#the queen of hawkins high

[sofiiel]

 What do you fear, my lady?

A Cage.

[jonathanbyersphd]

Some of y'all really forget Nancy's a loser. Not me though, love my weird girl and her bad reputation.

[empress-of-snark]

I would never fall in love again until I found her

I said I would never fall unless it’s you I fall into

I was lost within the darkness but then I found her

I found you

stranger things rarepair collection

[lover-also-fighter-also]

OKAY! WHY IS THAT IN THE CHOICES UNIVERSE HIGH SCHOOL TEENS ARE MUCH MORE CAPABLE OF HANDLING UNREQUITED CRUSHES AND JEALOUSY (Gabriela: Immortal Desires, Emma Hawkins: HSS) THAN FREAKING ASS ADULTS?! (Sam Dalton, Ian Kingsley)

[banishedandkassified]

hey eddie! im azara! im chrissy's gf and i wanted to meet you!- @azara-the-princess

Hey! Nice to meet you :)

@azara-the-princess @corrodedcoffinchrissy

[lunastar92]

Grace!

[psychocandyx]

Cheer captains with cute dimples and blue eyeshadow ✨💙

[theautisticbarbie]

A Bird of Praise

Act II

Chapter VII: The Birthday Queen

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Illustration by @deathclassic (check out her artwork here and on IG and maybe give her a commission if you can! She was AMAZING to work with! Also, I printed this piece and got it autographed by THE Joseph Quinn himself 👀)

Word Count: 2,929

Chapter summary: Billy nearly ruins Tara’s birthday with his drunken antics… that is until Eddie swoops in and saves her special day. Unfortunately, his toxic girlfriend gets wind of it, leading to a confession brought on by morphine courage that leaves Tara absolutely bewildered.

Chapter warnings: partner abuse (Billy being emotionally abusive to Tara in the beginning and Brenda engaging in physical violence towards the end)

Sunday 4 November 1984 was Tara’s 17th birthday.

When she came home from her performance the previous day after dropping Alanna off, she went up to her room to find Billy passed out drunk on her bed with her mini fridge door wide open. There were beer cans all over the floor. Tara let out a heavy sigh before cleaning them all up. She decided to take a shower and change into her nightgown before dealing with him.

“Billy?” she asked, gently stroking his face to wake him.

His eyes flew open and the back of his palm clashed with Tara’s face, causing her to double over.

“Ow! Son of a biscuits! Billy!”

“Babe! You scared the shit out of me!” he slurred.

“Well, do you mind moving over so I can go to bed? I’m exhausted.”

“What are you talking about? There’s plenty of room!” he declared, drunkenly gesturing to his body. “Come on, babe! Get comfy!”

Tara sighed and got onto her bed, where Billy engulfed her in his arms. “My baby,” he slurred.

“Neil punched me today,” Billy said.

“What?”

“He told me I couldn’t see you anymore and I told him to go fuck himself… so he punched me…”

“Billy that’s awful!”

“No, it’s fine! I punched him back harder! He won’t be doing that shit again!”

Tara could smell the rancid alcohol on his breath and nearly puked as he kissed her. “Baby…”

“Yes?”

Silence.

“Billy?”

He was out cold. Passed out drunk again. Tara sighed and tried to nod off to sleep given the circumstances.

When Tara got up the next morning to start her birthday, she tried to rouse Billy with herbal tea.

“So, as you know, today is my birthday.”

“Babe, I’ve got a hangover worse than… fuck it. Ain’t nothing worse than this.”

“Well, I figured I could let you sleep in, go pick up some lunch from my favourite cafe and we can watch movies. Just have a lazy day.”

“Or you can draw the drapes, shut the fuck up and let me sleep this off.”

That hurt. Tara was really trying hard to meet Billy where he was, and once again, he chose to be a jerk.

“Fine. Sweet dreams.” Tara closed the door behind her and just cried.

She heard an engine pull up and there was a knock at the door.

When she went down to answer it, Eddie was there. “What? Seriously? You’re not even dressed yet?” he asked playfully.

“I’m sorry?”

“Did you get amnesia in that little head of yours? Don’t you remember what day it is?”

“Sunday?”

“Come on. I know you’ve got a nice little birthday outfit picked out. Why don’t you go put it on and come on down to the van for your birthday surprise?”

Maybe it was the way he wore that Jean Jacket and that Dio shirt, maybe it was his cute puppy dog eyes or maybe it was something all together different, but she did what he asked so it had to be something.

When she came back down, it was in a pretty pink birthday outfit.

“Well, don’t you look absolutely stunning? Come on, princess. After you,” he said, opening the passenger side door.

After making sure she’s all strapped in, Eddie started up the van.

“Feel free to peruse my music collection.”

Tara looked through the tapes to see if she found anything she would like. Most of it, of course, was all the kind of stuff her brother would enjoy. Not that she didn’t also enjoy that type of music, possibly because she always heard it blasting from her brother’s room, but she was hoping to come across something more her taste.

