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carolperkinsexgirlfriend · 5 months

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Steddie Upside-down AU Part 25

Part 1 Part 24

“You mean blood draws this thing?” Hopper asks. He’s finally seated at the table, no longer looming over Eddie where he sits, like he’s just picked him up for possession and taken him in for questioning. Again.

“We don’t know,” Barbara says. Nancy chimes in, “it’s just a theory.” All three of them ignore Eddie’s shouted “Yes!” As if he isn’t the only one that’s seen the thing more than once.

Hopper steeples his fingers in front of his nose, looking like he’d rather be almost anywhere else. Eddie can’t blame him. He also wants Hopper to be anywhere else.

“We’ve got a plan,” Nancy says. “To test the theory.”

Hopper sighs, closing his eyes and pinching his brows, the same way he does when he catches Eddie selling pot outside of the high school. Or at the trailer park. Or at parties. “Let’s hear it then.” He doesn’t open his eyes. Nancy starts speaking anyway.

Eddie, having been mostly absent last time, tunes in for the conversation. She wants to jerry rig the house with bear traps. Like they’re in the Looney Tunes and she’s trying to catch the road runner. Hopper doesn’t seem all that impressed. Neither does Wayne.

“No,” Wayne says.

Hopper still hasn’t opened his eyes. Maybe he was so shocked by the slap dash plan that he gave up and went to sleep.

“Excuse me?” Nancy says.

Eddie bristles at her tone, but Wayne doesn’t even twitch. “You’re kids,” he says, like that’s all there is to say.

“But, Steve –”

Joyce jumps up from where she was still huddled with her sons to tower over the table in all her five foot nothing furry to shout, “this is not yours to fix!” It works to shut them all up. “It’s not you kid’s responsibility to save another kid.”

“But, Mom,” Will says.

Eddie wants to echo the sentiment. Wants to beg. Steve saved their lives, and they’d left him. She wants them to just leave him there? Again? “I know, baby. We’ll get him.”

“Anyone called the boy’s parents?” Wayne asks, but it comes out barely as a question. He already knows the answer, even before Hopper scoffs. Everyone at this table does.

“Like anyone even knows what country they’re in,” he replies while Joyce bristles, like the thought of anyone’s child being left like that leaves her seething.

“Enough of that,” she says, waving her ends in a cutting motion in front of her. “How are we going to get that boy back?”

Will stands up and storms out of the room. Eddie’s never seen the kid be anything but polite. Eddie stands to follow the tug at his sternum telling him to keep the kid in his line of sight.

“Will?” Joyce calls, trying to follow as well until Jonathan tugs her back by her arm with a quiet murmur he can’t make out.

The house isn’t large. He can hear the silence reverberating as he follows Will. The best plan they have so far is Nancy’s game of mouse trap. If it means saving Steve, Eddie’s ready to form an alliance with the devil he knows. If it means saving Steve, he’d be willing to do worse.

“I could go back to the lab,” Hopper says, voice barely carrying down the hallway.

Will’s sitting on a bed when Eddie finds him. It’s small with a blue comforter on it, covered in little cartoon planes. There’s a poster of Jaws on the wall, D & D minis on a bookcase. This might be the coolest kid alive.

Eddie takes a seat beside him, the mattress squeaking as he huddles into it.

Will’s hand is dangling between his knees, cradling a walkie talkie. He doesn’t look over at Eddie, just keeps staring at it like it’ll crackle to life at any second.

“Whatcha got there?” Eddie asks quietly as voices raise in the other room. Eddie wonders if this is what it would’ve felt if he’d had a baby brother back when voices were always raised in his house. He wants to scoop this kid up and bolt out the window.

Will barely seems to notice the noise. He’s still just staring down. When he finally drags his eyes up, it seems like it takes effort. “I want to call Mike.”

“Okay,” Eddie says. “Who is Mike?”

Will’s eyes shift back down. “He’s my Steve.”

Well, Eddie has no idea what that means, but he can glean some things: Mike is important, and Will wants to talk to him. “So, call him.”

Will’s shoulders curl in. He cradles the walkie talkie to his chest like it’s a baby. “He thinks I’m dead.” It comes out of his mouth bitter.

Eddie reaches out, clasps his shoulder gently. “Then, I bet he’d love to hear that you’re not.”

Slow as molasses, Will raises the walkie talkie up to his mouth, holds down a button and speaks. “Mike?” he asks. “Do you copy?”

He decompresses the button. The silence trickles back in as they both now stare at the walkie talkie, waiting for something to happen. “Maybe he didn’t hear yo–” Eddie starts to say, conjuling, when a frantic, prepubescent voice crackles through the little speaker.

“Will?!” A voice asks, overlapped by another saying , “–didn’t say over, Mike!” before the fuzzy sound stops abruptly.

Will waits a second before pushing the button again, and speaking, “I’m here, over.”

“Where are you?” presumably Mike asks. “We’ll come get you!”

Will smiles, eyes brimming. “It’s okay,” he says, voice lighter than Eddie’s ever heard it. “I’m home.”

The silence lasts longer now, until a new voice filters through. “Yeah, yeah, I’m glad you’re back, Will,” attitude dripping even over the static of the line. “Now, the bad men have got us pinned down, you gotta help us.” it says, before tacking on a quick, “over.”

“Bad men?” Eddie asks, looking over at Will, hoping this is some ill-timed inner-circle game.

But Will looks confused. Panicked. “I think we should go get Chief Hopper.” Will says.

Great. Another fucking problem. Eddie regrets ever being dragged back through that goddamn hole in the tree.

Part 26

#steddie upsidedown au #steddie fic #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #my fic #first part where i was like wow that sucked to write and i hate it but im moving along so i don't get bogged down! lol

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mypoisonedvine · 2 years

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𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 || eddie munson x reader

𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 || eddie's been your dealer-with-benefits for just a few weeks now, but you didn't know that he had another friend to spend time with when you weren't available... a plastic friend that he keeps in one of his drawers.

𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 || over 3k

𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 || smut (18+ only, use of a fleshlight, penetrative/rough sex), dom!reader, sub/switch!eddie, slightly service top eddie?, reader is a proud slut, implied drug use, some fluff/feelings at the end, eddie being a sweet lil baby with a crush on his bimbo client

NO SPOILERS for stranger things in here!!! it's just smut with no relation to the plot of the show at all lmao

“Second drawer from the top,” he nodded in the direction he was indicating, and you bit your lip as you crossed the trailer to search for the goods.

After this many months of getting your supply from Eddie, you knew your way around the place. And on nights like this, when you were going to get high together, he let you get it out yourself while he prepped the grinder and papers.

“W-wait, not—” he started to correct you, because you were opening the second from the bottom, but it was too late. You’d already seen it, and you looked over your shoulder with a grin on your face as he started to blush.

“What’s this?” you asked tauntingly, picking up the black plastic fleshlight.

“N-no, don’t touch that,” he warned, “you… you don’t know where that’s been.”

“Oh, I think I do,” you grinned, standing up and starting to walk towards him. “It’s been around your cock, right?”

He stammered, but didn’t really say anything, as you sauntered towards the couch and admired the beauty of his flustered expression.

“Is this what you use when I have enough cash to pay for my shit the right way?” you wondered. But he probably thought the other way was the right way… it started small, jerking him off for a dime bag, letting him feel your tits so he’d share a joint with you. When you wanted enough to last you a while, you’d suck him off or ride him right here on this couch— or in his van, if you didn’t have time to go down to the trailer park for a deal. And you could tell he was getting a little clingy, now, wanting more and more of you, offering ‘free’ stuff if he could fuck you again.

Honestly, he was a good fuck, so there were times that you saved your money and just pretended you didn’t have enough cash to get your dose. You’d come here tonight with plenty to pay for it properly, but now… now you had new ideas.

“Is this what you fuck when you can’t fuck me, Eddie?” you continued taunting, sitting down beside him and looking at the toy more closely. “It’s better than just jerking off with your hand, right?”

“Y-yeah,” he admitted, voice cracking. “Yeah, it’s better.”

“Looks like it feels alright,” you shrugged, playing with the soft plastic end, modeled in the shape of a ‘generic’ vulva… not nearly as beautiful as the real thing. “Does it feel good when you fuck this, Eddie?”

He choked, but eventually nodded, and watched you slip a finger into the hole to feel the texture.

“Yeah, I can see the appeal,” you decided. “How do you use it— you put lube on first, right?”

“A-and a condom,” he added. “Easier to keep it clean…”

“That’s smart,” you smirked. “You fuck me without a condom, but sure, give the toy some courtesy—”

“I— I would’ve used one if you asked!” he insisted. “You said we didn’t need it—”

“I’m teasing you, Ed,” you rolled your eyes. “I just think it’s funny. You’re so careful with your toy, but so reckless with me… you don’t fuck any other clients raw, do you?”

“N-no,” he answered, “I don’t fuck any other clients at all… I… I actually don’t get laid that often.”

“Really?” you pressed, voice heavy with sarcasm. “That wasn’t obvious to me already considering you’re a social pariah and came in half a minute when I blew you.”

He swallowed, and you laughed, remembering how sweet it was when he came all over your face in a matter of moments— and started apologizing before he’d even finished. You promised it was fine— because actually, it was fucking hot— and he finally shut up when he watched you use your fingers to gather his come from your face and start licking it up. What are you doing? he’d gasped. Well, I can’t go back out there like this, can I? you’d replied.

“Still, I didn’t think you had this little number to come home to,” you giggled, admiring the piece. “Does she have a name?”

“I-it’s not a she,” he sighed, “it’s just an it. Can… can we smoke now, or what?”

“No, I wanna hear more about this first,” you insisted, and he groaned in frustration. “You didn’t give it a name, but… do you say a name when you’re fucking it?”

Of course, you knew the answer when he looked away quickly.

“Oh, baby, you can tell me,” you promised as you moved in a little closer. “Whose name do you say?”

“Y-yours,” he admitted, finally, and you laughed quietly again.

“That’s cute. You pretend it’s me?”

He nodded.

“Oh,” you smiled, “you must be very good at pretending. Because this thing isn’t nearly as good as me.”

You heard the way his throat caught on itself, and the way he breathed shakily as you reached forward to start opening his belt and fly. He lifted his hips to help you pull his jeans down, but you didn’t need to— you just reached into his boxers and pulled his cock out, surprised to find it already hard.

“Shit, Eddie, when’d you get a boner?” you giggled.

“Wh-when you said you were coming over,” he relented as you grinned, stroking him slowly.

“I’ve got you trained good, huh?” you noticed. “I told you I was bringing cash. You still hoped something would happen, right? But did you think this would happen?”

He shook his head.

“Put a finger in the toy for me, Eddie,” you instructed, and he did as he was told right away. “It’s not like me, is it? What does it feel like when you put a finger in me?”

“Feels like…” he breathed, looking down at where your hand was wrapped around his cock. “Feels like it’ll barely fit.”

“Mm, that’s right,” you agreed. “This toy isn’t that tight, you can only feel one wall at a time when you put a finger in. Guess it doesn’t matter when you’ve got this big cock to fill it up, right?”

He grunted through his teeth, and you stroked him a little faster.

“Still, it feels so much better to stretch me out, doesn’t it? Loosen me up a bit?”

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath. “Yeah, it feels better t-to fuck you. So much better.”

“And this toy, it can’t get wet for you,” you said like you were just realizing it. “That’s so sad…”

“You’re always so wet,” he remembered with a little groan.

“Not always, Eddie,” you purred, “just when I’m around you.”

“Oh, god,” he moaned, head falling back on the couch. You leaned forward and spit down onto the head of his dick, spreading it with your hand so you’d have a smoother go of it, and you felt his cock flex in your palm. “Fuck, that… feels really good…”

“Yeah?” you encouraged. “But the toy feels better than jerking off, that’s what you told me. How about I let you fuck that?”

“O-oh, um,” he stammered, “I— I just wanna fuck you. Please? You can ride me if you want.”

You snorted— if you want. Like it was a favor to you, and not him desperate to the point of begging. You loved that begging… and unfortunately for him, you wanted more. Ignoring his request, you took your hand off of him and grabbed the toy with your dominant hand instead— and slipped it down onto his erection.

“Shit,” he hissed, “please— it’s not as good, you know it’s not—”

“But it’s good enough,” you reminded him, your tone getting a little more stern as you moved the toy up and down over his dick. “It’s good enough for you to fuck this thing, what, a few times a week?”

“More like every night,” he admitted. “I… I fuck it a lot. Sometimes more than that.”

“Really getting your money’s worth, huh?” you mocked. “Tell me, did this cost more or less than it does to give me free drugs so you can fuck me?”

“M-more,” he answered.

“Funny, how my pussy’s so much cheaper but so much more valuable,” you grinned. “I’ve always been a bit of a cheap whore, Eddie— you probably know that about me.”

“I… I never thought that about you,” he promised.

“You didn’t hear the rumors?” you challenged, raising an eyebrow.

“I did,” he admitted, “but I didn’t believe them…”

“Do you believe them now?”

You were surprised to see him shake his head. “You’re so much more than that,” he insisted, and you stuck your bottom lip out a bit.

“Awww, baby,” you cooed, “you’re a bit of a romantic, aren’t you? Tell me, then— what do you think about when you’re fucking this? Pretending it’s me and all… what do I say, what do I do?”

“I— I don’t know,” he breathed, and you stopped moving the toy instantly— he tried to move his hips a bit to keep the pace going, but stopped when he caught himself.

“Don’t lie, Eddie,” you warned. “I like you because you’re honest. Don’t mess that up.”

He smiled slightly, eyes tinted with hope as he looked at you. “You like me?”

You rolled your eyes. “No, I can’t stand the sight of you, that’s why I’m hopping on your dick every other time we meet up,” you answered sarcastically. “Geez, Eddie, are you stupid or something?”

You heard that whimper, the one he tried to suppress. “N-no,” he denied half-heartedly.

“Do you get a little stupid for pussy, though?” you wondered, and he forgot to answer when you started moving the toy again— proving your point exactly.

“Ohh god, baby,” he whined, clearly frustrated as his fists held on tightly to the sofa beneath him.

“You were gonna tell me what you imagine me doing, when you’re fucking your little friend here,” you reminded him.

“I— I think about you getting on top of me,” he began to describe, eyes falling shut— you hoped he was imagining it now— “and kissing me… asking me to fuck you…”

Wow, kissing and then asking for consent. Doesn’t get much more vanilla than that. Good thing you found his innocence endearing— well, good thing for him. Not so good for you, as you were trying to avoid catching feelings. Normally you liked fucking guys because of the way they looked at you— in awe, amazed. And Eddie certainly did that, but you actually liked fucking him, you liked how he felt inside you and how he kissed your neck while he warned you that he was close. You’d told him so yourself, you knew those praises pushed him closer to the edge— but you failed to mention he was the only guy that you liked feeling inside you anymore.

You failed to mention he was the only guy you never faked it with.

“What else?” you prompted.

“And then I fuck you,” he said plainly.

“How?”

“Hard.”

It was your turn to bite your lip. Good thing his eyes were closed or he would’ve seen how his words were affecting you. “And what do I do when you fuck me hard, Eddie?”

“You… moan, a lot,” he mumbled.

“Oh, that’s right— this toy can’t moan for you either, can it? Wow, you poor thing. Nobody here to tell you how good you fuck me.”

“God,” he whined through his teeth, and you moved the toy faster and faster over him— watching him thrust up his hips to meet it halfway.

“It’s such a shitty substitute for me, but you’re still so desperate for it,” you observed. “Are you always this desperate, baby?”

“Not always,” he breathed, smirking a little, “just when I’m around you.”

Hearing him repeat what you’d said before took you by surprise— and Eddie didn’t surprise you often. He was pretty predictable. He surprised you that first time you did something like this, by— bizarrely enough— giving you a hug after you’d given him a handjob. Guys, overall, tended to react the same way to offers of sexual favors or to seeing your tits and all that, but that was new. And weird. But sort of sweet? Mostly weird though. He surprised you again by making you come when he fucked you, but that was a much more pleasant surprise.

Still, overall, you’d gotten the hang of him and his habits pretty quickly. He liked to kiss your neck, he liked to watch your tits bounce while you were riding him, he held onto your hips and kept you down if you tried to get off too soon… what he didn’t do was hit you with little witty remarks like that one, and totally throw you off your game. Guess he didn’t get quite as stupid for pussy as you thought.

“You look cute,” you noticed, “fucking your toy for me. You usually fuck it faster, don’t you? You don’t like to take your time with it or anything?”

“I usually just wanna come,” he replied, “as fast as possible.”

The thought of him so pent up, fucking his fleshlight as he moaned your name, was… exciting, to say the least. You wondered if he ever did this while his uncle was home, across the trailer sleeping— did he have to bite his fist to keep quiet? That was extra exciting. “Do you wanna come now?” you asked.

