#kicking off july with a poll!

[tosahobi-if]

as promised, here it is! this is intended to be a playable short story featuring content that won't be covered within the main storyline. the story will be centered around zhongyuan, otherwise known as the hungry ghost festival.

[bookshelf-dust]

healing

billy hargrove x gn!reader

word count: 5,445

warnings: swearing, smoking, mentions of past trauma (starcourt), slight sexual innuendos??

a/n: hi! remember when i made you do a poll for my 1k celebration? and one bed with billy won? well this is that fic! i'm sorry it took so long to get here, but school was kicking the ever loving shit out of me. anyways, i really hope you like it. it's a little different than other fics i've written, but i think that's a good thing. just for context, this is post the end of season three, with billy and hopper being okay and jopper being in full swing. i think that's all i wanted to say. thanks again for 1k followers. that's still so wild to me. i love you. and billy loves you too <333

————

November 1985

“No.”

“What do you mean no? You just fought an interdimensional being, don’t you want a vacation?” 

Lucas wipes both hands down his face, flopping down on the arm of the couch beside where Max sits with El between her knees, tying off one of the two braids she’s trying to make. 

“Max, can you help me? Please?” Lucas has been arguing about this for fifteen minutes. 

She rolls her eyes, but looks up from her work nonetheless. “Billy.”

The man in question crosses his arms, locking eyes with the redhead. “Maxine.”

Max finishes Eleven’s braid and she hops up to join Will where he’s working on a puzzle. Joyce brought it home from work a few days ago, and it’s been spread out on a card table in the corner of the living room since then. Will couldn’t watch The Golden Girls with Joyce from the kitchen table. 

“Just come with us, Billy. We all know you hate it here. It’ll give you a chance to get away for a little while.”

Except that’s not totally the truth. He doesn’t hate it here. Not with you around. 

“There’s a pool.” Will looks up, a little shyly, from the puzzle, fingers flipping around a single piece. “At the place Robin found.” 

Billy nods, and it’s enough to make Will smile at the acknowledgment. 

It’d been Steve’s idea, after everything that happened in July. He thought everyone going on a trip together might be a good idea. Go a little ways out from home, calm down. 

You and Billy started going to school, though Billy is still working. He found a job at a record store across the street from Melvald’s that opened after the mall went to shit. It definitely wasn’t his first choice, but it works. And he’s slowly fixing up the Camaro. 

Steve had offered to pay for the repairs in full, considering he did most of the damage when he rammed the side of it, but Billy couldn’t handle that. So far Max has only convinced him to let Steve cover the really expensive parts. It hurts Billy more than he’d care to admit—having Steve Harrington give him money. 

But he can’t lie, going somewhere away from Hawkins, even just for a couple days, sounds really nice. It’s the group part that’s bothering him. He’s still not used to everyone wanting him to tag along, but apparently major trauma brings people together.

There’s the slamming of car doors, and footsteps running up the driveway before the door swings open, Robin bursting in with a stack of movies in her arms. She’s followed by Dustin and then Steve, bags and keys being tossed every which way. 

Billy doesn’t see you for a moment and starts to worry maybe you aren’t coming. He’s already supplying excuses for having to go home, but Steve left the door ajar, and after a moment, there you are. 

You look sleepy, footsteps the quietest of everyone else as you carefully push the Byers’ door shut behind you. He watches as you accept a hug from Eleven, overhears her ask, “how did your test go?” 

He’s happy to hear you tell her it went well. It’s only after you’ve looked at her and Will’s puzzle and snapped a few more corner pieces in that you make a beeline for the open spot on the couch beside Billy. 

When you’ve settled, your knee bumps against his. “Hey.”

He looks at you, a little grin playing at the corners of his mouth. His arms are still crossed, thumb playing with the pendant resting on his chest. A chest surprisingly covered by a sweater, though the sleeves are pushed up. 

“Hey. Glad your test is over?”

That sound of his voice makes you smile, and he’s never been so grateful for something, even if it’s just an expression. “Yeah.”

You glance down at the new tattoo on his arm, a dark colored snake wrapping around the skin covering his elbow. You run your thumb across the tail that flicks across his forearm, and Billy relaxes into your touch. 

“You have work today?”

Billy shakes his head. You’re glad he had the day off. And you’d tell him so if it weren’t for the sudden bombardment. 

Lucas is suddenly standing in front of you, having returned from the kitchen where you think he and Dustin may have been cleaning out Joyce’s fridge. 

“Holy shit, thank god you’re here. I need you to convince Billy to go on vacation.” 

You glance at Max, assuming she’s already tried. She looks rather annoyed. “Lucas, would you sit down?”

The boy looks at Max, and she glares at him. Clearly he knows better and sits down next to her. 

“Billy doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to do,” you finally say. 

The man in question turns to face you. You have to lean your head back some because of how close he is. 

“Are you going?” he asks, voice quiet and thick with something you don’t know that you’re supposed to notice. 

“Y-yeah. I was gonna. Robin only went on about it to me for an hour over the phone last night. I just think it might be nice to get away for a little while.” Billy doesn’t break eye contact with you, and while it makes you a little nervous, it tells you he’s listening.

“And I can watch Max for you if you really don’t want to go. Just make sure she doesn’t kill Lucas or anything.” Max snorts at your response, though Lucas looks at her in panic, already calculating how best to prevent that sort of situation. 

Your gaze softens and you fight the urge to reach out and run your thumb across Billy’s cheek. 

Please come with us. I want you to go. I want you there, you think. But it’s not what you say. You don’t know how badly he needs to hear it. 

“You really don’t have to go, Billy. Not if you don’t want to.”

“But there is enough space, man.” Steve stands behind the couch, handing El a scrunchie he retrieved from her bag. His voice is calm, informative. “If you decide to go. There’s plenty of room, and we’d be happy if you did.”

Billy could make some smartass remark. But he won’t. He knows that Steve is being honest, and that he’s not trying to be a dick. It seems that witnessing the guy who beat the shit out of you almost die not even a year after he moved to town really brings you together. 

Billy gives an acknowledging nod. “I’d be very happy if you did,” Eleven says. She loves having Jonathan as an older brother, really she does, but Billy lets her play with his hair. And in her books, that really ups the scale. 

He smiles at her, and El considers that a win. 

You notice him shift next to you, and then he’s leaning forward to whisper in your ear. “Come with me?” He cocks his head in the direction of the door. 

He gets up, assuming you’ll follow him. You always do. 

When you’ve shut the door, you move to the porch swing. It’s your favorite spot out here, and Joyce says it makes her happy to see someone use it. She used to sit there with Will in the mornings after Jonathan left for school and read to him. She did the same with Jonathan, but he was a much more fidgety kid, wanting to find something else to do. 

Billy lights a cigarette, and you watch where he fidgets with the ring on his middle finger. 

He’s standing a little ways away from you so as to not breathe the smoke directly in your vicinity, but you wish so badly that he was closer. You like having him close. The weight of his body next to you, the warmth, how solid his arm feels when it’s pressed to yours or when he slides down on the couch some and it's more so pressed to your side. 

