#so this is not a post hating on mike let's be clear

[mlchaelwheeler]

inspired by this iconic post <3

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[chaniceroses]

Bad Boys Ride or Die (Armando x Reader) Part SIX

“Mike.”, you whispered, opening your eyes to allow your vision to adjust to the room. The lights were dim so it made it easier for you. Once your vision was clear, you were startled by Mike, Marcus, Kelly and Dorn sitting down talking around the bed that you were in.

Once you found the strength, you slowly raised yourself up so that your back could be against the headboard. When you noticed that one of your wrists was handcuffed next to the post. “Where the hell am I?”, you asked, looking around. “Where’s Amando? McGrath? What the hell is this!!”

“Y/n, we need to talk.”, Mike replied, walking towards you. 

“We don’t think it’s best for you to come with us.”, Marcus sighed 

“Why the fuck am I handcuffed?”, you replied. You could feel your heart racing, and your blood boiling. You turned to look at your wrists that were handcuffed then at Marcus.

“Why? Do you guys not trust me? This will be a suicide mission if I’m not there!”, you blurted moving your feet off the bed. You notice that your side felt a bit better however when you looked down it was horribly bruised. Damn.

“How did you know that guy’s name was McGrath?”Mike asked, folding his arms.

“What?”

“Don’t “What” me. When Marcus and I came to your house and found you holding that little boy. You kept repeating that you “Needed Armando” and that it was “McGrath”. How did you know his name? You weren’t with us when we found out.”, he explained while pacing back and forth.

You watched as Marcus, Dorn and Kelly kept their eyes on you. Kelly and Dorn had a sorrowful look on their faces while Marcus just watched.

“It’s hard to explain. I need Armando, he can explain it better.”, you sighed, grabbing your wrist to try to pull your hand out. “I need to go with you guys, please.”

“No, we will go get Armando. We trusted you…Captain trusted you. Dorn and Kelly will be coming. This is Kelly’s place, you will stay here. Guys, let's go.”, you watched as Mike angrily left the room. You hated getting into it with the boys, especially Mike. He would always hold grudges and if he felt that his trust was broken, he wouldn’t ever acknowledge that person again.

You threw your head down in defeat, thinking that you should’ve said something months ago. However you didn’t know that this would happen. You could see someone’s shoes under you as you held your head down, looking up, it was Marcus handing you a cup of water with a napkin underneath.

“Here, I know you’re probably thirsty and try to ignore Mike, this operation is just personal...”, Marcus suggested holding out the drink for you to grab. You looked down at it to see black marks appearing through the glass. Looking up at Marcus to ask him about it, he was already walking out the room. You turned to look at Kelly and Dorn.

“I know you had nothing to do with this. We know so..”, Kelly replied, looking at the door and then back to you. You watched as she walked up to you and handed you something. It’s the key.

“Marcus wanted us to do this so there’s fresh clothes in the corner over there with the car keys. Read the note that Marcus left. Also, Captain left a personal video for you, we didn’t think i’ll be best for the boys to see it so we’ll send it to you.”, Kelly smiled, bending down to give you a slight hug then leaving. You watched as they left, you never would’ve thought that Marcus would help you out. Then again, he is the complete opposite from Mike. You adjusted yourself in Kelly’s bed and sat the glass on the nightstand. Grabbing the napkin, you unfolded to see what it read…

“Mike doesn’t trust you so he has decided to not have you come with us. I know that you have nothing to do with this and that you and Armando can help us. I told Kelly and Dorn to set you some clothes out and to leave you the keys once Mike leaves the room. Meet us at the private airport on Boulevard and be quick. Dorn and Kelly aren’t going, they’re just stalling and I’ll deal with Mike, he’s just hurt. That’s all, from Marcus.”, you read looking up to see the clothes in the corner of the room.

You knew that you were in a race with time, so you hurried up and unlocked the handcuffs and started to get ready.

                                     ARMANDO’S    POV :

She’s been on my mind since she left the other day. The way she looked at me, her eyes and that voice of hers was all that I could remember. The way she carried herself when she was here excited me. Very. I was sitting down on a small bench that they have in my cage. My cage, as if I am some animal. I wasn’t asked to have this kind of life, to kill people for a living. I was protecting my mother, who’s now dead. I must’ve gotten lost in my thoughts because when I looked up guards were surrounding my cell. 

“Standup.”, one of the guards commanded,  unlocking my cell and walking in. I got up and threw my hands forward to show them that I was willing to cooperate. I watched as they put handcuffs on me and surrounded me as I followed them out.

“You guys are late.”, I said, looking around at the guards.

“Shut the hell up, you don’t even know the time.”, one of them replied,  pushing me. I kept walking, I could’ve easily taken him down while cuffed but then that would’ve changed my chance of being transported. 

The walk to the bus wasn’t long since it was in the back of the building. I was excited to see y/n again, to be around her presence. She had a hold on me somehow and she barely even said anything. What a woman.

I watched as the doors opened, to be met by Marcus and Mike. I was lost, where the hell was she?

“Where is she? We made a deal, remember”I asked, being handed off to Mike and Marcus.

“We’re taking you.”, Mike replied, walking towards the bus.

“She couldn’t make it, a little accident.”, Marcus explained, looking at Mike and then at me. I wanted to turn around and go back to my cell. There was no point of being here besides the fact there’s a chance I might be free.

I wanted to see y/n and her only, I had a lot of questions to ask but if she wasn’t going to be here, then I guess it would go unanswered.

I got onto the bus and watched as they drove off. It’s been a minute since I've been off of the prison grounds. I turned to see Marcus looking at me. He was sitting in the seat across from me.

“What?”

“You know her, don’t you?”Marcus asked, scotting closer to me. I turned to look at the window and watched as we passed by open fields. I knew about her but didn’t personally know her.

“No.”, I replied, looking back at him. “Never got to meet her, just knew about her. It’s a lot.”

“That’s what she said.”

“What did she say?”I was curious. Even in the past from what others would say. She never talked much, she was secretive and no one knew what she really looked like but the person she was with. I liked that.

“Not much, she just said that she needed you. She knows about you that’s for sure, even though she acts as if she doesn’t.”, Marcus explained, leaning his back against the seat. “All I know is that she is in a lot of trouble, she knew who the guy was this whole time…”

I couldn’t say anything. If she knew who the guy was this whole time, why are we all getting pulled into this? Why didn’t she just say something? What did I have to do with this?  I allowed my thoughts to run while we were headed to the plane.

It took some time with construction and a little traffic, but we finally made it. I watched as the guards transported the cage onto the plane before allowing me to get out. Even while thousands of feet in the air, I have to be in a cage. Outrageous. Turning my head I was met by Mike standing over me.

“ Remember, NO funny business, you do something. They will kill you so don’t.”, he said pointing at me. I could tell in his eyes that he was serious but then again, I could never take the man. My father, who I almost killed, seriously. I just looked at him and stood up. Marcus followed and we all walked off of the bus.

While we were heading towards the plane, I could hear the sound of screeching tires from a distance. 

“What the hell?”Mike said, turning around to see what it was. It was a car coming full speed towards us. I watched as he and the rest of the guards around pulled out their guns.

“WAIT! DON’T SHOOT!”Marcus yelled, running into everyone’s line of vision. He turned around and waved for whoever it was for them to come closer.

I watched as Mike looked at Marcus with a confused expression over his face. He didn’t know what the hell was going on and I didn’t either.

“I’m sorry Mike.”, Marcus continued walking towards Mike. “But I couldn’t leave y/n like that, we need her help and she needs us.”

I watched as Marcus and Mike stared at each other. What was going on? I turned to see someone getting out of the car, it was y/n. I could help but stare as she came towards us. Her hips swayed with the rhythm of her legs while she runned over. Her torso was exposed, showing a huge bruise across it. I was curious now.

“You just got us killed.”, Mike responded looking at y/n and then back at Marcus.

I watched as he walked off heading towards the plane, while Marcus followed behind him. I turned to look at y/n to see her already looking at me. Although her eyes were dark brown, it looked like a sea of honey, the way the sun shined on her.

“Are you going to walk?”, y/n asked, pointing towards the plane.

“If you walk with me.”, I answered, looking at her and then the plane. I watched as she waved her hand out towards the plane, allowing me to lead the way.

The walk to the plane was quiet, there were quick glances here and there at each other. And there was  a lot that  I wanted to say but it felt as though I couldn’t talk. Until she finally said something.

“ He hates me now.”, she said, turning to me. I kept my eyes focused on the plane, I didn’t want to look at her. Afraid that I would show some kind of sympathy for her. It wasn’t needed right now.

“He hates everyone, so don’t…flatter yourself.”, I responded. Damn Armando, why did you have to say that? That came out way too harsh.

“Noted.”

There was silence after that, even when we got on the plane. Marcus and Mike sat by each other while Y/n sat right across from me. Of course they had me back in the cage. Before I knew it, we were in the air. Everyone was in their seats strapped in and was quiet.

I secretly was watching y/n. She had my attention, the way she sat in her seat and leaned her head back against the wall. It drove me kind of crazy inside. That’s when I noticed the marks across her neck.

“What happened?”, I posed pointing towards her. Mike and Marcus turned to look at me and then at y/n but I didn’t pay them any attention. Right now, it was just y/n and I on this plane.

I watched as she looked up at me, contemplating if she should reply or stay silent.

“Happened when Fletcher was killed, got attacked…Same for this one.”, I watched as she pointed down to her exposed stomach. The bruise was huge and I could tell that she was probably uncomfortable by the way she was sitting and breathing. I felt bad and started to wish that I was there. Why am I feeling this way?

“If I was there, that wouldn’t have happened.”, I smirked while going to sit down. I love the games, the chase. I could feel myself slowly becoming interested in her but there’s things that I need to know. Find out.

“Sure.”, she sarcastically replied. 

All I could do was laugh quietly, until I noticed Marcus getting up and heading towards the front of the plane.

“What the hell is he doing?”, I whispered to myself, watching cautiously.

Y/N POV

You watched as Marcus got up and headed towards the cockpit. You didn’t know what was going on but you knew something wasn’t right because when you turned to look at Armando, he was already looking at you alarmingly. You listened as Mike kept asking him about his actions and why he was peeping through the hole. 

“Marcus, sit your ass down.”Mike yelled looking at him.

You continued to stare at Marcus while he was looking through the hole. Before you knew it, you heard a gunshot and felt the plane start to fall.

“What the hell?”, you yelled unlocking your belt to get up, when one of the guards next to you grabbed your wrist.

“Sit back down!”, he screamed not letting you go. Before you could react, Marcus was flown back onto the wall and people in an all-black cop suit came out and started shooting at the guards. Dirty cops? You turned to look at Mike to see him rushing towards one of the people. You weren’t sure what to do but you knew you guys had nothing since they confiscated your weapons earlier.

Everything seemed to be moving fast, Marcus and Mike were fighting, and you were looking around to see what you could do to help. Until you saw a rope. You ran past Armando’s cage to grab the rope and started untying it from the metal hooks that it was on.

“What the hell are you doing? Go help them!”Armando yelled looking at you and then back at them.

“What the fuck do you think i’m doing?”, you screamed back tying the rope around a metal bar that was spotted underneath the ropes.

You sprinted back towards Marcus and Mike and began helping them take out each cop one by one. Busting them in their mouths, hitting them across their head and even nearly stabbing one of them until you got kicked in your stomach and got flown back into a red button. 

You turned around to see that it read, “Emergency Release Button” .

“Oh shit!”, you thought to yourself as you swiveled to see the back exit doors slowly opening.

“shit!”Armando whispered, looking  at the door.

You observed what was going on, dead bodies slowly began being  flown out of the plane, Marcus grabbing the rope that you used to tie it to Armando’s cell and Mike slowly losing a fight. You sprinted over to Mike to help him, until the three of you were flown over to Armando’s cell due to the air pressure. You and Mike had the guy pinned against the cage. You watched as Mike pulled off the guy’s mask to see that it was McGrath.

“Did you clean up our home?”He mocked kicking and then punching Mike. You couldn’t stand the fact that he was mocking you, and smiling while in the middle of doing so. You tried to fight him but he was too strong and with the air pressure being unbearable, you lost your balance and flew towards the open doors until you felt Armando grab your hand through his cell.

