#sorry for the rant in the tags thank you for reading this far if you did

[nemotakeit]

i think that if we dig all the way down to the roots of tøp's musical theme, it all comes down to that constant internal conflict between desperately wanting to be seen and desperately wanting to stay hidden. we can see how they've been making gradual progress in "managing the tension" but it's still there on Clancy. dare i say it's the central theme of the lore as well.. the reason the character & the era Clancy feels so rebellious is because he's actively fighting to Be Seen. the oscillation continues, but a subversive variable has emerged.

[torveiglyart]

The more I think about my hobbies and achievements (or lack thereof), the weirder I realize my life is. I had never really thought about some of these things until as of recent, specifically when someone introduced to another as "cool". Like what.

First things first that I've talked about on here is I'm an oboe player. Which is already a kind of "different" instrument to play. And, actually, I've been third chair in the All-District wind ensemble for grades 11-12. So there's that.

Another thing I tend to tell people /if prompted/ is I'm a nationally recognized Scottish Highland dancer. I placed third in the southeast regionals and qualified to perform in Las Vegas along with everyone else who qualified across the country. This one is kinda like my "fun fact" during ice breakers 'cause it's something I know won't be repeated.

I'm a digital artist, as you all know, but I also do traditional art often. A few of my paintings in my portfolio helped me score a spot in NCSU's ID program. Maybe one day I'll scan them and post here.

I'm a singer. This one goes multiple ways as in: HS choir, church choir, musical theatre, and bands. I just like singing and got blessed with a nice voice... I think.

I can bake and decorate very well. As in won a cookie decorating contest at the NC State Fair well. That was a good year for me :). But it's also the perfect ganache every time kind of good. I guess the same can be said about cooking given no meal I've made has gone wrong or tasted bad. I seriously hope it stays that way.

This next one only partially counts because while I'm not /fluent/ by any means, I can somewhat comfortably hold a conversation in a few languages. French, Spanish, Japanese, and, strangely enough, Swahili, are languages I've worked on since uhhhh... I don't know at this point. And I've since added Scottish Gaelic to that list to work on. Languages just fascinate me and I plan to travel A LOT when I get the money to do so.

I do archery in my free time. Often enough I have my own bow and arrows. It’s fun. And last time I went to an actual range I never missed a target which I’m totally bragging here but it’s also just a fun activity to get anger out, you know?

Back to the musical theatre thing, I actually was called back for an audition to enroll at UNCSA, but did not make it. And back in freshman year, I did this whole Society Performers multi-class thing, but cut it short to work on my studies. So while I probably could have gone into theatrics, I don't think that would have been the best choice for me.

An going further back to the instruments, I can also play piano, ukulele, and clarinet, but lessons are those were far fewer than oboe.

Time for the weirder stuff.

I definitely have ADHD, and so does my dad, but we're both undiagnosed so let's just not go there.

I can't whistle or roll my tongue. People always seem really surprised by this one but it's not like I'm in a tiny percentage with that one.

I'm nearsighted in one eye and far sighted in the other, and I also only require one contact lense/prescription. Actually let's call this the whacky section.

I'm allergic to celery. Yes, celery. And only that. Not pollen, not pets, not dust, not even ragweed, but celery. And only when it's raw. Cooked in a dish? Fine. Raw in a salad? Cotton-mouthed and itchy. Not terribly sad about it though.

I can't ride a bike. Like, I know how to in theory, but I just never had a bike growing up. My older sister's always had a flat tire, and by the time my younger brother got one, I was too big to ride it. So I scooter instead :).

I have perfect pitch, as in I hear a pitch, and can tell you the note it is, and can tell you what key a song is originally in and sing it. I would get in trouble a lot as a kid for "picking a fight" with my siblings by telling them, "it actually goes like this," and then changing the key they were singing in. While many find this cool or helpful, unless you're a music student or something, it's actually annoying. The car radio is always a few microtones sharp and there's nothing I can do to make it in tune. My choir teacher would also have me sing the starting pitch for songs, no tuner, which was nerve-wracking.

WOW this was just me ranting (bragging) lol, sorry about that, but hey! Now you know more about me!

If you have any questions or comments, don't be afraid to ask! Or, y'know, do the whole asks thing. I think I changed the icon for that but I'm not sure.

[nicco-ck]

I wanna draw so bad but I'm trying to stay on top of my readings so I have like 3 chapters to read but it's so boring and I don't wanna read it </3 😔😔

[darkestrellar]

Svern didn't have non-pokemon verses until the start of this year!! I have discovered The Joy of making other verses for him because of intense brainrot + getting a better grasp of his character

I don't know if I could ever try to make him look not-pokemon ranger focused though. If I finally get around to making him a promo I'd specify there that he's not strictly a pokemon oc (anymore) but I Need to stamp my pokemon ranger blogs with the Big Pokemon Ranger Stamp

[figofswords]

the op of the Hannah Gluckstein post is a terf :pensive: shes red on shinigami eyes + has some real sketchy stuff on her blog. obv no judgment, just letting you know in case you wanted to block her. love ur art <3 <3

eurgh thanks for letting me know :/// I’m not gonna delete the reblog bc hannah gluckstein as a jewish butch artist is still something that speaks to me personally and I had never heard of her before but I will be blocking the op. fucking astounding that these people will understand gender-nonconformity of lesbianism and then turn around and fail to expand it beyond the end of their nose. goddamn.

[mostlikelyshutup]

What do you consider to be middle class born and bred people and what are some tell tale signs these people belong to that demographic? Could you also share the video about growing up poor in the US?

Okay so I was watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QNFDtmNPW0

I think they have other ones with similar topics but this one came up on my algorithm and i just deleted tiktok and will watch anything (and honestly i didn't even finish this video, but I found what I did watch pretty interesting)

My answer to the actual question is below the read more because it got very long lmao

Honestly middle class born and bred, to me, are people who have had generational wealth, even on a smaller scale. They are definitely closer to me and other poor Americans than they are the rich but there are some key differences.

For me, growing up was realizing that I didn't have money, it was coming to terms with the fact that I was going to lose the house i grew up in, and in a lot of ways, as I grew up I missed out on things that are part of the stereotypical American upbringing. For me, growing up was filled with lots and lots of grief and loss, not just for people, but what my childhood and life could have been without certain circumstances.

I will add a giant caveat that I was actually pretty well off until around third grade ish (so around 8-10 for non-Americans). I had a house that we weren't in fear of losing, my parents worked different shifts so one was always around, I felt cared for, and, though there was definitely things I didn't have, I never really felt like I was missing out on things. I had birthday parties with my friends, I went on trips with my family, etc etc. I was not rich at all, or even middle class, but I was pretty protected from any financial issues that we did have.

Even taking these things into account (and that it would all eventually go away bc of some bad mistakes/events in my childhood(including but not limited to the 2008 financial crisis and both of my parents being laid off)), my parents did not necessarily have those things and neither did their parents. My grandmother was born during the great depression and before that her mother was an Irish immigrant in the beginning of the 20th century. Every single one of my great-grandparents was an immigrant, which while is a long time ago, is not long enough to have built generational wealth in America (at least for them and the decisions they made and circumstances they were in)

My family has never, even when they were financially okay, been secure in that financial well-being or even really known what to do with it. My parents didn't have savings, my mom had a retirement plan but that's because she worked in retirement benefits, but overall there was not much financial literacy to be passed down. I didn't know what a HYSA was until my second year of college, I didn't know how to invest until maybe six months ago, and I am in 55 thousand dollars of debt going into my first job out of college. I still am not sure the material difference in retirement accounts and why I would need more than one. Neither of my parents finished college, and my father didn't even go to college. My mom, though she went, had no clue how financial aid worked. Along with the lack of passed down financial literacy, there are also no connections to be passed down.

One of the most mind-boggling and culture shock-y things I had when beginning to intern in the accounting profession was how many people's parents or grandparents knew each other. We talked about networking in class and school and I had some contacts from school itself, but these people had parents that golfed with other people's grandparents and had a network basically built in. They ran in the same circles and they had their entire lives.

Even on the level of what colleges we went to, I was one of three interns from my school (an on the cheaper side state university that I used student aid to get through) interning in the summer of 2023, and there were places (more expensive public colleges, private colleges that their parents probably went to or knew about and could partially/fully support them through) that would have lunches of thirty or forty people to network with.

