#feels like a November read tbh

[litmot-archived]

When working on the novella, nearly every time I write "Asirel said" the little fairy in my google docs grammar check thing decides to underscore it in blue and suggest "Asirel sad" instead.

I feel like that's all you need to know about the story.

I have just finished the first draft, only a few hundred words shy of a word count of 30,000.

Update:

Please ignore the hideous font. Comic Sans helps with writing, I have discovered.

[storm-cellar]

god i got sick a lot this year huh

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

The worsties.... How I love them <3

Illustration of a scene from this fic by @musashi

Let me explain real quick how I got to this fic because it's a little ridiculous and convoluted and I think that's kinda funny.

I'm not a big fanfic guy, generally. I am extraordinarily picky, I didn't get into it as a teen because I had already been blindsided by horny fanart for children's media and did NOT want a repeat of THAT experience (I was devastated to learn that safe search did practically nothing), and tbh all the fanfic websites scared me because I don't like learning new UIs or signing up for things. I just sort of missed the prime window for getting into fanfic as a hobby. Unless something is specifically recommended to me there is a high chance it'll just never cross my path.

Cut to sometime in early November, 2022. I had just recently gotten into Ace Attorney so that I could talk about it with a friend. As I often do, I accidentally became obsessed with it and shot way ahead of where my friend was, ironically making it difficult to discuss it with him. And now I'm drawing a lot of Franziska, and thinking "damn I wish she had a game". Not much longer after I posted some sketches about the concept, I got a notification from @pictureswithboxes. Turns out, she had seen my silly little doodles AND WRITTEN AN ENTIRE COURT CASE BASED ON THE IDEA!!

That story is called Turnabout Substitution, and it's phenomenal. I also have some doodles from that one, but I want to polish them before I share. Anyways, the point is I died on the spot and now, three years later, I've reread the finished story at least 5 times. About a week ago I noticed that there was a new story available, Metal Masquerade. After reading the available chapters I realized that this story has a co-author. Well, I've enjoyed these ones so much, I wonder if this person has any other- OH WOW THAT'S A LOT. Well who do they tend to focus on- FRANZISKA???!? MY BELOVED FRANZISKA VON KARMA!?!?

And that's how we got here :D

Both of these writers have such an exquisite handle on these characters and what makes them interesting, I was genuinely just as entertained by Franziska unraveling a murder case as I was by Phoenix picking up pastries from a café. They're all so full of life, every single scene I've read has been a treat. They're funny, they're dramatic, they're well-paced, introspective, and curious about this fictional world and the people in it. I cannot recommend these authors enough, and I feel genuinely lucky to have found their work

[thighguys]

Phan Fic Recs!!

here's a bunch of my absolute favorites for anyone who needs a distraction from the election <3 i will make a second post with shorter ones as well, this post will just be fics that are over 10k

Inheriting Love by Fictropes (22k)- Dan is a lawyer who executes wills in a small town in the English countryside, and Phil's aunt leaves him a house. One of the cutest fics I've read recently tbh, lots of banter and cows<3

Silver Arrows to the Heart by @evermorepeyton (137k, WIP)- How could i POSSIBLY make a rec list without including this masterpiece??? Dan and Phil are Formula 1 drivers, chaos ensues<3 sooooo much fun (and there are some really beautiful cool women in there too, just as a treat)

dancing on the blades (you set my heart on fire) by kishere (123k)- Dan is an amateur figure skater who scores a spot at the famous Lester training gym, where he meets the legendary Phil Lester and of course they fall in love... this one has sooo many cute fetus moments and wonderful cameos from Kath<3 absolutely love it

Like a Bowl of Oranges by cloej88 (@bitchslapblastoids) (47k)- Phil is a filmmaker looking to amplify queer stories in the media, Dan is a ghostwriter who's been writing a memoir on the side, you can guess what happens next. very VERY fun fic, lots of drama and lovely reflection, as well as the softest scenes between them. love this one (and the author :3)

The Odd Uneven Time by @yikesola (20k)- A 2009 fic from Phil's perspective, falling in love with a boy over the Internet. Absolutely WONDERFUL vibes, so so so cute (and it probably happened in real life ahaha)

Live Incidentally by yikesola (37k)- Phil makes novelty t-shirts and Dan buys them :) really funny, also some great Lester family moments

The Pianist Everyone Is Talking About... Is My Husband by @natigail (25k)- Dan is a famous pianist, Phil plays his songs on the radio, but nobody knows that they're actually married. Lots of chaos ensues, crazy fangirls can feel super represented, and Dan laughs at Phil about it all<3 this fic is so funny lol, highly HIGHLY recommend

Kick Me While I'm Down by jerserker (14k)- Dan and Phil join an adult kickball league! Phil just wants to make friends, and Dan... kicks everyone's asses <3 Really funny competitive Dan, fun times honestly :)

missing the obvious by Fictropes (14k)- Dan plays videogames in an anonymous Discord server at night, and during the day he goes to his boring office job and hooks up with his coworker Phil in bathroom stalls... I wonder how these two things could possibly be connected...

Our House by sierradeux (50k)- Dan is a real estate agent, Phil is a Youtube house flipper, they team up to cohost an HGTV renovation special and fall in love. With the house, obviously. But also with each other <3 this is one of my favorites guys I think it should be required reading for everyone on phannie tumblr

maybe this christmas by blackbirddan (13k)- it's November, im allowed to rec christmas fics now, right??? anyway, this one is HUGE for fans of the Lester and Howell families, just so so so soft and sweet and awesome<3

Strictly Come Dancing but make it GAY by natigail (176k)- i mean this one has a pretty self explanatory title... read for super hot dancer Phil, awkward celebrity Dan, and so so so many beautiful outfit and dance descriptions :3 seriously, I wish I could watch this season irl :( this is for sure in my top 3 fics of all time to be so honest

they grew up so nicely, didn't they? by natigail (15k)- Cornelia pov on meeting the boy Phil brought home, and then throughout the years. SO CUTE!!!!! really big for fans of outsider pov (me)

okie dokie<3 i will be making an under 10k rec list as well, so be on the lookout for that one!

[foxgirlmoth]

I feel really bad asking for help but I've been unable to work for a few weeks now. I've been doing a lot of physical work and my body feels like its just broken down for good at this point, and I'm terrified tbh. I've been putting my girlfriend who I live with under financial stress due to my inability to pay for bills besides my own even while I was working, but now I'm sinking more into the negatives and I desperately need help. I can't keep putting this strain on her income, and I need to be able to live while I'm getting tests done by doctors to figure out why I'm in constant pain and can barely move these days. I recently went to the ER for the pain and how it affected me mentally very recently, and I feel very lost and scares these days.

Long story short, disabled trans woman looking for any financial help.

Here's a link to my Ko-fi, I'm not currently doing commissions as I haven't been able to work on past ones for a long while (I will get those to you eventually, as best as I can, I promise I haven't forgotten) Ko-fi is the easiest but feel free to reach out if it isn't an option. Sorry and thank you for your time.

I'll put more info under a read more, if you want more of an explanation about my health and why I'm scared and struggling.

I've had chronic pain, mostly situated in my chest (which is terrifying, I'm sure you can guess why) since I was 12, well over half my life ago at this point. The pain mostly showed up while stressed or working out a lot, stuff like that. Over the years it got slightly worse, but starting about 2 years ago or so, the pain started getting exponentially worse and worse. November of 2023 I went to an urgent care due to pain while I had a slight cold, and I ended up seeing my primary doctor about the pain. It was misdiagnosed (by a different doctor) when I was younger as Chostochondritis, but that from what I remember has no cases of being chronic. I went through a few different meds to try and help with the pain, and my current dr said I most likely had fibromyalgia, gave me some meds that often help with the pain from it, and he was right.

Day 1 of taking the meds made me feel the best I had in years, but sadly, due to working a very physical job for about the past 6 months, my body feels more worn down than ever. I worked this same job only a few years ago working over 40 hours a week, but I could barely keep up working only around 14. On top of all this, I might also have rheumatoid arthritis or something else going on as well, which is compounding the pain. Ngl its been extremely depressing and stressful watching myself in real time being unable to work and do things I could do only a couple of years ago. I used to be able to work and go to college at the same time, but most days I can't shower without needing to take at least an hour of rest afterwards. I'm scared, I'm angry at my own inabilities, especially for things I've been able to do before, and I'm no longer living alone and I watch as all of the financial struggles now affect my beloved girlfriend as well.

I've tried getting on disability and got denied, and need to resubmit when I'm allowed to. I'm at a loss and I'm just constantly terrified, and I don't know what to do. Sorry.

[arabella0001]

hellooo, i’m new to writing(pls dont be mean i cant take it)

🫧-my favs

MASTERLIST (smut + smau👻)

Jujutsu Kaisen

smau1 smau2

1. The strongest tease (Gojo Satoru x Reader)🫧

2. Forbidden from the start (Toji Fushiguro x Reader)

3. Missing you (Getou Suguru x Reader)

4. Yours to break (Choso Kamo x Reader)

Naruto

smau 0 smau 1, smau 2, smau 3, smau 4, smau 5

1. Pushing his buttons (Sasuke x Reader ) - Part 1, 2, 3🫧

2. More than just a genius (Shikamaru x Reader)

3. Passion behind his mask (Kakashi x Reader)

4.Market by fate (Kakashi x Reader)🫧

5. Between two mask, beneath your skin (Kakashi x Reader x Obito) 🫧🫧

Attack on titan

smau 1 smau 2

1. Benearh the uniform (Levi Ackerman x Reader)🫧.

2. Comfort (Eren Yeager x Reader)

Bleach

smau 1

1. Under their spell/ Mastered by deception ( Urahara Kisuke x Reader x Aizen)

2. Unspoken Chains (Aizen Sosuke x Reader)

Hunter x Hunter

smau 1

1. Unspoken tension / Quiet Obsession (Illumi Zoldyck x Reader)

IMPORTANT

besides the kind messages I received in the last month on tumblr, I also got a few hate comments about my stories, like “AI generated,” and even insults where i’m not familiar with.

tbh, I’ve been reading smut and all kinds of books since I was 12 (thanks dad), so seeing those two messages stung a little. i only started writing in november and o usually spend at least 5 hours on a story (+10k words) just to write, edit, and review. right now i have two stories I’ve been working on for a week, so getting messages like that feels surprising and shows a lack of empathy for writers.

i should mention I’m not a native english speaker, but reading in ehlidh helped me. but to be clear, i also use online tools to check grammar and how smooth it sounds – which I don’t see anything wrong with. keep in mind the plot and dialogue are entirely mine. so, I’ll be blocking comments like that. thanks!

much love💜

[mweothe11e]

PAC Reading: What are your hidden gifts?

