#shit on lucas even if he had a real good run past 4 games

[anxiouspepper28]

Opened twitter, raised my brows, raised them again, got pissed off...agendas, so many agendas.

"Madrid fans are demanding.." no bitch you just post whatever shit will give you more clicks and comments...

[padme-parker]

Collide / Chapter 1

[a Star Wars x Avengers crossover]

Summary: With the fate of the universe lying in your hands, you are sent on a mission to a galaxy far, far away.

Warnings: none (I think)

Word Count: ~3k

A/N: The readers ‘superhero’ name is Star btw, so I hope that clears up any possible confusion (there will be a backstory/flashback later as to how she got that name). This is the first series I’ve ever written, so there's gonna be some major plot holes and shit that doesn’t make sense!! I’ve been trying to work through the kinks and make it seems as logical as possible. Sorry and Thanks for reading :) xx 

also I didn’t really proof reader so sorry if there like,,, a lot of mistakes

image is from the 100! (but this isn’t strictly about the 100 !)

“and I scream from the top of my lungs, what’s going on?” -4 Non Blondes

You sat down on the couch with a huff, Tony had taken the remote away from you after you decided to replay Revenge of the Sith for the 100th time. It was the team bonding movie night, occurring every friday. Peter and you were more than eager to rewatch it, however the team was not so ecstatic about it.

As soon as Tony saw your eyes light up, he immediately knew what you were thinking of, “And don’t even think of asking FRIDAY to play it for you.” You let out another huff, deciding to leave so you could have some time to yourself.

“Star, where are you going!?” He paused the show, as he and the others turned to you.

“Well, since you took away my joy, Mr. Stank, I’ve decided to ogle Anakin Skywalker in the comfort of my own room.” You could hear the snickers let out by the team as Tony muttered under his breath, unpausing the show as the theme for Sense8 started to play.

As you entered your room, you took no notice towards the figure in the corner. You were just about to flop down onto your heavenly bed before you were interrupted.

“Miss L/N.” You let out a scream as you turned to the figure. Quickly unholstering your weapon, you pointed it at the figure, finger guns ready to shoot if needed. “Cut the crap L/N, and put the ‘gun’ away.”

“Damn Fury, I could’ve been changing! What the hell.” You gave him an incredulous look

“Oh you’re funny, but we all know that you don’t give a damn if someone sees you half or fully naked. Not that I’d want to, cause frankly I don’t.” Your eyes widened with shock, mouth falling open, “Nevermind that, I’m not here for chitchat. I have a mission for you that requires your focus to be….elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere..? EYe- sir it’s the 21st century, not the 18th century.”

“Yes, well regarding the place you’re going to, our timelines won’t be explicitly the same.” You gave him a questioning look, he continued, “Tell me young L/N, have you ever heard of the force?” Oh at this point he must’ve been tickling your pickle, I mean what kind of joke is he playing at?

“Yes, of course I have! It’s a fictional power from a fictional movie!” Opting out on the ‘DUH!’ at the end just in case Fury decided he wasn’t in the mood to play games anymore.

“Wrong, agent L/N. You’re absolutely wrong.” At this point you were seated on your bed, hands clasped together and placed on your lap. “In fact, where do you think you got your powers from?” Oh shit, maybe you should’ve thought about the fact that you could move things with your mind before saying that the force was fake.

“I don’t understand, even if what you’re implying is remotely correct, it would be impossible! There’s also no way I could even go back to the past to change it” Before you could utter another word, Director Fury motion for you to stand up.

“Come with me agent L/N, you have much to learn.” He said as he directed both of you out of your room. Soon you found yourself in front of the doors to the meeting room. Walking in, you noticed there had already been files laid out across the table. “Take a seat, L/N. I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“First things first,” I’m the realest, HA! I’m funny, good one y/n.  “The force is real, it’s essentially what gives you your telekinetic powers. Second, because of Doctor Strange, it has come to my attention that the fate of the universe lies in your hands.”

“Wait, what? Why me? Is it because I’m a huge Star Wars fan..? I mean come on! What about Peter, he likes Star Wars too!!”

“Cause I said so, and no, Peter is too young.” Yeah, but apparently old enough to be watching a show with the team that contains nudity, but then again he is 18. Poor kid would just blush at the thought of sex.

“Okay, but even if I did agree to doing this, wouldn’t it be too late for me to at least try to solve anything?” There were a million thoughts and questions running through your mind.

“Time runs at a slower pace in our universe than it does in theirs. If our calculations are correct, we are currently in the Revenge of the Sith timeline.”

“But I thought it was, ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’ not the present..” you rebutled

“Ah, yes. We contacted Mr. Lucas himself. Turns out he too is force sensitive, and gifted with foresight. That’s why he wrote the books and comics, along with creating the movies. He did it so he would never forget about where he’d come from, but it also served as a warning. When he first had visions of the downfall of the Jedi Order, he fled. Using a bridge that connected Coruscant to our Earth. That’s how he, and many other force sensitive beings like you, can inhabit the earth.” He explained.

“That still doesn’t answer my question, how-”

Fury interrupted you before continuing, “Right, like I said, time runs slower here than it does in their universe. While time in his universe runs faster. Before he left, Qui Gon Jinn hadn’t been born yet. He’d left their universe when he was merely 22, about the same age as you. At the age of 32, he’d already released A New Hope. On Earth, he ages slower. Had he stayed within his universe, he would’ve been dead way before you were born.”

All this new information was giving you a headache. “Hold on, you mentioned a bridge.. What exactly is it?”

“Well agent L/N, the bridge is located in the middle of Antarctica, precisely the south pole in an underground ice cave. The bridge can either be used to summon other beings or to travel to different planets. It just so happens that we have one here on Earth. How? We have no idea, but we’re working on it.”

At this point, you were confused and wouldn’t be able to comprehend any new information if he gave any. Noticing the distant look on your face, Fury dismissed you.

“I’ll give you the night to think about it, but remember, the fate of the universe lies in your hands, Y/N. We don’t have much time to waste.”

-

You sat on your bed, hands raking through your hair. Hours ago you were so excited to rewatch your favorite movie, and now you were about to be thrown into that universe. You didn’t know whether to be elated or terrified. Fury said that there were other force sensitive beings on Earth, so why would they choose you? Surely there was someone stronger than you that they could send. But then again this meant that you would be seeing THE Anakin Skywalker.

You looked at the files again to get a better grasp of the mission. Join the Jedi Order. Befriend Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Senator Amidala. Eradicate the Titan race. Hold on, they wanted you to kill a whole race of creatures. If you couldn’t kill a fly, then there was no way you’d be able to off a whole race.

You decided to shoot Peter a text, asking him to come to your room. It didn’t take long before you heard a knock on your door. You responded with its open and Peter came into your room, flopping down onto your bed right next to you.

“What’s up buttercup?” You scrunched up your face. Ew, save it for MJ. Speaking of MJ, you wondered how the two of them were doing. However, you chose not to say anything and instead focus on the situation.

“Okay Pete, I’m going to tell you something and you absolutely CANNOT repeat it to anyone else. Not even Ned.” You paused, waiting for him to nod before continuing, “So like after Mr. Stark so rudely interrupted our rewatch of Star Wars, I went to my room to watch it myself. And then one thing led to another and nowi’mgonnabetravelingacrosstheuniverseandplayingjediwithTHEANAKINSKYWALKERandofcoursedaddywankenobibutFurywantsmetokillawholeraceofbeingsbecausethefateoftheuniverseliesinmyhandsnow.” You turned to Peter hoping his advanced hearing allowed him to understand what you just said, but instead you just received a flabbergasted look from him. “ ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶦ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵃᶦᵈ…” You waited a few seconds expecting that he would catch on eventually, alas he didn’t. You began to repeat yourself, only this time slower.

“...so you're telling me that the force exists and i got stuck with a FREAKING radioactive spider bite??” Dear god, this boy was going to be the death of you.

“Peter, that’s not the point!” You said, trying to get back to the subject, “The point is that by tomorrow I’ll be in a whole other universe, that up until today, didn’t exist to us. This is supposed to be fictional dude, and now it’s becoming my reality! OUR reality! What if I get impaled by a lightsaber? I’m only 20, I can’t die!! Or worse, what if Anakin doesn’t like me?” The severity of the situation was just now hitting you, so many things could go wrong on this mission, but the whole universe was counting on you. The weight of the world began to crush you and breathing became hard. Falling to the floor, you laid in a fetal position, arms clutching your knees.

