#we're already halfway through season 3

[mod2amaryllis]

currently being straight-baited by janeway and chakotay. why won't they fucking Kiss.

[stevie-petey]

episode four: will the wise

“What do you want, Hargrove?” Steve asks, situating himself so that more of his body is in between you and Billy.  He sucks his teeth and then lets out a cold chuckle. “Nothin’, just didn’t know that this little sweetheart had it in her.” “Don’t call her that–” “I mean, her boyfriend runs off with your girlfriend?” Billy chuckles again. “I’m surprised Y/N Henderson ran into your arms, Harrington.”

Summary: jonathan is gone for one day and suddenly all hell breaks loose, your hesitant friendship with steve is already rocky (thanks billy) but steve is hot when he's angry tbh, you become a couple's counselor to lucas and max (sorry dustin), and you're now officially the world's worst cat owner ever. and babysitter. but what else is new ?

Rating: general, swearing

Warnings: use of y/n, fem!reader, mentions of blood and scars and knives

Words: 5.7k

Before you swing in: hello ! happy friday, heres chapter 4 :) before i say more, i wanted to inform yall that i started doing blurbs for come home if youre interested in seeing more lil scenes between everyone. they can be found here x. anyways, i absolutely cannot believe we're already halfway through the season (im skipping episode seven obviously, since its just an entire el ep). this chapter we see a liiiil more of readers dynamics with the kids, so im super happy about that. next chapter we finally get steve, dustin, and reader so !!! hella excited about that. for now, pls enjoy <3

-

Mike and Lucas split up and go outside while you, Dustin, and Max start running through the halls, shouting Will’s name. 

“Will!” You’re more pleading rather than shouting. It’s happening again. It’s fucking happening again. Your mind is running a million miles a second, you feel the cold hand of fear twist around your throat. The last time you felt fear like this was when you showed up at Jonathan’s house and collapsed in his arms right after finding out Will had gone missing. 

And now he’s gone again, but Jonathan isn’t here this time to keep you steady. 

Dustin cups both hands over his mouth. “Will!”

You all turn a corner but Will isn’t there. Nothing. 

“Dustin!” Joyce rounds the corner, alarmed. “What’s going on? Where’s Will?”

The woman is moreso asking you than the kids, but you can only shake your head at her helplessly. “I don’t know, Mrs. Byers.”

Joyce holds your gaze and you feel so ashamed of yourself. You’ve let her down again. She’s always been so trusting of you with her children, and here you are, once again a fucking wreck trying to find the son you’ve lost. 

Down the hall, a door flings open. “The field!”

The four of you turn and find Lucas standing there, panting and out of breath. He motions for you all to follow and in a heartbeat you begin to run outside after him. 

There, you find Mike in the field with Will standing next to him, and for a second you feel relief wash over you. He’s okay, he’s safe and isn’t in another dimension. But as you get closer, you notice the stiffness in Will and the way Mike is shaking his shoulder. 

Something isn’t right. 

“I just found him like this!” Mike is shouting. “I think he’s having another episode!”

This would make two in two days. 

When you reach Will, you finally grasp how dire the situation is. He looks horrible, his eyes have rolled into the back of his head and are spasming. His body shakes, his fingers twitch by his side and the veins in his neck strain. 

Joyce quickly grabs him and starts shaking his shoulders, pleading with him. “Will, sweetie, wake up! It’s mom!”

You cover a hand over your mouth as you watch, horrified. Dustin and Lucas stand next to you, each clutching your shirt in fear. Their fear grounds you, making you focus back on them and pull them closer to you. You try to give them as much reassurance as you possibly can, but you know it’s useless. All you guys can do is wait for the episode to end. 

Max stands across from you, watching the situation unfold with her own uncertainty. She doesn't understand what any of this means. Why this is happening to Will, and why you’re close to tears as Joyce pleads with her son to come back to her. 

The fear on her face is why you agree to Mike to not let Max into the party. They’re all so fucking young. Too young for any of this. 

“Will, can you hear me?” Joyce pats Will’s face and you pull the boys even closer to you. Mike refuses to leave Will’s side. 

“He’ll be okay,” you whisper to the kids, but you’re selfishly trying to comfort yourself. 

Tears form in Mike’s eyes and you just want it all to stop. Will isn’t waking up and Dustin is shaking against you and Joyce’s pleas have become more like begs and it’s all too much. 

Then, Will’s eyes snap open and he takes a sharp breath that hurts your own chest to hear. 

You release the breath you’d been holding. The worst of it is over.

Will looks around shyly, as if he already knows it’s happened again. Joyce exhales and kisses his cheek and wraps him in her arms. Mike and the others look around, uncertain but relieved, while Max stands off to the side. 

You wish you could explain it all to her, but it wouldn’t be right.

Slowly, once Will has recovered, you and the kids walk with Joyce back to their car. Dustin’s hand hasn’t left yours and you secretly wouldn’t let him go anyways if he tried. 

“Have the episodes always been like this?” You ask your brother, now remembering that he had to witness that alone on Halloween night. 

“Yeah,” Dustin responds, his voice small. 

You squeeze his hand and follow after Joyce. In your head, you’re creating a list of all the baked goods you can make with the ingredients you know you have in your kitchen. They all deserve some oatmeal raisin cookies after this.

When you get to the car, you break away from the kids and step in front of Will. He’s pale, paler than he’s been in a while, and it’s only now that you see the bags underneath his eyes. He’s gotten worse, how could you have missed that?

You should’ve seen the signs sooner. 

“Did I scare you?” Will asks, and you immediately grab his hand. 

“No, never. You just… gave me a reminder that I love you. Go get some rest, little bee.” You kiss his cheek goodbye and he quietly gets in the car. 

Joyce is behind you, and once Will is safely in the car you turn to face the woman. “Call me if anything else happens, please?”

She nods at you, already understanding why you need the reassurance. There���s a warmth in her eyes, even if every other part of her seems exhausted. “I will.”

“I know I’m not a scientist, or–or a licensed therapist but I just–”

“Sweetie, I understand. Apart from Hopper, you’ve done more research and reading than anyone else. If Will gets worse, I’ll call.”

You smile at the woman appreciatively. “Thank you.”

She squeezes your shoulders and then gets in the car, driving off. You stand there for a moment, needing a second to compose yourself, before turning around to join the kids standing on the school’s steps. 

They seem to have all forgotten about Dart, but you sure as hell haven’t. Dustin fiddles with his walkie and won’t meet your eye, which only reminds you of how weird he had been acting in the bathroom earlier when he conveniently couldn't find Dart.

The two of you are definitely having a code blue tonight. 

“Dustin, you’re my ride to work.”

“What?”

“Jonathan can’t take me, so I have to ride on your pegs.”

“Who’s Jonathan?” Max asks. 

You give the girl a thumbs up. “Love the enthusiasm to understand everything, unfortunately I need to get to work and lecture my little brother.” 

“Good luck, Dustin.” Mike snickers. 

Your brother waves him off. “Yeah, yeah.”

You say goodbye to the kids, giving a stern warning that if they find any signs of Dart to tell you immediately. “I’m looking at you, Wheeler.”

Mike groans and you leave him to wallow as you hop on Dustin’s bike pegs 

“She always this bossy?” Max mumbles to Lucas.

He shrugs. “Yeah, but she’s also always right, so.”

You blow a kiss towards the boy, and he blushes. Once Dustin is ready, the two of you head towards town. 

The bike ride is quick, one of the small perks of living in a small town. The entire ride, you and Dustin are quiet. You both know that you have many choice words to say, but Dustin still looks shaken up from Will’s episode and you’re not doing too well, either. 

When Bookstrordinary’s sign greets you, you tap Dustin’s shoulder to alert him to stop. You can walk the rest of the way, you don’t want him out too late in the dark. 

“You’re lucky I can’t call off tonight, otherwise I’d kill you right now.”

“You’re such a great big sister, Y/N.”

“Thanks, I try.”

You hop off the bike and sigh. “When I get home tonight, you and I are talking.”

Dustin looks down, but takes a deep breath and salutes you halfheartedly. You laugh a bit, salute back, and then tell him to bike home safely. 

– 

After a very long and anxious shift, you ask your coworker for a ride home.

Alex almost drops his keys and looks around, as if you could be talking to anyone else in the empty store. “M–me?” 

“Yes, Alex. I need a ride home.”

“Where’s Jonathan? I won’t like, die if I drive you, right?”

You roll your eyes. “No, he’d only kill you if you didn’t drive me home since it’s late.”

Alex exhales, relieved. “Okay, yeah. I can take you home, then.”

By the time you get home, it’s later than you anticipated. Alex was kind enough to drive you, but had you known he was a new driver who went ten below the speed limit, you would’ve just walked. 

You walk inside and all the lights are off. Your mom is on the couch with Mews, softly snoring while some program plays on the TV. She tends to do that now, fall asleep on the couch rather than her bed. Too many memories, she explained once to you. 

Quietly you take your shoes off and grab some leftovers in the fridge. Dustin’s door is closed and his own light is off, which you sigh at. 

“Shit.”

He could be tricking you into thinking he’s asleep, but you could just be overthinking it. Dustin has been having more nightmares recently, you’d feel horrible if you knocked on his door and woke him up from his much needed sleep. He’s been through enough today. 

You eat your dinner, alone at the table, and you wonder how exactly you’ve wound up here again. Monster on the loose, Will in danger, Jonathan off with Nancy. 

Seems like you can never have a normal November ever again. 

After you’re done eating, you tiredly head to your room and collapse on your bed. Except, instead of landing on your soft pillows, you land on a hard body instead.

“Oomph–” A voice groans underneath you. 

You fling yourself off, finding Jonathan laying there. “Jonathan Byers, what the fuck are you doing in my bed?”

He rubs his eyes. “Said we’d call tonight.”

You stare at him. “That doesn’t at all answer my question.”

“We said we’d call tonight, but then Nancy and I realized our calls could be traced here, too. To your house, but I promised to keep you updated, so… Here I am.”

“And napping in my bed was just something you had to do?”

Jonathan yawns. “Yup.”

You flick his forehead. “Scoot over.” 

He makes room for you on the bed so that you lay side by side. Technically he’s not supposed to sleep in your bed, but your mom never said anything about naps or cuddling. You nuzzle against Jonathan’s chest, allowing the fear and anger from today leak out of your bones as you rest them. He’s always had that effect on you.

Here, in Jonathan’s arms, you feel the safest.

“What did I miss today?” You ask once you’re settled in. 

Jonathan thinks for a moment. “Well, Nance and I got the tape recorder and then drove to her house. She called Barb’s parents, told them she had to confess something about Barb and to meet her tomorrow at Forrest Hills Park in the morning.”

“She’s a genius.”

“She is,” Jonathan lazily responds. He’s drawing small circles against your hand, which is splayed against his chest. His sweater, one you bought him for his birthday, is soft against you. Jonathan seems happy right now, or at least content, and you almost don’t want to ruin the moment. 

It’s so rare to have him like this these days. The old Jonathan, shy and quiet and bashful. 

But he has to know about Will and Dart. It’s only right that he knows. 

