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padme-parker · 4 years ago

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Collide / Anakin Skywalker x Reader (Chapter 6)

[a Star Wars x Avengers crossover]

Summary: You go to Onderon and meet someone you’ve been longing to see. Another call to home ensues and hearts get broken.

Warnings: angst, maybe cursing, I can’t think of anything else. oh and bad plot lmao

WC: 4.0k

A/N: this isn’t proof read so it might be scuffed.

read chapter 5 here

C O R U S C A N T

After the nightmares began, Anakin was rarely around, only making you more susceptible to the dark side. You truly did want to tell him about what had been keeping you up at night, but how were you going to contact him when he was never around and the connection the two of you shared was seemingly cut off? You weren’t able to feel his emotions nor feel his presence. It was as if he had blocked you off, almost like he was dead, but he wasn’t. You knew that he went on more campaigns as he was barely spending time in the temple, wanting to stay as far away from you. And if the two of you ever were in the same room by sheer luck, he pretended that you didn’t exist.

On days where both Anakin and Obi Wan were gone, you trained with a girl named Xin. In a way, she reminded you of the mandalorian Sabine: intelligent, strong, and creative. She was skilled with her lightsaber, but also greatly skilled in hand to hand combat, making her an excellent training partner. When all three of them were gone, you spent time learning binary after shortly being gifted a droid. R2-KT, or Kaytee as you liked to call her, accompanied you on your walks around the Jedi temple, often telling you random facts about it or Coruscant.

As time passed, you noticed how the council became weary of your presence. After noticing the color of your saber, which wasn’t hard to miss, the Jedi Masters seemed to focus their attention on you whenever you were in the room with them. You would have liked to believe that you had begun to earn their trust, but you understood their cautiousness towards you. Hell, you would’ve probably reacted the same way if someone came to Earth using a big stone hidden in the middle of nowhere claiming that the fate of the universe rested in their hands.

The halls of the temple were empty- excluding the sentinels- as you roamed around with Kaytee at your side. It was still so surreal being in the Jedi temple. Six months ago you were on Earth, spending time with your family. It seemed so long ago since you were first introduced to Star Wars.

You were foreign to the concept of bonding, spending time with your peers. After spending almost 17 years in foster care, you learned to not attach yourself. To become cold, detached, and observant of your surroundings. With your arrival to the tower, it became a shock to you when you found out that the team spent time together willingly. Some nights they played games like Uno and Cards Against Humanity. You would always sit in the corner and watch them, not comfortable enough to be engaging with them in such a way like that. On the nights where they watched movies, you would always sit in the furthest seat away from the group. It stayed like that until Peter started coming to the bonding nights.

Due to the fact that he was still young, he stayed with his Aunt May. Only coming to the tower to help Tony with his projects. So it was a surprise to see him there, but you couldn’t help feel more comfortable knowing that someone else your age was there.

“So, what’re we watching tonight?” He asked. The team let out a couple of groans, unsure of what they were getting into. “How about we watch Star Wars? I bet you those two grandpas haven’t seen it yet.”

“Hey! Watch it, Peter.” Steve said, putting his hand over his heart to feign hurt. All it took for him to apologize was one glance at Bucky. “Sorry Mister Winter- uhh James- Bucky-- no. Sir Barnes. And Steve.”

He goes to sit down, but before he does, he takes a survey of the room. He notices you sitting alone on the couch, “Hey, why don’t you come sit closer?” He asked. You shake your head, telling him that you were alright where you were. “What about you? Have you seen Star Wars?” You quickly shake your head, you see Peter’s eyes widen and he takes off to sit in the empty spot next to you.

“OMG. WHAT? How have you never seen the movies?”

“Not everyone has the privilege to have a normal childhood. I just so happened to be one of those kids.” You informed him.

“Right, sorry.” He apologized, his hand awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sure you’ll love the movies though.”

Peter was right. After watching A New Hope, the team had retired to their respective rooms, but the two of you had stayed up all night finishing the movies. After watching all three trilogies, you had a new found obsession, especially for a certain Skywalker. Even though some people thought that Anakin was a bad character, and sure the script was really bad, you really did love him. So when he betrayed Obi Wan to save Padme, your heart couldn’t help but break. Poor man was so whipped for the pussy :( I guess you could call it to die for.

Although your time on Coruscant was limited, you did your best to enjoy it. The six months you had spent here so far had been a gift. The environment was truly mesmerizing, and you wanted to share it with Peter. You tried not to call him often, the time difference was just slightly confusing. While six months might’ve passed for you, it had only been a month for your family back home.

You were broken out of your reverie by the buzzing of your holocom, requesting your presence in the council room. Making your way into the room, you told Kaytee to wait by the doors. You stood in the middle of the room with your hands clasped behind your back, waiting for them to address you.

“Nice to see you it is.” Master yoda said. “A task for you, we have.”

A task? What could they possibly want you to do? There was no way they’d be sending you on a mission, they never did.

“We want you to travel to Onderon. They are celebrating their liberation from the separatists. I don’t know why but Anakin and Obi Wan would like for you to be present-” Before Mace can finish his sentence he is cut off.

“I believe what Master Windu is trying to say is that they would both like for you to experience what our galaxy has to offer.” Shaak Ti answered for him. “There will be other Jedi there too, but you will be traveling on your own.” She said. “Oh, and please keep in mind, this celebration is also being held in remembrance for Steela, their fallen leader.”

“Understood, may I leave now?” Master Yoda gave you a nod, allowing you to leave. You made your way to the hangar, Kaytee following close behind you. Well, it looks like it was time to see Anakin again.

O N D E R O N

Your journey to Onderon is short, but you take the time to fiddle with Kaytee. Cleaning her up to make her look presentable. Weeks after you were gifted the droid, you took the time to fix her up and reprogram her to your liking. With the touch of a button, you could make her record a hologram, send her your location, or gouge out someone's eye if needed. You truly did love your droid, and you thanked the stars that Stark taught you how to code, program, and build trinkets of your own.

Kaytee lands the ship with a heavy thud, “I know you're excited to see Artoo, but we need to be careful with this ship. It’s not ours.” You told her, and in return you get a series of apologetic beeps. The door opens with a hiss, you signal for Kaytee to follow you. Stepping off, you notice all of the other ships outside of Iziz. It was like all the entirety of the galactic senate was here, which you really didn’t doubt. You felt out of place in your Jedi robes. People were arriving in magnificent, mind blowing outfits. Gowns with tails that trailed far behind them and tuxes with flowy capes. This ball was going to have it all.

The bustle of the market only intensified with the oncomers. You had to make your way to the temple before you got distracted. By the time you reached the temple doors, the crowd lessened, or so you thought. Entering the temple, you were greeted at the sight of hundreds of people. You felt blood rush to your cheeks as people began to turn and stare at you. Screw the Jedi Council for not giving me a nice outfit to change into. Just as you were about to turn around and wander through the market, you heard your voice being called out. You tried to find where the sound was coming from, only to get confused and jolt your head around violently as if you were a loth cat.

“Alyra! Over here!.” Your feet began moving on their own accord. As if you were being drawn to a presence. You come to a screeching halt in front of.. Anakin, of course it's him. Why am I not surprised that the force has literally brought me to him? Along with Obi Wan, R2, and Padme. Oh my god, wait, it’s Padme. I could kiss her right now if I wanted to. But I won’t. That would be weird, won’t it. Kissing her in front of her husband, who is my-

“Alyra, are you alright?” Obi Wan asks, breaking you out of your internal ramble.

“Yeah, I was just...trying to take all of this in. I’ve never seen anything like this.” You responded, pretending to look around the temple.

“It seems like you space out a lot.” He jokes, a smile on his face before he realizes no one else is laughing. He rolls his eyes before continuing, “Anyways, welcome to Onderon. This is my good friend, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo.” He turns to face her while he introduces you to her. You hold out a hand, expecting for her to shake it. Instead she walks up to you and takes you within her hold. She hugs you tightly, you can feel her protruding belly.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you! Anakin has talked a lot about you.” Both you and Obi Wan furrow your brows at the mention of Anakin speaking of you. Padme is quick to notice this and corrects herself, “I mean of what he’s mentioned to me about you today. Right, Ani?” She validates.

“Yeah, only good things though.” He testified, avoiding your gaze. It was weird that he was mentioning you to his pregnant wife, what was there to talk about? Not to mention the fact that he had been avoiding your presence for months now.

You squinted your eyes at him, “I could only hope so, seeing as though we haven’t spoken in awhile.” you accused. What in the world is he up to now?

You can practically see the gears turning in his head as he tries to come up with a comeback, before he can utter a word, he’s interrupted by Padme.

“C’mon, let’s go to your room and get you changed.” Once again, you furrow your brows.

“Changed, what do you mean changed?” You ask her.

“What, did you think I’d just let you roam around the ball in those ugly Jedi robes? Come, I’ll let you borrow one of my dresses.” She drags you away by the arm, Anakin and Obi Wan shouting at her. Something about Jedi robes not being ugly, you couldn’t really hear with Padme’s giggles silencing them. Kaytee let’s out a giggle of her own as she follows you, Artoo’s personality rubbing off on her.

Padmé all but practically throws you onto your bed as she ushers one of her handmaidens, Teckla, to bring the dresses into your room. Teckla wheels in a rack filled with elegant looking dresses, along with a bunch of different heels. All looking like they could snap your ankle in half if you walked the wrong way. The first dress she hands you is body conforming up until it reaches your knees, from there it fans out creating a mermaid gown effect. While the dress itself was very beautiful, you thought of it to be too plain for an event like this. You and Padme both share a look before agreeing that this was in fact not the dress.

However, the next dress she hands you is a proper ball gown. You slip it on, taken aback by how heavy the dress was. She walks up behind you to tighten the corset of the gown. She does her best to tighten it up without hurting you, but you can’t help let out a wheeze as she gets closer to tying it off.

“Sorry, as much as I love this dress, I also hate it. I’m so glad I’m pregnant so I don’t have to feel it stabbing me at every given chance.” She said, breaking the silence.

“How many months are you?” You asked.

“I’m six months along now, almost seven.” She finishes tying up the corset before stepping aside. “What do you think?”

“Well, it certainly is fit for an event like this and I do think it’s beautiful. But it’s crushing me with every breath I take. I feel like if I sit down, I won’t be able to get back up.”

“Right, well I can fix that.” This time she takes her time picking out the next dress. She lets her fingers brush across the different fabrics, stopping at one that caught her eye. “Here, try this one!” She suggests. By the look on her face, you can already tell that this is the one. The dress is flowy and soft looking. You step into the dress, pleased to find yourself correct. It feels like you have nothing on. Padme helps you zip the dress up, along with clasping together the leather pieces. The light blue tulle layered over the dark blue, almost purple material complimented your skin tone. The dress had a deep v-neck, showing off your cleavage. Right below your collarbone laid a strap of leather, connecting to either side of your thick shoulder straps. From those straps, a thin piece of tulle was stitched on, giving you two separate mini capes for your arms. Aside from a strap of leather covering your spine, the dress is completely backless. It feels like you could go frolicking in this dress. Who am I kidding, Padme probably went frolicking in this dress with Anakin.

“So, what do you think?” Her tone is hushed, as if she was trying to figure out whether you hated or loved the dress.

“It’s beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” You respond. “Kaytee, what do you reckon?” The droid let’s out a series of delights beeps, showing her contentment towards the dress.

“Great!” Padmé says before ushering you into a chair. “Now, we're going to do your hair and makeup. So sit still.” For once in your life, you shut up and sit still, allowing Padme to work her magic.

“Do you know the gender?” You asked, your question breaking the silence, and while the atmosphere wasn’t exactly awkward, it wasn’t comfortable either.

“Oh no, I’d rather not. It’s not like it matters to me anyways. As long as my child is happy and healthy, then so am I. But it’s ironic because I haven’t been to a check up yet.” Padme gently pulls your hair back, leaving two pieces in the front to frame your face. It was simple, not taking any attention away from the dress.

No check up? Maybe that’s why Padme didn’t know she was having twins. “So you haven’t seen a doctor or a medical droid yet?” Your eyes follow her as she pulls makeup out of her bag, her collection vast.

“No, not really. I don’t have very much time to myself due to the fact that I’m a part of the senate. But I do my best to make sure I stay healthy for my baby and me. I also just want it to be a surprise.” Padme finds a foundation shade similar to your skin tone and blends it in.

“What if you have twins? What will you do then?” You probably weren’t supposed to be asking her questions like these, but you couldn’t help it. Maybe you should’ve asked why she had so much makeup instead.

“Well..” She sighed while blotting powder all over your face. “..I suppose if it happens, then it happens. It’s the will of the force.” She finishes powdering your face before moving to your eyebrows. Padme takes an angled brow brush and begins to fill them in, giving it a naturally fuller look.

“So, you believe in the force?”

“How could I not? I work so closely with the Jedi, I’ve seen what you guys have done. The father is very close friends with the Jedi.” Padme said, implying that the father was in fact a Jedi. It felt like you were intruding, but then again, you weren’t necessarily forcing her to tell you this. You had only met her moments ago and she already trusted you enough with her secrets.

“Really? I thought the Jedi weren’t allowed to form attachments?”

“Oh… we weren’t really together. It was sort of a one night thing. But he’s going to be in the child’s life.” She covered up.

The conversation went on like that for a while before Padme announced that she was finished with you. After finishing your makeup and adding some finishing touches to your hair, she finally stepped aside, letting you see yourself in the mirror.

The second you saw yourself, your mouth fell open in shock. You looked absolutely ethereal. Padme kept your makeup very natural to bring out your features. She also added small, white flowers into your hair. You excitedly thanked her and got up to hug her as a way to show your gratitude.

“Shall we get going now?” She offered

“Oh, if it was alright with you, I was going to stay behind. I have to contact somebody.” You asked

“Of course, I’ll see you later then.” She said before gathering all of her belongings and leaving with Teckla. As Padme arrives, Anakin notices that you weren’t with her.

“Where’s Alyra?” He asked her, eager to see what she would look like out of her Jedi robes.

“She said she had to talk to someone.”

Meanwhile, in your room you were getting ready to call Peter. Honestly, you had no idea if you had connection on Onderon, but you were about to find out. Taking off your necklace, you were pleased to see the green light, indicating that you were indeed connected to the bridge. You scroll through your contacts before finding Peter’s name. You hit the dial button and wait for it to connect.

E A R T H

Peter is sleeping when he gets a call, the bracelet on his left hand vibrating. He thinks nothing of it and almost declines the call. That is until he realizes it’s you calling on the bracelet he had designated just for you. He jumps up from his sleeping position and quickly answers your call. Peter can’t help but let out a gasp of awe the very second your face pops onto the hologram.

“What? Is there something on my face?” You move closer towards the camera and inspect your face, only to find no flaws.

“Nothing...it’s just been so long since I’ve seen you like this.”

“Like what?” Your eyebrows scrunch together, the confusion clear on your face.

“All… dolled up.” Peter’s response makes your face blush a hot red. You let out a shy laugh as your hand comes to rest at the back of your neck. He was right, it had been so long since you’ve felt this pretty. It felt good, for once you had felt good.

“Thanks, Pete. It feels good to be in something other than Jedi robes.”

“Not that I’m saying you can’t be dressed up like this, but exactly why are you so dressed up?” He pondered, he knew it wasn’t like the Jedi to go about their duties in exquisite gowns.

“I’m actually on Onderon.” You pan the camera towards the view outside of your window. “The Jedi have invited me to a celebration of Onderon’s liberation. But also in memory of Steela I believe. I really wish you were here with me. I still don’t understand why they couldn’t have sent both of us.”

“I miss you too, but you know I have a duty here on Earth.”

“Duty? So did I Peter!”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that. With me being Spiderman-”

“It’s not like they don’t have any other superheroes. I mean come on, admit it! You know more about Star Wars than I possibly could. You should be here with me.” You huff out before changing the subject, “Anyways, how are you? Did you end up fixing things with MJ?”

“I’m fine, but no, we didn’t. We both agreed that we’d be better off as friends. Besides I’ve already moved on.” He confessed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. It’s now or never Peter, you’ve gotta tell her.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your split. But hopefully you and this new person will work out-”

“It’s you.” He says, abruptly cutting you off. Peter watches you tilt your head as your brows scrunch together again.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s you,” He repeats, taking a deep breath before speaking again, “It’s always been you. I didn’t realize it until you had left… I didn’t think I could miss someone so much.”

“Peter…. I don’t know what to say.” You uttered out,

“Please, say something- anything.” He begged, hoping he hadn’t just ruined years of friendship. Peter watches as you open and close your mouth, searching for the right words.

“...I can’t.” You say as you shake your head. “I can’t be with you, Peter.”

“Why? Is it because of my age? Come on, Y/N, I’m only two years younger than you.” He pleads

“It’s not that. You’re just not the right person for me, Peter. I know it in my very soul.”

“Oh yeah? And who is, Anakin?” He taunts, he can feel his eyes water as he watches you look away from him. “No freakin’ way. You’ve got to be kidding me.” Peter lets out a scoff.

“You’ve got to understand Pete, I love him. I really do.”

“NO! You don’t love him. You’re just obsessed with him. You think you can save him but you can’t! No one can! You can’t change his destiny.”

“What do you even know about love? You can’t tell me who I can and can’t love. It doesn’t work like that. You know nothing about it-”

“I LOVE YOU!” He screams, breaking the silence in his Queen’s apartment, surely waking up May. “Why isn’t that enough?” Peter watches as tears slowly stream down your face as he lets out a few of his own.

“I’ve got to see this out until the end, you know that Peter...I could only wish that it was enough, but it’s not. You’re like a brother to me, don’t do this to me. To our friendship...I’ve got to go now.”

“No, you don’t get to leave again-”

“I’m sorry, goodbye, Peter.” You end the call and Peter is left staring at the wall, mouth hung open in shock. He couldn’t believe this just happened to him. He faintly makes out the sound of Aunt May knocking on his door.

Without waiting for a response, she cracks open his door. She takes notice of the tears falling off of his face and closes her mouth. Aunt May is silent as she makes her way across his room, holding her arms out for him. Peter gratuitously accepts her embrace, his sobs muffled by her clothes.

No words are spoken as Peter cries his heart out, never in a million years did he think you’d be the one to break him.

collide tags: @deepcollectionmagazine @amesstm @haileyybird

#star wars #anakin #Anakin Skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker x you #Anakin Skywalker x Padme Amidala #anakin skywalker fanfic #Padme Amidala #obi wan kenobi #marvel #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #peter parker x reader #Peter Parker x reader angst #unrequited love #its been so long #sorry lmao

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amiplayingright · 4 years ago

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This is a long story, but I think it’s a good one

For weeks my DM (my roommate) was hyping up the next game. It was hard to schedule a video call, so she was always writing something I couldn’t look at or painting a mini I couldn’t see. We were playing a campaign in a bit of a mix between modern and medieval. Our objective was to find an archmage’s artifact in an abandoned laboratory. Of course it had to be a laboratory.

My character was an elf-orc wizlock named Alta whose father was a scientist. A simple explanation of her backstory is that they lived in a town called Vassali, but were shunned due to being inhuman mages. When a tornado and hurricane combined into quite a literal perfect storm, the village’s leader had all the explanation necessary to execute the scapegoats. Alta managed to escape with a gash on her back, but her father, Reluvethel, was beheaded.

Fast forward an ambiguous number of years, Alta, Berrian (a moon elf fighter), and Katherine (a gnomish druid) were traveling the lab. Entering a room with a beaten door, we began a battle with the monster my DM was talking about all this time.

The battle itself was kind of underwhelming. Everyone in the group made their own cool plays, but it was ultimately killed while I was two death saves down. Being healed again, I saw as the creature crumpled to rust. Everyone was reduced, except it’s white metal head, which clashed to the floor.

It’s a good thing my partymates are new players, or else it would have been obvious that my Eldritch Sight was, in fact, not a wizard thing. I told them the head was magic. They predictably started fighting over it, while I slipped away to find what was magic in the cabinets.

I firstly found an amulet, which I silently tucked away without investigating. That, however was not all. I told my party that I had found a series of documents. The DM pulled out a physical copy.

The front was a series of signatures, with a line of scratching and holes. A few of the names were written in different scripts, which I deciphered with my Eyes of the Rune Keeper. All of the names had a latin lettered version above them, exept the head researcher. I asked my DM with dread what the elvish script and signature said. Reluvethel.

Of course.

I hoped it was only a hint of things to come later in the dungeon, and began to read the rest.

“Experiment overview: The development of an intelligent war machine (sanctioned & sponsored by Fen Labs) to aid the great country of Valoria.”

Below were four drawings. A humanoid with barely distinguished pointed ears behind a large hole and scratches, labeled J.D. An unscathed human with a large scar on her face labeled Ana D. A smiling dragonborn labeled Telvar with scratches on their neck. Another humanoid with pointed ears and what seem to be small fangs under a clump of scratches labeled Selva.

“Day one: I’m glad that Lady Fen let us begin this experiment. They even gave us our own testing hall under the mountain! Perfect secluded location for our little project. Will update further.” Lady fen was one of the Archmage’s colleagues. She was the nicest, and said Reluvethel used to work with her in the lab. This page, along with others, had sketches of the machine we fought, cited as being drawn by Ana.

“Day 2: Still constructing the outer shell, meanwhile me & Telvar have been thinking up ways to engineer it’s sentience. Our list:

Magic spell

Humanoid parts

Haunting

Realistic AI”

“Day 4: Lady Fen came by to check on my progress today. She said that she’s proud of me! We even tried an animation spell, but without success.”

“Day 6: We tried to place a deer heart into the frontal compartment. Will document further.”

“Day 9: It’s alive. IT’S ALIVE! It seems to be skittish and passive. J.D suggests putting in bear or monster organs. We’ll just have to deal with the smell.”

“Day 13: Bear organs work & we’ve achieved the desired temperament for a war machine. Lady Fen will be so happy.”

“Day 14: Fen was happy.”

“Day 16: Ana suggested we take it to the next level & put something intelligent’s organs in. I agreed, Telvor & Selva were passive, but J.D. was so revolted that he left. His loss.”

“Day 21: Fen supplied us with the organs. They showed up in a box at the door. I̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶k̶ ̶h̶o̶ I’m grateful.”

“Day 24: Human parts work, but it can’t talk and seems confused. I wonder if multiple sets will fix it or make it worse.”

“Day 27: Fen supplied more at our request. Selva seems reluctant to continue, but it’s for science’s sake that I do this. I won’t stop.”

“Day 28: Ana here. Dr. Maiava (my surname) seems to be very interested in this. Will ask about it. Perhaps he does not want to disappoint Fen?”

“Day 30: Selva walked into the lab to see that our creation had died. It wrote on the wall in blood: ‘So long, G0od DoctOR!’. It appears to have been a suicide. Maybe the extra set of organs drove it to the brink. Fen won’t be happy. Selva quit.”

“Day 34: Ana again. Got a set of organs from Fen. Dr. Maiava is shut up in his workshop. He’s modifying the mask to have a mouth.”

“Day 36: It’s alive again and can now talk, as well as see. It seems to have retained memories from when it was alive. It told us to explain, so we did, but it was ecstatic to learn that it was practically immortal now. As long as it cooperates, I’ll be happy.”

“Day 44: The first battle was today. It was just some skirmishers, but our creation was efficient and ecstatic. Fen was just as happy.”

“Day 45: Another push into enemy territory, another victory!”

“Day 46: Dr. Maiava & Fen wanted to unveil our pet project, but Tevlar opposed. He said that if it went wrong, they could execute us for unethical experimentation. We decided to listen.”

“Day 50: It killed, but this time it enjoyed it far too much.”

“Day 68: It went power crazy it killed tevlar someone please help PLEASE NOT YET IT’S BANGING ON THE DOOR NOT YET I DON’T WANT TO DIE BY AN EXTENSION OF MY OWN HAND”

“Day 70: Ana here. I dealt with it, but D̶r̶.̶ ̶M̶a̶i̶a̶v̶a̶ Reluvethel fled to Vassali. Something about a family to live for? I’m building a tower to keep watch over the mountain & scare of investigators. Will update.”