“Not like this,” he pleaded, “not— not in the toy, when you’re right there…”

“Yeah, I’m right here,” you grinned, “but what if I wanna see—”

He didn’t even let you finish. “Fuck, don’t make me come in the toy, please,” he begged. “You like how I fuck you, right? I’ll do whatever you like, baby, please…”

That would be a tempting offer if it wasn’t always true. You simply picked up the pace again, making sure to push the toy all the way down to the base of him each time; he whined and gripped the sofa tighter.

“You can touch me instead, if you want,” you offered with a purr. “You can feel my tits— go ahead, Eddie, I’ll lift my shirt up for you—”

“No,” he choked out. There he goes, surprising you again…

“No?”

“No, I’ll come,” he clarified with a grunt. “If I feel your tits right now, if I even see them, I’ll fucking come— and I don’t wanna come in the toy, I wanna fuck you so bad, please baby—!”

“Shh, don’t get all worked up,” you smiled, “I’m gonna let you come in me, Eddie. Is that what you want?”

“Yes!” he shouted, “fuck yes— thank you…”

Oh, that thank you, it tugged at your heart more than you expected. “You just gotta promise me one thing.”

“Anything.”

You smiled proudly. “I want you to fuck me the way you fuck that toy when I’m not here, okay?”

Pulling the fleshlight off of his cock, you watched it bob in the air helplessly for a second.

“I’m your toy now,” you told him, and he instantly launched forward to capture you in a kiss.

“You’re so much more than that,” he mumbled against your lips after a moment of it, and you resisted the urge to melt into his arms. He kissed you harder, deeper, needier— and just about when you expected him to pull you onto his lap, he stood up instead. “Hold onto the back of the couch,” he ordered. Well, you weren’t one to say no to that.

When you were bent over on your knees, holding the couch diligently, he yanked your shorts and underwear down and instantly speared you onto his cock. “Fuck!” you shouted, toes curling from the stretch— yes, you were dripping wet, but he was still a lot to take.

“So much better,” he sighed, “fuck, you’re perfect.”

He grabbed your hips and set a ruthless pace— fast and rough, filling you to the brim every time. This must be the way he fucks the toy, desperate to come above all else… and you loved it. You couldn’t stop yourself from moaning, even though the force of his thrusts made you feel like the wind was getting knocked out of you. He moved one hand up from your hips to your shoulder, keeping you from getting too far away so he could go as deep as possible; your eyes rolled back in your head. “Eddie,” you sobbed.

“Louder,” he demanded.

“Eddie!”

“Fuck, that’s it,” he sighed, “want everyone to hear you… they can all hear you, baby, keep going.”

And you did, screaming his name like you’d forgotten every other word— which wasn’t too far from the truth. You realized, then, that he really didn’t want you to be his toy. He just wanted you to be his.

“I’m close,” he groaned, so quiet it was hard to hear him over your own cries, “I’m gonna come inside you…”

“Come in me,” you encouraged, “come for me, Eddie— I’m yours.”

You said it because it was true, not because you knew it was what he wanted to hear. But, it still made him come in an instant. He held onto your hips and keeled over as he buried himself deep, giving you every drop and making you feel so beautifully full. He kept coming for a while, and you hummed happily as he started to catch his breath. “Fuck,” he panted, resting his forehead on the back of your shoulder, “I came too fast, I-I’m sorry—”

“No, it’s okay, I wanted you to,” you promised.

“But you didn’t,” he sighed.

“Don’t worry about it,” you laughed, “that’s another thing toys can’t do.”

“And that’s another reason why you’re so much better,” he replied, reaching down under you to slip his hand between your legs. His fingers started to gently circle your clit, just below where he was still inside you. You whined, and you heard him growl as you tensed up inside. “See, that— the way you grip me… I wanna feel you come, baby, do you think you still can?”

If anything, your problem was just going to be how easy it was— you’d gotten way too close from just a minute of being fucked like that, it was embarrassing. Well, it should’ve been embarrassing. But you weren’t as self-conscious about it as you thought you would be.

His fingers found a pattern, not too much pressure but still plenty, as they rubbed circles on your bud. You kept whimpering, trying to rock your hips back onto him, but he held you still to keep you from moving too much on his sensitive cock. “Just stay still, I’m gonna make you come, okay?” he breathed.

It was all about you, you weren’t really used to that. Actually, you weren’t at all used to that. Nobody had ever taken the time to make sure you came… even Eddie just usually made it happen on accident.

“Oh god,” you heard yourself gasp— you were fighting it, though you weren’t sure why.

“That’s it,” he cooed, “that’s my girl.”

Yours. You came with a gasp of his name, your back arching deeper as he kissed along the line of your shoulder. He kept showering you in praise, letting you ride it out before he gently pulled you down to lay with him on the couch— careful never to let his cock slip out, keeping you full and warm as you started to relax.

It took you a minute to come back to reality, and you squeezed his hand at the end of where his arm was wrapped around you, holding you tightly against him.

“You’re full of surprises, you know that, Eddie?” you smiled.

“What does that mean?” he chuckled.

Really, though, it wasn’t just that he managed to surprise you from time to time. It was the way that he made you surprise yourself. Maybe not all guys were the same, and maybe he was right: maybe you were so much more than what they thought you were.

#eddie munson x reader #sub!eddie munson x reader #sub!eddie munson #eddie munson smut

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balioc · 9 months

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Thoughts on the Barbie Movie

Hoo boy. Here we go.

This is long. Spoilers abound.

The movie is not, in any normal sense, a Barbie movie (like this or this or this or whatever). It is not a story of Barbie doing the kinds of things that Barbie does in stories. It is an endlessly postmodern and self-referential movie about Barbie, which is to say, about the Barbie franchise and its role in culture. Which is, at least plausibly, an interesting thing for a movie to be.

You probably knew all that already. But it does give us a baseline of "this movie kind of had to be political and discourse-y, one way or another." Or even, to be more specific: "to some large extent this movie had to be about feminism, explicitly, if it was going to exist at all." How could you talk meaningfully about Barbie's role in culture without touching on that stuff?

The evaluative TLDR:

Barbie is very ambitious, and in many places very fun. It is also deeply confused, and fragmented, about what it's trying to say and do. Often it raises genuinely interested problems/scenarios and then totally fails to address them, or else addresses them in ways that are incoherent. The text knows that it's doing this, and on several occasions kind of apologizes for it; a couple of times it more or less looks into the camera and says "sorry, we're not going to deal with this properly;" but, well, that's not a substitute for dealing with things properly.

There is also a streak of genuine political nastiness running through the film, in a place where the story really cannot afford it. It...doesn't match up, tonally or thematically, with some of the surrounding material. I have no background at all in cinematic stratigraphy, but I would be fascinated to learn about Barbie's editorial history, because I have the vague sense that a more-cogent (and more-interesting) story got hacked apart and then Frankensteined together into something much cheaper and worse.

III

The opening sequence of the movie is wild. You've seen most of it -- or you can, if you haven't, and you want to -- because it is the film's first teaser trailer. Girls are playing listlessly with baby dolls; a giant Barbie appears like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey; and then the girls enter a frenzy of destruction, bashing their baby dolls' heads against the ground.

I don't know whether I would have found it as disturbing as I did, if I didn't actually have a baby of my own. But speaking from the standpoint of a parent...yeah, wow, it's more viscerally horrific than most actual horror I've seen recently. The narration says some stuff about Barbie providing a new and more rewarding set of imagination games to play, but the visuals by themselves tell a message loud and clear, which is: Barbie will turn your daughters into infanticidal maenads. It wouldn't need any editing at all to be part of a shock-you-silly Reefer-Madness-y moral panic film.

Which is really good! And really interesting! It starts us off on an undeniable thematic note: there is something primal and powerful and very dangerous about Barbie.

The very best part of the movie is probably the part that comes right after the opening, when we explore the movie's depiction of "Barbieland" by going through Barbie's Typical Day, before we get into any of the notional plot or metaphysics. It's joyful and charming in a consistent way. The gags are (mostly) great. The movie is in love with its base premise, and that love is palpable.

This sequence makes one thing very clear:

Barbie treats Ken like absolute dogshit. She is a bad girlfriend.

And it's taken seriously. I mean, it's played for laughs, almost everything in this movie is played for laughs, but...it's not mean-spirited, not here. It's not, like, "ha ha, Ken, what a contemptible loser." He's Pierrot, asking for very basic forms of affection and attention and respect, and getting the door slammed in his face over and over. It's honestly kind of heartbreaking.

That colors everything that comes later.

The movie doesn't forget this, or fail to acknowledge it. At the end, after everything, Barbie does apologize to Ken for her treatment of him. It's a halfhearted and supremely unsatisfying kind of apology, especially in context, but...it's there, in so many words! I'm not making it up! This thematic foundation was laid down, not-very-subtly, right at the beginning!

This movie, which is at least trying to be ambitious, is juggling a million themes. Many of them are dumb at their core, and have no real promise; many of them lack any kind of narrative synergy with the others. But there are at least two which, I believe, (a) are genuinely worthwhile individually and (b) work well together in a story.

One is: What does it mean to be a symbol rather than a person? To exist, not for your own sake, but for the sake of influencing the dreams and culture of entities that you don't know and can't really understand?

The other is: What is the proper ordering of the relationship between Barbie and Ken?

I've seen a number of Takes in which people say, essentially: Couldn't this have ended with the Barbies and the Kens just being decent to each other and treating each other like humans? Couldn't there have been equality and mutual respect, instead of the weird uncomfortable girlboss-supremacist stuff that we got? And I sympathize with that impulse tremendously, but the honest answer has to be: No. We cannot have simple equality and esteem between Barbie and Ken, not in a movie like this. That would be a lie. Because this is a movie about Barbie-as-symbol, and when you're looking at Barbie through that lens, it is true and unavoidable that Ken is an appendage and an afterthought. You can have toys for boys; you can have dolls for boys (even if you call them "action figures" or whatever); for that matter, you can have dolls of boys for girls, so that girls can tell stories centering on male characters; but that's not what Ken is, and never has been. There are no Ken stories, and no one particularly wants them. Ken exists to be Barbie's boyfriend.

(One of the most painful moments of the movie comes during the resolution wrapup. Ken wails to Barbie that he has no identity outside her. She says, basically, "you have to find one, because I'm leaving you." And he...acts like he's had an epiphany, and does a little silly celebration. But his "insight" is just literally "I'm Ken," there's absolutely nothing there, and of course it's the most hollow and awful thing in the world because he really does have no identity outside her.)

The movie's metaphysics are not even slightly consistent. The nature of Barbieland, and the ways that it affects and is affected by the real world, are completely different in every scene. In large part because the film can't ever pass up a gag, whether or not it's funny, no matter how much damage it does to the narrative and the theming overall.

The worst part is that the movie is not capable of saying anything remotely coherent about the real world, because its version of the "real world" is as weird and fake as its Barbieland. Will Ferrell's CEO of Mattel character is more of an absurd cartoon than any of the Barbies or Kens. Mattel HQ is some kind of surreal labyrinth tower out of The Matrix. A random receptionist can handle herself like James Bond in a car chase, for reasons that are [handwaved in a gag].

VII

So. Yes. There is the sequence in the third act where Ken takes over Barbieland with the power of patriarchy. This is pretty much as bad as it can be. And I say this as someone who thinks that the movie probably did actually need a plot thread doing roughly that kind of thing.

Almost as bad as it can be. The wannabe-patriarch Kens are gleefully goofy in a way that you can't help but love, or at least, I couldn't help but love it. Which has something to do with the writing and something to do with the charisma of all the Ken actors. The main Ken, Ryan Gosling's Ken, really seems to believe that being a successful patriarch has a lot to do with riding majestic horses and wearing a giant fur coat without a shirt, and when he takes over Barbie's Dream House he names it Ken's Mojo Dojo Casa House -- that kind of thing.

But. Apart from that, it's real unfortunate. The justification for Ken's ability to conquer Barbieland with patriarchy, instantly and effortlessly, is -- in almost so many words -- they had no defenses against it, it was like the American Indians encountering smallpox. I...don't think I need to spell out the problems with that.

Worse yet, the whole sequence is soaked in, uh, let's call it "2014-era upper-middle-class social-status-oriented feminism." The real bad behavior on the part of the Kens, the stuff they do when they're not being adorably weird, is: mansplaining their extensive opinions about cars and movies, and wanting to show off how helpful and knowledgeable they are to "damsels" who are having trouble using machines or computers. Apparently that's the real problem at hand, the causus belli of the gender wars. The way that you deprogram a patriarchy-brainwashed Barbie is by...ranting to her about the stereotypical social irritations of upper-middle-class women (e.g. "you have to keep yourself thin but not act like you care about being thin," "you have to be a confident leader but also be nurturing and supportive," etc.) [note that the Barbies of Barbieland have never encountered these irritations, at least not at the hands of men]. And the girlboss victory montage consists of having the Barbies put on deceptive manipulative bimbo acts to stroke the Kens' egos, which sure is one way to depict girlboss feminist victory.

But the most unforgivable thing of all is the depiction of the patriarchy-brainwashed Barbies. They're lad-magazine caricatures, endlessly offering their Kens "brewski beers," dressing up as French maids, gazing on in cow-eyed adoration as their Kens mansplain stuff to them.

Barbie does, in fact, have a problematic history with the patriarchy. And it does not look like that.

VIII

@brazenautomaton:

Barbie isn’t someone who had to fight through the patriarchy to be seen as good enough to be an astronaut even though she’s a woman. Barbie’s a fucking astronaut because she’s fucking Barbie of course she’s good enough to be an astronaut.

That is...one aspect of the deep Barbie lore. It is the Barbie-nature that Mattel was trying to push, as far back as my own childhood; it's certainly the Barbie-nature that Mattel is trying to push in this movie. But there is another side to Barbie, even older and even more fundamental than Senator Astronaut Veterinarian Barbie, and you can't make a postmodern movie-about-Barbie without addressing it.

This is Barbie the fashion doll. The Barbie who is an icon of ultra-consumerist teenage girlhood, whose life is defined by her fancy clothes and her fancy car. The Barbie whose most salient traits are her hourglass figure and her long blonde hair and her feet that are always posed to fit into high heels. The Barbie of "math class is tough!" The Barbie who is kinda vapid and shallow and, yes, boy-crazy.

How can you tell a story about Barbie wrestling with the culture of patriarchy, and not talk about that? How can you depict Barbie falling victim to the patriarchy and have it look nothing like that?

...the movie does bring up the specter of Vapid Consumerist Barbie, briefly. When Margot Robbie's Barbie first comes to the real world and meets with the sullen teenage daughter character, she has a litany of That Thing thrown in her face, and it makes her sad. But nothing is ever done with it, and it goes nowhere.

And it could all have fit together so well. That's the hell of it.

You can imagine the version of the story in which Ken conquers Barbieland with patriarchy, because the Barbies are actually vulnerable to patriarchal narratives, because Vapid Consumerist Barbie is the chthonic serpent that gnaws at the foundations of Senator Astronaut Veterinarian Barbie civilization. He successfully makes them all forget that they're senators and astronauts and veterinarians, and turns them into airheaded teenage fashionistas who think that math class is tough.

And this avails him, and the other Kens, nothing. Even within the "patriarchal" version of Barbieland, Ken is still an afterthought and an appendage. He still gets treated like dogshit, just in a different idiom.

Because the thing that has always been true of Barbie, though every age and every phase of her mythos, is: she is the main character of her own story.

This is what the movie was telling us all the way back in the horrific 2001-pastiche prologue, right? Even when Barbie was just a swimsuit model, the point was that she let girls tell stories about themselves (or idealized/aspirational versions of themselves), not about boys or babies. That is a truer, and more powerful, feminist message about the meaning of Barbie than any message the movie actually bothers conveying.

The gag scene practically writes itself: the brainwashed Barbies are sitting around in a giggly slumber-party huddle talking about how dreamy Ken is, and actual Ken cannot get a word in edgewise, he can't even get them to notice he's there, because even Vapid Consumerist Barbie is fundamentally centered in her own life. Her narrative is not about a boy, it's about the experience of being a girl (mostly engaging with other girls) who likes thinking and talking about boys. Which is very much beside the point, if you started out with the complaint that your girlfriend never paid any attention to you.

Patriarchy hurts men too, indeed.

The movie ends, as I've intimated, in a disappointing squidge of thematic confusion. Barbie announces that she never really loved Ken, and leaves him, because...well, because these days the smart-set target audience is allergic to romantic narratives that Produce the Couple, as far as I can tell. Then she goes to the real world and becomes a real girl, a move that means nothing and is nonsensical even by the standards of the Barbie metaphysics, because the storytellers don't know how to end her arc and Becoming a Real Girl is the sort of thing that feels like a meaningful conclusion.

