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eddiesxangel · 1 year ago

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The Kissing Booth | E.M x G!N!Reader

Cw: flufffffff, mild angst on Eddie’s part. Smooching. Reader wears lipgloss. No use of pronouns.

Wc 1.4K

Eddie could not believe this was happening to him.

“Nope, nope, no way, man. Over my dead body-“

“What my boy means is he is grateful he is not being suspended and will graciously accept his punishment of volunteering at the school fair.” Wayne looks at his nephew with a glare in his eyes that Eddie hasn’t seen in a very long time.

“Great, then it’s settled,” Ms. Laughlin, the guidance councillor, smiles.

It was happening. Eddie was being served the most gruesome punishment, and all because he skipped P.E. of all classes.

Eddie Munson was being forced not only to participate in the school fair but to work the kissing booth, of all things.

How on earth would he survive this? Not only would he be the laughingstock of the school, but he would also have to endure the absolute embarrassment of having no one come up to his booth, and he would also have to be forced to participate in extracurricular activities.

“Just wait until Hellfire hears about this boy,” Wayne laughs as he drives him and Eddie back to the trailer.

All Eddie could do was roll his eyes; he could never show his face again.

“You’re not going to believe the rumour I heard today.” Nancy looks at you from over her shoulder. She is sat at your vanity.

“What?” You asked, intrigued, as you got dressed and got ready for tonight’s festivities.

“A little birdy told me that a certain someone is working the kissing booth tonight.” She smirks.

“Who?” You challenge her back.

“Who, what?” Robin walks into the bedroom from the bathroom.

“Nancy knows who is working one of the kissing booths tonight, but who’s telling me” you pout.

“Ohhhhhhhh,” Robin smirks knowingly.

“Oh, not you, too! Come on, who is it!”

Robin and Nancy give one another a nod of the head before Nancy speaks.

“Eddie Munson.”

“Ha ha, very funny; you think I’m going to believe that? How gullible do you think I am?” You snort.

“No, it’s true! Shelly from the student council told me when we were working on the student paper! Instead of detention, this is his punishment, to help out at the fair tonight.” She wiggled her brows at you suggestively.

“Who else’s working it?” You try and ask casually.

Your friends knew about your crush on Eddie. It had been about a month since you confessed to one of your late-night sleepovers.

“Um, I’m not too sure what other guy, but I think Chrissy is working the girl's booth. Nancy shrugged.

“Cool…cool…” you turned to the closet, now faced with a sense of anxiety to find the perfect top.

Eddie was actually dying on the inside. Ten minutes until his “shift” at the booth, and he wanted to book it.

Running away would solve his problems, right? He would much rather be suspended than have to endure this humiliation. This was a cruel and unusual punishment.

He watched from the sidelines as Josh was at the booth currently. He was the senior star quarterback on the football team. Everyone wanted him. He could just see now the long line disbursing once he stood there.

"Hey man, you're up next in 5." Eddie was snapped out of his internal monologue when he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. He wasn't sure how long he had been there stewing with his own thoughts. "Don't worry, it's not all bad. Some customers are cute," Josh smirks.

Oh god. What if he actually had to kiss someone tonight? He hadn’t thought of that option. Like, what if some actually came up? What would he do? Are they expecting tongue?

“You have some gum or something?” He asked quickly before Josh left.

He smirked and tossed him a pack of icy mint.

“Thanks.”

Eddie peaked around the corner to where the booth was set up. The fair was set up on the school football field. There was a small sign that said be back in 5 and no lineup to be seen.

That made Eddie feel a bit better; no one was there. That took some humility out of it.

Before Eddie could back out and run, he felt another hard hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, Munson, your time to shine.” Jeff and Gareth practically dragged Eddie to the booth, kicking and screaming.

“You’re the worst friends ever,” Eddie huffed as they backed away from the booth. Watching him so he won’t run away.

“You can't serve the time and shouldn’t do the crime.” Jeff laughed.

“That’s not-“ Eddie was cut off mid-sentence as he saw Robin and Nancy pushing you towards the booth just like he had been moments ago.

“Don’t make me do this,” you plead with your best friends.

“You have to do it,” “It’s now or never,” “He’s right there. Just have him your ticket and pucker your lisp. It’s not that hard,” Robin and Nancy whispered in your ear as they dragged you towards Eddie.

“You guys, please, I can’t!” You say a bit too loudly as you fight back your friends from pushing you up to the booth.

You can see the look on Eddie’s face as you are pushed up the step of the booth. He looks disappointed? Disgusted? You’re not too sure.

You let out an embarrassing squeal as you stumbled in front of Eddie. “Um hi”

Despite not being well-acquainted with Eddie, you couldn't help but notice him whenever he walked by. You only exchanged a few words in passing and learned about him through your friends. Although you never had the opportunity to spend time together, you found him to be irresistibly charming and incredibly good-looking. Whenever you caught a glimpse of him in the cafeteria, he never failed to bring a smile to your face with his silly antics and infectious laughter.

“Uh hey,” he spoke back, clearly uncomfortable.

“Busy night for you?” You ask, trying to delay the inevitable.

“Uh nope.”

“Good,” you smile; the thought of Eddie kissing anyone else made you want to vomit.

“Good?” He cocks a brow at you. “The thought of nobody wanting to come up to the freak of Hawkins High is good to you?”

“Oh I didn’t mean it like-“

“Why are you even here?”

“Oh- well- I um-"

“No, I get it. You’re just here on a dare, or you lost the bet, right? I really thought better of Nancy and Robin; I thought they were my friends… You know I heard you say you can’t do this. I understand the thought of kissing me is so terrible that-“

You couldn't help but cut off Eddei from his intrusive thoughts. You held his face with both hands and smushed your lips together. The thought of Eddie thinking that about you was far worse than the fear of kissing him.

It wasn't everything you had dreamed of. However, the kiss was still nice. You felt the eruption of butterflies fill your stomach as Eddie deepened this kiss himself. You kissed him until you could no longer breathe. Only then is when you pull away.

“Woah”

“I hope that was okay.” You shy away.

“Yeah.” Eddie sighed as he took you in.

As he gazed upon you, he was struck by how pretty you were, which he had overlooked until now. The sweet aroma of strawberries wafted from you as the strawberry lipgloss lingered on his lips, just below his nose.

“Um, here,” you jut out your hand with the crinkled ticket you hadn't yet paid with.

“Oh no, no, the house,” Eddie said without thinking and that made you giggle.

“Well, I really only bought a ticket for this, so I might as well cash it in.” you flirt.

“Ok, yeah, sure. Two for one.” Eddie took the ticket from your hand and brought it back to cup your cheek before kissing you again.

You could hear the giggles and cheers of your friends from behind you in the distance, but your main focus was on Eddie. His soft, plush lips. His minty taste, the way his soft hair tickled your cheeks.

“Ok, lovebirds, that’s enough.” the supervising teacher returned with an unimpressed huff.

You begrudgingly pulled away, but with a smile nonetheless.

“Can I get your number?” Eddie’s mouth was moving before his brain could catch up.

“Come find us later, lover boy.” Robin giggled while snatching your arm and pulled you away before you could answer.

“Dude!” Gareth clapped his hands, having witnessed the whole thing.

“Maybe we should sign up for this,” Jeff laughed. A little jealous of what he just witnessed.

After you, Eddie didn’t care if he got another customer for the rest of the night. Maybe this whole kissing booth thing wasn’t too bad after all.

#eddie munson x reader #Eddie Munson x you #Eddie Munson fluff #eddie munson x gender neutral reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x male reader #Eddie Munson imagine

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glitter-stained · 5 months ago

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You ever think about how some dc characters have superpowers but like, on a meta level?

Like, many vigilantes but especially Bruce with all the hardcore beatings he does, or Tim with the "blowing up bases after having sent them a warning to evacuate" should have killed someone on accident but they didn't. Because the narrative didn't want them to, because this is a Batman or Red Robin comics so you have to suspend your disbelief and accept that these consequences didn't happen, and by doing so you give them the power to inflict lethal harm and yet not kill, and it's the power that you, the reader, give Batman by virtue of being Batman.

Like, Jason is immortal on a meta level, not because he died and came back but because he keeps getting into especially deadly situations and getting out without an explanation and the comics just expect you to accept that yes, the exploding meteorite is deadly enough to apparently (squints eyes) kill Selina but Jason survived it virtually unscratched despite not being enhanced and because we are expected to accept that, we are expected to accept Jason could survive about anything, because he is the character that he is in a comic. Thinking of how the panel of Jason dying came out and half of the community on tumblr was rolling their eyes like it's okay, he'll come back, and they were right. (There was an explanation for that one but still they said "oh no this character can't perma die that's just who he is" and it was right. To be fair not many dc characters are granted the honour of a perma death these days)

There are probably so many examples that I'm not thinking of right now and to be clear this isn't a critique or anything, I just think it's very funny that in a universe that calls their supers "meta humans", the humans that don't have superpowers are granted impossible abilities through suspension of disbelief and the ability of the reader to take in account the role of the narrative in their interpretation of the character's actions and their consequences. It's ironic, and it's punny, and I really really hope it's a least a little on purpose.

#batman #meta-humans #bruce wayne #tim drake #red robin #jason todd #dc #dc Schroedinger's cat is alive unless it makes sense for the narrative #dc comics

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beanghostprincess · 1 year ago

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I feel like the minute Luffy gets a crush on someone he panics and straight up hates it. It's like why am I acting so weird like it's just Zoro/Saji/ usopp!!! Every time they compliment them or smile at them, he has to cover his face with his hat. He starts laughing like an idiot and makes terrible comebacks. All of his confidence and stupidity turns into awkwardness and self-consciousness. He's straight up not having a good time.

Luffy would kill himself on the spot. He instantly just jumps into the fucking sea.

Zoro: Something something, of course, my captain Luffy: I- Haha. My heart is beating funny. Haha. Give me a moment, Zoro! <3 *literally just jumps into the water* Nami: LUFFY WHAT THE HELL??? Luffy: Glupglupglupglup

He knows what a crush is, he's not stupid. He just doesn't fucking want it because he doesn't know what to do with so many overwhelming emotions so he genuinely goes to Chopper to make it go away. Chopper is confused af because he genuinely doesn't know what a crush feels like exactly and he thinks Luffy is going to die of a weird illness so he PANICS. And if this happens casually when Law is around (make it around wci), he can't just take it anymore:

Law: Luffy, for the tenth time, you're not fucking sick. You just have a crush on your cook. Luffy: Torao you're the worst doctor in the world!! You're wrong!! I hate this!! Law: Yeah, well, people normally hate it. Deal with it. Why am I even helping you here- Luffy: MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!! Law: I CAN'T MAKE IT GO AWAY YOU FUCKING MORON THAT'S A YOU PROBLEM. IT'S NOT A MEDICAL CONDITION. Luffy: Then take my heart and just??? Throw it away??? Law: I am going to kill you with my bare hands. Luffy: Please? :( Law: Luffy, I swear to God-

The poor thing is so lost and he gets really overwhelmed by absolutely nothing. Like. Genuinely nothing- And the girls are always there to help him out, but sometimes it's just such a funny sight.

[Luffy sitting with Robin on deck and watching the crew just do their things. Usopp practicing his aim and new inventions in front of them] Usopp: Hey, Luffy! Check this out! *does the stupidest most sexiest thing in the whole world because he just looks hot af when he's shooting at stuff* Luffy, blushing uncontrollably, covering his face with his hat and dying from a heart attack: Jndjkandeuiwbkwendknjdkjs *Incoherent noises* Robin: Are you alright, captain? Luffy: Make it stop, Robin :( Robin: Haha, I'm afraid I can't do that. Usopp: Luffy??? Robin: He says it's really nice!

And a little bonus:

[Red Hair pirates and the Strawhats finally meeting and throwing a party together] Luffy: And then Zoro cut that guy in half like it was nothing! It was the coolest thing ever, right, Zoro? Zoro: I would go to hell and back for you, captain, and that's the anecdote you tell him? Luffy: I- It was a really cool fight! Shut up, captain's order! Don't say things like that! Zoro: Mm. Shanks: Oh. *Turns to Beckman* When were you gonna tell me the kid is down bad for his first mate? Benn: Congratulations, you got one out of three. If you guess who are the other two, I'll let you drink more than usual today, captain. Shanks: *Blushes uncontrollably* Chopper: Oh no!! You're sick too??! Shanks: What do you mean, funny reindeer? Chopper: Luffy does that when he's around Sanji a lot!! Shanks: :) The other is Black Leg. Benn: Not fair at all.

#i love this flavor of luffy ships #basically i like luffy fucking losing it and dying inside in the silliest of ways #one piece #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #black leg sanji #usopp #zolu #lusan #lusopp #red haired shanks #trafalgar law #nico robin #benn beckman #benn x shanks #or whatever their shipname is #tony tony chopper #zolusanuso #ig???

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steddieas-shegoes · 2 years ago

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For the requests: traumatized steve & eddie going to a wolf sanctuary and eddie watching steve basically live with the wolves in their area. And the one wolf,the one that hated everyone, the one who meaner and didn't get along with anyone to its cruel abusive situation (perhaps it was raised from puppyhood and onwards by people who used it in dogfighting, before it was rescued, that wolf, goes right up to Steve and sits by him. Giving him comfort. When Steve has bad nightmares he goes to that wolf's pen and they sleep cuddled together bc that wolf also has nightmares. (It can also be a wolfdog)

AS ALWAYS YOU COME THROUGH WITH SOMETHING FUN AND CREATIVE AND AS ALWAYS I MAKE IT EMOTIONAL AS SHIT!!! I was feelin' some type of way yesterday and started on this at peak emotional upheaval, which is really something I don't recommend. As many things tend to do, this got away from me and I think I could've still let it keep going, but I had to cut it off. Hope you love it!!! - Mickala ❤️

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It was Robin’s idea.

She knew therapy wasn’t working. She knew firsthand that the nightmares, especially Steve’s, were impossible to handle some nights.

She stayed with him enough after the Russians to know he was averaging four hours of restless sleep on a good night.

And now that he’d seen the horrors of the Upside Down, and Eddie almost dying, and Max almost dying, and the guilt of just existing, they were worse.

