#he has grown so much throughout the seasons and these are some of the last things he has to deal with

[catabasis]

once again thinking of how they could address the captain's sexuality in the final season (and again, i wouldn't want a big coming out scene, i wouldn't want them to make a big deal out of it, i just think that, since most of the ghosts have dealt with their insecurities and unresolved issues, the captain also deserves that because it's a part of him, like his inability to completely let go of the war and his military persona, which also should be addressed) and i think my favoured approach would be a subtle one where we see the captain progressively loosening up a bit more and being more open and comfortable about it without trying to hide it. like when adam (the assistant director) came to button house, or when he commented about one of the workers being handsome and having strong arms. i would love to see something like that again but this time with the captain not trying to correct himself or hide it. another option that could go hand in hand with this one (and would be more emotional and would require the captain to really open up) could happen in the case of havers coming back for another flashback: the captain could confess, either to the rest of the ghosts or just to himself in a "pillow talk" kind of scene, that havers was the first man he fell in love with.

there are so many ways to approach this that wouldn't require the captain to just say “i'm gay”, although if they (six idiots/them there) do it that way, i don't think i would mind because i trust them to do it right.

and like i said before, i'm hoping that first and foremost they address and possibly resolve the captain's feelings about the war and his clinging to his military persona, at the very least to have him come to terms with the war being over and how the war negatively impacted his life, which in a way could be connected to his sexuality.

season five will be the final season, and it's time for the captain to face all these things that are a part of him, and to finally, hopefully, feel more at peace with them.

[steveslevis]

‘tis the damn season

AUTUMN

chapter contents/warnings: exes to whatever the hell this is, a little bit of smut, angst, weed and alcohol use, mutual pining, steve is an idiot and is afraid of commitment </3, barely proofread (sowwy)

w/c: 5.3k

The first big frost of the season blankets the town of Hawkins when you arrive on Wednesday night, the bits of ice glittering on the orange and brown leaves making the barren streets seem less intimidating as you make your way through your hometown for the first time in months. 

There’s a sense of anticipation and dread that fills your stomach while navigating the streets you know so well, knowing you’re going to be asked the same mundane questions about college in the big city a thousand times over during the next three weeks. You know that’s not the only thing filling you with dread for the weeks to come, but keep telling yourself that’s all you have to worry about — right?

The first evening you arrive in town is jam-packed, since your friends insisted on having a so-called “Friends-giving-mas” as the night that you arrived, due to your anticipated absence on the aforementioned Christmas. You spend a few hours with your mom and dad before leaving, enlisting your mom to help you make some cookies for the party, promising you’d leave her and your dad some behind. 

The clock hits 7 p.m. and you’re finally finished getting ready, having just thrown on a red velvet, long sleeved dress that hit just above your knees and your best black boots, Robin had requested everyone to look their best so she could take photos with her new camera throughout the party. You grabbed your secret santa gift and jacket, checking yourself in the mirror one last time before leaving your room. 

“Alright, I’m leaving.” you call out as you bound down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Don’t forget your cookies, sweetheart! They’re on the table.” she replied from her place next to your dad on the couch, watching some rom-com while he was dozing beside her, “if you need us to come pick you up, we will.”

You let out a laugh at her remark, knowing that you were only walking to the next house over on the road, so picking you up would be ridiculous. 

“Oh, I think I’ll manage just fine.” you joke in return while grabbing the plate of cookies, “love you guys!”

—————————

The outside of the Harrington’s house is gleefully lit with warm string lights, wreaths already adorning the front windows and main door to the house in anticipation of Christmas in a few weeks. You always admired the way their house looked during the holidays, but knew it was only a cheery facade to hide the dysfunction that lay within the halls of the residence.

You knew the family all too well, having grown up next to Steve your entire life. You were the same age as him, grew up attending all the same parties as him, but ran in completely different circles than him — well, up until your senior year of high school at least. 

Long story short, being best friends with Robin led to you ultimately becoming so-called friends with Steve Harrington as well. The two of you had what you now called a stupid summer fling before you left for Chicago in August, but the rest was history. The two of you had agreed to stay civil and not let the remnants of any unresolved feelings come between your friendship and the rest of the friend group.

So here you were, knocking on Steve Harrington’s front door on a random Wednesday in late November, cookies in hand as you stood there, shivering. You faintly hear Robin say that she would get the door, then hear footsteps pad towards the entrance. 

You’re greeted by your best friend with the strongest hug you swear you’ve ever experienced, and you feel like you might not ever be let go if she has anything to say about it.

“Oh my god! I missed you so much.” Robin exclaims, the widest grin on her face as she grabs for your hand, “everyone’s in here, we’re just waiting on Nance and Jonathan then we’ll be ready to eat but come in! I have so much to tell you about everything you don’t even know—” 

You follow behind her wordlessly, smiling to yourself as she rambles on about college applications and band and Vickie — who just so happened to be in the kitchen helping finish making the mashed potatoes so you had to be quiet — and everything that she can think to fit in a conversation to catch her best friend up on after months without. She leads you to the dining room after dropping off the cookies, where you hear two familiar voices having a very passionate conversation. 

“I’m telling you, man, I’m cursed—“

“You’re not cursed, Harrington. I’m telling you, you’re just looking in the wrong place for love.” Eddie retorts to his frustrated friend, rolling his eyes at him.

“Oh yeah? And where should I be looking?” Steve snorts, haphazardly tossing forks, knives and spoons atop the napkin at each seat of the table.

“I’ve been saying ever since what happened this summer, you should be going after — oh shit, Y/N!” Eddie interjects, cutting himself off when you trail in behind Robin.

The metalhead pulls you in for a bear hug, whispering in your ear about how he promises not to ask you boring questions about college like everyone else. As you’re being engulfed in his embrace, you hear the sound of silverware tumbling to the ground from the other side of the table, followed by a string of mumbled curse words from the dropper.

You pull away from Eddie’s hug to look at where the noise is coming from, only to see Steve fumbling with a fork and spoon while trying to stand up from where he was just kneeling. Your gaze lingers on him for a moment too long, taking in everything about him that you told yourself you didn’t miss. Eddie gives you a knowing look and you roll your eyes, knowing that he’s trying to tell you to not make things weird, so you try your best.

“Stevie, how are you?” you call to him while walking around the table, putting on the best oblivious and excited face that you can.

“H-Hey, Y/N.” Steve says, feigning coolness as he pulls you in for a quick hug, nearly stumbling over his words when you use the nickname you always loved to tease him with, “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” 

His eyes flicker over to Robin momentarily, who shoots him a guilty grin before mouthing ‘sorry’ over your shoulder.

“Yeah, it was kinda last minute on my part, I just so happened to be coming home tonight since my finals were all at the beginning of the week. I kinda forced Rob to tell me when it would be so I could crash it,” you lie, trying to throw the blame on yourself instead of her, “sorry if I messed anything up, I-I’ll lay low and won’t eat if that messes up numbers or something—“

“No!” Steve rushes to retort, shaking his head at you adamantly, “I mean, shit—sorry. No, you’re not messing anything up at all, you know you’re always welcome here.” 

The smile on Steve’s face is genuine as he speaks, but there’s a glint of sadness in his eyes while he scans yours for any sign of hesitancy. You give him a small smile in return, quickly moving your gaze from his to push down that sinking feeling in your chest you know is coming. Your chest aches as you focus your eyes downward, realizing that this night would be a lot harder than you had convinced yourself that it would be. 

“Well!” Robin interjects, interrupting the growing awkward silence filling the air of the dining room where you stood. She reached for your hand while smiling over at you sympathetically, beginning to drag you towards the kitchen as she spoke, “gotta go say hello to everyone else before dinner!”

Your best friend whirled you around to the rest of the guests–which was just Nancy, Jonathan, and Vickie–who were all in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the meal. 

A slew of awkward questions about Chicago ensued in the moments leading up to and during dinner, but you took them in stride as they distracted you from the bright eyed boy across the table who kept sneaking glances in your direction any chance he got. You explained your major, what you did for work outside of class time, and talked about all the new friends you met in the short few months you’d been gone. You could’ve sworn Steve’s jaw clenched at the mention of a date you went on prior to leaving for break, but you didn’t put too much thought into it. 

Dinner goes by fairly quickly, and then it’s time for Secret Santa gifts in the living room. Robin begged everyone to participate, and even went through the effort of making sure you and Steve didn’t get each other, partly to not ruin the surprise of you being here and partly to diminish any awkwardness that might arise from it. 

You had drawn Jonathan’s name, so you gifted him a few rolls of different camera film. Each person had to guess who their Secret Santa was, but apparently your gift was pretty obvious since he hadn’t been able to find any film like it anywhere near Hawkins, so he guessed you first. 

Your turn rolled around and a small red gift bag was sat in your lap. You immediately knew who your gift was from, halfway from the grin plastered on his face and halfway from the smell lingering from inside the back in your hands. 

“Thank you, Eddie.” you giggle out while pulling out four perfectly rolled blunts from the gift bag, courtesy of the best dealer in Hawkins.

“It’s always a pleasure,” he jabs back, “we can fire one up after presents if you’d like.” 

You nod quickly at him, grinning widely before turning back to the circle where Robin was handing out gifts.

—————————

It’s not long before drinks are flowing and laughter is spilling through the Harrington residence, something that’s happened very few times within those halls. The night seems to go by too quickly, you notice how quickly when you check and it says 11 P.M. already, even though it feels like you’ve only been there a few hours. You’re sitting on the couch with Robin and Vickie, giggling their way through a story about some guy in the Hawkins band, when the sight of the back door sliding open and closed catches your eye. 

You turn your gaze to see Steve stalking into the cold on his own, head turned down as he walks towards one of the ice-slicked pool chairs on the deck. A frown passes over your face as you furrow your brows, excusing yourself from the couple on the couch as you slip outside to follow him with your bottle of wine, one of your newly gifted blunts and a lighter in hand. 

It’s the last thing you should be doing tonight, really. You shouldn’t be following Steve Harrington – the man who was too afraid to say he loved you and too afraid to commit to you – onto the porch. You should’ve stayed inside and drank some more wine with the rest of them and let yourself cut loose for once, but you just couldn’t do it. You just had to talk to him – you weren’t so sure what you wanted to talk about, but you just felt the need to.

“You alright?” was all you could slip out as you closed the sliding glass door, watching the brown haired boy from afar, making sure you weren’t making the wrong decision.

“Yeah–Yeah, just needed a little bit of fresh air.” Steve stammered, eyes widening for only a moment when he notices that it’s you that followed him outside.  

You only hum in response, stepping closer to him as you sense no annoyance or anger in his voice, finding a spot on the chilled pool chair next to his. After setting down the bottle of wine you’d been nursing throughout the night, you took the blunt you’d brought as a peace offering between your fingers and waved it in front of his face.

Steve looked up for a moment, gaze shifting between the blunt between your fingers and your lips that curled up into a mischievous yet friendly smirk. His own lips perked up in a lopsided smile, raising an eyebrow at you when you brought the blunt to your lips, followed by the lighter.

“Would you like to partake?” you joke while puffing smoke through your lips, mixing with the cold puffs of breath coming from Steve’s. 

“I’ll never say no to that,” he retorts, reaching to grab the blunt from your fingers. 

There’s a breath of comfortable silence between the two of you as he inhales, then lets out a long exhale before focusing his gaze back onto the pool in front of him, onto the ice forming on the pool cover as a way to avoid your eyes. 

“So, how’s the Stevie Harrington been faring since I’ve been gone?” you joked after a moment more of the quiet, shoving any nerves down that were threatening to force you to run back inside. 

Awful, utterly dull and extremely depressing, was what Steve wanted to say. 

He wanted to tell you how he fucked up so badly, how he hasn’t been the same since the last time he saw you, how he hasn’t even been able to look at anyone without thinking of you. He wanted to grab you by the cheeks and pull you in for a kiss and never let go. He wanted to scream and tell you how much he regretted ever letting you leave without knowing how he really felt, but he couldn’t now. It was too late, so he just said; “Oh, y’know. I’ve been fine. Just the same shit, different day.”

Steve wanted to kick himself for saying something so lame, something so uninteresting when the most interesting person in the world was sitting right in front of him. 