“Hold on!”he yelled, gripping and holding your hand as tight as he could,

You shook your head and turned to see McGrath waving then pulling a string from his backpack and flying out of the airplane. You turned your focus around back to Marcus and Mike to see them wrapping the rope around Armando’s cage. The cell was slowly coming out of the plane and you were on the side of it. The air was crisp and cold and you could feel your legs flying everywhere.

“Grab onto the cage and climb sideways towards the top near Marcus and jump,  Armando will catch you !” Mike yelled pointing at you. You weren’t too far from Marcus since he was slowly coming towards you. You were scared, the plane was about to crash in the next thirty seconds and you and Armando were about to fall out of it. However, it was either do what they say and have a fifty percent chance of living  or fly out and have a hundred percent chance of dying. 

So you started climbing, each grab feeling slippery due to your hand sweating from nervousness. Once you got to the top of it, you turned to see Armando at the bottom of the cell getting ready to sprint towards you to jump out and catch you. Half of his cell was hanging out of the plane so it was either now or never. You waited until you saw Armando get close to you and jumped. You could feel Armando hands latch onto you to hold you up as you both were pulled up by Marcus and Mike. You wrapped Armando's leg and straddled him to be sure that you wouldn’t fall.

“HOLD ON!”Marcus yelled as he grabbed the nearest railing. 

You could tell by the looks on Marcus and Mike’s face that we were about to crash. It was pure terror, they had closed their eyes and looked as if they were waiting for death to approach them.

You turned to look at Armando to see him already looking at you.

“Not yet.”, he whispered, holding the rails and turning you around to face you against the wall. You felt weird inside but you didn’t know why. His eyes sparked when he looked at you and his accent was strong. Just the two words that he spoke was so reassuring to you.

You both leaned each other’s head against the crook of your neck to be sure that nothing would hit it. He was protecting you, covering you so you felt that you should do the same. Shortly after the plane crash and you could hear something hitting against the plane.

You opened your eyes to water entering the plane, where the four of you were. “We have to swim or we will drown!”Mike yelled, running towards the exit.

You got down from Armando’s waist staring at the water that was slowly touching your shoes. You couldn’t swim, and you knew that. You were too embarrassed to say anything though. You looked up to Marcus and Mike running to get off the plane. Armando was still next to you, he caught on.

You watched as he squatted down low enough to allow you to jump on his back. You were worried if you were too heavy or if you would drown him.

“When we get into the water, keep your hands around my neck but loosen up your legs. I will need my whole body to swim, okay.”, he instructed, walking towards the water. You whispered okay and watched as the four of you got to the end of the plane and jumped into the water.

It was freezing, and felt like knives had stabbed you across your whole body. You had your eyes closed because you hated water being in your eyes. It felt like you were in the water forever until you opened your eyes and saw Mike and Marcus staring at you while you were still holding on to Armando. You quickly unwrapped yourself from him and stepped to the side on dry land.

“So are you going to help us?”Marcus asked, looking at Armando. 

You watched as Armando took quick glances at everyone and started walking into the woods. The rest of you caught on and followed after him.

“Hey! We’re out here because of you!”Mike continued, grabbing Armando's shoulders and turning him around. You watched as Armando stepped up to him, this wasn’t the time for him and Mike to fight. We all need each other.

“I haven’t done shit. This isn’t my shit to bury, you two digged it so you bury it back”, he replied slightly, pointing at Mike.

All you and Marcus could do was watch. You felt bad for Armando but also Mike. You walked up beside the both of them and stared at Mike.

 “Look, they’re going to frame us now. The evidence is right there”, you interrupted pointing back to the plane that is slowly being submerged underwater.

“And if you guys want to stand here and argue, then do it. But I have someone I need to talk to…kill. We’re fugitives now, not cops. It’s our word versus everyone else so quit the bullshit because right now, we only have each other.”, you continued looking at Armando and Mike. You were hoping that what you said got to them, you weren’t the type to give a speech, but you knew it was needed at the moment.

You stared at Armando and he stared at you back. “C’mon”, you whispered, hinting at him to walk away. You watched as he turned around and started walking. You followed, you didn’t know exactly where you were  since you weren’t from here but since you were with Armando, you figured you would be safe. You could hear leaves crunching because behind you, indicating that Mike and Marcus were following you.

All four of you were sprinting at this point, getting as far away from the crash as you could. Hoping to not leave a trail nor get caught. You caught up to Armando and jogged beside him.

“Are you okay?”, you asked, looking over at him. Sweat was dripping down his face and he had dirt marks across his body. At this point his prison attire was ripped and the top of his body was exposed. You felt hot.

“Yeah, didn’t expect anything good to come out of his mouth anyway.”, he replied, slowing down his pace to allow you to be in rhythm with him.

“I think you guys just need to talk. Have a conversation, an honest one.”

“I could say the same for you.” he laughed, with a small smirk.

He got you there and you knew it. He knew it. You figured at some point you would have to tell the truth but you didn’t know that it would have to be like this. So you said nothing.

“So will silence always be your answer for everything?”, he interrogated jumping over branches while looking ahead.

“If I have nothing to say then yes.”

“That’s fair.”, he responded, stopping in his tracks. You watched as he scanned out the area, we were surrounded by trees. A lot of them and the sun was slowly making an exit, which means we’ve been running for hours. Time was moving, one minute you were in bed, handcuffed to Kelly’s bedpost and next, you’re on the run.

“Here is fine.”, he continued looking at everyone.

“What? No, we need to keep moving.”, you debated pointing out towards the trees. “There should be a road near here, if we keep going–” 

“STOP!”, he demanded turning towards you. He was towering over you and looking down at you. Your breath felt short and although you thought he looked fine in control; you were shocked and mad. You stared at him and then at Mike and Marcus. You watched as Mike shrugged and Marcus was looking at you shockingly as well. You felt that you didn’t have time to be sitting around. To stay complacent and allow McGrath or the cops to catch up to you, so you walked off.  Ignoring your name being called by others. You kept going, not knowing where you were walking while the sun was slowly making an exit. You started to become creeped out by the trees hovering over you as you walked, but the pride in you kept your legs moving so you kept going.

[stop-talking]

Breakdown of the @joshsbimbo controversy.

@mike-schmidtten already made a detailed list of every reason why people are upset with you, "lamb", but I'm going to quickly go over it all anyways because you obviously didn't get the memo.

Extreme trigger warning for this entire post, I'm going to be talking about rape, SA, assault, violence, abuse, incest, stepcest, pedophilia, substance abuse, and probably a lot more.

First of all, you tagged this fic where Mike literally rapes the reader as "cnc". That is not correct.

I mean, if we look at the definition of CNC, it says "this type of scene does not encourage ACTUAL rape. All proper scenes are done after much negotiation between of-age, consenting adults."

But I don't need to explain that to you, do I? You know what CNC is. You said yourself MONTHS ago that you tagged your fic incorrectly and NEVER went back and fixed it.

Mike's next point was that you make it impossible for people to "steer away" from their triggers when you don't tag your posts properly.

And as an example he used this post of straight up incest porn between Mike and his little sister. All completely out in the open, tagged under "#mike schmidt" and "#mike schmidt x reader" for all to see.

He followed it up this this. A plea for you to, at the bare minimum, tag the major triggers in your posts and hide it under a "read more" section.

Let's take a look at how you responded to that very reasonable request.

Oh. You DM'd him the word poop and blocked him.

Instead of reblogging to respond, you actually deleted your origional post so your followers couldn't see the criticism of you as easily. I wonder why? You made your stance clear, though. "I should have put more warnings on my work, but it doesn't matter anyways because it's all fictional." But then, immediately after, you started relogging an account that makes photoshopped foot fetish content of male celebrities for some reason...?

(I censored the feet myself because its just weird) Oh, and weird AI pictures of him, too.

There were worse ones, but I didn't screenshot everything, and you deleted these posts just a few hours after reblogging.

You followed it all up with this now-deleted post about how you wish you could make your notes private. Again, I wonder why? If it really is OKAY to sexualize incest, rape, and abuse just because it's fictional, why would people be scared to support you? Why is no one willing to publicly like your posts, or speak out in your favor? Even some of your biggest supporters (@leah-hutcherson @teenagedreamsss @cuteskunkz @renaissancebewbies) who continue to like (some) of your posts, still haven't come to your defense. If writing about fictional rape, abuse, and incest really and truly wasn't harmful, why would you need to hide?

Once other people started catching wind of what was going on, you responded in some... interesting ways. Like here, in response to this ask (from a person who is a minor BTW). You switched up your story from "I should have tagged my work better" to "everyone hates me now because I forgot to put warnings on ONE story" (which was just blatantly false, as you had been posting other triggering things at the time with no warnings whatsoever.)

It was absolutely ridiculous of you to claim you put warnings on your work when I could scroll down two posts (back before you deleted this) and see a post about Mike beating his kid.

Like... please show me where exactly the warning is?

Then, when this person, (another MINOR, btw!!) posted after reading Mike's breakdown of your behavior, your responded by DMing them a slur.

I don't even know what to say to that. A minor. A slur.

But as much as you like to INSIST your work isn't for minors, you sure seem to interact with them a lot.

This person who reblogged your masterlist? They're a minor.

^^ You can't say you don't want minors to read your work without actually taking all precautions possible to prevent them from seeing it. (Tagging your content, blocking ageless accounts, NOT REBLOGGING MINORS!!!)

Yes. This person is also a minor. Which makes, what, the 4th minor you've interacted with in the past few days? At least from what I can tell.

They also hate you btw so I don't even know why you reblogged them.

FINALLY, this user commented under one of your posts in an attempt to get you to AT LEAST tag your posts correctly if you're going to write triggering shit. (Which was the same think Mike asked you to do, if you remember, but he got "poop" and reblogs of foot fetish posts as a response.)

But then it looked like you either blocked them or removed their comment, so they tried again.

You ignored this message, then apparently posted this?

So they tried again (being much nicer that I would have)

And you finally responded (and still got blocked anyways because your posts are DISTURBING and GROSS)

I doubted you'd actually fix your page, because again, you ignored the same request when Mike asked, and in the past admitted you tagged your fics wrong but just never bothered to change it.

But surprise surprise, you actually went through with it and added trigger warnings to your content.

Though, I'm still not sure "non-serious" is an appropriate tag for a post where mike beats you to death...??

Look. I appreciate that you're at least TRYING now, but it was a fucking FIGHT to get you to do the bare minimum. What I, and apparently 84% of people actually want you to do is delete your account.

(This is from @mike-schmidtten's breakdown post from a couple days ago)

I know you want to PRETEND that just because something is a work of fiction, it doesn't have negative real-world effects, but that's just not the truth.

A lot of people were hurt when you posted things without trigger warnings.

And even now, as you continue to post fetish content for rape, incest, and abuse, people are still being hurt. MINORS are still being hurt.

Yes, obviously, if you post something on the internet, you can't completely 100% control who sees it. But you don't even seem to TRY.

(Dming minors slurs, letting minors reblog your masterlist, letting ageless accounts interact with you, reblogging minors, answering asks from minors, etc)

People, minors, CHILDREN, are raped and abused by those closest to them every day. It's disgusting and horrifying to think about, but it's the world we live in.

You aren't "helping people cope" by writing these stories. You're normalizing abuse. And allowing the most vulnerable people to read it.

You're taking actual things that have happened to real people, and sexualizing it for others to get off to. It's immoral, disturbing, and disgusting.

To my followers, if any of you support this kind of content, you are NOT welcome on my page. Please unfollow or block me and go seek help.

And to you, lamb, I hope you come to your senses and either delete all of your rape & incest fetish content or delete your account entirely.

At the end of the day, you KNOW you're in the wrong. Or at least some small part of you does, or you wouldn't have been afraid to reblog Mike's post and respond defending yourself directly. And you wouldn't be afraid to reblog mine either, which you undoubtedly will.

I know you used to follow me, so maybe you'll take this all to heart. But probably not.

