#the event happened at fucking 8

[delightful-69]

i just fucking hate this neighborhood

[front-facing-pokemon]

[devondespresso]

i was reading a scoops era steddie au where eddie visits scoops often and one thing i noticed i alway want but have yet to see (bear in mind my fic pallette is basically just shit i see on Tumblr and occasionally reading every fic a certain author has written) is a specific scene of eddie noticing stobins missing when he goes to visit them at scoops the day theyre stuck in the bunker. cause they entered the bunker after a shift one night and didn't get out until at the soonest the next afternoon right before the mall closes so if either or both of them were scheduled to work then they'd be just... gone.

and how characters around them handle that depends on how soon (if at all) they're declared missing. did robin think they'd be in-and-out in their snooping and tell her parents shes be back a little late or did she think they'd be out kinda late fucking around and just lied to her parents telling them shes sleeping over at a friend's like how we know tina was going to cover for erica? did mrs Henderson freak out when Dustin didn't bike back home (knowing what happened with will) or did she know he was with steve and trusted that they were goofing off or something?

and usually i see Steve's parents not being home but what if they were?? they could panic because steve always has some sort of excuse for why hes gone or maybe just his mom starts worrying because while his dad never really asks about him she does and she knows hes probably not at some girls house right now because he at least would have told her. or maybe mrs harrington doesn't know her son as well as she thinks she does and assumes he is out at some girls house and is relieved hes finally getting to be more like himself.

maybe just one or two people in scoops troop are reported missing that night and maybe the search started for them is enough for the other's parents or friends to realize they're all missing. maybe none of them are because they each already had a coverup with the people who'd notice. maybe they spent a good few hours in that elevator regretting lying about where they'd be because now no one knows they're in danger and by the time they start looking it could be too late (obviously erica didn't seem to grasp this yet but shes literally 10 and it's definitely her fist severely traumatic life or death experience. for the others tho it could definitely be on their minds and i have seen a few fics where robin wonders about how steve and Dustin are reacting like they've done scary shit like this before together)

then morning comes and id give it until lunch with no calls or anything before parents who believed their kids were sleeping over to start worrying seriously. maybe they call the friend their child's supposedly with and get a confused parent saying they haven't seen them or maybe they get the friend picking up and confirming they're fine (like tina). but if Mrs Henderson gets worried and calls steve she'll either get the harringtons saying he isn't home right now or she won't be able to reach him. and knowing steves like a big brother and a best friend to dustin knows that if steve missing too he's probably at least missing with him and goes to the station worried about them both

and then theres the fact that scoops has to open in the morning, probably sometime around 10am. maybe steve and robin were scheduled to both work again and as 10am comes and passes scoops ahoy hasn't been touched. maybe some mall manager calls the scoops manager (forgive me ive never worked in a mall but i do work in a store-within-a-store and we have our own manager plus the big store manager) and asks where their employees are. if missing persons reports were filed that last night then the manager would be really worried while frantically trying to find someone to cover for them. but maybe no one knows they're missing yet and their manager is grumbling about their no-shows, maybe considering firing them for both disappearing without even calling out. depending on how much they know and if the reports were filed, whoever has to cover their shifts is either worried about their coworkers (probably moreso robin than steve because of his reputation) or utterly pissed that they both didn't show and they have to open scoops ahoy with a few hours delay and probably a good few karens bitching about being closed. or maybe one or the other was scheduled and while their no-show is really inconvenient at least someone's there to open and ask for backup

and then theres steves car still parked in the back where it was the day before. a bike left behind at the mall is less eyebrow-raising but a fancy car? Steve Harrington's car? Steve Harrington who was scheduled to work today but somehow isn't in scoops right now? is he skipping work while simultaneously wandering around his workplace? and whats worse is despite evidence being there *no one can find him*. maybe thats what it takes for people to realize hes like actually missing. maybe they think he was kidnapped, hopefully he just went home with some girl and lost track of time.

and then theres eddie. eddie whos been stopping by scoops for a while now. maybe he still doesn't really like Harrington but likes teasing him with Buckley or maybe they've gotten pretty close. maybe they're already dating. maybe eddie walks up to scoops one morning to find it closed or to find that one or the other didn't show up for work this morning. maybe he hears from the worker that ones missing or maybe they get a rant about how pissed the worker is to be opening alone. maybe he's the one to go to a mall manager or security officer worried about scoops being closed because he *knows* the people that are supposed to be there right now and they don't just abandon work at the same time with no explanations.