Day 210: I got the news that Reluvethel is dead. I know how much he loved this project, like a child. And seeing as the soul inhabiting the shell retains memory... I know what I should do. He’d want this.”

“Day 416: I̶t̶’̶s̶ He’s feral. I locked the lab up for good. He’s too far gone to reason with. I only wish that the daughter never finds out. If she finds this, I am so deeply sorry. I thought it would work. I’m so sorry, Rel. I hope this book can jog your memory.”

The next few pages are blank with a series of scratches.

“Al t a. I am OK. It is OK.”

Each time I read his name, I hoped more that there wouldn’t be a reason to tell the rest who Reluvethel was. Of course that couldn’t happen.

#D&D #tabletop #other people's stories #submission

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halfblood-fiend · 4 years ago

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Star Trek Bingo 2020: Vertical Prompt 3

Chess/”Board” Games

Show: Voyager

Words: 1,841

Rating: General Audiences

Warning(s): shenanigans

Dungeons and Bandwagons

When Giana attempts to organize her first D&D campaign onboard the Voyager, it turns out to be a bit more complicated than she thought.

Read it on AO3

We’d been going around and around for most of our lunch break. I did not think that introducing twenty-third century people to D&D would be so difficult.

After another explanation, Harry Kim stared at me with his hands folded beneath his chin for too long a while. “I don’t get it,” he said finally, picking his fork back up to resume playing with his food. “How is that supposed to be better than a holodeck program?”

“Uhhh… it’s interactive and adaptable?”” I offered. “Your DM makes the story up for you as you go.”

“An adept programmer could make the holodeck function in the same manner,” Vorik chimed in from my right. I had to keep from rolling my eyes.

“Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

He shrugged without looking at me. “I am on the side of logic.”

I ignored this, shaking my head and insisted to Harry, “There are scenarios you just can’t plan for.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Like…”

God. Like deciding to bang the first NPC you meet. Why? Eh, just ‘cause. Like deciding as a group to put on a spur-of-the-moment chili cook off to grant the deed to the town’s tavern to the winner because, obviously a chilli cook-off is the most fair way to make decisions. Or like deciding to betray your entire party for your character’s freedom, and then betraying those new allies and running off alone. Or like solving every kidnapping or murder problem by rolling the unwanted body up in a rug, and then lying to so many people about your rug selling business that your party all decide to petition the city for an actual business license, thus derailing the campaign for weeks as you all turn in your paperwork and get in touch with a real estate agent within the fantasy city in order to find a place to house your Totally-Not-Fake Rug and Carpeting Business.

But how to explain all that?

“Man… you just gotta trust me,” I sighed. “There are way too many variables to be able to make a program that will adapt to all of them. You have no way of knowing what could happen during a D&D campaign. Trust me.”

“Eh, I’m down to try,” Lyssa Campbell said. When Harry gave her a doubtful look, she shrugged. “Hey, it’s gotta be better than that poker everyone is always playing. And as long as we’re all relaxing and talking and having fun, then it sounds like it’ll be just fine.”

“Sounds like a rip off of my Grendel program,” Harry muttered. “And not even as interesting because we aren’t fighting holographic monsters. We’re just—what? —imagining everything happening?”

“Aha! I got it,” I said with a snap of my fingers, cutting off whatever he was talking about. “Dice!”

Harry raised his eyebrows and Vorik said, “Explain.”

“You can’t roll dice on the holodeck.”

“So?”

“So! Rolling the dice to try and see how well you do things is the best part!”

“If you’re telling me that’s the best part of this game, I’m really doubting how much “fun” you claim it to be.”

“Aww, come on, Harry! Let’s just try it!”

He shook his head again, but a smile started pulling at his lips. “Fine, but I’m not going to have fun and I will complain the whole time.”

“Doubt that,” I replied with a wink. “But I’ll take it for now.”

“Giana! If you can spare a moment, I have an inquiry regarding your role-playing game.”

Similar sentiments had been asked of me by most of my friends and future players, but Vorik was the last person that I had expected to have any trouble with character building. Yet here Vorik was, appearing at my shoulder before I could enter the turbolift to leave Engineering.

“An inquiry? Now is that more or less important than a plain question?”

He gave me a puzzled look as we entered the lift together and I smiled.

“Nevermind. Shoot.”

“What?”

“Ask me the question. Deck two.”

The turbolift slid into motion and Vorik began, “I was looking over the documents you sent those of us who required characters for your Dungeons and Dragons—”

I smiled at his use of the name but nodded.

“—and I noticed that ‘Human’ is among the other more fantastical races that one can play. It gave me an idea that I wished to discuss with you.”

“Oh, yeah… I mean, I wouldn’t worry about that. It’s just an old Human-made game, remember? Don’t take it too seriously. I, like, literally never actually played a Human before. That would just be like playing myself and, sure, you always kinda do that but who wants to be so obvious about it?”

Vorik blinked. “I would.”

It was my turn to ask, “What?”

“If Humans can exist in this world, then I would like to role-play as a Vulcan.”

I chewed my lip, my heart sinking because I felt like Vorik was missing the point. Here I thought he was going to do something interesting when he asked to join the party. I was excited to see what he would come up with. But, then again, it wasn’t like he role-played very much when we played Skyrim together on the holodeck either. His inflexible and aloof attitude usually confused all the Nords until I stepped in to use the “proper” language. Made him useless at price haggling.

Since he wanted to play at all, I conceded to myself, that had to be close enough. I didn’t want to totally control his play. I never liked it when my DMs had done that in the past.

He a little confused, but he got the spirit.

“Okay,” I relented, “I’ll see what I can do about homebrewing a ‘Vulcan’ stat-block for you, just…promise me one thing?”

My Vulcan companion quirked an eyebrow at me. “Yes?”

The turbolift stopped and opened its doors. I could hear the sounds of soft chatter and laughter coming from the mess hall. Whatever Neelix was cooking wafted up the corridor and smelled really promising. My stomach grumbled in response.

“Just don’t play yourself,” I said as we both stepped off the lift and the doors slid closed behind us. “If you show up with a character named ‘Vorik,’ I’m going to kick you from the game. And then, literally kick you in the shins.”

“An extreme reaction, don’t you think?”

I put up my fists as if I was gonna fight him. “Oh, I can get more extreme.”

Looking at my poor guard dubiously, he said dryly, “I’m sure. Your Human penchant for hysterics?”

“Hysterics?! Oh! Well how about your high drama, mister??”

“I do not know to what you could be referring.”

The line at Neelix’s kitchen counter was somewhat long, which gave Vorik and I plenty of time to debate the “logic” of Vulcan fashion choices back and forth. I insisted they were dramatic for no reason and Vorik tried to act like real thought went into all the high collars and zig-zagged diagonal clasps. Neelix’s pasta dish actually did look as promising as it smelled, which was a nice surprise.

“Ah, Miss Giana, I almost forgot,” Neelix gasped as I turned away, drawing me back. “Ensigns Swinn and Jurot wanted to ask you about—ah—something called a ‘character sheet’?”

I thanked him with a smile and motioned for Vorik to help me pick them out of the crowded hall at dinner hour.

The day had come to start our campaign and not a moment too soon. I was excited as all hell. I’d hardly slept at all the night before, choosing instead to expand some NPC backstories and prepare a few more monsters. Just in case.

All of my players’ character sheets were checked and filed on my PADD for reference. I couldn’t help but laugh when Vorik sent me his and I saw the name at the top of the sheet. He had listened to me and wasn’t playing himself…but I was very curious to see how Surak the monk was going to handle my adventure. I was pretty pleased with everyone’s character concepts, actually. I had a pretty balanced group.

I’d decided some time ago that a grand total of six players was all that I could conceivably handle. But that hadn’t stopped everyone else from trying to ask for a spot. Dozens of requests had flooded my inbox from all corners of the ship (Neelix’s doing, I assumed) and I had spent a good chunk of time yesterday writing personal “sorry, maybe next times.”

Even Chakotay had sent me a note! Not to, like, join or anything, but still! He mentioned that he was familiar with the old game and wanted to tell me that he thought it would be good for morale and crew unity and other things commanders cared about.

I practically sprinted away the second my shift was over, bolting to the door before Lieutenant Carey had even said goodbye.

I was the last player on duty, and my group’s attitude towards D&D had changed dramatically once they’d built their characters. They all made me promise not to keep them waiting for too long.

And speak of the devil.

The communicator badge on my chest chirped before I’d made it halfway down the corridor. Harry’s voice crackled over the comm.

“Uhhh…Giana?”

I tapped the badge to answer. “Yeah, yeah, Harry. I’m on my way as fast as I can, okay?”

“Oh… No, no. It’s not that…”

Was I hearing things, or did I detect the hum of a lot of voices in the background?

“What is it?”

He sounded uncomfortable. “I think we need to find a different venue to play. Your quarters are going to be a little cramped…” Muted voices spoke rapidly but I couldn’t catch any words. “Meet us in the Lounge instead. Vorik says he has a code and he’d grab the PADD with your notes. I made him promise not to look.”

Nervous laughter bubbled from my mouth. “Uhh…why?”

Vorik’s voice resonated over Harry’s comm. “There are thirty-six other people who would like to spectate our game. At first it did not seem inconceivable to accommodate a few of them when they asked…”

“But all of us told a couple people that they could come and now there’s thirty-six of them,” Harry finished. “Sorry, Gee…”

Thirty-six… That’s forty-two people…

My jaw actually dropped.

“Okay,” I said in a small voice. “See… S-See you all there…” I killed the line by tapping on my badge again and wobbled.

I was shaking when I boarded the turbolift.

I’d never DM-ed a game before in my life, even though I’d talked about doing so on several occasions back home. So, without experience, or my old friends to ask for tips, I was already starting out nervous.

But now?

Holy shit.

What was I gonna do??

I blinked and the turbolift doors slipped shut on me, whisking me away to an uncertain fate.

#Star Trek #Voyager #Star Trek: Voyager #Voy #Ensign Vorik #Harry Kim #Giana Moreno #ah...what the heck #OTP: Two Worlds Collided #Star Trek Bingo

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vohalika · 6 years ago

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hello, this is random but.. could u please tell me some of your fav things about vex? i don't often see people who Really Like Vex and we need more of that

Well, well, well, anon.

I have literally no idea how long it has been since you asked this of me, but rest assured I have not forgotten! Well, okay, I had for a while, then I saw it again and was like “oh, right, huh… And would you look at that, I’m about 100 posts away from 100,000… Wouldn’t that be a good one…”

So. Here we are! An unstructured rambling of all the reasons I really, really love Vex, somewhere between superficial and embarrasingly personal, to celebrate this arbitrary number of things I have spread around on this hell site.

Okay, first of all, the only thing Laura had to say to Kit Buss for the official art was “make her hot”. That is a Statement. And boy did Kit and also everyone deliver on that.

Like seriously. I didn’t use to be a fan of feathers in hair or white armor, but good god does she make it work.

Hey, I said this was going to be extremely superficial

Another thing I really didn’t use to like, twins. Overdone and usually poorly executed. But our girl made a Point out of being as different from her twin as she could be while at the same time being completely believable siblings.

I swear to god I’ll do my absolute best to mention Vax as little as possible. This is not about him.

Third thing I really couldn’t stand! The one, usually female, team member with a pet! Closely related to the one with the nature powers! I don’t know, these just always rubbed me the wrong way in media before, probably because I also never really cared for shows or movies about animals. Fight me.

And yet here she is, and she is not the “won’t somebody think of the children animals!” type of gal and Trinket is amazing and it still ties into her personality on a larger scale without being preachy.

I have a fourth thing. I also really don’t care for elves, ever. Everybody hates them. And then she turns around and makes me cry about the elf thing. Good god.

Yes, watching the first episode way back when was an uphill battle. There’s a reason I started with episode 69 and then watched the rest.

Nice.

Vex has the best worst sense of humor. No, really. I’m not even talking about that time she made a comment about the boy with the shot off fingers not having much of a future as a musician. But I’m also talking about that. And that time Scanlan tried having a meaningful monologue about having a daughter now. “I’ve defined most of my life by the people I slept with, and now…” - “Well, technically, this is still kinda defined by that.”

(Shoutout to Percy “I was just thinking that”)

Also, “We don’t do anything with dignity”, “I only serve gods with big dicks”, “You might live forever, but you will still be fucking ugly”? Girl is iconic, even if her sense if humor is usually pretty inappropriate for the given situation, she just can’t help it. I relate.

On a related note, it is so easy to play a similar archetype and have her just be this always dignified and above the humor kind of stuck-up. It’s basically how most people would have written her (and a certain someone did). But not our girl, oh no.

Also, I recently made a post about this, but we really, really don’t talk enough about how she’s just the leader of the party. She is. No, really, lower your bitch sticks, y’all. She’s the one to talk to the most NPCs, she’s the one to usually say go, and everyone just naturally adheres to her. It’s never forced, it’s never an “I, as the leader” moment, and she doesn’t try to wrestle her way into the role. It’s just what happens naturally.

Which also means she’s good at stepping back and letting other people shine for a bit. But still, Vex is the reason they didn’t just flounder around like a chicken without its head after Scanlan left. Laura was late to two sessions in campaign one; the first one was already in an extended battle scene, and the other was literally spent in a bedroom in hell waitinig for Vex to tell them what to do.

This is why scholars are generally of the opinion that Vex is the only Top in VM. And also what intellectuals refer to as Big Dick Energy.

Let’s talk about what the assholes call Greed. Yes, Vex is, out of all of them, the most pre-occupied with gold and loot. But she NEVER hoards anything for herself, never spends any of her own gold on herself even until the timeskip, leave alone the party funds.

She looks out for the interests of the group, makes sure they get the best possible deals and are paid what they are owed. And she’s the only one to ever worry about money, too, whereas everyone else never bothers to think about it. Hence why her and Vax split the cost of paying their staff after the party spent all the funds early on.

Look, I find her worries very indicative of growing up in poverty with her mom, than surrounded by rich and important people but locked out of the loop, and then poor and on the road again with Vax. I find it very relatable, and everyone who claims that looking out for the financial well-being of the party is “greedy” is lucky enough to never have had to worry about eating next month while also making rent.

There’s Safety In A Fist Full Of Diamonds, okay?

No really I need y’all to read that and send it to the annoying bitches who complain.

Vex is literally never stingy when it comes to helping people with the money she made sure they have. Remember how she didn’t even flinch at spending a five digit number to free angel boy slaves?

WHICH LEADS ME TO ANOTHER POINT. Vex. Vex has a serious hoarding problem. But not when it comes to money of earthly possessions. No. When it comes to PICKING UP STRAYS.

It’s how she got Trinket.

It’s how she got the angel babies.

It’s what she tries to do with the grey render baby.

It’s what she suggested they do with the dragon eggs in the Raishan fight

(LET! VEX! HAVE! PET! DRAGONS!)

IT HOW SHE GOT HER OWN GODDAMN HUSBAND OKAY.

I have no idea how she hasn’t adopted her own zoo by the time VM forms. Though I can totally see her opening orphanages in Whitestone, both for people and animals and creatures of all kinds, really.

Remember when she was the only one to protest the punching of a spectral ghost cow?

The hardships of her youth made her, yes, very afraid of being out of money, but also made her compassionate as fuck. She’s always down with helping people even if there’s little to no coin in it, okay? Stop overlooking that, assholes.

SPEAKING OF COMPASSION. Remember what her original beef with the Vasselheim potion seller was? That he took advantage of Grog being intellectually challenged. Which is what he did! Blatantly so! And he wasn’t the least bit sorry about it!

I mean, I bet he is by now, but, you know. Karma.

When Laura says Vex just wanted justice and then everyone else escalated that scene she is goddamn right, rewatch your own footage Matthew.

Oh god do I have to talk about broomgate now. I don’t want to talk about broomgate.

OKAY

Broomgate is literally the only time in the entire series that Vex ever takes something for herself. Was it the morally right thing to do? Maybe not. Though to keep in mind that a) Hardwick is a piece of shit, b) they literally met Gern when he had the skeletons of Kiki’s dead civilization dancing for him; Vax shanked Nothics for less, c) and this was hot off the heels of fighting a necromancer in the last big arc, too, d) they were on a mission to kill dragons. That fly. With no method of flying for the majority of the party. Vex always intended to use the broom for that purpose, so you could make the legal argument of commandeering it instead of stealing, and, finally, e) SHE HAD JUST FUCKING DIED

Why do we never talk about that

Other characters get cut all the slack for what they do after just dying

Other characters get cut all the slack when they steal from other guests

Other characters get cut all the slack when they withhold loot for the party

Other characters DIDN’T GET AN ALIGNMENT DROP FOR DOING WORSE SHIT THAN THIS

WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT BROOMGATE

WHY WAS BROOMGATE EVER EVEN A THING

okay

MOVING ON

Hey, while we’re at dying. Remember how Vex spent the day after she, literally, died, trying to make sure the person who was to blame for her death was okay? She did that. And Percy was uncomfortable with it, visibly so, but also too guilty to call her out here.

And no one. NO ONE. EVER. Bothered to check in on how she felt after dying.

Vax made it all about the sacrifice he made, Percy felt too guilty, NO ONE ELSE CARED.

And what does she do? Soldier on. Try and cheer Vax up and support him in any way she can.

Honestly, learning the Raven Queen book by heart and then telling him that being the champion of a god is really fucking cool? Relatable. Relatable as fuck. You go girl.

And TO THIS DAY. ACROSS TWO CAMPAIGNS. Vex has been the only one. THE ONLY ONE. To EVER check up on someone after they died. Jester might eventually be the second one, but, you know. I am a big advocate for post-death and just post-big-battle-in-general aftercare cuddle piles or whatever. Someone tell the cast to implement that immediately.

And while we’re at death, let’s talk about THE DARKNESS

There are dark facets to her character. Vex never makes her own issues everyone else’s problem and they go largely unadressed, but they’re there.

Saundor brought up the story about how she got Trinket and had to kill for the first time while doing so.

(Sidenote: Saundor doing more research into her character than an actual writer is extremely telling.)

That was definitely traumatic for a young girl and I don’t mean to dismiss that, but that’s also the part I can understand Vax dismissing when they talk about it later on. They do kill a lot of people after that and this was self-defense, so hey, okay. Fine.

HOWEVER

That short story was indicative of many other things that torment Vex. Mostly her low sense of self-worth.

Like, her entire inner monologue is centered around how stupid she was for getting into this situation in the first place (= for being taken advantage of by criminals at the tender age of probably like 15), and how this would never have happened to Vax, who was away in the city to take care of them.

And we see that low sense of self-worth bleeding into Vex’s character throughout the campaign. That’s part of the reason why she spends the day after her first death making sure everyone else is okay. That’s also part of the reason she blames herself for Scanlan leaving and acts like she’s completely fine when he returns just so he’ll stay.

Honestly that short story is so insightful and explains so much about her, I don’t know how anyone could claim to have any grasp on her character without reading it.

(Also, Laura should write more, she’s talented)

Now a significant part of her self-worth issues obviously also ties back into her time at Syngorn. I can just hear people getting out their tiny violins, oh, waaah, she wasn’t one of the rich, cool kids in elf school, poor her.

But that’s not entirely it?

Like, just that is already plenty to fuck a person up. I’ve been there, too.

But let’s just say the fact that her dad was also cold towards them and acted like they were unworthy is a BIG part of what fucked her up. Call it daddy issues if you feel like being dismissive about a genuinely traumatizing upbringing, but that’s how it is.

And don’t get me wrong, if this were the traumatic childhood olympics, it’s not exactly up there and relatively tame for the background of a character in a fantasy story, but it is very true to life and extremely relatable, and Laura just executes it so well. So, so well.

That’s part of what makes the entire stretch of Feywild episodes so great. From what we see of Vax’s reaction later on, Percy is the only person she ever talked to about this - or at least the only one who ever listened - and he immediately got it. And instead of yelling at her about how amazing she is, he did something to make her feel better about herself. Without making it about himself, by the way.

I enjoy a fake married plotline as much as the next gal, but Percy giving her a title she’d have to earn by her own merits is soooo much more meaningful than just putting a fake ring on her, okay?

Yes, at the end of the day, this is basically a Cinderella fantasy. So what? No, really. One of the best things about Vex and her arc is that it validates feeling upset about not measuring up in superficial, material ways. And it validates getting your come-uppance. These are, as mentioned above, experiences that can really mess with a person, but we’re usually supposed to be above it all because money and titles don’t make you happy.

Also something only people who never struggled financially can say/believe unironically and without specifying.

Hell, that’s about 70% of the reason I’m considering getting a Ph.D. if I happen to get the grades.

I’m also not a big fan of the term daddy issues, but I can’t deny that this is a thing here

not the thing they went into the Feywild for, buuuut

ahem

So. Remember when Laura said during the campaign wrap up that Vex thought of Scanlan as a father figure and everyone was like whaaaaat? And I was like ahahahaha, I knew it.

This is so tragic, really. Because she tried so hard so many times to help Scanlan and be nice to him and he just brushed her off. And then she’s the one who volunteers to spend the night all by herself in some dirty pub far, far away after opening up to his daughter about her own issues to bring him back alive, and then gets yelled at, and never apologized to.

And then he comes back and tries to erase her memory and not only is that never even brought up, she also just doesn’t even think she might be owed an apology because a) she still blames herself for him leaving because, you know, they never really talked out what happened there and b) she’s just too happy for at least that father figure returning to them to make much of a fuss about it, and Percy, bless his heart, TRIES, but it’ll take a few more years of marriage to talk through all of her issues

And like. I am not wild about anything that happens after episode 99. If I’m known for anything in this fandom on this platform it’s probably for that time I was really into the Ioun discourse, which I still stand by, btw. And I personally would have preferred for Vex to maybe get someone like Sehanine as her patron, as fitting as giving her yet another unworthy and disapproving father figure in her life might be

But there is also something somewhat gratifying about everyone talking about how great she is. And she had been sort of working for Pelor before that. Also, the headcanons about her having sun spots or starting to glow when she gets emotional after this are amazing.

So I made my peace with that. She deserves better, but hey, she always does.

She is so smart. So extremely smart. People roll their eyes at her battle plans and say it’s all Travis feeding Laura information, but Travis fed her nothing that time she schmoozed up to the Briarwoods while also making herself appear extremely superficial and unthreatening. Honestly. That dinner scene? Prime Vex. Amazing Vex.

Her battle plans are also so good. Pokeball-ing Grog out of the kill box? Using the Goristro against Vorugal to save the party a trip into the abyss? The only plan of Vox Machina that ever worked out basically perfectly? Amazing. And even IF Travis told Laura these ideas, that means literally nothing in relation to how smart Vex is.

And btw I don’t believe that for a second. People just aren’t good with acknowledging that sometimes, D&D playing women might actually have good ideas.

And she just is so street smart. With her skills, her battle plans, and just her way of handling people. There’s a reason she is the natural leader when it’s not someone’s turn in the spotlight at the time.

Like, the two things holding her back were that her class was extremely underwhelming, so much so that it got completely revamped in the Unearthed Arcana to make up for how bad it was in the PHB, and the fact that she just. Has, what. 1.5 episodes of her own storyline? Even Pike got 2. It’s amazing that I can even say this much about her with how little narrative focus she got throughout the series. And most of what she did was literally due to Percy using his plot clout and putting a foot in the door to force her into the spotlight.

Speaking of which. Percy’s best quality, next to being self-aware of how fucked up he is and actively trying to do better and be kept in check, is how he realizes Vex is the coolest, smartest, most amazing person around and treats her accordingly. The way she deserves to be treated.

Oh hey I mentioned to get this far without even mentioning the romance arc. And oh my god THE ROMANCE ARC. The pining. The slow burn. And the fact that we actually saw them together and later married for like 35 episodes. They were so good for each other.

And yes, PERCY WAS GOOD FOR HER. And Vex was not his therapist and manic pixie dream girl. None of that bullshit here. Percy was already firmly on the path to being better before he even considered that crush he has had on her for forever to turn into something more.

And by he was good for her I mean that he actually UNDERSTOOD her and where she was coming from. Refer again to the titling issue, where Vax is just confused and kind of pissed, Percy got it. And that’s important.

