#this episode is insane for me tbh like one of the episodes of all time so far
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I need a massive sudden hyperfixation shock to happen again
#that era when i'd just got out of the onceler divorce of summer 2021. and then listened to everywhere at the end of time in october#and it was ruining my life and i couldn't sleep and there was nothing really good happening#like it wasn't Bad bc at least i wasn't depressed anymore like i was in the summer but it was still just dead. and i couldn't get#the last 6 minutes of eateot out of my head#and then. suddenly. got shot with the *blurry screenshot of stan and kyle as adults* beam#south park post covid trailer released. everyone who had ever been in that fandom was awakening from their graves#it was like 'future episode??' 'why have they got noses' 'what the fuckkkk' 'is anything real anymore?' etc#it was such big news that it instantly shocked me out of my existential crisis and reawakened that hyperfixation for the 9347384th time#and i vividly remember going on tumblr the morning after it aired and trying to avoid spoilers bc i hadn't watched it yet#but i accidentally saw a sentence something along the lines of 'kenny's a billionaire philanthropist now' and. ok i had to see a picture?#so i did and he looked like the epitome of a cool uncle#and then i was walking to uni that morning probably looking like i was crying or something bc like. kenny successful future#and the whole thing just brought my general mood up so much?? so by the time it was 2022 i was absolutely fine#and then 2022 was so good. up until like august and september#and things got a bit dangerous again like my mood was alright but the slightest thing could bring it down#and then my best friend/housemate got a girlfriend and it was that whole drama and her existence basically ruined my last year of uni#and since then i've become so bitter and cynical and all victimy and it's so annoying and i don't even realise i'm doing it#so now i only ever notice negative things happening and have done since like the end of 2022#and i just need one of my old hyperfixations to do something insane again. like sp post covid.#i need. idk victor hugo to come back to life and publish notre dame de paris 2. or something#or for pip to come back to south park. that would actually fix me forever tbh#or the golden ratio to announce they're touring the uk for free. okay no ykw that would fix me#orrrrrrrrr idk. secret history made into a film but it's actually good#anyway. the south park kids as adults with noses set off an entire like 8 months of Pure Optimism in 2022 and i need her back more than ever#ramble
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🤡
#came back for a beat as I watched friendiversary and wanted to share my thoughts 👀#the torture device bit at the end was a bit ehhh for me#like why was THAT the reason sponge remembered him??#but sponge attaching the formula to squid so he'd “never forget it” was honestly sweet#and everything else was GOLD#imo it's just another piece of evidence that squid truly feels something for sponge#but is actively running from it to the point where it drives him insane#if sponge ignores him he goes crazy if sponge is obsessed with him he goes crazy lmao#this episode was one of the first times we've seen this on full display#no amount of physical torture will compare to the deep inner conflict squid experiences re: his true feelings for sponge#if only he'd allow himself to love and be loved!!#i feel like this only further cements the points i made in my reigisa x squidbob masterpost tbh#which you all should totes read!#spongey is in LOVE though for sure#like fantasizing about living with squid in his sleep? the fucking scrapbook? COME ON#anyway this episode was so great once you look deeper and it has so much fic fodder#squidbob#sbsp#squidward#spongebob#tragic clowning
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144
MORON
#im freaking the fuck out#their fucking microexpressions bro im vibrating right now#the side eyes and like the tiny squint and the way ken looks when he offers knifing tom to shiv as a nice thing#144 moron!!!! dont send pics bye bye bye bye bye bye!!!#when roman does that thing where he just talk talk talks like that UGH i love. him#succession#gravel#this episode is insane for me tbh like one of the episodes of all time so far
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okay ik that they needed to do like character redemption on gus by making him go from "power >>>>>> friendship" to "okay actually friendship is power or something" and ik gus isnt a good person, however did they have to make nv episode 39 so brutal. christ alive that episode fucks me up every time i watch it.
#i rewatch episode 39 a lot and like#its one of my absolute favourite episodes#and it does a very good job of showing that gus has a heart#and how evil zenoheld is#and like idk is rlly good w like. gus' running theme of loyalty by showing how his bakugan are loyal to him too#and that he doesn't only care abt spectra (altho thats rlly obvs if u pay attention like at all throughout nv)#but good lord jesus christ having two of his bakugan die in front of him?? one of which he's had from the beginning of the season????#VULCAN PROTECTING GUS DESPITE HIS ARMOUR BREAKING AND CRACKING?????#hexados taking a hit for vulcan even tho he wasnt even out on the field??? that especially fucks me up tbh#episode 39 also known as gus learning that other ppl are loyal to him as well but only finds out by them dying for him#AND DESPITE EVERYTHING BOTH HE AND VULCAN GOES THROUGH IN EPISODE 39#THEY STILL REFUSE TO BE DEFEATED RIGHT AS THEY STARE DEATH IN THE FACE#i mean they dont die in the end but god bless we all thought they did#anyway im insane about gus grav and vulcan hghgjhdkfienf#time to go watch this fucking episode again
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THIS IS HOW I FEEL WHENEVER I LOOK @ WHAT OTHER BOBS BURGERS FANS THINK ABT EPISODES theyre always like omg seasons 3-7 are the best and 12 was the worst season it isnt funny anymore season 13 either has amazing episodes or they're boring and they suck I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEYRE TALKING ABOUT whenever i watch an episode im like hehe that was an episode i liked that :) never actively disliked a bobs burgers episode they are all just silly idk whats wrong with me
#with inanimate insanity i can be more objective and i find some episodes boring tbh#(not just season one episodes although it is A LOT of season one episodes)#i guess bcuz its a smaller crew and a lot more time between episodes its easier to notice the quality difference bcuz SO MUCH time#passes between every episode and season vs traditional media where there are lots of writers and animators and its all produced#kinda closer together so the quality isnt that different#maybe im more likely to judge inanimate insanity bcuz i love it so much????#idk basically i have never actively disliked an episode of bobs burgers am i crazy do i not understand comedy FDJDMDMDJMDSJ#OR LIKE WHEN THEY COMPLAIN ABT CHARACTERS ACTING OUT OF CHARACTER OR LIKE BEING FLANDERIZED??? GIRL WHAT ARE U TALKING ABOUT#maybe its bcuz of the slow development im sure if i watched a season 2 episode vs season 12 there would be more noticeable differences#doesnt just apply to bobs burgers btw i feel like this about every single movje and tv show i watch. they are silly 2 me :)#txt#bob's burgers
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I've been rewatching justice league unlimited after finishing the justice league and I don't think the flash has had a single speaking line despite...y'know...being a member of the og team
#him and martian man hunter have had the least amount of screen time but at least we know j'onn is doing things behind the scenes#poor wally 😭#actually this is so funny wait ok#in one of the episodes theres an alien invasion of these bugs that eat everything#and they show wally boom tubing(?) down with the rest of the JL to help#but i am 99% sure they didnt animate wally in the fight scenes against the alien bugs 😭😭😭 thats insane they did him so dirty#im hoping this changes soon i think im like 14 or so eps in and i barely remember this show...i watching it when i was veryyyy young lol#so maybe ill be pleasantly surprised with a wally-centric ep#tbh though im a bit surprised by how. unorganized? this show is#like yeah its part of an animated universe so you do have to watch a few shows to get context for a few characters#but its still kinda insane to me that they ended the justice league series the way they did and then BAM they have all these heroes in JLU#no promises that ill actually watch all the series but does anyone have like. the order to watch the DC animated universe shows? im curious#scout.txt
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JJ MAYBANK NSFW ALPHABET
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/21218e1a21356bff1c15677066197621/e4f6cbb5ef711f99-ce/s540x810/12d177198eee0f50496acb7a83c3ba5640f98d57.jpg)
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A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)
jj is the absolute sweetest!!! he can be laughing and telling you jokes, but if you need him to be he can be sweet and caring. if it was a particularly intimate session he’s sweet and gentle, normally tho he’s getting snacks to watch tv and laugh.
B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)
jj really likes his arms cause they’re just insanely toned and nice. he’s always flexing in the mirror and other guy shit. on you it’s def ur ass. i mean he’s a guy cmon… he’s constantly slapping it, grabbing it, ect ect.
C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)
he cums a lot and it shoots out in spurts. he also likes when you swallow it and will make out with you after you just gave him head and spit his nut back in your mouth. it tastes like shit tho so i wouldn’t recommend swallowing it.
D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
he stole a bunch of his dads old playboys and still looks at them. like he has a stash under his bed and jacks off to them to this day. not that bad but he’s so embarrassed about it and once cherry finds out she never lets him live it down.
E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)
as shown in the first episode, jjs pretty experienced. safe to say he knows what he’s doing.
F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)
definitely doggy he’s an ass man at heart no matter how much people try to say otherwise. then he can be all rough and shove your face down. but if he’s feeling nice he’ll pull you up by the throat and spit in your mouth <3
G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)
he normally likes to joke around and be funny during the moment. it’s just his personality atp and he doesn’t tone it down in the bedroom most of the time. his favorite type of sex is the giggly hands high sex you guys have.
H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)
ngl he’s not doing much down there himself, your gonna have to tell him if you have a problem with it cause he doesn’t really care.
I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)
he’s really good at making you feel special. constantly complimenting you, even when he’s being mean. definitely more funny and giggly in the moment but can be serious and super intimate if one of you needs it.
J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)
i mean he’s definitely rubbing one out atleast once every other day. his sex drive is extremely high, so if your not there he’ll just yknow… do it himself.
K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)
what isn’t his kink? his biggest kink is just feeling in charge it really gets him going. he’s super into sex while on substances. like high sex and drunk sex because everything is so much more sensitive and he loves that you trust him enough to fuck you while your not even in the right head. he also likes overstimulation and edging but yeah basically everything is his kink tbh.
L = Location (favorite places to do the do)
his favorite place is the bed but he honestly does not care. he’ll do it on the boat, in the car, on the couch, in public, on the ground it really doesn’t matter. he likes the bed the most though because it’s guaranteed privacy and the bed is soft so you guys can cuddle up right after.
M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)
breathing tbh. seriously though anything makes him horny. he really likes feeling in charge since his life is already so out of control, so he likes when girls act submissive and bat their eyelashes and shit. (cherry also gives him lowkey foot jobs in public under tables and he loves it he’s bricked immediately)
N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)
it’s hard to get a no out of him, but honestly anything that’s gonna hurt you he’s not into extreme pain. don’t get me wrong he’ll slap you a little but nothing beyond that really.
O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)
oh boy. he loves giving head. he could genuinely do it all day. he loves being able to take his time with it and make his girl feel as good as possible without his own needs getting in the way. so when he gets to taste you just know it’s not stopping anytime soon. he’s 10/10 too.
as far as him, he likes it and all but if he’s gonna have you suck his dick he might as well just fuck you in his mind. go big or go home i suppose.
P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)
most of the time it’s fast and rough because that poor boy has no self control, but if it’s a special day like an anniversary, or one of you has had a particularly rough day he can make it slow and meaningful :))))
Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)
10/10. he’s down to get you off or get off himself anytime, anywhere.
R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
one hundred percent. he’s down for basically anything and he’s a total adrenaline junkie so anything you want to do to spice up your sex life, he’s down.
S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)
he can go a solid 3 rounds before he’s tired out and needs a minute to get it back. but trust me it’ll only be a minute and then he’s back up and ready.
he can last a fairly long time if he wants to make you feel extra good, but normally it’s about average time, maybe a little less since hes just always so horny.
T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)
he’s the most likely to own toys out of all of the guys in my opinion. he doesn’t have any for himself but you guys have a pink vibrator he uses on you sometimes and he definitely has a pair of handcuffs.
U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
worlds biggest tease 1000%. sometimes he honestly likes the tease more than actually fucking. he will do anything in the world to rile you up before actually giving in to you.
“cmon mama, just some kissing and touching. can’t even handle that can you baby? it’s alright papa j’s gonna fix that for ya”
V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)
very very loud and whipery tbh. second behind pope. it’s not even just grunts sometimes he’s full on whimpering and moaning and begging if your on top or it’s just that good.
W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)
john bs first girlfriend he ever had, like freshmen year, jj would jerk off to pictures of her. honestly sometimes it was more about knowing she had john b than it was about her being hot. something about knowing she had him in all the ways jj couldn’t made him so insanely hard. and her tits were huge. yeah…
X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)
maybe slightly above average size. not too thick but enough to make you feel it. uncut with a pretty pink tip that is basically always glistening with a bead of precum. very pretty but very manly at the same time.
Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)
sky high. 24/7. all night. till the bed breaks. till the sun rises. till his dick falls off.
Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
honestly it takes him kinda a long time. he’ll normally lay there for a little bit after before getting up to clean you guys up. then he likes to chill for a little and talk or watch some tv together afterwards.
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cranked this out so fast and i’m so tired but yeah here’s this!!!
#jj maybank prompt#jj maybank obx#jj maybank imagine#jj maybank x reader#jj obx#jj maybank#alphabet#obx#obx season 4
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So, uhh, genuine question.
Do you recommend getting into Bleach, and if so how? Anime, Manga, a little bit of both, secret other thing? Your posts about it (and especially about AEIWAM) have definitely piqued my Interest, but I have pretty much 0 knowledge about the topic and heard very contradictory takes & reviews before, so I wanted to ask for your advice on the topic.
Cheers and have a nice day!
So a couple people have asked me this and I'm going to be as honest and fair about it as possible:
Bleach itself is mid.
...which is why the fan works KICK SO MUCH ASS.