or maybe eddie visits in the afternoons and learns they're missing from their coworkers or maybe hes there because he saw it on the news and went on his our hunt. either way it'd probably end with Eddie looking around the mall for them because he knows steve isn't going to just abandon his beemer in a busy public parking lot. maybe he finds them high out of their minds while checking the movie theatre (this one i do see a lot and am obsessed with its so good) or maybe he doesn't find them at all (its a big mall and they are actively hiding from Russians who know they escaped. sure stobin are not being very secretive while high but dustin and erica are at least keeping them in less-discoverable locations). maybe he goes home knowing hes looked everywhere in that damn mall and assumes they're probably kidnapped and taken somewhere else (if he did find them tho that opens a whole can of worms for if, how, and how much eddie gets involved and while my brains gone down sone of those rabbit holes i don't think i will today)

and then they see the news about the mall fire. and eddie knows damn well that he looked everywhere in that mall but didn't see a trace of his friends but there they are on the news and apparently in the fire. maybe eddie assumes he didn't look hard enough. but maybe he sees how steves the only one with more than a few bruises on his legs, how despite them claiming he was trapped in rumble that also allegedly killed billy hargrove he looks like hes carrying himself on adrenaline alone and hovering around robin and the kids like something more than falling support beams could get to them. maybe its the fact that he look as shit as he did but wasn't laying down on a hospital stretcher like he would be if he just got those wounds.

_._._._

hi if you saw any typos no you didn't UNLESS theyre funny or actually concerning then you should tell me and i can react appropriately

also i swear i feel like doctor strange looking through every possible reality when i go on tangents like this. idk whenever i come up with little fics in my head or come up with different ways my favorite unfinished fics could end im always exploring as many different versions of the same scenario as i can and coming up with as many what-ifs as i can.

also i pressed the poll button by accident while making this and idk how to make it go away to we're trying just ignoring it and not writing anything in it to see if it goes away

actually fuck that it probably wont work so im adding a poll question as a treat for the people who read this far

[wayfayrr]

I hope life eases up soon man, take care of yourself

Thanks mate <3

stuff's starting to gradually get better now, actually let myself feel feelings after bottling them till it popped

just kinda turns out that throwing yourself into something so you're numb to the other things can really burn you out :') So I'm trying to find motivation to write and answer asks again, I'm hoping it'll be soon but idk atp

[ghostzzy]

anyway. enough about that. it's thursday so i have to socialize tonight and i'm like -_- not again

[cuminhoid]

how it started: jango getting railed where it ended up:

For the first few years, Kal hadn’t really gone out of his way to help Jango transition to life with the Haat’ade (a feeling Il’buir shared)...

[thomas-mvller]

I wonder why is it so difficult for football teams to hold their controversial players accountable. Like they think they're protecting the club's image but little do they know it makes them look even worse when they do the most to defend them.

[giantkillerjack]

I don't understand why the hell HBO Rome (or as I call it, Game of Romes, since it feels like a re-skin of Game of Thrones ngl) needs to significantly change historical events.

The show takes place during the fall of the Roman republic! AKA one of THE most interesting, densely packed 15-year periods of history to ever take place!!!!

There is shit that happened during that time that is unbelievable except for the fact that we have proof! And if you as a writer want us to be able to believe those moments, you can't just randomly change shit to make it so actually it was your special OCs who brought down the Roman Republic!!!

Special shout out to Roman Cersei AKA 'Octavian's mom but for some reason she is literally just Cersei from Game of Thrones' [edit: I have just been informed this show came out like 10 years before Game of Thrones. So I guess Cersei is actually the new Atia!]

[catzgam3rz]

In all my 20 years of living I’ve thought icecream trucks were like, one of those weird US things that are debatably real but there’s one right next to me????? It’s fucking April???

[gaygayaurel]

i finally understand what got fans went hrough when i watched fiona and cake (spoilers in tags)

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[kurgy]

lots of interesting things happening/have happened in bnha that I want to see explored and absolutely none of them involve the main characters

[scattered-winter]

to give you guys an idea of the gravity of this being a category 8 event. most of the time I am hovering very solidly over a 1 or 2 in my everyday comings and goings. occasionally it will bump up to a 3 or 4 if I am feeling particularly insane. I haven't had a category 8 in a very long time and I think my soul is trying to part from my body

[mihotose]

on my hands and knees after the bbc cut away from the an vs yamaguchi match

[imsorryithurts]

Whumperless Whump day 16

As always, thanks to Seth for hosting the event. Visit @whumperless-whump-event to read more works!

