#plus nobody else has been shiny

[bulbaforest]

How to make someone happy on wonder trade/surprise trade (or, Random Trade Etiquette For Experienced Players of the Core Pokémon Games)

We’ve all been there, trading on WonderTrade or its newest iteration for the Pokémon switch games, Surprise Trade. You want to see what you’ll get, so you send a level 3, Route 1 normal type like Bidoof out into the ether and in return you receive…another level 3 Bidoof.

Nobody wins here.

The primary demographic for Pokémon games is young children, of course. A first grader playing their first-ever Pokémon game is probably going to keep sending level 3 Skwovet, and Patrat, and Pikipek, and Wurmple, and Lechonk. That’s the game as intended and there’s nothing wrong with that. But for the rest of us, in particular experienced adult players, have the chance to do something very cool here.

We can send out GOOD Pokémon. Pokémon that will excite anyone who receives them. Rare, high-level, or competitively valuable Pokémon. Here are the rules I abide by.

It has to be something I’d be happy to receive

It has to be something I can’t easily catch myself on a casual play-through of my own game.

That’s it.

If you want more concrete advice, you might follow these suggestions. Since I specified that this guide is for experienced players, I’m assuming the reader can easily acquire plenty of the suggestions below via breeding, or chaining, or grinding away on the Dynamax Adventure for legendaries. What I am NOT suggesting is using glitches, bots, programs, etc to create fake Pokémon. The “market,” as it were, is already flooded by shiny, 6IV, level 100 Pokémon that are completely illegitimate. I have received quite a few myself all nicknamed things like FAKEPOKEMON.COM and such. Very annoying. Use my guide to send out legitimate Pokémon or don’t do it at all.

Things to send out

STARTER POKÉMON!!!! The most sought-after Pokémon in any game are the cute starters. Even better if it’s a game that allows the full national dex on it so you can breed and send starter Pokémon from any generation

Leftover level 1 Pokémon hatchlings with several perfect IVs. Personally I’m building a Pokedex of 5-6 perfect IV Pokémon for my own satisfaction. Along the way I’ve bred hundreds of hatchlings with just 3 or 4 perfect IVs, and these are good “fodder” for Surprise Trades. Be sure to MARK the perfect IVs using the 🖤⚫️◼️ etc or else nobody will realize the Fletchling you sent them is actually a competitive battler.

Shiny Pokémon. I’ve only done this in one game where I was grinding special attack EVs on dozens, hundreds of Golduck in SunMoon using the feature where Alolan Pokémon call for help when distressed. With the increased likelihood of finding a shiny the longer you kept the battle running, over the course of several weeks I encountered like 10 or 12 shiny Golduck. I kept one and WonderTraded the others. I’ve definitely hung onto, well, every single other shiny I’ve encountered or bred. Needless to say this is a RARE gift.

Hidden abilities. Pokémon with their Hidden Ability are harder to get, plus the HA is often just. A better ability LOL

Silly nicknames. If you like to give Pokémon joke names before sending them out, you might just make someone laugh on the other end. That’s worth it even if they don’t ultimately keep the Pokémon.

Legendary Pokémon. Especially from other games, or at least not the legendaries from the game’s box art—those are all practically given to the player with no effort during the course of the story.

Version exclusives. Each pair of games contains a few Pokémon that are available in one version but not the other. Breed a box of Pokémon exclusive to your game and send them out to help people fill their Pokedex.

Rare Pokémon. The ones that have a 1% chance of showing up in the grass. If you can spare someone else from slogging through hard-to-reach areas and spending hours looking for a rare Pokémon, do it.

Evolved Pokémon with difficult evolution methods. Pokémon that evolve with stones, at extremely high levels, in particular locations, with rare items, etc.

Pokémon that evolve through trade. If you send out a box of Haunter, each one will evolve into Gengar when it’s received. It’s nice. :3 An amazing gift would be a Pokémon that evolves when traded with a rare item, like Scyther + Steel Coat + trade = Scizor, but you’d have to be willing to part with the item.

Very cute or popular Pokémon from other generations. Unfortunately this is no longer….a Thing now that the switch games do NOT have the national Pokedex. It sucks. One of my favorite things to do was send out boxes of Pokémon from earlier generations that you could never catch in the current generation. Well, if they update SV with the full national Pokedex, we can all do that again.

Themed calendar Pokémon. Pumpkaboo in October, Luvdisc on Valentine’s Day, Solrock nicknamed “Sunscreen” in summer. I always breed a few boxes of 4-5IV, rare, powerful Pokémon (like pseudo-legendaries) with Christmas names and send them out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My assumption is that a lot of little kids are getting the newest games for Christmas and they could use a powerhouse in their corner for their playthrough.

That’s really it! Happy trading! Go make someone happy!!!!

[motownfiction]

harbor

Lucy gets in the car on a Saturday morning. She, Will, and Emma drove back to Detroit this weekend so that Lucy could give a paper at Wayne State. Victorian popular culture and penny numbers. Some of her favorite things to talk about. She’s looking forward to it. Like always, she has on her red blazer, her blazing red lipstick, and a shiny red can of Coca-Cola in her cup holder. It’s never too early for the greatest drink in the world, she thinks, especially before a conference. Some people have coffee. Lucy has this. All she needs now is the right music.

When she hits the PLAY button on her mother’s car radio, she expects to hear the album she was listening to when they went to grab dinner last night: Celebrity Skin. Nobody can beat the best on a day where you also need to be the best. But that’s not what she hears. Instead, she hears what is probably the perfect opposite of Courtney Love.

I was happy in my harbor when you cut me loose / floatin’ on an ocean and confused …

It’s melancholy and acoustic. It’s also one of the CDs Emma brought with her on the drive back to the home that was never actually hers. She must have put it on for Grandma and Grandpa when they snuck her out for a caramel sundae at McDonald’s (which Lucy and Will most certainly knew about, but Emma gets excited when she thinks she’s breaking the rules). Lucy sighs but doesn’t turn the music off. She could. Celebrity Skin is right there on the passenger seat, just waiting for her. She just doesn’t.

Emma is eleven years old now, soon to be twelve, and she’s going through that sad music phase. Lucy’s pretty sure everybody goes through it. She and Sam had a theory that everybody’s sad music phase is unique to them – that no matter how popular the music is, it never sounds the same way to two people at once. In fact, once it’s somebody’s sad music, it’s practically unlistenable to everyone else. That’s how Lucy usually feels about Emma’s music. Just not this morning.

This morning, the acoustic crooning makes her cry.

She’s had years to adjust to the way life is now (and seven months to adjust to being a grandmother). She’s known for a long time that when Carrie and Charlie almost broke up, it was Elenore – Lucy’s own beautiful daughter – who came in between them. She’s known for a long time that Charlie took advantage of a childhood crush, that Charlie broke Elenore’s heart, that Charlie is full of shit. But just because she’s had time with it doesn’t mean she’s OK with it. In fact, she’s still a mess.

If Lucy thought nobody asked her how she felt when Sam died, then really nobody asked her how she felt when she lost Charlie’s friendship. It seemed like most people didn’t even realize she and Charlie had been real friends at all. Lucy doesn’t really blame them for that. When they were all just kids back here in Motown, they were never really that close. They loved each other on account of the twins, of course, but their friendship was always in the middle of things. Things changed once he and Carrie moved to New York. At first, it was just convenient. Lucy and Will couldn’t spend all their time with Sadie and Sam, and spending time with Sadie and Sam’s kid brother was the next best thing. Plus, they promised Sadie and Sam they’d keep an eye on the kid (who was twenty-three years old, a husband, and a father, but still a kid, always a kid, at least in their eyes). But after a while, it was less about conveniences and promises and more about Charlie for who he really was. He and Lucy used to talk for hours about their favorite books and films. Sometimes, they’d even go to the movies, just the two of them, like real family, they said. When Charlie and Carrie broke up, Lucy even took Charlie in. Like real family, she said. Apparently, Charlie didn’t see it the same way. If he had, Lucy wouldn’t be the grandmother of his middle child.

She can’t believe it, but she’s going to cry. Right here in the car, on her way to a conference.

Charlie was her friend. He meant something to her, and she trusted him. She used to give him her old books with her markings in the margins – something she wouldn’t do for just anybody. He was her friend, and to this day, Lucy misses talking to him. She misses his stories about leaving the TV remote in the refrigerator for reasons he could never explain. She misses staying out late with Will to see Charlie perform in Brooklyn. She misses Charlie. And she doesn’t even have time to miss him because she’s so busy hating him, too.

Lucy dabs at her eyes with the sleeves of her red jacket before she backs out of the driveway. Before she takes off, she knows she could change the CD. But she still doesn’t.

Today, Emma’s sad music phase is hers, too.

(part of @nosebleedclub february challenge -- day xviii!)

[beatrice-otter]

There's a lot about the practical/financial side of roads and cost and land use that most North Americans don't realize. We assume our way of building cities is the only possible way, and don't realize just how expensive it is compared to ... pretty much any other way of building cities. Here are some of the important parts:

How often you have to re-do a road depends mostly on the number of cars (and the weight of those cars) that drive on it. We talk about the freeze-thaw cycle being bad for roads, and it is, but the number one factor is how much car-and-truck traffic it gets.

Fixing/repaving an old road that has deteriorated because it has been used is just as expensive as building a new road from scratch. Sure, a lot of the work has already been done for you, but you have to tear up the old road surface, which takes a lot of time and labor and equipment. So when you put in that major freeway that costs an arm and a leg and people say "yeah, it's expensive, but then it's done and we'll have this great freeway!" they are not taking into account that you don't just have to pay that massive bill once, you're going to have to pay that massive bill again in 20-30 years.

If your city design is based on "everybody drives everywhere" then you are going to need places for those people to park. And that costs money. And you can't tax that land at the same rate as you can tax everything else. So if you compare two city blocks in the same city, and one block has a single large business (all shiny and new) with a large parking lot, and the other block has a row of 80-year-old buildings filled with small local shops, the brand-new commercial building with parking is going to bring in about 80% of the taxes that you get from the older style block of businesses without parking, but the services for the block cost the same to maintain. (Roads, water pipes, sewer pipes, power lines, etc.)

Car dependent suburbs lose money for the city once they're more than 20 years old. When they're first constructed, the city doesn't lay out a dime for the infrastructure, and the houses are shiny and new and fetch a high price (and thus have a high tax rate). 20 years later, those houses are no longer shiny and new so they're not generating as much in taxes, and also all that infrastructure now has to be maintained on the city's dime. And unlike a medium-density suburb (like the old-style streetcar suburb), there aren't that many houses per block. And nobody walks anywhere because there's nowhere to walk to, so every single thing you do outside of your house requires a car. So the roads need a lot of maintenance. Low density plus high maintenance costs means that any car-dependent suburb older than 20 years old costs the city more in services than it gives in taxes.

You put this all together, and it's a major contributing factor to why US and Canadian cities are so often teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only is building everything around cars really bad for our social health and bad for the environment, it is literally the most expensive way anybody has ever designed cities. It's incredibly wasteful.

And right now is the perfect time to change that. Right now is when so many mid-century infrastructure projects are crumbling and need rebuilding. It's the perfect time to say "hey, wait a minute, how about we change our model so that cars are not the only viable method of transit."

I'm not saying take away cars! Lots of people need cars, and will always need cars, for a variety of reasons.

But if you have other viable methods of getting around so that people have choices, and you transition suburbia to medium-density instead of low-density and allow people to open shops and businesses there so you can go to a store close to you instead of driving for miles to get to a big box store, that will save so much money on road construction and maintenance that you can then spend on things like social services and libraries and schools and hospitals and museums instead of asphalt.

Imagine if half the country's infrastructure was built in a 30 year span and there was no plans to replace the aging infrastructure that is rapid approaching the end of its lifespan, wouldn't that be crazy

[cinimuffin]

deep sea fishified

[geminimoonbeamx]

Reality Bites: Dazed & Confused (5/6)

A/N: While this is painful to read, it was a blast to write. We finally get to see why Y/N(Peach) and Billy hate each other...and its because they’re a little too alike. @allaboardthereadingrailroad Bean has a type, doesn’t she?

Warnings: Swearing. Bullying. Underage drinking. Realistic descriptions of a couple tearing each other to verbal pieces. Semi OOC Steve. Horror at the end.

Parings: Steve Harrington x Plus Sized Reader

Summary: The end of the bonfire at the Quarry is supposed to be the cherry on top of a perfect summer. Instead, the tension between you and Steve comes to an ugly head.

Chapter Five: Love Will Tear Us Apart(Again)

Pregaming is a very dangerous business. 

You’d learnt that Freshman year, when you’d spent the entirety of Homecoming in the backseat of Heather’s then Wide Receiver boyfriends car. Violently drunk, spinning, the front of your pretty green dress soiled with vomit. 

Since then, you've learned to keep a count on your drinks. Blackouts weren’t on the agenda. 

The conclusion was; anything over two beers before a party? You’ll be blackout before midnight. You don't ever accept more than a couple shots, and mixing the two? Is out of the question. 

There's a method to your madness, a party equation of sorts. It always worked, always. In the past it had kept you from many fiesta folly, celebration carnage if you will. 

Of course, just like everything else in your life lately, 

Nothing was going how it should, how it always had. 

Boo, Bean. Bullshit. What a lie about the Scientific process always being right. 

The night is damp, muggy Indiana heat hanging heavy in the air. Ugh, you hate it, but more importantly, your hair hates it. 

You’d had to absolutely douse it Clairol serum, and even then, you know that sooner rather than later you’d sweat out your sleek blowout- 

Luckily, if there was anyone who cared as much about their hair, you so happened to be in his car. 

Steve Harrington had come to pick you and Bean up in that shiny BMW of his. Fashionably late, a little after ten pm. He’d been to enough parties to know that nobody of notoriety showed up before nine.

You’d both informed Bean of that fact, you sliding into the passenger and her into the back. 

“Aren't we going to be late, or something?” Bean wondered, tugging a little at the hem of her dress. It had come out perfect, just as you’d planned. 

Short and tight and slutty, leopard print and just on the right side of tack. She wanted to look like a Motely Crue groupie, and that she did. 

Steve chuckles as he cranks the wheel, backing out of your driveway and into the street “I don't think that you can really be late to a party, Sinclair- it's like, not conducive to partying” 

Steve and his big, shiny new words. 

They clash, his developed vocabulary and his ability to morph into a near replica of his school days self. Shiny styled hair, the red and white bomber over the crisp white tee. Cuffed jeans. Expensive tennis shoes. 

You used to hate him, and his pretty hair and his exorbitant sneakers and now, he rubs your bare thigh absent mindedly, before reaching for the radio.  

It’s odd. 

A real mid fuck. 