“Does ‘same shit, different day’ just mean you’re stuck being the same old chauffeur-babysitter you’ve been for the last two years?” you tease, reaching down to grab the bottle of wine at your feet. 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Steve chuckled, giving you a warm smile as he took another puff. 

It only took a few moments to finally break the ice between the two of you, then things fell right back into place, right back into a comfortable normalcy. There was something that put you so at ease being outside with him, being able to talk to him without the looming thought of who would be the first to say “I love you” or who would be the first to leave waving over both of your heads. 

The next hour went by in a breeze, and it seemed the party inside died down by the time the two of you decided to walk back in. Steve closed the sliding glass door behind you two and you noticed only Eddie and Robin were left standing in the living room. Vickie was presumably in the guest bed, where Robin was about to head to. Jonathan and Nancy had left twenty minutes prior, only popping their heads out to say a quick goodbye before driving off.

Robin said a quick goodnight to you before heading up the stairs, along with a promise to see you tomorrow for a girl’s day. Then, it was just you, Eddie and Steve in the living room, Eddie at the couch setting up his bed for the night while the two of you stood in silence by the sliding glass door still. 

“I–I guess I should probably head home for the night,” you say, breaking the silence between the three of you as you start towards your bag and coat on the other side of the room.

“Why don’t you just stay?” Steve interjects a little too loudly, the weed and wine in his system instilling some false confidence in him. “It’s so cold out and I’m sure at this point your parents already think you’re staying anyways.”

You stop on your toes at Steve’s voice, cheeks heating at how interested he sounded in you staying there for the night. It’s not like it was a far and dangerous walk, Steve just wanted an excuse to be around you for longer. You turn around to look at him, then to Eddie, who was giving you a tired smile.

“We can have a sleepover on the couch,” Eddie chuckles, reaching for one of the pillows he was setting out for himself to move it to the other side of the couch for you. 

“I don’t have any clothes,” you suggest, looking down at your velvet dress that would be extremely uncomfortable to sleep in. 

“Oh, I’m sure Stevie has some clothes that you can sleep in!” Eddie says, shooting a smirk in his direction.

“O–Of course I do, I’m sure I still have your favorite pajama pants up there if you want them.” Steve says hurriedly, as if you would change your mind if he didn’t answer quickly enough.

You give the two of them a smile, pretending to contemplate the decision for a moment before nodding. You could’ve sworn you heard Steve let out a breath of relief at your nod, but he turned towards the stairs before you could acknowledge it. Without a word, you follow right behind him up the stairs, slowly realizing the effects of the cherry wine and weed are coming to the surface. 

Steve steps into his bedroom and you follow behind him, a situation the two of you knew all too well. 

—————————

You don’t know what led to this, but there you were, in Steve’s bedroom, him towering over your space on his bed as he pulled you in for a heated kiss. Tongue against teeth, hands against cheeks, legs tangled together, just like they were meant to be. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen, you swore to yourself you wouldn’t come crawling back every time you were in town, but here you were. 

Somehow coming upstairs for a stupid pair of pajamas led to Steve giving you that look of lust and utter desire, led to you becoming a willing participant in his games once again after swearing you would never touch him again, led to you letting him sneak his way into your heart – and pants – yet again. 

Your head is spinning as he kisses you, his lips slotted into yours like they belonged there, a perfect fit. You’re unsure if it’s the wine, the weed or the sheer yearning that’s making you feel like this, but you don’t want it to stop any time soon. 

There’s a gnawing feeling in your stomach when Steve props his knee up on the bed next to your hip, you know you should stop before he gets any further, but the ache between your thighs is outweighing any thought of what would come after he spreads you open. 

Steve groans into your mouth when you pull him closer, fingers intertwining with and tugging the hair at the nape of his neck, and you only smirked against his lips in satisfaction. You knew everything about the boy who was turning to a puddle just from the touch of your fingers. You knew exactly how to make him tick, and him the same for you.

“Fuck,” Steve breathes when he finally pulls away from you, full lips parted as he stares down at you. There’s a twinkle in his eye that you haven’t seen in so long, one you used to mistake for love but now only know to be pure lust. “I–I’m sorry I just, I need–I need you.”

You stare at the desperate, doe-eyed man in front of you for a long moment, mind wandering to a place of fear as you think about what you’re about to do. 

Instead of saying anything in reply, you close the space between the two of you once again, smashing your lips into his in a feverish and bruising kiss. Steve is on you in an instant, gently pushing you back and up on the bed, letting your head fall on his pillows. You can tell by the way he stumbles on his way up to you that he’s intoxicated — on the weed or the wine, or you, you’re not sure — but you soon realize that you are too.

A hand wanders toward the hem of Steve’s sweater, tugging at it quickly as he pulls away from the bruising kiss. He wastes no time in pulling the cable-knit up and over his head, tossing it to the side while sitting up on his knees to take you the sight of you in. Your skin was hot and your eyes were blown with lust, cheeks flushed and lips parted as you stared up at him.

You’d only been under him for a minute and had completely folded to his touch. You cursed yourself for letting your inhibitions crumble so quickly, but another part of you didn’t actually care, the same part of you that wanted to claim him as yours forever. 

Steve’s eyes trailed over you, from your cheeks to the low neckline of your dress, over the curve of your hips, ending on your thighs spread on either side of his knees. The crushed velvet of your skirt bunched where your leg met your hip, letting the fabric ride up enough for Steve to see exactly what he was searching for. 

He sucked in a breath at the sight of your white lace underwear beneath, having to hold himself back from diving in right that second.

“You’re so beautiful,” he groaned, hands tracing over your hip bones while lowering his lips to yours once again.

A moan falls from your lips as his meet yours, his knee coming up between your thighs, creating friction against your core.

“Fuck—Stevie,” you say, choking back a pitiful whine while grinding against his thigh desperately, “please, I need you.”

You swear you hear Steve nearly choke at your words, three words he’d been dying to hear from you for months. 

“I know, I know, baby.” he coos at you, trying to keep his cool as he strains against his pants, “I’ll take care of you.”

You nod feverishly as he leans down to pepper kisses along your neck, taking his sweet time while trying not to get drunk off the scent of you.

“This—This doesn’t mean anyth—this doesn’t change anything,” he stammers between kisses, peering up at you as he speaks, “we can still stay close—keep being friends after this.”

You hum in agreement, ignoring the dread building in your gut as you do. You want to be more than friends, you want to scream at him until he admits that he loves you too. But he nearly said it doesn’t mean anything, so you’re convinced he wants nothing to do with you after tonight, nothing but a friend to laugh with and a pretty face to fuck on every break from college. 

You push the thoughts from your mind, focusing on the boy in front of you as his hands begin to massage your inner thighs, inching closer and closer to your core with every circle. Steve chuckles lowly as you let out a whine of anticipation, teasing you silently as he gives in to your desires.

Steve knows your body like he knows his own, so what comes after pulling off your dress is nearly second nature to him. One large hand trails to the waistband of your underwear while the other reaches for your breast, nipple peaked from the exposure to the cold air conditioning. You moan in surprise when he wastes no time in putting his mouth to work on your other nipple, tugging your underwear down your legs simultaneously. 

His fingers immediately fall to your core once you’re free of the underwear, fingertips circling the bundle of nerves at the top as you let out another whimper. 

His moves are careful but quick, he knows you want to waste no more time, and you’ll whine about his teasing if he doesn’t act soon. 

He’s out of his boxers in an instant, one hand keeping contact with your clit as he situates himself above you.

“You look so good like this, sweetheart.” Steve says, voice low as his eyes raked over your body, “so pretty spread out for me, all fucked out for me even though I’ve barely touched you.”

“Stevie…” you whimper, reaching a hand up to him, but he pulls from your reach with a smirk across his face.

“Tell me what you want from me,” he says, leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek as he lines himself up with your slick, teasing the tip against you slowly.

“I—I need you, Steve.” you beg, cheeks flushing at the admittance, “I need you to fuck me, please.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” he retorts with a smirk, sliding into you with ease.

You both let out a low moan as he bottoms out, filling you in a way you haven’t felt in a long time. You forgot how thick he was in the time you’d been gone, your body wasn’t used to the stretch of his cock inside you, but it still felt like he was meant to be there. Like he was the only one who could make you feel this way.

And you were right, nobody could make you feel that way. Nobody else could touch you and make you fall apart in less than five minutes like he could. Nobody else could get you so riled up over a few praises thrown in with some condescension (which you embarrassingly loved too much) like he could. Nobody could hold off from cumming long enough to give you three orgasms before getting one of their own like he could. 

Nobody did it like he could.

This doesn’t mean anything you repeat in your mind, clinging to his arm like your life depended on it after the two of you calmed your breathing and cleaned up. You weren’t sure if you were repeating those words to convince yourself or to ease your own mind about what just went down, but you knew they stung your heart more than any fighting words the two of you had ever exchanged.

“I missed this, cuddling with you, holdin’ you like this.” was all he slurred out against your hair, pressing a sleepy kiss into the crown of your head.

“Yeah, me too.” you mumble in return, accepting the warmth of his embrace as sleep finally took you in, ignoring the gnawing pain growing in your chest.

—————————

The spice of Steve’s cologne mixes with the familiar scent of his room, filling your senses when you wake, nearly sending you into a panic. You sit upright in the bed, turning to face the boy you claimed you wanted nothing to do with romantically just a few hours ago. Steve is sleeping peacefully next to you, plush lips parted and brows furrowed as he subconsciously pouts about the loss of your touch. The alarm clock behind him read 2:03 A.M., meaning you hadn’t been out for too long, but long enough to sober you up somehow. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. I gotta get out of here. Is all you can think as you stumble out from under the comforter, knowing you would never live it down if anyone found you’d slept in his bed, especially with your limbs entangled like they just were. You quickly dress in the clothes you’d originally come into the bedroom to fetch, and snuck out of the bedroom without a sound. 

Before making it to the living room, you turned toward the dimly lit kitchen for a glass of water. What you weren’t expecting to be faced with in the kitchen was Eddie, but there he was, leaning against the counter with disheveled hair that probably mirrored your own. 

“What a night so far, huh?” he jokes as you shoot him a knowing glare while trudging across the tiled floor. 

“Don’t even start with me, Munson.” you warn, absentmindedly reaching your hand up to the cabinet for a glass while shaking your head.

“Woah, don’t get that attitude with me! I didn’t say anything,” he laughs, setting his own glass into the sink, “but that also doesn’t mean I didn’t hear anything.”

“You did not,” you snap back, eyes wide and cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he gives you a shit-eating grin, “there’s no way you heard anything because nothing happened.”

“You’ve always been such a bad liar, Y/N.” Eddie laughs, stepping out of the kitchen to walk towards the living room where the two of you would be sleeping. 

A sigh escapes your lips when Eddie leaves, letting you be alone with your thoughts finally. There was an ache in your chest that wasn’t going away any time soon, and it was in that moment that you wondered if you would ever be able to get over Steve Harrington, or if you would be in a continuous cycle of hurt and comfort for the rest of your damned life.

You collected your thoughts as you downed a glass of water, throwing back two ibuprofens with the last chug for good measure, before finding your way back to the living room. Eddie was on his side on the long side of the L-shaped couch, leaving the shorter side for you to sleep on. His eyes were closed as you laid down with your feet next to his own, but you knew he wasn’t asleep yet. 

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” you heard through the darkness after turning off the table lamp once you were settled.

“I know.” you sigh in return, staring up at the ceiling that was only lit by the streetlights flowing in from outside. “I just don’t want to live like this forever, I–I can’t keep being the secret that Steve is too embarrassed to talk about.”

“He’s not embarrassed of you,” Eddie said, voice barely above a whisper, just loud enough for you to hear, “he’s just afraid of fucking everything up even more than he already has.”

If only he could say that to my face, then maybe I’d believe it, you thought to yourself, chest tightening at just the thought of the brown-eyed boy who was fast asleep upstairs. 

You don’t reply to Eddie, unsure of what to say back, unsure of what you could squeak out without breaking down. 

“Goodnight, Eds,” is all you say in return, though you know you won’t be getting any sleep. 

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

—————————

After falling asleep for all of fifty minutes around 5 in the morning, you decided you had to leave. 

