#me 2 weeks after getting a whole new season: FINALLY some FOOD | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sublieu · 2 years

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IF YOU CAN STILL REMEMBER THE MK X LISTENER PLOT, UH- CAN YOU MAKE IT? You can have your own version of it!

╰┈➤❝ [⋆· *Demi Demon Ruts༉‧₊˚.] ¡! ❞

Warnings: cumflation, cunnilingus, [semi] finger fucking, flirty/perverted Mk, ruts, marking

A.n: I'm still gonna do a fic on him. Don't think I'm not gonna.

Mentions: @mortal-mayhem @zmzsnakes @yellowaxol @fallenplantation

Ah yes, the time of mating season, where demons, animals, gods and goddesses come together to be rid of their awful punishment their body decides to lay upon them.

But for Mk, this affected him worse.

He could barely concentrate on working, helping and partying. It was as if the whole world was colliding in on him, and now he's stuck in his room hiding away and trying to bear through the suffering.

Mk was confused, everything felt fuzzy and dizzy. The room had an unbearably thick smell, as if you were there attempting to comfort him as he wore your favorite oversized shirt that you 'borrowed' from him. Until Wukong showed up.

"Kid, you've been missing trainin- jesus christ did you spray the place or something?!"

Wukong yells as he coughs and wheezes, Mk just hid deeper inside him fluffy blanket, he felt as if he was gonna die from embarrassment when everything suddenly clicked for the golden brown monkey.

"Mk, are you going through a *pfft* rut?"

He stutters as he fails to hide his laughter, plopping down on his bed whilst continuing to laugh at the brunette's misery. Patting down his back and hearing him purr shortly after.

"How is this even possible?! I'm not even a demon much less a demigod!" "Well, technically.. you are a demigod, but that still means you're gonna suffer ruts like every other demon does."

Wukong sighs and pulls the blanket away, his heart breaking when he sees how much poor Mk was suffering as tears ran down his eyes. Silently sobbing as he held his knees together to ease the pain for him in a way.

"Kid, I can find a way to help you deal with your situation buuutttt it's gonna cost you" "Anything Wukong please!"

Mk sobs and begs, the demon groans as he scratches his head, looking for bugs as gets up and summons his Nimbus to collect some ingredients.

"You're gonna need to isolate yourself for atleast 2 weeks, not only that, you have to keep physical touch to an absolute low. Which means your little girlfriend and your friends are gonna have to keep a far distance from you for the time being" Wukong starts as he picks up and empty bottle he could find around Mk's room that he wasn't using at the moment.

Mk laid there as he tried to rest, his eyes slowly starting to drift as Wukong's last sentence was a blur.

"Oh and do not touch yourself, no jerking off nothing. Understand? I'll tell Pigsy and your friends to let you rest for the next 2 weeks" the demon continues and stands on his Nimbus before flying off to let his apprentice rest.

Diary entry #1

So I just cleaned up my room (finally) and is currently eating noodles Pigsy made for me. Honestly if it wasn't for him Mei would have to cook and I'm scared of her cooking cus the last time the fish stew she made for me actually bit on my fork. IT BIT MY FORK. Signing off, finna watch tawog and get some more rest -Mk.

Diary entry #2

Y/n just came by my house to drop off groceries today, honestly I love her so so much, she even got me my favorite chocolate too! I'm gonna repay her one day, I'm saving up to buy her V.I.P tickets to that new movie [movie name] that she's been talking about. Lets hope I can save enough to buy her something after. Signing off today again to rest -Mk

Diary entry #3

Just came out of the shower, honestly the cold feels nice for once. I couldn't help but think about y/n today again! I wonder what she's doing? probably playing games or reading something, I just love how cute she looks whenever she's doing something. I could listen to her talk all day and still say nothing cus she's so cute! Signing off today, gonna make some food and go sleep -Mk.

Diary entry #4

I woke up to my 'friend' today, obviously I didn't want y/n or anyone else to come and see me like this. Who knows what they could think! so I touched myself for the first in weeks, I might buy y/n those cute paw stockings she loves so much -Mk.

Diary entry #5

It happened again when I was showering, first I'm thinking about making breakfast and now I'm thinking about y/n bending over just to reach the sugar container. God the way she looks in that cute miniskirt she always wear around the house just makes me feel... fuzzy... -Mk

Diary entry #6

... Nothing new today, same old thing. Read, eat, watch a movie and text y/n.

Diary entry #7

I'm calling her... I can't stand staying in this fucking house alone

Mk writes and proceeds to reach for his phone when out of the blue, Wukong contacts him to check in on how he's doing; Stirring what seems to be a pot in the background as Mk continues looking on his phone.

"Hey Mk!! How ya holding up?"

Wukong starts and wipes a sheen of sweat from his face. Mk responds with an I'm good as he calls y/n, as if completely ignoring his question and paying attention to you.

"M'doin great, You wouldn't mind coming over for some video games or something? - No no it's just the two of us! Promise! - You will? Aww thanks, I'll unlock the door k?"

Mk smiles and hangs up his phone, leaving Wukong confused and slightly worried.

"Mk. who exactly are you calling over?"

He asks and stops stirring as he looks around the boy's room then back to him when he notices how fidgety his fingers were before putting two and two together.

"Mk. No-" "Oh cmon Wukong! I won't bite, too hard atleast" "Mk I'm serious- DON'T YOU DARE HANG UP ON M-"

Wukong threatens before being hung up by Mk, stirring even faster in an attempt to hurry and bring back the medicine when Xi stopped him and told him to stir as gently as possible.

Whilst you stood at Mk's doorway, fixing yourself one last time before hearing his door click and open to see him heaving and wheezing as if he just ran down the steps. You giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek and entered the well lit house, completely ignorant to the sound of his door clicking and locking.

"So what're you planning to play first? Dance dance revo 3 or Wukong mashup?"

You'd start up a conversation as you were ready to setup his gaming station, placing the games on his carpet when he kneels down beside you to pick. Ultimately choosing dance dance revo.

After hours and hours of just you two giggling and having fun, Wukong texts Mk stating he's almost done making the remedy. Ignoring the message and paying attention to you as you continued dancing.

The way how you were just so steady to the beat, your boobs would jiggle to the slightest movement of your body alongside the sheer amount of sweat you were producing. He was in awestruck as you sat down on the carpet for a breather.

(ง•ᴥ•)ง♪ (◕3◕)╯♫ (¬ᴥ¬)◠◡ ♬ (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)╯♩ 「ᵔᴥᵔ」♫ (¬ᴥ¬) ♬ (ツ)♭

Your bra would reveal itself to the white shirt you were wearing, making you all the more delectable for him. Mk was already struggling just seeing you move and now this? it was almost as if you were subtly punishing him. Whilst distracted, you crawled in between his legs to hug his waist and giggled after he looked down at you, god you were just so cute, how could anyone resist you?

He gave you a quick forehead kiss before slowly trailing down to your lips, things already getting heated between you both as you were quick to take off the other's clothes, leaving you both naked and flustered.

His hands would grab hold of your butt and pulled you closer to him, sloppy, wet kisses would trail from your lips all the way to your chest as he puts his hand down your panty. His cock throbbing and leaking pre the more he played with your body.

Heavy, ragged breaths escaped your lips as you attempt to close your legs. Only for him to pry them open and go down to your dripping pussy, kissing your tummy and licking your clit, sucking on the bud as he pushed two fingers inside. Chuckling at your whimpers and pleas.

You looked so pretty from this view, little tears running down your eyes as you bit your finger hard enough to leave it slightly bleeding. But you couldn't care at the moment as his tongue was already past your slit and inside your velvety walls, until he stopped, popping his tongue and licking his lips as he pulled you closer; His cock pressing at your little bundle of sensitive nerves.

Mk would push the tip inside before snapping his hips upwards inside, making you jump whilst Mk pushed you back down on the carpet. He snickered and kissed your forehead as he held your hand and cooed praises at you, your pleas for him to fuck you comforting him as he gave you a soft thrust up inside you.

You were always wondering why he wore his hair upwards if he looked so cool, and now you finally got the reason why; His sharp teeth alongside the subtle glow of his eyes left you in fear and pleasure.

As your legs wrapped around his waist, it seemed as if he picked up in speed. His thrusts getting faster and rougher as you played with his hair, your moans of his name slip off your tongue like butter as you'd clench your toes from the thrilling pleasure. Your eyes flashing to white when you came for the first time, clawing at your neck and grabbing onto his hair to limit his movements. That ultimately not working as he kept pounding your pussy like it was a toy.

He kept muttering your name as if you were about to disappear if he didn't hold onto you long enough, moaning about how snug and inviting your body was, as if you like molding jelly. Soft to the touch and comfortable to hold, almost like a pillow.

You gave him a soft kiss which he immediately returns, his hands securely colliding your hips to his, you were gonna have marks later for sure you thought.

"Keep going~" "You're doing so so good Mk~"

You whisper to his ear, cooing and coddling him even though he's fucking to cloud-9. Your hands reaching to hold his as your climax was coming closer and closer, almost feeling him kissing your womb as you told him to go faster. Throwing your head back and looking into his eyes a second time, seeing that the glow changed to pink and his growling was being ever so evident. Was he staring at you or was he so distracted by your body he couldn't even look at you. But he was actually close to cumming soon too, getting ready to flood your ovaries with his sticky, warm cum.

Your eyes were flashing to white again, your manicured nails digging into his flesh and leaving cuts all over his arms as he fucked every bit of his cum inside. Your belly bloating as he rested on your chest after pulling out, most of his cum seeping out of you and onto the carpet you shared as you both started laughing and share a kiss.

"Didn't your mentor say that we shouldn't be around each other for two weeks?" "Honestly fuck him" "Wooooow real fucking nice Mk"

Wukong sarcasticly speaks up and caused you two to jump up and scramble to cover up. He sighs and throws the bag of pills and liquid for Mk to hold as he made orange juice.

"You guys even fucked on the carpet, seriously? the carpet? Couldn't you have atleast done it on the couch? And you call me and macaque fucking animals".

©𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐮 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐; 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝

#lmk smut #lego monkie kid x reader #lmk x reader #lego monkie kid mk x reader #lmk mk x reader #lmk mk smut #lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid mk smut #mk smut #mk x reader #lmk mk #lego monkie kid smut #🍑 monkie kid smut

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imdoingsortagay · 2 years

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Wanda’s Lazy Day

Summary- After weeks of non stop orders at the bakery, dealing with kids at home and trying to help her friends out with problem they had, Wanda finally has one day to herself where she can be lazy and watch countless baking shows in the comfort of her home

word count: 1.2k words

a/n: anyways i love being lazy

Warnings: fluff

Happy reading besties

After a couple of weeks of dealing with countless orders that were placed in the bakery, both of her kids needing help with some projects at school and whatnot, Wanda finally had some free time to enjoy one of her favorite pastimes, spending a majority of the morning in her comfy PJs, eating some Chinese food and binging seasons of some baking shows on Netflix.

When she had first started the bakery and it was only her who was running it ( before she had hired people) she loved to spend countless hours binging shows like the great British baking off or whatever baking show that the cooking channel would seem to be airing when she was working. Getting inspiration for any new flavors or just for a way to make the time pass in the shop.

So when the redhead had seen that she had 2 days that she didn’t have to be at the bakery or that nobody had placed any orders it meant that she could finally have a lazy day at home. It wouldn’t be a fully lazy day since she’d have to take the boys to school and pick them up but she’ll take what she can get at this point.

All she was waiting to complete her lazy day was her regular Chinese order from her favorite restaurant in town, Wok this way. One of the only restaurants in this area that sells anything other than burgers which she has to thank Rose for her whole life recommending.

“ Where did you even find this place rose? “ Wanda asks her friend as they make their way to a small restaurant. It had only been a couple of months since she and the twins had moved to Westview but with her duties as a single mother, she never really got the time to herself and this is where her dear friends and neighbors step up to give her a day to relax.

Even though you didn’t know Wanda much, you and Agatha had volunteered to babysit the kids for the evening while Rose was in charge of taking the young mom out for an evening to shop, eat and just have time to relax from her busy life. It took a while for her to leave the young babies with her friends but she was proud of herself that she did it.

“ Aggie did when she was walking home one day, trust me honey when I say that their honey walnut shrimp is so fucking die for,” rose says to her, making it a point to emphasize the shrimp menu they have as they walk there. Before Wanda even chose to come here she didn’t have many options when it came to food because stark always chose the best because “ we have to be at our best and we can’t do that

It was one of her favorite comfort foods when she was feeling sad along with all the recipes from her childhood in Sokovia. It never fails to bring her back from a bad mood or relax her on a day like today.

The food came in 30 minutes as per usual by the son of the owners, always amazing the redhead at how quickly he can even deliver it to her house on a bike but she won’t question it.

Wanda checks her list to see everything and is ready to have a great British bake-off marathon when she gets a text from none other than Agatha.

Agatha: help pls help

Wanda: hi hello! How are you? what do you need help with?

Agatha: Me and the little lady are going out of town to a concert and I want to surprise her with an outfit

Wanda: And you need me to help with fashion choice?

Agatha: See she doesn’t know about the concert

Wanda: Oh you dummy 😂

After an hour of talking to Agatha between different outfits, Wanda finally can start to catch up on 2 episodes from 3 seasons when she hears her phone ringing. It couldn’t be you because Wanda had remembered you were gonna be out of town for some important work meeting, Agatha just text her about her problem so it was just about rules for everyone who would call her.

Until she saw the caller ID and had to fight the urge not to throw her phone into the wall.

“ HI Jake this is Miss Maximoff, what did you need ?” she answers in the sweetest tone even tho all she wants to do right now is not have to deal with stuff from the bakery. It’s not like the dude could read her energy through the phone if he can’t do basic shit.

“ So there’s a problem with the electricity, I was helping out a customer with the cake order you did when all of a sudden it just went out, was off for 5 minutes, and then came back on” He explains and she runs to her little home office to check something on her calendar.

Seems to be paid so why would it do that?

“ She was talking about how this was important and might have yelled at me a bit which made me cry but I don’t want to embarrass myself so i-”

“ Jake sweetheart, i’m gonna call you back and see what’s the problem,” Wanda tells the poor boy and proceeds to do some investigating, deciding to move her laptop to the living room to try to catch up on at least another episode of the great British bake-off.

It took the redhead 2 episodes of bake-off later to get ahold of the electric company in town and she was able to help a very tired-of-the-day Jake with his problem. He had apologized many times over the phone to his boss and made sure to thank her before hanging up the call and giving Wanda some well-needed self-care time.

For the next two hours, Wanda is in bliss, in the comfiest of sweatpants, a cozy blanket, and a good-sized bowl of popcorn, not to forget the Chinese food too.

Just as she was about to get into her third season of bake in the day, the door bursts open, Billy and Tommy running into the house at full speed excited to finally be home for the day to relax and be with their mom.

