#i would say billy ending up dead and gone if it wasn't for how the whole redemption vibe it gives the entire time kills it's core but still

[strangersynth]

i enjoy s3 what can i say

[beep-beep-sunny]

My new fic "And Then There Was Georgie" has 2 chapters on AO3

The whole thing available to read only on AO3

Chapter 1--What We Lost

It was 1988 when Bill Denbrough lost his brother in the rain. In 1989 it was confirmed he was gone forever. Georgie Denbrough was never coming back. 

--

It was 2016, and a small boy that lost his yellow raincoat long long ago held hands with another friend they thought was lost forever.

The two of them stood at the opening of the sewer where so many atrocities took place. Bill's eyes widened at the sight of his little brother and his surrogate brother figure and childhood friend. Both of them lost because of Bill's negligence. 

“Eddie.” His friend, Richie Tozier, said from behind him, his voice raw. Richie took a few steps towards the spectors. 

Beverly put out her arm. “Stop. Remember, the clown has made Bill see Georgie so many times. This is some kind of cruel echo.” 

Georgie held tightly to Eddie's hand. “What's going on?” His little voice asked. 

“It's dead. We killed it.” Richie whimpered, hands shaking. 

“This could just be what Beverly said. An echo. The powers settling before they fade away.” He tried to sound reassuring, but Bill wasn't convinced. 

“Give me the gun.” Bill said. “Just to be safe.” 

“Wait a minute,” Richie begged. “Please.” 

Mike handed Bill the bolt pistol he'd brought mostly for luck. “Thanks.” Bill said, pointing it squarely at Georgie. His hands always shook when he had to put an end to the distorted memories of his little brother over and over again. 

“What are you doing with that?” Eddie asked. “Bill, buddy, listen to me.” Eddie stepped in front of Georgie. “IT is dead.” 

“No, no.” Bill tried to keep a grip on the gun though the sweat was threatening to make it slip right through his fingers. “That's not my brother. It never is.” 

“Yeah.” Georgie squirmed in Eddie's grasp. “You're not my brother, you're old.” 

Bill narrowed his eyes. The clown usually puppeted Georgie to recognize him immediately to maximize his guilt. He still held as tightly to the gun as he could, his knuckles pale. “Is this some kind of new trick?” 

Georgie leaned slightly into Eddie's back. “That's not even a real gun, it looks funny.” 

“It's real.” Eddie said. “Just stand back, okay?” 

“Who cares? Shooting you will only slow you down.” Bill shook the gun on every word. 

Eddie held up both hands. “I know how this looks, Bill. Trust me. I was terrified when I first saw Georgie.” 

“No offense, but you're also dead.” Bill's voice shook. “How can I possibly trust you?” 

Georgie broke free of Eddie, but Eddie tried to grab him. He slipped through Eddie's fingers like a slippery snake. “You are not Billy.” He said with the confidence of a seven year old. “Billy is not old. Now put down that fake gun you're scaring my new friend.” Bill was so taken back that the gun did start to shift downwards. 

“Eds.” Richie stepped forward again, Bev holding him back. “Please, just say anything believable and I'll believe you.” 

“Right, okay. Well, I don't know how believable it sounds.” Eddie scratched his head. “I had a vision of this turtle.” Bill and Richie briefly looked at each other. “The turtle told me it's been protecting Georgie until it was safe for him to return. This turtle said he couldn't save them all, but he knew he'd need a reward for the kids that would eventually defeat IT. I know that sounds completely fucking crazy, and it probably just makes you want to shoot us more, but-” Eddie was cut off from his lengthy explanation by Richie Tozier crushing him in a hug. “Ow, asshole, I still have a hole in my chest.” 

Richie backed off. “Sorry.” Richie droned on and on, but Bill was locked in on Georgie. It couldn't be true, could it?

Bill was startled by a large hand on his back. The pressure was comforting when he looked back and saw Mike. “Let's talk to him together.” His tone was so soft. Bill nodded. 

Bill still gripped the gun in one hand while they took slow, cautious steps towards the scared, dirty child that looked just like his dead little brother did the day he lost him. Georgie grabbed Eddie's jacket edge the closer they got as if he was afraid. He looked up with big eyes at Eddie who was distracted angrily and passionately talking to Richie. “Stay away.” Georgie finally said when Eddie didn't seem to see his pleading eyes. 

Bill and Mike stopped in their tracks. “This is your brother.” Mike explained. “I know he doesn't look like your brother, but a lot’s happened when you were gone.” Mike was so soft and gentle with him. 

“I don't believe you.” Georgie yanked harder on Eddie's jacket. “Billy is a kid like me.” 

Mike waved a hand in front of Eddie's face to break Richie's spell and he pointed to the child trying to get his attention. “You knew Eddie right? And Richie?” 

“Yeah, they were my friends.” Georgie sniffled and rubbed his face, but he just smeared the dirt. 

“This is Eddie Kaspbrak.” Mike said, pointing at Eddie. “You trust him right?” 

“The weird big turtle said I should.” Georgie nodded. “But I don't trust you. I don't know you. If he's really Eddie he can tell me himself.” Georgie folded his arms in front of his chest. 

“It's true.” Eddie said, “I know I used to be a lot closer to your height.” he leaned over and ruffled Georgie's hair. Georgie smiled a little.

“You're still not far off.” Richie quipped.

“Is now really the time for your short jokes?” Eddie snapped back. 

Georgie scrunched up his face. “They do kinda seem like Richie and Eddie.” 

“See?” Mike said. “And this is your brother.” Mike pushed Bill slightly forward, but all he could manage was an awkward wave. 

“No, he's not. He's a phony. He doesn't look nearly as brave as my brother.” 

“I wasn't sick.” Bill blurted out. “That day when I lost you. I just didn't want to play with you.“ Tears stung in his eyes even though he'd said it all before. This felt different, more real. “And I've never actually been that brave.” 

Georgie stared at him. “You lied?” The phrase made Bill flinch hard, but he nodded. “If you're a liar, how can I trust you?” 

Bill smiled a little. That's exactly something Georgie would say. “I gave you a boat. Do you remember what I told you to call them?” 

Georgie smiled a little too. “She.” 

Bill couldn't hold back his tears, they freely flowed from his eyes and he held a hand to his mouth. “Was she fast, Georgie?” 

Georgie nodded. “Too fast. I lost it.” He pouted. “Are you gonna kill me?” 

Bill furrowed his brow. “No, of course not. Why did you say that?” 

“I lost the boat. I didn't know it was gonna fall in. The ugly clown said you'd kill me.” Georgie looked genuinely scared recounting the memory. Bill fell to his knees and wrapped Georgie up in a big hug. When he hugged him, he could feel the lack of arm at his side. “If you're trying to kill me you're doing a bad job.” Georgie said. Bill laughed hard, he felt delirious. He picked Georgie up and spun him in a circle. Georgie giggled. “A really bad job.” 

Next to him, Richie picked up Eddie and spun him around too. “Put me down you big idiot. You really are gonna kill me. I need a hospital.” 

“Are you hurting anywhere?” Bill asked Georgie. He shook his head and kicked his dangly feet. 

“You're really Billy?” Bill nodded. “Where's mom and dad?” 

“I don't think seeing them is a good idea right now.” Bill explained as softly as he could. 

“Why not? I just wanna go home!” Georgie whined. 

“We can't go home. Georgie.” Bill bit his lip to keep another tear from choking out. “I'll take you back to our hotel so you can get some rest. Are you tired?” 

“No.” He pouted, but his yawn betrayed him as he rested his cheek against Bill's shoulder. 

“What do you guys think?” Bill asked. 

“Let's go back together. All of us.” Beverly shot them a hesitant smile. “What the hell, right?” Ben nudged her and pointed towards Georgie. She rolled her eyes. “Sorry, what the heck!” She took on a silly voice to say the last part. It reminded Bill of Richie. It felt nice that they could all feel like home to each other again. 

Bill felt soft steady breathing against his shirt, when he looked down, Georgie was fast asleep.

(continued on AO3)

[variousqueerthings]

watching a thing that's going through why someone enjoys doctor who, and it's gone on a little tangent about why romance on doctor who doesn't work (in their opinion, and in mine), and how it made s2 and s7b the creator's least favourite -- and while I would need to rewatch s7b to remember that, I do think that the-doctor-and-rose at least doesn't have to be read as romantic if one doesn't want to

which isn't to say it wasn't intended as such, and also that it was somewhat based in dtennant and billie piper and jenna coleman and (to some) matt smith being hot (sorry matt smith, he looks like a teenage boy, the dichotomy is not hot or ugly, it's does-or-does-not-look-like-a-teenager), which is kind of *sigh yeah okay you're appealing to the people who think people are hot so they wanted a bit of that sexy sexy romance (I guess)*

however I don't think that things that are romance-coded need to be engaged with on that level, as someone who's had to make that translation many many times, and I think especially with the doctor-as-character, including and especially ten when one reads ten as being projected onto, it's actually incredibly fun not to/not even really a translation so much as a textually supported read

what's especially good about the doctor and rose dynamic is specifically that the doctor never gives rose the exact thing she's looking for, and that part of the doctor's heartbreak is that he can't -- take that as a "because I'm immortal and you're not," if you want (and that's also a textually supported read), but it's also very very easily read as "because what you want and what I can give is not compatible so that I will always end up letting you down like I do everyone, and I would rather you be happy than assert what I might want, and in the end everyone leaves for one reason or another"

which... the doctor basically says to wilf. they leave. they find someone else and fall in love. they forget. they break the doctor's heart. not just rose, but everyone. rose is simply the first to remind the doctor of this fact after bringing him back after a massive traumatic event

and I think it elevates s2, which I've now seen a couple of people go "oh because of the romance it's one of my least favourite seasons," which is so fascinating to me, because s2 isn't at all about a romance through my eyes. it is for rose, because she's in love with the doctor, romantically, and that's part of her tragedy, as a mortal, as someone who's in love with her doctor and doesn't want that doctor to go or to change or to... be alien, perhaps (now I do reach, but it's open to reaching) -- and who is growing up throughout, as the first person one sees grow up in nu!who

and the doctor is constantly struggling for words: tell rose... oh she knows. and i suppose. if it's my last chance to say it. rose tyler...

