#a few little edits to do on the final parts but you’ll probably see part 50 (the final part) sometime next week

[mjfsupremacy]

I just wrote the last part of TCDS and I'm mad emotional 😭 what a journey this has been. Thank you for going on it with me.

[maikaartwork]

Artists, let’s talk about Instagram commission scammers

There’s been a huge rise in commission scammers recently, mostly on Instagram. A lot of new artists don’t know what to look out for, so I figured this might help people.

How they begin

Usually the scammer will write to you asking about a commission. Something deceptively cute - mostly I encounter asks about pet portraits, with one or two photos sent. They’ll probably try to sell you a sweet little story, like “It’s for my son’s birthday”. They will insist that they love your artwork and style, even though they don’t follow you or never liked a single piece of your art.

What to look out for:

Their profiles will either be private, empty, or filled with very generic stuff, dating at most a few years back.

Their language will be very simple, rushed or downright bad. They might use weird emojis that nobody ever uses. They will probably send impatient “??” when you don’t answer immediately. They’re in a crunch - lots of people to scam, you know. 

They’ll give you absolutely no guidelines. No hints on style, contents aside from (usually) the pet and often a name written on the artwork, no theme. Anything you draw will be perfect. Full artistic freedom. In reality they don’t really care for this part.

They’ll offer you a ridiculous amount of money. Usually 100 or 300 USD (EDIT: I know it might not be a lot for some work. What I mean here - way higher than your asking price, 100 and 300 are standard rates they give). They’ll often put in a phrase like “I am willing to compensate you financially” and “I want the best you can draw”, peppered with vague praise. It will most likely sound way too good to be true. That’s because it is.

Where the scam actually happens

If you agree, they will ask you for a payment method. They’ll try to get to this part as soon as possible. 

Usually, they’ll insist on PayPal. And not just any PayPal. They’ll always insist on sending you a transfer immediately. None of that PayPal Invoice stuff (although some do have methods for that, too). They’ll really, REALLY want to get your PayPal email address and name for the transfer - that’s what they’re after. If you insist on any other method, they’ll just circle back to the transfer “for easiest method”. If you do provide them with the info, most likely you’ll soon get a scam email. It most likely be a message with a link that will ultimately lead to bleeding you dry. Never, and I mean NEVER click on any emails or links you get from them. It’s like with any other scam emails you can ever get.

A few things can happen here:

They overpay you and ask for the difference to be wired back. Usually it will go to a different account and you’ll never see that money again. 

They’ll overpay you “for shipping costs” and ask you to forward the difference to their shipping company. Just like before, you’ll never see that money again.

The actual owner of the account (yes, they most likely use stolen accounts to wire from) will realize there’s been something sketchy going on and request a refund via official channels. Your account will be charged with fees and/or you get in trouble for fraudulent transactions. 

You will transfer the money from your PayPal credit to your bank account and they will make a shitstorm when they want their money back, making your life a living hell. They will call you a scammer, a thief, make wild claims, wearing you down and forcing you into wiring money “back” - aka to their final destination account. 

Never, EVER wire money to anyone. This is not how it’s supposed to go. Use PayPal Invoice for secure exchanges where the client needs to provide you with their email, not the other way around.

You can find more info on that method HERE.

What to do when you encounter a scammer:

Ask the right questions: inquire about the style, which artwork of yours they like, as much details as you can. They won’t supply you with any good answers.

Don’t let the rush of the exchange, their praise and the promise of insanely good money to get to you. That’s how they operate, that’s how they make you lose vigilance. 

Don’t engage them. As soon as you realize it might be a scam, block them. The sense of urgency they create with their rushed exchange, and pressure they put on you will sooner or later get to you and you might do something that you’ll regret later.

Never wire money to anyone. Never give out your personal data. Never provide your email, name, address or credit card info. 

Don’t be deceived by receiving a payment, if you somehow agree to go along with it. Just because it’s there now doesn’t mean it can’t be withdrawn. 

Here is a very standard example of such an exchange. I realized it’s a scam pretty fast and went along with it, because I wanted good screenshots for you guys, so I tried going very “by the book” with it. 

Please share this post, make it reach as many artists as possible. Let young or inexperienced artists know that this is going on. So many people have no idea that this is a thing. Let’s help each other out. If you think I missed any relevant info, do add it as an rb!

Also, if you know other scam methods that you think should be shared, consider rb-ing this post with them below. Having a master post of scam protection would AWESOME to have in the art community.

[luludeluluramblings]

Smalltown!Neglected!Meta!Reader x Yandere!Batfam ☁️ Part Six

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

Part One ☁️ Part Two ☁️ Part Three ☁️ Part Four ☁️ Part Five ☁️ Part Seven ☁️ Part Eight

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A/N: Sorry it took so long. I just haven’t been satisfied with this, but I think I just need to bite the bullet and let it go. I’ve had this in the drafts for a while and have edited it three times.

A/N: I think I might focus on some blurbs. Or, if y’all want, y’all can submit ideas for what Smalltown is gonna be like. I gotta write down a general background for Reader’s childhood there. I have a plan, but wouldn’t mind y’all toss some ideas on to the pile.

A/N: Thank you 🐑 Anon for the happy birthday wishes!

Warning: Kidnapping, Hostage Situation for Reader, Guns, Violence, Death, Yandere Behavior and themes

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After the initially panic and dread of being kidnapped settles into Reader’s bones, they’re quickly brought to the Iceberg Lounge. Where a Penguin waits to discuss the details of their ransom with them. He’s kidnapped a Wayne or two over the years, but with how well hidden the family has kept their newest member he might as well scope them out and see if he can make a pretty penny from ransoming them. Give them a proper Gotham introduction.

When Penguin finally has Reader he wrongly expects typical Gotham high society behavior. Threats, insult, bargaining, begging, bribing, hell, even crying. But, Reader, even while terrified, keeps being polite. Referring to him as Mr. Penguin, Sir, and saying please and thank you, while doing exactly what they’re told. Honestly, Reader’s more polite and respectful than half his goons and his own goddamn children. Such a damn shame they couldn’t have been his brat.

So he chats with them. Just for a bit.

How does Reader like Gotham? Who’s their favorite bat brat? What’s their favorite food? How much money did your Momma and Daddy leave you? Just friendly get-to-know you questions to help with the nerves. No need to worry. Everyone’s a bit scared during their first kidnapping. But, do they usually live past the first one, sir? Oh, you’re a smart one, aren’t ya? You’ll have to be careful with that.

It’s all quite tense for Reader, just sitting in an empty club with a dangerous man. That is, until word comes in that Bruce Wayne is paying the ransom in full. Apparently, it made Gotham headlines. The newest Wayne kidnapped. It’s all over the News, nearly every channel. Yet, Reader notices something. Why don’t they show my face, sir? It’s because this isn’t going to be your last time getting kidnapped. You’re in Gotham, baby bird. We’re all hostages in this city. How sweet of them to try to protect you from it.

It isn’t long after that, when the lounge gets visitor before the ransom money could even be dropped off.

Red Hood.

One of the Bat Brats, as Penguin calls him. His arrival raising Cain. Rubber bullets and real ones flying everywhere. Penguin gets a hold of Reader, rest his umbrella gun to their temple. Come now, Red. Don’t make me blow their pretty little head off. I’m actually fond of this one. Best of the Wayne bunch, in my not-so-humble opinion.

And, in one of the few times since becoming Red Hood, Jason hesitates. Because if he fails, if Reader gets hurt like he did, he’ll probably burn Gotham to the ground. It’s not an option. He can’t, he won’t, and he will not allow it. And, that thought, is at the forefront of his mind as he looks at Reader’s terrified face with a gun pointed at their head.

The pause, however, is noticeable. Not just to Reader, but to Penguin as well. A sign of weakness or a sign of something more foreboding. It last for a brief moment. Then Red Hood is back in action. Only, in that single moment, a decision was made. A dark decision. Something that had been healed and supposedly buried.

Batman had always fostered the importance of preparedness in them. So, of course, Jason had a magazine of live bullets ready to go for an emergency. And, this was a fucking emergency. Who cares about a few goons? And Penguin fucking deserves it.

Bruce will understand this time. How sad is it that he does?

Penguin barely escapes, with only a handful of his men still breathing and a few bullets in his shoulder, but he lives. Along with the information that the newest Wayne brat is precious enough to a Bat Brat to break the no-kill code again. Though, that might in itself become a problem for Gotham. Once again, Gotham will baptized in blood. Only, the sins are still growing under the red water. Perhaps, this time Gotham will drown in it instead.

Jason grabs a shaking and terrified Reader while leaving the lounge filled with bodies. He’ll take care of it later. Right now he needs to get Reader back to the manor, or somewhere anywhere safe. Away from Gotham, away from its criminals, and, most of all, away from him.

For a moment he had been… enraptured when he saw how scared his precious Reader looked with a gun to their head. How they looked at him with such a pitiful pleading expression. The way the shook and quaked. How fucking big their eyes got in fear.

Reader kept looking at him with those same watery fearful eyes. Those shaking fingers. A tremble that they must be all the way down to their bones. Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute.

He didn’t make it for before he snapped, grabbing Reader’s face to ask what they talked with Penguin about. What did he want from you? Why did you look so friendly with him? Don’t you know he’s a criminal. He’s dangerous. He just wants to see them cower like that again. Just once more.

It takes a long moment for him to calm down and pull himself away from terrifying Reader. Eventually, noticing an oncoming storm and realizing he had better get Reader somewhere safe and back to Bruce so he can go back and clean up the trash.

Jason leaves a throughly shaken and distraught Reader on the GCPD roof. Right next to a lit Bat Signal for a tired Jim Gordan to find.

Jim finds Reader in the storm, mildly despondent from the entire ordeal. After ushering them inside and trying to lightly question them, he makes a call to Bruce that Red Hood had rescued Reader and they the GCPD had them safe. Bruce, naturally , breaks all sorts of traffic laws to get to them when he hears the concerned tone in Jim’s voice.

Reader, exhausted from the days events and shock, falls asleep in one of the spare chairs in the GCPD building. Bruce practically melts in relief when he finds them, picking them up and gently loading them in his car. NOT A DAMN TRUCK. To take them back home. Most of the GCPD find the gesture touching. What a sweet father he is. How lucky Reader is to have such a loving father.

Arriving home, Bruce puts Reader to bed, and makes sure Alfred is on stand by to comfort them and see to their every need. Watch them. Let me know if there’s even the slightest sign of a nightmare.