The Kens...sigh...the Kens ask for equal rights in Barbieland, more or less, and get told, "nah, but we'll throw you some bones." And they're happy with this, more or less, because they're dumb and don't really care. The narrator says, approximately, "maybe someday they'll make as much progress as women have in the real world." Haw haw.

It's probably too much to hope for a movie like this to be willing to say something substantive about responsibility and kindness in relationships. It's almost certainly too much to hope for a movie like this to be willing to say something about the nature of love symbols and love narratives. But all the pieces really were there, laid out very conspicuously. The movie could have wrapped up with: Ken doesn't need to be more important than Barbie, he doesn't even need to be as important as Barbie, he just needs to be treated with human decency. And if little girls are going to play with Barbies, and fantasize about having cute guys hanging all over them -- maybe they should have functional models of romance and human connection in which to root their fantasies, and not terrible ones.

#media analysis #barbie

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thatonecrookedsmile · 5 months

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You will acept your fate... Before the end..

------

Without much creativity to come up with a good line/phrase. I had to improvise.

It's been exactly 1 year since Bendy and the Dark Revival released...jeez. Already? I'm telling you, time doesn't make sense anymore, everything is going slower and faster at the same time. It's crazy!

I was in the middle of drawing something more specific for the anniversary but…I didn't finish it lol. Like always! But I have this prompt that I finished a few days ago and that I was hoping to post along with 2 more drawings. But I think today is a more ideal day to post this.

So as a anniversary present I give you guys…Angst™. With the boys. Very ideal.

I remember having another idea for this prompt but the current idea popped into my head so I decided to abandon the previous one. I found it more interesting. A "What-if" idea I had at the time the game launched partially inspired by something specific I thought about these two. Based so much on what I've seen and read about these ink creatures, and on the general idea of "2 minds in one".

I confess that in the end I started to question whether this is the way I see the relationship between these 2 and all this business of "two in one package" that they have. And I still don't know if this is really my vision. I just had a drawing idea that I thought was cool and I just stuck with it until the end. I didn't have many second thoughts until I got to the finish line.

Changing the subject: The anniversary.

I can't believe it's been 1 year since this game came out. The time flies! Good to know this finally released after 3 years.

I don't think I've ever talked abouy my thought on the game before,or at least,not the game as a whole. I wanted to leave this for the specific anniversary drawing, but hey. Why not here?

In short: I really liked it! I've been waiting for this game for a good while so when we finally got that final trailer last year, you could say I was pretty excited for the next 2 weeks until release. I don't know if I knew exactly what to expect from this game, and there's always that fear that I won't end up liking what I play when it released. But I really liked it! Loved it, I would say. I had a lot of fun and I believe I can say that, in general, I had a pretty positive experience with it.

Of course, I have my own grievances and complaints about some things in the game (some probably talked about here on Tumblr and others not) that I would like to see improved for next game,The Cage. But even with these complaints in mind, I wouldn't say that it took away my enjoyment of this game. Especially considering that the positive points (or at least what I consider positive in my opinion) for me, prevail over the negative ones.

At the end? Yeah, I really liked Bendy and the Dark Revival. Happy to see it finally released and be able to play it. I personally believe that we are in a good direction when it comes to the games, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Happy 1 year anniversary BATDR! And happy birthday to both Little Guy and Big Guy (Little Bendy and the new Ink Demon,respectively).

Love you both.

#Sorry for the length of this post; I just had a lot to say lmao #batdr #bendy and the dark revival #batim #bendy and the ink machine #dapper bendy #cartoon bendy #the ink demon #crookedsmileart #at the end of the day I would say I like both BATIM and BATDR equally #And of course I keep Ink Machine close to my heart; without a doubt #Game changed me #but there's something about Dark Revival that I really love; you know?#Which makes me; on the other hand; say that I like DR more than IM #something that after 1 year I don't know would it be a hot or cold take here on this site lmao #but yeah #big fan of these games #looking foward for The Cage

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musingsofalovelymillenial · 2 months

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Non and Kru Keng!

Dead Friend Forever Ep 7 - extended opinion ( long-ish post)

Trigger Warnings : Sexual abuse, sexual coercion, grooming, etc.

Since episode 7 aired I have been appalled at the number of posts I have seen regarding Non and Keng and Non’s behavior. Before I dive into ( and yes this is me letting out my anger regarding things I have seen) I want to provide some background that is also a basis for my personal opinion. I also want to state that while I truly believe everyone is titled to their own opinion there are certain things that are wrong and should not be romanticized/glossed over.

My professional background is in psychology, social work and human service ( dealing with abuse and domestic violence)

My personal background also makes what is happening to Non even harder to watch. Episodes 5, 6 and 7 took me a while to get through and resulted honestly in needing to detach for a while. I grew up attending middle school and high school in an area where most of the students attending my schools were wealthy. During that time I and my friends experienced severe bullying for being poor and for not living the way everyone else did. For context we lived 20 minutes away from our school where almost everyone lived surrounding the school and we lived in a trailer park and even though our bus was overcrowded all the trailer park children rode one bus. We as a group were constantly in trouble even when we did nothing wrong, our vice principal called us trailer trash to our faces on our bus and the kids at school were cruel and treated us like we were disgusting and not good enough. When we were “lucky” enough to be invited to their houses we were watched more than the other kids and we were not treated the same way by the parents compared to their fellow friends from the same income level. We were taught by everyone around us that we should be and were inferior ( we were not!). During this time there was also one of my bullies who everyday would not only verbally harass me but sexually harass me at my locker and the worst part at the time was that there were either the kids that ignored that it was happening or the kids who laughed. I can't speak for my few friends at the time but what made all this worse was because school was not the only place I had problems. At home my father was an alcoholic and on any given day my house was a cocktail mixture of verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and domestic violence. After a while I not only started feeling sick a lot but I eventually stopped going to school and would stay home “sick” to avoid school ( both my parents worked so I would be alone during the day). Around this time was really when I developed anxiety, depression and for the first time battled with suicidal thoughts. This went on for a long time. When things finally had their culminating point of me finally opening up at least about what was happening at school. My mom was the first person to ask me and later as an adult in therapy my therapist also asked why did I never tell anyone what was happening to me? The answer was truly simple, complex but simple. I did not want to burden anyone. I told my mom she already dealt with so much because of my father and how he treated us that I did not want to add one more burden to her already full plate. I felt that if I could just handle it on my own it would be fine, eventually it would stop or these people who were cruel would just give up. I also felt ashamed and disgusted by what was happening. I also told my therapist (as an adult looking back on that time) that why would I tell anyone when the kids in the hallway made it clear they did not care and the adults ( teachers and office staff) who I should have been able to trust made it clear they did not like us either simply because of where we live and our income level.

Now back to Dead Friend Forever

Here are the definitions for Abuse of Power, Sexual Coercion and Grooming.

Abuse of power is when someone misuses their authority or higher position in a hierarchy to take advantage of, coerce or harm other people. And it can lead to different types of abuse, such as psychological, physical, financial and sexual abuse.

Sexual coercion is using pressure or influence to get someone to agree to sex. People can knowingly coerce others into sex, such as learning manipulative pick-up artist strategies, or unknowingly, such as assuming the other person is OK when they're not.

Grooming is a tactic where someone methodically builds a trusting relationship with a child or young adult, their family, and community to manipulate, coerce, or force the child or young adult to engage in sexual activities.

More information about grooming:

Because they were groomed, children and teens who were abused often feel that they were in some way responsible for the abuse. This is especially true for teens who feel that they went into the situation willingly and thus in some way it was their fault. This shame and guilt then prevents them from reporting, as they fear that no one will believe them. In fact, many teens who have been groomed are confused as to whether what happened to them actually constituted abuse as it didn’t follow the stereotypical pattern of a violent rape. In many cases this confusion can prevent or delay reporting for many years.

Non was groomed and then sexually assaulted regardless whether it seemed like he consented. Let me say it louder for the people in the back!

Kru Keng sexually assaulted Non! He did not ”cheat” on Phee. Did he lie to Phee yes, but he did not cheat in the stereotypically what we as a society view cheating.

the signs or steps of grooming with examples from the episode:

Make you feel like you owe them. Because you are in a relationship, because you’ve had sex before or because they give/spend money on you or because you go home with them they are owed for these behaviors.

We see Keng offer Non a ride home and he then offers him money to get out of his situation. We don’t see him doing these things with other students.

Victim Selection: abusers often observe possible victims and select them based on ease of access to them or their perceived vulnerability.

Keng clocks that Non is vulnerable the first time he is in the study class and even looks back at him after scolding Top and asking Non for his name. We see this through the several times he brings up how Non is having friend problems or how he doesn't want to work with Tee, and Non unfortunately mentions how just knowing someone cares makes him feel better which makes Keng even more aware of how alone Non seems to be.

Gaining access and isolating the victim: abusers will attempt to physically or emotionally separate a victim from those protecting them and often seek out positions in which they have contact with minors.

Keng has perfect access as a math tutor/teacher to have contact with minors. Also he always has Non come to his office or meet him alone despite the fact that his office is in a seemingly more isolated place than the classrooms.

Trust development and keeping secrets: abusers attempt to gain trust of victims through gifts, sharing secrets, etc.

Keng not only praises Non as a student but also then tells him things like I want to help you anyway I can, I noticed that you are sad, I can give you money to help you because I view you like a brother, I now know your secret regarding Tee and the money so I am someone you can trust.

Desensitization to touch : abusers will often start to touch a victim in ways that appear harmless and later escalate to increasingly more sexual contact.

Keng touches Non’s shoulder seemingly to comfort him, the next time he is holding his hand, then he is holding his hand on his knee and rubbing the back of his hand. All these on their own could be innocent and seem like comfort or being friendly. Until Keng kisses Non crossing that line and leading directly to assaulting him.

Attempt by abusers to make their behavior seem natural: to avoid raising suspicions. For teens who may be particularly close in age to the abuser it can be hard to recognize grooming tactics.

I feel for Non because we see how he is not happy and is actually crying when he hugs Phee the first time when Keng kisses him and then we see him come down to meet Phee. Also Non is trapped in a situation where he is being manipulated and being taken advantage of and sees little to no way out of this financial mess with the money laundering. We, as an audience, saw the fight with his family after where his mother says she is embarrassed because of him and says to Non’s father that if he weren’t a loser then Non wouldn’t be one too. Non very much is receiving a message whether she meant it or not because emotions were high is irrelevant. Non is receiving the message that he is a burden and an embarrassment. Non is aware of his family's financial situation as well. We see him say it to Phee several times about how he wants to solve his own problems and he does not want to burden people. I do not think Non lied to Phee because he wanted to, I think he did it because not only would it put another thing on Phee’s shoulders after he already went to his dad once for Non but also puts Non in a vulnerable position. I personally was asked many times by people oh are you okay? Are you sure everything is good because you look upset? And everytime I lied because I didn't want to be a burden but I also never wanted to look at myself as a victim or admit that I was a victim because that bit of fragile control on my life was one of the only things I could control. And as an adult I have had the chance to talk to some people I knew at the time and they all told me they knew I was lying about being okay or even though I cried and then would say I was fine, I wasn’t. But they all felt like if they pushed me to talk I would never tell them and my one friend said point blank at least I could make you forget about it for a while even if I didn’t really know what you wanted a distraction from. I 100% feel this is exactly what is Non’s perspective. He cannot control how Por, Tee, Top, Fluke and even Jin treat him. He cannot control how his parents view him. He cannot control Phee or Phee’s decisions to love or help him. He cannot control Keng. He cannot take back getting involved with Tee and the money laundering or the consequences of that. What Non can control is how he feels or what he takes control of. Non can control whether he views himself as a victim. He can also control whether he finishes the movie that he wrote the script for. The movie and script are something he did, they come from him and are something at the end of the day regardless of anyone else he Non can be proud of. I think while we may not view his staying with the group healthy and it's not, or his lying to Phee about things that are happening good cause it’s not; it makes sense to Non. Because again he is a teenager who is vulnerable and easily exploitable and has very little control and teenagers whose brains are not fully developed are making not only decisions they think are best or worst at the time but also making decisions based on what they know at that moment. Seeing people who are watching this show and who are hating on Non or do not understand what happened between Non and Keng infuriate me. Should we all feel bad for Phee? Yes. He wants to be there for Non, he loves him and wants to care , on top of knowing that Non is being bullied and seeing what Keng did has to be heartbreaking and frustrating. Also without context to their conversations Phee as a fellow teenager may not be aware or understand fully what Keng did to Non is not on Non.

You can feel bad for Phee without victim blaming Non.

Non made poor choices regarding his trust with Phee or his ability to trust Phee but none of those things mean that he deserved what happened or that because it seems like he consented that it is all just fine and he cheated on Phee and had sex with Keng.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!!

#dead friend forever #dff the series #barcode tinnasit #be on cloud #copper phuriwat #dff spoilers #fuaiz thanawat #jj chalach #jjay patiphan #mio athens #bl series #ta nannakun #bump pawat #jet jetsadakorn #us nititorn #pheenon #dead friend forever the series #dff

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hoeforhao · 7 months

Note

may i request “How do you feel about two at once?” w/ joshua and vernon 😩

this american duo concept has been tickling the right parts of my brain for real! That is the sole reason why I want to make it into a full blown oneshot and not just a drabble!!!

۫ 𓈒 ✸ Whipped Cream Cloud ✸ ۫ 𓈒

✸pairing: joshua × fem!reader x vernon

✸warnings: filthy smut, minors dni 🔞, threesome, sub vernon, dom joshua, oral (both f and m), edging, overstimulation, double penetration, ass fuck. I'll add more if I miss any in the main fic!

✸author's note: am not very sure about the concept I've tried this time so releasing just the trailer to test the grounds.

Enjoy the teaser hehe ;))

"Wanna join us tonight Sol?" putting your feet to the gas pedal, you peek your head slightly out through the rolled down glass, to flash Vernon with a inviting smirk who was standing like a npc on the porch of your boyfriend's house.

Your eyes could only manage to register a nod from the side view mirror as you drive off to your place, leaving the youngest stationary on the grass, his cheeks heating up from the mere thought of all the wishes you two were about to grant him.

Vernon Chwe or as he liked to call himself, Hansol Vernon Chwe was your boyfriend Joshua's younger brother, more appropriately his stepbrother ; someone who has recently experienced the worst heartbreak he could've ever imagined when his 7 year long girlfriend broke up with him. Now everyone would normally think that one must be completely out of their mind to leave this perfect of a man - be it the greek godlike features or his absolute gentle and sweet demeanor, he was the best dessert platter a girl could ever lay their eyes on. Except...

You have always been quite close with Vernon, trying to be that 'your brother's girlfriend who's now your bestfriend' type, so when he broke the news to you first, you were quite taken aback as to what did he lack for her to cut it off. But when he spilled out the actual reason why he had to dust his hands off of such a longtime relationship, the first thing that came to your mind was " There's no way a boy with such a well built and tempting body IS BAD IN BED "

The question constantly kept on eating your brains out as you literally refused to believe that JOSHUA'S BROTHER, YOUR OWN BESTFRIEND, was a loser when it came to taking action between a woman's legs. It was a matter of family reputation afterall and there was no way you were gonna let such a small solvable thing taint it. So when you started noticing Vernon's lingering gazes on you whenever his brother was being touchy with you or his eyes travelling down your cleavage everytime you wore a deep cut blouse around the boys or when that time you accidentally overheard him moaning your name while trying to get himself off in the washroom after you came to the Chwe's family dinner in the most eliciting maroon slip dress he has ever seen a lady in...you decided to talk to your boyfriend about an all benefited way out.

But Joshua was one step ahead as always. Not being ignorant of his younger brother's continous dotings on you, nor of all the flirty teasing looks you gave the boy while slyly grinding your body on his, making it look like a mere accident always...he has already deviced something that would cater to the needs of all three.

"Baby?" Joshua calls out to you while being was fully drowned into your sweet pheromones, mouth and lips too busy in lapping up each and every bend of your slicked folds to give out full sentences. "Hmm?" is all that leaves your throat as you were too occupied with taking in the pleasure your pussy drunk boyfriend was giving.

"How do you feel about two at once baby? Do you think it would be a bad idea if we umm you know teach Sol the ways with women's pleasure, so that the poor boy's heart is never broken just because his dick doesn't know how to navigate through the walls of a needy cunt?

Joshua's face slowly emerges up from between your thighs, chin coated with the already leaking juices as he finally settles himself comfortably on the bed, fingers refusing to leave the warmth of your core yet, while his bambi eyes look at you like a child pleading for his wish to be granted.

"Have you ever had any bad idea, baby!"you mentally rejoiced over the fact that your boyfriend kept front the proposal you were yourself waiting to bring up but shying away from as it had sort of a sibling pride attached to it.

A low chuckle is all that is heard from Joshua on your acceptive reply as he instantly dives back into his abode, back to riling up your insides to the very edge , while a scheming smile creeps up on your face at the thought of everything you were gonna do to that vulnerable boy.

