#{{ canon characters

[purregrine-sokol-arts]

painting a whole bunch of toothlesses is good for therapy

[simpin-on-noodles]

Art dump time again ^^ some were requests from my insta story

[thevoidstaredback]

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

It was halfway through his shift the next day, just after he'd come back from lunch, that the anonymous tip came through. Dick had frozen when he heard it, but only slightly because the others were brushing it off as a prank call.

"'Blockbuster's after someone named Oracle,'" Officer Diaz had scoffed, "What a joke. Aren't kids supposed to know that their stupid prank calls clog the system? What if someone who actually had useful information had needed to call, huh?"

Dick didn't mention that that isn't how the tip system works, nor did he eve attempt to scold the officer for brushing it off, no matter how stupid it seemed. No, instead, he was stuck in his thoughts.

Blockbuster is after Oracle. Why is he after Oracle? It doesn't make sense! No one in Bludhaven, save for himself, should no who she is! Besides, he'd kept all of the attention on himself. No one was able to even think about the heroes or rogues in Gotham without him knowing! Or, so he'd thought. How does Blockbuster know Oracle's name? More importantly at the moment was who sent the tip.

There was another scoff from one of the others. Did he say that out loud? "Look, I know you're new and everything, but shouldn't you know the mean of 'anonymous'?"

He forced himself out of his head, rubbing his neck with his left hand with a fake smile. "Yeah, I do. I guess I'm just a bit out of it today."

"Well, get your head back in the game," Detective Soames snapped, hitting a file on the back of Dick's head, "File that for me, then file the rest on my desk."

"Yes, sir," Dick took the file, ignoring the snickers and snide remarks from his coworkers.

He knows he's not going to be able to fully focus on anything for the rest of the day, possibly not even until after he finds out who sent that tip and how Blockbuster knows Oracle's name.

Oracle. Dick knows she can handle herself, but he doesn't like the fact that anyone knows her name. Not even B knows about Oracle! Babs had spent so much time and energy keeping her online persona from B so that she could have at least something of her own that Dick had taken it upon himself to erase traces connecting him to Oracle. She didn't deserve to have Batman on her ass, nor did she deserve to have Nightwing's enemies go after her!

He shook himself back into the present with a soft sigh. He'll call Barbra as soon as he gets home.

***

"Danny!" Dick calls into the apartment, knowing full well that the kid is in the kitchen, "I'm home!"

"Welcome back," Danny responds from where he's standing at the stove. He, Dick realizes, does not sound happy.

He hangs his coat up on the hooks he installed beside the door, his shoes going on the rack below them. "You good? You sound a bit upset?"

"I am upset." Danny, after getting comfortable around him, has stopped sugar-coating his words, being brutally honest. Dick blinks. "I was going to message Tim, but I saw a lack of apologies from you."

Oh. Dick had meant to do what Danny said last night and apologise to that Tim kid for snapping at him, but he had been a lot more tired than usual and it had slipped his mind. "I was going to use my phone?"

"You don't have his number."

Another thing Dick had come to learn about Danny in the few weeks they'd been living together was that he can't be lied to. He somehow picks up on lies, so even Dick's best efforts - that have fooled even Batman! - are always thwarted.

"I meant to," Dick said, sitting on one of the new barstools at he island counter, "But I was really tired last night."

Danny sighed. "Because you were out longer than you're now used to." He turned the burner off, moving the pan to sit on the hotpad beside it. "You're body's gotten used to only being out for eight hours during the day and six hours at night. You going out for eight hours last night wore you out more than usual because you're no longer used to your seventeen hour work days."

Dick tilted his head, accepting the bowl of soup he was given. "But it's only been a few weeks?"

"It only takes eighteen days for your body to get used to a routine." He said, placing a bowl of homemade rolls on the island. "After about sixty-six days, it becomes habitual."

"But it hasn't been sixty-six days."

"No, but it has been twenty-one days."

He hesitated for a moment. "Has it really been only that long?" Then, "Have you been counting?"

Danny blushed, sitting beside Dick with his own bowl of soup. "I've been keeping track of your schedule, which means I gotta keep a calendar. I haven't been counting on purpose."

Dick smiled, eating the soup. As usual, it was really good. The first week of Danny's stay, he'd asked where he'd learned to cook, but Danny had given a non-answer, saying only that his parents couldn't make anything edible that wasn't fudge or cookies.

After they had both finished eating, Dick's portions and appetite being larger than Danny's because of the calories he burns as Nightwing, they settled into a nice quiet. Dick had changed from his uniform into sweats and a T-shirt while Danny had chosen a movie. Then, Dick cleaned up dinner and Danny changed into a hoodie and sweats.

"We still need to take you shopping," Dick pointed out when they were both sitting on the couch, ready to start the movie.

Danny shook his head. "Letting me stay here is already enough. Besides, your old clothes work perfectly fine."

"But you're room's so empty! And my clothes don't even fit you!"

There was a pause like Danny was thinking. Dick had the feeling he might not like whatever was going to be said next.

He was right.

"I'll let you take me shopping next week," Danny agreed, "if we go to Gotham tomorrow so that you can apologise to Tim in person."

Dick's jaw twitched. He didn't want to go to Gotham. Going to Gotham meant that he'd inevitably run into Bruce. He wanted to stay far away from that man.

Then again, he'd promised Alfred to come by some time. And, it'd be nice to see Barbra and Jim again. Maybe he could have Alfred make sure Bruce wouldn't be in the Manor?

