#i know its not that big of a deal but also i just KNOW it's a 'but shes hot and slugs are icky' thing and i hate that

[graceface1712]

Spoiling her

SoftRafexSweetPougePrincess

Summary: Sweet Pouge princess is too poor to afford stuff like a phone. So Rafe takes her out and buys her one. And maybe some other stuff

Warnings: None! Just fluff

Hope you enjoy! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊ *ੈ

“Ready to go?” Rafe asks Y/N.

“Yup!”

They both climb into his truck. He starts driving them over to the non-touristy section of OBX. There is a mall, stores, and a couple restaurants.

Rafe pulls into the mall parking lot. Y/N looks over at him confused.

“What are we doing here?” She asks him.

“We need to get a few things.” He says before getting out of his truck and quickly walking over to open her door. He stretches out his hand to her and she grabs it. They walk hand in hand into the mall.

Y/N has only ever been here a few times. And it was mainly because Kiara had money and wanted to buy some stuff and invited Y/N. But she didn't buy anything, just tagged along.

Rafe leads her through the mall before she finally sees where he must be heading. The Apple Store. Becoming more confused, she turns her head to Rafe’s. They walk in together.

“What are we doing here?” She asks him again.

“We’re buying you a phone.” Rafe says it's no big deal. Y/N’s mouth drops open.

“What! Rafe you can’t do this. We barely even know each other! This is our first date.” She tries to argue but Rafe is having nothing of it.

“Look I’m going to need a way to contact you that isn’t driving to your house all the time. This is the only option I could think of.” He says.

“But Rafe. These phones are so expensive! Why do you think I have never had one? And I can’t afford a phone bill every month!” Y/N keeps pressing as they walk around the store. Rafe doesn’t seem to be listening to her, just looking at the different colors and options.

“I will pay for it all. It won’t even make a scratch in my bank account sweetheart. Now please stop worrying. Look at this one, it’s your favorite color.” He points to a phone on display. It’s a baby pink. Absolutely gorgeous.

Y/N can feel herself cave when she sees the look in his eyes. He will not hear her say no. And this color is so beautiful.

“Alright, well that’s settled.” He calls over a sales person.

“Hello sir, how can I help you?” The associate asks.

“Hi. I’ll take this iPhone, at its best value. I’ll also take an iPad Air, in pink please. And to go with that, an Apple Pencil.” Rafe says. The associate nods along and disappears to grab the items.

“Why did you ask for a pink iPad?” Y/N asks.

“Because once you get your phone, watching streaming services and playing games are so much more fun on a bigger screen.” He says like it’s obvious.

Y/N gasps. “Rafe. Are you kidding me? The phone is already way more than needed.” She scolds him.

“I do not care. You are my girl. I’m going to spoil you. And a phone is necessary so you can call or text me whenever. The iPad is just for fun.” He shoots me a wink and the sales associate comes back with all the things in a bag.

We walk over to the counter and Rafe takes out his black Amex card to pay. I can’t even look at how much he’s spending right now, or else it will make me throw up.

Rafe thanks the associate and then grabs the bag along with my hand. Hut by the look on his face he isn’t done yet.

“Rafe please. This is more than enough for today. Thank you so much. But I don’t need you spending any more money on me.”

“Okay.” He says with a small pout on his lips.

We go home and helps me set everything up. Let’s just say I’m addicted to temple run now.

[dreamsteddie]

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Written for the @stmarchmm day one prompt “courting rituals” | Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Courting Rituals, Alpha Eddie Munson, Omega Steve Harrington - Also on Ao3

Bat divider -@popmilky | Diamond divider - @inklore

Eddie knows he doesn’t have much going for him in terms of mating material.

Despite presenting as an Alpha early at age twelve, something that should have given him some kind of status in a town like Hawkins, there’s always been something about him that makes people turn their noses up at him, close doors in his face. He’s kind of wishy-washy when it comes to the things he’s not passionate about, he smells like wet pavement and cigarette smoke, and can’t for the life of him seem to graduate high school.

He also can’t grow a beard, can’t remember to separate the darks from the lights, can’t tie his shoes without using the bunny ears method, can’t hop in place and rub his tummy, can’t- 

Well the point is, there are a lot of “can’t”s in his life and never a whole lot of “can”s

The one thing Eddie can do without a shadow of a doubt is pursue delusions of grandeur with a single-minded determination. No matter how hard this shit-hole town and all its designation-obsessed inhabitants have tried to beat him into the dirt over the years, he’s never let go of his dreams. Some day, he’s going to play songs for the entire goddamn planet, making millions of dollars off lyrics inspired by all the games and books that have gotten his head shoved in the Hawkin’s High toilets over the years, and Mayor Kline will have to give him a key to the city while Eddie Munson, town freak, gives him the middle finger.

And, if all the stars align and the Big Guy upstairs he doesn’t believe in does him several solids, he’ll be doing it with Steve Harrington standing by his side.

The guys think he’s crazy—Eddie thinks he’s crazy—but Eddie is determined to give his all into courting Steve Harrington before their shared senior year ends. He’s, by and large, the most eligible Omega in all of Hawkins, even with his recent breakup with Nancy Wheeler under his belt. No amount of ditching the popular crowd, adopting a bunch of children, and becoming best friends with band geek Robin Buckley has been enough to deter the Alphas of Hawkins High, even if some of them won’t admit it.

Eddie takes great pleasure in watching every failed courting offer. Steve has always been picky about who he lets take him out, but he hasn’t taken up a single Alpha’s offer since Nancy and the rejections are getting more brutal by the day. Eddie suspects it’s Robin’s influence and if that is the case he needs to thank her profusely because Eddie goes a little weak in the knees every time he sees Steve literally turn up his perfect nose at an offer.

So, the odds aren’t looking good. Steve is picky and Eddie is famously a poor, nobody freak, not the kind of guy with the resources to properly woo a guy like Steve, but what Eddie does have is a lot of passion and a strong desire to prove himself. 

So Eddie has a capital P Plan.

“Hey Buckley,” Eddie says sliding up to the girl where she’s packing up at the bleachers after practice. She gives him a scrutinizing look and clearly finds him lacking, squinting her eyes at him like he’s a little bug landed on her shoulder. Irritating and suspicious. Which, rude. “I was wondering if a fine lady like yourself would happen to know what one Steve Harrington might be hoping for in a courting” Robin clearly wasn’t expecting him to come right out and ask, her blue eyes going wide.

“What the fuck, Munson!” She crows, clearly embarrassed by his lack of tact.

“What!?” He fires back, not understanding what the big deal is. He wants to court Steve and Robin is the best source of information on how to go about it.

“You can’t just ask that, you doofus,” she hisses, lavender scent going smokey like brush fire.

“Why not? I want to court him, like, publicly. Everyone’s gonna know in a couple weeks anyway. Shouldn’t you be glad you’re the first to know?” He huffs. He knows it’s not exactly the done thing to go around telling people you’re going to court someone. You’re supposed to be delicate. Hint at it and build up little courting gifts and don’t look anyone in the eye. It’s dumb as hell and Eddie wants no part of it. Besides, so far as Eddie has seen, that method hasn’t worked on Steve anyway. Eddie may as well go about this in his own way, which includes getting insider information.

Still clearly not impressed, Robin says “You? You want to court Steve? Resident anti-conformist, jock-hating, Eddie Munson wants to court Steve Harrington. Why?” Her tone is clearly disbelieving, which, again, rude.

“Uh, I mean, have you seen him with those kids? He’s wicked hot with that whole mom thing he’s got going on.” At that, Robin gags. “And, I mean, I know he’s a jock but he’s also an Omega and he pretty much said fuck it to Hawkin’s High when he presented and refused to give up his position as captain. That was super fucking metal,” he says all earnest.

“And I like the way he smells, like a fresh cinnamon roll. And we shared an English class once and he asked me about the doodle of a Beholder I worked on instead of taking notes. And I know I’m not exactly a prime Alpha but I don’t think that really matters. At least not to me. I want to kiss him and make sweet love to him and have babies with him and -” Robin cuts him off with a hand over his mouth.

“Ok, I get it. You like him.” She says that, but she’s still looking at him like she can’t figure him out. “Alright…I don’t know if I like you Eddie but I’ll throw you a bone. Just one, got it? And if you fuck it up, I’m not helping you again.” She says, waiting for him to nod before removing her hand from his mouth.

Eddie takes a deep, overdramatic breath in like he’s just breached water. “Got it.”

Robin takes a deep breath of her own. “Steve’s been propositioned for courting 19 times since he presented and he’s only said yes to one. One-off dates not included.” She hasn’t stopped looking him straight in the eye, making sure he pays attention. “Nancy gave him a set of handwritten notes for history because she noticed he was struggling. All the other Alphas got him fancy jewelry, useless house stuff, and generic valentine's day crap.” With that, she gives him one last, long look before grabbing her trumpet and leaving, the sound of metal clanging under her feet following in her wake.

“Thanks, Buckey!” He calls out, waving his hand wildly at her retreating back. She ignores him.

Well, no matter. He’s got a courting to plan.

The thing about courting when you have $3.45 to your name after rent and gas is that you have to get creative. Which isn’t a problem, Eddie breathes creativity. If he wasn't already “The Freak” he’s sure he would be Eddie “The Creative” Munson. Really, it has a nice ring to it.

The problem comes with making something with $3.45 that is also a worthy courting gift for Steve Harrington. Which, given Robin’s tip, might not be as big a concern as he would have thought. But even if Steve would be happy with a heartfelt love letter and those peanut butter brownies Eddie knows he likes, there’s a part of him that wants to blow every other Alpha and Beta that came before him completely out of the water. Maybe especially Nancy Wheeler.

Sue him, he wants to be the best.

Which leaves him with the option of a gesture. Eddie loves a gesture, but this one is going to require some help. Luckily, Eddie knows where every gang of geeks in Hawkin’s makes their dens, even if they’re not his gang of geeks. It comes with being Head Freak. It’s his responsibility, really.

Which is how he finds himself in the Hawkins Middle AV club room being stared down by a bunch of beady-eyed thirteen year olds on the verge of presenting. Jesus, these kids are intense.

“So yeah, that’s what I’m planning,” he finishes explaining. Would it kill them to look a little impressed? He’s pretty proud of it himself. Instead of sharing looks of awe, the six of them share looks of judgement between them, obviously having a silent conversation between them like some kind of hive mind. Eddie will never admit it makes him sweat a little bit.

“You want to ask to court Steve. Steve Harrington?” the tall, skinny one asks like he can’t believe it. Eddie doesn’t know if the disgust is for him or for the Omega. Either way, ouch.

“Yes,” he replies, sweating a little more. They all share more looks, the redhead in particular is looking at him like he’s gum stuck on the bottom of her shoes. 

