#I'm being /lh but no yeah I'm not proud of this one

[cryptidiopathic]

Gonna go ahead and preemptively decline criticism on this one

[sunkissed-zegras]

🌱 with luke!! going to see him play for the first tim in person at his nhl games

𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | lh⁴³

♡ ─ word count | 585

♡ ─ warnings | luke being downbad for u, jack teasing you two (nothing too bad tho), just fluff!

♡ ─ ev's notes | this was such a fun blurb LOL

You waited for Luke and Jack at the player's entrance, excitement running through your veins. It had been a couple weeks since you'd seen Luke and this was the first game you'd attended since he had officially signed with the Devils. Now after a great win, you and the others are planning on going out to eat to celebrate not only the win, but finally being able to see your boyfriend.

After the exhilarating win, the atmosphere outside the entrance was filled with joy and relief. As the players filed out, you scanned the crowd for Luke and Jack before finally spotting them among the sea of their teammates, your heart skipped a beat. Luke's face lit up happily as he caught sight of you, and he quickly made his way over, still flushed from the game as Jack followed suit.

"Hey, there you are!" Luke exclaimed, pulling you into a tight hug. "Couldn't have picked a better game to come to, huh?"

"That was such a good game, you did so well." You responded warmly as Luke kept his arm around you proudly. "I feel like such a proud WAG, like the ones on TikTok."

Luke laughed as he shook his head, "Oh yeah, that was the main goal - to make sure you get to brag about your boyfriend who's now officially in the NHL."

"How does it feel to be the best rookie this year?" You smiled, teasing him playfully.

Luke's cheeks flushed with a mix of modesty and pride. "Oh well, I mean... Let's not get ahead of ourselves. But it does feel pretty good. Hard work pays off, I guess."

"Don't let it get to your head, man. We need you focused for the next game." Jack playfully added as he looked at his brother, a smile on his face.

"You're too modest, Luke, you were so good out there." You grinned up at your tall boyfriend as he squeezed your shoulders.

Luke beamed at your compliment, appreciating your undying support. "Well, having the best cheerleader definitely helps," he said, leaning down to give you a quick kiss.

Jack watched as you two shared a small kiss, letting out an exaggerated gag as Luke pulled away with an eye roll. "Jesus, can you two save the PDA for, I don't know, not in front of me?" Jack teased, earning himself a playful shove from Luke.

Luke shot Jack a playful glare, "You're just jealous because you don't have someone cheering for you so proudly."

You laughed at Luke's comment as he pulled you closer, earning a dramatic scoff from Jack. "Luke I've got fan-girls all over the world. If I wanted a girlfriend, I'd have one-"

"Whatever, whatever." Luke dismissed with a smirk, "I'm just saying, it's different when you've got someone who knows you inside out, someone who's got your back no matter what."

Your heart fluttered as you watched Luke, your lips beginning to hurt from all the smiling.

Jack rolled his eyes, a subtle smile played on his lips. "Shut up dude, save the relationship advice for later. Plus I'm living my best life right now. No commitments, no stress, no nothing."

Luke glanced at you with a smirk as you two bursted out laughing, causing an annoyed to leave Jack's mouth as he began walking away. "We getting food or what? I'm starving."

"Absolutely," you replied, still chuckling from the joke.

Luke slung an arm around your shoulders, and together, you followed Jack outside to the car.

-> make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated! <-

thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[chaoticspacefam]

Lana: I won't apologise for being right! Saarai: 😡😡😡 Lana: Saarai: APOLOGISE.

Lana: *immediately apologises*

Your girlfriend won't let your pride get you out of this one, Lana /lh You're welcome, Theron.

(also gtfo of here if you think Lana's evil for making a mistake when Theron makes one that at the very least is ON PAR with this if not WORSE because he actually DID almost kill TWO people. I'm not saying Theron's evil for making a mistake either but my point is people are people and they ALL make mistakes, if you're gonna demonise Lana but expect people to not be mad at YOUR blorbo for fucking up in the EXACT same way several expacs down the line then you're a fucking hypocrite and yes, I will die on this hill I'm sick of that bullshit. Start shit in my notes because I've said this and you will be insta-blocked I am not joking.)

That aside I genuinely do really like this interaction. I see a lot of people poo-poo Lana's stubbornness here but I feel like its authentic given that this is still the VERY early days of what will eventually become the Alliance. Yes Lana and Theron consider eachother as friends but like....stereotypes still exist on both sides and realistically, they haven't known eachother for long enough at this point to NEVER mess up and butt heads and I feel like this interaction very nicely shows that. Lana sees just the results of the mission and didn't stop to think "hey maybe I should ask Theron if he's okay with this", Theron (rightfully) wants an apology but at this time as far as Lana is considered she didn't do anything wrong (important distinction here, as well. NOT "she didn't do anything wrong uwu" but "she thinks she didn't do anything wrong") BUT she's also not too proud to actually apologise when Rai pipes up and says "yeah actually, that wasn't nice. Apologise or I will be mad at you until you do".

I just think it's neat. It's not just the "lower down" members of the de-facto Alliance that struggle and butt heads, Lana and Theron do it too. Theron and an Imperial PC might butt heads often. The Warrior and/or Inquisitor might have problems with Satele, vice versa for the Jedi Knight and the Sith Warrior...there's so much potential for various dynamics here and I don't think it gets outwardly acknowledged as much as it could be.

[packingpest]

Yall btw the tangotronic 'discourse' is being talked about, so I'll just give a little info.

The one I know best sent me a very responsible dm about how they realize how the Tangotronic obsession wasn't taken greatly by others, and they're gonna tone it down. Not gonna recite the whole dm of course, but it was very well written and you could tell they were responsible about it. That's only one though, but I hope the rest can follow in her steps.

I wanna add, this wasn't supposed to be discourse or drama, I was just fed up. Prior to posting the wordy paragraphs, one of my friends brought up how their feed was only tangotronic spam, and that wasnt the first time a friend complained to me about them. Me personally, I don't care about the spam much since I'm not a heavy Tumblr user, I was more upset about the excess dms and spamming ask boxes to the point of some of them putting restrictions to rid of tangotronic asks. I was just trying to spread word of how me and my friends are uncomortable/upset/pissed/etc with how obsessed they are.

Anyways yeah, don't wanna name them just incase but I know yall prob know who they are, but to the tangotronic fan who sent me the responsible dm, I am proud you realized your actions were upsetting people and are making a change. I've personally been quite pleased with your recent acts, and I hope others see that, too. I hope the other tangotronicmanics(/lh) can do the same.

I know some of them are probably young and just wanna have fun/are hyperfixed etc, but it's still good to make sure you don't overstep boundaries. If someone wants to have a big hours long conversation, go right ahead of course, but not everyone likes that, it's always good to read the room to see if they're engaged in it or are annoyed.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

[infitsovermisfits]

What's Shakin' Baby? - Eddie Munson x GN!Reader

((i'm crying sm look how pretty he fucking looks AAAAAA))

info: took me days to write which I'm honestly pretty proud of- I had this idea for a while and just thought it was cute lads :) hope u enjoy while I work on the other fics. OMG VOL 2 COMES OUT IN A WEEK WHAT THE FUCK??? That's wild I'm so nervous and excited. this is edited but if I missed any warnings or anything woopsie. I also hope people are ok that I change readers home life around? like in 'Tiny Swords' they've got a family but here they're alone- I'm just trying to be fun with it and change things up for u all please appreciate me please please validate this please please (/lh) HAHAHAHA HAPPY READING!!!

also, i have s o many pictures of eddie on my pinterest its so fucking funny. also, if anyone's going to comic con on the 8/10th of July and seeing Joe i hope u have a lovely time <3 

WARNINGS: gender neutral reader, reader is 20, angst, self-conscious issues, underage (America) drinking, drug use, mentions of violence, allusions to season 3, fighting, working through issues ig, angst with a happy ending, reconciliation, confession of feelings, way too long oh my god, idk what else my mind is blank 

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART3 | MASTERLIST

11,979 words

"Sorry, we're closed!" You called, focusing on drying the blenders from any leftover water droplets that remained from the night before. It was bright and early at 7 am, and the ringing of the door behind you signified without fail that a customer had entered 'Sam's Smoothie Shack' without bothering to spare a glance at the "Sorry! We're closed!" sign hung on the door. The chart next to it clearly stated that on Mondays, you opened at 7:30 am, not 7 on the dot. You'd gotten the job last year during spring break, and worked part-time when you had school. After your exams, you worked full-time over the summer to make some more money before leaving Hawkins for good, to go to Franklin College...

You were back now, finally finished with your first semester there, and it was... Vastly underwhelming. Sure, you were happy- and perhaps too eager- to finally leave Hawkins behind and experience life as the adult you were.  Yeah...  Only no one told you how fucking difficult making new friends in a city you had never been in before was going to be. You'd basically lived alone since you were sixteen, so you knew the basics of taking care of yourself. That was nothing you were new to, you just had an issue talking to people. How were you supposed to start conversations? Introducing yourself was weird, and most of the 'normal' people there were judgemental assholes...

Your roommates were nice to you but rarely invited you out to parties. There were a few other goths and punks who studied there but to your luck, you didn't share any classes together, so you rarely saw them. That meant you were often drinking alone by yourself in your dorm, reminiscing on the not-as-shitty-as-you remembered times in Hawkins...

Your whole life, you felt alone, never really fitting in with the other kids. The friends you did have grew into assholes by High School- being alone was better than being talked about behind your back or never included in plans. It made you resent them until it made you a loner. But if you stayed out of everybody's way then you'd be safe, right?

You couldn't be more fucking wrong. It was as if you had 'make this person's life hell' floating above you at all times. Kids, you didn't even know would call you a freak or shove you in the halls. Some days, surviving those 4 years seemed agonising and pointless to you...

At least one person was determined to prove you wrong.

Eddie "The Freak" Munson was the only person you had some sort of a relationship with in Hawkins. When one day, you'd found your lunch being ripped to shreds in the field by some assholes, you ran all the way to the trees, sobbing into your hands. Out of the forest, he emerged, leaves stuck in his shorter hair and round eyes full of worry. He had been the first person to be kind in High School, and that made you admire him so much. 

He hadn't called you a freak- he called the dog collar you turned into a bracelet cool and not weird, and he even shared one of his sandwiches with you. That day, in the first week of freshman year, you decided he was going to be your only friend. 

Over the years, you watched him grow into himself Eddie: becoming the intense, animated and overconfident 'freak' at your high school that taught you how to grow thicker skin. By junior year, you'd developed your own catalogue of insults you'd hurl at anyone trying to give you a hard time, and laughed maniacally at the 'devil worshipping' rumours they'd spread about the two of you. 

If only they knew what you were actually like alone. Eddie was much more laid back, no thanks to the weed he began dealing to anyone who'd be interested greatly helped in relaxing you both. It also jumbled your words and made Hawkins just that more bearable. Through the long summers, you found yourself spending more and more time with him, until you were hanging out every day. If you weren't at work, you were most likely with Eddie- in his van, in his trailer, in your trailer, in the park at Forest Hills, in the woods, wherever. Legal, or illegal it didn't matter because you were there together. 

You largely credited him as being the only reason you managed to survive high school and Hawkins in their own ways- existing with him wasn't as shitty as existing alone. He somehow made things more enjoyable. And you'd be lying if you didn't think about kissing him once, maybe twice. You really would give anything just to feel those soft lips against your own... Once...

You lost your chance when you'd received your Franklin acceptance letter and he broke the news to you that they'd called his Uncle Wayne to inform him Eddie had failed his exams and would need to stay behind another year. And you had to bury that anger deep within you and comfort him through chainsmoking and drinking through the rest of your summer together, considering you'd be gone for most of the year.