My theory is that the ideal habitat for transformative fan work creators is mediocre series. It has to be good enough to be worth engaging with in the first place, but it's the plot holes and dropped developments and intriguing characters that don't get enough time and shoddy-to-unexplained worldbuilding that make nice little holes for fic authors and fan artists to crawl into and built a home, like sponges growing on a dilapidated subway car sunk into the Hudson river.
So yes. Bleach is mid. More under the cut:
It's also really two series: the manga and the anime. There's more anime than manga because bleach suffers from the late oughts horror known as "the filler arc" where the studio would make shit up while waiting for the author to catch up. Not ideal, but better than the current state of "cancelling a fully written five-season show after two because it wasn't making enough money for the oligarchy" but I digress.
To grade both the manga and anime on the Weeb-Ass-Shit scale:
Weeb: how familiar do you have to be with the tropes of anime/Japanese culture in general to be able to enjoy the series? This is one of the things Bleach does REALLY, REALLY WELL, in that you can go in knowing fuck-all about anime and have a good time, but the more you know, the more fun it is. My favorite thing Kubo does is that if you look up the meaning of the characters used in everyone's names, there is a TON of jokes, foreshadowing, themes etc. baked into every name. A+ work.
Ass: how much gratuitous fan service is there and how annoying is it? So. It's not the worst. But it's really, really obvious that Bleach is written and illustrated by a straight man who is hella into tiddies. As a bisexual, I can appreciate The Tiddy (and tbh, the men in Bleach have pretty great tits too), but there are a lot of humor bits about Kon being a perv/author stand-in, orihime has medically alarming knockers for a teenager and gets groped kind of a lot. There's also a predatory lesbian stereotype character in the early episodes, and some pretty awful transphobic caricature characters. The amount of horny isn't that much for a shonen, but it's pretty gross IMHO.
Shit: how well- made is this series?
Mixed. Both the manga and the anime (esp the recent Thousand Year Blood War arc) have some absolutely gorgeous art, banger character designs, and deeply entertainingly choreographed fights. It is really nice to look at.
Unfortunately, both also suffer really badly from pacing issues that are pretty much entirely the fault of the insane demands the industry puts on the artists. If you've ever read/seen a shonen manga/anime from the late aughts through early teens, you're familiar with this bullshit- fight scenes drawn out to absurd lengths, filler arcs while the animation studio waits for the author to catch up, repeated plot arcs, minimal focus on characterization, The Friendship Speech (TM) etc.
Pacing and repetitiveness are Bleach's main quality issues, but the art is pretty baller and the Japanese voice cast is pretty fucking great IMHO. (I have APD and have to consume shows by subtitles, so the sun is usually more legible for me than the dub).
If you are coming into Bleach from AEIWAM... You're likely to be a bit disappointed. I put a shitload of work into the worldbuilding because Bleach does not, I write almost exclusively slice-of-life character moments rather than big battles, and I have made some pretty fucking radical changes to some of the characters. An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy is an entirely different genre than Bleach, and that's ok, because fic usually is radically different than it's source material. But also be prepared.
TL;DR: Bleach is mid and that's ok! My fic is different than it and that is also ok! I still recommend it with the reservations of : it's prototypical of its time period and contains many of the gross tropes from that era. It is also very much a horror shonen, just to be clear. Fucked up shit happens on screen, mostly cannibalism! Which is great IMHO, but you should probably take a stroll through DoesTheDogDie.com for more specific trigger warnings before beginning.
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weekly dorym moments and other stuff in no particular order !!!
dorian casting foresight. liam fanboying.
liam sneezing and then robbie’s little “bless youuu” was so cute for no reason
robbie’s facial expressions this fight… he was so scared
orym being the only one dodging the big predathos fist, the excited cheer of robbie and the rest of the table.
“shadow-walk underneath me baby”. WAS A CRAZY LINE FROM IMOGEN HELPPPP IM SCREAMING
TRAVIS SAYING “if orym dies it’s robbie’s fault” IS SO FUNNY TO ME LIKE GOODBYEEEEE THE WAY THE WHOLE CAST IS DORYM LOVERS
awwwh robbie and liam making faces at each other the entire fight like cmon bro. when orym gets hit by predathos’s maw the first time, robbie shakes his head and laughs when liam looks over to him after saying “don’t worry guys! my potion- nope i take all of that damage.”
WHEN ORYM GETS EATEN BY PREDATHOS THE CONCERNED FACE ROBBIE DOES OMG
laudna getting that crit is INSANE BTW (with the beau dice))
crown of stars on dorian storm… what a beautiful sight tbh omg omg omg… the whole table fangirling and fanboying over it. “only son of the silken squall” MADE ME CRY SO HARD
“i have a wood chisel!” - chetney
oh my god orym pulling dorian in with seedling, healing him with a potion desperately, “we need you… i- i need you! can you get up? we need you!”. is cutting into my heart
THE FIRST THING DORIAN SEES IS ORYM GETTING KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS. TRAUMATIC ASF.
the mass cure wounds coming out once again in clutch holy shit- the image of everyone coming back to life with dorian flying into the air, casting healing on everyone but himself…
“i can hold my breath, *forever*.” says dorian. orym with a brow raise, “tell me more…” STOPPP OMG THEY DESERVE TO BE HORNY BUT THIS IS INSANE
witches be bitches. witches be bitches.
the relentless rage was so badass from ashton damnnnnnnnn meowww
okay next episode they boutta talk to the gods and i better see a bitter dorian throwing up a middle finger at lolth.
#critical role#dorian storm#dorym#orym of the air ashari#bells hells#c3#campaign 3#cr spoilers#dorian x orym#critical role spoilers#c3e120#predathos#all the things#literally crying and sobbing rn#my poor boys#DORIAN WATCHED ORYM GET DOWNED THE MOMENT HE OPENED HIS EYES#OH MY GOD IMAGINE#just from robbie’s reactions we could tell dorian was not very happy#liam and robbie dynamic is too good they are so good at acting#ROBBIE NEVER LEAVE PLEASEEE#i’m gonna miss him so much :( he had so much chemistry with the cast
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DARYL DIXON IS A MUNCH. PUSSY IS HIS FAVORITE MEAL.
ORAL FIXATION ORAL FIXATION ORAL FIXATION
daryl is always chewing on something: whether its the inside of his cheek, his bottom lip, his fingernails, the skin around his fingernails, i'm pretty sure at one point he's been seen chewing on a piece of grass or straw– this might be a hallucination. i'll try to find the episode sometime, but yes. you are so right. daryl dixon eats pussy like it's his job. every time he eats you out, he cums completely untouched. the first time it ever happened, he was so fucking embarrassed and he literally wanted to disappear, but you didn't care. you pretended not to notice for his sake and he appreciated that.
he wants your pussy first thing in the morning, again as a midday release, again right before bed, and then again in the middle of the night when he wakes up all hot and bothered. your pleasure is everything to him and he could care less if you went down on him tbh. don't get me wrong though, he literally sees god when you suck him off. he also loves how you make him feel desirable. he gets all flustered, but he loves it. i just think he prefers going down on you.
this ask is insane because i had the most vivid daydream the other day in class where i was sitting on the edge of my bed with daryl knelt in front of me and his head between my legs. i had my right leg thrown over his shoulder, as he kneaded at the flesh of my thigh. his other hand pushed my left leg out, so i was completely spread open for him. i could fucking feel him shoving his face deeper and deeper inside my pussy. the noises he was making, jesus christ. at one point it got to be so much for me and i tried to push him away with my fingers tangled in the hair on top of his head. he tightened his grip and pushed in further. and his nose... don't even get me fucking started on his nose. his beautiful, beautiful nose.
#dixonzzgirl#daryl dixon#daryl dixon blurb#daryl dixon fanfiction#daryl dixon headcanon#daryl dixon x reader#the walking dead#the walking dead daryl#twd fanfiction#daryl dixon smut#smut#twd daryl dixon#daryl twd#twd daryl#twd smut#twd#daryl x you#daryl dixion imagine#daryl fanfiction#twd x reader#daryl dixon drabbles#daryl dixon preference#daryl headcanon#daryl imagines#daryl x reader#daryl dixon imagine#daryl dixon twd#the walking dead x reader#daryl dixon fanfic#daryl dixon the walking dead
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I'd like to ask you a very fair question: now that they no-homoed nandermo, now that we know for certain we aren't getting any gay relationship, what makes wwdits so high quality rep over other shows that have gay sex jokes and throw a coming out in an episode? Is it because they're actually having gay sex? Because it's still just played for laughs and treated as less than the canonical straight relationships (also "haha they're pervs who'll fuck anyone" isn't peak bi representation, that said as a bisexual who is a perv who will fuck anyone). What did wwdits do that other similar shows haven't done decades ago to earn that queer media™ recognition and be packed with OFMD and good omens, two actual extremely queer shows with gays having feelings beyond horny?
Not to say I didn't enjoy the episode because I absolutely did (queerbaiting aside), and it's amazing if you find this resolution satisfying. I do too, to some extent (as a start rather than an ending, tbh). But after so many years calling out how they teased a queer relationship they never intended to portray and then hit us with homophobic "let guys be friends" rethoric (you don't have to be homophobic to say homophobic shit) and getting absolutely dragged for it... was it all worth it? Don't you feel a little TJLC? Aren't you kind of mad that nothing has really changed since the days of Sherlock and Supernatural? Or, even worse, that now showrunners can point at characters, go "haha these bitches be gay af" and get awards for queer representation?
I love wwdits, even when I hate it. Nobody forced them at gunpoint to write season 3 and 4 like that, or be purposefully vague about what they were going for, or teasing the possibility of nandermo all over the marketing. If things have continued to go like in season 1 and 2, I'd be more than cool with this ending. If they had gone "holy shit, we didn't want to make it seem like it'd actually happen, we just thought it was funny that they acted so gay" and course-corrected after season 3 instead of doubling down, I wouldn't even call it queerbait. Sometimes people making media don't know how it's going to be received and that's okay. It becomes bait when you refuse to clarify and after pulling all that shit you act like fans are insane for noticing.
So by all means, continue to enjoy wwdits. This show means so much to me and if it had remained a plotless sitcom without character development that is just meant to make me laugh, I'd call it one of the best comedies I've ever watched. It's just that, in retrospective, they took the show in a direction that made no sense for them, ran with it for far too long and then asked why people expected so much from a show that wasn't meant to have any depth, despite all the times they tried to make it look like they knew where they were going.
#wwdits#nandermo#nandor the relentless#guillermo de la cruz#wwdits spoilers#negativity#wwdits negativity
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Happy Wednesday wonderful fandom :) We have hit episode 4, I once again am SO happy this is back. Makes my Wednesdays so much better. I missed this show so much. Now I was legit resigned to have no real moment in this one. I really was. Not only that but I was ok with that too. The SL was really really good. I was enjoying Wes/Wopez getting some of the spotlight. I adore this show as a whole.
So I was down to enjoy this ep just for the SL they had lined up. I am thrilled we got a moment. Scaling the walls excited. I do my best to keep these first impressions as brief as possible. Since I do deep dives in the summer. When I really flesh my thoughts with the entire season in hand. But when we get good moments it's harder to be brief ha So bear with me if I'm a little longer than I have been. Let us begin shall we?
7x04 Darkness Falling
We start the day off with some good ole ass kissing from Ridley. The more this kid opens his mouth the more I dislike him tbh. So I'm with Tim groaning at his platitude. 'Oh god.' I'm cackling. I love this man so much you guys. Lucy is all smiles though of course. She wants to see the best in him because well it's Lucy. We all love this woman for her compassion. But their reactions are just so on point. Their Grumpy x Sunshine dynamic doing it's thing. Always makes me happy to witness.
I do love that Lucy follows it up with saying no one likes a suck up lmao My girl. I mean no one does.....They drive me absolutely insane. But this is her accepting what he has to say but also letting him know she isn't won over either. He has work to do. They both do really. Friggin miracle they're both still standing there.
We get to a gnarly crash and the rookies are put to work by Celina. Who is primary. You go girl. So excited for her this season. We can sense her stress as she attempts to contain and maintain the scene. She has Ridley take pics of the cars, which he messes up. Not getting every inch like she asked.
Telling him firmly but still kindly that she can't hold his hand. Texas giving him a hard time seeing this. Seth gets a little uppity with him. It's here we witness conflicting stories …..No matter the reasoning a cop who lies habitually is ick central for me. Makes me start to question his integrity. Gonna take a lot to come back from this IMO. Lucy looks very disappointed. I would be too. Also a little on edge wondering why he's lying?
First thing noticed when Penn was searching the car was the gun in the glove box....I knew when he said it was all clear it was going to bite him in the ass. It does immediately and royally so. We see bit by bit that confidence that he came in with slowly eroding. Tim is breaking this kid down in order to build him back up. He's gotta quit it with the Texas stuff. It only angers Tim even more. He doesn't want excuses he wants progress.
I know it may seem like Tim being extra hard on Texas. But D (makeitastrength) brought up a great point from 3x11 either last ep or before in the comments. On how Tim trains based on his trainee. And this boy needs to be knocked down a thousand pegs and then some. We see with each episode him changing I will say. Becoming more remorseful. Less cocky with Tim. The way he reacts to his punishment is proof of that.
Tim is right to do this to him. He’s not in Texas anymore. That is not a valid excuse for everything. Or ever honestly. I had a guy on my team who did the same thing. Would excuse his screw ups and say 'But in Tennessee we did this.' etc. One day we were on a ride a long. He did it again as an excuse. I told him you’re no longer in TN. You’re in CO now. Those rules don’t apply here. And it finally clicked and he stopped doing it.
