#no other options are avaliable

[gifti3]

i enjoy blank slate MCs in romance games cause it leaves room open for self-inserts and OCs and allows fans to be creative and fill in gaps! but outside of that it makes me go damn most of these characters only started liking MC cause of what they do for them huh :p

[quenthel]

It's so funny that a bunch of ppl started hating on Gale mansplaining the shadow curse claiming that this is some kind of sign that he's a mysoginist while a) he does that no matter your PC's gender and b) if you tell him you know Abt it he gets excited and you can just have a chat...

[mrrharper]

Player Of The Month

You can support me at ko-fi.com/mrrharper

It did not take long.

Jake got a notification saying he'd been chosen as the Player of the Month from the server he's been playing on for months now. He was very excited about this as he's never got any in-game title like that before.

He clicked on the notification and scrolled through all the buzzwords to see what rewards he would be getting. Weirdly, there was no mention of any items, upgrades or other perks. Instead there was a button. "Brand new personalized experience".

Jack eagerly clicked the button, the only option avaliable to him. At first nothing happened and he just assumed the game was loading some new assests which would probably take some time.

Suddenly he felt some buzzing in his head, followed by a sharp pain and a feeling as if his headset was tightening around his head. He was paralyzed by this for a moment, his mind completely losing track of what was happening with his body as it was experiencing sudden sensory overload.

And then he was back in the game, but something was different. He was transported to Iron Gym, a locaton on the opposite side of the map from he was just a minute ago. He looked down and saw that his avatar had changed completely. He tried to access his character menu to see what had happened but he couldn't, so he walked up to a mirror.

In in he saw someone completely different. A young dude, clearly muscular, wearing a backwards cap and a pair of tight compression shorts. He looked like a gym bro! Not only that, he looked pretty similiar to the NPCs that populated this area of the game world, which Jake found very strange. Something went wrong here.

Wait, where was his headset? Jake put his hands on his face, but couldn't find the bulky gear he had to wear to play. What was going on?

A player came up to Jake and chose the option to initiate the conversation.

Jake #27AD0019 turned around to face Player#A97F4. His eyes flashed red, showing he was now in interaction mode.

"ey dude, ya got any issue with me bruh?" he asked, an arrogant streak in his voice. He then waited for the player to choose a response form the dialog tree, entering one of his idling animations, moving slightly from left to right and flexing his bare chest.

"Damn, that's a new one, didn't see this character before here" the player muttered to himself, clearly intrigued by the sudden appearance of a new NPC. He then chose a response.

"No, I just noticed you're a regular here and you seem to be doing pretty good, so I wanted to say hi."

#27AD0019's changed his attitude from annoyed and arrogant to proud and cocky. A new animation was triggered by the player's response, making him flash his teeth in a cocky smile, then flex his arms in a double biceps pose.

"hell yeah bruh, am the top dawg here dude"

The player focused on the NPC's muscular arms, while the character kept them in a flexed position up in the air. Player#A97F4 was starting to enjoy the conversation and knew exactly what dialog option he would choose.

"I see, you clearly work out every day. Your form is very impressive."

This prompted another few animations, in which #27AD0019 flexed his arms, chest and legs, showing off his muscles to the player.

"fuck yeah bro! i lift, like, all day dude, gotta work for guns like this bro huhuhuhuhuhuh" He let out a low, dumb laugh. The player grinned as he saw one of the potential responses he had avaliable.

"So not much happening in your life except the gym, right?"

A few calculations happened int he background that determined whether the NPC would respond positively or with anger. The result then took into account the character's intelligence statistic - 3/10. This gave the player the exact result he was looking for.

"huhuhuh yeah dude, am a real gym bro dude, ain't nothin' more important that liftin' bro. head empty, just gains huhuhuhuhuh" The answer triggered another loop of flexing animations.

#27AD0019 was going to be a very popular NPC.

[regulum-plays]

Assignment due: Project blue

Cute visual novel with a smart boi. <3

The game is avaliable to download to a Windows, Android and Mac and it’s completly free.

There is only one love instrest and he is one of the sweetest boys in the entire world (you are gonna to hear that a lot form me!). Asher is a smartest person in your class and now he is your partner to do and assignment for a class.

The game is voiced, yes, quiet Asher isn’t really that quiet in game, and I must say – I love his voice (I’m really weak for games with voice acting).

We don’t see how MC looks like for a whole game, the game is wrote in gender neutral language and we can name them!

There are skip and save options, which makes playing this game easier. I really reccommend trying all of the options, even when they don’t change anything they give a little unique flavor to the text.

This game has two endings, that will warm and then break your heart (or in the other direction, depends on what ending will you get first). Unfortunetly that’s all, so only two hours of having this cutie close to you, but the memories of this game are forever!

Trigger warning are listed on the page, this time they aren’t as severe, but it’s still better to look at them.

Asher will make your life blue, because blue is the best color! (Maybe that’s why I love him so much? Hmmmm…)

---

Urocza powieść wizualna z mądralą. <3

Gra jest dostępna do pobrania na Windows, Android i Mac oraz jest całkowicie darmowa.

W grze dostępny jest tylko jeden wybranek serca i jest on najsłodszym chłopcem na całym świecie (będziecie często słyszeć to ode mnie!). Asher jest najmądrzejszą osobą w Twojej klasie, a teraz został Twoim partnerem do prezentacji na zajęcia.

Postać Ashera dostała aktora głosowego, tak cichutki Asher wcale nie jest taki cichy w grze, i muszę powiedzieć – kocham jego głos (mam ogromną słabość do gier z grą głosową).

Nie widzimy protagoniszcze w jenu własnej osobie przez całą grę, treść gry jest też napisania w jak najbardziej neutralnym płciowo języku oraz możemy nadać jenu imię!

Opcje pominięcia i zapisu są dostępne, co sprawia, że granie jest nieco prostsze. Zdecydowanie polecam wypróbowanie wszystkich opcji, newet jeżeli nic nie zmienią w zakończeniu, każda z nich dodaje nieco wyjątkowego smaku tekstowi.

Gra ma dwa zakończenia, które ogrzeją a potem złamią Twoje serduszko (lub na odwrót, w zależności jakie zakończenie otrzymasz pierwsze). Niestety to wszystko, tylko dwie godziny bycia blisko tego słodziaka, ale wspomnienia z gry pozostają na zawsze!

Ostrzeżenia są zapisane na stronie gry, tym razem nie są aż tak ostre jak ostatnio, ale nadal lepiej jest na nie spojrzeć.

Asher sprawi, że Twoje życie będzie niebieskie, ponieważ niebieski to najlepszy kolor! (Może dlatego kocham go aż tak bardzo? Hmmm….)

[2ctheocean]

So I just finished re-reading the hunger games trilogy and I feel the need to respond to the claim that "Katniss never wanted kids so she shouldn't have had them". That is factually incorrect. I'm all for female protags never having children, but to label Katniss that way is fundementally misunderstanding her trauma and the healing that has occured in her having children.

Children are not the only way to thrive. Obviously. You can be just as happy childless (if not more so) as someone with a house full of kids. But Katniss, despite her gruff, traumatized exterior, has always had a nurtuering side (as seen by any given interaction she has with anyone younger than 12). That's partially the Eldest Daughter Effect, sure. But there's no reason to suspect she wouldn't want kids in a world where it was safe to have them. We shouldn't make having kids the default option, but we can suspect she would want them based on how much she values family and her personality. If the world was safe.

But the world is not safe.

So, Katniss never allowed herself to want children.

She doesn't even think about allowing herself to want children. Instead, in Catching Fire, she instead imagines a world where Peeta's child could live and grow up safe. She does not picture herself as the mother, because A) She's planning to give her life for his in the arena and B)She knows the second she starts picturing that image, she will yearn for it. And then the capital will rip it away from her.

This is supported in the epilogue, where she describes her overwhelming fear that she will have her daughter ripped away from her when she feels her growing inside her.

For obvious reasons, she closed off the consideration for being a parent while she was very young. She spent so much or her childhood, even before the hunger games, being traumatized by the world. Not just by the yearly reaping and by watching the games, but by extreme hunger. Having children is almost a selfish decision in her eyes, because of the hellish life she's led. She doesn't want to put her children through that. So she takes the choice off the table and decides its not an option. She won't even risk having a husband for fear of having them, why she's never even considered having a boyfriend or a lover.

In short, Katniss recognizes that the world is not safe. That, even if she is the best mother in the world, she cannot protect her children from the capital, from the games or from the world, so having them is something she simply won't consider, because the facts of her world make it the obvious choice. A lot of people who want kids in this reality, where we can largely protect our children, would make the same choice in her world. Gale even voices this mindset, but the idea that things can be any different is so ridicoulous and impossible to Katniss that she cannot allow herself even that. She's too traumaitized to even consider a better world, too hyperixated on the survivial of herself and those she loves that are already here.

But in the epilogue, she's healing. She can focus on other things now. She can enjoy things again. She's not scrambling to survive day to day. She doesn't need to hunt, she does it because she likes it. Slowly, she allows herself to feel safe.

She has bad days, and even describes being afraid of loosing what she has, highlighting that healing is not linear. But she's healed enough to the point that she feels safe enough to want things. Possibilities that she's never considered, never allowed herself to consider, are avaliable. She can finally allow herself to want children.

Because the world is finally safe enough for them to grow up in, and Katniss finally feels safe in that world. She acknowledges that it won't feel like that every day, that it doesn't, because healing is not linear and she'll always have good days and bad. But her healing has reached a point where she finally feels safe enough to want more than survival for herself and the people she already has. She wants to thrive.

[eomereadig]

Snippet: Hunting Knives

Fandom: RDR2

Pairing: Charles Smith/Reader

Rating: T

Tags: pre-relationship, getting together, kinda, meet-cute, also kinda, gender-neutral pronouns

Full fic now avaliable here

Someone was in your cabin. 

A man, if the heaviness of their footfalls was anything to go by. 

Your heart leapt into your mouth. 

An innocent man seeking shelter or a bandit? The chances that it was your brother or even your mother were infinitesimal this deep into the winter. You couldn’t imagine anyone would be out here hunting either, which left only one possible explanation for the unexpected visitor. 

He was a crook, whoever he was. He’d probably followed you up into the mountains with a view to mugging you or worse, or found the cabin and thought it ripe for looting. 

Either way, he had to go. 

Though you’d seen much of the world and knew how to take care of yourself, you could freely confess that you’d never actually killed another person before. Sure, you’d knocked countless on their asses and left more than a few in potentially life-threatening situations, but you’d never been the one to pull the trigger and extinguish that light in their eyes. This time: however, you knew you’d need to open yourself up to that possibility. 

The man likely had a gun, you thought. You’d need to move quickly and incapacitate him. With any luck, you’d have the element of surprise and be able to knock him out without a fight. 

Desperately, you looked around the rather bare washroom for something to use. The basin was heavy and made of clay – you imagined it could be used to deal a hefty blow but you’d rather not break it unless you had to, your father having made it himself before he died, after all. 

It was then that you spied the wooden cabinet in the corner of the room, one of its doors detached from its hinges. Your brother had probably started a little DIY project and forgot to finish it before he left. Though the wood of the door didn’t look too sturdy, you figured it was your best option to at least get the drop on the interloper in the next room. 