-x-

This is a story I have played in my head many times. And I'm glad this event gave me drive and opportunity to write it down and share. It's a story that serves a purpose in developing my characters, but also to deal with some personal trauma.

It is a bit angsty and more on the side of emotional whump.

This one features Salus and Mills, you can have a primer on them and my other OCs here: [link]

Mills, still adjusting to being disabled, finds out a secret Saluswho has been a (sort of) father figure to her, has been keeping from her.

-x-

This story has a continuation, which you can here here: [link]

-x-

 Say goodbye to filters:

Half-conscious / Delirious / “You would never say that in your right mind…

Word count: 2634

Content warnings: Angst, alcohol and drunkeness, disabled characted written by an able bodied person, vomiting

-x-

Salus hadn't been worried when Opal met him at the ground floor of the inn after he came back from the shops, saying Mills had been looking for him.

He had left early, Mills hadn't seen him taking the objects and artifacts, she couldn't have known of them, or of him selling them.

He was worried, for a different reason, when he opened the door to her room after knocking and she wasn't there.

Mills hadn't been able to walk much since getting thrown from that tower, even after getting new ribs and leg bones made from enchanted metal recently, she had low energy and pain most of the time, preferring to sit in bed with books, or at the most, sitting at the halls of whichever inn they happened to be in with.

And she wasn't in either, pretty much for the first time.

He hurried back downstairs to where Opal was having tea with another patron.

“Opal. You said Mills was searching for me? You know where she is?”

“Oh, is he not in our room?” The pale tiefling responded, taking a calm sip of her tea. “She hasn't left the inn, I would have seen her.”

Salus continued staring at her, waiting for any kind of suggestion of where she might have been, but Opal only stared back with her half lidded eyes demeanor.

“Fine. All right.” He rapped his fingers on the table impatiently. “I’ll see if I can find her.”

He looked around the ground floor, went back to her room and even called her name at the empty room just to make sure she wasn't there and that he hasn't missed her.

Maybe she was in his room? She had been there a couple of times, but only to hang out with him, he’d never seen her there by herself.

He wasn't confident in his hypothesis, but he walked to his room anyway.

He wasn't prepared to what he had found when he opened the door.

The room was only a step below of being trashed, his trunk and cases opened and its contents strewn about: both his personal belongings and itens he had collected in recent dungeons and adventures mixed up and scattered on the floor.

Nothing seemed to be missing, but it was clear someone had been looking for something.

Mills didn't seem to be there, until Salus stepped further into the room and sighted her, curled up under the small desk.

Curled up with a big bottle of alcohol that she must have found in one of the trunks.

The first thing on Salus' mind was how the hell did she manage to squeeze in there. It would be uncomfortable for any person, but especially to someone who had been struggling with mobility and pain.

And then his mind catched up to the fact that she had found everything that he had acquired recently from adventures... Secretly. And without her. After telling her he wouldn't.

The bottle she held was also pretty concerning. She no doubt had a broken heart, but maybe worse than that, he didn't recognize the liquid, and couldn't even read the letters on the bottle. It was more than halfway empty in her grasp, and while Mills does drink sometimes, she has never been that big of a drinker.

She was snoring quietly, so at least he could relax knowing it wasn't strong enough to kill her.

He stayed crouched in front of her for a moment, considering the best course of action. Probably to get her out of there first. And hopefully figure out the whole lying to her thing tomorrow.

Well, shit. Neither of those would be very easy.

He tried waking her first. He called her name softly, touching her shoulder. He brushed her hair out of her face. Her hair, a little longer than she liked, the pink that she alchemically dyed since she was a child, was faded to nearly nothing, and almost a quarter of her hair was the natural light brown that grew after she couldn’t take good care of it anymore.

Salus sighed, missing when she was an energetic, pink haired girl. A pain free girl.

“Mills.” He shook her shoulder a little harder. “Come on, Mills, you gotta get up.”

She only strained her face a little and seemed to try to swat his hand away, but didn't get too far with her arm.