For the first time in your life, you were separated. And going to college without Eddie by your side was weird in itself. Sure you'd likely be taking separate classes- maybe he wouldn't even be studying at all? Maybe he'd work, or play with a new band he'd find up there... He'd find some way to fit into your life together... But he didn't. Because he wasn't there. He stayed behind while you moved on.

And yet you came back. You knew you could have stayed in Franklin for the summer but where was the fun in that? The one friend you had made that had a very believable fake ID was gone for the summer so you couldn't drink your way through the sweltering heat. You were sort of forced to hop on the next bus to Hawkins, heaving your luggage after you and staring out the window as Metalica drowned out any worries you may have of stepping back home... Home... Didn't fucking feel like it,

"That's a shame," You recognised that voice. You'd had it making small comments that made you smile to yourself in class, and lulling you to sleep with his songs, " 'I was made for loving you, baby...' " He was behind you now. He tapped the bell three times to the beat of the song as you turned up your Kiss song on the radio by your side. You turned sharply with a large grin,

" 'You were made for loving me...' " You finished excited in unison with him, barely on key from how wide you were grinning at the sight of him: long, raven-black mane of hair cascading down his shoulders and covering some of the pins higher up on his jean vest, sitting just on top of the warm leather jacket who's scent and touch you had long committed to memory.  You could faintly see the red devil beneath the layers, and you could only make out the 'i' with the flaming dot from the 'Hellfire Club' printed over his chest. He was live and in the flesh before you. Finally, together again, "Hey!" You greeted happily, unable to control the laughter that bubbled up from your chest as you moved forwards to the counter. Quickly, you hopped up on it and slid over the smooth top, ignoring the 'Hey, I just cleaned that!' from your younger co-worker as you fell into his arms, hugging him tightly. His familiar scent of cigarette smoke and weed quickly filled your lungs, warmly welcoming you back. Strangely, you could also faintly smell cologne on him; you'd tease him about that later. For now, you were just happy you were reunited, "God, did I miss you, Munson," You grinned, pulling away in his arms to look up at him,  "Did your hair get longer when I was gone?" You teased  playfully, twirling a strand around your finger,

"You missed me!?" He asked in a mocking shocked tone, causing you to laugh, "And yeah, it did. Hair grows like that," You grinned, 

"I had no clue, Eddie," You said playfully, smirking, "But you didn't even cut it or anything-"

"Who's that?" Your co-worker asked from behind you. He'd turned the music down, which caused you to turn and frown at his confused face, "Is he here for the interview?"

"No man, he's just my very... Good friend," You let go of Eddie from where you were holding him and pat his shoulder with a tight smile, glancing up at him and walking back around behind the counter, tightening the bow at the back of your apron, "It's Eddie? Munson?" You told your coworker, motioning to the man inside the store, "I told you about him, Micheal," You sighed,

"Yeah, well, Sam said if it's not part of the official training, I don't have to listen to you," You rolled your eyes as his voice droned on and he turned back to cutting up a few more fruits for the healthier smoothies,

"See what I gotta deal with on a daily basis, Eds?" You smiled as you leaned against the counter, glancing down at it briefly and grabbing a spray and a wipe, cleaning it, 

"Mh- just as awful as last time," He gave you a wink once you were done, and leaned an elbow on the counter so he could talk to you as usual. Things felt normal again- as normal as Eddie could provide you,

"Hey, I like this job," You defended, 

"You tolerate this job, barely," He smirked. He knew you too damn well, and you gave him a knowing smile, 

"Yeah. I do," You sighed, "But it pays me money to work here. And Sam's nice enough to let me wear my apron again a-"

"Hey, where is the old man, by the way?" Eddie asked, and you glanced around cautiously, before looking up at the newly installed security camera that had gotten busted when some middle schoolers thought it would be funny to construct the most repulsive smoothie known to man at you. Without pay. You didn't have the heart to let Sam know so you just prayed Micheal would fuck it up somehow, "Did he uh...?" Eddie made a cutthroat gesture when you turned back to look at him, and you smirked, shoving his hand away,

"Sam is right as rain, thank you very much for your concern," You smiled at the disappointed groan he gave, and reached over grabbing a toothpick and sticking it between his teeth, chewing on it to relieve a nicotine craving he likely had, "He's in the back doing inventory and helping the boys unload- we get fresh fruit here every day, after all," You tapped the sign that you had drawn, that now rested before the register. Eddie hummed, looking over your work with a small nod, "He still very much doesn't appreciate you loitering around," You teased, smiling at him, "But you're A-Okay in my books, Munson," You grinned at him, resting your elbows on the counter and setting your chin on your hands, "So how've you-"

"Why is he still inside then?" Your co-worker asked, unamused, and unsharing your excitement. You cast him a glare for even piping up, "Wait, is this the guy we're not supposed to let-"

"Because I can be," Eddie piped up from beside you, "And if you tell that old ass I was here, I'll punch you," Eddie threatened. Eddie had only ever been punched. You'd never personally seen him fight back; usually he'd just pick himself off the floor and go scowling to you with a bloody nose you'd clean for him, or a black eye you'd lend your ice to. You smirked, raising your brows at him,

"You actually can't be in here though," The younger kid said, moving to stand closer to you, "The sign says we're still closed. We open in fifteen minutes," When you came back two days ago, you couldn't sleep. You arrived at Forest Hills Trailer Park at the asscrack of dawn and spent the better part of that morning digging through your stuff to find your fake ID you'd wrongfully misplaced before leaving for college. Soon though, you wouldn't need it. Your twenty-first was only a few months away. God, you were old...

 The first thing you did was buy yourself beer because Jesus Christ was the summer looking warm as shit. You then went to Sam's to reclaim your apron, only to find your spot taken by Micheal. You didn't know or recognise him- he was either a junior or senior but you weren't paying attention to what he was saying because his voice pissed you off. All mumbly and gross it made you want to rip off your ears. Sam had been convinced he was the best for the job so you didn't question him, and felt relieved to be hired again. 

Micheal, like you, couldn't give a shit about this job, or you. Something you were thankful for. You mostly treated him like an annoying little brother, and rarely spoke to him because you really had nothing in common. He seemed so boring to you, so it greatly surprised you that he was the reason you were getting so many, customers. It was amusing, even now, seeing the line of newly 'Smoothie Cleanse' obsessed moms of Hawkins flocking outside and sending Eddie dirty looks for cutting inside. Micheal would get flirted with constantly, only to obliviously blink and just make the smoothie, while you only received death glare looks. It didn't really matter, considering you two shared the generous tips he'd receive at the end of your shifts,

"Shut up, Micheal," You said, waving him off, "Hey- I just remembered I never taught you how to clean the blenders because it's 'unsafe' so you've gotta go in the back to ask Sam," You said, pointing out the blender. He picked it up, frowning,

"But-" You didn't want to argue, 

"You want our customers complaining about our dirty blenders, Micheal?" You asked, and watched his eyes widen fearfully, "You want this place to shut down and ruin poor Sam's life? No. You don't. Get your ass in the back, find Sam, asking how to take the blender apart," You said threateningly, watching as he disappeared through the 'employee's only' door. You sighed, turning back to Eddie and grabbing a smoothie you'd made earlier for yourself in place of coffee, "How've you been, Eds?" You asked, smiling at him as you took a sip from your straw,

"Oh, you know, here and there," He said, "Everywhere really. You drink this crap?" He gestured to the drink you were holding, "Thought you'd be sick of it," He hummed,

"I was," You shrugged, taking a sip, "But this raspberry blast is so good," You hummed, handing it over to him so he could take a sip of the pink liquid, "I made it myself. Created the recipe and everything- it's part of the hiring process I told you about? Apparently, it's super popular now. I think Sam's even gonna call it the Smoothie of the Summer which means-" You tapped the counter eagerly, "-I get a promotion!" You grinned,

"Nice!" He smiled, holding his hand out for you to high five, before taking another sip, "I finished this by the way- sorry," He said, shaking the empty cup, "It's really good,"

"I told you!" You grinned, watching him toss the cup and miss the trash bin entirely, "You pick that up right now, we're not even open and you're making a mess," You pointed to the cup with a grin, 

"Mmmh- can't I'm still tasting the smoothie," He said, closing his eyes as you grinned, 

"Christ, Eds," You hummed, shaking your head as you glanced through the fresh ingredients in the cooling trays next to you, 

"What's in there? I can taste the raspberries but it's sweet and not weird like raspberries usually are," He said with a frown,

"You mean tart. They're tart," You explained, and watched as he blinked at you,

"Like a pie tart?" You laughed loudly, shaking your head, "You put a pie in there?"

"No!" You laughed, "No, you dumbass- tart is like a flavour it's not entirely sour but it's not sweet it's like... Between those uh-" You glanced behind you at the overhead menus, "It's got raspberries, obviously, but they're the frozen ones cause we have to get rid of them before Sam orders anymore," You said, glancing at the ingredients set out and pointing to them, "It's also got banana and yoghurt to give it the thick texture, apple juice to help it blend and make it sweet and then also honey. For the sweetness," You smiled, "You do have to tweak and really experiment with the ratios because one thing goes off and it's just gross and too sour or gross and too sweet," You stuck your tongue out, 

"I see, I see," He said, resuming his spot where he was leaning against the counter. He had pulled the toothpick from his mouth and was dulling the sharp ends by repeatedly drumming the stick into the counter, "It's nice. Refreshing, babe," He teased, and you rolled your eyes, "Oh and by the way- fuck you for not telling me you were back sooner," He said in mock hurt, putting a hand on his chest. Your eyes widened at his comment,

"Fuck- Shit- Sorry," You hissed, "I know I should have, I'm really sorry," You quickly apologised, "I didn't expect coming back home after so long was gonna be so chaotic but..." You sighed deeply, then shrugged your shoulders "It is," You frowned, "I had to go pay off some bills to Dave 'cause apparently I only paid for six months and not ten," You rambled,

"Oh shit," He said with a frown, looking concerned,

"Yeah, shit," You grumbled, "I was so excited to go buy new clothes for myself tomorrow at Starcourt and bam!- half my savings are gone," You frowned, "Gotta compromise if I want to eat and survive or look nice," You sighed,

"He knows you live alone, right?" He checked; you nodded, "And that you're a student going to college in another city, how many miles from home?"

"Yeah, of course he knows," You said, glancing over at the fruits you had paused in cutting up to dry the blenders. You glanced over to where you kept the single-use plastic gloves and put on a pair, before resuming your task, "He doesn't give a shit about students, though. He's never heard of a student discount," You grumbled,

"He knows you're only twenty, right?" You nodded, "You've been living there for eight years with your parents- three of those alone. He must have... Realised?" He said quietly, and you paused with the knife half sunk in the strawberry. 