Eddie had them, but he was usually able to calm down relatively quickly, usually even fall back into a dreamless sleep after.

His problem was just seeing the bats everywhere, even when he was awake. A large bird would fly by and he was ducking for cover like a bomb would be dropped on him. He’d hear screeching, sometimes even just kids yelling at the park, and he’d have a panic attack.

Drastically different problems, but Robin said this could help with both of them.

So Steve and Eddie stood outside the wolf sanctuary, staring at the front office entrance where they were told to check in.

They glanced at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

It’s not that they were scared. They’d been told about the process on the phone in great detail, the sanctuary director answering all of their questions in a friendly tone.

She’d said that the wolf sanctuary had been used as a form of therapy for people for years now, though many psychiatrists didn’t consider it an appropriate treatment.

Considering Steve and Eddie had been seeing a professional psychiatrist for months now with no progress and serious weight loss and migraines from their prescriptions, they were willing to give this a fair shot.

But their fear that it wouldn’t work kept circling through their minds.

If this didn’t work, they weren’t sure what else they could possibly try.

That was terrifying.

They were supposed to stay for a month, with the option of extending the stay if they felt they needed it.

It was expensive.

But this was on the US government, and Eddie was always quick to spend their money for his benefit.

Steve was just along for the ride.

They walked in together, both nervously looking around at the chairs and desks, bookshelves, pictures of wolves and mountains on the walls, and one small, gray-haired woman at the front desk.

“Oh, aren’t you two precious! Which one’s Steve and which one’s Eddie?”

“I’m Steve,” Eddie smirked as he held out his hand.

Steve smacked his arm.

“He’s Eddie, and he’s probably gonna be this way the whole time. Sorry in advance,” Steve told the woman.

“This is wonderful! You’ll be fun to have around. I’m Fran, I run the front office. I spoke to you the other day on the phone a bit about the check in. Are you boys ready?”

They both nodded.

She clapped her hands together in excitement.

Steve could tell Eddie loved her. She was full of theatrics like he was, every word punctuated by an exaggerated movement.

“First, the boring part. We did some of the first part over the phone, but these packets need to be filled out completely and given back to me. You can have a seat anywhere to do those. When that’s done, I’ll show you where to bring your bags so you can unpack and get comfortable. We can do a tour before dinner.”

She placed the packets on the desk in front of her, then took two pens out of a mug and placed them down too.

“If you have any questions, let me know. You two are just the cutest!”

She walked through a small doorway a few feet behind her desk and they grabbed the packets to start filling them out.

The first page was basic personal information, which had been filled out already. The second page was emergency contact information and how they were referred. But the third page is where it got difficult.

It has questions like “What is your worst memory?” and “Who is the person you would most expect to protect you in a life or death situation? Why?”

And while Eddie and Steve could probably answer those easily from terrible experiences, there was a lot they weren’t allowed to say.

So they just stuck with the official government stories for any and all Upside Down related parts, which was most of them.

Fran bustled back in, two steaming mugs in her hands. She set them on her desk carefully and then walked over to where Eddie was sitting.

“How’s it going?”

“Good. Almost done,” he smiled up at her.

“And you, dear?” She asked Steve.

“Good. I’m sorry I write kind of slow.”

Steve’s face was red, like he was embarrassed. Eddie watched as he focused on the paper in front of him, his hand moving slowly across the paper.

Steve’s concussions had a lot of lasting effects; migraines and one ear that was barely working, the occasional speech delay, and an inconvenient struggle with writing, especially if it was answering questions about himself like this.

Eddie distracted Fran as he wrote his last answer, talking to her about her favorite part of the sanctuary and how long she’s been working here.

He handed the packet to her when he was done, glancing over at Steve to see he was just starting on the last page.

“Hey, Fran, would it be okay if you helped me get our bags from the car while Steve finishes up?”

Steve sent him a grateful smile as he continued answering the questions on the paper.

As he walked with Fran to the car, she touched his arm.

“He’s got a lot going on, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah. He’s been dealing with this a lot longer than I have,” Eddie smiled sadly at her, touching her hand to accept the comfort she was giving and give some in return. “I hope this works for both of us, but I’d be happy as long as it works for him.”

“You care a lot about him.”

It wasn’t a question, and her tone wasn’t judging, but Eddie could just tell. He should panic, he should tell her it wasn’t like that. And it wasn’t for Steve.

But he’d been hiding it for so long, and somehow successfully, he couldn’t lie to her.

“I love him. He doesn’t know how much. I did this for him, mostly. I mean I want it to help me too, but I know he wouldn’t have tried this if I didn’t come and he,” Eddie sighed. “He needs this. He can’t keep going like he has been.”

Fran pulled him into a hug and he did all he could not to start crying.

“He’s lucky to have you on his side no matter what, darling. And I’d bet anything he thinks the same of you,” she said softly.

“I don’t think it’s quite the same. He loves me like a friend, but he’s not…not like me.”

Gay. He wasn’t gay. Or even a little into men. Eddie was sure of that.

Fran pulled away and just smiled at him.

“Okay, then. Let’s get these bags inside.”

They managed to bring everything in in one trip, and by the time they made it back inside, Steve was done with his packet.

“Alright!” Fran clapped her hands together in excitement. “To your room!”

Eddie’s eyes widened.

“Room? Like, just one?”

“Yep! The other room we have for long-term residents is already taken for the next few weeks. Will that be okay?”

She was smiling innocently at Eddie, who knew she knew why he was suddenly panicking.

“That’s fine. We end up sharing a room all the time, right, Eds?” Steve asked as he grabbed his own bags from the floor.

“Uh. Yep. Totally fine.”

“Great!”

She led them out the back of the front office, down the sidewalk that led to a row of small buildings.

“This first building is storage. The next one is the short-term stays, usually people who donate frequently to keep us running, staying for a night or two to see where their money goes. This next building is for long-term stays. That’s you two. It’s split into a duplex, so you’ll have basically a studio apartment in there. Kitchen, bathroom, living area with a sectioned off area as the bedroom. You each will have a key, but keep in mind that the director also has a key for emergencies. The janitorial staff only goes if requested, so let me know if you feel it needs a sprucing up or you need new sheets or anything. Fridge is stocked and gets restocked every two weeks.” She paused as they made it to the steps to the building. “Oh! We don’t technically have a curfew for the guests. You’re adults and we trust you on your journey here. But we do ask that you try to be back no later than 11, as we often shut off many of the trail lights by midnight to ensure the animals have the closest replica of the wild as possible.”

Steve and Eddie nodded, eyes wide at all the information being thrown at them so quickly.

“Your room has a phone of course. You’re free to use as often as you’d like. Pressing 1 gets you in touch with the front office, 2 is for security, 3 is for the director’s office. I recommend calling the front office unless it’s an emergency so we can get in touch with the right people for you. After your tour, you’ll have free reign over the entire sanctuary except for anywhere marked employees and volunteers only. That’s for your safety, of course. We encourage you to be a part of some of the educational tours and seminars that we offer to the general public as well as enjoy time on your own with the wolves. Volunteers are here every day from 9 to 5, and the employees who help care for the wolves stay until 11. We have security here 24/7, but the director usually has a couple people on staff remain after regular hours in case of an animal emergency.”

This felt a little overwhelming, but he could already tell Steve was more relaxed here than he’d been anywhere else since he met him.

“I work when they need me, but my home number is by the phone in there for you just in case you need a chat. I retired a couple years ago so I spend a lot of my time at home with my dog. You’re never a bother, okay?”

They both nodded.

She hugged them both, handed them their keys, and started to walk away.

“Your tour will be in about an hour. James is running it today. You’ll love him!”

She was gone before they could even respond, so they looked back to each other and shrugged before heading inside.

The main door was unlocked, but the door inside marked with a “2” was locked. Steve unlocked it and pushed the door open.

The apartment was nice, but small, smaller than either of them had expected.

“Guess we’ll be getting pretty close for the next month, huh?” Steve joked.

Eddie’s heart was in his throat.

He could see the “bedroom” from where he stood. It was one queen sized bed. One.

“Um. Yep. Guess so. I can take the couch,” Eddie rushed out.

Steve clearly hadn’t seen the sleeping arrangement yet or he would have probably offered. He’s a self-sacrificing idiot, so Eddie had to rush to offer before he could.

“What? Why?”

Eddie gestured towards the bed.

“There’s plenty of room for both of us, dude. A month on the couch isn’t exactly gonna help with the nightmares.”

“It looks pretty cozy.”

Steve just stared at him, brows raised like Eddie was an idiot.

He was an idiot, but he didn’t need Steve thinking it.

“Eddie. Seriously. We can share a bed.”

Steve wouldn’t let him win, it’s just not who Steve was.

“Okay, okay! Let’s just unpack so we can go see some wolves or whatever.”

They unpacked in silence, Steve taking the spot closest to the door without Eddie having a choice.

Self-sacrificing idiot.

—--------------

James knocked on their door at exactly 4:00, like he’d been standing there waiting for the clock to change over from 3:59.

“Hello! I’m James. You’re Steve and Eddie?”

They all shook hands and James started explaining things quickly.

James was only a bit older than them, wearing a volunteer shirt that had seen better days, and had the energy of Dustin.

“So! I’m gonna show you the lay of the land, you can ask me questions, I can try to answer them, and then I can drop you off back here so you can eat. The first night can be a bit of an adjustment, so feel free to give me a call if you have trouble. My number is under Fran’s,” James spoke rapid-fire, but not so fast they couldn’t keep up. They were used to that, anyway.

“So to start, everything you guys really need is along this main trail.” He pointed the way they came earlier and then the other direction. “That way leads to our nutrition area for the wolves, which you are welcome to visit anytime during the day to help or feed some of the rehabilitated wolves in the building nextdoor which is the hospital. The hospital is only open to the guests staying here and employees from 12-5, just because much of the mornings are spent performing surgeries or checkups. You’re encouraged to spend time with any of the wolves there in recovery as it helps their spirits much like a person. But if you take the left at the fork in this trail, you’ll be led to other trails. The first one is the wolf enclosures, which I’m taking you to now.” He kept walking as he spoke, moving his hands constantly, big smile keeping Eddie and Steve enthralled.

“We have one specifically for the ones we’ve rescued who are still healing from injuries, and that one is off limits to everyone between dusk and dawn. Many of these wolves are relearning how to be wild and part of that is using the night to hunt. Being in their cage during those times could be dangerous. They wouldn’t necessarily eat you,” he paused to laugh. “But they may take a bite. Now! The second enclosure is where we keep Herald. You can laugh at his name.” Eddie let out a small laugh.

“Herald had a rough upbringing. He was rescued about six months ago from a traveling circus that had abused him for at least a few years. We think he’s about 5 years old, but can’t be 100% certain. He’s hesitant around all people, even the director. He can be very unpredictable, so only the director, vet, and head nutritionist are allowed in there. You’re welcome to visit from the outside anytime you’d like though! He’s shy, but it can’t hurt having people talk to him.”

James was walking pretty quickly, and if Steve wasn’t so in shape, he’d be struggling. He looked over at Eddie. Eddie was struggling a little, but didn’t want to stop or slow down.

“And the last enclosure is for the rest of the wolves. These are ones that may be reintroduced to the wild soon or who may have been rescued without injuries, but just aren’t ready to go yet. This enclosure has a few areas for public access. The first being the feeding area, the second being the petting area. The petting area is only able to be accessed when employees or volunteers are present. The third area is only for guests staying long term such as yourselves.”

James walked them through a gate off to the side of the enclosure.

“This area is my favorite in the whole sanctuary. It’s their den area. It’s not recommended to come alone, and you should always go to the petting area to meet them first, but this area is nice for anyone who wants to feel like a part of the pack.”

“We can go in there?”

“Again, it’s definitely recommended to meet the wolves in the petting area first, maybe feed them a few times to show them you’re a friend, but yes.”

“Huh.”

Eddie watched Steve’s reaction.

This was much more involved than they expected to be.

“So that’s the enclosures! The next part of this trail leads to a walking and biking trail that is a great way to see some nature without having to leave the area. It’s snake season, though, so make sure you know your snake safety beforehand and bring the provided whistle with you in case of an emergency. Volunteers and employees are always within hearing distance during normal hours and can usually respond within 3-4 minutes.”

“Could we go back to Herald?”

Eddie’s head snapped to Steve, who was looking at James with a kind smile.

“Oh. Well, sure. The only other thing I needed to show you was the trail leading to the lake, but we can go back after.”

So James backtracked, Steve and Eddie close on his heels.

They got to the enclosure with Herald, but didn’t see him.

“He likes to hide. Especially if it isn’t close to meal time, he doesn’t usually come close to the fence. His den is hidden away.”

Steve kept walking up to the fence as James spoke, Eddie watching and trying to figure out what was going on.

“Herald? You there?” Steve called gently into the fence. Wolves had excellent hearing, and he’d probably already heard them approach. “You can come say hi if you want to.”

Eddie stood next to Steve, looking out at the area in the enclosure. There was a good mix of forest and empty area, with plenty of things that were probably used as toys scattered around. He watched for any sign of movement, listened for any trotting over.

Nothing.

Steve looked incredibly disappointed, but James walked closer and gave them both a smile.

“Like I said, Herald isn’t very social and it’s nothing personal. He doesn’t even seem to like the director and all the wolves love her.”

But Eddie knew Steve. He knew that he wasn’t gonna let that shit go.

“Alright! Shall we head to the trail by the lake?”

Eddie watched as Steve sighed, but nodded.

—--------------

Steve cooked them dinner that evening, said it helped him relax and that he would feel more at home if he got into a routine.

Eddie wouldn’t complain; He loved Steve’s cooking.

He made a basic spaghetti dish, even toasted some bread and sprinkled some garlic powder on it to make garlic bread.

They sat at the small table by the front door and ate in silence.

“It’s really quiet here.”

Eddie looked up to see Steve staring down at his plate, biting his lip nervously.

“It’s kind of nice though. Peaceful.”

“Yeah.”

Eddie knew what he was worried about.

He was worried the silence would make him have more nightmares instead of less, that he’d be left with nothing to help him if this failed.

“Hey,” Eddie reached over and patted Steve’s hand that rested on the table. “I’m here, alright? You won’t be alone.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, only slightly relaxing back into his seat.