I won't block you. (for the next few days, at least). I'll be here if you want to try and have a civil discussion. But just know I will NEVER agree with the sexualization & glorification of violence and abuse.

[artiststarme]

Based on this post by @anzelsilver. Thanks for letting me write this prompt and I hope I did it justice!

~*~*~*~

Eddie had no idea what was happening. Don’t get him wrong, the last several months have been great following his horrific encounter with the Upside Down, nearly dying, and then having to clear his name from a series of murders he didn’t commit. But other than his absolute shitshow of a Spring Break, ‘86 truly was his year. He had graduated and become friends with an entire group of outcasts ranging from D&D nerds, a band kid, and a jock. He had never imagined that he would become friends with Steve “the Hair'' Harrington but here he was. But that’s what led to his inordinate confusion. 

Being friends with Steve Harrington was confusing and unlike any other friendship he’d had before. They’d gone from hating each other from afar before their experience with Vecna to hanging out everyday afterwards. Steve would show up to the new Munson trailer with carry-out food from the diner and a blinding smile on his face. At movie nights, Steve would sit closely to Eddie with an arm around his shoulder and would hide his face in his neck at scary parts. He kept suggesting new plans or restaurants to try and would discretely hold Eddie’s hands out of view of everyone else. And when he got particularly excited about something, Steve would even kiss the corner of Eddie’s mouth! 

Now, Eddie had never been friends with a jock before. So he assumes that Steve’s touchiness is due to trauma bonding and jock culture and he doesn’t question it. He continues to hang out with Steve without limitation but all of the touching and everything with a straight guy is confusing for Eddie. Then, a nice guy approaches him at the Hideout after a set and Eddie really has no reason not to agree to go on a date. The fleeting touches from Steve and all around “good guy-ness” has been leaving Eddie feeling unfulfilled and frankly pathetic. He vowed not to crush on another straight guy after what happened last time yet here he was. So, what better way to get over his unrequited crush on Steve than to go out with another guy?

It’s at another Party movie night at Steve’s house that Eddie tells the group. “Look guys, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to postpone Hellfire this week.”

There was a moment of calmness before the kids erupted. 

“Postpone? POSTPONE?!” Mike screams, being the indignant little shit that he is. 

“Eddie, you can’t postpone! You didn’t even postpone for Lucas when he had his basketball game!” Dustin tries, aiming a well-aimed punch at Eddie’s guilt for that particular past decision. Lesson learned, Henderson. 

“Yeah, you said you never postponed! What’s so important that you’re going to postpone the best part of the campaign?” Lucas asked, offended at the mere idea. 

“Well my little sheep, if you must know, I have been courted by a fine bard to be taken on a date. It’s non negotiable, Hellfire will be postponed to next Friday,” Eddie said theatrically. He was laser focused on the reactions of the kids and thus missed the questioning glance Robin threw to a rapidly paling Steve. 

“There’s no way. Steve said he’d sit in on the session on Friday. You’re not going on a date. You almost got us there,” Dustin chuckled. 

“What does that have to do with anything, Henderson? I am going on the date! Tony asked me after my set and I didn’t have any reason to say no! And because you can’t have a campaign without the DM, Hellfire is postponed. End of discussion!”

The room went absolutely silent, enough to hear a pin drop. Eddie didn’t know what he said wrong, everyone here already knew he was gay so they wouldn’t have an issue with that. But as he looked around and saw everyone staring- no glaring, at him, he knew he fucked something up. He whipped around to stare at Steve when he heard him mutter, “oh… fuck, I’m so stupid.”

Eddie’s eyes widened when he saw Steve roughly wipe at his eyes in an attempt to obscure the falling tears. “What the- Stevie?”

Steve just made his way to the back door leading to the patio and muttered, “I hope you have a good date, Eddie.”

Robin shook her head in disbelief. “What the hell, Eddie? I trusted you with him.” 

She looks worriedly in the direction Steve ran but looks back at Eddie with murderous intent in her eyes. She seems torn between wanting to stay and tear Eddie a new one or run after her platonic soulmate. 

“Go Robin, I’ve got this handled,” Nancy says like that’s not the scariest sentence he’s ever heard. She says it in a voice that makes Eddie want to run home and hide under his covers. With one more scathing glare to Eddie in parting, Robin takes off after Steve. 

Eddie was left standing confused in the middle of the Harrington living room, staring at where Steve once stood. The rest of the Party immediately started berating him once the sliding door closed behind Steve and Robin. 

“What are you doing, Eddie?” Lucas, ever the diplomat, asked in bewilderment. 

“You’re a coward, what the fuck is the matter with you?” Max spit at him, her eyes glaring into his very soul. 

“Eddie, you just really hurt Steve. Why would you do that?” Will asked, his eyes open wide in shock. 

“You’re literally the scum of the earth, Eddie. What in the literal hell gives you the right?” Dustin said, really going for his throat. 

“Eddie,” Nancy starts and immediately the rest of the room falls silent. “I cannot believe that you would do something like this. After everything we’ve done for you, everything Steve has done for you, you’re going to mess it all up for what? A date with some stranger? I thought you were better than that but I guess you were right. You really are just a coward that runs away from anything important. I hope you’re happy with yourself, Munson.”

Eddie’s heart dropped at her words. He thought they were all cool with him and Robin being gay but maybe they weren’t. But going after all of his insecurities so viscerally? It made him wonder if they had ever been his friends at all. 

“I thought you guys would be happy for me. I don’t know what I did but I’m really sorry. I didn’t know that you would react like this.” He whispered, his arms coming up to hug himself self-soothingly. 

Whether it was the tears in his eyes or the sincerity of his words, Nancy’s intimidating posture becomes contemplative. Then, realization hits her. “Eddie, you do know that you and Steve are dating… right? And you just stomped all over his feelings in front of all of his friends?”

Eddie feels ice pour through his veins. That would explain the cuddling on the couch during movies, the sleepovers in the same bed, and the chaste kisses on the edge of his lips. Oh fuck. They were dating. And he just fucked it all up by agreeing to go out on a date with another guy… some, some schmuck!

Oh no, Eddie’s eyes widened even further. Steve thinks he just broke up with him and left his own house! Oh no! 

“Jesus H. Christ! Why didn’t anyone fucking tell me that we were dating? You expect me to just know these things? Fuck! I have to go after him, right? Goddamn it, you all fucking suck. No one thought to fucking tell me the cuddling and goddamn kisses were him wooing me? Fucking shit!” Eddie screamed at the group before turning and sprinting after Steve, his apparent boyfriend. What the literal fuck was he supposed to do about that?

He caught up to them quickly, Steve and Robin were sitting on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water. They both turned around at the sound of the sliding door slamming open against the jam. Eddie burst through panting and keeling over. Jesus Christ, he had to cut down on the smoking. Poor Steve had tear tracks running down his cheeks and Robin had a wet stain on the shoulder of her shirt. She glared at him menacingly from her perch. 

“Steve, I’m sorry! I didn’t know we were dating, I’m so sorry.” Eddie pled through his pants.

Steve’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “How the hell did you not know we were dating? I literally just took you to Indy on a date last weekend and was holding your hand. We’ve kissed!”

Eddie let out a manic laugh. “I know! I know we’ve kissed and I know it sounds stupid. I thought it was you being really touchy with your friends or like jock behavior or something. Steve, I swear to you, I had no idea that we were dating.”

Robin’s eyes were squinted and she asked incredulously, “how many guys are you kissing that you think kissing people on the lips is ‘jock behavior’? Do you know how stupid that sounds?”

“Yes, I know how stupid that sounds! And guess what, I’m stupid! You think you can be a senior in high school for three fucking years without being stupid?! No! But I swear, I didn’t know.”

Steve shook his head, “no, you’re not stupid. This is my fault. I know you wouldn’t want to date me and I misunderstood-”

“Steve, of course I want to date you! You’re perfect and I love you, why wouldn’t I want to be your boyfriend? I’m just really fucking dumb and didn’t realize. I am so sorry.”

Robin was watching the two of them talk like a tennis match. She had no idea what was happening but holy shit, it felt like she was in a sitcom. Steve stood from his position at the pool and took a step towards Eddie. “You would date me?”

Eddie nodded vigorously, “of fucking course, Steve! The only reason I agreed to go on a date with Tony in the first place is because I wanted to get over you. All of the touching and flirting had me out of my mind because I thought I couldn’t have you, man. I was going crazy.”

Steve moved closer so they were nose to nose and glanced down at his lips. “Don’t call me ‘man’.” 

Eddie licked his lips and watched Steve’s eyes track the movement. “What’re you going to do about it, big boy?”

Steve’s lips surged forward to meet his own, fully this time in a way the chaste kisses in the past hadn’t before. Eddie felt butterflies in his stomach and electricity down to his toes. He was flying on cloud nine and he had never felt such happiness, such contentment and-

“Eh em, excuse me. Hey, be respectful of the lesbian eyes over here! I don’t need to see any of this. Eddie, stop with the tongue!” Robin shrieked, breaking his haze of Steve Harrington-induced bliss. 

Steve pulled back enough to murmur against his lips, “Eddie, would you go on a date with me?”

Eddie smirked and with his eyes still closed, he whispered, “I thought you’d never ask, Stevie.”

[s0ft-d3cay]

I'll Lend You My Heart While It's on My Sleeve

Mike Schmidt x Male Reader | Hope you all enjoy!! The voted one shot will be the next post I make, just fyi.

WARNINGS: Aunt Jane, arguments, reader comforts Mike, reader is very snappy with Jane, Aunt Jane gets read like a book, reader and mike hold hand the entire time, reader is VERY protective of Mike, Reader has scary dog privileges, Reader is encouraging to Mike the entire time, A serious conversation between Mike and Aunt Jane, reader and Mike hug at the end(<3), use of Y/N, not beta read

WC: 1,866

It was clear, Aunt Jane was not expecting Y/N to defend Mike. Glaring daggers at the man in pure disgust, practically shaking in anger. The man had been pointing out things she could've done while Mike and Abby. "That doesn’t give him the right to disrespect me...he should be respecting me regardless because I’m still his aunt!" The woman demanded. Not used to being on the receiving end of her wrath, the woman was desperate to fight the man back.

Her words were harsh and degrading, not at all hold back her insults and negative comments towards her nephew. A hint of anger could be seen through Y/N's calm attitude, but no one except Mike would know that. Only imagining how much it would take for the man beside him to crack, he’s quite impressed with the amount of patience held. Feeling the anger boiling beneath his skin more and more as his aunt continues. In Mikes mind, she's getting herself in a grave with Y/N and that thought alone had him hiding a smug smile. Y/N was a stubborn man to his core and he'd go tooth n' nail to prove someone wrong.

"Mike and Abby don’t have to do anything regarding you, Jane. You’ve given them nothing but trouble, even now you still demand respect like a toddler. Respect is earned, not given out like free samples. Maybe if you didn’t waste your time on fake pearls and ugly clothes you’d actually find out what shutting up and listening will do for you. I mean…you’re already half-way there with the amount of times you’ve helped them out." Y/N snaps, effectively using his final blow of the ridicules argument. 

His sharp eyes turning to Mike and his conjoined hands, sitting back in his seat with a proud huff. He soon sends Abby's teacher an apologetic smile for his outburst. Jane let out a snare of annoyance as her eyes set on Y/N. Seething everyone else continues along with the meeting, leaving the woman absolutely fuming.

"We’ll meet you in the parking lot, Mike’s got a few things he wants to tell you." The woman's eyes narrow upon hearing what he said, once Abby’s teacher had concluded the meeting. Her jaw was still clenched tightly, not prepared to deal with her nephew’s ‘friend' had a pair of balls when speaking to her. Her eyes were staring him down, a hateful glare was on her face as she responded to him. "Is that right? Well, I don't see how me and him have anything else to talk about.” Y/N’s eyes sharpened as he replied. "I didn’t say anything about you talking, we’ll be waiting outside." He remarked bluntly, turning to walk out the room with Mike a few steps ahead. Leaving the woman no time to rebuttal him.

