#once university is over for the summer I plan on finally starting posting

[tagidearte-spam-sb]

My space scrapper dca fic, which originally was reader x sun x moon... is slowly starting to turn into platonic reader & sun/moon, where the romantic part is trying to get these stupid robots to admit their feelings for each other.

I am really just slowly turning this story into "please someone intervene so that these space jesters stop behaving like a divorced couple". And I am loving it.

I mean. I still want us to have a romance with them... but this dynamic is sounding really fun now. A full platonic fic with a ship bonus of sun and moon being the romantic endgame, but reader still being their super important bestie? We'll see.

[canonicallyobserving911]

“I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

Exciting update: Buddie Multi-Chapter Fanfic - “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

“I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!” - Currently 25 chapters completed: 973.1K Words; Rated: Mature

__________

Exciting Update: The number of chapters for this fic has been increased from 30 to 40!

Before I explain why I increased the number of chapters, I would like to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU 😊🤗😁💕 to everyone who has been reading my massive multi-chapter fanfic and I would also like to say WELCOME to anyone who would like to begin reading it. I really appreciate everyone's supportive and encouraging words and please know that I read every AO3 comment that's posted and I respond to all of them.

This fic is Buck's and Eddie's FANON EPIC LOVE STORY and IMO, it has taken them places the show refuses to go!

I've loved every minute I've spent writing it and I'm looking forward to writing even more of it. Currently it's at almost 1 million words but when I first started writing it last year, I had no idea I would be this far along with it because my initial plan was for the fic to only be 12 chapters. Then I changed the amount in AO3 to undecided (?) but after I posted chapter 9 or 10, I decided 30 chapters would be sufficient.

However, after I completed chapters 24 & 25, I took a week or so to review all the things I want to include in it going forward. Once I did, I had to be honest with myself regarding the 5 remaining chapters because I realized they won't be enough. Therefore, I outlined everything that's still to come and decided to increase the fic by 10 more chapters so the Diaz family's story along with Buck's, Eddie's and Chris' individual stories will get the attention I believe they deserve.

At the end of 2023, I posted on Tumblr and indicated my plan was to finish the entire fic before the start of season 7 but that's not going to happen. Also, for those who have been reading along, I want to assure you that just because the new season is set to begin in three days, that doesn't mean this fic is over. It's NOT FINISHED because there's so much more I have planned for the characters and I will continue writing it until I've posted all 40 chapters. If my timeline works the way I'm hoping, my new plan is to complete it during the hiatus after season 7 ends but before season 8 (if there is one) begins.

There's so much more to come for Buck, Eddie and Chris and a quick reminder, just because Buck and Eddie are married and Buck has adopted Chris, all three of their stories will continue.

Here are of the things that still need to be completed.

Eddie's still working towards obtaining two more paramedic certifications so he can become the Critical Care Paramedic of Los Angeles County.

Chris still has to complete the video game he's working on with his classmates.

Buck is still on medical leave and after they returned to L.A.; he told Eddie he didn't know if he wanted to go back to the 118. The question is will he or is he going to find new employment? 👀

Furthermore, Buck and Eddie put a bid in on a house while they were in Italy. Are they going to get it? 🙃

Chapter 25 ended with a massive cliffhanger and the person who sent Buck the package still has to be revealed. 🥹

Finally, their vow renewal ceremony is scheduled for May 2024 and they're going back to Italy for the entire month of June. Adriana's sons are going with them but Buck and Eddie still have to talk with Chris about the University of Florence's summer program when he returns home and they still have to talk to Adri and Tonio to see if Chris' cousins can go too.

So, please believe me when I say there's so much more in store for them and that's why I believe adding 10 additional chapters will allow me to continue to tell their story in a way that's not rushed and I won't have to include any time jumps to fit it all in.

Thank you again for reading, commenting in AO3 and for reblogging the posts about this fic. I really appreciate everyone's support and encouragement.

AND REMEMBER... THIS FANFIC WON'T BE FINISHED UNTIL THE LAST CHAPTER HAS BEEN POSTED!

__________

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.

__________

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.

Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.

Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.

Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.

Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.

Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.

Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.

Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.

Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.

Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.

Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.

Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?

Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.

Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.

Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant. The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.

Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.

Chapter 19 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to their wedding day, the universe begins to align everything so that some of their parent and children's relationships are strengthened while others come to an abrupt end.

Chapter 20 - With only 14 days remaining until Buck, Eddie and Chris depart Los Angeles, CA traveling to Rome, Italy, for their first family adventure, an early morning conversation about “tying up loose ends” helps Buck and Eddie realize there are still several things left unfinished on their ‘To Do’ lists. The question is will there be enough time to complete all of them?

Chapter 21 - Buck, Eddie and Chris are finalizing their ‘To Do’ Lists, double checking their itineraries and packing their suitcases in preparation for their trip to Europe so they can board their flight that departs Los Angeles, CA on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 3:25PM.

Chapter 22 - While Buck, Eddie and Chris spend the first 8 days of their European family adventure in Italy, their primary reason for going will be fulfilled as well as several others they hadn’t considered or anticipated.

Chapter 23 - As the Diaz Family continues their Italian family adventure, they’ll say, “Ciao” or hello and goodbye to a lot of things almost immediately after they become an official and legal family.

Chapter 24 - After Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive in London, England on December 24th; the Diazes immediately start preparing to spend their first family Christmas together. During their stay, each of them will hear a few choice words that will be the life raft to get them home to complete their searches to be seen and to be found.

Chapter 25 - After spending more than two weeks in Europe, Eddie, Buck and Chris are back in Los Angeles and they’re getting ready to attend Maddie and Chimney’s New Year’s Eve party. During the event, they have plans to make two surprise announcements but the question is, who’s really going to be surprised, the Diaz family or their found family at the 118?

Chapter 26 - Will be posted soon.

__________

Read chapters 1-25 are available on AO3.

Continue reading on AO3

[jo-harrington]

Corroded Coffin Fest - Day 2 - In the Beginning

Summary: "What do you guys think about getting the band back together?"

Word Count: 935

Rating: T

Warnings/Themes: Friendship, mentions of FOI, Freak #3 is named Dave in my universe. This entry for CC Fest takes place immediately preceding my Day 1 entry.

Check Out the Main Post for @corrodedcoffinfest here! Even if you didn’t start on Day 1, you can still join!

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

“What do you guys think about getting the band back together?”

The words made all the guys at the lunch table freeze and turn to Eddie, eye wide, sandwiches half shoveled into mouths, and soda cans fizzing and overflowing onto fingers.

He fidgeted under their gazes.

After the uncertainty that was the end of the last school year, and Eddie's obvious absence in their lives, he had really made it up to everyone once school was out for the summer.

A few jam sessions where Ronnie and Eddie geared Gareth up to take her place as Corroded Coffin's drummer. Shooting fireworks at the quarry for the 4th of July. And an epic final one-shot for Ronnie before her departure for college.

But now school had started and...well...

Nothing.

Everything was at a standstill.

No gigs at the Hideout, no band practice. They hadn't even had their first official session of Hellfire for the year yet.

Eddie knew that he was the problem.

He'd promised himself that he would try this year. Try to be a better student, be a better friend, a better nephew. But trying was hard, it took effort. Effort that was rarely recognized, especially by classmates that despised him and teachers who preemptively decided he wasn't worth another chance.

Uncle Wayne, ever the voice of reason, suggested that he take it easy for the first few weeks of school, and for the first time in his life, Eddie Munson took the advice that was given.

He did the icebreakers on the first day of class--even made a new friend in a transfer student named Dave, who loved DnD and metal and quickly fit right in with the nerds he called his buddies--finished the assigned summer reading, and showed up for class on time that first week.

But taking it easy was just another word for boring.

He thought about it on the way to school that morning, as he drove under the speed limit, with the windows down, and the radio painfully silent: taking it easy sucked.

Where was the spice of life? Where was the adventure? Where was the music?

Where was the real Edward J. Munson?

Certainly not sitting at a stop sign looking both ways.

So Eddie decided, as he cranked the volume up as high as it could go and sped into the parking lot fast enough to leave tire marks as he skidded into a parking spot...enough was enough.

He skipped the first few classes of the day to hide in the school library and plan the beginnings of this year's big campaign for Hellfire, and by lunch he decided...

Corroded Coffin must live to see another day.

Seeing his friends look at him like he'd grown a second head now though, well...maybe he shouldn't have been so abrupt in his quest to reject boredom and conformity?

Baby steps.

"Lemme try this again," he cleared his throat and nonchalantly continued. "I think it's time we planned our first band practice for the year. Summer vacation’s over. Gareth's had enough time to break his wrists in...uh...no pun intended Gare..."

Gareth flipped him the bird.

"And Dave...you know, plays the bass," Eddie gestured to their new friend casually.

"I play the bass," Dave agreed half-heartedly with a scoff. "In orchestra. Not the bass guitar."

"Tomato potato," Eddie shrugged. "How different could it be?"

"Very different," Jeff said matter-of-factly. "They're very different, Ed."

"It'll be like learning french when you already speak spanish."

Somewhere in the depths of Eddie's subconscious, he could hear Ronnie remind him that he didn't speak either language, so he didn't really have a leg to stand on here.

"Well," Gareth's voice broke through the imagined admonishment. "It's like...like the drums right? No matter what kind of band, the drums create the tempo...the rhythm. Bass guitar or the bass in orchestra...what does that do? Creates a foundation for everyone else to harmonize with? Right?"

The other three boys stared at him, dumbfounded.

"I, uh...might have read a few interviews that Geddy Lee did about it," he shrugged nonchalantly and then found a sudden, great interest in the mashed potatoes on his lunch tray.

Eddie pointedly ignored the mention of Rush--he already gave Gareth enough shit about his taste in other music genres--but then turned his attention to Dave.

"So, what do you think? Did ya ever wanna be in a band before? I'm pretty sure I could bribe Dougie's mom to borrow his bass. Just until you're comfortable with it. Shit, she might just let you keep the damn thing if it means she never has to hear us again; she always hated having us in the garage."

Eddie continued his rambling for a minute, mouth running a mile a minute like it always did when he was excited. And that excitement was infection, and had Dave's nerves dissipating instantly.

"No, yeah, no," he nodded with a rapidly growing smile that just morphed his typically-stoic face into something made of pure joy. "I...I can figure it out. I'll give it a shot."

"That's the spirit Davey boy, I knew you had it in you."

"Speaking of garages," Gareth interjected again, potatoes forgotten again. "I can ask my mom if we can just have practice at our house? My drum kit's already there."

The group started chattering animatedly as they discussed times and curfews and set lists and warm ups.

"Alright, alright," Eddie got to his feet. "So it's settled then, Corroded Coffin is back in business baby!"

"Corroded Coffin on three?" Dave asked. It was very pep rally, but swept up in the commotion, they couldn't say no.

They counted down together.

One...two...three...

"CORRODED COFFIN!" the boys all cheered and laughed.

[shippy-pjo-shipper]

Ideas for an AU where Percy stays at Camp Jupiter to be preator and Reyna's boyfriend?

I received another ask about the same thing, don't know if it was you twice but here I go! :

Let's go with a scenario where percabeth are friends and Percy/Reyna would spend way more time together during HOO (for example with Percy staying way longer at Camp Jupiter (having him not renounce his post as praetor after he started getting accustomed to it) and Reyna joining the seven. They'd get together by the middle-end of BOO and would leave for Camp Jupiter after Camp halfblood got restored at best.

It took Reyna some time to get out of "war mode" after they defeated Gaia though. The whole relationship thing was hard for her to get into, only because it was a first. At first she tries to treat it as she would a professional partnership, but she quickly grows frustrated with herself and her way of doing things. Fortunately Percy, who at first let her go at her pace, notices her frustration and shame and, without explicitly stating it, starts organizing them dates and late nights moments where they're free to just be and enjoy a good time.

I said it again and again but those two would be the perfect pair of leader for camp Jupiter. Reyna has the authority, knowledge of the rules and traditions, high sense of planning and the respect of all soldiers. While Percy knows how to motivate troops and convince assemblies with his experience on the field. He's not afraid to speak up and having Reyna giving him all the info he needs to work his way into Roman life makes them a perfect pair.

I really see them having this perfectly in synch morning where they leave their praetor's houses, standing right next to each other, at the exact same time, go to breakfast together, know the other's order by heart, share some of it before heading to work.

At least on very crucial days where they need to be at their most efficient, otherwise, no you can bet Percy needs Reyna to bang on his door repeatedly before he's ready. Fortunately she plans for it just well and waits for him coffee in hand.

Percy definitely helps Reyna getting closer to the soldiers but also New Rome's citizens. After more than a year closed off into her office battling Octave and his plans, she has a hard time going to people and talking to them in a more casual setting. Fortunately Percy is super good at helping her out of her bubble.

Reyna insists on managing new communication system between Camp Jupiter and Camp Halfblood. They both work on opening New Rome's schools and universities to the Greeks but also have the idea to organize some "student exchanges" where Roman soldiers would spend a summer at camp halfblood. And sometimes, they like to go spend a week or two in vacation over there to see their friends, letting Frank and Hazel in charge while they're there.

Once the damage from the war fixed, they finally allow themselves some time. Reyna shows Percy all her favorite spots in the city and she listens to all his mythical or more ridiculous tales with as much interest.

It took sometime, but once Reyna starts to get at easy with the concept of holding hand, that Percy first initiated, she's the one taking his hand and refusing to let it go on all of their walks.

A detail that no one in New Rome ever misses and that no one can pretend to find to be anything but adorable.

What they both struggle the most with in their job is writing. With their ADHD they have a hard time focusing when they need to write reports and speeches. And what's funny is that it's when their duo is the most and least efficient ever. The most because they know and understand the other's struggle with the task and can support and advice each other when needed. And the worst because they both always want it to end as soon as possible, and if there's any DVD player nearby, their focus can very quickly shift.

My final thought would be that, personally, I don't see them retiring before some time, really. Reyna lives for this city and its protection, and I see Percy really hyperfixating on this job once he'd be at ease with all its aspects. I see them hand away their place when they'd think of building a family, something they might try to do outside of New Rome even, maybe to be closer to Sally, Paul and Estelle. They'd come back sooner or later though, to get closer to all their friends who ended up there.

[dewitty1]

Fic Recs Wrap Up - April 2023(ノﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ⌒･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Pages of You by wolfpants @wolfpants

Summer, 1980. Harry is floating between university and becoming a Real Certified Adult. He’s not ready. He really isn’t.

In a desperate attempt to have the Best Last Summer ever, he takes a casual job at his godfather’s bookshop in London, starts an illicit pen pal affair with a wordy posh boy that he’s catching feelings for, all while dealing with the son of Sirius’s business rival, one Draco Malfoy, insufferable know-it-all extraordinaire.

