#money shot comes again

[smashpages]

Larry Welz’s Cherry will guest star in Vault’s ‘Money Shot Comes Again’

Tim Seeley and Gisele Lagace welcome an underground legend to the returning series.

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 4/26

Please, trees, free us from the pollen!

BLAB! Vol 1 TP - Monte Beauchamp, Noah Van Sciver & Ryan Heshka

BLAB!-the Harvey Award-winning anthology of cutting-edge comics, art, and culture-has returned to its comics roots with a stellar lineup of contributors. Noah Van Sciver depicts the tragic demise of Crime Does Not Pay editor Robert Wood. Ryan Heshka recounts the rise and fall of Superman creators Siegel and Shuster. Sasha Velour portrays the making of film director F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu. Children's book illustrator Giselle Potter examines Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter's passion as a naturalist. Illustrated articles include the history of the gorilla and a report on UFOs. All this and much more in Comics and Stories That Will Make You BLAB!

Black Cat Social Club TP -  Christopher Painter & Bob Quinn

The story of three punk rock witches, Alice, Hazel, and Maggie, who cast spells with their songs to battle corporate demon jerks, defeat rival witch bands, save the world, and get to the next gig. Black Cat Social Club have been at this "band thing" for quite a while, with limited success. (Bummer.) Despite their kick-ass punk rock skills (and a little songcasting magic), these witchy women have been struggling to reach their big break. Discouraged, bassist Hazel sells her soul to a demon for more magical power, prompting singer/lead guitarist Alice to step in and assume the debt herself! Plus side, the band is killing it at their shows now. Downside? They may literally be killing the entire world by fueling these corporate demons' evil plans, which for sure involve brimstone, monsters... you know, the works! Can the band stop the apocalypse? Is drummer Maggie's songwriting, uh, "technique" the key? Will the demon Stan ever shut up?! If you've ever wished Josie and the Pussycats had more demons, or Buffy was fronting a three-piece rock band, you've found your next favorite book in Black Cat Social Club!

Boy’s Abyss GN Vol 1 -  Ryo Minenami

Reiji's life is as miserable as the small town he can't escape. The most interesting thing that's ever happened there is a double suicide down by the river. Does Reiji have any power over his fate, or will he too fall into the abyss?

Charisma’s Turn GN -  Monique Couvson & Amanda Jones

From the award-winning author of Pushout, an inspiring graphic novel about what can happen when Black girls are given the opportunity to find their genuine power. Charisma's Turn is a graphic novel that follows the dynamic story of Charisma, a Black high school student who is grappling with mounting pressures from home and school. When frustrations with her family intersect with a conflict at school, she reaches a crossroads, facing a choice that could change her future. Featuring vibrantly illustrated art from Amanda Jones and a foreword by poet, artist, and arts educator Susan Arauz Barnes, this book will appeal to teens, parents, educators, librarians, and more. Charisma's Turn exemplifies how Black girls can be truly empowered to reach their full potential when they have supportive educators and community members in their corner.

Cut-Over Criteria GN -  Koala Omugi

A fresh new boys' love office romance in which opposites attract! Recent graduate Jin has been assigned to help out his upperclassman Seto, a highly competent but somewhat standoffish systems engineer. Though Jin is good at his job, he does seem to have his head in the clouds more often than not... and Seto's eyes always seem to linger on him more than they should!

Deep Cuts #1 (of 6) -  Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark, Danilo Beyruth & Chris Brunner

New Orleans, 1917. In the city's bustling red-light district, a young clarinet player lands a job with his hero-but he'll soon discover there's more to the music business than playing the right notes.

Join writers KYLE HIGGINS & JOE CLARK (RADIANT BLACK) and an ALL-STAR CAST OF ARTISTS for SIX DOUBLE-LENGTH ISSUES that weave stories of struggle, joy, and hope through the history of jazz!