Something I have not made a post about so far, by the way, is also something people have called problematic and co-dependant is how Percy shares his darker impulses with Vex in hopes she’ll talk him out of it. Which she does, and it’s never hard, but that also means so much to her? Because he involves her and tells her exactly what is going on with him and values her opinion? And that is just exactly what she needs? And they’re so good? THEY’RE SO GOOD.

WHEN DOES YOUR OTP EVER

HE COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER DREAM

This is more on Laura, admittedly, but also, it was just so great to see her unapologetically pursuing this romance? There’s a place at the table for a 72 episode slow burn, and she’s gonna go for it, and there’s nothing any of the dudebros who are just here for the fighting can do about it.

And also Vex is just so unapologetically sexual at the same time. From episode 1 onwards, really, and in general and just limited to Percy. And no one ever treats that as weird or bad or anything. It’s just who she is and that’s great.

And she fought. So hard. For that happy ending of hers. Kicking and screaming, against the world and against Taliesin’s determination that Percy is irredeemable and not capable of getting a happy ending. Defy that auctorial intent, my girl. You deserve it.

Seriously. Seeing her get that happy ending against all odds was unfathomably gratifying and validating and I’ve never connected to any single character or narrative at large for that matter this much and this intimately, and considering how I came across this story at one of the darkest times in my life, I probably never will feel so strongly connected to anything ever again.

Which is probably for the best, but hey.

Aaaand there you go. An almost unstructured, epically long list of reasons I love Vex. Dammit, I talked about other characters way more than I intended, buuuut hey. That’s how it goes when you’ve got an ensemble piece, they’re all kinda interwoven.

Thank you this wonderful ask, anon, and reason to celebrate my 100,000th post on this site in style.

#critical role #cr #cr1 #vex'ahlia #lady vex'ahlia de rolo #is better than you #deserved better from the narrative #will forever be my favorite character probably #will forever be part of my ultimate OTP #we do not deserve her #we are unworthy #long post #long post for ts

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silentcrossed · 5 years ago

Text

All That Matters

Warnings: internalized homophobia due to a shit father

Fandom: Stranger Things

Summary: set a few days before the start of season 3 - Will comes out to Mike completely on accident because he just can’t deal with all his emotions by himself anymore.

Pairing: N/A

Characters: Will Byers, Holly Wheeler, Mike Wheeler - mentions: Lucas Sinclair, Nancy Wheeler, Ted Wheeler, Lonnie Byers

Word Count: 1243

editor: @waitingnightmare gif credit: @pendinganchor

It was 2am when it happened. Will couldn’t sleep again because of all the thoughts running through his head. There were many things keeping him up that night, but one thing in particular was bugging him more than usual. He lied with his eyes fixed on the ceiling, trying to calm himself down for a good half an hour, but it wasn’t working. Finally, he decided to go get some fresh air.

He knew very well how to get out of the Wheeler’s basement and backdoor without being heard. He had a lot of practice. Ever since everything that happened with the Upside Down, he’d been doing it a lot. He stood up and carefully maneuvered through his friends who were all fast asleep. He stumbled a little because Lucas rolled right as he went to put his foot down. He whispered an involuntary “shit” as he steadied himself.

He looked back at everyone, but none of them seemed to have woken up. Will made his way silently up the stairs and into the kitchen when he collided with a small figure. He recognized the yelp as Holly. He steadied the both of them then kneeled down. “What are you doing up?”

“Will?” she asked, still shook up from being slammed into.

“Yeah, it’s me. You okay?”

“I was thirsty and my night cup was empty.”

“Do you need help?” Instead of answering with words, Holly held out her cup. Will happily took it, putting away his own thoughts and feelings long enough to get Holly some water and help her back to bed.

“Thanks, Will,” she said as he tucked her back into bed and lightly kissed her forehead. Ever since Holly was born, she was his favorite Wheeler. Nancy was turning “mean” and Mike, well that was more Will’s fault. Think of something else.

“No problem, Holly.” With that he left her room and headed back down to the kitchen.

When Will finally made it outside, he took in the cold air with a shiver. He had been colder before. He blinked rapidly trying to think about anything else. He sat down in the grass, again struggling to calm himself down. He noticed quickly that it was becoming harder for him to calm himself down, which was obviously a problem. But he didn’t know what to do to fix it.

He was lying flat on the ground with his limbs spread out, thinking about the D&D campaign he was working on, when he heard the Wheeler’s backdoor open and a soft “Will?” follow the sound.

Will sat up, looking at the door. “Mike?” he asked, even though he knew it was him. “What are you doing?”

Mike shut the door then walked over to Will, crossing his arms.“I could ask you the same thing. It’s fucking freezing out here!” Mike was in a tank top and shorts, the same as Will. But he wasn’t used to the cold like Will was. Again with that?

“Sorry.” Will apologized, as if he had anything to do with the weather.

Mike rolled his eyes then repeated his concern while he sat down on the ground next to Will. “What are you doing out here? I heard you leaving and thought you just went to use the bathroom. But it’d been twenty minutes and you didn’t come back.”

“I heard Holly in the kitchen and went up to help her,” he lied.

Mike eyed Will, not believing the lie but leaving it. “So, how did you end up outside?”

Will shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. Well, not wanting to talk about it with Mike specifically. “Thought I could use some air, I guess.” Will hugged his knees to his chest and rested his head on them, looking away from Mike. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Will could feel Mike staring at him and he tensed at the worry in his voice. “Is there any particular reason for why that is?”

He shrugged. Still not wanting to talk to Mike about it. Why couldn’t it have been one of the others to wake up. Hell, he would have preferred Nancy, or even Ted. But no, it had to be Mike.

“Hey, you can talk to me, remember. No matter what.”

“You can’t help with this so there’s no point in talking about it.” Will closed his eyes, silently hoping Mike would drop it.

But Mike was stubborn. “Does it have to do with the Up-”

“No. For once it’s a ‘typical’ teenage problem. One I can handle on my own.”

The disgust in the way Will said ‘typical’ almost scared Mike. But he pressed anyway. “You obviously can’t if it’s keeping you up. Talk to me, maybe I can help.”

“Just leave it Mike.” Will listened as Mike got up and walked back inside. Will scoffed, he hadn’t expected Mike to just get up and walk away that easily.

It was years ago, but Will could still remember the worlds his dad had said to him like it was just yesterday. He never understood why they stayed with him so insistently until recently. He hadn’t even noticed he was distracting himself until it was calm after everything that happened. After his mom stopped keeping such a close eye on him. When he was finally able to be alone with his thoughts.

But maybe he had already known before that, and he just repressed it. But that point was that it came to the light and Will wasn’t sure how to push it back in. He just knew he wanted to. His dad’s words just kept repeating in his head.

“Our son’s a goddamn queer!” He was so angry at Will. And all Will wanted was to please his dad. He loved and adored him but all he got in return was a whole lot of nothing. All because his dad thought he was queer… all because his dad knew before even he did…

Will was yanked out of his thoughts at the feeling of a blanket being draped over his shoulders. He filled his fists with the blanket and aggressively pulled it tighter around him. Hoping the blanket would keep him together.

It didn’t.

And suddenly he was crying and spilling his guts to Mike who had huddled next to Will with a blanket of his own. He told Mike about how he hated himself for disappointing his dad. About how he used to pray, even though he didn’t really believe in prayer, that he wouldn’t turn out to be like that. A disgusting monster. About how he would give literally anything to like girls and to be able to fall in love with a girl. He didn’t want to be like this.

“Hey, hey, relax.” Mike wasn’t exactly sure what to say to his friend, but he knew he needed to say something. “No offense, but your dad is a piece of shit. His opinion doesn’t matter because he’s not fucking here, okay? You’re not a monster and you’re not disgusting. You listening to me, Will?”

“But, Mike-”

“No, you’re Will. That’s all that matters. So what you don’t like girls?”

“I like boys, Mike. It’s disgusting.”

“That’s your father talking. What would your mom say? She’s the one that matters.”

“I don’t know.”

“Well maybe you should find out. And if she’s a dick about it too, you can come live in my basement. We know from experience that my parents wouldn’t notice.”

#stranger things #will byers #holly wheeler #mike wheeler #stranger things drabble #will byers coming out

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thelastarchangelaskblog · 5 years ago

Text

How to Pretend to be Normal

Last night we were joking about @heliocentricgeometric‘s Zira being absolutely terrible at people skills and how Tony might help her out with that. We spontaneously started a RP that just grew. @the-grey-hunt has already said it’s canon for one of the 2 nights we camped before ending up at the caves that we ended our Session 1 at.

There’s a mention about employers getting kidnapped by goblins at the beginning but that was said before we figured out when this was taking place. Tony and Zira are the only two awake as everyone else is sleeping and we’re on night-watch.

I’ve already decided I’ll probably fic this but that’s not going to be published for a little while because of spoilers on Tony’s background. I just really want you guys to know that Tony is literally plotting murder.

D&D Campaign RPs

(Read more for mobiles users!)

Zira ( @heliocentricgeometric): You mean people don't want to hear all about death??

Tony (me): I'm sure they do but there's a time and place for it, you know? Also depends on the kind of person. ...Actually just keep quiet on that until the other person brings it up. But the weather is always a good topic! And spells, too. But don't give away trade secrets

Zira: The weather can kill you if it gets bad enough though.

Tony: And smile; people like that. Yeah, don't mention that. Sometimes people don't like to hear the truth. Just think of happy, fun things! And fluffy.

Zira: Uhhhhhhh, happy things liiiike the approval of others?? The love of a family?? The overwhelming fear of failure pushing you to do better???

Tony: ...

Tony: Tell me your best joke.

Zira: Uh

Tony: Take your time. Best jokes are the ones that aren't five second afterthoughts.

Zira: There was this joke my friend told but it mostly made me uncomfortable

Tony: Yeah?

Zira: It was about this guy being tortured who thought he would be freed if he gave them the answers they wanted. The joke is that he died when he outlived his usefulness.

Tony: (thinking crap)

Zira: Haha?

Tony: Um...let's...not go with a joke. I'm sure that joke will find its target audience somewhere but it is not here. Actually, use that next time we fight some bad guys. It'll go down like a lead balloon there. For added effectiveness say it from behind Rhodey.

Zira: Ok, so here are the forbidden topics: torture, death, terrible happenings, crime in general--

Tony: Yes, yes, yep.

Zira: --murder? Is that a small talk?

Tony: No.

Zira: Jobs?

Tony: Definitely not.

Tony: ...Yes! Depending on the job!

Tony: Don't talk about that time we almost got our employer kidnapped by goblins. That doesn't speak well for us.

Zira: It’s standard to not talk about assassinations so I got that down

Tony: That's great.

Zira: I mean if he got kidnapped then that speaks more about how he’s not good enough to protect himself.

Tony: That's...irrelevant to the topic but sure.

Zira: if I ever got kidnapped I know no one would come after me.

Tony: Aw, honey, that's not true. I know for a fact DJ would be first in line and I'd be right after him

Zira: ??? That’s just procedure

Tony: Definitely not our procedure.

Zira: What???

Tony: Yeah? We're a team, Zira. That means we stick together. And if you ever got into trouble or stuck somewhere you shouldn't be we'd get you out.

Zira: That seems like a waste of resources and time, if an operative can’t function solo then they have failed.

Tony: That's a crappy way of looking at people. No one is a waste of time or space.

Zira: If they have a purpose, then yeah.

Tony: And if someone says that, then they deserve a good kick in the head.

Zira: Huh.

Tony: No, you don't need a purpose to be valuable. You're valuable for being you

Zira: Does that mean I should kick Ms. Payne in the head?

Tony: I have no idea who Ms. Payne is but I guess? If she said that, then yes.

Zira: She’d probably kill and/or make me hurt a lot for disrespect. ...I find your advice suspect.

Tony: ...Yes, she deserves all the kicks in the head.

Tony: Actually, where does Ms. Payne live? Just out of curiosity.

Zira: I don’t know; she left after finishing the first stage.

Tony: Too bad; I would have loved to have sent her a card telling her all the ways in which she was wrong. Ms. Payne, huh? Tell me more about her.

Zira: That is one of the ballsiest things anyone has ever said to me.

Tony: I haven't even gotten started, buddy.

Zira: Ms. Payne was my caretaker!! She encouraged me in all the ways that I needed to be encouraged. She was very lenient, too, even when she caught me sneaking into the library.

Tony: Oh yeah?

Zira: And sneaking food.

Tim (aka Bo/Bill via @thechaoticwave): *wakes up* Sorry, what is this about?

Tony: Shhh. Go back to sleep

Tim: Oh okay, sorry.

Zira: I was hungry and so was my friend and she only smacked me a little bit, AND let me keep the food.

Tony: Um

Tony: How often did that happen?

Zira: Oh y’know. It was a training thing, we had to learn how to deal with lean times, or not having access to resources. So they kept us on the edge of starvation for a while

Tony: ...oh yeah.

Zira: Ms. Payne said I did a good job of being creative and fighting for my food.

Tony: That's...totally reasonable.

Zira: She said that willingness to break rules to do what needs to be done is good.

Tony: Creativity's a good thing. Depends on the rules

Zira: Honestly i was just hungry though, and I hated seeing Meri so sad. It was hard to dance when she was so hungry, and she loved to dance. So...

Tony: You got her food. That was a brave thing to do, Zira.

Zira: ... Thank you

Tony: But that must have been tough. And that definitely wasn't fair on you or your friends. You were kids. Kids shouldn't have to worry about that. No matter what you are or where you're from

Zira: We were special.

Tony: Aren't we all?

Zira: We were meant for something. And they helped us on that path.

Tony: ...yeah, I've heard that, too.

Zira: But I’m scared they were wrong. I saw things that weren’t right. But what were we doing, if not the right thing?

Tony: You were doing what you had to. Tony: I've only known you a few days now, but I know that you're a sweet kid. I know that you care for others and that you're trying. You wouldn't have done anything unless you had to.

Zira: ....

Tony: There was only so much you could do as a kid.

Zira: Thanks. You seem nice, too. And you seem like me. Kinda like you’re running.

Tony: I guess we all kind of are in a way. We're all similar like that. And nice? I guess I'll have to turn in my street cred cards

(DJ aka @doxblogsstuff rolls over in his sleep and snorts, then mumbles "Bombs" then starts snoring.)

Tony: (snorts) That kid over there? Blew up a few things at his school. Didn't quite fit in there either. I ran into him getting into trouble. You want to guess what?

Zira: Did he blow something up?

Tony: That was too easy.

Zira: He seems like the type

Tony: You think, huh? Yeah, and then he just followed along after me.

Zira: He blew up a library.

Tony: ...Wait, really?

Zira: Who does that?

Tony: I didn't see any explosions.The last library he blew up was his university's.

Zira: He said he set off something in a library.

Tony: Ah, yeah. That'd be the one.

Zira: And supposedly murder is bad so I didn’t do that.

Zira: But seriously.

Tony: ...Okay, I'll be honest and say it depends on the type of murder and also DJ's school got used to his explosions.

Zira: A library?? That’s such a safe place, with so many areas to hide.

Tony: Or as used as they could be. Yeah, libraries are quiet, aren't they? Lots of places to hide; lots of things to do. Things to discover… Or blow up in this dummy's case.

Zira: Stuff to learn! Knowledge is power, the more you know the less they can hurt you.

Tony: Yeah, knowledge goes a long way in helping that.

Zira: Get everything right and everything will be ok.

Tony: Or as okay as it can be. I'm never going to say it'll be perfect, but it'll be okay somehow.

Zira: But a lot of the stuff they said was wrong, so can I ask: Is it normal to beat kids as encouragement to do better?

Tony: ...No.

Zira: Violence seems frowned upon, so I guessed so

Zira: Why? It seems to work fine. It worked on me.

Tony: Look, I'm going to be honest again and say sometimes violence gets you places. But what kind of places those are might not be good. But it's never okay to hurt a kid.

Zira: Huh. Ok. So there’s a lot to unpack there.

Tony: You say it worked on you. What do you remember about what happened?

Zira: I was a coward, or forgot things, or did something else wrong. And then they hurt me. Not enough to take me out, but enough to serve as a reminder to do better.

Tony: ...

Tony: Would it be fair of me to say that when they beat you, you were scared to have it happen again?

Zira: Of course. I was scared a lot

Tony: I bet you were. And when you're scared, sometimes you make mistakes. Especially when you're so scared you can't think straight.

Tony: But let's picture this. You do something wrong. Say you messed up in a spar. And instead of beating you, Ms. Payne instead tells you that it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes. This is what you did wrong and this is how you can do it better next time.

Zira: I...

Tony: Would that have been better than what actually happened?

Zira: It would have hurt less.

Tony: And you would have learned from that mistake, wouldn't you?

Zira: I don’t know.

Tony: That's okay. You don't have to know right now. But please believe me when I say that you didn't deserve any of that.

Zira: Logically, the brain functions less efficiently when in pain, as it is dedicating most energy to handling that pain. So it leads to more mistakes, whiich is why torture is so effective. They’re more likely to let something slip out, or do anything to make the pain stop. But pain also imprints in your mind more.

Tony: ...yeah

Zira: It’s intense and ensures you never forget how to make it stop, how to avoid it. But I would have liked to not have been hurt.

Tony: No one wants to be hurt. But you remember that first thing you said? “The brain functions less efficiently when in pain.”

Zira: Yes.

Tony: How did she expect you to learn if you were in pain?

Zira: I don’t know.

Tony: I don't either, Zira. But I do know that you're something else to be sitting here in front of me.

Zira: I--

Zira: Thank you.

Tony: It's no problem, kid. And even if you don't believe me now, and you don't have to, I hope you think about it. And if you do ever happen to remember where Ms. Payne ran off to...let me know? I'll make sure we steer clear of her.

Zira: I will. I appreciate it, as if she ever knows where I am in light of some things that have happened it would probably be quite dangerous to go near her.

Tony: ...Thanks for telling me.

Zira: It’s no problem :), and I hope whatever you’re running from turns out ok, too.

Tony: I know you haven't known me long, and you've probably only heard whatever stories DJ told you, but trust me when I tell you that I'm not going to let anything happen to you.

Tony: ...Thanks, kid. I hope so, too.

Tony: By the way, you said you like libraries, right? You ever want a conversation with someone, books are a good way to do it. People love a good story. Just, er...tone down the murder and the facts about what happens to bodies.

Zira: I LOVE talking about libraries; that is officially my Small Talk.

Tony: Then that's what you'll talk about when you meet someone new, all right?

Zira: Yeah!

Tony: But after introducing yourself first. And asking them how they're doing.

Zira: (mentally taking notes)

Tony: I've been reliably informed it turns people off if you start talking immediately about something else.

Zira: But also, I’ve noticed that people have second names? That designate what clan/family they belong to.

Tony: Not everyone. Bo...or Bill, I guess, doesn't have one.

Zira: So if I introduced myself it would not be abnormal to not include a last name?. Seeing as I don’t have one.

Tony: ...I mean this in the nicest way possible, but the most abnormal thing about you would not be your missing last name.

Zira: Actually, can numbers be last names? I have an operative number that I could use.

Tony: ...what...is it?

Zira: Yes, i have been considered unfit for infiltration due to my appearance.

Tony: Unfit?

Zira: And inability to "shut my fucking mouth."

Tony: Well, you certainly stand out in a crowd, but that's a good thing! ...sometimes Actually, ignore that last bit

Tony: I've never heard of anyone with numbers for last names. It'd probably be a little unusual. But if you really want a last name we could come up with something.

Zira: I don’t want a number last name, so I will go to a library and look for a list of last names. The number makes me feel very small, and I don't know why.

Tony: That sounds like a great idea. Let me know if you want help with that.

Zira: Ok! It seems I have a lot of choices, which is nice. I may run some by you, if that’s all right.

Tony: Oh yeah. There are loads of options. And I’m here for you in that case. We all are. But for the love of God, don’t run them by Bo. Bill, I mean. That bird has no sense in names

Zira: He has so many names. I didn’t know someone could have that many names.

Tony: Neither did I and I have two.

Tony: By the way, DJ stands for Dummy Junior and don’t let him tell you otherwise.

Zira: It WHAT

Tony: Oh yeah.

Zira: (immediately lunges over to DJ)

Tony: No, no, don’t wake him up. Do you want explosions?

(Zira freezes in place)

Tony: You can ask him in the morning.

Zira: But I have to know. This is the best thing I think I’ve ever learned.

Tony: Well, he probably wouldn't tell you immediately. It took me several bribes of bombs and some candy to get him to 'fess up.

Zira: Who names their child Dummy?

DM ( @the-grey-hunt): (somewhere, in another universe, Tony sneezes)

Zira: And the junior bit implies there is a GROWN MAN WITH THE NAME DUMMY.

Tony: Honestly I have no idea but I'm sure I don't want to run into DJ's dad.

Zira: Ohhhh my god.

Tony: Or maybe he was just so small that they had to add the junior bit.

Zira: I would laugh in his face which would absolutely get me punched.

Tony: In your groin, probably.

Zira: Oh my god

Tony: He can't jump that high.

Zira: I called DJ a little man when we first met.

Tony: Ooh yeah.

Zira: Which he was not happy about

Tony: That would do it. I mean, he's small. But best not to bring that to his attention unless you want a lecture. Candy doesn't quite seem to do the trick...

Zira: Candy?

Tony: ...are you telling me you have never had candy?!

Zira: What is candy??

Tony: I don't have a simple answer for this other than really good food. I mean, it can be sweet and sour?

(Tony is rummaging around in his pack.)

Tony: So I guess it depends on what your preferences are. Me, I like sweet. But I occasionally go for sour, too.

Zira: Sweet?? I know sour is like lemons.

(Tony pulls out bag of candy, which is mostly chocolates but there are some rock candies as well.)

Tony: Do you like lemons?

Zira: I got some lemon juice poured on some wounds once.

Tony: ...god, why

Zira: It tasted terrible.

Tony: Nothing sour for you, then.

Zira: It might’ve been the blood though. Training of course.

Tony: Wait, did you taste the lemon or the blood?

Zira: Gotta know how to deal with torture and such. Something definitely tasted bad

Tony: ...I wish I didn't understand the reasoning behind that logic damn it

Tony: Okay, here's something sour. Since lemons can taste nice and I'm not having your taste of lemon be spoilt by blood, which definitely tastes nasty. Unless you're a vampire; I don't judge...much.

Zira: :o

DM: (Zira is handed a single Ye Olde Sour Gummy. It’s the blue and red one.)

Zira: (face kinda twists up) Why would someone want to eat this?? It hurts?

Tony: ...Definitely not sour, then. Some people like it. Try the chocolate?

DM: (the chocolate's a little melty; backpack temperature)

Zira: (lights up)

Zira: !!!!!! This tastes so nice!! Is it magic??

Tony: (laughs) Close enough, I like to think.

Tony: Okay, so chocolate is a hit. You're my type of girl. There's also this. It's a kind of rock candy which is great for sucking on.

Zira: :D! They should’ve just used this to get us to do good.

Tony: Just let it sit in your mouth and roll it around your tongue. Unless you have super tough teeth, in which case I guess you could just bite it in half. But the fun is in letting it sit on your tongue. It's great for long hikes.

Tony: Yeah, chocolate goes a long way in bribery. Would've worked wonders when I was a kid.

(Zira has sharp teeth, and when she grins you can see how they shimmer like mother of pearl. She’s grinning and her face is covered in chocolate and every unearthly thing about her is in sharp relief.)

Tony: (entirely unfazed) Yeah, your teeth are super sharp. Let's not bite it in half. I have more where that came from but you need to enjoy it.

Zira: You are now officially one of my favorite people. I wish Meri could have some of this.

Tony: I would be significantly more impressed by that if I didn't know what kind of people were in your past.

Tony: You could keep some to take to her if we ever run into her? ...Or maybe not that bit in particular because it'll melt for sure.

Zira: I don’t know if that’s a good idea. She’s still loyal. I ran and left her behind and now she’s probably mad at me and under orders to bring me back dead or alive.

Tony: You were friends, weren't you?

Zira: I can’t believe I left her behind. God. I just ran.

(Tony slowly goes to sit next to her.)

Tony: How old were you?

Zira: I’ve lost track. Less than a year ago...so around 17. I received a sign and I panicked.

