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steddiealltheway · 2 years ago

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :) This is way longer than I thought it would be, but it's been a while since I've written, so I think I needed it. I hope you all have a wonderful end to your year <3

Steve thought it was fate when he reached into Dustin’s old Santa hat and picked up a crumpled piece of paper with Eddie’s name scribbled on it. He had a gift stored away for Eddie that he bought weeks ago, and he was hoping there would be some way to get it to him without making it a big deal or something. Miraculously, the tiny slip of paper gave him that chance.

Now, two weeks later, Steve feels like his nerves are on fire as everyone gathers around in his living room, waiting to receive their gifts.

He goes off to the guest bedroom where the party had dropped off their gifts under the bed with the promise of not peaking - per Steve's request. Mike complained that the system was a little bit much, and Steve couldn’t argue with him. He just didn’t want to give away that he was Eddie’s secret Santa.

And now that he has pulled all the gifts out from under the bed, his stomach churns and his heart races. He just hopes his gift doesn’t cross a line or bring up unwanted memories, especially since he and Eddie aren’t exactly best friends.

Well, okay, they’re close. Considering the number of times Dustin has insisted they all hang out now that they’ve all been trauma-bonded, Steve has spent a lot of time with Eddie. But he hasn’t gotten a lot of alone time with him.

Sure, there have been a few times when Eddie has stopped by work, but Robin was always close by - not that Steve minded at all, except he got tired of the looks she would give him after Eddie left as if she was expecting Steve to say something. He doesn’t know what exactly he would say, but he will admit that it was always sad watching Eddie go. Maybe he should tell Robin he wishes he could stay a little longer, maybe even after hours.

The thought reminds him of the one moment they spent alone that Steve can't help but recall often. Even his present to Eddie is based around that moment which resulted in him purchasing something definitely higher than the price limit, but none of the kids would know that so it’s fine.

There’s a light knock on the door behind him, and Steve turns around. “Hey,” Eddie says with a small smile. “Everything okay?”

Steve smiles back, willing his heartbeat to slow down a bit. “Yeah, just trying to figure out how to get them all at once.”

“Let me help,” Eddie says, already bending over to grab half the stack that Steve had pushed out from under the bed. “You don’t happen to have a Santa suit do you?”

Steve’s eyebrows furrow. “No?”

“Damn. Next year, okay? And I want to be Santa.”

The corner of Steve’s lip quirks up and Eddie's eyes light up, looking awfully proud of himself. The two hold the gaze for a few moments longer than they should, but it’s not like that's new to them.

“Guys! What’s the holdup?!” Dustin yells.

Steve sighs and offers Eddie a now irritated smile before leading the way to the living room, glancing down at the names on each present before handing them out. He and Eddie finish around the same time, and Steve notices there are two clear spots for them in the small circle on either side of Dustin. He almost makes a snarky comment to Dustin, but he holds his tongue, knowing Max and El will shoot them irritated glares if they start bickering.

"El, why don't you go first?" Steve suggests as he sits down, not giving the rest of the kids a chance to argue about it. After all, no one is going to protest after all that El did for them.

El smiles and carefully opens her gift, but Steve spaces out a bit, lost in thought about his gift and questioning if it will be an appropriate thing to bring up in front of the kids. Eddie had shared the moment only with Steve and even hesitated in doing so, so maybe he doesn't want it to be broadcast to the kids. Shit.

Steve snaps back to reality when El knee-scoots over to Dustin, pulling him into a tight hug and thanking him for her present. Dustin flushes an interesting shade of red that Steve is definitely going to bring up later when he himself isn't panicking. For now, he moves the game along. "Alright, Dustin gets to open his gift now since he was the Secret Santa," Steve announces, nervously glancing at Eddie, hoping the excited look doesn't mean the gift is from him. He's not sure if he's ready for Eddie to open his gift yet.

Luckily, the gift is from Lucas, and Steve breathes a sigh of relief. But as the game continues and more people unwrap their gifts, Steve finds himself getting a bit impatient as he waits for someone to get their gift from Eddie. It's only when Max is last to open her gift that Steve realizes that he and Eddie are the only two remaining which means...

"No way," Eddie says with a big grin. "We're the only two who got each other."

Steve slowly looks down at the gift in his hand, neatly wrapped with a beautifully done bow that seems so unlike Eddie who always seems to be in a rush, doing everything with an almost frantic energy that Steve kind of adores. He wonders what he must've been like sitting still, carefully folding each curve of newspaper and taping it all together before neatly tying the red ribbon around the box into a beautiful bow. "You did this?" Steve can't help but ask, hoping he didn't just stick his foot in his mouth.

"Yeah," Eddie says somewhat bashfully as he pulls his hair in front of his face. "You do the honors." Eddie gestures to Steve's present and nervously rambles, "It isn't much really..."

Steve carefully undoes each fold, seeing the care Eddie took in wrapping a small box that Steve pulls the lid off of. He stares down at a small metal-looking thing and picks it up off the paper it's on top of. He presses it and startles a bit as it buzzes.

"A hand buzzer," Dustin laughs in disbelief.

"Maybe you two need to hang out more," El suggests innocently.

Eddie clears his throat. "There's a note in there, too, but you don't have to read it out loud in front of the kids or anything."

Steve keeps ahold of the little buzzer and picks up the note, staring at a few numbers in confusion before following an arrow that elaborates 24/7 Walkie Channel - especially at night. Steve flushes a bit red at the joke, but as he reads further, he realizes it's not a joke at all. In fact, he knows exactly what this is referring to.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Eddie walks up to the counter of Family Video and raps his knuckles on the counter. "Now tell me, what exactly is behind that restricted section with the red curtains?"

Steve rubs his temples and gives Eddie an unimpressed look. "You know exactly what's behind there."

"Well, maybe I want to hear it from my favorite employee. After all, you're supposed to help me with all my needs."

"Alright," Robin announces loudly, "I'm taking my break."

Steve hears the break room door shut behind him, and he drops his head in his hands with a slight groan.

"That embarrassed, Harrington? I thought you were like the expert here. Especially since Robin isn't allowed back there, but..." Eddie trails off but suddenly his voice gets much closer yet softer. "Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Sometimes I push too far without realizing and-"

Steve cuts him off with a short wave of his hand. "It's not that. You're fine really. Just didn't really sleep last night."

"Company or..." Eddie goes for a joke to lighten the second half of what he's implying.

Steve sighs and glances up at him. "It the 'or' option."

Eddie gives him a sympathetic look and glances around at the empty store before leaning on the counter, right into Steve's space, but it's comforting rather than intrusive. Eddie softly says, "I get it, man. The night terrors are... they're intense. I still see Chrissy when she..." He looks away, swallows hard, and takes a deep breath. "I get it."

Steve glances up and sees a matching haunted look in Eddie's eyes that Steve catches in the mirror from time to time. "It's harder late at night. I get this urge to reach out to everyone and make sure they're okay and..." Steve sighs and lowers his voice, "still alive." He shudders slightly and laughs humorlessly, "But it's not like I can just call everyone's house at night and wake up them and their family. I usually just wait for the urge to pass but it's harder for me with some people." Steve swallows hard, knowing what Eddie will ask next.

"Like who?"

Steve glances up at Eddie and says, "Robin of course because she's my best friend. Max is tough too because of how close she was to dying and you just never know if that thing will come back or not."

"He's gone for good this time. You know what Owens said," Eddie presses gently.

"Yeah, but I've heard it before," Steve argues. But he can't deny that things definitely feel more final now. Like maybe they're finally over. Still, he can't just let his guard down on the off chance that his gut isn't right for once.

Eddie shifts and nudges Steve's elbow with his own. "Anyone else though?"

Steve holds Eddie's gaze for a moment, and he sees the exact moment Eddie knows exactly what he's thinking as the memories of Eddie's lifeless body in Steve's arms flood in his head. "You were... gone there for a little while. And sometimes I wake up, and I think that you didn't make it. That the nightmare I keep having is actually reality."

Eddie gives him a pained look and places his hand over Steve's. "You can call me at any time. Day or night. I'll try my best to answer, especially at night."

"Eddie, I don't want to make you lose sleep any more than you already are."

"But I'm probably already awake. And I don't care if I lose sleep for you, okay?"

Steve glances up at him and flushes a bit as his eyes flicker down to Eddie's lips. For a moment, he thinks he might understand what Robin's looks mean, but he glances away before he can truly think about it. "That's not the only problem though," Steve confesses quietly.

Eddie just squeezes his hand, waiting for him to elaborate.

With a deep breath, Steve hooks his thumb on top of Eddie's pinky and squeezes back for some support. "I hate speaking in that empty house. My voice seems to echo, and it makes me feel more alone than I already am. And sometimes it feels impossible to speak about things. Like my voice doesn't work or something. I don't know."

"I get it," Eddie says simply, squeezing his hand again. "But really, if you ever need to call or stop by or anything. I'll be there." Steve holds Eddie's gaze, thinking maybe the upcoming night won't be so bad.

Before Steve can really say anything else, the bell on the front door dings loudly and he and Eddie practically jump apart. The customer doesn't even so much as glance at them, but they both still keep their distance, recognizing that the moment is over.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Steve stares at the little list in the note.

One Buzz: Checking in. I will buzz back so you know I'm okay. Two Buzzes: If you need to hear my voice. I will respond over the walkie and talk for as long as you like. Buzz multiple times, and I'll stop. And trust me, I will talk your ear off, so I won't get offended when you buzz. Three Buzzes: If you need me to call ever. Don't be afraid to use this one. Wayne is still working night shifts, so you're really no bother if you want to call first. But this way, I can be the one calling you so you don't have to worry about waking me up or anything. Really. The buzzes aren't too loud, so they shouldn't wake me up. Let me know if you want to add anything to this list. I have an identical list with my hand buzzer at home that I would be happy to add to at any time. Merry Christmas Love, Your Secret Santa

Steve stares at the note in his hand almost too stunned to speak. He doesn't think he's ever received a more thoughtful gift in his life. He pinches at his nose and tries to shut his emotions down a bit, and Eddie must catch on because he loudly announces, "My turn!"

Steve takes a deep breath, forgetting entirely about the gift he got Eddie. He watches as Eddie tears the wrapping paper off the small box then dramatically and very slowly opens it up with a big smile, knowing he has the kids' impatient attention practically in the palm of his hand. But when he finally sees the gift, his smile and whole act drop as a look of realization crosses over his face.

Steve's heart pounds in his chest.

Eddie slowly removes the little glass bottle filled with brown liquid and silently stares at it.

"What is that? Some type of fancy bourbon?" Max asks with a scoff.

Steve watches Eddie's eyes get slightly glassy, and he's quick to announce, "Something like that. But alright, we have to move on before your families start coming to pick you up. Was a snowball fight next on your cheesy list or something?"

Dustin is quick to defend the list the group came up with, but Steve is quicker in pushing them all toward the front door. "I'll be there in a bit. Eddie and I have to clean up."

The kids all rush to put on their coats and shoes, not wanting to be a part of any type of cleanup. Once they run outside, Steve closes the door and rushes back to the living room where Eddie's still staring at the bottle, a single tear going down his face. "You... you remembered... and you... you got... how?"

"Of course, I remembered," Steve says, thinking of what Eddie told him months ago.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Steve sighs and stuffs more things into a box from Eddie's closet. Dr. Owen's people had finally given the trailer the all-clear, so they were finally able to get the remainder of Eddie's and Wayne's things out of there. Of course, the kids had spent about an hour helping with the living room before taking a very very long break at Max's place. Steve assumes it will be lasting until the rest of the trailer is cleared out.

"They're great help, aren't they?" Eddie jokes as he brings another box into the room.

"Absolutely. Always willing to lend a hand. That is until they decide that the adults can just slave away for them."

"Someone needs to give them a lecture," Eddie sighs, pulling out a pile of clothes from his closet.

Steve scoots the box over and asks, "And why does that person always seem to be me? Especially when they don't listen to me."

"You're just so motherly," Eddie says with a big smile, dimples on full display.

Steve can't help but smile at the sight. And luckily he's staring his way when Eddie picks up another stack of clothes and suddenly hurdles something Steve's way. And even luckier, Steve's reflexes are quick, so he's able to easily catch the smaller glass bottle.

Eddie's eyes widen and he quickly grabs at the bottle, wrapping his hands around Steve's in the process. "Jesus H. Christ." Eddie's grip tightens as he stares at the bottle and breathes a sigh of relief, dropping his head to Steve's shoulder. "Have I ever told you that I'm so glad you're a jock?"

Steve snorts. "No, but whatever in this bottle must be important enough for you to admit it. So, tell me, what's in it? Alcohol? Some type of weird liquid drug?"

Eddie pulls back and looks away, still cradling the bottle and Steve's hands. "It's nothing. Just, hold it gently while I find another shirt to wrap it in."

Steve gently grasps the bottle and brings it closer, inspecting what it could be when he's hit with a bit of deja vu. He tests his suspicions and carefully removes the cap. "Eddie, why do you have an almost empty bottle of perfume in your closet?"

Eddie turns to him and asks, "Please, don't tell me you sprayed it."

"I didn't. The cap just gave it away."

Eddie quickly takes the bottle from his hand and puts the cap back on. "It's nothing. Like I said." He rolls it carefully in a t-shirt and places it in the box.

Steve slowly approaches and looks down at the box, frowning when he sees it start to blend in with the other pile of clothes in there. "I'll be right back," Steve announces before running out to his car. He opens the trunk and sighs, grabbing a shoe box and carefully placing his emergency date shoes in the corner of the trunk before taking the box inside.

When he gets back to the room, he reaches into the bigger box, fishes the shirt-wrapped perfume out, and places it gently into the shoe box before setting it aside. Steve glances up and notices Eddie staring at him. "Is that the emergency date shoe box?"

Steve is going to give the kids or Robin a lecture later about giving away people's personal information. "Yes," he admits.

"So, where are the shoes?"