Heart pounding, you picked up the slab of wood and weighed it in your hands. It was now or never – best to strike the intruder before he found you. 

You were almost dizzy with adrenaline as you crept towards the door of the washroom. You couldn’t hear any more footsteps from the other side of the door. The man must have been looking at something. Or, perhaps, waiting for you to strike…

Tentatively, you pushed open the door, paying to all the gods you knew that it wouldn’t creak. 

Luck seemed to be on your side, at least for the moment. The man’s back was turned. He’d appeared to have laid his pack on your table and was now rifling through its contents. In search of a weapon, perhaps?

Shit, he was big. Tall and broad in all the places that made you want to cower. Even just viewing him from the back, it was plain to see that this man had a tough life – the life of a hunter like yourself, a farmer – or, far more likely, a criminal. His hair was long and dark, braided down your back and allowing you to see his dark skin a little more clearly in the already poorly-lit cabin. 

This was it. If you didn’t take the opportunity to strike now, your life could be forfeit and your family’s possessions lost. 

Steeling yourself, you raised the wooden door above your head and tensed like a snake waiting to strike. And then, with a scream that was a little more fearful than you’d care to admit, you pounced. 

You brought the wood down at the man’s head as hard as you could, enough to knock the wind out of you, and closed your eyes as it found its mark. A cry of surprise and the harsh crack of splintering wood rang in your ears and you felt the weapon in your grasp all but crumble between your fingers. 

Full fic now avaliable here

[corrodedseraphine]

beauty and the freak | one shot

the photo of Eddie which I used here is an edit made by amazing @eddiemunsonsmum 🥰

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: When you accidentally witness a conversation between Wayne and the principal about Eddie's education, you get an idea that could help you both. Unfortunately, he is not thrilled with the idea. Not believing in your good intentions, he takes a defensive tactic that could destroy your dream of winning the competition. Maybe happy ends are reserved only for Disney movies? angst/fluff, super cheesy, some of you might even say it's cringe, school acquaintances to lovers, Eddie is an asshole at the beggining

The one shot is also avaliable on ao3

12 478 words

eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

when I talk about the song Beauty and the Beast here I always mean the version from the movie because it it has a very special place in my heart, also I know that the movie is from 1991 but can we just preted for now that it was already in 1986?

yes - I got carried away. At some point I think that this story is not good enough, that there is something missing but when I try to add something more I just can't - my brain is empty.

On the other hand I also think it might be a little too much, so I will understand if some of you won't simply like this. Just - my latests works focused more on angst than on fluff, I kinda missed my cheesy fluffs, so you know... thank you for reading.

Also shot out to the best beta reader @i-me-mine ♥

"I'm sorry Mr. Munson, this condition must be fulfilled if your nephew wants to graduate from high school this year." the principal said as he and Wayne walked out of his office into the hallway.

"We really can't include his Hellfire Club?" resigned Wayne asked.

"Unfortunately no. Edward will graduate this year on the condition that he gets involved in the life of the school. A requirement of his graduation is to join another club and actively participate in its actions. We must have proof that he really cares."

"Where the hell are we going to find a school club that is willing to accept him? You know that his reputation is not among the best."

"There are plenty of options to choose from, I'm sure you'll find something, there are free spots in athletics."

"Nothing in the world for any price would force this boy into sports." The man shook his head. He was worried. He was worried because he knew that most of the students would run away from any contact with Eddie, the rumors in town about him being a Satan worshipper were getting more and more frequent, people really believed that the board game was just a cover-up.

In truth, you tried not to eavesdrop, however, it was not quite possible, because this conversation was going on right next to your locker, at which you were standing together with Robin.

Your relationship with Eddie was not very good. The truth was that you only associated with each other only in the school hallways and quick meetings when hellfire took over the room after rehearsals of the drama club of which you were the leader. You never exchanged a single word with each other. You had no reason to help him, but the truth was that the situation seemed to benefit both of you.

Seeing his uncle saying goodbye to the principal, you decided to act before you could think.

"Mr. Munson!" you shouted, approaching him with a quick step.

"Yes?" he asked puzzled raising an eyebrow.

"I want to help." You said trying not to feel strange. "My name is y/n, I'm the drama club president. By chance I overheard your conversation with the principal and thought maybe Eddie would join us?"

"That would be great." he replied, and the surprise on his face turned into a warm smile. He didn't expect to meet someone willing to help, but your reaction breathed some hope into him.

"The boy who was supposed to play the lead role has moved out of Hawkins, I think Eddie will be a great fit to take his place!" you said excited that you had managed to find a replacement.

"You wanna give my boy the lead role?" the surprise on his face looked hilarious.

"Why not?" you shrugged your shoulders. "We have rehearsals on Wednesdays and Fridays at four o'clock," you smiled.

"I'll tell him. Thank you."

Drama club was everything you loved. You loved taking on different roles, covering important topics through art, but most of all it was great fun for you, an escape from the scary reality you were in.

Part of it was also the competition you took part in every year, which was not the easiest, as you competed against much richer schools, which always beat you in costumes and decorations. When you became president this year, you swore to yourself that you would do everything to make sure that in your last year at this school the win belonged to you. As soon as you found out that this year's theme was going to be Disney movies adaptations you immediately knew what to choose. Beauty and the Beast.

From the beginning of the school year until Christmas break, you worked on the script, putting all your heart and soul into it. The whole story carried a very important message that you wanted to get across to everyone through your performance. When at the first rehearsal after your return you showed the script to the other members and it was enthusiastically accepted you got down to work, unfortunately you soon had to stop and look for someone to replace Michael.

Dustin had always praised Eddie and how well he could play characters from his campaigns. This was another reason why you decided to help him. You hoped that he would know how to play the role of the beast and later the prince just as well. In truth, you hoped Dustin wasn't lying, because this was your final lifeline. Chasing the bad thoughts out of your head, you tried to set a positive attitude. Eddie Munson must have been a great actor, and together with his help you will finally be able to win. This thought fueled you to action. Unfortunately, things did not go as well as you thought.

To say that Eddie didn't like the idea is not enough. He actually detested it. When Wayne told him about the fact that you had offered to help him he immediately began to suspect that the whole thing was some kind of bizarre trap that he had to let himself get caught in anyway, or else he would not have graduated from high school once again. The fact that he was forced to do so made his hostile attitude even greater.

Despite the assurances of Dustin, who was also a member of the club, and his efforts to prove to him that taking part in the play would be fun, Eddie defended himself against it by not even listening to the boy.

Nevertheless, he began to show up for rehearsals, eventually having to, because at the beginning of each one Principal Higgins would come to check if he was there for sure.

You tried to be patient. You tried to ignore all the taunting comments on his part, you tried to ignore the fact that he never, even once, looked at the script and didn't even try to do anything when you were rehearsing scenes involving him. He just sat on the stage showing you how much he didn't care. Since you only took him here to turn him into an even bigger ridicule for the whole school, he had no intention of helping you in this. His defense mechanism was to prove to you at every step that you made a mistake in proposing his joining the play, and the biggest one was the fact that you gave him the lead role. Unfortunately, Eddie, blinded by his "mission," did not see how he was slowly ruining everything you cared about. Every mean comment he made about your vision of the play was like a knife in the back, and over time you stopped counting them all, it was too much. From rehearsal to rehearsal you had less strength, all your enthusiasm and motivation disappeared as you silently took another blow accepting the fact that your chance of winning was practically zero.

Many times you offered to stay with him longer and rehearse his scenes together, since you both play the main roles, most of which you had together. Three times he agreed to this, giving you hope that something would change, but each time he purposely did not show up even once leaving you alone in the hall waiting for him for several hours. There was no fourth time. You knew Eddie didn't respect you or your work, but coming to terms with it was even more difficult. You desperately grasped every opportunity to try to change his mind, but in vain. Nothing could talk sense into him.

The contest was two months away, and you didn't really have anything. Eddie still hadn't learned his scenes and wasn't even going to, and because of this the rehearsals couldn't move on.

Another Friday in a row, he was late, but while you were working on Dustin's costume you both jumped when you heard the loud bang of the door.

"What the hell is this?!" yelled Eddie walking heavily toward you. In his hand he was holding a poster ripped from the wall. "Why the hell is my name here?!" he pointed his finger at the tiny inscription.

"Dude, there are the names of everyone who takes part in this." Dustin replied looking at him strangely.

"You have the lead role, Eddie, I guess it's logical that your name should appear there." you replied putting down the needle and thread.

"Your wonderful plan is working, congratulations." he threw a the paper in your direction, surprised you didn't even have time to catch it. "Are you satisfied enough?" his gaze was full of anger, and seeing your surprised face he got even angrier. He didn't believe that you were really going to pretend that you didn't know anything. The problem was that you didn't really know about what plan he was talking about.

"Eddie I don't understand-" you said quietly.

"You're pathetic." he said interrupting you. "You got me into all this shit on purpose just to humiliate me in front of the whole school, but I'm more than that. I don't care about your stupid play, I don't care about some damn competition. I'm only here because I have to and my presence is the only thing you can count on! Fuck you." He replied and walked away to the other end of the room sitting there.

"Y/n, are you okay?" asked Dustin seeing tears coming to your eyes.

Picking up the poster from the floor, you looked at it. The title of the play was crossed out. The word Beast was crossed out with a red marker and now the title looked like Beauty and the Beast FREAK.

Did Eddie really think it was all your fault? You began to wonder what you had done to even cause him to think that way, after all this time you had been trying to be nice to him. You never responded to his nasty comments, you silently accepted them and then tried to forget about them and attempt to communicate with him in some way, but still to no avail. No matter how hard you tried Eddie Munson unjustifiably considered you his enemy, despite the fact that you wanted to be his ally.

"Where are you going?" asked Dustin again, seeing as you had begun to gather your things.

"The rehearsal is over. Nothing will come of it anyway. On Monday I'm going to say that we're quitting the competition." you replied resignedly. "It's pointless."

When you went out into the corridor you saw that all the posters you had hung up were broken. Beauty and the Beast FREAK was hitting your eyes, making you boil inside. You had put so much work into making them, and some douche decided to destroy it just like that. You took a deep breath and started tearing down all the posters, went through the whole school, with your last stop being the gym. Walking up there you saw none other than Jason and his minions standing by one of the posters. Without a word you pushed your way through them tearing off the poster from the wall that Jason was writing on with a red marker, causing the group to laugh.

"What's up princess?" he asked mockingly. "Where is your Beast? Freak couldn't handle the pressure?"

Clenching your fists around the paper, you began to breathe quickly and deeply. "What's your problem Jason?" you asked.

"Nothin', it's nice that you care about me." he smirked.

"You are a piece of shit." you howled. Your patience was running out, Eddie's behavior was killing you, everything you had been working on for the past months was in ruins and you didn't have the strength to believe that everything was okay. "You are a fucking piece of shit." Your words made him laugh even more.

"Could it be that our little drama queen, has a crush on the freak? Is that why you gave him the role? Did you think that since he would have to pretend to fall in love with you on stage, it would be the same in real life?" everyone burst out laughing, which made you feel even worse.

Without answering anything you once again squeezed past them and walked out of the gym to the outside. Holding all the ripped posters in your hands, you walked over to the big trashcan and threw everything away, feeling a strange sting in your heart. Quickly getting on your bike, you returned home where you allowed yourself to drown in the sorrow and sadness that was overwhelming you.