You suck, hard on the end of a lit pre-roll, your lungs screaming in protest. 

Weed gods, please. SOS. Take away this…unease. 

There’s no need for it. You’re hot. Beans hot. You and Steve arent dating, just showing up together. 

Multidimensional aliens aren't real. Maybe. 

It was Bean's first “official” party, the knot in your stomach must be her residual nervous energy. Had to be. Right?

As Bean swigs Orange Jubilee Mad Dog, she doesn't seem very nervous at all. 

The Farewell at Lovers Quarry is as old as the town it’s self, as middle america as it got. A bonfire, bright and blazing sat on the rocky shore of the watering hole, a meeting ground. It felt primordial, and trashy and more then a tad bit juvenile. 

Just the way that a High School kegger should. 

You’d always loved it, the dirty debauchery. The pounding music, the never ending chatter and commotion that came with being in a large group of people. You liked being acknowledged, spotted in the crowd, having your name called, 

“Y/N, wherve you been?” 

“Wow, look who actually showed up” 

It just doesn't…scratch the itch. 

“AH! SEE!!” Heather had screeched, eardrum piercingly loud, throwing her arms around your neck and squeezing tight “I told you she was coming! Didn't I tell you! I fuckin’ told you”

She’s drunk, but that's a given. Whenever the brunette has a red solo cup in her hand, it only means one thing; full to partial black out. Maybe a fight. Possible alcohol poisoning “What you didn't tell me is that you were bringing your boyfriend, you bitch” 

Her whisper isn't much of a whisper at all, and you're glad for the blush you’d already applied because your face would be flaming. You don’t even want to look at Steve. 

“Hi! You're Ben, right?” 

“Um, Bean” Bean corrects, looking a little bit uncomfortable with the intimate nickname being thrown around so blase. You hope she knows you're sorry “B/R/N, actually”

“Oh! Yeah! Bean!” Heathers not malicious, not venomous the way you knew the rest of the squad could get. But she is drunk, her filter dissolved in vodka, who knows how long ago “Want’a shot?”

“Sure” Bean nods, grin a bit forced but still there. Trying. There- she might have that experience she was looking for yet. Fake it til’ you make it, huh. 

“Yessss” 

Bean had a lot of practice with touchy feely former Homecoming Queens. Being friends with you, she had to adjust to overbearing physical contact pretty damn fast. 

When she becomes victim to a Heather Headlock, she can't help the squeak she emits. her eyes look like they're legitimately going to bulge straight out of her head and you let out a peel of laughter. 

This is what you wanted, sweet Jelly Bean. 

You don’t notice how Steve trails behind, apprehensive- even when his former team players clap him hard on the back. Man hugs. Weird boy code hand shakes. He smiles, but that look in his eye never shifts. 

Cheerleading is a competitive sport, and one day the world will recognize it as such. It’s the most physical thing you’d ever done, your body had bent and broken in ways that had made even your surgeon of an uncle take a double look. 

All those fractured bones and tumbles, 

And none of that shit had anything on the mental gymnastics that came with being a Hawkins High Tiger

It’s sick, and you’d deny it to anyone who asked, but you’d always kind of gotten off on it. It was a pyramid of gossip, and as long as you stayed at the tip, you got a good vantage point. It was fun, looking down on everyone. 

It used to be fun. 

So why isn't it anymore?

Because you’re old news, the intrusive bitch part of your brain whispers. 

The new generation of Varsity Tigers are shiny, new. Young and excited, eyes glittering and hopeful. They’re only a bit younger then you, and most of them you’d known for years- and yet you envy them so much it makes the liquor in your stomach churn.

This is what this party was about. A final farewell to the Graduates of 86’, as soon as the clock struck midnight the schools books would officially update.

Your names would be gone forever, gone. 

Time would reset and go on, and you? Would be stuck. 

You’re not only old news, you’re Jurassic. You’ll be a Hawkins fossil, forever frozen in the Indiana mud the even bitchier, more intrusive part of your brain reiterates her evil twin. 

Weren’t people supposed to have an angel and a devil on their shoulders? Instead you had a head full of bitches, and really, none of them liked you. 

It’s why you’ve been actively trying to drown them in the trash can punch you’d been handed. 

Shut up. Have fun. Be normal.

You wonder if people would be so eager to party in the woods if they knew what you did. If they hit a Venus fly trap with legs, would they be okay in the near darkness? 

You are. 

Okay. 

Listening to Molly talk about how she’s road tripping to Ann Arbor next weekend. She wanted an early monopoly on Freshman rush. She was a legacy, of course. 

You’d be good at that, you think. Sorority. Another predestined social construct you could fall in. Sounds nice. 

“What about you, Y/N? Still taking that gap year?” 

It comes from Kirsten. Bleach blonde, fake tan Kirsten. You’d never liked her, and you think the bright blue swiped across her eyelids looks like clown makeup. You should tell her of the fact, 

Instead you explain for what felt like the thousandth time that yeah, you were. Maybe you’d volunteer at the hospital with Elliot. Maybe you’d go backpacking- you like hate nature but whatever. Maybe you’d blow your brains out, oh, that’s if you didn’t get eaten by-

You leave out that last part. A smile on your glossy pink lips, toss a quick “I’ll be back” before you give them your acid washed back. 

Where’s Steve? And Bean? Heather had been feeding your party green friend shots, but then Kyle showed up and well now Heather was liplocked and distracted. Usual. Hargrove hadn’t gotten here yet, had he? You hadn’t seen that environmental ailment of a car of his parked along with all of the others in the clearing. 

Bean had to be around here somewhere, your eyes scanned fast for the raven haired girl. Leopard print. Amber skin- the bonfire is raging now, full blast. The party packed; bodies swaying, way more people had shown this year- how long had you been sucked into the cheer vortex? You hadn't realized how much time had passed, but if you were gauging it by how many people were now here…shit. 

The wedges you’re in are tall, and though you’d been on heels since the first time you’d seen how they made your ass look in a Macy’s changing room in 8th grade, the terrain isn’t meant for them. It’s too rocky, unstable. Roots and uneven ground.

“Learn how to fucking walk, asshole” you hiss at a guy, he had knocked into your cup and your hand is covered in sticky red, the sleeve of your jacket soaked. 

He slurs an apology, something about a bitch, but clears the path enough for you to shoulder your way around him. 

These stains would never come out, you mentally lament as you inspect the damage to your coat and dress, the vivid red that marred the baby blue. No baking soda slurry would fix it. 

It’s not even Midnight, hadn't even hit the hour that everyone had shown up for. You can't leave yet, it would look bad. 

Everybody talks about how fun you are, but I just don't see it,. 

You down the little that's left of your drink, and drop the cup, let it roll where it may. It gets stomped on, down to flat plastic bits and yeah. That feeling isn't far off or foreign 

Finding Bean is bust, the girl is gone in a plume of smoke. If you had to guess- said plume of smoke was thick Marlboro Red based, exhaled by a certain mullet having asshole. 

Where the hell is Steve? 

What, you can't get him to leave you alone for more then five minutes at a time all summer, but the moment you get him in a social setting he totally ghosts? It makes you uneasy, that notion. 

He said it was fine, that the two of you were fine. 

Ending up with the burnouts is not how you thought this party would go, but they have weed, even if it is shitty home grown grass. Youre all for Bean getting her rocks off, but did she have to run off with the tin of pre-rolled joints in her bag? 

Midnight comes and goes, 

The world doesn't stop. 

But it doesn't feel like it goes on either, the bonfire, the people. The sky and the watering hole and Hawkins in fucking general is suspended, a snowless snow globe. 

The new seniors cheer, raise their cups because fuck yeah, one step closer to being done. And the graduates, they cheer because they did it. Accomplished what they had been told needed to be accomplished since kindergarten. 

You don't cheer, but you don't let your face screw up either, just suck on the end of the poorly rolled blunt that some guy you would have absolutely never talked to in school hands you. 

You don't even really talk to him now, but you’ll smoke his weed. 

“Y/N-:” 

You're sufficiently stoned, when you hear your name called. When that familiar head of perfectly styled hickory hair bobs through the crowd. Steve finds you, standing too near the bonfire, arms crossed, a frown marring your pretty features, the flames licking and dancing in the reflection of your narrowed eyes. 

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“Not like you care,” You shoot at him. “But some asshole drowned my jacket in jungle juice. I’m trying to dry it off”

“Shit, here-” He starts to take off the bomber hed donned for the night,a peace offer. Maybe. You wave him off, its fine, you tell him. Whatever. 

“No, I’m cool. Where have you been all night? I feel like I've barely seen you. What? We come together but you're too cool to be seen with me?” 

You’ve said worse to him, so much worse. Your tone isn't even that shitty, bratty maybe but well he deserved it. Bean had an excuse for ditching you, but Steve? What the hell. 

“What the fuck are you talking about? you're the one who sent me on a beer run so you could sit and play catch up with the squad” 

“Longest beer run in history, huh” 

“Y/N” It’s a warning, his tone. The square of his shoulders. 

But youre drunk and irritated, and not having even a little bit of fun. The music is too loud, blaringly so, and whoever is in control of it has super shitty taste, A View To Kill had been replayed like three times. 

Steve drains his own solo cup, seeming to need it before replying and yeah. He was the DDD, Designated Drunk Driver, but like, that seems extensive. 

“I really don't need this shit right now, I’ve been looking for you for an hour, no one told you to run off-” 

“Run off? Are you serious?-”

“Look, I dont want to fight, I really dont” he grabs your arm, loose grip. “Let’s just go home. My parents are gone so you can spend the night at mine? We can get the hell out of here, and go watch that weird Gelfling movie you were telling me about” 

“We cant leave yet, Steve” 

“Why not?” 

“We- We haven't even been here for that long. And you know after parties always beat this stupid shit anyway. Isn't Tommy H throwing?” 

“Yeah, fuck no I’m not going to his after party. You don't even like Tommy-” 

“I know but like who cares. All of our friends will be there” 

“So? Doing what? More of this” He gestures vaguely with his hand, and you don't like this, “This shits miserable, I didn't even want to come-”

“What?” That's not true, he’d been just as excited as you. He’d wanted to be here just as much as you did. He'd been all for it, hadn't he?

“But I did, because you did. Because you wanted to have fun, but I can tell you're not. And I’m not, so let;s just go. We have a better time when it’s just the two of us anway” 

“Okay you're kind of being an elitist asshole right now. What do you mean miserable? All of our friends are here” You insist, trying to force your voice party light. Happy. Because you’re supposed to be here, He’s supposed to be here. It makes sense, you can't leave yet. “Beans somewhere around here-”

“Nah, she ran off with Hargrove. They left, dude. A while ago” 

Dude? 

“Okay, dude” its a clear taunt “So what? You just want to go without telling anyone goodbye-”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying I want to do”

“Heather!-” You’re insisting. Throwing out the weakest argument points ever, and really, you don't even know why. Why youre playing devils advocate for this stupid as shit party, why youre trying to convince him to stay with you. 

“Ditched you to play tonsil hockey with Lisnecki” 

“I did not get ditched! If anyone ditched me tonight it was you-” 

You’d always believed that there was a time and place for everything. The right timing, Your Uncle Elliot had taught you young, could change everything. Could make or break a situation. 

Nancy Wheeler has horrible timing. 

Always had. Spoke when she knew it would infuriate people. Reminded teachers who had clearly forgotten about homework due dates. Stumbled into the middle of cat fights in the locker rooms. 

It was clearly a habit she wasn't going to drop anytime soon. 

You're so consumed with Steve, and the ever growing tension between the two of you that you dont notice her. Wouldn't have, even if your- Steve wasnt starting to really piss you off. She’s never been very noticable. 

There's a tap on your shoulder, just as you're about to tell him to go home without you if he wanted to leave so bad. 

You should've known, by the look in his eye. By the way his mouth snaps shut and his jaw does that weird little grindy thing it tended to do when he felt awkward, put on the spot. 

Nancy stands there, looking completely out of place. Far from her element, and both of you know it.

 Any other day the two of you would be just about the same height, but you tower over her in your heels. Look down on her. Jonathan Byers lurks just behind her, in his usual Jason Vorhees fashion. Very shasher sheek. 

“Um, Hi Y/N- uh Steve, hey” She greets, thin lips pulling up into a cumbersome smile as she greets you.

“Nance” Steve nods. 

“Wheeler” The pseudo one word greeting you give back is short.

 “I was just wondering if you know where Bean is. I can't find her anywhere, and we were supposed to meet up. I thought she’d be with you” Nancy continues. Doesn't this bitch want to be a journalist? Shouldn't she know how to read the proverbial room better? 

Maybe it's the fact that she calls Bean by the sacred nickname that meant so much to you, that she inquired about your best friend. 

Or maybe, it’s the way that Steve greets her back, with none of the strained animosity that he had been speaking to you with just moments before. Soft, he’d always been so soft with Nancy. So soft for her. 

Either way. Nancy had always had horrible timing. 

And you…well, you didn't have the patience to play nice right now. Not for someone who mattered so little, who you barely liked in the first place. 

“She wanted to meet up with you? Are you sure?” Your voice is sweet, teeth rotting. Nerve exposing “I didn't even think the two of you were friends anymore”

Nancy’s already big round eyes go even rounder. Shock. Indignance. You don't give a shit. She wasn't the little doll people treated her as, and you sure went going to handle porcelain priss Nancy with kiddy gloves. Not for Bean. And certainly not for Steve. 

“We never really stopped being friends. Just different paths, for a while. I thought we could all- Bean invited me here so that we could hang out” 

Oh. 

Hm. 

“Here? To a party?” You let out a giggle, “ Isn't that that a little counterintuitive, you and parties don't really mix. The last party I remember you being at was Hanna’s Halloween thing, and well. We all know how that went” 

“Y/N-” 

No, Steve. This is the most normal you’ve felt all night, 

“I mean you were better dressed at that one, to be fair. Which is funny because that was an actual costume party. Whats with this get up, Nance? Did you get dressed in the dark or something? Its okay. We all have our fashion faux pas But for future reference, green and pink stripes dont look good on anyone” You whisper the last part, delighting at the way her face crumpels.

 The tendons in her neck straining as she swallows. Tears? A retort? 

You want it. It feeds something in you, something starving and empty and gaping. Ugly. Familiar. 

“What the hell is your problem?” Oh. Retort it is. She’s not a doll at all is she? Ballsy, taking the bait. 

“Okay that's enough” Steve goes forward, wanting to put literal space between the two of you. You side step him easily, crossing your arms over your chest. That smile, the one that contorts your entire face, aimed at him now. 

“It’ll be enough when I say it’s enough” 

“You’re being ridiculous.It’s not her fault, don't take our shit out on her-” 

“I’m being ridiculous?” 