From the corner of your eye you could see Peter's arm reaching out to touch your shoulder, “Hey, star, you're okay. You’re gonna be okay. C’mon sit up and take a deep breath with me.” Carefully, Peter hoisted you up. You sat criss cross applesauce on the floor, parallel to Peter. Following the breathing exercise, you felt yourself calming down.

“Thank you, y’know you didn’t have to do that. But I appreciate it, a lot.” You knew you weren’t getting a wink of sleep tonight, so you asked Peter if he could stay for the night, which he agreed to. The two of you spent the night talking about the most random things, and before you knew it, the sun had already risen.

Noticing that it was morning, you offered to make some breakfast for the both of you. However as you got up to move, FRIDAY interrupted you, “Miss Y/N, Director Fury requests your presence in the meeting room.” Letting out a loud groan, you told FRIDAY that you would be down soon.

“Well Peter, it looks like I’ll have to make you breakfast once I get back.” You gave him a quick nod before making your way to the meeting room.

“I trust that you spent the night thinking about the mission, agent L/N. So, what have you decided?”

You cleared your throat before responding, “One last question, then you’ll have my answer.” Fury briefly nodded, signaling for you to continue, “Of all places within our universe, why there? Titan is within our solar system, wouldn’t it make sense for the avengers to travel there and just..” holding up a two finger gun to your head, you pretend to shoot yourself and die, “y’know? I mean it would save us a lot more time.”

“Well to put it simply, they have technology far more advanced than ours, we need a special weapon in order to carry out the mission.” You hoped that Fury wasn’t referring to THE weapon. If you went, that would mean you’d be forever changing the timeline, and there’d be no way to fix it. But if you didn’t go, Anakin would fulfill his prophecy, he would live the life of a liar, traitor, and puppet. You wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself for letting Anakin suffer.

“Fine, I’m in. When do I leave.”

-

The flight to Antarctica was long and boring, you would’ve slept but your nerves kept you up. But as you felt the jet land, you couldn’t have been more relieved. You were finally back on land. You could kiss the ice if you wanted to, but chose not to. Who knows what kind of ancient bacteria is lurking.

The entrance to the cave was surrounded by many agents. Although it was quite literally in the middle of nowhere, security was still a top priority. Entering the cave, you clutched the fluffy jacket that was wrapped around your body. You walked in silence, admiring the cave until the agents stopped in front of a hatch.

“This is as far as we can go. Climb down the ladder and follow the path, Fury will be waiting for you.” One of the agents informed you, as the other bent down to open the hatch. Well, here goes nothing.

The first thing you noticed was the change of temperature. Above the hatch, it was freezing, but below it was warmer. Warm enough that you broke out in a slight sweat, but not warm enough to melt the ice. The second thing you noticed was how well lit the passage was, which surprised you. There were lights hanging onto the wall. Hmm, there’s no way they could be solar powered, it's too far underground. They must be powered by the bridge.

You followed the passage, noticing a slight hum that grew louder with every turn you took. Soon, you found yourself in front of a door, a faint green hue escaping from under it. You slowly pushed the door open. The sight in front of your very eyes had you mesmerized. The bridge itself was made of a stone like matter, hovering above the ground. Walking closer to it, you took note of it’s spiral pattern and engravings.

“Welcome agent L/N.” Fury’s loud voice startled you out of your trance.

“The symbols, what do they mean?” You asked

“Well, we're not entirely quite sure what they mean. But we do know that it’s a language of sorts. You see, if you tap the symbols in a specific order, you can travel to a different world or summon a person.” Fury turned to you, handing you a necklace. “It’s a communication, tracking, and code device, all in one. Use it when you need to communicate vital information to us. All the codes you need are in the device, but be weary of using them, any only summon one of us if absolutely needed. It also includes mission details, like the time on Earth and a countdown. If you're not back the day the countdown is done, we will come find you.” He demonstrated how to use the device, pressing a button to bring up Coruscant’s code.

“Now, exactly how does this work ?” You pondered

“It relies on the energy being emitted from the bridge. For it to work, it’s essential that you stay on a planet with a bridge. If not, we won’t be able to track or help you if needed.”

Not another word was uttered as you went to remove your jacket. The black long sleeve shirt along with the black jeans and combat boots you were wearing was going to make you stick out like a sore thumb in the Jedi Temple. Reaching for the device around your throat, you pressed the button. You took a deep breath before touching the first symbol. A warmth began in you, starting from your core, expanding to the tips of your fingers. With each symbol you touched, the vibration of the hum increased. You continued to touch the symbols needed, pausing slightly before touching the last one.

“What now? Do I jus-” There was now a chill in the room, your hair lightly swayed. A small swirl of green mist appeared from behind the bridge, expanding until it filled nearly half of the room. “Do i just walk in..?” Fury nodded. You took hesitant steps towards it, your heart beating louder with each step. Before you fully engulfed yourself into the mist, you turned towards Fury, “If I don’t come back, tell-”

“You’re going to come back. You have to. The avengers, human race, and every inhabitant of the universe is counting on it.” Letting out a shaky breath, you nodded before stepping into the mist.

The further you went in, the less you could feel Fury’s burning stare on the back of your head. As it became weaker, you began to see a concrete wall. You reached out to stabilize yourself, it felt as though you were being kicked out of the bridge. The mist dissipated the second you stepped out of it. Hugging the wall, you look around the concrete room, noticing a heavy look door in front of you. With all your might, you pushed the door open. You began to sluggishly walk down a corridor, tripping over your own feet every couple of seconds. Damn, I really should’ve slept. All of your energy had left your body, and now it felt like you were going crazy as you began to hear a voice in your head.

Who are you? That voice, it sounded so familiar. Too focused on trying to figure out who the voice belonged to, you failed to notice the Jedi running up behind you. It was the ignition of a saber that made you freeze, followed by, “Stop right there! Turn around and face us sith!” Oh, so apparently you were a sith now. You raised your arms up slowly, showing that you weren’t a danger to them. Fully turning around, you were mesmerized to find who was in front of you. Or more like, the crowd in front of you. Your eyes scanned through the familiar faces until you locked eyes with him. His eyes followed your every move, his gaze strong and hard.

“Anakin…” You whispered, your knees buckled, sending you to the ground. Your eyes fluttered close, the exhaustion taking a toll on you. Before you could fully fall asleep, you heard the voice softly respond,

It’s you.

~~

read ch 2 here

omg yall I feel like this sucked ass, I rushed the last couple of paragraphs cause I just really wanted to publish this. I’ll probably come back in the future to edit/rewrite it once I get some stuff sorted out. as of rn I'm thinking of doing a love triangle but idk. Also please tell me how you feel about the title,,, I’m stuck between ‘Borrowed Time’ and ‘Clash’, I only went with the former cause it seemed fitting but I also really like the name ‘Clash’. lmk what you think !!!

[licenselesswriter]

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 44. And if I could send more, I would.

Inspiration and Reading Asks:

1. How long ago did you start reading fanfiction? Writing fanfiction? Started reading when I was 12, started writing it, when I was 14, so reading, 19 years ago, and writing 17 years ago.

2. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both? I’m a 33.3% reader, 33.3% WIP machine, a 33.4% writer, and 100% mess, I usually spend my time doing an absurd amount of WIP that comes out of thin air, like, I can be eating an apple, boom, Bori WIP, a cup of coffee? Boom, Roro WIP, breathing? Boom, Lucaya WIP (that last one happens the most)

3. Are there any fics that inspired you to write what you do? It’s called Unfaithful (EN), it’s on fanfiction.net, and honestly, it’s so well written, that I had nausea 3 times while reading it, the pain was so palpable that I felt ill from it.

4. Link your three favorite fics right now. Right now, and in order 1 - Unfaithful (EN)  2 - Twenty Nights  3 - Perfect 

6. How do you find a new fic to read? Where do you primarily read fanfiction? Fanfiction or AO3, and have an excel doc with my favorite ships, then I go to the random number generator, putting 1 as the minimum and maximum the number of the last ship I added to the list, then hit random, and read about that ship, keep things fresh.

7. Do you prefer to read short fics or long fics? Both.

8. How often do you reblog/comment on fics that you like? When they are on Tumblr, a few times.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community. I’m sorry, but I don’t know if they have Tumblr, so, amirmitchell, snowdrifts, and Onde Tu Esteves

10. What’s your favorite fandom, pairing, or character to read fic for? Fandom: Game of Thrones, love all those modern universe AU I have to say. Pairing: Lucaya (Not a surprise) Character: Lucas Friar, Portgas D. Ace, Roronoa Zoro, or Prince Zuko.