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thefatedthoughtofyou · 1 year

Text

You Had A Bad Day ( You've Seen What You Like )

Summary: Reader has a bad day, and goes to her best friends to make it better.

Steddie x pluz size fem!reader, friends to lovers, inexperienced reader, touch starved reader, no use of Y/N (we don't do that in this house), but definite use of pet names, these boys are ridiculous, use of "girl" and feminine pronouns, not an over abundance but they are there! Mentions of slight anger issues, volume control issues, and self esteem issues, all on the readers part.

This is literally only the second x reader fic I've ever written please be gentle!

Enjoy!!! I hope you're all having good days, but just in case, have this! *smooches you*

~°~°~

Your day had been... shit. That's what it had been. Just shit. And nothing new had really happened. Just the same old shit at work, always having to clean up everyone's mess before you could start your own work for the day. Just an endless cycle, day after day.

You clock out, head home, take a shower, throw on your pajamas, and head to see your boys.

They weren't... your boys.. technically. You all were just friends. Steve and Eddie were each others boys, and you were their friend, their best friend, their third wheel who some would say was maybe a little too close to both of them. But you loved them, both. And they both loved you. You were their girl.

And if in your heart of hearts you wanted more, well, no one needed to know that besides you.

Your stomach turned at the thought of them finding out. That you loved them both. A lot more than friends. Afraid they'd judge you, even though you knew, in the logical part of your brain, that they wouldn't. Ever.

You park your car next to Eddie's van and stomp up the steps of the trailer, ignoring the squeak they let out as you pass over them. The doors unlocked so you walk in, like always. Sighing deeply as the door shuts behind you, already feeling calmer. They both look from the tv to you, their heads moving in synch.

"Can I use your bedroom?" You grumble, shrugging out of your jacket and kicking your shoes off to join theirs in a pile on the floor. Eddie's face brightens as Steve frowns.

"Course you can!" Eddie makes to stand. And you know he's gonna come and hug you, and you want it, but you wanna lay in bed more. So you head straight to his room and fall on his bed with a grunt. Your face shoved into his pillow as you move around a bit, trying to get comfy. You settle on your side with a huff, and feel eyes on you.

Steve and Eddie are standing in the doorway, arms crossed, bothing giving you sympathetic looks.

"Bad day?" Steve asks, already moving toward you, he crouches by the bed, rests his hand on your shoulder. You nod, face still scrunched in a frown, you feel like you've been frowning all day.

"Did you eat yet?" He asks, his fingers moving gently through your hair. You shake your head, and Steve gives you a nod, pushes himself to his feet.

"I'll be back." He ruffles your hair and is gone again. And you... you don't know how he does it.

Because usually when people mention food around you, you immediately feel self-conscious, years of your mothers comments running through your head, but they way Steve asks, always, is full of concern, like he wants to make sure you're eating, not telling you you should be eating less.

"Need some love babe?" Eddie's voice cuts through your thoughts and you look at him, thinking, if he only knew. But you nod, once, still frowning. He claps his hands together once and rubs them together.

"Can do. Cuddles imminent. In three... two... one." His voice robotic as he walked toward you and then threw hismelf onto the bed, you rolled towards him, tried to hold yourself back but he grabbed you, curled himself around you, giving you a squeeze.

"Nuh uh. You're not gettin away I just landed!" He shouted, wiggling as he shook you in his arms. You determinedly keep the frown on your face, eyebrows knitted together as he lets you go, so you can turn and face him. He sees your frown and pouts at you dramatically.

"Wanna talk about it?" He ask, booping your nose gently with his finger, you scrunch your face but don't smile.

"Nothing to say really. Same shit." You sigh shake your head. He nods, snuggles closer, moving to put his arm under your head so he can get in your space better. You sigh, fingers picking at the sheets between you.

"I just get so angry. And upset. And then I feel like an idiot because no one else is upset. Or cares? And I'm just there seething and full of rage." You huff, frowning at him. He smiles brightly, moves his hand up again and presses two fingers between your eyebrows, trying to sooth the frown, you bite your lip, fighting a smile.

"But that's just how we like you sweetheart. Seething and full of rage. I'm gonna write a song about you, call it that." He smiles again, his fingers dancing over your face gently before he moves again and takes your hand when you growl at him.

"But I get it. It sucks when your emotions are big like that. But the way I see it, and Steve too, it just means you care. And maybe you care too much, at your job at least, cuz that's never gonna fuckin change right?" He scoffs.

"If anything it just gets worse." You grumble. He nods.

"Exactly. But outside of work, when you're with us, or the kids, we like it. You're so emotive, and I mean shit, you and Dustin get together and it's like a full on shouting match, whether you guys are mad or not." He laughs, your cheeks flush. You have volume control issues, that's... definitely a thing, you groan and hide your face in his arm.

"Hey no! It's a good thing!" He laughs, cups your cheek to get your attention, and then you're staring at him, eyes wide, as he blinks at you, soft smile on his lips as his eyes flick to your mouth and then back, his tongue running along his lips he looks at you. You stare for a second longer and look away, rolling to lay on your back with a sigh.

"Yeah. I guess." You say, you wish you could see yourself the way Eddie does, or Steve, or all your friends. You feel Eddie press close again, his hand settles on your arm, warm and steady as he touches you.

"Want me to go set it on fire? So you don't have to go back for a few days?" Eddie asks, he's so close to you, whispering in your ear, and normally that would make you flush, or lose your train of thought, but his words make you laugh, loud and bright. It bursts out of you, and then you snort and grimace, but you're still chuckling when you look back at Eddie, he's still smiling. His head resting on his hand, he's up on his elbow now, looking down at you, his eyes so fucking fond.

"There she is! Welcome back sweetcheeks!" He says, poking your warm cheek and then pressing a kiss to it.

The air in the room changes, he pulls back, but not far, his breath warm on your face as he looks down at you, eyes hooded, his hand moves up your arm, your skin tingling under his touch, his hand warm through your shirt. Your breathing is shakey as his hand moves further, cups your cheek, his thumb moving over your skin slowly. Your breath catches in your throat when his eyes linger on your mouth. Your brow furrows, you're frowning again, this isn't... he can't be.

"Eddie?" You breathe, at the same time he says,

"Can I kiss you?"

You blink at him, sure he can't have just asked you that, he's with... with Steve. But he's looking at you, his hand still on your face, his thumb moving over your bottom lip now as your heart pounds.

"You- what? What about Steve?" You stammer, licking your lips, your breath faltering again as Eddie tracks the movement.

"Hmm?" Eddie hums, his teeth digging into his lip as he stares at you, you know that look, he's only half paying attention, lost in a day dream. You gulp, he's lost in a daydream while staring at your mouth, his thumb pressed into your lip now, softly, but the pressure is intoxicating.

"St- Steve. What about Steve?" You repeat, weakly. Eddie blinks, looking at your eyes again.

"Oh. Yeah. You can kiss him too." His voice is floaty, like he's still not completely paying attention to your concerns, your heart pounds harder at his words.

"What?" You grab his wrist, tug his hand away from your face and he blinks quickly, coming back to himself.

"What?" He asks, trying to look innocent.

"I can kiss him too?" You repeat his words, pointedly, squeezing his wrist tightly. He nods, once, and fucking shrugs again.

"Yeah. See?" He turns to look toward the door.

"Hey Steve! She can kiss you too, right?" He calls, both of you looking at the ceiling as you hear something fall in the kitchen, you glance at Eddie, he closes his eyes, holds up his finger, nods.

"Uuhh..." Steve's voice floats down the hall, you can hear footsteps,

"Yeaaah." Steve's voice again, closer now. He steps into the doorway, face amused as he looks at you and Eddie. Eddie still towering over you, more so now, he's propped up on his hand, his other hand still in your grasp, resting on your stomach as you gape at them. Steve leans against the door frame, smiling now as he gives Eddie a look.

"You jumped the gun on that a bit, don't you think?" Steve asks, cocking his head to the side. Eddie groans next to you, drops his head back.

"Maybe! The forth of July is so far awaayyy." He whines, looking at Steve with big eyes. Steve laughs, shakes his head. Your heart pounds in your ears as you look between them both, you're... so confused. Steve points between the two of you,

"Pause this conversation. I'm gonna go turn the oven off." He says, sounding so much like a mom. And though you're so fucking confused, pretty sure you might actually be dreaming, because what's happening can't be real, you and Eddie both freeze, like always when Steve tells you to pause. You glance at each other, both of your mouths are open, like you'd frozen in the middle of speaking.

You both start grinning, trying not to laugh.

"You can move idiots!" Steve calls from the kitchen. You and Eddie both break at the same time, laughing and falling into each other. You notice you're still holding his hand against your stomach and let him go quickly, looking away.

"Sorry." You mumble, but he doesn't move his hand, drums his fingers against your stomach until you look down, looking at his hand resting there, your cheeks flushing, not wanting him to touch your stomach. Not that he can't see it. But him touching is different. You push his hand away, move it to the bed next to you. He tilts his head, but keeps his hand where you put it. He opens his mouth, brow furrowed, like he wants to say something, but Steve walks back in with a clap of his hands, settling them on his hips as he looks at you both.

"Okay! Let's talk." He says, sounding... chipper. You and Eddie share a look and then snort at him.

"Wow." You say, an over impressed tone in your voice.

"Steve what the hell? How is that romantic?" Eddie asks, shaking his head, dropping it into his hands. You finally sit up, groaning as you almost tumble to the side, Eddie catches you and holds you steady before letting you go again.

"Romantic? You yelled down the hall to me Munson!" Steve huffs, his thumb pointing over his shoudler. Eddie makes a face, then shrugs. You laugh, they're so stupid.

"He was doing okay before that." You mumble, fingers clenching in the sheets, then letting go.

"Oh yeah?" Steve asks, his voice dropping, making your head feel fuzzy as he looks at you. He looks... hungry. He walks toward the bed and sits next you, you try to make room for him and find yourself pressed against Eddie, who doesn't move.

You look over your shoulder at him, find him smiling sweetly at you.

"Hi." He says, his teeth digging into his lip again as he rests his hand on your shoulder, fingers pressing into your soft skin through your shirt. You're about to say hello back when you feel a hand on your knee, Steve.

You look back to him, your head spinning as you realize you're trapped between them. Though you know trapped is a strong word, they'd never make you do anything you didn't want to, and you know they'd let you up if you wanted.

"You wanna kiss me?" You blurt, looking at Steve like he's lost his mind. He laughs, squeezes your knee, leans forward, his eyes dropping to your lips.

"Yeah. We do." He emphasizes the 'we' as Eddie drops his chin on your shoulder, plastering himself against your back, his arms snake around you, hands hovering in front of your stomach before he rests them on your thighs. The touch makes you jump, but most touches do, you're not used to being touched, not used to people wanting to touch you.

"But I- I mean really? Me?" You ask, your hands shaking.

"Yes. You." Eddie breathes into your shoulder, moving to press his lips against your shirt. Your heart flutters. Steve moves his thumb slowly over your knee.

"But I- wait what was that about the fourth of july?" You ask, getting side tracked, but they both chuckle.

"We had a plan." Steve says.

"Steve had a plan. I thought we should just ask you during movie night." Eddie noses into your neck, making you whimper, he moves his hands up then, pressing his palms to your stomach and then wrapping his arms around you. You shift a little, clearly uncomfortable.

"I'm not letting go this time." Eddie whispers, then stills.

"Unless you really want me too." He says, his arms start to let you go and you grab them, haulting their retreat.

"No! I- I mean no, it's... it's nice." You look into your lap but feel him smile into your neck as he nuzzles closer.

"Anyway. My plan was to ask you at the carnival. But someone, couldn't wait I guess." He huffs, rolling his eyes at Eddie. You snort, patting his arm.

"I have no regrets." He says, sounding absolutely sincere.

"Well, maybe one." He whispers, one hand moving up your side, settling over your cheek, turning your head to look at him.

"What? What one?" You ask, shivering when you feel Steve press closer, his chest pressing against your side as Eddie looks into your eyes.

"I shoulda just kissed you earlier. Yelling at Steve ruined the mood." He sighs, licking his lips.

"Wow rude." Steve breathes into your shoulder, pressing a kiss there as Eddie moves his thumb over your lip again.

"She was so concerned about you babe. Didn't want me hurting you. Isn't that right?" He's staring at your mouth again, you're pretty sure your lungs have given up at this point, you feel lightheaded and overwhelmed and you never want it to stop.

"Aww. Really? That's so sweet of you babygirl. To be so concerned for me. But it wouldn't hurt me. I want this too. Want you too." Steve drags his nose across the skin of your neck, pressing a kiss behind your ear, your body feels like it's on fire, pressed between Steve and Eddie, both of them... wanting you. Eddie's thumb presses into your lip, harder this time, drawing your attention, you swallow thickly.

"Is this really happening?" You breathe, hands shaking where they're holding Eddie's arm around your middle, your fingers clutching him tight. He nods, still staring at you, you feel Steve nod, then feel his hand move up your arm to rest on your neck, his thumb soothing the skin under your ear.

"It's real." Eddie breathes, moving closer.

"We want you. Is that okay sweetheart? You wanna be with us?" He asks, his breath warm as it hits your face.

"We see the way you look us. We're not stupid. Or blind." Steve says, his lips brushing your skin again.

"I don't think your st- I mean I wasn't- I'm sorry." You're not sure what to focus on. But the thought of them noticing you looking at them that way makes your stomach flip, though your current situation certainly suggests they didn't mind it too much.

"You don't have to be sorry honey." Eddie whispers, smiling at you, his thumb dragging your lip down before he releases it. You whine in your throat, looking at him with wide eyes, your heart pounding in your chest.

"We liked it. We like you. Obviously." Steve says, chuckling into your neck, pulling you closer to him, away from Eddie, but Eddie follows, leans after you, still cupping your cheek. You shiver again, so much attention on you, their attention on you, making you warm all over.

"W- I like you too. Obviously." You echo Steve's phrasing, rolling your eyes, exasperated, feeling a little out of control. Eddie laughs, deep in his throat.

"I'm gonna kiss you now." He whispers, licking his lips again, eyes on your mouth.

"And I'm gonna kiss you next." Steve whispers, making you laugh, light and airy, a little manic sounding, as Eddie closes the distance, presses his lips to yours.

You sigh into it, whining again when Eddie's tongue runs across your bottom lip, at the same time Steve presses his lips against your throat. Steve opens his mouth, licks at your skin, making you gasp. Eddie takes advantage of your suprise, tilts your head just so and slips his tongue in your mouth, running it over your teeth as you moan, exploring.

Eddie pulls back, rests his head against yours, letting you catch your breath. A task nearly impossible with Steve mouthing at your throat, his hand on the other side of it tugging you closer, his other hand has moved around your waist, his fingers digging into your soft stomach, like he needs you closer.

"Eddie." You breath, he smiles, kisses you again, soft and sweet. And then he's gone, his mouth moving down you cheek to your neck, Steve's hand moving up your neck to turn your head towards him. You're panting as you look at him, your body thrumming with a heat and energy you've never felt so intensely before.

"Hi there." He says, a smirk on his lips as he looks at you.

"Hi." You sigh, already closing your eyes as he leans in. His lips are warm, and wet from the attention he'd been showing your neck. You whimper again, overly conscious of the fact that maybe you're doing it too much. But you can't really help it, the boys you've been in love with for years were both kissing you, and pulling you close. Both of their hands tugging at you, but it didn't feel like they were fighting over you, just, holding you, and needing you, in tandem.

"Steve." You breath it into his mouth, he smiles into yours, his hands moving to hold your face, pulling you closer, so he can kiss you deeper.

"He's got you princess. Don't worry. We won't let you fall apart." Eddie whispers, licking a long path up your neck and making you squirm, your hands tangled in the front of Steve's sweater as he pulls back, dips back in, kisses your bottom lip, sucks it between his, and then brushes his nose up yours. He rests his head against yours, his hands settling on your neck. Both of you panting into the space between you.

Eddie kisses back down your neck and then rests his chin on your shoulder again. His hand reaches out, grabbing at Steve.

Steve smiles, his lashes fluttering as he leans forward, kisses Eddie deeply as he hums against your back. You watch them kiss, until they part and look at you. You look away quickly, cheeks flushing impossibly deeper.

"Hey. It's okay." Steve's fingers under your chin bring your gaze back up to them.

"You're with us now. You can watch us whenever you want. Okay?" He says it so easy. You nod, feeling hot all over.

"C'mere." Eddie says, tugging you down onto the bed, melding himself against your back, nose pressed into your hairline as he nuzzles into your neck. Steve settles down in front of you, tangling your legs and resting his hand on your side. You squirm at the touch, somehow still feeling uncomfortable, after all that. Steve frowns, presses closer.