Saturday afternoon at the Munsons' trailer was passing quietly. Wayne was watching the sports channel and Eddie was learning a new song on the guitar. The calm ended when someone aggressively began pounding on their door with their fist.

"Eddie!" a female voice came from behind the door. "I know you're home, I saw your car, and your guitar can be heard at the other end of town!" she shouted without stopping the knocking. "Open the damn door so I can kill you!"

Surprised by the visit, Wayne slowly opened the door only to see a girl with short hair and a furious look on her face. Behind her stood a terrified boy whom Wayne remembered from Hellfire.

"How can I help?" the confused man asked.

"Good afternoon, can I talk to Eddie?" she asked looking inside the trailer. Wayne, completely unprepared for such a situation, did not know what to do. He stood motionless considering his next move. He knew that Eddie had a lot of enemies, he knew that most of the locals wished him badly, but an angry, skinny girl who Eddie could carry out the door with one hand and a frightened freshman didn't look very threatening. Besides, the situation looked serious since they had come to deal with him all the way here.

The man moved slightly away from the door to call out to his nephew, Robin quickly took advantage of the situation and squeezed through the vacant space entering the trailer.

"Robin, holy shit!" shouted a panicked Dustin and ran after her. She impetuously opened the door to his room.

"Buckley? the fuck-" when he spotted her he put down his guitar, but didn't have time to say or do anything else because within seconds she came slapping his cheek. Wayne and Dustin stared with open mouths at the scene taking place in front of them.

"You asshole!" she shouted. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Enough! can someone explain to me what's going on here?" asked Wayne, who had finally recovered from his shock.

"Yeah, Eddie, explain to your uncle what you did." She crossed her arms over her chest sending him a rage-filled look.

"Robin…" Dustin once again said her name wanting to calm her down.

"Shut up Dustin! Y/n didn't deserve to be treated like that!"

"Henderson?" asked Eddie in an angry voice, completely as if he felt betrayed. Dustin in panic looked between the two of them breathing louder and faster.

"Leave the boy alone, you are goin' to give him a heart attack!" Wayne cut in seeing the boy's confusion. "Isn't y/n the girl from the drama club?"

"Yes, she is. She wanted to help him, gave him the role, and he destroyed everything!"

"I destroyed everything? She did it just to humiliate me in front of the whole school!"

"You are unbelievable Munson! All through high school you struggle with the bullies, you mock them, you hate them, but when it comes down to business you act just like them! You did the same with y/n what Jason is doing with you! I think you even went a step further, at least Jason isn't destroying everything you care about!" Eddie listened to her words in shock, he didn't look at it from that side. He had no idea how to respond. "You're not going to answer anything now? You were so talkative when you called her pathetic in front of all the club members! Do you have any idea how much it all meant to her? How much work did it cost her to write the whole script alone? How many things did she have to give up for this damn competition?"

"She really just wanted to help…" Dustin's voice was quiet, but the sincerity in it was loud enough.

"This was supposed to be the first time our stupid school was going to win against all those rich snobs, she finally had everything worked out to perfection, then Michael left and she found you. She decided to trust you and give you the lead role in something she cared about most in the world, but of course Eddie 'I don't giva s hit about anything' Munson once again had to prove how much he din't care." Robin was no longer screaming. Now only disappointment and disgust could be heard in her voice. "All along I thought you didn't deserve the way people treated you, not just me," she said. "Y/n never said a single bad word about you, she always believed when Dustin, Lucas and Mike admired you and praised you at every possible step. She only wanted to help you, and the result is that she is now crying her eyes out because some asshole decided to destroy her dreams. You are much worse than Carver." The last sentence was the seal of the visit. Immediately after, she apologized to Wayne for the disturbance and left the trailer.

"I fucked up, didn't I?" asked Eddie looking at them and patting his still sore cheek.

"Why did you do it son?" asked Wayne.

"I don't know! I presumed in advance that the whole thing was some kind of lame prank, it was weird to believe that anyone would want to help me." he replied.

"You should apologize to that girl," he said.

"It's too late anyway."

"Maybe not entirely too late?" said Dustin. "She hasn't written us out of the competition yet, she didn't want to do it until Monday, so you still have a chance to show that you care."

"How?"

Then the boy took out his copy of the script from his backpack. "If she sees that you're making an effort and have learned a few lines maybe all is not lost." he said, smiling.

Thus, for the rest of the day, with the help of Dustin and Wayne, Eddie learned his lines by heart. In the evening, when he drove the boy home he still stopped by Family Video. The first time Robin saw him, Steve had to hold her by force to keep her from tearing him to pieces. Only after he apologized and explained why he had come there she calmed down. When he got home, he read the script once again before going to bed, adding in pencil minor corrections that he thought would improve some scenes.

He couldn't get Robin's words about being worse than Jason out of his head. She was right. Your relationship had always been estranged, but he never noticed you following the crowd that tried to make his life miserable day after day. He felt like a complete idiot, he preemptively, unreasonably judged you of all the worst things, without even giving you a chance to show otherwise. He did to you what people have been doing to him from the very beginning, and the worst part is that if Robin hadn't barged in here today, he wouldn't have even noticed. He fell asleep hoping to let him apologize and make things right.

Getting your address was a hard task, but after several phone calls to Dustin and promises and vows never to say a single bad word about you again, finally the boy cracked and said so. Without waiting a moment longer Eddie drove to the indicated place. In the meantime, it began to rain, and even though the path from the street to the door was not long, it rained hard enough to get him wet.

The door was opened by your mother, who looked surprised to see a soaked metalhead on her doorstep. He was prepared that she was about to start yelling that he should get out of there, but to his surprise she smiled slightly.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Good afternoon, uh- Is y/n home? I am Eddie, Eddie Munson." he said stressed while extending his hand. He felt like he was making a complete idiot of himself.

"Are you from her club?" she asked, looking at the sticking-out script in his half-zipped backpack.

"Yes." he replied in almost a whisper.

"Y/n went out to the grocery store, but she should be back soon, you can wait for her inside." She replied and opened the door wider letting him inside. Pulling off his shoes and hanging his wet jacket on the hanger, he walked deeper into the house looking around. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you." He replied, putting his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. It was all strange, too strange. He felt uncomfortable, completely like he was violating your boundaries. He definitely shouldn't be here though, he didn't see any other way to fix things.

"I'm glad you came, this visit will definitely make her feel better, since she came back from her last rehearsal she has been so awfully sad." The woman sighed, sitting down on the couch.

"She is?" he asked avoiding her gaze. She probably didn't realize that the main reason for her daughter's sadness was standing right in front of her.

"This play was everything to her, I remember the day she came home saying that she had found someone else to be the prince, she was so excited, she couldn't stop repeating that with this boy in the lead role she was sure to success, in her opinion he was a perfect fit." She smiled sadly and shook her head. "I don't know the details, but all I know is that for some reason you have to drop the competition, I've never seen her so disappointed before."

Eddie wanted to collapse to the ground. He was ashamed. He couldn't get over how badly he had behaved toward you, and now standing in your house talking to your mother as if he had done nothing wrong felt even worse. The woman must have sensed his discomfort, because after a moment of silence she asked if he was okay.

"Yeah, sorry, I was thinking." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "And, uh, I'm here because I have an idea how to fix it, maybe we won't have to give it up."

Her face lit up, but she didn't have time to answer him, because just then you came home. She smiled broadly at the sight of you, but you didn't feel like smiling at all.

"Eddie?" you asked surprised. How did he know where you lived?

"What are you doing here?" you felt your nerves piling up inside you, your last conversation was not one of the best, you didn't think this time could be different.

"I- I came to talk."

"I'm going to Claudia, give your friend some cake later darling, have fun, I'll be back late, bye!" your mother said quickly sensing some tension between you. Wanting to give you some privacy she walked out of the house leaving you alone surrounded by an awkward silence.

"Why are you here?" you asked, unable to bear it any more. You were still not at your best, the whole situation was still hurting you so it was hard for you to pretend to be calm and controlled.

"I came to apologize." he replied sincerely. For the first time he looked at you in a way other than with anger. His big dark eyes even begged for forgiveness. "I acted like an idiot, I really want to apologize," he said.

"Your apology won't change anything Eddie." you replied. Despite the sincerity in his voice, you still weren't sure if you should believe him.

"Here." he said pulling out a script from his backpack and threw it in your direction. "Check me. Ask for any scene - I know them all."

His confidence caught you off guard. Tentatively, you opened the first better scene and slowly read one of Dustin's lines. To your surprise, instead of monotonously reciting from memory, he began to display full theatricality, the kind Dustin always had to mention. In front of you just stood a totally different Eddie, whom you had not yet met. The longer you interviewed him, the more the atmosphere between you softened. It became more and more difficult for you to keep the smile that was on your lips as he played out the scenes without stammering.

"Okay, I must admit that you have prepared very well." you replied no longer hiding your smile.

"So?" He smiled broadly spreading his hands.

"So?" you repeated his question not knowing quite what he meant.

"We don't have to quit!" The glimmer of hope that appeared in your eyes caused a strange warmth in his body.

"Do you really want to?"

"Yeah, 'course I do." he replied, putting his hands in his back pockets. Your reaction almost knocked him off his feet, literally because not being prepared for you to run up and hug him he lost his balance, fortunately you were able to hold you both up.

"Sorry." you said embarrassed. "I got a little carried away."

"No, don't be sorry." he said quietly. When was the last time someone hugged him out of their own free will? He couldn't remember. The feeling of such closeness, which had been foreign to him until then, left behind a nice trace that he focused on as he looked at your red face. He wanted to do it again and this time reciprocate the embrace but quickly gave it up. "I uh- I added a few ideas in the script, what I think we could add or change a little- Not that your idea would be bad, you did a great job here! I just…" he started to panic slightly, because he didn't want to make you upset once again.

"It's okay." you paused him. "We can take a look at it while having a cake?" you suggested.

"Sure." he accepted your proposal with relief.

After you cut the cake, you sat together on the couch and began reviewing the script. You sat close enough to each other that occasionally your knees would touch, including your hands when you accidentally both pointed to a scene at the same time. This always ended in awkward, shy smiles that awakened tiny butterflies in your stomachs.

Trying to ignore it, you tried to focus on Eddie's ideas. Some of them were really good, his creativity really impressed you. All the rumors that his campaigns were some of the best had to be true. Feeling much more confident in his company, somewhere in between you started asking him about them. At first he gave curt and uncertain answers, but when he saw that you were really interested in it he swam away, feeling that he was in his element.

Who would have thought that someday the day would come where the scary and menacing Eddie Munson would be sitting there on your couch laughing with you. As unrealistic as it seemed, it was one of the best moments in recent time, and it didn't look like the end at all. As you ran through the entire scenario, the metalhead took another item out of his backpack.

"At first I thought that as soon as you saw me here you would immediately throw me out the door, but that doesn't change the fact that I also allowed myself a plan B, in case you would show mercy to a fool like me." he said in a dramatic tone. "I thought it would be good to know the original story." He handed you the box with the tape. You quickly took it from him and slid it into the player.