“ Hi mom,” both of them say in unison as they make their way to the couch, carefully hugging Wanda to not spill the popcorn all over the place.

“ How are both my favorite boys ever? Did you both get along in school ?” she asks, paying very close attention to how their days went.

She was always excited to hear about her son’s day, making it sort of a daily thing to have them tell each of their days went Wanda even telling them how her day went too even if they didn’t get the inner workings of the bakery or didn’t seem too interested in adult stuff.

The rest of Wanda’s “ lazy day “is spent helping out her sons with homework, talking to billy about how to do complicated math, and showing Tommy some of her fighting moves that she learned while during her many years as an avenger.

Once both boys were fast asleep in their room, Wanda prepares to start her nighttime ritual and hears her phone ring and sees that she has a text from you.

y/n:

Look at this kat I saw outside of the hotel Wanda, I named him Mr cat :3

She giggles at the cute picture of the black cat in your lap, happy to be able to conclude this fun “ lazy day” with a text from you.

#Scarlet pastries 🥮#scarlet pastries au #Baker!Wanda Au #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #marvel imagine #wanda maximoff fluff

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liaromancewriter · 1 year

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The Start of Forever

Premise: The Prince always knew his duty would require sacrifice, but no one told his heart that.

Book: The Royal Romance Pairing: Liam x MC (Phoebe Summers) Rating/Category: General. Angsty Fluff. Words: 810

A/N: Some of you know, Liam is my favorite Choices LI [I changed the default name to Aiden]. I don't typically write for TRR, but the @kingliamappreciationweek inspired me to write this fic. This is for Day 5. Enjoy! I'm using @choicesflashfics week 29, prompt 2 (in bold) and @creativepromptsforwriting prompt 362. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills. Also submitting to @aprilchallenge prompt "wish"

Prince Aiden Rys had not grown up believing love was a possibility in his future. He might have wished for it -- in the darkest part of the night when his thoughts were too loud for him to sleep — and secretly hoped he could fall in love with the woman he would marry.

But believe? No. That required more than he had to give. And he had already given up so much. And yet. For a few hours last night, he fell in love and believed in the possibility of forever.

Aiden glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table, ubiquitous to hotel rooms everywhere, and locked his hands behind his head on the pillow. He should get up and get dressed. But he did none of those things. Wanting to prolong these fleeting moments of freedom for as long as he could.

Bastien would knock on his door in a couple of hours, reverential but unyielding, as he shepherded Aiden to the airport. The bodyguard’s presence would mark the end of this interlude and the beginning of the next: Cordonia’s social season and selecting his future queen.

But the Masquerade Ball was still hours away, and Aiden was not ready for reality to intrude just yet.

Earlier tonight, he arrived at the address Maxwell had texted him. Aiden hadn’t known what to expect from what appeared to be a dive bar. But knowing his exuberant friend, he’d had trepidations. At the same time, he hoped Drake would keep the younger Beaumont brother in check.

Okay, somewhat in check, Aiden laughed silently. Very few people in this world had the power to control Maxwell.

All his reservations went out the door the moment he saw her. The ugly uniform couldn’t detract from the beauty of her heart-shaped face and soulful blue eyes framed by long black hair, the front of which was arranged in a complicated braid.

One could argue there were more beautiful and sophisticated women at Court. But at that moment, Aiden was hard-pressed to name a single one of them, let alone remember what they looked like.

All he could think was, finally. There you are. Quickly followed by not her, not now.

He couldn’t fall in love just when he had accepted what he must do for the good of his kingdom. The people of Cordonia deserved a monarch who placed duty, the honor of sacrifice and love for one’s country ahead of everything else.

Aiden hoped he would one day be worthy of Cordonia’s storied legacy.

But tonight, just for a few hours more, he wasn’t a king or a prince. He was just Aiden. A man that craved freedom even as he embraced his responsibilities.

During dinner, he’d tried to hide his feelings, but his eyes followed Phoebe every chance they got. He hoped he’d been surreptitious in his admiration, but he’d never been in love.

Drake had given him a look that told Aiden he wasn’t being his usual stoic self. After that, he’d turned his attention to the deluxe burgers, listening absently to Maxwell’s tall tales and ignoring Tariq’s snide remarks about the food and the establishment.

Later, Aiden walked up to Phoebe, apologized for his friends’ boorish behaviors and racked his brain for an excuse to stay in her orbit a while longer.

Luckily he remembered Maxwell’s earlier comment about wanting to try a New York City nightclub, and things progressed from there. The flashing lights held no appeal for him, but sharing a drink with Phoebe and telling her his secret had felt freeing.

The whole night had been a lesson in spontaneity, from Phoebe arranging a private boat tour of the Statue of Liberty to that unexpected kiss just as the cloud cover broke and the stars sparkled above them like so much fairy dust.

They only realized they were holding hands the entire time, the moment they had to let go as the boat docked at the pier. They disembarked, turning to face each other, the Manhattan skyline rising behind them, both uncertain about what came next. But knowing instinctively this was it. There was no next.

That’s all they were now. A memory. A faded picture. A failed potential. Two people, right for each other, who’d met at the wrong time.

If only, thought Aiden, shoving the covers aside, swinging his legs off the bed and forcing himself to let go.

He might be a prince, but he’d always known his life was not a fairy tale.

When the knock came on his door, as he’d known it would, he glanced at the man in the mirror one last time. One who’d been free to kiss the woman he loved on a starry night under the watchful eye of the ultimate symbol of freedom.

And he said goodbye to what could never be.

-------------

@choicesficwriterscreations @lizzybeth1986 @sazanes

#the royal romance #choices trr #trr fanfic #choices fanfics #choices fanfiction #klaw day 5 #kingliamappreciationweek #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week #liam rys #liam rys x mc #short story #writers on tumblr

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tameodesza · 9 months

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Dead Ends (BretShawn) ch.1

masterlist | AO3 link | ch.2>>

Summary: After stumbling upon a cabin in the woods, Bret's quest for food turns into him meeting a fiery blond instead

a/n: starting off spooky season with a zombie au (tho I have a folder full of unfinished drafts 🥴)...sounds about right

Date: May 6, 1996 Time: 9:07pm Location: Outskirts of Calgary

Bret’s boots crunched softly against the soggy leaves on the forest floor as he navigated his way through a thickly wooded path with only one goal in mind. He needed to find his way back home.

It had been over a week since his bunker was raided, forcing him away from the only family he had in the post-apocalyptic world – his younger brother Owen.

Bret still couldn’t wrap his mind around how he’d gone from surviving comfortably in his brother’s bunker to fending for his life every day against zombies, or Walkers as they were commonly referenced on news outlets at the start of the outbreak.

It was still a mystery as to what spawned the virus. Was it a mad scientist? Did it come from a diseased animal? Was it created by the government for population control?

Bret and Owen had spent many months brainstorming various conspiracy theories, but the answer remained unknown.

Now that the bunker was no longer a viable home and his brother was nowhere to be found, Bret was on a mission to head back to his childhood home.

Although he’d been shown nothing but death and carnage for the past week since he began his lone journey, Bret still held onto hope that his parents were safe and alive. They had to be. That thought alone was the only motivation keeping him sane at the moment.

Bret headed down another winding trail, shoving stubborn branches out of his way before his feet came to a stop at what lay before him. There in a short distance stood a small wooden cabin, most of its windows boarded up with no light peeking through from the inside.

The logical side of Bret told him to keep moving, to walk past the cabin unknowing of the possible dangers that lie inside. However, the rumbling of Bret’s stomach was a reminder that desperation could lead a man to do irrational things.

He approached the cabin slowly, convincing himself that he was just going to check it out, that maybe he’d get lucky and find some food or weapons that the previous owners left behind. He further surveyed the area and noted that the cabin seemed to be vacant, luck seeming to be on his side.

“Please don’t be wrong,” he uttered to himself.

Bret made his way towards the back door of the cabin, double-checking his surroundings before twisting the doorknob. He let out a sigh of relief realizing that the door was unlocked.

“Ok, in and out, Bret. In and out,” he reminded himself as he opened the door to see what appeared to be the laundry room.

Bret slowly closed the door behind him before treading lightly out of the laundry room to the living room. With the majority of the windows being boarded up, Bret moved through the small cabin with much difficulty.

Through the dim light, Bret was able to make out the shape of a couch that sat across from a broken television. But there was still no evidence of the cabin being occupied, so Bret continued moving forward to finally find what he’d been looking for. The kitchen.

As he scanned the room, his eyes landed on a few chocolate bars sitting on top of a microwave. He also spotted some canned vegetables stacked in the corner of the countertop.

Without thinking twice, Bret made a beeline for the chocolate bars and stuffed them into the pockets of his jeans to save for later. Then, he grabbed a can of green beans, quickly becoming frustrated as it was hard to lift the metal tab with his short nails.

Just then, his fingers stilled when he felt the pressure of something poking at his lower back. He heard a rough voice with a slight southern accent say menacingly, “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t bust a cap in your ass.”

Bret’s whole body froze at the unexpected presence as he stammered, “H-Hey, I don’t want any problems-”

“Shut the fuck up and put down my shit.”

Bret slowly lowered the can back onto the counter before raising his hands in surrender.

He attempted to turn around, but stopped at the stranger hissing, “Don’t you fucking move! I’ll pull this trigger and leave you for the Walkers. Don’t fuck with me.”

Bret gulped, wishing he’d listened to the part of him that said to avoid the cabin.

The man behind him proceeded to say, “Now, tell me why you’re in my cabin stealing the food that I worked hard to get.”

Bret’s heart rate quickened, hands shaking in the air as his nerves set in. “I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know anyone was in here.”

The stranger tsked, “You damn sure didn’t try to find out. What all did you take?”

“I didn’t take anything-”

“Don’t you fucking lie to me! Where’s the chocolate?”

Bret sighed in defeat saying, “My front pocket.”

“Just like I thought. Take it out and set it on the counter. Slowly. No funny business.”

Bret did as he was told, setting the chocolate bars on the counter before raising his hands back up in the air. “There.”

“What else?”

“That’s all, I promise.”

“Fuck you and your promises. You come into my cabin, steal my shit, and expect for me to believe anything coming out of your mouth? I should kill your ass right now just for that.”

“You’re right,” Bret quickly added, not wanting to further piss the man off. “Whether I knew someone was in here or not, I tried taking your food and I was wrong for that.”

Bret’s goosebumps rose as the man’s humored breath brushed against his cheek. “Well, at least you know. Now,” the man led as he leaned closer to Bret’s ear. “I’m feeling a little generous tonight, but only because I really don’t feel like dealing with another dead body. So guess what? I’m going to let you go, and I don’t want you coming back. Got it?”

Bret rapidly nodded, “Yes.”

“Now, run along before I change my mind.”

Bret slowly lowered his arms as he said, “Ok. Ok, I’m going.”

The smart thing for Bret to do would have been to leave the house with his tail tucked between his legs, thankful to still be alive. But as previously mentioned, desperate men tended to do irrational things.

As soon as Bret felt the pressure of the gun lift from his back, he swiftly turned around to send a flying elbow to the man’s nose, the gun being knocked loose in the process as it fell from the man’s hand and flew far out of reach across the tiled kitchen floor.

“Fuck!” The man shouted as he clutched his nose.

Not wanting to waste any time, Bret grabbed two cans of food and a chocolate bar before trying to run past the stranger. However, he unexpectedly received a knee to the gut which caused him to drop the food onto the floor. He then felt a hard closed fist hit his cheek.

Bret hit the floor in a groan, slightly out of it. Running on pure adrenaline, Bret scrambled to his feet to throw a punch of his own.

And that’s when he finally locked eyes with his attacker whose voice certainly didn’t match his appearance.

He was a beautiful man, which was hard to come by these days for obvious reasons. And even in his rugged state, the man made Bret do a double take as he quickly looked him over – pretty blue eyes, scruffy beard, and long blond hair. Unfortunately, Bret didn’t have much time to admire the man’s beauty due to the kick to the balls he received.

Bret let out a cry of pain as he folded over and grabbed his crotch in agony.

With Bret now immobile, the man turned around to make a lunge for the gun. But with what little strength Bret had, he grabbed the blond man’s ankle causing him to trip and fall face first onto the floor.

Bret kept a hold on his ankle to prevent the man from crawling towards the gun. Then the man turned onto his back and kicked Bret in the face, prompting Bret to drop the man’s ankle as he clutched at his head in pain.

Now that he was free, the blond got up on his feet in a haste. But at that moment, both he and Bret came to a stop at the sound of a gurgled snarl coming from outside the cabin. They slowly turned their heads toward the kitchen window hoping they’d heard wrong.

Then there it was again. Another loud snarl – this one a bit closer.

“Shit, it’s Walkers,” the blond said as he ran towards his gun, picking it up and tucking it into his holster before running out the kitchen.

Bret stood up painfully, still nursing his aching crotch as he followed the man into the living room. He watched as the blond packed a medium-sized bag before saying, “They must have heard the commotion.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as the man turned towards Bret with an accusatory finger, whisper-shouting, “A commotion that you caused!”

“Me? You were the one threatening to shoot!”

“That’s beside the point! I’ve been staying here for weeks with no issues. Then here comes your klepto ass trying to steal my shit!”

“You-”

Another snarl pulled them from their heated discussion.

The blond walked up to a boarded-up window and peeked through a small gap to see three Walkers approaching the front steps of the cabin. But that was the least of his concerns as his eyes locked on the cluster of Walkers approaching the cabin from a far distance.

Bret was startled as the blond suddenly moved from the window, shoving him out the way as he ran back to his bag to fit anything he could in the limited time he had. Bret looked on clueless as to what was going on.

“What did you see,” he asked urgently. But the blond ignored him which led to Bret asking, “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting the fuck out of here,” the blond relayed as he slung his bag on his back. He headed towards the back door, saying over his shoulder, “I don’t care what you do.”

Unfortunately, the blond threw open the back door to reveal two Walkers lurking around. He quickly slammed the door shut and locked it before heading back to the living room. “We’re surrounded,” he threw out as he walked past Bret.

Bret caught him by the arm saying, “Wait. What’s the plan? We need to find a way out of here.”

The blond snatched his arm away saying, “We aren’t doing shit. I work solo and I’m finding a way out of here.”

The two men jump at the sound of a loud bang coming from the front door followed by pounding at the back door of the cabin.

The blond grunted, gripping his hair in frustration saying, “Fuck, come on. I don’t have time to deal with this shit.”

The men ran to the bedroom and made their way towards the window. They tried to lift it, but the window wouldn’t budge.

“Shit, this thing probably hasn’t been opened in ages,” the blond squeezed out in a grunt. “We’ll just have to break it.”

Before Bret could warn against the noise possibly alerting more Walkers, the blond picked up a small wooden chair and smashed the window open, the glass shattering into multiple pieces.