Fanfiction Writing Asks:

11. How do you come up with your fic titles? Coffee, food, and usually, Spotify, all that, sometimes, make my brain work into having titles about the things I want to write.

13. Do you outline your fics? How much of a headache would someone get if they just looked at an outline of yours without reading the fic? I do outlines, in 5 stages, so a pretty big one. 1 - I write in my notebook, what I want to write, like a general idea. 2 - Post it on my walls and door, to give the story some structure. 3 - Notebook outline the arch of the story. 4 - Outline every chapter on word. 5 - Reduce that chapter into mini arches to write faster.

14. Do you have a personal word minimum that you hold yourself too? Why or why not? I do (now), I usually don’t post anything that is less than 2900 words, Why? because we must not forget that writers not only write for people in the fandom, they mainly write for themselves, and I love to read something among that word count because that’s long enough to keep me on the hook.

16. Do you research for your fics? If so, how deep of a rabbit hole have you gone down by accident when researching? I do research for my fics, how deep? I can give indications for divorce paperwork in the state of New York, even if you want or not to go scorch the earth with the “fault” rule, I can give an appropriate value to an apartment or a house in New York, Texas, Nashville, and San Francisco, and I can do taxes on those states too, and I know more about how high school classes work in the US than in my country, even when I went to those classes, and I’m from Santiago, Chile, you know, in South America, like, the last country of South America

17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback? I don’t, once I finish writing something, I run away, and watch anime for a few hours, or work (Yeah, sometimes I write on my lunch hour)

18. Do you have a WIP that you keep telling yourself you’ll eventually get back to, but deep down you know that’s probably a lie? I do apologize to “The Games we Play” I have no idea how I outlined your 26 chapters, but I’m still on chapter 2, and I’m sorry.

19. Do you edit your fics after you write them, or do you prefer to just hit post and run (because it’s someone else’s problem now)? Sometimes I do because sometimes, I write things wrong.

20. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process? That happiness I get when I’m in the Zone, and I write something that makes me say “Fuck, that was good”

21. What’s your least favorite part about the fanfiction writing process? I call it “The Deep White”, also known as writer’s block.

23. What’s your absolute favorite trope to write? I don’t write it anymore, because I was banned from a forum for writing it, but I love to write a bad ending, like “Killing the main character that I make you love for 30 chapters in the end” ending. I’m evil, I know, sue me.

24. What’s a trope that you’d like to never hear about as long as you live, let alone write? The “Good girl trying to change the bad boy,” I hate, apologies, I DESPISE that trope, it’s not cool, first, to be with someone abusive, and second, to try to change someone because you think you’re so almighty that you will change him (or her)  because of love, bs, I SAID BS.

25. Do you listen to music as you write? If possible, link your writing playlist. I do, and of course, it’s named “Writing Shiet” because my brain can only process decent titles for fics (Says the guy who once named a fic “No Title”) Here’s the link 

26. What’s your biggest distraction when writing? Anime and Manga.

27. Do you like to give your readers some warning of what might be coming or just slap them in the face with content at random? I don’t usually do it, but when I do it, I do it cryptic, like “You might be surprised, but this, I called in the beginning.”

28. How do you deal with writing pressure (ie: pressure to update, negative comments, deadlines, etc)? I ignore it, If I can ignore good advice, ignore something that gives me more stress it’s an easy cake.

29. Have you ever written for an exchange or event of some kind? Which one(s)? Did you enjoy it? I did but didn’t submit, I wrote for 2019 fictoberfest on Tumblr, but never send a shit, I did enjoy it tho

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words. "Well, we're still not in Texas," he says, implying something not PG-13 at all. "My God, in what did I turn you?" Maya teases him before getting up and grab his hand, pulling him up. Lucas grins at her, "On," he replies, making Maya flirty hit his chest

31. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones? I love writing Lucas and Maya, and honestly don’t know if it helps me or not LOL.

32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you’ve ever written. What fics do they come from? 1 - From November to June CH3 A few hours later, Maya heard a knock on her door. She takes a peek through the magic eye on her door and saw Lucas. She grabs her phone and fastly texts him. She was able to hear the 'ding' of his phone, and spying through the magic eye she saw his reaction. "Ok, first of all, I'm not that, second, my mother is not that, and third, I'm not gonna put that there, that's fucking gross, and probably deadly if you consider the size of my hands." he defends himself. 2 - Ten Duel Commandments CH2 Maya smiles at him, "Since you're all Texan cowboy goody-good boy, I imagine you would relate more with the honorable Lord Stark," she teases him. "Says the woman who read three books in a row and texts me at four in the morning," he replies before pulling out his phone, "R+L=J," he teases her, reading her text. "That's private, asshole," Maya recriminates him. 3 - The One Who Stayed CH18 "Then, I have less... GET OFF ME FUCKER!" Maya screamed, punching the person who grabbed her arm, "Holy shit, Lucas." she says, looking at the person she just hit. "Noted, never approach to you by surprise." Lucas says on the floor, "Well, this makes me feel more confident about you being here alone." he says before start laughing.

33. What do you like writing better: one-shots or multi-chapter stuff? Multi-chapter, unless, it’s wedding fics because I love weddings.

34. How much of yourself and your life experiences do you put into your writing? What do you think your readers’ image of you is? None.

35. How much has writing fic changed your life? Not much, but has made me happier.

36. Are there any fics or fandoms you’re embarrassed to have written or been part of? The Glee Project Fandom.

37. Give an update on your current WIP - if you don’t have one, give a sneak peek to a title or idea that you have and would like to write. "Shawn called him, and he assures him that if you try something inappropriate, he has a shotgun," she adds, making Lucas's face go pale. "Well, guess like father, like son," he comments, making Maya show unexpected interest in his words.

38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)? As I explained in the outline question, pretty tame if we count that I have my outline process numbered LOL.

39. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on? That I try to make it real, I try to make people feel something when they read.

41. What’s your most popular fic (with the most notes on Tumblr, most hits/kudos on ao3)? Tumblr? The One Who Stayed Fanfiction.net? Ten Duel Commandments

44. Rant about something writing-related. Please, let’s stop glorifying the “Bad Boy” character, he’s an asshole, allow me to explain, Bakugo, fucking asshole, he’s just a bully with an oversized ego, no, he’s not a tsundere, no, it’s not cute, that shit is abusive, and it really makes me want to punch people in their nose when the romanticize that bullshit.

Done

(Told ya I was bored)

[marvelslut16]

Can’t fight this feeling I

Pairing: Jim Hopper x Wheeler!reader

Synopsis: A reader insert where the reader is Mike’s oldest sister, who has already graduated and works at the police station. She has always been infatuated with Hopper, and he seems to be quite taken with her as well. This part takes place in season 1 episodes 1 and 2.

Word count: 4616

Warnings: swearing probably. Age gap relationship. And eventual Stranger Things canon gore. 

Author’s note: this is going to be super long, eventually I’ll do all three seasons. So read at your own risk. I may continue into season 4, it depends on the fate of Hopper honestly.  

“Hey (Y/N),” Dustin calls from the doorway. “There's a slice left if you want. Pepperoni and sausage.”

“Thanks sweetheart,” I walk over to him, grab the piece of pizza from the box and kiss his cheek. “How about I walk you out?” I wink at him. 

“Okay!” he gives you a toothless smile as heat rises to his cheeks from the kiss.

“How long were you guys in the basement for?” I ask as we walk down the stairs.  

“So far it was ten hours, but the quest still isn’t over yet.” 

“Well if I ever get time off, maybe I could join you guys for the next one.”

“That would be awesome!” Dustin exclaims as we walk out to the garage. 

“Bye Lucas! Bye Dustin!” I call as they start to bike away.

“The roll was a seven,” Will says to Mike before turning to me. “I’ll see you tomorrow right?”

“Yep,” I smile at the younger boy. “I’m hanging out with Jonathan tomorrow after work. Have a goodnight Will.”

As Will bikes away I throw my arm around Mikes shoulder and pull him into my side. He leans into my side as the lights flicker. 

“That was weird,” I murmur. Mike shrugs it off before walking back into the house. 

--

The next morning we’re all sitting down at the table eating eggs for breakfast. The phone starts to ring and mom groans. Mike and Nancy are bickering, dad is watching the tv, and Holly starts crying. I smooth my dress pants down as I hurry towards the phone so mom doesn’t have to. 

“Hello?” I ask as I glance over at the time, shit I’m running late. 

“(Y/N)? It’s Joyce.” The bickering behind me gets louder, I snap my fingers at my siblings to get them to quiet down. 

“Hi Joyce, is something up with Jonathan?” I ask. 