(this is strictly for entertainment purposes only)

In commemoration of my birth month, I'm curious about what other skills or talents I have yet to discover and master. So I made this PAC as a little pick-me-up to somehow beat the seasonal blues~

Note: I pulled these cards in November but only got to finish the readings this April 2025. Lol, this is wild.

Pile 1: Shell

Cards pulled: Wheel of Fortune, World, 9 of Coins

Hi Pile 1, let yourself sit back as I discuss your potential hidden gifts. Remember, take only what resonates; feel free to choose another pile, just don't try to make things fit, okay?

You might have this uncanny nudge about timing, like knowing when to strike, which opportunities are worth the risks, when it is safe for you to leave, etc.

Another potential interpretation of the Wheel of Fortune card is its adaptability to sudden upheaval. For example, when things completely turn into disarray, you can somehow be able to bounce back almost instantaneously despite how the situation looks like it's against your favor.

The next card. the World feels like your hidden gift is related to this solid sense of belonging in your body. Now stay with me, let me expound on this for a sec.

Some people have unbearable body dysmorphia and some struggle to love the body they are born in, particularly what they look like. Usually, but not always, it's rooted in a lack of self-confidence or their people-pleasing tendencies to take control of their life (these unfortunate darlings tend to cave in easily to snide comments of haters and naysayers). So these precious souls tend to lose their identity for the sake of external validation and surface attempt of "belongingness".

Your hidden gift is being impervious to societal pressure to conform. You know who you are and what you have to offer. You also understand what you are currently working on and your non-negotiables. You don't conform to peer pressure, or maybe, not anymore; because why try to be like someone else when there's only one of you in the world?

Another interpretation to this card is the ability to see a goal/plan through. Now, this might come as a surprise to you so let me explain further. A lot of us make tons of plans that never get carried out into fruition; those plans remains as just that, ideas... But not you.

Your hidden gift is not only thinking of a plan but you know how to fulfill it and actually succeed. You know when to pivot and adjust when one approach doesn't work. You don't get stuck sulking when plan A fails because you have plan B onwards to try out~

The last card feels like your hidden gift is self-sufficiency. TBH, your whole pile is career-centric gifts! Like you know how to get things done right and on time. You're like a one-person team because you can literally do it all! Like if you're a content creator, you know how to write your script, you know how to video edit, you know how to color grade the shots, etc.

But this gift feels oddly heavy, with almost borderline perfectionistic vibes. So please, be careful with this gift. Remember, perfect doesn't exist so don't beat yourself up for not always being perfect and high energy all the time.

(This concludes the end of your pile reading) (This is for entertainment purposes only)

Pile 2: Lollipop

Cards Pulled: 7 of Coins, High Priestess, 4 of Wands

Hi Pile 2, let yourself sit back as I discuss your potential hidden gifts. Remember, take only what resonates; feel free to choose another pile, just don't try to make things fit, okay?

So the first card, 7 of Coins, feels like perseverance and resilience are your hidden gifts. It's something you might consider as a gift because you might be the type to not really see your ability to shorten your learning curve's time by consistently focusing on your mastery in an effective manner. And also, you don't beat yourself up if you don't get it immediately, you're not the type to enjoy instant gratification; you're all about that long-term harvest.

Another interpretation of this gift is that you have this eternal student mindset. You don't believe that you know everything, which lowkey excites you because it gives you more reason to want to learn and explore more.

The last interpretation I can think of for this card is the ability to actualize and achieve your goals in real life. I heard Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" in my head during this reading. Like, if you want to achieve something, you know how to get things done, by planning out the actionable steps that help you get closer to achieving your goals. A lot of people can dream big, but you pile 2, have the persistence and resilience to turn those dreams into reality.

The next card, High Priestess, talks about the possibility of your hidden gift being untapped intuition, or any spiritual gifts you may have unknowingly inherited from your ancestors. It can be any kind of spiritual gifts, I feel this spiritual gifts wildly differs from every person who chose this pile, something that you might have been interested but you couldn't put a finger why you feel called to it. Feel free to do thorough research about this prior to actually practicing it. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Another interpretation is you could try to see if you feel called to try to learn divination, like tarot cards, scrying, using a pendulum, etc. This might be the pile for my newly interested baby occultists/ spirituality enthusiasts. Again, do your thorough research, be careful and never forget to cleanse your energy and call your energy back.

The last possible interpretation I can give you for the second card is you might have an undiscovered affinity to be an effective mentor of your given specialty/interest. This is for my mid twenties and above followers. You might have certain skillsets that you never considered to try to teach others for profit. You know those mentorship programs you see online that teaches different types of skills, like in Coursera, or any other online classes; feel free to look into that, and be open to try this possible source of side income.

The last card, 4 of Wands, suggests that you may possibly have the hidden gift of having this charisma that attracts people naturally to create your like-minded community. Like, you know how to bring together a good-natured crowd that knows how to be happy for your happiness.

Another interpretation for this card is your hidden gift is you might have knack for events planning/hosting. Okay hear me out, I know this is such an odd gift to have, this potential interpretation isn't for everyone and please use discernment if it resonates with you are not.

Okay now to further explain this potential interpretation. You might have this knack when you know how to host a good house party. So party planning is also a possibility. Interesting enough, I heard, "You make really delicious foods!" So you can try to see if you wanna try catering or packed lunches as a side gig business.

The last potential interpretation I can think of is that you might have this kind of comforting vibe whenever people are around you. The type to be the comfort person of your friend group/community. Everyone's go-to person, for better or for worse. You're like the glue in the friend group.

(This concludes the end of your pile reading) (This is for entertainment purposes only)

Pile 3: Lipstick

Cards Pulled: King of Swords, King of Coins, 4 of Cups

Hi Pile 3, let yourself sit back as I discuss your potential hidden gifts. Remember, take only what resonates; feel free to choose another pile, just don't try to make things fit, okay?

The first card suggests that your ability to be self-disciplined and self-motivated is one of your many hidden gifts. Now there's this lack of appreciation towards your self-discipline and integrity, as if it had always been expected, but it has some rather restricting/almost oppressive energy.

As if there are bad people who take advantage of your integrity and self-discipline, one minor example is someone taunting you by eating your favorite dessert when you're on a strict diet. This can also be interpreted as being ostracized for being a strict/stern yet effective employee/coworker/manager.

Another example is that you were being dragged in a rumor/scandal that would cause a smear campaign on your name (whether you spoke up or not), and your general respect for other people's privacy and integrity was used against you. It's like you tend to be the kind of person who's generally good-natured, so you tend to be easy prey for covert narcissists, manipulators, two-faced liars, and opportunistic gas-lighters.

The second card suggests that another hidden gift of yours is your generosity and social connections. Your love language may be gift-giving, and you may be the type to believe in sharing your blessings with your loved ones whenever you can. This generosity doesn't just mean physical gifts, it can also be about being generous with your time, efforts, connections, and knowledge.

This hidden gift feels the hardest to detect at first encounter because you might have trust issues from being taken advantage of in the past, be it your resources, connections, or positive reputation. It is hidden for your own sake because having this gift readily exposed leaves you susceptible to being a target of opportunistic, abusive narcissists. But this gift requires you to hone discernment.

Another interpretation of the second card is that your hidden gift could be that you have the qualities of becoming an encouraging mentor to people in your industry. So this feels more career-oriented, like this hidden gift tends to shine in your work environment. You could be that reliable go-to coworker/manager who knows how to disseminate instructions calmly and respectfully. In short, you could be everyone's favorite motivating boss.

Finally, the last card was the most confusing in this pile because it usually means apathy, contemplation, or indifference, so I had to sit with myself to figure out how this card can be a hidden gift.

So, upon walking around my house and coming back here, I came to the conclusion that the last card may suggest that your hidden gift is about your cut-off game once you felt disrespected or taken advantage of. It's like you can be the most loving, giving, and understanding person in the world, yet the moment you smell BS lies and disrespect, your cut-off game be colder than the Eastern Antarctic Plateau in Antarctica. IYKYK.

Another interpretation for this hidden gift is that you might have a knack for sensing/knowing when you don't feel unwelcome in a place, like a subconscious vibe check. I can also see this being interpreted as easily noticing signs when you've outgrown situations, people, places and community, so you don't have a hard time to disconnect, pack your stuff and live in a place that you feel would help you feel safe to grow, evolve and be the best version of yourself that you can be.

(This concludes the end of your pile reading) (This is for entertainment purposes only)

Pile 4: Butterfly:

Cards Pulled: Star, 5 of Wands, 10 of Swords

Hi Pile 4, let yourself sit back as I discuss your potential hidden gifts. Remember, take only what resonates; feel free to choose another pile, just don't try to make things fit, okay?

Okay so the first card suggests that your hidden gift could be your positive outlook, despite your harsh upbringing. It isn't toxic positivity, it's more of mental fortitude and resilience brought about by a hopeful drive to choose to see and move towards a better tomorrow.

Now you might be asking, how is this a hidden gift when it's normal for you... Gimme a sec and lemme break it down for you in a bit.

Since you've literally grown up in harsh conditions, you did everything you could to survive and not lose hope to keep yourself sane and focused on your goals. For you, it's normal to not be swayed by the cruelty of the world, and it's just your regular Tuesday to keep moving forward towards a hopeful tomorrow.

So what is normal and almost automatic for you is hard and unimaginable to those who grew up spoiled, sheltered, or dare I say, privileged. Actually, people born in privilege, some of them, tend to out of touch with reality most of the time, (unless their parents were the ones who created their own source of wealth), usually having appreciation and gratitude for what they have is something they lack, so privileged people tend to crash out drastically at the slightest inconvenience and would usually lash out if they don't get coddled exactly as how they were spoilt growing up.

So people who took advantage of their family's affluence and resources tend to be the ones who feel easily discontent and tend to have these out-of-pocket, ignorant remarks, which highlight how clueless and almost disrespectfully ignorant they are about what is happening to the world today.

So, how does this relate to your hidden gift? Funny you would ask, so let me give you a realistic example of what would happen if you and a privileged person were to both be thrown in an unpredictable, and almost life-threatening situation? For example: losing your source of income.