At last, she found something she could enjoy. She slid the tape in the radio and hit play.

“The Lady Lies” by Genesis began blasting through the speakers.

“Genesis, huh? Excellent choice, sweetheart!”

“I love Genesis! Phil Collins is amazing!”

“Yeah. Some of Peter Gabriel’s stuff is good, too, but yeah. Phil Collins. He’s the man.”

“Where are we going if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Darling, it’s called a surprise for a reason.”

“Is it a good surprise?”

“It’s your birthday, right?”

The van pulled over on the side of the road. Eddie took a black skull bandanna out of his glove compartment.

“I’m gonna have to ask you to step out of the van for a sec, princess.”

“Okay?”

Tara stepped out and Eddie proceeded to blindfold her with the bandana. She could only hear the occasional passing vehicle when he then grabbed her and spun her around a few times.

“There we go! Come on, beautiful. Back in the van, you go!”

The van went a little bit further when it stopped. Eddie popped out from the driver’s side and helped Tara out of the passenger’s side. He took Tara’s hand and led the way. She tried to use her other senses to figure out what the surprise was. She heard sliding doors. Okay she was entering a building. There were clearly other people there.

“Shush!” she heard. That was DEFINITELY Robin’s voice.

“Are you ready, princess?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Eddie stopped and reached for her blindfold. He yanked it off, and she was bombarded by a collective “Surprise!”

Sure enough, Robin was there. So was Daniel, Alanna and the Hellfire Club. There was a banner that said “Happy 17th Birthday Daniel and Tara!”

“Oh my gosh!” Tara exclaimed. “How did you even plan this?”

“Well to be honest, we kinda counted on your shitty boyfriend dropping the ball today. Seems he didn’t disappoint,” Daniel said.

Tara took in her surroundings. She was in a roller rink. “Dancing Queen” by ABBA began playing over the sound system. She was in disbelief.

“Come on,” Alanna shouted. “Let’s skate already!”

“Of course, you’re raring to go, Miss Roller Derby Champion!” Eddie teased.

Tara had an amazing time. There was skating, presents, nothing too extravagant, though, considering they were all still high schoolers, and when it was time to cut the cake, Tara was in for another pleasant surprise.

“Ice cream cake!”

“Your favourite!” Daniel remarked.

“Hey! You like it, too!” Tara retorted.

“I don’t hate it,” he shrugged.

They sung happy birthday, blew out the candles and Tara sat down across Eddie with her cake. She swore she could recognise the song playing on the sound system, but couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Are you having a good birthday so far, sweetheart?”

“I am…” Tara sighed. “I just wish Billy was here.”

“He’s an idiot. He doesn’t know what he has.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if I had a girlfriend like you, I’d be a hell of a lot more grateful than he seems to be.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend? Where is she, anyway?”

“This isn’t about Brenda,” he said, his posture suddenly slightly uncomfortable.

Eddie took her hand and her heart began to flutter as she felt her cheeks get hot.

“I wanna know what love is. I want you to show me. I wanna feel what love is. I know you can show me,” the sound system played.

Ah, of course. “I wanna know what love is” by Foreigner.

Eddie gently stroked her hand with his thumb.

“Are you even happy with him?”

“I… I don’t know… we have good moments sometimes…”

“Do you love him?”

“I… I… I don’t know anymore…”

“Then why stay with him?”

“Eddie! My ice cream cake is gonna melt!”

Tara quickly scarfed down the cake, very keen on avoiding his question.

“Looks like you got more of it on you than in you,” Eddie teased, wiping her mouth.

Tara groaned, holding her head.

“Ouch. Looks like someone’s got brainfreeze,” he chuckled.

But when Tara fell over, he became concerned. “You okay?”

No response.

“Tara?”

He rushed to her side.

“Whoah, there,” he sat her up.

“Breathe. Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. 450.”

“Tara? Hello?” Eddie shook her.

“Breathe. Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. 450.”

Eddie shook her harder. “Tara, wake up!”

“Breathe. Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. 450.”

“Earth to Tara Newman! Hello!”

Blood ran down her nose as the lights began to flicker.

“Hello?” Tara canvassed the darkness around her.

“Breathe. Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. 450.”

“Who’s there?” she asked.

“Breathe. Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. 450.”

Tara saw a woman in a nightgown rocking in a chair.

“Breathe. Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. 450.”

Tara approached the woman, who looked at her.

“Breathe. Sunflower. Three to the right. Four to the left. Rainbow. 450.”

The woman looked to her right, and Tara turned her head to see what she was looking at.

It was the little girl from the other day, but she looked different.

For lack of a better phrase, she looked like she had just been playing dress up with Eddie or Daniel.

Tara approached her when a booming voice dragged her out of her state.

“TARA WAKE UP!”