Eddie surprised you even more by completely engaging in what was happening on the screen. You expected jokes and teasing comments on his part, however, none of that happened.

"It's my favorite moment." you said as Belle and Beast started feeding the birds. "This is where everything changes." you said quietly starting to softly sing the song along with the characters.

There's something sweet and almost kind But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined And now he's dear and so unsure I wonder why I didn't see it there before

She glanced this way, I thought I saw And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw No, it can't be, I'll just ignore But then she's never looked at me that way before

Your gaze was on the screen, so Eddie took advantage of the moments to look at you. Your hair was slightly messy, and your lips moved gently to form the words of a song that seemed strangely accurate to him. Just a few hours ago he was sure you hated him, now you were sitting as close to him as ever, and every now and then he would catch you sending him soft glances, behind which was something he couldn't quite figure out yet, just like Belle was looking at the Beast.

Feeling his gaze on you, you turned to look at him. You only smiled and then immediately went back to watching. He couldn't help thinking that he wanted to see that smile much more often, and it would be even better if he could be the reason for that smile as well.

"So…Something tells me that the choice of this exact movie was not accidental?" he asked suddenly.

"Do you want to know the selfish truth, or should I just make something up?" you asked, leaning a little closer to him.

"Only and only the truth," he said.

"The truth is simple. It's my favorite. I could watch this movie for hours and would never get bored. Besides, I love the way they showed that everyone deserves a second chance. He was the Beast before he became one and this is where the soul of the hopeless romantic in me comes in…" You chuckled. "Despite how terrible he was to her in the beginning she was still able to see something good in him and helped him find it underneath all that layer of monster. Goodness, respect and warmth from another human being was something foreign, so I'm not surprised he was like that. I think to some extent it was his defense mechanism."

Eddie just nodded, thinking about your words. If the Beast deserved a second chance maybe he did too? In the back of his head, a small voice spoke up, representing a secretive desire for your acquaintance to develop beyond the drama club. "I can't tell you the rest so as not to give spoilers, just watch." you patted his knee and put your hand close to his. If he moved a few millimeters your pinkies would touch. Considering the pros and cons in his head, he once again restrained himself feeling only the strange itching caused by such proximity.

"Wait, that's not in the script." he said when the iconic ballroom scene began. "Why?"

"Oh, you know we'll be competing with very rich schools?"

"Yeah."

"They always have their own bands that play music for their live shows, we unfortunately don't, and playing music from an old, shitty stereo would immediately push us into last place, compared to them. Also, we don't have much choice in costumes, and all the ball dresses that are there are too small or damaged. As for sewing, I only know the basics, I wouldn't be able to fix or remake them." you explained.

A plan was already being born in Eddie's head.

When the movie was over he decided that he had to go. You were surprised by a small sting of disappointment when he said this. When you said goodbye he apologized to you once again and then thanked you for a good time. You did the same.

Returning home, he found Wayne sitting there in front of the TV. Halfway to his room he stopped looking at his old man. He sent him a questioning look, taking a sip of beer from the bottle.

"How- Can you teach me how to dance?" Hearing his nephew's question he choked. He had been able to expect crazy things from him in truth, and this counted among the near impossible. But here they were, in the middle of a small living room, when Wayne in a very clumsy way tried to transfer all his knowledge about slow dancing to Eddie, who also didn't have much experience in it.

The rest of the members were relieved to hear that you are not quitting the competition, Eddie apologized to everyone at the start for his behavior and everything was back on track. The most satisfied with all this seemed to be Dustin. Joy gushed out of him seeing his two favorite people getting along and no one yelling at anyone anymore. Everyone also accepted the changes in the script, which meant that you had to rehearse three times a week instead of two to prepare everything carefully.

You and Eddie spent more and more time together, under the pretext of practicing your roles you met after school sitting either at your house or in his trailer. Your friendship became so ingrained in your life that you couldn't remember what it was like before it. The closer you got to know him, the more different he became from everything people said about him. He was incredibly creative and intelligent, watching his behavior towards Dustin you also saw that he was very protective of his friends, he had a warmth in him that was reserved only for a select few. He showed more of it to you every day, whenever he spotted you in the crowd in the corridor he beamed, quite as if the sun was hidden in his smile.

You were sitting at the table with Robin and Nancy but your thoughts were on the opposite side of the room. You watched Eddie talk about something with Dustin and then with the guys he's in a band with, who nodded their heads. When he raised his gaze and your eyes met he smiled broadly showing dimples in his cheeks and waved at you. You abashedly waved back and quickly turned your head feeling yourself blushing.

"Someone's been caught red-handed." Nancy hummed.

"I can't believe that I almost scratched his eyes out for you and now you're drooling at the sight of him." Robin rolled her eyes.

"I am not!" you protested, feeling even more embarrassed about your situation. "And… he changed."

"I'll need more details to believe what you say." she replied unimpressed. Robin was a great friend and very protective. Not knowing why, you wanted her to have a good opinion about Eddie, too.

"He is very helpful, kind and funny! Whenever I feel we are stuck with something he always helps me, no matter how long it takes. He got very involved in the play, and we spend a lot of time because of that, when you get to know him better, you find out that he is not as scary as everyone says, just the opposite." you tried to defend him.

"Oh my god, Nancy, we lost her." Robin dramatically slumped on the table.

"Being in love is not that bad, Robin." she laughed.

"I am not in love with Eddie!" you whispered aggressively.

"Not yet." Nancy shrugged her shoulders.

"Even if not in love, you have a crush on him. That's disgusting." Buckley perked up, just in time to see Eddie heading toward your table. "Your prince is coming." she said loudly, purposely so he would hear it.

"Buckley, Wheeler." He nodded in their direction. "Y/n." he turned to face you.

"Robin!" shouted Dustin from across the room and waved his hand in a gesture to come over to him. She and Nancy left you alone and moved toward the boy.

"Hi." You said when the metalhead took a seat across from you.

"Hi." he replied. "I'll see you at the rehearsal today?" he asked.

"Of course, why not?" you asked surprised.

"I was wondering… maybe we could take a ride somewhere later?"

"Oh, sure, where?" you replied puzzled.

"It's a surprise, trust me." He winked at you and returned to his table, where he exchanged a few more sentences with Robin. Unfortunately, she didn't want to tell you what they talked about, but you didn't feel like thinking too much about it. There was another thought in your head that made your heart beat twice as fast as it should. Did Eddie Munson ask you out on a date?

As agreed - immediately after the rehearsal you got into his van and drove out of the school parking lot. Nerves and a slight hint of excitement bubbled inside you as Eddie still wouldn't reveal where you were going.

Finally, you pulled into the Trailer Park. While you wondered why he took you to the place where he lived he prayed in his soul that you wouldn't get scared and run away. He knew that people react differently to this place, but he hoped that his whole plan would work. Stepping out of the car, you looked around thinking which trailer might belong to him. He once mentioned that his uncle works night shifts, so if he wanted to be alone with you he wouldn't bring you here now, would he?

"Uh…Eddie? Why are we here?" you asked.

"Oh- you said you couldn't sew the ball dress yourself…" he said exiting the car and walked to the back of it. "So I thought we could do something about it, if you are okay with it of course-"

"But why?" So it wasn't a date. Aside from being disappointed, you felt a little ashamed that you could think such a thing at all, you hoped Eddie wasn't able to see it.

"Just trust me, 'kay?" he asked, taking the pile of old dresses from the theater club you mentioned while watching the movie that evening.

Without a word, you approached one of the trailers he told you to knock on because of his busy hands. The door was opened to you by a short older woman with thick glasses on her nose.

"Eddie! Come in!" she quickly let you inside.

"Mrs. Smith, this is y/n. Y/n this is Mrs. Smith, the best retired dressmaker in Hawkins." he said sending her charming smile.

"Sweet as honey," she laughed. "And look at you! As beautiful as he described." she turned to you winking her eye. "Come on sweetie, we have to measure you."

Still confused without a word you moved deeper into the trailer. The woman took a tailor's tape measure and began to place it on your body, then looked at the dresses Eddie had brought, and when the final vision appeared in her mind she sat down at the sewing machine and got to work. In the meantime, she began to question you about the play, eager to tell her about it, even Eddie excitedly talked about some of the moments he was best at playing. You watched him with a smile on your lips, reminding yourself what a big difference there was between your early days and now. Eddie may not have noticed the warm sparks in your eyes, but Mrs. Smith caught them right away. When the dress was finished you went to the other room to change.

"Oh my god." the woman pressed both hands to her chest. "You look like a real princess darling, come on, look at yourself!" she said excitedly as you came back to the living room.

You approached the mirror with your eyes stuck to the floor, not knowing why you were afraid to lift your gaze and see your reflection. You've never been a fan of your appearance, but now you cared like never to like what you saw.

"Come on sweetheart, don't be afraid." she said putting her hands on your shoulders completely as if she sensed your discomfort.

You took a deep breath and slowly raised your head. The material highlighted your waistline, your cleavage was slightly cut out however in your opinion it was just the right size. The delicate material spread out around you, gently lifting when Ms. Smith told you to turn around. Even though you weren't wearing a proper makeup and your hair was a bit disheveled, the sight that greeted you in the mirror was a positive surprise. You felt beautiful, and for the first time in a very long time you felt the positive boost of your self-esteem fill you from the inside.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I feel…pretty." you answered quietly smiling at your reflection in the mirror.

"As you should." she chuckled.

"Thank you so much." In all your delight, you didn't notice that Eddie wasn't in the trailer, the fact that he had left only reached you when he returned to it.

"Well, young man, you were right - your girl looks just like from a fairlytale." she said as he closed the door behind him.

"Oh she is not-" he started to say however when he noticed you in your new outfit the words stopped in his throat. With an open mouth he looked at every centimeter of your body. For a while he had thought you were always looking very lovely, but now that you were standing in front of him in a beautiful ball dress, smiling from ear to ear, with a sparkle of happiness in your eyes he felt enchanted. Suddenly, all the beautiful princesses he had ever read about or created for his campaigns faded next to you. He also immediately knew on whom he would design his next ones.

You weren't the only one who looked fabulous. Eddie also swapped his hellfire shirt and torn jeans for a prince's costume, keeping the two shirt buttons undone, because when he had them buttoned he could feel himself suffocating.

"Now I'm starting to think that you're the Beauty." you joked.

"nu-uh," he shook his head. "No way." His voice was soft and to some extent intimate, easily taking control of you with it, and you eagerly let him. "Now, m'lady…" he bent down in front of you extending his hand. "Please follow me to your chariot."

Giggling you grabbed his hand, said goodbye and thanked Mrs. Smith again, who handed you your clothes and let him lead you to the van helping you get in.

While on the road, he avoided any questions about what else he had come up with. Every now and then, glancing in your direction, he could feel his nerves slowly gathering inside him. He was afraid that what he had planned would be too much, but there was no turning back. Nevertheless, seeing that you were excited instead of scared, he felt a little calmer.

"Why are we at the school?" you asked when you pulled into the parking lot.

"You have to trust me, please." he said getting out of the car and with a quick step he walked over to open the door for you.

"I trust you." you replied jumping out of the van and following him.