Jonathan Byers, my best friend for as long as I can remember. I’m two years older than him, meaning he’s the same age as my younger sister Nancy. Not that they talk to each other, Nancy may not be the Queen of the school, but her friend group still doesn’t mix with him. Jonathan has always been shy and kept to himself, but we just clicked when we met each other. 

“Nothings wrong with Jonathan,” the slight smile can be heard in her voice. Joyce always loved that I could get Jonathan out of his shell, and that I never judged him. “But was that Will I heard?”

“No, just Mike and Nancy,” my eyebrows furrow in confusion. 

“Will didn't spend the night?” The worry in Joyce’s voice grows more prominent. 

“No, I saw him off around eight last night,” I frown and glance back at Mike. “He's not home?”

“I-I was working late last night, and so was Jonathan. I'm sure he just left early for school.”

“If you want to talk to Hop, I’ll sit with you while he fills out the report. I’m leaving for the station in like five minutes.”

“Thanks (Y/N),” Joyce sighs in relief. “I’ll see you there,” and the phone clicks. 

“I’ll see you guys later,” I smile at my family as I grab my bag. 

“Who was on the phone?” mom asks. 

“It was Jonathan,” I lie effortlessly. “He was telling me we might have to change our plans for tonight.” I kiss Holly on the head and ruffle Mike’s hair before heading to the door. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m already running late!”

--

Being late didn’t matter, I was still earlier than Hop. Police Chief Jim Hopper, I’ve been smitten with the older man for four years now. There was just something about his brooding and slight beer belly that was all pure man that made me crush on him and his cynical personality.

“Good of you to show,” Flo gives Hopper a look as he walks through the door. I give Joyce a reassuring smile before heading into the bullpen behind Hopper, my heels clicking as I walk. 

“Mornin' to you too, Flo,” Hopper heads straight for the coffee machine. Callahan and  Powell look up from a game of five-card draw, their boots kicked up on their desks.

“You look like hell, Chief,” Callahan points out the obvious. 

“Your girlfriend looked worse when I left her,” Hopper retorts. I sigh rolling my eyes at the men. Powell cackles at this.

As Hopper is making himself a cup of coffee Flo walks up to him and takes his cigarette out of his mouth and snubs it out. I can’t help but laugh at the interaction.

“While you were drinking or sleeping or whatever it is you deem so important on Monday mornings,” Flo starts laying into him.”Phil Larson called, said some kids stole the gnomes out of his garden again-”

“Gnomes again, huh? Yeah, tell Phil I'll get right on that-” he cuts her off. Hopper already has another cigarette in his mouth and coffee in his hand. Flo follows him as he makes his way towards his office, which I’m in his way of getting to. 

“You’re late,” I snap at him. “Joyce Byers called.” 

“I’ll call her back in a minute,” he fake promises.

“This is actually important,” I snap again. His brows furrow at my attitude, no matter how annoying he is, I’ve never been this snippy with him. 

“What have we talked about? Mornings are a time for coffee and contemplation,” he grins down at me. 

“You’re so annoying,” I roll my eyes at him.

“Why do I even employ you again?” he teases me.

“I don’t know, ask yourself that. You’re the one that hired me, not the other way around. Now back to Joyce-”

“Coffee and contemplation,” he brushes past me.

I quickly follow behind him as he makes his way to his office. Hopper almost spills his coffee when he sees that Joyce is already in his office. He spins around and looks at me accusingly. 

“I tried to warn you!” I threw my hands up in defense. “But like I said, this is actually important Hopper.”

“I’ve been waiting for an hour!” Joyce exclaims. “Luckily, (Y/N) was here to keep me calm.”

Joyce and Hopper go back and forth for a while, debating if Will is really missing or just playing hookie. 

“What’s wrong with his clothes?” Hopper asks when Joyce mentions that he gets picked on for them. 

“I-I don't know. Does it matter?” Joyce questions.

“Maybe,” Hopper responds.

“No,” I roll my eyes at him again. 

“Lonnie...Lonnie always said he was queer-” Joyce whispers. “Is he?” Hopper asks.

“He’s missing! His sexuality has nothing to do with that!” I glare at him.

“Maybe he’s with Lonnie,” Hopper says, stroking his beard.

“No,” Joyce and I say in unison. Hopper and Joyce continue to bicker about whether Will is with Lonnie or not. 

“Find my son Hop,” Joyce says sternly. She gives my hand a quick squeeze before heading out. 

“Hopper-” I start.

“Not now (Y/N),” he sighs.

“I guess you don’t care that I’m one of the last people that saw Will then?” I smirk as I plop down in the seat across from him. 

“What?” his eyes snap up to meet mine as he lights yet another cigarette. 

“Yesterday, Will was at my house all day. He was with Mike and their friends. I saw all of the boys off around eight last night. He didn’t seem like he was running away Hopper, he told me he’d see me today.”

“Was he planning to see Mike again today?” Hopper asks.

“No. I was supposed to go see Jonathan after work today. Will seemed set on seeing me later today, Hop.”

“What are the kids names?” he asks grabbing a pen and paper, but not before squinting his eyes at me. 

“Michael Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair.” He grabs the paper and heads out of his office.

“You coming or not?” he calls over his shoulder, and I hurry to follow him.

--

At the school I sit on the arm of the couch that the threes boys are squished on. Across from us is Hopper and Callahan. I put my arm on the back of the couch and rest my right hand on Mikes shoulder while Dustin holds onto my left hand, and I give Lucas a smile and a nod since I can’t reach him. 

“(Y/N) says she saw you guys off, was this before you guys were- uh- racing?” he asks Hopper asks the boys.

All three boys start to talk over each other, but I’m used to it and can follow what they’re saying. Hopper on the other hand keeps growing more and more frustrated with their antics. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. One at a time,” Hopper points at Mike. “You. You said he takes...what?”

“Mirkwood,” Mike says and I smirk. 

"Mirkwood?" Hopper turns to Callahan. “You ever hear of a "Mirkwood?" “Sounds made-up,” he responds.

“It’s from Lord of the Rings. Well the Hobbit actually-” I smile at the older men’s confusion. 

“You remember?” Dusting gives me another toothless smile.

“Of course I do!” I laugh and squeeze his hand. “You kept telling me I had to read them.”

“That’s not important!” Lucas glares at Dustin. 

“I know but-” Dustin starts talking over him. 

“Hey! What'd I just say? One at a damn time,” Hop snaps before pointing at Mike again. “You.” “Mirkwood. It's a real road. It's just the name that's made-up-” Hopper cuts off his explanation. 

“What's its real name?”

“It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet,” I look Hop in the eye as I speak. He doesn’t tear his eyes from me as he writes down the roads. 

“We can show you where it is,” Mike adds hopefully. 

“No!” Hop and I snap at the same time. 

“After school you all go straight home,” he glares at the boys. “No biking around looking for your friend. This isn’t some Lord of the Rings book-”

“The Hobbit,” Dustin corrects him. I can’t stop my laugh from coming out, and Hop’s glare shifts from the boys to me. I hide my face Dustin’s small shoulder and giggle quietly into it. 

“Do I make myself clear?” Hop borderline yells. The boys all nod, and Dustin squeezes my hand. After Hop and Callahan head out of the office Mike stands and gives me a quick hug. 

“I love you little man, but listen to Hop. All of you,” I look at Dustin and Lucas. “This is dangerous. We’ll find him.”

“(Y/N)!” Hop yells from down the hall. 

“I’ll see you three later,” I give them a small smile before leaving the three alone in the office. 

“You think they’ll listen to me?” Hop asks me.

“Honestly? Probably not,” I sigh before getting into the back of his truck.

--

“Stay in the car,” Hop looks at me as he heads towards the woods.

“Not likely,” I mutter when he’s a little ways away. Slipping off my heels I head out to join the officers in their search for Will. 

“Hey I got something here!” Hopper calls. I run over to his side and see the bike.

“It’s Will’s,” I whisper. His glare softens when  he sees the tears welling up in my eyes. “He’d never leave his bike behind. If he was hurt he would still manage to take it with him.”

Hopper turns to Callahan and Powell, “follow us to the Byers’s house.” He grabs the bike and heads back to his truck. I quietly slip into the passenger seat and slip my heels back on. 

“I thought I told you to stay in the car,” Hopper says sternly as he slams his door shut. 

“I’m not helpless, ya know. I’m just trying to find Will.” Hopper doesn’t speak for the rest of the car ride. 

As Hopper and I pull up to the house, Joyce and Jonathan come running outside. Their faces fall as Hop pulls Will’s bike out of the back of the truck.