Disney & Pixar’s Turning Red: 4*TOWN 4 Real GN -  Dirchansky & KAlfee

4*Town 4 Ever! 4*Townies are hyped to see 4*Town performing their favorite hits live, but how will Canada's greatest boy band spend the day leading up to their epic Toronto concert? Hang with Robaire, Jesse, Tae Young, Aaron T, and Aaron Z as they enjoy a rare break in their busy schedules! Jesse and Tae Young embrace their artistic side and visit a ceramics museum, Aaron T gets his fashion on at the mall, and Aaron Z and Robaire stay in the dance studio to master their moves before the sold-out show. Only the realest fans deserve to get this up close and personal with Tween Beat Magazine's Hottest Band of the Year!

Fashion Illustration: Outfit Of The Day GN -  Pie International 

Fashion Illustration is a new genre in the Japanese illustration scene, offering the most up-to-date, modern and practical styles for everyday. This book introduces 40 up-and-coming illustrators from Japan who are becoming popular on social media, including Daisuke Richard the author of Kikanetsu published in June 2019. Filled with loads of cool, stylish coordinates and color patterns, this guide offers a whole new way for discovering new trends in fashion. Find your own outfit of the day!

Jujutsu Kaisen: Thorny Road At Dawn GN -  Gege Akutami & Ballad Kitaguni

A modeling scout approaches Kugisaki, but he turns out to be a cursed speech user with an ulterior motive, and when Inumaki tries to rescue her, things don't quite turn out as planned. Mechamaru goes on a solo mission, Gojo and friends try to host a party, and more chilling and charming adventures ensue in these five short stories set in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen!

Money Shot Comes Again #1 -  Tim Seeley & Gisele Lagace

The XXX-plorers are back on their hands and knees for the good of humanity! When the giant ass space jellyfish who run the ordered universe arrive on earth, the porn-stars-cum-science explorers must put away grudges, crushes, and side-hustles to once again take one (or two! or three!) for the team. An epicly sexy new arc begins, which takes aim at dumb billionaires and bad optics, and guest stars a LEGENDARY underground comix heroine! NEW ARTIST Gisele Lagace puts her sexy spin on the book!

New Retro Illustration Bilingual Edition GN -  PIE INTERNATIONAL

Retro but modern. This is the new trend, the new way, the new form of illustration created by the new generation. "New retro," a combination of the word "New" and "Retrospective," is a phrase meaning "appreciating and enjoying something old while reimagining it into something modern." This book introduces 40 up-and-coming illustrators working in this "new retro" style. Through the 300 illustrations showcased in this one book, readers can appreciate and enjoy retro culture, items and motifs reimagined and transformed into something new.

Platinum Blood GN -  Mor Ichigaya

Alucard, known by "Al" for short, is a vampire who has been raised by a priest, You. Providing Al the fluids he needs to survive has created an unusually close relationship between the two, but what will become of their partnership as You's mortality catches up to him? This book contains explicit content and mature themes, including incest and violence. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age.

QUEEN In Comics GN -  Emmanuel Marie & Sophie Blitman

Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Freddie Mercury form one of the greatest rock bands in the world. Under the leadership of its charismatic singer, Queen is a planetary success for each hit with its decadent shows, inimitable aesthetics and style. "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Are the Champions", "Don't Stop Me Now" or even "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" are just some of the hits! Discover the great stories and little secrets surrounding the legend!

Sacred Lamb GN - Tim Seeley & Jelena Dordevic

Online celebrity Kellyn West, who just recently dispatched "her" own stalker-slash-serial killer Clay Coogan on a live stream, finds herself the newest resident of a secluded town known as Sacred Lamb. This is where the government hides "endemic victims" under witness protection in hopes of preventing innocents from being murdered when, inevitably, psycho slashers return from the dead. But when the body count starts rising inside the barbed wire fences, Kellyn must team up with the original survivor girl, known only as "The Babysitter," to rally the E.V.s and withstand an army of slashers at their door, seemingly back from the dead, and definitely back for blood.