“Which part of it are you worried about?” you ask him. 

He shrugs. “You really think they want me there? You think Max wants me around?” “Billy, I know she does. And I know that voice in your head is telling you that it’s a pity invite, but it’s not. And, besides…” you trail off, but he’s not having that. He needs you to reassure him. 

“Besides what?” 

You look up at him. “I want you to go. And yeah, I’ll be sad if you don’t go, but that shouldn’t sway your decision either.” You push your feet against the concrete porch a little harder, and the swing responds to the movement. You move quicker, now feeling very pleased with yourself. 

Billy almost laughs at the child-like look on your face, but you look so at home on the swing that he holds it in. A grin escapes nonetheless. 

“Say that again.” He stubs out his cigarette in the ashtray either Hopper or Joyce have left outside. He’s watching you again. 

“What?” He’s not gonna let you go all shy on him now. He needed to hear that. He needs to hear it. 

“You know what.”

“I want you to go.”

“Then it’s settled. Need to get out of this shithole anyways.”

————

The place Steve found is about two hours from Hawkins, with three bedrooms, a shockingly luxurious pull-out couch, and bigger common areas than you’ve ever laid eyes on. Excluding the ones in Steve’s house. In short, the rental is like Hopper’s cabin, if Hopper’s cabin were updated and substantially larger. It feels like the kind of place rich people have to take weekend trips. You’d rather not find out how much Steve is paying for the lot of you to stay there. 

Robin takes you on a grand tour while everyone else explores the backyard. Dustin is already determined to climb a tree. One of the rooms has two sets of bunk beds, dedicated to the four boys. “To ensure no cootie-spreading,” Robin proclaims. 

She and Steve will share the couch, with Max and Eleven in the smaller bedroom. 

Robin stops at the end of the hallway. “Which leaves…” 

You and Billy. 

You and Billy Hargrove.

Sharing a room. 

Sharing a bed. 

Speaking of, the man in question brushes past you, setting his bag on the floor at the foot of the bed. Robin takes that as her queue to leave and gives you a thumbs up on the way out. You hope she can feel your death stare on the back of her head, and she knows it, being quick to run down the hall. 

“So we’re roomies, huh?” Billy says, gathering his hair at the base of his neck. You hadn’t even realized he had a tie on him, and it takes him finishing off a lazy bun to realize it’s a blue scrunchie. You have to bite your lip to keep from saying anything. 

“I can sleep with Max and El, if you want. Or–”

That crease between Billy’s brows forms. “Why would you do that?”

You’ve gone all warm. You’d have to sleep in bed with him. And you sit next to him all the time, but this is different. Isn’t it?

Maybe it’s not so weird. You’re just friends. It’s like a sleepover, right?

“I don’t know, you might not want to sleep together or something.”

He cocks a brow, but you catch the double meaning of your words just in time. “You know what I mean, Billy.”

He sits on the end of the bed, and reaches out for you. You move towards him slowly, but the moment you’re within his grasp, Billy spreads his legs and grabs your waist, slotting your body between them. 

“You can go if you really want to. If you think I’ve got cooties or somethin’ and you don’t wanna share a bed with me.”

You snort, and Billy drinks in the sound, knowing he’s the one that made you laugh. 

“I don’t think you’ve got cooties.”

You realize in that moment that his hands haven’t left their spot on your waist, never straying anywhere else. The weight of them on you is enough to keep you focused on him, and he seems to acknowledge that. 

“Then what is it?” he asks, in that low drawl you fear could get out any answer he wanted from you. 

You hesitate, but say it anyway. “You don’t think it’ll be weird? Sleeping in the same bed?”

Billy fights the urge to rest his forehead against your stomach. He wants to tell you he’s wished you were in his bed on more than one occasion. Sometimes he just wishes you were there so it wouldn’t feel so cold, so he’d have someone to pull him out of his thoughts before they eat him alive altogether. 

“No, I don’t think it’ll be weird.”

You nod your head, and try to move back from him. 

Billy whines. “Uh uh. Nope.”

You go to put your hands on your hips, and they graze Billy’s on the way. He grabs hold of them. “You don’t want to have a sleepover with me?”

Billy’s looking up at you with those watery blue eyes, and you know this is a battle you’ll never win. 

“Really?”

He lets out a breath of a laugh, and your eyes fall to his neck when he tosses his head back. 

“Yeah, baby.”

Baby. 

It feels like every cell in your body has been sent into overdrive, like you can’t compute a single coherent thought. All because Billy called you “baby”. 

And if he’s being honest with himself, he feels the same way. He hadn’t meant to say it. It’s just that he calls you “baby” in his head all the time, and it just…happened.

“I’d love to have a sleepover with you, Hargrove.”

“Mhm. Thought so.” 

This time he lets the laugh out, and it’s a beautiful sound. The kind of sound you’d commit unspeakable acts to hear again. And this time, he does let his forehead drop to rest on your stomach. It surprises you, but you’re not mad about it.

“Oh, fuck off,” you say, and you can feel his chuckle against your skin.

When he quits, you find yourself just standing there, find your hands moving around his back. He’s always so warm. You rub your hands up and down his back, the denim of his jacket rough on your fingertips. 

You feel him shift, feel his change in position, the hard press of his chin against you. Billy is looking up at you, and you know he’s hoping you’ll return his gaze. His eyes bore into yours, and you hate to think of what you must look like from this angle. Clearly he doesn’t mind. 

You push a curl behind his ear, a shockingly perfect ringlet that’s too short to be contained like the rest of them. 

Billy would be taken aback by the gesture if it weren’t for the fact that you always go this easy on him. Like you know he’s healing, in more ways than one. 

“We can’t stay here forever, you know. I wanna go look around.” 

“Yeah,” he laughs. “I’m sure it’s riveting.” He lets you go anyway, following you down the hall to the rest of the cabin.

————

Your back rests on the base of an oversized chair, one that’s surprisingly comfy, your body in between Robin’s legs. She’s sitting next to Steve, watching you moderate El, Lucas, and Will play Twister. Dustin’s already out. 

“Right hand blue.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“Sinclair, have you never played this game before?”

Lucas scoffs, trying to reach the blue on the other side of the mat without toppling into Will. Max went with Billy to the store, but they should be back soon. You have a sick feeling they’re taking advantage of having been given Steve’s debit card. 

“Yes, I’ve played the game before. If you’re so good, why don’t you get down here and show us how it’s done, Harrington?”

“Yeah, Harrington, why don’t you show us how flexible you are?” Billy’s voice makes you look up from where you’ve been mindlessly twisting the spinner on the board around with the tip of your finger. 

He stands just inside the living room, holding the door open with his leg. He kicks it shut once Max has made it in. She heaves the paper bags she’d been holding up and onto the counter. Steve rises to help unpack them. You follow on instinct, handing the spinner to Robin instead, and Dustin is quick to take Steve’s spot before Mike can. 

Billy won’t let you take anything from him, but he will let you help figure out what the hell to do with all of it. “Do I even want to know how much you both spent?” you ask. 

He gives you that fucking smile, and you know you don’t. “Max said she wanted to have a spa night–whatever that means–with El, so we sort of split up. I’m sure Steve’ll live.” 

