#there are three people that max will protect with her life-- well there are more but these three people

[zoomingupthathilla]

Back in California Max never truly fit in. She would get picked on for the way she dressed. For skateboarding, because that was a boys sport. She would get picked on for her frizzy hair, because she was too young, and too much of a tomboy to care about what products to use. She would get into fights constantly, most of the time, three against one. Very rarely was it a fair fight. The girls made sure to leave bruises, or wounds where the teachers couldn't see, and she used that to her advantage at home. Hiding most, if not all of her fights from her parents, but especially from Billy.

Anyways, I bring this up, because she truly is awestruck by Chrissy. A popular girl, who is beautiful and sweet? Someone who doesn't want to pick on her for being a weirdo, or a nerd, but wants to try to get to know her? The fact that she is even nice to her, means more than Chrissy will ever know.

Max avoided the cheerleaders as much as she could, but the moment she found out that Chrissy wasn't like the girls back home-- she watched her from afar. (in a non creepy way.) Watching how she moved, how she treated people. & more importantly when the cheerleader entered Eddies trailer, she was absolutely shocked, but she looked up to the other. For not caring what anyone else might think if she hung out with the nerds, or freaks, or weirdos.

[solarrsims]

greek mythology legacy challenge

hi loves. i’ve spent so much time trying to find a legacy challenge that interests me, and i stumbled upon this one on the forums. however, i decided to put my own spin on this theme, and create my own goals and rules. use the hashtag #greek mythology legacy so i can see your gameplays!!

also, feel free to bend the rules to your liking. if you don’t have a pack i mention, you can bend that rule, or you do have a pack that i don’t have that you think would fit, you can add that in however you’d like.

gens/rules down below or in this doc

edits because of @nom-de-plumbob her ideas were so much better than my og ones!

overall rules:

- you may only use free real estate cheats when you first start

- you can only move onto the next generation when you’ve completed all of the goals

- i recommend setting your life span to normal or long

- you can use any gender for any generation!

- you don’t have to actually name them the god’s name if you don’t want to. be creative!

- try to use their assigned colors in some way (clothes, hair, skin, house, etc!)

GENERATION ONE: ZEUS

god of the sky, king of the gods - white

you have had a rough childhood. your father was abusive towards you and your mother, which resulted in your mother taking you and fleeing town. the two of you settled down the snowy mountains in mt. komebri. she became very over protective of you, rarely letting you out and about in case your father ever found you.

traits: non-committal, ambitious, charismatic

aspiration: successful lineage

career: politician (politician branch)

goals:

have a weather machine

max out career

marry and have two biological kids with partner

have many affairs

have 3 other kids with different partners

live in mt. komebri

GENERATION TWO: POSIEDON

god of water, the ocean - blue

you grew up in a very competitive household. your father was a well-known and very competitive politician whom had many different affairs. you eventually grew restless of the competitive life and decided to move for a simpler life—sulani.

traits: child of the ocean, loves outdoors, erratic

aspiration: beach life

career: marine biologist

goals:

move to sulani when turn young adult

become a mermaid

discover rare underwater treasures

try to keep sulani clean

advocate for marine conservation

marry someone you meet on the island

have at least one kid with partner

GENERATION THREE: HERA

goddess of marriage, women - purple

this sim grew up living a very calm and collected life by the beach. as a child, they loved watching movies and love, which grew into a passion for acting. so, you fled the beachy town and went to del sol valley to achieve your dreams.

traits: ambitious, romantic, jealous

aspiration: world-renowned actor

career: actor

goals:

become a famous actor

marry a celebrity

get jealous and become a controlling spouse

live in del sol valley

have more than one kid

you should favor your other children over the youngest, whom will be the next heir

GENERATION FOUR: HADES

god of the underworld - black

you’ve always despised their mother as a child. your mother favored your sibling(s) your whole life, and always saw you as a disappointment and not being able to live up to your older siblings. because of this, you decided to go on your own, and live up to being a criminal.

traits: loner, materialistic, gloomy

aspiration: criminal mastermind

career: criminal

goals:

max out aspiration

reach level 10 in mischief skill

become enemies with 5 people

have only one child, and don’t be close with them

GENERATION FIVE: ARES

god of war - red

this sim grew up in a rocky household. you’ve always had a strong sense of patriotism and bravery, and you’ve always dreamt of going into the military. despite not wanting to follow in your father’s footsteps, you still have.

traits: athletic, hot-headed, ambitious

aspirations: athlete

career: military (officer branch)

goals:

achieve level 10 in the fitness skill.

start at least 5 fights with different sims

reach level 10 in the officer branch

have at least 2 children

GENERATION SIX: ATHENA

the goddess of wisdom - silver

you grew up in a very competitive household. you were definitely the outcast child, as you prefer to read books or play chess instead of working out. you move out when you become a young adult with little funds.

traits: genius, bookworm, perfectionist

aspiration: nerd brain

career: scientist

goals:

achieve level 10 in three different skills.

complete the nerd brain aspiration.

reach level 10 of scientist career

eventually travel to alien world with wormhole generator

if you have discover university: get physics degree

GENERATION SEVEN: APOLLO

the god of sun, light - orange

you grew up in a very close and loving family. growing up in an environment that fostered creativity and intellect, your mother always encouraged you with your talent: music. your mother’s guidance not only nurtured your musical talent but also instilled a thrust of knowledge and an understanding of music.

traits: art lover, outgoing, music lover

aspiration: musical genius

career: entertainer (singer or musician)

goals:

start playing instruments as a kid

listen to music often as a toddler

achieve level 10 in the singing/one instrument, and level 5 in the other instruments

complete musical genius aspiration

play on the street or at bars for money

if you have discover university: get the fine arts degree

become a famous singer or musician by writing songs and licensing them

marry someone who has the music lover or art lover trait

GENERATION EIGHT APHRODITE

the goddess of beauty, love - pink

from a young age, you found yourself entangled in the intricate dance of romance, captivated by the myriad emotions that love invoked. however, your journey was not without heartbreak. you, in pursuit of love’s beauty, experienced the shattering pain of a broken heart multiple times. yet, with each fracture, you discovered an unparalleled strength to mend.

traits: romantic, high maintenance, party animal

aspiration: serial romantic

career: fashion influencer (stylist branch) or social media influencer (internet personality)

goals:

have at least 10 romantic relationships in your life, starting as a teen

reach level 10 in charisma

as a teen, get the party animal trait

go to parties often as a teen/university student

reach level 10 in either career branch

achieve serial romantic aspiration

have children only from one night stands or blind dates

GENERATION NINE: HERMES

god of trade, travel - brown

your mother never really paid much attention to you and your siblings growing up. you lacked the guidance you needed, leaving you and your siblings to fend for themselves. your nasty habit of kleptomania started as a teen, from stealing your mom’s stuff to stealing items from public places.

traits: active, kleptomaniac, you pick

aspiration: friend of the world

career: astronaut (interstellar smuggler branch)

goals:

live in at least 5 different worlds throughout your life once you become a young adult

reach level 10 of astronaut career (interstellar smuggler branch)

attempt to swipe at least one item per day (or every other day)

befriend at least 15 sims from various ages

marry a co-worker

have only one child

GENERATION TEN: ARTEMIS

goddess of hunt - yellow

your days as a child were spent in the outdoors whilst your parents worked, and you have lived in multiple different towns. once you moved out, you decided to built a house on an empty lot with a small farm. your farm began to flourish, and you hound solace in the tranquil landscapes, surrounded by your family and your animal companions.

traits: loner, family-oriented, animal enthusiast

aspiration: friend of the animals

career: veterinarian

goals:

own your own vet clinic

as a child, befriend at least 5 animal

have at least 3 pets!

achieve level 10 in the dog training

you may never marry. either adopt or have a science baby only once.

OPTIONAL GENERATIONS: TBF

GENERATION ELEVEN: HESTIA

GENERATION TWELVE: DEMETER

[vivwritesfics]

Hidden in the dark

I fell down a @norrisleclercf1 rabbit hole two days ago (and I'm still stuck down said rabbit hole) and this is what came of it

1.5K

Mafia!Danny Ric x Verstappen!Reader

Jos Verstappen was a powerful guy

A scary powerful guy

He ran an empire that spanned the entire world

He spent his life raising his son to take over the empire

He also spent it teaching his son to keep his daughter away from this sort of life

Jos didn't want Y/N Verstappen involved with his empire

It was Max's job to protect her

There was a five-year difference between them, with Max being twenty-five and Y/N being just twenty

When Y/N was ten, she went missing

Jos lost his shit with Max, threatening him with his gun before sending him off to go and find her

Fifteen-year-old Max cried with he found Y/N reading out in the garden, hidden behind some bushes

But that was ten years ago

Now, Max had more responsibilities

He was set to take over Jos' empire any day now

Max had his own men, his own weapons and his own big jobs

His main job was still to protect his sister

It was something he and his inner circle did together

Max's inner circle

It consisted of three men and then their men

Charles, Lando, and Daniel

Max's inner circle was made up of people from all different countries

Charles was the Monégasques, he helped Max with his French dealings

Lando was British, he helped Max with his dealings in English-speaking countries

Daniel was the Aussie, he didn't help Max with any international business; his talents were better suited to the jobs Max had for him at home

Well, job, I should say

There was just one job for Daniel and her name was Y/N

When Y/N was a teenager, she had her rebelliousness squashed out of her by her fear of Jos

Now she was a quiet adult who rarely left her house, unless she was surrounded by a team of at least five men

That team always involved of Daniel

Daniel was always guarding Y/N

He went wherever she went

And, if she wasn't going anywhere, he was outside of her door

If Max wanted a meeting with his inner circle, Daniel always had at least two of his men standing outside of her door

One day, Daniel was guarding outside of her door

He had at least two guns and a knife on him - you could never have too many weapons in this line of work

Although he was always there, Y/N never interacted much with him, she knew her father would hate it

But one night, she was thirsty

Wrapped up her in robe, Y/N pulled open her bedroom door

"M'lady," said Daniel as the door opened

He tipped an invisible hat in Y/Ns direction and she smiled back at him, not saying anything

Y/N walked through the dark halls, making her way down to the kitchen with Daniel close behind

"What do you need?" He asked her

Daniel knew how Jos felt about 'staff' interacting with the Y/N Verstappen, he just didn't care

"Just a water," said Y/N as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard

Daniel stood vigilant as Y/N filled her glass and drank it

This happened night after night

Y/N didn't always answer Daniel, so he just talked as she drank

Not about his work, thank god

He spoke about everything else

Y/N was grateful for it

She didn't approve of her father's empire or the work her brother and his friends did for Jos

So, with Daniel talking about everything else, it was nice

"You're an interesting man," said Y/N as she got her water one night, surprising the both of them

"You think so?"

She nodded, standing closer to him than she ever had before

If Daniel reached out, he would have his hands on her, holding her hips

Daniel escorted her back to her room

The next evening, Y/N didn't want water

She knocked on her own door and pulled it open, looking at Daniel

"Do you want to come in?"

"If I come in, who's going to guard your door?"

She pulled him in anyway

"Everything okay?" Asked Daniel as he leaned against the door

"Fine," Y/N replied as she sat on her bed, tucking one leg under the other

"Do you need any water?"

She shook her head

"Anything to eat?"

She shook her head again

Daniel pushed away from the door

He walked around the room, looking at Y/N's things

Pictures, all of them of her family

She had no pictures of her having fun, of her with her friends

They were just her and Max, standing in their Sunday bests behind their father, who looked as though he was sitting on a throne

There were a couple of cat pictures, cats the family had owned over the years and a couple of Jimmy and Sassy

No pictures of her mother or older sister

Daniel didn't ask about it, he didn't want to pry

He stopped over by the window and looked out of it for a moment, before turning around and looking at Y/N

"So, what do you do for fun around here?" He asked

Y/N pointed towards her television and her bookshelf

"Is that it?"

She sat further back on her bed, leaning against the pillow

"I need my fathers permission to do anything and I don't have any friends. What am I supposed to do?"

"What if I took you somewhere?" he offered

"You mean, sneak out?"

"I definitely mean sneak out."

That was how Y/N found herself in her first night club

She had a drink in her hand and Daniel dancing beside her

When the second drink was placed in her hand, she and Daniel were dancing together

By the third drink she was pressed against the wall, his lips on hers

It was wrong - he worked for her brother and was more than ten years her senior

"Danny," she whispered when he pulled away

They were once again on the dance floor, his hands on her hips as they swayed to the music

His front was pressed against her behind and Y/N felt like her every nerve was on fire

At two AM, Y/N and Daniel were making their way back home

They got to the front gate and kept going, climbing over the wall

From there they snuck through the front garden, hid themselves behind trees and rose bushes

It was a real good thing the Verstappen's didn't have dogs, Daniel thought as they got to the trellis below Y/N's window

"I can't believe you don't have more security," he whispered as he helped her to climb

"You can bring that up with my brother, if you'd like"

They weren't being very quiet

Y/N struggled to open her bedroom window, stumbling back as she did so

She let out a shriek and then a series of giggles when Daniel caught her

"Wow," she whispered, grabbing a hold of the trellis

She didn't go back up to her window, but instead she turned around and kissed Daniel again

He was just a couple of rungs below her, but it made them the same height

His arms on either side of her was the only thing holding her up

They were there until his arms got tired

"Want to head up?"

***

Daniel didn't have nearly as much to drink as Y/N

He was sober enough to get her into bed and then stand guard at her door until he changed shift with Oscar

From then on it was sneaking around with Daniel

During the day, they didn't know each other; they were Y/N Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo

At night, when he could slip through her bedroom door, they were Danny and Y/N

There was four months of this, of sneaking out and kissing in the hidden away shadows of the house

And then Max found out

Well, no, actually

Lando found out first

He was walking through the hall when he saw Danile slip into Y/Ns room

The usually so careful Aussie didn't know how to explain himself, so he folded and told Lando everything

And then Lando realised he had to tell Max

Max was furious, at first

He waited, though, watched from the distance

Needed confirmation before he struck

Confirmation was something Max got surprisingly quickly

Max had himself hidden away as he watched Daniel look around and then slip into Y/Ns room

Gun drawn, Max burst in

Y/N and Daniel didn't have time to jump away from each other before Max had his gun pressed against his head

"I'm going to funking kill you"

The writing is happening a little slower rn - academics are about to start and I'm trying to work so it'll only get worse

Again, this is the product of reading @norrisleclercf1 posts all day (aka, if you like this, check out this beautiful persons writings)

[unfinishedslurs]

matchmaking gone wrong (steddie)

“So,” Murray says, smarmy little smirk in place. Steve kind of hates him. “How long have you two been dancing around each other?”

