to the ornament gripped in his hand as you turned to leave, pulling a small cushion from under the bum of the youngest gangster as he sent a wink and cheeky dimpled grin your way.

" Enjoy your brief stay, Mr Shelby. And have no doubt. My lawyer will be urgently looking into your claims" you warned, clutching the handle of the door as you watched him rise from behind your father's desk and approach you.

"He already is, love. Paid him a nice sum of money to help speed things up" Tommy said standing uncomfortably close as he looked at you from head to toe, his eyes lingering on your plush lips.

A power unmatched. Money to buy his way through life. Something you knew would be dangerously futile in fighting with your lack of current funds.

" So be it, Mr Shelby" you succumbed to the situation with as much boldness as you could muster as you turned to leave. If you couldn't force him out, you would drive him out. One way or another.

Five days later...

" Good morning, Frances" you cheerfully greeted your housekeeper as you descended down the stairs in your nightie with a hop in your step, a bounce of your hair.

" Good morning, Miss" Frances swallowed heavily as her eyes darted to the grand clock ticking loudly in the corner of the entrance. Five days and counting. Five, obscenely early mornings, you had woken up earlier than the minutest chirp from any bird that had ever lived on the grounds of Arrow House.

" A little Beethoven this morning, perhaps?" you asked, perching yourself on the stool in front of the grand piano you had the staff conveniently move to the foyer. A spot that just so happened to be within close proximity to a certain someone's bedroom. " Any suggestions?"

"Fur Elise is a lovely piece, Miss. And you play it so well" Frances encouraged the mellow tune as her eyes darted to the top of the stairs, wary of the sleeping occupant only a stone throw away.

" It is. But I feel something a little more...rambunctious is needed to start the day. "Don't you think?" you smiled, turning the page to Symphony no5 as an amused smirk played on the corner of your lips whilst your hands hovered teasingly over the ivory keys, and you began to play. Loudly.

As the sound of your enthusiastic musical skills reverberated through the walls of Arrow House, a grunting Tommy stirred in his bed at the unwelcome shrill of the piano below him.

"Fuck sake..." Tommy mumbled incoherently, awakening from a deep sleep as he rolled from his stomach to his back. His eyes slowly opening, his ears tuning in. "Shut the...!" He grumbled, shouting the rest of his intended words as he grabbed the pillow beside him in an attempt to muffle the early wake-up call from his ears as he regained full consciousness. "FUCKKKK!" He roared from the pits of his lungs, when your continued playing only increased his irritation to a heightened, heavenly high.

Looking up at the landing stairs, a satisfied smirk grew on your face hearing the beautiful barrage of curses from the unwelcome squatter in your home for the fifth day in a row as your fingers glided over the cool ivory.

Throwing the covers from him, Tommy grabbed his gun from the cabinet side table as he scrambled for his trousers, pulling them up as he stomped to the door.

" Seems Mr Shelby's awake, Frances" you spoke above the piano, as your loyal housekeeper nervously smiled to you, nodding her head. Readying herself for the fury of a thoroughly pissed off Tommy heading your way as his booming strides beckoned closer.

Encouraged by the sound of Tommy's door slamming shut, you continued your endeavour. Unbeknownst, that Tommy's hunched shoulders were looming over the banister. Gun in hand as he positioned his arm on the metal railing, aiming the end of the barrel directly at the woman whose sole purpose in life was to wake him up every morning with an insufferable racket.

"Don't move, darling" Tommy teasingly whispered as his eyes narrowed in, his breath steadying whilst he watched your fingers dance along the keys as he adjusted his shot.

As the sight of your lonely digit lingered over the next key, Tommy squeezed the trigger, shooting off the finishing note before you had the chance to give your triumphant end.

Leaping from the smoky crater now forever embedded into your grand piano, your eyes shot up to see your unwelcome roommate looking down at you with a cocky smirk as he shoved his gun against the naked skin between the waistband of his trousers.

" Morning, love"

NEXT PART Coming soon!