"You're ours now. We're gonna touch you. But only if you want us too. Is this okay?" He moves his thumb against the fold in your side, you squeeze your eyes shut.

"It is. Or I- I want it to be. It might take some getting used to." You open your eyes, squinting at Steve, and finding him smiling soflty.

"We can help you get used to it." He whispers, kisses the tip of your nose. Eddie snuggles closer, his arm wrapping around your side, hand settling on your stomach again.

"Be more than happy to. Looking forward to it, actually." Eddie whispers into your hair, presses kisses down the back of your neck until he's snuggled against you again. You chuckle, eyes on Steve, he smiles fondly.

"He gets clingy." Steve says, like it's a secret.

"Shut up Steve. I've been waiting to get in on this for fucking ever man. Let me have this." Eddie hisses over your shoulder.

"Yeah Steve. Let him have this." You huff, but there's a laugh bubbling in your throat. Steve scrunches his nose, snorts, and then curls closer, pressing close to your chest, resting his head on your shoulder.

Your hand twitches, you want to reach out, to touch him, but you're not sure. Steve notices, because of course he does. He takes your hand, presses a kiss to your palm.

"You can touch me. I want you to." Steve nods, lets his fingers slip away from yours and you move your hand over his shoulder, and then up into his hair, moving your fingertips over his scalp until he's humming happily, his eyes falling closed.

"Feeling better?" Eddie asks, kissing at your shoulder now. You nod, cover Eddie's hand on your stomach with your own.

"Yeah. One hundred percent. Best fucking day ever." You breathe, squeezing Eddie's hand as he laughs against your skin.

You lay there, warm, and comfortable, as they hold you. Steve falling asleep with your fingers in his hair, Eddie mouthing lazily at your shoulder. You close your eyes, trying to memorize the feeling of them around you, in case you open your eyes, or wake up, and it's all a dream.

But you know in your heart it's not, a dream that is, it's real, they're here, with you. Because they want to be, they want to be with you. You lay between them, cozy and calm, and happy.

Turns out they were your boys all along.

#steddie x reader #steddie x plus size reader #plus size reader #steve harrington x plus size reader #eddie munson x plus size reader #steddie x fem!reader #x reader fic #my writing #mine #my fic

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aloneinthehellfire · 3 months

Text

Chapter One: A New Friend, A New Enemy

The Pariahs That Saved The World (Masterlist)

Word Count: 5.1k

Warnings: mentions of death, canon descriptions (vecna's curse)

[A/N: Thank you to everyone who seems really excited about this! I am going to try and post for this one weekly, just so I have enough time between uni and work to write new chapters :) This one is a little long, but I needed to set up Reader's character a little more so enjoy!]

The Introduction <-

A New Friend, A New Enemy

“Y/n!”

You slip off your headphones and greet your grandmother with a smile, laughing when she squeezed you tight. It had been almost 8 months since you watched her wave her hand of farewell in the rear view mirror. You had missed her the most, you think. Her warm hugs, her calming perfume, the way she cared for you.

“Come on, I’ve made us some lunch.” She hurries you inside and you laugh again.

“I need to grab the rest of my things, first.” You shake your head in amusement, escaping her clutches and darting back to the taxi, thanking the man for pulling out your luggage.

Just as you hitch your duffel bag over your shoulder, your eyes catch something familiar a few houses down. A worn out and beaten Chevrolet sat abandoned outside of its former resident’s house, a white piece of paper resembling a ticket you had seen when the mechanics would return your property if not claimed. You could just make out the ‘for sale’ sign driven into the mud, your heart wrenching. You had hoped your return would be free from unwanted memories. That obviously didn’t exist in Hawkins.

“So, tell me everything. How’s Stanford?” Gran rushes through with excitement just as your feet are barely inside the door. “Oh, we are so proud of you, honey. Our little star, a Stanford journalist!”

“Gran, you know it’s only my first year, I haven’t even managed to write anything let alone publish it.” You say, following her with your bags. She was leading you up to the guest room. Well, technically, it was your room. You had never really accepted that.

“Oh, did you notice the Hargroves house is for sale?” She whispers out like an unspeakable secret, and you dump your bags on the floor.

“Yeah, I saw.” You try to remain emotionless, rolling your shoulder until the usual ache faded. You were used to it now, the muscles flaring up every now and then.

“Apparently- now, you didn’t hear it from me…” She starts to lean in and you suppress a smile. Your grandmother, the gossiper. “Apparently, the husband just took off.”

“What?” You suddenly gain interest, frowning.

“Oh, yeah. The end of last summer.” She nods knowingly. “Must have been hard for them after their son died. It was a tragedy. And that poor girl… Andrea down the road told me she and the mother were forced to move into the trailer park down by Kerley. Not fit for a child, if you ask me.”

“They obviously couldn’t afford anywhere else.” You say, mostly to yourself, and Gran simply hums in agreement.

“Oh, which reminds me, Melanie, the one with the bird nest hair, she…”

She begins rambling once again about the neighbourhood, obviously pleased to have her granddaughter back so she can share the gossip. You listened intently, nodding when you needed to, offering your own remarks when prompted. You loved your Gran. The thought of her being alone in this house affected you more than you realise.

The real reason you were back wasn’t because you had missed Hawkins. In fact, you were set on your Spring Break exploring Stanford and all it had to offer. But about two months ago, your grandad was omitted to the hospital and a week later, he was no longer with you. Your Gran had shared how his health had been deteriorating for a while now, that they had expected it sooner or later. So, in the end, it wasn’t a surprise. It didn’t make it any less sad.

“Should I be expecting guests for dinner?” She asks and you blink, frowning.

“Guests?”

“Your friends.” She reiterates, already busying her hands by pulling out your already folded clothes from your suitcase and refolding them how she liked it. “I assume everyone will be anxious to see you. It’s been eight months, hasn’t it?”

“Uh…” You purse your lips, shrugging. “I don’t know, I thought it could just be the two of us tonight.”

Gran gently places down a sweater and eyes you suspiciously. “So, you’ll be seeing them tomorrow?”

“Maybe.” You give off the first vague answer in your head, fiddling with the sleeves of your jacket and sitting down on the plush bedding behind you.

“Hm.” She sounds, sliding shut the first drawer before she silently walks around the bed and sits beside you. “You won’t be seeing them, will you?”

It wasn’t a question. You lift your eyes to meet hers and sigh.

“We aren’t as close as we were before, Gran. It’s… complicated.” You decide and she takes your hand in hers.

“You’ve known them since you were just a little sprout.” She ruffles your hair and you cringe, laughing and batting her hand away. “I’m sure whatever happened can’t be so complicated that you can’t… I don’t know, catch up over coffee? Or whatever you kids are doing these days.”

“I wish it was like that.” You say, and you meant it. After a moment, she seems to understand that you didn’t want to continue this particular conversation and she stands, brushing her outfit back into simple perfection.

“Well, sandwiches, anyone?” She offers and you grin, nodding.

The day before you left for Stanford, you were contemplating whether or not it was the right choice. Gran was right, you have known them since you were a kid. But last summer changed all of that. You weren’t sure you could see their faces ever again.

So, rather than try and find them, you decided to spend the next day unpacking. You’d be here for a month so it made sense to have everything neat and tidy. It was just until the funeral, and then you’d be back at college and studying away any memory of Hawkins being your home. Because it wasn’t. Not anymore.

You can hear the distant ring of the phone echoing up the stairs, continuing to pull out your books. You might as well be caught up with your classes if you were going to spend all your time inside.

“Y/n!” Gran calls up and you push away from the desk to lean over the banister.

“Yeah?” You ask as she stares up at you, the phone in her left hand while the right covered the receiver.

“It’s your friend.” She says with a small smile and your face drops into a frown. “She says it’s urgent.”

“Uh…” You shake your head. Who would be calling you? “Yeah, I’ll be down in a sec.”

Gran nods and relays the information, setting the phone on the side table and disappearing back into the kitchen.

Your footsteps were wary as you descend the staircase, eyes set on the white object beside one of your grandmother’s vases. There was a hauntingly familiar rush of adrenaline coursing through your body, one you hadn’t felt in a long time. Once you reach the table, you shift your focus to the photo frame. It was small, a collected memory from a few years ago now. You were stood there smiling, the camera capturing you in pleasant surprise when a brunette girl behind you had jumped onto your back. It made your eyes sting, and you knew you had to make the decision to answer the call.

Hesitantly picking up the phone, you hold it to your ear and close your eyes.

“Hello?”

“Y/n?” Nancy’s voice blares through and your eyes snap back open.

Barrels of apologies and excuses spewed from her lips and you stand in silent shock, clutching the receiver a little too tight. She could only be calling for one reason. You had known it before you had even answered the phone.

Something was happening in Hawkins. Again. And if Nancy was calling for help, then she truly needed it.

And you’d never let her down.

“Have we met before?” You ask, studying the girl stood next to you.

The walls of the archive were surprisingly bright, shining an iridescent hue on her dark blonde locks. Her blue eyes were blinking back at you, pink lips stuck in a soft pucker of indecision. She was pretty. Really pretty. And at the same time she looked effortlessly cool, a jacket you wished you own. Something about her felt familiar to you, drawing you in.

Then a pang of guilt hits you and you force your concentration on waiting for her answer.

Robin felt weak. Who were you? It was taking everything in her to open her mouth and speak which, as literally everyone knew, was incredibly unlike her.

“I don’t think so.” Robin finally breathes out. There was softness in the way you spoke to her too, calming her nerves. Those strange waves of anxiety were being taken with the tide like you were her lighthouse in the stormy sea of her mind.

“Oh.” You scrunch your face with a smile. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

She was surprised to see you put out your hand but she willingly shakes it anyway, smiling back.

When you pull away, Robin seems a little more comfortable, coming closer to peer down at your old project folder, reading along with Nancy. You tried not to stare, busying your eyes with your own work in Nancy’s hands.

“Anything… juicy over there?” Robin asks Nancy and the girl throws her a tight lipped smile.

“Nothing new yet.” She responds and you notice the strain in her voice. She adopted it any time she was struggling to enjoy somebody’s presence.

“Victor seemed like a normal guy. Dead family, missing eyes, took a plea deal, sent to Pennhurst. Blah, blah, blah, blah.” Robin utters as she skims over the page below, slowly raising her head to look at Nancy. “What are we looking for exactly?”

Nancy doesn’t respond and continues flicking through the pages, making Robin’s eyes widen.

“Nance?” She tries again and you frown.

“She’s focused.” You offer, smiling. “She zones in so much that she zones out sometimes.”

“Right.” She nods slowly, still staring at her. “Um, so are we, uh… looking for any mentions of dark wizards or alternate dimensions? Things in that vein?”

You remember something and open your mouth to speak before Nancy interrupts with a huff.

“I don’t know, okay?” She sighs loudly, leaning against the desk and meeting Robin’s eyes. “It’s starting to seem like this was just a big waste of time. And you’re obviously bored so why don’t you just call Steve? I’m sure he’ll come pick you up. And I mean, I’m not really in danger here, so…”

With that, she walks away from the table and grabs another folder you had brought, furiously flipping through as she travels down a different staircase to the filing room. Your eyebrows raise.

“Woah.” You simply say, noticing Robin’s frown. “She’s, uh… hell, I don’t even know. Nance gets ultra focused when she thinks she has a lead on something and, well… she doesn’t like to get it wrong. Which is understandable.”

“So, she acts like this with other people?” She asks and you tighten your lips.

“Um…”

“Okay, that’s a no.” Robin groans, dragging her hands down her face. “I’m trying, I really am, I just struggle with whatever the hell bonding is meant to be, I mean me and Steve literally only bonded because we were both getting tortured and thought we would die. Which, no, not an ideal way to start a friendship but you know what, it’s better than whatever the hell this is.”

“You were at Starcourt?” You frown and she looks back at you, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up-”

“No, no, it’s okay.” She waves her hands, “I, um… no one really mentions it anymore. Unless it’s the news and they’re pretending like it was a-”

“Fire, yeah. I heard.” You say, staring at the stairs Nancy descended. “How did all of this start?”

“Excuse me?” She blinks and you turn your attention back to her.

“This… Vecna, was it? How did it start?” You repeat, shaking your head. “Nancy could only tell me so much over the phone so I’m a little behind.”

“A girl was found dead in the trailer park.” Robin relays, gulping. “Chrissy Cunningham? She’s a cheerleader. Was. They found her with all her bones snapped and her eyes were… gone. They think Eddie Munson did it-”

“Eddie?” You gasp, and Robin looks surprised. “No, Eddie wouldn’t do that-”

“We know. Trust me.” She says hurriedly, “He told us everything that happened. Apparently she was floating in the air and her bones were snapping- it’s a really gruesome story but the same thing, like, just happened to Fred and we need to figure out who this Vecna is before someone else gets hurt.”

“Okay.” You breathe and she raises her brow.

“Okay? I just unloaded a dump of hell onto you, and it’s okay?” She sounded intrigued and you shrug.

“The last few years have been… weird. To the point where weird sounds normal now.” You say, a soft frown on your features.

Robin wasn’t entirely sure where you fit into all of this. Sure, you had information they needed, you’ve been a part of their group for some time, you made sense. What she was struggling to understand is why you were here now. And why you weren’t here before.

“How’d you meet everyone?” You ask before she can. Any thought she had of questioning your arrival was cleverly misplaced. For the moment.

“I worked with Steve at Scoops Ahoy last year.” Robin nods and you frown.

“But I never…” You start before your eyes widen, mouth curling into a smile. “Oh my god, yes! I do remember you!”

“You do?” Robin tries to comb back through her memories.

“Yeah, Max dragged me there maybe… a week after it opened? She was telling me about Steve’s little sailor outfit and of course, I didn’t believe her, so she had to show me proof.” You giggle to yourself, meeting her eyes. “I remember you were taking a break outside, Max introduced us. Well, kind of. She never got to my name before Steve arrived with that stupid frown on his face.”

“I don’t remember that.” She frowns and you bite your lip, shoving your hands into your jacket pockets. “Sorry, I don’t mean that in like, a mean girl way. I mean, my memory is apparently broken because I’m very sure I would have remembered you. Not in a weird way, either, like- I just think you make an impression on people- a good one. Not a bad one.”

“It’s okay.” You laugh and she shakes her head enough to make her bangs sway in her embarrassment. “I looked a lot different then. And I was, like, super shy. I was probably hiding my face or something.”

“Hold on.” She blinks with a smirk. “You’re the girl? Like, the girl?”

“Am I meant to know what that means?” You squint your eyes.

Robin simply laughs to herself until she clocks your confusion. “No, I… Max did bring someone in for, like, one of our first ever shifts together. I remember because when they left, Steve looked like some kicked puppy and I couldn’t work with him and that stupid frown so I made him tell me what was bothering him. Apparently, the girl that left was the girl he couldn’t get in high school and it ‘haunts’ him. It’s so stupid.”

You go quiet and her eyes widen.

“Oh god.” She covers her mouth. “Did I talk too much again? God, I’m sorry- I literally can’t control my mouth.”

“No, you’re right.” You say, shaking your head. “Steve… he and I don’t really get along. Opposite ends of the high school popularity pool until I won this debate contest and suddenly everyone wanted to be my friend. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but suddenly I was on Steve’s radar and, well, you know the rest.”

“You can do better.” She simply nods and you raise your eyebrow at her remark. “What? Oh, he’s amazing now. Like, a genuine gentleman kind of guy, but King Steve? Whew, that boy needed a leash or something.”

“You guys are pretty close, huh?” You ask and she smiles.

“Yeah, he’s my best…” She begins before her face drops. Oh.

“What?” You ask when she starts walking away.

“I know why!” She exclaims before turning her heel and marching down those steps to Nancy, finding her sorting through the filing cabinet.

If Nancy heard her, she didn’t acknowledge it. Robin felt so stupid. It had been a while since she’d been a part of ‘girl world’ or, more specifically, ‘girl-code world’. The thought of there being any tension hadn’t even crossed her mind before.

“You do know that Steve and I are, like, totally not a thing, right?” Robin asks breathlessly, leaning against the wooden banister.

“What?” Nancy frowns, shaking her head and turning to look over her shoulder.

“So I figure that you and Jonathan are still going strong ‘cause you guys are going to college together, and you’re like one of those unstoppable power couples, but I… I just… I wanted to make sure that you knew that Steve and I are just friends. Like, platonic with a capital P.”

Nancy’s response in underwhelming at best, a tight lipped smile and Robin almost groans in frustration. She can hear your sneakers steadily descend the stairs and she turns back.

“Just in case that’s adding any tension between us.” She expresses to Nancy and you frown at the interaction.

“It wasn’t.” Nancy replies and Robin sighs.