“Hey!” Even calling her with a raised volume only made her groan and turn her face away.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Time for the less pleasant plan B.

He took the bottle from her without much resistance. About a quarter of the dark brown liquid still shimmered inside. He still had no idea what the label said, unable to recognize the letters written in a pretty font.

He uncapped it and gave the unknown liquor a sniff. It was not as strong as he had feared, but still stronger than he hoped.

He set it on the top of the desk and kneeled back down to deal with the girl cramped up under it.

“Come on, Mills,” he snaked his arm to reach her right side, which was pressed against the wall, so he would be more confident on grabbing without hurting her. He had imagined getting her out of there by carrying her princess style, but he couldn't fit his arm under her knees.

He sighed. Dragging it would have to be, then.

He gently placed his hand under her left armpit and pulled her right shoulder towards him. He managed to begin dislodging her, but as soon as Salus’ pulling put pressure on her left arm, she let out a whine, which quickly turned into a scream.

“Hey, hey, it's fine.” Salus tried to ease his grip on her. “Just getting you out of there.”

“No- No! Ah, stop!” She cried out, unable to do anything against his pulling. “Sto-oo-op!!”

“Okay! Okay, it's okay.” He stopped when she was halfway out and held her as softly as he could, holding on to her back and pressing her against his chest. “It's okay…”

She sobbed in his arms, still moaning between pants while she tried grabbing her pained side. Salus had held like this, when she was still a child, after she had cried alone about missing her family too many times.

The smell of alcohol on her made his chest hurt.

“Mills, you-”

She abruptly pulled away, attempting to shove him away with her good arm, managing only to almost topple backwards.

“D'nt’t touch me.”

“Mills.”

He released her, putting his hands up and she turned her upper body, holding herself up the best she could on her arms, coughing and clearing her throat from shouting.

“Let me just help you,” Salus noticed she was straining and moved to free her bent legs from under the desk. 

It had to be painful on anyone's joints, but especially for her. She cried with every centimeter he straightened her rigid knee further. “You’re okay,” He soothed as he slowly pulled her calf.

As soon as her leg was straight on the floor, she scrambled to get on all fours, then gracelessly rushed to her feet. She swayed in place, more than she would normally when she doesn’t have her cane.

“Mills, sit down,” he sighed. “Before you-”

“F-Fuck off…” She slurred, leaning on the desk beside her. She hung her down, hair obscuting her face. “Dn’t… Dn’t fucking talk t’ me.”

“Come on,” Salus rose to his feet, knees crackling. If he could get her to calm down they could delay this until morning. “Go to bed, we can talk when-”

“N’thing t’ talk about.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

He took a small step forward. “I’ll get you some water and-”

“YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME,” she snapped, making him take that step back.

He's had gut punches less painful than this.

“You lied to me! You said you wouldn't leave, or go on jobs or adventures without me!” Her face was red and her eyes puffy. “Do you think I don't know where all this stuff comes from? Did you think I wouldn't find out?”

“I-”

“You really think so lowly of me? That because I can't leave that fucking bed I got stupid?”

He had known it would come out eventually, but it still hurt.

Mills tried raising her hands in frustration, only to have to lean further on the desk.

“I get half my body destroyed, you stand by my side while I rot, say you're going to stay by my side while I heal, and for what?” She was struggling to stand now. “To get ready to leave? To continue your life, unburdened? Keep going while you strand me here?”

“Mills, I would never-” Salus said softly, approaching her to support her, who was now nearly sliding off the side of the desk.

“OH, YOU WOULDN'T?” She shouted, suddenly gaining enough strength to push herself off the desk, push him away, and limp to the other side of the room, kicking a stray book on the floor. She kept her back to him “So you're just… sneaking out alone and hoarding stuff in secret for no reason?”

Even without seeing her face Salus could hear her start to break down in tears. He knew that tremble in her voice.

“If you didn't want to be around me anymore you should just have left,” she turned just enough for him to see her face. “You should just have left me to die with my parents.”

The shock of hearing that made his heart drop to his feet. All those years, Mills had never expressed anything like that. She wasn't one to explicitly express gratitude either, but she did love her life. Even after going through the worst of her recovery, she still found joy in the things she liked.

And now Salus took away one of her joys. Exploring with him.

And combined with this, if the almost drained bottle was to be believed, he realized she would rather be dead right now.

Now the tiefling was the one to hold back tears.