The blond rushed to get out the window, gaining a few small cuts on his hands in the process. As soon as he landed, he ran, not waiting for Bret to catch up.

Hearing the front door burst open, Bret rushed out the window as well, collecting a few scrapes on his hands along the way. He dropped from the window in a thud, quickly hopping up to make a run for it.

But out the corner of his eye, he saw the same blond man with his back against a tree as he struggled to fight off a Walker that seemed to catch him by surprise.

After the altercation they’d just had, Bret had every right to leave the man to fend for himself, but he wasn’t that kind of guy.

Bret pulled out a knife from his pocket and ran in the blond’s direction. As soon as he was within reach, Bret raised the knife above the Walker’s head, driving it straight down into its skull causing the Walker to immediately cease its movement.

Bret pulled out his knife and shoved the Walker aside before looking at the blond in concern asking, “Are you ok?”

“Not until I get the hell out of here. Now move!” The man shoved Bret out of the way to take off running through the forest. Bret had no choice but to follow him as there were Walkers approaching in every other direction.

The men ran for miles nonstop, careful not to trip as the trees blurred past them on their escape into the night. They continued running until the blond slowed to a stop, resting a hand on a nearby tree as he panted heavily trying to catch his breath.

Bret stopped not too far behind, bending over as he placed his hands on his knees desperately gasping for air.

Seeing that Bret was still with him, the blond complained, “You’re still following me? I told you I work solo.”

Bret stood tall, stretching his back as he responded, “I wasn’t following you. I was running to safety just as you were.”

“Well, we’re safe now. So you can leave.”

Bret raised a brow at the man. “How about you show a little more gratitude after I just saved your ass?”

The man marched towards Bret as he said, “You saved my ass? Please. Things were just fine before you showed up roaming through my shit. Now I’m out of a cabin. Fuck your gratitude.”

Bret rubbed tensely at the back of his neck as he watched the blond man stump off to sit at the base of a tree.

As harsh as the words were, Bret could understand the man’s anger. If he hadn’t been snooping in the cabin, none of this would have happened. And to be honest, he did feel guilty about it. But how was he to know any of that was going to happen?

Bret apprehensively approached the man, making sure to keep a safe distance as he didn’t want to get kicked in the nuts again. “Look. You’re right. You are in this situation because of me. I’m sorry.”

“Keep your sorries to yourself. It’s not going to change anything,” the man sneered as he stared blankly at the ground.

Bret decided to throw caution to the wind and sit on the ground next to the man, his invasion of privacy not going unnoticed as the blond looked at him like he grew two heads.

“Just listen to me,” Bret said with his hands stretched out defensively.

The man rolled his eyes, looking forward as he chided, “Oh, this should be good.”

“I…I want to make it up to you.”

The man scrunched his brows together as he turned to look at Bret. “All you’ve done is fuck shit up. What could you possibly do to make this up to me?”

“I think we should stick together.”

The stranger let out a loud snort, genuinely humored at the ridiculous request. “You’re joking, right?”

“Just hear me out. I’ll watch your back. I’m from around here, so I know the layout of the land. And it seems like you’re pretty skilled yourself. I think we could both benefit from teaming up.”

It was apparent to Bret that the man before him was a little rough around the edges, but he also saw him as a potential asset. The man seemed to have more experience than him, and, selfishly, Bret could really use his help.

However, his hope dwindled when the man responded sharply, “I don’t need your help.”

So Bret tried a more logical approach.

“I’m sure you’d benefit from having an extra pair of hands around. You’d have another person to help scrounge for food, to watch out for Walkers, for added protection-”

“I don’t want your damn protection. I’ve made it this far by myself just fine, so why would I want you weighing me down? I don’t need you around me making irrational decisions.”

Bret answered smartly, “Says the guy pulling out a gun like it’s a free for all.”

“Oh, forgive me for being a little on edge when we live in a world full of fucking Walkers!”

Seeing that he was only making the blond more agitated, Bret considered it a lost cause. He stood up and dusted off his pants, the blond’s eyes following him intensely. “Ok,” Bret said dejectedly. “I’ll leave then. Just wanted to help.”

Bret backed away hesitantly, his eyes lingering for a moment on the blond beauty before turning away to head who-knows-where.

He’d only walked a few feet when he heard the blond call out behind him. “Wait,” the man said with a hint of annoyance.

Bret paused his step, turning around as the blond walked up with crossed arms saying, “Fine.”

Bret gave a look of surprise. “Fine?”

“Fine,” he reiterated with an affirmative nod. “But only because I need someone watching my back while I take a piss.”

“Oh,” Bret said, unsure whether to be offended or respect the man’s honesty.

The blond walked a few steps closer, just inches away as he stared Bret down with a straight face. He said lowly, almost ominously in warning, “But just know that the moment you fuck up, I’m out.”

Bret swallowed nervously before nodding and holding up a hand as best as he could in their confined space. “Ok, deal.”

The blond looked at Bret’s hand for a quick second before walking away saying, “Come on. I’d like to find shelter before daylight.”

Bret looked on dumbfounded as his hand hung in the air, not receiving the handshake he’d expected. Shaking off the cold shoulder, he moved quickly to catch up to the man.

They ventured through the thick forest in an awkward silence. Well, it was certainly awkward for Bret, the only sound to break the silence coming from their shoes against the ground.

In an effort to break the ice, Bret cleared his throat saying, “I’m Bret, by the way.”

However, he didn’t receive a response as the blond continued to look ahead focused on not tripping on fallen branches.

Bret looked at him warily, the man’s expression was unreadable. He asked, “Can I know your name?” He again went unanswered, prompting Bret to say in an irritated huff, "If we’re going to be teammates, it’ll do us some good to at least know each other’s name.”

A short quiet moment passed between the two before the blond said curtly, “Shawn.”

Bret had to hold back asking ‘was that so hard.’

“Shawn,” Bret repeated to ingrain the name into his head. “Nice to meet you.”

Bret nearly facepalmed once formal greeting left his lips out of habit, especially considering that the circumstances of their meeting was anything but nice.

Thankfully, Shawn didn’t seem to harp on it, the blond instead asking, “Where were you headed before you rudely broke into my cabin?”

“To be fair, the door was unlocked,” Bret said lightheartedly. But seeing that Shawn didn’t see the humor in it, he said earnestly, “I said I was sorry.”

“Don’t care.”

Bret sighed tiredly, carefully stepping over a large fallen branch before answering, “Home. That’s where I was headed. I wanted to see how my parents were holding up. Took a shortcut through the woods to get there and that’s when I found your cabin.”

Bret had to stop himself from walking ahead of Shawn when the smaller man came to a stop. He gave Bret a confused look, saying flatly, “You’re headed home. Why the hell would you do that?”

The question came out rudely, but Shawn was genuinely puzzled. Every neighborhood he’d come across was either a ghost town, filled with Walkers, or was a hotspot for unfriendly run-ins with other survivors. It was the last place he’d want to lay low.

Bret took some time to respond, a bit taken aback by Shawn’s question. His eyes drifted up to the starless sky, breathing deeply before answering, “The last time I saw my parents was Christmas day. I’d promised them I would visit them again soon, but I was so busy with life that I never made the time. I just kept putting it off. Then all this shit happened, and it was too late. So… I don’t know. I just need to see if they’re ok.”

Bret was well-aware of the possibility that his parents had met an unfortunate fate, but he couldn’t dwell on that. The guilt of not visiting his parents weighed too heavily on his guilty conscience, and in his mind, this was the only way to fix it.

Bret was too buried in his thoughts to feel Shawn’s eyes watching him inquisitively, thoughts of his own swirling beyond those blue eyes.

Shawn was a brash man, molded to be so by the harsh experiences he’d faced since the outbreak began. But as cold as he could be, he had the decency not to express his true opinion – that it was more likely that Bret’s parents had turned into a five-course meal for Walkers by this point.

Instead, he looked back at the path ahead and walked forward to continue their route as he asked, “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?”

Bret snapped out of his stupor to catch up to Shawn as he answered, “If we don’t run into any trouble along the way, maybe a week.”

“A week,” the blond repeated to himself with a nod.

Bret almost ran into Shawn as the blond stopped suddenly, slinging his backpack forward to rummage inside of the bag. Bret stiffened at the sight, not knowing if the blond would brandish another weapon his way as he had back at the cabin. However, Shawn’s hand emerged from the bag holding a slightly melted chocolate bar.

“Here,” Shawn said gruffly as he forced the bar into Bret’s palm.

Bret, not expecting the kind gesture, said appreciatively, “Thank y-”

“Don’t get all sappy about it,” Shawn muttered as he zipped up the bag. “I at least want a partner who’s not malnourished.”

After securing the bag onto his back, Shawn set foot once more down the dark path. As Bret followed, he couldn’t help wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

#divider cr: @firefly-graphics #dead ends #zombie au #hartbreak #shawn michaels #bret hart #bretshawn #bret hart x shawn michaels #alternate universe #wwe fanfiction

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subway-tolkien · 7 months

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Regarding Izzy's role in Ed's life, whether he was a father figure, mentor, jilted lover, whatever, this popped into my head and I'm just going to throw it out there for whoever wants some Izzy+Ed character study.

Season 2 spoilers, obviously. 2nd person, Ed POV. Not really a fic, more like meta-as-prose. I don't know, I just woke up and I'm hungry, leave me alone.

Listen, you're a traumatized teenager, you've just killed your dad, you've never had a positive male role model in your life, and you're on a pirate ship at the mercy of a vicious captain who might as well be your fuckin' dad all over again. You're questioning your life choices and maybe sometimes the churning sea below seems more inviting than it should.

Then one of the other crewmen, a gruff little guy with 2x4s on both shoulders, maybe he sees you struggling, maybe he sees your potential, maybe he sees you as someone easily manipulated—maybe all three. He finds you sniveling and bleeding in the hold after your nth whipping of the week, but instead of laughing and spitting on you like the other crew, he sits down wordlessly and hands you a hunk of bread and a flagon of pisswater ale.

You're a fuckin' idiot, he says. Mouthin' off to people like that's gonna get you killed.

Maybe if they weren't all fuckin' dickheads, you mutter. I'm gonna kill 'em all someday. You don't, not really, you don't want to kill anyone, but you're angry and scared and that's what comes out of your mouth. You hope you haven't just signed your own death warrant by threatening what amounts to mutiny.

Fortunately, your new companion laughs.

Guess I've got to toughen you up, he muses. If you're gonna live long enough.

He takes you under his wing, brings you scraps of food and shows you how to use a sword. He teaches you how to mask your pain, how to ignore it. He teaches you the value of ruthlessness, the importance of a reputation. He's your best friend. He's the father you never had. He's handsome and brave and everything you want to be. You're a little bit in love with him but you don't understand what it means, so you push it aside and focus on staying alive.

Over time, he turns you into a passable pirate, then a good one. At some point your own instincts kick in and it turns out you're not just a good pirate, you're the best, you're a natural, and eventually you're in command of your own ship. Of course, you bring on your mentor as your first mate. You owe him that much, and you're nothing without him by your side.

The glory days are beautiful.

As time goes on, that mentor relationship shifts and changes into something darker, something a little twisted. You can sense that something's changed for him, maybe for you, too. When you find out what it is—sexual attraction, romantic attachment, whatever form it takes—you're curious, admittedly, but your daddy issues, while pretty fuckin' bad, keep you from taking that final step. Maybe you do harbor some attraction, you do love him in your own way, but not the way he wants. Maybe you try, a drunken night here and there, but it's not what you want. You don't know what you want.

You dodge his advances, you change the subject, you fill your time together with plans and strategies so there's no space for the monster between you. You keep breaking his heart because you don't know how to have that kind of relationship with someone who effectively raised you the way your dad never did.

The chasm between you cracks and starts to widen.

Decades later, you're middle-aged, your mentor—though he's not really that anymore, is he? Your relationship has mutated into something almost unrecognizable—is stuck in a rut, happy to be behind the door you're throwing your whole body against to open. Where he once led you to freedom, he's now the keeper of your cage. Everything is gray, gray, gray. The days are long. The sea looks too inviting again.

Then, one day, you hear of a new pirate on the scene, who turns out to be a fascinating, silly, wonderful creature, and you fall in love for the first time. It's VERY different from the love you have for your former mentor, and he knows that. He hates it. Maybe he thought you were just incapable of giving him what he wanted, but turns out you are capable, it's him that's the problem. You've broken his heart again. You're changing, for the better, which takes you further and further away from him.

Then your heart gets broken, and he takes the opportunity to drag you back to his side, except the gray, gray, gray is now black, a void of pain and loneliness you can't fill, you'll never fill. He thinks he'll be enough. He is not. Pain gives rise to the darkest parts of yourself you hoped were long dead and you make the world regret the day you let yourself be hurt. You do the hurting, in the hopes it makes the pain stop.

Spoiler: It doesn't.

And then a bunch of weird shit happens, you kind of die a little bit, and there's mermaids and lesbians and drag queens, it's a whole thing. You claw your way back to sanity and the love of your life, while your former mentor finds himself and his capacity to love in a way he never really understood. You are learning who you are apart from each other and this machine you've built together. You learn to be softer, he learns that being softer is not a character flaw or a weakness. He learns how love is strength. You learn how to trust other people. It's a process, but you're getting there.

The chasm between you remains, but on either side are the beginnings of a bridge.

He said, in the beginning, he wouldn't die for you, except he sort of does, in the end. As he sends you off with his last breaths, he tells you to be yourself, to let yourself be loved. He got you this far, kept you alive long enough to find your place, the right hand to hold, the family you've been searching for since the last time you saw your mother. He didn't know that's what he was doing the whole time, but it was. He didn't know that was how he loved you. You didn't, either.

He dies in your arms, just as you've finally figured out how to love each other the right way. Not as mentor/mentee, father/son, lover to lover, but a secret other thing. Something uniquely yours, too real to define. You never did find your balance in life, but you find it now, your hands covered in blood as his big, stupid heart stops beating.

You lay him to rest in sight of the sea he loved so much, where you can visit and tell him about your days, the fun things you've done, the new life you've built for yourself. There's an even greater divide between you now, life and death, yet somehow you've never been closer. The two of you, a pair of lonely wooden puppets suddenly become real.

You miss him like a limb—and isn't that fuckin' hilarious?

There are nights you can't sleep and you find yourself standing at the window watching storms roll in, the lights of passing ships. You can hear something on the horizon, something in the way the water whispers to the sand as it kisses the shore. A message just for you, not in a bottle but carried by the wind.

You're still a fuckin' idiot.

You smile.

"Love you too, man," you say, an you go back to the life he never meant to give you. The life you wouldn't have without him.

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #ed teach #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers

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madaboutmunson · 1 year

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Cryptic Cupid - Part 2 - Steve's POV

Part 1 | Part 3

Probably worth warning that this one is 6K, might split it up at a later date

Sequel to Raspberry Riddle So this is set in a government-operated hospital after the events of season 4 but everyone is alive.

