#that or I would just do a new season of mystery incorporated with an other demographic in mind

[just-an-enby-lemon]

@unrestrainedbalderdash said they don't care if I put Jonathan Crane into my idea of how I would do an adult Scooby cartoon. And since they are someone who I really liked and I really just need one person saying "hey is okay" to me to overly babble over something here we are.

Disclaimer: I did not watch the Velma show. I saw the trailer and reviews but that is it. This is also not a recreation of it. It's merely how I would do an adult scooby doo story with a more representative cast.

▫️Alpha Kappa Scobby (I'm bad naming stuff)

Is time to grow up.

With the end of high school comes the anxiety inducing question of what to do next? To the Mystery Inc. the answer was always obivous: continuing solving mysteries together. Unfortunally fate appeared to have other plans. Between parental presure, a crashing economy, a shitty job market and an investigation that abelit sucefull ended up breaking the Mystery Machine, hurting a civilian and facing the local authorities ultimatum that they could not keep their unregulated detective agency it appears to be the end.

But the thing is mysteries never ever leave the gang. Where they are things happen and as they face the monsters of adult life other monsters may appear on the way. Are they ready?

▫️The Gang

- Velma is our main characther. She is a second generation imigrant kid from an indian-american family, possibly autistic (mostly represented by her sensory issues and examples of masking) and a genius who suffers from anxiety and the pressure that both comes with societal expectations related to prejudice, familial expectations (especially as a second generation imigrant) and being a gifted kid. She is also a lesbian.

- Shaggy is Shaggy. They are a possibly stoner black latino (he may be a stonner or it may be just harmfull steriotypes possibly both) and they are also ace and non-binary using they/then pronouns. Norville is their deadname and the fact their parents call them that is a dead give away of the time of people they are. Shaggy was adopted and their parents are upped middle class white guys who adopted three POC kids and act extremily white saviour over it. Their bio parents are implied to be scientistis at Star Labs that died in an freaky accident when they eere still little. They may have something to do with Scooby being a talking dog. Though they met by Shaggy adopting a stray puppy. Their personality is still the same. Except for the parents issues. Like they are still the same glutonous coward who cares a lot for their friends and likes bad horror movies.

- Scooby is Scooby. Like nothing changed at all about him. Except that outside the gang people do question the fact he is a talking dog. Since their world is really weird people go from allien to failed scientific experiment of either LexCorp or Starlabs. The more accepted theory is that he is the first non-human to manifest a meta gene. He isn't being studies because he flied over radar until the gaang started solving mysteries and at this point he was too popular plus the governent had other more important issues going on. So he is just a fact.

- Daphne is a girl who defy expectations. She is weird. She has two mons (a thing I know is cannon on the Velma cartoon and am using), one is a british martial artist and the other a american fashion designer and she got very deep into both of her mons careears. She has some relatives in jail and she learned a bunch with them. She loves to learn except not the school stuff, so her grades were meh and people usually saw her as just a pretty face, even though she has a bunch of great skils like fighting, fashion, faking signatures, lock picking, stealth, acting, a bunch of sports and more. She is bissexual and has a huge crush on both Elvira and Hex Girls. She also loves escape artists (being good at scaping herself) and is a fan of bad horror movies and campy actors. She also has a crush on Fred.

- Fred is a sweet bissexual himbo and he is very clearly neurodivergent and definitvaly autistic. He stims a lot, has dificulty getting social clues, misses most sarcasm and some abstract expressions, has a huge special interest in traps, sometimes goes non-verbal, just the whole book. He is a rich white boy but fails to meet his misoginistic racist parents expectations not only by hangin with the gaang but by having a disability. His parents never took him to a doctor to be diagnosed because they believed it would bring shame to the family to have a disabled kid and just hoped he would "grow out of it". He does have some internalized prejudice but it's working to be better. He also has a huge crush in Daphne, is a very supportive and loyal friend and infodumps people a lot.

▫️The Pilot

The pilot episode starts with the gaang reciving their ultimatum and having to undergo an state aproved course to became private investigators and be abble to keep the Mystery Inc. going. Shennanigans issue and they all end up failing.

Daphne is too good on the self defense courses and also may have caused a teacher who implied she would need to do sexual favors for him if she hoped to pass in his boring law class to never be able to walk again. Luckily he was too afraid to press charges.

Fred keept trying to insert trap making into the course to ridiculous extremes.

Shaggy broke the vending machine, ate all the food and also just keept running away from the clues in all the pratical texts. They answers also mostly involved running and getting uninvolved.

No one knew if Scooby should do dog training or humam courses and he ended in a confusing stream of buerocracy.

Velma should by all means had suceeded though and the only reason she failed was racial bias. She tries to brush it off, after all she was not going to be a detective on her own anyway and all her friends failed, but it clearly afects her and this will be a thing hanging over her head the whole season. The episode ends with Velma discovering she got approved to a full scholarship on a fictional ivvy league university outisde of Crystal Cove she had applied more for her parents sakes than her in criminology.

▫️They failed what now?

After a whole debate during the second episode and the gaang being supportive even if it means it is the definitive end for them, Velma decides to go to college. Of course trying to keep together the whole gaang somehow ends up involved with the campus.

- Shaggy and Scobby get a job at the college cafeteria that Shaggy uses to move into a trailer in the college parking lot (that they plans into turning in a food truck) so they can get away from their transphobic parents. Scobby of course moves with them.

- With help of white rich cis man priviledge Fred gets accepted to the same school but into architeture (he does uses this knoledge to plan traps but also realizes he likes projecting rooms on general). The thing is thanks to missanderstanding a sarcastic coment from Velma he ends up being part of a very "bro" fraternity. It's mostly played for laughs as he definitivally doesn't belong there but also accidentaly starts turning the guys into better people. But also features on Fred understanding his priviledge and the internalized prejudices his parents dumped on him and evolving past them and also dealing with ableism.

- Daphne decided to try to work in a close by cafe and became roomates with a goth girl called June that works with Shaggy and Scooby. Both are fired and decide to open an etsy store together. She is also doing an online course on fashion. Velma has a crush on June and June is implied to have a criminal past. The etsy store is mostly used for laughs though it also is used to show Daphne dealing with being different from soceity expectations and the hardships of having a small bussiness.

▫️The Plot

The story focuses on their adventures on campus as they deal with adult life but also as weird things keep happening and students end up either getting murdered or disapearing all the time. While focused on episodic shennanigans with characther growth as the linear aspect there are some key episodes that show that there's a major conspiracy involving the university's past and the looming presence of an white supremacist cult.

▫️Cool and all but where is Jonathan Crane?

The thing is if I was writing this series I would make the connection with DC be mostly references with some few special episodes starting on the second season (including the obligatory Batman team-up and a episode were Riddler, who is on his P.I arc, is hired to the same case the Mystery Inc is in and they have to work together). So we would have things like Scooby possibly having the metagene, Velma being a Batman fangirl and having some batfam merch in the middle of her detective merch, Fred being a Green Arrow fan and buying trap material for Ace Chemicals and LexCorp, Daphne mentioning her uncle Alfred or Shaggy's bio parents having been Star Lab scientistis. Some name drops like WayneTech or Lex Luthor.

The exception being Jonathan Crane. Jon is an actual relevant secundary characther. After mysterious circunstances involving a fight with the dean, a recomendation letter and an ultimatum, Jonathan leaved Gotham University and became a teacher at the Yet To Be Named University where the gang is.

His disciplines are an eletive about phobias, psychophatology and forensic psychology. He is famous over the campus for being a genius and a great teacher but also for being harsh, having extremely high standards and hard exams and just being creepy and really really weird. There is legit theories of him being some kind of cryptic or a ghost. He has the uncanny hability of walking without making any noise and being abble to be silent and quiet until he suddently scares someone with his presence. He speaks little outside the classroom and is always alone. And if someone tries to be friendly with him, he will just leave and let the person hanging. No one ever saw him eat only drink coffe (that may be spiked with whisky sometimes). He is mostly saw outside classes either writing/typing or reading (he only reads text books and horror stories). He has a crow in his office and while the bird is calm and sweet with him it sings creepy old childrem rhymes and it definitivaly attacked a student who got emotional over a bad grade and started screaming with Crane.

With all that being said Crane is Velma's fsvorite professor and she is his favorite student. He doesn't presure or mocks her and is fascinated by her theories and they can discuss psychology, chesmistry, literature and criminology for hours. They respect each other and have a deep understanding being fairly similar (and yes make Crane be also POC, prefencialy south asian), they are friends and with her family alway Velma sees Crane as a pseudo father-figure. Even Crane's bird Ichabod seems to also enjoy Velma a lot. The rest of the gang has more mixed views of Crane. He is always polite with them but he is also creepy as hell specially with Shaggy and Scooby as he asks them a lot of questions about their fears.

Every single time someone either dies or disappears everyone accuses Crane. He is ALWAYS a suspect. And Velma is his only defender (sometimes the gang as whole also). And he is always show to be innocent. But is also hinted that he is still planning and doing Scarecrow shit and while it's played for laughs the huge impact Crane and Velma's bond have to Velma overcoming her issues is a hint that when it finally happens of Crane being the guilty part and his Scarecrow persona coming to light it will break Velma's heart.

[sagewritings]

More Than A Woman - Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

pairing: steve harrington x female reader

synopsis: just as you thought everything was back to normal, the threat of a new entity reminds you that things are never normal in hawkins. once more, you find yourself involved in solving mysterious deaths, fighting beings from another dimension, evading curses, and possibly a love confession amidst it all.

word count: 12.3k

warnings: season 4 volume 1 spoilers, angst, friends to lovers, mentions of a car accident and death of a family member, trauma, violence, curse words, slow-burn, (fluff, of course)

a/n: hello everyone! i’d like to share this fic that i wrote based on the first volume of stranger things season 4! just a disclaimer, the song doesn’t really have any big impact to the story. i just love it so much :> (go listen to “more than a woman” by bee gees if you can!) i did add some events and information to the main plot of the series to help incorporate the reader, but i refrained from putting any descriptions of physical appearances so you’ll be more comfortable in imagining yourselves in the reader’s position.

also, if you’d like to check out my other works, you can check the pinned post in my blog :>

i hope you’ll like this fic! happy reading!

part 2 - staying alive

part 3 - night fever

 .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

  Every weekend is a blessing for any High School Senior. No school work, no lectures, and no early morning alarms. This thought was enough to motivate you as you start your Saturday morning, and a peaceful breakfast with your father is just the most pleasant way to do so.

That was until he turned the television on.

And we’ll start the news with another mysterious death in the small town of Hawkins.

You could faintly hear the television in the living room as you were washing the dishes, the sound of rushing water blocking the reporter’s voice.

“Y/n! Look at this.” Your father called from the sofa, and you quickly wiped your hands dry and saw him pointing at the screen with wide eyes.

We’re in the Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County. We don’t have a lot of details now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the victim’s name although we are told that they’re currently in the process of notifying the family.

You heard your father sigh, briefly lowering the volume of the television as he shook his head. “I’m starting to rethink why I chose this place to move in.” He mumbled.

It was four years ago when you and your father moved to Hawkins to restart your lives after the death of your mother. Everything was normal at first, but as each year passed and you got more entangled with a group of kids who seem to have ‘fighting with the supernaturals’ as part of their lifestyles, you have accepted the fact that Hawkins is far from normal. 

You went back to the kitchen and resumed washing the dishes, thoughts still preoccupied about whoever was found at that trailer. Immediately after, you quickly put on a clean sweater and jeans before heading downstairs to grab your car keys.

“Woah, woah, where are you going?” Your father asked from his seat, confusion and a hint of concern in his eyes.

“I’m going to visit my friends at Family Video.” You shot him a small smile.

“Alright, but don’t take too long. And be sure to call me.” He said, warily dismissing you.

You nodded and began to start your car, fingers tapping the steering wheel as you drove to Family Video while listening to More Than A Woman. The ten-minute drive to the store passed by slowly, as you couldn’t wait to talk to your friends about what had happened.

You first met the kids a week after you moved to Hawkins. It was inevitable when the house that you and your father live in is just beside Dustin’s house. You would often see the boys take turns going to each other’s houses, sometimes with Max, El, and even Steve. Still, like Robin, you were only in action with the group once. And that was when they needed an extra hand against the Mind Flayer at the Starcourt Mall.

Arriving at the store, Robin was the first to notice you when you entered, a smile automatically appearing on her face as she walked from the ‘New Release’ section to where you are standing.

“Y/n!,” She said, which caught Steve’s attention and he immediately went towards you and Robin. You instantly felt brighter as soon as you made eye contact with the boy, almost forgetting about the recent issue in your town. “Have you heard? Someone was murdered.”

“Yeah.” You replied slowly, eyes flickering to the store’s television where the reporter is still ongoing with interviewing people. “Have they released any names yet?”

Steve shook his head sideways. “No, I doubt they will do that anytime soon.”

====================

Spending hours at Family Video is not new to you, and either to Steve or Robin. They’re grateful to have you as a company, your talking and laughing made their shifts faster and more tolerable according to Robin. But seeing you being awfully quiet, your brows pushed towards each other as you listen to the news, is not a sight that they are used to.

“Hey,” Steve said to you as you’re leaning on the front desk beside Robin. “You alright?”

You sighed. “This is weird.”

“Weird?”

“I mean, this murder. It just happened out of nowhere. And towards a student?” You wondered aloud, “This is unusual, Steve. Even for Hawkins.”

Almost immediately after saying that, you three were surprised to see Max and Dustin barging in.

“Hey. Steve.” Dustin greeted him, slightly panting.

“You see this?” Steve pointed at the television.

“How many phones do you have?”

“Someone was murd—”

“How many phones do you have?” Dustin repeated, his voice louder.

“Uh, two. Why?” Steve looked at you and Robin in confusion.

“Technically, three if you count Keith’s in the back.” Robin followed.

“Yeah, three works.” Max hurriedly said to Dustin, who slid his backpack on top of the counter and landed towards where Robin and you were seated.

“What are you—! My pile!” Steve panicked. “No, no, no! My tapes! Dude.”

Still having no idea what was going on, you quietly stood behind Max and Dustin as they continued to type on the computer while Steve and Robin muttered annoyingly under their breath.

Fed up with all the noise and questions, Dustin turned to Max “Can you just fill them in while I do this.”

“Fill us in on what?” You spoke for the first time since the arrival of the two.

Max took a deep breath before starting to explain everything.

====================

You didn’t know what exactly made your head hurt; maybe it was because of Max’s statements, the sleepless nights you’ve been having lately, or both. Your mind is still processing every piece of information that has been added to your knowledge regarding this case. 

While your friends are busy looking for wherever Eddie’s drug dealer “Reefer Rick” may be, you excused yourself to the bathroom, earning a concerned expression from Steve which you quickly shrugged off with a smile.

You stood in front of the mirror, hands tightly gripping the sink and wincing slightly as another surge of headaches hit you. You had purposely hidden from your friends, not wanting any more questions.

