#personal rant ahoy

[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.

[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!! 🎉🎊🎁

[meyerlansky]

my mota hot take - if bucky hadn't imprinted on gale and declared them bfs grade school style, i genuinely don't think gale would have thought twice about him (judgy bitch). egan wormed his way into that boy's heart and grew on him like a fungus. curt, however, i think gale gelled with him from day 1. barry's performance (which You Get, King) is very genuine and straightforward under a veneer of bravado and i think that... solidity? appeals to gale even more than it does to bucky

JUDGY BITCH DKFNSKDNF okay but it's true. bucky's absolutely the one doing the heavy lifting to make clegan happen, platonic or otherwise. it's not even a contest. there's reasons it's unequal, some fairer than others, but it IS unequal, and if bucky hadn't called dibs i can't see gale putting in the effort on his own. more fool him 😤

i definitely get what you mean wrt curt being Solid, too, and it's........ interesting [lmao rant ahead sorry] that the fandom has decided that he's feral, when that's really not what i get from barry's performance At All. and we KNOW that man is capable of Absolutely Off The Wall Feral. dominic kearney is feral. the scavenger is feral. oliver quick is restraint-hiding-feral, and even more importantly, the amount of artifice in barry's saltburn performance is STAGGERING—masks behind masks behind masks—so he's EXTREMELY CAPABLE of playing a character that way, with that kind of complexity of layers. there's very little artifice to curt imo, which isn't incompatible with feral, exactly, but he doesn't really GO feral at any point; like you say, he's a straightforward kind of dude, especially with the buckies. there's no restraint-hiding-feral so much as curt is In Control, even when he's having fun and being a goofball. even the RAF fight is very Controlled. there's no impulse, there's no snap decision, he uses the RAF guy underestimating him to his advantage but he doesn't make any secret of the fact that he knows he's gonna win. my personal headcanon is that the fight's the first time gale really SEES that element of curt, but it's definitely the kind of thing i can see him picking up on earlier because... that control, that self-assuredness, it's what gale tries for too!

the operative word being TRIES. because for gale it IS artifice. gale, imho, is a scared little boy hiding behind his idea of Shoulds and Musts. gale has shoved his wants and needs down so deep—to cope, to keep himself safe, but he's done it nevertheless—that he can't actually register them as what they are without getting shaken into it. and then there's curt with a much quieter confidence about what he can do, what he's capable of, and what he wants than gale OR bucky, and it's not a facade. that's actually kind of what i think does appeal to gale about bucky too, that same lack of artifice. if curt says he's gonna do something, he does it. if bucky's angry, there's no guesswork, no eggshells like your drunk dad might have, you know it. i don't think gale is capable of accessing that kind of open unapologetic honesty about his own feelings and desires, not within the time frame we see in canon and imo not for a loooooooooong time after, which is why i can't see him being very kinky without like YEARS of Feeling Safe in a relationship but the guys he has the closest on-screen relationships with are all people who aren't quiet about Being Who They Are. so i definitely agree that solidity and that straightforwardness are things about curt that MAJORLY appeal to gale, and i wish we'd gotten more than THREE SCENES OF INTERACTION about it >:[

last tacked-on thought: curt also treats gale like a person and not an idol to swoon over, which seems VERY RARE among the ENTIRE 100th tbqh, and gale doesn't really seem to LIKE being idolized [self-worth issues ahoy!] so i think that plays in too.

[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.

[graph100]

is it just me or does gamedev youtube kinda suck? like, its all the most generic sounding people making uninteresting indie games and having nothing super interesting to say. like idk, maybe its just me. the only people who i really like are randy and miziziziz, but even some of miziziziz's stuff leans toward generic indie stuff, hes just different enough in attitude and method that i can watch him. everyone else just feels so samey.

nobody's doing anything that feels original. like yeah they all have their great ideas and such, but theres nothing interesting going on.

i have this theory about how we think about our creative projects. as humans, we naturally make categories for things. we do it for everything. it helps us process things. when we make art, we either start with an idea from a category or genre and expand from there, for fit the idea into a category or make something specific of that category. it feels like gamedev youtube is just making things to fit the "game" shaped hole

I kinda feel this way with indie games as a whole. like in the 2000's and 2010's all of the sudden it became super easy for individuals and small teams to make games, and they fucking ran with that. then later on in the 2010's and 2020's we formed this idea of what "indie game" means and started making "indie games", and its dragged innovation to a halt.

maybe im just salty because im super picky with what i like but i seriously think that there is so much more that we could be doing as a whole that a lot of people dont see.