The entirety of the almost four hours you laid on Steve’s couch consisted of staring at the ceiling and fighting off tears while thinking about how you regretted everything you said and did over the last twelve hours. 

Coming to the Harrington house was a mistake, even stepping foot back in Hawkins was feeling like a mistake at this point. 

The only words repeating in your mind were This doesn’t mean anything. This doesn’t mean anything. This doesn’t mean anything.

You eventually had enough of the self-loathing and inability to sleep, so it was time to go. It was time to hastily change out of the pajamas that smelled too much like the boy you loved too hard, and time to go collapse in your own bed. There was no telling if you’d actually fall asleep once you made it there, but that was beside the point.

It was when you finally made it back to your parent’s house, to your childhood bedroom, that you swore that you wouldn’t see Steve Harrington again for the rest of Thanksgiving break, and hopefully would avoid seeing him again for a long while, for the sake of saving yourself from another heartbreak.

---------

tags: @carinacassiopeiae

[pettyprocrastination]

I'm sorry to the gang but I think initially Aemond is a bad lover.

Like, to actually think about it.

His first ever sexual interaction is with a prostitute twice his age that he was coerced into by his older brother, and it seems like he's never seen that woman again until season one when he returned to the brothel in search of aegon hence her speaking on how much he's grown since she last saw him which he seemed visibly uncomfortable within.

It's likely that his interaction with Sylvie was his first and only sexual interaction.

Which means that when he married you and it comes time to consummate your marriage and try for an heir. The sex is...less than ideal.

It's methodical and routine. Your husband above you rutting into you until he cums and then some because the maestro said his seed must "settle" for a child to take hold.

In his mind, sex is done out of obligation and dedication. It's an expectation for a man of a noble house to sire a son to continue the name. And what does he know of pleasure? The vile whispers his brother croons with no intention other than to see his younger brother uncomfortable? The prostitute he laid with before he was even a man himself? Those situations did nothing but make his skin crawl- it's no wonder that his sex is nothing further than noble obligation to his wife and his lineage.

It's less than an issue in your eyes until a knight tasked with standing guard by your door each night speaks I'll of the prince to his brothers in arms.

It spreads like wildfire before the day is even finished. What was once gentle ribbing between men in arms became vile wishes towards you- the dragon prince's wife. Conversation of how it's "a damn shame to let a pretty little thing like her go to waste" and how if they had their chance they'd show you how a proper man lays with a woman.

And maybe one idiotic son of a lord brought into the kingsguard, egged on by too much wine and the racacous laughter of his brethren jests that perhaps one night he'll slip into your room and show you how a proper man fucks when your husband is a way.

"Let the cyclops ride his dragon if it means the princess will ride mine."

Unfortunate for him that our husband happened to be entering the training yard just in time to hear his promise to his brothers in arms.

Now the thing with Aemond is that he's deeply prideful, but also so, so, so desperate for approval. He's spent his entire life chasing it and getting so little in return. His mother was insistent on what makes a good husband- loyalty, dedication, listening to ones wife unlike the way he watched his father wave away her concerns all throughout his childhood. He was adamant about being the proper husband in every strict tradition and stiff display of affection he offered you-

but nobody helped him with sex. So to learn through the vile words of some idiotic guards that he has left his wife wanting becomes the only thought in his mind and must be rectified.

You've only just begun your day when your husband slips into your room, telling whoever is stationed by your door to leave as he locks it behind him before standing before you, hands twitching and eye looking anywhere in the room but you.

So nervous, like a little boy all over again.

When you ask him gently what's wrong he does not hide it from you.

"I have left you wanting, haven't I?"

You let out an incredulous laugh, so taken aback by the blunt question you don't know what would be an appropriate response.

To say he hasn't would be a lie.

To say he has could harm his ego, further spurring his rage.

Instead, you gently cup his face where a pale hand envelopes your own.

"Most men do not concern themselves with the comfort of their wife."

Your blaise response hurts more than saying yes.

"I am not most men."

Your husband, the crown prince and rider of a generations old war hardened beast, looks at you with eager eyes and tells you- asks you to show him how you wish to be touched.

How to fuck you.

You spend the night In his arms, gentle guiding him on where you wish to be kissed, bitten, and licked. How to hold you, where to touch and how hard. Your husband is a receptive one, content to go for hours upon hours until your legs are trembling and there are tears in your eyes because once he learned the utter euphoria of seeing your sing his name in the breathy moan there was nothing he desired more in this wretched world to hear it again and again and again.

When you do finally rest, bodies slick with sweat and exhaustion creeping through your veins, you find yourself wrapped in his arms and his head tucked into the crook of your shoulder. He says nothing about siring a child, or the maestros advice, but simply kisses the spot just beneath your ear before letting himself slowly drift into a deep sleep, the first moment within your marriage that he is truly relaxed in your presence.

The next morning his family is kind enough to say nothing of the bite marks lining your neck as you eat breakfast, just as they are mindful to not ask of the head that once belonged to a member of the kings guard that now belonged on a spike before the castle walls.

[oillipheist9000]

Heyy

So, this is mostly just a fun timeline I made with little research backing it, but I thought it might be cool to share?

It goes through what historical events happened throughout Alastor’s life that might have impacted him and sets the stage for what his life might have looked like. It does hinge quite a bit on US history, so I will also touch on parts of that for our friends who aren’t from the US and don’t know : D

Now keep in mind that this is more of just a list of fun facts that i’ve shoved into a readable outline, than anything put together lol.

Alastor is said to be in his 30’s or 40’s when he died in 1933, this puts his year of birth at a rough range of 1890-1900. For the purpose of this timeline, I will be assuming that Alastor was born in the year 1902 because I want to. This would make him 31 at the time of his death.

In 1892, the supreme court ruled on Plessy vs Ferguson, which was what established the idea of ‘Separate but Equal’ <- (i'm assuming people know what that is and stuff, if you don’t know, feel free to ask, I can give more of a history lesson)

From 1900-1909, education past the 5th grade did not EXIST in New Orleans for black children. This is a large part of why I believe a birth year of at least 1900 would be more accurate for Alastor, as he would have been 7-9 (2nd-4th) when middle school (6th-8th) became available to him.

In 1917, McDonogh No. 35 High School became the first public high school for black teens. Alastor would have been 15 in my timeline. This means that he would have likely been out of school for a year under the assumption that he wouldn’t be able to go anymore. (There were a couple private schools, but those were Expensive!!)

1920: KKK reemerged in Louisiana <- (again, assuming people know the history on this, if you would like a quick history lesson, lmk!!)

In 1921, Alastor graduated! Yay!! He is now 19!

Now, a fun fact! Throughout all of this, radio has not existed as a Thing in New Orleans. Alastor would not have grown up listening to the radio. It would have been new tech for him!!

In 1922, the first radio station came to New Orleans!!! It’s called WWL and it runs … drumroll please … ADS!!! In an attempt to raise funds for Loyola University! Exciting, right? : D

By 1927, the Federal Radio Commission was established in an effort to help organize airwaves, which had become messy and disorganized from the abundance of unlicensed, random people broadcasting.

1933: Alastor dies D:

Also 1933, oddly enough, A newspaper somehow managed to get radio stations in New Orleans legally banned from airing news from the last 24 hours?????

An interesting note. This ban went through in the summer. Deer season is in the winter (Dec-Jan), so it was either banned 6 months before or 6 months after Alastor’s death

1934: FRC is replaced by the Federal Communications Commission

This is pretty much all I have. I also am including some of the links to sources that I thought were interesting. Super open to discussions and questions lol. Hope someone enjoyed reading all this lmao

And also @nunalastor cause you seemed interested and I finally got everything together lol

[simmyfrobby]

do u have any sports doc recs 🤝

i mean. the crossfit games documentary i just watched was sad but also quite an interesting look at the crossfit community & how people deal with grief. i watch the buttery bros documentaries for this event pretty much every year. the quality isn’t Amazing but they’re free & on youtube & they provide an up close & personal view of the athletes because the guys who make the movies are friends w them so that part is pretty cool.

other sports documentaries i liked:

The Last Dance - basketball series. incredible storytelling. equally incredible soundtrack.

Icarus - cycling doc. slow start but gets REALLY good. deep dives into the russian doping scandal from a few years back.

The Russian Five - hockey doc. it’s on youtube and i think everyone has pretty much seen it by now but it’s just. so good. so devastating.

Free Solo - climbing doc.

Senna - F1 doc. i liked the documentary and thought it was good but senna himself is um. pretty gross. the documentary doesn’t mention it but he dated a teenager when he was a grown adult so. you should know that going in i guess.

Last Chance U - series. the basketball season is good & the first american football season is good too. every other season i kinda hated. it’s a series that follows a group of boys who’ve failed out of university or gotten into some kind of legal trouble & are now trying to impress at a junior college to get back into the competitive sports programs. my mom and i used to watch these together.

MotoGP Unlimited - MotoGP series. this is basically drive to survive if it was good.

Hitting the Apex - MotoGP doc. slightly older but still good. focuses more on VRossi who i think is one of the most interesting motorsports personalities probably ever.

Tour the France: Unchained - cycling series. i thought this was v good even though i don’t typically love the netflix drive to survive type shows.

Cheer - cheerleading series. this one is interesting because the second season takes SUCH a turn. (CW: sexual assault) the first season follows a cheer team throughout their season. it’s happy. lighthearted. cute. the show does really well, the cheerleaders become pretty famous over it. the second season starts with one of the cheerleaders (a fan favourite) being imprisoned for sexually assaulting a minor. so that season then follows the rest of the team & how they’re dealing with that. it’s pretty dark but i found it interesting.

other docs worth checking out:

the first pens cup doc is pretty good. (i watched the other 2 and liked those less). there’s also a documentary called Pittsburgh is Home which i quite liked. not super high quality, but interesting.

ive seen a bunch of the netflix sports docuseries and hated pretty much all of them (sorry) but i will still check out the american football quarterback series just because i think american football is cool.

i watched the leafs all or nothing docuseries twice (TERRIBLE storytelling. really so bad) and enjoyed it for what it was. but man it’s bad. sorry leafs fans. also some very disturbing serious injuries being shown so don’t go into that one blind.

more crossfit & crossfit adjacent documentaries that i liked but that aren’t necessarily Good: FroIVing, The Fittest on Earth (there’s like 4 of these. ive watched all of them a few times), Fullsterkur, Ronnie Coleman: The King.

[follows-the-bees]

I did an analysis of the meaning of Ed touching Stede's chest, hand over heart, here.

But now I wanna talk about the meaning of face touches - and Ed's outfits - across both seasons.

Bathtub Comfort

The first time Stede touches Ed's face is when Ed is seeking comfort. After he opens up about him being the Kraken, killing his dad and his plan to kill him, Stede offers a comforting shoulder squeeze and Ed deepens it by lying his head against Stede's hand. It is an intimate moment of vulnerability for both, especially Ed and he doesn't hesitate to accept it.

While Ed is wearing his Blackbeard outfit here, he is also covered in Stede's robe, like just the thought of Stede's presence can be a shield to the outside world and Ed's internal emotional struggle. And to have Stede come in and physically touch him, his face, Ed is completely comfortable in this combination of both of them, their vulnerability.

This Is Happening

In the next episode, Stede points out food in Ed's beard and when Ed can't find it, Stede asks permission to take it out. He doesn't fully reach for it until Ed gives permission (the amount of consent between these two, especially in the second season is so special to me) and leans forward (the classic Ed leans toward Stede movement that continues throughout the show.)

Ed is also not wearing his full Blackbeard outfit here, he has stripped down to just a simple purple T-shirt and pants. And we know that purple comes out as Ed's feelings for Stede deepen. So in this moment, Ed is more Ed than Blackbeard.

This is a soft, tender moment that shows the growing feelings between them. Stede's voice is as soft as his reach and touch while Ed looks at Stede so fondly, openly vulnerable.

Beach Kiss Eins

The first time Ed touches Stede's face, is during their first kiss. As soon as Stede responds, Ed moves his hand to his neck and down to his chest. And the pattern of vulnerability, closeness, and gentleness continues.

Neither of them are wearing their normal clothes here. They are wearing uniform, tan ill-fitting sacks (foreshadowing). Their first kiss is not only bare with emotional intimacy but of their identities. They aren't Blackbeard and the Gentleman Pirate during this moment, they are Ed and Stede, two men in love for probably the first time, sitting on a beach, the combination of land and sea.

