#and jonathan doesn't get a satisfying ending

[jonathanbyersphd]

Me, waiting to see how exactly they plan to resolve Jonathan's storyline now that they've reintegrated him back into the Byers family:

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

cw. 18+, not sfw, headcanons, gn!reader + afab!reader

pairing. multifandom

notes. i had an unnecessarily medium discussion about this with a friend today and couldn't stop obsessing over it so i'm making the internet's problem. y'all don't have to agree with me, i just have my own little thoughts and hcs in my little corner of the internet. divider by @/cafekitsune

hands

prefers holding hands during sex. they enjoy the inherent intimacy the action brings. it is a tether that keeps them grounded to earth so they don't float too far from its orbit.

Portgas D. Ace, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nico Robin, Nanami Kento, Umemiya Hajime, Mikasa Ackerman, Makima, Hayakawa Aki, Jonathan Joestar, Bruno Bucciarati, Giorno Giovanna

prefers keeping your hands held above your head with their own. it's how they are able to get the best look at you, seeing all the expressions you make and that edge of control that makes it all the more satisfying

Getou Suguru, Fushiguro Toji, Sukuna, DIO, Kujo Jotaro, Gyro Zeppeli,

prefers keeping their hands on your waist and hips. they want your lower halves as close as humanly possible and even then, it's not close enough. they want you to fall into their skin

Gojou Satoru, Donquixote Doflamingo, Roronoa Zoro, Shanks, Jean-Pierre Polnareff, Guido Mista, Joseph Joestar

tears

tends to cry during sex (emotional) it is all in the culmination of the love you share. how much they love you, the fact that you love them. the happiness overflows and somehow everything feels a mixture of being enough and not quite having enough of you

Portgas D. Ace, Vinsmoke Sanji, Donquixote Rosinante, Mikasa Ackerman, Nirei Akihiko, Jean Kirstein, Hayakawa Aki, Makima (if she considers you her equal)

tends to cry during sex (overstimulated) easily overstimulated and prone to tears. you'd feel worse if they didn't look so good with the tears streaming down their face

Haruka Sakura, Nirei Akihiko, Iori Utahime, Nami, Mikasa Ackerman

enjoys making YOU cry. second verse, first same as the first. the way you look is downright sinful and they love it

DIO, Narciso Anasui, Donquixote Doflamingo, Eustass Kid, Shanks, Crocodile, Sukuna, Fushiguro Toji, Tsukumo Yuki

level of freak

absolute freak. down to try just about anything give or take a few exceptions. they enjoy the excitement of experimenting with you and learning what make you both tick

Gojou Satoru, Fushiguro Toji, Sukuna, Tsukumo Yuki, Togame Jo, Suo Hayato, Shanks, Donquixote Doflamingo, Eustass Kid, Roronoa Zoro

medium. doesn't lean too far in either realms of kinky and vanilla; they are simply a happy medium. you simply do your best to match each other's freak

Choso, Nanami Kento, Getou Suguru,Dracule Mihawk, Vinsmoke Sanji, Sabo, Buggy, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Crocodile, Jean Kirstein, Armin Arlert, Eren Jaeger, Porco Galliard, Josuke Higashikata, Hiiragi Touma

vanilla. sweet and romantic. they know what they like and it's a bit on the simpler side but that doesn't make them any less passionate in their performance

Mikasa Ackerman, Portgas D. Ace, Umemiya Hajime, Haruka Sakura, Nirei Akihiko

position preference

hard dom. you might be able to talk them into switching things up but they prefer being dominant in bed

DIO, Kujo Jotaro, Donquixote Doflamingo, Eustass Kid, Annie Leonhart, Ymir, Zeke Jaeger, Togame Jo, Kaji Ren, Tsukumo Yuki

dom-leaning switch. while they tend to take the lead in sex, they have no issue switching it up and letting you do your thing. just as much as they enjoy making your back arch and head tilt back, they enjoy being on the receiving end of such pleasure just as much

Shanks, Crocodile, Dracule Mihawk, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Sabo, Gojou Satoru, Getou Suguru, Ieiri Shoko, Nanami Kento, Porco Galliard, Roronoa Zoro, Guido Mista, Hiiragi Touma

sub-leaning switch. they have no problems leaving things in your capable hands and honestly prefer it more times than most, but they can take charge at your behest and find it just as fulfilling

Vinsmoke Sanji, Buggy, Nico Robin, Koala, Nefertari Vivi, Choso, Sakura Haruka, Nirei Akihiko, Jolyne Cujoh

true switch. as flexible as the ever constant ebb and flow of the tide. they are able to adapt to their partner's preferences and doesn't mind either role as long as you are enjoying yourself

Portgas D. Ace, Usopp, Nico Robin, Umemiya Hajime, Historia Reiss, Pieck Finger, Hange Zoe, Armin Arlert, Johnny Joestar, Josuke Higashikata, Ermes Costello, Narciso Anasui

pillow princess. they'd rather leave control in your hands. but don't get it twisted. this is the highest form of trust they can bestow upon you, their beloved. relinquishing control and trusting you'll take care of them

Nami, Perona, Mikasa Ackerman, Makima, Sakura Haruka (i apologize for nothing), Iori Utahime

most prevalent kink

body worship.

Portgas D. Ace, Shanks, Nico Robin, Nami, Makima, Mikasa Ackerman, Jean Kirstein, Reiner Braun, Giorno Giovanna, Bruno Bucciarati, Jean-Pierre Polnareff

binding/tying up their partner or by their partner.

Donquixote Doflamingo, Roronoa Zoro, Nico Robin, Dracule Mihawk, Getou Suguru, Nanami Kento, Sukuna, DIO, Suo Hayato

praise (whether giving or receiving).

Vinsmoke Sanji, Sabo, Usopp, Buggy, Perona, Nirei Akihiko, Sakura Haruka, Umemiya Hajime, Jean-Pierre Polnareff, Getou Suguru, Ieiri Shoko, Iori Utahime

shotgunning.

Vinsmoke Sanji, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Hayakawa Aki, Narciso Anasui, Gyro Zeppeli, Zeke Jaeger

breeding.

DIO, Guido Mista, Narciso Anasui, Gojou Satoru, Choso, Tsukumo Yuki (she could get someone pregnant)

pegging.

Gojou Satoru, Choso, Tsukumo Yuki, Ieiri Shoko, Vinsmoke Sanji, Buggy, Sakura Haruka

face sitting.

Franky, Nami, Perona, Shanks, Fushiguro Toji, Togame Jo, Ymir, Porco Galliard, Reiner Braun, Guido Mista, Johnny Joestar

[shutuperce]

your fall 2023 byler reading list 🍂🍂

BIG BYLER FIC REC DUMP cause i haven't been writing a lot but i HAVE been reading and y'all need to read these! hope u enjoy as much as i did <3

got your spell on me, baby - @astrobei -Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]

Words: 7,919

TW: none

'To be fair, Will’s costume is great, now that Mike knows what it is. And, okay, wait-

“Oh, this is so good. This is so good.” Max points at Mike, wheezing. “Because you’re dressed as-”

Will’s still looking straight up at the sky. The length of his neck is very, very flushed. Mike can feel his entire face going redder than Vader’s lightsaber. He clenches his hands into tiny little fists, and says, around a groan: “I’m not Han Solo, guys.”'

THE halloween byler fic. the party at college, bi lucas sinclair content, halloween party shenanigans.

these nerds, using star wars to flirt 🙄

background lumax & their amazing couples costume, el & will power sibling duo!!!

bowie references to heal the soul

all in all one of my favourite getting-together fics for this time of year :)

what a match: i'm half-doomed and you're semi-sweet - @perexcri - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]

Words: 28,150

TW: guns, blood, gore (just demodogs though no human gore)

'One month ago, if you had asked Will Byers what he’d do if Mike Wheeler threaded his fingers through his hair, looked him dead in the eyes, and started leaning in for a kiss, he wouldn’t have said this.

He wouldn’t have said he’d be staring right back into those yawning dark eyes, one hand on Mike’s waist, the other against his cheek. There wouldn’t have been any lightning in his veins or blood rushing in his ears.

He wouldn’t have said that Mike Wheeler would be tilting his head in the opposite direction, eyes widening just the slightest as if asking permission, his mouth slightly parted.

He wouldn’t have imagined it at all.'

SO SO GOOD. apocalypse post s4, background jancy and platonic stobin, interruption trope x10000 so it's SO SATISFYING at the end.

WILL WITH A GUN.

jonathan & mike solidarity <3

all in all amazingly well written mike and will being blushing messes. love them. fluff in the apocalypse.

take my hand, wreck my plans - @parkitaco - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]

Words: 6,297

TW: discussion of past trauma

'"I am not taken," he says out of habit, even though he kind of is. He and Will aren't together - he blushes at the thought - but they do spend an awful lot of time together, and Mike doesn't ever find himself wishing he was anywhere else. "Will and I are-"

"Ooh, I didn't even say anything about Will!" Max crows. "Oh, this is excellent."

Mike hides his face in his hands even though she can't see him. "Oh my God. Can you put Lucas back on, please?"

Max cackles in to the receiver, the sound fading as Lucas presumably wrenches the phone out of her grip. "We gotta go, Mike," he says, laughing a little. "Max has class and I'm driving her."

"Tell her she's the worst," Mike grumbles, fiddling with the phone cord.

"Say hi to Will for me!" Lucas sings, and hangs up before Mike can protest.

Mike groans and flops back on his mattress. It's going to be a long year.'

part of a series!! byler college au, friends-to-lovers, background party friendship, AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES. OH MY GOD, THEY WERE ROOMMATES??

taylor swift title... do u really need any other persuasion

the whole series is just AMAZING. mike & will getting a break, living together at college and figuring shit out <3

i might be hoping about this - @astrobei - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]

Words: 15,321

TW: none

'Will lets out a small squawk as Mike’s hand— his very cold, very freezing hand— finds its way around the blankets and under his sweater. “I’m sick, you weirdo,” he says, half-laughing into the side of Mike’s head, “I have a fever.” 

“I don’t care,” Mike mumbles, “you’re warm and I’m cold. This is nice.”

“You’re going to get sick,” Will tries, for the umpteenth time, but it’s pointless. Mike Wheeler is stubborn and hardheaded and he never does anything halfway— not even this.'

established byler at college!! so yeah i have a love of college byler and this is one of my top fics for sure. 2nd astrobi fic on this list because i love their writing <3

will gets sick, mike takes care of him. need i say more?

silly goofy guys living together & doing silly goofy domestic shit

this fic makes me SOFT.

accidentally on purpose - @itsromeowrites - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]

Words: 5,019

TW: none

'It starts out with a kiss. An accidental kiss. Because Mike is sleepy and Will is pretty, and who can really blame him? And then there's another one, just as accidental. But the third? Well, that may be a little more on purpose.'

literally smiling so hard at this fic. like hello. soft secret boyfriends and loads of party content, all the kids are okay <3

established byler, how the party finds out. all fluff all the time. jonathan attempts the Talk. mike has no idea what's going on. et cetera.

background lumax, lucas & dustin being lil shits together, and el using her powers to cheat at splashing games. all in all a good time!

and if I get burned, at least we were electrified - anonymous - Stranger Things (TV 2016) [Archive of Our Own]

Words: 14,958

TW: none

'“I’ll leave you be until lunch,” Max starts negotiating, nodding at him as if that’s a good deal. Which—considering it's Max, it is, but Mike doesn’t want to give in just yet. She sighs. “I won’t laugh about the sweater anymore. Or the weak disposition that gives you stupid allergies all the time.”