Sap Hunters HC -  Laurent Genefort & Alexandre Ristorcelli

Through the branches of the gigantic World Tree, Pierig searches for the source of the malevolence that poisons the sap. The colossal branches of the World Tree are home to many diverse clans of people, each living among their tier. When Pierig, a Sap Diviner, is captured by the Bellicose clan for his rare skills, he learns that the World Tree is dying and its nourishing sap, the fuel for each of these communities, is being poisoned... Accompanied by three warriors, Pierig is forced to trace the origin of the evil that is eating away at the plant titan through each of its levels, and down to the very base if necessary. But along his journey, issues deeper than the root of this sickness begin to surface, putting everything Pierig knew to be true into question.

Silence #1 (of 5) -  Devin Kraft

In this extraordinary Rock'n'Roll/Mythology mashup, Johanna Jones returns to her hometown of Anthem, a down-on-its-luck shipping town, to discover the ship her father sailed on has gone missing. She ends up aboard a yellow submarine named the Heart of Gold, headed directly into Hades' Hexagon to find the missing crew, accompanied by her childhood best friend, a rich young addict, and a punk legend.

Star Wars The High Republic Adventures: Quest Of The Jedi One-Shot -  Claudia Gray, Fico Ossio & Tom Fowler

On the ancient world of Angcord, the Force works in unforeseen ways. When legendary Jedi Knight Barnabus Vim and his intrepid Padawan Bly arrive on this mysterious world, seeking an ancient artifact of the Force, they quickly find more than they were bargaining for. But just what is the mysterious Echo Stone, and what does its existence mean for the continued survival of all those who call Angcord home?

Souls Of Black Folk: A Graphic Interpretation GN -  W E B Du Bois, Paul Buhle & Paul Peart-Smith

Peart-Smith's graphic adaptation provide historical and cultural contexts that bring to life the world behind Du Bois' words. Readers will get a deeper understanding of the cultural debates The Souls of Black Folk was engaging in, with more background on figures like Booker T. Washington, the advocate of black economic uplift, and the Pan-Africanist minister Alexander Crummell. This beautifully illustrated book vividly conveys the continuing legacy of The Souls of Black Folk, effectively updating it for the era of The 1619 Project and Black Lives Matter.

W0RLDTR33 #1 -  James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, & Jordie Bellaire 

In 1999, Gabriel and his friends discovered the Undernet, a secret architecture to the Internet. They charted their exploration on a message board called W0RLDTR33.

Then they lost control. Someone broke into W0RLDTR33-someone who welcomed the violent hold the Undernet had on them. At great personal cost, Gabriel and the others thought they sealed the Undernet away for good. They were wrong. And now they will know the meaning of PH34R.

The Witches Of World War II GN -  Paul Cornell & Valeria Burzo

In the darkest hours of World War II, Doreen Valiente (then known as Doreen Dominy), an expert on British folklore and the occult, is approached by British intelligence at Bletchley Park who tell her they know she's a witch... and that's how she can best serve her country. Together with the "most evil man in the world," a hard-nosed white witch, the grizzled founder of Wicca, and a professional exorcist and con man, Valiente will travel deep into the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe and gamble her life, her belief, and her powers on a mission to help capture Rudolf Hess, second in command to Adolf Hitler himself.

Whatcha scooping up this week, Fantom Fam? 

[graphicpolicy]

Underground legend Cherry Popstar comes to Money Shot Comes Again

Underground legend Cherry Popstar comes to Money Shot Comes Again #comics #comicbooks

Vault Comics made the comics industry collectively blush in 2019 when they released the first issue of Money Shot, the space age sex comedy created by Tim Seeley, which went on to sell through multiple printings and an initial run of 15 issues. Now, the XXX-plorers are back on their hands and knees for the good of humanity! When the giant ass space jellyfish who run the ordered universe arrive…

[englishmansdcc]

MONEY SHOT COMES AGAIN #1 - Gorgeous art, sexy comic (Seeley, Lagacé, Badilla Z, CRANK!) - Vault Comics

Now out is @thevaultcomics MONEY SHOT COMES AGAIN #1 from the team of @HackinTimSeeley, @GiseleLagace, Carlos Badilla Z, & CRANK!. @Corevnll says in his review "If you’re a little naughty and enjoy a funny read this book is one not to miss!"