“(Y/N),” Jonathan whispers. My face scrunches as I fight back the tears. I open my arms wide and he immediately runs into them and buries his face in my neck. 

“We can still find him, he could still be out there,” I run my fingers gently through his hair. 

“What’s Hopper doing,” he asks looking up. 

I catch the tail end of a glare Hop sent our way before he goes stomping into the house. “He’s just making sure Will isn’t hiding somewhere in the house.”

“He can’t honestly think we haven’t checked-”

“It’s just to make sure Jonathan. Before they set up a search party.” I grab his hand and pull him inside. Callahan and Powell are searching his room, so we head that way. Callahan is staring at Jonathan’s Evil Dead poster while Powell is checking under the bed. I frown at their lack of enthusiasm, they aren’t even trying. 

“Who’s is this?” Powell holds up one of my shirts. He raises an eyebrow at Jonathan.

“Uh-” he stutters.

“That’s mine,” I rip it out of Powell’s hand. “Thanks for finding it! I was looking everywhere for it.” Powell and Callahan share a look before they start laughing at us. I shoot them a deadly glare, and they actually shut up.

“Hey kid, you got some water or juice or something? Dying here,” Powell bugs Jonathan. The teen nods and leads the group to the kitchen.

After a few minutes Callahan heads out to check on Hopper, who was checking the shed out back.

“Did you two find anything other than a beverage?” Hopper gives them a disapproving look when he walks in. 

“Yeah, (Y/N)’s shirt was under Jonathan’s bed,” Callahan laughs and wiggles his eyebrows. 

“Just because I sleep here sometimes doesn’t mean I sleep with anyone,” I glare at the two laughing officers.

“I didn’t hire you two to gossip,” he snaps at them.  

“You know (Y/N), if you ever want to lose a shirt again,” Callahan grins. “I definitely wouldn’t mind if you lost it at my place.”

“Callahan!” Hopper roars. I shrink back slightly, not used to the threatening tone. Hopper turns to me and his face and voice soften, “c’mon. I’ll take you home.” In the car Hop fills me in on the search party and what time he’ll pick me up so we can meet up with everyone else. 

--

“We've been over this. The chief said-” Mom starts telling Mike he can’t leave the house tonight as we eat dinner. 

“I don't care what the chief said,” Mike grumbles. 

“Mike!” a look of disbelief crosses my face. 

“He's not even real police, Mom,” Mike continues. “We have to do something! Will could be in danger!”

“More reason to stay put,” mom argues. “End of discussion.”

“So...me and Barb...we're gonna study for the chemistry test at her house tonight. That's cool, right?” Nancy asks. I’m flabbergasted that she thinks mom will say yes to her. 

“No. Not cool,” looks up from her food and at Nancy. 

“What? Why not?” Nancy whines. 

“Why do you think? Am I speaking Chinese in this house? Until we know Will's okay, no one leaves,” mom says sternly. The two argue back and forth for a while, even going as far as to blame Will for why she can’t leave. 

I quickly stand up from my seat and clear my dishes. “And where do you think you’re going?” Mom asks me. 

“Out to look for Will,” I look at her like she’s crazy for thinking I wouldn’t.

“How come she can go out?” Nancy’s voice goes up an octave as she whines.

“It’s my job,” I deadpan as I pull on my gym shoes. When Hopper dropped me off earlier I changed into more comfortable clothes that I could trek through the woods in. “And Hop’s here now, so I have to go,” as if on cue there's a honk from outside. “I promise I’ll be safe.” I run out the door and into the Blazer. 

“Look at you all casual,” Hop jokes, lighting up a cigarette. 

“What can I say? It’s search party chic,” I softly smile. But that drops soon after as thoughts of Will and Jonathan flood my mind. 

“What are you thinking about?” Hopper gives me a quick glance, before turning back to the street. 

“I can’t imagine what Jonathan must be feeling,” I play with the hem of my sweater. “If it was Mike I would be a wreck. Especially if I was supposed to be there when he got home instead of work, like Jonathan.”

“We’ll find him,” Hop promises, as his right hand reaches across the car and engulfs my left one.

“Good,” I blink back my rising tears, squeezing Hops hand for reassurance. I’m so upset I almost miss the butterflies fluttering because of our contact, almost.

--

I’m walking beside Hop in silence as a middle aged man with a mustache walks up to us. “He’s a good student,” the man tells us. 

“What’s that?” Hop asks. 

“Will. He's a good student. A great one, actually. I can't fathom him getting into any kind of trouble,” the man says, Hop nods before looking away.

“You’re Mr. Clarke, right?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he smiles at me. “But feel free to call me Scott.”

“I’m (Y/N) Wheeler,” we briefly shake hands. “Mike loves your class and AV club. All of those boys do,” I smile at him.

“They all talk fondly of you too, Dustin the most,” he admits.

“I’m not surprised,” I laugh and smile brightly. “Dustin isn’t that good at hiding his feelings. He’s a sweet boy who wears his heart on his sleeve, some girl is gonna come and steal his heart one of these days.”

Scott turns back to Hop, “I don’t think we’ve officially met. I teach at Hawkins Middle.

Earth and Biology.” Hopper shakes his hand, then averts his gaze.

“Always had a distaste for science,” Hop admits, I smack his arm lightly. 

“Maybe you had a bad teacher,” Scott tries to save the conversation.

“Ms. Ratliff was a nasty piece of work,” Hop says, and I nod in agreement. 

“Ratliff? You bet. She's still kicking around, believe it or not,” Scott adds.

“Oh I believe it. Mummies don't die, or so (Y/N) keeps telling me,” Hop smiles down at me. 

“So you're local?” Scott tries again.

“Class of fifty-eight,” Hop murmurs.  

“Sixty-two. Just missed each other.”

“Class of eighty-three,” I add with a small smile. Scott laughs lightly as Hop stares off into space, lost in thought.  

“Sara, my daughter. Galaxies, the universe, whatnot: She always understood that stuff,” Hopper suddenly says. My eyes soften as I turn to look at him, he’s only ever talked to me about her once. He was drunk off his ass when he called the house late that night, I’m sure he doesn’t even remember it. “Maybe she got it from her mother, I dunno. There's enough down here, I don't need to go lookin' elsewhere.”

“Your daughter. What grade is she?” Scott asks, as I silently cringe. “Maybe I'll get her in my class.”

“She lives in the city. With her mother,” Hopper lies, and my heart breaks. He’s in so much pain.

“Oh,” Hopper slaps Scott on the back.

“Thanks for coming out, teach,” Hop walks ahead of us, trying to distance himself from the conversation. 

A nearby volunteer whispers to Scott, “She passed a few years back.” My fists ball up at my sides, who does this lady think she is?

“Sorry?” Scott asks rightfully confused. 

“His kid,” the volunteer specifies. Scott’s face darkens as he looks back up at Hop.

“Gossiping gets you nowhere,” I glare at the lady. “Hop wait up!”

--

I yawn for the hundredth time as Hopper and I walk up to the Byers’ door. The door opens almost immediately after Hop knocks on it. 

“We’ve been waiting six hours,” Joyce complains, I just yawn in response. 

“I know,” Hopper sighs. “We came as soon as we could.” 

“Six hours,” Joyce repeats. 

“A little trust here, alright?” Hopper asks. “We've been searching all night.” 

“Went all the way to Cartersville,” I add as Jonathan pulls me into a side hug. We both slump into each other, holding each other up. 

“And?” Joyce asks.

“Nothing,” Hop sighs. Jonathan’s grip on me tightens. “Flo says you got a phone call?”

“Oh, yeah,” Joyce nods, leading us to the phone, which is now charred. 

“Storm barbecued this pretty good,” Hopper observes. 

Jonathan pulls me into his room and immediately digs around in his drawers. Soon enough he’s chucking a pair of sweatpants and a warmer sweater at me. 

“You’re the best,” I smile at him. Jonathan exists the room so I can change.  

“And you think I don't know my own son's breathing?” Joyce’s voice raises, and I quickly rush out of the room so I can join the other three. “Wouldn't you know your own daughter's?”

“You hear from, uh, Lonnie yet?” Hop changes the subject.

“No,” Joyce admits.

“It's been long enough,” Hop grunts. “I'm having him checked out.”

“Oh, come on!” Joyce protests. “You're wasting your time,” calling after us, as Hopper guides me towards the door. 

“Hey, Hopper,” Jonathan says as he walks us out of the house. “Let me go.”

“I'm sorry?” Hop asks.

