#hawkins plot 9/10

[mlchaelwheeler]

ok wait in lieu of this post, pls rb and in the tags rate each s4 plot (listed below) on a scale from 1-10, 1 being a snooze fest and 10 being cinema

hawkins/creel house plot

russia plot

el/papa/lab/NINA plot

cali crew plot

[ladykailitha]

The Harrington Pattern Part 11

The second one for today.

There is a joust, a wild Eddie shows off his mating dance, and Steve and Jeff plot a romance.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6 Pt 7 Pt 8 Pt 9 Pt 10

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

MY TAG LIST FOR THIS STORY IS CLOSED

****

Steve sat on the edge of his seat as he cheered each successful strike the Black Knight made and winced with every hit he took.

The kids were loudly shouting and cheering and even Nancy would leap to her feet when the Black Knight won a match.

It was down to the final match. The Black Knight verses the White Lion. They were two points each. Final run.

The horses pawed at the ground. The knights shifted in their armor as they tried to settle the joints. Every person in that stadium was on the edge of their seat, leaning forward as they held their collective breath.

The man stepped forward with the flag and eyed each knight nervously. He looked up at the king and queen. The king nodded giving his consent. The flag dropped and the man leapt out of the way.

The horses raced down the line as the knights lowered their lances. The audience slowly rose to their feet as the horses thundered toward each other.

No one had yet taken a single breath.

Then...

CLASH!

And the White Lion flew to the ground as his horse made it to the other side of the arena. His squire grabbed the horses reins to stop it from running away.

The whole crowd erupted, the breath finally released in shouts of exultation.

The Black Knight and his squire were at their other end of field, whooping and hollering as they celebrated his win.

Steve and Robin grabbed each other and jumped up and down. They hadn’t seen anything so exciting since Lucas made the final shot of the game.

And it appeared that the boy in question thought the same as he kept screaming “YES!!”

The Black Knight took off his helmet and waved at the crowd. And their entire row let out a gasp.

“Jeff?” Dustin squealed. “Jeff was the Black Knight all along? That is so awesome!”

Now Lucas was completely flipping out. No one could deny that Jeff had won fair and square. That he had the superior skill.

Steve looked over at the king and queen. Neither one of them looked happy to see it had been Jeff the whole time. But they appeared gracious enough when they were handing out the prizes.

Steve was cheering and screaming right along with the rest of them. And it was a cool surprise. Who would have thought that Jeff played his favorite sport.

After the award ceremony they were allowed to go see Jeff at the stable.

Steve looked around when he entered. Jeff caught his eye and grinned. They both knew who he was looking for.

“He’s getting ready,” Jeff said with a wink. “You’ll just not want to miss the next event.”

Steve bit his lip and nodded. Whatever it was, he knew it was going to be amazing. He just wished he had more of an idea of what it was. He looked out at the arena floor and saw that the long wooden partition for the joust had been taken down and workers were quickly putting up... what, Steve wasn’t sure.

“Just let me get out of this armor,” Jeff was saying, “and I’ll join you guys in the stands.”

As they walked back to the stands, Robin pulled out her flier of the day’s events and Steve looked over her shoulder.

“What’s trick riding?” he mumbled.

But she just shrugged. She didn’t know either.

They sat up in the stands and they talked among themselves as the workers finished up what they were doing.

The field was mostly empty except a small platform where the rider would mount their horse.

There were two horses, both black with weird looking saddles.

The announcer got up and bellowed into a megaphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he shouted. “For the first time ever here at the Hawkins Renaissance Fair we have Hawkins own Eddie Munson trick riding extraordinaire.”

Eddie stepped out onto the field but gone were the puffy sleeves and thigh high boots. His costume was tight fitting and boots were soft soled. It still looked period, but it was clearly designed from modern materials which would make it easier to move in.

Strapped to his back was a lute, the same lute he had been carrying all week.

He mounted the platform and waved to the crowd.

Eddie got on to the first horse and got it into motion. The other horse merely shook its mane as it waited patiently for its turn.

Eddie raised his feet and slipped them into a set of stirrups higher up on the saddle. Sending a wink Steve’s way, he stood up on the horse and began to play.

He began singing. Horribly. Eddie was a fine enough singer for their band, but it seemed to Steve he was deliberately off key as he sang ribald bar tunes.

He slipped a harness over his head and around his waist. Then to shock of the crowd, slid off the side of the horse. Steve was on his feet, so sure that Eddie would be crushed under the thundering hooves the galloping horse.

But as the horse turned, Steve could see that Eddie was safe and still playing.

His caterwauling got progressively worse the more dangerous the stunt was. Almost as if he was signaling to the audience that he was safe.

He made it back to the platform where he handed the lute off to someone who had stepped out onto the field for the reason. They removed the saddle off the one horse Eddie had been riding and he straddled both horses, one foot on each.

And off he went racing around the arena.

Steve was sure that his heart had stopped several times, once with every trick Eddie did.

He was also pretty sure that wasn’t good for it.

But Eddie landed every trick like a pro and at the end he hopped off the platform with a jaunty wave and a deep bow.

Steve was cheering up and down as the crowd around him erupted with applause.

Eddie bowed again and with the other guy that had taken his lute, lead the horses away.

Steve isn’t sure who was more impressed by Eddie’s riding the kids or Nancy. Her jaw had dropped from the first trick and remained that way all throughout Eddie’s riding.

“Where did he learn that?” she asked.

Jeff grinned. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

Everyone exchanged glances as the whole gaggle followed Jeff back to the stable where Eddie and the other guy were brushing down the horses Eddie had used in his show.

The man, who on closer inspection was a teenage old boy spotted Jeff and waved. “Jeffrey! You did great out there today. Mom hasn’t stopped gushing about it.”

The Party turned to Jeff in shock. But he just chuckled.

“Guys,” he said, “this is my little brother Ollie. Ollie, you remember Gareth and Brian, the boys are Hellfire, the girls kick ass, and the two guys are the brat wranglers.”

Jonathan and Steve shared a look before they chorused, “Hey!”

Eddie laughed, but did the proper introducing. When he got to Steve, Ollie’s eyes went wide and nodded.

“Steve Harrington,” Ollie said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Steve frowned. “From Jeff?” he asked, confused.

“No, man,” Ollie said with a laugh, “from Eddie.”

Who promptly ducked behind his horse under the guise of brushing its mane.

Steve licked his lips slowly as a sly smile took over his face. “No doubt only horrible things,” he teased.

Eddie let out a squawk and glared at him from around the horse. “Hey!”

Steve laughed and Eddie let out a little huff of breath as he pouted.

“Our parents own the horses,” Jeff said, “We have three that joust and two the trick ride and then there’s King, who was a racehorse in his heyday.”

Ollie nodded, “We usually let whoever is playing the king of the Fair ride him at the closing ceremonies. He’s pretty as hell.”

“So like Steve,” Dustin said. “He used to be called King Steve in high school.”

Steve tipped the twerp’s hat off.

“Hey!”

El giggled and Dustin’s head whipped around to face her. She pressed her lips together and looked up and away.

“Can I see King?” Will asked, softly.

Ollie lit up. “Yeah, sure.” He turned to Jeff. “I’ve got get him ready for tonight anyway, so I can I have Will help me?”

Jeff smiled at his little brother. “Sure thing, it’ll make the work go faster.”

“He seems like a good kid,” Jonathan said, “how old is he?”

“He’s fourteen,” he said, “so he’ll be an incoming freshman this year.”

Lucas smiled. “So a year younger than us.”

Jeff nodded.

“Is he going to join Hellfire?” Dustin asked, practically vibrating out of his skin.

“He wants to but with me graduating last year,” Jeff said with a wince, “he’s worried he won’t know anyone but Gareth.”

Lucas grinned. “Well he knows us now, we’ll hang out with him all summer so that come school time, he’ll have friends in Hellfire.”

Jeff grinned back. “I think he’d really like that.”

Steve smiled at his nuggets. He was glad that they were willing to take this kid they just met under their wing and make sure he didn’t get lost at high school.

He really couldn’t have been prouder. He caught Eddie’s eye and the other man grinned.

He lopped over to Steve, the grin never leaving his face.

“So pretty boy,” Eddie teased. “You enjoy the show?”

Steve nudged him his shoulder. “Of course I did. A bit terrifying on this side of things though.”

Eddie laughed. “I assure you, sweetheart, it’s equally terrifying on my end, too.”

“How long have you been doing this then?”

Eddie cocked his head to the side and thought about it. “On and off since I got to Hawkins and became friends with Jeff. His mom is the one that thought me, but I’ve only been serious about it in the last couple years. As a way to keep myself from getting too depressed about school.”

“That’s fair,” Steve said.