Let's move to Season Two.

Cake Toppers

Oh, the cake toppers. Those damn cake toppers. They are the embodiment of the two of them to Ed, who caresses the wedding cake topper resembling Stede so much that he rubs some of the paint off. And just like every touch between the two of them so far, Ed lightly grazes the figure in a tentative but gentle way that shows he still has deep feelings for this man no matter how many raids, rhino horn, or self abusive behavior he tries to use to drown out his pain and the Kraken persona that he has put on like a sea monster lost in the deep dark depths of the sea.

Gif credit

Stede's Dream

In Stede's dream about their reunion, the two comically Monty Python (can we call them Monty Pyrates from now on?) run down the beach and full body collide against each other rolling to get on their sides, where Ed is the one to reach forward and touch Stede's face. This is Stede remembering how Ed did the same thing during their first kiss and he is recreating this moment in a fairytale fashion.

Their clothing is once again notable. Stede is wearing a more traditional pirate costume, earring, and has grown a beard. While we saw sword training last season between the two of them, Stede does not truly start wearing one until later in the second season. This is him trying to become who he thinks Ed would want, not the bumbling semi-pirate, but the confident, killing pirate with facial hair and more down-to-earth look. Ed is not only portrayed in his traditional garb but he has his old beard is back, he is the version that Stede first fell in love with. (Stede loves Ed as Ed though, no matter what he wears.)

Moonlight Serenade

Their first kiss under the moonlight is tentative and is a mirror of the moon scene in season one.

This is the first time that Stede touches Ed's face during kissing of his own volition. Even when he was trying to bring Ed back to life in episode three, he held his hand and pounded on his chest, over his heart, trying to shock it into fully beating to life.

He's been dreaming of Ed as touching his face again like the first kiss, but instead Stede is the one who moves his hand to Ed's face, and deepens the kiss. Because Stede is ready for this, and he wants to show Ed that he is here, he is committed to them. It is Ed who pulls away and asks to take it slow, because he is the one who has to heal in this scenario. This is his season, his season to heal, grow, and learn to reconcile all three sides of his being.

When Ed pulls back, Stede immediately responds, taking his hands off Ed to respect his wishes. And he only touches him again after gaining consent to hold his hand. Once again, we are treated to their gentleness, hesitancy, but the underlying love they have for each other is present in every cradle, fingers through hair, consent.

Instead of like the first season where they walk away in different directions, looking back at each other while trying to puzzle out what happened, they walk away together, toward the captain's cabin, still talking about their day and playfully playing off each other.

Once again they are not wearing their normal clothes, particularly, Ed is not wearing his Blackbeard outfit. He is wearing a light-colored onesie made from a potato sack as well as a cat bell. A bell he purposefully makes ring in an adorable shoulder shake to let Stede know that he is coming in for a kiss - unlike their first one, where he almost surprises Stede with it. We don't see it, but I bet Ed thought that maybe if he didn't surprise him, if he hadn't kissed him but kept talking, Stede wouldn't have left him. He probably blamed himself for that, so he made sure this time that Stede knew what was happening beforehand.

Calypso's Birthday

They are both physically injured from Ned Low's torture as well as in mental distress here. Stede is having flashbacks of his childhood and blood on his face because this is the first time he has purposely gotten blood on his hands. Ed is upset at seeing Stede take this step, thinking that he has corrupted him. But once again, they both consent to this, Stede does not even move forward or kiss Ed until Ed nods his head and then physically pulls Stede against him. This kiss is a combination of the first two. Ed's hand wraps around and on Stede's neck like the beach one, while Stede's hand snakes its way into Ed's hair when he deepens the kiss. This is the first and only time we see their bodies align and touch at more than just the contact of hands and lips.

Later on we see both of them in a different state of undress. Ed's hair is completely down, and he's once again in a t-shirt, stripped down emotionally and looking at Stede like he's the center of the world as the colors of their love - red and purple - surround them, until Ed looks directly at Stede and the burst of yellow - his lighthouse - shines bright. Stede is already shirtless at this part, his vulnerability bared skin-surface level.

Beach Kiss Zwei

And of course, we reach the finale, where In general the number of touches has escalated; they have chosen each other, chosen to give this a try. Ed emerges out of the ocean and all three themes (the Kraken, Blackbeard, and Ed) play all in a row, because he took what Pop-Pop said to heart and embraced all three of his identities to save and protect his loved ones.

One hand is on Stede's face almost the entire time they are reunited on the beach, and after the first kiss and apology, Ed moves both hands to Stede's face, using that leverage to pull him in for a kiss, holding onto him for dear life. He doesn't let go until Stede responds to his "I love you" reassuring Ed that he knows that, and Ed can drop his worry about Stede not knowing/hearing those words before that moment. Ed smiles and moves his hands down, and if they weren't in the middle of a battle, he would have wrapped his arms around him, pulled him in to align with his body, and kissed him again.

I particularly love this one because we can see the desperation, especially for Ed during this moment. He clearly doesn't want to stop touching Stede, only doing so out of necessity at the end. Stede is quiet, that calmness that Ed needs, just enjoying being in Ed's presence "breathing the same air."

This is the first time that they are wearing their full identities while kissing. Covered in blood, having just dropped weapons used to kill soldiers to get to each other, only to touch and kiss each other with softness and love but also desperation.

This is also the first time they openly embrace each other. All season, things have been slightly off while they take it slow, try to figure out their status together and separate. They stand apart, but still facing/bodies turned toward each other, only a few inches away. And they never touch in the presence of others, instead only kissing in the candlelight of the captain's cabin and under the moonlight. But now they are under the bright sun in front of The Pirate Queen and countless red shirts, two who were making fun of the letter Stede wrote Ed before Ed dispatched them. And Ed even reaches over later to put his hand on Stede's shoulder in front of Zheng, offering him comfort and saying yes babe, I see you, don't worry.

They kiss on the beach!! combining the sea and the land - the lighthouse, kraken, merman, flightless birds now grounded- they are the MERMEN.

Gif credits

Overall, the touches exchanged between Ed and Stede are all laced in emotion, vulnerable. And as their relationship progresses, these touches also evolve enough that by the end, kissing or touching each other's face no longer needs a pause and explicit consent because they are comfortable enough to know each other and their boundaries.

But there is something particular about the face touching between them. It shows a higher level of intimacy and romance that is at the heart of our mythical beings who have finally found each other and met in the middle, combining land and sea.

I didn't include the touches previous to the bathtub, like Ed hugging Stede after the lighthouse fuckery, or during the party, first moon scene, because I wanted to focus on the face touching primarily since it offers more depth to their relationship. I did this from memory, so I apologize if I missed any.

[strangermarvelss]

i'll be home for christmas- e.m

Pairing: Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Female!Reader

Summary: touring around the holiday season, you’re worried you won’t get to spend christmas with your boyfriend

Warnings: angst, loneliness, holiday blues, rockstar!eddie being kinda a dick, cheesiness, fluffy end

Request?: No

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: merry christmas to those who celebrate! i love this time of year (not as much as halloween, but its still cool) and wanted to share a lil angsty christmas fic for you all as a gift. enjoy :) -sava

Peaking through the curtain in your living room, you watch as snow falls from the night sky, coating the ground outside your home. It wasn’t unusual for snow to occur around Christmas in Indiana, as you’ve grown quite fond of waking of to a fresh sheet of powdery snow on your front lawn each Christmas you continue to spend in your hometown of Hawkins. 

The traditions throughout the town helped brighten your spirits each and every year. Watching the children line up to meet Santa at the Starcourt mall, driving through the downtown area and seeing it decked out in decor with festive lights and garland, and the annual tree lighting ceremony that occurs each and every year on December 1st, signifying the start of the Christmas season for the town as the citizens cheer amongst the crowd before rushing off to do their family traditions

This year, however, your spirits weren’t nearly at the same level as you’d been used to, which can happen to a person when they spend this time of year alone. Your boyfriend, Eddie, took off at the beginning of fall to start his first ever tour with his band, Corroded Coffin, all across North America. They released their album at the beginning of the year, having put so much time, effort, and money into finally recording their first full length album and sending it out into the world all of last year. But with his being away on tour, it meant a lot of loneliness your you.

Sure, you were happy for your boyfriend, you weren’t going to deny that. He was finally getting to live the dream he’s set out for years to accomplish, taking a step onto the big tour bus and not looking back as he starts his journey with fame. You also couldn’t deny the emptiness you felt in your heart at his absence, as this is the first time he’s been away from you for more than a week. The two of you had your own traditions to participate in, such has making cookies, watching your favorite holiday movies, and bopping along to some of his old tapes as you presents with one another in front of a cozy fire. Not being around him this time of year was sending you into a darker place than you’d like to be in.

With a sigh, you withdrawal from the window, closing the curtain and plopping down on the couch in front of your fireplace. You frown as you look at the festive decorations, his stocking in particular, which was decorated with the Hellfire logo he created all those years ago back as a freshman, and he even made your stocking to match, both pieces looking you right in the face and looking empty as ever. You look to the tree, seeing an array of presents scattered underneath, all addressed to Eddie or other family members you promised to see after the holiday.

Your family moved out of Hawkins a few years ago, tackling the suburbs of Chicago as they begun navigating the early stages of retirement. You missed them more than you initially thought you would, but you already had plans to go and visit them a few days after Christmas. Eddie’s uncle, Wayne, also moved out of Hawkins shortly after your run in with Vecna a few years back, having no where to live after the trailer was destroyed by what everyone thought was an earthquake. He only lived a few towns over now, still working away at the plant at night, but it just wasn’t the same with him not being just a short drive away anymore.

The only people you had left in Hawkins were Steve, Nancy, and Robin. Nancy and Robin moved back after college, with Nancy running the Hawkins Post and Robin running the band at the high school. Steve, he’s always been around, just like you and Eddie. Unable to escape the nostalgia that is littered throughout your small town. There might be some guilt mixed in there as well, feeling like you couldn’t leave anything behind with everything that’s happened. At least, that’s how you felt. Eddie? Not so much.

The sound of the phone ringing pulls you back, jumping off the couch and sprinting to the receiver. Taking the phone off the mount, you press it to your ear, excitement coursing through your veins at the idea of talking with Eddie.

“Hello?”

“There’s that beautiful voice I miss every night,” Eddie says into his phone. You can’t help the wide smile that stretches across your lips as you hear his beautifully low voice, giggling a little as you rest your body against the wall.

“How is the tour going? Where are you guys tonight, San Francisco?” You ask.

“No, we’re in Los Angeles, about to go on in a few hours. The tour is so fucking good, baby. The guys and I are having the time of our lives. Definitely going to miss it when it ends in a couple days.”

You pause for a moment, not sure you’re hearing him correctly. The tour originally was supposed to end tonight, leaving the guys to all fly back home in time to celebrate Christmas with their families. So you were confused as to why he would say a couple days from now that the tour was going to draw to a close.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I heard you correctly. What do you mean the tour is ending in a few days? I thought today was the last show?”

“Shit, I didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what, Eds?”

“Our manager decided to extend it a few days. He decided to add a couple of shows on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day for here in L.A and they sold out in an hour! A fucking hour, baby! Then we have a show in San Diego on the 26th, then a show in Phoenix on the 27th, Reno on the 28th, a day off, then two shows in Vegas on the 30th and 31st, with us ringing in the new year at the end of the set. It’s going to be the most metal performance in the world,” he explained to you.

You felt your heart slowly cracking as he rambled on, telling you about all the extra tour dates added until finishing it off with the news that you wouldn’t be seeing him until the next year. You wanted to be happy for him, with hearing the pure excitement in his voice and knowing he has the widest smile on his face as he tells you all about the tour, dimples and all. But that also had a cost. A cost of you being alone for the “most wonderful time of the year”.

“So you’re not coming home tomorrow?” You ask, sadness evident in your voice.

“I mean, that’s what I just said,” he tells you plainly. Letting out a sigh, you bite your lip, feeling it begin to tremble as the pricking feeling associated with tears starts jabbing away at the backs of your eyes.