To be honest, you didn't want to bother Dave with the news your father, your only caretaker, had passed when he did, so all the bills you'd paid for those three years were marked out in his name. You'd secretly hoped someone else would tell him to avoid having that conversation. You never really got used to admitting to what happened with your father; his sickness... His death. Eddie and his uncle Wayne were the only ones you had that day, and you spent the week over there, not ready to enter your home and realise you were alone,

"...Yeah," You said quietly, resuming your task,

"Then why don't you ask him to lower the rent?" He asked, leaning against the glass display and watching the movements of your hands intently, "Considering you're not even using it as a home while you're away in college,"

"Ugh, that was his point too," You frowned, 

"But you're not using his stuff? Why is he charging you if you're not there?" He frowned,

"He said something like..." You paused to think, remembering back to the conversation you had "Something like 'doesn't matter to me that you can't pay- you're hogging up the space, kiddo'," You mimicked the older man's voice and sighed, "He's annoying and stubborn and he hates kids," You settled,

"Damn..." Eddie sighed, "You should have told me. I could have covered for you," He said, and you smiled softly at his offer,

"Thanks, Eds that's very kind of you," You said sincerely, and noticed the small smile he flashed you made your heart flutter, "But four months' worth of rent is a lot. And I don't think you could magically pull that much out of thin air" You said, eyes widening slightly. You shook your head "Just gotta spend my summer vacationing away from school work with... Normal work," You grimaced,

"Damn," He frowned, 

"Anyhow-" You tried steering the conversation away from your boring life to him. He was bound to have something exciting to tell you, "Anything new with you?" You asked, 

"A few freshmen joined Hellfire," He said, as you 'ooo'-ed for him, "Yes, yes. My illustrious charm and endless charisma convinced them to join," You smiled, at his comments as he waved his arm for dramatic purposes, 

"You kick their asses yet, babe?" You smiled, glancing up at him from your task,

"Of course, babe, who do you think I am?" You could still remember the first night you started using the pet names for each other. One night, you were getting high in his room, giggling away at something, when he had mentioned his 'sweetheart'. He perhaps sensed your mood shift to serious all too quickly, because your giggles had faded and you were staring at him with a curious look. He lifted his hand above his head to affectionately strum the chords on his then, brand new guitar, which got you to laugh again. You'd started calling each other babe that night and it stuck. It was a friend thing, you were convinced. As playfully as asshole, shithead and dickhead were. But sometimes, you liked pretending there was affection behind the word, and not your usual playfulness,

"Good," You hummed softly. You still had a full bowl of freshly cleaned strawberries to get through, before opening time. When he didn't speak again, seemingly focused on your hands working away at slicing up the fruit, you spoke up, "You know how much I fucking love making shakes for the health moms out there?" You said sarcastically, nodding your head to the line of mostly older women queuing impatiently outside,

"Mhm," He hummed, scanning the line, "Yeah, I'm so jealous of em," He joked, making you breathe out a small laugh, "What did you want to get from Starcourt anyway?" He asked curiously,

"Huh?" You asked, not entirely hearing him,

"I asked what you wanted from Starcourt. The mall?" He elaborated,

"I don't know- anything that caught my eye?" You said with a smile, before sighing, "You know I couldn't afford much last year, considering I was putting the money off for rent and school... It was mostly window shopping then, so I'm excited to go now to actually buy stuff! I have my route planned out already- Sam's even letting taking the day off tomorrow so I can maximise on the buying and he hates the mall! I'm so excited, Eds- Wanna hear?" You said quickly, letting your excitement take over before he could utter a word, "Okay so bottom floor, West wing entrance, straight into JCPennies because there was such a cute necklace there that I think if I layered with-"

"I... Hate to disappoint you but uh..." Eddie said quickly, holding a hand up for you, "The mall burned down," You blinked, setting the knife down as you stared at him, 

"It did what?"

"Faulty wiring, I think? If I remember it from the news right... I don't know, my uncle read the paper but he might have burned it..." He said, humming to himself and tilting his head, eyes flicking over the ceiling to try to gather his thoughts, "The ceiling was unsafe and collapsed onto gas pipes and then boom! A fire," He said. Your shoulders dropped in disappointment as you frowned, looking at the pink-stained cutting board and knife. God, it sure had been a while since you were back home... Seems like the most exciting things happened while you were away, "But hey- the stores on the main street were forced to open back up, so that's... Good! You could always go there to shop," He said quickly, seeing your mood shift,

"Nah, that's not the same as walking through a mall," You sighed, "That's... Wow that's so shitty," You huffed, frowning, "So now I just have a day to... Do nothing?" You frowned, shaking your head as you went back to your task,

"You've always got me," Eddie said. You looked up at him, scanning him up and down, "Wherever you wanna go, I'll take you," He smiled, and you narrowed your eyes,

"How are you not burning up in that?" You pointed to his two jackets and long sleeve Hellfire shirt,

"You guys have good air con," He winked, and you raised your brows with a nod,

"We do have good air con," You smiled, "But outside?"

"Well, it's only warm. Not unbearably hot yet," He said, and you nodded, before sighing and dumping the pile of strawberries into their correct, chilled bin,

"If Sam sees you in here-"

"He'll be overjoyed!" Eddie grinned as he finished, "Now come on- hang out with me all day tomorrow. School's out for the summer, you have nothing to do; I have nothing to do. I'll make it worthwhile! Promice. I'll take you around Hawkins and show you everything that's different," He begged, and you sighed as you moved to set the dirty dishes in the nearby sink, 

"That's not gonna take us all day though," You said, and watched him pout, "It might take all evening though," You smiled," I get off at one today," You told him, and watched his face as he smiled in recognition, 

"Of course you get off at one today," He grinned, "Nice- I'll pick you up for lunch and we'll go driving around like old times," He said eagerly,

"Hell, why not?" You grinned as he hissed a little 'yes' to himself, "I-"

"You could always just come in tomorrow," Your co-worker piped in, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and scaring you. You twisted around to see him holding the now spotless blender, and cast him a glare, "And tell Sam your plans got cancelled,"

"Or you could keep your mouth shut and wash those blenders a little better," You snapped back, holding a hand up to Eddie and sliding off the sticky gloves you were wearing, discarding them in a nearby bin "What the fuck is that?" You said, grabbing one of the blenders and holding it out to him to see the blades.

"...I don't know," He said quietly,

"That-" You pointed inside, "-is peanut butter stuck to the blades," You said, "You better clean this right now-"

"But it's been through the dishwasher," He whined, "Can't we say it's... Clean?" You glared at him,

"Fine, Micheal. Don't clean it," You said, setting the blender and throwing up your hands, "But when you use this blender to make a smoothie for a customer who's got a severe peanut allergy and they fall to the ground unable to breathe and die-" You said angrily, "-You are gonna be singlehandedly paying out lawsuits," You threatened, shoving the blender into his chest and sighing as he moved into the back, "Unbelievable," You shook your head as you approached Eddie, leaning your arms on the counter. He seemed stunned, staring at you with an unreadable look on his face, "What? What is it?" You asked, standing up straighter,

"Y-" He cleared his throat, "You're very uhm... Serious about your job," He said, giving you a small smile. You tilted your head as you looked at him, furrowing your brows, 

"Yeah...? I am. I gotta make money and I can't do that if this establishment is paying off hospital bills..." You rambled, noticing the slight pink tinge to his cheeks and smiling softly, "Eds, are you blushing...?" You asked surprised, and stifled a small laugh as his eyes widened,

"No- You know what, babe? I'm actually- I'm late for a Hellfire club meeting!" He said, glancing from the watch on his wrist up to the clock above you reading 7:30 am. It was a warm July day- school was out for the summer- he did not have a Hellfire meeting.

It was always funny seeing him like this, enamoured by something you did. One night, after you were walking home together and drunkenly singing Rocky Horror's 'There's A Light', some asshole thought it'd be funny to follow the two of you yelling insults. The alcohol had added to your enraged state, causing you to stalk up to the creep to punch him in the face. Eddie had quickly grabbed your arm and ran into the forests, but the way he had looked at you in the night made you feel warm,

 "I uh- gotta go. See you later!" Did he call you babe there? You blinked to yourself, before smirking as you watched his hair bounce as he approached the door,

"Flip the sign!" You yelled quickly, "Thanks Eds!" You grinned to yourself as he left. God, it was good seeing him again- you wanted to tell him how much you missed him but alas, your coworker had to get in the way, along with the timer on the front counter blaring loud, and the bell at the door jingling with his sudden exit. With a small sigh, you glanced at the disappointed woman as she entered, "Good morning!" You said in your best, cheery, customer service voice,  "Welcome to Sam's, how may I help you today?" And so your shift began, then seemed to drag on for excruciating hours...

Eddie had remembered to pick you up at one, even arriving a whole twenty minutes early. You could see him leaning against his van outside, nodding along to 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'  blaring obnoxiously loud from inside. His head was downcast, but he'd occasionally look around, or glance inside the shop, a cigarette perched between his two fingers that he periodically brought up to his plump lips, smoke tumbling into the air. Someone had come in a little while ago to complain about the loud music and the man outside, but you simply had to smile and say that technically, because it was a public path he was parked on, you couldn't do anything about him. You kept glancing up, and if you made eye contact, he'd smile or stick his tongue out, making faces to try and distract you as you finished up cleaning for the day. You know he'd come in, but he'd 'overstayed' his welcome, according to Sam.

Sam was an old, old-fashioned type of guy. You didn't mind him- part of you looked up to him.  He did have his own business that was as successful as anything could be in fucking Hawkins... At least he loved his home- he told you the countless stories of the establishment being an ice cream shop he ran with his wife up until Starcourt opened up. 'Scoops Ahoy' took all his profits so he had to pivot to the next best thing: smoothies. You had no clue why he didn't just make milkshakes, considering they were only a temperature difference from ice cream, but he'd simply smiled and told you 'Sam's Milkshake Bar' didn't have the same ring to it as 'Sam's Smoothie Shack'. 

Sam had always been wary of Eddie, not trusting him as he did you. You tried explaining that if he just got to know him, he'd see he was harmless. Though Sam was still cautious, never failing to mutter about 'kids these days' and their 'loud rock music' poisoning their minds. You smiled as you passed by the older man, letting him know you were off for the day and wishing him a good afternoon as you ducked into the back to hang up your apron and grab your jacket and bag,

"Got it stuck in your head, hmm?" You hummed as you exited the store, faintly hearing the jingling of the bell behind you as you left the small shop and approached him. The song had changed to your Kiss song as you approached, almost on queue. You grinned as he glanced up and saw you, appearing to light up instantly. He pushed himself up, the second cigarette he had sparked up falling to the ground and disappeared beneath his shoe,

"Your chariot awaits, my dear!!" He said loudly, moving his arms to gesture to the van you had long missed since you left Hawkins a year ago, "Go on, get in. I've got you for the rest of the day, right?" He said, pushing his hands in his pockets and coming to stand in front of you so you could hear what he was saying over the music. You opened your mouth slightly, glancing from the van back to him and tilting your head,

"For the rest of the day?" You asked amused, and raised your brows as he nodded,

"Come on- didn't you say you missed me?" You knew him. You'd been friends for so long that you could feel the twinge of hurt behind those amused words. Before you could see his face, he moved to the van and opened the passenger side door for you, letting the music grow louder and drown out your worried thoughts, "Get in!!" He yelled over the music, and being left without much choice, you just grinned, walking over to him, 

"You give me no choice, Munson," You told him, before clambering inside and throwing your bag at your feet.

He shut the door once you were inside, you let yourself glance around the van you'd spent most of the summer in. It faintly smelled like weed- you hoped he wasn't high at the moment. Eddie was a reckless driver as it was and being high surprisingly didn't make him more careful. It was still messy, but you could tell he made an effort in cleaning it for you. You turned the music down slightly so you could hear yourself think and pulled the overhead mirror down, glancing over your face to make sure your make-up was still intact after the long day. Glancing to the side, you noticed a polaroid of the two of you that was tucked into the side. It was a little older- from the darker background, you could see it was taken in Eddie's room. Both your faces were grinning back at you. You could barely remember taking it because of how greened out you were, but you couldn't deny the picture was a nice one. You could see the date the picture was taken was scrawled on the bottom, along with a small heart drawn in the corner there. You smiled softly, reaching a hand up to skim your finger over the sharpie. You jumped slightly at the sound of the door opening, 

"Snooping?" He asked, shutting the door and putting his seatbelt on, gaze flicking to the polaroid,

"Just reacquainting myself," You said, shutting the mirror and leaning back to put your own seatbelt on, "I'm so glad I'm not walking home, my feet are killing me," You sighed, getting comfortable in your seat, 

"Mmmh," He hummed, smiling as he started the car, "You should have asked me to take you," He said, glancing over at you, 

"And wake you up at four in the morning?" You raised your brows, "I'd just piss off Wayne. We both know you're a heavy sleeper, Eds," You smiled, grabbing the overhead handle as he pulled out of the spot and began driving off. He laughed softly, 

"Should have gone and thrown rocks at my window," He said, sparing you a glance. You noticed him eyeing your hand, 

"Wouldn't have worked-"

"Then you should have thrown rocks through my window," He said,

"Have you forgotten the possum incident?" You laughed as he shuddered, "Yeah,"

"Those things have to be my least favourite forest creatures," He huffed,

"You have a favourite?" You asked amused, 

"I'm not telling you," He huffed, "You can't even trust me to drive you around, "He said, glancing at your arm again,

"I would trust you if you weren't so reckless. You know, I wasn't gonna mention it but how many curbs have we hit already?" You smirked, 

"Like... Two?" You gave him a look, "...Four," You laughed softly, at his response, shaking your head and humming softly to the 'Creeping Death' playing through the speakers, 

"So is it a wolf?" You asked after a moment, and laughed at the glare he sent you, 

"I'm not answering that," He grumbled, but you laughed it off, "Hey, open the glove box for me," He hummed, and you did as he asked. There was a cassette inside which you pulled out and glanced over. In sharpie, he had written-

"'Darkest Nightmare'?" You asked amused, grinning, "You made another mixtape?"