Mike’s frown deepens, but she wasn’t as mean as she could have been, so he’s gonna take it. He needs to get this out anyways, or he’s going to keep running in circles as if stuck in a hamster wheeler—an accurate representation of his brain when it comes to Will, really. He presses his lips together and tries to figure out a subtle, non-funny way to say it, but he comes up blank.

Fuck, whatever: “I almost kissed Will. Again.”

Max actually has to cover her mouth with her hand, disguising a worryingly loud snort with a cough. The teacher turns their way and stares, then goes back to explaining the exercise on the board. Mike scribbles it down while Max gets herself under control.

Screw his life.'

senior year, post-vecna. the party being friends but also little shits to each other.

madwheeler bandmates!!!

will steals mike's entire closet

they are Dumb Idiots who are mutually pining from afar

and other lovable tropes. takes place in november so good fall vibes :)

[taurder]

(n) sfw

it doesn't matter if it is pre or after the collider incident, jonathan ohnn would always go to you to satisfy his desires. there was a big change once he become the spot, of course, but some parts of him remain the same. he was still quite talkative, rambling his thoughts out even if you were fucking him deep into the mattress.

sometimes he would said things you wouldn't get, rants about his latest scientific discoveries only slightly interrupted when your name was screamed. "right there, right– yes yes yes god this is why i always come to you– mggh! i know you'll always make me.." and so from science and space the conversation will turn to your ability to make him feel like he's melting and overwhelmed in a good way.

jonathan used to be shy when asking you to use him. he'd come to your house, mumbling about his visit and "you're probably super busy i don't think you have time for– or maybe you're not even in the mood and i'm here.. horny.. and.. and bothering you!" it'll always end up with him thanking you for letting him cum between both your stomachs. you're always amused by his ability to talk even when his eyes were all the way up in his head and his tongue became too sloppy to articulate words right.

then the incident happened. he took a long time to came back, thinking you wouldn't want him like this. and it took some adjustments, but he was still the kinky nerd who needed a good release from time to time, and you're the only one he wants, ever. he's skilled with his new powers, he showed you so one time when you were profusely thrusting into the hole of his face, suddenly feeling it was being squeeze. just when you finished he explained to you how he made a portal so if you were deep enough into his throat half of your dick was actually sliding into his ass, all at the same time.

he was less shy, more adventurous. "would you be up to an experiment? i have this theory i could feel like i'm cumming if you fuck any of my holes" and you're curious enough to indulge him. seeing him squirm and throw his head up while you rail him, holding his hips, his tighs, you love any part of his body, you always have.

"what are you doing, pretty thing?" you asked once after cumming, hearing him whimper and mumble to himself looking concentrated, only to see right after how a portal appears at his side, oozing semen into the bed. he shivers, voice crying out softly "i– i was trying to move it inside me.. to feel it everywhere" and you have to promise to fill him up again, and again, and once more. the collider didn't took away his need for your cock.

still thirsty?

[vickyvicarious]

Good observation that Dracula's great grimness at informing Jonathan that they must part soon changing to his usual smoothness when Jonathan refuses to return to his room as dictated. Or gives Dracula the pleasure to go "before we part and before you become one of us let's play one more time, lets see you walk back into my arms from danger once more, for good this time". Maybe he even expected this small rebellion from Jonathan, knowing him. Especially after he dared scale his walls. It's more satisfying to "earn" Jonathan's submission. An unbreakable will bending to his is sweeter.

I think Dracula absolutely loves Jonathan's stubbornness... but only with the caveat that he is in control of the situation and can prey upon it. This response is extremely belated, but I kind of like answering it now because I think Dracula's treatment of Renfield so far, as opposed to Jonathan, is so revealing. He's ignoring Renfield completely. He has no interest in him at all. Because Renfield wants to be with Dracula. And Dracula doesn't care to spend his time with people who want to be around him; he's only interested in forcing his company upon those who don't want it. It's a huge part of the fun for him.

If someone like... Seward, for example, had been sent to Castle Dracula, he wouldn't have lasted anywhere near as long. Because I think he would be too enticed/interested in the vampires, and thus he'd bore Dracula a lot faster by being too willing or even eager to play along. Then again, someone who refused to play along at all would get boring very quickly too - if they don't submit and play his game he'll force them into submission with violence and that'll be the end of it. Jonathan managed to thread the needle perfectly with playing along on the surface while still constantly trying to resist behind the scenes. It was interesting and fun, a challenge that never made Dracula feel truly threatened. (Of course, he didn't realize the full extent of Jonathan's resistance/that he did have cause to be threatened...)

And he loved it! He was having so much fun! He got to genuinely enjoy Jonathan's company, but also enjoy how little Jonathan enjoyed his company and how he couldn't do anything about that. He got to keep pushing and pushing and pushing him and watch Jonathan almost break again and again but still just keep bending. To tempt him into disobeying and then punish him for it. To force him to rely on Dracula himself for protection and thus stick even closer the more endangered he gets. He gets to work for it, while at the same time never actually facing real risk other than losing his new toy (and Jonathan always settled down in the end, always let the game continue). ...And then he had to call it quits, because he had a schedule to keep. Yeah, I think he was genuinely kind of upset about that. And so when he got the idea for the wolves, he cheered way up again.

Because Dracula was able to offer Jonathan exactly what he claimed he wanted, but in such a way that they both knew he would never accept it. Instead, he forced Jonathan into a situation where he was forced to "choose" Dracula instead, one last time and more definitively than ever before. It was the perfect way to end their time together. Well, except one final victory - 'rewarding' Jonathan's choice by honoring it with one last night together, with delaying no longer and finally drinking from him.

Contrast all of that to Dracula's complete disinterest in Renfield, despite his avowed goal of conquering England and spreading vampirism here. You'd think a servant who willingly came to him would be helpful for that. But no, because Renfield came to him truly willingly, wanted to enter freely and of his own accord.

Dracula likes the kind of person who enters freely and of their own accord... because they're alone in the wilderness with wolves at their back. He likes those who stay because doing otherwise would be their certain death. He likes those who don't want this (who struggle and struggle, who have an unbreakable will) and yet are forced by him into accepting anyway.

An unbreakable will who bends at his command - that's how Dracula saw Jonathan, and he loved him for it. Right up until the point he decided he was finished, and acted to break him once and for all anyway.

[ghostselkie]

White raven Dracula au

So that first post I made about a White raven Dracula au was partly a joke, but then I started thinking about it more, and well this is the result of that brain worm.

Warning: this is a bit ramble-y.

Lenore is in the role of dracula, and annabel, at first, is in the roal of jonothan harker.

Lenore being a vampire is a secret that has been kept by the Vandernacht family for generations. Also they live in the Netherlands in this au.

Like in cannon the Vandernacts are ludicrously wealthy, and they using that money to help keep Lenore's vamp-ness a secret. Also cause vampire immortality, and a lack of male heirs when she was a human, she still has the money that existed when she was alive. Now Dutch families can be big, so only the main line knows about her.

As for why they keep her a secret, and not kill her for being an unholy creature of the night is because she is useful. She is probably at least a hundred years old at this point and has accumulated a vast amount of knowledge over the years, she knows more about the families wealth and how to handle it than anyone else. Also her vamp powers make getting info on competitors easier. They have a deal, as long as she does stuff to help them they wont murder her in her sleep.

Now this relationship has kind of soured in reascent years. There is no longer any one who remembers Lenore when she was alive, and no one who remembers hearing stories from people who knew her when she was alive. To the current Vandernachts she is a mysterious and potentially dangerous entity. So Thaddeus comes up with a convoluted plan to get rid of her.

He can't just reveal the secret, cause that would cause Lenore to retaliate. So he comes up with an idea for some one to discover Lenore, and say if they die, there would be enough rage to get people to investigate. This results in Thaddeus getting in contact with Ira, and therefore Annabel getting to stay at castle Lenore.

Now the intended result was that Annabel would either discover that Lenore was a vampire, or she would become one of her victims, as Lenore kind of has a taste for the blood of young women (she doesn't kill them though). What ends up happening is gay as fuck.

Lenore is not nearly as evil as book Dracula. She's more of a nuisance than any thing else, sucking just enough blood to satisfy her, but not leave the human with any lasting damage. She is unholy though, and therefore people are still scared of her, they just can't really do anything cause of the Vandernachts.

Now, Lenore has been a vampire for a long time now. There is no way she is still acting or dressing like a normal victorian woman. Shortly after she became a vampire she realized "wait, I'm an unholy creature of the night. I don't have to be straight," and started cutting her hair short and wearing pants. Current Lenore often wears things akin to her dreamland outfit now, or just men's clothing. So yeah, Annabel will defiantly be gay panicking over Lenore in her dreamland outfit.

It's going to start similar to Dracula, sans the racism (old stories are like that unfortunately), and the fear Jonathan Harker had felt in the original story with Annabel's horny. So this, isn't going to be a horror story, at least not from Annabel's perspective.

Now, as for why they fall in love with each other. For Annabel, the reasons are similar as in cannon. For Lenore though, the reasons are also similar, but with the add on that, Annabel is the first person who is not immediately scared of her, and who doesn't become scared of her once she sees all the spooky vampire shit.

Gayness ensues. The social season happens in the Netherlands, but Annabel and Lenore do stay in touch cause Lenore kinda had to act as her translator, since Annabel didn't end up learning much Dutch. So they get to be together, but Lenore has to watch Annabel meet with other suitors, all while their inevitable separation is looming. Unlike in cannon, however, they both know of a way to be together, but neither of them want to talk about it cause it would involve Annabel being turned in to a vampire. Annabel does end up going back to London to be engaged to her child hood friend, and Lenore, in good old Dracula fashion, fallows her home. Now this is when Annabel transitions from the role of Jonathan to Lucy, except the whole being turned in to a vampire is a lot more consensual.

Vampire lore for this au

[six-of-ravens]

FINISHED MY SONG OF THE LIONESS REREAD!!!!

(if this makes no sense please bear with me, it's after midnight)

Overall, some parts of the series didn't hold up as well as I thought they would, but many parts did. Alanna is still my homegirl. The swordfights and sorcery and all that never fail to entertain. There is a bit more sexism than I remember, and some of the parts with the Bazhir didn't age very well, but it remains a classic.