A story about trying to figure out who you are, where you’re going in life, and who you want to take along with you. Rec Post

Once More With Feeling by InnerLilith

Draco is dosed with a consummation-compelling potion, with Harry Potter as his intended. It’s a cruel irony, because he’s wanted Potter for years. But not like this.

In which the boys try to deal with the fallout from an excruciating fuck-or-die, and end up with much more than either of them expected. Rec Post

The Foxing Ring by Vukovich @vukovich

What. The. Fluff.*

Harry’s got no magic, one good ear, no great dating prospects, and a nice little wand workshop.

Draco’s got too much magic, a history of biting off ears, no great dating prospects, and a growing fondness for wandmakers. And a very fetching tail.

*and smut! Rec Post

any day now by oknowkiss @oknowkiss

Draco supposes he should be grateful. 

The rehabilitation centres were the Minister’s idea, or that’s what the Prophet said anyway. Their stated objective is simple: to provide a safe space for low-tier Death Eaters and high-tier sympathisers to reconsider the entirety of their life choices. All guests–because no one is a prisoner here, the literature brags–are to be provided with shelter, food, clothing, and the guided support of a Mind Healer via a programme they call “ideological restructuring,” which is, of course, mandatory. 

//

OR: Draco Malfoy considers the circle. Rec Post

A Soft Spot for Lost Causes by Helenish

“Remember at school? Weasel? You’re so poor and dirty?” Ron said encouragingly “You hated me.”

“I did,” Draco said. Rec Post

Ten Steps To Learn Everything About Draco Malfoy by bafflinghaze @bafflinghaze

It’s a horrible day when Harry needs to visit Gringotts: the goblins there detest him, and it’s a frustrating bureaucratic battle to get anything done.

But that all changes when Malfoy starts working at Gringotts.

What was Malfoy doing before? What is Malfoy doing now? Harry has an endless list of questions, and there’s only one way to get them all answered (visiting Gringotts extremely frequently), and Malfoy won’t suspect a thing.

Turns out that Harry doesn’t suspect a thing either. Rec Post

An Inconvenient Attachment by FangQueen @fangqueen

Draco Malfoy has a secret ― a crush that he’s harboured for years. He poured his heart out into his journals at school, but now over twelve years later, he’d rather just forget it all. He’s wrapped up in the world of being Pansy’s Best Man, helping her put the finishing touches on what’s supposed to be her happiest day, when the letters start getting leaked. Will Ron Weasley ever figure out they’re all for him? And if so, what will be his reply? Rec Post

Tiny Home by wolfpants @wolfpants

The last two people Draco expects to find chopping wood on his property are Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter.

But there they are.

–

Harry and Ron left the Aurors years ago to travel the world and make up for lost time. When they finally decide to settle roots back in England, together, building a tiny home in the Lake District by hand seems like the perfect plan. What they don’t realise is that Draco Malfoy already lives on the plot of land that they choose to build on.

A story about years of feelings, about weaving lives in and around each other, and about finding a place safe enough to call home. Rec Post

Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Nothing Like the Sun by Lomonaaeren

Harry finally realizes that he has trouble keeping lovers both because of his looks and because he isn’t very good at sex. He does what he can to alter that, but it seems he’s never going to be good enough to satisfy a wizard lover. When Draco Malfoy offers, Harry thinks a casual relationship with him might be the solution to his problems. But he should have remembered one thing: when it comes to Harry, Malfoy has a problem staying casual.

And Still I Dream written by greenmegsnoham @greenmegsnoham with art by Gaudium_Chara @gaudium6191 

Draco was beyond frustrated with the school's preferential treatment of sports programs over the arts. Determined to collect what is due, Draco must come toe to toe with the ever incessant thorn-in-his-side, Varsity Basketball Captain, Harry Potter. Though Draco may not receive the financial support he'd been hoping for, he just might get a boyfriend out of it instead…

OR

When you Dream a Dream, it just may come true…

Curiosity, Wonder, Spontaneous Delight by cloudings

After Harry hears some rumours about Malfoy, he becomes more and more curious until he just has to get some answers. Malfoy is more than prepared to give him anything he needs, just as long as he gets something back in return. Harry’s not sure why he’s surprised that it’s something moderately illegal.

In which Ron continues to get far too many eyefuls, Hermione has had quite enough with everybody, and Harry’s not sure why enemies to friends to friends with benefits isn’t enough for him.

OR

Harry becomes incredibly curious, and somewhere along the line ends up accidentally falling in love with Draco Malfoy. Because of course he bloody would.

A Shower, A Meal, A Nap, and A Shag by chickenlivesinpumpkin

Harry's supposed to be alone in Grimmauld Place...so why is there a Malfoy in his shower? And what's Harry going to do about it?

Part 1 of It Started in the Shower

Sunseeker by shiftylinguini @shiftylinguini

Harry is a struggling writer.

Namely, he is struggling with: writing his next book, dealing with his agent, finding a decent tea strainer, fielding his friend's concern over the aforementioned book, and figuring out who the cat loitering in his garden belongs to.

He also has a slight liking-Malfoy problem. Okay, he has a massive liking-Malfoy problem.

A Life Worth Remembering by Writcraft @writcraft

Severus Snape wakes in St Mungo’s, to discover that a potions accident has wiped the last forty years from his body and mind. Just twenty-five years old, Severus is reliant on Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, now both in their forties, to help him fill in the missing decades. As Severus tries to navigate a much-changed world, Harry and Draco struggle with a secret of their own.

( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡ I hope you enjoy these fics as much as I have! Happy reading, y’all! xoxo Carey  (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

[chasingfigments]

So here's what I've been up to

Despite the years of relative silence, I actually HAVE been writing, and writing a lot. Most of it just isn't public yet.

September 2021 to January 2023: Planned and outlined a FFXV alternate universe collab with @crazyloststar. (~20,000 words)

January 2023 to present: Started writing the FFXV alternate universe collab. (~76,000 words; 21/36 chapters written; no chapters posted)

January 2023 to August 2023: Took notes for and outlined a FE3H fic about Lysithea returning to Ordelia and dismantling her house, while also being in a long-distance relationship with Claude. (~9,000 words)

September 2023 to present: Started writing the FE3H fic. (~20,000 words; 6/14 chapters written; no chapters posted)

February 2024 to March 2024: Outlined For Some Desperate Glory, a Batman fic where Red Hood kidnaps Bruce Wayne instead of taking over the drug trade. (~7,000 words)

February 2024 to present: Started writing For Some Desperate Glory. (~5,000 words; 1/12 chapters written; 1 chapter posted)

More detail about each of these projects after the cut.

FFXV collab with crazyloststar

If you liked all of our Borders of Divinity bullshit, expect More but also Different. It's another alternate universe/canon divergence, and it's going to be half again as long as BoD.

We're nearly done with Act 2 (chapter 25), which we're scheduled to wrap up next month. We'll be doing a massive continuity edit at that point (it's been well over a year since we wrote chapter one), and once that's finished, we're likely going to start approaching artists for commissions.

According to our writing schedule, we'll be drafting the final chapter sometime in November 2024.

We'll likely start posting before then, but that's going to depend on art and how closely we stick to the writing schedule. We liked being able to post every week with BoD and don't want to risk having to delay a chapter because we're behind.

You'll likely start seeing chapters this year, though it's incredibly likely we'll still be posting in 2025 given its length.

FE3H Lysithea dismantles her house

I'm obsessed with Lysithea's canon ending with Claude, couldn't find anything on AO3 that addressed it, and so here I am, writing it myself.

Also stealing other shit from other endings, but please note--this is essentially the aftermath of a no-recruitment run. It's Golden Deer, with cameos and occasional mentions of other Church-aligned folks.

Claude is off in Almyra for almost the entire fic; here's hoping you're into long-distance relationships when mail delivery takes ages and is not as reliable as the USPS.

I need to get through Act 2 (chapter 9) and do a continuity edit there before I feel comfortable posting.

You'll start seeing chapters this year; maybe late summer-ish. I should be able to get this off my plate this year.

For Some Desperate Glory (Batman fic)

The first chapter is up because I was extra excited and feeling reckless and wanted to get something up the first half of the year when everything else is still months out from being public.

I've gotten my hands on the deluxe version of the UTRH comic; aiming to read it this month. This is likely to cause some additional outline revisions; the chapter count may actually go down--we'll see.

This is the one fic I plan to post chapters as they're finished; the narrative structure is different from the two other projects and won't require continuity checks/overhauls at a specific point.

Hoping to have the entire fic done and up this year. Wish me luck!

[ygodmyy20]

3, 7, 8, 19 :]

I am finally answering my ask game questions hhahaha

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

We both asked this question to one another quirkle and I also don't know what it means bahahahha I don't have. ritual I just have OH MAN TIME TO WRITE LETS GOOOO energy

Maybe that is my ritual. Just MUST WRITE ENERGY

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

Writing something that I feel so good about. Something that expresses my thoughts and feelings into words. And really, that I get to read it later and sink into that headspace again.

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

Holy crap um. Probably.....action. I love writing action a LOT but I need dialogue. I am a huge dialogue writer. I live for dialogue and I like to hope I am pretty good at it.

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

And this is the question that took me awhile to answer.

I started writing fanfics when I was 13, kicking off with Yugioh and i wrote for that fandom from around 2003 till about 2015. I wrote so much that I considered going to collage for writing and I went to writers workshops in the summer and got into the University of Iowa's English program, which has one of the best creative writing masters programs in the country. I had planned on getting my Bachelors and Masters from there.

Well.....i burned out in my first year, moved back to Michigan, changed majors to business and slowly stopped writing as much. Some big life changes happened to me between graduating collage and 2013. I tried to keep writing but it just didn't stick. I couldn't write, nothing was happening. I lost nearly all my creativity for around 10 years.

I completely stopped writing between 2015 and 2023.

And then, in May 2023, I found this lovely lil anime we all know and love called Mob Psycho 100.

I started drawing, and I started writing, I started engaging with fandom again. I wrote Float and people commented and the read my work. I was ecstatic I didn't know what to do--people read my work, I honestly couldn't believe it. Like, the reception I got from my mp100 fanfics was so positive compared to my previous works. It was....honestly so amazing.

I then wrote the very self indulgent Just Breathe, my step into shipping once again.

And then in September I wrote one of my favorite pieces of fiction I have ever written ever in my life, which is Blackhole.

And then, I started thinking of an ageswap and Black Sweatshirt was born.

Now, I am knee deep in this ageswap fic, a post-canon series, and many other one-shots. I have written over 100,000 words in under a year. The train shows no sign of stopping (it slowed down a bit recently but I am pretty sure I just needed a break)

Right now where I am at, in this moment, is someone who is very happy with my writing. I have wonderful friends who will beta my work, there is a whole community to share my art with. My ageswap is nearly 20 chapters long (Yeah oof I know haha).

Where i am going: To finish this story. To write my post-canon series. To hopefully have readers that enjoy my work, even though it may take me months to years to finish them.

To one day, maybe one day, re-write and finish Shadows. My last YGO fanfic that I still hope to one day finish. I will rewrite the whole thing though.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here my friend, only mildly hung over but still severely disappointed, just coming into your inbox to share my random finale complaints that have been stockpiling.

Already been said many times but why Marisol again?? Just why??

You know what the awkwardness of the daddy talk reminded me of?? Remember in RNM 3x01 when Alex came back and told Forest "a man has needs" or some shit and we all collectively cringed away from our screens?? Its was sooo weirdly out of place and character and that's exactly what the dinner scene is. Also notably written by a former showrunner who won't stop fucking up storylines at every opportunity.

How exactly is the Chris leaving BS supposed to last more than like, 1 week tops??? When Helena (and Ramon) tried to take him 7 years ago and get their redo he was just a kid, but now he's a teenager whose been raised by Eddie Diaz. Not saying he's ready for college or to make his own housing decisions or anything 🙄, but his personality and preferences are not going to change much. He's not the moldable little kid anymore, and the moment Helena realizes that and Chris realizes that's what they wanted him for wouldn't jump on the next flight?? I know there's so much about that arc that's utter nonsense but did the writers put any thought into the characters at all??

Anyway, I probably should do my job for a few hours before I go completely off the rails, hope your own recovery is going well!!

Hey bestie! If it seems like you haven't heard from me all day, that's because I girlbossed too close to the post limit sun reblogging every petty, irritated, frustrated, what-in-the-actual-fuck-was-that post. I scheduled a bunch too do drop after the doors open on the post limit jail cells, this one among them.

I'm sitting here with my twisted peach tea, fresh off of work and a trip to the store (it was awful and full of people and only one lane open that could sell alcohol, AND they didn't have the honeycomb ice cream I specifically went there to get and try out with my earl grey tea ice cream because the universe hates me), just still so SO frustrated that once again they let KR swoop in at the last minute and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the finale. Not even anything Buddie related, just in making literally ANY storyline all season have a good narrative payoff that felt like we went somewhere. Even the most watchable part of the episode (the Mara reunion) fell flat because we didn't see Hen and Karen putting up the fight they set up with the councilwoman, and Maddie and Chim had time all season to talk about maybe having another child, or fostering to make them able to swoop in at the last minute make sense but instead it just came out of the blue! (And don't get me started on the whole "this lesbian couple can't have a kid but the straight couple runs into no issues despite Chim being involved on scene in the death of the councilwoman's son).

ANYWAY. Let's talk about your bullet points please, because I have THOUGHTS.

1/3. Marisol was literally less than useless and if they HAD to avoid an off-screen hiatus breakup (they didn't need to, no one remembered her, it would have been fine) they easily could have ditched her in 7x05 and it would have affected absolutely nothing.

IMAGINE Buck is the one taking Chris to the movies and walks in on "Shannon" and Eddie? We get some Buddie angst with them having to talk out what happened because Buck was worried before but now he's WORRIED, and we could have gotten a more heartfelt resolution with Chris by allowing Eddie and Chris to have one single conversation this whole season, and maybe deciding together to go to therapy in a couple weeks when he gets back from his pre-planned summer vacation to Texas.

Then start s8 with Chris having delayed coming back all summer, and Ramon and Helena facilitating getting him into camps and stuff so he "couldn't" come back and Eddie starting to get fed up and maybe being ready to go to Texas himself to get Chris when whatever disaster the opening is strikes. Cue Chris seeing it on the news and panicking and demanding to go home and see his dad. It would be satisfying to watch, and would tug on the heartstrings without ripping them out for no good goddamn reason and punishing Eddie so severely while also NOT actually dealing with his issues about Shannon!! *screams into pillow* If we never see or hear about her again it will be too soon. They have drug this out past the point of any purpose and it needs to be put to fucking rest, 25ft down so it can't crawl back up. Doused in holy water just in case.