Tony: You panicked and you ran. You didn't think, did you? You just had to get out. You had to be somewhere else because where you were wasn't right.

Zira: Yes. Yes, that’s exactly it. How did you know?

Tony: I know something about that kind of panic. It just grabs you and doesn't let you go. And you're left scrambling for what's broken.

Zira: I was afraid for so long, but I thought… I thought I could be brave, that I could be strong for Meri. But then...

Tony: But then?

Zira: I left. I went out on my first real mission, and we got deep into the forest, and I collapsed and woke up with the realization that I had to leave. And I did, unthinking and terrified.

Tony: There was nothing else? ...That sounds difficult. And your friend...she was still in the forest?

Zira: She should have finished the mission.

Tony: I don't know the details, and I'm not asking you to share everything. I know it's difficult. But your friend... She was your friend?

Zira: And continued taking orders, so. ...Yes

Tony: You two trusted each other?

Zira: She was everything. We protected each other. I stole food for her, and she helped me fight. I helped her with writing and reading when the instructors called her stupid. She defended me from our more sadistic classmates.

Tony: ...

Tony: (sighs)

Tony: I don't know Meri the way you do. I don't know if she would have gotten a sign like yours either. But from what you're telling me? Do you think she would trust the people she's with now, or do you think she'd trust you? Do you think that after everything you two shared that she'd just abandon everything?

Zira: I don’t know

Tony: I don't either.

Zira: She hated them. She fought back a lot at first and they broke her. And now… I don’t know.

Zira: She still tried to keep me safe, but she got worn down and down and down.

Tony: But she defended you.

Tony: That happens. But she had you. And I know - I know you said you left her behind.

Zira: Yes. I knew how worn down she was. I knew she needed someone to hold her up, keep her back safe. And yet…

Tony: I can't tell you what she felt when that happened. What she thought about it. But the kind of bond you described...that doesn't go away so easily. It can't. So if you ever meet her again...maybe...maybe things aren't as bad as you think they are.

Tony: And yet...

Zira: I think I’d like some chocolate.

Tony: Yeah, me, too.

Zira: Just in case.

Tony: Sure thing. It'll probably melt before, but I've got more

(Tony does hand the bag to Zira.)

(It's his entire stash)

(Zira lights up)

Zira: This is all for me??

Tony: ...Let me take the sour ones out first

DM: (there’s 2 slightly chocolate stained sour gummies left)

Zira: I didn’t do anything to earn this, why… (And she droops a bit)

(Tony pats her shoulder)

(Zira starts to kind of, push it back towards him)

Tony: Lesson 1, kid. You don't have to earn presents. You get presents for being you.

Zira: Presents????

Tony: This is a present. A slightly melted present but a present

Zira: :D!

Zira: Presents are great!!

Tony: That they are. Just don't give any to DJ. They're wasted on him. Bombs are the way to go if you want to bribe him. Also Rhodey likes a chocolate but you can't give them to him.

Zira: I will keep that in mind. ...It’s getting late.

Tony: Yeah.

Zira: We should probably hand the shift off. And, Tony?

Tony: Hm?

Zira: Thank you. Thank you so much.

Tony: ...you're welcome, Zira.

Zira: Goodnight, friend.

(Tony is rather speechless)

Tony: ...yeah, goodnight. Sweet dreams.

Tony: ...Also, don't sneak too much chocolate before you sleep. It'll give you a stomachache.

Zira: Gotcha :)

#thechaoticwave #heliocentricgeometric #the-grey-hunt #d&d campaign #you can probably guess when exactly tony started plotting murder

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savrenim · 5 years ago

Text

I gotta say I think my favorite part of Jeremy as a DM is that he takes the stupid half-jokes that I make offscreen and just. turns them into things for me. that also fit perfectly into the plot and the story seamlessly but feel special

like I was making goddamn jokes about “okay but. but I want a bloodsword. we do blood magic. please. Jeremy. Jeremy what if I could make my blood into a sword. b l o o d s w o r d. I could go to parties and never be unarmed because mY BLOOD IS A SWORD. YOU CAN’T DISARM ME YOU WOULDN’T PART AN OLD ELF FROM HER BLOOD WOULD YOU, SO LONG AS I HAVE BLOOD I HAVE SWORD.” and then, like. because it was only half a joke and I got attached to the aesthetic I actively started planning on how to make one of my own, which was pretty much going to be that there are some shadow weapon spells either on the cleric/oracle or witch lists and I was just going to take one of those as I was leveling up in Caedic magic and request that because it’s blood magic can we please flavor it descriptively as being made of my blood and not of shadows like, just as a cool aesthetic piece, and I’d have my bloodsword.

and then halfway through Book 4 Galen fucking Torus out of nowhere makes a really fucking rad bloodsword from his own blood and hands it to me and I kill a bunch of enemies of the Empire and feel hella cool and I go “c a n y o u t e a c h m e” with starry eyes the next day and he goes “okay sure” and starts teaching me how to make a bloodsword and there are cool bloodsword mechanics and just. Iria Strell got a bloodsword. after I spent six months joking about it. this is an actual legitimate bloodsword not a cheap knockoff made from a flavored shadow spell, real genuine Caedic blood magic here.

and, like, there are a couple of other obvious things (I spent a while being excited about a Feat tree that I’ve now totally forgotten because I think I was looking for some weird way to add Int to attacks and there was something similar to feinting you used bluff for a round and I’ve forgotten about it because it became irrelevant because Iria has developed mechanical combat spurs that give her a pretty similar option, not a “sooo then in five levels I’ll be able to do this!”) I guess another one was joking for months okay not joking about how much in love I was with Arcadia Dominus and holy shit she liked me back and the “gay murder elf bachelorette” bit actually becoming a part of the campaign, this campaign got literally infinitely more gay because I made a dumb joke and then Jeremy went “okay” and followed up on it, we went from no gay to one of the longest running and at least emotionally important plotlines is “oh no Iria is so gay you utter disaster fire of a lesbian how are you going to mess everything up now because Pretty Girl”

but, like

the one that is hitting me really really strongly now-now is that I have been half-jokingly complaining for months and months that I regret So Much Iria Strell’s background as a minor noble because it limits the fanciness and quantity of dresses that I can get for her and goddamnit I want to put her in all the shiny things all of them and how Painful it is to pass all these cool costumes that I Want To Pull just in fashion posts and stuff but uuurgh I can’t because Iria Strell isn’t the sort of noble who would wear all those and she kind of isn’t allowed and that just goddamnit I need to make a character next game who whatever the context wears Cool Clothes so that I would get to actually do a shit-ton of character design and costume design

and I am 1000% sure that this didn’t change from the original plans, like, the outlines have been in place for months well before I got obsessed with noble costuming, but the big objective of this book is Iria is investigating a maybe heresy/conspiracy that maybe involves nobles, and to do so, she has to go to a bunch of noble parties, and Galen Torus gave her an unlimited credit card and went “material resources are no worry go ham request whatever you want” and what her wardrobe is actively affects all the interactions she has with people and how well she can gather the information she needs to

which means that OOC I get the chance to design a full and changing wardrobe for Iria Strell to look cool as it is now her job as the secret leader of an investigation to actually do noble business and look pretty sometimes and talk to a bunch of nobles and go to parties but just. I’m limited in interesting ways by what is tasteful, but I have been given the full resources and an active in-character reason to utterly go ham on costuming, which makes me so excited as a person

and it’s just. super tiny details like this that idk make the games feel....more than just special? or maybe it’s that I’m not used to being listened to? like. the game is so good. I’m having so much fun. we have gotten to book 5 and it is once again the coolest fucking thing I could imagine. and so was book 4, and book 3, and book 2, and book 1. it is completely unnecessary to throw in tiny things like the bloodsword in order to make me happy and it is all done so....seamlessly? like. if one of my hunches is correct. the bloodsword and a ritual that Galen Torus performed telling Iria it would make her better at the bloodsword wHICH IT DID BUT THAT WAS NOT THE MAIN POINT OF THE RITUAL, THE MAIN POINT OF THE GODDAMN RITUAL WAS TO CONSECRATE PRIESTS AND PRIESTS HAVE MORE ACCESS TO BLOOD MAGIC SO A SIDE EFFECT IS BETTER THAN A BLOODSWORD BUT A CONSECRATED PRIEST IS A SUPER HIGH RANK AND THIS MAKES HER A CONSECRATED PRIEST AT AGE EIGHTEEN WHICH IS VERY VERY VERY UPSETTING TO HER AND POSSIBLY UNPRECEDENTED EARLY 30S IS CONSIDERED RIDICULOUSLY EARLY TO BE A CONSECRATED PRIEST FOR INCREDIBLY TALENTED AND FAST-CLIMBING CAREER-FOCUED NOBLES NOT A MINOR DISGRACED KIND OF EXILED LESBIAN DUMPSTER FIRE LIKE SHE IS

but consecrated priest thing aside and that being one way or another a major plot point and that coming so seamlessly and so perfectly a surprise from the fact that she asked an Exarch if he’d teach her how to make a bloodsword

again I’m pretty sure “Book 5 is noble politics book” was always going to be a thing so it’s not “oh Jeremy wrote it into the plot that I get to be ridiculous and pick out every single dress and everyday wear and hair and makeup for my character all the time multiple times a session and have that matter” because it was always abstractly going to matter as that matters as a part of being a Caedic noble but just

here and is everything I wanted and was everything that I was totally joking about for months except no joke I just. get to do it. which I’m just actively so excited about. I guess it just...feels weird to me because I’m... sometimes used to making my own fun? or just, like, making things happen in my own life? there have been way too many “well if you want to survive it’s only you that you can rely on” situations not even in a bad sense of my life is horrible like. I could go on a rant about how I....not don’t trust people as people but don’t trust people to be 100% reliable and so always make a backup plan so that if a person falls through I can still get what I need done to be done and it’s just more pleasant for everyone involved if I don’t pin pressure on people or things? but in a different way I do the same thing for the games that I’m involved in, I will find things to make me have Feelings and will make my own fun and write letters and befriend NPCs and insist on staying in touch and, like...I dunno I guess I’m not used to trusting any world, be it fantasy or real, to give me what I want, if I want a thing I have to carefully plan and invest time and energy to earn and take it and be prepared to fail and just because Jeremy’s my friend and I goddamn narrate everything jokes or not of how I/my characters feel and “okay but here is the 1000th picture of a cool dress that I’m sending you and because Iria Strell doesn’t get to wear cool dresses we’ll say it’s the Gothicus Maximus Spring 2019 collection” and just

I guess I’m really not used to a world that cares about what I want

and, like, is sometimes fucking brutal Iria is dealing with slowly losing her mobility and ability to fight to an injury that was her fault and she is descending into a lot of really fun mental health places that push fun buttons and Marian is spelljammer and is Marian don’t even get me started on Marian’s family suddenly reappearing or just. characters from the thousands upon thousands of words of backstory showing up but just idk it feels like even when things are really brutal to the characters......the world is still kind to me? it’s aware of what I care about and it cares about me?

and I’m just so not used to the world being kind

I don’t need the world to be kind to love it. I love this world even with how fucked up and hard it is, and I love the games that I play and the stories that I get to be a part of without them caring about me at all, I don’t need them to care about me, that’s not why I’m playing

maybe I’m just hella tired and the move has been awful my old housemate gave me a deadline less than 12 hours before when there was never a deadline in our original conversations and then she and her mother were also going through my room and my stuff I guess to try to determine how quickly I’d get out of there but, like, I do not like it when people go through my stuff and there was a scare about the landlord selling the new place and the new landlord would have to honor the lease for a year but then maybe not wanting me to have my cats so suddenly for two days even my new living place was up in the air and I was already jet lagged and stressed and barely slept to try to finish a week’s worth of work that I was under the full impression I had a week to do in a day and a half and definitely sprained my ankle but got to keep walking on it and internet took forever to set up and trying to fix my furniture and all my stuff is in boxes and I’m still walking around on a twisted ankle because it’s just me there’s no one here to help me, if I want things to be okay and to get done I have to make them be done myself and these boxes need to be unpacked by Saturday morning because the landlord wants to fix the floor and just. I’m stressed and emotional so maybe I’m hella overreacting to “oh you like costumes? well an aspect of this book is noble interactions and parties so sure I’ll let you pick out literally every dress that you’re wearing” but it just

it matters so much to me

Jeremy is really really good at the DnD thing

#have a long rant about my feelings and partially about dnd #I'm real tired #my life #gay murder elf bachelorette #I guess #this game is so fun and it keeps surprising me

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elly-bird · 6 years ago

Note

How come you famously can't stand critical role?

Before I get into it, let’s attach a warning

WE ARE ENTERING THE OPINION ZONE

That’s right, I don’t contain mystical knowledge that is going to spoil Crit Role for you. Similarly, I doubt there’s anything you could say to fix what is, essentially, just a distaste for me. I also deeply respect the various performers and crews that go into producing CR, Matt Mercer especially (I love that man dearly).

"Famously” refers to the fact a lot of people talk to me about CR, and I’m always forced to stop the conversation with “well I don’t actually watch that show...” which leads into the question of why, which leads into me simply saying “you don’t want me to get into it.”

So the clarification at hand is I’m treating this question as; “why don’t you actively watch anything D&D related?” Critical Role will simply be our stand-in for a franchise title. It’s not any better or worse than the competition for the flaws that bother me.

So let’s start from the beginning.

This will not be a conversation. It’s not worth messaging me “you should look at it like-” because I can’t. This isn’t blind hate or fanaticism, it’s the way my brain’s been trained through the hobby.

I’ve been writing and roleplaying all my life. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a mixed-modules DM, a guild manager, a public event organizer, and an RP planner and guide for everyone that’s ever asked it of me. This had its ups and downs; at one point I embraced the lows so hard that I found myself in a string of projects I utterly despised working on just because it felt vaguely familiar to older, more interesting work. Even so, I got very good at identifying and managing personalities.

You’re sort of forced to put people in little boxes. Boxes like “the drama queen,” or “the OOC talker,” or “the shy one.” Boxes help you micromanage the various archtypes of players you’ll deal with in big campaigns. It’s not hard for someone to simply not have fun at an event due to their various hang-ups, and it was frequently my job to make the event cater to all the types of people I could identify as we progressed.

You do this because, as an admin or an organizer, your fun isn’t a priority; you’re a referee. The event itself is just a puzzle of IC and OOC problems for you to solve. You enable everyone else the ability to enjoy themselves, whilst you pull your hair out in the corner in admin chat, discussing how to whack the moles as they pop up.

It turns out Group B’s DM is late and didn’t leave his documents for backup with anyone in the crew. Or wait, this is a PVP event, but Group A is completely imbalanced in that regard and won’t be able to compete. Or wait again, you’re literally the only piece of management that showed up, and three people want to have chats with you about the future of the campaign or issues they’ve been having. Etc, etc, etc.

(This is obviously not the dynamic for small, tight-knit D&D sessions - I’m talking MMO events and campaigns involving multiple groups and DMs.)

Working this hard for other people’s storylines, or the enactment of group projects, really coloured my attitude towards RP as a whole. I started to realize how easy it was to see players through their characters. I’ve talked before about how I can’t follow a lot of authors because their personalities outside of their writing have become so transparent through their works to me. RPers are, unsurprisingly, not any more tactful.

Which leads into the fact that; I can’t stand popular D&D. I just can’t.

When you have a show that is essentially just a large group of actors trying their best to put on a good performance, (the very nature of commercializing roleplay) it can feel a lot like being thrown back to those management days, trying to find the right words to keep Steve from godmodding too much, or to tell Anna to please stop tugging the spotlight into her own face so god damn often.

D&D/improv shows feel a lot like staring at a popularity contest, the very attitude I used to work tirelessly to prevent from happening. Everyone is their own main character and their livelihood can actually depend on making themselves the most entertaining of the lot, which can often mean aggressively blanketing their character over everything.

D&D groups usually aren’t as vulnerable to these flaws as bigger, more public forums, but that’s exactly what happens when you turn it into a show and start making money off it. The public forum that used to be contributing RPers is now sitting, waiting patiently for the moment to throw money at the screen in the name of their favourite.

So while I do deeply love and respect Critical Role and the work put into it, actually watching the show leaves a person like me incredibly drained. My brain goes into overdrive trying to work out what decisions are made organically and what ones are made for the sake of branding, same as it does every other piece of performance media.

So that’s why I don’t watch Critical Role. Or The Adventure Zone. Or Friends at the Table. Or- you get it, now. See? You get it. I don’t like commercializing performances because in my experience, even the best RPers and writers I’ve ever met would either crumble or completely rewrite themselves under that pressure, and that’s not something I enjoy witnessing people going through.

I’m naturally drawn to analysis and pulling apart the rationales behind decision-making in all creative worlds. Hell, I once got told off because I was informed the way I looked at someone’s favourite show was “like an autopsy.”

I’m not above these things. I’m not better than them. I don’t think they’re bad, or poorly written, or poorly performed. I also don’t think getting paid to do your job is a bad thing - holy shit, duh.

I’ve been condensing this rant down to one single sentence whenever I’ve been asked in the past, and I’ll likely return to it now;

“It’s just not for me.”

Crit Role is a fantastic show. I’m never watching it.

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screamingintosilence · 7 years ago

Text

I Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend

Summary: "Inescapable, I'm not even going to try. And if I get burned, at least we were electrified." El has angst, Max is the best friend we all want, Mike did something really dumb 4 years ago, and now it's time to get drunk and confess all. It only gets hotter from here.

Pairing: Mileven with lots of mentions of Lumax, Will/OC, and Dustin/OC

Can also be read on AO3 here

“So what are you going to do about Wheeler?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Max, who was flipping through the rack of clothes behind me. Turning back to the lipstick I was looking through, I tried to brush her off with a “What about him?”

“Seriously El? You’re my best friend. I’ve known you for almost four years now!”

“Ok? So?” I tried out the red lipstick. I usually stuck with light pink, since Hopper would throw a fit over anything else, but we had just finished our junior year at Hawkins High and I was feeling adventurous. As adventurous as one can be about lipstick when one’s father is the police chief. I rolled my eyes at myself. I was as straightlaced as they came, something which Max constantly liked to tease me for, ever since I came back for good. I was sick of it and I wanted a change.

“I don’t understand how the hell you two aren’t together,” I heard her grumble. “C’mon, El. Everyone and their mother can see that you guys belong together!”

I huffed. “Max, you were there when he threw, like, the biggest fit about us not being boyfriend and girlfriend.” Yeah, three and a half years ago and that still stung like a bitch.

......

It had been a few weeks after the Snow Ball of ‘84 and Hopper had let me stay at the Byers (before him and Joyce were a thing) with the whole party. It was the only other place I was allowed before my year of confinement was up and I could start high school with everyone.

We had all just been hanging out and the boys had found out about our kiss. Lucas’s and Dustin’s favorite thing was to tease Mike, so this was like hitting the jackpot. They teased endlessly about us being together and how we were as good as married, and whatever else 13-year-old boys tease about. I had been blushing the whole time while Max was petting my arm to try and reassure me that it was all in good fun.

Mike, though, was having none of it. After about 15 minutes of continuous teasing from the two, he finally snapped. “El and I are NOT boyfriend and girlfriend! Would you two assholes shut up already?! We’re just best friends, jesus fucking christ! El, tell them we’re not dating!”

His eyes were begging me. “D-dating?” That was still a word I hadn’t really learned yet.

“It means together, like Nancy and Jonathan. Tell them how we’re just friends. Please! Tell them how we’re just best friends!” He was pleading with me now.

Finally grasping what he was say, there was a tight pang in my chest and I could feel my eyes slightly moisten. So I was wrong. He doesn’t like me like that. It was just as best friends. Emotions were tearing me up inside, but I couldn’t let any of the others see, especially Mike.

“Uh, ye-yeah. We’re, um, we’re just best friends, guys,” Mike was nodding at me and it felt like my heart was breaking. Don’t let it show, I chanted to myself.

“See! Now can we please just watch a movie or something?”

“Yeah, yeah, lovebird,” Lucas threw up his hands. “Just don’t make it Poltergeist again.”

Will rolled his eyes at the other three boys and turned to me from where he was seated on my other side. He leaned in to whisper, “They’re all idiots, El. 13-year old boys don’t know how to act around girls. I mean, just ask Max. We basically stalked her when she first got here.”

Max was nodding in agreement and whispered back, “He’s right. All of them were being total creeps, and Mike was rude as shit - given it’s because you were gone - but the boy can be a real dummy for someone so smart.”

I appreciated their reassurances and was trying to take subtle deeps breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth to keep the tears at bay. “Uh, I, uh, have to use the bathroom. I’ll be back.” I whispered as I squeezed both of their hands to try and convince them that I was fine before getting up and locking myself in the bathroom.

I let the tears come for 5 minutes as I sat on the edge of Will’s bath tub before I heard knocking on the door. “El? It’s Mike. Are you ok in there?” I could hear the worry in his tone and knew I couldn’t let him see me like this.

Wiping my eyes up and trying to sniffle my nose as quietly as I could, I tried to make my voice sound as normal as possible “Yeah. Just don’t feel good. Must have been Eggos.” I make my way to the sink and turn on the water as cold as it would go. I had seen on one of the episodes of Days of Our Lives that cold water reduced puffiness of the eyes or something.

After giving myself another minute or two to try and look normal again, I opened the door to see Mike leaning against the wall opposite. When he saw me, he reached out to hold my hand, but I flinched back. Trying to cover it up, I rubbed my stomach and made a grimacing face.

He scratched the back of his neck instead, asking again if I was ok, sounding sheepish. After nodding and mentioning how I probably should eat more than just Eggos, he gave in with a nod of his head.

When we got back in the living room, I curled up into Max’s side, hugging her arm with both of mine. She gave me a look in surprise, since that was normally something I only did with Mike, but I just shook my head looking at her with big eyes. She sighed, understanding me, because next to Mike she was quickly becoming my best friend. She patted my hair and leaned her head on mine, focusing back on the tv.

I could see Mike out of the corner of my eye looking over at us, slightly distressed. He was sitting next to Will who happened to be in-between us. I saw Will nudge him and heard him whisper, “It’s probably just women stuff. Like what Nancy goes through once a month. She’ll be fine.”

I saw Mike’s nose crinkle and he shuddered a bit, before nodding and turning back to the tv. I didn’t know what Will had been talking about, but I could always ask Max or Nancy at another time. I appreciated that Will bought me time, though. Hopefully it was enough to at least let me come to terms with my feelings being one sided.

......

It had been enough. Over the next week, I avoided Mike as much as possible, which he thankfully didn’t find suspicious due to Will’s explanation. I let myself have that week, and then decided to lock all those feelings up in a mental box and try and bury it as much as possible. I didn’t want to lose Mike as my best friend, so I would just let things be how he wanted. I also didn’t want to make anything awkward with the party, so I did my best to act as if I wasn’t pining over Mike until it became second nature.

We would still hold hands and he would walk around the halls with his arm slung over my shoulder once I started school with them. He’d give me little pecks on the top of my head, since he towered over me now. And I’d give him quick pecks on the cheek. The guys and Max would tease us good naturedly about how “Are you guys sure you aren’t secretly dating?” and there was constantly a rumor going around about us being together, but true to my part I would roll my eyes with him and we’d laugh it off.

He was my best friend. He owned my heart and he didn’t even know. All our innocent gestures further solidified my love for him, but it was something I could never admit to. We had been toeing the line for 3 years now and he was still calm and sure as ever in our friendship, while never knowing that my heart still went erratic every time we touched.

It didn’t help at all that Mike really grew into his looks in high school. Puberty hit the boy hard, and man did it almost destroy my façade. He might still be a nerd, but looks can truly help one’s popularity. Girls would constantly be trying to get him to notice them; how he never did is something I still don’t understand.

And to be honest, all the boys came out of it on the winning side of growing up.

So did Max. She was a stunner. If it wasn’t for her steady relationship with Lucas that started after that fateful Snow Ball, she’d have guys begging her for a date. Not that she didn’t anyway, but after Lucas took up baseball, most guys didn’t want to even try messing with her.