“Something happened today, at the middle school.”

There must be something in your voice, because the second the words leave your mouth, Jonathan sits up to look at you. “What happened?”

“My brother found a baby monster from the Upside Down, named him Dart, hid it from me, and now he’s lost.” Jonathan stares at you and you can only sigh. “Will also had another episode. His second one in two days.”

“Fuck…”

“Yeah. Got to the middle school and suddenly I was chasing around some lizard looking thing from the Upside Down. Pretty typical day, honestly.”

“I wish I could’ve been there, I’m sorry. I can help you look for Dart tomorrow–”

“It’s okay,” you reassure Jonathan. “If anything, this all just proves that you and Nancy are onto something. I mean, it’s been a year and we’re still dealing with so many fucking problems due to their carelessness. How the fuck does a creature from the Upside Down just happen to survive and find its way to my brother? I mean, what if someone else had found it?”

You shake your head. “Something’s going on. You and Nancy need to keep going. Expose those evil fuckers.”

Jonathan frowns. “But what about you? What if the baby monster has a bigger, angrier mom and you get hurt?”

You hadn’t thought about that, honestly. “Huh, that’s a great question.”

“Bug–”

“I’ll be fine, bee. Those assholes at Hawkins Lab need to pay.”

Jonathan throws his head back, closes his eyes, and sighs. He knows he can’t argue with you about this, you already willingly took over the role of babysitter, but he still doesn’t like it. Sometimes your selflessness makes him want to scream.

“I hate that you’re always right.”

“I personally love it.” You respond, and Jonathan laughs. He uses his whole chest, it’s breathy and deep and full of warmth, and you smile and kiss his cheek as he laughs. 

No other conversation follows, you and Jonathan are content with just laying there in silence. It’s been a while since you guys were this close. Limbs tangled with limbs, the warmth from the body heat almost too much to stand, yet just enough to love. 

He stays for a while, but eventually he kisses your forehead and tells you he has to go. “Early morning, but I promise I’ll be back the next day.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

Jonathan laughs again and untangles himself from you. He presses another kiss to your forehead, playfully tucks your blanket underneath your chin like a child, and then wishes you a goodnight as he leaves through your window.

– 

For some goddamn reason, you miss your four fucking alarms this morning and oversleep. By almost an entire hour. You’ve never, ever slept through your alarms this horribly before, and you’re blaming the Hawkins Lab people for it. 

Now, you know the real reason is because you’ve spent every night for the last three weeks obsessively researching post-traumatic stress disorder, but blaming Hawkins Lab makes you feel better. 

You get ready as fast as you can, and of course this happens the one morning Jonathan can’t drive you to school and you have to bike. Your mom and Dustin have already left, which. Fuck. You still have to talk to Dustin about Dart. 

Not off to a great start this morning. 

It takes a burnt piece of toast for breakfast, cramped calves, and a lot of prayers, but you manage to make it to school only minutes before the first bell rings. When you arrive, you have just enough time to notice that both Steve’s car and Billy’s car are parked in the lot. 

Great. You have to deal with them both alone today. 

As you’re walking inside, you hear a few people whispering about Jonathan and Nancy. Seems like word has spread that they skipped fourth period together yesterday and still haven’t returned yet.

Awesome. Steve will definitely be in a great mood today once he hears about that.

He can’t seem to catch a damn break. 

And neither can you, because you quickly realize how weird it is being at school without Jonathan and Nancy. It’s lonely, and Steve still seems to be hiding from you. 

No, not hiding, you remind yourself. He’s still hurt, he asked for space and the least you can do is give it to him. You told him where to find you.

And find you Steve does. 

You’re in the lunchroom, staring sadly at your pathetic lunch consisting of a handful of granola bars, resolving yourself to a lonely lunch without your friends, when Steve’s body slides into the seat next to you. You look up, surprised, and he raises his eyebrows at you. 

“We need to talk.”

“Okay… About what? I forgot what topic we’re on. Are we still on the whole friends conversation?”

Steve isn’t in the mood for this. “Where did Jonathan and Nancy go?”

Fuck. 

You look around the lunchroom, scared that the wrong people could be listening in. “I… Okay, I know we just had a whole conversation about being honest and I begged to be your friend again but… I can’t tell you.”

Steve takes several seconds to respond. You know he’s doing everything he can to not completely snap at you. “You… can’t tell me where my girlfriend ran off to?”

“No…” 

“You recognize how fucking stupid that sounds, right?”

You swallow. “I do.”

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. He’s so beyond pissed off right now. Yesterday you were in his car, reassuring him that he’s a good guy and charming and pretending to be his friend again. Now, you won’t tell him where the fuck his girlfriend has gone. 

Steve isn’t an idiot. He knows there’s more to why you ditched him this summer, something you refuse to tell him, and he respected that. He did. He hadn’t wanted to push you too far, but it’s pretty damn ironic that you’re trying to get back into his life while still fucking lying to him. 

You see the obvious frustration on Steve’s face, and you wince. You take another look around, deciding to risk it. This isn’t fair to him, he deserves to know because from an outside perspective, you’d also be incredibly pissed off if your girlfriend just up and left with the guy she has weird feelings for. 

“Listen,” you lean in close, whispering, “Jonathan and Nancy went off to get evidence about who really killed Barb.”

Steve whips his head back. “What–”

“Shh!” You reach behind his head and shove him back down so that you can whisper again. “That’s all I can tell you. There’s… There’s people who could be listening, bad people who could hurt us and–”

“Well, what do we have here?” A voice interrupts.

The hair on the back of your neck stands up. 

It’s Billy.

You and Steve break apart, but he places a hand on the back of your seat in a protective manner. You lean in closer to him, trying to make yourself smaller as if Billy doesn’t already have his eyes on you anyways. 

“What do you want, Hargrove?” Steve asks, situating himself so that more of his body is in between you and Billy. 

He sucks his teeth and then lets out a cold chuckle. “Nothin’, just didn’t know that this little sweetheart had it in her.”

“Don’t call her that–”

“I mean, her boyfriend runs off with your girlfriend?” Billy chuckles again. “I’m surprised Y/N Henderson ran into your arms, Harrington.”

Billy learned your name. 

You don’t want to know how. 

“I mean,” Billy shrugs. “It’s a genius plan. Scorned lovers pissing off their exes. But from what I’ve heard, the school’s sweetheart wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”

“Jonathan and I aren’t together.” You finally find your voice. 

This only seems to entice Billy. He takes a step forward and leans against your table. “So, you’re single then?” 

Steve’s hand tightens around your seat and you feel his body tense. Billy seems to notice this, too, and shakes his head. 

“I know I promised I’d leave you some, Harrington. But this one?” He leans in closer to you, his breath minty and cold as it ghosts against your face. “She’s cute. I think I’ll keep this one.”

A chair goes flying across the room as Steve stands up. He has his fist raised and you’ve never seen his eyes so cold before. He hates what Billy is implying about you, as if he has some claim over you, as if you aren’t a human fucking being. 

You’re so much more than that.

“Don’t talk about her that way.” Steve growls out, his face inches away from Billy’s.

Billy seems to come to life, having finally cracked Steve Harrington, and within a second he has his own fists raised. You’re aware of everyone’s eyes on you in the lunchroom and vaguely you remember Steve confessing to you how much of a hardass his father is on him about school. He can’t get into any more trouble, especially not because of you. 

You shove yourself between Steve and Billy, despite how much your body screams at you to run away for being so close to the other boy. You ignore him, and force Steve to look at you. “Not here. Please.”

Steve looks between you and Billy, sees the pleading in your eyes. He sighs and reluctantly backs down. 

“Seems like the sweetheart has you whipped, Harrington.” Billy remarks, a pleased smile on his face. “Makes me want her even more–Shit!”

Milk drips down Billy’s entire shirt. 

“Oops,” you say, without any ounce of sincerity. You set the empty carton down and give the boy a aren’t I such a clutz? look. “God, silly me! I can’t hurt a fly, but it seems I also can’t hold a milk carton properly.”

Steve stifles a laugh next to you, and around the room a few others are brave enough to laugh as well. You smile innocently at Billy, who looks five seconds away from flipping the table. “Sorry about that.”

Billy, knowing he’s being watched, forces a smile himself. “You’ll pay for that.”

“Oh, I’m sure the shirt was only worth $5 anyways.”

This time Steve lets his laughs out and it calms you, steadies the shakiness you feel as you stand off against Billy. You hope you’re hiding how fucking terrified you are right now. 

You wait for a response, but Billy only storms out of the lunchroom. It’s quiet for a few moments, but slowly the usual buzz in the room returns and everyone goes back to their conversations. You stand there, your heart still in your throat, and Steve’s hand brings you back. 

“Hey, sit.” He tugs you back down and you’re too numb to fight back. “That was awesome, but are you okay?”

“Honestly? No.” 

He thinks for a moment. “Alright, well. I’m still mad at you, so… Would it be shitty if I left?”

Despite everything, you find yourself laughing. “No, Steve. I understand.”

He lingers. “Are you sure? I mean, I can stay…”

“No,” you squeeze his hand. “We can talk more about this later. Alone, without possible psychotic spies around. Go.”

Steve bites his lip, but he’s still angry at you and he has so many things he wants to ask but you’re pale and still shaking from Billy. If he demands more from you, Steve knows it wouldn’t end well for either of you. You both need your space right now, that’s one thing he’s come to learn about you and relate to himself. 

Sighing, he stands up and, to try and make up for being the asshole who leaves a vulnerable girl alone, Steve ruffles your hair. “Stay out of trouble, will ya?”

“No promises.” You smile up at him, though you know it looks as tired as it feels.

He hesitates again, pauses for a few seconds, but eventually he leaves. And then you’re left alone again. 

– 

As soon as school lets out, you march straight over to the middle school, knowing the kids are bound to be there. Dustin, specifically. He’s managed to slip through your fingers three times now. 

Holy shit, you’re really losing your touch.

The second you find the little asshole you’re going to demand a code blue, doesn’t matter where you’ll be, and then interrogate him about Dart and figure out whatever the hell else he’s hiding from you. Then, you’ll make him clean Mews’ litter box for a whole month. 

You’re so lost in your revenge planning thoughts, you almost walk right past Lucas and Max arguing in the parking lot. 

“What is wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?” Max flies past you, her shoulder knocking against yours. You steady her and notice she’s talking to a very nervous looking Lucas. 

Oh dear. 

“I don’t understand!” He calls after her.

“Hey, what’s going on?” You try to intervene, but Max rips herself out of your grasp and gets in Lucas’ face. 

“No!” She’s shouting now. “I don’t understand! You guys act like you want me to be your friend but–but then you treat me like garbage?”

Huh. She’d get along great with you and Steve. 

Lucas looks over at you, helpless. “That’s not true!”

“Don’t look at me, buddy.” You tell him. 

“Yes, it is! You go and hide in the AV Club, keeping secrets like we’re in second grade or something…” Max’s words catch in her throat, giving you a glimpse of the hurt girl underneath her indifferent exterior. “You know, I thought you guys wanted me in your party.”

