#personal rant ahoy

[tuulikki]

The problem I have with algorithm-driven social media seems to be that the only genuinely social aspect would have to be with people who are already into the same shit as me

Maybe I want to see what’s eating other peoples’ brains. What rabbit holes are other people tumbling down

Maybe I don’t want content relevant to my interests

[picklerocket]

Happy 3rd Anniversary Little Nightmares 2!!

I have not finished my pointillism piece for the celebration, so it will have to be belated. Instead, I will share a disjointed rant about how I think Thin Man and the Signal Tower function!

In my mind, the Signal Tower from Little Nightmares 2 (pictured on the right) is a Lovecraftian Shoggoth (pictured on the left), and it crashed to the earth thousands- perhaps even millions of years before we see the game take place. This is a theory I have personally had since the game came out, but I know there is a theory video floating around somewhere about this same theory, and a few of my fellow fans also share it.

(If you have not played/watched LN played or listened to the podcast, and do not want it spoiled, be warned! Spoilers ahoy!)

I will attempt to explain how I see Thin Man and the Signal Tower having a sort of symbiotic relationship, and what exactly Thin Man is and where Mono comes from.

In "The Sound of Nightmares", we learn that children almost always get to the Nowhere in their sleep, with a few possibly having been born there (i.e. the Pretender). However, Mono seems different, and not just from Six. His abilities of walking through tv screens, and whatever other powers he possesses as he grows into Thin Man, seem to be completely natural to him- to the point that he must cover his face with a bag to keep them at bay.

I am going to take this a step further and say that Mono was not only born in the Little Nightmares universe, but he wasn't even born on their version of the earth!

This is where my theories begin to seem a bit far-fetched, so stay with me.

I have decided to call what Mono/Thin Man is, a "Broadcaster" (a name which was assigned to Thin Man by fans when he first appeared in the secret ending of the Residence DLC), and has been a populr name for him in fanfiction, as well as fanart and comics as well.

Well, now I want to take a closer look at Thin Man's powers- and how they are comprised of electromagnetic fields and frequencies of light. So why can Thin Man manipulate these things in his environment to the point where he can pretty much control reality?

Because he is part of a species- a "Broadcaster". An alien. He has these superhuman abilities because he isn't a human at all!

You may have noticed that I said "a" Broadcaster. Implying there are more- which I believe there are, somewhere, out in the universe. I personally think that they are ageless beings similar in life cycle to the fabled pheonix; Growing old and being reborn again new each time.

But where do these Broadcasters come from?

The way I think, the only way any being could manipulate the laws of matter and light could be to have it composing their bodies as well. Yes, I am indeed implying that Thin Man is a solid projection of light (yes, like a gem from Steven Universe lol). All this to say, I believe they are born amongst stars forming in nebulas. They are made of/powered by stars! Made of light!

I mean, think about it! Whenever he's seen in-game, he looks black and white and staticy just like he's on tv! Like he's made of fizzling and flickering light. But what about Mono? Mono is solid, and he can even die!

Well, we can explain Mono being more physical and vulnerable as him being a tiny baby of course! I don't think he's just trapped in a time loop by the Signal Tower- I believe the Broadcaster life cycle for Thin Man starts over when we see Mono wake up in front of the TV in the forest at the beginning of the game.

"But why is Mono 'born' as a 10/11 year old?"

That, my friend, is because the Shoggoth that composes this particular Signal Tower is garbage at approximating human anatomy! It's never seen a human baby, and therefore can only replicate what it has seen- children.

"But Pickle, what do you mean the Tower made him look human?? What???"

Well, if you were a giant behemoth that consumes entire populations, you'd need something to lure them in. Like an anglerfish! And what did I pose is made of light? Broadcasters. That's what I think so far. The Shoggoth rips through nebulas searching for a Broadcaster, and once it traps one it its body, it takes it to a planet and uses the Broadcaster's abilities to consume the populace. Make him look like them and plaster him all over their communications and entertainment.

So there you have it! My current Thin Man/Mono theories and headcanons. I may elaborate on this further, and draw up some broadcaster life cycle examples. Let me know what you think! 👁️✨

Again, Happy Anniversary Little Nightmares 2!! 🎉🎊🎁

[iiyanadesu]

Today is the day Digimon fans rejoice! There's Digimon Con and man, there are lots of stuffs thrown at us lol

One is the announcement of a new Digimon anime. The other is the showing of a short video (MV? Haven't listened yet lol) for Digimon Adventure Beyond.

Spoilers? Rants? Ahoy!

Ok I did not realize the video drops today until Reddit people shared some images. My feelings? It's a mix of OMG and WTF lol

First of all, the thing that was undo'ed since Last Evo Kizuna. Yes, Agumon and Gabumon returned. From what I've read from many Digimon fans, they were happy they're back, but they also ended up cheering - "Yay, this basically means Last Evo didn't exist!" Yeah no. I stick to theories by hardcore Digimon fans like Shiha, who told us that Digimon can return to their owner as long as they fulfilled certain criteria. Case in point: Ken and Wormmon in 02.

I still want some good fanfics that use this theory. But oh well.

The second thing that was undo'ed was the Digivice. Yes. The Digivice that disappeared in The Beginning, the one thing that was no longer needed to symbolize connection between a human and a Digimon, comes back like it's still needed. lolwtf

The funny thing is that we see Lui's legs in a split second scene. Is it his (and Ukkomon's) doing? I wonder.

Third is the cast's appearances. Outrageous 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 Some of them wear outfits that are not quite appropriate for their age (what are their ages in here? Should be close to 30) - they wear funky teenagers' wear lol

Namely, Taichi, Sora, Mimi, Koshiro, and Daisuke.

Joe wears his doctor's coat which is ok. Hikari wears some kind of rain coat? Maybe long coat? Idek. Miyako... I didn't watch with full focus to see what she was wearing. Takeru is ok with his adult-ish suits. Yamato is also ok with his suit.

Iori seems to dress ok, but his haircut. I can't even 🤣😂🤣😂 it took me a while to realize that THAT is Iori.

And then there's Ken. WHO TF ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU WEARING BLACK SUITS cut your hair and you will look like Yato, pls do that instead of keeping THAT hair style 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 like come on, I love you but your fashion sense is outrageous 😭😭😭😭😭

Ok now that I've screenshot things, let me show you them and cringe laugh whatever be excited with me.

The person on the left is Iori. Yes. Iori Hida. He, Taichi and Yamato are accompanying a seemingly troubled kid with a Digimon, who are chased by a scary Digimon.

This guy stole Kizuna/Beginning Ken's hair style wtf 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Digivices return! Now what's the reason for their return, and why the Originals still have D-2 instead of D-3 or more modern Digivices? A question to ponder.

Digivolutions now come with this shiny network light thingy. Beautiful. (Incomplete due to video duration)

Lui's legs makes a 1/100th-second cameo. No Ukkomon in sight.

Meiko also makes a 1/100th-second cameo. Not sure why the gloomy-looking framing choice. No Meicoomon in sight.

Hikari is attacked by darkness. I guess even as a full-fledged adult that thing can still disturb you eh. Darkness really hates to go away for good.

Mimi. Now she looks like she's approaching 30 so idek why her fashion choice.

Hey, I cannot put as many images as I used to? Wtf I'll go Part 2 then

[chaifootsteps]

Ahoy. I have a small rant 😔

There's high levels of toxic positivity and forced niceness with Viv's fandoms. I've noticed the "25/8 always positive :D" mindset from her seemingly mind-controlled fans. And then when people (typically a fan or a neutral person) say something even 1% critical, it's kind of washed out by insisting that Viv is so talented, so loved, so funny, so nice, her shows are so smart, she's doing the world a service, "omg I still love the show tho!!".

Uh...? it's fucking annoying! What, is everyone just scared of getting their asses kicked through the computer screen? Why is there so much tiptoeing around Viv? I'm not saying that people have to go into this viciously and attack in a way that's concerning. But all of this politeness is just uncanny. Where's the casual roasting? Besides what the seasoned criticals (and those lucky outsiders who notice HB/the rest) do? It's just weird to me.

Viv isn't special. Every other creator out there and their product gets their fair (and unfair) amount of comments from the real world. When Viv and her dogshit work gets attention it's like everyone's being forced/forcing themselves to play nice at an asshole's birthday party or something. I feel like ppl should be allowed to casually say "Your writing's god awful. Some of the worst I've seen in a decade. <3" and not force in 30 compliments. Or have ppl harp on "how mean" they're being to poor, indie, weird girl 5ever Vivvy, oh nooo 🥺🥺😭 She's just a scraggly wittle lamb of a person, she doesn't deserve this injustice

From me to Viv, the abusive bigot, 😐🖕. Much hate.

I know what you mean. It always comes across as an extremely creepy mixture of trying to protect Vivzie's precious golden baby feelings and fear of what might happen if they don't.

I can't wait for the day that weird intimidation hold she has over everyone suddenly breaks and people see her for what she is, an insecure and powerless loser.

[sherbetstudios]

AI is so fun and interesting but I start to have problems when people try to use it to replace people and their work. Let’s be honest, whenever it’s for harmless fun, sure!! Got art block and want a truly random, fun prompt? Go for it!

use it to replace creative work in areas where people do said creative work for a living and as a passion, but instead you’d rather have a robot try to jot down that same work just scrambled and at a mass rate?