I came out literally plain Jane. As much as Max tried to tell me otherwise, I know it’s a lost cause. The girls in our grade would constantly tease me about how plain I was and how they didn’t understand why my friends liked me. It lessened a bit when Max actually punched one of them in the face after gym one day. She had smugly said how much it was worth it once she got out of her week suspension. The boys wouldn’t stop talking about how epic it was and how they wish they could do the same, but since they were boys… I may have rolled my eyes at that.

So with Lucas’s popularity from being on the baseball team, and Mike’s heartthrob looks they were an easy win to become student body vice president and president respectively for our upcoming senior year. Dustin’s and Will’s skills at campaigning didn’t hurt either.

The summer had started and Mike’s parents were gone with Holly for the weekend on some trip to Kiddieland or somewhere. Mike had won them over in letting him stay home, using Nancy coming back from college as his excuse. In reality, Mike Wheeler was planning to throw an all out, incoming-seniors-only party. This was a far cry from the Mike Wheeler I first met, but I guess wanting to have the full high school experience and now being the student body president, he had this air of confidence that 13-year old Mike Wheeler would be in awe of.

We also lucked out with Joyce and Hopper taking mine and Will’s newest little sister to our grandma’s and going away for the weekend. Without the chief of police breathing down our necks and with Steve promising to buy us alcohol (after a ton of begging, puppy dog eyes and maybe some guilt tripping on Dustin’s part), it was the perfect storm of events. Nancy and Jonathan had even promised to stay out of our hair, planning a movie night with Steve at Steve’s house.

All of this is why Max and I are currently at the mall shopping. She had insisted that we needed new outfits for this type of thing, “I want to stun Lucas. I want his jaw to drop and I want him drooling.”

I made a face at this. “Max, you already have the boy hook, line, and sinker.” (Dustin had taught me that saying.) “Hell, you guys have already done it!” She had told me about how they had sex down by Lovers’ Lake last July, not sparing me any details no matter how much I begged. Lucas was my unofficial brother, like Dustin. I so didn’t need to know all that about him, but Max just laughed at me, “You’re so innocent and pure, Ellie. Someone has to corrupt you.”

Shuddering at the memory, I finally walked over to where Max was flipping through the dresses, if you could call the tiny scraps of fabric that. “When’s the last time I could dress like this for him? I love him, and I love teasing him,” my nose crinkled at her explanation.

“So gross. I don’t need to know this.”

She laughed, “Oh, c’mon. You’re my best friend. Who else am I going to talk about sex with?”

“I don’t care! Not me! Knowing it’s Lucas that you’re letting bone you makes me want to vomit.”

She just smirked, “You’re one to talk, Miss I-want-Mike-Wheeler-to-pound-me.”

Flushing in embarrassment and glancing around quickly to make sure there wasn’t anyone close to us to overhear, “Oh my god, Max, shut up! No I don’t! We’re just friends! How many times do I have to tell you?!”

“Mm-hm. The starry-eyed gaze you guys give each says otherwise. You guys are literally sickening.”

“I have no clue what you are talking about.” I knew I sometimes looked at Mike like that, I couldn’t help it, but there was no way he looked at me the same. That’s just wishful thinking. Really wishful.

“Ellie,” she was the only one besides Hopper ever allowed to call me that. A fact that she relished. “You’re my best friend. I know you better than you think. You like him. Fuck what he said after Snow Ball, the boy is stupid, all boys are. He was just embarrassed. But if there was one thing I know about Mike Wheeler, it’s that that boy would lay down his life for you. He would walk through the seven pits of hell just to make you smile. Jesus christ, he already threatens every boy that even thinks of looking at you.”

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion and I glanced up from the dresses I was looking through to face Max. “Ok, now I really have no clue what you are talking about. Boys don’t look at me. Outside of group assignments almost no other boy has ever even talked to me. Just plain ol’ Jane, remember?”

She glared at me, “I love you Ellie, but God you are being stupid right now.”

“Hey!”

She grabbed my hand over the clothing rack and dragged me over to the closest mirror. Putting her hands on my shoulder to make me face it, she stood behind me.

“Look at yourself, El. Really look. The reason all those bitches try and say that you’re plain is because you’re fucking beautiful, with or without make-up or ‘stylish’ clothes, and that makes them jealous and bitter. You have the school heartthrob hanging on your every word, and quite literally hanging on you, that they would kill to be in your place. Wheeler looks at you like you put the stars in the sky. He knows how amazing and gorgeous you are and that’s why when the QB last year, Tony Hill, was going to ask you to homecoming, Mike threatened him and made sure that everyone knew you were his date.”

“He only asks me because he’s my best friend, he probably just doesn’t want to have to deal with the hoard of screaming girls who want him to ask them.”

Max started shaking me by the shoulders, “I. Want. To. Strangle. You. Right. Now! El!”

“Max!”

“He loves you! My god the boy couldn’t be more in love with you!”

“You’re crazy!”

“Am not! I’m going to prove it to you!”

“Oh yeah? How are you going to do that?” I gave her my best skeptical look.

She glared back at me in the mirror, “The party.” She then grabbed my arm and dragged me back over to the dresses, furiously flipping through them until she found one that seemed to appease her. Still having a strong hold on my arm, she pulled me over to the fitting rooms, shoving me and the dress in one and closing the door.

My eyes flitted over the fabric. There is no way that this qualifies as a dress. It’s basically a shirt. “Max, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?!”

“Put it on!” her muffled voice snapped at me through the door.

Knowing that I would never win in an argument against her, I shrugged out of my clothes and wrestled with putting the dress on. It was a black, strapless concoction, with cutouts on either side of my waist. Struggling to keep my hands from getting caught, I managed to get it situated pretty much right, but couldn’t finish the zipper. I wrenched open the door to a no-nonsense look on Max’s face.

“I can’t finish the zipper,” I panted out while turning around. She quickly did it up and turned me around, her eyes quickly growing wide.

“Holy shit, El. You’re fucking hot!” she exclaimed. My nose wrinkled in disbelief. “See that,” she shoved me back into the changing room so I could look in the mirror. What I saw looking back at me was a girl who I didn’t recognize. “You have hips! You have an ass! You have boobs!! That’s what’s been hiding under all those old sweaters of Mike’s?!”

“Max, they’re all average size,” I try to calm her. “And I like Mike’s sweaters! They’re comfy. Plus he said he likes seeing me wear them, so he knows I’m warm.”

“Yeah right! Ellie, average on you is like mega gorgeous! Besides, Wheeler is probably just trying to hide that body all for himself.” I was starting to get sick of her making up lies about Mike liking me like that. “You have this perfect face. Your cheekbones are to die for. And you’re petite enough, especially to Mike-skyscraper-Wheeler. And now you have this banging body.”

“Max.”

“You might turn me gay, El,” she laughed dramatically. “Ah, nah. I like my chocolate thunder too much.”

“Gross,” I gagged. She had that starry look in her eyes that she always got when she thought about Lucas, mainly sex with Lucas.

Her eyes snapped back to me. “Ok, you’re getting this dress.” I made to protest. “Nah-ah-ah,” she held her hand up to silence me. “You are getting this, and we are going to make Wheeler eat his heart out. Maybe eat you out, too.”

“Max! Why must you always make it so crude?!” I whined.

“Because, the boys never talk like this around you since they somehow think you’re still so delicate and innocent, and because Hopper is your dad so they don’t want him killing them. Who else is going to make sure you’re prepared?”

“Prepared for what?!” I threw my hands up.

“For when you finally have sex with Mike! I need to make sure you’re safe.”

“Max, I’ve been through health class. Joyce has even given me the talk. I think I’ll be fine.”

“Only the basics. That’s all the ever teach you. Who else is going to inform you of all the other things that happen?!”

“I hope not you. I actually want to burn my brain out for having to picture you and Lucas like that.”

She huffed. “Whatever. We are still getting this dress.”

After another hour of shopping, Max finally found her own dress to wear, as well as heels for us (“It’s just a party at Mike’s. Why do we need heels?!” “The Look needs to be complete. Besides, they’re heeled boots, El.” God I must have turned her girly), and some new make-up.

“I want to give you this smokey look. Like Olivia Newton-John’s make over at the end of Grease. It’s going to be amazing.”

“Fine, as long as you skip the hair fluff. I don’t feel like choking on hairspray,” I amended to her.

“Deal,” she squealed, rushing up to the counter to pay for all our things. Her dad, her real dad - not Neil - had sent her a bunch of money for her birthday last week. He was loaded, though Max doesn’t talk about it. “It happened after my mom left him and married Neil. She didn’t want to wait around for his ‘money-making’ scheme to finally, ya know, make money. Complete bullshit. At least he’s making something of himself now.” I didn’t really like her paying for me, but she claimed something about at least she wouldn’t be spending it all at the arcade or on food for the boys. “Like they need more food. I’m not giving into their growth spurts any more than I already have. Besides, who’s mainly funding this party tonight? Me.”

Since we still didn’t like hanging out at Max’s house, even with Billy gone, we drove in Max’s cherry red ‘68 Ford Mustang convertible (another present from her dad, but for her 16th birthday last year) to my house. When Joyce and Hopper got married, we all moved into a house over by Dustin’s neighborhood, since Joyce’s old house wasn’t big enough and even considering the cabin or Hop’s trailer was a complete joke.

The convertible was Max’s pride and joy, as well as all the boys’. When Max had first gotten it, they would constantly demand to be driven around in it, even though we all struggled to fit. I always ended up in Mike’s lap, since he always suggested that would be easiest. Most of the time I would prop my feet up on Will’s and Dustin’s lap so I could lean my head back out the side. The feeling of the wind blowing through my hair was freeing, and Max had taken her role of zoomer pretty seriously.

Lucas obsessed over making sure the Mustang was always maintained and washed, since all he got once he had his license, was his dad’s old town car that Mr. Sinclair was still making him work for. Max didn’t mind though, since it gave her a reason to always be over at the Sinclairs’ instead of her own place when she wasn’t with me or the whole party.

When we finally pulled up into the drive, I spotted Jonathan’s car as well as the beat up Chevy Will and I shared that Hop got from old man Jacobs. They both must be home, probably with Nancy in tow. As we entered, I could hear the tv going and glanced into the living room to see Nancy and Jonathan curled up on the couch together and Will sitting sideways on the overstuffed arm chair that Hop usually sat in.

Seeing us, Nancy jumped to her feet. “El! Max!” She squealed while running over and engulfing us in one of her signature hugs. I had always loved Nancy, she was like the older sister Max and I always really wanted. I do still think of Kali now and then, but always remember how her path was one that I was not meant to follow. Nancy, however, always tried to help guide us and would just be there for us whenever we needed her.

“Nancy! I’m so glad you’re home,” I buried my face in her hair. The only people her hugs didn’t top were Joyce’s, Hop’s, my baby sister Lila, and… Mike’s. Sigh. “We missed you so much.”

“I missed you both too! Oh my goodness, are you guys ready for the party?!” she seemed way more excited than us.

“Yes!” Max squealed. Ok, more excited than me. “Please come help us get ready?” Max was already dragging us both up the stairs to my room while Jonathan and Will laughed from their places in front of the tv.

Upon entering my room, Nancy bounced onto the bed with Max while I quickly tried to gather all my clothes into a big pile in the corner. “Sorry,” I mumbled.

“El, it’s fine. It’s not like I don’t spend every day with you,” Max snickered. “Ok, it’s 5 now and the party is at 9. That should give us enough time for everything.”

I groaned, “What does everything entail?”

“Well, we need to shower and shave-”

“I did both of those this morning.”

“But did you shave everything?” Max retorted. “Bikini line?” her eyebrow quirked as I blushed.

“Oooo! Did my brother finally get his head out of his ass?! Or did El get tired of waiting on the dummy and find someone else?” Nancy quipped from the bed while clapping her hands excitedly.

My eyes went wide as I looked at her, “Mike doesn’t like me like that, Nance! You know that!”

“Sure,” she smirked at me. “And I’m the reincarnation of Cleopatra.”

“All of you are ridiculous. I give up. And no, there is no guy. Max is just crazy. And I’m not shaving that, Max.”

“Oh yes you are! You don’t know who might want to rip you out of that dress!”

I crossed my arms with a glare, “No one will be ripping me out of the dress. I’ll stab them before they get the chance.”

“Unless it’s Mike!” Max chimed back, shoving a razor into my hand and pushing me into the jack-and-jill bathroom that connected my bedroom to Will’s as Nancy continued cackling from the bed. She was being very pushy today, something I was not appreciating in the least, no matter if she was my best friend or not.

Two hours of grooming that also included facials and nail polish later, and having ingested a large pizza between the three of us, Max declared that all that was left was hair and make-up.

Nancy volunteered to do mine, since Max’s would take her a while, and sat me down in front of an old vanity that Joyce had bought for me from the thrift store, and Hop had painted.

“How about we put some relaxer in your curls so they aren’t so tight, do a side part and put in a small french braid on one side?” Nancy suggested. I had always thought that Nancy’s hair creations turned out great, so I nodding readily.

I could see Max in the mirror, sitting on my bed, using my mousse to slick back the sides of her hair as she pinned it. She then took a teasing comb she had brought and started going to town, trying to give her long red hair some volume on the top.

“Ok, all done,” Nancy stated in my ear. I looked into the mirror, admiring her work. I had never been that great at doing my hair. Normally I would just throw some mousse in it to make it seem like my crazy curls were intentional and call it a day, since I kept my hair shoulder length to make it relatively easy.

“Thanks, Nance. It looks amazing.” She squeezed my shoulder as I ran my fingers over the braid.

At that moment, Will poked his head through the adjoining bathroom. “El? You decent?”

“You’re fine, Will,” I answered back.

He came into my room and settled himself on my bed next to Max, already ready for the party. “What the hell happened in the bathroom?” he laughed.

Max shoved him, “You’re not a girl. You don’t know the crap we go through to be pretty.”

He flung his hands behind his head as he laid down fully on my bed. “Sure, sure. Just clean it up tomorrow, yeah?”

“Ok, neat freak,” I banter back.

“Hey, I heard at the new kid, Adam, is going to be there tonight,” Max quipped at Will and poking him, making him blush a deep red. “I also heard he’s going to be a lifeguard at the pool this summer,” causing him to blush even further.

Adam had come from a South Carolina beach town, with wavy blonde surfer hair and sea blue eyes. Almost all the girls in Hawkins were in love with him. Too bad for them, I thought as I looked at my step brother lovingly.

“Heard his hot ass has never had a girlfriend,” Max wiggled her eyebrows at Will as she stuck the last bobby pin into her poof.

“Suck a dick, Mayfield,” Will mumbled. I don’t think his face had ever been more red.

“Mmm, only my chocolate thunder,” Max smirk.

Nancy, Will and I all made gagging noises. “That’s absolutely disgusting. I need to bleach my brain after that,” Will retorted as he climbed off my bed. “She obviously has some plan, and that’s why her comments are dirtier than normal,” he said as he looked at me and I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could.

“You are right, Byers,” Max smiled devilishly in my direction. “I have a fantastic plan which involves your beloved step sister and our very own heartthrob, Michael Wheeler.” Nancy was just giggling beside me as Will frantically glanced between Max and me.

“Yes!” he pumped his fist. “This is so happening! I’m sick of hearing them be gooey and try an deny this shit!” He hi-fived Max and lifted me into a bear hug.

“No, no, no, no! Nothing is happening because there isn’t anything besides platonic feelings between Mike and I. You all know this! Ugh!” I sat back down on the stool that I had been on when Nancy was doing my hair, with my arms and legs crossed.

Will kneeled in front of me, rubbing my arms and looking much more serious. “Elle Belle, you know we love you. You know that Max and I saw how much you were hurt when Mike was being an idiot. And you know we’ve been there every step of the way for you guys. Now, you might have been trying to deny it ever since then, but all three of us in this room can see how much you still like him.” That was the understatement of the year. “The three of us have watched how Mike is around you and how deeply he cares for you. Maybe you’re just blinded by words said 3 and a half years out of annoyance, but we can see how crazy that idiot is about you. Tonight, you need to stop being passive Jane and grab that boy by the balls and tell him how it’s going to be.”

My hands were shaking so bad and I could feel tears starting to track down my face. I wanted to believe them, but all the self doubt I’d held for years felt too much to overcome. Nancy bent over and wiped my tears away, stroking my cheek. All I could think about was how much I wished it was a different Wheeler.

“Tonight-tonight I’m going to need a drink,” I finally stammer out.

This of course caused a cheer to go up from Max as she pulled a handle of vodka out of her bag, “Yes! Finally El!” Will and Nancy looked on in amusement.

My eyes went wide, “Where the hell-”

“I took it from Billy’s room. Mom and Neil never go in it and he must have left it by accident when he left for California,” she shrugged.

If my eyes could have pop out of my head, they would be right now. “You went through his stuff?!” I gasped out.

“Yeah, figured it was time. The asshole hasn’t been back in 2 years, so I doubt he’ll be back tonight or any time soon.”

“Ooh, Red. You’re a badass,” Will snorted. Max flipped her middle finger up at him before shoving the bottle into my face.

“You. Take a swing. And a full swing, not a half-assed sip, we’re trying to start the night off right.” My nose scrunched up in distaste at the thought.

“Wait!” Nancy ran out of my room and I could hear her pounding down the stairs and then sprint back up them seconds later before bursting back in with the carton of orange juice in her hand. “You can’t not let her have a chaser. This is El we’re talking about, Max.” Max nodded in agreement, twisting the caps off both before returning to shoving the bottle and juice carton into my face once more.

“Drink up, girl.”

Knowing I was on the losing side - one does not win against Max, ever - I grabbed both and tried to keep from gagging from the stench of vodka. “I want to puke already.”

Will took the juice carton out of my hand and put it on the vanity behind me. “Here, now just plug your nose when you drink it. It’ll make it easier.”

Nodding, I pinched my nose with one hand and tilted the bottle of vodka back with the other, taking a sizable amount into my mouth. As I started to tip it back down, Will quickly switched the alcohol for the juice as I swallowed the liquid in my mouth down and tilted the contents of the carton into it. I choked it down as I unplugged my nose, sputtering and coughing at the intense burn in my throat and belly. Max let out a whoop as she grabbed the OJ and vodka, taking her own turn as Will patted my back with a slightly concerned grin.

“How do people enjoy that?” I asked bewildered, staring at Max throwing both back easily without making a face before handing them off to Nancy.

Will shook his head with a laugh, still rubbing my back. “Oh, El,” Nancy answered after taking her own turn. “Come college, this will become second nature. Trust me,” signaling to Will that it was his turn.

“I think I’m ok if it never does. I think I’ll stick to wine,” I shook my head vigorously. Will and I had snuck in glasses of wine and eggnog whenever Hop hadn’t been looking during the holidays over the past few years, but I had never had anything this hard, especially straight.

Will took his turn, reacting much like me, but at least he didn’t have to hold his nose to get it down. “God, this stuff is rough Max.”

“It was Billy’s. Are we really surprised it’s not some fancy shit?” she rolled her eyes as she capped the vodka and juice, stowing the former back into her bag. “I’ll save the rest for later, when I’m intoxicated enough not to taste it.”

“You’ll need to be blacked out for that,” Will retorted before clapping his hands together. “Well, I want to see El’s get up before I head over to make sure those idiots actually have everything set up.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at me and it felt like I was a deer caught in the headlights. Max snapped around to our shopping bag, pulling out more than just the dress and heeled low top boots we had bought, shoving several scraps of fabric into my arms and shoving me back into the bathroom.

I let everything drop to the ground before picking through it all. “MAX! What the fuck is this shit?!” I yelled through the door and was met by her laughter. She poked her head around the bathroom door.

“Well that,” she responded, pointing to the red underwear in my left hand, “is a thong. And that,” pointing to the black fabric in my right, “is a garter belt. And those,” she pointed to the rest of the pile at my feet, “are stockings and a hot ass lace bra, if I do say so myself.”

I glared at her. “You’ve been planning this! What the hell am I supposed to do with all of these?!” I gestured wildly.

She stared at me blankly before giving me a grin so evil, the devil would be terrified. “You’re supposed to wear them. And yes, I have been planning this. Do you know how long I’ve waited for the perfect opportunity to make my best friend realize her potential? Years! Now chop chop.” She swung the door closed again.

I stood there, staring at all the pieces of fabric in my hands and on the floor for a few minutes more before Max knocked on the door, startling me from my contemplation. “I know you’re nervous, but would you please just trust me?!”

I let out a sigh. Max could be trouble sometimes, but her heart was always looking out for mine. I did want to be adventurous, after all, so looks like I’m getting my wish in the most unexpected way.

Slipping on the bra and underwear, this so doesn’t qualify, I turned my attention back to the garter belt and felt at an extreme loss as to what to do. “Max?”

She poked her head around the door once more, eyes going wide. “Damn, girl. I think Wheeler is going to have an aneurysm over you.” Huffing at her, I held out the garter belt.

“Help? How the hell do I work this thing?” I asked with a slight panic.

She snorted while grabbing it out of my hands. After a minute or two she finished getting it around just above my hips. Indicating the straps as she handing me the stockings, she said “You secure the tops of the stockings with clips.” I nodded as I slipped the silky material up my legs.

“Why do I have to do all this?” I sighed.

She put her hands on my shoulders. “Look at me, Ellie,” as she tilted my chin so my eyes met hers. “You are the baddest chick I know. You have quite literally saved us and the world ever since you were 12, several times over, in fact. You might not talk about sex, or really drink alcohol, but you’ve kicked ass.” She reassured me as I started rolling my eyes. “I look up to you. No, really. You’re my best friend, and the fiercest, most loyal person I know. You don’t have to fucking do anything that you don’t want. If you don’t want this, then fuck whatever I say. You should only do it if it would make you happy. I just want you, and everyone else in this fucking place, to get their heads outta their asses and realize what an amazing, stunning, punk chick is behind the ‘prim and proper Jane Hopper’. I might put on this punk, skater, badass persona, but you actually can own it. I just want you to be confident and stop hiding behind ‘Mike Wheeler’s best friend’. You’re his girl, you need to realize that he is yours and you’re not going to let giggling girls fawn over him when all his attention is on you. I want to see the El Hopper that walk back through that door that November night. That badass punk chick that travelled to Chicago and back on her own, saved all our asses from the goddamn demo-dogs, and closed a huge fucking portal. The girl who wasn’t afraid to tell Mike Wheeler that she was always on the other side of his calls, and that she would always come back to him. I want to see the girl I know you’ve kept locked away after the douche was the biggest wastetiod in the whole world. I want my confident best friend, who’s not going to take shit from anyone, not even the guy she’s had a crush on for almost 5 years.”

I pulled her into a tight hug, sniffling from the tears she caused, “God, how do I deserve you Mayfield?”

She squeezed back, “Well, you saved my ass several times over, so it’s more of how do I deserve you, Hopper?”

I let out a watery laugh, “It’s a good thing you didn’t do my makeup yet.” I rested my cheek against her shoulder as she patted my hair.

“Yeah, otherwise I would kill you for messing up my masterpiece,” she joked.

The knocking on the door startled us both as Will’s voice drifted through the wood. “Did El fall into the toilet? C’mon, I have to make sure the incompetent fools are doing everything right.”

“And you need to make the jungle juice for me!” Max yelled back.

“Then hurry the hell up!”

Max wiped the tears from my cheeks as I took a deep breath to calm myself. “God, I hope I’m not a huge emotional drunk,” I laughed.

She patted my face, “I’ll kick who's ever ass needs kicking if I see you crying.” I giggled at the thought.

“Ok, ok,” I finished putting on the stockings, taking a look at myself in the mirror. Feeling a huge burst of confidence from seeing the vixen staring back at me, I felt better about this scheme. Stepping into the dress, I turned so Max could zip up the back and I slipped on the heeled booties.

Looking into the full length mirror that hung on the back of my door, I could see the straps of the garter belt peeking out from the mini-dress. Fixing my hair to the side, Max put her chin on my shoulder and her hands on my upper arms. I smiled at her and then at my reflection. “Eat your heart out, Mike Wheeler.”

Max squealed, wrapping her arms around me before pushing me out the door and into my bedroom.

Both Will’s and Nancy’s jaws dropped as the took me in.

“If you weren’t my sister, this would be way better. Damn, El. I don’t think I should let you out of this house!”