"So?" Danny promted.

He sighed. "You're evil, y'know that?"

His grin said it all. "I could be so much worse."

"Please don't."

"Don't give me a reason."

Part 9 Part 11

[chocosnowflake0]

feral!Nari & feral!Lamb cause ferals are my confort zone <3

Not tagging cotl cause i dont wanna spam the tag with animals drawings aslkgfdsfjg ;;

[iwoszareba]

i finally watched Scissor Seven season 4 and i feel it's my obligation to appreciate the awful fox man i hope he gets his ass kicked next season!! (affectionate)

[asterbats]

GTI!Espeon and Umbreon to go with the rest of the Paradise Gang

Espeon

Name: Sage

Pronouns: She/Her

Design Notes:

-Half shiny! Kinda meant to look like a bicolor cat.

-Wanted her to look a bit like an alien. 100% meant to echo those alien shiny Espeon posts

-Looks kinda mean and doesn't seeeeem too emotional, but she's just got RBF and also kinda struggles with her tone. She's the type to kinda bury emotions until they reach a boiling point. (Example being when she apologized to Swadloon and Leavanny- she seemed very stoic and annoyed, until she revealed what she did and just started ugly crying- dry heaving, snot, being unable to talk right through the sobs.)

-So chill but also kinda insane. She LOVES stretching what exactly she can do with entercards and magnagates. She will dip those things in weird substances if she'll get a new dungeon out of it.

-Her gem is cracked from her encounter with Toxicroak and Purugly in the Crags of Lament. It heals after the events of GTI, doesn't really affect her psychic abilities.

Story Notes:

-Sage came from a rich, upstanding family. She was her mother's golden child as an Eevee due to her half-shiny coat making her look very beautiful and special. Her mother had planned out her entire life, from her friendships with other rich families, to her eventual career as a business mon, to her evolution into a Sylveon.

-Despite the affection her mother showered her in, Sage didn't evolve. She felt insecure around her mother, but dared not to speak it. She was very passive, just agreeing with what her mother would say or do, doing what she was told. She actually really wanted to be an Espeon and have psychic abilities. She didn't want to be a Sylveon, but accepted that it was what she had to do- besides, the one time she suggested it, her mother sobbed at how hideous she'd look with a purple and green coat, so she dropped the topic.

-She secretly had a deep passion for mystery dungeons. She wasn't allowed to go through them, but she was deeply curious about how they were formed, how the Pokemon inside them acted, what caused the Wind. And she wanted to know how to create them as well, manipulate them to her whims. But she had no way to satisfy these curiosities besides some incomplete research books she'd snuck in.

-Until one night when an Umbreon snuck in to their home to steal their valuables, and Sage caught him. The Umbreon- Hawthorne- was rather disheveled, and despite his frightening appearance, Sage didn't feel afraid of him... she just saw his clumsiness as endearing and struck up a conversation with him, her family's gems still in his paws.

-She learned that Hawthorne also had a passion for mystery dungeons. He was an explorer, a thief, and a fighter, but he didn't care about that- he just wanted to know what made a dungeon tick. But like Sage, he was discouraged from it.

-Sage saw an opportunity for them to get what they wanted- there was a dungeon forming in the west that was off limits. She proposed that Hawthorne go off script and take her to the dungeon, leaving a ransom note as if he kidnapped her. He was hesitant, but agreed, and the two ran off and hid inside the dungeon to analyze it. The two made a ton of discoveries about the existence of Ley Lines, how Pokemon were created in dungeons, and most importantly... the existence of Magnagates.

-Even after her mother paid the ransom and Hawthorne took her back, Sage wasn't satisfied. She wanted to learn how to create Magnagates. So she ran away with Hawthorne properly, and they began their research. She evolved into an Espeon that dawn.

-Has a bad relationship with her mother these days, who rarely talks to her if only to scold her, but Sage isn't exactly reaching out either.

-Is married to Hawthorne shortly before the events of GTI. She adores him and finds him very endearing, and doesn't really know how he survived as a criminal.

-Very close to Aramis since they both struggle with expressing their emotions. They get each other.

-Is always suggesting crazy stuff

Umbreon

Name: Hawthorne

Pronouns: He/Him

Design Notes:

-He's half Mightyena so he's got a mane and patches of fur here and there. He looks sort of intimidating at a distance, which is why Post Town assumed the worst with him, but he's a total dork.

-Definitely keeps a poison sweat rag somewhere. Smelly.

-My girlfriend says he looks like a Season 1 Walter White and Jesse Pinkman combined and that he'd roll shitty blunts like Walter did in that one scene, and also that he would seem like he's gonna have sex with his GF only to cut to them playing Sonic together, and I haven't seen Breaking Bad yet but y'know what, I'm rolling with it.

-Adoooores Sage. He would do anything for her.

Story Notes:

-Hawthorne was born to a crime family and his father expected him to follow in his foot steps. And at first, he had full intentions of it. He evolved early as a child just to help out more and follow in his father's shadow. He cared deeply for his family and was happy just to be with them.

-But as he grew up, he felt out of place. He didn't share his family's ferocity and wit, and over time, he yearned for something else- dungeon researching. He was fascinated with how they worked and he wanted to make an honest living studying them. He began to fall behind in his crime work just trying to focus on the research he could do, creating distance between him and his family.

-In an attempt to get him back on track, his father sent him to Sage's home to steal their jewels- a rather high risk crime. Hawthorne agreed, not wanting to keep disappointing his family.