After taking a moment to let his eyes linger on a sleeping Reader, he heads down into the Batcave. Calling the family together for a meeting.

Stephanie is distraught. It’s her fault Reader got taken, all her fault. She shouldn’t have left them alone. She should have been right there be their side the entire time. At every moment and got every second.

And, Bruce, with deceptively calm yet devastating words, confirms just as much.

Surprisingly, there’s no shouting. No disagreements. Not from Stephanie, and certainly not from any one else. Just the cold realization that it was her fault Reader was nearly hurt and the solemn acceptance of it. They were supposed to have a chance to get close. Stephane won’t ever let it happen again. She’ll always be close from now on. In every way she can. Even if she’s not worthy.

Jason having gone back to clean up his mess before reporting back to Bruce and the others had more startling news. No one mentions a thing when they see the blood on him. Nor the empty magazines. Nor that familiar look in his eyes that reminds them of when he first came back. Someone had torched the Iceberg Lounge before he got back. Penguin is still running free, but the lounge is up in fire and smoke.

He did manage to see a figure leaving when he finally saw past the flames.

A Talon.

The Court of the Owls was active once more.

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

With the whole Kidnapping thing and the Court being active again despite its previous destruction, Reader’s life went on completely lockdown. They aren’t allowed to go into Gotham at all. Not that they wanted to. The only reason Bruce didn’t just unenrolled them from Gotham Academy is because Damian, Cassandra, and Duke vow to watch them closely and report everything back to him.

Alfred, from then on, drives them all to and from school. Leading to quiet, bordering awkward, mornings and afternoons.

After the whole ordeal with Penguin and Red Hood, Reader is ninety percent certain the family is Gotham’s Bat vigilantes. Mainly due to the fact that Red Hood reminded Reader eerily of how Jason acted to be around them. Luckily, he barely managed to hold himself back. But, it was clear, enjoyed their fear and wanted to scare them. The whole situation resulted in Reader’s momentarily loss of control.

It also didn’t help that everyone seemed to disappear now.

Sure, Reader rides to school with Cassandra and Duke everyday. Damian is also there, but he just silently watches them with those poisonous green eyes of his. The three of them now hovering in the distance down the back of Reader’s neck. Nevertheless, as soon as they were all back in the Manor, the place becomes like a ghosttown. Even Alfred disappears for hours on end now.

Reader rightful assumes it’s more Bat work. But, there’s no one there to talk about how the incident made them feel. To help them verbally process the ordeal. It hurts.

What hurt the most, however, was Stephanie avoiding them.

Now, if Stephanie had just given them even an empty excuse and left the room it probably wouldn’t have hurt so much. But, to watch the blood drain from Stephanie’s face at the sight of Reader and then physically run away from them was offensive and down right painful.

Then there’s the additional fact that, coincidentally, Jason starts showing back up at the manor. Undoubtedly, helping the others with whatever they’re doing in the library. But, Reader sees him as more often as they pace the empty halls of the manor. And, that hysterical gleam in his eyes reminds them of that night they were rescued.

Tim has been like a ghost since the beginning of Reader’s stay. Every time Reader seems to make progress befriending him, he disappears. Only to reappear and act like nothing happened. Unnaturally, he acts like they’re somehow even closer than before. Each and every time. Like he’s never let Reader alone. Ever. Like he’s always been there watching. And, then he disappears, again and again. Only staying for brief moments.

Barbara is just a thought in Reader’s mind. Reader has seen more of Jim Gordon, her father, than Barbara in the recent weeks.

Mr. Gordon had been wanting to check in on them after the incident and ask them a few questions on what happened that night at the Iceberg Lounge. He was quite gentle in his interrogation, if you could call it that. Barbara had told him Reader wasn’t used to Gotham’s madness and must be treated gently.

Not to say Barbara isn’t checking on Reader. Tim’s not the only on constantly checking the manor cameras as Reader paces.

Dick was like a stray wind. Blowing through the manor, knocking Reader over with the shower of affection then disappearing again. To the library. To Buldhaven. To the ends of the world and back for all they knew. Unfortunately, Reader was growing desperate for any sense of comfort and would cling to him when he came. You have no idea how happy that made him. It was so cute how sad Reader was when he left now. How nice it felt to be needed.

Bruce was different, though. After the incident, he somehow managed to find a way to suffocate Reader with his presence without even being in it for long. Appearing at random to just watch them before disappearing again. Nothing was ever said. He just watched them then vanished.

Reader dreads having to bring up the whole incident with Penguin and Red Hood to Nana. They don’t want to cause anyone back home to worry. Besides, it’ll just remind everyone about that incident a few years back. The one that Reader does everything to forget about. The incident that would probably change a few things for better or for worse. For the family and for Gotham.

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

A/N: Yeah, Penguin lives. But, for a reason. Don’t get mad, please. (I did research and found out he was basically Yandere for his mother and killed his father and brothers to have all her attention for himself. And, he has children. 👀)

A/N: Also, reader’s getting some mild tragic backstory. It’s the DC universe. Everything’s gotta have a bit of bitterness. It’s all for the plot.

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

Taglist:

@starsdotalk @sleepyghoster @maicenitas @box-of-kinderjoy @yandereheros @skwunkler @cl0esblogg @delias-stuff @rosecentury

[takenbypeter]

Hello it’s me again! Peter Maximoff x non-mutant reader. Peter is super excited about something and he’s running around the room like a ball in a pinball machine. The reader is trying to grab him so he can explain what it is. When they finally do catch him, Peter hugs them back EXTREMELY tight, trying to “stay still” (boy is probably vibrating). The rest is whatever you come up with. :)

His Excitement Running Strong

Peter Maximoff x reader

Words: 729

Authors note: well hello again so lovely to see you again and thank you for the request as always, it is always welcome.

“Peter!” You shouted, poking your head down to peek into his basement before your legs followed. He called you on the phone excitedly, very excitedly, mentioning to come over, because he had big news.

The last time he had “big news” it was nothing more than his favorite game having a new edition. That got him excited but nothing like this. When you called for him down the stairs all you heard was, “you’re here!” Before a gust of wind started traveling around the room.

“Woah,” you exclaimed, breeze immediately passing by you. Peter’s all over the place, practically bouncing off every corner and you can’t even keep up. You try to grab him but of course you’re basically miles off because he’s already moved on by then.

It was at that moment that you wondered if having powers yourself would make this a whole lot easier. Although you didn’t have any powers and couldn’t really catch him, there was still something you could try.

Collecting some nearby shoes and basically whatever you could find, you made a little barrier on the ground. The pla was simple, you were going to make him trip. It was a long shot and no doubt he could just avoid the obstruction but hopefully he’d be too distracted by his big news that he’d just fall right into your trap.

And to your genuine surprise, it worked…maybe a little too well. You watch in shock as he hits the ground harder than you expected.

“Peter!”

Dropping onto your knees you turn him over onto his back, “are you okay?” His expression still remained quite happy as he sprung up into a seated position, but before he could make any movement, you wrapped your arms around him, tight. You figured this way if he goes haywire you’ll just go with him.

“Wow, you’re practically vibrating,” you mutter while he imitates your earlier movement, wrapping you into a tighter hug, “don’t let go. If you let go I might not be able to stop.”

“Okay I won’t let go, but what’s got you so excited?” You ask peering up at him. His grin widens revealing most of his teeth and you smile back still confused due to lack of any more information. But luckily you don’t have it wait much longer to get it.

“Charles said you can come see the mansion.”

Your smile dropped, not quite expecting that. “I can come to the mansion?” You repeated, processing his words.

“Yeah, I asked Charles and he was iffy at first but he came up to me later and told me it was alright.”

Your arms loosen around him but he still holds onto you tight, “isn’t that kind of serious? I mean I’m not a mutant or anything.”

“It’s rare, but few non-mutants have seen the place,” his previous expression falls slightly into a forced one as he picks up the expression of concern written on your face, “aren’t you excited?”

Your eyes met his, noticing that your own mood was causing his to falter, “no I am! I mean this is awesome! I’ll get to see a new part of you, the teacher part,” you added rainsing your eyebrows and leaning into him a little, before leaning back again.

“I just…feel a little nervous that’s all. I’ll be the only one there without powers or anything…cool. Won’t it be…awkward?”

“Maybe.” Peter leans back a little to get a better view of you, while you look up, “but I’ll be right there with you, giving you the whole tour, I’ll never leave your side. It’ll be great, I absolutely promise you.” He gave you another squeeze, “I’m so excited for you to see everything.”

You couldn’t fight off the happiness that was spreading off from him again and honestly you were surprised by how enthusiastic he was about the situation especially considering how nonchalant he always acts about the whole being a part of the x-men thing.

But still, his words did reassure you that everything would be fine, and like you said it was a whole new part of him that you’ve never seen before. “I can't wait Peter.”

Sure it may be awkward and you were still anxious, but it was still exciting having him be able to share this part of his life with you and you couldn’t wait to see it.

[froggibus]

Colder Weather - Mammon, Leviathan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub and Belphegor

Genre: fluff headcanons

Summary: how the boys act when it’s cold + snowing outside

CW: cold weather, snow, asmo forcing you to go outside (ew), lots of cuddling, pretty mid writing on my part

okok so no Lucifer or Satan for this one cause I just had no ideas :((( like I had a few but not nearly enough for complete hcs so sorry guys

also holy fuck it’s been a while since I wrote obey me hcs lmao so im a little rusty…sorry guys

also I promise I’ll shut up but it’s gonna be almost -50 celsius here this weekend (yay, Canada!) so I will be stuck inside if you guys have any obey me (or other fandoms) ideas!!