I was watching this video essay about detention (a game by the same people who made that game that got banned because it had whinnie the pooh as xi jinping) and the essayist was talking about games that have similar energy to silent hill. he brought up signalis, and admitted that he thought the game was similarly good, but said that it wasn't as great because it was clear that it was inspired by/a spiritual successor to silent hill, and that detention fit his criteria for "silent hill like game" not because it tried to be silent hill, but because it was just as good as doing the same things as silent hill

this is where i think indie games fall flat; it feels like everyone is trying to make something like another game, instead of doing something new that is also great. I understand that inspiration is one thing, and that not all spiritual successors are bad, but it really leaves a sour taste in my mouth when I can really easily tell what the a game wanted to be, but didnt end up being.

I tried to word that kind of broadly, because not all of the games i dislike try to emulate one game or a specific set of games, but some seem like they try to emulate a certain style of art or game that they cant do.

I just thing that we need to learn to move on from the past and make new things that are great.

Another gripe I have with gamedev youtube is that they come up with game ideas that fit labels. whenever i see a devlog video they always introduce their game as a set of itch.io tags. I know this is good for like publicity or whatever, but their game ideas are entirely based around these boxes that we need to think outside of; labels come second.

Look at doom for example. It's possibly the greatest game of all time. When it came out in 1993, nobody called it like we did now because they didn't have the term "first person shooter". In ahoy's video on what genre is doom, he shows that it was advertised as a virtual reality action game. That term is wayyy worse at describing what doom is, but thats because doom was so different than other games.

rant over (for now)

[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

[littledarlingone]

Heyy so I have this blurb from a ronance-centric ST summer camp AU that I was planning in my head but I haven’t written any more for it sooo I thought I’d post what I do have cause I like it :)

In summary: Nance and Rob take a boat out on the lake, talk about Steve, and hold hands <3

~1.6k

The lake’s surface rippled under a soft midday sun. Little waves traveling out, out, out from the middle until they lapped at the pebbled shore. The serenity of the clearing was being rudely interrupted by Robin and Nancy in a rowboat.

“Rob!” Nancy was chastising, though not without little huffs of laughter. “Stop rocking the boat, seriously!”

Robin was fully cackling, only interrupted by her own shrieks when the boat rocked dangerously far one way or another. “I’m trying, I swear! I don’t have my sea legs anymore, Nance.”

Nancy held back a laugh with pursed lips, but the fondness was clear in her eyes. “Your sea legs?”

“Uh, yeah?” Robin sung, brows furrowed in confusion as she got very still. The boat began to settle. Then something registered in her eyes as she looked at Nancy, and they were quickly rocking uncontrollably again as Robin practically leapt in the air—extremities flinging in every direction. “OH YEAH!”

“Jesus, what—what?”

“Me and Steve were sailors! Last summer! Oh my god I can’t believe we’ve never talked about this.” Robin’s voice was raspy and shrill with excitement.

“Are you talking about those weird matching costumes you guys were wearing at Starcourt?” Nancy had always wanted to ask about them, but it wasn’t really appropriate at the time, and she didn’t see Steve or Robin much afterwards. Until now.

Robin threw her head back laughing, and Nancy’s eyes traced her jugular as it bobbed up and down. “YES, god, the stupid fucking costumes.” Robin was giggling now, her eyes a little far-off, remembering. “They were for our job at the mall.”

Nancy raised a brow, silently requesting details. A surge of pride ran through Robin when she realized how familiar she’d become with that look. How naturally she anticipated Nancy’s journalistic tendencies.

“Scoops Ahoy,” she explained, a bit sheepishly. “Yanno…slingin’ ice cream.”

“Ah…” Nance nodded.

“Anyways, that’s how we met. Didn’t really like him much at first, actually.”

“What changed?” Robin laid back into the basin of the rowboat, staring at the sky pensively. Oh, the things that had changed since last summer.