Writer: Tim SeeleyArtist: Gisèle Lagacé Colorist: Carlos Badilla ZLetterer: CRANK! Thanks to Vault Comics for the review copy! The XXX-plorers are back for more in this kinky and hilarious second arc from writer Tim Seeley and new artist Gisèle Lagacé. They’ll do anything to save the earth, even if it means getting on their knees! Follow the team as they find new and often sexually creative…

[mermaidsirennikita]

🎄Romance Advent🎄 Day 13: Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole

One-sentence summary: Blood-maddened vampire assassin Conrad is taken to an old mansion to detox, only to realize that the beautiful dancer he sees (and can speak to) is not a hallucination, but a ghost.

Why read it: I mean, aside from that insane summary, this is a great entry point to Immortals After Dark, and has a hero who is, by IAD standards, baby? I mean, he can and will kill anyone who touches his woman and, again, is clinically insane, but Conrad is allso so wounded and so sweet at his core, and also, much to his eternal embarrassment, a vIRGIN (something his brother loudly points out in front of his ghost girlfriend). And Neomi, our heroine, makes it even better. She's funny, she's angry, she's flirty, and Conrad's brokenness calls to her own in a way that's just gorgeous.

Lives in my brain rent-free: Conrad is in the shower, really determined to ignore the Sexy Ghost Lady because SURELY she's in his head, right? And Neomi, rather determined to get him to break and a former burlesque performer, begins doing an elaborate striptease with lines like "Does Conrad want to see my panties?" (He does. As previously mentioned, Conrad is a 300-year old-virgin.) GOLD. QUEEN SHIT.

[vino---delectable]

Oh... life treated You unfairly

What about him?

[hopeworth]

I Never Told You What I Do For A Living satosugu………. ough

[s0fter-sin]

i never told you what i do for a living is a serennedy anthem tell me i’m wrong

[steelycunt]

someone bring a prompt game into town soon...please...i need 2 write. something

[quaranmine]

watching adventure archive's most recent video, right after watching their yellowstone video, and i'm starting to piece together in my head that perhaps a years worth of watching their videos and Yearning has also contributed greatly to me writing firewatch au

[maggieisalarrie]

.

[smashpages]

Money Shot, the science fiction/porn series written by Tim Seeley, will return in May 2023 in a new series, Money Shot Comes Again. Seeley will be joined by a new artist, Gisele Lagace, who drew the first issue’s cover.

Read more

[betweeninstrumentsandbooks]

.

[graphicpolicy]

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week! 12 new comics to check out this week! #comics #comicbooks

Wednesdays (and Tuesdays) are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at! Find out what…

[deadsetobsessions]

“I ate paint once,” Danny nonchalantly threw out in the middle of game night.

The entire table stopped. Heads whipped towards Danny.

“Yeah, me too. Cardamom yellow was my favorite. Ugly as hell but the chemicals just tasted right.” Tim replied, using the distraction to nab some of Bruce’s money. Monopoly money, that is. Everyone’s heads snapped towards Tim, only Cass and Danny (who was part of the scheme) caught him cheating.

“Really? I think mine was those spray can blue cosmos paint. But that might have been more my thing for space than the actual taste.”

“WHY WERE YOU EATING PAINT?!” Dick asked, looking like he wanted to lunge over the table and shake Danny until he puked out paint. Bruce looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“Yeah, what the fuck, Tim?” Jason snickered.

“In my defense,” Danny grinned. “I was left unsupervised. Also, Steph, you owe me $24 in rent.”