A knock on the door made you look up from the sink. You must’ve spent a while in the bathroom. You quickly took a deep breath and checked your appearance, making sure that there is no trace of any discomfort on your face.

As soon as you opened the door, you saw Steve standing in front of you.

“We found him.” He said with a smile.

“Where is he?” You asked as you swiftly closed the door behind you, rushing to where your other three friends were cleaning up.

“2121 Holland Road, by the Lover’s Lake,” Dustin said triumphantly as he fixed his backpack.

“Come, I’ll start the car.” Steve began getting out of his work vest and changed into his usual jacket.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.” You said, going over to the telephone to call your father and make up an excuse by saying you’ll be staying over at Robin’s for the weekend.

====================

As Max, Dustin, and Robin take turns informing Eddie of everything that you guys have found so far, you knew that the hope of having a peaceful weekend was thrown out of the window. Your headache only worsened after spending another sleepless night. Only this time, it isn’t because of a nightmare, but because you needed to go out and buy Eddie some supplies.

“Hunt the freak, right?” Eddie upsettingly said, fingers tightening around the box of popcorn that he was holding. 

“Exactly.” Robin replied, earning a whispered “shit” from Eddie.

“So before that happens, we have to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence.” Dustin butted in.

“That’s all Dustin? That’s all?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

Shaking her head, Robin stopped the exchange between the two. “Listen, Eddie, I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we’ve actually been through this kind of thing before. I mean, they have a… a few times, and Y/n and I have once.”

“Ours was more human-fleshed based, theirs was more smoke-related. But collectively, I think we got this.” You continued after her.

Steve nodded beside you. “Yeah, we usually rely on this girl who has super powers but, uh, those went bye-bye…”

“So, we’re technically in more of the…”

“Brainstorming phase.” Max finished for all of you as Steve and Dustin went on to assure Eddie that there’s nothing to worry about.

The sound of sirens caught all of your attention a few moments after. Eddie rushed to cover himself with a tarpaulin while the rest of you went towards the window, looking at a few passing police cars and an ambulance.

“I guess we know where we’re going next,” Dustin stated.

====================

“So you’re saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy… it’s from the Upside Down?” Nancy questioned as all of you are seated on a picnic bench near Eddie’s trailer.

“Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse. Now, whether or not he’s doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don’t know.” Dustin explained.

“All we know is that this is something different. Something new.” You spoke.

“Doesn’t make sense,” Nancy muttered.

“It’s just a theory,” Dustin said.

Nancy shook her head. “No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense. I mean, why them?”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place. They were both at the game.”

“And near the trailer park,” Max suggested.

“We’re at the trailer park…” Steve said. “Uh, should we maybe not be here?”

“There is something about this place.” Nancy agreed. “Fred started acting weird the second we got here. He was scared, on edge, upset.”

Dustin immediately picked up. “Max said Chrissy was upset too.”

Max sighed. “Yeah, but not here. She was crying in the bathroom at school.”

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right? So, maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman—”

“Vecna.” Dustin corrected Robin.

“I don’t know about you guys, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone.” Steve looked around at the table, confusion written on his face.

“Maybe they did.” All eyes went to Max as she spoke. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelly’s office. If you saw a monster, you… you wouldn’t go to the police. They’d never believe you. But you might go to your—”

“Your shrink.” Robin finished.

As usual, Steve was the first to notice that you’ve gone quiet. While the others are devising a plan to split your group into two, he leaned toward your ear.

“You okay?”

Startled, you faced him sideways. “Hmm? Oh, yes, I’m fine.”

Before he could ask further, your friends stood up and walked towards Steve and Nancy’s cars. Nancy said something about checking for something, in which you hastily volunteered to join, hoping that you could be of any help. Steve also volunteered after you, deep down not wanting to let you out of his sight because he is still unsettled about your behavior since yesterday.

In the end, You and Steve stayed with Max and Dustin, while Robin was the one to go with Nancy after finding out that she does not have a license and cannot drive the kids around.

Steve sent a few glances towards you as he drove to Ms. Kelly, but you kept your silence throughout the entire ride, head leaning back towards the passenger seat while you internally suffer another headache.

“Alright, we’re here,” Steve announced, followed by the sound of a car door opening as Max stepped out.

Shortly after seeing Max enter the house, you stepped out of Steve’s car, feeling suddenly suffocated from your seat.

“I’ll just wait outside.” You said as you swiftly closed the door, breathing heavily. You were too busy trying to steady yourself to notice that Steve followed you.

“Y/n, hey—” He stopped himself, standing beside you and taking your face in his hands. “Oh, god.”

“W-what?” You asked, suddenly aware that Steve is assessing your face closely.

“Here.” He hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to you. It was only then that you felt something run down your nose.

“Oh.” You wiped the blood, slightly embarrassed but thankful.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Like, I know I asked you a hundred times since yesterd—”

“Steve, I’m fine. Really. It’s probably just because of the weather.” You waved your hand dismissively.

Steve eyed you suspiciously but decided not to say anything anymore. Still, he remained by your side during the entirety of waiting for Max. And for the first time in days, you feel calm.

Throughout your friendship, you only hid three things from Steve; the cause of your mother’s death, your growing feelings for him, and the nightmares that caused you to visit Ms. Kelly.

====================

The refusal of Ms. Kelly to enclose any information about Fred and Chrissy has led the four of you back to Hawkins High in the middle of the night. Thankfully, Max was able to sneak out the keys to the Counselor's Office, giving all of you access to the files.

You were hesitant to follow through with their plan, knowing that if they would go through the records, they would eventually find yours too. But it was too late when you noticed Max pulled out three folders from the drawers.

“Holy shit.” She whispered, catching yours, Steve’s, and Dustin’s attention.

“You found it?”

Instead of looking at Dustin, she slowly looked at you. “Yeah, and not just Chrissy’s. Fred was seeing Ms. Kelly too. And… Y/n?”

All heads turn to look at you as you tried to speak but nothing came out.

“Y/n?” Steve said worryingly.

“I had sessions with Ms. Kelly back in my freshman year, but it was only for a few months.” You tried to reassure them, but the expressions on their faces tell you that they know there’s something more. Sighing, you continued, “After that, I only had one more visit with her.”

“And… when was that?” Dustin asked slowly.

“Last Friday.” You noticed Max’s eyes went wide, while Steve and Dustin were still confused. “I was the person that Ms. Kelly was talking to before Chrissy.”

Max hurriedly sat down on Ms. Kelly’s desk, simultaneously opening the folders that she had in her hand, including yours. You sat beside her, flicking through each of the documents as you felt a soft hand on your back. You looked up to see Steve looking at you softly, and you gave him a small smile in return.

“The symptoms…” You snapped your attention back to Max as you heard her whisper, her eyes glued to the sheets.

“What?” You questioned. You leaned towards her side and looked over at the paper, recognizing Ms. Kelly’s handwriting.

Once you realized what the words were, you froze. Headaches, nose bleeds, nightmares. It was common in all of the three files.

You looked at Max, who returned your gaze. She looked like she was about to speak, but her expression turned blank, staring at your face with unmoving eyes.

“Max?” You said, looking at the girl unsurely. “Max. Hey!”

You placed your hands on her shoulders, shaking her slightly. This caught the attention of Steve and Dustin, who seemed to go over to the door to guard the room.

“What happened?” Steve said when he reached us.

“I don’t know!” You panicked.

You three continued to call for Max, and after a few seconds, she gasped.

“Woah, Max are you okay?” Dustin said, stepping away from the girl whose eyes are wandering around.

She stuttered, but before she could answer, you heard a set of footsteps from the hall. You stood up from your seat beside Max and walked towards the door with Steve.

“Come on, stay behind me,” Steve said to you and you nodded as you made your way towards the hallway.

Thankfully, the footsteps weren't from any guard. It was from Nancy and Robin. You immediately returned to the Counselor’s Office where Dustin is still asking questions about Max.

“What happened here?” Robin wondered, seeing the distressed expression of the younger girl.

Max finally found her voice and grabbed one of the flashlights from Dustin’s backpack. “Follow me.”

She led all of you towards a small hallway with a dead end.

“It was here. A grandfather clock was right here.” She breathed. 

“A grandfather clock?” Nancy repeated, earning a nod from Max.

“It was so real. And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just… I woke up.”

“It was like she was in a trance or something.” You quietly said, the image of Max’s blank face still clear on your mind.

“Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy.” Dustin continued.

Max turned to face you all. It was only then that you noticed a few nervous tears in her eyes. “That’s not even the bad part.”

She led all of you back into the office where the folders are still scattered on the desk.

“Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Ms. Kelly for help. Uh, they were both having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn’t go away.” She paused to look at you and shakily continued to enumerate the symptoms she found. “And then, the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They’d wake up in a cold sweat. Then they started seeing things. Bad things, from their past. These visions, they just… they kept on getting worse and worse until eventually, everything ended.”

“Vecna’s curse,” Robin muttered.

You didn’t notice that Steve’s eyes were on you the whole time. He had so many questions, so many things that he wanted to clarify with you. He was slowly starting to understand what Max was trying to say, and why she kept looking at you. Yet, he refused to acknowledge any thought that threatens your life.

What you didn’t know is that your feelings towards Steve Harrington are very much reciprocated. He’s seen you at school before, but his pride and attitude as King Steve did not allow him to spend another thought on you. Though you weren’t exactly quiet because you like interacting with people, you were very straightforward in voicing your opinions. You had solid ground, always fighting for what you thought was right.

Although he would never admit it, he was infinitely grateful to Dustin for giving him the chance to properly meet you. It was a week after they had fought the demodogs underground, and Steve went over to the kids’ houses to check up on them. You were visiting Dustin after his mom invited you and your dad for dinner, and you did not try to hide your shock when you saw Steve Harrington visiting Dustin Henderson’s house.

There were no secrets between you and Dustin, as he already treated you like his older sister. So he was usually the one who tells you every detail of their adventures. At that time, it was hard to believe his stories about Steve’s involvement. You never saw him with any children while he was still in High School, how can you believe that he went through those troubles for a bunch of non-popular kids in middle grade?

Over time, your doubt left little by little. You saw how he genuinely cared for his friends, especially after Dustin. Sometimes it still amazes you that the Steve Harrington you knew from High School is the same as the Steve Harrington you visit at Family Video almost every day.

As Steve looked at you, he felt scared and angry. If he could trade places with you, he would.

Max’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Chrissy’s headache started a week ago. Fred’s, six days ago. I… I’ve been having them for five days. I don’t know how long I have. All I know is that…” She paused, taking a deep breath as tears started falling from her eyes. “For Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so… looks like I’m gonna die tomorrow.”

You stood closer to Max, placing your hand softly on top of hers.

“Wait, Y/n…” Dustin said, making all eyes turn to you. “When did yours start?”

“Four days ago.” You whispered. Now it’s Max’s turn to squeeze your fingers.

“Y/n? What—” Nancy was cut off by a loud crash from the hallway.

“Stay here,” Steve said, picking up a lamp before stepping outside the room.

The rest of you shared a glance and despite what Steve said, you all followed him outside. The sound of rapid footsteps made you hold your breath, and a series of screams left your mouth as the person revealed himself.

It was Lucas.

====================

After the arrival of Lucas, you and your friends decided to spend the night over at the Wheeler’s. You instantly borrowed their telephone as soon as the sun came out the next morning.

“Hey, dad.” You greeted him through the phone, slightly nervous about the inescapable scolding that you know will follow after not coming home for two days.

“Y/n! Where the hell are you?” You heard him speak.

“I’m here at the Wheeler’s. Nancy needed my help with… a paper they’re writing about Hawkins High. I’m sorry, it was sudden.” You said pathetically, hoping that he would not question you any further.

“Goodness! Do you know how worried I was? With all of these murders going around, I can’t have you wandering through town.” Your father said stiffly.

“I know. But I might need to stay a little longer here. I promise I won’t do anything stupid. Besides, Mrs. Wheeler is always here. She’s keeping an eye on us.” You said sweetly, silently praying that it’s enough to convince your father.

You heard him groan at the other end. “Alright, fine. But don’t go anywhere without adult supervision.”

“Dad, I’m eighteen! I’m an adult.”

“I know. It’s just a precaution.” He paused for a while before continuing with a softer tone. “Just… stay safe alright? And make sure you’re always with someone.”

Although he couldn’t see it, you smiled. “Alright. Bye, dad.”

You heard him bid you goodbye before dropping the call.

You walked back to the basement, finding Steve, Lucas, and Dustin seated on the sofa with pieces of paper surrounding them. You contemplated joining the boys, but your eyes noticed the younger girl at the bottom of the stairs, preoccupied with writing something on paper. You walked over to Max, quietly dragging a chair and bringing it over next to hers before sitting down. 

“Hey, how are you feeling?” You gave her a small smile, and she tried to hide what she was writing by putting both of her arms on top of the paper.

“Tired... and scared. But I’m not going to sulk, not when it’s probably my last day living.” She tried to chuckle jokingly, but you’ve been friends with Max long enough to know when something is affecting her not.

“Don’t say that.” You shook your head at her, still keeping your voice down while the boys in the background were throwing questions at each other. “We’re going to find a way to save you, alright? I won’t let that Vecna monster take you away.” Similar to what you did the night before, you lightly held her hand.

Max looked like she was going to cry from your words. “How about you? Have you had any visions?” Max asked, trying to make the moment less emotional. 

“No. But if your theory is correct, it’s only a matter of time before I get one.” You smiled sadly.

She looked away after seeing your expression and reached for an envelope with your name written on the back.

“What’s that?” You asked as she handed it to you.

“It's a fail-safe. You know, just in case things go sideways. Don’t open it now, though.” She said to you, now it’s your turn to get teary.

In three years of knowing her, you’ve seen Max go through a lot. You have seen her tough, throwing glares to whoever insults her friends. But you have also seen her vulnerable when she cried for hours after witnessing Billy’s death. You knew she tried to shake off the sadness, but you saw how she screamed for her brother that night. She was devastated, fearful, and crumbling.

You were surprised when she suddenly wrapped her arms around your shoulders.

“Thank you, Y/n. For everything.” Max whispered. 

“Oh, Max.” You hugged her back, pulling her slightly closer.

Your exchange was cut off by the sound of an opening door. You all looked up to see Robin and Nancy hastily going downstairs, the latter was holding two folders in her hands.

“We have a plan.”

 ====================

Shortly after Nancy and Robin left for Pennhurst Asylum, and Max gave out the rest of her letters to the boys, you find yourselves in Steve’s car.

Max, who was pretty convinced that she was going to die despite your attempts to assure her that she won’t, insisted on visiting her home to deliver the remaining envelopes in her hand. Steve’s protests fell on deaf ears when the girl threatened him.

The stop at her house was quick, and now all of you are headed towards the cemetery.

Steve was able to find a parking spot, near enough for all of you to keep an eye on Max. Dustin and Lucas stood outside of the car, walkies at hand just in case.

“Why didn’t you tell us? Or at least, one of us.” Steve suddenly spoke, turning to look at you. His tone was low but kind, careful not to step over any boundaries.