Tim has to beat it into his brain he’s not in a small town anymore. Far from it….and he most definitely isn’t in Texas anymore either. Once he lets that go he will get better. Tim pegged him from day one about him needing to be deprogrammed first. That’s going to take the longest with him.
SOOOOO Seth is officially a liar..... I hate it so very much. Not only did he lie but he did it in front of Lucy earlier. Someone mentioned the possibility of him being a liar. It was in an ask D got I remember and I never thought of it. So Kudos to that person for spotting that early. I didn't clock that. Like at all. Cause I too am like Lucy in my empathy and believed him. Guess I shouldn’t have….Hiding more than I would like.
My gut is saying I would like him to wash out. Is that mean? Sure but also he's not giving anything positive right now. We haven’t see one since s3 with the Badger and Katie. But he’s Lucy’s rookie, so that’s the only reason I don’t actually want that to come to pass.. Idk how he’s gonna come back from this compulsive lying. I’m not a fan. Gonna take some really good development to make me forgive this.
I LOVE this final moment with Texas. Tim does a masterful job of not breaking. I commend Miles for saying he appreciates all Tim is doing for him. He can see that it isn't just to be harsh with him. There is a method to his madness. To quote Lucy from 1x04 'He's calculating not cruel.' He’s teaching this kid right.
Not only that he recognizes why Tim is so hard on him. Also he's being brought back down to earth. Especially about not knowing it all. Realizing how many holes he really has in his knowledge. Having an epiphany in this scene. It's amazing progress to see. You're growing on me Texas. On Tim too. You can see it in his eyes through out his speech. Excited to see how he continues to be molded.
There is so much to unpack in this scene. It's insane. First of all. Tim’s house! I've missed it. God it’s gorgeous. Holy hell. So glad Eric pressed to have it return. It's as beautiful and understated as he is. Also feral Caitlin must make appearance. Cause he is in street clothes after all. gimme gimme. AND In my favorite color no less. Only he could make such a plain shirt so god damn attractive. The way it tightens around his chest. Hot damn. I'm a puddle. Mmm wanna climb him like a tree. *fans self*
If that isn't enough to make me lose my mind we have Kojo! Return of our fav pupper. Their handsome fur baby making an appearance. Barking before Lucy even knocks on the door. Just knows his mama is near. Alerting Tim to get up and greet their visitor. Look at how excited our boy is when he opens the door and she's there. No one makes this man light up faster than Lucy Chen.
We see the disappointment on his face when he realizes it's work related. Hence the sassy reply about her question. Lucy, just letting her damn self in regardless of what Tim is saying though. They are in fine form here everyone. I’m so happy right now. Lucy airing her concerns about Seth to Tim. Saying how she can't shake the feeling something is off. I feel that way too...Giving me the ick hard.
Tim does his best to put her mind at ease about Seth. Saying how comprehensive they are. They're invasive and he has to pass a polygraph as well. Tim slyly mentioning how they both know how illuminating those can be. Heh Tim’s liar detector joke. Love the little shots he takes and it earns a smile out of her. Little flirt. Well done babe.
I adore that her instinct is still to rely on Tim. When she’s worried or unsure. That is her go to. He is still her person in that regard. That inexplicable pull she can’t quite deny or ignore. Was hoping this whole Seth thing would lead her to Tim for advice. Just wasn't expecting it to be in his house. I'm tickled pink about it though haha
Feeling a surge of frustration and doubt, Lucy apologizes and starts to walk away. Like it's just hitting her what she's done. Showing up unannounced at his house, forcing her way in, asking his advice and flirting with him in the process. Her adrenaline wearing off and she is feeling vulnerable. She can feel that familiar draw of their banter. As she stated in 5x12. They're so good at arguing. Her immediate reaction is to retreat for a multitude of reasons. Kojo gets up and says hold on there mom not just yet.....
I love him getting up right away not letting her go without some snuggles. That a boy. You be our little Chenford cheerleader. Doing his best to keep her there. He resets the mood with this move. Lucy loving on Kojo makes my heart so happy. Also look at Tim. The man could power a city with that smile. He is melting into a damn puddle in front of her. Couldn't be happier to see them together again. Lucy letting Kojo know how much she misses him.
'Feeling's mutual.' OH. MY. LORD. Way to be transparent af my love. Do it more….Straight up using Kojo to say he misses Lucy. It's oozing out of him, how much he craves her presence. I cannot everyone. Let's not ignore the fact that Lucy looks at him sweetly in reply. Melting a little more each episode. It's a very telling look. Still a little guarded but happy none the less. I will take this win from her. So will Tim. Any positive moment with her is a win.
Tim nervously asking her to stay. *screams into a pillow* Sweet baby James. I'm so giddy I might faint. The little breath he takes before he asks. *heart clutch* So reminiscent of 5x08. This is everything. That man is so so gone for her. He wants her to stay more than anything. Ugh my heart. Look at him. Hands in his pockets. Being a little awko taco. Hoping against hope she will say yes. The only way he could be more transparent is if he wore a 'I love and miss Lucy.' sign. Holy cow. If you had any lingering doubts after last week this should obliterate that.
Lucy is stunned by his offer. Stands up right away with her 'Oh.' You can see she has to fight that magnetic pull of theirs. That need to be around him and stay. Melissa plays it so well. Fighting that urge. Knowing if she stays where it’ll end. Most likely in his bed... She can’t risk that. Can't risk hurting her heart like that again. Even though that same heart is dying to stay, her brain helps her bolt. Her nervous chuckle as she tells him no. Stumbling over her words to make a quick exit. Leaving both her boys behind. This hurt so good. Oh my lord. I am here for the slow burn everyone. I've said this many times. To get back to the summit that is them together it's going to take time.
When we do it's going to be so worth it. The delayed gratification will be unreal. We have to remember it's been FOUR episodes. Just four. I'm feeling no impatience at this point. This is going to be a lovely climb back to them. They can give me little moments like this as they make their way back all they want. I'm here for it and grateful to have them. I couldn’t be prouder of Tim for going for it though. Being the first to put himself out there again this second round. Just like he did in S5. Showing her he misses her with this offer. Testing their grounds by doing so. Think he could tell she wanted to. But wasn't surprised when she said no.
Goodness this made me giddy af. Also that man is a snack in that shirt. So she is strong to walk away from him. She all but runs when he is soft with her. Can’t say I blame her. Right now that way lies hurt. Also they need to have a real convo first. But hot damn I’m excited he went for it. Not once but twice. Saying he missed her inadvertently then asking her to stay. Ooooh I’m excited you guys! If you aren't I can't help you I really can't LOL Reaching down to pat the good boy with a sigh. His wingman really tried. Swing and a miss Timothy. But proud of you for giving it a go. I cannot wait till next week
Thank you x1000 to everyone who interacts with these. With your likes, comments and reblogs. They make my whole day every time a notification comes in. Biggest smile on my face. You're all the best. See you all in 7x05 :)
~~~
Side notes-Non Chenford
'How secure you are in your marriage.' I’ve been saying that since Wes heard the tapes. Oh Wes, what happens when you marry a beautiful, strong and independent woman.
'Being a woman is consistently terrifying.' If that isn’t the truth…. Line of the season for Angela right there.
The Sorority girls kicking the shit out of that guy was incredible. When I saw the blood on the floor I was worried. Then to see all those woman kicking, punching and stabbing that dude. Was epic. Angela telling them they have her recommendation if they ever was join the LAPD LOL
I wanna cry for Wes with this SL. Letting a killer back onto the streets. Doing his job or not that weighs on a person. Their psyche and conscience. He gave me such anxiety as he raced the the scene. Gah just breaking my heart when Angela checks in on him. Well done Shawn for this gif above. We don't get to see him flaunt his chops a whole lot and I'm happy to see they gave him the chance. He was fantastic in this ep.
Bailey took the phone number and let him go. Props my friend. More balls than your husband. When it comes to people I love I get very gray. I'm all about black and white like Tim but also like Tim, when its someone I love those start to blur to protect them. So kinda don't blame her for taking the insurance of his number.
Locking her away isn’t the answer my dude. It’s insulting to think she can’t handle herself if I was her. Be better to be together and tackle it as a team. But that’s just me.
‘You’re a grown ass woman not baby sitting you.’ Wade Grey I adore you sir.
Nyla being on her own making my heart palpitate. It felt very last of us if you’ve ever played that game and know the stress of it lol It was good but also anxiety inducing.
Loved the Nyla and Lopez hug I love it. Always happy to see this bad ass duo together.
7x05 looks good with the serial killer SL. Have a WILD theory of maybe it being Seth? I highly doubt it is. But dude be sus af right now. If that was true could bring up PTSD for Lucy with Caleb and all that. But that's a crazy road to go down. But had to get it off my chest on the off chance he ends up being involved somehow.
#Caitlin's First Impressions#chenford#the rookie 7x04#7x04 Darkness Falling#the rookie#tim x lucy#tim bradford#lucy chen#s7#lucy x tim#eric winter#melissa o'neil
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episode eight: the upside down
You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends? “Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused. “Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!” “We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted. Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”
Summary: drinking game time ! take a shot every time jonathan tries ditching you or every time you almost die at the byers house, you find out that steve really is an athlete and tbh it's hot, but you know what's even hotter ? saving hawkins and reaching a tentative compromise with steve after he loans you $5 for snacks. after, jonathan makes a promise you really hope he can keep.
Rating: general, cursing and slight scary violence
Warnings: violence, use of fire and weapons, guns, use of fem!reader and use of y/n, slight mentions of blood and death
Words: 13.7k
Before you swing in: the final chapter ,,, my heart </3 please enjoy my child, i put so much into this chapter. action scenes scare me, they're hard and i'm weak, so i hope this lives up to everything you guys wanted n more ;) i cannot believe we're at the end (but i do have another chapter planned that's set in season 1, so shhhh). thank you so so so much for all your support. i never thought this silly lil fic would get that much attention, but i'm insanely flattered and grateful for each and every one of y'all. i'm so proud of what i've created and you guys are my beloveds ,,, anyways, enjoy !!!
-
You almost miss Jonathan and Nancy sneaking off.
You had been explaining a comic book that had been in your bag to El when you noticed a shift in your periphery. Turning your head, you see Jonathan stand, offer Nancy his hand to help her up, and then walk towards the main doors together.
What the fuck.
“They wouldn’t dare…” You excuse yourself and run out the gym and into the hallway to follow them, absolutely furious. You’re so sick of their bullshit, of Jonathan’s bullshit and putting Nancy first. This isn’t even a petty jealousy thing, this is about the years of friendship between the two of you that has just suddenly disappeared within a damn week all due to circumstances completely out of your control.
The slam of the main door is the only warning Jonathan gets before you’re yanking him by his coat and flinging him back, forcing him to look at you. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
You’ve never, ever yelled at him like this before. Not even earlier this week when he’d given you that bullshit apology after screaming at you for being in his room, for saying the two of you weren’t family. You didn’t yell at him for hiding Nancy’s pictures from you, for going off without you to find the monster. Despite everything, you’ve never been this cruel to him, even if he may have deserved it at times.
Jonathan’s wide eyes stare down at your hand that’s still clutched around his coat, frightened. “Bug, we were just–”
“Just what? Sneaking off without me?”
“It’s not like that, Y/N.” Nancy now steps in, her hands held up as if you’re some rabid dog she wants to calm down. “We just figured we’d help Joyce and Hopper.”
“‘We’? Are you fucking kidding me? You two talked about this, had an entire conversation, and still somehow came to the conclusion that ditching me was a great fucking idea?” You scoff, deeply hurt by the fact that the two of them had an entire conversation without thinking to include you in it.
“Bug, can we talk about this one on one?” Jonathan asks, his voice lowered. You can see the genuine upset in his eyes and for a moment your grip on him lessens, but then you see Nancy behind him and your anger only returns.
“No, we can discuss this right here.”
He sighs and tries to grab the hand not clutching his coat, but you slap it away. “Bug–”
“You’ve lost that privilege.”
“Bug–I mean, Y/N,” His voice falters. “Look, my mom and Hopper are out there right now trying to find Will while that monster is still out. Nance and I… We want to finish what we started.”
“Without me?” You don’t mean for it to happen, but your voice catches at the end.
Jonathan’s gaze softens and this time he succeeds in grabbing your hand. You let go of him and allow him to pull you in, weak against him as always. “I’m doing this to protect them, to protect you, Y/N. I’m always trying to protect you. You know that, right?”
You used to think that you did, but now? You’re not so sure, and it terrifies you.
Nancy has stepped away from the conversation, now kicking at rocks while you’re with Jonathan, and you can’t help but think about how wrong all of this feels.
Throughout this entire week it’s felt like someone has given you a photo of Jonathan, smeared its lines and edges, removed his moles and his crooked smile and made it neater, altered so that if you squint you can see the boy you grew up with underneath it all… But it’s fuzzy, almost too unclear to really see.
Now he’s standing in front of you, his smile once more crooked and cunning and his moles faded underneath the moonlight and for a second you can see him. There he is, clear and untouched and him in a way that’s never quite been yours.
“I know,” you tell him. “But how many more times do you expect me to forgive you for lying and ditching me? If you want to protect me, you need to talk to me.”
Jonathan winces. “I know, I know it sounds stupid and I know I’ve fucked up more than enough this week, I just get caught up in wanting to make sure you’re safe. It’d kill me if I let anything happen to you… I just, I can’t lose you, bug.”
“So pushing me away is your grand plan of keeping me?”
“I’ve always been an idiot.” He manages a smile, and you can’t help but laugh.