BOOKS RANKED BASED ON HOW MUCH I LIKED THEM:

1. Lioness Rampant - I think this is the book where Pierce really hit her stride as a writer. The world seems fuller, the plot thicker, the characters more established. The pacing is a lot better, too: this book is about 100 pages longer than all the others and Pierce uses those pages well. The final battle against Roger is a little anticlimactic (though it's preceded by like four other battles) but well earned. I hated Liam for the most part, because frankly he's a shit boyfriend to Alanna, but also she dates 3 men over the series and I guess one of them had to suck for real. I did love Thom though - I think he and Raistlin cemented my love for asshole fuckup mildly, ambitiously evil wizards early on.

2. Alanna: The First Adventure - this one is kind of tied for first place. It's a shorter book, but the pacing is decent and we get all that wonderful knight school content. Extremely entertaining, and a very fun start to the series.

3. The Woman who Rides like a Man - a nice breather of a book after the events of the first two, lots of character growth for Alanna, with cool desert sorcery and fighting and all. I think this book is what really set the pattern for The Immortals and the Circle of Magic books - Pierce looooves writing kids learning magic, and she's good at it. That said, there are obviously a lot of Issues with the portrayal Bazhir (clearly based off a combo of Islamic folk and Native Americans) as violent and sexist, and Alanna and Jonathan (especially Jonathan, as the Voice) take on kinda cringe white saviour roles. It's not the most explicitly horrible thing ever but it does grate a bit.

4. In the Hand of the Goddess - well, someone had to be last. This is kind of the weird middle child in the quartet, where Alanna is in the midst of becoming a knight but there's a lot of random events that happen in that time. Most of the book is told in a series of vignettes - mainly incidents where Alanna or Jon narrowly avoid death or injury due to Duke Roger's schemes. However, they're a little too disconnected and Alanna's motivation (or lack thereof) is a little too vague until the final scene to satisfy me. The official explanation is that Roger was veiling Alanna so she just kept forgetting to report him, but we never actually see this in the story. She just builds up all these theories and is 100% certain it's him but doesn't tell anyone but Myles because she's certain no one will believe her (and why would they - at this point he's a respected noble). Idk, I just wanted more like....harmony between the ending and these vignettes I guess. Also, there's the horrible cringe subplot of everyone, including the goddess, treating Alanna like she's some frigid old hateful spinster when she's 15 and doing the normal teenage thing of going "I'll never have a boyfriend!!" I just wish some of the patronizing speech had been cut and Alanna discovered her sexuality without all that BS. Also, George is quite creepy in this one, he's quite a bit older than Alanna and she's still underage by modern terms so I didn't enjoy his attempts at romance as much as in the next book.

ANYWAY. Childhood favourites, like 8/10 will read again, just have to brace myself for the 80s-ness of certain things and remember this was the author's first series and she was still experimenting with style.

[anncanta]

***

@alma37

There is one more thing in the ending of ‘Dracula’, which probably seemed so obvious to me that I almost never said it. The point is that the final scene, the moment with sex, represents not only the expression of Dracula's feelings but – perhaps most of all – Agatha's own desire.

It's hard to explain. We saw those understandable coincidences (which are never coincidences, especially in Moffat's writing) in other episodes where Dracula drinks someone's blood. Just drinking blood is one thing, especially in order to satisfy physical hunger. Here we are not talking about hunger at all, and not about the process of drinking blood as such. We see two people between whom a very specific dialogue is going on. Very precisely and openly spoken one. A dialogue in which the words are so carefully chosen that no one is left in doubt about what we are witnessing.

Someone has already noted that of all Dracula's victims, only Agatha sees him in her dream, and more than openly in the finale. And we, I hope, will talk about this again. But it is important to remember that Dracula ‘gets’ out of his victims their secret thoughts and desires, something that they may not always admit to themselves.

Remember the conversation between Agatha and Jonathan? Jonathan is obviously ashamed of his dreams about Mina. This is clear from Agatha's words. If Jonathan had been ashamed to talk about these dreams, she would have said so, ‘There is no shame in sharing this with us. It is not only what you did in Dracula's castle that is important, but also everything you thought about and what you felt, right down to your fantasies and dreams.’ She literally says this when they return to her question about whether he had sexual intercourse with the Count. And then she suddenly drops her usual pragmatic tone and begins to talk about dreams as heaven in which we can sin without fear of being punished.

I think this is the same pragmatism, only in relation to something else – ‘stop being ashamed of your dreams and tell me about them.’ Agatha sees perfectly well who Jonathan is, and she understands perfectly well that if he decides that talking about something is wrong or ‘undignified’, he will never tell – even if she threatens to cut him into pieces. Therefore, she, like a smart investigator, uses reasonable tactics that will help her counterpart talk.

Jonathan's dream and its meaning are clear to Agatha precisely because she is looking from the outside. She doesn't notice her own infatuation with the Count – until she stumbles upon Mina's shocked look in response to the words that ‘Dracula is the best among vampires,’ and immediately corrects herself – ‘the most successful one.’ She can see a situation, though: Dracula gives the victim what he wants. And Moffat and Gatiss want us to remember this. Then this will be repeated several times, but not as clearly as with Jonathan.

In this context, by the way, Zoe's reaction is interesting. Dracula, just like with Agatha, is quite frank with her and, unlike other victims, drags Zoe ‘to his home.’ But there she reacts like everyone else – immediately manifesting her desires. ‘You are killing me?’ And, just like with the others, Dracula gives her what she wants, ‘It doesn't have to hurt.’

But let's return to Agatha. From what we've seen, it's clear that the ending is a gift for her because that's what she wanted. Whether she realized it or not, whether she thought it was normal or unacceptable, she wanted to make love to him. And he wanted it too.

That's why the ending is so harmonious. And so even those who don't like it conceptually often can't stop rewatching this part.

Such is the power of art.

[flanpucci]

I want to dedicate a love post to Enrico Pucci because I just love him so much and my brain will never be the same again

I love that he's complex and flawed and driven by his grief and the depth of his love. I love how unacceptable his destiny is and he will do anything to open everyone's eyes to the absence of power they have in the story's world. It is impossible for him to exist in his world where he was created only to serve the purpose of giving the Joestars something to oppose and grow from, and the remedy he has found to this is to simply take control of the story, end everything and start again with the knowledge he has acquired, and maybe, the hope to free himself from his sins and bring back his loved ones.

I admire his will and determination to strive for greatness, self-growth and to see things to their end more than anything, staying calm and not backing away, seizing every opportunity. He also learns from everyone around him, from their battle tactics, from their relationships. He's a very smart and analytical character even though he's also stubborn and throws fits from time to time, which show his humanity, which is necessary since he's so superior without those flawed moments. I like his loneliness, the way he has a way to talk to and taunt people that's very unique to him, and directed at himself, he doesn't care if you don't understand, he doesn't care if he's celebrating his victories alone, he'll do it anyway. He's fun and quirky to look at, when he interacts with people, he's fun to anger, and it's satisfying to see him getting in dire situations (especially if he gets up from them)

He's evil and flawed and is a ruthless, one-track minded man, he's self-centered and can't accept (understand?) that people have different mindsets than himself. He knows he's right from start to finish, and that makes him such a great character with incredible confidence and charisma. He's the most terrifying character in all of JJBA, arguably the most powerful, his ability is just pure chaos and his eyes are cold as hell. He's got a strong inclination for revenge and likes to carry it in style, even if it means taking some damage in the process. I also like how ambiguous he is with some other characters, taking advantage of the fact they are drawn to him, using his appeal as a means to obtain what he wants. His dynamic with Dio brings a lot of depth to Dio's character, giving him the almost 'humanity' he severely lacks in other parts (especially SDC), it's very enjoyable to watch the way they interact together, which is so different from how we see them act with other people. The whole idea of the bone, fusing, and MIH is aesthetically really interesting and I liked trying to notice moments where the Dio influence might have taken over Pucci's decisions.

The themes surrounding him are very referenced and fascinating, religion, art, biology, physics and space, technology, philosophy, the stand lore... The details and references that come give depth to his character are limitless, did you know there's an actual italian scientist on gravity whose name was Enrico Pucci? That the adulterous priest he reads about in church is a famous painter who regretted taking his oath at 15 and had ties to the real Pucci family in Italy? He's also a very well constructed character in terms of psychology, he's never OOC, he feels very 3D in a 2D world.

Also he's awesome black representation in terms of character design with references to fashion, the flag of the city of Florence... His character design is holy with just a touch of sinful, and I'm not even talking about how cool Whitesnake is in general. I really like how Pucci/Whitesnake oppose both Weather/Weather Report but also Jonathan in terms of design. He's the most beautiful character I've ever seen overall, wears a beautiful tight and shiny gown, beautiful both in color and in black and white, first has a fun, pretty but manly design, which turns into a cute star-shaped motif shamelessly stolen from the Joestars, he has tired downturned eyes filled with depression, and the cutest nose in all of JJBA, he's tall and handsome with the big chest and shoulders especially in anime but also cute and feminine and has thin wrists and those cute sleeves... He's giving mom and dad at the same time and I love how curious he is with the green baby and how proud and happy he is with C-Moon and MIH and YES HES MY FAVE ANYWAYS

I didn't even get into how interesting he represents the relationship between faith, philosophy and science, or his relationship to the concept of blood ties, I could go on for hours but I'm late for class

[theriverpointace]

If you want more jonmina songs!

"Francesca" by Hozier I'll tell them put me back in it/Darling, I would do it again/If I could hold you for a minute/Darling, I'd go through it again

"Lovesong" by The Cure Whenever I’m alone with you/You make me feel like I am free again/You make me feel like I am clean again

"Heaven, Iowa" by FOB Kiss my cheek, baby, please/Would you read my eulogy?/Tell me, when the party ends/Will you still love who I am/Scar-crossed lovers forever/I'm checking myself out forever/I'm saving this all for later/Scar-crossed lovers forever/Here we are untouched forever/I closed my eyes inside of your darkness/And found your glow

"I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab For Cutie No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white;/Just our hands clasped so tight,/Waiting for the hint of a spark./If heaven and hell decide,/That they both are satisfied,/Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs:/If there's no one beside you,/When your soul embarks;/Then I'll follow you into the dark.

hello!! sorry for the wait!! have this arthur/lucy doodle that i colored while listening to the music

okay okay the songs

francesca: the first lines of the song got me man. jonathan telling mina that he won't ever give up on her. him asking her if she really thinks he would. (and like. she knows the answer. it doesn't even have to be said, i think.) "it was too soon/when that part of you was ripped away/a grip taking hold/like a cancer that grows/each piece of your body that it takes." mmmmm PERFECT i'm loving it honestly.

lovesong: mm nice vibes. v chill. all four of these r p chill honestly, i like ur taste. anyhow. i liked the "i will always love you" part of this song best, particularly with the "however far away" and "however far i stay" bits!! they r In Love.

heaven, iowa: (ah music man flashbacks. nothing halfway about the iowa way to treat you when we treat you which we may not do at all!) SCAR CROSSED LOVERS???? yes PLEASE lol. yes i love the whole song.

i will follow you into the dark: i am familiar with this from my les mis days. not much of an exr shipper but i do appreciate george blagden's dedication. anyways. "if heaven an hell decide/that they both are satisfied/illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs/if there's no one beside you when your sould embarks/i will follow you into the dark." is that not almost verbatim what jonathan told mina. is it not! i very much enjoy this song.

and some bonus songs courtesy of @everythinandanything!!!

when they call my name (black veil brides): that! first! verse! mmmm yes. and then, the chorus? i heard it as jonathan being uncertain, and mina comforting him, but gosh it could really very much go both ways......yes very good song.

follow you (bring me the horizon): i think. any song about total devotion. even to hell. is jonmina coded. like that "holiest love" thing is hard to get away from lol. anyway "cross my heart and hope to die/promise you i'll never leave your side" had me hooked.