rose tyler essentially brought the doctor back, made the doctor fall in love with the universe again, and brought back a childlike wonder that the doctor had had before the timewar, and how do you encompass that into simple human concepts of "romantic" or "platonic" and know

that this person is romantically in love with you in a very human way

that there is an end-point to this, which is something this person will never fully grasp until it's happened (or that person is dead)

that you do not age. that you change. that you are aliene

that you are fundamentally, always, left on your own in the end

that you have put all of your sense of your new self onto this person and it will eventually fuck everything up

so yeah, there's some heavy-duty emotional subtext in s2, but because of the deliberate lack of clarity given to that subtext, it's very very easy to take it in various kinds of directions. of course rose and the doctor are Like That in s2, they're living a little fairytale life that's about to fall to pieces (something the doctor knows, but won't admit, and rose doesn't fully understand or believe)

when rose asks the doctor how long they'll travel and the doctor says "forever," it's absolutely 100% a lie, and that is... very tragic... thinking back to their first scenes together, which were incredibly simply sweet, and you know it's stretching thinner and thinner in ways I don't think you see with any other companion

the thing is I do personally think that rose as the romantic arc makes rose less interesting than she is, and that's a flaw in the show, but I think giving hers and the doctor's run a slightly different eye, that is absolutely supported by the canon, also opens up all of her other traits, that make her so iconic -- only seeing rose through the lens of romance does her a disservice, there is a bunch more going on there in s2...

but like yeah, I get that there was some david tennant so-called sex appeal, which, yeah whatever, and billie piper was a former famous popstar, and people also do ship them romantically (and that's fine), but I think to focus on that aspect in order to say why rose isn't appealing kind of ignores everything else she is and represents on the show for something you can just read in another way easily and more interestingly and supported by the text

like people will throw around "asexual doctor" but I don't think they know enough about aromanticism (which is what they really mean) to understand how to read that in a text. deeply symbiotic relationships can be aromantic, can be platonic, and can be one-sided or messed up or or...

embrace the symbiosis of the doctor and rose in s2 that is inherently also kind of fucked up and doomed because of their deliberate blinkered perspective of the future even after the sarah-jane episode and the madame du pompadour episode which are screaming at them that things are ending soon!!! It's compelling stuff. it's not necessary to read it as romantic

give rose tyler her due as the ghost that haunts the narrative

[viviennevermillion]

Benjamin Linus Trivia Headcanons

should i start writing for this fandom? would i get an audience from like, the 10 active lost blogs on tumblr.com? i can do reader-inserts and general stuff. have some random ben headcanons that live rent-free in my brain

warnings: some angst, mentions of child abuse (all my homies hate roger linus)

Ben learned to cook when he was still a kid. Roger didn't have a lot of interest in cooking anything and was probably fine living off microwaveable DHARMA meals and dry cereal. Ben often stayed over at Annie's house for dinner and learned early on how to manipulate conversations so they'd end with the adults giving him food or letting him stay for lunch or dinner because aside from that he didn't really get a lot of warm meals. Sandwiches were one of the first things he learned to make but it quickly evolved into complicated meals. He only ever cooked when his father was at work so Roger wouldn't demand to have some of the food as well and reprimand him if it wasn't to his liking. Ben eventually taught Alex how to cook.

Ben had the typical abused kid habit of hoarding stuff under his bed and wherever he could best hide his possessions in his room because he feared his father wouldn't approve of them or destroy them when he was drunk and enraged by a minor inconvenience.

This became a habit that continued way into adulthood. A lot of his drawers have secret compartment where he keeps items that aren't necessarily secret or vital to his plans but just a little more valuable to him than everything else he owns.

Ben became so used to lying as his default that after he becomes Hurley's #2 he has to actively correct himself. Hurley would ask him a question and Ben's immediate response is to lie before he goes "oh wait hold on-" and then says the truth.

After Alex dies, everytime he's in mortal danger he's struggling with the thought that now no one's going to remember the real him or hardly anything about him that wasn't based on a lie if he died

His favorite songs are "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel and "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra.

Has gone to Jacob's cabin at least once to rant about how much he thinks Goodwin sucks

One of those people who brush their teeth before breakfast

The thought that Jacob might not actually exist is definitely something that has occurred in Ben's mind and he tried to push that idea away everytime it creeped up on him.

Worst hay fever known to man. Is fine on the island but everytime he leaves it in spring or summer he has to pop 2 allergy pills a day to function normally

Has these cute little cat sneezes. People have definitely tried not to laugh about it in his presence.

He has never been held as a kid and it's very noticeable

Ben has been in many situations where his life was in danger but two of them include choking on cereal and attempting to teach himself how to drive after Roger refused to do it

Has never been drunk. Only over his dead body would he put himself into a situation where he's at risk of spilling all his secrets in an intoxicated state.

The music that plays in the bear cage when you earn a fish biscuit doesn't actually come from the DHARMA Initiative; it isn't in the Hydra Orientation video even though there's sound when they activate that mechanism. Ben added that music in retrospect for his own personal amusement. Definitely sat in the surveillance room snickering to himself whenever Sawyer got a fish biscuit.

He tried to draw an identikit of Jacob solely based on Richard's descriptions on more than one occasion.

[shadowqueenjude]

What transpired between the end of TBOSAS and the epilogue? Part 1:

Coriolanus still didn't believe this was all real.

He was certain that he'd wake up the next morning in a bunk bed in District 12 and this would all be a very strange dream.

Classes start Thursday.

He had already accepted a life as a Peacekeeper, becoming an officer, and working his way back to the Capitol that way, hopefully taking Lucy Gray back with him. It simply made no sense that the life he had so desperately wanted was suddenly within reach again, and due to Dr. Gaul, no less.

She was the one who had ruined his life, sending him to the Districts. The only bright spots in it all had been Sejanus (though he was loathe to admit it) and Lucy Gray. Smiley, Bug, and Beanpole had been decent enough, he supposed, but he wouldn't have survived as long as he did without them. Why, he had been contemplating the merits of suicide before Sejanus had showed up.

Oh no. Sejanus. It was all his fault-

Coriolanus wasn't sure at what point he fell asleep, but his dreams were anything but restful. He was back in the forest, the eerie echoes of the mockingjays singing in Lucy Gray's voice pounding in his ears. He clenched the gun like it was his lifeline, shooting like crazy. "LUCY GRAY!" he bellowed. Had that happened in reality? To be quite honest, he did not remember. The entire thing was a fever dream.

His dreams changed, and he had tears in his eyes as he listened to Lucy Gray sing a song to him. At last, a song dedicated to him and him alone.

This world, it's dark This world, it's scary I've taken some hits, so No wonder I'm wary It's why I Need you You're as pure as the driven snow

It was a lie. Lucy Gray didn't know how terrible a person he was. She didn't know that he had betrayed and murdered his best friend. For that's what he was- no matter how much he had tried to deny it to himself. Somewhere in between being constantly irritated by him and protecting him, he had grown to genuinely care for him. It was so difficult to come to terms with the fact that he had caused his death.  And impossible, apparently, for Lucy Gray, who had run away into the forest the moment she had realized.

Well, it is not as if he was very good at hiding it. What had he said?

 “Myself. I killed the old me so I could come with you.”

What a stupid thing to say. It was such a terrible lie that he wouldn't have believed himself. Why hadn't he just admitted that he had killed Sejanus? 

Because you couldn't accept it yourself, Lucy Gray whispered in his mind. Trust is important. I think it’s more important than love. I mean, I love all kinds of things I don’t trust. Thunderstorms . . . white liquor . . . snakes. Sometimes I think I love them because I can’t trust them, and how mixed up is that?

That's what he was. He was a snake. But how was she any better? She had used him, made him feel for her in ways that he still can't understand. Those people who had crossed her, Mayfair and Billy Taupe, had wound up dead. She was an even more venomous snake than him. He cursed at himself. Wicked woman. Billy Taupe had been right when he'd warned Coriolanus to stay away from her. She would be his ruin still. 

His tendency to obsess meant that he could not stop thinking of alternative scenarios where everything had gone well and everything worked out happily ever after.

"The third was Sejanus. I didn't kill him directly, but...I reported his rebel activities in the hope that he'd be returned to the Capitol and his father and he'd be off of my hands, but instead they'd executed him for it."

Lucy Gray's shadowed-blue eyes peered at him, seemingly seeing right through him. And though he was fully clothed in his dream, he'd never felt more naked. "Now do you see? The Capitol's way of justice? We are better off without it."

Coryo clasped her hands. "I agree. What they did to Sejanus is monstrous. Best we stay here." He laid his head on Lucy Gray's shoulder, her doing the same to him. Everything was so perfect, the forest breeze so crisp and lovely, a far cry from the overheated District heat, a pleasant silence hanging between them. 