“For your information, Lucas,” Steve continues, clearly not ready to let the quips towards his limberness go, “I was the captain of the swim team.”

“What’s that got to do with being flexible, dingus?” Robin directs the two remaining players, the young boy in question having just busted his ass. 

“Swimming is an art form, Rob. You gotta learn to respect it.”

You choke on a laugh, and Billy is quick to rub your back while he chuckles into your shoulder. 

“Something funny over there?” Steve questions. 

You straighten, trying to wipe the smile from your face though it’s to no avail. “Nope, Steven. I’m sure you’re just incredibly stretchy. Like Mr. Fantastic.”

His brow furrows. “Mr. Fantastic?”

Dustin snorts, elbow deep in a bag of chips, and you quickly realize that you probably shouldn’t have given him an opening, but you don’t exactly regret it either. 

The lot of you spend the rest of the night in this fashion, playing games, eating way too much food, taking turns smacking the top of the television so your movie will keep playing. 

It feels like home. It feels safe. You wish it always felt this way. 

————

You’d just finished brushing your teeth when you hear the bedroom door click shut, hear footsteps you can tell are in search of you. 

You peek your head out of the bathroom and Billy grins at the sight of you in pajamas, a smear of moisturizer on your forehead you’ve yet to rub in. 

He squeezes in the small room, about the same size as his at home, to join you. There’s something about this moment, the domesticity of it, that makes your heart swell. It feels like something you could get used to, getting ready for bed with him. Neither of you have to say anything, you just do your own thing, but having him be there, having his presence–it’s more than enough for you. 

When you climb into bed, you try and read for a while, the sounds of Billy washing his face comforting you. You find it easy to read even when he does get in with you, the mattress sinking underneath his weight, the sheets rustling as he moves around experimentally, trying to get comfortable in a bed that isn’t his own. 

You feel odd though, reading when he’s right there, so it isn’t long before you close the book and slide further into the covers with him. Billy’s quick to turn on his side, wanting to see you like this. 

He watches you yank the blankets up to your chin, looking at him over a blur of fluffy white comforter. “It’s fuckin’ freezin’ in here,” you tell him.

“C’mere then.”

You burrow further into your pillow, fearing you know exactly what he’s going to suggest. “Huh?”

“You’re cold. You always whine about me being warm or somethin’ and I’m telling you to come here.”

“Billy.”

“Stop.” He lifts the covers up some, untucking you from them, and he wraps his arm around your back, tugging you into his side. 

Suddenly you’re pressed against him, having slid across the sheets easier than you’d have imagined. 

He’s let go of you, his arm hovering over your back. “You want me to hold you or no?” 

“Yeah.” 

Billy lets his arm drop against your side, his fingers splaying out over your back. He rubs his hand up and down your spine, hoping it’ll warm you up. “This okay?” 

“Yes.” 

He nods. You’re looking at him like he’s something special.

Billy realizes, in that moment, that that’s how you’ve always looked at him. Even before. 

He also realizes that your hands are tucked under your chin and your legs are curled up and into you like you’re afraid of making any contact with him. 

“You can loosen up, you know. It’s just me.” 

You let out a breath of a laugh, and he can feel it against the skin of his neck. 

“It’s okay, I promise. You can touch me.” Billy has this feeling that you’re afraid of hurting him. He’s sure you’ve noticed that he’s wearing a shirt to bed, something he never did before. And he thinks that you’re worried he’ll break. 

“You’re sure?”

“Wouldn’t have said so otherwise.”

He watches you unfold your hands and stretch your arm over him, hooking it around his hip. You want to rub up and down his side, but you’re nervous. 

It’s just me. 

“Do they hurt at all?”

Your thumb skates up a little further, and you don’t have to tell him what you mean. 

“Not all the time,” he says, voice low and thick with drowsiness. “At first, yeah, like hell. Now it’s just sometimes. They can feel a little tight, or just bug me. Depends, I guess.”

You nod, feeling brave enough now to slide your hand up a little further. Your touch is light, barely there. You close your eyes, trying not to think about when it happened. How he’d screamed. 

He can tell when you’ve calmed down some, because your arm relaxes and you hug him a little more firmly. You scoot in a little closer, close enough that your noses would touch if you tried to make them. 

“Goodnight, Billy.”

He makes the move, dragging the tip of his nose across your forehead. He kisses the top of your head, and you grin so wide you feel like a kid in a candy shop. 

“Goodnight, baby.”

————

When you wake up, you almost don’t want to disturb him, but you know you should get out of bed.

Billy is sprawled out on his stomach, having separated from you at some point during the night. His tank top is rucked up from the tossing and turning of sleep, and you look away when you catch a glimpse of pink skin. It doesn’t feel like your place to look. 

You wander out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind you. You make it down the hall, and find that Robin seems to be the only other one awake. You should’ve guessed. She told you once before that her body doesn’t seem to let her sleep in. 

Steve is still passed out on the pull-out couch, completely covered by the blankets. The only sign of him is a tuft of messy hair against the light colored pillow case his head rests on. 

Robin waves at you from her perch at the kitchen counter, a bowl of cereal in front of her. “Want some?” she whispers, pushing the box in your direction. 

You fill up your own bowl, having a feeling that Robin is about to ramble. 

“Sleep okay?” she asks. 

“Mhm. You?”

“Fine. Though, y’know, Steve is a horrific bed hog. Seriously, he was half on top of me the whole night. I might have to bunk with Max and El.” 

You laugh, and Robin takes that as her queue to ask what she’s been pondering since she woke up. 

“Was it okay? Sleeping with Billy? Well, not like that. Well, I’m assuming not like that, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I just meant like actually sleeping? Please stop me.”

You grin at her. “Please breathe, Rob.” She does, over exaggerating her inhales. “And it was fine.”

“Okay, good. I was kind of worried you’d be frustrated with my matchmaking tendencies. I just really want you two to be happy. And he seems so calm when he’s with you, and I realize I’ve just told you that I’ve been pushing you two together and I–”

You wipe milk from your chin, having almost spit out your cereal. “Robin, sweetheart, it’s okay, I promise. I know about your matchmaking tendencies. But I think we’re just friends, right?”

“Just friends, my ass.” You hadn’t even seen Steve get up, but he’s reaching for the fridge and pulling out a carton of chocolate milk. He really can’t say anything about Dustin’s eating habits when he has the exact same diet. 

“Oh my god.”

“Listen, I’m just saying, there’s been something going on between you two since before the world went to shit. I don’t know why you two tiptoe around each other like it’s not obvious that you’re in love.”

“Steve!” you exclaim. “Seriously, what the hell? I’ve been up for like twenty minutes and you two are schooling me on my love life?”

“Or lack thereof,” Robin says. 

“Okay, damn. You know what, I’m going back to bed.” 

Steve pushes your bowl back towards you when you attempt to get up. “No, you’re not. I’m just saying, there’s no sense in avoiding this. You both clearly feel a lot for each other, and I don’t see any reason to avoid it when you could be together.” 