[corishadowfang]

Fallen Stars Fic Notes

So, Fallen Stars has officially come to a close. It's been a pretty wild ride, haha; as per usual, it spiraled out of my control, length-wise (surpassing Dandelion Seeds...remember how I said I hoped I'd never write anything that long again? Yeah. That worked out.), but I'm happy (and pleasantly surprised) that so many people came on the journey with me.

So! As seems to be tradition now, I have some notes for the fic. Some behind-the-scenes stuff, some thoughts about post-canon--stuff like that! Putting it under a read more, because these tend to get long.

So as usual, we'll start with the playlist! This one I ended up doing a lot of playing around with, haha; there were several songs where it's like, "The vibes are right...but do they fit this moment/this character in the story? Does the order work? Should I use song x or song y?" I eventually ended up with something I'm relatively happy with, haha, even if not every song fits perfectly. There are actually a lot of honorable mentions for this one (since I, you know...played around with it so much) but probably the biggest are: Guilt by Nathan Wagner, Monster from Epic the Musical, Fight the Tide by Jonathan Young and Colm McGuinness, and Southern Star by Gregory Alan Isakov.

(Seriously, Fight the Tide was put on and taken off the playlist so many times--)

I know I've mentioned this places before, but: sometime circa summer 2021, I was thinking about doing a story following Brain through his time in Scala ad Caelum. Basically, it'd be a short (like--nine-ish chapters) series that explored Brain's grief and guilt and how he eventually adjusted to being in Scala. The story would've been called "May We Find Our Happiness," and was planned to be worked on once both On the Edge of Daybreak and Dandelion Seeds were finished. ...And then Missing Link was announced, and I went, "Oh! That's going to be explored in canon! I don't have to write it myself!" and the idea was shelved.

And THEN. Fast forward to winter 2023. It's...without going into too much detail, my mental state was Not Great. And I tend to process/cope with things by...well, writing. And...well, what better way to work out things than by using two of my favorite characters? The thought for this "proto-Fallen Stars" was that it would be a what-if AU for what would've happened if Skuld had ended up in Scala, and that it would follow Brain's and Skuld's entire lives through that time period. Despite the premise, this was also intended to be a relatively short series--roughly four to five chapters. It was intended to explore the idea that like--sometimes you don't heal fully from things, and your life doesn't turn out the way you wanted it to, but that doesn't mean you can't find happiness despite everything. ...And then I started writing the first chapter. And ran face first into Plot (i.e. the corrupt council). And very abruptly realized, "Oh, no. Oh, no, this is going to be LONG. And...probably not focus entirely on the time period I want it to." And so I shelved it. Again.

AND THEN. The Missing Link impatience was getting to me, haha. And there were a lot of ideas from both of the "proto" versions of the story that were genuinely very interesting to me from a writing perspective. And then I made this post (and a couple of follow-ups) with the hopes that it could satisfy the writing demons. ...It did not. So I went back, finished (and revamped) the original first chapter, and posted it. And, well--here we are!

The current iteration of Fallen Stars really does take a lot of inspiration from its predecessors. Darkling!Brain was actually the planned end for "May We Find Our Happiness" (though he wouldn't have died in that version; his new-found friends would've pulled him out of it, though he'd keep the gold eyes, like in Fallen Stars), the corrupt council's been a staple since the beginning, and obviously, the AU takes the same basic premise as proto-Fallen Stars.

I knew Fallen Stars was going to be longer than the initial ideas I had, but like...I still didn't expect it to be this long. Like--roughly 30 chapters, and about half the word count. Let it be known that I cannot accurately estimate a story (or chapter's) length, ever.

While there were certain Big Things that I had planned since the beginning (ex. Brain's death and resurrection), there were also things that ended up getting made up on the fly and/or cut because it seemed like it'd work better for the story. One of the big things is that, originally, Master's Defender was going to be used to help create the Land of Departure; essentially, during Darkness's attack, one of the abandoned islands would've split off from the world, and Brain would've used Master's Defender to chain it back together, so to speak, and give the Scalan refugees somewhere to go. That was cut because it felt like it would make Brain a little less desperate to make his sacrifice, and after that, it ended up feeling...kind of out of place? Plus, I felt like I hadn't done a good enough job foreshadowing that (though you can find some hints, if you're looking).

(The world they end up does still end up becoming the Land of Departure, though.)

Also, Luxu was originally going to be possessing Lodur. (Which is why time seems to slow down around him whenever things get intense! And also plays into the "narrator" thing--Lodur is a storykeeper, after all.) I'll leave it up to all of you guys to decide whether you want Lodur to be Sigurd's deceased brother, Sigurd to have been wrong about Luxu taking his brother's body, or for "Lodur is Luxu's vessel" to be non-canon.

While I finally decided to leave it out, I did think about doing an epilogue. I played around with a lot of different ideas for how that'd go, but it generally fell into three basic ideas: 1) Skuld, Brain, and the rest of the crew roughly a decade after the end of Fallen Stars, 2) Xehanort and Eraqus (as like...five-year-olds) interacting with the remaining crew, or 3) Ven and Lauriam finding stories about Skuld and Brain in the distant future. I do like all of these, but I ended up feeling like it kind of...glossed over how much time it'd take for them to repair Scala and heal, so I ended up going with the current ending instead--which is hopeful, but still leaves room for the struggles that may follow.

THAT SAID. There's a non-zero chance some of those epilogues may show up as one-shots. I like the idea of exploring some post-canon scenarios in the Fallen Stars-verse (in particular, the first year after everything, since there's...a lot that the main crew go through). That said, I'm also not going to promise anything on that front, since it'll largely depend on my time/energy levels/inspiration.

(Also, feel free to ask me about post-canon stuff, in case I never get around to writing things; a lot of stuff changes around, haha, but I do have Ideas.)

"Do you want to hear a story?" has been planned as the final lines for a long time, haha. One, because it acts as a nice book-end for the story. Two, because it's kind of like...symbolic. Skuld is the one who said it, and is the only character besides Luxu to (kind of) break the fourth wall, so this was like...representative of her taking control of her own story. (This is also, for the record, why the "Do you want to hear a story?" narrator parts don't show up again after chapter 40; Skuld is the narrator now.)

The title was actually going to be the name of the first chapter. I was struggling to find a title I liked (I didn't want to use "May We Find Our Happiness" since, uh...that ended up as a chapter title for On the Edge of Daybreak, when I still thought I wouldn't do a story in Scala), and ended up brainstorming ideas for the chapter title instead. I'd landed on "Fallen Stars" because like--Brain and Skuld were "fallen stars" in the sense that a lot of people who are displaced from fallen worlds in the KH series tend to, uh...fall out of the sky, but also in the sense that they were legends who were, very suddenly, being made human in the eyes of Scala. And then it hit me that, "Wait...that'd work great for a fic name." And then it was repurposed, haha.

And...I will probably cut off the notes there, haha. Fallen Stars has been fun to work on, and it's weird to think that it's finished (unless, of course, I end up doing those one-shots). Thank you for coming on this ride with me; I hope you've enjoyed it!

[starry-eyed-steve]

Okay, so normally, I scroll past any ridiculous Steve takes, especially when it comes to death theories or theories about s5 in general. However, I just saw such a bad take that it actually made me angry, I need to make my own post. (Warning, this gets a bit petty towards the end)

Basically, the OP claimed Steve needs to die in s5 for the following reasons:

He has nothing going on in his life. He works a minimum wage job and is stuck in his hometown

He only has Robin and the kids, nothing else

It would not be satisfying if he lived

Steve can't grow more as a character because he already had too much development, so it would be better to end it there

He's only useful for protecting the group and nothing else

His death would be great for other characters because if he scarifices himself, the others are then able to go out in the world, live their lives, and do great things

Okay, that's a lot to unpack here, and I'm kinda speechless people really have such a low opinion about him.

First of all, saying Steve has nothing going on because he works a minimum wage job and doesn't have a concrete plan for the future is such a weird thing to say. He has a job, and even if it's not the best paid one, he still has an income. It's not like he's has nothing to do after he graduated (which he did the first time). If you think Steve needs to have it all figured out by 19 in order to be allowed to live, kindly fuck off. Almost no character has a concrete plan for the future. We never see Robin talk about her plans as well. Besides Nancy wanting to go to Emerson, we don't really know anything about the other characters' plans. The idea that minimum wage jobs are considered as something not worth pursuing or that your life must suck if you have them reeks of privilege. Not everyone can or wants to get a college degree. The people who work in customer service or have manual labor jobs are very valuable members of society, and to imply just because Steve has a minimum wage job working at a video store, so he better dies, is a horrible take. But also again, he is 19 (!!!) and should be allowed to have opportunities to figure out his plans for the future. Plus, he explicitly told us his end goal, he wants a loving partner and kids, and that's reason enough to keep going. (Even if he wouldn't have this goal or plan, he deserves time to figure things out, seeing as he lived his life in survival mode for the past 4 years.)

I also really don't get the second point. What is wrong about Steve having a real friend and a group of people he cares about? Shouldn't that be reason enough for him to keep living? Shouldn't having friends who you care about and who care about you automatically count as something that is enough. Besides, again, he also has a job, likes to go on dates, and it's implied he's still into sports.

The other characters also have each other. They hang out all the time to play their dnd games. Jonathan only has one friend (who now isn't even in the show anymore) and a gf. Nancy barely has any friends as well, besides her bf, who wants to slow mo break up with her. Should they die because they only have like 2 people they are close with? Or is it different because they want to go to college and do well in school, which is the only good purpose characters are allowed to have in order to be deemed worthy of living?

Imo it wouldn't be satisfying if Steve would die after everything he has been through. The show beats him to a pulp every season. He was tortured, maimed, and he sacrificed already so much for the group. He has the most physical trauma, besides Hopper. Even if the show doesn't address it, it's still there. (I hate it sm, but also I blame mostly on limited time that almost no character gets to explore their trauma.) It would be such a disservice to his character if he went through all of that for nothing. What kinda message is that? Killing off the character who is the most hopeful despite everything he went through is not satisfying. None of the main characters' deaths would feel satisfying after going through the horrors like that. (Besides Murray because fuck him)

If you think a character or person can only grow so much until they reach some arbitrary point where they are the perfect version of themselves, you're pretty naive. Nobody stops growing. Even if someone goes through growth, you don't stop your whole life. Maybe start rooting for an arc for Steve, where he gets even better. Where he gets to figure things out, where he becomes a better version of himself. You wouldn't say this to any other character. Just because his growth arc was more noticeable doesn't mean all your other faves didn't grow. Do you want them to stop living because they made choices to be a better person?