-As stated above, he met Sage there and eventually decided to run away with her. He had to cut off his family because they kept trying to drag him back into their lifestyle. He feels guilty for what he did there, and for leaving his family, but it was he had to do in the end. He still misses them to an extent though.

-Didn't quite lose all those skills he had though. He was able to fight off Purugly and Toxicroak well enough, and it helped when he and Sage broke Keldeo out of his cell.

[multicrazygummybears]

"I don't know how long I've been in here... I thought I came in here for pneumonia but they told me I had some...kinda freak accident. it's so hard to write this all and I can't talk... I'm not really sure what kinda hospital this is and I'm starting to think it's more my own personal hell than a place of healing... I'm so tired but my chest hurts to bad to sleep... Hopefully I can get some rest soon..."

[mysillyfanstuff]

Some drawing from June.

A Jeff the killer drawing and a drawing of my oc Catalina meeting the Tall Man.

[thilsiktonix]

Back again with another canon character!!! This time it's Bumblebee :D

...I may or may not have been dazzled by the Starbee hyperfixation

Anyways, this is my fan-continuity redesign for Bumblebee. Enjoy!

[purregrine-sokol-arts]

[thevoidstaredback]

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

Batman has an insane patrol schedule. Danny knew this, somewhere in the back of his mind, but it was only just settling in for him.

"You're gonna be dead tired tomorrow," he warns Dick, "You were tired for only being out for two hours longer than your new normal, going from sunset to sunrise is gonna knock you out. I can't drive, Dick, so we'll be stuck in Gotham for another day if you pass out."

Dick patted his head with a smile. "I'll be fine. I'll vene bring ya back some Bat Burger, okay?"

Danny blinked. "Bat Burger?"

"You've- You've never had Bat Burger?" Louder, he called to Barbra and Tim who'd just come back from wherever the Cave entrance is with a comm for Danny, "Danny's never had Bat Burger!"

Barbra gasped dramatically. Tim clutched ay imaginary pearls. "You've never had Bat Burger?!"

"That sounds like an exclusively Gotham thing, and I am decidedly not from Gotham."

It was quiet for another moment as the three stared at him. Finally, Dick blinked. "Have you always been Midwestern?"

"As far as I know, why?"

His head tilted slightly to the left. "Your accent just seems..."

"Much more prevalent." Tim finished.

"Yeah, that."

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I’ve always talked like this.” A lie. He was hiding his accent from everyone so that tracking him down would be ever so slightly harder. Danny shrugged, “Right, Barbra?”

She shook her head. "No, you leave me outta this. As far as I know, you've sounded like this the whole time and these two are only just picking up on the accent."

Good job, Danny. Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss your way into their hearts.

"Anyway," Barbra continued, holding her hand to Danny, "This is a comm. It'll keep you patched in until we come back up to the manor after patrol. If you get tired of us or when you sleep, just take it out and put it on your nightstand; we'll take it back down in the morning for you."

"Are you sure you don't wanna come to the Cave?" Tim asked.

Danny shook his head, the comm now sitting in his left ear. "Mister Wayne already hates me, I'm not gonna go into his space. Besides, I'm already intruding as it is."

"I just don't want you to be bored."

"It's alright, I'm sure I'll find something to occupy myself with while you guys are out. And, isn't the whole point of me being on comms so that you guys can talk to me?"

"You're right," Dick agreed, "We'll see ya when we get back."

"Alright."

Occupy himself with? Yeah, he's going back to Bludhaven. Another problem he just realized, though: How is Bat Tech going to react to/around Phantom? Danny figures he has about two minutes to figure it out or he's gonna have to bench himself for the night.

There was no one around, so he ducked into the nearest room to transform. It was a quick lightshow, as always, but not enough to draw attention of anyone passing by.

Except Alfred. Alfred probably knows.

Alfred won't tell Bruce, right?

Right?

Probably not.

Hopefully.

Focusing on the comm revealed no static, though there was no sound either. Was someone trying to talk to him already? Hopefully not. That'd be upsetting.

There was a soft crackle before: "Danny, can you hear us?"

Phantom allowed a small smile of victory. "Yeah, loud and clear, Barbra."

"Call me Batgirl right now, okay? Tim's Robin, and, as you know, Dick's Nightwing. And, if you really need him, Bruce is Batman."

"Got it."

"We don't use real names on comms," Robin said, "Do you have something we could call you?"

That's probably a fish for what his hero name used to be. All three of them - Tim, at the very least - were hung up on the 'not anymore' of his denial and it really showed. He could make it easy and tell them to call him Phantom, but he really does not want them finding out his childhood right now. So, "Tutelary."

"'Tutelary'?" Nightwing asked.

"It's Greek," Batgirl said, "Tutelaries are deities or patrons of protection."

"Aw, that's cute," Robin cooed teasingly, "But you aren't doing much protecting from the Manor."

Phantom - is he really ready to give up that name? - blushed green, "Shut up. Protection Spirits are a big deal where I'm from!" Yeah, meaning most people don't actually think they're protecting them, but who really cares about technicalities?

"And that would be..?" Batman spoke up, his voice coming out much more 'gargle glass' over the comms than was probably intended.

Phantom smirked. "The Midwest." Limits options, but not specifically but he figured he could throw them a bone. Though, that's the only one he's giving Mister Wayne.

Speaking of, "I'll try not to be a distraction, Mister Batman sir, but I won't make any promises."

Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin were all sniggering. Batman was quiet for no more than a few seconds. "Stop getting distracted; We're leaving."

