#i was literally just bored and i like v2

[hexxingcode]

i call this one "god damn it jesus christ i was just doing this to wind down from my other comic why did it take like 2 days to finish" and also "therapists don't take style points so i guess this'll do" and also "i cant fucking use the knuckleblaster it makes me mad" and finally: "bowing back to v2 in the first fight is funny so i illustrated it. theres some other stuff in there too i guess."

[eunhos]

.

[yuusishi]

Bro your writing is literally so cute and it makes me smile so hard man!!

I was wondering if I could request Floyd Ace and Malleus with an Edward Elric reader? (Basically really smart and comes from a non magic world where the powers used is alchemy also is really short for their age (149 cm) and hates when anyone calls them short reader also has a mechanical right arm and left leg)

Imagine Floyd just popping off the reader’s left leg and running away with it or sm and the reader chases after him at full speed with a makeshift leg they made using alchemy

. . . Alchemical Genius

pairings : Floyd Leech , Ace Trappola , Malleus Draconia x gn!Edward Elric!reader

genre : fluff

cws/tws : stealing of prosthetic limbs as a joke?? (<- non graphic descriptions)

a/n : sorry that Malleus’ part is like pretty short compared to the others I’m becoming like really sleepy as I’m finishing this

Floyd Leech !!

Finds your mechanical limbs so damn cool!! There isn’t much merfolk down in the Coral Sea that use prosthetics and he really only was properly introduced to them when he made it on land so he was fascinated with you like a science experiment.

But even if he finds your stuff cool…that won’t stop him from teasing you for your height…

I mean c’mon, he’s 6’1 (185cm) and you’re 4’8 (149cm), he can’t NOT take the opportunity.

Because of it, he tends to pick you up as if you were as light as a feather whenever you started getting annoyed at him. Either running around the hallway or just simply picking you up to spin you around (he holds your mechanical limbs while doing so though because he’s not entirely sure if they can just…fall off.)

But the rule is that only he can do that, only he can tease his Shrimpy like that >:( Anyone else will get squeezed hard with no hesitation.

Comes to you every time he’s too lazy to do alchemy homework and no matter how much you deny him you know you’ll end up giving him the answers, but when you're in the mood you'll just explain things to him (even when he understands it anyways) just to bore him enough to do the homework himself.

In the situation he just outright steals a mechanical limb from you...it could become quite the regular sight, Floyd running with a detached metal leg around the hallways while you blast yourself full speed at him to get it back using a temporary alchemy-made leg.

Ace Trappola !!

Thinks your mechanical limbs are cool v2. And you're good at alchemy? He def scored on friends in his first year.

Him scoring high on friends doesn't mean he scored high in alchemy though, with you not allowing him to copy your answers. And he learned not to bother you about it after the last time Professor Trein had to break him and you apart after he annoyed you a tad bit too much for the alchemy questions...

Honestly he doesn’t really have much to comment about your mechanical limbs like at all. He found them cool at first because “wow you have metal limbs” but after a while it’s just become as normal as biological limbs.

Especially since the most that can be seen is your hand and occasionally your ankle since the NRC uniforms are long sleeves, so they never drew too much attention in the first place.

Unbelievably jealous that you’re one of the top scorers in alchemy class since you were already very well-versed in alchemy from your studies and job in your old world. I mean, how does he even think of besting someone that was the youngest State Alchemist?!

He keeps up with whoever’s on the number one spot during exams since it’s ALWAYS either you, Riddle, or Azul.

You’re the shortest in the friend group and Ace teases about it from time to time but most of the time he just lowkey forgets about it, even when he literally has to look down to talk to you.

Malleus Draconia !!

Extreme height difference v2, this time it qualifies as a long distance relationship.

But also forgets about it, I mean he’s 6’5 and has had Lilia as his guardian for years, he doesn’t care for something as trivial as height differences.

The thing about you that makes him the most curious would be your prosthetics.

The people of Briar Valley heavily rely on magic, so even when there were veterans who’s limbs were cut off during the war they’d just use magic to do day-to-day things.

So having you, a human with replacement limbs, in front of him really piqued his curiosity. He’d ask a few questions and tried not to tread too far and possibly ask something too personal, but sometimes he’d do just that without meaning to.

It ticked you off, yeah, but you tried to understand where he’s coming from and cool down before telling him that you didn’t want to answer it (to which he’d be understanding of.)

He’d also be impressed that you became a State Alchemist back at your world at such a young age, he even pitied you slightly since you seemed to have such a bright future before getting plucked off to Twisted Wonderland.

Occasionally keeps up with whoever’s the top scorer during exams since you, Azul, and Riddle always seem to be competing with each other, this became even more apparent during housewarden meetings (whenever he got invited to it at least.)

[thswrtchdthng]

your first mistake was giving me the green light on rambling about ultrakill

THE LORE OF ULTRAKILL HEAVILY SUMMARIZED:

mankind is dead. blood is fuel. hell is full.

THE LORE OF ULTRAKILL ONLY SLIGHTLY LESS SUMMARIZED (still very summarized and i might get some things wrong):

during ww1, various countries involved began developing machines that ran on blood. each new machine created was meant to be stronger than the last one. in the end, this led to the creation of the earthmover by japan, which was an absolutely giant machine. so large that people started living on top of them. before the war ended, only one machine was created, though it never got a chance to fulfill its purpose of defeating the earthmover: this machine was called v1, and its unique ability was to heal upon contact with blood from any source. when the war was over, a different version of v1, named v2, was created for the purpose of keeping peace. these are v1 and v2.

now, eventually, humanity discovered an entrence to hell. don't question it. also hell is a living organism.

then, somehow, humanity died. all of it. everyone was dead. and all that remained were the machines they'd created.

in ultrakill, a first-person shooter video game, you play as v1, and your goal is simple: blood. you just want more blood. and you are in hell. so you start ultrakilling everybody. it's also based on dante's inferno, so that's fun.

in the post i made, i said alice is like v2 to me. this is mostly because v2 is an important character, but not a very powerful boss fight, and alice is a very lore-relevant character, but not very high up on the corporate ladder. but also because v2's purpose was to maintain peace and order, but she didn't get to fulfill that purpose. everyone died. v2 is, even though she never admits or acknowledges it, very possibly the only machine with the capacity to truly miss humanity. idk why, but that reminds me a lot of alice dyer. make of that what you will.

now. the other character i mentioned is THE FERRYMAN. THIS GIRL->

basically ferrymen are sinners from the layer of wrath deemed worthy of redemption by heaven. they're tasked with carrying passengers through the afterlife. another fun bit of ferryman lore is that they all tear their skin off from shame, but heaven grants them a holy cloth to cover their faces. pretty simple, yeah? but this one looks a bit bored. probably because she was promised she could go to heaven if she carried enough passengers, but...no more passengers are coming through. because humanity is dead.

the ferryman is considered a slightly more difficult boss fight, or maybe just one slightly later in the game than both v2 fights (you fight v2 twice), but you can actually literally just. pay her to leave. toss some coins at her and you can literally just skip the fight.

i can't articulate why she reminds me of lena but. she does.

so anyways all of this and i haven't even gotten to gabriel. there is so much lore. there's an excellent video explaining all of it that i can send a link to if i've caught ur interest with this.

oh also a lot of people ship v2 and the ferryman.

oh also neither of them canonically go by she/her pronouns but it's a very very common headcanon, and i'm pretty sure hakita (the developer) gave a shout out to the she/her v2 headcanon specifically at some point.