“Ugh! I’m almost out of money! Can’t you loan me some, Alfred?”

“I am sorry, Miss Stephanie, you are not qualified for another loan. In fact, one of your properties is about to be confiscated as per the collateral agreement.”

“Noooo!” Stephanie made dramatic dying noises.

“What was your excuse, Timothy?” Damian asked, eyes glued to the board and determined to win the game.

“Hey, I was probably less supervised than Danny was.”

“Yeah,” Danny perked up. “My parents brought us down to their lab all of the time. Taught us a lot of stuff.”

“Really? Like what?” Duke asked, casually slapping away Tim’s sneaky hands.

“Oh, like what a rocket launcher sounded like up close! And how to build a laser gun! Oh! And what human organs looked like when they’re fresh!” Danny chirped, collecting his money from a stunned Stephanie’s hands. He looked up.

“Oh, don’t worry! I at least learned what not to do when it comes to lab safety. And we wore hazmat suits to protect ourselves from the radiation.” Danny smiled in a ditzy fashion as the table fell silent in a horrified manner. Cass tapped his arm amusedly, but allowed his bullshit to stand. After all, it’s not like he lied.

“Radiation?” Duck’s voice raised a couple of octaves. Oh yeah, Danny’s going to laugh about that pitch for a long while.

“Organs?!” Jason’s hands closed around the plastic house he was holding rather forcefully.

“Do you even know what basic lab safety practices are, Danny?” Damian demanded, finally looking up with brows furrowed. He rolled the dice and grabbed a mystery card. He gets $100 from Alfred.

“How old were you??” Duke asked.

“Like… 8, when they first brought me in?”

“Eight.” Bruce rumbled, slipping into a more Batman like persona. When Danny sent him a confused look, Bruce straightened back into his Bruce persona. “Wow, they must have trusted you a lot!”

“Sure?”

“What were their names again?” Stephanie asked sweetly, Cass nodding at him.

“Jack and Maddie Fenton.” Not that they’ll find them here, considering his parents are dead and in another universe.

“Cool, cool, cool!” Stephanie blinked, beaming as her hands formed lethal fists underneath the table.

Danny blinked and tilted his head in an unassuming way, pretending like he had no idea what Stephanie was thinking of. He sneakily handed over $600 to Cass in order to complete his monopoly on his side of the board.

Danny stood up and spread his hands out, one hand clutching his new found victory.

"Well, lady and gents, you've all been floundering against the inevitable tide of capitalism. I am here, as a reminder that you can never win against the hopelessness that will be your financial ruin! I, Danny Fenton, have obtained a quarter of the board and therefore have won against even your best efforts!" He cackled, holding up his fan of properties triumphantly. He shot a mischievous grin at Cass, who held up a solemn thumbs up in support for his monetary takeover.

"... Danny, are you... planning on a career in villainy?" Bruce asked, after a brief and total wave of shocked silence. Damian looked like he was having a conniption at having been bested, unknowingly. Yeah, Danny was disarming like that.

"Yeah, that was concerning." Tim piped up, nabbing a ten from a shell-shocked Damian.

"Hey! The Riddler gives surprisingly good monologues! And he's really loud, so it's hard not to pick up on things. Duke, your turn." Danny sat back down, pouting. The villainy comment was a little too close to his fears.

"Damn it." Duke, who had rolled, landed smack middle of Danny's territory. He handed over a sheaf of bills to a grinning Danny.

"Wait a minute! You have cheated!" Damian bolted upwards from his seat, finally done running through the purchases he remembered Danny making. "You acquired that property not within the games' rules!"

"Okay, first of all, the rule book is a suggestion, like lab safety rules," Danny saw the others open their mouths to protest, but he quickly shut it down. "Second, there's totally no rules about selling and buying places from a private owner so suck on it. And thirdly? Cass sold it to me, so you all can take it up with her."

"Diabolical!" Damian muttered indignantly.

