#it definitely makes mike feel secure too because he has someone to take care of and know that he can make everything alright for davy

[monkee-mobile]

Do you think Davybaby ever regressed before meeting/joining the Monkees? Either in England or after moving to America

And if so how do you think he dealt with it?

I feel like he did but to a different level. he probably never really OFFICIALLY regressed and was really of seen as a little one during it until he came to the states, but when he was particularly stressed out while still in england he’d often go into a kind of weak state if his defenses were really down, he just didn’t process it through really regressing like he would later on. in england, he’d try his absolute hardest not to have that happen. he’d just feel really small and vulnerable and had no one there to protect him or help him through it except his sisters, but they didn’t jump right to babying him, they’d more just help him through the panic attack part of it all. usually he’d just lock himself in his room if he couldn’t brave through it and curl in on himself and sob until he fell asleep (poor thing). he’d often start sucking his thumb, but he just took that as a “weak” behavior that was just coming back from his childhood. He’d also often go pretty nonverbal for a while afterwards but he’d push through it all and move on (which definitely wasn’t the best for him, but it got him through that time. poor little guy didn’t face his own emotions at all). this kind of shutdown didn’t happen all that often cause davy worked hard to build a tough shell and braved it through all the way to when he moved to america and got out of the pressures of his family.

the move really did break him down because suddenly he was alone in a strange country so when the boys first met him he was definitely flighty and not the suave kind of guy he got to be once he became more comfortable, but they were all new to each other so davy didn’t really have a chance to feel super safe to just let himself feel things so he kept up the hard exterior he had built at first. but of course the monkees became very comfortable with each other and basically climb all over each other at all moments so davy started going “feral toddler mode” a lot where he would just go all silly and giggly and playful, so his comfort came through in a relatively childlike way, but he didn’t panic regress until a while after the guys were a group.

but eventually it happens and davy breaks down really hard at some point. it’s the boys who really start babying him when it happens. in the past he didn’t have anyone to really take care of him but things kind of clicked when he was held and talked to softly and he just sunk into the love that was given to him and it helped him process everything anew.

[charlottecutepie]

₊˚⊹ᰔ Deal (Mathew Lillard!William Afton x fem!reader)

tags: public sex, m receiving, praise, riding, unprotected sex, threatening??

my notes: not really sure about this one, I might delete it later, idk yet :,) also eng isn’t my first language

“Hello? Mr. "I can't work nights?” Steve's hoarse voice asks, a beaming smile on his face as he talks to his potential victim.

It's always that fucking phone with wires. He'll never get off it. Most, if not all, questions are resolved through this damn phone.

Every time you enter this office, you see Raglan chatting sweetly on the phone, talking about jobs, vacancies, answering customer questions. And then his dark eyes rest on you, briefly studying your face before settling on your body. It's unpleasant feeling, as if you're exposed in front of him like meat on a plate when he already has a fork and a knife in his hands. There Steve lets out a laugh, takes the phone away from his ear and whispers softly to you: "you know what to do, honey." Embarrassment merges with arousal, which you can’t calm down in any way.

It always happens, it has already become a little tradition that at first you hated and denied. You were sick of yourself. But what happened? What made you like it? You started asking for more, you started coming to this damn office yourself, staring at the floor, obediently waiting for the cherished words.

"Yes, it absolutely is. Why? Have you had a change of heart?" Raglan asks with undisguised interest, clarifying Mike's intentions. He didn't even expect him to call back. This is just pure luck, Mike himself fell into his hands, so it's even better.

Every day, the same office, the same time, the same desk, the same Steve Raglan.

You're praying that sloppy sounds of you taking Steve's cock in your mouth don't reach Mike on the other end of the line, you're already ashamed enough. You try to be careful not to get his pants and floor dirty, but Steve doesn't care. His hand rests on your hair, stroking you like a little pet, an obedient pet.

Of course, you'll be obedient. You have made a deal after all.

"Let me give you a little backstory." he lowers his gaze to take a good look at you and spreads his legs wider. His cock penetrates deeper, he presses on your head, which causes an unpleasant feeling of tickling in your throat. You look at him, fluttering your eyelashes quickly as a sign that you're short of air. Fingers dig into his pants, crumpling the fabric. Steve raises his eyebrows, faking surprise, oh, what a pity. He's too rude, and you're too gentle, how cute. "Breathe through your nose or you forgotten you have one?" Steve lowered his voice.

"Can you repeat it again? I didn't hear you." Schmidt clarifies on the phone. You stop moving your head, afraid that Mike will hear something.

Steve sighs and adjusts his glasses, looking away from you. He starts explaining something again and you almost calm down, but he jerks his hips, allowing his dick to fully penetrate your throat, which makes you moan softly.

"This place was huge in the 80s with the kids." he smirks. Fortunately, Mike cannot see the face of his career counselor right now, because it’s definitely distorted by sarcasm and mockery. "This place been shut down for years. The only reason they haven’t given it the old wrecking ball treatment is the owners a bit of a… well, he’s kind of a sentimental guy, I guess. Just can’t bring himself to let it go yet." he chuckles. "Yeah…"

Steve's cock throbs in your mouth as you try to inhale through your nose. It's too much, you're slowly suffocating as now the whole situation is controlled by Raglan's hand, which is holding you by the hair. It hurts so bad, but then why you feel the warmth between your legs?

"Had some trouble with break-ins over the years. Drunks and vagrants, mostly. Not ideal…" it's surprising the way he do it, so calmly talking to someone on the phone while roughly fucking your throat. Although at times his tone is interrupted by quiet sighs. "Security systems dated, but fully functional. Floodlights on the outside, cameras inside and outside. Fair warning: the electricity is a bit… iffy." he’s all shining with joy while telling Mike about the pizzeria.

When you pull on his pants, tears come to your eyes and your throat hurts unbearably, Steve removes his hand from your hair. You release his shaft from your mouth with a popping sound that sounds very loud in such silence. Raglan smiles, looking at you contentedly, your chin is covered with saliva, cum on your lips, youre so beautiful, sweet. You’re lucky he's in a good mood today.

"Anything happens, there is a breaker in the main office, just flip it." he continues, but now looking at you, which makes it feel like he’s having a conversation with you. You exhale, wrapping your hand around his cock, moving up and down, he slowly pumps into your fist. His hand caresses your cheek, finger runs over your lips, smearing his cum, and it makes you smile a little. There's nothing to smile about, though. But you can't hold back the slight feeling of euphoria from such a gentle Steve, feeling yourself… Special? His touch is tender and his gaze has softened, he smiles while you continue to work with your hand. "Uhm, I guess that’s about it. You know, the rest is pretty easy. Just keep your eyes on the monitors and keep people out. Piece of cake." you lean closer, tucking your hair behind ear and running your tongue over his leaking tip. "Fuck, baby." he exhales, slightly squeezing the receiver of the old phone.

"Mr. Raglan?" Mike's puzzled voice. Your heart skipped a beat, like Schmidt's, but not Steve’s. Mike frowned, holding the phone closer to his ear. Did he hear correctly or….? From the very beginning of the conversation, he suspected something was wrong. Yeah, Steve's really weird.

Your innocent lick on his cock brought man to an instant orgasm. He was already on the verge from face fucking you, but the feeling of your tongue on his sensitive tip brought him to the limit. Putting the phone away a little further, he covered his cock with his hand until the spurts of cum laid on your face. He let out a barely heard groan, his glasses fogged up.

"I said it’s a piece of cake." Steve repeats, clearly not interested in continuing dialogue with Mike. "So, I'll catch you on the flip side… hopefully." not waiting for an answer, he hangs up.

What a good day, what an easy prey, how fortunate.

He’s in such a wonderful mood, light idea of rewarding you appears in his head. Why not?

"Come here, baby," he points to his knees with his finger, and you get up like a zombie, immediately pressing your legs together because of the uncomfortable feeling of soaked panties. Of course you're wet, this isn't the first time you are. But this will be the first time your problem will be taken care of. "you've been such a good girl, why don't I return the favor?"

Steve spreads your legs and sits you on his knee, hands holding you in place when you try move. It's not that you don't like it, you're actually losing your mind, but you feel too awkward knowing that you're in a public place. And the fact that he can feel your throbbing pussy against his knee doesn’t make situation better.

"What would you like, honey? My tongue or fingers?" he looks up at you, moving you so that your wet underwear rubs against the fabric of his pants. Your clit is stimulated, but in the most painful and torturous way, causing shallow sighs. You put both hands on his shoulders and squeeze his shirt as you throw head back.

"Please…" you're almost crying. "please, your… oh…" one more move and you'll cum. "cock, your cock, Steve, please!"

"Hush," he squeezes your thigh. "you know our little rule, don't you? Or should i remind you?"

"William," you're correcting your mistake. "William." He grunts with satisfaction.

"That's it." Afton's hands wander over your body, caressing you in right places. "Tell me honestly, you’re going to scream?" at first you don't even understand what he's asking.

He kisses your neck, continuing to slowly bounce you up and down on his knee. Thanks to you, a dark wet spot already appeared on his pants. His beard tickles your skin and his tongue leaves a wet trail on it.

"Yeah," you come to your senses, finally understanding what he meant.

William breaks into a smile. Of course, you'll scream, not just scream, but break your voice and cry, he knows that. His cock is hardening again. Afton loosens his tie, leaving it hanging around his neck. He'll definitely find a good use for it, already did. He makes you get off his lap and you look down, blushing. God, you couldn't be that wet?.. It's humiliating, so embarrassing.

William pulls your panties down to your ankles, and you step over them, remaining only in a skirt and shirt. You don't know what to do. This is the first time something as it happens, you've never gone far than just a blowjob. He pulls off your skirt as well, causing it to fall along with your underwear. He pushes the clothes aside with his foot, then sits you on top of him again. William’s eyes don’t leave yours, his hand reaches down, you feel a finger at your wet entrance.

Your lips part to let out a loud moan and William steals it with a kiss. You can't make any noise. He pushes his hips up, pressing the head of his cock against your pussy. He mumbles something into your mouth, holds you tightly in one position, you’re unable to move. His tongue roughly explores your mouth. William feels your breath on him and smiles. Then his hands grope your butt and he pushes you down, slowly lowering you onto his cock.

He moans in unison with you, but quietly, working hours aren’t over yet. However, you can't hold back the loud whimpering, feeling full. It doesn't seem very pleasant at first. Afton closes his eyes, thrusting fully.

"Be quiet." another warning. "You're taking my cock so well," he praises. "don't try to pull away," his hands go up to your back. "you have no right to do that, you know that." a careful but extremely unnecessary reminder. At least, definitely not at the moment when you're having sex with him, you don't want to think about a deal. About consequences if you’ll break it.

Every touch gives you a pleasant tingling sensation and you start to enjoy it more with every second. You move on top of him, trying to find the right angle, pressing your chest against his. You don't want to look at his face, into his eyes, because even through the glasses you can see that he's devouring you with his eyes. It's embarrassing. But it gets worse when he runs his tongue over your nipple through your shirt, leaving a wet spot on your clothes. William lightly bites the sensitive skin, while squeezing your other nipple with his fingers, a hiss leaves your lips. It hurts, but it turns you on even more. His chest heaves, he tries to restrain himself from jerking his hips up and ruin your cunt the way you deserve. Your warm walls squeeze his cock too tightly as you tremble from too much attention to your nipples.

"Now move up and down," William points out. "and don't forget about hips."

He knows you've never tried this pose. Of course, he knows everything about you. He likes to be closer to his prey.

Your fingers on his shoulders tighten, you begin to move according to his words. You don't forget about your hips, as he demanded. And then something pleasant begins to spread through the body. An enveloping feeling that radiates to every nerve. His cock feels much different than it did a few minutes ago. Everything inside is burning and throbbing, your body needs more. You want to move faster, you can barely contain your moans. William puts his shoulder up, which is what you're using to shut yourself. You mumble, unable to make a sound, whine, but you continue to bounce on him.

"Good girl," his words break you. "such a tight pussy." your teeth are digging into him painfully, soaking the man's shirt with saliva.

Afton starts moving with you, now holding you tightly. It's like you're nothing more than a rag doll in his hands. Your body becomes so weak and sluggish, eyes roll back in bliss. His cock goes in and out of your pussy with an incredibly perverted sound that echoes throughout the office. Drops of sweat run down his forehead and down your back, but it feels like lava that burns to the bone.

"I-… I feel so good…" your speaking so slurred, because it's hard to talk with his clothes in your mouth, but you're so pleased that you can't control yourself. "William!"

You can't help but moan in surprise when he gets up from his chair, holding your ass, his cock still inside. It even hurts. William lays you on his desk, takes off his glasses and puts them next to a sign with his fake name on it. You dare to look at his face. He's just as horny as you are. Without glasses, he looks a little different, grey strands stuck to his sweaty forehead, hair slightly messy.

William puts his tie in your mouth, you almost choke. Afton leans down, brushes his lips against your collarbone, so sensually. In response, you wiggle your hips, trying to get him to move. William is grinning at you, at your pleading eyes. He begins to hammer in your pussy. You cry out as loud as you can, but fortunately, the tie shuts you up, leaving only indistinct "please." His hands squeeze your ass until it bruise as he thrusts into you.

William stretches you out just fine, thrusting into your cunt fast, which makes it seem like desk under you is about to break. You're afraid of accidentally hitting his glasses, you don't want unnecessary sounds. William is so damn tensed up, you realize that in all this time he has never broken eye contact with you. His cock reaches deeper when you just thought it was impossible and tears flow from your eyes. William smears two fingers with his saliva and lays them to your clit, your pussy clench around him. His fingers move sweetly and slowly, pressing on your bundle of nerves that it drives you crazy. Your legs are wobbly, blood is boiling.

"Do you want me to cum inside you, baby?" the question isnt scary at all, because your brain doesn't work. Your red, tear-stained face responds him. You just nod frantically, trying to say yes, but tie doesn't let. William smiles, runs the pad of his thumb over your clit. "Your cunt clenching around me like that, begging me to fill you up. Damn perfect."

He leans closer to your face. Poor thing, he wants to end your sweet torments, to give you what you crave. Clenching your tie between your teeth, you arch and cry, unconsciously moving your pelvis towards him. William's legs bend slightly as his thrusts become more chaotic. He keeps fucking into you, groaning softly. William wants to say so much dirty things to you, but he can't. He can't be loud, he can't be heard, no need to ruin his reputation. Let others continue to think that he's a good father, an amazing career counselor, an ideal person who helps others. And you… and you're just his little assistant, who brings coffee to his office. Let everyone think so.

Warm liquid filling you, and at first you don't even realize what it is as you cum. His fingers caress your clit with gentle circle movements while you try to bring your legs together, but eventually wrap them around him, only driving him deeper into yourself. William is unable to hold back heavy sighs, still continuing to thrust, until he sees that his cum is already flowing out of you down to the floor. Your tired eyes and his tie in your mouth, all covered with your saliva, cause him an evil smile. This day couldn't be better, today everything is going too well.

"You did so well, Y/n," he breathes with relief, running his fingers over your face and taking the tie out of your mouth. "you extended your little sister's life by one more day. By the way, tell her hi from mr. Raglan."