“Yeah, you are. Act your age for like, two seconds and let’s go cool off. This is so below you-” 

“Screw you, Steve” You spit the words right into his face. Cutting whatever else he had to say short. 

You’re turning away, fast on your heels before he can say anything else. You cant even look at him, as you feel the heat lick up your chest your cheeks burn. 

Embarrassment and rage intermingle dangerously, and you feel them in your throat. In the tips of your fingers, as you curl them int fists at your side. 

Its not that he stepped in to defend her- even though yeah, you fucking hate that too. 

It’s the way he had spoken to you. He’d literally looked down on you and scolded you, in front of everyone. For anyone to see. Like you were a child, like you were below him. He had spoken to you the way he did the kids. Like you were Lucas, or Dustin, or Mike. A child who needed to be corrected. 

You're on a warpath, you don't care who you knock into. If anyone has any sense, they’ll get the fuck out of your way. You push and shove through the crowd, legs carrying you faster then they should be able to. Your ankles barely wobbling as you climb the rocky path, the one that leads to the field. Away from the party. Away from the fire. From Nancy, from Steve- 

“Y/N!” 

You ignore him, ignore the way he yells after you as he trails behind you, getting caught up in the crowd. Lacking the fuel like anger to push his way through. 

You’re too mad to think about how you’re going to get home, you don't even know where you're going. You just need to get away. You have to outrun this. These feelings. Him. 

“Really? Fuck” Steve curses as he fumbles through the dark, slips on rocks and almost faceplants “Wait a second, Y/N!”

Curse his athleticism. Curse his long legs. Curse these fucking wedges!

Steve grabs your wrist when he catches up to you, which he does quickly. You wrench your arm away from him. 

“Dont touch me” 

“Seriously, talk to me-” 

“Talk to you? I dont even want to fucking look at you right now” 

“At me? I wasn’t just a cunt to random people for zero reason. What the hell was that back there? Why would you act like that?” 

You can't believe him

“Like what?” You goad him, finally meeting him head on. Steve wanted this. He wanted to fight. “A cunt? Like myself?” 

“Stop” 

“No Steve, you said it. I’m a cunt. I’m not a nice person, and that's fine. At least I dont parade around, with a holier then though nice guy act pretending to be decent” 

Steve rubs his head, both hands, standing straight and letting out a long exhale “Dont try to turn this around on me. You always do this shit, its always the same thing. Me. I’m the bad guy. I’m the asshole-” 

“You are!” 

“I’m not the one who just used an innocent girl as my own personal punching bag” 

“Oh! Okay! There it is Steve” You point at him, hands gesturing  wildly, manic shrill laughter bubbling “Innocent Nancy. God, could you be more pathetic? How are you still pining after her? It’s been like two fucking years, get the fuck over it” 

“You don't know what you’re talking about” Steve grits out. “This has nothing to do with her, I didn’t even know she was going to be here tonight”

You've seen him annoyed. You’ve seen him get chewed out by shitty customers over ice cream, seen him lose big games. Seen him exasperated and pissed. 

You’ve never really seen him angry. 

Not at you. 

“You want a Nancy. Thats fine, go find one. Hell, go see if you can get her back from Byers. But don’t you ever, ever fucking try to chide me infront of everyone because I refuse to play boring Wonder Bread girlfriend for you” 

“Is that what you’re so pissed about? You’re embarrassed that I called you out in front of everyone?” 

“You had no right-” 

“Fuck, really? I had no right? So you get to say whatever you want to me, whenever you want to? But god forbid I-. Why do you always have to start this?” Steve’s eyebrows are pinched together something fierce. Face sour in a way you had never seen it. 

“Me? I started this?” You cry because you don't like where this is going, you don't like the way hes turning it around on you. “You’ve been acting sketch all night!”

“You did. You started it because all you care about is what these people think of you. We shouldve left an hour ago- fuck, we never should of came in the first place. But you just had to come show out for em, huh? What do you get out of it, what does it do for you?” Steve questions, and the worst part is? It’s valid. 

You don't know what to say, your well of near constant quick witted comebacks going dry. As dry as your throat as you swallow around the lump that clogs it. 

“What are you so scared of?” Steve pushes, coming forward. You want to hold your ground, he doesnt get to make you feel this small “Why are we here? For someone as bossy and OCD as you are, it's insane to me that you let opinions, of people who you don't even care about, get to you this bad” 

“You're such an asshole-” you start, but he goes on. 

He doesn't even sound as mad anymore. Just tired. Exhausted exasperation. It makes your hair stand on end. 

What he’s saying, the way he’s looking at you. 

“-I don't have to explain a thing to you. What, you think you know me because we’ve fucked a few times? That doesn't mean shit, it doesn't mean a single thing to me” 

“Here we go” He shakes his head, a joyless quirk of his lips. “I don't know you, huh? At all? Thats such bullshit” 

“You don't. What, you think because you know how to make me come you suddenly know the inner workings of my psyche? What are you so scared of? Fuck off with that garbage, Steve. You're not my boyfriend. You're a glorified booty call, you get that right? That all we've been doing? God, your parents really didn't hug you enough as a child” 

The blow lands. You can tell by the look on his face. By the way he staggers, almost physically. 

He gapes, mouth opening and closing. Like he's trying to figure out what to say- you're ready for it. For the back lash. For him to snap. 

“It's always gonna be like this with you, isn't it? With us?” Steve frowns, disgusted. 

You shrug. 

Probably. 

“You’re fucking insane” Steve accuses. 

You start to walk away from him. 

“And insecure!” 

Whatever. 

“And I'm done chasing you. I’m so serious, I’m not gonna keep doing this with you, don't walk away from me-” 

“Fuck you, Steve!” You hiss. 

“No- fuck you, Y/N. Fuck this” 

Your pride keeps you from looking back, from watching him climb into the BMW. You hear the ignition though, heer his wheels ground gravel as he backs out, as he drives away. 

Even though you're furious, even though you hate him in that moment,and even though you’re drunker than you’d meant to get. You he won't leave you, not really. 

Steve always comes back. 

Steve doesn't come back

The night is sweltering, the summer heat digging its nails in even as the stars dot twinkling constellations across the blackened sky. Hot, humid, and miserable. You’ve never felt so heavy. 

You trudge down Old Mill Road, through the darkness. It cuts through the woods, and is a straight shot back into town from the quarry. It’s also a five mile hike- you’d ditched the platforms twenty minutes ago. Your feet feel no no relief, padding barefoot on the rough asphalt, 

“Ow- Fuck” You hiss, for what feels like the hundreth time as you hop on one foot, rubbing pebbles and rubble away from your soft soles. A hysterical sob bubbles up from the pit of your chest and you choke on it, fighting to keep your emotions at bay. It’s fine, you’d made this walk before. Drunker than this- 

There's a shuffle in the leaves. 

Yeah, you’d made this walk. But never had you done it alone. 

The treeline is alive, dark and ominous and gaping on either side of the road. Your ears catch every noise, head snapping to follow the sound, eyes shifting in the thick pitch dark. It’s probably an animal or something. A bunny, or maybe a deer- the coyotes in the area had ripped the Jeffersons dog to shreds last fall. 

Funnily enough, you’d take a pack of rabid dogs over what could be out there. 

It’s going to be fine, you chant to yourself, picking up the pace. Your calves screaming in protest, your inner thighs rubbed beyond raw. 

You're just paranoid and upset. You’re not thinking logically-

Branches snap and crunch and the hair on the back of your neck stands straight, on high alert-

Your mind is just playing tricks on you, but you propel yourself faster and faster until you’re full on sprinting down the isolated road. Your lungs tighten painfully and your head spins. It has teeth, rows and rows of them, and claws. It left a crater sized dent in your hood- and it fucking killed Barb. Bean said-

A pair of headlights cut through the dark,

Part of you would’ve taken the Xenomorph instead. 

The beat to shit Ford Galaxi passes you, and then rolls to a stop a few feet ahead. You deliberate bee-lining into the monster infested forest.

 Instead you raise your chin and square your shoulders a bit. It looks better than jumping up and down and cursing at the sky because what had you done in a past life. To. Deserve. This. 

There's only so much dignity one can have when they’re barefoot with mascara running down their face, with their shoes hanging from their left hand. 

“Y/N?” Nancy calls through the open, she’s riding passenger of course. Jonathan Byers just stares at you, beady eyes hard and cautious. “Are you okay?”

“Uh-” you blank  because really, what the fuck does she expect you to say. You wonder if maybe this is some kind of prank, you tell her no, you are very much not okay and she drives away cackling because you’d pointed out her lack of fashion sense. 

It’s what you would do. 

Nancy’s gaze isn’t malicious, as much as it is inquiring. A little too knowing, a little too concerned. 

Because she’s a better person than you are. 

“I’m totally fine” It’s weaker than you mean for it to be, far from the venomous retort that you can't seem to muster. 

They have all the reason in the world to leave you there, stranded on Old Mill, Jonathan actually looks like he’s totally okay with that option. But Nancy persists. Pushy as ever. 

“We could give you a ride home, if you need one?” 

Everything inside of you protests that offer, down to a cellular level. You should tell them absolutely the fuck not, and walk away. Flipping your hair behind you. That’s how it is, how it’s been. What you know. 

The forest breathes again, crunching and shifting and swaying and you swear somewhere in the distance something is shrieking. 

“Yes” the words feel like cotton in your mouth. Jonathan looks as shocked as you feel, like the craziest thing to ever happen in this town is you agreeing to ride in the back of his junk mobile. 

“Please, if you’re going by my place. I’d really uh appreciate it” 

The smile Nancy gives you is both forced and sympathetic and you’d really like to die. Death seems like a comfort at this point, and that’s not you being dramatic. 

“No, It’s okay you’re only a few streets over from me. Right, Jonathan?”

Jonathan grimaces and you never thought you’d feel any sort of camaraderie with the Eldest Byers, like ever. But as you climb into the back seat, situating yourself on the tattered leather, you lock eyes with him in the rearview. I’d rather be doing anything other than this. 

 Yeah, the feelings fucking mutual. 

The ride to your place is too long, and you don’t think you really breathe through the entirety of it. The Guns of Brixton floats through his speakers and you cling to the thought of; maybe none of this is real. Maybe nothing has been real, since you hit that thing in the woods. 

If only that were the case. 

Word to the wise; If a man ever calls you a cunt and then leaves you stranded in the middle of nowhere? You better never talk to him again. Ever. Even if he does look like Steve Harrington

[pomrania]

Continuation! Let's see how long I keep up with this.

THE ALIEN by @i8sigmapi This goes on here because I just REALLY love something done for the setup; get twice as many pieces as you'd need, mark half of them, fold them so you can't see the mark, and then discard half. It's just such a NICE way of making sure that literally nobody will know how many marked things there are in total. …and I don't really have anything else to say about the rest of the game, it's overshadowed by that shiny new concept that I was introduced to here.

Cat's Castle (abridged) by yours truly Look, this is my own post, nothing's stopping me from plugging my own stuff. (I'd also made something for the previous day, but it was a dumb joke that can survive or die on its own merits so I'm not linking it here.) Anyways, this was good because it got me to actually write up and post something for Cat's Castle, instead of it just languishing on my computer in a perpetual state of edits and rewrites.

Nitty Gritty Wargaming by @bluehairandpronouns42069 I've never done wargaming, and I have no particular interest in it either; but I love how this game has one "normal" rule, and then "add a new rule to play", plus formalized rules-lawyering. Which, from what I've gathered, is more like how wargaming is ACTUALLY done.

OVIPOSITOR by @reogan I really like the conflict-resolution mechanic here, where depending on what kind of approach it is in-game, that determines what happens to the eggs used as props, and specifically how. It's just a fun little kind of toy, that also fits properly with its theme.

Revengers: Resemble by @adhdahri Apparently it's above word-count, and I don't know how functional it'd be as a game, but every sentence of it is written with such BITE that I have to respect it, and it couldn't go unmentioned here.

TIME DUEL by @squidknees Aaand apparently this is where I start to run out of steam, lemme try to make sure I cover everything regardless. I just thought this was really cool, and the whole "changing words and adding elements" feels properly fitting for a fight between time travellers.

[Whimsical] Little [Gnomes] by @chromegnomes …I just NOW noticed how fitting this person's url is, for what they wrote. I liked this one because of how it's meant to be in a 'normal' dungeon-crawl setting, but the characters carry magic and whimsy with them, and that overrides stuff, listen I'm not good at making words coherent right now, but it's a type of thing that I enjoy.

So apparently "just barely until the end of the second day's stuff" was how long I could keep this up, at least for now. I'd like to continue with this, but who knows if "having the energy and brain to do a thing" and "remembering that this is a thing" will coincide before it's been so long that I'd be too embarrassed to start up again.

If you don't already know, @prokopetz is hosting a thing this month, where people are making 200-word RPGs. Here's some I thought were cool, and my commentary on them; in order of how they showed up in daily compilations. Disclaimer that I'm finding these entirely based on the compilation posts, which only show the title and the creator, so there's a chance I'm missing something I'd thought was really cool, simply because I didn't remember what it was called.

Bun Chaos by @nyalaholic This one just seems delightful. I always love stuff where the literal premise is "you are little creatures, and causing problems on purpose"; and everyone loves "stats that rhyme" (or at least I do, and that's what's most important when we're looking at my opinion). A thing I particularly thought was cool, was using a d20 to put a "time limit" (really more of a "rounds limit") on the game. Also, how the points are for the group total, because what really matters is "how much chaos was caused" and not "who did what".

Crushing It by @writemeasandwich I would never play this game myself, because folding paper into any shape more complicated than a basic paper airplane, makes my eyes glaze over, and also I have slow reflexes. However, I am glad that it exists, and it seems like it would be tremendous fun to watch; probably also to play, for people who don't have my particular issues. I enjoy the bit about "more dots shown is better, unless it's the most dots shown, in which case you want to avoid it".

Knock Knock, Cthul-Who's There? by @bookoramaenderteeth This one goes on the list because I absolutely ADORE the premise, it's just so GOOD. And also I like the mental image of just calling up some unrelated person and having them listen to the stuff you came up with.

Raccoons and Goblins by @kaninchen-reblogs Honestly pretty much ANYTHING where you play as raccoons and goblins would prolly make it on here. The gameplay seems pretty generic, which, there's only so much you can put into a thing when you're limited to 200 words, but 'generic' also means 'functional' (absolutely not a given with these kinds of weird games). Within that though, I love how the "goblin" actions all start with G, and the "raccoon" actions all start with R; incredibly basic stuff that just makes my brain happy. I like the bit about most of the 'actions' you choose are from your own list, plus one from the other list.