Well you wouldn't waste your time blaming the world why you lost your job out of nowhere, you'd actually analyze how much money you still have and plan out how to ration your resources while you go out and immediately applying for jobs that are label "immediate hire"; you'd be the type to accept part time jobs to make meets end until you have enough money saved (roughly 6 months worth of FU money) before you start applying for higher-paying employment and a better living accommodations.

And the privileged, spoilt person who lost their only source of money, their inheritance? Well, it depends on how ignorant, sheltered, and out-of-touch with reality they are; those would make or break how they'll survive. Does this example make more sense as to why this is a hidden gift you really should treasure and appreciate more?

The next card suggests that another hidden gift of yours is your ability to stay competitive and driven despite your adversities. I feel this hidden gift is also related to your first gift; more so, these two go hand in hand nicely. With the second card, it really feels like your hidden gifts are closely tied to your experience-cultivated resilience because your innate desire isn't just to survive, what you really want is to progressively thrive to have a more stabilized and secure future.

Now to survive, you'll need to stay well-informed and prepared for the best and worst days that can potentially happen. You have this energy of a seasoned fighter, where you know that just because there isn't a reason to fight, you keep on training as part of your daily regimen. Does this description make sense to you?

With this hidden gift, you might have this almost unquenchable desire to keep improving and wanting to gather as many sources of incomes as a means to comfort your subconscious that you deserve to live a comfortable life, that's why you don't mind working the grind, because just in case another world wide pandemic happens, at least you and your loved ones won't have any worries financially, so you can still afford to have roof over your head, food on the table, and be able to fully pay for hospital bills without worries or anxiety.

Lowkey, your second hidden gift is giving Earth sign vibes, more so Capricorn and Taurus, than Virgo tbh. You don't need to have these placements in your birth chart to say that this is your pile. Take note, it's just the energy of the card; this part may or may not resonate with you. It just reminded me about how earth signs know the true value of hard work for the sake of a comfortable sense of security and stability that they aspire to have in the future. It's giving, exercise now to avoid health problems in the future.

Another interpretation of the second card is not being afraid to fight for your rights and knowing your worth. With this one, it feels like you don't tolerate disrespect, especially when someone else would dare take credit for YOUR HARD WORK. You don't play about the things you worked hard for.

Also, you might hate snarky side comments from random gossipers that claim you took Ozempic or underwent plastic surgery to lose weight, when nobody knows how consistently you've worked out to get the healthy body you've always aspired to have.

Like they don't know how many times you got injured working out in the gym when you were focusing on taking better care of your health. They don't know how hard you struggled to fix your diet and say no to your favorite pizza and chicken combo. None of those naysayers know how you felt terrible for caving into your previous cravings and struggled to get back into your workout program?! Those clueless, jealous people don't have any say when they choose to keep complaining and not care about their well-being.

Granted, some people have chronic illness, but those who are physically capable of doing the things you did for your health, helllllllllllll naaaaaaaahh, they're just a bunch of haters because they're not putting in the work and yet expect to have the body and health that you have. If they aren't supporting and congratulating you on your fitness journey, their opinions are nothing but background static noises that make buzzing mosquitoes sound like opera symphonies.

So the final card suggests that your hidden gift was the knowledge you've acquired through multiple tower moments, losses, and burnouts. Being the ever-resilient workaholic that you are, you're no stranger to losses and burnouts. You had days when you surprised yourself, like "How the hell did I survive that?".

So the knowledge on how to bounce back after losses and overburden has given you tools and strategies rarely talked about by productivity coaches online. Since those lessons came from your lived experiences, you formulated strategies and approaches specifically catered to help you bounce back from ruin and despair as efficiently and effectively as possible. Basically, your bounce-back's response time is shorter as your productivity and resilience period stretch out progressively longer and stronger.

Granted, you get tired, too, because everyone has limits, and you, too, have days when you have had enough. So this means, one of the many garnered knowledge you've acquired through multiple struggles is your self-awareness of your strengths, weaknesses, and body's current limitations allows you to curate your self-care routine on a whole other level.

You know which coping mechanisms can help you sustainably regulate your nervous system, as well as you know which nighttime routines help you feel the most rested and energized the next day. You know which foods help you feel more full and have enough caffeine rush to get the ball rolling. As well, you know which mini workout routines help you destress, decompress your spine, and help you bloat less.

Because of your self-awareness of your overall well-being, you now how the knowledge and tools to curate an ideal lifestyle that helps you, not only function better, but progressively sustain a healthier lifestyle.

(This concludes the end of your pile reading) (This is for entertainment purposes only)

Reminder:

This Pick-A-Card reading is for entertainment purposes only. You may resonate with more than one, or you might not resonate with any at all. It doesn't mean that you don't have any hidden gifts. Maybe other readers who tackled this question/topic/theme or something similar might have mentioned the hidden gifts that you might possess. Feel free to check other tarot readers here.

Paid Readings are AVAILABLE Exchange Readings are OPEN Feel free to send me some support in the form of tips, Head to my Buy-Me-A-Coffee here 🍀

[lovecla]

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME KNOW | jack hughes.

chapter ten:

<last chapter> <epilogue>

➴ warnings: none :)

➴ word count: 1k

➴ author’s note: and finally, the last chapter of IYLM,LMK. this one’s a bit shorter but i wrote a longer epilogue for you guys :) i’ve been writing stories since i was ten years old but this is the first time i finish the entire thing and actually like it. don’t know how to thank each and every one of you for reading what i write and for appreciating it as much as i do. but thank you.

liked by jackhughes, tyla, nicohischier and 3,798,012 others

sophiamontenegro make me yours is officially, well, yours now!!!!

every time i release something i feel extremely lucky and grateful, no matter what. today, i'm more than happy to share this part of me with you all. we've been working on this album for a whole year now and it's insane how much things can change in such a short amount of time.

i've learned a lot about myself during this whole process and it's crazy yet so rewarding. this album is a message to everyone i love and to young sophia, specially.

hope u enjoy!!!!! 💙

View all 13,086 comments

morgan.grace Soph, i can’t tell you how PROUD i am. I’ve known you for almost six years now, and i pray every. Single. Day. That we have the rest of our lives together. I love you so much! Happy horny album day! 💙

sophiamontenegro morgan.grace i love u

user1 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

user12 Jack can u fight lol

ellievlasic woaaaaaaah

njdevils sophia MONTENEGRO 💜

_quinnhughes Congrats Soph!

sophiamontenegro _quinnhughes thanks quinny!

lhughes_06 _quinnhughes sophiamontenegro Y’all coming for dinner tonight ?

_quinnhughes lhughes_06 You could’ve just texted

sophiamontenegro _quinnhughes jack and i are coming!!!

user5 sophiamontenegro yeah i bet u are

user3 I’m so in love with this album, horny sophia is my favorite sophia

user11 thats that me espresso indeed

jackhughes I wonder who inspired you to write these songs

user67 jackhughes crazy shit to say tbh

— ♡

IN the beginning of January, you started writing your sixth album. Well, you started writing it officially, with the help of your songwriters and producers, because truthfully, you’d been writing it since you and Jack started seeing each other— just some random lines here and there in your Notes app on your phone, that quickly turned into songs.

Months passed and life got extremely busy. People seemed to be very interested in your relationship with Jack, in a weird, almost comical way. Several social media managers have already contacted your team to ask for your participation in YouTube videos, interviews and TikToks, but you refused most of them.

You didn’t mind about talking about Jack or spending time with him in studios, but you knew it wasn’t his cup of tea— even if he never said anything— so you just tried to separate your love life from your career.

The New Jersey Devils failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Jack was really upset about it, just like Luke, Nico and the rest of the team, because despite what happened back in November, they all worked really hard.

Time passed after that, and it was summer again, one year since you and Jack started seeing each other. Sometimes, sitting on the bench at his and Quinn’s summer house, you ask yourself if things weren’t moving too fast. In less than a year, your life changed in ways you never even imagined before and you didn’t know if it was scary or not.

But whenever you thought of Jack, you remembered his thick, beautiful lashes, blond hair decorating his arms and legs, blue eyes that brought the ocean to you, smile that brightened the world.

You remembered how he took care of you, how he’d listen to your songs and recommend them to people, how he’d go to your concerts whenever he had the chance, and how he was often seen wearing your merch around town whenever the two of you weren’t together. How he’d watch you perform and congratulate you every time. How he’d spontaneously post pictures of you on his Instagram account, and how he’d reply to some of your fans' comments.

You had been right all along; Jack is your forever. He’s it for you.

You feel the sweet, cold breeze hit your face and you smile, watching as Jack, Quinn and Luke played with each other inside the lake, while Hischier talked with Ellen and Jim.

“Can you believe this is our life?” You asked, quietly.

“Actually, yeah, I can,” Grace replied beside you, laughing. “The only crazy thing about this is us falling in love with hockey players. Didn’t see that coming.”

“Right,” you nodded. “I can't imagine myself with anyone else though. That’s bad,” you joked.

“I don't know if it is that bad,” she shrugged. “Jack loves you a lot. That man can’t stop staring at you even when you’re ten feet away from him.”

You laughed, turning your head back in Jack’s direction, finding those blue eyes you loved so much immediately, who was now running towards you, with his body drenched.

“No, Jack, stay away!” You yelled, getting up quickly and running away from him.

“Soph!”

You started laughing, which made you lose your pace, making it easier for Jack to wrap his wet, cold arms around your body, wetting your white dress.

“Jack, stop, you’re making me wet!”

“That’s what she said,” he whispered in your ear, picking you up and making you wrap your legs around his waist. “Hi, Soph.” He smiled.

You gave in and kissed his lips, smiling softly as he kissed you back.

“Hi, Jack Hughes.”

He put you down and turned you around, wrapping his hands around your waist and resting his chin on your head. “I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

That surprised you, and you felt yourself smiling even wider. “Not when you joined the Devils? Not when I won a VMA? Not when I gave you a blowjob just this morning—”

“Okay, okay,” he laughed, kissing your cheek. “Those are all super happy moments but right now, here with you, baby… I’ll never be this happy again.”

A few years later, you’d look back at that moment and think, oh, Jack, baby, that’s just the beginning. Because he would say the same thing years later, when he kissed you at the altar, or when he held your daughter for the first time.

“I get what you mean,” you snuggled closer, ignoring the wet clothes. “I’ve been happy before. I am happy. But this… this is different.”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “So different.”

“Will I ruin the moment if I say I need to go pee?” You bit your lip.

Jack laughed out loud and picked you up again. “I love you, Sophia Montenegro.”