[beedlemania]

Davy age regressor headcanons:

Mike reads to him. It starts with Davy just reading along with him while he’s nuzzled up to Mike then progresses to Davy being ‘too sleepy’ or ‘not at the right angle’ to read it himself so Mike reads it out to him. It goes from newspapers to books and then eventually to kids books. Mike buys them for Davy (cheap at a charity shop or gets them free from neighbours). Davy makes fun of him at first because Mike is sitting there, calm as ever, reading Goldilocks and Mike endures it because 1) he doesn’t really care when the guys make fun of him and 2) everyone but Davy knows its for Davy. Eventually Davy lets Mike read it out to him and Davy sits and enjoys the pictures and colours and he doesn’t understand why he gets so soft whenever Mike reads to him.

Micky plays with and teases him. Micky is definitely the older brother type and loves to pick on Davy (affectionately). He’ll always be down to play ball or whatever else when Davy wants to but not without having his own fun. (Like in Monkees at the Movies where they’re playing piggy(monkee?) in the middle). Eventually Micky picks up that Davy’s getting upset at being teased and will treat him nice and let him win (without him knowing of course) and Davy’s back to being happy again.

He gets time out. Mike sometimes has to put all the guys in time out but mostly Davy. Davy refuses to listen to him, sometimes because he’s being stubborn and sometimes to purposefully be annoying. He’ll rile Mike up, finding it hilarious, until Mike puts him on the naughty step or in the corner. Davy puts up a fight but eventually sits in time out and sulks. When his time is up he’ll go to Peter (the only one who voted against his time out) and cuddle him while pouting.

He doesn’t know. Davy hasn’t a clue what age regression is and would deny it in a heartbeat. He’s never consciously aware he’s regressing (mostly because it’s more of a constant state for him). The guys don’t realise either until Davy goes from pouty baby to mister sauve when he starts talking to a girl or other adult and they’re like ‘who is this kid?’. If someone even suggests something he does it childish he’ll throw a tantrum (not helping) about it and demand they take it back.

He sometimes goes mute. Sometimes he’ll regress just a bit farther than usual (anniversaries of his mother death or the day he left England) and will go mute. He communicates mostly by making sounds and the guys have all learnt how to decipher his whines and take care of him. He’s also set up a blinking method; one slow blink = yes, two blinks = no. This also comes in handy in average day to day shenanigans and the guys all start using it too.

He’s a cuddler. No matter what any of the guys are doing, Davy’s clinging to them or holding their hands. He just likes to feel close to them (and being carried everywhere is also nice). It’s not uncommon for Davy to crawl into one of their beds in he middle of the night with his security blanket and conk out. One time Micky scoured the entire Pad for him frantically just to find him sitting under the table hugging Peters leg.

He owns a bunch of dolls (action figures excuse me) that he hides under his bed and plays with

[seraphtrevs]

i know that this is extremely random, but what do you think the brba/bcs character's love languages would be? imo lalo's love language would be acts of service maybe? idk. i would love to hear your thoughts! you always have such great insights

I actually remember doing this during the Long Hiatus!

Kim's is definitely acts of service. She is angry at Jimmy for switching Chuck's documents...but she's also clearly moved by his gesture. She would have broken up with him otherwise, but it just brings them closer. When they are on a break following the fallout from the commercial, Jimmy calls every day to sing to her answering machine. She's not ready to talk to him yet, but it's important to her that he makes a tangible effort at apologizing and demonstrates his willingness to be patient in a way that makes her laugh. He paints her toenails. He gets the Kettlemans backs for her. He is always doing stuff to show her how much he cares

Jimmy's is definitely words of affirmation. He desperately wants his brother to tell him he's proud of him. He wants people to express amazement at his cleverness. Unfortunately, this is something Kim has a hard time with. She will acts-of-service him all day long, but putting things into words is very difficult for her. This is part of the reason why Jimmy is so less secure in their relationship than Kim is - he's always asking for her to reassure him ("this guy? really?") but she struggles with giving that to him. That's why the office becomes such a huge deal to Jimmy because to him, sharing the office is like her saying "I'm proud to be seen with Jimmy McGill, whom I love"

Chuck values quality time. His whole EHS is an elaborate way to get Jimmy to spend time with him. After the death of his parents and his divorce (and probably the death of Hamlin Sr too), he feels very abandoned. However, he can't ask Jimmy to spend time with him because that would be too vulnerable and humiliating. So his brain made up a way for him to get what he needs from Jimmy without having to say that he loves him - it's just because of the dang EHS, not that he really wants Jimmy there every day

Howard's is acts of service. You can tell because he's constantly trying to do things for other people - he agrees to take the blame for shutting Jimmy out of HHM. He offers Jimmy a job to make up for it later. He pays off Kim's debt. He makes Cheryl a peace latte. It's so important to him for people to accept these acts because he's showing his love and care, but he sadly gets rejected a lot because he misreads which acts of service would be welcome and which are not helpful. No one does acts of service for him. Poor Howie. :(

Nacho wants gifts. In the end, he rejected the ill-gotten gains from the cartel...but I think he never stopped being a material girl at heart. He loves jewelry and nice clothes and expensive cars. Tragically he has to go out and take it for himself, but I think he would react really well to being showered with gifts. Maybe if Lalo put a ring on it, things would have turned out differently.

Lalo values acts of service. Nacho wins him over when he parkours to rescue the drugs from the trap house - the drugs themselves weren't worth a lot, but Nacho's willingness to put himself in danger to impress Lalo works really well on him. Nacho burning down Gus's restaurant really sealed the deal.

Mike definitely needs quality time. Yes, he's working to get money to support Kaylee...but actually, he's getting the money to support Kaylee to make sure that Stacey will still want him around. He doesn't feel worthy of spending quality time with either of them unless he's being a provider, which is very sad because Stacey and Kaylee enjoy time with him no matter what, but he can't see that

Gus also prizes quality time. He visits David for the pleasure of listening to him talk, enjoying basking in the presence of someone who can take the pressure off of him and let him be swept away by the dulcet sounds of neurodivergent infodumping.

[dudeshusband]

now that it's pretty late and less people are on here:

as we all know (if you've been here a minute), i prefer the 1971 adaptation of charlie and the chocolate factory to the 2005 one.

there are so many reasons for this i could write an essay. today, I'd like to focus on the characters themselves.

starting with charlie bucket, there isn't anything wrong with freddie highmore's portrayal. however, peter ostrum plays a charlie that connects better with the audience. he tends to make the audience want him to find a golden ticket, to win the prize. he comes off as a sweet kid who cares deeply for his family. he just wants something good to happen for himself and his family. i also think he and jack albertson (grandpa joe) do a grandfather-grandson in a very fun and believe way.

willy wonka: roald dahl wanted a brit for wonka. neither adaptation has that. I've never felt it was that big of a deal.

gene wilder's wonka is unnerving. however, he does it in a way that makes you question it, that makes the other characters question it. he seems outwardly to be fairly normal, if a bit eccentric. when he's really weird, it's a bit of a surprise. i will say, he's definitely a bit too sweet at the end perhaps.

depp's wonka is just weird. it's a wonder everyone didn't leave the minute they saw him. he talks like someone you should avoid like the plague. he doesn't lure anyone into a false sense of security at all. he might as well have a sign. also, his voice is uncomfortable to listen to and the dentist dad subplot is both really strange and really absurd. also, i think that there being a debate on whether charlie could take his family with him is equally strange and absurd. he's a kid. hello???

grandpa joe: i feel jack albertson does him better if only because he seems more grandfatherly to me. also, he does well with ostrum's charlie. 2005's grandpa joe is a bit forgettable. also, "I've got a golden ticket" is a lovely song and it has a slightly goofy but enjoyable scene to accompany it.

veruca salt: again, there's nothing wrong with 2005 here, as far as i can remember. however, i appreciate 1971 because while veruca is definitely bratty, she's somewhat good at faking a "sweet little girl" persona, which is highlighted in "i want it now." she loses her cool (because she is a kid) but is pretty quickly able to regain it. it explains why the salts act the way they do with her, in addition to being too spineless to discipline her. fave thing about 2005 though, the way that girl says "squirrel." I'll never forget that.

mr. salt: wh. why is 2005's like that? i don't like him. 1971's salt is at least a bit funny. "what business are you in, salt?" "nuts" is iconic. i only mentioned this parent because this one bugs me.

violet beauregarde: both are perfectly fine. i kinda dig 2005's peak 00s tracksuit. i will say, i think 1971's blueberry is better. it's more of a blueberry and less of a gigantic blue orange like 2005's. also i like practical effects.

augustus gloop: this character is a mess in general. however, i have some bones to pick with 2005 here. firstly, the fake red hair is ghastly. secondly, how come 1971 could get a real fat german kid and you couldn't? thirdly, what in the fuck is that intro scene? where are the gloops living? why does it look rat invested? jesus. i feel like he's more offensive. honestly 2005 is more offensive point blank.

mike teavee: so. this one's up to personal preference. both are good at what was being aimed for.

1971's mike is actually somewhat likable imo. he's not horrible. he's just a bit rambunctious and watches too much tv. he's very much a typical 11 year old boy. he should heed his mother but also, it's completely understandable that he'd see this cool contraption that could send people by television and want to use it. he's 11.

2005's is a very video game loving, destined to live and die in his mother's basement, calls you slurs on xbox live, little cunt. i would punt him into the sun. his vice isn't just that he watches to much tv, he's also a bigot and I'm upset because i had to hear the r slur while relooking these characters up. you know, this is the only 2000s media i ever heard that slur in. congrats burton, you've made a character that deserves the taffy puller.

oompa loompas: these characters are bad from the get go and I'm not the right person to speak on the race portion of it. the book is racist. whether this was better adapted by the 1971 one or 2005 one, if either, i have no right to say. as far as i can tell, 2005 leans more into the white savior narrative than 1971. feel free to weigh in on this portion if you'd like.

however, i think that it was better to have more than one person play the oompa loompas. 2005's one guy copypasted looks incredibly odd and takes away from the quality of the songs. it also takes away from the diversity that the 1971 oompa loompas have in height and body type and facial features. also, having more real people will always look better than editing one guy to be multiple guys.

[dodger-chan]

📕 (stranger things pls ❤️)

Stranger Things, really? Well, I do have one steddie idea that I know I'll never be able to write because it's mostly unconnected bits across seasons 1-3 and requires too much expository background. It's very Steve focused, and includes quite a bit of Carol and Tommy H and basically nothing of Nancy and Jonathan. Cut for length.

It's biggest divergence from canon initially is that Steve and Carol are actually best friends, similar to what Steve and Robin end up being to each other. They've known each other their whole lives and lean on each other to deal with their respective horrific home lives (if the monsters are metaphors for the horrors of small town/suburban life, the Harrington, Perkins, and Hagan families are the horrors). So while Steve was very ready to call out his friends' behavior to their faces, he defends them to Nancy and flat out refuses to stop hanging out with them. Thus Steve and Nancy break up pretty shortly after they fight a monster together. Otherwise, season one is the same as canon.

Eddie comes into the story a bit after the end of season one. He witnesses Carol dumping a can of coke on Nancy, leaving her hair and shirt soaked and sticky, and Steve giving Nancy his gym shirt. He is mildly intrigued. That afternoon in detention (which Steve has for not having a change for gym and Eddie has for being Eddie) he asks Steve why he gave Nancy his shirt, assuming some lingering romantic feelings. Steve admits that actually, the happiest he's felt in a while was watching Carol bully Nancy but he's trying to be a better person than that. Which sucks, because giving her the shirt made him feel worse. Eddie is even more intrigued; Steve is acting against his alignment, which just does not happen.

In the season two timeline, Billy and Tommy still become friends, based largely on the fact that Tommy's dad is just a richer, more established version of Billy's, but since Tommy and Steve are still friends this makes Billy and Steve's relationship a little different. Billy still sees Steve as someone he needs to challenge to secure his own status, but he can't just bully him. Lunches at school have a lot of actual hostility pretending to be friendly hostility.

Their first actual fight happens in the school parking lot when Billy tries to drag Max into his car because he doesn't want her hanging out with Lucas. Billy wins the fight handily, but Max and Lucas get away. Tommy and Carol go off with Billy. Eddie, who was watching the fight (along with a sizable amount of the school), helps Steve clean up. Steve finds this deeply unsettling, as no one ever takes care of him.

Carol lets Steve know that Billy's main concern is that his dad will kill him and Max if he finds out Max is dating a black boy (Max for doing it, Billy for letting her, and probably also Lucas for existing, but Billy doesn't care what happens to Lucas). After some discussion, Steve gives Max an extra key to his house so they have a private place to meet up. It turns out that having Carol and Steve say it explicitly is all it takes for Max to understand that her and Lucas being seen together is likely to get them killed or seriously injured (she's seen what her stepdad does to Billy and doesn't think her mother would be able to protect her). So instead of Dustin, the first party member Steve gets to know is Lucas. Though since Max is also friendly with the whole party, Dustin, Will, and Mike also end up hanging out at Steve's house. Steve gets involved in the hunt for D'art because Dustin comes by looking for Lucas and Max to help him.

Other important bits:

Carol calling Steve "Whore" whenever it's just the two of them. She means it affectionately. Mostly.

Tommy and Carol getting caught up in the monster stuff at some point in the season two timeline. They take to it about as well as Steve did. It does not make either of them better people.

A series of casual hookups between Eddie and Steve that are definitely not a relationship. Because Eddie doesn't date. And Steve dates girls. So they are definitely not dating each other. Really. (The one thing Carol likes about Robin is that she is no longer the only person who wants to smack Steve until he understands what is going on between him and Eddie)

Robin and Carol having to work out shared Steve custody.

Carol adopting Max, because the two of them understand expressing love via insults.

Tommy and Carol getting engaged (and eventually married) even though they both know Tommy is gay.

Most of the monster fighting goes down the same way, though Tommy and Carol give them two extra fighters to work with. Eddie is not introduced to the Upside Down until season four.

[pricemarshfield]

don’t go

A post-canon/canon divergence Climbing Class fic. Read on AO3 here. Does not name the monsters from UD.

The thing is, Chris never believed in ghosts.

Past tense, because though Ouija boards are definitely still bullshit, flesh-eating nightmares who are his friends from beyond made his internal perspective change, a little. Less focused on Ashley (now happily dating Sam, who'd have thunk), less focused on cleverness, less focused on everything other than survival.

The problem with that is, survival is way, way less of a concern everywhere else.

No matter how much Mike asks, Chris won't go to the gym, won't go running with Sam. Instead, he goes to the gun range and shoots, practices with a dozen different guns until he can hit a target from as far as they'll let him try. Someone asks him if he wants to go hunting, and he says, "No, thanks. I don't have the stomach for it." With a practiced, self-deprecating grin and a little anecdote about getting sick in health class after watching Supersize Me (but hey, he'll still eat fast food!), they just laugh, clap his shoulder, and say, "Well, maybe next time."

Chris knows now how to hunt. He won't go because he doesn't want to go back to the mountain, but if something happens, if Jess ends up going on her expedition to find Emily's remains like she keeps talking about, if any circumstance happens that'll force him back out of his safety, he'll be ready. He has a dozen books on how to skin and prepare wild game, has a YouTube watch history that he probably shares with a future serial killer, is slowly working his way through quizzes on edible plants in the area he can forage.

Two weeks after the mountain, his friends all found it normal. Six months after the mountain, he worries he's the only one still caught up in it.

Sam's still going out in wilderness semi-regularly, albeit with so many protein bars in her bag that she could feed a small army. Mike throws himself into whatever the hell project he's involved with. (Chris and Ashley make a point of not asking about it, just to see his face turn red.) Jess rock climbs now, but however it started, now she just seems to be having fun, and Chris doesn't want to ruin the mood by asking why she's doing it. Ashley writes, poems and prose and articles, jumping on their fifteen minutes of fame to get a foot in the door of publishing.