"Can you close your eyes?" he asked when you reached the right place. You did as he asked and felt him take your hands in his and begin to lead you forward. He stopped for a moment and you heard heavy door opening, then his hands found yours again. As you entered the room you heard whispers from other people but you still didn't open your eyes not wanting to spoil the surprise. When you finally stopped he said you could open them. +

Baffled you looked with delight at the scenery and decorations that looked almost like from a movie. There was a background painted on a big sheet and all around instead of big school lamps there were candles lighting up, and white Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. In the corner you noticed his friends from the band, Robin and one girl who played violin in the school band. Everyone smiled in your direction but no one said anything.

"What's going on?" you asked.

"Do you like it?" he asked still not letting go of your hands. He wondered if you could feel him sweating and hoping that you didn't.

"It's amazing!" you said. "But I don't understand."

"Let me show you." He pulled you gently to him and, taking a deep breath, placed one hand on your waist tilting the other slightly positioning you to dance. Later he looked toward the band and nodded.

It all started with the soft sounds of the violin followed by the rest of the instruments and at the very end Robin's voice.

Tale as old as time True as it can be Barely even friends Then somebody bends Unexpectedly

Just a little change Small to say the least Both a little scared Neither one prepared Beauty and the beast

Ever just the same| Ever a surprise Ever as before And ever just as sure As the sun will rise

You let him lead you. Giving yourself over completely to the magic that filled the situation, you wanted to take as much as possible from it. Eddie was internally dying of stress. In his head he was replaying everything as he practiced with Wayne, but his movements were stiff and clumsily, not like his uncle's. Despite the fact that he stepped on you a few times you seemed to pay no attention to it. In that moment only him existed for you. That moment that was too beautiful to be real. Wanting to see that it wasn't fiction you squeezed your hand on his bicep, as you took another step he sent you a questioning look.

"I'm checking if it's not a dream." you replied quietly looking straight into his eyes. You could have killed him with the sincerity he heard in that sentence. In truth it all felt like a dream to you, he could see it in your dreamy expression.

"'s not." he replied gaining a little more confidence, spinning you around and then pulling you close again. Taking advantage of the closeness you leant your head on him still letting him sway you to the rhythm of the song.

Ever just the same Ever a surprise Ever as before Ever just as sure As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time  Tune as old as song Bittersweet and strange Finding you can change Learning you were wrong Certain as the sun Rising in the east Tale as old as time Song as old as rhyme Beauty and the beast

Eddie had always been one of those who believed that magic existed. Now he was almost certain of it. Dancing with you in the semi-darkness, knowing that his plan had succeeded and seeing the soft, satisfied smile on your lips, he felt that he could have had anything he wanted - even the whole world. He had never felt like this before, and it definitely had to be due to magic. He saw no other explanation for the soothing warmth he felt in his heart, it just had to be pure magic.

As the song came to an end, he spun you around one last time and, placing his large hand on your back, he paused. Your lips, which he had been trying not to pay attention to for a long time, suddenly became all too noticeable. He wanted to kiss you so bad that moment - maybe if the others hadn't been watching you he would have leaned toward you long ago, but instead he stepped back slightly and looked at you. At how beautiful you looked in that dress, at how your seemingly messy hair added to your loveliness, at how you kept your hands on him without showing disgust or shame. Trying to read the emotion on your face, he saw nothing there but clear admiration, which suddenly frightened him also scaring away any thoughts of a kiss. Coming back to his senses he bowed to you and placed a small kiss on the top of your hand. For that moment, it had to be enough.

Unfortunately, everything beautiful ends quickly, all magic left and fled to its realm the moment someone turned on the light.

"So? What do you think?" an excited Robin ran up to you.

"It was wonderful!"

"Do you think we can add this scene to the script now?" asked Eddie.

"We have to!"

Eddie and you changed into your normal clothes and returned to help clean up the decorations, meanwhile figuring out how you would add everything to the script. After less than an hour, you all left the school. When he spotted Steve in the parking lot, who must have come to pick up Robin, he immediately offered to drive you home, not wanting you to go with them.

You were glad that your friend slowly began to change her opinion of him, after all, she had agreed to help him with everything, so you took that as a good sign.

All the way home you wondered what you should tell him. Everything he has done for you lately has been beyond your wildest expectations. From time to time you opened your mouth to say something, but each time you gave up, quickly turning your head towards the window. As you pulled up in front of the house, Eddie looked at you when once again you were struggling to find the words of any kind.

"You know you can be honest with me, right?" he said quietly, not wanting to sound pathetic. He didn't want to show that all the way through he saw you trying to tell him something. He didn't want to show that there was already a scenario in his mind where you were saying that what he did was an exaggeration and you didn't really like it. His overthinking prompted him to think that you were about to say that it was a bad idea to engage him in your play in the first place.

How perverse life could be? Just a few weeks ago he would have done anything to get rid of this role, now he was afraid of losing it, and with it he was afraid of losing something much more, someone who was becoming a very important part of his life although he didn't yet have the courage to admit it.

"I know." you replied with a sigh.

"If you didn't like it…"

"No! Oh, god no! That's not it." You said quickly turning toward him. "That's all you did for me…It was amazing. No one has ever done anything like that for me, no one has ever made me feel as special as you did today…"

"So what's the problem?"

"I keep thinking what I can say to thank you, but I can't find the words, my brain is suddenly empty." You chuckled nervously.

"Usually 'Thank you' is enough." He replied feeling immensely relieved. There it was again. That boyish smile that appeared in front of your eyes every time you closed them.

Feeling that it still wouldn't be enough, after a moment's thought and the huge reserves of courage you must have gathered in your body, you leaned over the gearbox toward him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thnak you Eddie." you said, gently brushing your lips against his cheek while saying these words. It was like the touch of a ghost, only instead of cold, he felt like he was about to burst into flames.

"You- you're Welcome." he mouthed in shock.

The way you thanked him was more than enough. It made him think that when Eddie went to bed after an eventful day, falling asleep he smiled like a fool while holding his cheek. That was the moment when Eddie Munson realised he was a goner for you.

The last rehearsal before the competition was just a formality, you all put so much work and effort into it, everyone knew their roles inside out, and thanks to Eddie's ideas the whole play became even more beautiful, especially the dance scene which every time made you feel as if you were transported to a fairy tale dimension where only the two of you could fit in.

You were just about to practice it again, but before Robin could sing the first words the door opened with a bang. Half of the basketball team, headed by Jason, walked in.

"Well, well, well!" he shouted looking around with a sneer on his lips, holding a disgusting-looking green smoothie in his hand. "I never thought there would be a day when I'd see Freak dressed in something other than his torn tatters," he said.

"The hell do you want?" you asked walking up to him. You really didn't feel like or have the strength to waste time on him.

"We came to see how you are doing, after all, you will be representing our school," he said.

"Since when do you care about this?"

"Since now." he replied while looking around once again. "And hey- I thought the title was Beauty and the Beast."

"It is." interjected Dusin.

"So where the hell is the Beauty? I only see two Beasts here so far." his comment drew laughter from the rest of his friends.

"That's enough." Said Eddie stepping forward. "Get the fuck out of here and take your minions with you." He pointed with his hand to the door.

"I don't know, I'd really like to see how you do on stage. Also, maybe it's not too late to ask Chrissy if she'd like to play Belle? It seems to me that for this role you need a person who is at least good-looking, and there is no one like that here."

"Serously Jason, just get out of here before you dirty something with your disgusting drink." You tried to be more composed than Eddie. You knew that was his goal, to get some kind of reaction from you. He wanted to see how he would get you guys off balance.

"Hm." he hummed and took a step toward you. "You mean get dirty…like this?" before anyone had time to react his drink landed right on your dress.

The sound of laughter was drowned out by the noise of your own blood and heartbeat. Feeling humiliated you squeezed through them and ran to the bathroom wanting to hide. You quickly grabbed a paper towel, soaked it and tried to wipe off the disgusting stain, unfortunately, whatever was mixed in that smoothie didn't want to come off so easily. Hot tears ran down your cheeks. You were angry, but also sad. Feeling helpless, you leaned against the sink and looked in the mirror. Your reflection had already stopped seeming to please you. Instead, worse and worse adjectives began to come to mind the longer you looked at yourself. Pathetic. That's what you chose as the best description of yourself and how you looked now. That was exactly what Eddie had called you during your last argument. Maybe he was right?

"Y/n!" Robin ran breathlessly into the bathroom. "Oh my god I am so sorry, son of a bitch I will kill him." she said looking at the ruined dress and then your reddened eyes.

"And I will help you." Immediately behind her, Eddie appeared. "I can go do it right now, just say the word." you suddenly felt overwhelmed by his presence. Overwhelmed that he sees you in such an ugly state.

"Did you know this is the girls' bathroom?" asked Robin.

"And do I look like I care right now?" he snapped at her. "Do you want me to go get him?" he returned with his eyes.

"No." You sniffed. "He was right, I don't fit into this."

"No. Stop." His voice was firm but gentle. "Don't say that. I don't know anyone more perfect for this role, don't let that bastard mess with your brain, please."

"You're saying that just to make me feel better."

"No. I'm saying it because I think so." he walked closer to you. "Look at me." he cupped your face in his hands. His heart suddenly lost its connection to his reason. It was now driven only and exclusively by emotion. "You are perfect for this role. Not only because you are so beautiful that I sometimes run out of breath, but because, like Bella, you are damn intelligent, you do everything to pursue your dreams, you care about others, you make everyone around you feel appreciated and happy, you always try to see something good in others even though they don't deserve it." Your face was still in his hands, and with his thumbs he wiped the tears from under your eyes. "I didn't deserve it, but yet you gave me a chance. Carver is not worth your tears. I'm not either, no one is, because you're too good for all of us. For the whole damn Hawkins. You are something more, much more. And never think in anything that you are not good enough. Because you are the best. Perfect."

Somewhere in the process, he moved close enough to you that his forehead rested against yours. You could feel his rapid breath on your skin. You were so close to each other that the urge to kiss you came back even stronger, but he knew this was not the moment to cross that line. He pulled you close with a hug, completely as if he wanted his arms to become a shield and protect you from everything bad. You needed comfort, and you openly accepted the one offered by Eddie by snuggling your face into his chest, listening to the rapid but steady beat of his heart.

From the sidelines, Robin watched you with a fond smile on her lips. In that moment, she finally believed you that he had changed. Until then, she didn't understand where all your admiration for the metalhead came from. Even when he even begged her to agree to sing a song in your play. Only now she saw that someone who had hurt you so much in the beginning was also the person who could make you the happiest in the world.

When you calmed down, you returned to the drama room, where you changed clothes. Ordering a short break, Eddie took advantage of the slow moment and took the dress to the cleaners, hoping they could save it. When he returned you finished the rehearsal, and then each went his own way to prepare mentally in solitude for the performance, from which you are now only two days away.

Doomsday has finally arrived. Despite the stress and nerves, you were all excited. You truly felt like you had a chance to win, after all, everything about your performance had to be at the highest level.

You were the last to perform, so you had a lot of time to watch your competitors, who were unfortunately great. Beautiful decorations and costumes that looked like they came from a real movie set, all too expensive for an ordinary inter-school competition. Although you loved your handmade decorations and costumes, you couldn't stop the thoughts that told you they would never compare to those in the view of others.