You hesitated to answer but realizing that this could be the only moment you could have with Steve alone, you let your guard down. “I don’t know. I guess I thought I could fix it.”

“Fix what?” He asked.

“Everything.” You looked at him directly. “When the nightmares came back, the fear also came back. And I just thought that maybe something I did trigger it. But then these murders started happening, and Max and Dustin went on with their theories...” 

“You knew?” Steve sadly asked, his own eyes dropping. 

You nodded. “Yeah. I kind of pieced it together when Max mentioned Ms. Kelly. But I didn’t want to say anything because Max needs us right now and it would be selfish if I—“

“Y/n.” Steve stopped your rambling by placing his hand on top of yours that was relaxed on his dashboard. “Asking for help isn’t selfish, alright?”

You sighed, wanting to agree with him but you’ve always put your friends first. Before the conversation could go longer, Lucas peeked through Steve’s open window.

“Steve, how long has it been?” His eyes traveled to Max, who was still in the same seated position.

But she was steady.

You sneaked a few glances at her during your conversation with Steve. Her head would move every once in a while, looking at Billy’s gravestone and back to the letter. But now, she’s steadily staring ahead.

Before Steve could count the minutes on his watch and answer Lucas, you went out of the car towards Max.

“Y/n? What ar—“

“Hey! Max!” You jogged to her place, noticing that she didn’t look at you when you called her. It was only when you were right beside her that you noticed her eyes. Blank, shaking and covered with a white hue. “Max? Max! Guys!”

The rest of your friends hurriedly went towards you and Max after hearing your panicked shout. You and Steve continued to call for her, while Lucas had his hands firm on her shoulder as he shook her. Dustin was way ahead of all of you, already contacting Robin and Nancy through his walkie.

The next moments were just screaming from the four of you. Max remained unresponsive, and tears were already building up in Lucas’ eyes.

“C’mon! This is code red! Robin, do you copy!”

“Yes, yes, we copy!” You heard Robin’s voice on the other end, and you swore Dustin almost fainted in relief when she replied.

“Holy shit! Finally! What have you guys found?”

“Music! Make her listen to music.”

“Exactly what music?”

“Her favorite song! She has to have a connection with it.”

Not bothering to reply to Robin, Dustin ran back to the car, went through the window, and gathered Max’s cassette player and tapes.

“What’s her favorite song?” Dustin asked as soon as he dropped the tapes in front of us. Lucas scrambled through it, finally handing the right one back to Dustin who placed the headphones on Max.

You were all anxious as you waited for something to happen. Lucas increased the volume so much that even the four of you can hear it.

“Max! Come back to us, please!” He pleaded.

Then her body started to lift, frightening all of you. If you remember Eddie’s recollection of Chrissy right, you know what’s next. Lucas was fully crying as you all stared at Max’s body. He tried to reach her ankles but she was farther.

The next few seconds were tense. You were all afraid that the song might come to an end before Max could come back. But as you heard a deep breath coming from the girl, you were relieved.

Max fell to the ground, and Lucas wrapped his arms around her. It worked.

====================

As soon as you all gathered back to the Wheelers’ basement, Dustin filled in everything with Robin and Nancy. You took a seat on the couch, eyes dropping from all the tiredness and lack of sleep.

“Take a nap first.” You felt Steve position himself beside you, legs stretching outwards after driving around town.

Nancy, who heard Steve, agreed with him. “He’s right. We need to take a rest for a while. I can keep watch first, just in case.”

You all nodded, spreading yourselves around the basement to find a comfortable position.

“Feel free to use me as a pillow.” Steve jokingly said as he patted his shoulders. You let out a small laugh, slightly leaning on his side of the couch before closing your eyes.

====================

When you all woke up from your nap an hour ago, you didn’t expect to be coming to Victor Creel’s house. Nancy shared something about how this might be Vecna’s lair, which only led to more questions about why he would choose Victor’s house out of all places in Hawkins. Most importantly, what was the grandfather clock in Max’s vision doing in its hallway.

You all scattered around the house, trying to look for more clues that could give an answer to at least one of your questions. You were about to get inside another bedroom when you heard mumbles from the hall, seeing Nancy standing behind Steve as she pulled something out from his hair.

Your heart tugged a little as you walked away as quietly as you can, trying to go unnoticed by the two.

You heard a lot about Nancy and Steve’s relationship back in high school. The most popular boy with the smartest girl. According to most people, it was a match that seemed very unlikely yet perfect. Even now, as you look at the two, it is no wonder why they fell for each other.

In hopes of distracting yourself and finding more clues, you made your way down the stairs.

A mistake.

Barely five steps down, you felt cold, chills running down your back and arms. Your surroundings got darker as if someone closed the torn curtains over the broken windows of the house. But what caught your attention was the grandfather clock at the bottom of the stairs.

Minutes ago, it was broken. You could hardly recognize the numbers from how much dust and webs it collected over the years. Now it’s perfectly ticking, one tick louder than the next.

“Y/n.” 

You flinched from the voice you didn't recognize. It was loud, deep, and terrifying. Yet you couldn’t find its source.

“Steve! Max! Guys!” Panicking, you ran back up, but your friends were nowhere to be seen.

The voice got louder as you ran through the halls, checking and opening every door that you could find in hopes that one of them could help you escape.

“You can try to run but I will find you.” It said tauntingly. “Your time will come to an end soon.”

A dead-end made you stop running. You prepared to turn around, still determined to find a way out. But you were shocked when an invisible force pushed you backward, making you stumble a step.

====================

You weren’t aware that Nancy and Steve actually saw you walk past them. It was mere seconds, but Nancy caught the way Steve perked up when he saw your form.

“You like her don’t you?” She whispered to him teasingly as she continued to remove the spider webs from his hair.

“W-what? No, I don’t.” Steve replied, suddenly thankful that Nancy couldn’t see his face as he felt his cheeks warm up. Though his stuttering gave him away.

She replied with a knowing “Hmm”, making Steve groan.

“Am I obvious?” He mumbled.

“Very. It isn’t hard to notice the way you look at her.” She smiled, also discreetly aware of how you looked at the boy.

She heard Steve sigh as he turned around, making Nancy stop picking on his hair. “I’m worried about her. I know she hasn’t experienced any visions— thankfully, but what if she does and we’re not there to save her?”

Nancy saw nothing but sincerity in the boy’s eyes, but she didn’t get a chance to reply after hearing Robin yell.

“Guys! Help, it’s Y/n!”

Steve was the first to run, following Robin’s voice and finding her at the top of the stairway. Her hands are on top of your shoulder, shaking you while you remain motionless.

“What happened?!” Steve said, lightly pushing Robin and replacing her hands with his. “Y/n?”

“I-I was on my way down and I saw her just standing here.” She explained, nervousness in her voice.

The rest of your friends have already gathered to where you are; Max’s eyes were wide as she realized what was going on. “She’s having a vision.” She whispered.

Steve, who was still trying to wake you up from whatever is pulling your conscience away, clearly heard Max’s words and panicked even more. It was just a minute ago when he was telling Nancy how scared he would be if this happened to you.

The moment that you returned, you let out a gasp, startling the rest. Steve felt like he could cry from relief after seeing your eyes move again, and he immediately pulled you into a hug.

“God, don’t scare me like that again.” He whispered to your ear, seemingly forgetting that all of your friends are looking at the two of you.

You were still catching your breath, and your brain took a while to notice that your face was pressed against Steve’s chest. You hugged him back quickly, muttering a quiet “I’m okay” and then pulled away eventually.

Max was the first to approach you when let go of Steve. “Tell us what happened.” She pleaded.

“I saw the clock.” You simply said, trying to remember every detail that you saw from your vision. You saw the way their faces dropped after you said it, and you knew that you didn’t have to explain anything else because they know what it means for you.

You’re Vecna’s next target.

====================

After your first vision, Steve refused to let you out of his sight. You and he stayed outside of the Creels’ house while your friends continued to search around, finding out that the Upside Down version of the attic is possibly where Vecna recharges his powers.

Still shaken up from what happened, you asked the group to make a short stop at your house. There are two things that you need to do; get a cassette player, and see your father.

Nancy volunteered to drive, while you were in the middle seat between Max and Steve. You leaned your head on his shoulder throughout the ride, while Max had her right arm hooked with your left.

“We’re here, Y/n,” Nancy announced as she parked in front of your house.

“Thanks, Nance. I’ll be quick.” You shot her a quick smile. Steve moved out of the car to allow you to do the same, but you raised your eyebrows when you noticed him following you to your front door. “You’re coming?”

“Can’t leave you alone again, Y/l/n.” He joked, eyes twinkling that you almost forgot you were cursed.

Before you get entranced by his smile, you stepped towards your house. The front door was locked, so you had no choice but to knock. Your father looked relieved when he saw your face.

“Y/n!” You threw yourself nearer to him and he opened his arms for a hug. “Oh, Steve. You’re here too.” Your dad smiled at the boy behind you. Everyone does like Steve Harrington.

Steve smiled in return as your dad ushered you both inside.

“So, how is Nancy’s paper going?” He asked.

“Paper?” You shot him a confused look, forgetting about the excuse that you made a day ago. “Oh! Yes, yes, it’s going great! Steve’s also helping her.”

Your dad nodded. “So, you’re staying tonight?”

Your heart dropped, the lingering thought of the curse suffocating you. “I can’t, dad. I’m sorry. I just stopped by to get some… stuff that I need.”

You’re oblivious to the fact that your father knew you very well, and he is certainly sure that you are not telling him the truth. But as he stared at you, assessing the tone of your voice and the emotions in your eyes, he didn't want to hold you back. He trusts you, and he knew that you would eventually tell him what’s going on when you’re ready.

“Do you need me to assist you?” Your father asked softly.

You shook your head with a smile. “It’s okay. I got it.”

He watched as you and Steve stepped upstairs, letting out a sigh before going to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, you started digging through your cabinets as soon as you reached your bedroom to search for your cassette. Steve took charge in going through the tapes, eyes flicking through the song titles.

“Found it.” You whispered under your breath when you spotted it. You were stunned when you stood up and saw Steve leaning against your door, smiling smugly. “What?”

He waved a very familiar dark purple audio tape. “Your favorite.”

Saturday Night Fever - “More Than A Woman” by the Bee Gees

“Damn, how’d you know?” You chuckled, trying to shake off the fluttering feeling that he knows your favorite song.

“Are you kidding me?” He exaggeratedly said. “There isn’t any idle moment when you aren’t singing this. You even kept the extra tape for your car.”

You laughed, remembering all the time that Robin had to shut you up because you wouldn’t stop singing the song. But your happiness was cut off short when you realized that your life now depends on that small tape that he was holding.

Steve sensed the change in your expression and quickly understood. “Hey, you’re going to be fine. We saved Max, we’ll save you too.” He smiled comfortingly.

You nodded, motioning that you need to go back to your friends who are waiting outside.

“Y/n.” Your dad called you before you got the chance to take a step out of your house. He pulled you into another quick hug. “Stay safe, alright?”

You hugged him tighter, suddenly fearing that this could be the last time you’ll ever see him. “Promise. I’ll see you soon, dad.”

You pulled away slowly, giving him another look before walking back to the car with Steve.

“Alright, we’re going to Eddie next,” Dustin announced.

====================

You felt another wave of terror when your group was supposed to bring more supplies to the cabin that Eddie is hiding in, but instead found the police and media surrounding the lake.

Another Hawkins High student was found dead.

The rumbling of Dustin’s walkie caught your attention, immediately identifying the voice on the other end as Eddie’s.

“Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler?”

“Eddie, holy shit. Are you okay?” Dustin whispered back.

“Nah, man. P-pretty goddamn far from okay.” Eddie chuckled.

“Where are you?”

“Skull Rock. You know it?”

“Yeah. That’s near Cornwallis and—”

“Garrett, yeah. I know where that is.” Steve finished for Dustin.

“Hold tight. We’re coming.”

====================

You were thankful that your shoes are made for running.

Dustin and Steve’s bantering on the location of Skull Rock had you change your route three times already.

“Oh, boom! Bada bing bada boom. There she is, Henderson.” Steve said, pushing away a few bushes. “In your face, man.”

“Steve.” You shot him a scolding look for his words, shutting him up.

“Doesn’t make sense,” Dustin whispered under his breath but quickly ran up to Eddie when he saw him. “There you are! Jesus, we thought you were a goner.”

Eddie patted him on the back. “Yeah, me too, man. Me too.”

The next minutes were spent on filling Eddie in with everything you guys have found. Starting from Nancy and Robin’s visit to the Pennhurst Asylum, up to your recent vision.

“Wait, Y/n? You too?” Eddie looked at you with wide eyes.

You nodded sadly.

“Oh, shit.” He replied shakily, eyes darting from you to Dustin who was pacing back and forth. “Hey, uh, Henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?”

“Cursed? No, no. He’s fine.” Steve said. “Mental? Absolutely.”

“Boom!” You all flinched, surprised when Dustin shouted while pointing at Steve. “Bada… bada… boom. I was right.”

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Skull Rock was north.”

“Seriously? You’re serious?! This is Skull Rock. Okay?” He dramatically pointed his hand towards the gigantic rocks. “You’re totally, absolutely, one hundred percent wrong. Right now!”

Dustin looks unaffected by Steve’s bursts, muttering a few “mhmm” while smiling cheekily. “Yes… and no.”

“Oh my god.” Steve threw his hands, stepping closer to you while glaring at Dustin.

“This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers.” He began to explain. “It was correct when we got in the car in Curly, but it started to slip the further east we went. Now, it’s way off.”

You all looked at each other, not understanding what he was saying.

“When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong. The compass was.”

“So you’re using faulty equipment. You’re still wrong.” Steve butted in, and you gave him a slight shove to shut him up.

“Except, it isn’t faulty.” Dustin pointed at him before turning to Lucas. “Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?”

Lucas, who seemed to be getting what Dustin is talking about, quickly replied. “An electromagnetic field.”

“I’m sorry, I must've skipped that class,” Robin said.

“In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there’s some super big magnet around here, or—”

“There’s a gate.” Lucas finished Dustin’s statement.

“We’re nowhere near the lab,” Nancy spoke for the first time in a while.

“But what if, somehow, there’s another gate? A gate that we don’t know about. It’d have to be smaller. Way less powerful.” Dustin explained.

“Snack-size gate,” Robin said.

“How? Why?” You asked.

“No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we’ve seen anything like this, it was a gate. And I hope it is because we would have a way to Vecna, and a shot at freeing Max and Y/n from this curse.” Dustin went running, but Steve stopped him.

“Where are you going? Hey!” Dustin stopped, looking at a stressed Steve. “Eddie is still a wanted man. We can’t just go for a hike in the woods.”

Having enough from Steve, Dustin raised the compass in his hands. “This little steel capsule might be the key to saving Y/n, Max, and Eddie.” He turned directly to Eddie. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

All of you turned to Eddie who had been quietly sitting.

“I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea.” He looked up. “But, uh, the Shire… the Shire is burning.”

Dustin hops adorably.