Each part has a different POV, Robin, Steve, and Eddie.

================================================

It was good timing that Eddie had woken up when he did because Robin was away on holiday for the next two weeks with her family.

When Steve wakes up the very next morning, still groggily half asleep, he does the same thing he always does, he opens his room door and then opens Eddie's, then goes about his morning, grabbing some breakfast before heading back for his morning workout.

He puts in the new tape and is midway through his routine before he hears a different noise, it sounds like coughing, and Steve turns to look through the doorway into Eddie's room and can see him moving.

Steve rushes over, but once he gets to Eddie's bedside, he realises he's laughing, albeit weakly, and mostly hidden by the mask covering the lower half of his face, but still. Steve beams at him but feigns insult and folds his arms, "I hope you aren't laughing at me, Munson."

Eddie shakes his head and lets out a weak laugh again, slowly lifting his hand to his ear.

"The music?" Steve asks with interest.

Eddie nods ever so slightly. It must be all he can muster. Steve turns his head towards the doorway and listens. He'd had the music on for a while now, but he usually listened for a beat and ignored songs as a whole.

How did you know 'cause I never told

But you found out I've got a crush on you

The words you read, my heart's been displayed

You found out I've got a crush on you

Steve is glad he's turned away from Eddie as he ingests the lyrics the woman is singing. He feels his cheeks ignite with embarrassment, and he silently curses Robin under his breath and realises this is why she collected all the other tapes. He dreads to think about what else might be on here.

Steve takes a deep breath and turns back to look down at Eddie, and he's just about to make a protest about this not being his tape, but all that he manages is "Robin's" and a hand wave because when he turns back, he's met with the full intensity of Eddie's soft stare. The dewiness of his eyes makes his irises look like sparkling chocolate pudding.

He isn't sure how but Steve's brain kicks back into gear, "Anyway, sorry if I woke you. Want me to close your door?"

Eddie shakes his head in a no, but he taps his chest lightly and points up.

"Want me to help you sit up?" Steve tries, and Eddie nods slightly again.

Steve finds another pillow, places it ready above Eddie's head, then negotiates his arms through the many wires and tubes attached to Eddie and takes hold of him. Before he moves him, Steve says, "If it hurts, just tap me, ok?

Eddie nods, the corners of his eyes creasing, due to a hidden smile Steve hoped.

Being this close to Eddie was both a dream and a nightmare to Steve. He was finally holding him in his arms, but he felt weak against him. Steve quickly pushes the pillow behind Eddie, so he's supported and gently releases him.

"That all ok?" Steve whispers unintentionally like his brain has decided that speaking any louder might cause harm to the fragile beauty next to him.

Eddie nods, pushes the nurse button with one hand, then taps and squeezes Steve's arm lightly in thanks before waving him out of his room gently.

Steve returns to his workout in his room, and when it comes to pull-ups, despite now being flanked by a fussing medical team, Eddie gives him a little wave and smiles when they remove his mask for tests and food, as the woman on the tape sings.

Your eyes tell me how you want me

I can feel it in your heartbeat

I know you like what you see

And Steve promptly goes to showboat, as if spurred on by the lyrics, and attempts the one-armed pull-up he had seen in his book. He almost makes it, but maybe due to the sweatiness of his palms from nerves, he slips and falls to the floor.

For a second, he's absolutely mortified, but then he hears a clattering and a very scratchy voice call out his name, and it's almost music to his ears. Steve gets to his feet and looks to find a very apologetic Eddie, an upturned tray of food and a nurse covered in some of it. Eddie must feel Steve look at him because he glances, smiles a little sheepishly, and looks away under his hair.

Steve moves out of the doorway, heads into his bathroom, silently does a celebration dance and punches the air before hitting the shower and getting ready for the day.

Steve picks up his new crossword puzzle book and lies on his bed, occasionally peering through the doorway to see what is happening with Eddie. He seems to have eaten something. They washed and dressed him and changed his bedding. His wounds are starting to scar already, and Steve thinks they look worse than his own. The whole time he sees Eddie interacting with the team of people, a constant slight flush of embarrassment rests on his cheeks. Eddie was such an independent guy, and waking up to being able to do very little must be hard for him to deal with.

Once the team is done, Eddie goes back to sleep. All of that must have taken it out of him. Steve loses time in his puzzles but continues occasionally checking on Eddie. One time he was too still, and Steve went in to check the monitors against the printouts he had folded up in his pocket.

The machine name, crude drawings of the displays, and the words good and bad next to each. A quick check round and all signs point to good. Steve leaves the room folding up his paper and almost bumps straight into Wayne, smiling from ear to ear, "Afternoon, Ste. I heard it's gonna be a good 'un", and he embraces Steve tightly with uncontainable joy.

Wayne pulls out of the hug, the vast smile still plastered on his face and eyes brimmed with happy tears, maybe some relief. "I can't believe he finally woke up, and it's because of you, sunshine boy!" He pats the side of Steve's face, "Thank you."

Steve is swamped with a lot of emotions all at once. He pushes them all down so he can escape into his room to feel them, "Well, you know, it was just a guess that paid off. It was Dr Graven, really."

Wayne tilts his head at Steve, "He said you were modest about your smarts". Steve's stomach completely flips over, and he steps out of the way to let Wayne through. Had Eddie mentioned him to Wayne before he went on the run?

Steve steps through his own door and turns back just in time to see Eddie's eyes open and his hand reach for his Uncle. Wayne almost completely collapses across Eddie in relief, tears streaming down his face as he runs his hand over Eddie's hair and face, quietly repeating, My boy.

Steve moves to the side of his room that can't be seen through the doorway. He leans against the wall for a minute or two. He wonders what it's like to be loved that way, so fully or unashamedly. He was sure his parents would have turned up if they thought he was in any real danger of dying, but at the side of his bed every day, even when it seemed hopeless, probably not.

Wayne had shown Steve more affection in the last ten minutes than his parents had in the previous year, possibly longer. Steve had tried to obtain that level of affection through friendships and romantic relationships. He felt he had that friendship bond with Robin and Dustin certainly, but there was just that little something missing, which Eddie had given him at Scoops.

Eddie built Steve up, and it still worked, even if it was a bet between Robin and Eddie. Steve hadn't felt that confident in a long time, bold enough to make a small move.

Then that monster happened. Steve just got busy with work and life. He didn't forget about Eddie. He just thought maybe he'd missed his chance.

Then fate gave him back to Steve but under the most trying situation of being on the run from the whole town and fighting a supernatural being. Steve had thought there wouldn't be much time for such trivial things as revealing feelings or flirting, and it seemed he had been half wrong, at least. Maybe because Eddie had nothing left to lose, he had shamelessly flirted with Steve, touches, getting in his space, lingering stares that said almost the opposite of the words leaving his perfect mouth.

Steve slides down the wall a little with a soft, quiet sigh. He'd been sure that he wouldn't get another chance. He was convinced that in that upside-down trailer park, that was the end of that.

Then the fates intervened again, and here he was in the same building, together until one of them left.

He should really do something with a chance like this. Maybe he could rekindle some of that playful flirtation at Scoops. He had tried a little earlier, and it didn't work out…or had it?

Sure, he didn't get to peacock in front of Eddie as he wanted, but he got his attention and concern. Steve looks over at his crossword book. He could do what Eddie had done for him. Build him up.

The rest of the day is a whirlwind. Everyone that has clearance to do so visits Eddie. Wayne stays for the entire time, only leaving the room to give Eddie some time with his bandmates and Hellfire, which means Steve got a flying visit from Dustin, Lucas and Mike. With them was news of the rest of the group that couldn't visit. Everyone, other than Max, seemed to be doing well. At least she was stable like Eddie had been, but Eddie hadn't had his mind broken apart as Max had. He hoped El could figure something out.

People start to peel off home, and there is a knock at Steve's open door. It's Wayne, but he looks like he's about to leave too. He looks up at the bar in Steve's doorway, "Got sumthin' for ya, champ. Eddie said you might have more use for them than he has, as he won't be performing for a while" Wayne pulls a set of black leather studded fingerless gloves out of his pocket and hands them to Steve.

Steve instinctively raises his hand to refuse a kindness he feels he doesn't deserve, but Wayne stops him before he can say anything, "Listen, the boy can't say or do much right now. Let him give you these as his thanks for now. Otherwise, you can march yourself in there an' tell him directly you rejected his gift. You can deal with that look," Wayne chuckles, "Ahm sure you know the one I'm talkin' about."

Something in the way Wayne says that hits a little differently. Steve realises he's talking about that hurt puppy dog look Eddie gives out when he doesn't get his way, but the way Wayne looks at Steve is as though he can read that he's now close enough to be powerless against it.

Steve accepts the gloves, "So you just happened to have a set of these on you?"

Wayne just smiles at him, "You'll be realisin' soon enough, if not already, that he likes to have his favourite things close by. So for things that can't travel themselves, it's better to have multiple copies on standby where you can" Wayne reaches into his pocket and pulls out a few uniform hair ties, identical guitar picks and two identical lighters. He splits the contents giving half to Steve, "Lemme give ya a head start there."

Smiling in thanks but also with a heavy helping of bashfulness, Steve realises that Wayne is more than onto him.

Wayne gives him a gentle nod, "Until tomorrow, sunshine", and he leaves, looking through the door at a sleeping Eddie one more time.

Once Wayne is out of sight, Steve checks the monitors with his folded reference papers. They were all still good. He sighs with relief and heads back to his room, closing Eddie's door softly behind him.

The next three days followed a similar pattern, except that Eddie seemed to get exponentially better daily. He can eat more food, he doesn't need the breathing assistance so much, his vitals were all improving, and superficially he was looking much more himself too. Of course, it was still hard for him to talk, but when visitors weren't around and Eddie was awake, Steve tried to be the best source of entertainment he could be.

Whether that was using Eddie's doorway as his own personal stage, miming being wrestled away by some unknown fiend, using a lift, being trapped in a box, sometimes a bad version of a tap dance or moonwalk on his way past.

But his favourite times were just being next to Eddie. He'd help him sit up and hand him his book to read, and Steve would sit next to him with his puzzle book. Steve was surprised at how nice it was to sit quietly with someone doing independent things.

Steve tries to put his build-Eddie-up plan into action. A tester, if you will. Eddie is sitting up in his bed, beside him, mask on, reading a choose your own adventure book.

Steve overemphasises his confusion by tapping his pencil to his lip and scratching his head, "Eddie?"

Eddie hums back, still reading his book.

"Can you help me with a crossword clue?" Steve asks, holding his book closer to him so Eddie can't see it or the little sheet of paper on which he'd been writing his own clues.

Eddie puts his bookmark in and closes his book turning to meet the waiting gaze of Steve, "So…umm", Steve completely forgets what he has just read on the paper when their eyes meet, like Eddie's huge laser eyes just zapped the words he was holding in his brain out of existence. He turns quickly back to the paper in his book, "Yeah, so it says, Food item mice care for, possibly?"

Eddie grabs his notepad and pen. He's capable of talking, just it hurts to, and he likes to save talking for when the band get here because contending with three other people meant they often didn't wait for him to finish writing when they were excitedly talking about something.

Letters?

"Oh, three, then five, it looks like", Steve adds more confidently, exchanging a glance this time.

Eddie starts writing again.

3-5

(Food item)

Mice care for

He stares at the words for a minute, then raises his pencil in the air and writes in big letters with a big smile.

ICE CREAM!!!

"Oh yeah! That totally works. Thanks…er…buddy" Steve had almost dared to use a pet name but lost it at the last moment. He pretends to write the word in, but with his confidence shot, he elects to leave Eddie for a little while, maybe.

"I'm gonna go use my bathroom," Steve says, pointing towards the doorway, unable to look properly at Eddie, but he feels a tap on his arm. He turns to Eddie, who gives him one long blink, then points to his chest and down.

"You're tired? Want a nap?" Eddie nods gently and lifts his arms towards Steve, who is very much trying to keep his ecstatic grin turned down to an accepting smile. With a lot less in the way of tubes and wires, it's easier to get a hold of him. Eddie is almost helping a little by putting his arms around Steve's neck to hold himself up whilst Steve removes the backing cushion and lowers himself down with Eddie. He then releases Steve from his grip, letting one arm flop down to the bed, the other he puts the fingertips to his chin, then lowers his hand in an outwards and down motion towards Steve. Who isn't sure what it means, but he smiles back anyway, "Want me to close your door?" He asks, and Eddie nods weakly in reply. Steve leaves and shuts the door behind him. It was time for his tests anyway.

As usual, Steve's results are, for the most part, better, in some areas, probably due to his daily workouts, but his hearing is still not great in his right ear, especially.

"Will I lose my hearing in it completely?" Steve asks, his face contorted with concern.

"We would honestly hope not, but it seems to be related to head injuries you've sustained over time, so maybe be a bit more careful in that department," the nurse says, packing away their equipment. Then, they pause for a moment and look at Steve fully, "You know, maybe if you wanted to, you could encourage your friend across the way to work out with you?"

Steve looks surprised, "You think he's ready for that? He can barely sit up or lie down unaided."

The nurse's eyebrows jump in surprise, "Yes, of course, I mean, when he's ready." They pack up faster.

Steve eyes them curiously and then shakes it off, "You check in with Eddie sometimes, too, right?"

"Er…yeah…why do you ask?" The nurse replies almost a little nervously.

"Do you know what this means?" Steve asks, waits for the nurse to look at him, and then replicates the hand gesture that Eddie made to him. He presses his fingertips to his chin and pushes his hand outwards and down towards the nurse.

The nurse's shoulders untense, "Oh, that. It means thank you."

"Oh, well…" Steve repeats the gesture at the nurse with a laugh, and she smiles back.

"You want to learn another one?" She asks

Steve nods enthusiastically at her.

With one hand, she makes a thumbs up, places it in the upturned palm of her other hand, raises them together, and says, "Help."

She lowers them down as if to start over and pushes the hand arrangement up and towards Steve, "Help you", then resets back to the start before moving them up and towards herself, "Help me."

Steve copies her with a big smile, "Thank you", he says and signs it at the same time, "Do you have a book of them or something?"

She looks awkward for a second, and it's puzzling Steve, "You know I did have a book, I just don't know where it is, but I can get you a copy for tomorrow. Does that sound ok?"

"Yes, that would be amazing!" Steve is so excited he will be able to understand Eddie a little better, and they might be able to talk more whilst he's resting his voice.

The nurse tags out as the Psychologist tags in, "How are we doing today, Steve?"

"Good, really good today," Steve says with a smile.

"Would you say your mood has improved since Eddie returned to us?" She says, settling into the chair opposite Steve, and looking over her notes, probably from last time.