“I love you more, Jack Hughes,”

“Well,” he kissed your cheek. “I think that’s up for debate.”

“Well. Maybe.”

— ♡

liked by sophiamontenegro, morgan.grace, ellievlasic and 219,983 others

jackhughes lucky fella. sophiamontenegro

View all 1,990 comments

morgan.grace saurrrr cuteeeee I love you guys

user83 ADOPT ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

user86 imma start doing cocaine…

user1 i wanted to hate on them so bad but they lowkey fire asf :/

user7 soph when u hug him, remember you’re hugging my whole world…

nicohischier ❤️

user8 Ain’t no way he can handle all of that

trevorzegras user8 he can’t.

jackhughes trevorzegras fuck off

[abusedwh0re]

My Opinion on Daphne

I first learned about the Molotochniki back in march 2023 and since then ive been researching about this case a lot. I think that this is one of the most interesting cases that I found since there is still so much to uncover and even to this day we find new information and theorize about them.

Like most tcc members, I take a break from it for a couple weeks or days and join again whenever i feel like it. The last time i joined again, which was in November 2024, I learned that Artyom is about to get married with someone. At first this sounded very made up to me, but then i started reading posts about this on reddit and it all just felt very random/off to me.

I joined Daphnes discord server, which had an obviously AI-generated group picture, multiple vent channels, and lots of people in it. I cant really remember how many people were in there but probably something over 100.

I went into the general chat where a person was talking how they used to live in irkutsk before the murders happened. They assumed Nikita had a crush on their mother and that he acted all shy around her. This was just painful to read tbh and i wish i had taken ss of those messages. The person who said that could not even speak russian at all and had some mlp profile picture.

It shocked me how many people took that seriously and how no one even thought about that nikita was extremely depressed and barely talked to anyone but Artyom at school. The amount of misinformation that was being spread in that server was mind blowing.

Now on to Daphne, she would talk about random things, mostly stuff like “I just made a smoothie!” or send pictures of the most random things like a wedding veil with a russian text that said “This is beautiful.”. She posted most of those images in her TG group and chatted more to people on the discord.

In the dc group she would very randomly send weird texts in which she was talking about “finding inner peace” or something with harmony, i cant exactly remember what she was writing but it was all just very weird, probably AI-generated texts about some spiritual shit.

In the general chat she would mostly rant about how she was being sent threats etc by tcc members telling her that shes lying about that entire thing with artyom, or she would pick images of him from the Molotochniki VK group and post them in the chat with captions like “hes so cute here!” “he looks like a baby!”.

She wrote a comment on reddit in which she said that she would visit artyom in december 2023, mind you, Artyom is in Vologda Oblast and daphne is in the netherlands, which is about a 2100-3000 km long distance. I attached screenshots of what she said to this post. She also stated that Artyom did not want a traditional wedding but rather a wedding where you just sign the papers. Its just so weird and i cant bring myself to believe to what she is saying.

Like why is she talking about some global politics gas shit and then about the priosn artyom is in? There is just so much unnecessary info spammed in each post, like you cant tell me that they arent AI generated or just completely made up.

[rebouks]

My 𝐓𝐨𝐩 24 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 from 2024🎉

I ignored the brief and just did a fun round up of some fave screenies/posts from this year cos apparently i can't read and rules are LAME anyway!! weeee 🤸‍♀️🧡

January - Oscar scared the shit out of baby Levi and we finally found out where Triss had been hiding 🥹

February - Robin met his bestie Alex on a camping trip and had enough of Levi's bullshit upon returning to school ffkfgjfk

March - Kian got out of prison (ew) and decided to inconvenience his unsuspecting half-brother.. who didn't last long before telling him to shove it.

April - Oscar pissed Ivan off on a road trip of doom and Joey is still Joey..

OH.. and Triss is hot af (no literally.. he's at the beach but also 🥵) also also.. him n' Tilda finally bumped uglies and were very cute

May - Robin saved Levi from a soggy fate and spoke to him for the first time and the Finch's pretty much adopted him, whether he liked it at the time or not!

June - I clearly took a break I forgot about in June so.. random edits woo 🤸‍♀️

July - Oscar reminded us that addiction never truly goes away... (i think if i had to pick my fave post of the year this would be a top contender!)

August - The Finch family kidnapped Levi and went camping! 🤸‍♀️🌲 (MR CROWBAR WAS THERE TOO!)

September - School was shit and Levi betrayed Robin's trust :c

October - Things got tense and spooky in Robin's Until Dawn flavoured dream 😱 (probs the highlight of the year in an otherwise shite month for me tbh so yaaay for you guys for making it so fun! 🧡)

November - Alex moved to the Bay!!! in contrast we also spent a few miserable days with Levi and Wren was her savage self and called Penny Budget Barbie which.. was iconic tbh go ginger queen go! 🧡

December - Robin was sick of Levi's stupid "friends" picking on Alex and let loose his inner Oscar, speaking in front of Alex for the first time (rip Aster for missing it tbh like what a time to take a whizz) buuut.. Robin still broke first and decided to stop snubbing Levi cos he felt bad for him ;-;

tyyyy for the tag @zosa95 @hannahssimblr @sirianasims @simvanie @theplottdump 🤸‍♀️ i'm tagging everyone cos i think we should all look back on our work with a tear in our eye and a slap on the back, srsly go do it and blame me pls ty

what a year! i've spent most of this year feeling a bit overwhelmed and like i've not been getting anywhere/as far as i wanted to ffkfj but looking back i suppose it was pretty jam packed so maybe i should give myself a break (ahaaaajsdkj NEVER) anyway.. good times 🤸‍♀️ i've no idea what 2025 will have in store for me tbh but long live the Finch's i guess! 🧡

thank you to anyone who's been around with me this year, and those past! love you all 😘

[colombinaa]

radfems, thank you.

my journey of becoming a radfem has been long and rather solitary. throughout 2024 i was able to listen to perspectives i had never heard of before and see new sides of this society, both in my real, personal life and through the voices and testimonies of other women. consequently, my views started developing and evolving.

during this time i never called myself a radical feminist, as i didn’t know all its core points and their meaning/explanation. i did recognise my leaning towards it though.

at the same time, i had no idea about the whole “terf” thing. being straight barred me from a lot of the misogyny around the matter. i had only seen that term in a specific occasion and shoved it back as a non-issue. looking back now, i shouldn’t have.

then november arrived and i peaked. it was heartbreaking, infuriating, disappointing, enraging. i felt betrayed, that stupid girl who never understood why she was always excluded, the foolish young woman who still has that slow heart.

contemporarly, i found out what “she’s a terf” actually meant. i researched radical feminism and its core values and saw my own reflected in it. i started trying to find like-minded women, at least online, and with that i found names of writers i had already heard of, quotes and paragraphs i had already read, women i should’ve looked up on google earlier. i can see how that class consciousness i have gained throughout last year would’ve lead me here anyway, sooner or later.

now i am here. i got basically all the theory to read, in-depth analysis i can’t wait to read and that is gonna help me set my thoughts and values into clear words, something my autistic brain definitely needs help with. i’ll have to learn how to put all this into action too. but the moral compass i’ve been building is already there, and so is the resolution of speaking up.

the female socialisation is still going hard, the internalised ableism and late diagnosis effects too; i’m young and in burnout, and still learning. but i’m happy to be here. i’m happy to have reached this place. both metaphorically and literally ahah. i’ve been on this app for like two months and i already feel like starting to make more personal and chill posts, like that etruscan woman that got the same tittie shape as me (i’ll never shut up about this) like i swear. and to the allistic girlies reading, trust me when i say for me it’s a big thing! (the being more chill thing, not the tittie shape one - i mean yes that too but you get what i mean).

so thank you, radfems, for never giving up.

and also thank you for creating a rather normal community in which we keep discussing topics and practicing criticism instead of preaching dogmas and shunning for thoughtcrimes, i was fucking exhausted tbh

[omegastation]

Hi. I haven’t used Tumblr in such a long time. It's kinda weird. Last time was two years ago...

I went to Valencia in Spain a few months later. Some parts of it reminded me of the Citadel. I wanted to write about it here, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t really come back here because I couldn’t play the game. I couldn’t concentrate at all, couldn’t finish a simple mission, couldn’t just “play”. I’m still in my first Legendary playthrough if you can believe it. I was losing something that brought me joy and didn’t really know what to do.

And the long story short about my time away: I got a Master’s degree while still working (evening & weekend classes). It’s fairly recent, I learned in June that I got a "Grande Distinction" (with great distinction? idk how to translate it well in English, it's just one of the highest marks). So that was nice :)

Less nice: I got a severe pulmonary embolism in November. My lungs are okay but I have to deal with daily hyperventilation now, which means I’m quite tired and need to make an appointment soon for respiratory physiotherapy. If you’re wondering, I don’t smoke and I’m fairly active. What else? I’m about to self-publish (finally!!!) my collection of short stories in French. Mom helped me yesterday, we ordered printed books. So I'm still writing. Reading and knitting all the time. And I’m still working at the same job I was working at, and I’m happy there, though it can be demanding and I have to be careful not to overwork myself.

In the end, I did manage to come back to the game and finish a mission. Not only that, but I played more missions, and that was a real "omg I can do it" moment. And the more I play, the more I want to talk about it. So there you have it, I hope I can come back and just try to enjoy myself in a chill way. I don't know how long, we'll see. I think time has helped me, at least, to look at things differently. I don't want to feel any type of obligation. I want to do things for fun because it's fun, and let that be enough.

It’s been so long, the fandom has probably changed a lot. Some people might be gone. I’ll reintroduce myself one way or another, but right now I’ll just find stuff I like to reblog and talk about all the ideas that come to mind. Bear with me if it has been said recently or so many times before. I just feel like starting all over again and I missed a lot of posts. My memory isn't what it's used to be either tbh...

Finally, I hope you’re all doing well. Thank you to the people who sent me messages. One person wrote that they missed me. I don’t know who they are, it was anon, but that really moved me, because I really did miss this community and all the discussions we had. I also miss, as always, Dustie who has been gone for a while now.

Anyway. Thank you.