“So Mordor it is.” Eddie stated.

====================

If you thought the walk to Skull Rock was long, walking through the woods is even longer. What is even more annoying is that Dustin’s compass just led you back to the Lover’s Lake.

“There’s a gate in Lover’s Lake?” Max wondered aloud.

“Whenever the demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening,” Nancy answered. “Maybe, Vecna’s the same way.”

“Only one way to find out,” Steve said.

Your eyes noticed a small boat tied to a tree nearby, and you immediately made your way toward it.

“Where are you going?”

Ignoring Steve’s question, you untangled the rope and pulled the boat nearer to your group. Eddie and Steve took hold of each side, steadying the object.

Robin was the first to get in, placing her hands on the two boys’ heads to maintain her balance. Eddie followed, then Nancy, then you.

“Are you sure about this?” Steve asked you as he offered his hand.

“Yeah. Enough worrying, Harrington.” You smiled at him as he followed you in.

“Wait, Y/n!” Max called out for you. “Do you have your cassette?”

You nodded, turning to your side to show the small cassette player tucked in your back pocket.

Dustin walked forward, ready to join your group but Eddie and Nancy stopped him, insisting that he and Lucas should stay with Max. He reluctantly handed the compass, shaking his head as he stepped back with the other two.

Trying to lighten the mood, Robin yelled for them as she and Eddie paddled. “Bedtime at nine, kiddos! Miss you already!”

After around three minutes, the five of you were perfectly at the center of the Lake. Nancy asked to slow down the boat, the compass in her hand spinning wildly.

You noticed Steve taking off his shoes and socks. “Woah, Steve. What are you doing?”

“Somebody’s got to go down and check this out. Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then… it’s gotta be me. No complaints, alright?”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. I don't wanna go down there.” Eddie said nervously as he looked at the pitch-black reflection of the waters.

On the other hand, you were about to say something when Steve took his sweater off and you felt your throat go dry. Little do you know that Robin was looking at you, fighting the urge to laugh at your reaction.

Eddie handed Steve a flashlight wrapped in a plastic bag. “Good luck.”

“Steve.” You held his hand and looked up at him. “Be careful.”

He almost forgot what he was about to do as he stared at you, face illuminated by the moon. Instead, he smiled and rubbed the back of your hand with his fingers. “Will do. Enough worrying, Y/l/n.”

Turning back, Steve dove right into the water.

Barely two seconds after he did so, you looked at Nancy anxiously. “How long has it been?”

“Relax, Y/n.” She laughed a little. “He’s going to be fine.”

Despite her assurance, you couldn’t stay still, your eyes locked on the water. A minute later, you almost fell back in shock when Steve raised his head on the surface.

“I found it,” Steve said, panting. A series of cheerful exclamations followed your group at his statement.

“Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate.” Robin said, communicating with the kids through her walkie.

“Come on. Grab my hand.” You reached Steve with your right hand.

Before he could grab yours, however, he was pulled back under the water.

“Steve!” You shouted, your panic turned into horror when you saw no sign of Steve.

“What the hell was that, man?!” Eddie screamed behind you.

Without another thought, you stood up on the edge of the boat, taking off your shoes as Steve did a while ago.

“Woah. Hold on. Y/n, where are you going?” Robin asked, one hand holding your arm.

“I can’t leave him there alone, Robin.” You said determinedly, pulling your arm away from her grasp.

“Y/n— no!” You heard Nancy yell after you, but you already jumped into the water.

You weren’t the best swimmer, but you didn’t care. You had one thing on your mind, and that is to save Steve.

Your eyes widened when you spotted the gate, its dark red color made you nervous. But you swam right through, shocked when you realized that the other end was dry.

You were panting as you pulled yourself up, legs slightly shaking from tiredness. Taking in your surroundings, you noticed the familiar trees around you.

This is the Lover’s Lake in the Upside Down. Only this lake was dry, and dark thick vines covered almost the entire floor.

You heard a pained yell from behind you, your heart pumping faster when you laid eyes on Steve. You ran towards him and grabbed a paddle from a nearby boat that looked the same as what your group had used.

“Steve!” You yelled, hitting one of the demobats that attempted to go near you.

Steve spotted you, but his screams were cut off when one of the bats wrapped his tail around his neck. You went near him, using the pack of the paddle to crush the creature’s head.

Once its tail was loosened, you helped an injured Steve get up. “Come on. We need to get out of here.”

“Y/n! Steve! Look up!” You heard Robin’s familiar voice. You were stunned for a moment when you spotted her running with Nancy and Eddie.

“Shit,” Steve muttered, bracing himself.

You looked up, seeing another group of the demobats.

Nancy grabbed the other paddle from the same boat, while Eddie, Steve, and Robin aimed for their tails.

You didn’t know how long this occurred, but you were overcome with relief when you saw Eddie slam the last one to the ground. You all sighed, chests heaving from the swimming and physical fight that happened consecutively. 

“Jesus H. Christ!” Eddie screamed, shaking his head.

You ran to Steve, eyes searching for more injuries. “Are you alright? How are you feeling?”

“Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But other than that, yeah, never better.” Steve tried to hide his pain by chuckling, but the action made him wince even more.

“This isn’t funny, Steve. We need to get out of here.” Your eyes were glued to his sides, stomach turning to the sight of running blood.

The sound of screeching caught all of your attention, and you spotted more demobats heading toward the lake. 

“The woods. Come on.” Nancy said, motioning for all of you to follow her.

The run through the forest was painful for your feet, but you couldn’t imagine how Steve was feeling with his open wounds. You eventually reached the Skull Rock of the Upside Down, and Nancy gave you a torn piece from her clothes as a bandage for Steve.

“You alright?” Steve asked you quietly as you reached around his back, his own eyes searching for any scrape on your face.

“Don’t worry about me.” You dismissed him quickly, finishing up the make-shift bandage by tucking the ends. “There, all done.”

Steve held your hand, looking from his wound back to your face. “Thank you, Y/n.”

You gave him a nod and tugged on his hand, silently asking him to sit on the ground with you to take a rest. But as soon as you did, you remembered something and you froze.

You hurriedly pulled the cassette player from your back pocket, eyes widening in fear when you noticed that it was broken and leaking with water.

“Shit, St—“ You looked back up, expecting to see Steve but none of your friends were there. The sky was still tinted with the red color, but there was smoke forming around the ground that you were standing on. You froze, already having an idea what is going on.

“Y/n...” You heard the echo of the same dark voice from your first vision.

“What the fuck do you want from me?” You angrily said, looking around you. A tall silhouette on your left made you shudder when you noticed that it was heading toward you. 

“You think you can save your friends. You weren’t even able to save your mother.” It taunts, the voice getting louder as the figure gets closer. “Your time will end soon, Y/n.”

You recognized the same ticking sound that you heard from Victor Creel’s house, and you noticed the grandfather clock embedded in one of the rocks.

On the other end, Steve had his hands on your cheeks. He witnessed the way your arm limped to your sides, dropping the cassette to the ground. Your face turned upwards as if looking directly at someone. But your eyes were unmoving, and your mouth slightly opened. It was the same expression that you had a few hours ago in the mansion.

“Y/n! C’mon, you have to listen to me. Y/n!” He kept yelling for you. Nancy and Robin were also trying to shake your hands, while Eddie is on the verge of a breakdown.

Like the first time, you gasped when you regained your body. You were scrambling away from Steve as your mind wasn’t able to process that you were back with your friends.

“Woah, calm down. You’re alright.” Steve tried again to come near you. This time, your eyes steadied at him, and you wrapped your arms around his shoulder.

Steve comforted you as he hugged you back. He could feel you tremble in his arms; his heart broke as he wished he could take you away from all of this.

You pulled away after a minute, and Nancy was quick to formulate another plan after you assured her that you were okay.

“We need weapons. We’re going to need everything that we can use to defend ourselves. And we also need a music player.” She stated.

“Where are we gonna get those?” Eddie asked.

“Oh, and another follow-up question. Do music players work in the Upside Down?” Robin continued slowly.

“I don’t know, but we have to try,” Nancy said, looking at you. You gave her a small quick smile as a sign of gratitude and the girl was quick to return it. “We need to go to my house. We can find all of those things there.”

“Wait, you said weapons. What exactly are the weapons in your house?” Eddie wondered.

“Guns. I have guns.” Nancy said, her tone flat.

Eddie was left with his mouth open, stuttering more questions about how Nancy Wheeler has guns. Plural.

Nancy simply laughed and started walking, Robin following closely behind her.

Steve positioned himself beside you, but Robin linked her arms with yours, pushing you in between her and Nancy.

Annoyed, Steve glared at the back of his friend’s head but he saw Eddie pushing a denim vest in front of him.

“For your modesty, dude.” Eddie said, earning a muffled “thank you” from Steve.

A few minutes have passed and you were laughing with the two girls as you walked. Steve stared softly at you, happy that you were smiling despite the circumstances. He would rather throw himself into the group of demobats than let anything hurt you.

He felt terrified. Based on his understanding of Eddie’s story and Max’s experience, Vecna’s victims are only given three visions— you just had your second.

“It’s very metal, what you did. That’s all I’m saying.” Eddie’s voice interrupted Steve’s thoughts. “You know, personally I would never jump in that lake to save your ass. No offense. But Y/n, right there, she didn’t waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in.”

Eddie was careful to keep his voice down, and Steve’s eyes traveled from him to your figure.

“From what I heard, you two are just friends. But let me tell you, dude, what she did is more than just a friendly act.”

“She shouldn’t have done that,” Steve replied with the same volume. Meanwhile, his mind imagined what Eddie just said. You, jumping right after he was pulled down. Why would you risk yourself from him?

“But she did.” Eddie shrugged, a smile forming on his face.

Steve didn’t speak, trying to pretend that he was more interested in the trees. Yet his mind was on you— not the first time though. He felt an ounce of hope, a voice in his head saying that you feel the same way. But the other voice doubts, threatening him that this might ruin your friendship.

A few minutes more and you find yourselves out of the forest, walking on the cemented floor instead of soil.

“Right there.” Nancy pointed at her house, slightly walking faster.

You were both relieved and creeped out by the sight of the Wheelers’ house. The color remains the same, but the same thick vines that you saw earlier were wrapped almost entirely around its exterior, and some branches were able to puncture through the glass windows.

“Come. My guns are upstairs.” You all followed Nancy to her bedroom door, but she turned to look at you before you could enter. “Oh, Y/n, most of the audio tapes are in my parents’ bedroom. I’ll grab my player for you.” She said, pointing at the door next to hers.

“I’ll go with you,” Steve said from beside you and you nodded, quickly thanking Nancy.

Her parents’ room was a bit bigger than hers, but you didn’t have any trouble finding the tapes, seeing them displayed on a work table. You crouched down, eyes dragging quickly over every piece.

“Got it.” You said, pulling out the same tape that you brought from your house.

You were prepared to leave the room, but you stopped when you noticed Steve quietly sitting on the bed. His fingers were picking through Eddie’s denim jacket.

“You alright there?” You asked, walking over to him.

“You have to stop worrying about me. It’s you that we have to save.” He answered, eyes looking at yours.

You sat beside him and smiled. “Well, hopefully, this tape works.”

“I’m sorry.” You heard him whisper, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Sorry? Sorry for what?”

“For not noticing what you were going through.” Steve looked at the tape in your hand. “If I noticed, I could’ve helped you earlier and—”

“Steve.” You said sternly. “You have nothing to apologize for. I chose to hide.”

He went quiet, eyes still dropped low.

“Do you remember when I told you how my mother died?” You whispered. You were still hopeful that you could escape Vecna’s grasp; if Max survived, so can you. But just in case things go unsuccessfully, you don’t want to regret not telling the truth.

“A car accident,” Steve said hesitantly.

You nodded, gulping before proceeding to talk. “There was this girl in my class who was popular, and she was going to celebrate her birthday but only those with invitations could come. I was surprised when she gave me one, but I was so flattered.” You chuckled, shaking your head at your ridiculousness when you were younger. “I asked my parents if I could join, but my mom was against it because she knew I wasn’t anywhere close to that girl.

I was so annoyed. I mean, when I look back at it now, it does sound stupid. I probably didn’t even have any conversation with her, but my thirteen-year-old self was persistent. So I sneaked out to the party and asked one of my friends to cover for me. But my mom knew me very well and eventually found out where I was. I have never seen her so disappointed.

She picked me up that night, and while we were on our way home, it started raining. The rest of my memories were blurred, but I couldn’t forget how terrified she looked. The next thing I know is that I was in the hospital. I saw my dad cry for the first time as he told me that mom was gone. The police said something about losing control of the brakes but it didn’t register to me. If I just listened to her, she’d still be alive.”

You didn’t realize that you were tearing up until you felt Steve hold your hand, squeezing it as he wrapped his other arm around you.

“We moved to Hawkins after a few months because it was just painful, everything in our house reminded us about her. But it still wasn’t easy. I had to go to Ms. Kelly because my nightmares weren’t stopping. Then I met the kids, you, Nancy, and Robin, and I felt like I could breathe again. But then, of course, this monster curses me.”

You had tears freely falling down your cheeks at this point. Steve pulled you closer to him as you cried, your face tucked between his shoulder and neck.

Steve didn’t know what to say— he was never the best at comforting. But you didn’t need to hear any words, content with the feeling of Steve’s hands running up and down your hand.

“We’ll save you alright? I won’t let anything happen to you.” He whispered, and without thinking, he pressed a small kiss on your forehead.

You look up to meet his eyes, your own pair slightly wide from the unexpected affection from Steve. When he saw your expression, his brain seemed to register what he’d done.

“Oh, uh, I… s-sorry.” He stuttered.

Steve Harrington was never the one to stutter in front of girls. He always knew what to say and how to say it; but with you, he always felt like he was lost for words. Now, as he looked at your face, traces of tears still evident on your cheeks after letting him see your vulnerability, he wanted nothing else than to hold you forever. But he needed to tell you the truth first.

“Y/n.” He started slowly, trying to formulate his words. “I-I know this isn’t really the best time to say it but…”

Here goes nothing.

“I like you, Y/n. No, screw that, I’m falling for you. And now I think I just ruined our friendsh—”

You cut him off as you raised both your arms and wrapped them around his shoulder. Your sadness from earlier is no longer there, replaced by the happiest feeling as you laughed softly.

“You’re right. This isn’t the best place to confess.” You said as you pulled away. “But I’m falling for you too, Steve Harrington. I have been for a while.”

Steve looked at you with his mouth slightly open, his mind still processing the words you have said. “You mean that?” He asked, a smile starting to form on his face.

You nodded, looking at him with nothing but sincerity and adoration in your eyes. He leaned in closer to you, feeling the wetness of your cheeks from your tears as he pressed his hands on both sides of your face.

“Can I kiss you?”

You answered him by leaning in, closing the gap between your faces. The kiss was soft and quick, but enough for you to take in the feeling of each other’s lips.

“Hey, guys, we need you downs— oh.” You both pulled away upon hearing Robin’s voice from the door. The girl had her mouth and eyes wide. “We leave you two alone for a few minutes and you’re already eating each others’ faces.”