Tara snapped back to reality to find Eddie literally shaking her so hard he could probably give her whiplash.

Tara caught her breath and looked at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, handing her a tissue to wipe her nose.

“I… think so?” Tara said, wiping her face.

“Do you smell burnt toast at all?” he asked.

“No?”

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three.”

Eddie sighed in relief.

That relief was unfortunately short lived when the party heard someone bust through the door.

“EDDIE YOU CHEATING BASTARD!”

Eddie looked over to see Brenda with a cohort who she had presumably gotten a ride from.

“Oh great,” he said sarcastically, rubbing his eyes.

“You son of a bitch!” Brenda called, beelining towards him.

“Brenda, you’re doing this at my best friend’s birthday party,” Eddie said, raising his hands to show he meant no harm.

“And who is that?” Brenda asked, pointing to Tara.

“My sister,” Daniel said flatly. “We’re twins. You know, that thing where two babies are born at once?”

“Shut up, Daniel! I wasn’t talking to you! Wait a sec, you’re the slut from Tina’s Halloween party!”

“Whoah!” Eddie exclaimed, keeping his hands raised. “Why don’t we have a long overdue conversation?” he asked, taking Brenda’s hand and leading her outside of the building.

He lit up a cigarette to calm his nerves.

“Well, talk!” Brenda demanded.

Eddie took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled.

“Brenda, here’s the thing. Things were great at first. The sex was decent, we had fun dates, all that good shit. But then you started accusing me of cheating anytime I even got within 10 feet of another woman. The time you literally fought the waitress at Waffle House when she was just doing her job? The time you tried to get the cashier at Melvald’s fired for asking me how my day was when she’s old enough to be my mom? Hell, just yesterday, you literally choked me for staying late at Daniel’s house.”

“Well, you’re supposed to be MY boyfriend!” Brenda retorted defensively.

“Look, I’ve had my mind made up about this since this morning. I think it would be best if you unpacked this rampant insecurity of yours before trying to be in a relationship.”

“What are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?!”

“I have to, Brenda. This isn’t good for either of us.”

“But… Eddie…” Tears welled up in Brenda’s eyes.

“Look,” Eddie let out a heavy sigh. “I know it hurts. Believe me. I’m fully aware that I’m a catch. But this is for the best.”

“I’m gonna kill myself!” Brenda said. “You hear me? I’m gonna kill myself and it’s gonna be your fault!”

Eddie thought back to the many times he broke every traffic law known to man to rush to Brenda when she said those things.

“I’m sorry, Brenda. I really am. I really wanted this to work, but I just can’t anymore.”

With that, Eddie stomped out his cigarette and went back inside, leaving Brenda to sob.

She began to seethe. All she wanted was a little loyalty and now he was leaving her? That was it. She stomped her way back inside, eye makeup streaking her face.

“Eddie!” she called. Once she had his attention, she jabbed him particularly hard in the gut, causing him to double over.

“Oh… god…” Eddie groaned, clutching his side.

“Jesus, she punched you hard,” Gareth said, crouching to his side, his voice trailing off when he saw blood ooze out.

He looked back to see Brenda’s fist drizzled with blood. She was holding small blade between her fingers.

Once people realised what was happening, things became a nightmare. One of the members of Hellfire restrained Brenda with a bear hug when she lunged at Tara with the blade.

“Let me go!” Brenda demanded.

“Nope. Can’t do that.”

Gareth and Daniel were at Eddie’s side.

“The paramedics are on their way! Just hold on, man! You’re gonna pull through!”

“Gareth,” Eddie chuckled weakly. “Shut the fuck up.”

Once the paramedics arrived, they examined Eddie’s stab wound.

“This doesn’t look too bad. We’re gonna take you to the hospital and get you stitched up. Just keep this pressed on your wound. The police will be here shortly to deal with your little friend.”

CHOMP.

“OW! Son of a bitch!”

The one member of Hellfire was forced to let her go. He winced at the bite mark as she ran off.

Tara waited anxiously in the waiting room when Wayne walked through.

“What happened?” he asked.

“His girlfriend stabbed him!” Tara hyperventilated.

“What? Goddamn it. I told that boy she was trouble!”

“For Eddie Munson?” A nurse called.

Tara and Wayne were led into a hospital room where Eddie was laid down with supplemental oxygen and an IV in his arm. His clothes were put in a plastic bag.

“Hey, Uncle Wayne!” he slurred.

“Why is he talking all funny like that?” he asked.

“We gave him morphine,” the doctor said.

A police officer poked his head through the door.

“Miss Newman, did you already give your statement to the police?” the doctor asked.

“Yeah. I did that back at the rink.”

“Yeah, we talked to her,” the officer confirmed. “We need to get a statement from you and from his dad as well.”

“I’m his uncle,” Wayne said, clearly taking offence. “Not his shit dad.”

Wayne and the doctor left the room, leaving Tara alone with the morphine drunk Eddie.