[evidenceof]

and roll credits for webgott valentine's week! long-ish post but i don't think it can be anything but saur...

haguenau is for lovers was me deciding to shoot for the moon after 1) meg wondered out loud about a webgott week (after injecting webgott into my brain), 2) i zoomed in on lieb reading sunday comics, feverishly tore through the stars and stripes archive only to realize that easy was in haguenau during valentine's week 3) caoimhe said, "haguenau is for lovers" and it sticking into my brain permanently.

that is to say, i am so very lucky to be friends with people whose thoughts are so infectious and always brilliant. would like to take this time to thank the people who held my sweaty hand all throughout my first stab at organizing a fan event.

tierney @kbsd my beloved!! thank you for literally putting up with my anxiety through all this and for reading (and proofreading) walls of text on gdocs to make sure i still sounded sane. putting up with wips for queueing and scheduling posts when i'm asleep even if you've had a Long Day of Moving houses. i would literally be in the trenches without you. thank you for never doubting me and for genuinely matching my (control) freak.

meg @ww2yaoi head webgott babe (let's all acknowledge that) for the really kind messages. they helped me more than you'd know!! licherally hilf wouldnt even be alive if i hadn't seen you post theee Webgott Wednesday Locket way back last year, and if you hadn't written lippenstift, down in the valley, no ghost looms (tbh all ur webgott) and made me spiral into this for good.

caoimhe @randlemartin. this'll sound weird but just trust ok. thank you for writing both text posts and fic that compel me to no end. the germ of the idea wouldn't have grown into anything good without it being fattened by your thoughts and words!! haguenau is for lovers <3 ik it isn't webgott, but reading delichon while prepping for this over the holidays kept me going fr.

karina @markedfordead and julia @joe-fuckingtwice-toye. your tags and everything you made throughout the event made me wanna cryyyy. they were all so sweet and genuinely, when i'd be fidgeting over the event day ahead, seeing that you two took the time to make something so lovely nearly every single day literally pacified the gnawing self-doubt hahaha thank you i mean it so much.

to everyone who participated!! wrote fics and drabbles, made web weaves, beautiful art that made me want to chew my screen because of how beautiful they all are, thank you so much!!!!!!! to everyone who rb-ed and liked, made valentines, my heart feels a lot bigger thanks to all of you.

shoutout to my laptop, photoshop, my secondhand wacom tablet that's been roi-ed the fuck out since november, my two hands, and futura condensed (1940s print would be NOTHING without you). thank god none of them decided to give up on me during event prep and proper. (and to my bubs who had to literally listen to me scream and yap about this from beginning to end. you are a saint. idk how i got so lucky to be with someone who supports my being a fujo wife with dead ww2 vets)

really wanted to keep my modding this on the down low, largely cos idk!! i just wanted the focus to be on webgott and the event, but also bc i knew this whole thing couldn't have come together because of a singular person, or even moreso, a singular interpretation of the ship. so i felt the distance was necessary. though i am proud, in a small way (im allowing myself a lil' bit of it), of being able to create a bunch of things for a pair i've fallen in love with, and for a group of people who hold so much affection for them.

all that to say! im glad to have made things with love, and (tw: cheesy as fuck) im only really able to do that bc im surrounded by people who love so beautifully. thank you all from da bottom of mi heart. if u read up until here. thank you for that too. ♡

♡ happy webgott wednesday. haguenau will always be for lovers. ♡

sorry this is literally too many scrolls down lmfao

[stevie-petey]

episode one: the vanishing of will byers

Steve nods, as if you almost getting hit by his car makes perfect sense to him. When you walk over to your bike and inspect it for any damage, he follows after you.  “So,” he whistles, trying to pretend that this is all a completely normal occurrence. “You, uh, need a ride?” Honestly you don’t know why you’re surprised he hasn’t noticed the clear signs of you crying, your swollen eyes and red nose. Not only is he a boy, but he’s also Steve Harrington. It’s a miracle he even stopped to make sure you weren’t dead.

Summary: jonathan smuggles you free food in exchange for friendship, will goes missing the one time you listen to jonathan, hopper doesn't really like you, and steve harrington almost hits you with his car as you're sobbing like a damn baby (in a cool way).

Rating: general, although there's plenty of cursing and slight innuendos, so fair warning.

Warnings: cursing, fem!reader, and use of y/n.

Words: 7k

Before you swing in: hello ! this is the first chapter of my come home series, where i plan on rewriting the entirety of stranger things because i really love a good rewrite fic and this is me just indulging in my ideal fic fantasies tbh. before we start: this is a steve x reader fic, however there will be some slight feelings between the reader and jonathan, but it doesn't at all get in the way of steve and honestly just adds to the angst because i love a good tragedy. also, reader is dustin's older sister, but i tried to write her as neutral as possible in terms of physical features, so let's all just play along. that is all ! i'm very excited for this series and i hope y'all enjoy the reader as much as i do :)

-

November 6th, 1983

Your shift at Bookstrordinary ends at 8:30 tonight, so as soon as you’ve organized all the books within the store and cashed out the last customer, you say goodnight to your boss, Mrs. Waters, and clock out. Today had been a longer shift, and it didn’t help that you had to deal with a particularly eager bookclub mother who insisted that you had the latest copy of some obscure novel that she needed for her club. After several attempts to inform her that no, you really didn’t have some novel about a cowboy falling in love with a rodeo girl from Michigan, nor would you ever want to read that, the mother angrily walked away. 

You’re happy to finally be free from work though, excited to see Jonathan to tell him about the book club mom because you know he gets a kick out of those suburban middle class mothers that terrorize Hawkins. He works across from you, at The Hawk theater, and it’s one of your favorite things about the bookstore. Besides getting to be surrounded by books all day and reading Spider-Man, you get to be across the street from your best friend and share frequent breaks together. 

A bell signifies your arrival at the theater, alerting Jonathan to look up from the concession stand and smile at you. He looks tired, which you can understand. It’s been a particularly long school year so far with Jonathan having to work more shifts than usual to support his family. 

“Welcome to The Hawk, can I interest you in our specialty popcorn and candy corn mixture?”

You make a face, “No, thanks. Candy corn freaks me out.” 

Jonathan laughs, knowing you’d say that. It’s been a running joke between the two of you for as long as you can remember. You’re not picky with most foods, but candy corn? The bane of your existence. “Tough crowd, then.” 

You laugh as well, now standing in front of the counter, and you learn against it so that you’re in Jonathan’s space. After being friends for so long, personal space doesn’t exist between the two of you. You’re the only person that Jonathan lets get this close to him on a regular basis, which you’re secretly proud of. 

“So, you almost done so we can pick up our idiotic brothers?” Tonight, as usual, Will and Dustin are at Mike’s house playing DnD. They’d biked over as soon as school let out, while Jonathan drove you to work, so he was your ride back for the night. 

He shakes his head at you, wincing, “I picked up an extra shift tonight. Stacy called out sick, and it’s good money…”

You nod in understanding. He doesn’t have to explain himself to you, which he’s always relieved by. 

“It’s okay. Is my bike still in your trunk?” 

“Yeah, I can get it out for you since I’m kind of ditching you tonight.” 

You wave him off, already reaching across the counter to grab his keys from his coat pocket. “No need, I’ll get it out myself so you don’t get in trouble with your boss.” Jonathan’s boss is an older guy, extra scary. “I’m assuming that I’m taking Will home tonight?” 

“It’ll be late by the time you get the boys, and you’ll have Dustin. We only live a couple blocks apart, you can just bike with Will until you get to your street.”

“Are you sure? I know he’s scared of the dark.” 

“It’s fine, Y/N. You’re already doing enough being there for most of the ride; I’m sure Will can survive the last five minutes alone.” 

You give Jonathan an unsure look, but you don’t argue with him. He’s his brother, he knows Will’s capabilities, and it’s an unspoken fact that you baby Will a bit too much. He’s just so much tinier than the other boys, softer in a way that you want to protect. He’s special. 

Jonathan sneaks you a large peach lemonade and hot dog from the concession stand when you return with his keys. You’ve parked your bike up front, and you accept the food gratefully. You hadn’t had time to eat your usual dinner during your break due to the bookclub mother fiasco, so you inhale the food quickly and give his hair a ruffle. 

“You’re a lifesaver, bee.” 

Jonathan lightly hits your hand away from his hair. “Consider it your payment for dealing with Will and Dustin on your own tonight, bug.” 

Bee and bug were the names the two of you had given each other years ago. Jonathan had started it with bug, stemming from the fact that you love Spider-Man so much, and you had struggled to come up with your own nickname for him. Then it came to you: bee, or B, for Byers. It was perfect, and you’re still incredibly proud of yourself for the creativity, honestly. 

After your quick dinner, you say goodbye to your friend and head off. It’s late now, nearing 9, and you hope that Mrs. Wheeler and your own mom won’t be too upset with you for being late for pick up. You know they prefer to have the boys in bed by a decent hour, but in your defense, Jonathan did skip out on you.

You arrive at the Wheeler’s in a short amount of time and knock on the door. Your cheeks are flushed from the early November cold, and you’re regretting that you only put on a thin sweater and jeans this morning.

Mike answers the door, giving you a dirty look. “Did you have to come early?”

“I’m actually later than usual,” you sidestep him, making your way into his house; you’ve become used to Mike’s attitude. “I take it the campaign is still ongoing?”

“See, mom? Even Y/N understands how long a good campaign can go on for!” Mike waves his arms at you, as if to signify to his mother the importance of your understanding. 

Mrs. Wheeler ignores her son to greet you kindly, albeit a bit exasperated. “Hello, Y/N, please come in.” Then she turns to Mike, giving him a stern look. “Mike, why don’t you tell Y/N how you boys have been playing for ten hours? I’m sure she’ll be understanding then.” 

“You guys have been playing for ten hours?”

Mike looks down in embarrassment for a second before turning to his father for help. You laugh a bit at his enthusiasm and see a faint smile on his mom’s face as well. Quietly you excuse yourself to go downstairs to find the other boys, and Mrs. Wheeler wishes you luck. 

Everyone always acts like the boys are some giant pain; truthfully, you enjoy them. Sure, they can be a handful, but they’re just kids; it’s hard for you to ever stay mad at them. Plus they like you, so it makes dealing with them easier. 

Lucas, Dustin, and Will are running around the basement when you get down there, frantically searching for something. You hear Lucas inform Will that if Mike doesn’t see something, then it doesn’t count. The urgence in his voice amuses you; you’ll never fully wrap your head around why they take DnD so seriously, but you love that they can enjoy it with each other. 

Dustin is the first to see you. “Y/N!”

The other boy’s heads turn to you and they greet you with enthusiasm as well. Will rushes towards you for a hug, which you gladly accept. When you break apart, Lucas gives you a high five and asks about a comic you’ve put on hold for him at the store. 