—--------------

The next day was relaxed.

They walked along the main trail after breakfast, happy to see Fran again and meet some new people.

They stopped at Herald’s enclosure, but still didn’t see or hear him.

Steve was disappointed, but it was hidden away when they were able to feed and pet some of the other wolves before lunch.

The wolves were all beautiful, clearly well taken care of, and even the ones still in recovery were cleaned, well-fed, and cared for by the team.

Eddie quickly had a favorite: Mabel. She was an “old woman” as the employee at the feeding area said. She was 12 years old, had been brought in from the side of the road after being hit. She had had a broken leg and many broken ribs, along with cuts that needed stitches. Not the worst they’d seen, but due to her being nearly 11 at the time, they didn’t expect her to pull through. She did though, and had quickly become known as the leader of the group. All the wolves respected her, it was clear even to Eddie and Steve. She was the first to the feeding area, the first to the petting area, and would often stand guard over the others as they went into the shared spaces.

She was light brown with gray speckled throughout, her scars visible, but mostly covered with hair.

Steve loved Mabel, too, but he still had his heart set on Herald.

Eddie wasn’t stupid. He knew why Steve was so fixated on him.

Someone who was abused and hidden away and expected to perform every day for crowds of people? Yeah, Steve and Herald had quite a bit in common.

He just didn’t want him to get his hopes up for nothing.

After lunch, they decided to walk over to the nutrition center, maybe learn something new.

It was educational, and fun, and Eddie said multiple times how much he wished actual school had been like this.

The nutritionists let them help set up all the wolves’ dinners, showing them portion sizes for each of the wolves, telling them what the wolves’ favorites were. How they celebrated birthdays for them.

It was fun. Steve even cracked some smiles throughout.

—--------------

That night was rough.

Steve had fallen asleep quickly, much to Eddie’s delight, but it didn’t last long.

Eddie was woken up not long after he fell asleep by whimpering. He glanced at the alarm clock by the bed. 10:38. Barely an hour.

He knew from experience that waking Steve up would just make things worse for him, so he gently set his hand on Steve’s side, the best support he could give right now.

It physically pained Eddie to watch Steve’s face tighten in fear and sadness, whatever his nightmare was this time painting a horrifying picture he couldn’t escape.

Steve had mentioned once that his worst nightmares weren’t even about reliving anything that happened. They weren’t anyone dying, though he had those too. They weren’t even him dying.

They were everyone turning on him, finally seeing he wasn’t worth their time or effort, leaving him alone in that big empty house just like his parents did. He said the worst part was when Robin and Eddie left in the nightmare. When they looked at him with disgust and said he wasn’t good enough for the kids, and he damn sure wasn’t good enough for them.

No matter how many times they told him that would never be true, he still had them.

Ten minutes went by, agonizingly slowly, tears falling down Steve’s face. Eddie was whispering words of comfort, hoping that somehow Steve could hear him, but knowing he probably couldn’t.

But finally, Steve’s eyes opened, the whimpering stopped, and he was no longer hearing and seeing what hurt him the most.

He sat up and wiped his eyes, but the tears kept coming and his breathing was still labored.

Eddie sat up with him, hand on his arm, thumb rubbing back and forth to keep him present.

“I think I need to walk it off,” Steve said, voice wet with tears still to come.

“Okay. Do you want me to come with you?”

Steve shook his head.

“No, go back to sleep. I’ll only be out for a few minutes.”

And as much as Eddie knew that was a lie, and knew he should probably go with Steve, he had to trust him.

He’d be safe. He had to be.

—--------------

Steve walked aimlessly up and down the main trail for 10 minutes, trying to breathe in the fresh air, focus on his surroundings.

It wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped, but it was better than staying in bed and letting Eddie see him like this.

Eddie was too kind, always. He was bright, like the sun and the stars and the moon on a clear night. He was everything. And if Steve let himself be too vulnerable, too much, Eddie would take that light.

He lost track of where he was going, his breaths coming in sharper pants now as he let more tears fall.

A noise made him freeze.

Leaves rustling.

He looked up to see Herald’s enclosure in front of him. And…

Herald.

Herald was huge, much bigger than any of the other wolves they’d seen so far. He was beautiful. Scars along his legs showing that he had been abused awfully before coming here, but the rest of him glowed with health. He was standing about eight feet from the fence, trying to hide some of his body still behind the bushes along the forest line.

Steve slowly made his way to the fence, his hands up to show he wasn’t going to cause any harm.

Herald didn’t come closer, but he didn’t back or run away either.

Steve counted that as a win.

He instantly slumped to the ground at the fence, his hands and head resting against the chain links like they were the only thing keeping him upright. Maybe they were.

Steve closed his eyes.

He was so focused on staying calm, he couldn’t hear Herald approach. But he suddenly felt a cold, wet nose against his head.

He didn’t panic, he didn’t want to scare Herald, but he realized suddenly that his fingers were very much easily accessed by sharp teeth.

He let Herald sniff him, then slowly looked up.

Herald was tilting his head at him, almost as if he was asking if he was okay.

That made Steve sob.

Herald jumped slightly, but then moved so he was completely against the fence, laying down so his warm body could be against Steve’s.

Steve slowly let his hands fall, reaching through the fence slowly to let them rest in Herald’s fur.

He felt the wolf sigh, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, I get it. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone care, huh? You’re so soft,” Steve whispered, knowing Herald was still not completely relaxed around him.

“You tired?”

Steve felt a little silly for asking a wolf a question, but he felt even sillier when he realized Herald had just moved his head up and down. It was probably a coincidence, but the timing was crazy.

“Me too. We should get some sleep.”

Herald huffed and rolled his head back against the fence.

“Want me to stay?”

Herald huffed again.

“Okay.”

So Steve stayed.

He sat down on the ground, back against the fence, and listened to the crickets and the steady breaths of Herald.

He was woken up by Eddie shaking him and a growl coming from behind him.

“Steve! Jesus, I thought you’d got lost or died or something.”

“How long have I been out here?”

“It’s nearly two in the morning!”

Herald was growling behind him, protectively pacing behind Steve like he would find a way to get through the fence if Eddie tried to hurt him.

“Hey, Herald, it’s okay. This is Eddie. He’s here with me. He’s my friend,” Steve said calmly, holding his hand through the fence so Herald could sniff him and see he was okay.

“Steve! Get your hand out of there. He isn’t friendly, remember?”

“Oh, please. He just slept by me for hours and let me hold his fur like he was a stuffed animal. He’s plenty friendly.”

Eddie just stared, jaw slack, as he realized Steve was right.

Herald was licking Steve’s hand, leaving his scent on him like he was trying to provide as much protection as possible.

“You made friends with the only wolf here who hates people. Unbelievable.”

“Hey, be nice. He just needs some love is all.”

Eddie nodded. Yeah, him and another person with a name that started with S and rhymed with sleeve.

Eddie’s heart had been racing for the last 15 minutes since he woke up and realized Steve wasn’t in bed next to him or anywhere in the apartment.

He finally took a deep breath, balling his shaking hands into fists and stuffing them into the pocket of his hoodie.

“We should head back inside, Stevie.”

Steve seemed to notice Eddie wasn’t doing so great.

“I’m alright, Eds. Hey, look at me.” Eddie looked at Steve’s face, the way he seemed more relaxed than when he first left after his nightmare. “I’m okay. I must have fallen asleep.”

Eddie took a deep breath, resting his head against Steve’s shoulder as he let it out.

“I thought you were gone.”

“Nah, you can’t get rid of me now.”

“No?”

“Nope. Herald and I are just good friends, but you’re still-” Steve cut himself off, but Eddie wasn’t going to let that pass.

“What?”

“Nothing. Not important.”

“Yeah it is. Tell me.”

Steve seemed nervous, and Herald must have sensed it because he let out a low growl.

“It’s just that you mean a lot to me. Kind of everything, actually.”

Eddie couldn’t breathe.

What did that even mean?

Steve’s hand was suddenly in his hair, playing with the ends the way Eddie did when he was nervous.

“You’re just. I mean, how could you not mean the world to me? You dropped everything to come here with me because you knew I wouldn’t do it alone, Eds. You bring me candy at work even though I literally have access to all the candy I want at the counter. You let me find reasons not to watch the scary movies on movie nights when Dustin picks because you know I can’t handle them. You swim in the pool with me alone so no one knows how much I still hate it. I…you’re just…”

Eddie didn’t let him stutter any more, knowing what he was saying without actually saying it.

He knew what Steve was afraid of, and he wasn’t going to let him be scared anymore.

“Steve. I love you. That’s why I do all that. I love you. I’m in love with you. You deserve more than what I can give, but I can keep giving you all of the love I have, and hopefully that will be enough.”

Steve’s lips were on his before he finished speaking, teeth clacking together at the force of it.

Herald huffed, but they didn’t stop. Eddie didn’t know how he was supposed to now that he had Steve’s lips on his.

He never wanted them gone.

His hands reached up to Steve’s neck, cradling his jaw between them as if he was holding something precious. He was.

“I love you so much,” Steve said against his lips, melting against Eddie.

“I love you, Stevie,” Eddie said back. He planted another soft kiss to his lips before resting their foreheads together. “Let’s go back to bed, okay? We can come see Herald after breakfast.”

Steve nodded and turned to Herald.

“I’ll be back. Don’t hide from me, okay?”

He reached in to give Herald’s head a scratch, and Eddie shook his head in disbelief.

It took less than 48 hours for Steve to have the one wolf in this sanctuary who didn’t like people completely wrapped around his finger.

But Eddie could relate.

Steve’s charm was damn near impossible to resist and now he didn’t have to try.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #requests #ficlet #but more like a whole one shot #this is over 5000 words oops #and could have been more but i had to tie that shit up with a bow #hurt/comfort

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kaliina-catoe-blog · 14 days ago

Text

Random DC ideas #1

CW: Tim vapes, and several of the Titans smoke weed together. Other characters are also mentioned as smoking weed and/or vaping/etc. No other drugs, and no alcohol. Just recreational pot and (barely) underage vaping. Just making sure there's a warning JIC. Don't like, don't read.

Tim, Bart, and Connor occasionally smoke weed. Bart can't get high off of it, but he likes to be included in the fun and he always brings good munchies. (Sometimes he even remembers to bring enough for the others)!

Kon, shockingly, actually does get high. It takes a fair amount, but he definitely gets there and it lasts a solid hour or two so he thinks it's worth it when Tim offers to relax for a night. Kryptonians can also get a high from nicotine, which they found out on accident when Tim offered to let him taste his vape. They didn't know! He figured it was harmless for a Kryptonian, and he'd just get to taste it and move on... It's not very addictive, and Kon doesn't really like the type of high it causes, but every now-and-again it's fun.

Tim? Tim is a rich kid who went to private school. He used to swear he'd "never vape, or smoke, or do drugs. Never ever ever" but. Well. Then a classmate on the debate team offered to let him try some ridiculous "Birthday Cake" thing and it was. Surprisingly good? He coughed like a bitch, but once he figured out how to breathe the hit without dying it was like. His chest felt lighter.

So, Tim researches every type of vape he can find and settles on one that has a particularly good reputation. Of course, it won't stop him from getting lung cancer in his 50s or something. But honestly? What was the likelihood Tim was going to live past 40 as a hero? He reasoned as long as he kept it limited, and stuck to reputable brands with lower salts and shit he'd probably be fine enough.

And then, he goes to a party with Dick and a few other OG Titans... And then Dick wanders off. And Tim is left alone with Roy and Bart and Kon and Cyborg- Vic... And Roy pulls out weed like it's the most casual thing on the planet, passing it right to Vic.

Kon: "Oh my Rao! Dude! Put that away!"

Roy: "Relaaaaxx, little blue. It's legal in this state, and we're not going to make anyone else mess with it if they don't want to. Go find Dickface if you wanna be babies- just don't be a narc."

Bart looks between Conner, who looks like he's just taken a shot of tequila and Roy, who looks like the coolest cucumber this side of Jersey. He looks to Tim, and then back again at Roy, and then he looks at the little baggie.

Bart, sitting down on the floor by Vic's legs: "I can't get high off of it anyways," he shrugs, "I honestly don't think I care if you guys smoke weed. He has a point that it's legal, anyways."

He aims the last part at Kon, and the clone sighs heavily. Tim hasn't said a word, but he silently pulls out his newest vape- Raspberry Peach Lime- and takes a long hit.

Tim: "I'm game."

Roy's eyes go wider than Tim thinks should be physically possible, and Tim laughs right in his stupid face.

Tim: "You think I'm the golden kid? Hell no. I should be called Boy Disappointment long before Boy Wonder. I gave up on normal coping mechanisms when I became Robin."

Roy, still looking baffled, can only nod as Tim sits cross-legged on the floor across from them. He motions for Conner to join and, after a moment of hesitation, the clone sits too.

Kon: "We aren't going to like... Get in trouble right? Because it's legal?"

Vic, snorting: "I mean. It is, over the age of 21. But nobody is about to snitch on a bunch of teenage super heroes using a natural herb for relaxation when they're off the clock. I use it because I get phantom pains in my robot limbs."

The older boy explains, while rolling a joint with a practiced ease Tim's never even seen on his Gotham friends. He wonders if maybe Vic will teach him how to roll like that.

Kon, nodding: "I guess that makes more sense. Kal always just says that if he ever catches me with drugs he'll ground me for a year- he never said if legal ones count though."

Bart: "Dude, of course the legal ones should be an exception! That's why they were legalized, because they're helpful!" he looks up at Roy and Vic, "Right?"

Roy, laughing but trying to not freak the kids out: "Yeah, exactly. Legal drugs are like medicine - hell, that's why they call it Medical Marijuana. It's totally fine if you don't want any, but you're welcome to share the rotation."

Vic: "Wait, does pot even do anything to Kryptonians?"

Tim, before Kon can open his mouth: "Yes, and they can get a high from nicotine too."

Kon: "I know how you know the nic thing, but how do you know for sure weed works on me? It doesn't work on Bart."

Tim: "Nicotine also doesn't affect Bart, one. Two, Kara told me.... Well. Technically, Dick told me after Kara told him. But Kara also has mentioned it for sure."

Bart: "So you just know exactly what substances are mind-altering for Kon?"