You and Steve laughed as he helped you to your feet, his hands softly brushing the remaining tears from your cheeks.

“But I gotta say, nice one, dingus! Took you long enough.” Robin said cheekily as Steve glared at her.

“Shut up.” He groaned, following you as you stepped out of the room.

Robin rolled her eyes, but her expression turned serious. “Come on, we might have a problem.”

====================

After swimming to the bottom of the lake, walking through the forest, and now rapidly biking towards Eddie’s trailer, you felt like your legs would give out anytime.

Nancy was disappointed to find none of her guns after realizing that the time setting of the Upside Down is three years stuck in the past. Still, you were grateful for three reasons. One, you were able to communicate with the kids on the other side, and now all of you are on your way to getting out of this dimension. Two, Nancy’s cassette was working and is safely tucked inside your pockets. Three, Robin. Her teasing and bickering with Steve made this entire situation much lighter.

You were happy when you finally took the familiar right turn to Eddie’s place, stepping out of your bikes as soon as you reached his front lawn. As expected by Nancy, you found another portal on Eddie’s ceiling. It looks identical to the one at the lake, and you all freaked when a stick poke through.

You almost screamed in happiness when you saw Dustin, Max, Lucas, and Erica on the other side. A few minutes later, Dustin threw a makeshift rope from blankets, the others preparing a mattress for your group to land on.

Robin climbed first, followed by Eddie and Nancy.

“Go on.” Steve smiled at you.

“See you on the other side?” You asked him, eyes twinkling.

He let out a small laugh, nodding his head. “See you on the other side.”

You reached for the rope, pulling yourself up with every remaining strength that you have. But you didn’t fall on the mattress.

Steve watched you position yourself in front of him, ready to grab onto the rope. But when you went steady with your hands falling to your side, his face went cold.

“Y/n?” He moved to face you, eyes widening when he saw your eyes glazed. It was the same look that Max had at the cemetery. He cupped your face, shaking you as softly as he could. “Shit. Y/n! Stay with me. Y/n!”

On the other end, Steve heard Max shout. “It’s Vecna! Play her music, Steve!”

His hands were shaking as he reached for your back pocket, inserting the tape into the cassette player. He immediately placed the headphones on your ears, holding your hand after he did so.

“C’mon, Y/n. You gotta come back to me.”

====================

You fell into darkness, wincing and gasping as you felt yourself land on your back. It took you a few seconds to sit up, taking in your surroundings.

You were in the middle of a road, with several police cars and an ambulance lined up to your left. The sky was dark; it was night.

Standing up slowly, you were overwhelmed with panic and fear, not fully understanding what was happening.

“Y/n.” The familiar dark voice spoke, making you gasp from how loud it was. “Did you forget what you’ve done?”

You looked around, but everything was dark aside from the flashing lights from the cars. It was only then that you noticed a shattered car to your right.

You trembled upon seeing the familiar car.

Its front part was completely destroyed, looking similar to the bent street light pole. You froze when you noticed someone come out from the driver’s side, slowly walking towards you.

“Oh, Y/n.” You heard your mother’s voice, recognizing her dim-lighted face as she stood a few feet away from you. “You did this to me. You killed me.” She wickedly laughed.

“W-what? I—” You stuttered, stumbling a few steps back.

“If only you had listened to me.” The more she comes near you, the more you can see her figure change. Your mother’s body was slowly transforming into something you couldn’t comprehend. Its body was similar to a human, but taller and covered in the same vines from the upside down.

“I see you’ve been looking for me, Y/n.” Its voice went back to the usual, its eyes glowing red and black.

You gasped, remembering Max’s description of the same monster who curses you.

Vecna.

Without thinking, you turned around and ran. You didn’t know where your path would lead you, but you were desperate to stay away from him. You tripped over something, and the cemented ground that you first found yourself on had transformed into a wooden floor.

You looked up, seeing that you were back in Victor Creel’s house. Although, this was far from what you have seen. This house looked new, fresh, and alive.

“You wanted to find out the truth, Y/n?” Vecna’s voice echoed, though he wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Your attention was brought to the four people in front of you, noticing two kids and two adults. Victor Creel’s family. Your eyes stuck to the young boy, his eyes looking around the house with a blank expression.

Your surroundings shifted every once in a while, each vision focusing on Victor’s son, Henry. You follow him as he quietly watches his family members, spying on their every move. You were shocked when you were led outside, witnessing the boy kill a struggling rabbit with powers similar to Eleven’s.

But that’s not what terrified you.

You watched the night when Victor was arrested. It wasn’t him who killed his wife and daughter. It was Henry.

The flashbacks ended, the house’s walls slowly disintegrating into red smoke. You shivered when you realized that you were brought to the same place from Max’s drawings.

“Your time is over, Y/n. Now, you will join me.” You turned around, seeing Vecna coming closer to you.

“Fuck you!” You shouted, feeling something wrap around your ankle. Before you could look down, you were dragged backward, another set of vines wrapping around your wrists to pull you up against a column.

Vecna watched you struggle, a demonic smile forming on his face as he stood directly in front of you. “I’m here to end your suffering, Y/n.” He raised his right hand towards your face, your eyes widening in fear as you looked at his sharp fingers.

That’s when you heard it.

Oh, girl, I've known you very well

I've seen you growing every day

It was a faint sound, and you almost thought that it just came from your imagination.

I never really looked before

But now you take my breath away

Vecna’s motions stopped, angrily turning around. You followed his eyes, a gasp escaping your lips as you spotted a portal-looking exit.

Suddenly you're in my life

Part of everything I do

But it wasn’t just that. You saw Steve’s form, frantically shaking you. When Vecna returned his sight to you, he was furious.

“You don’t belong with them. You belong with me, here.” He sneered, raising his hand once more.

His words snapped something inside you. You remembered all the times you hung out with Robin and Steve over at the Family Video; the times when the boys would ask you to ride the bike with them, letting them purposely win when they ask for a race; the times when you volunteered to be Max and El’s chaperone to the mall; the times where your dad would always bake your birthday cake because you refused to eat any cake that wasn’t done by him; and the all the times you spent with Steve.

How you two would endlessly annoy Robin. How he secretly enjoys being with Dustin despite the fact that they always fight whenever they’re together. And the moment you had several minutes ago back at the Wheeler’s.

This isn’t where you belong. You belong with your friends, your dad, with Steve.

You got me working day and night

Just tryin' to keep a hold on you

You twisted your right wrist from one of the vines, lifting a punch to Vecna’s cheek. He stumbled back as the rest of his grip loosened around you.

You pushed away all the tiredness from the past days as you took the opportunity to run, avoiding as much falling debris as you could.

Here in your arms I found my paradise

My only chance for happiness

And if I lose you now, I think I would die

Oh, say you'll always be my baby, we can make it shine

We can take forever, just a minute at a time

More than a woman

More than a woman to me

You will come home.

====================

Steve was crying, tears shamefully dropping on his face as he looked at your rising body. Your back aggressively landed on Eddie’s ceiling, just a few inches away from the gate where the rest of your friends are shouting.

“Shit. Come on, Y/n. Come back to me.” He said, trying to reach you.

He isn’t going to give up on you. He made a promise to keep you safe, and not even a monster from another dimension will break it.

He cried harder when he saw your eyes return to normal, a loud gasp escaping from your lips. Instinctively, he reaches his arms out, catching you before you land.

Your eyes were distraught, assessing everything around you. Steve held your face with one of his hands, still crying.

“Y-you’re back.” He said shakily as your eyes steadied on him.

“Oh, Steve.” You breathed, wrapping your arms around the boy. “I’m fine. I’m fine.”

He held you for a little while longer, occasionally pressing a few kisses on your forehead while the rest of your friends were exclaiming joyfully.

“Come on. Let’s go to the other side. Together.”

[anotheruserwithnoname]

I don't think I've ever done a post on Castle before, but after having mostly ignored it during its 8 season run, I'm being reintroduced to it via reruns on CTV Sci-Fi. That was the first clue to me that this wasn't just a detective show; it's on CTV Sci-Fi because some episodes have some sort of sci-fi fandom type reference, while others cross into X-Files and Kolchak (google it) territory. Plus both Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic are Canadian so it probably satisfies some sort of Canadian content rule for CTV.

(For those not familiar, Fillion plays Richard Castle, a writer of mystery novels who, seeking inspiration for new books, is given the OK to do ride-alongs with Det. Kate Beckett, who quickly becomes the inspiration for a new series of books. Much to the chagrin of the cop establishment, he becomes not only a valued member of Kate's investigation squad, but her partner (in more ways than one).)

One thing I wasn't aware of was the intense ship between Richard Castle and Kate Beckett that built up over the first 4 seasons and finally became not only a full-out relationship but the two actually get married later in the series, which is a rarity. Now, it's obvious the two were destined to be a couple from the first episode so it's not really a case of shipper glasses being applied (this was also a given the moment they announced that the new Magnum PI would feature a female version of Higgins and that she and Thomas would have romantic tension. Big difference is while Magnum waited until technically its final episode to make "Miggy" a couple, Castle was only midway through its run when it officially launched the ship.)

I can see some similarities between Magnum (which was subsequently given an extra couple seasons by NBC, though it's now been officially cancelled) and Castle in how they incorporate the romance (and marriage in the case of Castle and Beckett) into the storylines without distracting from the crime of the week plotlines.

And yes, as a member of the crew of the S.S. Whouffaldi , I can't not also compare to the relationship with that of Twelve and Clara, since Castle is at times very Doctor-like (especially the "distracted by shiny objects" part attributed to Twelve early on).

Anyway, for people not familiar with Castle, I found a pretty good Ms Mojo list video looking at some of the best romantic and non-romantic moments of the series (spoilers, of course).

[blablaganov]

So apparently I set myself up for a disappointment by treating Dead Friend Forever as a mystery thriller and expecting to get at least some answers, but in my defense up to episode 11 it looked like one, swam like one and quacked like one.

DFF incorporated a lot of mystery elements, planted numerous clues and encouraged us to theorize, only to ultimately take all (or almost all) of it back in the finale; which is a choice considering it’s also what its ending relies on: fans theorizing and speculating about what really happened and what might follow.

That's the kind of ending I really would have enjoyed had we gotten a clear answer about what really happened to Non. The series decided to stick with a gory horror/thriller ending and expects us to simply believe that Non is dead, despite one of the first rules of horror being never to assume that someone is dead just because you saw the body? Especially with the mysterious ninth person lurking in the woods??

The entirety of Phee’s hallucination is just glorious, starting with him seeing himself as a director landing a project immediately after graduating and continuing with Jin, who explicitly stated not planning on coming back to Thailand ever after graduating, flying back after only two years just for the sole purpose of seeing Phee. And of course Phee being a petty bitch and giving Tee most hopeless ending ever.

Also, a character whose socioeconomic status partly granted him the privilege of staying “morally superior” to others till the end is now mentally stuck in an idealistic fantasy-turned-horror while his physical body is slowly dying of dehydration and blood loss? Chef's kiss, if done correctly.

It’s also why it’s even more baffling to me that the series, which has a commentary on society and power dynamics within it, ultimately decided to drop every plotline concerned with the police? politics? mafia? and carried out punishments on an individual level only, acknowledging the external forces behind the decisions made but never going anywhere with it. If we are ending the series as a revenge thriller, then I want to see everyone get punished. Uncle Joe's off-screen death doesn’t cut it, sorry.

But my biggest problem with the finale is the fact that it does look like a sequel hook, so not only did I not get my answers, but now a second season that never happened will haunt my dreams. Because it would be such a treat for DFF to go full on Blair Witch Project and do a true crime style second season. I mean, if you have "Uncovered version" in your title, I expect you to fully commit and let someone uncover it.

Maybe some college kids having heard about the Janta cult and the murder? mass suicide? cult sacrifice? that happened at the house decided to shoot a documentary about it, only to stumble upon one of the New’s cameras left behind. Let them investigate and finally give me all the answers.

How was uncle Joe caught? How did he die?

CONFIRMATION THAT TEACHER KENG IS SIX FEET UNDER

Who was the mole? Did they helped Non escape somehow?

WHO IS BEHIND THE MASK?

Who was man in power who shut down the investigation? Was it Por’s father? Is he involved in money laundering?

FOOTAGE OF NON DRINKING MARGARITAS ON THE BEACH

Why does Por’s father tolerate a cult temple on his doorstep? Is the Janta cult a Scooby-Doo Hoax designed to hide his involvement with mafia/organ trade?

[meteor752]

This is Halloween

We’re just a few days away from the new life series, and judging by the status of a server I’m on and Trafficblr as a whole, none of us are quite ready

But I do what I gotta do, and the spoopy season is upon us, so here we are

I said I would be making Halloween costumes for the kids a few days ago, and I’ve slaves away all night and day preparing this presentation

No but fr, I had fun. Hope you like em

Liana as Mumbo Jumbo

We’re starting out strong boys. Liana considers Mumbo her biggest financial rival, so their relationship is very, well, rivalesk. At least on her end. Mumbo’s still confused. She probably spent the entire Halloween night imitating him the best she could in a half mocking manner, and both her dads found it hilarious

Wes as a cat burglar

Because what is Halloween without someone in a tight latex cat suit? Wes was 100% forced into this, and as much as he’s a little uncomfortable, he also finds it kinda fun. Jassy def tried to make him wear heels as well, but his balance is shit. He also managed to talk his way out of the tail, since he already has one.

Gertrude as a mobster

Well, she is a king, might as well expand on the brand. Absolutely slaying too, I need to put her in more suits. She probably spent the entire Halloween night sitting mysteriously in some corner, “smoking” her fake cigar.

Johnny as an angel

Cute ironic costume. This was actually suggested by someone in my dm’s, so I thank thee for the idea. The little wings were probably hand crafted from chicken feathers that my lad spent months on, and he’s very proud of them. He’s using the wreath crown to hide his horns as well, they ruin the angelic look. The lyre was borrowed from Novo as well, and he absolutely does not know how to play.

Jassy as a ghost

Can you just put a sheet on your head and call it a day? Yes. But is that any fun? Fuck no. Chains will be rattling all night, and she’ll be throwing them around left and right. The white makeup is probably crappy af too and will start to come off after like, half an hour, but she still looks pretty fucking cool. Will try to scare as many people as she can.

Jekiv as the real monster

A lot of Cleo designs incorporate the classic stitches across the skin, and Jekiv does have that as well on some places where his skin has just come off. But dressing as “Frankenstein’s monster” would be too easy. No, let’s go for the true villain of that story, Viktor Frankenstein himself. It’s a bit fitting too tho, since Jek is a necromancer. He’s just a lot nicer to his creations, amongst other things

Novo as little red riding hood

His gf is a wolf, and the reasoning for his costume ends there. Very disappointed that Gert didn’t want to go in a couples costume, but oh well. The red hood is strangely comforting to him as well, what with his mom and all. He’s girlbossing

[cirrus-grey]

I have now finished watching Good Omens Season 2

If you haven't already, please block the tag "good omens spoilers" - I won't post anything else until Friday night at the earliest, but after that all bets are off.