"In my trunk," Steve says, moving onto Eddie closet to grab the last of the clothes.

Eddie pauses before asking, "You put your emergency date shoes the kids told me to never touch in your trunk to give me a box for my perfume?"

Steve shrugs. "Yeah." He stuffs everything down and closes the box, pushing it toward the door. But he's stopped by Eddie's hand on his arm.

"Why?" Eddie asks.

Steve straightens up and puts his hands on his hips. "It's clearly important to you, and I wasn't going to let you forget about it and accidentally throw it again when I'm not there to catch it."

Eddie holds his gaze for a few moments and Steve almost breaks the eye contact, not used to having Eddie's attention directly solely at him. But he feels like that will change in the future.

Eddie shifts and places a hand on Steve's back, leading him to where he placed the box. He picks it up and opens it, slowly unraveling the perfume and staring at it as if debating if he wants to share the story with Steve.

Steve just waits, not wanting to pressure him. Instead, he lets the moment play out.

Eddie breathes out, "It was my mom's."

It hits Steve all at once the implication of the phrase.

"She would wear it all the time. I remember she would put it on once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once before going to bed. I told her it was silly to do that before bed, but she told me it was only silly if I let it be." Eddie smiles at the memory before growing distant in his expression. "When she got sick, she started forgetting the time more and more. So, I would remind her. And toward the end, I started putting it on her when she felt too weak to spray it."

Steve shifts and lightly rests his hand on Eddie's back as he continues, "I told my dad that she should be buried with it. That she would want to have it with her and wear it all the time." Eddie's voice cracks a bit and he clears his throat. "He told me that was silly."

Steve shifts closer to Eddie so their sides are pressing together, trying to give him physical support because he's unsure of what to say.

Eddie shakes his head and smiles sadly. "I kept it since then. And I used to spray it all the time, and god, the guys at school would make fun of me for smelling like girl's perfume, but I didn't care. But maybe I should've listened to them because now I only have this much left." He holds up the bottle to emphasize his point, the perfume so low that it seems to barely cover the bottom of the glass.

"One time, I brought it to a perfume store to ask what brand it was. I thought maybe I could save up and buy another one." Eddie shakes his head again. "But the lady accused me of stealing it. She said there was no way I would've been able to afford it in the first place. That there was no reason for me to even have it unless I was looking for a cheap buck to make."

Steve's grip on Eddie's back presses a little firmer as he feels anger and disgust toward the woman overflood his system. "That's fucked up."

"A bit, yeah," Eddie agrees. He glances at Steve, and Steve realizes how close they are, but he doesn't try to move away. "Do you want to smell it?"

Steve's brows furrow. "Eddie, there's barely any left in there, don't waste it on me."

Eddie smiles somewhat bashfully. "No, it's alright. I haven't used it in a long time, and after everything we went through, I need the reminder."

"If you're sure, then yes. I would love that."

Eddie holds out his wrist and lightly sprays the perfume. He uses his other wrist to rub it in before he holds it up to Steve's nose. Steve takes a deep breath and is suddenly taken back to a vague memory from a Christmas years and years ago when Steve was too young to succumb to the disappointment from his parents who were still around. But it's a happy memory nonetheless.

"What do you think?" Eddie asks.

Steve smiles softly. "I think your mom had great taste. And it smells really beautiful. I wish I could've met her."

"Me too," Eddie replies softly, staring at the bottle.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"My mom had the same one. Years ago it was gifted to her. I ended up finding the bottle in one of the drawers in her bathroom. It was still in the box, so it wasn't too difficult to find at the store," Steve admits. He holds out his hand and says, "Here. I have to show you something."

Eddie carefully places the perfume back in the box and takes Steve's hand, following him up the stairs and into his room. Steve regrettably lets go of Eddie's hand to pull out a box from under his own bed. He holds it up to Eddie who gasps, "Steve, this must have cost you a fortune."

Steve glances down at the five boxes of perfume and shrugs. "There was a Christmas sale. Plus, I was able to use my Harrington charm a bit."

Eddie grabs the box and carefully sets it on Steve's bed before quickly wrapping his arms around Steve and pulling him in close. "Thank you. God, this is the best gift I've ever gotten."

Steve squeezes him tight. "Same with yours."

They remain in each other's arms for a few moments, not rushing the embrace or questioning how long they're allowed to linger. Only, when Steve starts pulling away, he starts questioning his next move. Because more than anything he wants to kiss Eddie.

The realization hits him hard. He knows exactly now what Robin's glances mean and what she's been expecting him to say. Of course, deep down he knew, but he just hadn't had to face it head-on yet. But here he is and... "Eddie," Steve says softly, lingering in his space.

"Steve," Eddie replies quietly, eyes flickering down to Steve's lips, already knowing what he means.

Steve takes a deep breath, feeling his heart pound in his chest as he asks, "Can I?"

"Hell yes," Eddie replies.

They both move together at the same time, meeting each other in a gentle kiss which they linger in. Steve moves away to breathe and shifts to cup Eddie's face with his hands and bring him in again. He kisses him with all he has, filled with the awe of the thoughtful gift he received, joy of the gift well received, and the overwhelming feeling that this is right.

Steve breaks the kiss with a smile and whispers, "Merry Christmas, Eddie."

"Merry Christmas, Steve," Eddie says breathlessly before kissing him again.

And it really is a merry Christmas.

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie ficlet #steddie fanfic #steddie fic #merry christmas #steddie christmas

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babyangelsky · 8 months ago

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My Favorite QL Couples* of 2024 💖✨

Welcome to Babyangelsky's 2024 Wrap Up! To commemorate my second year of watching QL dramas, and my first year of actually talking on my blog, I've compiled a series of lists to celebrate all the QL things I loved this year!

My only criteria was that the show had to have either aired entirely in 2024 or had the majority of its run in 2024. No other limits at all (except for tumblr's photo limit). Please feel free to take my categories and make lists of your own and tag me in them if you do! I'd love to see what stuck out to everyone this year 💜

💜 All the lists can be found here! 💜

Without further ado, I'm going to kick things off with my favorite couples of the year!

♡ Tongrak and Mahasamut (Love Sea)

My darlings. My absolute loves. I knew Fort and Peat were going to deliver something special when Love Sea was announced and I am so glad that I was right. My love for them is as boundless as the sea that bonds them.

♡ Almond and Latte (Knock Knock Boys)

These two snuck up on me something serious. I never expected them to be this sweet and soft and bring such comfort to each other. They were my unexpected delight this year and I'm so happy I got to watch them fall in love.

♡ Yu and Ai (I Saw You in My Dream)

These two snuck up on me too, honestly. Never ever thought I would love them as much as I do considering how late I came into this show, but I cherish them very deeply. They're the sweetest childhood friends to lovers and they love each other so much. I don't think I've ever been prouder of a confession than when Yu finally confessed to Ai.

♡ Ken, Seiji, and Japan (Deep Night)

*Not a couple, but a THROUPLE! 2024 was a year of many, many BL blessings, one of the best of which was the fact that we got CANON POLY SIDES COURTESY OF CHEEWIN! We all hoped, we all prayed, we all looked at the workshop photos and thought 'surely we cannot be wrong', and when it came right down to it, we all got exactly what we wanted! I only wish that we'd gotten more of them.

KenSeijiPan you will always be famous.

♡ Ozone and Pie (Battle of the Writers)

Speaking of wanting more, I cannot believe it took this long for Mark Sorntast to get to kiss a boy on screen but damn, was it worth the wait. I want an entire spin-off of daddy Pie and his puppy Ozone because they were truly the best part of this show.

♡ X and Namping (Every You, Every Me)

Thanks to its format, Every You, Every Me gave us lots of great couples and fun dynamics but X and Namping were my favorites, even though their story ended tragically. The love was brief but it was beautiful and real.

♡ Meiji and Freya (Deep Night)

As if giving us canon poly wasn't enough, Cheewin also decided to bless us with milf yuri and then stacked one more blessing on top and gave them their own spin-off miniseries so we could have more time watching them fall in love. They're beautiful and I love them. This is how it feels to win.

♡ Yuan and Qian (Unknown)

I can't think of anything to say about these two that doesn't involve making dying animal noises and gesturing helplessly and maybe crying so just imagine me doing that to convey how I feel about this couple BECAUSE THAT'S ALL I GOT FAM THAT'S ALL I'M CAPABLE OF I'M SURE SOME OF YA'LL UNDERSTAND

♡ Tai x Kram (Two Worlds)

These are by far my favorite roles Max and Nat have played to date. The utter soulmates of it all. The every version of me will love every version of you in every universe of it all. Perfection. I only wish the show had been longer so their love really got a chance to breathe.

♡ Anin and Pin (The Loyal Pin)

Now, if a love ever got a chance to breathe, it was this love. They made you feel it. The yearning, the joy, the sweetness, all of it. We followed it all the way from childhood and it was such a satisfying experience. I will always have a soft spot for couples that are deranged about each other, however loudly or quietly they may go about it, and my girls are no exception.

♡ Phee and Non (Dead Friend Forever)

*scream singing* WE COULD'VE HAD IT ALLLLLLLL, ROLLING IN THE DEEEEEEEEP *cries on the floor*

♡ Tan and Fang (We Are)

AouBoom are never not a delight when they're on screen together, and TanFang were a delight in a veritable sea of delights. They got together early on and spent the rest of the show giving nothing but the best most delicious established couple goodness.

♡ Muenfah and Teerak (Your Sky)

At the time of writing we've only had these two for a few weeks but that's more than enough time for their adorable sweetness to land them on this list. They're darling. The relationship may be fake (for now) but the love is real.

♡ Sun and Junior (Caged Again)

The same goes for these two, and isn't that just the surprise of the year? HOW DID THE PANTHER AND PENGUIN TURN INTO PEOPLE SHOW END UP GIVING US SUCH AN ADORABLE COUPLE?

♡ Shao Peng and Zi Xiang (See Your Love)

They're just so soft and so gentle and they make each other feel heard and understood and I love them so much. Their boyfriend era may actually kill me.

♡ Jack and Joke (Jack & Joker)

*gently shakes Yin and War* Would giving us just a little more horny, loving boyfriend era and fewer horrors have been so hard? Do ya'll think you can get away with it because you're so pretty and so beloved?

Because they are. And they can actually. And they did. I adore them.

♡ Yak and Dee (Wandee Goodday)

One of my favorite things in this life is when a fake relationship slowly turns into a real relationship and two people who think they can be casual about each other are actually completely incapable of being so. Yak and Dee gave me exactly that and I love them for it.

♡ Oyei and Cher (Wandee Goodday)

Another side couple for which I would absolutely love a spin-off, but we did get to see them have their wedding (the first GMMTV wedding since the marriage equality bill was passed!) which is just as good. The love they have for each other, the support they give each other is top tier. They have my heart.

♡ God and Diew (Monster Next Door)

If I were to give an award for amazing communication between a couple, I would absolutely be giving it to these two. It was so refreshing to see them not only love and support each other, but talk and listen to each other. They were a delight.

♡ Myung Ha and Yeo Woon (Love for Love's Sake)

They were so sweet and so sad and they saved each other by loving each other so much that it broke reality and I just love them with my entire soul.

♡ San and Vee (Century of Love)

When this was airing I talked a lot about how it didn't actually matter whether Vee was Wad or not and that what mattered was San making a choice but for the record? Vee was totally Wad. He and San were SOULMATES!

♡ Neil and Sea (First Note of Love)

What if a couple was so gentle and soft that it made you wanna cry? What if they saved each other with music? What if they made each other brave?

♡ Moo and Kang (Only Boo!)

My darling boys. My sweetest most adorable boys who make me wanna curl into a ball and cry happy tears because I adore them so much. Moo's singular desire in this life part from becoming an idol is to save up enough money to marry Kang and NOW HE CAN AND I'M IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT IT EVEN MONTHS LATER.

♡ Karan and Achi (Cherry Magic Th)

They're perfect. In every conceivable way. Their love was just so lovely, it was such a joy. Everything about it and about them was so lovely to watch.

♡ Haruki x Jin (Our Youth)

These two have so much potential to hurt me. In fact, I'm almost certain that they will. But they just --*gestures helplessly*--you know? They hit exactly right for me.

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brucewaynehater101 · 1 year ago

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Have you ever read a fic called A Medication On Railroading? Because I think you'll like it. Basic summery with no spoilers: Jack takes Tim on a trip to Atlanta and then leaves him in Atlanta so he goes train hopping to get home. Very hurt/comfort.

But it also gives me an idea that I'm not sure where to share. What if that wasn't Tim's first time getting home like that? Maybe the first time was just New York when he was say... 9 years old? His parents took him with them to a Gala and Jack thought Janet called him a car home and Janet thought Jack took care of it. Neither one did and Tiny Tim figured out how to get home on his own. It happens again when he's 11 so he already knows what to do, he studied up in case it happened again.

After the second time, anytime Tim is with his parents he keeps his camera bag on him at all times which has 300 dollars in it that he can use on getting home. Tim also discovers during the second one that trains are *way* better than busses and cabs. He's all alone, just him and the scenery and whatever cargo his car holds. He can Fully Relax. He doesn't have to be the perfect heir, he doesn't have to smile for the cameras, he doesn't have to be quiet or good or perfectly polite. He can scream and laugh and cry if he wants to and no one will ever know! He can sing and curse and throw rocks at things! He can be a *kid*.

After Tim becomes Robin, he never calls Batman for a pick up if he's abandoned somewhere and instead will make his own way home. Heck, after some missions with Young Justice he will turn off his trackers and ride trains home so that he can loudly vent about them without having to worry about anyone ever knowing what he said!

This does become a slight problem when he's 17 and Bruce needs him for something and finds out from Bart that their mission ended a day and a half ago. But Tim never called for pick up. And his trackers are all offline. And he never hit his emergency beacon and *no one can find him*. Bruce totally isn't freaking out. The other Bats totally aren't freaking out. Young Justice totally isn't freaking out. There totally isn't a panic spreading through the super hero community about Red Robin maybe being dead I a ditch somewhere and how both Batman and his team will react.

