#Barb was relatively recent too

[strangerwheelerthings]

Just saw an ask about Nancy’s lack of social behaviors that inspired some thoughts. I didn't want to intrude on them with my disagreements. They make a couple of reasonable points, but I believe they're missing some aspects of Nancy’s personality to interpret them. Obviously, some of this comes down to personal interpretation, but this is my understanding of Nancy Wheeler.

Addressing their points: Canonically, Nancy isn't a social person. She didn't reach out to Robin at all in the year after Starcourt Mall. The only people we see her regularly hanging out with, after Barb's death, is whoever her current boyfriend is. These are all facts. I personally feel her questioning Robin's presence in season 3 was less a 'I have absolutely zero idea who you are' reaction, and more of a 'why the heck is this new person helping us fight a monster and making comments, since when?' type reaction. This is up for interpretation though, so I won't argue that point.

However, Nancy’s lack of social life is not an indicator of a lack of desire for friendship. Nancy struggles with opening up to people. She finds emotional vulnerability and genuine connection both difficult and terrifying. We see this aversion present itself in her relationship with Mike, as well as signs of it presenting in her dysfunctional family. 

Barb was her only real friend in the beginning of the show. We see her change herself, to try to conform to Steve's group, but even then she is very distant from everyone but Steve and Barb. She relied on previous bonds in a social situation, and made no attempts to create new ones. Granted, Tommy and Carol weren’t people she cared to be friends with. However, this seems to be a pattern of behavior, as indicated by her social situations throughout the show. Another example is the party in season two, when she got drunk and only actually talked to Steve.

Nancy stays inside a social comfort zone. She is not outgoing without a purpose. She’s good at listening, but she doesn’t talk to people without an external reason, such as a story. What some people may forget, is that once Nancy is comfortable with someone, many of those barriers go away. She actually stays quite close to people she likes and feels comfortable with, especially in a distressing situation. She made Barb come to the party for this exact reason. 

The Upside Down dangers created the perfect situations to create deep bonds with Steve and Jonathan. They were forced into situations that lowered guards and allowed them to be genuine with each other. There’s a reason she ended up dating both of them, and essentially relying on them for connection over the years. It wasn’t just trauma bonding, but also that barrier free connection. 

Jonathan was the one to distance himself from Nancy in between season one and two. We see Nancy still reaching out at the beginning of season two. He had been placed in the comfortable zone, and as such, she was quite social with him, despite not dating yet. She ends up distanced from Steve because ex status took him out of that zone, alongside lack of communication in their relationship and the inability to be emotionally vulnerable with him. 

Then we go into post-season three territory. Nancy and Robin don’t talk after Starcourt. Why would they? The two saw each other in a dangerous situation, but they never actually connected. There was no bond, and I highly doubt that Robin took the initiative to attempt to develop one afterwards. Steve started dating Nancy because he put persistent effort into showing his interest. She’s not exactly the type to reach out first. Once within the trust and comfort zone, then yeah, she will initiate contact with a person, but she struggles before then. 

As for people outside of the Hawkins Gang, alongside her natural social aversion, there’s also the barrier of being unable to be completely honest with them. This is a major thing for Nancy, who likely values genuine friendships, and has little respect for superficial ones. This, alongside the trauma surrounding Barb, hinders her quite a lot.

After Jonathan moves away, Nancy is left relatively alone. She has working relationships with people in the newspaper, but not much beyond that. Perhaps there was the possibility of a friendship developing over time with Fred, but that was cut short. Even then, once again, the person she’s closest to got there because they were placed in a situation where she had an external reason to initiate contact.

Does that mean she doesn’t really care to make any more friends aside from Jonathan? Turn now to the famous line: "Does that make us friends? As in, officially?"  

Look at that smile, and try to tell me that she isn't ecstatic to have Robin confirm their new relationship.

This girl desperately wants a friend. She just doesn’t know how to make one. Looking just at that scene, Nancy is visibly nervous. She doesn’t say anything until Robin drops the friend-word, and then she feels the need to confirm it with her. She wanted it so badly, and was so relieved when Robin revealed that she felt the same way. This wasn’t a little thing to her.

How do they even get to that point in season four? First, Robin puts herself in Nancy’s orbit, despite Nancy’s discomfort. People have a tendency to discount her ideas and not listen to her. She was an unknown variable in a stressful situation. However, the situation allowed them to really talk and the start of a connection was created. Robin had listened to her, and had validated her theory. 

Nancy was starting to like her.

What did she do next? Take advantage of the situation they were in, to sneakily attempt to grow closer. It wasn’t just the fact that Robin was competent and Nancy respected her after the library, but because she wanted to spend time with her. There were plenty of options within the group of competent people, yet Nancy repeatedly singled Robin out. Nancy was trying to become friends.

I say take advantage of it though, because it is a lot less stressful to initiate conversations with someone if you have an excuse. ('They were in a dangerous situation, it wasn't about wanting to be her friend, whaaatt.' Lies.) Suddenly a lot of the normal social pressure and anxiety around initiating contact is decreased. And look at what Nancy does in that scenario, she immediately reaches out. 

Give her a reason, or a purpose, and she can go up and talk to anyone about anything. Take that away, and she gets too stressed or anxious to be the first. 

Anyway, to sum up, Nancy sticks to people she’s comfortable with. Robin, and maybe Steve depending on how the romance is handled, have managed to maneuver themselves into her comfort zone by the end of season four. She has confirmed friendship with Robin, and as previously established, once Nancy likes you, she is social. She will reach out to you, and spend time with you. 

Outside of danger, she likely takes a while to trust people, so anyone who wants to join in the hangouts would need to be willing to put in some effort and be patient with her, but it isn't impossible. She wouldn’t avoid them, just stick close to comfort people.

She's not completely anti-social. Nancy is an introvert who struggles to trust, but once you have that trust, she is a reliable friend.

[devildom-moss]

December poll story

NSFW - Solomon x Barbatos x MC

(Barbatos x Solomon x gn!MC)

(NSFW) (dom-leaning-switch!top!Barbatos / sub!bottom!Solomon / dom!top!MC) (MC with a dick or strap on; oral/blowjob - Sol for Barbs; jealous sex; pre-cum tasting; anal fingering - Sol receiving; slightly bratty Solomon; mostly gentle dom MC; sadistic Barbatos; double anal - Sol receiving; Solomon's hands restrained by Barbatos; slight overstim; anal creampie; standing/against the wall sex; no explicit mention of MC orgasm sorry; Solomon is so whiny and needy and desperate for reader)

Word Count: +2,800

You were delighted that Barbatos not only had the night off but was willing to come over to Cocytus Hall and help you cook dinner. Cooking at the castle had its positives, like high-end tools and an enormous pantry, but seeing Barbatos in the relatively humble kitchen at Cocytus Hall felt more intimate. It wasn’t as if you could peacefully prepare a meal with Solomon here. Sometimes, you just wanted someone to help you in your kitchen without being worried that something was going to explode or that your entire meal would be ruined.

“I’m back,” Solomon yelled from down the hall. “It smells amazing in here. What are you –”

Solomon stopped dead in the doorframe, jaw clenched tight. The only movement on his end was the darting of his eyes between you and Barbatos. His stunned silence caused you to turn around and see what was wrong. Barbatos followed your gaze, looking over his shoulder at the recently returned sorcerer.

“Solomon,” Barbatos greeted him coldly – losing every ounce of emotion he had given you mere minutes ago.

“Barbatos, what are you doing with my – my . . . apprentice?” Solomon questioned him cautiously, almost allowing a more affectionate term to slip from his lips.

“He’s helping me make dinner,” you informed him. “Is that why you malfunctioned?”

“I didn’t malfunction. I just wasn’t expecting to see anyone else in our kitchen.”

“Is that so?” Barbatos hummed, turning his head so he could get back to mincing the garlic.

Solomon narrowed his eyes in annoyance briefly and rolled up his sleeves. As he walked towards the kitchen sink, he insisted, “Well, let me assist you, too. I’m sure I can help.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Barbatos replied.

“We’ve got everything under control, Solomon, really. You can relax,” you reassured him, hoping the sweetness you mustered up in your tone would be enough to ward him off. Solomon’s shoulders dropped, and he frowned but made no move to leave. You turned back around to continue chopping the vegetables. Maybe you could convince Solomon to take a nice long bath while you and Barbatos finished dinner.

Just as you were about to gently urge Solomon to get out of the kitchen, you felt Barbatos come up behind you. He put one arm up – coincidentally between you and Solomon – and reached for the cupboard above your head. His body was pressed firmly against your back and his breath was hot on your skin. “Ah. My apologies, MC. Your hands were busy, and I didn’t want to disturb you, but I thought I saw the spices that I brought over for you the other day in here. I must have been mistaken.”

“Pantry. Front of the shelf – just below eye level,” you informed him. Barbatos chuckled and went to check the pantry. You didn’t particularly want him to move, but if Solomon was forced to witness that for a second longer, you were certain he would come for Barbatos’s throat. You could feel Solomon’s anger from across the room.

“Let me help, instead.” Solomon insisted, catching Barbatos by the shoulder as he made his way to the stove. “You should go home, Barbatos.”

“Don’t be rude. Barbatos came all the way out here, and he’s helping prepare dinner for you, too.”

“It’s fine.” Barbatos offered you a polite smile before turning to face Solomon. “After all, Solomon doesn’t mean to be rude. He’s simply being a needy little brat, desperate for your attention.”

Solomon gasped quietly. His face flushed a light pink – tinted with shame and anger. He hated being so jealous and desperate for you, and he hated that Barbatos was the one to point that out even more. You continued dicing vegetables, hiding your smirk from Solomon’s eyes.

“I believe a punishment might be in order. What do you think, MC? Do I have your permission to handle him?” Barbatos asked you, still staring down Solomon.

“What about my –” Solomon started to protest, but his complaint was silenced when Barbatos kissed him roughly, pushing him back towards the doorframe.

You stopped to look over your shoulder, ensuring that what you thought had just happened was, indeed, the case. It was certainly something to behold: Barbatos pressing Solomon’s back against the doorframe, tongue in his mouth, pulling out the softest moans from the sorcerer. You weren’t sure if you should keep watching or let the two have their privacy – as much privacy as you could offer them while still preparing the stew. The latter seemed to be the best option. After all, the sounds of Solomon whimpering were just arousing enough to turn you on while not distracting you too much.

By the time Barbatos finally broke the kiss, Solomon was in a daze with his cheeks tinted red. You could hear him panting slightly as you tossed the potatoes into the stock. Barbatos took a step back and held Solomon’s chin with one gloved hand.

“I take it that was sufficient enough to earn your permission as well, right Solomon? Now, get on your knees and suck my dick. I spent all this time keeping your apprentice company, helping cook for you. You really should be more grateful.” Solomon’s eyes widened, and he looked in your direction – searching for guidance. You weren’t even watching him. Barbatos turned Solomon’s face back to look at him. “Come on, little sorcerer. If you want MC to watch, put on a show for them. Show them you’ve had a change in attitude – that your rude little mouth can repent.”

You caught Solomon dropping to his knees out of the corner of your eye. He stared up at Barbatos with the small hint of defiance that had somehow escaped the smothering effect of that kiss. “. . . Fine.”

If only you and Barbatos had made more progress before Solomon returned home. The stew would already be simmering, and you could have focused more of your attention on the source of the noises behind you.

Everything from the sound of Barbatos undoing his pants to Solomon’s noisy licking and sucking to the first gentle moan that left Barbatos’s lips tempted you to turn around and watch. You heard Solomon whimper as he struggled to take Barbatos – the way he began to moan on Barbatos’s cock, slowly starting to enjoy himself. Even as Barbatos moaned again, rolling his head back against the door frame and rocking his hips forward, eager to get deeper down Solomon’s throat, you focused on the task at hand. Just a few more steps, you kept telling yourself until, at last, everything was prepared, and you could leave the stew to simmer on low.

You turned away from the stove and admired the sight of Solomon licking the tip of Barbatos’s cock before taking him in his mouth, bobbing his head eagerly. Did he know you were watching or was he just that into it? Either way, as much as you wanted to keep watching, you also wanted to reward Solomon for being such a good boy while you finished cooking.

“I’ll be right back,” you announced – although you were mostly speaking to Barbatos. He grabbed the back of Solomon’s head and pulled him close until he was choking on his cock, giving you a few more inches to squeeze behind Solomon. As you passed behind him, you ran your fingers along his shoulders, earning a pleased whimper.

You retrieved a bottle of lube from your bedroom (and a strap-on, if necessary) before returning to the hallway. Barbatos had been polite enough to let Solomon resume his blowjob as opposed to being left to choke. He spotted you through half-lidded eyes as you walked down the hall and grinned – almost as if to say, “he’s good at this, but I’d rather have you.”

Barbatos combed his gloved hand through Solomon’s hair before quickly pulling him back. The movement was so sudden that Solomon still had his tongue sticking out as he stared up at Barbatos. “There, there. That’s enough. Your sweet apprentice brought you a gift.”

Solomon turned to see you standing in the hallway, just outside the kitchen doorway, holding a bottle of lube. You motioned for him to come to you, and he was quick to get to his feet and bury his blushing face in the crook of your neck. His embrace nearly pushed your back against the wall. Barbatos followed and stood behind Solomon. He chuckled and slowly pulled his gloves off, tucking them in his coat pocket, before taking the lube from your hand.

Barbatos tugged the back of Solomon’s pants and underwear down, coated his fingers in a generous amount of lube, and slipped a finger into Solomon. A soft yelp, muffled against your skin, left Solomon’s lips. Still clinging to you, Solomon pulled back just enough so he could kiss you. The taste of Barbatos’s precum was still on his tongue, but if he knew you could taste it, he would have refrained from kissing you with the urgent desperation he had now. Between Barbatos’s skilled fingers slowly stretching him out and your lips – and attention – finally on him, Solomon was reduced to moans and whimpers all over again.

A spark of sadism ignited in Barbatos. He tugged at Solomon’s hair with his free hand, forcing him away from you, and captured your lips instead – all while continuing to finger Solomon. Irritated by the interruption, Solomon reached behind to stroke Barbatos’s cock, knowing the demon was still hard. Barbatos moaned, but that moan quickly slipped into a growl as he pulled away from your lips.

“Who said you could touch me again?” He growled into Solomon’s ear, plunging his finger deeper into Solomon’s ass.

Solomon arched against your body with a smug grin, biting his lower lip to hold in his moan – anything to annoy Barbatos further. “It worked. You stopped kissing my apprentice.”

His attempt to annoy Barbatos was a success. Barbatos slipped a third finger into Solomon in retaliation, quickly and without warning, making Solomon whine and cling to your shoulders. His face was flushed bright pink up to his ears with his mouth agape. He struggled to get the words out. “I-it hurts, MC.”

Tears prickled the corners of his eyes but failed to fall. You kissed down his cheek, shushing him affectionately. “You’re okay, baby. I’m right here, let me help you.”

As you kissed his neck, you slid your hand down his chest until you reached the hem of his pants. You undid his pants, finally allowing them to slip completely down his thighs, and tugged the front of his underwear down until his hard cock was free. You stroked him slowly. Solomon buried himself against your neck, muffling his needy whines. While he wasn’t paying attention, Barbatos stole a quick kiss from you over Solomon’s shoulder. You focused your attention on thumbing Solomon’s tip as Barbatos curled his fingers against Solomon’s prostate. Drowning in pleasure and too blissed-out to speak, the only warning Solomon gave you was nuzzling into your neck and tightening his grip around you before he came all over your hand with a loud moan. Solomon’s knees buckled, but neither you nor Barbatos were done with him yet.

“Can you keep going, baby?” you asked him. Solomon’s only response was to kiss you while fumbling to undo your pants, revealing your dick/strap on. Meanwhile, Barbatos tugged Solomon’s pants and underwear down all the way, making it easy for the sorcerer to step out of them and kick them off to the side – all while he was still exploring your mouth with his tongue. Barbatos pumped more lube into his palm before chucking the bottle on top of Solomon’s pants. He reached around Solomon, pressing his still-hard cock against Solomon’s ass, and applied the lube to your cock/strap on, stroking you a few times until you were completely coated.

Finally, you were ready to fuck him. You wrapped Solomon’s legs around your waist while Barbatos pinned Solomon’s wrists against the wall just above your head with one hand. Your eyes met Solomon’s, silently requesting permission.

“I want it. Fuck me,” Solomon whispered through his panting. He opened his mouth slightly and leaned in to kiss you again.

With your hands preoccupied, digging into Solomon’s thighs to hold him up, Barbatos used his free hand to help ease you into Solomon’s ass. Moan after moan escaped Solomon and flowed into your parted lips as you slowly bucked up into him. Something about Solomon’s desperate, hungry kisses, and the image of his flushed cheeks and damp eyes as he told you he was in pain earlier made you want to be gentle with him.

