#she's not a bad person

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Summer of '84

Nancy walked into Steve’s house, ready to climb into his arms and sleep. Her mother always believed her when she was spending the night at Ally's, and she wondered when she'd figure out that she wasn't that close with Ally. Bitterly, she thought about the time her mother was more worried about the fact that she lied about having sex than the fact that her best friend was missing. No, she didn't deserve to know. Although she had forgiven Steve when he had been more worried about his dad than Barb, and after meeting his dad, she understood. She didn't understand why her mother was worried about her sex life. The more thought about it, she couldn't find anything wrong with having sex. She wished people would stop treating her like a naive little girl when it came to that. In the end, though, she did forgive her mother, but she still wasn't quite honest about being with Steve.

"Steve?" Nancy called out.

He obviously didn't hear her because he didn't respond back. Nancy climbed up the stairs with her overnight back and pushed open Steve’s bedroom door. She found him kneeling on the floor, the bat in hand, as he peered under the bed. He jumped up when she entered.

"Nance!" He yelled, and his eyes darted from her to the bed. "I was just making sure - "

"There was a spider, wasn't there?" Nancy asked.

"There might have been, and it might have crawled under the bed," Steve said.

Nancy smiled in amusement, dropped her bag, and grabbed a flashlight. She grabbed the glass from his end table that he usually used for water. She looked on the other side of his bed. It didn't take her long before she found the culprit and trapped it under the glass. She opened his window and quickly used a piece of paper to slide under the glass. Nancy picked it up and tossed the spider out the window.

"There! He's gone now," Nancy said.

"Oh, my hero!" Steve grinned.

"Hm, really?" She smiled.

"Yeah, I love it when my girlfriend protects me," Steve said. "Makes me feel safe."

Nancy walked over to him and pulled the bat out of his arms. She wrapped her own around his neck.

"What's my reward?" Nancy asked.

Steve smiled and leaned down to kiss her. Nancy grinned against his lips, sighing as Steve’s hands gripped her waste gently as he returned the kiss. She loved his soft lips. . .so soft and plump. She couldn't say how many times she watched him put on lip gloss. She nibbled on his bottom lip before pulling away.

"Thanks," Steve said softly.

She still couldn't believe that she'd been with Steve Harrington for the last five months. He really had changed since he decided to walk back into Jonathan's house that fateful night with the demogorgon. He had really stepped up, and he still does it now. He doesn't have to go with her to Barb's parents, but he does it, knowing how hard it is. It was only getting harder as time went by. He was just as soft as he had been with her before, and maybe even more so, now. He gave it all up to be with her. . .his popularity, his friends. . . everything he had known. She loved him for it. So, what's the cost of killing a spider compared to the sacrifices he made?

"No problem," she said smiling.

"Do you think that we could just sleep tonight?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Nancy said. "I was thinking the same thing, honestly."

She pulled off her dress and bra before slipping into one of Steve's swim shirts. She climbed into the bed first and watched Steve change into his pajamas. There were just a pair of shorts, really. Nothing special except for the way they clung to his hips. It always made Nancy's heart skip a beat. Steve climbed into bed, and Nancy flopped onto her back, pulling the man into her arms. She loved it when he slept on her chest and she especially loved the way that the scent of his hair wafted into her nose, the softness of it brushing against her cheek as thought it was caressing her. Five months ago. . .well, actually, more like six, Steve was friends with Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins. Now, here he was. . .

"I can hear the wheels turning in there," Steve said.

"Do you miss Tommy and Carol?" Nancy asked.

"What? What brought this on?" he asked.

"We've been dating for the past five months, you know," Nancy said and paused. "I just don't think I've ever asked you about giving them up."

"I miss Tommy, I'll always miss Tommy," Steve said. "I missed him when we were friends at the end, too. He wasn't the same Tommy that I used to know. He got really mean when he started dating Carol. It didn't matter how many times I told them to stop. There was nothing I could say or do could stop them from being assholes. Walking away from them was always going to happen. You coming into my life, just made it happen faster. I don't regret walking away from them."

"I'm just worried about you not having a whole lot of friends anymore," Nancy said.

"Nancy Wheeler, you're more than enough for me," Steve said, looking up at her. "I'm happy, okay."