Mammon:

Mammon and to snow DO NOT mix

biggest baby in the entire Devildom when it gets cold

he has this super tacky fur coat that he insists is real rabbit fur (it’s faux—the big softy couldn’t bear real fur)

refuses to leave the house, even if he has to work

worse than that: he refuses to let you leave the house, even if you have things to do

“hey, human. where d’ya think you’re going? it’s cold out there. you’ll get sick, or worse, dead!”

invites you to his room cause he has this ‘super awesome heater’ (read: himself)

you end up lounging on the couch with him and watching movies with excruciatingly long car chases

you start shivering despite the sweater you’re wearing, and Mammon not so begrudgingly beckons you over to come sit under the blanket with him

honestly he forgets how to breathe because you’re so close and you smell nice and you’re relying on him for warmth

at some point it gets colder and you start shivering again

goes to grab another blanket but you stop him, looking up at him with those pleading eyes

“don’t go, mams. i’ll freeze without you.”

pretends to be humble about it but inside he is screaming

not sure how it happens but you end up in his lap??

he has both arms around you, cocooning you between him and the blanket

you both fall asleep on the couch, snow storm long forgotten

Leviathan:

locks himself in his room to spend the whole day watching anime

also sorry but this man’s room is a whole terrarium

he’s got his heater, his fan, his air purifier, his humidifier

his place is always the perfect temperature and the perfect place to take refuge in a blizzard

he pretends like he’s annoyed when you come into his room, dressed in warm clothes and fuzzy socks, a blanket draped over your shoulders

but really he doesn’t mind—he actually has to hide his rosy cheeks with you because he’s so flustered at the idea that you chose him

orders an insane amount of comfort food to eat during your anime marathon

like heaps and heaps of food that the two of you couldn’t possibly finish

offers you to share his blanket with him, wrapping it around the two of you to keep warm while you munch on food

somehow it turns into you leaning your head on his shoulder, eyelids getting heavy in the warmth of his room

Levi can’t even be annoyed that you’re missing episodes of the anime—you look so cute like this

Asmo:

HATES the cold, LOVES the snow 

it’s a weird dynamic…

dresses you up in the cutest snowsuit ever, and forces you to sit outside in the cold for over an hour taking pictures 

“asmo we’re gonna catch a cold”

“demons don’t get sick from the cold, don’t be silly”

you’re not a demon????

when he’s finally done with the pictures don’t expect any attention from him after

he still has to edit, caption and post them to Devilgram 

you sit under his comforter in the corner of his bed, shivering miserably and shooting glares at him from the corner of your eyes 

Finally he puts down his DDD and looks at you, his eyes sparkling when he sees just how cute and cold you look 

uses the cold as an excuse to get as close to you as possible, cuddling you tightly 

he’s so tempted to take a selfie of the two of you in bed together but he doesn’t want to ruin the moment 

probably insists on your laying between his legs with your head on his chest for ‘maximum warmth’ 

really he just want to feel you

you end up falling asleep in his room, and who is he to wake you? 

Beel:

honestly indifferent to the cold

he’s just built differently 

he’s not the biggest fan of it, but he’s not as much of a baby as some of his older brothers 

still, he doesn’t quite like the idea of you going out in the cold (at least, not without proper protection)

offers to get anything you need, but if you insist on going out, he’ll come with you 

and of course he bundles you up first 

has you dressed in one of his sweaters with one of his old winter jackets over top

you look tiny in his big clothes 

when you get home after he’ll make you stand in front of the heater to warm up while he disappears into the kitchen 

of course he’s going into the kitchen 

but you’re pleasantly surprised when he comes back with two steaming bowls of chicken noodle soup

you guys eat and watch a movie in the living room, Beel asking you every five minutes if you’re cold 

you take another one of his sweaters just to get him to stop bothering you about it  

insists on feeding you every hour and piling snacks on the coffee table 

“don’t give me that look. you need food to stay warm, y/n.”

Belphie:

hates blizzards because they interrupt his sleep 

he can usually sleep through anything—from sunny days to volcanic eruptions

but the cold??? no way

his bed gets cold and even his thickest, softest blankets don’t help 

but…maybe a certain warm human could help his sleep 

ends up crawling into bed with you in the middle of the night, hardly making a sound 

you only wake when you feel the bitter cold on your body slowly fading away, a new warmth pressed against you 

“go back to sleep—don’t move! im comfy....”

you’re not even phased by Belphie sneaking into bed with you at this point 

and the warmth is honestly really nice 

you cuddle back into him, shoving your back as tight against his chest as it will go 

he throws an arm over your waist, holding your hip flush against his 

definitely stays with you the whole night—and the next few after that 

with the excuse he’s just ‘keeping warm’, of course 

checks on you every time he wakes up in the night, groggily reaching out to make sure you’re still warm and okay

-

Obey Me! Masterlist

[quin-ns]

Can you maybe write something with swiftie!reader?

I thought this sounded so cute and since I saw a couple tiktok edits of JJ to this song, it’s the one I ended up referencing 🥰

Style (JJ Maybank x Reader)

John B realized his mistake the moment he handed you the aux cord, but it was too late. You plugged your phone in and pulled your go-to playlist up.

You were in the passenger seat so it had been something he’d done without thought, but as Taylor Swift’s voice came over the speakers, Kiara leaned between the seats.

“See, now why would you do that?” she questioned John B

“Hey! Her songs are really good,” you argued, looking back at Kiara.

“They are, but you play this one way too much.”

You rolled your eyes at Kie and opened your mouth to speak, but JJ crammed his way to the middle to be able to lean over your seat. The action made you smile, especially when he backed you up.

“Let her play what she wants,” JJ jumped in. “Besides, I like this one. “Style”, right?”

“10 points to JJ!” you cheered overdramatically, mostly just to watch Kie roll her eyes.

You noticed the sly grin appear on JJ’s face right before he asked, “Do I get a prize?”

That look he got when he was only focused on you crossed his face. You loved it.

You grabbed his chin lightly in one hand and pulled him in close enough for you to be able to press a kiss to his lips.

“You guys are gross,” Kie grumbled, moving to sit back in her spot.

“Please don’t make out in front of us,” Pope requested a little uncomfortably, finally making himself known.

“Jeez, Pope,” JJ drawled when the two of you parted. “It was just a kiss, not making out. When we do make out, you’ll know.”

Pope cringed at the implication while you jokingly swatted at your boyfriend.

While you had control of the music, you only played Taylor Swift. You let a variety play out, but went back to “Style” more than once.

At one point when you played it a second time, even though he was sitting behind you, you realized JJ was humming the tune and occasionally muttered out some of the lyrics to himself.

It brought you joy, and that was partially why you ended up playing it yet another time. You knew all the complaints were non-serious, so you didn’t see a problem. Besides, you put up with their music tastes all the time, they could handle it.

Later, when it was just the two of you lounging out in the hammock while the others resided inside the Chateau, JJ brought it up.

He was laying on his back with his arm wrapped around you. You laid mostly on your side next to him, your head on his shoulder.

“Why do you like that song so much?” he wondered, probably realizing he hadn’t asked before.

You knew exactly which one he was talking about. You tilted your head up and found him looking down at you. You smiled to yourself, knowing exactly why.

“Parts of it make me think of you,” you admitted. JJ didn’t say anything, waiting for you to explain. ““James Dean daydream”?” you recited, gauging his reaction. ““Long hair slicked back, white T-shirt”?”

As your luck would have it, to further prove your point, JJ was wearing his favorite white T-shirt. You pinched the fabric between your fingers and that caused him to look down at himself.

JJ’s brows pinched together. “My hair’s not that long.”

You chuckled at how he analyzed the lyrics.

“Long enough,” you replied lightly, shrugging your shoulders in spite of the angle. “And it’s not the whole song, because our relationship isn’t in danger like that—it’s not, right?”

You weren’t asking him genuinely, you had a joking tone that he could easily identify.

“Absolutely not,” JJ still answered with certainty. “You and I are perfect.”

“I second that,” you agreed, snuggling a little closer to him. “But anyway, a few weeks ago I heard it after we hung out and that part…” you trailed off, watching him watch you.

You loved the interest JJ showed as you spoke, even over something as small as a song. It made you feel more listened to and cared about than you ever had before.

“I don’t know, it just made me think of you,” you concluded, not having a more complicated reason like he was expecting.

“It is a pretty good song, and if that means I’m on your mind, then I approve,” JJ beamed.

JJ cupped your face in his hand and leaned down to press his lips to yours. You grinned against his lips before letting your eyes slide shut and kissing him back.

JJ rolled you beneath him, his lips moving against yours with dominance.

You had an afterthought about before in the van when Pope accused the two of you of making out. You hadn’t been before, but you were now. You really hoped this one wouldn’t be interrupted.

The next time you all were in the van, JJ rode passenger since you all took turns for the most part. When John B handed him the aux cord, a smile broke out across your face the same time Kiara rolled her eyes dramatically and Pope sighed when his chosen song came on.

“Seriously, dude? You too?” John B asked, more amused at his friend playing Taylor Swift than annoyed.

When “Style” got to the chorus, JJ looked over the seat. He gave you a smile in return before sitting back down properly.

“What?” he questioned with a shrug, facing John B. “I like this one.”

[marvel-ous-m]

Eddie Munson’s Guide for How to Adopt a Jock in Four Easy Steps (4/5)

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Five

Ao3 Link

A.N.: I can’t believe we’re already at the penultimate chapter! I know it seems crazy that it’ll all get wrapped up after this, but I promise it will. You’ll have to forgive me for the D&D game description... in addition to being a Stranger Things nerd, I have been a D&D nerd for the last ten or so years, so describing a campaign is super fun for me and I sometimes can get off-track. Speaking of which, I did some 1st edition research but I mostly play 5th, so apologies if there are any discrepancies! All that to say, hopefully you can pick up on the symbolism in the campaign scene, too! Okay, rant over, now onto the chapter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

“Alright, Sir Grant the Good, roll a perception check.” 

The familiar clatter of dice against the wood tabletop filled the room, and it seemed that the entire party held their breath to hear Grant’s result. 

“15 plus three- what’ll an 18 get me?”

Eddie hummed, tapping a finger on his chin. “You see a pair of eyes staring back at you from deep in the tree line. They’re slightly yellow, certainly belonging to an animal, and seemingly a large one.” Eddie pauses to roll a die, then hisses under his breath. “The animal meets your eyes and sees you’ve spotted it. It lets out a low growl- what do you do?” 

Grant groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Shit, um- I draw my sword and I wave to Mistress Emery and Sir Geoffrey.” 

“Sir Geoffrey stands beside Sir Grant and readies his bow.” Jeff speaks from his seat next to Grant, holding a D20 between his fingers, ready to roll initiative.

Gareth grinned, leaning forward in his chair to get a better view of the map on the table. “I come up to stand next to Sir Grant and ready myself to cast call lightning.”

“Um, sorry, can I-” Steve whispered from his place at the table, a chair that Eddie had moved up to have Steve sit next to him while he DM’d. Eddie turned to Steve, raising an eyebrow. 

“What’s up, Steve? You’re free to speak whenever you want, you don’t have to just watch quietly.” Eddie nudged Steve’s side, encouraging the jock to speak. 