You're really underestimating Steve's relationship to the group if you think he's nothing more than a punching bag to them. How can you watch the show and really think this. He's Robins best friend, he helps her grow and be comfortable. He's Dustin's older brother figure. He gives him comfort, and he will most likely help him in s5 with his grief over Eddie. Even with Max, he functions as a brother figure, especially in contrast to her stepbrother. Yes, his primary role in the group is fighter and protector, but he is more than that. He's a friend and important to so many characters.

I think the last point was the thing that made me angry the most. All those other takes I've seen time and time again, but this last one is just disgusting. First of all again to imply that Steve can't do great things because he doesn't have a career plan at 19, which is just gross. And then if you also think the other characters would be so appreciative of this as if they don't give a fuck about Steve. Like Robin and Dustin would be devastated, how much of his death would affect them and their plans to do amazing things? They would be severely depressed and untreated (lets be real mental health issues were not taken super seriously up until recently) they will live with those impacts for the rest of their lives. Trust me I know how terrible depression is and how it fucks with your life plans. Maybe some characters who are not super close to him might use his death for motivation and to achieve those "great" things. But for most parts, his death would have a negative influence on them, on top of the trauma they already endured. If you think his death would only benefit the group, you're underestimating his impact on people. Like Dustin already has a hard time getting over Eddie, Robin would lose the only person who completely understands her, Max would lose another brother figure and a chance to bond with him more. Nancy would lose yet another person who was close to her. How many people should she lose until she snaps completely? But again, it's the implication that Steve's life is worthless because he doesn't go to college or has a shitty job or only has a few friends, that gets me. His life is worth less than other characters' lives because they seemingly have things figured out because they are (book) smarter than him. And btw Steve has a dream for the future, he wants a family and peace, he wants to be a better parent than his own parents were, and if you think that's meaningless or less great, then fuck you!

With those points and logic, Jonathan should also be a contender for character death in s5 as well. He doesn't have a job, he gets high with his only friend who won't be there in s5, he didn't apply for his dream university, he's about to break up with his gf. Jonathan only has his family and barely any growth over the seasons. He is a very stale character. In other words, according to those points made by OP, he has nothing going on and should sacrifice his life for the group as some form of character development.

Or Robin should also die in s5 according to those points. After all, all she has going on for her is a minimum wage job she works with her best friend, school, and a so far miserable love life. We don't know any of her future plans so fuck her I guess. She better sacrifice herself for the group. Or is she allowed to live because she's smarter than Steve (which is a pretty ableist thing to say) and gets to embark on a romantic journey next season?

To sum it up, stop saying Steve has to die because you think his life is meaningless because he's a teenager who hasn't things figured out. Stop saying shit along the lines that Steve isn't smart enough to get to have a life. Stop implying that intelligence is the most valuable thing a person can have and anyone who might lack it is deemed as less worthy of living. Stop saying Steve can't do amazing things if he doesn't go to college and therefore shouldn't be allowed to live. And stop deeming Steve's dream of a family as less meaningful (or meaningless) than academic/career successes. He deserves to live like every other character in the show.

[maithefluffychicken]

NEXT CHAPTER

Whatever you want, birthday boy.

Steve is 33, Eddie is twenty something. Age gap Steddie fic I wrote for my birthday. Very explicit, semi public sex.

"Thirty three," Steve sighs, melancholic. "I can't believe it."

"Well, think about it this way," Dustin opens his mouth and Steve knows whatever he's going to say it's not going to comfort him at all. "If you were a hobbit, you'd be an adult at last!"

"How's that supposed to be a good thing?" Steve groans, looking at the kid (ok, not a kid anymore since he's now twenty, but still a kid in Steve's eyes). "You basically told me I'm old even in that fantasy world of yours!"

Robin, bless her, punches Dustin's shoulder as punishment, getting a satisfying grunt of pain from him.

"I told you that that bit was unnecessary, Henderson," Robin chastises him and before Dustin can open his nosy mouth, adds, "what Steve needs is to go out and have fun tonight, what do you say, Harrington? Party night?"

"We already have plans, remember?" Dustin mumbles between gritted teeth, opening his eyes comically and pointing at Steve with his head.

"It's ok, I know about the surprise party, kid, you can talk about it freely," Steve shrugs and Dustin blinks several times, flabbergasted and offended.

"How…"

"Baby Wheeler," Robin says as an explanation, and that is, in fact, enough to get Dusting to ramble for a whole hour about how he can't trust anybody.

The party with the kids is, well, pretty nice. Sure, they're the kids he used to babysit when they all were… actually kids, but Steve loves all of them more than he loves his own family.

Robin is there, being the funny, eccentric aunt, pulling silly pranks for all of them and dancing horribly, dragging the girls with her and making them laugh.

Dustin has chastised Mike for hours, making Steve laugh at his antics, but now, the curly haired boy is enraptured watching Erica Sinclair dancing with El and Max.

Meanwhile, Lucas is crumpling a disposable cup, frowning at Dustin and his lovesick, bright eyes. Oh well, that's going to be fun. Steve, with a fond smile on his lips, wonders how this all will end.

Mike is talking quietly to sweet Baby Byers, who is blushing and hiding his smile behind his cup. These two should talk sooner or later, too, even if privately Steve thinks Will could find someone better.

That's what Mike thought about him when Steve was dating Nancy, and he can understand it now.

Jonathan and Argyle are already stoned and laughing about god knows what, sprawled on the coach. Steve is grateful this is not his house, he'd hate to clean up all this mess the next morning.

"Well, well, birthday boy," Nancy greets him, pouring herself a drink. "A little bird has told me that you're feeling down about your birthday."

Steve grunts.

"My birthday is ok," Steve shrugs. "It's the number that makes me sad. I'm old."

Nancy huffaws. "We are the same age."

"You're younger and prettier," Steve pouts, making Nancy laugh.

"God, she's right, you're moping, you need to get laid," his ex-girlfriend sighs with a sad smile.

"I don't-"

"Yes! Shut up," Robin interrupts them, how she has heard them, Steve doesn't know. She wraps her lanky arm around Steve's neck. "Steve needs to go out and find a nice someone. If you know what I mean. I'm taking him out now that we're done here."

"You're not-"

"Shut up, Steve, this is not about you," Robin cuts him, putting her dainty index finger in his lips.

"It's my birthday and you're talking about me and my sex life."

"What sex life, Steve?" Nancy asks with a grin. Robin, of course, snorts inelegantly.

"Auch, that was unnecessary, Wheeler."

"No more talking, baby," Robin says and starts tugging at Steve's arm. "You have your tight jeans, your shirt is ok, and your hair is amazing as always. Let's go!"

"But I want another piece of cake!" Steve tries, and loses.

He wasn't expecting a cake at all, and it was very nice when El and Max appeared holding a three chocolates cake, candles lit atop of it and everything.

"You'll have more cake later, say bye to everyone," Robin orders him, not unkindly.

Steve obliges with a tired sigh.

"Bye, everyone."

-

The club is fucking crowded when they arrive. Robin announces to the security man at the door that it's his best friend's birthday, and to Steve's dismay, she starts telling everyone who's listening that it's actually Steve's twentieth five birthday.

Fuck. Steve wishes to have twenty five years again.

He was in better form at that age, still playing basketball regularly and enjoying swimming, back when his lungs were in top form.

Steve knows objectively that being thirty three doesn't make him old, holy fuck, he knows that.

But it's sad how his life turned out.

He dropped uni because his parents lost all their money in their poorly chosen investment and his shitty minimum wage salary job wasn't enough to pay his studies and rent.

His high school sweetheart, his Nancy, broke up with him after that. Sure, they're friends now, but it was, in Nancy's words, bullshit. All that happened between them was bullshit until they managed to be civilized in front of each other again.

Then…, well, shitty job after shitty job, trying hard for nothing. He ended up working at Hopper's mechanic workshop - man, that's a story to tell some day. He's grateful that Hopper didn't give up with him.

But then again, no love, not too much money. At least Steve kept his friends and his health.

"This year is going to be your lucky year, Steve!" Robin yells at him when they manage to reach the bar, digging elbows here and there to make themselves a place. "Thirty three is a master number, baby, this is your year!"

"If you say so…"

"But today you're twenty five again!" His best friend keeps yelling to make herself be heard over the music.

It's not the kind of club Steve would choose. It's not the club neither of them would choose to spend the night, now that Steve stops and looks around. Why Robin even knows this place unsettles him.

First, the music is all wrong. Rock and roll blasting through the massive speakers, the riff of an electric guitar thrilling Steve's eardrums.

Second, the place itself. Dark and grimy as usual, yes, but the walls are covered in posters of bands Steve doesn't even recognize. Well, most of them. He knows Led Zeppelin because of Hopper, and AC/DC, but that's all.

Third, the people around them: metalheads, all of them. Bare skin covered in black ink tattoos, tight black jeans, well worn band t-shirts and ripped black lace everywhere. Fuck, is that guy wearing eyeliner?

Steve perches on the bar to call to any of the bartender's attention and then he sees it: the blonde girl that is, possibly, the reason they're in this metalhead club.

He looks at Robin before even doing a once over to the girl. His best friend smiles sheepishly at him.

"Really, Robin?" Steve mouths, arching a brow.

Robin shrugs with her beatific smile still on her lips. "Sorry," she mouths back at him.

The blonde girl, wearing a black crop top and revealing some tattoos, is talking with another waiter, a guy. Tall, with long, curly hair. He’s wearing a long sleeve shirt with black sheer material that clings to his toned arms and chest.

"You don't even respect my birthday now," Steve yells at her. The loud music and the fact that he's smiling at her makes the whole accusation fall flat.

"I still want you to have fun and get laid, try something new!" Robin says, tugging at his sleeve, and ok, she's right, Steve can have fun tonight and enjoy himself.

-

“I’m gonna do it,” Eddie says, a wolfish smile tugging at his lips.

“No, no, no, I forbid it,” Chrissy puts herself between Eddie and his target.

“But, look at him!” Eddie pouts. They’re yelling at each other so they can hear what they’re saying, even if Eddie is sure Chrissy can read his mind by now. “Or, don’t know, look at the girl that is with him and let me go, whatever.”

“Exactly, Eddie,” Chrissy has that exasperated look when she speaks. “He’s with a girl, you don’t know if…”

“Excuse me, madam,” Eddie cuts her, “but my gay-radar never, ever, fails.”

“Yes, yes, I know, but…”

“Then what’s the problem?” Eddie asks, looking at the guy that has him enraptured over her shoulder.

“The problem is that we don’t serve free drinks just because, Eddie!”

“I’ll find an excuse, darling,” Eddie promises, and shoves her to get to his target.