They mention this in the video linked above, but I think the middle class has a much higher threshold for second chances than someone who is closer to my financial level/class. My parents made mistakes and their parents made mistakes and my family has lived in poverty this whole time. I have almost been homeless, my mom has worked 100 hour weeks just to make rent, the price of groceries has had more impact on my mood than most personal grievances at times.

A lot of middle class people (I wont say all but I would bet most) have not experienced that on the level that me and the people like me have. This isn't a bad thing and I wouldn't want them to have experienced this but it is a huge difference between me and them.

If they did experience something like that, I bet they recovered a lot better because of their passed down financial literacy and connections than my family did when the same happened to us. They had savings, they had retirement accounts to pull from, they had grandparents or parents to depend on in case they didn't. They lived with a bit of a safety net built in because of these things. A safety not that neither I nor other poor people had and we now have to build for ourselves, if we even can.

For me, middle class Americans exist in this realm of financial privilege where their parents set up savings accounts for their college and their grandparents gave them inheritances and they had a house their entire life (not all have to be true, but a generalization). They are a lot more comfortable with dinners and events and free drinks at work than I am. To me, this is all new, this is entirely different than anything I have been around for at least a decade and half (when my mom lost her cushy job and went on unemployment for close to two years) and most likely my entire life.

They don't know what it's like to be on food stamps or rent assistance or to not have enough money even with those helping out. They don't know what it's like for your mom to sleep on a couch for eight years while you sleep in the only room in your apartment. They don't know what it's like to become used to seeing eviction notices and even being somewhat okay with them because now you can prove to assistance agencies that you actually need their assistance. They don't know how much having to buy staples like oil or shampoo or soap or salt can bankrupt you. They, largely, don't know what its like to lose your childhood home and most of the possessions in it. They don't know where the cans they donate to the food drive go and if they do, they have not actually had to "buy" groceries from there. They had fresh baked goods that they didn't have to inspect for mold on the way into their house. They had fruit and vegetables that didn't rot in a week, and weren't frozen. They don't have the experience of trading cigarettes for food with neighbors some weeks just to have a protein to eat with dinner. They have never had to return food to the dollar store to get money for other shit.

I am happy that they don't have those experiences because they are hard and, frankly, humiliating to live through. However, because I have had those experiences and because of what I have had passed down from my parents and their parents (along with the lack of what was passed down), we have vastly different outlooks on life and how things work. I feel entirely different about things than they do, and we look at things with different viewpoints. Things they may take for granted and are normal for them are completely mind-boggling to me (team dinners in an accounting office are so strange, i had filet mignon for the first time on a partner's dime and I was one of five other people that ordered it. There was bone marrow and octopus and creme brulee and all of these things that I have never had and I definitely was not used to ordering for someone else to pay for, though this is definitely an extravagant example.)

Like I kinda hinted at throughout this fun little rant, this isn't true of some middle class Americans. I am willing to bet that it is true of a lot and maybe even a majority of middle class Americans. If they have experienced a majority of these things, I would challenge them to take a good hard look at their finances and history and maybe rethink their idea of their class.

Overall, it's pretty hard for me to really pinpoint what makes me, a poor person, different than a middle class person beyond that safety net and security that comes with inherited wealth going back even one generation. We don't act all that different, on a day to day basis or in general, but there are some moments where it becomes very apparent to me that we didn't go through the same things growing up.

It's kinda like when you first go to college and there are all these people there that you don't know and lived in different towns or states or even countries and you start going over differences and you're like oh that's cool I didn't know that happened where you lived and there are some similarities, but less as their home town gets further and further away from yours. A middle class person is like someone that lives in the same state but a few towns over. You've been to the same restaurants and malls and things like that, but your sports teams played in different divisions and you knew maybe one person from their high school that they may or may not have known and there are just these differences that you have to reconcile with by being like duh of course its different they're not from my hometown.

As a person from Massachusetts, the uber rich are like people from Singapore. I have no clue what it's like there and I probably won't visit anytime in my life and though there may be some similarities, it is vastly different in our two hometowns. (They also probably robbed my great grandparents to move to Singapore, but that's not really what we're talking about)

[thatonegayship]

I had to

Wait, does the cheating thing on the bond always works? bcs that would be kinda freaky for R!Dipper like imagine you get pinned down by someone in the corner of a br or smthng and then said person kissed you and proceeded to explode into red mist and you literally have no idea what happened.

Also, would the constellation mark be a "cursed" Mark over the years, like you would give birth to a baby and the doctor says "😟 I am so sorry ma'am,,, I'm afraid your baby has the Cipher Companion mark. ( could also be something equally as science-y like Ursa Major, Constellation Calamation, etc idk)" And you just burst into tears.

Would that mean that dipper would get into a special program(demon wrangling program or smthng, demonologist? Maybe)? Or would the parents hide it away hoping that Bill would never take their child away?

(Sorry this au is just very interesting to me,,,, I hope u get more motivation, keep writing author 💪)

These are all options! The fun part of reincarnation AU being left ambiguous is that technically any of them could happen.

[supernovafics]

With your I’ll be there for you series would you be interested in writing about Steve discovering that he has feelings for reader? I think it would be sweet for him to just find even the silliest things she does cute and then him having a little melt down because he realised he’s liked her along. The series is such a great idea! 💭

𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 4.4k words

warnings: explicit language, alcohol consumption, drunk!steve, mentions of steve's dad being shitty, angst

summary: in which steve’s drunk and you don’t hesitate to cancel a date to take care of him

author's note: thanks for the request! probably from the moment i started this series/universe i knew that i wanted to have steve realize his feelings first so this request was quite literally perfect for that lol. this is slightly “while you were sleeping” by laufey inspired hence the title. the slow burn is finally starting to come to an end !! (i’m both happy and sad about that lmao) anyways enjoy<3333

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Winter 1986

You were in the middle of debating between a black skirt and a brown plaid one that Robin convinced you to buy when you two went thrifting just a few days ago when the phone rang.

Leaving both options on your bed, you went to the kitchen to answer it, bottomless aside from the stockings you had already put on because of the cold late February weather. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello?”

“Steve?” You recognized his voice for the most part, but he sounded a little different. A little far away, like he was calling from the oldest phone in the universe.

“Oh, hey.” The way he said the simple two words both confused and amused you because it sounded as if he didn’t expect you to be the person on the other end of the line. 

You laughed a bit. “‘Oh, hey’? Don’t sound so disappointed. You called me.”

“I know. Sorry. I meant to call Eddie,” He said, and it was then that you heard what should’ve been obvious from the moment he said “Hello” to you— the way his words weren’t necessarily slurry, just slower than usual. 

He was drunk, and you now recognized the voice that you had become so used to hearing since Steve’s sixteenth birthday when he snuck his dad’s whiskey and you both only had two shots of it before feeling it fully. 

“Why would you call him? Aren’t you two together right now?” You asked, your confusion taking precedence over the amusement you felt in this moment. 

Earlier that day, before you left the apartment to head to your twelve o’clock class, he told you that he was going to tag along with Robin, Vickie, and Eddie to some art show thing after his shift that night at Family Video; you would’ve gone too if you didn’t already have plans for the night. 

“Also, I didn’t know that you could get drunk at an art show,” You added. “I’ll definitely make sure to go next time.” 

“I didn’t go with them,” He told you, and before you could ask where he was, he answered the unspoken question. “I’m actually at a bar right now.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed. “What? Why?” 

“Very long story. Dad shit. What else is new, right?” Steve answered with a breath of a laugh. 

He made his words sound lighthearted and as if whatever happened didn’t really affect him, but you, of course, didn’t see it that way. Without even being with Steve right then, standing in front of him and reading his facial expressions, you still saw through what he was trying to play off as “no big deal.” You’d known him more than long enough to know that anything involving his dad was usually always serious. And whatever shitty things his dad said to him this time around drove Steve to a bar rather than back here to the apartment to frustratingly rant to you, and that only worried you. 

“Which bar are you at?” You asked softly. 

“The only place in town, other than The Hideout, that doesn’t card,” He said and then immediately continued. “But, wait, don’t come here, though. I don’t want you to come get me. That’s why I was trying to call Eddie. I know you have your date tonight.”