When he looked around most of them had gone. It was only Robin, Gareth, Jeff, and Max that remained.

“Where did everyone go?” Will asked as he came out the stall with Ollie.

Robin began counting of on her fingers. “Brian and Mike went to go watch the caber toss on the outskirts of the Fair. Dustin, Lucas and El went to go watch the sword fights. Nancy and Jonathan went to try the ax throwing.” She looked around. “Did I miss anyone?”

The rest of them shook their heads.

“And the rest of us were waiting for Will!” she finished with a cheer.

Will blushed and Eddie and Steve shared a knowing glance.

“Hey, do you and Ollie want to come with me to see the bagpipers?” Max asked Will.

Will and Ollie looked at each other and then nodded as one. The two boys followed the pirate queen, walking side by side.

“Well,” Gareth said, “I’m glad Mike missed that one.”

Robin looked over at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Mike is always jealous of anyone who spends time with Will,” Steve explained, “except El. Even if he spends all his time with her, he still gets jealous when Will gives up and goes to talk to someone else.”

Eddie nodded. “That kid has got to get his head out of his ass, before a sweet boy like Ollie sweeps our Will the Wise off his feet.”

Jeff grinned. “I like that idea!”

Gareth snorted. “You only like that idea because Mike called your thief a common rogue.”

“My thief is literally a lord,” Jeff defended. “Like Lord Kelnic is his name. He can’t be a common rogue.”

Steve leaned over to Eddie and whispered, “What are they talking about?”

“I’ll explain it later,” Eddie whispered back.

Steve nodded, knowing that Eddie would do just that.

“Hey, you want to go for a stroll?” Steve asked. “I don’t care where, really. I just want to spend the afternoon with you.”

Eddie perked up. “Hell yeah! Why don’t I show the behind the scenes stuff most people don’t get to see?”

“Sounds perfect.” Steve smiled.

Robin and Jeff shared a fond glance about their best friends and shook their heads as Eddie led Steve away.

****

Part 12 Part 13

I love jousting Eddie as much as the next gal, but I also realize that Eddie looks like a stiff wind would knock him over and would be flying out of that saddle with every hit. So I made him a trick rider instead.

I also did not set out to write Will a love interest, the love interest just shoved himself into my story and I let him stay.

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @carlyv @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666 @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @thespaceantwhowrites @paintgonewrong @mogami13 @beelze-the-bubkiss @croatoan-like-its-hot @retro-vagabond @sani-86 @pansexuality-activated @y4r3luv @dauntlessdiva @vampire-eddie-brain-rot @lololol-1234 @nightmareglitter CLOSED

[acowardinmordor]

a concept from me and @mephestopheles wanting bizarre versions of trans experiences.

The Harrington's move them to Hawkins when Stevie is like, 9 or 10. They're rarely ever home, so, it only takes a tiny bit of work and one helpful nanny for Stephen Harrington to tweak the records, and get to live as Stephanie, Stevie, Harrington. She only has to act like a boy a few days a year, and keeps her hair longish, but not so long she can't play if off when they come home.

Everyone in school thinks she's a bit of a tomboy, but she takes choir to get better control of her voice. Stays in sports because she loves sports, still rules the school bc she can have parties whenever, still has her slut era, but is known for being... generous with lovers, which keeps anyone from noticing.

This means she meets Robin in soccer, and it doesn't stop Stevie being a mean girl and super popular, and kinda bitchy, but its good for her anyway.

How does this intersect with canon? unknown.

How does this eventually become a plot? shrug emoji.

[hbyrde36]

Writers 20 questions tag game!!

Tagged by @devondespresso, thanks friend!

And @sidekick-hero 💜

I haven't done this one in long enough that I think some answers will be different, so let's give it a go!

divider by @/saradika-graphics

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

27

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

461,264

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things/Steddie

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hellfire Ink Shelter In Place Times Like These (both versions are neck and neck!) Life is a Game (and True Love is a Trophy) Steve Harrington: Vampire Hunter

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I try to respond to all comments even if it's just emojis. Comments mean SO much and I like to let readers know how much I appreciate them and their words of encouragement!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Though I do write a lot of angst, I'm a happy endings only kinda gal, so not many angsty endings save for one or two very short ficlets. 🤣

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That's a tough one! As I said above, happy endings only here so there are too many to try and choose between! 'I Don't Think We're In Hawkins Anymore, Big Boy' is probably my most lighthearted work in general, so that one definitely comes to mind. I think the most hard-earned happy ending would be a tie between Times Like These and Life is a Game.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not so far, and I feel so lucky for that. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! It tends to be part of larger stories for me. And that's nothing against PWP, I LOVE me some PWP, I don't know if my smut is good enough to stand on it's own like that, but I am getting more comfortable with it! At the end of the day, with Steddie no matter what else the plot contains I'm also writing a romance, and most of the time the smut winds up happening naturally within the story. To me, the boys are almost always down bad for each other on sight, so it's only inevitable that they wind up falling in bed together, one way or another. 😆

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have written two crossover/fusion au's! So far 'I Don't Think We're In Hawkins Anymore, Big Boy' is a Wizard of Oz AU. Steve Harrington: Vampire Hunter is an Anita Blake AU

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of! 🤞

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of, but I wouldn't mind!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not, but with the right partner I think it would be a fun thing to try!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

For now I'll have to say Steddie. It's the first ship I've ever put this much time and energy into.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

At the moment I don't have any real WIPS that I don't fully intend on finishing. Now, I do have a folder full of random ideas, many of the docs within only have a few sentences worth of words and I'm sure many of those will sadly go unwritten.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't know if that's for ME to say, but I THINK I do good dialog and banter. I know when I'm writing the dialog is always what comes easiest, and usually first before the rest of the story.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Rushing/not expanding on some things. I think sometimes I rush through certain areas or aspects of a story that maybe I think will be boring, but would benefit from a little room the breathe.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It wouldn't bother me in reading as long as the dialog is either explained somehow or if I'm just not supposed to know what the character is saying. It hasn't come up in my own writing so I'm not sure how I'd handle that scenario.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This one! Stranger Things/Steddie.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Honestly, I can't choose! BUT there is one I'm very fond of that has for whatever reason VERY low hits. It was my fic for the STWG Hozier Project for the song 'From Eden'. Just a short thing with a 3k word count limit, but I adore it. Honey, You're Familiar

No pressure tags! @pearynice @vecnuthy @griefabyss69 @rocknrollsalad @hornedqueenofhell

@shares-a-vest @soaringornithopter @steddiecameraroll @klausinamarink

[frie-ice]

These are some of the characters I would like to see in Kingdom Hearts, Sora visits their home worlds or simply has them as summon characters. 1. Jim Hawkins (as many of us are waiting for the day Treasure Planet joins the KH universe) 2. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (as  a keyblade master like his mousy brother) 3. Moana (as a possible Princess of Hearts) 4. Tiana (also as a possible Princess of Hearts) 5. Mirabel (since Alice is the none princess member of the previous Princesses of Hearts) 6. Miguel (from the life and death theme that is rumoured to be part of the KHIV plot) 7. Merida (possibly as a summon character) 8 Milo and Kida (they are a pair and people would also like to see Atlantis the Lost Empire as a KH world) 9. The Manhattan Clan (who doesn't love Gargoyles and would like to see KH focus on classic Disney TV shows that just films alone) 10. The Parr/Incredibles Family (we mostly see the bonded heart affect on friends and lovers than families) I wanted to add in Lightning of Final Fantasy XIII's Lightning Saga, but company who creates the FF games no longer has rights to Kingdom Hearts. Its all Disney know and that is why we haven't see any new Final Fantasy cameo characters after Zack Fair in Birth By Sleep. DeviantArt meme template used: Top 10 KH Character Ideas by jacobyel.

[kivaember]

For the choose violence ask game:

#9, 10, and 12 for armored core

oh man i thought i posted this... i saved it to my drafts dfhdfdfh WELL ANYWAY A BIT LATE BUT yeah if you click on the read more you agree to reading opinions that may run counter to yours uwu

9. worst part of canon

ALLMIND's ending no doubt. While the boss fight was fun and the ending cinematic cool, there were so many plot holes, the ending made no fucking sense, and there was no reason given as to why 621 and Ayre were so gung ho about Coral Release when they both had no idea what it even was? Like it really felt like we were missing a bunch of missions to give context or info and they just didn't edit the script to reflect that.