Tim meanwhile is straight vibing as he reclines on a stack of bags of rice like they're pillows, singing along to some sound track he downloaded onto his MP3 player, having turned the volume to max and nearly screaming the lyrics because it's the one time he feels like he can.

Yes! I love that fic you mentioned. It's really really good. Perhaps I should re read it since it's been a minute.

Also, I absolutely adore the little tidbit you've added. A few things to note that I love about it:

No one else knows/finds out until he's Red Robin

It's a semi-decent coping mechanism. He gets to chill out, vibe, and process. He's also in touch with nature and music during this.

Tim drops his various masks to simply exist for a bit

Tim chilling on some rice bags in a train cart with an MP3 player (not even his phone. This indicates he's fully offline during these trips)

A few additional notes to add. One, this could buff up the canon notion that pre-Robin Tim traveled far to go see Dick at the circus and convince him to become Robin again. If Tim had already done that twice unexpectedly, he'd do swell when he actually plans to do it.

Two, Tim probably created a white noise generator or something to give him totally privacy on his "me trips." This is why Kon and Superman freak out. They can't hear him.

Three, he probably gets covered in grime, dust, and dirt. He's no longer in the pristine environment he grew up in.

Gods. That sounds so nice and relaxing. I'm actually kind of jealous. Just the wind, music, and the slowly changing scenery? Fuuuck.

#dc comics #tim drake #dc universe #dc au #thank you for the ask!!!!

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undreaming-fanfiction · 1 year ago

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Thinking of a modern AU when the kids get to be kids after it's all over and they go to the movies, they play games, hang out, all that. And of course, Steve drives them everywhere. He vouches for them in front of their parents, watches them like a hawk, tries to tell them about the adult stuff he's learned so far and chases Robin and Nancy to give them info on uni application and the things he feels he's too dumb for. Still, when Robin and Nancy are away and one of his kids needs something, he'll grab that legal document and either stare at it long enough to get a migraine or begins hounding the smart people who stayed in Hawkins (Mr. Clarke is Steve's go-to person and Mr. Clarke won't say it, but he's so proud of Harrington's progress).

So, Steve's life is basically nonstop work and babysitting (with lots of complaints and grumbling from the teens), they ask him to drive them somewhere and he'll bitch about it, sure, but he will get up after 4 hours of sleep and do it anyways. Dustin often reprimands Steve for not taking care of his health, but he doesn't see why.

When Encanto comes out, El really, really wants to see it, and how can Steve say no to her? He drives the whole gang to the movie theatre (some of them stacked on top of each other, some in the trunk on a pile of blankets) and decides to join them. He doesn't really like animated stuff, but Robin loves these movies and he wants yet another reason to call her and talk through the night.

He didn't expect to enjoy the movie so much, but it's colorful and catchy. The songs are nice and the characters are relatable. He makes a lot of mental notes to discuss with Robin. He thinks she will love Mirabel.

And then "Surface Pressure" starts playing and Steve wonders why he suddenly feels like crying. "I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service" hits especially hard. He's just sitting there and feeling incredibly stupid for tearing up at flying glitter-covered donkeys.

When they leave the movie theater, everyone is pretty excited and discussing which characters and songs they liked the most (even if some feel like rolling their eyes at a kids' movie, El's excitement stops them from doing that). They all start discussing to who they relate the most, El feels with Mirabel for being left out and different, even if she actually is the only one who has a gift, Will dares to utter that he really sympathizes with Dolores, Dustin loves Bruno for trying to fix the cracks in Casita.

And then they turn to Steve and someone makes a jab at him, saying he resembles Mariano the most. Steve is ready to shrug it off, there's some truth in that with what happened to his relationship with Nancy, but El just shakes her head and says: "No. Steve is our Luisa."

Everyone goes silent. There's a lot of hmmming and "well, he did get up to drive us when he had a night shift..." and "we could have just biked...". Steve tries to make them feel better about it, joking that he really has nothing better to do, but the drive home is full of whispering, and the party actually diligently thank him when they leave his car.

The next day is Sunday and Steve is ready for his usual routine, making himself busy until someone needs something. But there's a knock on the door to his small apartment and when he opens it, he sees his group of kids, proudly presenting a tray of muffins and two cartons of orange juice.

Out of all of them, it's Mike who speaks up. "Nancy said you often forget to eat breakfast," he states in his usual annoyed tone. "She also said that you like chocolate muffins, so we are here to ensure you don't die from hunger. Now move, I'll get the glasses and plates."

Steve just watches in awe as they swarm his flat, Will smiling at him and producing a DVD of the latest Spider-man movie. "This one was a tip from Robin, she says you haven't seen it yet."

Max is standing in the kitchenette with her cane, watching the pile of meds Steve has to take after his injuries with disdain. "This has to take forever for you to find what you need. Don't argue, I remember how shitty it was for me. Let me help you build a chart and thank me later."

El and Lucas are rearranging Steve's couch and placing pillows in front of the TV so everyone can sit comfortably. El also ensures the blinds are closed so Steve's eyes don't have to fight against the light.

And if that all wasn't more care than Steve has known in years, Dustin grabs his elbow and sits him down, threatening him with violence if he even thinks about working on Sunday.

As the opening titles start, Steve is surrounded by six teenagers in his tiny and cheap flat, chewing on a subpar muffin with an orange juice that probably never saw the actual fruit, and he thinks that there's no greater happiness than this.

#steve harrington #steve harrington drabble #the party #stranger things #stranger things drabble #stranger things au #encanto #healing and understanding your roles through movies is awesome #steve harrington is and will be loved

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wynnyfryd · 1 year ago

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Trailer park Steve AU pt 57

part 1 | part 56 | ao3

“I need a ride.”

Max is glaring at him over the counter with a skateboard tucked under her arm, no hello and no further explanation because why should he deserve one? Seriously, what is this? National Annoy Your Babysitter Day?

Steve leans over his side of the desk and rests his weight on his forearms, giving her an unimpressed look. "Did Dustin put you up to this?"

"To... needing a ride?" she asks him like he's stupid. God. All these kids are little assholes.

"Uh, yeah to needing a ride." He straightens up, crossing his arms over his chest and resting a hip against the counter. "How do I know this isn't some convenient little-" he snaps his fingers for the word "-little scheme you shitheads cooked up to get me to sub in for Hellfire?"

"Steve," she says with feeling. Tucks her chin and holds his gaze. "Do I look like a dork to you?"

And, like, he can’t not take the opportunity, right? She handed it to him on a platter. He scans his eyes over her face, playing it up and humming to himself like he's just really not sure, like he needs another minute to think hard about the question.

"Oh, screw you!" She flips him the bird, but he can tell she's trying not to smile because he’s doing the same thing. Can feel himself caving already like a total softie. Something about these kids, man.

"Okay," he says; feels his face doing something tender and vaguely pathetic. He can't have her thinking he's gone too soft, though — that's how he ends up with another 'unlicensed teen driving his car while he's concussed' situation on his hands — so he pushes off the counter, widening his stance and pointing at her. "I’ll give you a ride, but you can't touch my radio.”

"Fine."

"And I'm dropping you off by 5:30."

That one, she protests. "Five-thirty?”

"Five-three-oh. I have a date tonight."

"Ew."

Wow. The goddamn entitlement. Like he isn’t doing her a huge favor right now. "So what I'm hearing is that you don't want that ride after all."

"I didn't say that," she says in a low rush.

"Mhmm." He glances down at the clock. "My shift's up in ten minutes. You can hang out in here while I finish up if you don't make a mess."

"Oh, if I don't make a mess?" she mocks. "Wow. So generous."

"Thank you," he answers. He goes back to working, keeping an eye on her browsing the aisles while he runs through his end-of-shift tasks — wipes down his work space, pulls his drawer. She seems bothered. On edge. Every time he glances over she's either tapping her foot or chewing her lip or throwing tense looks over her shoulder like someone's watching. If Steve didn't know her he'd think she was psyching herself up to shoplift.

But Steve does know her; knows all the crazy, horrifying shit that she's seen.

The twitchy way she's moving is starting to give him goosebumps.

When he goes to the back to clock out, to put his stuff up and say hey to Keith, she follows him. Hesitantly calling his name down the hall, a nervous quiver in her voice.

"Steve," she says, poking her head around the office door. Quiet. Urgent. Her face so suddenly pale that she looks carsick.

Keith wipes grease on a stack of reports and says, "Hey, you can't be back here," through a mouthful of chips.

Max ignores him. "Steve, I need to go."

"Yeah," he says. "Yeah, one second, just gotta—"

"—No, now."

Steve turns and starts counting his drawer as fast as he can. The numbers jumble in his head. He curses under his breath and starts again. Twenty, forty, sixty, seventy—

"Steve!"

"Okay, Jesus, I'm hurrying!"

Eighty, eighty-five, ninety, ninety-one, two, three—

Max snatches his keyring off of his vest.

“Hey! What the- Max!” he shouts as he chases after her.

She’s already tugging open the driver’s side door by the time he catches up. Got a headstart while he was begging Keith not to fire him for running out without finishing his count.

"What the hell?" he demands, wrapping a hand around the fist she’s holding his stolen keys in.

She glares at him over the car door. “I’ve driven it before.”

“Yeah, and you didn’t have my permission then, either, you little shit.” Steve pries her hand open and takes back the keys. Frowns at her as she sneers right back.

Fucking stalemate with a fourteen year old girl, that’s what Steve Harrington’s life has turned into.

But under the bravado he can see that she's afraid, that something's seriously spooked her, and he needs to know what it is.

“…..Go around,” he sighs and slides into the car.

—

part 58

tag list in separate reblogs under '#trailer park steve au taglist' if you'd like to filter that content. if you want to be added please comment and let me know (must be over 21; please either verify in the comment or have your age visible on your blog)

#trailer park steve au #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #my writing #my fic

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mysteryshoptls · 1 year ago

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SSR Idia Shroud - Platinum Jacket Vignette

"Happy 100th Anniversary"

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Idia: Look at all these dynamic brushstrokes that can only truly be appreciated because they're from a real painting… Fheehee! This is the real thrill of seeing one live!

Idia: ―Ah! Th-Th-Th-This is…! A PAINTING OF THE LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD ON HIS CHARIOT!!!

Idia: It hits so hard～ In order to rescue a captured comrade, the king himself rushes to the front lines… Oooowee～ Doesn't that just get your heart pumpin'?

???: Indeed… However, is it appropriate for a dutiful commander to leave his base and head to the front lines?

Idia: Eeek!!! Silver-shi!? D-Don't just cut in when I'm talking to myself like that. This is why I can't deal with extroverts…

Silver: My apologies for startling you. I found your comment to be interesting, so I could not help but chime in.

Idia: E-Even if you think it's interesting, don't you think your impression of him was pretty shallow just from this one anecdote...?

Silver: Meaning?

Idia: I-If he was just a minister or something, he coulda just split after setting up the strategy, leaving it to his subordinates to execute everything.

Idia: But he still went to such a dangerous place to stir up morale, because that mission would be the linchpin of the whole battle. So, basically…

Idia: That means his responsibility meter is through the roof!! Wheeew, he's a totally different breed than any naïve and useless politician who just hoists their title around.

Silver: So you're saying that he himself went out there because it was a crucial situation. I would say that he does have an overwhelming sense of responsibility, indeed.

Silver: Hearing your opinion on the matter has allowed me to delve deeper into understanding this painting and its story. You are quite wise.

Idia: S-Sure, yeah～! You should follow my example and study up on things a little better, Silver-shi!

Silver: I will do just that. …However, it feels as though what you said about how other leaders may act had some weight behind it.

Silver: I had heard that you took up the title of Housewarden after being recommended by the previous Housewarden...

Silver: Was that because you had had previous experience as a leader, and were thus therefore chosen for the position?

Idia: Huh!? N-No, nuh-uh, wut are you even talking about? No way, no way… 'Sides, I'm more of a solo player even in my online games, y'know?

Idia: I mean, sometimes I've taken the lead of a party when I absolutely had to for a raid, or something…

Silver: As I expected, you do have experience in leadership.

Idia: It's not that big a deal… I mean, I got a reliable battle buddy who tanks and usually takes the lead.

Idia: Generally, I go for healing or DPS roles. Or more like, I just stack as many buffs as I can to increase firepower.

Idia: But it's not like our schedules always line up, so whenever he's not around, I take the lead… Because I have to!

Idia: It's usually the high-level players with great skills that take on the leader role. And in that case, I've basically maxed out all my stats in every position, so…

Idia: And I can grasp what the scenarios call for, see? And I can also play the tank roles to take charge on the front lines, right???

Idia: "Thanks to you, I was able to clear this high-level quest! I'm so thankful to have joined this party!"

Idia: …THEY SAY, ELECTING ME MVP OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

Idia: And I was just taking on the leader role because I had to. I'm just way too good…

Silver: So, those who fought alongside you showered you with gratitude. That just proves even further your leadership capabilities.

Idia: I-I wouldn't go that far― …Or maybe, just a little bit further? H-Hee Fheeheeheehee!

Idia: But also, I don't want to deal with failing a quest because some loser was placed in charge, so.

Idia: So I guess next time I have to put together a party, if my friend isn't available, I'll just have to lead them all again!

Idia: Wheeew, it's hard being so awesome～!

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Silver: This is a painting of a lion, warthog, and a meerkat, I see. The three of them are singing a song and seem to get along well.

Idia: Ain't they waaay too upbeat, to be able to sing while walking like that? Like, this painting shows the lion crown prince that was forced to leave his own country…

Idia: It's showing him singing along with some friends he ended up making, while he tries to ignore that pain, right?

Idia: Lucky him, that they chose to glorify his hiatus from his royal duties like this. Tch!

Silver: I've heard that singing can raise one's spirits. Perhaps they all wanted to brighten their own moods.