“Why?” The curly one asks, firm and more seriously than any kid that dorky looking should have any right to speak. Seriously, he looks like a poodle in a Star Wars shirt and a trucker hat. But, Eddie knows enough about Steve to know that these are his kids, his pups, and despite how much it chafes him to have people continually asking why he wants to court Steve, like it isn’t obvious, he knows these pups are just looking out for their pack Omega.

With a deep sigh, Eddie explains for the second time in less than a week, everything he loves about Steve Harrington. At the end of his speech, the pups stare at him for a long moment before simultaneously turning their back on him to form an honest to God huddle. Seriously, the hive mind thing is looking more and more likely. Maybe he should use this for a campaign. Very Children of the Corn.

While Eddie is lost in his musing, they seem to come to some kind of conclusion, breaking up and returning to one solid, unbreakable line. It’s the other girl, hair short and at that awkward growing out length that Eddie knows all too well that steps forward. All these kids are intense, but there’s something especially severe about her, something Eddie only half recognizes.

“We will help you,” she says, quiet and solemn. 

This is going to fucking fantastic, Eddie thinks, wild grin splitting across his face.

It’s embarrassingly easy to sneak a band of six middle schoolers and one elementary schooler into the school after hours. The kids met him outside the building just at exactly 4:00 PM the Friday after their meeting in the AV room just as they planned. The addition of the feisty ten year old was unexpected, but she proved herself invaluable in charming the one teacher that stopped them on their way to the radio room, spinning some tale about being so excited for higher learning that they wanted to explore the high school. Eddie thinks Erica Sinclair should run the world.

The kids are a well oiled, if slightly annoying, machine. As soon as Eddie pops the door open they’re getting to work figuring out how the PA system works and how long the range is. Dustin and Lucas insist that they move the entire unit closer to the field, and Max and Will are quick to source a cart for the whole thing. In record time they’re all piling into the coaches office, the one with a clear view of the basketball court where the team is running their Friday drills. Honestly, it feels a little like they’re highjacking Eddie’s plan, but the smiles on their face and their puppy sweet excitement softens the blow a little.

“You ready?” The curly haired one, Dustin, asks while offering him the mic.

“I was born for this, Dusty,” he says, snatching the mic out of his hand and taking his place outside the main gym doors.

Despite what he said, Eddie is nervous. He shakes his hands and bounces in place, trying to shake it off. Before he’s ready, he hears the slightly crackly jazzy intro pouring through the speakers. He counts his beats, waiting for his que. He spent hours planning this, recording the background music with the band, turning the lyrics over and over in his head, even practicing his grand entrance. He’s as ready as he can be.

God, he hopes this works.

And there’s his que, that little pause in the music just enough time for him to push open the doors to the main gym with all his strength, relishing in the dramatic banging sound.

All eyes are on him. Steve’s eyes are on him.

You're just too good to be true,

Can't take my eyes off of you,

He sings as he walks. All the activity in the gym has come to a halt, everyone too confused and curious to stop it. He’s looking right at Steve, who turns his head like he’s expecting to see someone else behind him. He’s so cute, Eddie wants to eat him alive.

At long last love has arrived,

And I thank God I'm alive,

You're just too good to be true

Eddie knows he doesn’t have a lot of time, any moment now principle Higgins and his one security lackey are going to bust through the doors to find out who stole the announcement equipment. This is the moment, the one that needs to count. Eddie saunters right up to Steve like his heart isn’t trying to beat out of his chest and kneels down like a knight to their king. He takes his hand, and Steve lets him as he sings the next line looking right up into those beautiful hazel eyes.

Can't take my eyes off of you.

He turns the hand in his own over to expose the Omega’s wrist just as the music pauses and presses a soft, lingering kiss to the gland there. A courting kiss.

Almost like he planned it, the doors burst open a second time revealing the fuming face of Principle Higgins and his goon. He turns a manic grin Steve’s way just as the music picks back up, cutting straight to the chorus. He presses one last kiss to Steve’s wrist and takes in the way his pretty, pink lips are parted in disbelief, eyes wide and then he’s running.

I love you baby,

And if it's quite alright,

I need you baby,

To warm the lonely nights

Let it never be said that Eddie Munson, for all the ways he fails to be the ideal Alpha, doesn’t have a hell of a lot of stamina. He’s been a proud runner all his life, and he’s using it to his advantage today to put on a show. He’s singing and he’s running as Higgins and Officer Jerry chase his tail like they have any hope of catching him when he doesn’t want to be caught, when he can see the most beautiful boy in the world laughing at him in disbelief as he ducks and dodges around the court.

But even Eddie has his limits and, like he said, he planned this to a T. He can feel himself running out of breath but he refuses to call it before the climax. He’s stomping his way up the bleachers, making a show of going between the rows dancing like he’s in an old hollywood musical. Higgin’s is closing in, but there’s now way he’s getting caught. Not today. He puts in a burst of speed, leaving them in the dust and putting himself right at the top of the wooden stands, singing directly to Steve who is absolutely glowing on the court.

And let me love you,

Baby let me love you…

The music gives one last swell, the Corroded Coffin of two days ago pouring their heart out for the Eddie of today. The music comes to an abrupt halt, the gym very quickly filling with laughter and applause. The kids are screaming their heads off in the office, loud enough to draw Steve’s attention to where they can be seen through the large window. The joy and disbelief on Steve’s face makes all of this worth it, no matter what happens next.

Eddie wishes he could relish in it longer, but the goon squad is gaining ground fast and he has one last message to give before he hauls ass into the next phase of his plan. He starts inching his way toward the exit, not taking his eyes off Steve as he goes. He needs him to hear this.

“Steve Harrington, it would be the honor of my life to court you with the intention of mating. Meet me at the lake at seven if you’ll hear me out.” And with that, he’s gone. He wishes he could stay to see his reaction, but he’s out of time.

He pushes through the emergency exit to the sound of hollering and clapping, all he can do now is commence with phase two.

Phase two mainly consists of picking everything up from the trailer, changing into his nice clothes, and heading toward Lover’s Lake to set everything up.

Eddie thinks this is the most nerve wracking part of the whole plan. In many ways, the whole big performance was the easy part. Eddie loves to perform, eats up the attention like a cat laps up milk. This, the full bearing of his heart to the Omega he wants to spend his life with, is far scarier than anything else. Here in the back of his van, the paper hearts and pillar candles, hand-picked daisies and hand-made peanut butter brownies, leave him completely exposed.

He wonders if Steve will show up.

He wishes he didn’t set up so god damn early. The waiting is excruciating.

The Alpha paces around, adjusts the blankets on the bottom of the van and then decides they were better before, and checks his watch every half minute like it will make time move faster. He sits and watches the hands turn from 6:59 to 7:00. Maybe Steve won’t come. Maybe this was all for nothing and he’ll have to go back to school on Monday and pretend like he isn’t heartbroken.

His watch continues to tick. 7:03, 7:07, 7:10. He’s getting ready to pick it all back up when he hears the muffled sound of tires on soft dirt. Suddenly, his heart is in his throat as he watches the distinct headlights of his favorite Beamer turn into the clearing.

Eddie scrambles to his feet, he has a plan to carry out.

He watches, heart in his throat as Steve parks. Watches as the door opens and Steve emerges, a sweet, sheepish smile on his face.

“Sorry I’m late.” Steve looks like a dream. He clearly went home and had a shower and a change of clothes. He’s wearing light wash jeans that hug his thighs and a soft looking, deep red sweater, the collar of a white dress shirt peeking out from underneath. He’s dressed up for Eddie.

There’s a long pause where Eddie forgets how to speak and Steve just stands there, clearly waiting for Eddie to make a move. Eddie comes back to himself all at one, shaking his head hard like a dog, making Steve let out a startled laugh. “What the hell?” He asks, not mean, but bemused. 

“My deepest apologies my liege, I was simply stunned by your beauty,” he says with a half bow, extending his arm for Steve to take. “It is my pleasure to welcome you to Cafe Munson, the finest pop up restaurant this side of Indiana.” It’s goofy and a little ridiculous but Steve takes the offered arm with a little smile, sending a pleasant jolt through his body. 

Eddie leads Steve toward the open back of the van, watching him intently as he takes it in. He gets to see as the Omega’s eyes go wide, mouth parting in a little gasp. When he turns to look at Eddie, he’s already looking back. “You did this for me?” He asks, wonder coloring his voice. All of a sudden Eddie feels a little shy, a little sheepish.

“I know it’s not much, I’m not exactly liquid at the moment, but I wanted to do something nice for you,” he says, unoccupied arm reaching up to tug a piece of hair over his mouth. Steve looks at him for a long moment before turning back to the van. There are blankets everywhere, pretty much every one from the house plus a couple he nicked from Gareth’s house after practice. The emergency pillar lights from the pantry give the space a soft glow, paper hearts hang from string from the metal roof, and a repurposed laundry basket full of tupperwares and miller lites sits in the center.

“It’s perfect” Steve says, and Eddie can’t help but believe him. Not when his scent is blooming, cinnamon roll sweet, right under Eddie’s nose.

Eddie leads him to the van, gives him his hand to help him into the back. He takes a moment to take it all in, Steve Harrington settling into a date with Eddie Munson. It’s his biggest dream come true. 

He climbs in after the other boy and starts pulling out tupperwares. Steve has settled in to lean on the wall of pillows Eddie constructed for just this reason, pulling a blanket over the both of them when Eddie settles in next to him. Steve laughs with every overly dramatic introduction he makes for the food, and Eddie doesn’t think he’s ever been this warm. Neither of them brings up why they’re here, the underlying meaning behind it all. They dance around it, laughing about the kids, Steve’s sports and Eddie’s games, the look on Principle Higgin’s face when he burst into the gym earlier that day. The whole place smells like cinnamon and smoke, Eddie doesn’t think there’s a better smell in the whole world.

They don’t say a thing about courting or mating or scents until they polish off their cold pasta, courtesy of Wayne, and Eddie pulls out the last tupperware from the bottom of the laundry basket. “And for dessert, may I have a drumroll please….” Steve rolls his eyes but smiles as he complies, drumming a little beat with fingers on the side of the van. Eddie pulls out the container with a flourish, “The finest peanut butter brownies $3.15 worth of ingredients from Melvald’s can get you.” He expects laughter, maybe some light teasing as Steve has been shown to enjoy throughout the night, but all he gets is silence. 

He worries, for a moment, that he got it wrong. Maybe Steve doesn’t like peanut butter brownies. Jesus H Christ, maybe he’s allergic to peanuts and Eddie has just massively fucked this up. He’s getting ready to spiral and try to fix it when Steve speaks, voice soft in a way Eddie can’t place.