"... Dammit." Dick sighed, falling back into the chair and balancing on its two legs. He couldn't say anything, considering his current of bankruptcy.

"Danny. Danny, I'll buy a property from you." Jason said, eyeing one of Danny's other properties near his own cluster.

"What do you have that would interest me?" Danny asked, falling back into his Vlad-like imitation.

"Ew, don't do that," Steph reached over to jab him in the arm.

"Yeah, Jason, what do you have?" Duke said, the lovely subtle instigator that he is.

"Red Hood's signature."

The others blue-screen, gaping at the actual audacity Jason had to offer up something that would take him no effort. Danny, prepared with a poker face that came with lying straight to Jazz's ever perceptive eyes about whether he nabbed the last of her ice cream or not, was prepared.

"Red Hood? The condom guy working out of the... um. Upper East Side?" Danny asked, pretending to hesitate. He knows where Jason operated. That doesn't mean he couldn't simply pretend otherwise. For science, of course.

...

...

...

The table howled with laughter, Jason's indignant spluttering unable to say anything against Danny's wide eyed look of innocence. Cass leaned against the table, chuckles falling out of her mouth and eyes crinkled in mirth. Dick had fallen out of his chair, helplessly wheezing on the floor. Duke is hiding his face in his hands, mirroring Bruce's pose as they both shake from silent laughter. Damian is smirking, wicked and sharp as he smugly stared at Jason. Stephanie and Tim are leaning against each other, repeating "the CONDOM GUY" in alternating and increasingly louder voices. Alfred had a smile on his face and a tight grip on the bills in front of him that betrayed his amusement.

"He's a crime lord!" Jason exclaimed, indignant.

"Uh, okay. Well, I mean, why would I want a crime lord's signature? I don't want to be on his radar. Or echolocation or whatever. He's... a Bat, right? That's what you guys call that group, yeah?"

"How do you know the Rogues better than the vigilantes?!" Jason glared at his unhelpful family. Those assholes better prepare for a load of rubber bullets the next time they're on patrol near Crime Alley.

"Hey, it's not my fault the vigilantes here are unsociable. Maybe if they monologued more, I'd know who they are."

"Wouldn't- wouldn't that make them more villain like?" Tim asked, stuttering from his laughter.

"I dunno?" Danny replied, enjoying his the family's unabashed joy. "I mean, they're pretty legit and they help people already so I guess they don't need to be sociable... but still I swear I haven't heard anything about Batman other than that he grunts and is mean towards criminals."

Is mean towards criminals, Duke mouthed at a recovering Dick who was in the process of heaving himself back up. It sent him careening back down to the floor with restrained giggles. Cass tapped Danny, reminding him to eat some food.

"Tt. Of course not. They're efficient at their jobs and have no need to be seen as welcoming to criminals." Damian puffed up.

"Yeah, but they've gotta feel safe, right?" Danny shrugged as he plucked a cookie from the cookie platter. "The... one with the sword, what was it?"

"Robin." Damian supplied, eyes narrowed and trained on him.

"Yeah, the baby bird. The kids think his swords are cool so they trust him. But like, the others? The flippy blue one? Not so much."

"Wait," Dick said from the floor. "They don't trust Nightwing?"

"Nah, they trust him to protect them, but he has a history of bringing the kids to the police, you know?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Danny shrugged. "ACAB. But also because everybody knows that half the guys in the GCPD and CPS are child traffickers."

"Wait, what?" Jason and Tim straightened.

Bruce piped in, the emotional whiplash of amusement to concern to amusement to concern visibly making itself known on the man's baffled face. "I thought Batman and Commissioner Gordon took care of that?"

"Sure, the obvious ones." Danny hesitated. Well, he's pretty sure they think he's a meta so... "There's... a meta trafficking ring that they're a part of. That's. That's kind of what I was running from."

Danny looked up pleadingly. Cass placed a hand on his arm in comfort, not knowing that he was fibbing about running from them.

Danny was on the streets helping his own Alley metas to run from them.