“Yeah, um, it’s just-” Steve cleared his throat, then looked at the other three members of Hellfire. “Mistress Emery is a Druid, right? So like, isn’t her animal handling through the roof or whatever? Why don’t you try and take care of the animal before you try to kill it?” 

Gareth blinked in surprise, shot a look at Jeff and Grant, then turned to Eddie. “He knows D&D?!”

“He is sitting right here.” Steve muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. 

“Right- sorry, what Gareth meant to say is- how do you know D&D?” Jeff gave Gareth a warning glare, then turned his attention Steve’s way. 

Steve sighed, shrugging somewhat awkwardly. “I babysit some middle schoolers. This one kid, Dustin, he’s obsessed with this stuff. Honestly all of them are, but I spend the most time with Dustin. He brought up a druid recently when we were walking around the tracks- sounded kinda interesting, so I listened.” Steve’s eyes shifted to stare down at the tabletop then, and he frowned to himself. “I used to pick up Nancy’s little brother from their campaigns, too. I’d usually have to wait around for at least thirty minutes for them to wrap things up before we could get a move on.” 

The party sat in silence for a few moments, processing the revelation about Steve’s D&D knowledge. Finally Grant hummed in thought, then turned to Gareth. “He’s got a point. Plus, if we don’t attack immediately we save some spell slots, potentially some HP too.” 

“Yeah, but the thing is growling! It’s probably going to pounce at us any minute now.” Gareth huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Maybe it’s hurt. That could be a warning growl rather than it trying to pounce at us.” Jeff reasoned. “Just give it a try, Gareth. I’ll keep an arrow loaded and I can flank while you do an animal handling check so that if it attacks I can try and shoot at it before it does any damage.” 

Gareth frowned, clearly annoyed, but nevertheless held up a D20. “Fine. I approach the forest line and hold a hand out in the direction of the animal.” 

“Roll for animal handling.” Eddie flipped through his binder of notes as he spoke, easily finding the page he was looking for. 

Gareth dropped the dice on the table, eyebrows shooting up in surprise when he read the resulting roll. “Huh- Nat 20, and I’ve got a plus five on my modifier. What’ll that do for me?” 

“The animal walks out of the forest, and you know from your studies that you’re now face to face with an Owlbear. The beast makes another growling sound, but is far less menacing. You see that Jeff was correct- the animal has a deep slash running from one of its talons up to its chest. You can tell that it originated from a sword, but the blood around the beast’s beak tells you that whatever fighter that had tried to attack the owlbear previously lost that battle. You can tell that the animal is more scared than anything. What do you do?” 

“Um… okay. I cast cure wounds and then reach into my pack and provide the Owlbear with a piece of dried meat to show it that it can trust me?” 

Eddie nodded, pulling a sticky note from his binder and handing it to Gareth, smirking as he did. “The Owlbear takes the food, trusts you, and decides to stay with your party. Here are its stats, it’ll now obey your commands and fight alongside you until its dying breath. Congratulations, Mistress Emery.” 

“Holy shit! We have an Owlbear now, that’s so fucking cool.” Grant grins, nudging Gareth’s side. “Good work, man.”

Gareth scanned the sticky note, then smiled at Steve. “Thank Steve, he’s the one who suggested it. Did you sneak a look at Eddie’s notes or something?” 

Steve chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, it just sounded like a better alternative.” 

“I made it injured so your band of fighters would have a better chance of killing the thing, but Steve’s little stunt had me thinking on my feet.” Eddie spoke up, then winked in Steve’s direction. Steve ducked his head in response, a blush playing at his cheeks. Interesting. 

“Thanks, man.” Jeff nodded in Steve’s direction. “Maybe you should play with us next time. You seem to know your stuff.”

Steve snorted at that, shaking his head once again. “I barely know anything. Besides, all the dice and numbers would probably confuse the hell outta me. But… uh, thanks for the offer. Maybe one day.” 

The party moved on with the campaign, killing some goblins on their route as they followed a map they had received from a barkeep at the beginning of the adventure. Steve chimed in occasionally when he found something interesting, and Eddie even had him roll a few times for some of the encounters. By the end of the campaign, the party was actively strategizing with him, and Steve was grinning ear to ear and giving his opinions on what to do next. The party ended up defeating the ‘big bad’ at the end, a goblin king and four of its soldiers. They recovered some treasure and a map, which Eddie told them would be the subject of the next chapter of their campaign. 

It was about 7pm when they finally wrapped everything up, cleaned the room out, locked up, and walked together out to the parking lot. Steve, who had been pretty awake and alert for the entirety of the playthrough, was now looking much more exhausted. He waved goodbye to the boys and pulled his coat tighter around himself, then rushed from the back door of the school to his car through the biting November air. 

The four members of Hellfire watched as Steve sped off, then stood together quietly under the awning of Hawkins High. Gareth broke the silence, crossing his arms to stave off the cold. “Alright, I’ll admit it. I was hesitant to believe it, but you’re right. Harrington’s cool.” 

“You were right about the other stuff too, Eddie. He didn’t look too good. Do you know what happened? Why Billy pounded on him last weekend?” Jeff spoke up next, fidgeting with a string hanging off of his sweater. 

Eddie sighed, producing a cigarette from his coat pocket and lighting it with his zippo. “Nope.” Eddie popped the ‘p’ when he spoke, then took a long drag of the cigarette. “Barely had a chance to ask him about it, and he deflected any time I tried to get more information outta him. I think it all really messed him up, but he doesn’t want to admit it.” 

The party stood in silence for a few more minutes, all lost in thought. This time, Grant broke the silence. “My mom wants me home for dinner by 7:30, so I gotta get going. But I’m cool with letting Steve into the party if everyone else is. Looks like it’d be good for him- probably good for us, too. He’s cool.” Grant zipped up his sweatshirt as he spoke, then pulled car keys out of his pocket. “Need a ride, Gareth?”

“Yeah, thanks man. I’m cool with letting Steve hang with us, too. Just let us know what we need to do Eddie.” Gareth waved goodbye to Jeff and Eddie, then followed Grant to his car. 

“How ‘bout you, Jeff? Got anything against letting Steve into Hellfire?” Eddie questioned quietly. He took another long drag from the cigarette, watching as the smoke he breathed out disappeared into the cold night air. 

“You know it’s fine by me, man.” Jeff paused, then sighed. “I am a little concerned, though.” 

Eddie frowned. “About what?”

“About you.” Jeff moved his attention from the stray thread on his sweater to Eddie, crossing his arms. “About him, too. I’ve known you the longest out of everyone here, Eds. I can tell when you’ve got a crush. Harrington’s fragile- you said it yourself, and you saw how he was when he mentioned Nancy. It looks like everything is really fresh for him right now. All I’m asking is for you to keep that in mind as you move forward in making him feel welcome. I’m worried that things could go sideways. Either one of you, or both of you, for that matter, could be really hurt if things go wrong. Just… take it slow.” Jeff checked his watch then, wincing when he saw the time. “I gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Like Gareth said, just let us know what we can do to help Steve feel welcome.” 

Eddie nodded, watching as Jeff got into his car and drove off, leaving Eddie and his van alone in the parking lot. Eddie leaned against the brick wall of the school and dropped his cigarette onto the ground, watching as the light fizzled out in the thin layer of snow. 

Step Two: Get the Party to Come Around on Steve Harrington, complete. Time for the Step Three (which would likely be the last step in his plan): Get Steve Fully Integrated Into Hellfire. 

…with one important caveat. Do not fall harder for Steve Harrington. 

Easier said than done. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List:  @ellietheasexylibrarian @cuips-not-cute @melodymeddler @i-have-three-feelings @sc00ps-ahoy @singmeyoursimpsong @patchworkgargoyle @spectrum-spectre @devondespresso @thesuninyaface @obsessivlyme @angeldreamsoffanfic @carlyv @nburkhardt @inspirationorinsanity @rebelspykatie @my2amgaythoughts @lavenderagenda @just-a-tiny-void @mamafaithful @breadboi66 @beholdingloser @randomfandomcontent @oftirnanog @yellowdevilkitten @steves-strapcollection @keep-er-steddie @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bisexualdisastersworld @jinxjinn @copingmechanizm @blackpanzy @failedstarsandgoldenclouds @evix-syne666 @crisisinverted17 @satan-is-obsessed @shrimply-a-menace @anaibis @trashcanniballecter   @thoughtfulbreadpolice @awholedamnmesstbh @chaoticvictorianspirit @jcmadgirl @satan-is-obsessed @tommyvelvet @sleepdeprivedflower @fruitmix @carvingsnowdogs @annabanannabeth @rhyswritesreadsandcries @a-little-unsteddie 

[hard-core-super-star]

A request for hailee x reader. Reader is Hailees' main backup dancer. There are edits of the two over the years, fans speculate that the two are together due to the tension between them in said edits and videos.

one step forward, three steps back [H.Steinfeld]

pairing: hailee steinfeld x reader

summary: when hailee tries to convince you to ride the publicity wave and appear in her new music video, you’re forced to accept the truth of your feelings for her.

warnings: the weirdest mix of angst and fluff you've ever seen; stubborn idiots arguing instead of being honest; quite possibly the most dialogue i've ever written for one fic; one mention of the JA stunt because i am still bitter about it

wordcount: 1.6k

a/n: rubix stop mentioning sunkissing in everything challenge. don't mind me, just trying to manifest hailee's music back to life...pun absolutely intended. [ever write a song so gay you have to go into hiding as soon as it comes out? i'm sure taylor swift knows the feeling all too well] anywho, i got a little carried away with this one and it shows. hope you enjoy <3

* * * * * * *

If someone had told you your entire life would be flipped on its head just from a few short video edits and a trending hashtag you would have called them mad. Unfortunately, Emily Dickinson had a point when she said,“Much madness is divinest sense.”

The ‘madness’ in this case was the sheer amount of people who had started spreading the before-mentioned videos around and the ‘sense’ being your incredibly obvious feelings for the person who was essentially your boss. It’s a bit of an oversimplification, and the biggest reason you have not to tell Hailee the truth, but the point still stands.

You still have no idea how things got blown so out of proportion since the speculation around you two has been swirling around since day one. Clearly, not having any new music projects to focus on has driven her fans into madness.

It would be fine…if you and Hailee were still on speaking terms.