Josh doesn't do much of anything.

They'd found him next to the bodies of Matt and Emily and Jack Fiddler, emaciated and staring at the bodies with a hunger that had caused all of this. (Chris assumes. He wasn't there, wouldn't have been there even if he'd known he would have found Josh okay. He wasn't brave before, let alone now.)

His parents won't let him keep a handgun in the house, so he moves.

Finding an apartment is hard. Nothing to do with the publicity or lack of options or even money; he just is picky. It needs good WiFi, because he's still Chris Hartley. It needs a room without windows, easily defensible and big enough to be able to stockpile food. It needs walls that aren't painted a sickly green color that he jokes is scarier than the idea of going back.

justgidding: Terrible joke!

justgidding: Even if it wasn't in bad taste, it's just not funny.

sn0wflakequ33n: I thought it was funny Chris

gogogadget: thank you jess

screamking: Oh bro is that that place on Hilda St?

screamking: I looked at that place when I was trying to find a place

screamking: Definitely the worst

ladykiller: why did you move out, rich boy? don't you have like six bedrooms in your old place?

sn0wflakequ33n: don't be a dick, mike

smartcookie: Eh

smartcookie: Not the most dickish thing one of us has done this year

justgidding: Okay guys, let's not bring this up over TEXT!!

sn0wflakequ33n: why do you hate the internet sam

smartcookie: I always forget how much of a Luddite you are, babe

ladykiller: i don't know what that means

gogogadget: i feel like we've gotten farther from the point

gogogadget: which is how ugly these walls are

So, yeah. Apartment hunting. Would it be weird to ask Josh what place he found? He needs to move if he's gonna get a gun, and while he knows logically it's not going to help and that he's not in danger, he's pretty sure just having it around would be great for his peace of mind.

Also in the case of monster attack, but at this point, preparedness for monster attacks and his peace of mind are pretty much one and the same. Not only correlational but causal relationship.

gogogadget: josh dyou mind sending me the address?

screamking: Why, you coming over?

gogogadget: trying to find a place

gogogadget: or are you still looking?

screamking: Nah, here

screamking has sent you their location!

---

Chris is sure that the place Josh's sent him will be too expensive, because Chris is comfortable, but Josh is. Well. His family owned a mountain (past tense). But as it turns out, if he moves in now in February rent is cheaper for as long as he lives here. It's still a lot, but it's at the very upper range of his budget rather than completely out of it.

They don't allow pets, but they do allow (legal) guns, and Chris signs the lease right after seeing the place. The property manager seems thrilled, but Chris doesn't really care why; he's just glad to have a place.

Sam and Ashley are the only two friends available to help him move, though Ashley mostly just picks through his books. Chris doesn't have a ton of stuff, and the only really heavy things are the one box of books and his PC. It takes one trip in just the one car and then he's in his apartment, alone.

Unpacking takes the better part of a couple days, but that's mostly just building furniture and setting up his food stores. The place doesn't quite feel like his, but he's alright with that. It feels safe, and that means a lot more.

His neighbor keeps thudding against the wall, though, and at 2am, when it wakes Chris up, he bangs back in annoyance.

"Sorry," his neighbor calls.

"...Josh?" Chris responds.

"Oh, what?" Josh says, and then Chris' phone lights up.

gogogadget: dude what the fuck

screamking: My bad, dude

screamking: Won't happen again

gogogadget: look as long as it's not ghosts i'm okay lol

screamking: I've got some bad news for you

gogogadget: JOSH WE TALKED ABOUT PRANKS

He can hear Josh laughing from across the wall, and Chris texts back a bunch of middle finger emojis.

screamking: If the ghosts do scare you, consider this an open invitation to come over

gogogadget: there are BETTER WAYS to invite me over dude

gogogadget: game nights

gogogadget: weed

gogogadget: just a straight up booty call

Chris doesn't really realize what he's said until after he's sent it, and then he briefly considers skipping out on his lease so he can go lie down outside and wait to die.

screamking: So if I were to do one of those now

screamking: You'd come over?

gogogadget: if you have someone over and that's what the banging's about i'll literally never talk to you again

gogogadget: just so you know

screamking: Nah it's just a tennis ball

screamking: Helps with anxiety

screamking: Dude?

screamking: If this isn't your thing we can still be friends, man

screamking: That better be you knocking on the door

---

justgidding: Chris, wake up!!!

justgidding: You said you'd go to the farmer's market today

justgidding: I WILL break this door down I don't care about your security deposit.

justgidding: Ashley says you're not answering your phone

justgidding: Josh is, though :)

justgidding: I'm texting the group chat

gogogadget: groupchat is one word

justgidding: Get dressed now we're going to the farmer's market!

gogogadget's phone can no longer recieve messages! This could be due to a loss of WiFi or the phone being turned off.

justgidding: Bitch?

gogogadget's phone can no longer recieve messages! This could be due to a loss of WiFi or the phone being turned off.

[ciggylungz]

Worship me- chapter.2

Worship me- Chapter 2

Warnings: abusive family, arranged marriage, talk of sexual abuse/ child marriage, talk about religion and other triggering themes. (lots of angst as well)

Word count: 2.6k

Last chapter recap: Her fingers gripped her phone tightly as she typed in his number, writing him a text

‘Harry, it’s Y/n are you awake?”

His response was quick, maybe 30 seconds after she’d sent hers

‘yea, what’s up? You alright? Feeling better?’

A fresh wave of tears were building in her eyes, shaky fingers typing out her next message

‘no, Harry please help me. I’m scared please.’

The word that best describes Harrys current state is : panic.

As soon as he read her response his heart started to race, hands itching to clench into fists and his stomach felt like it’s been punched by Mike Tyson. He didn’t understand why he felt this surge of emotion, he’s not used to experiencing empathy or concern for people other than himself. He was a cold, confident and described as a ‘tough guy’ so he really didn’t know how to handle the way he was feeling right now, especially over his classmate. Harry was the type of guy who fucks and dumps a girl, he didn’t really care much but with y/n for some reason it was different and he didn’t know if he likes it or not.

‘what? What’s wrong Y/n?’

He was gnawing on his lip waiting for her reply, his forehead breaking out into a cold sweat from the stress when she took over three minutes to reply.

‘my parents hurt me Harry, please help me’

Immediately he was on his feet, marching towards his mothers room since she took his car keys at night, trying to prevent him from sneaking out at least on school nights. He didn’t care it was midnight, someone asked him for help and he was going to try his fucking hardest to do so.

“Mum! Mum please open the door! I need my keys it’s an emergency” Harry felt a bit guilty about pounding on his sleeping mothers door at such a late hour, but he has to focus on something else right now. When a sleepy confused Anne cracked her door open, squinting at the hall lights he took his chance to barge in, “Harry, what are you doing? What happened baby?” the boy plucked his car keys from the little bowl on her dresser turning back to his confused mum. “I’m sorry, I’ll explain later but my friend needs help. It’s Y/n, you know the girl I did a project with? The sweet one? She needs help. I love ya’ mum I’ll be safe I swear.” As soon as he entered the room, he left slipping his shoes on as he slipped out the door to rush to his car, fumbling with his phone to send another text to her.

‘I’m on my way, what’s the plan? Are your parents asleep?’

He cursed to himself when his nervous hands dropped his keys under his seat while on their way to be shoved into the ignition. His ringtone sounding deafening to his ringing ears.

‘They are still awake. This was a bad idea, I’m sorry for bothering you. I shouldn’t of overreacted.’

Y/n was shaking, her parents had come knocking on her door just as Harry texted her about his whereabouts and she immediately knew she wouldn’t be getting out of there and she was stuck doing damage control through a text while trying to stuff her phone under her mattress so her parents didn’t break down her door. She somehow managed to do it all in 10 seconds, swinging her door open to reveal her mother. Y/n shivered from the look her mother was giving her. She knew what was going to happen and she wanted to vomit from it. Her parents would force her to do ‘purity checks’ whenever they thought she was disobeying god. It was a humiliating experience, painful and it made her feel sick every time. she felt stripped of all security and privacy when her mother did a gynecologist type exam on the young girl to make sure her hymen is still intact justifying it saying, ‘when you disrespect god, we have to make sure you aren’t doing it from lack of purity’ ‘no husband will want a dirty girl’ ‘it makes god happy’, but it didn’t make Y/n happy. It made her scared, it felt wrong but she knew she didn’t have a choice and she was royally fucked if Harry was still on his way there.

Her tongue was numb from how hard she had bitten down on it, silent tears puddling at the side of her face while her mother did her ‘check’ on her daughter. Y/n was mortified, felt entirely violated and was trying to resist the urge to vomit. Y/n has started to disassociate during stressful times like this. She forced her mind to go else ware so she wouldn’t completely break down. If she let her mind convince her she was on the beach, wrapped in a warm towel with the sunsetting it made the reality less loud to her.

Her lucid state vanished as her mother removed herself from between her legs, noting she was still ‘pure’ and ‘valuable for trade’. The dehumanizing way of speaking, truly and deeply made Y/n feel like nothing more than an object. A possession that’s meant to be bought and sold, rather then the young woman she was growing to be. Feeling worthless was something she was becoming accustomed too even when it made her feel like maybe, life wasn’t worth living anymore. She didn’t like feeling like this.

The tears didn’t seem to stop while she walked into her bathroom, dipping her head down to take a sip of water from the faucet to try to soothe her pounding head.

When she was sure everyone else was asleep, she felt grabbed her phone from under her mattress finding loads of messages from Harry.

‘what? Love, you’re scaring me what’s going on?’

‘I’m coming anyway, I don’t care.’

‘I’m outside, whenever you see this let me know because I’m not leaving I’m parked by the end of the block.’

‘Y/n please, please answer me. you’re not okay I know it’

y/n was conflicted. She felt trapped, her way out was so close yet felt so fucking far. She didn’t know what to do, her head felt like it was going to explode.

‘sorry, my mum came in and did a purity check. Had to hide my phone. I’m sorry I scared you I shouldn’t have said anything. You can go home I’m sorry Harry.’

Harry lifted his forehead off his steering wheel when he heard his phone go off, a frown etched deep on his face while he read it. What the fuck is a purity check? Why is she defending her parents? Why is she apologizing for asking for help? It didn’t sit right with him, not one bit. Harry had met y/n’s father once at a school event and he didn’t like the vibe he gave off in the slightest. He reminded him of how the handsy priests looked at the young girls at school, her father had cold eyes was basically emotionless and spoke about Y/n like she was a dog or an object. It made his skin crawl then, and now more than ever his alarm bells were going off. Harry was good at reading people and energy they gave off. He was associated with drug dealers, and other not so savory characters and he had a good reader on for when they were sketchy, or untrustworthy and her father definitely gave that vibe.

‘no, y/n I’ll break into your house if I have to. You either come with me willingly or I come in and get you. I’m not leaving without you.’

His response woke Y/n up a bit. She was reminded why she asked for help earlier, the feelings coming back completely. And so, she listened. When she heard the soft snores start to grow louder coming from her parents’ room, she started quietly gathering up a small bag with her phone, a charger, her school bag and a toothbrush. She was still dressed in her school uniform from earlier, she never had a chance to change. Her knuckles were swollen, bruised and aching while she zipped the bag tiptoeing down the steps and fleeing through the door in only her tight clad feet dashing towards Harry’s car.

 Harry jumped when he heard the sudden knocking on her car window, seeing Y/n he immediately unlocked the door breathing a sigh of relief when she hopped in the car. He felt better knowing she was with him now, she was safe for the time being, and as soon as he looked at her, she burst into tears. Big fat tears coming from her pretty eyes, rushing down her cheeks as choked sobs rattled through her throat. He felt a foreign pang in his chest seeing the usual sunny girl breaking down in front of him. “Here, hey c’mere.” He spoke softly to her, his hands moving to bring her over into his lap using his free one to pull a lever so the seat slides back to give them enough space for her to be held securely in the older boys embrace. “it’s okay, everything’s gonna be alright. You’re safe, I’m not going to hurt you. Not gonna let them hurt you either. Breathe Y/n breathe, god you’re shaking like a leaf darling.” He kept his tone level and soft while he spoke to her, stroking her back and hair trying to calm her down enough so he can drive them somewhere safer.

Y/n sat herself up a bit to wipe her eyes, only then did Harry see the damage on her poor hands. It looked horrible, how someone’s knuckles look after punching a concreate wall. He gently took her hands in his, looking over the injury sucking in a pained breath “Christ love, what did they do to you? Does it hurt? can you bend them?” she nodded and showed him how she could still ball her fists even with the bad pain, which showed him they weren’t broken.

“C-can we le-leave please? Y-you can drop m-me at the school and I’ll c-camp out there till we have class. I don’t have anywhere e-else to. I c-can go back home if yo-you want me to-“ she was rambling, she felt like a burden. Y/n really didn’t know where to go from here, where did she even have to go? Her sisters were hours away with their husbands, she didn’t have any friends and there was no where to go. “No no, you can come to my house. Not letting you sleep outside that shithole. Can come to my house, promise I won’t hurt ya’”

At this point she was too tired to fight, too upset to refuse so she simply nodded and let him place her back in her seat and make the drive towards his home.

“Here, drink some water. Do you want to change hon?” Harry had Y/n sit on the couch as they got into his home, handing her a bottle of water before sitting on the coffee table in front of her. “No, I don’t have any clothes. I’ll just keep this on since we have school in a few hours. I’ll just have to wait to get home before I can change.” Y/n wasn’t really understanding the situation at hand, she didn’t see the turmoil around her like Harry did. “No no, we’re taking the day off school and you’re not going back home till I know what the hell is going on there. you can wear some of my clothes. They’ll be big on you but it’s better than our shitty uniform.” He insisted, holding her chin to make her look at him. “Harry those are bad words, shouldn’t say that.” Her reply was soft, reminding him she still was y/n sweet and innocent. But right now, he needed to be the mature and brutally honest person for her because she was clueless.

With some gentle convincing Y/n finally agreed to change. He gave her privacy while she changed into the baggy sweat pants and hoodie that seemed to swallow her since they were so large. Harry thinks she’s never looked smaller, more fragile, or cuter. But right now wasn’t for crushes or cuteness, this was a time to take care of the girl. “Comfortable? Good, here finish the water and eat a few of these crackers. Can sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch yea?”

She did as she was told, sipping the water till it was gone and munching on the saltines while she sat on his bed laying down when she was finished.

Harry took a blanket and pillow downstairs and started to situate himself on the couch, getting himself comfortable before a soft padding on the steps caught his attention and there was Y/n standing with misty eyes holding one of his blankets in her hand. “What’s wrong love?” “Scared…scared to be alone I’m sorry…c-can you stay with me please? Or i-I can sleep on the floor while you sleep on the couch so I’m not alone?” Harry took a few moments to think her words over, his mind slow from his tiredness but Y/n in her fragile state took this as a dismissal and so she nodded to herself and sniffled, “It’s okay, sorry for asking…sleep well Harry.” Before he could respond she had rushed back up the steps and into his room. She felt embarrassed, small and vulnerable. Her mind screaming, she was ‘stupid’ for even asking him that, she was convinced he only pitied her and that’s why she’s here. She couldn’t fathom the idea of anyone actually wanting her around or caring about how she feels. While in her current mental state with the loud thoughts banging on the inside of her skull, she started putting her things back in her bag, planning to leave so he could sleep without being bothered by her.