Idia: Speaking of singing to take your mind off stuff, there was this one time when I was a kid when my little brother was too scared to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night…

Idia: So we would go there while singing the theme song of our favorite anime together.

Idia: Eh, anyway, whatever their reason for singing, having that moon in the background composition like that's super moving. Kinda like what you'd see in an MV.

Silver: Em-vee…?

Idia: Eh… Y-You don't know what a music video is? It's a video recording that goes along with music and lyrics…

Silver: Ah, so you call those MVs. I understand.

Idia: I-If you feel like checking out some MVs sometime, I'd recommend the idol group "Precipice Moirai."

Idia: Premo's MVs are so awesome that you could watch them 100 times and never tire of them…!

Silver: 100 times… That's quite a lot. Is that generally something you'd watch so often?

Idia: A true fan would absolutely! More like, it's way too insolent to think that you could truly appreciate their MV with only one watch!

Idia: The first watch is all about enjoying the song and video in its entirety. The next three times the focus is shifted to checking out each of the three members' dance moves and expressions one by one.

Idia: Next, there's the actual composition of the MV, and digging deep into the actual message of the video… At a minimum, it should be watched ten times.

Idia: On top of all that, Premo's super casual MVs can put even a film director to shame!

Idia: There's no way to fully comprehend their art with only a couple viewings. That's why it needs to be viewed hundreds of times.

Silver: I had no idea their work was that deep… It may prove useful in training me better in emotional expressions, and perhaps could even be incorporated into the academy's music courses.

Idia: N-No, I mean, you don't gotta go that far… But it's great that you know just how awesome they are.

Idia: Even between us Premo fans, there's always those who still don't understand their art at all…

Idia: Every time a new MV comes out, there's always people saying stuff like, "She got the most screen time," or "She's definitely the manager's favorite," and the like…

Idia: But does that have anything to do with the quality of their work? It doesn't, right? They don't care about understanding the heart or essence of the songs.

Silver: I see… I feel as though I have learned a lot from you, Idia-senpai.

Silver: When we return to campus, I will look into, hm… Premo? Yes, Premo's music videos.

Idia: Eh, no way!? S-S-Seriously!? They have all their latest MVs on their official Magicam account!

Idia: P-PLEASE WATCH THEM! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Idia: Ooh, here's the Sea Witch floating in the darkness… She's got a nice, bewitching smile going, too.

Silver: This is a painting depicting the scene of when the Sea Witch drew up a contract.

Silver: If I recall, it was said that the contract was so unbreakable that even a powerful spear couldn't rip through it.

Idia: I mean, you'd think that just having a contract that doesn't tear apart or bleed ink in water is strong enough...

Silver: Perhaps the contents of the contract was dire enough she did not wish it broken.

Idia: Who cares about the contents, the material of the contract is way more interesting. How high of a defense stat did it even have to not get ripped up by a spear?

Idia: But I totally get it, everyone wants to make invincible things every so often.

Silver: I cannot say I understand, but… What sort of thing would you make, Idia-senpai?

Idia: Like a "game console power cord that can never be taken away," or something like that… A-Actually, I tried to make something like that when I was a kid.

Idia: Whenever I'd play video games all day and into night, my mother would end up hiding all my cords.

Idia: If all she did was hide them, I could just make myself a new one, but she'd hide the cord materials as well. Totally overboard!

Idia: So I had a thought. I had to do something so she couldn't hide it!

Silver: I can only imagine your mother was concerned for your health… Did you never consider quitting your games?

Idia: Why would I? Ahh, but I really did burn the midnight oil like a little worker bee back then.

Idia: Like, I'd put a motion sensor on it, so that the cord could automatically run away from whoever was holding it...

Idia: Or I'd make the cord transparent so it couldn’t be found, or attach a homing function to it so it'd come back on its own…

Idia: And finally, after many failed attempts… I finally did it…!

Idia: I MADE A TRANSPARENT POWER CORD THAT ONLY RECOGNIZES THE AUTHORIZED USER!!

Silver: I do not really comprehend what that is, but… It is amazing that you invented something with your own two hands.

Idia: Nope, not at all.

Idia: My family also has a real stubborn genius, and every time I came up with some tech, it'd quickly get shot down by some kind of countermeasure...

Idia: And it took me a few months of that game of cat and mouse before I realized I should just convert my game console to wireless.

Idia: Hmph… But the peace and quiet that came from switching to wireless didn't last long at all...

Idia: Soon after, the Final Boss appeared: a device capable of disabling all wireless tech within a 10-meter radius!

Idia: Well, all the experience I got developing the motion sensing and automatic functions helped when I was putting Ortho together…

Idia: So I guess all that trial and error wasn't for nothing.

Silver: Even if you can picture your ideal outcome, it is rather difficult to actually put into action.

Silver: However, you have made real many of your thoughts. I can respect that.

Idia: Wai― What're you trying to say all a sudden? Getting complimented to my face randomly like that is a little scary… W-Wait, is this all a plot to beguile me!?

Silver: A plot? ...Hm, I see it has gotten late. I have kept you for some time. My apologies.

Silver: I am grateful to have heard such wonderful stories from you. Well then, I shall be on my way.

Idia: Whew… I'm exhausted having to actually talk to people for the first time in a while… Ah, this is…

Idia: It's the hero from that one myth. Look at his sparkling expression… He looks like he totally believes the future ahead of his is bright.

Idia: Life doesn't always go as swimmingly as you hope, though… Hope he doesn't get too excited that he gets carried away by the river of the underworld!

Requested by Anonymous.

#twisted wonderland #twst #idia shroud #silver #twst idia #twst silver #twst translation #twst birthday #mention: ortho

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solarswonderland · 3 months ago

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HAVEN: CHAPTER 25

prev | masterlist | next

Julie, Robin, and Steve stood frozen, staring at the TV, the weight of the news settling over them.

Then, the door burst open.

Dustin and Max waltzed into the store, and the second Julie laid eyes on Max, a wave of relief washed over her. She wasn't the only one—Steve and Robin visibly relaxed too.

"Hey, Steve," Dustin greeted, his voice unusually tense.

Steve barely acknowledged him, pointing toward the TV. "Did you guys see this?"

"How many phones do you have?" Dustin asked, completely ignoring the question.

Steve blinked. "Someone was murdered, dude."

"How. Many. Phones. Do. You. Have." Dustin repeated, his voice slow and deliberate.

Steve frowned. "Two, why?"

"Three if you count Keith's in the back," Julie added, glancing toward the storage room.

Dustin and Max exchanged a look. "Three works," Max muttered.

Before anyone could ask what that meant, Dustin swung his backpack off his shoulder and slid it across the counter.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Steve demanded.

Dustin ignored him, hopping onto the counter himself and knocking over a stack of VHS tapes in the process.

"No, no, no—my tapes! Dude!" Steve groaned, rushing over as Julie and Robin scrambled to pick them up.

"What are you doing, man?" Steve asked in disbelief, hands on his hips.

"Setting up base of operations," Dustin announced, plopping down in front of the computer.

Julie frowned. "Base of operations?"

Steve gestured toward the computer. "Get off that."

"No, I need it."

"For what?"

"Looking for Eddie's friends' phone numbers."

Steve scoffed, crossing his arms. "Oh, Eddie. Your new best friend that you think is cooler than me because he plays your nerdy game?" Then, in a lower voice, he leaned in and muttered, "The same Eddie my girlfriend hangs out with more than she spends time with me?"

Dustin groaned, not even looking away from the screen. "Yes. That Eddie. And, for the record, I never said that."

Robin, still aggressively stacking the knocked-over tapes, sighed. "Seriously? Maybe on a Monday you can play around like toddlers or whatever, but it's Saturday. Our busiest day."

"Robin, I empathize, but this cannot wait until Monday," Dustin said, eyes locked on the screen.

Steve let out a loud, exaggerated groan. "Why? Because calling Eddie's friends is an emergency?"

"Correct!"

Steve turned to Robin and Julie. "Do you guys want to strangle him, or should I?"

"We could take turns," Robin offered.

Julie nodded. "Sounds fair."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Can you just fill them in while I do this?" He turned to Max expectantly.

Max sighed. "Fine."

Julie, still standing next to the counter, narrowed her eyes. "Wait... why do you even need Eddie's friends' numbers so bad?"

Then, something clicked. Her gaze flickered back to the news broadcast, then to Dustin and Max.

Her stomach dropped.

"The body they found—" she hesitated, her voice quieter now. "It isn't Eddie's, is it?"

Dustin shook his head quickly. "No, it isn't—Max, just tell them!"

Max sighed. "You guys know Chrissy Cunningham?"

"Yeah, head cheerleader, isn't she? And her boyfriend's Jason Carver," Julie said.

Max nodded. "Yeah, her. The murdered Hawkins High student is her."

Robin, Steve, and Julie's eyes widened in shock.

Max continued, "Last night, when I was feeding the dogs, I saw Eddie and Chrissy going into his trailer. I wasn't sure why, but something felt off. But I ignored it anyway. A little later, the lights in my house started to flicker—"

"That's never been a good sign, based on experience alone," Julie muttered.

The others nodded.

"Exactly. My lights started to flicker, and then I looked at Eddie's trailer—I saw him running out of the house in fear." Max's voice dropped slightly. "Then, this morning, the cops were swarming Eddie's trailer. I managed to get a peek inside through the door, and I saw Chrissy... laying on the ground. Dead."

"Jesus..." Steve exhaled sharply. "Wait, does that mean Eddie...?"

Julie shook her head. "It can't be. Eddie wouldn't murder anyone."

"That's what Dustin thought," Max said. "It couldn't have been him. He was scared. He ran away because he was terrified. If he had murdered her, sure, he would be freaking out, but not like that. Not in a way that screamed pure panic."

Julie swallowed. "Then that means..."

Max looked at them, her expression grim. "Eddie didn't kill Chrissy. Something else did."

—----------------------------------------

"Hey guys, I might have a lead," Max said, hanging up the phone.

"Seriously?" Dustin swiveled around in his chair.

"Yeah. Apparently, Eddie gets his drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick, and sometimes he crashes there."

"That sounds promising. Where does Reefer Rick live?" Robin asked.

"See, that's the thing—no one knows," Max said. "He's more of a legend than someone people actually know."

"Last name?" Julie asked.

"Don't know that either."

"Bet the cops know the last name," Steve said.

Everyone turned to him.

"What?" Max asked.

"I mean, listen, if this Reefer Rick guy is actually a drug dealer, I guarantee you he's been busted at some point. Means he's in the system." Steve leaned over the counter.

"The cops. Really, Steve? That's your suggestion?" Dustin asked.

"I think they should be filled in on what we know. What's going on."

Julie sighed. "You think Eddie's guilty, don't you?"

"Woah, I believe in innocent until proven guilty. All that constitutional shit. I just, you know—don't think we can rule it out."

Max rolled her eyes. "That's precisely what we're trying to do here, Steve."

Dustin nodded. "And maybe we'd have a little bit more luck if you spent less time staring at your girlfriend—who's actually been very helpful, might I add—and more time trying to find Eddie!"

Julie raised her eyebrows. "Amen."

Steve looked defeated. "Somebody has to attend to the customers, right?" He gestured toward the empty store.

"Especially when they are blonde, big-eyed, and pretending they don't know what a VHS is," Julie quipped.

"Hey, not fair, okay? I attend to all customers equally. We've got a very big selection in here—it can be overwhelming for some people."

"Yeah, it can be," Robin said, turning toward the computer and typing.

"What are you doing?" Max asked.

"Maybe we don't need a last name." Robin tapped a few keys. "Twelve Ricks already have accounts here."

"That's a lot of Ricks," Max muttered.

"So let's narrow it down." Robin scanned the screen. "Rick Alderman's latest rentals are Annie and Dumbo. What are the chances our drug dealer has a family?"

"Not likely," Max answered.

"Alright. Rick Conroy—Sixteen Candles, Teen Wolf, Romancing the Stone."

"No," Julie and Steve muttered in unison.

"Okay, Rick Joiner—Footloose, Grease, and Mask."

"Nah," everyone chorused.

"Rick Kimbrough—The Blue Lagoon and Splash." Robin snorted.

"Definitely not," Max said, shaking her head as everyone smirked.

"Okay, Rick Lipton..." Robin's eyes widened. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cheech & Chong's Next Movie. Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams. Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke."

"Bingo!" Dustin grinned.

"Lipton?" Max asked.

"Spelled like the tea. 2121 Holland Road," Robin read off the screen.

"That's by Lover's Lake," Julie said.

"Middle of nowhere," Max noted.

"Perfect place to hide," Robin added.

Julie exhaled, grabbing the store keys. "Alright, let's go!"

They all bolted out of the store, Julie locking up behind them.

After a while of driving, they arrived at Reefer Rick's house, surrounded by pitch darkness.

Dustin pressed the doorbell.

Nothing.

He pressed it again.

Still nothing.

He pressed it over and over again like a maniac.

...Nothing.

"Okay, well that's settled. I guess he's not here," Steve said, crossing his arms.

Dustin knocked on the door loudly. "Eddie, it's Dustin!"

"Oh great..." Steve sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Look, we just wanna talk, okay? I swear, no cops. We just wanna help," Dustin called out.

Julie stepped away from the group, scanning the area for anything suspicious. Her eyes landed on a large shed behind the house. In the faint glow of the moonlight, she caught movement inside.

"Guys... over there," she whispered, pointing toward the shed.

Everyone turned to look. Nodding in agreement, they made their way over.

Robin hesitated as she reached for the door. "Is anyone home?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Steve shined his flashlight inside, revealing the cluttered mess of an abandoned hideout. "What a dump," he muttered.

The wooden floorboards creaked under every step, amplifying the eerie silence.

Steve's eyes landed on a large tarp covering what looked like a boat. Switching off his flashlight, he grabbed an oar off the wall and rolled it in his hands.

Dustin eyed him warily. "What are you doing?"

"He might be in there," Steve said.