"Yeah, okay," Nancy said.

Steve leaned up and kissed her before moving his head back to her chest. It felt a little overwhelming to know that she was the only good thing that he had in his life. There were his parents, but she wouldn't count on them, and neither would Steve. . .well, maybe his mother. Although, she seemed to be just as absent as his father, but Steve seemed to have rose colored glasses when it came to her. Nancy sighed. She loved Steve, and she wanted him to have more in his life than just her because what if something happened?

"Goodnight," she whispered and smiled when his snores filled the air.

The next day, Steve and Nancy got ready to head off to the community pool. Steve would be performing his duties as a lifeguard while Nancy would be sitting poolside reading. Although, occasionally, she'd look up to watch him look out for everyone's safety. The view wasn't so bad either. When they got to the pool, Steve gave her a kiss before heading to the back to change and relieve Heather Holloway from duty. Nancy was just about to stretch out in a lawn chair when she spotted her mother and her friends.

"Mom?" She asked softly.

Nancy frowned. Karen had told her that she had errands to run, and that's why they couldn't get their hair done today. Was this one of those errands? Karen and her friends were watching Heather as if they were anticipating something. They looked really nice. . .too nice to be sitting by the pool. Then it clicked. They were waiting for Heather to leave. They wanted to see. . .oh god, they wanted to see Steve. She wanted to vomit. Nancy got up and hurried to the locker room where Steve was in the middle of changing.

"Nancy!"

"Wear a shirt today," Nancy said.

She hoped he wouldn't be flattered when she told him.

"Why?" Steve asked. "I mean, I'll do it. . ."

"My mother and her friends are out there today," Nancy said. "And they're a little too eager to see you up there."

"Ew," Steve said, scrunching up his face. "I mean - "

"No, that was the correct response," Nancy replied.

She waited for him to finish changing before walking out with him. Standing up in front of everyone, Nancy pulled Steve into a deep kiss. She broke the kiss quickly, smirking at the goofy smile on Steve’s face. She moved back to her seat, ignoring the feeling of her mother's eyes on her. Nancy opened her book, but she couldn't read a single word of it. She stayed with Steve again that night, and when she walked into her house, Karen was waiting for her in the kitchen. Ted was at work, and Holly had been dropped at the Sinclairs. She assumed that Mike was at Will's.

"Can we talk?" Karen asked. "I made some coffee."

"I'm sure it will go great with the disgust I feel knowing that my mother is lusting after my boyfriend like she's a teenage girl," Nancy said.

"I didn't know you were going to be there. You told me that you were going to be at Aly's," Karen said.

"So, that makes it okay? I lied, too, so it makes it okay for you to do that?" Nancy asked with a scoff.

"Of course not," Karen said. "I'm ashamed of myself. I didn't want you to see me being so weak."

"You made it into such a big deal that I slept with Steve," Nancy said, rolling her eyes. "I didn't want to make you even more uncomfortable with the idea that I had a sex life, so I didn't tell you that I was spending most of my nights with Steve. The fact that you're drooling over him is the problem, the biggest, in fact."

"You shouldn't have to do that. You should be able to tell me these things," Karen said.

"And you should be able to deal with the fact that I'm having sex," Nancy said.

"I'm sorry about all of this, Nancy," Karen said. "You have no idea how guilty I feel about this. I really tried to ignore it, Nancy. I did."

Nancy huffed and fixed her a cup. She sighed as she took a sip. It did seem to help soothe her stomach. She stared out the kitchen window, trying to figure out how she wanted to deal with this. Men and women weren't so different, as much as they tried to pretend they were. A lot of women tried to deny that they wouldn't go on looks alone, that they're not as shallow as a lot of men were. Nancy was guilty about doing it on occasion. It was what drew her to Steve, but what really pulled her in was the fact that she felt it in her bones that underneath all that hair, Steve Harrington had heart. Society wanted them to have this barrier, that men should believe that they're better than women just because a lot of them, not all, are physically stronger. There was an air of superiority that women felt, that they themselves wanted to believe, that they're better than men because they don't view sex the same way they do. Standing in the kitchen with her mother, it wasn't true at all. Women and men were the same way in that aspect. She couldn't blame her for how she felt, but she could blame her for how she chose to act on it.