"Uhuh- put it in, I'm kinda sick of Metallica," He sighed, and you did as he asked, grinning as he turned up the radio. As usual, his driving got worse, focusing more on the music you were yelling and screaming along to at the moment, praying the seatbelt would at least protect you from a crash. 

Somehow, you'd survived his tour of Hawkins: unsurprisingly, not too much had changed. You drove by the remnants of Starcourt and were saddened to hear of the passing of Cheif Jim Hopper. As much as the old cop loved to give you and Eddie shit for trespassing, he'd only yell at you as you sped off in the van or ran into the forest, laughing together. You were glad, because you really couldn't deal with a criminal record.

The stores along the main street were opening up again, and you eagerly started making plans for which ones you'd want to go to tomorrow. There were a few new ones that had opened up that you were eager to go into. In the meantime, Eddie filled you in on Hellfire and his campaigns, stopping at a diner and eating dinner in the van. It all felt right, and normal again, and you kept smiling fondly as he excited rambled on. Occasionally, you'd remind him of his now cold burger and fries, but he didn't seem to be listening much to you. You didn't mind- you preferred listening anyways.

Once you were done, he drove you back home in comfortable silence, enjoying the mixtape that now played a song by Megadeath you didn't recognise. The sun was setting, causing the sky to bloom in pretty colours that captured your attention. When the trees started getting thicker as you approached Forest Hills, you sighed, grabbing your stuff from the floor. You'd called the trailer park 'home' for the longer part of your life. It hadn't changed either, but you enjoyed his quiet comments on who lived where and what had changed with them. Nothing too interesting but it was nice to be informed,

"...And finally my humble abode," He said, parking the van and undoing his seatbelt,

"Damn... I really did not miss the Hills," You smiled fondly as you looked over his home, before glancing across to your own home. You hadn't realised he had gotten out until your door opened. He smiled at you, 

"Gimmie those," He said, and you gently placed the bag in his hand. He quickly extended his other hand to you, and you rolled your eyes as you took it to get out of the van,

"Thank you, oh fair, kind Sir," You said playfully, shutting the door as you got out. He grinned as he slung your bag over his shoulder, 

"Anything for you, fair one," He said as he moved behind you to lock the car. You rolled your eyes, folding the jacket over your arm as you glanced around the area, taking it in again. The playground that separated your homes looked the same, nothing having changed in the almost year you were away. Perhaps there were more cigarette butts and trash around the area but that was common here. You felt his presence near you; the familiar and pleasant scent of smoke and a forest earthiness growing stronger, "It uh... Hasn't felt the same without you here," He said surprisingly softly, and you glanced up at him, 

"Yeah," You hummed, but realised that didn't make sense, "Uh- I mean it's... Been strange. I've never been away from Hawkins for this long it's... Weird to be back," You said, sighing,

"Yeah, I get it," Eddie said, sighing, "Oh, by the way, someone finally moved into the haunted trailer next to yours," He pointed out, "You've finally got a new neighbour," You looked at the house, smiling fondly as you saw a person hanging up their laundry,

"Huh. I'm surprised Dave finally managed to rent that place out to someone," You said, digging through your pockets to produce your keys, "Oh- right," You mumbled, fiddling with the keychains, "Here!" You smiled at him as you turned to place the charm into his hands, "I had to put it on my keys so I wouldn't forget- you have no idea how stressed I was thinking I lost it back in my dorm," You breathed, smiling, 

"Holy shit," He murmured, fingers skimming over the small metal wolf head you'd gotten him, "This is cool," He grinned, "I'll put it with the others," He teased, 

"Thought you liked my keyrings," You said, twirling your keys as you began heading home, eyes flicking to your neighbour curiously, 

"I do!" He said quickly, "Thanks, a lot. I think it's really cool-" 

"Who is that?" You mumbled to him, eyeing the girl hanging up her laundry on your shared line, "Should we go say hi?" You glanced up at him with a small smile,

"Why'd anyone want to say hi to us?" Eddie asked with a chuckle, but you just rolled your eyes and approached her. Her gaze flicked to you both as you approached, and she removed her headphones from her head,

"Hello!" You said as pleasantly as you could. It was the same tone you'd use with customers to appear more friendly. You pleasantly introduced yourself, and stuck your hand out for her to shake, "I live right next door- I haven't uh... Been here though, because I've been in Franklin for college," You said as she placed her hand in yours and shook it, eyes flicking from Eddie to you with an uncertain look, "We share a line," You also added, 

"Uhuh. Yeah I know," The red-head said shortly. You grimaced, glancing at Eddie, before looking down at her. She had headphones around her neck, and you could faintly hear a song playing, "Are you guys just gonna stand there now?" She asked, and you blinked for a moment

"Are you a big fan of Kate Bush?" You asked, recognising the song,

"I guess," She said in a dejected way, shrugging as she went back to doing her chore. You glanced at her trailer before looking back at her,

"She's good, right?" You smiled, still trying to make pleasant conversation and not freak her out, "I love 'Running Up That Hill,'" She nodded once, and turned her back on you, and continued working. With a small sigh, you glanced over at Eddie, who shrugged his shoulders, "What's your name?" You asked,

"I'm Max," She said shortly, casting you a glare. With a sigh, you nodded, trying to uphold your cheery disposition,

"Cool- nice to meet you, Max," You smiled, "If you need anything, I'm nex-"

"I heard," She said coldly, casting you another look that was defiantly a glare, "Do you like bothering people when they're doing something?" She asked, 

"No, not really," You said quickly, "I'm just trying to be nice and introduce myself to my new neighbour," You frowned, "I just haven't had one in-"

"Great- be nice somewhere else, freak," She muttered, throwing a sheet over the clothing line and grabbing the now empty basket, storming back into her home,

"Damn," You frowned, "It was nice meeting you, Max!" You yelled after her, before turning back to walk to Eddie. He had walked away a little while ago and was waiting for you by your door. You stood by him with a sigh, looking down at your keys, "Wonder what's up with her?" You mumbled, "Think she got grounded or something?" You asked, glancing back at him, "Do people still ground their kids...?" You said playfully with a slight smile, though it fell quickly,

"No, don't think so," He said, walking after you into your home and removing the keys from your door, "More like her uh... Brother? No- her step-brother died in that fire at Starcourt," You nodded solemnly, glancing around your small home with a frown,

"So she's taking it out on everyone else?" You hummed, 

"Guess so," He said softly, and you heard the slight thud of your bag as he set it down on your couch,

"Guess she's tired of hearing condolences," You mumbled, eyes flicking to a photograph of your late father on the wall with a small frown. You heard the door close and the clicking of the locks as Eddie closed it for you. You muttered a small 'thank you' as you stretched your arms above your head tiredly, "Did you know him?" You asked, "This step-brother?"

"Did I know Billy Hargreeves?" He said, turning to look at you. You winced at the mention of the name, "Yeah. We did," He said solemnly. Hargreeves was new but quickly established himself as one of the worst assholes you'd ever met. You did what you could to stay out of his way because of how... Violent he usually got...

"God..." You sighed, "Well..." You mumbled, throwing your jacket over the couch and falling back on it. You still hadn't unpacked since you came back- your suitcase stood where you'd left it by the door, along with a duffle bag that was flung to the ground. You just didn't have the motivation to wash all your clothes or get unpacked... And besides, the clothing line was full, thanks to Max.  You could hear Eddie moving around behind you, rummaging through your kitchen to find something to eat, "You know I haven't been called a freak since I left Hawkins?" You said, moving a hand up to your forehead to rub at it, trying to soothe the tension and pain growing there,

"Seriously?" He asked, amusement clear in his tone, "Thought... You know, college? People there would be more..." He trailed off,

"Surprisingly, there are a lot more 'freaks' and 'goths' in the big city," You smiled, leaning your head back all the way to watch him. Eddie had shed himself of his usual jackets, hanging them up on the back of one of the two chairs so he was left in just his Hellfire shirt. He'd rolled his sleeves up so you could see the peaks of the bat swarm frozen in ink on his arm. You watched as he rummaged in your drawer, pulling out a bottle opener and hearing the clicks of two bottles opening. You sighed softly, smiling as he walked over to you, "Have I mentioned you're the best?" You grinned as you sat back up, shifting to give him some space so he could sit with you,

"Mh- you deserve something after a hard day's work," He winked playfully, clinking the bottle with you as you eagerly took a swig of the beer, humming happily as you drank the cold liquid, 

"Yeah, uhuh," You hummed between sips,

"I'd also make you something to eat but-"

"But you're banned from my kitchen," You grinned, "After you set fucking popcorn on fire-"

"It's not my fault your microwave is stupid!!" He grinned, 

"It's a normal microwave Eds! You set it to thirty minutes and not three," You both laughed, "How the fuck do you burn popcorn?" You ask between giggles,

"I guess it's a special talent of mine," He hummed, taking a sip as you continued laughing, "Anyways, you really should eat something. Knowing you and how long you take getting ready, then with the walk... I doubt you've eaten much today," He said softly, 

"When'd you become the food police, Eds?" You smiled, 

"Considering you're drinking and only ate dinner today, I don't want you to get too drunk too fast," You almost spit out your beer, 

"Eds- I'm not gonna get drunk off one beer," You smiled at him,

"Still. Better to eat and drink," He winked at you, clicking his fingers. You sighed, drinking more of your beer, "You've got nothing but drinks, babe," He added, and you glanced over at him as he took a sip, "And when did you get back?"

"Yesterday? I haven't had the time to go shopping-"

"Nope- you got here two days ago," He said, and you turned your head from where you'd been staring at the decorations you had put up to stare at him,

"How did you...?" You asked softly, and watched as he frowned softly, taking a swig before setting the bottle on the ground near your feet, "How did you know?" You asked with a frown, 

"I saw you uh... Coming home," He admitted, "Two days ago..." He said, not looking at you and instead focusing on how much beer was left in his bottle,

"I got here at, like, 3 am Eddie?" You said, blinking,

"Yeah. You did," He nodded, watching you. You were silent for a moment,

"Why were you awake at 3 am?" You asked. He briefly met your eyes, before looking away and taking a nervous, shaky breath,

"I..." His eyes darted around,

"Why didn't you-"

"Dude, who goes to someone's house at 3 am?" He said, quickly standing and walking away from you. You jumped slightly at how fast he moved, before turning your whole body so you could watch him, confused at his sudden mood change, "I didn't want to bother you since you clearly didn't..." He trailed off, back turned to you. Your eyes widened slightly,

"Eddie, what?" You stood, careful of the beer you'd nudged with your foot and following after him, "I didn't do what?" You asked, standing near the couch to give him space. He moved into your kitchen and stood by your table, leaning against it at first,

"You just-" He sighed,  sitting on top of the table, eyes focusing on the floor and watching his shoes shuffling around on the floor for a moment, before speaking "You were gone for- what? Almost a year," He said your name quietly, and you frowned from where you watched him on the couch, "I mean, what was I supposed to think?"