“That’s true, but if you attempt to ditch me one more time I swear to god I’ll pour tar all over your car.”
The boy laughs and for a brief moment everything feels okay again, but it doesn’t last very long. “In our defense, we figured you’d be better off with the kids since you’re not really a fighter, ya know?”
You drop his hand. “Excuse me?”
Jonathan’s smile is gone. “What?”
“I’m not really a fighter? You’re kidding, right?”
“Hey, no I didn’t mean it like that–” Jonathan fumbles over his words, clearly taken aback by your sudden mood change.
You step away from him. “How many times did I defend you against Lonnie? Better yet, remind me how we became friends in the first place. Wasn’t it because I threw milk at a bunch of idiots bullying you? Huh?”
“Y/N–”
“God, I can’t believe I almost let you get away with it again! I mean, do you even hear the bullshit that comes out of your mouth?” You deepen your voice, now doing a poor impersonation of him. “‘Hey, bug! You know I love you, right? Cool! Now, I’m gonna go do fuck all and ignore you and ditch you and then somehow turn it into me being a good guy because duh! I can never do any wrong!’”
“Please, just–”
“Did I get it right? It was a pretty good impersonation in my opinion. I mean, I am the one who has had to deal with this shit all fucking week. I think I'm an expert on this topic now.”
Jonathan looks pained but you don’t fucking care anymore. You’ve reached your limit, you’re sick and tired of being treated like some delicate creature that’s incapable of taking care of itself. You literally slapped Tommy Hagan this afternoon in order to help Jonathan, yet here he is basically calling you weak.
And yet Nancy is the fighter. She’s the one who gets to go along on the adventure while you’re sidelined because for some damn reason you’re always the second option. Never taking matters into your own hands, always the one left behind to clean up the mess and take care of those also discarded.
You’re sick of it.
You step closer to Jonathan again, so that you’re nose to nose, and whisper, “I’m tired of never being good enough.”
And with that, you reach into his coat and snatch up his keys, a game you’ve always played with him but now has turned into a bitter taste in your mouth, and run back into the gym. Someone has to inform the kids of the plan, make sure they’ll be okay on their own.
Dustin sees you approach and smiles, but when he notices the angry pace in your steps, he frowns. “Uh oh.”
“Yeah, uh oh.”
“Jonathan again?”
You nod, still too angry to trust your words. “Yeah.”
He notices the keys in your hand. “Where are you going?”
Mike and Lucas look over now, curious as to what’s happening.
You sigh. “I’m going with Nancy and Jonathan to the Byers house, we’re going to kill the monster.”
“Why the hell are you going?” Dustin exclaims while Mike shouts “sick!” and Lucas mumbles “great, alone again”. El remains quiet, still resting.
You flick your brother’s hat. “I have to, Dustin.”
“For Jonathan?” He shakes his head. “I like him, but aren’t you mad at him right now?”
“Is it just me, or is she always mad at him these days?” Mike whispers over to Lucas, who simply shrugs.
“Girls, man.”
You ignore them and focus on Dustin. “It doesn’t matter. He needs my help, and no one in the party gets left behind. Remember?”
“Y/N–”
“I love you,” you kiss the top of his head. “I promise I’ll be safe, just be careful, okay? I’m putting you in charge, so don’t let me down. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll see you in a few hours tops!”
Dustin tries to argue some more, but you quickly run back outside before he can get another word in. You feel horrible leaving him behind, but you know this is the right decision. If you can kill the monster, there’s less of a chance of the kids or Joyce and Hopper getting hurt. Jonathan and Nancy may be fine on their own, but there’s always power in numbers and they’ll need all the help they can get.
You just… you have to help. You know this is what you’re supposed to be doing, even if it pains you to do so. Dustin and the kids are smart; as long as they stay at the school, they’ll be fine.
In theory, that is.
Nancy and Jonathan are waiting for you outside. You push past them and march towards Jonathan’s care; they awkwardly follow after you. You unlock it, throw yourself into the backseat, and promptly dig through your backpack to make sure you have everything.
The two teens get in a few minutes after you. Not one word is spoken as Jonathan starts the car and the three of you drive off, leaving Hawkins Middle behind.
–
You thought the car ride with Nancy and Jonathan from the funeral home had been tense, but this one? Downright painful.
Jonathan has a tight grip on the steering wheel and keeps trying to catch your eye through the rearview mirror but you avoid his gaze. You’ve spent the last five minutes arranging and rearranging your backpack to give you something to do while Nancy has tried three times to make conversation to make this car ride bearable.
“El seems nice.”
“You said four words to her, Nancy.” You retort, switching open your switchblade once more to watch the moonlight dance off of its blades.
“Right.”
Nancy shifts uncomfortably in the passenger seat. You know she realizes she’s once again upset the balance in your relationship with Jonathan. It was only an hour ago that she tried getting you to admit your feelings for him before convincing the boy to up and leave you. Sure, Jonathan made his own decision in the end, but damn. She could’ve at least pretended to want you around.
She notices your knives and tries to spark conversation again. “I love the color of the handle, it’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” you switch the blades closed and sit up in your seat. “Anyways, you geniuses have a plan or were you just counting on ditching me and winging it from there?”
“Y/N–”
“No, Nancy. I insist, let’s talk about a plan. We’re here to kill a monster, right?”
She closes her mouth and frowns, turning to Jonathan for help, but he’s no use. He’s busy tapping his fingers against the wheel and praying that the world will just swallow him up whole. Too bad for him you’re a stubborn pain in the ass and would simply pluck him back up so you can torture him some more.
Nancy sighs. “Well, Jonathan and I were thinking we use the supplies we got earlier and lure the monster to his place, then we kill it.”
“Awesome plan, guys!” You say, your voice dripping with sickly sweetness that leaves them both feeling even more uncomfortable. “But may I suggest some actual details or shall we just bank off of this wonderfully dull and vague plan?”
“Sure, Y/N. Tell us what you had in mind.” Nancy rubs her face tiredly, knowing she deserves this.
“Great! I’m assuming we’re luring the monster with blood?” They nod at you, so you continue. “Okay, so before we lure it I think we should completely booby-trap Jonathan’s house. Nail the bear trap down onto the floor, make sure the floor is cleared of anything that could trip us up. Then, once we’ve got the house secured, we knick ourselves to draw some blood and pray to whatever god is up there that we can kill the thing.”
You pause for a moment, remembering how all the Christmas lights had been unscrewed by Joyce earlier. “The lights, we need to fix them. The monster communicates through the lights so if we have them, then we can track it.”
“That all sounds great, bug.” Jonathan finally speaks up, ass kissing.
“Thanks, pal. Still don’t have the bug privilege back, but I’m sure you simply forgot.”
He gulps, once more going back to being silent as he drives you and Nancy to his house.
Nancy again tries to diffuse the tension. “How do we even kill the monster though? I mean, will my bullets be enough?”
“I have this idea, but it’s… well, it’s out there.” You bite your lip, now feeling your cocky demeanor slipping. “If we can safely set fire to it, I think that’s our best bet.”
“Fire?” Jonathan exclaims, but Nancy shushes him.
“I think you’re right.”
“Y/N, I know you’re mad at me but do we really have to set fire to my house–”
Now it’s your turn to shush Jonathan. “This isn’t about that. I wouldn’t burn your house down, I already told you I’d just pour tar on your car whenever I get the chance. For now, I really do think the best thing to do is burn the monster alive. In every horror movie and book, fire always gets the job done.”
Despite herself, Nancy lets out a soft chuckle as Jonathan parks the car, now at his house. “She’s right, Jonathan. And who burns down houses these days? Tar really is the best form of revenge.”
“I’m flattered, Wheeler. At the rate you’re going, you’ll be off my shitlist in no time.” You tell her, patting her on the shoulder before getting out of the car. You quickly open up the trunk and gather the monster hunting supplies while Jonathan and Nancy take their time getting out.
You let yourself into the Byers home using your own key to the place. It’s been nestled in between the key to your house and the spare key to Jonathan’s car on your keychain for a few years now.
The first thing you get started on are the lights. There’s hundreds of them to get through, but you drop your supplies and begin screwing them in one by one. Nancy and Jonathan come in soon after and silently begin to help.
No conversation is made besides the necessary comments about the prep work. You’re all too focused on the possibility of what could happen next; the danger of the situation has finally set in. After the lights have all been fixed, you instruct Jonathan to begin nailing the bear trap down while you and Nancy discuss where to pour the gasoline. You both agree to make a path from the living room to Will’s room.
As Nancy pours the gasoline, you follow behind her and pick up any flammables. You weren't lying to Jonathan earlier, you really don’t want to burn his house down. While the house is wrecked, it’s still a home despite everything that’s happened in it. You practically grew up within its walls, you’d do anything to keep it as protected as possible.
When you’re done, you watch Nancy load her gun. A shiver runs down our spine; she looks at ease with it, which you figure should be reassuring, but the gravity of everything leaves you feeling on edge. You leave her alone and walk into the kitchen where Jonathan is, now hammering a ton of nails into his bat.
You begin to sharpen your blades next to him, still finding that you only feel secure by his side. The rhythmic sound of his hammering calms you, in a sense. It serves as a distraction. You know you insisted on coming, you don’t regret it and you know you’re stronger than everyone seems to give you credit for, but you’re also terrified. This isn’t just some adventure in the woods; this could kill the ones you love dearly.
Once you’re both done preparing your weapons, the two of you walk to Will’s room and rig up a simple snare. Jonathan grabs a yo-yo and you pull up a chair to set it on. The idea is that when the string gets pulled, it’ll alert you that the monster has sprung the bear trap. It’s not the most efficient warning system, but it’ll have to do.
The last thing to do is set the bear trap, which takes all three of you to achieve. Jonathan and Nancy hold down the edges with their body weight and you very carefully set the trap with your hand. You shake a bit as you do so, but you force your nerves down. You remind yourself that Jonathan thinks you’re too weak, too cowardly, you have to prove him wrong.
When the bear trap clicks into place, you let out a harsh exhale and sink against the wall, your heart still pounding. Jonathan and Nancy copy you and the three of you sit in silence. You’re still shaking a bit, and Jonathan is next to you just as tense, but for the first time since you’ve met him you can’t reach out to grab his hand to steady yourself. He’s too far, both literally and figuratively. Even with him next to you, you couldn’t be more far apart.
In the back of your mind, you hope the kids are alright. Hopefully they’re having a better night than you currently are.
“C’mon,” you say after a few minutes, getting up to walk over to the living room. “We’ve done all we can, now we just have to draw some blood and be the prettiest bait in Hawkins.”
–
Nancy and Jonathan decide to cut the palm of their hands, but you respectfully would rather die than have a matching scar with them. The idea makes you so uncomfortable you visibly cringe when Jonathan tells you the idea. “Yeah, no thanks. I think I’ll find somewhere else to cut.”
He looks hurt by what you’ve said but doesn’t voice it. Instead, the three of you stand in the living room in a triangle facing each other and he begins reciting the plan. “Remember…”
Nancy goes first. “Straight into Will’s room and–”
“Don’t step on the trap.” You finish.
Jonathan nods. “And then?”
“Wait for the yo-yo to move.” The girl says.
“Then…” Jonathan flicks the lighter on.
You whistle low. “Let there be light…”
“Right. Light.” The boy nods again. “Alright, we ready?”
“Ready.”
“Scar time.”
Jonathan and Nancy bring their hands up and place their knives flat against their palms. You roll up your sleeve and place your own knife against the upper part of your arm, just below your shoulder, and take a deep breath.
“On three,” Jonathan says. He begins counting and you all can’t seem to stop shaking. He senses your unease and looks up at you and Nancy. “You guys don’t have to do this.”
Nancy glares at him, her own voice shaky. “Jonathan, stop talking.”
You nod. “Yeah, what she said.”
Jonathan tries to argue, but Nancy squeezes her eyes shut and yells, “Three!”
You close your own eyes and slice at your arm, the pain immediate. You gasp out, never having been good with pain, but you know you have to do this for Will. The blood trails down your arm, dripping from your elbow onto the ground, and you watch as blood from Jonathan’s and Nancy’s own cuts falls onto the ground too.
Well, at least it’ll be an easy scar to hide compared to theirs.
“Fuck, that stings.” You say to break the silence, and Nancy nods her head in agreement.
“Not the most pleasant feeling.”
Jonathan guides the two of you over to the couch and grabs the first aid kit that you had prepared on the coffee table. He sits in the middle, leaving room for both you and Nancy on each side of him, but you’re still pissed at him and opt to sit on the floor in front of the couch.
Nancy begins to patch up his wound, and it takes everything within you not to reach over and help him yourself. It feels unnatural to watch someone else taking care of him, but the space between you still feels too vast to cross.
You patch up your own cut while the two of them talk quietly. You wind a bandage tight around your arm, ensuring you won’t bleed through, and Jonathan watches above you with guilt in his eyes. Nancy is trying to reassure him that everything will be okay, but as he watches you struggle to tie the bandage he wonders if he’s fucked up more than just your friendship.
“Bug, let me help with that.” He leans down and ties your bandage before you can stop him.
You glare at him, still having not said anything to Jonathan besides what was needed for preparation. Nancy distracts herself by cleaning up around his cut and your stomach twists into knots. This is all so miserable.
“Y/N, I know you’re upset with me and you can go whenever. I won’t blame you, you’ve done enough for me.” Jonathan says, trying to catch your eye.
You turn away and inspect your bandage, still reeling over the fact that he tied it for you. “I’m here for Will, and only Will.”