“If my brother doesn’t have a brain hemorrhage from looking at you, then I don’t know what is wrong with him. You’re going to have almost everybody in the house wanting to date you once you walk in the door.”

“Mike’s going to cream his pants,” Will added, making Nancy gag at the mental picture while punching him in the arm. My face flushed at their words.

“We still have to do makeup. Go on over to the Wheelers, Will. Just make sure not to even drop a hint about El! I want it to hit him like a train,” Max was giving a grin the Cheshire cat would be proud of.

“Do you want me to tease Lucas, though?” Will smirked.

“Oh hell yeah, go for it!” she hi-fived him before turning back to me.

“See you guys in an hour or so!” Will waved as he walked out the door.

“Ok, Sandy make-over time,” Max smiled, turning to me.

An hour later, with help from Nancy, Max had completed a dark, sensual, smoky look for both of us and then ran to the bathroom to also change.

“Do you still have that leather jacket I gave you last year?” Max queried, opening my closet to rifle through my clothes. “Ah ha!” she pulled it out, holding it up triumphantly. She threw it my way and I slid the cold fabric over my arms. “Now you are perfect,” she proclaimed.

Grabbing her own jacket out of her bag, she threw it on. “I declare us ready!”

“You guys look amazing!” Nancy squealed. “Stay here,” as she ran out of the room once more in search of Jonathan’s camera. After a few minutes of searching, she returned. “Now, pose! Give me your best Madonna pout.”

Both of us stared broodingly into the camera as Nancy snapped away. “These are amazing!”

We heard the phone ringing, quickly followed by Jonathan shouting up the stairs, “El, Max, Will is saying you guys are already 30 minutes late and that the house is filling up fast!” We glanced at each other slightly panicked. We hadn’t realized what time it was. Sure enough, the time on the clock read 9:30.

“Shit!” Max yelled, gathering up her bags and my purse, dragging me by the hand down the stairs and out the door.

“Bye!” “Have fun!” Jonathan and Nancy yelled after us, with an added “What the hell are you wearing, El?!” from Jonathan that I chose to ignore.

Jumping into Max’s car, she revved the engine before reversing out of my driveway and peeling down the street. It was only a 5 minute drive to the Wheelers, and thankfully it looked like Will had saved us a parking spot. He waved us into a spot in the Wheelers’ driveway before jumping out of the way of Max’s ridiculous driving.

“Jesus H Christ, Mayfield. I didn’t plan on dying tonight,” he quipped at her from the driver’s side door. She just smirked and turned to me before pulling out a tube of lipstick from her purse.

Holding it up, she smirked, “I almost forgot. I saw you eyeing it at the store. You have to wear it, it’ll really tie the whole thing together.”

I pulled the cap off of the scarlet red lipstick she handed me and glanced at her with wild eyes. She just nodded and made a hurry-up motion with her hands. Pulling the visor of the passenger’s seat down, I quickly applied the color, making sure that it didn’t smear. Max was applying her own shade of red next to me. She looked over at me once she was done, “Irresistible. Let’s go, Hopper,” and we jumped out of her car, my stomach in knots over what was to come.

Will put an arm around each of our waists to guide us inside, but not before James Montgomery from the football team yelled out, “Damn baby, you are looking fine tonight! Let me get a taste of you!” Still feeling extremely confident from Max’s pep talk earlier, I flipped him off.

“Fuck off, Montscumrey!” Max yelled, disgusted. “Shut your fat mouth or I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to old man Merrill’s pigs!” Max was always frightening when she threatened people.

James threw up his hands in defense and muttered “Bitch.” I made sure to trip him with my powers when he tried shuffling away. Will smirked and Max hi-fived me as we continued our way into the house.

I could hear the beginning notes of Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield before a burst of excited screams went up from the girls in our class. Making our way through the front door was a challenge, but we were met by Steve in the foyer.

“Mayfield! Small Byers! Small Hop-?!” Steve suddenly stopped as he took in what I was wearing. “How the hell did you get out of the house like that?!”

“Parents aren’t home, duh!”

“Jonathan let you out like that?! Do I need to talk to him again about what you can wear?!”

Max rolled her eyes, “Can it, Harrington! El can wear whatever she Goddamn wants!”

“She’s barely wearing anything!”

“Get over it, Steve,” Will nudged him. “Not worth the fight.” Steve made an upset noise. “Besides, you’re holding up your movie night with Jonathan and Nancy.”

Steve glanced at his watch, his eyes going wide with panic. “Shit! Shit! Shit! See you dipshits later! Be semi-responsible!” he screamed as he pushed passed us out the door.

We laughed and turned back to making our way through the crowded house to find the rest of our friends. People started looking at us in awe, parting as we passed. Knowing this, I felt an ego boost, though it didn’t calm the butterflies in my stomach at all. I clung to Will’s bicep so no one could see how bad my hands were shaking.

As we made our way to the kitchen, people seemed to stop talking, staring at us instead. The music seemed to get louder without so many people talking over it. I could see Mike’s dark hair over the crowd because he was so tall. He was standing at the island, looking like he was pouring some jungle juice into a cup and arguing with Lucas as Dustin stood by.

Dustin was the first to see us and with how few people were talking, I was actually able to hear him yell, “HOLY SHIT!”

Lucas’s and Mike’s heads snapped up to us. I didn’t pay attention to Lucas’s reaction, though, as all my attention was trained on Mike. He dropped the cup he was holding back into the tub they were using for the cocktail, his jaw dropping with it and eyes going as wide as saucers.

I felt Will nudge my side, and I managed to choke out, “Your face is going to get stuck like that, Wheeler,” and gave a small smirk, before grabbing the cup he had been filling and downing its contents.

#mileven #stranger things #lumax #eleven #mike wheeler #mike x eleven #el #jane hopper #max mayfield #Lucas Sinclair #dustin henderson #will byers

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ellana-ravenwood · 8 years ago

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“You’re cute when you’re jealous” - Bruce Wayne x Reader

Hey dude ! First, a big thanks for the compliment, always more than appreciated :D. And then, here’s your request, hope you’ll like it :

You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

______________________________________________________________________

-I just don’t understand why it has to be with a model that’s all…

-Honey, I already told you, she’s the face of the brand, she has to be on every pictures.

-Yeah well then if she’s the face of the brand, why would they need you ?

-You know why, it’s for the charity campaign we’ve been working on for the past few months. They’re a huge brand, they’ll help spread the words across the globe, more than we could on our own.

-”We’ve been working on” are key words here ! I worked on it as much as you, if not more, and I don’t get to be on the pictures. They just want you and her to have cute and classy “couple pictures”, because I’m not good looking enough for their damn brand and...

-You’re very cute when you’re jealous.

-I could knock you out with a punch to the face when I’m jealous.

-Oh, believe me, I know.

Bruce massages his jaw a bit, as a reflex, reminiscing of that time he made you jealous on purpose...It was a terrible idea.

******************

It happened years ago, when your relationship was still pretty new.

He couldn’t even remember exactly why he was upset at you that night, it was probably a petty thing, but he decided to take his revenge by flirting with a model who obviously had a massive crush on him. You didn’t react as he was hoping for, you just left the party without a word.

Worried he might have gone too far and ruined things between you towo, he quickly followed you back to your apartment. When he knocked on the door, you answered, already in pajamas, and before he could say anything you punched him right in the teeth. You had a damn mean right hook...You excused yourself right away of course, explaining to him why you reacted that way.

Before him, you only had one serious relationship, and he used to constantly cheat on you...Seeing Bruce flirting with someone else triggered some bad memories.

It’s that night, as you were confessing a difficult part of your life to him, that he realized he was in love with you, that he couldn’t loose you. It would kill him. And that wasn’t him being dramatic. He needed you in his life. He needed your presence by his side every day. On that night, as you were opening up to him, he realized that there would be nothing worst than living without you...and that he was a cheesy fucker because of you.

He stayed the night with you, skipping his patrol as Batman, just to show you how much he cared about you. And hell, you were too deep in love with him to refuse his apologies. But since then, you really couldn’t stand models. Especially since you had yet to meet one who wasn’t trying to flirt with your Bruce (even though now, he never responded to any of their flirting, even turning them down rather quickly).

*****************

So this is why today, as he was getting ready for a photo session with a damn model, that you weren’t even invited in, you were a bit grumpy. You hated being jealous, but you just couldn’t help yourself...You always thought Bruce was too good for you (though if he ever knew that you were thinking this, he would scold you for hours...Because in his eyes, you were too good for him, way too good.)

He lovingly brushed his fingers on your cheek, and kissed you softly.

-You don’t have to worry. I love you, and only you. No one can change my mind on that. Ever. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. A life without you would be dreadful and would simply kill me...I’m also this cheesy only with you. That should convince you.

You only scoff a bit, but of course, his words make you happy beyond measure, and your heart goes wild.

-Also, just for your information, if they really only asked me to be part of the pictures just because they thought you weren’t good looking enough, then they’re complete idiots. You’re the most beautiful woman I ever seen. Don’t shake your head like that, I’m telling the truth. You know me. You’re genuinely the sexiest, most beautiful, most charming, elegant, exquisite, fascinating, gorgeous, superb, magnificent, marvelous, splendid, stunning, bewitching, enticing, divine, sublime woman I ever met.

-Did you just use every synonym of “beautiful” you know ?

-Basically, yes. Doesn’t make my words any less true though. I love you.

-I love you too Bruce...Sorry I’m being such a bitch.

-You’re not sweetheart, I know I’d react the same way. No come on, the faster we’ll go, the faster we’ll be done with the all ordeal !

He takes you by the hand, and with a last peck on your lips, you follow him to the studio where they would take the pictures.

*******************

Oh she was such a massive bitch !! She kept rubbing herself on him, trying to get a reaction out of him. Of course, he was a stoic man, so she could dream about that...Only you could aroused him faster than the speed of light. But still, seeing her trying so hard made you want to punch her in the face. You held yourself good though, and you were pretty proud to keep your cool.

They took a short pause, and Bruce came to you. She fucking followed him.

-Are you alright sweetheart ? I swear she...

-OOOOH Mrs Wayyyyyyyne ! Pleasure to meet you, I’m Tiff Olson ! You’re very lucky to have such a man as Bruce haha.

Wow. Ok. She called him “Bruce” as if they knew each other, and her hands were on his shoulders now. Right. Bitch. And damn her legs were long and stunning. She could actually reach his shoulders, while you had to jump to do so.

-I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you too, but really, it’s not.

You almost regret your words, but when her face loses her fake smile and she glares at you, you decide you made the right choice. You never could stand being fake when in public, and your brutal honesty was known all around the rich people in Gotham. Most of them tried to avoid getting you mad.

Bruce shifted, uncomfortable, and took “Tiff Olson”’s (the fuck was this name anyway ?) hand off him.

-Hum, yeah. Hum. Well. That’s nice. I think they’re calling us again Ti...Miss Olson. I’ll join you, I gotta...talk to my wife.

With a last murderous look to you, the model leaves, and you annoy the hell out of her with your fakest smile ever. Damn she hated you, you had the most valuable man in all Gotham, and you were witty and smart. Couldn’t you have some flaws ?! But of course, you didn’t know she was thinking that. Maybe if you did, it would boost your self-confidence a bit, as you were the most insecure person in the world...

-Come on (Y/N), behave. She’s a nice girl.

-A nice girl that came over just to make me jealous, to show off her superior legs and shit.

-She has nothing superior to you honey.

You smile at your husband. Give it to him to make you feel better. Contrary to popular belief, he always knew which words to use to make you smile. He wasn’t that emotionally retarded. At least, with you.

-You’re too nice to me Bruce.

-I’m really not, I don’t think you realize how -he whispers in your ear, so you’re the only one to hear- happy you make me.

You smile some more, and see the perfect opportunity to annoy further more that stupid Tiff Olson. She’s looking at you two, it’s just too good to let it go...You grab your husband by the collar, and takes him down to you to crash your lips against his. He responds, forgetting he’s not alone just with you.

The photographer, a bit awkward and embarrass, come to tap on Bruce’s shoulder and, shyly, asks :

-Hum...M. Wayne, we’re ready to continue...if you are too of course.

He pulls away from you, and, a bit embarrassed too at his lack of control, follows the photographer. You turn to Tiff, and wave at her with your fakest smile ever. She just glares at you. And then she takes the worst decision she could ever take. Pictures after pictures are taken, and she keeps rubbing herself against him, but it doesn’t bother you that much anymore...Until she kisses him. Like her lips are on his.

He literally jumps back and looks as if just got stung by a wasp. He stares at her as if she was crazy, and he has barely enough time to take a hold of you before your fist comes in contact with her face.

You struggle in Bruce’s arms, but of course, he’s too strong for you to have a chance to escape it, and that’s actually a good thing. It wouldn’t be good if you punched a famous model in front of that many witnesses...

Every member of the crew is in a slight panic, and Tiff is quickly taken away. Her agent apologizes profusely to the both of you, and you calm down a bit, realizing that poor man has nothing to do with his client’s stupid ideas. Bruce lets go off you, and whisper soothing words in your ears.

You hated loosing control over your emotions. It rarely happened, but when it did, you just couldn’t think straight anymore. The only time you recalled going berserk like that, was when someone threatened your youngest son in the street...Which was obviously worst than some bitch kissing your husband. But still, once you lost control...Only your loved ones could calm you.

It’s another few minutes before a very sorry photographer comes back, and, with the most apologizing tone he could take, say :

-Ok, we’re done mister Wayne, thank you very much ! And sorry about this all...kiss thing. Really. I don’t know why she thought is was a good idea...She’s not the smartest one you know, I don’t have a clue what went threw her head. Her agent is currently yelling at her, if that makes you feel better.

It definitely did, and you smile brightly at that poor photographer who almost got his entire work ruined because of that damn idiot that was Tiff Olson. He returns your smile, and adds :

-And now Mrs. Wayne if you’d please come ?

-Hum...what ?

You were so confused. Why would you go there ? Did they change their mind and wanted pictures with you and Bruce too ?

An extremely attractive and handsome man entered the room at this moment, and gave you the most charming smile ever. You felt yourself blush slightly, and Bruce’s gaze burning itself on you.

Oh. So that’s what it was about. They didn’t forget you at all. They weren’t assholes by not asking you to take pictures too. They just wanted you to take pictures with another male model...Of course. You still didn’t really understand why they didn’t want both of you in the pictures, but hey, you were going to roll with it. You turned to your husband and gave him a small smile. He was fuming, and you knew his jealousy was even stronger than yours. He glared at the man, who completely ignored him (infuriating Bruce even more), and went to sit in the chair you were in seconds ago, ready to try and control himself. It wouldn’t be good, to have “Bruce Wayne loses it and punches a model” as every headline in the papers next day...But damn seeing that guy’s arms around you drove him crazy. WOW AND WHY WAS HE TAKING HIS SHIRT OFF NOW ?!

Fin.

#bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne imagine #bruce wayne fanfiction #batman x reader #batfam #Batman imagine #Batmom x Bruce Wayne #batmom #jealous batmom #jealous reader #reader insert #Jealous Bruce Wayne #Bruce Wayne reader insert #Batman reader insert

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

Text

It's Time for the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL Re:ZERO REWATCH!

With the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH finishing its last chapter, many have asked "Is it really the end? Will you cover another show? Are you going to watch Shippuden?" My dear readers, the answer to those questions are yes, yes, and yes, but we need a little break from all the Naruto watching! We'll dive right back into the ninja action, but we need a bit of a palette cleanser. We're going from ninjas to an Isekai show, and the show we've chosen for our latest rewatch is the popular Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-!

Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, is on his way home from the convenience store when he finds himself transported to another world. As he's lost and confused in a new world where he doesn't even know left from right, the only person to reach out to him was a beautiful girl with silver hair. Determined to repay her somehow for saving him from his own despair, Subaru agrees to help the girl find something she's looking for...

I wonder what she's looking for... and if she'll find it. I myself haven't watched the show yet, so I have no idea what's going to happen! The only thing I know is that there are twins, and people really seem to like one of them a great deal... and that there's a lot of death? Oh geez, what have we signed up for here?

So here's how it's going to work: starting on September 20th, we'll be discussing 5 episodes of Re:ZERO until we're done watching the show. Each episodes' host will have a few questions for the Features team, and you're also welcome to answer the in the comments! You can also ask us your own questions, which we'll answer in the following week's installment.

Some of our Features team members will be talking about their great journey through Re:ZERO on their Twitter accounts, using the hashtag #CrunchyRewatch. Make sure to keep an eye out for our thoughts as we watch on, and please do join in the commentary on Twitter as well!

Before we embark in our journey, I prepared some preliminary questions for our Features team to answer, and to give y'all a taste of how our discussions will look like! Here's what they had to say:

Do you like or dislike Isekai shows? Do you think the genre gets a bad rap for being overplayed?

Joshua: I don’t think comments about there being too many Isekai shows lately are unfair, and the fact we’re starting to get more parodies probably means there is too much? I still find myself enjoying some of them though, so maybe I’m part of the problem?! For me, it comes down to each individual show. Some are definitely too generic, but others can have fascinating, original set-ups, or nail a simple premise with their execution. There’s some great Isekai shows out there, and hopefully we can introduce you to one of them!

Kevin: In general, I tend to like Isekais. I’ve always loved RPGs, fantasy games and the like (heck, I’m a Dungeon Master for a D&D campaign), so an anime set in basically an RPG video game world is something I’m predisposed to like. There’s almost certainly way too many of them at this point, but I can’t bring myself to hate the trend as a whole.

Noelle: Admittedly, I think I like Isekai more on paper than in practice. As much as I enjoy the fantasy genre as a whole, and find people being thrown into wild situations really interesting, Isekai more often than not doesn’t really have much to say, I feel. It more often than not ends up feeling like a power fantasy and sure, that’s fine, but I think I’d like my power fantasies to say something meaningful. As of now, the genre is absolutely oversaturated.

Carolyn: I couldn’t really say. According to top Isekai anime lists, I haven’t seen much isekai. I’m drawn to darker storylines so maybe that’s why? I have nothing against it in theory, but apparently I’ve never been tempted to really check it out.

Kara: I remember once a light novel publisher was running their annual contest and put a nix on Isekai entries because the market was genuinely saturated. I think we’re not getting nearly as many Isekai anime as we are light novels, but if they can make a chibi crossover series like Isekai Quartet, that kind of says something. To be fair, the general concept behind Isekai is much older than anime. That’s literally what The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland are (not accounting for modern modifications to the trope, of course). So I don’t dislike the genre, but there are a couple routes I don’t like seeing it go down that it… tends to go down.

Paul: I have no strong feelings about the Isekai subgenre. I think it's over-saturated at the moment and some series don't deal with thorny thematic concepts (like slavery, racism, misogyny, etc.) in a very graceful manner.

David: I usually dislike Isekai. Even back when it was oriented differently, like InuYasha, I wasn’t a fan. Getting a bad rap for being overplayed though? Absolutely. It has a ton of potential and people shouldn’t write it off as just being a failed genre.

Danni: I’ve honestly had a hard time sincerely getting into the Isekai genre. I do think it gets a bit of a bad rap, though. The same way every genre that rockets to sudden popularity does. In a few years anime fans will look back fondly at the good ones while rolling their eyes at whatever the new genre fad is. It happens every time.

Jared: I can’t say I really have a strong opinion one way or another. Although I didn’t find a show in the genre I actually enjoyed until this year as some of the more modern shows I tried watching,I didn’t get too far into. I think it does get a bad rap because it seems like one of the more popular genres out there currently, which leads to an influx of series that might not be at the highest of quality.

Austin: Generally, I really like Isekai shows. I tend to get really excited each time a new Isekai anime gets announced and look forward to them as they come around to airing. That said, I do think genre is extremely overplayed and it definitely gets a bad rap for that, it's just an overplayed genre I really like!

Have you watched Re:ZERO before? If not, do you know anything about the series?

Joshua: I watched and loved Re:ZERO while it was being simulcast, and even bought a Rem plush that sits at the end of my bed! I envy those of you who get to watch it for the first time!

Kevin: I have indeed seen it before! In fact, I watched each episode as they came out, and it is one of the shows that I watched with my mom when I was trying to expose her to a bunch of different kinds of anime, watching it myself for a second or third time in the process. You can make the judgement for yourself whether that was a good idea or not.

Noelle: I haven’t watched Re:ZERO at all. I pretty much don’t know anything about the series… except that people seem to like the twins?

Carolyn: I have not seen the show before and I don’t know very much about. I understand there’s lots of dying?

Kara: I’ve never watched Re:ZERO before. All I know is the jokes I’ve seen in Isekai Quartet and that Rem and Ram are really popular. You can’t really go two days in the newsroom without seeing a new Rem figure go on sale.

Paul: I haven't seen Re:ZERO before. What little I know I've picked up from cultural osmosis. I know the general premise and I can identify most of the main characters, but other than that, I know almost nothing of the actual story.

David: Yes! And... no comment.

Danni: I haven’t actually. All I know is that the protagonist wears a tracksuit and that everyone adores the wrong maid.

Jared: I haven’t watched Re:ZERO at all. I know it was relatively big when it came out and that people have differing opinions on the girls and what not. Other than that, I don’t really have a clue.

Austin: Yes! I watched it as it aired and loved it a lot.

Anything you're looking forward to watching Re:ZERO as a group as opposed to on your own?

Joshua: Back when the show was airing, the anticipation in the days between each new episode was painful. Now, I’m looking forward to sharing things we may not have noticed before, and watching with twisted glee as new viewers react to things for the very first time!

Kevin: I’m really interested to see how a small group of people react to the more memorable scenes of the show, and how the semi-binge watch style of the Rewatch changes how we feel. As I mentioned, I followed the show each week on Reddit for a while, but the Rewatch will get more of people’s real time reactions, while also allowing for more measured discussion since people will be consuming five episodes per week, instead of one.

Noelle: I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s opinions! I think it’s really fun seeing what other people manage to pick up that I didn’t, and I’m down for more of that.

Carolyn: Group discussion for new forms of entertainment is always fun! Seeing how others form their opinions while consuming the same product is always interesting to me.

Kara: I always prefer to watch things in a group. A lot of times it actually changes my conception of what I’m watching. People’s input and enthusiasm has a way of seasoning things. Also, I learned from the Naruto rewatch that the best way to get me through a series is to set a schedule and have “accountability partners.” Which makes it sounds like going to the gym, but there you are.

Paul: Emotional support. I haven't watched Re:ZERO before, because I've heard it's a sad show, and I can't watch sad anime unless I'm braced for it in advance. Hopefully the other viewers will help prevent me from slipping into a media-based depression.

David: Yes! When it originally aired, I showed the first episode to as many people as I could force to sit in front of a TV. I was extremely excited to share it with people, and I’m glad even more new people will be seeing it here.

Danni: Like with Naruto I’m looking forward to having other people to talk with about a show that has kind of fallen out of the spotlight since its heyday.

Jared: Watching it as a group makes it easier to just start and watch it in general. If I was by myself, I might not try and stay with it if I wasn’t really feeling the first few episodes or so. Plus, it’s much more fun to watch stuff with other people.

Austin: Seeing how people react to all of the things that happen in just two cours! This show can be quite an emotional roller coaster at times so I expect a mix of remembering the highs and lows as they happen and seeing others experience them for the first time.

Considering the last show we watched was hundreds of episodes long, what differences do you expect out of a far shorter group watch?

Joshua: While I didn’t participate in the Naruto rewatch, I applaud my friends for their patience and endurance! Hopefully a much shorter show means our enthusiasm stays at its peak until the end!

Kevin: I’m expecting two things: first, that the questions are going to be much more detailed, potentially each question focusing on a completely different aspect of the show or a different episode. And second, I think any show less than 50 episodes is going to feel like it is over almost instantly.

Noelle: Considering Naruto lasted forever, this will really feel like blink and it’s gone! It’ll be a lot more compressed for sure, but also I imagine this functions very differently than a shonen anime from the 2000s.

Carolyn: I’m expecting to be very surprised by how quickly this flies by. Also, less filler and probably a tighter story as a result.

Kara: I expect tons less groaning about filler arcs. It’s also going to feel weirdly speedy, I think.

Paul: Since we have less material to cover, I hope we're still able to tackle some interesting questions. It's a big change going from a 200+ episode series to one that's only 20 episodes.