When it was finally your turn, you forgot about yourself, replacing your personality with Belle's. In that moment, you didn't exist, just as Eddie Munson didn't exist either. Portraying how your characters were falling in love with each other was the easiest thing in the world. The initial small and shy gestures came naturally, all the lines designed to direct the audience that the Beauty was becoming enamored with the Beast passed easily through your throat. Deep down you knew the reason for this.

During the iconic ballroom dance scene, you didn't have to fake your enchantment at all. You felt the same way every time, and now was no exception, because somewhere during this crazy journey your characters were not the only ones who fell in love with each other. Somewhere under the disguise of a beast, Eddie was sneaking into your heart, and in that moment it occurred to you that his roots were already so deep that there was no turning back. It was certain as the sun rising in the east, that you were undeniably and seriously in love with Eddie Munson. Something between the two of you allowed you to believe that he, at least in a small way, also felt the same.

As the song came to an end you managed to catch a quick glimpse of the audience, your mom, Dustin's Mom and Eddie's Uncle were sitting in the front row, looking very touched and proud.

In the final scene, the Beast was stabbed. In despair, you fell to your knees beside Eddie's body, beginning to sob and beg him not to leave you.

"I can't lose you." you repeated over and over again. It didn't just apply to the show. It was the one that brought you together and it was the one that could separate you. For a long time you had tried to push those thoughts aside, but now that the end was so close you couldn't defend against them. Despite the moments when you had the feeling that the metalhead reciprocated your feelings, you also knew that there was a chance that today could be the last day before he disappeared from your life, so the sadness that accompanied you was a little more real than you wanted it to be.

Suddenly all the lights in the hall went out, Eddie had less than two minutes to get rid of his beast costume, put on his tattered clothes and become a prince. This wasn't difficult either, because with disheveled curls on his head, he looked gorgeous in the light of the colorful spotlights that symbolized the magic of the enchanted rose. Like a real prince from your fondest dreams. You stood motionless staring at him intensely, your brain couldn't keep up with your eyes, you felt yourself getting hot.

"Belle…" he said, extending his hand toward you. You didn't react. Still unable to shake off the excess of emotions that fell upon you in an instant. Seeing this, he decided to improvise. With a slow step, he approached you and gently grabbed your hand and, lifting it up, applied it to his cheek. "It's me."

Forgetting about the rest of the world and the fact that you were now being watched by more than a hundred people you completely drifted off into the moment. "Yes, it's you." you replied smiling and placing your other hand on his cheek. "It's really you." Without waiting for his response, you made one last change in the script. Instead of the usual hug that was in the original version, you kissed him.

However, it wasn't Belle who kissed the prince. It was you kissing Eddie, and moments later, when he got over the shock, Eddie kissed you while wrapping his arms around your waist. Relief, desire, happiness, excitement. If the feelings could be materialized they would look like little fireworks exploding all around you. His warm lips matched yours perfectly, his taste suddenly becoming your favorite. No kiss you had ever experienced in your life equaled this one. Leaning you back slightly, Eddie deepened the kiss one last time before pulling away from you. Looking into each other's eyes you both smiled like dumb fools.

You were brought back to the real world by the thunderous applause you received from the audience, you reluctantly moved away from each other as the rest of the group joined you. Together, all of you, holding hands, bowed and left the stage. Backstage, your loved ones were already waiting for you. Your mother hugged you tightly complimenting you on everything she could, Wayne patted Eddie proudly on the shoulder, and then came up to you with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and handed it to you saying it was the best play he had ever seen. Later, absorbed in conversations with the rest of the members, you didn't have time to talk about what happened between you on stage. Part of you was dying of curiosity to know what he really thought about it, but the other part, the more insecure one, preferred never to bring up the subject anymore fearing rejection.

Finally it was time for the results to be announced, and you stood between Dustin and Eddie, squeezing their hands tightly as the jury announced its verdict. Unfortunately, the magic you felt on stage did not reach them and you got second place. You were disappointed, but that was not the reason that worried you. Even so, you were proud of you guys, in your mind you were the winners. What weighed on your heart was Eddie's behavior, who as soon as he heard the results completely died down. He silently helped clean everything up, trying to avoid contact with you, finally saying only a quiet "Bye." And together he and Wayne drove home. You went over this scenario in your head a thousand times, but you would never have expected everything to end so rapidly and unexpectedly.

You spent the night staring at the ceiling and analyzing your entire friendship from beginning to end, was the magical feeling just a figment of your imagination? Did you interpret everything wrong? Why once again were you about to lose something you cared so much about?

For a whole week Eddie avoided you like the plague. You still couldn't get over it, and even worse was the missing him. Whenever he spotted you in the hallway he immediately changed direction and looked away. You knew that kissing him would be crossing a boundary to some extent, but you didn't expect that this will be the result. You thought that at least you would be able to talk about it. You also didn't understand why he reciprocated it then, why he was smiling from ear to ear immediately afterwards and everything was fine until the results were announced. Was he disgusted with you and what had happened?

"If you want I'll go talk to him again, but I don't promise to be nice." said Robin seeing your sad sight of the wounded puppy that followed his silhouette in the corridor.

"No. I'll go this time." you sighed, promising yourself that this would be the last time you would dare to look into those chocolate eyes that you now dreamed of at night.

Not wanting to face rejection in the middle of the school hallway, you waited patiently until the end of class. Unfortunately, somewhere in the middle of the day Eddie completely disappeared from the area, so determined you immediately set off on foot towards the trailer park. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating with your quest. Halfway there, cold and heavy raindrops started to fall from the sky. The thought crossed your mind that you should turn back, but your determination did not allow you to do so. Soaked and cold, with mud on your shoes and the bottom of your jeans, you arrived at your destination, looking around. Oh well. You had no idea which trailer belonged to the Munsons, anyway. Stupid. Stupid. You stupid idiot. You scolded yourself in your mind. Your hair stuck to your face interfering with your clear vision. But what did you really want to see? Wandering between the trailers, you noticed his car. It was standing in such a place that you didn't know which trailer you could attach it to.

"Jesus Christ, kid!" you heard a familiar voice from behind you immediately turning to him. "Come inside!" Wayne opened the door wide and, splashing your feet on the ground, you ran to the trailer.

When you stepped inside you were hit by a pleasant wave of warmth, and after a moment a soft, dry towel that the man took out for you from a cabinet that was located in a small hallway.

"Thank you." you said quietly instantly wiping your head.

"The hell are you doin' here in this weather?" he asked, walking over to the stove and grabbing the kettle. "I'm gonna make you some tea to warm you up."

"I wanted to talk to Eddie." you said quietly while covering your face slightly with a towel. You must have looked ridiculous, Wayne must have thought you had lost your mind.

At the same time Eddie was lying on his bed with his walkman diving into the world of music listening to the saddest songs he could find in his collection. For a week you had not left his thoughts even for a second, and the memory of your kiss haunted him at the absolute least opportune moments. The touch of your lips left a permanent mark on him and a void that could not be filled by anything else. He couldn't get out of his head the small, sweet sound that involuntarily emerged from the back of your throat when he reciprocated the kiss. When he closed his eyes he could see the happiness that was painted on your face and how your eyes sparkled in the spotlight. It was all too good to be true. The moment he heard the verdict and saw the disappointment on your face he knew it was over. That you probably didn't want anything to do with him anymore, after all, it was because of him that you didn't win. It was his fault, he let you down and didn't know how he could look you in the face any longer after that.

Lying on his side and staring at the wall he was cut off from the real world when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. Surprised and slightly frightened, he broke off sitting down on the mattress with even more disbelief looking at you soaked in the middle of his room. Had he fallen asleep and it was his imagination playing tricks on him now? He began to blink rapidly, but when you still did not disappear, he pinched his arm.

"Eddie I am real." you said seeing his behavior.

"What are you doing here?" he asked pulling off his headphones.

"I came to talk."

"About what?"

"About that kiss." he only nodded tightening his lips into a thin line, mentally preparing himself to hear how much you regret it. You gave him a moment to respond but he didn't, so you just continued. "I know I shouldn't have. I know I basically did it without your permission, and you may feel bad about it, you have a right to." you sighed. "I was just thinking- Actually I don't know what I was thinking, at that moment the only thing I could focus on was how much I wanted to kiss you. I got carried away, it all looked so magical, you looked so magical that my common sense stopped working." You breathed heavier and heavier feeling the lump in your throat grow. "I'm really sorry for all this and I'll understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore. Just please tell me about it, because this silence and constant second-guessing of everything is killing me, I miss you Eddie and even if you don't reciprocate my feelings I would still like to have you in my life as a friend, but if you don't even want that… I will understand too."

It definitely had to be a dream. Or he must have smoked one too many joints and was now hallucinating. Whatever was happening now couldn't be real. You couldn't be real. You were too good. Too good for someone who destroyed your dreams.

"Say something Eddie, please." your quiet voice went straight to his heart. The heart you had long had at your fingertips.

"You came all the way out here, in a downpour, to tell me that, you wanted that kiss?" he asked getting up from the bed and walking over to you.

"If I didn't want it, I wouldn't have done it," you said.

"I thought it was you who didn't want to know me."

"But- why?"

"We didn't win because of me."

"Oh, Eddie." you bridged the gap between you by grabbing his hand. "Even though we didn't win the competition I thought I won something much better."

"What?"

"My own prince." You smiled softly.

This time he was the first to kiss you. This time the kiss was soothing, healing all the wounds of insecurity that had been bleeding inside you for the past week.

"Beauty and the Freak, huh?" he asked against your lips, smiling.

"No." you kissed him again.

"Beauty and the Beast?" he asked once again with teasing tone.

"Nope." another kiss.

"Then what?"

"Eddie and y/n." you whispered while hanging your arms around his neck.

"My favorite version." he hummed and snuggled his face into the bend of your neck.

"Hey kids, sorry to bother you, but the tea is ready." said Wayne peeking into the room. Seeing you two hugging he smiled broadly. "About damn time." he commented. "Now for the love of God give her some dry clothes before she gets cold!"

"Oh shit- yes." He walked quickly to the closet looking for something suitable in it. At that moment you were so hot that you completely forgot about how soaked you were. Happiness was working on you like a little internal furnace, but you gladly accepted one of his Hellfire shirts and his old PE shorts.

"You can call your mother and tell her you're staying with us for dinner, then Eddie will give you a ride home." the old man said disappearing behind the door.

As you left the room your attention was caught by a small piece of paper with a drawing on it. On it was a princess in a beautiful dress, strangely similar to you.

"What's that?" you asked, picking it up.

"Uh-oh…" Eddie began to blush. "It's a new character for my campaign."

"Looks nice." you chuckled.

"I had a very good inspiration." he laughed nervously.

"Will you tell me about her?"

"I'll tell you about anything you want."

"Sounds like a plan."

taglist: @i-me-mine @phantypurple @tlclick73

[ngc-5194]

yknow i could very easily accept someone not liking the mobile kh games if people actually gave... understandable reasons??

mostly i've heard that they're 'inaccesable'. which. they're in general more accessable since the console they run on is a phone, a device more people have than a ps4. though, granted, it is the offline version of both games only.

however, if you don't have a phone, have limited space on your phone, or are uninterested in a mostly unplayable game, all of which are understandable, there are cutscene compilations (ux (story important, all), dr) available on youtube too!

if the lots of reading is the issue then there is a completely dubbed version of the cutscenes of ux and you can easily find voiced playthroughs of both union x and dark road on youtube as well.