"Will they miss you yet?" Lucy Gray asked. "Not until dinner," Coryo assured her. "What about you?" “Only one up when I left was Tam Amber. I told him I was going to find out about a goat. We’ve been talking about building a herd. Sell the milk as a sideline. I’ve probably got a few more hours before they start looking. Might be night before they think about the hanging tree and find the wagon. They’ll put it together.” The dream fast-forwarded to Coryo's discovery of the guns. Coryo holding Lucy Gray's hand with both of his own, pleading with her. "Lucy Gray, with these guns gone, I can return to the Capitol! I can go back to my old life! I have an officer's position waiting for me." Lucy Gray ripped her hand away from his own. "And you would leave me now? To...what? Get your shiny new badge?"

Coriolanus turned pleading eyes to her. "I love you, I swear! But I can't live in this world with no rules, no order, surviving off of rats!"

Lucy Gray tossed her hair back. "Your need for control," she whispered, "will be your downfall."

No no no! he screamed at his dream. Change that! 

His mind rewinded a few seconds. "I love you, I swear! But I can't live in this world with no rules, no order, surviving off of rats!"

Lucy Gray grabbed his shoulders. "I understand, Coryo. And wherever you go, I go with you! Once you become a man of influence, we can work to change the system for the better. Together. Bring freedom to all."

Coriolanus puffed up his chest, beaming. "Yes. But what about Mayor Lipp?"

Lucy Gray raised a brow. "Why, the forest isn't the only place full of rats."

Coriolanus blinked. "You don't mean to ask me to poison the mayor?"

Lucy Gray shrugged. "Do you want me to be able to come with you or not?"

Well, there was no need to answer that. Of course he wanted her to come with him. "It will probably be easier than surviving in the forest, anyhow."

"This will also be for our survival. You know that, don't you, Coryo?" Lucy Gray asked. Coriolanus nodded. "Of course. We're both Victors. Killing to survive is not new to us." Coriolanus thought for a moment. He had that flight today. They had a few hours to kill Mayor

The dream fast-forwarded to Lucy Gray and Coryo standing before Mayor Lipp's dying body, his pathetic faded grey suit looking even worse as the life slowly ebbed out of him.

"They'll-have-your-head-for-this," he gasped, one pale hand reaching out, as if he could harm anyone in the state he was in. Coriolanus only smiled. "How will they prove it? By the time they discover you, we'll be long gone. How will they ever find out it's us?" Lucy Gray blew him a kiss, and together the two of them snuck out the back door, elation in their hearts. 

"She's with me," Coriolanus said, his voice radiating with authority to the attendant waiting by the hovercraft. "But sir, we have no room for her here," the woman said. Her lips were painted purple, and her auburn hair was smoothed back in a low ponytail at the base of her head. "That won't be a problem," Lucy Gray said sweetly, adding a titter to the end of her sentence. "You see, Coryo and I are a matching set; we belong on the same seat."

Indeed, Lucy Gray sat on Coriolanus's lap the entire time, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist as they periodically began kissing each other. People stopped what they were doing to stare at them. Let them stare. Let them see that Lucy Gray belonged to him.

He woke up then, half-expecting Lucy Gray to be lying in bed beside him, but found his sheets cold and empty, and reality came crashing down on him like a boatload of bricks. He sprinted into the shower of this pathetic little place Tigris and Grandma'am were now living in after they had lost their house, taking heaving breaths as his sobs came heavily, his eyes so blurred with tears that he could not see half a foot in front of him. Lucy Gray. Sejanus. Lucy Gray. Sejanus. Lucy Gray. Sejanus. Lucy Gray. Sejanus. 

He tried to throw up, but there was no food to throw up. 

Lucy Gray, my love, where art thou gone, leaving me desolate?

He stayed in that shower for ages, hoping he would drown. Unfortunately, he did not. He dried himself off with the cheap towels that made his skin chafe, wondering if he would have to live in this pathetic world without his Lucy Gray in this pathetic house for the next four years. He walked out of the room, and he ran into Pluribus Bell. His long beard wiggled as he spoke to Coriolanus. "There's someone here to see you, Coriolanus." Nonplussed, Coriolanus walked towards the rackety wood door. 

Strabo Plinth was the last person he'd expected to see standing there. "Coriolanus." Coriolanus almost raised his hand to salute, an instinct drilled into him during his Peacekeeper days. "Mr. Plinth."

His salt and pepper hair was perfectly gelled to one corner of his forehead, his black eyes appearing to be grilling him. His jaw had the slightest bit of stubble which made him look all the more severe. His loud violet suit was immaculate as usual. However, Coriolanus could've sworn there was something sad in his expression, as though he were mourning.

Sejanus, Coriolanus scolded himself. He's mourning his son, idiot.

Guilt was a slick, oily feeling in his gut. It suddenly became an effort to meet Mr. Plinth's eyes. Had Dr. Gaul told Strabo how Coriolanus had caused his death? Fear turned Coriolanus's body to lead.

"As you know, my son Sejanus, is dead," he said. No mincing words with this man. His voice shook on the last word, and Coriolanus held back tears of his own before he realized tears would make him look a lot more sympathetic before Strabo, and he let them out. sniffing and wiping the corner of his eye. "Yes," Coriolanus murmured.

Strabo took a deep breath, as though trying his hardest not to cry. "The house feels so empty without him. I know he was a little shy and silly, but...he was our boy. He had a good heart. I can't believe he's gone. I warned him. Goddamnit, I warned him, the Capitol was not for the kindhearted." The tears came, and Strabo wiped them away angrily. "Never mind. The reason that I'm here is as follows: my wife needs something to live for. So do I, for that matter. You’ve lost your parents. We’ve lost our son. I was thinking perhaps we could work something out."

Coriolanus blinked. The very scenario he had envisioned weeks ago was occurring now: Strabo offering to bail them out of their situation. "Well..." Coriolanus admitted, "we've lost everything. We have no house, no way to pay for my University education."

"Consider it done. I shall buy the entire apartment complex. You will get your home back, and my wife and I will move into the apartment beneath yours. We will be selling our own house. Too many memories there."

Your fault. Your fault your fault your fault-

"I am humbled before you, sir. I have Tigris and Grandma'am, but I must admit, I have missed the love of a mother," Coriolanus said. He clasped his hands behind him, bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

"It is settled then." Strabo's eyes softened, and he clasped Coriolanus's shoulder. "Thank you, for being a good friend to my son. You were one of the few bright spots in his life." Coriolanus couldn't even feel good about the money he had just gained, because all he could think of was what it had taken to gain it all.

Blood money. 

You are nothing but a monster, Coriolanus Snow.

[that-darn-clown]

so...i mentioned that something i associate with David is "Reality Bending, Reality Fuckery, and Mind Fuckery Due To The Aforementioned Reality Bending/Fuckery," and now i'm gonna elaborate on what i mean by that!!

so...Agony, both Physical and Emotional, can greatly power a spirit if it's absorbed after it's created/manifested by said spirit. this power can include a Lot of cool new abilities, one of which being able to Bend Reality To Your Will, whether Minorly or Majorly.

in order:

David and Malhare/Billy are practically at the exact same power level; able to bend the fabric of Our Reality and create pocket dimensions that they have full control over. if they Want you to experience The Horrors™, then you'll experience The Horrors™ for as long as they see fit to put you through them. whether this includes death or merely Trauma depends on their mood. the good news is that David Doesn't Do This Unless They Believe You've Done Something To Deserve It, whereas Malhare will do it just to see how far they can bend you until you break. Metaphorically and/or Literally.

Charlie is just a step below in power, being unable to affect Our Reality, but being able to create pocket dimensions that he has full control over. see: The Party Room (Happiest Day/where the spirits usually congregate when they're not messing around in the Living World) and The Memory Realm (Fnaf 3 Good Ending Minigames; kinda exactly what it sounds like - the twisted versions of the MCI kids' memories from before they died).

William (as Springtrap) is at the very bottom; he's only able to fuck around with sound, and maybe electronics/lights. not much else (see: how he was able to manipulate Hudson).

now...for David specifically, what they did was blur the lines between Reality and a pocket dimension they call "The Abandoned/Forgotten." it's effectively just the Fazbear Backrooms™ that follows Weirdcore Logic. it also follows the Fae Realm Rules regarding time (aka It's Incredibly Inconsistent; either no time passes or ALL THE TIME PASSES). but the thing is...it takes A Lot to piss David off enough to get them to pull you in there. specifically, You've Got To (purposefully) Be Disrespectful To The Other Spirits (aka Being Frustrated At The Robots Coming To Kill You, And Lashing Out Due To That Frustration? You're Good. Throw Soda/Coffee On The Animatronics, And Insult Them/Be A Dick Purposefully? Say Goodbye To Your Kneecap Privileges).

i know, a version of the Vengeful Spirit that seems to have Charlie-Like Awareness and directs their anger more at William than the nightguards (nine times out of ten)? different, but i thought it'd be a cool direction to take it :]

but...there is someone who doesn't fall into either the William or Asshole Employee categories.

and that's William's new business partner after Henry left: Logan Lucke (pronounced the same as Luck).

Logan is...Very Morally Questionable. as in, he would never kill anyone, But He'd Gladly Help William Cover Up Those Murders And Other Shady Shit. it's partially why William picked him.

well...he Had been William's partner up from 1984...to late 1993.

Logan, due to ignoring William's bullshit, and even helping to cover it up, pissed David the hell off.

he just...vanished at the pizzeria one evening, William couldn't find him, thought he'd just gone home. then one month passed...then two...and eventually it was clear that Logan was fucking gone.

it wasn't until five months later that they just...found him in the playroom at Freddy's one morning in early 1994. the odd part was that every time they turned away and looked back, it was like his wounds, injuries, and state of decomposition changed. one second he looked freshly dead with a gunshot wound, the next he looked like he was dead a few years and was stabbed. it wasn't until he was gotten to a coroner that they were able to find an accurate Cause and Time of death: he died just a few minutes before he was discovered, and he was mauled to death by something. this, of course, still raised the questions of where he went, why he went there, what happened to him, and why he turned back up in the Freddy's Playroom of all places, especially since nobody else was seen entering or leaving that room. not a trace.