Like, I genuinely really hate ALLMIND's ending LMAO i pretend it doesn't exist... ╯︿╰ i do not see

10. worst part of fanon

I also close my eyes to headcanons and the like I disagree with, so there isn't really a part of "fanon" that i hate :ua uhh... there probably is stuff I just can't think of any right now from the top of my head.

oh wait, i remember now. People portraying Pater with ~split personality disorder~ or a mental illness equivalent to that because of his DUAL NATURE AC name, his Arena profile and/or citing his behaviour when Hawkins dies. I went on a bit of a ramble before about Pater and my thoughts about him, but there is smth that rubs me wrong something fierce when people just slap on "THIS GUY IS MENTALLY ILL AND SOCIOPATHIC" and make that his whole personality. There's plenty more you can dig into, like how he's an example of what living in a hyper-competitive corporate world can do to you, where you're so focused on success and corporate-pilled that it fucks with your ability to properly process emotion or act appropriately.

But anyways.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I don't see enough Rokumonsen stuff. I love Rokumonsen. I'd write him more if i knew how to write decent haikus but i don't. THIS GUY IS A CANON WEEB!!! HE PROBABLY NARUTO RUNS IN HIS AC CALLED SHINOBI!!! I'M SURPRISED HE WASN'T YELLING "MISSILE SHURIKIN NO JUTSU" WHEN SHOOTING HIS FUCKING ROCKETS AT YOU!!!! I love Rokumonsen. He's such a nerd that can kick my ass (why has the RLF not yet reclaimed Rubicon when that stagger god is amongst their ranks)

[redbelles]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by: the wonderful @carry-the-sky 💖

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

51

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

245,595

3. what fandoms do you write for?

i don't ever really abandon old fandoms, but so far 2024 has been all berserk (nothing posted yet, unforch) and masters of the air

4. top five fics by kudos

like a heartbeat drives you mad

the dreadful need in the devotee

and my body found the wind

stuck in colder weather

all the love you need

5. do you respond to comments?

yes! it may take me a hundred million years, but i appreciate each and every comment i get, and i often go back to them for a little jolt of "hey, people actually like your writing!" motivation when i'm stuck

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

lmao uh. known angst goblin meg redbelles here, but i honestly didn't have to do much work to the canon endings of robert baratheon (the clouds will form a crown) or judas iscariot (in the violence of our dreams) to make them even more horrifically angsty, so. one of those, probably!

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i don't tend to go for out and out happy endings—i prefer bittersweet—but i feel like the answer is either the mercy wheel, which fixes dany’s gabarge season eight character arc, or tongue’s talkin’ riddles (sticky sweet), which gives chrissy and eddie a mostly happy future together instead of horrible deaths in deeply cursed hawkins

and! for what it's worth! the chimneys hardly ever fall down is going to end on a happy note! they're just going to have to Suffer a lot to get there! it's fine!

8. do you get hate on fics?

nope

9. do you write smut?

me, currently 3k into a m/m/f threesome scene:

10. craziest crossover:

i enjoy spitballing about crossovers, but i doubt very seriously that i'll ever write one

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of, no

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had offers before, but i've declined every time; they all wanted to host the translations outside of AO3, which is not something i'm comfortable with

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

yep! keep calling me home is a really fun little round robin fic i wrote with three other authors a couple years ago

14. all time favorite ship?

i can't read suddenly.gif

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

shUT UP!!!!! I'M GONNA FINISH ALL MY WIPS!!!!!! SHUT UP!!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!

16. what are your writing strengths?

imagery, emotion, themes, dialogue

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

plot? never heard of her. also, i feel like i still suck at writing humor

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

to crib from a previous answer: unless you speak the language, it gets real dicey real fast. i personally avoid it unless a) it’s a canonical term/phrase, like all the faux-russian bullshit in the grisha trilogy, or b) i can check the grammar/usage with a native speaker or someone who is solidly fluent

19. first fandom you wrote in?

[redacted] way back ages ago on [redacted]

20. favorite fic you've written?

recency bias talking here, but i am so, so, so fond of the chimneys hardly ever fall down; i challenged myself to write the first chapter as one continuous scene (i feel like i sometimes abuse scene breaks to heighten tension), and honestly i think i nailed it. also, this sequence:

Maybe he is drunk. That would make sense. He’s going to wake up and find himself alone at the bottom of a bottle. Back in the cold blue, Fort shot to shit and tumbling from the sky like a wounded bird, trailing fire and screaming as she falls. Maybe he won’t wake up at all— maybe he’s dead in a potato field, a ghost who never made it back in the first place. His heart can’t fucking take it.

like, i'm sorry, but that's brutal! and i am so proud of it!

tagging: @sluttyhenley @littlelindentree @oatflatwhite @meyerlansky @ladywaffles

@charmtion @anthropologicalhands @jacyevans @thatworldinverted @thatgirlnevershutsup

and anyone elso who wants a go ✨

[aloneinthehellfire]

... Always

It's You And Me, Always: Part 10

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

It’s You and Me, Always [Masterlist]

Summary: You and Eddie have been best friends since elementary school and you both assumed that friendship was all you were destined for. However, when you both experience Chrissy’s supernatural death, you are pulled into the secrets beneath Hawkins and find that your feelings for eachother aren’t what they seem.

Warnings: swearing, visions, mentions of death, descriptions of Vecna’s curse, death, most likely loads of plot holes tbh

Word Count: 3.2k

[A/N: THE FINALE!! finally finished this after five months lmao. I hope this ending is good enough and thank you all so so much for the love and support :) until next time]

<- Part 9: The Battle Begins

... ALWAYS

When the bats finally got close enough to end Eddie’s most metal concert ever, he threw down his guitar and the boys quickly make their way off from the roof.

They could hear the bats clawing at the walls once they slammed the door shut behind them, standing back to back after a moment of celebration before it was shattered by the demobats crawling through their fortress.

“Y/n!” Eddie shouts out, head whipping around to catch a sight of you. Even when they had moved through the trailer, you hadn’t been stood there waiting.

“Maybe she climbed through the gate already!” Dustin suggested, eyes wide and focused on the furthest door from them. The bats were tearing through and they needed to get out. Fast.

Eddie shakes his head in response, peering out of the window into the darkness, while Dustin did his best to climb up the rope. He knew you would have waited. He remembered the look on your face when he told you to stay inside. You wouldn’t leave him.

“Eddie, come on!” Dustin yells out from the other side, staring up at where Eddie springs into action and grabs onto the rope.

“Is she there?” He grunts, beginning to raise himself up the material.

Dustin does a quick look around, a frown on his face. He then calls out for you, venturing a little further from the gate. Nothing.

“I can’t see her!”

Eddie freezes, looking back.

They had led the bats here, just as planned. They were to get out and stay out, a popular opinion of the group. They had a plan. But you weren’t here.

It only meant one thing; you had ran out into the Upside Down.

Eddie knew you had been having visions, cautious of the way you’d been acting since War Zone. You weren’t ever hiding it as well as you thought. But Eddie just prayed that they had more time.

“Eddie!”

His eyes drift to where the boy stood, begging. He hated to leave Dustin, feeling like his actions would be the product of a broken promise. But you needed him.

How could he just leave you out there, being cursed, when he had made an oath? You and him. Always.

Eddie lands on his feet.

Dustin was yelling and screaming at him as he hastily cut the rope, severing the connection that held the danger. He wouldn’t bear it if Dustin followed him to a deadly end. At least this way, Eddie could lead the bats away from one of his sheep.

Ignoring the boy’s protests, he slammed into the door and sprinted out into the dark, calling your name.

Your heavy breaths were the only things keeping you tethered to life. Your eyes never left the figure in front of you.

“My name is Henry” His dark and twisted voice spoke, tilting his head. “I’ve been watching you for a long time”

You don’t respond, taking a step back. He stiffens his posture.

“I was so very… intrigued” He begins, moving towards you like you were his prey, “When family finally came back to visit”

His eyes drifted around the attic and you swallow your fear.

“Why didn’t you kill me?” You ask, part of you angry that he had left you alive with the memory of your parents’ death.

Vecna extends his hand. “You have the chance to join me”

“No.” You shake your head, stepping back. “I’m not a monster.”

“It’s in your blood, Y/n Creel”

“Don’t call me that.” You grit your teeth, skin crawling. Vecna just shakes his head, like you were just a disobeying child.

“You shouldn’t hide from what you truly are”

“I am nothing like you!”

“Oh, but you are”

You hear screams from within the house, turning to the noise just for a second. In that time, Vecna had gotten closer, glaring down at you.

“You could save her” He whispers and your eyes widen. It was Max. “All you have to do is join me”

“You want to destroy Hawkins.” You state, remembering Nancy’s earlier visions. “You want to kill a little girl-”

“SHE STOLE EVERYTHING FROM ME” He bellows and you flinch away from him.

“Good.” You spat and he narrows his eyes.