“Any luck?”

“Sorry, Sinclair. It’s still sold out, but the second it’s restocked I’ll smuggle one for you.” 

“Sick!” 

Dustin walks over, now in his coat and holding a pizza box. “Want a slice?” 

You decline, informing him that Jonathan snuck some food for you. At the mention of his brother’s name, Will asks where he is. You tell him that Jonathan had to cover a shift and that you’ll be taking him most of the way home tonight. 

As you all make your way upstairs, you notice that Dustin continues up to the second floor. Lucas notices too, and the two of you share a knowing look. 

“Still have a crush on Nancy?” You ask, already knowing the answer. 

“Yup.” Lucas responds, smiling in disappointment. 

You wait for your brother outside, helping Will with his coat and listen to Mike’s rambling about the campaign. Lucas is already on his bike, ready to go. 

“There’s something wrong with your sister.” Dustin declares when he finally returns.

Mike looks at you, then at your brother, confused. “What are you talking about?” 

“She’s got a stick up her butt.” 

“Dustin!” You berate. Nancy isn’t your favorite person, but she’s always been nice to you the few times you’ve interacted. You guys used to be closer when you were younger, but high school has a way of distancing people.

“Yeah,” Lucas now speaks up. “It’s because she’s been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington.” How the hell does Lucas even know about that? You didn’t even know about that until just now. 

“Lucas! Language!” 

“Yeah, she’s been turning into a real jerk.”

“Dustin, I swear to God-” 

The boys ignore you, which you’re honestly not surprised by. While they may like you, that doesn't mean that they listen to you. On a good day they maybe listen to you 25% of the time, but tonight was clearly not a good night. 

Mike finally cuts in, “She’s always been a real jerk.”

“Hey, she’s your sister. Give her some credit-”

Dustin is now the one who cuts you off. “Nuh-uh, only you get the sister leniency, Y/N. Nancy used to be cool, now she isn’t.” 

“Remember that time she dressed up as an elf for our Elder tree campaign?” Lucas asks, almost reminiscent. 

You shudder at the way he says it, and you shudder more when you see the dreamy look in your brother’s eyes. “Yeah, I remember…” 

“Gross,” you huff at your brother, now hopping on your own bike. 

Lucas and Dustin begin to pedal away, and you call after them to wait up. Will is still with Mike, and you promised Jonathan you’d get him home. You give the boys a bit of space, waiting a few paces ahead. Will has always been shy around Mike, something that you’ve tried not looking into too much, but to be safe you give them some privacy. 

Faintly, you hear Will say, “The Demogorgon, it got me.” 

Lights flicker a bit, but you’re too focused on the slight unease you feel by Will’s words. Before you can think too much about them, he joins you. “Race you up to Lucas and Dustin?”

“You’re on,” you tell him. 

Will beats you to the boys (which you let him do), and you’re out of breath. The four of you bike in silence for a bit until you reach Lucas’s turn into his neighborhood. 

“Good night, ladies.” He says, and you don’t need to be a psychic to know what your brother’s response is going to be.

“Kiss your mom ‘night for me.” Bless him.

You and Will giggle together, and Dustin smirks at the two of you, proud. He sits in the praise for a few moments before challenging you and Will to race home with the promise of a comic for whoever wins. 

“I call last year’s Black Cat issue of Spider-Man!” You call out, already biking away from the boys. 

“We didn’t say go!”

Dustin and Will call after you as they try to catch up, and within a few seconds the three of you are speeding down the hill towards your home. You laugh gleefully, enjoying the way the wind whips through your hair and the way Dustin, though annoyed by your early start, laughs alongside you with Will. 

Somehow Will is the one who wins the race, which you’re impressed by. He may be small, but he’s surprisingly good at winning when it comes to a competition. Dustin shouts at Will that he’ll kill him, which makes you send a warning look at him. 

“I’ll take your X-Men 134!” Will retaliates, still flying through the street. 

You and Dustin are now stopped at your mailbox and you take a moment to catch your breath before shouting at Will, “Be careful, please! Stay safe!”

“I’ll be fine, I promise!” Will’s voice is distant, now a few yards away, and you stand outside for a few more seconds to watch his figure disappear into the night. Dustin has already gone inside but you wait to follow, only going inside when you can no longer see Will, hopefully home safe and sound. You feel fear creep upon you, but you chalk it up to your usual worry when it comes to the boy. 

He’ll be okay, Jonathan should be home within the hour. 

– 

The next morning you’re frantically biking to school, pissed off at Jonathan. He’s your ride every morning, or everywhere, really, and for the second time in 24 hours he’s bailed on you. Dustin left for school ages ago on his bike, so you’re thankful he doesn’t see you embarrassingly sweaty and gross as you race to school. 

It’s not that you’re pissed that Jonathan bailed again, you’re pissed because he didn’t even have the nerve to call you ahead of time to warn you. Now you have only ten minutes before the first bell rings, and your sweater clings to you uncomfortably as you sweat. 

You make it to school with a few minutes to spare, so you quickly make your way over to your locker to grab the necessary books for the day. You’re still sweaty, and you don’t want to even think about what your hair looks like right now. You look down the hall towards Jonathan’s locker, still not seeing him, and you begin to worry a bit. Maybe he overslept after last night’s shift? 

A body crashes into yours, sending your notebooks spiraling to the ground. Steve Harrington looks at you sheepishly, only saying a small “whoops!” before continuing his fast pace towards the girl’s bathroom. You scoff, now even more annoyed with your entire morning, picking up your stuff as you see Nancy enter the same bathroom a few moments later. 

“In a public school bathroom?” You mutter in disgust, collecting the last of your things and heading to class. 

You decide to give Jonathan until second period, sophomore English which the two of you share, before you freak out. You know you have a problem with over worrying about the people you love, so you try to calm yourself down. While Jonathan has never been the type to cancel without at least calling first, you reason with yourself that everyone has a bad morning. He simply slept in too late. When he wakes up, he’ll come to school and he’ll be sitting in the seat next to you in English. 

Except Jonathan isn’t in the seat next to yours when you enter the classroom an hour later. Now you officially let yourself begin to worry. Something about this doesn’t feel right. 

You’ve never skipped class before, school has always been important to you. You’re the top of your class with hopes of running away from Hawkins with Jonathan to a big city with an even bigger university. However, you don’t even hesitate to flee the classroom and find the nearest phone in the school to call the Byers’ residence. 

Jonathan answers after a few rings, and the words that leave his lips change your life forever. “Will is missing.”

You feel all the air in your lungs be knocked out of you. You can’t breathe and you sway a bit as your knees threaten to give out. This isn’t real, this can’t be happening. 

“What?”

“Will, he-he’s gone, Y/N. We can’t find him and-” 

You don’t hear whatever else Jonathan says. You struggle to get air back in your lungs. Will isn’t missing, you just saw him last night. Mere hours ago Will laughed next to you, face alive with joy, he hugged you and joked along with you. 

“He didn’t come home last night-”

“He didn’t come home?” Jonathan’s words catch your attention and you feel bile rise in your throat. Will didn’t make it home last night. You were the last one to see him, and the realization crushes you; it’s all your fault. 

“Mom and I just searched the woods, and there’s no sign of him and-” Jonathan is rambling now, his own fear and despair clear in his voice. 

“Jonathan,” you force his name out, now needing to be there for your best friend. You can worry for Will in your own time, right now Jonathan needs you. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” 

“Y/N, you don’t-”

You hang up before Jonathan can argue with you and stumble towards the exit. Your limbs feel heavier than normal, and your ears are ringing. Will is missing. He’s so small, he’s scared of the dark… You left him alone in the dark. 

The bike ride to the Byers home is a blur. You don’t remember much, your body going on autopilot the second you hopped on your bike. You’re running on pure fear and adrenaline right now, too worried for your boys to focus on anything else. 

You don’t bother to knock when you arrive, instead you let yourself in. Joyce is on the phone, arguing with some woman named Cynthia. Your eyes find Jonathan’s, who is sitting on the couch hunched over something. You walk over to him and sit down beside him and your stomach lurches when you see the words “have you seen me?” he’s so neatly printed out on a piece of paper.

“Bee…” you exhale, voice cracking a bit. 

Jonathan doesn’t say anything, but you know him as well as you know yourself. He doesn’t want comforting words right now. You take his hand into yours and lean your head against his shoulder. Worry has made his muscles tense, but you feel him relax into you a bit as he rests his own head against yours. The two of you sit like that for a moment, taking in the comfort you bring each other. 

“Bitch!” Joyce slams the phone down, causing you and Jonathan to jump apart. 

“Mom,”

“What?” Joyce is a mixture of both rage and anxiety, and you feel awful looking at her. Her son is missing, you can’t imagine what she must be feeling right now.

“You have to stay calm.” Jonathan tells her, his voice firm but kind. You know it’s taking everything in him to be as stable as he is right now; he’s putting on a front for his worried mother. You squeeze his hand, hoping it conveys the support and love that you need it to.

He squeezes back, and you see Joyce finally recognize that you’re there as well. She sends you a weak wave, which you return, before she goes back to dialing and trying to reach Lonnie. Jonathan gives your hand one last squeeze and lets go, now returning back to the posters. You immediately understand that he’s doing this to distract himself, so you do the same and wordlessly help him.

You begin writing your own “have you seen me?” when Joyce once again slams her phone down. The sound makes you flinch, inadvertently messing up your writing, which you sigh at. Before you can ask Jonathan for another piece of paper, you hear a car pull up. 

Jonathan stands up to investigate, alerting his mom that the cops are here. You follow after them outside, your heart dropping when you see Will’s bike in the Chief’s hand. He ushers everyone inside, informing Joyce that he found the bike lying in the road.

“How far was it from the house?” You ask, your voice frail. 

The Chief looks at you, his nametag informs you that his name is Hopper, and raises his eyebrows. “And can I know who is asking?” 

You clear your throat, nervous under his scrutinizing gaze. “I’m Y/N Henderson. I’m close with the Byers, I biked with Will home,” your voice catches in your throat, snagging onto the guilt that has been clawing at you ever since you found out Will was missing. You clear your throat again, determined to continue. “I was with him last night. My brother and I live right off Mirkwood, a few blocks from here. He only had a few more minutes before he would’ve been home.” 

Hopper stares at you. “Mirkwood?”

“It’s where-”

“Yeah, those moron kids explained it to me. I just didn’t think someone your age would call the street that, too.” Then, as an afterthought, Hopper adds, “The bike was found a block from here.”