Ehhhhhmmmm…

to me it’s like making cookies from scratch versus buying a pack of chips ahoy from Walmart. Sure, it’s enough to pass and work, but the quality of the ones made with true thought and care and purpose will always be of more attractive and overall better quality. The chips ahoy can’t compare.

I’m just some teen on the internet so I probably only have half a clue what I’m saying, but we shouldn’t try to use AI as a new form of goods and services. I don’t know if that was the purpose when it was going through all this development recently, but it’s artificial. Some parts of it replacing work can be for good reasons, like the way it’s being used for medical areas. That is helping people while still keeping careers valid. When it is used to invalidate and throw away work that is only beneficial for the people using it, and not for the recipients and other individuals who help in that process, it’s not quite as helpful, as I personally feel, as it is harmful.

I’m sorry if this is long and makes no sense, but just there are parts of AI where I feel it is no longer helpful or valid. Do as you wish, but please do not try to replace humanity with these generators that imitate us, choosing quantity over quality.

that is all. Thank you for reading my little rant

Some fucking numpty: "AI" won't take money out of the pockets of real artists who need to eat!

My fucking inbox this morning:

Fuck this, fuck everyone who said that procedurally-generated images wouldn't harm my livelihood, fuck all of it.

[pengychan]

Look, with very few exceptions no one sets out with the intention of being a shitty abusive parent. A lot of shitty parents think they're doing it right. A lot of shitty parents think they're doing their best. A lot of shitty parents think that abusive shit they do is not really abusive and for the greater good of their child.

A lot of shitty parents love their kids, and would die for them, but they can still be abusive and shitty parents because they do shit they learned from their parents and don't pause a moment to think they may be doing it wrong because "I love my kid, abusive parents don't love their kids, so I can't be an Abusive Parent, not me, I'm good". A lot of shitty parents have their good moments, their good sides, and their kids can love them for it and then be doubly hurt when the good moment ends and things are shitty again.

Shitty parents are complicated people, the kids they raise are complicated people, and human relationships as a whole are a complex hot mess. There is not one right or wrong way to respond to abuse or choose how to handle the relationship to a shitty parent. No we don't wanna hear how you'd personally handle it in our shoes. You're not in our shoes. STFU.

BTW this is not some weird defense of shitty and abusive parents but for Christ's sake, this attitude that Shitty Parents - either real or fictional - are monsters out of a scary story who are contractually obliged to be shitty 100% of the time, all around, in every aspect of their lives, is actually harmful. It's untrue. It's stupid. It will lead kids of Shitty Parents to think that well, THEIR parents are not 100% evil and dastardly all the time, therefore they're not Actually Abusive, I must be exaggerating.

Shitty parents are not old school Disney villains breaking into song about how they love to do evil deeds to hurt their own children. They're people. Learn to tell the two things apart, for fuck's sake.

[simptasia]

i can’t forget when i listing off LOST characters i’ve talked about to my friend katie and i got to boone and katie (not a lost fan yet) went “BOONE! he’s gay and stupid!”, like, that’s amazing. that’s what boone is to her. and she’s right

[dysphoricdenizen]

Personal

I Hate Seeing Trans Characters on TV

Like, there is no way to nicely say it. 

I did my thing. Went through years of dysphoric hell, finally got a gender therapist, finally went on T, finally had top surgery. Hopefully someday I can have a hysto and bottom surgery. 

But it’s my daily life. Every day I have to interact with the wrong bits and remember when my next shot is and (even with facial hair) stress over bathrooms. 

I’m sorry but I don’t want that in my entertainment too. I watch TV shows to escape my normal life, and I quite frankly don’t want to hear about how hard being trans is on what is supposed to be a comedy, just so they can feel woke.

Now here’s the big problem: representation matters, and even if it’s bad or overly -done or even ‘spot the trans’ type representation, it could be helpful to someone out there. I remember watching LOGO at midnight with the volume muted to see drag queens and gay people and a documentary about GRS. I KNOW it matters. And yeah, I know seeing trans people on TV can help cis people understand or sympathize. 

But I hate how played up it is. I hate that trans characters are throw in to show how diverse a show is. I hate that being trans HAS to be a part of the story line. I hate that a trans guy never just takes off his shirt and goes about his day; someone has to ask about his scars and he has to tell a sob story about how he knew he was trans. I hate that trans guys are rarely shown post top surgery much less post bottom surgery, and only sometimes on T. 

I hate that I don’t see guys like me even when some shows are flooded with trans characters, because post-transition trans guys aren’t hip.

I hate that even when TV shows are trying to be trans inclusive, it’s all done for the benefit of a non-trans audience. 

And I hate that I can’t even mention this shit or ask to change the channel at a friend’s house without having to explain why and outing myself, because only a bigot wouldn’t want to watch an hour of dysphoria-triggering content, right?

I’m just so tired. I’m glad being trans is more accepted now, of course I am. I just don’t want to think about it 24/7, and I don’t want to have to screen TV shows because I can’t handle one more minute of being reminded that I am this way and how much being this way fucking hurts.

And it sucks so much because I really, really want to be happy that information, even incomplete or faulty information, is out there. I want to be happy that people can tune into prime time instead of waiting until everyone in the house is asleep to see a trans character on TV.

But I’m so tired of the stereotypes and I’m so tired of the same old soap-opera characteristics being brought out.

Please, can we just cast trans actors alongside cis actors, and treat trans characters as real people instead of weirdly overdone caricatures? 

[daisymerollingg]

Hoi! First of all I saw all your HxH stuff and I loved it! I was wondering if I can request a Killua x Reader x Gon headcanons where the reader is like Anya Forger from Spy x Family, and also makes the same faces he does? You don't have to write about it if you don't want to, thanks ❤️

Killua and Gon being friends with a reader who is like Anya (Spyxfamily)

Genre: fluff

Pairing: Platonic! Killua x reader x Gon

Warning(s): -

Ahoi, anon! I'm glad you like my work, and thank you for the request! I wasn't sure if you had meant being like Anya only personality wise or everything wise so I just made it everything wise, I hope that doesn't bother you!

You're an interesting one, indeed.

When the three of you first met, Killua almost immediately noticed how you knew everything that was about to come out of his mouth, and it didn't take him long before he found out about your telepathic abilities.

As for Gon... Well, let's just say he's not the brightest when it comes to figuring things out.

"Wow, (Y/n)! It's like you can read my mind!" -Gon

"ohhhh you think so...? *Nervous laughter*" -You

You're always the one to warn them if something is about to go wrong or somebody is trailing after the three of you.

You're not smart, not Gon level smart, but still not smart, which annoys Killua but he puts up with it either way 'cause you're "a useful asset" (ulternative meaning: his friend)

You can still fend for yourself! Just not in the smartest of ways.

Sometimes (Often times) you jump into dangerous situations because of your high moral compass, despite the fact you are completely powerless and standing before a whole gang of men with guns loaded in either hand. Gon takes your action as a free encouragement ticket to do the same, now the two of you (dumbasses) are trying to talk murderers out of robbing a bank,

Killua, being the sane one, is always the one to grab the two of you and throw you over his shoulder or under his arm and bolt away, while simultaneously screaming every insult he could think of,

Remember that scene where Killua was running away from Palm with Gon tucked under his arm? Yeah, something like that but with you added to the equation, and it happens like once each month,

Killua is like a sleep deprived parent who has two kids who constantly need to be strapped to leashes.

Gon and Killua shuffle away from you when you make that unique face of yours, it looks like you're smiling but at the same time planning a murder, it freaks them out...!

You do that face whenever someone's getting on your nerve and you don't want to get heated or show your frustration.

It annoys Killua how you get excited over things that are... Not supposed to be exciting, for instance, you're about to face off an extremely strong and ruthless nen user, but for some odd reason, you're smiling like an idoit, your body shaking with excitement. That also goes for the time the three of you were following some members of the phantom troupe, and you were all giddy and excited. And killua just stares at you like... '??????'. Gon is as confused as Killua, but less judgemental, he just accepts it. 'to each their own'

Since they know you get overwhelmed in crowded areas or in areas with lots of conflict, they try their best to avoid places with large crowds for your sake.

Killua and gon always tell you things telepathically, and if they're mad at eachother and are giving ecahother the silent treatment, you're going to be the one to have to listen to them as they angrily rant about the other in their heads. You have to either wait until they forgive eachother (which usually doesn't take long) or help them make amends to get a break from their endless complaining.

[wh0re4harrington]

I’m Serious / Robin Buckley x Henderson!Reader

Summary- basically bsf to lovers, but it’s all fluff.

Warnings- none it’s all fluff oh and fem!reader duh cause it’s robin

Word count- 4.1k

A/N- I’m probably gonna right a pt 2 to this that will be smutty hehe, also please let me know if y’all like this, i tried to write the characters the most accurate as i could but i’m totally open to advice lol <3

“Ahoy” You said as you walked through the door of the family video, smiling at Steve as he rolled his eyes at you.

“Never gonna let me live it down huh?” He said

“Not a chance Harrington”

You, Steve, and Robin had all worked at Scoops Ahoy together last year before everything went to shit, and all three of you had ended up tied together in some russian base underneath the starcourt mall. It was a terrible situation but it made for a great bonding experience. You were just thankful yall got out of there before you got drugged like the other two.