"Yes, sir!"

Phantom listened closely, focusing on the Cave below the Manor. Batman and Robin had gotten into some kind of assault vehicle-race car mix and were driving out into Gotham Proper quickly. Nightwing and Batgirl were both on motorcycles, leaving out a different way but just as quickly.

"Have fun out there, you guys."

Nightwing laughed, "We'll bring ya back some Bat Burger."

Part 15 Part 17

Real quick, before you move on, a quick Thank You to @bianca-hooks123 for the idea for Danny's name Tutelary. I hadn't even thought of using that until it was suggested, so thanks <3

[kazikreatures]

tried my hand at the grey cat/blue eyes trend,,,, i have designs for all 4 of them stowed away but crow and blue got some edits lol

[iwoszareba]

forms of watershaping are so delicate and graceful you wouldn't believe it (i've been thinking about Tekēhu lately so i'm bringing back this very silly gif)

[pretty-batty]

Loosen Up

Eddie x Original Female Character Pt 3 of Eldath's Priestess 3966 words

Warnings: Suicidal Ideation, Mental Illness. Judy jokes about quitting the game early, if you know what I mean. Tags: First Kiss, Fluff, Stress, guitar struggles, little bit of exposition dump by Steve Harrington. Now on ao3

Summary: Judy reminisces on her and Eddie's first kiss. She encounters the Upside-Down crew and learns a terrible truth.

Notes: I think you're gonna like this one.

Judy’s fingertips sweat against the neck of her electric guitar, vice grip on her pick. Only open strings, the fingerings would come later. Over and over. But never in time, after each round of the same phrase she got more and more frustrated.

Her pick got stuck, one fumble and she is off beat.

“FUCK!” she shouted, tearing off her electric guitar and setting it on her bed as aggressively as she could without damaging the instrument. Her best friend, shirtless, acoustic resting in his lap as he flawlessly finished the phrase, looked up. His sweet gaze landed on her as she sat down on her rug, knees to her chest, face buried in her limbs. “I wanna kill myself.”

“Nooo…” Eddie immediately answered, sighing, “you’re just stressed.” He shifted the instruments around so he could free himself from her bed, resting beside her. His naked shoulder bumping into hers. “Hey…”

She looked up, a soft “hm?” coming from her throat.

“You know what you gotta do?” He smiled, twisting himself to meet her hidden gaze. Shooting to his feet, he stood before her, hands reached out. “We gotta loosen up.”

Judy sighed, fighting back a smile. Her hands grasping his as he helped her to her feet.

Face to face, a foot apart, Eddie pulled her arms back and forth. Left and right, in a sort of simple dance. “Loo-sen up. Loo-sen up. When you’re wigged out you gotta loo-sen up.” He chanted, dipping down slightly to meet Judy’s cool eyes as she forced herself to look at the carpet.

She knew that if she looked up at him, the battle against her own lips would be lost, and she would break out in a smile. It just took one-

A flash of brown, deep and warm.

There it goes.

She locked onto his gaze, lifting her head up to look at him. Her lips pulled up into a soft smile.

He grinned back, teeth sparkling in the dim lamplight. “There she is. My beautiful girl.”

“You can’t” She looked away for a second, shaking her head as her smile widened, “you can’t keep saying stuff like that.”

“Why not? I am beholden to beauty and truth.” He repositioned their hands, fingers lacing together, clutching them to his chest.

“Yeah, a true bohemian. And what do artistes do when they have a friend of the opposite sex?” She smirked, “Flirt mercilessly?”

“If they are beautiful, then we say so. If they are ugly, then we say so.” He brought her knuckles to his lips, fixated on her face as he said, “and if we believe they are the most precious creature, majestic being, divine and golden, we say so.”

A kiss from his plush mouth warmed her knuckles.

Judy’s eyes widened, his breath against her skin sparking heat in the pit of her stomach, spreading to every inch of her body. “Eddie…what?”

“Pbbbbt.” His lips buzzed against her skin, a raspberry covering her fingers in spit.

“EW EDDIE!”

He let her go as she threw herself back, rubbing her hands on her sweatpants as she leaned against her desk. His laugh erupted from his lips, closing the distance between them again. Wrapping his arms around her, trapping her against his chest, loose enough to give her room to toss and writhe.

“Eww, no! You’re gross.” She laughed, squealing and wiggling her hands from their place at her sides, pressing them against his bare chest. Has he always been this warm? She asked herself.

“I’m serious though.” He said, rocking side to side with her. “This is borderline romantic.”

“This?” Judy pressed further, “friends? Friends since childhood? Seen each other naked more times than we should? Popping each other’s back zits? Holding each other’s hair back during a bender?” She shrugged, scoffing, “that’s romance right there.”

Eddie’s smile slightly faded, still fixed on Judy, letting her leave his arms, dropping them to his sides. It was like her words had smacked the joy right out of him. He shuffled back, leaving Judy cold. He blinked once or twice, before returning to the same smile he always had. “Yeah…weird.” He blew it off. “How about that riff, huh? Ready to try again?”

She followed, taking her guitar as he offered it to her. He repositioned himself on her bed, back against the headboard, guitar in his hands, like a shield in front of his aching chest. Judy nervously set her guitar on its stand, crawling into bed and taking her place beside him.

“I’m sorry. That came out wrong.” she said, listening to him gently pluck away. “I don’t think what we are should stop us from…being smitten…with each other.” Stream of consciousness was easier said than done. Usually, she would have prepared a speech. In fact, she had. She had prepared her profession of love for Eddie hundreds of times before. None of them had him half naked in her bed, playing her guitar, after being seemingly jilted by her.