VAMPIRE DANCE FLOOR (not sure if it's supposed to be all caps, or if that was just to emphasize the title) by @danacarajb First off I always love stuff where there's various 'traditional' monsters; that's like a cheat code for my brain. But aside from that, the STRUCTURE of this is fascinating, how each type of monster has a different win condition, and WHAT the win condition is for each of them; they're all things that make sense for that type of monster, AND work within the mechanics. I think this is my favourite of the games from the first day, but I genuinely can't say how much of that is from its own quality, and how much is because it aligns with my tastes.

And I think that's where I'll stop for now, to post it, because I don't want this to just stay forever in my "I'll finish it eventually", and also there's a nice clear cut-off point of "this is the stuff from the first day".

[codgod-moved]

We'll go on then. What piercings would the hermits each have

okay i’m gonna be writing these in the same order i’m drawing them on my lineup thing because it’s easier. it’s up in the air whether or not i’ll incorporate all of these into my designs for them but some of the more specific ones Are already part of my designs lol

mumbo has his single earring in his left ear, ofc. no idea when/why i started doing that but it’s a thing. i wanna say a lip piercing too just for fun because i don’t actually draw him with a mouth. he has no lip to pierce but he did it anyway

grian has something similar (single earring on the left) but i DO know the reason behind that, it’s the same reason he has the pointy ears in the first place; link legendofzelda :3

impulse i feel would have just regular lobe piercings that he doesn’t wear anymore, and they’ve mostly healed over anyway so he couldn’t even if he wanted to

tango: spider bites. just the vibes

zed would have a BUNCH of ear piercings and nothing else. all studs and like one industrial piercing, he wants to observe SOME lab safety, but he’ll get out the dangly ones occasionally for special occasions. i think he collects funky novelty earrings too. dragon tendencies and all that

beef gets a septum piercing. cow :3

pearl has a few ear piercings but mainly only wears the lobe ones. maybe a nose piercing too she feels like the type

keralis has those cheek piercings that make it look like you have dimples. you know the ones. plus some fairly small gauges just for fun

bdubs has an eyebrow piercing, both lobes pierced, and two *googles* helix? piercings on one ear + a cuff on the other (not a piercing but it’s connected to one of his earrings). also a septum piercing he doesn’t wear anymore

etho has a tongue piercing just because i think it’d be funny if he had one u can’t see

doc doesn’t have any, he’s worried he would accidentally explode if he tried to get one because of the pain so he hasn’t bothered

ren has one piercing in his right ear. nobody has told him it’s the gay ear yet and nobody intends to (he does know he just doesn’t care #AllyForLife 🏳️‍🌈)

cleo has pretty much the same as bdubs’ ear piercings but the cuff is on the opposite ear and she has two lobe piercings either side instead of just one. she didn’t get her ears pierced herself they just came like that when she found them

joe has two lobe piercings on one side and one on the other

stress just has regular lobe piercings, she tends to accessorise in other ways

iskall i think would be the same as impulse but he’s like me where his ears have been pierced for so long that they don’t heal over anymore, so he still has the option to wear earrings if he wants

cub i think would just have one helix earring that he probably got on a dare

scar doesn’t have any actual piercings but he does own a large collection of those magnetic/clip on ones. i don’t know why i think this suits him but it does

jevin does not have any because he is slime. one time he did shove a diamond in the side of his face and called it an earring though

wels i don’t think would have many because they’d clink against his armour and the sound would get annoying. maybe like one of those nose bridge piercings idk what they’re called. the ones that go in between ur eyes

xisuma has just regular lobe piercings and exclusively wears plain black studs EXCEPT when he was a bee. then they were little flower studs

false i think wouldn’t have any or she’d just have like, an eyebrow ring

gem doesn’t have any, she just uses her antlers to dangle shiny things off of

aaand idk about hypno, xb, and tfc

thank u all for coming to my ted talk

[mathmusic8]

Star Wars Fic Recs on AO3

Family Friendly, some have mild language:

Mathmusic8 - Lost and Found - Fives and Kix, deals with a lot more than Fives and Kix. Also Only Partially Applied, which explores what might've happened if the clone's control chips were just slightly weaker

Epsilonderidani - Vode An, the first “Fives Lives” fic I ever read, still one of my favorites. Fives centric

Cuthalion97 – everything. Humor is 11/10. Start with Misadventures of Jedi Generals unless something else catches your eye first. Clones and Jedi generals centric

Inksplots - Nobody Listens to Kix and Just for Kix, great humor, huge inspiration to me for Kix's characterization. Kix centric

YoungestThunderbird – “Arcadia” series plus other works, very soft and fun. Clone centric

Wishfulthinking1979 – “Empire Reimagined” series plus many, many other wonderful AUs, including but not limited to Modern Day in England, Western, Tall Ships, and more. Firmus Piett and Max Veers centric (two side characters in the original trilogy)

Morwen_of_gondor – occasionally writes with Wishful, has excellent works too, working on an incredible Republic Commandos fix-it series called Cin Vhetin. Generally clone centric

MeridianPony – Dominos, time travel fix-it, very good characterization. Fives and Echo centric

Ariel_Sojourner - Back From the Future: Episode VI The Clone Wars, time travel fix-it, also Skywalker Family Values, a (very crack) fantastic Parent Trap AU, pretty broad cast but I guess generally Luke and Vader centric

LadyVader23 – Darth Vader Goes to Therapy, crack fic, absolutely hilarious. Luke and Vader centric

Gaeasun – "After the War" series is super cute and fun. Sticks and Stones Did Break Their Bones, crack fic, Fives and 501st centric, pretty fun. I enjoyed Oh Captain my Captain, too. Works are usually centered around Tup and Dogma. Their angst doesn’t always end with fluff, so mind the tags. Clone centric

Leias_left_hair_bun - specializes in softness and sometimes angst, but mostly kids being kids and I love that. Of toddlers and ARC troopers and its sequel The return of the toddler (Nibbler) are great places to start. Clone centric

sheApunk89 - "Wilder mind" series, Force sensitive Rex gets trained by Obi-Wan. It's been a hot second since I read this one, but I remember enjoying the ending and the fact that Keeli was there. Rex centric

Triscribe - "Vod'e An" series, clones show up back in time at pivotal moments around their Jedi, lots of delightful cameos. Clone centric

AllyMoslof - Operation: Don't Wake the Commander, hilarious crack-fic about a shiny who takes his job way too seriously. Excellent twist. Clone centric

whymylife - --and Your People Will Never Be Destroyed, a fantastic fic where clone cadets piece things together early and do something about it. Cody centric

Whathenshallwesay - For The Glory, incredible post-Order 66 double-agent Cody fic. Great humor, drama, and plot. Cody centric

Killbothtwins - The Legend of Liob, a hilarious 212th shenanigans-turned-fix-it. Cody centric

smilebackwards - "Mission Reports" series, a collections of one-shots in an AU where Qui-Gon lived and now has to write his own mission reports. Very soft, hopeful, processing grief, and comfort. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan centric

WeyrWolfen - Eidola, a post-Order 66 fic where Rex and Ahoska head up a clone-rescue organization. Lots of fantastic OCs, emotions, humor, and rich setting-details. Clone centric

BreakfastTea - lots of fun, soft Jedi Fallen Order fics. Warmth is a good place to start. Cal Kestis centric

HowFarNorth - Reformation, Glittering, a nice little slice of life Rep Comm fic about a side-character that I found surprisingly relatable, Jilka centric

MollyPollyKinz - The Calm Before the Storm, a time travel fix-it where Ezra (Star Wars Rebels) is sent back to the Clone Wars era and has a bit of a rocky landing. Unfinished, but has a great plot and an excellent fluff-to-angst ratio. Ezra Bridger centric

Virdant - Lessons of Peace, a short fluffy one-shot of Obi-Wan and the 212th making dumplings with younglings, Cody centric

TheLadyNovelist - "Remedial Math", a short one-shot about Luke, Han, and Leia bonding over teaching Luke some math. No prior knowledge of math required, but the fact that it's math, Star Wars, friendships, and even some hunt/comfort in the background--I love everything about this <3

Mind the tags and ratings, all have strong language below the cut:

Cac0daemonia - Will You Walk With Me, very good writing, slow-burn of the Clone War, includes excellent art, Waxer and Boil centric

Hollyoakhill - The Intruder, fairly clean thriller/horror, excellent ending, incredible art. Clones and Obi-Wan centric

BlueSunshine – “The Desert Storm” series, very very long, incredible writing and world building. Mind the tags–it gets a bit dark in certain places, and there's a lot of swearing around certain characters. Obi-Wan centric as well as other various people

BonesofBeowulf - "Stars and Beskar" series, pretty unique AU. Has great humor, action, and characterizations. Jango and clone centric (though they aren't technically clones in this fic)

TariSilmarwen - "Mirrorverse" series, an AU of Star Wars Rebels where Ezra is caught during a heist and interrogated. Mind the tags. There is a fair amount of comfort to offset the hurt, and I was able to skip around the darker spots without losing the overall plot. The series carries forward to the end of the show, and I loved the ending. Ezra Bridger centric.

[dumbestcorn]

OKOK I FINALLY FINISHED! Spoilers for PLA if you haven’t finished already!

Anything for you since you made me so happy to write an essay Snippets in-game

Friendship evos

Slightly sympathetic writing; no one caring abt where he went

Tired look after battle (theoretical grief((Selfish at first))

Even if it was fake, still looked after the MC

Weird take but Garchomp being naturally evolved

Dumb take but wanting Laventon to complete Pokedex

(slightly) understandable motive

After the battle that goes into immortal and dad Volo theory

Settled down to have a family

(hopefully) chilled out 

He has time to think about it

A Straight up theory bc I don’t pay enough attention

Wielder might just be what people of Celestia(or whatever) called themselves when they had pokemon 

I didn’t know I was writing an essay today for somebody who asked me why I think Volo is redeemable(thanks for asking though). FYI, my mind is in jumbles right now because of too many thoughts and I can never say my thoughts out perfectly. So, I also decided to put some theoretical reasons because I felt it would help you understand my thoughts a bit more. So please enjoy!

In-game/hinted at

A big thing that people use when they’re on this topic is his three Pokemon. Lucario (220 during the day), Togekiss (225), and Roseade (220 during the day). All happen to be on the high side of friendship. If Volo had Lopunny people would probably agree more because that sucker starts at 0 and evolves at 220. Still happens to be one of my fav Pokémon despite that. Anyways, that means he’d have to use them all or at least have them all in his team for a while. 

Two evolve by stones which could also take a while, for example, I had to look up where to get a Shiny Stone for my Togetic because I couldn’t find it in the wild for the life of me. In the normal games, I could only find stones post-game. So, that’s a commitment.

Garchomp is a special case. Like all Pseudo-Legendries, they have to be high level to evolve. 48 doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you're trying to grind it, suuuucks. Especially since they all level up slowly. This also means that it was kept on his team for a long time. Plus its level 68 in the final battle. We don’t talk about Spirtomb. 

One thing that flew over my head was his slightly sympathetic writing, which happens to be that no one says anything about him leaving except Cogita who bashed him. He was surprisingly talked about less than anyone in the game. It could have been unintentional but I like to think about it like that. Was there a reason why everybody just stopped realizing he existed?

 It could have been when the player told Laventon about Spear Pillar, they told more than about Giratina. Wouldn’t others talk more than if it (somehow) ended on a bad note? Gossip would probs be the only thing keeping me going if I was there. At least someone other than Cogita would say something else. What about Laventon and the clan leader you choose? No, nobody, which is like I said, weird. Makes you feel bad for the man.

This one is mainly a product of me looking into it too much but after the battle on Spear Pillar, he has a tired look. It always seemed like grief to me, not for you but because he failed. Like he gave it his all and got NADA. I like to believe that he realizes what he has done is beyond stupid over time. Like I don’t know how he’d think that’ll work out. I’m def going into this more when I get to the theory theories. 

This one is small but it’s about him telling Laventon to complete the Pokedex. It was very small but I believe it’s a way to also wish you good luck. It’s very small but it’s like his pride isn’t letting him say good luck to you so he’s going to the person in Hisui that you care about the most. Even if he was to say good luck to you/complete the Pokedex, it would seem fake and just like a salty Showdown player saying GG after making fun of you before you won. 

Now I’m going off of the in-game examples to go on a little rant. So, his Pokémon is a PRIME example. All his Pokémon are hard to get/evolve. Unlike like Ghetsis, his pseudo-legendary is evolved and Volo also has the most friendship evolutions. Btw, if Cyrus cares about his Pokémon because of his one Crobat, then Volo cares for his Pokémon more than him. 

His motive is slightly understandable. Wanting to know why things happen to you and why we have to go through, a question that may have gone through our heads. Definitely went through my head before I stopped caring LMAOO, I also forgot about it. I have memories that are buried in thoughts of Pokémon and Splatoon. Anyways, the way he went to do so was, uhhh, not the best, like I don’t know how basically dethroning Arceus would help him out. Creative thought ig??

Theories 

There’s one thing that was something that fell on my head one day and I kept it. It’s about his title, Wielder. I believe that it may be a title that the People of Celestia(?) or whatever he is, used when they had Pokémon. I don’t believe that he dislikes his Pokémon so that’s how it came to me. It could be that while they do think of Pokémon as dangerous things, they still realize that they have feelings and protect them. Of course, I’m just overthinking and trying to defend my reasoning why he’s reasonable. 

Ah yes, Immortal Volo, my favorite kind of Volo, especially if he’s drawn like he’s still young. So, if we're thinking correctly, he either calmed down or is still balls to the walls crazy. I like to choose that he calmed down even though I usually still depict him like he is as a merchant even though people can say that was just a façade. WELL, I like to pretend he’s my friend sometimes because he’s COOL. But if we are honest, he’ll probably look at his past actions and cringe. 

That gets me onto my favorite point because it’s probably the most realistic one! He has time to think about what he has done. Reflecting is one of the things that people comment about when it comes to N. Which I like but, can’t we make Volo reflect on what happened? He has time to do it. Years of being alone unless you believe he had some relationships. It would make his change more believable than just being like “I mega messed up, guess I'm good now.”

Now the theory about Volo being Cynthia’s dad. It goes into the immortality theory and/or longevity. Let’s be honest, he is FINE. So him having a child with someone is not impossible. But the reason why I brought this up is that if it’s semi-true, it either means Volo calmed down enough to have a sane child or Cynthia was able to learn what not to do by learning about what happened on Spear Pillar. 

From what I said, hopefully, you can see where I’m coming from. He is one of my favorite characters so I guess you can use that against me if you want to tell me why you don’t think he’s redeemable. Even if he was a pure villain I still might like him but that’s because I find him interesting, like how I do with Colress. They are important but there’s less lore about them than there should be. 

I would say more but it’s honestly hard for me bc I just finished Jojolion and my brain is mush. 