Are you being dramatic? Maybe a little but your friendship or relationship or whatever the hell it was that you two had going on at some point isn’t what it used to be. The blame isn’t entirely on her but your own bitterness about the situation tends to cloud your judgment sometimes…okay, most of the time.

Right now is a perfect example of it.

You’ve been staring at your phone for what feels like hours, mentally debating if you should give in and reply to Hailee’s text. You really, really, don’t want to but what other choice do you have? It’s not like you can ignore her forever, you’ve already promised her you’ll join her on her next tour, whenever it finally happens.

You decide to suck it up and agree to meet her for coffee. The last thing you need is to be seen hanging out with her right now but you’re sure it’s all part of the plan. A plan that probably didn’t come from the singer herself, but rather from the group of people who act like they want the best for her but are really just trying to sell her image like it’s a product.

Because who cares about morals and dignity as long as you get streams on your music, right?

You shove your bitter thoughts out of your mind for now and focus on getting ready to see Hailee again.

The hours simultaneously feel like seconds and eternity and before you know it, you’re sitting at a semi-secluded table in a random coffee shop with your knee bouncing up and down like there are ants crawling up your pants. No amount of breathing exercises or grounding techniques can stop your heart from hammering in your chest from the mere thought of the brunette.

You’re not sure what she wants from you, you just have a bad feeling about it. Although maybe that’s your broken heart talking, you can’t be sure.

You notice her the second she walks in and you do an awful job at pretending you’re looking at something on your phone instead of her. You act like you can’t see the smile on her face from this distance just like she acts like she can’t see you. Both of you look ridiculous but neither of you mind.

She finally joins you after another eternity of waiting and despite all the questions that are swirling around in your brain, you force yourself to wait for her to go first.

“I need your help with something.”

After months of not talking to each other, that’s what she leads with. You would complain about her lack of greeting but you’re grateful she’s getting right to the point so you can wrap this up and go back to avoiding your feelings. “That’s a bold start.”

She rolls her eyes, more out of habit than anything else. “It’s been five seconds, are we going to fight already?”

“I guess that depends on what you want me to do,” you reply.

“I want you in the SunKissing music video. We finally got the green light for it and it’s the perfect way to take advantage of all the buzz around the two of us.”

You can’t help but wonder if she’s joking. The ‘buzz’ around you two is just people speculating and piecing together the history Hailee has spent so long ignoring and rewriting. History that’s filled with arguments. bitter kisses, unspoken confessions and stolen glances.

You force the memories out of your mind. Along with the weird ache you feel every time you focus on Hailee’s eyes.

“Me dancing in the background of your music video isn’t going to be a trending topic, Hailee.”

She shrugs. “It will be if we kiss.”

“You’re joking,” you say, unable to hide the way her words take you by surprise.

“I’m serious.”

“You’re choosing now to come out? You think this will make everyone forget about your little stunt with the QB?”

Your mention of the New York stunt hits her hard and if you’re being honest, that’s exactly why you brought it up. You’re not interested in turning your private life into Hailee’s next big scandal. Even if it means pissing her off until she changes her mind.

The way she clenches her jaw is all you need to know you’re not going to like her next words. “It’s not a coming out. It’s an acting project.”

“You’re never going to change are you?” You ask, not sure whether to be impressed or disappointed by her idea.

“Come on, y/n.” She leans forward and places her hand on top of yours. You half-expect a camera flash to accompany the action but you seem to be safe for now. “You know you’re the only person I trust with this.”

Her words would be cute if you hadn’t fallen for them already. Multiple times. It’s always been the same way with her. She gives you a few months of her attention, makes you believe your unspoken affections aren’t one-sided, just to rip it away from you the second you think you’ve made progress.

“You’re the last person in this room who should be talking about trust.”

“Oh my God!” She leans back, her hand slipping away from you and taking any hope of avoiding an argument with it. “When are you going to let that go?”

You’re not even sure what she thinks you’re upset about this time. The list is so long, she could be referencing anything and be completely right. And yet somehow, you’re the one who’s in the wrong for still being upset.

“When you apologize for being a piece of shit,” you say as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Which it is. To you, anyway.

The brunette across from you clearly doesn’t feel the same. “That’s unfair.”

“Leading someone on is unfair, Hailee.”

“You are so stubborn. How the hell did I ever sleep with you?”

You can’t tell if she’s joking or not but either way, you don’t want to hear another word from her.

“I’m leaving,” you say as you rise to your feet, ignoring your half-finished drink and the flash of regret that passes through those brown eyes you can’t help but love.

“Shit, shit, y/n, wait!”

“I already did wait or did you forget about that too?”

You don’t give her a chance to answer instead choosing to ignore her rushed apology and walking away like you should have done when this whole conversation started.

You make it about six feet away from the entrance when you hear Hailee’s voice calling after you. “Will you do it if I tell you it was my idea?”

It’s a desperate attempt for your attention and yet you fall for it all the same. Everything inside of you is telling you to leave but you can’t. Not when you’re this close to getting her to be honest with both herself and you.

“If it’s the truth,” you respond with your back still facing her.

“It is.” The scent of her perfume overwhelms you as her hands grip your waist. You fight back the urge to move away from her and allow her to turn you around to look at her. “I told my label it would be good publicity but honestly…I just really miss you.”

You can’t stop yourself from laughing. The sound comes out softer than you thought possible. “You couldn’t call like a normal person?”

“We’re not normal people, y/n,” she says, the ghost of a smile lingering on her lips. “You know that better than anyone. You know me better than anyone.”

“Do I?”

She takes a step closer to you and you hate the way your eyes instantly drop down to her lips. It’s an instinct that no amount of time away from her can rewrite. “Let me prove it to you. Please.”

“You’re not going to fix this with a few kisses, Hailee.”

There’s an unspoken promise in her eyes. One that says she’ll kiss you as many times as she has to until she proves you wrong. And you have no doubt that she will.

Her hands move up from your waist to cup your cheeks. Her movements are slow and careful almost as if she’s waiting for you to change your mind.

In a way, you do because whatever remaining doubt you had about your feelings for the brunette fades away in an instant. You push away all your hesitation and close the gap between your lips.

It’s the sweetest kiss you’ve ever shared. It’s full of almost inaudible sighs, gentle touches, and the overwhelming truth of your desires. Mainly, the desire to keep going.

“One chance,” you whisper as you pull away. “I’ll help you with the music video. I’ll let you in again. Don’t make me regret it.”

“Promise.”

You’re about to tell her not to make promises she can’t keep but she kisses you again before you get the chance to.

[hermitseasonzine]

Introducing... The Mod Team!!!

from left to right

Anna | @milkypiggybeans | Head Artist Anna is an illustrator and is new to this whole moderating thing but is excited to give it a go! Season 9 was their first and favorite season of hermitcraft so far, so they are thrilled to be able to celebrate it in zine format. They are doing general zine moderation as well as graphic design for socials and running the twitter account. Mod team’s resident little guy :]

Marzo | @martuzzio | Editor Marzo is a graphic designer and illustrator who has a perfectly reasonable amount of interest in drawing suits of armor. Season 9 of Hermitcraft was one of her favorites (Season 7 will forever be on top), so she’s super excited to help bring it to life in zine form! As the editing mod, she helps create the core look of the project as well as compile the various zine elements into the final PDF.

Violet | @violet-fire-cat | Communications Violet is an artist and writer who has been completely normal about Minecraft block men since about 2011. Hermitcraft has been their main interest for the last few years and it means a lot to them. He’s excited to be a part of this project and can’t wait to see all the amazing things that are made for it. As communications mod you’ll probably find yourself talking to him at some point if you’re a participant. He’s friendly though, don’t worry!

Kore | @terracottakore | Media Management Kore is an illustrator and currently helps to create art for zine announcements as well as general social media happenings. This is their first experience as a mod and they are beyond excited to learn. Hermitcraft has a very special place in their heart, and they are very grateful to be working with such wonderful people to create this project!

Cedar | @cornercritter | Coordination & Communications Cedar is an illustrator and enjoyer of the hermitgals in particular. They run @dailyfalsesymmetry and are also responsible for “starting off this thing”. They are in charge of overall coordination as well as communications, so you’ll be seeing a lot of them all around as a contributor. They’re manning this tumblr blog right now! Hello! :D

Zephaniah Grains | Head Writer Zeph is a writer, TTRPG designer, and stage manager with a normal amount of investment in things like “horror comedy” and “Decked Out 2.” As head writing mod, they’re responsible for ensuring the quality of all the zine’s written work, and for helping writing contributors out along the way!

Tune back in tomorrow to learn about the zine's structure!

Character art by mods Composition and background by @cornercritter References to previous artwork by @milkypiggybeans and @messiergalaxy31

[hbyrde36]

Times Like These (The Anniversary Edition)

CH 1 CH 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch5 Ch6

Chapter 7: Running in Circles

WC: 6637 | AO3 link

The moment Eddie landed back in his body he fell to his knees and sobbed.

He wanted to lay down and die all over again. 

Anything to escape the agony of losing. Losing in general, losing Steve. Never mind that the loop had managed to reset itself, meaning there was a brand new Steve only a few miles away who was just fine. Who Eddie had another chance to save. 

But he wasn’t ready to think about that just yet. 

Not that he had any time for mourning. Time was both his greatest asset and his mortal enemy in this moment because he so desperately needed it all to fucking stop, if only for a little while. 

But, as the saying goes, time waits for no man. Chrissy was standing there, right in front of him, and the countdown to her demise had begun the second he landed back at the beginning of this godforsaken nightmare. 

He gave himself one minute to feel it. Sixty seconds of wallowing in heartbreak—of saying goodbye to a past that only he would ever remember, before shoving it all down and getting to work. 

He mumbled vague apologies to a very confused and concerned Chrissy when he finally picked himself back up, and then simply walked away, striding quickly to his room to take up his acoustic guitar and play for her again. 

It worked, even if he had some trouble putting his whole heart into it this time, and he was grateful that it did. He didn’t know what he would have done if it hadn’t. 

He held her close after she fell—still tried to put her back together again even though it felt impossible when he was missing so many of his own parts, but he didn’t give her long. He didn’t give either of them long enough to truly recover from their respective ordeals before dragging her to her feet.  

“Stay here a second?” He said, not waiting for a reply before returning to his room.

Frantically he dumped the contents of his backpack on the ground and filled it with clothes, his walkman, and his trusty black lunchbox. He had a feeling he might need it to get through the next few days. 