“What?”

“What?”

“Oh, come on, now,” he says. “Everyone can see it. Or, well, maybe they can’t, but I can. Small town boys, both fighting against the odds. Alternate dimensions bring people together in the strangest ways, don’t they?”

“Hey, now,” Steve objects, shooting a panicked glance next to him. Eddie hasn’t moved a muscle since Murray opened his big mouth. His pose reminds Steve of a frightened rabbit, frozen in the eye of a snake. 

“Hey, now,” Murray mimics. “Real eloquent, Steve.” He says Steve like he’s saying something else. If he’s not careful, Steve is going to punch his fucking teeth in.“I gotta say, when I met you, you managed to take me by surprise. I really thought you were gonna be different. Small town rich boy, right? Big house, no parents, thought I knew the type. But you’ve managed to turn it on its head, haven’t you? Still, you’re lonely. Must be nice, having all those kids in your house. Less empty with them around. And Eddie here, too. I bet it’s real nice with him around.”

“Dude,” Steve says, prickling. He doesn’t know what eloquent means, or what that has to do with anything, but he really does not like what this guy is putting down. What business does this washed up mess of a conspiracy theorist have digging into Steve’s personal life? He chances another look at Eddie, who has unfrozen in favor of straightening up and glaring at Murray. 

“What the fuck do you know?” he spits, vicious in the way he only ever is when he’s defending someone. Steve is touched, really. 

“I know a lot,” Murray says, smile growing ever wider. “Like that you sleep in his bed, even though there’s…what, three perfectly good guest rooms here?”

“Two,” Steve corrects automatically. “The other one is Max’s.” Unofficially, of course, but she sleeps here enough that everyone else knows she’s claimed it. Technically it’s one and a half, given that Dustin is slowly taking over the one next to hers, but Ms. Henderson is actually responsible so he only stays the night occasionally. Robin just sleeps in Steve’s bed with them.

He realizes his mistake when Murray’s smile grows even wider. “Two!” He exclaims. “Two guest bedrooms, and yet you sleep in his bed, wake up next to him, end up with his pillow lines on your face. I bet it’s nice, huh? To have him soothe your nightmares, to fall asleep knowing he’s there. We like Steve, indeed. How could a man possibly resist? Tell me, Eddie, is that handkerchief in your pocket just for show? I’d have thought masochism was more your style.”

“Hey!” Steve barks. Eddie jumps next to him, and Steve puts his hand over his unthinkingly. Murray’s eyes track the movement, but Steve speaks before he can open his mouth. 

“Not cool, man,” he says firmly. Eddie’s hand is trembling under his, and Steve thinks that Murray is lucky that he cares more about comforting Eddie than he does about punching the smug look off his fucking face. 

“What’s not cool?” Murray asks. “Telling you two to get your shit together, for the betterment of us all?”

“You barely fucking know us,” Steve snaps. “There’s no ‘betterment of us all,’ Jesus. You can’t just…you can’t…” he lowers his voice, like he can protect Eddie from hearing it if he tries hard enough. “You can’t just out people, man. You should fucking know better.”

Eddie’s frozen again. Steve doesn’t look at him, instead staring Murray down like a challenge. The man does lose steam with that, wilting like a weed in the heat. “Ah,” he says. “I…ah, hell, I thought you knew.”

“What I know doesn’t mean shit if he’s not the one who told me,” Steve says. Eddie makes a sound, slowly sliding his hand out from under Steve’s. Steve lets him, resisting the urge to grab it back. He knows Eddie won’t run away from him, even if he wants to. “And what if you’d been wrong about me being cool, huh? Seriously man, aren’t you supposed to be smart or something? Act like it.”

Murray opens his mouth again, but Eddie interjects. “As fascinating and eye opening as this has been,” he says, clapping his shaking hands together, “I need to be gone, like, before this conversation ever happened. I appreciate your attempt to get me into golden boy’s pants over here, really, but, uh, yeah. I think the whole being straight thing kind of puts a damper on that, don’t you?”

“You’re straight?” Steve blurts out, hurt and embarrassed all at once. Well, shit, there goes whatever Steve thought they were hurtling towards. And after Steve just confessed he thought Eddie was gay. Is that discrimination? He’s going to kill Robin, dammit, she’s the one who pointed out Eddie’s hanky in the first place. 

“What?” Eddie asks. “No, you are.”

“I am?”

“Yes!”

“Uh,” Steve says, extremely confused. Is Eddie coming out as straight for him? He’s pretty sure this is supposed to go, like, the opposite way. “Since when?”

“Since—“ Eddie’s mouth drops open. “I thought since always, Harrington, what the fuck?” 

“Me what the fuck?” Steve sputters. “You what the fuck! You thought I was straight?”

“Of course I did!” Eddie throws his hands up. “You’re, like, the epitome of straight jock!”

“Oh, yeah,” Steve says. “Because my painted nails and affinity for sucking cock scream heterosexual man.”

Affinity might be a stretch given that he’s only ever sucked one dick in his entire life, but hey, a little embellishment never hurts. He wasn’t awful at it. The painted nails weren’t actually his choice, either, thanks to El’s killer puppy eyes, but still. He’s been blatantly flirting with Eddie for months now. Would it kill him to notice?

Eddie doesn’t seem to have a response for this, mouth opening and closing without sound. 

“Well,” Murray says at last. Steve and Eddie both jump, having completely forgotten about him. “I guess you needed my help after all.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Steve says, rounding on him. “I don’t need your help for jack-fucking-shit, alright? I am a grown-ass man. I am not repressed, I am not in denial, and I am not thanking you for this. You messed up my plan!”

“Your plan?” Eddie asks. 

“Your plan,” Murray repeats, amused. 

“Yes, my plan,” he hisses. “You’re not smarter than everyone else just because you don’t like the government, asshole. None of us like the fucking government, we’re just not about to go off the rails and become total shut-ins about it. We fucking get it, you’re lonely and have no friends. We don’t need you to tell us our own business for us, okay? You want to talk about getting help? Go to a fucking AA meeting and leave us alone.”

The skin around Murray’s eyes tightens. Steve might feel bad, if it weren’t for the fact that he’d fucking outed Eddie. Mistake or not, it doesn’t matter that Steve already knew if Eddie wasn’t ready to fucking tell him. 

Eddie’s hand on his arm stops him from saying much worse. 

He doesn’t turn around, just stares Murray down like a warning. Murray looks back at him, seemingly unimpressed, but Steve can see shame in the line of his shoulders. There’s apology in his eyes when he breaks Steve’s gaze to glance at Eddie. 

He’s not a bad guy, Steve knows. Joyce tells them fondly about how he helped her and Hopper get their shit together. How they’d both be Russian chow ten times over if it wasn’t for him. Nancy, too, has some good things to say about the guy. He was the one who helped her get word out about Barb’s death. He helped her get with Jonathan too, even if that didn’t exactly work out. 

And it’s not like he blames Murray for Nancy cheating on him. She’s her own person, and makes her own decisions, even if they’re shitty, hurtful ones that he’s still not sure he’ll ever fully get over. 

Jonathan said it best, once. He’s weird, and nosy, and annoying, and I don’t really like him. But I think he really just wants to help, in any way he can. Plus he’s a really good cook. 

Steve breaks.

“Just get out of my house, man,” he says, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Joyce will be happy to host you for the night, they’ve got a spare room there. Tell her my house was too ‘rich kid’ for you, or something. But you’re not staying here anymore.”

Murray nods, accepting this at face value. He gets up from the table, pausing to snag the vodka. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry,” he offers, and disappears before either of them can reply. 

“So,” Eddie says, after a considerable length of silence. His voice shakes slightly. “That was, uh, enlightening.” 

He huffs a tired laugh. “That’s one word for it,” he says, finally turning to look Eddie in the eye. He’s shifty, eyes flitting around the room, hands playing out guitar chords against the counter. Steve takes one in hand. 

Eddie stills, finally looking at his face. Steve won’t force eye contact, but he needs to know Eddie’s focusing on him and not whatever shitty thoughts are flying across his mind.

“I’m sorry,” he offers quietly. “I didn’t know he’d try that shit with us, when I told Hopper he could stay here.”

Eddie resumes his finger chords. “It’s not your fault he’s an asshole.”

“I know,” he says. “Still, that wasn’t how I wanted this to go.”

“Go? ‘Go’ what? What’s going?”

Steve shuts his eyes. “Us. I wasn’t going to say anything yet. Not until after you told me you were…”

“Oh,” Eddie says quietly. “Right.”

“Yeah.”

“I can get out of your hair, man, if it makes you uncomfortable.” 

“What?” Steve‘s eyes fly open. “No! I’m not kicking you out, what the fuck?”

“You’re not?”

“Literally what part of that conversation made you think that’s where this was headed?” He demands. 

“I dunno, man,” Eddie confesses. “Good things don’t really happen to people like me.”

“And I’m a good thing?” Steve tries to joke, raising an eyebrow. 

Eddie doesn’t take the bait, just briefly meets Steve’s eyes and lowers his voice. “Steve, you’re, uh. You’re kind of one of the best things to ever happen to me.”

“Oh,” falls weakly from his lips. 

“Shit, was that too much? That was totally too much, sorry, I’m not good at this. You can totally kick me out now, fuck, that’s so embarrassing—“

Steve kisses him. 

“Honestly, I’m not that worried about it,” Eddie says, laying with his feet on Steve’s pillow and head hanging off the bed. 

“Really?”

“I mean, like, it was a dick thing to do, but what’s he gonna do? Tell the whole town? They all know about me anyway.”

Steve kind of shrugs at this, because as much as he wishes it weren’t true he’s right. He’s walked past fag sharpied on Eddie’s locker enough times to know that unlike Steve, he never really had the luxury of hiding it. 

“People always just knew,” he tells Steve. “Don’t know how, don't know why. I’m not sure I‘ve ever actually come out to anyone except Wayne, and that was more of a bitter, self-loathing explosion than anything. It backfired, obviously. Instead of kicking me out, he told me he loved me and I cried so hard I threw up. Totally embarrassing. But even with Wayne…I didn’t have to. It’s like it was tattooed on my forehead, or something. Too soft, too close with other boys, too obvious. So I leaned into it. Learned to fight, ‘cause getting beat up might end in something worse. Let my freak flag fly, let ‘em focus on the DND and the devil worshiping because somehow that was better than being queer.”

Steve, who’d also known about Eddie long before Eddie had told him, bites his tongue. 

“I think he’s safe,” Eddie finishes with a nod. “He really did seem like he wouldn’t have said anything, if he’d known I hadn’t told you. Which is hilarious to me, by the way, because I’d just kind of assumed I didn’t have to so you might have just waited forever. Plus I think he and Hopper have, like, a vibe.”

Steve chokes. “A vibe?”

“They’re not fucking,” he clarifies, “but they have fucked, yanno?”

“You’re fucking with me, right?”

“Nah, man. I bet that’s why Hopper asked us to host him, instead of offering up his spare room immediately. Your ex and your new squeeze living together?” He whistles lowly. “Awkward.” “I don’t want to know this,” Steve declares, flipping face first into his pillow. He pushes Eddie’s stinky feet away from his face, ignoring his squawk. “Why would you give me information? Now I have to look Hopper in the eye knowing that his taste in men is Murray.”

[beauty-and-passion]

So... The Wisdom Saga

Also called "The Videogame Saga".

But seriously, now I understand where all the videogame influences went. In five songs we have a mini-boss fight and, shortly after, a boss fight with five levels and an open-ish end.

Also, this is probably the first time we have had such smooth transitions from one song to the next. While other songs in other sagas may be divided by hours or days, these songs are divided by minutes - a couple of hours max for the last two.

These songs surprised me. When I listened to the first snippets long ago, I wasn't particularly captivated by some of them and didn't enjoy the voices much either. Well, this proves I should never listen to the snippets, because the songs I considered weak turned out way better than I imagined.

But let's start from the beginning.

__________________

Legendary: as I imagined long ago, this was an upbeat song and yes, It also hints at how Telemachus deals with his father's legacy. But it's also more than that.

First of all, we get to know more about the situation in Ithaca: there are 108 suitors, which by itself already gives you an idea of how "crowded" the place is. It's not a couple of people: there are people literally everywhere. And these people are getting more violent and more unhinged, to the point they call Penelope "a tramp" (thus also disrespecting her as their queen) and showing how much they want to violate her.

This raises the stakes A LOT, because neither Penelope nor Telemachus are safe. Penelope probably lives in terror, because who knows what could happen, if any of the Suitors get a hold of her in an empty corridor. And Telemachus literally told Athena: "today is the best day of my life because I got in a fight, and didn't die", which by itself shows how heavy life must be for him, to the point he risks his life every time he gets out of his room.

Honestly? Love this. High stakes, real dangers and Antinous as the bigger threat who can destroy everything Odysseus left. Cannot wait to see him coming back and slaying all the Suitors.

Back to Telemachus, we learn a lot about him too! He's a young boy who, just like any other young boy, wants to prove himself. His desire to show his strength and fight monsters is typical of any young adult: he feels big, he can fight! He wants to fight!

However, this "want to fight" isn't just young impetuousness. There are at least three reasons why Telemachus wants to fight this much:

Hope. By fighting, Telemachus hopes to find his father. As far as he knows, Odysseus might be dead: he himself admits it too ("And no idea if you're dead or just too far"). Still, he wants to believe he will find him, by fighting the monsters around him. Cannot wait for the Ithaca song in which he will realize that oh, his father became one of the monsters he wants to fight.

Awareness. Telemachus's desire to fight isn't just big, reckless words. He wants to fight, sure, but he's also aware of his limits ("And I would fight them if I was half as strong as you"). This proves how mature he is, despite being still a kid.