Tim, face a bit pink: "I.. I like to know what substances to be cautious of for all of my teammates... In case we only have a limited number of rebreathers... That way anyone weak to a substance gets first dibs."

All four of the others stare for a moment, before just claps his hands together.

Vic: "Alright! I have three rolled, which is probably more than we need but whatever. Who's lighter?"

Tim pulls out a lighter at the same time as Roy, and the archer raises an eyebrow.

Roy, taking a joint from Vic's outstretched palm: "If you weren't a newbie, I'd probably let you light right now just for the speed."

Roy took a long, slow drag, before tilting his head up and blowing it out away from the younger boys.

Roy, as he let's go of another puff: "Which way we passin'? Tim? Vic?"

Tim extends a fist: "I'll play you for it."

Vic, laughing: "Alright, white boy. But I don't do that two-out-of-three shit if you lose."

Tim chuckles, and then immediately wins against Vic's rock. He accepts the joint carefully between his two fingers, and brings it up.

Kon: "Are you sure? What if Dick comes back?"

Tim: "I'm an adult, and Dick's smoked weed before too. He can't say shit."

He takes a slow hit, pulling it into his lungs and--

Immediately dying. He coughs hard, taking in a shake breath as Roy and Vic laugh at him.

Tim: "Fuck! That is not the same thing as a vape."

Roy laughs harder: "No shit, little red!"

Kon, rubbing a hand over Tim's back: "Are you okay?"

Bart is stifling a laugh behind his hands, but nods his head towards Conner to say 'yeah, are you good bro?'

Tim clears his throat a bit: "I'm fine. I'm fine. I got this."

He takes another slow hit, this time more carefully not to overdo it. He exhales slowly, and for a moment he thinks he's gotten it.

Of course, he doesn't. The next coughing fit is worse, and he holds the joint up so he doesn't drop it. Conner takes it for him, rubbing his back again as Tim nearly gags.

Roy and Vic are laughing again, and Bart can't contain his own peals of giggling anymore. Even Kon laughs, the traitor, as Tim tries to wipe the bit of drool off his face.

Tim: "Jesus! Why is it so spicy?!?"

Vic: "Don't babysit, Kon. You gotta puff puff or pass it."

Roy: "Don't listen to him, he just wants his turn."

Conner thinks for a second, and then puts the joint up to his lips. He pulls in, trying to keep it shallow, and holds it.

He coughs hard, and now Tim is the one rubbing his back.

Tim: "Yeah. Maybe don't hold it?"

After a second, and more laughter, the clone tries again. And this time? Nothing. He doesn't cough, although it does burn a bit. It feels... Pleasant. Warm rather than painfully hot like the first hit.

Roy, cheering: "Whoo! Way to go, Lungs!"

Vic claps a little, somewhat jokingly: "Nice job, newbie"

Tim, looks at him with a deadpan face: "I hate you. That's not fair."

Kon: "Do I pass to Vic, or Bart?"

Bart: "I can try it, but it won't get my high at all. I think Wally has had an edible before that managed to last him almost an hour - but apparently it was expensive as hell."

Roy nods: "Well I can't afford the good shit that Dick buys Wally but you can try it if you want- just to say you did."

Bart beams at him and carefully takes the joint from Conner.

Bart: "So. I just hit it like a vape or something?"

Tim: "No! Whatever you do do not just hit it like a vape!"

Roy and Vic laugh, and Kon snorts.

Vic: "Yeah. That's why Tim almost keeled over there. You have to hit it slowly, like you're doing a breathing exercise or something."

Roy: "Try not to hold it in on the first hit, either."

Bart, takes a puff very carefully and let's it out almost immediately: "Oh.. Huh. It tastes... Uh."

Bart, makes a face and passes the joint to Vic: "Yeah no fuck that. It tastes like that time Icicle tossed me so hard I had dirty grass in my teeth."

The boys laugh as Vic takes his turn, before passing back to Roy.

Roy: "We have now completed one rotation. Other than Bart, is anyone bowing out?"

Vic, snorting and rolling his eyes: "You should probably ask if they feel anything before you start asking who's done."

Tim, hitting his vape: "I'm good. I don't think I feel anything yet, anyways."

Kon, nodding: "Yeah, I don't actually know how much I have to take but probably more than two hits..."

Roy laughs at that, and Vic wordlessly hands Conner his own joint.

Vic: "You know, it might actually be easier if you just get to pace yourself. Who knows, maybe your metabolism is going to burn it up before you get to the next rotation."

Kon looks at the joint, then back at Vic, and then to Tim and Roy.

Kon: "Yeah.... Fuck it- that's why we're at a party, isn't it?"

Tim, whoops and pulls out his lighter again: "You need help lighting it? I think Ive figured it out."

Kon, nodding: "Yes, please."

By the time Dick finds the trio again, they've all migrated to Roy's room to watch TV.

Dick, upon entering the room and smelling straight dank: "Roy.... Did. Did you drug my baby brother?"

Roy, high as fuck: "Yeah. But like. Him and the little dudes were told muuuhltiple times they could just not partake. Bro.. Timbit is fun!"

Tim, hitting Roy and shoving his vape under the older boy's leg subtly: "I'm fine! I like hanging with the boys!"

Kon is giggling madly, trying to cover his face with his hands, and Bart is still busy staring up at Dick like he's seen a ghost.

Dick, sighing: "Oh for fucks-.... Fine. This one time, because I'm going to be the one in trouble if B finds out that I brought you here and you got high. But if I ever catch you smoking again, I swear to Diana's Lasso I will tell Alfred."

Tim, still a bit too high to really process: "Okay! No biggie, man. You won't see me doing it again."

Dick, shocked that went so well: "Well... Okay. Good... Uhm..."

Roy and Vic look at each other, and then roll their eyes.

Vic: "You want a pre-roll I made earlier?"

Dick:

Vic:

Tim, smirking like a little shit because he knew Dick smoked:

Kon, baffled:

Bart, also baffled:

Roy: "Well?"

Dick: "Fuck it. If Tim's high I think I need to be."

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dreamofbecoming · 2 years ago

Text

part two, this one is still mostly stobin and pre-steddie. the first part does provide some context, although i imagine you could figure most of it out yourself, but i'd recommend reading it first anyway!

ao3

part 1

platonic stobin, mentions of steddie

rating: t

wc: 3k

---

The conversation dies down and Steve goes back to filling bottles to hand off to Robin, eyes on Dustin where he's still goofing off with Munson. Good, he should get to have as much fun as he can. This is what he should be doing. What they should all be doing. Steve hates that these kids have to be fucking…soldiers so much of the time. He hates that he can't do anything to shield them from it. Not that they'd let him if he could.

Maybe Robbie has a point, about regular teenage life stuff being pointless right now, but god, what the fuck? Why should it have to be? He's 19! He can't even buy a drink yet! Robin is still in high school!

Fuck it. They should get to be kids and think about stupid pointless stuff, too.

"So I know you said you didn't want to talk about your love life, which is fair, but if I keep thinking about dying I'm gonna lose my shit, so you wanna talk about mine?"

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Oh, are we talking about how fucking weird shit has been between you and Nancy?"

Ah, fuck, that backfired almost immediately.

"What? No. Definitely not. Ok, it's been weird, but it's not a thing, ok?" She looks even more skeptical than before. "It's not! I mean, ok, maybe it is," she snorts at him, which. Rude. "But it's just like. Regular weirdness, ok?"

"What the fuck is regular weirdness?"

"You know, like, exes who haven't talked in a while in a high-pressure situation weirdness. The kind of weirdness anyone would be having in our shoes. Normal weirdness!" He throws his hands in the air, agitated.

Munson looks over at the sound of his raised voice, lifting an eyebrow and smirking. What is it with everyone raising their eyebrows at him today? He's being normal! Normal and regular! It's not his fault everything around them is weird and that makes his normal look weird by comparison. He's not doing anything wrong, so get off his nuts already! Geez!

Steve isn't sure how much of that very normal and regular monologue shows on his face, but it must be some because he can see Munson laughing at him as he goes back to playing keepaway with Dustin's hat. Bastard.

"Ugh! No, I don't want to talk about Nance. Like I really super don't. There's nothing there, it's done, it's over, there's nothing to say."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to talk about that debacle in the bus either. Six kids, Steve? Really?" Oh Jesus. He was really hoping no one had heard that.

"Bobbie, please, why are you torturing me?" He rarely deploys the Sad Eyes on Robin, mostly because they don't work especially well on her, which is insane, because they work like an atom bomb on literally everyone else. He may have left King Steve behind him, but he has plenty of skills left over from those days, not to mention he looks as good as he always has. He knows what he's working with, ok?

Anyways, this is a moment to pull out the big guns, which means Sad Eyes are a go.

As usual, they aren't as effective on Robbie as they are on other people, but she does know him well enough to realize that if he's pulling them out, it's out of desperation, so she takes pity on him anyway. Whatever. He'll take the win.

She sighs, and rolls her eyes indulgently, but she's smiling just a little. He can tell. God, he loves her. He'd burn the world down for her, is maybe going to have to. He doesn't know what he'd do without her.

"Alright, bubba, I'll bite. You want to talk about your love life, but you don't want to talk about Nancy. Whatcha got for me?"

And, oh. Shit. This is the part where he's going to have to say it out loud. He hadn't planned this far, mostly was just anxious to get the swirling feeling in his chest out into Robbie's hands because he knows she can keep it safe, mostly just trying to wipe that awful, scared, defeated look off her face, but now he has to actually do the thing. He has to say it out loud, on purpose, the way he hasn't since that day in her bedroom when his whole world shifted a little to the left, and she was the only thing holding him steady.

Fuck. Ok. He can do this. It's just Rob. No one else is close enough to hear them, and Robin will always keep him safe. She'll never let him be alone.

"So, uh. You know the, uh, the thing? That we talked about that one time?"

"Yeah, we talk every day, I'm gonna need a bit more than that, bubs."

"The, uh. The thing we decided we didn't have to talk about right away? Because it wasn't important? Or, no, it was important, but it wasn't, um. What did you say? Relevant. It wasn't relevant to my everyday life?"

"Relevant to your…oh! Oh shit! The thing! The thing we talked about! That thing!" Her eyes are wide and so so blue and her hands are flailing a little, like she wants to pat him down for injury even though that's not remotely helpful. He carefully takes the bottle out of her hand and stuffs the rag into it himself, setting it on the ground where she can't dump gasoline on herself. She smiles a little sheepishly.

"So what about the, uh, the thing?" She lowers her voice like she's in a goddamn spy movie, leaning close and waggling her eyebrows. She's so ridiculous. He loves her so much.

He gives her a pointed look. She shakes her head in response, looking confused. Jesus fuck, she's gonna make him say it.

He tries one more time, bobbing his head at her to try and make his facial expression more forceful. He doesn't miss his old crowd, really, he doesn't. He does, however, occasionally miss being around people who were constantly alert for even the smallest social shifts, who he could have a whole conversation with using nothing but subtle changes to the shape of his mouth or the width of his eyes. He loves Robin and Dustin more than life, would kill or die for them, has proven it several times over, but Christ on a cracker they wouldn't know a social cue if it whacked them in the head with a hammer.

She's still furrowing her brow at him, so he sighs, and gives in. "I think it's maybe become…relevant. I promised to tell you right away, remember?"

Her eyes go even wider than before, and she thwaps him in the chest with the back of her hand. Hard. Ow.

"Dingus!" She's whisper-shouting, but he still doesn't think anyone is close enough to hear. "What the hell!"

"Ow, Robbie, Jesus, watch the open wounds!"

She flutters her hands around his middle, like she can fix his bandages through his jacket. She does look apologetic, so that's something.

"Sorry, sorry, fuck, sorry! Are you ok? Sorry. Just, what the hell! What? Who? When?!"

He smirks at her. "What, no why or how?"

"I'm going to set you on fire with one of these cocktails if you don't start talking, Dingus, I swear to god!"

He's laughing, she's so much fun to rile up. God, he hopes he doesn't have to miss this. He hopes he gets to keep this much, at least, when they're done. He'll probably go crazy otherwise.

"Ok, ok, I won't tease, I'm sorry. So I guess, to answer your questions, uh…I found a boy to crush on, who the hell do you think, and I promised to tell you right away, didn't I?" He counts them down on his fingers while he answers them, because if he can't act like a little shit to her then honestly, what is even the point?

"Right away…holy shit. Holy shit! Steve!" She looks frantically out at the field, where Munson has now knocked Henderson over and is sitting on him, wearing his hat and crowing victory, while Dustin flails wildly on the ground. Thank fuck neither of them are looking this way, because holy hell she isn't subtle.

"Robbie, don't look, what the hell! Do you want him to know we're talking about him?"

"Oh, so we are talking about him? Eddie "The Freak" Munson?"

He cringes a little at the reminder of his earlier dismissal. "Alright, ok, so I maybe didn't give him much of a chance at first, but the Upside Down changes things, you know that! It did for us, right?"

She looks thoughtful. "I guess, yeah. So go on, loverboy, what do you like about him?" She's grinning and waggling her eyebrows again. Ugh, this may have been a mistake. She does owe him for the Tammy Thompson thing. Still, there's no one alive he'd rather talk about this with, and he has to talk to someone, or he's going to explode, and they have a…wizard…demon…thing…guy to kill. Whatever. They have killing to do, so he needs to get this off his chest so it's not clogging up his brain.

"He has…really nice eyes. And really nice hands." Robin lets out a soft "Oh, ew," before he glares at her and she motions for him to go on. "He's funny, and weird but in like, a charming way? Kind of like you, but different. The way Dustin is weird and charming like you, but different, you know?"

"You have a thing for nerds, Dingus."

"Ugh, maybe, yeah." His mind drifts back to Eddi- Munson. Gotta keep calling him Munson, at least until they get out of this. Can't afford to be distracted. "He's scared out of his mind, but he's coming along anyway, which is the kind of brave and stupid this whole group kind of runs on. He thinks he's a coward but he's not. Going back to school instead of dropping out is brave. Trusting us is brave. Acting like he does even when everyone hates him for it is brave. I wish I had been brave enough to do that, you know? Maybe I would have dropped the King shit earlier. And he's good with the kids, which you know I'm weak for. I don't know, Robs, I just…I want him to like me, you know? I want him to be impressed by me. Is that stupid?"