(for instance, here is a playthrough of dark road that i watched as my phone needed repairs by the time i had caught up with the series enough to move onto khdr. but, of course, there are many more options if you simply search up 'kingdom hearts [dark road/union x] playthrough' on youtube. find whichever one suits the kind of videos you like to watch best!)

if you don't have the time to sit through all of the cutscenes, there are summaries also avaliable! here is a video one for union x, and though unfortunately i can't find a similar one for dark road, it is also always acceptable to just read the wiki section on the story of the game! (here is the union x wiki section as well)

the other major complaint i've heard is that it's 'too confusing' or that the story 'doesn't make sense in parts'.

to which i first must ask, what part of kingdom hearts does make sense to you then? many many signifigant, heavily important parts of this series can be the most mind boggling things you have ever read or heard. so much so that we are known as the fans of that overly complex and insane disney game. that is what we are known for!!

and more to an actual point, there are many many people out there in this fandom who would be thrilled to talk to you about parts of the plot you found confusing. who have posts pages and pages long on minute details.

we are all fans of this weird ass game series and we all can. i don't know. help each other, newcomers and people who have been here awhile alike. us fans who like the mobile games are no different. we are willing to share and help and explain anything you need.

and as for the take that the mobile games are 'unimportant'.

strelitzia, someone deeply important to marluxia, larxene, and ventus' backstories, is seemingly implied to be one of the main characters in kh4 and if you have no knowledge of union x, then you likely have zero idea who she is.

the foretellers and the master of masters are being set up as potential villians in the next arc of the series. all of these characters were introduced in union x, four years before back cover released. and while yes, back cover gives the perspective of the foretellers more while union x is from the eyes of the keykids, there are many interactions with the foretellers in union x, beyond the scope of back cover, that are deeply important to the plot and establishment of their characters.

while yes, dark road has drastically less set up for the future in it, as all of the characters featured are now dead, it gives a lot of depth to xehanort and eraqus both. eraqus' behaviours and motivations are given reason—not necessarily morally good ones, and certainly not ones that always provide justification for his actions, but actual fully defined reasons for it all.

as it has always been with kh, every game is important to understand the story. you couldn't simply play kh1 kh2 and kh3 and expect to understand everything, and you can not expect to understand everything if you don't at least know surface level of the stories of the mobile games too.

you do not have to play them yourself. they do not have to be your favourite games in the series. if you are reading this and you hate them, you can stay not liking them even for all i care.

but you have to accept that they are important to the plot of the series. that they can not simply be ignored if you want to grasp the entire story of kingdom hearts.

[chimerahyperfix]

YAAAAYYY MORE IN CRAFT AND CAGES CONTENT!!!! YIPPEE WOOHOO!!!! Ive been meaninf 2 do one of these 4 a while (shoutout 2 the handful of drafts for these lost in the vast expanse of my Drafts) Time for The Horrors smile.

(content warnings - self harm, suicide + idealation [both simply mentioned but. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on], short but relatively graphic depiction of death/injury - this one is heavy)

There are many ways for you to end a loop. You don’t like any of your options, but you have them. The House is tall enough to jump from. Messing up crafting the bomb works, but it takes longer than you'd like it too-- and Change forbid someone finds you. The tears are nice enough, better than anything else you have access to. The King; well, the less he kills you the better.

The EASIEST option you have is in your room.

Easiest. Not the kindest- just the easiest.

It’s not hard to see how many… extremely dangerous chemicals you have. They litter your desk you should have cleaned it you should have cleaned it you should have cleaned it.and fill your closet. Spilled over and swept up and hid in all the little nooks and crannies of your shared room. Mirabelle knows not to bother using them for anything - and thank Change, because you're not sure what you'd do if you hurt her because you were careless. Yeah, you two have your little squabbles; but in the end it's all fun and games to you. You don't want to hurt her.

You don't want to hurt anyone, actually. Barring the King, of course. That was never your intention. Every now and then, your mind wonders to all those cut-off loops, and you wonder if they continued without you. It's something you've started to manually block out.

They are the fastest the quietest the lonliest an avaliable option. And it sucks, because they hurt. They hurt so, so much. But it’s the fastest way out and you don’t have to make others watch.

The first few times; they were all accidents. Back when you couldn't make the craft bomb fast, back when it took you hours to craft -- it's hard work, making a bomb from scratch! -- you'd always eventually mess up trying to take a drink of your water.

The first time was the worst. You don't remember all of it, not really, not anymore -- blotted that one out as much as you possibly can. You do remember the pain. It was basically acid, so it absolutely tore your throat up.

Everything after the realization point is blurry. You remember screaming, maybe, and blood spilling everywhere. A hand smacking your back. Choking to death. Waking back up at the very same desk with the lingering feeling of gore mashed against your mouth.

Even now, you can still taste it. Like the blood and toxins have seeped into your very being, coating your teeth and your throat. If you bit something you'd probably poison it, too, like a snake, or a scorpions tail.

It's... not that bad, now. You can hold down the sounds that scream in your chest, and simply lay down and die in a puddle of lightless, and that's fine. You've gotten the whole ''look like your sleeping at your desk'' shtick down too. It still hurts, crab does it ever, but you must've burned through all the nerves in the area recently, bevause the pain just gets further and further away. Smaller. Quieter.

Eventually, there's a possibility someone will find you. It happened the first time around. It's not a thought you'd like to entertain, but every hypothesis has a line of reasoning behind it, and eventually the variable will pop up. You very well could be running on a tightrope of when the other side will drop, or a coin flip or something. Until that actually happens, you swear off thinking about it.

For now, you close the door behind you and make your way to your little glass bottle-ridden prison. You need to loop back.

[17snifflesandsnzes]

rubs/blows nose on whatevers avaliable, gets sick like 80 times a year and prone to colds for mingyu :D thanks alot!!

Sure!!! Hope you like it~~

Kim Mingyu:

1. Rubs or blows nose on whatever's available:

Mingyu sniffles, rubbing at his nose for the millionth time that day. Seventeen had been cleaning the dorm for about 4 hours now (it was incredibly messy), and it’s successfully driving Mingyu's nose crazy. Rubbing at his itchy eyes, he calls out to the person closest to him. "Jeonghan hyung? Do we have any tissues?" Jeonghan turned to him, a look of pity on his face. "No, Mingoo-yah, we don't. Will you be okay, or should I ask someone to buy some?" Mingyu groans in frustration. "Don't worry about it, hyung." He says, and Jeonghan seems to relax a little. Having no other option, Mingyu brings the collar of his shirt up, rubbing his nose with it. "You're that desperate? Your nose must be really itchy for you to sacrifice your shirt like that." Jeonghan says to him, tone teasing and Mingyu sighs. Well, he's not wrong.

2. Gets sick like 80 times a year:

"hih'ItShihH!- hh'IktChihHh!- Ugh..." Mingyu sniffles as he blinks the tears out of his eyes. He was currently at the gym, working out with Chan, but his oncoming cold was making it difficult for him to focus on working out. "You're sneezing again, hyung?! Weren't you sick just last month?" Chan asks incredulously, and Mingyu sniffles again. "Ugh, I think I caught another cold." Chan sighs before picking up his things and ushering Mingyu outside the gym. "Let's get you home, hyung. You need to rest." As they walk side by side, Mingyu brings his wrist to his nose. "hih'IkChiHh!- hh'ItShihH!- Ugh! I hate being sick." Chan laughs loudly at that. Climbing into his car after making sure Mingyu's comfortable in the passenger seat, Chan looks at Mingyu with an endeared expression. "Well, that sucks for you, hyung, because you seem to get sick at least 80 times a year." Mingyu groans at that as Chan laughs again.

3. Prone to colds:

Mingyu sniffles as he gets out of the shower, a towel around his shoulders. Wonwoo gives him a look. "You should wear something quickly, Gyu. You know how easily you catch colds." Mingyu pouts, giving Wonwoo an annoyed look. "Hyung, I'm not that sensitive to the cold! I'll be fine." Wonwoo shrugs. "Sure, whatever you say." After a few hours, Wonwoo hears the sound of sneezing coming from Mingyu's room. "Gyu? You okay?" Wonwoo asks, sticking his head into Mingyu's room. Mingyu rubs his nose harshly. "Ugh, I don't know, hyung." Wonwoo walks up to Mingyu, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I told you to take care of yourself. You're really prone to colds, y'know?"

[compassionatereminders]

Dear Kat, I've been following you for some time and wanted to ask for your perspective on a subject that's been on my mind lately: euthanasia. (If you'd rather not answer this, you may delete it.)

I recently learned from the news that a woman from the Netherlands, Zoraya ter Beek, plans to die next month because she could no longer bear living with her mental pain. She was reported to be depressed, autistic, with borderline personality disorder. And as I dug deeper into it, I found even more stories of women like her seeking and obtaining assisted suicide. Over and over again, the testimony from the women and their families indicated that it was better if they died.

Needless to say, this was highly distressing to find out, as someone who is also autistic and has dealt with anxiety and depression off and on since I was 13. I've been bullied for the former even before I got my diagnosis and was fired twice in a row because of it. Now I'm seeking a career change and I'm running into the same fears. What if my current employer decides I'm not good enough no matter how hard I work, all because of this thing I can't change? Is this rejection going to follow me for the rest of my life, no matter where I go?

If I recall correctly, you're from the Netherlands, and you strongly believe in supporting bodily autonomy. Should the right to this autonomy include self harm, even suicide?

No, I am not in any current danger in that regard. I want very much to live and educate. My issue is that so many people like me are choosing to end their lives, and the people around them seem to be encouraging it.

I'm not from the Netherlands and euthanasia isn't legal where I live. That being said, I am highly critical of the countries which are implementing euthanasia programs for various disabled individuals while simultaneously cutting down on resources and programs which would allow said disabled people to live full lives while being disabled. I do not think the solution to disabled people suffering immensely in this society is euthanasia, and especially in places where there aren't adequate opportunities for disabled people to actually live full lives, I am actually very critical of offering euthanasia as a solution. Not because I want people who don't want to be here to be forced to suffer, but because it seems like making euthanasia avaliable frees governments and health care systems from making sure other options are actually accessible and adequate. So while ideologically I am in favor of people's right to bodily autonomy, even when used for self harm, I think legalizing and effectualizing euthanasia in this kind of society is very likely to be a slippery slope and an excuse not to invest in disabled people beyond allowing us the freedom to die.

[van-yangyin]

Sexy Vampire's Big Shirt 【Simblreen 2023 - Weekend 1】 (5)

You couldn't be in my porchlight this weekend on Tumblr? Or couldn't you get all my treats? Don't worry, now Sexy Vampire's Big Shirt is available for everyone. This was part of treat I gave to those choosing number five of my five treats.

This is Soft Version for all publics that contains a big shirt with straps, a big shirt without straps and leg straps accessory only for Male Frame. This is my first time sharing clothes made by me from scratch. Hope you enjoy this gift! 🍬🍭

Spicy Version here. (R18 Version)

A big shirt with straps of which it’s said that design belonged to a glamorous member of Straud family who dressed all his prey alike. 🦇

Download under keep reading ↓

If you download my CC it means your agree with my T.O.U (English/Español/日本語).