Barbatos, on the other hand, was not so sweet. Rubbing his hard cock against Solomon’s ass while the little brat writhed on your dick with his hands pinned was not nearly enough. Barbatos bit Solomon’s neck, earning a whimper, before blowing on the bite mark and whispering in Solomon’s ear, “Be a good boy and relax for me.”

In a daze of pleasure, Solomon could barely make out the words – let alone understand them – before Barbatos was slowly pushing his cock into him. Solomon immediately broke the kiss, lolling his head back with a gasp. He struggled to catch his breath as the feeling of being so full pushed him closer to the edge. Solomon was already tight, but with Barbatos inside, pulsing against you, your thrusts slowed as you tried to get the poor sorcerer used to it. Solomon wanted to wrap his arms around you, but Barbatos still had his wrists pinned. He whined and struggled, rubbing his throbbing cock against your stomach. You could feel him twitching. That pleasured look on his face, a deep blush, and the slightest hint of drool dripping from the corner of his lip told you that you could have been a bit rougher with him from the start. He might have enjoyed any pain you caused him.

“You can cum, it’s okay,” you reassured Solomon, thrusting into him with rapid, shallow movements.

“I’m close, too, MC,” Barbatos growled. “Can I cum inside him?”

In any other situation, Solomon would have been annoyed that Barbatos was treating him like he was your toy, but in that moment, he wanted it. Solomon whined, “hurry. Cum in me.”

“You heard him,” you chuckled, leaning in to suck on Solomon’s neck. Before you could leave a proper hickey, you felt Barbatos twitching inside of Solomon’s ass, and with a soft grunt followed by a content sigh, he pumped Solomon full of cum. Perhaps some of Barbatos’s sadism had rubbed off on you because you continued to thrust into Solomon – much easier than before after the additional lubricant. Moans and whimpers filled the hall as you overstimulated Barbatos, fucking the cum deeper into Solomon’s ass, and gave your baby boy every ounce of pleasure he needed to cum all over your shirt.

Slowly, your thrusts came to a stop. Solomon was still whining, and his eyes were damp. As weak as he was, he struggled against Barbatos’s grip again, desperately craving touching you.

“Patience, brat,” Barbatos hissed. Solomon’s struggling only overstimulated him further. Barbatos groaned as he carefully pulled out of Solomon, scraping a few drops of cum out as he did. However, Barbatos kept his grip tight on Solomon’s wrists and held your gaze. “Your turn, MC – or do you plan to stay inside him all throughout dinner?”

Solomon yelped, and you laughed, knowing you couldn’t possibly tease him that much. You eased out of him halfway before quickly thrusting back into him, earning another pathetic yelp. With wide, damp eyes and a pout on his lips, Solomon stared at you, begging you to be gentler with him. Okay, that’s enough teasing. You pulled out completely, and lowered Solomon’s legs until he was standing on his own feet again. He looked adorable: flushed, panting, in a blissful afterglow, with cum leaking down his thighs.

Satisfied, Barbatos released Solomon’s hands. Surprisingly, Solomon’s first move was to grab your hands and hold them, playing with your fingers nervously. He hadn’t realized until now what a mess he had made all over you. In a weak, timid voice, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” You smiled at him and ran your thumbs over his hands. “You were so sexy.”

Solomon looked up at you with a shy grin. Slightly annoyed by the softness you seemed to share with Solomon, Barbatos sighed, and despite himself, he told you, “Give me a minute to get cleaned up in the bathroom. Then, I’ll finish getting dinner ready while you and Solomon take a shower together.”

“Thank you.” You smiled and leaned over to kiss Barbatos on the lips – gentle and sweet.

Barbatos turned to leave, but Solomon let go of your hands to grab him and pull him closer. Solomon kissed Barbatos, too – albeit a shorter, self-conscious kiss. When he pulled away, Barbatos was wide-eyed and surprised while Solomon was blushing harder. “Thank you for everything. You can stay the night after dinner – if you want to.”

Barbatos chuckled, a smile reaching his eyes. “Oh? Aren’t you all docile and welcoming now.”

“I still have a pact with you, you know?” Solomon glared.

“I’m well aware.”

A/N: I hope this one came out okay. I kinda rushed it a bit because I'll be away from my computer from the rest of the month and I didn't want it to go up late. At this point, I feel like it's well established how much I adore whiny, desperate Solomon. I want to ruin him. I hope that desire was enough to make a good fic. I'm scheduling this to post on the 31st, so don't forget, I'll post a new poll for January's story at midnight on the New Year PST. It'll be a little different this time, and I hope you'll all like it.

[professoruber]

Alastor vs Lucifer rivalry

Really loved the quickly developed mutual dislike and rivalry between Alastor and Lucifer. I hope we get to see more of it in future episodes before things escalate too much in terms of whatever grand status quo wrecking plans Alastor apparently has.

Like; imagine if word go around that Alastor was hanging near the King of Hell (likely one of the few sinners to do so given his apparent reclusive nature) and trading barbs at one another. Of course in reality these two are probably only barely holding back from outright throwing hands by the fact it wouldn't end well for either (getting smited by Lucifer would obviously disrupt any plans Alastor has, meanwhile Lucifer would also not want to hurt his only recently repaired relationship with his daughter by smiting her business partner.

But still. Imagine the Vees and other sinners freaking out at seeing Alastor and Lucifer together, wondering if this is part of some plan or if they're going to enter some deal...

When in reality this specific action isn't part of any plan (presumably), they just really have a mutual dislike of one another and get into a petty rivalry which results in them being in frequent enough proximity that others assume there is something deeper to their interactions.

Just a random thought. Really enjoying Hazbin Hotel so far even if its rather fast-paced (although that seems mostly due to the relatively short episode number to be fair).

[cdyssey]

Advocate

Prompt (@kalikoke​):

CW: Alcohol Mentions

AO3 Link

As they’re walking out to their cars, Barbara insists on going out to dinner that night to celebrate the reigning Read-a-Thon champ.

Her treat.

“Oh, so you’re takin’ me out on a date, huh?” Melissa grins widely, full of piss-and-vinegar. She loves to flirt with Barbara Howard—married woman, woman of God—thinks it’s fun to see her nearly bend over backwards trying not to accidentally flirt back. Meanwhile, the second-grade teacher has long made her peace with the fact that after nearly thirty years of friendship, the two of them talk like old lesbians who probably own a cat named Fred Astaire.

It’s just one of the occupational hazards of being work wives.

Somewhere along the way, they started to sound like actual wives too.

She likes that.

A lot.

Much more than she reasonably should.

They stop in front of Barbara’s car, a gray sedan that is meticulously washed every weekend. The windshield is completely white with recent sleet, and both of their breaths gather in pockets next to their faces.

“As a matter of fact,” Barbara only harrumphs, at once pompous and playful, a teasing glint in her eyes, “I am. Wear something befitting your winner status.”

“I got a new thong from Victoria's Secret the other day?” She immediately suggests, arching a positively lecherous brow. “Red. Matches my hair ‘n everything.”

Melissa tells herself that it doesn’t mean anything to her when Barbara visibly swallows at these words, when her dark pupils dilate, when the heavy binder in her arms abruptly slips from her grasp and onto her knee, causing her to cluck at Melissa like a mother hen.

“Lord Almighty! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” The other woman moans, rubbing her leg as Melissa bends down to retrieve the binder, snickering silently.

“Yeah, and everyone else too,” she replies in her most suggestive voice.

“Melissa!”

But the second-grade teacher just laughs and laughs—and she carefully ignores the way Barbara’s cheeks have flushed—and she laughs.

This is all she ever feels comfortable asking for, these infinitesimal moments with Barbara Howard, snatched from the relentless march of time. She cups the nanoseconds in her palms just to hold them, if even for a little bit—which is precisely how long that a moment lasts anyway.

There and then gone, lived and then a fragmentary relic of the past with all the rest.

But, Jesus, how they kiss her fingertips so gently—these moments, these relics, these precious nanoseconds—dusting them, like falling snow.

—

A few hours later, they’re sitting across from each other at a booth in Mamma Mia’s, a relatively new and upscale pizzeria that used to be a laundromat a couple of years ago until the feds finally figured out it was another front for the Philly Mob. (None of Melissa’s idiot cousins were involved this time, thank God. Even they weren’t stupid enough to launder money in a goddamn laundromat.)

All of the washers and dryers and probable bloodstains were removed a few years back, and a yuppie couple has since gutted the rather sizable space, remodeled it, and turned it into the talk of the town. Barbara, completely unaware of its history, has been begging to try it out for lunch sometime. 

She’s heard that their salads are excellent.

And Melissa, entirely aware of its history, has always entertained the proposition with a secretive chuckle at the thought of her very proper friend unwittingly stepping foot into a building where at least two men have definitely died.

Yeah, sure, Barb. Let’s go.

Which is how they end up here for dinner, blissfully sipping on their Merlots as they wait for their waitress to come back and take their order. Melissa is indeed wearing something befitting her victory over Janine—a short, green dress with sleeves that billows out around her wrists—but she thinks Barbara has her beat, so elegant in a teal blouse and black vest. Her fitted slacks—also black—accentuate the shapely curves of her hips.

Melissa appreciates the way her friend looks.

(Again, much more than she decently should.)

“You know,” Barbara begins without looking up. She’s been busy scanning the menu for the past few minutes, her readers delicately perched on the bridge of her nose. Melissa’s own menu is still on the table, unfolded and untouched. “I didn’t get to have one blessed slice of pizza today. My kindergarteners were simply voracious.”

“Mine too,” Melissa chortles, recalling how she’d had to tell at least five kids not to chew so fast. They were gonna get indigestion! “And I gave my leftovers to little Benji.”

Sweet kid, Benji Andrews—the youngest in a family of seven.

There sometimes isn’t enough food to go around at his place, so she and Barbara—(who’d had Benji in her class two years ago, and they'd both had several of Benji's siblings)—worked out an agreement with the lunch ladies to make sure that he gets sent home with extra meals a few times a week. 

“Ah, that’s my Melissa,” Barbara murmurs fondly, her gaze flicking upwards from the glossy foldout.

“Yeah, well, you would have done the same, ya schmaltzy gagootz,” she readily deflects—never one to accept unadulterated praise without a fight—but even still, she can’t help but smile at the quiet intimacy of being called Barbara's own.

Damn her and God bless her, she always knows how to tease the softness right out of Melissa.

“Oh!” The older teacher suddenly gasps, glasses slipping a little down her nose. “Shame on me—I almost forgot. Melissa, would you like me to call out some menu items for you? There’s a spinach-ricotta calzone that might have your name on it.”

And Barbara glances at her perfectly unopened menu then, apology flashing in her eyes, but Melissa only shakes her head. She’d taken one look at the front of the pamphlet, seen its kookily stylized typeface, and quickly placed it down before any of the letters started doin’ any funny business.

“Don’t worry about it,” she says firmly. “I looked at their menu online before we got here, and I'm fine if you just wanna share a pizza."

“Are you sure?” Barbara frets, conscientious about her reading struggles—always—from the very moment she found out about them some two decades ago when she was the first person to ever realize that Melissa only rarely peruses menus at restaurants.

And that’s only if the font is just right or if there are helpful pictures or if there’s not too damn much happening on the page at one time.

Before the Internet really took off, and Melissa didn’t have a reliable way of checking a menu before she went to a restaurant she was unfamiliar with, she’d just ask the waiter for the specials and choose one that sounded the most appetizing to her—far too humiliated to spend the necessary time trying to decipher a block of text that almost looked comprehensible to her. She didn’t have the luxury to chisel the individual words out, unit by unit, as she did at home with her books. The someone sitting across from her was unfailingly impatient. Her siblings. Some of her antsier friends. Her own ma. 

Joe.

He got so freaking annoyed when she took forever to order, even though he knew she had a hard time with menus.

He just swore up and down that she needed better glasses.

But Barbara, from the very moment she found out, approached the matter far differently than her ex-husband, which is to say with the same determination and kindness that governs most of her actions. She suggested that she could read some parts of the menu aloud for Melissa—so as to provide her with options—and for years upon years, she’s done so every time they’ve tried a new restaurant together.

Melissa hated that at first.

Hated that her weakness had been seen and so thoroughly identified by another.

Hated that someone would ever have the guts to call her out on it.

Hated that all of her dozens of coping techniques were stunningly powerless against a goddamn laminated piece of paper.

Hated that it was so obvious if anyone cared to notice.

Which the kindergarten teacher absolutely did.

But then again, Barbara notices a lot of things about Melissa, even the all-too-vulnerable details that she refuses to articulate aloud.

She notices baseball bats firmly taped under desks and irrational fears having to do with ever facing away from a door. She notices new scrapes on her knuckles from bar fights and dark shadows turning circles beneath her eyes after restless nights. She notices when Melissa is having trouble with dinner menus and eighty-paged curriculum updates and legalese from divorce papers that get served to her two days before her fifty-fifth birthday.

And yes, she once hated all of that—Barbara's keen eyes and Barbara's annoying inability not to intervene.

Barbara's hero complex.

And Barbara's pity.

Melissa hated the pity most of all.

But time and trust and her repeated exposure to her friend's particular way of being in the world have ultimately softened her initial understanding of this point, have made her come to terms with the fact that Barbara Howard doesn’t exactly pity her when she reads menus aloud to her, when she sends her emails in big, uncrowded fonts, when she helps her mark up stupid administrative packets with their stupid, tiny text.

She accommodates her.

And this is to say that she loves her.

“I’m positive,” she nods vigorously, well-aware that it takes a lot of verbal and physical gesturing for her friend to ever drop something. She doesn't necessarily want to talk about her insecurities right now—has had to think about them a lot these past few days with Maya, dredging up so many memories—but she damn well won't be responsible for Barbara feeling bad about herself because of them too. “I’m covered tonight.”

As to be expected, though, Barbara, still holding on to her guilt with a frown, sighs deeply.

“You shouldn’t have to be, though,” she insists, vaguely waving her menu around. “It’s absolutely absurd that no one considers how hellacious this font can be on the eyes.”

“Hah!” Melissa snorts, propping her chin up on her fist. “I know you’re angry when you start pullin’ polysyllabic words outta your ass.”

“I’m not angry,” Barbara sniffs (clearly angry). “I’m just disappointed in the lack of accessibility.”

“You should write an op-ed for the Times.”

“Melissa,” she pouts, now finally placing the menu down, crossing her arms over her chest, “I’m being utterly serious.”

And Melissa readily softens, knows that every word is true. Barbara cares so much about making sure that the world is a just place—for her students, for her family, for Melissa herself.

There’s a wheelchair accessible ramp at Willard R. Abbott Elementary School not because some egghead at City Hall gave a rat’s ass.

But because Barbara Howard is a goddamn amazing teacher who fought for it.

There's a reason why she's the best of them all.

“Yeah, I know,” she smiles sadly, impulsively reaching over and offering her upturned palm, an olive branch. But she waits, with remarkable patience, for the inevitable moment when Barbara unbends her arms and takes it, interlinking their fingers together over the checkered tablecloth. She squeezes once and desperately wishes that they could stay like this forever, suspended in time, connected by touch, but the elegant ring on Barbara’s fourth finger shimmers in the light from the tabletop candle.

And so she lets go in the end.

She always does.

(Relics and nanoseconds.)

“I gotta say, I'm... disappointed too,” she goes on with a heavy sigh, pulling her now free hand through her hair. “Had a talk with one of my kiddos today whose parents won’t let her get tested for dyslexia."

“Oh, Melissa,” Barbara murmurs, understanding dawning in her eyes, gentle and profound care. Her best friend knows the very specific way that this situation hits close to home.

It’d been a matter of time for Melissa’s ma. 

Or, well, for the lack of it more accurately.

She had five children all under the age of ten to take care of, and she didn’t have the energy to wonder why her eldest daughter sucked at reading beyond thinking that she just wasn’t trying hard enough. 

How hard, after all, could it be to read Dr. Seuss?

“I taught her one of my tricks—y’know, highlighting the first parts of words,” she adds quickly, as though to blow past the sentimentality of everything, of it all, “but it made me sad for my kid t’think that she doesn’t have an advocate…”

Maya's parents had been afraid—afraid for their child to get a label, afraid for her to be different, afraid for her to be perceived as less than.

She'd kinda wanted to key their car after that disastrous conference, but she also gets it—she really fucking does.

“She has you,” Barbara immediately says, adamant, adoring and so perfectly convinced. “You were her advocate today. You were there for that baby girl in a way that she will never forget.”

Melissa blinks rapidly, unable to stop a lump from rising to her throat as she suddenly recalls Mrs. Myrick, the teacher who had given her that book about a sad child who was also different all those many years ago. 

She’d sat with Melissa in the hallway and taught her how to steady a highlighter against a page without messing things up.

But even if you do mess up, Melissa, the teacher had murmured, brushing a stray curl behind the then six-year old’s ear, that’s perfectly okay too.

You’re enough, Melissa, she finished, soft and so kind. You're always enough.