[shieldretired]

                            "I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANYTHING LESS FROM A LADY," Steve says very seriously. He has never had a pet; money had always been tight, and he wouldn't want to starve an animal. Plus, with his countless ailments before the war, a dog or cat hair allergy would have been extremely likely. Luckily, that's nothing he has to pay attention to anymore. 

                            Hands buried in the pockets of his pants, shoulders hunched to appear a bit smaller than he is, Steve follows Bucky down the hallway. His friend seems to have some standing with his colleagues because when they get Bucky's stink eye, they quickly look away and busy themselves with something else. Nonetheless, Steve is relieved when they reach a shiny metal elevator, and nobody gets into the cabin with them. "Do you live far from here?" he asks. Running the gauntlet like that has been stressful already –– Steve doesn't want to entertain the idea of a couple more miles under such scrutinization. "And where is here, anyway?"

"He has trading cards with your face on them. It's impressive." Bucky snickers a little at the thought. Coulson's certainly dedicated, that's for sure, and he is a good guy. He's competent too, which is something that Bucky can definitely appreciate. It's helpful when people are good at their jobs.

"Her name's Alpine, and she's a madam and a half. Fair warning, she likes to demand attention." His tone is fond nonetheless. It gets lonely sometimes, and Alpine has been a good saviour against that loneliness, even if she does like to walk over his face in the middle of the night or sleep on his head.

Bucky doesn't miss the glances, but for the most part he ignores them. Those who stare a little longer, he fixes with a steely look of his own, and they quickly turn back around.

[pumpkipodge]

Oh boy....

So I found series 4 of Rainbow High at my local target today. While each doll is very beautiful, the attention to tiny details is exquisite...we need to talk about quality control. 

Honest review that nobody asked for below, with pictures. Its a little lengthy so its -read more-

Let me start by saying this isn’t my first series of Rainbow High. I have a Jade and Ruby from S1, Sunny and Poppy from Jr High, and Heather and Natasha from Shadow High. Plus other ones I’ve bought and customized along the way, so this isn’t the first time I’ve been the “lucky” one to get the factory defects. (My heather is one (wonky eyed/easy fix) Jr High Sunny, Jade, ect) So yes, I’m no stranger to the quality control issues on the dolls and I’m not just talking the face ups, but wonky eye sets, off colors in the hair, ect.  Here I am excited like everyone else for series 4, I legit want pretty much every doll in it (much like the Shadow High series) its just given todays purchase I’m not sure about that. These dolls are retailing for 29.99 each, which means getting two of them is going to run you around $64 dollars (with tax), the whole series even more. I’m not a doll collector connoisseur at all, in fact I get dolls I think are pretty and they will either sit as displays or eventually be customized into whatever strikes my fancy at that time. I however, am a believer in if you are going to hype up and then charge a $30usd price tag for a doll it shouldn’t already come with cracked and stained limbs. Odd wrist pegs, shirts that are almost to tight to actually fit the doll, strange marbling in the plastic and so on. Lila Yamamoto has been my biggest want from this series since I first saw them and of course she is the one I picked up for myself and grabbed a Delilah for my mum. 

Now the good:  She is stunning in person, truly a beautiful doll and her face sculpt is gorgeous. Her eyes look bigger than a normal rainbow high but that could honestly just be from the sculpt itself. Personally not a huge fan of the band-aid on her nose but I do get the style and will be making her some street fashion/ kawaii lolita clothing to go along with. The tiny details on her 2nd pair of shoes are amazing, each belts charms are also lovely done and while the clothing is mostly spot on (yes I like the strange sparkle skirt >.>) her as the doll is something else. 

Another good point, I was actually able to purchase her even though the target I was at had very few of each doll (less then four.) Her first outfit is actually a body suit which I’ve seen a few others talk about on here so I wont touch on it too much, it does require you to remove the hands in order to get it or the other shirt on and off though. 

Now the BAD (and boy there's a bit):

(sorry for the blurry photo)

This is Lila Straight out of box and her shoes have been taken off. At this point I did notice a strange sheen on her face and a small (at least what I thought was small) crack on her left knee. A few random threads here and there nothing to crazy honestly. 

Though upon closer inspection this shiny stuff that I thought was just on her forehead is also making a little twirl under her eye. Again nothing to crazy, I could probably fix it with acetone and be okay. Also noted her left bottom lashes weren’t full put on, the band-aid is a little wobbly with the paint job, but those lips look amazing! Now lets change her!

Okay here’s where things started going wrong. Now I’ve had a few dolls recently from the RH series with dents/holes/chips in the legs but nothing like this. Its like the mold was either damaged (her upper right thigh is slightly warped) or the mold didn’t go together properly. Then there was the large cut on her left knee. Now this doll comes with the extra legs for a flat foot option. I think personally that's stupid and a waist of money/time, MGA give your female dolls ankle joints like you did River so you can just avoid this!!!!

Here you can see that cut much more clearly now on her left knee. Now normally I wouldn’t worry about this because RH has only had 1 set of feet for their girl dolls till this line. However, Lila is one of the dolls that I am going to have to pull those legs off and replace if I want her to wear the flat foot shoes and that cute is deeper than it looks. (My Sunny Jr High has almost the same thing on her right leg) 

Anyway, lets continue. So Now I’m genuinely like...huh wth? That right leg looks a mess, the left one is also splitting slightly at the seam and has a hole near the knee joint. Then there's this random black stain on her calf that I have no idea where it came from. Yes Lila does have black shoes however, they are crocs and she has white socks that don’t even go as high as the stain on her calf so again...weird. It just seemed at this point that the more I looked at her actual body the more I found wrong with her. From stains and that weird sheen on her chest to a hole in her right upper arm, things where just going down hill fast on my hopes for my purchase. 

Keep in mind I’ve done nothing to this doll other than take her out of the box and undress her. Where all this damage had come from and stains was and still is a mystery to me. 

The icing on the metaphorical cake of wtfkery with her is this odd lenght of wrist joints. Why MGA did this I have no idea and it doesn’t exactly make putting her hands back on any easier either. Also a side note, if you plan on taking those gloves off her hands, good luck ever getting them back on, with time and patience and some tweezers, maybe. Again another stain and this time on the flat feet which had been packaged in a bag with her lilac stand so no idea how black got on there. (At this point I’ve tried to remove the stains with pure acetone just to see if maybe they where a paint oops and nope, actual stains so time for the acne cream. UGH) 

Anyway this ranting of mine has gone on long enough. Despite all her flaws do I still like the doll, yes. However if each one of the dolls is going to come this banged up I’d expect the price point at 25.99 or even cheaper. She looks more like a potentially well maintained second hand doll (body wise) then one I just bought and took out of the package. Now my theory is they just dropped Shadow High now Series 4 and then the Storm Twins and Ainsley slated to come out this year as well....that's a lot of dolls in a very short amount of time. It has me curious about a lot of things going on with the series and MGA in general. Plus quality control on these can’t be good when its been a month since Shadow High released to the day (April 25th) for me at least since I got Lila today 5/25/2022, and that's what 6 dolls in Shadow series and 6 in series 4. That's TWELVE DOLLS in a month!! That's insane! I just hope for my sake and anyone else looking to get any of these dolls that quality improves on the actual doll bodies and not just their clothing. 

[hominivorax-hematovore]

Yes, hello, I am in fact still alive and remembered that tumblr exists. I posted this whole thing elsewhere months ago, but TFCon is coming up and I realized I had never actually posted it here. So.

Custom deluxe class Rescue Bots made from TR figures, because if Hasbro isn't going to give me mainline Generations-styled Rescue Bots, then I'm damn well going to make them myself. I am a grown-ass woman with 0 children and I love Rescue Bots, and I am not at all sorry about it. It's adorable as fuck and it's the one single Transformers series where I could be absolutely sure going in that my favourite characters weren't going to end up dying horribly. Plus it has Steve Blum, which as far as I'm concerned is always a plus. (I do feel like Heatwave is stuck in the wrong show. That is a bot in desperate need of permission to curse who's trapped in a show for toddlers. #LetHeatwaveSayFuck) It's just genuinely a good show with writers who actually care about the characters and whose humor is on point, and honestly, there is some real tragedy in that backstory if you think about it at all. The *very last* crew of a civilian rescue force, lost floating in space for years and years, only revived by chance, coming to an alien planet and discovering that both their home planet and literally all of the other rescue bots are dead and have been for centuries at minimum. They have to adapt to this weird alien world with its weird alien people, and they're not even allowed to go help fight the Decepticons because they're not actually soldiers and they would be dead in approximately five seconds if they ended up anywhere near a real battle. ...Okay, at this point I'm just trying to justify why I even bothered with this project and I don't know why. The other giant alien robot fans here get me, I'm sure. I've been thinking about how much I wanted a good set of RB figures for a while now, and I finally decided that since I had a little bit of cash to spare, if nobody else was going to make them for me I was damn well going to do it myself. I went searching and found www.deviantart.com/trenttroop 's shop on Shapeways selling many, many different faceplates for TR Headmasters, including the RB crew. https://www.shapeways.com/product/F4XBQTASG/rescue-bots-faceplate-four-pack-1?optionId=60329171&li=marketplace(Link to the four pack of faceplates!) Those were an immediate buy, and a starting point for this whole silly, somewhat expensive project. So now I had the line I was going to work with, and the faces I needed for them to be slightly better than "eh, paint him red and call him Heatwave", and now I had to pick bodies for the boys. I then spent a good while poring over images of the figures in the line, waffling on a couple of the options presented, and finally settling on bodies for each of the crew. I ended up getting three out of the four of these guys for an absolute *steal* on offerup-I paid 42 USD *total* for Hardhead, Highbrow and Breakaway, which is only slightly more than *just* the cheapest Breakaway I found for sale on ebay. And then there was Perceptor. Dear friggin' lord, Percy. Why in the name of Primus's shiny metal asshole is he so expensive? The ebay listings for him are *insane*, especially when I was just going to rip him out of any packaging and turn him into someone else. I ended up getting one for 15.40 USD for the figure. From a seller in *Australia*. He cost me 27 dollars extra in postage, and was somehow *still* roughly 20 USD cheaper in total than purchasing the next cheapest Perceptor (60 USD without shipping) from a US seller. After the bots came various bits and pieces I needed, like a ladder and tires for Heatwave and the arm light pieces for Chase. All of these little extra bits were...more expensive than I expected, not gonna lie, because I no longer have the buckets of lego that I used to and buying the specific ones I needed was kind of a pain in the ass. (At least I already had the Autobrand stickers from Toyhax, one less thing to spend money on.) Now, enough about the purchasing of bits, on to the bots! The final list for my RB crew is: Chase-Breakaway Boulder-Hardhead Blades-Highbrow Heatwave-Perceptor Chase's was an easy enough choice, since Breakaway's alt mode was good for Chase and the chest shape fit him very well. All he needed was some paint and for me to make him a lightbar and mount it, pretty much. That's made from some leftover Kreo bits, shaped, sanded, and painted, and mounted with a couple more pieces of Kreo to create a moveable piece that can sit behind his head in root mode. It does unfortunately prevent him from transforming, but I keep all of my bots in root mode anyway, so I'm not terribly bothered. He also got a set of forearm "lights", made from appropriately shaped and painted lego pieces, and then a full repaint. I will say that the arm lights (which end up on his door panels in alt mode) are not show-accurate in shape, but I decided to take a cue from TFA Prowl and make them an actually symmetrical set of lights/blasters instead of whatever is going on with his RB character design. My custom, my rules. I took the main elements of his paintjob directly from the show, of course, and then expanded upon the very basic blocky scheme with details inspired by some other figures as well as some fanart I've seen. I also took the arms and legs off his titan master and sculpted a new headback over what was left, which I also did with the others. (No, I am not taking criticism, constructive or otherwise, on this point. I don't care about the gimmick, the main reason I went with this line was because it would be easiest to do face swaps on.) Boulder's was also pretty easy, as it's not a huge line and I had to work within the deluxe part. Hardhead is close enough in body shape and has treads, so he was a pretty solid base to start from. I started with the intent of adding some extra treads on his arms to make him read more Boulder and less obviously Hardhead, but they ended up looking pretty awful and obviously tacked on even just laid out on the figure, so instead I chose to swap his arms around so that the treads were on the front and then slightly modify them around the elbow joints to give a slightly greater range of motion, and then of course swap the hands over to the new correct sides. (That does mean he can't transform unless I swap them back, but I don't mind that.) I then shaved down the center of his chest completely (went a little too far and ended up with a hole, actually-oops) and added a chopped down piece of Lego windshield and the roof of a cheap dollar store semi truck (the same cheap dollar store semi I used to add a grill to Heatwave) to make his chest more accurate looking and, again, less obviously Hardhead-y, gave him a resculpted headback and then painted him up. I couldn't quite figure out how to give him scoop feet, but I think he's more stable on the feet he's got now, and not *all* of the toy iterations of Boulder actually have the exaggerated scoop feet anyway, so I'm calling him good for now. Blades I waffled a bit more on, because there were a couple options and all of them required me to compromise a bit and get creative. I feel like Misfire or Topspin might possibly also have worked if I'd wanted to go that route (there have been Blades toys where he was inexplicably a non-helo aircraft), but ultimately I went with Highbrow because *helicopter*. I feel like there might be shades of G1 Blades happening in things like the shape of the ankle/tail rotor, but I can't say I'm particularly mad about it. The only modifications I did on him were a shavedown of his faceplate (the sculpt is good, but he was approaching Animated-Sentinel-Prime levels of chinnage-more the fault of the RBA design than the creator of the faceplates), sculpting the headback and adding a curved panel on his chest to round it out a little and cover that weird square bit that seems to serve no real purpose. And then there's Heatwave. I know Perceptor seems perhaps an odd choice at first glance-after all, a tank/microscope is not, in fact, the same thing as a firetruck. I considered Kup or Blurr for the large clear cockpits, but in the end Percy won out as a base because the chest shape was perfect for Heatwave, and having at least that bit be accurate was important to me for having him read correctly. This guy took just a little bit more work than the others, although to be fair, not *much* more. I chopped the grill off of a cheap dollar store semi-truck of the approximately correct size and placed it over the autobrand on his abdomen, and then I removed his microscope and replaced it with a telescoping ladder attached to the whole assembly so that it sits between his shoulders and folds against his back to stick up behind his head as it should. Added some pegs and tires to his ankles and forearms and lego bits to his shoulders for lightbars and then I, once again, resculpted the headback and then painted him up properly. This Heatwave is absolutely allowed to say fuck, Hasbro be damned. Annnd that's it. I spent probably way too much money making this happen, for no purpose other than my own amusement. I hope that my making this post at least somewhat justifies the amount of money, time, and physical/mental energy I put into customizing these guys. I'm under no illusions that they're perfect, but they're mine and I like how they turned out.