It really feels like they had a plan for Buck with the whole Natalia thing fizzling out and breaking up which I actually am glad we didn't see because as this season proved, it is LONG past time to leave Buck withering away in unfulfilling relationships he don't know how he got into in the first place, but once that was gone he got the coming out bit and....nothing much else all season and even that was one episode and then a couple minutes of screentime sprinkled throuout that used those precious seconds to show us how incredibly ill-matched they are. While Eddie, who was SUPPOSED to have the coming out arc (that was maybe more in-depth and planned to ACTUALLY deal with the Shannon of it all), was also left with a "well what do we do with him now" arc. Spoiler alert, it was NOT THIS. So no, I don't think they had the time in the shortened time frame they had to put literally ANY thought into what to do with these characters.

Point 2. My friend. Not only are you EXACTLY right about the tonal issue matching that cringe AF scene from RNM, but I will raise you that, AND everything about 2x06, including fandom swooping in to claim everyone who didn't fall all over themselves about that scene being amazing was a) homophobic and b) puritanical, pearl-cultching, and uneducated. Oh! and c) just needs to learn how to fucking multi-ship and be happy with whatever is on screen because it couldn't POSSIBLY be better, and you should just accept it now. 😒😒😒

It's gonna be a loooooong fucking hiatus but here's hoping Timmy got all the Lone Star brainworms out and can not just pack a punch in the disaster opening (RIP to everyone who didn't like the cruise ship disaster, I had a great time and it was the best opening in YEARS), but can actually follow through on storylines and emotional beats all season. And maybe get more calls??? On the weewoo show?? It was always and issue on LS too which I thought was Rob Lowe syndrome an all the "Owen things firefighting is boring" stuff but maybe it's budget constraints? Yo! ABC! Give us the cash for good emergencies! And of course, they need to get Kristen the FUCK out of the writers room. Please, literally ANY cop show out there, we are literally BEGGING you to take her off our hands!

Bright side, I have been working on my Countdowns fic (I posted a little bit last week and I want to try and work on it more now that all my shows are on hiatus), and while *I* may be the worlds slowest writer, I just know the Buddie fandom is going to come through with some BANGER canon-fix-it fics. So cheers to that, and lets pray the muse smiles on me astronaut!Buck/medic!Eddie so I can actually contribute something. I'm gonna go make a flatbread spinach and artichoke pizza, watch something, literally ANYTHING else, and oggle my d20 Bad Kids dice that arrived today, my Ayda pin, and my Jawbone quote mug and not think about 911 for a little bit. (until I'm allowed out of post-limit jail and can go back to being a petty bench on main).

Take a breath, we can get through this hiatus together! At least we know we have Oliver and Ryan on our side, so let's make some Buddie content for them to send to each other to help THEM through this rough time.

[jyndor]

okay so for the ts lyrics connections: cruel summer, willow, don’t blame me and cardigan (for jyn or cassian or rebelcaptain djsksk)

okay good choices ofc BTW I'm saving the most unhinged for last

willow - cassian's ship rolled into jyn's rough waters, and he cut through her surface like a knife. wherever she strays he follows, and they both certainly wrecked each other's plans. his train could take her home. I mean there's even a bait and switch that's a work of art (his betrayal on eadu; him believing her and raising an army for scarif). they even hold hands at the end in the rogue one cinematic universe tradition of hand-holding being how lovers communicate their love. willow is of course their song.

don't blame me - lol this is all cassian's feelings in the novelization tbh. like neither pity nor pragmatism could explain why she dominated his thoughts, and tbh I love the line I once was poison ivy but now I'm your daisy to describe how he's hurt so many (intentionally and unintentionally) and how with jyn he finally can do the best things he's ever done and be at peace (by standing up to go to scarif but also on a personal level, by being able to come back to someone he cares for and who needs him).

cardigan - this song always, always gives me jyn erso vibes. everyone assumes the worst of her (except cassian - mostly - and rogue one), assumes she knows nothing, has no politics. I'm sure she has felt like an old cardigan under someone's bed many times - always put second to the cause by her guardians. she assumes cassian will be like everyone else - leaving like a father (when she thinks he is killed by krennic like nearly everyone else she's loved) and running like water (ugh also cassian is a water sign, so much water symbolism with him) and he drew stars around her scars (started to help her heal from her traumas by showing up for her and earning her trust on jedha) so the betrayal on eadu has her bleeding. and she curses him for maybe not the longest time buttt

and then cassian tries to change the ending, saves her from feeling like that thrown away old cardigan under the rebellion's bed by standing in front of her and keeps coming back to her over and over again

and tbh lol they both haunt all MY what ifs.

cruel summer - this song is very much giving me like post-scarif yavin days clandestine hook ups where they both know they're just so for each other but it's like what are they even doing ~in these trying times? is it just the residual closeness of the mission, a la what doesn't kill me makes me want you more? they probably fall into bed amongst the celebrations after the battle of yavin, and they want to keep it to themselves but like are definitely not doing a good job of it

and ofc they're both not like great at this stuff in general so they're both waiting for the other to ~~~~cut to the bone, and I'm sure they both have their drunk crying moments, I DONT WANT TO KEEP SECRETS JUST TO KEEP YOU, I assume bodhi and bix and leia and melshi and kay and baze and tonc and sefla and brasso and han and vel are all V E R Y tired of the nonsense (chirrut has endless patience for them, cinta is too focused to be bothered)

and you know one of them finally screams it and the other looks up grinning like a devil and it's all good

of course that's the everybody lives au version. the film canon connections are still there, like they don't have the chance to try it because of these trying times, they're waiting for the other to cut to the bone until of course they realize they trust each other (especially jyn, which is part of why she reacts so strongly to cassian's betrayal on eadu), it is a cruel summer because they die on a fucking tropical beach watching the sunset

also LMAO I put it on because it's just such pop perfection and my cat is SO INTO IT like he's so happy rn

[naniwagusto]

EDIT: Asuka was officially born December 5th we have her birthday reveal

I came up with this background as a plot point for my fic, but I do believe it's the most likely explanation until we get the official story. Here's the DMs with my base idea that I'll flesh out in some detail (and for that reason I'm putting this under read more just to save dash space for people):

So it's the mid to late 90's, young Kazama guy going through university fresh out of high school tough boy antics because his parents insist he get a future for himself. He takes his classes but his real passion is still in the dojo and the streets. Over time he's messing around with his friends only applying himself enough to stay enrolled because there is something in him that wants to make his parents happy, but does know he needs something to make a living that wouldn't be scraping by, deep deep down.

In one of his classes he meets a young woman he really gets along with for once. The kind of person who surprises him by how strong willed she is under the glitz and glamour ditz she appears to be. They get involved seriously, his friends are happy for him but mom and dad don't approve so much first because she seems a brash bimbo, then because they can sense her ambition. She's too ambitious for him, but he can't see it yet. Slowly he gets himself on track with schooling because now in his mind he can see a life with this woman, and when they graduate and move in for a while, he proposes.

His fiance isn't really impressed with his means of living still being not great, just below average, as he took a business degree in the hopes of turning his family dojo around. Now that he's out he has to actually do the work for that. But she still thinks he can pull something out his ass, he's good looking, he treats her well because he really loves her, and she does care for him. So she stays shoving down her insecurity.

Asuka is conceived before they have the wedding ceremony so it's obvious the mother's starting to show her pregnancy by the time they do get hitched, which makes the entire situation humiliating for the family as it looks like a shotgun wedding. This is the first instance where Asuka's mother starts hearing people drag her through the mud for her situation, which sows doubt in her mind.

Months pass, the dojo starts doing better but it's a slow start. There's been a few times where as a rookie business owner her husband has bitten off more than he can chew and has both skirted debt and had to resolve a few small debts , at times taking gambles in his strategy to stay afloat. Good assets or not their baby is coming and this lifestyle is looking more and more like it'll only be a stick in the mud. She was hoping for a head start after college, because the timeline to become as successful as she wants to be is ticking, and she knows one day she'll wake up old, unaccomplished. Paired with all the swings and difficulties of pregnancy, how people perceive them as mediocre etc. Asuka's mom is hitting the bottom in her heart.

Asuka is born August 21st 2001 (her birthday is my headcanon since we don't know and she seems like a summer baby; her birth year is speculated using this post someone did investigating the year Tekken 7 took place using game manual info, which going into 8 would have turned to 2019, placing her as born in 2001 since she's now 18)

Now having to take care of a baby on top of everything else, the couple start arguing more and more. Finally one day after a few weeks planning Asuka's mom secures her assets, files for divorce, and ensures she'd be set up in the aftermath to take enough from her husband's assets too. This allows her to run off with a chunk of cash enough for a new set up somewhere else. Ichirou is left broken watching her get in a taxi and drive away despite trying to convince her to still be in their child's life. Instead he's left holding the pudgy crying baby he's now stuck with. Alone.

He loves his daughter dearly and now she's all he has aside from the business and his devotion to martial arts. This whole incident tightens up his attitude in general; his old friends find it harder to see shades of who he used to be under this sharper person they now know. He throws himself into training, doing more than staying afloat etc. isolating himself in a sense to do anything he can securing Asuka a future.

He won't bring his child around his extended family because well, they were never there for him. They looked down on his half of the family, and there's still a lingering scar young Ichirou felt at being excluded plus naturally having them out of mind because of their distance anyway. They won't be a bad influence on Asuka if they do the same to her and make her feel similar. Then when she's eleven, everyone dies. He doesn't get a clear picture of the details because it's all a mess and the press has no solid idea about Ogre as the massacre gets covered up.

But eventually enough gets passed through the branch family grapevine that he knows whatever killed everyone was specifically drawn to Kazamas. It was drawn to power. Drawn to battle and challenge strength. A wild force beyond control that obviously could overpower dozens of trained warriors and priests/priestesses. There's whispers suspecting a single boy made it out alive (ie. Jin) which is his only comfort. But now he has to think about himself and his child; that whatever came for the family is now running loose drawn to powerful people.

If Asuka lives like as normal a girl as possible and doesn't see anything in her family beyond a single dad and some dinky little dojo, she'll have no reason to be an obvious target. She'll have no ambition to get involved in anything beyond a normal life. Then of course with the rise of the Mishima Zaibatsu and all their antics intensifying, they would also be a threat- there's the rumor that lone boy who survived was fathered by a Mishima after all.

The angles from which he could lose his child to powerful forces increase; Ichirou makes the choice to never tell Asuka how deep their family runs, about her heritage, or the circumstance of her birth in his past. She grows up knowing life without a mother too. He couldn't bring himself to remarry and bring yet another person in he'd have to protect under this cover; in the back of his mind his wife's actions still linger.

Allowing Asuka to learn Kazama-Ryu is purely to instill discipline in her, and because she really wants to be like Dad. He can't say no to her. However she does learn in a way that would still leave her declawed enough that it makes her less likely to attract the thing that killed their family. The older she gets she shows no signs of awakening Kazama powers either, giving her father a false sense of security that she can pass as no one special.

This of course, will all backfire as Asuka's life is flipped upside down starting with the events of Tekken 5. All of which lead to her growing much stronger, on top of how she already drew attention to herself with her nosy battle seeking ways.

So in trying to protect Asuka, life eventually spoke otherwise and pulled her in a direction her father never wanted for her. Except because of his protective meddling she's ignorant on herself, and any knowledge that would allow her to be prepared for what she ends up encountering.

(And Lili canonically knows Asuka's bloodlines and can deduce that Asuka doesn't know and wouldn't be aware of what abilities are sleeping inside her, abilities that could directly drag her into the Mishima Conflict for her potential dealing with Devil. Based on how Asuka acts I'm sure she can also deduce her father never told her shit, and the likely reason would be her protection, if she can be used like such a chess piece in the wrong hands- I fully believe the only reason Lili looked into Asuka's ancestry WAS out of a sense of wanting to protect her as well, if she were to be in the Mishima Conflict)

[allfandomxreader]

Back to You | 4

Pairings: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Summary: Eight months ago, you swore you would never step foot in Hawkins again. When Robin begs for you to come home for spring break, you find yourself agreeing despite better judgment. You’ve missed everyone, you could endure one more week in Hawkins if that means you can see your friends again.

Words: 12.9k

Part: 4/9

Warnings: Language, alluded depression and anxiety, Billy, pls let me know if I missed any

A/N: ALMOST 30 PAGES LATER AND SHE’S FINALLY DONE. Thank you for bearing with me as I write this, I know I take forever to post. Feedback is always appreciated and adored <3

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist  

By the end of summer 1985, everything had fallen into place. The grass was greener, the birds sang louder, and even the sun seemed to shine brighter. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you drove through the winding backroads toward the Harrington residence. You were happy. You couldn’t remember the last time you felt so at ease, giddy even. You thought that feeling had been lost forever.

You felt guilty, of course. The constant reminder of the Mind Flayer’s destruction was everywhere. It was in the morning news, articles in the paper, and the fresh mounds in the graveyard. Your wounds from Starcourt had only just started to heal and the hole in your chest from the loss of Hopper and Heather hadn’t disappeared, not that it ever would. It felt wrong to be so happy as you watched your small town begin to rebuild. You started avoiding the main roads entirely, still unable to face the aftermath fully. The memories of Starcourt were still fresh in your mind.

You wanted to make the most of your last summer before adulthood. You worked at the community pool for extra cash and would visit Steve on break or after your shift ended. You bonded with Robin over scoops of ice cream and teasing Steve, making your own subcategories on her whiteboard. And once Dustin returned from camp you had to make sure he got home and was fed on the nights Claudia worked late. You had been there to help decipher the Russian code with your group of misfit friends, laughing and joking, blissfully unaware of what would transpire in the following days. You didn’t think it’d lead to getting trapped in an elevator and tortured beneath the floorboards of Steve’s summer job. You thought that your future and dreams would die along with you in the underground fortress. Selfishly, you didn’t want to die a hero, you didn’t want to die at all.

Unwillingly, you made peace with death between four concrete walls, back pressed against the love of your life. You didn’t think you’d get the chance to see him one last time or give a proper goodbye. The universe always seemed to put you and Steve together when the world was falling apart, and for that, you’d forever be grateful.

Life had a different plan for you that night. You escaped in a drug-induced daze and told Robin the truth about everything, starting with Will’s disappearance, on cold bathroom tile. You and Steve both knew that the night’s events were tied to the Upside Down, you just weren’t sure how. You should’ve known sooner, the mall was built entirely too fast and there was no way Hawkins, a town of barely ten thousand people, could afford a three-story shopping center. It was the perfect headquarters after the lab had been shut down and it would have gone undetected if your group of five hadn’t screwed up their agenda. Even so, you weren’t prepared to see the Mind Flayer in the flesh, mere yards ahead of you. The screams, the horror in Robin’s eyes, and Steve, beaten and bloody, still haunted your dreams. That night, you swore off fireworks for the rest of your life.