You and Steve had become friends because of your little brother, Dustin, who somehow became attached to Steve's hip during the group's first round with the Mind Flayer. It didn’t bother you that he was always around because you knew Dustin needed him, Steve could give him advice that you couldn’t.

Besides it gave Steve someone to hangout with when you and Robin wanted to have girl time. After saving the world together you and Robin had become basically inseparable. She was your best friend, and probably the funniest person you’ve ever met. She complimented you very well, because she never shut up, and you loved to listen. It didn’t matter if she was ranting about some new avant guard french movie she saw, or the music she was working on for band, you were always happy to listen, and chime in whenever she ran out of breath.

“Here to pick out you and Robin’s movie for tonight?” Steve asked as you reached the counter, leaning on it with your elbows.

“Yup, I think I want some time of romantic drama today, figured it would be better than last week when we watched Nightmare on Elm Street” You chuckled.

“No I’m serious Y/N, what if it’s real?! I mean if the upside down is real how can you be so sure that some man won’t creep into my dreams and murder me right here in your bed???” Robin said frantically “ I mean seriously we fought a giant monster made out of human flesh and rats with a girl who can move things with her mind! Her mind Y/N! Anything is possible!” She paused for a breath.

“I'm sure he isn’t real Robin, we can sleep” You had said trying to convince her

“I’m going to make a cup of coffee” She said before quickly getting up. “Being murdered in my sleep is my second biggest fear you know! Right behind rabies!” She had shouted while jogging down the hall.

“Yeah, that is the last time we watch a horror movie” You said.

“Hey I told you when you rented it, that it was a bad idea” Steve said while rewinding the tape on some random movie. “You just don’t listen”

“I listen” You protested leaving the counter and walking towards the drama section “Just not to someone who uses Farrah Fawcett hair spray” You laughed running your fingers along the VHS tapes that started with the letter A.

“I swear to god I’m gonna kill your brother, Henderson” Steve said “I said that in confidence” He mumbled upset.

You disagreed though, it wasn’t a bad idea.

You breathed in through your nose, the smell of peaches and warm vanilla filled your nose. You had always loved the way Robin’s shampoo and perfume mixed to cause this intoxicating aroma. After a few hours of claiming she was gonna get murdered in her sleep Robin had finally gone to bed, her arm was strewn across your body and you were facing each other. You examined your messy hair, tousled from sleep, and all her little freckles, the way she rose and fell with breath. You felt a butterfly in stomach as she unconsciously pulled you towards her. And thats when you snapped out of it. ‘Oh my god’ You had thought. ‘I can’t think about her like that, she is a girl and not just any girl, my best friend.’ You panicked and scooted away, rolling over. ‘And I like guys right? Right?’

You had stayed up the rest of the night, mulling over in your head what it meant, the butterflies. You thought back to all the times you had hangout with Robin, and the way she made you feel. ‘Shit.’ You thought. ‘I like Robin’

You didn’t see anything that peaked your interest in the A section, you moved onto the Bs. “hmmm” You hummed while you read the titles until one caught your “The Bostonians” You mumbled as you grabbed it and walked towards the counters.

“Harrington, will you pull up Robins rental history, I don’t wanna spend money on a movie she has already seen”

“Alrighty, uh what movie is it?” He asked while staring at the computer screen.

“The Bostonians,” You said.

“Nope, you’re good” He said and you slide the VHS over the counter towards him.

“Okay cool” You smiled.

“Oh my Mom watched this the other day, apparently there are lesbians in the movie, so Robin sh-” Steve cut himself off. You raised an eyebrow at him, suddenly nervous that maybe Robin would think it was weird that you had picked out that movie, and maybe she would catch on to the fact that you might be lesbian.

Steve must’ve seen the panic on your face because he quickly began talking again “I mean uh, Robin will love it the cinematography is right up her alley, lots of artsy shots and symbolism or whatever” He said handing you back the movie as you passed him some cash. You were nervous now, well more than you already were before finding out that you were bringing a lesbian movie to your best friends house who you might have feelings for.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, looking at you concerned.

“I- uh um yeah” You fake laughed “ Why would I be nervous? It’s just lesbians? Why would that bother me? Is there something wrong with a girl having feelings for another girl Steve?” You word vomited out.

“I-I, no no there isn’t anything wrong with- I love lesbians” Steve said flustered, you looked at him weirdly “ I mean- No not like in a pervy way- I just mean that they are cool. Like nothing wrong with it. I support them or- I'm an ally…I think thats the word for it” He said.

“Oh…cool…good” You smiled at him, turning to leave.

“I didn’t say you were nervous by the way!” He said looking at you questioningly. You froze, turning back around.

“You didn’t? Oh silly me” You laughed nervously

“Are you? Are you nervous to hangout with Robin?” He asked still confused

“Whaaat? No? Pfft” You huff trying to play it cool like Steve wasn’t about to piece everything together.

“Uh Yes you are!” He said triumphantly “But why would you be- Unless…” It looked like a lightbulb went off in his head “OH MY GOD” He squealed “You have a cr-”

You cut him off by running up and slamming your hand over his mouth.

“Harrington!” You whisper yelled “Shut the fuck up right now, before someone walks in, or Keith hears” You said, his eyes where wide as you removed your hand.

“I didn’t know you where gay!” He whispered “Why didn’t I know this, we have been friends for so long!”

“Well I didn’t know till like a week ago so” You huffed

“That explains why you never tried to flirt with me” He laughed

“Yup okay I'm leaving now Steve” You rolled your eyes before turning to leave,for real this time.

“I won’t say anything!” He said “But you should tell her! Trust me!” He said before the door closed behind you. What did he mean by that, ‘Trust me?’.

One Year Earlier

Robins POV

“Have you…ever been in love?” I questioned Steve, while sitting on the bathroom floor after just puking my guts out cause I was drugged by Russians in a base underneath the mall.

“Yup, Nancy Wheeler, first semester senior year” He says through the stall, before doing a fake gunshot sound.

“Oh my god” I rolled my eyes at him “She is such a priss” I said thinking about Nancy Wheeler, chief editor of the school paper, valedictorian of my grade, I think she is dating Jonathan Byers

Steve paused “Hm. Turns out, not really”

I scoffed at him “Are you still in love with Nancy?” I prodded

He paused for a moment “No.” He said finally

“Why not?”

Another pause.

“I guess because I found someone who is a little bit better for me.” He pauses again.

I think in my head, I think about Y/N.

“Its crazy” He continued “Ever since Dustin got home he’s been saying You gotta find your Suzie, You gotta find your Suzie” He said

Suddenly I was confused, I’m sure he is talking about Y/N which hurts but who was Suzie?

“Wait who’s Suzie” I ask

“It’s some girl from camp” He breathed from the other stall “ I guess his girlfriend? To be honest with you I’m not even 100 percent sure she's even real” He chuckled

I nodded my head, less confused now.

“But thats not- thats not really the point” He paused “That doesn’t matter, the point is, this girl, you know, the one the one that I like” He pauses. My heart clenches, if it’s Y/N I’ll just have to suck it up, they are my friends first, and there is no way someone wouldn’t like Steve back, he is Steve Harrington for crying out loud.

“It’s somebody that I didn’t even talk to in school.” He pauses, and now I’m confused again because I remember watching Steve and Y/N have conversations in Mrs. Clicks class. “And I don’t even know why” He continued “ Maybe cause Tommy H. would’ve made fun of me or I wouldn’t be prom king” He paused

“It’s stupid” He huffed “I mean Dustins right, it’s all just a bunch of bullshit anyways. Because when I think about it, I should’ve been hanging out with this girl the whole time. Cause first of all she’s hilarious. She’s so funny. I feel like, this summer, I have laughed harder than I have laughed in a really long time…And she’s smart, way smarter than me.”

That’s when things start to click for me and my heart hurts. Steve is opening up to me about this, and I can’t even reciprocate it.

He continues “You know, she can crack, like, top secret russian codes, and…You know? She is honestly unlike anyone I have ever met before.” He finished

My heart breaks as I lower my head between my knees. ‘Fuck’ I think. I bring my hands up and run them through my hair.

“Robin?” He asks softly before taping on the stall wall in between us. “Robin, Did you just OD in there?” He asked, concerned.

“No” I say, letting out a sigh. “I…am still alive” I breathe. And sigh again knowing that I was going to have to decide whether I was about to come out to the first time, to none other the Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington or lie to him by making up some other reason. But the worst part of it was that either way I was going to be hurting him, someone who despite all the odds, is one of my best friends. I lean back against the wall propping my leg up against the stall. Thats when I hear the squeak of Steve’s shoe as he slides under, into my stall.

“That floor is disgusting” I say looking at him, his face was all busted up and swollen.

“Yeah, well I already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt, so..” He jokes dryly and I chuckle a little.

“What do you think?” He asks.

“About?” I respond trying to play dumb.

“This girl.”

“She sounds awesome” I say still avoiding

“She is awesome.” He nods his head “ And what about the guy?”  He asked

“I think he is on drugs, and he’s not thinking straight” I responded hoping he was just high and babbling, but knowing that wasn’t the case.