“Those are my favorites,” he says. When Eddie is brave enough to look at his face again, he’s met with wet, adoring eyes. Eddie doesn't know if anyone has ever looked at him like that before. Like he was something magical. Something special just for them.

Eddie clears his throat when Steve doesn’t say anything else. Just keeps staring at him like he’s waiting for something big. “Yeah, yeah I know,” he says, bracing himself for what comes next. “I uh, I saw you buy some at the club fair last year. You bought three of them and then came back for one more before they closed the booth.” It shouldn’t be such a big admission, but it feels like he’s just handed Steve his heart on a silver platter.

“Eddie?” Steve asks, turning toward him fully.

“Yeah?” Eddie asks, sitting up so they’re eye to eye.

“What you said, on the basketball court, will you ask me again?” He’s looking at him with so much hope in his eyes, Eddie almost feels like he could choke on it. Instead, he focuses in on the perfect scent of the man next to him, breathes steadily in and out.

“It would be the honor of my life to court you with the intention of mating, Steve Harrington.” As he says it, he reaches into his pocket for his last offering, his hail mary pass, his death saving throw. It’s a silly thing, cost his last 30 cents at the stationary store, but he was listening to Robin on those bleachers that day. Knows that the gesture and the picnic are all well and good, but what Steve has been missing with all those other Alphas is someone who notices the small details and holds them close. Someone who cares about his C+ in History, someone who knows his favorite brownies are swirled with peanut butter.

Someone who notices that he lost his eraser last week and has been meaning to pick up a new one.

Eddie holds out his heart one last time, it’s shaped like a 30 cent eraser. White and covered with a paper band. The best one on the market.

Steve stares at the little eraser like it contains the answers to the universe, and then he’s plucking it, oh so gently, out of his hands and cradling it in his own. Eddie waits, the ball is completely in Steve’s court now, Eddie has played all his cards.

Suddenly, Steve scent starts to bloom, even more than it did when he first saw the van. The smell of sugar, cinnamon, and yeast so strong it makes Eddie feel light headed. Eddie gets a glimpse of the most beautiful smile in the world just before Steve is throwing his arm around his neck, nudging his way into his lap to notch his head right at Eddie’s scent gland. Eddie’s arms instinctually wrap around his back, keeping him close.

“Yes,” Steve says, the sound of it muffled by the soft skin of Eddie’s neck. Eddie squeezes him tight, knows he needs to ask, just to make sure but worried he’s hallucinating. Scared to believe he’s getting everything he’s ever wanted.

“Yes?” He asks, lips trembling where they’ve found their own place at Steve’s neck, wanting to be as close as possible, just in case.

“Yes.” And Steve is pulling back, which Eddie hates, and cupping his face in is hands. “It would be the honor of my life to accept your courting offer, Eddie Munson,” he says, sure and steady and full to the brim of hope.

“Holy shit.” Eddie can’t believe this is happening. Despite all the planing and the performing and the putting his heart on the line he never actually let himself think that this would happen. Never let himself think about how it would end.

Without much though Eddie barrels forward to bury his head back into the Omega’s neck, his Omega’s neck, peppering him with fervent little kisses until Steve is giggling so hard he tips them over into the pile of pillows behind him. Eddie is full to the brim with joy, happier than he’s ever been and all of a sudden he needs to move. Needs to let the whole world know what he’s got in the palm of his hands.

He jolts up with one last kiss to Steve’s cheek, managing a quick “be right back!” before he launching himself out of the van. He hears Steve calling out in confusion, but it quickly turns into more joyous laughter as Eddie steps out of the van and starts jumping in place, punching the air and whooping into the night sky.

“Fuck you Hawkins! I’m courting Steve Harrington! I’m on top of the God Damn world!” He gets in one last double bird in the general direction of Main Street before Steve is calling him back in.

“Ok, you’ve had your moment. Now get your ass back in here and kiss me for real, you dumb Alpha,” he says, laughter still caught in his throat. And really? Who is Eddie do deny a request like that?

So excited for MMM, guys! I won't be doing every day, but I will be doing at lest a couple of full one shots and some of my normal ramblings. (Also, this is the longest thing I've ever written that wasn't an academic paper and I am low key very proud of myself)

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! Hi. Hope you guys are doing well. I wanted to ask about referring (pretty blatantly) to autistic characters before autism was a formal diagnosis. One of my characters is nonverbal and autistic and communicates primarily using a notepad (in the Victorian era). Her family (positively coded characters) doesn’t really care or like think negatively of her for being autistic, but they still recognize that she’s not neurotypical, however other characters who appear (not the villains necessarily but negatively coded characters) do care that she’s “abnormal”. Are there any words that really shouldn’t be used to describe her (I have been using ‘odd’ by both groups of characters) or that only one group should use (for example having the ‘mean’ characters use ‘abnormal’ but the ‘nice’ ones use ‘odd’) so I can clearly specify that she is autistic and that it’s not a big deal, while also making sure that the characters who think negatively are portrayed in a negative light (even though they’re not the main villains). While still, not offending anyone or accidentally referring to the character in a pejorative light.

Hi asker,

I'm including some extra context, not just for you the writer, about the Victorian era but also to anyone else reading this ask to learn a little more and maybe be able to apply information to their own characters as well.

The Victorian era is used to refer to the period roughly from 1820 to 1910 in the UK, and often the use of this word for the time is extended to the US as well. Sometimes people use it for other places in Europe, even though Queen Victoria herself only ruled the UK and from 1837 until 1901.

Your character might have been described as 'dumb' or 'mute,' at the time, since she does not speak; for both clarity and reason's sake I would avoid using 'dumb' and only use 'mute' instead. 'Dumb' is, these days, only used as an insult.

Other words people might use for her in the time to denote her as being 'strange' but not necessarily negative might have been (aside from 'strange' and 'odd' that you've already stated): peculiar, eccentric, or unusual. They might use 'queer' as well, as in behaving outside of the norm and not as in gay; that meaning was more by the 1920s.

'Weird' as in "off-puttingly strange" is a more modern word, but it started in the 1820s, so people could conceivably call her weird, especially if they mean to speak ill of her. 'Bizarre' might work, but earlier or in its usage it also had a connotation of unpredictability, too. These two would probably not be used by her family or those who think highly of her, but might be used by people who are fairly neutral on her.

A note on 'moron' and 'imbecile,' which were diagnoses in the early 19th century of intellectual disability but also applied to other people they didn't know how to categorize and could include autistic people: they are definitely used as insults now and were definitely used as insults then when they were diagnoses, but they wouldn't be used on your character because they were not used in that way until the 1910s and 1920s. 'Idiot' is an older word, but it usually was used to refer to people who had more severe intellectual disability; I don't think this would be used for your character much, nor would I recommend it. I don't think it would work to convey what you want the readers to get out of it. Not to mention, it's still very much an insult today.

Now, there's two people from a bit earlier in history who might have been diagnosed as autistic today: Henry Cavendish and Hugh Blair of Borgue. (Obviously we can't know for sure, they've been dead for 200+ years.)

Hugh Blair (wikipedia link) lived from 1708 to 1765. He was described as 'eccentric' and 'daft,' and his behaviors as 'unusual.' He was nicknamed "the daft lad of Borgue." He engaged in a lot of repetitive behaviors, seemed unaware of social norms, and had very strong interests. It's noted that despite being seen as strange, he was generally well-liked.

Henry Cavendish (wikipedia link) lived from 1731 to 1810, so a bit closer to the Victorian era. He was a scientist, a very wealthy man, and notably very shy. He was close basically only to his family, was very solitary, had trouble speaking to others and was noted as wearing old-fashioned clothes. Since he was so solitary, he had trouble publishing his findings, even though he put a lot of work into them. It seems people referred to him as 'solitary' and 'eccentric.'

Some people suggest Emily Dickinson (wikipedia link), who lived from 1830 to 1886, might have been autistic. I am less familiar with her than the above two, but am including her because she is directly in your time period so the way people in her lifetime described her can be relevant. She was very socially isolated, although she was also very affected by deaths around her during her life, and later often ill, which can also be reasons for isolation. She mostly communicated with others via letters in her adulthood. She was seen as an 'eccentric' by others.

I will note that all three of those people were wealthy, so their eccentricities were more tolerated by those around them. A poor person might not have been afforded that second thought.

Now that I've said... all that, I will add my final note:

I think more important than the words themselves is how other characters use the words to describe her.

"Elizabeth is such an odd woman, I should like to write to her and see what she thinks about this" is very different from "Elizabeth is such an odd woman, I can't stand to be around her when she's doing that!" So is "My cousin is a bit peculiar, she does not speak but she can understand you just fine; if you can be patient she will write out her answers" versus "My cousin is incredibly peculiar, she doesn't even speak for goodness's sake! Can you believe it? It's ridiculous."

The way your characters speak about her will not be entirely dependent on the specific words the use, but also in the way they describe her and refer to her. Especially in a time where many things are referred to with euphemisms or vague words (which 'odd' and 'strange' and 'peculiar' definitely are or can be), which the Victorian era absolutely was, both groups of characters can use the same words but their intent can come across due to what else they say about her.

Sorry this is super long, but I hope it helps!

mod sparrow

[theelf-online]

Hello I’m taking this as approval to infodump my entire piglin lore onto you and you can’t avoid it. This will be all over the place and also below a cut. because it gets LONG

Anyways Piglins have a non-monogamous culture but not really in a traditional sense. They have many different relationship types/types of love that are all seen as equally valued. Many of these types are ones that by human standards carry an implication of power dynamic, but for piglins the point is that they're an equal exchange. Some of these are a relationship like that between a mentor and a student (think about how a student learns from the mentor, but mentors also learn via teaching their students) or a caregiver and their ward, but there are others that are between two piglins who are "total equals", between rivals/competitors, and one that's more like friends with benefits. And all these relationships are not inherently romantic. They can be any combination of romantic, platonic or sexual. For example one couple might be platonic and sexual, another purely romantic but not sexual, etc. etc. All of them are held on the same standard of "serious relationship" regardless of the details. And also more familial dynamics that are like "basically siblings" and other similar 'found family'-esque relationships because biological family isn't really a thing (more in depth explanation later). There's also no strict male/female requirements (gender/sex stuff described more below) so homophobia just really isnt a thing. Some piglins also only want to have one partner per relationship/love type which is closer to the piglin equivalent of monogamy but that is very much a personal preference, and many piglins don't mind having overlapping dynamics between partners, and some only have relationships of one type. There are also rare piglins who are entirely monogamous and only hold one partner, but it's not the norm and they might get teased by friends about it. (My friend likes to insult me and compare this section to homestuck quadrants or uh... leprechaun relationships? I don't know homestuck /lh)

There are gender roles within piglin society but their sexual organs do not correlate to gender. They are sort of are what they are. There are many piglins who might be considered trans by human standards who wouldn't see themselves as trans because their physical features never changed or defined their identity. There's also a third gender beyond "male"/"female" which has a more spiritual role similar to that in many native cultures. Because of this, its very normal for "male" piglins to also give birth. As far as children go, everyone takes care of kids and parents aren't really responsible for their kids, and its common not to know who exactly their birthing parents are, but for those who do know its not really a big deal. There are some piglins who take on more of a care giving role as a sort of job but they are not exclusively responsible for the young piglets.