“Stubbornness runs in the family” He tuts, staring down at you with a piercing glare, “I, for one, could never tolerate it”

With the flick of his hand, you were thrown across the attic, crashing into a pile of boxes with enough force to knock the air out of your lungs.

“You should be grateful I kept you alive” Vecna growls and you gasp for breath. “To become what you’re destined to be”

“And what’s that?” You pant, staring up at his cold stare.

“Powerful”

You simply shake your head. All he was saying meant nothing to you. You weren’t powerful. You were barely living.

“You belong here with me” Vecna says, extending a hand down to you “Stand by my side, and I will show you what greatness you are capable of”

The echoes from downstairs had faded to nothing. Either Max had escaped, or… you didn’t want to think the worst. Judging by the persistent look on Vecna’s face, you knew it was the former. Which meant you could escape too.

You slowly stand, ignoring his offer and holding his stare, raising your chin.

“I will never join you.”

He simply tilts his head, retracting his hand.

“Wrong choice”

Just as he raises his arm, you sprint from his clutch, crashing through the attic door with as much haste as you could muster.

“Y/N!!” His voice boomed. But you didn’t stop.

Every exit was blocked one way or another, a frustrated yell leaving your lips. You didn’t want to die. As much as you prepared for this to happen, you weren’t ready. How would you ever be ready?

“We could have achieved so much together”

You spin around, tears streaming down your face. He had backed you into a corner now. You had nowhere to run.

“Remember this place, Y/n?” He questions and you close your eyes, back pressed against the front door, the cool glass sending a chill down your spine. “Look”

You shake your head, refusing.

“LOOK!!!!!!”

Out of fear, your eyes snap open.

You see a memory playing behind him, your younger self at the top of the staircase, eyes wide.

Your father floating, the stomach-churning snap of bones. Your mother’s screams.

A choked sob was all you had to react with, slowly sliding down the door into a sitting position.

“You wanted to die with them” Vecna taunts, reading your thoughts as clear as day, “You blame them for leaving you all alone”

He was right. Everything he said was true.

“Are you ready to join them now, Y/n?”

You feel yourself suddenly lifting from the ground, vines shooting out of the walls and leaving pieces of plaster scattered all over the place. They clung onto your wrists and ankles, pinning you against the door, and you scream.

Vecna slides a vine around your throat with the tilt of his head, leaving you choking for air.

“Your suffering will end soon enough” He promises, raising an ugly claw and hovering it over your tear-stained face.

You struggle as much as you can, tugging against your restraints, but you weren’t strong enough.

Eyes rolling back into your head, you wait for the numbness to coat your body into an eternal slumber.

...y/n… can you hear me...

With a gasp, Eddie discards the bike and takes off on foot, the demobats now drawn far enough away from Dustin and his trailer.

He takes a breath, glancing back at where the creatures swarmed.

He knew the trailer park like the back of his hand, the plan to get back to the trailer and out of the Upside Down already forming.

And then he saw it. A figure stood in the middle of the road, arms outstretched. They slowly lifted off the ground.

Eddie’s eyes widened.

“Y/N!” He cries, rushing towards you as fast as his legs could take him.

He barely manages to grasp onto your fingers before you’re suddenly out of reach, a sob leaving his lips. He couldn’t be too late. He can’t lose you like this.

“Y/N! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!” He shouts as loud as he can, desperately jumping to gain height and drag you back down to him. “WAKE UP!”

He cries and yells until his throat is sore, the feeling never relinquishing his attempts to bring you back. He had done it before, back at the Wheelers, the first time you were cursed. He could do it now. He could-

But then your arm snaps.

“NO!” Eddie screams, dropping to his knees.

He had failed.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he couldn’t bear the sight of it, chest tightening with every echo of a crushed bone. He failed. He failed. He failed.

Then, with a wave of silence, he looks back up just in time to see you drop from the sky. In a flash, he flies forward and catches you in his arms.

“Y/n…” He whispers out, breath caught in his throat.

Every limb was broken, your head hung back. Your eyes were closed, blinded by the run of blood down your soft cheeks.

“No.” Eddie cries, tears dropping down onto your body as he held you closer. “Please… don’t leave me. Please come back. Please.”

He can’t feel your heartbeat.

“Come back to me.” He begs again, praying that whatever miracle saved you from the bats would happen again. But you don’t respond. He knows you won’t respond.

Gently brushing the hair out of your face, he presses a long kiss to your forehead, eyes squeezing shut.

He was wrong to think he could ever be the hero. Because here you were, dead in his arms. And he wasn’t there to save you.

“It’s you and me…” He tries, but his voice was faltering. How could he say it when it wasn’t true?

A loud screech sounds behind him and his stomach drops. In the fear, he had forgotten about his original mission. And now the demobats were flying towards him.

He should have ran, like he always did. But you were dead, something he could no longer control no matter how badly it pierced his heart. This, right here, was something he could control.

To finally not be a coward.

He raises his spear, equipping his metal shield, and runs towards the flock. There was no sadness to his actions now. All he had running through his veins was pure rage.

As the bats collide with his shield, Eddie should have looked back at where you lay.

If he did, he would have seen that miracles did still exist.

Opening your eyes, you focus on the shadow of Vecna walking away from you, the world around you fading to dust and forming into a world of dark and fear.

You felt numb, and you weren’t sure what was happening to you. Were you dead?

...please… don’t leave me…

“Eddie.” You gasp.

With the snap of his neck, Vecna’s eyes dart back to where you struggle to stand, his eyes widening. He was surprised. Shocked.

Afraid.

“Impossible” He breathes, striding over to you.

But he didn’t make it far.

It was as if he ran into some kind of invisible barrier, the force ricocheting and throwing him across the crimson plane. Your eyes widened.

“You’re meant to be dead!” He roars, raising his arm.

You wince in anticipation, but nothing happens. He stares at his arm as if it was his enemy, glaring back at you with a snarl.

“YOU-”

Whatever threat was to be said was suddenly broken by the image of a woman and a young girl appearing beside you. His face drops.

You look either side of you with a confused and scared gaze. The older woman smiles at you while the young girl gives a little nod. You had nothing to be afraid of.

“How?” Vecna simply asks. But it wasn’t directed to you.

“Henry.” The woman shakes her head slowly, stepping forward. “You knew this would happen.”

“Henry.” The little girl speaks up, tilting her head, “You can’t kill her.”

“Yes I can” He insists, raising his chin.

“No.” The woman simply states, glancing back at you before returning to her stare, “This family is special. It always held a balance, as we worked together. Your power only ever caused death. Hers is to bring life.”

“You can’t kill her, Henry.” The blonde girl repeats as if it was an inside joke, “She is the only one you can’t truly hurt anymore.”

Vecna slowly points his stare at you as you stand helpless, barely understanding the situation.

“We’ll see about that”

“It’s you and me…”

Turning back, you can clearly hear Eddie’s voice calling to you now.

“Go.” The woman says, nodding. “We’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”

The small girl smiles and you slowly nod, backing away. But you couldn’t leave without any kind of answer.

“Who are you?” You ask with a frown and they share a look.

“Family.” The woman announces and you let out a breath.

“Thank you.” You quickly say before running towards the window before you, the image too dark to understand.

You didn’t look back to see if Vecna was following. You ran straight through the portal and watched as everything burned brighter around you until…

Until you blinked, a painful gasp filling air into your lungs. You felt a dull ache across your entire body and for a moment, you couldn’t move.

Looking down, you managed to catch a glimpse of a bone shifting back into place and you could have thrown up from the sight. But it didn’t hurt. How come it didn’t hurt?

With a shaky breath, you realised you had died again. The woman’s words, the idea that you brought life? What did any of that mean?

As you manage to sit up, your eyes widen, looking around you.

Your hearing slowly builds back to normal and you catch the noise of a yell, the flutter of wings.

Scrambling to your feet, you turn to see Eddie caught in the middle of a swarm and your heart drops.

Because a bat had managed to rip the shield from his grasp, his spear clattering to the ground.

That many bats… he wouldn’t survive.

You rush over, bats somehow blocking your path by swooping and clawing at your face.

You stumble back. This was Vecna’s doing. He had found another way to hurt you.

Eddie cries out in pain and you can’t take it anymore.

Covering your face, you sprint against the force, holding your ground, until you finally made it towards Eddie.

Bats had bitten into his side, one wrapped around his throat.

You quickly scoop up his fallen spear and stab it straight through one currently tearing through flesh.

It lets out an ear-piercing screech before dropping limp.

You continue to slice and attack, some bats managing to claw at your own skin. But you don’t stop. Not when Eddie needed you.

When the tail wraps your neck, you find yourself screaming against it, kicking your legs as you were almost dragged away.

Your vision was dotting over just as the bat suddenly let go. It dropped to the ground. Then another. Then another.