When he looks up, Robin's eyes are wide and shiny. She looks surprised, and a little scared. That's not good, probably, but he can't take back anything he said. He meant all of it.

"It's not stupid, bubba, it's not stupid at all. I guess I was thinking…I don't know. That it was like an adrenaline thing? Like a 'you're hot, we're in danger, I'd rather think about making out with you than dying' kind of thing? Like what Nancy was clearly doing with you earlier, you know?"

"Ugh, Robbie, I so don't want to talk about Nancy right now, please," he groans.

"Yeah yeah, I know, whatever. I just mean, it doesn't really sound like that's what's going on with you, for Eddie, right now. It kinda sounds like you, you know, like like him."

"Like like him? What are we, 12?"

"You know what I mean, Dingus, it just sounds like there are actual feelings here, not just sexy thoughts."

He shifts a little on his stool, feeling kind of exposed, but it's ok. It's just Robin. "I mean, yeah, I guess I kinda do? Have feelings. Or maybe I will? I'm kind of trying to hold them off, I guess, until we get out of here, you know? I barely know the guy, honestly, but also every time this happens I end up bonded for life to someone new, so why not him this time? I mean, the first time with the demogorgon even got me and Nancy back together, and we were like, donezo, for real, after that thing Tommy did to The Hawk. This shit is better than superglue, you know?"

Robin barks out a laugh. She squares her shoulders and puts on her best announcer voice. "Do you have trouble making friends? Looking to join a new crowd, but can't find a way in? Try Hell Beasts! Our near-death experience package will create lasting trauma that will bind you together forever! There's no escape now!"

The two of them collapse into giggles, drawing the eyes of several their friends scattered around the field.

When she composes herself, Robin gives him a soft smile. It's one of his favorites. Almost no one ever sees it but him, and not very often. "Well, I guess we had better all make it out of this in one piece, then, huh? So we can do all our sad gay pining together."

"I dunno, I think maybe I have a shot," he says thoughtfully, eyeing Edd- no, stop it, Munson, where he's flopped on the grass next to Dustin, chatting happily.

Robin boggles at him. "What the fuck do you mean, a shot? Are you- oh god, are you just gonna tell him? Steve!"

"Wh- Not right away or anything! And not for sure! I have to figure out if he's flagging on purpose first!"

"If he's whatting on what?"

"Oh come on, you remember that one zine that talked about the, uh. The whats it. The code! The hanky code, that was it!" He snaps his fingers in victory, triumphant.

She's still looking at him like he's grown a second head though, so maybe not.

"I don't know, maybe you skipped that one? From what I could tell it was more about men anyway. I think they mentioned that ladies use, uh, caribou. The clip things, you know?"

"Caribeeners? Dingus what the hell are you talking about?"

"It's this thing, right? That like, gay people, gay men, I guess, use to like, signal each other, kind of. It's basically like, you wear a hanky in your pocket, and what color it is and what pattern is printed on it and which pocket you wear it in tells people what kind of sex you like."

Robin looks even more shocked, if that's possible. "What does that even mean, what kind of sex you like?"

Oh, right. Lesbian virgin. Fair enough. "Like, do you like to uh. Give, if you know what I mean. Or receive. Do you like blowjobs, or handjobs, or like. I dunno, weird stuff. Like spit or whatever."

She's waving her hands frantically, her face screwed up. "Ahhhh lalalala that's enough! That's plenty of information, thank you!" He holds up his hands in surrender. She asked.

"Anyway, what does all of...that...have to do with you having a shot with," she switches back to her not-at-all-subtle stage whisper, "Eddie?"

"Haven't you noticed he's had that bandana in his pocket the whole time?" She whips her head around so fast he's surprised he doesn't hear her neck crack. Jesus, Robin.

"Would you chill out? You're going to make him look over here and then I'll have to let Vecna eat me because there's no way I'll survive the humiliation if he hears us, Robin!"

She glares at him. "Don't even joke about that, Dingus. You're making it out alive or I'll kill you myself."

He knows he's smiling adoringly at her, and if Henderson is looking he's never, ever beating those "in love with Robin" allegations, but whatever. "Noted, Buckley."

"So, what, you think he might be...like us? 'Cause of the bandana?"

"I mean, maybe, yeah? I might be crazy, but I also feel like he was definitely flirting with me earlier. Like in the Upside Down, and also at the trailer, you know?"

"Now that I think about it, that "Big Boy" thing was super weird. I figured it was just Eddie being Eddie, they call him The Freak for a reason, right? But I guess that could have been called flirting."

"Right? That's what I thought! And when we were down there, he was like, all up in my space, and he gave me his vest, and he seemed annoyed when I talked to Nance, even though he was trying to push me back to her. Which was insane, I didn't tell you this part Robs, oh my god. I was fully staring at his lips, just laser focused, like I would be on a girl I want to kiss, right? And he won't stop telling me how Nancy is definitely still in love with me and I should get her back! What the hell! Who does that? So I don't know," he sighs, feeling a little lost. "Maybe he isn't into me after all. But I have to at least check, right?"

"I mean, I don't think I'm the right person to ask about that, bubba, but if it goes sideways, I'll burn his house down if you want." She wiggles a molotov cocktail at him, grinning.

"Jesus, Bobbin, alright. Let's, uh. Let's call that Plan B, yeah?"

"Roger that, captain!" She gives him a stupid little salute, and for a moment he's back at Scoops, before everything went shit-shaped, but she's still his Robin, and they're safe and alive and nothing hurts.

And then he blinks again and he's sitting on an overturned bucket in front of a stolen RV, making molotov cocktails with his soulmate, watching his baby brother and the guy he might maybe sort of have a crush on tussle in the grass, hoping against hope they all live to see morning.

He picks up another bottle.

part 3

#stranger things #platonic stobin #steddie #pre-steddie #steve harrington #robin buckley #steve harrington & robin buckley #bisexual steve harrington #robin calls steve bubba and steve calls her bobbie and i will die on both those hills #eddie munson #dustin henderson #(mentioned)#part 3 coming soon i hope lmao #missing scene #my writing

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mid-80s · 4 months ago

Text

steve's new apartment was all but comfortable.

or rather, steve and eddie's new apartment.

steve had finally convinced eddie to move in with him after a long back and forth of pros and cons. he even offered to pay for the whole damn thing so eddie wouldn't have to worry about potentially getting a new job (the car shop he worked at barely paid him enough to scrape by in school). steve hated living alone, but the dorms on campus were full and robin already had one that was paid off by her scholarship.

they eventually came to a compromise. steve would pay electricity and water, and eddie would pay for the phone and groceries. it was fair.

but it also meant no furniture.

or decorations.

re: the uncomfortable apartment.

the only substantial furniture the men had were beds and desks in either room, a promise of saving for at least a couch lingering in the air each time someone steps through whats meant to be a living room.

but it wasn't too bad, within the almost four months they had lived together, steve and eddie had grown a odd connection that challenged the one of steve and robin. it had come to a point that they rarely slept alone.

eddie had stumbled into steve's room one night around their second month in the apartment, clutching his neck and sides with bags under his eyes that almost perfectly matched steves own. he couldn't breathe let alone talk, but steve didn't need any words for him to rush over to where eddie had crumpled on the ground and hold him until his breathing slowed and face was near dry.

eddies voice was dry and sleepy by the time he spoke again, lifting the comfortable blanket of silence that hung over them as steve held eddies head against his chest from where they sat on the floor. "i don't know how you do it man." things even as simple as the cold air in their apartment sent him back to the slimy ground of that cursed place, the blood filing his mouth as the bats had their feast.

steve uses the hand stroking eddies curls to scratch his head a bit, relishing in the way eddie melts into him. "do what, eds?"

"sleep. eat. function like normal human being. its been a year and i still can't can't sleep without feeling like i'm dying again."

"they'll get better. they won't go away, but they'll get better. mine did for a while after my first go around. it takes time." steve rests his head on the wall behind him. "you don't think i'm in the same boat as you are right now? but i have to be here, so no one falls off the deep end. thats what i'm for."

"steve." eddies voice is still drowsy, like he's falling in and out of sleep. "it's not all on your shoulders."

steve doesn't reply. soft silence fills the space as eddies breathing slows. his face is wet now too.

"i know." his voice is shaky, the words to quite reach his mind as he kisses eddie on the head.

"i know, eds."

#we are so back #steddie

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sanjisboyfie · 1 year ago

Text

๑ keep safe : [name] wants to adopt suu! (24)

one piece x male reader

you're spinning me around,

my feet are off the ground.

i don't know where i stand.

do you have to hold my hand?

『 prev 』

their journey to the sky island started off eventful — usopp almost completely dying by swimming in the “sky ocean.” once he was back on deck, safe and sound, he began crying into the person he landed on ([name]).

and then, he threw something out of his pants which made [name] immediately shoved him off of him. this made usopp harshly land on the deck as [name] cringed in distaste.

“what is that…” he asked, looking at it with disinterest, since it did come from usopp’s pants. but then, he recognized the anatomy of it and his face brightened up almost instantly. he whipped his head around and called to the person that popped into his head the moment he recognized what it was, “sanji!! look!”

the blonde came walking over, leaning over [name]’s shoulder to get a good look. robin picked up the sky fish and began analyzing it. sanji and [name] were now grinning widely to each other, “it’s a sky fish!” they exclaimed at the same time, the latter letting out an additional cheer as he realized that he’d get to accomplish his goal of eating sky fish.

“they must have evolved to survive in this bottomless sky ocean,” robin informed the crew, looking at the fish in interest,

[name] was hopping on the balls of his feet, grabbing the fish from robin, hurriedly apologizing and giving it to sanji to cook. almost at super human speeds, the chef finished cooking the food and presented it to [name] with a heartfelt grin.

“i tried sauteing it,” he informed [name], but it seemed that the hungry man had nothing else in his mind but to eat.

and when he did, his jaw dropped at the unique taste.

“it’s so good, sanji! it’s delicious!! i love it!!” [name] screamed, jumping where he stood and his whole body almost shaking from the taste alone.

“i’m glad it’s to your liking,” sanji said, blowing out a puff of smoke. then suddenly, his relaxed expression turned into that of annoyance, as if he snapped awake from a dream, “hey! what do you think you’re doing?! don’t eat all of it, shit for brains!! give some to nami-san and robin-chan!!!”

“but sanji!! it’s so good, i want to eat all of it!” [name] shouted, crocodile tears running down his face, “sanji, don’t make me share it!!”

“quit your babbling!! share already!” sanji scolded, kicking the bottom of his shoe into [name]’s sobbing face. the h/c haired man could only continue crying longer as he saw robin and nami both eat his dream meal.

“but, sanji!!” [name] whined, kicking his feet in the air and rolling back and forth on the deck — truly mimicking a child throwing a tantrum.

“i said, stop it!” sanji scowled, walking over and kneeling in front of [name] before flicking his forehead, “when we get to the true sky island, you’re gonna eat as much sky fish as i prepare anyway.”

immediately, [name]’s demeanor did a switch and he was looking up at sanji as if he were his savior, “you mean it, sanji? you really mean it?!”

“of course,” sanji easily replied, standing up and walking away from [name]’s form. this made [name] break out into cries of happiness, stepping back onto his feet an dtaunting luffy.

“you hear that?! sanji’s gonna make it all for me, for me!!”

“hey, sanji, that ain’t fair! i’m the captain!” luffy complained, going on to berate the chef for not even letting him try the sky fish he prepared just now. [name] and luffy continued arguing until, out of nowhere, sanji and zoro got attacked.

“huh? what’s going on?!” luffy shouted in shock, seeing zoro and sanji easily go flying due to their mysterious attacker.

“what the hell was that?” [name] asked, and to the surprise of everyone else, he wasn’t talking about the intruder, but rather sanji and zoro. “that was really pathetic, you two!”

“[name]! behind you!!!” nami shouted in fear, seeing that her captain and two strongest crewmates got so easily handled. [name] turned around in an instant, catching the person by their throat and slamming them into the deck.

“and you…what exactly do you think you’re doing?” he glowered, eyes seemingly hollow and devoid of emotion as he stared into the masked figure’s face. his voice dropped to a gravely, intimidating tone. the grip he had on their throat only tightened, veins bulging from his arm and hand as he tried not to choke this person out right then and there.

a bazooka was suddenly pointed at [name]’s head, making the crew shriek in fear. but just as he was dodging it from being fired point blank at his head, another figure came flying into the scene and briskly dealt with the attacker.

this made [name] back out of the fight and watch with his arms crossed over his chest as the two mysterious people battled it out.

“are you alright, [name]?” chopper asked quickly, finding the stoic look on [name]’s face to be concerning.

“i’m alright, check on those three,” [name] said, jutting his thumb in the direction of luffy, zoro, and sanji, “their dumbasses couldn’t keep up! haha!”

the blank look on his face was washed away as he started laughing at the trio. the rest of the crew, besides robin, breathed a sigh of relief to see that he was back in his usual, cheerful mood. they don’t think they’d ever get used to seeing such terrifying expressions on [name]’s face. it was like a splash of cold water would hit them each time they’d see it.

as chopper did so, the man in knight clad armor stood on the railing of merry and looked at the crew in an unreadable expression.

“what?! who’s this now?” nami asked in fear.

“i am the sky knight,” the man proclaimed, the weird creature behind him squaking as if it was in agreement of the man, “he’s gone…”

“what’s going on? who was that?!” nami asked in concern before her face turned unimpressed as she looked at the fatigued sanji, zoro, and luffy, “and what’s with you guys?! you’re pathetic, losing a three against one!”

“that’s what i said!” [name] chimed in a sing-song tone, walking over the deck to stand next robin. “did you get hurt?” he asked her with a smile, blinking at her and awaiting an answer.

“i’m quite alright, although…it is getting a bit hard to breathe,” she answered easily, shooting him her own soft smile. “are you not feeling the effects of the atmosphere, [name]?”

the man hummed, hands behind his head as he shook his head, “nope!”

“interesting,” she hummed, finding his laid back attitude almost endearing.

“blue sea people? what’s that? oh, and who are you?!” nami asked in succession, making both robin and [name] turn their heads to their “savior.”