“Y/N…” There’s a hurt in his voice that almost makes you turn around to throw your arms around his neck and whisper a million apologies to him. To tell him everything, that you love him and that you’d do anything for him and that’s why you’re so terrified of how you feel. You know you’d burn yourself up if it meant he’d be taken care of, if it meant he was safe and happy and far away from anything that could harm him. You know you’d use up everything within you to love him.
Instead, you remain silent.
After getting no response from you, Jonathan clears his throat and begins to say something about how the lights will serve as an alarm for the monster, trying to pretend that everything is okay, but he’s cut off by a sudden pounding on the door.
You all jump and your fingers tighten around your switchblade, ready to open it. As your heart pounds you think of all the possible ways the plan could go wrong. When you’re on possibility number twelve, a voice calls through the door.
“Jonathan?”
“Is that… Steve?” You say out loud, in complete disbelief.
Steve continues to pound on the door. “Are you there, man? It’s… It’s Steve! Listen, I just wanna talk!”
You’re the first to react, standing up to run over to the door. You fling it open and step outside, making sure Steve won’t be able to see inside the house. When he sees you, he stumbles back a bit. “Henderson?”
His face is still bleeding from earlier and his hair is a mess, and yet there’s a softness to him that you haven’t seen before with him. “Steve, now isn’t really a good time.”
“Can I just talk to Jonathan real quick? I just… I want to apologize about what happened earlier, see if we can maybe–” His eyes land on your bandaged arm. You curse and roll down your sleeve, feeling like an idiot for forgetting to hide the wound before going outside.
Steve reaches out to touch it, a hint of worry on his face and his voice is now full of concern. “Hey, are you okay?”
You shiver at his touch, it’s gentle as he skims along the bandage and inspects it for any other problems. You pull away, now hiding the wound. “It’s nothing, but you should really go.”
“I want to help you, Y/N. Do you need me to get you anything?” His face is so full of worry for you that it makes you ache. Then a thought occurs to him. “Wait, where’s Byers? Why isn’t he here to help you?”
You’re about to make up a lie, but Nancy flings the door open. “Steve, listen to me.”
He looks between the two of you in complete shock. “Okay, what–”
“You need to leave.” Nancy orders.
Steve looks at you. “I’m not trying to start anything, okay?”
“I know, but–” You get cut off by Nancy.
“I don’t care about that. You need to leave.”
Steve begins to plead with the girl and you step away a bit, not wanting to intrude. You feel bad for him, he looks so beat down by what’s happened today and you suppose that you can’t really blame him. After spending maybe a total of ten hours with Nancy and Jonathan, you also have come close to losing your mind.
If you were with Jonathan, if you truly had him, you’d react the same as Steve. Begging for the girl he loves to listen to him, to give him another chance with the promise of him changing.
“I just want to make things right.” Steve says, impressing you with his vulnerability. He’s openly admitting to his mistakes and taking accountability mere hours after the situation has occurred, leaving you both in awe of him and also saddened for him. He loves Nancy more than anything, you can hear it in his voice.
He deserves better.
As you’re thinking this, you see his eyes flicker down towards Nancy’s bandaged hand and his brows furrow. “What happened to your hand? Is that blood?” His eyes now flicker over to you again. “Why are you both hurt?”
“We’re clumsy?” You say as Nancy yanks her hand away from Steve.
“It was an accident.” She agrees.
Steve looks between the two of you, now sensing that something else is wrong. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing!” Nancy insists, but something in Steve’s demeanor shifts.
“Wait a second, did he do this to you? To Y/N?” His once soft voice is now filled with anger and you step in front of him.
“Steve, it wasn’t Jonathan. You need to go, I promise I’ll explain everything later–”
He grabs you by your side and gently moves you so that he can get past and shove through the door. Nancy yells at him to stop and tries to push him out, but she’s useless against his strength. When he manages to break in, he stumbles inside and scans over the house.
“Shit!” You follow after him, your brain running a million miles a second trying to figure out how to explain everything to him.
“What the fuck?” Steve mumbles, eyeing the bat with nails in it. “Y/N, what’s going on here?”
He’s looking to you for reassurance and you guess he assumes that the two of you are allies in this Jonathan and Nancy situation. You really wish you could explain, but Jonathan has grabbed him by the shoulders and is trying to push him outside. The two stumble around for a few seconds and you just helplessly watch.
“Steve, there’s no time to explain, please just listen to Jonathan and get out of here!” You’re helping Jonathan now, trying to get Steve out the door and away from harm’s reach, but he’s still fighting back confused and lost as ever and you pity him.
You hear a click and turn around, gasping when you see Nancy holding her gun up to Steve. “Woah, what the fuck Nancy?”
“What! What is going on?” Steve yells, now more panicked than anything else.
While Jonathan has stepped away, you find yourself standing in front of Steve as if to somehow block the bullet. You can’t let him get hurt, he doesn’t have any part of this, he can still have a normal and happy life if he just leaves now. “Nancy, put the fucking gun down, this isn’t helping!”
Steve pleads with her as well and the two of you scream at the girl to just listen and not swing around loaded weapons, but Nancy remains firm in her stance. “You have five seconds to get out of here. I’m doing this for you.”
“Because holding a gun to his head is any better than telling him the truth?” You exclaim, entirely over the situation.
As the four of you are arguing, the lights begin to flicker. Steve and Nancy don’t seem to notice, but you do. You look at Jonathan and say your first real words to him in hours. “Jonathan…”
He hears you and he runs over to your side, grabbing your hand as the two of you stand shoulder to shoulder. You feel your heartbeat race and you can feel him shaking beside you. He’s terrified, so are you, but his hand around yours manages to steady you.
“Nancy!” Jonathan tries to get the girl’s attention, but she’s too busy counting down to hear him.
He shouts at her again and the lights start to flicker more wildly and you draw your switchblade out, adrenaline coursing through you. It’s time.
Jonathan yells once more and finally catches Nancy’s attention. “The lights!”
She whips her head around and curses, Jonathan, still tightly holding your hand, tugs you along so that you follow him as he secures his weapons and grabs the bat. “It’s here.”
“What’s here?” Steve is flailing around, utterly lost.
You all ignore him and now stand back to back in a triangle. Nancy holds up her gun, Jonathan wields his bat, and you flick your wrist to bring out your knives. “Where is it?”
“I don’t know!”
The lights flicker rapidly and you feel overwhelmed. They were supposed to serve as a guide towards the monster, but there's no possible way to see which direction it’ll come from and for a fleeting moment you think you’ve made a huge mistake.
Steve is still screaming, demanding answers, but you’re too busy scanning your surroundings to offer him some information. “Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going–”
The roof opens up, cutting Steve off, and you scream as the monster attempts to come down right above you. Jonathan shields you from the fallen debris and you cling onto him in utter fear. This isn’t real. This cannot be happening.
Nancy begins to shoot at the thing while Jonathan guides you to safety. He brings you to the edge of the living room and holds your face in his hands, forcing you to really look at him for the first time all night. “Listen to me, stay here while I get Nancy.”
He kisses your forehead and then leaves, rushing over to Nancy to pull her away and guide her towards Will’s room. Steve stands next to you, frozen, and it forces you back to reality. The plan, you have to stick to the plan.
You grab Steve’s hand and yank him so that he follows. The monster has dropped down now, a horrible creature on all fours that opens its gaping mouth to let out a horrible screech that you feel deep within your bones. This is what killed Barb.
The four of you run to Will’s room and you only just barely have enough time to warn Steve about the bear trap. You look over your shoulder and shout, “Jump!” right as your ankle catches on its chains.
You fall. Hard.
Pain sears through your ankle and you try to get up, but any pressure on it sends flames through your entire body and you let out another scream. The monster catches up, looming over you, and you brace for your death. There’s no fucking way you’re getting out of this.
You squeeze your eyes as the monster stalks close to you, its ugly mouth open and ready to kill you. Jonathan is screaming at you to get up, but Nancy is holding him back from helping. You’re relieved by this, knowing that someone has to be there for Will once this is all done. He’ll need his brother, and Nancy seems to understand this. You catch her eye and nod at her, sending a silent thank you.
“Bug! No, let go of me! I have to help her, Nancy!” Jonathan’s voice becomes hoarse by how loud he screams, his voice breaking with fear and desperation.
Then, right before the monster lunges at you, you feel a familiar pair of arms slide underneath your legs and pick you up. “What–”
Steve Harrington has swooped in to save you, picking you up as if you weigh nothing, ever the athlete, and swiftly jumps over the bear trap while screaming his head off. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”
You’re so delirious from the pain in your ankle and the adrenaline pumping through your veins that you can’t help but let a laugh escape you. No fucking way is any of this real. Steve Harrington is carrying you bridal style into Will’s bedroom with Jonathan and Nancy as witnesses.
What a life.
Once you’re both secured in the room, Steve sets you down gently right as Nancy yells at him to shut up. As soon as Steve lets go of you, Jonathan is at your side and pulls you into a crushing hug.
“Bug.” He breathes out against your ear, relief heavy.
“I’m okay.” You tell him, threading your fingers through his hair. He’s shaking harder than ever, and holding onto you as if he’s scared he’ll lose you again. “I’m okay, bee.”
He pulls away and his hands are all over you, checking everywhere for any other injuries. “Did it hurt you, are you bleeding? There should be a first aid kit–”
You grab his hands and kiss his knuckles, which seems to calm him down a bit. “I’m fine, just twisted my ankle. If you help me up, I’m sure I’ll be able to stand again.”
Jonathan quickly helps you to your feet and you lean against him for the extra support. While you put on a brave face for Jonathan, you’re terrified out of your fucking mind. You almost died. Jonathan is still holding your hand and he’s looking at you as if seeing you for the first time and you force yourself to look away. It’s the same look from the field days ago, when you thought he’d kiss you.
You have to focus on what’s at stake.
How the hell are you guys supposed to kill this thing?
The monster screeches, breaking the moment between you and Jonathan, and he flicks his lighter on and forces you to stand behind him. Nancy holds up her gun and you bring your knives closer to your face, Steve standing weaponless behind you.
You all wait, tense, for the monster. It stalks closer to the room, its awful growls alerting you of its proximity, but it doesn’t appear.
“What’s it doing?” Nancy asks, frustrated.
“I don’t know.” You respond, equally as frustrated and scared.
Another few agonizing seconds pass, and you stare at the yo-yo and hope that it remains still. Then, the lights stop flickering and it becomes quiet. All you can hear is your blood roaring in your ears.
Nancy looks around. “Do you hear anything?”
“No,” Jonathan shakes his head, inching closer to the door.
“Wait!” You tug at your still interlocked hands. You pick up his bat that had been thrown on the ground and hand it to him. “Be careful. Please.”
He gives your hand one last squeeze before letting go, accepting the bat.
As Jonathan pokes his head out to see if the monster is outside, Steve bends his head down and whispers in your ear, “Romantic.”
“Shut. Up.” You hit him in the chest, fearfully watching your best friend to make sure he doesn't die. When he motions an all clear, Nancy follows him outside, then you, then Steve.
The house is silent and your heart sinks when you see that the bear trap has been left untouched. You realize with a horrible gut wrench that the monster is smarter than the three of you had anticipated.
So much for your plan, then.
“It’s smarter than we thought.”
“Yeah,” Jonathan agrees with dismay.
He stalks against the wall towards the living room and you all follow in a single file line. You do your best to stick close to the wall but you limp with every step. Your ankle is definitely out of commission for now. Great.
All of you are on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It couldn’t have been that easy, there’s no possible way that the monster simply up and left. You enter the living room, which has gotten even more wrecked due the monster. The wallpaper has been torn off of some parts of the wall and you see papers scattered everywhere.
“Shit…” you mumble, kicking at a shredded wallpaper strip.
In the corner, Steve has started to hyperventilate and mumble to himself. “This is crazy, this is so crazy, this is fucking crazy.”
You limp over to him and grab his shoulders, making him face you. “Steve, hey. It’s okay, I’m here.”
“Y/N, what the hell just happened?”
“It’s… complicated. For now, can you trust me that everything will be okay?”
“Of course I trust you, it’s just…” He nods, his eyes softening. You lessen your hold on him and give him a smile, he seems to be calming down. Then, he looks around the room and seemingly remembers where he is. “This is crazy!”
Steve lunges for the phone on the wall and tries to call for help.
You stumble after him, the pain in your ankle slowing you down. “Steve, wait–”
Nancy gets to him first, grabbing the phone out of his hand and throwing it across the room. He looks at her, shocked. “What are you doing? Are you insane?”
“It’s going to come back!” Nancy yells at him, and you wince at the way she treats him. You know Steve will only listen to her, but she could at least be nicer about the whole situation. The three of you have had some time to process everything happening, Steve was thrown into the deep end.
“You could be a little nicer,” you mumble, and Nancy sends you a glare. You raise your hands up in surrender. “Sorry.”
“Steve, you need to leave. Right now.”
He looks so overwhelmed and you give him a pitying look. He stares at you, reminiscent of the way he looked at you earlier in the alley, silently begging you to say something, anything, but again you can only shake your head at him. You won’t force him to stay, it wouldn’t be fair.
“Y/N, please…” He tries one more time to get you on his side, but you can’t. Frustrated by your lack of response, Steve groans. “Fuck it!”
He runs out the door.
You’ll admit that you’re a bit disappointed, but you also understand. Who in their right mind would stay?
You and Nancy share a look before the lights begin to flicker again. Dread fills you. “Fuck…”
Jonathan is back by your side and he and Nancy again form a triangle with you, all your backs pressed together as you desperately try to locate the monster. You all stumble in a circle, searching for any sign of the thing, but there’s nothing.