His words sting, but you ignore it. If the bike was found only a block from the Byers’ home, then that means that something had to have happened to Will only minutes after you last saw him. You feel the familiar churning in your stomach, wracked with guilt. 

“Did it have any blood on it?” Joyce now asks, and you’re thankful she’s taken the attention off of you. 

Jonathan sees your distress and grabs your sweater so that you fall back a bit from the cops and Joyce. “Do you need a minute?”

You can only nod, afraid that if you open your mouth you’ll either cry or throw up. He gently guides you to his room, closing the door. Once you’re alone, he wraps his arms around you and pulls you in tight. You’re shaking harder than ever now, Will’s happy and shining face from last night keeps flashing through your mind. 

You were the last one who ever saw him.

You’re the one who was last responsible for him. 

You.

“It’s not your fault,” Jonathan whispers, his voice muffled by your hair. You’ve always loved how you fit perfectly in his arms, your height difference being just enough that he always rests his chin against your head when he hugs you. 

“I’m the last person who saw him.”

“Y/N, I was the one who asked you to only bike him halfway-”

“No,” your voice comes out louder than you intend it to, and you push Jonathan away. He lets out a confused noise as you grapple at him, forcing him to look directly at you. “I should’ve been with him, Jonathan. It’s your job to support your family, and it’s my job to help you. I have to… I have to be the one who helps you.” 

You’ve always been fascinated by psychology, and you remember reading in one of the journals about codependency; the term was used in relation to addiction, specifically alcoholism, but it had caught your interest. To love someone to the extent that their actions make you feel responsible for them, to selflessly take on their burdens to a debilitating extent, well, it reminded you of your relationship with Jonathan. 

You’ve always taken on whatever Jonathan has had to deal with, ever since you were kids, and it’s always come so naturally to you. He’s never asked you to, and sometimes the extent to which you carry his weight angers him, but it’s how you love.

It’s who you are. You’re always the one who helps, it’s what you need to be able to do. If you can’t help the ones you love the most, then what good is your love for them?

Jonathan may not know about codependency, but he knows how hard you love those closest to you. “Bug, listen to me.” He grabs your face, almost aggressively, in order to cut off your rambling. “My mom, she-she’s already spiraling and I can’t… I need you. I need you to be here, with me, right now. If I lose you too, then I-I don’t know what I’ll do.”

His words cut through you like glass. He’s right, you know he’s right, and you feel another wave of guilt wash over you. This guilt is different from the guilt surrounding Will. This is mixed with shame for allowing yourself to spiral so far and forcing Jonathan to take care of you. Joyce is clearly unwell, you can’t fathom how much he’s had to deal with today. 

You gently remove Jonathan’s hands from your face and take a step back. If you’re going to help him, you need to collect yourself. From here on out, you have to be a wall for him to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, someone who will listen to him. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Jonathan shrugs at you, now allowing a hesitant smile to cross his face. “If it makes you feel any better, it took a lot less pleading to get through to you. I’m still working on my mom.” 

The joke is foul, one that should make you feel even worse than you already do, because what sixteen year old has to plead with their mother to remind her that he’s there, too? The joke is horrible, and it’s exactly what you need to find yourself laughing, and Jonathan joins. 

Codependency can be a bitch, but Jonathan understands you in ways that no one else can. 

“You think the cops are gone?” You ask, wiping away the remaining tears. 

Jonathan listens for any sign of them and shakes his head. “No, I think we’re all clear.”

He walks out the room first and you follow after him. Joyce is standing in the kitchen, staring at the counter with a far off look in her eyes. You and Jonathan look at each other and you motion for him to go talk to her. He nods, and then you motion to the living room to indicate that you’ll continue working on the missing posters. 

Carefully writing on the posters soothes you, in a way. It’s rhythmic, providing a sense of lull that you readily embrace. You faintly hear Jonathan talking with his mother, then you watch as he leads her to her bedroom and shuts the door. When he returns he sits next to you on the couch and begins to work on the posters as well. No words are needed. 

You work on the posters in silence for a few hours until it nears 3pm. Dustin will be getting out of school soon, and you have to be there for him when he’s home. While Will may be Jonathan’s brother, he’s also your brother’s best friend. You get up and head into the kitchen, long familiar now with its layout and usual contents within the fridge, and quickly prepare the ingredients for spaghetti. It’s a simple meal, but Jonathan and Joyce need to eat. Once it’s all laid out, you return to the living room and tap on your friend’s shoulder. 

“Hey, I have to head out now to check on Dustin, but I just put a pot of water on the stove along with some noodles on the counter. I also cut up some vegetables and put them in the fridge for the sauce. Start the meal whenever, I laid everything out for you.”

“Thank you, really,” Jonathan exhales, relief evident on his face. He hadn’t even thought about dinner, which you figured he wouldn’t. 

You bend down to kiss the top of his head. “Anytime, bee. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” 

“Just…” you linger at the door, not fully wanting to leave him all by himself. “Be careful, please.” 

“Go, Y/N. I’ll be fine, I promise.” Jonathan reassures you.

“I’ll be fine, I promise!” Will’s voice is distant, now a few yards away, and you stand outside for a few more seconds to watch his figure disappear into the night.

It’s brief, but the flashback punches you in the gut. You close your eyes, holding onto the image of Will’s face in the moonlight last night, and when it fades you take a deep breath and force yourself to leave. 

The second you’re on your bike, pedaling away from the house, you let the sobs that have wracked against your throat all day out. It’s messy, the tears coming down your face faster than you can wipe them away. All the fear you’ve felt is now able to freely come out. It’s not the safest way to bike home, but you know that if you hold the tears in any longer you’ll collapse. You do your best to still be alert, but apparently you fail because a BMW honks at you to avoid you hitting it. 

“Fuck!” You yank your bike to the right, having no idea that you had been on the left side of the road, and topple over. The fall isn’t anything bad, but it definitely is your final straw for the day. You lay in the ditch you’ve landed in, staring at the November sky, and let the pain from your skinned knee serve as something to ground you to reality. 

“Holy shit, did I hit you?” 

Steve Harrington stands over you, a horrified look in his eyes. 

“Unfortunately not, otherwise I’d be able to sue you and get money out of it.” 

“Uh… okay?” He offers you his hand, although still very confused. “You didn’t like, happen to hit your head or anything, right?” 

You accept his help, albeit mostly because you have to, and brush yourself off when you’re up. “I’m fine. I just wasn’t paying attention, sorry.” 

Steve nods, as if you almost getting hit by his car makes perfect sense to him. When you walk over to your bike and inspect it for any damage, he follows after you. 

“So,” he whistles, trying to pretend that this is all a completely normal occurrence. “You, uh, need a ride?”

Honestly you don’t know why you’re surprised he hasn’t noticed the clear signs of you crying, your swollen eyes and red nose. Not only is he a boy, but he’s also Steve Harrington. It’s a miracle he even stopped to make sure you weren’t dead. 

“No,” you say, now repositioning your backpack so that you can get back on your bike. “Thanks anyways, Harrington.” 

Steve continues to follow you, even after you’ve started to pedal away. “You’re welcome, random girl I almost hit!”

You’re a bit further now, and you still feel like utter shit, but his words somehow make you laugh a bit. For a brief moment, you forget about everything, so you call behind, “It’s Henderson!” 

“That’s an odd first name!” The boy shouts after you, still following from a distance. 

“Y/N Henderson!” You’re fully yelling now, a good yard away, but you can tell that Steve hears you based on the way he begins to wave eagerly, finally stopping next to his car. Faintly you understand the boyish charm that makes him so loved by all the girls in the school; you understand why Nancy Wheeler has fallen for him.

“Bye, Y/N!” It’s faint, but you swear you can hear a smile in his voice.  

The good mood that Steve Harrington inexplicably puts you in vanishes when you near your house. Nothing has changed, yet it feels as if something has shifted. Will had been here only hours ago. You spot Dustin’s bike laying on the grass, haphazardly thrown as usual. 

Dustin is just taking off his coat when you enter, immediately running over to him to pull him into a bone crushing hug. 

“Y/N!” he squeaks in surprise. 

“Are you okay?” You know you’re squeezing your brother harder than you need to, but God. He’s safe, in your arms, and you’ve now learned that not everyone can say the same about their own loved ones. 

Dustin wiggles a bit, trying to break away from the hug, but you only pull him in tighter. “Geesh, no one died.” 

Normally you’d berate him, but you embrace his snarky comments. They’re what make Dustin so unique, his humor one of your favorite parts of him

When you don’t respond, Dustin stops wiggling around and finally accepts the situation. “I love ya too, sis.” 

You giggle a bit, now pulling away. “At least mom isn’t home right now. The minute she hears about what’s happened, we’ll be on lockdown.”

Dustin’s eyes widen. “Shit, you’re right.” 

“Lan-”

“Language, I know.”

You ruffle his hair, now feeling a bit better. Dustin is still Dustin, so maybe everything will be okay. You and your brother go into the kitchen for your post school snack, and you call your boss to inform her that you can’t make it to your shift. The words “family emergency” catch in your throat a bit, and Mrs. Waters is kind enough not to push it.

Dustin catches you up on his day, informing you about Hopper questioning him and the other boys. 

You scrunch your nose at that. “Is that even legal?”

“Unsure, but it was awesome.”

“Will went missing, Dustin. It isn’t ‘awesome’.”

Dustin tilts his head at you. “Well, I bet Will is going to have a blast hearing everything when we find him.” 

His words are so matter of fact, as if he already knows that Will will be found after all. His naivety worries you a bit, but you also can’t help but indulge in his hope as well. Then you think about what he’s just said. “Wait, who’s ‘we’?”

Your brother pretends he can't hear you, miming at his ears. “Dustin-”

“What?”

“Dustin, you and the boys can’t just-”

“I can’t hear you!” He’s running to his room now with you quick behind his heels. 

“Dustin, I swear to God-”

“I gotta do homework, Y/N, bye!” He slams the door in your face. 

You sigh. There’s no getting through to him, years of being Dustin’s older sister has taught you that, so you go into your room instead. You might as well get started on the assignments you missed today, and you have a huge chem test tomorrow, so you’ll focus on that and keep an ear out for Dustin. Whatever he’s planning with the boys, you won’t let them do it alone. 

After a couple hours of silence from Dustin’s room, you decide to call Jonathan. The line rings for a while with no answer, and eventually you give up. It makes sense that he’s not answering, he’s had a long day. You hope he’s asleep, but you know him better than that. He’s probably holed up in his room, trying to distract himself like you are right now. 