"Very much so!" he says enthusiastically. He hesitated a moment, thinking back to what Dr Graven said, "Not that it hasn't caused some other differences too, maybe not for the better?" Steve is trying his best but expressing himself emotionally is not one of his skills.

"Go on," She says gently, clicking her pen, the nib poised hovering above the paper, and Steve can't take his eyes off it. He suddenly feels nervous, "It's ok, Steve. I make notes about everything so that I can give a balanced assessment. No one here thinks you're crazy. We know what happened to you all was very real."

Steve's eyes finally pull away from the pen to his hands resting on the knee of his crossed-over leg, "So, when Eddie wasn't awake. We were all waiting for him to wake up, right? But we all kind of knew he was safe with all the machines plugged into him, right?" Steve nervously rubs his thumb against his index finger, and his leg bounces.

"And now he's awake?" She prompts him to continue.

Steve lowers his voice, "I'm worried he'll…um…go back under again, or that curse thing will happen, or he just won't wake up again, or he'll have something terminal because his wounds look much worse than mine."

"Well, it's normal to be worried, Steve. You just have to think about where you are and that people are on standby here twenty-four hours a day. You're both safe here" Steve can hear her attempt to reassure him, but the voice nagging in his head is relentless.

"Yes, but for how long?! Forever?!" He half shouts with a snap, then looks around nervously again, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you." Steve says with an earnest apology. For comfort, his hand goes straight to the graph printouts in his pocket,

"Let me ask you this. How do you think Eddie is doing? Is he getting worse in your eyes?" She asks, with a graceful tilt of her head. Her phrase in your eyes makes Steve feel a little nervous. In his eyes, Eddie was something else entirely.

"Er…no", he manages to reign in his thoughts, "He's making great progress, it looks like, other than a few minor things."

"Like what kind of things?" She volleys back.

"Well, his voice and strength," he says quickly, "He might not look it because of his build, but he was weirdly strong. Our friend Dustin said her tore a chain link fence off with his bare hands, he hit one of those bat things with an oar straight outta the park, he carried amps to the top of a trailer and…yeah, he was strong'' Steve keeps that one, what happened in the boathouse, to himself. That's when he realised how strong Eddie was and how terrified he was. It was almost like he didn't see Steve at all.

"Was he stronger than you, would you say?" She asks, and Steve knows she's probably asking about just physically, but he can't help thinking about everything Eddie had been through in his life, then to be plunged into a very real hellscape, and he still had the time to make people laugh, give them hope, support them, give them more time…

"Yeah, he definitely was", Steve answers finally.

"Do you miss talking to him?" She asks with a smile.

Steve huffs a laugh and sighs as he reclines in his chair a little more relaxed, "Well, that is a complicated answer" Steve blushes a little.

"Complicated how?" She locks eyes with Steve, who looks down at the floor with a smile.

"I enjoy talking with him. Sometimes he says things that make me feel good about myself, you know? But then sometimes…." Steve shakes his head and bites his lip, "...sometimes he says things that make me feel…well…a little…." Steve feels the heat rise in his face again as he folds his arms around himself.

"Uncomfortable?" She offers.

Steve looks between her face and the floor quickly, "Yeah, kinda, but not in a mean way, I don't think…so um…I appreciate not hearing those things…well as often, you know?" But, of course, Steve had no idea if he was articulating this well or not, so whether she knew what he was talking about was a bit of a mystery to him.

"So just sometimes, then? You like it when Eddie says something that makes you feel, as you put it, uncomfortable, sometimes?" She asks gently with a small smile, which gives Steve a bit of faith that she knows what he is talking about.

"Yeah, sometimes. Believe it or not, before all of this, he would talk. A lot. All the time. About things, I had no clue what he was yapping on about, honestly. Usually, on a tabletop somewhere," Steve gestures up at an imaginary Eddie on top of his bedside table, and then Steve feels a little solemn. Eddie used to get so hyped after one of his speeches, the way he'd sit back down self-assured in his seat, with a smug little smile, sure he'd put the world to rights. "He probably misses that" Steve's inside thought becomes an outside one.

"Walking on tables?" She smiles big at Steve.

He laughs and shakes his head, "Probably. I kinda just meant the talking. Eddie's very good with words. He ran that game" Steve clicks his fingers over his head to encourage the words his way, "The dragons game, you have to be an excellent storyteller and think on your feet to do that. Well, that's what the kids say anyway."

"Do you think you're good with words, Steve?"

"Hmmm, I try, often fuck…oh sorry", he covers his mouth with his hand.

"That's ok, Steve. Carry on."

"Well, point proven", he laughs, "I often mess up, is what I meant"

"Would you like to be a more eloquent speaker, Steve?"

"Yeah, I think that would be pretty good."

"Why?"

Steve starts to count on his fingers, "Well, you sound smart. It makes the things you say more interesting. You can describe things better. When people are upset, you have, like, wise things you can say to them that help."

"And you think you aren't those things?" She asks, and Steve shakes his head and bows it a little as he looks down.

She rips out a page of note paper and writes on it:

Smart

Interesting

Descriptive

Wise

She hands it to him, "I want you to try and think about times when you've been these things and just make a note of them. If you need help, ask your friends or family. Sometimes the people around us see things that we can't or occasionally refuse to see in ourselves. No time limit, just something to think about," She says as she looks at her watch, "Anything you want to talk about before I go, Steve?"

"Is this all…um…confidential?" Steve asks in a whisper pointing between himself and the Psychologist.

"Yes, unless I feel you pose a threat to yourself or anyone else here." She adds, crossing her hands over her lap.

"Threat as in, like harming people, you mean?" Steve tries to clarify.

"That's right."

"Are you religious?"

"Nope. Just science for me" She smiles back and waits patiently.

Steve chews on his bottom lip, "Do you have any strong beliefs around marriage or dating, stuff like that?"

"Not especially. I feel as though you are dancing around something, Steve. You're quite safe to talk to me about anything."

Steve looks her over. He just can't tell. Was she going to be homophobic? If he told her, would he be seen as a threat?

"One of my friends…um…doesn't like the opposite sex…they only like the same…." Steve watches her face intensely as he talks, looking for even a glimmer of disgust, but she simply nods, "is that bad, or would it be considered a threat?"

She shakes her head, "No, not at all."

Steve smiles and relaxes his tensed upper back and shoulders, "What we were talking about earlier, the being uncomfortable…."

"When Eddie says certain things to you?" She assists

"Yeah, I think he makes me feel that way because I like him, you know, like-like him" Steve swallows and waits for her to say something, anything.

"Have you told him that?"

"Not in so many words, no. About a year ago, there was a kind of…um…confession on my part, at least, but I can't read him, so I don't know if he feels the same? Like, he flirted with me, I think? But then I think he's like that with everyone, you know?"

"What happened last year?"

"I was working in the new mall, and the girl I worked with, Robin, and Eddie had a bet that I wouldn't serve him first if there were a girl at the counter, and he would come by often and give me these riddles to solve, and I wrote him one back, but he replied, in his own way, that he solved it, but he didn't mention it again, you know? So I don't know if this is a one-way thing or not"

"Would you like it if Eddie reciprocated those feelings?"

"Yeah!" Steve realised how quickly and enthusiastically he said that and immediately tried to reign it in, "Yeah, I mean, whatever, I guess it could be cool, maybe."

"Why?"

"Well…um…" Steve pulls at his collar

"What I mean is, what makes Eddie the person you want to reciprocate those feelings?"

"Well…er…he's smart and not shamed to be himself. So funny sometimes. Even if he is being a little annoying, it's difficult to be mad at him for long. He's talented. He's also kind. He looks after people and brave. Then the more obvious stuff like he's handsome."

"What is it visually about him that makes him handsome to you?"

Steve looks thoughtfully around the ceiling, "Well, he's got this smile, well he has many, but this one is so big and bright like it lights up a room. Then his eyes, wow, like the richest, deepest darkest chocolate silk pies, well you’ve seen them, you know, right?” Steve shrugs his shoulders and gestures at her with a little laugh before miming headlights with his hands “surrounded by these long beautiful lashes, and his hair when the light catches it, it's full of all different tones of reddy-brown, like mahogany and chestnut, and…" Steve stops, folds his arms across his chest, realising she got totally lost in Eddie for a moment, "and a bunch of other stuff."

The psychiatrist smiles and taps her pen on the piece of paper she handed to Steve, “Descriptive”, she sits back in her seat.

“Yeah, but that’s like one thing”, Steve laughs.

“You think Eddie expresses himself well, and is all those things on your paper?”

“Yeah.”

She raises her eyebrows at Steve, “All the time, about everything?”

Steve pauses, “Well…no, I guess not” a small smile of pride appears shyly on Steve’s face, “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything, Steve. I just asked you a bunch of questions you already had the answers to” She smiles sweetly at him, “Anything else for today?”

“No. I think I’m good. Let’s end on a good note today.”

She taps Steve’s paper as they stand for her to leave, “Wise.”

Later that evening, after visiting hours, Steve makes his way over to Eddie's room to say goodnight, turn out the light and close the door for him.

He notices Eddie isn't wearing his breathing mask, and Steve can see an unobscured big smile just for him, but then Eddie points at his notepad that he's holding up to Steve.

Wanna stay for a while? Not sleepy

Steve grins back, "Sure, let me grab my book" he quickly collects his crossword book and pencil and then returns to Eddie and his stack of books, "Which one do you want?"

Eddie adorably wrinkles up his nose and mouth in thought, tilts his head, and then quickly scribbles something on the pad.

Carrie

"You want to read a horror book right before you go to sleep? Are you sure that's wise?" Steve asks, his words painted with a fresh coat of concern.

Eddie smiles, shaking his head, makes a show of rolling his eyes and nods at Steve.

"Well, alright then, don't say I didn't warn you," he says as he hands the book to Eddie, the i-told-you-so look already on his face before the aftermath. Eddie reaches up, pats Steve's face, and then signs thank you at him.

Steve settles into the chair that seems much closer to Eddie's bed than usual. He figures it's from when Wayne was here and started a new crossword.

He's not far into it before he glances at Eddie's book. Steve can usually lose himself in his puzzles but today was different. He was charged up with some extra energy or confidence. He notices a piece of paper between Eddie's fingers at the back of his book, probably his bookmark. Steve recognises the handwriting on it being that of the Psychologist, but he can only make out one word peeking out over the top of the book:

Liked

Steve wishes he could take back being so nosey. What if that list was like his? Did Eddie really think he wasn't liked? Steve swears his heart squeezes because he's so mad at anyone that made Eddie feel unliked. He knows he shouldn't bring it up, so he does something else. He also uses his own list as a bookmark and puts it partially sticking out of the top of his book so that if Eddie glances over, he might see it.

"Say, Eddie, you couldn't help me with another clue, could you?" Steve asks, playing up the confusion in his voice as he looks at Eddie, who is still reading but nods.

"Bore a lad with something cute, eight letters," Steve asks, and Eddie bookmarks his page, enabling Steve to catch a glimpse of another word:

Success

Oh god, he thinks he's a failure. Steve swallows hard, trying to keep the intense emotions at bay. He's trying to build Eddie up, not bring him down.

Eddie is scribbling away on his notepad and frowns for a second before shaking his head a little and showing the pad to Steve:

ADORABLE

"I know I am, but what about the crossword?" Steve answers with what he hopes is cute confidence, and it must work because Eddie smiles and rolls his eyes.

"Ok, let's see…." Steve trails off, pretending to fit it into his crossword by writing in the answer for a totally different clue, "That's perfect!" Then, finally, he turns to Eddie and signs thank you.

Eddie's eyes go wide and are joined with a smile of surprise. Steve goes one step further and points at Eddie, "You" he signs help towards himself, "help me."

Eddie's eyes light up with excitement, and Steve feels his heart blossom inside his ribcage, releasing a thousand fuzzy feelings straight into his brain. Then Eddie's expression reverses. He looks mad and snatches at the paper sticking out of Steve's book, which he just manages to pull out of his reach in time.

Eddie scribbles on his pad,

THE SHRINK?

Steve nods at Eddie.

YOU DONT THINK YOURE SMART?????

Steve shakes his head in a no.

YOU GRADUATED!!!

Eddie taps at his pad so hard the pen leaves a hole in the page.

YOU ARE NOT STUPID

"And you are very liked, Eddie!" Steve replies pointing at Eddie's paper.

TRADE?

"Ok," Steve says, carefully handing over his piece of paper to Eddie, who snatches it away from him and starts reading, his eyes zig-zagging over it before he flicked his own list at Steve like it had lost all meaning to him now he had Steve's. Eddie's hand moves to his jaw, and he looks deep in thought before grabbing his notepad again.

Steve looks at Eddie's list.

Liked

Success

Athletic

Rich

He can't believe what he's reading. Eddie was liked, not just liked, almost worshipped by the hellfire club.

He was extremely talented at many things Dustin had relayed to Steve, like guitar, singing, storytelling, writing, and business. Ok, dealing drugs was not the ideal business to be in, but he made it work.

Athletic?? The man ran, swam and rode a bike for his life. A death-defying triathlon and he thinks he's not athletic?!

Rich, sure maybe he didn't have that in respect of money, but in life, in love, in care, Eddie had it all.

"Eddie, you can't seriously think you aren't these things?" Steve says in genuine confusion.

Eddie lifts Steve's list and angrily flicks it, so it makes a pop sound, and he goes back to scribbling on his pad.

Steve writes his thoughts next to each word on Eddie's list. By the time he's done, Eddie is waiting, a piece of notepaper in his hand that he's waiting to exchange. Steve nervously obliges.

He takes a deep breath and opens up the paper,

SMART - YOU FUCKING GRADUATED, AND DUSTIN SAID YOU FIGURED OUT THE RUSSIANS WERE INSIDE THE MALL

INTERESTING - THIS IS RIDICULOUS. ALL THE THINGS YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH AND EVEN HOW YOUR BRAIN WORKS ARE FASCINATING. YOU HAVE A LOT TO OFFER IN CONVERSATION YOU JUST NEED TO SPEAK UP MORE AND DON'T LET ASSHOLES (MOI INCLUDED) TAKE ALL THE SPOTLIGHT

DESCRIPTIVE - BUCKLEY SAID THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE REACH LEVELS OF LABYRINTHIAN COMPLEXITY, AND THE WAY YOU TALK ABOUT THE KIDS IS LIKE POETRY.

WISE - YOU KNEW TO GO DOWN THERE FIRST. IF ANY OF THE REST OF US HAD, WE MIGHT NOT HAVE STILL BEEN ALIVE BY THE TIME EVERYONE ELSE SHOWED UP, AND YOU TOLD ME NOT TO BE A HERO, AND I DIDN'T LISTEN. NOW LOOK AT ME.

It might not have been meant as such, but Steve reads that last line as a command and looks at Eddie. He is reading his own bit of paper, hand over his mouth, but he seems a little blurry. That's when Steve realises his eyes are filling up with tears, which he wipes away quickly and tries to compose himself.