Y/N's blunt remark definitely made Mike's smile grow wider, now in the parking lot along side the other man. "You doing alright so far?" He asked, his voice softer with Mike. A totally opposite to how he spoke to aunt Jane not even minutes earlier, the man’s heart skipped a beat at that small change. "Yeah, I’m alright…" Mike replies leaning against his car, his own gaze wavering on Y/N. A tinge of thankfulness courses its way through him, with Y/N Mike would’ve kept his mouth and stayed quiet. But now…now he had support, someone willing to stand up for him. And that alone made a huge difference.

The two men leaning against the side of Mike’s car, a silence of unknown and understanding swirling around them as time passed. A breeze wafting pass the two, gently reminding Y/N of an idea. He smiles, looking over to Mike. "Hey just remember, after this we have nothing but cuddles and movies for us at home when we're done." Y/N brings up with a coy grin. The mention of cuddles and movies brought light to Mike's mood, a light chuckle escapes him. 

Mike brought both his hands to clasp over Y/N’s, their fingers sliding perfectly to clasped their palms together. "And the best kind of cuddles and movies to boot..." Bringing their intertwined hands up over his heart, lightly squeezing them. Feeling less anxious, even with the ever growing impatient footsteps approaching them. He couldn’t be bothered with Jane’s incessant need to be the center of attention. Mike had more important matters at the moment.

The calm silence is broken by her when she speaks up. "Let's get this over with." She declares to Mike in an insulting tone, speaking to him as if he was still a child. With her arms crossed and expression covered in boredom. Jane wanted nothing to do with the upcoming conversation. And that had triggered Y/N’s instincts, a flare of irritation spun into white hot resentment.

"Listen Jamie, if you’re not ready to have an adult conversation then you can fuck off." Y/N cuts in taking an intimidating step in front of Mike, standing tall to the woman with a grimace. Catching her off guard, once again not expect him to be the one to speak and take charge. Glaring back towards at Mike before returning her eyes to Y/N, as though she's trying to find an angle with the stubborn man. "And you? Do you feel like you're grown enough to talk to me like that? You think you're better than me somehow now because you're friends?”

"I know I’m better than you will ever be..." He states with a smug expression, watching as she essentially gets more and more annoyed with him. "But that’s not why you’re here, you’re here to listen and not talk. Am I clear?" He questions, voice full of authority and conviction. She wanted to retaliate, instead she found it wise to just obey this time around. Still spoke back in a condescending manner. "Crystal." She answers, her face still full of pure annoyance. Y/N takes a steps back against the car, turning to Mike with a kind smile. Giving him the floor as he playfully bumped his shoulder.

Mike clears his throat as he takes a step forward, preparing himself for things to go south. "I've done everything for Abby...and I will continue to do everything I possibly can to give her the life she deserves. And...I don't expect appreciation and help from you, nor do I need it. All I want is for you to stay out of our way and accept the fact that YOU are doing nothing to help her." His words hit a sore spot, her glare turned even more intense as she continued to stare right at him. Her expression morphed to alarm, taking back at the accusation. But he held his ground and spoke clearly and calmly, despite his trembling closed fists. 

He said what needed to be said, now she needs to accept her place in this situation. He was the one that stood by Abby through it all. He’s the one that stuck it out and he deserves more credit than she could ever give him. But Mike knows, she's not the type to acknowledge his efforts. No matter how badly he wanted to hear it, it would never be a reality…at least not for him.

Y/N watches in awe as Mike spoke, though voice shaky and hands trembling he pushed through it. The man couldn’t be more proud, knowing the weight of confronting an abuser was a heavy one. His eyes flickered between him and Jane, sharpening every time they landed on her.

Mike's voice remained firm as he spoke with a sense of finality. "I will never let you back into Abby's life in any way, shape, or form. We don’t want someone like you around us and...I never want to see you again." Done dealing with her, done listening to her just sat around and pretended like Mike hasn't done something useful. He’s done..

Jane stays silent, not knowing how to respond since being put in her place like this, speaking after a few moments. "Fine, I'll leave you three be." She responds stiffly, her glare still intense and a hint of anger in her voice. She couldn't admit that her nephew was right. Couldn't admit that she's at fault...couldn't admit that she's in the wrong.

Releasing a long sigh of exasperation before she decided to speak again. "But understand this, if I hear ANYTHING happening in that house of yours...I will be calling the authorities." Her tone condescending and desperate, throwing in one last warning. Having-no needing to make sure she had the upper hand in this situation somehow. 

At the note of the conversation ending, Y/N takes a step to stand beside Mike with a toothy dangerous smile, his own suspicion of her attempts on one upping the two men. "We’re sure you will…don’t do it to often or we’ll arrange a restraining order on you." The man states back bluntly with a smug expression, smiling with his teeth in a grimace towards Jane. Y/N's presence by Mike’s side definitely made the woman uneasy. The man definitely knew how to gain the upper hand with her. “Huh, you don’t even have the resources to even get a restraining order!" She scoffed mirroring Y/N's smugness, planning to challenge the man.

"Mike might not, but I do." He replies with the same amount of bluntness in his tone. Not taking her smugness lightly as he pushed on. "I think this conversation as reached its end, stop calling the house every week and stop pestering. We’re all adults here, so why don’t you start acting like one." Y/N dangerously offered to Jane, setting his expression to a blank one as he spoke his last statement.

Jane's smugness fades from her face, realizing she was not coming out on top of this conversation. Her grip on her purse tightened as she looked away, trying to hide the fact that she was a bit scared by him. “Whatever!” She quickly muttered, walking away from the two, back to her car.

Y/N waits until the woman dips in her car, speeding off. He gently grasped Mike's hand once again, allowing the silence and his spoken words to settle. Mike smiles at him after he took his hand again, his hands stopped trembling as his heart rate began to slow down. The entire encounter was nerve racking, but knowing that it was something that he needed to do in order for Abby made it feel worth it. Sighing out of relief once she had left, thankful that it was all over.

Mike moved closer to the other man and rested his head on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around Y/N, anxiety washing away through each exhale. His grip reconnecting to the man's hand, tightening slightly. The two now flushed to one another, feeling their combined heartbeats against each others chest. Mike took solace in Y/N, a victorious chuckle released from Mike. "Can we stay like this awhile longer? I…I just wanna hold you...” He whispered agains the Y/N's shoulder.

"I don’t mind it…" The other man responded sweetly. Wanting to give Mike as much comfort as he could, after the fact. "We can stay like this as long as you’d like…"

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights of any of the characters I write about, all the rights go to their respective creators

[fastcardotmp3]

Nancy & Eddie; Nancy & Wayne; 1.4k; post-S1; the melancholy of Christmas; grief/mourning

That night, after Steve goes home and the leftovers are put away and the voices from Mike's walkie talkie murmur through the walls, Nancy creeps past the gleaming tree in the living room and out the front door.

The dark of the sky is gray with the potential for overnight snow and her layers of shirt and sweatshirt and coat and scarf and gloves keep the cold from permeating too quickly, but her cheeks pink over before she reaches the end of the cul-de-sac, let alone her destination.

She shouldn't be out this late. Her mother would hate it if she weren't wine drunk and sleepy enough not to notice, and there's not a good place for Nancy to do what she needs to do, but it's also not an optional thing.

It's not, to her.

There's no grave to visit at the cemetery, because Barb isn't dead to anyone else the way she is to Nancy, but she goes there anyway. Has been. Will continue to.

She's making do, in this and in so many other ways, and so she tries not to feel the utter not enough-ness of the little stack of stones she's built in a lopsided pyramid under a big oak tree with far-stretching branches right at the highest point of the cemetery.

She tries not to think about how she can't add Barb's name to this sham of a grave, can't even call it that when Barb's body is trapped somewhere she can never reach and thus can't bring home either.

Nancy just lowers herself to the cold, hard earth and goes about straightening the pile again, as she always does. She uses them as a barrier this time, a little fenced-in square to hold up the poinsettias she'd stolen from the centerpiece that had sat in the center of their Christmas dinner.

Her hands tremble. She lets them.

Her swallow grows thick. She lets it.

Her tears do not fall. They stay caught in her gut where the rest of her guilt resides, the rest of all her worthless searching, the rest of the hope she never got to mourn for fear of seeming ungrateful for the return of her brother's best friend.

Nancy sits here in front of her makeshift memorial and she does not cry, because there are no tears, and she does not speak, because there are no words, but her heart screams loud enough to shake the town apart.

Her soul wails and laments and begs. She lets it.

She lets it be loud enough that she doesn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her until there's the quiet clear of a throat and question of--

"Hate to bother you, kiddo, but can I bother you a moment?"

Nancy startles, both at the gentle gruffness of the self-contradictory question and the realization that her face is damp with the silent remnants of tears she cannot feel past the numbness of the cold.

"Sor-- Sorry?" she clears her throat as she stumbles quickly to her feet, brushing off her skirt and the thick tights beneath it as she does.

The man behind her isn't someone she knows, which would be a frightening thing if she were in any other mental state than this one, so doused in apathy for her own self that danger doesn't really register.

He wears a warm looking hunting jacket, a thick winter cap with flaps over the ears, and holds a thermos out in front of him.

"S'only, my boy spotted you out in the cold over here," he gestures to Nancy's left where she sees a boy she does recognize, the flit-away of his gaze back to a headstone at his feet all she gets out of Eddie Munson before his arms are crossing over his chest and his shoulders are hiking up around his ears. "Wondered if maybe you couldn't do with some company? Or just somethin' warm to drink?"

He holds the thermos up, this-- this person speaking for Eddie Munson when Nancy has never seen the guy be anything other than outspoken.

The sky is gray in its darkness, a muted sort of black that doesn't allow for stars beyond the heavy clouds.

There's a little pile of stones which are the only remembrance for a girl who deserved so much better than she ever got on the ground behind her.

"You want me to...?"

"We're visitin' his Mama," he says gently, and Nancy understands Eddie's posture better now, that distance away feeling shorter between them. "Anyone out here on Christmas oughtn't be alone, though, don't you think?"

"She didn't run away," Nancy blurts, the sudden need to explain overwhelming any of the kindness being offered to her.

He just nods. Succinct but not dismissive.

"Okay."

"She--" Nancy chokes. She can't tell if her cheeks are still wet. "She didn't run away."

She's not allowed to say it. She's not allowed to talk about it. She can't impart the seriousness of how much Barb didn't leave, didn't go, didn't get far enough away before her time ran out.

But this man, this Munson, he just takes a step closer with the suggestion of an offer with the slightest raise of his arm and Nancy is-- Nancy is hugging him.

She's leaning into the warmth of him, letting him wrap his arm across her shoulders and rub her back with a gloved hand because-- because no one, not a single person, none of them listen when she says it.

Not even the ones who know, not even the boy who loves her, not her own mother who cared more about the fact that Nancy lost her virginity than her best friend.

"I hear ya," he says in a quiet murmur and Nancy believes him. Can hardly breathe past the force of what it feels like to have the words she speaks land softly, with understanding.

"Sorry, sorry," she swipes at her face as she pulls away, and he lets her go without argument, but stays standing there. "Sorry, I know I look hysterical, I just."

A hitching breath. She doesn't hear these footsteps getting closer either, but she feels Eddie's presence in that familiar posture she has gotten to know too well since that first week in November.

She's about to enter a new year, a year with a new number and a new turn of the earth that Barb will never see.

"We're going for pie," Eddie says, even as Nancy wipes her face with the tail of her scarf like a child. "Diner off Walnut's open on Christmas. If you wanna come and be a fuckin' mope with me."

And there's something to it, this undeniable acceptance that Nancy is, in fact, facing the same sort of loss as a boy without a mother, that has her snorting with laughter.

There's something about them, the Munson's with their seeing of her in the most vulnerable state she's allowed herself to express outside the privacy of her shower, that feels like the same sort of relief as the release of pressure that comes along with laughter.

"Do you always pick up strays at the cemetery?" she asks with an attempt at humor, expecting the same dry witted sarcasm in response.

Instead she gets a softening.

Instead she gets this: "I was in band with her," with the lowering of a gaze to a pile of mismatched stones, only to raise back to meet Nancy's with intent, "she made me laugh."

Nancy's chin wobbles. Her lungs too tight in her chest.