He’s being vulnerable with you, his big brown eyes boring into yours and trying to convey how serious he’s being. 

“Just think about it, okay? There’s no harm in talking about how you feel with him. And don’t say that you don’t feel anything, because that’s a goddamn lie.”

————

Billy’s had his swim trunks on all day, but he hasn’t done more than sit in the shade by the pool while everyone else makes a mess and plays ridiculous games in the water. 

It’s killing him to watch you in there from time to time, swimming around or sitting in the shallow end. You told him once that swimming calms you down. 

It’s not until after dinner, when everyone has moved inside for the most part, though there seems to be the plotting of a water balloon fight out front, that he’s brave enough to head for the pool. 

You follow him out there, see him contemplating the water. 

“Whatcha doin’?” 

Billy drops the cigarette he’d been smoking, snubbing it out. “Thought about going for a swim,” he tells you. 

“That sounds nice.”

“Mhm.”

“I can go back inside, if you want.”

Billy turns to face you. “No. No, I want you to stay.” He wants you to see. He can’t explain why, but he does. 

“Okay.” 

He takes a shaky breath, hoping you don’t catch it. You do. You always do. 

“I just…wasn’t ready for everyone to see.”

“I understand, Billy.” 

You know what he’s really saying. He wasn’t ready for everyone to see. But he’s ready for you to see. 

“I can get in first, if that helps. And I won’t look if you don’t want me to,” you say. 

“That helps, yeah. And you can look. It’s okay.”

He watches you wade in, watches the way your swimsuit changes color as you tread water. 

Billy takes another deep breath, and he’s pulling his shirt off. He’s quick though, diving straight into the deep end, knowing he needs to get it over with. 

When he comes up, his hair is sticking to his forehead, and he flips it out of the way, giving you a glimpse of the broad pink scar on his chest. 

He meets you halfway, and you think he’s in a serious mood until he’s splashing you like a child. 

“You motherfucker!” 

You get him back, and he’s laughing. 

Billy is laughing and he looks so pretty in the last of the day’s sunlight, beads of water sliding over his collarbones and down his arms, and you feel like you could die. Like seeing him this way is enough. You don’t need anything else.

You try to return a particularly aggressive splash, but he catches your waist, pulling you up and over his shoulder. 

“Billy!”

“What?” His voice is teasing. He tosses the rest of the way over, your laughter fading out into the water. 

You come up, a brilliant smile on his face. Billy’s sure if you stood close enough you’d be able to hear his heart beating. 

When you’ve both gone quiet, your eyes drop to the scars on his sides, the way they stretch across his skin, mean and twisting. Some spots are darker than others, and while it hurts you to look at them, you know it must hurt him even more. But he looks just as beautiful as before, if not increasingly so. 

“See something you like?” Billy says it on instinct. To hide the fact that he’s worried you don’t really like it. That maybe you think he’s gross looking. But he knows that’s all in his head. He fucking knows it. 

“You’re fucking gorgeous, Billy Hargrove.”

You say it with such surety, such admiration, that he can’t even begin to doubt that you mean it. 

He smiles at you. It’s boyish. You’d do anything to see a million more of them. 

He moves towards you, the sky having darkened enough that the outside lights have come on, the lights in the pool too. All that remains of the sun is a slash of deep orange, though the night quickly pushes it away.

Billy’s got you backed up against the wall of the pool now. His hands find your sides.

It’s overwhelming, having him this close. You can feel his breath on your face, see the rise and fall of his chest, the freckles on his cheeks. 

When he kisses you, you think your heart stops. His mouth is warm against yours, and he tastes a little like chlorine, but you don’t care. Your hands find his face, and you’re smiling so hard that he pulls away because he wants to see. You don’t let him for long though, pulling him back, wanting more. He laughs into your mouth, and your chest aches with this feeling.

Eventually you do let go, and when you hold his eye contact, he knows what you’re going to say. He needs to tell you first, though.

“I’m in love with you, you know.”

“I know,” you respond.

He tosses his head back in a laugh, and you press a sweet kiss to his throat. 

“I’m in love with you too, Billy.”

“Damn right you are.”

You snort against his chest, lowering slightly to kiss his scar. His breath catches. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve you. 

“About fucking time!” Steve’s shouting and Robin is yelling, and Max would be making barf sounds if she wasn’t so pleased with seeing her brother so happy. 

“So much for that,” Billy says.

But you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

————

“I’m regretting this, Billy.”

“Stop whining.”

Billy wraps his arms tighter around your back, pressing a kiss to your jaw in hopes that you’ll let him keep doing this. 

“Get off.”

“No.”

“Get off, please.”

“Make me.” 

There’s the sound of a slap, your hand having met his ass.

He raises his head from where he’d buried it in your chest, looking at you drowsily. “You just spanked me.”

And you’d do it again. 

“Didn’t work, did it?”

“No. Shut up and take it.”

By that he means continue letting him lay on top of you, his entire body pressed to yours. It doesn’t matter to him that there’s an entire bed, one that’s made for two people.

You settle for playing with his hair, something he seems to enjoy, and you’d mess with him about the fact that he’s essentially purring if it weren’t for him looking so content. 

He might be heavy, but having Billy Hargrove sleep on top of you isn’t exactly something you just give up. 

He’s never had this before.

Hell, you’ve never had this before. 

And he thinks it’s healing him. More than the salve he puts on his scars, or the physical therapy, or fixing up the Camaro. 

You’re healing him. You. 

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

[broadwaydivastournament]

BROADWAY DIVAS SUPERLATIVES: Bosom Buddies - Icons Only

Yes, yes, there are so many iconic friendships on and around Broadway (Bernadette and Mary Tyler Moore, especially), but this time there's no "other" option.

Video Clips & Stories Beneath the Cut: More Polls

Angela Lansbury & Beatrice "Bea" Arthur: Angela and Bea first met in 1965 during rehearsals for the production of Mame, in which Angela played the titular Mame, and Bea her "bosom buddy" Vera. Both women would earn Tony Awards for their iconic, never-to-be-bested portrayals. They remained lifelong friends for the next five decades until Bea's death in 2009, where Angela hosted her memorial service at the Majestic Theatre. As the story goes, Angela's legendary Jessica B. Fletcher is named "B" for Bea.

"She was a class act and a real joy to work with. When I first met her I thought I was meeting this patrician, classically trained actor, but she has a mouth like a longshoreman. No kidding. She loved telling dirty limericks." - Bea Arthur on Angela Lansbury, 2003.

Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth: Forever linked by dance and the great Bob Fosse, Ann and Bebe met in passing during the special 3,389th performance of A Chorus Line, but would not come to know each other closer until Sweet Charity, where Annie took over Charity for Debbie Allen during the run, and Bebe played Nickie (Tony Award). They remained dear friends until Annie's death in 2020, working together in Fosse, and of course, the 1995 revival of Chicago that persists to this day.