"So take the damn tarp off, quit poking it!" Julie said.

"If you're so brave, you take the tarp off," Steve shot back.

"Maybe Eddie heard us, got scared, and ran," Robin suggested.

"Don't worry, Steve will get him with his oar," Dustin quipped sarcastically.

Steve turned to glare at him. "I know you think you're being funny, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slight—"

Before he could finish, a figure leaped out of the boat.

Chaos erupted.

Julie barely had time to process what was happening before Eddie tackled Steve against the wall, shoving a broken glass bottle to his throat.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" Steve yelped.

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH, EDDIE, STOP!" Dustin shouted, hands up in surrender. "Eddie! Eddie!"

The wild look in Eddie's eyes didn't fade as he gripped Steve tighter.

"It's me! It's Dustin! And—and look! It's—it's Julie!" Dustin gestured toward her.

Julie gave a small, nervous smile. "Hey, Eddie..."

"That's Steve. He's not gonna hurt you, right, Steve?" Dustin prompted.

"Right. Yeah," Steve whispered, trying not to move.

"Steve, why don't you drop the oar?"

Steve nodded stiffly and let the oar clatter to the floor.

But Eddie didn't budge. He pressed the jagged glass deeper against Steve's skin, causing him to groan in pain.

"Eddie, it's okay! He's cool, he's cool!" Julie assured him quickly.

"I'm cool," Steve squeaked.

Eddie's grip didn't loosen. "What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for you," Dustin said.

"We're here to help," Robin added.

Eddie's eyes darted between them, still unconvinced.

"Eddie, these are all my friends," Dustin continued. "You know Robin, from band."

Robin gave a painfully awkward air trumpet performance.

"And this is my friend Max—the one who never wants to play D&D."

Max sighed and waved stiffly.

"Eddie, we're on your side," Julie said gently. "I swear on Dustin's mother."

"Don't swear on my mother!" Dustin shot back.

Julie raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, you shouldn't have a problem since we are ON EDDIE'S SIDE, right guys?"

A chorus of 'yes's' erupted.

"Yes, we swear," Max said.

"On Dustin's mother," Robin added.

"Yep, yep. On Dustin's mother," Steve muttered.

Eddie studied them, eyes flickering between their faces. Slowly, he exhaled and released Steve, dropping the bottle to the floor.

Steve groaned, bending over and rubbing his neck.

"Jesus Christ, I'm so sorry," Julie said, patting his back.

Steve shook his head. "No problem. I love taking one for the team. My usual pastime hobbies, really." He grunted in pain, but smiled gratefully when Julie took his hand.

Julie gave him a sympathetic squeeze before turning back to Eddie.

He was curled up on the floor now, knees drawn to his chest, eyes full of guilt and fear.

"Eddie, we just want to talk, okay?" Dustin crouched in front of him.

Julie knelt down too, voice soft. "We just want to know what happened. Trust me." Slowly, carefully, she reached out and placed a hand over his, the one that had been gripping the bottle moments ago.

Eddie let out a shaky breath, finally setting the bottle aside.

"You won't believe me," he whispered, voice cracking.

"Try us," Max said.

Eddie inhaled sharply, his voice unsteady. "Her body just... like, lifted up into the air. And she just... hung there. In the air. And her bones—" His voice broke as he whimpered, shaking his head like he was trying to rid himself of the memory. "Her bones started to snap. Her eyes, man. It was like—like something was inside her head, pulling."

He squeezed his eyes shut, jaw clenching. "I... I didn't know what to do, so I—" his breath hitched, "I ran away. I left her there." He swallowed hard, then turned his face away, shame written all over him. "You all think I'm crazy, right?"

"No. We don't think you're crazy," Dustin said softly.

Eddie let out a bitter scoff. "Don't bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds!" His voice cracked as he yelled.

"We're not bullshitting you," Max said firmly.

Eddie's eyes darted to her, searching her expression for any trace of doubt. Instead, he found nothing but sincerity.

"We believe you," Robin added, offering a small, reassuring smile.

Julie took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Look, what I'm about to tell you might be a little... difficult to believe."

Eddie's wide, bloodshot eyes met hers. "Okay," he said hesitantly.

Julie studied him for a second before continuing. "You know how people say Hawkins is... cursed?"

Eddie nodded slowly.

"Well... they're not entirely wrong," Julie admitted. "There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. And sometimes... it bleeds into ours."

Eddie furrowed his brows. "Like ghosts and shit?"

"There are things worse than ghosts," Max said, her voice quiet but firm.

"These monsters from this other world..." Dustin started. "We thought they were gone. But they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you."

"If they're back again, we need to know what we're dealing with," Max added.

Eddie swallowed, his fingers gripping his knees. His entire world had been flipped upside down in less than 24 hours. "That night... did you see anything?" Robin asked gently.

"Dark particles, maybe?" Max followed.

"It would almost look like dust," Dustin prompted, leaning in slightly. "Swirling dust. Like ash."

Eddie shook his head. "No, man. There was nothing you could see or... or touch."

His lips parted, his breathing uneven. "No," he said. "I—I tried to wake her up. She couldn't move. It was like she was... in a trance or something." His eyes flickered between them.

"Like she was under a spell."

"A curse," Eddie whispered.

Dustin's expression darkened. "Vecna's curse."

"Who's Vecna?" Steve asked, confused.

Dustin glanced at Eddie. Eddie glanced at Dustin.

Eddie's voice was low, almost reverent. "An undead creature of great power."

"A spellcaster," Dustin added.

"A dark wizard," Eddie finished, voice laced with something between fear and awe.

Silence settled over the group, the weight of their words sinking in. Something ancient, something evil had returned to Hawkins. And this time, it had already taken a life.

The morning air was still heavy with the remnants of the night before. The sky was an overcast gray, and the streets of Hawkins were eerily quiet—too quiet. Julie sat on her front porch, arms wrapped around herself, trying to shake the feeling of unease that had settled in her chest.

Then, she heard the familiar rumble of Steve's car approaching. She stood up as the sleek, slightly beat-up Beemer pulled up to the curb. Steve leaned over, popping open the passenger-side door without a word. His face was unreadable—tired, maybe a little tense.

Julie slid into the seat, shutting the door behind her. "Morning," she said.

Steve hummed in acknowledgment, hands gripping the wheel as he pulled away from the curb.

They drove in silence for a moment. The air between them felt thick, charged with something unspoken.

Julie sighed, glancing over at him. "Alright. What is it?"

Steve didn't take his eyes off the road. "What's what?"

"You're brooding."

Steve let out a dry, humorless laugh. "I don't brood."

"You totally brood."

"Jesus, Julie," he muttered, shaking his head. "It's just—" He exhaled sharply, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. "I don't know. Last night was... insane. And now we're just supposed to—what? Go get Eddie breakfast like it's any normal day?"

Julie frowned. "He's been through hell, Steve. He barely slept. And we need him. He needs us."

"I know that," Steve snapped, then sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know, alright? I just—" He trailed off, jaw clenching. "I don't like this. Any of it. We should be getting the hell out of Hawkins, not sitting around playing babysitter for the town's most wanted."

Julie stiffened at that. "He's not a criminal."

"I know that," Steve said, exasperated. "But you saw how people looked at him last night. It's only a matter of time before Eddie gets—" He stopped himself, gripping the wheel a little too tightly.

Julie sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I get it, Steve. I do. But we can't just leave him hiding in that shed forever. They're going to find him eventually, and we cannot let that happen."

"I never said we should," he muttered, eyes fixed on the road.

Silence settled between them, thick with unspoken worries. Steve drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, while Julie stared out the window, chewing on her lip.

After a few moments, she let out a breath and reached over, resting her hand on top of his. "I know you're just worried."

Steve glanced at her, his expression softening. His grip on the wheel loosened, and he turned his hand over, threading his fingers through hers.

"I just..." He shook his head, searching for the right words. "I don't want anything to happen to you either."

Julie smiled faintly. "I'm not going anywhere, Harrington."

Steve let out a small chuckle, lifting their joined hands to press a quick kiss against the back of hers. "Yeah, well... you better not."

As they pulled up to Rick Lipton's place, Steve shifted into park but didn't move to open his door. Instead, he turned to her, his fingers still tangled with hers.

Julie tilted her head slightly. "What?"

Instead of answering, he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers in a slow, lingering kiss. It was a momentary escape, a fleeting second of normalcy before they had to face the madness waiting for them.

When they finally pulled apart, Julie smiled against his lips. "Guess we should go."

"Yeah," Steve sighed. "Let's go feed the freak."

The tires crunched over gravel as Steve pulled the car to a stop outside the shed. The engine rumbled for a second before he shut it off, leaving only the faint sounds of rustling leaves and chirping birds in the distance.

They climbed out of the car, slamming the doors shut behind them. Ahead, Dustin, Robin, and Max were already waiting, their expressions varying from impatience to barely concealed amusement.

"Took you guys long enough," Dustin muttered, arms crossed.

Robin smirked. "Lemme guess. You were—"

"Don't," Steve warned, pointing at her as he walked up, Julie right beside him.

Robin grinned. "I was just gonna say... stuck in traffic?"

Max rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because there's so much traffic out here in Hawkins, Indiana."

Julie smirked, bumping her shoulder against Steve's before looking at the others. "You guys ready?"

Dustin scoffed. "We've been waiting for you."

Steve sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Alright, alright, we're here now. Let's just get inside."

Dustin, balancing bags of food in both hands, kicked the shed door open with a loud bang.

"Jesus!" Eddie yelped, jerking back and nearly dropping the broken glass bottle in his hands.

"Delivery service!" Julie announced with a grin as the rest of them held up their bags of food.

Eddie let out a breath of relief and immediately reached for a bag of cereal, tearing it open and shoveling handfuls into his mouth like a starving man. Dustin and Max sat on two plastic chairs, while Eddie perched on the boat, and Robin, Julie, and Steve stood nearby.

Dustin clapped his hands together. "Okay, so we've got some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first, always," Eddie said through a mouthful of cereal.

Dustin hesitated for a beat before diving in. "Right. Bad news.. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and, yeah... they're definitely looking for you. They're also, uh... pretty convinced you killed Chrissy."

"Like, one hundred percent convinced," Max added.

Eddie exhaled sharply, his expression darkening. "And the good news?"

Robin shifted on her feet. "Your name hasn't gone public yet.But if we found out about you this fast, it's only a matter of time before everyone else does too. And once that happens, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is going to be gunning for you."

"Hunt the freak," Eddie muttered under his breath, his shoulders slumping.

"Exactly," Julie confirmed.

"Shit," Eddie groaned, rubbing a hand down his face.

"So," Dustin continued, "before that happens, we find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence."

Eddie let out a humorless laugh. "That's all, Dustin? That's all?"

"Yeah, no, that's pretty much it!" Dustin said with enthusiasm.

Eddie groaned again, burying his face in his hands.

Robin stepped forward, her tone softer now. "Listen, Eddie, I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this kind of thing before. I mean—they have. A few times, actually." She gestured toward the others.

Eddie looked at Steve, who gave him a confirming nod.

"I've only been through this once," Robin continued, "but, uh, mine was more human-flesh-based. Theirs was more... smoke-related. But bottom line? Collectively, I really feel like we got this."

"We usually rely on this girl who has superpowers," Steve added, "but technically those went bye-bye, so, uh..."

"So we're technically in more of the..." Robin started.

"Brainstorming phase," Julie finished.

Steve pointed at her. "Yeah, brainstorming phase."

"There's nothing to worry about," Dustin said confidently.

Before anyone could respond, sirens suddenly blared from outside the shed.

"Shit!" Steve cursed.

"Tarp," Julie ordered, and Eddie scrambled to throw the tarp over himself.

The group rushed to the window, peering out cautiously. Police cars and an ambulance sped past the street, lights flashing.

"They're... not stopping?" Robin asked, confused.

Steve frowned. "I don't get it. I thought they'd come here."

"They must've found something else," Max murmured.

Julie exhaled, then squared her shoulders. "Come on, let's check it out."

The others exchanged wary glances before nodding.

Julie turned back to Eddie. "Stay put. We'll be back soon, okay?"

Eddie shot out a hand in an "okay" gesture before disappearing back under the tarp.

Steve floored it, following the flashing lights in the distance. The car fell into tense silence as they trailed behind the ambulance, weaving through Hawkins' streets. The closer they got, the more crowded the area became—reporters, officers, and paramedics swarming the scene.

Dustin, peering out the window, suddenly gasped. "Oh my God. That's Nancy."

Julie's head snapped toward him. "Where?"

Her eyes followed his gaze—and there Nancy was, standing near a police officer, her face pale, her expression tight.

Nancy turned, spotting their car instantly. Her eyes locked onto them, heavy with something unreadable. Slowly, she lifted a hand in a hesitant wave.

Julie lifted her own hand in return, an uneasy weight settling in her stomach.

Something was wrong.

Nancy looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Robin hesitated before speaking. "That... doesn't look like a hey, guys, good to see you kind of wave."

"No, it really doesn't," Max muttered.

Julie walked toward Nancy, her brows furrowed with concern as the officer beside her gave Julie a once-over before nodding and stepping away, giving them privacy. Nancy stood stiffly, arms crossed tightly, her face pale under the glow of the flashing red and blue lights.

Julie didn't hesitate—she reached for Nancy's hand, squeezing gently. "Nancy, what's wrong?"

Nancy exhaled shakily, glancing at the others before focusing back on Julie. "I was talking to Wayne Munson. Eddie's uncle," she started, her voice quiet but tight. "I was asking him about Eddie, about what he saw. And then I realized..." She let out a small, bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Fred wasn't where I left him. He was already acting weird earlier, paranoid about something. And then... the ambulances, the cops—"

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue. "They found him, Julie. He's dead."

Julie felt a chill creep up her spine.

Steve, Robin, Max, and Dustin had caught up now, standing behind her, listening intently.