“Uh…” You start to say, both pairs of eyes immediately looking at you. “Sorry to, um, interrupt. I have stuff I need to do…”

“Right.” Nancy blinks apologetically, looking back at the folder in her hands. “I’m so sorry, I really thought I was going to find something. I… I didn’t want to drag you into this, really, it’s just-”

“Hawkins.” You finish her sentence, stepping off the final stair and leaning against the banister. “Yeah, I know.”

“Holy shit.” Robin gasps, suddenly grabbing the folder out of Nancy’s hands despite her silent protest. “Is that from The Weekly Watcher?”

She points to a specific part of one of the tabs and you move to peer over her shoulder, nodding.

“Don’t they write about, like, Bigfoot and UFOs?” Nancy scoffs, already dismissing the idea.

“First of all, UFOs are absolutely real. Bigfoot I’m still on the fence about.” She comments and you hum agreement. “But may I remind you we are looking for information on dark wizards? If someone’s gonna write about that, it’s gonna be these weirdos.”

“She’s not wrong.” You add and Nancy’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “Yeah, there’s a whole article about Victor Creel. He claimed that a vengeful demon killed his family. Obviously I only added a reference for context, I never actually believed it. You know, before…”

You vaguely gesture the space around you and Robin flips the page over.

“According to several insiders, Victor believed his house was haunted by an ancient demon.” Robin read aloud, and you could feel the goosebumps prickle along your skin. “Victor allegedly hired a priest to exorcise the demon from his home- pretty novel for the 50s, Exorcistwasn’t even out yet.”

“Keep- keep going.” Nancy insisted and Robin frowns.

“That’s all that’s here.” She says and Nancy looks at you.

“He claimed that the exorcism failed.” You recall, staring at the cut out photo of the Creel Family. “He said it angered the demon. It murdered his family, removing their eyes.”

“Did it say why he wasn’t killed?” Robin questions.

“Victor believed he was spared as a punishment.” You say with a twist in your stomach. His whole family died. He was all alone.

“Yeah, that’s pretty convenient for Victor.” Nancy mumbles and Robin frowns.

“Yeah, or super inconvenient.” She challenges, her eyes looking at yours for support. You simply nod, feeling sick. “Victor was declared legally insane by the court, right? Well, what if this is why? I mean, it sounds pretty insane, it just didn’t go public because-”

“The plea bargain.” Nancy jumps in, and you can see her trying to slot all the pieces together, “The records were sealed.”

“What if a demon did invade Victor’s home.” Robin glances between you both. “It’s just, this demon wasn’t any old demon.”

“It was Vecna.” Nancy finishes, and you immediately start shaking your head.

“Okay, you guys got everything you need?” You quickly rush out, sorting the folder around so it would shut. “Actually, you know what, you guys can just keep that, I need to-”

“You’re leaving?” Nancy frowns, following you as you jog back up the stairs and to where you had dumped your bag before. Robin hurriedly grabbed your folder and followed suit.

“Yeah, I told you, I have stuff to do.” You mutter an excuse, slipping your bag over your shoulder.

“But what about-”

“No, Nance.” You suddenly say, much stricter than you intended it to be. You pause your steps, taking a deep breath to look her in the eye. “I hate that there’s something new terrorising Hawkins. And I’m sorry you have to deal with it. I am. But that’s your choice. I can’t do this again.”

Robin stood there, clutching your folder to her chest. Nancy was struggling with her words, and you didn’t look like you were going to stick around long enough to hear them.

“We need you.” Robin blurts and you look at her, frowning. “I’m sorry, but we do. You know more about this case than any of us, you dedicated, what, a whole month? Maybe more? To learn about the Creel House, about the murders. You have information we can’t possible find because Hawkins doesn’t like to keep around its records of murder, and- and Nancy said you were great at this detective stuff which basically means you know what we need to do next.”

Rather than respond, you start weighing your options. The best decision you ever made was leaving all of this behind. Stanford had everything you wanted; hope. Anytime you decided to help them, it was always your life you were risking. That they were risking. Why would this time be any different?

“I really hope you win this.” You finally say, offering half a smile before you push through those doors and don’t look back, disappearing into the darkening shadows outside.

“Damn it.” Nancy curses, resting a hand on her hip and the other on a table.

“What happened between you guys?” Robin asks into the silence and Nancy looks up.

“What do you-”

“I don’t want a vague answer.” She says, still clutching onto the folder pressed against her chest. “She looked terrified. Which, yeah, it makes a lot of sense under normal circumstances. But this was more like PTSD kind of terrified. What the hell happened last year that no one’s telling me?”

The silence left Robin in the dark, Nancy’s features pouring over in restrained emotion.

By the time you had dug out your keys with trembling hands, you could feel the prickling of tears threaten to spill at any moment. They had no right to ask that of you. Especially not Nancy. She was there last year, she knows why you left. And yet again, none of them were listening to you.

You sat in your grandad’s old armchair for about an hour, a book resting on your lap but it remained untouched. It would just be another distraction, another reason to pretend like nothing was wrong. To stop yourself from remembering, feeling.

It’s why you went to Stanford, really. You didn’t care about journalism like you used to. But the work load was almost unbearable, which meant that every waking moment would need to be dedicated to studying. If you didn’t occupy your mind, you’d have to relive last year.

“Hi, sweetie.” Gran says as she enters the room, a shopping bag in one hand. You hadn’t even heard her key in the door. “Did you see your friends?”

“Yeah.” You clear your throat, setting aside the book and leaning forward.

“What did you kids get up to?” She asks before quickly disappearing into the kitchen to set down her groceries. When she returns, you have your head in your hands.

You can feel her fingers gently pry away your hands as she takes the chair opposite you, smiling like she already knew what was going through your head. Looking at her, the way her eyes were glazing over, you felt so selfish. You had left to escape everything that happened last year, and you had left her for months to deal with it all alone. Here you were, wallowing in self pity because your friends hadn’t been there for you when you needed them, and it turns out you’re doing the exact same thing to her.

“I’m so sorry.” You say, wiping away the tear that trickles down your cheek. “I should have stayed with you and Grandad.”

“What?” She frowns lightly, shaking her head. “Darling, no. All we ever wanted for you was to get out into the world, find something that made you happy.”

“But I’m not happy.” You express, catching a sob that threatened to escape. “I just wanted to get away, get out of Hawkins. I wasn’t even thinking about it, I- I just couldn’t…”

Her hand suddenly finds your own, squeezing it tight.

“It’s okay.” She says and you lift your head up. She continued smiling, but it was much sadder now. “No one can expect you to move on from what happened last year as quick as that.”

“And what if I never move on?”

“It’s not about moving on.” She smiles. “It’s about acceptance. It’s about holding onto the memory because you cherish it, not because you are haunted by it.”

The clock in the distance could be heard counting the seconds as you sit there in silence. She was right, as per usual. You weren’t letting yourself feel. You should be embracing the fact that you still had her. Even with all Hawkins has been through, you still had her.

Your heart pangs with panic. She was still here.

“I should be getting to bed-”

“Come with me.” You offer suddenly and she raises her eyebrows.

“To Stanford?” She says as if it were absurd.

“I’m serious. Let’s move away, start fresh. We’ll find somewhere new, Gran. Please.” You beg and she offers a smile, capturing your hand by placing another on top.

“Hawkins is my home. It always has been. I was born here, I met the love of my life here. I watched my little one grow up and, when he had little ones of their own, I watched them grow up too. This is where my family is. I… I can’t leave.”

“No, don’t worry, I’ll get it.” You say, smiling. “You should get some rest.”

Your heart wrenches. If only she knew what you did. About what really happens in Hawkins, what lurks there in the dark. She can’t stay here, not when you know it isn’t safe. Not when she’s all you have left.

Three knocks echo out from the front door, and Gran shifts in her seat, quickly glancing at the clock. Who would be here at this hour?

“Thank you.” She stands with you, squeezing your hand as she dropped it. “Try and get some rest.”

You wait until she’s heading up the stairs and out of earshot before you rush to the door, gently brushing aside the small curtain and frowning at the silhouette. It wasn’t who you had expected.

The door is open barely four inches before she starts talking at you, ring-donned hands clasped together.

“Look, I know we’ve literally just met. And I probably- no, I definitely don’t have the right to ask you to stay with us, but we’re basically alone right now. Half of us are in California, we don’t have any connections in the sheriff’s department anymore. Everyone who would know what to do is gone, and you’re kinda the only person left who can help us. I get so much happened to you last year and I- I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but if there’s even a tiny part of you that wants to do this, then please listen to it. Please.”

Robin didn’t know what she was expecting when she left the school. Her feet had taken her further than her mind was planning, but she knew she had to find you. Max was in trouble, and they were all way in over their heads to not have help. Nancy refused to bother you any further, and she understood, she really did, but this wasn’t a normal circumstance. This was bigger than all of them, bigger than everyone.

“Robin?” You say, brows scrunched together in surprise. She thins her lips.

“Sorry to just blurt that all out, but I didn’t know if you were just gonna slam the door on me- or maybe I’d forget what I wanted to say.” She explained, feeling the embarrassment creeping up her cheeks. She didn’t want to say the wrong thing to you. “Max is in trouble.”

“What?” You sobered at the thought, leaning closer to her. Then, in a moment of split decision, you glance back up the stairs before stepping outside and closing the door behind you. “What happened?”

“We found a connection between all the victims.” Robin tries to explain, and you noticed how expressive she was with her hands. “Basically, Max has the same symptoms as the rest of them, and she’s, like, 100% sure she’s next of Vecna’s kill list.”

“Is she okay?” You ask, and Robin can see the desperation behind your eyes.

“Yeah. Shaken up, but she’s fine. For now.” She clears her throat, a pleading look as she stares at you. “We need to find Vecna as fast as we possibly can before he can get to her. I… I know about what happened last year. About your dad.”

You seem taken aback by her knowledge, eyes darting down to your shoes.

“I don’t blame you for wanting to leave all of this behind.” She sympathises, and she let herself be much calmer than she felt. “But I’m asking you if you’ll help us.”

Your heart was aching as you wipe your sweaty palms against your jeans, barely even feeling the cold rush of wind hitting your bare arms. You had meant what you said earlier; you couldn’t do this again. It took everything in you to move out of Hawkins, go to college and live a life the person you loved the most couldn’t do anymore.

But you were currently stood in front of a door. And behind that door, was the last person you had left, and she wasn’t planning on leaving her home any time soon. As it turned out, fleeing wasn’t an option for everyone else.

“I’ll do it.”

Robin blinks, studying you for any ounce of uncertainty. You looked deadly serious.

Maybe, just maybe, with you by their side, they were taking down Vecna after all.

taglist: @kryztalglear @officerrrfriendly @a-simpfortessa-lesbriean @spacedoutdaydreamer @em16cor @endurexxsurvive

[if you see your name highlighted in pink, it means that tumblr wouldn't let me tag you! i am trying to figure out the reasons behind this but it could be as simple as visibility settings so please check that <3]

#stranger things x reader #stranger things #fanfic #nancy wheeler #robin buckley x female reader #robin buckley x reader #robin x reader #robin buckley #sapphic #sapphic fic #st4 fanfic #st4

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liashinigami · 6 months

Text

Was gonna gather my thoughts and write a post tmr on the general mood in the ofts space after the finale bc I feel like a whole bunch of people overthink the amount of editing that was supposedly the result of "promo couple fans complaining too much" but I literally cannot sleep before I get this off my chest so here goes nothing:

Do you guys not understand how tv show productions work....

The script was written, reworked, and then finalized before they even began filming. Yes they might have changed some stuff between the initial scrips draft they had before the mock trailer and the true beginning of production this year but considering that they booked two at the time new but well received promo couples (remember that this show was already in planning at a time when Enchené and The Eclipse were still very very fresh), TopMew and SandRay were always gonna be endgame. It's especially obvious now that the full series is out bc if you go back and watch the mock trailer, all the same storybeats are there. This is how the story was supposed to go from the beginning. They most likely cast two promo couples on purpose because of the added bonus of pre-established compatibility and chemistry needed for endgame couples in such a messy series.

Then they filmed stuff. They finished filming I believe the day that episode 3 aired, so they could not have changed any of the ending based on audience reactions (as I have seen multiple people suggest), since we were barely a few epiaodes into the story. The book based on the series was also already finished and in the last stages of preparing to be released. The only thing they actually did was edit out parts of scenes or full scenes that they found did not add anything at this point in the story (like the sandray garage scene) or would actively harm what we, the audience, are supposed to be understanding and feeling right now (like the Mew smashing shit scene and Top attempting to sleep with someone else, which both were explained to have been cut because audiences were reacting strongly negative to Top even a few episodes into his redemption arc, when we were clearly supposed to start being on his side). They might also have moved some scenes around to aid the story flow but I am unsure of that one (I suspect the scene where Ray and Mew finally solve their shit out was supposed to be directly before the SandRay donut scene bc of obvious clothing reasons, bc they either fucked up hardcore with clothing continuity or moved the first SandRay rehab discussion to after the RayMew talk because it made more sense that way when seeing it played out on screen. If that was the case I am glad for it bc it would have felt a bit weird the other way around idk...).

All of this is however not new. It happens all the time in film and broadcasting production (also in book publishing....this is why editors and alpha/beta readers exist. I mean Brandon Sanderson's books famously go through four (?) stages of feedback before they get published...). Some scenes just get dropped in editing because when you see it on screen it feels redundant or not quite right, so it gets taken out before it changes what they want the audience to take away from other scenes. Movies and tv shows that have months between filming and airing dates usually solve this issue with test screening audiences and several runs of editing. There have been instances of Movies having test screenings at cinemas and then having their release date scrapped because they have to be re-edited completely as a result of unexpected audience feedback. GmmTV series being on smaller budgets and timeframes results in this time window falling away and relying on observing audience reactions to already aired episodes closely and then editing the next episode close to its release is one strategy to still ensure that you bring across what you wanted to (Kdramas also do this very frequently). It might not be ideal but it's not unusual and it certainly does not mean that anything substantial from the story was changed. All the storybeats as well as the character and relationship development remained the same because they already had everything filmed. They did not do reshoots or we'd know it. The story was planned this way. It was in the script. If you did not like it, then you did not like it. But don't accuse the directors of "bending to the will of fans" bc that's just plain wrong.

I too have my issues with some of the writing and some of the characterizations. But let's keep the criticism where it is actually deserved ok?

Edit: I have also seen quite a few people over here and also on Twitter say how disappointed they are in the "editing based on audience reaction" and that they should release a "directors cut" with all the scenes but like....this IS the directors cut. THEY decided how to edit this because the original intent is not always what arrives in the brains of the audience. Storytelling is a two-way street and if a massive chunk of your audience interprets a part of your story so differently to how you intended it to be understood, edits are necessary. Because that means that your intent is not communicated well enough.

#only friends #ofts #only friends the series #I said pretty much the same things a few weeks back added onto someone else's post a few weeks back #back when that interview with jojo and ninew came out where they first said they look at audience reaction before they edit the next ep #I thought we got past that but apparently not #apparently people need to justify their own frustrations towards the writing and the storyline in weird ways #blame it on 'couple fans'#completely ignoring that realistically most people who got interested in this show found it through the mock trailer release #way back when the eclipse had barely finished airing and enchenté was also only a few months out #heck I hadn't even watched those two shows when the mock trailer came out and I went insane #haven't watched any other forcebook show to this day and while I liked the eclipse I certainly wouldn't have called myself a firstkhao stan #and still it was obvious to me from the mock trailer way back when and then the proper trailer a few months ago who would end up with who #I just feel like a lot of y'all were anticipating a different show than what it was advertising itself as...

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wildissylupus · 6 months

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I see people joking about how, despite being one of the best snipers lore wise, Widow always seems to miss her shots.

And I know this is a joke but I thought I'd actually analyse this.

Cause that's what I do.

I look way too far into dumb bullshit.

.....ANYWAY-

The times we see Widow in an active sniper role is in three cinematics. The ones in question being The Overwatch Cinematic Trailer, Alive and Infiltration.

Let's start off with the cinematic trailer, now the first thing to point out is the fact that Widow misses several shots on Winston;

Now this.... is just kinda embarrassing. Winston was standing still, he doesn't have a helmet on, and he's fucking huge, Widow, honey, you need to stop drinking before missions-

Jokes aside I can justify her not getting a headshot for more reason then just "lack of aim or skill".

For one this is what happened before hand;

And I don't care how genetically enhanced she is, she isn't Jack or Gabe, she's going to need some time to recover from that. Soe her missing headshots and even some body shots in this moment is understandable. However, she does have time to recover when this happens;

Lena is right on her, she wasn't even that quiet, and she was startled by that. She doesn't even realise that Lena is there until she starts talking.

This isn't even the first time she had to deal wither Tracer sneaking up on her, and the first time she actually handled it better. This brings us to Alive.

Where this happened;

Through out the fight in Alive, though she does fight against Lena well, she doesn't land a shot on her until the end. Not only that but we see that she already had a clean shot on Mondatta, she had time to shoot him then but didn't.