Danny is as feral as she was, and that meant he could hide just as much as she could read off of him. Cass was the best and he felt kind of bad about lying to her, successfully or not.

"Uh. Some people said you know Batman, Bruce. I know- uh, that might not be the case but if you do, could you ask him to look into it?" Danny made his eyes tear up. "And maybe he wouldn't care about me much, I mean, I know he doesn't really like metas but if he helps out, I could totally like, leave the city once the kids are safe, promise."

Ooh, Danny put a little too much sincerity into that. He could practically hear the hearts breaking in the game room as everyone glared at Bruce.

"You won't have to leave."

"... Promise?" And Danny's voice was a little too desperate, too hopeful, because Bruce's eyes tugged down in sadness.

"Promise." He rumbled, all Bruce Wayne and all Batman. Danny's core warmed. Danny also saw the rest of the family's faces darken in pure agreement. And partial wrath.

"Yeah! We'll kick Batman's ass if he even thought about kicking you out!" Stephanie proclaimed.

"He's far more proficient in combat than you are, Brown." Damian immediately leapt to Batman's defense and that was that.

Well, later, as Danny was "sleeping" and Phantom was hovering in the cave, invisible and intangible, he got confirmation that his Alley meta kids were going to be safe, soon.

After all, the entire Batclan was suiting up and baying for blood, with Oracle's all encompassing presence behind them, fingers reaching for their enemies' weak points.

[hairmetal666]

Steve wins the bat plush at a fair when he's seven. He doesn't care about bats, but it's the prize for making all five baskets in the basketball game, so he gets the little bat. Its eyes are a little crooked and one wing is slightly smaller than the other, but it being lopsided sort of makes it cuter.

He and his dad, they're supposed to be going on rides now, but his dad's pager keeps going off. He puts Steve next to a funnel cake stand, tells him not to move, and goes in search of a pay phone. Fifteen minutes pass, and Steve is bored under the flashing lights and tinkling music. He wants to play not sit and wait.

Eventually, he drifts back towards the midway, watches the people rushing by, searches for a sign of his dad's return. His attention is caught by another boy at the basketball booth. He has to be about Steve's age, with a mop of dark curls on top of his head and a jean jacket that's slightly too big, sleeves flopping over his hands as he lines up his shots.

This boy, he's terrible at basketball. Every shot is too high or too short or goes wide, but he's trying. Even from this distance, Steve can see how hard he's trying. He uses up his five balls, fishes into his jacket pocket for more money, and gets five more.

He misses every shot. This time, when he goes back for more money, he comes up empty. Steve thinks he sees his lip shaking.

A man, one in a leather jacket and boots that Steve thinks look mean, comes up to the boy, drops a heavy hand on his shoulder. He's too far away to hear the conversation, assumes the boy asks to play again and the man's response is a shaken head and a tight smile. They walk away from the games, right towards Steve, who slinks back to the side of the midway, not wanting to be caught staring.

"What was it you wanted? That stupid bat? Just another piece of trash you wanna bring in my house." Steve hears as they pass.

The boy nods, but keeps his eyes down and to the side.

He feels bad then. Felt bad before, but now he looks at his own bat, at its funny eyes and poorly attached wings, and wishes he could hand it over to the boy who really wants it. Steve almost does, then, makes to go after them, but his dad appears, dropping a hand to Steve's shoulder and saying, "ready to hit those rides?" And he knows the opportunity is gone, knows his dad will say it's too soft, not what men do.

Steve manages to lose himself for a while in the swirling lights and funhouse music and carnival rides, forget about the little bat in his back pocket and the boy who wanted one so desperately. But then his dad's pager goes off some more, he goes back to the pay phone, and Steve ducks into the low brick building that houses the bathrooms.

His eyes immediately land on the same boy from the basketball game. His eyes are red, face damp, obviously from tears, and Steve just--

"Here." He shoves the bat into the boy's chest.