I LOVE ULTRAKILL I THINK ULTRAKILL IS REALLY COOL!!!!!

okokok. several thoughts.

this seems so fucking cool????????? to the point that I might play it when I can get it

thoughts on shipping v1 and v2? cause from what you've said they sound quite shippable to me

if hell is a living organism, is it like,,,,consenting?? to be entered????? does it have a personality?????? that might just be my conceptum tendencies but,,,,,is hell like a character in itself (sort of)?? (the question here is can I romance hell or not, and does hell enjoy being entered)

if it's based on Dante's Inferno I already know I'm going to like it

v2 sounds extremely huggable. can I hug her?

and you're right that 'being the only one with the ability to miss humanity' gives Alice vibes for some reason

ferrymen sound so sad to me. can I hug them? and give them a little skincare?

the ferryman concretely is hot. is that alright to say? she sounds very interesting to talk to (do ferrymen talk? does anyone here talk?)

well everyone you've mentioned so far is hot to me tbh

who's gabriel? please please please send me that link I wanna know about them now. I've always had a complicated relationship with every archangel gabriel based thing/character (I have very passionate feelings towards biblical gabriel for some reason) so I'll probably love them

but yeah ultrakill sounds pretty cool! I'll probably look more into it in the future

[dramarising-replacement]

So is anyone else just gonna say it outright or does it have to be me? Well alright, here it goes:

The new dragon breed is literally just skydancers again. They look exactly the same- feathered wings, feathered tail, cat legs that end with lizard feet, heck they even have frilly ear-like crests on both side of the head. I betcha anything they'll even have similar poses with one reared up like a horse and one just standing/sitting there in a dopey boring pose.

Can't wait for the new breed to be skydancers v2 but worse because they can't dress up or breed with anything. Woo.... ugh.

[munson-blurbs]

Eddie x F!Reader — I’d just really like to read how Eddie would react if reader joins him in the upside down to perform Master of Puppets. She would be a little delayed because he had demanded her to not go back through the gate with him, and after sneaking through, knowing their plan, she had managed to, with struggle, drag her drum kit piece by piece on the rooftop (she lives like 5 trailers down from Eddie) to join him (probably around “come crawling faster, obey your master” or second verse) and Dustin turns in surprise as her bass literally vibrates under his feet, and tentacles start oozing and slithering around her trailer for the source of the disturbance. She has NO protection up there, and teetering on being louder and more of a target than Eddie.

This is really sad and dark, so if that's not your thing, I apologize.

Warnings: death, blood, language, events of S4 V2 occur

WC: 1.8k

--

“Look at us,” Eddie tells Steve, glancing at you and Dustin with a somber smile, “we are not heroes.”

Not heroes.

You’d spent the last 48 hours chasing down an anthropomorphic villain in an otherworldly dimension, and Eddie Munson had the audacity to say you weren’t a hero.

You’re unsure why his statement bothers you, why anything he says affects you at all. It was a twist of fate–bad luck, even–that you’d been ravaging around Rick’s abandoned boathouse when Eddie darted in, desperate for a place to hide. 

“Fuck, didn’t think anyone would be here,” he’d panted, wiping his sweaty forehead on his leather jacket-clad arms.

“Me, either,” you’d admitted, pocketing a thin silver chain that Rick had left behind. It could be junk, but it was worth a shot. “I won’t tell if you won’t.” 

He’d cocked his head, eyeing you in a way that made you feel recognized, not unnerved. “I feel like I’ve seen you around before,” he’d said. “You go to Hawkins High?”

“I did; graduated back in ‘84.” It was your crown achievement, being the first person in your family to finish high school. “I, uh, wanted to go to college, but it was too expensive. All my money goes to keeping me and my mom in our shitty trailer.”

Eddie snapped his fingers excitedly, a smile spreading across his pinked cheeks. “You live in Forest Hills!” he’d exclaimed loudly, then caught himself. “Are you the girl who plays drums?”

You gave a small laugh, holding your hands up in surrender. “Guilty as charged,” you’d conceded. “Sorry if it’s annoying; ‘s like my only outlet in this boring town.”

“Annoying?” Eddie gawped, crossing his arms over his chest, “you’re so good! Plus, it keeps me from being the only one bothering the neighbors with my loud-ass music.”

And then it clicked. “You’re Guitar Guy!” you’d blurted out, accidentally using the nickname you’d secretly bestowed upon him. “I mean…you’re the guy who plays guitar…”

“You can call me Eddie; although Guitar Guy sounds pretty metal, too.”

Somehow, that chance encounter had led you here, to a place called the Upside Down, bonded with a ragtag gang of Hawkins misfits.

While Max, Lucas, and Erica are luring Vecna to the real Creel attic, Steve, Robin, and Nancy will creep into the Upside Down version and destroy his body. You, Eddie, and Dustin have to secure the Munson trailer and set up speakers so Eddie could distract the demobats. That’s all.

But you have other plans.

“I’ll be right back,” you tell Dustin in a hushed whisper while Eddie is fawning over his alternate dimension guitar. You dash out of the door, making your way to your own trailer–well, the Upside Down version of it, anyway.

“Wh-wha?” you hear Dustin stammering. “Dude, your girlfriend just ditched us!” He must be speaking to Eddie, though you can’t bring yourself to stick around and hear his response. No, you’re technically not his girlfriend; not his anything, really, but it would still be painful to hear the confirmation. Besides, you have a mission to complete.

You yank off the thin cloth covering your drumset. Slimy vines lay at the base, but have not yet wrapped around the kit itself. You breathe a sigh of relief for small miracles as you shove the drumsticks into your back pocket.

There’s no question what song Eddie will play; all you’ve heard the last week is Metallica’s Master of Puppets blaring from his side of the trailer park. The beat was imprinted in your head, which would now come in handy.

Piece by piece, you drag the bass, then the snare, and finally the cymbals outside. Now the real struggle remained: how to hoist them atop your trailer roof. It would be much easier if the guys could help you, but they’d only try to stop you if they knew. You mimic the makeshift entry to the Upside Down by tying your bedsheets around each part of the set, climbing to the roof and pulling them up. The sound of Eddie’s guitar reverberates through the park, still louder than the screeching bats in the distance.

“C’mon, pull yourself together” you mutter, hands shaking with fear. You hadn’t practiced the song much, insecure about the mysterious Guitar Guy knowing that you’d been listening to him play. It seemed so silly now; worrying about something so benign when there were terrifying things luring beneath the surface.