You step close to her. “Max, I know it might not make any sense but–”

“Don’t tell me you’re in the party but I’m not.”

Now it’s your turn to look towards Lucas for help. 

He sighs. “Look, we want you in our party, but it’s…”

“But what?” Max looks between you and Lucas, obviously becoming more and more hurt the longer this conversation goes on. 

“There… there are just things.”

“Things, yeah.” You unhelpfully echo, but Lucas glares at you. “Sorry.”

He tries again. “There are things we can’t tell you, alright? For your own safety.”

“Lucas,” you warn, scared he’ll say too much, but Max just gets angrier. 

“My own safety?”

“Yes!” 

“Because I’m a girl?”

Well, that’s certainly one way to look at it.

Lucas scoffs. “What? No!”

You step in between the kids. “Alright, no. That’s not it at all and this conversation will just keep going in circles.”

Max ignores you. “Did you keep secrets from El?”

You and Lucas share a look, and then, at the same time, ask, “How do you know about El?”

“Did you?” She presses, but she’s looking more at you now than Lucas. She’s expecting you to take her side, to tell the boys to be nice to her and let her into the party, but the scar on your upper arm burns and your ankle faintly throbs. Those wounds will never fully go away; you’ll carry them with you your entire life.

You know how shitty it feels to be left out, but you also know how shitty the nightmares are as well. Max can never be brought into the Upside Down. Not when she has the chance to live a happy and normal life, free from any danger and turmoil. 

“That was different,” you tell Max, trying to be as gentle as possible. “I really, really wish I could explain, but I can’t. It’s for your own good. If I could’ve prevented the party from going through what they have, I would’ve. But I couldn’t, and it haunts me every day.”

Max stares at you, and you admire how much spunk she has in her. You can see her thinking about what you’ve said, analyzing your words for any lies or deception, and you know she’s spent years doing this on her own. Your heart breaks for her.

Billy’s anger flashes in your mind. Max is an intelligent girl, but you know he’s the reason why.

When she can’t find any lies in your words, she just sighs and shakes her head. “You know what? Forget it. Okay? I don’t want to be in your stupid party anyway. I’m out. Have a nice life.”

Lucas stands there for a moment, processing what’s just happened. “Max!”

“You still stink, by the way.” She calls back, and you step back a bit from Lucas. 

“Not to make this worse, but she’s right.”

Lucas glares at you but then sniffs his jacket, cringing with repulsion. “Oh, shit!” 

He throws his hands up in the air and starts walking back towards the school. You don’t follow for a second, instead you watch as Max skates down towards the parking lot, where Billy is waiting. He has his arms spread against his car, and he seems to have noticed you long before you noticed him. 

Billy’s eyes pierce yours and you shudder. There’s a hatred in his eyes that you’ve never seen before, unlike anything else. Again, your heart breaks for Max. You can’t imagine having an older brother like him.

You force yourself to turn around and join Lucas up ahead. Gross, sleazy men are the least of your concerns right now. 

But then Lucas turns and makes eye contact with Billy before you can warn him not to. “Why is that guy glaring at us?”

You shove Lucas to keep walking. You don’t at all like the disdain in Billy’s eyes. “I poured milk all over his shirt today. Keep moving.”

The boy trips over a rock. “You what?”

“Long story, can we please just go inside and find Dustin? I need to talk to him.”

Lucas sighs, knowing that what he’s about to say will only anger you more. “I can’t find Dustin either. We were supposed to meet by our lockers after school to keep looking for Dart.”

You stop walking. “And he didn’t show?”

“Nope.”

“I’m going to kill him.” You know exactly where your brother is: at home hiding Dart and trying to figure out what to do with him. 

Lucas senses you know something. “Y/N, what did he do?”

“Nothing!” You cover for Dustin quickly, because he’s your idiotic brother whose problems are also somehow yours. You’ll always have his back, but you also hate lying to Lucas. “He just probably had to head home immediately. Our mom has guests over.”

“Guests?”

“Yeah! Totally unexpected, I know, but you know how our mom is.” You start speed walking towards the bike rack. You need to head home. Now. 

Lucas doesn’t believe you. “Y/N–” 

“I’m sorry about Max, by the way!” You call as you run towards your bike. “Talk to her! Obviously don’t mention the… Stuff, but just know if it doesn’t work then it’s for the best! We have to keep her safe!” You’re rambling as you unlock your bike and hop on. 

Lucas is not far behind you. “Are you seriously giving me girl advice as you’re running away from me to go cover for Dustin?”

“Yes. Bye, Lucas!” 

He lets out a frustrated groan and calls after you, but you kick up your kickstand and immediately pedal away, leaving him in the dust. You feel bad, you do. Lucas is one of your favorites to interact with, he’s always been the most rational, but right now you have to go make sure your brother doesn’t burn down this entire town.

You’ll bake Lucas brownies later. 

– 

“Dustin Henderson, you’re so dead!” You slam the front door, sweaty and out of breath from your frantic bike ride.

“Y/N! What’s going on?” Your mother clutches her chest, obviously frightened by your sudden entrance. 

You quickly walk towards Dustin’s closed door. “Everything’s fine, just sibling stuff.”

“Oh, well have you seen Mews?”

The door is locked. Of course the fucker locked the door. You start pounding on it. “Dustin, let me in before I radio all your friends.” Then, you call to your mother in the living room. “And no, I haven’t seen Mews, mom.”

You hear her sigh and mutter to herself where Mews could be, and you figure you’ll help her look after your idiot of a brother lets you into the room. 

Again you pound against the door. “Dustin, I swear to god–”

The door swings open and a hand grabs your shirt and flings you inside, before promptly slamming the door behind you. Once you’re inside, Dustin turns to you, worried. “We have a problem.”

“Damn right we have a problem, where the hell have you been–” There, behind Dustin, is his turtle’s tank, completely shattered. Bile rises to your throat. “Please tell me Yurtle suddenly got super strong.”

Dustin walks over to the tank and holds up what looks like slimy plastic. “So, I kept Dart.”

“Dustin–”

“And he grew. A lot. This is his old skin.” He throws it back down. Then, backing away from you a bit, he admits, “I also can’t find him.”

It takes everything within you not to strangle the kid right then and there. You start pacing the room, mumbling to yourself, “I’m a good sister, I’m a good sister, I’m a good sister.”

“Y/N, I’m sorry, alright? I just, I got excited and Dart likes me and–”

A loud growl cuts your brother off. In a heartbeat, he’s back by your side, clutching your shirt in fear. Instinctively, you pull him behind you and reach for your switchblade that you always keep in your pocket now. After everything that’s happened, you find comfort in having the weapon always close to you. 

Slowly, you and Dustin start walking towards where the growl came from. Your hand never leaves his back, ready to push him out the door in case anything happens. There’s horrible grunting noises coming from the corner of his room. As you walk closer, you see a trail of dark red scattered across the carpet and his chair.

It’s blood. 

The realization makes your breath hitch. 

The grunting gets louder as you approach the chair, and then, slowly, you peek behind it. There, you’re met with a gruesome sight.

Dart is eating Mews.

He's bigger than he was yesterday. Way bigger. Dangerously bigger.

You scream, unable to help it, and Dustin quickly covers your mouth so that you don’t alert your mother. The sound seems to alert Dart, however, and he raises his head from Mews’ stomach, covered in blood, and lets out a horrific screech. 

Its mouth opens the same way the monster’s did at Jonathan’s last year, the same monster that had almost killed you and your friends. The sight paralyzes you in fear as the memories come crashing back from that night. The scar on your arm burns again. Your ankle twings in pain, and you feel sick. 

Your cat is dead. 

And Dustin has been hiding a fucking baby demogorgon in your home. 

-

⌑ series masterlist

⌑ if youd like to buy me a coffee ☕︎

⌑ thank you for reading ! feel free to like, comment, reblog, or send in an ask so we can chat <3

[holdmytesseract]

Another Daryl request bc why not aka I love your Daryl fics so so much 🤍

- a steamy enemies to lovers !! Yn leads a neighboring community (to Alexandria) and they meet regularly to wrangle over the boundaries of the hunting grounds. There always has been heavy sexual tension and one day the things “escalate” ;) …

Crossing Lines

Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader

Summary: When Daryl gets caught on forbidden ground once again, you show mercy - like you did so often. But this time you offer him a quite... Special deal. A deal he can't reject?

Warnings: the usual TWD stuff, walkers, weapons, this is quite a bit steamy, very suggestive smut...

Takes place in season 6!

Word Count: 3,1k

a/n: I absolutely love this request and the story my brain came up with! I'd even go so far and say it's one of my favourites! 😄 Thanks for this, my wonderful friend! I hope you and everybody else likes it! ❤

Sidenote: It has nothing to do with the Wolves. I just liked the name.

Tagging: @km-ffluv @stitchintimefan @sweetpeapod @loz-3 @peaches1958 @fictive-sl0th @lou12346789 @fuseburner @hotgirlsshareaccounts @in-this-minute

Daryl Masterlist °☆• Masterlist

"Hey, Daryl! What are you up to?" Glenn asked his friend; shouting down from one of the guard towers in Alexandria. "'M goin' out," the archer answered; stopping in front of the wooden construction to look up at the Korean. Glenn smiled. "I can see that - but what are you up to?" Daryl shrugged his shoulders. "Huntin'. We're out of 'possum." Glenn couldn't suppress the small giggle, which left his lips. "Yeah, right. Be careful out there. The sun's going down soon." "Nah, got a least two hours 'fore sunset." Even though Glenn knew the redneck for quite a long time already, he was still sometimes surprised and impressed by his skills.

"Alright. See you." Daryl nodded and wanted to walk past the tower, when Glenn stopped him again. "You know the rules," he shouted after him. The archer gave his friend another nod and a low grunt, before he made his way to the big doors; leaving his home behind himself.

Roaming the woods and wide meadows around Alexandria; the archer was on search for something alive to eat. He followed a few trails, which only led to nothing, or a dead cadaver; already feasted on by a walker. Daryl didn't find himself having a lot of luck this evening - at least in the Alexandrian hunting grounds...

Stepping on 'forbidden' land, Daryl's senses were sharpened. Not just because he was looking out for some animal to hunt... Because of the walkers. Sure, you always had to look out for them - but the problem was that he couldn't kill them. Not here. They'd know. You'd know.

The archer sneaked as quiet as possible through the woods; always scanning his surroundings - and yet he couldn't prevent it from happening. A single crack of a twig a few meters away from him announced his doom - and before he could even blink, he was surrounded. About ten men; bow and arrow raised at him and all dressed in the signature clothing he was so very familiar with. Boots, black cargo pants, linen shirts or hoodies. Some of them had fur mantles draped over their shoulders. Others wore a hood. But everyone had a bandana covering most of their faces. Damnit, thought Daryl.

"Drop the weapon!" One of the men yelled. Daryl did what he was told; knowing that he had lost the game already anyways. So, he dropped his crossbow.

The archer's eyes scanned the group then; looking out for you - their leader. But you found him first.