“i am the sky knight. “blue sea people” is the term we use for those that come from beneath the clothes. in other words, did you come up here from the blue seas?”

“didn’t he already say he was the sky knight.” [name] deadpanned, a frown settling on his face at the ambiguity of the man.

“yeah! that’s right!” luffy answered the sky knight from his position laying down on the deck.

“then that explains it. this is the white sea — 7,000 meters in the air. the white-white sea even further above us reaches 10,000 meters high. oridinary blue sea people can’t possibly endure it here,”

right after he said that — “alright, i feel better now!” luffy said, punching his fist into his chest a couple of times.

“yeah, i think i got used to it by now,” zoro added in, seemingly very nonchalant about their condition.

“no, no, no! that is not possible,” the sky knight dismissed their comments, not believing them.

chopper chimed into the conversation, getting them back on track on finding out what just happened. that mystery attacker and all.

“now, now, i’m sure you have many questions, but we must talk business first! i am a freelance soldier-for-hire. these seas are fraught with danger. if you don’t know how to fight in the sky, the guerillas will come after you and completely destory you. for a 5,000,000 extol one whistle, i will help you,”

“what the fuck is an extol?” [name] said under his breath, looking very confused as his eyebrows scrunched together.

”what’re you talking about, old man?” luffy asked, confusion also obviously lacing his voice.

“what?! that is quite cheap! i won’t lower it a single extol more!” the knight protested, but it seemed he completely misunderstood the confusion. “i need to earn a living too!”

“we rode the knock up stream, we didn’t see any islands, knight man! we just got here too, so whatever you’re talking about isn’t making any sense to us,” [name] said, speaking for the crew with his hand on his hip.

“my word! that monsturous current!? so there are still people gutsy enough to do that!

“yeah, but it was so fun!” [name] and luffy said in unison, matching stars for eyes.

nami then turned to the both of them in fury, shaking them back and forth by their collars.

“nami! this shirt was expensive, don’t rip it!” [name] cried out.

“like i give a shit — we could have died going up that stupid stream!”

“but we didn’t!!” [name] grinned, looking smug as he stood to point a thumb at himself, “see, we are alive!”

it seemed that their story of guts and bravery seemed to sway the knight in giving them the whistle for free instead of…whatever currency he was talking about. the crew looked at the silver whistle before refocusing back on the man.

“we still don’t know your name!” nami shouted, releasing [name] from her grasp and allowing him to fall onto deck without a second though.

“i am gan fall, the sky knight! and this is my partner, pierre!”

“hello, pierre,” [name] said quickly, waving to the creature, making it look at him and nodded in acknowledgement.

and just like that, the man and pierre had left their ship after a very unexciting breakaway. they all realized that the man was really no help in the information department, making [name] sigh as he felt as though they were stuck.

”oh, let’s just call him back and ask him the questions!” luffy said, about to pick blow a strong gust of air into the whistle, if it weren’t for nami and usopp intervening.

as the two berated their captain for acting recklessly, chopper pointed out that there was a weird cloud ahead. and seeing that that was their only landmark, they had no other choice but to sail towards it.

when they started getting closer to the waterfall, nami ordered the ship to the stop. there were some clouds in their way and they didn’t want to risk a collision.

“since they’re floating in the sky ocean, they can’t be the ocean, too,” sanji commented. and as everyone tried theorizing what it was, lufyf took it upon himself to punch the cloud.

“look i’m on it! i’m not sinking! it’s all fluffy, like cotton! what is this?! what is this?! it’s too fun!!” luffy said in glee, his body repeatedly bouncing up and down on the cloud. [name] grinned, grabbing chopper — who was excitedly wanting to be included — and jumped over the railing.

the two joined their captain on the cloud, laughing when they experienced the fluffiness. they were all bouncing non-stop, making them all break out into laughter. chopper and [name] stayed laying down on the cloud while usopp and luffy went to investigate how to get around it.

and the man would have fallen asleep if it weren’t for luffy crashing onto his stomach.

“c’mon!! we found a gateway!” luffy shouted in his face, rocking [name]’s torso back and forth to wake him up.

“alright, alright, let’s go and eat more sky fish!”

“that’s hardly the priority!!”

the ship went on sailing and then they soon arrived at some obnoxious looking gate, literally titled, “heaven’s gate.”

“that’s unlucky, it sounds like we’re on our way to die!” usopp said, visibly shaking where he stood.

“have you ever thought about if we were already dead?” [name] teased, walking over and grabbing a rough hold on the sniper’s shoulders.

“yeah, that would explain this weird world,” sanji added in, more subtle in his ways of scaring the man.

“we probably did really die on the way up here,” zoro suggested, effectively making both chopper and usopp look at them as if they were crazy.

“heaven, huh? this is gonna be great! i finally get to go there!” luffy said in delight, an odd looking expression on his face.

“your jokes aren’t funny!” nami said, slamming her fist down on all of their heads.

“hey! wait! there’s someone coming out from over there!” usopp announced.

”look! she has wings on her back! is that an angel?!”

“it’s an angel! is that what angels are like?!” luffy said, turning back and forth from the winged woman in front of them and to [name]. he was frantically looking in between the two, a confused look on his face.

this motion and hardened gaze made [name] shout at him in annoyance, “quit looking at me like that?! why are you looking at me like some lost puppy!”

luffy didn’t respond, only pointing back and forth from [name] and the woman, his face scrunched up and eyebrows furrowed.

“what?!” [name] shouted once more.

“u-uhm…”

“i am amazon, heaven’s gate’s inspector. are you here for sightseeing, or are you perhaps here for war?”

“i guess…kind of sight seeing…?”

“we just want to go to the sky island! say, it’s right behind that waterfall, right?”

“what do you mean exactly by war?”

”are we dead and in heaven?”

“well, it doesn’t matter either way. if you’re going to the upper area, you just have to pay the toll of one billion extols per person. that is the law,” she informed them, making all their hearts drop to their stomachs.

“there’s that extol stuff again…” sanji said in disbelief.

“what the hell is an extol? and what is the equivalent in beri?” [name] asked, but his question was drowned out by the lot of other questions pointed at the woman.

“that sure sounds like a lot, one billion!”

“one billion per person, that would mean seven billion extols be paid,” robin noted.

“do countries really charge that much to enter them? it sounds like this old lady is just trying to scam us-”

nami slammed her hand over usopp’s mouth to shut him up before he insulted the woman so blatantly, “uhm, about the money…what if we kinda don’t have it?”

“not kind of — we definitely don’t.”

“[name]! you’re not helping!”

“then you can pass, or you don’t have to pass. i am neither gatekeeper nor guard, i am just here to ask your intentions,”

the crew seemed surprised at her confession, but luffy was eager to move past it and get to the sky island already.

“well, we don’t have any money, but we’re gonna pass through, old lady!” usopp informed her, but she looked like she could genuinely care less.

[name] squinted his eyes at her, wondering what the true motives behind her words and actions were. just letting people into the country — especially if they didn’t pay a fee seemed too good to be true. there was also zero security around here too. it was really offputting, if [name] was being honest.

“i see, seven of you, then?”

“yeah, but how do we get to sky island-?”

out of nowhere, there were giant crab claws that grabbed the ship by its side. the crew held onto whatever they could so they didn’t fall over and [name] looked at it in interest.

”it’s massive!” he revealed to the crew, laughing as he poked the giant crab claw.

“the white sea’s famous express lobster…” was the last thing they heard from the woman before they were jetting off onto the white road ahead of them.

[name] held tight onto the deck, usopp wrangled in his arms to keep him on board and not flying off. unfortunately, the only grip he was able to form on their sniper was an arm around his neck — practically choking the man out.

“there’s a sign up ahead! there’s something written!!”

“godland, skypiea…” robin read off the sign, a sound of astonishment in her voice.

“guys, we’re gonna meet god!!” [name] childishly exclaimed.

“it’s not an exit…it’s an entrance!!” luffy’s excited tone rang in the air as they got closer and closer to the bright light in the distance, the supposed entrance.

[name] let out a loud and whopping cheer of excitement, shaking usopp back and forth to convey how eager he was to reach sky island.

”it’s a sky island!” luffy shouted the moment his eyes adjusted to the new environment they were in.

usopp, [name], and chopper all grouped together with their jaws dropped as they took in the sight. it was truly magnificent. everything surrounding the island seemed to be clouds, white blinding their vision. and right in front of them was a sky island, a real sky island!

“this is amazing,” [name] breathed out in awe, walking over to luffy and taking him into his arms for a tight hug. peppered kisses were littered all over the captain’s face, who happily took in the affection with a wide grin, “luffy! we made it! we’re at the sky island!!”

“we did, we did!!” luffy cheered, wrapping his arms around [name]’s waist and rocking them back and forth in a hug. the captain was so excited he could barely contain himself.

“that galleon that fell on us really came from here! they saw this place, 200 hundred years ago!”

merry slowly moved forward in the cloud waters, reaching the shores of the beach. luffy jumped off the moment he could, looking expectingly for [name] join him. he began laughing to his heart’s content when [name] jumped off, following after him.

luffy caught [name] with ease, carrying him around bridal style in his arms and dancing around. witnessing someone of luffy’s stature carrying around [name] with seemless ease was an interesting sivht.

”we made it! we made it! we made it!!!” luffy and [name] chanted in sing song voices, the captain swinging [name] around as if he were as light as a feather. usopp and chopper soon joined in on their cheers, laughter filling the shoreline.

“hey! luffy! what should we do about the anchor? there’s no floor bed, right?” zoro asked, voice as serious and gruff as ever.

“who cares?!” luffy carelessly responded back.

“yeah, zoro! who cares! c’mon, join us already- AHH!” [name]’s invitation was cut off mid screech as he felt luffy spin them around at remarkable speeds. his grip on luffy’s neck tightened as the captain only laughed in amusement.

“who cares! who cares! forget about it! forget about it!” usopp and luffy all cheered at the same time, making [name]’s screaming turning into fits of laughter.

“sanji! sanji! join us!!” [name] laughed, kicking his feet in the air as luffy continued to parade him around. “where are robin and nami!? tell them to join!!”

“don’t need to tell me twice, shit for brains!” sanji said, jumping off the ship and joining them in the fluffy cloud water. a look of glee and genuine happiness was stretched across the chef’s face and seeing that expression made [name]’s heart beat faster in excitement.

“you look so happy, sanji!!” [name] exclaimed, screaming in surprise as luffy suddenly dropped him head first in the water. “luffy!! what was that for?!” he childishly splashed the captain in the face, now causing a battle to break out amongst the four.

as they were goofing around, nami and robin finally joined the rest of them.

“hey!! you didn’t tell me we were changing outfits!!” he complained, jumping back onto the ship and running to the boy’s room. he stripped off his damp clothing and changed into a more fitting outfit. seeing as the island seemed like a summer island, he haphazardly threw on a button up shirt and some cargo shorts.

he left the shirt unbuttoned, though, not wanting to restrict his movement too much, plus the fact it was hotter than he would have liked on the island.

he couldn’t complain about the weather though, finding it much more pleasant than the things he had to endure on alabasta.

when he came back on deck, he noticed there was no one else on board, but zoro. so he came up behind the swordsman and roughly shook him by his shoulders, his figure towering over zoro, “c’mon, join us and have some fun for once in your life,” he teased.

“you’re so annoying, i was gonna join soon,”

“join now,” [name] persuaded, grabbing the man by his wrist and dragging him to the edge of merry, right near the railing.

the two jumped off, [name] giggling at the sensation of the water, whilst zoro just looked annoyed that it had gotten his clothes wetter than expected. the two walked to shore together, [name] babbling on about how he was so excited to explore the island while zoro just quietly listened.

and when they reached the shore, zoro picked up a white thing that he had thought could be used to wipe himself dry. but both were surprised to see that it was a cute, small fox instead.

“oh, my gosh! look at it, look at it!!!” [name] plucked it out of zoro’s hands and began nuzzling his face into it’s fluffy fur.

“what am i exactly looking at? a fox? i can’t tell…” zoro said, looking at the creature [name] was rubbing his face against, “oi, let him go, he looks uncomfortable,”

“but when have you ever seen something as cute as him!! look!” [name] presented the fox-like creature to zoro with a childish grin on his face, earning an unimpressed look to form on zoro’s face.

“yeah, i have eyes, i can see — which is why you should let him go! look, he’s practically trying to jump out of your hands!”

just as zoro said that, the fox successfully escaped and ran off. [name] pouted, but his shoulders perked up when he heard that someone was playing the harp. he looked up and saw a figure standing on a cloud, playing for all of them to hear.

the others noticed her and the instrument as well, stopping to stare.

“heso!” was her only greeting as she turned to the crew, a delicate look on her face.

“heso?”

“i’m hungry,” [name] said, rubbing his stomach as he thought of what the word “heso” meant.

“how can you get hungry from the word belly button?!” usopp exclaimed, looking at [name] as if he just spoke a foreign language.

“because the belly button is on the belly, usopp! i’m hungry!” he whined, kicking his feet into the sand.

“what did she mean by heso?” chopper innocently asked, holding onto [name]’s now unmoving leg.

“heso is heso,” zoro gruffly responded, as if it were obvious.

“suu, come here,” she called out to the creature zoro had just picked up and [name] grinned when he heard the animal respond back with a high-pitched, “suu.”

“it’s so cute, i’m gonna cry,” [name] dramatically said, clutching his chest as if his heart was in pain.

“are you from the blue sea?”

“yes! we just flew up here! do you live here?” luffy asked, a welcoming look on his face.

“yes, i’m a resident here! welcome to skypiea’s angel beach!” she said, “would you like to drink what’s inside?” she offered, motioning to the great big fruit that luffy was holding.

she took it off of his hands and expertly showed how to drink from the fruit. and when luffy took a big gulp, he immediately exclaimed on how delicious it is.

“what’s your name, angel lady?” [name] asked, stepping forward. the woman chuckled when she noticed that [name] was only looking at the animal at her feet. gently outstretching her hand, she offered it to [name] as well as her name.

“my name is conis, it’s lovely to meet you,”

“lovely to meet you too! what’s that thing! i wanna hold it again!”

she laughed at his outburst of energy, picking up the fox and gently holding it in her hands, “this is suu, a cloud fox. he doesn’t really like to be handled by strangers though, i apologize.”