Tara sighed in disbelief, still reeling from the roller coaster of a day she had. “I can’t believe Brenda would do this. And on my birthday!”

“I never thought I’d drive a girl so nuts that she’d stab me for dumping her!” Eddie slurred.

“How much morphine did they give you?” Tara asked, raising a brow.

“Eh, don’t worry about it!” Eddie said, waving off a hand that flopped onto the hospital bed.

“Maybe they should stop the drip—“

“No!” Eddie protested. “Forget about that! I have something important to tell you, but…” Eddie looked left and right, shifting his body in a comical fashion, “it’s a secret, so you gotta come closer.”

Tara was confused but decided to play ball and slightly lean forward.

“Closer.”

Tara leaned more.

“Closer.”

Tara continued to inch forward and Eddie let out a frustrated groan.

“Way closer! You’re too far away.”

“Eddie, if I get that close, I’m invading your personal space.”

“Forget ‘personal space’! This is important!” he declared.

“Okay,” Tara sighed, exasperated before getting practically nose to nose with him. “Is this close enough?” she asked in an exaggerated whisper.

“Perfect!” he surged forward and kissed her.

Tara pulled back in shock.

“I’ve seen how Hargrove treats you. I’ve seen him drink and make out with other girls and slap you silly when you call him out.” Eddie looks up at Tara, and she can tell from the look in his big brown eyes he has been sitting on this for quite a while.

“I would never do that. I would put you on a pedestal, show the world you were my girl, and tell anyone else to back off because I only had eyes for you. You’d be my one and only.”

Tara looked away as tears welled up in her eyes while he continued.

“And the only time I would ever put hands on you would be to hold you in my arms and make you feel like the only girl in the world,”

Tears ran down Tara’s cheek as he continued.

“and I would stroke your hair and keep you safe and…”

The rest of what Eddie said was mostly unintelligible and when Tara wiped her eyes and turned back around, he was asleep.

Tara put her fingers to her lips in disbelief. She looked over at Eddie, who was out cold.

Wayne came back in to see Tara wiping her eyes.

“Hey! What did that boy say to you?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing that made sense. I should get going.”

“Come on. I’ll drive you home.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be any trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all, little lady.”

Wayne’s pickup truck pulled up at Tara’s house and he waited until she got in safe before driving away.

Tara went upstairs to head to bed. It was empty. Billy went home. Thank god.

Tara collapsed onto her bed and nodded off.

[sofiiel]

Cunningham Headcanons:

I'm just a bird that's already flown away

(kind of long)

Chrissy's room is always tidy, she got pictures of her celebrity crushes tucked in the edges of her vanity mirror.

Little figurines of crystal and ceramic of horses. She loves horses, as well as hummingbirds and butterflies. Little accessories she found cute or that make her feel pretty. decorative makeup tins

She doodles when she's bored, she's got a great artist but it makes her smile, and she tries as many colors as she can. She draws herself happy, whenever she's sad and daydreams of something better.

Chrissy spends most of her time at home alone in her room. She turns up her music as loud as she can. Her mother hates it loud but her father always says "Let her have some fun."

She sings into her hairbrush and dances on the bed, knows all the lyrics to her favorite songs, and twirls around with her favorite worn teddy bear as if it's her prince charming.

For Chrissy her room is her safe place, her mother doesn't bother her there too often. With her creature comforts she reminds herself what home should feel like.

There are pictures of Santa Barbra Beach, Malibu, Paris, Niagra, and many many places in South America. Chrissy wants to travel the world, and more than anything she wants to see the amazon river with her own eyes.

Water is calming to Chrissy she could watch it forever.

In fact, when she isn't in her room she often goes to the local lakes.

Shhh, she has a super secret spot all her own. There she curls up on the banks and listens to the breeze tickle the grass and tree leaves. She takes in the sun's rays on her face. Here not even the hunger pains feel as bad.

It's as if the very earth has wrapped its arms around her to comfort her. She keeps the spot secret so nothing can ruin it for her, and if she takes anyone there -they are very special to her.

Chrissy loves nature, it is where she goes to clear her head when home feels like a dungeon.

She also keeps spare change, "why?" well for the bus of course. She packs a bag full of her favorite things, a bottle of water, and if it's a particularly good day for her, maybe a small snack. An apple from the elderly lady next door or a few strawberries that looked good at the grocery store.

She will ride the bus around town until her boyfriend or cheer mates catch up with her.

She will read or watch the scenery go by. People-watching is always fun. She'll listen to her walkman or maybe take a cat nap. Chrissy knows most of the bus drivers by now and brings them little gifts on holidays.

Chrissy loves a good party, and more so - party planning. While yes, it's true many of the people thought to be in her friend's circle aren't very close to her, she loves to put together a good party or sleepover.

Chrissy is good at planning things and comes up with fun games.

She can dance her heart out, it's part of the reason she adores cheer. That and the feeling of working as a team.