Their society is very barter based, and the reason gold is so highly valued is because it's easy to work with due to the softness of the metal, especially due to the heat of the nether. The societal "love language" is gift giving and creating things for others (usually out of gold). The way they "mark" their partners is by creating things for them to wear. For example one piglin might create an earring for their romantic partner to wear, signifying their committed relationship. Should the other person intentionally take off the earring (outside of regular maintenance, hygiene, etc. reasons) it would be seen as a sign that they no longer consider the person their partner. And because of the polyamorous nature of piglin society, many piglins are decked out in golden jewelry from their partners and friends. Different gifts also mean different things, but that is a very social based thing, and between two groups of piglins, the same object could have very different meanings.

Piglins also have weird biology. Piglin "brutes" can easily reach 9 feet tall, with normal piglins hovering around 7-8 feet regardless of sex, although there is natural variation with some piglins just naturally being shorter or taller. Piglin "brutes" are a combination of a job role and a genetic variation. They have traits that make them perfect to be the role of 'brute' (who actually are guardians and protectors of their groups, and often hunters as well being highly respected), but just because someone is born with those variations doesn't mean they'll automatically choose that path in life (but many are pushed by societies standards into that role anyways) and piglins without those natural variations often become "brutes" job-wise. However most players can't tell the difference between the two and so it's mistaken that all Piglin Brutes are variation piglins. All piglins are naturally adept for the heat, and raising their internal body temperature will basically never kill them, unless they're literally on fire. Also because of the heat of the nether, there isn't much bacteria or viruses because they're basically just killed off. Because of this, Piglin immune systems are not equipped to handle them at all, and if they got infected by something like a cold they'd basically just straight up die. Instead their immune systems are built to help fend off fungal infections which are a common risk in the nether. They also don't sweat (no need to bother regulating internal temperature and also water is a precious resource)

Piglins are also in tune with the natural day-night cycle of the nether. The player, being from the overworld, just never can tune into it because it's unnatural to them. Players also don't understand how to get water in the nether (also don't place the water anywhere like an idiot. Netherack is a porous volcanic rock, of course it's just going to go into the holes in the rocks and just evaporate from there). It is possible, but a closely guarded secret by the piglins. The air in the nether is actually incredibly humid, that's what allows the mushrooms to grow in such quantities. All the water in the nether is present in the air, unlike in the overworld where it's mostly in the ground/in rivers and oceans. Piglins have devised a way to make 'cooling rooms' deep underground where water is condensed using cooled sheets of metal. The water that piglins need to survive however is usually just acquired through food. Mushrooms act similar to cacti in actual deserts, often holding a lot of water inside them, and the water that's naturally in the hoglins they eat as well. (They don't require that much water to survive, but they do still need it.) The collected water they do have is seen as a precious resource and is treated in a spiritual manner. Water bathing is done, but again it's a deeply spiritual and ceremonial act, reserved for before unification's, children surviving past a certain point, etc. and normal hygiene is usually done with dust baths (similar to chinchillas). Pure water also isn't drunk much, and is usually made into teas to get rid of the minerally/rock taste that all water ends up with. Tea is usually made with vines, sprouts and roots, and occasionally shroomlights depending on where they live. Shroomlights can be squeezed/crushed to get a sap/nectar-like liquid out of them that could be added to water, so not really tea like the others but close enough. Netherwart was also used, but typically more as a medicinal thing than just for recreation.

Piglins also don't just grunt, they have a complex language system but it's entirely tonal with very few actual vocalized sounds which is why most players just hear it all as grunting (even though there are sounds outside of grunts used). Different groups also have differences in slang and exact tones leading to many different "accents" that sometimes border on being a whole different language. Like someone with a really really heavy Scottish accent and someone with a heavy New York accent might both be speaking English, but that New York accent person will probably have a really hard time understanding the person with a Scottish accent.

These are what I can remember off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure there's more and I'll answer questions if anyone has any. Anyways Peace.

Can we like- start a movement for Piglin rights or some shit

With how much mojang is trying to demonize piglins I really feel like we need to have them unionize.

Start headcannoning random characters as piglins. Make long and educational posts about their lore. Spite the living shit out of what the Minecraft Movie and Minecraft Legends is trying to pull.

[perseus-jackass]

On the Jason is being just dramatic (in regards to being traumatized by his own death), it's genuinely so weird, because Bruce canonically spent 6 months lashing out at criminals and being reckless and overly violent to the point that it was being reported that he was on the 'rampage'. And both him and Dick had hallucinations of Jason regarding his death. His mistreatment of Steph (that led to her death - even if later retconned she was still tortured) was canonically a response to Jason's death. Bruce hit Dick and Dick lashed out violently at Danny Chase (I know Danny said Jason's death was no big deal due to understandable character reasons, but Bruce victim blamed Jason to his face in Hush which was before UTRH and everything).

But both Dick and Bruce's stans (as well as stans of other characters like Tim) seem to think that Jason should be immediately over his death while simultaneously understanding that they couldn't have expected Dick or Bruce to get over such a tragic event. Jason didn't just get an immediate resurrection like a lot of characters, he lost years, everyone moved on from him while he was gone. (I've seen characters who just got sent forward in time have their trauma respected more). Bruce didn't even get over Jason's death when Jason came back to life, but somehow Jason should?

Jason didn't even have a support network like they did but it somehow supposed to get over his trauma just so he can't lash out at other people's faves? Either death is no big deal, in which case everyone is being over dramatic (including Dick and Bruce), or death is a big deal, hence no one is being over dramatic (including Jason).

!!!! YES ITS ABOUT THE DOUBLE STANDARD

Why are Bruce and Dick’s reactions justified by the narrative while Jason’s is an over reaction?

Also the Jason was dead for YEARS thing. EXACTLY. People who hate Jason are always bringing up everyone else’s deaths (specifically Ollie and Hal usually which I just think is ironic bc THEY SEE JASON IN HEAVEN) but Jason’s was DIFFERENT. I suppose MAYBE a comparison could be made to Ollie narratively but that’s a stretch tbh.

And I specifically mean NARRATIVELY. Irl Jason was dead for almost TWENTY YEARS. I’m not exaggerating when I say Jason’s death is one of the most important things DC has ever done. It is absolutely different from anything else they ever did and to act like it wasn’t is just ignorance

But yeah, if you’re going to justify the outside characters reactions to Jason’s death you can’t turn around and say the character IT HAPPENS TO was in the wrong or being over dramatic

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

you know i dont think a lot of people realize how absolutely amazing three houses sales as a video game are

for a srpg to sell above a million is amazing

three houses sold 4.12 MILLION COPIES

for reference, using series i ADORE (no hate meant its just comparison)

that is more than every sonic the hedgehog game except sonic 1 and 2 specifically. every sonic game after the first two didnt sell as much as three houses did. sonic. SONIC. the guy with the whole entire big movie that beat disney. the hedgehog everyone knows. its more likely a household will have a copy of fire emblem three houses than a modern sonic game in it. isnt that just wild

similarly, it also outsold almost every kirby game except kirby's dream land and kirby & the forgotten land. kirby is similar to sonic sales wise as the two have always been around the 1-3 million mark per game. forgotten land did sell a whopping 7 million so its not as big of a deal to compare fire emblem to it but still. everyone knows and loves kirby, so the fact three houses beat most kirby games is such an amazing feat

other smaller things include fe outselling all of xenoblade and pikmin, but those two above are the ones im always amazed by

like remember when everyone was like "oh whys this tiny little series taking up so much of smash bros" yeah that tiny little series is the size of the kirby and sonic the hedgehog series rn :3

honestly the combination of three houses and heroes has us set for the future tbh. nintendo flat out advertises fire emblem alongside mario, zelda, animal crossing, and pokemon on their main website and the series has made them an astonishing amount of money. i think we're like, set

honestly i think everyone owes three houses a big "THANK YOU" for basically securing a long and succesful future for the series. remember when this series was dying? we're so back. thank you three houses (and awakening too of course!)

.

[saltynsassy31]

*drags myself through the floor and slams this down*

I present to you

FULLMETAL BARTENDERS AVIAN AU (name pending)

(Rant as to why I chose the White-throated Needletail as Blurr's bird and some minor AU lore under the cut)

And that's not all! It comes with a FULL FLEDGED COMIC!!!!!

I spent a whole fucking week on this

I haven't done a comic in 4 years now, I can't believe this is my come-back XD. Though, on that note, know that I probably won't be pumping out any more comics - not any time soon, at least. But I do got more stuff planned for this au! If you ask about it, I'll 100% rant about it LOL

Tw// ⚠️mild gore in the 3rd panel⚠️

While exploring the woods with his team, Swerve had an unfortunate encounter with a crazed hunter. In an attempt to escape, he got injured, but it seems he wasn't the only one caught in the crossfire...

.

.

Okay

So when you look up what the fastest bird in the world is, Google with show the Peregrin Falcom

But there's a catch

The Peregrine is only fast when diving

When it dives to catch its prey, it can go up to 389km/h

Which yeah, pretty fast

But when casually flying, it only goes up to 120 iirc

The Needle Tail?

It can go up to 170km/h

Some have even recorded going over 300! (Close to the Falcon's dive, I believe)

Additionally, these birds only fly. Their habitat is literally listed as "the air," and some even believe they sleep while flying! They only ever land to brood and mate, and then they're off again. Their legs are so short that, if they ground, they can't fly again because it doesn't give enough room to flap their wings.

It fits Blurr perfectly!

It also has a blue-ish colour pattern I can work with lol (it's green, but it looks blue, lol)

Though, also, he isn't 100% like the Needle Tail, just based off of it. I still want avians to be sorta their own species and doesn't have to be exactly like their bird counterparts cuz they aren't them, they're their own thing.

That said, Blurr is one of the shortest from Avians population, still.

They're pretty big.

Another trivial detail of the design!

I was stuck between having his arms be his wings or have them be separate

Until I saw a drawing where they had both, and I realised, "Wait, why isn't that done more often! That's so cool!"