He knew he couldn't because he still didn't know the lay of the land, but Steve had the overwhelming urge to reach out and pull Eddie so tightly to him. In thanks, in solidarity, in adoration, in appreciation, in want, in love.

Eddie turns to him and signs a happy thank you, Steve repeats it back to him, and though Eddie is smiling, Steve sees his bottom lip tremble. Then, Eddie very rapidly yawns and wipes his eyes.

"Feeling tired now?" Steve asks gently. Eddie nods in response, "Alright then", he says as he gets up, leaving his book, list and pencil on the chair, taking the book from Eddie and putting it back for him. Steve feels Eddie's eyes on him the entire time, and when Steve looks back at him, he expects Eddie to look away like he'd been caught, but he doesn't. Instead, Eddie continues to look at Steve.

It's not an intense glare or stare. Steve could probably only describe it as the first time you see something, like at a zoo or something. He's watching, observing, analysing something like that, Steve guesses.

Locked in that shared gaze for a few seconds before he could break free and gather his things from his chair, "Well, goodnight, Eddie. Thank you for writing that. I appreciate it. It's help-" Steve's words are cut off because Eddie's hand is on his arm, resting on his bicep so very gently. The sensation of barely touching sent goosebumps down the back of his arm.

Once Steve's eyes move from his own arm to Eddie, he signs help me, then points to his own chest and points down.

"Oh sure, Sorry I forgot," Steve says with a laugh, puts his things down, and as usual, puts his arms around Eddie, removes a pillow, and lowers him down to the bed.

Around now, Eddie's arms typically release him and drop to the bed, this time, they do not, and as Steve lifts away from Eddie slightly, he feels Eddie's hands move across his back to his shoulders in an even gentle pressure. Steve can't help himself and looks at Eddie, whose eyes are already waiting for him.

The moonlight streaming through the window makes Eddie's face look like it was made from pearl, and his eyes are dark and twinkling like the depths of space. Steve is so close he can feel the moisture of Eddie's breathing against his cheek, and it is unbelievably tempting, but he's still unsure. Eddie's eyes flit down to Steve's mouth, and Steve instinctively licks his lips. This was crazy. Steve's wants and conscience duke it out in his mind. Maybe Eddie felt vulnerable, and Steve should definitely not capitalise on that.

Steve doesn't know what to do, so he opts for what he hopes is a safe and respectful middle ground. He pulls back a little more, and Eddie's expression changes to a happy smile of acceptance, but his hands stay in contact with Steve's arms as they move down towards the bed. Dextrous cold fingers were warming up against his skin which was getting increasingly warmer in this position. Finally, Steve tilts his head up and gently kisses Eddie's forehead, "Goodnight, Eddie", he whispers softly and runs a hand over Eddie's hair before standing up to gather his things and return to his room.

#steddie #steddie fan fiction #steddie fanfiction #steddiefanfiction #steddiefanfic #madaboutmunson #madaboutmunsoncrypticcupid

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bad0mens · 6 months

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Yesterday was an emotional day for me and not in a good way.

Under the cut because I need it out.

I'm not sure what the 'inciting' incident was, or if there even was one. I think it was honestly just a build up of working retail during the holidays where I'm inundated with people who are rude and impatient and it's been getting to me. My situation at home isn't a bad one. But I constantly feel the 'quiet older middle child syndrome' as well as 'high masking autistic adult who is largely self sufficient disorder'. So I feel like in some ways, I fall through the cracks in the minds of my family. They don't feel they need to worry about me because I'm usually good at taking care of myself.

The problem arises here. In a lot of ways, especially yesterday, I felt like an after thought to my own family. Allow me to explain.

Three of the specific things that got me yesterday, and maybe they sound petty, were:

1. We drove three hours there, expecting a short event packed with lots of people but it was instead a long event packed with people and my social battery is all but dead on my off days because it has to work on my on days. I was able to keep myself mostly sane by working on fics and keeping my earplugs in because my family, especially my younger sister, is very loud. I want to spend time with my family on the holidays, but I also want to relax and be comfortable when the tense of working this time of year is finally starting to ebb.

2. There was a lot of food to go around... But only about 3 things I could actually eat. Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. You may notice there is no protein or real vegetables in any of those options. I've been a vegetarian for going on 20 years. This isn't something new for my family. My mother and younger sister did the cooking and thought to make the stuffing safe for me to eat. But that was it. The worst part of this is, I also forgot to even bring myself something like that to cook, so it's really on me as well (which is a part of the problem I'll get to in a moment).

3. I had two presents to unwrap. I know how ungrateful this sounds. But it's not about the number of presents. It's really not. I got things I asked for and I am grateful for them! It's a chunk of the larger problem, though. There was lots of presentation and fun in other people's gifts. One of mine was thrown haphazardly in a bag with nothing to cover it. The other was a wrapped cardboard box with the item inside.

Normally, any of these one things by themselves is fine, but emotions were running high after a season of working retail (not to mention I got in an argument with my boomer father who started the "no one wants to work these days" that I had to shut down pretty hard").

The problem was that, even on this day about family, I was an after thought. And the problem stems from my own behavior. I'm a helper, I care about other people, I put other people first, constantly. So constantly that I almost never put myself first. So no one else thinks to either. I'm not asking to be the specialist girl at Christmas. I'm asking to feel like I'm cared about as more than a "oh shit we can't forget about--".

I don't put myself first, so why should anyone else? I brush off this behavior in myself and others as fine. I pick pieces of myself apart to try and help other people feel whole when I've never felt whole in my entire life. And the worst part, the most painful part, is that I've ultimately done this to myself.

I sat at the dinner table, feeling alien and broken and alone surrounded by my own family, simultaneously dissociating and trying not to cry. It was my college graduation all over again, when weeks before my father reminded me that art degrees were functionally useless and I was wasting my time and money after a lifetime of hearing the lie that I could be whatever I wanted to be if I worked hard enough. It was that moment all over again. But amplified. It felt like everyone was in on the joke now.

And I still played to other people's comfort. I did not cry about it no matter how increasingly painful it became until 4 hours later when I was finally at home and my older sister asked me what was wrong. And I finally said something. I told her I felt like an after thought.

But it isn't until this moment, nearly 10 hours later, that I'm realizing the truth of it.

Who's going to put me first when I never put me first? Why would anyone bother? I don't. And after what feels like a lifetime of putting other people before myself, I'm left with the fact that my family can't be blamed. I did this to myself.

#tldr had a rough Christmas emotional and still processing it #personal stuff #im not sure how to handle things going forward #but for now I'm going back to sleep so i dont have to think about it anymore #this doesnt even mention that my mother got defenseive about the number of gifts she received last year being small too #when she forgot the present i got her in what she was listing #something that i took time and care picking out and wrapping nicely #but thats beside the point i suppose

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ladykailitha · 1 year

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WIP Wednesday Game

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

Stole this from @kedreeva because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to work on. My only problem is that I tend to file name what the title is so I can find it easier, so...here’s what they were called before I titled them.

“File” Names

Concert Season 4 Fix 15 Shovel Talk Finale Soulmate AU Reconnecting 20 Years Later AU Season 2 AU Part 20

Snippet

Do You Know What Shovels Dig? Graves Part 6

After Max, Lucas, and Erica had gone, Steve sat with Eddie, El, and the Byers boys.

“I think all in all,” Eddie began, “those were some pretty good apologies.”

The other three nodded.

Steve sighed. “It doesn’t change the fact that it took an actual honest to god intervention to get them realize they were wrong.”

“No it doesn’t,” El said. “Which is why I told them that they’ve been grounded from Steve for two weeks.”

“Uh...” Eddie said, “what now?”

“It means,” Will explained. “That if they want to hang out with him they have to do on his terms, not theirs. No begging for rides, no stopping by for food and then bailing, and just no taking advantage of Steve.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks, guys. I mean it. It was nice knowing that there were people that weren’t going to threaten me and took this whole seriously.” He gave Jonathan’s knee a squeeze. “I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t stopped by. But I’m really glad you did.”

Jonathan squeezed his shoulder in response. “Me, too. I hope they learned their lesson.”

“That is the hope,” Will said.

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tea-stained-notes · 7 months

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Steve Rogers x OFC - Waiting On a Miracle, Chapter 4

After catching an infamous serial killer in the act, Julie Castillo is in line for the witness protection program. She is sent to a temporary safe house with U.S. Marshal Steve Rogers to protect her. Both of them scarred by trauma and tragedy, they find solace in each other. But how far will they dare to go?

It's been ages, I'm sorry. At least I've been procrastinating this so long that it's once more cosy cabin fic season lol

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in the future!

CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3

Series warnings: violence, death, angst, trauma, smut

Chapter warnings: anxiety, light trauma

Chapter word count: 2350

Song(s) referenced: Waiting In the Wings (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure)

As the days passed it became increasingly impossible not to get to know each other. After all, we were all we had. Natasha had dropped by with new groceries and stayed to chat for a bit, but while Steve and I were in our own little world, she had a hundred things other than my safety on her plate. Staying in my small room all day wasn’t an inviting prospect and leaving the cabin proved too great a risk with only Steve there to protect me. What I hadn’t expected was that he would care for me in a way that must have been above his pay grade. When the nightmares finally caught up to me, forcing me awake with a scream and sending me to the door to escape the terrors seemingly living under my bed, he was already waiting in the hallway. Calmly talking me down from my panic and gently guiding me to the kitchen for some tea. And during the day his sheer presence kept my anxiety at bay with almost miraculous ease.

As the endless hours passed we grew more and more familiar with each other. We talked about anything and everything from our views on female reproductive rights (which were luckily the same) to our favourite Disney movies, mine being Moana and Steve’s Beauty and the Beast. “Really?” “Yeah, I prefer the old hand-animated movies. Plus, the songs? They’re timeless.” I nodded reluctantly while biting into one of the brownies Steve had just baked. “And like any sane person I’m obviously a sucker for that library scene,” he said with a smile so disarming I almost choked on my bite. “You do live up to that admission,” I croaked out. Steve had blazed through a whole stack of books over the past week. The shelves housed a pretty great collection and for the first few days I had been glad to have some time to read as well. But I found myself more and more distracted — by being cooped up inside while the surrounding nature looked so inviting through the windows, by the restlessness from the unfamiliar inactivity and wondering about the people I had left behind, and embarrassingly by Steve. His warmth and genuine interest in everything that went on inside my head still caught me off guard. “Great, now I wanna watch Disney movies.” I cast a disappointed look at the old TV that only offered a measly handful of channels. “How about we ask Natasha to get us some DVDs and a player up here?” I jumped up immediately, on the hunt for pen and paper. “Let’s make a list!” My enthusiasm earned a soft chuckle from Steve. “Honestly, how come we don’t have that here anyway? No Smart TV I understand but DVDs?” I made my way back to the couch, sinking into the cushions a few feet away from him. He shrugged. “This place is meant for short stays. We rehouse people if they have to go into long-term protection.” “Fine, but such little entertainment? What if you can’t stand the other person and don’t wanna talk to them?” “Well, luckily you and I don’t have that problem.” Steve’s gentle smile made my heart flutter. I quickly glued my eyes to the notepad in my lap and brandished the pencil. “Hit me then. Besides Belle shitting on the entire townsfolk, explaining the plot of her book to some random sheep, and not eating a single bite throughout a whole song about food.” He ignored my comment. “Hercules.” “God, that one’s a hot mess but you gotta love it.” “Baboom. Name is Hades, lord of the dead. Hi, howya doin'?” I stared at him in disbelief for a second, then broke out into laughter. “Okay, that was a seriously good impression.” “Don’t sound so surprised,” he retorted with mock offence, “Like I said, I did do theatre at school.” “I know, but…” “What?” I studied him. Lounging on the couch in jeans and a knitted sweater, relaxed and comfortable. “When I met you at the station… You seemed like a very different person.” “So did you.” He gave me a crooked grin. “Maybe we’re just very different people when we’re in the city.” “Maybe first impressions are just stupid.” “Also that.”

We worked on the list for a while, moving from animation to mini series, dramas and comedies. I wondered how many of these we would actually make it through, until this surreal bubble would finally burst. When I would lose this strangely wonderful companionship. Something pulled in my chest at the mere thought. I set the notepad down and let my eyes wander through the room until they landed on the piano. “You do that a lot,” Steve said quietly. “What?” “Look at the piano.” I swallowed hard, feeling his intent gaze on me. “I wouldn’t mind you playing. Whatever you want.” “No, thank you.” Silence fell over us for a while. Not the easy silence I had grown used to with him, this one was suffocating. When he spoke again his voice was even more tender. “That song you were singing the other day. About… waiting in the wings?” My throat went dry. “Was that from the show you’re working on?” “No. Uh, it’s from a spin-off TV show about Rapunzel, you know, from Tangled.” “Huh.” Steve raised his eyebrows. “I had no idea they write such good songs for cartoons.” “Well, they brought back Alan Menken and Glenn Slater for the show, those two don’t fuck around. And Eden Espinosa sings this one, she’s pretty famous for playing Elphaba in Wicked, so you know what she brings to the table. Jeremy Jordan sang a few songs for the show as well, you don’t tend to hire him for some shitty run-of-the-mill pop tunes.” He stared at me for a moment. “That was… a lot of names.” “Never mind,” I smiled. The tension had almost left my body when his next question brought it back in full force. “It means a lot to you though, right? That song?” I swallowed thickly, the paper crumpling in my clammy hands. “Let’s just say, it hits a little too close to home.” “Hmm.” Steve nodded. “I mean, it’s not actually about theatre of course,” I fumbled, “it’s just a metaphor.” “But it’s about theatre for you.” Another endless pause stretched between us. “I’m sorry,” he eventually murmured. “You don’t have to tell me.” “I think I want to.” My admission took us both by surprise. I had been keeping up my walls for so long, with Finn being the only one who actually knew my entire story. But now I was almost craving to tear them down for this man before me. He settled back into the cushions, giving me an encouraging smile. I cleared my throat a few times, my stomach and fingers in knots.