"I don't blame you for being attracted to Steve. He's a beautiful young man, inside and out," Nancy said as she turned around.

"Does that mean - ," Karen started to say.

"I'm not ready to forgive you yet," she said.

She wasn't perfect either. Nancy had her own struggles to deal with. Including her own attraction to Jonathan.

"Nancy," Karen pleaded.

Nancy sighed and sipped her coffee as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"You're the adult here, mother, and I'm not naive to think that you're not going to make mistakes but this. . .I mean, I totally understand not being able to control how you feel sometimes, but you knew how wrong it was. You're old enough to understand that openly gazing at someone who's the same age as your daughter, who's dating your daughter, is wrong! And you did that with your friends! You made that decision! Steve is a teenager, and he managed to tell his friends off and walk away from them," Nancy said.

"I'm sorry, Nancy," Karen said tearfully.

"I love you. You're a good mother. . .although this isn't a good look for you," Nancy said. "You and Dad have done so much for us, but neither one of you is perfect. There are times, however, that I feel more like the parent than you or dad. It shouldn't be like that. It feels a lot like that now."

"I don't know how I got here, Nancy," Karen said.

"I think you do, mom," Nancy said. "You don't want to admit it. We all have a problem with communicating in this family, especially with ourselves. You and Dad both know what you have to do, but you're choosing to ignore it."

"I'm sor - ," Karen started to say.

"You've already said that," Nancy said. "All the times that I've been with Steve, I never wanted to control myself. I never wanted to hold myself back because I knew there wasn't anything wrong with how I felt. It wouldn't have been wrong because I'm the same age, I'm attracted to him, and now I'm in love with him. Judging me for sleeping with him and then turning around to spread yourself out like that. . .that's what pisses me off. You're a hypocrite. . . But I think most, if not all, people are, though."

"Are you okay?" Karen asked.

"I'm trying to be okay with what you did," Nancy sighed.

"You really don't have to forgive me right now, be mad at me as long as you want to," Karen said.

"He's my boyfriend, mom, mine!" Nancy snapped. "I don't want to see you at the pool again."

Nancy finished her coffee and walked up to her room. She laid on the bed, hugging her bear and wishing that Barb were here. Women weren't infallible. They fuck up just as much as men do but this mistake doesn't wipe away all the good that she's done for them over the years. Nancy herself wasn't perfect either, but she refused to make the same mistake her mom did. She didn't want to hurt Steve the way she hurt Nancy or the way she almost hurt Ted. He wasn't perfect, but he didn't deserve what Karen almost did. She wasn't going to be like her mom or her dad. . .well, she wasn't going to be the worst part of themselves, anyway. The problem was that they couldn't admit that they're no longer in love. She also knew that sometimes things hurt so much that you can't just seem to let go of what's safe.

"Fuck," Nancy whispered, wiping her eyes, and wished once again that Barb was here.

It took a couple of days for Nancy to even start speaking to their mother. Another couple for Nancy to realize that Karen didn't get there on her own, that maybe she had transferred her feelings of loneliness into something else. It wasn't just Ted but their responsibility as well. At least she hoped it was only a pseudo attraction and not her mother actually being attracted to men the same age as Nancy. Either way, Nancy spent the next couple of weeks trying to work on her relationship with her mother and father. She went shopping with Karen and when she wasn't shopping with Karen, she was watching TV with her father and talking about books. Books were actually one of the things she had in common with Ted and one of the things she could talk about with him. Although getting her mother and father to actually speak to each other was the trickiest part. It was hard to do when her mother found fault in everything that Ted did. No wonder Ted stopped trying. Holly was the easiest one to talk to, but Mike was the hardest to reach. He was still pretty angry over the fact that El was gone, and despite the fact that she knew what it was to lose someone, she didn't know how to talk to him.

"So, how is everything?" Steve asked as Nancy curled up against him.

After spending time with her family and being driven crazy, Nancy finally decided to spend time with her boyfriend. His parents were gone once again, so she was relaxing from the drama by watching TV on Steve’s couch.

"Still very tense at home. I can't get mom to talk about what she really needs to talk with dad," Nancy sighed. "I think she's scared of going out on her own. . .I mean, without dad for her to lean on."