[curls-cat]

Sugar/Spice; Snips/Snails

for @grimmtober day 1: Candy! Also on AO3 and ff.net under the same name. but I can’t link it if I want this to show up in the tags. :/ AU: Sabrina grows up in Ferryport Landing.

*

There’s a boy in the woods. Sabrina sees him, even if none of the grown-ups do. He’s bigger than she is, with curly gold hair like hers, wearing a big green hoodie. He keeps looking at her through the trees and grinning. There are fireflies around him, even during the daytime, even now that summer’s all the way over.

Sabrina knows better than to go outside herself. Mamma and Daddy and Granny all say it’s too dangerous, that she’s too little and sometimes people are mean and might hurt her. And even when people aren’t mean, the woods is really big, and she could get lost so easy. Mr. Canis could find her, but someone mean might find her first.

But there’s a boy in the woods. And there aren’t a lot of other kids in Ferryport Landing. Especially not ones she can talk to (in preschool there’s Bella and Natalie and Toby and Wendell, but only Wendell is allowed to be her friend. And everything else is secrets, secrets, secrets—don’t tell anyone about Mr. Canis, Sabrina, or about what being a Grimm means, or about why you’re extra excited to get to first grade and see Ms. Snow). And all Sabrina’s Halloween candy disappeared last night.

Sabrina wanted to be Alice in Wonderland for Halloween, but her parents said No and Granny said Politics and didn’t explain what that meant, so Sabrina was Stephanie from Lazy Town instead and had to wear an itchy pink wig the whole night and none of the grown-ups knew who she was supposed to be. And now all her candy’s gone and nobody believed her when she said she didn’t eat all of it.

So the next time the fireflies come out, when it’s just starting to get dark and the shadows from the woods reach all the way to the house, Sabrina follows them. They’re pretty, even though up close they’re too big to be lightning bugs, and they glow too bright. She didn’t really think they were bugs.

She follows them as they dance between the long shadows of the trees. She didn’t have time to put on her shoes before she left, so her socks are getting wet in the grass. It’s gross. They lead her right to the edge of the woods, and then they scatter.

Sabrina is, for a moment, alone in the gathering dark of the woods. Nearly all the leaves have fallen, and it’s gray and brown and so, so quiet. No birds or bugs. No Mamma or Daddy or Granny calling for her to come inside. She can see the house through the trees, and it looks warm and safe and like it’s calling her back.

“Scared?”

Sabrina spins around and pulls her hands up the way Ms. White taught her—you have to protect your face—and sees the boy, sitting in a tree a few feet above her. Up close, he’s different than she thought. Still a boy, still a kid like her, but older. Taller. And dirty. He’s holding her candy in his hand. She knows it’s hers because it’s still in her plastic jack-o-lantern with her initials on the bottom in her very own handwriting.

“I’m not scared of you,” she tells him.

He grins, flashes too-sharp teeth. “Sure. That’s why you jumped a mile high when I said something, little girl.”

“I’m not a little girl!” she says, even though she is, and she knows it. “I’m a big sister!” She balls her fists tighter. “And that’s my candy.”

“Finders keepers,” he says. He unwraps a pack of oreos and pops them in his mouth. His fingernails are too sharp, too.

“You’re rude,” she says, but she puts her fists down. He doesn’t seem mean, just… messy. And gross. And mean, but she said that already.

“So’re you,” he says, and hands her a pack of Starbursts.

Sabrina accepts her candy, unwraps it. Inside there’s two pink ones and an orange one. She wrinkles her nose and eats the orange one. She’s not supposed to have candy before dinner.

She’s also not supposed to talk to strangers. Especially not strangers who are ab-so-lute-ly Everafters.

“Why’d you take my candy?” She sits on the ground. Her socks are already dirty, might as well get mud on her overalls, too. The boy won’t care. He’s dirtier than she is.

“I was hungry,” he says. “I just told the pixies to get me food.”

Not fireflies. Pixies. Sabrina squints at him. “You’re not supposed to talk about magic.” She doesn’t know what a pixie is, but she knows for sure it’s magic.

“I thought this town was full of magic,” the boy says. “A ‘haven for the homeless,’ that’s what your ancestor said when he convinced all of us to follow him over here. Or a prison, if you listen to anybody else.”

“There’s people, too,” Sabrina informs him. “Lots of ‘em. Normal people. Boring people. I have twelve in my preschool class. And they’ve all got parents. Some have brothers and sisters, too.”

The boy looks suitably impressed. Then he wrinkles his nose. “Boring,” he tells her. “I was hoping this place would be fun. But it’s got rules too, huh?”

“Everywhere has rules,” Sabrina says. “My daddy says they’re to keep people safe.”

The boy snorts. “To keep you from having fun, more like.” He pops a Reese’s into his mouth.

Something occurs to Sabrina, then. “How’d you know about my an-cestor?” The new word feels strange on her tongue. She thinks it means like your grandpa, but extra.

The boy nods in the direction of the house. “I watched him build that place. Slowed him down, too. Plus I’ve been watching.”

“I know,” Sabrina says. “I saw you.”

“What’s your name?” he asks. “Other than Grimm. Your first name.”

“Sabrina,” she offers readily. “What’s yours?”

He tosses her another pack of Starbursts. “Puck.”

*

Sabrina brings Puck food for a few days. She likes keeping him secret. Everyone’s busy with the new baby, and Sabrina loves Daphne, sure, but babies are boring and she doesn’t know why all the grown-ups care so much about someone who can’t even do anything. She also feels a little left out, maybe, and it’s nice having someone who’s hers. They talk. He’s a prince, he says. He’s exiled, he says. He’s famous, he says. He’s the coolest. He doesn’t have to say that part. Sabrina thinks so, too.

They spend afternoons in the cool dark woods, and Puck takes her flying, because he’s not just too sharp, he’s also got wings, because he’s a fairy, which Sabrina has never met before. They share her Halloween candy. He turns into animals, and he listens to her tell him about preschool. She’s learning to read, a little. She can read the street sign for their road. Puck thinks reading and books are boring. She yells at him about it.

That’s the other thing about Puck. If she gets mad at him, he doesn’t tell her to stop throwing a tantrum or go to her room like her parents, and he doesn’t start crying or tattle to someone like the other kids at preschool. He yells back. And then they’re friends again.

*

Mr. Canis is the one who finds out. He follows her to the woods and says, “I wondered where all the caramels went.”

“This is Puck,” Sabrina says. If a grown-up did have to find them, she’s glad it was Mr. Canis. He’s not a regular grown-up, not the kind who tells her what to do and gets worried or talks down to her. He just talks, and listens. Sometimes he says weird stuff, but other than that, he’s almost like a regular person. “He was hungry.”

“I know who he is,” Mr. Canis says. “I’ve been watching him.” He looks down at Sabrina. “What I didn’t know was that you knew him.”

“He took my Halloween candy,” Sabrina says. “Nobody listened.”

Mr. Canis doesn’t say anything. He looks Puck up and down. 

Puck stares right back at him, then, at long last, says, “Don’t get mad at her.”

“I am not angry,” Mr. Canis says. “You should come inside and meet the family.”

Puck wrinkles his nose. “I’m not going to move back inside. I’ve finally broken out of being civilized.”

“I am not asking you to,” Mr. Canis says. “But inside there is food that will not rot your teeth.”

“Everafters don’t get cavities.”

Mr. Canis laughs. It sounds like a dog barking. It always does. “I can assure you we do.” He shows Puck his own too-sharp teeth, points at a shiny silver spot in one of them. “I had this filled myself.”

Puck’s eyes go wide, and his hand comes up to his face. He gives Mr. Canis another long look. “What kind of food?”

“Weird food,” Sabrina informs him. “Granny’s cooking tonight.”

Puck thinks for a second, then shrugs. He grins at Sabrina. “I like weird.”

*

Puck keeps living in the woods. Sabrina has to tell a grown-up before she goes to see him, now. The grown-ups all have a long conversation after Mr. Canis tells them she’s been going in the woods to visit a Strange Boy (he’s not a strange boy, she tries to tell them, but nobody listens). After, her parents sit her down and have A Talk with her about Danger and how Not All Everafters Are Nice. She listens, even if she thinks they’re coming at it wrong. Puck isn’t nice. She doesn’t want him to be nice.

They grow.

*

At age nine, Sabrina runs out of the house, ignoring the sound of her dad shouting after her. This time, at least, she’s wearing shoes. She heads straight for Puck’s trash throne. The pixies greet her on the way, rising out of the shadows of another gathering dark, as they always do. She appreciates it, though she barely needs it, can find her way to Puck without any help.

“What’s Hanky yelling about?” Puck asks instead of greeting her. He’s sitting, as usual, on his porcelain throne atop a mountain of broken furniture.

Sabrina throws him a bag of fun size Milky Ways—it’s the family’s Halloween candy, and her mom’s going to be mad that she has to buy another bag, but Sabrina doesn’t care. She doesn’t care about anything and it’s not like they’ll even be here in a few weeks and her parents don’t care about what she wants, anyway, so why should she care about them?

Puck catches the candy, opens it, and pops one, fully wrapped, into his mouth. He spits the wrapper out onto the ground a few seconds later, covered in spit and melted chocolate. He does this a lot. Sabrina always calls him gross and makes a stink about it. Today all she can think about is how she’s not gonna be able to see this anymore in a few days, because—

Puck notices her silence. “What, Grimm? Finally seen sense about ‘the environment’?”

Sabrina isn’t sure she wanted him to notice. She thinks maybe she wanted him to act like everything was normal and maybe then she could pretend it really was, for a bit. But she sort of also wants someone to listen, someone she can yell at who won’t talk about safety. Someone who cares about what she wants, even if he pretends not to, instead of pretending to when they don’t, like her parents.

“We’re moving,” she says, and she keeps her voice flat, even, because if she doesn’t, she’s going to cry.

Puck stops chewing and stares at her. “You can’t. There needs to be a Grimm in Ferryport Landing.”

“Not all of us,” Sabrina says. “Granny’s staying. But Mom and Dad, and me, and Daphne… we’re leaving. Dad says town is ‘too dangerous.’”

“This is about the stupid ‘Scarlet Hand’ or whatever.” It’s not a question.

“Did they talk to you?” Sabrina asks.

“Nah,” Puck says. “Everyone knows I wouldn’t.”

“Yeah,” Sabrina says. Because they’re friends. He’s her best friend, better than Wendell, even, even though Wendell goes to school with her and they’re in soccer together and he gave her a valentine last year that he’d picked out especially for her, the only one in the pack with a lollipop and a sticker.

“I won’t join anything that I can’t be the leader of,” Puck adds, because he can’t just be honest, ever. That’s okay, though. Sabrina understands. Honesty is hard.

She sits down on the edge of the pool, feels rough concrete under her hands, looks at the murky water, the level dropped low enough that she can dangle her feet in and only the very bottoms of her shoes touch it as they sway back and forth.

“When?” Puck asks.

“By the end of the year,” Sabrina says. “Mom got a job, and Dad asked me if I wanted—” her breath hitches, half anger and half rage— “if I wanted to help him pick out an apartment. Like this was exciting.”

“You could run away,” Puck suggests.

Sabrina laughs without humor.

“Plenty of woods,” Puck says. “You don’t have to stay here. Hey, I know! You could go up to the asylum with the other crazy little girls!”

Sabrina halfheartedly throws a piece of concrete at him. It clatters down the side of his trash mountain nowhere near him and rolls to a stop nearly at her other hand, still resting on cracked cement.

“Mr. Canis would find me,” Sabrina says, at length. “And they’d just make me go, anyway.”

“How? The old lady can’t leave, and neither can he. Just run away again before one of your parents comes to get you.”

“And leave Daphne?”

The younger girl practically worships the both of them. Losing Puck is going to be hard enough for her, but losing Puck and Sabrina… It’ll break her heart. And there’s no question about bringing Daphne with them. 

For a long time, neither of them say anything. Sabrina had sort of been hoping Puck would have an answer. A real one, one that would work.

“You can visit,” he says at last. “They can’t keep you away forever.”

“Yeah,” she says. Because Mom had said that, too. Said that they could come back on weekends and over holidays, as long as Granny said things seemed safe.

She looks up at the boy she’s known for half her life, who’s been her best friend almost as long, who she’s going to stop being able to see soon. He’s been exactly the same the whole time she’s known him. When she sees him next, she’s going to be closer to his height. She might even outgrow him.

She knew it might happen. They don’t talk about it, but they both know. Someday, Sabrina’s going to have to be an adult, and Puck won’t. She’s not sure she wants to be an adult, but she doesn’t think she wants to be stuck, either. Doesn’t want to be powerless forever.

There’s nothing else to do, though, so she rolls her head to look at Puck upside-down, who’s eating another Milky Way, and says, “Pass me one of those.”

*

There are Everafters in New York City, of course. Sabrina sneaks out over the weekends, meets Puck’s brother. Gets in trouble. Finds out the Scarlet Hand is here, too. Tells her dad, hopes it’ll get them moved home. It doesn’t, it just gets her in a different kind of trouble. She doesn’t care, keeps sneaking out to get in the right kind of trouble, the kind that means she’s part of her family, still sort of connected to Puck.

In three years, when the barrier comes crumbling down, and the Everafters start trying, really and truly, to take over the world, it pays off. Because now nowhere is safe. And she wants to tell her dad she told him so, but she’s busy trying to watch the news that her parents won’t let her see and find out if her friends are safe and everything is loud and angry and dangerous and she tried to prepare but it wasn’t enough.

They still make her go to school. It’s stupid. None of this matters, and she tells them that over and over, but they make her go anyway, and when she’s proven right because there’s a lockdown on the third day since the Everafters declared war, she’s just angry about it.

She’s hiding in the bathroom with two other girls who got caught between classes, and the other two are crying, when noises come down the hall in their direction. Sabrina looks around for something she can use as a weapon. 

The door swings open.

Sabrina prepares herself for a fight.

She’s hit in the face before she can do anything, by a small projectile—a bullet? Since when do Everafters use guns? She’d have thought getting shot would hurt more.

She looks down. No blood on the ground. 

Just a green skittle.

She doesn’t have to look up to know who’s going to say “Hey, Grimm.” She doesn't know what's coming next, but as soon as she hears Puck's voice, she knows the can handle it. Together.

[marinerainbow]

Ok I was going to go to bed, but then I checked my phone one final time and saw THIS. I NEED to respond to this first!!!!

FORST OF ALL MY GUY- ALL OF YOUR THOIGHTS ARE WELCOME!!! You claim you don't know these girls, but you got them DOWN TO A T HERE! OH MY LORD!!!