She knows then, even before she says it and earns the drape of Eddie's arm around her narrow shoulders, that she'll go with them and eat pie with them and grieve with them.

They'll tell her about the woman they've lost and maybe Nancy will be able to choke out a sentence or two about the girl who raised her only for Nancy to fail her.

They'll eat and she will listen to them because she knows the importance of such a thing and it will hurt.

It will always hurt.

"You said something about pie?" she manages to get out with a hard sniff of her frozen nose.

There is a piece of her lost to a world locked off from the rest of them.

She wonders, tucked into the Munson's pickup truck on a journey in search of pie, whether maybe that's not such an isolated feeling as she thought.

[bylrlve]

Warning! Potential leaks for season five of Stranger Things!

Alex (aka @dyersfilms on twitter, used to be swiftlynatalia) is the person who successfully leaked most of season 4 due to her knowing a source. She did, however, insist Byler was entirely platonic that season and they fought for most of it and only made up at the end in the pizza van, so…

Here’s her saying she won’t post any byler leaks this time around, which she has said previously.

She got a message saying they’re all fake, and she thinks they all are, so keep that in mind.

Here’s a short one: Will distancing himself from the party bc it’s too hard to be closeted and to be around Mike. If real? Endgame fr.

A ‘leak’ from episode one where shit goes down after the opening scene of Will singing SISOSIG, Will falls, and Mike helps him up,

Here’s an extremely detailed one that casually drops Mileven breakup, Robin-Mike bonding over Vickie and Will, Will trying to avoid Mike ‘confronting him about the painting’, Mike and Jonathan fighting over Will’s safety. Nothing here is debunkable but…. Yeah. God, would it be nice, though.

The two most interesting ones. First, an ask that’s almost entirely plausible except for the mileven part - and that part, specifically, I’m calling bullshit on bc it claims that Hopper is still on the Mike Hate Train. It was made abundantly clear, after their talk and their awkwardly long hug at the end of season 4, that that’s in the past. Besides, it just wouldn’t fit tonally. S3 was the heterosexual-cliché, silly filler season. S5? Nah. Can’t 100% say it’s fake, but even Alex agrees this one isn’t real.

Lastly, an interesting one that’s plausible throughout which claims Mike gets seriously injured and spends some time in hospital. Will stays by his bedside after everyone else leaves and kisses Mike on the forehead. Mike wakes up after he leaves - I think the insinuation is that Mike does a Half-Blood Prince and wakes up knowing that someone he felt safe with was there, but he doesn’t know who it was. If that’s legit? As I said, endgame fr.

I do want to note that both the mileven and Byler asks word the ‘main character getting injured part’ as everyone being ‘shaken up’ so there are a few options: it’s the same person with legit leaks, and Byler isn’t endgame. That, I’d be more willing to accept, cautious as I am, were it not for the Hopper part, which sticks out like a sore thumb. Second option: it’s the same person messing around. Third: it’s two people, one building on the other.

Cannot emphasise enough that these are most likely just bored people having fun, but I figured I’d share them all. The last one is getting passed around the tag sans context, and I wanted to clarify everything else Alex has received. Do not get your hopes up about Byler based solely on these.

Letting my imagination run absolutely wild here for just a moment, however: Maya and Vickie are confirmed to be filming at the hospital set, presumably visiting someone. There’s also a pic of someone with bloody shoes. Imagine if Robin visits Mike in the hospital, witnesses some Platinum-Tier Will Byers Pining™️, and ends up talking to Mike after he wakes up - no mention of how long he stays there.

Lastly, it is fun comparing these to the more doom-and-gloom (re: Mike) leaks Sapphicjopper on twitter got. The awesome @solgmorell has a post explaining those in detail.

Oh, and an interview came out today where Shawn Levy said something insane but, you know, water is wet.

[solarbird]

What they’re burying with the push to remove Biden

I wrote this yesterday, before they pushed Biden out. All this is still true.

Here’s what the major/legacy press are burying with wall-to-wall coverage of the massive billionaire-fuelled push to remove Biden:

The sheer, raw, overt racism and white supremacy of the Republican base. Not just mass booing a non-white speaker at the convention, but condemning their own VP nominee for not having a White wife. They’ll shut up about the latter, but we really, really shouldn’t.

That this includes outright calls to remove 15 to 20 million people in an ethnic purge. That’s not implied; that’s pre-printed official signs at the convention.

It will require a mass militarisation; Trump has been readying his supporters for horrific images for the last few months at his rallies. Popehat discusses the inevitable result: “We’re going to be an occupied nation. Detention of citizens and lawful residents is inevitable and in fact clearly intended. Large-scale violence against immigrants, suspected immigrants, and bystanders is inevitable and clearly intended.“

Citizenship won’t protect you; they intend to strip citizenship from naturalised citizens, too. They already had a task for on how to do it, back in 2018; this time, they will implement, and the Republican Supreme Court will let them.

Christian Nationalist Speaker of the House Mike Johnson backs this ethnic purge, by the way. When people say it’s “just Trump being Trump” point them at all this reality.

White nationalist speakers at the convention? Check! Core MAGAts calling Vice-President Harris a “coloured” “DEI hire”? Check!

The near-unity of his campaign with Project 2025, and all it entails – including not just his announced plans to bring its contributors to his next administration but six members of his previous cabinet, and his own chosen VP, JD Vance.

Medium has a whole page up on how to track Project 2025 contributors and involvement in the previous and a possible future Trump administration.

Did I mention that JD Vance supports Russia in its imperial invasion of Ukraine? Russian domestic propagandaists are downright giddy with his nomination.

And that he considers rape an “inconvenience” and that victims should be forced to carry and deliver their rapists’ babies?

And that police should be able to monitor medical records to search for possible abortions?

And that he praised Alex Jones and InfoWars as a “truth teller” – the same Alex Jones who directed hate and violence against parents of slaughtered children for years, until finally brought down in court?

The complete and open embrace of violence by him and his base – going back to 2016. The insurrection of 2020 was only a midpoint, not a culmination. From the national to the political to the personal, the GOP is a party of violence. So much so, that even a lot of old-line Republicans are talking about it openly.

Too bad that doesn’t include the legacy press. Too bad that doesn’t include the New York Times, or the Washington Post, or CNN, or so many others.

But it can include you.

That’s what’s needed right now. You, doing the job of that press, making sure everybody knows the real stakes of what’s going on.

Yes, there is some real support from Democrats for removing Biden. It wouldn’t be getting anywhere without the major donor and press frenzy, but some of it’s real. And I absolutely will back whoever comes out of this nonsense, as must we all.

No matter how mad we may and may not be about it. Am I clear on that? No matter how mad.

Because this Republican nightmare is what the press aren’t covering -it’s not even all of it, just some important highlights – all while instead going wall-to-wall 24-by-seven on this nomination fiasco.

Keep plugging away, team. It’s up to us to make up that gap.

And always remember – we win this, if we do the work. We win this, if we fight.

106 days remain.

[flanaganfilm]

Mike, can you tell us your experience premiering Oculus at tiff 2013? I recently saw Perri Nemiroff’s interview with you (looking like a baby btw- so young) and it made me think about what your mindset must have been as in getting yo experience the launch of your career, post Absentia, at one of the most prestigious festivals.

Oh, I remember that very well... a lot changed in a very short amount of time. And I think I know the interview you're talking about, I keep trying to link to it here but it doesn't take...

So there are few things to point out about Oculus and about what was happening in my life at the time. When Oculus got greenlit, I was working full time as a reality television editor. I used to sneak out of my job at lunch to go to "doctor's appointments" whenever I had to come for production meetings or casting sessions (they started to think there was something really, really wrong with my health).

Making the movie was an amazing learning experience - it was my first "real" movie, and full of lessons. It was the first collaboration with people who would become pillars of my career moving forward, like producer Trevor Macy (who is now my partner at Intrepid Pictures and who has produced everything I've ever made since) and my DP Michael Fimognari, who is one of the most important collaborators of my life. It was also the first time I worked with a young actress named Kate Siegel, who played the spooky ghost in the mirror.

We went into TIFF with distribution already in place. FilmDistrict had committed to the project during the Cannes market before we shot the movie, so we thought we were set. It was going to be my big theatrical debut.

Just before we premiered at TIFF, FilmDistrict abruptly and bafflingly dropped the film. I still don't really know why. They had committed to a worldwide theatrical release for the movie, but for reasons that were never made entirely clear to me, they dropped us just before the festival. Suddenly the whole enterprise was in jeopardy, and I didn't know if anyone would pick the movie back up.

I was absolutely terrified.

Being my first "real" movie, I didn't really know how this world worked and couldn't understand why our distributor didn't want to release it. We'd made the movie they had been excited about, they seemed to really like it, and we'd done everything they asked - it was a shock to the system. So when we rolled into tiff, we were homeless and trying not to let FilmDistrict's abrupt change of heart poison our chances of another sale.

I had never been to TIFF before but heard about Midnight Madness, which had seen huge sales from Cabin Fever and Insidious. Bidding wars had broken out while the films were still screening. But being part of the program was absolutely no guarantee of distribution - in fact, this might be the highest this movie would ever rise.

Trevor Macy and I went to the world premiere of The Green Inferno, which was playing the night before we played, and the audience was ROWDY. Like, shouting and hollering throughout the movie. We looked at each other with wide, nervous eyes - if this was the Midnight Madness audience, they were going to hate our movie the next day. We were considerably slower, ponderous, and atmospheric in a room that seemed to demand visceral, overt entertainment. I left the screening feeling dejected and a little doomed. Trevor was more upbeat, citing conversations he'd had with the programmer, Colin Geddes, who assured us he'd put our movie in the best possible spot for its success.

Our screening was September 9th, 2013 at midnight. I was petrified, and we were sold out. I remember walking into the theater feeling like this was the most important screening of my life. I wasn't alone, thank goodness. Trevor Macy, Michael Fimognari, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty were on hand. The film seemed to play well. It was the opposite of the screening the night before, which Colin had told us would happen - "watch," he had said. "The Saturday night slot is the big crazy one. You guys are Sunday, and it's going to be completely different. They'll plug right in."

He was right. You could hear a pin drop for most of the first half, and then there were moments of scattered applause that picked up as the film progressed. By the end, people were jumping in their seats and cheering for young Tim and Kaylee. There was an audible gasp when the anchor swung. And the applause at the credits seemed heartfelt and loud.

Most of that is a blur for me. I found this grainy pic from the Q&A after the film. I still had no idea how it had gone, or what was going to come out of it. I remember having hard time putting words together, and I vividly recall feeling like I sounded like an absolute moron whenever I talked, and trying to pass the microphone over to the actors as often as I could.

It's tough to see everyone in the pic, but from left to right it is Colin Geddes, Michael Fimognari, myself, Trevor Macy, Katee Sackhoff, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty.

When I stepped out of the theater, though, I became aware that everything had changed. I was immediately surrounded by people who had seen the film, suddenly shaking a ton of hands and realizing that it had been a hit. I walked into the theater by myself, utterly anonymous, and feeling every bit like an imposter. But everything was different when I walked out. I remember someone from the press talking about it years later, and saying "I was there that night - you walked into the theater with nothing, and walked out with a career."

People were asking me to sign stuff. That had never happened in my life. People wanted to get pictures. It was SO. FUCKING. WEIRD. Someone snapped a picture during that little whirlwind, and you can see it on my (young, skinny, hopelessly naive) face - an overall bewilderment, a gentle disbelief that this was happening:

I loved my experience at TIFF. And it absolutely started everything. Relativity, Blumhouse, and WWE Films joined forces to make an offer on the movie at the festival, and we left with a theatrical distribution deal. My career had officially begun. Now, I wouldn't feel like it had for several more years - I remained in fight/flight/survival mode well through Gerald's Game - but in retrospect, yes, that's when it happened.

Thank you for asking this question, it's been a while since I've looked back at this period of my life. It kinda makes me want to watch that movie again. It has been a LONG time, and I owe it a lot.

Maybe everything.

[atschoolunfortunetly]

A Very Long and Very Rage Written Rant about people talking about the FNAF Movie because I am seeing some takes that make me want to bash my head into a wall.