“Really? Cause I think he is thinking a lot more clearly than usual” He responds looking me in the eyes.

“He’s not.” I say harshly before continuing “Look, he doesn’t even know this girl.” I continued, the look in his eyes wasn't upset, or angry, but instead it was full of care, and that is when I decided. “And if he did know her, like-like really know her, I don’t think he would even want to be her friend.” The words hurt as I said them, the fear creeping into my voice.

“No, that’s not true” Steve said “No way is that true” He leaned forward.

“Listen to me Steve,” I said nervously. I am really about to do this. “It’s shocked me to my core, but I like you” I pause “I really like you, but I’m not like your other friends, and I’m not like Nancy Wheeler.” I say hoping that's enough.

“Robin, that’s exactly why I like you.” He said clearly not getting it.

“Do you remember what I said about Mrs. Click’s class? About me being jealous and, like, obsessed?” I asked

He nods, “Yeah”

“It isn’t because I had a crush on you.” I take a deep breathe in preparation “It’s because she wouldn’t stop staring at you.” I said

Steve being visibly confused, “Mrs. Click?” He asked puzzled and I laughed.

“Y/N” I answered “I wanted her to look at me. But” I breathe “She couldn’t pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair.” I say glancing up at his hair somehow still perfect atop his head. “And I didn’t understand, because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. And you asked dumb questions. And you were a douchebag.” I pause as he stared back at me

“And-And you didn’t even like her and I would go home and just scream into my pillow.And then this summer, I see it again, the way she laughs more when you’re around, and getting to know her, the music she likes, her laugh, I- I just” I said stopping before the lump in my throat got to big. He looked at my confused

“But…Y/N’s a girl…” He said looking at me still not getting it.

“Steve” I whisper, begging him to figure it out.

“Yeah?” He said, and I could see it click in his brain. “Oh.” He said softly

“Oh” I nodded my head.

“Holy shit”

“Yeah” I looked up “Holy shit” I can’t believe I actually just came out to Steve. We sat in silence for a few moments, the air felt heavy “Steve, did you OD over there?” I asked.

“No, I just, uh just thinking” He said looking at his hands

“Okay” I said quietly, nervous.

“I mean yeah Y/N, you know she’s cute and all, but I mean she’s a total nerd” He said smiling at me. And suddenly the air felt lighter

Present

It had been a few hours since you had that odd interaction/accidental coming out with Steve and you were now nervously waiting outside of Robin's house for her so you could drive to your house to watch the movie, since your parents weren’t home.

You couldn’t stop replaying that last thing Steve had said over in your head. Why would he want you to tell her? Did he want you to risk ruining your friendship? Or did he know something you didn’t? These questions had been plaguing your mind all day to the point that you had even asked Dustin where Eddie lived and gone to buy some pre-rolls. You had smoked before, the occasional joint shared between you and Steve wasn’t unusual, and sometimes Robin had joined in on the fun. Your plan was to bring it up casually before the movie started, to try and use it to calm your nerves.

Finally Robin comes out of the house, and makes her way to your passenger seat.

“Hey Henderson” She smiled, chewing on some gum. Suddenly you didn’t feel so nervous, it was just Robin, she was your best friend.

“Hi” You chuckled as she put her seat belt on, you watched, making sure it buckled before you backed out. “Is that a new ring?” You asked, noticing one with a black jewel.

“Yeah, you like it?” She asked, wiggling her finger in front of your face. “Isn't it cool? I thought it would make me look all mysterious, you know? Cause it's black” She said, pulling hand back to look at it herself. You chuckled, and seemingly from nowhere gained the confidence to test the waters

“I like it, it’s hot” You said trying to sound nonchalant, you could see Robin freeze, blushing. “And mysterious” You added looking over at her smiling.

“Thanks-uh thank you” She smiled, blush still lingering on her cheeks, which to you was a good sign “So uh, what movie did you pick?” She said after clearing her throat.

“The Bostonians”

“Is that the one where the girl is in love with the other girl?” Robin asked, playing with her rings.

“Yeah. You know you can just say lesbians?” You raised an eyebrows.

“Oh yeah I know.” She said, “I just- I uh didn’t think you would like uh- those kinds of movies” She said sounding almost nervous, which in turn made you nervous because what if she was uncomfortable and maybe this was a bad idea.

“Oh uh…do you want to grab a different one? If I speed we can make it before Family Video closes” You said nervously, checking the time on your watch

“No!” She said quickly “I-I want to watch it”

“Okay, uh me too” You cleared your throat “I- uh I went by Eddies earlier”

“Munson?” She asked, raising an eyebrow, while bringing her hand up to bite her nails.

“Yeah, he plays DnD with Dustin” You said “He also happens to sell these babies”

You reach over and open the glove box, where 2 perfectly rolled joints sit.

Robin grabs one and rolls it between her fingers “Oh so it’s that kind of movie night?” She laughs and you nod “In that case we should stop and get snack, cause last time we smoked with Steve he only had barbecue chips, and you know I’m a salt and vinegar person so I was like starving and I can not do that again”

“Your wish is my command”

You pull into the first gas station you see for snacks.

“All right princess, let’s go” You say getting out of the car. Robin rolls her eyes at the pet name, walking into the gas station.

“Hmmm well we definitely need peanut M&Ms because they are simply the best candy, crunchy and sweet and not messy. But then we need something sour to cut the sweetness, so nerds ropes cause again they are crunchy” Robin says as she walks down the candy aisle. “But we can’t just have candy, and I don’t like the way popcorn butter makes my mouth feel so I’m thinking…Bugles?” She turns  

“Whatever you want” You smile, grabbing the M&Ms and Nerds Ropes

“Well you're no help” She huffed before grabbing a bag, she made her way over to the drink cooler and grabbed a mountain dew and a doctor pepper.

“Aw, you knew what I wanted” You say, hip bumping her.

“Well yeah, you get the same thing everytime” She chuckled “Besides I think I know everything about you”

“Not everything” You say, bumping your eyebrows and walking towards the counter.

“What? What do you mean? I-I how? We have played 20 questions at least once a week for the past year! There aren’t any questions left!”

The snacks were laid out on your living room floor in front of the mess of blankets and pillows you and Robin had thrown on the floor until you thought it was comfortable enough.

“Dammit” You mumbled with the joint between your lips. The lighter was being a bitch and not working.

“Here let me” Robin said, scooting closer and grabbing the lighter from your hands. Her fingers were soft, and her rings were cold, you could feel her touch linger there even after she grabbed the lighter. She leaned in, her face much closer to yours. You examined her face as she brought the lighter up to the end of joint, lighting it on her first try. Her face lingered there, in the closeness, for a moment. Something about what just happened seemed oddly intimate for such a mundane thing.

“Uh- wow you made it seem easy” You say before taking a drag. You hold in the smoke for a few moments.

“I have the magic touch” She chuckled. You blew out a soft cloud of smoke before laying back onto the pillows. Robin followed suit, layin down as you passed her the joint. You watched as she took the joint between her lips. She looked so perfect in that moment, hair strewn out, her ringing fingers holding a joint, laying next to you, that familiar peach and vanilla smell now laced with weed.

“Pretty” You whispered, not sure she could even hear you. She didn’t respond but you knew she heard because of the soft rose color that spread across her cheeks as she let out the smoke.

“Jeez Henderson, making me blush today huh?” She tried to play it cool, offering back the joint.

“Just being honest Buckley” You said, before taking another long drag.

“Oh shut it” She said shoving your arm

“What? I said you’re pretty? I’m not lying” You said releasing your hit.

“Come on, you have to say that” Robin argued

“Robin seriously?” You raised an eyebrow, turning onto your side, leaning on your elbow. “You’re like a total smoke show” You said.

“Y/N stop” She said covering her face “For real.”

“No Robin, I’m serious you are hot, like have you looked in a mirror?”

“Y/N” She said softly, suddenly the mood in the room shifted. “Please, stop”

You stared at her, she seemed sad, which confused you cause you were trying to give her a compliment. Maybe she thought you were joking.

“Rob, are you okay?” You asked, reaching towards her but she rolled away from your touch. “Come on Robin, talk to me” Still no response, which caused your heart to feel like it was being squeezed “I- I’m sorry, I don’t whats wrong, but I’m really sorry”

“You didn’t do anything wrong” She said, finally rolling back towards you.

“Well then why are you upset?” You asked. “I was being serious Rob”

“That’s just it Y/N, I know you were being serious, it's just-...I- it’s just nothing. It's nothing.” she said, sitting up. “Lets just watch  the movie” She said as she got up to go press play.

“No” You said sitting up, you were upset that she wasn’t telling you why she was sad “It’s not nothing. You’re upset, I want to know what is wrong Robin. This isn’t like you, you’re my best friend and I-”

She cut you off “Thats it Y/N, I’m your best friend, but I don’t want to be your best friend” She said turning back towards you. Your heart sank as the words fell from her mouth. You could feel the immediate lump forming in your throat, maybe you had been too forward with the hints. Maybe she thought you were some sort of freak lesbian, and wanted nothing to do with you. “I want to be everything to you Y/N. Because that is what you are to me, I want to be able to hug you, touch you, and say everything I have been wanting to say for so long. My world has revolved around you since Mrs. Clicks class sophomore year, and after last summer you have made my life so much better. Everytime I’m around you it’s like the world stops spinning and all the noise in my head goes away. I’m sorry I was upset but it's so hard to hear you say that about me when I know you don’t mean it the way I want you to mean it. I want you to call me pretty the way a boy calls a girl pretty and I'm sorry if I am totally ruining everything right now but-”

“Robin.” You cut her off. Your heart was beating out of your chest with pure unfiltered happiness. You stood to walk over to her

“Yeah?” She choked out nervously

“Stop talking” You said before cupping her face and kissing her.