Responsibility. Despite knowing he's not the biggest or strongest fighter, Telemachus still wants to fight, in order to protect his mother. (Somebody help me, come and give me the strength / Can I do whatever it takes to keep my mom safe?"). And this proves Telemachus already has something a future king need: a sense of responsibility. The awareness that, even though he's not the best, he's still responsible for the wellbeing of all the people around him, therefore he must intervene.

At the end of the day, all Telemachus needs is what he asks for: a supporter. Someone who will give him a sign/the strength to do what is right. Someone who will tell him he did good and guide him.

And yes, he probably needs this, because he always missed a father figure in his life, the father who should've taught him how to fight and helped him. And this proves Telemachus is alone. Think about it: he's a young man who was probably forced to stay inside for his entire life, while his home is invaded by strangers and he cannot even walk around freely without being picked on by these older, stronger men. Of course he craves someone who will tell him that hey, you're good and strong, just do this and that and you can fight these monsters.

Thankfully, today is his lucky day.

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Little Wolf: it's such a videogame song, it's great <3 The singers are all amazing, Athena's voice always gets me on my knees because she's too good and how she helps Telemachus... uuurgh, I love character development <3

Also, this confirms my previous point: all Telemachus needed was someone teaching him how to fight and motivating him. As soon as Athena does both things, he's able to fight.

And this fight made something clear: Antinous can be contrasted, but not defeated. He's too strong for Telemachus, despite the help of a goddess. The stakes are very high: this guy is dangerous, he promised blood and tears, he will not stop. Telemachus and Penelope are in danger. We need Odysseus' return.

__________________

We'll Be Fine: Athena's character development time! After dropping Odysseus on the spot because he refused to obey her when she forced him to do the right thing, now she's back, with a more mature mentality.

Athena wasn't in the wrong, when she told Odysseus to get rid of Polyphemus: he was an enemy, he could've brought more danger - and so it was. Her mistake was being too harsh. She was so focused on the matter at hand, to ignore Odysseus' emotional state. She was so wrapped in her own logical thinking, to ignore his demons. Or, as she said:

Maybe, if I made a different call Maybe if I hadn't missed it all Maybe, he'd be fine Maybe we'd unwind

And we saw this change in her demeanor in the previous song, as well as in this one! She apologizes for pushing Telemachus too much, she supports him, she opens up and accepts his friendship, instead of saying "nope, we're not friends".

In the end, she reaffirms her support too, by telling him he's a "good kid"! I doubt she ever said to Odysseus he was good.

And this change proves, again, how human the gods are. They are flawed, they make mistakes and, when they do, they realize it and change. Exactly like us.

__________________

Love In Paradise: I have two thoughts about this song I need to share asap:

The singer has the voice of an angel and I love her and I am so SO SORRY for not liking it when I heard the snippets months ago. I will blame them forever, because the final version of this song is amazing and her voice brought me to my knees.

Holy shit this song is a lot darker than I thought.

I love how we moved through the sagas with Athena, only to find Odysseus stuck on Calypso's island, Ogygia.

Also, I love how Calypso is like: "Ahah, you silly, you talk in your sleep <3 Who is Penelope?" "She's my wife" "... Anyway, you're stuck with me forever, now let's make love". She wants the man and doesn't give a fuck about anything else, not even the wife. I hate you and I love you, Calypso <3

And that's when the song gets dark. Because Calypso can say "yes I get it, your life was difficult"... but she's too stuck looking at everything behind rose-tinted glasses. She loves him and she believes her love will be enough to solve all issues.

the only problem is that her love won't solve any issue. Because he still suffers for all the shit he went through. Shit he faced (and made it happen), for one sole reason: to come back home.

So, once you take back from him that reason... of course he ends up being suicidal. Of course he gets haunted by the voices of his past. If he was still able to come back to Ithaca, at least these demons would be quieted. They would still haunt him, sure, but the awareness home was close could've helped Odysseus to keep himself sane.

But if you take away the possibility of coming back home, which was the sole thing keeping these demons at bay... of course they get so strong. Strong to the point, he begs for help from his old friend.

And Athena, who finally learned her lesson, offers her help.

__________________

God Games: this song is weird.

Unfortunately, I spoiled most of them thanks to the snippets (I'll never make the same mistake, I promise) and they were about the best parts. Apollo and Hephaestus' were very short and their reasons quite basic - which is perfect for a game with multiple levels so I get the progression from level I, to level II, III and so on.

In addition to that, I would like to point out this post from @wildissylupus in which they point out how Athena used the three modes of persuasion to win the game and how Zeus, despite making it difficult, didn't make it impossible for her.

The only thing that left me confused and the song weird is the end. Zeus throwing a tantrum because Athena won his game can be understandable, but also... no? I mean, she's the clever one. She's the goddess of wisdom. He should know, considering she's his daughter.

And since we're at it, she's not just his daughter: Athena is Zeus' favorite daughter. And he struck her with lightning, out of a tantrum? Zeus? At her, let me repeat that, favorite daughter?

I don't know, it's too weird. Zeus is an asshole, sure, but not to her. Not even during a tantrum. So... maybe he will repent too? Maybe he wasn't as hard as it seems? Also because why get angry, when you already know she's clever and will definitely win your stupid game?

No idea, but I cannot wait to hear how things will go. And considering Mr. Rivera-Herrans' speed in releasing the sagas, I bet the next one will come out sooner than we think.

Wow, only two sagas left...

[lunabug2004]

Just came up with a new(ish) Mike theory, and even tho I'm sure someone's said it before, I wanted to share! [Beware: it's long]

So, we all know that Mike is acting differently, specifically towards Will, in s3 compared to the past 2 seasons (what we see of their interactions at least). I know I've mentioned before the possibility of Mike pushing Will (again, Will specifically) away in s3 because of his trauma from the previous season, s2, so I'd like to revisit that theory and add some more to it.

In s2, Mike is forced to see Will be "taken away" by the shadow monster. He is being possessed and completely taken over right in front of Mike's eyes and there is nothing he can do about it. You would be crazy if you say this alone would not give the boy massive trauma. But then add s1 onto that, obv where Will went missing and Mike literally thought he was dead. Crazy insane amounts of trauma that have to do specifically with Will being taken away. Same thing with El being taken away in both seasons. Keep all of this in mind going forward.

Now, I'd like to go back to the beginning. Obv, as I mentioned before, s1 is super traumatic for Mike with Will being missing, then dead, then missing again. He's found and Mike is over the moon. El also goes missing tho, and Mike falls into depression. He blames himself for both Will's "kidnapping" and El's disappearance so he promises himself he will not let it happen again and starts to be super overprotective of Will. However, surprise surprise, Will gets taken away again. Mike now thinks he has failed. Three times. He has failed to protect those he cares about.

Then, El is found, and Mike is happy. Will is saved, and Mike is happy. But he now has severe trauma from being trapped in the lab with Will, the one who he was trying to protect, the one who also happened to sick demodogs on all the people in the lab. Mike failed to protect Will and therefore caused all of these unnecessary deaths in the lab. So he decides that if he can't protect Will, if he just causes more issues in trying to do so, he may as well let Will go. He starts pushing him away bc he can't stand the thought of failing again. He sees El at the Snow Ball, and figures that if he can't protect Will, maybe he can protect El this time.

Again, he thinks he's already failed Will twice. He's only failed El once. He may still have a chance to protect her. He doesn't have as much crazy trauma connected to attempting to protect her as he does Will. But then he's told he's treating her like garbage, he's failing again! Then Max and Nancy are telling him he's being controlling for not wanting to risk El overusing her powers. He's just trying to protect her, and if he can't do that then he's worthless! He doesn't want to fail El for the second time as well.

Going back to the rain fight for a sec, I think that Will calling him out was exactly what he needed. He realizes how unfair he's being. He wants his best friend back, even if he doesn't feel like he deserves him.

They win the Starcourt Battle, Will and El are safe. He can start over with both of them. He can live life with his two favorite people! But then a bomb is dropped: the Byers, along with El, are moving. Moving far away. He has failed yet again. But this time, he's failed both of them! He feels awful.

As he's saying goodbyes, though, another, more personal, bomb is dropped on him: he doesn't feel near as heartbroken about losing his girlfriend as he does his best friend. Now internalized homophobia enters the picture. We know by the last shots we see of Mike Wheeler, he is absolutely broken. He has just had the worst revelation and is also losing both of his favorite people at the same exact time. All he's ever wanted to do in s1-3 is protect these specific two and he failed, as now he's lost them.

Who knows what exactly goes on in Mike Wheeler's head between seasons 3 and 4. A lot of internalized homophobia, maybe? A lot of reflecting on past traumas of losing these two people, perhaps? If so, one person holds a lot more power in both aspects and that is Will. Both of Will's disappearances (one physical, one mental) are much more traumatic to Michael. Not to say El's s1 disappearance wasn't, but he went through completely losing Will two separate times. Mike doesn't contact Will because losing him again, along with his queer revelation, has made him regress back to how he felt at the beginning of s3 and he is pushing Will away again. If he can just focus on El, maybe he can be normal and love her like a normal person. Talking to Will is too much. It makes him feel too much.

When Mike goes to Cali is when is internalized homophobia is at it's highest, as he's in the presence of Will again. Then we have the Rink-O-Mania fight, and again, Mike needed the callout to see his flaws. He realizes how much of a "self-pitying idiot" he's being and decides he and Will are stronger together.

That's kinda where this theory ends, I think, as the whole end of s4 is kinda just Mike trying everything he can, including lying, to save El from dying.

I realize after typing it all out that this theory is kinda a stretch? At least some parts? And I also didn't keep the timeline very well but oh well 😅 it's my first long post in a long time, cut me some slack. Anyways, I wanted to share it anyways cuz it just hit me so 🤷‍♀️

[pleasantlycrazyworld]

I saw you wrote for all three boys during date night and I didn’t know if it was fine to ask for headcannons of them separately with reader. Like what would dating them look like?

It's always okay to ask for that! I love doing headcanons for the boys! Sorry it took so long but I'm back to writing!!! I hope you enjoy it!!!

Billy-

Billy is so rough around the edges but for you, he is a sweetie (I'm such a sucker for that type of love)

He wants you to know he really does love you! So he tries and does whatever he can for you.

Most of the time he shows his love by protecting you and making sure you're safe. This can be shown when you two are at a party, he makes sure you don't over drink and if you leave to go to the bathroom he holds your drink to make sure no one messes with it.

He is a bit over-protective of you and sometimes that can lead to arguments but it does come from a good place. He just doesn't want to lose you.

He calls you his angel because he really views you as an angel that was sent to him

Ever since you two got together he's been less angry, less violent, and more friendly to Max and her friends.

Billy figures out that he's truly in love with you when you find out about his dad. That night he showed up bruised up and when he told you it was because of his dad it took a lot in him to stop you from going over there and making Neal have matching bruises.

His favorite type of date is driving around town with the windows down and once you get to your special spot he pulls out a blanket from the trunk and you just watch the stars. However, he never looks at the stars...he only ever watches you.

Steve-

Spoils you every. single. time. Doesn't matter how

He hates his parents but that doesn't mean he won't use their money to spoil you.

Calls you his princess because he knows you deserve the world and he will give it to you somehow.

He worships you, especially if you've been with him since his king steve era. He knows how awful he was during that time of his life and he can't believe you stayed with him through all of it.

He realizes he is in love with you when you hold him closely after a night terror. He hides his trauma from a lot of people. He's the strong one for so many people and he isn't used to people taking care of him so when he woke up to you waking him up one morning around 2 am he knew that you were the one. You held him close to your chest that night and played with his hair for hours, letting him feel that you were close, that you weren't going anywhere. That night he fell asleep to your heartbeat and finally didn't have any sort of night terror.

His favorite type of date is cooking together! He loves the intimacy and domestic vibes that come from it.

Eddie-

Gets insecure at times. He trusts you but he knows there are other guys who could spoil you more than he can. He doesn't like that he is so much poorer than the others in town, he feels awful when he can't pay for something you want but he knows you both love each other so much so he tries not to focus on it.

Such a sweetie to you! He treats you like a queen because you are to him

He writes songs about you but if you hear them he will deny it all! He says he doesn't do love songs but it's clear he's just a lovesick puppy when it comes to you

You are his baby. He would call you sweetheart but....what if his guitar gets jealous?!?

He realizes he is in love with you when he comes homes one night after Hellfire to see you already there making dinner for Wayne and him. You didn't realize he had arrived since you were talking to Wayne about how his job was going, but it made him realize that you were the one. Anyone who takes time out of their day to not only take care of him but also his old man will forever have his heart.

His favorite type of date is when you come over, order takeout, and just listen to music. He tries and teaches you how to play the guitar and every time you do well he gives you a kiss.

Tagging: @sweet-villain @b-ritney @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @eiightysixbaby @zestychili @livinnadaydream @tiannasfanfic @djkeruigbbygirl @emmyshortcake @bloodthirstybreedingbunny

@bookshelf-dust

If you like please comment, reblog, and even request an idea for me to write!!!

[the-lark-ascending69]

I didnt love S3 but Steve peaked there. Robin became the final puzzle piece he needed to complete his development - thanks to the actors because the duffers clearly didn't know what to do with him. Steve spent the last three seasons chasing after a girl who would never be his soulmate, and when he accepted that, he tried to find someone else to love instead. He tried flirting with any girl whose attention he could hold for over 60 seconds, except for Robin - setting her apart already, though for the wrong reasons initially. She was originally meant to be Nancy's replacement as Steve's arm candy, it seems, but making her a lesbian at the last moment is really what saves S3 for me, not only because she's my baby, my favorite character and I adore her with my whole heart, but also because... the improvised straightbait turned out to work incredibly well at the time to cement the conclusion of Steve's arc - he was a piece of shit and lost Nancy to someone who was better for her (say what you want about Jonathan, but that's clearly the idea the writers had with him, regardless of the effectiveness of the execution). Steve couldn't get Nancy back, and really, he shouldn't be focusing on romance at all because that's just not what he needs to grow as a person. The people who truly challenge him, push him to be better and motivate him to grow are his platonic bonds - Dustin and Robin. He couldn't "fix" everything with Nancy (meaning that he couldn't go back to before everything changed, as if he hadn't messed up). Nancy may appreciate the change but she won't go back to him. Steve doesn't need to change for love - he needs to change for himself, in order to be a better person, period. And Nancy has no reason to stay and watch him grow, she has her own matters to attend to, and she doesn't have enough space in her life for Steve. So Steve finds new people, somewhere else, away from Nancy, and he grows thanks to them.