"Yeah, after being married for so long, I get that," Steve said. "I think if anyone can inspire her, it's you."

"You think so?" Nancy asked.

"I know it. You're an inspiration, Nancy Wheeler," Steve said. "You inspire me everyday."

Nancy smiled and kissed him deeply before tucking her head into his shoulder.

"So, how's it going making more friends?" Nancy asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Steve frowned.

"Steve, come on, talk to me, please?" Nancy asked.

"Well, I tried to approach Eddie Munson about joining Hellfire," Steve said.

"Really?" Nancy asked.

"I was curious about all of that Dungeons and Demons game your brother plays," Steve said.

"Dungeons and Dragons," Nancy said, laughing. "And how did it go?"

"Well, he laughed at me and then told me to fuck off. No matter how many times I told him I was serious, he didn't believe that I wasn't just fucking with him like Tommy apparently used to," Steve said.

"Do you want me to beat him up?" Nancy asked.

"That would be hilarious for Munson but no," Steve snorted.

"Aren't there any potential players on your team?" Nancy asked.

"Patrick Mckinney is nice, but he also shadows Jason Carver, who's not so nice," Steve said.

"Well, you used to hang out with Tommy and Carol," Nancy pointed out.

"That's true," Steve said. "I suppose I could give it a shot."

"It definitely wouldn't hurt to try," Nancy said. "Which I think you should."

"Why are you trying so hard?" Steve asked.

"I just don't want you to be alone if anything happens," Nancy said.

"Hey, you're going to be okay, and and so am I," Steve said. "I am okay, Nance."

"I just worry about you, sometimes," Nancy said.

"I like that you worry about me," Steve said and kissed her. "I worry about you, too."

"I'm okay," she whispered, and then her eyes lit up. "Jonathan!"

"I'm Steve," he replied.

"Shut up!" Nancy laughed and slapped his chest. "I should set up a play date between you and Jonathan!"

"Okay, never call it that again, and do you really think that Jonathan would want to be friends with me?" Steve asked.

"Yes! He needs to see how great you are," Nancy said.

"Alright, if you can convince him," Steve said. "I'll do anything you ask me to."

"Really?" She asked with a mischievous grin.

"Within reason, I'll do anything you ask me to within reason, and so far, everything you've asked of me sounds pretty damn reasonable," Steve said. "Although, don't be surprised if it doesn't work out."

Steve grabbed the remote and changed the channel.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Nancy exclaimed.

"No, you weren't. Besides, Magnum is on," Steve said.

"Ooh, I do love Tom Selleck," Nancy said and squeezed Steve’s thighs. "He's got great legs like someone I know."

"Hm, he's got a great mustache, I definitely would give it a ride," Steve said.

"Steve!" Nancy giggled. "Hopper has a mustache."

"Mm, yeah, he does," Steve said, and Nancy buried her face in his chest as she giggled some more.

"Stop," she said.

"Don't worry, baby, you're definitely hotter than Tom Selleck," Steve said.

"You take that back," she said with a gasp.

Steve laughed as they snuggled deeper into the couch, propping their feet up onto the coffee table, their matching painted pink toenails shining under the light. For once, neither one of them were trying to be perfect. . .just live in the moment.

"Hey, do you think it's too soon to joke about you and your mom having the same taste in men?" Steve asked.

"Yes, asshole!" Nancy shrieked, sitting up.

She grabbed a pillow and hit him repeatedly. Steve laughed as he shielded himself with his arms. He grabbed the other pillow and hit Nancy. She shrieked with laughter as she fell back onto the couch. Steve rolled off the couch and took off. Nancy ran off after him, trying to hit him with her pillow. Steve dodged and weaved.

"You don't have a chance," Steve taunted.

He turned around and hit her bottom with the pillow. She tried to hold in her giggle but failed. She managed to hit him back. He responded with another hit, and she fell back with a fake gasp.

"Steve!" Nancy yelled in mock outrage.

"Shit, Nance, I'm sorry," Steve said.

He hurried over to her and gave her his hand. Suddenly, Nancy gave him a wicked smile and grabbed his hand. She yanked him onto the floor next to her.

"Gotchya!" Nancy exclaimed.

"You tricked me," Steve said.