Eddie’s fingers fly over the strings, his face scrunched in concentration. Neither he nor Dustin have noticed you, and you’d like to keep it that way as long as possible. 

Two, three, four, you count yourself in, right as Eddie gets to the “Come crawling faster/Obey your master” part. You start softly, but the adrenaline kicks in and you soon find yourself playing as though your life depends on it–which, in this case, it might.

Dustin is the first to notice the additional noise. He audibly gasps when his binoculars land on you. “Eddie!” he cries out, desperate for the man’s attention. “Look!” Eddie’s gaze follows Dustin’s pointing finger.

“What the fuck?” he shouts, but he doesn’t stop playing. “She’s gonna get herself killed!” He glances up at the sky at the swarm of bats, headed towards the trailers.

Eddie turns to the curly-haired boy kneeling at his speakers and shouts as loudly as he can. “Turn it louder!” 

Dustin fiddles with the knob. “It doesn’t go any louder!” he yells back. He puts the binoculars back to his eyes. “T-minus thirty!” he announces, holding up three fingers on one hand and making a 0 with the other. 

Eddie acknowledges this with a nod. There’s a pit in his stomach when he realizes that you’re unaware of the countdown to impending doom. 

“T-minus twenty!” Dustin waves his arms frantically to get your attention, but you’re engrossed in the music. The bat shrieks get louder as they zigzag between the dark clouds. Eddie’s fingers are flying across the guitar, strings digging into the pads of his fingers as he plays as loudly as he can. Dustin gives the ten-second warning, biting his lips nervously.

You and Eddie finish the song simultaneously; he and Dustin waste no time leaping off of the roof. “Y/N, let’s go, let’s go, LET’S GO!” Eddie screams, waving you over. You steady yourself as you jump off your own roof, but unlike the boys, you land awkwardly and feel your right ankle give out underneath you.   

“Fuck!” you hiss. You try to walk on it, but you just stumble to the ground. “Eddie! Dustin! HELP!” You’re shouting into the void; both of them are already at the rope.

“Where is she?” Eddie mutters as he holds the rope steady for Dustin. “Henderson, she’s not here yet!”

“She’ll be here,” Dustin reassures his friend as he flings himself into the real Hawkins. “She was a few trailers behind us, remember?”

Eddie shakes his head. “No, no, it’s been too long. She should’ve gotten here by now.” He swivels around at the sound of your voice begging for help. “I gotta go.” Ignoring Dustin’s protests, Eddie grabs his makeshift shield and runs as fast as he can. His heart pounds against his chest as his boots hit the ground, thudding across the damp grass. Your ear-piercing scream makes his blood run cold, and he sprints faster.

But the worst part isn’t your scream. It’s the silence that follows.

Eddie gets to your side just as the demobats fall down, crashing onto the dirt clumsily. They look so unassuming and docile, a stark contrast from their ferociousness just moments ago. His eyes immediately land on your torso, marred and bloodied.

“Oh, no,” he murmurs as he kneels down, hands turning sticky and crimson as soon as he touches you. “No, no, no. Y/N…Y/N, you gotta stay with me.”

“Eddie,” you croak, choking out your words. “Is it bad?”

“‘S gonna be fine, sweetheart.” His voice is brave, but the fear in his eyes give him away. He removes the black bandana from his head and wraps it around your ribs in an attempt at a tourniquet. You grimace at the pressure against your open wounds. “What were you thinking?”

“W-wanted to b-be a hero,” you stutter, offering him as much of a smile as you can. You can feel the blood trickle from your lips and down your chin. “Th-this is g-gonna be your y-year, right?”

His heart sinks. Huddled in the boathouse together, you two had quickly begun trading stories. He told you about how his parents split when he was nine, leaving Wayne as his guardian; you confided that your mom had no clue who your dad even was. When you’d mentioned wanting to pursue a career in nursing, but not being able to pay for courses, he’d confessed that he was on his third go-around at senior year.

“But this’ll be it,” he’d stated confidently, hunched over in the lifeboat. “It’s my year, baby. ‘86!”

“Yeah,” he smiles forlornly back at you. “Yeah, it is. But I want you to be here, too.” 

You reach a hand out to his tear-stained cheek, using what little energy you have to rub your thumb over it. “How d’you l-look so cute even when you’re c-crying?” Your laugh is cut short by a choking fit.

“Save your strength, darlin’.” he tells you, but he knows that you’re far too injured for his advice to matter.

Dustin runs over now, taking one look at the situation and groaning. 

“Eddie, is she–”

“She’s gonna be fine,” Eddie interrupts, a pointed look on his face telling the boy to be quiet. “You’re gonna be fine, okay?” he says, turning to you.

“Mhm,” you manage, “just gonna rest for a sec…” Eddie and Dustin watch as a stillness creeps over your body, and you take your final breath. They stand there for a few minutes, unable to move.

Dustin is the one to break the silence. “C’mon, Eddie,” he pulls gently on his friend’s sleeve. “We gotta get going, get ready for the next phase.”

“Just a second.” Eddie unlatches the guitar pick chain  from around his neck and puts it on yours. He presses on his knees as he stands up, admiring your beauty even in death.

The two of them slowly walk back to the trailer, side by side. Eddie swings an arm around Dustin, pulling him in close.

“I think I loved her, dude,” he whispers, expecting Dustin to roll his eyes or tease him, but the boy just gives him a hug.

“I think she loved you, too,” he replies softly, “actually, I know she did.”

Eddie turns back to take one last look at the realm that claimed the girl of his dreams before ascending the rope.

“Gonna make ‘86 my year, baby. Just for you.”

--

[deep-space-lines]

ULTRAGIFT wishlist below the cut. you should join ultragift

1. Lancer and/or Vysehrad, my OCs. There's info and refs in the tag on my blog, as well as a playlist for vibes! (I apologize for the wall of text for this one I just have a lot of thoughts about them)

Doomed yuri <3 Vysehrad is an Earthmover with a cathedral on her back, left abandoned in a field when her power began to fail at the beginning of the New Peace. She's slowly dying, no longer able to move but drifting in and out of consciousness on the rare occasions that enough sunlight makes it through the clouds. Lancer, a much smaller war machine/scraphead, is sort of her bodyguard-wife. Imagine if you fell in gay love with a mosquito who has sworn to protect you in exchange for an endless supply of blood. They both die tragically because this is ultrakill we're talking about

Notes: Vysehrad is 400m high and Lancer is a little over 2 meters, but that does make it really hard to draw them together so feel free to disregard! The architecture doesn't have to match exactly or even be particularly detailed so long as it's recognizable as a Gothic cathedral in vibes; feel free to simplify or keep it sketchy/silhouette. Vysehrad hasn't been able to stand or raise her head since the end of the war. Neither of them have canonically been to Hell (Vysehrad is permanently stuck in a sometimes-snowy field of dead sunflowers) but don't let that stop you.