Robin being not only just his friend but also being completely and eternally unavailable to him works perfectly here. The audience believed, alongside Steve (and the Duffers lmfao) that what Steve needed was romantic love, but Robin proves him wrong. He gets over his ex-girlfriend and finds a sister instead.

And then Season 4 ruins that, for no reason and to no one's benefit. Steve regresses. The growth is undone, for the purpose of keeping Nancy in that eternal love triangle loop that seemed to have been solved two seasons ago. It's sad and disappointing and I'm hoping they don't revisit that in S5.

What I would've done instead would've been to let Steve finish his arc in S3. S4 Steve has a flat arc now. He learned all he had to learn. He's fine. Now, he's here to teach others what he's learned, and I think it would be very interesting if the person who learned from him the most turned out to be Nancy. Steve basically just discovered the power of friendship, and deep emotional connections and trust and how closeness to others makes you stronger. Gives you a purpose. He learned to love and care for others and now that's his strength. Have him tell her about how much he cares about Robin and Dustin. Show him bonding more with Lucas and Max. Contrast him with Nancy, who is isolated, who just lost another friend after leaving him alone, and is desperately trying to protect Max from Vecna. Maybe she's hesitant to become friends with Robin, or to rely on her and Steve to share the burden, or trust the kids to take care of themselves on some capacity. Nancy has become more and more isolated as Steve grows closee to other people.

Then Steve sacrifices himself in S5 to save either Robin or Dustin or both of them idk I think that would be the best conclusion to his arc. Passing on the torch to one of them. Maybe Robin becomes the new babysitter and protector. Maybe Dustin becomes the new hot boy at Hawkins High idk but I think an ending of this sort would fit. He doesn't even need to actually die, if he somehow survives it still works, just having a sacrifice scene (not played for laughs) would be a perfect way to conclude his growth and move on to inspire others to grow like others have done for him.

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Seventeen: The Gate

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 6,766 Warnings: canon violence, angst, lil' bit of fluff, steve unfortunately getting his ass kicked.. again, ...billy Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! We get Billy in this episode, and we get to see more of Liv's protective side with the kids!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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Mike and El walked towards each other, saying each other’s name before embracing in a hug. 

Grabbing Steve’s hand and moving impossibly closer, I looked up at him, not knowing what I would do with myself if I were ever in Mike’s shoes.

“Is that…” Max asked. I looked around Steve, looking at Max while nodding my head, whispering, “Yes.”

Once he pulled out of the hug, Mike said, “I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for–”

“353 days,” El said, shaking her head before looking in his eyes, saying, “I heard.”

“Why did you tell me you were there? That you were okay?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her,” Hopper said. 

Mike turned to face him, Hopper walking towards El as he said, “The hell is this? Where’ve you been?”

“Where have you been?” she asked, the two of them embracing in a hug. I saw the crown of her head go back like she was looking at Hop before her voice said, “Is she here?” He moved out of the way, El’s eyes meeting with mine.

I let go of Steve’s hand to walk towards El, giving her a hug that I only reserved for the most important people in my life.

“You’ve been hiding her,” Mike said, realization hitting him like a bus.

El turned to look at Hop and Mike, keeping her arm around me, my own still around her shoulders as we watched Mike and Hop’s small altercation.

“You’ve been hiding her this whole time!” Mike added, hitting Hop at the end.

Turning around to face Mike, Hop responded, “Hey. Hey!” He grabbed Mike’s shirt, saying, “Let’s. Talk. Alone.”

Before a door shut, I heard Mike say, “Protecting her! Protecting her?!”

A couple of moments later, I rubbed her back, saying, “Well, uh…” Looking at El, I said, “I’m digging the new look.”

A throat clearing had me looking at the owner; my little brother, Dustin.

El walked over to Dustin and Lucas, giving them both a hug, Dustin saying that they missed her and that they talked about her pretty much everyday. She noticed Dustin’s teeth, touching them. “Teeth.”

“What?” Dustin asked.

“You have teeth,” she said, a subtle duh tone to her voice.

“Oh,” he smiled. “You like these pearls?” He then proceeded to make a sound that resembled Chewbacca.

“Oh, my god,” I whispered, resting my forehead against Steve’s arm. I had moved back to stand next to him, lacing our fingers together before I had, basically, hugged his arm.

“Eleven?” Max asked, causing my head to shoot up as she walked over to El and the boys. “Hey, uhm, I’m Max.” She put her hand out for El to shake, adding, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

El wanted nothing to do with Max, so she pushed her way through the three younger teens to move to Joyce, the two of them embracing.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered, Max’s head moving to look at me. “She’ll come around.”

“Can I see him?” El asked.

Joyce took her to Will’s room, leaving Steve and I with Dustin, Max, and Lucas for a moment before they both came back out, Joyce whispering my name.

I went into the kitchen with her and El, looking at the words Nancy had written earlier. “Wait a second,” I whispered. Pointing to the notepad, I asked, “You’ve opened this gate before, right?”

“Yes,” El replied.

Putting a hand on her back, I asked, “If we got you back there, do you think that you could close it? Put all this behind us?”

She looked at me for a moment, determination in her eyes. When Hop and Mike came out of one of the bedrooms, I told him what El and I had thought as everyone else gathered into the kitchen; getting El back to the lab to close the gate.

“It’s not like it was before,” Hopper said. “It’s grown. A lot. And, I mean, that’s considering we can still get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs.”

“Demodogs,” Dustin said, turning to face Hop.

Placing my forehead once again on Steve’s arm, I muttered, “Oh my god.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Hop asked.

“I said, uhh, demodogs,” Dustin said. “Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass–”

“How is this important right now?” Hop and I asked.

“It’s not. I’m sorry.”

“I can do it,” El said.

“You’re not hearing me,” Hop retorted.

“I’m hearing you. I can do it.”

I looked at her, impressed at her biting back at Hop.

“Even if El can, there’s still another problem,” Mike said. “If the brain dies, the body dies.”

“I thought that was the whole point,” Max wondered.

“It is,” I said, all eyes turning to me. “But if we’re really right about this, and El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayers army, Will’s a part of that army, and closing the gate means… Will dies.” I watched as Joyce got up after my explanation.

She walked by all of us, going into Will’s room, where we all followed her. “He likes it cold.”

“What?” Hopper asked.

“That’s what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold.” She went over to his window and closed it before turning around to us and saying, “We keep giving it what it wants.”

“If this is a virus and Will’s the host, then…” Nancy said.

“Then you need to make the host uninhabitable,” Jonathan and I said. 

“So if he likes it cold–”

“We need to burn it out of him,” Joyce said, looking at her youngest son.

“We have to do it somewhere he doesn’t know this time,” Mike suggested.

“Yeah, somewhere far away,” Dustin added.

I looked at Hopper, as he thought about where. 

He told them about his cabin in the woods where he was keeping El hidden. They gathered Will and bundled him up, moving through the house as Hop was giving directions to Jonathan as they did.

Steve and Nancy went out back to look for something to help with burning the Mind Flayer out of Will. He came back inside a couple minutes later, looking at me like I held the stars as I looked back at him.

“Is there something on my face?” I asked, brushing my face.

“Liv!” Dustin called.

I looked at him and walked towards him, hearing the papers on the floor rustling under everyone else’s shoes before the young teens and I walked outside to stand on the porch, watching the scene before us.

“Just be careful, okay?” Mike said to El. “I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t lose me,” El replied.

I felt fingers going in between mine, knowing they were Steve’s.

“Do you promise?” Miked asked.

“Promise,” El said.

They stood there for a moment before Hop said, “El, come on, let’s go. It’s time.”

She got into Hop’s truck, Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy getting into Jonathan’s to do their part of this mission.

The kids, Steve and I stood and watched them all drive off, my thoughts starting to… well, start up.

Going back inside, I looked at the Demodog laying in the corner, asking Dustin what was the plan for dealing with that dead thing.

He asked Steve to pick it up and bring it into the kitchen, where I was sitting on the counter. Dustin opened the refrigerator, emptying out a space.

“I-it should fit now,” Dustin said, pointing to the empty fridge.

“Is this really necessary?” Steve asked.

“Yes, it is,” Dustin said, matter-of-factly. “Okay, this is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can’t just bury it like some common mammal. Okay, it’s not a dog!”

“Alright, alright, alright.” Steve moved to the fridge as Dustin moved out of the way, saying, “But you’re explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?” He moved his arm to put the Demodog’s head into the cold space, hitting the head against the side of the fridge.

“Christ,” Steve whispered. He looked back at Dustin, saying, “Help me out.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Dustin asked.

“Get the door, man. Get the door.”

“Aright, I got the door.”

I couldn’t help but snort before laughing while watching the two of them as I sat up on the counter. Once they got the creature in and closed the door, Steve patted Dustin on the top of his head, moving his hat some.

Steve started coming over to me, but I put my leg out and said, “You wash that alien slime off of you before you touch me, Harrington.”

He chuckled, moving to the sink to wash his hands. Once he was through, he came over to me, putting his wet hands on my cheeks, causing me to laugh. When he placed his hands on my outer thighs and placed a smiling kiss on my lips, I welcomed it.

I pulled away when Dustin said, “Demodogs!”

“Give it up already, Dustin!” I said, before giving Steve a chaste kiss and jumping down off the counter, giving him a dish towel to use to finish drying his hands.

“The chief will take care of her,” Lucas said as I walked to stand next to Dustin.

“Like she needs protection,” Max muttered.

“Listen, dude, if a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it, alright?” Steve said.

I looked at him, confused, before saying, “First off, babe, this isn’t a basketball game, and second–”

“We’re not even in the game, we’re on the bench,” Mike interrupted.

“Right,” Steve stammered. “So my point is…” He was silent for a moment before I said, “Care to share that point?”

“Right, yeah, we’re on the bench, so, there’s, uh, there’s nothing we can do,” he said, putting the towel over his left shoulder.

“That’s not entirely true,” Dustin said. “I mean, these Demodogs, they have a hive mind.” He looked at me and Steve, eyes bouncing between us. “When they ran away from the bus, they were called away.”

“So, if we get their attention,” Lucas said.

“Maybe we can draw them away from the lab,” Max added.

“And clear a path to the gate,” Mike finished on their train of thought.

“And then we all die,” Steve and I exclaimed.

“Well, that’s one point of view,” Dustin said.

“No, that’s not a point of view, man,” Steve said. “That’s a fact.”

“Excuse me, Liv,” Mike said, causing me to move out of his way. “I got it.” He moved around to the kitchen, finding the spot he needed on the map, squatting to say, “This is where the Chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel.” He got up and moved into the hallway, standing and then kneeling by a spot on the map that was bigger than the rest. “So, here - right here. This is like a hub. You got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire–”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a no,” Steve said, pointing down towards the kids while looking down at them.

“The Mind Flayer would call away his army,” Dustin said, jumping on Mike’s theory.

“They’d all come to stop us,” Lucas added.

“Hey,” Steve and I said, trying to get their attention.

“Then we circle back to the exit,” Mike said.

“Guys.”

“By the time they realize we’re gone–”

“El would be at the gate,” Max said.

“Hey,” we tried again, Steve clapping while saying, “Hey, hey, hey!” Gesturing to the ground, he said, “This is not happening.”

“But–” Mike tried.

“No, no, no, no, no! No buts!” I said.

“I promised I’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. We’re staying here on the bench and we’re waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?”

“This isn’t a stupid sports game!” Mike said.

Taking the towel off his shoulder, Steve repeated, “I said, does everybody understand that?” He looked at the kids then at me before looking back at the kids. “I need a yes.”

We all turned to look at the front of the house upon hearing an engine revving. I instantly recognized it after hearing it on his first day of school.

“Oh, sweet shit,” I muttered.

Max and Lucas moved the couch, looking out the window. “It’s my brother,” she said. “He can’t know I’m here. He’ll kill me.” She looked at Lucas as she added, “He’ll kill us.”

I looked at Steve, seeing that look on his face that I knew all too well. “No.”

“Stay in here with the kids,” he said. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Steve–”

“Just stay here,” he said. He looked me in the eyes, waiting for me to answer, so I just nodded before feeling his lips on my forehead. He went outside and stood at the door on the front porch. I only knew this because I moved to the couch with the kids, looking out the window.

Billy turned his car off, the lights shutting off as he did. I was thankful because I was getting blinded by them. He got out and put his hand on the top of the car, taking a drag from his cigarette. “Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?”

“Yeah, it’s me, don’t cream your pants,” Steve replied. 

The walls were thin enough for me to hear their conversation.

Billy took off his jacket, putting it in his car before shutting the door as Steve walked towards his car, Billy doing the same towards Steve. “What are you doing here, amigo?”

“I could ask you the same thing, amigo,” Steve said.

“Looking for my stepsister,” Billy said, looking towards the window. “A little birdie told me she was here.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“Huh, that’s weird,” Steve said. “I don’t know her.”

“Small? Red-head? Bit of a bitch.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Sorry, buddy.”

Billy took another drag from his cigarette, before saying with some weird hand motion, “Ya’know, I don’t know, this… this whole situation, Harrington, I don’t know. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Oh, yeah, why’s that?”

Another drag before Billy says, “My 13-year-old sister goes missing all day,” before looking me dead in the eyes for a second before adding, “And then I find her with you and Henderson in a stranger’s house,” another look, “and you lie to me about it.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” I whispered with every look.

Chuckling, Steve turned his head towards the window before turning back to Billy, saying, “Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what? I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said. She’s not here.”

As Billy pointed to the window with his cigarette, I put my hands on two of the kids' heads as he said, “Then who is that?”

Steve turned to face us as I pushed their heads down, exclaiming, “Shit!”

“Did he see us?” Dustin asked.

“Oh, shit,” Steve said. He turned back to Billy as I moved away from the window, moving the kids off of the couch towards the hallway.

A couple seconds later, Billy walked in the house, saying, “Well, well, well,” slamming the door behind him. “Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise.” He took a few steps to us, stopping when I crossed my arms.

“Touch these kids and you’re dead,” I spit.