The target is the cutest preppy guy he has ever seen in his whole life. A white t-shirt that stretches over his pecs, of course, and a white and red windbreaker that makes him look broader than he probably is, Eddie wants to discover it. He’s sure that the guy is also wearing tight jeans, he looks just like the type, a jock. Tall, pretty face, great hair, like a white, bright beacon in a sea of metalheads wearing all-black outfits: the guy seems lost here, at the Horned Demon, with his looks and his styled hair. Eddie wants to ruin him. He can’t stop thinking about the unnamed things he wants to do to him while he approaches him and the girl that is talking to him.

“Hello, handsome!” Eddie greets him with a wink when he reaches their spot, leaning across the sticky bar so the preppy guy can hear him. “What can I do for you?”

It’s so difficult to be sultry while Judas Priest is blasting at full volume, but Eddie fucking tries, wearing his most charming smile and looking at the guy with interest.

The guy doesn’t have the chance to speak, though. The girl who accompanies him - Eddie is 90% sure she’s not his girlfriend - jumps over him, wrapping an arm over the guy’s shoulder, and yells at Eddie.

“He likes cranberry vodka!” She exclaims happily. “Can you put a little umbrella or something on it? We’re celebrating!”

“Really? What are you two celebrating?” Eddie asks, elbow propped on the bar, eyes raking over the preppy guy, grinning at him openly.

“It’s his birthday!” She yells again. “He’s twenty five today!”

Eddie’s grin widens. There it is, the excuse he was looking for.

“You got it, handsome birthday boy who likes cranberry vodka,” Eddie winks again at him. He’s good with his eyes, he knows it, Chrissy has told him, and Gareth hates when he puppy-eyes him, so Eddie knows he can weaponize them easily. “What about you?”

“Oh no, it’s not my birthday, thanks!” The blonde girls answers, and fuck, Eddie has to laugh. He immediately likes her, even if he’d hate if she’s actually the guy’s girlfriend.

“Good to know!” Eddie snorts. “Want something to drink?”

“She’ll have jack and coke, thanks!” The guy answers now, and, ok, it’s weird that they order for each other, but still, Eddie’s hope is strong.

-

Steve is stunned, there’s no other word for it. The bartender is hot, and undeniably young. This close and even in the dim light, Steve can appreciate his toned arms and chest and abs. God bless his stupid sheer lycra shirt. His torso is spattered with tattoos that Steve can't recognize but it doesn't matter, suddenly, a flash of himself worshiping and lapping these tattoos floods his mind.

The bartender flashes a grin to Steve, who returns it back the best he can, and by the smug look on Robin's face, Steve knows that she knows.

"What?!" He asks loudly.

"Nothing!" Robin grins knowingly. It's going to be a long night.

Just a few minutes later, the hot bartender is back with Robin's jack and coke and his own cranberry vodka.

"There you are, birthday boy!" He announces with a pretty smile that makes Steve go hot all over. Maybe he should take off his jacket.

Steve looks at his drink, the glass decorated with a silly pink umbrella, and smiles, reaching for his wallet and opening over the bar to pay.

“This one it’s on the house, handsome!” The bartender yells at him, putting his hand over Steve’s, stopping him. Steve looks at him quizzically, the other guy shrugs, his smile still in those plush lips, showing his teeths. “Happy birthday!”

Robin elbows him in the ribs, shouting at him that she’s gonna pay her drink to the pretty blonde girl that is still at the other corner of the bar, and Steve starts panicking almost immediately.

He used to be suave, when flirting. He used to be able to stay calm and smooth in front of someone pretty. Maybe with age he lost his ability, or maybe it’s the lack of alcohol in his system, or the loud heavy metal music that is deafening him.

“T-thanks!” He stutters, feeling deeply stupid.

He wants to say something flirty to this guy, he wants to know his name. He’s having ideas, everything he’d be already doing if he were twenty five again and not thirty three. Oh, Steve used to have the best ideas, he had so much fun when he was younger.

Now it seems that a pretty boy with dark eyes looking at him it’s enough to render him speechless.

“My break is in fifteen minutes!” The guy tells him, leaning into the bar to get close to Steve. By instinct, Steve leans on too, his eyes fixed on this man’s lips. “If you want to have some fresh air!”

Oh well, not subtle, not in the least with the way the long haired bartender is looking at him, biting his lower lip, and fuck. Steve wasn’t subtle when he was younger, either.

“I’d love to!” Steve manages to shout in the guy’s ear, earning a wide grin from him. Dimples, for fuck’s sake, the man has dimples when he smiles like this, and Steve feels himself sweating already.

Sadly, the bartender vanishes from his side to attend the other customers, and Robin appears by his side just a moment later. When she tilts her head, Steve notices that Robin’s face is tainted with lipstick in the shape of a kiss.

“How?!” Steve asks her, amazed.

Robin shrugs, sips her drink. “Jealous?”

“Yes, obviously, since when are you good at flirting?” Steve demands to know, faking being offended. There was a time when Robin tripped all over herself the moment a pretty girl passed by her side. Those were the times, my friend.

“Since you taught me!” Robin yells at him, laughing. “Come on, King Steve, where’s your charm lately?”

-

“What do you mean you’re taking your break?” Chrissy asks him once they’re at the storage room.

“I mean that…”

“You already took your break, Eddie!” Chrissy reminds him, and he bites his lower lip, puts his best puppy eyes to her, pouts.

“But he’s interested in me, Chris!” Eddie sobs like a child. His best friend sighs. “Gareth and Jeff are here already, and Freak will be here in like, two hours, the club is not going to be unattended, it’s not so crowded tonight.”

Eddie knows he’s pushing his luck: first the free drink, now asking for a second break. His shift will be over when Freak arrives, as he said, in two hours. But he knows that a lot of things could change in two hours and he really is into this preppy birthday boy with droopy eyes and kissable lips and broad shoulders.

He simply wants to see if they’re compatible before asking him to wait for him so he can walk him home, and a second break it’s perfect for that. A little bit of flirting, maybe a kiss, see if this guy and the butterflies in his belly are something he wants to take home with him at the end of his shift.

“Come on, Chris, I’ve been in this dry spell for months,” Eddie pouts again. “Also, I saw you kissing that blonde girl.”

Chrissy’s eyes widen and she looks at him with murder rage, nostrils flaring, and Eddie knows he just won.

“It’s his friend, you know…” Eddie shrugs nonchalantly. “I can get her number for you, if you didn’t ask her for it, if you just…”

“Ok, ok, fine! Whatever!” Chrissy exclaims, wiggling her arms in the air. Eddie grins and fist pumps in victory, mouthing a yes between his teeth. “I want her number before you leave tonight.” Chrissy adds primly, leaving him alone at the storage room.

-

With his jacket draped on his arm, Steve tells Robin about the bartender, asks her if she thinks it’s a bad idea, but his best friend howls an awful sound at Steve’s words, making him shake his head, even if he’s smiling.

“Tell me you told him yes, Steve, or so help me…”

“I told him that I’d love to, yes, gosh!” Steve answers, but he’s now feeling a bit lighter, a bit… high. Cran vodka it’s not so strong to him, he’s sure this feeling is related to the hot, young bartender that wants his attention tonight.

“Good!” Robin exclaims and clinks her drink with Steve’s. “You’re both adults, go have some fun!”

“What about you?” Steve asks, suddenly worried about leaving Robin behind.

“I’ll be good, I texted Jonathan and Argyle, they’re already on their way!” She grins at Steve. “But I plan to take someone home later, too, honestly.”

“The blonde girl?” Steve asks her now, wiggling his brows to make Robin laugh.

“D-uh!” Robin looks for the blonde girl who is serving drinks at the bar. “She’s so pretty it hurts me, Steve, and she’s so nice!”

“She already kissed you, didn’t she?”

They banter like this for a while, laughing at themselves. It’s good, fuck, is good to be able to laugh at the little silly things while having a drink. They never stopped doing it, so Steve doesn’t know why all this melancholy is coming from.

Someone taps him on his shoulder and Steve turns to see him. This close they’re almost the same age, Steve finds himself looking at the biggest dark eyes he has ever seen.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the guy says with that blinding smile that is making Steve feel so weak tonight. “I just, my break just started…”

“You don’t interrupt anything!” Steve rushes to say, to Robin’s amusement.

“Yeah, it’s ok, I’m his lesbian soulmate, Robin!” She introduces herself even before Steve can say something else. Worst wingwoman ever.

“Robin! My friend Chrissy, at the bar, wants your number, maybe you could..,”

“Well, gentlemen, see you later, have fun!” Robin exclaims, stepping between them holding her drink over their heads and rushing towards the bar like something is chasing her. Steve shouts a loud good luck to you! at her back, just to find that the guy is looking at him intently.

Steve clears his throat, awkwardly.

“You wanted some fresh air?” He asks.

The bartender nods and without wasting a single second, he grabs Steve by his wrist and leads him through the crowded place to the barely hidden back door.

Steve’s heart is thumping in his chest, following this guy he doesn’t know at all until they get out of the club, the cold night breeze welcoming them in the alley. It’s dark, dimly illuminated by the streetlights of the adjacent street. Steve can still hear the faint drumming and bass of the music blasting inside.

“Ah, this is better," the cute bartender exhales, tossing his head back, letting Steve ogle at his long neck, dampened curls sticking to it. Steve swallows dry at the sight in front of him.

Steve can't believe this guy wants to spend his time with him.

"I never saw you here before," the bartender says, opening his eyes and looking at Steve. Flustered at being caught, Steve avoids his eyes. The cute guy is smiling, though.

His voice is deep, calm, and washes over Steve easily. Even with his eardrums still pumping with the ghost of the loud music, Steve falls a bit more now that he has heard his voice.

"Not really my scene," Steve admits. "Robin was the one who dragged me here."

The cute bartender's smile widens. "Then I guess I should thank her," he adds, closing the distance with Steve.

Oh fuck, shit, it's happening. Steve feels his blood boiling under his skin, just because of the proximity.

Steve didn't even ask for this guy's name. Maybe it's how the cute guy likes to do it, no names, not complications. What if Steve's heart hurts a little at that thought. He's the one actually lying to him, not saying his real age to him.

"Well, well, birthday boy," he says with his rumbling voice, stepping into Steve's space. Steve smiles at him, feeling butterflies in his tummy. "I have twenty minutes and I’m all yours.”

Fuck. Yes.

Steve smirks when the cutie wraps his arms around his neck and he feels bold enough to span his hands around the guy’s thin waist and pulls him closer, their bodies crashing together. This is Steve’s area of expertise. Maybe he has forgotten how to flirt, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t remember how to pull his moves.

The reason why he was called the King of Hawkins’ High.

It lites every nerve on his body when he cradles the guy’s pretty face on his hand, cupping his jaw and cheek softly, drinking the way he looks at Steve, dark eyes widening and breath hitching. Steve smiles and leans in slowly, just in case the bartender would want to take a step back, just in case he’s having second thoughts. But that’s not the case. They both find each other in the middle, lips brushing slowly.

Steve can make those twenty minutes pretty amazing for the guy that is now buzzing with nervous energy in his arms.

He feels high.

-

Eddie is used to one night stands and summer night flings. He’s a hot bartender with a strong sexual energy - he likes to tell himself that while he’s working at the club, when he’s at home reading with his glasses on and his sweatpants there’s zero sexual energy, but that’s another story.