Back in the living room he grabbed his keys, took Chrissy's hand, and led her outside.

The goal was to grab Max and get the hell out of Dodge before Jason showed up looking for Chrissy, or a fight. He didn’t want to see that motherfucker ever again if he could help it, and he certainly could live without another broken nose. 

He flew up the front steps of Max’s trailer and began pounding on the door.

“Max!” He shouted, continuously banging his fist. “Code red, Max. Open up. We gotta go right now!”

The door flung open suddenly, revealing a very annoyed and very wide-eyed redhead.

“What the hell, dude?! Did Dustin put you up to this?”

“No Red, he didn’t, and there’s literally no time for me to explain, so–” Eddie shrugged one shoulder and pushed past her without waiting for an invitation, heading right back to her room while pulling Chrissy along behind him. 

“What are you doing?!” Max yelled, trailing behind.

It wasn’t like Eddie didn’t know he was acting, maybe, a bit erratic—but he was frustrated at once again being the only one who knew there was trouble brewing, and frankly he just didn’t have the mental strength to ease anyone into it. Any patience he had left died in the last loop.

“Pack a bag.” He told her as he perused her tape collection, picking out the right Pat Benatar tape. He checked for the other but it didn't seem to be on the shelf. It was probably already in her player.

“You’ll need your walkman, and your Kate Bush tape too. You might want to grab some clothes while you’re at it, we may not be back for a while.”

“Wait… what?”

He finally looked at her, really looked at her, and realized that under the show of annoyance, she was scared. He was freaking her out.

He sighed, running his hands roughly through his hair. “You saw the lights flickering earlier, right? Over at my place?”

She bit her lip, nodding reluctantly. “Is that what this is all about?”

“Yes,” he said, as softly as he could manage, picking up her school bag from the floor and handing it to her. “And I'm sorry, but we need to go now.”

“Where are we going?”

“Steve’s.” Eddie swallowed thickly. “Grab your walkie, we’ll call him from the road”

Max continued to eye him suspiciously but she didn’t argue. Sometime later he’d have to wonder why the girl went along with him so easily, but for now he was just grateful she didn't put up more of a fight.

Chrissy was quiet throughout the whole thing, and seemed a lot more shell-shocked than last time. Which was fair, considering he was acting like an insane person, had given her zero time to recover from her attack, and had explained exactly nothing. He just… he needed to get out of here. He needed to see Steve. Then maybe he could settle down long enough to tell her and everyone else what was going on. 

On the bright side, at least he wouldn't be showing up on Steve’s doorstep battered and bloody.

-

“Pass that radio up here, will ya?” Eddie asked once they were on the road, reaching back to where Max sat. She handed it over without a word.

He cleared his throat, holding the button down as he spoke into the device, steering with one hand. “Code red, I repeat, code red. Anyone who can hear me right now needs to meet up at Steve’s house as soon as possible. And, uh, Harrington, sorry to interrupt date night but you need to ditch the lucky girl and pick up Robin and Dustin on your way home.”

It all came out a little more manic and bitter than he’d meant it to, but it couldn’t be helped. It was all he could do to keep it together long enough to get to Loch Nora safely.

“Who the hell is this? Over.” Dustin said

“Hey, Henderson.”

“Wait… Eddie?”

“Yeah, man, It’s me. Listen,” Eddie paused, tapping the radio against his cheek. “I know you probably have like a million questions right now and I swear I will answer every one of them, but please just—hold off for a bit.”

“Is this some kind of joke?” Another voice asked.

Eddie sucked in a breath, eyes stinging as Steve came over the line. He knew the other boy would be listening, he should have expected it—had expected it, but somehow it still caught him off guard.

“I wish it was, pretty boy, I really wish it was. There was a little problem down at the trailer park. Max is with me, and a–friend. I’ll explain when we get to your place.”

After a moment of dead air, Dustin spoke again. “Steve?”

“It’s fine, Henderson,” Steve replied quickly, sounding irritated, if resigned. “I’ll be there to get you as soon as I can.” 

“Should I call the others?” Dustin asked.

“Yes.” Eddie cut in.

“Why not.” Steve scoffed. “Party at Steve’s! It’s not like I had plans on a Friday night or anything.”

It didn’t occur to Eddie until he turned the radio off and handed it back to Max that not once did Dustin complain about the lack of ‘walkie etiquette’. That maybe should have been his first sign that things weren’t exactly going well.

-

As soon as they pulled up to Steve’s, Max burst out of the rear doors of the van, all but running into the house before Eddie even had the chance to put it in park. Chrissy didn’t move or react. In fact, she’d done nothing but stare out the passenger window for the entire ride over. 

“Hey, Chris?” He said gently, turning in his seat to face her. “I know this whole night has been crazy and you don’t know me very well, but for what it’s worth I really can explain what’s happening… if you can trust me enough to come inside?”

She remained still and quiet for long enough that he was concerned she’d become catatonic, but eventually she tilted her head to look at him and gave a shallow nod. He jumped out, rounding the front of the van to open the passenger door for her. She faltered, stepping out on unsteady legs and he offered her a hand, which she took instantly, and held onto for dear life.

Eddie hesitated at the front door, his instincts telling him to just walk inside, but he wasn’t sure Steve, who barely knew him now—again, would appreciate that. 

Holding his breath, he rang the bell.

Intellectually, Eddie had known that the loop resetting meant Steve was alive, and he’d already heard his voice, but to actually see Steve physically standing there in one piece filled him with a sense of relief that made his knees weak. 

For a moment he forgot himself, stepping forward fully intent on wrapping the other boy up in his arms. He itched to press his face into Steve’s neck again, breathe him in deep and think about better days, but he caught himself at the last second and held back, instead giving Steve a friendly pat on the shoulder with his free hand while using the momentum of the near-hug to push past him and into the house, tugging Chrissy along with him.

“Sure, come right in.” Steve sniped.

Eddie didn’t look, but he knew that tone well enough to be sure Steve was rolling his eyes at their backs.  

He guided Chrissy to the living room and sat her down on the couch, while Steve blew past them, disappearing into the kitchen where Robin must have been. He could hear them whispering about him, though not quietly enough, because he heard it clear as day when Robin hissed, “oh my god, and he’s got Chrissy Cunningham with him?”

He stopped listening after that, in favor of paying attention to the girl in front of him. He hadn’t taken very good care of her this time around, and he needed to fix that as soon as possible.

“Can I get you some water or anything?” Eddie asked, crouching down in front of her, smoothing the hair out of her eyes.  

“Yes, water, thank you,” she said, managing a weak smile. 

“You got it, I'll be right back.” He patted her knee and marched straight into the other room, where Robin and Steve fell abruptly silent at his entrance. 

He ignored them, not really knowing how to act just yet—but did know, without a shadow of a doubt, that if he looked at Steve for too long right now he might lose his shit. Which would be less than helpful at this stage. He went to the cabinet where the glasses were, moving through the space like he was familiar with it—because he was—and crossed to the fridge, filling the cup he retrieved with the pitcher of water he knew Steve kept in there. 

“What—you—how?” Steve sputtered, narrowing his eyes. “Have you been here before?”

“No questions until everyone is here.” Eddie said over his shoulder, already walking away.

Dustin and Max had appeared in the living room while he was gone, and they watched curiously as he handed the glass over to Chrissy and sat down.

He leaned forward, dropping his head into his hands as he took a few deep breaths, remembering the way Steve had coached him through his panic attack on this same night, as he tried to settle his thoughts.  

“You know what? No. This has gone far enough!” Steve bellowed, rushing into the room. “You gotta give me something, man or I’m gonna… I don’t know. Call the police or something?”

Eddie dropped his hands but kept his eyes trained on the floor. Seeing first Steve’s socked feet come into view on the carpet in front of him, then Robin’s converse sneakers right behind. 

“Steve!” 

“Don’t give me that shit, Dustin. You see how he’s acting. He's clearly high on something. Or maybe drunk? Taking one of your D&D sessions a little too seriously? What?” 

Eddie looked up just in time to see Steve pull his signature move. His hands flew to his hips, and the accompanying glare was as fiery as ever, even though his hair flopped into his eyes when he tilted his head.

It almost made Eddie smile.  

“How the hell should I know?!” Dustin shouted.

“Well he’s your new best friend, isn’t he?!”

Oh, right. 

Eddie had forgotten this part. 

Up until their week-from-hell bonding session, or in the case of the last few loops, up until he learned the truth of what Eddie was going through, Steve had been jealous of his budding friendship with the kids—well—Dustin, in particular. Granted Eddie had been jealous too, but those days were far in the past for him. 

“Steve, that’s not–” Dustin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why would you assume he’s on drugs anyway?” 

“I hate to break it to you kid, but your new buddy here is the town–”

“Oh my god, Harrington!” Eddie quickly cut him off. Not that he really cared if the kid found out about his little side business, he’d be learning about it momentarily anyway, but he’d had enough. “I'm not high! And I’m not drunk either. I’m stuck in a fucking time loop.” 

“Bullshit.” Dustin snorted.

Eddie’s heart sank. Dustin always believed him. Had he really screwed things up so badly that even that had changed? 

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. “You can’t expect us to buy that.”

Eddie had to turn away from the hard look in Steve’s eyes. He’d understood it before, the first few times around when it had taken a bit of time, and a lot of explanation, for the other boy to trust him, but now it just… hurt.

He felt so alone.

“Dustin, you told me something, in the first loop. You said if I told you this thing, you’d believe me.”

Steve tapped his foot impatiently on the carpet. “Okay, let’s hear it then.” 

“Don’t be an asshole, Harrington.” Eddie snapped, getting up from his spot on the couch to approach Dustin. “It’s his secret, if he wants to tell you someday, he will." 

He bent down and whispered quietly into the kid’s ear, “You're adopted. Your mom told you a year ago and no one else knows, not even Steve.”

Dustin’s eyes went impossibly wide as he blinked up at Eddie in utter shock for a second, then his face spread into a wide grin. “Holy shit, he’s telling the truth! This is amazing! But what–” 

The smile dropped suddenly off his face as the implications started to sink in. “On the walkie earlier you said code red, but I didn’t think—does that mean this is…”

“Upside Down related?” Eddie finished for him. “Yeah, I'm afraid so.”

Steve watched the two of them with a deeply furrowed brow, no longer looking quite so bothered and skeptical, now he just seemed worried. Eddie softened, letting his own problems take a back seat for a minute. This was Steve, who—whatever he thought of Eddie right now—he cared about so fucking much. 

