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thephantomofthe-internet · 5 years

Text

The Battle of Troy

Steve Harrington x Reader

Word Count: 5,817

Warnings: Swearing, violence, fighting

Author’s Note: I’m hella sick and in need of some sort of pick me up so here ya go! Does anyone still like Steve Harrington?

Tag List: @carolimedanvers @moonstruckhargrove @casaharrington @thechickvic @balladblood @alex--awesome--22 @so-not-hotmess @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @hipsmcgee @ashecilev

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“Tell me why I don’t like Mondays, tell me why I don’t like Mondays, tell me why I don’t like Mondays; I wanna shoot the whole day down…”

You’d turned your car radio up, still parked outside Hawkins High School, in the closest spot to the middle school across the field. You’d been waiting for almost half an hour and you’d taken to chewing angrily on a pencil. You’d run out of bubblegum fifteen minutes ago.

The Boomtown Rats hated Mondays. But you? You hated Wednesdays.

On Wednesdays, you had to pick up your half brother, Troy, from school. Every other day of the week, your mother picked him up and you went home or to your job at the Hawkins Public Library. But on Wednesdays your mother worked the afternoon shift at the beauty parlour. So you had to take up the role of taxi driver and chauffer him home.

The problem was that you absolutely hated that damn kid.

Troy was a monster. You swore that he was a psychopath. He was a dick to everyone and everything but the second anyone called him on it, then he cried crocodile tears to his mother who took his word as law and destroyed whoever Troy claimed hurt them. He was vile. When he broke his arm a year prior, you laughed. It helped that his story was insane, but your mother still took him to the police station and forced some poor officer to take down the wild story Troy told of Michael Wheeler’s cousin Ellen from Switzerland. According to the Wheelers, they had no family in Switzerland and no family visiting them at the time. The case was never pursued further and Troy was stuck with his arm in sling for his whole Christmas break. He got nothing that could be played with using one hand; it was all baseball equipment and Atari games he couldn’t play. You watched with a smirk as he sulked for the whole holiday.

But that was a year ago, now he was back with vengeance. And he was set to take it out on the foursome who tried to destroy him, in his eyes.

And now, he was late. You let out a dramatic sigh as the Boomtown Rats switched to White Snake and you popped open your driver’s side door. You intended to figure out where that kid was. It wasn’t that you had anywhere to be, not exactly, it was simply that he was wasting your time. All you wanted to do was go home and bask in the icy air of central cooling Dave had finally invested in. And Troy was ruining that.

You marched down the sloped hill of the browning field, dodging kids as they run off in various directions. In the centre, you saw an awful scene unfolding.

First, there was the terrible foursome your brother hated so much. You recognized Michael first, because you had met him and his mother during the investigation your mother insisted on. Then there was the kid they called ‘zombie boy’, on the grass, in the foetal position, cover his head in preparation for being pummelled. Then, there was Troy, straddling him, fists landing sharp jabs all over his body. Michael and his nameless friends were screaming and one of them, a goofy looking thing in a science themed tee shirt, was trying to pull Troy off by his shoulders.

And then, sprinting in like a golden retriever, came Steve god damn Harrington, in his awful sailor uniform from the new ice cream shop in the mall. Your friend Robin worked there too and you’d seen the pair of them serving the cold treat with a forced smile. Why on earth he was there, you had no idea. No seniors showed up during the last weeks of school, they all skipped right up until graduation. The only reason why you showed up was because you had to submit your photos to the yearbook committee, late as usual. The yearbook went out in a week, so naturally the whole photo team was pissed off at you.

You still had your Polaroid camera around neck, where it usually sat as you scanned your terrain for images you wanted to capture. In front of you stood a moment that needed to be captured. None of the group had noticed your presence, so you pulled it up to your eye and snapped a singular image. The sound of the click and bright flash brought most of the group’s eye to you. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t draw in Troy’s attention and you caught the perfectly blurry image of him beat the shit out of some innocent kid. You caught it before it hit the grass at your feet, shoving it into your back pocket.

Steve pulled the kid in the science shirt off Troy and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, lifting him off the zombie boy on the floor. You marched up to him, looking up at his annoyed looking face. It was almost cute, he looked like a little puppy dog.

“I can take it from here.” You said with a smile. Steve looked at you curiously, doing his best to hold his stern look. The smile turned into a scowl “Drop him.”

Steve did so easily, letting him hit the floor knees first. You pulled him up off the ground, squeezing his arm to keep him from turning on the guy. “You are going to get your ass in the car right now or I am going to kick your ass right here.” You whispered harshly, tightening your grip when he looked away.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, I’ll tell mom that you hurt me.” Troy shot back.

You pulled out the picture, now almost developed, hold it up to his face. “You try anything and I’ll show mom this and explain why you made us late. Now,” you pulled the image high above his head “Get your ass in the car. Now.” You released his arm and Troy ran off like a shot towards the parking lot.

You turned your attention to the group. The little zombie boy was off the ground, grass stained and bruised. Science kid was arguing with Steve and Michael and company were looking over zombie boy.

“You alright?” you asked awkwardly. Four heads turned to look at you, each more judgemental than the last. You maintained your smile, keeping your focus on the beaten boy. He nodded shyly, looking away from you towards Michael, who stepped forward boldly. “Alright, he bugs you again; you come to me, okay? I’ll deal with him.” You said.

Michael looked you over curiously “Aren’t you his sister?” he said. It sounded more like an accusation than a simple question.

“Half-sister.” You shrugged. Michael nodded without another word and you took that as your cue to head back to your car. Troy was tugging violently on your door handle, trying to climb into the driver’s seat. You made your way over slowly, creeping up behind him and smacking him upside the head.

“Backseat, dumbass.” You grumbled. He stomped away and you started up the car. You had already decided that you weren’t going to bring this up to your mother, let him wet his pants over it for a few weeks. School was almost out and Troy was going to sleep away camp for the whole summer, a breath of fresh air for you.

You drove off fast, leaving Steve staring after your car. He’d never even seen you before, and you just saved one of his kids. But you were a hero to them now, in a small way, the grandest gesture he’d seen all day. Hawkins was full of selfish people who didn’t bat an eye at the suffering or problems of others around them. Nobody else tried to even stop that kid when he tackled poor Will to the ground, most of the kids passing looked over with vague surprise as they passed. Nobody seemed to notice or even think it was that interesting. But you? You handled it with grace and poise, camera at the ready, and no fear anywhere on your face.

You were fearless.

Not that Steve was afraid of a stupid kid, just the danger he provided for the kid.

He was ready to handle the situation with ease, but you strode in like Joan of freaking Arc, your hair shining in the afternoon sun like a halo, camera strung from your neck, guarding you like a shield. Your fists were clenched at your sides, but you went for the camera first. You were tactful, you thought quickly, and harmed only those who had earned it. You were just…cool.

Steve made up his mind to thank you properly in that moment.

He just didn’t think it would take all summer.

It turned out there was a reason he could never find you, you were practically an enigma. You seemed to have no close friends in school, you had shared no classes, and he couldn’t find you in his yearbook. You were a ghost. He spent the whole graduation ceremony on edge, hoping that you were a senior so that he could at least get a name. Dustin and his friends had no idea what Troy’s last name was and they weren’t willing to risk their safety to help him. So Steve was on his own.