...so knowing all of that, it's kinda easy to see how David was able to so easily create UCN and put William in there. (well, in universe, the ghosts refer to UCN as "The Red Lake," since that's technically where it's located. well, William calls it Hell, but. that's neither here nor there)

Holy shit thats absolutely fascinating. Im obsessed with the fazbackrooms

[permafrown]

"essays" in question btw in regards to Irene + Irene/Jonathan 👇 they're very informal bc I just copied and pasted my own messages LMAO

ABOUT IRENE:

SO THIS IS MY SILLY BILLY IRENE CHURCHILL aka "The Undertaker" !!

Their whole thing is that they moved to Gotham, right.. initially being from the Midwest and so they're there as an Embalmer for the GCPD. They end up picking up a side gig as a body disposal service for Gotham's criminal underbelly just like. Completely by accident. They did it once for Penguin but after that it's what they became Known For and like they'd get shady mfs at their door like. 🕴️ we got a job for ya and they're like. 😔 I guess this is what I do now ⚰

They don't kill anybody they just take care of a deed that's already been done, in exchange for money and favors they can cash in. They consider themselves a "Modern-Day Charon" bc of the morbid but neutral role they play.

EVENTUALLY they decide they want to do a little more with themselves and one thing leads to another and . . . they get into experimenting w/ reanimating corpses specifically after modifying a sample of Jonathan's fear toxin into what they call Vie (short for Vie a la Mort bc they're fake french). It bites them in the ass and they die and then are brought back with their own creation and now they're The Cooler Irene

ABOUT IRENE AND JONATHAN:

if I were to like generalize instead of basing it around pre-existing comics .. I'd say Irene and Jonathan probably met at something like a gala/charity event that Gotham University was hosting and members of the GCPD were invited to including Irene bc Jim Gordon was like. We have got to get you out of that morgue and socializing spending all that time around dead bodies isn't good for you. And they're just like. Ok 😗👍

SO THEY MEET JON AT THIS PARTY that they're both like half-heartedly attending for one reason or another. and they're like wowww.. this guy's weird (twirling hair). Theyre talking to eachother getting along well. And well since Irene doesn't know abt Scarecrow and (at this point) Jon doesn't know about Undertaker they're both just kinda thinking to themselves - this guy's definitely hiding something.

SO IT'S THIS STUPID LIKE. ROMCOM ASS DEVELOPMENT of them gradually spending more and more time around eachother falling in-love in the process being in denial about it ETC

and then one Halloween. Irene's first Halloween in Gotham there's a fall festival that Jonathan had invited Irene to and they're like oh hell yeah. They dress as a plague doctor with a small twist that ends up saving their ass (the mask actually functions as a mask) so they go and they're waiting for Jonathan just chillin and then BOOM there's a scarecrow attack and everything's in shambles around 'em there's people screaming and what not. Except for Irene who like in the midst of it all sees Scarecrow and their ass FALLS IN-LOVE thinking he's just a scare actor

They just kinda go home after like wow what a wild night lol. and then they hear police sirens outside at where the festival was and they're like . I'm starting to think that whole ordeal wasn't part of the festivities.

SO they see a news segment talking about a scarecrow attack and they're like scarecrow.... AND they rmbr how they hadn't seen Jonathan that night and it's not like him to no-show esp not when he made the plans so they're connecting the dots like . . . Uh oh 😨 ( <- experiencing heart palpitations but brother it's not fear)

SO THEY JUST. HAVE TO GO ON PRETENDING THEY DONT KNOW SHIT LIKE ahh damn jonathan shame I didnt see you last night. Yeah no I wasn't even there I had to feed my fish.

AND THENNNNN as Undertaker they have scarecrow as a client once and they're normal about it. like maybe he doesn't know. and then it happens again shortly after but this time they're like 🤨 this body you want gone isn't even fresh man the rove beetles are getting to it it's been out for atleast a week and Scarecrow's like. How would you know that if you weren't involved in the forensics or perhaps even mortuary field. Irene. and they're like FUUUUCK 😭

SO THAT'S HOW HE FINDS OUT BC HE SET THEM UP and then they take off eachother's masks/veil and it's all tense and they kiss sloppy style THE END

[looneyleyle]

so, so pretty ~ b. loomis

synopsis: a party? while a masked killer is on the loose? what a great idea.

warnings: ghostface, scream-typical violence

words: 647

becca's pov

the last thing i remembered was being knocked out by the one and only masked murderer.

how did i get there? let's look at what happened.

stu, being the idiotic shithead that he is, decided that the best time to throw a party would be when a masked killer is on the loose, slicing up a bunch of high schoolers. i wouldn't have gone, but billy insisted. no, he didn't insist, he begged me to go. he all but got on his knees and pleaded for me to go. i didn't understand what the big deal was, i told him we could just watch horror movies in my room instead, but he was dead set on going to this party.

so, being the good hook up buddy i am, i obliged.

how did i become billy's hook up buddy? well, after sid accused him of being the killer, their relationship came to an abrupt end. not that they had been doing very well prior to that. so, when billy showed up at my door one night, telling me that him and sid were over, i knew exactly what he wanted. i mean, being a rebound hook up didn't feel great, but when a hot man comes to your door asking to hook up, you don't say no.

so, i went to his friend's dumb party, even though he wasn't even there. he told me he would be a bit late, but after an hour of party festivities, i figured he wasn't gonna show. i instead spent my time with randy and the others on the couch, watching halloween. with the news of the principal being hung by the field posts, the crowd thinned until it was just me and randy. i couldn't pay attention to the movie, i had watched it nearly a hundred times. and where had everyone gone? i mean, a couple dudes left to check out mr. himbry's body, but where was everyone else.

"hey randy, i'll be right back, i'm gonna go check on something." i told him. i tensed up as soon as the words left my mouth, and so did he.

"becca!! you of all people should know the rules!" i mumbled an apology to him but left the room nonetheless, with him muttering something about finding me with my throat slit later on. i first went to check upstairs, assuming at least stu and tatum would be up there. the bedrooms were all empty, so i made my way back downstairs. as soon as i got to the last steps, i saw something move out of the corner of my eye. i turned towards the living room just in time to see the killer raise their hand and strike me hard on the head.

when i came to, i was being shaken. i opened my eyes to see billy, covered in blood.

"becca, baby, are you ok??" he asked, concern etched onto his pretty face.

"yeah, i think so, but, fuck" i cried, feeling the stinging sensation on my cheek. billy reached out to my face, gliding a finger over whatever was hurting me. his finger came back covered in blood, in my blood. i felt like i was going to faint. billy came closer to me, quietly shushing me as i began to hyperventilate. tears prickled my eyes, what had happened?

billy leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.

"becca, baby?" he whispered to me. i let out a slight whimper, urging him to continue. he brought his lips towards my ear, kissing my neck on the way, before whispering,

"you look so pretty covered in blood."

and with that, a sharp pain erupted in my stomach. i looked down to see billy's hand plunging a knife straight into me. he then twisted the knife, bringing a whole new level of pain to my body.

"so, so pretty."

[talessculpted]

@snkts || Plotted starter

Wade was bored.

And when Wade was bored, he had a way of making that everyone else's problem. Even the music had gone since bored him, and letting his hand 'swim' in the wind could only entertain him for so long before even that became dull. So he spoke, he spoke and spoke and showed no signs of shutting up anytime soon. That is, until he spotted something that caught his attention.

"Stop the car!" he said.

Not even waiting for Logan to do so as he was already opening the door and stepping out before he even finished saying the word 'car', he rolled in what to any other human would have been a painful and injury-inducing landing, but stood up like nothing and jogged over to what caught his attention, motioning for Logan to come over.

"If I got a blowjob for each decapitated Sabertooth I've seen here, I would be a happy camper," he said. "This isn't the one that lost his head because of you though— that looks JUST like my baby knife."

The head in question was stuck to a pike. The spine still attached to the skull, the bones dry from exposure to the sun and the elements. But the severed flesh of the neck still dripped blood. It was old, but it was not dead, these Howletts weren't easy to get rid of. Yet, it seemed someone had found a way to at least stop this Sabertooth using one of Deadpool's signature baby knives, the handle of which currently stuck out of the head's left eye, with the blade completely disappearing into the head. Most likely piercing the brain, keeping it from regenerating. But also keeping it from dying if the fresh blood at the base of the pike was anything to go by. Keeping the head fresh and displayed as a warning.

"Somebody doesn't like your brother~" Wade said with a sing along tone, even as his hand patted his side to make sure HIS baby knife was still on its holster. It was. "This wasn't done by a Me though. If it was me, I wouldn't have left him here– I like having somebody to talk to."

His attention was quickly pulled away from the very obvious warning to turn around and leave, which he completely ignored in favor of gushing over the building that laid just past it.

"A Mark's?!" Wade practically squealed. "How did the best clothing story in all of Canada end up here?! Come on, Wolvie!"

A clothing store in a place where every resource except people who wanted to kill you was so scarce should have been a clear sign of a trap, and yet Wade was already headed for the building, rambling about how it'd been his birthday before getting thrown here and how he deserved a gift, about also getting a gift for Vanessa– then it turned into a gift for Colossus, Negasonic, Yukio, everyone.

Wade didn't make it far.

It was as if he'd stepped on a landmine. He heard the soft click under his boot and without even being given time to lift it and get a look, there was an explosion of barbed wire that ensnared his leg. He went down with a scream, some unseen mechanism dragging him deeper into the store. Until he lied on his face beside the body of Sabertooth. Trapped just as he was.