The thing is, he flirts a lot, it’s part of the job, really. He has luck more often than not. He’s used to people lusting after him, and sometimes Eddie indulges - he indulges a lot. Sure, lately he’s been suffering this dry spell, but it was his choice. No one has picked his interest lately.

Tattooed, metalhead hot guys. Pretty girls with red, plush lips and soft curves. Eddie has never been picky, but his circle is limited, so he’s used to the same types again and again.

He’s also accustomed to quick affairs, he doesn’t even remember the last time he cared to ask someone’s name. Sometimes it’s just about a rushed handjob on the alley. He has only to be careful that Gareth hasn’t had the same idea at the same time. That was a nightmare of a night. Now both of them double check.

Rarely, Eddie invites whoever he has his interest on to stay the night with him. This doesn’t happen a lot, Eddie is… bored, if you ask him. Anonymous sex and one night affairs are great to an extent.

Eddie is not used to gentle hands caressing his face with no rush, though. He’s not used to the slow slide of this birthday boy’s tongue against his, tasting like cranberry vodka, kissing him as if they had two hours and not twenty minutes to enjoy themselves in a dark alley. Instead of rushing things, he simply presses their bodies together, rocking against the wall and pulling Eddie with him. His body is warm and solid against Eddie, his fingers digging in his waist. That all is more than enough to have Eddie hard and ready in his ripped, black jeans.

Birthday boy puts himself comfortably, his back against the wall. Opens his legs and lets Eddie settle between them, hands roaming up and down Eddie’s back, his warm sips through Eddie’s almost nonexistent shirt: yes, black translucent lycra looks good on him but now the cold of the night mixing with the heat that this guy radiates is making him lose his mind.

Fuck, this guy knows how to kiss. Eddie lets him set the pace, since he knows what he’s doing, and focuses on the pleasure that is kissing someone this leisurely. The moment Eddie breaks the kiss to breathe, the other boy mouths his jaw and neck, teeth brushing sensitive skin, and fuck. Eddie can’t help the involuntary twitch of his hips.

“Ah, fuck, you’re good at this,” Eddie whimpers. Birthday boy simply hums against his pulse point, sending vibrations down Eddie’s spine. Fuck, his cock twitches and they’re still doing nothing. The guy’s hands - why does he have these stupidly broad, warm hands? - press Eddie against him a bit tighter. Oh, the flex of his biceps when he does it, Eddie feels his muscles working underneath him, and somehow that drives him crazy.

Eddie needs more than twenty minutes with his guy. He has the urge to strip him naked and worship his body, he wants to see what’s hiding under these ridiculous tight white t-shirt and jeans that cling to his thighs. Sorry, James Dean, but birthday boy wears this outfit better. Fuck, he barely had time to admire his arms now that he’s not wearing the jacket, hanging from the crook of his arm.

With a particularly well aimed thrust of his bucking hips, Eddie feels the hard on that this guy is sporting himself. A hard line straining his jeans and twitching under Eddie’s constant squirming. They’re wearing too much clothes, Eddie wants to see, wants to know.

He sneaks a hand between their bodies and cups the guy’s obvious erection, making him gasp, hips bucking, so fucking satisfying, knowing that is Eddie making him react like this. Through the jeans, this guy’s dick is scorching hot and it seems to be massive.

It is this guy’s birthday, but Eddie is the one receiving the best gifts.

Or so he hopes.

“Ah, shit,” birthday boy pants when Eddie tries to stroke him, following the tenting of his jeans. “You don’t have to…”

Huh, Eddie thinks, this is why they’re here, is kind of the deal, right? No one ever told him something like that. Eddie cranes his neck to look at the preppy guy, his droopy eyes half lidded, lips parted, breathing heavily.

Eddie is doing this to him.

Oh fuck.

“You don’t want me to?” Eddie asks, aroused, confused.

“Fuck, I want to, just,” the guy laughs awkwardly, cock pulsing visibly through his jeans. “I’m nervous, I think, it’s been a while.”

Eddie smiles at him, pecks him softly in his lips, almost chastly. This guy is precious. And Eddie is enjoying far too much just being here, feeling him breathing and just having him underneath his body. It’d be cozy if it weren’t for the dark alley, the trash bins, the noise of the street and the music of the club.

This is new for Eddie. He gnaws at his lower lip for a moment.

“Look, I-” Eddie starts saying, his mouth betraying him. “I was thinking about getting you off here and now-”

“Jesus Christ,” birthday boy interrupts him, hips bucking, rutting his hard cock against Eddie’s.

“But if you’re not ok with that, that’s ok,” Eddie adds in a rush. “If you want to, we can wait. My shift ends in two hours or so, we can go to my place later, if that sounds better?”

The guy groans, arches his back. Laughs.

“That’s it, if you can wait two hours to taste this,” Eddie teases, ruts against the guy, hips rolling seductively.

“Fuck, you should come with a warning label around your neck,” he says, and tugs at Eddie’s nape, pulling him in for another kiss, melting Eddie in his spot. “Fuck it, let’s do both, let me touch you now and I’ll give you whatever you want at your home.”

Eddie is thrilled, trembling with anticipation, cock leaking at the guy’s words.

Before Eddie can think about it, birthday boy has both his hands on him, touching him through the sheer material of his stupid lycra shirt, and Eddie moans throatily.

-

Having this cute boy so close is driving him insane. Steve thumbs at his nipples just to find them pierced, and a wave of renewed arousal threats to overwhelm him. He wants to put his mouth on it, feel it on his tongue, tug at it with his tongue.

Steve has never been with someone like him, tattooed and pierced and with that blustery energy buzzing out of him, this aura of danger surrounding him. It’s doing things to Steve. Robin was right, he really needed to try something different. Plus the added risk of being caught in public.

Fuck. Fuck.

Steve wants to feel the warm bud of steel with his tongue, see if that gets some reaction from the boy, if he’s sensitive. So Steve tangles his fingers at the root of the bartender’s dampened curls, tugs at him, making him break the kiss and bare his throat. Steve tugs his hair a bit more, forcing Eddie to arch his back, chest heaving, and lunges to suck his left nipple into his mouth.

“Fuck me,” he whimpers, arching into it, hips thrashing. Steve pulls at him by the waist with his other hand, pressing his thinner frame against him, holding him there.

“When we get to your home, I promise,” Steve teases, and resumes to lick at the boy’s nipple through his shirt, dampening it with his spit.

The metal buds in his tongue are something else. The nipple hardens under his tongue, Steve wants to rip the stupid shirt off, even if the coarse material is an added texture to this all. He laps and licks it the best he can, tugs at it carefully with his teeth, and the cute guy in his arms whines at it.

So stupidly hot. Steve’s cock is leaking like a fountain, ruining his boxers, and it hurts when it throbs. Steve groans, nipple in mouth.

He doesn’t remember feeling this feverish for someone, this horny and needy. He feels like a teenager again, on the edge already just by this silly thing.

“Ah fuck, fuck, birthday boy,” the boy moans, body arched beautifully for Steve, his long fingers digging in Steve’s biceps.

It feels so good. So fucking good.

“Steve,” he murmurs at last, stopping in his mission to abuse the left nipple.

“W-wha?”

“I’m Steve,” he smiles, looking at the sight in his arms.

“E-Eddie,” says the bartender, voice raw and wrecked.

They stay like that for a second, panting, drinking in the other’s arousal. Steve’s head feels dizzy, full of cotton, static noise drilling his ears. Eddie, the name echoes in his mind.

“Nice to meet you, Eddie,” Steve smirks, feeling confident again. He lets go of Eddie’s hair, satisfied when he leans into his body, hands roaming over Steve’s pecs, and kisses him with all that young enthusiasm.

While Steve kisses him trying to set a pace, Eddie fumbles with their jeans until he has the flies open and unzips them. Eddie moans a few curses against his lips when he finally grabs Steve’s cock and frees it from his cotton boxers. Steve keeps him pressed tight against him, peppering kisses and nibbles whenever he can reach.

“Is this ok?” Eddie asks nervously. Whatever reticence that was holding Steve back is now forgotten.

Steve didn’t plan any of this. It never occurred to him that he’d be spending the night of his thirtieth three birthday jerking off in an alley with someone as pretty and interesting as Eddie. Thankfully, life still keeps some good surprises for him.

“More than ok, Eddie, fuck,” he moans, hips twitching, feeling electricity where Eddie has wrapped his fingers around his shaft. It’s like Steve can feel everything at once, overwhelming him.

The maddening beating of his heart, Eddie’s hot breath in his lips, his long fingers around him, the warm metal of his rings in his tender skin. Eddie’s weight and heat. The cold air of the night.

“Kiss me,” Eddie demands, taking himself in hand and lining his hips so both their cocks are pressed together. Steve obliges, his whole body on fire. He thinks he could never deny Eddie a thing.

He’s the desperate and uncoordinated one in this kiss. Eddie strokes them both, mixing their precum and making everything sloppier and messy and fucking amazing.

“Fuck, yes,” Eddie groans, his voice low and deep. “You feel so good, Steve, can’t wait to have you inside me…”

Steve gasps, digs his fingers in Eddie’s soft flesh.

“You want that, birthday boy?” Eddie asks, his fist tightening around their dicks, fucking into it with abandon, hips pistoning as if he needs it bad. Steve dares to look where they’re joined and see how more pearly beads of precum bleed off his cock. “I want it too, baby, I want to have this so deep in me I can feel it in my throat.”

“Holy fuck, Eddie!” Steve whines, imagining it. Eddie sprawled for him, open wide so Steve could take him, legs on his shoulders, spine arched while Steve pounds into him fiercely.

It’s the first time in years he’s this turned on, rushing towards the edge shamefully soon. Well, it’s not like they have more than Eddie’s break to finish this, thankfully.

Steve’s hand joins Eddie’s, clenching around them both, helping Eddie to go faster.

“Ah, shit, I’m close,” Eddie warns, and is all Steve needs.

Claiming the swollen lips of the bartender, Steve’s strokes grow frantic, feels Eddie squirming where they’re joined together, legs trembling. Steve swallows every one of his moans and pants.

Eddie goes first, breaking the kiss to growl, resting his head on Steve's shoulders, shivering with the force of his orgasm. That, and feeling Eddie’s come all over the head of his cock is what pushes Steve towards the edge, groaning between his teeth and holding to Eddie for dear life, his whole body twitching.

Neither of them say a word, too occupied panting and coming down from their orgasms, Eddie’s weight on Steve, and the wall behind Steve supporting them both. Knees shaking and chests heaving, spent cocks twitching with the aftershocks.

Steve feels… alive. On fire. He doesn’t think if it’s appropriate or not, he simply holds Eddie, keeping him from falling to the ground, and kisses the crown of his head.

Oh, he’ll overthink about it later. Right now it feels good, it feels right.

“Fuck,” he hears Eddie whisper, and the rumbling of his laugh. Steve smiles, deeply satisfied.

“I know,” Steve says, laughing too.

“I’m wasted, man,” Eddie laughs. “I need water, and a nap, fuck, I don’t know if I’m going to survive the next two hours.”