“Max disobeyed me,” he said.

I scoffed. “Like she has to obey you.”

“She knows what happens when she disobeys me.”

“What?” I chuckled. “You go to your room and cry like a little baby?”

“I break things,” he said, shoving me out of the way.

I landed on the floor on my back, hearing the door open. 

“Liv,” Steve said, helping me to my feet.

“Billy’s gonna hurt Lucas,” I breathed, both of us walking towards the kitchen.

“You’re so dead, Sinclair,” Billy exclaimed. “You’re dead.”

Steve moved him away from Lucas, saying, “No. You are!” before punching him square in the jaw.

Dustin chuckled, while Max said Steve’s name. Lucas ran over to me, so I had my arms wrapped around him, trying to protect him. I think Mike was just too stunned.

Billy laughed as Steve shook his hand out and fixed his hair before he looked in my direction for a moment before looking back at Billy as the asshole said, “Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody’s been telling me so much about.”

Steve put his fingertips on Billy’s shoulder, pushing him back a little as he growled, “Get out.”

Billy stood there for a second after Steve put his hand down. He swung his fist, but Steve ducked, hitting him back and sending him towards the kitchen sink.

“Yes!” Dustin and I said.

“Kick his ass, Steve!” Dustin said.

“Get him!” Mike said. 

Billy just stood up and laughed, but Steve hit him again, myself and the kids cheering him on.

Steve landed another punch, as Dustin and I exclaimed, “Murder the son of a bitch!”

I watched Billy grab for a plate as he laughed, the kids still cheering Steve on.

“Steve, watch out!” I said, but was too late, as Billy had shattered a plate on Steve’s head. I let go of Lucas to put my arms around Steve. He looked at me for a second before I bolted away from him, giving Billy my own punch to his face.

“Olivia, baby,” Steve said. “Move.”

I was pulled back by one of the kids, as Billy walked toward me, Dustin’s voice in my ear yelling, “Shit!” before both of our bodies went down, Steve’s groans sounding at the same time.

I watched Billy follow Steve into the living room, where he grabbed Steve’s jacket, saying, “No one tells me what to do,” before headbutting him.

“Steve!” I exclaimed, seeing my boyfriend’s body slide against the floor.

Billy hooped and hollered, telling Steve to get up.

I was fighting against Mike, Lucas and Max, the three of them helping Dustin keep me back from putting myself in the middle of the two teenage boys.

“Billy, you’re gonna kill him, stop!” we all said at different times.

“Steve, baby, you have to get up!” I said.

Billy got a few hits in, the boys and I telling Billy to stop and for Steve to fight back. I felt hands let go of me before I saw Max move towards Billy, sticking something in his neck.

The boys and I stopped our protests to Billy, said boy standing up and facing us, taking what I now know to be the needle for Will sticking out of his neck.

Looking between the needle and Max, Billy said, “The hell is this? You little shit, what did you do?” He went down to the ground, hard, laughing once he landed on his back. 

Feeling hands lightly push me, I made my way quickly over to Steve, elevating him by placing the back of his head on my knees as Max got Steve’s bat, holding it up.

“From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone, do you understand?” Max said.

“Screw you,” Billy slurred.

She brought the bat down, mere inches away from Billy’s junk before picking the bat back up, the nails having dug into the floor a little. “Say you understand. Say it. Say it!”

“I understand,” Billy mumbled.

“What?”

“I understand,” he said, a little more loudly before passing out.

Max moved to his left side, taking his keys from his pockets. She held them up, saying, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait,” I said. “We can’t just leave Steve here. We need to patch him and take him with us.”

“What do you need?” Dustin asked.

“A warm washcloth, some Neosporin and band-aids, please.”

The kids got into gear, Dustin bringing me a warm, wet washcloth. He knelt next to Steve as I gently started cleaning as much blood as I could without hurting him, even though he couldn’t feel it in his passed out state.

When he was all cleaned and patched up, Dustin helped me carry Steve to Billy’s car where Mike opened the driver side door, leaning the seat forward and letting Dustin climb in first.

“Dustin, how the hell am I gonna get him in the damn car when I have his arms?” I groaned. 

“Uhhh,” Dustin said.

“Hurry your big brain up, he’s heavy.”

“Switch on three,” he said. “One… two… three.”

I moved out of the way so that Dustin could wrap his arms under Steve’s, dragging him in the car as Max, Mike and Lucas brought all of the gear they gathered while I had patched up Steve.

“Careful,” I said. Once Steve was in, Mike got in. “Where–?”

“Liv, over here,” Lucas said, opening the passenger side, pushing the seat forward. It was awkward getting in the back with Dustin, Mike and Steve, but we somehow made it work. Lucas got in the front seat with Max in the driver.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” I asked, leaning forward, turning my body a little so as to not scrunch Steve’s neck too much.

“I got it,” Max said. “You need to be with Steve.” I leaned back, looking at Steve’s beat up face. As Max started driving, I ran the backs of my fingers over the parts of his face that weren't bloodied and bruised. I heard him wake up a few moments later, watching as he turned his eyes to Mike, saying, “Nancy?”

Mike and I looked at each other like, what?

Steve groaned, going to touch his face. I moved his hand out of the way as Dustin said, “No, don’t touch it.” He tilted his head a little to look up at Dustin.

“Hey, buddy,” my brother said, shushing Steve. I rolled my eyes at his antics. “It’s okay. You put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you still put up a good fight.”

“Dustin,” I groaned.

“Well, he did.”

A pained look on Steve’s face had me petting his forehead into his hair. He might kill me later for touching his hair, but I didn’t care.

“Okay, you’re gonna keep straight for a half a mile, and then make a left on Mount Sinai,” Lucas said.

I watch Steve turn his head towards Max, seeing her driving.

“What’s going on?” he asked, before the kids’ plan came back to him. “Oh, my god!”

“Babe, relax,” I said.

“She’s driven before,” Dustin said.

“Yeah, in a parking lot,” Mike added.

“That counts!” Lucas and I retorted.

Steve started freaking out more as Dustin said, “They were gonna leave you behind.”

They really did. When I patched him up with the supplies they all found, Lucas, Max and Mike wanted to just leave and go with their plan, but Dustin and I didn’t wanna leave him with Billy when they both woke up.

“Liv and I promised that you’d be cool,” Dustin said. 

“I didn’t say jack shit!” I exclaimed.

Max sped up more, Steve repeating whoa a few times before asking, “What’s going on?” I even felt the force of the car speeding as Steve said, “Whoa! Stop the car. Slow down.”

“Don’t puke on me.”

“I told you he’d freak out,” Mike said.

“Stop the car!” Steve exclaimed.

“Everybody shut up!” Max yelled. “I’m trying to focus!”

“Oh, wait, that’s Mount Sinai,” Lucas said. “Make a left!”

“What?”

“Make - turn left!”

Max effectively ran into a couple mailboxes before sharply turning left, everyone in the car screaming and holding on to something or someone; Steve grabbed my leg, Dustin grabbed the front of my shoulders, I grabbed the seat in front of me as well as Mike’s shoulder, Lucas… well, I have no idea about him. She stopped once we got to our destination, Steve yelling out, “Whoa! Hello!”

“Incredible,” Mike said.

“I told you,” Max said. “Zoomer.”

The kids piled out of the car, followed by myself and Steve, who leaned against the opening of the passenger door. The kids went to the trunk to get their gear on and to grab their backpacks, while I stood at the back near the back window.

“Oh, no,” Steve groaned. “Hey, guys.”

Mike, in full gear, walked past me and Steve to the front of the vehicle, the older teen asking, “Hey. Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

Dustin handed me my gear; a bandana to keep my nose and mouth protected as well as some goggles to keep my eyes protected as well.

“What are you, deaf?” Steve said. “Hello?”

I think everyone was ignoring him at this point, myself included. I didn’t want the kids to go through with the plan, but I wouldn’t have been able to stop them anyway.

“We are not going down there right now,” Steve continued. “Liv and I made ourselves clear.”

Turning to face him, I said, “You made yourself clear. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop them.”

“Whatever,” he said. “There’s no chance we’re going to that hole, alright?”

Dustin had a bag ready on the side of the trunk to grab it when he needed it, but Steve grabbed it and slammed it back in the trunk yelling, “This ends right now!”

“Babe!” I said at the same time Dustin said, “Steve!” while turning him around.

“You’re upset, I get it,” Dustin said while I shouldered my bag. “But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance.”

“Now, we know you promised Nance that you’d help me protect these kids,” I said, grabbing his bag from the trunk, holding it out to him. “So, help me keep them safe.”

We looked at each other for a moment before he lightly nodded his head and grabbed the bag from my hand, putting on the bandana and goggles.

Mike, Lucas and Max had already walked to the hole, gas cans, rope and map in hand, so when Steve put on his gear, he, Dustin and myself walked to the hole, the kids going down the rope first before Steve went down.

He looked up at me, holding his arms out to catch me as I slid in, my hands landing on his shoulders.

I looked around, seeing what looked like flecks of snow floating around. “Holy shit.”

“Uhh,” Mike said. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s this way.”

Steve helped me put on my bag as I had dropped it first before I turned around and helped him as Dustin asked, “You’re pretty sure, or you’re certain?”

“I’m 100% sure,” Mike said, turning to face the party. “Just follow me and you’ll know.”

He turned back around right before Steve and I said in unison, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey, hey, I don’t think so.”

“What?” Mike asked.

I walked towards him, saying, “Any of you little shits die down here, Steve and I are getting the blame. Moreso me. You got that, dipshit?”

Hearing the paper map Mike had in his hand rustling, I looked at it in Steve’s hand as he turned and said, “From here on out, I’m leading the way.” 

With an eyebrow raised, I watched as he put the paper in between two of his fingers that were holding his flashlight before he grabbed my hand and led me down the tunnels, as I said, “Let’s go! Hustle!”

I’m not sure how many tunnels we went through; it could’ve been one, it could’ve been 100, I wasn’t sure. Only thing I was sure of was that the part of the tunnel we were in looked like a giant nest of some sort. Very hard to describe.

“God,” Lucas said.

“What is this place?” Max asked.

“Can we keep moving, please?” I asked. “This place is freaking me out, and making me want to scrub my skin off in the shower.”

“Come on, guys, let’s keep moving,” Steve said, leading the way out of this… nest?

I heard screaming a few seconds later, followed by a “SHIT!” Stopping my steps, I said, “Dustin?!” Running back to him, I knelt down next to him, asking him, “What the fuck happened? Are you hurt? Dustin, talk to me!”

“It’s in my mouth! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!” Dustin said before he started coughing.

I was breathing heavily, anxiety and worry filling me up fast.

He spit before looking at me. “I’m okay.”

Small bit of rage filled me as I hit his arm, yelling, “Don’t fucking do that again, Dustin Wade!” Standing, I let out a frustrated growl, pushing my way past Steve and the kids.

“Are you serious?” Max asked.

“Very funny, man,” Steve said. “You almost gave your sister a heart attack.” 

I could see the flashlight trail beside me as I heard Steve tell me to wait up. When he caught up with me, I was walking down what seemed like steps within this tunnel.

“What the hell?” I whispered, looking around the… I guess, room we were in.

“Alright, Wheeler,” Steve said. “I think we found your hub.”

Looking around, I grossly underestimated how big this hub would be. I breathed in a deep breath, releasing it as confidence took over.

“Let’s drench it,” Mike said.

The four younger teens started drenching the hub in gasoline while Steve and I watched. I felt him rub his hand up and down my back. “I’m so ready for this shit to be over with. I want my boring life back. I wanna be able to sleep and not have nightmares.”

“Once we burn this place, it’ll go back to normal,” Steve said. “I promise.”

The kids came back to Steve and I when their cans were emptied, all of us squatting down.

“Alright, you guys ready?” Steve asked, the kids echoing, “Ready.”

I grabbed the lighter from my pocket, holding it up to Steve, saying, “Light her up.” He grabbed it from my hand, his eyes looking into mine before he said, “We’re in such deep shit.”

Steve flicked the lighter, the flame appearing immediately before he tossed it into the gasoline. Flames instantly started burning the hub, the vines almost dancing around as Steve said, “Go, go, go!”

He didn’t have to tell me twice as I got up and started following him and the kids back through the tunnels. Map in hand again, he was at the front of the line, Dustin behind us repeating oh my god like it was a mantra or something.

We made it to the little room where Dustin had his freak out just a few minutes before, Mike’s muffled, “Help! Help! Help!” making me grab Steve’s jacket and telling him Mike needs help.

All of us went back to help save Mike, a vine wrapping around his ankle when we got back to him. “Pull him out, pull him out!” I yelled.

The kids and I grabbed on to him, playing tug of war with Mike and this vine.

“Back, back, everybody back!” Steve yelled before he started whacking at the vine before it split, releasing Mike. 

I looked at Steve with heart eyes, I’m sure, saying to him, “If we weren’t basically in the Upside Down, I’d kiss you stupid.”

“You can do that later,” he said. “Now, come on.”

A growling behind us made everyone turn to face it, the growling coming from Dart. I grabbed onto Dustin, not wanting him anywhere near Dart.

“Dart,” Dustin said, taking a couple of careful steps towards the creature.

“Dustin, no,” I said, trying to pull him back.

He gently pulled himself from my hold, turning to face me. “Liv, trust me. Please.” Turning back to face Dart, Dustin walked forward at the same time Dart did. “Hey. It’s me, it’s me. It’s just your friend. It’s Dustin.” He knelt on one knee in front of the creature, asking, “You remember me? Will you let us pass?”

When Dart opened his face at Dustin, I jumped, ready to save my little brother as Steve wrapped his arm around my waist to keep me in place.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Dustin said. “Liv and I are sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do. You hungry? Yeah?” He took a strap off his shoulder, reaching into his bag.

“He’s insane,” Lucas said, all of us shushing him after.

“I’ve got our favorite, see?”

“Nougat,” I whispered as Dustin said aloud to Dart.

I could tell he was opening it just by the way his arms were moving. “Look at that. Yummy. Here, alright? Eat up, buddy.” He moved his hand for us to move past him and Dart, the creature now distracted. “Come on, come on.”

After Max moved first, I felt Steve lightly push me to move forward, him and the other two boys following.

“There’s plenty more,” Dustin said. “I’ve got more.”