David: I am mostly hoping we are going to go more in-depth on sets of episodes. Naruto is great, and we talked the heck out of it, but there was so much I felt like we didn’t go super far into anything. Shorter watches hopefully means more thoughts, basically.

Danni: Less filler?

Jared: We won’t be stuck in months of filler, which is a huge plus. The weirdest aspect might be that it’ll go by extremely quick compared to what we did previously. Plus, less episodes to watch each week can allow for a more in-depth discussion each week.

Austin: While I've watched very few shows as long as Naruto, I think this show will go by a lot faster—especially with people to watch it with!

Based on what you know of Re:ZERO going in (no spoilers if you've seen it!) from promo images, any particular characters you think you'll like? Descriptions are fine if you don't know names!

Joshua: Temporarily wiping my brain of future knowledge and looking at the promo art like it’s for the first time, I have an all new appreciation of Beatrice. Everyone else looks good but also rather simple compared to those gold curls, that frilly dress, and the striped stockings! She definitely makes a strong first impression.

Kevin: As someone who has seen the full show multiple times, I opt to not give any answer to this for fear of spoilers.

Noelle: The princess with the white hair seems interesting. Always here for pretty girls in nice outfits.

Carolyn: There’s somebody with blue hair and a David Bowie looking makeup job. That’s pretty neat.

Kara: Not sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion I’m going to like Ram. She seems pretty wild.

Paul: I expect I won't like Subaru very much. Aside from that, I don't know.

David: HARD NO COMMENT!

Danni: When Re:ZERO was airing it felt like I saw it everywhere, but somehow it took me traveling to Japan and seeing a big promotional setup for the new movie to find out it has a rich, twin-drills girl in it. Frankly, I am upset that it took me that long to find out Re:ZERO has its own version of the best type of anime archetype. Where is the justice?

Jared: I think the only characters I actually know of via just social media and what not are Subaru, Rem, Ram, and Emilia (I think that’s their names, that’s how out of the loop I am). No idea which of them I’ll actually enjoy. I’m guessing I won’t like Subaru? That could be just general chatter and what not influencing me at the moment though.

Austin: I really like Emilia! There's honestly a fair bit of bias in that opinion as I'm a big fan of her Japanese voice actress, Rie Takahashi, but if she's anything like I remember I'll probably still end up liking her the most.

And there you have it! Some Features team members seem to be looking forward to the reactions of those of us who haven't seen Re:ZERO yet... Soon we'll know what they know!

Here's our upcoming schedule:

- Next week (Sept. 20th), Jared will be our host, covering the first 5 episodes as we set off on our journey

- The following week (Sept. 27th), Kara will be taking over as the host

We hope you join us on the GREAT Re:ZERO REWATCH! See ya next week!

Have you watched Re:ZERO? If you haven't watch it yet, what are you expecting from this rewatch? Sound off in the comments below, and do send any questions you have for us as we watch on the series!

----

Nicole is a features writer and editor for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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liaragaming · 8 years ago

Text

Roleplayer

Modern AU where Solas and Lavellan are grad students who get pulled into Varric's tabletop roleplay campaign in which they play themselves from Dragon Age: Inquisition. Fluff, angst, and meta ensues.

If you’ve enjoyed Solas Romance D&D, it’s a fanfic now.

Fanfiction.net ArchiveOfOurOwn [Ch 2]

If her tall beautiful ears don't give her away, the vallaslin on her face certainly does: elven, Dalish.

Her chocolate eyes meet his, and she waves at him from the checkout line. He smiles and joins her, blocking out the stares and whispers from the humans around them. Perhaps it was naive of him to think after their first term at the University of Orlais the humans would have gotten over the token elves.

She gives him an enthusiastic one-armed hug. “It's so good to finally be meeting you properly.”

“It is,” he agrees as he pulls back. “Strange we haven't done so before now.”

“We've passed each other enough times in the Magical Studies building, you'd think we would have.”

They move up in the line and place their orders at the campus bagel sandwich restaurant. She orders something with turkey and pesto on an everything bagel. He goes for smoked salmon on pumpernickel.

“So how do you know Varric?” she asks as they wait.

“We were sponsored together. Dr Pentaghast scheduled our campus visits on the same day to lighten her schedule.”

She gives a laugh. “That sounds like her.”

He hesitates for a moment, not wanting to come off crass. “I heard your application was accepted late.”

She shakes her head. “No, my application was sent on time. I just couldn't choose an area of study. That's why my sponsorship was late.”

He cocks his head. “What were you having trouble deciding between?”

She drops her gaze to the floor. “Oh… so much...”

Their orders are ready. They take their wrapped sandwiches to a tall table where they sit and eat.

“I really was interested,” he tells her.

She chews slowly, like she isn't certain if she should share. “Well… I'm interested in magical practices with origins that have been attributed elsewhere but which certain evidence suggest may have originated with elves.”

“A worthy pursuit,” he says, hoping his approval comes through in his voice. “Difficult to research, I'd imagine.”

She nods. “Especially when so much of our history has been lost.” She glances around to make sure no one's eaves dropping on them and leans toward him so she can drop her voice. “And we have to rely on what was recorded by human historians.”

He nods. He's well aware of the struggle. “So what specific area did you choose?”

“Chantry magical practices.”

His eyebrows shoot upward. “Quite controversial.”

“Yeah,” she says. “I imagine that's why I was chosen over other applicants. Dr Pentaghast liked the idea, said that we must pursue the truth no matter how unpopular.” She sighs. “But it hasn't been easy to research. I may have to change my thesis.”

“I wish I could help,” he says.

“What about you?” she asks. “What are you studying?”

“The veil and it's disruptive properties in regards to harmonic vibrations.”

She blinks and stares at him. “You mean… what does that mean?”

“I mean, both reality and the fade contain harmonic properties and the veil acts as a sound barrier between the two.”

“Interesting.” She continues to stare at him, then shakes her head. “I've never head of such a thing.”

“It's a personal theory.”

“Have you… had much success in researching?”

“Some. Not as much as I would prefer.” He looks down at his watch. “We should probably start walking.”

They throw their sandwich wrappers away and leave the building to head down the campus sidewalks toward the university apartments. They each carry a coffee cup in their hand.

“How did you meet Varric?” Solas asks.

She laughs. “He came up to me my first day, said he wanted to meet the 'other elf,' and then… I don't know. He just kept talking, and… at some point we were friends.”

Solas chuckles. “That is how Varric makes most of his friends, I imagine.”

“So why did you agree to this whole… romance campaign?”

“I owe Varric a favor. You?”

“He's my friend,” she says. “I figured it didn't hurt to help him with his thesis, especially when I'm getting nowhere with mine.” She sighs.

He stares at her. There's a soft beauty to the way her dark hair lays against her olive skin. All those days passing her in the hall… He's not sure when exactly he started seeing past the vallaslin or what had made him want to get to know her. And then he'd felt like too much of an awkward idiot to finally say hello after he'd put it off for so long.

She notices him looking at her, and he averts his eyes.

“You know,” she says, “You can tell a lot about a person by the type of coffee they drink.”

He laughs. “Oh, really? And have you learned this from personal observation or an infograph on the internet?”

“A bit of both,” she admits. “One can use the infograph as a base and draw one's own conclusions.”

“Very well, I'm intrigued. What does your coffee of choice say about you?”

“It's espresso,” she tells him. “It means I'm friendly, adaptive, and I like the taste of coffee.”

“I see.” He studies her with his eyes. “The Dalish don't make coffee, which means you've picked up a taste for it during your studies. Adaptive indeed.”

“And what did you order?” she asks.

He smiles. “It's hot chocolate.”

She laughs.

“So what do your keen observational skills have to say about my drink of choice?”

She ponders for a moment. “You like what you like and don't apologize for it. And you… take joy in the simple things others may overlook… And you don't like the taste of coffee. Does that sound accurate?”

It does, actually. “I...” He slows in his walk until coming to a stop. She stops with him, and he shakes his head. “You are not what I expected.”

Her lips twitch into a smile. “What did you expect?”

“I've…” He looks away from her, hoping this won't come out as bad as it sounds in his mind. “Not had the most pleasant encounters with the Dalish.”

Her smile drops, and his heart falls into his stomach. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I didn't mean to offend,” he tires. “I just… most Dalish would not have left their clans to study at university, for example.”

The hurt dies from her eyes, but she chews on her lip. “That is… true.” Then she looks at him directly, her face full of determination. “I choose to pursue an education because… because if you don't widen your horizon beyond your personal zone of knowledge, how can you ever learn anything new?”

He is stunned, both by her admission and by her offense. “That is a rare view among most of Thedas,” he tells her. “Let alone the Dalish.”

She puts a hand on her hip. “Have my people wronged you in some way?”

“I offered to share knowledge. They were not very welcoming.”

“We take our duty to preserving the ancient ways very seriously.”

“So I gathered.”

She cocks her head. “What knowledge were you wishing to share?”

“Ancient secrets I have discovered in the Fade.”

She nearly drops her coffee twice, fumbling to keep her grip on it. She stares at him with wide eyes. “You're… you're a dreamer.”

He can only smile at her.

She bows her head. “I… mistook you for an…” She mumbles the last part. “Ignorant city elf.”

He gives a laugh. “Now that we've identified our prejudices, shall we start over?”

She lifts her head. “Yes, please.”

He holds out his hand. “Solas.”

“Mithra.”

They shake hands, and he holds hers for a moment as he translates her name. “Sharp as cutting edge.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Pride.”

They stare at each other for a moment, then let go and carry on toward Varric's.

Solas knocks on the door, and Varric answers.

“H-hey! The party's here!” He steps aside to let them in.

The front door opens into a hall, which leads passed the kitchen and into the dinning and living area. Varric's most likely the only person with enough influence and money to live on campus without a roommate. Solas has no idea what he does with the unoccupied bedroom, if he utilizes it at all.

“I want to thank you both again for agreeing to do this,” Varric says as they take a seat at the table.

“Your Chair actually recommended this?” Mithra asks.

Varric shrugs. “What could provide a better example than in-person roleplay? And by running the campaign, I have an objective view and can take notes on what works and what doesn't.”

“Why bother revising Swords & Shields?” asks Solas. “Why not just write new stories?”

Varric glares at him. “Publishing is all about sales, my friend. And if my publisher wants proof I can sell more romance, then by the Maker, I'm going to sell more romance.”

Varric claps his hands together as they pull out their character sheets. “So why don't you introduce your characters to each other?”

Mithra goes first. “Ellana is Dalish. Her clan is friendly with humans, and she comes near the conclave to hear about the outcome and determine how it may effect her people.”

“Fen is a Dreamer hedgemage,” Solas explains. “He approaches the conclave also in the hopes of hearing news.”

“Okay,” says Varric. “You both went a little more literal when I suggested you base your characters off yourselves, but that's fine. I can work with that.”

The campaign starts off as expected, battling demons and closing rifts. But Varric quickly steers the campaign into developing the relationship between their characters.

“You change everything.”

Mithra smiles at him.

“Roll a will save not to kiss her,” says Varric.

Solas rolls the die, and it comes up with a 20.

“You are totally safe from kissing her.”

Solas leans back and puts his hands behind his head.

Across the table from him, the corner of Mithra's mouth curves into a smirk.

She turns to Varric. “I kiss him.”

“Okay. Solas, roll another will save.”

He rolls, and the die shows 1. Varric laughs.

“What does that mean?”

“It means, Chuckles, not only do you fail at not kissing her, you spectacularly fail.”

“So…?”

“So what else does Fen want to do besides kiss her?”

He glances at Mithra who raises her eyebrows. Her smile spreads.

He adverts his gaze. “I, uh, he… I guess… pulls her close so their hips come together.”

Varric raises an eyebrow. “Anything else?”

He can't look at Mithra at all. “And… slides his thigh between her legs.”

Mithra laughs. Solas shields his face with his hand in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

“And how does Ellana feel about this?”

“She's surprised… pleasantly.”

Solas chokes and tries to make it sound like a cough.

“Okay,” says Varric. “I think you two have given me plenty of material.”

Solas peeks between his fingers. He hopes he hasn't turned red; Mithra's gone pink in her cheeks.

“Varric, can I use your bathroom?” she asks.

He points down the hall. “First door on your right.”

She leaves. Solas lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and lowers his hand.

“Smooth,” says Varric.

“You kind of put me on the spot.”

Varric holds up his hands. “That's the way the dice roll, Chuckles.” He breaks down his game master screen and puts his dice away. “And if you don't mind my saying, there's clearly some chemistry going on, and it's not all one-sided.”

“You actually think so?”

Varric stares at him. “Just buy the girl dinner and take her out to a movie like a normal person.”

“It's not that simple,” Solas tells him.

“Of course it's not. Asking someone out is never simple. You just do it.”

“I'll think about it.”

Varric groans. “Look, I see where you're coming from with your character. And that's good storytelling, increases the tension. But it's not like you're actually Fen'Harel and you have some sacred duty you're hiding from everyone.”

Solas gives a laugh. “Hardly.”

“Then what is your problem?”

“A mystery for the ages,” Solas mutters.

“What?”

“Just something my roommate says.”

Varric points a pencil at him. “Listen, I had a roommate in undergrad – another broody elf like yourself – and it took him three damn years to go after the girl. Don't do that, okay? I don't feel like reliving it.”

Solas stands. “Good thing for you grad school takes less years.” He doesn't stay to catch Varric's reaction.

He and Mithra walk together from Varric's, back down the campus sidewalks. Dusk has fallen.

“So, Fen'Harel, huh?”

Solas sucks in a breath. Did she overhear his and Varric's entire conversation?

“Varric told me your character's backstory,” she explains. “He wanted to make sure I wouldn't be offended.”

“Oh.” He lets the breath out slowly. “Good, uh, are you? Okay with it, I mean.”

She shrugs. “It's an interesting concept. Why Fen'Harel, though?”

“Just some remnants I found in the Fade. I'm inclined to believe in ancient times harel meant rebel, not traitor.”

“Really?”

“Just from my own observations. I'm afraid I'm not a linguist.”

She stops walking. “So, you're saying, Fen'harel's story – the real one, the one the Dalish know – might be different?”

“Maybe?” He shrugs. “The thought was intriguing enough to inspire the character, but as far historical accuracy, I'm afraid...”

She stares at him for several seconds.

“Is something wrong, Lethallan?”

She shakes her head, more to pull herself out of her trance than in answer. “It's just… your dreaming, everything you must have seen... Were my people really so uninterested in sharing knowledge?” Her eyebrows are drawn together, her lips down turned, confused, distraught.

“Well.” He takes a step forward, encouraging her to follow. “Think of it this way. Here you are at university. You've come to discover new knowledge. Naturally, you'd be more open minded. Whereas I approached the Dalish in the woods where they are notoriously suspicious of outsiders. And as at first glance I appear to be nothing more than an ignorant city elf–”

“I really didn't–”

“I used your term only to clarify the situation, nothing more.”

She stops walking again, her gaze on the ground.

“I would not dwell on it,” he tells her. “For everything I've faulted the Dalish for, you are here.”

She looks up at him, her eyes shinning.

“It has been a long time since anyone cared to listen.”

She smiles, then steps forward and takes his arm. “I would love to hear about everything you've seen in the Fade.”

He laughs. “I'm afraid that would take more time than we have to reach the parking lot. But if you can think of something specific...”

She doesn't say anything, not for a while.

“Have you... done that before?”

He has no idea what she's talking about. “Done what?”

“The whole thigh riding thing.”

He chokes on his own saliva, disentangles himself from her, and dissolves into a fit of coughing. Her laughter fills his ears.

“You don't have to answer that,” she tells him once he's able to properly draw air into his lungs.

If he wasn't red before, he's sure he is now. He runs a hand over his face and around to the back of his neck. “I... uh...”

She clasps his arm again. “You don't have to answer.” He's not sure by her tone if she doesn't want to know or if she's trying to save face on his behalf.

But she doesn't let go of his arm until they reach her car, and he's fine with that.

#solavellan #fanfic #modern au #d&d #roleplay #my fanfic

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stoneevans · 7 years ago

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How to Bring Your Email Subscribers Back from the DEAD

New Post has been published on https://www.home-business.com/how-to-bring-your-email-subscribers-back-from-the-dead/

How to Bring Your Email Subscribers Back from the DEAD

Have you been building email lists for more than six months?

Then you’ve got some ‘dead’ subscribers on your list.

They’re not opening your emails.

They’re not paying attention to you.

Frankly, they don’t even remember who you are.

So now you’ve got two choices…

…either remove them from your autoresponder…

…or win them back.

I don’t advocate removing subscribers until you’ve done everything in your power to get them back in your fold, opening your emails and hopefully buying your offers.

After all, getting subscribers isn’t all that easy. It takes either work, money or both. So why not put a little effort into winning those subscribers back?

Done correctly, it can pay off BIG time.

First, we’re going to start off by re-engaging them.

If that doesn’t work, we’ll try winning them back.

And finally when they act on one of our emails, we’ll send them a welcome back email.

Let’s get started:

Your Re-Engagement Email Series

You decide when to initiate this series – after they haven’t opened an email from you in 30 days? 60? 90? 180? It’s up to you. For purposes of our example, we’ll use 30 days.

Re-Engagement Email #1

This email is subtle and doesn’t harp on the fact that they haven’t opened an email from you in over 30 days.

And we’ll place some something in the P.S. to encourage their re-engagement.

Subject Line: Knock, knock… [Hello… are you there?]

Did you know it’s been awhile since you opened or clicked on one of my emails?

I thought I’d better check in on you because you’ve sadly missed some really cool stuff in the last 30 days.

It’s okay, I made you a list of what’s been happening…

Check it out:

[Insert your bulleted list of blog posts, videos and so forth from the past 30 days. Make it ENTICING, with bullets that raise plenty of curiosity.]

I know with how busy you are. It’s hard to stay on top of things, but you subscribed to this newsletter to get the latest news and updates on…

[Insert known benefits, desired end results, etc.]

…so you will please forgive me if I give you the occasional “poke” just to make sure you haven’t somehow slipped through the cracks. 🙂

I don’t want to leave anyone behind, especially you.

Talk soon,

[NAME]

P.S. I know that [problem, challenge, etc.] is something you and I struggle with, so as an added gift I thought you’d like to see my favorite [problem, challenge, etc.] resources of all time: [LINK TO RESOURCES]

I think you’ll find #4 especially surprising – I know it did [benefit] for me.

What’s going on in this email?

You’re letting them know they are MISSING OUT. Then you go on to use some really enticing bullets that make them think, “Holy crap, I’ve missed some good stuff!”

You can add links to each item in your bullets, or add a single link to your blog, or… It’s up to you.

The goal here is to show them that they need to OPEN your emails or they will be missing out.

In the P.S., we’re giving them another reason to click (freebie time!) and we’re enticing them even further with that last sentence. Raise enough curiosity and they HAVE to click it.

[NOTE: I like to send the above email TWICE to those who did not open it the first time. Send it the first time, wait 12 to 48 hours (your choice) and then send it again to everyone who didn’t open it the first time.]

[Second NOTE: This brings up a good point… if you’re not sending out emails a second time to people who didn’t open your email the first time, you are, in my opinion, BLOWING IT. People are busy. They don’t see the email the first time, or they don’t have time right then to look at it. 12 hours later, 24 hours later, that email is so far down in their inbox that they don’t even see it anymore. So go ahead, send an email a second time if they don’t open it the first time. This tip alone can substantially increase your income – bank on it.]

Re-Engagement Email #2

Send this one about 2 days after the previous email but only if they didn’t open the previous email.

Subject Line: Wait… Did I goof?…

It’s me again and I gotta know…

…is this your best email address?

It’s been over 30 days since you’ve opened or clicked on a link in one of my emails, and I’m starting to think that you’ve moved on…

Or I’ve got the wrong address…

Or maybe I goofed up…

I’ve created a BUNCH of awesomeness for you over the last month.

In fact, I’ve been thinking about you nearly every day, and how you want to [insert reason they’re on list]

And I’ve been gathering the latest news, tips, breaking announcements, etc., for you, and now I feel bad…

Because you haven’t seen any of it.

Either this isn’t your best email address, in which case, please take a second to update your contact info to the best and most current address…

…you know, the one you actually check every day. 🙂

[LINK TO UPDATE CONTACT RECORD PAGE]

Or you’ve simply been too busy to notice what’s happened in the last 30 days…

[List of enticing bullets with links]

Talk soon,

[NAME]

P.S. Do me a favor… please?

Just click on at least one of these links above to show me you’re alive and that you still want to [insert goal]

Thanks!

What’s going on in this email?

Guilt. Lots of guilt, because we are thinking about them and their problem and we’ve done all this work to help them and they aren’t even opening our emails! 😉

Re-Engagement Email #3

Send this one about 2 days after the previous email but only if they didn’t open the previous email.

Subject Line: Are you….. stuck?

There are lots of things in this [industry/business/world] that can get us stuck…

So what has you stuck?

Tell me here:

[LINK TO SURVEY]

…so I know that I’m delivering the right kind of content to you.

Seriously, it’ll take less than 30 seconds and it will truly help me to help you.

It’s literally just one question (one!)…

…and if you help me out, I’ll reward you with something cool on the other side.

So cool. So ULTRA COOL but I can’t tell you what it is, because it is ONLY for people smart enough to click the link and answer the question.

People like you.

Here’s that link again:

[LINK TO SURVEY]

Thanks in advance,

[NAME]

What’s going on in this email?

We’ve switched from guilt to a survey to encourage interaction. Don’t get stressed about what question you’re going to ask.

What’s important here is they engage, so please ask them something fun or interesting or both. Keep it short and simple and easy.

On the thank you page following the survey, you can give them a product discount (make it a SIGNIFICANT DISCOUNT) or anything else you like.

I like to give them a choice of 3-5 free reports. They are all on different topics, they all have great headlines, and the subscriber can only choose ONE.

This shows me what else they’re interested in, and puts them on a new mailing list for that topic.

Re-Engagement Email #4

Send this one about 2 days after the previous email but only if they didn’t open the previous email.

Subject line: I need your help…please

I’m burning the midnight oil to produce a new series for you, but I want to make sure I’m covering the topics that YOU are most interested in.

Will you go here and let me know if I’m on the right track?

[LINK TO SURVEY]

If you do, you’ll not only help shape the content I send you each week… I’ll also have a little “thank you gift” waiting for you on the other side.

I’m hoping you will do it now while it’s fresh on your mind.

[LINK TO SURVEY]

It’ll take less than 30 seconds (literally!!) and I will be forever grateful.

Thanks much,

[NAME]

What’s going on in this email?

This is the second email in the survey campaign. As you can see it’s essentially the same offer, just positioned more as an “I need help” message than the first email.

>>>>

All subscribers that haven’t clicked on a link through your entire Re-Engagement Series should be placed in the following Win-Back email series.

>>>>

Your Win-Back Email Series

At this point the re-engagement series has ended, so if your subscriber still hasn’t responded, then it’s time to turn up the heat.

This first email offers a “mystery gift” if they click on the link. You could also tell them what the gift is, if it’s perceived as being highly valuable and sought after.

Your “gift” can be anything… a video… a special report… a product… anything your prospect will see as valuable.

[NOTE: At this point you don’t want to simply offer a discount or a free trial offer, because it’s not seen as highly valuable. There should be no strings attached to the gift you’re offering, or it will lose its power.]

Also, you’ll want to setup a special page where you will deliver this gift. Don’t send them to some random download page, it’s not personal enough.

You want to acknowledge the fact that they took this step. Show them appreciation for re-engaging with you after being “gone” for so long.

When they arrive on the “free gift” page, make them feel loved and appreciated, like they were truly missed.

It might sound cheesy but it really works.

NOTE: In the emails below, where ever it says “Click this link” or “click the link”, those words should be clickable.

Win-Back Email #1

Send this email about 3 days after the previous email (but only if they didn’t open the previous email.)

Subject Line: Whoops! …Was it something I said?

There’s just no easy way to say this…

…so I’m going to just come right out with it…

I miss your smiling face, and I loved it when you clicked “open” on my emails.