Chrissy likes to dress up, and a party is a good reason to. They also get her away from her mother for a good bit.

Chrissy becomes someone else at a party, often she's the life of the party and not in the tipsy party girl kind of way. She's got a sorority leader kind of hype, brings everyone together but keeps the guests in check. Something she mastered as the heart of the cheer team.

She loves sports, she went to all the school games, for all of Hawkins High's teams. Chrissy can be found in the park watching local baseball games, basketball games and soccer games.

She's good at volleyball herself and loves a good round of tetherball. Albiet, square off against her in a game of tether ball at your own risk - she gets very competitive. Though when the game is over she has good sportsmanship and will congratulate you happily for doing your best. or....offer you a rematch.

She enjoys watching sports with her partner cuddled up on the sofa or listening to the highlights on the car radio.

Chrissy is a sucker for romance novels, the fluffy kind, and the naughtier material. yes, your girl reads smut. She is known to keep books of poetry and classic books as well. She even reads fantasy romances.

Because of this, Chrissy believes in love at first sight and the truth behind fairytales.

When she was little she thought fireflies and butterflies were actually fairies.

To this day she will sometimes wander out to the fields of Hawkins to twirl about in the middle of the fireflies.

She considers herself a rose, it's one of her positive affirmations she has for herself. She reminds herself that when she blooms she will show the world her inner greatness.

Chrissy prides herself on her protective thorns; a sharp tongue and a sweet face that can toss a glare like a dagger. She gets it from her mother's side. Words can and will be her weapons.

But her father taught her how to throw a good punch, always go for the eyes, and kick nice and high. "it hurts no matter if they're an innie or an outie." He used to explain to her.

Chrissy carries pepper spray when she goes out alone. Her father is a worrier and has made sure she knows how to stay safe.

Chrissy has to take shit all day from her mother, so we won't tolerate it from anyone else. It's one reason why she the Queen of Hawkins High. The other reason? She's not the popular girl everyone expected her to be.

Chrissy loves to shuffle around the house in a baggy T and sweets when her parents aren't home. She's barefoot or sporting her favorite fluffy houseshoes.

She'll flop down on the couch and wall her soaps with a box of tissue or a pillow to shout into when characters make her mad.

She'll call a friend or her partner to rant about the episode, and she will do so endlessly. twirling her hair and wrapping herself up in the phone cord.

Chrissy's pet would be a rabbit, hamster, canary, or maybe a unique-looking cat. Something she can hold and talk to, that has personally but can fair well on its own when her chest schedule gets busy.

A/n: that's it for now because I literally have an endless about of headcanons for her. This could go on forever ~ I post the rest one day!

[ikkaku-of-heart]

@cathiief

It was hard to accept that she needed to release pent-up emotions. That she had the right to be sad and hurt and angry and feel pain at what she had been through. She always tried to squash such things down. After all, she knew people who had gone through so much worse than her. Law had been terminally ill, survived a genocide, hid in a pile of corpses, ostracized by ignorant fools, lost his whole family, manipulated by a psychopath, betrayed, seen his mentor murdered by a man he'd looked up to, and so much more. Compared to him, Ikkaku's trauma was nothing. Not that Law ever did compare them. That was all Ikkaku's doing, in the dark places of her mind that constantly berated her and pointed out

That dark voice had sounded more and more like Hawkins, lately. Far too similar to how the man had sounded when he'd captured and tormented her. The words he'd spoken in his attempt to break her.

Yet Nami hadn't silenced her sobs. Hadn't told her to suck it up. She'd simply comforted her and let her cry on her shoulder. Really, the Cat Thief was too kind to her.

A choked laugh escaped Ikkaku's chest, breaking through the sobs and lessening the weight of despair that had been crushing her. Loosened the hold Hawkins' ghost had on her. "Ok, maybe he was a little drunk," she admitted, pulling away enough to wipe away her tears. "He...he called you a witch, but a capable one. Guess my grandfather's moonshine loosened even his stubborn tongue." Really, Zoro and Law were both a lot alike, at least in terms of being terrible at giving compliments about people they cared about. Well, Law was at least good about bragging about his crew - it was the ones he loved in a different way that he clammed up about.

Another laugh escaped her, but this time a more bitter one. Ikkaku was more than familiar with everyone not realizing how damaged she was, only letting the mask slip behind closed doors. After all, she was the sunny, sassy engineer. Yeah, she was a weirdo freak, but she was a weirdo freak with a smile on her face who was always there with a hug and a smile and a way to fix things.

And yet she never seemed to be able to fix herself.

"Takes a mess to know a mess, I guess," she sighed, resting her forehead on the navigator's shoulder. Her cheeks were still wet, but at least the tears weren't flowing anymore. "It's...it's hard, keeping it together in front of everyone. Everyone counts on you, and you're too scared to let them down. Maybe that's why I feel for Hawkins' bullshit - he wasn't counting on me to keep it together and fix everything." Except he had been, just in an utterly insane way that Ikkaku never would have guessed, so it was easier to miss. His mind really had been cracked. Had it always been that way? Or had her leaving him made it worse? Ikkaku supposed she would never know.