"Crossing borders again, Dixon?" Your voice urged to his ears, causing him to swiftly turn around. You stood behind him; dressed like the men around him. Black cargo pants, beige linen shirt and a fur mantle; bandana loosely hanging around your neck. The only difference was, that you somehow looked more... gracefully. It seemed like the clothing fitted you so much better. Or was it just the way Daryl saw it?

The left corner of your mouth twitched upwards; smiling halfway at the archer. Your bow lazily draped over your shoulder; one hand securing it.

"I asked you a question."

Once again managed your voice to grab his attention; snapping out of his thoughts. He subtly cleared his throat and lifted his gaze to meet your stunning Y/E/C eyes, before he shrugged his shoulders. "I ain't seein' any borders, nor yer name scarified in any of the trees."

It had been the wrong answer. Daryl knew as soon as a man stepped out of the circle behind you; marching with big steps towards you and him. The man had his bow secured on his back and drew a gun instead. He walked past you and aimed the weapon at Daryl; ready to pull the trigger - but you stopped him. Much to Daryl's surprise.

"Leave it, Isaiah." You addressed your right-hand-man. Isaiah gave the archer a death glare, but listened to his leader, of course, and withdrew the gun, engaged the safety and placed it back in its place on his weapons belt. He even took a few steps back. Nevertheless, rested Isaiah's hand on the gun; ready to defend you. If necessary. "It's alright. Mr. Dixon just likes breaking rules. Nothing new, is it?" It wasn't by far the first time that they found the archer within their hunting grounds. Daryl quite liked to... expand his hunting trips. Of course, they didn't catch him every time, but often enough to know.

Daryl just grunted and scoffed. "Rules ain't existing in this world anymore." You lifted an eyebrow, before you started to shake your head. "Ahh this is such a shame," you stated; beginning to circle the archer like a hunter its prey. "Truly. How many more times do we need to explain to you how the shots get called around here, until you finally understand it, huh?" Daryl answered nothing, just clenched his jaw.

"Look, Daryl..." You clearly put the emphasis on his name. "Our communities live in peace together. We agreed to respect one another and when the opportunity occurs, even trade things. But nothing more. We are not crossing your paths and you are not crossing our paths - which includes the hunting grounds as well. You can ask Rick if you don't believe me..." You shrugged your shoulders and continued to circle him. "We have absolutely no problem - but..." You stepped closer; invading his private space and whispered lowly into his ear: "If you keep breaking the rules, we might have a problem."

At your words ran a shiver down Daryl's spine. The problem was, that he couldn't tell if it was out of respect - or arousal. And it scared the very tough man quite a bit.

He could see from the corner of his eyes, how you stepped away again and turned to your men. "Let's call it a day." Everyone withdrew their weapons from Daryl and started to move.

Then you gave Isaiah and Yosh a nod. They knew exactly what to do. Walking towards Daryl, they pushed the archer forwards; into the direction in which the other men were heading. Daryl turned and gave them both a death glare; ready to jump at them and fight - but he knew better than that. He wasn't stupid. He knew when he had lost a game. And this one was already lost a long time ago.

You walked past him; following the group. "You're coming with us. Be our guest." The archer grunted. "What if I don't wanna?" You turned to face the man, while walking backwards. He's very sassy today, you thought. "You're not refusing the offer of a lady, will you? Come on. I have something to discuss with you."

And so, Daryl followed you - wordless and without a fight. He knew that he wouldn't stand a chance. Not against you anyway - and he was clearly outnumbered.

About fifteen minutes later and walking constantly through the thicket of the forest, you, Daryl and the rest of the group reached the community. It was hidden within the trees, on a large clearing. High, thick walls made out of wood marked the outline; strengthened by thick metal tiling. Some would say it looked a bit like the Hilltop, but there was clearly something special about it. Daryl's eyes widened as he saw it. He's never been at their 'camp'. Only met them outside and in the woods. The walls were surrounded by a wide, deep pit. A deep pit which reached around the whole camp - as it seemed. The entrance was only reachable through a drawbridge. Like a castle, taken straight out of the Middle Ages. The archer shook his head. That was surreal. Impossible.

Before he could think more about it, he received another shove, causing him to stumble on the drawbridge. Together with everyone else, he walked through the big doors and behind the safety of the huge walls - and pit. You walked beside him and gave him a smug smile; as he looked around, stunned.

"Welcome to the Wolf's Pit, Daryl."

The archer's eyes widened in astonishment as he took in the scenery in front of him. The place bustled with people. Women, men, children. Small, wooden houses soaring everywhere. Most of them were finished; some of them not. Daryl was also able to make out the small fields with vegetables and crops all around the place. It was stunning. Fascinating. But then he also felt the eyes of several people on himself. Some of them gave him confused gazes; some of them sceptical and threatening gazes. Nonetheless, it was clear to the archer, that they were all asking themselves the same question... Who was he and why was he here?

One wrong move and Daryl would have a big problem - and he knew.

You noticed this as well, of course, and how 'alarmed' Daryl was. So, you stopped, causing the archer to stop, too. You then nodded towards your wooden hut. "Come on. Let's talk, shall we?" While Daryl followed you wordlessly, the other men - including Isaiah and Yosh split up to go their own ways from here.

Your little hut was definitely the most 'majestic' one. Sure, you were their leader. The moment Daryl entered your home, he was utterly impressed. It wasn't super big, but very detailed and beautifully furnished - if you could call it that. The most of it was clearly self-made, not scavenged. The fireplace, table, chairs and several other things. A lot of furs and pillows decorated the house, making it appear very cosy. And again, was this one question ghosting through Daryl's head…

"How were a few people able to build somethin' huge like tha'?" He finally asked; still looking around in awe. You put down your weapons and fur mantle; smiling, before you turned to face him. "That is a valid question, Dixon. To answer it honestly, we didn't even build that much of it." You began to explain, while you made a fire in the fireplace. "When we found this place here, it was more or less a site. Diggers, trucks and other construction vehicles were standing around. Clearly, they wanted to build something big here. The pit was over halfway dug out already. Two wooden huts were still standing; about to be demolished. Just like the wooden fence. Whatever it was they started here, it was never finished. So, we took the opportunity, scavenged the things we needed and build this." You finished; gesturing around. "Quite impressive, right?" Daryl nodded. It was true.

Silence spread within the hut, as Daryl's blue-grey eyes followed your every move. You picked up a few branches and twigs from a basket and threw them into the crackling fire. Before his gaze would stick on you, he averted his eyes again; clearing his throat. "Why 'm I here? Whaddaya want from me?" You turned to face him once again; smiling. "Oh, you know exactly why you are here, Daryl." Again, you rolled his name off your tongue so easily, as if you'd known each other for years. "But I'll explain it to you again." You took a step closer; dusting off your hands. "Admittedly, I don't like you straying around in our territory. We both know that this could end bad for you - which would be a shame, because you are special. You are not like the others, Mr. Dixon. I noticed that the first time we met, and I like it." Your smile even widened, "Therefore, I have an offer to make. One you are freely allowed to decline..." before you gave him a once over. "Or accept."

Daryl looked at you quite a bit confused. "An offer?" You nodded. "An offer." He looked at you for a moment intensely; trying to figure you out. "Aight. Spit it out."

You wettened your lips; holding his gaze. "Go now; never come back and sneak around our hunting grounds. Keep on breaking the rules and risk the bridges we build to burn down or..." "Or?" You bit your lip; starting to smile cheekily. "Or stay; spent the night with me and you'll be allowed to go hunt wherever you like."

For a moment, the archer thought he misheard you/your words. All his facial features literally derailed; blinking. He definitely needed a moment to process this and to regain composure.

"That's extortion, woman." Daryl then scoffed; crossing his arms over his chest and visibly trying to play it cool. You were quite unimpressed from his reaction and shook your head. "It's not. It's an offer - like I said. I'm not forcing you to do anything." "Why would ya offer me somethin' like that?" You bit your lip once more and started to circle him like you did when you and your group caught him. "That's simple. I saw the way you were looking at me. Whenever we met each other. Do you really think I didn't notice, Dixon? You are very bad at hiding your physical attraction towards me."

Your words were like a blow into the gut for the archer. He swallowed - hard; was speechless. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" You teased him; giggling. "It's because you know that I'm right, isn't it?"

That was the moment Daryl lost it. He couldn't prevent the heat forming in his cheeks; a blush creeping on his face. You smiled and stopped right in front of him. Slowly, you lifted your hand and drew a seductive line from his shoulder to his pec with your pointer finger; whispering: "Gotcha."

An undeniable shiver ran down Daryl's spine at your words; your touch leaving a burning, sizzling sensation behind.

You took a step back, but kept your hand in place; fingers started to toy with the lapels of his angel-winged vest. "So, what do you say?"

Daryl swallowed; needed once again a moment to get his brain to work properly again and especially to play it cool. What if this was a trap? He couldn't just cave and give in like that, could he?

"It ain't a fair deal, is it? One night in exchange for free passageway? Seems very suspicious ta me." "Who says it's only one night?" You asked with a smirk and looked up to meet his eyes, before you pressed your palm flat against his chest and started to back him up against the nearby wall. "What if our paths cross more often from then on, because we want them to cross? It's a win-win."

You weren't a predictable person. Daryl had figured that out very quickly - but he saw the move you were about to make coming. So, he decided to took you by surprise and join the game. Before you were able to pin him to the wooden wall, he placed one hand over the one which rested on his chest, quickly grabbed your wrist and spun you around - slamming your back against the wall. Now you were the one trapped, not him.

"Why would ya risk it?" Daryl asked in a hushed, raspy voice, while he towered above you; leaving you no chance to escape. Not that you wanted to escape. No, you quite enjoyed the turn of things. It caused the sexual tension to grow even more. So thick, it was cuttable with a knife.

"Huh? Why? You ain't have a reason to trust me." You giggled and leaned closer to him. Not that you were very close already. "I don't have to trust you, Dixon." Your lips almost touched his as you spoke. He could feel your warm breath on the skin of his face. "I just need to give you what you want," you added, whispering. "So, tell me..." You moved a hand to his leather belt, which was slung around his hips and held his old, tattered jeans in place and hooked your fingers through the loops. "What is it that you want?" Then you tugged, causing the completely stunned archer to stumble forwards; hips clashing against yours.

It took Daryl everything, to not let the thundering moan leave his lips, which had built up in his throat. He gritted his teeth; jaw clenching. It was that moment, in which he realised that he couldn't suppress his attraction towards you any longer. Not after that. He got lost in his own primal need - and gave in. His clouded mind urging him on to make a rather bold move. So, he did. Acting fast, he sneaked his hands down to the back of your thighs and lifted you up; causing a small yelp to escape your mouth. He didn't beat about the bush and crossed the small hut to throw you on the fluffy, cosy bed. He had made his decision - and you knew it.

Giggling like a schoolgirl, you looked up at him, "Thought so." and crooked your finger; making a come-hither motion. "C'mon, big boy. Claim what belongs to you then." And he did.

Daryl stayed the whole night – like you said. And let's say it that way… The night was thoroughly spent.