“I’m so proud of you,” Barbara intones in the exact same cadence some fifty-odd years later, eyes gleaming in the dim lighting of the restaurant, radiant with quiet affection.

Melissa falteringly opens her mouth to say something then, to tell Barbara thank you.

For reading menus aloud to me.

For making sure the school has a wheelchair ramp.

For not pitying me.

For loving me.

For always being in my corner.

For never once betting against me.

Other people have me?

Well, I have you.

You’re my advocate.

And I love you.

But their waitress comes up to them then, a slight, young thing who might be Kit or Kat according to the slightly distorted name tag pinned on her chest, and she’s asking if they know what they’d like to eat. So she closes her mouth again, the words dying away on her tongue.

“A pizza then?” Barbara asks, a smile rising to her plump lips. “To celebrate the fact that you’ve taken the prize home once again, Ms. Schemmenti?”

“Oh, hon,” she smirks, easily shifting back into utter asshole mode. “How can you say that when I haven’t even introduced you to my folks yet?”

“Girlfriend!” Comes another scandalized groan, Barbara pinching the bridge of her nose. “Now is not the time!”

And Melissa laughs with all her belly as Barbara hastily explains to the waitress that they're not dating, they're just very good friends—(which somehow sounds even gayer)—and Melissa is merely being facetious. And she doesn't do anything to refute her, just savors the moment, reveling in the blush that has delicately darkened the skin around Barbara's nose.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #172

I expected that today I would rest with Rune Factory 4, but M found a game called Necesse, and he requested that I play it with him, so that is what I did today.

It's a lovely game. It's kind of like Core Keeper. But it's also like Terraria, and it's also like this other game called RimWorld. There's exploring and mining and farming and animals to raise, and settlements to build, and you have to keep your villagers happy and all that stuff. You can ask them to prioritize certain tasks, like gathering wood or farming crops or tending the animals or crafting things. And sometimes you get raiders, and sometimes you have to fight zombies and vampires.

I don't really like the fighting part; mostly I just like to build neat little houses for the people, and I like to tend to the crops in the farm. I like to refill the hay for the cows and the sheep. M usually handles the fighting and the gathering of resources, and then I take the things he gathered and build with them. We make a good team, because he likes the fighting and the exploring and stuff, but not so much building or settlement planning; the fact that we like different things enables us to get more done very quickly.

Like with Core Keeper, I am in the midst of building a huge, sprawling farm with lots and lots of crops! But I'm not done with it yet, so I didn't take any pictures of it.

I did, however, get a couple short videos of the rains we had recently. I dunno if you remember, but in my last letter, I said I would post it up for you, so here it is:

It's short and not very fancy; my cellphone camera's audio likes to get weird sometimes, so only a little bit of what I got was usable. But still, I… I imagine that someone like you sometimes misses a warm, pleasant rain; I can't imagine that it rains very much over at the Edge of Creation, so… I wanted to try to give you something a little nice, maybe.

Hey, Sephiroth? Do you like the feeling of the rain on your skin? Do you like the feeling of the wind on your face and hair? Do you like the sound of the wind and the rain in your ears? Do you like the way they smell? I like these things; I thought maybe you might, too. I like a breezy day, especially when there are tree poofs or milkweed poofs, or dandelion poofs in the air, or when there are small petals falling from flowering trees. I like when the wind carries the scent of lilacs, or of someone cooking outdoors. I wish you could sit with me and enjoy these things for a little while.

I imagine that the air over at the Edge of Creation must be very still. And I imagine it must be a very quiet place, too. And you know… I imagine that the quiet can be nice for a little while, especially after a tumultuous life full of obligations and expectations and horrifying consequences if you do not fulfill them. But at least for me, if the silence stretches on for too long, the shadows of the memories I carry in my mind end up shaping themselves into pointy, barbed things that close in on me, and then existence starts to really hurt.

I get worried sometimes that maybe it's kind of the same for you as how I described it just now. I also think of all the little details about living that I like, such as the breeze and the rain and the scent of the flowers, and I feel sad that you maybe don't get to enjoy those things over there. And I guess… between these two things, I worry about you a lot. I hope you're staying safe, both in body and in mind. And I hope that if you feel all alone over there, maybe somehow my words can reach you and give you a little strength by reminding you of good things.

Hey, Sephiroth, how in the world did you even get all the way over there to that empty place, anyway? Is that your physical form over there, or is it just your essence manifested into something shaped like you? What are your circumstances like? Are you doing relatively okay over there? I wish I knew more about what it is that you're going through right now so that maybe I could do something to help you, but… I suppose, like anyone else who is waiting for news about you with bated breath, it'll probably still be a few years before I know anything.

…because… ya know… it's not as though you can talk to me, obviously. but still, just in case… if my words reach you, maybe you might tell me something i can do. maybe there's something in particular you'd like me to write about, or maybe there's a question you have, or maybe you might like some practical advice about how to deal with having a mind that carries a lot of scary memories. or maybe something as simple as having someone around to listen to you talk about your things for a while would be nice for you. i don't know. there's so much i don't know, and sometimes i get overwhelmed by how much i don't know, and also all of the things that i don't know that i don't know…

Sephiroth, if it's difficult and scary and lonely over there for you, then please do your best to keep yourself together, okay? Please do your best to remain gentle and soft and kind. And if you're struggling and you need help in order to remain as such, then please remember to reach out; there are lots of very kind people in this place who would do their best to try to help you feel a little better, or at least make it so that you're not alone while dealing with all the unimaginably difficult things you're carrying on your shoulders. There are lots of people here who would express love and care towards you in all the ways they are able, so… don't lose hope, okay?

…And don't push yourself so hard that you break again, okay? Please. You gotta remember to take good care of yourself if you wanna save everyone for real, because you're a squishy mammal, and we can't hold ourselves together very well if we tire ourselves out from trying to operate like machines. And when you try to save everyone, you gotta remember that you count as part of "everyone". You gotta remember that you matter. You gotta remember that you're important and that people love you - not for your phenomenal power or for what you look like, but simply because you're YOU - compassionate, caring, brave, and so many more lovely adjectives that describe a kind, gentle person with a conscientious attitude and a good heart.

Sephiroth, you can do it. You can make good, gentle, and loving choices, because you have a smart and flexible brain. I believe in you.

I love you. I'll write again tomorrow, okay? So please stay safe…

Your friend, Lumine

[madeimpact]

Public vs private knowledge ( Pokémon verse )

Note: any worldbuilding details here are open to discussion to better meld with your headcanons!

Public knowledge ( information everyone can know )

Prompto Argentum is a recent member of the Galarian kingsguard.

By way of Noctis sharing his power with his friends, Prompto can also materialize weapons. He cannot warp, however; only Noctis can.

Prompto is trained with and licensed by the kingsguard to wield firearms. Under Galarian gun law, he is only permitted to shoot in life-threatening situations.

Prompto has a shiny Altaria named Sunny, an Armarouge named Ember, an Inteleon named James ( he jokes that his full name is "James Pond" ), and depending on the point in the timeline, an Espeon named Pryna.

Prompto attended the same school as Noctis and is his best friend.

Prompto loves photography and would like to do it professionally in the future.

Prompto works out. He enjoys running and will periodically go on morning runs with his Pokémon.

He has his finger on the pulse of modern technology. Noct considers him a "technophile."

He ADORES Pokémon and gets easily excited around them.

He can't cook to save his life.

He can drive. He's not very good at it though.

He has a barbed wire tattoo wrapping around his left wrist, and a star right above it on the back of his hand.

His Rotomphone is the same royal make and model as Noct's.

Semi-private knowledge ( information select groups know )

Prompto was adopted out of Kalos as an infant by a family from Wyndon.

After helping an injured Eevee as a child, he eventually learned that Eevee belonged to Lunafreya, who sent him a letter as thanks and asked him to befriend the withdrawn Noctis at school.

Ember has been with Prompto for as long as he can remember. His parents say that Ember was with him when they adopted him.

Prompto is not especially close with his parents.

Private knowledge ( information only Prompto and loved ones know )

Amid Prompto's freckles, there are a few dots that stand out more prominently as being...well, not freckles. He's written these off as a weird birthmark.

As a child, Prompto was quite shy and had difficulty making friends. He kept to himself and found solace in taking photos.

Prompto started running after an awkward attempt at befriending Noctis as children went awry. He tripped and fell, and Noctis remarked that he was "heavy" upon helping him up. After this encounter, Prompto resolved to lose weight and work on his shyness in order to become someone the prince would want to be friends with. He eventually grew to enjoy his runs independently of his initial motivation for starting them.

Prompto's love for photography was helped by progress photos he took on his weight loss journey.

Secrets ( information ONLY Prompto knows )

Prompto is deeply insecure about his status relative to his friends. Being of common birth, he feels like a fish out of water with his noble-born friends.

He secretly worries that if his friends were to learn about his hangups, they would leave him.

Occasionally, Prompto hears whispers from Pokémon's hearts and crystals. This is a rare occurrence he doesn't understand. Given that Ignis and Gladio can't hear them, he's concluded that the phenomenon is not a result of Noct's powers. He's too afraid to ask him to confirm.

Depths of the Iceberg ( information not even Prompto knows* )

*He might know these, depending on the point on his timeline a thread takes place at. He may have also told his friends about this information at later timeline points. Generally, though, he doesn't know this information by default.

Prompto is a clone of Verstael Besithia, resulting from Lysandre Labs' duplicative project.

As an infant, an Interpol agent operating on a tip broke into Lysandre Labs' lower levels, absconding with Prompto and Ember. The agent entrusted him to the people that he would eventually call his adoptive parents.

Prompto's classification in Team Flare's database is RP:D:3234.

His "weird birthmark" is actually Team Flare branding.

He has a tracker injected into his right wrist, but given that the technology predates the one in Silva by eight years, it's less refined. Over the years, it eventually broke.

In threads set after Prompto's eventual recapturing by Lysandre, he has this tracker replaced.

Prompto's ability to intermittently hear the hearts of Pokémon and crystals is a result of Team Flare experimentation after he turned out to be a stable and successful clone.

[kopw]

top watches for september

from this month:

will ospreay vs naomichi marufuji, noah naomichi marufuji debut 25th anniversary show 09/17 — not only my favorite match of the month but my most anticipated one as well! i think it's always interesting to see ospreay be taken out of his usual pace and perform with more breathing room between spots (even if his snappier sequences are what drew me in initially). there are a lot of quiet moments in this match, mixed with that devoted eagerness that ospreay had while he was a junior. it's also a match that is able to tap into something very special thanks to the emotional padding behind it that i think ospreay's other big match from this month (vs yota tsuji) is unable to match

syuri vs mayu iwatani, stardom 5star grand prix day 14 09/03 — syuri is my favorite joshi to watch currently! she wrestles such a loud, hard-hitting style that still feels fresh in the technical scene and she has great in-ring chemistry with mayu here. mayu's reversal of the syu-sekai though... gah! a relatively short match and one of my favorites from the entire gp

bryan danielson vs ricky starks, no disqualification strap match, aew all out 09/03 — the singular non-puro match on this list, which should already give you an idea of how truly great it is. ricky has been a highlight on collision pretty much since it began airing, and the natural charisma that shined through there is ever-present in his recent matches. bloody, brutal, and better than the follow-up texas death rematch in terms of cohesion

zack sabre jr. vs ryohei oiwa, njpw road to destruction 09/08 — i was ecstatic to have boltin oleg in a high-profile match! ...and then it didn't happen. but worry not! oiwa stole the show. it definitely didn't feel as one-sided as it would've if it was oiwa pre-excursion pitted against zack. excited to see more from him

takayuki ueki vs baliyan akki, baka gaijin + friends vol. 8 09/20 — the mad doctor takes on akki, returning superstar of the show, after mecha mummy fails to drill a hole through harashima and is subsequently defeated. it's as silly as it sounds

back catalogue:

shinsuke nakamura vs the great muta, noah the new year 2023 — positively overwhelming presentation in terms of the entrances. misting as a metaphor for relatedness rather than corruption. unstoppable force meets immovable object, up until the object embraces the force. a sentimental finish that stuck with me

katsuyori shibata vs kazuchika okada, njpw sakura genesis 2017 — a holistically tactile bout full of sweaty contact and undying resolve. okada finds himself in the rare predicament of not being the fan favorite! practically impossible to look away during this one

pheromones (danshoku dieno & yuki iino) & shunma katsumata vs akito, kazuki hirata & yuya koroku, ddt sweet dreams! 2023 tour in shinjuku ~ fire! ~ — a typical pheromones match in that it contains loads of their trademark spots (synchronized striptease routines, dramatic jockstrap reveals, "accidental" ass to mouth action) however! this time shunma is there to act as their pup (which he is very much into). a must-watch for fans of public kink in wrestling

atsushi onita vs hayabusa, no ropes barbed wire current mine explosion time bomb deathmatch, fmw 6th anniversary show 1995 — hayabusa comes off as a trapped animal within onita’s environment, only delaying the inevitable with each move. feels and looks like a horror movie, with the counter droning on in the first half and the smoke wafting through the cage of barbed wire in the second. explosions galore!

shotaro ashino vs koji doi, wrestle-1 grand prix 2018 finals — this was my first exposure to ashino and let me tell you... he's so good. his entrance is fuel by metallica, he's cocky, he goes hard in the ring. i'm genuinely shocked he's not a bigger name internationally. nothing too extravagant aside from a few high-impact spots but worth a watch

[heartbinders]

Public vs private knowledge ( Pokémon verse )

Note: any worldbuilding details here are open to discussion to better meld with your headcanons!

Public knowledge ( information everyone can know )

Prompto Argentum is a recent member of the Galarian kingsguard.

By way of Noctis sharing his power with his friends, Prompto can also materialize weapons. He cannot warp, however; only Noctis can.

Prompto is trained with and licensed by the kingsguard to wield firearms. Under Galarian gun law, he is only permitted to shoot in life-threatening situations.

Prompto has a shiny Altaria named Sunny, an Armarouge named Ember, an Inteleon named James ( he jokes that his full name is "James Pond" ), and depending on the point in the timeline, an Espeon named Pryna.

Prompto attended the same school as Noctis and is his best friend.

Prompto loves photography and would like to do it professionally in the future.

Prompto works out. He enjoys running and will periodically go on morning runs with his Pokémon.

He has his finger on the pulse of modern technology. Noct considers him a "technophile."

He ADORES Pokémon and gets easily excited around them.

He can't cook to save his life.

He can drive. He's not very good at it though.

He has a barbed wire tattoo wrapping around his left wrist, and a star right above it on the back of his hand.

His Rotomphone is the same royal make and model as Noct's.

Semi-private knowledge ( information select groups know )

Prompto was adopted out of Kalos as an infant by a family from Wyndon.

After helping an injured Eevee as a child, he eventually learned that Eevee belonged to Lunafreya, who sent him a letter as thanks and asked him to befriend the withdrawn Noctis at school.

Ember has been with Prompto for as long as he can remember. His parents say that Ember was with him when they adopted him.

Prompto is not especially close with his parents.

Private knowledge ( information only Prompto and loved ones know )

Amid Prompto's freckles, there are a few dots that stand out more prominently as being...well, not freckles. He's written these off as a weird birthmark.

As a child, Prompto was quite shy and had difficulty making friends. He kept to himself and found solace in taking photos.

Prompto started running after an awkward attempt at befriending Noctis as children went awry. He tripped and fell, and Noctis remarked that he was "heavy" upon helping him up. After this encounter, Prompto resolved to lose weight and work on his shyness in order to become someone the prince would want to be friends with. He eventually grew to enjoy his runs independently of his initial motivation for starting them.

Prompto's love for photography was helped by progress photos he took on his weight loss journey.

Secrets ( information ONLY Prompto knows )

Prompto is deeply insecure about his status relative to his friends. Being of common birth, he feels like a fish out of water with his noble-born friends.

He secretly worries that if his friends were to learn about his hangups, they would leave him.

Occasionally, Prompto hears whispers from Pokémon's hearts and crystals. This is a rare occurrence he doesn't understand. Given that Ignis and Gladio can't hear them, he's concluded that the phenomenon is not a result of Noct's powers. He's too afraid to ask him to confirm.

Depths of the Iceberg ( information not even Prompto knows* )

*He might know these, depending on the point on his timeline a thread takes place at. He may have also told his friends about this information at later timeline points. Generally, though, he doesn't know this information by default.

Prompto is a clone of Verstael Besithia, resulting from Lysandre Labs' duplicative project.

As an infant, an Interpol agent operating on a tip broke into Lysandre Labs' lower levels, absconding with Prompto and Ember. The agent entrusted him to the people that he would eventually call his adoptive parents.

Prompto's classification in Team Flare's database is RP:D:3234.

His "weird birthmark" is actually Team Flare branding.

He has a tracker injected into his right wrist, but given that the technology predates the one in Silva by eight years, it's less refined. Over the years, it eventually broke.

In threads set after Prompto's eventual recapturing by Lysandre, he has this tracker replaced.