I'd love any art of them together, or separately. Would love to see Lancer committing acts of incredible violence or Vysehrad with some dead sunflowers or something, or maybe Vysehrad still active during the war, or whatever strikes your fancy- go ham, go violent, go lesbian, go silly

(I will not bore you with the essay I could write about their relationship and about how anything one could call 'love' between them stems from being mutually, inextricably dependent on each other. The way that both of them know all too well that the only reason Lancer is capable of something resembling caring is because their basic needs are being met, knowing that their ability to rise above animalistic brutality is temporary and they'll go back to the mindless bloody struggle for survival just like every other machine as soon as Vysehrad inevitably dies and takes their infinite fuel source away from them. About Lancer not being able to tell whether their caring for Vysehrad is for purely selfish reasons or not. About how Vysehrad, despite her capacity for destruction, is used to carrying an entire human city on her back and is profoundly lonely now that they're gone and needs to devote herself to someone to stave off the existential terror of impending nothingness, needs Lancer to make what's left of her life worth living because without them there's nothing for her to do but stare at the ground and wait to die, and AHEM ANYWAY)

2. Ceti, shameless self-insert OC and world's most ADHD machine. Maybe chillin' underwater in Wrath looking at fish or partying it up in bisexual lighting or absolutely covered in blood idk just have fun!!

3. Gabriel or literally any machine in a Czech kroj. Put those things in dresses!!!! Or goth outfits, that would also go hard.

4. Lesbians. IDC who. Mirage/V2? Mannequin/mindflayer? Swordsmachine/streetcleaner? Guttertank/gutterman? All of these, and more, can be lesbians. The sky's the limit

5. If all else fails I just think Earthmover is cool. And swordsmachine. And mindflayer. And V1. I <3 machines kickin' ass

[exeggcute]

your blog is cool and youre the only person on tumblr i really follow on tech stuff. is the transition to manifest v3 really worth all the hubbub?

first of all thank you! and second of all, lol. to be honest I haven't had a major eye on the v2 > v3 transition but you may be unsurprised to learn that I'm not taking hard sides here and am both slightly suspicious of the changeover and also less than convinced by some of the "this is the worst shit ever" blowback. not to suck google's dick either (unless any recruiters are reading this...?) (jk my least favorite person on r/technicalwriting works at google so unless you can guarantee that I will not come into contact with that man, it's gonna be a hard no) but to some extent I think this is one of those things where google, as the de facto governing entity for how internet browsers are designed[1] is, for better or worse, in the seat to steer the ship right now and inevitably has to make design choices that will shape the future of (how people will access) the web.[2]

[1] insert comment about firefox here but considering firefox is almost singlehandedly bankrolled by google it works out the same in the end. hence my perpetual dislike of the way-oversimplified "maverick underdog mozilla singlehandedly holding the line again google" narrative... go tell me where the money is coming from!!!

[2] also I know the W3C is the actual governing entity for internet protocol design and has influenced browser design on a more abstract level but that's still a degree of separation away and tbh I'm not super familiar with W3C drama. although I can only assume there's drama lol.

and google being google has both real and imagined interests in shaping the web by virtue of their other business ventures (e.g. but not exclusively e.g., advertising) and so I think some amount of blowback is gonna be inevitable when they propose Big Fundamental Changes. which, like, I'm the last person who's gonna say "no we should definitely drop our defenses and approach this without an ounce of skepticism" lol so I think the knee-jerk Uh Oh impulse is totally fair and maybe even warranted. but after the initial jerk I also think it's worth hearing shit out and, you know, on the face of it I can see why the changes outlined in the v3 manifest bring positive changes to the table. security and performance and shit. but security and performance are relatively boring selling points, and when google has earned a poor public reputation thanks to the other shit they've pulled I think it's understandable that even well-meaning changes will be met with general suspicion.

buuuut I still get irritated by the verging-on-clickbait headlines where literally every change about v3 is framed as "google is finally killing ad blockers" and then you read the article and ad blockers aren't mentioned directly a single time. like it'll literally just be about v3 lol. arguably I'm just being naive/willfully ignorant because of course it's all really about ad blockers since google is an advertising business and the other benefits are a smokescreen and blah blah blah but I do kinda feel like that borders on conspiratorial thinking, especially since ad blockers will work in v3, albeit differently, and google is actively working with/taking feedback from extension developers (including ad block extension developers). a lot of it genuinely just seems like "major version change will require significant technical work to implement, more at 11".

who knows though, I could eat my words :shrug:

kind of related but I was always kind of surprised by the amount of pushback against the web integrity API thing because I read the proposal behind it and it seemed pretty well-intentioned to me. granted there were some fair/serious concerns that even the proposal pointed out and a lot unanswered implementation details (and tbf it was a proposal/WIP) but I got Why they were proposing it, invalid traffic being the bogeyman it is. and like I am not a cryptography guy in the slightest but as I understand it the WEI was basically just an SSL certificate in reverse?

a lot of it makes me think about the web3 article from a few years back where a guy talked about designing an NFT that looked cool on various storefronts but looked like a poop emoji in your actual wallet after you bought it, which, in the process of trying to google it to link here, led me to this substack post where someone summarized it as "NFTs are centralized and no one cares." which is pretty much exactly what I was getting at (and why I thought about it in this context) with how even ostensibly open protocols can devolve into walled gardens built around those protocols with bonus features tacked on, if the protocols themselves don't offer those features out the gates (and enough people want them). idk. food for thought I guess. I really am just rambling here though so let me humble myself by reminding us all that I have a B.A. in english and love to speculate lolol. not an expert!

[trappedtowers]

Trapped Towers Dev History ~ How We Got Here (Part 1)

(Middle art piece done by @/evilredyoshis)

Hey everybody !!

Today I'm going to be introducing another type of post I can end up doing - development history/update posts! These will likely be rarer than other types of posts (after this 3 parter anyway), purely because development on this project is just pretty slow due to my lack of ✨ focus ✨ and all that. However, there is definitely some old development stuff I can talk about! Plus, for those of you who are new - you get to learn more about this project that has been ongoing since early 2018!

So lets get into this, shall we? It's going to be a lengthy read.

February 2018 - August 2020 ~ The Beginning/Undertale AU Era:

February 2018 was a time, by this point I'd spent almost a year making music for my friends and very small audience in the Undertale community. One day, I was simply bored and had no ideas - so my sister told me "hey make an Alton Towers megalo"... how I hadn't done it yet shocked me, I'd been going since 2014 and loved the place dearly. However, with a laugh I agreed and got to work.

A few days into creation, I began theory crafting the basics for an Undertale AU. The first ever concept for what would eventually become Trapped Towers - explains a lot about the name and premise though huh. I eventually uploaded a song or two for the AU, including the megalo I did finish - "Ministry Of Death".