“Where is it?” Nancy gasps out.
“Just fucking show yourself!” You shout, just wanting this all to be over with. Your body is drained from living in a state of fear for so long.
“Come on you son of a bitch!” Jonathan echoes your taunts.
Suddenly the lights turn off and you’re left alone in complete darkness. Faintly you can hear the monster’s familiar growl approaching from behind you. The hair on the back of your neck stands up, the air stands still. It’s back. Before you can react, it pounces on Jonathan.
“Jonathan!” You scream alongside Nancy. Desperation takes over you and before you can even process what’s happening, you ignore the pain in your ankle and jump onto its back, stabbing repeatedly at it.
Your blades only bounce off of its thick skin and the monster struggles to get you off. You hold on as tight as you can, shouting and kicking at it so that it can’t hurt him, but then it opens its mouth and for a horrifying moment you’re afraid that Jonathan will die.
“No!” You scream even louder than before and double down on your effort, stabbing and slashing as much as you possibly can to try and create some damage, but your arms are starting to ache and your ankle now feels like it’s on fire.
“Nancy, its skin is too thick!” You sob out, nearing complete exhaustion. Then, just as you’re about to collapse from exhaustion, gunshots fill the room.
Nancy begins to shoot at the monster and with the help of your blades, the two of you manage to pierce its skin, but even then the damage is minimal. It’s not enough, it won’t be enough. Tears stream down your face and the monster only gets closer to Jonathan, so you do the only thing you can think of: you crawl onto the top of its body and stab at its mouth.
The monster lets out a blood curdling scream and flings you off of its back. You go flying across the room and land against the wall with a groan. All the air has been knocked out of you and your ribs are definitely going to be bruised tomorrow. Every part of you aches, but you manage to lift your head up and blearily process the monster now approaching Nancy as she continues to shoot at it, but it remains unphased.
You crawl over to Jonathan, who is still laying on the ground. He’s motionless, and you fight everything within you not to break down and sob. You have to keep going, he has to be alive. As you reach Jonathan and frantically check for a pulse, the monster has now cornered Nancy and her gun seems to be out of bullets.
It’s over. You know it is.
Right as you’ve accepted your fate, a screaming Steve Harrington wielding Jonathan’s bat once again manages to save the day.
He hits the monster with the bat, effectively saving Nancy and you’re so impressed with his batting skills that you almost find him attractive with how easily he hits and dodges the monster. However, you file those thoughts away for later and finally manage to wake Jonathan up. He startles with a gasp and you check over his chest, scared he may have gotten pierced by the monster’s claws.
“I’m fine, we need to help.”
You help each other up and you have to lean heavily against him due to your ankle. You bull riding the monster has only made the sprain worse; you’re too afraid to look down and see the damage that’s been done.
As the two of you hobble over to Nancy, Jonathan looks at you. “Is Harrington really here right now?”
“Yes.”
“Lovely.”
Steve manages to lure the monster closer and closer to the bear trap and you watch him in awe. He’s quick footed and so sure of himself, the complete opposite of the boy from only ten minutes ago who had run out of the house screaming his head off. Now, Steve is swift with his hits and even twirls the bat in his hand to show off. The small act causes you to smile despite the horrible circumstances.
By the time you and Jonathan are up and recovered, Steve has successfully led the monster straight into the trap. It clamps around the monster’s foot and it screeches, flailing around in the trap. Steve still has his bat held up, now frantically looking over to everyone else. “He’s in the trap! He’s stuck!”
“Jonathan, now!” Nancy screams, motioning over at him to use his lighter.
Jonathan listens, using his free hand to flick the lighter on and then drops it onto the ground, right into the trail of gasoline. Immediately the monster goes up in flames, letting out horrible noises. You all shield your faces from the flames and Jonathan pulls you closer into him, still having yet to let go of you; you feel yourself sink into his side as you watch the monster wither away.
“Bug, I have to get the fire extinguisher, do you think you can stand on your own?” Jonathan asks you, his voice soft but urgent.
You quickly nod and brace yourself for his departure. “Yeah, go.”
He lets go of you as gently as possible before running to grab the extinguisher. When he has it, he orders everyone to get back and then smothers the flames. It takes a couple seconds, but eventually the fire gets put out, leaving behind an awful stench that makes everyone cough and gag.
“Holy fuck,” you wheeze out, hunched over. “Burnt monster smells horrible.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Steve coughs out.
Nancy covers her face with her jacket. “Where did it go?”
“It has to be dead.” Jonathan pants against the wall, looking like he’s three seconds away from passing out. “It has to be.”
“It fucking better be dead.” You mumble, hobbling closer to see what exactly was left behind. When you get closer and see the giant lump of melted skin all over the bear trap, you gag. “Oh god. Yeah, okay. It’s dead.”
Everyone sighs with relief.
Then, you notice a Christmas light above you flicker on. Your heart stops, terrified that the monster has somehow survived, but then a second one turns on, then a third, until a path seems to be guiding you towards the living room.
You all follow, cautious but curious, but these lights don’t feel threatening. There’s an energy to them, a comforting one that leaves you breathless. When you get to the living room, tears form in your eyes, now understanding what this all is. You look at Jonathan, who also seems to be thinking what you are.
It’s Joyce, you know it is.
“Mom,” he breathes out.
You limp over to him and grab his hand. He turns to you, his eyes shining with an appreciation that he only ever has for you. He seems to be drinking you in, as if now realizing just how close the two of you came to dying tonight. You’re doing the same, thankful that he’s alive and standing next to you despite everything. There’s so much the two of you want to say, but as always the words aren’t needed. You understand each other perfectly, the balance between you centered once more.
You put your head on Jonathan’s shoulder and he brings his hand to your hair to softly stroke it. The two of you stand like that for a second, breathing each other in and enjoying the tenderness after such a miserable day, before you slowly break apart and follow the lights going outside.
The porch light flickers and Nancy stands next to you, watching it with uncertainty. “Where’s it going?”
“I don’t think it’s the monster.” Jonathan tells her.
“It’s Will.” You don’t know how you know this, or what makes you feel so certain that you’re right, but somehow you know that you are. Somewhere deep within you, you feel the faint outline of hope flicker.
A new silence surrounds the four of you at your words, and for once there’s hope between you all. Then, after a minute or so of silence, everyone begins to head back inside. Steve first, then Nancy, and finally Jonathan, leaving you alone with the crisp early winter air.
You take a deep breath, the cold air serving as a reminder that you’re alive. You let it fill your lungs until you can’t breathe in anymore, then you release the air through an exhale and feel your body settle into its exhaustion. This is the first time you’ve had a moment to yourself, so you let the exhaustion weigh upon you like a warm blanket.
Will is safe, you can feel it. Despite everything, he’s safe and alive. Jonathan is too, still your best friend regardless of all the unspoken words between the two of you. Dustin is at the school with the kids, away from danger. Everything is okay, it’ll be okay.
You let the moment wash over you, incredibly grateful to be lucky enough to have survived it all. Everyone you love and hold close to you is safe. You didn’t fuck up this time. God, you did it.
Jonathan comes running out after a while, his face alight with joy and he crashes into you and picks you up to twirl you around. You laugh, loud and freely, and bury your face in his hair as he continues. “Bee, stop! Put me down, you dummy!”
He does as he’s told, but doesn’t let go of you once your feet are on the ground. “My mom just called, they saved Will. He–he’s in the hospital, he’s okay.”
You squeal and throw your arms around Jonathan again, squeezing him so hard that you’re afraid you'll hurt him, but he simply laughs and squeezes you just as tight. Tears come again, but this time they’re happy ones, and if it weren’t for your ankle you’d be jumping up and down right now.
Jonathan’s laughter dies down and he cups your chin around his fingers so that you look up at him. “You did it.”
“We did it, bug.” You softly push against him. You can’t take all the credit.
His eyes are shining again, you haven’t seen him this happy in so long, you get lost in it. His face is lit up and his smile is back and you’re so in love with him that it claws against your throat and threatens to spill out in excess.
A beat of silence passes and Jonathan just soaks your presence in. You can’t quite read his face, but for once this doesn’t frighten you. You enjoy it, you relish in the fact that he’s still yours yet now forming into someone new and lovely and wonderful.
“You never gave up.” He whispers at last, adoration in his voice.
“Never.”
“You never left me.”
“Never.” You breathe out, the word so simple with such heavy weight behind it.
The moment is so raw, so tender, and Jonathan is giving you that look again, the one that leaves you feeling like the sun itself has settled upon you and kissed your cheek. His eyes flick down to your lips and you smile, taunting him to lean in. He seems to understand, giving you his own teasing smile before leaning in. You lean in as well, every part of you buzzing, and right before your lips touch his, Steve bursts through the door.
“Jonathan, dude, do you have like, any food in the house?” He asks, completely oblivious to what he’s just interrupted.
You and Jonathan break apart, laughing the tension away. He ducks his head down, clears his throat, and turns to Steve. “Sorry, man. Been a little busy this week for grocery shopping.”
Steve’s eyes bulge out of his head. “Oh shit, right. Sorry, okay. Uh… Well, I’ll be inside, I guess.”
“We’ll be in shortly.” You tell Steve. You want to be frustrated by his timing, but something tells you that you’ll have all the time in the world to tell Jonathan how you feel. Now just isn’t the time.
–
The moment you arrive at the hospital, Jonathan sprints out of the car and straight towards the front desk to find out where Will is. You and Nancy follow behind, figuring you won’t be able to see Will for a while since you’re not blood related, so the two of you wish Jonathan goodbye and head towards the waiting room.
Steve lags behind, obviously unsure where to go. Nancy immediately walks inside, but you notice his hesitation and nudge his shoulder. “I’m sure that the cut on your eyebrow needs to be looked out. Let’s go sit, okay?”
He sighs deeply. “Yeah, sure. Totally. Let’s go sit in a room full of people who probably hate me. No biggie.”
“Either come or don’t.” You shrug. “But the way I see it, you can start mending some metaphorical wounds while you wait in there.”
You don’t wait for Steve to figure out what to do, you know that Dustin is somewhere inside the waiting room and you’re buzzing to see him and the rest of the kids. You hobble inside, still very much in pain due to your injuries, but the moment you see your brother it all fades away.
He runs into your arms and almost knocks you down with the force. Dustin clings onto you, mumbling over and over again how sorry he is.
“Hey, wait a second,” you pull him away and crouch down, groaning a bit at the pain. “What are you sorry about? What happened?”
You look around the room and see everyone there. Nancy, Hopper, the kids, Steve, even Nancy’s parents, but there’s someone missing…
“El,” you breathe out.
Dustin’s lip trembles and he begins to cry. You soothe him, grabbing his hand to bring him over to the seats and sit between him and Mike. Lucas is to the left of Dustin and you can’t help but notice how all the boys have dried tears in their eyes.
When they’re ready, you have the kids explain what happened, and the more they tell you, the more guilty you feel. You should’ve been there for them, you left them all alone with that monster. You got Will back, and yet you’ve lost El as a result. It seems that no matter what you do, it’ll never quite be enough in the end.
“It’s not your fault.” You tell Dustin, who still keeps apologizing. It was you who had left him in charge, you’re why El ended up vanquished by the monster. “You did everything you could. I shouldn’t have left you guys all alone, but I’m proud that you all took care of one another, okay?”
He sniffs and nods his head, but you know he doesn’t believe you. All the boys are somber; you know it’ll take time for them to recover. So, you do what you do best, you console them. You hold their hands and rub their backs and offer your spare comics in your bag. You do whatever you can to comfort them, to reassure them that they’re safe now and that no one will hurt them, but the light in their eyes has dimmed.
They’ll never be the same again.
And El… she had been so young, you don’t think you’ll ever not feel the heavy weight of guilt whenever you think of her. She had been so sweet and had trusted you.
You should’ve been there, you wish you could’ve saved her.
Steve watches from his seat across from you. He listens in as you comfort the boys, taking care of them in such a natural way. He admires this softer side of you, one he hasn’t quite seen before. Sure, you’ve always been gentle and sincere, but watching you with the kids is something special in itself. You manage to get them to laugh, you offer them your shoulder to cry or sleep on, and you read aloud to them stories from your comics and Steve finds himself drawn towards your interactions with the kids.
It’s sweet, something delicate and lovely, and Steve admires everything that you are. When he sees you awkwardly stand up and stumble over to the vending machines in the hall, Steve finds himself following after you.
-
“Bitch!” You slam the palm of your hand against the vending machine in vain. The bag of chips hangs by the little spiral, taunting you.
“That’s not a very nice word, Henderson.”
You turn and see Steve, leaning against the wall with a fond expression. “You stalking me?”
“Nah, just wanted to watch you fight against a vending machine.”
“Ha,” you snort, turning back to the machine. “Unless you can help me get this last chip bag, you’re free to go sit back down.”
You mean it to be a joke, not expecting Steve to actually listen, but he’s at your side within a second. “Step back, let Steve handle her.”
“What–”
Steve motions for you to move, so you reluctantly do as you’re told. Once you’re out of the way, Steve claps his hands, stretches out his neck, and then begins to aggressively shake the vending machine.
“That is so not what you’re supposed to do–”
Suddenly the bag drops down from the hook and into the retrieval slot. Steve reaches inside, grabs the bag, and then dangles it in the air. “Tada!”
You laugh and grab the bag from him. “Okay, I’ll admit, that was impressive.”
“What can I say? I’m charming like that.”