You turned the radio up louder to drown out your thoughts. You had come so far and had gotten so close to where you wanted to be. You only had two weeks left in your hometown, then you’d be miles away settling into your new apartment while starting fall classes. The taste of freedom was hot on your tongue. You couldn’t risk dwelling in the past any longer. You survived. You had something to live for again, a childhood dream you could finally make into reality. You were going to move so far away that the monsters and Russians couldn’t find you. There, you’d be able to create a life full of love and meaning. You planned to reinvent yourself, to become a person you were proud to be. You were so ready to finally be at peace, to leave the years of torment and pain behind you and trade it for normalcy.

Steve’s car was the only one parked in his family’s driveway. His parents extended their vacation in Hawaii for another two weeks. They promised to be there to send the two of you off with a housewarming gift, but you weren’t holding your breath. It pained your heart for Steve’s sake, they had a knack for putting anything they could before their son. When he relayed the news, he said it’d be better for them to not be there at all. You knew he’d be disappointed if they weren’t, even if he’d never admit that out loud. He reminded you repeatedly that it didn’t faze him, that he’d become accustomed to their absence since he was twelve. You never pushed the topic, but you saw how sadness consumed him whenever he spoke of his parents.

You practically skipped to the front steps once your car was in park. You let yourself in with the spare key and threw your purse to the ground, not bothering to hang it on your designated hook. “Steve?” You called, but there was no answer. You heard the faintest sound of music from upstairs and your footsteps followed. “Steve?” You said and knocked on his bedroom door before you let yourself in. “Hey, I was calling for you.” You said softly as you entered. He sat hunched over his desk, head in his hands.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t even hear.” He shook his head as if he was in a daze. He didn’t stand from his seat to greet you the way he normally did, he didn’t smile, he didn’t even look at you. You took steps toward him and wrapped your arms around his bare shoulders. You could smell his shampoo and aftershave as you buried your head into the crook of his neck. He leaned into your touch and pressed his lips to your arm. Your skin was still warm and kissed by the sun despite quitting your job three weeks back.

“I have good news,” you whispered. You pulled away momentarily and let a crisp envelope fall into his view. “I got a letter from our apartment complex. We finally got our placement. We’re on the fourth floor, hopefully we have a decent view.” You chuckled.  You felt his muscles tense at your words. You stand fully and take back the envelope, shoving it into the back pocket of your denim shorts. “I could write them back and see if there’s another one available or we could try to switch when we get there if it doesn’t get there before move-in day.” You scrambled to find a solution to an unknown problem. You knew how stressful moving could be on top of having no support from his family. You would do anything to make him happy, to make sure he knew that you were in his corner.

He reached toward the radio and powered it off with a sigh. “It’s not that, I’m sure it’s great.” He finally stood and raked a hand through his hair.

“Then what is it?” You asked, eyes following his movement as he paced the room. Only then did you notice the cleanliness of it all. His basketball trophies were still displayed proudly on his shelf, his clothes hung neatly in his closet, and his were knickknacks in their rightful spot on his dresser. Everything was untouched. “Why haven’t you started packing yet?” He ignored your question, frozen in the middle of his room, eyes trained ahead on his plaid wallpaper. A knot formed in your stomach at his silence. “Steve?”

“I’m not going.” He said finally. It felt as though time ceased to exist altogether. Your body wilted at his words. You grabbed ahold of his chair just to keep yourself from collapsing.

“What?” You sputtered. All the air in your body seemed to escape at once, you felt like you couldn’t breathe. It was like the walls were closing in and getting closer by the moment until you were suffocating.

“I said I’m not—”

“I heard you the first time.” You screwed your eyes shut and threw a hand into the air to halt his sentence. “What do you mean you’re not going?” You asked and finally willed yourself to look him in the eye.

“I just—I can’t go,” he shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t get that,” you snapped, “you can’t just stand there and give me some vague, bullshit answer. We’ve been talking about this for months and now two weeks before we’re supposed to leave, you’re suddenly not going? Your name’s on the goddamn lease, Steve!” Your heart and thoughts raced; anger quickly pulsed through your veins.

“After everything that’s happened, I can’t just leave my friends—our friends. Or my parents, which I know you don’t understand because they’re a piece of shit but—”

“No, stop talking.” You shook your head unable to let him continue. “You asked to come, Steve. I knew it was unfair to expect you to drop and leave everything behind for me. I said that from the very beginning, so don’t make this my fault.” Your lip started to tremble, and tears burned at the brim of your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. “I gave so many outs, so many opportunities to change your mind or walk away and each time you said no. That you loved me, that you wanted to follow me anywhere.”

“That’s what I thought I wanted.” He sighed. He looked defeated, like he didn’t have the energy to even put up a fight.

“So, what, this entire time you just thought you wanted to be with me?”

“No, that’s not what I meant at all.” He shook his head. “Everything just started getting real and you were so excited I didn’t want to ruin anything for you.”

“Yeah, well,” you scoffed rolling your eyes, “mission accomplished.”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and—listen. I mean we signed a lease a few days after graduation, and then the whole world went to shit so maybe we just need to take a second and figure some shit out before we move thousands of miles away.” He rambled. You could only laugh.

“What is there to figure out, Steve? I’ve talked about leaving since I was ten years old, ten!” You barked. “This has always been my plan, you knew for years that I wasn’t staying after high school, stop acting like you were blindsided and didn’t have a choice!” Your chest heaved as you screamed. “Was I supposed to just give up my scholarship too because the Upside Down came back? Because we had to be heroes again? Our lives can’t just be put on hold because of this fucking town.”  

“I don’t know,” he said softly. The two of you stood in silence taking each other in. You crossed your arms over your chest as if they could hold you together. You could feel pieces of your heart breaking as you looked at him.

“How long have you known?” You asked but you didn’t know if you wanted the answer.

“What?”

“You said you’ve been thinking about it for a while,” you said softly, “how long have you known you weren’t coming?”

“Jesus, I don’t know,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, “a few weeks maybe.”

“I few weeks,” you repeated, shaking your head. You looked out the window trying to look anywhere but at him. “Is that why I paid your portion of the deposit? Because you didn’t know if you’d be going?” You look back at him again, pleading for him to give a different answer than what you already knew. He opened his mouth to speak but no words could come. “You fucking asshole.” You seethed.

“Maybe it’s not too late to get a roommate or find another place.” He offered as an attempt to clean up the mess he created.

“Yeah, I’ll post flyers all over the city. Roommate wanted but we have to share a bed!” You press your palms to your forehead. You were spiraling into panic. You couldn’t share a one-bedroom apartment with a stranger, not anyone besides Steve. The likelihood of breaking your lease was non-existent. You only had enough money saved for two months' rent, with Steve out of the picture, that was down to one. You couldn’t afford to pay for twelve months upfront.

“Y/N, I—” He took a step forward and reached out a hand.

“Don’t.” You warned, stopping him in his tracks. “How could you do this to me?” Your tears fell then, you didn’t try to stop them, you had no energy left. When he said nothing, you stepped past him and out of his room. He didn’t try to stop you.

You drove through the town in a rage. You screamed and cried as you navigated the turns and stop signs by muscle memory and blurry vision. You spotted a familiar car as you neared the school’s parking lot. Without thinking, you pulled beside it, threw open the entrance doors, and marched through halls you never thought you’d be in again.

“Can we talk?” You choked out. Ms. Kelley looked up from her desk in surprise, the papers she was holding fluttered out of her hands as she took you in. She rushed to greet you and gently guided you to take a seat without uttering a word.

You had been dodging her since junior year. Your teachers had notified her of your poor grades and attitude change before Christmas break. You couldn’t be honest about your life outside of the school grounds, that you and three other students had to protect a group of middle schoolers from a Demogorgon, or how you knew a girl with superpowers. So, you lied and promised to be better the following semester. You often wondered if Nancy, Johnathon, and Steve were ever pulled into her office, but you never had the chance to figure that out.

Even then, you couldn’t be honest, not about everything. But you could talk to her about Steve, and you did. You told her about his sudden abandonment and how you were stuck with an apartment you couldn’t afford on your own. She listened for well over an hour and spoke only when necessary. Then, she wrote a letter of recommendation and printed them out by the dozens. She told you where to look for jobs and how to find them in newspaper ads. She even scribbled down a list of publishing companies that could review your stories to print.

Only after your tears had dried and you could speak without gasping for air did she let you leave her office. She stood from her chair and walked with you toward the school’s exit. She hugged you by the door and wished you good luck before she sent you on your way. She watched you walk back to your car and only disappeared when you started the engine.

As you drove home the world lost all its color. The grass was no longer greener, the birds stopped singing, and the sun dimmed before your eyes. Everything that was in place was laid scattered around you. You didn’t think you’d be able to pick up the pieces. Steve Harrington, your best friend, ruined everything in a matter of moments, in less than five words.

The memories of eight months ago come rushing back as you sit in Ms. Kelley’s office. It looks the same as it did the day you left it. Her desk is still tidy, the plants are healthy and watered, and the books on her shelf remain untouched. A heavy silence fills the air, one none of you know how to break.

Dustin leans against Ms. Kelley’s desk unable to look anywhere but the floor. Steve looks out the window tapping his foot as he scours for any sign of Nancy and Robin. You and Max sit beside each other, she hasn’t let go of your hand. She’s barely said a word since you pulled her from the floor.

You watch the clock tick slowly, something you did every time you were forced into the room. If you tried hard enough, you’re sure you could hear Ms. Kelley’s voice nagging at you to look at her, to talk. Back then, this was your escape. The seconds would turn into minutes, minutes into an hour, and your time with her was up. You used the time to come up with a lie believable enough for her to not question.

Now, you use it to focus on your breathing. You think back to eight months ago, sitting in the same chair, pouring your heart out to someone forced to listen about Steve Harrington. It causes bile to rise in your throat. You can’t even look at him, convinced that if you do, you’ll vomit all over the rug.

Suddenly, the doors of the school are thrown open. You can hear the heels of Nancy’s shoes clicking against the tile and the squeaks of Robin’s sneakers as they run toward you. “Finally,” Steve mumbles. Max stands and you follow her lead before everyone crowds by the door.

“We came as fast as we could,” Nancy says gasping for air as she reaches you. “What happened?” All eyes turn to Max.

“I saw a grandfather clock,” she whispers, eyes trained on her shoes. “It was coming out of the wall down there.” She explains vaguely gesturing outside of the room. The five of you share a glance, not quite understanding her confession.

“Do you think you can show us?” You ask softly. She nods and pushes her way through the doorway. Everyone walks in silence behind Max, your footsteps echoing throughout the halls. Each of you directs flashlights toward the wall and down the corridor. A chill runs down your spine as you approach the spot. You aren’t sure what you’ll see, you don’t know if what Max saw was real or imaginary, or what will be waiting there for you when you get there.

Five beams of light are pointed at the end of the hallway, there’s nothing there, a dead end. All of you look at Max, not daring to say a word as she takes in the scene. “It was here, right here.” She says, unable to look away from the cement wall.

“A grandfather clock?” Nancy is the first to break the silence. Max nods at her question, an answer she couldn’t form with words.

“It was so real. And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just…” She trails off, “I woke up.” You gulp, remembering the way she jerked back to reality only minutes ago as if she was waking from a nightmare. The way her eyes were full of terror, how she clung to you as if she were to let go, she too would disappear.

“It was like she was in a trance or something.” Dustin describes, filling in the holes for Nancy and Robin. “Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy.” Everyone’s silent for a beat, taking in the new information. Of course, you heard what Eddie had said yesterday, that’s the kind of information someone would remember forever. You hadn’t connected it to what Max experienced. You aren’t sure if that’s because there have been too many things fighting for your attention or if you just didn’t want to believe that Max is somehow connected to Vecna.

Max spins to the group, squinting through the light. She takes a shaky breath before speaking. “That’s not even the bad part.” When her eyes meet yours, your heart shatters, you don’t know how much worse any of this could get. Max nods her head back toward Ms. Kelley’s office and beckons the group to follow.

“What do you think it is?” Steve whispers to you once Max is out of earshot.

“At this point, it could be anything.” You shrug. You aren’t allowing your thoughts to run wild, to think the worst. It could be something with a simple solution, something solvable. “Let’s just not worry until we have to.” when you look at him, you already see the panic spreading through his eyes. You try your hardest to look calm for Steve’s sake. Even though he doesn’t deserve it after everything he’s done, for some unknown reason you’re still trying to protect him, to be the one to hold the both of you together. You especially couldn’t afford to fall apart, not in front of him or the two kids that look up to you.

“Okay, not until we have to.” He nods in agreement. He holds the door open for you as you return to the office. You don’t bother thanking him as you step through and follow Dustin to stand in front of Max. She waits patiently as everyone enters, silently scanning the two files that lay before her.

“Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Ms. Kelley for help.” She slides the papers toward the five of you. You glance at the words still unable to find a connection, so you wait for Max to continue. “Uh, they were both having headaches, bad headaches that just wouldn't go away. And then,” she takes a breath, “then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They’d wake up in a cold sweat. And then they started seeing things.” Your stomach dropped then. You know the time to worry is quickly approaching. “Bad things, from their past. And these visions they just—they kept on getting worse and worse until eventually—” She sucks in a breath, quickly blinking away tears. “Everything ended.”

“Vecna’s curse,” Robin says, finally looking away from the pages and to Max.

“Chrissy’s headaches started a week ago. Fred, six days ago. I’ve been having them for five days.” Steve’s hand wipes his chin, covering his lips in thought at her revelation. You have to tear your eyes away from her to keep yourself together. “I don’t know how long I have. All I know is that for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so.” She lets her tears fall freely now. “Looks like I’m gonna die tomorrow.” She finishes.

Nobody has the chance to get a word in before the school doors are wrenched open. Your body jolts as goosebumps spread across your arms. Everyone’s heads whip toward the sound frozen in their spots. Steve glances behind him, eyes lingering on yours as he begins to move.

“Stay here.” He walks back toward the door and yanks a lamp from its socket. He moves his hands around the metal getting familiar with the object in case it needs to be used as a weapon. He passes through the door on quiet feet, careful not to give away your hiding place to the intruder.

“Come on,” you say, nodding after Steve. Four pairs of shoes shuffle behind you and back into the hallway. You half expected Steve to turn around and roll his eyes, annoyed that none of you listened to his command, but he never does. His shoulders are tense as he moves down the hall. He clutches the lamp so tight you can see the whites of his knuckles. Your eyes flutter closed for a split second, a silent plea for there not to be a fight coming your way. You squeeze your flashlight tighter just in case. Steve winds the lamp as if it were a baseball bat as you hear footsteps come closer.

The corridor turns into chaos as everyone begins to yell once Lucas rounds the corner. Steve shakes the lamp ready to swing as he screams at Lucas. Lucas screams, startled by the sight of you, and holds his arms out in defense.  

“It’s me!” He yells, gasping for air.

“Lucas?” Nancy pipes, stepping closer to the two boys.