I stopped a few feet away to turn and watch my baby brother say goodbye to his interdimensional pet. “Goodbye, buddy.”

“Let’s go, let’s go,” Steve whispered.

We made it through the tunnels, probably about three quarters of the way back to the rope before the ground beneath us started rumbling, almost like an earthquake for a couple seconds.

I stood from having fallen over at the rumble, hearing the unmistakable Demodog roar.

“What was that?” Max asked.

We turned from the direction we just came from, hearing them roar again as Mike said, “They’re coming. Run! Run!”

He did not have to tell me twice. I just ran, not caring if I was going the right way or not, but thankful I turned down the right tunnel when I saw the rope. “There! Come on!”

I stopped at the rope, waiting for Steve to help me get the kids up to safety.

We got Max up first, then Lucas, followed by Mike and Dustin. Steve went to bend to hoist me up before I started to protest.

“No, no,” I said, watching him stand. “I’m not leaving you to die alone.” He tried to protest, but I just put my hands on his chest, saying, “No! I just got you, I can’t lose you already.”

I heard the monsters before I saw their shadow, Steve standing in front of me a little with his bat out to protect me, the kids shouting above us, “Liv, Steve, come on!”

I screamed a little as one came charging at us, closing my eyes, ready to see nothing but black, but… nothing came. As I opened them, I watched as they all passed us, Steve grabbing onto me as I leaned back a little to dodge the Dogs.

I was breathing so hard, my goggles started to fog up before I breathed, “Eleven.”

Steve and I made it up the rope after the Dogs ran past us, the headlights on Billy’s Camaro getting brighter and brighter before they dimmed back to their normal brightness.

Grabbing Dustin, I gave him the biggest hug ever, thankful that I still had my little brother with me. “I love you, Dusty,” I whispered. When I pulled back, I looked him in the eyes and said, “If you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.”

He smiled. “Same.”

Turning to Steve, I smiled at him before wrapping my arms around his middle, just holding him for a moment, feeling him do the same with his arms around my shoulders. I looked at him after a few moments, saying, “I really thought I was going to lose you.”

He shook head. “You’ll ever lose me. I promise.”

I smiled at him, ready to kiss him stupid like I said earlier, but didn’t, not wanting to hurt his already swollen lips from getting the shit knocked out of him by Billy. Lightly touching them, I said softly, “When these aren’t swollen, I’ll kiss you stupid.”

He smiled a little before wincing at the pain.

A throat being cleared made me turn around, seeing Max with Billy’s keyring on her finger.

“I’ll drive,” I said.

~~~

After I had dropped Steve off at his car, I took the Camaro back to the Byers, Steve following me. Billy was still passed out on the floor, so I just dropped his keys on his abdomen before getting into the driver seat of Steve’s BMW, driving the kids back home. 

I gave Dustin the option of staying at home alone or staying with Mike. He opted to stay with Mike. Steve also gave me options; go home or go with him. I chose the latter. I didn’t wanna stay home alone.

When Steve and I made it back to his house, we took our showers before I cleaned him up some more and patched him back up. We cuddled in his bed that night, talking about anything and everything; fears for the next few weeks, goals, what we wanted out of… us.

I sighed. “I don’t want a comparison relationship. I don’t want us to be compared to you and Nancy.”

Running his fingers lightly on my arm, he said, “We won’t. And if anyone tries to say it in front of us, I’ll kick their ass.”

I chuckled, looking up at his jawline, cupping the right side of his face. “Need I remind you why that would be a bad idea?”

He chuckled a little, resting his hands on my arms before he sighed. All I could hear was his heartbeat under my ear as I closed my eyes, silence following. 

I wasn’t sure what this thing between Steve and I would hold… if it even held anything.

All I wanted was Steve… and I got him.

~~~

One Month Later

It was sad officially saying goodbye to Barbra Holland, but her parents and Nancy needed closure. I had told Steve that it felt right and respectful to be at the services for Barb, and he agreed.

Steve took me home after the funeral services, promising he’d be back to take me on a small diner date later. As I was getting ready, I heard Dustin stomp around the house, saying, “Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!”

I walk out of my room as my mom and I asked, “Where did you see it last?” She was sitting in her chair holding our new kitten, Tews.

Pointing at a spot on the counter, Dustin said, “Right here, where I put it.”

“What’s so important anyway?” I asked, crossing my arms.

He picked up a brown paper bag, turning to us and smiling. “Got it.” After running past Mom and I, the doorbell rang.

“That’s your ride, Dusty!” Mom said.