“But we have our traditions…and we were supposed to go visit my family in Chicago on the 27th, together.” You say, trying your best to mask the hurt in your voice.

“Baby this tour has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. To all of us guys. We finally got our dream. Why are you being so selfish?” He questions with an annoyed tone.

You take a moment, holding the phone away as you cover the speaker. Sniffling, you let a tear cascade down your cheek as your chest tightens with hurt and guilt. You knew you were being selfish, and part of you hated yourself for that. But you also felt like you had a reason to be, with not seeing the love of your life since the middle of September. And now saying the tour was the best thing to happen to him, when all you’ve heard within the years of your relationship was that you were the best thing to come from his time on Earth? It hurt, a lot.

“Y/N, did I lose you? Are you still there baby?” His muffled voice lets out through the tiny speaker in the phone. You let out a sigh, shaking out of your funk for a moment in an attempt to act like you were fine.

“Yeah Eds, I’m still here,” you squeak out. He lets out a sigh, mumbling incoherent words before sighing once more.

“I get that you’re upset, I do. But this is important to me. You know how long we’ve been waiting for this opportunity. How hard we’ve worked to get here.”

“Yeah, I get it. More important than spending time with your girlfriend,” you let out, anger bubbling up and beginning to replace the sadness that was consuming you.

“Y/N, stop it. The other guy’s girlfriend’s and boyfriend’s are being understanding. Why can’t you be the same way?”

“Well sue me for wanting to spend Christmas with the most important person in my life,” you grunt out, chest beginning to rise and fall rapidly

“Y/N, please-“

“Just don’t, Edward. I’ve gotta go, we have carolers knocking on the door,” you lie, an angry sigh passing through your parted lips. “Merry fucking Christmas.”

You waste no time hanging the phone back on the hook, burying your head in your hands and letting out a frustrated scream. Spending the holidays alone was something you always feared ever since your parents moved away. Never did you think you’d be experiencing this kind of feeling now, especially with how serious you were with Eddie. Talks of marriage on the horizon, putting that conversation off to the side when the band got word of the tour, which you were fine with. What you weren’t okay with was sulking about an empty house during this time of year.

You weren’t going to go down without a fight. You wouldn’t allow yourself to sulk until all the other possibilities were out the window. Picking the phone up once more, you dial the number to a person you’re sure will answer, hearing the line pick up after just a few rings.

“Harrington residence, Steve speaking.”

“Hey Steve! How is your holiday season going?” You ask, wrapping an arm around your stomach as you press your shoulder against the wall once more.

“Y/N! How the heck are ya? The holiday season is going good, just about to pack the last bit of things before my flight in the morning,” he tells you, making you frown slightly.

“Packing? W-where are you running off to?” 

“Denver. Tommy and I thought it’d be nice to rent a cabin and spend some time out there. What about you though? When do you and Eddie plan to make it to Chicago to see your folks?” He questions.

“Oh, uh, my flight isn’t until the 27th. I hope you have fun in Denver though!” You pause, taking a moment to let out a shaky breath. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know what Nancy and Robin are up to for the next few days, do you?”

“Oh yeah, the Wheelers are doing Christmas at Mike’s place in New York. Why do you ask?”

“Just want to be festive with the people I love, that’s all.”

“I think the Byers said they were staying in town this year, maybe you and Eddie can go celebrate with them?” Steve suggests. You feel your heart begin to crack more, a lump forming in your throat as you continue to cross more possibilities off your list.

“Joyce told me that they’re all spending Christmas in California this year. Enzo is going to meet up with them there and Hopper is really looking forward to it. Murray too. And um…Eddie won’t be in town for the holiday,” you finally reveal, voice growing smaller as your sentence progressed.

“Wait, what?! I thought he was flying home from tour tonight?” He asks, voice raised in shock.

“Yeah, he was supposed to. But his manager extended the tour a couple days. Won’t be back until after the new year,” you explain.

You twist the cord of the phone between your fingers as you kick your feet, the silence between the two of you deafening as you wait for him to process it all. You weren’t looking for sympathy when you called, that’s the last thing you want. Part of you just hoped there would be people willing to stick around the town you all call home to celebrate, but you understand that your loved ones had plans already set in stone. You weren’t going to be mad about that.

“So you’ll be all alone for Christmas?” Steve finally asks, his voice soft and tender.

“Sounds like it.”

“Y/N, I’m-“

“Nope, don't do that. It’s all good, really! Listen, I’m gonna get off of here so you can finish packing. Uh, have fun in Denver with Tommy, okay? Merry Christmas Steve,” you quickly rush out.

“Wait, I-“

Before he can finish, you press the button to end the call, but leave the phone off the hook as it dangles from the receiver, waving about by the cord, no longer in the mood to talk with anyone else for the remainder of the night. You press your back to the wall, slowly sliding down as you bring your knees to your chest, resting your tired head against them. Unsure of what else to really do, you sit there in along the lonely wall of your entryway, silently letting tears fall freely onto the material of your pants, darkening the denim blue jeans.

—————————————————————————————————————

Deciding not to feel sorry for yourself, you took off throughout the quiet town the next day, scurrying around for last minutes gifts and trinkets to place in the stockings and to gift to your friends and family members. Sure, it wouldn’t be as fun opening it tomorrow with you knowing exactly what was inside your stocking, but at least you had something to look forward to tomorrow morning instead of just waking up in a cold empty bed. 

The mall was quieter than usual on Christmas Eve, the occasional parent, mainly fathers of the young children of Hawkins, hurrying in and out of stores with arms filled to the brim with bags from different stores. It made you giggle as you thought back to Eddie’s shenanigans around this time of year, having to remind him each day that Christmas was approaching and deal with the panic of last minute shopping for others. A sweet memory that made this shopping trip a little less than thrilling, but you weren’t going to let it dampen your mood. 

The day carried on and you finally make it back to your home before the sun goes down, carrying the large bags of items through the door and being welcomed by quiet filling the walls of your house, the only sounds against your ears are the echoing of your feet against the hardwood floor. As determined as you were to not be sad today, the reminder of the loneliness you’d being ensuing until you left in a few days creeps up your spine, having pushed down the heavy feeling with distractions all day in an attempt to forget.

With a sigh, you set the bags down beside the door, walking towards the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of wine for the night. You were thankful that Family Video was still open when you finished your rounds at the mall, grabbing a few Christmas movies to keep you company as well as some holiday snacks to brighten your spirits. 

You turn on a dime when you heard the faint sound of movement coming from one of the other rooms close by. Optimistically, you believe it was one of the bags falling, but are quick to have that fantasy shut down when you hear muffles shuffling. Cautiously, you move yourself into the living room, feeling around for the light switch to fill the room with light. You flick the switch and nearly jump out of your skin when figures appear before you.

“Merry Christmas!” They shout, standing one by one and revealing themselves. Steve, Tommy, Robin, Nancy, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Mike, and the whole Byers/Hopper crew greet you one by one, making your smile grow wider than you’ve ever had it. Setting your glass down on a nearby end table, you bring your hands to cover your mouth as the shock still flows through your body, shaking your head and wanting to pinch yourself, silently hoping that this wasn’t some crazy dream you were having.

“I’m really starting to regret giving you that spare key, Steve. You guys scared the shit out of me,” you finally let out, extending your arms and enveloping Steve in a hug. He laughs, rubbing your back and pulling away. “I thought you and Tommy were going to Denver?”

“He lied to you, can you believe that?” Tommy pipes up, reaching out to give you a hug. You turn to Steve, watching him nod and holding his hands up in surrender.

“I’m sorry, but it was all part of this plan we helped set up,” Steve tells you. 

“And who can I blame for being the mastermind behind this whole plan, you?”

“Actually, you can blame the person waiting for you on your back porch,” he says, pointing out at the window. Turning, you go closer to the glass, seeing a figure standing there with their back turned away from the house, clad in dark clothing and long wavy hair flowing down his neck. You gasp, darting through the tiny crowd of people and rushing to your back door, closing it in a rush.

He turns to you, a smile lighting up his face as his eyes land on yours. Eddie reaches out for you, waiting for you to collide with his body. Running to him, you wrap your arms around his neck, squeezing him and wrapping yourself around his figure. He holds you close, taking in your scent and sighing in relief as he basks in the feeling of your body against his after many months away.

Pulling away, you can’t help but think back to the phone call the two of you had last night, words exchanged between you both that you now each of you regrets, and also meant all at the same time, given the circumstances. Your face contorts, sending him an angry look at you quickly rid his hands off your body, crossing your arms as you look to him.

“I thought they were extending your tour?” You ask, quirking a brow.

“I had to make up an excuse for this plan to work out, so I lied and said the tour got extended. And I just want to start off by apologizing for the things I said on the phone last night. I know it upset you, and I took things too far-“

“Too far? Eddie you called me selfish because I wanted to spend Christmas with you after not seeing you for months! We’ve never been away from one another for that long, and hearing it was going to be even longer hurt really bad,” you interrupt. He shoots you an empathetic look, reaching out to hold you. You take a step back, determined to stand your ground on the matter. "Not to mention thinking I was going to be all by myself today and tomorrow really upset me. You know that I've had that worry in the back of my head ever since my parents moved."

“Right, and you have every right to be upset with me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to have the best Christmas ever, and I’m going to make it up to you, I promise. You know I love you, right?” He says, stalking closer to you with ever word, until he’s close enough to plant a kiss to your forehead. 

You can’t help the giggle that comes out of your mouth, finally breaking down and reaching out to take his hand. You press your lips to his cheek, rubbing the back of his hand with your thumb. He brings a hand up to your cheek, holding you close before closing the gap once more, this time pressing his soft and plump pink lips to yours. 

Pulling away, he can’t help but keep his eyes on yours, the deep chocolate irises focussed on you with so much admiration. “I would never let you spend Christmas alone, sweetheart. We have traditions to participate in!”

“I know! I got a bunch of Christmas movies at Family Video we can watch together after everyone leaves. And ingredients to make cookies too,” you exclaim, excitement filling your system. Eddie can’t help but laugh at your giddiness, those beautiful dimples poking into the sides of his cheeks as he reaches out to plant another kiss to your forehead.

“That sounds like an amazing plan baby. I can’t wait,” he says, sliding his ring clad hand down your arm and locking fingers with yours.

“I even got us matching pajamas, because I know how much you love them. Consider that part of your effort to making me feel better,” you tease, turning on your heel and leading him inside. All Eddie can do is chuckle, his smile wide as he retreats back to the warm air flowing through his home, surrounded by his favorite people in the entire world, especially the love of his life, who was now just an arms length away.

Because all he can think about is how your face is going to light up when you open up your presents tomorrow, a gorgeous diamond ring waiting underneath the tree just for you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

tagging @myobmaya because she's special

[earthstellar]

what are some other nice moments from Rescue bots?

This show is loaded with them!!! :)

Here we go, some nice moments in Rescue Bots!!

I'm going to write this with the assumption that some people reading this may not have ever seen Rescue Bots or might only be somewhat familiar, as I realise the target audience skews much younger than most Transformers media does, so I'm not 100% sure how popular it was outside of that demographic in total.

Off the top of my head:

-There is an in-universe VR game called Element Quest that has a couple really good episodes, the design is cute and there are tons of meme references. Blades, at one point, goes "I used to like video games. Then I took an arrow to the knee." LOL

-I think it's cool how they actually do tie in their continuity with TFP's continuity. For example, "What Rises Above" (RB) canonically comes before "Nemesis Prime" (TFP), and this is directly referenced in the dialogue in TFP when Optimus says that he is late arriving to the base as he was exploring an underground energon deposit-- This is the deposit he explores with the Rescue Bots.