“It’s me.” He says again. His hands fall to his knees as he doubles over trying to catch his breath.

“Jesus, what is wrong with you, Sinclair?” Steve’s panic is evident by the way he screams at the young boy.

“I’m sorry,” Lucas says.

“I could’ve taken you out with this lamp!” Steve yells. He shakes the lamp again sending the sound of clanking metal throughout the hall.

“Sorry guys,” Lucas sighs clutching his stomach. “I was,” he breathes, “I was biking for eight miles.” He holds a finger in the air to your group. “Give me one second, shit.” The six of you share a glance at Lucas’ urgency. “We’ve got a code red.” He says to no one in particular.

“What?” Steve snaps. Lucas ignores Steve and hobbles past him, directing his attention to Dustin. “Dustin, I’ve been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy, and they’ve gone totally off the rails. They’re trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is.” Dustin’s face scrunches in confusion the faster Lucas speaks. “You’re in terrible danger.”

“Alright,” Dustin sighs, “yeah, that definitely sucks, but we’ve got bigger problems than Jason right now.” Dustin turns to look at Max and Lucas’ eyes are quick to follow. She can’t bring herself to look at him, at anyone.

“Look, as much as you need to get caught up, we should probably get going.” Nancy begins. “You all can just stay at my house, and we’ll come up with a plan. Sound good?” Nancy looks at each of you as everyone nods in agreement, nobody puts up a fight against her suggestion.

Your group, which now consists of seven, trails back to Nancy and Steve’s parked cars. You take a step toward Nancy’s before Max pulls on your arm. “Please don’t leave me.” She begs, just loud enough for you to hear. You nod at her request and pull open Steve’s door for her to slide in.

“Yeah no, not a chance, Henderson.” Steve barks as Dustin reaches for the passenger-side handle. “Back seat.” Steve orders as Dustin rolls his eyes.

“You’re serious right now?” Dustin asks, refusing to move.

“Deadly,” Steve says with his jaw set firm. With an eye roll, Dustin obliges and gets into the back muttering swearwords to himself.

“Do you mind?” Lucas asks shyly glancing between you and Steve and then at Max.

“You okay with that?” You ask Max, waiting for her approval.

“Yeah, whatever.” She grumbles before Lucas makes his way in. Before you even shut the door you can hear Dustin’s voice filling in Lucas on everything he’s missed. You almost ram into Steve when you turn, not realizing he hasn’t gotten into his own car yet. Your heart quickens at his proximity. You can smell his shampoo and aftershave, the scent that was once comforting now makes you nauseous. He smells the same as he did the last time you spoke.

“Is it time to worry yet?” He questions. His eyes scan your features, worry already taking hold of him.

“Yeah, I’d say so.” Is all you can say.

Nancy’s house is just as warm and inviting as you remember it to be. You walk in behind her making sure to wipe your feet as you enter.  Faint sounds from the living room tv can be heard where you stand, waiting for the others to pile inside. The aromas from their leftover dinner waft toward you as you move further away from the doorway to make room. Everything about this feels like home, the warmth, the late-night show, the smells. You once had this, a place that felt like a home rather than a building. You don’t remember when that changed, it happened so suddenly. Standing here, amid hushed voices and bright light, you’re envious of Nancy, a feeling that’s been foreign to you since her and Steve’s breakup.

“Nancy?” Mrs. Wheeler calls from the kitchen before she appears. She looks startled when her eyes land on the seven of you, which you can’t blame her for. “Oh, hi, welcome!” She cheers, the look of surprise vanishing just as fast as it came.

“Hi, Mrs. Wheeler.” You all say quietly.

“They’re all staying here tonight,” Nancy says, earning her mother’s full attention. “Feels safer to all be together with everything that’s going on.” She explains. Karen’s lips stretch into a grin.

“I think that’s a lovely idea. Are any of you hungry? I’m sure we have enough leftovers for everyone.” She looks over everyone’s faces as you shake your heads, her eyes lingering on you and Steve for a moment too long.

“We’ve had a long day. I think we’re just ready to crash.” Nancy says, taking her mother’s attention off you. Karen nods before walking toward a coat closet, pulling out blankets to hand to everyone.

“There’s extra downstairs in case you get too cold.” She says as she passes one to you.

“Thank you, Mrs. Wheeler.” You say, with a shyness creeping into your voice. You feel exposed when she looks at you. You’ve never slept over at Nancy’s house, the interactions within her home were strictly for The Party. You can only imagine what Karen’s thinking as she looks between Nancy, Steve, and you. Anyone would say it’s a strange trio to see.

Downstairs, you step away from the group that’s seated on the couch and chairs and to the phone. You punch in your mother’s number and twirl the cord between your fingertips waiting for her to answer.

“Hello?” Her voice sounds groggy through the line.

“Hi, mom, sorry it’s late.” You say, preparing to hear her complaints about the time.

“It’s okay, where are you?” You can hear her yawn despite her trying to hide it.

“The Wheelers, everyone’s staying here tonight.”

“Who’s everyone?” She asks trying to pry. You look at Steve. You know the real question she’s asking.

“Everyone I always hang out with, I don’t know.”

“Is Steve there?” She practically sings.

“Like I said, everyone’s here.” Steve catches your eye from where he sits and offers a small smile. You look away, ignoring him completely. “Anyway, I was just calling to tell you where I was. We just feel safer being together after the murders.”

“Better chance of survival,” she agrees making you chuckle. “Well, be safe. And don’t forget about your mom, I miss you. I want to see you at least one day while I have you back.” She sighs. “And say hi to Steve for me!”

“Yeah, I won’t be doing that. But I will promise to be safe, and I’ll see you soon.” After the two of you bid your farewells, you hang the phone back onto its rightful place on the wall. You walk back to the seating area. There isn’t much room with Dustin and Robin seated in the two chairs and Steve, Lucas, and Max together on the couch. Steve scoots toward the center, giving you just enough room to squeeze in. You ignore the gesture, finding a spot on the floor next to Robin’s feet instead.

“We’ve come up with nothing.” Nancy sighs. “For now, at least. I really think our best option is to go to Pennhurst tomorrow and talk to Victor.”

“And do what in the meantime? We can’t just sit here. Max is in real danger and we’re already running out of time.” Lucas’ voice grows louder with every word he speaks.

“Then we do our research,” Nancy concludes, “Robin and I brought back every article we could find about Victor and his family. There has to be something in there that’s a lead.” She gestures toward the papers laid out on the coffee table. Lucas rubs his hands over his face in frustration. “We’re going to figure this out, I promise.” Nancy looks at Max with sincerity in her eyes. “But for now, we need rest. Try to get some sleep, all of you.” She demands as she spins on her heel and disappears up the stairs.

The rest of you disperse to find your respective blanket pallets and pillows on the floor. Max stretches out on the couch, eyes finding the ceiling. She’s biting her lip and messing with her fingers anxiously as you approach. “Brought you an extra blanket.” You offer, holding it out for her to take.

“Thanks,” she whispers, taking the fabric from your grasp. “Will you sleep next to me tonight?” Her voice is so quiet you almost didn’t catch the phrase.

“Of course, whatever you need.” You say with a soft smile. You retrieve your belongings and settle between the couch and coffee table, pulling the blanket to your chin. You bury your head deep into the pillow, wishing for sleep to come.

After a few minutes, you can hear snores escaping from Dustin and Lucas. Robin’s come shortly after. You sigh, unable to join them in their slumber. You don’t feel the slightest bit tired, your mind drowning in thoughts about the curse and Max, Eddie who probably needs food by now, and Steve, whom you can’t get away from. Finally, you think of yourself.

You didn’t tell anyone that you talked to Ms. Kelly all those months ago. Now, part of you wished you told Max, maybe it would've helped. To know that at one point you needed help and sought after the school counselor. Even so, you’re relieved she didn’t see your file, you don’t want to explain the reasoning behind your visit, to admit that Steve Harrington was more detrimental than the Upside Down.

Your therapist back home knew all about Steve and the alternate dimension. Owens flew out a psychiatrist as soon as he heard about your departure, he even covered the bills. He knew you wouldn’t be able to afford it on your own. He knew that trauma would follow you anywhere, that it wouldn’t be contained within the city limits of Hawkins. Dr. Abrams kept you sane while you were away. She taught you how to cope and talk yourself through panic attacks, the meds she prescribed helped with that too. You wish you listened to her last week when she advised you not to come home. You know he set up doctors here too, everyone was assigned to one. You wonder if Steve ever went and if he spoke about you the way you did him.

You sat up only when Max’s breathing started to slow. Darkness smothers you as you look around the room. It’s almost peaceful looking at your group of friends, all of them lost in dreams. You wish everyone was together under different circumstances.

“Can’t sleep either?” Steve asks from across the room. Even though he’s whispering, it still sounds too loud. You shake your head when you look at him. A small smile tugs at his lips as he jerks his head. “Come on.” Both of you quietly stand, stepping over bodies as you make your way to the stairwell.

Neither of you speaks after you sit, you’re not sure how to even start a conversation with him anymore. It feels comfortable though, there’s no awkwardness or tension. You don’t yank your legs away when your knees touch. It feels almost like it used to. You’d be lying if you said you don’t miss this.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” He asks softly, bumping his shoulder against yours.

“This whole thing is just so scary,” you say, “I mean headaches, past trauma, nightmares? We all have that. Any one of us could be next. And how do we know if that’s just what we’re used to or this Vecna guy?” Steve listens intently as you ramble. “If something happens to any of those kids or Nancy and Robin, or—” you stop yourself before his name tumbles into the air. “We’ve just lost so many people. I can’t bear to lose any more.”

“I know, but we’ll figure it out. We always do.” He tries his best to smile but it’s not convincing. “Are you still having nightmares?” he asks softly like he doesn’t want to know the answer.

“They come and go. None recently, I guess that’s comforting.” you shrug. You don’t tell him that he dies in every single one. “And you? Do you still get them?”

“Sometimes, they’re not nearly as bad as they used to be.” You remember those nights. Occasionally, you’d get a call in the early hours of the morning from him, begging you to come over so he wouldn’t be alone. On the evenings you stayed, he’d wake up screaming, thrashing the air. He would sweat, tremble, yell, and cry. And you would hold him until the monsters of his nightmares were at bay.

“That’s good,” you whisper, looking away.

“Is there something else bothering you? I mean besides like, everything happening and…” He trails off, “and me?”

“It’s not just all of that.” You sigh, shaking your head. “The only connection that Fred and Chrissy have to one another is Ms. Kelley.” Steve nods his head urging you to continue. “My file’s in there too.” His face crumbles when you look at him, he flinches as if he’s about to reach out for you, to wrap you in his arms like he would’ve done eight months ago. He doesn’t move any further, his hands are pressed firmly on his thighs. You’re not sure if you’re disappointed or not. “So, I could be next, or I don’t know,” your words trail off, unable to let yourself continue, you don’t know what else is left to say. “Anyways, can we talk about something else, please?” You both look away from one another, allowing an awkward silence to settle.

“I’ve read all your writings.” He admits with a bashful smile.

“You read my stories?” You couldn’t hide your surprise. Part of you is embarrassed. You had never expected Steve to read anything you got published, he doesn’t even read. You poured your heart out into each page. You wrote things you never wanted him to see. You told your emotions, telling the raw and honest version of what happened.

“Yeah, of course, I have them all cut out in a little scrapbook thingy.” You can’t help but laugh. “I thought you wrote my character a little pretentious though.” He shrugs with a goofy grin.

“I did not write about you Steve, get over yourself.”

“Uh, yes you did,” he scoffs, “Sam Hemmington?”

“Okay, so maybe I might have embellished a little bit.” You giggle.

“Seriously though, I liked how you wrote the characters. I could tell who everyone was even if their names were changed. You captured everyone’s personality so spot on.”

“Thanks,” you smile.

“And your stories about us? You wrote them like we were magic.” His eyes twinkle when he looks at you like he’s still in awe.

“We were, to me at least.” You shrug. “All fairytales must have an end though.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He sighs.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve called and asked if it was okay before it got published. It was your life too.”

“It’s okay, I would’ve said yes.” He says with a smile. “It would’ve been nice to hear from you though.” You stay silent, unable to think of a response. “I’ve really missed you. I know that’s probably the last thing you wanna hear from me, but it feels good to have you back.” His words cause heat to spread throughout your body in anger. As if it were your fault for not keeping in touch.

“I’m not staying so don’t get used to it.” You snap.

“I know, I know.” He raises his hands in defense. “I’m really proud of you, I’m glad it’s all worked out.” There’s a beat of awkward silence, one you don’t know how to fill. You’re afraid that if you do, it’ll start another fight. “How’s the apartment? Does it have a nice view?” you scoff at his question. “What?”

“You are unbelievable,” you say rolling your eyes.

“Y/N, I know I hurt you—”

“You didn’t just hurt me, Steve. You ruined me. And then you never called or sent me letters after everything happened. Don’t tell me that you missed me and you’re happy I’m here because it’s bullshit.” Steve gulps, you almost feel guilty for using the word but you’re too angry to care. “And you definitely don’t get to ask about the view of my home that you trapped me in.” You stand from the step, ready to abandon him without another word. “You fucked me over and never said sorry. You know, I had to work three jobs just to be able to survive. My mom took a different job so she could send me money, so I’d be able to eat. I almost lost my scholarship and could’ve been put on academic probation because I never had time to study because I worked so much. So don’t sit there and say that you’re proud of me and you’re happy it all worked out because it’s your fault it almost didn’t.”

Hot tears pool in your eyes as you turn away and vanish into the darkness before Steve can see. You retrace your steps back to your corner of solitude and quietly lay down, careful not to wake Max. You’re exhausted, from more than just the long day. You’re tired of saving the world, of being sad, of the limbo that is you and Steve Harrington. You feel like an acrobat, teetering between remembrance and forgiveness while everyone else watches you suffer along the tightrope from below. You wonder if he feels the same, if he hurts just as much as you do.

The following morning you sit in the chair across from Lucas and Dustin, flipping through magazines and newspaper clippings. You stifle a yawn as you toss an article back onto the coffee table, only to replace it with another. Nancy and Robin left a few hours ago, mumbling something about going to the school’s newspaper room. It sounded like the beginning of a plan, which is better than what the four of you have come up with so far.

Steve groans from across the room. “Okay, be honest, uh,” he squints as if that’d help him understand the page. “You guys understand any of this?”

“No,” Lucas sighs, mimicking Steve’s expression.

“Pretty straightforward.” Dustin quips, gaining your attention.

“Oh, straightforward, really?” Steve’s voice drips with sarcasm and he blankly stares at the young boy.

“Well, what’s confusing to you?” Dustin asks, leaning forward. “So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He’s the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it’s him.”

“Yeah, that’s assuming he was cursed, Henderson, which we don’t even know,” Steve says looking back down at the papers in his hands. “How can Vecna have existed in the ‘50s? It doesn’t make sense.”