A loud thud from Dustin’s room breaks you from your thoughts. Then you hear a quiet “shhh!” that sounds suspiciously like Lucas, and you immediately throw on your shoes and a jacket and march outside. 

Dustin is halfway out of his window when you arrive, and Mike and Lucas stare at you, caught red handed. 

“Guys, I think she can hear us.” Your brother says, breaking the silence. Mike scoffs at him and Lucas groans. 

You eye the three of them, unamused. “Your best friend just went missing, what the hell are you guys doing out here so late and alone?”

Dustin awkwardly finishes his descent down, finally landing on his feet with a thud. He secures his hat back on his head and goes to grab his bike. You block his path. 

“I’m serious, one of you needs to start talking, now.” 

Lucas and Dustin look at Mike, who is their unofficial leader of the gang, and he huffs. “Look, Y/N, I like you-”

“How thrilling.” You say, voice monotone. 

The boy ignores you and continues to talk. “But Will is missing, and we aren’t just going to sit around and wait. He’s our friend, we have to do something.” 

You open your mouth to speak, but Lucas interrupts you. “You’re definitely our favorite sister in the group, so you’d be even cooler if you let us go.” 

Again, you try to respond, but this time Dustin beats you to it. “Yeah, you’re like, totally cool already. If you pretend that you never saw us, that’d be great.” 

“Guys-”

“And don’t give us a whole lecture about safety. That’s all bull.” Mike says. 

“Boys!” You scream. They all fall silent, not used to you ever raising your voice at them. You’ve only ever yelled at them once or twice, preferring to be the “cool” sister whenever you can, but right now they’re seriously pissing you off. 

“Let me speak.” When no one says anything, you continue. “I’m not going to stop you guys from looking for Will. In fact, I support it-”

“You do?”

You shoot Mike a death glare, which promptly shuts him up. “Yes, I do. However, I’m not letting you guys go alone.” 

The boys all groan at this, acting as if it’s the worst thing in the world to have you tag along with them. You ignore their complaining and head over to where your bike sits against the porch. You zip up your coat, the chill from the night making you shiver a bit. 

“No arguing, or I’ll call all your moms. Ours included, Dustin.”

“Why me?”

“Look, guys. I’m proud of you for stepping up, but I’m coming with. The last time I let one of you boys go off into the woods alone…” 

The boys shift uncomfortably now, realizing how heavy the guilt weighs upon you. After a few beats of silence, Mike finally gives in. 

“Fine,” he says, pointing a finger at you. “But the second you start to freak out, you’re gone.” 

You salute Mike, hopping on your bike as you all begin to bike away. The ride doesn’t take long, since you live just off of where Will was last seen. Thunder rumbles when you all approach the crime scene, and you shudder a bit. 

“It’s going to rain, guys.” You inform them. 

Dustin looks up at the sky with uncertainty. “I think maybe we should go back.”

Mike is quick to shut down the idea, urging the others to keep going. You admire his loyalty to Will, and you figure it’s why the two of you butt heads so often. Out of the entire group, you’re the most similar to him. 

Lucas and Mike go under the caution tape first, and Dustin hangs back. You place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “We can go back, you know.” 

He clenches his jaw, jutting his chin out a bit. “No, Will needs us.”

Your brother puffs out his chest and follows after his friends, leaving you to take up the rear. More thunder rumbles and the rain begins to come down. You flip your hood up, thankful you remembered to grab a hoodie when leaving. 

Mike guides the way with his flashlight, then Lucas, then Dustin, then you in the back. You make sure to keep your eyes on the three boys, scared that the second you look away they’ll be gone. The woods have always creeped you out, but you push your fear down to keep them safe. 

“Will!” Mike calls out, the rain now pouring down on you guys. 

“Byers!” 

“Will, little bee!” You call out as well. He never liked when you called him that in front of the others, but tonight was an exception. 

“I’ve got your X-Men 134!” Your brother bribes, unintentionally making you laugh a bit. If Will is nearby, he’ll surely come out to claim his prize. 

Your foot catches on a tree log, and you slip in the mud before just barely managing to catch yourself. It’s getting hard to see given how dark it is and the rain surrounding you. Dustin voices his concerns, only to be called a baby, and you bite your tongue. If you defend him, he’ll only look more like a baby to his friends. 

“I’m just being realistic!” He retaliates, which you commend him for. 

“Dustin’s right, guys. It’s getting really bad out here. We’re surrounded by a ton of trees, don’t they attract lightning?” You ask, now paranoid that you’ll be struck down any second. 

“You guys are being sissies.” Lucas taunts, annoyed as well. 

You try to argue, but Dustin voices a thought that’s been at the back of your mind. “Did you ever think Will went missing because he ran into something bad?”

You think back to how Hopper seemed worried when he investigated the Byers home. From what you can recall, he suspected that Will had been running away from something, explaining why he’d abandon his bike.

“And now we’re going to the exact same spot where he was last seen, and we have no weapons or anything?”

Maybe Dustin’s right. This definitely wasn’t your best idea, and you’re regretting letting them follow through with their plan. For someone who claims to want to keep their loved ones safe, you really suck at it. 

“Dustin, shut up.” Mike voices, though he now looks a bit concerned as well. 

“He’s right, Mike.” You speak up, stumbling a bit in more mud. Your shoes are definitely ruined, now. “I was at Jonathan’s when Hopper showed up, he thinks Will was running from something.” 

The boys go quiet now, and when you’re about to suggest going home, you hear rustling in the bushes. 

“Did you guys hear that?” Mike asks. 

Your heart stops as the rustling continues and you all start to twist and turn, looking for the source of the sound. The rustling gets louder, almost as if it’s getting closer, and you tighten your hand around your flashlight, ready to use it as a weapon just in case. 

Then, the light flashes upon a little girl, drenched in an oversized yellow shirt, shivering. Her head is shaved, but her small stature suggests to you that she is indeed a girl. You all stare at her, no one saying a thing. She stares back, a terrified look on her face that breaks your heart. 

“Holy shit,” you whisper. 

Her eyes land on you; something about her reminds you of Will, and  you know that nothing will be the same again.

-

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[barblaz-arts]

Hello!

I would like to start with the fact that your art style is amazing, same goes for the design of the characters. (They look yummy tbh)

I have been wondering if you ever got some kind of art block, if yes what did you do?

If you see this, I hope you have a great day.

Thank you!

Most of the time, when I wanna draw but cant quite know WHAT i wanna draw, I redraw stuff. Like, screenshots. Or old drawings. Or even memes. Those are especially fun for drawing expressions I might not usually draw. Or I take scenes from fics I like or fics I've written and draw them. It helps that I get to move my pen with only half the brain power needed to picture what I want drawn.

But sometimes when I really cant overcome it, I usually just wait it out. Do my other hobbies like read or write or churn up another meta analysis. You cant force yourself to overcome that block sometimes and that's ok.

Oh but sometimes tho! Something that works unintentionally is when I'm like really really upset. I dont like to show it much, bcuz I understand that I'm getting old and I have a significant amount of followers that I dont wanna be a bad example to... But I can have quite a temper on me and can get really petty. But instead of exploding, I try to draw with those feelings.

Like, a while ago, I got really upset about stuff with an AI art fraud. And im just like, you know what this person can claim they're an "artist" all they want, but they still havent even shown a paper drawing as concrete proof. all just excuses and shit. The next moment I drew this, just to reassure myself that I'm an artist and I know what being a real artist is. That unlike AI frauds, I can show I dont need a computer to draw. All I need is a pencil and paper and I'm good.

(Then I proceeded to draw more than I usually do on paper because of that lmao)

And then when Youtooz came with an announcement that they're gonna release four figurines, half of which was 2 versions of Alastor and NO sign of Vaggie, I drew four Vaggies. Yes. I drew all this angry. Until yunno. I got so happy over how nice this ended up looking instead.

And then the last art I posted with the Harem Hotel AU? That's been in my drafts since november but I only got to finish it recently because I got upset over all the people in my notifs leaving hate comments about Vaggie lmao. Just told myself that they can claim to be objective critics who arent misogynistic, but at the end of the day all they could do is leave mean comments on twitter. Meanwhile, I can create! It's borderline horny gay shit, but hey! At least I'm doin' something productive! I can show female characters like her are are worth so much love to the point of making art!

Just. Idk. Maybe next time you feel negative feelings and shit, use art as the outlet for that negativity. Make something out of it. It doesnt have to be pretty, but hopefully it could make you feel good.

Or you know. Like I said, just wait it out.

[nalyra-dreaming]

i just started reading the books after the show and i think one of the biggest changes is how in the book, it's clear lestat didn't deserve to be killed, whereas in the show, he very much did. that sets up all their conflicts from the first book onward, how they're both mutually awful to each other and constantly misunderstanding each other. that's the core of their conflict and i feel like that changes completely makes their whole dynamic different in the show. what do you think of this change?

(You must be new here :) *waves*)

No, Lestat did not deserve to be killed.

But the show had to make it seem so. That is why they amped up the abuse, amped up the aggravation within the tale.

It comes with the basic change they did in setting and age, to an extent, because Lestat is a lot older when he meets Louis, a lot more jaded.

And... it comes with the arc they want to do, namely "get" Lestat to the "Prince Lestat" state, as Rolin has already hinted at several times.

The route they are taking to get there... is a very different one to the books, let's put it that way, and it is not one I like all aspects of.

And it changes the dynamic, yes! But... given how much of a caveat they gave themselves with "Armand's tinkering"... it still remains to be seen how changed the Loustat dynamic actually is.

Because we have not seen the "real" Loustat dynamic yet. We have seen glimpses.

Supposedly we have seen ONE scene with the "real Lestat" so far - namely this:

This.

This is supposedly the real Lestat, with the real Louis. In a scene with a supposedly objective camera lens.

And THAT is a whole different thing to the "tale" we were fed - Armand tried to feed "us" - over the last two seasons.

It will remain to be seen, just how much... of the tale will still stand by the end of the series.

The writers have said in November 2022 they would revisit murder night, and that has not happened yet, so I'm expecting that for s3.

Because Claudia's words in her diary do not match what we saw... and so a lot of THAT will change what we currently know, too.

We will only be able to... judge what to make of the changes after the series has run. Some of them frustrate me, because of the repercussions, fandom-wise. But I don't think we have had any final word on them, tbh.