Demobats scattered the earth around you and you pant, scrambling over to Eddie.

He was rubbing at his neck, eyes set on the dead creatures by his head.

“Eddie?” Your voice was hoarse, but loud enough for him to whip his head over to you with a wince.

“Y/n?” He frowns, eyes wide. For a moment, he was frozen. “Y/N!”

He suddenly lunges at you, ignoring the shooting pain in his side as he does so, and pulls you into a hug.

“Jesus fucking Christ, I thought…” His voice was a whisper, cracking.

“I know.” You cry into his shoulder, clinging onto him.

When he finally pulls back, he gently brushes the hair out of your face before tears gleamed in his eyes. He was wiping at something on your cheek and you frown, placing your hand over his.

“How… what-” He shook his head.

“It’s a really long story.” You sigh and, unexpectedly, he laughs. “Are you seriously laughing right now?”

“I’m sorry.” Eddie chuckles, a smile already creeping onto your lips at the sight of his dimples, “I just-”

He looks into your eyes, flickering between them. “Nothing.”

“Didn’t think I’d really leave you, did you?” You smile sadly, leaning into his touch. “We have a deal, remember?”

“It’s you and me.” He nods.

“Always.” You finish, and he pulls you closer, capturing your lips with his.

Leaning your forehead against his with a breathy laugh, your hands slip around him to rest gently behind his neck. “I love you.”

A tear slips down Eddie’s cheek with closed eyes, cherishing the moment for as long as it could last. Forever, he hoped.

“I love you too.” He replies.

“Eddie?!”

You both look over to where Dustin was limping, raising your eyebrows.

“Shit, man. Don’t ever just leave!” He yells at the boy, shifting his gaze to you. “And you! Don’t you leave either!”

“I’m not going anywhere.” You promise, and he rolls his eyes. “No, seriously. I think I could be immortal.”

“Yeah.” Eddie laughs, but you stare at him. “Wait… seriously?”

“Like I said,” You shrug, standing and offering a hand to him, “It’s a long story.”

He gladly accepts your hand with a grin, meeting your height. “Then I guess it’s a good job we got a little while longer.”

“Adorable.” Dustin sighs, patting you both on the shoulder. “How about we share secrets and braid eachother’s hair after we get out of the terrifying alternate dimension?!”

“Jesus Christ.” Eddie mutters, looping an arm under Dustin’s to help the boy walk. “What the hell did you do to your ankle? You just cannonball back through the gate or something?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have had to if you didn’t cut the rope.” He grumbled and you shake your head in amusement.

As they continued to bicker, both secretly glad to be by eachother’s side, you look back one last time at the nightmare around you.

You knew this was far from over.

“Y/n?” Eddie calls out and you turn back to him. Dustin made his way into the trailer while Eddie stepped closer to you.

“You okay?” He asks, cupping your face in his hands.

“Ask me tomorrow?” You sigh and he nods, placing a kiss on your forehead.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” His hand finds yours and clasps it tightly, leading you to the gate that would take you home. With him.

Even if hell would reign on Hawkins again, you felt safe like this; Eddie’s touch calming all the anxiety in your veins. And, as he flashes his infamous grin your way before fashioning the rope to freedom, you knew exactly what your future held.

As Eddie joins you and Dustin back into reality, he can’t help but just have to be beside you. He didn’t think he’d ever want to willingly leave you again.

Walking away from the Upside Down, your fingers laced between his, the words of promise echo through his mind, knowing they were a vow he would always keep.

‘It’s you and me… always.’

taglist: @aedicn | @yourdailymemedelivery |@toobsessedsstuff | @tayhar811 | @idkidknemore

thank you to everyone who has read and followed this story. it got so messy at one point but i just wanted to deliver an ending that would make everyone happy

until next time

[thecomicsnexus]

TMNT X STRANGER THINGS #1-4

July/October 2023

By Cameron Chittock, Fero Pe, Sofie Dodgson, and Rus Wooton.

The gang from Hawkins goes on a field trip to New York, where they discover an invasion of Demo-mousers, and together with the ninja turtles, they'll try to close a portal to the upside down.

SCORE: 9

This could have been a 10 from me, but to be honest, the plot was a little too complicated to follow. I would have preferred one more page of exposition about what happened to the utroms that got left behind.

The real star of this mini is Fero Pe. Not only these turtles (and cast) look like they jumped right out of the first few years of TMNT, but they also look A LOT like the NECA action figures (the ones based on Peter Laird's designs).

With that mind, I have the suspicion that Fero Pe uses action figures to draw. Because I was looking at one of his covers for the main book, and the turtles looked a lot like the Playmates figures for the 2012 series.

In any case, I would love a Turtles book that looked like this, perhaps an anthology series like Tales (but I assume the name "Tales of the TMNT" will be taken for the foreseeable future). And maybe taking place in the Mirage universe?

The personalities are all on point, and if you are wondering, no this isn't the Mirage universe, but it looks like a spinoff universe from it, that also includes the Stranger Things characters.

As for the gang from Stranger Things, the story clearly takes place between seasons 2 and 3.

Overall, I am happy with the results, it looks good for both universes.

One interesting detail is that April in this story is the one with the perm (based mostly on the cover of TMNT #11), and once again, her ethnicity is a guess game. I am not sure why, as they could have simply made her Afro-Latina for this mini. But in some panels she looks white, and in others she looks more like Donna Summer... this was probably a colorist decision.

Another interesting detail is how the demo-mousers look like Peter Laird's prototype from the 2000s series (the one before the 4kids show).

I wonder if that played any part on this, or if it just came out naturally?

[dodger-chan]

20 Questions for fic writers:

Tagged by @cchapsticck

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

59, if you count the very old stuff I archived there. 39, if you only count the stuff I originally posted there.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

194,755

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Recently, it's been all Stranger Things. If I start writing other fandoms again, tumblr will be the first to know.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Their Wedding Night (cowritten with @sharpbutsoft )

Adventures in Housekeeping

The Opposite of Love

The House Dick

Her Double Life

All but The Opposite of Love are part of A Bliss Like This

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to. I used to not, but I've gotten into some nice conversations with other authors who responded to my comments, so I decided to try it. And I'm a very small author (don't let the word/ count fool you; I've been posting fic online since the late 90s) so there aren't that many comments to reply to.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably that sin, through which I run. Though it's told backwards, so it might depend on what you consider the ending.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Any fic in A Bliss Like This. It's a guaranteed happiness series.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Never on AO3.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've written, but not published smut. I'm not good enough at it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't, really. Nothing wrong with crossovers, I'm just not usually inspired in that way.

I did work with a couple of friends once on a wild, universe hopping crossover that involved Sonic characters, Gundam Wing, Dragonball Z, The Old Man from Scene 24 (Holy Grail) and others with a friend that I think she posted somewhere. Probably fanfiction.net, but it was like 25 years ago (I am very old) and I'm a little scared of how awful it must have been so I'm not looking.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that anyone's mentioned to me.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not in the sense that we've blended our writing into a single story, but @sharpbutsoft and I built a 1920s AU together. Individual stories in A Bliss Like This are often hers or mine but they build off each other and all the major details are a joint endeavor.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

This is an impossible question.

I have noticed a preference for jock/nerd or similar such pairings. Where one half of the couple is "normal" or socially acceptable and the other half is very, very weird. But only when the relationship develops without either of them giving up that aspect of their personality. No makeovers!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

A Nancy POV fic tentatively called 'Three Truths and No Lies' that I started between the two volumes of season four. Because there were all these "fruity four" fics and I thought Nancy would likely try to fix or at least find closure in her relationship with Jonathan as soon as he got to Hawkins, leading to her feeling a little left out of the Eddie and Stobin closeness.

Also a third part of Coming Out with a Purpose, where Robin and Steve come out to Joyce to test her reaction and give her the opportunity to learn from the mistakes she makes with them so that she doesn't fuck up when Will finally comes out.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Limited POVs. I think I'm decent at character voices, too, but I'm less confident there.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing words down (what do you mean just thinking about the fic doesn't make it exist?). The urge to edit while I write. Spelling. Plots.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm not good enough at it to really do it, unless the character speaking is not supposed to be fluent.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

That I published online? Fushigi Yuugi, as I recall. Maybe Gundam Wing. But as a kid I used to write Real Ghostbusters fic for my parents (they wanted to encourage my creativity). Mostly fleshed out (no pun intended) back stories for the ghosts.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm still writing it. I'm gonna finish it, I swear.

Of what I've published, it's probably Her Double Life, because genderqueer drag queen Eddie of the 1920s is just so much fun. I have so many thoughts and feelings about her. So, so many.