"I wrote letters to you," You said, "I sent you packages and letters as much as I could- we never stopped talking," You said,

"But you didn't visit," He said with a frown, glancing up at you. He couldn't hold the eye contact, and found himself looking away quickly, again. He folded his arms across his chest, "What was I supposed to think? My best friend just... Didn't want to hang out with me anymore?" He shrugged. From the dim, setting sunlight shining inside, you could see his eyes twinkling with tears, and you could feel your heart constrict for him in your chest,

"I wrote to you explaining why I couldn't go," You said defensively, walking closer to him, "Fuck, Eds, I don't have the damn money to be driving back and forth between Franklin and Hawkins!" You said louder than intended, "It wasn't about not wanting to hang out with you, it was about saving money-"

"Okay- I get that," He said sharply, "But my point is... What else do you have here?" He glanced at you, "You and I both hate this place, we made plans all the time to get out of Hawkins- you got out and I stayed behind, I-"

"Eddie, I couldn't stay here another fucking year waiting for you to graduate," You tried, coming to stand in front of him, "You... We both know how awful living here is. This small town will only see us as... Freaks and... Damned devil worshipers when we're not-"

"Right- of course!" He said sarcastically, throwing his hands up and laughing coldly, "I'm sorry, I just thought that if you got the privilege to leave Hawkins, it'd at least... Be with me," He said, looking into your eyes. His wide, brown eyes bore into yours and were tinted slightly pink. A few tears slipped down his reddened cheeks and you could faintly see the tremble in his lips. He'd folded his arms again and was digging his fingernails into his forearms, knuckles going white and small crescents appearing in his skin. You blinked, opening your mouth to say something, but closed it,

"Eddie..." You said softly, watching him move his head to look away from you. Seeing another tear rolling down his cheek, you reached a hand up to try and wipe it off of his face without thinking. He quickly flinched, slapping your hand away with his and shaking his head, leaving you shocked,

"Fuck," He hissed, and stood abruptly, making you back away. He reached to the side, grabbing his jean jacket from the chair, "Forget about it," You heard him mutter his name,

"Eddie!" You yelled after him as he moved quickly to your door, fumbling with your keys to unlock it, "Eddie what is going on- talk to me please," You begged, 

"I said forget about it, okay?" He turned sharply. You stared at him, never seeing him so hurt with you before. You really didn't know what to do, and instead stared at him as you both stared at one another, 

"But- Eddie!" You yelled out of your door as he quickly turned away and began walking away, "Stop running from me- Eddie!" You called again, wincing at how your voice echoed through the park. But he didn't turn. He just walked home faster.

You felt frozen in place, staring after him as his hair fluttered behind him dramatically. You opened your mouth to call after him again, but quickly closed it, feeling tears brimming in your eyes as you disappeared inside. You could hear the door slamming behind him, and you quickly shut your own door, falling back against it as you let your tears fall,

"What the fuck?" You breathed, blinking rapidly. In all the years you knew Eddie, you never... Fought like this: where you were both too distraught to even want to look at one another, or solve the problem. He had never run from you. You had never... Been the problem. 

Hours passed but your mind was still occupied with Eddie and the fight. Your mind was always occupied with Eddie, but you were never worried for him like this... You tried distracting yourself by going grocery shopping before the sun would completely set. The burn in your legs as you walked into town helped- at least that was a physical pain and not... Ugh.

The pain in your arms accompanied you on your way home, and you found yourself regretting your decision to walk. Maybe you should have waited until things cooled off with Eddie so you could at least catch a ride here and there. The ice cream you had bought would surely be melted by now- what made you want ice cream anyways? You also couldn't buy any beer or vodka to take the pain away, so unless you wanted to see the one person you really didn't want to right now, you'd have to... Reconcile your emotions...

Okay.

Eddie was obviously upset you had left, but why on Earth was he pissed off at you? It wasn't your choice to leave- you'd sent your applications together... Though you never saw his, he had drunkenly admitted to you that he'd failed his final year days later and would have to stay in Hawkins to repeat it. He'd said it casually and whenever you mentioned it, he'd just wave it off like it wasn't a big deal to him. It had made you sad to know he wouldn't be leaving with you, but he never... Saw it as a big deal. Or made it look like that.

Did he think you left because of him? Eddie always ran from his problems- that's just what he did. If he knew he wasn't able to pass a quiz, he wouldn't show up for it; if he knew he couldn't finish a project in time, he wouldn't submit anything. You were there for all his failures, and tried supporting him through them, but he'd always make the same comment about 'education not defining him' or the 'project being stupid' and 'pointless'. You never realised how... Bad it was for him...

And perhaps it didn't help that you came home and didn't speak a word to him for the two days. It was purely overwhelming being back in a town where every person you passed cast you disgusted looks simply for how you'd dress or do your make-up. What was strange to them was scary, but it made you feel unwelcome and unwanted in a place that was supposed to be home. It's why you hated it in Hawkins. All you had here was Eddie. You sought comfort in your shared strangeness and unwillingness to conform to society- their 'shunning' hurt less when you were together. You had his comfort.

But you should be angry at him too- he was mad at you for something out of your control, and that hurt. If you could have left with him, you would. Why did he not realise that? You spoke about leaving Hawkins all the time... With a sigh, you flexed your fingers, looking over the empty grocery bags now on the floor of your kitchen. You were done unpacking those, and now had nothing to do. You glanced over at the waiting suitcase and duffle. If you were unpacking groceries you might as well make yourself at... home. Briefly, you glanced up at the window, and froze, noticing the very man your brain was occupied by.

A long plume of smoke left his lips, swirling into the dark sky. The end of the blunt he had rolled faintly glowed orange as he took a drag. He was faintly illuminated by the lights around the area, and you could see his shoulders sag as he looked down. You could faintly hear the sound of his shoes kicking against the metal dome structure of the park you both frequently found yourselves in on your peaks or come downs. You'd lay back on the grass together, staring at the multitude of stars, or giggling and shushing one another as you tried to fit into the tiny seats of the swingset...

 He was sitting in just his vest, the pins glittering in the night- you could see from where you were that he'd pulled the sleeves of the Hellfire shirt down over his arms to fight the chill of the night. You glanced over your shoulder to your kitchen table and sighed- he forgot to take his jacket with him...

You grabbed it, pulling it over your shoulders and allowing yourself to breathe in his scent. You weren't sure of calling Hawkins your physical home, but you were sure that Eddie's smell was the closest you'd ever feel to describing home... At least now you had an incentive to go make up with him again. Ha... Ha...

Silently, you shuffled to your door, picking the keys up you had dropped. You allowed yourself a moment to gather your thoughts, before stuffing the keys into the pocket of the leather, enjoying the feeling of it brushing against your skin again. As you opened the door, you found Eddie right outside, muttering to himself and seemingly doing the same thing you were a moment ago. You both jumped back slightly in surprise at finding the other person in the same place, and for a moment, you both stared, unmoving and unspeaking. Until finally, you opened your mouth,

"Uh," You tried, clearing your throat and looking down for a moment, "You uh... Got any more blunts we could... Share?" You asked him uncertainly, glancing back up at him. You could still see his face was red in the faint light from inside your home. He had been crying too. He only gave you a small nod, still silent as you turned the lights inside your home off and locked the door behind you. 

Together, you walked to the park again, still lost in your own heads and silent. Your eyes flicked to him and you watched him as he sat beside you in your usual spot on top of the dome. His movements were slow and careful as he handed over a roughly rolled blunt and lighter,

 "Thanks," You said, picking the blunt up in your fingers and reaching for the lighter, only to have him pull it into his grasp and lighting it. Carefully, you lit the blunt and took a drag, "Thanks," You breathed again as you handed it over for him to take a hit of, 

"No problem-" His voice was shaky, "Shit," He whispered. You glanced over at him, noticing one of his hands still shaking. He had this far-away look in his eye that made you fill with a deep sadness for him, 

"I'll uhm... Start," You said softly, glancing behind you and carefully setting your hands on the poles of the dome and grabbing on to them to steady yourself. With a sigh, you began, "Okay," You closed your eyes, nodding your head to collect your thoughts, before speaking, "I'm sorry. For not seeing you as soon as I got back, Eddie. It's just... It's been a lot being back here in Hawkins. You know how bad being here makes me feel, and finding out I might be getting evicted and getting back into a job, I just..." You sighed deeply, "I know you're mad at me for leaving and not talking to you and stuff but... I have responsibilities now," You explained, looking up at him. He was listening but not looking at you, focused on rolling the blunt between his fingers as it smouldered idly, "I'm an adult. I have to... Live. Pay bills, make money... That shit," You said, reaching forwards and taking the blunt from him, taking a drag, "It's just been a lot. I did want to spend time with you just... I wanted to wait until I got everything figured out," You concluded, nodding solemnly, "I didn't mean to make you feel like I... Didn't want to see you or anything," You frowned. 

From beside you, Eddie sighed, and you could see his hair shaking as he nodded to your final statement. It took a moment for him to say anything- he shifted first, moving so he could rest his hands on his knees and clasp his hands together, pressing them to his mouth, 

"Shit," He sighed, pressing his hands to his forehead, "That's... Yeah," He nodded. You stared at him, waiting for him to speak, but frowning as he didn't,

"What's up?" You asked, 

"Well, whatever I'm gonna say is gonna sound fucking pointless compared to you," He sighed, sparing you a glance. You frowned at him, shifting so you could look at him better, only for Eddie to turn his head away from you again. You delicately placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Eds, no I'm not gonna..." You sighed, "If you don't run away from me again, I'm not... Gonna find it pointless," You said, patting him gently. You tilted your head to try and appear in his field of vision and gave him an encouraging smile. He grimaced at you, fully turning his head to look back to his trailer, before sighing. You felt him relax under your touch slightly, and turn his head slightly to look at you, 

"We just..." He sighed, "I missed you so much," He breathed, and you saw the tears quickly rolling down his face, "And after we'd talked so much about... Leaving Hawkins behind- together," He looked at you, eyes finding yours quickly, "It was always together. Leaving, and living together somewhere. Working... Together," He rambled, "And then... Watching you leave without me... It made me realise that... Fuck," He sighed,

"You can say it, Eds," You said softly. He shook his head slightly, and as you opened your mouth to encourage him again, you felt his shoulder move. He took your hand in his, bringing it down to rest on the cool metal below you. You watched, curiously, as he moved his hand so he was holding yours,

"It made me realise that we've... Spent the better parts of our lives together. It made me realise how much losing you hurt me- and that terrified me," He spoke your name worriedly, and lifted an arm to wipe his wet face, "And made me realise that I never wanted to lose you again," He rambled suddenly, his words making your heart thunder in your chest, "And when you wrote saying that you weren't gonna be back for the summer, the winter, and the spring..." He breathed shakily, "I knew it was because you had nothing left here and I guess a part of me thought you meant me too..." He sniffled, "It made me realise I uhm... Actually want to finish school now-" He laughed to himself, "-So I can finally leave and... Find you again- be with you again, like we always were... I mean, sure I can pretend to be confident, and fine without you- God knows I've had practice with that with Hellfire, but-" He took a deep breath to steady himself, "Pretending to be fine without you just made me miss you way more," He said, breathing shakily, "It... Made me realise I..." The words died on his tongue momentarily, and he just sighed, "I think I'm in love with you," He confessed.