“Mills, come on…” he paused to rub his face. “You- you would never say this in your right mind.”

He could physically see the rage building inside of her before she snapped again.

“OH, YEAH?!” She shouted louder, stumbling forward. “WELL, TRY ME AGAIN TOMORROW!”

She was fully in tears now, breath sobbing between each phrase.

“TRY ME AGAIN TOMORROW, AND THE DAY AFTER THAT!” She paused to sob. She was at least a full head shorter than Salus, but her stance made her tower above him. “YOU SHOULD NEVER HAD TAKEN ME, AND MONICA SHOULD NEVER HAVE HEALED ME THAT DAY!”

He clenched his fists and shut his eyes so the tears wouldn't fall. “Don't. Don't say that.”

“Monica never should have healed me, and you never should have taken me to that hospital. You had so many chances to let me die, and you didn't. You kept me alive, just so I could be trapped here, in pain all the time! So you could leave me along and keep moving on with your life!”

Mills spent a moment just sobbing, standing on wobbly legs in the middle of the room. Salus wanted to sob along with her, but he knew he had no right to.

She just stood there, bawling and pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes. 

And Salus just stood there, opposite to her, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides.

“I- I-” Mills coughed and went pale all of a sudden. She faltered, her knees buckling and hitting the floor before Salus could do anything.

He lunged for her, at least managing to keep her from falling further. She braced herself on the with her good arm, still swaying too much to one side, groaning in pain.

“Mills-”

She coughed again and brought a hand to her mouth, gagging into it.

“Ok. Okay, hang on.” He adjusted her so she wouldn't fall, and looked around for something she could throw up in.

He decided for the bucket he had used to bring water up and a towel, and rushed to get it, but he heard retching and splashing before he reached it.

She had already vomited on the floor and over her hand, but he got back to her just in time to stop her from toppling to the side, supporting her by the shoulders and holding the bucket under her chin.

She instinctively tried to reach for the bucket, but Salus sat behind her, pulling her torso for support with one arm and holding the bucket close to her. “I’ve got you,” he said while she choked on a sob that turned into a heave. “You’re all good, I’ve got you.” Not that it was good that she was throwing up, but he was glad all that was getting out of her system now. He left the bucket on the floor for a moment to wipe her hand with the towel, quickly holding it back for her again.

As she continued to spit up the dark, unknown liquor, Mills progressively slid down to the side, coming to rest her head on the crook of Salus' elbow. He had to tilt the bucket to reach her lips, but he allowed her to rest half on his lap.

As her retches turned into dry heaves and died down into coughs, Salus put the bucket aside and let her body relax more naturally. She didn't fully relax, as she was still uncontrollably sobbing again as soon as she stopped vomiting, but she was now fully laid down, her upper body on top of his crossed legs, head in his elbow.

He took the towel and reached to wipe her face when she grabbed his arm, with a grip strength she hasn't had since starting recovery. He didn't know if this was good, or a testament to how much pain she was in.

“H- h- hurts…”

“I know.” He gently squeezed her tighter. “I know, Mills… It'll pass.” He wasn't sure it would. But he was past the point of caring about small lies.

“It hurts-” She sobbed. “Salus, it hurts…”

He set the towel aside and covered his hand with his shirt sleeve to wipe her tears. He noticed some sick had run from her lips to his sleeve where she rested her head and decided to clean her face with his hand as well.

“You should rest, Mills.” His own voice trembled. He wanted to get her some water, but didn't want to move until she calmed down. He brushed some strands of faded pink hair from her face. “Just… relax, rest for a bit, okay?”

She didn't respond, but Salus noticed her eyelids getting heavier between the crying. It wasn't possible that the alcohol, in combination with vomiting and crying hadn't left her exhausted by now. He stayed there, holding her, cradling her head on his elbow and rubbing a thumb over her shoulder with the other hand.

Slowly, she stopped sobbing, and not long after that she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out.

Salus stayed there for a while, despite his back starting to ache. He felt a pang of pain in his heart knowing that the last time he held her close, the last time he truly conforted her like this had been almost ten years ago, when Mills was still a child, far from having finished growing.

He allowed himself some tears after she fell asleep.

And before he got up to take her to her bed, he allowed himself to place a small kiss on the top of her head.

[gender-euphowrya]

no farming sim ever got me hooked but hm. Hm. palia