-THERE IS A MUSICAL EPISODE. IT IS EXTREMELY GOOD

-Woodrow Burns, the Chief's brother, is kind of an idiot asshole, although he's not actively malicious. But he is great with the kids and for whatever reason the only thing I can ever remember about this character is when he goes up to Cody after it's been a long time since he saw him last and says "You've grown a whole foot since the last time I saw you-- Now you'll need three socks!" IDK I just think that's a real cute dad joke thing to say to a little kid lol :')

-There is an episode where they explore the local folklore of Griffin Rock, and TL;DR the local lore is that their island is where literal griffins used to nest seasonally. So throughout the episode, there's this kind of vibe of "OK are these electrical magnetic pulses or whatever like a science problem or a magic problem" and it's actually a very cute and fun vibe, especially since Cody is talking about the lore in the first place as part of his work towards a Scouts badge and Blades is very cute in this episode, the bots are all like "okay magic isn't real but uhhh what if magic's real?" for a minute and it's great :')

-Doc Greene/Green creates a ton of fun science devices throughout the show, but the names of some are just so doofy and fun. I love the "Torna-Don't", which is a thing designed to dispel tornados. Of course. lmao

-All the weird small town local events are also very silly and cute, and weirdly realistic for those of us who are familiar with this kind of local event thing, lmao. One of my favourite concepts is one of what seems to be several crawdad-related festivals, in which there is apparently a televised crawdad race. It's a bunch of shrimps put on a tiny racetrack, like Olympic runners. LOL

-At one point, Blurr shows up, and when the Rescue Bots are trying to acclimate him to working with humans, Chase is like "Humans seem to have two genders, which are defined by how many cooties they have." This implies that as far as the Rescue Bots are aware, 1) cooties are real and 2) human gender is defined solely by how many cooties a person has, and not by anything else, thus leaving their understanding of human gender fairly open (and it is also clear they have solely learned about gender from young kids in a small town which is likely why they state there are two genders but then make it clear that gender is a cooties thing and not an inherently physical thing, which makes sense in context and is kind of great because it gives more leeway for gender diversity than I expected) and I love this a lot. What is human gender? Cooties. That's all. So someone with a particularly high number of cooties could be another gender altogether, because why not?

-There is a body swap episode, which treats us to Blades in Dani's body trying on dresses in her room. He picks an orange and white one, which matches his paint job. I also love this a lot.

-Heatwave is gruff as hell especially at the start of the series and constantly starts shit or perpetuates shit with Kade, which is super funny. Just this centuries old Cybertronian fucking with this doofus boy who keeps leaving donuts in his cab. God dammit Kade, lmao.

-There is an episode where Cody is aged up via Science Device, and we get to see an older Cody, who more closely resembles his father than his older brother does. It's cute that he'll look like his dad when he's older. :')

During this episode, he assists in a rescue, and the girl his brother has a crush on tries to hit on him, but he clearly doesn't get what's happening and thinks it's icky because of course he does, he's a kid. I just think this scene is handled well and it's cute that his reaction to being hit on is still "ewww girls" but his brother is still absolutely pissed off about it anyway LMAO like jesus Kade, relax

-Kade's mostly an asshole but he's shown to be a really good rescuer who genuinely cares about people, and he has moments where he really comes through for his family and realises on his own that he should shut up and back down on his bullshit, thus making him a better developed and more realistic asshole brother character than 99% of asshole brother characters in most shows. I think this is pretty solid because it does lead to effective character development here and there, and it makes his positive moments with his family and the bots that much nicer. :)

-Cody is such a good kid. He is often willing to give people or ideas a chance when nobody else will, and even though he's too young to actively participate in most missions, he stays involved by helping at their dispatch centre. He's a smart little dude, who has a lot of heart and a ton of potential. One of the few child characters in anything that I actually like, because I think they write him extremely well: He is young, but he is not stupid. He is not treated like an accessory or like the property of his family, he's his own person with a distinct personality within his family, with a reasonable amount of autonomy. And he's a person who is still learning and has valuable contributions while also needing guidance or support at times. 10/10

-Dani gradually gets better at helping Blades deal with his flight anxiety (and sticks up for him when the others might mock him a little for it), and this is not only inherently very nice and cute, but it also makes a lot of sense as she is a first responder/medic and we see her offer the same reassurances towards the people she helps to rescue.

-The writing for the Burns Family in general is some of the best family group character writing in anything tbh, they handle the family dynamic so well in this show, and it's extra cute as the Rescue Bots all learn a lot from observing how the family takes care of one another and the townspeople they rescue. :')

-Blades has anxiety. I also have anxiety, so I am biased and clearly love this dude, lmao. He's so fucking relatable and even though sometimes the others rip on him, it is clear that they're also very proud of him for trying his best to deal with a situation which for him is particularly difficult (he was forced to take a flight capable alt-mode when this is something he is explicitly not comfortable with) and his team mates do support him, even though Heatwave is a douche sometimes (although it is clear this is usually due to stress or something else and that the actual problem isn't Blades). Over the course of the series, Blades does develop a little more confidence, and it's very cute and nice to see him puffing himself up a little more. :)

-The overall attitudes the bots have towards humans in this show is sweet. It's clear they don't really understand humanity or humans as a whole, but it also doesn't really matter because they are so specifically oriented to their local population on the island and their focus is a relatively small community of humans. They take their duties seriously and will protect this population, even if they don't really understand the people outright. They gradually start to respect the locals (and the Burns Family) more and more as they work with them, and get acclimated to Earth. They love their dumbass weird little humans :')

This leads to a lot of fun shenanigans with the bots not understanding things, or only understanding things as they have been explained by the children, which is hilarious.

-There is an episode where local thieves steal Chase, and inspired by Cody's school drama project, he decides to go undercover after watching a bunch of old detective movies. This includes him narrating things to himself, which he is called on when Dani enters the garage and asks him "Why are the lights off? Are you talking to yourself?" lmao

-Although it isn't explicitly canonical, it's easy to interpret both Chase and Blades as being neurodivergent. Both of them display various behaviours and traits which can potentially be understood in this way, and I'm just glad that there's a show for kids where two of the main characters, who are rescue workers, are shown to be competent and skilled at their jobs and accepted by the community for who they are while also being neurodivergent. <3 It's such a good vibe when the other characters support or defend these two in particular, especially when Chase or Blades might be confused or upset about something. Chief Burns is especially great working with Chase.

-Any episode where Optimus shows up in Rescue Bots usually has some gems of cuteness/silliness. The Elvis line still takes me out, LMAO. "You're bigger than Elvis!" "I have not met this Elvis, and I am unaware of his size." 10/10 writing, I fucking love Rescue Bots

-The bots constantly call out a bunch of details that are entirely appropriate for robots from space to notice and recognise as somewhat weird, whereas a lot of the human characters are so used to 1) being human and 2) living on this incredibly weird little technologically advanced island that nothing really phases them anymore. So we can actually identify more with the bots at time, despite the fact that they are also providing an outsider point of view, which is really clever! :)

-The theme song is a fucking banger. It's so good. I love this song so much. I wish we got a full version of it, but this is the best extended version of it that I've been able to find. Enjoy!!!

-There's a lot of fairly adult stuff in the show, more than I think people realise! The tone can never get too dark outright as it is intended for young kids as the primary demographic, but there's a lot of situations, conversations, etc. that are genuinely engaging and interesting from an adult perspective, which is a large part of what makes it a great watch for all ages.

Some situational examples include scenarios where children are imperilled in natural disasters, accidents, even kidnapping at one point.

Non-kid related situations include risks and threat to civilians from AI development and the dangers that uncontrolled or poorly thought out technology can cause or exacerbate, which is significant in context and also interesting to think about given our current relationship IRL with rapid tech development and concerns around how that technology is being made and applied, either in reality or in theory.

Some dialogue examples include scenes where the bots mention their grief over being unable to save Cybertron, a sense of guilt that they were in stasis for so long even though this was beyond their control, awareness that they may be the last Rescue Bots team in operation on Earth or anywhere else in the universe (a sense of loneliness and a responsibility as the last upholders of their specific creed), struggles with their sense of duty and concerns around their ability to fulfil their expectations for themselves and meet the expectations of others while rising to the demands of their unique situation, and so on.

--

this is already pretty long lmao, there's a ton of stuff I really like about Rescue Bots, but I hope this might encourage others to check out the show if you haven't before, it's well worth a watch! :)

[flower-boi16]

Hazbin Hotel's Painfully Hollow Themes & Messages

I don’t know how to start this post so I’ll just get to the point; Hazbin Hotel’s themes and messages are poorly executed and here’s why.

1. What Are Hazbin Hotel’s Themes?

So, let's first establish what Hazbin Hotel’s main message and theme is. The main theme of Hazbin is, of course, redemption; that anybody can improve as a person and that there could be just a little bit of good even in bad people, that everyone can change. Charlie believes that sinners can change and get into Heaven, which is why she opened her hotel in the first place; to prove sinners can be redeemed. 

This is an interesting concept and message, that even the worst of people could change and become a better person, redeeming themselves. Unfortunately, while it's an interesting idea, the execution…leaves a lot to be desired to say the least. Let’s get into the first problem with how Hazbin executes its messages…

2. Off-Screen Development

So like I already mentioned, Hazbin Hotel is supposed to be about redemption; how anybody can become a better person and redeem themselves and see the light. It looks like the show does this with both Angel and Pentious, with episode 6 using Angel as an example of how sinners can redeem themselves, and Pentious going to Heaven in episode 8 (for some reason). 

The show really wants to hammer in its message by showing how these two characters grew and redeemed themselves thanks to the hotel, and shows how bad people can become better…there’s just one problem however…these two characters developed off-screen. I already talked about how Angel Dust’s development feels heavily rushed but Pentious has the same problem as Angel; we never saw them actually grow or develop into becoming better people, they just do now and we’re supposed to accept that. It feels like both characters developed off-screen, we never saw them slowly grow into becoming better people throughout season 1, they just magically are now.

If the show wanted to push the message of “sinners can redeem themselves!” then it would have been far more impactful if we actually saw them grow and become better people throughout the first season, instead of them just developing off-screen. And the show constantly wants to hammer in how much Angel grew and how he was able to see the light because of Charlie’s hotel, but that feels completely hollow & forced because we never SAW Angel become a better person, he developed off-screen, and I’m sorry, but that’s not interesting character writing to me. It’s more interesting to see a character actually GROW over the course of the season rather than having them develop off-screen, developing them off-screen is just not how storytelling works.

Also side note: HOW TF DID PENTIOUS EVEN GET INTO HEAVEN?!??? Adam litteraly KILLED HIM, his soul shoulden't exist now, even if he's redeemed, why did he end up in Heaven??? Can the characters just kill themselves and end up in Heaven??? This NEVER gets explained btw.

Because we never actually saw the characters progress into becoming better people and how they developed off-screen, these scenes of the characters saying that they’ve grown don’t feel earned, they feel incredibly forced and hollow. And THAT’s the problem here; the character’s development and progress don’t feel earned because we never saw them develop into becoming a better person because of how it happened off-screen. So now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about the next issue with how Hazbin executes its themes…

3. Telling Rather Than Showing

This is more of an extension of the last problem I mentioned and also a major problem with Hellaverse as a whole; telling instead of showing. Episode 8 is especially bad at this; in the finale song of the episode, Lucifer sings about how Charlie was able to change Hell and find the good in sinners gone bad, indicating the message that she was able to help people become better and see the good in them.

However, it's TOLD to us rather than shown. We never actually saw Charlie helping them become better people and redeem themselves, again, that development happened off screen, so it doesn't feel earned. Also Charlie didn't really change Hell at all? Like, I don't know why the finale was trying to push that idea when it's just false, again, it's telling instead of showing. Lucifer even says that she "touched their hearts'', does he mean the sinners? Because if so that ties into my last point. The series' tell don’t show problem seriously harms it's main theme, it couldn't be bothered to actually SHOW this stuff and instead opts to tell the audience instead, even though it would be more impactful if the audience was shown these stuff rather than told.

4. Conclusion

Hazbin Hotel has a good message and even a pretty beautiful one; that anybody can be redeemed and become a better person if they just try. But unfortunately, the show executes this theme fairly poorly due to it skipping arcs and telling rather than showing. So ya...bye.

[talas-first-lady]

Can we discuss how Evil Gideon was lying, though?

I was thinking today about how completely unrealistic the Astra runs for President prediction was and the more I think about it, a lot of the other predictions don't add up. I'm going to go through in the order they were in the episode.

(She may not have been purposefully lying but she definitely just showed them whatever Chat GPT popped out.)

Zari: Seems plausible on the surface, but I have some concerns.

Her award show dress is UGLY. The red color is pretty but the orangey overlay ruins it. The ruching is in the worst possible place and makes her look larger than she is right through the middle. The bottom is kind of wrinkled. And then she has really small, understated jewelry and her hair up, so there's nothing interesting at all going on in the shoulder/neck region. Zari dresses better than that.