But that hasn’t happened in a while, and I want you back…

So here’s what I’m willing to do…

If you click on the link below:

This one –> LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE …

I’ll give you a mystery gift worth [INSERT RETAIL VALUE OF GIFT].

More importantly, by clicking on this link you’ll be telling me that you’re still alive and interested in receiving juicy news and hot tips from me. 🙂

And just so you’re aware, I have setup my email system to automatically remove you if I don’t see any activity from your email account in the next few days.

I know that sounds a little harsh, but I just don’t want to send breaking [niche] news out to folks who aren’t reading or getting value from it.

So again… CLICK THIS LINK: LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE

Not only will you have a cool gift waiting for you on the other side…

…you’ll also reactivate your subscription.

That means even more great stuff will be coming to you in the weeks and months to come.

See you on the other side,

[NAME]

Win-Back Email #2

Send one day after previous email – we’re picking up the pace.

Remember, the gift can be a mystery or you can specify what it is. I’ve found that if it’s a truly high value gift, then telling them gets a better response than saying “mystery gift.” But of course, your results could vary. (Hint: That means you might want to test it 😊)

Subject Line: Re: Claiming your “mystery gift”…

Did you get the email I sent yesterday about your “mystery gift?”

[LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE]

Here’s the deal…

It’s been A WHILE since you’ve clicked on any of my emails (those are real tears, by the way.)

Because I want to see if the email address I have for you is still a valid email address, I’m attempting something a bit odd…

…Bribery.

I’m offering you something extremely valuable for literally just clicking on this link:

[LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE]

That’s it…just click the link!

If this is still an active email address (and you’re still interested in [niche]) then I have every hope that you will click the link.

If you’re no longer interested, just keep doing nothing and I’ll sadly send your gift to someone else.

But I hope that’s not the case…

…because I kind of like having you around. 😊

So let’s stay together…

…just click this link: CLICK HERE –> [LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE]

And I’ll happily see you on the other side.

(I’m the one holding the great big gift wrapped package with your name on it!)

All the best,

[NAME]

Win-Back Email #3

Send 1 Day After Previous Mail

This is more of the same, but note how we’re starting to countdown to unsubscribe in the P.S.

Subject Line: Am I still welcome in your inbox?

I’ve noticed you haven’t opened any of my emails in a while. This makes me wonder… Am I bothering you? Are you not getting the value you expected? Or are you receiving too few messages? Or maybe too many?

Whatever it is, I hope you still want to hear from me… If you want to keep receiving these updates, you need to click the link below:

LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE

It will lead you to a special mystery gift. No purchase, registration or anything like that required. I hope you click it. 😊

All the best,

[NAME]

P.S. If your account doesn’t register a click in the next 48 hours, I’m going to go ahead and unsubscribe you from this list.

It’s not that I don’t want you here, but it’s been almost 6 weeks since you’ve shown any interest in the emails I’m sending you.

Sooo…. The ball is in your court – click the link and I’ll happily see you on the other side.

LINK

Win-Back Email #4

Send 1 Days After Previous Mail

We’re still offering the mystery bonus, but it’s no longer the emphasis of the email. At this point it’s all about “click or unsubscribe”.

Subject Line: oh-oh… Should we unsubscribe you?

I don’t want to keep bothering you with emails, but I don’t want to completely cut you off, either…

CLICK THIS LINK to let me know you want to keep hearing from me… …or click the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom

No hard feelings, either way…I know that interests can change over time.

The last thing I want to do, though, is be another gal cluttering up your inbox, so if you don’t click on this link:

LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE …I’ll assume you are no longer interested in hearing from me and remove you from our list.

(Selfishly, I hope you click the link.)

Talk soon,

[NAME]

P.S. I almost forgot… If you do click the link you’ll find something pretty cool waiting for you on the other side. Just sayin’ 😊

Win-Back Email #5

Send 1 Day After Previous Mail

This is the final email in this win-back series.

Subject Line: Is this goodbye?

Unfortunately, today is the day…

I need you to confirm that you still want to receive emails from me by clicking this link: LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE

…or you will be removed from our mailing list in 24 hours.

(Sorry if that comes off sounding harsh, but I really only want to mail people who actually want to hear from me.)

Originally you subscribed to my newsletter because you wanted [insert known benefits and desired end results], but if that’s no longer the case I understand.

Interests change… Priorities change… People change…

If your interests and priorities have changed, no hard feelings.

Just unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email and I won’t bug you anymore.

But if you are still interested in [insert known benefits and desired end results] and I simply slipped through the cracks somehow, you need to TAKE ACTION TODAY.

It’s simple… Just CLICK HERE and your subscription will automatically be re-activated.

(There may also be a little gift waiting for you on the other side, but you’ll have to click to see what it is.) 😊

Talk soon (hopefully),

[NAME]

Welcome Back Email

Send this mail when someone is re-engaged or won back.

Subject Line: Welcome back!

Thank you for updating your information…I’m thrilled to have you as an active member again! Here’s a link to some of the content you missed while you were on your “hiatus”:

[Insert bulleted list of most popular blog posts, reports, videos, infographics, etc from the past 30 days…]

…and here’s a “mystery gift” I want you to have to further welcome you back into the fold:

LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE

Finally, since email is less than perfect, make sure you’re also following us on Facebook and Twitter just to be sure you never miss out again:

LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGE LINK TO TWITTER PAGE

Again, it’s good to have you back. 🙂

Talk soon,

[NAME]

A couple of last points about this series…

MODIFY it to suit your needs.

Your emails should reflect you, and your personality and that of your company and products, so don’t be afraid to modify these as you see fit.

We used 30 days as an example, but you can use this series anytime you like. Personally, I use a similar series after 60 days of someone not opening my emails.

Despite what some marketers will tell you, there are no hard and fast rules of how to word an email. I’ve given you a good start here, but again you should make these uniquely yours.

Or just copy and paste and fill in the blanks – that should work, too.

One last thing – if you win back just 1,000 subscribers a year with this series, and just 5% of those go on to make purchases totaling $100 each, that’s $5,000 a year.

Not bad for copying and pasting a handful of emails into your autoresponder.

0 notes

topseobrisbane · 7 years ago

Text

New Post has been published on TOP SEO BRISBANE

New Post has been published on https://topseobrisbane.com/news/7-reasons-businesses-fail-online/

7 Reasons Why Businesses Are Failing Online

This information is provided on the basis you have a business, there is a demand for what you sell, you make a profit on every item you sell, and there is a real demand for your goods and services. If that is not the case, then you are in the wrong place and none of the following will be of any use to you…

Mistake Number 1

Believing everything you hear or read about SEO

Most SEO advice you’re given or read about is out of date or just plain wrong. The first thing you should do is question the experience of the person giving the “advice”. Are they in the SEO industry? Do they make their full time income from SEO?

Please don’t take advice from your brother-in-law (unless he runs a successful SEO Agency of course!)

Here’s some lies about SEO you’ve probably been told:

a) SEO Campaigns Target A Certain Number of Keywords

Clients often ask how many keywords their SEO package is targeting. They seem quite taken aback when I say that the number of targeted keywords is irrelevant. Today it’s more about topics than about keywords.

Let’s take a plumber for example. Plumbers offer services such as “unblocking drains”. This is a service or in the online world, a topic. There are literally hundreds of ways someone could search for someone to unblock their drains.

As an SEO expert, my focus is on the topic “unblocking drains” and I could end up ranking my client for hundreds of keywords such as; ▪ plumber Gold Coast ▪ blocked drains expert ▪ plumber near me ▪ plumber who unblocks drains etc

Keyword Density

Keyword density is also something that was talked about both within and outside the SEO community.

Today, once again it’s about topics. When creating content for our plumber’s drain unblocking page, we need to consider all the words that could be associated with this topic.

These words are called LSI words (latent semantic indexing).

So what would you (or Google) expect to find on a page about “Drains Unblocking Service”?

Words like, drain, blockage, tree roots, plumber, roto-rooter, plumber’s snake, etc. These are the words that make up the content of this page.

The person with a blocked drain problem just wants to be assured that you have the people, the tools and the equipment to fix their problem.

Don’t write your content for Google, write it for the people who you hope will be visiting your website.

b) The more links the better.

This is plain wrong and it’s a myth perpetuated by SEO providers who are still living in 2007. Yes, links are still the bomb when it comes to ranking on Google. And yes you still want a decent number of them. However these days it’s not the quantity that really matters, it’s the quality and the relevance. And it’s about other factors such as anchor text.

c) SEO is the be all and end all of your marketing efforts.

Wrong. It’s just one piece of the puzzle. A significant piece yes, but not the whole enchilada.

It’s a huge mistake to put all of your efforts into SEO and trying to please the Google Gods.

Why?

You have to engage in as many marketing activities that you can.

Try different things. If they work, great, keep doing them. If they don’t, give them the flick.

When I started out in this business I flogged myself all over town, going to networking breakfasts, meeting businesses, getting the name out there, doing freebies for people to get some runs on the board. Basically just doing whatever I could to generate business from wherever I could find it. That’s what you have to do to build a business.

It’s a huge mistake to think that Google is the be all and end all of making the phone ring or the door swing.

d) It’s easy to get onto the first page of google.

Well no, not necessarily, not at all. EVERY niche and sub-niche in Australia and worldwide too is seeing massive competition.

Businesses that used to rank #1 on Google and never had to do anything else are now seeing their rankings erode and their competitors outranking them.

People with brand new websites and brand new businesses come to me and all they want to know is;

1. What does SEO cost? 2. How long is it going to rank on the first page of Google for their important keywords.

It’s extremely difficult to refrain from replying “how long is a piece of string?”

“In a recent study of over 1,000,000 keywords the average age of the websites ranking number 1 was 2+ years and the average amount of content on the ranking page was 1890 words.”

That might be what it’s going to take for you too.

There are just no guarantees and, while I try to estimate how long it will take to “start” to see some results, it’s just that, an estimate, not something to build a business on.

You have to have a long term view and you have to have a marketing budget (see Mistake Number 2)

SEO is forever just like the old Yellow Pages listing.

e) We can guarantee page one, position 1 rankings

Wrong. In fact if you’re told this then run very fast in the opposite direction. No-one can promise position 1 rankings as only Google knows and Google is pulling ALL the strings.

However we have many years of experience of working out what Google wants and ranking websites number 1. We stay up to date by being part of Global SEO groups tracking what is working TODAY.

f) We are a google partner

Google Does Not Have SEO Partners. What Google DOES have is an online test for Adwords Managers: Love this from jetfuelcreative.com

“Some companies will use the Google partner seal on their website and claim they are Google-approved. This seal and designation only means that they have some Adwords accounts under management and they took a multiple choice test. This doesn’t mean they have some mystical, special relationship with Google. In fact, it should raise red flags if you happen to hear this from an SEO “expert,” as it should make you wonder what else they aren’t being forthright about”

Mistake Number 2

Not having a marketing budget

A LOT of businesses don’t have a marketing budget anymore.

Since the demise of the Yellow Pages, most businesses are using the money they save on other aspects of their business and not maintaining a marketing budget.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is, you have to have a marketing budget and a marketing strategy to survive.

We get a lot of phone calls from businesses enquiring about SEO and many of them simply don’t have a marketing budget and are not in a position to enter into an online marketing contract.

The sad thing is these businesses are dying they don’t know where their next client is coming from and when we follow them up, several months later, many have gone out of business.

It’s tough being in business these days.

When virtually everyone in this country is looking for a service or product, the first place they go is Google.

If you have not allocated a budget to get yourself at the top of Google, YOU DON’T HAVE A REAL BUSINESS

10 years ago (if you were in business then and are still in business, kudos to you) businesses spent anywhere from $2K to $50K and probably more to be in the Yellow Pages Directory.

If you were the marketing manager and you missed the advertising deadline, you were toast and the business went out of business.

You did whatever it took to get the damn ad in that book.

You moved heaven and earth, but you got it done.

Where’s that attitude today?

We get a lot of enquiries from businesses trying to decide if they have the money to spend on their online presence. Many of these people procrastinate and never make this important decision and will doubtless join the 80% of businesses who bite the dust in the first 5 years.

Mistake Number 3

Not having a website and a social media presence

If you don’t have a website (and we’re told that 50% of businesses still don’t) you are stark raving mad.

How on earth do you think you are going to navigate the digital age? Why in fact are you still reading this?

Get on the phone right now.

Call us on 1300 885 487 and we’ll get you sorted with a website.

More than 90% of people who want to make a purchase do their research online. And when they find someone they think they want to do business with, they more than likely will do one or two of the following things; • check out your website • take a look at your “About Us” page to see who they’ll be dealing with. Hint: put some photos on your about us page, you, your staff, your shop, your vehicles etc etc • your Facebook page

If they find your website first because you have made the great decision to do some online marketing they will want to see your Facebook page. If they find your Facebook page first, you better have a link to your website so they can check you out there too.

If you don’t know how to pull all this together just give us a call on 1300 885 487

We’re always happy to have a chat and if we end up doing business that would be great.

Mistake Number 4

Build it and they will come

Did you ever watch that amazing movie “Field of Dreams” with Kevin Costner? The message of that movie was “Build It And They Will Come”.

A lot of people build a website and then operate from this principle.

Sorry, it ain’t going to happen!

Most people these days commission a website to be built without one thought to how people are going to find them, how to structure the website or what topics to write about.

This haphazard approach won’t cut it anymore.

Let’s assume you want your website to be found online.

You have to make a very careful decision about who is going to design and develop the site.

Site structure, functionality and content are all critical and have to be part of your website development process.

If your website design company tells you they are going to “SEO” your site, be very careful about what they mean. Website Design companies who are not SEO experts who promise to SEO your site are having a laugh.

I have talked to possibly hundreds of people who have received these assurances and got nothing.

SEO requires a long term approach. It’s not a one time thing.

At Top SEO Brisbane we design beautiful, functional websites that get found and convert visitors into paying customers. We do this because we are SEO experts as well and rank number one for our main keyword SEO Gold Coast

SEO Matters. A LOT.

Mistake Number 5

The quality of my website doesn’t matter

Don’t build your website on Wix or Weebly and please don’t use a template.

Just don’t.

Your website is an integral part of your online branding and marketing strategy.

WordPress started off as a blogging platform but quickly became the platform of choice for website builders and today, over 30% of the globe’s websites are built on WordPress.

That’s one hell of a lot of websites.

Custom designed WordPress websites are a joy to behold and Google loves them!

Look, if you just want somewhere for people to go to check you out, build it on anything you want, get a 7 year old to design it for you, use a crayon even.

Coffee Table websites are not what I’m talking about.

Real businesses don’t build websites for fun (or for coffee tables)

Real businesses build well thought out, well-structured websites full of stellar content (that their visitors and Google’s spiders will just love) AND they build them from the ground up with SEO and conversion as their number 1 criteria.

Quality Matters.

Mistake Number 6

Facebook is the Holy Grail for business!

No it isn’t. Yes, some businesses do really really well on Facebook BECAUSE they put a lot of time, money and effort into it.

Yes, I know I said earlier that you need a Facebook page as that’s where a lot of your potential customers will want to check you out.

However, having a page where all of your company information is listed and posting a few photos of your product, staff etc and implementing a full on Facebook Marketing Strategy with sponsored posts and Facebook advertisements, are light years apart.

A full on Facebook campaign is going to require a massive effort and serious staff hours to implement.

For most businesses, a Facebook page is a simple thing. Fill out all the bits accurately. Make sure you have links to your website. Regularly post stuff you think your customers might like.

If you don’t know where to start, call Top SEO Brisbane on 1300 885 487

Facebook Matters. But it’s not the be all and end all that people make it out to be (for most businesses)

Mistake Number 7

I don’t want my customers to call me – why can’t they fill in the online form?

Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Sadly many businesses don’t want to be bothered with calls from potential clients with questions.

Believe me, I’ve met with these people. To them customers are a bothersome lot.

Why can’t they just fill in my website form, or add their purchases in the shopping cart and check out?

It’s simple really, people have questions and if you don’t cover those questions on your website, people will want to ring you.

And, where is your phone number?

If your phone number is loud and proud, above the fold* on your home page, then well done you.

If your phone number takes 8 minutes to find after scrolling through your home, about, contact and other more obscure pages, then you have a problem.

Get your web guy or gal to put it in the top right hand corner of your home page – better still put it in the header and it will show on every page of your website. Put it in the footer too, for the same reason.

*The term “above the fold” has been stolen from the newspaper industry, and it refers to the upper half of the front page where the most important new stories are located. Imagine standing in a train on your daily commute – one hand grabbing whatever support you can find and the other holding your tabloid paper folded in half reading the top news of the day

“Above the fold” for a website is that part of the website you can see on your laptop, iPad or email when you first open the site and this is where the most important information should be displayed.

What is that information? • your phone number • a clear statement of what you do or sell • a contact form or some other call to action (CTA). What is it you want your website to do? • Your address, If you need people to come to your premises

If you don’t put your phone number where your potential customers can find it, what does that say about you?

Refusal to talk to customers will hasten the demise of your business. But maybe that’s what you wanted anyway?

Phone Numbers Matter – Put ‘Em Where They’ll Be Found!

Got Questions?

Call Us: 1300 885 487

For More No-Nonsense, Straight Talkin’ Advice

#7 Reasons Why Businesses Are Failing Online

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type2diabetestreatments-blog · 8 years ago

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Small But Mighty: A D-Mom's Time for Change Idea

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/small-but-mighty-a-d-moms-time-for-change-idea/

Small But Mighty: A D-Mom's Time for Change Idea

Pump site rotation has long been an issue for me, and it's a common one for many PWDs (people with diabetes) that can cause all kinds of craziness when it comes to scar tissue, insulin absorption, and erratic blood sugar levels.

A pumper for 11+ years now (not counting my current pump hiatus), I've tried a variety of options -- keeping notes of site rotation in my logbook, on a whiteboard calendar, sticky pad notes on the fridge, and even e-alerts and device alarms to help me remember. Surprisingly, most pumps do not have an option to set a site-change reminder alert on the device itself (why not, pump engineers?!)

So nothing I've tried has been effective for me, as I either slack on tracking them or get tired of the annoyances.

But now, D-Mom Mary Anne DeZure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has come up with a creative way to help people like me better remember when it's time for a site change. She calls it Time for Change (the name is even trademarked!), and it's gaining steam in the diabetes community.

Today we're talking with Mary Anne, whose son Lou was diagnosed about seven years ago, which kick-started the idea for her little business that she's trying to get off the ground. While her solution is still in the prototype phase and not yet being sold, we thought this emerging new product is a great fit for our Small But Mighty series on diabetes small businesses!

DM) Can you start by telling us a bit Lou and his diagnosis?

MAD) Lou was diagnosed just two months before his 15th birthday. He turns 22 on Dec. 15. (Happy Birthday tomorrow, Lou!).For about two weeks, I had noticed the classic symptoms of diabetes, but I didn't know they were symptoms. I didn't know anything about diabetes at the time. There was no history of diabetes in either mine or my husband's families. In 2005, diabetes wasn't advertised on TV and in magazines the way it is today. We also have a daughter who's now 25, and Lou's the only person diagnosed in our family.

I noticed Lou was drinking to extremes, whatever he could get his hands on -- water, juice, soda, milk. Then he'd be up four our five times a night to use the bathroom. He was always exhausted; not just tired, but exhausted, even after a good night's sleep, and he was crabby and quiet. These symptoms could be explained away as normal for a hormonal teenager, but when I noticed the final symptom, I put them all together and realized something was really wrong. It was the weight loss. His face looked gaunt, he had lost weight so fast in such a short time. His pants literally fell right off him.

Did you rush him to the hospital?

Not immediately. The next day, I got Lou in after school to see his pediatrician. I had such a bad feeling about the visit, I had my husband, Dan, meet us at the doctor's office. After a quick urine test, the doctor had us run over to the hospital for some blood work. By the time we got back to her office for the results, she had called Children's Hospital in Madison, WI, to reserve a bed for Lou. She came in to the office and blurted out, 'Lou has (type 1) diabetes.' His blood sugar was 700.

When she started to talk about daily shots for the rest of his life and the complications and changed lifestyle of diabetes, Lou pulled his baseball cap down over his face and hung his head. He became despondent. We had to go home and pack to drive the 90 miles to Children's Hospital. While Dan and I were frantically throwing clothes for the three of us into suitcases for a week's stay and watering and feeding the cat, Lou buried himself under the covers in his bed. He was angry and scared, and was screaming that if he went to the hospital he would die and never come home. He was terrified. He couldn't understand why this was happening to him. We couldn't coax him out of that bed. I had to wrap my arms around him and drag him to the door, begging while sobbing myself and making promises I really didn't know would come true.

We spent the next week at Children's Hospital. One of the doctors told us that if Dan and Lou had gone on their hunting trip that weekend as planned, Lou probably would have died in the woods because his body was deteriorating so fast. Lou was started on three shots of insulin a day.

Your idea is about changing pump sites... Did Lou struggle with becoming a pumper?

When Lou was upgraded to an insulin pump in 2007, we kept a log book on the kitchen counter to record the day he changed his site and when he should change it again. At first, we were really dedicated to following the log. Then, as wearing a pump became second nature to Lou, and he was responsible for keeping track of changing his site on his own, and the log just sort of became forgotten. I couldn't keep track of whether he was changing his site on time or not. Sometimes his pump would stop working, only to find out he hadn't changed his site for a week. Being a teenager, Lou didn't appreciate the consequences of not taking the time to change his site.

So how did you set out to solve this infusion site problem?

Out of frustration and fear, I had this idea for making a timing device to stick on the refrigerator so we could all keep track of Lou's site changes. By taping and gluing odd pieces from the junk drawers, I came up with the first version of what we called 'Time for Change.' We kept it on the refrigerator, as a constant reminder of Lou's schedule for changing his site. He was really good about turning the dials to the next due date. And the whole family was really good about being his support group. Every time someone opened the fridge on the due day you'd hear, 'Lou, change your site.'

We used the homemade Time for Change for about a year until I saw a story on the news about the FAB LAB at Fox Valley Area Tech in Appleton, WI (an inventor's workshop). I went to an open house for inventors, where I met the team that helped me get the first prototype made. Once I held that first prototype, I was encouraged to have 20 colored prototypes produced to be used by a focus group of other diabetic families who participated in the annual JDRF walk for a cure. The group loved using Time for Change. That's when we knew for sure we could make a difference in the lives of other diabetics.

How did your family come up with the device name, and what does it mean to Lou?

Lou named the device. I asked him why chose Time for Change, and he said: other than the obvious reason for time to change his site, he said it was personal. He said this is his time for taking full control in managing his diabetes and it's time for the world to find the cure.

So you're starting a business venture... will this be a full-time gig for you and your family?

No, I unfortunately won't be quitting my day job anytime soon! I'm the Facilities Management Office Manager at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, and have been a state employee for 27 years at both UW Oshkosh and Oshkosh Corrections. My husband, Dan, is a retired journeyman painter who also worked for UW Oshkosh and UW Milwaukee for 27 years. I started this whole thing for Lou's sake. The intent has always been to change Lou's life and his future, as he's the one who has to pay the price every day with managing his diabetes. Dan and I don't want to do this to make money for ourselves. We do this for Lou.

Where do things stand now, and what are your hopes for Time for Change?

The only thing that's stopping us from going into full production is funding. Just starting out, I only have quotes for a small first production. Each of the two molds will cost about $27,850 for the hourglass and the keychain versions. Then to produce 5,000 each, the price per timer is about $2.60. The piece price would go down considerably if I could order a larger quantity or find a more competitive manufacturer.

As your readers know, having a diabetic child changes everything, especially finances. We're simply out of money. I started the Indiegogo campaign, Just For Lou, to raise the funds to purchase the molds and produce the first 5,000 timers. The campaign ends January 2, 2013.

Our greatest hope is to get fully funded so we can finish what we started. Our big dream is to launch Time for Change worldwide, putting it on the shelves in every pharmacy, right next to all the other diabetic supplies for parents and diabetics to see while they're waiting for their insulin prescriptions to be filled.

Sounds like a great business idea, and one that could help both kids and adult PWDs alike. Thanks for your creative thinking, Mary Ann! We wish you best of luck, and look forward to seeing Time for Change on the pharmacy shelf before long!

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

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