“As far as we know, Eleven didn’t create the Upside Down. She opened a gate to it. The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years –millions. I wouldn’t be surprised if it predated the dinosaurs.”

“I don’t know about that,” you mumble.

“Dinosaurs? What are we—” Steve shakes his head, brows furrowed.

“Okay, okay, but if a gate didn’t exist in the ‘50s, how did Vecna get through?” Lucas asks no one in particular.

“Oh, and how’s he getting through now.” Steve points at Dustin who rolls his eyes.

“And why now?” Lucas continues.

“And why then? Just pops out in the ‘50s, kills one family, and then he’s like, ‘eh, I’m good.’ And poof, he just disappears. Just gone? Only to return 30 years later and start killing some random teens? No, I don’t buy it.” Steve rambles. “Straightforward my ass. You know, honestly, Henderson, a little humility every now and then, it wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Sorry.” Dustin sighs. Steve plops into the chair beside you, the annoyance hasn’t left his features. Dustin’s eyes go distant, trained somewhere behind you and you follow his gaze. Max still sits hunched over the desk. She’s been scribbling since you awoke this morning. You decided it was best not to bother her.

“Any idea what she’s writing?” Dustin asks. Steve turns his head at the question. “Did she sleep?”

“I mean, would you?” Lucas asks.

The door opens from the top of the stairs. You stand, listening to Nancy’s boots click all the way to the bottom step until she comes into view. “Okay so,” she pants, waiting for Robin to stand beside her. “We have a plan.” They both smirk as they join the rest of you in the seating area. Nancy hands Steve two brown files and he passes one to you.

“Thanks to Nancy’s newspaper minions we are now rockstar psychology students at the University of Notre Dame,” Robin explains as you flip through the paperwork.

“I’m now Ruth,” Nancy says.

“And I’m Rose.” Robin finishes.

“Ruth?” Steve raises his eyebrows toward Nancy, she only smiles in response.

“Rose?” You look at Robin who shrugs as you pass the file on. Nancy must’ve been in charge of the name picking, you know that wouldn’t be Robin’s first choice.

“Nice GPA,” Dustin nods in approval when he looks up of from the faux documents.

“Thanks,” Nancy grins. “So, we called the Pennhurst Asylum, told them we’d like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we’re co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics—”

“To which they said no.” Robin interrupts.

“But we landed a three o’clock with the director.” Nancy continues.

“Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor,” Robin explains.

“And then maybe we can rid Max of this curse.” Nancy finds Max in the back corner of the basement, her back still turned, hands still scribbling. Sadness ghosts her face as she takes in the scene.

“Yeah, uh, about that.” Steve begins. “We’ve been doing our Victor Creel homework, and uh, we got some questions.”

“Lots of questions.” Lucas agrees.

“So do we. Hopefully, Victor has the answers.” Nancy says.

“Wait, wait, wait a second,” Steve looks at you then. The two of you haven’t spoken since last night. He looks away quickly, directing his attention back to Robin and Nancy. “Uh, where’s ours?” Nancy cringes slightly at Steve’s question, you already know he won’t like the answer.

“You guys are staying with the kids.” She says coming to a stand and moving toward the stairs.

“No, absolutely not.” Steve raises his voice, quick to follow her lead. You glance at Robin momentarily before the two of you trail behind them.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Steve, there isn’t a file for you. You have to stay here.” Nancy says in the foyer, starting to climb the second set of steps.

“This is unbelievable,” Steve complains, “Nancy, you’re outta your mind if you think I’m babysitting again.” He says following her into her room.

“Okay, first of all, they’re not babies anymore. And Max is in real danger, she needs people around her.” Nancy snaps.

“I know. But why does it always have to be me?” Steve says. You roll your eyes as you follow Robin into the room. Typical Steve, only thinking about himself, the world is only ever against him. “I mean us.” He tries to correct but it’s already too late.

“Oh my god, you have a Tom Cruise poster,” Robin exclaims, racing toward the wall. “You have a Tom Cruise poster.” She taunts, smirking at Nancy.

“That’s old –it’s just,” Nancy defends shuffling through clothes hangers. “Can you please not touch anything?” Robin only smirks.

“I just can’t do anything here, Nance.” Your skin crawls hearing her nickname on his tongue. “Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I don’t know. I could turn on my—my charm.” He snaps his fingers together.

“Please,” you scoff, rolling your eyes. You kick Robin’s shoe, warning her not to keep rummaging through Nancy’s things.

“Not the kind of charm we need,” Nancy responds, trying her hardest to soften the blow.

“Ouch.” Steve says, pointing at the two of you.

“No, I just,” Nancy begins, struggling to find her words. “Look, I did a little digging last night, and it turns out this Dr. Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Harvard visiting scholar, okay? This is a lifelong student of the world. And if we’re gonna win him over, we’re gonna have to convince him that we are too. That like him, we are true academic scholars.” She finishes, reaching back for hangers.

“Holy shit there’s a little ballerina in here.” Robin giggles showing the jewelry box to the room.

“Academic scholar,” Steve purses his lips as he looks at his best friend, face riddled with judgment. “She’s giving you an academic scholar vibe? Yeah.” Robin rolls her eyes at his words, flipping the box shut.

“No, but,” Nancy begins, pulling a pink blouse from her wardrobe. “She will.”

“Jesus Christ,” you chuckle, taking in the frills and pearl buttons. “Yeah, I’m good staying here.”

“Oh, please, tell me you’re joking.” Robin groans, dread creeping into her features as she looks at the attire. Nancy forces a smile as she holds out the hanger which Robin reluctantly takes.

You and Steve turn to excuse yourself from the room and return to the basement. The tension between the two of you is thick as you descend the steps. “Look, about last night,” Steve begins, pausing on the staircase.

“We don’t need to talk about it.” You cut him off, attempting to smile but he sees right through forced niceties. You aren’t ready to have another heart-to-heart with him, not after how your last conversation ended, not in Nancy Wheeler’s house, not with other pressing matters.

“Y/N?” You hear your name from behind. Both you and Steve turn to Nancy. “Could I steal you for a sec?” She asks cautiously. You nod, pushing yourself against the rail for Steve to pass, ignoring his gaze as he disappears to the basement.

“What happened last night?” She whispers, taking steps towards you.

“Nothing,” you shake your head. “What’s up?”

“Right,” she smiles, regaining her composure. “I just wanted to say that I wanted you to come with me today. But as soon as I even said the idea, Robin was adamant that she went with.”

“Sounds like her,” you smile.

“And the more I thought about it the more it made sense for you to stay with Max because she clearly feels safest around you and—”

“Hey, it’s okay. I really don’t mind. I’m happy to babysit.” You laugh, mocking Steve from moments ago.

“One more thing,” she whispers, suddenly serious, grabbing ahold of your wrist and pulling you close. “If anything goes south, I keep guns in my closet. They’re in the white shoe box. A Makarov and a revolver.”

“Okay, yeah, got it.” You give a curt nod as she lets you go. “A Makarov?” You raise your brows. You knew about the revolver. A few months after Will returned, Mike told you she still slept with it under her pillow.

“Stole it from the Russians,” she shrugs with a smirk.

“Of course, you did.” You laugh.  

“Nancy, I can’t breathe in this thing!” Robin screams from Nancy’s room. Nancy’s eyelids flutter closed as she sucks in a breath.

“Good luck with that.” You offer a salute before making it back to the basement.

An hour has passed, and you still haven’t found a solid lead. Your mind had become scrambled thirty minutes ago with the same repetitive information. The entirety of Hawkins has been convinced for decades that Victor’s guilty. The town was in an uproar that he was sent to a mental hospital rather than the state prison, claiming he fabricated his story as an easy way out.

You flick through the photos from the day they brought him to Pennhurst. Mobs of people swarmed the police car, holding signs protesting his sentencing. “Victor Creel: The real demon” and the names of his family were painted on the crowd’s posters. You could see his fear, frozen in time as he was swarmed by strangers and taken inside in handcuffs.

“I can’t look at these anymore.” You whisper, throwing the pictures back to the table and wiping your eyes to rid the memory.

“You okay?” Dustin whispers beside you, placing his own article down.

“Yeah, fine.” You nod but you don’t think he’s convinced. Guilt festers in your stomach when your eyes reach Max. It doesn’t feel right for anyone to be checking on you, you aren’t sure if anyone’s even checked on her yet. Nobody knows what to say or how to act around her. Everyone’s been walking on eggshells.

“I know you guys are staring at me.” She says finally. It’s the first time she’s spoken since yesterday.  

“What, sorry?” Steve says, throwing the ball you gave him earlier when you grew tired of his pacing. “Just hanging out.”

“You said you needed something?” Lucas’ voice changes pitch, something that always happened when he needed to lie. He reaches for a magazine and holds it centered between the two of you.

“How you guys think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don’t know.” She huffs. You hear shuffling as she collects the pages she’s been working on before making her way to the group.

“Look,” you nudge Lucas. You point to an ad, pretending to be fixated. Lucas nods as if it’s interesting. The four of you refuse to look up when she comes to a stop. You can practically feel her eyes roll. She sees right through your acting.

“You can look at me now.”

“Thank you,” Dustin says.

“Sorry.” You all mumble in unison.

“For you,” she sighs, holding out an envelope for Dustin to take, shaking it harder when he doesn’t reach for it. “For you,” Steve takes his with a sad smile, “and uh, for you two.” She can’t bring herself to look at either you or Lucas. “Oh, and um, give this to Mike, El, and Will. If you can ever get ahold of them.” She says handing three more letters to Lucas. You trace your fingertips over her penmanship as Steve and Dustin begin to open theirs. “What are you doing? No, don’t. That’s not for now. Don’t open it now.”

“Oh, okay.” Dustin shrugs. “I’m sorry, what is this?”

“It’s um,” she says, finding her shoes more interesting that the four pairs of eyes on her. “It’s a fail-safe. For after. You know, if things –if they don’t work out.” The envelope nearly slips from your hands at her words. Over the past eight months, you’ve received countless letters from Max. Most of them were all filled with nonsense and old stories you remembered while writing, but they were your favorite. They’d come like clockwork every Tuesday. You don’t want this to be the last one, you won’t let it be.

“Wait, whoa, Max,” Lucas begins. Everyone shifts uncomfortably on the couch. “Things are gonna work out—”

“No! No, I don’t need you to reassure me right now and tell me that it’s all gonna work out because people have been telling me that my entire life and it’s almost never true.” She pauses. “It’s never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. I should’ve seen that one coming.” She takes a breath, leaving the four of you to look at each other as she reaches for Dustin’s walkie. “If we go to East Hawkins, will this still reach Pennhurst?”

“Of course,” Dustin nods.

“Wait, why are we talking about East Hawkins?” Steve asks. Max looks at you as if asking permission to leave. You nod, already moving to stand as the boys look at Steve to answer. “No. No. No!” The two of you ignore Steve, already making your way to his car. “Y/N, Ma—wait!” He calls after the two of you, racing up the stairs. “Max, Max. Seriously, I’m not joking, okay? We’re not driving you anywhere.” He says following the two of you out of the garage.

“Speak for yourself, Steve. I’ll take her.” You bite back.

“Steve, if you think that I’m going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that is Mike Wheeler's basement, then you’re out of your mind. So, either take me where I need to go, or you’re going to have to tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. And if I live to see another day, Steve, I swear to God, I will prosecute.” She snaps trying to yank the car door open. “Open the door.” She demands.

“Uh, no,” he rolls his eyes.

“I know a good lawyer.”

“Just give me the keys and stay here.” You hold out your hand towards him.

“I’ve about had it with you, Y/N!” He yells, directing his attention toward you. “All you have done is argue and go against everything I’ve said. I know you hate me and want to do anything you can to defy me, but all I have ever done is try to keep these kids safe, you can’t deny that. So let me do what I do best and keep them safe.” He seethes.

“Oh, for fucks sake Steve,” you roll your eyes. “Cut the bullshit, all you have done the last two days is try to get away from them. Don’t act like their hero now.” You gesture to the three young kids. Dustin’s face falls as he looks between you and Steve. “I know this may come as a shock, but not everything is about you or us. This is about Max, who is no safer here than in East Hawkins. I want to believe like everyone else that we’ll figure this out, I really, really do, but we might not be that lucky this time.” Your voice catches in your throat as you look at her. “We have nothing right now, we have no leads, no idea how to break this curse so this might be it. This could be her very last day so God forbid I will bend over backwards to make sure she gets what she wants.” The three of them stand in silence, sadness in their eyes when they look at you. Everyone was thinking it, you just had to be the one to say it out loud. “If you want to stay, then stay. Just let us go.” You beg softly, offering a reassuring smile to Max.

“Okay,” Steve sighs, “Okay, come on get in the car.”

“Thank you,” you mouth, reluctantly walking to the passenger side.

“Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst,” Steve says, slamming the door shut and starting the engine.

The entire drive is silent as he navigates the turns to her home. Dustin sits between Max and Lucas picking at his thumbs, a frown tugging on his lips. You regret what you said about Steve and the kids, especially in front of Dustin. You know how much Dustin idolizes him, you never wanted to taint the image of Steve for his sake. You wish Steve recognized that more, you wish he didn’t take that for granted.

Lucas turns his letter over in his hands, sighing as he glances her way. You know how much he has to say, what he wants to say, but can’t bring himself to. Max stares at the trees as they pass with distant eyes, you wish you could do more to help.

“Alright this better be fast, Mayfield.” Steve says putting the car in park.

“Twenty seconds,” she assures, before jogging inside. Steve turns to Dustin, nodding toward the walkie in his hands.

“That thing’s got batteries in it, right?” he asks.

“I’m not even answering that question.” Dustin says, shaking his head. The two stare at each other for a moment before Steve rolls his eyes and faces forward. “Yes, it has batteries.”

“Yeah, I got it.” Steve raises his hand slightly to silence the teen. You groan at their bickering, pushing your door open and slamming it shut. You lean against the metal taking in your surroundings. The trailer park is quiet, too quiet for your liking even though you haven’t spent much time here. Max always preferred your house to her own. You left shortly after she moved, you only picked her up here a handful of times here, but there had always been noise. Children played on the small playground, neighbors would have barbeques, and people would walk their dogs. Now, it’s deserted. The news of the murders has made everyone shut themselves behind locked doors.  

You look at Eddie’s trailer. You know it’s only a matter of time before his name is released to the public, you’re relieved the neighbors haven’t made assumptions. His van has been missing and the tire tracks that rip through the earth don’t paint the prettiest of pictures for him. Eddie’s the kid parents warn their children about, he’s the troublemaker, the druggie who doesn’t have a future. Even so, nobody believes he’s capable of murder, not yet at least.