"Of course I did," Nancy said and straddled his waist.

Steve’s hands went to her hips, holding her steady and her smile wide.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too."

Nancy leaned down and kissed him, enjoying having him underneath her. Outside, the pool where Barb died still resided, a constant reminder that she was gone. That thought constantly lingered in her mind, whispering to her that it was her fault, especially the closer it got to the one year anniversary of Barbara's death. She didn't want to think about that, though, or the fact that she had feelings for Jonathan. All she wanted to do was live in this moment with Steve and enjoy the fact that she was in love with him. . .that neither one of them was alone.

[pangur-and-grim]

one thing that took me embarrassingly long to learn is "sometimes when people say things, they will not be true."

I used to tell people about this revelation and they'd be like yeah.....duh.....but like, why wouldn't my base assumption be that you're communicating to me in a straightforward manner. anyway, I get scammed a lot.

[kkatastrophic]

It took me everything not to yell and lose my temper, so I broke. Not figurative at all. Like I literally threw the closest thing to me, and it shattered.

Fuck.

Fuck.

I don't care that it was in my own room, in my own house. Fuck. I feel so bad. I feel terrible.

[inkskinned]

because sometimes there are invisible tests and invisible rules and you're just supposed to ... know the rule. someone you thought of as a friend asks you for book recommendations, so you give her a list of like 30 books, each with a brief blurb and why you like it. later, you find out she screenshotted the list and send it out to a group chat with the note: what an absolute freak can you believe this. you saw the responses: emojis where people are rolling over laughing. too much and obsessive and actually kind of creepy in the comments. you thought you'd been doing the right thing. she'd asked, right? an invisible rule: this is what happens when you get too excited.

you aren't supposed to laugh at your own jokes, so you don't, but then you're too serious. you're not supposed to be too loud, but then people say you're too quiet. you aren't supposed to get passionate about things, but then you're shy, boring. you aren't supposed to talk too much, but then people are mad when you're not good at replying.

you fold yourself into a prettier paper crane. since you never know what is "selfish" and what is "charity," you give yourself over, fully. you'd rather be empty and over-generous - you'd rather eat your own boundaries than have even one person believe that you're mean. since you don't know what the thing is that will make them hate you, you simply scrub yourself clean of any form of roughness. if you are perfect and smiling and funny, they can love you. if you are always there for them and never admit what's happening and never mention your past and never make them uncomfortable - you can make up for it. you can earn it.

don't fuck up. they're all testing you, always. they're tolerating you. whatever secret club happened, over a summer somewhere - during some activity you didn't get to attend - everyone else just... figured it out. like they got some kind of award or examination that allowed them to know how-to-be-normal. how to fit. and for the rest of your life, you've been playing catch-up. you've been trying to prove that - haha! you get it! that the joke they're telling, the people they are, the manual they got- yeah, you've totally read it.

if you can just divide yourself in two - the lovable one, and the one that is you - you can do this. you can walk the line. they can laugh and accept you. if you are always-balanced, never burdensome, a delight to have in class, champagne and glittering and never gawky or florescent or god-forbid cringe: you can get away with it.

you stare at your therapist, whom you can make jokes with, and who laughs at your jokes, because you are so fucking good at people-pleasing. you smile at her, and she asks you how you're doing, and you automatically say i'm good, thanks, how are you? while the answer swims somewhere in your little lizard brain:

how long have you been doing this now? mastering the art of your body and mind like you're piloting a puppet. has it worked? what do you mean that all you feel is... just exhausted. pick yourself up, the tightrope has no net. after all, you're cheating, somehow, but nobody seems to know you actually flunked the test. it's working!

aren't you happy yet?

[hoshizoralone]

reflection

[camofag]

the public reaction to i saw the tv glow is like a perfect case study into how cis people take up queer spaces and unknowingly mock and enjoy trans suffering. sitting in the theater, i had a pit in my stomach the entire time. so many times, i would tear up and then someone else in the theater would laugh. and i wouldn’t cry because how would they look at me when the lights came back on? because they don’t see it. they don’t see the pain. they think it’s funny. i left the theater completely silent, not saying a word to my boyfriend and he didn’t say a word to me until partway into the drive home. the people around us immediately got to picking it apart, explaining what it all meant to each other, dumbing it down, making theories. cis people see the the movie, just like transness, as something to debate. a conversation. something to dissect because it makes them uncomfortable if they don’t understand it in their easily digestible way.