Luckily, you were a senior. He nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw you take the stage and heard the announcer call your name. There you were, shrouded in a golden glow, smiling as you took the rolled diploma from the principle’s hand. You looked heavenly, tall and proud and golden in the sunlight. So you had a name. Cross checking with his yearbook, you had a missing photo symbol instead of a picture. It almost made sense.

Now he had a name, all he needed to do was figure out how to find you. Of course, he found your phone number in the Yellow Pages, but just calling would be creepy. So he decided to set out and find you. He worked at the mall, it shouldn’t be impossible to find you.

Except it wasn’t.

You didn’t spend much time at the new Starcourt Mall, you didn’t have the time. You spent every day in the library, working. You switched to full time pretty much immediately after graduation, since Stella MacLeod had left to marry some guy in Appleton and they needed another full timer. You liked the peace and quiet of the library, where nobody bothered you unless they wanted to know where the bathroom was. You especially loved running the children’s story time, purely because they were a captive audience and it made the library quiet for awhile.

But did Steve realize that? No. He had a one track mind, driven to complete one task at a time. He was certain he’d find you at the mall. He asked every teenage employee in the whole mall if you worked there. And no dice, you were still MIA. He took to just watching out the big bay windows of the shop, hoping to see you pass by. He’d dropped so many ice cream cones thinking he saw you pass by. But it was never you.

Unbeknownst to him, Dustin knew exactly where you were. He was gone for all of June, sent to sleep away science camp by his mother, but when he came back he dragged his ass to the library. He was still certain he’d discovered a new species of lizard and needed to do his proper research to write his scientific thesis on the merits of the demo-dogs, trying to remember everything he could about Dart.

You dealt with that kid every damn day. He was a very funny nuisance to your work. He pestered you with questions about writing the second he realized that the grey moleskin you had on the desk everyday was not a journal but a novel in the making. It didn’t matter to him that you were more versed in fantasy than academic papers, he wanted every ounce of knowledge you had. You’d sat with him on several afternoons, reading and editing with a red ballpoint pen, circling and scribbling out every error he made. It could a good portion of July, but by the end of it he made a pretty great paper to deliver to Mr. Clarke for approval and assistance in submitting to some sort of academic magazine.

There was one problem though. His overdue books.

Every day he came in, you had to try to stop him and yell at him about his monstrous late fees on five books he took out in November. They were mounting on a forty dollar late fee now and you were under immense pressure from your manager, Darlene, to get the books back. She’d seen how the kid had taken to you and decided that you could handle getting the missing materials back. It was a lot of pressure, especially because no one was exactly looking to take out the books. You knew it was because the books were expensive and the library was underfunded and needed to keep every book it had in good condition in the library.

And Dustin was messing that up.

You had the afternoon to close shift that insanely hot Friday in July and the library was open late. Of course, you liked the closing shift since the library was pretty much empty and you could be as loud as you wanted.

As you came in, Dustin was rushing out, backpack falling off his shoulder and hair barely contained by his red, white, and navy blue baseball cap. You grabbed his arm with a cunning smirk “Henderson!” you grinned, spinning him back to you.

“What’s up, Y/N? I gotta run Mr. Clarke says that I have a reply on my paper!” he replied, grinning his toothy grin.

“When am I getting these books back, you’re getting me in shit with management.” You replied, letting his arm go and crossing yours over your chest.

“Look, I’ll bring them back tonight, okay? Lemme just get this paper approved somewhere.” Dustin promised and you nodded. Did you trust him to come back with those books? No, but you had all summer to get them back.

You and Dustin went your separate ways: him to the middle school, you behind the desk to start your long shift.

Dustin, after receiving his letter and a pat on the back from Mr. Clarke, headed off to the mall to sit in Scoops and eat free ice cream at the counter. Steve was the only person he could celebrate his success with, since the rest of his friends had gone off and gotten girlfriends, except for Will, who still clung onto them as his primary source of camaraderie. Dustin had Steve and Robin, and strangely Erika Sinclair, whose little friends had started following him around and he’d taken a sort of liking to them and their sassy attitudes. And he had you, to teach him weird literary devices and suggest him novels to fuel his DnD games. He liked you. He was sure he recognized you from somewhere, but he couldn’t place where.

When he arrived at the mall and Scoops, Robin was on cash duty, with Steve standing over the freezer filled with tubs of ice cream, staring wistfully out into the mall, eyes scanning the room for something or someone.

“What’s up little dude?” Robin asked, wiping her hands on the tiny white apron provided as part of her uniform. The shop was dead, despite it being a Friday, which was a rare treat for the employees of the usually busy shop.

“Nothing much, finally heard back from Science Quarterly.” He replied with a shrug, pulling out the red stool and climbing up easily.

“What’s wrong with him?” he gestured to Steve, who hadn’t even acknowledged him yet.

“He’s still looking for that girl.” Robin shrugged, walking over to scoop some of Dustin’s favourite bubblegum ice cream into a basic cone, so he could eat all the evidence of the missing ice cream.

“Oh yeah, what’s her name again?” Dustin asked, gladly taking the free cone and biting directly into the freezing pink and blue treat.

“Y/N…” Steve sighed bitterly “I’ve been looking for her all summer, remember? The girl who helped out Will.”

“Oh, you mean the one that works at the library?” Dustin asked, his mouthful of ice cream muffling his words. Steve whipped his head around, looking Dustin up and down with fiery eyes.

“You know where she is?” Steve asked slowly, stepping closer to Dustin, sheer rage flashing over his expression.

Dustin simply rolled his eyes “Yeah man, she’s not exactly hard to find.” He replied, licking up a long line of melted ice cream from his hand up to the top of the cone.

“She’s worked there since sophomore year, if I had known you were looking for her, I would’ve told you weeks ago, dude.” Robin added with a small shrug.

“I’m going back later if you wanna come along.” Dustin said to the pair.

“We’ll go at the end of my shift, asshole. And you’re gonna tell me everything you know about her.” Steve grumbled bitterly.

Robin raised an eyebrow quizzically, looking between the two boys. When Steve headed into the back, Robin turned her attention to Dustin.

“So, what’s his deal? Why all the interest in Y/N?” she asked, leaning her weight on her elbows, propping herself up on the counter.

“I don’t know man, she like…helped Will right before school ended, stopped this asshole from beating him up, and Steve’s been weird about it ever since. I think he’s got this like...thing about her. I don’t get it, but he’s been searching for her all summer.” He explained, hands turning sticky from his forgotten ice cream. Robin reached for the napkin dispenser, pulling out a wad and handing them to him with a grimace. Watching Dustin eat was nauseating-he didn’t know how to eat anything without making a mess of himself and anything he touched.

Robin nodded, pursing her lips in thought “Reverse Nightingale Syndrome…” she muttered to herself.

“What?”

“Reverse Nightingale Syndrome, it’s when a patient falls in love with their nurse because of the kindness and personal care they give them. In this case it’s when our lonely friend falls head over heels for the girl who saved one of his friends. It won’t last.” Robin explained cockily, unable to hide the pride in her voice, finally getting to explain something to the wiseass kid who insisted on explaining everything to her.