Very quickly an apology to my followers on here that followed me for Sonic. I would post this on my main but if you read my username I don't really have the time to do that right now. Very sorry for clogging up your TL.

Anyway, I am about to use very aggressive and targeted language. I am not hating on anyone specific but I am going to be saying sentences like "Are you dumb? Why are you like this?" Tumblr is my void and I am going to scream. I know some of the things I say may not be common knowledge. However, in this rant, I am going to pretend that it is. I am going to swear a lot. I am going to be talking about fist-fighting people whom I disagree with.

Just know that once again, this is a rant. Not a "please stop saying blah blah blah blah." I am not going to go out of my way to attack people. Which is, once again, why I am screaming here.

"Why the big warning?" BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ON MY MAIN BACK WHEN I COMPLAINED ABOUT PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE RED EYES YELLED AT ME. MY POST WASN'T MEANT TO TARGET ANYONE SPECIFIC. I WAS MEANT TO BE YELLING AT A MADE-UP DUMMY I MADE IN MY MIND!

With that out of the way, it is time to scream.

OH MY FUCKING GOD SOME OF THE THINGS YA'LL ARE SAYING. I have never felt the urge to rip through my fucking screen and grab some of yall by the throat. I want to bodyslam you onto the ground and pummel you to death.

Let's begin with a recent complaint I saw about William having no motivation in the movie and how they should have given him his motivation, let me tell you something bud.

They did. They did give him his motive. However, this is a 2-hour movie and they didn't dive into it. It's almost like they're making a second movie or something? OH WAIT THEY ARE! THIS IS THE FIRST MOVIE! THEY ARE ESTABLISHING ROLES!

They want you to grasp from this movie that:

William is a threat.

Mike is doing his best and is not going to pick up on everything.

Abby and the missing kids are, indeed, regular-ass kids who aren't going to understand fully the situation they're in.

Vanessa is a traumatized individual who wants to please her father and was manipulated into helping him because, you know, THAT IS HER DAD.

They are setting up the basics so people know what to expect from the next film. They will, most likely, be going into William's motives then. But as of right now, they are setting the roles that each character is going to take.

I don't know how some of yall ain't getting that because it is the most clear as day thing to me but that may be because I am aiming to be a writer down the line.

Time to aim at the other complaint I've seen which is that Vanessa is an Afton complaint. All I have to say to that is, whoah, it's almost like the movie takes place in an alt-universe from the games. And even if Vanessa is an Afton in the games who gives a fuck? She isn't Williams's direct child if that's the case and it just ties her in with the old characters. A popular thing I have seen a couple of times is that sometimes people portray Gregory as an Afton. So what's so wrong about Vanessa being an Afton. I am genuinely curious here? What's wrong about her being an Afton.

Some of yall come up with the most stupidest ass complaints I swear to god.

"But Micheal is meant to be the Afton-" Tell me how that would have worked in this movie. Tell me how Mike would not have recognized his own father if he was William. Also, I like that the movie implies that his dad is probably Henry.

"How does it imply that?"

I don't know, why don't we look at the career office scene again where William reads Mike's last name and recognizes it. He wants to tie up his loose ends.

And Mike? Mike is a loose end.

It just makes sense and it goes into the last complaint I saw about the movie.

The "I always come back line doesn't make sense," complaint.

THE REASON WHY IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO YOU IS THAT YOU KEEP PLACING IT IN THE WRONG CONTEXT YOU FOOL, YOU ABSOLUTE BAFOON. YOU'RE PLACING IT IN THE GAME'S CONTEXT. NOT THE MOVIES.

If I am fucking right about the fact that Henry is a Schmidt in the movie then that means William has always been a part of Mike's life. He has been haunting Mike since he took Garret, he influenced Mike to get a job at Freddy's, and he was the reason why Mike met Vanessa.

When he said he'd come back, he wasn't talking about coming back from the dead.

He meant it as he'll come back and make Mike's life a living hell.

Anyway rant fucking over, yall pisses me off. Good day.

[m00nlight-ramblings]

Me and the Devil

While in the upside down, Eddie and the crew meet Death herself.

Pairings: Eddie x female (even though she's ethereal?) character

Warnings: talks of death, general spooky gothic stuff?, swearing. MINORS DNI

Requested: yes

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: The entire crew is in the Upside Down for this one, let's bend the canon a little lol. Graphic and story made my by me. I do not give permission for my work to shared or re-posted. Pictures in graphic found on Pinterest, I do not own them. Thank you!

Eddie's chest heaved as the final bat (hell-bat? What the hell even were these things?) slammed into the ground, a high-pitched squeal escaping its body before he met it with his wooden bat, blood spilling on the ground.

"Oh god, Steve! Steve are you okay?" Nancy rushed to his side as he gently laid his back on the ground, his open wounds noticeable from multiple feet away. The sound of Nancy yelling Steve's name sent Dustin and Mike running to him to inspect. Eddie dropped his bat and ran walked over, almost afraid to get too close.

"Yeah, I'm...fine? No, I mean I'm not but, I-"

"Shut up for a second. Here, let's help. Will someone help him up with me?" Robin said, slinging one of his arms over her shoulder. Nancy took the other, propping him up gently as Steve groaned in pain.

Everyone seemingly sprang into action at the same time - trying to clear and clean an area for Steve, squawking over what we could do to help, ripping of clothes to create makeshift wrappings.

Eddie's head began to spin, sending a dizzy spell through him. So, just to get it straight, not only did the entire town of Hawkins hate him and want him dead for something he didn't even do, but now he was in Hell (sorry, the "Upside Down"), and was fighting a supernatural entity in order to save the planet - no, the universe? And on top of that, one of his friends almost met his end right in front of him?

Okay...so, this was overwhelming.

The voices from the group barking over each other made sweat break out on Eddie's forehead, and Steve's groaning wasn't making it any better. Panic started to rise in Eddie's stomach as his heart raced and wait a minute, when did he start pacing? Ringing his hands to try and expunge some of his excess anxiety, Eddie's mouth couldn't stop from moving:

"Oh god, oh god, oh fuck, oh Jesus Christ! Oh shit, okay, oh shit-"

And suddenly, a whistle.

A whistle so clear, and so loud, it silenced the group instantly. Eddie's anxiety ceased at once as he met the faces of the others - everyone's brows an identical shade of furrowed and confused.

"What the hell is that?" Dustin murmured, staying completely still. His eyes shifted around him, trying to find the source of the whistle. The whistle, that, somehow, had shushed the thunder and lightning of the Upside Down.

As the whistle grew louder, the group knitted closer around Steve (and each other) - even though they didn't know who or what it was, somehow the closeness made them feel more secure. Eddie's eyes met Steve's, which were unreadable.

Suddenly, a woman stepped out from a cluster of rocks a few feet away. As she stepped out, the air seemed to get sucked out from under them, and a bolt of lightening struck ways away; lighting up the sky, but having no noise.

The woman, dressed in an all black - perhaps a shroud that was tightly wrapped around her body - was the source of the whistling. As she stepped out and closer to the group, the sound got louder, sending shivers down Eddie's back. Her dark eyes danced and she smirked.

A hunter playing with their prey.

The group collectively stepped back as she moved forward.

"Well, hello." She purred, stopping and scanning the group. She removed the hood that encapsulated her face, sliding it down to her shoulders, revealing a swath of dark hair. “It seems I’ve been...called.”

“No!” Robin immediately shouted, unable to keep her mouth shut, “No calling done here! No one here called you, you must have the wrong number! A-a-actually, we don’t even have a phone down here!”

“Robin shut up.” Mike hissed, keeping his eyes on the woman and not moving her lips.

The woman laughed, which sent another shiver down Eddie’s spine. He eyed the wooden bat that he had left on the ground, a mere inches away from this woman’s foot.

Fuck, he thought, I’m such a fucking idiot. The woman took another step forward and smiled fully now, showing her impeccably white teeth. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't good news.

"No, no no..." She started to circle the group slowly, eyeing each one of us individually. The pause she was taking in her speech made us all even more uneasy. Finally, she looked at Steve, "A phone, dear, is not how I'm called. Think of it as..." She breathed in deeply, as if we were in some beautiful wildflower field and not the hellscape of the Upside Down, "A universal call. Psychic or..." She waved a hand in the air, "Whatever. Anyway-"

She took a large step in to Steve and looked at him, starting at his feet, "The universe called, and I answered."

"And what...exactly are you here to do?" Nancy protectively stepped out from under Steve's arm, earning a muted groan from him, "Who even are you?"

The woman made a small O with her mouth, nodding her head slowly, "Oh well, I'm Death, darling."

"WHAT?!" Dustin, Robin, Mike, and Eddie screamed out, taking a comically large step back from her.

"Oh come now, friends, it's just my job. And everyone's gotta work, right? So...just let me do my job and I'll be on my way and -" Suddenly, Death stopped. She tilted her head and bit the inside of her cheek, examining something.

Eddie couldn't help but follow her gaze, straight to El.

"My, my, my..." She finally spoke. She waved a finger, pushing Mike to the side without even touching them. "Do my eyes deceive me, or are you who I think you are?"

El, obviously terrified, stayed still as a statue as Death examined her. Eddie couldn't help but move closer, almost involuntarily.

"My, yes, I think you are," Death extended a finger (with a long, black-painted nail) and brushed a piece of El's hair behind her ear, "It is an honor to meet you. Forgive me but, you are a bit of a...legend...in these parts. You have been the talk of the town for quite some time, you know." Death clicked behind her teeth and smiled, "I was sent here for one person, but if my boss knows of your presence, well then-"

"Absolutely not," Eddie said, stepping in between Death and El, "Like fuck you are. You aren't taking anyone today. Move the fuck along, or we'll make you."

"Eds, you're literally talking to Death herself. I don't know if you'd be able to take her." Robin grumbled, "I certainly can't..."

"Oh, my love, I'm so sorry. But if I turned my back on every single person that their friend told me not to take, I wouldn't have a job!" Death chuckled a bit, eyeing Eddie. As Eddie looked at her, he realized she looked about their age. A...teenager? Was Death? Was it a trick of the mind, or did she just present herself that way?

Eddie shook his head at this ridiculous thought - how did he get to the point where he was trying to figure the schematics of Death's age...DEATH?!

"I do admit though," Death said, smiling at Eddie, "Most people go running for the hills once they figure out who I am. It's nice to have a proper conversation every once and a while," She turned and went back to circling the group again, "So thanks, for that."

"Well - well how about we continue the...fun? Conversation!" Argyle offered, "Right? Because you...lack...stimulating conversation so much..." Argyle's voice wavered as Death turned back and started to make her way towards him. Once they were eye to eye, Argyle let out a shaky breath, "Okay, yeah. I can see why people go running for the hills. You're terrifying."

Every head in the group turned to Argyle and Nancy hissed, "Argyle!" The air was still as no one moved. Suddenly, Death laughed.

Hard.

"Holy shit, you're funny!" She pointed at Argyle, "You're very funny! Oh fuck, I wish all my clients were like you all!" She turned to the group and smiled again, "It really is a shame I'll have to take Steve and El back with me, because you seem to all have a...good dynamic going on."

"Wait, you're here for me?" Steve suddenly asked, his eyes half open.

"Yeah you idiot, you're just realizing this?" Dustin looked at him, incredulous.

"Holy shit, that is terrifying." Steve spoke again.

"Dude, she's literally Death, what do you think she's here for?!"

"Hi, sorry to break this up," Death spoke again, interrupting Dustin and Steve's banter, "But can we wrap this up? I have a job to do."

"No! You can't!" Nancy shrieked, turning to Death as if she was an annoying sibling rather than, well...Death.

"Listen, Vecna isn't going to be too pleased when I don't return with at least ONE of the people I was called for, so-"

"Sorry, did you just say Vecna?! Your boss is Vecna?!" Mike hollered.

"Oh my god, we are so fucked." Dustin finished.

"We were so fucked before we found out her boss is Vecna, Dustin, WE ARE LITERALLY TALKING TO DEATH!" Eddie yelled, taking Dustin's shoulders and shaking them.