The kiss was full of emotion and passion, it was like you both had been waiting your whole lives for this moment and honestly you were. After a few moments you pulled away from each other, resting your forehead on hers.

“Woah” She said, looking at you shocked.

“I told you I was being serious” You giggled.

[selenitesdawn]

A Special Customer

pairing : robin x fem!reader

warnings : none

summary : since the first day scoops ahoy had opened, y/n paid a visit every single day. all because she loves ice-cream, right?

third person pov

The Starcourt mall was the new hotspot in Hawkins. Hundreds of people would go there, most of the time just to hang out. It was no surprise that y/n was one of those people, but her reasoning was slightly different. She didn’t have friends to hang out with, let alone money to buy herself nice things. But nevertheless, she went to the mall every single day. The first day the mall had opened, y/n was strolling through the floors, passing by a shop named Scoops Ahoy. She peeked inside and saw the most beautiful girl she had ever laid eyes on. She was dressed in sailor clothes, wearing a funny hat and everything. After just appreciating her view for a few seconds, y/n decided to go in.

“Hey.”, was the only word she brought out, her heart racing faster than it ever did before.

“Hey.”, the girl replied softly.

“Uh, my name’s y/n.”, she continued.

“I’m Robin.”

Y/n got really flustered and didn’t know what to say next. In fact she had never been in an ice cream shop before. She started scanning the flavors, trying to hide the blush that covered her entire face.

“I’d like one scoop of strawberry please. In a waffle. With sprinkles.”, y/n managed to say.

“One scoop of strawberry in a waffle with sprinkles, got it.”, Robin repeated with a smile.

Since then, y/n went straight to the mall every day after school. It became a ritual to her, always ordering the exact same thing, spending most of her money on ice-cream by then. Robin of course wasn’t always there, which frustrated y/n a little. But as long as she worked now and then, it was always worth paying a visit. They didn’t talk much at the beginning, it was just y/n ordering and Robin doing her job. Still it was enough to make y/n’s entire week. As time passed Robin kept remembering y/n’s order and they started talking about other things. The more they talked, the more Robin started rambling about literally anything. Robin became interested in y/n’s life and how she was always there when Robin was working.

“I’m not stalking you I promise! I just come here every day.”, y/n defended herself nervously.

“You must really love ice cream then huh Sprinkles?”, Robin teased.

“Yeah.. I mean, who doesn’t love ice cream?”, y/n replied sheepishly.

Today y/n went to the mall yet again, hoping that Robin was working. She parked her bike outside and went straight to Scoops Ahoy, happy to find Robin smiling at her from behind the counter. She didn’t even have to enter the shop for Robin to finish up her order. Just when y/n was about to search for her wallet, Robin spoke up.

“That one’s on me Sprinkles. You’re our best customer. I think you deserve a free ice-cream today.”, she declared, handing the ice cream to the girl in front of her.

“Aw, thanks Robin.”, y/n chuckled.

“Hey I’m on my break now, do you maybe want to go outside with me for a while?”, Robin asked.

Y/n blushed, feeling all bubbly inside.

“Of course!”

The girls went outside and sat on a bench together, sitting in comfortable silence. Y/n couldn’t believe that she was sitting there with her crush, who actually asked her to be there. It took a while for her to realize that they were outside of Scoops Ahoy, meaning that Robin actually enjoyed spending time with y/n.

“I’m happy you love ice cream so much Sprinkles.”, Robin said after a while, smiling at the girl next to her.

“Oh yeah? Why is that?”, y/n asked innocently.

“You know why, don’t tease me.”

Y/n blushed at Robin’s comment, knowing what it indicated.

“I like you y/n, like a lot. Not in a weird way of course, just you know-“, Robin babbled.

“I like you too Robin. In a weird way maybe.”, y/n said, interrupting Robin’s upcoming rant. Her last words coming out more like a whisper.

“Are we talking about the same weird way?”, Robin stammered quietly.

“I-“, y/n blushed once again, “I think we do? I don’t know. I mean.. what normal person eats ice cream… like, every single day.”

Now it was Robin who was blushing, smiling from ear to ear.

“Well in that case, would you maybe.. go on a date? With me?”, she asked shyly.

Y/n grinned, putting her free hand on Robin’s, still holding the cone in her other hand.

“I would love to. As long as it doesn’t include ice cream.”

Robin smiled and nodded excitedly, mumbling the word “cool” to herself multiple times. After that the girls just sat there, smiling so hard that their cheeks began to hurt. After a while Robin noticed that y/n’s ice cream was melting, already dripping from the sides of the cone.

“Aren’t you going to eat that Sprinkles?”, she asked confused.

“This? Oh no, I’m actually strongly lactose intolerant.”, y/n replied like it was common sense.

“What? Are you kidding?”

“Why would I? Have you ever seen me actually eating this?”

Robin started laughing loudly when y/n joined in. After all, y/n wasn’t there for the ice cream but for one reason only. And that was the beautiful girl sitting next to her, finally being not only a crush any longer but a close friend. And surely, they were going to be even more than that.

[iiyanadesu]

Some opinions about 02TB's details now that I can rewatch it in its full glory. Under the cut we go. Rants and spoilers ahoy.

1. I still hate the OST setting used when the Digimons evolved. 2 Jogress Evolutions back-to-back and each evolution had to restart Beat Hit! from the beginning. Why not just continue the song anyway? Also the Jogress actions could use a bit more time before Imperialdramon changed into Fighter Mode (so I could enjoy Beat Hit! a little longer).

2. I saw how Ken's hair flutter in the wind and I squeal 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 it looks messy he looks adorkable I love him

3. Still cannot move on from Miyako's blatant flirting towards Ken while Ken be like, "Uh, yeah... Wait, what?"

All while Ken being not ashamed to praise Daisuke or hold him up from doing potentially idiotic stuff again, pls marry Daisuke

4. Why does Miyako call Ken "Ichijouji-kun" as if he's a work colleague? They are friends for a long time now, go call him "Ken-kun" if you really like him you idiot. On the other hand, the way Ken calls her "Miyako-san" may or may not mean she's his girlfriend; some guys call their girlfriends like that as a sign of love and respect (e.g. DNAngel's Daisuke calling his girlfriend Riku "Riku-san").

The whole Kenyako dynamic is weird; Ken has an affectionate way to call Miyako but he's also kinda clueless with her advances lmao what are you two doing, hold hands already if you like each other you idiots. Or were you waiting for Daisuke?

5. Lui is a pretty ok person. Just socially awkward after his damaged childhood. It was funny to see the others berate him for not being grateful Ukkomon saved his life by possibly killing mom - that's fcked up guys where's your common sense?. Also, kid!Lui sounds like Madoka (Madoka Magica). Ukkomon is definitely the Kyuubey of Digimon, yeah.

Wait. Don't tell me Osamu's death was also done by Ukkomon because Ken wished for Osamu to disappear. Shit.

Now who is the "higher being" behind Ukkomon's creation? May be Oikawa, maybe not. But then again how was he able to recognize Ken being a DD in a glance? Sus af.

6. There have been miscommunications and misinformations throughout the movie, but we can still analyze those and determine whether they really are retcons yeah. Nah not gonna analyze shit; I can do overthinking but "analyzing"? Nope.

7. The dub is good. There are some 🤨 in how the dialogue was performed but overall it's ok. I just lol'd at Wormmon's old-man voice 😂🤣😂🤣 Yes I watch both JP and EN versions. The EN movie could do some revision though, like the opening text. That could be translated yeah? Or narrated, if they can't slap English text on it / replace that part with English text.

8. Oh yeah I did not see Meiko & Menoa anywhere. Oh yeah they're part of the Adventure guys, of course they won't be in this movie like almost all other Adventure kids except Taichi yeesh.

(What's with this dissonance between Adventure and 02 teams? They're all part of the entire Adventure Universe, duh. They could do inter-teamwork in Kizuna but not in 02TB? What's with this writing?)

9. Best characters in this movie are Daisuke-Veemon team. They say some cool shit even Ken is impressed.

10. Miyako went, "What's with the flirting?" and Daisuke went blushing???? But. But Ken started it first!

And now some of my favourite blorbos Ken & Daisuke's shots in this movie. Yes I love Daiken so much. I like Kenyako too but I love my Daiken more

Take this line out of context and ask, "Do what?" 😏

Yeah and like I said. Ken's hair. *squeeeeeeeeeeee*

Ooooh. Look at the lighting. Romantic.

See what they did? Ken started it but Daisuke was the one blushing.

Ok that's all bye

[bi-disaster-yn]

The Dustin Henderson Defence League

Pairings: Steve Harrington x Henderson!fem!Reader; brother!Dustin Henderson x sister!Reader

Summary: Reader joins forces with her ex, Steve to put a stop to her brother, Dustin being bullied. If they work so well together as a team - then why did they break up?