Eddie’s finger slid up the fret, gliding up as if to form a question. His eyes tilted to her, a twinkle of hope.

Judy picked at her fingers, “God…you make me feel…so tingly and warm. And I want to touch you all over.” She refused to look at him, worried she would make a move that would scare him off. “So, when I hold your hair back when you vom, and treat the monster pimples that grow on your shoulders, I’m more than happy because I just get to touch you.” She was met with silence, muttering to herself, “God that sounds weird.”

The whole time, so engrossed in her nails and swirling thoughts, Judy did not notice the acoustic guitar placed at their feet and the pick being set on the nightstand. Eddie’s hands and arms were free. He sat, legs folded under each other, elbows to knees, propping his head up as he continued to gaze at Judy, waiting for her to notice.

“Just…I wanna touch you so bad right now.” She sighed, finally turning to face him, dark eyes shining up at her, fluttering his eyelashes.

“Then do it. Touch me, buttercup.” He said plainly. Judy froze, chest rising and falling as Eddie reached for her hand again, taking it. Slowly, he brought her index finger to the pulse point in his neck. His blood pumped away hard and fast. “Feel that?”

She swallowed audibly, “Mhm.” He further guided her fingers, her fingertips guiding up his stubble and into his hair. Her palm caressing his jaw, he could simply turn his face and press a kiss against the base of her thumb. But he simply paused, waiting for her to make the next move.

Her tongue passed over her bottom lip, gently sucking it between her teeth for a moment, scraping it across before releasing it. A nervous habit. She knew it was gross, even giving her a fat lip a few times during really stressful situations. Her eyes were trained on his lips.  His breath was sweet and a bit spicy, cinnamon chewing gum, no lingering nicotine. He hadn’t smoked nor eaten, his teeth were nearly perfect. “Wait…did you brush your teeth before you came here?”

“Yes, I did, in fact, brush my teeth. I do that regularly.”

“No…before you came here, like in the middle of the day? And you didn’t smoke. And you didn’t get a pop or snack.” Her lips parted in a silent gasp, lips curling into a smile. “You’re chewing gum.”

Eddie grinned before licking the gum from his cheek, reaching down to her bedside trashcan, and tilting it, spitting the pink wad into the trash. He turned back to her, “that better?”

In that instant, her lips gently pressed against his, just a gentle sweep and caress before letting go. Her whole body buzzed as she waited for him to respond. And to her relief it took no time at all. His face instantly mashing into hers with the patience of an exited puppy.

Judy landed back on her pillows. Her smile breaking their kiss. Eddie found himself on his side, lips mashed against her cheek. She turned her head, eager to feel his kiss again.

=

Cold, nothing there, Judy turned to be met with air. She sighed, whispering to herself, “I gotta stop doing that. It only makes me feel worse.” She sat up once again, feet finally on the rug beneath her. “Fuck I gotta take my meds.”

Wayne was at work. Margie was out with her co-workers in a desperate attempt to drink away the pain of losing their students. All that was left was Judy, alone, in her old house. Dressed in her dead brother Joey's clothes for comfort’s sake, she meandered through the hall, turned down the stairs, creeping to the main floor. A buzzing following her to the kitchen. Each light she switched on took 30 seconds to gain its full glow, flickering with all its might. The whole situation filled her with unease.

Her feet slapped across the linoleum as she made her way to the counter. Since her hospital stay at the age of 10, she always had a feeling something was wrong. Not all the time, but enough for it to be a problem. She would get creeped out at random times. Her skin would bristle when she was alone, always on edge, finally breaking into full blown panic attacks in her near teens.

She started on Zoloft after that. And it worked, for a time.

Then kids started going missing. Then she saw her brother die in a dream, only to find his dead body an hour later. While Pittsburgh gave her some relief, her mother’s grief overtook any peace she could have had. Then hell opened up in Hawkins and swallowed her boyfriend whole. Her mental health was never good, manageable, but never optimal.

But this anxiety, this was something else entirely. There was something pressing through the ether. So, she talked to herself, just in case there was someone else with her. Setting a glass on the counter, she opened the fridge and reached for the cold water before pausing.

“Water…oooorrr,” she muttered, opening the freezer to snatch a bottle of vodka, “potato juice wiiiith,” she retrieved a can from the fridge, “sprite?” She set all of the options on the counter, glancing over her shoulder as if to scratch a paranoid itch. Nothing.

The lights flickered again, sending a cascade of chills up her spine.

She drew in a deep breath. While a vodka-sprite would put her to sleep faster, water would allow her to take her antidepressant. “Or I could drink a vodka-sprite and take my antidepressant, have a fucking wild time.”

A slight puff of air knocked a strand of hair over her shoulder. She twisted around on instinct, a short cry leaving her lungs. She was hit with a smell. Marlboro Reds. It sent a pain straight through her temples, causing an ache. Then cinnamon Dentyne.

Eddie.

Bam bam bam.

Three knocks in quick succession jolted her back into reality. She walked briskly to the door, peering over the window to see a helmet of perfectly coiffed hair. Unlocking the door, she opened it to reveal, “Steve Harrington. How can I help you?”

“Would you like to…” he glanced over Judy’s shoulder to the kitchen window, “go find frogs with me?” His cadence was stunted slightly, as if reading from another's lips.

Judy blinked, poking her head out to see only his car parked in her driveway. “Frogs…?” She asked.