“I fell in love with her, I continued to fall in love with her. I am in love with her forever. There was a trust between us, there was a connection between us that was beyond anything that had any logical explanation. I felt sometimes--this may sound strange, but it’s the truth--I felt sometimes I looked in her eyes and I time travelled.” - Bebe Neuwirth on Ann Reinking, 2021

Carol Burnett & Julie Andrews: Though they may have never starred in an official Broadway show together, Carol and Julie are too iconic to pass up here. They met in 1961 and are both still alive, kicking, and enduring friends. They did a series of television and stage specials together, including Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1963, Emmy Award), Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (1971) and Julie & Carol: Together Again (1989). They also both starred in Putting it Together as the part, one after the other. And as a story goes, Carol and Julie were "caught" kissing as a prank on their friend Mike Nichols, but were instead discovered by Lady Bird Johnson.

"As we sat in the darkened hotel hallway on the sofa in front of a bank of three elevators waiting for him, we started to feel rather foolish, and we thought 'Let’s do something to make him laugh.' We decided to pretend we were making out," she said at the time. "He’d called our room and said he was coming right down, so we thought, well, the first person off the elevator would be Mike. But it wasn’t." - Julie Andrews recounts the story to Oprah magazine.

Chita Rivera & Gwen Verdon: Before there was Annie and Bebe, there was Chita and Gwen. The original Velma and Roxie duo in the 1975 Chicago, Chita and Gwen remained friends until Gwen's death in 2000. As Chita recounts, Gwen Verdon was the first person to tell her she had her own talent and didn't need to be her understudy. Years later, they were starring together in Chicago. Chita and Gwen shared the role of Charity (alongside many others) in the benefit concert production of Sweet Charity in 1998. It would be Gwen's final stage appearance. Though Fosse brought his own drama, Chita and Gwen never fell out.

"Our relationship was what it was from the day I stood beside her in “Chicago.” She was a strong woman. She was private. She used to, which is really kind of cute because I would call her on it, sometimes dramatize a story and would say, “Isn’t that right, Chita? Don’t you remember that?” And I wasn’t even there. I would find myself saying, “Yeah, absolutely.” She was so terribly funny, really, really funny." - Chita Rivera on Gwen Verdon, 2019

Donna Murphy & Marin Mazzie: Donna and Marin met while doing the Passion workshop in 1993, and their friendship endures to this day, despite Marin's death in 2018. After all, "and should you die tomorrow, another thing I see: your love will live in me." Marin sang at Donna's daughter's christening. Donna sang at Marin's remembrance concert. She still writes her memorial posts to Marin each year on the anniversary of her passing. Donna played Mother in the earliest workshop of Ragtime, before Marin took over and made that role what it will always be.

"She would always be the first person to say "how are you doing?" That kind of kindness and selflessness in a way--it's not that I didn't appreciate it then--I really did. So I don't need to smack myself in the head and say "why didn't you realize how rare and beautiful it was?" I did. What I couldn't calculate was how much I miss it." - Donna Murphy on Marin Mazzie, 2018.

Kelli O'Hara & Victoria Clark: Our first and only mother-daughter duo, though who is mother and who is daughter is up for debate. Kelli and Vicki met playing mother and daughter in the 2005 The Light in the Piazza as Clara and Margaret Johnson. They remain dear friends to this day and the only pair alive, well, and not dangerously close to death... Kelli and Vicki, trained opera singers, also reunited for Dido and Aeneas in 2016. Their friendship has survived a few awkward situations, such as being up against each other (alongside fellow Piazza star Celia Keenan-Bolger, and that's a story in and of itself) for the role of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific.

"I just started calling her Mother, because I felt like I could be who I was without covering up. Why she called me Mother back is pretty obvious, but she was, for me, always the rock. I felt like, Okay, she loves me, warts and all. Hopefully." - Victoria Clark on Kelli O'Hara, 2016.

[hellcheeranniversaryweek]

Hellcheer Week FAQ

It’s Year Two of Hellcheer!

Welcome back, Hellcheer Nation! We’re about to reach our second year of Chrissy and Eddie’s incredible chemistry. Why wouldn’t we celebrate with another incredible event?

What does it involve?

We’ve gone even bigger and better this year! We have several mini events running before and after, kicking off in June. 

We’ll have a weekly poll based around our favorite couple, every Monday in June.

Every June Thursday you’ll find our Throwback Event, celebrating how far we’ve come.

1st to 7th July we have the event itself and we can’t wait to see all of the things you will create. 

And finally from July 8th to July 14th we have our wrap up event - but don’t worry, there’s more information to come on all of these.

When will the prompts be released?

15th May! We’re giving you guys a little bit more time to write, draw, make gifs or moodboards…whatever you can contribute to mark the occasion. This should be at around 3 pm pacific/6 pm eastern/11 pm BST

How involved do I have to be?

That is really up to you - vote in the polls, make one new work or one for each day, or just reblog…we’re just happy if you take part. 

What tags should I use?

#hellcheerweek and #cheers2hellcheer would be the best ones but we’ll also follow #hellcheeranniversary and the Hellcheer tag.

The mini events will have their own tags so please look out for the posts about those if you’re interested in taking part!

Who is running the blog?

We have a larger team this year so there will be a separate meet the mods post! Please also feel free to send us asks about anything.

This event was started on the Hellcheer Discord- can I get the link?

Yes! We previously answered an ask about this - we won't be posting the link publicly but if you let us know you'd like to join, one of us will message you with the link.

We'll see you guys tomorrow for prompt reveal!

[standardquip]

Some blog that turned reblogs off (7 July 2024):

dear USAmericans, VOTING WORKS!!! French people showed up, French people voted, turnout was higher today than it has been since 1997, and we kicked the far right to 3rd place a week ago, the far right was the biggest party in France, we were slated for a far right parliament, prime minister, and government this week, we voted against them en masse and we won! VOTING WORKS! you’re up next in November! it’s very rare we get to say this, but this one time, take example on the French! show up and vote! because VOTING WORKS!

My reblog (8 July):

All these pessimistic people in the comments are like “My choices are being kicked in the face or death, which aren’t choices at all therefore I refuse to participate.” Nobody’s saying the choices aren’t shitty, but I think I’d rather be kicked in the face than die. Also, you all seem to think that you not voting will send a message to the democrats. It does send a message, but not the one you’re hoping for. It sends the message that young people don’t vote, so why bother listening to them. If you never show up to the polls, then your opinions don’t matter. Also, be honest with yourself. Are those of you who are sitting out from voting actually doing anything else to help the situation? Are you in protests and demonstrations? Are you calling in your representatives and voicing your opinions about how you hate your choices? 99% of you are not. If you can’t get your ass out of the fucking chair and wait in line for a bit just because your choices aren’t perfect then fuck you. You are the reason Trump will win again.

Today's "reblog" (6 nov):

So now that the election is over, are you guys happy with yourselves? Are you still proud of your refusal to participate?

Less people voted in 2024 than they did in 2020. Even trump had less people voting for him this year compared to 2020.

Boy, the 15 million of you who decided the system wasn't worth participating in sure showed us.

Fuck you.

[the-olympics-olympics]

Weird Olympic Moments Tournament

To celebrate (?) the Paris 2024 Olympic Games starting in a few weeks, I thought I'd run another Olympic-themed poll tournament. This time, we're diving into history and getting to know some of the stranger, lesser-known stories of the Games.