“He isn’t…he’s not into her. He just wants to…thank her. I think. I don’t know what he wants to do anymore but it’s not date her. He doesn’t know her.” Dustin replied, tossing his half-eaten ice cream in the built in trash can in the centre of the counter. Robin hummed in response, not believing him for a second. Dustin opened his mouth to respond, but a large group of preteens rushed the shop and Robin turned her full attention to the group with a forced smile.

The rest of the afternoon went about as well. The shop stayed busy long past Robin’s shift ending and customers had to be asked to leave when the shop was set to close, along with the rest of the mall. By the time Steve was done cleaning the shop and locking up, it was closer to eleven than it was to ten, the time he was supposed to be done at.

“Come on, Steve, we have to go! I’m gonna miss my curfew and you owe me a ride home.” Dustin said testily, crossing his arms over his chest, his letter still clutched in hand.

“We’re going to the library first.” Steve said tightly.

Across town, you were struggling to stay awake at the front desk. You never understood why the library stayed open this late, nobody came in after eight pm and while during the high school exam season the library would stay populated by the exhausted, drained students trying to get through school without slowly combusting. But you couldn’t pack it up yet, if Darlene found out that you’d closed early again, she’d fire you for sure. And since you liked your job, you wouldn’t push your luck.

But it was almost quarter to twelve; it wouldn’t hurt to start your cleanup, right? You didn’t think so, so you grabbed your cart and started your pickup of every book left behind by careless patrons. Then, once you’d re-shelved everything, you vacuumed the kid’s area and put all the plastic toys back into their primary coloured storage bins.

That took you right till five till twelve. You grabbed your keys and purse, throwing your moleskin into it, and made your way to the front doors.

Before you could shut off the lights, someone rushed the doors, scaring the absolute crap out of you. You let out a blood curdling scream, slamming the light switch to illuminate the library’s main entrance.

It was just Dustin. You clutched at your heart. “Jesus, kid, you scared the shit out of me. We’re literally closing in…” you checked your watch “A minute! You better have those books!”

“I do.” He pulled out the pile from his backpack and you grabbed them quickly, tossing them into grey rubber bin behind the desk. “I would’ve put them in the drop box, but it’s locked.” Dustin added as you wrote out a sticky note, telling the opening crew to check the books in.

“Yeah, Darlene probably locked it when she left, some assholes keep dropping random shit down it. Last week it was a stink bomb.” You explained, turning your attention back to the exit. Your eyes met Steve’s for the briefest of moments. They were prettier than you remembered. You looked away quickly.

“I see you brought your body guard today. Nice to see you, Harrington.” You said, readjusting your purse strap on the shoulder.

“Hey…” he replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He mentally chastised himself for being so awkward; it felt like his mouth had turned into a desert and his mind had gone even blanker than usual.

“Well, I think we’re good. Now, get out of my library, I wanna go home.” You chuckled, making your way to the front doors again, gesturing with a flick of your wrist for Steve to walk out. It was as though you’d used the force on him, he’d moved so quickly, so fearfully, and so jerkily out the door you could have sworn you’d moved him with your mind. You flicked off the lights and, after ushering Dustin out the door, you stepped out and locked the front door.

“Dustin, you better come back tomorrow and pay off your damn debt, alright? I won’t take anymore shit from my boss because of your lazy ass.” You declared, planting your hands firmly on your hips.

Dustin rolled his eyes “Yeah, yeah, okay mom.” He scoffed.

“I’m serious dude! You’ve gotten me in so much shit, you don’t even get it.” you replied, rolling your eyes.

“Are you in tomorrow?” he asked sceptically.

“Yeah.” That was a lie, Saturday was your first day off in weeks, but it felt like the right lie to tell in the moment.

“Then I’ll bring it over.” Lying was the right choice, so it seemed.

“Good, anyway I’ll see you tomorrow!” you turned on your heel, heading off towards the sidewalk.

“Hey! Y/N! You want a ride?” Steve called quickly. Dustin smacked him hard in the chest, but he ignored it as you turned back around into view again.

“Oh, I’m okay to walk. It’s a nice night.” You replied with a small shrug, your left hand subconsciously coming to grab your right elbow. The way he was looking at you made you nervous for some reason.

“Nah, come on its late. Lemme drive you.” Steve said, motioning you towards the car he was already walking to.

“Are you sure? I’m off Beech Street…” you said. Steve had already pulled the backseat up and was forcing Dustin into it.

Steve turned back to you quickly, popping the seat up again roughly. He brushed his messy long hair out of his face, his expression wild and yet self-aware, smiling even though his eyes screamed over how awkward the scene he created was. “Nah, its fine. You’re right between Dustin and me.” He said, gesturing to the front seat. You nodded awkwardly, stepping past him and into the car. He shut the door for you. It would’ve been chivalrous if him standing there while you settled into and adjusted the seatback wasn’t uncomfortable.

Steve rushed to the other side of the car, climbing in and starting the car. Immediately, Wham!’s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go started blasting from the speakers. Both you and Steve cringed as the upbeat sound playing at you, second-hand embarrassment coursing through your veins. Steve looked to you briefly and you kept your gaze on the world outside, hoping to keep your expression as neutral. Without a word, he pulled out of the space and headed onto the main roads.

Both Steve and Dustin knew that you were nowhere near his house, but he was insistent on seeing you through. He had made it this far, he had his chance, all he had to do was take it. So, he drove Dustin home without a word, working up the nerve to say something to you.

“So, any good news for your essay?” you asked, turning back to look at Dustin.

“Got a response from Science Quarterly.” He replied vaguely, looking away from you and out the window into the dark streets.

“And?”

“I haven’t opened it yet…”

“Well open it!” you cried, smacking your headrest excitedly. Steve glanced over at you. You looked so…well beautiful. Your smile lit up the whole damn car, it lit up your whole face and made your eyes shine with so much mirth and brightness that it rivalled the stars above him. You looked like…something inhuman. God like maybe, maybe just like an angel, he couldn’t decide on what, but it was beautiful. It captured his attention far more than it should’ve while he was driving. That was going to cause a problem for him, he just knew it.

Dustin swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly from the dry swallow. He nodded, tearing open the envelope and reading aloud.

“Dear Mr. Henderson, we at Science Quarterly are very interested in your study on the new form of lizard you have named the D’Artagnan. While we would love to publish your article on sight alone,”

You let out a cheer, beating up the leather headrest excitedly.

Dustin raised his voice over your cheers “We must ask you to provide all of your research notes for the board, including images of the D’Artagnon beyond the preliminary sketches you provided with the article. Please reply to this letter with your full notes and unaltered images of D’Artagnon so we at the board can confirm this creature’s existence and relevance as a new species. Thank you for your interest in the magazine.”

Dustin dropped the letter on the seat sadly, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his attention to the window.

“So, what’s the problem? I saw your notes, they’re great! All they want is a couple pictures, I’m sure you can-”

Steve cut you off, a sympathetic look sent Dustin’s direction “We only had Dart for a few days before he ran off. Didn’t get a chance to take photos of him and haven’t found another since. It was a once in a lifetime discovery.” He explained softly to you before raising his voice “I’m really sorry man.”