Tag list: @weaponizedvirtue @un-interneted @mama-ivy @kmc1989 @leighla3

@emotionalcadaver @mamawiggers1980 @sweetcheesecakesblog @cljordan-imperium @peakyswritings

[piastrinorris]

copying ur 2 titles: all your pictures on the floor / this dizzy dreamer

all your pictures on the floor: oh god. i never thought i'd choose to write cheerscoops angst. but that's what that's become

this dizzy dreamer: hmmm. i've been thinking about this one for a while now. and we're getting a chrissy cunningham double feature here bc i wanna talk photocheer!!

send me a fake fic title and i'll tell you what i'd write based on it!

all your pictures on the floor: chrissy's mum and jason's mum had like practically arranged for them to be childhood sweethearts turned eventual spouses and during chrissy's Teenage Rebel phase (at 18) she's like "and why can't i choose who i want to date, huh?! what's to stop me from dating whoever i want anyway behind all of your backs?! isn't that worse?" so laura is like "if you won't agree to a relationship with jason, you're not living under my roof"

so she ends up dating and running away to live with steve. charming, goofy, totally reformed former playboy steve. everything's a dream, at first. she even opts to not go to college so she can just start her domestic life with steve as soon as it starts. but they're both still way too young to be starting a lifestyle like that, and neither of them have had good role models. so even though they do have really good times together, the in between bits are full of little insecurities. any time one of them is home late from work, the other assumes that Something must be happening behind their backs, but they're both so inexperienced in adult relationships that neither of them talk about it. chrissy's fed up of working and being a homemaker but steve never had to lift a finger so he doesn't know how to cook or clean and chrissy doesn't want to have to teach him.

stuff like that builds up until eventually steve cracks and is like "look, you chose to live here, so if you're not happy, you can get out." and maybe this is just before chrissy goes off to work for the day, and when she gets back all her stuff is in boxes outside the harrington house. her family won't accept her back. jason's got a fiancée who he's obsessed with. so she gets a motel room for the night, looks in one of the boxes and sees that steve's given her all of their photo albums, too. so chrissy puts all the photos out across the room, of all the good times that they had, reminiscing of them, wondering where it went wrong, wondering if the "good" times even were that good. and she realises she's faced with the option of either trying to fend for herself with no support network, or going back to steve with her tail between her legs and repeating the cycle of being just like her mother, who she starts to realise was only setting her up w jason bc jason was the safe option she never went for as a kid. and she was hoping not to let history repeat itself. but it did

this dizzy dreamer: au in which chrissy is a popstar, and jonathan works for a music magazine. he takes photos for a piece on chrissy, and they are. stunning. they capture her vibe perfectly, even she loves how she looks in them, and that feature really helps her career kick off. she's about to do her first major all-american tour and she seeks jonathan out to be the photographer for the whole thing. (idk if this is a thing for everyone, but i've been seeing a lot of harry styles' tour on my fyp and he apparently has a photographer called lloyd so that's what i'm basing this off of)

anyway as they're touring, chrissy realises how introverted jonathan is and desperately tries to get him to open up around everyone so that he feels part of the ~tour family~. and ofc he does Not want to do that. but some nights when chrissy can't sleep, jonathan is up, too. except he's sitting on the roof of the tour bus, getting high. he offers to roll chrissy a joint, but she tells him that if she smokes a whole one all by herself it makes her dizzy and throws her off. but she'll stay up with him and talk to him.

he tells her he's up bc he worries about his brother back home. she tells him she has a little brother too. he tells her he knows, they've grown up together and she's never even realised it. that's why he's completely okay with this just being a professional relationship. but chrissy feels bad that she doesn't remember jonathan. but she still finds ways to connect with him through anecdotes like "remember when mike lewenski started that huge food fight in middle school?"

as the tour goes on, she starts getting stressed. people keep writing about her, and being a female in the public eye, a lot of tabloids are judging her, setting expectations for her she doesn't know how to keep. and so to help her calm down between shows, jonathan offers to share a joint with her. she opens up to jonathan on a deeper level about how she's worried that she can't hack it, and that she's gonna have to give up on her dreams. jonathan tells her that it's admirable that she even has one, let alone one that she went for. it makes chrissy sad to hear that jonathan's never had a dream, but he tells her he doesn't mind, he only never thought to have any bc he spent so long taking care of his mum and brother.

chrissy swears that she'll help him come up with a dream to aim for. but, as tour goes on, his work gains notoriety, and he starts genuinely enjoying taking photos of the girl he's falling in love with, he realises he's already living it :)