“I dunno—maybe the drugs those Russians gave us fried my brain, but Steve is…good,” Robin said fondly. Her hands reached into the air to gesticulate as she devolved into a rant. “He’s a good person. He spent the whole time in that base throwing himself into danger to save us idiots, and I thought wow, he’s kind of a badass under pressure, but then we got out of there and I realized he’d always been like that, I was just determined to not see it. And it’s a good thing he accepted me because by the time the drugs wore off, I realized I really-really-really cared about his opinion and that maybe that’s why I didn’t like him so much in the first place.”

“Accepted you?” Nance puzzled. Yeah, leave it to Nancy to point out the most vague slip-up of all time. Robin cursed her rambling tendencies—she really had to get that in check. She didn’t look up as she carefully responded, and she hoped Nancy couldn’t hear the waver in her voice.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Like, accepted my friendship. When I offered it. Even after finding out there were actual Russians under Starcourt opening portals to other dimensions, the thought of Steve Harrington wanting to be friends with me still felt impossible…”

Robin comforted herself with the fact that she was only telling a half-lie. She was glad for what she could get; She could talk to Nancy about other dimensions and DnD monsters come-to-life—didn’t have to lie like she did to her parents and her friends in band. She could tell Nance the truth.

Mostly.

Across the boat, Nancy was marveling up at the clouds, looking for what Rob saw in them. She sat with Robin’s confession long enough that when she responded, she was laying down too.

“I know what you mean,” she started quietly, and Robin’s leg kicked up a bit in surprise, jostling the boat. “I felt the same way when Steve asked me out Sophomore year, like…like why me? But then I got to know him, and he was…”

“Just a guy,” Robin finished for her.

“Exactly! And after I realized that, the world just…exploded in front of me. It was so much bigger than I knew. Honestly I don’t know if realizing all of that made the upside down better or worse.”

Robin laughed. “Fuck, I’m not sure it could get any worse. I’m so glad I’m not in Hawkins right now.” She thanked her lucky stars she’d never been into the upside down. She wanted to ask Nancy what it was like.

“Yeah,” Nance nodded, propping herself onto her elbows to look into the water. “Sometimes, though, I wonder…”

Her left hand stretched over to touch the dark water. The submerged tips turned an eerie blue-ish that reminded her of faceless-monsters and desperate screams. And of Barb, but she shoved that memory down as far as she could will it.

Nancy didn’t finish her thought, but all the same, Robin mumbled, “me, too.” She’d spent countless family dinners staring at the overhead light, waiting for even a whisper of a flicker. Laid awake in bed, prepared to hear a gut-wrenching screech pierce the air. She listened to the radio too often, and always kept her eyes trained for signs that she was being followed—and in a way, she was.

The Upside Down followed all of them. Steve and Nance, the kids—they all took some part of that god-forsaken place home with them after Starcourt. Even before that, for most of them.

So, at the risk of coming on too strong (or, y’know, at all), Robin took Nancy’s hand from where it sat in the water.

“It doesn’t matter how far it stretches, Nancy. We locked it away for good.” Nancy’s eyes were on her now, and Robin felt a little too serious, but she pushed on, anyway. “And if, by some miracle, it comes back…well, we’ll have more experience than last time.”

Nancy snorted—much to Robin’s delight.

“If only I could put that on my resume,” Nancy mumbled to herself, though in their position—face-to-face, one respective knee bonking between the other’s—Robin caught it anyways.

“Dude, do you know how fast you’d get a job if monster hunting was an acceptable life skill?” Robin was laughing, but it was true. She doubled down on the idea after a moment’s thought. “You’d be a kickass cop, actually. Or-or a detective! Yeah. I can see it now: Detective Wheeler, best sleuth in Indianapolis.”

Nancy gave a half-baked smile.

“Yeah, except they’d never hire a woman.” Her voice was bitter. Robin scrunched her nose.

“Ugh, yeah, you’re right. You go to hell and back, just for people to throw something as inconsequential as your gender in your face.”

“I’ll take hell any day.” It was a joke, but neither laughed. Instead they watched their joined hands, absently touching. Nancy’s fingertips were dry, and began brushing along Robin’s palm. The sensation had Robin going haywire, shooting through her nerve-endings at lightspeed. Nancy mumbled, “Fucking mouth-breathers.”