“Sure,” you smile at him, neither of you have moved yet. He’s still standing in front of you with that cocky smile on his face that’s slowly started to warm on you. You truly do understand why so many girls have fallen for him. If you ever saw Steve on the street, a stranger passing by, you’d fall a little bit in love with him yourself.
The thought startles you. “Well, uh…”
“Yes?” Steve raises his eyebrows at you, smiling.
“Thank you for the chips. The kids haven’t eaten anything in hours, so…” You wave the three bags in your arms. “Gotta keep 'em fed.”
“Wait a second, there’s only three bags there. Aren’t you going to eat anything?”
“I only had enough money for the boy’s chips.” You say, feeling suddenly sheepish. “It’s fine, though. I’ll just eat a few pieces from them and wait until we get home.”
Steve scoffs. “Yeah, no.”
You frown at him, confused as he rustles through his jean pocket and pulls out his wallet. “I don’t want your money–”
He doesn’t listen and simply puts the cash into the vending machine and punches in a few numbers. Slowly, one by one, multiple different bags of sweets and chips come falling down within the machine. Once the last one has dropped, Steve bends down and offers the huge stash to you.
“A feast, on me.” He winks at you and you can’t help but blush.
“T–thanks, I guess.” You now carefully balance the rest of the snacks in your arms, the mound almost blocking your view. You’re not sure how much Steve just paid, but with all these snacks you and the kids will surely be well fed.
Steve shrugs, and if you weren’t so tired you’d think the blush on his face was a real one. “It’s the least I can do, all things considered.”
His words give you pause. You know he’s referencing earlier today, back in the alley where fists slammed against skin and he had dragged you away from your best friend, but the memory feels like years ago. So much has happened since then, Steve has saved your life since then.
“Steve…” Your ankle is starting to sting again from standing for so long, so you adjust your footing and try to figure out what you want to say. “I never got to thank you back at Jonathan’s.”
“Thank me?” His face scrunches in confusion in a sickeningly cute way that it almost distracts you.
“Yes. You saved my life tonight, Steve. I won’t ever forget that.”
“Oh…There’s no need to thank me. I mean, what are friends for?” Steve freezes and clears his throat. “I mean, shit. We aren’t friends, you keep saying that. Sorry. You know what I mean.”
You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends?
“Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused.
“Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!”
“We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted.
Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”
Steve starts moving around in what you can only guess is a happy dance. “Sweet! Does this mean I get a cool nickname, too?”
“A nickname?” A bag of chips threatens to fall from your arms, but Steve catches it before it can land on the ground and takes a few more snacks off of your hands.
He readjusts the snacks he now has so that he can carry them easier. “Yeah, I mean. Byers has one, why can’t I?”
You don’t think you’ll ever stop feeling so thrown every time Steve mentions a small detail about you that he’s somehow come to notice. He has a habit of doing that, surprising you by how much he seems to pay attention to you. You thought that no one ever had before, but Steve continues to prove you wrong.
“I’ll tell ya what,” you begin to walk back towards the waiting room, careful to step carefully to not drop anything or upset your ankle. “Let’s see how this ‘friends’ thing works out, then I’ll decide what nickname fits you best. Deal?”
Steve thinks for a moment and follows. “Hmm. I don’t know, I think I’ll need some type of precaution to make sure you give me a nickname in the end. I want one, Y/N. I’m so serious right now.”
You laugh at his pleading tone. “I can add you to my baking list. Whatever I bake, you’ll get a piece of it. Is that better?”
“God, yes!” Steve punches the air and cheers.
You’re smiling so much that your face aches. You haven’t felt this light and carefree in so long, you’d almost forgotten what it’s like. The two of you don’t say anything else as you walk back to the waiting room, though Steve seems to slow down so that you don’t hurt your ankle keeping up, though you still let out a few winces and groans.
When you’ve arrived back at your seat, Steve sets down the snacks and runs off without another word. You’re confused by his sudden departure but don’t think much of it. Instead, you wake the boys up and show them your array of snacks, which wakes them up immediately.
You’re mediating a fight between Mike and Lucas over who gets the bag of Chips Ahoy when a nurse interrupts. “Excuse me, ma’am. This young man over here told me I should come over and check out your ankle?”
The woman smiles and you look past her and see Steve sheepishly waving from his seat across from you. You’re stunned. Had he really gone out of his way to ensure your ankle gets treated?
You shake the thoughts out of your head and inform the woman all she needs to know. You tell her how you’d fallen and what type of pain you feel when you stand up. She inspects the ankle, her fingers cold but kind, and within a few minutes has diagnosed you with a sprained ankle.
“All you can really do is stay off of it for a few weeks while it heals. I can go and get you some crutches, if you’d like?” She asks, rolling her gloves off and tucking them back into her pocket.
You nod. “If you wouldn’t mind, that’d be great.”
The nurse leaves with the promise of being back soon. In the meantime she instructs you to keep your ankle elevated, so you prop it against the coffee table and wait. You’re annoyed that you even have to have crutches, but then you think of Barb, of El. You’re luckier than you should be.
–
After an hour or so, Jonathan opens the door to the waiting room. He spots you and Mike talking softly with each other and whistles over to catch your attention. When Mike looks up, Jonathan nods at him and the boy scrambles out of his seat.
“Guys! Guys! He’s up, Will is up!” Mike shakes awake Lucas and Dustin, who had been cuddling on the seats fast asleep. “Will’s up!”
Once they’re awake, they quickly follow after Mike and the three boys are gone in an instant, sprinting down the hall towards Will’s room. Clearly they’re eager to see their friend.
You do your best to get up as fast as possible, but your new crutches serve more as a nuisance rather than an aid. As you struggle to get up, somehow knocking over the mountain of snacks, Steve rushes over.
He grabs the crutches and offers you his hand. “Here, careful.”
“Thanks,” you awkwardly accept his hand and get up. Jonathan watches from the doorway, a curious look on his face. Nancy does the same from her seat, not saying a word as she watches Steve gently help you navigate the waiting room with your injury.
Jonathan holds the door open for you and takes over once you’re out the door. He grabs the crutches from Steve and is now the one to hold your hand, balancing you. “I can take it from here, Harrington.”
“Right, yeah.” Steve scratches the back of his head and coughs. “I’ll just… yeah.”
He heads back inside and you and Jonathan watch as he leaves. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Jonathan turns to you. “Are you two friends now or something?”
“We almost died tonight, bee. I think it’s safe to call Steve a friend now.”
Jonathan bites his lip, though there’s a far off look in his eye that leaves you feeling like you’ve missed something in the conversation. “Guess that’s true. Anyways, let’s get you to Will.”
By the time you make it to the room, the boys have swarmed around Will and are telling him everything he’s missed this week. He’s listening eagerly as they’re telling him about El, but when he sees you enter the room, his eyes light up and he tries to sit up.
“Y/N!” Will calls out, pure excitement in his voice.
You practically fall over in your haste to get to him. The second you’re close enough, you collapse onto his bed and give him the tightest hug you possibly can without hurting him. He feels so small against you, smaller than he’s ever felt before, and his sunken eyes and pale skin make you want to cry.
But he’s alive and here and in your arms once again, happy and wonderful and safe.
“Little bee,” you try not to cry, but tears are thick in your voice. “I missed you.”
Will manages a weak smile and shrugs, trying to play off the gravity of the situation. “Took a little detour home.”
You laugh and ruffle his hair. “At least you came home, that’s all that matters.”
“Ahem,” Mike obnoxiously clears his throat, effectively ending your moment with Will. “You’re hogging Will, move over.”
You laugh again and move away, allowing the boys to resume their millions of updates. You maneuver your crutches and walk over to Jonathan, who is standing by the door. He’s looking at the boys and Will with a soft smile on his face and you join him, standing side by side as you watch your boys finally come together again.
Then, you feel a pair of eyes on you and you turn around. Nancy is leaning against the doorway behind you; she looks frail and distraught. There’s a sadness in her eyes as she watches the kids. You know that watching the boys reunite with their friend must remind her of Barb. She never got her happy reunion.
You feel awful for the girl, so when her bittersweet smile drops and she turns to leave the room, you nudge Jonathan to make him aware of the situation. He sees her fleeing and begins to follow after her, but he stops.
“What are you waiting for? Go.” You tell him, knowing it’s for the best.
He shifts his weight, uncertain. “Are you sure?”
You’re not sure how to decipher the hidden meanings underneath those three words, but you find that you’re exhausted trying to keep reading between the lines. The feelings you’ve kept buried bubble to the surface, but you remind yourself that he loves Nancy, despite your weird moments of almost with him. There’s something there between you and Jonathan, you both can feel it, but it feels too raw and fragile to bring into the light.
Without having to ask, you know that Jonathan will choose her.
It breaks your heart, but you look over at Dustin and Will, who are laughing about some joke while Joyce gazes at them fondly, and you know that you can’t lose this. Maybe Jonathan knows this, too. The small family you’ve built together, it’s too precious to ruin.
Joyce and your boys, you can’t lose them. They’re yours, and Jonathan is yours in a way that you can’t quite keep to yourself forever, but for now it’s enough. You approach Joyce, grab her hand and give her a tired smile, and the smile she returns to you reminds you that this is more than enough for you.
You turn to Jonathan, pushing down your feelings once more in favor of appreciating the fact that Will is looking at you again, alive. “Go, bee.”
Jonathan gives you one last look. You study his face for a moment, watching as it shifts from confusion, to hurt, then finally into acceptance. You’ll never be sure of what exactly he’d been thinking in that moment, but it seemed to have been enough for him, too.
He smiles, lets out a deep breath, and then leaves.
The door closes softly behind him.
–
A month later you find yourself in the passenger seat of Jonathan's car, tired from your shift at Bookstrordinary but excited to pick up your brothers. Somehow, even after missing three consecutive shifts last month, Mrs. Waters refused to fire you.
But Jonathan? He hadn’t been so lucky. His boss fired him from the Hawk, but he hadn’t been too upset. He still drives you to and from work, so you suppose things could be worse.
It’s late, but the two of you take your time driving to the Wheeler’s. Nothing much has changed between you two following Will’s reappearance. Sure, maybe you’re at his house more just to make sure Will is adapting well, but besides that everything seemed to go back to normal.
Well, almost normal.
Steve appeared at your job a few days after your conversation in the hospital. He had surprised you when you walked in, and when you asked what he was doing in a bookstore, Steve simply shrugged and said, “You can’t figure out my nickname if we don’t hang out, right? So, I’m here.”
He had become a regular at the store, stopping by whenever he could, and slowly the two of you became good friends. You’ve come to enjoy Steve’s presence, something that you never thought would ever happen. But he keeps you company as you work, he wanders around and explores the comics and books you recommend to him, and it’s nice having someone to goof off with.
Plus, you did promise to add him to your baking list, so he’s also become your taste tester who happily eats any creation you bring in for him.
As for Nancy…
That was more of a sore subject for Jonathan.
There was a few weeks following Will’s reappearance that you thought Jonathan and Nancy would get together, but it never happened. You’re not quite sure why, maybe it had something to do with Jonathan’s hesitation of approaching her, but it had crushed him when you and he saw Nancy and Steve making out in the hall as if nothing bad had ever happened.
The way Jonathan’s face crumbled when he saw the couple only solidified that he’d never be yours, but you comforted him anyways. You told him he deserved better and then dragged him away. It’d taken him a few days, but eventually Jonathan was able to fake a smile again.
You haven’t spoken about it since that day, but you leave your window open most nights for him to crawl in. The nightmares from that night fighting the monster plague you both, and the loneliness feels a little heavier than usual, but at least you have each other.
“Jonathan! Y/N! Come in, the boys are downstairs.” Mrs. Wheeler answers the door, letting the two of you in. “And Y/N, I love that sweater on you.”
You thank the woman. “It was a gift from my mom. She claims I need to up my wardrobe, whatever that means.”
“Well, I think she has lovely taste.”
“I’ll let you know you think so!” You open the basement door and motion for Jonathan to go down first.
When he reaches the bottom of the steps, Jonathan makes a face. “Woah, what’s that smell? Have you guys been playing games all day, or just farting?”
“My vote is farting.” You say, hopping down the last step. Your ankle has mostly healed by now, but sometimes if you land on it wrong it makes a weird clicking noise followed by some pain, but you choose to pretend that it’s normal.
The boys laugh and Lucas points at your brother. “Oh, that’s just Dustin. He farted.”
He begins making fart noises with his mouth and you and Dustin share a look. “Very mature, Lucas.”
The boy continues to sing and make fart noises and you can’t believe that this is your life. You’re standing in a smelly basement while picking up your stubborn brother all while simultaneously enjoying the fact that you get to call this your life.
Jonathan calls over to Will to grab his things, so you follow suit and gently berate Lucas. “Alright, that’s enough. I gotta get Dustin home.”
“What, I thought I got to stay–”
“Jonathan is our ride and I made cookies, so let’s go.”
The moment the word “cookies” leaves your mouth, Dustin hops up and collects his things without any further argument.
Once he’s ready, he and Lucas play wrestle as they say goodbye. While they’re distracted, you walk over to Mike and discreetly hand him a container full of double fudge brownies. You’d specifically made them for him, knowing they were his favorite, because you noticed how hard it’s been for him to adjust to El being gone. He really cared about her, anyone could see that.
Mike’s eyes widen and he throws his arms around you. “Thanks, Y/N.”
You pat his back. “Anytime, Wheeler.”
Dustin breaks away from Lucas and runs up the stairs, so you take that as your cue to leave.