Just for a second— actually, probably the entire time you’d been talking to Steve— you’d forgotten about the date, forgotten about the reason why you’d just been debating which skirt to wear, forgotten about what you were supposed to leave for in twenty minutes. And that slightly surprised you because, for the last couple of days, you’d been really excited about it. 

Meeting Jamie felt like a sort of “meet cute” moment that was straight out of a romcom, one that you probably would’ve laughed at because of how cheesy it was. You bumped into him in the hallway on the floor of your apartment. He was your neighbor’s, Miss Johnson’s, nephew, and you learned that even though he went to a college about an hour away, he was trying to visit her more often. He had been in the middle of leaving when you saw him, and you gave a friendly wave and smile at first and he started a conversation with you. You two then spent an hour talking in the hallway before you headed inside your apartment to start studying for a test and he asked for your number, which led to more long conversations over the next few days until he asked you on a date. 

In a way, it startled you how giddy you found yourself feeling about him after only those few days, how easily and quickly you liked him. It was the first crush that you had in a while that didn’t feel completely hopeless. 

But now all of that was the last thing on your mind. It quickly became pushed to the side because you knew that your best friend needed you.

You shook your head in this moment even though Steve couldn’t see you. “No, it’s okay, I’ll come.” 

“No, don’t, don’t. I’ll just call Eddie.”

He’s probably not home right now, was what you wanted to tell Steve, but you refrained from doing so at that moment. Instead, you said, “I’ll call him for you.”

The drunken sigh in relief Steve let out was immediate. “Okay, thanks, I don’t think I have any more change for this payphone, anyway.”

“Okay, just stay put and stop drinking.”

“The bartender already cut me off.”

“Good,” You said before saying a final goodbye to him and hanging up. 

You then picked the phone up again to dial a different number. You, of course, didn’t attempt to call Eddie and you instead called Jamie. He was completely understanding when you told him that you had to cancel the date because of an emergency, and he said that you two could do the dinner and movie on a different night, which you quickly agreed on. 

You put on the brown plaid skirt— quickly deciding that it looked better with the white top you were wearing, anyway— before slipping on a pair of shoes and grabbing your coat, shoving your car keys and wallet into the pockets, and then leaving the apartment. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The drive to Webster’s took less than fifteen minutes and the current emptiness of it didn’t surprise you that much. From the handful of times that you’d gone to the place with Steve, Eddie, and Robin, it became a known fact that things didn’t become “lively” until after ten, and it was currently only a little after nine. 

You spotted Steve sitting on a stool at the counter, head down in his folded arms. You sat in the empty seat next to him and tapped the side of his shoulder until he sat up and looked at you. 

“Glad to know you’re alive, Harrington.” 

He smiled at you and you gave him a small smile back, he must have forgotten that he’d told you not to come to the bar. 

“I feel barely alive, actually.”

“Still counts.” 

Steve only looked at you for a moment, taking notice of what you were wearing beneath your unzipped coat. 

“You look nice,” He said and then seemed to realize something and his smile dropped. “Wait, shit, your date. You shouldn’t be here right now.”

“It’s fine. We’re just gonna reschedule it.” 

“I’m sorry.”

You shook your head at him. “No, don’t be. It’s just a first date, anyway. Your drunk ass needing a ride home is obviously more important than that.” 

Steve laughed a bit. “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment?” 

“Yes, you should,” You told him and then watched with furrowed brows as he went to grab the short glass that was in front of him, half full of some dark liquor. He was about to finish what was left in the glass, but you grabbed it from him before he could. “Steve.”

“I still had this from before I called you. I can’t finish it?”

“No, because if you end up throwing up in my car on the drive home, I will have to murder you.”

You looked away from him before he could say anything in response to that and waved at Barry, the usual bartender that you became on a first name basis with after your third time going to Webster’s. Since it was the farthest thing from busy right then, he immediately walked over to you two. 

“Hey, Barry, can he have some water?”

He nodded and filled up a glass, sliding it over to Steve and then looking at you. “Glad to see you here. He’s looked like a sad little lost puppy for the past hour.”

Steve stopped mid-sip to scoff. “That’s very not true.”

“Sorry, but I think I have to believe the only other sober person here,” You said and only smiled at the second annoyed scoff he let out, which was hard to take seriously because of his current drunkenness. 

Barry got called over by a group of people that just walked in and you silently watched Steve take a few sips from his glass. When he set it down, you lightly nudged his knee with yours. “Do you wanna talk about what happened with your dad?” 

Steve simply sighed at first. “He came to Family Video today and went on this huge rant about me and what I’m doing with my life. He thinks my job is shit, and even me going to school part-time isn’t enough. He thinks I’m such a loser in comparison to his friend’s kids who are actually “doing things with their lives.””

You frowned and shook your head. “Fuck him.”   

“Cheers to that,” Steve said with a small laugh and held up his glass of water for a second. “He also said that he wants to set me up with this job at his friend’s insurance company, and I immediately said no to that. I’m still not entirely sure what I wanna do yet, but I know it’s not that— some stupid fucking desk job. Especially not one that’s just given to me by my dad.” 

“He’s an idiot,” You told Steve. “And also his bullshit is not at all worth the hangover you’ll have in the morning.” 

“You might be right about that,” He responded, eyes fixed on his now half-empty glass of water and a small amused smile on his face. “But, it felt good for a second.” 

You poked his arm so that he would look at you. “You could’ve talked to me about all of that instead of coming here.” 

“I didn’t wanna mess up your date by coming home and talking to you about all of this sad shit. I knew that you’d just worry about me and probably not go,” He mumbled. “And I feel like a dumbass for still messing it up.”

“It’s okay. Seriously. Honestly,” You told him and then playfully smiled as you said your next words. “And you know that I would tell you if it wasn’t okay. I’d definitely hold this over you for at least a week, and force you to clean out Harold’s cage and do my laundry that’s been building up for the past week and a half. But you’re drunk and sad, and I’m way too nice to make you do any of those things.” 

He laughed at that, which made you smile wider. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome,” You said before you stood up from the stool you’d been sitting in. “Now, come on, let’s get out of here before it starts getting crowded. Can you walk okay?” 

Steve only nodded in response, which was a nonverbal answer that you weren’t sure if you completely trusted, so you stood close to him as he also got up and pulled some cash out of his back pocket and placed it on the counter. 

He then waved at Barry, and you were certain that he probably didn’t mean for it to be so animated and comical, but it very much looked that way. “Goodnight, Barry.”

The bartender laughed a bit when he looked over at you and Steve. “‘Night, guys.” 

Steve started heading toward the door first and you followed just a few steps behind him. When he stumbled a bit before even making it out of the door, you grabbed his hand and moved closer to him so that he could drape his arm around your shoulders, and then one of yours circled around his waist. 

Leading him to your car was a feat in itself, but once he was settled in the passenger seat and you started driving, he rolled his window down completely and had it like that during the entire ride even though it was freezing cold outside, and that was worse than dealing with his stumbling.

When you made it to the apartment building, his balance was actually a bit more coherent so you didn’t need to do more than just hold his hand during the entire walk to the elevators and then down the hallway to the apartment.

You dragged him to your room and he sighed in contentment when he sat down on the side of your bed; he always liked your mattress better than his own for some reason. 

“Wait, don’t fall asleep yet,” You told him before heading over to his room and grabbing a random t-shirt and basketball shorts from one of his drawers. “Here, put this on. I know you’d be mad at me if I let you fall asleep in those jeans.” 

“Thanks,” He mumbled with a yawn as you handed the clothes over to him, and then you went to the kitchen as he started changing. 

You filled a mug with water and then pulled open the drawer that had the bottle of aspirin in it. Neither you nor Steve were really sure why it lived there instead of in one of your bathrooms, where it probably should’ve been, but you two also didn’t make any effort to move it.  

Steve was already asleep and under the covers when you walked back into your room, and you placed the mug and aspirin on the nightstand on his side. You changed into your own pajamas for the night, which simply consisted of an old baggy t-shirt and shorts, before settling in on your side of the bed. 