“Uh yeah…there are some uh, super cool frogs out tonight. Since it rained and stuff.” Steve continued, “they are attracted to the moisture in the air.”

She felt a creeping up her back again, the buzzing continuing before overpowering the porchlight with a pop, leaving them in darkness. “Yeah, lemme put on a bra.”

Within less than three minutes, Judy had her bag in hand, breasts contained behind fabric and underwire, flip flops smacking across the sidewalk. Her bedroom light flickering in a discernable pattern as Steve pulled out of her driveway.

Lover’s lake was gone, and in her opinion that would have been in poor taste anyway. Steve, instead, took her to the stream to the west of town, which fed into Loch Nora. Parking his BMW on the bank of the small body of water.

“You really keeping with that whole, frog spotting thing, huh?” Judy asked, exiting the car as Steve did.

“Uh…yeah, yeah that was the idea.” He said, still keeping a causal demeanor.

“Honestly, I’m glad you did.” She said, taking off her flip-flops before crawling up the hood of his car, sitting on the roof. She heard him cringe slightly, considering getting down before Steve did the same, kicking off his sneakers and joining her. The car creaked slightly under their joined weight. She pulled out a pack of chewing gum, offering him a piece, “the house was starting to wig me out a bit.”

Steve accepted the offering, unwrapping and popping the stick into his mouth. Judy did the same with hers, stowing away her stash. She chewed and thought.

“When my brother died, I had dreams about him. He would be alive, and I would shake him, like ‘holy shit I thought you were dead’.  And he wouldn’t answer that, just changing the subject, go take me to have dinner or something.” She paused, “but that would be it, I’d wake up and he’d be dead. No lingering traces of him in impossible places, no hearing him snort through his deviated septum.”

Steve stayed silent, letting Judy continue to muse and chew. He was a better listener than she had expected.

“So, I thought when Eddie was showing up in my dreams, it was the same thing. We’d cuddle and kiss… But then the dreams started to bleed into reality.” Judy said, folding her arms over her knees, forming a cushion for her face as she hid behind them. “I don’t even have to go to sleep anymore. I can feel him in my room when I walk in, like he’s been waiting for me. I can smell him. I smelled him right before you knocked on my door, Marlboro reds and cinnamon Dentyne gum. I felt his breath past my ear.” She paused, gathering her thoughts, processing her own statement as if she had heard it for the first time. “I know I sound insane. Like certifiable, admit her to a hospital, levels of insane. I know grief does things to you but…this is”

“different?” Steve interjected, “yeah…” He looked to her, hesitating for a moment before deciding that this was the correct choice. “This town is…weird. If I told you what was wrong with it, you’d rethink who the crazy one is.”

“Does this have anything to do with me pulling you, Nancy, Robin, and Dustin from a giant crack in front my boyfriend’s trailer?” She asked. “There must have been a reason, looking like a larping troupe and all.”

He didn’t laugh. His gaze extended past her eyes, empty. She knew that stare too well. Something happened, and she struck a nerve. She quickly attempted to cover her tracks, reaching for his wrist, and holding it, giving a reassuring squeeze.

“What happened, Steve?”

He let out a weary sigh, “I’m not good at this. Henderson is better. But I can give you the rundown. Basically, there was this lab doing crazy experiments, like MK-Ultra experiments, on kids. And this one girl, El or uh Jane, was so powerful she blew a hole through to another dimension, sending this one dude into it and he couldn’t escape. So, he became this all-powerful psychic demon dude, wrinkly, red…really gross.” He raised his hands and arms, slightly waving them, “has these tentacles it’s so weird.”

“Like an octopus?”

“More like fleshy vines. Anyway, in eighty-three, Will Byers goes missing. Turns out, he’s been kidnapped or something. And Barb”

“Holland, yeah Barb Holland. She was one of the kids in the ward with me in seventy-six. Did this guy take them?”

“Pretty much. The kids call it the mindflayer, this hivemind thing. Anyway, the whole time El has escaped…”

Steve continued his narrative. From year to year, Judy was able to align the various Hawkins disasters with the borderline biblical plague shit that came from his mouth. She realized her problems, especially Joey’s death, were miniscule compared to the events that took place right under her feet.

When silence rested between them, Judy finally spoke, posing a question she had never considered before, “did you get sick, when the flu swept Hawkins? You would have been nine.”

“No.”

“Because, that same lab you were talking about, with the kids and the MK-Ultra, made a drug, it was a treatment. Gave it to all the really sick kids. Do you think they did something to it?” She looked at Steve, who sat in thought, brows furrowed. She wasn’t sure if he was actually pondering or if he was humoring her. “I need to know who else. If I could just talk to someone else who got the vaccine…”

He puffed out his cheeks and sighed, getting down off the hood of the car. Judy followed. “I don’t know. But we do have people who can help.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You were in my house?” Judy was more shocked than insulted. Her aunt sat beside the group of teens, looking almost as guilty as they did. “And you let them stay?”

“Judy, sweetie, if you knew what was going on, you would have too.” Margie’s voice was insistent, but still low and calm. “And I asked Wayne to get some snacks.”

“Sn-snacks?” The young woman continued to pace, the appliances fried beyond repair. “Snacks? The-the fridge is busted, Marge.”

“We have a cooler.” She corrected, “and he’s getting ice too.”

The group of teens remained silent, the single flashlight that remained working flickered.