When the first sun rays of the new day poured through your makeshift windows, a firm knock sounded through the hut and woke you up. You knew exactly who it was. Stretching your limbs, you stood up and tiptoed completely across the hut, in order to grab your dressing gown. "Come in!" You whisper-shouted; not to wake the sleeping man in your bed. The wooden door swung open and revealed your right-hand-man, Isaiah.

"Good morning," he said; closing the door behind himself. You gave him a smile; tying the knot of your robe. "It is, indeed, a very good morning." You had no shame when it came down to him. Neither secrets. Isaiah was like the big brother you never had and best friend in one. You loved him dearly and were grateful for everything he had done for you.

Isaiah's eyes wandered over your body, before they travelled to the bed. "Ah, I see." He stated; seeing the archer's barely covered body. Daryl was still sleeping tightly; laying on his belly with both hands buried underneath the soft pillow, in order to support his head.

Isaiah grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Sleeping with the enemy?" You shook your head; smiling. "He's not the enemy, Ice. He's an ally - just like the Alexandrians..." Your eyes roamed across Daryl's bare, broad back. Some scratches of your fingernails were still visible; memories immediately taking you back to the last night. "...and the man I'd like to keep in my bed." Isaiah chuckled. "I assume you had a very pleasurable night then?" "Then best of my life."

[invissimp]

Yule Blues

Draco malfoy x reader

Summary: Confusion during the holiday season wasnt something you wanted to deal with especially with the Yule Ball in a few weeks.

Snow. Thats always how you knew Christmas was around the corner this year the first snow falls just so happened to be on a trip to Hogsmeade.

Although you were walking with Hermione, Ron, and Harry your plan was to meet up with Draco at the three broomsticks halfway through the visit.

Draco usually didn't even bother trying to get you from your house friends mainly because they were overprotective of you since your best friend is their "rival".

So that's why you decided it would just be better meeting him somewhere other than him trying to find you in the small village.

Glancing towards the left seeing Ron looking at Hermione while she was explaining how the Yule ball was going to work. On your right was Harry since he and Ron weren't really on 'talking terms'.

Although you felt bad for Hermione for leaving her alone with Harry and Ron while they weren't talking to each other. The other part of you was happy to finally visit the three broomsticks with Draco since last year you only did once.

Glancing down at your watch almost every 3 minutes to see if it was time to go see Draco. Although there was a good chance he was already there you still didn't want to leave your friends so soon.

"You know we're not stopping you from seeing Malfoy right?" Your red headed friend asked.

Taken aback from his niceness towards Draco even if it was hard to make a comment about Draco mean Ron always found a way to.

"You guys wouldn't mind if I went ahead and left to go see him?" You asked

The two boys just nodded their heads while Hermione let out a simple yes to the question. Before they could even say bye you were gone heading towards the three broomsticks.

Bringing your gold and red scarf up to your nose since it was still a couple minutes walk. Glancing around to see people from different houses and schools walking into each store wanting to see what was in each one, especially the third years.

Smiling to yourself thinking of how last year Draco mentioned in one of his letters towards you during the summer he said that he wanted to be the first one to take you to all the stores. (you both knew that wouldn't happen) He really did enjoy your company.

Ron would always joke that he liked you more than his own housemates and he fancies you.

You had always denied the first part but the second half is something you wished to be true since in all honesty you were completely in love with Draco Malfoy. Would he return your feelings? Most likely not he probably fancies Pansy Parkinson.

Shaking your head to get out of your thoughts only to be met by a Durmstrang student, Steven Bottom. There had been rumors about his plan to ask you to the Yule ball. If worse comes to worse then yeah you would go with him. Although you would prefer to go with a boy from a slytherin house.

“Ah Y/N what a pleasant surprise to see you here.” The Durmstrang student said with a grin.

You always knew you were somewhat short compared to your friends, especially Ron and Draco but Steven was a good 6’4(1.9 meters). Smiling up at him “Nice to see you as well Steven.”

Although his name didn’t get called from the goblet you knew he put it in there. You two had been in the library a couple times so you can explain to him what all happens at Hogwarts and just to hang out with someone new to school.

Although you had been walking by yourself to the three broomsticks, why not walk with Steven. “Care to walk with me?” 

Nodding his head to your question already following you.

“So has anyone asked you to the Ball yet, i’m sure their has to be some people that want to go with you?” The Bulgarian asked with just the slightest hint of desperation in his voice.

Now the smile on your face has went down a little but not by a whole lot “Yeah a couple people have but ive said no to all of them I been waiting to be asked by a certain person.”

Now that definitely caught his attention “So no date yet just making sure?”

Shaking your head for a no to his question while glancing up at him just to see him wearing the same grin as he had before when you first ran into him today.

Seeing that you were only about a minute away from your destination was a plus since you really didn't want to keep this conversation going and end up rejecting Steven just to wait for a boy who won't even ask you.

Taking a deep breath of oxygen before asking you “So can I be that certain person to ask you to the Yule ball I mean we can have a great time there and it wont be a waste of your…” Draining out his rambling once the three broomsticks came into sight and thankfully Blasie was outside.

“Bloody hell Y/N your finally here I thought you werent going to show and then I would have to deal with a pissed Draco all night which is NOT on my bucket list.” The slytherin said warning that Draco might be in a bad mood.

Glancing down at your watch to see that Steven had slowed your walk down just by talking to you and now the trip was a little over halfway. Looking up at Steven to see disappointment in his eyes made you feel bad a tad bit, just a tad.

“We can finish this conversations some other time yeah?” you said more like a statement than question before walking into the three broomsticks.

This place has never failed to feel welcoming, hell even the most sad human could walk in here and be cheerful just for the day. Looking around to see Madam Rosmerta had put up the Christmas trees and decorations. 

Obviously it was busy since it was the first day, darting your eyes around looking for the boy youve been waiting to see all day. Finding him in the back corner which you couldn't really see because of one of the many Christmas trees.

Smiling softly at him, you knew he had been looking at you since you've walked into pub. Taking in his appearance his gloves and scarf had been on the table corner and your seat across from him had already been pulled out for you to sit in.

Walking over to the table and pulling off you gloves. 

“Well look who finally decided to show up only 10 minutes late.” The seeker said sarcastically while moving your gloves over on the table.

Glaring at him “I could just leave right now and never talk to you again.” You said with a serious face on.

Knowing you was just lying to him he rolled his eyes. That was his specialty knowing your humor and personality better than anyone could.

Sitting down finally after almost 2 hours of walking.

—

Talking with Draco made time fly by fast for sure it had only felt like 5 minutes but in reality a hour and half. That means only about a half hour longer to talk to him.

“So what was you and Bottom talking about in the street he seemed pretty happy about it before you walked away?” Draco asked

Confused on how he would know but Draco read your face and pointed towards the window that had a perfect view of where you and Steven were talking.

“Oh he was asking me about the Yule Ball and if I have a date yet to it.” you replied softly, now that was something that caught Dracos attention he doubted he wouldnt know if you were going with someone but you never know.

“So are you?” He asked trying not to seem to interested, shaking your head a no “Just waiting for a certain someone to ask me but if he doesnt then I might go with Steven.” 

No way you could ever go with someone but Draco, seeing you even talk to someone else gets him mad enough but dancing would be another level of madness. 

Nodding his head to your response. “So have you been asked or ask anyone yet?” You said curiously with just a hint of hopefulness in your eyes.

Draco knew lying was terrible, although hes done it before he hated doing it to people he cared about(even though it was just you and his mom). Draco didnt know why he said what he said it just kinda came out of his mouth. “Im going with Pansy I also asked her.”

Looking at your eyes to see the hopefulness fall out of them and be met with sadness and a weak “Oh.”

Now the converstation had gotten awkward enough to the point you might as well just walk away.

Which is exactly what you did. Before Draco could even realize it, you had gotten up and left the pub leaving him behind with your gloves.

———

Trees. Christmas trees to be exact had been put up all around the school to celebrate the spirit. Each student also got to make a ornament each year to put on a tree.

Some were common like a snowflake, bulbs with intials on it. The weasley twins always did magic on theirs to make it extra special and stand out.

This year Heromione made hers a cat with whiskers that move every few minutes. Ron’s was a simple broomstick that he had Hermione make it where it can fly around to different trees each day.

You never put much thought into your ornament since you’d only see it for a week and a half. But this year you and Draco planned on doing matching ones. His was to be a black swan and yours a white one.

It was your mission to avoid him of course but that didn’t stop you from still fulfilling your part of the plan. It was late at night and Ron requested food from the kitchen, Harry offered to come with you but you denied since it was better for just one person to get caught and not two just in case.

Knowing that the chances of running into anybody were slim and Harry had already checked the Marauders Map before you had gone out to make sure Flich wasn’t anywhere around.

Stepping foot into the kitchen to see just a few elves around. Requesting the food that Ron and Harry wanted along with a few drinks.

Hermione told you to make it quick since their was no warning if any teacher decided to take a stroll around the halls. Getting the food from the elves and responding with a small “thank you” before walking up and out into the hall.

Walking back towards the Common room felt even longer, the longest thing that you’ve experienced even potions or charms. It was bound to happen after all, footsteps were heard from behind you. Here comes detention for a week.

“Y/N.”

You could recognize that voice from anywhere, the one where you heard for weeks but haven’t had a conversation with. Draco Malfoys voice.

The inner gryffindor in you was not coming out, all you wanted to do was run away and not stop to talk to Draco.

Before your plan to run away could happen the slytherin done turned you around to face him.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” He stated like it was simple knowledge. If anyone else saw him they would say he looked angry or annoyed which he did. But his eyes had just a hint of sadness in them.

Over the years knowing Draco’s facial expressions have gotten easier, enough where you can see across the great hall with one glance to know if he was going to have a good or bad day. Which was him making fun of Harry or leaving his comments aside.

Deciding to test your luck with him and see if you can get away with it. “No I havent just been busy with the Ball and stuff like that.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s the truth.”

“You know I can read you like a book right?”

Having no comeback to that and just looking at him. It was bound to happen eventually knowing that he would talk to you. This wasn’t one of the ways you pictured him finding you alone.

“Why did you leave out of the blue in hogs meade after I talked about the Yule ball?”

Well he definitely got straight to the point for once, Draco wasn’t known for that usually everyone would have to guess about what was wrong with him or what he was trying to say.

Not right now though, not when you his bestfriend, crush had been avoiding him for weeks now even after he planned on asking you out that same day and just say it was a joke about Pansy.

Lost at words to respond to him, he looked as though he was going to say something. You couldn’t bare to hear it, how he was going to make fun of you about not having a date.

So you ran. Ran as fast as you could, faster than when you pranked Ron. Running down the hallways to stop by the fat lady portrait, you could hear Draco’s faint footsteps in the background.

Saying the password and slamming the portrait shut to be met with Harry, Ron and Hermione all staring at you with wide eyes.

“I like draco Malfoy.”

————

Part 2

[sophiaforevs]

Between the early cancellation of Discovery, Seven/Raffi and Mariner/Jenn being erased in their respective shows, and SNW having queer coded characters but not confirming anything on screen, I'm really afraid that we're entering another "No Gays in Trek" era.