So that's sorta what I did

It's mainly to catch small prey when grounded and to stay better perched up on trees since they're much bigger and having extra fingers helps a lot. Or when they're climbing against a tree to pick up fruits, it gives them an extra boost and can better hang from it

But they're pretty much useless besides that lol

Just neat lil design choice

Other lore stuff. The time in which the au takes place is vaguely modern? But with fantasy aspects? I still haven't decided lol

Technology exists, but not in the way we have it sort of deal, idk, this au is pretty bare bones right now, so go wild with it XD I don't mind it, I love brainstorming it with people. I know this au isn't as big or complex as some others out there, but it's fun, and I hope yall like it too fjsjajaj

[shigiaki]

Not My Girlfriend

Sasuke!xReader / Fakedating!cheating

Enjoy<3

You were dating Naruto, the popular kid known for his delinquent behavior and outgoing personality. Teachers either loved him or hated his guts. His family was influential and well-known, making him even more prominent in school.

Unlike him, you weren’t part of the rich kids' clique. Your best friend, Ino, quickly took a liking to your kind and funny nature. She loved having you around since her other close friends were both boys—having another girl in her life made her feel understood.

You and Naruto had been dating for over a year, and you got along effortlessly. Your friends and his quickly became acquainted, making it easier for everyone to connect.

You fell for him fast. He was an idiot but a lovable one—funny, kind, and gentle, even if he wasn’t exactly the smartest when it came to relationships. Things were great. Dating him and being part of the popular crowd had its perks. But little did you know, it wouldn’t last.

Naruto started acting strange and distant, and you had no idea why. You kept asking if something was wrong—maybe he and his best friend had fought again—but he only made dumb excuses. You brushed it off, hoping he’d come to his senses, but things only got worse.

He became secretive with his phone, quickly turning it off when you were around. He even added a passcode. That wouldn’t have been a big deal—most people had one—but he refused to tell you what it was, which felt odd. His replies to your messages became more and more delayed, and in big groups, he barely spoke to you anymore. He was always out, doing God knows what.

He also grew less affectionate. Whenever you tried to take the initiative, he’d brush you off, saying he wasn’t in the mood or was too tired.

Something was definitely wrong.

After almost two months of this, you couldn’t ignore Naruto’s behavior anymore. Your friends started noticing too, even asking if you two had broken up—which you denied.

Finally, you decided enough was enough. While Naruto was napping, you made up your mind to go through his phone. Carefully, you sneaked it from his side as he slept in your bed and slipped into the bathroom as quietly as possible.

Luckily, he had fallen asleep while watching a show, so his phone was still unlocked. Your heart pounded as you scrolled through his messages—everything seemed normal at first. But then, you checked his camera roll and his saved snaps.

Your stomach dropped.

There were countless pictures of him with some girl. You couldn’t tell who she was, but the way they were together in those photos told you everything you needed to know.

For days, you felt lost, unsure of what to do. You considered breaking up with him, thinking it might end the pain and heartbreak. But alongside the sadness, there was anger—a deep sense of betrayal. You wanted him to feel the hurt he had caused you. It wasn’t just your emotions at stake, Sasuke’s feelings were tangled in this as well. In the end, you made up your mind—tomorrow, you would confess everything and tell him the truth.

You had slipped a letter into his locker, asking him to meet you on the rooftop after school, but you hadn’t signed your name. The entire day, you found yourself muttering under your breath, overthinking every possible scenario, and doing your best to avoid looking at him in class, pretending everything was normal.

But then, your eyes met Sasuke’s by accident. His gaze was sharp, almost as if he could see right through you. It was impossible not to feel intimidated.

Sai and Ino watched you with concern, convinced you had completely lost your mind.

As the final bell approached, students began packing up, eager to leave. You, on the other hand, took your time, slowly gathering your things, stalling for as long as you could.

"girl hurry up!" Ino rushed you as Sasuke passed them exiting the room, "I have to talk to the teachers about something," you lied, Ino looked confused but didn't pry, "alright see you tomorrow" she said sighing before leaving with Sai.

After a minute or two, you began making your way to the rooftop. They don’t tend to lock these doors until all the other students have left, as some have clubs or are on cleaning duty. You reached the door, taking a deep breath before opening it.

There he stood, his face turned toward the view. He finally turned upon hearing footsteps behind him. He wasn’t surprised it was you—almost as if he already knew you were the one who wrote it. You, on the other hand, were surprised he even showed up.

He stared down at you, making you feel extremely nervous. You cleared your throat before speaking.

"I have something to tell you," you said in a serious tone. He frowned, annoyed. "What is it?" You take a deep breath before speaking again.

"Sakura is cheating on you." He frowns, clearly annoyed. "Yeah, right," he scoffs. My hands clench into fists. "With Naruto," I say, my expression darkening with frustration.

He steps closer to me, his expression shifting from annoyance to disbelief. "What?" he says, almost like a question, as if he didn’t fully process my words.

I take a shaky breath, my frustration boiling over. "Both of us are getting cheated on by our own partners—with each other," I say, louder this time, needing him to hear, to understand.

His jaw tightens, his hands clenching at his sides. For a moment, he just stares at me, searching my face for any sign that I might be lying. But I’m not.

The silence between us is thick, filled with tension and unspoken emotions. "You're serious?" he finally asks, his voice quieter now, but laced with something dangerous, anger, betrayal, maybe even pain.

I nod, my throat tight. "I wouldn’t lie about something like this."

His eyes darken, and I see the moment the realization settles in. He turns away, running a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "That bastard," he mutters under his breath.

I cross my arms, biting my lip. "That makes two of them." I sigh. "What are you going to do?"

Sasuke's body tenses even more at the question. He hesitates, his voice cold when he finally speaks."That's none of your business."His grip tightens around the edge of the rooftop, his knuckles turning white. He's barely restraining himself, his entire body coiled with the urge to storm off and confront Sakura right now.

"Don't act rashly," I begin, my voice firm yet uncertain.

"Too late. I'll kill them both." He mutters darkly. Unknowingly, he releases a wave of killing intent, the air around us growing heavy. Jealousy, rage, and betrayal swirl inside him, fueling the fire burning in his chest. His mind races, the same words echoing over and over.

"Then let’s cheat on them back."

The words leave my lips before I can stop them, bold and reckless. The air between us crackles with tension, and for a moment, he just stares, his expression unreadable.

He freezes. His dark eyes snap to my face. He must have misheard, right? He swallows hard, his jaw tightening. When he finally speaks, his voice is dangerously low, each word slow and deliberate—like a knife pressing against my skin.

"What did you just say?"I flinch instinctively, fear prickling down my spine—but I don’t back down. I meet his glare, my own emotions bubbling to the surface.

His body tenses, coiled like a snake ready to strike.

I step closer, ignoring the way my instincts scream at me to run. My heart pounds, but I force myself to meet his gaze, refusing to back down.

"Let's get together and cheat on them." My voice is steady, serious. The weight of my words lingers between us, thick and suffocating. The tension crackles like a storm ready to break.

Sasuke's eyes widen momentarily in shock before narrowing dangerously. He doesn't move, hardly seeming to breathe. When he speaks, his voice is eerily calm. "You can't be serious..." His gaze traces down your body contemptuously. "Think carefully about what you're suggesting."

I bite my lip, clenching my hands into tight fists. My nails dig into my palms, but I barely feel the pain. "I’ve thought about it," I say, my voice shaking with frustration. "I won’t let them get away with treating me like a fool! Treating us like complete fools!"

My anger spills over, my voice rising as I shout, the weight of betrayal pressing down on my chest. My breathing is uneven, my body trembling—not from fear, but from the sheer rage bubbling inside me.

I stare at Sasuke, waiting for his reaction, daring him to challenge me.

Sasuke's expression darkens, his eyes flashing with a mix of anger and something else—perhaps a spark of understanding. He steps closer, his voice low and dangerous. "You want revenge." It's not a question.

I nod, looking up at his tall figure.

Sasuke's gaze holds yours for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, he lets out a low, bitter laugh. "You know what? Fuck it." He steps even closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "If they want to play dirty, we can too."

I look into his eyes, searching for an answer, for anything that will tell me what he's thinking. "You'll help me?" My voice comes out quieter this time, but the desperation lingers beneath it. I need to know, I can't do this alone. My heart pounds as I wait for his response, the tension between us thick and suffocating.

"Yes. Let's make them regret ever touching someone else." He reaches up, gently catching your chin in his fingers. "But don't you dare think this means I want anything more than revenge."

"wouldn't dream of it" I muttered

"Good." He drops his hand. His mind races with plans. He looks at you, really looks at you for the first time. You're pretty - really pretty. He hardens his expression. "You know what we need to do?" He asks seriously. I nod, my expression unreadable. "Do what they did," I say nonchalantly, my voice void of hesitation.

"We have to cheat back," I continue, my tone unwavering. "Just like they did."

"Correct." He crosses his arms. "We need to act like a real couple. Hold hands, sit close, all that..." He pauses, his mind wandering to more intimate details. "We need to kiss." His face remains stoic, but his heart pounds unexpectedly in his chest. He pushes the thought away. "We'll start tonight." He looks at you.

I nod agreeing, "alright but where would we meet?"

"My room." He says bluntly. He turns and starts walking, expecting you to follow. As he walks, he sends a quick message to his 'girlfriend', telling her he's going to 'hang out with a friend' tonight. He smiles to himself, already enjoying this little game.

I stood there, momentarily shocked, before quickly following after him. "I’ll need your contact, I don’t have your address," I began, trying to explain.

"Right." He mutters, sending you his contact. He adds you on Snapchat too, because why not? He watches your display picture - a cute selfie. He hardens again. "Meet me at my place tonight. Eight sharp." He sends you his address. "And..."

I paused as I added him back, my fingers hovering over my phone. "And what…?" I look up at him, waiting for him to finish, my heart pounding in anticipation.

"...Wear something that'll piss them off." He says coldly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Something really low-cut. Really short." He glances down purposely, then back up at your incredulous face.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

... part 2?

(new to tumblr pls give tips/ tricks on how to make my posts more cute and aesthetic!!")

[faecaribou]

on my knees asking for you to draw your interpretation of this

the whole team gets deaged by twenty years

most of them are a range of late teens to early thirties, but.

Scout and Sniper.

Spy gets a second chance at being Scout's dad + plus a bonus of raising Sniper too

Genuinely I could not get this out of my head. I spent hours on this and now literally every electronic i have is like at 4% battery and its 1 am. This is such a goated idea. Here are the mercs deaged, or what they would look like younger. I totally didnt have to google everyone's ages (visibly lying)

I feel like I did well with Heavy and Medic. They're the oldest in the group. Heavy when he was 26 was probably freshly dealing with escaping the gulag with his family. Visually I just got rid of his beard left him with the stubble though and gave him back his hair, which in the comics appears to be brown. For Medic, I think I spelt lisence wrong. Yeah there's a red line under it. Fuck. Whatever. I stole his muscles and also gave him back his hairline. Also, big glasses.