No pressure tags for: @sharpbutsoft , @greenlikethesea, um, who else writes? If you do, and you want to answer these, please consider yourself tagged.

[ladykailitha]

Royal Pain Part 22

Hey, guys! You know how I said there was still plot to go through? Hehehe...

Corroded Coffin gets the opportunity of a life time.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Meta

***

Eddie had been staring at the phone in his hand for the last twenty minutes in absolute shock.

He typed into the Corroded Coffin group chat: Emergency meeting, meet at the usual in twenty minutes.

The chat instantly blew up, but Eddie refused to answer any of their questions. He went to his room and blew his guitar a kiss. “Sorry, beautiful. I’m not taking you out tonight, but if everything goes to plan, we won’t be in this dump much longer.”

He ran his fingers gently over the strings, smiling at the sound. He dashed out of the apartment, patting his pockets to make sure he had his keys, wallet, and phone.

Eddie was the last to pull up to the garage they rented to practice in as he lived the farthest.

He wiped his hands on his jeans before he hopped out of his van. He paused outside of the door and took a deep breath. He opened the slowly and peaked his head in.

In addition to his band, Eddie wasn’t surprised to see that Mandy and Cecil were there too. He did say it was an emergency and the only reason Gethin wasn’t there was that because he was in Hawkins with their mom for the weekend.

Cecil was a quiet young man with red hair and glasses. He had a cane that he used to help him move around, having had knees that went bad early in his life.

“Right,” Eddie said, again rubbing his hands on his jeans nervously. “So I got a message from Rick at Nightmare Holes about a half hour ago.”

“He’s not firing us, is he?” Brian asked. Cecil squeezed his shoulder.

Eddie held up his hands. “Right right, sorry. Wrong order. Let’s try this again.” He took a deep breath. “I know I used the emergency send up, but it’s not a bad emergency, and it’s not an emergency on Rick’s end either.”

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

“So who’s good emergency is it?” Jeff asked.

“Well, it’s a bad emergency on Metallica’s part,” Eddie said with a grin. “But it’s good for us.”

“No,” Gareth said. “No fucking way.”

Brian stood up and walked straight up to Eddie and got in his face. “You tell me right now, Edward Lawrence Munson, are we opening for Metallica?”

Eddie pursed his lips to keep at straight face. “I think that rather depends on the consensus of everyone in the band.”

Brian hugged him tightly. “Explain.”

He sat back down to next to Cecil.

“So the band that was supposed to open for Metallica,” Eddie explained, “their bus broke down and it’s going to take three days to fix it. And while they can get the members here in time, they don’t have the time to get all their gear here.”

Suddenly everyone was trying to talk over each other.

Jeff let out a loud piercing whistle. “Shut up and let him finish.”

Eddie cleared his throat and said, “So their manager was calling around all the local metal bars to see if they could recommend a band to sub in for the opener. Rick told him about us and asked if we were free tonight.” He glanced at his watch. “We have twenty minutes to decide before they move on to the next band.”

The room was now deathly quiet and Eddie gulped.

“Right,” Jeff said, “we’ll go around and ask each member of the band for their vote and then if majority says yes, Eddie will call Rick and that we’ll be there. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded.

“I’ll go first,” Eddie said. “I say yes. Of course I do. This has been my dream for years!”

“Brian?” Jeff said after nodding at Eddie’s answer.

Brian twisted his fingers nervously. “I want this as bad as Eddie does. Maybe even more. So, yeah, my answer is yes.” Cecil smiled at him and Brian smiled back.

“Gareth?” Jeff asked.

The youngest of the band was hunched behind his drum kit, making his small frame appear even smaller. “I know that it’s not going to matter, that we’re going to do it anyway. But I don’t want to. I like what we do. I like small crowds, dedicated fans. I know it’s everyone else’s dream. But it’s not mine. I say no.”

Eddie walked over to Gareth and pulled him in a big hug. “That was so brave of you. Thank you for being honest.”

The younger man nodded and squeezed back with all his might.

Jeff cleared his throat. “I want to do it. It was be the chance of a lifetime. A golden opportunity. But I don’t think we’re ready as a band for that type of crowd. Especially since none of our fans are going to be there. The people that are coming tonight expecting this other band and are going to be pretty disappointed when they don’t show.”

Mandy gave his thigh a quick squeeze. “I know I’m not part of the band and really don’t have a say, but I’d like to say something before Jeff casts his vote one way or the other.”

The band nodded. Mandy hadn’t been there since the beginning, but she had been with them the longest. She had seen their up and downs and knew them better than they did.

“I don’t think it’s about not being ready or just liking a dedicated fanbase,” she said gently. “Though I don’t doubt that’s part of it. This could signal the biggest change in your lives full stop. I noticed that Eddie didn’t bring up the money, so I’m assuming it’s a lot.” Eddie nodded. “That’s scary. And I get that. But when I tell you if you don’t do this you’ll regret it, I mean for the rest of your lives.”

Everyone was silent.

“Everyone here likes Metallica,” Mandy continued. “Hell, even I like their music and I am not a not a metal fan. These are your heroes. And you get to be theirs for one night, how epic is that?”

Gareth blinked. “We get to be their heroes?”

Mandy nodded. “Yeah. They’re in a bind. They need an opening act and if you step up, then you’re their hero. You came to their rescue when they needed it. Plus, you’ll get to meet them and not just with a table between you at some signing. Actually meet them.”

Gareth and Jeff exchanged glances. They both nod.

“I change my answer to yes,” Gareth said.

Jeff chewed on his lip for a moment. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s do this.”

Eddie nodded back. “Okay, I’ll give Rick a call.”

He called up the owner of the Nightmare Holes and told them that they would be there and to send over the contract for them to all sign.

Cecil licked his lips. “How much money are we talking about, Ed?”

“Ten thousand,” Eddie said.

Jeff frowned appreciatively. “Not bad for one night’s work.”

“Each.”

They all stare at him not quite comprehending what he just said.

“Each? Each what?” Gareth asked with a furrowed brow.

“Of us,” Eddie clarified. “Ten thousand for each of us.”

“Oh my god,” Brian said, his eyes wide. “Forty thousand dollars for a single night, forty-five minutes of music? That’s insane.”

Eddie shrugged. “The other band was going to get seventy.”

Jeff leaned forward and cocked his head. “Come again?”

“You’re preforming at the biggest venue in Indianapolis, that’s huge crowd,” Eddie explained. “Metallica makes two million. Forty k, is like a drop in the bucket. It is more than a band like us would normally make. About two thousand a concert. But they’re in a bind and are willing to pay a lot.”

Everyone nodded.

“Sound check is in two hours,” he continued. “So we won’t have time to practice. But we’re professionals. We do this shit every weekend. They’ve given us ten VIP tickets to give to loved ones. That’s three tickets for all but one of us. I only have two people I want to invite, so you guys can take the rest.”

Gareth was already on the phone with Gethin. He looked up at Eddie, “He says that he should be able to pick up Wayne on his way out of town.”

God, Eddie loved his friends with every fiber of his being. He just nodded, suddenly overcome with emotion.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket knowing that this was going to be a hard sell. The shop closed at eight and the concert started at seven. He let out a shuddered breath and hit Steve’s contact.

“Hey, honey,” he whispered when Steve picked up. “Is this a bad time?”

“Not at, sunshine,” Steve said brightly. “I just finished up with a client. What’s up?”

“You know that Metallica concert tonight?” Eddie asked, struggling to get the words out.

“Sure!” Steve said. “Dustin and his friends were going.”

Eddie closed his eyes, and pressed his finger and thumb into the lids. “Yeah? You thinking of going?”

“Not really,” Steve said. “It’s sold out, and I figured since I had to work it wasn’t really a big deal.”

“What if I told you I had two tickets to go see them tonight, VIP?” he asked, his lip beginning to quiver. He started to pace back and forth.

“You want me to go with you?” Steve asked slowly, unsure where this was going. “I figured you would take Jeff first before asking me, love. He loves that band.”

Eddie huffed out a watery laugh, chewing on the edge of his thumb. “That’s sweet, baby. No, he’s already going to be there.”

“Oh cool,” Steve said. “I’ll see if I can move things around, but sure if you want me to go with you, I’d be happy to come.”

Eddie breathed out a sigh of relief. “Great, it starts at seven and goes until ten.”

“So I’d have to get off at six to be ready in time?” Steve asked, sounding a little more up beat.

“Sounds about right,” Eddie said. “I think you’ll really like the opening act.”

“Yeah,” Steve said with a smile, “anyone I’ve heard of?”

Eddie laughed freely for the first time. “Yeah, babe, you’ve heard of them.”

“You sure about that?” Steve teased.

“Corroded Coffin.”