It was still pretty early for a Friday night, barely even ten o’clock, but you didn’t mind going to bed because you were actually a little tired. Steve was turned and facing away from you, but you still watched him and his even breathing for a bit, making sure he was okay before you quickly drifted off to sleep yourself. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Steve didn’t know what time it was when he woke up, but he could tell that it was pretty early because he could see the just sun starting to rise. 

The other things he quickly noticed were that he was in your bed and he had a pounding headache, which was a little confusing at first, but then all of what happened last night started coming back to him. 

The shit with his dad, the bar, the accidental phone call to you, and then you coming to the bar and bringing him home— he remembered it all. 

With a soft groan, Steve slowly sat up in bed, doing his best not to wake you, and then reached over to grab the water and aspirin you left out for him. 

He took the medicine and drank most of the water and then laid back down, turning on his side to face you. Your head was against the pillow and even breaths fell from your slightly parted lips. You looked so peaceful like this, he decided, so pretty.  

Steve thought about you and Jamie, and how happy you had been when you talked about him. Steve also knew how excited you’d been about the date, and even though you had told him that it was okay that you had to cancel it last night, he still felt a little bad about it all. 

He knew that you would probably do anything for him, and that was completely mutual. If the roles had been reversed last night, Steve wouldn’t have thought twice about canceling a date to go pick you up from some dumb bar. And making those sorts of sacrifices for one another never felt like a question, it just always felt like the obvious thing to do. 

It didn’t completely make sense at first, but somehow it was that simple and crystal clear thought that managed to shift something deep down inside of him— it harshly drew the line between best friends and something more. And Steve quickly realized exactly which side he lay on.

Which was confusing because the lines of where your friendship began and ended had always felt so unquestionable— you and him were best friends; nothing more, nothing less. 

But it was different now, it changed, and it was this moment that told him that it actually had been that way for a while; probably since you two moved into the apartment. 

Starting from that day in August your lives became even more intertwined with one another— which didn’t feel entirely possible because of how close you’d been for so long— but it was true. He hadn’t realized how blurry the lines had been getting since then. 

Since you two started beginning your days and ending them in the same home. Since so many nights became spent in each other’s beds; nothing more happening than sleeping and late night talking, but still. Since you two got Harold only a few weeks into living in the apartment, and you both immediately fell into your unserious parental roles in the hamster’s life. Since an unspoken early morning weekend routine fell into place where Steve would make coffee and toast and you’d do the eggs and bacon. Since you two became something equivalent to a married couple that had been together for at least twenty years. 

And then Steve realized that actually maybe this something more had always been there— maybe it had always been so fucking obvious. 

He thought back to the end of Senior year when you two went to each other’s proms and slow danced at the end of the night because you both thought it would be funny, but those moments actually turned into something really sweet and wholesome; and you’d both think back on it during the most randomest of times. 

And then he also thought about smaller things, the parts of your personality that made him feel so goddamn lucky to know you. How you always fiddled with the radio and never settled on a station for longer than a few minutes during perhaps any car ride where Steve was the one driving; something that you’d been doing since the day he got his driver's license and you two went on your first solo car ride together. How pretty much anything you did would only make him smile and playfully roll his eyes or make fun of you. 

Steve wasn’t entirely sure why he was having this sort of “epiphany moment” right here, right now, in your bed as he looked at you peacefully sleeping next to him. 

It, of course, stemmed from you canceling something that he had known you’d been looking forward to for the last couple of days to instead take care of him, he could recognize that. But, what made that so different from everything else you’d done for each other over the years? 

He immediately thought that maybe there was no one straight answer to that question because it wasn’t about what was different. Instead, it was about all of those other moments too. They had slowly built upon each other until it came to this one on this February morning— nine years into your friendship and six and a half months into you two living together— and Steve could finally recognize what it all had meant, and he was ready to accept the truth for what it was too. 

He liked you. More than liked, actually. He loved you, he was in love with you. 

But, you were also his best friend, the most important person in his life, and he didn’t want to be the reason that that ever got messed up. And that thought was what made him finally look away from you and mutter out a soft, “Fuck.”

Steve quickly got out of the bed, and he was surprised, but also completely grateful, that his quick and hasty movements didn’t manage to stir you awake. 

He left your room and went to the kitchen. It was early and he probably should’ve been trying to get a few more hours of sleep, but he wasn’t tired anymore. 

The realization was the only thing on his mind— in a matter of seconds, it managed to completely consume it. 

Everything else that had been happening the past few months finally made complete sense; Steve saw it all in a different way. He now understood why he couldn’t picture any sort of future with Vanessa when he went out with her a few times back in December even though he really did like her, and why he couldn’t see anything with anyone he went out with. Because deep down, he knew that he could only see that with you. It made sense why his dating life had been in such a rut lately and why he didn’t particularly mind it all that much.

When you two would jokingly say that you both were completely okay with ending up “alone together forever,” he realized now that from his side of things, deep down, it had never been a joke. And he wondered if it was the same way for you. 

In an ideal world, the answer would be yes. But, things only felt confusing, and if he was being a thousand percent honest with himself, he didn’t know if that answer was yes in this world.

Steve knew that you really liked Jamie, even in such a short amount of time, so that couldn’t mean that you had any sort of feelings for him. Right? Or maybe you just hadn’t had your own “epiphany moment” yet? Should he tell you about his? Should he tell you about any of what just hit him in the past ten minutes? 

His brain felt as if it was going to fucking explode with all of the questions circling his mind right then, and the coffee he was making failed to distract his thoughts from everything. 

He came to the quick decision that he wouldn’t tell you what he was feeling; it would just be easier that way. There wouldn’t be any way for him to potentially fuck things up between you two if he simply ignored what he was feeling. It was easy to imagine how drastically your friendship would change if he told you everything and you didn’t feel the same. Therefore, he could push it all away to make sure that nothing changed for the worse.

When the coffee was done, he poured some into a fresh mug and took a long sip. Any other time, he couldn’t really stand straight black coffee, but the bitterness tasted good for once; he decided to focus on that instead of anything else. 

Steve wasn’t sure how long he had been leaning back against the counter and sipping from his mug before you came out of your room. It could’ve been one minute or ten; right then, time felt as if it was moving both slow and fast. 

“Hey,” You said, giving him a small smile and rubbing the tiredness out of your eyes. “I’m surprised you’re up already. I definitely expected you to be passed out until at least ten.” 

It felt equivalent to a light switch flipping how quickly Steve felt affected by your smile and simply you in that moment. He’d probably seen you like this a million times before— just waking up and still in your now wrinkled pajamas from the night— but it felt entirely different now. And that was when he knew how fucked he was. 

“Yeah, I, uh, I woke up and couldn’t, um, go back to sleep… So, yeah, just came out here. Made some, um, coffee,” He ultimately responded and then inwardly sighed at how flustered he was right then. He let out a quick laugh. “Sorry, blame the hangover for my inability to say sentences right now.” 

If that was how he was going to act around you from now on, he knew that trying to keep this a secret was probably the most unrealistic idea ever. 

You laughed a bit and nodded, seemingly unfazed by his awkwardness right then, and opened up the fridge. “You think you can stomach eggs and bacon?” 

“Yes to the bacon, but I think I should play it safe and say no to the eggs.” 

“Makes sense,” You said, closing the fridge after grabbing the bacon. You placed the pack on the counter near the stove and then looked at Steve. “You feeling better about all of that dad shit?”

It was almost comical how even though it had been the reason for everything that happened last night, the conversation he had with his dad was the farthest thing from his mind now. 

“I’m good, actually.” 

“Good,” You said, smiling at him and then reaching out to grab his hand and give it a light reassuring squeeze; which, unknown to you, made his heart feel as if it was going to somersault out of his chest. “Remember, the next time this happens, come to me and we both can get drunk here for free. Or we can just run away and join the circus, or whatever it was we agreed on when we were twelve.” 

Steve only nodded and gave you a small smile in response because it felt as if that was all he could do at that moment. If he attempted to say anything, he felt like his words would’ve started or ended with, “I’m in love with you.” 

He changed his decision then. He knew that he had to tell you everything because it wouldn’t be easy to simply bury it down and ignore it. There was no way that he’d be able to keep this from you, at least not for a long time, it was already swallowing him whole. And although he had no idea when or how he would tell you the truth, he made a quick promise to himself that he would do it. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

[moonlight1110]

He knows he's better (Part 1)

Ghost x Reader

You come home late from a date with an old friend of yours, a date which you've mentioned to Simon... Your roommate who secretly has feelings for you.