One person found and covered the megalo. Then another. And another. And soon enough the whole thing spiralled - I would consider it to this day my biggest impact on the Undertale Community, even if it was still relatively small and not long lived. Either way, it got me to take the project a little more seriously... but quickly it spiralled into development hell. I was only 14 after all, if you asked me what a leadership style was I probably would have no idea what you were on about or given a dumb answer.

Reboot after reboot was attempted. New server after new server. Eventually though, one server was made and kept. However, the project had already fallen into more obscurity and my motivation was low, so I moved to new things. Every so often a new Trapped Towers post would occur, mainly new Smiler content as that's what really brought in people. Things would stay like that for a bit unfortunately though...

Old Content:

How about some art and concepts from the time though huh? For an Undertale AU it was... something. Tom wasn't called Tom and was literally just called Frisk. The world layout was just Undertale and I just made stuff fit - The Beornen were almost located in X-Sector because of Wickerman being the Grillby replacement. Th13teen wouldn't have really even been in the story as she was Gaster. Half the characters didn't even have designs! People loved Smiler and Enterprise, and any serious work focused on the Ruins portion with Terra. They were still trapped because Nemesis was too dangerous to be let free, however Nemesis was also in a permenant sleep - only prophisised to reawaken. It wasn't an active threat.

(I don't entirely remember who made what here, so I'm sorry for no credits)

OLD SOUNDTRACK LINKS:

Trapped Towers V1 Soundtrack

Trapped Towers V2 Soundtrack

It's all quite funny to look back on. There's so many bits that clearly influenced the project as it is today. Many old designs haven't had drastic overhauls either, which is quite funny to think about... maybe I should get on some...

Anyway, with that brings the conclusion of part 1 of this 3 part blog series. The next two parts will come out day after day, with tomorrow being "August 2020 - June 2021" and Friday being "June 2021 - Present Day". Figured it'd be much easier for reading if I split them into a couple parts !! Also gives me a few extra days to consider what else I want to post haha.

Until then, cya ! - JustDaniel

[sickknotdoom]

I HATE THE NEW ART STYLE WHAT SPARKLECARE HAS, like I'm sorry but this whole easier drawn idk how it called thing what the sc team is doing rn is So. Fucking. BORING. I miss how colorful the pages were, I miss how goofy and expressive characters were, I miss when the comic did those little window thingys where they left spaces and they put extra effort into it, I miss when the text bubbles actually HAD other shapes other than just a boring circle, miss when the characters were more bubbly looking and nor just- straight shape looking, like I get it, it's easier to draw and its probably done faster but COME THE FUCK OOON They can't be THIS lazy with drawing! Back in 2020-2021 when v2 was in progress I was genuinely excited to see the new pages, to see how colorful they looked, what new expressions the characters gonna make, now were at v4 and I sometimes even forget to check the sp page for new updates because of fucking boring and lame the art style has come to, I still had some hope in v3 that they maybe try to go back to the old art style but now that v4 is almost at its end and it only starts to look worse and worse I'm really disappointed to say this won't change just only get worse, I'm happy I'm not the only one who hates this change but, I personally believe this what made sparklecare special in the first place and they literally TOOK WHAT MADE SPARKLECARE SPECIAL. Idk as someone who had a big artistic inspiration from sparklecare back then it's just a really big let down for me.

ok calm. Way The Fuck Down. but yes i agree with you

[faeriemarie]

july 1st, 2023

so i tried that slade’s shifting brew v2 subliminal that i’ve seen everyone raving out about it didn’t work. i literally didn’t feel ANYTHING and tbh i feel kinda scammed. but it’s whatever. i think i’ll just try to enter the void tonight. 

for a glimpse into my personal life, it has gone to complete and utter shit. i thought that i might be getting better and my cr was getting more managable but i was so SO wrong. this always happens. i don’t know why i keep trying to justify staying here. it’s literally the worst place i’ve ever been only i’ve been living her for 17 years already.

after living 17 years in my dr, i was the voice of a disney princess, finished a 4 year run on a highly successful television show, filmed a cult classic movie, and performed in 5 different ballet productions at the royal opera house. 

i am so not cut out for the life i’m living rn. but long ago, i saw someone say that if your cr is terrible, you should imagine it as a challenge. your old self decided they wanted a challenge and decided to respawn here. they got bored with their perfect life and you are their reincarnation to liven up their immortal existence. i really like that idea and think of it often. i think my past self overestimated her abilities tho.

[voddiesk]

Hehe muses on this meme (harder to place than expected)

[hard / not fun to rp]

All [outside of comfort zone] & with a Mean Streak that I'm neither witty enough, brave enough nor feel good to play...

Laverne: nerd, & the traits i chose off someone hurts to play🗿 His magica!AU self is easier in that he's still shonen dumbass there.

fox sisters 'Eiko' & Kyouka: coy & manipulative, which I Cannot

Rosie: I'm no pirate buff LOL. Accents & concision... tough.

[easy / not fun to rp]

Personalities I enjoy drawing in Slapstick Comics, but not to play. Growth is Slow (if any) & dependent on others.

Rainn: too woobie for me LOL

Ming: for literal slapstick jokes, shallow. Not my style anymore

Inis: a little boring to me with the history / personality I made! NPCish being more reactive than proactive... but working to give them Motivations and Curiosities to muse over.

[fun / easy to rp]

1 int oonga, self-explanatory. My brain just smashes red button lately

Roth: basically mingyue v2, but removing (gender) & (human) facets completely makes me happier lol.

Sir Horsie: 🤯

Eoghan: Easy to play & joke in vapid nonsense. Superficially one note, but has backstory to inform his Weirdness though I'd rather not show it / he's fairly well-adjusted. 🤔Just having the element to reference is nice, and being cheery amid angstier folk is fun.

bom!Haruka: Angst & Amnesia combo. Didn't want a 1:1 to rl grief, so had IC reasons to dull emotions and their loss. On the surface they're comically gap moe (easy to play) and most ocs wouldn't know them past that. But they had unconscious layers that informed their heart, perhaps in... unfortunate ways. (Fun)!

aa!Haruka: WIP, may need to change much of what I enjoyed in bom!version (alas).

[hard / fun to rp]

50% [chatty extroverts], 50% [moody introverts]...

· introverts' my preferred, but engaging others & trying not to leave All the legwork to them can be as tough as attempting to drive the rp-convo via an extroverted oc... (for i am Not) 🗿 · All have personality Contrasts that others may read only the superficial (as intended). But I too forget nuances as a result. LOL

Arietta & weedy: Both still 1-note atm as npc/neglected theatric extroverts. 'Voice' is likely too similar rn...

Stitches: I've trouble Being Mean so I backpedal like a COWARD. His inherent tsun & edginess makes me cringe even though that's the point. Easier to comic than rp.

Lilie (& Lewy): Passive Aggressive (cannot do that anymore). Reserved, pessimistic, but who also try to step out of their shells. Headspace takes a bit of warming...