“What are you doing?” Harry’s voice seemed 10 times louder as he stood against his doorframe, rubbing his tired eyes while watching Y/n scramble to collect her belongings. Her movements halted instantly, nerves making her feel sick yet again. “W-was just gonna go home. I’m sorry I shouldn’t of come here, you did so much for me I just have to change and I’ll be gone, I’m sorry.” Her speech was frantic, fumbling her words a bit as she tried to rush it out. “What? Is this because of what you asked? Love I’m sleepy took me a minute to form coherent words. Relax put the bag down, lay down I’ll stay with you.”

When she didn’t react he took it upon himself to remove the bag from her shaky bruised hands, gently placing it on his desk and guiding her to lay in his bed moving in next to her before flipping the lights off.

“Harry?” her voice was mouse like, but he still heard it. “yea love?” his hand searched for hers in the dark, “Thank you for helping me…means a lot…i-I’m afraid Harry...” once he grabbed her hand he remembered it was injured, opting to wrap his arm around her shoulders instead. “Scared of what Y/n?” there was a few beats of silence before she timidly answered, “My parents…and God”

Harry took a deep breath before responding, “Well, you don’t need to be scared of God. You’ve done nothing wrong. Your parents are going to be punished by him, not you. And for your parents…can you please tell me what is going on?”

“what do you want to know?”

[mourntheantagonist]

Steve and Billy going camping with Max n the Party and all Billy wants to do is get in a tent with Steve

Hey I’m here thirty years later!

I had a lot of fun with this one so I hope this is kind of in the realm of what you wanted!!!

read on ao3

How a gaggle of fourteen year olds managed to convince Steve to take them all on a weekend camping trip was beyond him. Okay maybe it wasn’t. All it took was El’s signature pout and Steve was as good as gone. The real shocker however, is how they managed to convince Billy Hargrove of all people to tag along as well.

He’d heard from Max that their relationship had been slowly improving ever since that night at the Byers, and he’d have to agree with Max that Billy had truly become less hostile as the months passed. But this was the first time he’s ever seen Billy acting so brotherly.

Steve had driven the male party members out into the woods, while Billy, Max, and El had driven separately. The three were late, of course. But Steve’s not quite sure he can exactly pin that on Billy. El is definitely poor when it comes to punctuality. 

They couldn’t actually set up shop until the others arrived, seeing as they were supposed to select the chosen spot together. But as he watched the seconds tick by on his watch he grew more and more impatient he was close to saying fuck it and making it a boys only trip. That was until, seemingly on cue, the familiar roar of the Camaro echoed through the trees.

Watching Billy step out from the driver's seat was the first reminder that he hadn’t actually seen Billy in a while. Because so much had changed. His hair was less disheveled and chaotic as he remembered. But way curlier. It was slightly lighter too. The arrival of summer brought out the natural highlights in his hair. But it wasn’t just his appearance that had changed. Instead of exiting the car with the slam of his foot, the flick of a cigarette, and a predatory look… he was laughing. Laughing along with El and Max about something entirely unknown, and when asked, wasn’t revealed.

If Steve hadn’t let himself grow increasingly annoyed over the past fifteen minutes he stood there waiting, he might’ve cared to know. But the sun was beating down, he’d had to listen to Mike and Dustin argue about some Star Trek nonsense for the duration of the drive along with the time spent waiting, and he was starving. 

“You’re late.” Steve said dryly.

“That’s my fault,” Billy replied with some residual laughter from whatever was so funny. “I forgot to counter in Hopper’s 20 minute ‘protect my kid’ speech when I went to pick up El.”

“Well I’m starving. So let’s find a spot, and let’s find it quickly.” Steve probably should’ve tried at least a little to tone down his irritation.

“Someone’s in a mood.” Max says under her breath, causing El to break out into another fit of giggles.

The gang decided not to test their luck against a hungry Steve Harrington. Especially not one wielding a baseball bat coated in rusty nails. So they piled all their camping supplies onto their backs and hauled ass through the woods.

After only ten minutes of searching, they stumbled across a nice clearing just 50 feet off the lake with a picnic table and fire pit already set up for them. Perfect.

The guys started by setting up their tents, while El and Max worked on gathering twigs for the fire. Dustin has meticulously established the sleeping arrangements. Five small tents. Eleven with Max, Dustin with Will, Lucas with Mike, and Billy and Steve alone in their own separate tents. It’s the perfect set up so long as Lucas doesn’t bring up any conversation regarding Empire Strikes Back being anything lower than number one out of the entire trilogy. Because then there would be chaos.

But when is Mike not the problem?

After getting set up, they finally got to break out some delicious ham and swiss sandwiches (courtesy of Claudia Henderson), and Steve was finally entering into a better mood.

He couldn’t entirely credit the sandwich however, because something about this new and improved Billy warmed something inside of him. He was less abrasive and more relaxed. He wasn’t trying to prove anything to anyone and instead was allowing himself to have a good time. Teasing his sister rather than tormenting her. Tossing knowing looks towards Lucas rather than threatening ones. Okay scratch that. They were definitely threatening. But more playful. The typical older brother spiel. The ‘you hurt her, I’ll rip your throat out through your ears’ kind of thing. And he was actually trying to make conversation with him. Only slightly poking fun at him every now and then. Not for the purposes of taunting, instead just his typical charm showing through.

“So what you been up to this summer? Haven’t seen you since graduation.”

“I’ve been working at Scoops Ahoy in the new mall. Not much else really.”

Billy took another bite of his sandwich and nodded. “I recently got hired on at the pool. Teaching lessons and life guarding. Saving up for when I go out to college in the fall.” He didn’t swallow the bite before speaking. New and improved Billy didn’t have table manners he guesses.

“Oh really? Where you headed to?”

“Full ride at USC.” Billy let out a hollow laugh. “Dad’s pissed I’m not enlisting.”

Steve picked up on the way Billy’s smile faltered at the mention of his Dad. He’d remembered Max mentioning once or twice about how her step-father was an asshole. For fucks sake Billy got a full ride to a prestigious university and his Dad is upset about that? He couldn’t even get into Tech. 

“I think it’s awesome.” Steve finally said. “I didn’t get accepted anywhere so I’m probably going to end up going to work for my Dad at his company.”

Apparently Steve let his disappointment show in the last statement. 

“Shit that sucks man. Dads are shit.”

Steve lets his mouth twitch upward into a smile. He looks back down at his almost finished sandwich and lets out a slight chuckle.

“Yeah. Dads are shit.”

- : -

After they all finished up their late lunches, the kids decided to move the party away from the table and into the lake. They walked along the lake shore for maybe a quarter of a mile before finding an abandoned rope swing attached to a tree directly next to deep waters. Steve and Billy both notice as Max gets this fire in her eye and neither adult bothers stopping her before pushing an unexpecting Lucas into the water. The whole group bursts into laughter as he makes the splash, well everyone except of course for Lucas.

But quickly the rest of them joined him in the water. All of them swinging in by the rope. Surprisingly the most timid out of all of them was Steve himself, who in a moment of desperation had to have Billy give him a push. 

Billy followed him in with a much larger splash than he had previously achieved. But it wasn’t a competition or anything.

Billy emerged from the water like a fucking mermaid. Graceful. His hair was completely saturated in water yet his curls still managed to pack a punch. He glistened under the rays of the sun and with the reflection of the water beneath him. Steve felt chills up and down his entire body as he watched him float away on his back. Watching as his chiseled chest rose and fell with every breath and the light from the sun reflected off of the water droplets on his sun kissed skin. He would just excuse it for the cool temperature of lake water.

But it wasn’t that cold to be completely honest. It’s June. One of the hottest months of the year and the weather is peaking at nearly 100 degrees. The water feels perfect in actuality. 

Steve swims around for a bit with the boys, plays a couple rounds of Marco Polo, and then excuses himself to lie out on the shore. He watches as they all have a blast. Lucas and Max are basically trying to drown Mike. Will and Dustin are competing to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest. Will has been cheating the entire time and Dustin has absolutely no clue. Billy and El are off in the corner. He’s picking her up and tossing her into the water. They both appear to be having a really good time. Billy is surprisingly really good with El. He’s actually pretty good with all of the kids all things considered. Something must’ve happened when he wasn’t looking because he seemed to be the only one to bat an eye at the mentioning that Billy Hargrove would be joining them on the trip. 

Steve inspected the time and decided to give the kids their 15 minute warning. Sun set was inching closer and they still had other preparations. He watched as Max swam over to where El and Billy were and after watching them exchange a couple sentences, Billy swam away and towards where Steve sat on the shore. 

Billy pushed himself out of the water and dried himself off with a towel. He wrung out his hair and secured the wet mess of curls up with a purple scrunchie. He threw his sweatshirt on, zipper remaining undone showing off his exposed chest, and he plopped down next to Steve. 

Oh boy. Steve hopes Billy didn’t notice the fact that he was staring at him that entire time.

“So what’s the plan for the rest of tonight Stevie?”

Steve feigned annoyance at the nickname (though it secretly made him embarrassingly giddy). “Well we’re going to roast some hot dogs and make some s’mores and hang around the fire before bed.”

“Sounds like a plan Harrington.”

An uncomfortable silence grows from there. The two of them sitting side by side looking out at the lake in front of them. Nothing but the sounds of splashing water and giggling teenagers. Billy is picking at the grass. Thinking. Steve might say he even looks nervous.

“I’m sorry about last November.” Billy doesn’t look up from where it’s pointing towards the overgrown blades of dead grass. 

It’s not the snarky and forced apology he was expecting. To be completely honest he never did expect one. Seven months had passed since it happened and not a single word from Billy. He just left him alone like his sister demanded.

“I’ve wanted to apologize before. But I wasn’t in a great place and didn’t want to screw it up. I probably already did by taking so long.” He took a deep breath and finally looked up. Eyes focused on the lake and avoiding Steve’s gaze. “I needed to make sure I was apologizing for the right reasons. Not just to get my sister off my back or to somehow make myself feel better about what I did to your face. I needed to apologize so that you knew that I was sorry. And I needed to be okay with you not forgiving me for it. So that’s why I’m saying it now.”

 Billy finally looks over at Steve who has been staring at Billy with wide eyes. It’s weird, because when Steve thinks about it, he kind of forgave him a long time ago. Because yeah, what Billy did was shitty, but not completely unfounded. He’s been underneath someone like that, barreling into him without care, more than once. It would have been easy to say Billy and his interaction was nothing like what he had with Jonathan Byers. Billy was actually a bad guy. 

But that’s the thing. He really wasn’t. Not after everything happened. 

He wasn’t outwardly kind. But he didn’t start shit. He minded his own business and moved through high school the same way everyone else did. And after hearing Max and Dustin and El vouch for him to come on this trip, well that sort of just sealed the deal. He forgave him before he even apologized.

But here he was. Apologizing. And for some reason Steve was rethinking ever forgiving him. It made no sense. But somehow actually knowing and believing Billy was actually sorry made forgiveness harder. Like in his mind it was easier because Billy didn’t get to know that he was forgiven. He was scared by telling Billy that he would be justifying what he did. 

So Steve doesn’t respond. And he can tell that Billy’s upset about it. It’s only been ten minutes but he decides to call the kids out of the water anyway.

- : -

The sun was setting and everyone had gathered around the campfire to roast marshmallows. Things had been ever so tense between Steve and Billy ever since their conversation at the lake. No one else seemed to notice though. 

It was easy to distract himself from Billy’s saddened state by watching as Dustin set his marshmallow on fire. Every time without fail. Max wasn’t roasting hers, just eating the marshmallows straight out of the bag because she doesn’t like graham crackers. Billy was intently making the most golden brown marshmallow for El because she didn’t know how to properly roast her own. It was really sweet. Billy seemed happy to do it but at the same time he had that lingering gloomy look on his face that would come in and out of existence.

Steve felt a little bad because he did that. Yeah, it’s the guy who nearly killed him, but he didn’t want to make him sad. 

He brightened up a little bit when the bickering began between Dustin and Mike. This was the reason they couldn’t share a tent. Max, El, and Billy moved into their own conversation out of earshot while Steve tried to calm down an overly enthusiastic Dustin.

When the argument ended Billy was looking to be in a much better mood than before. It was a little odd. They noticed the fire starting to dim so Max and El quickly excused themselves to go gather some more twigs from the forest. 

Billy was poking at the fire with a stick, trying to keep it alive (masking a developing smirk on his face).

“Hey Steve!!” Max’s voice echoes. “There’s a gaping hole in your tent!” 

El is stifling a laugh. Steve doesn’t seem to notice.

Steve rushes over to inspect the damage and yeah, it’s a gaping hole alright. His entire body could fit through it. How did he not notice it earlier?

“Goddamnit!” Steve curses the air.

“I’m sure Billy wouldn’t mind sharing!” El says, albeit, a little too excitedly.

Steve looks over to Billy who is still poking at the fire. “Yeah. I got room, I don’t mind.” 

And now Steve can’t just say no. He’d have to give a reason and well… he’s kind of strapped for an alternative so, Billy’s tent it is.

- : -

They stay by the campfire until the sun has completely set and the fire has gone out on its own. They broke out a couple of Beers and after several minutes of constant begging Steve caved and let the party have a small amount of beer each, poured into a red solo cup.

“This tastes like shit.” Dustin made a ridiculous face.

“Still better than New Coke.” Mike chimed in.

Billy helped Steve carry his things over to Billy’s tent. It was extremely awkward. Billy hadn’t really said a word to Steve the entire time and now they were supposed to sleep side by side in a pretty compact space? This should be fun.

An over dramatic yawn released by Max was their signal to head to sleep. The stars were clear above them and they had a pretty eventful day. Steve made sure everything was good while the rest of them piled into their own tents. Once he’s sure the food is secured and everyone is where they’re supposed to be, he sucks in a sharp breath and makes his way over to Billy in his tent.

Billy is already in his sleeping bag. He’s got a book in one hand and a flashlight in his other. Steve quickly discards his shoes and jeans and covers himself in his own sleeping bag. 

They’re both facing away from each other. It isn’t until Steve hears the click of the flashlight and the illumination in the tent disappears that he realizes neither of them have spoken. 

Steve has been thinking about the apology all night. He planned to just leave it be. Maybe thank him for apologizing but leave it at that. But seeing how much he’s changed and seeing how sincere he was being told him maybe Billy deserved to be forgiven. He also looked like he needed to be forgiven, despite what he said before at the lake. 

“I needed to apologize so that you knew that I was sorry. And I needed to be okay with you not forgiving me for it. So that’s why I’m saying it now.”

“I forgive you Billy.”

“Hmm?”

“I said I forgive you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it back at the lake.” Steve took in a deep breath and continued. “I wasn’t sure if it would be the right thing. But you’re clearly not the same person you were that night. I just didn’t really see it at first. I’m going to have to get used to this new and improved version of Billy Hargrove.”

Billy smiled to himself. 

“Thanks.”

Steve smiled too. 

The tent grew silent again after that. But it was slightly less tense than it was before.

“Can I say something stupid?” Billy asks.

Steve turns over to face Billy. He laughs. “Yeah. It’d be nice hearing it come from someone else for a change.”

Billy doesn’t turn to face Steve, but he can tell that he’s nervous because it’s quiet enough to hear his breathing quicken.

“I like you. Like… in that way. Sorry if that’s weird.”

Steve is quick to respond.