“Yeah well, we don’t all make out career defining discovery at fourteen.” Dustin said. Steve pulled up to Dustin’s house and, before he could even stop the car, Dustin pushed up your seat and popped the door, rushing out into the night and towards his well lit house.

“Bye, man!” Steve called half heartedly, waving before rolling his eyes “Or whatever…”

You smiled sympathetically “He’s just a bit upset, he’ll get over it.” you pulled your door shut and pushed your chair back to a more comfortable position.

“Yeah…Beach Street?” Steve asked.

“1215 Beach Street.” You confirmed and Steve sped off.

You sat in really uncomfortable silence for most of the ride, listening to the radio play pop music on repeat.

As Steve turned down Beach Street, he finally made his move.

“So…um, I just-I wanted to thank you.” He said, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

“For what?” you asked, furrowing your brow.

“For…you helped Will at the beginning of the summer, he was getting the shit kicked outta him-”

“By Troy, I remember now.” You finished with a small smile “It’s really not a big deal, I’ll take any excuse to get the upper hand over that kid.” You chuckled, leaning back fully into your seat, lulling your head to look at him, eyes running over his face.

Steve was prettier than you remembered. He had the face and physique of an ancient Greek athlete, lanky but strong with the wide, deeply emotive eyes that bore into your soul and revealed every ounce of feeling he’d ever felt. You’d been at the party with Samantha Barks when Steve got his ass handed to him by little Nancy Wheeler. You remember how broken he looked as he pushed by the pair of you, interrupting Samantha as she half heartedly talked to freaky Jonathan Byers to tell him something, you didn’t remember what. All you remembered was his eyes. They were so full of heartbreak, unbridled sadness that shook you to your core despite barely even knowing him.

“It was really cool. I mean, nobody ever pays any attention to that kid and I mean I was late getting there and you just-you showed and you don’t even know them and I just-look, I really appreciated it. It meant a lot to me.” Steve struggled his way through, running his fingers through his pretty brown hair over and over again, as if it would anchor him to the ground.

“Oh…I didn’t realize…Well, I’m glad I could help out.” You said quietly, smiling softly to yourself. You were genuinely proud of yourself for stepping in and for helping out.

“Yeah…” Steve muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He lowered his head, focusing his gaze on the seat peaking out between his legs. “I-I’ve been trying to thank you for that all summer, I kinda don’t have a plan anymore.” He said, turning down the opposite end of Beach Street. He knew that he’d have to loop around and head across town back to Maple Street and leaving out the other end would cut some time.

“Really?” you asked. That bit of information was shocking to you. Most people weren’t looking too hard to find you. You doubted that your own mother would care where you were in that very moment.

“Yeah…” he chuckled “I even searched the entire mall for you. I didn’t find you.”

“Oh.” Oh. That was very unexpected. “I…I didn’t even know…” You looked down, in part to hide the blush burning into your face and in part because you didn’t know if you could look him in the eye.

“Yeah, I figured as much.” He laughed again and you looked up, peering deeply into his deep brown eyes in search of some clarity. Your whole body was buzzing with energy and your mind was on fire with thought. And all of the thoughts were over Steve fucking Harrington. And you didn’t want it to stop. He’d taken over your mind in a single look and you wanted to feel that way forever.

Steve pulled up outside your house, parking in front of your driveway. Neither of you moved, not even to unbuckle your seatbelt. You simply sat, staring out the windshield blankly.

You turned sharply to look out the window, frowning “She didn’t even leave the light on for me…” you whispered to yourself, sighing softly. Steve stared at you for a second, unsure what to do or say. Words were pushing to pour out from his throat.

“Hey, listen, this is gonna sound so weird but do you wanna maybe…go out sometime? Like with me?” Steve asked the back of your head. You turned quickly to look at him, taking in the sheer nervousness his whole body radiated with. You absorbed the energy, feeling your stomach tighten and your palms sweat.

“Yeah…yeah I’d like that.” You said, feeling a smile pull at the corners of your lips.

“Yeah?” Steve asked, his voice endearingly hopeful.

“Yeah!” you exclaimed with a little giggle. It slipped out unintentionally, but it lit Steve’s face up brighter than you’d seen before.

“What are you doing tomorrow? Wait, you told Dustin you’re working, what about-”

You cut him off “I’m not working.” Steve raised a curious eyebrow at you. “I might have lied to the kid…” Steve burst out laughing. Now that was music to your ears. “He deserves it! Let him deal with what I dealt with for months!”

Steve laughed until his stomach hurt, until he forgot why he was laughing. He felt like the light you had shining off you from every angle was seeping into his skin and healing him, the scars left behind by the world fading away under your light. And you just kept smiling at him, this bewildered, precious look of embarrassed joy that he’d brought on.

Finally, after what felt like a never ending loop of laughter, Steve took a heaving breath and pushed it out with a sigh. “I should probably let you go here…” he muttered, looking at the time from his watch. You nodded, reaching over the gear shift and planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. As Steve’s face turned beet red, you popped the door open, climbing out with a grin you couldn’t manage to push off your face.

“I’ll see you around, Harrington.” You said “Come and visit me sometime, now that you know where I am.” You shut the door, turning and heading inside “I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow!” he called after you as you bounded up the front steps, taking them two at a time. You heard, just as you shut your front door, an overjoyed cry, and watched Steve’s car speed off.

“Oh god he’s such a dork…” you muttered to yourself, shutting the door softly. ‘Oh god I like it…’ you thought, but you wouldn’t dare admit that out loud.

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alitheamateur · 5 years

Text

A Taste of Home-Chapter 4

Warnings: Fluff. Language.

The door to the creamery pulled open with ease beneath his ample muscles, and you wondered if he had ever accidentally broken things unaware of his own strength and abilities. The place was a new addition to the corner since you had last walked these streets, but was there ever such thing as ‘bad ice cream’?

“What’ll it be, Ms. Calvert? How about you save us a seat, and I’ll order?” He pulled out a black diner chair from a round table in the farthest corner of the quaint place. “They do have a mocha flavor that I would highly recommend though.”

You realized your hood was still up on your noisy raincoat even now inside, but you casually stalled removing it in his presence afraid your witchy, tangled locks would frighten him.

“I’ll take your word for it then.” You handed him some cash you thought enough to cover your scoop, and he scoffed, pushing it back at you with super-hero reflexes.

“Your money is no good here, Mills. Don’t even think about it! Let me treat you, will ya’? I can’t take the risk of a tabloid snapping a pic of Steve Rogers letting a lady pay. You’d ruin me.”

God, he was all too much. The shit-eating, almost satanically handsome smile, added to his already chiseled, yet soft face. And the way he would chew on his lip like it was a popping piece of bubblegum nearly made you want to cry. We won’t even discuss the charm, though.

When his backed turned to you, your let your loose hair escape from under the cover of your coat, and Dodger watched you with judgement at your feet.