Prompto's ability to intermittently hear the hearts of Pokémon and crystals is a result of Team Flare experimentation after he turned out to be a stable and successful clone.

[vampirelover890]

Corpse of the Corporate Ladder (2/?)

(CW: Depictions of death, corpses, gore, decapitation, deception, and janitorial work ahead)

The new janitor is... strange. Pale as a ghost and as anti-social as could be; I don't think anyone's had the chance to hold a conversation with her. I've asked around the office to find that no one's even seen her in town after hours. That wouldn't be so odd if New Wallachia wasn't such a small city. I approached Lance in HR and asked what'd happened to Jeanie. He said that upper management found that her performance as janitor was sub par, and as such, had been replaced by one of the C.E.O.s relatives. She recently came into hard times and needed this job to survive. It was the least he could do.

The people in the office have been almost afraid of the new janitor, which was fair. Barb, the gossipy bitch she is, has been spreading rumors about her since she started, telling people that she eats rats and lives in the janitor's closet. During lunch today, I approached the new janitor. Up close, you could understand where Barb was coming from. Her skin was devoid of almost all color, and her outfit seemed to barely hang off her malnourished frame, like a big shirt on a child. She stood in the corner of the warehouse underneath the office, holding onto her mop like it was the only thing keeping her safe from the ground. I approached and with as much kindness in my voice as i could muster, asked, "Hi! I'm Dylan, what's your name?"

From her hollow frame came a strained voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard and a frog had made passionate love in her throat which replied, "Si- Sio- Siobha... n. Siobhan."

Her voice was quite shocking, but I pressed on, asking, "Well- Siobhan... how are you feeling today?"

"Hunger... y. I'm always... so... hungry."

The story that Lance had given seemed to hold up. She really did seem to be on hard times. I felt awful. Siobhan looked and sounded like she was seconds away from dying, and if it weren't for that fact that she stood and spoke before me now, I'd think she was.

"Siobhan, is there any way I can help you feel better?"

In response to my question, Siobhan dropped the mop and extended her arms for a hug. As I went in, she gave me a great toothy smile and-

Siobhan sunk her teeth into Dylan's shoulder and ripped his flesh off of his shoulder, locking him in a firm grasp with strength betraying her physique. Dylan began to wriggle like a snake in the claws of a hawk. His screams were to no avail. The warehouse was empty, his co-workers none the wiser, eating lunch. Siohan finally loosened her bear hug on Dylan after crushing his ribs and popping his heart. Siobhan dragged Dylan's corpse into her closet. Her sacred room where no one dare enter. Where she may too enjoy her lunch break. After removing his head, she picked the flesh off his spine and indulged on the gooey desert that was his brain.

[casspurrjoybell-25]

The Healer of Shakkara - Book One

*Warning Adult Content*

Chapter 2 - Bruises - Part 2

Books were rare in Thryn.

Children were taught to read... everyone was expected to understand signs and posted notices and later written missives passed among the Guard but knowledge took a back seat to more physical talents.

When Galen showed a passion for it, though, Harrald had made an effort to acquire whatever volumes he could, whenever he could.

He'd given them to Galen on his birthdays or on high festival days and Galen treasured every single one.

It had to be admitted that Harrald was not particularly discerning, however and the selection was borderline comedic.

Galen owned a book of Yuthi recipes most of which called for ingredients he'd never heard of a dry, classic History of Sakkara and a pamphlet titled Treatise on the Relative Discordance of the Celestial Primaries at Variable Temporal Foci and the Possible Arcane Applications Thereof... written by someone named 'Tim' among various other tomes.

He loved and treasured each of them, even if he understood less than half of what they contained.

Absorbing himself with his most recent acquisition... a fascinating study on the various insects found throughout Sakkara... he was only roused from it by the slam of the back door, signaling that Harrald had finished his work for the day and would soon be ready for his meal.

Galen set aside his book with care and descended quickly to the kitchen.

The bread was done, the stew still hot and he carried both to the table, wincing again as the strain hurt his injured wrist.

He sat and waited for Harrald to descend from his room.

The old man came down a few minutes later, drying his hand on a cloth.

His other arm ended at the elbow.

That wasn't the injury that had finished his career in the Guard, though... that was the twist in his back from when his horse had fallen in battle and crushed him beneath her.

Lowering himself into his seat with a groan, Harrald waited while Galen served him, ladling steaming stew into a large wooden bowl, along with a square of bread topped with fresh butter mixed with honey... a small luxury.

Then he waited a little longer, while Galen served himself.

"Delicious, as always," Harrald said, slurping a spoonful of stew.

"If you get bored of medicine, the best kitchens in Tal p'Nir could do worse than to hire you."

"As if," Galen scoffed.

The Sakkaran capital was known for its fine cuisine.

Galen was certain vegetable stew and masa bread were not on the menu.

Besides, cooks were little more valued that healers, though both were necessary to keep warriors alive.

But Harrald often suggested such things, as if even being a lowly healer might be too dangerous for someone like Galen.

"I'm serious," Harrald said, glancing up over the rim of his bowl.

His frizzled red-blonde hair was mostly gray now and his rugged face was lined and crisscrossed with scars but Galen could still see how he might have been a handsome man, once.

He'd always wondered why Harrald had never married.

"They'd be lucky to have you. If you can make a few veggies taste this good... I'd love to see what you could do with better fare."

Galen's mouth twisted and he bit off a piece of dry bread and chewed it, hoping to disguise his expression.

It was a compliment... he knewbut it had unintended barbs, nonetheless.

If Galen were a fighter, he'd be in the Guard, making a decent salary and they'd have enough money for 'better fare.'

So, too, if he managed to get an apprenticeship in the Capital, he'd be able to send money home and make a name for himself at the same time.

Earn 'honor,' in his own way.

He swallowed and then Harrald reached across the table and grasped his arm.

"I didn't mean it that way, Gale," he said, his wiry brows pinched.

"I mean you're good at what you do. Worthy of praise. You know I don't give it, otherwise."

This was true and Galen sniffed and nodded.

Harrald was a man of few words and he didn't waste them.

When he spoke, he meant what he said.

Then Harrald squeezed Galen's wrist in a gesture of reassurance and Galen flinched and withdrew his arm.

Harrald froze.

"Are you hurt?"

Galen shook his head.

"Galen..."

Galen shut his eyes and sighed.

When his adoptive father used that tone, he knew there was no point in trying to hide.

He pulled up his sleeve, exposing the bandages.

"I fell," he said.

"It's nothing."

"Hmm."

Harrald sat back, arms crossed.

"Show me."

Reluctantly, Galen lifted his soft cotton shirt, revealing the bruises on his abdomen and chest.

Harrald scowled, his eyes traveling Galen's thin form, taking in every detail.

"How did this happen?"

"I told you. I fell..."

Harrald cut him off in a sharper tone.

"Galen. How did you get those bruises and where is your pendant?" 

There was a reason he was among the foremost

Watchers in the Guard... nothing escaped him.

Galen bit his lip.

He'd never been good at lying to his father but the stranger had warned him not to speak of him and the last thing Galen wanted was to bring trouble on Harrald's house.

"I wasn't paying attention," he said, which was true enough.

"And I fell. I must have lost my pendant at the same time."

"Where?"

"The forest," Galen admitted.

"Where in the forest?" Harrald pressed.

Galen bit his lip.

"Near... Out near the Wild Green."

Harrald's eyes narrowed and Galen braced himself for the full interrogation.

To his surprise, Harrald drew a breath through his nose and returned his attention to his meal.

"Perhaps it's for the best. That necklace was a piece of the past, and it's best to leave the past be."

He chewed a piece of masa bread, swallowed carefully and took a bracing gulp of ale.

Then he spoke the words that Galen feared.

"But you're not to go into the forest again, understand?"

Galen bristled.

"But Father... I have to. All the best ingredients are..."

Harrald clunked his mug on the table with a force that made Galen start.

His voice was rough and carried the authority of the former Captain he was.

"I said no. You're to stay within the region patrolled by the Guard and you're not to stray so near the Wild Green again. Do you understand me, Gale? If you can't defend yourself, then..." he huffed in frustration and rubbed his hand over his grizzled face. Galen lowered his gaze and studied the rough surface of the table.

Not high craftsmanship but sturdy and strong and... useful.

Unlike him.

"Yes," he whispered.

"I understand."

No longer hungry, he rose and gathered up his bowl and utensils.

"Gale, wait. I didn't mean..." Harrald tried to rise as well but sat back down with a grunt.

He'd been hard at work all day and his back undoubtedly hurt him.

"I'll bring you some mint salve, later," Galen said.

"And some willow tea. Don't worry about the mess."

Taking his bowl to the kitchen, he washed it and left Harrald to enjoy the rest of his meal in peace.

As he brewed the tea and prepared the salve he'd promised, though, he made a vow to himself.

As much as he hated it, he would learn to fight... so that the next time someone tried to take something that was his... he'd be able to defend himself.

With honor and valor.

And even if it killed him, he'd make Harrald proud.

Luckily... he had the perfect teacher in mind.

[evilgreys]

Wichita falls precipitation totals

WICHITA FALLS PRECIPITATION TOTALS ARCHIVE

WICHITA FALLS PRECIPITATION TOTALS PLUS

Those increasing bursts of extreme precipitation carry profound economic and human health risks, the likes of which have been on display most recently in eastern Kentucky. The numbers show that 2021 was a record-setting year for extreme rainfall events, with dozens of places logging their wettest day in generations.Ī separate Climate Central report this spring found that of 150 locations the group analyzed, 90 percent now experience more average rainfall per hour, compared with 1970. “It was just too much water,” Hadley said.Īn analysis of weather data by the nonprofit group Climate Central found that nearly three-quarters of locations the group examined around the country have experienced an increase in the amount of rain falling on their annual wettest day since 1950 - particularly along the Gulf Coast and Mid-Atlantic. The area’s sprawling drainage systems, parts of which date to the 19th century, were quickly overwhelmed. The River des Peres swelled beyond its banks. Louis Sewer District, said of the recent storms that dumped more than 9 inches of rain there in a matter of hours, shattering the previous daily record from 1915. “What happened was way more than the system - any system - can handle,” Sean Hadley, spokesman for the Metropolitan St. But as more water falls from the sky more quickly in many places, those challenges have become only more urgent. in two daysįrom populated cities to rural outposts, the United States has long struggled with antiquated sewage and wastewater networks, outdated bridges and crumbling roads and culverts. How two 1-in-1,000 year rain events hit the U.S. “The infrastructure we have is really built for a climate we are not living in anymore,” said Andreas Prein, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) who studies extreme precipitation. But as it also fuels once-unthinkable amounts of rain in single bursts, the problem of so much water arriving so quickly is posing serious challenges in a nation where the built environment is not only outdated but increasingly outmatched. The warming atmosphere is supercharging any number of weather-related disasters - wildfires, hurricanes, crippling heat waves. Places around the nation are facing more frequent, more extreme precipitation over time - a reality laid bare once again by the record-shattering rains and catastrophic flooding in eastern Kentucky and St. Huntington, W.Va., and Sioux City, Iowa, are seeing deluges roughly 30 percent more extreme than in 1970. The Wichita area is experiencing rains about 40 percent more fierce these days. Note that this is just one model so while it may be very accurate for days 1-3, take it with a grain of salt towards day 5.At one weather station in Fairbanks, Alaska, each hour of rainfall is about 50 percent more intense, on average, than it was a half-century ago. Other parameters available for your viewing interest include relative humidity, cloud cover, intensity of sunlight (dependant on both cloud cover and season), and precipitation.

WICHITA FALLS PRECIPITATION TOTALS PLUS

Add up each symbol to get the total wind (two large dashes plus one small dash would mean 25 mph winds for example). Each triangular flag represents 50 mph worth of wind. Each small dash represents 5 mph while each large dash represents 10 mph. Note that the wind blows from the side of the barbs containing the little dashes so if the dash is to the NE of the dot, you’re looking at a NE wind. The second panel shows winds and wind gusts. The first panel shows temperatures and overall weather conditions (sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.). This product is designed to give you a quick look at everything you need to know for the next 3-5 days of weather. Adfree Plus (with extra features) Extra.Lake Murray, Ardmore OK (WeatherOK, USA).

WICHITA FALLS PRECIPITATION TOTALS ARCHIVE

Base reflectivity (with archive since 1991).Radar & Lightning Radar & Lightning Radar.Forecast Ensemble Heatmaps (Up to 5 models, multiple runs, graph up to 16 days) EXTRA.Forecast Ensemble (Up to 5 models, multiple runs, graph up to 16 days).Forecast XL (Graph and table up to 10 days - choose your model).14 day forecast (ECMWF-IFS/EPS, graphs with ranges).Meteograms (Graph 3-5 days - choose your model).Weather overview (Next hours and days, 14 day forecast).Central Europe Multi Model HD (3 days) new.Tropical cyclone tracks (ECMWF/Ensemble).

[arctimon]

The Beta Team That Never Was - Fanfiction Corner (BH6 Edition)

So all of this Peni Parker comic talk actually got me thinking about the process of her being included in my fanfiction.

I wish I could tell you it was a long and arduous process, but...

OK, maybe some of it was hard.  But when you have a virtually endless supply of Marvel characters that you can use for possible teammates for Big Hero 6, you have to go with your gut.

We all know that the team will be Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen (eventually), and Kate.  But there were six other candidates that could have been in the mix as well.

And five of them have their emblems here:

These were made before I actually knew how to make hero emblems properly.

Some of them you might recognize.  Some you may not.  But we’re going to go through them all, from left to right.

And to start...it’s really hard to draw tiny hearts.

1.) Riri Williams/Ironheart - Ironically enough, it was around the time that Hiro started chasing Sirque around the town in “Portal Enemy” that I started brainstorming her.  A teenage genius, stuck as to what to make, sees “Captain Cutie” and the chase on the news and gets brainstorming.

Thus, the Power Armor is born.

And she gets so excited that she bolts off to San Fransokyo to show her idol what she’s created.

And then, as per the Big Hero 6 Fanfiction Clause states...shenanigans ensue.

It was an interesting possibility, but the thought of Ironheart was really late into me doing the backstories of the people that I had chosen, so she was pushed aside.  I don’t personally see me revisiting her in the future, but who knows?

2.) Nadia Van Dyne/The Wasp - Back when Karmi had first been pulled out of SFIT, there was a young woman who wanted to recruit her into a special organization.  It was one that brought together the greatest female minds in their fields, and Karmi was on said recruitment list.

The organization?

Genius In action Research Labs, or G.I.R.L. for short.  And it was led by the Wasp’s daughter, Nadia Pym (later changed to Nadia Van Dyne).

Plot-wise, this was probably the person that I got the farthest with, since the story would’ve been more of a focus on Karmi than anyone else.  Also, the idea of writing someone with Bipolar Disorder (which Nadia was confirmed to have in her latest solo run) was intriguing if nothing else.

Unfortunately, it sort of dried up from there.  A lack of a central conflict, uncertainty as to how many of the other girls (Taina, Priya, Shay, and Ying) to have, and how to handle her actual powers stopped it cold.

But seriously, how do you write in the ability to shrink to microscopic size?  That’s not really a thing, even in a world as futuristic as San Fransokyo.

3.) America Chavez/Ms. America - The mere idea of a Superman-esque Latina teenager was enticing, especially because America, in her relatively short comic history, was with the Ultimates and the West Coast Avengers (meaning there was a possible Kate/Hawkeye angle).  Making start-shaped portals was the Silent Sparrow angle, and the all-around badass, headstrong attitude would be the counter to Honey Lemon’s more nurturing personality.

But being from an alternate universe (which has very recently been retconned in the comics in part because she will be appearing in the MCU and Doctor Strange 2), no real villain to play off of, and becoming possibly way too overpowered for the BH6 universe, she was scrapped.

It’s quite a shame.  I really like her in the comics that she’s in.  Perhaps there will be an opportunity for her somewhere down the line...

4.) Alison Blaire/Dazzler - A pop star with light-based powers?

Or better yet, a struggling artist with acoustikinesis?

Her power to convert sound into light was what originally drew me to her.  Something that could be made into a technological ability, unique enough to put a (pardon the pun) spotlight on it.

An actual blonde instead of whatever HL’s hair color is.

Heck, she even has a half-sister named Lois that could have been the antagonist (death tough, destruction waves, and the like).

But she quickly got lost in the fold.  Better ideas (like Kate and Doreen) got more of my brainstorming, and she was eventually given up on.

But funnily enough...

It’s almost like she’s already in the show.

(See, for the people who may be new, one of the many Marvel theories that I’ve touched upon is that High Voltage is actually this universe’s version of Dazzler.  Juniper is Alison and Barb is...well...Barbara London, Alison’s mom).

Hey, @baymaksu​ totally agrees with me kinda sort of.

5.) Cindy Moon/Silk - I knew right from the get-go that I wanted a Spider-person on the beta team.  I also knew that I didn’t want Peter.