“To Lonnie's,” Jonathan clarifies. “You know, if Will's there, it means he ran away,” I squeeze Jonathan’s hand as his voice wavers. “And if he sees the cops, he'll think he's in trouble. He'll...He'll hide. You know, he's good at hiding.”

“Yeah?” Hop asks again “Well, cops are good at finding.”

“I’ll go with him,” I intervene. 

“No,” Hop snaps. “ You are going home and sleeping.” Turning back to Jonathan, he points at him, “Stay here with your mom. She needs you.”

“I’ll return your clothes later,” I kiss Jonathan’s cheek before climbing into the truck. I wave at his shrinking figure as we drive away.

“Get some sleep kid,” Hop says to me. “No looking around on your own.”

“Let me come search with you,” I protest. 

“You need sleep. And my guess is that Mike stayed home today,” Hop’s voice softens. “He needs you right now.”

“I guess you’re right,” I sigh.

“Always am,” he grins at me, eliciting a giggle from me. “I’ll pick you up again tonight.”

“Pinky promise?” I ask, sticking my pinky in front of his face. He laughs and shakes his head at my antics, before hooking his larger pinky around mine. 

“I promise,” he says softly.

--

When I enter the house I can hear Mike's muffled voice coming from his room. He’s probably on his walkie talking with Lucas. My heart rate picks up when I hear a girls muffled voice responding to him. Mike doesn’t talk to girls, so why is there one in his room?

I quietly make my way to his door, where a girl around his age with a shaved head is sitting on his bed. I let out a long sigh as I lean against the doorway. Mike jumps at the sound, while the girls eyes widen and she cowers. 

“Mike?” I ask in disbelief. 

“It’s not what it looks like!” he assures. 

“So you don’t have a girl I’ve never seen before in your room when you thought you were home alone?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “You’re as bad as Nancy.”

“We found her out in the rain last night-”

“You three went out in the rain after Hop and I told you guys no?” my voice goes up an octave. “I can’t lose you Mike, you guys need to listen to us.” I slide down the door frame and sit on the floor. 

“Yeah, yeah, save the lecture for later,” he rolls his eyes. 

“This isn’t a joke Michael! You can’t go back out with us tonight.”

“He’s my best friend!”

“And your my little brother! My first priority is making sure you’re safe. And you need to be safe and healthy for when we find Will.”

“Speaking of finding Will, El can help us!” Mike insists.

“El?” I ask

“It’s short for a Eleven, that’s her name.”

“That's quite a unique name,” I smile at the girl, who is still sitting on his bed. Oh I wish I was curled up in a bed. 

“She has powers,” Mike insists. 

“Like from your comics and game?” I ask slightly annoyed now. 

“You look tired,” Mike tries to change the subject. 

“I was out all night looking for Will, I haven’t slept in more than twenty-four hours,” I roll my eyes. “Sorry I don’t look like Farrah Fawcett.”

Before Mike can come up with some witty remark, mom pulls into the driveway. Freaking out, Mike shoves El into the closet.

“Ted is that you?” mom calls up the stairs when she hears Mike arguing with El to get in his closet.

“It’s just us mom,” Mike calls, pulling me down the stairs with him. “I just... I don't feel good. I woke up and my head, it really hurt bad,” Mike lies when we reach her. “And my throat was all scratchy, and I wanted to tell you, but the last time I told you I was sick you made me go to school anyway, and-”

“Michael,” mom cuts in.

“Yeah?” he asks nervously.

“I'm not mad at you,” she looks down at him.

“No?” he asks confused. 

“No, of course not,” she sighs. “All this that's been going on with Will, I can't imagine what it's been like for you. I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. I'm here for you. Okay?” 

“Okay,” Mike says back and I shoot him a look. A thud comes from his closet upstairs and his eyes widen.

“Is someone else here?” mom asks.

“No, it was probably just my bag falling off my bed,” I wrap my arm around Mike’s shoulders, before yawning yet again. 

“How was last night?” mom turns to me. 

“Long,” I sigh. 

“Anything new?” I shake my head and look at the ground. “You look tired.”

“Exhausted,” I weakly smile at her. “I should sleep, Hop demanded it.”

“He did?” he eyebrow raises and Mike smirks up at me. 

“I fell asleep in the truck on the way to the Byers’ house this morning. Plus he’s picking me up again in a few hours for the search.”

“I don’t like you spending so much one on one time with him,” she crosses her arms. 

“He’s my boss, Mom! What, do you just want me to quit or something?”

“I want you to go to college,” she gives me one of those mom looks.

“I’m not having this conversation again,” I huff turning to head up the stairs.

“You’re wasting your perfect GPA,” she calls after me.

“And that’s my decision to make!” Mike runs up the stairs after me.

“Hopper huh?” he teases.

“Shut it,” I warn, playfully pushing him to the side. 

“Which one of us is Nancy now?”

“Still you, I’m not sneaking behind mom’s back,” I smirk down at him. “I won’t say anything, just please be careful. And if something happens, come to me or Hopper, we’ll help. And if she needs clothes, you can look through some of my old stuff. Something’s bound to fit her,” I kiss his head before heading to my room.

“Thanks,” he calls after me.

“I love you Mike,” I smile back at him.

“I love you too (Y/N),” he smiles. 

Part 2

Tags: @crimson-knuckled-queen

[jessieliveblogs]

This is an essay about why Stranger Things Season 3 Disappointed me in a big way.

1) Teenagers suck

Obviously, this is an overgeneralization and a matter or preference but a lot of what made seasons 1 and 2 so entertaining and endearing was that the kids were entertaining and endearing. They were nerdy kids who loved science and each other and they got in way over their heads with some shit they should never have been involved with in the first place. This season turned them into snotty teenagers who abandon their friends and only care about dating - basically forgetting about the trauma they went through over the last two years. Dustin wasn’t even with them for the whole show! It’s unrealistic and boring.

Which brings me to:

2) The plot was overly pandering to the audience

This season was very “We’re going to take what everyone talked about in season 2 and just do it mORE”

Dustin didn’t spend any time with his friends over the course of the show because they put him with Steve Harrington at the end of last season and the audience loved it. So they did it MORE.

People loved Joyce and Hopper so they have us that but MORE.

Lucas’s little sister became an overnight icon on tumblr for the two (2) lines she had last season so they gave us her but MORE.

I adore her, I’m just trying to make a point.

And the point is that just because the audience likes these things, doesn’t mean they do anything to serve the plot of your show. It does your characters a disservice when you let the story be influenced by the people who watch rather than by the characters themselves.

People loved Billy even though he was a massive fucking shit lord so they gave us him but MORE and with some bullshit ‘redemption’

3) Redemption arc take work and Billy’s was cheap and lazy

Completely glossing over the messaging that a bad person can only be redeemed through death, and how DAMAGING that might be for people who think they’re bad, let’s look at fucking story structure. 

A redemption arc only works if a) a character is punished by the narrative, b) a character feels remorse and makes an active choice to grow c) a character is actually given the chance to grow and be redeemed.

Killing them does fuck all. Having them kill themselves does fuck all.

“But Jessie!” I hear you saying.”Maybe the remorse makes them actively chose to sacrifice themselves. And isn’t dying them being punished by the narrative?”

I am here to say NO! I martry does not a redeemed character make. Dying is fucking easy. That’s not suffering. That’s not working to be better. To do better.

As with any case of redemption arcs, it’s time to bring up motherfucking Prince Zuko.

Prince Zuko, first of all, never did anything truly heinous. He was the antagonist and sought to capture the Avatar out of some misguided attempt to do right by his people and his father. He learned. He grew. He literally felt so much remorse there is an entire episode dedicated to him feeling SICK WITH IT.

And then he spent a whole fucking season trying to make it better.

What we got with Billy was this guy threatening and harming CHILDREN, being a racist fuck, terrorizing his sister, and generally being the worst. 

Was he a victim? Sure! We got his tragic backstory and that EXPLAINED his monstrous behavior but it didn’t make him less of a monster.

I’m not saying Billy couldn’t be redeemed. He could have. But he wasn’t. And he can’t be redeemed now because he’s fucking dead.

And we’re supposed to feel bad about it.

4) Killing people

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again: killing off characters is a cheap manipulation tactic of lazy writers.

Are there death scenes that mattered? Duh! Boromir’s death is one of the most powerful in literary history. It set the tone, and launched the ships, and really made everyone sad for a long time.

Not every death is that death.

Making us like the Russian lad to kill him for no reason was cheap and gross.

Billy’s death as a kind of redemption and to make Max cry - even though she is shown to BARELY CARE ABOUT IT MERE MONTHS LATER - was bad.

HOPPER.