Yes yes yes YES it is like a drug to Poppy! She wants to stop her heart, especially if ghost Psycho still visits her. Yes he is tainted in her eyes now because of his betrayal. She's hurt and confused now that she's pretty much forced to see that Psycho wasn't just some toon who just needed some help; he genuinely is cruel. And it's only further proven when he just... Shows up and expects things to remain the same?? It hurts her. She wants to accept his love, but she can't forget what he's done. She wants Shiny's love, but she can't let go of her guilt either. And yes, Shiny is pissed at Psycho for doing this to her friend/love. Miiiight find ways to spite him or tick him off as a way to get revenge for Poppy.

And that is ABSOLUTELY Shiny!!! She knows that it's going to be sooooo much worse if she loses Poppy. She loved/loves Greasy, yes. But unlike Pops, she was well aware that her man wasn't a good person. She's definitely not thrilled with losing her first love, but... If she wanted to, she could focus on all his flaws and make herself glad, or indifferent, that he's gone (she won't. But this is an option for her). But with Poppy? That woman is a God damn heaven sent national treasure and nothing and nobody will convince Shiny otherwise (*cough* out of all the ships, she maaay get jelouse with Poppy the most. Cause she wants that goodness but somebody else has it). If she lost her, she would never be able to convince herself that it was for the best. And Shiny is scared of that. But she needs Poppy just as much as she needs her right now.

And- Greasy cornering visiting Shiny in her dressing room??? Y e s. Shiny just wants to get her job done, already too exhausted and worn from everything that's been going on but bills need to be paid still. And now Grease is here, trying to get something going and she's just too damn tired for his shit right now.

~

Oooh I want to see the look on Psycho's face the second he's told/finds out about Poppy and Shiny being in love. I don't think it'd be pretty 😅 Poppy is trying to keep him calm now, maybe even trying to deny she has feelings if he confronts her about it, and Shiny is motherfucking pissed off now. Especially if Greasy was the one that tipped the loon off. She's gonna be confronting both of them.

Eventually she's gonna be like "You know what? Fuck you guys." *makes out with Poppy- right in front of the boys* *dodges a poltergeist attack from Psycho*

On the plus side, at least this gives Shiny more ammunition to mess with them. She may not be a full-blown villain, but she can still be a mega bitch if she wants to. And believe me, she definitely wants to now. She'll purposefully rub it in Psy's face that she is Poppy's 'favorite' now. Greasy wants to make her suffer a little? Ok! She can list to him all the reasons Poppy's a better lover than him (*cough* in more ways than one~)

And poor Poppy is trying to be the mediator in all this. Keeping Psycho from doing anything to Shiny and try to convince him that he can't do this to her. And with Greasy, I can see her trying to confront him too. Telling him that he needs to stop trying to hurt Shiny like this if he truly loves her.

~

I can see three ways this can end.

Bad ending: The ghost Boys ruin everything for the girls.

Neutral/true ending: The boys are a continuous problem, but eventually mellow out enough so Pops and Shiny can be happy.

Good ending: Greasy and Psycho accept that their girls are happy and move on.

(... Bonus ultra self-indulgent ending: they all become one big poly family)

Ok, I now need to sleep XD we must discuss this more! (If you want ^^)

Oh god, @slashingdisneypasta I had a thought for the gals and I need your input on this.

Ok so, you know I ship Poppy with (75 percent of the Toon Patrol) Psycho, and Shiny with Greasy, right? Well. Imagine that these girls are dating their designated weasel before/during the events of the movie. And they get the canon ending of the movie.

Now that the weasels are dead, all Shiny and Poppy have are each other. They stick by each other's sides and help the other through the pain of losing their boyfriends in a town that has/would turn their backs on them. They were friends before, but this experience has brought them closer... Very much closer.

How do you think this is gonna go? Poppy would feel extremely guilty about loving someone again after Psycho died, and Shiny can't believe she's managing to fall in love again. But they both feel safe and happy with each other. And more importantly, how do you think Ghost Greasy and Psycho would feel about this?? Whether or not Poppy and Shiny are still keeping in touch with them or not?

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Fangs//i bet you're real sweet with her

Request: You my friend are the queeen 👑 of songfics. Any chance you would want to write a fic for the song Bitter by Fletcher? With any of my boys Malachai/Reggie/Fangs/Pea you can choose 😘

hey! brit! @wayward-river this is for you, my love! enjoy! also, this is the last request i have! i did it!! well done me!! requests will be open soon, so keep your eyes peeled! 

The world may have moved on and evolved, but when you’re stuck in Riverdale, it feels like you’re still in the same unknown decade, no matter how long you stay for. 

Four years after graduation, you’re still waiting tables at Pop’s, despite the rest of your friends moving on. The only people left behind is you, Toni, Sweet Pea and Fangs. But what was once known the four musketeers, now has a huge divide between them. 

You still talk to Toni, but she talks more with Fangs. You and Fangs don’t talk to each other anymore due to a very messy ending of an almost six year relationship. Sweet Pea and Fangs only really talk to each other when they have to. Sweet Pea’s pissed because of what Fangs did to you, despite you telling him that you don’t want to be the reason they fall out, but he still sticks by your side. And Fangs is pissed at him for taking your side. 

Toni and Sweet Pea are still close but not as much as they used to be. The only plus side is the fact that you and Sweet Pea are closer than before, but that comes at a cost, because he’s stuck in between the messiest breakup in Riverdale history, and there’s nothing he can really do except sit and listen to you complain. 

Not that he minds though, as long as you keep giving him secret staff discount on his food, he’s fine listening to you mope about Fangs. 

“I just-” You sigh, your head dropping to rest on the table. The clock ticks above you and you can feel some of the other waitresses glaring at you, as they will time to move quicker so they can have their own breaks. “Do you know when you’re on the outside of an inside joke? And everyone else knows it but you have no idea what they’re talking about and it makes you feel really lonely.” 

“Lime.” He chuckles and you stare at him confused. “Sorry, you weren’t there.” 

“That doesn’t help Sweet Pea.” You slump in the stool and stare out of the coffee machine.

In the reflection you see a group of teenagers sat at the far end of the diner and you’re taken back to when that used to be you. You and the rest of the serpents would sit for hours, just talking and eating. Now those days are far gone, the only time you would ever be in the same place as Fangs would be to fight him. 

“Hey. Sorry to interrupt.” An older woman invades your thoughts and casts a shadow over you. You pull your gaze away from the shiny metal and stare up at her. “I really wanted Coke but you guys only seem to have Pepsi.” 

“I’m on my break sorry.” You force a smile. The rehearsed customer service voice coming out naturally. “But I’m sure one of my colleagues would be more than happy to help.” You add and point to the various members of staff trying to look busy. You glare at the newest member, Emma, who has the coldest eyes and fakest smile you have ever seen. She’s been a pain in your ass since she got here, and she hasn’t stopped since. You’re just hoping the new girl starting today is going to be a lot nicer. 

“Ughhh.” You groan and lean your head on the counter again. “I just remembered I’m training a new girl today.” 

“I thought you’d just done that.” 

“I have.” You grumble and look up at him. “But because I’m the most experienced member of staff, apparently it’s also my job to make sure they don’t put tea in the coffee machine and to keep the condiments separate.” You add and fiddle with the salt packet lying in front of you. 

“Well, I’m gonna be here for a little bit longer. I don’t start till three, so I can keep you company.” 

“Thanks.” You smile. “Where are you going today?” 

“Just to Greendale and back.” 

“Come round when you finish...we can drink what will be left of the night away.” 

“Deal.” He smiles and grabs your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Sweet Pea’s phone lights up beside you and you peer over his arm to see who it is. 

“Don’t bother.” You say when he reaches for it. “It’s just your mom.” You add when he looks at you confused and his face soon falls. 

“Oh.” He grumbles. “I told her to leave me alone.” 

“I’m sure she’ll get the message soon.” You try your best to sound convincing. But you’ve been repeating that sentence for seven years and she still doesn’t seem to get it. No matter how many times Sweet Pea tells her that he’s better off without her. 

For a while you thought it had worked. Nobody had heard from her in almost 6 months, but then she popped back up and ruined the progress that Sweet Pea had been making of having a stable life. 

“And if not. I’ll make sure she does.” You add making him snort a laugh. A soft smile twitches at your own lips as you watch him laugh and then shove a few fries in his mouth. Your hand reaches out to steal some but he catches it and shoves you away making you pout. “Hey! Technically I paid for those. The least you can do is share.” 

“What?” He asks through a mouthful of food and you pull a face. “I can’t hear you over the chewing.” He adds and shoves the rest of them in his mouth.

“You’re disgusting.” You shake you head making him laugh loudly. For a good minute, everything feels normal. It feels like you’re just sat with your friend and praying for time to slow down so you don’t have to go back to work. 

But eventually time does catch up with you, and as soon as the clock strikes quarter past you have to haul yourself back up, grab your rag and get on. The song on the jukebox flips and you’re suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia. 

The opening notes float through the air, and all of sudden you can see you and Fangs dancing right in front of you. 

3am in December during a snowstorm. The worst Riverdale had seen for years and the two of you were hiding in the warmth of Pop’s until it went away. You were the only ones in and so Fangs decided to make the most out of the empty diner, and the two of you danced stupidity around the entire place, much to the amusement of the very bored and very tired workers. 

Tears spring to your eyes and you let out a shaky breath before fiddling with your fingers. 

“Y/n?” Sweet Pea asks. “You okay?” You nod and Sweet Pea stares back at you. Your shiny eyes and wobbly lip really doesn’t help your case of ‘i’m over it!’, but for now he decides to leave it. In the three months since you broke up, you’ve already cried more times than he can count, and that’s just at work. He doesn’t want to see you cry again. If he had his way, you’d never cry again. Not ever. 

“I’m fine. I know you think I’m stupid but it’s just how I feel.” You shrug and his expression softens. He grabs your hand, stopping you from walking away and you look at your intwined fingers. 

“I have never once thought you were stupid.” He says seriously and you swallow thickly. “Well, apart from the time I dared you to steal FP’s bike and you actually did it.” He adds, the atmosphere being too serious for the two of you. 

“I never got caught though.” You point your pen at him, a smile curling the corners of your lips and Sweet Pea smiles back at you. 

“It was still stupid.” He replies and you roll your eyes. 

“Hey, Pea?” You ask. “Do you know if Fangs is with anybody. I just, I can’t shake the feeling that somebody else is in my shoes right now. You know, doing all of the stuff we used to do.”  

“I don’t think so.” He shrugs and you nod slowly. 

“Good.” You nod and hold your head higher. “I’m the best he’s ever going to have anyway.” You add making him chuckle. 

“Very true.” He laughs. “Y/n? Do you think you might be-I dunno, maybe just a bit bi-” 

“I’m not bitter.” You defend and he sends you a look. 

“Sure you’re not.” He sips his coffee. “You are dressed in yellow though. And what fruit is yellow?” 

“A le-” 

“A lemon!” He interrupts, a stupid grin taking over his expression as waits for you to answer. 

“Okay.” You nod and grab your notepad from the table. “I’m walking away now. There you go Emma, you can sneak out the back to text a man that is definitely not your husband. 

“Oh, hi.” Someone taps your shoulder as you’re walking away making you quickly spin around. The girls almost walks into you and a string of apologies fall from her mouth as she quickly looks around to make sure no one saw. 

Her brown hair stops at her waist and curls a little bit near the end. Her bright blue eyes sparkle under the florescent lighting, and her pink lips curl into a nervous smile as she looks around. You glance at Sweet Pea and roll your eyes when you see him not so subtly checking her out. 

“Can I help?” You ask and she quickly looks back at you, a bright red blush creeping up her cheeks. 

“Yes. Hi, sorry. I’m Olivia. I start today.” She says and sticks her hand out in front of you. You shake it and send a glare to Sweet Pea who is still checking her out and he rolls his eyes at you before scrolling through his phone. 

“Lovely to meet you Olivia.” You smile. “Follow me and I’ll show you the ropes.” 

“I would so not mind seeing either of you with ropes.” Sweet Pea mumbles and you grit your teeth. 

“Would you excuse me for just a second?” She nods, eyes wide as she watches you slap Sweet Pea over the head with the rag. He jumps and yelps from the sudden attack before rubbing his head and scowling at you. “Okay, where were we?” You ask, a smile returning to her lips as she just stares at you in disbelief. “It’s fine. We’re friends.” You shrug and walk her to the counter. 

“It doesn’t make it okay!” Sweet Pea shouts. 

“Do you want your bill yet...your full one?” You add and he slumps back in his seat, his arms crossed in defeat. 

“Okay, so do you have any waitressing experience?” 

“Yes!” She smiles. “I used to work in a diner like this one back in New York.” She says and your eyes widen at the mention of New York.

“Oh, so you’re an out of towner?” You ask while showing her around. “This is the kitchen. Basically you get an order, you clip it on there and then the food will come through here. The only time we ever really need to go into the kitchen is if there is a mistake or it’s your turn to put the bins out. There’s a rota in the office but I’ll show you that later.” 

“Got it.” She nods. “Yeah. I moved here a few months ago. I’ve been trying to find a job since I moved but there’s only so much you can do in a small town.” She explains and you nod knowingly. 

“Why would you ever leave New York for Riverdale. Did you get lost or something?” You tease and she rolls her eyes playfully. 

“No.” She shakes her head. “I came here just as a little break to get away from the city, and then I met a guy and I haven’t been back.” She says and your eyes widen. 

“You stayed for a boy?” You ask in disbelief and she nods, with an embarrassed smile. “Wow.” You add. “This is the main eating area as you can see. We all have our sections, again, the rota, but you’ll be paired with me for today so you won’t need to know where you are until your next shift. And be warned, if you see him-” You point at Sweet Pea and he waves in return. “Ignore everything he says.” You finish and his face falls. 

“I’m gonna stop keeping you company if you’re not careful.” He huffs and you roll your eyes. 

“How else are you going to spend your free time if not here?” He shrugs and spins around the chair. When you had more friends, you used to need a booth to fit all of you in and even then you had to steal chairs from other tables. Now Sweet Pea just sits on the stools by the till so he can chat to you. 

Sometimes when it’s late and you’re nearing the end of a long shift, you’re sure you can see the ghosts of past versions of yourselves sat in the corner booth. Their laugher filling the air and reminding you of a happier time. 

“You guys are a cute couple.” Olivia coos and you and Sweet Pea stare at each other in disgust. 

“We are not a couple.” You say quickly and distance yourself away from him. 

“You would be lucky to be called my girlfriend.” He says and making you laugh. 

“Yeah, I’m really missing out.” You reply. “We’re not a couple.” You repeat, looking at Olivia this time and she nods while trying to suppress a smile. 

“Got it. Not a couple.” 

“Anyway, tell us about this man that seemingly turned your world upside down.”  