🎃And I’ve used as thumbnail the winning vote between two I proposed, Don Lothario (Juan Tenorio) as thumbnail because Nina Caliente and Don Lothario won (or at least our sims 2 version of them, from @lea-heartscxiv and me). But for those of you who voted for Eliza and Bob Pancakes don’t worry, when I posted female version of this clothes, I’ll use Eliza and Bob Pancakes as models in NSFW version and Eliza in SFW version (At least our makeover version of Pancakes that @lea-heartscxiv and I have done of them).🎃

Sexy Vampire's Big Shirt for Male Frame

Sexy Vampire's Big Shirt with Superior Straps and Only Shirt General Info:

9 swatches

Base game compatible

Male Frame

Teen to Elders

Located on Shirts

all LOD’s

normal and specular maps included

HQ compatible

Textures and mesh made from scratch

Compatible with higher and lower sliders

Opposite frame and gender allowed but not tasted, may have issues

Female Frame will be avaliable after Simblreen Event is finished (November) for lack of time

Custom Thumbnails

LODs Information: Shirt with superior straps: LOD0: 7052 poly | LOD1: 3653 poly | LOD2: 1765 poly | LOD3: 876 poly Shirt: LOD0: 3256 poly | LOD1: 2107 poly | LOD2: 1061 poly | LOD3: 462 poly

Preview in CAS:

~⭐️~

Sexy Vampire's Leg Straps General Info:

1 swatch

Base game compatible

Male Frame

Teen to Elders

Located on Index Finger and texture located on Necklace ※This accessory is thinked for being use with shirt of this set, if you want to use it with other clothes and accessories, keep in mind not to wear necklaces※

all LOD’s

normal and specular maps included

HQ compatible

Textures and mesh made from scratch

Compatible with higher and lower sliders

Opposite frame and gender allowed but not tasted, may have issues

Female Frame will be avaliable after Simblreen Event is finished (November) for lack of time

Custom Thumbnails

LOD Information: LOD0: 3256 poly | LOD1: 2107 poly | LOD2: 1061 poly | LOD3: 462 poly

Preview in CAS:

~⭐️~

~⭐️DOWNLOAD LINKS⭐️~

※Choose download the one/ones you want the most separately or download "Merged", where all the files are together.※ (Patreon and SFS)

🎃DOWNLOAD LINK🎃 (Patreon ~ Always free, no adfly)

🎃DOWNLOAD LINK🎃 (SFS ~ Always free, no adfly)

~⭐️🎃⭐️~

Let me know if you find any problem. 🙏❣️

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[maddcactus-art]

COMMISSIONS INFO

How do I work: Message me here, note the kind of drawing you want, explain what exactly you want me to draw, provide with references if possible. If I agree to work on your commission, I'll give you a link to my Boosty page, where you can use a donation pool (PayPal\bank card payment), to pay for a commission.

What will you get: A small sketch preview of your commission with an option of One free fix - if something is not quite right or bothering you - I’ll fix it. (Next three fixes will cost 5$ for each fix. Over three fixes the price will get raised on 5$ for each subsequent fix.). When picture is done completely I’ll send you a PNG file, full size.

How to pay: For now the only way for me to get payments is through Boosty (it's like an alternative to Patreon). You can pay full price or half of it at the beginning, and other half - after looking at the small preview.

Notes:

All the prices are listed without backgounds. For head shots backgrounds are free. For pictures of a half body backgrounds will cost from 15 to 20$. For a full body pictures backgrounds will cost from 20 to 30$. The more details - the more the price.

The prices are listed for a single character. For every additional character the price will grow by this formula - original price minus five bucks. (for example: a half body with a flat colour (35$) + additional character (30$).

What I WILL draw: Fan characters, OC’s, game\movie\book\cartoon characters, animals, etc. What I WON’T draw: Gore, porn, mecha, etc. I have the right to reject your commission if it’s out of my comfort zone, has questionable themes, or something I do not like\can’t really draw. If you have questions - feel free to send me an ask. 

Why Boosty and not PayPal?: due to PayPal blocking all of russian accounts, I can no longer work through it. Unfortunately it means there's no invoices and a different website I can process payments through. All payments go through my page on Boosty, through a donation pool. The payments can be made through your PayPal account or a bank card! (If an instruction or any help will be needed - I'll provide an instruction with screenshots. The platform is safe and is used by many artists, who has been dropped and left out by PayPal or Patreon). At the moment Boosty has some issues with PayPal and probably the only method of payment avaliable is by a bank card. Boosty is trying to resolve the issue. There's also a Hipolink as an alternative... If you need any reassurance in my trustworthiness - you can see a bunch of previous commissions I've made for a lot of people here, or on twitter }: )

[f0point5]

my two cents on the oscar situation is that mclaren should have wait before putting this big commitment, mclaren is a weird car to drive and have the history of being undeveloped every start of the season and I feel this is the reason oscar look better last year, he got the chance to learnt when they were fighting for p18 and when it got their update and got better he had master the feeling on the car unlike this year where the car started as a clear number 3 and now is more obvious the he's having a harder time to adjust and is more obvious because his teammate is confortable and deliver right way, he's gonna improve but not at lando level, mclaren wanted to lock him down asap and it's gonna backfire they should have waited imo but is a good pair maybe the third or four but look at the drivers avaliable for next year they should have waited, I guess they were scare of him getting snatched but realistic what other team better thn mclaren would want him? ferrari won't, mercedes already have russell, rbr have checo and academy drivers on the go, they should have waited, there's albon and look now there's literally sainz, I'm just glad that this nonsense of him being better than lando is over

I know it’s a tricky car to drive but one year driving it should give him some comfort. I also feel like his one lap pace shows that he does know how to dial into the car, just maybe not the tyres? Or perhaps the one lap pace is deceptive.

I still think Oscar has tremendous potential. He’s got a level head, which is invaluable. And he does have pace. I don’t think they’ve made a mistake. If I’m remembering rightly the McLaren young drivers aren’t terribly promising, I don’t think they’ll have anyone ready to step up before the end of 2026 which is how long they have Oscar. And honestly even if Oscar never does what they thought he was going to, having him as a number two to Lando is not a bad thing.

I think if McLaren hadn’t locked him down RBR might have been looking at him last year. Checo was there by the skin of his teeth because they didn’t have a viable alternative, but I think by the time Oscar had won that sprint in Qatar, had he not have a contract with McLaren RBR would have made him some kind of offer. Because they know the McLaren is tough to drive, and they’re not scared of a young driver…or of cycling through a young driver if he doesn’t deliver. Obviously Ferrari and Merc had their own nonsense going on behind the scenes but no one knew where they were going to be by the end of 2025 either at that time. I think Zak made a smart decision. He saw a driving pairing that worked and he locked it in. And honestly it’s still working. I wanted Oscar to be challenging Lando but that was never ideal for McLaren.

I don’t think anyone could have predicted that Sainz would be available. Hindsight is 20/20. But I think with the info they had at the time that was a smart choice, and short of them being able to get Sainz back (which mind you I’m not sure they would anyway because he’s not going to want to be second to lando) Oscar is still their best option imo.

Idk he’s taking longer to cook than I thought but that doesn’t mean he never will.

[unityrain24]

❅Jotun Loki Design❅

my submissions for @jotun-design-party, though i don't know if it's too late (deadline was december 17th, and it it still dec 17 for me {by less than an hour} but idk if it is for it). If i missed the deadline, i'm sorry.

I had been looking forward to this for several months (and even started a separate jotun loki design months ago in preparation/excitement), but i just haven't been able to do much as of late. Which is sad. And while i had been planning to enter the contest for months, as it drew nearer i realized i probably wouldn't be able to. Which was very sad, because this is one of the only things i've actually looked forward to in forever :(.

As such, though, i really didn't want this oppurtunity to go to waste, like so many others i've had to, and especially in light of magpiemurder going to leave its account soon, i just decided i'd have to push though and do it. I spent pretty much all of today just drawing drawing drawing. Traditional sketched, and then "quickly" added colour digitally (it took several hours as well).

also. all the designs are supposed to be symmetrical (save design 四 and the nails in designs 三&四), so if you see any mistakes... sshhh

More on designs:

一: average battle outfit made from thick, rubbery frost beast leather

二: ceremonial battle armour, used in head shaving ceremony and first battle of a war. Made from thick and (some) thin leather, as well as some mercury metal rings, beads, and bone

三: average every-day wear (inside the city). made of fur, cloth woven from fur, thin leather mercury and bone.

四: average every-day wear (inside city). Likely for around-city wear, not relaxing indoors, due to the uncomfortableness of the beads. Made of fur fabric, fur, thin leather, beads, some bone.

五: average everyday wear (inside city). By far my favourite. For the loincloth, i tried making it look like celtic knots that start right at the top, then sort of get looser and "fade-out" at the end. Thin leather, fur fabric, bone, beads, possibly mercury metal rings.

六: everyday travel wear (outside of city). Not made for warmth, but for protection agains the elements (sharp stone, cutting blizzards, etc). Thick leather, mercury rings. Since loki is royalty, the under layer on theirs is made of black fish scale (the rarest) (also it's supposed to be slightly iridescent but i couldn't do that). For less lavish options, under layers could be made of simply thinner leather, fabric, or a nothing. The nothing option has the jotun wearing it craft an under layer out of ice, and allows for more skin avaliable to make ice for other uses. Also notice how lokis gloves leave the palm bear; this is to allow for the ability to still make ice.

also wanted to say pretty much any of these outfits could be worn with cloaks (save design 一) but i didn't draw them

also: i wanted to do another outfit, a traditional wedding attire. I imagine the jotnar wouldn't actually wear clothes for a wedding, but rather make their own covering out of their own ice. Being their own design, it shows their partner "who they are", and the transparency of the ice represents vulnerability and transparency (in communication; honesty).

jotun headcanons

[gender0bender]

Some pages from my Discourse Queen zine, now avaliable for view and download on my itchio! Payment is optional but I really appreciate it.

IDs: Three zine pages. The first depicts a cutting from a magazine showing a PC poking out of a hollowed out red telephone handset mouth-piece, there is a keyboard attached to the monitor. There are words written around the image made with various cuttings from magazines, these letters spell out Discourse Queen Magazine, there is regular text at the bottom that reads by Gender0bender.

The next page is two cuttings of old white/cream coloured pcs with the screens removed. The text inside the two screens reads: You've heard of a size queen a salad queen a scene queen etc but in our digital age a new queen has sprung up THE DISCOURSE QUEEN. The final three words are all in caps, and made out of letter clippings. The background is made up of red diagrams of tapes and keyboards.

The final page is made up of text that reads: HELP! Rules of Discourse Queening the worst faith interpretation must be the right one. 

-if dehumanising others is bad why did God make it feel so good? -don't think too much about why you hold minorities to a higher standard than their oppressors.

-your follower count is your life force do whatever you must to keep it going even if it means livestreaming your death.

-never let a drop of genuine emotion slip out.

-big issues like capitalism are too overwhelming but if you cyberbully enough people you too can be the made up saviour of a made up cause.

-why experience something for real when you can just imagine it?

The word help has been interplaced in between the lines along the page. ED.