Warnings: Steve getting punched (shouldn’t really be a warning if you’ve watched the show).

A/N: Thank you so much for the 500 followers! That’s insane and I never expected this. Thought I’d spice things up and add Stranger Things fics to my Masterlist. This fic (and all future Steve fics) is dedicated to my best friend who adores Steve. She always lets me rant and rave about my favourite fictional characters and is the only person I trust in real life to know I write fics! This one is for you, chika. You know who you are!

Fuelled by incandescent anger, you barged into the mall and stormed your way to Scoops Ahoy. You were a soldier marching into battle as the adrenaline surged through your veins. Armed with evidence in the form of a note that was crumpled and digging into the palm of your hand, you were ready to make your case.

Once you reached your destination, you gave Robin a slight nod as you charged towards the staffroom door. Robin smirked and didn’t stand in your way; secretly hoping that you were here to berate Steve for something and spice up her boring Wednesday afternoon. However, you weren’t here for Steve. You had come for Dustin.

Dustin sat playing with his hands in the backroom of Scoops on the table, his legs swinging off the edge of it as he nervously detailed his account of events to Steve. When you barged in through the door, it drew both of their attention to your furiously trembling form.

“Oh shit.” Dustin muttered, suddenly regretting his course of action in confiding in Steve.

“Dustin Henderson! We promised we would tell each other everything! Now I have to find out you’re being bullied by a note?” You basically shrieked and slammed the note down on the table next to him that had inscribed on it all sorts of threats from his bullies.

“And to make things worse,” you continued, oblivious to how Dustin had looked at you in wide eyed terror. “You came to Steve fucking Harrington before me!” You gestured to Steve – your first acknowledgement of your ex-boyfriend since you’d arrived – who stood awkwardly, folding his arms over his Scoops uniform as though he was embarrassed that you’d seen him in it.

“Hey, look, Y/N, I get you’re upset but-“ Steve started but you cut him off.

“Shut it, Harrington!” You snapped and directed your attention to Dustin. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“First of all, don’t speak to Steve like that. Second of all, how did you even get that note?” Dustin challenged, sitting up straighter and feigning confidence with all his might.

“I was helping mom out by doing the laundry and found it in the pocket of your jeans!” You responded quickly and gave Steve an apology in the form of a pursed lip nod, accepting that you had been too sharp with him. Your rapid response dragged Dustin’s confidence from him and his shoulders slumped again, feeling ashamed that you had found out about the terror that awaited him at school every day.

Steve picked up on Dustin’s hesitation and decided that whether you liked it or not, he had to step in.

“You’re right, Y/N, he is being bullied. If it makes you feel any better, he tried to make it out like it wasn’t a big deal to me either when clearly it is,” he took the opportunity to look at the note and then gave Dustin a stern side eye. “I think he just didn’t want to worry you since you’re going off to college soon.”

The comment did not in fact, make you feel any better. It made you feel worse. It was already preying on your mind that in a mere month’s time you’d be on your way to college, leaving your mom and Dusty behind. The concept terrified you already but knowing that Dustin was beginning to substitute you with Steve as a way to mentally prepare for your departure was heart-breaking.

You had to take action.

“Dustin, who did this?” You asked. “And don’t you dare lie to me.”

“The same kids as before.” Dustin sighed, realising it was futile to continue hiding things from you at this point.

“Right. I’m gonna finish this once and for all.” You stated plainly and made your way out of the staffroom, outfitted with a new purpose. You were going to prove to Dustin that it should be you that he came to with anything that bothered him. Not your ex.

You knew the kids he was talking about; they were the same ones that hung around outside the arcade and terrorised Dustin and his friends when all they wanted to do was play video games. They were a couple of years older and were all brawn, no brain. Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike never stood a chance against them.

The thoughts in your brain ran wild as the list of possibilities of how you could handle this circulated round in it. Just the thought of laying eyes on one of those little shits was making your blood boil and your feet drove further and further into the ground as you charged towards the arcade.

It wasn’t long before you were interrupted by a hand grabbing your arm and stopping you in your tracks. In amongst your internalised rage, you hadn’t even registered that Steve had followed after you. He had pulled your wrist and spun you round so that you had come face to face with him.

Annoyingly, his eyes staring back at yours still made you feel vulnerable and somewhat soft. If you didn’t have a mission to attend to then you might have caught yourself staring into them for longer.

“Leave me alone, Steve.” You murmured through gritted teeth and pulled your arm back.

“I want to help! I don’t want you to do this alone.” He offered with a half-smile.

“You’ve done enough.” You retaliated with a huff. There was no way you were going to let Steve swoop in like a white knight and earn all of Dustin’s admiration and respect for what was supposed to be your job. He was your brother and Steve had to accept that.

Steve sighed and put his hands on his hips dejectedly, looking down at the ground as an awkward silence created a discernible tension between you. Whilst it was painful, neither of you felt the need to pull away but instead remained shackled in your respective positions.

“I know you may not like it, but Dustin is my friend and I wanna look out for him. I don’t want to give that up just because we’re not together anymore.” Steve eventually confessed, having taken off his Scoops hat and playing with it in his hands. He was still unable to look up at you. Perhaps if he did face you, he wouldn’t have been able to voice how he was feeling. However, you weren’t feeling quite so sympathetic yet.

“Yes, Steve but he’s my brother! And he thinks the sun shines out of your ass! Do you know how hard it is when I do everything for him and Mom and all he can talk about is you?!” You spat back at Steve, folding your arms and sighing deeply. A lump formed in your throat and frustrated tears sprung to your eyelids. It was downright infuriating to say the least. In the absence of your father, you had basically helped your mom raise Dusty and had always considered you and him to have a close relationship.

That was until Steve Harrington sauntered in with enthusiastic but empty promises of love before leaving you and taking Dustin with him. It stung not being enough for Steve but to be second best for Dustin, that was a killer.

“Hey, I know it’s tough on you guys without your dad, trust me,” Steve gave you a knowing look as he recalled the number of nights you had spent lamenting to him about your horrific excuse of a father. “But you can’t deal with this shit on your own. It’s too much for one person to have to handle all by themselves. Dustin knows that, that’s why he doesn’t want to worry you or upset you. The kid thinks you’re incredible… you are incredible.”

Admittedly, Steve’s words had what was probably their desired effect. It made you pause and digest what he was saying. You physically cringed but you had to agree with him that you couldn’t do this all on your own. You couldn’t gatekeep Dusty either. He had been deprived of a father and whilst you wished he’d picked someone else to be a male figure for him to look up to; Steve was just going to have to do.

“Alright. I guess you can help.” You said softly, without needing to say anymore as Steve accepted your offering of a truce. He might have preferred to hear you’re right, Steve but you weren’t about to give him the satisfaction. Not today anyway.

“Okay, great.” Steve smiled warmly at you. “So, what’s the plan?”

At that moment you realised you had not actually formulated a plan. You had just been charging towards the kids like a raging bull with no strategy in sight.

“I didn’t actually have one?” You bit your lip and involuntarily let out a giggle at your own rashness. A wide smile stretched across Steve’s face as he chuckled with you.

“Okay, I love the enthusiasm, but we cannot just go in guns blazing on a group of kids. We need to be smart about this.” Steve smirked as he churned over his own ideas before eventually looking up at you with such extreme animation that one would expect to see a lightbulb hovering above his head. “Why don’t you punch me in front of them? A little preview of what could happen if they come near Dustin again? Which they won’t because this is gonna work!”

You furrowed your eyebrows at him in disbelief. It would be a lie to say you weren’t at least a little tempted to punch your ex but the very fact he suggested it still came as a surprise. Afterall, didn’t he need that face to win over the girls that came into Scoops for their daily ice cream fix?

“You want me to punch you?” You asked with uncertainty.

“Well, I mean, don’t like knock me out or anything. Just punch me hard enough to scare them.” Steve explained eagerly. As much as you hated agreeing to his idea, you didn’t have a back-up plan to offer.

“Fine.” You sighed. “I’ll try not to hit you too hard.”

“That’s the spirit.” Steve grinned. “Lead the way, Henderson.”

United over a common purpose, you made your way to the arcade together. It was like the old days when you would make the kind of grand entrance into school together that commanded respect and demonstrated authority. Harrington & Henderson: untouchable. Except now when you looked down, your hands weren’t linked nor were your fingers intertwined. All that remained was distance.

Instinctively, you almost reached out to hold his hand but stopped yourself. The earlier vulnerability returned and you decided to fold your arms so that you wouldn’t be tempted to try and reach for him again.

Steve did the same by putting his hands in the pockets of the sailor shorts.

The kids hung around at their usual spot outside the arcade. They fixated on the door menacingly, hoping to trip up any younger kids before going in so that they might steal their arcade money. Little shits.

“Hey!” You yelled as you approached them, gathering their attention. “Do you know a Dustin Henderson?”

“Yeah,” the one who you had concluded was the leader retorted. “What’s it to you and sailor boy?”

Steve’s cheeks turned pink as he smoothed down the top of his uniform with the palms of his hands, suddenly being made to feel self-conscious by a 15 year old. He looked down in embarrassment which was only going to be made worse as you balled your fist and swung a punch at his face.