She makes billions with her cosmetics company. Despite the fact that we have repeatedly been told throughout the show that she is terrible at selling cosmetics. Her lip kits don't even sell. Everybody has lips! Her perfume destroys people's sense of smell.

Audible lipstick. Not a thing anyone wants. Not a thing that makes any sense. Evil Gideon is making this stuff up. And yes, it's the future, but nothing we've seen of the 2040s on Legends really looks all that much more technologically advanced than what we have now.

EG fails to consider that Zari has grown as a person since whatever info she has in her files, which is the whole reason Zari is upset about the prediction. It's plausible that she would go back to her career as it was, but she cares about people now. She would absolutely be doing some sort of philanthropy.

She's so pretty. But also, I'm not 100% convinced that that even is a dress because it looks like they may have just shoved a piece of fabric at her and said "here, hold this under your arms."

Behrad:

Totally plausible that he could become famous, either for his talent or via his connections, but he has never wanted to be famous. You expect me to believe that the man who hid in bed to avoid imaginary TV cameras is going to purposefully go into a career of being on camera?

He can't account for his whereabouts for several years of his adult life. He is not passing a background check to become a children's performer.

His record is called "Grey Hound to the Moon." Which is great, except that both the bus company and the dog spell it Greyhound. One word.

Avalance:

Knowing what we know now about Sara's biology, this is plausible.

But I feel like they might run into some issues trying to sign their kid up for school when one of them is legally dead and the other was never legally born.

Do kids get to do video calls from camp these days? I don't know. I am old. I had to bring quarters to the designated calling home payphones at a predetermined time to talk to my parents.

Gwyn:

He knows too much. They can't send him back to the 1920s. All of the Legends are aberrations waiting to happen, but sending anyone to the past is a no-no.

If they are going to send him back, wouldn't it make more sense to send him back to New York? Since that's where he last was?

Nate:

He has to somehow convince someone to publish a book about how time travel is real. Nate Heywood. Who you may recall from that controversial fake documentary about time travel a few years back. He seems like a reliable source.

You don't grow a hideous beard over the Heywood jawline. You just don't.

His TV interview is totally bogus. Nate knows how to schmooze. He's not going to be all "I can't answer your simple question about what time travel feels like because you must first read all 500 pages of my book."

"I never said that out loud before but that is the title I picked out." Gideon can literally monitor your dreams, dude. I know that she's never personally kidnapped you and put you into a time loop, but she knows things.

Astra:

Remember how she couldn't find a job in season 6? Because she's legally dead and legally still a child? She also has no education, no work experience, and a grand total of like 6 people who can vouch for her existence. She is a mess. No idea if she's legally eligible to run.

And she definitely wouldn't win, given that all of the above would definitely come out. She also doesn't look her legal age (which barely makes her old enough to qualify), she's terrible at keeping her temper, and she's literally a witch.

Also, she runs in 2040. We know for a fact that Dwayne Johnson is the President in 2045. So at best, she gets 1 term.

That wig is preposterous.

Spooner:

Again, she definitely knows too much to go back to the 1920s.

Everyone is already suspicious of Gloria Cruz. You don't think they're going to have questions when her daughter goes missing and then some 20-something shows up out of nowhere?

They are not running an apothecary. They are getting burned at the stake.

[blackbullet99]

I don’t understand why Zutara shippers are so obsessed with hating Aang (or Kataang).

I understand they wish Zutara was canon, and that’s perfectly valid. I get why people ship it, and even though a good chunk of the toxic side of the ZK fandom say some pretty racist stuff, the ship is harmless. But the hate is vitriolic. You got to people like the-badger-mole, sokkastyles, longing-for-rain and they spend more time whining about Aang and his relationship with Katara than they talk about Zutara. They say the most objectively untrue stuff about Aang, Katara and Zuko as if making false claims about these characters is the only way to make their ship look good.

For example:

“Zuko did some bad things throughout the show, but Aang is worse because he never supported Katara and sexuality assaulted her. Not to mention Katara never had feelings for Aang, he was practically her son that she had to take care of”.

What ZKs actually sound like:

“Zuko did some bad things throughout the show, so we have to make Aang look worse by comparison to ensure that Zuko is a better match for Katara, despite his own problems, because surely a poorly timed kiss is the same is sexual assault. We falsely believe Aang never supported Katara because he didn’t agree with her seeking vengeance of the person who killed her mom, unlike Zuko who helped her out, meaning that one single episode must mean he’s the only one who supports Katara. Lastly, we have to find a way to make Katara’s obvious affection for Aang problematic, so let’s blow her motherly traits way out of proportion and say that any time she shows Aang affection, it’s a mom coddling her toddler, and yes Aang is a toddler because he’s BALD. So what that they kissed, they’re a mother and child. Also Katara emotionally supporting Aang is bad, she actually hates it. Dude trust me”.

They reason I bring this up is because I don’t understand why they have to be so bitter, it just makes them look pathetic that these people, some fully grown adults are so butthurt about a non-canon pairing from a 20 year old cartoon. Their media-illiterate ramblings don’t prove Aang and Katara are a bad couple, they just make it painfully obvious to anyone with a brain that these types of pathetic ZKs are just seething and coping.

Sure, you might say “I’m not one to talk” seeing as Kataang is canon, but let me tell you, I have my fair share of non-canon ships that I love.

I love Ichigo X Rukia, I think they have great chemistry and strong bond, I wish they were endgame, they felt like the heart and soul of Bleach. But I don’t hate Orihime, such a sweetheart (plus she gave us the Leekspin meme) her and Ichigo are cute, I just think Ichigo and Rukia are better.

I love Black Widow X Captain America from The MCU, they would’ve been a cute couple, they had good chemistry, they kissed for corn’s sake. I don’t care that much for Steve X Peggy, they’re kinda cute, but whatever, although I do really like Captain America’s ending. I don’t like Nat X Bruce, seeing as it came out of nowhere, but whatever, it didn’t last long anyway and I have nothing against either character.

If anything I’m more prone to getting annoyed when a beloved canon couple are broken up, all the build up thrown away and replaced with another character whom has less chemistry with the original. Case in point, Haley and Andy from Modern Family, they were so cute, they had great chemistry and there was so much build up, only for Andy to leave in the season where he and Haley become a couple. Then later Haley and her initial on again off again guy Dylan get together and I gotta say, I don’t like it. But I have nothing against the character, Dylan’s a sweet guy who genuinely loves Haley and matured a lot, and they’re in no way a bad or unhealthy couple, there are people who genuinely like them as a couple too. I do think Haley’s character was kinda done dirty, but that had absolutely nothing to do with what guy she ended up with.

The moral of this story is, you can like a non-canon ship and even dislike a canon ship without making up ridiculous reasons why and acting like a spoiled entitled brat like the vocal minority of ZeeK freaks from the the toxic side of the fandom.

[world0fmadness]

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧ ˚ VIDEO GAMES I THINK SOME OF THE GRID WOULD LIKE ˚ ୨୧ ⋆｡˚ ⋆

i don’t know what this is to be honest! just games i think the grid would like and how they’d play them ^_^ don’t come into my comment section with “ tHeY wOuLdNt CrY aT a ViDeO gAmE ” i have seen the manliest men cry at deaths in games and so many other things, video games are so capable of making you sob your heart out because of how much time you spend with characters and how well the stories are told <3

warning: god of war ragnarök spoilers, life is strange spoilers, red dead redemption 2 spoilers, telltales the walking dead spoilers

FERNANDO ALONSO

god of war - god of war ragnarök

i think he’d be SO into the story and would absolutely shed a tear or two when kratos calls atreus “ son ” for the first time instead of “ boy ”! he’d have the biggest crush on freya ( especially in god of war ragnarök when she has her valkyrie armour on and her wings back )

thinks faye was just an absolute poet and is very tempted to get “ to grieve deeply is to have loved fully ” tattooed on himself ( literally me )

loves angrboda and atreus, he thinks they are adorable, his digital children, cries AGAIN when atreus leaves at the end of god of war ragnarök

thinks all of the valkyries’ designs are GORGEOUS ( because they are ) but please don’t go near him with that sigrun boss fight

SEBASTIAN VETTEL

stardew valley - animal crossing

get this man a nintendo switch and some cozy games as soon as possible, he’d have the cutest animal crossing village and doesn’t go a day without talking to his villagers

LEWIS HAMILTON

red dead redemption 2

his arthur would be so dripped out it’s insane, he loves arthur as character, keeps arthur well fed, fucking hates micah with a passion ( don’t we all ) cries when arthur gets diagnosed with tuberculosis and honestly hates playing the last chapters with arthur because he can’t stand how deathly arthur looks, cries again when he dies but is so glad he was able to help john get out ( don’t tell him about the first game okay? )

thinks charles is the absolute best side character, loves his character, his loyalty, his words, and his backstory! might just get a bison tattoo to honour him… has a little crush on sadie and tilly ^_^

has the same horse throughout the whole game and treats it SO good </3 gets the braided mane and tail, feeds it so good, brushes it constantly… is beyond heartbroken when it dies

listens to unshaken by d’angelo from the soundtrack on the regular

telltale’s the walking dead

played every season when they first released, this franchise has caused this man so much heartbreak… thought lee, luke and kenny were the best characters until clementine was grown up! absolutely adores AJ too <3

had to pause and take a breath when clementine got bit, cried so much, took him right back to the first season with lee and he couldn’t handle it… thinks telltale are horrible people for baiting you like that

CHARLES LECLERC

life is strange - life is strange: before the storm

i can just see him really connecting with chloe in a strange way… absolutely hates nathan but feels a little bad for him at the end, top pricefield shipper, sacrifices arcadia bay every replay ( he sacrificed chloe once just to see and cried for half an hour at the ending )

would probably be so upset at chloe not being in the life is strange: double exposure trailer, wants to know where she is IMMEDIATELY, but is so proud of how grown up max is

toem

i don’t know… i can just see him really liking toem :,3 it’s relaxing

MAX VERSTAPPEN

stray

he plays it on pc, downloads a custom cat mod and makes it a bengal! refuses to show how much he loves it… meows at least one thousand times and scratches every surface when he’s given the option

absolutely bought the b-12 cat toy that annapurna interactive sold for jimmy and sassy

metal gear solid

i just think he’d be so good at stealth… has a HUGE man crush on snake, won’t ever tell anyone ( everyone knows )

GEORGE RUSSELL

L.A. noire

again, i don’t know how to explain this one but he’d play it and suddenly start using so many vintage words and slang and tries to over examine everyone’s body language, looks like a psychopath… would be a bit mad at the ending, wants a sequel

firewatch - everybody’s gone to the rapture

i can see him LOVING walking simulators with amazing stories… he especially likes everybody’s gone to the rapture because of the british village setting ^_^ absolutely loves the soundtrack for it too

OSCAR PIASTRI

devil may cry - gungrave gore

i feel like he’d just go crazy in fast paced games like devil may cry, especially devil may cry 5… is super unimpressed with himself when he gets a low score on a stage :(

had a crush on dante when he was younger, still has a man crush on him ( silver fox dante lovers where are you guys? )

LANDO NORRIS

until dawn - the quarry

i can see him just absolutely LOVING some of the characters ( emma, jessica, sam, ashley, matt, jacob, abigail and laura ) and just absolutely hating others ( josh, mike, emily, nick ) if any of his favourites die he’d probably be incredibly inclined to restart the game! thinks sam is the best character ever

is so good at the QTEs because of his f1 reflexes, it’s unfair

horizon forbidden west

i can just kind of see him geeking the fuck out about robot dinosaurs! he’d probably be hyped for the horizon lego game, wants to play it co op with oscar <3

bought the tallneck lego and built it SO quick, he loves it ^_^ top seyloy shipper and has a huge crush on zoe

[count-alucard-tepes]

Headcanons and a short fanfic for my Thai God of war, Kaolan Wongsawat 🥊

He absolutely hates being cold and dreads when he has to travel to during winter months to other countries (I feel the same way, man)

He loves plants so much that the entire palace garden is under his care and he chooses which plants are to be grown.