"I’m sorry, Steve.” Eddie said, and never had he meant those two words more. “I know what you’ve all been through over the past few years, and I’m sure this is the last thing you want to hear right now, but it’s the truth. You have no idea how much I wish it wasn’t.”

-

Erica arrived a short time later on her bike, and Eddie used the distraction to escape to the downstairs bathroom and splash some cold water on his face.

He’d only been near Steve again for less than an hour and he was already going out of his mind, how was he supposed to make it through an entire week?

“Hey, man, are you okay?” A voice called from the other side.

It was Steve, because of course it was.

A part of Eddie longed to let him in, to steal a moment with the boy he was almost sure he was in love with, but it wouldn't be the same. 

Steve didn’t remember the many nights they spent comforting each other and sharing their most intimate secrets. He didn’t know how they’d cooked for each other, and swapped stories, and kept each other sane in the midst of the world crumbling down around them. 

He could have let him in anyway, and maybe tried to start over, build them back up into a version of what they were, but Eddie didn’t think he could survive getting that close, going that deep, only to have it ripped away all over again.

Nancy's voice filtered in from down the hall, and assuming she’d brought Mike along that meant everyone was there and accounted for. It was time.

Plastering a fake smile on his face, Eddie took one more deep breath for good luck and opened the door.

“I’m good, Harrington. Let's get this over with.”

He tried to walk past but Steve stopped him with a hand on his elbow. “Eddie, wait.” 

Eddie stiffened, heart pounding. Déjà fucking vu, of the most painful kind.

“I’m sorry for giving you a hard time before.” Steve let him go, rubbing nervously at the back of his neck. “If Dustin believes you, then so do I. Honestly, after everything I’ve seen… it’s not even that much of a stretch.”

“Thanks,” Eddie said, looking anywhere but at Steve’s face.

In the process of avoidance, the closed door to Steve’s father’s office caught Eddie’s eye and it gave him an idea. He remembered Steve taking a phone call in there once before, and recalled that it didn’t look like an ordinary household model. 

“The phone in your dad’s office,” Eddie began, hooking a thumb in the room’s direction. “Any chance it has a speaker?”

“Yeah, why?”

Pushing his inner turmoil aside for the time being, Eddie filled Steve in on how the Byers and El needed to be brought into this too, and how much more efficient it would be if they could be on the phone listening as he explained what was going on.

Steve gaped a little, still not used to Eddie knowing so much about all these things that had been secret for so long, but ultimately he was on board, and took on the task of telling the others to cram themselves into the small office room. 

“What the hell is he doing here? And where’s my brother?" Erica asked Steve, spotting Eddie as they all piled in. "He didn’t come home after the game, I figured he’d be here.”

“He’s… ” Steve started to say but trailed off, looking to Eddie for an answer. “Where is Lucas?”

“Partying with the basketball team.” 

“Why are we talking in here again?” Nancy asked of no one in particular.

Robin shushed her, Mike laughed, and Eddie stayed out of it. He dialed the number Steve had given him for the Byers house in California and switched on the speakerphone, praying someone would pick up. 

Joyce answered on the second ring. 

“Hello?”

When Eddie hesitated, realizing that the woman wouldn't know who he was, Steve jumped right in.

“Hey Joyce, it’s Steve. Uh, Harrington.”

“Oh, Steve. Honey, is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry to call out of nowhere like this, um, listen, I’ve got the usual group together at my house and uh, no. I guess everything's not okay? We have a friend here, his name is Eddie, and he has something to tell us. Can you get the kids and Jonathan to listen in too?”

It was proof of just how much these people had been through together that she simply said, “Ok, sure.”

After explaining, briefly, the whole him-time-looping thing in general, Eddie began by going over the original timeline in detail, starting with Chrissy’s death and ending with his own. He brushed over the next two loops, claiming they weren’t important. Which was true, he hadn’t changed anything or learned anything new, so nothing could be gained by forcing himself to recount them. 

Finally, he moved on to the last loop. He told them everything, apart from the private moments he and Steve had shared, and managed to keep it as clinical as possible until he reached the point in the story where the group had separated at Benny’s—falling silent as he replayed in his mind the moment he and Steve had said goodbye. 

Steve’s grip on his hip, the way his soft lips had felt pressed against Eddie’s own, the terror that had coursed through him when the clock chimed one, two, three, four times. 

“Shut it!” Steve shouted, drawing Eddie out of his reverie. 

While he’d been zoned out, Dustin, Mike, and Erica had been shouting over each other, badgering him to go on. 

“Give the guy a break will ya? He’s been through enough without having to deal with…” Steve broke off with a frustrated sigh, waving a hand. “All of you. Just give him a second.”

Steve Harrington to the rescue as always, Eddie thought with a pang in his chest. 

He started again, determined to finish the story and be done with it. 

“Obviously we weren’t successful, otherwise I wouldn’t be back here. I can’t tell you exactly what went wrong. I don’t even know if El managed to piggyback into Steve’s mind, but either it didn’t work or Vecna was too strong because…” He trailed off, struggling to swallow past the lump forming in his throat. 

He couldn't say it. He just couldn’t. 

Thankfully, they were all smart enough to follow the context clues, and he didn’t have to. 

“Why didn’t I pull Steve out with the music thing?” Dustin asked, a slight quiver to his voice.

And absolutely not was he letting this kid feel like it was his fault for even a fraction of a second.

“Jason fucking Carver.” Eddie said quickly, and with gusto. “He and Andy saw Steve’s car or something. They showed up at the Creel house, threatened you all with a gun and somehow broke the walkman in the process.”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry.” Chrissy blurted out. It was the first time she’d spoken since they left the trailer hours ago. “I should have broken up with him a long time ago, I knew he was a jerk, but–” She broke off sobbing. 

Shit.

Eddie was too far away to reach out to her himself but Robin was there, throwing an arm around her, and Chrissy tucked herself into her side.

“None of this is your fault, Chris,” Eddie said, holding her gaze in hopes that would help it sink in—to make sure she knew he meant it. “I know you don’t remember, but trust me you helped us so much. You were there for me–at the end. I will never forget that.”

She nodded, but still dissolved into a new wave of tears against Robin’s shoulder. 

While everyone else was looking at her, Eddie felt Steve’s gaze on him like a physical weight, impossible to ignore. “You said the loop resets when you die, right?”

Before he could stop himself Eddie locked eyes with the other boy, and suddenly it was like they were the only two people in the room. 

“What happened to you last time?”

On top of everything else, Steve had just learned about his own mysterious death at the hands of a psychic monster, but here he was—not concerned with that, but with Eddie, and what his fate had been.

He tried to deflect, dropping his gaze to the desk as he spoke. “That reminds me, I should really hide my van when we’re done here so no one thinks you’re associated with me if something goes wrong.”

“Eddie, what happened to you last time?” Steve asked again, insistent.

With a heavy sigh, Eddie grudgingly answered. “After they took off from the Creel house, Jason and Andy showed up at Benny’s. I guess they saw the cars and got curious, or maybe they came to check the place out again after Patrick died. I don’t know, I didn’t exactly get to ask any questions. He, um… he shot me. Point blank in the chest.”

By the end he had the room’s full and silent attention again, save for a muffled sniffle over the phone’s speaker, and a warm palm landed on his shoulder. He didn’t even have to raise his head back up to know it was Steve, who’d moved to stand beside him at some point during his latest speech. 

He’d know the feel of those hands anywhere. 

“Okay, hear me out,” Dustin blurted wearing his patented, I’ve got a brilliant idea, face. “What if we call Owens now and get El together with him sooner. It sounds like she didn’t get the chance to fully regain her powers before they were ambushed, and I’m guessing her battery got drained in the escape with the whole helicopter thing, so she was definitely working at a disadvantage.”

It was a brilliant idea, Eddie had to give it to him. He didn’t realize they had a line to this other doctor guy.

“Yes, I think you are right.” Eleven agreed. “Eddie, you said… Papa was there? In the Nevada place?” 

Fuck.

“Yeah, he was there. Somehow he’s alive, I know you thought he wasn’t. I’m sorry. Jonathan said he helped you though, and that it had been your choice to stay.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

There wasn’t much else to be said for now, and they needed to hang up so Joyce could make her phone calls, but there was one more order of business to deal with first. 

“Uh, Mrs. Byers, are you still on the line?” Eddie asked, eyes flicking back to Steve before quickly looking away again. 

“Call me Joyce, honey, and yes I’m here.”

“I need to talk to you alone for a minute, if that’s okay. Steve too.”

“Oh. Give me a second to make sure the kids hang up.”

Clearing the office out was a fight, Eddie had expected nothing less, and though they had to be as curious about what was going on as anyone else, Robin and Nancy stepped in and managed to convince the others to leave.

He was sure they’d demand answers at some point, but he’d worry about that later.

“Are you alone?” Eddie asked. 

“Yeah.” Joyce said.

“You might want to sit down for this.” He said to Steve, indicating one of the newly empty chairs in the room. Steve grabbed the nearest one, pulling it close so they were sitting side-by-side.

“Okay, there’s no easy way to say this… Hopper might be alive. Joyce got a package from Russia with a ransom note. Some guy named Murray is flying in tomorrow to help her figure it out.”

Joyce gasped, the noise echoing in surround sound for Eddie as Steve did the same beside him. 

“It’s real then?” She asked.

“I think so. You’re going to call the number tomorrow and the person who answers will tell you to fly to Alaska with some money. I don’t know any more than that. You called us once after you arrived, right before you went to meet with someone but we didn’t hear from you again. You said Hopper was being held in a Russian prison, and the guy who sent the ransom note was going to break him out.”

Steve went white as a sheet at the second mention of Russian involvement, and though he’d been thinking it would be smarter—easier, to keep some separation between them in this loop, Eddie couldn’t fight his instinct to reach out. He covered Steve’s hand that was resting on the surface of the desk with his own.

“I guess there’s nothing for me to do but follow the trail again.” Joyce said.

“But what if something happened, er, happens to you?” Steve asked.

“It’s Hopper." She said, as if that was an answer in itself. "I’m going to hang up so I can call the number Owens gave me. I’ll let you know what he says—and boys? Please don’t tell anyone else about this. Not until we know for sure.”

“Okay,” Steve mumbled, at the same time Eddie said, “of course.”

“Are you alright?” Eddie asked once they’d ended the call.