In Infiltration, she doesn't really do much on screen, and she never really got a clean shot due to Sombra. In the times she is active Reaper is the one doing the killing, not her.

Now what does this have to do with Widow missing her shots? You might notice that I never use the comics as an example, that's because most of her time in the comics is in positions where she is in her element. In all these examples there are common flaws that other sniper characters like Ana, Hanzo, Cassidy and even Ashe don't have. Widow, as a sniper, lacks the ability to land a shot when doing sudden movements/repositioning, and lacks spatial awareness when trying to take a shot.

Despite what fans and Widow herself thinks, she was not trained to be a sniper in active combat. She was trained to be an assassin, a hidden threat, the backup plan. So her being in these active fights where people are aware of her, are her weak spot.

Let me pull up the examples again and compare them to how other characters who were trained to be in the full blast of combat react.

In the Overwatch Trailer we not only see Lena sneak up on her, but an untrained kid steal Doomfists gauntlet without her noticing;

Compare this to Cassidy in Reunion and there is a very big difference;

Not only that but if you actually look at Widow's fighting style compared to the other snipers, it lacks personality. Lore wise if you genuinely look at Widow fighting, she is very precise and is always focusing on the target but there is no movement she does that feels like her own style.

Let's look at the other snipers, both Ashe and Ana are very still when sniping, however Ana uses a lot of swift movements and tends to reposition herself regularly. She's always aware of her surroundings to the point where we have never really seen her be snuck up on. As for Ashe, her stance is much the same as Widow, however, you can tell the reason she stays a lot more still is because she is a very team orientated fighter, not only that but in Deadlock Rebels she does move around a lot more.

There is also the fact that both of these characters have fighting habits, both tend to do back-to-back fighting when fighting along side another person, Ashe tends to either use B.O.B as cover or just tends to look for cover in general. Again, Ana tends to reposition a lot not only that but an over the shoulder shot when someone is sneaking up on her is something specific to her and Cassidy.

Speaking of which I could make a whole separate analysis on Cassidy and Hanzo's fighting styles. If Ashe and Ana's fighting styles have personality then Cassidy and Hanzo's are swimming with it.

Hanzo uses a mix of long and close ranged fighting, often combining the two, he also moves around frequently, not staying in one place for a long time. Another thing he does is if one angle doesn't work he instantly changes the trajectory of his arrows. And I won't get into it too much here, but he also uses his bow as a melee weapon more then in necessary.

With Cassidy he's a lot more improvised, as well as he's a lot more aware of his surroundings then any other character. Meaning he ends up using the environment a lot more then the other aim orientated characters. In "Train Hopper" he uses a tunnel to his advantage to take out several Talon agents, in Reunion he uses several environmental factors to throw off Deadlock members, he also is very much a close ranged fighter when in active combat.

I am telling you all now that I am holding back a lot because this is a Widow post but I REALLY want to talk more about Cassidy and Hanzo's fighting styles. I find them so interesting.

The thing is with Widow is that she fights on a technical standpoint, she fights like a Talon member, not like herself. She fights like a sniper, a basic level of what Ana and Ashe do, but considering what her gun actually does, I think she would be a better sniper if she fought more like Cassidy and Hanzo, using a combination of long ranged and close ranged techniques.

I also think that if she added more of herself when fighting she's have a better chance of handling herself in a 1v1. Which is something I hope happens in her redemption. I would love to see her use dance techniques when fighting, or use the fact that she would be a lot more flexible then a lot of other characters to get into positions that other couldn't.

I think that her being emotionless and her only using the skills taught to her by Talon is actively holding her back from being a better sniper. It's something I really hope is pointed out in canon. It's something I genuinely hope is a big part of her arc and how she bonds with other characters.

And I think I need to re-iterate this, Widowmaker is still a great shot and a great sniper, she is just not really as skilled as she thinks she is. She was trained to be an assassin, which I believe she is the best assassin in the game, but as a sniper in an active battle field she is not as good as the other characters.

#overwatch #overwatch 2 #overwatch lore #overwatch headcanons #analysis #ow #ow2 #ow widowmaker #widowmaker #amelie lacroix #fighting style

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lu-vin-it · 11 months

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I've never requested before so idk if I'm doing it right and also idk if this is what u meant by soulmate au so feel free to just ignore it if it isnt- but maybe something where soulmates have the same mark or symbol as each other, and daryl and reader's is the little skull tattoo that he has on his hand?

Group of Outcasts

── ⋅⋅⋅ ────꒰ ୨ ♡ ୧ ꒱───────

Pairings: Daryl Dixon x Reader

Pronouns Used: None Mentioned

Word Count: 1,552

Warnings: None

A/N: Tysm to @stqrluvr for proofreading!!! Also one of the characters may or may not be named after @lov9r 🤫🤫

The day you got your soulmate mark was supposed to be the best day of your life, and for most, it was. However, when you get a skull on your hand, a lot of small minded— small town people, kinda go crazy. Plus, it didn’t help that you already had a bad rep around town due to your Mama leaving and your Daddy being a drunk. You were seen as trailer trash and nothing more.

It didn’t bother you all that much, it was a small small town and people were going to judge. You got used to the glares from Mrs. Thompson when you passed her house, the way the sea of students would part when you came down the hall, and the way police officers’ would pay extra close attention to you when you were around.

So even after you became an adult and your Daddy died, you stayed in that town, it was all you knew, after all. You kept dealing with the glares, the parting, and the spying.

Then people started getting sick. And people who were sick became these monsters. So you packed up your shit and went off. You lived alone in the woods for a while before coming across a group of 7 people. There was Timmy, a nice man in his fifties who was accompanied by his wife, Mia, a woman in her thirties, and their 8 year old daughter, Charlotte. There was also Cece, a seventeen year old girl who was desperate to prove herself to the group. And Grace, a twenty-something year old who reminded you a lot of Annie from Annie Get Your Gun. And last but not least, Johnny, a 16 year old boy, and his Dad, Sydney.

You very quickly became the leader of the group. You led them around Georgia for a while before you ended up being caught by some walkers and lost everyone but Charlotte, Sydney, and Grace. So now here you are with 3 people to look after, despite being barely able to look out for yourself, stranded in the middle of Georgia with nothing.

You were fucked.

“Y/N.. when are we gonna be where we’re tryna be?” You let out a frustrated sigh.

“Grace, I dunno how many times I can tell you. We aren’t going anywhere specifically. We’ll just find somewhere dry to camp for a bit. I don’t know how long it'll take for us to find somewhere like that so please have a little patience.” She glares at you in response. You return your eyes to the road ahead of you. You’d been through these parts many times searching for other signs of life but.. there was nothing. You often found yourself wondering if you four were the last humans alive.

“Take a left up here. Should be a neighborhood right down the road.” Sydney says, pointing at an intersection. You do so.

A few hours later you were slowly making your way through the neighborhood when you realized that Charlotte was missing.

“Sydney, where the hell is Charlotte!?”

“I.. I dunno she was just here..” Your heart drops.

“When was she just here? You were the one in charge of her, where the hell is she?”

“I—“

“Sydney.”

“I helped her get out of the truck and.. and I thought she was behind me.” You let out a chuckle. And then another one, and another. Soon you were hysterically laughing. “Grace, go look for Charlotte around the truck.” The girl nods and runs off. “You and me,” You poke him in the chest. “Are gonna talk. What in the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking; she ain’t my kid. She won’t ever be Johnny. You keep putting us together as if we’re gonna click just cause I’m a— I was a Dad. That’s unfair.” You scoff.

“Unfair? What’s unfair is that Charlotte lost her Mom and her Dad within ten minutes and now the man she looked up to left her for dead. That’s unfair. How about this? How about I leave you here.” His eyes widened.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“Uh.. Y/N?” You hear Grace yell. Your neck snaps to her direction where a man with an eyepatch is holding a gun to her temple.

“Don’t take another step.” He says, his voice is coarse.

“Let go of her.” You spit back, pulling your gun out.

“I don’t think you want to do that.”

“I think I do. Let her go.”

“Why should I?”

“Because if you don’t, I’m not afraid to blow your fucking brains out.” He laughs.

“You couldn’t get me from this distance.” You see Grace slowly reach into her pocket and grab a knife.

“Couldn’t I?” You tilt your head to the side.

“N—“ Suddenly, the man starts screaming in agony. Grace had stabbed him in the neck. He fell to the ground, his gun going off a few times in the process. Grace grabbed the gun and shot him in the head. You run up to her.

“Are you okay?” You put your hands on her shoulders. She was shaking.

“Did I just.. I just killed him, didn’t I?” You sigh.

“It was you or him, Grace.” She nods slowly. “Now let’s find Charlotte.”

Thankfully, you did find Charlotte pretty quickly. She was hiding out in the truck after she realized she had forgotten her knife.

Two days later, You, Grace, and Charlotte were getting some much needed sleep inside of a shed while Sydney kept watch. It wasn’t too long before the shed door burst open, waking all of you. Sydney slowly walked in, a man following him with a crossbow raised.

“Who the hell are you?” You jump to your feet and stand in front of Charlotte.

“Names Daryl.”

“Okay, Daryl. What do you want?”

“How many people are in your group?” You furrow your brows.

“Syd, Grace, and Charlotte.” You pause. “What do you want?”

“How many walkers have you killed?” You squint your eyes.

“Man what are tou talking about? Why would I keep track?”

“How many people have you killed?”

“What? None! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“One.” Grace whispered.

“There’s a community, ain’t too far. If we leave now, we can make it by dawn.” You glance at Sydney and Grace.

“You’re just gonna barge in here, pointing a crossbow at Syd, ask me these unsettling questions and then invite us to move in with you?” You shake your head. “Go to hell.” The man stares into your eyes for a moment before removing the glove from his right hand. You look at him with confusion before finally realizing what he was showing you. He had a skull tattoo on his hand identical to the one on yours. He was your soulmate. “Oh.”

“So you comin’?” You nod slowly.

“Yeah, we’re comin’.”

The drive to the community, Alexandria, was quiet. Daryl barely spoke and you had the feeling that it was an all the time thing, not just because he didn’t know you. When you arrived at Alexandria, the gate opened almost immediately. You were welcomed in by a man named Rick Grimes. He asked you guys some questions before showing you to a house.

It seemed too good to be true. There had to be some sort of catch.

“Y/N! They’re having a little shin-dig tonight to welcome us into the community, you coming?” Grace asked as she walked into the house. You had been reading a book on the couch for the past day.

“No.. you gonna take Charlotte?”

“Yeah... That book good?” You nod mindlessly. “Must be.. ain’t seen you interactin’ with anyone at all. Not even your soulmate.” You glance at her. “Well.. if you change your mind.. I’ll see you there.”

That night, you could hear the party happening all the way from your house. It was disrupting your book. Okay, and maybe you felt a little guilty about being so curt with Grace.. So you got up and walked to the party. You stood on the sidewalk staring at the house for a bit, wondering if you should go in. Parties were never your thing. People were never your thing. Was this even a good idea?

“Hey..” You turn around, startled by the sudden voice. You’re relieved to see Daryl with two men behind him.

“Oh, Hi.”

“Er.. This is Aaron and Eric, guys this is Y/N.” You muster up a small smile for the men.

“It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Likewise! Are you heading in?” You glance at the house again and shrug.

“Not sure if I’d be welcome.”

“You can join us if you’d like? We always have dinner together when they throw parties. You can be a part of our little group of outcasts.” Aaron offers. You look at Daryl who raises his eyebrows. You nod.

“Yeah, okay.”

Dinner was lovely, although you didn’t talk much, you found yourself enjoying the company of the three men very much.

“Maybe you can join in next time too!” Aaron said as he waved to you.

“Absolutely. Thanks for having me.” You waved back and started walking to your house.

“Y/N, wait!” You turn around to see Daryl running towards you.

“Yeah?”

“Mind if I walk you home?” You smile.

“Not at all.”

#daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon x reader #soulmate au

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oceanlix · 2 years

Text

Day 13: Jaemin + Hair pulling

Pairing: Jaemin x female reader

Genre: Smut

Word count: 2,382

Warnings: Dirty talk, hair pulling, fingering, slight biting, breast play, begging

Kinktober 2022 Masterlist

The rain is coming down so hard that you can’t even see your car down on the street anymore. Jaemin leans over your shoulder, letting out a whistle at the torrent of water covering the window.

“I guess you should just wait out the storm here,” he suggests. You turn to him and raise your eyebrow, but he’s got that innocent look on his face that always makes you scoff. The glasses he’s wearing make it even worse, you decide. “What? There are worse places to sleep.”

You shrug. Part of the trick is not letting Jaemin know how much he affects you sometimes. If he doesn’t know, then he can’t ever tease you for it. And Jaemin is the type to never let something like that go, so you’d rather he never finds out about it. “You’re probably right,” you agree, flopping down on his couch. “Can we at least watch a movie to kill some time?”

“Sure.” Your friend turns on the television, heading straight to Netflix. Thunder rumbles outside, lightning flashing in the window. It lights up the dark living room, casting a white glow on Jaemin’s side profile. You study him as he flips through the available movies, hoping he won’t notice your roaming eyes.

You’d been thinking differently about Jaemin lately. It had all started when your roommate pointed out the way your behavior was different around each other. At first, you hadn’t agreed with her, but the more time you spent around Jaemin since that discussion, the more things you started to notice. Like how he only ever offers his jacket to you after a night out, never to Yeji or Doyeon. Or the way he only lets you taste his food before he’s one cooking. There’s a million other little things that you had never noticed until recently.

“Hello, Y/N? Do you wanna watch this one?” Jaemin’s voice fills your ears, and you suddenly look up to see his face inches from yours, a teasing smile on his lips.

You glance past him at the screen, seeing the trailer for Love and Leashes. Your face flushes red immediately as you reach out to smack his arm. “Jaemin, what the hell?!” you exclaim, trying to hide your embarrassment.

“What?” he laughs to himself. “I know you think Jun is hot, so I thought you’d wanna watch it!” Jaemin presses play and throws himself onto the couch next to you, placing his head in your lap before you can protest any further.

“Play with my hair,” he demands, grabbing your hand and placing it on top of his head. You stare down at him incredulously. “What? It feels nice.”

You shake your head. If there’s one thing Jaemin is good at, it’s totally confusing you. “Fine,” you lament, sliding your fingers into his hair. Your friend sighs contentedly, his eyes falling shut. You decide not to comment on the fact that he’s not even watching the movie, another flash of lightning filling the room for a few seconds.

The two of you sit in silence, you watching the movie and playing with Jaemin’s hair while he falls asleep. You’ve already seen it, that’s why you didn’t exactly want to watch with your friend that you lowkey have a crush on. But since he’s not even awake, you get into the plot pretty easily. And Jaemin was right; you think Jun is hot.

The scene where Jiwoo gives Jihoo the glasses comes up, and you can’t help but glance down at Jaemin’s skewed pair hanging off his nose. Carefully, you slide them off his face with your unoccupied hand and fold them up, placing them on the coffee table. You’re about to turn back to the movie when a hand grips your wrist and you shriek in surprise, yanking on Jaemin’s hair with a much stronger grip than you intend to.

You expect Jaemin to yell at you, but he moans instead. Both of you freeze, the lightning making the room turn white as you stare at each other in shock. You don’t know what to say without embarrassing your friend or yourself, so you keep silent, waiting for him to speak first.

“Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” he chuckles, sitting upright and turning around. You don’t know what that means, so you keep staring at your friend.

Jaemin smirks and leans forward into your space, hands resting on either side of your hips as you lean back against the arm of the couch. His face is so close now and you’re holding your breath for some reason.

“What?” you say dumbly, trying to break whatever tension is between you two right now. The movie is still playing in the background, but you don’t know what’s going on anymore. You hope Jaemin will put you out of your misery soon before you embarrass yourself further.

“I like having my hair pulled,” he says nonchalantly, like this is a totally normal topic between friends. Maybe it is, but not when one is desperately hiding their attraction to the other.

You gulp. “And? Do you want me to do something about it or are you only telling me because of what just happened?”

Jaemin scoots even closer, so close that your noses are almost touching. “I think you know the answer to that already,” he whispers, just before he grabs your shoulders and covers your mouth with his.

As you practically melt in his hands, you realize you must totally suck at hiding your feelings. Jaemin has always been observant though, so you probably had no chance to begin with. He was always going to figure you out at some point.

You don’t know where this is going, but you let him climb over your lap and lay on top of you. He drags your hands back to his hair and you get the hint, yanking on the strands harshly. Jaemin moans loudly into your mouth and grinds his hips against you, his hard cock brushing against your hip.

“Can I take these off?” he asks, pulling at your sweatpants. You sort of regret wearing your comfortable underwear today, but you nod anyway. Your friend grabs the waistband and tugs them off in one go, leaving you in just your boring white panties. Jaemin doesn’t seem to mind though, not with the way he licks his lips and smirks at you.