· twins Leith & Liam: 1-int jokes that'll Press the Red Button & have Bad Opinions, but also gooey feelsy inside. I enjoy that they can act independent of others with their different strengths, while still falling under my mun need to hold hands w/ someone.🤡

· struggles with their Words (or lack thereof). Liam is too chatty, Leith takes much effort to convey. But still a fun struggle at the end of it all, as their relations with other peoples' ocs made them so.

I tend to make ocs that ignore or skim feelings, so twinnies being overly guided by emotions has been a fun (if embarrassing) change.

[mean-and-rwde]

Volume 9 thoughts

[Spoilers, possibly]

[Rambling ahead]

I don't want to throw out all hope that V9 won't be absolute ""filler"", but it clashes too hard with the high emotions of the V8 finale.

If V8 was trying to be V3 (it failed), then I guess one could say V9 is like V4.

Except V4, while personally being one of my lesser-favorite volumes, does a nice bridge between the absolute chaos of the V3 finale to the V5 chaos. It's slower, a lot more dialogue heavy, and yet manages to remain somewhat true to canon without breaking it too much.

V9, however, looks to be a V1 - V2 ish theme but definitely not nearly as light hearted. I mean, they look to be in fucking wonderland (I heard it's called the Ever After, which is not much better, in my opinion). We've got talking mice among possibly other wild scenarios.

Meanwhile in Remnant (? I don't think Ever After is part of Remnant, I don't know tho):

- Atlas has become Atlantis (to quote my brother, who I guess heard it from a review somewhere?)

- Everyone who didn't fall into The Void / died when Atlas fell is now in Vacuo, the last standing kingdom.

- Vacuo is already very much struggling with what the citizens have. Now what's left of an entire kingdom has been dumped in as well.

- Salem has 2 / 4 relics needed to end the world and is on her way to Vacuo, where the last relic is being held.

- Cinder is still here. Like a damn cockroach

Side rant: I'm sorry, I just don't care for her anymore. I miss V1 - V3 Cinder, who was a legitimate threat and actually scary. Now she's an villain who is funniest when she fails. When I see her now, the sense of dread is more like "ugh this bitch again" instead of before where I was like "oh shit she's back what is she gonna do now?".

Adding her backstory in V7 (or was it V8? I literally can't remember) did nothing for me. It was way too on the nose, there was nothing subtle about it. And the song playing was basically beating the audience over the head with what was happening. It's too late to give her backstory, now it's completely unnecessary. It means nothing. And she has resorted to relying on the maiden powers in fights, makimg her fights boring and monotonous.

Also in Remnant:

- A shit ton of people fell into the void

- Penny is dead. Again. But permanently.

Meanwhile:

Our mains are in some weird wonderland like world where I'm guessing Neo somehow already has what looks like some sort of gang (in the intro, she's seen drinking tea with a bunch of shadowy people behind her).

There's also the mystery girl, who may have something to do with Ruby.

The intro hints that Ruby has become far more depressed and not nearly as hopeful as she once was. In the beginning, we see her as she transitions between her outfits over the volumes, while her emblem slowly fades.

While her team is running through various scenes, Ruby is dragging her feet, noticeably falling behind everyone else.

I hope this actually goes somewhere and makes Ruby + WBY + Jaune realize that they (especially Ruby) haven't made the best decisions as of late.

I haven't seen Episode 1, but I've heard some bits and pieces of it and I'm generally not thrilled. I know it's only the first episode, but I'm really not down for this whole wonderland shenanigans thing when the real world of Remnant is in danger of literally ending.

I don't know, it really feels like how when the White Fang arc was abruptly cut short and dropped (rip most of Blake's character). Things have gotten too heavy and too much, so the writers cut to something else entirely.

In this case, something comedic (or at least trying to be)

A / N 1: Apparently there's a con-man raccoon called Jinxy who is very... Stereotyped and racist. I have not seen this character, but from what I've heard... I don't think I want to know.

[seekingthestars]

i like caratbong v3 even less now that official specs and design are out 😭😭😭 caratbong my queen what did they do to you 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔

(i just ramble a lot about v3 under the cut lol)

first!! i wanna say!! that if you like caratbong v3, that's totally valid! you can definitely like it! i just very much do not and so i'm gonna ramble about it and let my grumpy feelings out lol you have been warned haha

when i woke up today and saw the merch details, i had a brief hopeful moment of "what if it's different than the teaser" and then it was different from the teaser in THE MOST DISAPPOINTING WAY 😭

i genuinely like the final product LESS than the teaser and i already didn't like the teaser 😭

the swap from shiny black to what is essentially Black Oil Spill is horrid, i very much hate that, and the diamond is 1) way simpler than the teaser and 2) looks worse. PLUS the diamond and the dome are just clear and don't even feature any of the extra sparkle that was included in v1/v2?? at least in the teaser the diamond looked pinkish. this is heckin' BORING

the box is literally just the v1 box with the updated svt logo. couldn't be bothered to try to make something to actually match the damn lightstick. the included strap isn't even our blue!!! it's some random deeper blue!!! put them next to each other and the box, dust bag, and strap are 3 completely different blues omfg PLEASE. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE

also. kinda hate the deco rings. hella annoying that hybe is like "here you can customize your light stick by taking off a clear cover and putting on 13 different clear rings with the members' names on them instead" and charging us an extra $22 - $26 for it. (+ i think that it might feel uncomfortable to hold?? unless they're all suuuper flush and you can't feel the separations between them?? anyway–) v1 and v2 may have only had stickers with the names on them but they came included. to buy the entire lightstick set (lightstick + rings) it would cost me ~$110+. that's DUMBBBBBBB

ALSO THEY RAISED THE PRICE FOR THIS THING? BY SO MUCH? hiking up the price for a subpar product is a very hybe move, they've been doing it with svt merch for years, but like c'mon. gettin' real tired of hybe's merch bullshit of subpar design/materials, expensive products, and insane shipping.

all of svt's light sticks have been in the lighter range and use our fandom colors in some way. that's the brand™. why do we have fandom colors if you're not going to USE the fandom colors on THE ONE THING THAT REPRESENTS THE FANDOM. this damn thing doesn't look anything like svt/carat's brand except the diamond in the center and even that's a bit of a stretch bc it's just a plain diamond.

and the fact that they're going to discontinue the bluetooth compatibility for v2 in the second half of the year is annoying bc it's literally just them trying to force everyone to buy a v3. there's no reason not to continue supporting v2.

also i've seen some people saying they like it and then also saying people should stop being so vocal about not liking it bc "svt has a lot of say in their merch designs, maybe they said they wanted the caratbong handle black, your favs might have designed it, what would you think then, what if they see your comments" and BRO 💀

even if svt designed the entire thing themselves with zero input from anyone else, i still don't have to like it 💀 i can still think it's not my cup of tea 💀 i don't have to like it JUST bc svt might have had some creative input, you can still disagree with your favs, we're all adults here omfg i complain about svt's Questionable Fashion Choices all the time, doesn't mean i like them less 💀

that, to me, starts leading down a road of "well you have to like every song svt releases bc woozi/other members had a hand in the creation" and "you have to like everything svt does bc the boys helped make it" etc etc etc and like eff that, no i do not. i'm an adult with my own preferences and that's FINE. they're my favs but they're not perfect and i don't have to love every single thing that they release JUST bc THEY released it.

some people are like "everyone's overreacting, chill, it's just a lightstick" and like yeah, it is just a lightstick, but it's also kind of not. we've been getting subpar merch at stupidly high prices for years and people are just fed up with it.

anyway i saw a translation of a kcarat's comment that said: "if the bluetooth is no longer able to connect, then I shall give my support through my white light. The white light does not mean I am no longer a Carat, and it also does not mean my heart ever changes. V2 is Carat."

so yeah i'm not buying v3 just bc hybe wants me to. me and my white light v2 will be perfectly fine.