He does surprise Saw Paing Yoroizuka in Myanmar every now and then just because he always gets surprise visits. It’s not to fight though, it’s just being him snacks and visit his village.

He wants to get married and settled down soon with a few kids running around.

The headband jewel he wears is his birthstone and was a gift from the King’s mother.

A royal affair…

Kaolan was very much acquainted with royals as he was so close to King Rama as well as being so famous due to his status as a boxer so it was normal for him to at royal affairs quite often throughout the year despite how busy he was.

Y/N is a cousin of King Rama who just happened to be a princess/prince of a neighboring country.

“…it is so kind for a God to grace us with his presence”, Y/N said teasingly as they smiled at Kaolan.

Kaolan immediately turned your way and bowed slightly, “…your highness, thank you for having my king and I in your home…I am but the grateful one to be surrounded by your grace”, he said ever so politely as he gently took your hand and kissed the back of it.

“You know you don’t need to do that with us, Kaolan…you are practically family at this point”, Y/N said gently.

He couldn’t help but smile at that, “…I am a mere servant of the king…”.

Y/N smiled gently and took his hand into theirs, “…come, let’s go for a stroll…I fear we have much to catch up on”.

Kaolan was about to decline because he was accompanying the king and also protecting him at the same time but the king was all too quick to give him a thumbs up and began socializing.

He sighed softly as he was dragged into the gardens, “…ah the gardens have changed from the last time I was here”, he commented as he leaned close to touch the flowers and take in the scents.

“Oh yes, you left quite the impression on my father that he redid the whole garden with the seasons in mind…thank you for that”, Y/N said with a smile.

He smiled sheepishly before noticing the rose bed that was unchanged, “…his prized possession still remains though as it should”, he said with a smile.

The rose bush had been there from the day you were born, your father had planted a different rose bush from all over the world on your birthday for as long as you have lived.

Y/N blushed in response, “…it is something pleases him…”.

“Any father who does something that endearing is a father who loves their child dearly…it inspires me for one day when I am in a similar position”, Kaolan said gently as if deep in thought.

That made you both blush and wonder what was on his mind when he said that, was he ready for marriage and children or was that just a random thought he had…one couldn’t tell unless they truly knew him well enough.

“I hope my future husband feels the same way as you do, Kaolan…”, Y/N said absentmindedly before realizing what they had just said. It was too late because he was already looking at them with an all too teasing smile.

“…r…right so what’s been going on in your travels lately? Rama said you were in Japan for three months, I envy you!”, Y/N said with a pout.

He nodded gently in response, “…I got to visit some friends, travel and train during that time…it was outstanding even though it was a little cold, I managed as much as I could”, he said gently as he didn’t want to go into detail about his underground fights.

“Really? You have friends other than my cousin? I didn’t know that you were social”, Y/N teased as Kaolan rolled his eyes in response.

“Yes, I do…I think you’d like them, they’re very sarcastic”, he replied calmly.

Your jaw dropped when he said that, “…that was mean…but if you are inviting me, I’d love to…maybe after our third or fourth date”.

That took the boxer off guard and he snapped back to look at you.

“…d…date?”, he stuttered, “…I mean…if you want to…I’d take you on a date…”.

This left you both blushing in that moment that seemed to last forever and perhaps it was just the silence between you both that make it even more awkward. Standing side by side as you both stared at the garden.

“…I’d like that a lot, Kaolan…”, Y/N finally said as you felt Kaolan’s fingers lace into yours and squeeze a little.

“I’ll plan it out and call you…then we can go on our first date”, he said with a smile as he looked over at you.

You smiled and nodded before gently leaning your head against his shoulder.

The last thing you thought would happen this night would be you having a date with Kaolan but here you were…

[bigsexiest]

Mountain growing his own drumsticks from his horns.

I actually can't find the person who originally wrote something about this. I intended to do something silly about this in their reblogs but now I can't :((((. If someone knows who it is can you please let me knowww. It was basically a post about Mountain carving his own drumsticks from trees around the abbey or something.

Imagine Mountain growing out his horns for months. He doesn't file them down like the other ghouls. He just lets them grow.

By the time he decides to cut them off, they're massive. He's blessed with straight long horns that don't really grow upwards. They grow perpendicular to his body. Straight backward. He can poke himself in the back if he looks up sharply enough.

Mountain has scheduled everything down to a science. He grows them for exactly six months, massaging them with homemade peppermint and lavender oil every other day to keep them soft and growing quick. They've grown close to twenty inches in length at the end of the six months.

Strangely enough, he only trusts Cumulus to cut them off for him. The sawing is somewhat traumatic and it's his least favorite part of the whole process. Cumulus has been trained by the quintessence ghouls in the most humane way to cut the horns off with a special kind of wire.

The friction caused by sliding the wire back and forth does a great job of cutting the horns off, but it gets too hot very quickly. Unfortunately for Mountain, Cumulus insists on taking loads of breaks to douse the area with cold water. Mountain is positive this makes the whole situation worse, and the cold water on the sensitive inner horn isn't very enjoyable.

By the time Cumulus finishes, Mountain is glad it's over and he's happy with how light his head feels without horns. Cumulus likes to spend some time rubbing a cooling salve on the raw part of his horns which helps to soften the rough edge. She always insists on helping in the morning to file them down to little points so they can grow nice and even again.

Now with his two horns in his hands, he brings them to the greenhouse where he meticulously carves them in the shape of the natural wooden drumsticks he was trained with. Cumulus usually cuts them a couple inches away from his scalp to avoid any pesky blood vessels or sensitive nerves, so he's able to carve his favored seventeen-inch sticks with room to spare.

He likes using his horns as sticks over the wood because of how durable the material is. He finds himself breaking the wooden ones all the time because of how flimsy they are. Instead, six short months of growth left Mountain with his most prized possessions. They often last much longer than the time it takes to grow more.

He also found he could hit his drums much harder. Being a metal drummer, it's important to have considerably heavy drumsticks. His horns were quite heavy, but still ergonomic enough for him to comfortably use them throughout an entire show.

He still keeps wooden ones to throw to excited fans. Mountain also keeps worn-out horn drumsticks to give to his favorite retired ghouls when he goes away on tour. Aether is grateful to have two matching ones that were carved together. Sunshine likes that she has three that all look different. Since Mountain's horns grow different colors depending on the weather and season, they remind her of different memories close to her heart.

[aemiron-main]

alice creel isn’t karen wheeler- but she might be somebody else: an analysis of alice creel and connie frazier and jefferson airplane’s white rabbit

So, I think there’s a solid chance that “Connie Frazier,” might be Alice Creel.

Alice was 15 in 1959, and therefore was born in 1944, which would make her 39 in 1983.

Connie’s age isn’t confirmed anywhere, unfortunately, but the actress who plays her, Catherine Dyer, was 58 as of 2016, when S1 was filmed. Admittedly, this is a fairly large gap between what Alice’s age should be vs what Catherine Dyer’s age is, however, Mike Wheeler is also supposed to be fourteen, so I think that the ages of the actors vs the characters in ST has a bit of wiggle room.

I’m not just basing this off of looks, though- the name “Alice,” literally plays in a scene where Connie’s face is on screen/it’s focused on Connie.

The lyric “go ask Alice,” plays during this scene, and even cuts to Connie RIGHT as the name “Alice,” is sung, having focused on Benny for the “go ask,” part of the line.

And prior to this scene at the door, we also have the “call Alice,” lyric that plays, which, right as it plays Benny says “Whoever it is, I’ll tell them to go away real quick.” The fact that the name “Alice,” plays right after Benny talks about going to see who is at the door is suspicious, almost like it’s Alice at the door.

As well, the full line for the “call alice,” part goes “call alice- when she was just small.” And Alice Creel was small/15 years old the first/last time we saw her (1959) but now is not small anymore/is grown up.

That’s two instances of Connie being referred to while the name “Alice,” plays in the show. The first time, it literally cuts to Connie’s face as the name “Alice,” is sung, and the second time, Benny talks about seeing who is at the door (Connie) while we hear Connie knocking and the name “Alice,” is sung once again.

It’s also interesting that Benny literally called Connie/called social services and Connie/the lab seem to have been listening in on the call and interfered. And if Connie is Alice, then Benny literally called Alice.

Also, it almost seems like Connie’s has her mind wiped- she’s extremely focused on her mission, seems to have little personality or interests outside of it, and kills Benny in cold blood with basically zero hesitation.

And look at how Connie lays on the ground, bleeding from her eyes, compared to how Alice laid on the ground, supposedly bleeding from her eyes.

It’s also interesting to me that they chose to revisit Connie’s death in S4, the same season where we’re introduced to Alice Creel for the first time. Sullivan hands Owens a picture of Connie’s death when talking about El- almost like ST production is giving us a subtle reminder of what Connie’s death looked like and how eerily similar it was to Alice’s “death.”

I’m not 100% sure if Connie is Alice yet, but the parallels are definitely interesting, and if Brenner picked up Henry from the Creel house that night (which he did), then I don’t think it’s a stretch for him to have grabbed Alice too. What if Henry is part of what happens when MKultra brainwashing fails, but Connie/Alice is what happens when it succeeds? Not the powers part of it persay but simply the *brainwashing* part and destruction and rebuilding of the mind that was involved in the real mkultra. (The two main steps for mind control were thought to be to wipe then mind snd then rebuild it, which likely would’ve been what happened to Alice). And even though Alice seems dead at the Creel house, there’s so much weirdness with all of those scenes and the position of her body changes throughout various retellings and she seems like her eyes may not even be bleeding in some of them- she may also have regenerative healing like Henry (and likely like Virginia) which would explain her survival.

And then we also get this scene- look at the curtains. We have the orange curtain behind Connie and the orange curtain behind Virginia, and we have both Connie and Virginia wearing orange plaid and they both have similar hairstyles, and the blanket behind Connie is the same sort of orange and white colours as Virginia’s shirt and the framing with the OTS shot of Victor in Virginia’s screenshot vs the OTS shot of Scott in Connie’s screenshot- if Connie is Alice, then it would make sense to parallel grown-up Alice to her mother (Virginia).

It’s also interesting to me that they chose scott for this scene- scott, who would’ve been at school at the same time as Henry and likely would’ve met Alice at some point, but wouldn’t recognize her anymore, especially because she’s supposed to be dead.

[bingle3]

(An incredibly long analysis I sent to my friends who haven't watched episode five)

It occurred to me earlier that, obviously it's a known fact in Ted Lasso that if a character has a connection to leopard print, they're queer in some way. Colin's shirt, Keeleys statue thing, and Trents shoes.

First off, I wanna talk about Trents shoes, though specifically the context of the two times he wears them. The first, in the car park scene. In the scene he's trying to win Ted over, showing that he's grown, that he's not like how he was before. He's trying to get Ted to see him for who he really is thanks to him. The second scene where we see him wear them is in Rebecca's office. Trents trying to make a good impression, to show he's good, same as before... But it's not working on Higgins, Rebecca or Keeley, because it's not supposed to. He wears them when he's trying to impress Ted and show who he is, so it's understandable that it's only Ted who is convinced by Trent to let him write the book, even with the others strongly denying it. Because he sees Trent, and Trent wants him to see.

Next, Keeleys statue. It's always been in her office, shown proudly. Keeley has been confirmed as bisexual since the beginning, it's a big part of her and she's not quiet about it, it's big and in your face, like the statue. Also, Roy growls at it after his and Keeleys talk in the last episode of season two, the first scene that shows the possibility of a break up, which ended up happening the following season. I can't talk much about the most recent episode, but there is a shot of just the statue, and in the context of what followed for Keeley throughout the rest of the episode, it's clear there's a connection between it and her bisexuality.

I can't really comment much on Colin's leopard print shirt, it's only in one scene. Though he's happy and dancing around in said scene. He's beside Sam, who's messaging someone (Rebecca) on Bantr. On his other side is Issac, someone who's shipped heavily with Colin due to how Colin was towards him in the scene where Roy headbutts Jaimie in the club in season one. The two of them are having fun together in the car, whilst Sam sends a message about going on a date. Romance is in the air.

There are so many indicators about what these things mean to the characters and it's so hfhdnenkskq. I'm excited to see what kind of way it features in the next episode, as we know the Colin situation will be addressed most likely, and Keeley won't hesitate to talk about what went down with her.