The punch was much harder than you intended and Steve’s face swung dramatically to the side as he shrieked out a profanity. He held his tender cheek delicately and looked up at you in a horrified but impressed way. You flexed your fist out after its assault and turned back to the group of youths who now stood with their jaws at their feet.

“You go near him, or any of his friends again, and you’ll get the same treatment. Got that?!” You shouted and they all nodded dumbly back at you. “Good. And move away from here. You look like a bunch of creeps sitting outside the arcade!”

They all scurried away from you like pigeons flying from a hungry cat. You couldn’t help but stand a little bit taller with pride as you watched them run away.

“Owww.” Steve wailed behind you, interrupting the internal pat on the back you were giving yourself. “That really hurt!”

“Sorry!” You giggled and turned round to him, thoughtlessly cupping his face in your hands to assess the damage you had done. “You did tell me to punch you.”

“That was before I realised what a mean right hook you had.” He responded with a chuckle before you both locked eyes and realised the intimacy of the way you were holding his face.

You stared at each other in silence. There was so much to say but at the same time, nothing to say at all. You had gotten so used to not touching Steve that the feeling of his cheeks in your palms made your breath hitch uncomfortably.

At the same time, you jumped away from each other awkwardly. There must have been something particularly interesting on the ground as you both dipped your heads to stare at it; careful not to cross the line with eye contact again.

“That was a nice thing you did for Dusty today.” You mumbled as a way to combat the silence, giving credit where it was undoubtedly due.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t just do it for him.” Steve confessed, kicking his heels off the ground.

“Steve, don’t.” You warned, already not liking where this was going. He had looked up at you with forlorn eyes and a helpless expression. This was dangerous territory you were both now entering, especially when you had already promised yourself that you wouldn’t risk getting your feelings hurt again.

“What happened to us?” He asked simply and you were ready to punch him again.

“You dumped me! You said you didn’t feel the same way anymore!”

“Yeah, well I was an asshole.”

“I’ll say.” You scoffed and folded your arms again as though this could barricade you away from Steve. As if this could stop him from getting close and taking a hold of your feelings.

Steve took a few steps forward and put his hands on your arms to hold you in place. When you refused to look up at him, he put his thumb to your chin to tilt your head up to look at him. You swallowed thickly, being forced to stare into his eyes again.

“Yeah, I was an asshole but I’ve grown up a bit. And we make a good team, don’t we? Too good a team to be apart.” Steve pleaded, staring into your eyes for some sort of hint that you were able to meet him halfway. It was a sweet torture having him this close to you again without him being yours.

Maybe it was the way he looked at you. Or maybe it was the way he had allowed you to humiliate him in front of a bunch of kids so that you could defend your brother. Perhaps, it was the way that he looked after Dustin like he was his own brother. It could even have been the way that he’d still tried to make his hair look cool even while wearing that ridiculous Scoops uniform.

Either way, you had lost all resolve at this point and you grabbed his face in your hands to kiss him. Steve’s eyes widened at first then slowly shut as he melted into the kiss, his hands finding their way to your hips and pulling you closer. Your own hands trailed through his signature hair where they belonged.

Pulling back from the kiss, you had to stifle a laugh at the shiner you had left on Steve’s face starting to form. Steve noticed the corners of your mouth stretching into a wide smile and immediately clasped his hands to his face again, fighting the blush that was rising to his cheeks.

“I told you that you had a mean right hook!” He laughed, still feeling a little embarrassed.

“Come on, Harrington,” You held your hand out for him. “Let’s get some ice on that and you can tell Dustin all about how brave and cool you were.”

“Emphasising the brave and cool part.” He agreed, taking your hand. “I missed you.”

“Yeah,” You admitted. “I missed you too.”

[theewritingroomm]

First Date Nerves

Summary: Steve finally decided to ask out the really cute girl that keeps coming into Family Video. But what Steve doesn’t realize is that this girl is a) a Munson and b) that Eddie Munson is the definition of overprotective big brother. Pairing: Steve Harrington x Munson!Reader Word Count: 2.6k Warnings: possibly dialogue heavy, canon divergent, swearing?, protective eddie, nervous steve, A/N: Kinda self indulgent, I just love Steve so much. SPOILER FREE text divider by @vecnacurse

I do NOT consent to my work being translated or published onto third party sites - including AO3 and Wattpad. 

Working at Family Video was much different than working at Scoops Ahoy. The biggest difference, at least to Steve, was the types of people that he encountered. When working at Starcourt Mall Steve would see the same types of people. The same teenagers and parents with young children. But now, working at Family Video, he and Robin got to see the various types of people their small town of Hawkins had to offer. 

But there was only one person who captured Steve’s attention every time they came into the store. You. 

You always came in on Friday afternoons, right before the rush to browse the new releases and the horror collection. Usually taking home one of each. And this Friday was no different. 

At close to four o’clock on the dot the bell above the door chimed. Causing Steve to look up from stocking the shelves to watch you walk in. He watched as you waved to Robin behind the counter and the smile on your face as you did. Steve followed you with his eyes as you wandered the aisles, never once being able to take his eyes off of you. Too enthralled in the way that you looked and carried yourself. 

You had on the cutest blue sundress with yellow flowers dotting the fabric. It stopped midthigh and gave Steve a slight glimpse of the black ink that adorned your leg. As well as the opportunity to stare at the length of them and to imagine what they would feel like under his fingers and how they would look thrown over his shoulder as he… 

“You’re gawking again.” Robin’s voice sounded from behind him. Nearly making Steve jump out of his skin and breaking him from the trance that he seemed to be in. 

Steve began to argue with Robin. To try and tell her that he was not openly staring at you. But from the looks on Robin’s face Steve knew that it was going to be futile trying to argue with her. Robin seemed to know him better than he did himself on most days. So instead of trying to argue with her he closed his mouth and snuck another quick glance at you as you examined a copy of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 

“Why don’t you talk to her dingus?” Robin asked. 

Steve shrugged at the question in response. Not wanting to tell Robin but recently his track record with women was less than stellar. So he’d much rather admire from afar than end up being hurt or humiliated. However, Robin could nearly see through Steve and his thoughts, already working on a plan. 

As you finally decided on your movies and began to make your way to the register Robin smirked. Deciding on how she was going to get Steve to talk to you. 

“I’m going on my break.” She announced. Running to the back room before Steve could fully process the words that had left her mouth. 

He never truly did as he watched you reach the empty counter and look around the store. Steve took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm the nerves that were threatening to take over. And finally made his own way to the register. 

“Hey Y/N,” Steve spoke. Silently wishing his nerves down before they get in the way of him doing his job. “How’s it been?” 

“It’s been good Steve,” you smiled at him, “Ready for graduati-....” 

Before you could finish your sentence the bell above the door sounded. Signaling the arrival of Dustin Henderson who was already ranting to Steve about his Suzie related problem. You laughed at the young boy’s dramatics before waving to Steve and moving towards the door. 

“Y/N wait,” Steve called out. 

You quickly turned to face him. Instantly thinking that you had done something embarrassing on your way to the door or that you forgot something. But upon noticing the nervous look that took over Steve’s features you knew that was not the case. 

“Yes?” biting at your bottom lip as the word left your mouth. 

“I was just wondering,” He rubbed the back of his neck and glazed quickly at the floor for a moment, “if I could possibly get your phone number.” 

The smile that stretched across your face was the calmest reaction you could muster up. Not believing that Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington was asking for your number. 

“Absolutely.” You responded.

You quickly worked to unwrinkle the receipt in your hand as you walked back to the counter. Snatching a pen from behind the register as you got there you quickly wrote your number on the back. The smile never once leaves your face as you handed the glossy slip of paper back to Steve. 

As you made it outside you could have sworn you saw Steve fist pump the air through the front window. 

It wasn’t until the next morning that Steve actually got the courage to dial your number. It rang for close to thirty seconds before finally connecting. Your voice filled his ears as it did. 

“Hello?” your sweet voice sounded. Causing Steve’s throat to go dry. 

“Hey,” he cleared his throat, “It’s Steve.” 

“Steve! I wasn’t expecting you to call so soon.” 

From the tone in your voice Steve couldn’t get offended. The air laugh you had let out did more to calm his nerves than anything. 

“Yeah, I -uh -” he leaned against the wall next to the phone. “I had to get the courage to actually do it. You - uh- make me nervous.” 

You smiled as you twirled the cord to the phone around your finger. 

“I make you nervous?” you asked, “I don’t believe that anyone could make you nervous.” 

Steve let out an airy laugh that left him feeling almost light. “It’s only girls as pretty as you that make me that way.” 

Your heart soared. Steve Harrington was flirting with you. Albeit a little nervously but regardless your sophmore self would be pinching herself if she could see you now. Hell you wanted to but knew that this one was not a dream. 

“But I - uh- I didn’t call to nervously babble on in your ear.” 

“You didn’t?” You teased. 

“Yeah, I actually called to ask you something.” 

Your heart was nearly beating out of your chest as you spoke. “What is it Steve?” 

He let out a deep breath. “Do you maybe want to go out tonight? We could have dinner and a movie or go to the roller rink or…” 

“I would love to.” You cut off Steve’s nervous ramblings. Which Steve was more than grateful for. 