[v2-is-alive]

Alright the cringe as died down...

So , basically, Cassiopeia is an ex guardian angel and ,with humanity being dead and all , he doesn't have a job anymore. He is REALLY bored and started to change to play with it physical appearance (idk if ultrakill angels can change form like real angels but im imagining they can?) To end up with this one. Since it doesn't fight it doesn't feel a need to have armor like gabriel. Basically it goal is to look cool as fuck and nobody can stop him.

Since its incredible bored and heaven doesn't particularly like its talents (mainly dancing), it start visiting hell with fake reasons like "be sure sinners are doing their things" and just start learning about human creations. Its particularly interested in machines and gun. When he saw v2 for the first time , it jaw literally dropped. It had to be the best thing it ever saw. Thats all I have for now tbh

The self insert design!! When I feel less cringe I'll post its lore ...

[michaelsbigreddick]

Bad at Love-E.M x f!reader

Y/n and Eddie are far from perfect but they always find a way to make it work. Or at least she thought. After a petty argument over what movie they should watch, y/n goes to apologize to eddie. Only to find out he already had company.

Warnings! Mentions of drug and illegal activities! Mdni 18+

Pairing- Eddie x female reader (she/her)

I didn't post this yesterday because I worked all day then stayed up to watch V2 and then proceeded to cry the rest of the night, so my apologies for being late.

This is pt 1 out of maybe a 2 or 3 part series:) Hope yall enjoy! <3

_________

"Robin I can't deal with what I just saw! I think its because I just can't, I can't fucking believe it! 

“What happened this time y/n?” her tone was flat, tired of anything and everything that had to do with your relationship. But it didn't stop you from sharing anyway. 

“Guess! Guess what happened!” you were pacing around her room. Yelling once more about your on and off boyfriend, and love of your life, Eddie munson. 

She was used to it by now, the fight picking you both did because neither of you felt good enough for the other for one reason or another. Maybe you would feel insecure when some chick would try flirting with him during your trips out of town together, or he would feel like you found someone at college. Regardless of what it was, or who was in the wrong you were never on the outs for long. And when you were, Robin would have to sit there and listen. Sometimes over the phone, but when you were in town, in the comfort of her room. 

She was laying comfortably in bed running ger glittery green fingertips down the back of her purring cat. A bored expression sitting her face. 

“You know what? Don't guess because, Jesus it's so unbelievable you won't be able to guess it.’ you took a deep breath trying to put the words together. 

“I was, I was going to Eddie's house, ya'know, like I told you I was going to. I started it this time, my turn to apologize. As im pulling up to his house, I see fucking,” the tears begin to swell in your eyes. “fucking Chrissy Cunningham!” 

She sat up mouth agape. “No way. No, Y/n tell me youre joking.” she walked across her bed on her knees. “No way, are you sure it was her?”  you nod your head scared you'd break into tears if you said another word.

“Maybe he was like selling her something? Or or or, god I don't know,” she started to bite on her lip looking for something to comfort you. 

“No he does his fucking drug dealing. anywhere but home Robin. Why else would they go to his trailer after the game?” you sat down at the edge of her bed. She moved herself next to you. 

“Maybe he forgot it?” she gave you a weak smile. You offered one back but your trembling lips couldn't hold it together for long.  A sob escaped them. 

You never thought it would ever end, Not really. You would yell and scream and swear it was over, but then you would both cool off. Everything would fall back into place and you would have the best make up sex imaginable. 

You thought there was nothing that could ever really keep the two of you apart for long. Especially if the fight was over something as dumb as what movie you were going to put on to pretend to watch but them ultimately end up catching up on all the sex you missed out on during college. 

“Its alright. It probably was just a drug thing. And doesn't she have a boyfriend? ” she tries to reassure you. 

“Everyone knows she's as clean as a whistle Robin, and... I had a boyfriend when we first started hanging out too, remember?” she hummed remembering. 

“Yeah well you guys are in love. He's literally stupid for you y/n! Thats part of why he's still in high school. You distracted the hell out of him last year, remember? It's a miracle you even graduated.” She wrapped her arm around your shoulder and pulled your tear stained face into her.

  You sniffled remembering the good times. When things were still fresh, all the angst and build up to him finally having the guts to make his first move. You were both such bad influences for each other when it came to school. You couldn't help it, and neither could he. As cheesy as it sounded, you couldn't stand being apart from each other. 

“I just, I'm really scared I finally pushed him over the edge. And God chrissy? She is easily the second prettiest girl in school.” Robin smiled, accepting that you were calling her the first. 

“He couldn't go for the first of course, That's my best friend.”

“That would be crossing a whole other line.” she laughed. “Look, why don't you just call him tomorrow? Talk things out when you're a little more calm…I mean really, what are the chances he and the top chear leader are hooking up right now?”

Your stomach churned at the idea. You imagined him laying her down in the same bed you were supposed to be laying on instead of the soaking chest of your best friend. A loud sob escaped again followed by more. 

“God I am not very good at this huh.” your best friend said sighing at her failure to make you feel better. She leaned you down on her bed, taking your shoes off that you were too distracted to take off earlier. 

Getting into bed she sat up against her headboard, and threw the blanket over the both of you. You scooted over to her and lay your head on her lap.She begins to caress your head letting you spill out your fears and worries, and the last of your tears till you ultimately fall asleep. 

_._._._

You wake up the next morning to the sight of Robin wiping last nights eyeliner off. 

“Morning.” she says groggly.

“Morning.” you smile. You would apologize for coming to her house and crying so hard you stayed the night, but you were so close all you had to offer was a thank you. 

After having a quick breakfast, you dropped her off in time for work. Nearing your house a knot began to grow in your chest. Three cop cars were pulled up in front of it. You were barely able to park. 

Exiting your car your mom comes out of the door screaming your name. 

“Jesus, Y/n honey! You're safe.” she engulfs you in a breath squeezing hug. 

“Why wouldn't I be mom?’ that was when you remembered that you hadn't called home to let her know you were going to stay at Robins. 