"Oh my god." Death rolled her eyes and walked away, sitting on a nearby rock. If they needed time to argue, then fine. She could let them argue. She had all the time in the world - she was Death, after all. As she watched a giant argument unfold between all members of the party, the feeling of annoyance that was once blooming in her chest was replaced by something else.

...sadness, was it?

No, that couldn't be. She hadn't felt sad in years...decades, centuries.

She had seen hundreds of thousands of groups of friends in the last moments of their lives - the crying, the screaming, the anger, the frightened feelings in their hearts. And the memories - the joy, the laughter, the happiness...she had experienced all the emotions with her clients. And 99.99% of the time, she was unaffected, just there to do her job.

So why was this group of seemingly giant bratty babies tugging at her heartstrings?

As she eyed the one with curly brown hair - Eddie, she remembers - she cocks her head to the side. The group's gravitational pull seemed to be much more than just this particular earthly plane - something about their dynamic, their love (and seemingly, anger) for one another made Death realize that this group was a group of soulmates. Destined to be in one another's lives in every lifetime, every dimension. And the fact that they were so young...

She had seen a few soulmate groups over her career, but never this young.

When she died (well, technically reborn as Death, according to the Devil himself) at 18-years-old, she had never had friends. Or love. Jealousy and loneliness weren't emotions that she necessarily felt from that point forward, but seeing this group together...something stirred within her.

What was it like to feel love? To feel...happy? To feel anything at all?

"Oh, fuck..." Death murmured, the pang in her heart growing. Her brain started to repeat the gnawing thought that had sparked inside of her years ago. Usually, she could shoo it away. But seeing this group...she couldn't help it.

What would life be like if she could start all over? Be normal again?

She stood, crossing her arms. "Hey," She spoke to the group.

They kept arguing.

"Hey..." She raised her voice a little louder.

Nothing.

"HEY. ASSHOLES." She shouted, silencing them. They all turned at once. "I'm going to make a deal with you," Getting up from the rock, she strode over to them, "I...will not take Steve. Or her." She pointed to El. The group all collectively sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank god." Nancy said. Death put a finger up to Nancy's face to quiet her.

"But...you have to do something for me."

"Of course..." Eddie murmured, looking at the ground.

Ignoring him, Death continued, "I became the collector of souls by a contract. Life-binding, in a sense. But..." Her voice trailed off, trying to find the right words to speak, "I...know I can leave this life behind. Get a second chance. I can become...well, not Death anymore. And I think if anyone can help me do it, it will be you all."

The group was silent. Finally, Dustin spoke, "So, like...take away all your hellish Death powers and you'd just be...human again?"

She nods, "Yes. We just need to kill Vecna, for the contract states I am indebted to him for as long as he is alive. If we kill him, and complete the ritual needed to turn me - I can handle the ritual part, don't worry - I can become human again and will start right back at my 18-year-old self."

"Oh that's it?" Dustin retorted sarcastically, "Just a simple 'kill Vecna' and boom we're good?"

"Well, I mean...we were already going to do that...so it doesn't seem like too far of a stretch..." Jonathan considered it for a moment.

"Dude are you really suggesting we let a she-devil into our group? You're suggesting we just let DEATH waltz into our group like she didn't come here to kill Steve?!" Robin shouted.

"To be fair, I could have easily killed all of you by this point if I wanted to." Death offered.

"NOT HELPING!" Robin and Will shouted to Death.

"O...kay..." Death huffed, shutting up.

"I say we do it. We don't have anything else to lose. I mean, we're in the Upside Down for fuck's sake. We're already going to kill Vecna so why not?" Eddie offered, shrugging. Death smiled at him.

She was starting to like him.

"Because this could be a trick!" Robin yelled, causing Eddie to jump, "She could be lying!"

"Um, actually, I can't lie. Since death in itself is an absolute truth, I therefore, literally cannot lie. I have to tell the truth at all times. Like...it's in my other-worldly make-up, or something." Death put a finger up to interrupt Robin.

Everyone stopped and stared at Death. There was silence for a moment, and then everyone looked at Robin. Robin made eye contact with everyone before she groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Whatever."

"Oh, yay. Thank you so much, you won't regret it!" Death purred. She sighed happily and shrugged expectantly. She spoke again, unable to contain her smile,

"So, what do we do now?"

An hour later, with the group travelling the Upside Down, Death had fallen in line with Eddie.

"So...what's your real name? You couldn't have been born Death, right?" He asked, thinking about actually, how metal would it be if she was born "Death"?

Death shrugged, "I don't remember. I honestly don't remember much about my old life since I was turned."

"Turned?"

She nodded, "Into Death. I was just a normal, boring girl. I got into an accident - I was attacked by wolves outside of my village. I was so scared...so terrified of what had happened, and of dying, that when my soul was to be collected, the Devil made a deal with me. I became Death - I was to collect the souls of those about to die, do his dirty work - and I would never have to experience death. Eventually I was passed to many different masters - 'bosses', if you will - until I landed with Vecna. That I do remember."

Eddie whistled, "That sounds...intense."

"it was. If i knew the things I know about death now, back then, I would've died. It's a much better situation than...whatever mess I've gotten myself into."

"What are the secrets of death?"

"Ah..." Death laughed, "That's for me to know. I don't want to spoil the fun."

Eddie smiled at her and looked down at his feet. You know, for a she-devil, she wasn't so bad. "How old were you when you turned?"

"18," Death said, "For a long time, I was okay with what I was doing. I felt nothing, I had a higher purpose. Get in, collect, get out. But..." Her voice trailed off, looking into the distance in front of them, "I started to observe people in their final moments. I was able to see the memories of their life, of their family, of their relationships...and I realized I would never have that," She shook her head, "Which for a while was fine. But...centuries of never feeling can take a toll on you, I guess."

"So when you turn back..." Eddie said after a moment, "Like, when we kill Vecna and you do your ritual and whatever...what happens?"

"I turn back to a human. I start at 18 again. I get a second chance. I scoured that contract for a loophole, and when I found it...I felt the first glimmer of hope I had felt in forever. It would be re-written every time I changed masters...Vecna thinks he can never be killed. But I know he can," Death looked at Eddie with...softness in her eyes? "And whatever is happening in your world will restore itself, and I can get a second chance."

"Why the change of heart?" Eddie's voice was soft, barely above a whisper. He had stopped walking, causing Death to pause. When their eyes met again, his were filled with sadness, she noticed.

"I saw all of your arguing..." She stopped to laugh to herself, "And realized I wanted the chance to argue with friends. I wanted friends again. I want...to fall in love. Once, I had to find the soul of someone who died at a rock concert because he had overdosed. And even though that is of course, incredibly sad...it made me realize I want to experience a rock concert. Stupid, silly things like that."

Eddie blushed and started walking again, "I'm in a band. I play concerts."

Death smiled, "Do you now?"

He nodded, "Yep. I play guitar. And it's rock...well, metal. But...once this all gets squared away and you're human again, you should come to one of our shows."

Death giggled, a blush rising on her cheeks. (A blush?! Since when did she blush?) "I'd love that."

A moment of silence passed between them as the air felt hot. "Won't...your bosses be mad that you just...leave? Like, who else is gonna be Death? That's a pretty important role."

"Think of it as me quitting, without putting my two weeks in...they'll find someone else, quickly. The fear of death is not uncommon, by any means. Someone will want to 'live' forever, no matter the cost. The poor soul..." Death's voice trailed off as she thought about the person who would be replacing her.

"I'm...sorry...by the way..." Eddie started, his voice low. He looked Death in her eyes as she scrunched her face, "I'm sorry that this entire thing happened to you. It doesn't sound...fun. By any means," He sighed, one of his hands reaching to scratch the back of his head, "Actually, it sucks. But...we'll get him. And you'll be able to go back to normal. And you'll be able to go to a rock concert. I promise." He offered a smile, causing Death to smile as well.

Another blush rose on her cheeks.

"I hope so."

*3 Months After the Saving of Hawkins*

"If you guys don't hurry up now, I'm leaving you home and you won't be able to get a ride with me, so move it!" Steve shouted into the Wheeler's house, leaning on the doorframe of their front door. He sighed and checked his watch and yep, just like he thought - 15 minutes behind schedule.

Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas were the first to scamper out of basement, yelling and shouting about their current D&D campaign. Steve ushered them into the car with a smattering of "go, go, go!" Before Mike got into the car, Steve grabbed him by his collar.

"Do we have to wait for your sister or is she taking her own car?"

Mike shook his head, "No, she's taking the girls, so Max, El and Jennifer are going with her. Something about 'No Boys Allowed' when they were doing their hair and makeup or something?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "Ugh okay fine. Let's go. We're gonna be late - I don't even want to go to this show and here I am, driving you guys around AGAIN."

Steve shut the Wheeler's door just as Nancy was opening her bedroom door, the girls spilling out, giggling. Max fluffed El's hair as she walked behind her, and Nancy was re-applying her lipgloss.

"So, are you just so excited to see Eddie play tonight, Jen?" Nancy asked, teasing her innocently, "Rockstar boyfriend and all?"

Jennifer - formally "Death" - giggled and could feel the blush rising to her cheeks. "Enouuggghhh...of course I am," She giggled again, but it turned into a sigh, "Except I got a pimple for the first time in like, literally 350 years last night, like, of course the night before Eddie's big show."

"Yeah, well, you wanted to be human. Welcome to womanhood, toots!" Max said, slinging an arm around Jennifer.

~*~

As the group made their way and enjoyed Corroded Coffin's first concert since Hawkins (and the world) was saved (Steve enjoyed it, he just didn't want to admit it), they found their way over to the band at the bar. Eddie couldn't have taken his eyes off of Jennifer the entire time, no matter how hard he tried. And as he watched her walk over to him, it wasn't every different. Immediately he hopped off of his stool and wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her scent.

"Hi babe," He murmured into her ear, placing a kiss on her temple. Jennifer couldn't help by smile.

"Hi, babe. You were so good. I loved it!" She pulled away and looked at the rest of the band to compliment them. The group started to intermingle and Eddie took her hand, leading her a little bit away from the group.

"So...enjoy your first rock concert?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow. She smiled and nodded, hooking one of her fingers into his jean's belt loop.

"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way." She leaned in to kiss him, the butterflies fluttering in her chest. After killing Vecna, when she had completed the ritual and saw Eddie for the first time after, she had experience butterflies for the first time in 350 years.

And since them, they didn't seem to stop.

Eddie smiled into the kiss and strengthened it, cupping her cheeks with feverish hands, "I'm so happy you're here."

Jennifer nodded. It had been 3 months since she was able to turn back to a human, leaving the life of Death behind her. And with it came emotions, and schoolwork, and navigating human life...pimples, periods, sad songs, even being made fun of.

But there was also love, and her new friends, and her new "family" (being "adopted" by Hopper and pretending to be a high school student again), kissing Eddie, passing notes to Nancy in classes, popcorn, going to the mall, watching movies on the couch, the promise of a rollercoaster of a normal, human life.

She looked Eddie in the eyes, grabbing his hands again. "I'm happy I'm here, too."

-----

Will I ever be able to write a short oneshot again? Who knows. But I had so much fun writing this one! What did you guys think?!

Reminder: my inbox is open for requests to head over there and fill it, I'm itching to write!

[pinkeoni]

Mike Wheeler and Audience Perception

(Or, Why Does Everybody Hate Mike?)

I want to stress right off the bat that this is not meant to be read as Mike hate AT ALL— this is a pro-Mike post I promise!! It just might take a lot of explaining on my end so bare with me.

I know that the general audience perception of Mike can be incredibly frustrating. Post vol. 2, and hell even during season 3, there's been a large amount of animosity towards Mike, because he isn't acting in accordance with the Mike that everyone fell in love with in seasons 1 and 2.

But here's the thing, the audience is supposed to dislike Mike.

Maybe I should clarify first, I'm not saying that the audience is supposed to dislike Mike FOREVER, but rather the audience is supposed to dislike Mike RIGHT NOW until season 5 airs and clears up a lot of his choices. And even if people do like Mike, which a lot of the smart ones do, then they are at least supposed to dislike his actions. Even the most hardcore Mike fans will admit that he has moments where he messes up, but understand the complex reasonings behind why he makes these mistakes.