She gave Nami's waist another squeeze. "If...if you ever need a safe place to break down, my door's always open. We can be a mess together. It's the least I can do. If you wanna talk about it, well, I'm happy to lend an ear, since you were nice enough to listen to my sob story."

Nami didn’t shush Ikkaku, or bother to tell her things were okay. The last thing the brunette needed was her tears quieted, and things certainly weren’t okay. A release was needed; the acknowledgement that yes, she had gone through hell, and it was okay to have feelings about it.

Ikkaku did not tell her to stop with her attempts at a comforting touch. The touch of her hair, the hugging — and so, Nami didn’t stop. She was beginning to find playing with Ikkaku’s sproinged curls relaxing, in itself; a careful touch ensured her fingers didn’t tangle or snare fine spirals. Hair like Ikkaku’s was fun to play with, and she couldn’t help but find some pleasure in her curls.

Hearing of what her crewmates and Law said about her, though, was what surprised her. Nami straightened, stiffly, eyes widening. They all said that about her? Nami had confidence in herself, and she knew she was smart — hearing it from others was unnecessary. However, when she did hear it, especially from those as brilliant as Ikkaku’s captain, the Straw Hat archaeologist, along with one of her best friends (… and Zoro), she couldn’t help but flush. So surprised, that it had even taken her a moment to process — Zoro had praised her. Zoro had praised her.

“You sure Zoro wasn’t drunk when he said that stuff?” Nami scoffed under her breath, unable to think of another time where Zoro might sing her praises. They had a mutual understanding of one another, and an obvious love and care for one another, that they didn’t openly wear on their sleeves. Still, Nami and Zoro knew it was there, and that was enough. Neither of them were the types to be loud with love and admiration, anyway. Nami wasn’t doubting Ikkaku’s word — she just found it surprising that Zoro bothered to speak well of her, to others.

As for keeping it together…

Nami had to scoff once more. She was glad she was able to give off that impression. That everyone thought she was smart and capable. If only they knew how often she worried herself into an anxious mess. How hard she cried, when she had a moment to herself. How often those tears flowed. The pressure she put on herself, and the nagging voices in her mind, only reassuring her that she was right — she couldn’t protect them.

If only they all saw her for the mess she really was.

“If you could see me behind closed doors, you’d disagree with them,” she chuckled, dryly, still petting her fingers through Ikkaku’s hair. “I’ve gotten good at hiding what a mess I am. Years of practice,” she admitted, although it was a rare one, from her. No one past her nakama really knew what she’d been through.

[jonathanbyersphd]

He's regretting most of his life choices

[entitytcken-a]

WHY DID THE AUTHOR KILL YOU OFF?

Morals=Mortality

Every story has themes, with lessons within those themes. Your death was in service of one (or more) of these, your life made forfeit in favor of imparting wisdom... or what the author presented as wisdom. Were you too kind? Too trusting? Too forgiving? Did a cruel author kill you to prove that happy endings do not exist? Or were you too proud to ask for help? Too angry to let the past go? Did the author hold a mirror up to the protagonist, showing them your death where the reflection was supposed to go? On one hand, your death is pitiable, for it does not belong to you. On the other, you have been granted a gift many spend their whole lives searching for: A purpose. May you find comfort and truth within the circumstances of your demise (and may we all).

Death As Redemption

Some things cannot be forgiven. What a shame, then, that so many consider forgiveness to be the be-all, end-all of character redemptions. Or that forgiveness in itself is the redemption. Whatever sins you committed, whatever actions weigh your soul down, the author has decided that you cannot make up for it... and so they will not let you try. No, you will not even be allowed to try and put as much positivity into the world as possible (you cannot restore the balance, but surely you could do something?). Instead, there is only one thing to do: Sacrifice yourself. You'll take a bullet meant for the hero, or tackle the villain off a cliff (dooming you both), or you'll use the last of your magic to get everyone else out safely. When the heroes speak of your death, they will act as if you have undone all your wrongs, as if dying was the holiest gift you were capable of giving. I cannot help but wonder... how much more could you have done, if you had only been given the chance?

Somebody Had To Go

Sorry, kid. Really, honestly, I'm sorry. Someone had to die, for one reason or another, and you drew the short straw this time around. This wasn't a matter of surprise. No, your death wasn't meant to be a shock, wasn't meant to rattle the audience to their core. Your life was a debt, an obligation. Somebody had to go, because the story needed weight, needed sacrifice, needed the conflict to have consequences. Maybe you had the perfect balance of "emotional impact" and "lack of loose ends", or maybe the author just didn't know what else to do with you. Regardless... you deserved better. Another writer could have given you more time and a better death, if even a death at all. At least your fans will never forget- at least they will forge their own stories, tales in which you live to see another day.