[kaahmbem]

legend has it that the young witch circe and the once beautiful nymph scylla shared a complicated past...

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[bigfatbreak]

Birds of a Feather previous / next

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I know those eyes.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[bluerosefox]

Selina's New Kittens

Once again. A new DPxDC idea/prompt.

(Deaged! Danny, Dan, Ellie, and Jazz!)

Enjoy my random ideas.

Look.

Selina....

Selina wasn't expecting this when she decided to have some fun and do what she does best.

She just meant to sweet talk her way into Master's gala/party. Flirt and get info, maybe some blackmail. Steal away the rare cat themed artifact he had recently gotten (and also steal away his actual cat, such a lovely little diva it is too). then she was going to disappear into the night like always.

So...

Selina casted her eyes into the mirror of her car and could see the tiny children she had rescued from Master's hidden basement lab. All but one was asleep, the oldest out of them, although she seemed to be losing that fight from the way her head was falling forward, eyes closing but would jerk herself back awake when she realized she was falling asleep.

Curled up as hard and as much as they could towards the little redhead was three dark haired children, Selina mused that they'd fit right in with Bruce and his little bats/birds.

Two were near identical boys, though one seemed to be much paler than the other and if she remembered right one had red eyes and the other had blue, and the last one of the sleeping kids was a tiny toddler, a girl she heard was named 'Ellie' from the others.

Selina took note that the red head, Jazz, had finally fallen asleep a few minutes later. With a deep breath as she drove further and further away from that... that insane Fruitloop (she overheard the two boys call him that as they ran to her car) Master's place, she blindly reached for her phone and pressed a single digit on the screen, knowing it will connect to her car and call up the only person she can trust to help her with this.

"Selina." came the gravely voice after a single ring, sounds like she caught him on patrol but he seemed to be in a spot where he was okay to say her actual name over coms or she caught him before his night shift started.

"Hello Darling, I need your help with some kittens I found and to help me... Put away their terrible old owner."

[lady-raziel]

because there is nothing to lose the people saying biden should resign now so kamala can still be the first female president are absolutely right but why stop there? inauguration day is 70 days away let's make "president for a day" a real thing. say "fuck it we ARE going to do the arbitrary quota DEI bullshit you accuse us of" and speedrun first [category] presidents. revolving door type thing.

first female president. first openly gay president. first transgender president. first president who has been to space. first president gamer president. first mime president. just play president bingo and hit as many categories as possible while we still can. make all of trump's #47 merch unusable by forcing him to be the 115th president instead. who cares anymore let's peacefully transition power but do it in the most chaotic hot-potato way possible

[beanghostprincess]

there's just something about pre-timeskip nami that makes me love her more and more every day

[technically-human]

Beings and entities, @i-am-as-normal-as-you-are has once again approached me with an amazing concept, so we present to you... a fusion, Steven Universe style! we're calling him Charwin because we can't be creative all the time.

AND there's lore. It's us, of course there's lore.

I tried to include it in the comics themselves, but basically, there was a case of dissappearing ghosts. Just like Esther, the people behind this were trying to use the pure energy to their advantage. These rocks are supposed to amplify the energy, but it kept resulting on the ghosts dissipating. The boys were captured and experimented on (yes that's horrifying. Not pictured here because... the reverse verse is angsty enough, so I wanted this one to be a bit more fluffy), but since they both went through Hell, they're stronger than your average ghost, and the rocks stayed on! The fusion was an unexpected side effect.

Plus he can make a weapon appear! it is just an oil lamp though.

[nicole-ashwood]

Honestly I think a lot of peoples problem with Chloe come's down to the fact that she's simply just a strong, capable, yet flawed woman. A lot of the 'I Hate Chloe Price' crowd that I've seen (which admittedly I haven't sought out all that much tbh) are weird men who seem to want to nitpick at her for every wrong thing they think she's done.

Some of the same people who say "More women should be mean!" are the same people who call Chloe Price a bitch.

[mroddmod]

she’ll be alright because she had you.