[desafia]

okay i will start the conversation. every main female character with longevity on stranger things has some aspect to them that makes them Not Like Other Girls. eleven is obvious but doesn't inherently have an issue if the rest of the girls weren't framed in such ways. look at nancy, barb an outcast disapproves of her getting dressed up for her boyfriend. her having sex with steve is framed as a negative which indirectly "causes" barb's death. her sexuality as a normal teenage girl is punished and shamed. and sure, her being literally slutshamed on screen is condemned by the characters but narratively? it's still kinda supported. she is only seen as on the right path when she is heavily distanced from girlhood. her feminine youth is poked fun at in s4 in a way that frames all her girly things and dresses as cringey and foolish now. going so far as to put robin in an outfit that is very clearly ridiculous and doesn't even look like something nancy would wear.

also of note that nancy having consensual sex with her boyfriend is somehow framed worse than jonathan taking explicit photos of her without her consent. he is even rewarded for it in the end by getting a new camera and eventually getting nancy.

joyce is one i don't think people consider. but she is always dressed down, she doesn't get to be as well groomed. she is looked down on by the rest of the women who are then framed as frivolous and too wrapped up in being housewives to be competent enough to take proper care of their children. all the mothers are in this are unfair caricatures of being unable to discipline their kids or know what is going on. they just sit at home wringing their hands, clueless about their children's lives and just some big incompetent punchline. or you have mrs wheeler who is constantly treated like shit by her husband and children. then objectified and turned into some weird predatory thing towards billy for no reason.

max of course who i love and adore. but is another example of being framed as more worthy and cool because she's a tomboy. i love her exactly how she is. but it still has that air of she's only cool because she rejects girly things and only wants to do the "boy" things. they do the whole bit of el being jealous and shit. which some of this is rectified in s3 but it's still weird??

chrissy even irks me because you have this feminine cheerleader who serves no purpose except to kickstart eddie's narrative. which ends up being kind of pointless in the end because he just gets killed off in a way that doesn't even do anything for the overall plot. i think if i remember correctly some girl got killed to kick off billy's mind flayer arc in s3 too? there is this whole thing of like teenage girlhood being sacrificed each season.

ngl even eleven's bully kinda made me feel weird. the way they're contrasted, where they have el back in like dumpy clothes. she's dressed in an unflattering way and very clearly Not Girly. to then have her bully be a hyper feminine girly girl who is properly primped and preened and all in pink. like i know this stuff isn't even That Deep. it's mostly some cishet white nerdy men's internal biases showing. it's like alskjdf there are more pressing issues in the show. it just kinda makes me feel weird when i look at it all together? anyway there it is

robin is different bc she's a lesbian i give her a pass she gets to have the not like other girls arc. duffer bros get to keep this one

[jancys-blue-bayou]

I dislike Robin on principle of her being both annoying and pushing Stancy (why?? Bitch, you don’t even know Jonathan OR Nancy what’s your agenda??) but making her gay in s3 was the worst decision. Her and Steve could be happily shacked up by now, doing their own shit and leaving Nancy the hell alone. I think s3 Robin (s4 Robin has had a personality transplant apparently) and Steve would have made a really good couple. But Maya said jump and the Duffers said how high and now she’s the annoying rambling pointless sidekick pushing her bff back towards his ex and taking up valuable screen time from OGs and I haaaate it all.

But you can’t say that making Robin a lesbian was a poor choice from a narrative pov or you’ll get ripped to shreds.

Hmm I mean, Maya's decision to make Robin gay was the only slightly interesting thing about the character I think though. Like I actually didn't see that coming in s3. She really seemed like a total Mary Sue type girlfriend for Steve (she was still a Mary Sue just not Steve's gf then). It was so boring watching the "oh smart girl who doesn't like dumbass Steve will eventually warm up to him. That's still what happened but Robin being gay and it thus only being a platonic thing was at least unexpected. But still the main purpose of her character is to prop up Steve, she's just around to remark what a swell guy Steve is and further the meme-ification of Steve. And them changing the character around completely in s4 based off of Maya is really weird.