For those who don't know, 90s era star trek featured so few queer characters b/c Rick Berman largely held a policy of not wanting any homosexuality in his shows. And yes, we all remember the handful of episodes that slipped through that addressed it but the fact remains that there were no canonically queer main cast members before Into Darkness in 2016 gave us a five second shot that could be cut when whoever was showing the movie found the idea of two men in a loving relationship disgusting.

Then we got Discovery with multiple queer characters that allowed people to feel seen. And people never stopped bitching about them. The amount of times that I've had to listen to people complain that Adira's only character trait is that they're non-binary despite that literally being a single thirty second scene and never brought up again makes me understand that they very likely don't want to like the queer characters in that show. And it's not that there aren't criticisms to be made about the queer representation in Disco: Discovery Buries it's Gays before the end of the first season. Making your trans characters aliens who already have a history of gender fuckery is problematic b/c it somewhat plays into the idea that queerness is unnatural for human beings. But I never hear those complaints. Only the pronouns. Only the "We get it you're gay but don't shove it down our throats." But I don't want to get too off topic.

Now Discovery is being canceled early. And by early I mean, the writers weren't given proper notice that their show was ending. They were halfway through production and allowed to adjust the end episodes of the season to try to give a satisfying ending.

In Picard and Lower Decks, we got two sapphic relationships ("sapphic" meaning a romantic or sexual relationship between two women who aren't necessarily strictly lesbians) and they were pretty good. People had been asking for Seven to be queer and Jeri Ryan had been playing her as such since her introduction (see again: Rick Berman) and to see her finally get to express that was really healing. Mariner got off to rocky feet when the creators tried to pull a "Dumbledore is gay" where they said she was bi but didn't commit to it, but they she actually got a fairly satisfying relationship in season 3.

But in their most recent seasons, both were completely written out. Seven/Raffi gave us no explanation beyond that they "broke up." They went out of their way to keep them from being on screen together for most of the season. Mattis said in a Reddit AMA that he wanted Seven to be captain and Raffi to be first officer at the end of the season and that Starfleet would have regulations against relationships between the two despite the biggest reason Seven was promoted to captain was that she was a rule breaker. We didn't even get that much for Mariner/Jennifer. Jenn just wasn't in this season except for two background appearances.

And in Strange New Worlds there's just… nothing. SNW is the most recent new show and there's no queer representation. They code Ortegas as gay but don't actually confirm it on screen. There's just… nothing.

And this is how you loose the culture war. The bigots make enough noise that the show that is supposed to be a beacon of diversity doesn't necessarily side with them but they just kinda bow out of the conversation. They decide that it's easier to not bother than to take a stand. And so I and many many queer star trek fans are left wondering:

Does the franchise even want us any more?

[spacecasette]

i accidentally 1.4k words of character study. how do people even complete any of their stories i feel like i drank 4 beers and entered a trance

anyway here's a snippet of (the prologue to?) Bolt the Horse ♡

Sunshine coming through the tree canopy onto the surface of the creek turns stones into greengold disco lights. Bucket in one hand, ziploc of bacon strips in the other, she ambles about looking for a halfway decent rock grouping to find something for her dinner. Already this week, she has caught 3 bluegill and is of the mind they should be off the menu for a while. The thing about crawdads is that they they're pretty dumb & extremely grabby. This far into summer they're still in season– and it was a wickedly wet winter, which means they'll be out and about clear till the end of June if she's lucky.

An hour later, her shop bucket is near full and her knees are aching, so over slick rock and patches of wet grass, Dani goes back up to the house to fix supper. The sterile light and air of the refrigerator is cool on her sweat-damp face when she reaches for a beer. The stove clicks, the gas lights, and the thin aluminum stock pot clatters loud and stark in the empty house when she sets it down.

Her evening unfolds, and the sky spreads its ink everywhere all over it like a soiled rag. After the washing up, she clears the counters and puts the laundry in the wash on the back porch. Suddenly, then, she finds herself alone in the dim light of the living room, restless and bored for the first time in weeks. The line of her life lately'd felt too straight, too story, makes her itch for a little tangling– if anything, to provide the challenge of undoing– and anyway her heart is a bit sore, and the Budweiser's gone. Nothing much better to do, she figures, with her idle hands. So she walks to the bar.

There's almost no one inside when she arrives, but then again, it's quarter to 8 on a Tuesday, and she imagines not much of anything too exciting can be got up to at this hour. The bartender looks almost insulted when she lifts a finger to order, and his contempt seems to increase when she orders a tall boy of Lonestar. He does, to his credit, redeem himself by letting her smoke inside and mumbling from under his mustache, "you can do that in here, we're not a bunch of assholes".

So Dani finds herself on top of a barstool at Doumain's Domain for the first time that summer. She works diligently at the crossword book perched on the bar with a pen borrowed from the bartender because she felt like being a piss ant. It makes her feel like her Gramma isn't so far off after all, because there's people around if she wants to talk, but she doesn't have to if she don't have much to say. Plus, she figures, it's nice to just share company without being expected to behave any certain way.

Things do eventually get exciting around 11, though, and the bar man has to throw out a couple of 20-something boys, liquored a little too far up and getting rowdier with every passing minute. When the pool table is no longer enough to keep their attention, they turn it on her, tugging at her braid and asking her, without even a spit of subtlety, if she wants to "go a round with them." She finds she can't miss the sidelong looks the bartender gives her before he throws them out– or how he stands, interrupting their line of sight on her, when he finally does. She sets her cash on the bar and leaves without a word shortly after, unweaving her hair on the way home.

[longbobmckenzie]

THTH2 Episodes 1-3 Thoughts!

Eeeek it's THTH2 (Too Hot to Handle the game) time!! Last season fizzled out halfway through but based on the first few episodes of season 2, I've got hopes that this one will be better!

First of all, it's 15 episodes as opposed to 10 - there's room for development (and more bombshells/dumpings!)

There's more customization! I feel like it's improved, although others have said they had a harder time with it. I'm not a huge fan of the hairstyles and outfits we've been given so far, but we'll get more

In the initial episodes, there are 5 friends and only 4 LIs - that might be a little disappointing at first (especially since the friends are all hot - URGH I want Santiago!!), but this actually fixes some of the problems with the first season

More non-romanceable characters is a good thing because it means there will be more storylines besides MC/LI and Jada/Justin/Carter

A lot of us started to hate Jada after a while because she kept popping up and we were forced to be friends with her. Having more friends is a good thing because we'll be able to talk to more people instead of just one person. I'm hoping there will be some branching involved where some scenes are dependent on who your highest relationship is with, but we'll see!

Less LIs is fine for the reasons above - sure there's less choice up front, but with next to no branching in S1, every route was the same, and there were only 3 couples at the end. It didn't make sense. Plus...

We're already getting at least one bombshell next week! It's highly likely they'll be LI(s), and no doubt there will be more people incoming

In Season 1, all the LIs had hard-ons for MC even when MC didn't show them any interest - so far that doesn't seem to be the case, and I love that. It was weird that 9 people were obsessed with us, honestly. This time, our choices matter more

They're already setting up a love triangle! It makes so much more sense to have a LT early on when everyone's new rather than force it with a bombshell we don't even like midway through the season

The characters so far seem to have more personality traits than just whatever their jobs/interests are. Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon, and there is definitely still some of that, but I feel like I've already had deeper chats with them. And they ask about us too, and we can define a bit more of a personality for ourselves

More under the cut...

I picked Antoine so far (love a Canadian hockey player!!). He's basically an upgraded (yes, I said it) version of Theo (the art style is slightly improved - the smiles aren't as creepy this time!). I wasn't a Theo girlie but so far I'm vibing with Antoine

I was a Liam girlie, but Liam 2.0 (Wesley) doesn't have quite the same appeal. He's still hot, but Idk, he's not my Liam

There's a fun Antoine glitch (not sure if any of the other characters have it) where he's fully naked. It's pretty funny

I've already broken a bunch of rules, mwahaha!

The list of achievements this season is interesting 👀 There's an achievement for getting eliminated, which I will definitely be trying to do. And stuff about the others trusting us (probably a way to earn back money)

They still have the "beach hut" confessionals, but I feel like those episodes are shorter, which is great because they could be a drag on replays before, or when you just want to get to the next episode

Santiago is my boy, I'm loving the representation with him. I'm curious if we'll ever get a chance to get our hands on him even without romance, because we do have a flirty vibe and I would absolutely jump at that chance!

Overall, I'm excited to see how this goes! It does seem like they've taken our feedback so far, the initial episodes felt a lot like last season but that's not at all a bad thing - last season started off great, and this one has too. I do think this season has better potential overall and my fingers are crossed that it delivers

[grifff17]

Audiodrama Sunday 7/28/24

Last week I was busy on Sunday and didn't get a chance to do a write-up, but I still have my notes from that week, so this is going to be a long one.

To start off, the last 3 episodes of @lostterminal have been really good. Oni not having a concept of the physical world was so interesting, I love the worldbuilding this season. It was really cool how Seth compared him to a mycelium network. Also, CO is a great character, it was fun to have him back, and the stuff about spaceship design was very cool.

I finished season 2 of @itmeblog's InCo. The worldbuilding with the immortal soldier-gods was very cool. Also Alula is haunting the narrative nearly as much as Evelyn did in The Pasithea Powder. Space operas about not being able to get over losing someone my beloved (also check out Second Star to the Left). At the end of the season, the heist was really fun, Hatov did such a good job. Excited to start season 3.

The new episode of @midnightburgr was crazy. Starting from the beginning, I love a good Gloria speech, and David is a fun character. The french bit made me realize how many cognates french-english have. I know nothing about French but I was able to half tell what was being said. Then the ending was insane. So much happened in so little time. We definitely figured out what the harbinger of doom from Welcome to the Horizon is, I love how the two shows overlap.

@worldsbeyondpod this week started with a bang with the third real fight scene of the campaign. All 3 of them were so badass, it was so interesting how Suvi was unable to do harm. After that, the identify spell was so cool, possibly my favorite moment in the campaign. Then the reveal at the end! Brennan gave the players exactly what they need to destroy (or add to!) the coven. I wonder what they're going to do with it.

In @worldgonewrongpod Malik is really going through it. "Zoom call with the fey" is such a funny premise but awful when you actually consider the repercussions. I love that the writers wrote their fey consultant into the episode.

For @breakerwhiskey I saw that the show had ended and needed to catch up. I can't believe it took me this wrong to discover the best way to listen to this show, from your car radio driving down an empty road late at night. The ending with all the audio messages was so cool, I loved recognizing the names of so many other audio drama creators in the credits. I'm really excited to see where the show goes from here.

On a recommendation on here I listened to Childish: The Podcast Musical. This show has a truly insane premise, a world where college RAs are a well-known and respected group, and are much more important than they are in the real world. This show was really fun, some of the songs were super catchy.

There was a new Skyjacks: Courier's Call this week! I was hoping for new episodes every week, because that's what they did for the last season, but it looks like they're doing every two weeks. Kieran having a ghost buddy is really cool, I'm interested in her coming back later in the campaign, especially since Kieran sacrificed the bone whistle.