For a moment it felt like time stood still, your eyes captured by his, your breath stuck in your throat as those words left his mouth. You blinked a few times and let the blunt fall from your hand, tumbling to the ground. Your now empty hand balled, your nails dug into your palm to wake you up from this most pleasant of dreams. Your own eyes rapidly filled with tears: here was your best friend, who you have loved and pined over for so long, admitting he finally felt the same for you as you felt for him the moment you first met him,

"And I know you might not feel the same for me, and that's fine," He rambled on, seemingly not realising you were completely dumbfounded by his words, "But I just need you to know that I love you and-"

You quickly pressed your lips to his to silence him, and it took him a moment to register what was happening, causing him to let out a startled 'mmph!' as your lips touched. It was a moment before you felt Eddie's lips moving against yours. Your hands moved up to touch his cheeks, skin gentle yet wet with tears against your hands you pulled him closer. His own hands soon moved to your arms, holding you in place so gently, that when you parted, tears spilled down your face too. You let out a gentle laugh,

"Eddie, you big stupid idiot," You smiled at him, moving a thumb over his cheek to swipe a tear rolling down his face, "I think I love you too," You said, "Don't you think if I could, I wouldn't spend all my time with you?" You said softly, 

"Yeah," He breathed, appearing starstruck, round eyes darting over your face for any sign of a lie, 

"Yeah," You grinned back, gripping his hand and shaking it a little, "Dumbass," You said affectionately, 

"But I thought-"

"Thought what?" You quickly said, "I didn't feel the same?" He nodded slowly, "Eddie..."

"I didn't think you wanted to be around me anymore," He admitted softly, "I thought... You know. You'd find new people out in Franklin and you wouldn't need me anymore," He said softly, looking at you now, 

"Oh, Eddie," You said softly, squeezing his hand gently, "I guarantee no one could ever replace you," You assured him, "Besides? It's what? Only a matter of time before you find out if you passed your exams and then you'll move up to Franklin with me," You said softly, 

"You want me up there with you?" He asked uncertainly,

"Of course, Eddie," You said, "Those dorms suck. If we got a place together and split the rent somewhere close, I think it'd work out," You said softly, squeezing his hand again. He stared at you for a moment, before smiling slightly and leaning forward to kiss you again. You smiled against his lips, tilting your head to kiss him better and moving your hand back to touch his face gently, 

"I've uh..." He said softly as he pulled away just enough to speak, his forehead touching yours, "I've wanted to do that for a long time," He said, breathily. He then whispered your name, and you smiled,

"Well, I'm glad you finally did... Babe," You said with a smile, happy to hear him laugh. He glanced down at your joint hands, and brought them up to his face to kiss your knuckles. The act made your eyes widen and you quickly moved your hand from his to put both hands on his face and pull him close, kissing him again. It was almost like now you'd started, you never wanted to stop...

"Ew," You heard from the blue. You jumped, turning to stare at Max, who was leaning against the flimsy metal of the fence surrounding the park and frowning at you two, "Do you always cry when you kiss?" She asked as you whipped away the tears on your face,

"No," You quickly said, "We're just... Having an emotional moment, okay?" You said with a small laugh,

"Yeah, you spying on us, kid?" You heard Eddie say from beside you, and when you removed your hands from your eyes, you could see he had slid off the structure and was waiting for you with a hand outstretched. Ever the gentleman... Gently, you slid your hand into his, moving off the structure and glancing down at the grass, making sure the blunt had been put out, before tightening your hold on Eddie's hand, 

"What're you doing out here anyway?" You asked, turning to look at her. She shrugged, putting her headphones back on and turning on her heel,

"I'm going on a walk," She mumbled, taking a few steps away from you,

"But it's dark?" You said, moving forward with Eddie still holding you close,

"Yeah, kid, it's not safe," He chimed in, and you glanced up at him with a slight smile, 

"Why do you two care? Don't you have more crying and kissing to do?" She said coldly, and involuntarily, you let out a snort. You covered your mouth quickly, but Eddie had heard, and began to laugh, 

"Shut up, Eds," You grinned, before glancing back at Max, "You're funny, kid-"

"I don't need babysitters," She said, "I'm not a kid, either," She huffed, but you were already hopping over the fence and following after her, 

"Sure you do!" You grinned, stuffing your hands into the pockets of Eddie's leather jacket and glancing over as you felt him looping arms with you, 

"Yeah, we'll chase the monsters away k- Max," He said, and though she sent you two a glare, it made you feel better knowing you were going after her and ensuring she was safe. Besides- she had her headphones on and walkman playing a tape. She couldn't hear you and Eddie talking and laughing as you caught up on all you had missed when you were apart. Finally, you were together again, and now that you'd confessed you loved him and begun eagerly planning your future together, you hoped he wouldn't feel as alone as he did without you.

[bxttxrflybxddie]

starting off gunnar maelstrom is so dramatic i hate him /j

"i'm texas proud!" 🤠

shadowsan really doesn't want paper star to fight carm tbh its nice to see him looking out for carmen before we know that he's on her side

i know that vile is evil yes yes but i thought they were evil to steal historic things for monetary value, not just stealing historic things? whos buying the magna carta(s)?? ((I'm bad at spelling im so sorry))

even though i have no idea what her hair is doing, i really do love paper star's design

"it'll hide the stains." OH MY GOD???

"Cutting edge information" i. love. the. puns. idc idc idccccc

did. did paper star just call carmen pretty?

great now your fingerprints are on the fire alarm, SILLY GOOSE!

slay julia always being the smart one it must be tough carrying it all on your back

all white people like cheese and chase proves it /j /lh

do we ever figure out what shes humming?

jean-paul trying to be nice! :D

also i love seeing vile/vile operatives actually being evil and dangerous, it makes it all scary and actually frightening! yeah!! real tension for our heroes!!!

tammy, sitting like 5 feet in front of carmen:

devinaux, very loudly: Ms. Sandiego!!

"partner?" "travel partner!"

"i just love you history even more..."

theyre so girlfriends.

i really enjoy the action sequences in this episode, usually its just carmen and someone else fighting but paper star here is obviously trying to do damage to carmen instead of just trying to get the artifacts back. a small detail that really does being a lot of character for paper star.

PAPER STAR PICK POCKETTING CARMEN SANDIEGO. WE ARE DEALING WITH TALENTED THIEVES. I LOVE THAT THE SHOW DOESNT FORGET THIS.

((and lowkey, carmen yet again doing something that could hurt other people because of their direct or indirect ties to vile. so far we've seen her interacting with graham (((and later having him be a part of missions))) and here when she pick-pocketed chase, not meaning to obvi but still having his keycard and i.d. end up in the hands of vile))

tldr; woohoo vile and paper star scary

© BXTTXRFLYBXDDIE

[kiwichaeng]

hi! this is such a self-indulgent ask so i hope you don’t mind, but i was wondering if you have a favourite wits moment?

hope you’ve had a week weekend! <33

Hi!! Oh I love this question okay! I'm also rereading wits right now so this is perfect

Okay wow this is hard. I combed through my emails and my comments because I was looking for this specific scene that I had in mind when I came across another that I think is definitely my favourite

In chapter 32 when Owen and TK arrive at the Reyes' place and Carlos steps outside and kisses TK. It's such a minor moment but as TK remarks, it's the first time he's done that in front of his mom. I remember reading it for the first time and being so so proud of Carlos. He was so scared of his parents finding out about TK once and watching his growth was everything to me. I have a soft spot for characters overcoming their fear and feeling secure in the love others have for them idk

The moment I was originally gonna mention is from chapter 31 where TK and Carlos go up to Hill Country again and talk under the stars. The entire day they spend together is perfect but that talk! So yeah this one's up there too. Like?? THIS???

“I love you,” Carlos says suddenly, and TK pulls back to watch him again. “I dreamed about saying those words that day. Not consciously, but on some level, I knew I’d love you, I knew I wanted to love you.” TK swallows thickly. “I think I did too,” he admits. “Beneath the fear, I think I knew.” “Thank you for letting me love you, Tyler Kennedy.”

Hey both of you, what if I drowned myself. /lh

There are so many others that are swimming in my head and I know you said one but I couldn't not mention the chapter 31 moment. The entire fic is just one giant favourite moment of mine tbh

Hope you had a great weekend and wishing you an amazing next week ❤️❤️

[avielex]

✂️ 🍥 🎹 for babyboy(/hj) Alex! :3

CHEMZEE I SWEAR. Man they rly did keep these asks coming /lh

So... Alex! Another Roadrunner baby, and not just any baby. He's the protagonist!

He jumps on the Roadrunner bus to find some other place he could start a new life in, but his worried brother keeps texting him...

✂️ What is one of your OC's worst memories?

Thank you for specifying one, because otherwise, we'll be here all darn day. slaps Alex, "this baby can fit so much trauma in him!"

His actual worst memory is a spoiler scene in Roadrunner, so I'll go with another one that happened in his backstory. Some years before Roadrunner (about a year after his and Ace's mom was arrested for domestic violence), the mutual feelings he and a friend named Emberlynn grew into something they attended to for a while, and they dated. But only so much can be fondly remembered from a relationship between a guy with a bad parent and a foggy sense of love, and a girl who befriended him mostly because of a need to save or fix him. You can guess what happened next.

It's one of his worst memories because it came at such a bad timing (first your mom was arrested and you're left with just your bro trying to make ends meet, and now someone you loved seems to not wanna stick with you at all?), and it split the friend group he was in while leaving him reeling in the pain of the chaos. Yep, the breakup was that bad and sour, both parties were screaming the hell outta each other. In Roadrunner, his memory of the event is really murky, due to it having been somewhat modified or corrupted by his own feelings... and then he saw that three of his formerly close friends are gonna be in the bus with him.

Lyric's close to Emberlynn, and his finding out that Alex is joining the bus becomes a spark of curiosity for him, because he still wants the other side of the story. Lyric regrets standing by, not taking charge, and letting everything happen while he froze in his own indecision — so when Alex came in, he thought that he finally has his chance.

🍥 What age were you when you first created the OC?

I was 14! He was the first guy out of the many OCs I had for this little story I made, and his design being kind of generic was kind of the point. He's the guy everyone else would label "ordinary" while everyone else had something else going on for them.

(See why I called early Lyric a token character? Yeah. Not a moment I'm proud of.)

It's actually fascinating how close this first design is to his current rendition. A lot of his final details were faithful to his original description too: Dark hair, indigo eyes (made a darker blue now), and some sort of darker, simpler fashion with the occasional scarf. In Roadrunner, the scarf is from Ace, but the story behind him having it for himself (it's even in his official full-body) can be saved for another time.

🎹 Do they have any hobbies?

Not a lot before Roadrunner, but he slowly regains some bit of himself during the story. In one scene, Lyric proposes to take him on a night walk around the city they were stopping by in, after a particularly bad nightmare, and that's when Alex finds out just how much he likes observing stuff from afar, walking around and watching things unfold before his very eyes. In the epilogue, he'd go out often (this time, after telling Ace!) and just take walks around his town, going to the convenience store to grab a small and cheap snack and eating it while people-watching.

Little slip of gay here: One of the first persons he observed closely that night was Lyric himself, who had his mask down to eat. His bright smile rivaled the blinding fireworks they were watching, booming over the bay's horizon.

Alex, his shoulders relaxing by the slightest bit: "Maybe this walk wasn't so bad after all."

[3rrorsnas]

URGH I HATE NPD TESTS. I FEEL LIKE IM BOTH EACH TIME. I'm both overly confident but have awful self esteem lurking in the background and they're both fighting to come out. it depends on who I'm around with and what happens. basically I feel that with strangers I'd be super confident, then have some moments of opening up about my self doubts, then be confident again but in a more healthy way and basically sorta hyping each other up. but it without being linear like- I still have moments where I feel like shit and open up to people close to me about my lack of self esteem.