“Hey, it’s not weird. Don’t apologize for that.” He’s thinking a lot about Will. He and Dustin had talked about it before. How they’d be sure to make sure that Will knew it was okay whenever he chose to tell them. He doesn’t see why that should be any different for anyone else. Including Billy Hargrove.

But he guesses this is kind of different. It’s not just a confession of being into guys. It’s a confession of being into a specific guy. The specific guy in question being Steve.

It would also be pretty hypocritical of Steve to be weirded out. Not two hours ago he was fully objectifying Billy’s shirtless body. He might not like Billy. But dammit he was definitely attracted to him.

“If you’re uncomfortable I can hike back to the Camaro and sleep there. It’s not a problem.”

Billy had already begun unzipping the sleeping bag. Steve instinctively put a hand on Billy’s shoulder. 

“Hey. Billy it’s seriously alright. Look at me.”

Billy hesitated before rolling over. Their eyes met and due to the compact nature of their current sleeping arrangement, their faces lie mere inches away from each other. Steve had planned something to say, but he instantly forgot when he looked into Billy’s eyes. They weren’t the eyes belonging to an egregious asshole. They were the eyes belonging to a scared kid that maybe, given the time, Steve could grow to like. 

He could try blaming it on the beer. But Billy and himself both knew he didn’t even finish the one. But still, Steve inched closer and kissed him. It was soft and gentle. Steve moved a hand up to caress Billy’s cheek. Billy gently grabbed Steve’s wrist and deepened the kiss. 

Steve could feel Billy’s smile on his lips. 

He slithered his other hand underneath Billy and pulled him in closer. Their bodies were completely pressed against each other at every point, save for the thickness of not one but two sleeping bags separating skin from skin. 

Still they could feel each other’s heartbeats increase as their pace did the same. The kiss turned from gentle to one filled with need. 

Billy began working at the zipper of his sleeping bag with his other hand and was able to break free. He rolled Steve over onto his back and situated one leg on either side of Steve’s hips. Their lips didn’t come unattached. Steve moved both hands to the back of Billy’s head and he took fists full of hair and tugged gently, causing Billy to quietly moan into his mouth.

It was complete euphoria.

Billy was in just his boxers. Meanwhile Steve was still beneath the thick material of his sleeping bag. Billy unzipped it quickly for Steve and immediately tossed it off of him. Billy snaked a hand underneath Steve’s shirt. Moving up and down the full length of his chest. Appreciating his minimal chest hair. On the trip back down Billy’s hand palmed Steve’s crotch where he was quickly becoming hard from all of the friction. Steve let out a gasp as he made contact. 

“We can’t. The kids’ll hear us.”

“Then you’ll just have to be quiet pretty-boy.”

Billy waited for Steve to give indication that it was okay to continue. Steve laughed and pulled him back down to meet his lips. Billy hiked up his shirt and they shortly separated to pull it over his head. Billy moved back in to Steve’s neck and sucked harshly on several spots before peppering kisses all along the length of his torso until he reached his navel. Billy stuck his thumbs underneath the waistband of Steve’s briefs and slowly rolled them down.

Billy moves so that he’s in between Steve’s legs and lowers his head into his groin. Steve feels as the tension builds in the pit of his stomach from the delicate touch of Billy’s tongue. Even under the chill from the night air he’s warm all over.

“Feels so good Billy, Fuck!” He quickly puts a hand over his mouth when he realizes he said that a little too loudly.

Steve is just lying there, experiencing the utter bliss that is Billy Hargroves mouth wrapped around his cock making him feel every sensation all at once. 

“I’m close.” He whispers. God he really hopes the kids are asleep.

“Come for me pretty-boy.”

And boy does he. Just the way he said it was enough for Steve. He was a goner at the mere drop of the words ‘pretty boy’.

Billy wiped away at his mouth and crawled back up to lay down next to him. Steve immediately pulls him into another kiss. He’s not quite ready to come down from the high he was currently in. Billy’s mouth on his was a fucking drug. 

It’s weird to thank people after sex right?

Steve settles for something else when they finally part.

“It’s my turn.”

- : -

The two of them wake up in a single sleeping bag. Steve has his arms wrapped around Billy’s wasted and his head tucked into the crook of his neck. Steve is sweating because Billy’s is a goddamn space heater.

He can hear the rustling of the tents outside and quickly wakes up Billy so they can get out of their current suggestive position.

Billy in his sleepy state gives Steve a quick kiss on the lips. He’s quickly woken up by Dustin screaming at everyone to wake up from outside the tent. 

“We’ll talk about this later?” Steve says with a laugh.

Billy nods and gives him another quick kiss before getting up and tossing on a new pair of clothes. 

Once dressed they both exit the tent to see everyone making their way to the picnic table. 

They pull out several boxes of cereal and some milk from the cooler and begin eating their breakfast. Billy is sitting across from Steve, gently kicking at his feet. 

“Hey Steve what happened to your neck?” Dustin asks.

Steve’s eyes go wide and he quickly comes up with a cover.

“Oh uh, there were a lot of mosquitoes last night. Wouldn’t leave me alone.”

They all seem to accept the response and go back to their breakfasts.

Billy smirks at him from across the table and Steve stomps on his foot.

- : -

Max, Billy and El say their goodbyes and head off in the Camaro. 

Once the Engine is running and they’ve started driving away they all burst into laughter.

“I can’t believe you actually took a knife to Steve’s tent.”

“I can’t believe you actually fucked Steve!”

[hollyhomburg]

I'm fairly confused about this entire situation, honestly. I saw the original girl comment about whether or not she was entirely sure to feel comfortable on a page meant to do that exact thing. In my opinion (which is fairly confused atm), you were both in the wrong. Of course, you don't have to answer anything about your gender or whether or not you have certain body parts, I can definitely understand that! But the extra meanness was a bit uncalled for. They just didn't want to feel unsafe :/

Also, everyone deals with pain differently. Whether or not if it's something that seems a bit pushy or not. I feel for both sides of this weird miscommunication, I really do. I guess that's just my inner-understanding lol. So yeah, I feel for you! I know what it feels like to go through things that annoy you and cause disruption amongst your inner self, but my heart also goes out to the girl that was painted as a transphobe when all she wanted to do was feel was safe.

P.S, this was absolutely not coming from a place of anger! It is your choice whether to insult me or realize that people have different opinions; I will understand if either one is chosen! I wish you well, and if the girl is also reading this, I wish you well too and I really do hope that you get closure and understanding because I've also gone through something similar to what you have. It's so painful, but stay strong and you'll be able to say that you came out of it alive :)

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

First off, I want you to know that the anger in the response is not directed at you the asker of this question. but at the person from last night. second, I’m probably not going to respond to any more asks on this topic, because I'm tired. 

okay so let me put it this way for you. you would not under any circumstances pull down Anyone's pants to check their genitals in public. right? or demand that they pull down their pants for you and expose themselves in a public way just so that you can make sure they don’t have a penis. 

The fact of the matter is that someone else's genitals are none of yours nor anyone else's business. And asking about this is not only violating and transphobic but also inappropriate. (I shouldn’t have to clarify that this is transphobic at this point. before you want to argue that- do your research, google is free).

what you seem to misunderstand is that transphobia is an act of aggression. to be transphobic is to cause trauma, to trigger, to be violent. this person asking me about my genitals was an act of violence. and I responded like it was one- with meanness that was called for because I felt hurt. because what they said was hurtful. 

as someone who has never felt safe in my entire life, both because of abuse, rape, and my identity- that doesn't give me a right to threaten someone elces safety because my safety demands it. each and all traumas are valid, and just because they wanted to feel safe on my page doesn't give them a right to take away my safety. especially because this is my page and my safe space that I have created with hours of uncompensated work. So no- they don't have a right to take away my safety and security for their own.  

asking on anon is also a little sus, they didn’t reach out through dm- which is how all things of a personal nature should be. they knew there was a possibility I would take it wrong and didn’t want to be blocked from my page. they feel entitled to my work and entitled to my body in the same way. i wont apologize for trying to preserve this page, and I won’t apologize for acting for matching their level of meanness. 

when you have trauma there are so many things that are triggering for other people that aren’t triggering for you. The real world doesn't come with specific trigger warnings and you have to eventually come to that conclusion with trauma, you will be triggered for no reason at one point, and its a sad fact but it will happen. 

for example- one of my triggers is piano music. to this day I can’t watch my favorite idol play piano because it is too much of a trigger to me. 

But I would NEVER insinuate that min yoongi needed to stop playing piano music just because at one point in my life my stalker would blast piano music outside my bedroom window at 3 am to keep me from sleeping for weeks at a time. or because I was constantly sleep deprived growing up because he wouldn’t let me sleep- my triggers and my reality are irrelevant to min yoongi enjoying the thing he enjoys, just like that person’s trauma is irrelevant to my own. It would be mean and uncalled for me to demand he stops doing something he loves just because it's a trigger for me. People will exist outside of your trauma and that's okay.  

(tw; rape) I’ve been rapped by three men in my life. One was a frat boy in college who I woke up to telling me my hole was bleeding and wanted me to leave because I was getting it all over his sheets. another was a old man, it happened when I was so little that I barely remember it and honestly, all I remember is how much it hurt and how dirty his hands were, he had a lot of dirt under his nails and I remember thinking ‘i don't think that should go inside me’ as a fucking 5-year-old

And the third, was three years ago when an American gi rapped me in hongdae, South Korea, I met him at a bar called mikes cabin. I wasn’t a perfect victim, i’d just had a fight with my soulmate and I went out looking for trouble and I found it. but after I changed my mind he didn’t care, he shoved his dick in my ass without my consent. I bled all over his sheets too. choked on the blood coming out my nose after he slapped me. i remember he shoved his phone in my face to take pictures. somewhere out there there are pictures of me getting raped and I don’t even know where they are or how many people have seen them. 

I don't even know his name only that he had a rose tattoo over his heart. my deadnames middle name is rose. My mom calls me ‘rosebud’ or ‘rosie’ more than my dead name. is it a trigger for me? yes. it is. of course, it is. how could it not be?  

I’ve been raped. i know what they’ve gone through, I know where their pain comes from but my pain is valid too. my genitals could be a trigger to that anon, but defining them in a binary of woman and man is a trigger for me. I am a person and they are a person and both of our triggers are equally valid. but this is my place. this is my expression. 

so why did I act meanly? first off. they violated me by asking me invasive questions and demanded a response. and then secondly; when I asked them not to and told them no- they invalidated my consent and my trauma. then thirdly- they misgendered me- fully committing to being a transphobe. that's why I was mean- because they were mean first.  

this is the only time I’ll explain why I was justified. I hope they get closure too- but their closure isn’t going to come from violence against me or any other trans person. one day that person is probably going to meet a trans woman, and I hope they know better than to call them a boy just because they have a penis. trans people aren’t your punching bags for your trauma. 

trauma doesn't give you the excuse to be a transphobe, no matter what happened to you. you have to learn to treat others with dignity and respect no matter their gender identity or how they trigger you. Because people can’t control what parts of themselves are triggering to you. 

This is the last I’ll talk about this. I'm gonna delete all the other asks asking me about this. I’m not going to talk about it anymore. if you can’t understand why what they did was bad, get off my page. I don’t want you here. 

[marvel-download-tutorial]

How to Download Marvel comics for free!

I’ve been thinking about writing this for a while especially since we’re all stick inside but last week Marvel made the shitty decision to transition various print titles to digital only, meaning they’re directly taking revenue away from local shops rather than delay the titles, so since Marvel thinks digital comics is such a cool idea I’m gonna show you how to download as many as you’d like! (oh also this is for windows only, idk how to do it if you own a mac but also you’re rich anyways so who cares buy the comics richie)

I don’t want to take money away from the people that need it, not the actual companies of Marvel and DC fuck them they’re dying and they deserve it, but for my own rationalizing I want to take a minute to plug the Hero Initiative, basically what it is an organization that provides for comic creators that are having hard times, comics are a rough industry and you don’t get into it to get rich, I won’t go into it too much you can read for yourself but it’s been endorsed by Stan Lee, Justin Ponsor, Mike Grell, Skottie Young, Rags Morales, a lot of big names, so I’d ask if you do follow this guide and download some comics for free please consider donating to the Hero Initiative (they also sell autographed prints and you can commission some really famous artists)

anyways onto the good stuff! I’m going to be doing a fairly brief but easy to follow guide, there will be links at the bottom of the post so look for those, I’ll probably be making a few other posts with some more info so also check back for those if my blog is still here

What do I need?

You’re going to need 4 basic things if you want to do this as easily and safely as you can 

1) a good anti-virus

2) anonymous web browser (Tor)

4) a safe and reliable source for the comics

4) a torrent program to download the comics

Also optional: VPN

Anti-Virus 

it’s good to remember when torrenting that no one is your friend, everyone is out to trick you and no one cares, honestly you should also have a good anti-virus though, I’m not really gonna tell you which one you should have but Norton 360 is pretty good but say that in a room of CS majors is the quickest way to start a fist fight, honestly just google it, you’re gonna have to do some research, but really you’re good as long as you don’t go with Avast or Kaspersky, I’m going to go over typical tricks and traps later to ensure safety, this is just basic overall security thing

Anonymous Web Browser (Tor)

next we’re gonna download Tor (you can do this before getting a VPN, like I said either one is going to put you on a list but using one to cover you getting the other at least mitigates it lol) Tor is a great open source project that allows for basically complete anonymous web browsing, it’s a project dedicated to privacy and disruption of corporations ability to control every aspect of our lives, also a friend of mine bought K off silk road with it once in highschool, really not too much you need to know about it before using it, just download it, let it configure and you’re good, also use Duck Duck go that it comes with, don’t switch it to chrome or anything, Duck Duck go is anonymous search service which better lends to Tor’s protection

Where to get the torrents

Now this is really important because you can have everything else set up but without a safe reliable source none of this is gonna do any good, but this is the dangerous part, torrent sites are notorious traps (I bricked more than on family PC on limewire) and this is why I said earlier to remember these people are not your friends and are out to hurt you, don’t click banner ads, don’t believe pop ups, make sure your virus protection is on and it’s a very good idea to have an adblocker on, also look out for another post I’ll be making on what download buttons to trust for different popular torrent sites

when talking comics (and remember specifically only Marvel comics) there’s no other name out there than Nemesis43, he is a god and he’s going to be your new best friend, there are groups and sites out there that do comic scans that you have to pay to join or like apply to join, that shit’s dumb as hell and I’ve never used them once and I’ve got more comic than I can read in my lifetime, you don’t need em and you especially don’t need to give them money, donate to the Hero Initiative instead

Nemesis has moved around a bit in the past (if you remember the WWT debacle) right now the main site for him is ettv (there will be a link at the end of the post) sites a bit barren but he’s there, he also has a reddit he gives updates on very rarely, generally if he moves he adds where his new home is in a text doc in his recent uploads, I fully trust him and his uploads, he’s been doing this for years and I’d never have a second thought downloading from him, also because he uploads so much he’s often very highly rated and verified on whatever site he’s on

The second place I’d recommend is getcomic (again there will be a link at the end), now this is very important, never donate to them, they kinda suck, basically they’re plugged into a bunch of different scanner groups and just steal those scans and put them up and then ask for donations, basically they’re just an aggregate (Nem kinda is too but he doesn’t ask for donations and stuff), they usually use browser downloads which are a complete pain so I’d really recommend Nemesis over them but they do have TheComicGuy on torrent galaxy for larger files but that updates a lot less frequently then the main site, again I trust these guys (as long as you’re on the actual site) but don’t trust any banner ads or pop ups, also for downloading they give multiple options, a lot are very sketchy, just use the main server

also there’s other sites like readcomics or newcomics, never used em, don’t like em, use at your own behest 