We know he’s not really dead which probably makes this worse.

But his character was butchered this season. Instead of doing actual police work or be shown to be doing anything smart, he was brash and stupid and wore a Hawaiian shirt. Because it was cute and funny and the audience loves Hopper. I wish they had given him some growth this season, especially because he had a kid.

And Hopper and Eleven and Hopper and Joyce: these relationships that were set up and developed last season. They completely stagnated. It’s like the writers just didn’t know what to do with these relationships. The Joyce and Hopper relationship was no longer the carefully constructed thing of the past two seasons. They got lazy and impatient and absolutely fucked it up. The thing with Eleven was more generic ‘dad deals with a teenage daughter’ thing which is tired and boring. 

That didn’t mean it didn’t fucking break your heart when you saw them react to his death. But, again, it wasn’t a real death. And it was unearned manipulation.

5) Laziness

I’ve used that word a lot so far but that’s really what this boils down to. Laziness.

The first two seasons (some would argue just the first season) were so good because they felt fresh and innovative. It was a new take on old stories: myths and urban legends like secret facilities where they nurture psychic powers and government cover-ups and monsters and alternate dimensions. It had different groups coming together to solve one mystery and they each had a little information but they didn’t have the right information for the part of the mystery they were trying to solve.

This season used fucking Russians.

Using Russians is lazy! Rehashing the same shit with the door opening to the upside down is lazy! Having the Mind Flayer cook up some half-baked revenge plot is motherfucking lazy.

I was bored watching it. I played a game on my phone through most of the last half. 

They could have brought back the other special children like 8 from last season. They could have run into another kid that had similar powers but was never part of the experiment so they just started lashing out or something. They could have made Nancy an aspiring novelist who takes inspiration from the shit with the Upside Down and when she runs out of material of real events she starts making up her own and her belief and the belief of others in this makes it manifest in the actual upside down like some kind of Tulpa.

I don’t know! Something! Anything other than what we got.

Well, not anything. At least no more women died.

But still

[walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart]

2016/17 Premier League Post-Match Thread Season Review via /r/LiverpoolFC

2016/17 Premier League Post-Match Thread Season Review

I've had a look back on the highs and lows of our Premier League campaign by skimming through the raw emotions on display in the post-match threads. Many thanks to /u/DatGuyDench for doing most of those threads and to any other users who looked after them. I've selected three or four of the higher rated comments in each thread to give a brief summary of the sentiment after each game. Any feedback is appreciated!

1 - Arsenal 3 Liverpool 4

Klopp must have given the team the world's tastiest orange slices and Capri-Sun for halftime. /u/ErkeyfromTurkey

Klavan is a monster. /u/conchobor

If someone asked me, "What is it like to support Liverpool?" I would show them this match. Confusing setup, asinine defensive mistakes, one of the best goals you'll ever see, amazing and confusing goalkeeping, a stretch of breathtaking offensive play, memorable goal celebrations, a worrying injury, a complete defensive collapse, a match thread that disappears, final twenty minutes of ass-clenching anxiety, hamfisted timewasting, and ultimately a good enough performance to prompt a million arguments about how good we could be. /u/Pipes_of_Pan

2 - Burnley 2 Liverpool 0

Look for the positives lads. If we miss out on Europe again this season we'll have nothing to distract us from our 2017/18 title push. /u/superfish1

Serious question, why doesn't every team just park the bus against us? It's pretty much a guaranteed result. If every team parked the bus against us we'd probably get relegated. /u/HUGE_HOG

Never rated football anyway /u/Sun_Is_Hot

3 - Spurs 1 Liverpool 1

Alli is a prick /u/KloppYourHands

That Mane goal... /u/ratmftw

Thought we played well today. Klopp has said before that football takes a bit of luck, and today Tottenham had all of it. Probably should be leaving with all 3 points, but that’s football. The referee was a prick though. /u/johncosta

4 - Liverpool 4 Leicester 1

My favorite part of the game was after the first goal when during and after everyone was done celebrating with Firmino a couple of players, including Firmino himself, were congratulating Sturridge. He was the one who tracked back and stole the ball to start the move and then made a run wide to give Firmino his space. /u/ErkeyfromTurkey

When we play good, we're fucking great. /u/DatGuyDench

Mane is worth £60m /u/Reddits-Reckoning

5 - Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2

This is probably the cleanest match we've ever had so far with Chelsea. Great result - and the best part? Diego wasn't a total cunt, (except from scoring a goal of course)! /u/Capt_Awkward

Nobody talking bout Gini but boy, that man is very gradually improving game by game. /u/KayJayA7X

Did Liverpool just defend a 1 goal lead for more than 30 seconds? Oh my /u/The_Backseatsman

6 - Liverpool 5 Hull 1

We should play one man up every week. That was fun /u/uRhombus

I wonder if anyone has ever won the league with no clean sheets... /u/MackerLad93

James Milner is my hero. /u/The_Sassinator

7 - Swansea 1 Liverpool 2

We should still look to sign Hector to be James Milners understudy /u/shaunsocca

Our left back has as many goals as Zlatan /u/JWL1092

That big fuck off Lovren volley into the away end at the end is the highlight of the game and I don't care what anyone says. /u/UtterShite

8 - Liverpool 0 Manchester United 0

Fuck you Real's fax machine. /u/ratmftw

CLEAN SHEET BOYS /u/HUGE_HOG

Jose Mourinho is on a mission to kill any excitement that might come from Liverpool vs ManU. /u/iSalt

9 - Liverpool 2 West Bromwich Albion 1

By the tone of this thread you would think we fucking lost. Cheer up we are joint top of the league. /u/germibobi

CAN I GET ONE FUCKING GAME WHERE I DON'T HAVE TO CLENCH MY ARSE HOLE. /u/Reddits-Reckoning

Should be top of the table but for FUCKING SET-PIECES. Gini is cursed. Studge has resting bitch face. Can was gassed after 65 minutes. Karius wasn't bad, but wasn't convincing. Firmino is bae. That is all. Edit: Could have gone top of the table for the first time since May 2014....ouch, that hurts. /u/iiEviNii

10 - Crystal Palace 2 Liverpool 4

No idea why, but I felt weirdly comfortable throughout that game. Never doubted us for a second. Used to have a similar feeling in 13/14 /u/Reddits-Reckoning

We scored 2 goals from corners. Let that sink in. /u/wontwont

we are finally beating bogey teams /u/tweedeh

11 - Liverpool 6 Watford 1

NO CLEAN SHEET NO PROBLEM, TOP WE GO /u/TheLastofish

LIVERPOOL FIRST, ARSENAL BACK IN FOURTH, UNITED NOWHERE!!!!!! BEST FUCKING WEEKEND!!!!!!! /u/TheRedCormorant

So happy Gini finally scored. /u/DatGuyDench

12 - Southampton 0 Liverpool 0

Shit Fact: 2 International Breaks followed by 2 draws… /u/BTS_1

What a frustrating fucking game. /u/racistfetus

bus wankers /u/iG8

13 - Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0

Woodburn had a worldie /u/RideOrDieRemember

Klopp's influence as the 12th man on the pitch cannot be overstated. /u/TheLastofIsh

Fuck your double decker bus you pale cunt. The klopp train makes no stops. *No offence to pale cunts, one of which, I am. /u/Psychotic_Bear

14 - Bournemouth 4 Liverpool 3

Ah, good. I almost forgot what it was like to feel like a Liverpool fan for a while this season... /u/ DaEvil1

This whole "as long as we score more goals it's fine" thing is a lot less fun when we don't actually score more goals. /u/Deathbybunnies

Matip died for this. /u/BTS_1

15 - Liverpool 2 West Ham 2

I feel like I saw the same attack plan fail 78 times. /u/darian66

fucking sick of conceding with every shot great fucking run of easy fixtures in december huh /u/EpicRageGuy

Great game from Mané. Ran the show from the start. /u/Jambo234

16 - Middlesborough 0 Liverpool 3

What a performance by Lallana, MOTM for sure followed by Origi. Klavan is an absolute mountain at the back and Mignolet too has done well. Oh and cleansheet is back on the menu lads! /u/satanlikesyou

Klavan should always play over Lucas /u/GreatJakeUmber

SIMON "CLEAN SHEET" MIGNOLET /u/Reddits-Reckoning

17 - Everton 0 Liverpool 1

Sturridge is actually incredible, for him to get that shot off was incredibly difficult with that type of accuracy. /u/ErkeyfromTurkey

I enjoyed the part where we won but also enjoyed the part where Everton lost. /u/CurrentlyComatose