No offense to Peter Parker.  He’s fine.  But there’s a billion other Spiders out there, and I wanted someone out of the normal vein of Peter, as well as even Miles and Gwen.

And in came Cindy.

Locked away in The Bunker because of her spider powers manifesting, she was eventually released by Peter and thus began her entrance into the main Marvel world.

Her “unique ability” is her improved Spider-Sense, which Peter has said is even better than his own.  That, plus her other powers, brought her the closest out of anyone to being a member of the Big Hero 6 Beta Team.

As we all know, however, Peni ended up getting the spot over Cindy (for the family angle with Hiro and the giant robot that she pilots).  On the other hand, Cindy would later make her debut in the stinger of the last chapter of Along Came The S.P.I.D.E.R., along with Miles, Anya, and Joey.

Unlike Riri, Nadia, America, and Alison, Cindy and the rest of Peni’s little Spider Society are going to be showing up in future stories.  And if I can get everything in order, they will be starring in their own story set in the Big Hero 6 universe.

Finally, I have no emblem for them, but the honorable mention goes to...

6.) Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - Yes, there was a point in time where I was seriously considering putting a nine-year-old super genius and a giant red T-rex into my stories.

Ignoring the giant...”red flag” here, the reason why Luna never made it is the same reason why I haven’t put Rishi in anything yet.  It’s because I don’t really know what to do with supergeniuses that young.  Hiro is at least a teenager and thus has teenager-y problems to fall back on (like puberty and Karmi and all that jazz), but a nine-year-old?  That’s a little too extreme for me.

When I was nine, I was busy playing with sticks in my backyard with my brother, not solving unsolvable puzzles from Bruce Banner.

...All that, and the giant dinosaur.

But hey, at least Disney is jumping on the MG/DD train.  That’s good to see.

Crossover potential, perhaps?

P.S. - As I was finishing putting this post together, it occurred to me that I may get this possible question in the comments, so I’m going to head it off at the pass.

“You know that all of your possible superheroes are girls, right?”

First of all...sexist.

Second of all...true.

That was about 90% on accident.  The actual team (Robbie, Aspen, Peni, Doreen, and Kate) has only one guy on it (two if you count Eli, three if you count Tippy-Toe).

I don’t really have a good explanation for that.  I like all superheroes, but I think that the girl and woman superheroes need some spotlight, you know?  I could have pulled people like Namor or Miles or the male Hawkeye into the mix, but to be honest, I find the characters I chose more interesting than a lot of the guy characters I was contemplating.

Of course, nothing is stopping any of you from using those characters in your stories.  Be my guest, not that you really need my permission or anything.

But you can’t take Aspen.  Aspen is mine. (Spoiler: Aspen is not mine.)

[robins-whump]

Gently, gently

Read the tags!!!

Tristan frowns, hands hesitating as they smooth down the back of Finn’s shirt.

“This is a little big on you. Did the tailor not measure you correctly?”

Finn looks over Tristan’s shoulder, eyes fixed on a point in the hallway entrance. He tracks the chandelier glinting in the bright sun streaming in from open windows and the front door propped open with some ridiculous fancy doorstop just a few feet away.

He takes a deep, restrained breath. “It’s been a while. Maybe it stretched.”

Finn doesn’t say he’s hungry, doesn’t say he’s starving and can count each rib, does so every night with aching fingers tracing his slow destruction. He doesn’t say he thought he knew how to be hungry but he knew nothing and all he knows now is that he cannot say the reason his shirt doesn’t fit is because he’s so fucking hungry he wants to kill Tristan a little more every day. So. He tells his captor another comforting lie and hopes it soothes.

Thumbs hook into his waistband, testing the space between the hem and his skin, too loose even with his belt cinched tight. Tristan tugs at the waistband, then pinches the skin at Finn’s hips. The crease at his forehead deepens.

“Hmm. Trousers are a bit loose too. I’ll send a new tailor.”

Finn doesn’t ask where he’ll find another man with the level of discretion Tristan requires.

Tristan continues whatever sort of weird inspection he’d been doing under the guise of caring for his property. Hands gripping his head and tilting it to the left, eyes glinting at the bruise ghosting his jaw.

Finn knew the real reason his captor brought him upstairs sometimes when the manor was particularly empty and Tristan had been shouting down the phone at gold digging relatives for hours. He doesn’t say anything whenever Tristan decides to stick him in a corner of his office and start drinking, complaining about his fucking perfect life and how the new City Council won’t take his bribes, drunken barbs growing into blunt fists until he’s curled up shielding his head. Biting back after being told again that drugged up street rats like him were an infestation and he was lucky to be polluting the streets no longer was only worth doing once. He liked his back un-flayed, thank you very much.

Tristan traces Finn’s jaw with one hand, the other gripping his waist with a steel grip belied by his easy smile. How no one else notices the intensity in Tristan’s eyes Finn can’t figure.

“You’ve been a good boy recently.” Warmth seeps into Tristan’s tone, but Finn’s not a fucking idiot. His heart thuds right through to his fingertips. Now is when he might be given food, or warmth, if he keeps his mouth shut. Or he’ll be taken further upstairs and have his mind turned blank and leave with new bruises concealed by what he’s coming to call his uniform. Or maybe Tristan will just trick him into breaking some rule and crush him back into nothing.

Tristan’s thumb pressing into his bruised jaw brings Finn back to himself. “Why don’t you stay up here for a bit, hmm? I know you won’t try anything.” Not a question.

Finn nods. Swallows the lump in his throat. Looks again to the doorway, three steps away. Outside, colour is returning to the trees, new growth blindingly bright against the last vestiges of winter. Buds have started bursting and coat the ground a pale pink in rings. Someone’s mown the lawn recently because he can smell it, fresh-cut grass damp with the final melting snow of the season. The last time he glimpsed outside the world was still dead.

He tears his gaze away, eyes resting somewhere just left of Tristan’s face. This close, woodsy cologne stirs bile in his gut. “Yes sir,” he whispers.

His voice doesn’t really work anymore, but Tristan cares less than he pretends to when he’s not finding an excuse to hit him. Maybe Tristan just needs that justification for himself, that he steals people because they’re talented and skilled and not just because he likes having pretty things to hurt in private. Pretty things no one will look for or notice. Eventually, even a battered partner withdrawn for too long will be missed by someone.

His eyes wander past Tristan through the doorway. The sudden grip on his jaw elicits a flinch and a flash of fear. The apology slips past his lips before he knows what he’s sorry for.

Tristan’s eyes flash. “Don’t bother,” he says, and its worse than being hit. Tristan pulls him around by the jaw and green is replaced with the open door to the cells along the hall.

Visions of shoving Tristan away flashed through his mind. Finn imagines him flailing backwards, tripping onto his back and cracking his head on marble. Blood seeps across white stone and Tristan goes still save for the twitching. Then, Finn walks into the kitchen and returns with a knife, stabbing Tristan through his expensive fucking shirt again and again until even the twitching stops and he can’t smell the cologne over the stench of blood.

He blinks and refocuses. Tristan’s leading him into the study and pushing him onto his knees in the space between the desk and the couch. Finn follows the movement, falling rather sitting. He doesn’t remember being moved from the hallway, didn’t notice Tristan’s grip changing. It scares him, and he knows its not the first time. When he’s alone in his cell, he lets the blankness wash over him, lets fuzzy hallucinations obscure his vision, banished easily as they are by Tristan’s footsteps down the stairs.

It’d be easy to say the hunger makes him absent, but deep-down Finn knows his brain is broken in a way food can’t fix. He’s so fucked up and empty and all he can do is let himself be led deeper into the stupor that permeates everything.

Glasses clink and an amber drink is being pressed into his hand. The smell of it turns his empty stomach. Tristan’s on the couch, and a quick glance confirms he’s probably not going to be mad if he leans against the desk. He does so, untucking his legs and staring at the wooden grain between his feet. Tristan takes a sip so Finn does too, almost grimacing.

Tristan’s staring him down so he takes another sip, drains his glass.

Tristan’s right there pouring him another.

“Drink up, darling.”

Why Tristan suddenly wants to get him drunk is unclear. It’s not like Finn can stop him from doing whatever he wants sober. Maybe he’s becoming boring and he just hasn’t realised it yet.

He drinks, slower, and Tristan takes longer to refill his glass. Tristan’s on his second whisky already, or his third.

Daylight has begun receding from the room, long shadows drawn in arcs across the panelled walls. There’s no house help to turn on the lights for the evening and draw the curtains against the chill. Finn wouldn’t be upstairs if there were anyone else in the house tonight.

Finn startles at a sudden movement, but it’s only Tristan laying a hand on his head. He freezes, waiting for a word or a hit that doesn’t come.

It’s minutes later when he’s finally relaxing in increments– whiskey softening his edges whether he wants it to or not – that Tristan speaks.

“You’re the longest one I’ve kept.”

Finn can’t help that every fight of flight instinct in his body has been morphed into a frozen silence. For a minute long, he stills under the hand holding him captive by even the suggestion of disapproval.

“How long?” he asks, voice steadier than expected.

Tristan twists his hair to turn his head and they lock eyes.

“That’s not for you to know,” and Tristan laughs, even as Finn flinches in anticipation of a hit that doesn’t come.

It’d only been a few months. Probably. Did he miss a whole year of seasons in the dark? He hasn’t starved to death yet, so he can’t have.

Tristan pours more whiskey into his glass. “Drink.”

Finn obeys. Three drinks in and the world blurs at the edges, mind wandering gently away from the man on the couch above him.

There’s green velvet at his right side that he reaches out to touch. Soft beneath calloused hands quick to return to his glass before Tristan’s head turns and sees a filthy thing like him touching his other property. Or maybe he isn’t filthy. Today he could be pretty, or pitiful, or fragile, or rebellious or disrespectful depending on the whims of the only higher power that matters. He’s a chameleon – only he doesn’t get to decide what colours to wear.

He looks up at Tristan, slumping slightly against the velvet couch, eyes a touch softer and he thinks tonight is going to be gentle.

He must have done something right, at some point, to be kept this long.

The voice in his head that whispering he’s just taking longer to kill you is lost beneath the buzz.

Tristan’s saying something, a low murmur above him.

“I don’t want to have to get rid of you just yet.”

Finn’s breath catches. “I’ll be good,” he whispers, and he means it. He’ll morph into anything Tristan wants, so long as there’s a chance of spilling blood in return.

“We’ll see,” and the hand smoothing down his hair is meant to be comforting and not sickening.

He doesn’t lean in, but he doesn’t lean away either. He’ll stay here, a statue, until Tristan gets tired of treating him almost like a person and locks him away until he’s bored again. Finn waits, hollow in more ways than one, hunger clawing at him even as Tristan ignores the classy bowls of refreshments left on his desk.

For a second, he’s slamming an elbow into Tristan’s gut and throwing him to the floor, stomping on his throat until he can’t hear the gurgling and there’s no one to stop him from eating as much as he wants until he’s sick.

Blink, and he’s on the floor and there’s a hand in his hair he’s not allowed to shake off. He’s growing cold among the creeping shadows, almost shivering in his too-big shirt.

Tristan’s still fucking touching him.

Finn knows one thing for certain. There are only two ways this ends.

[kaypeace21]

What's in a name? (Analysing all the names in stranger things)

*I'll be repeating some names more than once as I break down categories .

Show , book, and tv easterggs

Alot of character names may have deeper meaning but some are also refs to stories they liked. The stranger writers twitter posted a list of movies said to inspire s4 (which I’ll be referencing).

Dart- dustin names him this after d'artagenean (a 3 musketeers book character) and one of Dustin's fav candies (3 muskateers). Similarly his pet turtle yurtle is implied to be named after the dr Seuss’ story 'yertle the turtle'.

Brenner- main character from 'the birds', which was on the st s4 list.

Byers- john byers from x files. The duffers mentioned x files was an inspo for the show. Although John byers (from x files) resembles Murray as an unhinged conspiracy theorist. The documentary paradise lost was also cited as inspo for st- john byers and his son, terry, Michael, and Steve were names in said film

Jim Hopper- in Predator (another st inspo) he was a soldier who was flayed to death in the woods. Another character in the film with a similar fate was “Hawkins”.

Detective Wheeler and elle Holloway- from silent Hill franchise. Another ref mentioned by the Duffers. Holloway was the surname of st's Heather. Elle (is el) and Wheeler is Mike's surname. Wheeler was also on the ep of twiglight zone (another cited ref by the duffers) . In the ep 'mute' sheriff wheeler takes in a mute psychic girl as his foster daughter. So some hints at hopper too . Hopper even mentions el-anor (gilipse) in s1. The surname of a main character in the silent hill series.Lt. Colonel Sullivan (s4) could be a eastergg of silent hill 4 which had a Sullivan character.

Henderson- st twitter mentioned how all the bond films were on the s4 inspiration list . So Dustin's surname being the same as one of the bond characters is a nod. Duffers also mentioned ‘freaks & geeks’ as inspo- and 1 character’s surname was also Henderson (another nod).

Mrs Driscoll (from s3) - a nod to invasion of the body snatchers which was mentioned as inspo by the Duffers. And clear inspo for s3.

Powell (cop and partner of hopper ) - diehard films also on s4 list. He's named after the cop powell.

Callahan (cop and partner of Hopper) - father Callahan ref. He shows up in many of Stephen King novels. The Duffers have cited over 10 novels and books from him as inspo for st

Nancy- she's called ‘Nancy drew’ (from the novels). And the duffers have mentioned they are fans of elmstreet - who's main character was Nancy. Nancy also references 'Oliver twist" ,and that book has a character named Nancy in it. Nancy was also a first Lady in the 80s similar to her friend Barbara- who was also a first Lady in the 80s.Nancy's name might also be inspired by "Nancy Wheeler", a secondary character in the 1970 book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret written by Judy Blume.

Fred (s4)- apparently a high-school journalist who may be friend or foe. This one is a stretch but given nancy maybe being an elmstreet ref- and her enemy being fred-die kreuger. Fred may have animosity to Nancy and that's why his name is Fred. I mean ... they even cast a new s4 character with Freddie kreuger's original actor.so...

Jason (s4) - is in the 1986 Nancy drew novel (when s4 takes place). He is similar to the duffers description. In the novel he's a rich, popular, arrogant jock and blackmailing students at the high-school . S3 even named one of its episodes after a nancy drew novel- so wouldn't surprise me.

Christie carpenter (s4/reffed in s1 by hopper)- christie is the main character in the hellraiser series (which is on the s4 st list). Carpenter is the surname of the director of 'the thing' name dropped in s3. (The flesh monster in s3 also resembles the thing) , and in s1 mr clarke watches it ,and mike has the thing movie poster in his basement.

Argyle (s4) - die hard 1-2 were on the s4 st list. And is a name of a diehard character.

Max- her name is 'mad max' like the 80s film. But since the Duffers like videogames. Her name may be a ref to max caufield from the ‘life is strange’ game as well. She has a 'never Maxine rule' similar to max in st. But the game character is similar to jonathan as she is a teen photographer and says similar words to jonathan in s1 saying she would rather watch people through a camera than interact with them.

Eddie munson (s4)- not going to lie. I have no proof of this but I immediately thought of the TV character Eddie Munster (the friendly monster ).

Possible comic book easteggs

The duffers are no stranger to comic book references. The duffers have already directly reffed xmen, wonderwoman, and green lantern. Kali's place also has a comic book ref to 'the invisibles' on the wall. While the s4 movie list mentions thor ragnock , age of ultron, and 2 batman films. Some of these refs will go over your head if you haven't read my DID theory. But a lot of this analysis will still be enjoyable. :)

Jane st ives (jane ives aka el). marvel. (jane st ives sees her dad k*ll her mom and vows revenge against him.Sort of similar to what brenner did to terry).

Stephanie harrington (Steve harrington)- 80s marvel comic. DP.7. Will DID ref. Antibody, is a medical resident who can project from his body a dark figure of himself (also called an "antibody", a word play on the medical term) that flies, can become intangible, and transfer its memories to another person by physical contact (mindflayer).  He later merges with the antibody. like how susie refs ‘wizard of earthsea’ -the novel where the young wizard Ged releases a shadow monster (said to be an ancient evil) but it turns out to be the dark aspects of his personality and the only way for the chaos to stop is to accept his darkness and merge as 1.

Barry bauman (Murray bauman) . marvel comics - Will did easteregg.Bauman lived in never ending darkness. He felt, that there was a realm outside the darkness and started to explore the entire content of his brain thus using now more than the usual 10 % .Also had telekinesis.He turned his attention to the stars in order to exact revenge on the human race which spends billions of dollars to kill each other, but wouldn't spend the mere million or so it would have cost to cure him. For his vengeance he transported the suns near our galaxy into his omnipotent brain. As the people of Earth would learn of the disappearing of the suns they would panic and feel Bauman's loneliness before he would destroy Earth.Despite the death of his physical body, Bauman's consciousness somehow survived and began hopping from body to body throughout the galaxy, his powers growing until the Star Thief was recognized as a major threat to galactic society.