Tags: afab!reader, suggestive, far from canon simon, tension tension tension!, he's just better tbh, not proofread rawr

Notes: this man has me in a chokehold. thats all + give me reqs if yall have any for simon or for anyone too! <3

Part 2 now up to read!! <3

"You're home late" His gruff voice was the first thing to greet you as you entered your shared apartment with your roommate, Simon. His big, burly figure was the next to greet you, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes glaring down at you.

You could feel his eyes trailing down every part of your body, he didn't show it of course, but the way your little black dress hugged your curves perfectly, and the way your hair looked just a little messy was enough to send his mind spiraling with thoughts of you... and how much better he'd be able to treat you than any shitty date.

"Sorry, I had trouble getting a cab..." you groaned as you walked past him, stopping just a few steps away to take your shoes off. Simon felt his breath hitch in his throat when you bent down ever so slightly to catch your ankle while you undid the straps of your heels.

Stupid fuckin' date didn't even take her home... Didn't even make sure she was safe...

He scoffed, pushing himself off the wall and walking over to you. Big hands encasing yours, the sudden contact making you look back at Simon. His expression was still that of a stoic one as he looked into your eyes. "So... How'd the date go?" He asked, taking over your hands as he undid the straps of your heels himself.

It was an unexpected gesture, one that certainly made your cheeks burn red. The room was dark at least, that much you could be thankful for so he wouldn't be able to see how hot your face had gotten. "It was fine... I guess..." You mumbled, blinking as you felt your heart quicken when Simon's hands trailed down your calf, raising your other leg to undo the strap on that heel.

"Fine? S' not usually a good word to describe a good first date, love" He chuckled as he finished taking both your heels off, setting them down by the shoe rack you shared. Your breath hitched deep in your throat when you felt his breath just barely hitting your neck. He was close, so close that you could almost feel the heat from his body radiating and warming yours.

"I mean, it wasn't that bad... But it wasn't good either" you sighed, turning around to face him. He cocked a brow as he looked down at you, a dirty smirk plastered on those lips of his. "That's it? C'mon, y' talked my ear off this whole week 'bout this date and what? It's just fine?" He scoffed, eyes glancing down to your lips, then to your body.

You looked away, a little embarrassed at the fact that Simon was right. You were looking forward to this date in hopes that it would actually be good but you couldn't even say that.

Simon chuckled lowly at your silence, walking past you to sit down on the couch with a loud sigh. You turned to look at his amused expression, brown eyes looking you up and down slowly, "Go on then, tell me about this date" he grinned. You rolled your eyes, walking to the couch and plopping down beside him.

His eyes lit up momentarily, seeing the way your dress hiked up just a bit to reveal more of your thighs. He had to keep it together, couldn't let you know how badly you made him want to take you right then and there. "Honestly? It was a shitty date," you groaned, annoyed. Simon on the other hand had his ears perking up, ready to listen.

"He was almost an hour late, and when he finally arrived he didn't even apologize or give me a reason why" You explained, not caring that it was going to lead to a rant. You were about to continue your explanation when you felt Simon's hand softly make it's way to your thigh.

"Simon... what-"

"Keep talking, I wanna know more..."

You gulped, stuttering. "H-he didn't give me an explanation... So I tried asking him about it but..." Your voice was getting quieter as he caressed your thigh slowly, looking into your eyes intently. "But?" He was teasing you at this point, had to be.

"He just brushed me off..." You continued, watching the way Simon's large hand laid on top of your thigh. "Brushed you off?" He scoffed, you nod, trying to come up with another sentence to add. "It was kinda okay after that... we talked, caught up, but he was just talking about himself really..." You trailed off, eyes still focused on the way Simon's veins looked under the moonlight which was the only source of light in the room coming from the window.

"Really now?" He asked, amused. You looked up to meet his eyes, his pupils were dilated and his lips in small grin as he looked back at you. He laughed lowly, noticing how silent you got. Slowly, he retracted his hand from your thigh, making you furrow your brow.

"Come here" He whispered, his hand which was once on your thigh, was now on his, patting it invitingly. You blinked, looking at him confused and a little shocked. He scoffed, reaching his hand out for you to take. You didn't really know what to do in that moment, but you took his hand, earning a low chuckle as a sly grin as he gently led you to straddle him.

"Now, tell me more"

Simon's hands found themselves at your thighs, trailing over your skin slowly as he waited for you to continue talking.

Your breathing was heavy, and from the way he was touching you, it was like your memory of the date you had just an hour ago was getting clouded by thoughts of Simon.

"He... told me he forgot his wallet..." You breathed, not even focusing on your shitty date experience now. Simon looked into your eyes with furrowed brows, his lips in a thin line. He looked annoyed.

"And you had to pay for him?" His voice was laced with anger and annoyance. You nod, making Simon click his tongue as he looked away, thinking of ways he would've broken your stupid date in two for the way he treated such a perfect woman.

"What a prick," He groaned, his hands now travelling higher, one trailing further up your thigh, and the other pressing on the small of your back softly, bringing you closer to him. "You need a man who would treat you so much better," He continued, looking into your eyes with a frown, then to your lips, and back to your eyes again.

"Treat you the way you deserve" He whispered lowly. The hand which was on your back now resting on your waist, squeezing your flesh through the fabric of your dress. "Those boys wouldn't know how to handle a woman like you... treat you the way you need to be treated...".

The air between you was hot, almost suffocating from the way Simon was holding you so closely to him, the way he meant every single one of his words. He knew he was better, better than any one of the boys you went on cute little tea parties with. No, he was much, much better. He knew it, and now you knew it too.

"Just say the word, love... And I'm all yours" He whispered, taking your chin between his index and thumb, gently coaxing your face closer to his. You felt his hot breath on your lips as your eyes never left his, now half-lidded.

"I'd be so much better... So much better" He whispered, his eyes lingering on your lips. So soft, so kissable... He needed you so bad, and in this moment he wanted nothing more than to tell you that, tell you how bad he has wanted and wished to be your man for so long.

"Simon..." You whispered, your arms now moving to wrap around his neck. He hummed, silently asking you to continue.

"I don't wanna go on another shitty date..." you inched closer, your lips brushing just a bit, but not enough.

"And you'll never go on another one, not when I'm your man, lovie"

[adverbally]

Just Try to See in the Dark

Written for the @steddieangstyaugust prompt “Childhood” | wc: 1,263 | rated: T | cw: references to physical (nonsexual) child abuse and neglect, including description of injuries inflicted by a parent | tags: teacher steve, steve and eddie’s shitbag dads, hurt/comfort, shoutout to all the awesome teachers out there | title from “Close to Me” by The Cure

And with this, I’m officially caught up, just in time for the halfway point of the month! I appreciate everyone who has read and interacted with my work so far. I haven’t written this much in years and it’s all because of contributions from viewers like you. Thank you 💕

———

When Steve gets home from work, almost an hour later than usual, he goes straight into their bathroom and shuts the door.

Eddie watches him go. It’s not unusual after a long day. Sometimes Steve just wants to take a hot shower and start his evening fresh. But after half an hour, the water hasn’t turned on and Eddie is starting to worry.

He hovers outside the bathroom door for several minutes, unsure if he should check on Steve. It doesn’t sound like he’s moving around, which makes a dark corner of Eddie’s mind worry that he’s hurt. What if he fell? What if he wasn’t feeling well and something is really wrong?

It’s that terrifying prospect that finally forces Eddie to rap on the door. “Stevie?”

“Come in,” comes the muffled response.

Eddie opens the door carefully so he doesn’t accidentally hit Steve, but Steve is sitting fully-clothed in the empty bathtub on the other side of the room. “Hi, sweetheart,” Eddie greets him as he comes to sit on the closed toilet lid.

Steve has his knees tucked up to his chin, arms wrapped around his shins. He turns his head sideways so he can speak more clearly. “I had to call Child Services.”