On sites like ettv you’re gonna want to use the magnet, someone years ago told me it was safer and I just believed them and have always used em, not sure if it’s true but it’s worked so whatever, really you shouldn’t be too worried about this stuff and if you follow this guide you’re going to be way over prepared to download comics, really no one cares about comic torrenting, movies, video games, tv shows that’s the stuff people really get caught on, this is just nerd shit

I’m going to be making another post showing how to use these sites, and other sites comic can be found on so look back at my blog for that

Torrent program

This is pretty basic, just get utorrent, it’s what I’ve always used, it works, whatever, definitely look this up with a VPN on or on Tor, it’s simple to use, I’ll be doing a short tutorial on how to make it even safer

Lastly this one is optional but a pretty good idea, for more than just this

VPN aka Virtual Privacy Network

honestly you can get the anonymous web browser (Tor) or the VPN first, their both going to help cover you downloading the other and honestly both are going to put you on a list for googling them (which is why I suggest looking for someone who just already has the .exes ((I always keep them on a thumbdrive for when I have to reset one of my computers)), I might try to make a google drive with em but also I might not bc that sounds like work and I’m already typing all this up), anyways I’m not really gonna explain what a VPN is, there’s a lot of resources that can explain it better than I can but basically it masks what you do on the internet, there’s a lot of choices when picking a VPN but the big thing I looked for when choosing mine was 1) non-US based so it’s harder for US investigation agencies to request stuff for them or get anything from them 2) one that doesn’t keep logs, honestly they all do even if they say they don’t, but you wanna look for one that hasn’t turned over many logs to US agencies and 3) unlimited peer 2 peer connections which is complicated but basically means you can torrent stuff anonymously and with decent speed. Like Anti-Virus there are a ton of different VPN’s out there, you really have to do research because there are actual accounts of FBI agencies crating VPN’s telling people they’re anonymous when really they had direct access to all the info, I haven’t done any research but NordVPN seems kinda like one of these, really the more they advertise the more suspicious I am, Just google “best vpn 2020″ and look at like 5 lists and read the the stuff, personally I use IPvanish which unfortunately is US based and while it gave over logs in 2016 even thought they said they didn’t keep any but now they’re owned by a new company that super double promises they don’t (again who cares they all do) but they’ve allow P2P and use 256-bit AES encryption

I wanna take a second to mention that this isn’t going to be free, this is the only place you’re going to be spending money (besides donating to Heroe Initative of course), a good VPN is about $100 a year which all in all isn’t terrible, technically you can just get by on the anonymous browser but this gives you an extra layer of security to pretty much ensure you won’t get caught and plus in the ever worsening internet hell world a VPN is becoming more and more important, I’m sure you can find articles about it but yea you don’t technically need a VPN but it’s useful for more than just this

How to work it all

Ok so this is gonna be a little stream of consciousness, as this all kinda has been, so sorry but I’m gonna try and explain it as best I can and also feel free to ask any questions on this blog, I’ll check back eventually I’m sure

So first thing first, make sure you’re virus protection is on and you’re connected on your VPN if you’re using it (you can google “what is my IP” to double check it’s working) then load up Tor, let it load and connect up and whatever, then go to https://www.ettvdl.com/user/Nemesis43 (I’m just gonna show this with Nemesis43, maybe I’ll make another one for getcomics but that’s pretty straight forward, also nem is better)

now remember we’re only here for Marvel comics, so scroll past all those thousands of other comics this would work exactly the same for, I’m gonna go for Ant-Man #4 which was released on the 13 as a digital only comic despite the first three issues being physical copies and now sit on my shelf forever unfinished making me look like a complete penis

it may take a while but it’s going to look like this, click on the blue words, it’s gonna take you to a page that looks like this

now from here we’re going to get the magnet link, right click and select copy link address, I like doing this because it limits my interactions with the page, note the advertisement at the top telling me I need a VPN despite thinking I’m in Guadalajara (which for legal reasons I am)

just copy that and then go to utorrent and click the add link

it’ll open a little box, it should add the link automatically, if it doesn’t just hit ctrl+V

hit ok and it’ll load it up, it might need to download some metadata but after that it should be good, oh also it might bring up a window basically asking where you want to save it and what to name it, you can set all that up in preferences, I did so I just turned that window off and can’t be assed to turn it back on, just hit ok if you don’t wanna bother with that stuff, it’ll go into your downloads by default

and that’s it really, it’s that easy, I might make another thing talking about how to make utorrent more anonymous or whatever so look for that, but stock it’s fine, also when it’s finished downloading it’s gonna start seeding (like uploading to someone else) I’ve always been a scumbag and I never seed but Nemesis seeds stuff so much you really don’t need to anyways, just select it and hit the stop button (the black square on the tool bar)

here are all the links I could think of

Hero Initiative

download Tor

here’s a guide for VPNs

download utorrent

song I found recently that I like

getcomics

Nemesis

so yea that’s pretty much the basics, be smart, be safe, any viruses you get are on you but I hope you found this helpful and feel free to ask any questions

oh and also this is all parody and I’ve never actually torrented anything, I don’t even own a computer

[chayacat]

Devil’s Sweet Star (4)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader  

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut  

***

Every person on this planet has a different mentality. Some will laugh at all things because they always see the good side, others will buy French fries in the shape of animals or candies because they’ll have kept their children's souls. Those with a deranged mentality will be locked up in suitable institutions and those who are self-centred prepare as evil strategies as they are to reach glory and power. But do you know what's common to all of us? The sweet desire for perfection.

Ah perfection... A utopia for all of us, an invisible thing that everyone wants to achieve. Everything we do has to be perfect: our work, our schooling, our life, our family, our friendly relationships... We always want EVERYTHING to be perfect. And we are outraged, angry, sorry when a tiny drop of water overflows our vase of perfection. Danny is one of the best examples.

He calculates everything down to the smallest detail, analyses all possible situations, so that his murders are perfect. And so far, he's getting there! not the slightest suspicion, not the slightest, tiny evidence of his involvement in all these crimes. He could have been an actor given the talent to play the comedy he owns.  

But artists like him must know how to bow out and change places. And that's exactly what he's been thinking about since that night in addition to his next victim. To the point of falling asleep at his desk. He had turned what was to be used as a guest room into an office, with a sofa, in case tiredness prevented him from going to his bed.  

He rubbed his eyes before getting up and heading to the kitchen to make a coffee. He needed to have clear ideas and a clear mind. Then he returned to his office and glanced at the map while sipping. Red crosses were on it, indicating the cities he had already made. Next to the map was a table where most barred names were inscribed, that was none other than his “hunting table”.  

“Well, well... What's going to be my next destination after Roseville? Ontario? No... The Canadian cold is unbearable and then the snow may slow me down in my leaks. Houston? Tss no no no... I don't want to be executed.”

His gaze was on Florida, the state that saw him born. It would be a good idea and down there he could be FINALLY himself. To present himself as Danny Johnson and never as Jed Olsen. But his family lives there, his "parents" who throughout his childhood repudiated him and treated him as a trash. That's why he left, so does he really want to go back? Only the day his parents died. Danny shook his head with a sigh. He prefers to forget his darkest years of his life.

“I still have time to think about it. No one suspects me as usual. So, there's no need to rush my escape.”  

He looked at his "hunting board," including the names inscribed on it. Since the time he lives here, some names have come to mind, including Travis who is no longer of this world. The first in his list is none other than that dear Mike Harris. If Jed held back, Danny couldn't stand him anymore. Why all this? Because he thinks he's better than everyone else and can't stand the competition? Poor idiot that you're Mike, your ego will lead you to your loss and to tell you the truth you won't miss anyone.

Second on the list was Horace McKellan. That wretched rich man who threatened to close your business. A real jerk's face. Danny already smiles at the thought of sticking the knife in his stomach to eject his guts, dismembering him pieces by pieces, hearing his screams and begging you to stop ... Oh my God, what a pleasure it's going to be.

Other names appeared on this chart, people who were mostly had done anything wrong in particular and others who are real rubbish for society, even if Danny had nothing to do with it. Then as he went along, his eyes landed on a name... Particular. A person who made him ask a lot of questions. That person? It's you.

What was he going to do with you? An umpteenth victim with no interest or reason to kill you except for... have fun? Or keep you alive and make yourself... His toy? It's an idea that made him smile a lot and he already imagine you as his toy, his property, his little pet that he can frighten when and where he wants, without ever killing you.  

He put a question mark next to your name while waiting to decide your fate. Until then he has plenty to deal with. He took another sip of his coffee when he heard someone knocking on the door. He came out of his office, which he locked, and then went to the front door where he came face to face with Mr. Lawson, the owner.

“Mr. Lawson? Is there a problem?” He said.  

“oh no, nothing special! You are so caught up in your work that you forgot to get it back your mail. I bring it to you and I took the opportunity to retrieve the advertisements even though you put the label they continue to put you in the mailbox.”

“oh...Thanks sir, I must admit that with work, I forgot simple things like that. I’ve heard that you’ve got some problems with some tenants?”  

��oh yes! Those little hooligans on the 4th floor are always late on their rent, when I tell them, it's limit if they don't slam the door in my face! No respect! they should work more instead of doing nothing of their day!”

“Sure. Well, I got some work to do sir, good luck with the hooligans and... Take care of yourself.” Danny replied before gently close the door.

Then he throws his mail on his table, he doesn’t really care about all that stuff. He was about to return to study his next victims when his phone rang.

“Yoooooo Jeddy! How are you? I don't mind you, do I?”

“No, not at all Mattew. What’s going on? You're not working today?” answers Danny.

“Yes, but the boss makes a meeting with everyone. So, he wants you to take your cute little ass back to the office. And quickly, visibly it looks important. You know how the boss is when someone is late.”

“I see it too many times with you.” Laughs Danny “Tell the boss I coming right now.”  

He hangs up and took his belongings before locking his door. He walked to his car, opened it, went inside and drove towards the newspaper's office. he passed security and went upstairs to fall face to face with Mike. If there was one person he didn't want to see when he arrived, it was him.

“Mr. deigns to finally show himself... Come on Olsen, you're wasting our time. In addition to my nerves.” said Mike a little angry before entering the meeting room.  

Danny breathes deeply before entering too and close the door seeing that everyone is here. He notices Melina and Mattew talking in a corner and decided to join them, he needed to laugh a little and these two are real comedians. Mr Hembrook came in and shut the door making everyone silent. Then he goes to his chair and put some folder on the table.

“Well, it seems that everyone is here so, we can start the meeting. If I ask you to come here today, it’s because I've some big news for you. First of all, the head of the journalists' convention contacted me last night to find out if we intended to participate this year. I responded favourably and also told him that I would contact him again to give him the names of those who would go there. As you know, the reputation of the Roseville gazette extends a little further than our small town and if we could make ourselves known in other states, it would allow us to fill our newspaper a little more.”

“Great, boring convention is coming...I'm excited” said Melina ironically.  

“Ahem. Then I heard that a certain Richard Hoggins gives a reception in a few days to celebrate the signing of his new trade. All those rich people who break our feet will be there including Horace Mckellan. I know these two were working together, and I can feel the scheming in this story. So, in order to "cover" this reception I convinced Mr Hoggins to bring a small team from our newspaper.”  

“wow that's more exciting than the convention” said Mattew happily as Jed nods.  

Danny smiles wildly, maybe he can learn more about McKellan and found new preys if he goes there?  

“So, I need to know now who's going to go where to tell the organizers and Mr. Hoggins. I thought of Mike, Karen and Thomas at the convention. And for the reception ... I think Melina, Mattew and our little Jed would be the perfect trio.”

“WHAT ??” says Mike by failing to stun. “But Boss! This is impossible, I mean...Jed is kind of a newbie here. For a scandal like that, we need someone more...experienced more suitable. With all due respect, I think it's best for my team to take care of Mr. Hoggins' reception and Jed's go to the convention.”

“If I may say so...” starts Jed who surprised everyone: “As you said SO kindly Mike, I'm a newbie. But that's my strong point: no one will suspect me of spying or snooping if no one knows me. no one will pay attention to me and I can discreetly sneak into the crowd.”

“I like that mindset. You definitely convinced me kid. I'm going to make the phone calls. I'm counting on you to resent a great scandal.” said Mr Hembrook before leaving the meeting room followed by the others reporters. Melina and Mattew left too and when Danny was about to leave the room, Mike pushed him and closed the door, then stuck him to the wall, his arm at Danny’s throat.

“You're lucky we're in the office Olsen because I SWEAR to god, I'm going to kill you. But beware, by pushing me to the limit, you’ll quickly regret the consequences. I don't know what game you're playing, you little shit... but accidents happen much faster than you think.” He grunts before punching him in the face and in his stomach, leaving Danny on the floor as he leaves the room.  

Danny got up and wiped his nose with a hand gesture to make sure he wasn't bleeding from the nose, which fortunately for him was not the case. The rage grew in him, he wanted only one thing: to kill Mike there now, without worrying about what the others would say. But he couldn't afford it for the moment, he would grill his cover. He had to take it upon himself as Jed but Mike loses nothing to wait: Ghostface intends to return the device to him.

The rest of the day went relatively well even though Mike behaved like a real bastard towards 'Jed'. Luckily, he could count on Mattew and Melina to make it all more bearable. The trio headed to the exit, telling each other jokes, each one more stupid than the others. Danny shakes his head with a smile, they are unrecoverable.

“Hey, are we eating together tonight ? I know a small Japanese restaurant that will nail you to your seats at the end of the meal.” said Melina.

“Ha! No meal is consistent enough to nail me to my chair!” answers Mattew proudly.  

“I wonder how you eat so much without gaining weight. you could cause the loss of all the restaurants in town.” replies Melina with a smirk before laughing when she saw Mattew sulking. “What about you Jed?”

“Sorry, I would have liked to come but... I feel a little tired” he responds with a little smile.

“oh... Say instead that you prefer to go for a coffee at the Nebula... The boss is pretty cute. Maybe you should think about settling down with someone someday. I don't bother you with that. Rest well Jed. And get ready to play spies!” Said Melina before leaving with Mattew.  

Danny drives back at home thinking about how he’s going to kill that bastard Mike. So many things pass through his mind... He parked and when he raised his head, he saw you through your window, cleaning and tidying your home. He hasn’t decided about your fate but he’s got time. He doesn’t know you enough to make a decision.

He quickly went to his apartment to retrieve his bag which contained his camera. He wanted to stalk someone tonight, another potential victim who had done nothing to him, but that he's going to kill for one reason or another. Another trophy in his hunting board.

As for you, you can sleep peacefully. Your little star will continue to shine tonight. Until the devil in the white mask came to steal it...Or smash it down forever.  

***

(Finished! this time I wanted to focus mainly on Danny, on how he operates. Tell me what you think! I hope you’ll enjoyed it! And remember if you want to have a closer look of Danny, check out @arkkosun’s page!  His/her work is amazing! Also Check @sleepydaydreamz and @horror-ink’s pages! They're so great! See ya! )  

[elisela]

echo oscar mike buck x eddie, 1.9k, vermont verse @extasiswings​ wanted eddie to have a cat in vermont and I wasn’t gonna do it but then .... well, it’s chapel so.