Mission Rejected this week had Chet Philips become President of the United States, which was totally expected but still fun. After the opening credits, Bowden and Gloria being hunted for sport was incredible. I love how this show constantly brings back one-off villains. I already posted about this, but Skip ordering a Monte Cristo with a side salad was a really clear reference to Midnight Burger, which I loved. And of course, the Admiral is back with a new insane scheme. We're halfway through the season and Skip and the gang don't even know he's back from the dead again yet.

That's all for this week(and last week). Hopefully next weekend I'll have enough time to not have to skip a week again.

[somuchbetterthanthat]

I said it on twitter but I feel i need to say it here too like. Sometimes it hits me that we're not even halfway through the first season of Protocol. Not even halfway through!!!

Martin Blackwood had not appeared before TMA's season 1 halfway through.

Things have time to change SO MUCH yet; we're meeting the characters as BABIES. Maybe in 3 years all those episodes we already had will be GUTWRENCHING to listen to!!!!!

It's wild to me it hooked me up so fast; literally i listened to TMA's season 1 sooo slowly right until the Prentiss Plot hit the archives proper and then i sort of went on a binge of it. So fast that i had to relistent to it all after I had calmed down gjfjdk.

I'm just. so excited. By all the possibilities Protocol is laying bare for us right now. I can't wait to hear more.

[touchstoneaf]

I'm reading summaries and transcripts, and once in a while forcing myself to watch episodes of anything after season 3 of Smallville (solely so that I can rewrite them in a way that's much more coherent (and CLexy, but that goes w/o saying))... and my GOD, they are so dumb sometimes. Poor Michael. having to convincingly say shit like "your girlfriend was possessed by the ghost of a witch" with a straight face! (Side note what the actual fuck is the plot in this season? Season 4 is insane and I don't even want to talk about it.) Yes the show has always been a little goofy and has some storylines that are questionable... but they are really pushing it now.

Also one of the main strengths of the show is the chemistry between Michael and Tom, and yet they have full episodes where they don't even interact, and it's just like, *what* are you doing?! And then to top it off, each summary just gets more and more ridiculous and complicated as the seasons goes on, and I'm just like oh thank god I have simplified it in fanfiction! They are no damn witches (because let me not even get started on how witches are portrayed in most TV shows!), there are no spirits floating around trying to possess people (just because you have Kryptonite around does not mean you get to hand-wave literally anything at all. Why in the hell would a Kryptonite nodule or some dust cause ghosts to exist? It affects *living cells* with *radiation*. I don't even understand why they would make a decision like that. They really must have been desperate for stories already, and we're not even halfway through the show yet).

I'm not going to even get started on my main gripes with the show that have existed from the beginning, like turning Superman into a self-serving, abusive, selfish liar who lies, or the fact that their main "villain" was created out of victim-blaming and abuse and then everybody's just gleefully happy for Lex be treated like shit for no fucking reason whatsoever, while his Literally Evil father is turned into some kind of pseudo "good" guy. Cuz yeah, abusers should be redeemable. but their victims should end up alone and tortured and treated like shit by everybody around them. That totally makes sense. I won't get started, I really won't, because I will be here all day. Or the fact that nobody seems to have figured out that Clark is a meta at the very least, when he does all kinds of weird shit all the time. These people are smart. Chloe and Lex especially are not fucking stupid by any stretch. It just simply would not have taken them four or more years to realize that he could easily one of the mutants in town. Nobody would be shocked in the slightest; but they play it like they're just too stupid to figure it out, and it's terrible because Clark is the worst liar in the universe.

Also, somebody who's not yet Superman is not going to be fighting beings like Doomsday when they're still like 20. It's just not going to happen. I'm not even getting started on creepy stuff like how they're totally sexualizing someone who's playing a minor because she is their eye candy on the show. Lana and Kristin deserved better! The female lead who basically existed to further the two guys' storylines for like three seasons finally gets her own story... but it's about being possessed by an ancient witch or some shit? They are actually sexualizing her near death experience, like some kind of creepy PG snuff film (who actually made the decision of trying to make Lana being slowly suffocated a weird sexy vibe?! So fucking problematic I don't even know where to start). And then the male lead's other love interest is summarily killed by their cardboard cutout villain of the week with his lack of character development, simply so that she can't get in the way of Supes' future storyline, because she was literally created only to be a roadblock to his future goals, masquerading as something to keep him from actually being lonely to death. All she did wrong was to wish she could free of stigma about Mental Health... then shortly afterward, when she was essentially killed about it, he turns around and is fine again because he gets a football scholarship. What the fuck?! (Yes, I'm looking at you, Pariah).

I can't even with this show sometimes. I'm so glad I quit when I did. I tend to forget how insane and Incredibly questionable a lot of it is until I have to watch something of it in order to rewrite it. But I guess that's why there's fanfic in the first place!

[thefringespod]

Howdy wanderers! It is once again the most audiodrama of Sundays which means its time for my #AudioDramaSunday round up!

Starting off with the season premiere of @innbetween I'm already in love with these Lowlifes and cannot wait to see what schemes they get up to

Tore through season 2 of @thenightpost and am currently halfway through season 3. This show never goes where I expect it to and I'm still not recovered from the season 2 finale it was WILD (affectionate). I cant wait to finish up season 3 and scream <3

First new Technomancy Project episode of the year was this week and GODS it was incredible. You know a battle is well crafted when the emotional weight makes you forget a character is immortal

This isn't an audiodrama but I have to shout out the naming of the year on My Brother, My Brother, and Me because I laughed til I cried. Happy Twenty Fungalore: He heard your wish

Back to audiodramas! New @somewhereohio was stellar as always

I was texting @totcoc0a as Nadia Did ThingsTM because I was NOT ready for that. It was a great episode and I can't wait to see what dipshit teen shenanigans get undercut by the HorrorsTM next

These past 2 weeks of @woebegonepod episodes are some of my favorites in the whole show. My beloved Outlaw Ty returned this week and then David Ault proceeded to make me cry over this British cowboy. If yall aren't listening to woe.begone you gotta start its phenomenal

There was a late Christmas-y treat from @amongthestackspodcast this week! They got some INCREDIBLE voice actors from around the audiodrama world to do a reading of A Christmas Carol and it was marvelous. There are some familiar faces from the Fringes in there as well <3

Episode 1 of @souloperatorpod releases to the public TOMORROW!!! I've listened to episode 1 and y'all. It's so fucking good you're going to be blown away. Tot's writing and voice acting are just phenomenal (Tot GET LOVED IDIOT) and the set up for the show is so good

Here on the Fringes we're about to reach the halfway point of the show!! Supporters got access to this week's episode last night; if you want to join them, check out patreon.com/PineTreePods

And over on @forgedbondspod we have put out our official cast announcement!!!! I'm so excited about this of these wonderful people who are involved and can't wait for you to hear what they're working on

That's all for this week!! There are some exciting things coming this year and I can't wait to continue working on them and sharing them with yall <3

[roamwithahungryheart]

As the halfway point of the season rapidly approaches, the 63 minute runtime of 3x06 'Sunflowers' is already causing chaos.

This is a workplace comedy! Episodes used to be 30 minutes long!

I'm going to tell you something that may just blow your mind.

Ted Lasso is not a workplace comedy. It's genre-bending, subversive television disguised as a workplace comedy.

In the beginning, it was marketed as feel-good television. A fun little sports rom-com show we can all be inspired and amused by. Season 3 is not the same peppy, happy, quickfire comedy we once knew. Because it isn't meant to be. The progression of the story has taken us to a darker place. There are new characters to get acquainted with. The tone of the show has changed to reflect Ted's journey.

These things take time to set up. When you have a lot more to say, you need a lot more time to say it.

Production was delayed to accommodate rewrites, making it clear that there's a larger story to be told. That being said, season 3 is still sticking to a 12 episode run in line with previous seasons. Considering the level of detail put into the show, that's quite an achievement.

When you compare this season to the previous two, the level of impatience some viewers are feeling is understandable. The pacing is different, there are more lingering shots, and the longer runtime packs a lot of punch in one sitting, leaving us all frazzled husks of the viewers we once were as we try to process the events of each episode.

The last TV show that crushed our brains to mush and threw the rulebook out the window was, of course, Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks had a major influence on Brett Goldstein's creative direction, so if we look at Ted Lasso through a Lynchian lens, what do we get?

The Twin Peaks pilot episode was filmed as a standalone TV special. It was an intense 94 minute event that led to three seasons filled with weird and wonderful stuff. The episodes were long, the pacing was slow, and each episode subverted expectations. It was a tantalizing melange of familiar tv tropes injected with darkness.

When The Return finally aired in 2017 after production delays (Lynch pushed for 18 episodes as opposed to a more palatable 10 for mainstream television) it was somewhat divisive. It was longer, slower, there were new characters and plotlines that took us away from everything we once knew Twin Peaks to be.

Some critics said it felt like a different show. What those critics failed to realize - much like the reaction to Ted Lasso s3 thus far - is that it was a different show. The Return was an old familiar story told from another perspective.

Ted Lasso s3 is doing the exact same thing. It's telling us Ted's story through his eyes.

Just as Lynch & Frost did with The Return, Ted Lasso s3 gives us a glimpse into the lives of our beloved Richmond gang with a new twist, whilst retaining the core DNA of the show.

In the words of The Log Lady -

"We live in a world where nothing is simple. Each day, just when we think we have a handle on things, suddenly some new element is introduced and everything is complicated once again [...] Are our appetites, our desires undermining us?"

The expectation that we're always going to get perfectly palatable bitesize television like we did in the halcyon days of lockdown box set binges is ruining our ability to turn on, tune in and drop out. This season is a reminder that patience is a virtue.

[phantomlemon348]

Ok, I've only just watched Broadchurch and haven't even finished it yet but I said this from the first episode.

Ellie and Alec's relationship. It is very divided, a lot of people ship them, then again a lot of people don't.

But this is my theory: Since the first episode, when they started working together, you could see they don't stand eachother but at the same time get along great, but never would either think to admit it. A sassy duo, inseparable but can't stand eachother. Always fighting and throwing around pointed spiky comments. But you see how much they actually care for eachother.

Especially in the last episode of season 1, when he directed the phone signals to his mobile. Ellie just thought he was being a dick, like he always is, and I missed it at first too... But he directed the signals to his phone because he already had a suspicion who it was, he was quite certain and he wanted to be the one to tell her.

In season 2 as well, he tries to warm up for her.

When he offers her a hug, Alec is not a huggy person, we all know that, he will go out of his comfort zone for her.

But Ellie said no and it made him more cautious I find. In several scenes you can see the look he gives her. You can see it makes him unhappy to see her sad, but all he does is ask if she's ok and nothing more because she rejected him last time and doesn't want to make it awkward again.

Ok but I just want to say, I don't ship them too hard, romantically. They are best friends, Ellie's a person he trusts completely, someone who shows some fondness and affection for him. And she's grateful for him being there, especially during the trial in season 2, when Beth, who she would have usually talked to, turned on her, she had someone to talk to -(who wouldn't always listen and be a bit of an arsehole but generally, he was halfway understanding).