Jesus. Steve loves his class of second graders like they’re his own children. To have to report some kind of abuse to one of them… no wonder Steve went straight to the peace and quiet of the bathtub. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”

His eyes are dry, but Steve still rubs at his nose with the back of his wrist. “Yeah. Samantha. She had…” He gestures vaguely at his neck. “She usually has bruises somewhere, you know, she’s seven. But today she had actual fingerprints...”

Eddie drops to his knees on the rug next to the tub and gets his arms around Steve right as he starts to shake.

“And when I asked her about it, she just said, ‘He didn’t mean to!’ Like you can accidentally choke your own kid hard enough to leave marks like that.” Steve sniffs. “But he’s her dad and she loves him.”

With that, he buries his face in his knees and lets Eddie hold him.

Steve has always struggled with this part of being a teacher, even while he was working on his degree. Eddie can still see it so clearly, Steve pacing around the tiny dining table in their first apartment, ranting about mandatory reporting.

“You know what would’ve happened to me if a teacher said anything? My dad would’ve made us all smile and pretend everything was fine, and he would’ve beat the shit out of me as soon as the investigator left!” Steve had slammed his fist on the countertop as he passed.

“But we’re supposed to report immediately once we have reason to suspect abuse. Don’t take the time to make sure the kid is safe, don’t look at the broader pattern of incidents, just…” He had run out of breath there and couldn’t catch it for several minutes once he started crying, not out of sadness or worry but frustration.

It’s not frustration that drives Steve to tears now. It’s grief and fear for Samantha, for a younger version of himself, for the consequences of what the law requires of him.

“You’ve been looking out for her for a long time,” Eddie murmurs, chin hooked over Steve’s shoulder. The edge of the tub is digging into his side but he’ll be damned if he lets go of Steve right now. “This just confirms that your instincts were right. And hopefully now she’s gonna get help.”

“I’m scared that I just put her in a worse situation,” Steve admits, raising his head enough to wipe his cheeks with the sleeve of his sweater. “She shouldn’t have to deal with all this, she’s just a kid.”

Eddie vaguely remembers something about Sammy’s mom not being in the picture. “She can’t stay with an abusive parent just because she loves him. That’s why children don’t get to make the decisions here.”

Steve shakes his head. “But when she’s stuck in a foster home because of me—”

“Nuh-uh-uh, don’t even go there.” He ducks his head to look Steve in the eye. “She’s gonna be safe because of you. She’s gonna go home from school and not have to worry about her dad hurting her anymore. That’s huge.” He knows they can both understand that.

“I wish there was something else I could do,” Steve sighs.

“Just keep being the best second grade teacher in the state. Keep paying attention and listening to the kids. That’s what they need from you.”

Steve tilts his head to rest against Eddie’s shoulder. “It doesn’t feel like enough.”

“It’s more than you think.” Eddie kisses his temple, runs his fingers through Steve’s hair. “I had a teacher in fifth grade, Ms. Martin. It was, like, the year after my mom died, and I wasn’t coping at all. My dad was barely around to drop off some food for me once in a while. I was a nightmare student. Stole from the other kids, slept during lessons, started fights at recess.”

“It’s hard to care about school with stuff like that going on at home,” Steve says. Even now, he’s defending Eddie against shit that happened twenty years ago.

“Luckily for me, Ms. Martin understood that, too. She knew I was smart and I liked to draw, so she would assign me little projects. Stuff like illustrating a scene from the book we were reading or drawing a diagram of the parts of a plant or whatever. She let me work in her classroom at lunch and after school. Every day, she brought me a sandwich and a snack so I didn’t have to sneak food out of someone else’s lunchbox.”

Steve sits up to look at him with the most heartbroken expression. “Ed, that’s— she sounds incredible.”

“Yeah. She might not have fixed things for me outside of the classroom, but she made being at school a thousand times more bearable. Just by giving a shit.” He grins up at Steve. “Like you.”

“You know you do that kind of stuff, too, right? Like when you donated all those old dice sets for D&D Club, and when you helped me make Valentines for the whole class so nobody would feel left out. And when you delivered the pizzas for the Halloween party. And—“

Eddie hangs his head in an imitation of bashfulness. “I’m just your humble sidekick. All of that was your idea.”

“Then thank you for helping me make school more bearable for my kids.” Steve takes Eddie’s face between his big, gentle hands and kisses his forehead before angling his head back so their lips align.

“It’s my pleasure.” Eddie pushes himself to his feet with a groan as his knees creak. “Fuck, I’m getting to old to sit on the floor.”

Steve holds both hands out to Eddie, arms fully outstretched as if asking him to pull him upright. When Eddie doesn’t move, he whines, “C’mon, my ass is asleep. At least you were on the cushy rug!”

With a put-upon sigh, Eddie heaves Steve to his feet. “Shower first or food? I made meatballs.”

“Meatballs!” Steve throws his arms around Eddie’s neck, mostly for balance as he steps out of the bathtub. “You really do love me,” he fawns, batting his lashes for effect.

“You’re okay, I guess.” Before Steve can object, Eddie darts in for a quick kiss and darts off. “Wash up, dinner’s in five!”

[writingstoraes]

total swiftie 🎶

pairing: charles leclerc/fem!reader

type: instagram imagine/social media au

notes: this was requested but somehow i cant find it in my inbox :(( anyway i hope u like this, anon! happy the eras tour 🤍 sorry this took so long lol

about: it's your life mission to convert charles into a total swiftie.

yourusername

liked by pierregasly, isahernaez, carlossainz55, and 234,592 others

yourusername i once believed love would be burning red — but it's golden, like daylight 🌅

appreciation post for the personification of the lover album, songs and the entire english vocabulary are not enough to express how much i adore u 🤍

(ps. pls join me in being a swiftie baby)

tagged: charles_leclerc

charles_leclerc As much as I want to, I just can't grasp the folklore love triangle, amoúr

f1swift LMAO NOT THE FOLKLORE LOVE TRIANGLE??? Y/N SO REAL FOR THIS

lecsmidnight absolutely right queen charles is such a lover album

sainzz55 more like 1989???

pierregasly I caught Charles today watching the Bejeweled music video if it helps 😅

charles_leclerc MATE

yourusername awwww baby :((

charles_leclerc

liked by pierregasly, arthurleclerc, lorenzotl, and 1,329,112 others

charles_leclerc Spontaneous adventure around the city at night + my passenger princess ❤️ (She races me for the AUX and blasts Taylor songs the whole ride in her efforts to convert me into a swiftie)

tagged: yourusername

yourusername anddd how am i doing so far?

charles_leclerc Getting close 😘

leclercs13 y/n converting charles into a swiftie is just so real of her

carlossainz55 Just be a swiftie Charles, Midnights is so good 😁

yourusername SEE YOU GET IT CARLOS

charles_leclerc

liked by carlossainz55, leclerc_pascale, lorenzotl, and 1,892,330 others

charles_leclerc How I masterminded my way into catching my girlfriend by surprise with the fact that I actually am a Swiftie:

1. Adore how passionate she becomes when talking about her favorite artist

2. Let her rant about album theories, which "Taylor's version" we get next, and finally listen properly when she explains the folklore love triangle

3. Learn Taylor Swift's entire discography, from debut until now

4. Pester the whole grid in helping me get The Eras front row tour tickets

5. Surprise her with the concert tickets and just watch her have the time of her life (surprised that I know the lyrics to the songs)

6. Just when she thinks the night ends at the concert, take her to a magnificent dinner and propose using a "Paper Rings" reference.

isahernaez Oh my god the big surprise is finally here! Congratulations, you two 🥂

lecs13 WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE LAST STEP IM GONNA RIP MY HAIR OUT

sainzzhero charles proposing what the actual FUCK I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING

danielricciardo ...I am so honored to be the one who got the tickets (me and my fast typing skills)

landonorris You only got those cause my computer lagged 😒

carlossainz55 You two arguing I was literally the first one on the website

yourusername

liked by lilymhe, alex_albon23, pierregasly, and 507,991 others

yourusername i like shiny things, but i'd marry you with paper rings, charles_leclerc 💍

except you actually got me a real ring, but i would have said yes as long as it's you. je tàime, my love 🤍

charles_leclerc Excited to spend the rest of my life screaming Taylor Swift songs in the car with you, baby 😚

c2legends such goals im going to cry

charles1655 GOD ME WHEN

lewishamilton Congratulations, Y/N and Charles 🥂 Swiftie Charles is a refreshing new side of him hahaha

carlossainz55 Best wishes, you two! Please remember: I was the first on the ticket website. Don't believe whatever Daniel says 😁

arthur_leclerc Welcome to the family, Y/N! I also want tour tickets 🙏

--------

tagging: @slytherheign

notes: this took some time to make lol ANYWAYYYY thank you so much for reading and lmk what u guys think! 🤍 tumblr is giving me a hard time right now apparently the formatting is weird in ios devices 🥹 like the bold texts are all off n shit and it wont let me fix it 😭

[wintfleur]

what are rutgers fave pics of stella?💗

౨ৎ Rutgers favorite pictures of Stella

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( thank you for requesting !!! This was such a good idea, thank you nonnie !!! So sorry it took forever to get out )

°. — ( feel free to send any requests of things you would like to see in this series, or if you just want to share some thoughts! I would absolutely love that! Please comment if you would like to be added to the tag list! )

au masterlist — you can find asks under #💌stellahughes!