“How’s it look, boy? We don’t want your dad running the other way, do we.” You used the blank face of your phone to give yourself a once over, and applied some drug-store chap-stick to your lips for precautionary purposes, of course.

Chris paid the server, and gracefully carried your two scoops, his own, and a special treat for his canine companion over to you attentively. Placing one delicious treat in front of a very eager dog, he scooted the other empty seat closer toward your side of the table.

“A sweet for a sweetie.” He served you, releasing a breath of relief when he sat. He attempted a straight face, trying to make the line work, but lost his nerve and puffed out an uncontrollable laugh.

Sure, it was ridiculously overused, and probably classified as grounds for hysterical heckling to most. But, the cutesy compliment seemed to somehow pass off as endearing coming from someone such as he. So, you just thanked him, and laughed alongside.

“I should thank you again, Chris. For what you did with your friend, and the magazine. It was so beyond generous of you.” You licked the contents off the upside-down spoon between your lips bashfully. “But… I mean… I guess I’m just trying to figure it all out. How did you know? About what my blog even consisted of and stuff.”

He wasn’t making eye contact, but you could see the shadow of his lashes flutter into a smile as he played more with his treat than ate it.

“Okay. Confession?” He answered, leaning in closer to you. The chill of his breath from the bites of ice cream he had taken in felt like ice blended with fire across your face.

He had hired a PI to follow you and track your phone records for the last week. And he had searched the web history of your laptop seeing the fashion vlogs you kept up with, but also discovered all the times you had Googled his name?

You gulped.

“I have a fake account on social media, and I’ve followed you for a year or so now. Your mom sent a Christmas card and your picture was on it. Made me think about how I hadn’t seen you in so long. So, I searched you, found you, and I’ve sort of had a little insight into your life since.” The point of his tongue poked into his cheek, as he scratched a light graze through his hair. Appearing ashamed, or uncomfortable for some reason.

“Why a fake account, Chris? I mean, I would’ve loved to hear from you, silly.”

“There are all sorts of those people online pretending to be celebrities, and asking for money ‘n shit. I don’t ever want my friends to think they’re getting scammed under false pretenses. Thought it just the best idea, ya’ know.”

Dodger had finished his cup before it had even slightly melted, and a sticky, sugary sheen had settled into his whiskers. He rested his head on folded paws, closing his eyes due to the probable brain freeze.

“In turn, that’s how I knew you were so damn talented, Amelia. You work hard, and I just think you should have something to show for it. Especially after that assho-“

“Wait.” You broke in. “What exactly do you know about that asshole?”

Laying it all out on the table, well most of it, and clearing the air of any falsified details that were embellished along the towns game of telephone seemed the mature decision.

Chris cleared his throat, and stretched, resting an arm over the back of your chair, appearing to get comfortable for whatever confessions to come. You could feel his hand almost reach out to pet over your back, but he pulled away frightened it may be out of line.

“Well, I heard… Mhmm…. I heard that you ran into his office one day in a jealous rage after he had hired a very…endowed paralegal. And when you just wouldn’t give up the feeling you had about him sleeping with her, he kicked you out. Then, you saw him out with the same bimbo a week later.” He closed his eyes, his face uncomfortable at the awkward timeline of your less than lucky turn in your relationship.

You palmed your own miserable face, exasperation and defeated mortification written on your every piece of reddening flesh. You felt shameful tears trickle before you could halt the unbreaking emotion.

“That’s what people are saying? Truly, that is what’s going around? I thought you said you heard everything from my mom, Chris?”

“I only heard you were getting a divorce from her, sweetheart. I didn’t get the rundown. That little tidbit I heard from my sister.”

The story had become much more potently twisted than you had ever expected, and it seemed somehow even from another state, your ex, Ben, had taken stance as the innocent party in matters. This jumbled wheel of false information would take much more effort than you were willing to give to clear up.

“God, no. No, no, no, no, no! That’s beyond the truth, Chris. I was afraid the story had been misconstrued, but not to this level. I literally saw him on his knees over top of her. Naked. In the floor of his office with his tie around her wrists…” You wiped your eyes, as if somehow the entire disaster would disappear if you could clear your frazzled, blurry sight.

“Welcome to my life, Millie.” The man huffed.

Here you had the gall to complain about a little nonsense murmuring around the neighborhood, and in the last year Chris had been in the scummy tabloids linked to several women, partying ‘too hard’ after a spilt, and deemed and ‘ass man’. Who really had it worse here?

“I don’t know how the hell you do it. I’m sorry. I had no right to complain whatsoever.”

He peeped to his left out the store-front window, only moving his eyeballs.

“Well, you’ll find out exactly what it’s like when that shithead with a camera standing out front slaps us on his headline tomorrow.”

Sure enough, carelessly in the middle of the street, stood a long-haired man in a ballcap, snapping pixelated images of you two seated in the dim corner of the café.

“I can see it now.” You announced, spreading your hands like examining a marquee sign. “Captain America spotted with unimpressive blonde woman at downtown creamery.”

Chris gestured a smile, but boldly reached up the squeeze the back of your neck under rain dampened hair. “Blonde, maybe. Unimpressive? Gimme a break, Millie. Don’t play fuckin’ bashful with me.” His subtle massages over the heat of your neck had you squirming in the seat below you. Maybe, you were pretending it was his leg. But that’s nobody’s business.

He saw something apparently you did not. Was there a memo you had missed?

“If you don’t know what the hell that dimply little devilish smile does to people, then you are sincerely misusing a weapon of mass destruction. Calvert.”

“Me?!” Some harlot buried inside of you possessed your body, and you scooted your chair an inch or two closer to him, punctuating your flirting with a squeeze to his thigh. “How about you put those oceans on each side of your nose away, Evans. And fess up to those lash extensions, will ya’?”

He wanted to kiss you. Or his tongue did anyway as it played and begged circles around his own lush lips. But not here. Not yet. Not for the world to see and break the internet.

He ruffled his hair, clearing the lumpy mass of battling self-control in his throat. You smiled, purposely, adding to his obvious already demise.

“Amelia fuckin’ Calvert, A trip you are, my dear.”

As he stood up, gathering the empty cups of sugary cream, he noticeably adjusted himself nearest his screaming manhood, and your eyes abandoned all loyalty to catch a glimpse. You followed him in standing, scratching a head over Dodgers head who had already risen to catch his owners’ heels.

“If it weren’t for this guy, I don’t think I would’ve accepted your dessert invitation. How could I say no to him after he spent his hard-earned allowance on that beautiful rose?”

“Well, I’m glad you two troublemakers have taken a liking to each other. You can keep him company some when I leave in two weeks.” Chris held the door open for you, carefully grazing the small of your back.

“Leaving?” No doubt he sensed the dread in your voice.

“Yep. We start filming on the 28th, so I’ll be wheels up the day before.”

The rain had passed on for the day, and Dodger was curious and keen to investigate every puddle planted on the sidewalk. He shifted too abruptly to the right, nudging your legs. You toppled, and tripped over your own feet towards Chris’ bubble, and he caught you by the hand. He didn’t have to do so by lacing his fingers into yours, or lingering there as long as he did, but you wouldn’t dare utter an objection.

“So, I expect you let me give you that tour of the house before I leave…..”