Eddie pulled the phone away from his ear as Steve started screaming on the other end.

Once Steve’s volume returned to normal, Eddie put the phone back to his ear.

“That’s so amazing,” Steve was saying. “You’ll have to tell me all about it later, I’ve got to get back to work. But yeah, babe, of course I’ll be there. I rearrange heaven and earth to see you preform on that stage.”

“See you tonight, sweetheart,” Eddie said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Will do.”

Eddie hung up and did a little dance. Everything he ever wanted just fell into place.

***

Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Epilogue

Tag list: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​ @renaissan-vvitch @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @aizawa-emma @redfreckledwolf @thesuninyaface @bookbinderbitch @yikes-a-bee @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @archermightbegay @hallucinatedjosten @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bestwifehaver @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @oldwitcheshat @nightmareglitter @tinyplanet95 @novelnovella

[lesbianlotties]

RONANCETOBER: all prompts!

all my fics for Ronancetober linked here! including AO3 links (i'll try to add all of them to AO3 eventually!) thank you for reading <3

Day 1: Upside Down 🙃

chapter 7 of my fic open up your heart (like the gates of hell) aka Ronance using the Upside Down as their personal San Junipero

“What does it say about us that we think of this grotesque parallel world as safe enough or at least safer than the actual world.” “I think it means we’re a good team,” Nancy replied, and she let her hand brush Robin’s as they walked.

Day 2: Vampire / Werewolf 🦇

nancy is a vampire. robin thinks that's very sexy of her. that's it. that's the plot

“Well,” Robin shrugged and didn’t dare to move forward just yet, “You did call me, didn’t you?” “I did,” Nancy smiled. It was an indescribable thing, seeing her smile happily instead of devilishly, and still seeing just a small glimpse of those fangs.

Day 3: Body / Style Swap 👭

“That’s not even your size, Robin.” “I feel ridiculous.” “No, I’m not saying I want it to be pink but…” “Baby, how on Earth did you get this hole on the shirt?” “I look like a twelve-year-old boy!” “I mean, it’s nice when you wear it but… are you sure?”

Day 4: Horror Movie AU 😱 (AO3)

THE CONJURING AU 👻: Robin and Nancy as Ed and Lorraine Warren (Movies Version), Nancy has spooky visions and Robin loves her very much!! ft. Steve as Robin's bestie, Max as their adopted daughter, B*lly dying, Vecna getting exorcised the fuck out! (please read this one is my favorite)

Day 5: Multiverse 🤯

what if... we met alternate versions of ourselves from the Upside Down and they were so hot... and we were both girls 😳😳😍💞🙈🥰💗😳

“Robin, do you see it?” the real Nancy said at the exact same time, turning to her Robin with a spark in her eyes and snapping her fingers as she said, “The Upside Down made an exact copy of Hawkins. It also made copies of us. Of course!”

Day 6: Superhero / Super Powers ⚡

BIRDS OF PREY AU ✨💎 starring: Robin Buckley as Harley Quinn, Nancy Wheeler as Black Canary, Vickie as Renee Montoya, Chrissy as Huntress, Max as Cassandra Cain, Henry Creel as Black Mask, B*lly as Victor Zsasz

Day 7: The Sapphic Senate 👭👭

THE CRAFT AU 🔮

“Try me,” Robin whispered. Nancy was close enough to hold and to hurt, to curse and to kiss.

Day 8: Your Ronance Anthem 🎶

Christine by Lucy Dacus → Robin throwing a shoe at the altar during Nancy's wedding <3

Day 9: Free Day! 🔥 (AO3)

DO REVENGE AU ✨

“What if we worked together? What if you could be the one to infiltrate Steve’s bubble to execute a perfect revenge? And I could just as easily shatter Vickie’s life.”

Day 10: Dungeons And Dragons 🐲

Fluff With Plot And Without Dungeons and Dragons

“So… I think I understand,” Robin said while frowning at the notebook on her lap. “No, you don’t,” Nancy said with her tone full of affection.

Day 11: Time Travel ⏳ (AO3)

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE AU starring: Robin Buckley as an Augmented Super Soldier from The Future (with Mackenzie Davis' arms) suffering from Gay Devotion, Nancy Wheeler as Future Leader of The Resistence against The Robots Apocalypse just some girl™, Joyce Byers as absolute icon Sarah Connor, Jim Hopper as Friendly Terminator :) , Vecna as Unfriendly Terminator :(

Day 12: Autumn 🍂 (AO3)

4 times Nancy made Robin blush and one time Robin did something about it… or something like that 👀👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩🧣🍂

Day 13: Apocalypse AU 🧟‍♀️

"if the world wasn't doomed by a zombie apocalypse and we didn't have to fight for our lives every minute of every day... would you still like me? be honest"

Day 14: Heaven and Hell 😇😈

what if Nancy was an angel but she wanted to do evil instead? what if Robin was a demon but she actually wanted to do good? what if they kept running into each because they're supposed to influence Max, El, and Erica? but what if they fell in love with each other??? haha just kidding!! unless...... 👀

Day 15: Pirates AU ⚓

ah the inherent homoeroticism of a Pirates AU!

“I want to know what you’re hiding behind all these shadows,” Nancy answered, taking one more step forward. “I’ll show you,” the Red Robin whispered. “If you’ll show me what you’re hiding under all these layers.”

Day 16: Trick or Treat! 🎃 (AO3)

Robin and Nancy wear a couples costume and go trick or treating with get bullied by Max, El, and Erica!

“Trick or treat?” Robin said, grimacing a little. “You’re late,” Nancy replied and sent a pointed look at Robin, who squirmed and scratched the back of her head. “Sorry. But look! I brought you kids!” Robin added, waving her arm beside her, and adding in an exaggerated whisper, “It was their fault.”

[thedarkesthour13]

Top 10 TV Shows of 2021-2022

10. Motherland: Fort Salem

Not the best for a final season but appreciated what we got. Still loved the characters and loved seeing the new dynamics in the final season.

9. Harley Quinn

Loved seeing Harley and Ivy finally together

8. Moon Knight

Loved it but felt liked it should’ve been longer. Some stuff felt rushed and wish there was more time to expand and explore certain things.

7. Warrior Nun

Honestly can barely remember plot related things but enjoyed it. Need to re-watch. Loved the characters and how much they grew also loved the new additions. Hate that it was cancelled.

6. Ms. Marvel

Surprised how much I liked it. Thought it was one of the better-done Marvel Disney+ shows. It was fun and felt self-contained but also leading to something bigger. Can’t wait to see more of the character.

5. Andor

Had no expectations for this but my favorite new Star Wars show after Manalorian. Loved it and seeing more of Cassian. A few times felt a little slow but still enjoyed it.

4. NCIS Hawaii

Absolutely loved season 1. Might be my new favorite NCIS. Fell in love with it and the characters in episode 1. Also, the first time in an NCIS show where I actually shipped characters together. Look forward to watching every week.

3. Wednesday

Wasn’t sure if I was gonna watch cause know nothing about The Addams Family but a friend begged me to so did and loved it. Wednesday is my new obsession and one of my new favorite characters. It ended and I only wanted more. Only one complaint and that was the plot felt a little easily wrapped up. Loved the characters though. Hoping for a season 2.

2. Stranger Things

Loved it. Loved the storyline in Hawkins and the characters there. Honestly didn’t care about anything or anyone else. Biggest disappointment was didn’t get a big death like was rumored. Can’t wait for the final season.

1. Peacemaker

Honestly surprised by this one. Hated the character after The Suicide Squad but decided to give the show a shot. Loved it. Couldn’t wait for it every week.

[kurokoros]

hey! i just wanted to let you know that i've been reading like, all of your stranger things thoughts, and you're always spot on. like you're so correct about all of it. the treatment of steve (and jonathan albeit in a different way) is so bad. the show is just so poorly written. it's tragic bc there's some legitimately interesting characters (most of which seem more accidentally interesting than anything than intentionally written to be interesting) but they're being completely wasted. and i love fanfic, don't get me wrong, but some people warp the characters to an insane degree. like, just read something else if you want entirely different characters. it makes me want to scream. like, i saw a fic where steve cheats, as if that's not wildly out of character. if you wanna read a story where that's part of the plot, find different characters, go to a different fandom, read a fucking book. anyways, i'm gonna stop here bc i will absolutely start ranting. and most of the thoughts i have you've written out a lot more coherently than i ever could. i hope you have a good day!! 💕

thank you, I frequently pride myself in having impeccable opinions 9/10 times lmao

Honestly, there are so many immediately interesting characters in ST and the biggest issue is that the narrative never actually tells us anything about them. We know Steve has frequently absentee parents. Do something with that. We know Jonathan has to shoulder so much responsibility as the oldest sibling and has to pretend like he's always okay to allow Joyce and Will to breakdown. Do something with that. Let the characters talk about their trauma. Especially in the later seasons, it feels like no one actually talks anymore because the seasons are too bloated with action and big twists. And the conversations that actually do happen just don't have the same heart as in the first two seasons.