@albertinesimonet, I did not manage a full liveblog but I did jot down my reactions after watching each episode, and those are compiled under the cut :)

(SPOILERS!)

Episode 1:

Holy flipping fuck are they actually making the ineffable husbands canon???

Okay.

Look.

I saw that it was trending alongside Supernatural and OFMD. I suspected it was going this way, and the season had ended with some sort of confession/immediate separation.

That did not prepare me for the season to open with Crowley saying "hello gorgeous" to a nebula and Aziraphale being disappointed that Crowley wasn't talking to him. Or for Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy to be playing while Crowley rushed to Aziraphale's aid, like-

This is a fanfic. This is a motherfucking fanfic, and I am pleased to say that my brain is processing it as such, a well-written but ultimately non-canon fanfic (*puts on my "I still have book!omens brainrot" shirt*) that just so happens to have been written by one of the original authors.

Anyway, outside of my snorting disbelief that the first ship that I ever shipped is apparently going canon in one 'verse, I do actually have some legitimate theories, which run as follows:

A. I know this season is the plot-bridge between the original novel and what would have been the sequel, and B. I know the sequel was going to involve the second coming of Christ, therefore C. I suspect this Resurrectionist group that kept getting hinted at in the promos is trying to bring Jesus back, Gabriel found out and tried to stop it, and that's why he lost his memories. I'm a tad bit surprised Heaven as a whole doesn't seem to be involved in the return of their special boy, but I guess we'll see how that plays out as the season goes along.

Episode 2:

Oh hey, I've read this one before! "It's ancient Biblical times and Crowley and Aziraphale are angsting about their orders and finding solace in each other's company" may have never gotten its own tag, but there are certainly enough fics about it that it could.

"Can I be a blue one?" Weird kids are the best.

So the Resurrectionist is a pub, not a group. Still think they have something to do with the second coming, but I'm open to being proven wrong.

Gotta say, I didn't expect Every Day to be plot-relevant. I knew they had it for the soundtrack, but I'm really liking this sort of spooky-mystery-music-mixup they've got going with it - love the way its incorporated into the end credits, too.

Totally down for master-thief Jane Austen, btw.

How many people are writing fics about Crowley and Aziraphale getting caught in a rainstorm and hiding under an awning even as I type...

Episode 3:

How to run a bookshop, a guide by A.J. Crowley: Carry large stacks of books around aimlessly and then toss them on the floor when you get bored.

I'm honestly surprised his awning plan nearly worked. Curses be upon weak awnings, I suppose.

I do like that the Bentley recognizes that it has to play nice with whichever one of its dads is in the driver's seat lol

Okay so they keep drawing attention to the fact that there's flies in the bookshop, and now Beelzebub is acting off. Are the flies like... telepathically communicating Gabriel's worldviews to them? Is that how they figured out he was there?

That bit he said when Crowley mentioned tempests is definitely from the Revelations. I unfortunately don't know enough about the Revelations to draw any new conclusions from this. I know they deal with the apocalypse and the antichrist, but that was S1 stuff so there must be something else...

(That bit definitely sounded like Rapture stuff though, just saying)

Lotta talk about people coming back from the dead, here. It's doing little to dissuade me from my idea that this is all related to the second coming. Their "little" miracle was strong enough to bring 25 people back? Okay. How did Gabriel add his own power to it... and who did he bring back? (Does 1 Jesus = 25 normal people?)

...Okay yeah I just googled it and the second coming (and the rapture) is definitely in Revelations. Apparently the appearance of the antichrist is its herald. *insert 'oh yeah it's all coming together' gif here*

...

Several-hours later addition: When they were talking about gravity Gabriel seemed upset that the book didn't stay where it was put, "it goes down." And that flies go up.

...did he "go down," turning into a human, and is Beelzebub "going up," and that's why they're so worried about finding Gabriel? Figure out what happened to him, so it doesn't happen to them as well? Hmm...

Episode 4:

"The rumors that you two are an item..." Yeah holy fuck they're actually doing this. I don't know why it keeps catching me by surprise??? I guess it's not like, the forefront of the plot, so every time it comes to the front it feels a bit like a new thing, but still.

Aziraphale's smug fucking little eyebrow raise at that "I didn't think you were his type." He's like yeah, and what do you know, hm?

Did not expect the entire episode to be backstory, but that was very cute, especially given how much people fixated on the church scene in S1. That little showcase of their trust, both of them worried it'll go wrong but still willing to try because they feel safe with each other. I like that they managed to keep the tension of the setting, that "I'm pointing a gun at my best friend and this could go horribly wrong" feeling, even when it's well-established that the worst that could happen is paperwork.

Also, Crowley trying really, really hard to give Aziraphale positive feedback on his magic tricks even when he knows they suck. That's true love, right there.

Another showcase of people coming back from the dead. We've had the kids getting "brought back" from shape-shifting, the "resurrectionists" digging up dead bodies, and now actual honest-to-god zombies. I am Sensing A Theme.

...are the zombies still around? What's-is-face the demon did say eternal undeath...

Aaaaaand there's going to be an army of demons dropping in on the local business association meeting. I hope Aziraphale has enough tea cakes for everyone.

Episode 5:

SEAMSTRESSES SHOUTOUT ITS A FUCKING DISCWORLD REFERENCE

I know most people are probably going wild over the Dr. Who references but. It's the seamstresses guild...

I'm sure Mrs. Sandwich and Rosie Palm would get along famously.

In other news wow they're just being blatant about the ineffableness of these husbands now, aren't they? The great thing about that is I'm watching it with my parents and I don't think either of them have clicked that it's going canon - like, they're just interpreting it as a running bit, 'haha isn't it funny that everyone keeps mistaking them as a couple' kind of thing. The same thing happened when I showed them OFMD, neither of them realized Ed and Stede were actually going to be a real canon thing until the kiss. I mean, maybe they've worked out that this is going somewhere by now? But I don't want to ask in case they haven't, because I'd love to see their reaction if it blindsides them.

I am Not Normal about the dancing. Aziraphale's giddy little grin when he drags Crowley to the floor? The fucking. Hand presses. I've probably read too much Jane Austen if I'm going this insane about them just pressing their palms together.

And just... that whole fucking scene. The amount of queer people - either queercoded or just flat-out obviously queer - is making my heart feel full. When Aziraphale referred to the magic shop owner's partner using 'they' before we met them I thought it was just, you know, being polite, he'd never met them and didn't want to assume, but then they showed up in person and folks were still using they and they were so obviously giving a huge middle finger to gender norms I just-

Man I need to watch more queer shows I love this feeling.

And the army of demons is more of a large crowd but, well, still threatening. I like the use of masks to hide demonic traits, clever costuming detail there.

But. My dudes. Don't split up, what the fuck are you doing? You've been here for all of human history, you know how stories go, surely you know things always go wrong when you split the party??? I love protective!crowley, I do, but my dude taking off to bring this mess to heaven's attention is not the way to go about saving your angel. And Aziraphale, buddy, I don't know what you're planning to summon there but I really don't think it's going to go well.

...Maybe he's planning to teleport himself, Gabriel, and the humans up to heaven, too, to get them away from the demon crowd. It would be funny if Crowley and what's their name, Muriel, step out of the elevator and Aziraphale is just. There already.

(I don't think that's gonna happen though. I think everything is just gonna get Worse)

Anyway sidenote Lottie if you've read this far, when Gabriel started talking about feeling like a house I immediately thought of you, I know that's a theme you like ♡

Episode 6:

Jesus Christ!

(Called it!)

So I got a lot of the details wrong, but I was spot on with my two big predictions from the beginning. (Hey that ending reminded me of OFMD and Supernatural, I've got a great idea, why don't we all blog about the three of them and get them trending together-)

Gotta say, I'd only given a passing thought to Gabriel and Beelzebub being a Thing, their shippers must be going wild.

I knew there was a reason they kept drawing attention to that fly.

*Spots fire extinguishers* "Hey is that a Magnus Archives ref-" *Is brutally murdered with a lead pipe before I can finish*

I actually kind of love that Nina and Maggie didn't get together at the end of it all? I had felt like it was all going a bit too fast for them and I'm so glad they acknowledged that. They've got time, now, to work things out, and I love that they left it with the certainty that they'd be there for each other in the future... but not quite yet.

Oh! Oh! Oh! And they fit in the halos-used-as-lethal-frisbees-sequence! That was fabulous, I want to see more exploding headgear.

...anyway I think that's all the little bits I wanted to mention before getting to the Main Event.

I'm actually... not all that devastated about that ending? Like, okay, my heart was breaking watching it, the miscommunication and assumptions leading to a dramatic separation, it's tragic and angsty and oh my god my ship kissed my first ever ship kissed they did it they did the thing-

But. Two seconds after the credits started rolling my mind was already flying to, "oh thank goodness, they've got a Source On The Inside now and they might actually have a shot at stopping the end of the world instead of, you know, being blindsided by it because no one in heaven or hell is talking to them"

Like, sure, major breakup here, Crowley's gonna be pissed and Aziraphale might have to do their silly little "I'm sorry" dance three or four times before they can actually get down to business, but I don't think there's a question that both of them still trust each other immensely and know they can rely on each other to help out in a pinch. They'll be walking on eggshells for a bit, but it's pretty obvious that Aziraphale wouldn't have taken the promotion if he'd known Crowley wasn't going to come with him and as soon as he manages to properly communicate that fact they'll be fine.

(Sidenote, this, right here, exemplifies the difference between Book!Aziraphale and TV!Aziraphale. Book!Aziraphale is way more cynical about the whole heaven-and-hell system, he'd never say "heaven's still the good guys," and he'd be very, very suspicious of a sudden promotion landing in his lap after such a tumultuous sequence of events. TV!Aziraphale might not be the sweet little innocent bean fandom makes him out to be, but damn is he naive compared to his book counterpart. Makes me wonder how much of the hypothetical sequel has to change to work with this plotline - I'd bet my ass he wasn’t an archangel in that one.)

Can Crowley... hear the soundtrack? "No nightingales" like how does he know that's significant? Sir you are breaking the fourth wall-

(And how powerful is he? He's a nobody in hell but he keeps stopping time and could access classified documents up in heaven, something made his and Aziraphale's miracle blow up and apparently it wasn't Gabriel, and he also just brought a whole ass dude back from the dead??? Maybe those "Crowley is Raphael" theorists from S1 had a point)

Anyway, to cap it all off: my current predictions for S3 are the aforementioned ineffable husbands makeup and subsequent spy shenanigans as they scramble to try to stop Apocalypse 2: Jesus Boogaloo; they fail and Jesus comes back, but instead of following the Great Plan he instead chooses to side with "all of humanity against all of heaven and hell" (maybe Adam shows up too to help out?); and Crowley, despite his repeated protests, actually does end up running a bookshop because he doesn't trust Muriel to do it properly.

I summation, yes I am still alive, and very excited for the next season, whenever it happens. Also I need gifsets of the dance scene and that kiss ASAP please and thank you.

[snowbellewells]

Happy Happy Birthday Jennifer!! @whimsicallyenchantedrose

So, while I wasn’t able to write you a brand new birthday story this year, I thought it might be fun to highlight my all-time favorites of your stories. You were the first fandom friend I met and interacted with, we talked the show and plot points and character development together, and you helped me begin to navigate Tumblr back when I first joined. It’s been a gift to know you all that time, and your writing is a gift to us all! You’ve written so many GREAT stories that it was hard to narrow down, but I have settled on my top half dozen at last to highlight for your special day -- with some cover art for a few of them!!! 💖 Hope this gift serves to remind you of all you’ve written and created and how much all of it - and you!! - are loved. 🥰

The Strongest Magic - This short MC is one of your very early works - a Neverland season 3a divergent tale, but where it diverges gives us powerful adventure and emotion, sacrifice, and much earlier admission and acceptance of the love between our Pirate and Princess. I simply adore it - it squeezes your heart for sure, but it also wraps you up in a wonderful happy ending by the time you are finished.

A Wish Your Heart Makes , Getting to I Do & Mysterious Fathoms Below - This series of longer, connected multi-chapters (The "By Land or By Sea" trilogy) is simply EPIC!!! I don't know how to sing the praises of this story half as much as it deserves. There's adventure in the Enchanted Forest, Camelot, and even under the sea! There's so much beautiful love story for CS (and even some lovely, redemptive Outlaw Queen as well), and @whimsicallyenchantedrose even incorporates some unexpected and perfectly cast characters of myth and legend and her own creation alongside our faves. I don't want to give too much away, but these stories MUST BE read! Once you do, you'll want to read them over and over again.

Happily Ever After - This short MC was originally part of your Fluffy Fridays compilation, and I have often revisited the few chapters of this on their own and definitely think of them as their own little stand-alone story. I love the family recipes, the competition, the rivalry that becomes something much sweeter.... it's a truly delicious addition to your collection of writing!

Caribbean Shores - This lovely little MC reads more like a modern day AU, though they are in Storybrooke and many of our favorite characters still appear. I love the cute sweetness of this one, and the adorable addition of a few scheming cuties from MM's class when she takes them for a field trip tour of the Jolly Roger from Killian. ;) All the sizzle and attraction is there for Emma and Killian right from the start, and though she tries to resist (Why is she always so stubborn?!?) She can't do it for long...

Under the Apple Tree - It's hard to even express how much I adore this fic originally written between season six and season seven of canon. The way @whimsicallyenchantedrose wove in what we knew might be coming in season seven and then supposed what still could happen (a lot of which I would have loved to really see!) is simply brilliant. I love the relationships explored and the way the plot unfolds. It's a special and unique version of our beloved characters, and of course the unstoppable power of Captain Swan to always find each other again is fully on display too! ;p

Until the Stars are all Alight - Wow, this story must have been such a daunting task to undertake - one I would have been afraid to tackle, but the skill with which the OuaT world and the LotR world are woven together, how the plotlines come together and reach fruition, and how the characters coincide for best use so seamlessly is truly admirable and just adds to the depth and power of this full multi-chapter adventure. It has heart and hope and True Love conquering all - all the best things we love so much from the world of fairy tales and the brain of J.R. R. Tolkien!

[lynsstrange]

six of crows winter guard headcannons!

okay so this is sort of obscure and a lot of people might not understand it (unless you're both a grishaverse fan and happen to do color/winter guard, in which case, can we be friends?) but this is a personal fun thing for me as a guard member so yeah <3

Kaz: He only does rifle line, and a bit of sabre. his sleight of hand/arm strength is very useful for it. he doesn't do flagline. hates it. can you imagine kaz brekker spinning a flag? yeah, neither can i. he's the type of person who learns dropspins on rifle, watches someone do a five, goes "like this?" and tosses it perfectly. (believe me, there's a girl on my team like this.)

Inej: Team captain. does flag and sabre, as well as some rifle, but doesn't like it as much. sabre and flag are just more graceful and fluid, like she is. needless to say, she's awesome at everything. Being a literal acrobat, too, she excels at dance more than anyone else on the team. Big stunts and dance solos are often incorporated just for her, because she's so captivating and elegant in the way she moves.