Sinclair- last name of xmen rhaine.  Will Did ref. storyline Rahne Sinclair is mentally bonded to Havok against her will(Will/mf).She is subsequently manipulated by the Shadow King. Her bond with Havok causes her to act irrationally, sometimes threatening teammates, sometimes by flirting with them.  She undergoes more than one attempt to undo the bonding, with varying results. Her instability also manifests in many odd dreams, in which her identity is merged into pop culture figures. What’s funny is charlie heaton (jonathan byers) was just in an xmen movie with this Rhaine character.

Victor creel (s4)-sounds like mutant victor creed of the xmen comic. x men Mutant with ab*sive dad and poor socioeconomic background. He had a "birthday tradition" of ab*sing his young relatives on their birthdays. Which reminds me of Lonnie making jonathan cry for a week (because he forced him to k*ll a rabbit on his b-day). Not to mention Lonnie is prob coming back for Will’s b day in s4... so... the name is prob a ref to that ‘birthday tradition’. Could also be a stephen king reference -since Duffers love him. The Creel family was in sk’s book “pet cemetary’-which fun fact (the actress who plays El’s aunt is in the recent remake)!

Yuri (s4)-Yuri Topolov (Russian: Юрий Тополов) was a Soviet scientist and the first foe of the Hulk. 

Dimitri (s4)-Dmitri Bukharin was born in Kuibyshev, Russia (some sources say Moscow).  First appeared in Iron man.

Peter ballard ( s4 character) may just be a hellfire ref . since I guy with last name ballard was a double agent for the hellfire club (name of st s4 ep 1). And ballard means bald which the actor is certainly not lol. I don't think he's literally associated with hellfire but its just a ref. And because its implied in his st character summary despite working for the mental hospital-where brenner is most likely at- he's horrified by the treatment of the psych patients. So that may be where the double agent aspect would come into play.

Ian Hargrove (billy hargrove)- batman comics. had a history of mental health problems dating back to childhood, which his parents were unable to afford treatment for. His brother John hargrove tried to keep him out of trouble but Ian developed an uncanny talent for explosives (will the wise fire powers). He ends up at Archam asylum. Cough billy is Will's alter. Why he has the name billy (a nickname for William) . Jonathan in s2 mentions how he likes the writer vonnegut- who wrote slaughter house 5- the main character was Billy. Already mentioned how it connects to my did theory .

Jason carver (s4)- carver is the last name of the comic hero thunderbolt (in the flash)-the first name of thunderbolt is Will and his brother is named Lonnie. There was also a John carver in the comic.

Holland (barb's last name) last name of Swamp thing. I think its plot has quite a few s4/5 spoilers but Im not diving into it right now.

Names associated with religions or mythology 

(if you’ve read my DID theory- some themes will appear relevant in relation  WIll’s alters or to WIll’s past/tr*uma).

-‘Kali prasad".Kali  is the name of a Hindu goddess . Kali’s iconography and mythology commonly associate her with death,  violence, s*xuality, but also paradoxically -motherly love. In myths ‘she only k*lls demons’ and is described as  ‘overflowing with incomprehensible love for her children’ - (aka ST’s Kali k*lling people from hawkins lab for hurting kids). Her third eye stands for wisdom (like Will the wise).Kali is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ (will the wise/fire powers).The devotee makes her image in his heart and under her influence burns away all limitations and ignorance in the cremation fires. This inner cremation fire in the heart is the gyanagni (fire of knowledge), which kali bestows (cough Will the wise-fire powers). The goddess also could create a darkcloud of lightning (similar to the mf). The phrase “brilliant as a dark cloud” is a snippet of one such prayer dedicated to Kali.The name Kali is derived from the Hindu word that means “time”. Kali receives her name because she devours ‘kala’ (Time)- like clocks ticking when El sees demogorgan/clock being wonky when Will see mf/clocks in s4 promos.’ After devouring time she resumes her own dark formlessness. “This transformative effect can be metaphorically illustrated in the West as a black hole in space” (cough mf cough hopper blackhole/time refs). Kali’s s2 butterfly-“Kali is the Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy. ... The cocoon, butterfly and the karmic golden wheel reflect Her deep connection with life.”And Prasād (her last name) is a material substance that is a religious offering to gods in  Hinduism .

-While, EL is the name of a Cannanite (male) god associated with “salt water “ (pool filled with salt in s1) who “dwelled in a tent” (in s1 Mike’s blanket fort) .And his gray-beard was described as " "full of wisdom.” él’  in Spanish means ‘he’- which could be a nod at her ( androgynous) presentation in s1. El can also be translated to "God" or 'god'. The el character has various mythologies depending on which culture/ religion is using the term 'el'. In the post-biblical period, "el" became a regular element in the names of angels such as "Gabri·el," "Micha·el," and "Azri·el," to denote their status as divine beings.And Jane translates to " Yahweh (god) is gracious/merciful". The cannanite god El was also dubbed “Compassionate God of Mercy.”  Earlier, a ninth century B.C.E. inscription  identifies Ēl- the name of the Babylonian water god Ea, lord of the watery subterranean abyss (cough watery  dark void in st). Terry (el’s mom-aka Teressa) was originally used in the Middle Ages for a “child baptized in holy water” (El in the sensory water tank/Terry used it too,according to Becky in s1). Eleanor (called this in s1)- can mean "sun ray" (possible the opposite of the ‘shadow monster’ or Kali who can represent a “black hole”). 

-Will-the s4 st movie lists (‘red dragon’, gods of monsters, & ‘blade runner’ ) mention the artist and writer William Blake  (specifically his painting of the angel michael fighting a dragon in revelations - reffed in st s1). He was one of many painters part of the exhibition of “ The World Turned Upside Down: Apocalyptic Imagery.”The World Turned Upside Down explores the myriad ways that artists in England visualized the apocalypse in a period fraught with political, religious, economic, and cultural change. 

During this period Blake was commissioned to create over a hundred paintings intended to illustrate books of the Bible along with revelations .  He also drew illustrations for the novel Dante’s inferno. Blake’s brutally satirizes oppressive authority in church and state.He said those who proclaim restrictive moral rules and oppressive laws as “goodness” are in themselves evil. Hence to counteract this repression, Blake announces that he is of the “Devil’s Party” (cough hellfire club ref-and dissing the satanic panic of the hellfire club and other marginilised groups) . He also says “men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.” So Instead of looking for God on remote altars, Blake warns, man should look within.He produced a diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the “imagination as “the body of God.” He wrote his own stories based on biblical writings- one includes the fire wielding character of Los (will the wise) who represented jesus. Los (like jesus does in revelations) causes the destruction of the world and the second judgment unfolds. The poem ends with Los’s unfallen state rising up and shepherding in science and removing the dark religions. I also talked about  how this story ‘book of los’ hints at the DID theory-but this is getting long-so you can just read the explanation here if interested. Also, hellooo Both names are William B(yers/lake). Billy (a alter of Will-sharing the name William) in s3 he even wore “lady of pillar” medallion- i.e about jesus/mary.

JOHN (supposedly Jesus’ blood relative- who wrote ‘revelations’.) In scripture John was called “the disciple whom Jesus loved as a brother” .Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Jonathan did light the demogorgan on fire). Many scholars consider John & Jesus ("apocalyptic prophets"). Jonathan itself translates to " yahweh (god ) has given" in Hebrew.

Michael- Similar to kali, he’s a religious figure known for killing demons. He’s the arch-angel from the book of revelations (Apocalypse). A evil Beast (with seven heads usually translated to ‘satan’ or ‘dragon’) appears .“it was a 7″ causes Will to be attacked by the demogorgan ( which in d&d is a demon with multiple heads). The Archangel MICHAEL fought and defeated this 7 headed beast/satan. Corresponding with Mike at the end of s1 writing a fictional d&d story for Will (based off defeating the demogorgan) which was about helping kill a 7 HEADED MONSTER! Michael is also the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire (Mike telling Will the wise to use ‘fireball’ to defeat this same 7 headed monster in the game, at the end of s1)! Ironically though Jesus /Christian god is also associated with 7s a lot (he has 7 angels and during the apocalypse causes 7 plagues , he has 7 candles etc .)cause the number seven, represented ‘perfection’ according to ancient numerology . Will’s b day is March 22- (3) +2+2 =7 (“it was a 7”). Will’s bday even falls in what christians call “the holy week”( the week immediately preceding Easter.)  At the end of s1 they even defeat this 7 headed monster because Will rolls a 14 (which can be broken down into two 7s). Michael & William also have 7 letters in each of their names respectively- equating to this 14. This dragon biblical story (of Michael) is also William blake’s most popular painting. Also, random fact in revelations god has a rainbow throne (with thunder /lightning -will the wise powers- coming from the throne, and seven lit torches next to it ) . He also wears a rainbow halo. Lol. Michael also roughly translates to  ( 'Who like el?' The answer being roughly translated to ' no one like el' ... which i mean literally is saying there is no one similar to her. But I still think its a linguistic pun/ burn that Mike is not actually into El romantically).

Jim (James) hopper- According to the s3 script Hopper’s real name is James. JAMES (JIM) was an apostle to jesus- brother of john. And in the bible was called a ’son of thunder ’. Will’s powers/ hopper being an alter of Will's so technically brother of jonathan and thunder powers. Not to mention David on Instagram saying hopper has " he has risen. like bread" is a Jesus ref to 'he has risen"... even the bread ref could be a catholic ref to the last supper.

  Martin Brenner/marsha holland-  have their first name reference the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ (will the wise/mf powers). EL (in cannanite mythology) also allowed Baal the storm god to rule the entire earth.

ROBIN- was the God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’The red belly robin is also an important bird in Christianity. Legend has it that the robin got its red belly from a fire in which it was trying to protect Jesus. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire (will the wise) who brought human beings life and knowledge. And Steve looks at Robin and says "let there be light" a biblical passage. The robin represents selflessness for a higher truth. 

Barb- Saint BARBara- dad kept her locked away from the outside world (like el/brenner) . He tried to k*ll her when he learned she didn’t believe in his religion- so the dad was punished by “god” who electrocuted him with lightning/lit him on fire. (Will the wise powers).

Nancy- is derived from a medieval diminutive of Annis, an English form of Agnes.  There’s the christian saint Agnes- who was beautiful and from a wealthy family. She was the Christian saint of girls and v*rginity . And the duffers subverted this along with the problematic horror movie trope of the ' v*rgin female heroine surviving while her more se*ually liberated female friends are punished by the villain' ( by having her survive specifically because she decided to have s*x).Agnes was also led out and bound to a stake, but (allegedly) the bundle of wood would not burn, or the flames parted away from her (will the wise fire powers). Also people claimed that any man who tried to r*pe her was struck blind.

Hopper's wife’s name -Dianne- is also the roman goddess of ,nature, hunting and wild animals( and greek equivalent to Artemis) .Becky  means ‘snare’ -for hunting animals .Teressa (Terry) means ' huntress'.  The name was originally used in the Middle Ages for a child baptized in holy water . Name of 2 saints-Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. Lonnie’s gf (Cynthia) was originally an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, as well.

Power couple Angela & jake (s4) - Angela means 'messenger of God". And Jake (also means ”supplanter”) is derived from jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebecca in genesis. El’s aunt,Becky (Rebecca) is wife of isaac.Other theories claim that Jacob is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect".The name jacob is also where the names James/jim is derived from.

couple Steve spies on in s3- Anna Jacobi & Mark Lewinsky. Anna ( name of the mother of the Virgin Mary) Jacobi ("he who supplants"-aka same meaning as jim since both names are derived from jacob). Mark (”the god mars”-same meaning as martin brenner) .Lewinsky (lion-same name meaning as Lonnie). Also derived from the Hebrew root לוי‎ (leví, “priest”)

Joyce means "lord". Could also be a ref to the ('unofficial') saint Joyce who gave up wealth to live in poverty.

Ted-is the short form of the names Theodore and Edward. Theodore is a Greek name meaning "gift of God", Edward has an English origin and means "wealthy guard." Eddie (from s4) also means ‘wealthy guard”

Holly (nancy and Mike's sis)- Holly meanings are 'One who is pious' or 'sacred'

Karen- can be short for Katherine-one of the first christian saints.”Saint Katherine of the Wheel “(er). A 4th century martyr who suffered t*rture on a spiked wheel.  Wheeler does mean ‘occupational name for a maker of wheels’ after all. 

Gospel of LUKE (lucas?) , or simply Luke, tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Sinclair- Catholic saint of computers and TV screens (i mean... he is in the av club).

MAXimilian was deemed a saint in the 1980s- saint of journalists and radios. (Both aspects of s3)

Saint stephen/steven ( STEVE)-an early disciple and deacon . Considered one of the first m*rtyrs of the church.Stephen is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute food (lol icecream) .According to Orthodox belief, he was the eldest and is therefore called “archdeacon”.

Sara- Her name is a feminine form of sar (Hebrew: שַׂר‎), meaning “chieftain” or “prince."  She was the wife and sister of Abraham (ew -given her being an alter of Will though, such a name doesn’t surprise me). Similar to st Barabara’s dad - Abraham tried to k*ll his son isaac in the name of god. Becky (El's aunt) - is derived from Rebecca - wife of Isaac.

Claudia (Dustin's mom)- Christian woman of Rome greeted by Paul in his second letter to Timothy (in the bible).

Sam mayfield (max's dad) -  Short for Samuel or Samantha, from the Biblical name Shemu'el, which means "God has heard", from the Hebrew shama, meaning "heard" and el, meaning "God". Samuel is rumored to be argyle first name.

Marsha Kelly (s4)- Kelly means "frequents churches" or " bright headed". Given she's a counselor the bright headed pun makes sense. But maybe she's not to be trusted if she frequents churches during a satanic panic arc which was fueled by Christian religious extremism . Or she's someone who contrasts the rest of the religious people in town since she's not originally from hawkins...who knows. x files’ main character was catholic but in one ep she criticized a small town for the satanic panic occurring-and says how accusing these kids who listen to rock as satanic or being k*llers is ludicrous.

Peter ballard (s4) - Peter was also the name of an apostle. 

Tina (side character s2)- like christy (s4) it’s short for Christina which translates to "follower of christ" or 'stream'. Tina was the gal who hosted the t halloween party and also the name of one of Erica’s friends in s3.

Samantha (goth girl jonathan talks to in s2 party) translates to "told by god".

Tommy (s1-2) "God's gift" or "twin".Thomas is the Greek variation of the Aramaic name Ta’oma’. It came about because there were too many apostles named Judas; Jesus renamed one Thomas—meaning "twin"—to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and the Judas also known as Thaddeus.

carol (tommy’s gf)- Carol is the short form of Caroline and the meaning is derived from the English vocabulary word for “song” or “hymn". A hymn being a religious song or poem.

Benny ( who helped El at his dinner) - originally derived from latin bennedictus which means "blessed"

Stacey (s2-3 ) rejected dustin at dance. Stacey- "resurrection "

Grigori (the guy following and tracking hopper, Joyce, and alexi)- The name was adopted by early Christians heedful of the Biblical passage located in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful."grigory now means 'watchful and vigalent'

Alexi- prob based on the russian folklore story of alexy. A clever priest's son who tricks a dragon.

Harrington- similar to Robin's religious animal iconography. Harrington means 'he goat'.The most popular image of the Satanic goat dates back to the ever-mysterious Knights of Templar, who were accused of worshipping an idol known as Baphomet (a 1/2 human 1/2 goat man). Roman Catholic society decried it as a demon that demanded human sacrifice — but it would take a few more centuries before the goat became a truly occult symbol.Anton Lavey adopted Baphomet as the sigil of the Church of Satan in 1966, and it has appeared on countless metal album covers. But, Baphomet isn't the lone source of inspiration for our goat-like depictions of Satan.it's also believed that early Christians, seeking to demonize preexisting Pagan traditions, drew comparisons between the Devil and the Greek god Pan (god of nature), who happened to resemble a goat.Some cited how in revelations- during the apocalypse- Jesus separates the 'lambs from the goats'. ( supposedly Good vs bad)

Given the fact s3 alluded to the satanic panic. A Christian movement in the 80s that demonized and said d&d ,rock music, homosexuality, other religions, stephen King,horror films, wearing black,and non conservative ideology were 'satanic.' I wouldn't be surprised by this possible ref. Heck even William Blake criticized similar religious movements in his own time period. Several movies from the s4 list allude to this. The most obvious being the documentary paradise lost (named after the fictional retelling of satan/adam and eve story) - the documentary directly focuses on a witch hunt of rock loving teens (wrongfully accused of m*rders) in a small town during the satanic panic. Not to mention ironically s4 is hinted to be around easter. So Using such symbolism to address religious fundamentalism and the bigotry/hysteria it can cause isn't surprising. No i’m not lumping all religious people into this negative category- obviously.