Upstairs, Jonathan and Will are talking to Mrs. Wheeler. When they see you enter, the woman turns to you and asks if you’ll be bringing over your usual round of holiday treats. “Of course, I’ll get started on them tomorrow. You guys still like the sugar cookies?”
“If you make them, I think I’ll die of happiness.” Mrs. Wheeler informs you, and you laugh and tell her that you’ll have them ready as soon as possible.
You bid her goodbye, Dustin now by your side, and you follow Jonathan and Will to the front door. Right before you open the door, Nancy calls Jonathan’s name from the top of the stairs.
“Hey, Jonathan, wait up!”
You, Dustin, and Will stand awkwardly in the back while Nancy hands Jonathan a wrapped gift and wishes him a merry Christmas. They share an awkward exchange since Jonathan hadn’t gotten her anything, but Nancy assures him that it’s fine. The interaction is painful to watch as Nancy doesn’t spare you a single glance. Dustin and Will look at you uncertainly when she kisses Jonathan’s cheek, but you ignore them and pretend to be interested in a Christmas decoration on the table.
This will never get any easier.
“You ready?” Jonathan turns back to you guys, a blush on his face, and all you can do is silently nod.
In the car you sit in the back with Dustin, who squeezes your arm in reassurance. He’s come to understand your complex feelings for Jonathan and has pieced together Nancy’s involvement. While he’s never outright consoled you, he’s shown his support in other small and wonderful ways.
“Thanks,” you whisper, and Dustin smiles.
“We all buckled up?” Jonathan asks as he starts up the car.
“Yes, captain.” You mock salute.
Will giggles at you before he sees the gift and looks up at Jonathan. “Can I open it?”
“Yeah, sure.”
You and Dustin lean forward so you can see what’s in the box. When Will unwraps a beautiful, and no doubt expensive, camera, you gasp. The bitterness and hurt from moments ago vanishes. This gift is from Steve, you know it is, and something warm settles deep within your bones.
You think about last month, how you’d told him not everyone can just afford a camera.
Seems like Steve listened.
Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.
–
A week later you knock on the Byers’ door, a giant container of your annual holiday cookies in your arms.
“Bug!” Jonathan answers the door with an excited smile on his face. His new camera is in his hands and before you can even process what’s happening, he’s already taken a photo of you with your crooked earmuffs and oversized box of cookies.
He’s been using the camera ever since he got it. There’s now multiple pictures of you, always unaware or caught off guard, now hanging in the kitchen. It makes you blush to think about.
“You didn’t even give me a chance to smile.” You complain, shoving your way inside. It’s snowing and you’re freezing.
Joyce grabs the container to help you as soon as she sees you. “Here, honey. I’ve got it.”
You thank her and walk over to Will, who is drawing at the kitchen table. “Hey little bee. Whatcha drawing?”
“Hi, Y/N.” He slides over his picture and you’re shown a quick sketch of you and the party, this time fighting what appears to be a misshapen dog. “It’s a Dire Wolf, we’re fighting it in our latest campaign.”
“Ah, I see. Looks fluffy, though. Can’t possibly be a dangerous creature.”
Will rolls his eyes at you. “This is why you don’t play with us.”
“Careful, you’re sassing the girl who has just bravely ridden her bike through the snow to deliver her famous Christmas cookies.”
Will is out of his seat in an instant, running over to his mom, who has just placed the container on the counter. “Did you make the oatmeal raisin cookies?”
“Duh,” you snort.
“And the chocolate chip?”
“I sure did.” You stand next to him and point at a new cookie you’re trying out this year. “This batch is a caramel banana one. Steve seemed to like it and I think it’s pretty good, so I hope you do too.”
Jonathan swoops over and kisses your head. “Of course we’ll like it, bug.”
“He’s right, you know. We always love whatever you make us, honey.” Joyce informs you, her mouth now full of cookies.
“I’d hope so, this is like my fifth year making these for you guys. It’d be awkward if you hated my baking.” You say, now securing your earmuffs back on your head. “Anyways, I should get going. It’s Christmas, my mom won’t want me out too long.”
Joyce looks out the window and frowns. “Did you really bike here in this weather?”
“It wasn’t too bad, I’ll be fine–”
“No. Jonathan, grab your keys and drive Y/N home.” She stares you down, daring you to argue with her, but you don’t. You know better than to argue with Joyce Byers.
Once Jonathan has his keys, you say goodbye to everyone and wish them a merry Christmas. Jonathan throws your bike in his trunk and soon you’re off on the road. The drive is quiet but cozy. The snowflakes fall in a pretty spiral and there’s a soft song playing on the radio.
Sometimes, if you close your eyes, you can pretend that the events from last month never happened. Will never disappeared. You never discovered that you love Jonathan. Nancy Wheeler never became friends with Jonathan, possibly something more had there been more time. When you close your eyes and sit still, you can imagine that your brother never has nightmares that wake him up screaming. That your heart doesn’t hurt when you make your best friend laugh.
For a moment, you can forget.
“Can we always stay like this?” You ask Jonathan softly, almost as if you’ll disturb the peace that winter has brought with its quiet snow.
“Like what?”
You’re not sure how to express what you’re feeling. “This, us. Together.”
“Of course we’ll always stay like this.” He grabs your hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. He says this like it’s a fact, the most obvious thing in the world.
“Pinky promise me.” You hold your pinky up. You know it’s silly, but you need him to hear you, to understand what you’re saying.
Jonathan looks over at you. “Y/N–”
“Please, promise me, bee.”
He’s silent for a moment, seeming to understand the weight of everything between, around, and within the two of you. Then, he extends his pinky finger and wraps it around yours. “I promise, bug.”
And you believe him.
[END OF SEASON ONE]
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#steve harrington x henderson!reader#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x you#stranger things#steve harrington fanfic#stranger things rewrite#slowburn#angst#wdtai#m's writing#im so tired n happy and full of love for u all#cannot believe its done :')#pls pls pls enjoy <333
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things about ave mujica that are making me lose my mind
making a post to gather my thoughts after ep6 bc uhm. 😃
first off, WHERE IS UIKA!!! not only did she not appear ONCE in episode 6, but her angsty narration (which we usually hear throughout each episode) was also missing from episode 6!!! what!!! and the last time we saw her she was hugging saki’s pillow breathing in it and letting 2 mugs of coffee go cold in saki’s room. yearning and pining unstable style. im gonna lose my mind. UIKA COME BACK I NEED TO SEE YOU CRASH OUT SO BAD I NEED TO PICK YOUR BRAIN
I NEED SAKIKO TO BE OKAY ASAP. her situation is giving me palpitations i literally feel sick thinking about the position she is in rn. she lost EVERYTHING - her mom, her dad, her old life, crychic, her freedom, ave mujica, and mutsumi. she is living with a manipulative, controlling grandpa who robbed her of her freedom and treated her creative project she tried to use and get out of poverty and support herself and her dad as just a silly kid’s game that ended up as a mess he fixed for her. she found out her best friend has DID and her alter told her “YOU broke her and made her go dormant. i hate you. she might never be back”. and rn she’s deeply avoidant and dissociated and she feels she cannot/doesnt want to share what happened with her dad or her family so where to fucking start opening up??? and she’s alone and has to go through it alone anyway, so what’s the point? why would she ask for help? so she dissociates and avoids and rejects tomori’s kindness. and now soyo is pissed at her and no one understands what she’s going through and she’s all alone and putting up walls is the only way she’s not falling apart but everyone sees her as a villain with her walls up. im feeling sick im feeling sick im crying on the bus
CAN WE PLEASE ADDRESS HOW NYAMU GOT AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX ABOUT ACTING BC OF MUTSUMI’S “PERFORMANCE”?? WHEN MUTSUMI JUST HAD A MENTAL BREAKDOWN ON STAGE? like this is insane. GIRL SHE WASNT ACTING 😭 pls take up the acting job you wanted!! i feel bad for her she’s so deeply insecure she also needs help. someone help her
fr is umiri on T? her voice keeps getting lower every episode 😭 she’s trying to achieve butch levels never seen before in girls band anime, next episode she’s coming in with short hair and a carabiner ⛓️. jokes aside i need her to stop with the “im too cool to care” act and admit she cares about the members of avemuji and pls help them bc ngl i feel like she’s the most mentally stable of the bunch. tho looking at the opening i might be wrong tbh lmao
makes me insane how mortis is the protector but also she’s clearly a little - an alter who is still a child. i love her so much. but also like mortis and mutsumi need another fucking alter to mediate between them bc they’re giving me anxiety!! ALSO HELLO?? THEY FELL DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS? had a public breakdown that got filmed by people as soyo shielded them??? they were locked in their room for like what, 2 months?? soyo spent 3 days and nights with mortis and mutusmi’s parents did not appear once bro. we saw one maid lead soyo to the room which was a WRECK and soyo was the one who helped tidy up. mutsumi’s family has completely given up on her and mortis, hid them like a dirty secret in their bedroom. it makes me sick i hate them i hate them
raana. that’s it. she makes me insane. aura farming like it’s a full time job
i need these girls to get help rn. please someone get them a group therapist im so fr
#okay this is just how these characters are making me lose my damn mind. i need the rest of the season asap. you hear me???#mentally ill ahh bunch of girls. get help#ave mujica#avemuji#ave mujica spoilers#uika misumi#sakiko togawa#mutsumi wakaba#mortis ave mujica#nyamu yuutenji#umiri yahata#raana kaname#bang dream#bandori#mygo#mine
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we need to talk about how yall are treating mephone after ii15.
some of you clearly don’t understand his character and it’s driving me INSANE.
“i hate mephone after ii15!! he’s a heartless monster!!! he doesn’t care about anyone!!!”
so. did we watch the same show orrrr..?
because one of the BIGGEST, most IMPORTANT parts of mephone’s character is that he SUPPRESSES EVERYTHING and AVOIDS HIS PROBLEMS AT ALL COSTS.
it’s almost like there was a whole episode dedicated to mephone’s repressed trauma! it’s almost like the second half of iii literally spelt this out for us! did yall just not watch the show orrrrr?
“but what about him just not caring when mepad quit the show!??!!?!” reread what i just wrote real quick.
mephone AVOIDS HIS PROBLEMS.
if anything, the fact that he didn’t even dwell on mepad quitting for a SECOND just tells us that this hurt him DEEPLY. he couldn’t even stand to process it for even a second without losing it, he had to move right on to be able to avoid the problem. that’s what he does. he avoids and deflects and suppresses.
not to mention that it’s canon that mephone DOES care about the contestants and others on the show, he just has a hard time expressing it.
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/464cb9f29544b070fa2062b031232463/ca1d313a074beb2c-f5/s540x810/06c6496b40cf5126dfb0030b437810f8afd595d9.jpg)
this screenshot is taken directly from fan’s blog, in a post where he interviews mephone. mephone cares about everyone. he’s mean to everyone because he cares about them and it’s easier for him to express that by being an asshole than to be honest and vulnerable.
mephone doesn’t want to appear weak or vulnerable.
he wants to appear as some well put together, mentally sound, confident, host. he’s not. anyone who’s actually looked at his character will see this SO obviously, the way he acts most of the time is a FRONT.
yeah, sure, mephone has done some shitty things, but a LOT of people in ii have and i don’t see yall saying you hate them as much as i see people hating on mephone. im sick of it tbh
you guys just don’t understand mephone’s character and i think you need to reevaluate your opinion on him. mephone is a very emotional person. he just suppresses those emotions and avoids them at all costs and replaces them with assholery.
thanks for reading
#ii#inanimate insanity#mephone#mephone 4#osc#object show comunity#object show#ii 15#ii2 ep15#ii2 15#ii2 spoilers#ii 15 spoilers#mepad#meeple
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nevermind. it's here, goodbye world
cant watch arcane season two act two yet. horrible
#the way i gasped three minutes into the 4th episode. yeah this is gonna be a long ride#i know twitter is mad as fuck right now 😭#i might use this as a reaction thread so spoilers ahead?? if anyone even sees this help...#isha and jinx are so cute... hopefully nothing bad happens to them :)#big fan of sevika and jinx's dynamic. same for ambessa and caitlyn#the amount of jinx/silco im being fed is actually insane. what did i do to deserve this#“well then he shouldn't have died!” oh my girl#totally not important or anything but sevika's new haircut is making me feel some type of way... like more than she usually does...#OH MY FUCKING GOD#VANDER???????#wait who the fuck is warwick? is that the monster that vander turned into... like that is definitely vander... right...#if that is vander lmao. even in death my man cant get a fucking break#im tired FOR HIM#(ep 5) oh vi... all the lesbians went crazy#when you're torn between your sister and your lover#so it really is vander... he's alive#god im sorry but i hope vi never changes out of her self destructive-post-situationship#break up look. it's too hot (and she will but i can still express my wish)#everytime i see cait in her dictator get-up i remember the count fagula jokes#the moment vi and jinx become sisters again. a fountain will spring from my eyes#the way they're throwing insults at each other. even that is so healing to me#YOUNG SILCO??? BLESSED#vander/jinx/vi reunion. genuinely feeling too many emotions right now between seeing silco in his 20s#and a long overdue family reunion after great tragedy has passed. truly these are the levels#also the fact that vander practically gave vi her name...insane crazy. that's her father dad parental figure#woahhh... jayce with a beard now. guess im not allowed to hate anymore (ive never had beef with this character tbh. i just didnt care)#jayce going from “we have to end hextech no matter what” and viktor being the one now who's trying to use it for miracles#hmmmmm.... ideologies have been reversed#(ep 6. this time with cake)#sisterhood is such a beautiful thing...
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