“What does it want? The flashli- What?” Judy, words stunted and frantic, started to yell at the appliance, “what do you want? I don’t know the boop-boop thing, the-the morse code.”

“He wants you to go to the bedroom,” Lucas said, finally pipping up from the dejected silence the trespassers were in.

“Where the girl, El…in my bedroom. They want me to go in the bedroom with the psychic teen- okay.” She sighed, another graceful whisp of cinnamon gum passing by her nose. Lucas handed her the flashlight. She slowly made her way up the carpeted stairs, turning immediately into her bedroom. Mike Wheeler sat cross-legged across from a young girl with a brown, bobbed haircut. Her nostrils red with dried blood, irritated from constantly wiping it away on her drenched sleeve. She wore Judy’s silk sleep mask over her eyes.

Judy broke the silence, “hope that’s as comfy for you as it is for me.”

“Hm?” El raised it over one eye peeking at her, “yeah it’s really nice.”

“So, you’re talking to…my dead boyfriend?”

“Not dead, he’s just stuck. He made his nest here.”

“In the…Veil of Shadows, the echo of the material plane.” Judy clarified, attempting to prove that she was up to speed, when she was, in fact, way out of her depth.

Dustin looked at her from his position in her desk chair, speaking sympathetically, bordering on condescending, “we just call it the upside-down.”

“Okay, sure, and if, big if, this exists, and you’re talking to something…how do you know it’s Eddie? Not a mimic or some other thing?” She jiggled her leg, “prove it. Make him prove to me it’s him.”

The girl slipped the cover back over her eyes. Mike turned the small radio back on, turning it to an inactive channel. The room filled with audible snow.

Judy’s foot continued to jiggle, only causing her anxiety to worsen. This was impossible. Kids in her house, either complete strangers or mutual acquaintances, all of the things she’d have to replace, the things she had to fix. She was lucky Wayne was here. For all the “Butch Power” her aunt preached, Margie was inept at basic home repair. Now Judy had backup, but the whole situation was yet another headache.

And this thing, if it was Eddie, how does he get back? How did he possibly survive? There was no way in hell he could, and so that led her to this. He was dead, and some weird psychic demon thing was tricking her, tricking everyone, and it would soon ask for the impossible.

It wasn’t him. Just a shadow, a mimic, a cosmic prank. She found herself muttering, “this is bullshit.”

“Yellow flowers…”

Judy stilled.

El repeated, “yellow flowers…small…buttercups.”

Her eyes got hot, a chill running up her spine.

“Buttercup?” El asked.

Judy clenched her jaw to keep herself from a deep, heavy sob, only managing a strangled whimper.

“He needs to hear you, Judy.” Dustin urged.

“Mhm…” She managed. A deep breath, letting out a trembling, “Ed-Eddie.” All the air was sucked out of her, forcing her to gasp and collapse on to the edge of her bed. “Oh God, Eddie…” Her face sank into her palms, sliding beneath her glasses. She removed them, setting them on the bed beside her. Then she melted into her hands. The lights flickered twice, one-two, one-two, one-two. The strange pattern and buzzing caused her frightened whimpers to erupt into full-blown, earth-shattering sobs.

“No, he’s saying ‘no’.” Mike stated, as if trying to calm Judy down.

“Please, Judy, stop crying. It’s upsetting him.” Dustin insisted.

“I’m-!” she ran her face across her hands and fingers, trying to contain herself, rubbing over and over again. Finally, she managed to speak through a tight throat, “I’m upsetting him, for fucksake. With the fucking lightshows and breaking all my electronics.”

The smell of cigarettes and Dentyne hovered right before her, as if squatting down to meet her gaze.

“He’s there, Judy.” El said, pointing at the spot between Judy and herself. Right where the scent resided. “He can hear everything. He wants you to stop crying.”

Judy cupped her hand over her mouth, wiping away any further sorrow, “sorry.” She clenched her eyes closed, forcing the remnants of the tears out. “Oh God, I’m so sorry you guys, I lost it for a second there.” She sniffed, putting her glasses back on. Their attention was drawn downstairs, hearing the front door open. “Wayne’s back, go ahead down. El, you can use the bathroom to clean yourself up, if you’d like.”

“We’re not done. He still wants to talk to you.” The girl insisted.

“And I’d like to do it alone, please.” Judy reached for the flashlight behind her, wiggling it, “we can do yes or no questions.”

With that, and a few more words of thanks, they were out of her room.

Judy returned to her bed, sitting in the center of the mattress, “Okay, one for yes, two for no. That’s what they were doing before, right?”

“Yes.”

“Is it still Eddie?”

“Yes.”

She smiled for a moment, the smell continuing to follow her. But she needed to check, just in case.

“Okay, if you are Eddie, my Eddie, yes or no game. The first time we were intimate, we were both naked.”

“No.”

“Yes or no, the book that brought us together was The Last Unicorn.”

“No.”

“Last one, my vibrator is pink, yes or no.”

“Yes.”

Judy’s smile widened, letting out a laugh, tears leaking from her eyes again.

“No. No. No.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it.” She wiped them away with the heel of her palm. “I miss you. This is all insane but at the same time, I’m not insane. Because there are several people who talk to you, see you. God…it’s really you. Oh Eddie, my Eddie.”

WE DID IT MY FRIENDS! EDDIE LIVES!

Thank you for reading! It's time for things to get a-movin'! Tag List: @loserboysandlithium

[asterbats]

Starfallification GTI edition... It's these guys....

Design/Story/Headcanon rambles below!