(it's long TT/gen srs) :

like see?? overall I wanna be the center of attention, in a way of "I've been isolated for a huge chunk of my life and am scared to be alone" and "I need the attention to get validation in order to counter my lack of self esteem"

BUT me being isolated for so long ALSO drives me to be awkward, shy, and sometimes straight up scared to interact with people because I'm scared to mess things up or just don't know how to do so[interact] (especially if you take into account me being autistic and already struggling as heck with social cues). but I'm ALSO scared to get the attention from the fear that that attention would be bad attention where people would ridicule me/not take me seriously (FUCJ YOU CQ./SRS NEG) and just lead my self estime to drop even lower

YOU SEE MY FKING PROBLEM???/SRS NEG ANGRY sad.

I feel like I'm both extremities, and if not at the same time then shifting from one another too often./srs neg tired (ntm at self tbh, I don't hate how I am. I'm just frustrated by the problems I encounter. it's tiring./srs neg info)

as someone who has been manipulated before, I don't like it. but that doesn't mean that I don't find it easy or I can never see myself being able to do so easily.

I just hate people lying and I can get the job done by being straightforward anyway, I'm not losing time with this bs./srs neg tense info

yeah, as someone who is fcking ridiculed by an ENTIRE MULTIVERSE and THEIR(my) CREATOR I don't really think I get the respect that I deserve. hmph./s angry srs gen (tired and sad too)

like all I'm asking is people to not make fun of me being bipolar. and autistic. and mentally ill. for FUCK'S sake.

yeah I probably warded off half(/exaggeration) the system including fresh with my shouting. sorry pal/gen srs)

...d-

do I.

do I even.

ahaha- do I even have to fucking answer this???!! are you shitting me???/s srs neg angry

you know the answer./neg

im fREAKING AUTISTIC. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME??

I'm calling this infodumping but whatever./s ntm neutr tired

(I like showing my puppets and plushies ok?) (they're pretty and took time to make and are sort of like my friends, I'm proud of making them)

...this is a freaking trick question./srs neg stressed because bOTH ARE TRUE.

...does this count if you didn't have the choice? or refused help when you needed until people forcefully got you out of trouble?/gen srs gq

....I'd say it does./srs, ???/

...ok yeah...I...think I made....that clear.../srs, neg(?), shameful, tired/

aha...yes, I do.../lh, gen, pos, less sad/

[paperstorm]

Andie I have a very serious and important question for you. what the fuck are you putting in your fics???? It is currently 3:44am and I've been up since 8 but what am I doing? Crying as I read the end of Magnetic North that's what

The thing about me and sports fics is that I know absolutely nothing about sports except for 1 of them so usually they end up in my "Marked for later" for a while. But this is like the third time I've read a sports fic after putting it off to immediately questioning every decision I have ever made

I binged this fic like a fucking maniac but there was a logical part of me that was like "please...the assignment you've been procrastinating for 2 weeks is due tomorrow..." so I forced myself to put it down and go to sleep. That was yesterday. I brought my work with me from downstairs at 1am because "if I'm not gonna be able to sleep might as well finish this and then read Magnetic North the rest of the night" WELL I JUST FINISHED THE FIC AND I'M LITERALLY TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF MY THOUGHTS AND IT IS NOT WORKING-

Coherency...I know how to do that yes. Starting and ending it with Marjan's article was SUCH a nice touch I loved the way she wrote about them!

Also everyone who has ever been mean to TK can line up in an abandoned parking lot...You don't hurt my boy <3 :) . HIS GROWTH??? THAT'S MY POOKIE I'M SO FUCKING PROUD OF HIM??? Picking him up and parting his head as we speak. No but seriously he's so awesome and he's been hurt so much but all he really wants is love 😭. NOW YOU GET TO HAVE SO MUCH OF IT BABY!!! Watching him slowly accept the love and care from others was beautiful. I fucking love fics where a character heals. HIM CHOOSING HIMSELF HELL YEAH YOU GOT THIS! Carlos saying how TK looked healthier and Marjan too!! YES MY BOY IS IN HIS LOVER ERA AND I'M SO SO HERE FOR IT! I am starting to sound like a broken record but he genuinely fills me with so much pride and he's not even real 😭. THE REHABILITATION CENTER!! and he named it after Gwen...I'm so okay about this...

Carlos...where do I even start. I need to hug him let's start there. It broke my heart so badly when he didn't even get the chance to come out on his own terms. That is such a real fear and I honestly saw a part of myself in it. The "questioning everything you do in case someone suspects" If I ever find out who that photographer was...Gabriel won't be the only one who will need an alibi 🩷 NO OF COURSE I'm not bringing knives now that would be absurd wouldn't it? /sarc. He deserves all the love and acceptance actually. I loved the scene where he goes to the ranch after he was outed it was so healing for both Carlos and I actually that's my projection guy ✌️💕. Jkjk. TK commenting how much happier and freer Carlos was...sobbing into my pillow oh my god I'm so proud of him. AND HE WON THAT BIG CHAMPIONSHIP WHATEVER I TOLD YOU IDK SPORTS!

These fuckers got engaged what the fuck is wrong with them I hate them so much no I'm not crying! /lh. The kiss at the parade oh my god I will literally never ever recover from this fic Andie you have broken me. I will never once again be a normal human. I still think about The Firehouse like 23 times a day now Magnetic North will join too

So I did actually end up watching some random hockey highlights so I would have some idea as to what's going on and also oh you used real team players that's cool!! Did not know those people existed in real life but good to know. Now I can say I've read fanfiction with NHL players /j. Okay but srsly the team was absolutely AMAZING!! The way they're all such a family! How supportive they were of Tarlos! Kissing them all on the head (the fictional ones idk about the real ones)!

Okay WOW this got long. There's a reason I typed this in my notes app first. Imma attach my real time reaction to the parking lot kiss here

I am in the car (love being a gay) and I just read the parking lot kiss and my anxiety SPIKED because I was like "no no no they're gonna get outed oh my god NOOOO" TEARS IN MY EYES READING NANCY CALLING THEM UP AND TELLING THEM TO CHECK TWITTER!!! I want that photographer to meet me in an abandoned lot...NO I'M NOT BRINGING KNIVES WHY WOULD YOU EVEN INSINUATE THAT- /sarc (last part)

I have a question! You must be really familiar with Hockey to write this fic. Do you play? /gen

Okay now I will sleep because I'm genuinely very tired. If this doesn't make sense blame it on the fact that I've been up for way too long. I loved this fic Andie, like and insane amount. It's all so beautiful and well rounded and I was so enthralled by it, it's crazy. Thank you for this fic, you're awesome!

All the tone tags I used: (I just have really bad anxiety and don't want anything to be misinterpreted so!)

/sarc: sarcasm

/lh: light-hearted

/j: joking

/gen: genuine

I am a little bit speechless about this 🥺🥺 thank you so so so much, I’m so happy you liked it!! Thank you for taking the time to send this to me, I’m swooning 🤩 and I played a lot of street hockey as a kid but never was on a team or anything, I just watch it a lot!

[meloncalic]

just cause of that ask, here’s the pronoun bitches and my personal pride headcanons because fuck yeah

Dark - he/they nonbinary aroace

Wilford - any/all genderfluid pansexual

Illinois - he/him arospec pansexual

Murdock - he/they queer (definitely not cishet)

Engineer - they/he/stars bisexual

Yancy - he/they transmasc nonbinary unlabeled

Google - it/he/other neos agender unlabeled

I use he (mostly as a convenience) but like imo most of them would use some sort of they or neos. if you see any type of cishet in these characters, you are wrong /lh. but honestly, more pride/pronoun headcanons are needed in the world

ugh i love when people share pride headcanons!! it makes me so happy (i need to sit down and write out my own one of these days)

i am going to say something.. radical (??? personal under the cut)

it may seem stupid or cringe but Mark's projects were literally a stepping point in me discovering what i'm comfy with being referred to as in terms of gender..

looking back,, i was never really fully comfortable with he or she,, and i knew people used they/them but i hadn't thought about it too deeply i guess?? (i was still in an environment where even if i did comprehend and wanna express my gender identity,, it would've likely not been respected)

but watching this stupid lil Youtuber's projects with his stupid little self insert viewer character (all affectionate) was the first time i was ever referred to with non-binary pronouns and something just.. clicked

i asked my close friend,, my then partner,, to try using them with me and it was just like!! yes!! this is me!! aaaaaaa

anyways happy pride yes i know its the end of august i'm here i'm queer i'm proud <33

[silverselfshippingchaos]

Sunspot and Aperture for Maxi hehe! :3c

Hello my friend!!

Sunspot: what's your favorite costume or outfit your FO has ever worn? (If they don't have a canon physical appearance or they only have one canon outfit, make something up!)

Oh you know damn well what you were doing mentioning Maxi and outfits, huh- You know my weaknesses too well LMAO!

Maxi, having been around since the 90s, has had a great deal of outfits! I'd argue that his best outfit is his sc6 appearance.

(goodness he's so handsome)

It really fits his vibes perfectly! It'a a really good outfit all around. Also... you see that pink scarf? That was a gift from his girlfriend hehe!

Stunning.

... That being said, best does not mean favorite. I must begin by having that I tend to like older men (shout out to Eizen being 1000 years old), so it's to no one's surprise that my favorite outfit is sc5 Maxi, where Maxi is 45 years old.

But in all seriousness, it's a really nice outfit. I love how sleek it is and the red accent on the boots is just fantastic. Yeah yeah, he's old now, but I feel like sc5 Maxi is so cool because you can see how much he's grown from his past. I'm really proud of him for overcoming all of that. It's not easy and he still caries the weight of that trauma, but he's gotta so much better.

But also, uh... Wow. 😳. His jacket is a little cropped, so we get a nice view of his back too. And you see that chain on his side? Ash has one too! They match! A lot of this S/I's outfits are inspired by my Indian heritage, but she's very stylish and sleek, and has little matching bits with him.

I wholeheartedly believe sc5 Maxi is the most attractive Maxi. I get all ajsjajejwjeb whenever I see him!!! I love how stylish his outfit is and I love the fur and I wanna steal his jacket! He's beautiful.

Ofc he doesn't really age anymore, but older Maxi just has this level of confidence and style that younger Maxi doesn't, and that makes me quite flustered! He has this one other line where he chuckles a little and oh man-

He also takes care of a bunch of kids and uh. You see, I have a lot of fankids- I'm pretty weak for little ones, and seeing Supportive Uncle Maxi certainly didn't help.

Point is, sc5 Maxi has grown past a lot of things and he's come a long way. I'm so proud of his development.

... And he's also really hot in that outfit- He's not a pirate anymore, but he's still just as stylish!

Aperture: Has your perception of your FO changed as time went on? In what way?

Wow you're picking the ones that remind me most of Maxi on purpose huh- /lh

I grew up with this series. One of my earliest memories is my uncle kicking my ass in sc3 with Tira. This series has been my everything since I was a very little Ash, and naturally I looked up to Xianghua as a young girl. Xianghua was always with Kilik, but I didn't really pay Maxi too much mind. Then I got a little older, and had a whole moment of wait he's kinda cute

So I devoted myself to learning how to play him. It's been years since then, and I'm not quite as young as I was then either. I thought he was just some silly childhood crush, but hey, it never went away. If anything, it just got worse and worse the older I got.

I grew up with Maxi, and even if he hasn't always been my guy and I spent a long time in denial of him being a real f/o, he's always been there with me. He's the childhood crush that never stopped growing.

Now that I've been shipping with Maxi for a while, he feels like a pillar of support for me to always be able to lean on. He's something very familiar and safe just since I know him so well. He's the f/o I always find my way back to no matter what. Kyohei may be my husband, Aqua may be my wife, but there's no words that can describe that connection I have with him. He's been a constant throughout my life, all the ups and downs.