For a second, the brownest eyes Steve's ever seen widen at him, before narrowing in a harsh glare, the boy's teeth barred.

"Why?" He snarls.

Steve thinks he may regret every choice that led him to this but he says, he says, "Because I want you to have it."

The boy blinks a few times, hand reaching out to gently pinch the bat's smallest wing. "You sure?"

Steve nods and the bat is slowly withdrawn from his grasp.

"No takesies-backsies?"

"It's yours."

The boy looks at the bat in awe, and Steve says, "see? It already looks happier with you."

The boy's beaming smile is cut-off by a voice calling from the door, "you in there,? I ain't got time to be waiting for your boohooing."

"Coming!" The boy carefully tucks the bat into an inner pocket of his jacket. "Thank you," he whispers, eyes big and glistening and happy, before he disappears out the door.

---

13 years later, give or take a few months, and Steve stands in the cracked shell of a bisected trailer, rummaging through what remains of a life well-lived, searching for anything whole. He's already found a few undamaged mugs and clean hats, but this room--it took a lot of damage. The brunt of it, really. Some sick sort of joke, after everything.

It's mostly rubble in here, scraps of fabric; slivers of notebook paper, magazine, poster; crumbled shards of vinyl and cassette plastic. A few times he comes across the disembodied limb of one of those dnd figures, and something weird happens to his throat.

In the far corner there's half of a dresser collapsed into itself, and he shuffles through the debris to see what he can find. There's something, soft and black, just the edge of it, peaking out from under half of a drawer face. He pulls it out, careful as can be and it's--it's a plush bat. It's a little dirty, but unharmed, though its eyes are a little wonky, and one wing is smaller than the other.

He holds it and he stares and he has to brace himself against the wall. It can't be--it's not the same one--but he remembers those big brown eyes and the curls and--

"Harrington," a warm, rich voice calls from what's left of the hallway. "You get lost in there?"

Eddie shuffles in, slow, careful with his crutches. And it--it took so long, months and months of convalesce and physical therapy, still physical therapy, but he's here. He's alive. He's perfect. And the something blooming between them, it's not spoken yet, but it's there, growing, and now, now--

"Oh my god, you found Lilith! I thought she was toast."

"Lilith?" He's still cradling the little lopsided bat in his hands, but moves closer to hand it over to Eddie.

"Yes, Lilith." Eddie takes the bat, presses it to his chest. "The first boy I ever loved gave her to me."

His heart turns over in his chest and when he swallows his throat clicks. Eddie doesn't notice, he's smiling softly at the bat, at Lilith, but then, "why are you looking at me like that?"

"First boy you ever loved?" He says. He thinks he sounds normal.

Somehow, Eddie's smile grows even softer. "Yeah. Roan County Fair, years ago. Tried to win her, but--" he clicks his tongue--"never had great hand-eye coordination. And then this kid just gave her to me out of nowhere. I used to think I was going to marry him."

"And now?"

Eddie laughs. "I grew up, Steve."

And for a second, he doesn't know what to say, but then, "I was right then, huh? That she'd be happier with you."

He stares at Steve, those same big brown eyes, wide and glistening. "Steve that was--Steve?" Eddie presses a hand over his mouth, overcome, before launching himself into Steve's arms. The crutches clatter to the floor, but Steve has him, will always have him, no matter what.

"I can't believe you kept her," Steve whispers.

"God, I carry her everywhere. She's Corroded Coffin's mascot, and you--Steve, I can't believe that was you."

"Surprise," he bumps Eddie's forehead with his.

They hold each other in the center of the destruction, but none of that matters right now, not when it feels like every moment since they very first met as children was leading them to this.

From the other half of the trailer, they hear footsteps, chattering, Wayne and Robin and Dustin, but Steve wants this to last a little longer.

"So, marriage...that still off the table?"

Eddie laughs softly, nuzzles his face against Steve's neck. "Are you kidding, sweetheart? No way I'm letting you go."