Jesper: being hyper-adhd and unable to sit still, he's constantly trying new things and wanting to learn every piece of equipment he can. he even does a bit of baton on the side. he's kind of a wild card, and there's not one particular thing he excels at. i think rifle would secretly be his favorite, though, because gun. he is really great at super high tosses, and likes to show off to wylan. "did you know i can toss a fourteen on rifle?" "that's not physically possible, jesper." "uh, yeah, i know it is, because i can do it."

Wylan: he plays flute in marching band during marching season, and he only really joined winter guard because Jesper was doing it and asked him to do it with him. so he sticks to flagline, but is working on weapons on the side. he works a lot on the production of the show, too. He writes some of his own original music for it and mixes all the audio/sound effects.

Matthias: i have a little headcannon that he plays snare drum in marching band, and, like Wylan, only joined after copious begging from Nina. he won't admit it, but he actually kind of likes it. rifle, that is. he isn't a big fan of flag, but being big and strong, he's able to do really impressive tosses on both pieces of equipment. doesn't do sabre. it's too tiny and light for him, he hates it.

Nina: steals the show performance-wise, she gets really into roles, especially dramatic ones. often gets the team more points just because of her standout performance abilities. big dance and flag girl. she does some weapon line, but much prefers flag, and always gets assigned impressive solos on it. she also helps with costume and set design, and always brings flare to shows. is a big team motivator, comes up with all the traditions and team parties.

other mix-matched in-universe headcannons:

Per Haskell is their very uninvested, uninvolved band director

Pekka Rollins is their rival school's guard coach that Kaz hates with a burning passion

Kuwei is a Shu exchange student that tried winter guard for a season. After some mysterious incident with jesper and wylan, however, he decided it wasn't for him.

Alina, Zoya, Tamar, Tolya, Genya, and Nikolai are all alumni that did winter guard. The Darkling was their toxic team captain that got kicked off. Zoya and Genya came back to help coach for a season, but Zoya couldn't stand Kaz.

Wellll that's it for now. If you've read through all of this somehow, thank you so much <33333

[westofessos]

Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! is not only the best Scooby movie in the past (at least) ten years, it’s probably the best piece of Scooby anything in the past (at least) ten years.

Yes, Mystery Incorporated was good. I appreciated the darker tone, and the season-long storylines rather than each episode having different, disconnected stories was very cool. However, in doing that, I felt that they lost a bit of the Scooby magic. Not to mention the Velma/Shaggy relationship, and the god awful characterization of Velma as an individual character. And while I always love a traps-obsessed Fred (and they did that so well), I hated Daphne pining after him episode after episode while he seemed to not care about her at all.

Be Cool, Scooby-Doo was also very good. It was definitely one of the funniest pieces of Scooby media we’ve ever gotten. The first episode alone made me laugh harder than almost any of the other movies or shows. But the animation was absolutely atrocious, and that sort of thing, to me, is unforgivable for Scooby.

Trick or Treat Scooby Doo!, however, is perfect, and I do not say that lightly. The entire thing is the perfect homage to the original show, and the perfect way to stay true to what Scooby should be, while also modernizing it a little.

The animation. Don’t even get me started. It’s literally just an updated version of the original animation for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, and I am completely in love with it. This is the animation that should be used for the new stuff!

And queer Velma! Thank god for whoever at WB finally made Velma queer. I salute you. It was perfect. Coco Diablo was also incredibly hot, continuing the decades long Scooby movie tradition of having insanely gorgeous side characters that will 100% be some kid’s gay awakening. Or, at the very least, they’ll be like me and look back at this movie once they know they’re queer and realize that there was a very specific reason they were so obsessed with her. For anyone wondering, these characters for me were Lena and Simone from Zombie Island, the Hex Girls, Crystal from Abracadabra-Doo, Crystal from Alien Invaders, Miss Mirimoto from Samurai Sword, and that blue-haired witch from Goblin King.

And the humour! This movie is so genuinely hilarious. I killed myself laughing quite a few times. So unhinged, a lot like Be Cool. It delighted me to no end.

Not to mention all of the little Easter eggs that they threw in for the complete fanatics like me. They all made me so, so happy. The old villains and their costumes, the gang sitting at the table in the library and looking up, the brief reference to Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King (my personal favourite Scooby movie), and as I mentioned, the animation.

This movie is just. . . it’s the perfect Scooby movie, okay? The world needs more Scooby, and if it’s done like this (even if they only do a few more, so we have a perfect couple in a row reminiscent of the Zombie Island, Witch’s Ghost, Alien Invaders, Cyber Chase run, I would be thrilled), it’ll be perfect.

Anyway. That’s just the ranting of an absolute lunatic that’s also a lifelong Scooby lover and also just watched that movie yesterday and is obsessed with it.

[lesbianrobin]

Do you have any TV show recommendations

my #1 tv show recommendation is to watch the challenge. i literally never cared about competition reality shows besides antm and now i am Obsessed because the challenge is perhaps the greatest show of our generation. i beg of you to watch this compilation video it captures the overall spirit of the show So well and it's also hilarious.

if you want recommendations on which season to start with PLEASE send me another ask, or ask sarah @steveharrington she's the expert.

ok now other shows ❤️ i'm not gonna mention shows like succession that are super big on tumblr or well-known prestige television like breaking bad or the sopranos because i'm sure you've already seen plenty of people recommending those yknow? so yeah.

cowboy bebop (anime). the live action does not exist to me. anyway. cowboy bebop is sci-fi. it's western. it's jazz. it's comedy. it's tragedy. it's about love and identity and bounty hunting and a little corgi. there's a reason why it's often called one of the greatest anime of all time. this kinda violates my no reccing super popular shows rule but i think people who don't watch much anime may not be familiar with cowboy bebop so i figured i have a duty to the people.

the get down. i wholeheartedly believe that the get down is the greatest thing netflix has ever produced and it's a goddamn tragedy that it was canceled, but what does exist is just. incredible. it's about the rise of rap and hip-hop, the death of disco, and struggling to figure out identity and the meaning of success in the bronx in the 1970s. created & produced by baz lurhmann, the show incorporates archival footage of new york and real people with fictional narratives in a truly masterful way. it's absolutely gorgeous. the music is fucking fantastic. it's So worth watching and i wish that it had gotten the same hype as other netflix shows like st, oitnb, etc.

speaking of netflix. american vandal. if the get down is the best thing netflix has ever produced, american vandal is a very close second, and i could honestly be persuaded to swap their places, but ANYWAY. it's a mockumentary wherein a kid named peter and his best friend sam attempt to solve the mystery of who spray-painted twenty-seven dicks on twenty-seven cars in the staff parking lot at their high school. it's one of the funniest shows i've ever seen, and also the only show i've ever found to be accurate to the contemporary teenage experience. it's also like... insanely accurate as a parody and critique of real true crime documentaries. also if you're following me you're probably an st fan, and eduardo franco (argyle!!) is in american vandal as well, if that motivates you any more.

xena: warrior princess. it's the best show of all time and also the worst show of all time. everything that people say about shows like supernatural and glee and riverdale? xena did that shit back in the 90s, they did it better, and they did it with lesbians. they did it with swords. they did it with aphrodite. they did it with leather and whips and clones and reincarnation and true love's kiss. please watch xena.

community. if you haven't watched community idk what you're doing with your life to be quite honest. just watch it already.

GLOW. attention all tumblrinas who like messy complicated stupid mean scheming sexy women. you will fucking love glow. sorry i'm recommending so many netflix shows but i can't Not mention glow on here it would be a betrayal of my lesbianism. it is about sexy women wrestling. it's got blood. it's got tits. it's got storytelling. it's got 80s music. it's got fucking your best friend's husband as a means of feeling closer to her. yellowjackets fans i'm looking at you. watch glow.

ghosts (bbc). not cbs. dear god not cbs. bbc. but yeah ghosts is a sitcom about a young couple who suddenly inherit an old home (manor? thing? man i don't fuckin know english aristocracy stuff) full of ghosts. it's a fun, simple premise, and some parts of the show can be corny, but the actors sell it so well that it's just a pleasure to watch. if you're into sitcoms, i think it's worth giving ghosts a shot!

that's it for now i don't want this to get super long ❤️ thank u for asking!! also sorry if this wasn't what you expected from me lmao. OH ALSO watch the muppet show. like the OG 1970s muppet show. shit slaps.

[mdhwrites]

Reccomendations for cartoons to watch include: Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, Regular Show, the later seasons of MLP Friendship is Magic (for the sake of completing it and being able to properly evaluate the show), Steven Universe, DuckTales 2017, OK KO, Big City Greens, Star vs the Forces of Evil, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Kim Possible, Hilda, Helluva Boss, Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, She Ra 2018, and the Ben 10 franchise.

I actually still have another ask that is mostly this same list but I think Hilda and Helluva Boss are new. Mostly responding because something I find interesting about myself given how ruthless I can be with TOH is that, well...

I probably will never truly be able to be some big reviewer because when I start disliking something, I drop it. That's actually the big reason I'm responding is because there is NO WAY I am watching the like 4+ seasons of MLP:FiM that I didn't watch because I just can't engage with stuff I dislike. I find no joy in it and while I can rant for a couple episodes, it just loses my interest.

I never seek things out because I think I'll dislike them. I just don't think life is enjoyable that way. It's why I have no plans to return to Helluva Boss. I absolutely believe people would potentially send me asks about it with how polarizing it is but I got to the episode when Moxie and Blitzo are interrogated, went "Ah, I see, the two characters I hate the most and don't even find funny (Stolas and Blitzo) are the actual main characters and the pilot was potentially kind of a lie for what the real focus of the show is. I'm out." And I haven't watched an episode since. My brain struggles to click with media after all so why would I bother with media I actively know I dislike already?

I'll comment on a couple others that I have at least had experience with on the list in a minute but since Amphibia, I've watched the first season of Craig of the Creek and think that show is just AMAZING. There's at least one episode I keep wanting to do a blog on just because it exemplifies how much the show understands the wonder of fantasy and childhood without actually being fantastical. I've also seen S1 of SpyxFamily and some of S2 but right now the only streaming service I have consistent access to is Hulu (the Disney+ I was borrowing cancelled theirs to swap to Hulu) and they only have S1 dubbed of SpyxFamily.

I'm hoping to sometime soon actually watch Over the Garden Wall finally and just have been kind of a mess as of late as for why I haven't yet. I've heard only good things, and shockingly few spoilers, and it's about time I gave it a proper shot.

ANYWAYS:

Steven Universe: Watched the first episode and only really liked Greg so just didn't bother watching more. Steven was fine but I actively hated all three of the gems because of how brain dead they were in both segments of the episode. As far as pilots go, I think SU might genuinely have one of the worst I've ever seen for convincing you to like a main cast.

Gravity Falls: I rewatched the first episode recently and went "This is oooookay." Something about Dipper's VA just bothers me. Not like they're doing a bad job but that it falls into an uncanny valley my brain doesn't love. I really wish I could better explain why that show refuses to properly click for me.

Regular Show: I forget why but I've seen a few episodes. It's not bad but I don't think it's really for me. I find Rigby and Mordecai annoying more than anything else. Not awful but I think without it feeling like they're actually meant to be learning something, they fall into the trap Randy and Howard from Randy Cunningham fell into eventually for me where I was like "Okay, assholes can be fun for a while but if that's all you're ever going to be, I don't care."

Adventure Time: I have seen as many episodes where Fiona and Cake show up in that show than I have Finn and Jake. XD I have genuinely liked what I've seen and just for some reason never sought it out. Maybe someday.

Star Vs: I need to give S2 a chance but MAN when I got told they break up Marco and Jackie for NO REASON I lost a lot of interest in the show. I like Marco more than Star, and I've only seen S1, and thought Marco and Jackie's relationship was genuinely really nice and kind of unique. Also knowing it's most people's cartoon punching bag doesn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm for it.

Kim Possible: I remember rewatching the pilot a couple years ago and being shocked by how much I didn't care for Kim. I think the fact that Bonnie is the only one who gives her shit but she's actually just genuinely amazing at everything and liked by most make her just not compelling to me which is a shame because I have REALLY fond memories of the show. I'd probably commit to a rewatch of Danny Phantom first though since it has been just as long since I watched that.

(Weird fact: I was looking at Hulu's unfortunately limited amount of cartoons and saw they had Kick Buttowski of all things which is WILD to me.)

She-Ra: I've seen literally one episode, thought it was good, and definitely is one of the ones I keep telling myself to watch because everything about it seems like it'd be up my alley. These are also my thoughts on Voltron though with how much... less divisive that last season of Voltron is, it's definitely below watching Princesses of Power.

Ben 10: Loved the original series as a kid, tried the first two spin offs that came out and didn't really jive with either but I thought Julie, the tennis girl Ben gets with, was super cute. I know a friend who would LOVE to see me get into Ben 10 and do some reviews of it.

And just as an anime shout out, a part of me is still tempted to give Little Witch Academia another try. Not only is it just an obvious next show for me to watch but it's one I REALLY want to like because I like a lot about it... I just absolutely despise Akko from the like four episodes I watched a good number of years ago now. I thought almost all of the supporting characters were great though.

Just... Consider this my weird, rambly blog late at night about cartoons and the fact that I do wish I engaged with media better. One of the worst elements of it is that I don't engage well with scripted content well if my brain isn't already in an alright place. Like I don't go to television for distraction and cheering me up. I vastly prefer streams for that as I can actually turn my brain off during those normally. It's something I've talked about before and something I'd like to change. Heck, I even at one point had a therapy goal to watch something at least once a week since that'd still be easier than streaming or writing. Whoops. *sigh*

I do also appreciate the recommendations! The reminders are good sometimes since I don't feel like I actually stay in the loop all that well. And since I kind of assume this is the same person who sent a list before, I decided I felt like actually responding, especially because the MLP pitch is an interesting one but man... That's a LOT of Starlight Glimmer I'd have to put up with when just like six episodes of her as a good guy made me want to light both her and Twilight on fire to put them out of their, and mine, misery. That's without me getting into the fact that I just think the characters in general got worse by then, almost like series shouldn't last for that long because finding new angles on characters becomes REALLY HARD (says the dumbass with a series of his own that honestly is longer than he should reasonably plan a story for.)

Again, late night rambling while my brain deals with suddenly snapping out of a hyper focus on a game for three days and doesn't deal with that well. *sigh* Have a good night everyone, take care of yourself and see you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[vifetoile]

Calvin Anagonye-Shellstrop and Hobbes

Eleanor Shellstrop becomes the first woman to get knocked up in Hell.

So.

Spoilers for the end of The Good Place, however, no spoilers for Good Omens (this does not incorporate season 2) and Calvin & Hobbes and Fairyland, they need no spoiler tags.