Steve laughs with him, feeling just the same.

“I’m sorry?” Steve asks, laughing, and Eddie shoves at his shoulder without strength.

“Shut up, you know it was amazing,” Eddie smiles at him, that blinding smile that is becoming a problem, since Steve can only think about kissing it.

He does that, though, now that he still can. Just in case.

-

Eddie is- what’s the opposite of freaking out? He’s at peace with the world, and himself, and everything is pure and bright and perfect.

Man, the power of a mind blowing orgasm. Eddie can’t wait for the next one, hopefully thinking that Steve will wait for him and walking him home later.

“I ruined our shirts, that I’m really sorry for,” birthday boy, Steve, says, wincing.

“I have spare clothes in the storage room, maybe something you can wear too,” Eddie offers. He takes a glance at his wristwatch. “We still have a few minutes, if you don’t mind waiting a bit, though I’m getting cold.”

“Oh, here,” Steve says. He shifts and produces his white jacket from nowhere, Eddie doesn’t even remember him putting it aside or whatever. Magic.

Steve wraps his jacket around Eddie, and after all that happened during the last fifteen minutes, this is what makes Eddie blush like a maiden.

“There you are, don’t freeze yourself,” Steve smiles at him, his back still against the wall and supporting Eddie’s body, ignoring his own trembling knees.

Oh, no. Eddie thinks, smiling dopily at Steve.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP (Re) Designs - 1

Gwendolyn Bouchard

TMAGP SPOILERS BELOW

I kept Gwen similar to my initial design for her:

1. Redraw of one of her voice actor's (Anusia Battersby's) Instagram posts.

2. Gwen sketch on black background (alt of 3)

3. Gwen sketch on white background

I changed her hair slightly to add a little nod to Jonathan Sims for TMA, since she feels like who he would be if he went on a different path (Idk if that makes sense, I hope it does). I also got rid of her belt to make way for a badge reel. I changed her white button down to a polo to add some more color to her design, but I toned the rest down to match her more. I also gave her more formal pants and shoes, as she feels like the type of gal to overdress for work. I also moved her mole to be closer to the eye as a little reference to the Eye. Lastly, I gave her a gold ring, which has a B on the top - for Bouchard. My theory is that it's a family ring. I gave one to my Elias design as well (:

Character Analysis:

Right off from episode 1, we see that Gwen has a superiority complex - she thinks she is better than the other OIAR workers (especially Lena). Although, this mask does slip a few times - she helps Sam get the correct labels for one of his first cases (this continues throughout the series), she goes into Sam's past and tries to connect with him on how he got to the OIAR, ect. It seems that this "tough skin" mask slips around Sam on occasion, when she is yelled at by Lena, that broken mug scene with Alice, and when she is scared (the Ink5oul interaction, Mr. Bonzo, ect). Usually, the idea of "being superior" comes with an idea of "being inferior." We know Gwen got her job from family involvement and has been at it for a while now. She demands to be taken seriously, to be given respect, to be the best - which ends up being directed towards Lena, as she is the authority Gwen must "prove herself" to. However, if Gwen is the authority, she won't have to worry about proving herself as she is now the "superior authority." This is why Gwen wants Lena's job and why she got it. Furthermore, if she climbs up the ranks of her job, she can prove to her family that she's "good enough." However, this feeling that she's  "inferior" will most likely affect her in thw future; she won't be satisfied with Lena'a job, she'll want the Minister's job, then the next, and the next, and the next, to prove she's "good enough," to prove that she's "getting better," to prove that she's "superior."

Now, let's discuss when her mask slips. When she's with Sam, it slips a few times. This makes sense - he, as the "new guy," looks up to her and asks her for advice, he is, to her, clearly "inferior," as she has been at the OIAR much longer than he has. She drops her mask with him the most on his first couple days, when she's training him. However, after he responds negativity to perhaps the most important time she drops this mask - when she tells the group about Mr. Bonzo, she stops as soon as her laughs her off. She simply doesn't drop this mask near him anymore, he wouldn't believe her anyway.

When Lena yells at her, mainly after the Lady Mowbray incident, we see Gwen drop her mask. She doubts herself - maybe Lena knows more than her?  She starts complying with Lena more after thsi incident, slowly gaining confidence until she is able to put it back up - this occurs, of course, under another mask - one where she kisses up to Lena, and gets on her good side - until she is able to get the minister those files - then her orginal mask is shown again. Now, the reason that her original mask could have been put up once again is because of those files - she knew more than Lena, she had power over Lena - she was superior to Lena. It is quite possible, that whoever gave Gwen these files is manipulating her. My theory is Augustus, but that's in a few of my other posts, and we're not talking about him right now.

Her mask also slips with Alice, especially during the coffee mug scene. Here, she is scared about what she has learned about the Externals /Fears, which Alice knew about (to some extent). Alice is also the one that Gwen has known the longest (and doesn't hate), so it makes sense that her mask would slip. She explains her fears for the future and what the OIAR is actually doing, which Alice relates to. They comfort one another and seem to develop a truce to get through whatever is going on, together (this is probably broken when Gwen goes and gets Lena's job). Her maks also slipped with Alice before this, when she thinks Alice got her coffee - when she thinks someone is thinking of her and value her (I'll touch on this a little later).

Gwen drops her mask the most when she's scared. She fights dropping it and then it eventually drops alltogether - when she gets chased by Mr. Bonzo, when she's talking with Ink5oul, when she see [Error] - every time she tries her best to leave her mask up and be "professional," with this having to be dropped as she's hunted, must to her dismay.

Gwen values when someone "sees" her - when even when she's an ass (Fr3D1 says lol), they still care for her; she doesn't have to do anything to be "worthy" of their love or affection (of any kind). This alludes to her family life, I'm assuming the Bouchards in this universe are still not great and need their family members to prove their "worth" to the family (as we saw in Elias's statement at the end of TMA) - which probably helped along Gwen's issues.

TL;DR - Gwen is trying to covering up her own insecurities and perception of worthlessness with the idea of her being superior and power.

Gwen is such a complex character already, and I love how much insight we get into her motives in just the first season.

[findafight]

I'm pretty sure the Duffers explicitly stated that Nancy and Steve broke up before she gets with Jonathan, but I, who has watched the show, disagrees immensely. Because the alley scene, looks like a really bad fight and not a breakup. No one says it's over and the fight ends because Steve is needed in class. No where does it really read breakup. Further more, Nancy admits to Jonathan that she has wanted to be with him since last year while she was dating Steve - that's emotional cheating. And she repeatedly calls Steve her boyfriend at Murray's so furthermore, I read that as Nancy cheating.

Exactly exactly. Completely agree. Class is an awkward time to have an argument, and it's clear that there's things unsaid. Word of god can only go so far as not directly contradicting the text?? That's not what we saw? Nancy tells Murray she's with Steve. She doesn't say "I just broke up with Steve". She says she has Steve back home! To me, an audience member, that tells me their relationship isn't over, even if they had a major fight because she's not able to be emotionally vulnerable with him and then leaves for days without telling him. Like jeez Steve probably wasn't the perfect boyfriend but??? That's harsh.

Someone pointed out a while ago that if the genders were switched, there's no way Steve would be the one coming out of it looking bad, which makes a lot of sense. There's interesting gender dynamics happening. Like if Steve were a girl asking her boyfriend if he loved her, to say it, and then being upset when he couldn't it would read differently. Just like if Nancy were a boy going on a two night roadtrip with the girl he swore he didn't cheat with, telling that girl he waited a month for her before going back to the girl who had actually made a (reciprocated) move, telling Murray he was dating someone else, and then sleeping with roadtrip girl. Like. I feel as though very few people would read that as not cheating? Female infidelity is interesting in how media views and portrays it I guess. Or maybe it's because we're supposed to like jancy more than stancy but they really don't want us to think Nancy cheated (which she did) The only reason I can think that they said that is to save face? Not have to talk about it in later seasons?

Also yes!!! Why did they have that line that makes it seem like Nancy was just...with Steve for convenience? Because she didn't want to be alone or something? Because the guy she actually liked wasn't making a move so she got with the guy who vocally liked her? And theydon't address THAT can of worms? And somehow that makes Steve look bad? Because he doesn't know his gf has been waiting for Jonathan to make one singular move on her their whole relationship while he's actually trying to make his relationship work. I know it's probably not like that, that Nancy (probably) did legitimately care for Steve, but taken at face value....uh. yikes. Emotional cheating isn't often shown as seriously as "actual cheating" but yeah. Argument to be made that Nancy was emotionally cheating their...whole relationship and just physically cheated at the end there. Which is...pretty brutal for ol' Stevie boy!

Very frustrating that S4 seemed to bring stancy back but refused to have them actually talk about the issues they had (which, if TPTB don't view Nancy cheating as...Nancy cheating, then it can never actually be done to a satisfying end for me)

[vickyvicarious]

I'll follow you into the dark - death cab for cutie

This is such a "then she shall not go into that unknown and terrible land alone" song I'm losing my mind. It's exactly what I imagine Jonathan saying either to Mina or thinking to himself when he was considering things could take a turn for the worst.

"If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs; If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark"

The whole song is good and a mood for them but the chorus really is the highlight of "wtf do you mean this wasn't written about them"

A classic... I remember listening to this when I was younger and saying it was romantic, and my mom giving me a Look about the implied suicide after the death of a loved one being romantic. I had to clarify not in a 'emulate this' kind of way or anything. And certainly that same 'would they want that for you? no' element is going on with Mina's perspective. But that's not directly in the song either way.

Of course obviously no doubt the chorus/general premise of 'I'll follow you into the dark' is 100% Jonathan's thoughts on Mina turning. That first verse is excellent for his vow to himself. I love the emphasis on "our hands clasped so tight" because again I go wild over the handholding in this book. And yeah, the chorus just repeatedly reaffirming his choice...

The second and third verses are lyrically way less fitting, naturally. If I'm trying to look for it, I can find a comparison in the second verse to Jonathan's time in Castle Dracula. The Dracula as conqueror thing = "as vicious as Roman rule" and the lady in black telling him "fear is the heart of love" while he holds his tongue... Well, like I said if I'm looking I could compare that to the vampire ladies' and Dracula's ideas of 'kisses' and love, and Jonathan have to keep quiet about his true feelings during almost his entire stay.

As for the third verse, again less fitting but it comes closest to Jonathan sticking true to this choice later on. They've traveled together, which they always dreamed of doing, and even if this journey doesn't end the way they hope, then it's okay. He'll stay with her. No matter what, no matter where. But the main star is naturally the chorus.

The tone of the music and the song is so interesting in this context because on the one hand, it's way more resigned sounding than Jonathan ever is. He's burning up with a fierce, volcanic desire to make sure this never happens, and no way does the song get that across. But it is still an if/then and just very clear/firm on what the then will be, which does fit him. Again, it sounds so gentle, like he's reassuring Mina... except if he said this out loud to her she'd feel the need to argue against it, so it could only ever be reassuring to a point I guess. But a great song for them for sure.