Mental note: Use your every dime of savings to buy the most lush set of lingerie on the continent.

Oh, you wretched, nymphomaniac. Don’t flatter yourself.

“What. The. Shit.”

Your lady-like cursing confused the flamboyantly kittenish man stepping in unison beside you, and he followed your suit to halt.

“Chris…” Your head hurt already from the deep v of your inquisitive brow. “My car, Chris. Where is my car?”

He looked upward at the street signs, double-checking that his distracted mind hadn’t discombobulated his sense of direction, and you had taken a wrong turn along the way. You immediately searched the deep pockets of your crossbody for your phone, and cringed, dropping your head back in defeat seeing a text from your once husband.

Shithead: Just getting all my affairs in order before we sign the divorce papers. Ooops, so happens your car was in my name.

“Mills. Talk to me. What’s happening?” Chris searched your face for some clue.

“I’m now carless. Along with homeless, and for the most part jobless. All thanks to my so overly generous husband, it seems.” You didn’t feel a shred of hurt, or pain, or sadness. But your dignity, and pride? Man, talk about shattered with an atom bomb.

“Not if I have anything to say about it, you’re not. Come with me. Let’s play with this son of a bitch a bit, shall we.”

As if you already didn’t want to mount him in the broad daylight….

TAGS: @eap1935 @mollybegger-blog @miidailyinspiration

#Chris Evans #chrisevans #chris evans x ofc #chris evans fanfiction

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ask-runaan-anything · 5 years

Note

I am talking about when an hetero elf and a human FOR SOME REASON really like each other they **** and **** to create a hybrid

And they.... SLICE and DICE? To sew one half of a human onto one half of an elf?? They’d better have some very fine stitching skills. I suggest finding a couple of quilters or tailors.

Or did you mean they COLLABORATE and LISTEN? Is Ice truly back with a brand new invention? Although if that song spawned a half-elf, they’d be nearly as old as I am.

*tips my horns speculatively* I think what you really meant to suggest was that this elf and human came to CHEW BUBBLEGUM and KICK ASS.

And when they’re done... they’re all out of bubblegum.

One kick-ass hybrid coming up, but they’re a bit sticky, so mind your hair. They smell really tasty, though. Better hope there’s not a food shortage.

#ask runaan #runaan answers #sassy saturday

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homicidalhomemaker · 3 years

Photo

“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum.” Happy anniversary to @johncarpenterofficial's #TheyLive, released in this day in 1988. Here's a throwback to some cookies I did inspired by the film a few years back, hand-cut and decored with bubblegum-flavored icing. . . . . . . . . #horrorfood #horrorbaking #horrorcookies #80shorror #80shorrormovies #horrorcooking #horrorcookingshow #horrorchef #horrorbakingshow #horrorbaker #homicidalhomemaker #thehomicidalhomemaker #creepycooking #creepybaking #halloweencookies #halloweenfood #halloweendessert #everydayishalloween #halloweeniseverday #horrorfans #johncarpenter #theylive #alloutofbubblegum #obey #roddypiper #HorrorMovies #decoratedcookies #decoratedsugarcookies #cookiedecorating https://www.instagram.com/p/CV2_lg9pf4B/?utm_medium=tumblr

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incorrectwbbquotes · 7 years

Quote

Ice Bear is here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and he's out of gum.

Ice Bear, during the events of “Icy Nights”

#incorrect quotes #we bare bears #ice bear #source:#they live

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sometimesambroswrites · 7 years

Note

Malec promt ( If your still taking them) 😁 Alec goes to the hunters moon with Jace and gets very drunk. Magnus gets a call from Maia to come pick up his drunk boyfriend as Jace has left him there so he can hook up with a girl.

I have it!it’s pretty long and I hope it’s what you had in mind :)Please let me know what you think :3

Turns out, Alec is ahuge fan of sweet, fruity drinks. None of that Martini dryness oralmost straight up alcohol Magnus keeps in his apartment. Just,strawberry deliciousness Alec can’t remember the name of as he’senthusiastically drinking through a bubblegum-pink coloured straw.

Maia makes the bestdrinks. Alec should tell her. He turns on his stool, mindful of thedrink in his hand because his fingers are horribly sticky already,but he loses balance for a second, his head a bit too light, like heneeds to recalibrate his equilibrium now that his head is apparently– floating. Somewhere. He catches the edge of the stool on hisright without spilling a single drop of his drink, which is prettydamn incredible.

Alec hopes somebodysaw it.

He turns, a bitslower this time, ready to brag about his powerful reflexes to Jace,but he frowns when he realizes he’s nowhere to be seen – which,granted, isn’t saying much since Alec can only turn his head so muchbefore it feels like it’s completely detached from his neck.Whatever.

But Maia – Maia ishere and that makes her reach second or third position in Alec’s listof favourite people right now.

- ’ve you seenJace?- he asks, and then stops, confused, pushing his tongue againstthe roof of his mouth because it feels weird. Cotton-y. Uh.

Maia looks at himwith what looks like half concern, half affectionate condescension:-He left about one hour ago with some girl.-

Oh. Oh,Alec remembers now.

Jacehad actually insisted on staying, seeing as Alec hadn’t actually evergotten drunk before, but he’d mumbled ’s okay,lips wrapped tentatively around his second drink’s straw, Iwon’t stay here long anyway.

Littlehad he known.

He’shappily sipping his fourth drink and he should actually get a newone. A refill.

-Actually,I think you’ve had enough,- Maia comments, her eyebrows raised overher amused expression.

Alecsquints at her. He didn’t know werewolves could read minds.

Maiarolls her eyes: -You’re talking out loud,-and then she adds something under her breath as she walks away.Sounds like Shadowhunters,doesn’t sound like a compliment.

Alechuffs and keeps sipping his drink – slowly, because he doesn’t wantto finish it if Maia won’t make him a new one.

He’spushing around the ice cubes in his glass when someone says: -Heygorgeous,- behind him, voice casual, and Alec doesn’t even botherturning – he probably wouldn’t be able to if he tried, but that’snot the point – as he says: -I have a boyfriend,- something warmsettling in his chest even if he chewed the words and some lettersare still on his tongue, because he has a boyfriend andhe can say it out loud.

Theperson behind him stops, and then says: -Really?- a hint of amusementin his voice, -Is he cute?-

Alecsays: -The cutest.-

Orsomething like that.

Theguy takes another step forward, a bit too close so Alec raises hishead because he can still probably kick the guy’s ass, but - -Oh.-

Magnus’eyes are bright and bare of any make-up as he looks at him, fondexpression softening his edges.

-Pleasetake him away before he pukes somewhere.-

Alecfrowns. He is not goingto puke. Maia is rude. She is back in seventh position.

Magnusfondly rolls his eyes as he brushes Alec’s shoulder: -Want to gohome?-, and that suddenly sounds so much better than drinking thesefruity, deceiving cocktails that don’t taste like alcohol and will,therefore, trick you into drinking too many.

Henods as Magnus wraps his arm around his waist to help him with thewhole equilibrium thing, and Alec rests his head on Magnus’ shoulderas they walk, just to make sure it’s still somewhere above his neck.