Virizion

Name: Aramis

Pronouns: She/It

Design Ramblings:

-Her colors are a little dull to imply a sense of melancholy. Kind of a hint that she's not exactly healthy.

-Has a battle scar on her face from one of its escapades pre-GTI

-Has a friendship necklace with Keldeo. She only starts to wear it again in the postgame.

Headcanons/Tweaks:

-Doesn't go by Aramis until far later. Insists on the more distant "Virizion" until the Great Glacier arc

-Because this is an alternate timeline where humans went extinct, the Swords of Justice never became a steady group, so there is no formal quartet. Aramis does not know her own Terrakion and Cobalion.

-She does, however, know Keldeo, of course. There was no sort of mentor/student relationship between the two, they were childhood friends and used to spar frequently. Aramis was a shy child while Keldeo was more bold, so he helped bring her out of her shell. The two had a "he talks enough for the both of us" sort of dynamic. He infodumps and it listens.

-Has always struggled with deep self esteem issues, as she doesn't feel she's particularly likable.

-It actually did know about Keldeo's entercard capabilities, which was how it recognized Umbreon and Espeon as entercard users back in the day. It was very disturbed to see Keldeo's entercard markings in the Great Glacier.

-Didn't expect to find Noodle and Parker as enjoying as they were. She honestly expected to see Parker as a pest. But she found them more and more endearing as time went on and eventually sought out their company on her own very consistently. She’s in a QPR with them.

-She's very expressionless and aloof, which leads Pokemon to assume that she has no real feelings, especially as she rejects all of them. She was like this even before Keldeo sent the letter, but it got worse afterwards, of course. She's very blunt and honest as well, not seeing the point in sugarcoating anything. Because of this, she gets along well with Espeon.

-Feels the most conflicted about their child, as its worried that they will resent her for being aloof and avoid her. Or that they would see her for "what she truly was". But their child loves and looks up to her a ton, which does make her feel better.

Emolga

Name: Parker (Insists on Emolga)

Pronouns: He/It

Design Notes:

-So when I was younger, I always figured that Emolga kinda presented himself as a superhero? Because he swoops in to save Dunsparce in Stompstump Peak, he always sticks up for the little guy, and he's very vain and outspoken. The wings also lended well to that, since they look like a cape. So I wanted to lean into that!

-He's mixed with both Theivul (for the mask, tail, and extra brown color) and Boltund (for the wavy fur and eyes).

Story/Headcanons:

-When Parker was younger, it was abandoned by its parents, and no one was willing to take the orphan in, so he had to steal food to survive.

-It was every Pokemon for itself, so Parker never grew close to other Pokemon. Due to his small size and power, he was usually harassed for what little items he had, so he never trusted anyone.

-When he was a teenager, however, he ran into Noodle. The little snake was being bullied for their money by another group of Pokemon, and was frantically trying to empty his pockets. Emolga typically would have just ignored it to save his own skin... but watching the Pokemon mock Dunsparce and berate him for not having more food, and the sheer desperation and tears in the snake's face, something in him snapped, and he swooped in to defend the Dunsparce, fighting off the Pokemon. He intended to leave soon after, but Noodle insisted on taking care of his wounds and giving the Emolga a place to stay. After that, he and Noodle were best friends.

-Parker stopped stealing after that incident- it didn't want to stay in that lifestyle anymore after seeing how honest Noodle was. Unfortunately, this meant going hungry, so he would often go into Mystery Dungeons to get supplies for them- eventually becoming a stronger fighter for it. This inspired Noodle to want to be a treasure hunter themself, although they got lost very easily- Parker would have to look for them more often than not. Not that he didn't take pride in that... he let that ego go to his head. He loved providing for the smaller Pokemon, sure, but he also craved the notoriety.

-Holds a grudge very easily. You call him a rat and he will remember that decades down the line. He finds it hard to forgive

-Despite his size, he knows how to impose himself. Its got a naturally loud voice and he usually perches himself on high ledges so he stands over people.

-He has a massive heart, though. He adores his partners and will lay himself on the line for them. He also fawns over their child a lot.

-Was the closest to Eris out of the gang for a while, besides Kiran. It taught Eris how to handle his electricity and take care of his new body properly.

Dunsparce

Name: Noodle

Pronouns: They/He

Design Notes:

-Wears a reunion cape given to them by Kiran so they don't get lost as often!

Headcanon/Story notes:

-Was always picked on for being a weaker Pokemon. Because of this, they were rather withdrawn from others, and never put up a fight against larger Pokemon- they just didn't want any trouble.

-Took Parker into their home once he saved them from a group of Pokemon that was harassing them, and the two became fast friends. Parker jokingly called them a "noodle" because of how wobbly they'd get when they were scared, and the name stuck.

-Parker inspired them to want to become an explorer... but unfortunately, they never had the strength for it. He would go into dungeons on his own, and Parker would have to swoop in and save him.

-At first, they admired Aramis for its strength, and thought that if they could only become stronger, they would be liked as well as she was. But when they both joined Paradise, they broke her walls down, and saw her for who she truly was- warts and all. And they appreciated her more and more every day for it.

-Actually fell into a more strategizing/organizer role as the events of the game went on. They came into their own as a fighter and explorer and can hold their own in a fight now, but ended up finding a lot of comfort in taking care of others.

-It was their idea to adopt their kid. The trio had found the egg in a dungeon and Noodle pushed and pushed to raise the child as their own.

[your-fave-is-vegetarian]

Damian Wayne from DC Comics is a Vegetarian! For anon