Other Names with similar definitions

*Hunting /forests woods, nature, animals

Hunters and people in forrests

name meaning : becky - snare (a trap for catching birds or animals). Teressa-huntress. Dianne/Cynthia (Hopper’s ex wife/Lonnie’s gf) - is a roman/greek goddess of hunting and wild animals.  Rhadaghast- Will's password for cb is a lothr wizard who protects forests/wildlife.martin/marsha- previously god of agriculture/plants.As an agricultural guardian, he was believed to directed his energies toward creating conditions that allow crops to grow, which may include warding off hostile forces of nature (pumpkins rotting in s2). El in phoenician culture was called Elus and its Greek equivalent Cronus (god of agriculture) steve- he goat- associated with pan- god of fields, groves, wooded glens . brenner- ‘someone who cleared forests by burning’. the blond women, Brenner worked with,  Fraizer-  “of the forrest men”

* FUN FACT: Kali’s name originally was going to be ‘Roman’ (which is derived from Romulus-the son of Mars... aka Martin Brenner) .

Trees

Ives and owens- ives means 'yew wood' while Owen means 'yew tree. ' bauman- nickname for someone who lived near a tree.comes from the German word "baum," or "boum" in Middle High and Old German, meaning "tree’. Jennifer hayes- Jennifer  derived from Old English words "jenefer", "genefer" and "jinifer", all of which were variants of Juniper used to describe the juniper tree.Lonnie means "oak tree; or lion". Lion plushie in cb and the lion el has along with the tree establishes a connection between all 3 maybe? Oak groves were especially sacred to  the goddess dianna too. Buckley (it has many different translations) - Old English "boch ley" (with boch meaning beech tree and ley meaning wood, glade or clearing).

Nature

buckley if translated from "bok lee," means meadow, or field. mayfield- open country (field) where madder (mæddre) grows. Holland- wood land, Bruce (who was also possessed) - means WILLow lands . Keith (s2-3) : woods or forrest.Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (Jonathan’s hunting story).Holloway is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, or type of tree. Tina means 'river' . Burness (guy who claimed he jumped into quarry)-stream. Neil- cloud. Lowe (Bruce's last name)-This surname is derived from a geographical locality 'at the low,' i.e. the hill. Hayes means "hedged area'.

Flowers

Flo (hopper's secretary)- means flower. Suzie-  lily flower. Susan (Max’s mom)- means lily, lotus flower or rose. Karen (in Japanese can mean)- flower, lotus, or water lily. Heather is also a variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas.  Erica is a type of "heather" plant. martin/marsha: in the legend of Mars,his mother become pregnant with him using a magic flower- which was given to her by the goddess flora.

Bright (aka intelligent)

Bob- nickname of Robert . Both Bob and Robert mean 'bright, shinning or fame'. Aka smart -he's called ' Bob the brain ' for a reason.

Robin- is also diminutive of Robert . And we all know robin is smart too. Being multilingual/ cracking the code.Robin (like Robert) also means 'bright, shining , or fame.'

Lucas- means "bright" or "shinning" aka he's also a smart cookie. His firework plan saving the day.

Lonnie and Larry (the mayor) can both be nicknames for Lawrence which also means ' bright one' or 'shinning one'. Well... both are cunning I'll give them that. Lonnie is unfortunately ...smart. I think this detail had other foreshadowing. Joyce to Will about Will the wise ' if he's so wise why does he need the fireballs? can't he just outsmart the bad guys? " Will: " yeah. Usually. BUT sometimes the bad guys are smart too." I never understood why on earth Joyce would be with someone as awful as Lonnie in the first place- than be with his literal opposite Bob- but maybe she just found intelligence attractive?

Names associated with thunder/lightning/fire (Like Will/mf/Will the wise)

Byers-reprsents Greek Zeus (god of thunder/lightning). Martin - references the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ .ROBIN- was the German God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’Jim- “son of thunder”. Christian god- has throne (surrounded by thunder /lightning). Kali- could summon thunder storms.Nancy/Barb-both saints associated with fire. Kali-is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ /and bestows the fire of knowledge. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire. Mars -the keeper of Rome's perpetual flame . The Robin bird in a Christian story myth protects Jesus from hell's fire. William Blake- wrote about a fire wielding character of Los who represented jesus. Jesus during end times wields fire. Michael is the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire. Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Saint John- called Jesus’s brother).

Animals (and their symbolism)

Byers- means ‘ cattle shed’.The Greeks considered the bull animal totem to be a symbol of Zeus (god of thunder and lighting - will the wise powers). He is the head of the gods and the almighty ruler of Olympus.  I”n hinduism, Shiva is known as Gorakhnath, means the lord of the cows.  And is also known as, Pasupathinath, the lord of all animals (similar to Rhadaghast). According to some scholars, Shiva’s association with cows and bulls might date back to the Indus Valley period. Cows have a special significance in Hinduism, as aspects of Mother Goddess and as symbols of selfless service. Mahatma Gandhi declared the protection of cows a central feature of Hinduism.Hindus worship cows as the Mother Goddess and symbol of motherhood, kindness and forbearance.”

Tigers: (Sarah’s plushie/ Hawkin’s macott/ Will & Mike have tiger posters in their rooms): The goddess Kali & God Shiva wore a tiger skin (this fact was actually mentioned by Kali in the prequel novel ‘suspicious minds’ ).”In many tribal traditions of India, the tiger (or lion) is worshipped as a god. In some Hindu hymns the domestic fires are compared to the tigers that guard the house.Tigers also figure prominently in many Indian folk-tales, Jataka-stories, and the Panchatantra.”

Lions:(Lonnie means ‘lion’ and el and Will have matching lion plushies)- In the Bible, the lion has two opposite meanings: it is compared to the Devil (1 Pet 5:8) and to Christ (Rev 5:5). Aka: Lonnie is the devil. The kids are the opposite. Nancy also compares the demogorgan to a lion. “In many tribal traditions of India, the lion is worshipped as a god.One of the ten incarnations of Vishnu is Narasimha, who has the head and shoulders of a lion, but the torso of a human.Goddess Durga, a fierce form of Parvathi or Shakti, has a golden lion as her vehicle, while Rahu, a planetary guard, rides upon a black lion as his vehicle.Lions form an important part of Hindu religious art. The face of the lion (simha-mukha) is used in images and sculpture in many Hindu temples to decorate the doors, walls, arches, and windows.The memorial pillar at Saranath  contains four beautifully carved standing lions at the top on a round abacus representing the imperial power. They now constitute the official emblem of the government of India.”

El almost k*lling a cat- “Some superstitious beliefs are also associated with cats in Hinduism. For example, killing a cat is considered a grave sin, for which one may have to offer prayers and give in charity at least seven golden images of the killed cat. “

Harrington- he goat. Buckley- has various translations. Anglo-Saxon: ‘bucc and leah’ meaning goat and wood respectively. And obviously there’s the robin-bird. And I've already discussed their symbolism. Goat= baphomet/pan. 

Robin- thor's fav bird/ helped Jesus from hell's fire.

Buckley- can also translate to " field filled with deer" (like the deer attacked by the demogrogan or the bambi film jon reffed in relation to the hunting story about lonnie).And Karen ( when from it’s Hebrew origins) can mean- antler or horn. Also the caananite God el was usually depicted with animal horns on his head.Diana in Roman art usually is accompanied by a hound (demo dog) or deer.  Because of the story of her turning an attempted r*pist-hunter into a deer/ and then causing dogs to attack him.  Deer is also one of the symbolic animals accepted since early Christianity as an allegory of Jesus Christ and the Christian Disciple. And when associated with Shiva (kali's husband) in Hindu iconography, the deer omen denotes sovereignty over nature and symbolizes the lord of all animals, humans, and the King of the Forest. In many visual and written illustrations, human beings and deer appear as close companions and in some cases, humans adopt the face or antlers of a deer, in images more common in stories of human strife. Deer also have a supernatural significance and appear as apparitions of divinity and in legends of spiritual awakening.

Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (like the rabbit lonnie made jonathan k*ll.) Hopper sounds like thumper the rabbit- which jonathan mentions in relation to bunnies . And ... idk... Hopper did make that pun in s3 about bunnies to Larry (lawerence) ? We also have rabbit refs elsewhere like with- el in Benny's. They play the song 'white rabbit' a song referencing Alice in wonderland and in el's room at Terry's house is the white rabbit from that story. Also paralleling to jonathan- el was almost made to k*ll a cat by her father (Cheshire cat aka Alice in wonderland ref + cats are associated with magic powers/witch craft).In Celtic folklore, the rabbit is seen as a supernatural being from the Otherworld.The rabbit symbolism in Christianity has found its way through the Germanic deity Eostre from which the name Easter came to be (s4 will most likely have the Easter holliday).One tale describes the rabbit as the pet of Jesus Christ. And rabbits were often inserted into art of jesus' mother .

Creel- basket or container of fish.fish is taken as symbolizing Christ’s faith, charity, and abundance. A biblical story goes how Christ fed his disciples with 2 fishes and called them “fishers of men.”  The Christians made an acrostic from the Greek word for fish, “ichthys” as early as the first century and it is, “Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter”, meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

Names hinting at character traits (which are very literal)

Mr clarke (science teacher)- clarke means 'scholar'

Dottie (in kali's gang)- she was in an insane asylum . And ‘Dotty’ is a very old British slang term  for 'crazy'

War (usually relates to ‘villains’)

Troy- means ' foot soldier'. Martin brenner: Martin means 'war like'. Lonnie is diminutive of Alonzo or Lawrence. Alonzo means 'ready for battle'.

In contrast to Lonnie, Will can mean "desiring peace. " Axel  who is part of Kali’s crew (who i think Will created along with others ) even means "father is peace."

Twin

Tom (Heather's dad) and Tommy mean ‘twin’. Robin's crush Tammy ('twin') Thompson ( 'son of tom’).

* Besides similar/identical name meanings.There’s also a lot of other repeated names that go into this whole twin/mirror imagery which i find strange... makes me wonder about @strangertheory ‘s version of the did theory. If not...maybe it’s just a allusion to the whole Will vs Will the wise arc (possibly) coming up?

Jennifer hayes (popular girl) & Jen (Mr clarke’s gf). Tina (highschool gal) & Tina- erica’s friend- Tina & christy are also nicknames of christina (s4 character). Susie (dustin’s gf) & susan (max’s mom). Sam (max’s dad) and Samantha (girl at party)/ samuel (possibly argyle). Billy Hargrove, Bill (dianne’s new huband),  and Will-all being nicknames for William. Robin & Bob-nicknames for Robert. Lonnie & Larry-nicknames for Lawerence. Ted  & Eddie being nicknames for Edward.James (Will’s bully), Jim Hopper (real name James), jacobi, and jason- all 4 are derived from jacob . Marsha Holland (barb’s mom) and marsha kelly (therapist s4)/martin relate to mars. Tom (reporter), tommy (highschooler), thompson (other highschooler).

it’s definitely peculiar to repeat names like this in a story. Unless it means ...something... I talked about how David was mentioning alot of doppelganger/twin imagery recently-here. So the name mirroring could just be an allusion to the Will/WW arc coming up ...possibly?

[utilitycaster]

In a very on-brand move thinking about how much the “haha this group has one brain cell and this character has it” meme annoys me sparked like, between two and seven different rants for me (I edited myself down to four, mostly) so I’ve helpfully numbered them into something that is debatably readable.

The main reason I don’t like it in any media is because usually it’s not as simple as ‘this is the brains of the group’, because people are multidimensional. I also don’t like it in actual play specifically for “stop acting like stats mean absolutely everything” reasons, which is a thing I’ve been on about recently; think “Caleb Widogast (20 INT, 16 WIS) and the Emerald of Death that Absolutely Could Have Been Left Alone”.

It is my belief that people who do not take impulsive and/or risky actions in D&D are bad at playing D&D. There’s a good quote from Travis Willingham about this - that you can’t just play it safe. If you want to be pedantic and optimal about it the smartest thing to do would have probably been to never touch the ship full of corpses and the +1 Spider Crown of Makes Good People Throw Up*. But I think most** people understand that to have a story, that is, to find out, one must first fuck around. When players delicately try to skirt around every possible thing that might deprive them of a single hit point, it is unbelievably frustrating. It is not unintelligent or ‘lacking in brain cells’ to take risks. Dorian and Opal made great choices! They saw that the Nameless ones were going to be a threat that they could not avoid, and took actions to address that! Which brings me to my third point.

I find that fandom often pivots with all the grace of a broken Zamboni driven by an elephant, which is to say they do not react well to changes or new information. When the Nameless Ones show up, and it becomes clear that the plan of quietly running away undetected had failed, a lot of people seem to short circuit (presumably) and perceive whoever drops that first plan - even though we already know it has failed - as being the cause of the new problem. This is wrong; the person who drops the plan is the person who reacts first to a new and changed situation instead of hanging on to plan A when they know it won’t work. This happens a lot; I may be turning over a huge amount of dead discourse about Rumblecusp but it was fascinating to see how many people were frustrated by the inaction against Vokodo but then championed inaction in terms of reacting to Jester being in trouble; it seems many people make a connection between inertia and ‘the brain cell’ even though sticking with a plan you know has failed is not smart. This also, I should note, tracks with neutral good characters often being assigned the brain cell by the fandom, so onto point 4, which is…

It’s easy to appeal to law or chaos - in fact, it’s much easier to appeal to that than to morality (good/neutral/evil). True neutral is also not terribly hard to appeal to in that you either zero in on the character’s personal goals/beliefs and ignore alignment altogether, or you trust the player isn’t a total dickhead and will go along with the party majority. Neutral good and neutral evil are the trickiest alignments to motivate, and since neutral evil is both rare among PCs and especially tricky***, let’s talk neutral good. Neutral good characters want to help but they lack the certainty of a lawful character or the spontaneity of a chaotic one; they typically need to analyze everything to figure out how they can best help since all they really have to go on is ‘am I helping’ and that’s often a complicated question. And it’s not bad to do this! It’s a valuable perspective to have in a party. But it’s not a sign of intelligence so much as a sign of having a specifi philosophy, and while I’m sure there’s someone out there who wants to watch a 7 hour trolley problem debate, I do not, nor do most people, so another character will often take action. This in turn doesn’t mean they’re impulsive, so much as they acknowledge that the trolley waits for no one.

In summary I think a lot of people associate “the brain cell” with extreme caution, but in a world where pausing for six seconds can get you hit by a poisoned dagger (and also resurrection exists), there is a lot of sense in making a quick decision.****

*if you were going to say “um actually this is the circlet of barbed vision” unironically may I gently suggest you learn what jokes are.

**not many, and yet still, far more than the acceptable amount, which is zero.

***this is a whole new too-long post but in short while neutral good usually wants to actively help, neutral evil often just doesn’t care if they do harm, but doesn’t actively seek it. Many neutral evil characters (eg: pre-Mighty Nein Essek) have relatively morally neutral goals; the evil comes from them being willing to hurt others in their pursuit of those motivations. They do not necessarily see doing evil as its own goal or reward the way a neutral good character may feel about doing good.

****for more on this see every time I have ever complained about how people are all about more thorough examinations of worldbuilding when it comes to boring shit like fabric arts but refuse to apply it to like, the sociocultural implications of a world with complete gender and sexuality equality and wildly different lifespans among different peoples and the presence of magic and gods.

[monsterstewwrites]

More Honey cuz I’ve gone insane

My Sheep hybrid AU Honey, from Miggiisdumb’s bnha hybrid farm au has been taking of my brain recently, so I wrote another thing for her. This time we actually see some of the smut she and farmer Shoto get up to.

I have no idea how farms work so a lot of this is guesswork and googling, also I am not a very good writer. But honestly, writing smut and sex gets me motivated anyway so here we go.

Shino belongs to one-spicy-spider and you should shower her with love.

Donovan stared into her eyes and ran his hands over her clothed breasts, her nipples hardening from the attention. The way his thumbs kneaded into the hardened buds sent shivers through her soft skin.

“Can you feel me through your dress?” He asked her, pressing himself fully against her and grinding his hips into her crotch. “The flimsy fabric you typically wear makes you practically naked, which I often love. But you're not actually nude, which can make things frustrating, as you can feel.”

Indeed, Alyssa could feel his manhood through the thin fabric of the white dress she wore, it throbbed through his own trousers and sent her into a flush.

“Do you want me?” He whispered into her ear, his hot breath making her wetter.

With a heavy swallow she nodded, and Donovan grinned and reached for the straps of her dress and pulled it apart with a hard ripping sound.

Her hands instinctively tried to cover herself, but he used one hand to grab her wrists and pinned them above her head. She could feel his long fingers twist down her skin and tightening around her joints, locking her into that position.

The now tattered dress fell to the floor as he snaked his massive hand down between her legs and pressed his entire palm against her dripping pussy and tapped lightly against her folds. She groaned at the gentle touch, hoping for him to pressing rougher.

“Do you want it rougher?” He said to her. “Do you want my fingers to treat you mean?”

“Please!” Alyssa cried. “Take me, open me and use me as you please!”