Robin thought she sounded just like Mike. Or that maybe Mike sounded like Nancy—that maybe his weird traits always belonged to her first. Robin felt insatiable. Wanted to know what other Wheeler traits Nancy was hiding behind her perfect persona. If she had played DnD. If she’d seen Star Wars. If she ever had braces. Holding her hand wasn’t enough—Robin needed to see the embarrassing middle school pictures, needed to know how she styled her hair when she was twelve.

But then the clouds were parting, and the sun was harsh on her shoulders, so Robin pulled away and stood on shaky legs. Began unbuttoning her shirt. Said, “Let’s swim, Wheeler.”

Nancy gaped up from her place on the bench.

“I’m not wearing my suit. You’re not wearing your suit,” she pointed out, as Robin slung her button-up behind her. Nancy watched the shirt settle intently, avoiding the expanse of Robin’s skin above her—only broken by a white sports bra. Those bare shoulders only shrugged in response.

“I’m not exactly wearing lingerie, here,” Robin said—though she was a little worried about making Nance uncomfortable. Straight girls changed in front of each other, yeah, but Robin wasn’t. Was it wrong to undress—and to let Nancy undress—if her sexuality was a secret?

Robin’s shorts were already off.

“You don’t have to get in, but I’m baking out here.”

Perching on the edge of the boat, Robin braced herself.

“We don’t have any towels…,” Nancy said, tone noncommittal, but still sitting on that bench.

With her nose already plugged, Robin only mumbled something incoherent and nasally before falling backwards into the lake.

The water ruptured around Rob’s intrusion, spraying into the boat and wetting the dry clothes she left behind. The splash seemed to break the spell that was over the two, and when she emerged to the surface, Robin found Nance already standing.

She stripped quickly, but it felt achingly long. Robin did her best not to look, to focus on treading water instead of the dress dragging off of Nancy’s torso. Tried submerging her mouth and blowing bubbles. She didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. Eventually she dove under to erase the image of pink lace from her mind. As she wiped her eyes dry, Nance jumped in, and when Rob opened her eyes she was in front of her.

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Okay! That’s really kind of you! Take your time - you can even just do this whenever you next open up ship requests, I’m in no hurry 😊 Can I request a Stranger Things ship? 💗

I’m 5’2 with wavy ombré hair, blue eyes. I’ve always loved vintage/1920s avante garde style. I never got into makeup personally but I love doing hair, especially my Gran’s hair (usually too lazy to do my own hair, though, lol).. 

My pronouns; She/Her, I’m straight and I’m 19.

My personality is pretty relaxed. Somewhere between an introvert and extrovert cause while I like to be alone, I can rant and tell stories for hours. 

Hotheaded but I sometimes deny it, and pretty tough, adaptable. Fiery.

While I can talk about stuff I heard about/saw for hours, I’m pretty private when it comes to myself and don’t open up unless I’m comfortable with the person. 

I’ve never been academic and prefer to do things with my hands. 

Love spending time with my family and friends. Love music, especially rhythmic music. I like to just relax and eat good food, and I cook a ton.

My love languages probably acts of service and gift-giving from me but I love physical touch, and I’m a big hugger.  I’ve no idea what kinda vibe I give off or who I’ll be shipped with, lol.

No rush at all 💛 I love your writing sm, btw! So many cool fandoms!

Thank you so much for requesting the matchup! Haven't done a Stranger Things one in a long while! I hope you enjoy it! <3333

Stranger Things;

Steve Harrington:

🍦 You met Steve when you were wondering the StarCourt Mall after doing some shopping for new cassettes, but now you were hungry and that's when you spotted Scoops Ahoy

🍦 Looking at the menu above the counter of ice cream, you didn't notice Steve until he turned around and said his line, "Ahoy there, my lady, what can I get ya?"; all you could think about was how cute the guy in front of you was

🍦 You ordered your favorite flavor, trying not to stare too long at Steve, finding him pretty attractive, and funny, as he skillfully scooped the ice cream in a cone for you; you tried to pay but Steve said it was on the house

🍦 For the next couple of weeks, you went over and got your usual at Scoops, chatting with Steve before having to leave because you were holding up the line; after a while of visiting and getting to know each other slightly, Steve asked for your number