[name] grinned, peering down at the creature and getting up close and personal in its face, “well, my name is [name], suu! look, we aren’t strangers anymore! let me hold you!”

the crew all shook their heads, saying in unison, “that’s not how it works, idiot,”

conis found his personality intriguing, laughing to herself before looking to the rest of the crew, “if you need any help or assistance of anything, please let me know and i will be here to guide you!”

“well, you see…” the crew all internally sighed as they heard sanji open his mouth, “your gaze is setting my heart on fire,”

[name] slapped him down on the head and tsk-ed to show his disapproval. nami took sanji’s silence as a cue to finally get to ask the many questions that were running through her mind to the native angel.

just as they were going to ask her more questions, someone else joined their group on the shore and it was conis’ father. he came riding in some waver, crashing into the forest behind them as they watched in concern.

he apologized to them, for whatever reason, and then introduced himself as “pagaya,” and then apologized to them again.

“father, were you able to catch some fish?”

[name]’s eyes sparkled.

”yes, i got quite the big catch. oh, why don’t you all come to our house?” the man politely asked and [name] already accepted before anyone else could say anything. in his mind, visions of the cooked sky fish were playing over and over again.

before they could go and eat to their heart’s content, though, nami and luffy wanted to inspect the waver for a bit longer. and [name]’s stomach began growling in hunger and he was starting to get irritated.

so he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched nami and luffy fight over the waver.

this caught zoro’s attention, who easily flicked him on the forehead and scolded him for acting like a baby. as expected, a short fight to broke out between the two because, honestly, when was there not a fight going on?

but then, finally, they got to moving towards the old man and conis’ house when luffy got bored of the waver (since he couldn’t ride it, he felt no need to be interested in it anymore). they walked up some cloud stairs, whilst chopper and usopp bounced alongside them.

[name] managed to wrangle his hands on the fox form earlier, suu, gently petting it on the head to calm it down. and when they arrived to the home, he put her down, and trailed after sanji like a lost puppy.

“ah, will you be joining us as well in preparing the food, young man?”

“oh, him,” sanji pointed his thumb with a blank look on his face, “don’t mind him, he’s just here to stare and be hungry. it’s what he does all the time on the ship,”

“oh, well, that’s quite endearing,” pagaya said with a gentle tone, but it only seemed to aggravate sanji.

“it’s not endearing when he starts stealing bits of the unprepared food for himself and his endless stomach! if i could ban him from the kitchen i would!!” sanji shouted, a new vigor stroked through him as he complained about [name].

meanwhile, the h/c haired male was adventuring through the kitchen, looking at everything in interest.

“well, then why do you keep him in the kitche-”

“i never said company was bad!! but it’s his company that’s particularly annoying to deal with! you wouldn’t believe the trouble he causes me!”

“oh, with the way you’re yelling, trust me — i do believe you,” pagaya sweatdropped, seeing the way sanji was so easily fired up into an argumentative state when it came to questions about [name]. “well, i don’t mind his person being here!”

“thanks, papaya!” [name] cheerfully spoke, taking a bite into one of the fruit laid out on the counter.

“…that’s not my name, my name is pagaya,”

“well, what’d i say?”

while sanji and the old man strategically maneuvered around the kitchen, [name] stayed a silent spectator. his cheeks were becoming sore from smiling so wide, but he couldn’t help it!

the food was smelling delicious and knowing that it was sanji’s hands that prepped it for them made him all the more excited to eat it. he carefully helped carry the dishes out when they were done plating everything, making luffy, usopp, and chopper look at the display with stars in their eyes.

“alright! it’s a hearty sky seafood course with sky island fruits!” sanji announced, a proud look on his face.

[name] carnivorously dug into the food, greedily taking a whole lobster for himself. and when he finished half of it, he finally took a moment to breathe. he grinned, ear to ear, and continued devouring the fruit on the table.

”sanji, sanji!!!” he shouted in glee, rushing over to the blonde chef and shoving a piece of lobster meat into his mouth.

“can’t you see i’m enjoying a cigarette here?! c’mon!”

“oh, ditch that thing when you eat real food!” [name] said, not at all feeling bad for crushing the cigarette under his boot. “let’s go, eat with us!!”

sanji allowed [name] to plop him onto the chair, rolling up his sleeves as he prepared to dig into the food. just as he was about to grab his own share, a piece of a different dish was shoved into his face. he looked up at [name] in confusion, but the man only grinned at him.

“c’mon! take a bite! i’m offering you some of mine, be thankful!”

sanji’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, “and i’m the one who made it, so you be grateful to me, shit for brains!”

“oh, yes, thank you papaya and sanji!! the food is delicious!” [name] said, still holding out the piece of fish to sanji, “now, eat already, chef!!”

sanji rolled his eyes, but took a bite of [name]’s share and tried not to visibly show how much he enjoyed the food he had made. he continued to put more food onto his plate, childishly getting into a fight with [name] about who would get the last piece.

they split it in half and sanji pretended not to notice how [name] took the smaller half for himself — which he then split into another half for luffy since the captain was practically begging and using his puppy dog eyes for a piece.

[name] and his nasty habit of selflessly sharing his food that he desperately didn’t want to share was going to be the end of him one day, sanji thought to himself. he took a piece of fish into his mouth, smiling in satisfaction and his grin only growing wider when he saw the pleased look on [name]’s face grow more apparent as well.

『 prev 』 ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🌊 ꒱ 『 next 』

taglist (lmk if u want to be tagged ! <3 :

@skullr0se, @strawberrii-tea, @triangulartriangles, @anotherlovefool, @sinmp, @3v37773, @taru-nami, @disc0dild0s, @boredwithlifeatthispoint @kaulitzer, @whotdefak @lcst-at-5ea @cheetosins @notplutos @violently-nerdy

#≡;- ꒰ ° keep safe series ꒱#ks #one piece x male reader #one piece x reader #x male reader #x reader #male reader #one piece male reader #one piece imagines #male reader imagines #anime male reader #one piece fanfiction #one piece fanfic #male reader fanfic #male reader fanfiction

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welcome-to-oslov · 1 month ago

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Can't help but ask: your thoughts on the hot assassin?

My thoughts: I think it's extremely tragic & sad situation for everyone involved. The "assassin", who's created a terrible future for himself & who I think clearly developed some sort of mental health issue that made it possible for him to do this (and I'm still not convinced there isn't an accomplice, maybe someone online or irl who egged him into this while his mental health was deteriorating during the months he disappeared from friends & family); obviously for the young kids & elderly mother of the guy who died; and for the millions of people suffering & dying from health issues made worse by barriers to care that could help them. Just like I don't understand how someone can literally kill another person for real, I also can't understand how someone shows up to work everyday to do tasks that make life harder for people who need help.

And of course, as our country somehow spirals into bizarro version of Oslov Unraveled, couldn't help but think of paralels! Lol sob

Just like this scenario, do you think that Tilrey's good-lookingness was part of what made it possible for his culture to ultimately accept him being a rebel disruptor? I mean, I guess obviously his looks are part of what made it possible for him to be the "key to Oslov": even after his kettleboy days were long gine, it's what entangled all the powerful people in continued relationships with him that gave him access & ability, made them indulge him hanging around as an almost-Upstart, overlook the ways he wasn't truly conforming to Drudge submission that they may not have in someone they didn't like looking at or liked projecting what kind of guy they wanted him to be onto him.

In our universe's case, obviously everyone would be losing interest atp if he weren't so damn cute. But I think that is more an indictment of what a DEARTH we have of reasonably baseline attractive guys in our country (even among celebs!) 😂😩😭 One comes along with a cute smile, in shape, and dresses nicely and we lose our collective minds lmao

I did have this exact thought! 😅 I follow a lot of romance writers who were claiming to be inspired by him. I haven’t been following it closely, but I kinda guessed the hot assassin would turn out to have mental health problems and/or problematic beliefs. It’s so dangerous to make anyone into your hero, especially a murderer (!). But at the same time, I’m terrified of the US healthcare system, especially after the ACA subsidies go away, because they make life possible for me right now. It’s messed up and scary. I hate that policies that demonstrably kill people have become normalized and are even seen by some as virtuous because capitalism. I feel all that rage too, and the desire for a Robin Hood figure to stand up and fight.

I really do think attractive people have a lot of pull in society, and a social movement has way more power once you put a face on it. Sure, it’s partly because of social media, but cults of personality existed during the French Revolution too. Marie Antoinette was incredibly memeable by both sides, whether it was the revolutionaries painting her as “Let them eat cake” or the royalists making her a martyr, and it was more about her image than her actual character.

Oslov barely even has traditional media—you have Upstarts passing those photos of Tilrey around, and you have Stefan playing a hot victim of social injustice in a stream, and that’s kinda it. But Stefan fired up the masses because he was hot and sad and unjustly accused, and Tilrey was in a position to use that power partly because he was hot and had access to the highest levels of government. I mean, he had to be smart too, but being hot was a key piece.

If the Unabomber had been hot, would there be a cult around him? I read his manifesto for research, and he was smart and made some fair points about the drawbacks of modern society if you disregard the terrible conclusions he drew from them.

Anyway, I do think that beauty sways people whether they want to believe it does or not. A beautiful bully is still just a bully, so looks aren’t enough on their own if you hate everything the person stands for. But a beautiful underdog or rebel is a powerful meme in the making. One of the things I like about The Hunger Games is that Suzanne Collins shows how much image-making goes into being a successful rebel in an image-driven society.

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lacrimosathedark · 1 year ago

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PSA for Tim Drake Fanfic Writers

There's this thing I see in a lot of Tim fics that always has me immediately closing the fic. And I think it may be that people just aren't as obsessive about info as me and don't know, so I thought I'd make a little informational post.

Tim's mother was dead before he was officially accepted as Robin.

I see so many fics with Tim being around people like Conner and Stephanie and his mom is alive, when he wouldn't have been anywhere near meeting them. It drives me insane. So let me give you the rundown on Tim's start.

So, we all know A Lonely Place of Dying, right? Where Tim tracks Dick down to Haly's Circus, attempts to demand he return as Robin, gets taken to Wayne Manor, and when Batman and Nightwing get tangled up with Two-Face he becomes Robin to save them.

You may also know that Bruce refused to have another child in the field with him without intensive training over the course of several months.

During this training, an arc known as Rite of Passage, Jack and Janet Drake are kidnapped in Haiti by a...probably problematic villain called Obeah Man. He nearly kills them both, but Batman does get there to save them...only for Janet to accidentally drink poison and die and Jack to suffer severe nerve damage and drop into a coma.

This is why Tim could get away with a whole overseas training arc after that. His dad was comatose and his mom was dead. Bruce became his temporary legal guardian.

He also meets and ends up teaming up with Lady Shiva during this overseas training adventure. She's also the one who gave him his collapsible bo staff. And just for the record, she continually goaded Tim into killing her, as she is wont to do. Tim clearly didn't kill her, but he did defeat her in combat. So give my boy some respect for his skills please.

Hell, he knew Jean-Paul Valley before he knew Stephanie. Knightfall, when Bane famously broke Bruce's back, came before the introduction of Spoiler and Cluemaster.

And then Jack Drake is awake from his coma by the time Tim has met Bart, which was also before he met Kon.

Just...if Tim's Robin, his mom is dead, okay? Totally fair to make an AU because canon is wackadoo already but please label it cuz AUs are cool so long as I know that's what it is and if it's not labelled my brain decides the writer doesn't know what they're talking about and I can't read it even if it's one of the highest rated fics in my search and it causes me great pain because I NEED CONTENT 😭

Thank you for coming to my Tim Talk.

#Tim Drake #Robin #Red Robin #DC Comics #Janet Drake #oh my fuckin god she fuckin dead

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gabessquishytum · 2 years ago

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No sex ed virgin dream au my beloved.

How about mixing it in with the 'Dream has had sex before but it was just bad' idea and turning on that blender? Let's throw in young Dream with older neighbour Hob as well. Who's gonna stop me?

In this au, I am imagining the Endless as one of those stereotypical Christian families. The type that is about abstinence and boring married missionary sex to procreate. Yes the Endless siblings are the family's worst nightmare because they all turned out...like that. Even the ones who are straight and "behave" believe in supporting the "sinful lifestyle". Christmas dinner is a delightful event.

Maybe Calliope is from a similar family, because let's face it, no one can stand these people aside from people who are also Like That. She is about the same age as Dream and they both like art so naturally their families think they will be perfect together! Surprisingly they actually like spending time with each other so getting married doesn't sound awful.

They have a cute little wedding and move to a different neighbourhood to live out the married life. Except....they aren't enjoying it much. They like each other, have similar interests, respect one another, and they are great friends. Everything indicates that they would have a great marriage, they certainly get along better than other couples they know, so why are they both so unsatisfied?

Their sex life is best described as mediocre. Other young couples at church/family gatherings expressed a similar dissatisfaction but those stories all seem to have something to do with one partner pressuring the other or not reciprocating or it being physically painful. Dream and Calliope don't have those issues. The sex is just....meh.

[Calliope: I have feelings for you. Dream: I have feelings for you, too. Narrator: The feeling was “friendship,” but neither had ever experienced it]

When they meet their new neighbours they quickly befriend the slightly older couple. It's impossible not to, Eleanorand Hob are both so incredibly nice and charismatic. I'm thinking Dream and Calliope are in their early 20s and Hob and Eleanor are about mid to late 30s.

One night they have a dinner party with plenty of wine and Dream and Calliope just start spilling. Hob and Eleanor, bisexuals extraordinaire, are shocked at the blank expressions on Dream and Calliope's faces. How has their sex ed been this bad?

They end up giving Dream and Calliope a lot of tips and it does improve their sex life but they both still feel like something is missing. Maybe a hot older man/woman?

I firmly believe Calliope and Dream are the kind of couple who get wine drunk together and one night they both end up confessing they have a crush on the neighbour. Some drunken confusion later they establish that Calliope has a massive crush on Eleanor and Dream is totally gone on Hob.

It takes them way too long to do anything about it since they are so desperately trying not to get in the way of Hob and Eleanor's marriage that neither of them notice the very obvious hints Hob and Eleanor have been dropping.