But at the same time I thought the characterization was worse in s3 when she was a perfect Mary Sue and also made no sense. The whole Robin can translate Russian to English because she... knows French is the single most ridiculous piece of writing detail I can remember, it's just bananas how completely severed from reality that is (yes it's a show about monster but the actual based in reality part of the show needs... to be based in reality), the closeted small town lesbian feeling comfortable coming out to the alpha male dumbass cishet jock was also kinda ?? and it ofc completely glossed over that Steve in s1 was blatantly homophobic. Yes Steve's chaaanged and all now but still, it's still the 80s and that's never been adressed, just bc Steve realized he was being an asshole to Nancy and Jonathan doesn't mean he also had some epiphany about his homophobia (which I doubt he'd ever even consider really, it was just the norm for a cishet guy like him in the 80s to be like that).

It also makes no sense when they all meet up in s3 and Nancy is like "who are you?" to Robin, they're supposed to be in the same grade in the same high school in the same small ass town, they'd definitely know each other (obv this isn't against Robin, just an aside I thought of).

So yeah, I mean my real problem is with how they've completely overstuffed the show with waaaaay too many characters, shoving important OG characters into the background, and Robin is one of those new characters that is part of this problem. With her specifically I have to above mentioned problems of the writing for her making no sense, her being a Mary Sue in s3, completely different character in s4. But yeah mostly that her main purpose is to prop up Steve, to walk around and talk about how great Steve is, to push Nancy towards Steve, and Steve looking good through their friendship. So even if she didn't end up being the love interest for Steve she was slated to be she still mostly exists to prop up Steve.

Finally just want to be clear, please note that none of my issues with Robin is about her sexuality ofc, just with how the Duffers write her and her role on the show. You gotta be able criticize the writing of LGBT characters also,

[poorlilpubby]

Okay get ready. Spoilers obvi.

So disappointed. Heres what pissed me off the most. When Gabby asked "is it a terrorist attack" okay wow the first thing to come to a kids mind is terrorism, and we all know its not domestic. Thanks western media for demonizing other cultures

This is just a societal problem ig. Well if im continuing on the track of not rlly the movies fault is how people treat victims/people with mental illness.

Almost every single new character was a shitty fucking person. Terrifier 2 the characters were kinda douchy, but they weren't complete assholes. For example the mom. She treated her kids pretty shittily. But you can still empathize with her. The parents here? So fucking bland. And treat sienna like a demon

This entire movie was like the 2nd movie but worse in basically every regard. Like oooo art is making his way to sienna 🙄 like sienna knows art is coming but come onnnn genuinely no tension. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT KEPT CUTTING BACK AND FORTH with hardly any connection!!! Felt like a shitty anthology movie.

Another similarity, the fucking kills. Idk if its supposed to be a reference to the first movie but like cmon another splitting the body in half? Ohhh scaryyy its with a guy this time.

Art pissing on Santas lap, we saw him like shit before like is this supposed to be just for humor? I saw it coming from a mile away with the christmas theme and santa.

I feel really bad for gabbys actor bc ik people will treat her like shit. The character gabby was so fucking annoying. YES I KNOW SHES A KID. A kid that has absolutely no sense of respect but understands terrorism and ughhhhh. Anyway, no hate to the actress but mmm character isnt the best.

HERE'S WHAT PISSES ME OFF THE MOST ABOUT HER CHARACTER. She has almost absolutely no fucking role in the movie. Her only, tiny tiny bit of need to be in the movie is towards the end. WHICH IS JUST THE SAME ACTIONS JOHNATHONHAD. EXCEPT JOHNATHON HAD DEPTH TO HIS CHARACTER AND ACTUALLY DID STUFF LAST MOVIE. Holy shit his character in the last movie was so good bc they mentioned slightly how young guys are indoctrinated into really fucked up conservative viewpoints!!! AND THEY FUCKING THREW AWAY HIS CHARACTER IN THIS FILM.

WHERE THE FUCK WAS JOHNATHON. FUCKING NOWHERE WHYYYYY. I was promised that his role would be bigger in this film. FUCKING LIES.

Instead he was replaced with gabby, and not even to further the plot, it was the exact same thing. They introduced the most bland characters to kill them off and leave us where? Not any further than the previous movie.

Like, the last movie introduced sienna with her friends and family. Great world building. But they introduced a neice out of fucking nowhere?? "She missed you so much" I HAD NO IDEA WHO THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT. I genuinely thought "did Johnathan transition or smth" bc that felt more reasonable than a random neice.