And then there are the plot inconsistencies and general fuckery in S3-4 that just make things less enjoyable to watch (at least for me). I started rewatching S2 and realized that in episode one Murray tells Hopper a crackpot theory about a full scale Russian invasion in Hawkins, which is rightfully treated as nonsense because that legitimately could not happen and Murray is setup to be a theorist taking advantage of people for money, and then in S3 they actually reveal that there's a Russian military base under the new mall, as if that could ever happen--especially in a small fucking town where everyone knows everyone. Little things like that just feel like a real kick in the teeth.

As for ooc fics, I have zero issues with them if they're acknowledged as being ooc for whatever reason. What I find weird is people who warp a character drastically and then try to claim that actually that's just how the character really is. Like, fics that say "Billy isn't abusive or racist in this and he's a good big brother to Max" like??? okay you've literally removed all of his character traits with no explanation other than you think he's hot but whatever I guess. anyway, Steve would never cheat and I scroll by any fic that says he would.

feel free to rant at me anytime. please. i have so many thoughts pinging around in my brain and need to word vomit them out otherwise they'll plague me at night

[redbelles]

author interview

tagged by: @starrybouquet and @sluttyhenley; i'm love you both 💖

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

49 + 1 currently unrevealed work

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

240,810

3. what fandoms do you write for?

i never truly abandon old fandoms, but recently been it's house of the dragon, elden ring, stranger things, gilmore girls, and some niche fandoms like berserk and [redacted]

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

like a heartbeat drives you mad

the dreadful need in the devotee

and my body found the wind

stuck in colder weather

all the love you need

5. do you respond to comments?

yes! it may take me eighty-four years, but i love and appreciate every comment i receive, and i will get around to responding to them eventually! i swear!

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

lmao uh. probably either the clouds will form a crown or in the violence of our dreams, both of which just provide nuance around the canon endings of robert baratheon and judas, respectively

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

hmmm. this is a self drag, but i feel like i rarely do out and out straightforwardly happy endings? i feel like the answer is either the mercy wheel, which fixes dany's atrocious season eight character arc, or tongue's talkin' riddles (sticky sweet), which gives chrissy and eddie a mostly happy future together instead of horrible deaths in deeply cursed hawkins

8. do you get hate on fics?

nope

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

unfortunately, i do in fact write sex. most of it very explicit, even! i'm a big believer in sex as an emotionally-charged vehicle for character development

also sometimes you just wanna see two characters bone, you know?

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i have a lot of fun throwing crossover spaghetti at the wall in various dms, but i have never actually written a crossover

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of, no

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had a couple requests to translate my fics, but i unfortunately had to say no because the translators wanted to host the translations outside of AO3, which is not something i'm comfortable with

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have indeed! keep calling me home is a really fun little round robin fic i wrote with three other authors a couple years ago

14. what’s your all time favorite ship?

you want me to choose? come back with a warrant.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

shut UP leave me ALONE i am GOING to finish all my wips!!!!!!!

16. what are your writing strengths?

emotion! imagery! themes!

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

l m a o it's plot. also: humor.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

unless you speak the language, it gets real dicey real fast. i personally avoid it unless a) it’s a canonical term/phrase, like all the faux-russian bullshit in the grisha trilogy, or b) i can check the grammar/usage with a native speaker or someone who is solidly fluent

19. first fandom you wrote for?

[redacted] way back ages ago on [redacted]

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

oh man, this is tough! i think right now it's something in the night, because i got to dig in to one of my all-time favorite characters by having him froth at the mouth about my all-time favorite musician, and i'm really pleased with how it turned out

(jess mariano: absolutely unhinged about bruce springsteen! just like me!)

tagging: @littlelindentree @hyperphonic @windowsandfeelings @ninzied @carry-the-sky @majicmarker @woodswit @ladywaffles @jacyevans @thatworldinverted @scoopsgf and anyone else who wants a go ✨

[lovestuckyhatemarvel]

Okay, another hour and a half long episode.

1.) Brenner missed the sad CGI and also baby El was very good at sealing the upside down.

2.) Brenner should have been a tattoo artist instead. I mean, a tattoo artist for adults, not kids. He’s got very steady hands and can tattoo numbers very exactly.

3.) THIS IS MUSIC.

4.) Honestly so far the only one who’s been a snob about music is Robin. But also I still don’t think Eddie would like Taylor Swift.

5.) Henry really wants to villain monologue at you, Nancy. Take a seat for this cliche.

6.) Damn, the CGI on those restraints is…bad.

7.) These images are going way too fast.

8.) Damn, Steve. Your arms are nice.

9.).”Written and directed by the Duffer Brothers”. I Know. That’s the Problem.

10.) What’s the point of keeping Yuri quiet at this point?

11.) Hopper, we super had a funeral for you.

12.) El is actually doing really badly.

13.) Why is anyone surprised that demogorgons can climb? Look at those fuck off legs.

14.) DID NONE OF THESE GUARDS PAY ATTENTION TO HOPPER USING FIRE?

15.) Okay the soldiers can unload their clip into a demogorgon and nothing happens but Hopper can shoot a demodog once in the head like Ol Yeller and it works.

16.) Okay but for real, where are the Russians getting all these bastards? Fun tubes, but WHERE ARE THEY FROM? Are they from Hawkins? How did they transfer that shit?

17.) HOW’D THEY GET THE CGI DUST MONSTER TO RUSSIA?

18.) Okay she can lift a thing.

19.) Will, I’m so sorry, but I did not care about your speech to Mike.

20.) I still don’t understand how Henry survived El’s attack or why the upside down didn’t turn into anything for him or what the fuck he did for like a decade floating in a void.

21.) Why is everyone whispering

22.) El got to hear at least some of the plan, at least.

23.) The War Zone is a hilarious name for a shop.

24.) Eddie, you moron. Wearing a mask doesn’t help if you’re wearing a shirt emblazoned with your club.

25.) BIG BOY.

26.) My roommate pointed out the RV would have been hooked up to water and sewage so driving it off like that would have fucked up the ground and the vehicle.

27.) I do not understand why Henry is so powerful or why him killing people would give him their powers when it doesn’t do that for El.

28.) I still don’t want Steve and Nancy together. Also I don’t think he actually said he wanted her there.

29.) that helicopter is hilarious

30.) “The KGB will be listening to this call” Oh what a change. This time it’ll be agents of someone else’s government that will be listening in.

31.) Oh, okay, Steve got the jacket from War Zone. Where’s the vest though?

32.) Ah, the boyfriend reveal.

33.) I still hate Jason Carver. Also, buckshot has a pretty good range, dipshit.

34.) Tire tracks. Ah yes, the plot happened here.

35.) IDK why El told Sam to check Max’s place. The bit she heard did not make it seem like they were staying there. And so Sam asking that woman for that was kind of stupid.

36.) What? Brenner double crossed Sam Owens? Who could have predicted this twist? Surely only the greatest psychics.

37.) I am proud of El for saying to Brenner’s face that he’s a monster.

38.) Baby girl, kill Brenner anyway.

39.) YOU KNOW WHO WOULD LOVE TO KILL BRENNER? KALI. THE GIRL NO ONE IN THIS FACILITY TALKS ABOUT.

40.) Robin and Steve are sweet.

41.) goddamn it, brenner, just remove El’s collar.

42.) I am glad Brenner got shot so many times though.

43.) Oh shit, it’s the script.

44.) oh no the psychic child is using her psychic powers to stop your from badly shooting at her? Who could have predicted this?

45.) oh my god el, do something real already.

46.) the payoff wasn’t worth it.

47.) “Yeah, it’s cool, but it would have been better if it’d happened about 11 seconds earlier.” My roommate is hilarious.

48.) Brenner turned off the collar as a last act. Okay whatever.

49.) BRENNER SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DIE ALREADY.

50.) this heartfelt conversation makes no sense and was not earned.

51.) brenner you were shot like 5 times by a sniper rifle, how are you still talking, let alone alive?

52.) SHould have run over his corpse with the pizza van

53.) god they held on that brenner shot for way too long

54.) WHO’S GONN DIE????? Just say everyone.

55.) moody shots.

56.) LMAO THIS SONG. GOD. DUFFERS, STOP SUCKING YOUR OWN CODCKS FOR FIVE SECONDS.

Oh god I looked ahead and the season 4 finale is 2 and 22 minutes long. I hate the duffers.