“My mom was from Mexico. She moved to New York all by herself at nineteen. She’d been obsessed with the stage all her life, starring in every school production and constantly putting on shows for her family at home. She put herself through AMDA on a scholarship—“ I stopped myself. “Sorry, that’s the American—“ “Musical and Dramatic Academy.” Steve smiled gently. “Some theatre kids from my high school applied.” “Right. She was gifted and relentless. Even when the industry kept putting spokes in her wheel, denying her roles with bullshit excuses and, well, very thinly-veiled racism. I wish I could say things are nothing like that today but… Anyway, she eventually got her foot in the door with some minor parts and then one day broke out as Diana Morales in A Chorus Line. And she was incredible. I mean, I only ever got to see some grainy footage from the time but… God, you should’ve seen her.” His eyes shone with light warmth. “Was she even better than you?” “Definitely.” It came out sounding more bitter than I had intended. “One day she met my dad through a school music program. He was teaching high school back then. And when I came along I didn’t really have a choice but to be into music. Something was always playing, either from the stereo or my parents’ instruments. I was into the guitar but my mom insisted I learn the piano as well. She always said, ‘I don’t care what else you learn to play, as soon as you’re decent at the piano. It’s the best basis.’” “Was she right?” “Unfortunately yes,” I smirked. “And learned to love the piano. But my real love was musical theatre. She never forced that, I simply fell for it, just like she had as a child. So both my parents taught me at home and I signed up for lessons in singing, acting, dancing. It was basically a full-time job outside of school.” “That sounds intense.” “It was. But I couldn’t get enough, I loved nothing more than learning new techniques and routines, running lines, hanging out with other theatre kids. For years it was heaven.” Steve’s smile faded. “What happened then?” “In my last year of high school I started auditioning for drama schools.” I took a deep breath. “And I choked. Every single time.” “Why?” The word came out as soft as the rain pattering against the windows. For a moment I could hardly breathe with the urge to fall into Steve, to bury my face in his chest and never come up for air. I roughly cleared my throat. “Pressure, I guess. I had been in countless productions, but as long as I’d been a kid, it had always been a game somehow. Now I was facing the big leagues, my entire future depended on those few minutes in front of the committee and—“ I sank my teeth into my bottom lip. “And they all knew my mother.” “So, they expected you to be perfect.” “Of course they did.” A strangled laugh escaped me. “She always bragged about how much promise I showed. And she wasn’t wrong. I was good for my age. The stage had been home all my life. But suddenly it became hell.” Steve’s hand found mine and my heart jumped at the gentle contact. I stared at his thumb as it caressed along my knuckles. Back and forth, just like the tug between panic and comfort in my chest. “That must have been incredibly difficult,” he finally murmured. I nodded, still choked up. “My dad was pretty relaxed about it. He kept saying I could just focus on something else for a while and return to theatre when I felt ready. But Mom… She tried so hard to hide it but her disappointment broke me. I can’t imagine how it felt for her. All those countless hours teaching me, watching me learn and perform, encouraging me, supporting me. She’d always believed that I would be a star. Had made me believe I would be.” Steve didn’t say a word, just looked at me with endless sympathy, his hand a warm tether to the world.

“After a while I couldn’t even try anymore. I had panic attacks on the way to auditions, I barely slept, I almost failed my finals. So, I gave up. I worked some odd jobs for a while, trying to flush that dream out of my system, to find something else I could be good at. But as much as it hurt, I couldn’t stay away. I trained as a deputy stage manager and in some ironic way made it to Broadway after all.” “And what about your mom?” I shrugged. “She tried to be happy for me. But I think she could never really see past the waste of my education.” “Julie—“ “And then she died.” The room feel silent. I could feel Steve’s eyes on my as I tried to blink away the tears in mine. “Heart attack. Everyone said it was just stress, she had been extremely busy with work while doing all sorts of charity work and giving lessons. But I wondered… I just couldn’t help but think that my failure—“ “Julie, no.” Steve took my hand in both of his, his grip as urgent as his tone. “Don’t you dare believe something like that.” I inhaled deeply, wiping at the tears that had spilled over at last. “Sometimes I wonder whether I should just leave New York behind. Whether the joy the theatre still brings me sometimes is worth the constant reminders that I'm not really part of that world. Not in the way I want to be. The way she wanted me to be. Most of the time it all just hurts.” “I get that part,” Steven said quietly, half-lost in his own thoughts. I studied him for a moment. “You left Chicago for a good reason, huh?” He swallowed, then nodded almost imperceptibly. “The thing is: The pain doesn’t leave you, it leaves with you. You’ll just keep carrying it everywhere.” Once more, silence fell upon us. I was caught somewhere between the relief of finally having opened up and the wondering about Steve’s past which was still mostly a mystery to me. “Have you ever auditioned again?”, he suddenly asked. “I’ve tried a couple more times. But I never made it to the actual stage. I probably never will.” “Is it even possible to fully give up on something that feels like your life’s purpose?” He seemed to direct the question at the room more than me. We both stared out the window for a while, following the raindrops’ paths down the pane. Eventually he withdrew his hand from mine to stand up and an instant chill ran through my body. I had grown dangerously used to his touch. “I’m gonna make coffee. Would you like some more tea with those brownies?” “That would be great,” I said, still slightly off kilter. On his way to the kitchen he turned to face me once more. “Julie?” I looked up at him expectantly. “Thank you for trusting me with your story.” He said it as if I’d ever really had a choice.

#steve rogers #steve rogers fanfic #steve rogers fluff #steve roger smut #steve rogers imagine #soft steve rogers #broadway #musical theatre

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pinkandgreenarepurpleandyellow · 1 year

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It Was A Blast Meeting You

Summary: I have so many stupid thoughts about how interactions between Prime!Rick and any Summer would go, so here we are with one of them. Summer isn't from C-137's universe, but a pretty similar one, and is aware enough of interdimensional shit that she knows the Rick in her timeline isn't her dimension's og Rick. For Prime, the timeline is just after the stinger of Solaricks. For Summer, it's around where late season 5 for C-137's dimension is.

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Summer is falling through the space between portals. Just like before. She's given up figuring out how long she'll be in here, what with no portal gun with her to make an exit, but her best guess is that she's got a solid three days before the dehydration and lack of food will get her. She makes the same checklist in her head as she'd been making every time her disassociation is interrupted and she's stuck being aware of her current situation.

Time currently in portal: Idk, probably like 2 hours. I have to pee.

Additional notes: Still cramped, still falling or moving or whatever. Still no exit. I wanna go back to the football boy fantasy.

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Time currently in portal: I still dk, probs like 4 hours.

Additional notes: I wonder what happens to my corpse when I die in here. Will I decompose? I'm basically in a vacuum that somehow lets me breathe, but there's no bacteria or stuff that I know of. Do I just stay a perfectly intact corpse?

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Time currently in portal: Who gives a shit, I'm gonna die.

Additional notes: Football girl fantasy better than football boy fantasy. I miss Stacy.

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Time currently in port-

Zap.

Summer lands, perhaps somewhat ungracefully, face-first on the floor of what looks like a very futuristic garage.

"Ow!"

Well, at least she's out. And now she even knows what's gonna kill her.

The Prime Rick is looking at her with confusion that's replaced by a smirk seconds later, a blaster in his hand aimed straight at her throat.

"Aww, hey alternate version of a hypothetical granddaughter!" He says, letting her scramble up at gun- ray- laser whatever point. "Ya missed your grandpa so much you fired up a portal, huh? Betcha thought it'd get you across universes to him, right?" The gun is cocked, a little charging up noise accompanying his tone turning menacing. "Betcha thought you'd get to come home to a nice happy reality, didn'tcha."

Summer's initial panic, tried and true instinct at the sight of a blaster pointed at her face, washes out. Exhaustion, followed by resignation, seeps in.

"Not really. I'm just glad I can crack my spine before I die." She twists her neck, letting the pop noise herald the feeling of relief. "Finally. Ok, you can shoot me now, I guess. I don't really care." She starts stretching her arms and shoulders, betting that he'll shoot before she can finish, but Prime's looking at her funny instead. The blaster hand isn't even his main focus anymore.

"Well that's new. W-what are you, some kinda spy or guilt ploy? Am I supposed to be sorry for you, is that the plan?"

She shrugs again.

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He keeps staring as the teenager starts talking.

"Dunno. Rick might've implanted some shit in me, but not that I know of. I asked for laser boobs for months and he keeps saying no. But all Morty has to do to get a dragon is whine to Mom for a few weeks, and suddenly he gets to have fucking Balthromar or whatever as his pet, and Morty just keeps fucking things up! It's not like he had to go fight all of the ocean's creatures to get that stupid shell, it's not like he had to train the giant space baby, it's not like he built up an entire Go-gotron empire from the ground up, his whole job was just to stand around and block Rick's brainwaves! But nooooo, he's still Rick's favorite even though I'm the one that actually keeps everything running! WHATEVER! He wouldn't care enough about me to implant anything, that lousy jerk face-"

"Giant space baby?" He cuts her off.

The curiosity spikes at the way the girl glares at some empty space in the room.

"Yeah, and that's thanks to Morty too! If he hadn't fucked that stupid horse machine, I wouldn't be a fucking teenage mom to a fucking incest space baby that I had to train because the fucking US government wanted to use him as a fucking weapon! Fucking Morty!"

Further questions. He wants to laugh. He wants to make several jokes he would have made to Diane if she'd started ranting to him like that.

Diane.

He's mostly left any sentimentality of his behind along with that Diane and her Beth, decades ago in that little garage. But now he finally gets what those other Ricks had mentioned now and then, how their granddaughter takes after Diane more than anyone had thought possible. She'd be clenching her fists like that too right now, muttering those same insults under her breath, mixing and matching what she knows in Spanish and English with all of the alien language snipers she'd learned because of Rick.

It's not exactly pity of all things that courses though his head, but a strategic plan. Summer is young. She's angry, hurting, and capable of violence. She doesn't seem to plan on forgiving her family anytime soon. She wants revenge. Just like Diane would have.

He can use her. Send her back in as a mole, have her keep tabs, and then he can kill that stupid Rick and his whole family and then her. He'll even be nice and kill her painlessly while she's doing something that makes her happy. He'll let her kill Beth and shoot her while she's laughing at the corpse. Yeah. That sounds good.

"Alright, kid," he says, getting the teenager to finally shut up her rant, which has now moved to focus on her parents. "You've convinced me. I need an intern anyway." He turns the blaster off, deliberately playing it up just a bit as he sticks the weapon back in his belt. She stands up, her shock still splashed across her face even as her eyes show that she's already adjusting to the situation in her head, evaluating and reevaluating the idea.

It's adorable, really, that she thinks she can outwit him.

"Why?" Well, at least she's asking questions. That's a start.

"You're angry at your family. I have a score to settle with your Rick. You want revenge. I want revenge. You have a fascinating resumé and catch on quick. I like not having to micro-manage. Consider yourself hired for this particular part of my plan." He even tosses her a bottle of (not poisoned) water. See, he can be downright polite when necessary.

Summer finally looks calm, resigned again to whatever happens as she twists open the cap without taking a sip.

"You're gonna kill me at the end of this." She doesn't ask, saying it like she can see the future and isn't upset about it. "Fuck it, I always wanted to die young and hot," and then she's raising the water bottle in a fake toast before taking a deep sip and grinning at him. He can see Diane again, but also a little bit of that Rick blood in her too, with the wide grin of his dead wife and her eyebrow raised in half-mock the same way he would in her position.

Maybe she's a little smarter than he gave her credit for.

"Welcome to the dark side, kid," he says instead of anything else, watching as she pushes off the counter and walks over to him. "Grandpa's not gonna know what hit him."

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Fin.

#rick and morty #rnm #r&m #summer smith #summer sanchez-smith #rick sanchez #prime rick #rick prime #drabble #prime-summer team-up AU #I might post more of this au if y'all like it idk

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bengiyo · 4 months

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She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat 2 Eps 9-12 Stray Thoughts

Last time, Nomoto and her new online friend had a watch party and discussed the nature of asexuality and homosexuality coexisting, and Nomoto shared about being in love with Kasuga; I'm a big fan of Yako. The ladies managed to connect more with Nagumo, and we learned she has an eating disorder where she can't eat in front of strangers. However, she did make donuts with them and took some home. Kasuga also managed to sever ties with her father after thinking about it and talking with other women. She asked if Nomoto would support her, and of course she did. I will never stop thinking about the Chosen Family scene.

Episode 9

Yes, Yako, coach her. We cannot let them exit this season without talking through their feelings for each other.

I have never identified with a character more than Yako. I would also enjoy my food and wine while watching my friend sweat over the crush.

Yako backstory! It really is hard in your teens when you are deeply out of alignment with other queers about sex.

The power went out and Kasuga immediately went to check on Nomoto. You love to see it.

NOMOTO IS WEARING ONE OF KASUGA'S SWEATERS, AND KASUGA JUST PULLED LINT FROM HER HAIR. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

Thank you, Nagumo! It would be awkward as hell to sit in this zone of lesbian love and not know what stage we were on!

We have verbal confirmation that Kasuga likes Nomoto! Nagumo, you are our champion! You have to get these two to the next level!!

Currently dwelling on Kasuga not lying when asked directly about her feelings. There's a difference between being out and letting people in, and I like that Kasuga told her truth to Nagumo.

Episode 10

Their project manager is at least being upfront with them that they're being asked to rebuild the entire app.

Sorry, Kasuga, but it's not often we escape compulsory heterosexuality and still have a positive interaction in a sales environment like this.

Nagumo, I love you. You have finally given us a reason to have Kasuga voice her thoughts aloud.

This show really said plainly that the presumption of heteronormativity hurts and upsets people who don't fit that mold.

I really love this show detailing how harrowing pining is when you don't know if the other person is queer and the relationship you've built means so much to you.

Episode 11

Episode 21, you aired on Valentine's Day. Please don't let me down.

This former Valentine's Day and White Day gifting tradition sounds tedious as hell.

I didn't expect Kasuga's family troubles to end with that one phone call, and here goes the aunt downplaying Kasuga's feelings and bulldozing over her expressed boundaries.

Okay, Mikami! Way to come through for my girls!!

I wanna have hotpot so bad right now.

I'm so nervous about these chocolates!!

Damn, this cake looks good. I like putting the whipped cream on the side.

Kasuga picked out different chocolates! I'm so proud of her!

Now, Kasuga, why would you go and crush me like that on Valentine's Day? I know why you need to move, but goddamn.

Episode 12

Invoices for raising her? Vile.

Queers apologizing for being selfish when they confess will never not make me cry.

I'm sorry I got a bit testy at the dramatic cliffhanger, Kasuga. You came through for me exactly the way I hoped. Y'all should definitely find a bigger place together and stay in touch with Nagumo.

"I am very delighted and also taken aback." She's like me and I love her.

Aww that was so beautiful, and she's still crying.

I'm so glad she told Sayama immediately. We stay winning.

Man, I just watched I Only Want to See You, and I'm feeling the same difficulty in the transition from friendship to romance in the relationship.

Yes, ladies, thank you for talking through telling others and reaffirming that this is definitely a romance. Let's make sure no one, especially the audience, misunderstands.

I love how Nomoto bursts into tears when she swoons.

Oh snap the whole squad is going to meet Yako next week!!!

We did it, y'all! We got to see them confess their feelings and start dating. I'm so looking forward to seeing their relationship grow and mature, and I'm actually looking forward to the move and the attendant drama that brings. I hope Nagumo doesn't end up thinking that asking about their relationship somehow cost her the relationship she's been building with them. This was an excellent week of episodes.