You shudder thinking how different this place will look if the news breaks. You can picture it now, swarms of people, smashed windows, broken caution tape blowing in the wind, and “MURDERER” spraypainted across the side of his home in red. You’re determined to clear his name before it gets to that point.

“She’s been in there awhile,” Dustin murmurs, pulling you away from your thoughts.

“She’s fine, just give her a second,” Lucas warns, squinting his eyes to see through the curtains. He drums his fingers against Steve’s car, anxiously waiting for her return.

Max rounds the side of her trailer, yanking her backpack strap tighter on her shoulder. She crosses the yard with hast, panting by the time she reaches the rest of you.

“Hey, that was longer than twenty seconds.” Steve gripes. “Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. You alright?” Steve asks as she opens the car door.

“I’m fine, just drive.” She snaps.

“Max?” You ask, but she’s too busy throwing herself inside.

“Did something happen?” Dustin tries.

“Can we please just go?” She begs. Your door isn’t even fully shut before Steve peels out of her driveway and back onto the main road.

Max points out directions taking you further and further away from the heart of Hawkins. You and Steve glance at the kids every few seconds. There still hasn’t been any news from Robin and Nancy. Over the years, the squawking and the static from the kids’ radios slowly drove you insane. Now, you’d give anything to hear it cut through the silence. You bounce your leg, unable to contain your nerves any longer.

Steve’s head turns slightly, your movement gaining his attention before his eyes go back to the road. He lifts his hand from the steering wheel, moving towards you out of habit. He’d always reach for you the moment you got antsy. His touch calmed you, it gave you a sense of safety when the world was falling apart. You watch him carefully, holding your breath as his hand moves closer. He halts, abruptly shifting his hand away from you and to the rearview, fiddling with it until he seems satisfied. You look away, pretending not to notice.

“Turn here.” Max instructs.

“Here?” Dustin asks, to which she only nods. Steve doesn’t ask questions as he turns into the cemetery.

Billy Hargrove’s funeral was one week after Starcourt. You were planning on skipping it entirely. You hated Billy from the moment he stepped into town. You didn’t understand the obsession everyone had with him. Every guy wanted to be him, and every girl wanted to sleep with him. He was the town’s shiny new toy. He made your skin crawl any time he looked your way.

You never had a real conversation with Billy, which you were thankful for. His taunting Steve on the basketball court extended to you by association, he only ever referred to you as “Steve’s Girl” in the hallways despite everyone reminding him that you and Steve were only friends. You weren’t sure if he even knew your name. You think he only did it to get under Steve’s skin more.

The night at the Byers made Billy keep his distance. Even last summer, when you were forced to work shifts together at the pool, he couldn’t look you in the eye. When you’d pass each other by the lifeguard tower or at the concession stand, he’d keep his head down. After what he said to Lucas and after what he did to Steve, Billy knew better than to speak to you.

The day of his memorial was a blur, much like everything else was during those two weeks. You remember bringing flowers for Susan and Max to show your condolences the morning of the service. Max had called you to come, her mother was too deep in mourning to get herself ready, let alone her daughter.

It was the only time you’ve ever stepped foot into the Hargrove-Mayfield residence. The house was heavy as Max led you down the hall and to her bedroom. You braided her hair and pinned a broach your mother lent you to the top of her dress. It was the worst you had ever seen her. Max’s eyes were void of any emotion and she talked robotically only when spoken to. She shrunk into a shell and all you could do was watch and hold her hand as Billy was lowered beneath the ground.

Lucas scrambles to let himself out of the car to run after her. You can vaguely hear their voices over the rumbling of Steve’s engine. Lucas pleads with Max as she tries to push him away. You look out the window and to the trees, it felt like an intimate moment none of you should witness.

“What are we even doing here?” Dustin asks from the back, looking at the graveyard.

“She’s saying goodbye.” You say quietly.

“Why? She didn’t even like him.” Dustin scrunches his nose in disgust.

“He was her brother,” Steve shrugs.

“Stepbrother,” you correct.

“Right, I’m just saying he did sacrifice himself to save her, maybe she feels like she owes him.”

“That’s the funny thing about grief. No matter how much you hate someone, it doesn’t mean that a little part of you doesn’t love them.” You say with a sigh. You ignore Steve when he looks at you.

Dustin joins Lucas outside once he makes it back to the vehicle. Steve reaches for the keys and shoves them into his pocket but never opens his door to leave. “How do we know when to call it?” You ask.

“I don’t know,” he admits, looking at his watch. “Get her in ten minutes and go back to Nancy’s?”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me.” You nod, rubbing your hands on your jeans. “Talk about something,” you blurt, “To pass the time.” You want to avoid silence, you can’t take any more quiet.

“If it was your last day on Earth, what would you do?”

“Seriously?” you glance from him to Max who sits on her knees in the distance.

“Sorry, I panicked.” He cringes at his own words. You think about your apartment across state lines, your school, the library you always study in, and the bar where you meet your friends.

“It’s funny,” you chuckle, gaining his attention. “I’ve spent my entire life wanting to leave this place, and I’m so, so happy I did.” You look at Dustin, he wears a goofy grin as he talks to Lucas, no doubt trying to distract his best friend. Even though he’s becoming a man, he’s still the same little boy you’ve looked after your entire life. You look at Lucas, whose eyes are stern as he stares ahead at the girl he still loves. His face holds the same intensity you’ve seen time and time again while he’s protecting his friends. You look at Max, remembering the days when her smile lit up the room she was in. You think of Robin and the way she can talk until your ears bleed, but her voice still sounds like music. You think of Nance and the new friendship blooming between you.

You think of Will, the boy you went to hell and back for, and you’d do it again without a second thought. You think of El and how when she laughs for too long all she can do is snort. And Mike, who hugged you every time you entered a room until he was thirteen years old. You think about your mom, the woman who at the very least, was there when it mattered. You think about Hawkins, you think about your home.

“If it were truly my last day, I’d want to spend it here.” You admit finally. “I’d hug my mom. I’d hang out with everyone one last time,” you gesture vaguely to the kids outside Steve’s window. “All my favorite people.”

“Everyone?” he repeats, “Does that mean I’d be invited?”

Steve Harrington. The little boy who walked you home from the bus stop on your first day of kindergarten. The boy who held your hand all the way to the nurse’s office when you fell off the monkey bars in the first grade. The kid you spent your summers catching fireflies and making mudpies with. Your best friend who stole your Goldfish and told you the tooth fairy wasn’t real. The one who ditched you at a Halloween party and you still loved him anyway. Steve, who for some reason the universe always seemed to pair you with with the world was falling apart, maybe that’s why he made you believe soulmates were real and that he was made for you. The boy who you kissed so often you remember the taste of his lips eight months later. You think of the man in front of you, the one you didn’t think you could live life without.

“Yeah, Steve. You’d be invited. I wouldn’t want to leave without saying goodbye. Not again.” You whisper. You tear your eyes away from him and back to Max. “How long’s it been?” you ask, clearing your throat.

“Uh,” he shakes his head as if he were coming back to reality. “Seven minutes.” You nod. Dustin taps on the glass ushering Steve to roll his window down.

“You two okay in there?” He asks, a mischievous grin stretching across his face.

“Yeah, how are you two holding up out there?” You lean over the console to get a better look at Lucas.

“She’s just sitting there,” Lucas mumbles.

“Give her a few more minutes, she’ll come back when she’s ready.” You try to sound reassuring. You share a look with Steve when another minute passes.

“So, are you guys like, friends again?” Dustin looks between the two of you.

“No,” you shake your head quickly. Dustin tries to hide his disappointment, but he’s never had a good poker face.

“Well, you guys are giving me whiplash.” He grumbles.

“I know, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t fair to you, we’re not trying to put you guys in the middle.” You say.

“God, it’s like my parents are getting divorced all over again.” He teases.

“Shut up, Henderson,” you roll your eyes, watching Steve’s fingers tap the side of his car.

“Alright, it’s been long enough.” Steve grumbles looking at his watch.

“How long now?” You ask, already unbuckling your seatbelt.

“Twelve minutes.”

“Yeah, call it.” You and Steve both throw open your doors and hop out of the car.

“Guys, just give her some time.” Lucas pleads.

“We have, alright Sinclair?” Steve snaps, marching through the grass. “We’re calling it. She wants to get a lawyer, she can.” You walk ahead of Steve quickly, avoiding tombstones with ease. “Max!” Steve calls for her from behind you.

“Time to head out kiddo,” you say coming to a pause beside her.

“Time to giddy up, yeah?” You look back at Steve, brows furrowed at his choice of words. He only shrugs in response.

“Oh my God, Steve.” You say in a panic, dropping to your knees.

“Max?” She sits frozen, eyes rolled to the back of her head. “Max,” Steve shakes her shoulder. She twitches her head but doesn’t wake up. “Max!”

“Oh my God, Max!” You scream. Dustin and Lucas come running, kneeling down beside Max.

“Holy shit,” Dustin’s eyes are wide as he takes her in.

“Max, you gotta get outta there! Can you hear me?” Lucas yells.

“Call Nancy and Robin!” Steve screams, grabbing ahold of Dustin’s jacket. “Go get ‘em! Call Nancy and Robin! Go!” Steve points toward the car, begging Dustin to move. Dustin scoots back kicking mud up with his shoes. He falls to the ground with a thud before racing back down the hill.

“Please, Max!” Lucas screams.

“Nancy? Robin? Do you copy? This is a code red. Do you copy?” you can hear Dustin’s screams from over your own.

“Max, honey, please you gotta wake up. Please, wake up.” You shake her shoulders harder. Your heart races, you can hear it drumming in your ears. This is it, you think. After all the years of torture, the years of suffering, and loss, this is finally it. The monsters, Vecna, the Upside Down, they’ve won. You thought it’d be like last summer and the winter before that, you all would win like you always did. You should’ve learned a long time ago that there’s no such thing as winning, not in this life at least.

“Guys!” Dustin screams, sliding back to his spot and spilling cassette tapes onto the ground.

“What is this?” Lucas yells.

“What’s her favorite song?” Dustin asks.

“Why?” Lucas demands.

“Robin said if she listens –it’s too much to explain right now. What’s her favorite song?”

“I-I-I don’t know!” Lucas screams.

“Kate! Kate Bush, ‘Running Up That Hill’!” You shout, sifting through the tapes through blurry vision. She played that song on repeat any time she was in your car. For her birthday, you burned her a mixtape with nothing else on it. She said it was the best gift she’d ever received.

“Which one?” Steve groans, throwing around the music.

“It’s right here! Got it!” Lucas fumbles with the plastic in his hand, pulling open the case and handing the cassette to Dustin.

“Give it to me.” Dustin shoves it into the player and places the headphones over her ears. “Now!” Lucas presses play and waits for something to happen. She remains still, twitching slightly when the music begins to play.

Slowly, she lifts from the ground. Her legs are limp as she floats upwards. All of you fall back, jaws dropping as your eyes follow her into the air. “Max!” You scream until your throat grows hoarse. The three of you stand in a circle beneath your friend.

You sob as you look at her dangling. Max Mayfield, the bravest girl you know. The girl who doesn’t need anyone and demands her independence be respected. The girl who has more skateboarding scars than skin on her body, the girl you took under your wing, who writes you letters every week and apologizes if she misses even one. The girl who likes peanut butter ice cream with chocolate syrup. The girl who you love like a sister, the girl you should’ve protected. The girl you never got to tell that you look up to her.

All at once, she begins to fall. “Steve, catch her!” you scream, but she’s coming down too fast.

“Max!” You all shout, rushing to her aid when she hits the ground. She screams, kicking up grass and mud as she moves across the hill. Lucas wraps his arms around her shoulders pulling her close. She balls his jacket into her fist as she holds onto him, gasping for hair.

“It’s okay,” he coos. “I thought we lost you.” He sobs. Steve puts his hands on Lucas’ shoulders, offering support in any way he could.

“I’m still, I’m still here.” She gasps. You aren’t sure if she’s comforting herself or everyone else. You wipe away your tears before she can see them, grabbing onto her ankle gently just to be sure she’s still here, that it isn’t a dream. “I’m still here,” she repeats, nodding to you when you meet her eyes.  

The five of you huddle close as the sun goes down, crying, panting, and clinging to one another as if your life depends on it. You hold Dustin close to you, you can feel where his tears land on your shoulder through your sweater. When you look up, Steve’s already watching you.

“Are you okay?” he mouths. With tears in your eyes, you nod, reaching across the circle to hold his hand. He squeezes yours the moment they touch.

You don’t know why the universe always puts you and Steve together when the world is falling apart. You aren’t sure if that’s a sign from something above or if the two of you just have shit luck. Whatever the reason may be, you’ll be forever grateful. There’s no one else you’d rather be paired with.

Forever tags: @superfrankie111​ // @rueinn // @lemonadeorange73​ // @simplechicwithacrazedheart​ // @youshutthefuckupville​ // @captainpeggy40 // @alexdamereysmith // @llatpdnmm // @dummiesshort // @quaksonhehe​​

Steve Tags: @empathetic-vibrations // @loulouloueh​ // @soulmatecashton​

Back to You Tags: @p-rspective​ // @gloryekaterina​ // @boomitsallie1​​ // @sundarksposts​ // @themyththelegendthenerd​​ // @gengen64​​ // @frostandflamesfanfic​​ // @m-rae23​​ 

[strawberryxfieldz]

Invader Zim Masterlist

Series:

Invader Zim: Doomsday (Zombie AU)

One-Shots:

(Sorted in alphabetical order.)

Heart To Squeedily-Spooch

ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Post-Canon, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 3,802 | Rated M

Dib has a certain craving for Zim and Zim is more than happy to fulfill it… on one condition. He gets to eat his heart out. Literally.

I Was Just a Boy

ZADF (Zim & Dib) | Post-Canon/Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 7,510 | Rated M

Dib is sent to the Crazy House for Boys after finally completing his mission and killing Zim. Unfortunately, the world isn't as appreciative as he'd thought, and, possibly more unfortunately, he's starting to have doubts about his actions. Meanwhile, Zim becomes official property of Membrane Labs, ready to be tested on when he suddenly wakes up. Realizing he's betrayed his Tallests by dying, he sets out with a new determination to be rid of Dib once and for all.

Keeping Up Appearances 

ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Post-Canon, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 2,805 | Rated G

Today was one of those days, in which Dib would stay bed-ridden and do nothing but feel bad about himself. Except, this time Zim won't leave him alone and Dib may just have to confront his feelings with his new boyfriend, even if the Irken doesn't quite understand it all.

Written for Invader Zim Prompt Meme Event 2022.

A Little Taste

(Tumblr)

ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Post-Canon | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 468, Rated M

Irkens had a distaste for anything that wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet but, to Zim, Dib’s blood was an exception.

Love-Pigs

ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Post-Canon, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 3,063 | Rated G

Prepare for the most romantic night of your human life!