THE FUCKING TINY LITTLE ONES LINERS SUCKKED. Gabbys "you know im nosy" was literally just Johnathan's like "we're family" but so soulless. THEIR CONNECTION WAS SUPER FUCKING WEAKKK. Johnathan and siennas relationship felt so much better, stronger, more genuine, realistic whatever. It made so much more sense. Siblings that argue but still love each other regardless. AND IT WAS THROWN AWAY IN THIS MOVIE. For what? For sienna to be like "oh gabby ur so so precious" ugh

And now their relationship is so strained in this movie? I mean that can be expected but it was really just saddening. AND OH MY FUCKING GOD JOHNATHON GOT AN OFFSCREEN KILL? I KNEW THAT SKULL WASNT GABBYS BUT THE FACT THAT IT WAS JOHNATHONS WAS SO HEARTBREAKING. i kept thinking "please please Jonathan come through and kick art's ass" BUT NO. Gabby fucking hit him in the back once? What fucking everrrrr.

Im so tired of the "little girl doesnt get hurt trope" because why? This is a fucking sadistic demon we're talking about. Absolutely no one is spared. And just because someone is a little girl doesnt mean they're more deserving of life than someone else? Like, sorry its just, so many other people didnt deserve any of their treatment. But no one will care if they die bc they're not "innocent" little girls. This is a whole nother issue that i dont wanna get into rn.

Ik the beginning scene was a cold open but like...none of that related to the main story. Ik terrifier movies suck with plot but that was stupid. THEY PUT SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON THE LETTER WITH "ART WILL FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE SIENNA AND KILL EVERYONE IMPORTANT TO YOU" but art killed ummm the most random people?

The family in the beginning was killed for the trailer but no other reason. The mall kills i get, bc he was close to sienna and yknow he kills along the way.

Back to the bar scene, again no real reason however i will say i enjoyed it. The two girls on santas lap was a good reference to the first movie. The drunk girls doing something stupid. THATS A GOOD REFERENCE. omg and art was so cute when he saw santa and was like "santa!! 🥺"

Otherwise, bar scene kinda ehhhhh. I lowkey love when art uses a gun tho. Ik some people hated when he used a gun but i love it. He's like so pissed off he doesn't give a fuck about being super sadistic anymore.

Okay im talking about it now. Vicky. The very beginning i was like hmmm idk how i feel about this, maybe she'll grow on me. SPEAKING OF BEGINNING HIII CHRIS JERICHOOO 🥰🥰

But slowly her character kept getting worse and worse. Was she supposed to be that um...eccentric? Its not that eccentric is bad its just not clicking in this film?

Then. The worst plot point. The thing that made me actually roll my eyes in the theater. When art used her as a vessel and basically whatever she was saying was what art was saying. ART. IS. SUPPOSED. TO. BE. SILENT. Idc if the clown is still silent. NEVER EVER WAS HE MEANT TO TALK. FUCK. SO FUCKING ANNOYING. And its not like the words were impactful. They could've easily been expressed (at least the idea) without words!!!

And what happened to the little girl? Like literally what? Okay weird. She complimented arts character much more than vicky tho

FINALLY. HERE'S WHAT I LIKED.

The actors were wonderful. Even if I didnt like the characters, they sold it. The shitty blonde girl mia, her actress is amazing bc oh my god ik girls like that. She did great. RETURNING ACTORS SO AMAZING. DAVID HOWARD THORTON BEING AMAZING AS ALWAYS.

Lauren lavera as sienna? Oh that emotion was gooodddddd. The thrashing was so perfectly good, not like a fish or anything.

ELLIOT FULLAM AS JOHNATHON. HE'S SUCH A COOL GUY. Little punk people!!! Omg and that one reference "Johnathan doesnt like metal anymore" oh if only you knew the guy. Omg and like, elliot is such a chill guy. So when he started trashing the dorm? I was so impressed it felt really passionate.

Gore was uhhh average. Soundtrack was good. Umm it luckily didnt run on too long. That was my biggest gripe with the last movie, it was way too long.

Ugh this movie was supposed to be the revenge!! NONE OF THAT HAPPENED. BECAUSE ART CAME BACK TO LIFE AT THE END. This is just the trend, the third movie is always the worst.

So um ig I'll rate this move a 4/10...i probably have more to say but whatever

I think I might be the only one in this theater!! I can't wait to see my baby Art the Clown 🥰🥰 I hope it'll be good, I avoided every single spoiler this time