Big thanks to @furritsubs for making this possible.

#Ben watches #tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #Japanese GL #gl series

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lilliesforya · 9 months

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Uniqlo in Ginza and Animate in Akihabara

9/20 I went to Tokyo this past Sunday with Katie. It took us like 15 minutes to find each other in Tokyo station. Tokyo station is so large that when my train goes underground to start to pull in, it goes for like 6 minutes at regular speed before it stops at the platform. Afterwards, we walked to a Starbucks that was close by. I went to this exact one 2 weeks prior during my disastrous phone repair sponsored trip to Tokyo, the apple store employee told me where to go. The building it is next to is really big and on the inside there's a large place in the middle for art installations or this time it was various regional omiyage being sold. This time I got a triple espresso iced latte with oat milk and the espresso was so strong I was thrilled. We shared a banana rice milk muffin and an American waffle. Both were good but the waffle was better. I love Starbucks because it feels the same no matter where you are in the world (though the nice cups and plates did make it hard for me to suspend my belief).

I needed shirts for work so we went to the giant Uniqlo in Ginza. It may be the biggest technically but it's vertically big, so when we were going up each escalator to every floor the floors seemed small to me. The Osaka Uniqlo felt bigger to me even though it was only 3 floors if I remember correctly, because it was horizontally larger (than vertically). The store was beautiful and had a lot of winter clothes out and everything was organized well. I needed summer clothes though and so we spent a longer time looking for t-shirts and pants. It's still really hot here and in Tokyo so I'm not sure why the fall/winter clothes are in full swing. I got some work appropriate t-shirts and lounge pants but I couldn't find any work pants that aren't full trousers. I also got a nice dark green sweatshirt for 1990 yen which is crazy because in the US in winter those sweatshirts are like 40/50 dollars.

After Uniqlo we went to the Shake Shack we had passed on the way there. The food was so good it felt like we had been reborn. The seasonal lemonade is mango right now, and it was seriously amazing. We both agreed it would taste really good with vodka too. There's also a black sesame shake on the menu currently and I want to try it despite not being able to. By the grace of god, we got seats just as we were walking back to stand around a table.

I was excited to see the Animate because it's well known for carrying all sorts of anime goods. It was really cool to see as a whole. I was surprised by the lack of escalators for the 7 floors. There was an elevator but only one. I found Bungou Stray Dogs stuff. I'm lucky that season 5 is in the middle of airing right now because that's why there was merch. There wasnt that much to choose from in my opinion but im also devoted to two side characters (technically speaking). I did get a folder with Chuuya on it to hang in my house. There was a lot of Genshin merch. This was so fun to see in person. There were buttons for practically every character and I finally found Ayato (my genshin main) merch! I got cute Ayato themed post-its and a Tartagila plushie/ keychain. I was hoping for any Trigun merch or Honkai Star Rail merch but there was none. The lack of Trigun stuff didn't surprise me because that's more popular in America. But HSR is new and I see ads on the train all the time for it and so I was surprised that there was nothing. Definitely better for my wallet but not my heart.

#Genshin #bsd #akihabara #katie tag

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brianvan · 1 year

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The year-end personal recap concept is OPPRESSIVE to me. I think it's healthy to occasionally check-in with yourself every once in a while but... why do I have to participate in a public ceremony? Why NOW, the one week of the year I'm the most sleepy and listless from all the parties and the holiday food and the laying-around? When nothing is going on NOW to brag about, and it's the longest distance in time from lots of things I do productively? And why do most people have lots of big changes to brag about and I'm usually fishing for stuff to brag about out of my totally-fine life because none of it is status-seeking or photogenic? Just for theoretical purposes, does the angst get any easier if you have a year that makes for an easy and beautiful year end post? Probably not.

Anyway.

2022 didn't feel special while I was living it - it felt like a year where nothing major happened, where there was just a lot of work/planning to do and it was not worth bragging about.

But, uh, holy shit:

Celebrated 10 years of marriage!

I basically started a new career (but, caveat, the position started in November 2021 - yet by New Year's, after something like 5 total weeks of real work, I had no real idea if it would take root. But root it did)

Relating to the second-longest thing going in my life (other than the marriage), my service on the Community Board, a pretty seismic change - I resigned my position as Treasurer (a real piece-of-cake assignment that lets me nose in on the whole board's business) so that I could take the role of Transportation Committee chair, which is a huge upgrade in visibility, control and direct involvement in the issues I've been taking up for years.

Moved into a much nicer apartment, one that isn't a nexus of maintenance crises. More room! All new furniture! A much nicer shower/bathtub!

We have a financial advisor now!

Not only did I have a good biking year...

...and a pretty damn good camping year...

But I bike-camped across THE WHOLE STATE OF IOWA, 462 miles in seven days. First time traveling with the bike!

I went to 10-12 concerts, which is about 9-10 more than I go to in any given year, and they all were at least pretty good!

I went to something like 12 baseball games because I dove in with a CitiField ticket package, and I think it worked out pretty good! (Plus a Yankees game and a Rangers game)

A scenic trip to the Finger Lakes!

Got to do Delaware River rafting again!

I finally read THE POWER BROKER!

I managed to get a short trip to San Francisco, my second time!

Legal weed!

New Peloton bike at home! I'm actually using it!

... and couple other things I'm not going to divulge or air out here!

Anyway, I was very surprised to take a glance at some records and see all of these very big (often long-delayed) things happened all in a short time. Yes, there were *absolutely bad* things that happened too, but the trend seems to be "change and growth" in big ways at once, rather than just ordinary things passing in time and space.

But, the year felt like A LOT. Another theme through most of the year was "don't overcommit yourself!" and that's easier-said-than-done sometimes (especially in a year where seasonal/annual things that were paused for 1-2 years came roaring back all at once). And also "stop wasting time on various maladaptive habits!" (which is less "using social media" and more "reflexively checking social media as much as one blinks") So, from an attention/stimulation standpoint I've really been flying by the seat of my pants and I'm certainly not going to try to ever plan to one-up a year like this one. I am hoping for a relatively calm 2023, already committing to several attention cutbacks.

Every once in a while I get posed the question "where do you see yourself in 5 years" and at one point I thought I could get insight on that by looking at the past 10 years. And from that I saw that the answer was "there is absolutely no telling where you will be in 5 years or what you want to see happen, all you know is that you'll have significantly pulled yourself forward and you won't be where you are now." Because in any 5 year timeframe, that has been the story of the last 20+ years. Recently, I've learned and experienced so much, and have grown so much. And there is so much more opportunity for learning and growth. Life is an experience of taking those opportunities continually. And it's great.

Ironically, the idea of personal growth/progress is a concern where I'm deeply anxious, and fearful of failure. I am going to spend some time unpacking that in 2023. (That's been part of the growth, BTW: insight into bad thinking!) What ties all of this together is that it's a fairly good idea to gut-check that anxiety by looking at an actual recap of events and achievements. Enough happened this year that I should forgive myself if I want to chill out for the next 2 years! If I just did many of the events from this past year all over again in this coming year (like a routine), it'll be fantastic! If there's anything I'm unhappy with now, or anything I'm worried where I don't control whether it goes good or bad... there's literally nothing to worry about because even among setbacks I come out very strongly ahead overall, even in a bad year! (Other than "you shouldn't worry" as a separate but still meaningful lesson)

It is very difficult to remember all of this so I figure it's good for me to jot this down in private. As it turns out, I've got many years of recaps in Tumblr already that are public, so here's another one for the pile. I'm keeping the streak going. Now I don't need to worry about being the guy without a rosy year-end recap.

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bergens-adventure-tours · 1 year

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Week 8: April 3rd – April 9th, 2023 // Let the solo travels begin!

Well folks, the adventures have truly and officially begun this week! I’ve left the comfort of Hobart and the Fitzy Castle House, and am now traveling the mainland with just myself and Peg. I’d like to start by saying whoever else has been lead to believe that Australia is always hot and sunny, I’ve got sad news for you. I figured my timing to more or less “chase the colder weather” because I was worried of how I’d handle the Australian heat would still be giving me at least consistent sunny 15+˚C… It has not lol it’s been pretty comparable to Vancouver seasons thus far – both in Tassie and now along the south coast. No, I shouldn’t be this surprised; geographically it all makes sense when you actually think about it… it’s just been a rude awakening knowing packing the toque was actually a smart idea and not a waste of space lol.

Monday was such a benchmark day for me – I officially completed my first ever van build! The fact that we designed, bought material, took everything out, and built the whole thing from scratch in just 5 days (realistically only have like 4-6hours at a time) is pretty fucking amazing to me. I was just adding up the days as I thought we had done 6 or 7… I’m so impressed with how well we worked together after having never met before and SO grateful to Rhys for giving me so much of his spare time (all in the middle of moving houses too I might add). An absolute legend! There were a couple minor things we would’ve like to get done that we just unfortunately ran out of time for – but the overall build of the main components we wanted were completed and it looks so freaking good. Like I could not be happier with it. And after this first week living out of it and having it organized, I feel like I can really live and breathe in this space. It’s so nicely laid out and organized, I can’t wait to put together a proper video for you all! After a thank you dinner for Rhys, I couldn’t get to sleep till quite late as I was FAR too excited about the van and figuring out how I wanted to organize it all.

Tuesday was an emotional day for me as it was time to officially move into my new home, while getting ready to say goodbye to what has been my home for the past 7 weeks. I got an early start and spent the day putting up my lights, organizing all my gear, cleaning. The afternoon I spent sorting out some electrical stuff (big shout-out and thanks to Ethan and Lauren for your help), writing notes and getting flowers for the house + the couple who let us use their space for renovating the van. Managed to get in one last climb late night climb with Sam+Annie before giving the house my little thank you gift. Was really nice to have everyone home for the night, with Alissa having been gone most of the time I’ve been here.

Wednesday was a pretty successful and eventful day! Early start to cut my own hair, pack the last of my stuff from the house, say my goodbyes to the housemates, grab coffee w/Sam+Sammy, get some new runners to get back into running/working out while on the road (shout out to Sam for the discount!), and finally dropped off the flowers and note to Sean+Megs as a thank you for allowing Rhys and I to use their home for the van build. Not gonna lie, I got real sappy this week… I find I often express myself best through my writing, and was feeling a lot of gratitude for a lot of people this week. I had many complete strangers go out of their way to help me out in some really big ways during my time here, and I can’t help but think about how different my first 2 months would’ve been had I not met Alissa back in Canada last October.

The afternoon was spent on a beautiful 4-hour drive to Devonport, where I found a nice little spot just down the road from the ferry to park for the night. Was feeling pretty exhausted from the past week, so after organizing some food for the ferry, and blowing out my inverter trying to use my induction stove top (whoops)…I ended on an early night with some reading.

Ferry day was actually such a dream. I hadn’t realized how run down I’ve been getting, so the forced RNR was very much needed. Thanks to Sean’s advice, I went straight to deck 10 and snagged one of the only 4 couches on the ferry and set up camp. They were surprisingly super comfortable and perfect length for me to fully stretch out and take many naps lol. Bringing a blanket, I think was my best idea. There wasn’t much for service most of the ride, so my time was divided between napping, people watching, snacking and reading. The 10hours flew by pretty quickly, and next thing I knew, I was looking for a place to park for the night! Ended up in a parking lot that I didn’t realized locked at night, so had a cop knocking on my window at 23:30 telling me to park out on the street next to the park… finding free spots is going to be a bit of a learning curve I imagine haha.

Friday I got to experience my first Laundromat, and I gotta say, I picked a good one to start with… super clean and newer machines. Got all my clothing and bedding washed which felt SO nice to crawl into that night. I was back n forth a bunch between whether I begin the road trip west, or back track to Melbourne… I decided that my body still needed some rnr time, so I found myself a beach/cliff spot 20min south of Devonport, called Point Addis, and set up camp for the rest of the day to read and relax. I managed to finish another book which I realized has brought me to 8 completed books since I left Canada! I ended up with a beautiful break in the clouds and found my way down towards the beach.

One of my favourite things I’ve been consciously trying to practice has been “grounding,” which is the simple practice of walking on the earth barefoot. There’s a lot of benefits to grounding, but my favourites have been noticing the toughness in my feet build up, as well as my attentiveness to where I step. The increased attentiveness has me focusing more on my body and the present moment, and reducing the amount of random mental chatter and wandering I have when on walks. It’s been a really useful tool for practicing more mindfulness and meditation. It also reminds me of all the time I spent barefoot as a kid, playing in the backyard, climbing trees, wandering the neighbourhood – it has a way of connecting you back to your inner child. I highly recommend reading up on it some more and practicing it yourself!

After today, I decided that spending time in downtown Melbourne is not what I’m wanting right now, and with my route I have planned for this year, I know I’ll have plenty of other opportunities to visit and explore the city another time.

So with that, I made the most of Saturday by practicing some yoga on the boardwalk at sunrise, getting some errands in by running to Bunnings and Jaycar (hopefully for the last time finally) to fix my kitchen set up and replace my inverter. The guys at Jaycar were absolute GEMS! I went in with my inverter thinking I had completely ruined it and was just going to recycle it with them, but the guy at the counter took the opportunity to forfeit a bigger sale and help me open up the inverter and make just a $2 fix! They also came out to help check on the battery and connections and ended up fixing a piece to make it work even better! Jaycar has probably been my favourite Aussie store to work with – every location I’ve been to, the employees have gone above and beyond helping me, while making it as affordable as possible. Can’t recommend them enough for any electronic needs. Made some grocery shop stops in town, visited another zero waste grocery store ‘The Source.’ Then made my way to Industry Boulders for an afternoon climb! Really loved this gym. They had some really fun routes and felt really good to focus just on bouldering.

Made a little impromptu stop at a beautiful art gallery/nursery just off the Great Ocean Highway, and had a really lovely conversation with the resident artist there about how it’s important to remind ourselves that our creations aren’t for everyone. Create for yourself – the people who resonate with you and connect with your work will follow. Forcing yourself to fit a mould that wasn’t meant for you, will only disrupt your inner peace and disconnect you from the work you truly wish/are made to be doing. (artist IG: @saltandpeppergallery).

I ended up heading back to Point Addis for the night since I finished in town a bit later and knew that I wouldn’t have people asking me to move… hopefully.

Sunday was a pretty blah day for me. Woke up a bit later not feeling too great (think I’m on the verge of a cold), so I went in and out of napping and reading for most of the day. Managed to get myself out for a little walk and make a really tasty pasta dish, but decided to continue taking it easy and spend one more night at Point Addis before hitting the road and taking on the Great Ocean Road this next coming week!

After finishing “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” I’ve begun “The Mountain is You” and oh boy am I being faced with some hard doses of reality. It’s been a humbling read that I’m excited to share some bits n pieces with you all in the next week.

Until next time.

Stay passionate and curious, Hunter♡

04/10/2023

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