“I’ve been thinking about what I’d want to do to you if I ever got the chance to have you like this,” he says, snapping your underwear against your hip. You don’t know how to respond to that, so you just bite your lip. Jaemin had thought about you that way too? It was surprising, to say the least. He has his fair share of girls after him; he could literally pick anyone he wants.

“Y/N? What are you thinking about?” He strokes your bare legs, making you shiver.

“Just…I’m surprised,” you admit. “Why me?”

Your friend laughs, only slightly mocking. “Are you kidding? Is it not obvious I’ve been flirting with you this whole time?”

You think back to all the things your roommate pointed out about your friendship with Jaemin and you realize, yes, you have been pretty oblivious. “I thought you were just teasing me,” you admit.

Jaemin laughs and leans forward to kiss you, longer and deeper than the first time. He cups your jaw in his hand, carefully holding your hip with the other one. When he pulls back, his expression is softer than before. “I’ve always liked you,” he tells you, sincerity in his voice.

You wrap your arms around his neck and hug him, not caring that you’re just in your underwear. “I like you too, Jaem,” you whisper into his ear with a grin.

The playful smirk is back on his face instantly when Jaemin looks at you again, his hand sliding into the front of your panties easily. He cups your pussy with his hand, fingers slowly teasing your entrance. “Yeah? Do you wanna play with me right now?”

You bite your lip and nod, moaning softly when he finally inserts two fingers. “Right there,” you gasp when he curls his fingers just right against your spot. You don’t know how he found it so quickly, but Jaemin doesn’t let up once he does, mouthing at your neck while you squirm against him.

“Look at you taking me so well,” he murmurs into your ear. You grip the fabric of his sweatshirt and buck your hips up, earning yourself a bite on the neck from your friend. “Be patient, baby.”

You try your best to stay still, but you need something to distract you from the building pleasure. You run your hands through Jaemin’s hair and pull hard, loving the low groan he lets out in response. His movements stop just long enough for you to catch your breath, and then you start kissing his neck.

“I love it when you pull my hair,” he confesses, turning your head towards his for a sloppy kiss. Jaemin pulls his fingers out of you and tugs your panties off entirely, then shimmies out of his sweatpants. Your mouth waters at the fact he isn’t wearing any underwear beneath them, his hard cock already leaking precum when it slaps against his stomach.

Your friend catches you staring as he settles back between your legs, smirking as he grabs your hips. “Like what you see?” he teases, pushing your sweatshirt up.

You nod, letting him pull it over your head. You didn’t wear a bra today, so your breasts are on display and Jaemin can’t take his eyes off of them. “I guess you do too,” you laugh, tugging on his hair to get his attention.

He moans softly, his hands sliding up to massage your breasts. “I’ve imagined this so many times and it still doesn’t compare to the real thing,” he admits. Jaemin lowers his face until he can take one of your breasts into his mouth, tongue swirling around the nipple agonizingly slow. You yank at his hair involuntarily, the vibrations of his groan making you buck your hips against him. His cockhead brushes against your entrance and you throw your head back, desperate for more.

“Please Jaem,” you beg, pulling him off of your breast so you can look him in the eyes. His hair is even messier now, the playful look gone and replaced with pure desire. You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him, rubbing your folds along his cock enticingly. “Fuck me already.”

“Raw?” he asks incredulously.

You nod. “I’m on the pill and I trust you,” you tell him.

Jaemin drops his head down against your neck and groans. “You’ll be the death of me,” he says, and then he’s pushing his cock into you.

You swear you’ve never felt this full; it’s not even that Jaemin’s cock is really big or long, but your walls hug him like he was made just for your pussy. You dig your nails into his shoulders and arch your back, trying to take him in faster than he’s going.

“Didn’t I just tell you to be patient?” he warns, hips stilling completely. You whine, wrapping your legs around his hips to try and make him move.

“Please, I just wanna feel you,” you whimper, your eyes filling up with tears of frustration. You’ve waited so long for this moment and now Jaemin is taunting you, not letting you have what you both want. It’s driving you crazy.

Jaemin’s gaze softens, and for a second, you think you’ve got him. But then he smirks, grabbing your thighs and squeezing them roughly. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want my cock, baby,” he says meanly.

You let out a huff, crossing your arms over your chest. Fine; you can play dirty too. You smile sweetly and gesture for him to lean closer. Jaemin thinks you’re finally obeying, so he leans in. When he’s close enough, you grab two handfuls of his hair and crash your lips onto his, sloppily kissing him.

The moan he lets out is sinful, and you lift your hips up until he bottoms out within you. You feel even fuller than before, if that’s even possible. Jaemin wrestles his head away from your grip and glares down at you, but his swollen lips tell another story.

“Looks like I win,” you tease, circling your hips slowly. Your walls flutter around his cock, but you bite back the moan that threatens to fall from your lips.

Jaemin chuckles, sitting back on his heels and tugging your hips up more. “Fine. You don’t want to listen? We can do this the hard way, sweetheart.” You raise your eyebrows, but your eyes fall shut a moment later when he starts fucking into you at a rapid pace. Your hips are so far off the couch that you have no leverage to slow him down; you can only hold onto his arms and beg.

“Jaemin, Jaem, Jae- please!” you cry out, your head twisting and turning against the couch cushion. He refuses to slow down, hips smacking against your ass repeatedly. That tight feeling in your core builds quickly, too quickly for you to do anything other than gasp and cum all over his cock without warning.

Jaemin fucks you through it, letting your body collapse against the couch when it’s over. He pulls out of you slowly while you whimper from the oversensitivity. You’re still trying to catch your breath when he appears above you, smirking as he brushes the sweaty hair away from your forehead.

“Holy shit,” you manage to breathe out, earning a chuckle from your friend as he kisses you gently. “That was something.”

“Gee, thanks!” he says with a roll of his eyes. You tug him back down for another kiss, caressing his tongue with yours. When you part, you smile at him softly.

“I’m glad we did that,” you admit. “But geez, did you have to go so hard?”

“You weren’t listening to me!” Jaemin exclaims, slapping your bare thigh. The smack echoes in the dark room, making both of you giggle.

“I promise I’ll do better next time,” you say with a grin.

#nct smut #nct dream smut #jaemin smut #jaemin x reader #jaemin fic #kinktober 2022 #my fics #500

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allyeardepression · 1 month

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@jegulus-microfic | march 5 glow | words: 666

this one went from muggle au angst to hogwarts au angst to anniversary surprise to engagement to this. it was meant for yesterday’s prompt but i changed it so many times it was almost today when i finished so here we are i guess. i write for fun, but I treated this one as a PhD thesis 💀 anyways i hope you’ll like it love ya

“I told you it would be easier to go through the nudist beach, it’s empty at this time” Regulus huffed exasperated when his foot slipped off a huge stone for the tenth time in last two minutes. Honestly, what was James thinking? Climbing these rocks was dangerous in a daytime, but doing it at 2 in the morning was just a suicide mission.

“Oh, come on, it’s so close now. Just hold tight” the older boy said over his shoulder, smiling at Regulus as brightly as the Sun. He thought he was smart, but every time James smiled like that his critical thinking disappeared, so he just carried on like every time before.

The plan was to go stargazing at the beach, but there were too many street lights to see anything except the Moon. That’s why James decided to go to their secret little alcove at the bottom of the hill they were camping at. The small piece of land was visible only from behind the barriers on the expressway, so not many tourists knew about it and Regulus could bet that not even all the locals were aware of its existence. To get there you had to either go a bit up the hill and climb the rocks (like they did) or go through the nudist beach (like any sane person would do).

The destination was just a few steps down from them when Regulus’ hands gave up and he fell. It wasn’t a long fall, but landing on wet sand still hurt like a bitch.

“Reg!” he heard James’ terrified voice. Not even three seconds later the other boy was kneeling next to him, checking if he was alive.

"If you ever decide to do something that stupid again, I will literally kill you," Regulus growled, pushing himself up on his elbows. He was a bit sore, but he could move, so everything’s fine. Looking up and around Regulus thought the journey and fall were worth it, not that he would ever admit it out loud.

James had already taken wine and fruit out of his backpack when Regulus opened his to spread a blanket on the ground. They lay on it, looking up at the endless sky painted with stars.

“There’s Vega, over there Deneb and right above us is Altair, they make this thing called ‘Summer Triangle’” Regulus pointed at the stars, snuggling a bit closer to James. The older boy had his arm wrapped around Reg’s waist, the other up in the air, looking like he was trying to reach the sparkly dots above them.

"Where are you tonight?" James asked quietly, rubbing Regulus' side gently. He turned and looked at the young Spaniard. In a soft glow of the Moon, James looked more beautiful than ever, almost angelic and Regulus loved what he saw. He moved a little in James' embrace to place a featherlight kiss on his cheek.

“Way too close to you to be seen” he whispered in his ear in response. The other boy whipped his head dramatically, looking into Regulus’ eyes with a mix of frustration and agitation.

“Are we still talking about stars? Or are you feeling, like, small next to me, or overlooked, or-“ Regulus put his hand on James’ lips, shaking his head ‘no’ and chuckling. It seemed to calm him a bit, because he continued with “Oh, in that case, how outrageous of me! I’m sorry love, but I’ll have to move a bit, you must be seen at all times!” They were both giggling now, the wine only adding to it.

They stayed there for a while, talking, laughing and snogging as the night went by. The sky started to change its colour when they decided to pack up their things and go back to the trailer.

“Oh, oh, look!” James yelled excitedly, like a five-year-old. “That’s me, the big one over there!” and Regulus couldn’t help but laugh when he turned to see the Sun rising over the sea.

the place in question (Calella, Spain)

#jegulus #starchaser #dead gay wizards #james potter #james x regulus #regulus black #jegulus microfic #marauders #the marauders

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rederiswrites · 1 month

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My mom took my son's pizza again. This time the last slice of the pizza he got for his birthday, which he discovered when he eagerly went to eat it. Furious, he decided to go and challenge her. Because, in his words, he knew no one else would have done it, so if she denied eating it, he would know she knew it was wrong. I was both impressed and depressed by his insight.

She denied it. He left her without saying anything more, because he'd gotten all he expected to get out of her.

I'm going to finally talk about her a bit under the cut, because I have to work it out, because I have to get through to her somehow.

When she moved in with us some eight or so years ago, it was supposed to be temporary. She had the entire plan worked out to build herself a tiny house--it would be on a trailer, and therefore not count as a structure on our property, and also move with us when we moved. She was also going to work--at a job she already had work for--to make up for the fact that she'd retired early and in a somewhat precarious financial situation. She could have worked longer, almost definitely should have worked long enough to get her full benefits, but she was depressed and hated going to work, and so she used the excuse that she wanted to help me with the kids, since I was struggling with my health. At the time, we believed her, even though we did also know that fundamentally she really just wanted to not go to work any more. We expressed our concern but trusted her judgement. I trusted and loved her and saw her as a tough woman who'd made it on her own this far.

She never built the tiny home. She never started. She never did the job that was already in her hands. Never helped much with the kids, either. She was still in our third bedroom years later, when we had an eight year old still sleeping in our room for lack of anywhere else to put him. Because she was in the room meant to be his. She did not care about that at all. By this time, we'd learned never to leave the kids alone with her, because she would use our absence to be a dictatorial asshole to the kids. She shouted at them for making noise, basically any noise, and randomly lectured them at the slightest sign of a "teachable moment", usually with things that they knew, sometimes with things that were objectively wrong.

We'd had to demand she stop driving our car, because she had hit several things with it. Twice, she ran over and destroyed the kids' toys that were left out in the drive, after which she would shout at the children about leaving them out. The last straw was when she backed directly into a whole-ass riding lawnmower with a trailer in our driveway. She refused to admit any fault. How could she have seen it, she asked. Ma'am, it's nearly the size of a car.

She was routinely rude without the slightest inkling that she'd been rude, she was a thoughtless and inconsiderate housemate, she rarely cooked, and only did the dishes in bursts. We marveled at how many times we lowered our expectations and found that she fell short even then. We learned not to ask her to do things, because they were often so badly done that they had to be redone. She responded to any criticism by going into a screaming rage that we thought she was stupid and obviously she couldn't do anything right. She never went out, and then acted like it was because we needed her, and we needed to give her permission to go out. This was one of the little ways she started to talk as if her situation was our fault. I talked to her for years about depression, explaining that it didn't always mean feeling sad all the time. That it often meant exactly the symptoms she was displaying. I even got her to go to the doctor with me once, and got to sit there and watch as she told the doctor she was "tired".

By this point, we'd long since started to find her presence a burden.

When we moved here, there was no obvious building for her to convert and live in, but we were open to the possibility of her making over part of the detached garage. Yes, we did really kinda need that space ourselves, especially as we have no barn, but you make sacrifices for family. There was a spare room in the finished basement, and we all knew it wasn't ideal, but we were happy to let her stay there at the same rate of room and board we'd decided years ago at the old place--$400 a month. $400 for the room, the use of the house, internet, electricity, food, Netflix, everything. A price that we had calculated to be cheap years prior. A price that pretty much guarantees that we're subsidizing her life as it is.

She stopped paying. She hasn't paid since we moved. That's around $14K back due, now. She said she was saving it to make her place with. We said that wasn't a unilateral decision, and that we had to agree. She said nothing. Repeatedly, we had this conversation. But what would we do? Kick her out? We know she can't afford anything else. I'm an only child. The rest of her family is estranged.

When she brought us her "plan" for remodeling the garage, it was incomplete, couldn't be permitted by the county, and cost everything she had even without the parts she hadn't given consideration to. We rejected it. For TWO YEARS, she would just periodically bring up some minor variation of this plan and we would explain, increasingly furiously, that we had already said no, that it was still a bad and unacceptable plan, and that no, we did not think it was reasonable of her to expect us to break the law to make it work.

Over the years, we've suggested various alternatives. We looked at used office trailers she could convert--refused, because "trailers are for poor people." We pointed out rooms for rent at a rate she might be able to pay--refused, because she wants to stay near us. God knows why; she shows no interest in our lives. She has not helped with any of the events we've hosted. She sometimes doesn't come out of the basement when we have guests she knows. I don't tell her when I'm especially sick, because she will immediately declare that she has fallen ill and any chance we might have had of her doing a few dishes evaporates. She doesn't notice that I'm sick on her own.

Finally, a couple of months ago, she came to us with a New Plan. She wants to build a prefabricated outbuilding behind the detached garage. It is MORE expensive than the previous plan, taking every penny of her savings plus the aforementioned $14k she refused to pay us, meaning that ANY expenses she encounters after that that exceed her Social Security payment will fall on us. And since, despite saying that she can never do anything because she's saving money, the only money she's actually "saved" is the money she didn't give us, she has no prospect of being able to repay that money afterwards, either.

In the course of the inevitable fight when she ignored everything we had to say about that, she finally said that she "wasn't going to pay for that basement!" and had no intention of paying that money back. The basement, by the way, has huge comfy couches, a bar and sink, a microwave and electric kettle, big tables, wall to wall carpet, lovely art, and a library. Then when we still refused, she called a mediator. Which we readily agreed to, because SOMETHING has to change, but I don't have much hope that that will help.

Because fundamentally the problem is that she's blamed us for her failings. She won't take ownership of her behavior, so she's convinced herself that we owe her. We owe her a place to live--but of course she'll be totally independent there! We owe her whatever financial needs she incurs as she ages. She is angry at us for offering her a place to live while she figured herself out. She is angry at us for not catering more to her tastes while she eats our food that she is never going to help pay for, and that she never cooks. Because the alternative is to admit that she failed herself and is a burden to us.

At this point, and for a long time now really, but especially the last couple of months, she is a constant drag on the mood of the entire family. She's completely lost touch with reality. The simple act of calling for mediation is an excellent illustration--her plan is unaffordable and probably not legal, and requires our funding to take place on our land, and yet she thinks that an independent mediator with side with her. Which isn't even how mediation works. They won't side with anyone. They certainly can't force us to cooperate.

She's so sure she's in the right that when she went out with Jacob's mother for one of their periodic date days, she excitedly explained her plan, which she is still routinely talking about as if it is going to happen imminently. My mother in law asked a few basic questions, like, "How will you manage as you age without a bathroom," and her answers were such nonsense that later that day my mother in law called us and apologized profusely for having previously sympathized with my mother. She'd sympathized with what she saw as a fellow older woman struggling with depression, which is certainly true, but somehow she hadn't believed us that my mom is straight over the edge until she saw it for herself.

So there you go. My mother, the solid ground of my childhood. Taking birthday food from my children and lying about it while she squats in our basement. And every night she insists on kissing me on the cheek goodnight, as if she were a good, loving mother.

#this is ridiculous #no reblogging please #I thought you could set it for no reblogs but I am too dumb to find it

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