🍦 And that's how you met Steve, now a year into your friendship/relationship, you and Steve are attached to the hip; your first date with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington, was actually during his break at Scoops, where the two of you ate ice cream and sat in a booth in the corner, just chatting and enjoy each other's company

🍦 Steve really, really liked you, a lot really, he hadn't felt like this since Nancy, so that's saying something; though, Steve made a promise to himself, that he'd make the relationship with you work, he didn't want to lose you

🍦 Steve found you brilliant, funny, strong, a bit hot-headed (but you deny it), and he really likes you, he might even love you; you always bring a smile to his face, not matter how he's feeling, you really changed him and his life for the better

🍦 You found Steve incredibly handsome, funny, charming, smart, and such a gentleman, him always opening doors for you and offering his jacket to you if it's cold out; he never even stopped your ranting when you did rant, he didn't seemed bored when you spoke of your many interests, and seemed like he was really paying attention and listening; it made your heart swoon

🍦 Once the two of you got more used to each other and more comfortable, the two of you would do anything and everything together, going to places to eat good foods, listening and dancing to music together, cooking together, cuddling while watching a movie, and Steve even let you do his hair one time, which says a lot

🍦 You and Steve are certainly the most perfect match, you both bring out the best in one another, and not even the Upside Down can tear the two of you apart

[rainbowgod666]

...ok. rant incoming

Look away if you arent like subscribed to LazerPig or something

See, my equivalent of "i would like to award you the highest honor i can bestow" is telling somebody that something looks like i made it, because trust me, my drawings look like shit because I cant draw but if you could see what I concieved in my head? Hoo boy

However.

This compliment of mine can also unironically used as a "dude what the fuck" because like- LOOK AT THAT THING

Compare it to the Leman Russ from warhammer 40k

Large fat boy with a lot of "dakka", a main gun that shoots bullets the size of a person, name after the furry viking primarch, there is one word to describe this rather large multiterrain boy, in the words of the youtuber Hoot:

Or hell, lets use the most obvious examples: the WWI MKV english tank, and the M1A1 abrams

The first one shows the necessities of a war like no other: back then WWI was called "the war to end all wars" and it was a constant run to see what "clicked", resulting in tanks like the MKV from britain, big, fat, slow as shit and not THAT thickly armored all things considered (the Barrett M82 video from Ahoy has a clip about this because come on .50 BMG just HAD to come from somewhere, right?) But D A Y U M did it get the job done. You saw one of these and all reactions were varying degrees of wtf

The second one shows a tank like the ones we know: big tracks, turret on top that is a BEEG KANONEN and full of that american sauce that youre goated with after a tour in Middle East, you hop on one of these and break the kneecaps of anything in front of you (so be careful where you aim that shit). War criminal since 2001 and hella fucking proud of it in a way only an american (tank) can be.

But THIS FUCKING THING?

Oh dear lord up in thy heavens where do i even fucking START.

Its right side is all battery, its LEFT side its all GUN. Its only reason for anti-tank mine immunity is how TALL is this fucker. The only normal thing about this heresy towards the omnissiah is the main gun and MAYBE the frontal side guns

Also anti tank mine immunity? I meant partial immunity because first mine that hits the tracks YOURE DONE SON

Dear lord, what the actual fuck man

Armored core 6: if HORUS from Lancer-RPG was real in this universe it would actually make more sense than some of these things

oh look it's the CATAPHRACT from Armored Core VI

PCA engineering: beyond my understanding

[the-autistic-vulcan]

Ahoy fellow autistic bi person! How are you? My name is Charlotte and my special interests are Disney, Encanto, animation (the more obscure the better), musicals and theatre, Lin Manuel Miranda, movies, random knowledge and at the moment, Pokemon!

My hyperfixations are Encanto, old commercials, Bluey, stones, listening to that vegan teacher(not vegan myself, it's just funny to hear her rant) and pregnancy!

Hey love! I love Bluey, Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Marvel, DC Comics and Night at the Museum and I'm kind of jumping in-between fandoms and hyperfixations right now haha, but welcome to the fam! If this is an invitation to become a mutual, I humbly accept

[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? 

[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.

[the-daiz]

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.