“Awesome! I’ll pick you up at seven.” 

Steve couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face as he took down your address. His nerves still too much for him to realize the familiarity of the address. 

As you hung up the phone you heard the door to your brother’s room open. Turning towards the sound you saw your brother with his head poking out of the gap. His brown eyes were full of questions. 

“Who was that?” He asked, noticing the wide smile on your face. 

“No one Eds.” You ignored the way his eyes narrowed at you. 

Eddie knew when you weren’t going to willingly hand over information. But as your older brother he felt it was his job to not only look after you but annoy the ever living crap out of you when he needed to. Often the two went hand-in-hand. Eddie would frequently use his persistence to get you to spill anything and everything. But he never let you know that - except you did. 

“Fine,” he responded simply. But you could tell from the mischievous glint in his eye that you knew you were not off the hook yet. 

A few hours later you were sitting in the middle of your bed and painting your nails while a Madonna track played softly over the radio. It was the perfect, peaceful setting that you needed to get into the perfect mindset for your date. But living with Eddie you knew that it was going to be short lived. Especially thinking back to the look he gave you earlier. 

Only a second later your bedroom door was flying open. With Eddie on the other side with an indescribable look painting his features. 

“You have a date!” he announced. Walking into your room and standing on the foot of your bed. 

You didn’t respond. Instead keeping your focus trained on the brush you were dragging across your nails. 

“Henderson told me,” this made you look up. “”He said he saw you and Harrington flirting yesterday.” 

“And?” you only glanced at him for a second seeing his jaw tick slightly. 

“You didn’t think to tell me?” 

You finally set the bottle of nail polish on your side table and turning your entire focus to your older brother. 

“Why? You like Steve. The two of you are kinda friends now. And besides this isn’t going to be like when Jeremy asked me out.” 

At the mention of the last date you had gotten asked out on Eddie nearly saw red. His mind reeling to the night you had spent so long getting ready only to be stood up. And if Eddie was being honest with himself that was the reason he was apprehensive on the idea of this date. He distinctly remembers the pain in your eyes and the sobs that raked your body that night. So now, he wants to do everything in his power to prevent you from hurting like that ever again. However, Eddie also knew that Steve was one of the better guys in Hawkins. And the chances of him hurting you were slim to none. 

“I know Harrington isn’t like that. But you’re still my little sister and I don’t want to see you hurt.” Eddie revealed, lowering himself to sit on the edge of your bed. 

“Eds, you know you're pretty mushy for the town's scariest cult leader.” you joked, poking him in the shoulder. 

That comment earned you a smack on the leg from Eddie. Who despite himself was grinning at your joke. 

“But seriously Eds, Steve is a good guy. He’s not going to hurt me. So please don’t scare him off. He is still your friend.” 

“I know.” 

At 6:58 you were still fussing over your hair when a knock at the door echoed through the trailer. You panicked slightly as you exited the bathroom. And it only increased when you saw Eddie already answering the door. He quickly glanced at you, a large smile splitting his features as the door squealed on its hinges. 

Steve was ready to explode from nerves as he approached your front door. He had spent most of the day trying to plan the perfect date. He even brought in Robin for help and guidance. After that he had spent the rest of the afternoon obsessing over his wardrobe and hair. Nothing in his closet seemed to look right and his hair was being uncharacteristically stubborn. Once all of that had gotten under control he had spent an hour at the florist trying to find flowers that were as lovely as you are. 

So when his shaky hand made contact with the door, knocking twice and Eddie Munson of all people answered the door Steve could have thrown up on his shoes. 

“Harrington, what a surprise!” Eddie said, stepping onto the porch and closing the door behind him. His hand never once left the door knob, to Steve it looked like he was holding the door closed from the outside. 

Before him Steve began to stammer. The bouquet that had once been tightly held to his chest falling limply by his side. The nerves and second guesses that he had willed down on the way over here once again blazing like an inferno in his chest. 

“Is uh - I’m - uh - Do you,” Steve closes his eyes tightly and sucks in one large breath. 

“You’re looking for Y/N.” Eddie says it as a statement not a question. As if he already knew the reason Steve was there. 

So Steve nods quickly, “We have a date.” 

Steve wants to kick himself at the nerves that were evident in his voice. But he couldn’t help it. His mind was working at a hundred miles a second as he convinced himself that you didn’t want to go on this date with him or that you had only agreed to all of this as a joke. Karma for something that he had done in high school. 

“Don’t shit yourself Steve-O,” Eddie interrupted Steve’s train of thought. “She’s inside, probably about to climb out of the window because I got the door stuck closed right now. But I have to talk to you before you take out my sister.” 

Sister. The word bounced around in Steve’s brain, the only thing he could think about for a minute before everything seemed to click into place. Like that fact that you always grab two movies, it's what he can now see as a sibling compromise. The look Dustin gave him as you left the store yesterday. And the faint noise he could hear on the other end of the phone this morning. It all fell together and Steve felt like a massive idiot. And Eddie could see it written across his face. 

“You didn’t know?” Eddie wants to laugh but your words from earlier echoed in his mind. 

“I guess I didn’t realize,” Steve rubbed the back of his neck, “And I’ve never been here before so…” 

“Most people don’t realize it. Say she’s not ‘scary’ enough to be a Munson. Little do they know when we were kids she used to hide Barbie heels in my bed when I pissed her off. Pretty sure I still have one in my back.” 

Steve laughed at that, still slightly nervous. But as the image of a younger, more spiteful version of you filled his mind they slipped away slightly. 

“But in all seriousness Harrington,” Eddie clapped a hand onto Steve’s shoulder. “We may be friends but if you don’t treat her right I will know and it won’t be good.” 

Steve nodded curtly and opened his mouth to respond. However, before he could get any words out to reassure Eddie that you would only be treated better than you deserve, the widow next to the front door was thrown open. And you came leaning out of it. 

“Edward Munson,” You yelled, a wild fire lighting up your eyes. Steve found it to be incredibly hot. 

“If you make me climb out of this window for my date I swear I’m going to take the dice.” 

Eddie threw his hands up at his sister and sent a quick wink to Steve before he threw the door open and stepped inside. You huffed as you closed the window before appearing in the doorway a second later. You flicked Eddie on the forehead as you stepped past him. He stuck his tongue out at you as he shut the door behind you. Leaving you and Steve alone on the porch. 

“I’m sorry about that. He can be a little…” you trailed off, looking back at the widow you were once sticking out of. 

“Ecentric” Steve offered. 

“To be mild,” the two of you laughed before a comfortable silence fell over the porch. 

You two stood that way for a moment, simply taking the other one in. It was that moment that Steve remembered the bouquet he was holding. He held it out to you, a small shy smile pulling at his lips. 

“These are for you.” 

Your heart melted at both the flowers in his hand and the shy demeanor Steve had. “They’re beautiful Steve. Thank you.” 

“Not nearly as beautiful as you.” 

You wanted to swoon. But instead settled for taking Steve’s hand in yours and pulling him towards his car. 

[friendlysailor]

Hey, do you have any antivirus recommendations? I deleted McAffee because I found it annoying.

Ahoy! Thank you so much for asking, because this is something i absolutely have! From personal experience, i definitely think that getting rid of McAffe is a good idea. It has a tendency to add a lot of "Bloatware" (Software whose usefulness is reduced because of the excessive disk space and memory it requires.) to your computer, and has a fairly rocky reputation. It is often bundled with other software and even some new computers, and tend to take up a lot of your CPU when scanning files. I absolutely understand that you find it annoying! It's basically a program made to pry upon less tech-savvy people, to get them to pay for McAffe's mediocre-at-best service.

Now, being done ranting about McAffe, let me come with some recommendations. The first one being "Malwarebytes," which i personally use.

If i ever can afford to pay for any "premium" anti-virus programs, it'd be Malwarebytes. The program can be downloaded for free, require no account and no payment info.

After installing i usually activate the 14 day free trial, and when that trial runs out, i simply tell it to deactivate the premium-mode, and then use the free version. Sometimes when updating i get new offers for premium trials, which i usually take, although the free-mode is plenty good enough.

When using the free Malwarebytes, i always make sure to manually scan any new downloads. Aside from that it does most stuff itself, most importantly including periodic scheduled scans.

Due to it being a hot minute since i last did some research around this, i made sure to do some now! And seemingly the most recommended anti-virus of 2022 is called "Bitdefender." The free version seems to cover the same grounds as Malwarebytes, and i've found no mentions of any major issues with this one either!

I have also seen some people discuss how the included Windows antivirus should be good enough, i do not trust Microsoft enough for that, but will make sure to look into this. The most important when using ANY antivirus is to make periodic scans, keep the software as updated as can be, and ALWAYS scan newly downloaded files! Remember this when you find yourself downloading files, ESPECIALLY if you are treating yourself to some piracy. It will save you from a good 99% of any malicious/harmful files out there!

I hope this has been helpful! If you have any questions, requests or anything else, always feel free to send asks or message me! If i can't find it, we might be able to get someone to put it out there!

[fingertipsmp3]

I know making this decision at 11:53pm is a bad idea which is why I have not placed the order but GOD I just saw a canister of 180 strawberry twizzlers on amazon and I NEED IT