They get their eventually though. The older Endless family members are dangerously close to getting an aneurism when, a couple years later, they get invited to a garden party that ends up being an anniversary celebration for..... who, exactly? The rituals of a bisexual polycule are intricate and mysterious.

For extra shits and giggles: Calliope and Eleanor get pregnant around the same time and for the family members who don't see them often (which to be fair is most of them) it becomes impossible to tell who Robin's and Orpheus's biological mothers are. They don't even try to unpack who the biological father is.

- 🍃

Quietly dying. This is SO GALAXY BRAIN. Polycule!!! Always love a polycule!!!!

Dream and Calliope having mediocre missionary sex each night while literally on the other side of the wall, Eleanor is having her mind blown once again by Hob’s pussy eating skills. She's gonna peg him when he's done down there. This is my new favourite thing ok. When they finally have The Conversation I'm imagining Eleanor taking Cal by the shoulders and looking in her eyes like "sweetheart. darling. please tell me you know where your clit is." Blank expressions from both Cal and Dream. Hob has a breakdown over the Tragedy of It All.

After a lot of umming and erring and weeks of hopeless pining Hob comes over from next door and he's like "OK my wife is going insane, we need to talk about this. she really wants to blow your back out Cal. preferably now." And then he looks at Dream and blushes "also i really want to suck your dick."

And they do talk about it a lot more and there are Big Feelings at stake. But they make it work. They end up knocking through the wall between their houses and making one Big House and its amazing. They have Robyn and Orpheus who might as well be twins and then maybe they adopt Daniel as well. The polycule is thriving (except for when Calliope and Hob get mistaken for siblings because they look vaguely alike. that's just awkward. Eleanor and Dream think it's hilarious BTW.)

#🍃 anon #the sandman #dreamling #nsft

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findafight · 1 year ago

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Building onto Jonathan and Nancy just leaving the kids while spooky stuff is happening. Steve is just in the background like hey, is anyone going to look out for the kids?

Other adults in the know, they'll be fine! We're SOLVING the goddamn problem

Steve, yeah no? Do you not know these kids? They need direct supervision otherwise they'll end up in the upside down without anyone else knowing until it's too late!

Robin, after joining the crew, yeah Steve is right! They are children whose favorite game is just finding loopholes in dnd law and exploiting them for profit.

Steve and Robin knows those kids are gonna cause trouble because they were kids who would be all up in it. (or at least, Robin for sure is. Too curious for her own good. I think Steve with life guarding experience would possibly be a bit more cautious, but he was still a boy in the 80s and probably went on little adventures.)

It's so funny that most of the adults and teens are like. it's fine. If we leave these kids with a history of not listening to instructions to stay put in order to do what they think will help to their own devices will surely not do anything drastic if they think there's something to be done! And Steve is going :( they shoved me in a car when I was unconscious I don't think you understand what they're capable of? Robin back me up. It was Dustin's idea to use the vents. Those kids are going to find trouble and apparently it's up to us to prevent them dying. again.

To be fair to nancy and jonathan, they don't really know what's going on in s3. They did team up when they ran into them. But in s2 Jon kinda ditches his family, which is wild (as he also has no reason really to help nancy?) and was also shown the gate. And they decided yeah no this is fine. no way our siblings, notorious for sticking their noses in government shit (at least mike was), will also discover something is wrong with this. it's fine. And then so do Joyce and Hopper? bonkers!

#findaanswers #anonasaurus #stranger things #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #please someone supervise those kids! I guess now their 15 or so it's less important but still. those kids will find trouble

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cleromancy · 1 year ago

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still thinking about mia!

in particular i found the deliberate and thoughtful way ga01 approached the concept of a plucky teen sidekick refreshing... because sidekicks are a staple of the genre, right, and moreover most of us *like* them, so how do we justify the "good guys" *having* them when we're also writing stuff with way more realism than the old stuff?

and to be honest i don't really need that when im reading, i can suspend my disbelief. but you have to commit to the bit when you're the one writing it, you have to believe it. and a lonely place of dying... it did ok for what it was and im extremely fond of it, but i also think it was already walking away from like... the fact that batman got robin killed, yk. it was walking away from what that meant. and like i said thats fine. if they never brought robin back i never would have gotten into comics in the first place, yknow?

but i think the exploration of some of the thorny concepts around mia sidekicking in ga is great because like. this is *emphatically* not an omelas situation. green arrow definitively does not "need" a speedy and it is also emphatically not speedys job to provide a counterbalance or whatever.

ok this got long. putting in a cut here

and both dinah and roy absolutely tear into ollie about his decision to let mia sidekick with him--and i feel like ive read a fair few kid/teen sidekick stories which have the kid wind up in danger (or whatever) regardless of the adult trying to discourage them, and the adult at that point figures if theyre going to sneak out/disobey/whathaveyou its better to do it where the adult can keep an eye on them. and there are times when this is presented like the adult literally cannot convince the child not to do those things, which. yknow. we understand how fiction works so we also know if the writer says the kiddo wont listen to any reason, that the adult just doesn't have the power over them to stop them, then thats what happened... but the implications about the power dynamic and the adults ability to set reasonable boundaries dont paint a *great* picture.

but GA doesn't do that... i would argue mia was being set up to be the 2nd speedy all the way back to dinah and roys conversation in that plane where they just learned ollie might be alive and cant stop bitching about him lol. and iirc this is within the first 6 issues. and dinah and roy are both throwing around unfair accusations at the time, but roy says smth to the effect of what do you want to bet he's already training her to replace me. and i don't think he really believed that but it obviously planted the idea in readers heads if it wasnt there already! but yknow after that, mia doesn't debut as speedy until ga 46, or thereabouts im not looking it up, several years later both IRL and in-universe (or well in-universe its almost 2 years. iirc.).

(i can't even imagine how it must have felt if youd been following that series the whole time *finally* seeing that enter speedy cover. id have been screaming my damn head off.)

anyway. i already talked about comparing and contrasting the man mia killed during her test run vs the jason and felipe situation but i also wanted to say that i think it was great that the whole conversation pretty much *opens* with that. like forget physical danger the kid might be in--what about the psychological toll? what about the choices hes putting her in the position to make?

despite ollie very much being the protagonist of the series and mia very much being a supporting character, the focus of the emotional impact is on her, and the focus of the *responsibility* is on him. (now compare and contrast batman with robin...... listen, i absolutely do not believe it wasn't set up as a deliberate contrast, ok.)

and you would naturally think that would mean she doesn't... get to be speedy. she doesn't get to be a hero. she doesn't get another chance. but then she gets her HIV+ diagnosis, and the focus for mias character turns specifically to *living* with HIV.

and i think that's what makes it clear, to me at least, that the whole... fighting crime thing is supposed to be a metaphor. at least on some level. its a power fantasy, its a metaphor, its about the *good guys winning.* heroes being heroes. and i think a lot of the discussions around representation have gotten so overblown for what they are, but--unironically--sometimes its really meaningful and important just to see yourself. and to believe that no matter what youve lived through, you can be good, you can be wanted, you can make a difference.

which is why mia gives her presentation in the auditorium about her diagnosis, and i feel like this was also a deliberate callback to roy "only you can prevent forest fires" harper and his anti-drug PSA. because roy decided, after snowbirds, he was going to go public about his addiction because he wanted to help other people going through the same thing he did, or prevent other people from going through it yk. and there are two incidents i can think of where, years down the line, he feels some regret over it because now hes just known as the heroin guy, the guy who used to do drugs. but i also don't think he would ever have chosen to do anything else. both speedys are actively choosing to bear that stigma openly in the hopes of reducing it, you know?

speaking of which! i thought it was a *fantastic* - and no doubt deliberate - contrast to how roys drug use was treated, to have mia only talk about it *once* (this is in the HIV+ issue. 45ish?) that she regularly did meth when she was on the streets, and its explicitly clear she did it to survive. and it never comes up again. there's no condemnation, there's no literal war on drugs propaganda here. (the first roy comic i ever read was the mini ntt one in the mandatory fucking D.A.R.E program in middle school, btw.) it was a fact of her life because her life was *fucking dangerous,* and meth helped keep her alive until she managed to find her way out of it!

so this is another concept mia becoming speedy explores--the fact that the people who should have kept her safe as a child did the opposite. mia has never been safe her entire life until moving in with ollie. and the people who hurt her left permanent damage in a physical way in the form of HIV. so now ga is exploring like... what it means to be safe. what it means to be mortal. what exactly is a childhood. and it doesn't dig *too* too deeply into these because its not that kind of comic book, its the kind of comic book where the good guys shoot glue arrows at bad guys and stick them to the floor. but it approaches it and sits you down with those questions and i mean, for me at least, even putting aside exactly how hype i was for mia to take on the mantle, it felt *right* that ollie would say yes.

and the next issue i think or the one after that (its the teen titans one! tim is there later). is the one where roy reams ollie out for this, they talk about it, roy lampshades the different... contexts of having a speedy. like its not like how it used to be. the bad guys are worse, its not safe enough for a kid anymore. and this is where ollie relays mias diagnosis (<- she had already decided to go public about it as i said before, so ollies not sharing information that isnt his to share here). and roys like that could have been me. its a good issue! i like what it does with what its doing.

and then some 20 issues later, once mia is reasonably well established as a superhero and a titan....... Enter Jason.

(🥰)

i have so much to say about this arc i love it so much. let me preface by saying none of this is a condemnation of jason, hes pretty much my favorite fictional character of all time. im not interested in wagging my finger at the guy styling himself as a supervillain at the time and going Naughty Jason! Thats Not How We Make Friends!, yk. im also not endorsing it, bla bla bla, whatever, this really aint about him right now. right now we're just talking about what he does for the story, the questions he poses about mia and sidekicks and shit.

god, where to fucking start.

i guess ill start with jasons "were not so different you and i" villain speech. and yknow at least on the surface level theres like. a certain join-me-be-my-robin element to it or like he's encouraging her to cross the line or whatever. but honestly, jason was less there because jason todd the fictional character wanted to be there, and more because winick as the writer thought it continued to explore the concept in an interesting way.

because we've talked about green arrows responsibility vis a vis letting her be a sidekick bc of the psychological impact of it, about the choices she's put in a position to make, about HIV and what it means to be a hero and safety. all of those things. and jason shows up to *demonstrate* that--

--it really is not fucking safe to do what they do.

and Jason is, i think, at his most terrifying here, and thats on purpose. it is *visceral*. it is so, so incredibly well done. and it throws ALL those questions of safety and responsibility and mortality and heroism and do-gooding into a new light because you really feel like, oh my god, her life is in danger.

tbh i think some of the reader anger at jason for this arc--and titans tower, just to a lesser degree because it wasnt NEARLY as good lol--is the fact that he *is* challenging us, the readers, to think about our beloved kid/teen sidekick trope. he brings back the element of realism that GA was drawing away from somewhat, the element of *real consequences.* and as a reader it is so much easier to just be mad at jason because well hes the villain of the story...... and ignore the fact that hes demonstrating--both by being the dead robin cautionary tale, and by being ~red hood, the scourge of the underworld~ lol--that if this is not something she's prepared to face, a possibility she's prepared for, then she shouldn't be wearing that uniform.

and that the person she relies on to protect her can't always be there to do it.

and, mini tangent, there's absolutely no way jason was trying to kill her here. he terrified her, he kicked her ass, but he didn't do any permanent damage and he didnt "lock her in" (<- real reading i saw once 🙄 try reading it again with your eyes next time genius) he stabbed his knife into her cape. if jason were being written by anyone else i would entertain the idea but it was winick, who knows exactly how smart and thorough jason is supposed to be *because he was the one who made him that way.* there's no doubt in my mind that jason was perched somewhere watcging to make sure she got out before the place went kablooey but you know what, in fairness, thats not on the page. BUT, like. the reason mia *thinks* jason was going to kill her--before she realizes he could have if hed wanted to, and purposely let her go--was because he wanted her to think that. he wanted to scare her and he wanted to warn her and he wanted to make her think.

really really love this arc.

anyway. i mentioned in my other post that winick tweaked mias backstory so she was also homeless like jason, which i sort of have mixed feelings about. in smiths version, her dad trafficks her and later she winds up as one of the "girlfriends" (euphemism for victims) of his associates. and that was ... not really the picture of child trafficking you usually see in comics, the more common real-life scenario rather than the sensationalized version of quote-unquote child prostitutes on street corners. but at the same time i think winick kept the most important part (the familial trafficking) and i also think he changed it in order to explore all the aforementioned topics in an interesting way. it doesn't feel like it was just an arbitrary change, or to make it more exciting or whatever. like he was exploring stuff with it, it was purposeful.

for example--going back to mia and meth. the more you read of winick the more you notice that intravenous drugs and illnesses associated with them (so including but not limited to HIV/AIDS) are something of a... recurring... motif, i guess? they're something he regularly comes back to explore. and thats interesting in the context of mia for a lot of reasons but well. when mia defensively says to ollie that she used meth, the reason she gives is they used it to stay awake on the streets. and i do think winick deliberately--and *effectively*--explored the pre-existing (and historical) parallels btwn batman and green arrow in a bunch of other ways, so i don't think im off base in saying the fact that *robin* 2.0 famously lived on the streets *probably* had something to do with the backstory tweak for speedy 2.0, particularly again bc of jasons "we're the same" villain speech. but also, like i said, she mostly used to stay awake(/alive), which is something of a harder sell if she hadn't been homeless, and also like i said, winick likes exploring drugs and wanted to write a hero living with HIV.

before i get into the comparisons with jason and mia, i also want to say that i think jason--who im constantly affectionately calling a revenant--is such an effective contrast for mia because the emphasis for mia! was always on living. it was always on healing. despite having a *distinctly* non-everykid origin story, mia absolutely embodies something i think was very characteristic of her generation of teen titans, or at the very least early days cassie and tim, which was this simultaneous like... they're normal kids, they're *relatable,* but they're also superheroic in determination, and resourcefulness, and they want this, and they know they can do it, so they will. and thats what its all about, man.

...actually i just ran out of steam, ill write out some thoughts on jason telling mia theyre the same later lol sorry. im toired!!!!

anyway mia is soooo good.

#dc #text #many thoughts head empty #meta #mia #mia text #mia dearden

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