I'm going by age but I know what you want. Here's Spy. I wanted him to look as close to Scout as possible SO BAD but their noses are different and canonically his hair is much darker but I like to pretend the BLU Spy has that darker hair and RED Spy has more brown hair. Maybe someone's grandparents had blond hair (I swear I read a fic where Spy was like 'jeremy has my papas blond hair >m<') ANYWAY i dont think he's older than heavy and medic but also like. JEEZ. He just wanted to sleep with some MILFs or cougars he didnt expect children. L

The way that I'm actually obsessed with my own drawing for younger Engie. haiiiii. I feel like I would bump into him IRL on a college campus. Lowkey he reminds me of someone but I dont even know who.

I don't have much to say for Soldier and Pyro. I was getting some conflicting reports on Soldier's age so I just put him in the middle of the conflicting reports. He's probably already started his uh. killing rampage in Germany. I just deaged Pyro and left him in the same outfit because I dont actually have a fan design for Pyro outside the suit.

I gave Demoman the kilt and sash that his father's wearing in this one scene in the comics where there was like. A family photo of the DeGroot family. I definitely didnt study every single image of younger Demo in the comics. ha. ha. If I spent a million hours on just this drawing of Tav.

Side note, your ask totally reminded me of this fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/60095656 which is all the mercs deaged by like 25 years and Scout is literally like a year old and its great and I definitely did not leave 8 million comments on this fic (stares off into the distance)

I accidentally drew Sniper looking too young (right-most drawing) but honestly the smile with the missing tooth gave me life. aaaahhhh He really shouldve been drawn with a hat since he's out there in Australia but oops. I gave him his mullet back <3maybe he should be 7

finally, Jeremy. I definitely didn't originally decide he was 5 and then for the sake of my sanity when I think of Spy's agechange it to 4. Yeah

Heavy's too busy helping his mom raise his sisters. Don't give Medic kids. So yeah it's up to Spy to step up and take care of Mick alongside Jeremy.

Okay I think I will eventually reblog this post with more art but for right now I'm done with drawing and just going to type endless paragraphs and over nonsense thoughts

okay so they get de-aged. how??? i could take a page out of that fic i recommended and blame magic/merasmus. I feel like Respawn Machine malfunction is a pretty common trope for de-aging just one guy in fics but imagine it malfunctioned and now they're all de-aged. damnnnnn they lost that battle against BLU hard AND this happened? L

I imagine it's like. Logically they know who they are, they know each other, they know their jobs. But also it kinda feels like yesterday they were off in Russia/Australia/German/Boston doing their own things. The younger 3 are especially having this problem. No one's sure if Pyro understands whats going on.

They're all in their red team merc outfits btw for Pyro's sake. But for the drawings they've taken like. their weapons off and gotten in clothes that either fit better or are more comfortable.

Medic is all like "ooooh! interesting >:3" and definitely wants to open SOMEONE up but he's scaring the hoes (children) so him and Engineer kind of separate to go deal with the Respawn Machine. Engineer may have to call his dad for help at some point. He is going to hate it hahahahahaah >:)

Demoman and Soldier and Pyro are just like. Having the worlds most disjointed conversation. "ARE YOU AMERICAN?" "huddah huddah" "(super thick scottish accent)" no one is understanding anyone. Pyro pulls out paper and coloring pencils and they are just trying to furiously communicate through drawings

Scout is four and since he on some level remembers Spy as a kid when he's an adult, he definitely recognizes Spy as both his dad and as ...Spy. Cue crying.

Mick is kinda scared. He definitely tries to retreat to his camper van but no one's gonna let an 8 year old sleep out there by himself so he's resorted to hiding in his room on base, which he just kinda uses for storage, which is where he finds the slingshot. Anyone who opens the door to talk to him gets a rock to the face I don't make the rules. Okay well except for Scout he's not going to pelt a four year old with rocks. The mercs will use this hesitation to their advantage to get him

Spy takes his mask off. He doesn't want to, he doesn't like them looking at his face, it just makes Jeremy cry more, people are asking him how old he is, someone said he looks a lot like Scout.

He one-hundred percent sees this as like. His chance to actually be Jeremy's dad. He was too much of a coward the first time around and sometimes the guilt eats at him. Something something if Spy and Ma had a second child Spy would completely ignore Scout to fuss over the 2nd kid because it would be a clean slate that he hasn't ruined. WHAT WHO SAID THAT. Anyway the driving force that leads him to take his mask off and pick up that screaming kid is that this is his second chance. I imagine he got some practice in with some of Scout's brothers and with baby Scout so he's not the best dealing with a screaming 4 year old but he's not the worst.

After like. A few hours of getting Scout to calm down, they have now upgraded to Scout is really really quiet and visibly upset but he only screams and cries when Spy goes to grab him. Ultimately Jeremy thinks that they might get put back to normal and once he's older again Spy will abandon him again so he is NOT letting Spy pick him up without trying to bite him at least once. Spy is slowly earning his trust.

This is also the point where Spy realizes that Sniper is hiding in his room with the slingshot. After like 3 different mercs getting pelted with rocks in the face Spy realizes he has to step up and dad this kid too.

Scout sees Spy extend even one iota of patience or kindness toward Sniper and is torn between "oh he's actually trying" and "HES GOING TO CHOOSE SNIPER TO BE HIS SON INSTEAD OF ME"

wait I'm just creating more conflicts rather than resolving anything. fuck its 2 am. look the (he's not crying, YOU ARE!) hug drawing would be when Scout finally lets Spy give him a hug and it would be SO SATISFYING and the crowd stood up and clapped and after Jeremy starts hanging off of Spy like a limpet Spy also successfully gets Sniper to come out of the room. why did I write an entire plot am I going to write a fic. oh no please no I'm busy with the time travel noooooo

[degrees-of-seracchii]

this took a millennia to make cause i kept getting distracted and gathering screenshots to back my points up was incredibly time consuming

but it has been done. anon from how many days ago i hope you are happy

A little of Pure Sydney's flaws

There will be two parts to this cause on god this is long. On this part I will be exploring flaws that tend to be a bit more visible with pure Sydney

This is in no way a complete analysis, I definitely have missed many more of Sydney's flaws, and because Tumblr is a bitch and a half, I regrettably cannot jam as many screenshots from the game/its codes as much as I would like. But I hope this post could act as a good point of reference regardless for any fans of Sydney, or people looking to explore more of their character out there!

Continuing under the cut.

So.

What’s the deal with Sydney? What’s wrong with them, what are their flaws and what make the relationship between them and the PC so toxic?

Well ain’t there just so much to unpack.

In short, Sydney at their core is a spineless, directionless, malleable individual that important influences in their life can easily shape, be it their family, the Temple, or the PC.

Sydney, as they are today, was raised with beliefs upheld by the temple. Something they are deeply religious, devoted and grateful for. However, as we all know, some of those values can be extremely morally questionable.

Speaking of deeply devoted let’s start with Pure Sydney, shall we? 

Victim blaming tendencies

One of the ideals Sydney was raised with is their extremely victim-blaming mindset. Which I have shown here

2. Lust and internal conflict

Something else that fascinates me greatly is that regardless of their state, Sydney is always tempted by the PC. PC’s existence and presence alone are pushing Sydney towards the pit of sinful desires no matter if they are Pure or Corrupted. 

The first thing that comes to mind is when accepting their confession results in a decrease of Sydney’s Purity stat: 

The notion of accepting Sydney’s affections is seen as an encouragement for them to fall towards sin. 

Being in a relationship with PC means they are constantly fighting their own urges and desires. Being taught their entire life that these feelings are wrong, Sydney suffers from tremendous guilt. Even when promised and permitted by the Temple, Sydney still finds physical intimacy with the PC sinful:

These just go to show how deeply buried Sydney is in the Temple’s teachings, unable to stray from it. Which is a perfect segue into their next flaw

3. Attachment to the Temple and blind faith.

Even from the latest confessional scene added, Sydney clearly cares about PC’s wellbeing and displays great concern for them, almost breaking out of the ideals they were raised with just to defend their beloved. But they are not quite there yet. They still seek out for the Temple when they are faced with these doubts. They think that they are doing something wrong for prioritizing the PC’s best interest over the Temple’s teachings. 

Sydney is INCAPABLE of detaching themselves from the Temple. The Temple is just such a big part of Sydney’s character that no matter what, they will side with the Temple before they think about the PC when forced to make that choice. 

And in a way, Sydney’s blind faith is encouraged by the Player for choosing to keep them Pure. The PC is essentially acting as another shelter, shielding, “protecting” them. The PC never expressed that they wanted a change of mindset from Sydney, so Sydney never had a change in mindset. 

And if you played the new confessional event, you would know that you as the player never had the option to either. This might have been intentional. But I will expand on that later. 

More showings of Sydney’s blind faith can be found in littler events while praying with Sydney in the Temple, where they would turn a blind eye to fellow followers being punished:

A bit more about their attachment to the Temple I have also mentioned here.

4. Superiority/Saviour complex

Another aspect of Sydney that people talk about, but I don’t think quite enough, is how aggressive they can get, specifically towards those they deem as sinners. This is a trait shared among both states of Sydney.

For example, the beach date:

And several more.

Though, pure Sydney might be a tad worse at this. As they seem to find themselves more righteous than sinners:

If they are the one taking confessions, pure Sydney is often more judgemental compared to the more empathetic corrupt Sydney:

When PC as a member of the Temple is caught masturbating by Sydney, they take matters into their own hands:

They also display a bit of a saviour complex from their opinions about the PC at low Purity:

5. Dumb teenager

Just a small thing, but I feel like most people just brush over the fact that pure Sydney practically proposes to PC at high enough lust.

I think I don’t need to stress just how insane it is to propose to someone you haven’t known for long. Just to what? Have sex? Loser behaviour. 

I can't wait to explore their flaws when corrupted :3

When kept pure, Sydney has so many interesting flaws that make them incredibly humane and a little irritating, but that's the charm of their character! They are deeply troubled and blinded by their own devotion that they are ignorant, a bit arrogant and even self destructive. It's what makes Sydney... Sydney and I wouldn't have them any other way.

[kenzan-brainrot-mp4]

talk more about the white whale/whale symbolism in general whatever thoughts you have on the whale stuff i want to hear it 👂

GRAHHHHH YEAH (This one got. Long (again lol) So be prepared (series-wide spoilers but I feel like that's a given atp))

First of all I just wanna say that I love how rgg drags the player along around the final chapter title. With how upfront the other chapter titles are in what they're referring to, you might end up wondering why they chose White Whale for the final chapter title once you see the title card (or at least I did). Of course, this could just be referring to the treasure that everyone's been looking for, but with how nonchalantly they react to the fact that the treasure isn't actually there, it doesn't seem to completely fit the bill.