Tagged by: @smalltownbcy​

Tagging: Whoever would like to steal this!

[ashwhowrites]

King!Steve Harrington x reader, he asks the reader out because of a bet. Happy ending!!!

I hope this is what you wanted and you enjoy it. Thank you for requesting 🫶🏻

Drunk bet

Steve had a reputation in Hawkins High, and he loved it. He loved the attention from the girls and the respect from the jocks. He was cocky and smug whenever eyes watched him as he walked. He was the King and there was a line of girls wanting to be the Queen.

He could get anyone he wanted, and he had many choices. He liked the way girls chased him and all he had to do was send a smile their way.

Steve was drunk at a party, betting money on games of beer pong. If he was sober, he would remember that he was awful at that game. Hundreds of bills slapped down on the table as he missed another cup.

"Nice playing with you, Harrington" Billy smirked as he collected the money.

"Wait! Come on, rematch!" Steve slurred

"It's fun kicking your ass, but you have no more money to bet" Billy laughed

"My dad will kick my ass knowing I lost all of that. What do you want to bet on? I'll do anything to win that back," Steve said

Billy gave it a thought, he had King Steve in the palm of his hand. "Alright, Steve. I'll give you everything back if you ask out Y/N and date her for three months. Hundred for each month. We have a deal?"

"No way! If I go out with her, my reputation goes straight into the mud" Steve fought.

The thing was, Y/N was a very pretty girl. But she was nowhere near the popular crowd. And dating within the popular crowd was acceptable, dating outside of the circle was immediate destruction. He'd lose his King title.

He didn't know that Billy knew all of that. Billy wanted to be the king of Hawkins. He could take Steve down in every aspect. Steve felt stuck because he knew his father would be pissed about the money. Maybe Steve could complete the bet without anyone knowing he was seeing her.