“I was at Robin's mom. You should have called hers instead of…” you looked around at the police officers. A mixture of relief and concern plastered on their faces.

“I'm home. You can all go now.” you rub your moms back slowly trying to pry her off of you. 

“Thats, that's not the only reason they're here hun.” she looked at you with sorry eyes. They led you inside to your living room. 

'Let's take a seat lovebug.' You sit down on your couch facing the officers across from you. 

When the words left their  mouth you didn't think you were hearing them correctly. You couldn't believe that the words had even come out of their mouths just then. 

“We found a student of Hawkens High, Chrissy Cunningham, dead in your boyfriends trailer.”

"And so what? You think Eddie did this?" You knew you probably sounded like a delusional girlfriend. That was exactly what all the signs made it look like that, but it was Eddie. Your Eddie, you couldn't help but get defensive. 

“We're not saying anything. But his uncle was at the plant all night. Can you tell us where you were again, Miss Henderson.”

“For christ's sake I told you guys once I got here! I was at Robins last night!”

“Your mother told us that you were going to spend the night with,”

“Yea well that didn't happen. If you're so concerned about where I was you can ask the Buckleys. I'm sure they heard my embarrassing crying last night.” you roll your eyes, holding on tighter to your mothers warm hand. 

“Why were you crying honey?"

“Was there an altercation with Mr. Munson? If that were the case did he try,” you held your palm out signaling them to stop. 

“Don't you even dare try finishing that sentence. Eddie wouldn’t hurt a fucking fly. I need you to leave my house.” you got up from the couch, dropping your mothers hand. You were trembling, with anger, fear, frustration, whatever it was it had taken over. "Get out of my fucking house!”  You were confused on so many different levels. But there was one thing you were completely sure of, Eddie didn't hurt her. 

You saw your brother peeking his head out of his room.You knew he was hearing everything from the other side of the wall, he wasn't dumb, and the walls were thin. Eddie meant a whole lot to him too and there was no way you were going to let them make such claims under your roof. 

“Get out!” you screamed at them one last time. The slim cop with a mustache jumped, and slowly backed his way to the door. The sheriff took a quick glance at your mother then back at you. He nodded at your mother. She walked them out. You could hear them talk behind the door. The sound of them pulling away from the house followed.

You sat back down on your couch with your face in your hands. This felt worse than any feeling you had felt the night before. You couldn't keep it together. The facade of the strong older sister, the role of the supportive daughter, it was slipping away, melting off with each tear. 

Your mom came back in and sat on the recliner aside from you. Dustin finally slipped out of his room.

“Y/n?" He walked over to you slowly. Maybe he was worried you'd snap on him too. Regardless he knelt down in front of you and placed his hand on your knee. 

“I don't know what happened last night. Or what your dumb fight was about, which was probably the reason you went to Robins house… Whatever it is..whatever happened. It's gonna be okay.” you leaned down onto him, holding him as tight as you could.

When you get up from the couch and give him another quick hug. 

“I'm going to take a quick shower then we’ll talk more okay?” 

Dusting nodded. There was a loud knock at the door. He walked over swiftly to answer it. Your face softened when you saw who it was. Max Mayfield. She greeted you all quickly, pulling Dustin into his room. She looked different. Sadder even. You didn't expect her to be the same after the death of her brother. But there wasn't a touch of paranoia in her eyes that was unsettling. 

“Hun, the police want you to go in for questioning. They also want to have you escorted till they find him.” your mom says pulling you from your thoughts. 

“What? I told them to screw off and they want to baby sit me now?”

“They just think he might come looking for you…honey I think it's better to be safe than sorry.” she was looking at the ground when she said this. You couldn't believe she would consider the thought of it being true. She knew him. He was always so great with her. And even with your constant bickering, she knew the both of you loved each other like no one else in the world. 

“ I don't think he did what they said he did, I really hope not.” she said, squeezing your hand. 

“Mom!”

“Im being honest here bug. I just, even if he didn't do anything, I don't think it's a good idea to be seen anywhere near him right now. Not till things cool down.” she caressed your cheek. You knew she was doing her best. But god was it annoying that she didn't believe in his innocence.

You showered till the water went cold. Leaving the warm safety of the running water would mean that it was all real. You took even longer to get ready. Just as you were about to leave for questioning you noticed your open window. You had sworn that you closed it before going to Eddies. 

You started to look around your room for anything that was out of place. The last place you checked was where you found what you were looking for. A sign of him.

You plop onto your bed. Your hands shake a single folded up piece of paper. Your name was written across the first fold. 

"y/n, I really wish i let you choose that movie. You're right, you're always right. The Breakfast Club is one of the best movies to ever exist."

You chuckle knowing he was just saying that to stop the fight. 

"You might start to hear some things about me. Maybe you already have. I just want you to know that whatever it is that they say, it isn't true. I know that you're able to see over everything else that they've ever said, but this is different. I wish I could tell you what happened but I don't even know what went on. Chrissy Cunningham, the cheerleader, slipped me a note after class. She wanted me to deal her something. I met with her after the game because she wanted something stronger than weed. I didn't want to carry that shit around with me. I'm not an idiot. So I drove her to my uncles so i could give it to her there. She was in the living room when I was looking for the stuff. When I came back with it, she was off, and then everything happened. I don't know how to explain it. I came here to tell you what happened, to apologize about the dumb fight. I wanted to see you one last time before whatever happens, happens. I'm scared but I'll be okay knowing you believe me. At least I hope you do. I'm going to where we had our first kiss.  

Love you so fucking much

Eddie"

You were relieved that he was safe. The place where you had shared your first kiss was the lake across from his dealers house. The guy was out of town and Eddie took advantage of that. You spent a day there. Turning the music up as loud as you could, smoking and drinking, making the dumbest jokes imaginable. By the end of the day, still high and a little drunk but definitely more sober than before, he pulled out the boat from the shed and you paddled to the very middle before realizing it had a motor. You were laughing so hard you were on the verge of rocking the boat. 

It was perfect the way the moment just presented itself. On the lake, both of you high enough to hear the water beneath and around you move with such a clarity, the reflection of the stars above you cascaded off the water, lighting up his pale skin, and showing you the lustful look in his eyes. 

“I want to kiss you” he had said to you. 

“So kiss me.” he smiled and leaned into you. His soft lips fit into yours like they were made for them. You'd never felt that before. The need or want to kiss someone the way you did him. With others it felt like something you had to do, up down, take a breath, touch their neck, maybe slip some tongue in. But with him, it was easy. No thought was necessary, you could kiss him all day if he'd let you. 

Your mind went back to how he said he couldn't explain what happened. The last time you had heard someone say that to you it had to do with the upside down. You hoped to god that it didn't have to do with it. You were so grateful he'd gone so long in the dark about what has been going on in Hawkins. This was the last thing he needed. 

If it wasn't official before. It was now, you were going to find him and help him prove his innocence.