Ross Barkley can fuck right off for that challenge on Hendo. How was that not a straight red? /u/Jiro_Dreams

18 - Liverpool 4 Stoke City 1

40 POINTS WE'RE NOT GOING DOWN LADS!!!! /u/the-londoner

Lallana is England's best player. /u/Viper711

Henderson is a fucking boss /u/h4k01n

19 - Liverpool 1 Manchester City 0

Guys, we held on to a 1-0 lead for 86 minutes. This is so unheard of from our team. I'm proud. /u/malis-

"No." -- Ragnar Klavan, 2016 /u/HUGE_HOG

Lallana has still got the biggest dick in Anfield. /u/hot-cakes

20 - Sunderland 2 Liverpool 2

Bournemouth, West Ham, Sunderland. All games we were leading in, yet at the end of all 3 we've only came out with 2 out of 9 points. Devastating that. /u/JaydenSnow

Sunderland is truly the shit that just won't flush. /u/arterius23

Our midfield was kinda poor without Hendo. /u/Crypt9n

21 - Manchester United 1 Liverpool 1

Migs saved us. Played out of his mind /u/SgtPatos

brilliant defending all match ...and then an offside goal? /u/kuu-uurija

Herrera is a fucking cunt /u/edubbleg

22 - Liverpool 2 Swansea 3

Gonna go down my local park and knife a swan. /u/McGoohanno6

Fight for the top four from now on. Fucking terrible performance. /u/the_horn_of_gondor

We just lost against a side that has the worst PL defensive record of the CENTURY. Let that sink in for a moment. /u/logicspock

23 - Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1

We were unlucky not to steal the win at the end, but man we were lucky to not lose this. A point against the league leaders is very good, considering the form we're in. It's all gonna be good I think. I hope. /u/ur_mum_was_a_hamster

Henderson absolutely bossed it both ends of the pitch /u/decentpants

Kante is unbelievable /u/IL_ya_Un_jour

24 - Hull City 2 Liverpool 0

Last 10 games: DDLDWLLLDL Includes 2 Losses and a draw to teams battling relegation, a loss to a team in the Championship and a draw to a English Football League 2 team. EDIT: Our only win in the last 10 games was against the same team we drew with in the English Football League 2, with a winning goal from Lucas. /u/Cookeh_

LFC 2017 but every time we play, the worse it gets /u/mwright_13

The traveling Kop singing ynwa at the end there are the real MVPs, always amazing, it's a shame the team didn't give them much to enjoy /u/agpleezdeddy

25 - Liverpool 2 Spurs 0

Wij and Lallana played out of their minds! /u/Chitmonster

WE'VE DEFENDED A LEAD LADS! /u/okaysian

Very few players will get ever get a reception like Mane got when he came off. He's brilliant. 30m, even in this day's market was truly a steal. /u/JaydenSnow

26 - Leicester 3 Liverpool 1

(Match Thread Only)

Typical Liverpool. We play a shitty team, table-wise, then we play a lazy shitty game. It has been this way for the past few years. I don't understand how we can play the top of the table very strong, but crap the bed against lower teams. /u/Krypto_dg

I just want it to be next season already. Can you really be arsed watching this team struggle its way to a 6th place finish. /u/HUGE_HOG

Cant really blame this on a congested fixture list now can we..... /u/Ellni

27 - Liverpool 3 Arsenal 1

A double over Arsenal is a rare occurrence. /u/BTS_1

ARSENAL FAN TV AND CHILL HERE I COME. /u/tanvirh5

I think the Premier League should copy the Scottish PL and split the league in half mid way through so we'd only play the top sides for the second half of the season. /u/NamaNamaNamaBatman

28 - Liverpool 2 Burnley 1

In a season in which we've beaten Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, City, and Everton, Burnley is our biggest win of the season. /u/TheLittleBiki

I think this game showed better in game management from us, 2-1 up and we’re not being arrogant like we have this season we’re dropping deeper as a unit looking to use the counter attack against them. We smartly held onto the ball more and moved the ball into better areas than the panicked crosses of the first half. Klavan and Matip dropping a couple of yards also gave them more of a chance in defending attacks. /u/Thesolly180

Actually impressed how little out of place Woodburn was. /u/B1GsHoTbg

29 - Manchester City 1 Liverpool 1

That lallana miss literally hurt my soul /u/Fellbird

It's encouraging that we're not satisfied with a draw at City /u/Goulders

Shoutout to Emre, who’s had a rough couple of weeks in terms of form but really showed up and had one hell of a match today. /u/logicspock

30 - Liverpool 3 Everton 1

I wanted Trent to score so much /u/byGriim

The lads played great today but I still can't get over the Mané injury. Looked very nasty, just hope he recovers well. /u/JWL1092

Just want to send a public thanks to Lovren and Matip (especially Lovren) for pocketing Lukaku like he was spare change. The entire team was immense too. Cheers /u/Chitmonster

Lukawho? /u/xHawkins

31 - Liverpool 2 Bournemouth 2

Ruined my entire night that, don't even care if we gain one on City. Top 4 should be home and dry, but we just can't stop BOURNEMOUTH from scoring late goals. /u/JaydenSnow

Hate to slate Klavan but god damn man. /u/Chitmonster

Klopp' game management was just what I'd want to see. Take a lead? Let's grind it out and try to get the W, don't care how pretty it is. It's the players that bottled it. Squad lacking in depth/talent in certain areas. Couts picked up a knock or was gassed - went straight down the tunnel. Forced his hand into the sub/formation he had to go with from that point. No real midfield options and not going to put on Studge a goal up. /u/The_AjaX

32 - Stoke City 1 Liverpool 2

Migs MOTM no question. /u/Laesen

I'm gonna go ahead and thank our twelfth man, the traveling kop, for this one. Class! /u/ynwa94

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN DANIEL STURRIDGE WAS SUBBED ON AND SAVED OUR TOP 4 HOPES?!? /u/PenguinCowboy

33 - West Bromwich Albion 0 Liverpool 1

If only we had Lovren / Matip available week in, week out. Migs saving us again the beast. /u/h4k01n

Mignolet was fucking ace. /u/gin0clock

First time we have ever beaten a Pulis side away in the league! /u/The_Backseatsman

34 - Liverpool 1 Crystal Palace 2

Galling that Coutinho was basically penalised for staying on his feet, but ultimately all our fault. So, so sloppy. 4th is going to go right to the wire. /u/thisisashameofme

I would have preferred if Liverpool won /u/You_wot_m8_

God I fucking hate Crystal Palace /u/chefboyardee001

35 - Watford 0 Liverpool 1

Mignolet was so decisive in his actions today, great to see. Can is a beast and Lallana is mesmerizing. Hopefully Coutinho isn't out for too long. Happy to see Danny get a few minutes, so wish his shot went in :( /u/h4k01n

Did our job in the best way possible. Other top 4 rivals won't stop hearing about that goal all week. Up the fucking reds! /u/The_Backseatsman

WE TIME WASTED LIKE LITTLE CUNTS I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT! /u/BTS_1

36 - Liverpool 0 Southampton 0

origi shouldn't have started. /u/halalcornflakes

Not one shot on target for Southampton. /u/OWSucks

My boy Grujic was good. Glad to see him get some game time and almost a goal /u/BossCevap

37 - West Ham 0 Liverpool 4

When was the last time when we enjoyed football? When was a last time when we watched highlights after the match? What a good game. Coutinho world class, Sturridge too - when he is fully fit. One more good match and we can enjoy summer. /u/My_dog_is_red

Sturridge hugging Klopp, smiling and being happy 😌 /u/L33TF0X

http://ift.tt/2rKkZtv /u/_cumblast_

38 - Liverpool 3 Middlesborough 0

Can we just take a moment to appreciate SIMON MIGNOLET. The guy has had a shaky past and cost us a lot of points but he stepped up massively and his confidence stabilized the entire defence often. Really solid finish to the seaso from thr team! /u/bacary_lasagna

me saying bye to the europa league: http://ift.tt/2t3vGLv /u/ChickenNuggutz

MOTM was the new kit cos it's sexy as fuck /u/ShadowRock9

Sure the win was swell, but what I'm most excited about is that, despite Lucas and Moreno playing, we finished the game with 0 cards, meaning… WE WON THE F***ING FAIR PLAY TROPHY /u/Rasta_Jack

Edit 1: Formatting

Edit 2: Cheers for the gold anon! Would've liked to have put it towards the new CB fund but I'll take it!!

Submitted June 23, 2017 at 03:51PM by ParanoidArachnoid via reddit http://ift.tt/2rZ2nKh