Polls will run for a week, and the tournament should last until around early September if I'm doing my math right. The first polls will begin Monday, July 15th.

At the end, we'll award a gold, silver, and bronze to the top three.

After many hours on Wikipedia and the IOC website, here's the list of moments I came up with:

Horse vaulting

Pigeon racing

Sarajevo venues damaged in war

Mayor of Montreal says "The Olympics can no more lose money than a man can have a baby," then proceeds to host one of the most financially disastrous Games in history

George Eyser wins six medals after being run over by a train

Solo synchronized swimming

Crowd gets pooped on by 25,000 pigeons

Flame is taken to top of Mount Everest

Margaret Abbot dies without knowing she made history as the first US woman to win gold

Brazilian team has to sell coffee to afford the trip to Los Angeles

A teenager's "dumb idea" becomes Olympic tradition (athletes marching together in closing ceremony)

St. Louis experiments with "purposeful dehydration", denies water to marathon runners

Kanakuri Shizō takes 54 years to finish his race

Mt. Vesuvius moves the Olympics to London

They stop doing the Olympic salute for some reason

IOC President compares a terrorist attack to a vote to ban a racist country

The Olympics goes 88 years without letting women run marathons

Olympic flame transmitted via satellite

Northern Rhodesia declares independence during Olympics, changes name to Zambia

Vancouver 2010 cauldron malfunction

Montreal 1976 stadium is finally paid off in 2006

The curse of the Beijing 2008 mascots

Everest climbers get gold medals

Sochi snowflake malfunction

They hold the Olympics in 1906, then later say it doesn't count

Colorado kicks the Olympics out

Flame hidden from view after anti-gay law

Summer Olympics held during Winter

Haiti and Liechtenstein discover they had the same flag

Riot at the 1924 rugby match

McDonald's gives out more Big Macs than they expected

Chamonix 1924 retroactively named the Winter Olympics

Doves burned during cauldron lighting

Torchbearer takes olympic flame down a ski jump

Medals made of e-waste

Shooter aims for wrong target, loses gold

Olympic torch passed on International Space Station

Alien addresses crowd

Figure skating debuts at Summer Olympics

Olympics held on two different continents

Rio organizers lose key to stadium gate

Baron de Coubertin wins a gold medal under false identity

1960 winter games held in city named for an ethnic slur

Obstacle Swimming

North Korea considered to co-host 1988

Housing complex for American soldiers during the occupation of Japan becomes the Olympic village

Torch design changed mid-relay

Cauldron lit by flaming arrow

Last three seconds of basketball final replayed three times until results changed

St. Louis threatens to hold their own Olympics if they don't get named host city

Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat

Balloon racing

Delirious man carried over finish line by coaches, wins marathon

Summer Olympics held in November and December

Olympics postponed for COVID

Blue screen of death appears during opening ceremony

Marathon runner attacked by priest

Guy kicks referee in the face and (maybe) ends up on a stamp

Jet pack flies over stadium

Centennial games not awarded to a very confident Athens

LA 84 gets in trouble for commercializing the torch relay

Olympic flame relit with cigarette lighter

Rower stops for ducks

Nazi propaganda becomes Olympic tradition (torch relay)

Did I miss a great weird moment? Send it to me in an ask and I might do a round 2 or something!

I chose the moments based on my own personal bias (lol)

Heads up that there is one that involves the death of animals, but I will tag any polls with that #tw animal death

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything else tagged, and how to tag it!

Also, a disclaimer that I'm tired and scatterbrained and I work full time, so if this gets a little disorganized I apologize. Shouldn't be too bad though.

Let the games begin, and whatnot

@tournament-announcer :)

[parkerlyn]

August 2023

Play The Nameless | Patreon��| Discord

Hi again all!!

A short update to kick off the month! I’ve been trying to trudge through the writing I lost in my version control mess, and almost done rewriting that which has been a good moral boost!

I was happy to get a lot of sketching and art done last month too :) In addition to the schedule below, I’ll be posting more WIPs and sketches as they come up on Patreon.

Patreon ICYMI

Last month had the usual unreleased content screenshot, and also had...

Bonus Art: Game night with the Magesmith, the Healer, Eila, and the Alchemist

Bonus Writing: Sage POV on meeting the MC

Bonus Sketches: Sage sketches (18+) and some D&D/TOH fanart

Bonus Sketches: Healer/Magesmith thirst traps (aksjskak)

August Patreon Schedule

Aug 2 - Progress Update | Call for September Art ideas (HS + Sa)

Aug 9 - Monthly Preview Screenshot | September Art poll

Aug 23 -  Bonus Writing: Healer POV, meeting the MC for the first time

Aug 30 -  Bonus Art: RO Outfit Swap | 18+ Art: Oisein Sketches

July Donation Screenshots

Lastly, accountability screenshots for my donations are below. Differing amounts are to cover individual processing fees.

Thank you again for your support! More updates soon and stay safe out there.

xoxo Parker 🧡

Play The Nameless | Patreon | Discord

[vincentvalentineweek]

Vincent Valentine Week kicks off October 13th!

[64-jungle-planks]

Night at the Museum: Redesigning Characters 1/4(?)

Character profile: Frank "Noses" Capone

This character is based off of and takes inspiration from the historical Frank Capone.

Real Name: Salvatore "Frank" Capone

Nickname and Meaning: Noses - He got this nickname from being inquisitive and being unafraid to stick his nose into other people's business, even if it gets him into trouble.

Age: 28 (July 16, 1895)

Time Period: Frank is from America's Prohibition in the 1920s, to be exact, hes from April 1st, 1924 Chicago, just before he and a group of Mafioso's went to the polling station near the Western Electric Hawthorn plant.

Family: James "Jimmy" Vincenzo Capone, Raffaele "Ralph" James Capone, and Alphonse "Al" Gabriel Capone + Three younger brothers and one sister that wasn't brought back.

(Headcanons under the cut)

Based on/taken from History:

involved in the Five Points Gang with mobster John Torrio as a kid

Rumored to be queer because he never had an open interest in women/having sex with women like his brothers

Had a kid??? But then took it away from his fiancé??

Nickname was Noses?

Smartest of the eldest Capones

Killed when 70 plain clothes police officers arrived at W 22nd St & S Cicero Ave, Cicero, IL 60804 on April 1st, 1924. He didn’t have time to pull his gun out and was shot so many times, two other bystanders were killed/injured

described as mild-mannered, intelligent and immaculately-dressed

Thought to have ordered 500 deaths since joining the Chicago outfit (1919-1921 to 1924)

“you never get no talk back from a corpse”

+ Intelligent + Social + Hard-working - Quick to anger - Unstable moods

My own silly headcanons:

Can be level-headed, but usually his anger gets the best of him.

His presence calms Al down a lot. His brother really loves him and missed Frank. Frank reminds Al of simpler times when they’d run errands for their old boss Torrio… now Al’s boss.

Represented by clover/clubs. The club symbol represents the summer season and the earth element. The club suit in cards indicates youth, a phase when a person focuses on education, and recklessness.