°. — asks about stella and rut are under #⋆ ˚｡⋆୨🩷୧˚ stella & rut!

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ rutger’s photo gallery ˖⁺｡˚⋆˙

﹕─┈ Rutger lovesss this picture of Stella. He had to turn his phone off for a minute and take a few breathes before he full on spammed her with texts. No one hypes up Stella like rutger. She had sent this too rutger when her, lily and carmen went to go visit Quinn in Vancouver and the girls were going out. Rutger couldn’t stop thinking about how his beautiful girlfriend is so far away looking so good. He loves how confident she looks.

﹕─┈ Rutger absolutely loves Stella’s freckles, he could stare, count and kiss them for hours if he could. This picture was taken when the couple was in line for some ice cream, the couple and a few of there friends rented a cabin for a week during summer vacation and they had a blast !!!

﹕─┈ rutger loves collecting ‘embarrassing’ pictures of Stella, he honestly saves every picture she sends him or posts, he just finds her so beautiful. Stella had sent this picture to rutger when she was visiting Trevor and Jamie, the three of them were having a ‘girls night’ and Stella had sent rutger that picture of herself. She absolutely hates the picture but rutger loves it so much !!! He loves her in glasses.

﹕─┈ When Stella posted this picture on her Instagram rutger almost went feral . . . he was about to comment something outrageous but had to stop himself when he remembered that no one knows about them at the time. He loves everything about this picture, Stella’s lips, her neck and collarbone . . . her eyes.

﹕─┈ Stella loves animals so much, the amount of pictures he has of Stella with animals. The couple was at one of Stella’s favorite book stores, and the owner has this really adorable dog that loves Stella so much. He took like 20 pictures, giggling the whole time. He loves how comfy and cuddly she looks.

﹕─┈ Rutger took the picture when the couple was having a morning in bed. Rutger was catching up on some games while Stella was reading. Rutger found stella absolutely enchanting and couldn’t help but take a picture of her.

﹕─┈ This picture was taken by rutger when they went out on a date. Taking a walk in the park, picking out some flowers at her favorite flower shop and stopping to get some ice cream. Rutger thinks Stella looks so cute in this picture and a smile is immediately on his lips whenever he sees this picture. It was a great day <333

﹕─┈ rutger had taken a screenshot of Stella on his Mac when they were FaceTiming. Stella was visiting Luke and Jack and she was ranting all about her day, rutger was so enchanted by her beauty and her passion as she talked, he couldn’t help but take a screenshot of his pretty gf !!!

﹕─┈ rutger took this picture of Stella when they were in her room, she was looking through some of her stuff and found her Polaroid camera that Quinn got her. Rutger then took this picture of Stella and it is now in his clear phone case.

°. — taglist ( @privatemythss @juraj-slafkovsky @cixrosie @toasttt11 )

[woobots]

SMALL APPRECIATION POST <3

hi...people...who...probably got this in their notifcations. LISTEN. i'm sorry for the unwanted tags BUT!! this is just a little thing noting my appreciation or WHATEVER else. please ignore if you want! and uh this is gonna be a part one?? i'll do another part in the future i think :)

okay so actually idk how to start this + order means nothing, just who came to mind first :)

@topazwrld hii <3 thank you for being a WONDERFUL moot just to start it off. i LOVE ur characters & ur groups and just everything, they're all so cool and the way u make ur lineups so pretty always has me so surprised. ur so nice, ty for letting me rant to u abt reyes and letting me make connections with ur ocs </3 - in short, really tysm for just being great and everything!!!

@pureun hi :D UR SO COOL. JUST LIKE FYI. UR SO COOL REALLY. the COOLEST. i'm so excited for all your ocs already, i just know all of them are amazing and just !!!!!!!!!! yeah !!!!!!!!!! thank you for being supportive with my ocs & even other peoples oc! it's very reassuring to get little comments & reblogs but i'm SURE yk that !! anyway, idk how to wrap this up but UR AMAZING !!! ty for the playlist too btw <3

@lcmonheads hi :D I LOVE UR OCS SM !!!! everyone in lemonheads are actually my kids, just so you know!! i love those boys </3 and ofc sweetner !!!!!!! and noah !!!!!!!! ur so nice </3 and just everything u do is so cool !!!! I LOVE IT !!!! STAY AMAZING !!! TY FOR BEING A MOOT !!

@cultkive ur ocs :(( are :(( so :(( cool :(( !!!!!!!!!!!! judy is my most beloved ever...i love her more than anything, just the way u write her and just EVERYTHING !!! not only that but ego too!! they're so cool, ik u just put them out but !!!!!!! yeah. and ur very kind too !!! ty for being kind and everything. ur amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@glasshcvse YOU'RE SO COOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean it. you're one of the coolest people in the whole community. ur ocs and everything are one of a KIND !!!! stupid cupid my beloveds btw...and veronika...i love them. actually, like i really like UHMMM admire you??? i'm not sure how to phrase it but you're a very big inspiration to me within the community!!!!

@enaeura HELLO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hi, i just wanted to say ur very amazing & cool and that. i love your ocs and the way you write everything so much. LIKE EVERYTIME I READ ONE OF NAISU'S LITTLE CHAPTERS MY JAW IS ON THE FLOOR. and cleo too </3 i love her so much, she's so cool and amazing. the way u write her is just GREAT ... but !!!!!!! yeah, you're very cool <3 ur ocs are cool <3 everything abt u is cool <3 stay amazing. OH AND !!!! ateez cleo is my most favorite thing to ever exist. i needed to get that off my chest.

@chcrryade i wasn't sure whether to tag this blog or ur others so...i'll give this one a go, sorry!!!!!!! BUT. i loveeeeeee UR STUFF SOOOO MUCH. cherryade my most beloveds. i love the way you've done everything for them so far, the yt video deep dives??? those are so cool and well written. AND !!!!! kihyun too. he's gotta be one of my top additions. i love him so much. but anyway! ur stuff is so amazing </3 i'm in love with it all. ur so cool, stay cool, stay amazing.

i'm just gonna make a list now of other accounts or people i find so cool or amazing. please forgive me for the tags and i'm sorry i couldn't say anything else, my brain has frozen. BUT I DO LOVE ALL UR ACCS, U GUYS ARE SO COOL AND AMAZING AND I LOOK UP TO AND ADMIRE ALL OF U!!!!!!!

@venusvity ... @v1nylz ... @tab1oid ... @totallystars ... @vhsdolly ... @plasticflwrs ... @dulcebot ... @arcanids ... @99kitsch ... @attuncd ... @ppangs ... @midmourn ... @starbcrnes

I'M SO SORRY FOR ANYONE I DIDN'T MENTION!! + i think the tags cut out after so some of u might not've been tagged but that's tumblrs fault i promise...

[steelbluehome]

Warning!

Extremely negative take on The Thunderbolts* footage below.

Dead Dove. Do not eat!

Hi sweeties! Just in case you thought you would just peek down here and maybe bring some optimism to the gremlins in cellar, thank you, sweet summer child, but you really should go back up to the rest of the internet where you have lots of beautiful people to play with. Thanks anyway! Bye!

Okay.

First things first, this had to happen on Sebastian's fucking birthday?!?!?!?

I have seen the Thunderbolts* footage. 5 times. Pausing at specific moments.