NewYork’s air is pleasantly cool on his face – Magnus clearly thoughta portal wouldn’t be the best idea.

Magnussays: -So. I’m cute?-, his arm still wrapped around Alec’s waist, hisleft hand holding Alec’s over his shoulder.

Alecsighs against his neck, a small smile curling his lips: -The cutest.-

#Anonymous #malec #malec fic #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters

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overwatch-imagines-hub · 7 years

Text

Overwatch Women: Reaction to S/O Wanting to Run Away

Overwatch men: https://overwatch-imagines-hub.tumblr.com/post/160664343284/overwatch-men-reaction-to-so-wanting-to-run-away

~~~

Tracer

Nah, you’re not going anywhere on her watch

Stress is a pain in the ass and the fighting is a little tough to get through, she knows it

But it’s gotta be easier when you go through it with someone who knows where you’re coming from and who desperately cares about you, right?

“Move in with me.”

That wasn’t quite the answer you were expecting

“Come again?”

She’ll get all close to you and hold you close

“Move in with me. We’ll deal with it all together. It’ll make it easier, I promise you. I’m not going to tell you run away from your problems but sure as hell going to help you get through them.”

Marry her while you’re at it, why don’t you?

Sombra

At first, it’s kind of an interrogation

She pulls literally everything she can out of you about why you want to run away

Then she hacks around a bit to get some deeper research in

Basically, she’s gonna dig into everything little thing that has ever made you uncomfortable or upset, then she’s going to ruin it

Or them

Whichever, she doesn’t really care

However, in the meantime, if you want to run away, she’ll make it happen

She’ll wipe you clean from any digital (and physical) records until you literally don’t exist in any other sense than you’re a walking, talking person

(She keeps said records for safekeeping just in case though)

Then she’ll up you some new records and IDs, and even put your name onto a house deed

All new life for you until she can take care of these inconveniences

And, if you like the way you’re living now and don’t really want to go back to your old life (even after she’s destroyed almost every bad thing about it), that’s fine too

Who knows, maybe she’ll join you someday?

Until then, you’re her perfect little secret and she loves it

Zarya

She’s got kind of a Roadhog mentality on the subject

You don’t get to run away because that’s stupid

You get to sit down on her lap and talk about your issues while she plays with your hair and mentally lists the people she needs to hunt down and intimidate

Tbh, she’s surprised anyone would do you any wrong in the first place

They should already know who your girlfriend is

But she’s sure as hell going to make sure they know who she is now if they somehow don’t already

You don’t get to run away though

However, you do get a couple weeks off from the world while Zarya babies takes care of you

It’s like a mini run away instead

Mei

She’s not one for “destroying the enemy” like the others are

She’s more of the “drag you to every enemy’s doorstep and you get to listen while she chews them out” type of girlfriend

Don’t get me wrong; this is probably the scariest thing she can do

She’s a marshmallow of woman most of the time and she does a lot of bottling up her own emotions

So boy is she gonna go all-out on these assholes who hurt you

And she may just bring her ice gun for intimidation purposes alone

Scary marshmallow woman

Then she takes you home for hot cocoa and cuddling while she basically coddles you

You can’t leave, who would snuggle her then?

Ana

She likes kicking ass and chewing bubblegum, and she’s all out of bubblegum

But, really, she’s going to look into places for you to stay and she’s gonna get you out of whatever rough situation you’re in for however long you need it

Literally rents an apartment for a few months just for you

In the meantime, time to kick ass

She checks in on you constantly

When she visits, it’s constant teasing and storytelling and she cooks every meal

She gives you space if you want it though

Pharah

She gets hella anxious about the situation

Are you seriously thinking of running away??

Nonononono let’s not do this pleassseee

You might have to calm her down instead of the other way around

“Fareeha, it’s not that big of a deal. I just need to get away for a while.”

“Not that big of a deal? You’re thinking of running away!”

She thinks it’s partially her own fault for not taking care of you or being there for you enough

That’s obviously not the case though

“So.. Are you leaving me as well then?”

“What? Absolutely not.”

“Well if you’re running away, it’s from everything, isn’t it?”

“It’s from the bad things. You’re definitely not a bad thing. You’re an amazing thing.”

The conversation somehow turns into you comforting her and explaining yourself to her

Then it somehow just turns to cuddling and talking about random things

This is much more pleasant than running away

Symmetra

She’s not quite sure what the best response to this situation is

She suggests that it’s not the best idea but she’s not going to stop you if you’re stubborn about it

If you are, she settles for designing you a house

Because if you’re doing some sort of soul-searching journey, you’re going to do it in the best damn house you’ve ever seen

You’re not allowed to leave until she finishes it

She has you move in when it’s mostly done to check things out

She’s been staying there a lot lately herself

Oh, look, you’re living together now

That wasn’t the plan at all

D.Va

She’s gonna chase everyone who’s ever hurt you down with her mech!

Or so she says

Really, she’s just gonna help you out

Did somebody say run away road trip to every Disney theme park in the world?

Because she did

It’s happening

A couple days at each park, just the two of you, everything’s on her

And she promises to do something similar every time you start to feel like life’s getting to be a little much

Mini run aways

Widowmaker

You’re literally the only thing she cares about

Like, the only other thing she shows any genuine emotion towards is ballet

But, yeah, you actually make her feel something so she’s not letting you go anywhere

She’s literally just like, “Who do I have to kill”

She’s not kidding

Like just give her a list and she’ll bring bring you back a lock of air from each of their heads if you ask her too

Then she’ll make you a nice dinner and then take you out dancing

The end

No one fucks with her s/o like

Mercy

Cue therapist Mercy

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, you’re not running away. We’re going to sit down and talk and deal with this.”

“Angela, we’ve already tried th--”

“No. Sit.”

That’s it, that’s how it goes

Just no

Bad you

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torterragarden · 7 years

Note

top 5 female and top 5 male characters in anything (top 10 if 5 isnt enough), add reasons if you want to 🙋 and a happy new year 🙌

OKAY SO I’M FINALLY GETTING AROUND TO POSTING MY ANSWER FOR THIS THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT. I spent so much time thinking about this because I loved this question and I ended up coming up with a top 10 female characters + reasons and I probably went way overboard like this is so long and I’m sorry. So unfortunately I haven’t made a list for male characters because I got so extra with this female characters list, but another time perhaps. Anyway, top 10 female characters here we go!!

10. Piper Mclean, Heroes of Olympus series - I think what I really like about Piper is that she has a lot of qualities that badly written female characters tend to have, but… she’s written well. What I mean is like… Piper is selfish. She’s whiny. She’s a brat. She’s emotional. Usually when a female character has traits like that, she isn’t likable and probably wasn’t intended to be. But Piper is given a depth and respect that those other female characters aren’t usually afforded. She’s flawed, but she knows it, and she hates her flaws and she tries to better herself. And she’s more than those flaws too! She’s brave and kind and loving, and her emotions - all of them, no matter how ugly - are ultimately her strength. I love that she’s allowed to be so emotional, that it’s good that she’s so emotional, because I feel like there’s this idea that female characters have to be emotionless in order to be “strong” or whatever so anyway yeah I love Piper