Eyes wide, I realized I wasn’t fully ready. Turning to bolt back to my room, I said, “Son of a bitch!”

~~~

“Why am I always in the backseat?” I groaned as Steve pulled up to the Middle School gym.

“Because I’m more special, that’s why,” Dustin replied.

Leaning in between the front seats, I glared at my brother. “I’m his girlfriend, I think that makes me more special.”

When Steve stopped the car, he said, “Stop bickering, please. We’re here. So, remember, once you get in there…”

Dustin turned his head to face Steve, confirming, “Pretend like I don’t care.”

I facepalmed as Steve said, “You don’t care.”

“I don’t care.”

“There you go. You’re learning, my friend. You’re learning.”

Dustin checked himself in the rearview mirror, making sure his hairstyle was still in place.

“Dusty,” I said.

“What?”

“Come on, dude. You look great. I mean, you used half that can. I could smell it down the hall.”

“Really?” 

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Steve said. “Now, you’re gonna go in there–”

“Yeah,” Dustin said.

“Look like a million bucks.”

“Yeah!”

“And you’re gonna slay ‘em dead.”

“Like a lion,” Dustin said, before proceeding to growl.

“Uuuuuuhhhhh, don’t do that, okay?”

“Okay.”

Steve stuck his hand out, Dustin wrapping his own around Steve’s as the older teen said, “Good luck.”

Dustin and I got out before I gave him a hug, whispering, “Care,” before I lightly shoved him away from the door, telling him to have fun as I got in and shut the door.

I looked at Steve, and him at me before we leaned towards each other, smiles on our faces. Our lips connected in a sweet kiss before we pulled apart, Steve driving off with his hand on its normal spot; my thigh.

I was so happy with Steve. Nothing could destroy it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note:

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*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

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*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

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Posted on February 19, 2023

[allieslobster]

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Mike isn’t as bad at communicating as people claim him to be.

(This is copy and pasted from what I wrote on Reddit and I wanted to share it here, it’s super long btw)

NOW I KNOW IT’S A BIT CRAZY!!! But in all honesty, I think he isn’t the BEST at communicating but bro definitely isn’t the WORST, either. I don’t know, watching season one and two and even season four kind of make me be like “oh it’s really not that bad.” The only season where he was really bad to be in his communication was season three. I’ll go more into him in each season.

Season one: I think Mike was actually very expressive this season, probably the best his communication skills have been. When Will first went missing, we could really see his frustration because no one else really seemed to care as much as he did, and he verbally expressed that. “I’m the only one who cares about Will!” He got the point across and expressed what he was feeling, he made it known to the party that he wasn’t giving up, and then he allowed himself to cry to his mom when he thought Will’s body was found.

Season two: Season two Mike was very similar to season one Mike, he always made an effort to contribute to the conversation on how to help Will. The only time he really lacked cohesion in his skills was when Max was introduced, and the mention of El was brought up. Of course, I have to mention the shed scene where he literally saved Will, confessing how the day they met was the best day of his life and he truly meant it. He didn’t have any problem communicating that? He wasn’t shy expressing that in front of Joyce, Jonathan, or Hopper. He was emotional and expressed his frustration and sadness by hitting Hopper when he found out he was hiding El all this time. So, where does it all go wrong? Where does this stigma around his character come into play? WELL…

Season three: yikes. Season three Mike may just be the worst yet. Don’t worry, as someone who relates to Mike I’m not gonna shit on it. So, yeah…where did it go wrong? Mike is changing. He’s growing up, his relationship his growing up with him. This is the season where his expression begins to diminish, we can literally just see this husk of who he used to be. I think this season was a depressing arch for Mike. I believe this is the season people labeled Mike as like, the boy who can’t communicate. Which makes so much sense, he’s lying to the people he loves, yelling at them, ignoring them in a way that’s just kind of cruel. I think it’s interesting, the shift in him between season three to season four but I’ll get into that later. The way he speaks to Will is nothing like before. When we’re angry, we usually say things that we don’t mean. Projection. “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” Well! There was such a dark way in which he said it, like what was the need? The need was for him to get it off his OWN chest. It really had everything to do with himself, as well as Will. He’s never been so harsh to his best friend before, the boy who he used to comfort. The way he communicated his feelings was unhealthy, and harsh unlike the way he expressed them before. Anytime Mike had an outburst in past seasons, it was out of passion. (His family not caring for Will and him defending Will, Hopper lying to him, bullies picking on him) it was never out of angry, it was usually out of protectiveness. Then we get to the lying, him not caring to apologize to El or go after her in the same way he does to Will. Back to the communication, he hugs his mom at the end of the season but he almost looks numb, like he’s given up. There’s a reason for that.

Season four: I don’t really care what anyone says I will forever defend season four mike. He seems a little lost at the beginning and that’s because he is. He’s gone a year without his girlfriend, without his best friend. He’s had a lot of time to grow and reflect on who he is and we can slowly see him finding himself once again. He’s back into D&D (which he left behind in season three) and he’s come to the realization that he really doesn’t care if he’s popular in school, probably preferring to stay under the radar. We see our first communication problem at the airport, “from, mike.” We all know “from” is the devil’s word in El’s eyes. As well as that half assed hug he granted Will. It could be out of frustration from Will not contacting as much as he liked, or the fact that he was trying to hide something from himself that a passionate hug would only bring out. I’m not sure, either way both of those are rooted in strong feelings towards Will. Mike and El argue, he refuses to tell her he loves her. And while this can be chopped up to, “he has communication issues and is scared of rejection” okay let’s be so for real. Mike and Eleven have been together for over a year, El has verbally gave him that confirmation, so what’s missing? Mike is so action oriented, he needs to feel needed. El does not do that for him, I mean some people really just show their love through actions. Mike is not scared of communicating, putting himself out there. He has done it countless of times with Will. During this season, we see him go OUT of his way to apologize, telling him how much he missed him and how things have been so different without him. I don’t understand why he couldn’t have done that for El when she clearly needed it. Will grants Mike that security, I mean yeah in retrospect he’s scared of rejection but at the same time I don’t think it’s that simple. I don’t think he’s scared of rejection, I think he’s scared of coming to terms with the fact that he may just be lying to Eleven. Mike is not himself with her, he neglects his friends, dresses out of the ordinary, blames her. It’s as if it all circles back to Will, the difference in treatment and I think that will play a part in season five. I think that mike and el will realize that of course they love each other, but can’t be what they need.

Mike works on action, he SHOWS his love. He’s given her gifts, he’s been attentive to her when she’s struggling and at least tries to express how much he CARES for her. Eleven needs more, she needs an expressive person. Him not being verbally expressive with her does not mean he’s bad at communication. We all aren’t perfect, so saying he’s bad at communicating I don’t think is very fair. He just expresses his love in a way that I don’t think Eleven wants. And that’s okay. I truly don’t think he’s putting his all into the relationship, anyways. In his own words: “I kind of did like a sort of 70-30 split thing.” He gives more to Will, and I know it’s really unfair to Eleven but I don’t think Mike is doing it intentionally. Just when we’re attracted to someone, in love with them, it’s so easy to unknowingly treat them with a higher regard intentionally or not.

I really do think season three he was attempting his best to be as “normal” as possible, leading to his emotions to bottle up in a way they never did before. Season four, with time away from Will and Eleven, he begins to settle into himself just a little bit more and that leads to his willingness to rekindle with Will when they have some alone time. He communicates with Will, telling him he will be there for him no matter what despite the struggle. I think people often confuse his unintentional refusal to be completely open with himself and Eleven in their own relationship as him just not being able to communicate at all. I hope all of this made sense, i probably rambled way more than I should have…

[callmearcturus]

I find the idea of Benji having like 20 exgirlfriends, boyfriends, and personfriends; while Ethan has dated like 3 people in his entire life, to be hilarious, and now I'm going to integrate it into my headcanons for both of them.

I MEAN I tend to think that before the Prague Job, Ethan was an ethical slut, and it's implied he's having a threesome with Jack and Sarah. (I mean, I literally do not know how else to interpret that line, I have put on my Straight Person Goggles and that line does not make sense unless they are all three dating.) He's flirty and openly teases people.

Then the Prague Job goes fuckways, and Ethan's entire demeanor feels like a very sharp object that neither he nor anyone else knows how to handle. He def fucked Max in the back of that car (I feel like this is even implied by her later dialogue). But its not friendly and fun anymore, it's sharp and dangerous and almost his barricade Ethan is using for his own protection.

AND THEN THERE IS CLAIRE. Claire is trying her best to manipulate the shit out of Ethan, to keep his attention on her and her 'mourning' of Jim rather than the fact Jim is alive and both of them are toying with Ethan.

That extended sequence where Ethan and Jim are talking about "what happened in Prague" intercut with Ethan figuring out what actually happened in Prague-- there's a moment when Ethan pegs Claire as having killed some of the team, but he changes his mind and casts Jim in the role instead because... he doesn't want Claire to be part of this.

TAKE ALL THAT and marry it to the fact that Claire keeps initiating touch with Ethan, tries to get him to comfort her-- that scene with her sleeping on the floor and taking his hand to kiss it is tremendously fucked up.

(I once listened to a podcast that mentioned claire was kind of ethan's love interest and like WOW no. nope. that's not what's happening even a little.)

oh my god i'm rambling but WHAT I AM SAYING is that Ethan has immense trauma that is fueled by sexual manipulation and it honestly feels like it. Twink Ethan as an ethical slut had fun and didn't have to worry about this shit and was all about fair play. Then he has a brief stint as a bad boy that goes badly because robert towne can't write a movie. Then the next we see him he's GETTING MARRIED and leaving the game.

This post is already too long so lets continue. MI3 is fascinating because it's the one I hate the most but Julia and Ethan are tremendous, and the work put into humanizing him is amazing. He's enjoying playing as a doting husband (and 'playing' is inaccurate, he's not lying) and it actively trying to carve himself out of the IMF while multiple people (INCLUDING HIS BEST FRIEND LUTHER) undermine him.

But he still tries, and he leaves, and he's out.

And it all goes to shit. Which is this tremendous tragedy of Ethan Hunt frankly. He put in the work and-- you know the phrase "he's got skin in the game"? Well Ethan had a lot of skin in the game and he let it flay him on his way out just for a chance to actually be out.

GP Ethan is a wildly changed man, but in a way that honestly makes perfect sense to me. The trajectory of his character by design or by accident is an easily tracked arc. (I think McQuarrie gets me on this, or I get him, either or.)

After GP, there is simultaneously an emotional honesty to Ethan... but there's a physical distance. He's older, he's wiser, he's tired, and he's not dragging Benji or Ilsa into a pharmacy closet to have sex. That's not him anymore. But also, there is more raw emotion to everything he does. He feels like he's always on the back foot.

(He comes across as incredibly asexual to me honestly.)

Compared Twink Ethan flirting his way through MI1 to Fallout Ethan getting kissed by the White Widow and having ZERO reaction.

/clutches Ethan to my chest. i love this tired old man.

MEANWHILE: Benji is hot and has a hot bossy streak and has amazing fashion sense. He can get it, he just can't keep it because when Ethan has a job, so does Benji, sooooo yep. lmao.

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 2, Match 63: Whitebeard vs. Otose

Submitted kids:

Whitebeard: Marco, Portgas D. Ace, Thatch, Izou, Haruta, Deuce, Jozu, Vista, and a bunch more I can’t think of rn

Otose: Sakata Gintoki, Catherine, Tama, and arguably most of Kabukicho

Propaganda under the cut!

Whitebeard:

1. “His reason for piracy was to start a family. He has so many kids who all call him dad. Found family to the max.”

2. “His biggest dream in life is to have a family of his own, but how to go about that? Settle down with a wife and have lots of kids? Boring. No, the best way to go about it is to become a pirate, find the most outcasted and lost people you can, and make them your crewmates/sons”

3. “His entire crew calls him pops because he takes them in and treats them like his children. He also likes to take into those who don’t have anyone else. His main goal in life was to have a big family that cared for each other so that’s what he made his crew.”

(Mod note: Full propaganda list coming soon!)

Otose:

“Okay so Otose is a middle aged to elderly woman who we are introduced to in the series as Gintoki’s landlady. However we later learn that when visiting her husband’s grave she found Gintoki, in his late teens having been discreetly released from the prison he was held in because the head executioner didn’t believe he deserved death. In exchange for being allied to eat the manju she wanted to offer her husband, Gintoki promised (her husband since it was his manju) to always protect Otose. She then took him, cleaned him up, helped him heal, and let’s him live with her. While she’s technically his landlady, Gintoki doesn’t pay rent, ever. To the extant that when his rival and him switch bodies, and said rival pays rent, she takes it as a sign of the apocalypse. Also I should note later arcs draw clear parallels between Gintoki and her husband And her other love interest, Jirochou, almost like he’s the kid they never had.

Catherine is introduced as a new employee of Otose’s, a middle aged woman who’s a dream employee right up until it’s revealed this is a con and she’s actually robbing Otose. Gintoki puts a stop to it, and Otose’s response it to, rehire her, realizing Catherine has no opportunities But crime otherwise. This creates an intense loyalty that while Catherine might bitch about, she once put her life on the line, telling her old crew she can’t do another job with them, leading them to try and beat her to death before Gintoki intervenes.

Then there’s Tama, a robot who began as a toy her creator made for his sick daughter, but as he kept improving upon her, eventually made her into a fully functioning android he essentially saw as his daughter. Then Tama is framed for murdering him, and then she learns he set it up to create a robot apocalypse. Afterwards Otose takes her in, and gives her a job working for her.

A final element of Otose’s adoptive nature is how she became one of the four devas of Kabukicho. The four devas are the most powerful people in Kabukicho and the other three are, a yakuza and former war hero/criminal, another former war hero/criminal who single handily took out fleets of enemies, and a former captain of the Harusame (space pirates). What did Otose do to join their ranks? Well she repeatedly helped people out when she didn’t have to, the repeated kindness she showed to everyone when they needed it meant that multiple residents were willing to put their lives on the line to defend her. Like it takes kidnapping the son of another deva and holding him hostage to get that fraction to turn on her.”

[resident-gay-bitch]

“you’re here…” eddie said, his voice still quite weak and full of rasp from just waking up. he blinked a few times and looked at the three people standing around him, “wh- why are you here?”

“because we’re friends, dingus.” robin snorted, punching him (super dooper lightly) on the arm.

“and we went through hell together.” nancy said with a nod of her head, her grip loosening and tightening on the end of his hospital bed where she was standing.

“and you kept dustin safe, even though i specifically told you not to play hero.” steve said with a scowl, sitting on the edge of eddie’s bed, down by his knees with his arms crossed.

eddie blushed a little.

“and not to mention steve was literally the one who carried you outta that hell!” robin added, and the was immediately scolded by steve, “what?”

“you didn’t have to tell him that!” steve bickered.

“well, he deserves to know!”

“you didn’t have to remind him so soon!”

“you carried me out of there?” eddie asked.

steve turned a pretty shade of red, and before he could answer, robin was talking again, “yeah! he was all like… big man carrying you on his shoulders, covered in blood and looking all stoic.”

“robin!” steve swatted her shoulder.

“it’s true…” robin mused.

“it is. i was there.” nancy shrugged.

eddie looked at steve, trying to picture it. very much trying to picture it. steve carried him out of there? steve literally lifted his dead weight onto his shoulders and carried him out of hell?

well if that wasn’t the most romantic thing eddie’s ever encountered, then romance had to be dead.

“well, i couldn’t just leave you.” steve shrugged, hiding away a bit.

“he didn’t even stop to smell the flowers.” robin kept going, “just… one minute we heard dustin’s screaming and then we saw you dead on the floor, and then…”

“steve was in action.” nancy continued for her, “dropped to his knees, grabbed you, threw you over his shoulder and then started shouting at everyone to kick them into action.”

“and the whole time he was talking to you, trying to keep you alive!” robin said, “like, sure, you may have had your hero moment, eddie- but as dustin said, steve saved the day.”

eddie looked at steve with wide eyes, full of awe. steve didn’t hesitate to save his ass? gosh darn, this man was full of surprises!

okay, yeah, sure, saving someones life who is on the brink of death isn’t that romantic… but think about the circumstances; end of the world happening, eddie litteraly not breathing and bleeding uncontrollably, dustin having a meltdown, their own damn lives to protect, and eddie and steve barely even knew eachother and… and he just saved him. without a second thought.

plus, not many people wanted to save eddie these days.

so eddie was taking this as romance because why the fuck wouldn’t he? he’d take what he could fucking get with this glorious man.

“yeah, well…” steve huffed, folding his arms tighter over his chest with a shrug, “i had other things to worry about. i couldn’t just sit around and cry.”

oh right. max.

“red…” eddie swallowed, “is she okay?”

the room fell silent for a minute.

nancy was the first to speak, over a swallow, “she’s alive.”

eddie let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in.

“he got her though.” she said again, the only one brave enough to speak about it right now, “all her bones are broken… she’s not waking up anytime soon.”

“oh.” is all eddie could say.

“lucas is with her every day.” steve said, as if he was more so trying to convince himself it was okay, rather than eddie, “she’s going to wake up, and everything will be okay.”

eddie nodded.

he wasn’t ready to ask about the fate of the world yet.

“don’t you folks have better things to do today?” eddie asked, forcing a little laugh, “i don’t even know what day it is.”

robin laughed a little with him, “it’s tuesday. and… well, steve an i lost our jobs to a second supernatural occurrence, so…”

“and schools canceled.” nancy offered, “semester won’t start back up for another month, and they’re going to cram all the final exams into the start of summer.”

eddie didn’t want to ask why school wasn’t in session.

“you still have a chance to graduate.” steve said with a smile, and eddie blinked at him, “dustin told us.”

“oh.” eddie swallowed, graduating was the last thing he was thinking about right now, “okay.”

“that’s not important now, anyway.” robin pet his shoulder sweetly, “what is important is that you’re alive and on the mend.”

eddie smiled.

“dustin’s gonna freak.” steve said, “it’s just… eddie this, eddie that- more than usual, man! it’s insufferable. i feel like i know more about you than i know about myself now. he more than worships you.”

eddie turned a little pink at that. one; dustin admired him? so much? like, enough to never fucking shut up about him? and two; steve knows all about eddie? does… does he care? does he like to listen? could they be friends? could they be more?

“where is he? is he okay?”

steve nodded, “yeah, he’s doing the best he can… he’s with max right now, he’s going to be here in about… twenty minuets.”

eddie smiled and settled down into his bed, excited for dustin’s visit, “cool.”

“metal?” steve asked with a scrunched up face.

eddie looked at him and laughed, shook his head, “that’s for totally awesome things, steve. like you biting that bats head off, and me shredding the most epic guitar solo in all the lands.” he grinned, “but i admire you’re effort, so i’m giving you an A plus.”

steve laughed, “thank you. that’s the highest grade i’ve gotten since i was fourteen.”

eddie laughed some more, “i’m glad i could be the one to bestow it upon you, oh white knight.”

“oh, white knight!” steve grinned, “that’s a pretty high honour.”

eddie raised his eyebrows slightly, “yes… it is.”

steve smiled and it was kind of smuggish, “well i thank you for knighting me as such. i’ll wear the badge with pride and serve you well.”

eddie looked at him for a moment and then fucking burst out laughing. he laughed so hard he had tears and strained his stitches. oh, steve. steve was indulging his weird, nerdy humour. no doubt dustin’s doing, but still… oh, eddie thought he might love him.