"I found the rest of him," Wade groaned when he heard footsteps approaching, believing them to be Logan. "Help me get– oh."

Above him stood a cloaked figure, face hidden by the green hood and the fact the person had their back turned to the entrance– not like much light reached this part of the store anyway.

Silver Fox stood over the intruder: another Deadpool— as far as she knew, another one of Cassandra's minions. Mouthy and reckless as they all were. But she wouldn't have to listen to that annoying voice for much longer. One of daredevil's billy clubs, courtesy of Elektra, between her hands; upgraded with a steel fiber composite cable to make it useful to deal with the type of bastard that just didn't stay dead. She straddled his back, trapping his arms against his body with her thighs.

"Oh no, no no no no!" The cable went around Wade's neck and got pulled back, tightening and beginning to tear through fabric. Soon to tear through skin and muscle. "My safe word is Pumpkin butter!" Wade cried out, voice strained. "Pumpkin butter! Pumpkin butter! Logan!"

[charlesdesvoeux]

terror rewatch time!!! i'll be using this post to comment on ep. 8 "terror camp clear" block the tag terrorwatch2 if you'd like :-)

fitzier drinking out of the same canteen. closest they've come to kissing (so far)

id forgotten jfj calls francis "brother" first, as he starts to recount his family story. also how crozier counters him saying he's a fake by saying that biographers could tally up his acts of valor.... but it's not about that, it's not about the Official History, it's not about the things the great men write in the memoirs- it's about the truth, and the memoirs written by men like john ross are about performance and conforming to certain expectations, not about Truth. They're about spinning a narrative. James has been spinning a narrative about himself his entire adult life, and as he lies agonizing in the edge of life, in the edge of "civilization", he's tired of lies.

"james fitzjames. like a bad pun" I love you forever.

obviously they're suffering. like. a lot. but if they hadn't reached that distance from "civilization" perhaps jfj would never have confronted himself with the truth of his shame and vanity. we need all these trappings of "respectable" society to be washed away before we can reach a fundamental truth about ourselves. you know. "we have reached the end of vanity" "then you are free"

"irving and farr's bodies were put through something I can't even find English words for" so of course- the evil savages must be blamed. but no, lieutenant hodgson- this was a crime done by English hands.

hickey SPINNING A WHOLE YARN which he used to commit an act of unspeakable cruelty towards the inuit family...... man you should've been an actor. also the clear anger on his face when jopson interrupts him and the way he TRIES TO SPIN THE CAPTAIN'S SUMMONING as something he was already gonna do anyway..... you're so fucking terrible.

"they're going to build a proper perimeter with or without us" poor ned being caught between a rock and a hard place. "they ARE us edward" no they're not..... they've never been.... you've never acted like they were.... and sergeant tozer needs to keep his men safe....

bridglar :-(((( clinging desperately to the idea that each will be fine....

the scene with the netsilik party is so heartbreaking. nive nielsen is outstanding.

des voeux you are such an insane despicable little shithead. also easily my favorite terror tertiary character. transparent fucking liar.

sol's smile bc its just such a blatant lie and then "damn it all". yes sol you just did.

hodgson being like "well maybe I fucked it up. maybe I just helped to kill a bunch of innocent people" i mean yes hodge you did. also "all we have are our instincts and training" is imo a line that tells us a lot about ned. and then he relays the story about like his relative and the supposed attack by the "savage" comanche as a way to reassure himself.

and poor ned. they're already armed, they're not gonna fucking relinquish their weapons. all he can do is kinda sign off on it to preserve some sense of order- a SENSE of order, but no, not actual order- that was long gone.

when collins is high walking through the camp he reaches out to hug another guy.... I feel like he's so desperate for a chance to connect with another human being, to feel fully human again :-(

goodsir and silna.... goodsir desperately clinging the idea that this isn't who they are, this isn't what they are.....

billy is already looking half fucking dead here. "you'll have the entire rest of your long lives...." but I mean. do we think at this point billy was already aware that he wasn't long for this world? like. his symptoms were only really REALLY bad later but he was clearly already sick. and they hadn't planned on taking goodsir afaik. or were they already sure they'd kidnap him?

godddd hodge and little during irving's autopsy. and I must once again advance my idea that there's a parallel between "worst kind of sorry" and "worst kind of second"

"put one of the mates in charge of the armory" and jfj instantly going "des voeux" like. there was some trust there!!!! and oh boy it was entirely unearned. I mean. maybe not entirely but at that point charles was NOT IT.

HICKEY JUST LYING THERE WITH HIS HAND ALMOST REACHING INTO HIS PRICK AND HIS ARM CUSHIONING HIS HEAD LIKE HES SOME KIND OF PLAYBOY COVER GIRL. BEATIFIC SMILE AND FUCKY EYES. SORRY HE JUST SERVES TOO MUCH CUNT.

"He would have burned through you like fuel, lied to you and used you to your last muscle" and well. turns out crozier was right.

the expression on sol's face when they realize actually hickey killed irving. very interesting. but it's kind of a sunken cost fallacy right??? he's already invested too much on this damn mutiny to back off now. and besides- if he stays there, he'll be executed. so yeah this guy you trusted just killed two other guys in cold blood but you can't back out now so.

E.C'S SHITTY LITTLE IRISH ACCENT OH MY GOD. HE SAID I NEED TO SERVE CUNT IN MY EXECUTION AND HE DID.

"edward, that's your name, isn't it? edward" aaaaaaa this is so cool and so important. ranks don't matter anything now. not a goddamn thing. also tommy saving his love ❤️

the look of terror on sol's face as he watches collins' soul be consumed by tuunbaq. DAVID WALMSLEY THE ACTOR THAT YOU ARE

[darkwants]

snorting, ezra couldn't say that he was a stranger to loud, angry men. he'd grown up with one, and he could even be one at times, but somehow he never felt like he was quite as angry or as loud as his dad had ever been, the man looming as large as a grizzly in ezra's memory. with something like that in the back of your brain, it was easy to compare still living threats to memories and go 'this isn't so bad' and to take risks because nothing was ever as scary as the demons in your head, even if you loved them. "yeah, well, if it gets that bad, chances are he'll feel my reaction," ezra muttered, but like fucking hell was he going to let the man scream at billie for being his soulmate.

her father was going to be an issue, but he wasn't the only issue they were going to face. hopefully some of them would be cleared out by the end of the night, but they still had to get to know each other as partners and figure out what they expected of each other. "an understatement, huh?" ezra huffed out, amused by her remark. "guess we'll find out. i figured it's only fair to ask you what you want out of this relationship and what you're expecting from it. although i can tell you right now that it's probably not going to be the hallmark movie of your dreams." mostly because hallmark movies weren't real, and partially because hallmark wouldn't air something that even hinted at how kinky he wanted his life with her to be.

drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, billie's question was a simple one, but his answer wasn't so simple and he was a little surprised that she couldn't at least guess at part of the reason he wanted to see it - didn't she want to see his again? "did you know that life expectancy has gone down for the second year in a row for america?" he finally said after a pause. "it's the lowest it's been in two decades, and men live shorter lives than women by a handful of years. neither of my parents made it to their seventies, so by my math, i'm two thirds dead and i just found my soulmate. it took me years of living next to you to finally see my mark on someone else's skin and it happened by accident. most people never get to meet their soulmate and i just want to see what marks you as mine again and know i really beat the odds on this one."

"we probably can't," she admitted, knowing that he was right. she knew how her father could be. yet she wanted to avoid thinking about that. there were more important things for her to be concerned with. mostly because the truth had come out and she was still trying to process it. she truly hadn't expected ezra to react the way that he had. it meant that they had to figure out how to move forward. yet she was frozen when he mentioned that he wanted her to let him know if her dad started hassling her. she found herself nodding slowly," i'm sure you'll hear his reaction." after all she knew that her father yelling was something that could easily be heard next door.

it was nerve wracking to think of all the change that was about to happen. they certainly had quite a bit to discuss such as what happened when the truth got out. there were expectations that most people had about soulmates. since they were so rare they even had to register and all of that. she knew that it was likely her father would want to twist it up somehow to his advantage. she had no clue if ezra would expect her to keep going the way that she always had. something that she wasn't even sure she was capable of given how exhausted she felt most of the time.

it was a relief that he seemed to understand that she was going to need him to be patient. mostly because she had never been in any sort of relationship. she found herself nodding," that feels kind of like an understatement." she only knew the basics about him because of the fact that he hung around her father. she knew what he was like when he had been drinking, when he was tired etc. he had also been the only one to do a few nice things for her. she had no idea what had made her use that word when asking him what he wanted. yet he wasn't correcting her or saying anything different. she glanced out the window before glancing back at him," i figured you aren't entirely unreasonable." yet she knew that he likely would end up surprising her," can i ask you why you want to see the mark again?"

[50calmadeuce]

Ch. 35: Scott

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Top Gun: Maverick world, trademarked by Paramount Pictures Corporation. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the world that I am borrowing.

The story and situation I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to official story canon. This work is for entertainment only and is not a part of the storyline.

I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story, but I do hope it gives you happy thoughts.

These stories are my own, so please do not take them and use them for yourself without my permission. If you see them somewhere else, please let me know. :)

WARNING: This chapter is about being held captive. There's is one slap and some swearing, but other than that, that's it. If that is a trigger, please don't read.

You moaned as you struggled to open your eyes and you tried to move your hands and feet, but realized they were tied.

"Fuck," you say as your eyes started to clear and your head started to hurt. Thankfully your mouth wasn't covered, but you were in the middle of nowhere, so who would hear you?