Little Ash thought he was hot, nowadays Ash does too LMAO

But I also think I've grown more respect for him in recent years. His life hasn't been easy, but he kept going. He made things up with Ash after their relationship fell apart, he worked hard to better himself, and now he's back. His story isn't a happy one and he's never been a good man, but he's always tried. I love that.

[missingn000]

i just finally got around to reading your immaculate spy x family fic (which i was saving reading for when i could get maximum enjoyment from it) and then got caught up on the latest phantom guardian chapter (we love tonal whiplash <3) aND BOTH WERE GREAT AS USUAL

loid teaching yor to slow dance in their living room before confessing his love to her? yeah yeah, that’s cool, just gonna fundamentally shift what i consider the epitome of romance, it’s all good. also also also, your descriptive writing???? i wanna eat it, im absorbing it into my bloodstream (affectionate). also all of your writing for their kiss was just, so fantastic. my asexual ass has never been so invested in a kiss before lmao. (also the scene of anya crying and loid trying to comfort her but ultimately failing because she knows his true intentions was fucking gut wrenching in the best way omg my heart)

and then y’know. the phantom guardian. delightful and agonizing as always. the shoko/nanami and yuki/toji content? immaculate, showstopping, 11/10. toji and gojo being sent to tengen’s place? screaming, dying, panicking (but also their father and son dynamic ;-; they fambly). THINKING OF RIKO WHEN SEEING MAKI AND THEN CALLING SUGURU????? agony, panic, morbid curiosity. suguru and mahito? dead, dying, throwing up. LAWYER MAN???? fascinated, hooked, oh god he has airpods in he doesn’t know he’s about to get roped into insanity. all this to say another stunning, and very on brand chapter to add to this masterwork of a fanfic. also i love your writing so damn much it lives rent free in my head and rattles around like a maraca <3 thank you for blessing us with your writing and i hope you’re doing alright and have a lovely day!!

HI YOU ARE SO KIND I'M GOING TO MELT 😭❤️️ i'm so pleased you liked my sxf fic!! i was really proud of how that one turned out...writing for a series for the first time is always tough and it's so encouraging to hear you liked all those moments between loid, anya, and yor. also, i TOTALLY get what you mean, my ace ass is over here cheering these two on for the kiss of their life. kiss scenes are so hard to write, dude. what comes to me way more naturally is people beating each other up /lh

regarding tpg, yup we're back at it with the tonal whiplash xD (i say as if there isn't some form of tonal whiplash in like every chapter...in 32, too). YES THE LAWYERMAN IS HERE! i cracked up at "oh god he has airpods in he doesn’t know he’s about to get roped into insanity." he truly has no idea what he's in for, this poor guy.

seriously, this message made my day. thank you for this lovely ask, and i hope YOU are having a great day too!!

[naomana]

i'm back with another one: just learnt that in just for relaxation vincenzo tells tommy about norman, "our guys on the force say there's a new detective come in - name of norman. untouchable, they think - not taking green from anyone. but everyone's got their price, even if it's the price of a bullet." now i love this because i'm pretty sure vinnie's use of the word green there, refers to the slang of calling someone 'inexperienced' so norman was as uptight as ever and i love him for it.

but also this reminded me of a thought i've been having for a wee while now, where, honestly norman must be a pretty good detective. IGNORING the fact it took him three years to figure out who killed morello (and even that was by pure chance, only because norman was such a suck up, word got round about him). but like really, have i got it all wrong, can you give any ole detective in your ranks the task of figuring out who killed a mob boss? i personally feel like you couldn't, that's a job you'd hand down to one of your most experienced and trusted detectives. like norman's really prideful, morello's case must've driven him a little bit insane because he wants to keep his good name. i feel like he would be really proud of himself for making it this far, being given a job like this. but also referring back to how i said norman must be a pretty good detective - norman is also really stupid too, like seriously, some stupid, low life mobster or something like that called him inexperienced and now look norman all the mobsters know about you dumbass. honestly how did he not die as soon as they saw how bitchy he was? or did everyone just think he wouldn't be a threat because of how bitchy he was? and because they thought he was inexperienced. backtrack, how did they know norman was a detective? did he do an awful job keeping himself inconspicuous? was he being spied on? did salieri ever know about him if vinnie and co knew about him? and if salieri did know about him either before or after the ratting did he put a hit on him in 1951 as well?

im sorry i hope you like novels im going insane

I think in this case, the way he said it, he meant Norman is someone you can't bribe

Green=money, even "Everyone has a price, even if it's a price of bullet".. basically everyone can be bribed, with either money or death.. becasue..ya know..dead people don't tend to go against you lol

But yeah, Norman is 100% inexperienced and uptight ass when he comes to LH..like..he has experience in police force ofc, but has no idea how things work at LH

You're right in Norman being good at what he does, I mean within a reason. You'd give such an important job to someone who's not gonna completely blow it or get bribed in middle of it

And when it comes to Vinnie knowing about him, Norman is such a prideful prick I can imagine him getting one of Salieri's (and Morello's) guys arrested just so he could "Send message through them to their bosses" that there's new cop in town and he means business

Or second option, both are super realistic btw, Salieri and Morello had their people in police force ( well we know Morello did have some cops under his thumb) and the information of new cop that couldn't be bought was what the two of them wamted to know, so they could take different approach

[tex-treasures]

Hello tex! Im here to reply to your answer to my ask!.

I would love to pursuit voice acting as a carreer! Its something I have a BLAST doing, I already inscribed in my university to study animation but once im done im defenetly going to inscribe into acting classes (plus my own at home training/practicing. Theres surely some tutorials I can watch).

As for comicon I had a blast too! I got a bunch of prints, a lot of em f/o related! I just deleted the pics I had, and im too lazy to take New ones but trust me when I tell u they are amazing (I got a v for vendetta poster. Which was the first thing I got as soon as I got there. I saw it and I was like the glowing eyes meme) I stayed hydrated and the venue had AC I saw incredible cosplayers and IT WAS SO FUN. Im planning on going to Next years as well (they are held twice a year, with the second one being on may)

And!!! I look forward to seeing that Jim art compilation you told me about. Wishing you two the best during and after the wedding!.

Have a nice day!!!

--Jerico☀️

In continuation to our lovely chat found here

I want to start off by saying just how in awe i am of you, Jerico; I think it's increíble that you know what you want to do, or at least have very strong feelings about what you'd like to do for a career- I just... Yeah. I really admire that and want to be more like you in that regard- I appreciate the example you set. Please know I believe in you! If it makes you happy to get up each day, know it's my hope that it works out for you✨🧡

I'm so zazzed to know you had fun at the con and relieved to know you stayed safe and healthy!! It can be super easy to forget to take care of yourself when you're at a huge, busy event (I say, as someone who's definitely not taken care of myself at a con before/LH), please know I'm so proud of you!! That's wonderful they hold a con so soon in May, here's to hoping you have a fantastic time then too and make lots of new friends :D!!!

I appreciate your support very much amigx, thank you so much ;---;!!! I hope you have a wonderful day too and of course, thank you for reaching out it was lovely to hear from you✨🧡!!!!!!

[seelestia]

i knew you'd have my back 😭 <3 no i totally understand i don't think i can ever get mad at zhongli either-

mutual respect for sure, and yeah i can see him being slightly annoyed but also at the same time slightly amused by the yashiro commissioner's..... more eccentric tendencies. lol

beauty is pain a lot of the times lsdjfklsjdlfkjsdf i am reminded of why i only occasionally use make up whenever i'm out today. sun was out and as soon as i stepped out from the flat i just. gushed sweat all over my face ;;;;;

cyno if you're proud of me come home now in 10 pulls pls n thank u- sounds like a good plan! tbh i would probably skip childe for ayato too if he does get a rerun... but for me it's just bc i like his playstyle better lol oh lia you are simping so hard and i love to see it- /lh

i feel like xiao would be secretly smug about it. first to be triple crowned and first to be fully built... he's basically carrying my whole team and i am so attached to him (+ zhongli ofc) lsdkjflsjdf

lmao yes his weekly boss voicelines and cutscene is burned permanently into my brain atp. the poor child is getting beat up every week.... gosh, raiden lskdjflksjdf that one boss is such a pain indeed ;w;

"we get to see alhaitham a lot" 👀 ohoho yesss that is good news 💗 LMAO that's adorable now i'm imagining you glaring at this tall muscular man with your hands on your hips and a scowl on your face like "aight buddy listen well, i only tolerate you bc my cousin loves you but i swear to the archons if you do anything sus i will- uh- hm- bite your hand!" (camera pans out to see ayato chuckling fondly as he watches you berate al haitham)

new voiceline unlocked: "osmanthus tea tastes the same as i remember.... yet i can only wish i have someone to share it with."

we'd probably talk about how our day went before zhongli launches into his storytelling mode, something about an olden tale lost in time.... and i'll be just sipping my tea as i stare at him dreamily like a lovesick fool (which i am), trying to not drift off from his calming voice- (spoiler: i probably failed)

and now i am curious of how ayalia spends their time in the rare occasion that ayato isn't swamped with work :D please enlighten me <3

zhongli fanarts you say 🤔 i would very much enjoy fine arts yes 🧐

trueee, i think zhongli has gained quite the skills when it comes to handling eccentric people (looks at childe and hu tao). rin jie, you're his last thread of sanity, do not let him down (but i think he'd find your enthusiasm less annoying than the others soft spot).

sweat (derogatory), my worst enemy. i hate sweating sm like it even has a place for itself on my carrd <//3 sweating itself is a torture on its own, but that on top of wearing makeup... noooo 🚶 this is why places with a chill breeze >>> everything. i'd love to go the highlands again 😭 wbu, rin jie?? will you ever go on another vacay some time in the future, maybe?? i hope you could because you deffo deserve it <3 except the jetlag, we hate jetlags here jfjekskdk

HELFPSJDK cyno, please come home to rin jie, you have 5 more days to do that 🙏 if you do get him, i give you all my luck because you'd be experiencing the scarabs horror stories first-hand (/j) but honestly tho! cyno's playstyle is kinda fun with the extendable elemental burst >:) tapping on the visual cues reminds me of rhythm games but less stressful LOLLL vv fun, hehe!

xiao being secretly smug and he doesn't even realize he is 😭 but with the knowledge that the lord he is indebted to is in the same team, the vigilant yaksha will stay beyond humble. his powers can never compare to rex lapis', xiao would state this very, very adamantly and zhongli is just shaking his head with an amused smile.

NOOO, YOU PREDICTED ME. there was one instance where i did say something along those lines out loud to alhaitham on the screen 🚶 instead, it was "i am not taking my eyes off this suspicious ass man. not even to blink." as i proceeded to blink LOLLL ayato would definitely get a kick out of my attempts to jab at alhaitham <//3 but that scribe isn't a man who is easily affected by such things, so he'd either roll his eyes at me or even pointedly ignore me 🤨 a great one to study, not much to interact with. (/lh)

I CAN SEE IT <3 it's a shame you fell asleep, that look of adoration on zhongli's face as he gazed at you would've melted even the coldest of hearts. the tales can wait another time, he'd rather cherish this precious moment first. (cue me cheering in the background somewhere)

you're not wrong about the rarity of those occasions — so much so that i stifle a laugh every time i look at the sheer hidden relief on his face after his work is finished; but if i do, he'd pinch my nose and call me a sadist, hehe. as for how we'd spend time when he is not swamped with work, relaxing walks are a default routine! walking side by side, my hand on the crook of his elbow, just casually chatting <3 maybe we'd take a few adorable dogs along with us too?? hehe. on the contrary, even when ayato does have work, i think i'd join in to chirp in my thoughts?? politics may not be my forté, but i like sharing my views with him and how we just bounce ideas off of each other like a friendly debate >:)

yes, zhongli fanarts are so beautiful and for what. (/lh) also, there is a 50% chance you've seen this fanart before but behold, this masterpiece by the artist that we know and love! hehehe <3