But then you beat the game (and by this I mean beat the final boss) and lo and behold, there's an Actual white whale, and so you think "Oh! Duh, the chapter's called White Whale because there's a literal white whale and it pretty much just finished off the final boss!" But that still doesn't make that much sense. Why name the final chapter (arguably the most important one) after some whale that appears in the last like 15 minutes of the game? Like, take the final chapter name of (Kiryu) Gaiden, it's literally the name of the game (The Man Who Erased His Name) so it's gotta be something more significant than that, right? (But then of course take into the account that by this point the player is still convinced that nothing really in pyih is too deep/serious, so maybe it could just be something as simple as that).

Then you get to the credits, and they reveal that the "elixir"/the ambergris is found in the stomachs of whales. Damn, that's pretty crazy/cool, but once again, nobody that was actively seeking the treasure (Rodriguez, Jason/Noah, Spade Tucker, etc you know the drill) seems to hung up on the fact that they didn't find it, and they didn't even encounter the whale, so they wouldn't get that same sense that they just missed it either, again, it's not a big deal really, so why make that the final chapter title?

Of course, we all know what this builds up to: the big reveal, the fact that Majima, who we've been following along with this entire game, was looking for that elixir this entire time, was the only one to actually encounter a whale in the game, and then there's the insane line drop from Saejima.

"Kiryu Kazuma. You never could give up on that one."

Ironically, the final chapter title has nothing to do with that whale you saw earlier at all, rather it's a summary of what Majima's motivations/actions for this game, and the past. Almost every game, has meant for him. It's what Saejima spells out for us at the end of the game, but said in even fewer words.

An all-consuming obsession that only leads to your destruction. An impossibility, something that you can destroy yourself over but never achieve/obtain. This is what the white whale means, metaphorically. And it is this, exactly, that Kiryu is to Majima.

Kiryu is larger than life itself, to just about everyone. He's a legend, he's the one Majima has had his sights on since the very beginning, the legend he chases after game after game and also what he destroys himself over game after game.

(see:

Yakuza 1 -> Majima just straight up taking a full-on stab wound for Kiryu. Like, buddy, I literally saw one of my favorite characters die that way in another game, there was No guarantee you were surviving that.

Yakuza 2 -> Majima fights off an army of yakuza for Kiryu. That man was beat to total Shit (which is Not something that happens often) and we all saw it

Yakuza 3 -> Majima re-enters the Tojo Clan for Kiryu even though he is (extremely likely) aware that it is already entering its steady decline that we see throughout the rest of the series up until its dissolution. And while he's willing to do it for Kiryu, we can't exactly say that he's happy about the situation as a whole.

Yakuza 5 -> Majima's willingness to die for Haruka, specifically stated because "She means more to Kiryu-chan than life itself." Like, of course he wouldn't just let Haruka get killed, but to choose to mention Kiryu as part of his reasoning in that moment? Christ

While I (surprisingly) can't say anything particularly self-destructive happened in (Kiryu) Gaiden and Infinite Wealth, you could argue that Majima trying to more and more directly tell Kiryu not to leave ("No need to rush outta here yet... Alright?" -> "Don't leave! Don't you dare leave, Kiryu-chan!"), knowing that it's likely pointless, knowing Kiryu, is not doing himself any favors.

Pirate Yakuza -> *gestures at the entire game*

Also his reaction to encountering that giant squid ("Sure is a helluva way to die. I think I'm into it!"). Like, okay. I don't want to try and read too much into it because it was very likely just a one off line. But I'm still gonna side-eye it.

Honestly now that I think about it, if Majima Had died fighting that giant squid (that is such a way to begin a sentence thank you rgg), you could argue that that would've been his nail in the coffin for the white whale metaphor. If he had, it would've meant that his obsession for Kiryu is what got him dragged down into the literal depths of the ocean, and even if it wouldn't be Kiryu physically dragging Majima down like the white whale to Ahab, this is a situation that is completely, entirely, fueled by Majima's obsession towards him (Majima had no real interest in the nuclear waste cleanup project, after all, Kiryu was his one motivation this entire time), and it would've drowned him.

Guess that means he got real lucky with the last part, but we all know he sure as hell isn't beating the allegations.)

All this and yet Majima seems to fail to reaching Kiryu time and time again.

Majima does not obtain the Heart of the Dragon, found in the intestines of the literal whale. He does not obtain eternal life for Kiryu. And he (arguably, though the final scene of him walking to Kiryu's hospital room could oppose this) does not resolve the indefinite limbo that has been sitting between them throughout the entire series. What he gets at the end of the game is the acknowledgement (through Saejima, everybody thank him) that he has been obsessing over this, and perhaps the realization that Kiryu was, in fact, this white whale that he would never truly reach ("Well, still just a dream in the end.") Of course this is something he already knows/has acknowledged deep down, and it's a feeling that is hinted at in some of his dialogue in scattered moments, but this is the first time he ever says it in such an outright manner.

I guess in a way, you could say that Pirate Yakuza is a story about the newfound success of all the people Majima helped and supported in achieving their dreams, and the continued failure of Majima in pursuing his own (Kiryu), and him needing to acknowledge/accept that. And the post-credits begs the question of what he decides to do with the aftermath and what he has left. (An oversimplification definitely but still. augh. Augh)

Naming the final chapter White Whale was yet another crazy move on rgg's part. Its so unassuming, seemingly straightforward yet also seemingly insignificant, but once the realization dawns on you it slaps you right in the face, just like everything else about this game does. It's yet another instance of how rgg managed to pull its big reveal so well, with all the small details, all the reframing, all pointing back to the same topic that it had spent the entire rest of the game dancing around.

Majima recounting his story of how he went to Hawaii -> Majima recounts his story to Kiryu in the exact same way at the very end

The treasure everyone's been looking for/known about + Majima, the one guy who didn't have knowledge about any of this legend stuff prior? -> Wrong, he was after the treasure from the very start (before the amnesia at least). For Kiryu

Majima originally being on course for Hawaii so he could help with the nuclear waste cleanup even though he'd be bored as hell? -> Nah. For Kiryu (Ohhhhh you know what this is reminding me of some screenshots I took from near the beginning of the game)

(I'm sure this meant nothing of course. Lol. Lmao)

Majima's dream during pirate yakuza being to fulfill Other People's dreams -> Haha. Well, I think you get the point by now

Kiryu, Kiryu, Kiryu. It all goes back to Kiryu, every single time, without fail, in an obsessive loop that Majima has been dragging himself around over for Years. He is the white whale, seemingly untouchable, the constant object of Majima's attention and devotion in so many forms, his consistent weak point, that only seems to dig at him deeper as the games go on.

Like I said before, while the white whale metaphor is undeniable, and essentially spells doom for Majima, it's not over for him yet. Because, hey, he didn't drown at sea, or die on the beach. He was saved, and he's survived enough to retell that tale and reflect on it all with Saejima in the post-credits, brief as that reflection was. I mentioned before how he really only said one line of any actual substance during that specific part of the exchange, but the significance of it says so much.

"Well, still just a dream in the end"

As much as it hurts to here Majima address the hopelessness of it all, to hear him say something like that after Saejima basically just laid out his sheer devotion and refusal to give up on his dream for everyone to see, I think the bittersweetness is. Good, actually. Captain Ahab never gave up on that pursuit on the white whale, and it destroyed him; that whale dragged him down until he finally drowned, and it feels like all Majima has been doing over Kiryu since Yakuza 3 is drowning himself in him.

Don't get me wrong, I (for now at least) do not take that line as a complete admittance of defeat, or Majima finally giving up on Kiryu, on that dream he could never let go of. (Like I've been saying, it's an acknowledgement, not exactly a declaration.) I do not think it means he is just letting go, full-stop.

But I do hope it means he can stop himself from self-destructing completely. I hope it means that he can slow down with the wild chase, (and that he and Kiryu can just. Sit down and talk like fucking normal people. Which i guess they are doing in the post-credits, supposedly) and I hope it means that he won't drown completely, especially in the case of the worst possible scenario.

[sirfrogsworth]

This post has really been a big lesson in science communication.

Like, yeah, the lack of detail from being far away is a needed variable to create the illusion. But why do we still see it as small once we know it is big? I'm trying to go beyond the technical and into the psychological and some people just don't want to take that journey with me so they just default to "he is wrong about this".

I think I did a little better with my addition where I showed the horse from below. And maybe if that was in the original post I wouldn't have gotten so many of these skeptical comments.

I was trying to make a bigger point about how past experiences inform your present visual perception. At a very young age we are blasted with imagery. Thousands of images per day. Our brain builds a library of visual experiences to help us understand what we are seeing at any given time.

Again, up to 90% of our visual perception is our brain using past experiences to build what we see. And by "see" I don't mean the raw data collected by our eyeballs. I mean the finished visual product our mind constructs for us.

If our brains had to process the entirety of our raw visual input they would literally overheat.

This is not a perfect analog, but imagine trying to process an 8K video at 60 fps... while also constantly stitching together a three dimensional panorama... all while processing your other senses... and running your vital organs... and thinking about what you are seeing and then processing the meaning... and sometimes also processing sound and its meaning... all at once... nonstop.

Your brain takes shortcuts to give you a very close approximation of visual reality. It has to.

I wasn't trying to answer if you would see tilt shift photos as miniature without previous experience. I think if all of the variables that are needed for the effect were perfect you might get that sense. In photos where those variables are imperfect, it might take a while to get there. But I really have no idea and I think that would be impossible to test. Like, after seeing one image you're going to use that experience to process all future images.

So, maybe the answer is yes, but only one time?

But how would you find a person who has no visual experience looking at small things that represent big things? I had toys before I could remember having toys. How do you find someone who has never seen a Rudolph Christmas special or a toy advertisement?

If your brain has that data, it is going to use it. So for the vast majority of people, past experience is absolutely why they see the effect. I guess I was trying to answer why you feel it is miniature so instantly and intensely, and more importantly, why you can't *unsee* it as miniature.

You can't tell your brain, "actually, thing is big" and then see it as big. Maybe if you concentrate really hard you can get a sense of bigness but it is always going to snap back to "thing is small." Your brain has years and years of experiences looking at pictures of small things and you can't undo those experiences through sheer force of will. It is using that old data to avoid melting and so "thing is small" becomes locked in.

I just thought that was fascinating and a huge mindfuck and much more interesting than "if you remove all these experiences will it still look small?" EVERYONE HAS THOSE EXPERIENCES!