You looked down and saw you were tied to a chair in a room that held a single bed and one single bulb lit up the room. You faced a closed door.

Scott had taken off your jacket and boots and found all of your weapons. You sigh, wondering how long you'd been out.

Just then, you see the doorknob turn, the door open and Scott came walking in.

"How was your nap?"

"Where am I?"

"You're in the wrong situation to be asking me questions, Y/N. Let's try this again. How was your nap?"

Your eyes opened wide in shock from his response. This wasn't the Scott you knew. "Fine, for being forced to nap."

He grinned evilly. "Well, then to answer your question, somewhere no one will find you."

Realization hit you. "You sent me the text."

"Isn't technology grand?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm taking what is mine."

Puzzled, you look at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You, Y/N. You should be mine." His blue eyes started looking crazy. "You should be married to me! I've failed and mother is not happy."

You just look at him. "Your mother?"

"I was hidden. The bastard. Christian was the Golden child."

Your eyes get wide. "What?!"

"She had an affair. That's why they divorced. She was pregnant with me."

"Holy shit. You mean, Celine," you say as the realization really hit you.

"Christian joined the military to get away from everything. He wasn't supposed to fall in love. He was supposed to die and leave us everything!"

Appalled by his statement, you look at him. "You were trying to kill Christian? I'm sure if you would've just talked to him..."

"Talk to Christian?" he scoffed. "His dad had him so controlled."

You shook your head. "No. Christian wasn't like that."

"How would you know? You only knew him for 3 weeks before you married him, and he was gone a majority of your marriage!" He threw his hands around. "And then you got pregnant with little Christian." He looked at you angrily. "That ended everything, so Mother came up with the plan for me to marry you."

"Scott. Still. This isn't right."

"How the fuck do you know what's right? You go on vacation and get married a week after meeting a guy! What does he have that I don't?"

You stare him dead in the eyes. "Jake has confidence, compassion, understanding, but most of all a heart full of love."

Scott stepped toward you and slapped you so hard your head turned. "I could've given you all of that!" He left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Sitting in the kitchen and the island, Sheila looked at her watch and then at Montgomery. It was almost eleven at night. "Shouldn't Y/N be home by now?"

Trying not to show concern, he answered. "I would think so."

Sheila's phone rang and she looked at it. It was Jake. She looked at Montgomery, showing him the phone and then answered it. "Hey, son!"

"Momma. How are you?"

"Good, you?"

"I'm fine. Listen. I tried calling Y/N, but it kept going to her voicemail. That's not like her."

"Oh, she's in bed honey. She wasn't feeling too well."

"Really?" Jake questioned. "Oh, well, I was calling to tell her I was coming home for Christmas."

"Oh, Jakey! She's going to be so happy! I'd wake her, but she really needs some rest."

"Okay. Well, tell her I called."

"I will son. Love you!"

"Love you too."

Sheila looked at Montgomery. "Jake knows something is up."

Montgomery picked up his phone and dialed a number.

Jake looked at Phoenix after he hung up with his mom. "Something is wrong. If you tried and I tried and she's not answering, something is wrong."

"Agreed. I've known Y/N for twenty years. She's never not had her phone on in case of emergencies."

"Good thing this mission is done. Hopefully we can catch an earlier flight home when we reach land."

[msookyspooky]

Set Up

Part 4

word count: 2,141

"Are you sure you don't want us to come get you? It's no big deal." Tatum said on the otherline. You heard Sidney mumbled something in the background.

"Oh, yeah. Sid said your parents will get over it. Come on, I can drive or have Dewey pick you up. Give your neighbors something to talk about. He can turn the lights on and make it look like an episode of cops gone wrong."

You chuckled, "Uh, no. I am not."

"Boo."

You sighed with the phone up to your ear. "No, they would be worried sick if they came home and I just wasn't here. Besides, they just went to my grandparents. That's only a 15 minute drive from my house. They should be home any time now. It's raining. No need to come get me. "

"Okay but I'm a phone call away. We can come get you at any time."

"Totally. Bye Tat. Tell Sid I said bye!"

You heard Sidney's voice in the background and smiled to yourself before hanging up.

Time passed. You called Randy as soon as you got home. He was on his way out the door and could tell something was wrong but you didn't say it. What if Billy was telling the truth and Randy was the killer?

You didn't dare tell Sidney or Tatum. You knew Sidney would make an excuse or worry herself more and Tatum would make Billy an even bigger enemy.

Besides, you didn't really have evidence. Just a weird vibe and the gut feeling Billy had been watching you. Even if he was, it wasn't exactly a crime. You just tried telling yourself that he was watching Sidney because of some weird possessive boyfriend bullshit; not you.

Later that night, you curled up on the couch with your pet cat. They purr as you rub their head, your leg gittering nervously.

'Where are you? You should have been home by now.'

You jumped when the phone rang. You hesitated before picking it up. Relieved to hear your parents voice.

"Hey, where are you? It's been hours!"

You listen to them, nodding as they talk.

You stood up, not far from the phone reciever on the end table as your cord was connected. Your kitty watched you pace as you listened.

"Uh huh... So you're stuck at Grandma's house....How long do you think you'll be?"

Your stomach sank a bit. "Oh...No, it's fine...Yeah, the rain isn't helping. No, I'm not calling Tatum. It's almost 10 o clock on a school night...It's okay, I'll be fine!...Yes, I have the doors locked."

You double checked as your parent rambled.

"I know, I know..." You felt uneasy at the news. You decided after how everyone acted today that something was telling you. No, screaming inside you to not go to that party.

You asked. "Actually, do you think we can leave for the weekend? Just wondering....I know, car troubles....Yeah, I love you too. Hopefully I'll be up by time you come home...Love you, bye."

You had a sickly feeling at hearing the news.

'Their brake line was in half... Grandma lives 15 minutes from town. It couldn't be...'

You put your fingers on your temples and took a deep breath.

"Stop. You're scaring yourself. The brake line might have got ripped on some bad road or something."

You turned on your tv, flipping through the channels.

"Local news: A killer is on the loo-"

*flip*

"Three teens dead in a we-"

*flip*

"Woodsboro hasn't seen anything like this sinc-"

"You gotta be kidding." You groaned as you turned the tv off. You groaned and plopped back on the couch. Not even able to escape the killings on the news.

The image of James ran through your head. You never saw a picture, you didn't want to. But knowing it happened made you ill. Yes, the last few months you didn't want him but there were still times of happiness in the beginning.

It didn't make you cry but it made you feel a deep sense of sadness. He may have deserved beat to hell and back at the very least for how he treated you but you still cared to an extent. Not as much as society made you feel you should. He was your boyfriend the entire Summer. It was hard not to care at least a bit. That was the thing with toxic relationships; everyone thinks it's always bad. But the first 2 or 3 months were happy. Something set him off. For some reason, he always mentioned your guy friends. That night, he had a few beers with his guy friends before picking you up. You should have never gotten in that car.

'I hate that one guy. The one with the dark hair.

'Billy? Why? He has Sid.'

'He is looking at you all the time. He looks at you like you're his and it pisses me off.'

'James, you're being ridiculous right now! He is my friends boyfriend; nothing else!"

'Don't get me started on that gangly jackass that's constantly trying to flirt with you. I don't want you around them anymore.'

'They were my friends before we dated, I will not-'

The rest of the memory had your heart racing and you figegiting in your seat.

Your kitty looked at you and you decided that was a sign. Closing your eyes and meantally washing your hands of the awful memory. You opened them to smile sadly at your pet.

"Come on, I think we'll feel safer in my room. Doors locked, windows locked, dresser in front of my door..."

You picked them up as they rubbed against you. You nuzzled them back with a giggle before descending up the stairs.

You made your way to your room when you heard the phone ring.

You froze, the errie feeling you had all day setting in. All alone for the first time since this murder spree happened. Even the night James died, you had your family home with you.

You put your cat down and closed your door. "Stay, I'll be back." You told them as you closed the door and heard the phone continously ring.

You made your way back downstairs. Your bare feet lightly walking as if someone was home. You couldn't help it.

"Okay, it's a school night...Most likely not my friends."

You waited, almost not picking it up as you watched it vibrate and the green square button light up in the corner.

You mumbled to yourself, "But what if it's your family? You have to answer them..."

You bit your lip before shakily grabbing the phone.

"...Hello?" Your voice wobbled as you picked up the phone and peered out your living room window. The cord was strung tight as you tried to look.

"Hello, Y\N. It's not nice to ignore people calling you." The voice was camouflaged on the other line.

Your stomach sank, pins and needles shooting up your body as you felt your eyes widen. Your mouth was suddenly dry. Your heart hammered in your ears. Your worst fear coming to life. All alone and the Woodsboro killer on the otherline. No one else home, no one nearby. Just you.

"What do you want? This stopped being funny a long time ago!" Your voice shook as you yelled.

"Aww, what is it? You scared, Y\N?"

You tried to see if you saw shadows under the outside lights...But nothing but rain hit the window.

"Look..." You steeled your voice, screaming it in fear. "Okay, look asshole! I'm calling the cops! I've had enough!!"

The line was silent for a moment, the air shifted and the teasing was gone from their voice. "Don't you do it! What if something happens to your family? I think they had car trouble."

"FUCK YOU!" Your hands trembled as panick rose in your throat.

"Ah, ah, ah. Play nice. Don't ruin the fun."

"Fun?!" You swallowed hard. "What part of this is fun?!"

"Everything! Call the cops and the fun has to end soon. That's a drag. Don't be such a sore loser, YN."

" I...I have a gun!"

"Ooh, even better. What other toys do you want to bring out?"

You backed up against a wall, bluffing about the gun but wishing so badly you had it.