"Dead?" Dustin repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Nancy nodded, her expression dark. "His bones snapped, his eyes..." Her voice cracked slightly, but she kept going. "It was like something got inside his head and—" She cut herself off, inhaling sharply.

Julie's stomach twisted.

Bones. Eyes.

Her blood ran cold as the pieces clicked together. She turned abruptly toward the others. "Chrissy," she said.

Max frowned. "What?"

"Chrissy," Julie repeated, looking at each of them. "That's how she died, too. Her body was lifted into the air, her bones snapped, her eyes were—" She stopped, grimacing. "It's the same."

Realization dawned on their faces, horror settling in.

Robin's mouth parted slightly. "Oh, shit."

"They're connected," Julie murmured, her thoughts racing. "Chrissy and Fred. Same thing happened to both of them."

Max sucked in a breath. "Then that means—"

"They were both cursed," Steve finished.

Dustin nodded, jaw tight. "Vecna."

Nancy's eyes flickered with something unreadable before she squared her shoulders. "Vecna? Cursed– what are you guys talking about?"

Julie exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. "Let's find a place to sit, we'll explain everything to you."

No one argued.

The air was thick with tension as they gathered around an old, faded picnic table in the middle of the trailer park. The place was eerily quiet, except for the occasional crackle of police radios in the distance. The flashing lights from the patrol cars painted the trailers in sharp bursts of red and blue.

Nancy crossed her arms, scanning their faces. "So, you're saying this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy... it's from the Upside Down?"

"If the shoe fits," Steve said, shrugging.

Dustin leaned forward. "Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse." He paused, then added, "Now whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don't know."

"All we know is this is something different. Something new," Max added.

"Doesn't make sense," Nancy said.

"It's only a theory," Dustin replied.

"No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense. I mean, why them?" Nancy pressed.

"Maybe they were just in the wrong place. They were both at the game," Dustin said.

"And near the trailer park," Max added.

Steve glanced around, shifting uncomfortably. "We're at the trailer park. Uh, should we maybe not be here?"

Nancy didn't even acknowledge him. "Fred started acting weird the second we got here."

"Acting weird as in...?" Robin prompted.

"Scared, on edge, upset," Nancy said.

"Max said Chrissy was upset too," Dustin pointed out.

"Yeah, but not here. She was crying in the bathroom at school," Max clarified.

Robin tapped a finger against the table. "Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right? So, maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman—"

"Vecna," Dustin corrected immediately.

Robin waved a hand. "Whatever. Dunno about you guys, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone."

"Maybe they did," Max said.

Everyone turned to her.

"I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley's office. If you saw a monster, you... you wouldn't go to the police. They'd never believe you. But you might go to your—"

"Your shrink," Robin finished.

A heavy silence settled over the group. It made sense.

Without another word, everyone stood, heading to Steve's car—until Nancy suddenly veered off toward hers.

"Woah, woah, woah, Nance. Nance, where are you going?" Steve called out, frowning as he watched her break away from the group.

"Oh, there's just something I want to check on first," Nancy replied, already a few steps ahead.

"Something you'd maybe wanna share with us?" Dustin asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I don't wanna waste your time, it's a real shot in the dark," she admitted.

Steve folded his arms, "Yeah, okay. Are you out of your mind? Flying solo with this Vecna creep on the loose? No. It's too dangerous. You need someone to go with you."

"But, Steve—"

"He's right," Julie cut in before Nancy could finish.

Nancy exhaled in reluctant surrender, knowing she was outvoted.

"Here, I'll stick with Nance, alright?" Steve offered, tossing his car keys to Robin. "You guys take the car, check out the shrink."

"I don't think you want me driving your car," Robin said, catching the keys awkwardly.

"Why?" Steve asked, squinting at her.

"I don't have a license," she replied, matter-of-factly.

"Why don't you have a license?" he asked , baffled.

"I'm poor," Robin said simply.

"Julie can drive," Steve suggested, already turning back toward Nancy.

"I wish, but I have no clue how your car even works. It's far too fancy for me," Julie said.

"I could drive?" Max offered, only for Steve to shut her down instantly.

"No, never again, please. Anybody but you, no," he said flatly.

Dustin perked up, raising his eyebrows with exaggerated hope.

"No chance," Steve said firmly.

"Come on!" Dustin groaned in exasperation.

Robin rolled her eyes, grabbing Dustin's walkie and grinned. "This is stupid. Us ladies—" she announced, slinging an arm around Nancy and Julie, "—will stick together."

"No—HEY! You cannot have me babysitting again!" Steve whined.

"It's kinda your job now," Robin quipped, smirking.

Steve stared in betrayal. Julie sighed. She turned to Robin and Nancy.

"You guys go on without me. I'll be with Steve, Max, and Dustin," she said.

"Yeah, take care of your man-baby," Nancy teased, smirking.

"Not a baby!" Steve shot back, getting into his car.

"Totally a baby," Dustin muttered. Max nodded in agreement.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Shut up and get in the car," he huffed, swinging open the driver's side door.

Julie shot him an amused look as she slid into the passenger seat. "You know, for someone who complains about being the babysitter, you sure are committed to the job."

Steve scoffed. "Yeah, well, someone's gotta keep them alive."

Dustin, already climbing in, planted a foot onto the seat.

"Wipe your feet," Steve snapped, eyeing the dirt clinging to the soles of his sneakers.

Dustin absentmindedly rubbed his foot against the floor mat.

"On the outside, not the inside!" Steve groaned, throwing his hands up.

Julie pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. She patted Steve's shoulder. "You're doing great, champ."

Steve shot her a glare before gripping the wheel with a dramatic sigh. "Always the babysitter. Always the GODDAMN babysitter."

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livefastdriveyoung · 2 years ago

Text

This is Madness

Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari is huge. Few things;

First, poor Carlos, having to announce his own departure is brutal.

Second, if Toto really only did find out yesterday, why? Was Lewis afraid he would change his mind? Guilt? Is the W15 a disaster?

Third, Ferrari was the only other option. There was very little chance he would wind up at Redbull. Max is first driver, Christian Horner has admitted to not seeing a future with him.

Fourth, BONO?! He signed an extension contract. So the question is does he have an out clause as well? Will Lewis buy him out? Can he? Will Bono even choose Lewis?

Fifth, Team Loyalty is a big deal in modern F1, but that's the key, it's modern. F1 drivers used to change teams more frequently. We've seen it even now. Alonso has been on six teams total, with separate stints at different times for Renault and McLaren. Kimi drove for five teams. Seb drove for five teams. Checo, five, and so on. Hamilton's stint with Mercedes is unprecedented. 17 years total. Not something to scoff at, but unprecedented. It shouldn't be treated as some ultimate betrayal. He was the exception to the rule.

Sixth, I think Lewis implicitly trusts Fred Vasseur. Do I? No. Do I think that the rumors going around about poaching Red Bull staff and the fact that we don't know about Bono or Andrew could mean that Lewis's side of the garage is stacked exactly how he wants it.

Seventh, Charles is not going to be second driver, not really. Yes, you don't bring a driver like Lewis in to make him second fiddle, but I think that the hope is that Charles will learn what he's been missing, and I love Charles but there are definitely moments that demonstrated room for growth. Lewis has always talked about how much the sport has changed, and even though it is his complaints that make headlines, his positive enforcement of some of these changes is a good attitude to bring. Charles is the 'Il Predestinato' they just want to make sure that he's the best version of it they can get.

Eighth, The Mercedes garage is going to spin this season. Their PR team is going to work like never before. They're going to spin the narrative to George, they're going to isolate Lewis. He can't be in the future development meetings anymore, he's the competition. His colleagues of a decade can no longer trust him and that is sure to be lonely. They're not going to let that be the story. I think we might even be seeing some of it already. The question as to whether or not Toto knew in advance, coming out against the fact that allegedly Sainz and LeClerc have known for at least a couple weeks, is interesting and I'm intrigued at the level of truth.

Ninth, Whether you like Lewis or not, there were moments last season that the team shafted him. Prioritizing his teammate when he was in a better position, abandoning him on podium, etc. Lewis was so supportive of Susie and Toto, George didn't even bother to do anything other than repost the official statement. Lewis was Jack's hero, now all of a sudden, George is the one on vacations, and teaching him carting. The relationship has been slowly fracturing since Abu Dhabi 2021. Whether or not Lewis leaves on a good note at the end of the season will depend on if Mercedes will even give him the time of day. This could very well be Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren.

Finally, I don't think Lewis Hamilton has ever been the type to pull the rug out from someone without cause. He's always been a huge target in the F1 community and I think he's been ready for a change for a while. It's hard to make a change, especially when you're leaving something that once treated you so well. If it is true that he gave Mercedes no proper warning then hopefully he apologizes and explains. We're not entitled to know, but they are.

#lewis hamilton #toto wolff #george russell #sebastian vettel #fernando alonso #susie wolff #mercedes #ferrari #hot take #please don't hate me #i'm just a baby #who has no one to talk F1 with #Bc her peers who watch the sport only care so much to hear the rambles #silly season #f1 #formula 1

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pagingdoctorcarter · 3 months ago

Note

I am here because I just finished reading “The most certain way” for like the third time and tears were shed. Your writing is so inspiring and honestly just a masterclass in storytelling. I aspire to even reach one quarter of your skills, i’m honestly so shook and grateful I found your story. Anna is such an underdeveloped character it’s honestly comical how she was written off the show, so i’m just grateful you’ve taken the task to flesh her and Carter out, mostly what could have been. Even with all the odds stacked against them I hope they make it. Anna has such a great sense of pragmatism it makes her come off as cold and unfeeling but the warmth she has with Carter…the way you’ve given us a glimpse into her feelings and emotions, how even she can’t make sense of them sometimes, it’s just so beautiful. It’s prose.

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for creating this wonderful piece of art!

I too, am on a deep rabbit hole of obsession with Noah Wyle, moving on (not quite) from The Pitt to ER. I’m so happy to have read your recent contributions. do you have any other projects cooking? Absolutely no pressure I’m honestly just curious and would want to make sure to keep my eyes peeled.

So, first, I want to let you know that this comment changed my whole day. I woke up to it, and I was so moved that I ended up setting aside real life things in order to sit and start the next chapter. Your kind comment directly impacted this fic, and absolutely inspired me to get into it with more enthusiasm and clarity than I'd felt in a while.

To be honest, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. The fic has gotten so long, and by virtue of its subject matter, feels so complex and sometimes convoluted that I was in danger of losing sight of where I was going and how to get there.

But I read your comment, and then I reread my fic trying to see what you saw, and realising that I knew where to go next.

Your kindness and generosity, in addition to the unspeakably wonderful and insightful support of @maisiec33 and @secretegret make this possible. And if you're looking for additional ER work, I would highly suggest you check them out on AO3. I can't express my love for them both with anything approaching adequacy.

Now, to your comment in particular, I am SO SO thrilled you're enjoying it so much. And I'm deeply, deviously glad to know I've made you cry.

I think your analysis of Anna is spot on, and her exit from the show is one of the things that truly *puts on tinfoil hat* think fundamentally altered the direction of things. It's so abrupt, and she was so involved in so many other characters that, to me, season five feels thematically and narratively aimless without her.

I love that you put your finger on the idea of her being pragmatic to the point of almost being cold. I hadn't really considered that, but I do spend a lot of time considering how her pragmatism and self-consciousness holds her back from being as effusive and expressive as she might truly feel. And "cold" is exactly how that would read to others. I love how precise she can be, and how compassionate, but also how impatient and demanding. One of the reasons I think she works really well with Carter is because she's basically the only relationship he has on the show that isn't compromised by some (big or small) social taboo or power imbalance. She holds him accountable without expecting perfection. She only demands he examine his own actions, not that he atone for anything. I love that.

And I think that, combined with her history with Max, would have made such a compelling conflict during Carter's addiction arc.

AND I'M SO GLAD YOU THINK I'M DOING HER JUSTICE.

As for things in the pipeline...nothing specific. I do owe @maisiec33 a whumpmay fic (I've not forgotten), and I've got several little pots simmering. Some more self-indulgent than others, but I do mean to get to them sooner rather than later! So sit tight!

In the meantime, here's a little snippet from the next chapter.

#er nbc #john carter #anna del amico #my fic #asked and answered

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brbsoulnomming · 2 years ago

Text

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 17

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Eddie wakes up with his face smooshed against Steve's bicep, which, honestly, is not a bad place to be. He lifts his head up a little, blinking bleary eyes, and sees they've both migrated towards the center of the bed. Steve's rolled over onto his stomach, face buried in his pillow. Eddie's still on his back, but he'd shifted a little, leaned in towards Steve, and they're pressed together all along their sides.

Steve moves, which Eddie is guessing what woke him up in the first place, and turns his head to look at him.

"Morning," Steve mumbles, all rough with sleep.

It's not the first time Eddie's heard him like that, yeah, but it is the first time that Eddie's been this close, that he's been touching this much of him, and it makes his brain shut off.

"Doesn't it hurt sleeping like that?" he says, like an insane person.

Steve huffs out a little laugh. "My back's all torn up too, man, it kind of hurts sleeping like anything."

Shit, right, Steve'd gotten dragged over the lake bed in the Upside Down. Eddie has a vague memory of red streaks like road rash all up his back before he'd put on his vest.

Eddie makes a noise, quietly distressed, mostly because he doesn't know what to say to that, and he gets to watch the way Steve's eyes go all soft up close.

"I've had worse," Steve says.

It makes Eddie snort. "You keep saying that, but it's not as reassuring as you seem to think it is. Will you at least let me take a look at it later?"

Steve smiles. "I look after you, you look after me?"

"Something like that." Eddie ducks his head. "Come on, I'm starving."

They take turns in the bathroom. Eddie borrows more of Steve's clothes - another pair of boxers, the same track pants and a dark gray sweatshirt this time. Steve abandons the attempt he'd done at jeans yesterday, opts for navy sweats and a green sweater.

This time, Eddie lets Steve help him downstairs, even gets set up in a chair at the kitchen table so he can watch him cook breakfast.