Post-Season 4. Eleanor and Chidi are in the process of overhauling the afterlife; the process is going well but there are still holdover-demons who prefer the old regime. Chidi and Eleanor are happily together and Do It a lot; they visit the old Neighborhood and have a quickie in Eleanor’s old house, and two months later Eleanor realizes she’s pregnant.

The first person she goes to is Janet, who confirms it and says that the chance of a woman conceiving in the afterlife is astronomically low. She congratulates Eleanor on beating the odds. Eleanor asks Janet to keep it a secret and asks for help— how will she tell Chidi without him freaking out? Comedic advice sequence ensues.

Eleanor tells Chidi, he has a few minutes of shock but once it’s confirmed he’s surprisingly chill. He asks Eleanor what she feels about it.

Chidi and Eleanor have a long talk about parenthood. While keeping the idea of abortion fully on the table (Janet can do it), they decide they want to try being parents together.

Furthermore, Chidi says that he would like their child to live on Earth, if that’s possible, with a normal experience of time and space. 

So this is the news they break to Jason and Tahani and Michael. Jason is delighted at the prospect of being an uncle; Tahani offers sincere congratulations and sends for champagne; Michael is surprisingly morose. The idea of Eleanor and Chidi returning to Earth really bums him out. But Jason manages to talk Michael 'round. It'll be fun to be a godparent.

So Eleanor and Chidi resume their lives on Earth, and move to Maine. When they marry they take the surname Anagonye-Shellstrop. When their son is born, they name him Calvin. 

Tahani and Jason also choose to resume their Earthly lives.

Meanwhile, back in London...

Aziraphale and Crowley get notices from their separate authority figures: this kid Calvin was conceived in Hell. A kid like that… could have all kinds of strange powers. He could even fill the role that Hell wants, the role of the Antichrist.

Remember how I said there are those who want the old regime, and the old plans for Armageddon? Yeah, not all of them are demons. 

Plenty of angels would like to put Armageddon back on the calendar, and this kid might be their way to do it.

Aziraphale packs up his books, and Crowley packs up his plants, and they head out to Maine. The Arrangement has a new form.

Artwork by Ana Juan, colored by me

By a completely unrelated train of events, there is the realm known as Fairyland, as described by Catherynne M. Valente. There is a young Tiger by the name of Hobbes. He is kin to the Leopard of Little Breezes and the other great cats of Fairyland. 

Hobbes hasn’t quite found his domain yet. As he vagabonds along from one port to another, he finds his way to the world of humans, where he appears as a stuffed toy to most. However, even under this glamor, Hobbes possesses a debonair charm which catches the eye of Tahani al-Jamil. She introduces Hobbes to Calvin and they become fast friends.

Calvin will come into his powers when he reaches seven, the age of reason. However, the year before Calvin’s seventh birthday never seems to end, it just… sort of loops. Jeremy Bearimy never saw it coming.

Artwork by Bill Watterson

How will this all end? Will the Maine sea-air prompt Crowley and Aziraphale to confess their long-buried feelings? Will Hobbes ever go back to Fairyland? I don't know, it's a mystery, but isn't it fun to think about!

This all could be a long-running Ao3 series with 100k words and dozens of chapters and interludes, but in this part of Jeremy Bearimy, it is a humble tumblr post.

[glapplebloom]

Welp, never thought I would give this a chance…

Since the release of Velma, everybody has been giving past Scooby Doo shows a new look and appreciating what they are. I am glad for people to really start to enjoy Be Cool Scooby Doo. It is my third favorite incarnation behind Pupped and Mystery incorporated. But like others with Be Cool, I too was put off from the drastic changes of the Scooby Doo Formula. And for me, that’s Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue.

So the episode begins establishing that Shaggy and Scooby, even if Shaggy got a new voice actor, are the same people you know and love. Just currently living alone, in an unkempt house with no food. That’s when Shaggy got a call that he and Scoob are now billionaires. His uncle went missing and left everything behind for them, including the mansion with his laboratory and more importantly: food.

So after telling the others, finding his laboratory and playing around with a Shrink Machine, they find out that he created a formula that can turn whoever eats it into basically anything. It currently only works on animals but an evil scientist is looking for it. And if he gets it, he can use it to take over the world. So it’s up to Shaggy and Scooby to find the recipe, find Shaggy’s uncle and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

Speaking of wrong hands, we get introduced to our evil scientist. Phineus Phibes. He seems like a fun villain. And two of his henchmen, 1 and 2, remind me of the henchmen from Venture Brothers. So seeing them interact with the actual Scooby duo feels just right. Even the Shrink Ray comes back into play. But sadly Scooby and Shaggy get captured and are about to meet a watery end.

But basically all the clues add up to them and embracing his inner Velma, Shaggy realizes the new Scooby Snack Formula is the Nanomachine Formula. Luckily they made some ahead of time because of course new Scooby Snacks were going to be eaten by them. Thanks to Scooby’s temporary invisibility, the two manage to escape and establish that while they’ll be doing this mostly on their own, it’s the same Shaggy and Scooby we know and love.

And that shows just how well this setup its series compared to Velma. It established the characters as likable before introducing the overarching story. Has an overarching story and a believable reason behind a person’s absence. And gradually introduced us to the things that are different. We establish the Scooby Gang is the same. Then we established he got rich. Then the story of the series. Followed by the villain. And finally the new gimmick with the Super Scooby Snacks.

I wish I did give it a chance when it was airing. It has two seasons and I was laughing a lot more here than with Velma. And before I forget, while I am not a fan of the intro, it does remind me of Offspring’s Walla Walla song.

[ariminiria]

You know...even the live action Scooby Doo movies from the 2000's were MUCH more enjoyable then the crap that Hollywood throws at us now. Those people who worked on the LA Scooby Doo movies totally went all out!

They were a little bit bad in some ways, but at the same time they were so charming. And they weren't trying to be edgy, or anything more or less than the source material. They set out to strictly make a live action Scooby Doo, and they did.

I also think that Scooby Doo is a better candidate for live action than many things that have been adapted as such recently, because of the "monster of the week" nature of the show. Most of the episodes were unrelated, unconnected, and rarely referenced each other, except to sometimes mention old cases. But there wasn't a huge overarching plot to drag the pacing down and detract from the main focus, aka whatever case they were currently working on.

That's why I personally found the Mystery Incorporated reboot to be severely underwhelming. Definitely my least favorite iteration thus far. They focused too much on a "big" mystery instead of just. Ya know. Monsters. And they added too much supernatural element. I'll get into why the live action one gets a pass for that later, but the original cartoons and the What's New Scooby Doo phase only ever winked at supernatural realism. Like the cornfield episode where the creepy cat disappeared except for its red eyes at the end. But it was never really taken super seriously.

The live action movies came out to do their own thing and they set the bar from the get go. So sure, we're having Scrappy Doo try to eat Scooby's soul and the gang gets their bodies all swapped around, why not. They kept the tone consistent with the original material and that's what matters. And you didn't have to watch the other movies to understand whichever one you were watching, much like the original monster-of-the-week setup of the series.

Mystery Incorporated tried too hard to be dark and gritty, yet it still pretended it was being faithful to the original. But they reduced all the characters down to the most one dimensional cardboard cutout caricatures of themselves, taking one trait and blowing it up into their whole personality. Fred is a dumb jock who knows nothing but how to make traps. Velma knows nothing but books (and also she's a controlling emotionally abusive girlfriend now??). Daphne is overtly obsessed with Fred and that's her whole personality.

And then they tried to add an overarching plot in the background of each season. They imply that its similar to the cases they've solved this far - ie realism - but just a bigger threat pulling the strings. They're never ever clear of what is supposedly going to happen. Some vague and generic bad guy is planning something. What something, you might ask? What is the culmination of three seasons of insulting material and vague hints? Maybe a real estate scam? An inheritance scheme?

No. Quite literally out of nowhere at the end of the last season, they go through a portal into a shadow dimension and a whole bunch of people get eaten by a shadow demon that can only possess talking animals (for some reason) and it wanted Scooby but only managed to snag some pathetic bird. But it still wants Scooby tho! Anyways the shadow demon is literally consuming their town and the people in it (including the gang's parents cause yeah let's give the kiddies some nightmares) and somehow the power of friendship defeats the shadow demon but also sends them back to an alternate reality like Back to the Future and they all have really cool, better lives now. For some reason.

Honestly, it was insulting that they tried to even call that a Scooby Doo show. If they had made original characters and done their own new thing it would have been kind of interesting. But nah. Just something else where you can tell the creators hated the original material and were determined to twist it into what they wanted to watch instead of being faithful to the source.

The movies understood what they were doing and they didn't try to make it something that it shouldn't be.

[mrawkweird]

I finally got see Scooby Doo Mystery Inc, and much like Spectacular Spiderman it lived up hype. It really does feel like it's everything what other bigger bolder Scooby projects tried to do and fails. It's more mature but not overbearing, has a very solid and subtle crossover with other Hanna Barbera series like Blue Falcon and Johnny Quest and a over arching story. Plus shit's just mad funny. I think the only downside is the romance specifically the one with Shag and Velma, it's focused on so much but they're both very unlikable during it, Velma for being overbearing and controlling and Shaggy for being so passive and refusing to commit plus Scooby being mad jealous for no reason. Later he has no problem with Shaggy dating the one china girl and Scoob himself get's a girlfriend so I can't see the problem.

Also from what I heard about Hot Dog Water I would assume she was in way more episodes be she's in so little that personally I find her big ship with Velma unearned.

Also I hate her chicken legs, like she looks like her legs should immediately break just by standing up

For me Mystery Incorporated will always be my favorite Scooby-Doo series because they really took the typical formula and asked "What if Scooby-Doo had an arc?". They took it to a new level and they didn't lose sight of the characters and what makes Scooby-Doo, well, Scooby-Fucking-Doo. You know, unlike certain things that fell off 4 episodes after my first initial half praise.

I honestly just use this series to push me to get back into drawing now.

Also, if I had to compare the whole Shaggy/Velma/Scooby thing to something I would definitely say it was their Troy/Britta/Abed moment from Season 4 of Community. The writers created a situation to show why they thought the pairing wouldn't work out but in my heart I'll always know what could have been if handled better. Fortunately like Community it's just a minor stumble that doesn't bring down the whole series.

They did also feed my years of Shaggy X Daphne curiosity so that brought the points back up.

And the thing about Velma and Hot Dog Water is that I wouldn't necessarily say it's unearned but more so that people did a little too much hyping it up for what we got. That sort of hype personally drives me crazy these days because it's like, if this is supposed to be natural then treat it naturally. Let's not start bouncing off the walls making it seem like an anomaly just occurred in front of our faces anytime a show or movie does this. I say "these days" but this was back in 2013 so I guess I can give it something of a pass because they touched on the possibility of Velma canonically being into women in anything before anybody else. Now fast forward to last year where everybody went "OMG; Velma's gay in the latest movie" . When I tell you this was one of the least breaking news things I ever heard. Like "Congratulations on finding out Velma likes every candy in the store. We been here".

Needless to say Mystery Incorporated is something I feel a lot of people who are into Scooby-Doo should experience. Especially if they're looking for something a little more mature than they're used to. Between this and Scoobynatural they won't need what HBO Max is pushing. We would have gotten more with them but just like Spectacular Spider-Man they got cancelled out their plans for a third season. Thankfully unlike Spectacular they were able to end in a way that can feel like a definite series ending. RIP to them chicken legs. May they be getting worn out somewhere.

[iridescentlemoncandy]

Picking A Bouquet with Osborn

A small subsection of [In the House with Osborn: Sweet Dreams]

Pic source: here

I - Hydrangea

A large swath of hydrangea blossoms, and the resulting blue hue evokes that of the sky and the ocean.

"Hydrangea is a hydrophilic plant. They will bloom profusely during the rainy season.” I read the information that I discovered while searching on my phone. Osborn takes the flower and stares at me so intently that my face begins to flush.

“Bloom profusely...... not bad. That sums it up nicely.”

“But to truly appreciate something is to appreciate it at all stages of development, from the bud to the full blossom.”

II - Tulip

I pick up some tulips to complement the hydrangea I have. Compared to the sophisticated hydrangea, these come pale in comparison. The plain tulips have shy and cute qualities to them.

“A bouquet of tulips and hydrangeas makes for a lovely arrangement. Osborn, don't you agree that contrast is essential to the creation of beauty?”

“It all depends on your point of view. But I believe that when things of different natures are entangled with one another, it will always bring about some surprises. Just like you and me."

III – Cornflower

“Pick a flower for you? I bat my eyelids at Osborn. “If so, then there's no other bloom more fitting than blue cornflower."

It's purely blue, whimsy, and one-of-a-kind. As the myth goes, this flower cured Arminius's sight. Hence, it also means light.

Osborn carefully plucks the cornflower from my palm and places it in our arrangement. “It's tough to find a light, but I got lucky: mine is just here by my side.”

IV – Bush Lily

“Do you know what Bush Lily is also called?” Osborn asks me.

“Of course. It’s the flower of love.”

"Not bad, you reply quite promptly. Then, shall we incorporate it into the bouquet? " He responds with a smile and crinkled eyes.

“Okay, but I'm still interested in knowing why you chose this particular flower.”

"Not now; once we finish the bouquet, I'll tell you the reason and give you the flower."

V - Blueberry

The blueberries in our bouquet seem to have caught Osborn off guard. "Blueberries can be used in flower arrangements? Aren't you supposed to…… eat it?”

Fearing he will eat them in the next second, I quickly grab the blueberries out of his hand. "Blueberries are dainty; they make a lovely addition to a flower arrangement. But, after staring for too long, I start to crave them, too…….”

Osborn smiles and pats my head. “I had a hunch that Xiao Xiaowu would also feel tempted to eat it. Leave these few blueberries here in the arrangement. Let's get some blueberries on the way home!"

VI - Daisy

“A daisy indicates silent love, which is to say that my feelings for you are hidden deep within my heart.” After reading the card's preface aloud, I find myself looking at the flower with a sense of bitter delight in love.

"They bloom so selflessly; how is it that they bury the love deep in their heart?" Unconvinced, Osborn points to the centre of the flower. The stamens look like pearls encrusted in there.

“For me, its floral language should connote an all-out, ardent love.”

VII - Delphinium

We finish off the bouquet with delphiniums. Its delicate, light blue petals flutter in the breeze like a swarm of birds.

“It is understandable why delphinium signifies a desire for freedom,” I utter as I gaze at the blossom.

"Even in freedom, there are moments you want to halt." Osborn gently taps on the petals, like a swallow taking a break.

"Like when?" I look up, and our eyes meet. “Like now," he says as he rests his chin on my head.

[Osborn's Letter]

To: MC

Flowers are a mystery to me. Compared to flowers, I feel like I have a far better understanding of the roadside weeds. However, after discovering the meanings and legends of these blooms from you, their stunning appearance takes on new depth.

Actually, it's more than just the flowers. After you entered my life, everything started to make sense. You taught me to appreciate the exquisite subtlety that exists in the mundane tasks of life.

Now I might just get to experience the thrill of watching a flower bloom. More specifically, the amorous bloom that belongs to us.

From: Osborn

Pic source: here