And aaaaaaarrrrrggh, the last episode of season 2. I think we can all agree here the "I'm not hugging you" hit hard. You could see he wanted a little bit more, maybe...? We all know our man Hardy is awkwardly affectionate, it's not exactly his strong point now, is it? But y'know, if he's leaving Broadchurch, maybe never to return (we know that he does, or at least they meet again. There wouldn't be a season 3 otherwise but we're thinking in-character here) he might want something more because she does mean more to him. She helped him find himself again, showed him some affection or fondness when he needed it most and nobody else would. She helped him back onto the path when he was alone aimlessly wandering through the foggy woods.

And when Ellie said: "Don't be kind to me, that's not how it works." That was cute how she didn't want to leave yet, wanted to wait for the taxi. Yes, that is what friends do. But my theory (could be just a hope cuz I ship them a bit and they need to be fucking fluffy or I will not survive) at the moment is: Ellie is used to him being an arse and she won't admit it, at least not to him but she will miss him. And I think she doesn't want him to be nice because she's trying not to show how much it means to her. Cuz that's I dunno, how them two are. Slightly confused, huh? Oh ye, can say that again. But he has been nice to her in subtle ways that she hasn't noticed and vice versa.

I'm sorry to all the non-shippers but I do think there have maybe been a few sparks between them. You can't deny it.

Alec is touchstarved. He loved Tess you could see that. They still care for eachother and he wanted to go back and tried to fix it. Stitch it up because he wanted someone to love and someone to love him. He fell for Tess and was happy falling. Would've loved to fall forever. But Sandbrook brought by some turbulence on the way. And it was like Tess smashed the ground into him. It came too soon. He wasn't looking. He wasn't expecting it. And it left a bloody mess on the floor and a broken man recovering from it.

But this accident leaves him scarred and he's scared of falling again. He is literally dying of a broken heart.

But I see him wandering towards the edge for Ellie. He's close, I think. But not wanting to, not letting himself make the same mistake again.

I see them as being fluffily awkward and sassy to eachother. But maybe - just maybe - in one scene where Alec says: Oh, Miller, I could kiss you. Yes. I admit, I was hoping for something.

They would kiss like once or twice but find it fucking awkward and never do it again.

As in besties but a slight bit more? But not too romantic?

I don't know if that makes sense but that's how I would describe their relationship.

My sister and I have come up with a simple way to put it: platonic romantic.

[photogirl894]

🥳Photogirl894's "Sun and Rain" Fanfic Three Year Celebration!!🥳

As of today, it has now been THREE whole years since I started writing and posting "Sun and Rain", my Bad Batch fanfic and love story between Hunter and my OC, Kimber!

Crazy how time flies when you're having fun, right?? 😆

I've added a bit more to my story since last year and I'm insanely happy with how it's progressing! This year, the story continued on through events of season one of the Bad Batch (a little slower than I had hoped for, but progress is progress) and there was lots of angst, but also lots of good moments. We're officially halfway through season one! With the show ending this year, it got my thoughts turning more to how Kimber's story would go throughout season three and I think a lot of you will like what I have planned in the future. There's still a lot more to come and at least we know that there's gonna officially be a happy ending 🥰 (Though, I would've had that happen no matter what, but now, I don't have to break canon to get it!)

A huge thank you to everyone on my taglist as well as those who are currently reading my fic! I've gained a few more loyal readers and it makes me so happy! Your guys love, support, comments and messages are what keep me going! 😊

@the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @legolkenxbi , @tech-aficionado ,

@ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 ,

@thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink ,

@l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx ,

@idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @totallyunidentified and @dreamsandrosies

To celebrate the three year anniversary of "Sun and Rain", I would absolutely love to talk about the story with my readers again like I did the last couple years, especially since I've gained a few new readers in that time and I honestly think it's a lot of fun! 😊 I want to know some things you guys like about it so far and I'm curious if anyone has questions for me about it, so once again, I have a list of things anyone can send to me in my ask box: things you can tell me from your own perspective or things you can ask me personally! (For those who may be reading and aren't caught up all the way yet, there most likely will be spoilers, so you've officially been warned 😅)

Tell me...

1. Your favorite moment

2. Your favorite line(s)

3. Your favorite relationship

4. Your favorite chapter

5. What scene/line made you laugh the most?

6. What scene/line made you smile the most?

7. What scene/line made you cry/angry the most?

8. A song recommendation for my "Sun and Rain" playlist that you think fits Kimber or her relationships with other characters and I'll give it a listen

9. What you'd like to see later on in the story (and maybe I'll tell you if it'll happen)

10. Your theories for "Sun and Rain" and where it's going to go

Ask me...

1. Anything you want to know about my OC, Kimber (within reason) or my Koriena Force girls (Lex, Kida and Irys. Any questions about Rina will be directed to @l-lend since she belongs to her)

2. What was my inspiration for (insert scene/chapter)?

3. What was my inspiration for (insert certain line/paragraph)?

4. What chapter am I most proud of?

5. What certain lines am I most proud of?

6. What was my favorite moment(s) to write?

7. What was my least favorite moment(s) to write?

8. For a hint of upcoming chapters/events and how Kimber's role might change certain things (if you want to know about particular upcoming events from the show, please specify)

9. For a sneak peek into future scenes I already have written (though it's mostly dialogue and I only have a couple, so I can only do this a certain number of times)

10. Anything else you want to know from me about "Sun and Rain" or my experience writing it thus far

I look forward to talking about this with all of you! And stay tuned for another fun surprise later today! 🥰 I love you all so much!!

[plusultraetc]

lowkey highkey stalking ur blog and saw a tag abt how u have thoughts abt s6 shigaraki. share🥹

HI thank you for asking!!

So I think you might be referring to this post about Shigaraki's s6 Fit Of All Time. The spiritual TL;DR of those tags is: I know this version of Shigaraki is a character who has reached Peak Manipulated, Tragic Story Potential, but his look is lowkey fire anyway.

(A note on the outfit: I stand by the fact that it is the Fit Of All Time. Simple. Classic. Very very cool. I overthought about it when I first saw it because I <3 overthinking about MHA and had a small Moment about Shigaraki reaching this final-ish villainous form and immediately donning a hero's cape, and the possible implications of this. Plus, and this is more of a USAmerican view I think, but a red cape is like The Superhero Accessory, because Superman (and Thor. And Doctor Strange. But mostly Superman.))

So. For context, I'm halfway-ish through Season 6 atm. It's me and my pockets full of spoilers against the world, but there have been Several Things that no amount of spoilers could have prepared me for, Shigaraki being one of them. I mean. TALK ABOUT A CORRUPTION ARC.

The thing about Shiggy is that, by the time we meet him, he has already had his traditional 'corruption arc' when AFO found him as a child and manipulated him into becoming a villain. When we talk about corruption arcs in literature, we're usually talking about this kind of moral decay (pun intended). It's the movement from 'hero' to 'villain' (or, in Shigaraki's case, 'innocent child' to 'supervillain successor.' And, yes, I know he decayed his family before he met AFO, but I'm really not going to assign any moral blame there for obvious reasons).

But Shigaraki has also had numerous other negative character arcs before we met him. He starts his life perhaps not with a happy, normal family, but with a family and a house and a dog. By the time we are introduced to him in s1, he's been living in the shadows, is isolated emotionally and physically from the people around him, and has garbage interpersonal skills and relationships. Even his name has been 'corrupted,' from the name of a hero (Shimura) to that of a villain (Shigaraki). So, it seems like Shigaraki has undergone every possible negative/corruption arc long before s6.

AND YET.

The s1 -> s6 Shigaraki journey isn't a corruption of morals or circumstances. It's a corruption of wills. When we meet Shigaraki, he's a whiny, impulsive 'manchild' (I don't remember who called him that after USJ, but it was iconic and they were correct. It might have been All Might. You go All Might). But in spite of, or maybe because of, his manchild-ness, you can definitely see that Shigaraki has willpower. He's bossy. He's actually kind of bratty. He pretty much stomps his foot and expects people to comply with his demands. If he doesn't like something, he's like, "Ew, Kurogiri, get rid of it/them this instant." AFO definitely has an unhealthy amount of influence over him at this point, but Shigaraki still plays a very active (though often unsuccessful) role in his own schemes (the Nomu attack in Hosu City, for example).

And, after AFO's arrest at Kamino, we actually see Shigaraki's will get stronger. He might flounder a little at first, lost without AFO's direct supervision, but eventually he's forced to start making real decisions for and about the League. This character growth reaches its apex when he takes over the Paranormal Liberation Front. (Note: red cape again. Grabs him by the shoulders and shakes him, etc.)

But THEN. Season 6. The literal battle of wills. If AFO prevails, he will have destroyed pretty much the only thing Shigaraki has left. It's like. The ultimate corruption arc. Corruption of the self. BTW in case it wasn't clear I want to roundhouse kick AFO into another dimension. I genuinely like most of the villains in MHA but he is the Emperor Palpatine of this story and it shows. [MANGA SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH] I really, really wanted Shigaraki to throw him down the proverbial reactor shaft Darth Vader-style, but from what I understand that ship has sailed. Boooooo.

So now s6 Shigaraki is walking a very thin line between the success of this final corruption arc, that of his autonomy, and finally breaking some aspect of AFO's control over his entire life. It is a very, very thin line, because even if AFO can't control him anymore, he's the reason Shigaraki is WHO he is and WHERE he is (and WHAT he is, if we get into the whole Nomu-ification storyline).

So, yeah. Walking a very thin line. But at least he looks good doing it!! Wearing a disembodied hand on your face is OUT, wearing a tattered red cape is IN. What does it symbolize? Shigaraki personifying what he blames heroes for--destroying society--while dressing up as one of them? Shigaraki becoming his own hero by finally 'achieving his dream' of being powerful enough to destroy the world that hurt him? Foreshadowing that Shigaraki, wearing a hero's literal costume, and AFO are in some way opposed now? The author wanting to draw a really cool cape??? Who knows!! But I love it sm.

[sharowolet]

link click bridon arc and live action (finally watching it lmfao) ramblings time

it's like... the hhh villains were made to target me

liu xiao infj owl with ruler of my heart type theme song

vein birthday twinsies

xia fei my blonde princess and shares va with tears of themis luke my babygirl

having a good time in bridon arc so far can't believe we're halfway through already

i think we're gonna see a dead cxs every episode it'll be great

sorry you're going through it lu guang but i'm having a great time

i made this bingo sheet thinking this was all of season 3, i did not realize it was a 6 ep prequel arc when i made this so im only showing half of it bc the second half makes 0 sense LOL

live action

i'm almost done with it, it's so funny welcome back short yap king jiang long

i think it's funny that it just looks like there's a love triangle between cxs, lg, and he xu every episode they're together (doctor patient boundary what's that we tried but we gave up)

i think i mildly broke at the liu ye and sang ning storyline : ) they didn't deserve any of that...

it's a fun time i like that it's a little different but keeps the spirit of the original :3