“He’s amazing!” She starts and you suddenly start to regret asking. This is definitely not going to help the ever growing feeling that you’re going to be alone forever. “He recently got a new job as a truck driver. At the minute he’s just doing to make some money, but it’s not what he wants to do. And he got a new little flat with his friend and it’s great. He’s an amazing cook...like the best. And he’s so handsome. Sometimes I look at him and I seriously wonder if he was crafted by God himself. He is that good, he has made me believe in God.”

“...wow.” You choke a little. 

“Yeah...wow.” Sweet Pea adds and the two of you share an impressed look. She chuckles shyly and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. 

“He sounds sweet.” You smile and a blush creeps up her neck as she fiddles with her apron. “Who is he? Maybe I know him.” 

“Fangs. Fangs Fogarty.” She replies and your jaw drops. The cup in your hand wobbles and you scramble to catch it before it smashes on the floor. Olivia quickly moves forward to help you, but you stand up before she has the chance and she’s left awkwardly standing just a bit too close to you. 

Sweet Pea coughs and coffee dribbles down his chin, making both of you look at him and he forces a smile until Olivia is called away. You and Sweet Pea stare at each other for a few seconds, your eyes wide and jaws slack and then you both start an incoherent flow of words as you try and figure out what the hell is going on. 

“I thought you said Fangs wasn’t seeing anyone!” You start and slap him over the head with your rag again. He ducks and catches it, but his face crinkles when he comes in to contact with the soggy fabric and he quickly drops it. 

“He said he wasn’t!” He argues. “I asked him the other day if he was seeing anyone and he said no. It’s not my fault he lied.” He adds and you huff at him, crossing your arms while staring at the door. 

From your peripheral, you watch him roll his eyes and sigh before mumbling a quiet sorry. 

“It’s fine.” You sigh. “It’s not your fault.” The two of you watch her make her wander around the restaurant and talking to a few of the other servers, the smile never leaving her lips and a scowl slowly makes its way onto your own. “If I were her I would start packing my bags already because we all know Fangs does not do commitment. It doesn’t matter if its two months or six years, one day he will just up and leave, turning your whole life upside down because he’s a selfish di-” 

“Okayyyy.” He says and grabs your arm pulling you over the counter. “Y/n, listen to me.” He grabs your cheeks. “You have got to pull yourself together. One. you are much hotter than her. Seriously, I only checked her out once and that was when she first got here. But I check you out literally every time you walk into a room.” 

“Than-” 

“Two. Now that it’s official that Fangs has moved on, it means that you can too and you don’t look like the bad person because he did it first. So Friday night, you’re going to get dressed up and then we’re gonna go to Greendale and go to that club, Brightstars and then you’re gonna get bu-” 

“You don’t need to finish that sentence.” You reply and he nods proudly before letting go. You drop back onto the floor and smooth your uniform out. 

It’s fine, you got this. You can be the bigger person and you can put any petty differences aside for an easy working environment. Fangs has already ruined enough of your life, he doesn’t need to ruin this to. 

Apparently he does though, because not two seconds after you’ve had that life-altering thought, does he walk through the doors of Pop’s. The bell rings to announce his presence and everyone turns to look at him. 

Sweet Pea buries his head in a menu, despite having already eaten. You frantically look around the place to try and find somewhere to hide, but instead you just watch as Olivia’s face lights up as she greets her boyfriend. The two of them kiss, his hands grip her waist and there is far too much tongue involved to be doing it in public. 

Before you can stop yourself, a disgusted expression has already settled on your face and when Olivia turns around to introduce you to him, you try your best to smile through it. 

“Do you guys know each other?” She asks while leading him over to the counter. Sweet Pea shuffles further away and grabs another menu to cover his face. You mumble a few curse words at him and vow than the next break you’re not just going to hit him with the rag, you’re going to choke him with it before you muster the politest smile you possibly can. 

“Yeah. We went to school together!” You say before Fangs can say anything. He looks at you surprised and you narrow your eyes at him before looking back at Olivia. “We all did. Didn’t we Pea.” You add and snatch the menu’s from him. 

He sits up straighter, forcing an awkward smile before nodding slowly. 

“Yeah, we-er. We used to hang out.” He adds and Olivia looks at Fangs surprised. 

“You never mentioned a Y/n and a-” 

“Sweet Pea.” He says and you grab the empty plate and glass from in front of him. 

“Wait, is it because they’re friends with that crazy ex you told me about?” She wonders and you freeze. You raise an eyebrow at him and he gulps. “Fangs used to date this girl and they were together for a really long time, but then he broke up with her because well, I guess he just wanted other things. She was crying and begging him to stay and it was a whole mess. Funny story we met when he was throwing away all her old furniture. I asked him what the smoke was about and he told me he was just burning some bad memories.” She laughs and the glass breaks under your grip. The noise causes you all to jump and suddenly it’s all too much. 

Tears spring to your eyes and you quickly dump the apron on the counter. 

“I’m gonna go clean this, can you cover for me Pea?” You ask and he stands, his face full of concern as he watches you disappear out the back. 

Olivia grabs a dustpan and brush and starts cleaning up while Fangs just stares at the floor. Guilt burrows further into his chest as he stares at the broken glass and his new girlfriend cleaning it up. 

“I didn’t mean to upset her.” She says. “Where they friends or something?” She asks and Sweet Pea shrugs. 

“Yeah, something like that.” He sends Fangs a glare. 

“I’ll go see if she’s okay.” He says suddenly and Sweet Pea’s glare only worsens. 

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” He asks. 

“Nope.” He takes a deep breath before following you through the kitchen and into the office. The door swings open and you sigh, too busy trying to pick glass from your hand to look up at it. 

“I’m fine Sweet Pea. Could you just pass me the first aid box?” 

“Here.” Fangs says and you quickly look up, your eyes widen at the dark haired boy standing in front of you. They soon darken once you snatch the box from him and place it on the desk. 

“What do you want Fangs?” 

“I’m sorry.” He kneels in front of you, forcing you to look at him. The already small office feels suddenly a lot smaller once you look into his eyes and suddenly you feel like you can’t breathe. 

“For what? For breaking my heart, betraying my trust or for telling your new girlfriend, which you found after just a month, that I’m somehow the bad guy in this story?”

“Ye-” 

“You know what Fangs.” You stand and slam the box on the table. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear about you or your new life or how sorry you are. I don’t give a fuck.” You shout and back him into a corner. 

His eyes drop to your lips and your breath hitches under his stare. Was he really thinking about kissing you after everything? But even worse, were you really thinking about letting him? His hands grip your hips, pulling you even closer to him and your lips ghost over his own. 

“Do you think about me when you kiss her?” You whisper in his ear and he nods slowly. “Do you think she can taste me when you kiss her?” You add and his eyes flutter closed. The grip on your hips tighten and he leans in, but the door swings open and he quickly jumps away from you. 

“Sorry to interrupt.” Olivia apologises awkwardly. “Are you guys okay?” 

“Just arguing.” You reply and force a smile. “We’re good now though aren’t we Fangs?” 

“Yeah.” He nods. “Just fine.” 

“Come on Olivia. Tell your boyfriend to get out because we have work to do.” You say and smile at the two of them. They share a look and a short kiss before Fangs disappears back through the kitchen. 

You follow closely and watch from the kitchen door as he looks back one last time before leaving. Olivia forces a tight lipped smile at you before busying herself with cleaning some of the booths down. 

“Sweet Pea?” You ask and he hums in reply. “You’re right...I am bitter.” 

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You Know I'm No Good - three

New Beginnings

Timeline: Takes place a few years after the events of Breaking Dawn

Pairing: Paul Lahote x OC (Tallulah is 18)

Warnings (future chapters): Drugs/Alcohol, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Jealousy, Mental Health, (Mentions of SA, but no details)

She was like the moon -- part of her is always hidden away

Tallulah looked to the boy in front of her, up close, in much better light than she had first seen him in, he looks older, worn and tired. Like he hasn't slept well in days. “I’m aware of who you are.” she stated in a matter of fact tone, and she watches as the smirk returns to his face. Great, an inflated ego, she thought. Tallulah is overly aware that his eyes are on her, like he's trying to read her uninterested expression. “I didn’t know Joseph had a third daughter,” he spoked tentatively, as if he would cause her to bolt if he said something wrong. She nodded her head in response, of course nobody knew. “Yeah, I’m the best kept family secret there ever was,” she eased out with a breathy laugh, “I didn’t mean it like that” he backtracked quickly, “I’ve just never seen you around the rez before”

Tallulah nodded her head in understanding, “my mom hates it here so she never brought me.” she stated before turning her body back towards the bar, hoping he’d get the hint that this was not what she wanted to be talking about. The next question out of his mouth being ‘why’, clearly meant he did not know how to read a room, causing her to turn her entire body back towards him, her face level with his as he was leaning against the counter, eyes looking into hers, as she venomously spoke, “because it's a giant reminder that her ex husband spent two years of their marriage being in love with another woman before leaving her to care for a child by herself while he lived happily ever after.” The look of shock on Paul's face didn’t surprise Tallulah in the slightest.

The waitress had dropped off both of their drinks and as she was about to open her mouth to drop another heated sentence she felt a petite arm wrap around her own, and a raspy feminie voice greeted Paul, to which he nodded in acknowledgment, barely taking his eyes off of Tallulah, “Sorry, Paul, but I need to steal my sister for a moment,��. Tallulah was now looking at the tall, raven haired girl beside her. Lenna.

Now she was confused, as the younger of the two pulled her away from the counter, drink in hand, back to the table where Josie was now sitting beside herself. Lenna sat down beside her twin, across from Tallulah, a look of exasperation was evident on Lenna's face, whereas Josie had an apologetic one.

Before she could even ask what had just happened, Lenna was speaking in a heated tone, “you need to stay away from him,” she started, “he’s got a girlfriend,” before she could defend herself from what felt like an attack, Josie piped in, “They’re back together?” she asked in a shocked tone, to which her twin nodded her head furiously. “What does any of whatever you're talking about have to do with me?” she asked, eyebrow raised, Tallulah crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat. “This has everything to do with you!” Lenna exclaimed, “You’re the shiny new toy here, doesn’t help that you're hot either. And Paul Lahote is dating Rachel Black, happily, might I add, and when they aren’t together, she's not happy and when she's not happy, I’m not happy!” she rambled, Tallulah looked to Josie for clarification, “What Lenna is trying to say is that Rachelis her boss and she is not easy to work for when she doesn’t get what she wants. And for as long as we can remember, Paul was the source of that stress. They’ve been on and off since they were 16.” Josie clarified, with Lenna adding, “Plus, dad has a rule about dating older guys, and he does not fit the qualifications, even for you.” she stated before picking at her perfectly manicured hands.

“Well, no need to stress. I’m not a homewrecker.” Tallulah stated matter of factly. “ Besides, he’s not my type anyways” Not that Tallulah had a type really, anyone who didn’t want her commitment and could make her feel something other than numb, was good enough for her.

The three girls stayed at the cafe until it was nearly dark. The twins carried the conversation, with Tallulah nodding her head and giving one word answers whenever it was needed. She didn’t particularly care for the topics in which they were being brought up, like who broke up or who’s not friends anymore. In such a small area she figured this was typical considering everyone knew everyone here. She didn’t even want to think about what people might be saying about her. After awhile, Lenna had to get to work and Josie had received a text from Kira of when dinner would be, to which Tallulah thought was odd, her and her mother never ate dinner together as a family. Either her mother was at work or she was out with friends, being left up to her own devices. So when Josie and Tallulah walked through the front door of their home to the smell of a home cooked meal, she felt a tinge of jealousy. The twins were living the life she had dreamt of as a child, a mother who cooked, a dad that was present in their lives, family dinners where they could talk about their days, the good and the bad. A family that made memories together, rather than apart.

The two girls kicked off the shoes and before making their way to the dining room table, Tallulah felt awkward, she didn’t want to sit in someone else's seat, so, she let Josie sit in her usual spot before sitting down, Kira and her dad sat at the ends of the table. They all jumped right in, grabbing and passing food to each other as if Tallulah had been there for years.

As they ate, Kira asked how her first full day in La Push was, she shrugged her shoulders, before stating, “it was alright. Met some people who seemed to already know who I was.” This caused her father and Kira to laugh, as Tallulah took another bite while her dad asked, “catch any names?”, before she could even answer, Josie was answering for her, “She met Paul today, seemed like they really hit it off.” Tallulah couldn't stop the glare that adorned her face, for someone who had essentially told her their dad didn’t like him, she was really throwing her in front of a bus.

She looked at her dad, trying to gauge a reaction from him but he was looking at Kira, the two of them silently communicating from across the table, before saying, “I don’t know if that's someone you’d want as a friend.He’s quite older than you, Tal, nearly 27.” to which she shrugged off, saying, “he was just asking if i was your daughter. Not a lot of people knew you had three before yesterday.” No longer having an appetite, she dropped her fork onto her plate, “and not that it's anyone's business, but I can make my own friends, older or younger. Thank you for dinner, Kira.” she said trying to contain her anger before standing up and tucking her chair in. She grabbed her plate and brought it into the kitchen, the anger that has been stirring since the day before coming back out as she tried to calm herself before it came back to bite her. She tossed her food and placed her plate in the dishwasher before walking up to her room and shutting the door gently, she turned towards her bed noticing a black book bag with a folded slip of paper on it. Picking it up and opening, she recognized it as a schedule, reading it over, she noticed she had more independent study periods than actual classes. Written in pen below the timetable there was a note, stating, “exempt from AP Literature, Biology III and Calculus”, which were all classes she had taken in the first semester of her old school. She let out a breath of relief at the thought of not taking them again. Shoving the paper in her bag, before dropping it at the foot of her bed. She grabbed a book out of one of her unpacked duffels that her mother must have packed for her, before laying on her bed to read.

-

At some point she must have dozed off, the room was dark but the moonlight illuminated from the window. Tallulah got up and stretched her back from the odd position she had fallen asleep, before stripping out of her jeans in favour of comfy shorts and a baggy t-shirt. She made her way into the hall to use the bathroom she shared with the twins, as well as to brush her teeth. From the bathroom she could hear the muffled voices of Jira and her dad, ‘he’s too old for her’ ‘this could be good for her’ ‘or it could push her further away’ ‘you and i both know that wont happen’, it didn’t take a genius to realize who they were talking about, and she wasn’t bothered by it in the slightest because in her mind, if they never assert their problems with her, then they can never be mad. How can she go against them if she didn’t know what she was doing wasn’t allowed?

She left the bathroom after dousing her face with water and patting it dry to see Josie waiting outside, Tallulah rolled her eyes before brushing past her, not listening to her apologies, she didn’t care if Josie was a snitch. She's just happy she found out sooner, rather than later.