steve laughed too, and somehow they ended up laughing with their fingers intertwined.

“from king to knight…” eddie said and flicked away a tear, “some would say that’s a downgrade.”

“well, if i’m here to protect you then i call it an upgrade.” steve countered.

eddie’s lips parted at that, his eyes blown a little wide. he felt steve squeeze his hand.

“well…” eddie hummed, fighting off the flutter in his heart, “i’ll have you know, i have no regard for my own personal saftey… ever- you’ve seen me jump off of cafeteria tables at lunch, so protecting me is a pretty heart feat.”

“all the more reason to do it, ed’s.” steve said with a sweet smile and- fuck it, eddie was embracing the heart flutters.

only then did he noticed that they were sitting in this room alone- the door clicking shut from where the girls had snuck away.

“you shouldn’t promise that.” eddie said quietly, “you might regret it.”

“i won’t.” steve shrugged and squeezed eddie’s hand again, “i’ve already made the promise to dustin, and to wayne, and to gareth, most importantly to myself… and now im making it to you.”

“steve…” eddie whispered.

“don’t.” steve said, shuffling a little closer, “i know… i know, eddie.”

eddie swallowed, “you do?”

steve nodded, “let me promise it to you?”

eddie looked at him for a moment, searching his eyes. eyes that he’d been longing to search through for years, and now he finally could.

now they were finally something.

“okay.” eddie said simply, his voice barely a whisper, “okay, but you have to let me promise it too.”

steve shook his head with a smile, “only after you’re up and walking again.”

“physically… deal.” eddie nodded, pressed his free hand onto steve’s heart, “in here? right now.”

steve sighed and sunk a little bit, “okay.” he nodded, “i’ll let you promise that.”

“good.” eddie smiled, “because you didn’t really have a say in the matter.”

steve laughed and ducked his head to lean it on eddie’s shoulder, and eddie pressed his cheek to steve’s hair. they stayed like that for a moment. eddie worked up the courage to drag his fingers up steve’s back and curl them into the soft hair at the back of his neck. steve sighed into it, folding himself into eddie further.

steve lifted his head after a while, now much closer to eddie than he was before, and he smiled with a warm flush in his cheeks that eddie was sure matched his own. steve still held his hand, and it was warm and a little clammy, both of them riddled at nerves with this something.

but both of them happy with it too.

steve blinked and then lowered his eyes to eddie’s lips and… oh, eddie’s heart was beating so hard in his chest right now he thought it might break a rib. but, well, if there was any place for that to happen, it would be right here, so bring on the rapid heart rate!

steve leant in a little.

eddie did too.

they were awfully close, almost touching when dustin slammed open the door with a loud bang, “eddie!”

they quickly pulled away with a laugh and steve quickly jumped into action of grabbing dustin around the waist and tugging him back before he could body slam eddie and open all of his stitches.

once dustin’s original over the top excitement dropped a notch, steve let him go and he sunk into eddie’s arms.

the kid was warm and soft and felt just the same as eddie remembered. they both cried a little. eddie looked up at steve with wet eyes over dustin’s shoulder as they cuddled, half listening to dustin’s excited rambles about how he knew eddie would wake up soon, and they laughed quietly together.

they had something, and that was okay, but it could wait a little longer before it became everything. right now, dustin needed his eddie, and eddie needed his dustin, and steve wanted nothing more than to give them all they needed with a smile.

[ahamkara-apologist]

Not to be insane in your inbox but I simply MUST hear more of your Uluran specbio headcanons. They keep me sane.

Okay yeah I'm just gonna post this now- been fiddling with it for several weeks and keep getting distracted by cool reproductive biology facts (like the complexities of rhino cervixes and why it makes conservation efforts via artificial insemimation so difficult) so here ya go. Most of this is reproductive biology bc I'm studying to be an evolutionary geneticist for conservation purposes, so be aware of that- all that good stuff is under a readmore

*Note: I started using the terms ‘bulls’ for male Uluru and ‘sows’ for female Uluru midway through this bc I got tired of writing ‘male/female’ over and over again, as this doc also contains Eliksni and Hive biology musings. It helps distinguish the Uluran section from the others a bit. I also use Uluru/Uluran interchangeably, with ‘Uluru’ being the notation for individuals and ‘Uluran’ being the notation for a group/the species as a whole.

General:

-The exposed upper gumline we see in almost all Uluru faces isn't how their lips normally rest; baring the teeth and upper gum is an expression of superiority/confidence in their strength. The reason we almost always see their faces in this position is because the Uluran almost universally view humans as weaker, and even those like Caiatl (who has seen otherwise) does it on instinct because they cannot fathom how much smaller we are

-Which, to be fair, doesn't say a lot; an Uluru with a relaxed mouth typically only occurs in private, when around their mate or equals. When an expression can mean both 'I am greater than you' as well as 'I am confident in myself and my abilities', and the whole society they live in is based around being the best of your class, then it's going to be a very common facial expression

-(On a side note: their growth hormones being triggered by a sense of pride isn't actually all that outlandish. House Sparrows exhibit a similar occurrance in real life, where winning dominance battles against other males increases the size of their bib, a black patch on their chest that indicates where they are placed in their social hierarchy. The more fights they win, the bigger their bib)

-Uluran fat distribution is mostly internal, and is focused around the organs to act as shock barriers when fighting; their muscles typically layer over the fat bands. The one exception to this is around the throat/jowl area, where fat layers over the thick muscle pads to help protect the vulnerable area from being gored by tusks during fighting

-Unlike in human society, hitting on a married individual is not socially unacceptable, especially if the individual doing the flirting believes that the pairing is an unfit match for one another and they can do better. It's considered romantic and marriage-affirming for the partner who's being shamed in this situation to chase the other suitor off. This weighed especially heavily on the sows bc of the vulnerable mate-guarding lactation period post-pregnancy

-(However it should be noted that Uluran gender roles are less restrictive in some ways than humans bc they’re based more on the strength of the individual than their ability to perform preset social rules, and that in modern times this is more for show)

-Historically, reverse-harem groups were a common sign of status, with one particularly fit sow mating with three or four bulls and/or having ‘lesser’ males that she did not mate with (or stole from other sows) nursing her calves. In some extremely traditionalist groups/among gladiators, this still occurs, but most mating groups max out at three individuals because the posturing required to keep people interested is just…a lot. Its a lot of mutual impressing to do

Reproductive biology:

-Much like hyenas, sows have a pseudopenis that is a result of increased androgens, and big pseudopenises on sows are seen as a mark of great status/strength. Tusk size/growth rates is also sometimes correlated with pseudopenis size, since the amount of androgens in the blood stream are correlated with both tusk growth rates and penis size

-Unlike hyena pseudopenises, however, the urinary tract does run through the shaft of the clitorus, while the birth canal essentially opens halfway down the shaft, creating a pouchlike vaginal opening. Arousal is required for this pouch to unfold; if not, penetration cannot occur, and in an unaroused state, it collapses in on itself into the base of the shaft, which then folds into the sheath for total protection. This evolved to keep the genital area clean, but has been co-opted to prevent mating until the female is ready, much like hyenas

-Yes, in less civilized times the pseudopenis was also used for dominance displays. During the breeding season, sows would evert their hemipenes in a half-erect state to essentially show off their fitness, which would greatly influence male mate choice. Tusk size = general status, penis size = reproductive status

-Bulls only receive a spike in androgens after the sows actively courting them go into an estrus cycle, which triggers increased sperm production and makes their testicles swell in size to what would be normal on a mammal (inspired by how bird testicles increase in size during mating season) and skyrockets their seminal viability 200% above average, specifically for the purpose of fertilizing a female in estrus. After fertilization occurs, they have to be around a pregnant sow for an extended period of time to a.) drop them back to a normal, non-breeding state and b.) induce lactation for the arriving calves, which is typically when mate guarding begins to occur in earnest. Both hormone cycle mechanisms are pheromonally regulated, but may have a 'ghost cycle' occurrence where the hormone fluxes occur on a very minor level

-As a consequence: very humanly 'masculine' bulls are typically less traditionally attractive compared to bulls with what we might consider more 'feminine' traits. Bulls with too much testosterone will have tusks on par with sows, larger penises, and testes that are noticeably descended from the abdominal cavity. While they are typically more capable of fertilizing sows, they are incapable of producing milk or are subpar at it, which means they cannot gestate the resulting calves effectively, so that increased fertility is essentially useless

-(However, it is important to note again that Uluran gender roles do not correlate to human ones, and high-testosterone bulls will still be considered very valuable fighters, warriors, and champions. They're just not considered suitable mate material, and are laughed or scoffed at if they ever want to have a family of their own. Ghaul was an example of a high-testosterone bull)

-[OOPS I ACCIDENTALLY WROTE THIS TWICE BUT DONT WANNA DELETE IT] Fertilization is internal and requires cooperation of both parties to occur. The female vaginal opening itself is composed of erectile tissue, and directly connected to the base of the pseudopenis; when aroused, it everts from the body cavity in an unfurling motion (as the outer labia are composed of thick skin that tuck inwards for protection) and sticks out a bit for ease of penetration.

-The male penis does much the same, but is long, thin, and semiprehensile, allowing it to easily curve under the curve of the abdomen and slip into the vagina via touch alone. The head flares after ejaculation to scrape out the sperm of opposing males, but isn’t terribly effective at it, as it is composed of soft, spongy tissue to be able to exit the tighter vaginal opening. Because bulls typically pick only one sow to mate with, the effect is not terribly drastic compared to, say, the Eliksni (who are much more promiscuous)

-Vanilla sex is typically done standing, with abdomens pressed together and reciprocal stimulation occurring in a slow rocking motion until orgasm is obtained. Casually reclining is another option, but the evolutionary default was to mate while standing bc it allowed for quicker reaction timing if a threat approached

-Uluran have 5 nipples, placed under the main abdominal fat pad and covered with their pouch, which is a flap of tough hide with very elastic skin around its edges that can be torn away if a certain pattern of muscle contractions occur (much like lizard caudal autonomy). Both bulls and sows have a pouch that can be opened, but it is vastly reduced to a mere fold of skin on sows. The pouch typically only opens when stimulated by the birth of calves (triggered by the scent of newborn calves), or when stimulated from within. The skin that seals it shut has no pain receptors, and calf ejection has to be voluntarily triggered in order to occur- the default pathway is 'closed'.

-Births are a private affair, limited only to one's mate; a midwife and their apprentice may come stay on the property, but typically only come in if something is wrong. Even though Uluran calves are born underdeveloped, much like marsupials, they also suffer from the same evolutionary blows dealt to humans in that an upright stance and larger brains made birth more difficult. Pair that with the fact that they're coming out of a narrow birth canal, and yeah, first-time births are often quite painful; Uluran culture typically see birth as a battle, and first births (where tearing of the vaginal canal almost always occurs in some capacity) as a blood rite.

-If possible, the calves are born onto the bulls's abdomen as he guards/monitors his mate, which is all the help that they are traditionally allowed to get as they crawl into his pouch and latch onto a tear to complete development. Any that fail to reach the pouch are left to die

-Up to five calves can be born at a time, but 2 is typically much more common. Of a five-calf litter, only four will ever be healthy; the fifth will always be a runt, and almost never survive. Six is practically unheard of, and always leads to the litter dying because all of the other calves are too underdeveloped to have been carried to term

-Calves are roughly palm-sized when born, and are a stoutly compact, rectangular pink blob of flesh. They're essentially fetus potatos, with the only developed part of them being their crawling limbs. Their skin is transparent, thin, and heavily vascularized, especially along their bellies, as the interior of a bull's pouch is also highly vascularized, and oxygen exchange occurs through cross-current exchange across the skin. Once they find and latch to a nipple, the babies will essentially fuse belly-first to their father's pouch + teat, and will stick there until they're developed enough to leave the pouch and start breathing on their own (the thick hide on their bellies is the last thing to develop before leaving the pouch). This also means that calf ejection is almost always fatal, as it involves the tearing of that oxygen-exchange patch

-Uluru milk consists almost entirely of protein, with the remaining content being mostly fats. There's very little sugar in it, and just enough water to give it the consistancy of something slightly thinner than heavy cream. It's basically an antibody-packed protein shake, and allows the calves to grow at tremendous speeds once born. They're capable of tripling their weight in the first week alone

-(Coincidentally, how fat a baby is when they leave the pouch is deemed a way to tell how fit the male is to be a father. The fatter the baby is, the sexier the male, as that means he's fit enough to be producing very high-quality milk at very little cost to himself)

-(Yes this means that Calus was peak dilf material in Uluran terms. Deal with it)

[awkwardgtace]

Guardian au Lore Drop

Three public classes of guardians

9ft-150: Giant

150-250: Titan

250-400: Colossus

Private classes may or may not exist above 400

Media inspired classification of Kaiju

Media is guardians fighting monsters inspired by the larger fauna on the planet

Senses

Some have improved senses

Better scent, sight, hearing

More sensitive touch and taste

Some keep base senses

Degree of struggle interacting with human sized people varies

Receive more training and usually have aids to help with hearing and sight

No rule for when the senses are better. Could be someone 30ft tall with vastly greater senses or 400ft tall with senses equivalent to average human

Guardians have specific roles in society

Giant

Construction in the human size cities

Gathering materials near and around human size things

Mediation between the average human sized person and other guardians. This is especially common for a max height giant class in regards to any colossus class

Titans

They have better strength on average which leads to more physical roles in relation to all sizes.

Manage food for society. This is mostly processing and shipping it.

Go out to clear dangerous fauna and flora from areas near cities

Construction for housing for guardians. Yes, even colossus class houses.

Mining and such in farther locations from human cities.

Some work as peacekeepers usually partnered with a colossus when possible.

Colossus

Usually go out hunting for larger size species to help supply food for titans and colossus classes.

They keep farms with crops of varying sizes. Sometimes titan or giant class guardians will be recruited to help with harvesting. Technology has made it easier for the most part where most farms are run by one single colossus guardian.

Largest ones with ties to average sized humans are often placed in a sort of peace keeper role. Not everyone is going to play nice once they’re bigger.

Kyrie takes on a peacekeeper role in the biggest human settlement. He has an older partner to handle interactions with most average humans. (it’s byssal and byssal is a minimum size Titan class so 150ft)

Exceedingly rare. Most often it seems there’s a set amount of colossus class at any time. This means that if there’s a new one, another has most likely died.

Anyone taller than 330 is exceedingly rare. Kyrie is 360 still. He a tall boy

History

Humans were one of the smallest creatures on a planet built for roughly the three sizes (some areas are bigger)

Eventually some humans started to grow bigger and showed intense protective instincts over others

They were called guardians and treated like a gift from the gods

As time passed humanity understood more and that it wasn’t the gods, but general genetics

Something sort of unlocked in the ones who grew to make them big full understanding is lacking even at the time of our story

Government knows a lot more than the general public is told. Some information would cause panic if widespread.

Government information Melody has learned and shouldn’t know

Guardians actually can’t remember their life at a normal size without being that size frequently. They’ll see all memories proportionate to their current size and won’t even register a problem unless actively focusing on it

The government sees Kyrie as a threat and most of the tests for a better medicine are finding ones that will debilitate him enough to capture if he becomes dangerous

The size altering medication only works when ingested as a pill. Any other form will at best make the guardian a little dazed

The ones who suffer pain when taking the medication are actually resistant to its effects. When Kyrie takes it if he wanted to fight it he could easily maintain his size. Kyrie is unaware of this, but Melody has said she knows he’d be his real size again if there was ever any danger around so she isn’t worried when he takes it. Melody hasn’t told him the truth because she knows him well. If Kyrie knew he’d take it and avoid her which is worse than taking it and seeing him in pain. At least she can help soothe his pain when he lets her be close to him.

Guardians struggle to see themselves as humans. This causes some to take horrible turns of personality. Also the reason they see Kyrie as such a threat. They don’t have any nearby colossus class who could fight him if he changes.

Common jobs for normal humans to work with guardians

General tech management and development (original goal for Melody until her internship and finding out Kyrie changed)

Relations between guardians and average humans. (Current job where she works from home a lot. Sort of like a mediator. There are times she physically goes to locations that have been having issues. Also Kyrie’s original job goal.)

Some average humans partner with peacekeepers to be a kind of go between and to draw out problems that are pretty big

There is a police force that’s sort of an extension to peacekeepers that comprises mainly giants and average humans. Peacekeepers are called in when the police can’t handle it.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Why does "To All of You" fit the opening of Season 1 so well?

For me, one of the most memorable moments of Season 1 comes near the beginning, when Max puts her headphones on and traverses the school corridor listening to "To All of You" by Syd Matters.

The most obvious reason to enjoy this scene is that we get to listen to a damn good song while Max entertains us with her insightful (and often witty) comments about the realities of school life.

But I think that "To All of You" works in this scene in three more ways. As an expression of Max's state of mind, as a heads-up for the player on what to expect moving forward and finally, as a premonition of things which might come true in the end.

In my mind, the song is about the idealized image of women in popculture, especially American cinema. "Shiny smiles and plastic bodies" - a perfect, but ultimately impossible to achieve (and therefore not real) image. The only thing that can result from chasing this unattainable ideal is sadness - "I cry sometimes, walking around my own place; Wondering why she cries sometimes". People trying to conform to impossible standards will always be disappointed in the end.

While the song is explicitly about beauty standards, I think its message can be extrapolated. It's about desiring things that are perfect and being sad that they're impossible to achieve. This works as an expression of Max's state of mind.

Max wishes to become a renowned artist. She wants her works to be appreciated by others. That's the ideal she strives for. But as it is often the case, there is a discrepancy between what we imagine and what we get. Putting her work out there is very difficult for Max. She's full of self-doubt. To the point she tears up a photograph that would win the competition if submitted. Max is sad because of the irreconcilable difference between what she wants and what she has the strength to do. It's going to take at least a few sessions of coaching by Chloe for Max to discover her confidence.

Since the song is about being nostalgic over the things that we desire, but are ultimately not real, I think it also serves as a heads-up for the player to suspend their disbelief. There's going to be mystery and mysticism ahead. Which you could dress up in SF mumbo-jumbo like vague references to quantum physics or chaos theory, but why bother? Isn't it more fun to just say the power of love and the desire to protect those close to you transcends time and space?

And finally, the song serves as a wish which may come true. It's a song about someone desiring an American girlfiend that they could take for a drive on the seaside. Well, if Max plays her cards right, at the end of the week she's going to have a girlfriend driving her around. A girlfriend with a rebel spirit, who is giddy about guns, proudly displays a US flag in her room (which is the only large surface in her room not defaced with grafitti) and drives an impractically large, gas-guzzling SUV. Truly, an American girlfriend.