They're halfway through eating a massive stack of pancakes when the walkie flares to life, and a time is agreed on for everyone to come over.

Turns out Steve hadn't been kidding about an invasion.

There's everyone in their little Vecna fighting mission, of course, Robin and Dustin and Erica arriving in Nancy's station wagon with her. But a Surfer Boy pizza van comes up alongside of it, Max and Lucas and Mike Wheeler spilling out of it along with Jonathon Byers, a pair of kids that Eddie's going to guess are El and Will Byers, and a dude that Eddie's pretty sure he's never seen before.

He's Argyle, apparently, owner of the van and the guy who pointed out that Eddie was not a girl, Jonathan's best friend from California.

Also brand new to all of this, which makes Eddie toast him with his second mug of coffee, from where he's pretending he needs to lean against Steve for support to stand up but he's also mostly using him as a shield because both Dustin and Mike look like they're ready to tackle him any minute.

Someone must have updated the California crew on what went down in Hawkins, because no one asks Eddie why he's standing in Steve Harrington's kitchen wearing Steve Harrington's clothes.

Steve stops working as a deterrent for Dustin about two minutes after the introductions are done, and really, Eddie's kind of surprised it took him that long to come over and hug them both. He's reasonably gentle about it, at least, so Eddie guesses he can't complain much.

"Hey, buddy," Steve says, ruffling his hair. "We're still okay."

"Still alive and kicking," Eddie chimes in, slinging one arm around Dustin and giving into the hug.

Mike looks - sullen and uncertain, like he's not really sure of his place here and he's unhappy about it. For a moment, Eddie considers ignoring it until he absolutely has to do something about it, but, well. He's kind of ignoring a lot of things right now, and he really doesn't want them all to come back up at once.

So he stays in the kitchen as everyone else trickles out into the living room, plops down at the table and makes significant eye contact with Mike, raising one eyebrow. Sure enough, it works, and Mike stays behind.

He doesn't say anything, just drops down to sit at the kitchen table with him and looks mulish.

It reminds Eddie of himself, actually, and he wonders if this is how Uncle Wayne felt sitting across from him when he was fifteen. Shit, he owes that man so much. Eddie's still got some coffee left, though, and he can wait this out, taking slow, lingering sips.

"You weren't supposed to get involved with all of this," Mike says finally.

Eddie raises an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, well, Vecna disagreed with you."

Mike scowls. "You were supposed to be safe. Everything was supposed to be done, or I never would have-"

He cuts off, but Eddie knows exactly what he was going to say.

"Or you never would have left," he finishes for him.

"I wouldn't have!" Mike insists, looking up at him with a fire in his eyes. "Joyce left, and she took Will and El and Jonathan, and Nancy said she wouldn't have left us alone like that if the gate wasn't closed and we weren't safe. Once November passed and nothing happened, we thought we were good."

Eddie sets his cup on the table, the hand that isn't all splinted up running absently over his knee. "That's a lot to unpack right there, Wheeler."

Mike groans. "Whatever. The point is, people who get involved with this because of us die. And it wasn't supposed to be you."

"Aw. Almost sounds like you care," Eddie says, batting his eyelashes at Mike, who scowls harder at him. "Mike, none of this is your fault. I didn't get involved in this because of you, I got involved in this because Hawkins is a shithole and Vecna is a jackass who targeted a girl I knew. Being friends with you guys is the only thing that got me out of this, okay?"

Mike scoffs. "You mean Dustin and Lucas got you out of it."

Eddie raises his eyebrows at Mike, because really, is there jealousy happening here? "If we're going to be technical, Nancy was the one who figured out the Creel connection, and Robin was the one who figured out that music was the key, and Steve got to Max in time and-"

"Okay, okay," Mike grumbles. "I still should have been here."

Ah. Not jealousy - or at least not entirely jealousy. It's the paladin thing, being upset with himself for not being there when his friends needed him. "Mike," he says, pitching his voice a little gentler. "You can't be everywhere at once, you know that. When the party splits, you have to pick which group to go with, and from what it sounded like, you were right where you needed to be. El and Will needed their paladin, didn't they? And we had Steve."

The cloud over Mike's face had been lifting, and he even got a smile when Eddie said that El and Will needed him, but it drops back into a scowl when he mentions Steve.

"Steve's not a paladin," Mike retorts. "If anything, he's a barbarian."

That's not the point, Eddie knows it isn't, but he can't help but consider that, thinking about Steve bare chested with blood and grime all over him for probably a moment or two too long. "All right, yeah, I can see that," he admits. "But what gives, I thought you guys all thought Steve was a badass?"

Mike whips his head around, looking out the kitchen door, then slouches down in his chair. "That was before you knew him! I just didn't want you to like, pick a fight with him when he picked us up, because he's already had too many concussions."

Eddie raises an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. And how many of those concussions did he get saving you little assholes?"

Mike pulls a face that Eddie is going to assume means all of them. "That's not the point. I just - are you and he -"

Oh, shit. Somehow, Eddie had completely forgotten their shenanigans over the walkie yesterday morning. He fights the urge to fidget, and instead gives his best stoic, you'll never get it out of me face. "And what if we were?"

Mike slumps down even further. "You don't have to yell at me. Jonathan already got there, I'm not going to say it's gross. It's just - I was gone for like a week! You kept insisting that he was an asshole, and wouldn't believe Dustin and Lucas, and now you're staying with him?"

All right, well, when he puts it like that - Eddie scrubs a hand over his face. "Kind of hard to hate someone when you watch him rip up demobats and then he carries you out of the Upside Down."

Mike rolls his eyes, but he looks a little less like his world has been completely shaken. "Oh. Yeah, Steve does that. So you're not-"

"No," Eddie says, because he can't keep talking around it, and saying anything else would be a lie. There's a pit in his stomach that says no is technically a lie, too, because Eddie's pretty convinced that Steve is his soulmate, but he can't let that trip him up. "I mean, we're definitely friends now, but he's letting me stay here because I've got nowhere else to go."

"They told us," Mike says, his scowl back. "We'll figure something out. Nancy and Jonathan got Hawkins Lab to release a story about Barb, and all of Starcourt got covered up. We'll get your name cleared."

It's a great sentiment, but Eddie's not sure he can believe it at the moment. He clears his throat, nodding towards the living room. "You better get back out there."

Mike stands, though he pauses to look at him quizzically. "You're not coming?"

Eddie holds up his cup. "Just finishing my coffee, I'll be right out there."

Fuck, he knows as soon as he says it that it's a lie. He'll just have to hope that Steve is too busy with the gremlins to check what just got written on him.

Mike apparently doesn't believe him, either, because it's only a few minutes after he leaves that Robin comes into the kitchen.

"Your turn to check on the new guy?" he asks her.

She scoffs. "Awfully self absorbed of you, Eddie. Maybe I just came for leftover pancakes and coffee."

He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, I mostly came for coffee," she relents, pouring herself a cup. "But also to check on you. Hey, though, bonus, you're not the newest guy anymore."

"Thank you, Argyle," Eddie mutters as Robin comes to sit next to him.

"So," Robin says, taking a long drink from her cup. "Are you going to give me something that's a reasonable approximation of the truth so I can not lie when I give a condensed report back to concerned parties, or are we just going to sit here for a while and make this awkward?"

He huffs out a little laugh. "I don't know, Buckley, I'm pretty awkward and you're definitely awkward, I don't think we have much of a shot of this not being awkward."

She smiles at him, wide and amused, but that doesn't stop her from taking another pointed sip of her coffee as she looks at him over the brim of her mug.

"How come I have to be the one who's always getting checked in on?" Eddie bitches. "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one not doing okay."

"Because you are the new guy," Robin says, though not unkindly. "Everyone else has been through this enough that we kind of know how they're going to react, and what to look for that means things are getting worse. They did it with me, too, after Starcourt."

Eddie hadn't actually been upset, just a little ruffled by the fact that so many people are this concerned over his well being, but if he had been, that would have soothed it. "Steve told me a little about the aftermath of that, about the song you taught him."

Robin laughs a little. "There you go. I had Steve singing that for me just about every night for a while. That's mine - my brain gets itself all worked up with hypotheticals and possibilities, and things that could have happened but didn't will just start spilling out until I have a hard time sorting them all out from what actually did happen. Some of the others have gotten pretty good about knowing when to let me talk myself through it and when to cut me off and distract me."

It's shockingly vulnerable, especially for sitting in Steve Harrington's kitchen with a huge group of people just on the other side of an open doorway, and Eddie appreciates it more than he can say.

"I hyperventilate," he blurts out. "I get trapped in my head and I can't get words out. It gets worse at night and when I wake up, but Steve and Dustin have kind of figured out how to talk me down. I'm sure some new terrible way of not coping will probably come up, but that's me right now."

Robin nods, looking thoughtful. "Has Steve had a nightmare yet?"

"No," Eddie says. "I don't think so. He said he does better with one of us there, so we've been sleeping in the same room."

He isn't expecting it, but that makes Robin light up, looking at him - almost like Steve does, when Eddie did something for one of the kids, and Steve smiles so warm and open at him.

"Thank you," Robin says, toying with the handle on her mug. "My parents wouldn't let me stay over until they knew for sure I was okay, and I just - yeah, that's him. He goes into protect mode when he wakes up from a nightmare, and he needs someone there to tell him that we're all safe."

Eddie gives a little smile, trying not to give into the way his stomach does a stupid, lovesick little flutter at that. "Protective mode fits him so much better than that you're all so beneath my notice thing he did in high school."

Robin barks out a little laugh. "Right? I couldn't believe it when I actually met the real Steve and found out how dorky and sweet he was."

He lifts his mug to her in a toast, draining the rest of his coffee in one gulp. "I'll keep an eye on him for you until your parents relent," he promises, even though it feels a little disingenuous because he was planning on doing it anyway.

She shoots him a grateful smile. "It was a lot easier after Starcourt, probably because it was so new and my parents figured I'd just sneak out and be over here anyway. This time they said they'd come find me, so, you know."

So she didn't sneak out, because Eddie was here and no one can know that, and he feels a stabbing of guilt.

Robin continues before he can decide if he should say anything, though. "We came to a deal, I'm home for a week and then I can come over and stay with you guys until they start school back up again."

Fuck, okay, then. Well, no, mostly not fuck - he's kind of excited about it, actually, the idea of staying with both Steve and Robin for a while is stupidly appealing - but it means he's only got a few more days to suck it up and tell Steve he thinks they're soulmates, unless he wants to do it with Robin there. Which, actually, wouldn't be the worst thing -

"Wait, start school back up?" he asks, his mind skipping and catching on that.

She grimaces. "Yeah, with the earthquake and the school still being used as a shelter, the school year's on hold. They made sure to inform us we'll have to make the time up during summer, but, eh. Gives us more time to make sure you're graduating."

He must look a little blank, because she rolls her eyes at him.

"You're one of us now. If you think Nancy and I aren't going to make sure you're right there with us on graduation day, then, well, you've got a little more time to get your head out of your ass before the mandatory study sessions start."

Oh.

He shouldn't have finished the last of his coffee, because there's suddenly a lump in his throat that he can't quite swallow past.

There's a little bit of a commotion outside the kitchen, though, saving him from having to say anything.

"Robin!" Dustin shouts from the living room. "Is Steve lying?"

"Nice try, dingbat, you know I need more than that before giving up any of the goods!" she shouts back without hesitation.

"He says there's nothing the hospital could've done for him if he stayed and let us look after Eddie!"

Robin pauses, like she's doing a mental catalog of something, and Eddie clocks onto what it is at the same time as she calls, "Not lying! Not enough to count, anyway."

His stomach drops, and he feels like the floor goes with it.

"You and Steve are soulmates." Eddie's not sure why he says it. It's obvious, and he doesn't really want to hear it confirmed, but - he's an idiot, apparently.

"Yeah, we figured that out during Starcourt."

Eddie - needs to say something, he knows he does, because Robin's looking at him in that searching way again, like she's seeing too much of him. But what the fuck is he supposed to say? Robin's his friend, how is he supposed to tell her that he'd wanted her soulmate to be his so bad that he'd almost tested it a few times, that he still wants Steve to be his, that he's angry at her and Steve and himself and the goddamn world, even though he knows he's the only one to blame for thinking he could have this? He can't even bring himself to look at her, gaze dropping down.

"Wait, you didn't know? I thought the gremlins told you."

There's a moment of silence before he hears a sharp intake of breath, and he can't stop himself from wincing.

"Steve and I have two!" she blurts out in a whisper-shout.

His gaze snaps back up to her face, and she's staring at him wide-eyed and frantic.

"What?" he asks, feeling a little wide-eyed himself.

"Soulmates. Steve has two soulmates, and so do I."

Oh.

"Oh," he breathes out, his eyes darting to look back at the doorway, where he can just see the back of Steve's head.

"Yup. A platonic," she says, emphasizing the word way more than is really necessary for Eddie to pick up on what she's implying. Steve hasn't found his platonic soulmate yet - it could be Eddie. "And a romantic. So, you know. If you wanted to do anything with that information. It's there."

Eddie swallows, finally looking back at her to see the way her eyes are brimming with nervous excitement. "And you're… you'd be okay with that?"

She rolls her eyes at him. "If anything, I'd be relieved. It'll be a hell of a lot easier to navigate if it's someone who's been through the Upside Down stuff. I like you, Eddie, don't go getting a big head or anything, but you're pretty great."

And that's soft and sincere enough that it actually does make his head feel a little bigger - or at least his cynical heart, anyway, because he likes her, too. He's never been jealous of her before - watching her and Steve together has always felt good, made him all gooey and fond even when he refuses to acknowledge it - and he doesn't want to be jealous of her now.

He can do this, he decides. Steve might already have a romantic soulmate, but Eddie'd already resigned himself to having a platonic soulmate more than once. He can do it, if it means having Steve.

"Cool," he says, and resists the urge to make a face at himself. "That's, uh, yeah. I'll keep that in mind."