I should clarify too that what I mean by "the smart ones" are the ones who see Byler as the likely outcome. Even regardless if you see Mike as gay or bi (I personally see him as gay, but that besides the current point) the only way to explain why Mike has been acting the way that he has is through his sexuality and feelings for Will, otherwise he really is being an asshole for no reason. Mike's true character is purposefully being withheld from the audience, so that they can make the reveal and it can completely recontextualize his character arc. Those that have it figured out (Bylers) are just ahead of where a typical audience member would be.

Let me put it this way:

GA that dislike Mike and MiIeven are watching the show correctly, even if they don't necessarily see Byler as an option yet.

Bylers that love Mike are one step ahead.

MiIevens that hate Mike see all the narrative information correctly, but are denying the truth.

MiIevens that love Mike are willfully changing what the narrative is presenting.

If Mike was truly acting exactly the way he was supposed to, then his actions would be more likable.

I've noticed that a ton of miIevens tend to dislike Mike. Not all, but a good number. They hate him because they believe exactly what they see on the surface level and that he's acting exactly the way he's supposed to. When Mike is ditching his friends and disregarding his interests in season 3, that's just Mike growing into his heterosexual self! Yes it's totally rude and out of character, but Mike is meant to be with El which means that he is doing exactly what he is supposed to do, right?

Is it possible to have this arc without Mike being unlikable? I mean, it’s not impossible, but it would be extremely difficult. The whole point is that Mike has not been acting like himself for the past two seasons, so it’s important to show that when he acts like this it is not a good thing, and this is not only proven through the audience’s perception but also through the characters perception in show. Mike gets called on his bullshit in universe by Will and Dustin! You are supposed to see that what he’s doing is strange!

Let me put it this way, if all of Mike's current actions were liked and supported by not only the audience AND the characters within the story— this would make the reveal that he hasn't been acting truthfully not work.

I’ll use a pretty robust example, let’s consider a character dynamic that, while not romantic, is widely loved by most audience members: Steve and Dustin.

Let’s say that in season 5, it’s revealed that Steve actually hates Dustin and doesn’t like being his friend. Not only would the audience strongly dislike that, but it wouldn’t match any of what was being shown in show. There’s no reason to believe that Steve doesn’t like Dustin, so that reveal would just feel cruel and cheap.

Let’s also say that Mike was actually a perfect boyfriend and friend for the past two seasons. He’s always able to say “I love you” to El. He isn’t possessive of her. He doesn’t ice out his friends (especially Will) just to be with her. He doesn’t try ti be someone he’s not. His actions are loved by the audience and the characters. And THEN it’s revealed that he’s gay and loves Will. Wouldn’t that feel off?

While Bylers may be used to being faced with intense homophobia from certain MiIevens and toxic fandom members, the typical GA member actually isn’t homophobic. Most GA don’t like MiIeven, but they’re indifferent to Byler because they don’t see it as a possibility quite yet because they don’t read into it as closely as we do. It’s not because they are media illiterate, it’s just because they watch the show casually. The general consensus that I actually saw from GA on twitter is that they actually wanted more of Will and Mike and were dissapointed with their lack of attention from the season.

The unfortunate thing about Mike and audience perception is that we have to wait for the payoff. There’s not really anything that can be done about that, it’s just how the television production cookie crumbles. I also don’t think that it’s a bad thing for Mike to have pronounced flaws, if anything it makes his character more interesting and dynamic. Some of my favorite characters in media are ones that are deeply flawed but have a redemption arc. Although, I guess this would be less of a redeption arc and more of a recontextualization arc? Either way, I’m excited for the audience to finally see Mike the way that they’re supposed to.

[lokiiied]

before i start this is not hate and the post is a little bit old but it’s about the one saying everyone else sucks for not coming to lucas’s game have you ever had prior plans because personally if we had this super important meeting coming up and like a week before this super awesome event one of my friends asked me to attend their game i would have gone with the plan that was made earlier and vice versa and again this is not hate

hi! first off, i would never take this sort of ask as “hate” !! no worries there. but for me, this was less about the timing of things and much more about the carelessness and way it was handled.

it’s also not like the championship game was that sudden. like, it was a surprise to mike & dustin bc they don’t give a shit about basketball and aren’t aware of the ongoings of the team - regardless of the fact that lucas is on the team and most likely mentioned it. but no one else was surprised by this.

it’s the fact that not only do mike & lucas not care that lucas is on the team, but are actually upset with him for the overlapping events. he asks them to convince eddie to move the game to any other night. to which mike tells him to “talk to his coach. and get him to move the game.” lol. which is. clearly not realistic.

dustin says, “this is the end of eddie’s campaign and we need you!” then mike adds, “yeah and the tigers don’t. you’ve been on the bench all year.” which may be fine points & lucas isn’t that offended but the emphasis of the scene is put on this moment right here, when lucas says,

“i’m asking you guys, as a friend, just talk to eddie. get him to move hellfire. come to my game. please.” to which he’s met with silence. because it is made clear the significance that this game - and them being there means to him. to have their support. and then realising that they would rather choose eddie & dnd (yes, the super cool senior they all look up to but…) over lucas? their supposed best friend?

this is not just a poorly timed double booking where an “oh shoot, well i agreed to this thing first, so sorry!” serves as a reasonable response. these are two important events both involving lucas’ participation. one of which, is non-negotiable, it’s a championship game, if he doesn’t attend he misses an opportunity to play and maybe get his talents recognised & risks possibly being kicked off the team if they found out where he actually was.

the other, although also planned in advance, is an event made up of and controlled by his friends. eddie had complete power to move hellfire to another night at the cost of…literally nothing? the anticipation of waiting one more day but having lucas’ presence and making a small sacrifice to show solidarity/support?? and eddie says absolutely not because?? because it’s lucas’ fault for being in basketball? as punishment? i love eddie with my whole heart but it was not that serious.

what about max? she’s grieving, she’s depressed, she’s going through it. she doesn’t realise that she’s the only other friend he can ask to come. but still he says, “i know you never want to come to any of my games, but this one is kind of a big deal.” implying that he’s asked her to come before and she never has. and while, yes, he could’ve worded it a little differently- do you know how fucking hard it is to try and convince someone that you care about to come to an event that’s really important to you that would mean the world to you if they were there and for them to just…not care? it’s really fucking disappointing.

he tries to reach out to her and to tell her that he knows she’s not okay and that he’s there and she just. shuts down and hands the ticket back. and then later he is STILL the one apologising for not doing enough!! for not being there for max. i get how hard it is to let people in when you’re struggling and not wanting to go to events like that but, fuck he just looks so put out. she also didn’t seem to question/put together the fact that dustin asked her to play dnd that same night (bc lucas couldn’t be there.) but i wouldn’t really expect her to know why.

i do credit steve for being there/cheering him on, though i’m sure part of it was robin being there in band. and nancy was there as well, but for the paper. and sure, i’ll give dustin & mike credit for at least trying to convince eddie to move it. and it is sweet that max at least was listening to the game.

but at the end of the day, lucas is looking out at the crowd and seeing the absence of his closest friends. he finally gets his moment to shine, but they’re not there cheering him on, they’re not there to celebrate with him. and then he sees them leaving their game, not only cheering about their own win that he missed out on, but also that they asked his own sister to act in his place?? when she also probably would’ve gone to his game?? bc in ep. 7 he literally says “you still come to all my games though” ?? and again, just with the emphasis on lucas’ perspective in the episode - the look on his face as he’s leaving with jason and the team just says everything. we should absolutely be empathising with him. we’ve all been there.

all this to say, my post was in no way meant as “they suck” all the time!! i truly, dearly, love them all. but i do think every single one of them played a part and that everyone failed lucas that night. and it says a lot that none of them even realised or apologised to him and ig it especially bothers me because lucas tries so hard to be there for his friends, he’s always the first person to apologise when he says the wrong thing and he’s unconditionally loyal. even after all that you bet your ass he’s still gonna lead jason + co. off on a false lead and bike 8 miles to find & warn his friends. so yeah, i think lucas deserved & deserves better than that.

sorry for the TEDtalk lmaoo there were several factors to this but uhh yeah! hope that helps put it in a different perspective :)

[oceanic-sunsets]

I love as much as everyone the portrayals of the party quickly accepting Will and Mike being in a relationship, or even guessing something was going on, but have you considered the potential of other portrayals? and just to be clear, no, i'm not talking about homophobia. i 100% believe no one would be, as the homophobes in ST have always been the bad guys.

I'm talking about stuff like the initial shock and having to process it. because yeah, if you think about it, it makes sense. But they had never, not even once considered it. It would be like "how did we miss the clues? it was right in front of our eyes, everything makes so much sense now".

Or them being a little awkward, not bc it's two guys, but because it's Will and Mike and they were initially a party of four. They've known each other for a long time, so when two of your childhood best friends become a couple, dynamics are bound to change. We see this trope all the time in media about straight group friends!

Or Mike and Will being reluctant to act like a couple in front of them, even after telling them, because they don't want to 'make them uncomfortable'. So they act just like friends and Lucas and Dustin find that even weirder than if they just behaved like any other couple.

Or any of the members of the party asking questions about being gay, out of genuine curiosity. And it's a little awkward because they wanna make Will and Mike feel included, but it's the 80's and there's a lack of accessible, non-bigoted information. But turns out they dont know either, it's not like they suddenly became gay experts, it's new for them too! and that's okay. ("We know as much as you do, dude")

Or them trying to be the best allies of the entire world, just because they're their friends and they love them, and they know what the bullies and some people say. And Mike and Will having mixed feelings about it, because on one hand, it's nice how they're so supportive, but they aren't so keen on constantly hearing the bs other people say and how wrong they are (they already know), and it becomes exhausting. So they have to gently let them know, they're still the same people with the same interests; "i know you guys are super cool about us and want to show support but that doesn't mean i want to watch this movie about a hate crime/gay love story with sad ending during movie night. can we just please watch back to the future or something."

What i'm saying is, there's endless possibilities! thinking about them navigating their friendship post coming out is fascinating to me and there are not enough fics that develop that aspect (but if you know any, please let me know!)

[deadlyterrorstonight]

The guards get along with their parents?

Ohhh- this one. This is a very interesting question.

Don’t know if you need a TW for dark topics but continue at your own risk ⛔️

-This is just some small information for now but I have more lodged up in my head.

To say the least, no. Not really. The only two that get along with their parents as in both parents- would be Fritz and Scott. They have a good relationship with their mom and dad.

With Jeremy’s background being in an abusive household and wanting to move out as soon as possible, I think it’s clear he doesn’t have a good relationship with either of his parents. The way I see it his mom used to protect him before she was overcome by her grief and misery, and because of that she started to also take it out on Jeremy. And his dad was a drunk and easily got angry. So Jeremy got beat and insulted by both his parents. He hasn’t contacted them after he moved out at 19, crashing with Mike for a couple months before he got his own apartment.

Mikes dad left when he was in elementary school- leaving both just him and his Ma by themselves. Mike has a good relationship with his Ma but doesn’t always call her since he feels guilty and ashamed for being a bad son. He was a reckless, rebellious and hot headed kid. Got into a lot of arguments and fights and got detention a lot while in school. Outside of school he was still a hot-headed dumbo who still got into fights. His Ma tried to help the best way she could- loving on him, talking things out with him, etc. But Mike didn’t really listen- she even tried to remind him of the things in the Bible but it just fell on deaf ears. She was a single mother doing the best she could to raise her kid, but it was tough when Mike acted out. He still holds that guilt over his own head and wants to apologize but he feels like it’ll never be enough. She doesn’t hold it against him and she’s already told him that but it’s hard for him to let it go himself. When he does call it’s also comforting to hear his Ma’s voice on the other end of the phone. Usually ends up making him cry but she doesn’t know that.

Vincent doesn’t hate his parents. But he also doesn’t like them entirely either. It’s a love hate relationship between them.- though he does hope that maybe they could mend it one day. Putting it vaguely since I’m still sorting out his family relations and history. So this is subject to change for him or this may be removed entirely from the post until I decide to fit him back in after I figure it out. :0