Zim whisks Dib away for a night of romance under the pretense that he wants to celebrate the first month of their relationship. Dib suspects he has ulterior motives, however, and sets out to convince Zim he has nothing to prove.

Written for Alt-ZADR Week 2022. 

A Moment of Peace

TAGF (Gaz & Tak) | Canon Rewrite, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 2,894 | Rated G

Gaz and Dib are on their way to break their dad out of Moo-Ping 10, the space prison Zim sent him to. Unknown to them, Tak's ship has plans to break Tak out of the prison as well.

Raspberry Pink Eyes

ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Post-Canon, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 11,728 | Rated T

There, sitting in a bush, caked in BigFeets' urine, hot and sticky under the summer sun, Dib began to realize what it meant.

Dib wants the day alone to hunt for BigFeets. Zim insists that he help him find GIR, who's somehow gone missing. Dib ends up finding much more than the robot-dog over the course of one eventful, taco-filled day.

Written for Alt-ZADR Week 2022.

Suds

Fem!ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Post-Canon, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 3,286 | Rated T

Dib reeks. Having just fought an alien blob monster, she desperately needs a shower but doesn't want to take one. Leave it to Zim to force her to, initiating a string of moments perhaps too intimate to be shared between two sworn enemies.

Written for Invader Zim Prompt Meme Event 2022. 

Tenn’s Christmas on Meekrob: A Holiday Special

TATR (Tenn/Tak) | Post-Canon | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 2,813 | Rated G

Tenn celebrates a very special holiday on the planet Meekrob upon the arrival of a very special guest, Tak.

The Vast and Vicious Void

ZA2R (Zib/Zim 2) | Pre-Zimvoid, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 4,509 | Rated M

Dib has lost everything and is determined to get it all back. He finds a Zim instead, a Zim not quite like his own. Dib thinks he'd like to be entertained by this Zim, at least for a little while.

Written for Alt-ZADR Week 2022. 

Zimmie

one-sided ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Post-Canon, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence/High School | Chapters: 1/1 | Word Count: 5,949 | Rated T

Zim is determined to go to the Hi-Skool dance and earn the title of "Prom Kween"... except attendance with a partner is mandatory. He convinces Dib to go with him, who hatches a plan of ultimate revenge. Only, he realizes his mistake all too late, making for a night neither of them is sure to forget.

Written for Invader Zim Prompt Meme Event 2022. 

Collections: 

ZADR - Year of the OTP 2023

ZADR (Zim/Dib) | Chapters: 4/12 | Word Count: 4,607

A collection of one-shots/drabbles for the Year of the OTP 2023 event about ZADR (Zim/Dib)!

Written for Year of the OTP 2023. 

All of my Invader Zim works (AO3)

Fanfiction Masterlist

[two-reflections]

Writing Audit ✨

...I ended up signing up for the Salamanders Discord writing comp again. Idk why I did this to myself when I'm trying to finish my summer exchange project, but it's max 1500 words per story so I can probably do it in one night if I have to. The goal is for each competitor to create a short anthology of 4 stories in around 4 weeks. Our wider setting is a sector in the far western regions of Ultima Segmentum which is undergoing Ork and Chaos incursions and eventually gets crusaded by the Imperium. I've chosen a feral jungle world as my focus.

I already have ideas for the first story involving DAOT Archaeotech, feral Orks in limestone karst caves, and a Thousand Sons-affiliated exploratory force made up of non-marine sorcerors seeking out psychoactive plants for a particular Exalted Sorceror back on Sortiarius. (IYKYK) I'm planning for some background necron action too... But very much "blink and you'll miss it" for now.

I'll mainly be going for worldbuilding, focusing on how the planet changed over time. My hope is to bring the Salamanders in later once we hit the Crusade part of the story.

At least I can talk about this comp here, unlike my summer exchange work! Those ones are coming along bit by bit. I'm still a bit worried whether I'll manage to finish them, but since I pivoted to writing two pieces instead of one, it seems much more likely now. I know that sounds weird, but it'll make sense later.

List of my current projects under the Read More.

Summer Exchange Fic 1 - >500 words with no max, MUST be complete by August 11. Currently just over 500, expecting it to end up around 1500 words. Contains smut.

Salamanders Writing Comp - Part 1/4 due on August 8. 1500>[story]>800 words.

Summer Exchange Fic 2 - same rules and recip but expecting it to be around 10k words. Posting as a treat so I can upload unfinished chapters after the fact. Does not contain smut but IMO is the better story.

Salamander Slice of Life/Romance - been looking at this again, finally. I've been linking sections, hard but fun work. Need to add proper chapter divisions though, because certain sections are like 10k+ words long.

[Freelance project I'm considering picking up.] - Good for money, but would slow down all my other writing. Need to decide tonight, will probably start on this after August 15th

Of Steel and Flesh - Next chapter needs a lot of work, as most of them do considering they were written in Jan-Feb. I'd like to upload a chapter in August. It probably won't happen until much later in the month.

Adathan and Julen Sequel - Blood Angel/Imperial Fist Deathwatch smut. I did start writing this but I'm feeling a bit uninspired when it comes to smut at the moment. Need the right mood to hit me.

Techmarine university story - haven't worked in this in ages. Definitely on the back burner until after the exchange deadline, possibly until after the Salamanders comp too.

MMM August fic - this one's going to have to wait a few weeks, I'm absolutely swamped in other stuff.

Noise Marine This Is Spinal Tap parody - Look, it was a great idea, but I don't think I'm going to get this treat done before the exchange. So I'm posting it here. Please steal my idea, there is such a great prompt for it on the exchange.

[xalonelydreamerx]

Hii how are you? I wanted to ask if you have any idea when you will be updating Litost on AO3, if you ever plan on finishing it. Sorry to bother you, it's just I've been obssessing over this fic for so long that I needed to ask. Have a lovely week!

hi! no need to apologize ♥ if anything I'm embarrassed for not having updated in so long.

But I assure you it wasn't for the lack of motivation or any writer's block. I know you didn't ask but I feel like I do own an explanation to you and to everyone else but feel free to skip this part if you wish 🙈

A month after I posted the first chapter (so early June 2020) I found my mother had gotten diagnosed with cancer in her lymph nodes, and she had been hiding it from me for months (for context, I attend university abroad so we only see each other in presence during the holidays)

To say I was angry and frightened would be an understatement. What made it worse was covid, which not only made it impossible for me to fly back home but at the time my mother was working and in her environment they were tons of cases going around.

So, as you can imagine updating a fic wasn't even on my mind anymore. I became extremely paranoid with remaining healthy & covid free and after months I was finally able to go home.

The one positive side with the virus was the option of following my courses online. So for two years I was able to remain home as my mother started a treatment and I was able to help her with everything at the time.

it was hard, but I was lucky that my mother is a naturally positive, determined and fiercely strong person. Even when the chemicals were making her appear as fragile as a baby bird, she never lost her fire.

Therapy worked, she's now cancel free and only ahs to do checkups every couple of months. She returned to work and was moved to a different area that was closer at home and less demanding.

After summer 2022, it was time for me to leave again and follow university courses in presence while also move to a different apparent because my landlord needed the house.

So, I've been quite a busy girl even with the worst things out of the way.

Of course I'm really greatful for all the excitement and eagerness people have shown for Lítost during all this time. I can't tell you how many times I've felt guilty when receiving a comment or a kudo. I felt completely unworthy.

But I promise you, my love for that story hasn't died. I'll be traveling home next week now that my summer exams are over, so to answer your question I'm hoping to start updating this month 🤞

Dunno if you've seen this but someone else had asked me for a snippet of my writing process, so if you're interested you can read a little bit of what I posted here, it's a flashback that will appear on chapter 2

Once again thank you for your kindness and I'm so happy and humbled to have your interest in my sorry.

I'm also sorry for pushing my life story to you, but I really wanted to provide an exclamation for readers and you gave me the opportunity.

I wish you a wonderful weekend ♥

[demonicxfire]

I'm realizing only now...

That soon... everything will be over.

School, I mean.

And yeah, part of me wants it to be over, because it's being so hard.

But... this is the final year.

And that means... I'll never see my friends again, after it will be over.

And my best friend, at the end of the summer, will go away, because he will start university too.

Sure, we'll stay in contact. He promised me. But i'll still be alone

Because I chose to take at least a gap year, i'll stay here... completely alone.

I don't even know what to do in my life.

I really wanna try to become a game developer, so that one day... i'll be able to create my dream game.

Tho, I also really love writing... and taking photos...

So, I still gotta understand what i want to do.

I also really want a dog...

Because i feel like, when my best friend will leave for university, i will fall... into a deep, dark hole.

I was once really good at socializing... but now i'm entirely closed in myself.

But now, all i'd want... is just someone to never leave me. Even a friend.

That's why I want a dog so badly...

Ugh, I feel like I shouldn't have declined the possibility i had at the end of my 4th school year...

Since then, I regret declining it...

But the thing is... I didn't feel ready.

But now i regret that decision...

Tbh... I feel like I won't actually get a dog at least until I'll finish university...

And I feel like I'm focusing too much on the future, and too little on the present... as always...

So, for now... I guess that I should really focus on the exams, of which i'll have the first two (out of 4) in less than weeks... and then the other 2.

But, looking a bit further that...

I'm planning to start a part-time job at the end of the summer, as well as taking the driver's license, and maybe even start hitting the gym again.

And now I realize why having a dog, if I should really do all this, would be impossible...

And I'm also realizing that... it probably won't be just one gap year.

For me, i'll have at least two gap years, or 3, depending on how it goes.

I firstly have to understand what the fuck i really wanna do in life...

But what if I find out too late?

It means that i won't be able to do the entrance test in that same year, but i'll have to wait one more year, because i know for sure that... studying for even just the entrance test... it will take me around a year.

So... yeah... i chose a really complicated path.

But i should really focus on the exams now...

I will really miss my friends... I've been feeling down in these days because of this...

5 years... and even tho i've been such an introvert... I still have really good memories with them.

I swear, i've never cried for this occasions, because why should I? I've always been bullied, and so i've been super happy every time i finished a kind of school.

But this time... it hit very differently...

Because i actually had very good memories with all of them.

I... ugh...

I've been feeling such a variety of emotions today... from sadness, to laughing, to nostalgia, etc...

And this has been a very long post...

I wish I could stop time tho... or even rewind it...

But we can't. And all we can do is to "rewind it" via our memories, and by understanding our errors.

Even tho, every remembering is destined to fade away... in the end...

[alipop0305]

saving the money, it ain’t cheap

one of the main reasons that people choose to backpack in south east asia is because the cost of accommodation, food and even transport (once you’re there) is so much cheaper than in places like europe and northern america.

but the fact of it is, if you’re backpacking south east for anything more than two months, you’re going to need to save up. not to mention the cost of the flights to get all the way to the other side of the world (it’s not like you’re just hopping on the eurostar to france.

i went backpacking in my gap year between the end of sixth form and first year of university, but didn’t actually leave the uk until may. the girl i was travelling with and i both planned on doing working through summer and the 3 months at the official start of our year out (september - november), doing a ski season for 5/6 months (december - april) and then backpacking the remainder, with a bit of time at home before starting university.

but as with all big plans like this you have to be prepared for the fact not everything will go to accordingly. i didn’t end up managing to get a job doing a ski season, but my friend did (which i will talk about in another post). i had been working full-time all summer (basically since the first week after finishing school in may) so by the time we went travelling i had been working full time for almost exactly a year.

in comparison, my friend worked a bit before going on the ski season and did a few shifts in the month between getting home from her ski season and flying out to india. yes, she earned money on season, but much of her wages had to go into her accommodation out in the alps (which of course, isn’t cheap, even with the staff prices she’d get).

i’d like to start by saying that we both were able to easily afford the expenses a trip like this comes with, it just meant that i was less worried about how much i was spending each week, and had more left over at the end (which was nice, since i wouldn’t be able to work as much when i went to uni).

but i’ll finally dive into the nitty gritty of the costs! we booked an outline of our travels (to ease our parents worrying) through trailfinders. in retrospect, we didn’t need to do this, but since i was trying to organise all this alone while my friend was on the ski season, it did make it a lot easier and they were super helpful.

the payment we each made to trailfinders was £2,725 each and it included:

flights london, england → delhi, india (via dubai) dehli, india → bangkok, thailand bangkok, thailand → chiang mai, thailand chiang rai, thailand → phuket, thailand (via bangkok) (we had to organise our flights into and out of cambodia separately) hanoi, vietnam → london, england (via dubai)

hotels (for 1 night because of late/early flights, or just so we had somewhere to go when we first arrived) delhi - last night in india, 5am flight the next morning bangkok - first night chiang mai - first night phuket - first night ho chi minh city - first night hanoi - last night of the whole trip, had a 1:30am flight the next night (so was good because we could leave our bags there

transfers to and from the airport bangkok airport → hotel chiang mai airport → hotel phuket airport → hotel ho chi minh airport → hotel hanoi hotel → airport

g adventures tour through the golden triangle (delhi, agra, jaipur) - 6 days (the whole time we were in india pretty much, which is why we did the tour, since we didn’t think we’d have time to see everything we wanted to) - 5 nights accommodation included - 5 meals provided (breakfast) - entry tickets for the tourist attraction - all transport - a local tour guide to show you around and tell you all about the amazing landmarks - costs £459 per person when booking for two travellers more info here: https://www.gadventures.com/trips/golden-triangle-independent-adventure-delhi-agra-jaipur/TAHGTC/?ref=asearch

bamba travel pass through vietnam - all transport through Vietnam (minibuses, overnight buses) - 2 nights of accommodation - 10 meals (2 breakfast, 7 lunch, 1 dinner) - 8 amazing experiences (ranging from street food tours to a 2 day, 1 night cruise through ha long bay!!) - a local tour guide to show you around and tell you all about the amazing landmarks - at the time it was $862/£662 but it seems to have gone up significantly to $1219/£999 so i guess i’m glad we did it when we did haha - the way it worked was you would message them to book the activities or transport 24-48 hours sin advance so you were a bit more free to do what you wanted when you wanted (i.e. stay an extra day somewhere) - this was honestly an amazing thing to do but i wish we had more time to do spread them out more info here: https://bambatravel.com/adventure/Vietnam-Travel-Passes-Backpacking/Vietnam-Circuit-&from-Ho-Chi-Minh-City&-Travel-Pass/35978/162

travel insurance (through trailfinders included in the above total and cost £207 each for the whole trip and had amazing cover as seen below

and it does cover covid related emergencies which many countries still require for entry

of course this is not the way to do it, there is no correct way of planning a trip like this, but it worked for us. maybe it’ll work for you, maybe it won’t.

this doesn’t include expenses whilst out there (such as hostels, food, entrance fees to attraction, other activities we organised while there etc.)

i hope this is able to help someone out there!

thanks for reading,

alice :)