Eddie learned, very shortly after moving to Vermont, that he likes routine. He thrives off it—blame his parents and their strict schedule when he was growing up, blame the military, or maybe just blame his personality—but he finds comfort in knowing what his day is going to look like when he wakes up in the morning.

And he has a good one, has had a good one since he met Buck and fell into an easy(ish) life with him, waking up in the morning to kick a seventy-five pound dog off his bed so he can have sex with his husband, said husband making him breakfast every morning, filling up his days with workouts, running the youth center a few days a week, taking classes at the community college just because he hates being bored, and being home by the time his kid and Buck are both back just to spend the rest of the day with them.

(Less Chris these days, now that he’s sixteen and more interested in girls, trying to convince Eddie to take him in for an exam so he can be cleared to drive, and spending every waking minute out of the house and with his friends. Eddie’s mom had said he was too permissive last time she called and Chris hadn’t been home, but Chris is happy, Buck is happy, and Eddie is certainly happy, so he tried not to let it get to him.)

So Eddie’s in the middle of his Tuesday routine—breakfast with Bobby, Combat to Classroom lecture at a community college in Burlington, and a run around the University of Vermont campus before he heads home to clean up before opening the youth center—when he passes the Delta Tau Delta house and stops.

He’s not sure why the cardboard box catches his eye, but it does, and laying inside is one tiny kitten, eyes closed against the soft rain that’s falling.

Eddie’s parents were not big on pets growing up. His dad was never home, and he can still hear his mother saying, “when you’re mature enough to take care of a pet on your own, then we’ll talk.” Christopher had been born before Eddie was ever deemed mature enough for a pet, so it wasn’t until he’d found Ox out on the trail that he had gotten any experience. But Ox was a monster, a beast of a dog who took up so much room that he and Buck had gotten new furniture just to accommodate him.

So this—this tiny tan and black kitten that might fit in Buck’s palm—he’s not sure what to do, so he does what he always does when he has a question, and he calls Hen.

“Eddie, being a surgeon is not the same as being a vet,” she sighs when he fills her in. “Is the cat warm?”

He bends down and strokes a finger over its fur and down to its paws. “Not really,” he says, “but her eyes opened so she’s still alive. Should I take her to the vet?”

“Sometimes I wonder about you,” Hen says, and Eddie grins even though she can’t see him. “Yes, take the cat to the vet. But you know you’re gonna have to keep it for awhile, don’t you? The shelters have been full for months, that always happens when it starts getting colder.”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do, leave her to die?” he says—

—which is the same thing he says that night to Buck, when Buck takes three steps inside the door, looks at Eddie bottle-feeding the cat, and says, “no.”

“No,” Buck says again, shaking his head as he toes off his untied boots and kicks them under the bench. “You already—” he leans down and kisses Eddie, a soft press of lips at the corner of his mouth, “—brought this beast into our—get off me Ox, let me get my jacket off first—into our house without asking.”

“She was in a wet cardboard box,” he says, looking down and tilting the bottle to get the last drops out. “What was I supposed to do, leave her to die?”

“Leave her at the vet,” Buck says, scratching Ox on the head and moving towards the kitchen, talking as he disappears through the doorway. “I put chicken in the fridge to thaw this morning but I think I want—Eddie!”

“I think he saw the litter box,” Eddie whispers to the little bundle in his hands, setting the bottle down and sliding her back into his hoodie pocket to keep warm. He stands up, sliding a hand into his pocket to make sure she’s secure, and goes to console his husband. Buck might be upset, but he’ll get over it. “The vet wouldn’t take her,” he says, leaning against the doorway and watching as Buck looks over the bags on the kitchen table.

Eddie’s never had a cat; he had no clue what to buy, so he just … bought one of everything.

There’s something—off, about it though; when he’d brought Ox home, Buck had sighed and complained about it, but he hadn’t looked—mad.

Like he does now.

“I named her Echo,” Eddie offers, expecting to be laughed at, for Buck to roll his eyes and finally crack a smile, but he just lets out a breath and allows the bag to fall from his hand. “Buck,” he tries again, “really, the vet wouldn’t take her and—”

“And did you try anywhere else?” Buck asks, looking at Eddie skeptically. “Because the seven bags from The Dog and Cat tell me that you didn’t.”

“Hen said the shelters were all full,” Eddie says. “Maybe I should have talk to you first, but you were busy—”

“Funny, you’ve never thought I was too busy working when you want me to come home in the middle of the day because you want me to fuck you—”

“—and you love cats,” Eddie says over him, because he can’t exactly argue with that. He’s definitely taken advantage of Buck working for himself now, not having a set schedule or time-frame unless it’s his own making, the couch out in the workshop getting so much use that Buck had joked about finally just bringing a bed in. “You volunteer at an animal shelter, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

“I walk the dogs,” Buck says, “and you didn’t think that, you thought if I came home and saw the cat that I’d just accept it like I did with Ox.”

Eddie opens his mouth to keep arguing, but Buck crosses his arms over his chest, and he closes it again. Buck doesn’t get closed off like this often, and although he still thinks he had a good reason—he’s not leaving any animal outside, exposed to the rain that’s now pouring down—but he’s also aware that Buck is … entirely right. Somehow, Eddie had fallen in love with Echo in between jogging back to his car with her wrapped in his hoodie and walking into the veterinarian’s office, and he really didn’t intend to look for a home for her anywhere else.

They haven’t fought in a long time, he thinks suddenly, because he has no clue what to do right now.

“I’m gonna go out to the workshop,” Buck says, “can you take care of dinner?” and leaves without waiting for the answer, motioning for Ox to follow him.

Ox goes, the traitor.

---

Eddie gives it an hour, calls the little italian restaurant that’s on the way to the ski resort—where Eddie had taken him on their first date—and orders Buck’s favorite dishes and a slice of peanut butter pie, because if he’s going to pull out all the stops he might as well get the dessert they’d shared that night. He checks in with Chris, who sends a picture of himself with three of his friends at Pizza Putt, grinning widely and holding up mini-golf clubs, and shuffles around the house cleaning up to kill time until the food is ready.

With just a few minutes left, he realizes suddenly that taking Echo with him is not a great idea, and he doesn’t want to leave her alone in the house, which means—

“Hey,” he says, stepping into the workshop. “I—are you okay?”

Buck’s laying on the couch, hand against his rib cage; he winces when he sits up. “I wasn’t watching where I was going in the house and I kinda ran into a dresser that May was bringing in,” he says quietly, and lifts his shirt. There’s a large bruise blooming under his skin, spreading across his side.

Eddie crouches down beside him, careful not to jostle Echo in his pocket, and rests his hand against the spot, pushing gently. “You want to go to the hospital? I don’t think it’s anything serious—”

“I’m fine, Eds,” Buck says, pulling his shirt down before Eddie withdraws his hand. “Dinner ready?”

“I gotta go pick it up,” he says, “but—I’m sorry. I should have called you, and I’ll call around tomorrow to see if there’s a shelter that can take her or someone who wants her. I’ll find a home for her.” Buck nods, but his gaze is on Eddie’s pocket, where Echo is poking her head out. “Would you watch her while I get the food?”

“Sure,” he says, and when Eddie sets her in his hand, Buck curls his arm to his stomach to hold her, and uses the other hand to pull Eddie down for a kiss.

---

There’s a fire going in the living room when he gets home, the first of the year; October is wetter than normal and Eddie makes a mental note to buy firewood over the weekend, because he has a feeling they’re going to need it more often this winter. Buck’s not on the couch, though, and there’s no trashy reality show playing on the television, so he goes through to the kitchen, pulling off his jacket and hanging it up on the coat stand.

Buck’s not there either, but all of the bags from the pet store have been cleared away, so he starts setting out dinner—transferring it onto plates instead of leaving it in the boxes like they normally do—and is wondering if they even own candles for a candlelight dinner when Buck comes around the corner, hair damp and wavy, clearly just out of the shower with his joggers and t-shirt on.

In the stretched out chest pocket of his blue shirt is Echo, curled into a half circle, eyes closed. One paw sticks out, and Eddie feels such a sudden pressure in his chest that he thinks he may be having a heart attack.

“Don’t say a word,” Buck says, fitting a hand around Eddie’s hip and kissing him. “Is this from Trattoria?”

“Buck.”

“No.”

“Buck,” he says, staring down at Echo’s fuzzy ears.

Buck kisses him again, his lips pressed sweetly against Eddie’s, and Eddie has to force himself not to press up against him, mindful of the tiny kitten residing in his husband’s shirt pocket. “Shut up, Eddie,” he says, but it’s soft, gentle.

“And he said we had to give you away,” Eddie says to Echo when he pulls back, stroking one of her ears with the side of his pinky. “Looks like you went and found yourself a home.”

[mayfixlds]

Alright, I too have THOUGHTS. If I'm being honest, I find it the chances of it being real incredibly unlikely. It seems plausible at first, but certain things jumped out at me- for instance the "mike (also madly in love)" seems very...fanfic-y? Idk, and I was surprised at Ronance and Mike & Eddie content- if it was real I would've expected more buildup and not so much in the very first episode. (cont)

(cont) And even ignoring the content of the script, I'm doubtful that someone would be able to get their hands on the script. Even if they did have access, why would they risk their job by sharing it? The security around s4 has been very high. I'm sure the team is taking care to wrap everything tightly. Anyways, I went on a bit of a ramble, sorry, but in summation: I don't think it's real. Like the many fake scripts before it, a bored fan wanting to stir up drama seems far more likely.

Okay this accidentally became a loooooong answer so enjoy 😅

I completely agree! You didn’t go on a ramble, you made some really good points. It seems so unlikely that a script would be able to get past this many people to end up being leaked online - and it was left on reddit for over 24 hours before there was a take down situation which just doesn’t make sense to me? Surely Netflix and The Duffers would be all over taking that down immediately. If you’re going to risk your job, why were there only a few pages? At least make it worth it and post the whole thing 😂 I also don’t know if minor cast members are actually given the whole script so why would they have El/Mike scenes? And I really doubt that the cast who do get the full thing are going to be reckless with or leaking it.

I definitely don’t know how I feel about it being in the first episode as well. There’s little to no build up and some of the characters seem so chill about what they’re saying compared to what is actually happening. I agree with you that some of the directions do also read a little fanfic-y. I also thought Steve’s reactions to Robin not being at work didn’t feel like Steve at all - he just seems so dismissive??? It feels off. 

The time jump is also something which doesn’t make sense to me. We ended S3 on a *three months later* time jump, so why would this *seven months later* include the three months we’ve already jumped? S3 ends in October, so seven months later is actually May - which then doesn’t work in regards to Spring Break mentions. I might as well get into this here but the seven months also sits weird with me when it comes to El and Will. Seven months of them not getting along and Mike is asking now if it’s any better? Has no one stopped to wonder WHY they’re not getting on? Is it because of Mike? (please no). Also, wouldn’t El be really confused as to why Will hates her? Wouldn’t she be questioning it? Wouldn’t Joyce of all people be wondering why her son is being rude to El and then where this annoyance has come from? I just don’t want it to be this weird little love triangle thing??? 

Mike’s character is also just a rehash of season 3 and it seems that he’s had no character progression at all. Whilst The Duffers could’ve just really let us down and this could be legit, I’d like to think that they would show some growth and actually have Mike be the wonderful person that he is in season 1 and 2. Byler aside, it seems so unlike Mike to just forget and disregard the person who he describes asking to be his friend as the ‘best thing [he’d] ever done’. It just seems like it’s being looked at through a fanon lense and so much of these characters are being disregarded. 

Hypothetically, if it is - I do have thoughts about that (should I make another post discussing?) but ultimately, all the information that is in this ‘script’ is information we’ve gathered from the set pictures, audition tapes and also officially released information. It’s not hard to pile that all together and put it into something to try and say it’s real. There are typo’s and errors and lots of things that just really don’t sit right with me when it comes to this, and I really don’t want to put much stock into it being real.

[gambitgazette]

The X-Perts: Gambit

The following is a repost of an article about Gambit that was posted to the Marvel site in 2011. We’re reposting it here at Gambit Gazette for two reasons; 1) it’s no longer on Marvel’s site (as far as we can tell), and 2) it exhibits insight and respect for Gambit’s character far deeper than what’s displayed on the comic book page the vast majority of the time (sadly). Gambit Gazette has taken the liberty of highlighting passages we find especially noteworthy.

The X-Perts: Gambit Kieron Gillen, Mike Carey, Marjorie Liu and Victor Gischler determine where this wild card will fall Posted Jul 12, 2011 1:31 pm Updated Aug 4, 2011 1:58 pm

By Ben Morse

This July, X-MEN: SCHISM kicks off a startling metamorphosis in the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe that will split the Children of the Atom and lead to ReGenesis in the fall along with two new ongoing series, each featuring it’s own distinctive team: UNCANNY X-MEN and WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN.

With change in the air, here on Marvel.com we’ll be regularly gathering the creators and editors responsible for guiding the X-Men’s destiny to dissect each of their charges to examine what makes them tick and perhaps lend some insight into where they will find themselves once the Schism ends and the ReGenesis gets underway.

This week, we take a look at Gambit, the thief-turned-X-Man who currently serves on the mission squad led by his on-again, off-again love, Rogue, while also mentoring the unpredictable X-23.

Marvel.com: How would you describe the core of who Gambit is and what is most important to him?

Victor Gischler (writer of X-MEN): Self-reliance.

Mike Carey (writer of X-MEN LEGACY): Gambit’s a guy with a core skill that he glories and excels in, and his sense of himself has formed around that, to some extent.  He’s not just a thief, in the sense of having earned his living by stealing—he’s a Thief in a self-defining sense that’s halfway between family and ethnicity. [He was] raised by thieves, in a city where thieves were a clan with clan loyalties. So I think that’s his core, and his instincts and identity and an X-Man were grafted onto that.

Kieron Gillen (writer of UNCANNY X-MEN): Gambit's just one of those classic conflicted characters, torn between a fundamental selfishness—or, at best, self-interest—and the realization that [this] isn't right. His shows of genuine compassion are all the more striking now because of where he's come from. I mean, put aside his recent interactions with Rogue. Look at his interactions with X-23. A man of experience who is man enough to realize that not all experience is worthwhile. He'd roll his eyes at anyone who takes the Sinatra-ian "Regrets? I've had a few, etc" line.

Marjorie Liu (writer of X-23): At his heart, Gambit is a good man who believes in taking care of his friends, and his friends are what's most important to him. People are his home. He will do anything for those who matter to him.

Marvel.com: What is Gambit’s view of how the mutant race should conduct itself moving forward?

Kieron Gillen: Any future of the X-Men that involves having a future and keeps him out of long, boring meetings is probably good with him.

Mike Carey: Arising out of his childhood experiences, I think Gambit is fairly tribal in his gut instincts. Protecting his own, and keeping faith with his own, are core values for him. He’s also perfectly comfortable with a sort of under-the-radar lifestyle, and he knows first-hand that it’s possible to live invisibly among others who don’t share your values or your lifestyle. I’d say Gambit would be comfortable with a strategy that saw mutantkind dropping right out of the rifle sights of the various nut jobs out there and going underground until its numbers are up again and it can confront the world on its own terms.

Victor Gischler: I think he knows that difficult things need to be done, but he wants to see the mutant race finally push through those times so things will be better for the next generation.

Marjorie Liu: The thing about Gambit is that he's a man who knows how to adapt to survive. He plays things by ear, depending on the situation, and never feels obligated to follow the rules, because the only rules that matter are his own sense of honor. Ultimately, that sense of honor includes 'doing no harm'—at least, not to the innocent.