9. Emily Davis, Until Dawn - I have a knack for taking a liking to female characters that the majority of the fandom hates, and then loving them even more out of spite. Admittedly, a lot of my aggressive love for Emily is a reaction to the amount of (unfair, reeking of double standards and sexism) hatred she gets in the fandom, but even disregarding that, I do really like her. I started liking her very early on in Until Dawn. She seemed like she had a lot of personality and I liked that, and I only liked her more as the game went on. I mean… I literally have a post listing all of the reasons that I love Emily so that should tell you everything, right?

8. Amethyst, Steven Universe - I hesitated to put Amethyst on the list, since I’m not sure if she technically counts as “female”, but at the very least I think it’s fair to say that she’s female-coded and female-aligned so… I thought it would be okay? She would probably have been a lot higher up if not for the fact that I’ve lost a lot of my interest in SU, but I still love Amethyst a hell of a lot. I relate to her very strongly, for reasons that are not super comfortable to talk about. Much like Amethyst, I tend to bottle up everything and let it eat away at me until everything just explodes in the ugliest way. I think very little of myself, but I try my best to stay chill-passing because I’d rather die than tell anyone how I’m actually feeling. I don’t like going into detail about this but basically Amethyst is important to me because I relate to her in a lot of ugly and painful ways, and loving Amethyst is almost like learning to love myself. Almost.

7. Princess Bubblegum, Adventure Time - It’s funny that Adventure Time as a whole is one of those “I Definitely Like This But I’m Not Super Passionate About It” things, but there are like, four things in that show that I do feel Super Passionate about. Princess Bubblegum is one of them (the other three are Ice King, Marceline, and Bubbline, in case you were wondering). Gotdamn dude I love Princess Bubblegum and I think she doesn’t get nearly enough attention for being as interesting as she is. From the beginning I loved how she was simultaneously really sweet and morally ambiguous, that’s a really funny and intriguing dichotomy. I love that while she’s ultimately working for the Greater Good™, she’s really ruthless and vindictive. She has good intentions but she’s so very flawed, and she can be downright terrifying. Bubblegum is just endlessly fascinating to me and I really love her.

6. Cassie Cage, Mortal Kombat - Well obviously she had to be on this list, she’s where I got my url from. My love for Cassie Cage is less about who she is and more about what she represents to me, I think. Mortal Kombat isn’t exactly known for having great depictions of female characters but they did improve a lot in Mortal Kombat X, and I fell in love with Cassie partially because, to me, she embodied a lot of the positive changes. I loved that she was the heroine of MKX, I loved that she wasn’t overtly sexualized, I loved that she was funny and confident and just so damn cool, in that way that classic action heroes are cool. Chewing bubblegum and flipping people off and sassing everyone and just being exactly what comes to mind when you think “bad ass”. She was so different and so unexpected and I was so pleasantly surprised with Cassie Cage.

5. Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games - Katniss is one of the most important fictional characters ever written okay. This is a girl who grew up in extreme poverty, who took it upon herself to take care of her family at age 12, who was hardened because of her circumstances but still compassionate, and still so vulnerable. She suffered from severe PTSD, she was used as a pawn by the Capitol and by the rebels, she was manipulated and taken advantage of and she lost everything because of it. And in the end she still found a way to stand up and keep going. She didn’t magically get better but she made a life worth living for herself, even if she had to constantly remind herself of the good things in her life. I fucking love Katniss okay.

4. Jaehee Kang, Mystic Messenger - Yeah I kind of feel like trash for having a character from a god damn dating sim on here but tbh Mystic Messenger is so good it makes me angry (you are a dating sim what business do you have being that good fuck you) so I don’t feel too much like trash. Only a little bit like trash. Anyway, Jaehee. Holy god where do I even start. She is just so beautiful. That’s the first word that comes to mind, and I’m not even talking about her appearance (although yeah she’s definitely very attractive). It’s just her, man. She is so kind, so patient, so hard-working, so strong after everything she’s been through. I love that even though outwardly she’s more serious and formal than most of the other characters, there’s this underlying sweetness and quirkiness that shines through, like when she fangirls over Zen or when she says things like “benefits were effing amazing” when explaining to her boss why hosting fundraising parties is a good idea. I also love that as kind and polite as she is, she can and will mercilessly drag people she’s a fucking savage and I love her. I just love her so much. Jaehee is effing amazing.

3. Asami Sato, Legend of Korra - First of all, she’s canonically a bisexual woman in a relationship with another bisexual woman and that’s super important to me for representation. Second of all, even before Korrasami was made canon I really adored Asami. Because seriously, Asami is one of the kindest and most loyal characters in anything ever, she is such a good person through and through, even though there are so many things that have happened to her that sound like the sort of things that would motivate most characters to be villains. Her mother was murdered, her father was a terrorist who betrayed her and threatened to kill her friends, her boyfriend cheats on her, her closest friend and love interest leaves her for three years, her father fucking dies in front of her after they had just barely started to reconcile. Asami faces so much tragedy, if anyone has a right to be an asshole it would be her, yet she is still so unfailingly kind and brave and good. Also, for the record, she is probably the prettiest animated character I have ever seen in my life.

2. Agent Texas, Red vs Blue - Okay so. Red vs Blue has a lot of… issues with how it writes the few female characters it has, and I’m not going to act like Tex is this amazingly well written female character because she’s really not. But this isn’t my top 10 well-written female characters this is my top 10 favorite female characters, and whatever writing problems RvB may have, I really do love Tex. So much. It’s also a bit complicated to love Tex cause it’s like… which one lmao. I love Beta!Tex, who was tough and snarky and effortlessly bad ass, but also kind and compassionate and very, very chill. Like sure she could kick your ass and you know she could, but eh, she doesn’t really need to. The fact that you know she could is enough. And then there’s Epsilon!Tex, who was just angry, but who in many ways was the most important iteration of Tex to me. She was angry because ffs she was tired of not being her own person. She was tired of Church seeing her as His Girlfriend and not much else, she was tired of being Allison’s shadow, tired of her existence being all about other people, never about herself. Tex’s story is ultimately about a search for agency, to create an identity for herself separate from what other people want from her, and that’s always stuck with me.

1. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter - Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m putting her here because she is genuinely my favorite female character, or I’m putting her here because I can’t imagine putting anyone else here. Though I guess if I can’t imagine putting someone else here, that’s a sign that she is my favorite? Idk. I like Harry Potter less than I once did, less than I think a lot of people in my life realize, but being a Harry Potter Fan is such a big part of my identity to them that I don’t think they can see me any other way. But, even with my enthusiasm for HP these days being relatively low, I can’t deny that the series had a huge impact on me growing up and it definitely did a lot to shape the type of person I am, and it’s always going to be a bit special because of that. Hermione played a big part. She was one of the first female characters I can remember really admiring. I was nothing like her but I wanted to be, because she was smart and bad ass and complex and honestly do I even need to explain why Hermione is amazing? You all know. However I feel about HP now, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the impact it had on me and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget Hermione.

#thank you so much for sending this ask btw #i had so much fun thinking about this #and writing it #ask #laggage #female characters

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