"Careful, don't want to end up like your old boyfriend. He cried the entire time. Begged to just end the pain"

"SHUT UP!" You screamed, loud enough to scratch your throat. Just to hear them release maniacle laughter.

You thought to yourself, 'Is this seriously how I die?'

Your mind raced. Just the mention of your boyfriend sending a shiver down your spine. This shit had been going on for weeks and you felt things were finally coming to a head.

The voice spoke up again. "What are you gonna do? Run outside and get caught or play hide and seek? Quickly, YN. " Glee filled laughter sounded on the other line as your eyes darted around your surroundings.

"You're bluffing...Just...Just like all the other times, you're bullshitting me!"

"You really wanna take that chance? Even with your boyfriend's lil accident the other night? I'm on the property this time, YN. Question is...Where am I?"

"I don't give a damn! I told you I'm calling the police!"

"You'll regret it big time. Let's play a game."

You clenched your teeth, breathing heavily as fight or flight mode kicked in.

You ignored them. Staring at your back door a moment before dropping the phone and rushing to make sure your glass sliding door was locked. You released an eye-piercing scream when the figure smacked the glass from the outside.

The long white ghostface mask tilting under the black hood, rain beating down on them. Their leather gloves held a knife in hand as they taunted you. Shaking the knife at you as your stared like a deer in headlights.

You jumped away as they slammed the knife in the glass repeatedly, cracking it as you made your way to the front door. You tried unlocking it, hands slipping on the locks but soon heard glass shatter and footsteps rushing from behind. You barely dodged as a knife pierced the wood above your head.

With no other choice, you ran to the broken back door, now a gaping hole where Ghostface had entered. Jumping past the broken glass in your night clothes.

Tripping but still forcing your legs to run through the wet grass as rain poured outside. You cried as you ran, completely terrified out of your mind.

You didn't even know where you were running as you made your way as far away from your house as you could. It didn't get you far as someone grabbed you behind the shed. You tried to scream but a glove covered your mouth as you were pressed against their chest.

You trembled and tried calculating what had happened. How could they get to the shed so fast?

Your brain didn't have time to think as you were dragged into the shed kicking and screaming.

You saw it, grabbed it, and heard them groan in pain behind you as a heavy metal shovel head was hit upside their face. You searched the wall as they stumbled, grabbing a longer weapon. A garden hoe that you swung violently. Unlucky for you, they ducked in time and lunged. Wrestling you to the ground as you struggled against them.

Cries of help escaped you as they pressed into you, grabbing the stick from your hand before you jerked back and hit them once more.

The hit was hard and at an upward angle, making the mask finally slip. ...Time stopped as the mask fell to the ground....

He groaned in pain, hissing between his teeth. His pain and rage filled glare soon turned into a look that screamed 'oh shit.'

You didn't breath. Your brain processing who you were looking at right now. His short blonde hair was damp and his blue eyes stared down at you.

"Stu?..."

Your voice wavered at seeing who you considered a dear friend disguised as the killer. The same killer that slaughtered your classmates and boyfriend. The same one that tormented you with phone calls. The same one that had everyone scared and accusing each other of being the murderer.

...It was him this whole time...And your heart shattered.

He looked at you desperately, tears spilling down your cheeks as you backpedaled and hit something. Just to see a second ghost face looking down at you as your back hit their leg.

"...Looks like the jig is up."

You recognized the voice as the standing ghostface peeled off their mask as well to reveal your other classmate and friend.

Billy Loomis.

[gracegrove]

This conversation started out civil you know... you jumped straight into the deep end because???? But cool. I'm here for it.

*We don't know that Billy "made her life hell". Did he make Max's life difficult? Yeah. Sure. It's very difficult to deal with, interact with, live with, and try to support anyone in an abusive household especially when you also live in that same household.

You do realize that Max said Billy "made my life a living hell" and that she "wanted him out of my life" as a lure right? Or do you truly just want to interpret that scene that literally. Only at face value. Because if you do... then you also have to accept Max's words (literally) that Max can't forgive herself because she does feel responsible for Billy's death. Why she feels she deserves retribution. And that she feels that if she dies it would be deserved. That's the logic you have to follow. And yet here you are only cherry-picking half of Max's logic because it's easier for you to displace something uncomfortable about a character you like and feel is a victim to remain spotless. You don't want Max to look like she truly cares about Billy or that she herself wished harm on Billy (bc you don't mention that you only mentioned the more tender parts about victimhood).

If the fault lies completely with Billy and Max is only a punching bag to him. And we don't talk at all about how Max feels on the matter in any given breath... we can make it all Billy's fault. Because Billy's a horrible person? Am I getting that right?

You can be angry with someone. You can both hate and love someone. Someone can die and you can feel guilty about it even when there was nothing you could do. You can feel like someone is ruining your life or making it hell or even want them dead... and still love them. People have these kinds of family relationships all the time.

You can also by hyper-fucking-bolic and say your life is hell when in actuality it's just extremely stressful.

When she says she wished Billy would have crashed his car, she mentioned how guilty that makes her feel because she loves him. "I've tried to forgive myself..." "I've tried but I can't" because she genuinely cares about him.

She didn't want Billy out of her life. Max in s3 was speaking with El about how their relationship as siblings was improving. Why would you try to mend a relationship with someone if you don't care about them? Or if you want them gone? You wouldn't. You'd avoid them. The implication was that Max and Billy were growing closer the more they were becoming settled into Hawkins.

If she wanted Billy gone why even run to him after he was impaled by the mindflayer? Why not just continue to stand there in shock like everyone else? Why did she fight when El was separating her from Billy's body? Because she cares about him.

And yes babe, she did have a buffer. The buffer is that she isn't being directly abused by Neil. He is the one who sets both Billy's and Max's environment up to evolve and run in such a toxic dynamic in the first place. If there was no Neil. There would be a much greater chance that Max and Billy's relationship would have room to breathe and heal. There's also a high likelihood that Billy wouldn't be the Billy he became if it wasn't for Neil. So don't take my words out of context and then act like there's no precipitant for Billy's actions when their are.

Babe babe babe. Again with the cherry-picking and taking words out of context. Read what I wrote before you quote it. If I get you super stressed out, make you feel cornered, and just keep pushing and pushing and pushing you until you get to a point where you react and swing at me. In that split second are you (in your mind going to stop and think "oh i shouldn't punch her in her stupid face... that would be wrong.") No. You're just going to straight up swing at me, because you're reacting in a moment of stress. That's the point.

Can you tell yourself after and realize that the behavior was wrong. Yes. Can I tell you after you hit me that the behavior was wrong? Yes. But in the split second, while a reaction is being carried out no one has the capacity to tell themselves "oh i can't do this its wrong". you either have to have the capacity and skills in place to keep yourself from reaching that point in the first place which Billy lacks, or you have to come back to it after the action has occurred.

I never said Billy lacks the capacity to know what he does is wrong, aggressive, or excessive. What I said is that Billy is so hyperaroused because of the abuse he's been subject to that he is combative or reactive around others and doesn't take into account that his actions are overly aggressive, excessive, or frightening. Because he's in an altered mental state. It would be like telling a bull that's charging at you in a small room to full-on stop because the bull should know that's dangerous. The bull is going to charge because it's already in a distressed state and you're not going to be able to change it's behavior until after the charge.

Understand what the difference between action/response and reaction is:

It's crazy that Billy fans can blame everyone but Billy.

There was a comment on Tiktok that said "Max did this to herself she wanted to feel guilty she chose it. Billy was already dead."

This is the answer I got. (I couldn't find the original comment but I did find the answers this person gave me.)

Like wtf?

And yes I know. Billy had a bad life too, his father wasn't a good person but that's no excuse.

Do you know who else has a life like Billy? Max.

But did she turn into an abusive racist? No.

I know that trauma can affect people differently. But that doesn't mean you can be racist and abusive.

And please don't tell me, "But there was no one with Billy." No one was there because Billy was rude to them.

[that-one-weeb-buts-its-the-main]

Stranger Things Boys with

Your newborn sibling

headcanons

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Reader: gender netural | Use of you mostly

Characters: Eddie Munson, Billy Hargrove, Steve Harringotn

Type: headcanons + drabbles

A/n: none

Warnings: children (ew, lol no just as long as they ain't mine), Bad parents (billy's part), mentions of baby fever

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×××× Eddie Munson ××××

He knew it was your mother who was pregnant when you called him.

Oh you were so happy, pratically screaming his ear off.

"You have to come meet the little guy! Please Eddie! We're back at the house! You've gotta come!"

Eddie could just chuckle on the other end, "alright baby. Im comin. Im comin."

He rushed over because you were just so excited.

You're parents actually like him, and when he's knocking on the door he's welcomed in.

"Hey! Eddie!" His dad welcomed.

"Eddie?!" Y/n called rushing in grabbing his hand, "Quick! Come on he's so cute!"

He doesnt know whats cuter the baby or how happy you are around it.

You've probably washed your hands twenty times and had him do the same just in case.

You're mother practically begged you two to take the baby saying shes gone three days without a damn cigarette

It wasn't that she didn't want the baby, your mom just hates not being able to get up and walk around and giving birth did a number on her.

Eddie was more than glad to sit besides you on the couch as you were handed your little baby brother

Such big eyes already, big eyes that were open and looking especially at Eddie.

"Hey little guy." Eddie smiled waving a finger at him, "what's you're name mhm?"

"This is Christopher." Y/n answered smiling at the baby, "isnt that right?"

He'd be lying if he said this wasnt giving him baby fever.

You with a little ball of joy, a ball of joy you and he made together

"Why don't you hold him Eds?" Y/n asked.

"Oh no! No no." Eddie spoke.