Except maybe one of those tribes that shoot arrows at anyone who tries to see what their deal is.

Okay, to settle this we are going to need a suit of armor and one brave scientist willing to take an iPad with a photo of a train into their village.

In any case, I felt this tilt shift illusion was a perfect opportunity to explore the science of visual perception and answer a bigger question. And I'm not sure what I could have done differently to keep people from having these doubts.

One person said I was speculating and then speculated as to why I was wrong about this.

First... lol.

But I'm not pulling this out of my ass! I went down so many research rabbit holes trying to figure this out. I just feel like the detractors aren't getting what I'm trying to explain. And I don't know if that is because I'm doing a bad job explaining or if explaining it to everyone is just not possible.

If there are any science communication people or enthusiasts who can advise, I would appreciate it. I love doing this kind of educational content and I just want to make sure I reach as many people as possible.

[curly-fry-3]

I don't know if you write for wlw themes since all your posts are wlm, so if you don't just ignore this, I'll understand.

So I wanted to request daughter-reader after having a bf for maybe a year breaking up cause she released 'holy shit I'm a lesbo' and they like broke up on good turns like he sure he was a bit sad but understanding and they both stayed friends. So now she somehow has to tell Dean, like she knows Dean probably wouldn't be mad at her but still she's a nervous wreck, and he liked her, now, ex bf much and almost treated him like family (You can continue from here if you write for wlw themes like I said already (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ)

𖦹Home of Sexual𖦹

summary𖦹 Dean realizes he hasn't seen you hang around your boyfriend in a while and needs you to explain the sudden shift on your behavior

pairing𖦹 Dean Winchester x Daughter!Reader

word count𖦹 1,276

notes𖦹 this request took me a while be cause IT IS AMAZING and needed to be handled with love and care

It had been a year. A year of dating your now ex boyfriend. You loved him, of course you loved him, but something just always felt off. You didn't understand why girls loved kissing their boyfriends or why other girls had a hard time staying celibate. You had always felt like something was wrong with you, that maybe you were broken. It took some self reflection–and a little exploration on the internet–for you to realise the truth. You're a raging lesbian. 

If you had come to this realization under any other circumstances it would have been no big deal, it’s the 21st century #pride or whatever. But this wasn't any regular coming out. You had a boyfriend you had to break up with. A boyfriend that your dad really liked. Your dad, Dean friggin Winchester, had gotten over the fact that his baby girl was dating a boy and had started treating the kid like family. So of course, when you broke up with him, you did not tell Dean–you didnt wanna break his heart. You also maybe we're sort of kinda nervous to tell your dad the reason things ended, it's always hard coming out. 

Your ex and you had split on good terms. Sure he was sad about it but he understood–it's not like you didn't want him you just didn't want boys (the problem really was you not him). But just because you two didn't hate each other doesnt mean you were best friends. Dean had noticed that he wasn't coming around as much. At first he didnt wanna ask about it; maybe you two were in a rough patch, you just needed to sort stuff out. But after a month of not seeing the kid he got curious (he missed him), He decided it was time to ask you what happened.

You were in your room one day after school. Dean noticed you doing that a lot lately, locking yourself away. He walked in and found you sitting on your bed scrolling on your phone. Working up the courage to start the conversation, he started picking up trinkets on your dresser and looking at them before setting them back down. Noticing your dads odd behavior, you cleared your throat and got his attention. He put down the toy in his hand and turned to you, leaning his body on the dresser and folding his arms over his chest. You put your phone down and sat up higher in your bed, “do you need something���

Dean rubs his hand over his face and stands up straighter “um kid you know you can tell me anything right”

You give him a questioning look “uh yeah, what is this about”

“Its just…I haven't seen your boyfriend in a while…you can tell me if there's trouble in paradise”

You freeze up a bit “oh…that”

He notices your change in behavior and his face hardens in confusion and worry “Are you two ok?”

You avoid eye contact and answer “well, yes…actually no, we um…broke up”

His gaze softens and he steps closer to the bed to comfort you. He reaches out and rubs soothing circles on your shoulders.“Aw sweetheart, I'm so sorry, you wanna talk about it? What happened?” You awkwardly shrug and look up at him “It was mutual”

He scenes your reluctance to give a clear answer and stops his soothing motions “Did he do something”

“N- No, no. He didn't do anything it just wasn't gonna work out” You stumble out

Dean immediately relaxes but doesn't stop his questioning “There has to be more than that, you guys were together for like a year”

“Im sorry dad, I know you liked him” You respond, looking down at your lap

He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest again “Sure I liked him but I like you a hell of a lot more. Sweetheart, you sure you're ok? You can talk to me–tell me why.”

You look up at him anxiously “No judgement?”

“Do you seriously have to ask that, of course no judgment” he reassures

“ok…We broke up not because of any fight or anything…I just um…realized that it wouldn't work out because…I like girls”

“Oh?” Dean looks down at the floor for a second in contemplation then looks back at you “Oh!” His jaw is slack as he thinks about how to respond

You look around your room awkwardly “yeah”

He regains his composure “ok…cant say its too shocking but I still didn't expect it”

You focus back on him “Wait what”

He shrugs and continues “I mean, I know you only liked watching that live action scooby-doo cause of velma in the latex, can't blame you”

Your eyebrows scrunch in confusion and your voice raises “You knew!”

He puts his hands up in defence “I thought it could be maybe a phase or maybe you wanted to be her…maybe you swung both ways. I just never thought you would only like girls…You only like girls, right?”

“Um yeah pretty much” You respond 

He rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet while processing what you said “so you're a lesbian?”

You nod “Yeah…wait you're like totally chill with this”

He looks at you with slight disbelief “Of course, why wouldn't I be?”

“I mean I didn't think you would be anti but I thought you'd have more of a reaction” You answer

“I like girls, you like girls, so what” He says, nonchalantly 

“I mean, I guess you're right” You agree

His expression turns serious and he lowers his head to catch your gaze“I'm glad you felt like you could tell me…cause you can tell me anything you know”

You look up at him “I know”

He relaxes a little and unfolds his arms, placing one hand on your shoulder “Good”

You stay like that for a second before dean interrupts the silence “Are you and him like done. Like is he never gonna come over”

You try to hold back your smile “yeah im pretty sure he doesnt wanna see me again”

Dean sheepishly asks “yeah, but do you think he would want to see me”

You chuckle slightly “are you serious”

He pulls his arm back and puts his hands in the air, exasperated. “He was a good kid. I'm not gonna apologize for liking him” He put his hands in his front pockets then mutters under his breath “at least he would want to watch football with me”

“Hey!” You interject “I heard that. Football is boring”

Dean makes a disgusted face “Football is the backbone of american culture, you would know that if you would watch a game with me”

You shrug “i'm ok with not knowing”

He looks down at his feet and sighs knowing that he isn't gonna win this one. As he looks back up at you, he gives you a warm smile “you ok…sure you two broke up for a good reason but you still cared about him”

You nod “i'll be ok”

“Good…now that that's over, you have to hang out with me again, I feel like you're always in your room.” He says

After Dean pulls you out of your bed you spend the rest of the night eating junk food and watching TV. He knew the breakup was still hard for you so he didn't even try to make you watch sports with him. Halfway through the movie you picked, you had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Maybe you were a little different now, but that doesn't mean things have to change. You're still Dean's baby girl and he’ll love you just the same.

sorry if there are any typos and I hope you love it

@areswasneverhere

[elainsgirl]

The fandom hasn’t been this much of a mess since 2021. I’m still here mostly because I feel like the announcement is coming soon and at this point I’ve been around too long to just dip.

But man, seeing gwynriels mock the elriels who left actually has me seething. Acting like they’re just too sensitive for fandoms or scared their ship is sinking. Like, really? People can’t even leave without getting dragged? It’s like they can’t turn off the ship war mindset for five seconds and realize that real people were actually hurt. Instead they just make fun of them on their way out. It’s messed up. And the worst part is that the wrong people are leaving. Like I get why, but it’s always the kind ones who go. How many times is this gonna happen? I’ve seen so many good people leave over the years and many never came back.

This week sucked ass. Easily one of the worst since the 2021 chaos. So many who joined the fandom after silver flames just have no decency. I just feel weirdly empty now. We really need that announcement.

A fandom is meant to be a space of fun. A space where you can shut off from real life issues & problems - and simply enjoy, stressfree for a while whether that’s through creating content or simply consuming it. Obviously it will be inevitable that some real life issues filter through into fandoms, however it should always be talked about with empathy, caution and care - so those that are affected or going through these issues aren’t so triggered.

That side were simply not mature enough to handle such heavy topics. Their posts were careless and triggering. Any sane, normal person would be able to understand why people are upset and leaving. I think lately, I’ve really come to the realisation that antis do not see elriels as real life people who are going through our own struggles. As you perfectly put it -(and a phrase I will now be using so thanks anon) it seems as though most antis cannot turn off their shipwar mindsets for a minute to look past and understand how these sort of heavy topics are very disturbing. Each post they made this past week about the issue/article basically went

“Yh no sure the article was wrong…but like, its just an opinion and tbf the author did write it as such where people would y’know bring up Elain not having the right anatomy…so blame Sjm and not the readers/journalist and…like, its not a big thing - elriels have said so much worse! And honestly…they’re just mad bcs the point make sense and they can’t deal with that. It was nothing to make such a big deal about”

I know this might come across as mean but, you know when a young teenager or even child enter spaces meant for more mature adults - they dont understand or grasp on how to communicate with the conversations going on in that space. They just end up blabbering and saying dumb stuff, missing the point. THAT is how antis have acted this past week.

You know, Im going to be real with you. Everytime I think antis can’t go any lower then they already have - every time they prove me wrong. Who and why is anyone creating posts & making fun about those leaving due to feeling triggered? Its just immature and pathetic. People have a life outside of the shipwars, something most antis won’t know about. I feel like most of them are consumed within the shipwars and its the centre of their lives.

You’re so right anon. The wrong people are leaving. The people that make the fandom a better, brighter place that have put nothing out but positivity. Its sad to see them go but hopefully they’ll be back once we finally get something about the next book.

Im convinced most who joined after SF - its either their first fandom experience or most of them are just attention seekers. At this point, I simply have stopped caring about anything fandom related, you’re right. I also feel empty and tired - just done with this fandom but Im just praying we get an announcement soon. Match preferably - we need something new to create a positive buzz again.

[captainkirkk]

Concept: Peter actually got bitten by a totally normal spider. It's just a coincidence that his mutant powers were awakened around the same time

[meamiki]

silly comic based on a time i struggled to read live on stream :thumbsup:

context clip compilation below ASDASDFASA

(cw for brief mention of hospitals/strokes)