And, Bucky is not the in the scene where they "all" get trapped in the room, nor in the scene where they are "all" in a vehicle and Red Guardian is driving.

I don't blame the people who described the footage previously. They cannot be expected to look for Bucky like a dying person searches for a drop of water in the vast desert. That is my job.

Nevertheless, this is our first glimpse of Thunderbolts (sick of the fucking asterisk) and there is barely any Bucky in it. So what the fuck am I even waiting for?

I'm sorry if I inferred incorrectly that Thunderbolts would be Bucky's movie, since he is the character that has been in the MCU the longest and most consistently of all the characters in the movie, but what the fuck was I supposed to think?

I'm sorry if I incorrectly assumed from reports that Bucky would be the "leader" of the Thunderbolts, that this would be his time to shine.

And ex-fucking-cuse me if I extrapolated incorrectly that the reason Marvel split up the amazing team of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes was to give them each their own movie, therefore since Sam is absolutely the lead character in Cap4, Bucky would be the lead character in Thunderbolts!

But fuck me, Marvel, what the fuck are you doing?

Yes, looking back, I see that most MCU movies have the superhero name of the lead in the title. Again, I thought they did not do that because Bucky is no longer the Winter Soldier, as emphasized in TFATWS, and has no other code name, and that Bucky Barnes and the Thunderbolts would sounds like a bad name for a band. I thought it would at least be like the Avengers where he would have an equal part.

As far as Sebastian Stan, I think this is fucking disrespectful! He had to clear his schedule for this movie anyway, they could at least give him something to do!

Now, yes, maybe there is more of Bucky in the movie. Maybe these scenes are mostly from the beginning, and Bucky comes into it more in the middle and the end. Well he'd fucking better!

I will watch the next teasers and trailers, and if I see more of Bucky, I will be thrilled and very pleased.

But what is obvious to me is that they have actually made a movie about Yelena Belova, and for some reason stuck Bucky in there as a supporting character. (Or less?)

If I turn out to be wrong I will happily stand corrected.

But whenever this footage is officially released I intend to flood the internet with #Where'sBucky? And I hope anyone who feels the same, will do the same.

Thanks for listening to me rant. If you have a rant that agrees with mine, please add it. If you have read this far and disagree with me as far as how large a part Bucky will have in the movie, please put that in the tags.

Thunderbolts footage more centered

Bit bigger, maybe?

[khruschevshoe]

OFMD Critique: Bad Faith, Fandom, and Respect

All right. You know what? Screw it. I saw one post I just cannot ignore anymore that encapsulated all of my problems with the fandom right now. Personal rant incoming.

I understand that there's a nuance to the discussion of season 2 of Our Flag Means Death, and that there are people going a little too far with both their critiques and their support of the show. But oh my God, I'm tired of being straw-manned and made fun of for legitimate critiques of the show.

I just used the block button on someone in this fandom for the first time. Some of you might think I'm overreacting for this, but I saw a post that I could not on any level stand. This person, who I will not name names of, because I'd rather just block them and never deal with their level of bad faith again, took their one legitimate criticism of those of us who critique the show, the back and forth on whether or not Izzy's death was homophobic or not, and used it as the first in a literal list of straw man critiques that no one I've read in the OFMD Critical tag has made (and I check it like once a day bc I like reading meta, sorry), proceeding to absolutely make fun of the legitimate critiques that people have of the show, parodying them in the worst possible ways. They took our legitimate critiques about everything from the sexist handling Zheng Yi Sao's character, the absolute ableism of the finale, the questionable optics of the handling of trauma, etc. and stretched them into things that they very much were not (two examples were that we were crying ableism bc of something to do with seagulls and that we thought the problem in the Stede&Zheng dynamic was the "emotional labor" involved).

Now I'm pretty sure this post was a joke. I *think* it was a joke. But how in the world am I supposed to feel comfortable in the main section of a fandom like this when the comments and replies to this post were full of people agreeing sincerely that this is what the critical section of the fandom is like? How am I supposed to feel when I just see people making fun of me for my analysis of the show? I love this show. I adore season 1 and I'm clearly still making fan related content (moodboards) for season 2 along with my critiques.

Sure, I vibe way more with fanfiction than the actual canon at this point, but I still genuinely engage with the show. And to have the critiques that I made in good faith, regarding issues that I sincerely care about such as ableism, sexism, homophobia, and the handling of trauma, made fun of and taken out of context and straw-manned to their extreme, makes me feel so absolutely unwelcome in this fandom.

Other than keeping up with the couple of fan series that I'm currently still reading, I don't know if I can stay in this fandom any longer. I can't say that I'm excited for the new season if this is the kind of response that any good faith critique of the show is going to get. I can't say that I feel safe or comfortable when there are this many people ready to dog pile on me for a critique I made with ACTUAL TEXTUAL EVIDENCE to back it up.

I would like to thank all the people who have been making excellent critiques of the show. Their meta-analysis is what got me into making my own critiques, which I was nervous about making in any other fandom. I don't think I've in any way tagged them all, but just a few I can remember off the top of my head. Go read their critiques/meta- it's really good!

@sky-fire-forever @carrymelikeimcute @blue-b-bro @bougiebutchbinch @treesofgreen @sixstepsaway @alex51324

And from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has engaged with my mood boards or my critiques or anything else that I've made, as well as the amazing writers and artists in this fandom (such as @ruecrown, @aletterinthenameofsanity, @fool-for-luv, and @possumsmushroom). You guys have kept me going with my love for the show and engaging with it for a while now. Despite the stuff that is making me take a step back now, I really did love this while it lasted! I'm still planning on making a few more mood boards, but other than that, I'm going to take a step back from engaging.

Hope this post can spread enough support/joy your way to counteract the ache I'm currently feeling!

Sincerely,

Ashley (aka @khruschevshoe)

[reaperlight]

Last line game!

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or however many you like).

Thanks @krisseratops for the tag! Oops, instructions unclear, I just plopped in a recent piece of wip I was working on (and added to it without thinking 😅

[Context: A scene of dramatic irony of Eddie, while drinking, getting righteous about Anne working for Drake post-breakup and ranting to Cletus (who in this au was never caught, is Eddie's friend, and Eddie does not yet know is an ACTUAL killer...)]

Eddie: She lied to me. Honestly fuck her for protecting him. I might as well welcome a *murderer* into my life.

Cletus, [looking uncomfortable]: Maybe she thought she had a good reason to keep it from you? It was her job wasn't it? Eddie, she trusted you. Even if you felt you had good cause that's not the point. She most likely felt like you violated that trust.

Eddie: God, I miss her so much. I want her back--

Cletus: Do you really want her back? Or do you want the idea of her? It sounds like you couldn't accept her. Her profession. Why would that change if you got back together? Relationships are about compromise--

Eddie: Like you'd know-- [instant regret] Shit I'm so sorry. That was a low blow and completely out of line.

Cletus: Yes it was. [sighs] Look Eddie, I know because I've read every self help book out there. Because I know I'm fucked up. But I want to be ready and capable of being the man she needs and deserves when I find her again. It doesn't matter how fucked up you are, what you've done in the past. You can do better moving forward. I've gotta believe that. I do believe that. For me, and for you.

Eddie: Okay... yeah, okay.

Cletus: I know you thought you were doing the right thing. And honestly, you were. In a just world you would have been rewarded instead of getting fucked over for trying to help people. But the world ain't just and also you gotta see it from her perspective. From Anne's point of view whatever your reasons you still violated her trust and, as far as she's concerned, you got yourself and her fired for nothing. You really should apologize to her if you wanna have any kind of relationship with her in the future.

Eddie: So you think I was wrong to try and go against Drake?

Cletus: No. Hell no, you weren't wrong. In fact I'm proud of you. Few people would have the guts. But you just need to be more strategic about these things, you know? Gotta remember the consequences. What is my objective here, what might it cost me? Or the people close to me? Like hypothetically if I strangled everyone that annoyed me I would be in jail right now. You gotta at least make sure they can't trace it back to you.

Tagging, if you wanna do it...

@galadhir @ruindunburnit @pulchrasilva @pyreneese @symbiotic-slime @hell-if-i-know-dudette @rodeokid @harperhug @purple-slimy @frankenbolt