Frank has matching pins with Al, Jimmy, and Ralph, each brother taking a playing card suit. The brothers made them together with old scrap metal they found in the Navy yard.

Sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong. He likes putting himself in the middle of gossip circles. When he’s not purposefully antagonizing Napoleon to get a reaction, they get along really well because of this.

Wiggles his nose when he thinks hard

Tallest of the Capone brothers (6’1)

Broken out of the museum in search of the closest liquor store out of pure boredom. They tried to pay with greyscale $50s and promptly got kicked out.

A little bit of a sadist.

Gets very violent when he’s upset and enjoys it. Frank doesn’t usually feel bad about his previous actions

Frank: My furby died in my arms when I was a child Ivan: I’m sorry to hear that..? Frank, grinning and joking slightly: Don’t be. I’ve never felt more like a god.

He’d be on Booktok

Like his brothers, Frank will flirt with anyone. Unlike his brothers, Frank is mostly doing it to tease and have fun.

Sucker for hallmark movies

Jerma vibes

His ears turn red when he lies (credit to @frombottlealleytotheharbor for this one)

Frank’s Tommy is a replica whereas his Smith & Wesson Model 10 is from a photo/cutout. His Tommy doesn’t work at all, but his handgun can- he just doesn’t have any bullets.

The Model 10 is named Peggy and the Tommy is Doll

….. don’t call him Frankie unless your family.

Jimmy Consentini belongs to @all-yn-oween. I had to draw him and Frank together because (I think) they both have two-piece suits.

Plain clothes Napoleon is inspired by this and something I have scheduled.

Al, Ralph, Napoleon

[thenightpool]

rinharu wrapped 2023

We almost can't believe it's already time to bring out the kadomatsu again! 2023 just raced by, didn't it…?! Let's take a moment to look back on everything Rin & Haru (and their fans!) have achieved this year.

🌸 Archive of Our Own

The Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka tag on AO3 now holds 3,674 works!

That means 173 new fics were posted this year. (There might've been more than that, but it's hard to keep track of creators privatising their older fics!)

And the Night Pool's AO3 collection is up to 90 works!

.

🌸 The Night Pool

Here at TNP, we revived @sakurathon, a cherry blossom-centric event! This year, the event received 40 works by 19 lovely participants.

Since it was such a big success, we're bringing the event back on April 27th & 28th 2024.

°•. ✿ .•°

We also held the aquatic-themed Unleashed Blue, during which 20 participants created 51 (!!) otherworldly works for us.

With permission of the creators, we lovingly collected them in a 400+ page commemorative zine. You can download it on linktree

°•. ✿ .•°

Writers filled an impressive 35 prompts during our prompt meme Make a Splash! that we held in honor of Haru's birthday.

Read the fills on AO3

°•. ✿ .•°

Rin & Haru's Big Warm-Up, our monthly prompt event, received 16 new works on AO3 across the year & more on socials.

Check out our collection on AO3

°•. ✿ .•°

We also kicked off rinharu fandom's very first bang: MEDLEY!, a mini + reverse hybrid bang that will start posting in March!

(Psst. Sign ups are still open for a few roles!)

°•. ✿ .•°

We held 3 training camps – super fun writing retreat weekends – over on our Discord. We have 4 more retreats planned for 2024!

If you'd like to join us for the next one(s), here's the info

°•. ✿ .•°

We posted 33 new fanart translations!

Here's the link to our masterlist

°•. ✿ .•°

And finally, The Night Pool beat out Harurinralia to win our Ultimate Rinharu Moments Tournament that we held back in April on both Twitter and Tumblr!

.

🌸 Other Fandom Events

It's been a busy year!

In July, @starstarfairy hosted Wave Of Memory (@rinharumemories) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Free! The event ran in two wave on tumblr and Twitter and combined polls, fan memories, and all types of fanworks.

@sweetheavenfics helped us run the RH-friendly @soumako-week in September!

@ryu-outsider hosted the month-long daily prompt event Free!cember here on Tumblr. It welcomed the entire fandom. The event was promoted by eleanorenchanted and run via hashtag.

And @rinharuweek ran for a full 10 days this year in celebration of the show's anniversary! They are just wrapping up.

.

🌸 Official News

Free! turned 10 in 2023. Omedetou gozaimasu!

Free! The Final Stroke Part 2 broke all of the series' previous records in the box office, bringing in over 1 billion yen

It also finally made it to Crunchyroll.com for the US & select others

Miyano Mamoru & Shimazaki Nobunaga fed us (+ fanartists' inspiration) well by shouting "HARU!!" and "RIIIN!!" at each other before hugging passionately during the 10th anniversary event at the Saitama Super Arena

We got tons of amazing new art; including a cover illustration for Free! The Band Live's Ever Blue performance in Yokohama, Animedia's July W-cover, Sweets Paradise's promotional art, and Kyoani's 10th anniversary event's illustration

Rin's ripped jeans (+ THE ANKLETS) in the Matsukiyo & Cocokara's Top Of Summer collaboration launched a thousand fanworks

Matsuoka-senshu, Nanase-senshu, Kirishima-senshu & Yamazaki-senshu represented Mizuno at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka

Spoon2Di recently restocked volume 78 & 85 on their webshop, and Akiba Pass Shop opened pre-orders for some gorgeous tapestries featuring said art

Karatz, Bikkuriman Choco, Iwami & DECOL all bumped Rin up to 2nd place in character listings (where he belongs!!)

Last but not least, KyoaniShop bankrupted us all by releasing amazing new merchandise (and also did not try to hide that Rin is the Free! series' 2nd protagonist, either…)

--

Thank you so much for being here with us in 2023. We hope it has been a wonderful & creative year for you. Here's wishing you an even more rinharu-filled 2024!

[quinloki]

Marco the Phoenix poll

So.

I will have space soon for ONE more wip I'm willing to toss into my hellacious line up. (This is also keeping in mind space for the Host Club AU work that will kick off in July and Accidental Ornithology (which is itself a Marco x Reader)

I have a lot of options, but Marco's really at my throat lately >.> and with an active Sabo x reader and 3 Eustass x Readers >.> ...

Also, Birds of a Feather is done, so if you haven't checked it out, or caught up on it, I think you'll enjoy it ^_^

*They're all happening most likely, don't overthink it.

[theredheadlefty]

Heyo! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve actually posted anything of my own creation on here, but it’s July, and you know what that means…

(jk you prob don’t I am not that relevant)

…It’s time for the annual #NewsiesUnitedJuly art challenge, hosted by yours truly!!!

I started this a few years back as a way to build some community amongst all the wonderful talented Newsies fans out there, and to commemorate the month when the historical strike took place in 1899. Every year the challenge looks a little different, from OC design to moodboards to character sketches, and this year’s challenge is just kicking off…

It’s a DTIYS/Screencap Redraw!!!

But before things can REALLY get started I need YOUR input on what screencap to use! I’m pulling the images from the proshot, but never fear- you’re welcome to change your redraw as much as you want as far as production, actors, set, costumes, even the time period!

More technical stuff later- for now, VOTING TIME!

(Winners of this series of polls will advance to a final poll)

[punctuation-bracket]

HELLO EVERYONE!