She raises one eyebrow at him, and he groans, leaning over to plant his face on the kitchen table.

"Just leave me here," he implores her, his voice all muffled.

Robin laughs at him, though not meanly, and pats him on the head. "No," she says cheerfully. "Suck it up and take your next dose of meds and let's go into the living room."

He groans louder, but he does get up and shuffle over to down his meds, not looking at her as he sets the bottle back down. "You're pretty great, too," he admits.

She doesn't say anything in response to that, until he finally looks up to find her grinning at him.

"I know," she replies smugly. "Now come on, potential soulmate-in-law, your solitary brooding time is up."

Taglist (always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

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Part 18

#stranger things #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #steddie fic #mike wheeler #steddie soulmate au #platonic soulmates stobin #soulmates au #misunderstandings time

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 2 years ago

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ngl ever since i learned that rook might intern as an archeologist to explore ruins (which is crazier when you realize the world of twisted wonderland is very mysterious and fantastical; i'm sure those ruins are genuinely dangerous) i totally see him as someone who'll just get shadier and more strange over time. i wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with an energy similar to Undertaker from Black Butler or one of those shady magical pawn shop owners that knows way too much and has a million secrets. like, he's ALREADY like that and he's just a 18 year old boy, just imagine the menace he'll be someday--i can't even imagine where Jade will end up as well.

Eh, I'm sure he'll fiiiine in whatever ruins and archeological sites he ends up at it's Rook, I'm pretty sure the dangers out there are afraid of him instead of the other way around/j 🙃 I definitely feel like Rook won't be growing out of his eccentricness anytime soon. He's going around collecting more and more secrets every day at NRC already; the difference now is that he has just changed locations and is now being paid to do it. When he comes back for graduation day, he'll be Too Powerful...

As for Jade, maybe he can use his internship to learn more about the mountains and/or the land flora and fauna?? He could also look into magic pharmaceuticals, since he excels in that subject. They seem to be special interests of his--though he does hate to be bored, so I see him maybe doing something different each semester of internship (there's three max, I believe; you can take on a different one each semester or decide to stay at the same one). I think he'd learn a lot of valuable information that could help with expanding the "Leech family business" and connections to the land, as well as supplementing the business with knowledge of untraceable poisons :)) I could also see Jade taking up much less conspicuous internships where he's in more of a supportive role so as to not draw attention to himself, or just in a powerful enough position where he can collect useful information while maintaining his facade. Some kind of business-oriented or information collecting role where he's handling sensitive information (like client files?), maybe.

I'm not sure if TWST plans on progressing time to this extent in-game (maybe the next main story arc will be the following school year?), but I would love to see the third years as fourth years and the second and first years moving up a grade! (Plus incoming first years!) Then we can get new students, dorm leaders and vice dorm leaders being succeeded, and see old favorites going on their own internships and graduating 😭 I'm super interested in seeing the life and career directions each student takes, especially since we've gotten bits and pieces hinted to us in voice lines and vignettes. (For example, Riddle's mom wants him to pursue medicine, but Riddle has also expressed interest in law due to his time at school; Azul seems to have an interest in law and/or business but also hospitality, as he runs the Mostro Lounge.) Where each person decides to go and what they want to do can tell us a lot about their character and their ambitions, and it can also open up avenues for exploration and growth. (Kalim is going to inherit the Asim family business, but has also expressed before that he feels he isn't mature enough as he is now; Cater isn't quite sure what he wants to get into yet, since he's so used to putting on a cheery "mask" around other people, etc.) There's tons of interesting possibilities! (Imagine NRC's class reunions 10 years down the line though??? Their roster would be so stacked with important and influential people in a variety of fields and specialties.)

#twst #twisted wonderland #Rook Hunt #Jade Leech #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #spoilers #notes from the writing raven #Riddle Rosehearts #Azul Ashengrotto #Kalim Al-Asim #Cater Diamond

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cerastes · 1 year ago

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As someone who hasn't touched it yet- how does IS4 stack up? How's first impressions been?

Ok, let me give my thoughts on IS4, now that it's been a week!

TL;DR -> This Rocks, I love it.

IS4 is far, far more polished than IS3. I feel a bit bad blasting and slamming IS3 so much, but the bottom line with it is that it's just very very flawed in ways that really make it hard to revisit it in the same way IS2 is always a fun romp.

If I had to point out flaws with IS4, it'd be that, on a personal level, I wish it had a few more Normal Arknights Maps. The vast majority of maps in IS4 are pranks and checks of some sort. This isn't necessarily a negative, but I do like playing some Tower Defense more frequently than what IS4 allows, since it's always got me worried about "oh god my team lacks X, Floor Y's Map Z checks X, if I get it, I'll D I E " so I try to go for my super tried and true team instead of daring to experiment all that much. This will eventually pass, but it's been a Thing for me.

Besides that, though? I just have a lot of good things to say about it. The systems feel like they were thought out this time: The Fordartals (sp?) system allows for a lot of player expression, agency, and just in general fun in a way the Light system of IS3 can simply never hope to compare to. About the only thing the Light system did right was the way it worked thematically: If you wish to confront The Corrupting Heart, you really, really gotta go in the dark, and for the best possible chance against, Izumik, Mizuki must find the Light again and be filled with hope. Yeah ok sure, thematically, these work, but the gameplay component sucks ass, because Light exists almost exclusively as a form of punishment and in basically no way as something you can use. It opens some roads, sure, but that Rogue Trader and Wish Fulfilled node are not worth having 9 out of you 11 Operators with Metastatic. Speaking of Metastatic, the single worst thing Arknights has done, even if you are maxed out on Collapse in IS4 and are packing four fully upgraded maluses, THAT STILL DOESN'T COMPARE to how bad Metastatic was. Let that sink in.

The endings are no longer RNG! Absolutely wonderful!

Eik is the first IS 2nd Boss I can say I think is good! Frozen Monstrosity was just annoying, Big Sad Lock is incredibly static, and The Last Knight, in my opinion, is the single worst and most boring boss in the entire game, not even just the game mode. Eik is like if The Last Knight didn't suck: Same principle, but done in a way that is actually not snooze-inducing. Mind you, the principle of the fight is still not something I enjoy, but unlike The Last Knight, that's wholly a me thing, as opposed to being an objectively awful and boring fight (like The Last Knight, the worst and most boring boss in Arknights).

Even though I said I'd like some more normal maps, the maps are good, to be honest! I can't think of any Fire and Water Unions or Out of Controls.

IS4 is the Smash of Arknights: (Almost) Everyone Is Here! Brush up on your gimmicks from various events, because they WILL appear.

The Midboss philosophy in IS4 is lovely, in my opinion: It's low HP bosses who can quickly fuck you up in their own way, be it stun, immense conditional damage, or simply supporting their team so well that you get overwhelmed. The Variant stages for the bosses are entire new maps, so that's also cool.

Collapsal enemies are congruent with the map design: Collapsals can be very quick, with a caveat: Normal Collapsal mobs speed up after they get hit, Casters speed up after not attacking for a bit, Aerials are fast but always have many loops and never directly go to the point until after a while. Shattered Champions are the exception, and they can either loop a while or just go straight for the jugular, making them apt Elite units for the faction.

There's much more I could say more concisely, but really, just try the game mode, get your ass kicked a bit, learn it, and then you'll see how coherent the design of IS4 is in terms of systems, maps, enemies, and features. Sorry, IS3, but you got your ass absolutely kicked like I did on my Waves 15 runs when you'd give my 2 main DPS units Metastatic on Floor 5.

#arknights #bricelar

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lavendermin · 1 year ago

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what is up, it's your boy, 🔥 anon (please let me be 🔥 anon), come to climb through your window with a stack of notes instead of limiting myself to method acting a little bitch at the foot of your front door

so crazy self-indulgent idea I just had BUT hear me out. hear me out on dreameater!reader AU

say they're originally some sort of metaphysical species like the heliobi, but somehow sustained an injury and decided to seek treatment at the luofu as a last resort. it ends with an experimental solution with someone who'd gotten info about the experiments of the sanctus medicus (like how in the quest, dan shu wanted to get immortal bodies from phantylia so bad but they'd exhausted all other means of artificially producing them—and then some clown disposed of the records badly like an IDIOT)

and it kind of works ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) !! reader's form is tied to and sustained by the new body like an extremely codependent version of heliobi-possesed ingenium, but it requires the consumption of 'dreams' to support itself. mara is an overload of memories that morphs the mortal form when it hits a max output, so what if some other form of memories, aka dreams and the emotions that they come with can be changed into a source capable of sustaining a mortal form? dreameating is definitely not a form of vampirism haha what? this was totallt not inspired by your previous posts about vampire jing yuan no siree i have no idea what you're talking abou

but anyway. they meet after a battle of some sort where jing yuan gets bonked so fucking hard he gets coma-ed. maybe a side of possible mara onset because if I was a disciple of sanctus medicus you can bet everything in your blog that mara would be the first thing I'd turn to to fuck people over

maybe this is my fate as a self insert. half aha half yaoshi follower of a SM member that is an unwitting plot device and a but who the fuck cares that's not the point rn

sure would be crazy if there was someone around with the ability to seep into people's dreams huh

sure would be crazy if they decided to just ,,, slip into the general's mind to try and see what's going on there, after overhearing the healers working on him whispering among themselves that they don't know what's wrong with him, don't know how to fix it at all

,,, they'll just figure out a way to anonymously tip the healers off, if they figure anything out from their little venture into his head ! pardon the intrusion, dear patient °՞(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞° ,,,

- bonus points if the fact jing yuan is an arbiter-general just floats in a detached bubble, somewhere in reader's mind, because their job is to be a healer !! to live up to the person who'd saved them in their time of need's ideals !!!! who has time to worry about getting caught as being a weird ahh amalgation if they can save someone's life amiright !

I didn’t think about the dream sequence in detail, but what I do know is that jing yuan's subconscious (possibly the actual consciousness too?) would briefly interact with dreamwalking!reader. the natural instinct to having something poke about in your mind in a vulnerable state is to crush it like a cockroach, no shit, but what do you do when it really doesn’t seem to have any malicious intent, and somehow seems to be ,,, helping?

(but their brand of dreamwalking isn't meant for harmless brushes—its meant to devour, to rip sustenance from a mind no matter how guarded it is, to patch the endless yawning abyss that hungers for dreams to keep reader's body from failing on them. reader hasn't been gorging themselves or taking as little as possible because they understand that some things are unavoidable, that they can't keep themself or their patients alive if they're teetering on the edge of frailty all the time. some things have to be done, and they refuse to feel any guilt over it.)

but yeah !! me when I fuck up and accidentally fall into someone's dream, and have to play along with the disjointed imaginary going ons to drag said someone out of it without destabilising everything enough to immediately flashbang them with mara.

me when they wake up but still remember bits and pieces of what had happened in their dream because they're a fucking ARBITER-GENERAL with all the mental fortitude and skill required of one, especially bc they've lasted numerous centuries in that position

me when I suspiciously fall ill right after the patient in a coma wakes up ("guys it's just a cold trust *doubles over like they just got kicked in the crotch when their fellow healer unexpectedly opens a window and now there are spikes of pure light stabbing into their brain oh god oh fuck*")

that's all I have so far, unfortunately ,,, ╮(￣▽￣"")╭ thanks for reading all the way to this point if you did, though !! I'm considering making a new account to moot you, one for hsr content because I like my fandoms separated :D

more notes:

- reader probably has a history of being good with mind related ailments despite always having denied credit, half the healers they're friends with consider them a lucky charm for these matters, the other half think that reader is definitely doing SOMETHING but hey, people get fixed all the same so who gaf. them being a pretty decent coworker who's a hardcore grinder on the job and dedicated to the point that overwork ceases to exist half the time (dreameating has its perks) probably leads them to not mentioning it to anyone else, in case it causes reader trouble.

but who's to say that a certain general won't happen to catch wind about his mystery saviour?

- reader has been on the luofu for quite a while too, their legal documents file them as being a xianzhou native—which would be backed up by the biological makeup of their false body on a surface level ( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑

Let 🔥 anon cook!!!! This was such a treat to read during brunch bc there’s so much you can explore with the dreameater concept plus a highly perceptive and seasoned arbiter-general.

What would the feeling of having your dreams eaten feel like afterward for the victim? Sort of like with a vampire bite that could leave a physical wound, dull or searing ache, effects of blood loss etc etc.

Could a dream being eaten, since it’s not a simple and easy procedure, cause some sort of ache or short term problem for the person? Maybe it’s leaves a short period of a few days where the person feels like they’ve forgotten something that they’re sure they should have remembered. Like phantom limb but for a dream perhaps. Like a dull headache that isn’t severe but annoyingly present for a few days as the mind tries to cope with the loss of something that was supposed to be processed. Maybe these kind of issues can only be seen in Jing Yuan due to his mental fortitude and strength or bc he was still under whereas your usual patients undergo a different process to prevent these. Dire times and desperate measures to ensure the general is saved.

And the dream walking would be interesting too! How would the reader handle it? Is there a game plan? If most dreams will have strangers we may have seen in our peripheral during the day, will you try to play it smart and blend in as a filler person in the dream? Trying to blend in?

Perhaps your targeted dream eating of sequences in his mind that may be contributing to mara even has repercussions for you afterwards. Maybe like how you mentioned you get ill afterwards like when eating something of poor quality (due to mara effects). A necessary sacrifice that you aren’t quite sure why you felt inclined to do. Perhaps it brings your body vessel at risk since it is one of xianzhou natives’ qualities. Would it be susceptible to being mara-struck?

I can yap on and on

Anon if you ever write this pls pls pls tag me or send it to me bc I would looove to read your explorations on this. It’s delicious for a plot!!!!! Mwah mwah 💗

#🔥 anon #ask stuff 💌#this was sooo good #thank you for feeding my jy brainworms #dreameating 🤝 vampirism #jing yuan x reader

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