Donovan pushed his fingers inside her and kissed into her neck, teeth grazing her skin and his tongue working around her neck and squeezing, not to strangle her, but to feel her heartbeat against one of his most sensitive appendages.

She loved the way that his long fingers reached inside her in ways no one else could, and she groaned out in pleasure as he felt around inside her.

“Take me with your cock,” she moaned out. “Fill my cunt with your barbs and never let me go.”

“Sheepy, earth to sheepy!”

Honey snapped the book closed, her face aflame and legs squirming slightly as she pressed the book against her chest. She looked up at the sight of Doctor Keigo looking down at her with a smirk on his face.

“Enjoying yourself?” He asked.

She winced and stuffed her smut back into the little pocket of her wool.

When she went over to Doctor Keigo's office for her checkup he had said it was okay for her to take the book she had been reading, and he once said as log as it kept her from being too nervous she could keep doing so.

They both forgot how much of a distraction her reading habits could be.

“I'm glad to know you're enjoying my gift,” the vet said to her as she turned back to him. “One person's trash really is another person's treasure and all that, still it'd be nice if you paid a pinch attention during your checkup.”

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“No worries Sheepy,” he said. “Some people get sucked into it more than others. Now let me check your vitals to you can head back to the barn and finish that bodice ripper.”

He took out his stethoscope and began checking her heartbeat.

“It's a bit fast,” he muttered. “Though I have a good guess why that is.”

Honey stuck her tongue out at him, proof that she was getting more used to him and could be comfortable around with without fear.

“I know you first got into them for research,” he said idly. “You wanna get more ideas for how to better seduce the lads around here, most likely Shoto because you're more of a nightingale than a sheep most days.”

Honey pouted, he had insisted that before but she didn't think so. She didn't like him because he saved her or anything, she liked him because when she was scared and alone he was kind to her and made her feel like this new place was home.

That was completely different.

“I'm not a sexy cow,” she said. “I can't just make him suck my boobs the way he does with the cows, I wanna be able to walk all sexy and make him hard just as our eyes meet.”

Her fancy description and wistful tone made Keigo throw her a look, she really had been diving into those books a lot hadn't she?

“You really don't need at that faff to seduce someone, you know,” he said. “Men aren't complicated, and it's not like you've never screwed him before.”

“Well, yeah,” Honey admitted as she turned around and leaned over as far as she could without falling. “But I can barely ask for normal sex, what about that fancy sex I keep reading about and wanna try? The one where the princess was taken on the ship and tied to the mast, and the Octopus King saved her from the pirates and pleasured her while pulling the boat she was still tied to to his kingdom is still one of my favorites.”

Keigo paused in his checking of her spine.

“Was that was that one was about?” He muttered.

Honey ignored him and straightened herself back up, a few of her spinal joints popping as she stretched slightly.

“Is it so bad to wanna feel like a pretty damsel being rescued by her strong prince sometimes?” She asked, voice growing shy by her admission.

Keigo wrote something down on his clipboard with an amused sigh.

“Honestly considering what usually goes down around here that's probably pretty tame,” he admitted. “Stick your tongue out for me.”

She complied with each of his instructions and made a 'blah' to show him her tongue, checkups were kinda boring of she were being honest. Luckily only a few more things needed to be checked up on anyway, and he soon was able to finish things up with her.

“Alright Sheepy,” He said. “Everything looks to be in order her, you need me to escort you back to your pen?”

“No thank you,” Honey said. “I'm fine, goodbye doctor.”

“Next time I'll being you a series,” he said as she slipped out the door. “You're one of my most manageable patients, so I have to reward that somehow.”

He threw her a little wink and laughed at her flustered reaction, slamming the door behind her.

Doctor Keigo doing that always spurred her into a run, sprinting back to her pen where she could finish her book in relative peace.

The barn was usually pretty empty around this time of day, most of the other animals being milked or sheared or fucked.

Sometimes they fucked in the barn itself, but the hay had yet to be replaced and most of the hybrids preferred clean hay to roll around in.

Honey arrived at the barn hoping to find a bit of quiet, curl up under her blanket and read and get a few more ideas to become more confidant in herself. Sometimes she got so absorbed in her novels that she didn't even notice that sex was happening in the pen right next to her.

She didn't expect what she saw when she entered the barn made for the sheep to get to her pen.

“What?”

Amber eyes flashed at her as a stranger stared at her in silence.

A raccoon hybrid was rooting around in Honey's little pen and had strewn her novels all over the place, nearly all of them in tatters. Ripped out pages littered the floor and the cover of 'A midsummer night's cream' was sticking out of the raccoon's mouth as well as a few strings of the she's blanket.

Honey wasn't a violent hybrid by nature, in fact she was probably the least physically assertive (or any kind of assertive) hybrid in the the entire farm.

But when she saw what this stranger had done to her belongings and sleeping space something inside her snapped.

“NO!” She screamed, running towards the offending trespasser with her little hands in fists as she bounded over the fencing to get to her. “Get away! Those are mine!”

She tried to throw a punch at the raccoon, but was caught off guard by the little pest swiftly spinning around and swinging a knife wildly at Honey, slicing into her arm. A manic laugh erupted from her feral throat at her own actions.

But unluckily for the raccoon, Honey was loud when she was both scared and hurt.

She screamed as loud as she could, praying that someone could hear her, and she grabbed the raccoon by the roots of her scraggly blonde hair to make sure she couldn't escape. Another attempt to swing the knife resulted in Honey using her other hand to grip the grimy raccoon wrist in exchange for the blade nicking her skin.

“Geh!” The raccoon let out a harsh grunt as Honey pulled the sloppy hair. “Gedoffa me you stupid farmie brat!”

She pulled her arm away from Homey's losing her knife in the process, and swiped out at Honey's body, and the sheep was thankful for the level of wool she had accumulated because the claws protected her flesh from being sliced into.

Instead they tangled up into the wool itself which was less than ideal.

The pair of them ended up tussling amongst the scattered papers, with the raccoon trying to pry free from Honey and Honey herself trying to keep her in place despite the pain of her wool getting snagged.

Blood from her knife wounds trickled down her arm as the sheep hybrid tightened her grip on the raccoon's scraggly hair, one of the twin buns coming loose as she held fast.

It hurt really bad and she was scared out of her mind but she was too angry to let go.

The raccoon girl hissed as her claws managed to get free from the wool, tearing a chunk of it out in the process. She dug her hands into the arm that was grabbing at her hair and cause the sheep to let go.

“That's it!” The pest shrieked. “I'll teach you to mess with my rummaging!”

She drew her clawed fingers back and swiped at Honey's face, the sheep closed her eyes and braced for impact.

A sudden clang interrupted the pain and she felt herself get pulled away.

She blinked in confusion before realizing that she was in Shoto's arms, one hand wrapped protectively around her while the other held held a large empty bucket.

The raccoon was doubled over, clutching her head.

“Shoto!” Honey breathed.

“Damn you!” The raccoon cried out. “Don't interfere you asshole!”

Shoto looked like he was going to swing his bucket again, but something stopped him. A rush of air from above as something else literally flew into the barn and landed atop the fencing of the pen.

The barn owl hybrid Shino stared down at the scene with fury in her eyes.

The raccoon stared back.

“Well shit.”

Shino let out a screech, spreading her wings to their fullest and causing the raccoon to let out a shriek and turned around to run, but Shino was faster. The owl hybrid was on her in a second, pinning down her prey with her mighty talons.

The raccoon could only kick and scream as she was held fast.

Honey stared in awe at the sight of how easily Shino had apprehended that horrible raccoon, and made a mental note to thank her in some way once everything was set back to normal.

Glancing at the tatters of her books below, she wondered if she could make a flower crown out of the papers for her. She'd look super pretty with one, not that she didn't look pretty already.

At the barn doors many cows gathered to try and take a peek at what had happened, the heifers who could see the mess whispering to the cows in back and sending the whispers of gossip throughout them.

A few of the cows could see that Honey was bleeding, and that only got them more abuzz with interest. Shoto ignored them in favor of putting his bucket down and checking up on the little sheep in his arms.

“Thank you,” Shoto said to Shino. “I was afraid I'd have to hold it off myself.”

“No problem, I'm just sad I didn't catch her earlier. Hey! Quit kicking,” Shino snapped as other farmers and hybrids arrived at the barn to see what the fuss was about. “Don't make me rip that nasty head of yours off.”

While Shino was threatening, Iida barged in, pushing past the gossipy cows and taking a look at the situation in all it's chaos. When his eyes fell on the raccoon hybrid beneath Shino he actually recoiled at the sight of her.

“What on earth is she doing in here?” He asked. “How did she get in?”

“Maybe we can get the details out of her later,” Shoto told him. “Right now we should take care of Honey.”

He looked over her and took stock of the injuries she had sustained in her scuffle. All of a sudden the gravity of what had just happened hit her like a ton of bricks, the pain of her wounds coming to her now that the adrenaline was wearing off. She threw herself deeper into Shoto's chest and let out a tired sob.

“I'll take care of her,” he said to Iida. “You take care of that thing.”

“Bring her here Todoroki,” A voice said, silencing the gossiping cows. Doctor Keigo walking inside with a medical kit at his side and Izuku trailing behind.

Shino's feathers puffed up in irritation at the sight of Keigo, but given the situation she didn't move from her grip atop the intruder as he stood just outside the pen.

Keigo kept his distance and gave a nod to Izuku, who approached with a long pole with a looped steel cable.

Izuku quickly looped the snare around the raccoon's neck, only giving Shino the okay to let her up once he was sure it was secure.

“Keep one talon on her,” Keigo advised. “Take her to my office and don't take your eyes off her for a second. I have a friend who can make sure she isn't diseased and take her back to wherever she came from.”

It was clear that the great owl Hybrid wasn't keen on going to his office, but since he seemed to be staying behind to take a look at her little sheep friend.

Only slightly reluctantly, Shino and Izuku led the raccoon, who had begun laughing like a lunatic for some reason, and the onlooking cows hooted jeers and jabs at her.

“Now now!” Iida shouted at the crowd of hybrids looking on. “Nothing to see here everyone, go back about your day, unless you would like to help clean this mess up!”

That made them scatter, most back to their milking or fucking.

“I'll cover you for today,” Iida said to Shoto. “You make sure she's alright, I know she likes you best so it'll be quickest if it's in your hands.”

The way his face pinked a little bit told Shoto all he needed to know about where his mind was at as he walked outside where the remainder of the cows were waiting for him.

Not that either of them were complaining.

Setting her down, Shoto took Honey's sliced up arms and winced at the sight of them. He hated the sight of anyone on this farm hurt, and reaching for the medical supplies that Keigo placed nearby he carefully got about disinfecting her injuries.

She winced at the disinfectant rubbing into her wounds but remained still so Shoto could do his job. Once he was done he pressed his hand to her cheek, which she leaned into and kissed his palm.

Nearby, Keigo was examining the knife that had been used to stab at Honey.

“Looks like she swiped this from somewhere on the farm,” he said. “That means it's not likely to have any diseases on it, so that's a bit of good news here. I'll take a blood sample just in case, but I don't think you have anything to worry about, especially since you've been given shots to prevent this sort of thing.”

“That's good,” Shoto said as he bandaged up her injuries. “You've been really brave so far, can you hold still so he can do that?”

She nodded, but leaned into Shoto's chest anyway as Keigo pulled out a hypodermic needle and drew closer. No one liked needles on the farm, but she knew better than to kick up a fuss about it after everything and let him draw a bit of blood.

Once he had taken his sample he stood up so he could head out to get it checked out.

“I'll leave it to you two then,” he said. “You kids play nice.”

Shoto ignored him, and the joke flew over Honey's head as she looked at the mess made of her pen. He laughed as the barn doors closed behind him and left them alone.

Honey sighed sadly as she bent down to pick up the destroyed books that were scattered around her pen, the sadness of losing them creeping back to her.

“I can't believe that horrible thing destroyed all my books,” she said sadly. “I loved them all and now they're ruined. I might be able to figure out how to make the scraps into something pretty, but it's sad that I won't be able to read them anymore.”

“'Tonio gazed into Angelica's eyes and gave her full rump a squeeze, causing a grunt to erupt from her throat. He wanted to make that sound fill his mind forever, and he had just in instrument to do so.'” Shoto read from one of the papers, his eyebrows raising with each word. “This is some intense stuff, you know.”

Honey flushed and tried to grab at the papers, but he snatched it out of her reach with a teasing grin.

“Were you hoping to get some ideas?” He asked.

She was about to deny it, but she realized that the look in his eye was a chance that he was giving her. Honey swallowed and said the first thing she could think of.

“So what if I was?”

That was all he needed to hear.

Shoto pressed a kiss to her forehead, then another above her eye, and her nose, and finally to her soft lips.

She hummed into his kiss, feeling everything around them melt away. Her mouth opened instinctively and allowed him to push his tongue against hers as he gently guided her backwards until her back hit the pile of hay in the corner.

His hands ran across her soft body, fondling her chest as he kissed her and traveling lower and lower. One hand hooked under one leg and hitched it up to allow better access to the lovely pussy that was aching for him.

She moaned into his mouth as he fingered at her delicate clit, rubbing small circles into it with her thumb as his fingers probed her sloppy little hole.

Honey's hands gripped around his neck and pulled him closer to her, as close as they could possibly manage. He took the chance to nip at her neck, at that spot he knew drove her crazy as his fingers pumped in and out of her and curled his fingers just so, making tremors shake her body as she spilled over his hand.

“You,” she panted. “You were like my knight in shining bucket.”

That made him laugh against her neck, his teeth scraping against her skin and savoring the feel of her pulse beneath his tongue.

He wanted to make sure she was completely ready for him, loosening her walls so there wouldn't be any pain. She's already gone through enough after all.

After another few moments, he pulled his fingers out of her and reached for the fly of his pants.

“I'm you're knight eh?” He muttered as he fumbled with the zipper. “In that case...”

The sounds she made had made him achingly hard, and he could tell she had been thinking about his erection for a long time as he freed it from it's confines. She looked hungry for it, as much as he was for her.

“Allow me to claim my reward from the lovely maiden then.”

Honey felt like Princess Stella from one of her favorite novels, and she bit her lip in anticipation as her legs spread more, as much as she could manage.

Shoto ran a hand along her thigh, gentle and loving.

“Well then, are you ready for me?” he whispered into her ear. “Ready for your knight to take you?”

“Please,” she moaned. “Oh please fuck me, I can't wait anymore.”

Shoto gripped her legs and spread them as wide as she could comfortably manage and pressed his length into her aching pussy with a groan, the wetness from his earlier treatment allowing him to slide in until he was balls deep.

They both let out guttural moans that were practically in harmony.

“You alright?” He asked, not moving an inch until he was sure she was good about it.

She was stuffed so full of him that all she could do was nod, allowing him to pull away from her and slam back inside against her cervix, making her head fall back with her tongue lolling out of her mouth as he fucked into her until she could barely think straight.

“Oh god,” she moaned, bouncing against his relentless pounding. “Oh yes, please yes! More, please.”

The panting she made and the bounce of her breasts against his pounding only spurred him on further, and he repositioned her legs further until they were pushed up against her ears. It felt like heaven for both of them as fucked deeper into her.

Honey was on cloud nine, only able to think of the sensation of the man above her rearranging her insides. She reached a trembling hand down to where the pair of them were connected so she could continue at her clit. The sight was too delicious and Shoto felt the pressure building up inside him reach a peak, but he did everything in his power to hold off as he mercilessly pounded away.

The two of them filled the air of the barn with their gasps and moans until Honey began to feel her orgasm reach a boil.

“Please,” she panted. “Cum, I wan' cum. Come inside me, please!”

Her begging was enough to push him further towards the edge, and she felt the tension inside her was wound tighter and tighter as he hammered into her even harder.

It was impossible to tell how long they went on for, until a wave of bliss crashed over her with a loud cry. Her back arched sinfully and her walls clamped around his length and triggered an orgasm of his own.

He pressed against her as he emptied his load inside her, filling her up with his cum.

Bliss.

The pair of them panted against each other, their high winding down but they didn't dare move or the feeling would dissipate quicker.

Shoto pressed a kiss to Honey's neck after a moment.

“Good girl,” he panted.

Carefully he pulled out, watching as a few dribbled of his seed spilled from her. She looked up at him with a smile and longing in her eyes.

“Shall we clean up now?” He asked.

“Let's wait just another moment,” Honey said. “This feels too nice.”

He smiled, Iida had told him to take care of her after all. This was all part of the job and who was he to go against his orders?

And she was so soft and perfect to snuggle up with.

It wasn't until an hour later that they were able to get themselves to clean up the pen, saving the paper so Honey could make a lovely crown of paper flowers for her other hero.

She was sad to see her lovely stories go, but considering the fallout she could deem the acceptable losses.

Besides, between doctor Keigo and other farmers hearing what had happened, she soon had more than enough donations to replace it with.