Because of that, however, I don't think he has a firm idea of how the mutant race should move forward. There's no overarching philosophy, no set of rules. Again, he adapts, he plays by ear. I think he would be more likely to say that the mutant race is filled with individuals, and each situation needs to be taken on an individual basis, without imposing some master plan.

Again, though, he's a survivor, and if the world turned on mutants as a whole, his approach would change, as well. He'd fight. He'd protect.  

Marvel.com: Does Gambit like being a member of the X-Men? What keeps him affiliated with them?

Mike Carey: He likes the excitement. He likes the company—or some of it. He likes the sense of family. I think those would be the most important things for him. Having said that, he’s definitely someone who would be able to step into another life if the X-Men folded. He’d miss it, but he wouldn’t mourn it. He’d survive perfectly well.

Kieron Gillen: Honestly, I could spin out an enormous answer about how he sees himself in relation to mutants—though it suddenly strikes me that I see Gambit as one of the mutants who least self-identifies as "mutant"—but about 85% of it boils down to the following: One word, five letters.

Marjorie Liu: I don't know if he likes being a member of the X-Men, so much as he likes some of the people there, and feels obligated to stick by them, and guard their backs. It's a 'people' thing that has him sticking around, and not philosophical.

Victor Gischler: There is kind of a lone wolf aspect to Gambit, but I think deep down all lone wolves really want to be part of the pack. They just don't want to get burned or have their trust betrayed. Gambit has been an X-Man too long not to be a team member in his heart.

Marvel.com: What are Gambit’s most honorable qualities? His least honorable qualities?

Mike Carey: His chimerical gallantry. His insane courage. His anarchic shrewdness.

When he first joined the X-Men, Gambit served as a cynical and occasionally ruthless counterpoint to their stern virtue. They’ve met him more than halfway now—in fact, in some ways, they’ve surpassed him: the X-Men’s moral mainstream has changed so much that Gambit now seems more like a Robin Hood among them, a principled thief with a paradoxically strong code of ethics. He’s still got that ruthless streak, and he can be dishonest both in concealing information and in lying outright. And he has a weakness for going it alone when he ought to trust the people around him. That was what got him sucked into Apocalypse’s wake.

Victor Gischler: He's honest about who he is, warts and all.

Marjorie Liu: Most honorable qualities? Least honorable? Sometimes I think those are one and the same. He'll take care of his friends, no matter what. That's great. But what's not so great for everyone else is that he'll take care of his friends -- no matter what. Even if it means an act of betrayal.

Marvel.com: Do you think the rest of the X-Men really trust Gambit?

Kieron Gillen: Dark, tortured past. Propensity for playing on the other side. Will make out with your other half behind your back. A big part of me thinks they trust Gambit more than they probably should.

Or maybe they don't. The Utopia-era Cyclops-condoned Wolverine-lead X-Force—Gambit wasn't on that team.

Marjorie Liu: No, not really. I don't think they know him, that's the problem. The individuals who do—Storm, Jubilee, X-23—would trust him with their lives, without question. Everyone else? Not so much. To them, he's a wild card, so to speak. They see his reputation first, before they see the man.

Mike Carey: I think they didn’t, and then they did, and now they don’t again. He’s got a lot of lost ground to make up after the Limbo debacle. His past as a thief doesn’t count against him any more, but his past as a Horseman and his past as a Marauder during Messiah Complex do.

Victor Gischler: As long as they keep one hand on their wallets at all times.

Marvel.com: Could Gambit ever be leader of the X-Men again?

Victor Gischler: I don't see it. But that's mostly because I don't think he’d ever really want the job.

Marjorie Liu: My first instinct was to say yes, but the more I think about it, issues of trust and reliability would undermine his position. I'm not sure all the X-Men would feel secure with him in charge, or be willing to follow him to hell and back—and that's a huge component of successful leadership.  

That said, I do think he can lead, just on a smaller scale, with a team that would fit his highly adaptable nature.

Mike Carey: He’d never want that job. It’s too public and too constricting. He wouldn’t be afraid of the responsibility, although he wouldn’t exactly relish it, either—he would be afraid of having his hands tied in a fight by having to co-ordinate what everybody else was doing.

Kieron Gillen: It doesn't seem a natural fit, but I'd never say never. I wouldn't say he could lead the X-Men as they are now. But a hypothetical X-Men team of the future? Yeah, I can see him pulling that off. As long as it doesn't involve all too many of the aforementioned long, boring meetings.

Marvel.com: How does Gambit’s relationship with Rogue color his place among the X-Men?

Marjorie Liu: I wish it didn't!  If this was real life, that relationship would be one of those bad running jokes that people tell each other around dinner, or when there's nothing else to talk about and so you go to the one topic that's only less boring than dull silence. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a fan of Gambit and Rogue, but the relationship doesn't do either of them any favors.

Mike Carey: It’s the main reason why the X-Men feel like home to him. If she left, his attachment to them would be significantly weakened.

Kieron Gillen: What can I say? Heavily.

I know I've been laboring it, but more than almost anyone else, his ties with the X-men are personal. He's happy to exist in a world with the X-Men. He's happy to do the X-Men's work. But he's an outsider, and I think that's a real core of who he is. He needs shadows to step out of.

Mike Carey: Who among the X-Men does Gambit trust? Who does he feel should lead the team?

Victor Gischler: I think he'd trust Storm under almost any circumstances.

Kieron Gillen: Rogue. That's about it. And I don't think he has particularly strong feelings about who should lead the team—but he is interested in the institution of the X-Men. I wouldn't say he's a "Doesn't matter who you vote for, the government always gets in" cynic, but as long as there's an institution which exists to do the job the X-Men have been doing, he's happy. If a leader appeared who changed that role entirely, it's only then Gambit would raise an eyebrow.

Marjorie Liu: I'm biased, but I feel he trusts X-23 and Jubilee, along with Storm. I'm not sure he trusts Rogue, even though he loves her—and I'm sure he's comfortable with Wolverine leading.  

Mike Carey: I think he trusts Cyclops and is comfortable with his leadership. Certainly there’d be more tension for him if, say, Magneto had a leadership role. But the question of who leads isn’t a compelling one for Gambit, because he doesn’t see himself as being a follower. He follows his own conscience: sometimes that takes him outside the X-Men’s big tent. When he’s there, he toes the line, but his allegiance isn’t easily given or given without provisos.

[levisprincess6669]

Good Enough

Hi can I request #7 and #65 for Levi from AOT please?🙂 thank you so much 🤗

I am so sorry this took so long! I hope you enjoy reading it though ^^

I was new to the Scouts, only ever completed one expedition where many of my comrades died but I wasn't going to back down. I was assigned to Captain Levi's squad through, which was surprising as he only ever hand picked his comrades.

Training was definitely tough, and the cleaning regime which somehow only seemed to apply to our squad was a real pain. Levi was strict and seemed to always call me out on even the most minimalist mistakes.

"Alright! I want everyone to partner up for hand to hand combat!" Shouted our captain, and I instantly headed for Petra, my best friend and usual training partner.

We stood opposite each other, waiting for everyone to get enough space as to not interrupt anyone else's fights. "He's really not going easy on us today." Petra laughed silently, making sure Levi didn't hear her.

"Agreed." I giggled under my breath, watching the short man shout at Gelgar, a member of Captain Mike's squad. But apparently my amusement was not as silent as originally thought as his eyes shot to me with an intense glare.

"What was that brat?" Levi asked, turning everyone's attention to me. "Do you find this funny? Or just too easy?" There was an undertone of something in his icy voice... Hatred? Disgust? I couldn't tell but it wasnt pleasant. It made me want to crawl into a deep cave never to be seen again.

"N-no sir!" I stuttered the words out, going into a salute but because of my nerves placed my left hand over the right side of my chest mistakenly. I went to fix it, embarrassment taking over my being as I closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn't pick up on this but my luck has never been good.

"I know you're new but that doesn't give you excuses to not know a proper salute." He judged, face as close as it could be to me. "Now, since you think you're superior to everyone else here, prove it." He said loud enough for everyone to hear, shrugging his jacket off and standing opposite me in a fighting position.

"S-sir I... I didn’t mean any disrespect!" I got out frantically, not wanting to fight my squad captain in front of everyone. Petra had long since backed away from me, and stood with everyone who surround this fight. Levi was unbeatable in hand to hand combat, even if someone had trained all their life.

"This is an order. Fight me." He uttered, not breaking his posture. I nodded reluctantly, getting into a stance and waited for him to throw the first hit, which he did after realising I wouldn't attack him first.

He threw a punch, which I easily blocked, until i realised it was just a diversion and felt the knee colliding with my stomach. I jumped back quickly, getting into an even more defensive stance if that was possible. He wouldn't let me walk away so I did as told, waiting for him to attack again before grabbing his incoming elbow. This left him open and I used the momentum to jump up and kick him in the head.

He blocked with ease, grabbing my leg and twisting out of my grip just to effortlessly throw me onto the ground. I coughed from the impact, beginning to get up again.

"Just stop." Levi said simply, walking over to my hurt body and glaring down. "You're not going to beat me, and at this rate anyone." He said with venom dripping down his voice before turning away. "Dismissed!" He shouted on the way, grabbing his jacket while I just stared at him from my place on the ground.

"Y/N are you okay!?" Petra asked hurriedly, helping me up. I just nodded, forcing on a fake smile. His words hurt... He said it as if I would never be able to accomplish anything.

"Ye-yeah I'm fine." I didn’t want her help, instead I shrugged her worried hands off of me and headed towards the barracks to immerse myself in some kind of fantasy world where I didn’t have to think about about how worthless of a soldier, of a person I really was.

The bad thing is that he always treated me like this, always called me out as if he had some kind of vendetta against me. The last time we cleaned for instance, I missed a speck of dust on the top shelf of a bookcase and got assigned to clean the whole floor by myself all over again while everyone else was dismissed. “Make something useful of yourself and clean until this whole area is spotless.” I remember him saying before locking himself in his office. And that’s what I did, cleaned into the early hours of the morning to the extent that one could see their reflection in the tiles beneath their feet. Yet that didn’t satisfy the Captain. All he did was ‘tch’ and glare at me the way only he could.

I walked to my bunk, sitting down against the wall next to the bed, reaching a hand under the pillow to grab the book I was currently reading. It was a mystery book, although I believe it was roughly based on Kenny the Ripper and included a detective who really enjoyed drinking tea... Similarly to Levi. 

I groaned in annoyance, why can’t I even enjoy a book without being reminded of him like this? He always makes me brew his tea in the mornings if we have a squad breakfast, then proceeds to say it tastes like piss. I just don’t understand why he doesn’t make his own tea from the get go if he just pours mine down the drain anyway and makes another batch. 

“Hey Y/N?” Petra’s head came into view as she peaked into the room with a worried expression. “Are you okay?” She asked, slowly walking into the room and sitting on my bed.

“Yeah...” I sighed, leaning my head against the wall and closing my eyes. “Listen... Would you be able to cover for me tonight at dinner?” I suddenly asked, an idea popping into my head as I thought back to the book. The main detective liked his tea but... His assistant loved his alcohol due to all the stress and maybe I could use the same stress relieve too? It was worth a try, especially since I’d definitely be back by breakfast. 

“I- Where are you going to be?” She asked, slightly surprised at my request.

“I just wanted to have a night in the city, a little stress relieve... Apparently there’s a really nice place with cheap drinks only an hour away according to Nanaba.” I explained, begging her to agree with my eyes.

Petra nodded hesitantly. “Okay, but... Just be careful.” 

I instantly jumped up and hugged her. “Thank you! I owe you so much for this!” I exclaimed, running to the little drawer that belonged to me and picking out some civilian clothes in which it would be easy to sneak out in. A long skirt and a simple short sleeved cotton t-shirt. 

"Are you taking anyone with you?" She questioned suddenly.

I simply shake my head. "If more people go then one of the superiors is sure to catch on. We can't have that." I explained, opening the drawer again and picking out my money from it, placing it into a pouch and attaching it to my hip securely. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." I smiled, glancing out of the window now to see that night was beginning take over. "I'll see you later tonight!" I said, beginning to walk out of the barracks as stealthily as possible, aware that everyone would either be in the mess hall or heading there now, the perfect time to steal away.

I took the route through the forest, remembering there was a small hole in the surrounding fence which saves me the trouble of explaining to whoever is in main entrance duty why I'm leaving. Honestly it was easy to get out and I headed towards town, remembering the route off by heart once I reached the main road. It did take around an hour after all to get to the tavern.

There was a strong scent of alcohol as I pushed the door open, it filled my nose and I instantly let my muscles relax, not even looking at the surroundings, not taking into account who was shouting and celebrating in different areas of the establishment. Instead I headed straight for the barkeep, asking for the strongest drink, which was downed within seconds.

I took a seat right in front of the bar. "Can I open a tab please?" I questioned, it wasnt hard to figure out I was going to be here all night. The barkeep nodded but got stopped by someone.

"Nonesense! Ill be paying for the ladies drink!" The man slurred, then asked for another of what I just had. Normally I would refuse but if it saves me money then why not.

I'm not too sure how much time went by but after a few more drinks, the man was beginning to really cosy up to me in an uncomftorable way. My head was spinning so I couldn't even walk away.

"Why don't I take you to mine, rest that pretty little head of yours." The man whispered in my ear, tugging at my arm and making me stumble in the process.

"No I-" my hand grabbed the counter as everything started spinning. "I need to go back to HQ." I mumbled.

"I'll take you there in the morning." There was an undertone to his words as his hand begun to travel down my lower back.

"I said no." I tried to straighten my back but the sudden movement made everything go black and I had to sit down promptly, which made the man pull me up roughly from the seat.

"Now listen here, I paid for your drinks so you are coming home with-" He stopped talking and completely let go of me, I lifted my eyes to see him on the ground, Levi towering over him with his back towards me.

"Now you listen here, the lady said no.” The short man said, crossing his arms from what I could tell in my current position. “And if I ever see you anywhere near her again, you’ll have to deal with me.” 

“A-Aren’t you Captain Levi?” The man stuttered out, crawling away on his hands and knees before getting up and sprinting out of the building. 

With that, Levi turned to me and extended his arm. “Tch, look at you. You’re supposed to be a soldier not a damsel in distress.” His eyes were icy as he took in my appearance. Yet, without uttering a word, I turned around and started drinking yet another beverage. 

“You know Levi.” I hummed, a little more confidently than I usually would, not even addressing him with respect at the moment. “You’re making me feel like I’m not good enough.” I smiled sweetly at him, then turned back to my drink. 

“What are you talking about?” He questioned, grabbing the drink from my hand and placing it far out of my reach. 

“How did you know I was here?” I asked, yet my eyes were glued on where he placed the alcohol.

“Petra.” He answered simply. “I know you can do better than you give yourself credit for, that’s why I push you.” He sighed at the end of his words. 

“I try...” I muttered.

“Yes, and as your Captain it is my duty to ensure you perform to the best of your abilities. Now stop being an idiot.” He clamped a hand onto my shoulder. “If you weren’t worthy of being on my squad, I wouldn't have selected you. I’ll give you some slack from now on but don’t expect any special treatment tomorrow with your hangover.” At the end of his words his lips twitched, as if a small supporting smile.

“Thank you Captain...” The realisation struck my drunk mind, he seemed like he cared even though he was terrible at expressing his emotions. “Should we- should we return to HQ?” I finally asked after a moment of silence, and with a simple nod from him we begun heading back.