"Yeah. Come on. You're a real good cuddle partner."

With your sweet words, it convinces him, and he's worried oh so worried

Doesn't even know how to hold a baby correctly so you teach him.

He's stiff at first, stiff as a board, he's nervous holding little Christopher

But the baby's smiling with wide eyes at Eddie

He's glad you offered him to hold the baby

but when the baby starts crying it makes him feel horrible: did he scare the little guy?

Luckily no and you go grab a bottle.

"uh, can I, ya know?" Eddie asked, "Feed him?"

Y/n nodded, handing over the bottle, "he may eat a bit fast okay don't worry."

You're mother watches as you help Eddie, she remembers when she and your father were like that when you were born

"you're doin' good Eddie." Y/n praised with a soft smile.

"Yeah?" Eddie spoke with a wide smile, "It's good practice for the future"

Y/n looked at him in a second of shock, but smiled, "Yeah, good practice for the future."

Afterward, you take the baby to burp him, keep Eddie from the rain of puke

but luckily no puke storm and the baby goes to sleep back in your arms

He's very good with the baby and so are you

He has baby fever, yes, but he never would of expected it: even if he knew he wanted to be with you forever, he never expected kids, but like. Damn

×××× Billy Hargrove ××××

You were in class when they called you out, you sitting with him in the back of chem he flirting with you here and there

you didn't even give him an explanation and ran so oh so quickly away

He can't even catch up with you

Damn you being a track runner

For two days he hasn't heard from you until you call his house phone, he makes it to the phone before anyone else does. "Billy?" "Y/n!-" "Look I'm sorry I ran off like that. My mom just had a baby, and I'm at home now-"

the phone went dead, Billy had hung up

You felt devastated as you hung the phone back up

But within a matter of minutes, there was a knock on the door.

Y/n opened it and there Billy was.

"Hey," Y/n spoke.

"Are you okay?" Billy questioned.

Y/n nodded, "y..yeah, come in."

he knows your parents aren't the best either

You're father locked himself in his study and your mom locked herself in her room.

Leaving you to fend for the baby

speaking of baby your newfound baby sister starts crying.

and a shout from your father quickens your pace to grab her.

You're able to rock her to a calm state pretty quickly.

the baby fever would've kicked in if you know you didn't practically already have a baby

"I'm really sorry Billy, I just-"

"Hand her over."

"Billy I wouldn't want to bother you."

"If it bothered me I would have left," Billy argued and Y/n sighed.

"Okay, just while I get her bottle situated."

You've never rushed so fast in your life, you already thought he was mad at you.

He's able to reassure you he doesn't mind, and even takes the bottle from you.

"What's the rascal's name?" Billy asked

"She's a jane doe." Y/n spoke regrettably, " they Didn't even bother naming her really, I have the paperwork to turn in."

Billy looked down at the girl who drank from her bottle, "Jane's not half bad."

Y/n chuckled, "it's not, is it? I like it. What about you?"

The baby looked over at her with big gray eyes; they hadn't even settled into their color yet.

"I'll take it as a yes." Y/n smiled.

So he takes care of the baby for a few hours, totally by accident: you both sat on the couch and you passed out

He didn't mind, for a baby, she was quiet, and liked her eyes to wander.

God this is where it all started: he was so innocent like this one.

"yeah I know you're sister is going to take real good care of you." Billy spoke, "And I got your back kid."

don't exactly know what a baby needs backup for but it's the thought that counts.

you wake up a few hours later and Billy's gone, and so is the baby

You panic so quick

Just to find him reading instructions on a bottle of formula in the kitchen, baby in arm

"Hey sleeping beauty," Billy teased, then looked at you: "Hey to you too L/n."

Hahaha very funny

You say thank you and offer to pay him but he says it's fine: keeps him away from his old man anyways

and actually offers to come back and help you

Ends up just staying at your house to help you

××× Steve Harrington ×××

WHAT!?

Kids?!

GIVE ME GIVE ME GIVE ME

Ooo! As soon as he heard you're getting a pair of twins: newborn siblings that your parents are adopting he's SOOOO excited

We all know Steve wants "6 lil nuggets"

STEVE LOVES KIDS

He's practically bouncing as your parents walk through the door

"Dude. Chill."

"Im just. So excited!!"

It's very cute

You're parents hand them off to you and steve

Steve has intense baby fever

Like the worst out of them all.

And seeing you with a baby is even better, you're so careful with your siblings imagine with your own children

"Looks good on you Harrington." Y/n teased, the boy of the twins sleeping in his arms.

"You think?" Steve smiled, Y/n nodding.

"yeah, I do." Y/n smiled.

"You know, I'm ready...for this." He told you, "When you are of course!"

"I don't know Harrington, maybe a year or two more with Dustin."

He can only laugh at you, "babysitter of another realm is always gonna stick isn't it?"

"yeah."

You know how he is with the kids: so you wouldn't be surprised if he'd be a good father: he'd learn from his mistakes as you've seen in the past

Better be sure you both have a polaroid picture of you two holding the babies

That picture goes with him everywhere, usually, because he's in his car a lot, driving from place to place, it's usually in his car.

"Is this you and Y/n! Y/n L/n!?"

"Steve had kids!?" Dustin argued.

"No! No! It's me and Y/n's newest siblings," Steve argued, "Calm your tits."

"Cute," Robin spoke.

[helloworld82604]

Peaky Rambles 2:

So this may be more on the depressing side but here's an a quickly written idea that I thought of earlier and though it may be an interesting possibility. (Tw:mentions of violent deaths):

The only people Finn Shelby's ever seen kill are his own family...or at least they were the first.

I think Finn Shelby was ten years old when he first saw one man kill another. He knew he was suppose to stay with Ada back at the house but then she left while he was in the bathroom and he wanted to follow after her. But having gotten a bit behind he got there right as all the drama was ending. And he got there right as a bullet was put into Billy Kimber's forehead. Put there by his brother Thomas. That was one of the first nights he could remember having nightmares but not sneaking into the bed of his Aunt or Siblings. He couldn't do that...not this time. They may not have even realized he was there that time. After the event he had stood still around the corner of the building he hid behind when the shots went off. He didn't know how long he started at his feet trying to figure out what he had just seen when Pastor Jesus came around the corner himself after finishing patching up Tommy. After making sure the boy was unharmed Jeremiah walked him back into the garrison where Finn spent the rest of the night sitting by Ada and Isaiah playing with baby Karl, while avoiding looking in his brothers' directions though he still wasn't sure what happened....

The second time Finn Shelby saw one man kill another was when he was thirteen almost fourteen. Him and Isiah were at the boxing rink, and the coach kept yelling at him to do better. All of the sudden he turned around to see a fight that had gone too far. This time a boy who probably wasn't much older than was being repeatedly hit by his opponent who seemed to have gotten stuck in his head. Over and over until the younger man didn't move anymore and the older one finally seemed to snap out of it. Unlike the first time this one was an accident, caused by the war mangled thoughts that had overrun the others. And it was that fact that scared Finn more this time. The time he watched his brother Arthur kill an innocent boy. That was the second time he had ever seen someone killed and the first time he ever doubted Tommy's words as his brother told Finn and Isaiah what story to say. He knew Arthur would go to jail if the truth came out, but after the dead boy's mother came barging in a few days later he still found himself throwing up in the ally behind the Garrison despite not having anything to drink yet.

(And because I can't quite remember where he was when this actually happened/what happed specifically then... but I can still see it happening here's this one)

The third time Finn Shelby ever saw one man kill another Fourteen. Except this time the killer was a women. One who he knew was more than capable of killing but he never thought she'd actually do it. It was a few motnths after Arthur killed the boy and now they were at the races. Finn didn't expect anyone to die at the races. The races were fun but he wanted some money to try and place a bet of his own so when he saw her hurrying across the floor with a look he'd never seen before he followed her. But she was faster than him and soon she turned down a hall that lead to the phone booths where he knew there was only one way in. Deciding to give her privacy for her call, he waited again around the corner watching the people in fancy clothes pass by, and ignoring the muffled voices around the wall. But he jumped when he soon heard a few shots ring out from around the wall as his panic arose and before he could see if the woman was safe she hurried back around the corner not a hair out of place as she passed him by. It was as if she still had a too many thoughts running through her head of dreaded past events to recognize the wide eyed boy who was once again not sure what occurred. And for a second time Finn stood staring at his feet before the dreaded curiosity won him over and he looked around the corner towards the phone booths. One look was all he needed before the bile rose up in his throat and Finn shot off towards the nearby trash can to throw up. Passers by would think it was because he was drunk. Finn knew who the man was the one who, along with the runway barmaid that broke Tommy's heard, had caused so much trouble for the family when he was ten. But Finn thought he was gone, he didn't know that the man had come back. His family never told him anything, even though they seemed to want him to know everything at times. So he didn't know the man had returned and he didn't know the man was why his new cousin went to jail so suddenly for a while. And he didn't know what the dead man had made the woman do for his cousin to be released. All Finn knew was he had just heard his beloved Aunt Polly kill a man in the phone booth only a few meters away. And that made him a big sick...

In conclusion I think that though Finn Shelby's absolutely grew up around violence and general crime, his family also had a habit of keeping him out of it (at least until John died). That's one of the reasons why he ended up being so much softer than the rest of his family. Truthfully he didn't experience most of the violent and mental traumas that they all had growing up and as he grew. And while I definitely think his family ended up kind of ignoring him for their own lives unless they need a worker (that's a whole different rabbit whole though) in doing so they managed to hide him from a good bit of the blood they saw. But because they kept tried keeping him so far from the violence and death and murder for so long, the only time he saw it.... was when it was caused by them.