Billy stood there with a smirk when Steve sighed and shook his hand.

~~~

Monday rolled around and Steve had to put his plan into motion. He didn't know too much about Y/N but he knew they shared a few classes together. All he had to do was get her alone, turn on his charm, and ask her out.

He waited in the hallway until it died out, slipping next to her locker when she wasn't looking.

"Hey,"

She jumped as she heard his voice, turning to see him standing there with a smile on his face. She was skeptical but stayed polite.

"Hey Steve, what's up?" She asked, closing her locker and then leaning against it.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out tonight? You can come to my place and I can cook us something"

Y/N was swooning from Steve's smile and the smell of his cologne right under her nose. She couldn't believe that Steve was interested in her.

"I would love to," she smiled, maybe all those small waves and hellos meant something to him.

"Perfect. How about you give me your number and we can talk about details after school." He said

"Sure!"

Steve smiled at how excited she was, this was going to be easy. He let her softly grab his hand and write down her number. The pen tickled his skin as she wrote on his skin.

"Call you later," he said as he pushed off the locker, sending her a wink that made her heart race.

~

Y/N arrived at the address Steve said over the phone. She was nervous as she walked up to his house. She knocked on his door and anxiously waited.

"Welcome to my casa!" Steve said as he opened the door and allowed her to walk through. It was a beautiful home, very clean and everything had a shine.

"I hope you like pizza, I've got a great recipe," he said as he trailed off to the kitchen. Y/N followed but was still in awe of the house.

"Pizza sounds great," Y/N said, Steve pulled out a chair at the counter and motioned her to sit. She sat and took in his cute apron and the towel hanging over his shoulder.

"Do you like to cook?" She asked, her eyes following him as he checked on the oven

"I love it" he replied, "parents are barely home and I got tired of take out and frozen meals." He shrugged

Y/N couldn't help but frown. She wondered if he ever got lonely, but he was popular so maybe not.

"Can I help with anything?" She asked, standing up and walking over to him. Steve smiled at her, he could see the excitement sparkling in her eyes. He already has her wrapped around his finger.

~

A month flew by and Steve believed he had this bet in the bag. Since he was always home alone, he'd ask her to come over. She didn't question why they never went anywhere and that made it easy.

He didn't have much interest in her, but he did like her company. She was funny and was fun. There was never a dull moment with her and Steve didn't realize how much fun he needed in his life.

A few weeks into the first month he kissed her.

It was soft and slow. She didn't know where to put her hands but once she got more comfortable she touched him. He kissed her a few times, letting her grow more comfortable with him and adding anything she wanted to the kiss.

~

Two months in he asked her to be his girlfriend. She said yes without a second thought, just like he thought.

He started taking her out on dates, but only in private areas. Private waterfalls for picnics and driving into another town. She saw it as all adventures. She loved to explore and her heart raced by how much Steve seemed to want to explore with her.

~

Three months in Steve felt it.

He felt a little spark when he kissed her. When she held his hand as they jumped into the cold water below, he felt warm everywhere. The sound of her laughter as they plunged into the water made him smile.

He started loving the long drives. Singing with her and dancing at red lights. He started to feel happy when he saw the excitement in her eyes when she took in something new.

How he wished he had a camera to take a picture every time she smiled at him.

They had a few drinks one night, cuddled on his living room floor as the fire roared. Lately, the bet has been the last thing on his mind and it certainly was right now. The way her skin glowed from the fire. Her shoulder was exposed from her shirt, and without thinking he leaned down and kissed the skin.

He felt something burn inside him when she moaned. Then it became the only thing on his mind, making her moan and moan again.

They had sex on the floor in front of the fire, the beer bottles scattered on the floor. His forehead was against hers as he pushed himself in and out of her.

~

Steve knew he'd have to face Billy now that the three months were up. He didn't want to break up with her, he liked her and he liked her a lot. He knew he fucked up with how they started and he planned for her to never know.

Billy pulled up to his house, honking the horn as he got out.

Steve groaned as he rolled out of bed. Y/N was asleep, so he quickly left the room. He raced out to make Billy stop the honking. Once Billy saw him, he stopped.

He had a big smirk as he took in Steve's appearance.

"My oh my, sex hair and scratches? Someone had a good time," Billy chuckled.

"Look, I'm out of the bet. Keep the money and we're even." Steve said

"Oh, why? Fucked her and now you're in love?" Billy scoffed, "King Harrington settles for the pretty nerd."

"Billy, just stop. You get to keep the money, so let's keep this between us. She doesn't have to know" Steve hissed

"Alright, man. I'll keep this little bet between us, but what's your plan? Gonna have to start taking her out in public at one point, people will see and your reputation is doomed. And also," he said, stepping closer to Steve as he lowered his voice, "she's right behind you."

Steve gulped as he was fast to turn around. She stood there in his shirt from the night before. Her arms crossed as tears ran down her face.

Billy laughed as he got back in his car, but before he sat down he whistled.

"If you need a rebound, I'm here, gorgeous," he winked at her.

They watched as he raced out of Steve's driveway, leaving them alone.

"Y/N," he started but she already was running inside.

"I CAN EXPLAIN!" he shouted as he raced into his house, he was quick to head up to his room. She was yanking off his shirt and throwing on her clothes.

"I don't care anymore. You're just as much of an asshole as I thought." She hissed, angrily putting on her pants. "I should have known better. 'Oh baby, I just want you all to myself and I know this romantic spot at the lake,' you just didn't want anyone to see us together!" She mocked his voice as she headed out of his bedroom.

"I know! I'm so sorry and I fucked up. But please believe me. You heard me tell him to keep it right? You heard me!"

"Yeah, I heard you! But I never heard you admit any feelings for me. Why? Too scared to admit that to Billy? Knowing your reputation is on the line?" She scoffed, sliding on her shoes.

"I do have feelings for you! Yes, it was a bet initially but I fell for you. I really like you and I didn't want us to break up. I want to be with you," he cried, tears falling down his face as he grabbed the front door knob.

"Yeah, well I don't want to be with you." She snapped as she slammed the door behind her.

~~~

Steve gave her time to cool off but when Monday arrived he had his eyes set on her. He followed her around and begged for her to listen to him. People were staring and whispering about them in the halls but Steve didn't care.

Finally, she stopped, turning around as Steve's body smashed into hers.

"Quit following me around, this time I don't want to be seen with you," she declared, ignoring the kicked-puppy look in his eyes. "Take a look around, any girl would jump at the chance to be with you. And you wouldn't have to be ashamed of them, leave me alone and find someone else."

She went to turn around but Steve grabbed her shoulder.

He looked into her eyes and she tried to keep her hard face on.

"I don't want them. I don't want to look elsewhere. I'm looking at the girl I want. I'm sorry for everything and I'm sorry I thought you were someone to be ashamed of. You're not. You are the best person I have ever met and I'm begging for another chance."

She watched as he dropped to his knees and held her hand. She smiled awkwardly as the school stared and gasped.

"People are staring!" she hissed

"Good, because then you will see that I don't care who sees us. Y/N, will you please give me another chance? We don't have to label it right away, we can start with a date and talk through everything. All I ask is you say yes in the moment and we can think about it later."

She sighed, looking down at their hands. In his eyes, he looked sincere and sorry.

"Fine," she sighed, smiling to herself when Steve's face lit up, "But we will be thinking about it later."

"Deal!" he cheered as he stood up. She was caught off guard when he swooped her into a kiss. She ignored the crowd around them as she kissed him back.

[banishedandkassified]

i miss you 💗 and i saw that you felt like cuddling and if you wanted to still … i would love to

I miss you too.

Cuddles are always great :) you're very welcome to come cuddle.

[lunastar92]

[lunastar92]

Pretty!!!!

she's just so🥹✨