Thank you all so much for your interest in my Punctuation Day Poll (at my main blog @bogwitch-extraordinaire)! Due to the AMAZING response, I've decided to go ahead and host a magnificent

PUNCTUATION MARK BRACKET!!!!!

This bracket will consist of 5 rounds, pitting 32 of the world's most commonly used punctuation marks against each other to determine Tumblr's one true favorite! Punctuation rules (such as capitalization) and typographical symbols (such as the ampersand &) will not be included.

Follow this blog for updates and news, which will be posted below on this pinned post!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PUNCTUATION BRACKET NEWS:

PUNCTUATION BRACKET COMING SOON! Get ready everyone! The first annual Tumblr Punctuation Bracket begins on July 22nd!

THE BRACKET HAS BEEN FIXED! 32 punctuation marks from across the globe are now set in the bracket and ready to face off!

THE BRACKET IS HERE! Round 1 of the First Annual Punctuation Bracket starts today! Make sure you vote before the week is out! Match 1 - Match 2 - Match 3 - Match 4

WEEK TWO OF THE BRACKET KICKS OFF! Review the results of Week 1 here, and make sure to vote on the Week 2 polls below! Match 1 - Match 2 - Match 3 - Match 4

WEEK THREE OF THE BRACKET KICKS OFF A LITTLE LATE SORRY ABOUT THAT! Review the results of Week 2 here, and make sure to vote on the Week 3 polls at the links provided below! Match 1 - Match 2 - Match 3 - Match 4

WEEK FOUR OF THE BRACKET KICKS OFF! Review the results of Week 3 here, and make sure to vote in the Week 4 polls below! Match 1 - Match 2 - Match 3 - Match 4

ROUND 2 OF THE BRACKET KICKS OFF! Review the results of Week 4 here, and make sure to vote on Round 2 Side A below! Match 1 - Match 2 - Match 3 - Match 4

WEEK SIX OF THE BRACKET KICKS OFF! Review the results of Week 5 here, and make sure to vote on Round 2 Side B below! Match 1 - Match 2 - Match 3 - Match 4

ROUND 3 OF THE BRACKET KICKS OFF! Review the results of Week 6 here, and make sure to vote on Round 3 at the links below! Side A Match 1 - Side A Match 2 - Side B Match 1 - Side B Match 2

THE SEMIFINALS KICK OFF! Review the results of the Week 7 quarterfinals here, and make sure to vote on the Round 4 semifinals! Side A Semifinal - Side B Semifinal

THE FINAL MATCH KICKS OFF!!! Review the results of the Semifinals here, and make sure to vote in the finals! The winner will be announced on September 24th, National Punctuation Day! VOTE IN THE FINALS NOW!

The winner of the First Annual Punctuation Bracket is the em dash! Congratulations em dash! Don't forget to leave comments and suggestions for next year's bracket in the ask box! Thanks for playing and Happy National Punctuation Day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Header image credit: https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540sept13/2013/11/02/the-finer-points-of-writing-word-separation-and-punctuation/

Icon image credit: https://talkshop.ph/blog/most-common-punctuation-mistakes/

[spinthetags]

Week 4 of the South Park Olympics is Complete!

Who knew a month ago when we kicked off this event that it would be as fun and exciting as it ended up being? We’ve really seen some amazing stuff made for this event, as well as some touching solidarity both between team members and opponents. It’s been a blast to see so much positivity c:

Onto the stats! 24 works were created during the fourth week, making 123 works created through the whole event! Wow! 13 works were created by Team Giant Douche this week, making 78 works created total. 11 works were created by team Turd Sandwich this week, making 45 works created total.

Let’s get more specific about the works created. In total, we had 19 fics, 5 playlists, 1 AMV, and 99 pieces of artwork, including comics and animations! Everyone should be really proud of just how much they’ve done.

While everyone brought their best to the table despite being the end, we did of course have some MVPs:

Team Giant Douche - @0-dear-rose-0

Team Turd Sandwich - @clydethetacox

Thank you to the MVPs for all your hard work! c:

The point values for the week solely from creations have been updated periodically throughout the week, but as of the time writing this, Team Giant Douche has 960 points, and Team Turd Sandwich has 868 points. That’s a 149 and 203 point increase for each team respectively!

However, points from reblogs have only just been added; with the 43 reblogs from Giant Douche and the 38 reblogs from Turd Sandwich, the actual final point values so far are as follows:

TEAM GIANT DOUCHE - 1003

TEAM TURD SANDWICH - 906

With that, we can safely declare that the winner of the South Park Olympics is…

TEAM GIANT DOUCHE!!

Congratulations to the team for all their hard work! Aside from bragging rights, the Giant Douche will now be the new header image for the spinthetags blog.

The recap of the event is over, so here are a few important details for wrapping everything up:

Last recap, we mentioned that there would be individual awards for this event. Here are those awards:

Best Art Piece

Art will be judged by a group of unbiased artists who have been selected among volunteers in an art-based Discord server.

Best Fic

Fics have been put in a random order and made anonymous, then given to a judge with experience in critiquing writing.

Best Playlist

Playlists will be judged on how in-depth and relevant song selection explanations are.

Fan Favorite

This will be determined by the community! Take a scroll through our #creations tag, then send in nominations of your favorite works made for this event by July 5th. Once we have all the nominees, we will narrow down a winner in a poll, or over a series of polls depending on how many nominees there are.

Most Specific Attack

We'll reach out to those who participated and ask them to name the attack they got that they felt was the most personal and paid attention to their specific interests and headcanons and why. Based on those nominations and explanations, we’ll choose a winner.

First Attack and Last Attack

These will be given to the very first and very last attack of the event!

Most Attacks Made/Points Earned 

There will be 3 winners of this prize. One for team Giant Douche, one for team Turd Sandwich, and one for the whole event overall!

While some winners may be obvious now, all official winners will be announced about a week and a half from now, so stay tuned and thank you so much to everyone for making the South Park Olympics such a success <3

[lady-harrowhark]

Playlist Countdown to the Title

My Big Resurrection Event fic isn't dropping until July 26th, so in the meantime I thought it'd be fun to do a little countdown! I've said it before, but I feel like this event is our fandom's Cannes, so I think we should make our own red carpets. Life is too short (and love is too long) to not hype your own creations :)

Given that the title of my fic is pulled from the lyrics of the first track on my playlist for it (all lowercase, with parenthesis, naturally), I decided to pull some of my other favorite lyrics from the playlist to post throughout the day.

If you're a fan of Two Truths and a Lie, or if you just like clicking buttons, I've got a poll over here where you can vote for which option you think is NOT included in the upcoming fic. The poll is open until about 10:45 PM central time tonight, July 24th.

After the poll closes, I'll be posting the correct answer along with the title and summary, and of course, a link to the playlist.

Without further ado, to kick things off we have an old favorite :

6. The Mixed Tape - Jack’s Mannequin

I read your letter The one you left when you broke into my house Retracing every step you made And you said you meant it And there's a piece of me in every single Second of every single day But if it's true then tell me how it got this way Where are you now?