Steve was still staring lost in thought down at the phone, but at Eddie’s words he shook himself out of it. “Yeah, sorry. Just–”

“The Russians,” Eddie supplied, bobbing his head. “I know. I’m sorry, but I thought you deserved to know, and Joyce told you last time, so–”

“And then I told you?”

Eddie cleared his throat, abruptly taking his hand back as he leapt from his chair, heading for the door. “We should go, uh, check on the kids—make sure they’re not wrecking the place or anything.”

-

They wound up moving Eddie’s van into the garage. There was plenty of space, and it was such an obvious solution that he had to kick himself for not having thought to park it in there last time—for not having thought to hide it at all.  

He’d just sort-of assumed that if Chrissy didn’t die, and he didn’t become a suspect in her murder, the whole Jason thing would go away. 

He knew better now. 

Though, maybe this round he’d get a break since they’d skipped the run-in at the trailer park.

Dustin and Mike took charge of making the looped recordings for the party members who needed them, and were just moving on to the b-side of Max’s custom ‘Running Up That Hill’ tape, when Lucas burst through the front door. He froze in the entrance to the living room, looking from one friend’s face to another, and, much like the last time, did a double take when he spotted Eddie and Chrissy.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but Jason has lost his mind. He thinks Eddie did something to Chrissy and now he, Andy, and a few of the other guys are out looking for him.”

“Oh, come on!” Eddie yelled, throwing his hands up. “He didn’t even see me this time!” 

So much for getting a break from that asshole jock and his evangelical bullshit. 

“O… kay," Lucas said, blinking at Eddie for a beat before continuing. “Someone saw her leave the school with you after the game and—” He trailed off, finally noticing the music playing and the tape recording set-up. “What’s going on?”

Steve and Erica stepped in to explain, taking him through to the kitchen to talk. He wasn’t sure it was for his benefit but Eddie was thankful anyway, he didn’t want to hear it again anymore than he wanted to re-tell it. 

Not long after Lucas showed up, Nancy and Mike left to make their excuses at home for canceling Mike’s trip. 

Everyone else was staying over, and Steve had already made them all call home so no parents would panic. Even Eddie left a message on his home answering machine for Wayne since he was at work. He’d have much rather heard his uncle’s voice again, but it was undoubtedly easier to lie to a recording than it was to the man himself. 

Then it was time for bed. 

Again, Robin offered to share the guest room with Chrissy, while Max and Erica called Steve’s parents room—and as the boys gathered up the spare pillows and blankets they'd be using in the living room, Steve gave Eddie—a look.

He knew where this was headed, and honestly he’d never been so conflicted. Of course he wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with Steve after the terrible day he’d had, but that wasn’t where they were with each other anymore. And, in the interest of keeping some distance between them, to save himself future heartbreak even if it meant feeling a little pain right now, sharing a bed had to be where Eddie drew the line. 

“I’ll stay down here with the boys.” Eddie said, before Steve could even make the offer. “They can share the big couch, I'll take the other one.”

“Oh.” Steve said, almost sounding disappointed. “Do you want something to sleep in at least?”

Eddie gulped, wondering what the odds were that Steve would give him the swim team top again if he said yes. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Actually, I packed a bag this time, so I’m all set.” 

-

After a visit to the garage to grab his bag from the van, Eddie changed into his own version of pajamas—an old ratty pair of faded black sweatpants and a cropped Iron Maiden t-shirt, so worn that the band’s logo was all but illegible. Lastly he took one of the pre-rolled joints from his stash and slipped out onto the patio through the kitchen’s sliding glass doors. 

He sat cross-legged on his usual lounge chair, facing the pool and the woods beyond as he lit up. He took a long drag, and as he blew out a plume of smoke heard the sliding glass door open and close again behind him. He didn’t bother to hide what he was doing, though he probably should have. It could have been anyone coming out to look for him, Dustin or Mike maybe, but somehow he knew it wasn’t.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Steve said when he got close enough that Eddie could almost feel the heat coming off of his body. He shuffled his feet, hovering next to the chair. “I saw you out here through my window and I just… I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”

Eddie finally looked up, unprepared for the way seeing Steve in his usual blue flannel pajama bottoms and white shirt would make him feel like he was drowning. Coupled with the tousled hair and soft look in Steve’s eyes, it was almost more than he could handle.  

So he focused on something else. 

The headphones Steve wore loosely around his neck were quiet, the wheels of the tape unmoving inside the player that was hooked to the elastic band of his pants.

“You should really be using those.” Eddie said, sliding over on the chair and patting the empty spot next to him in invitation. “Or at least have it playing even if they’re off your ears.” 

As Steve sat down Eddie took another long hit, halfheartedly offering the joint up when he was done. He didn’t know if Steve still smoked or not, knew he used to when he ran with Tommy and Carol but it wasn’t something they’d gotten to talking about before. 

Steve accepted it, taking a drag like a pro and Eddie supposed that answered that question. He grinned despite himself. 

“After all the shit you gave me earlier?” Eddie said, knocking their shoulders together.

Steve ducked his head. “I meant like mushrooms or something, I don't know. Weed doesn’t count.” 

He passed the joint back and started fiddling with his walkman, popping the tape out, flipping it over, and hitting play.

“I didn’t even realize it had stopped.” Steve said absently, accepting the joint when Eddie passed it over again, their fingers brushing lightly. “You know I was thinking about that. What happens when we’re sleeping and the tape runs down?”

“I don’t know what Max or Chrissy did, but anytime I woke up I’d flip your tape over and restart it.” Eddie answered without thinking, catching what he gave away far too late to backtrack, blaming the weed for loosening his tongue. 

Steve stilled, staring at him incredulously. 

“You—did you stay with me last time? In my room, I mean?”

Eddie busied himself picking at a loose thread on his pants. He didn’t know what to say.

“Is that why you’re so uncomfortable with me? Did I do something wrong, or?” Steve asked when the silence had grown too heavy to manage.

“No, Steve.” Eddie shook his head. “God, why is it that you always think you’re the problem?”

“I’m… sorry?”

“No, Stevie. I’m sorry.” Eddie sighed, taking the offered joint back again. It was almost done, and he took one last hit from it before leaning down to stub it out on the concrete. 

“Yes, I stayed with you before. We all sorta paired up to keep an eye on each other, and I guess you could say we got… close, over that time, but–”

“Oh! So, we were friends, but now I don’t remember and you’re not sure how to act around me. Is that it?” Steve guessed, and it was criminally adorable how proud of himself he was for figuring it out.

Almost figuring it out, that is, but he didn’t know that.

Eddie smiled, huffing a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s it exactly.”

The almost-admission served to break some of the ice between them. Steve relaxed a little, and Eddie found himself following suit.

They sat under the stars talking off and on for over an hour, and with each glance up at the sky Eddie was reminded of Steve’s childhood dream. He smiled, picturing a tiny baby Stevie standing in this very same backyard—looking up at the moon and daring to imagine himself going there one day. 

He almost brought it up, more than once. 

They chatted about nothing important or in particular—the kids, mostly, how they were adjusting to high school and things like that. Eddie told him what he knew, and in return Steve told him about middle school dances, and sneaking their shared brood into movies at the mall. 

As much as it pained him to sit there, knowing that their every interaction meant much more to him than it did to Steve, he still found himself happy just to be in his presence. 

Maybe that could be enough. 

He could still be Steve’s friend, as long as he kept him at arm's length for now, and if they somehow managed to make it out alive—maybe then he could try to reclaim some of what was lost. 

Eventually their slowing words turned into yawns, and Steve suggested they should go back inside and get some sleep. “Maybe we should stick together again.” He whispered, as they made their way through the darkened kitchen. 

Eddie hesitated, he needed to maintain the boundary for his own sake, but he hadn’t considered Steve might be scared to be alone. “You’ve got your music now, just keep the tape going and you’ll be alright, I promise.” 

“It’s not me I'm worried about.”

Oh.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Steve. In all this time, Vecna’s never come for me.” 

Even more so than the first time they said goodnight, Steve looked like he wanted to argue, but ultimately he let it go. “If you’re sure.”

He couldn’t do this again. He would not allow himself to fall further when the future was so uncertain—when he still didn’t truly know, would never know, what their one shared kiss had really meant.

“I’m sure. Good night, Steve.”

“Good night.”

Eddie watched him climb the stairs, not walking away until Steve turned the corner and was out of sight. 

It was better this way, he reminded himself, and he’d keep on reminding himself as many times as he had to—needing no more motivation to keep some separation than to recall Dustin’s trembling voice saying, he’s gone. 

That was the sound Eddie carried with him as he curled up on the small couch, turned to face the back of it, and silently cried himself to sleep.

Chapter 8

Special thanks to @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.

Reblogs are always appreciated and if you want to be tagged, just let me know! I'd be more than happy to do so 💜

Taglist: @hitlikehammers @pearynice @cranberrymoons @thoroughlycollected @blubblesandink @finntheehumaneater @brbsoulnomming @estrellami-1 @hellion-child @manda-panda-monium @spicysix @kikidoesfanfic @dreamwatch @lawrencebshoggoth @stillfullofshit @lil-gremlin-things @mamafaithful @klausinamarink

[kukuandkookie]

Lmfao help I totally forgot I scheduled my last post where I rambled about Jian Suiying in the tags (I probably scheduled it to seem more normal or something because I didn’t want to flood my feed 😂).

The reason I find it extra funny is because I literally feel like I’m going feral right now and I did just draft another Twitter thread ramble before coming on here and immediately seeing my scheduled post with those tags LADNSKDNS.

My Twitter is still on hiatus until further notice—aka when I am more comfortable interacting and sharing things socially—but over the past few weeks, my drafts have become very full of thoughts on LiJian (Li Yu and Jian Suiying) and YuBai (Yu Fengcheng and Bai Xinyu).

And the main reason I feel so feral right now—as in right this minute—is because of the author of this really good fic (which I found thanks to the fan audio drama adaptation on MaoEr FM) that’s multi-chaptered where the premise is that a younger Li Yu ends up in the present day in Li Yu and Jian Suiying’s house. Li Yu is obviously very upset by this because he hates his younger self for how he treated Jian Suiying, and the story is about helping him heal from that past.

And well anyways this post isn’t about that fic specifically, although it’s a really good fic and I went crazy over it a while ago as well: since it’s told entirely in screenshots on Weibo at least, I actually captured every image of text until I had everything and then I MTL’d them using Google Translate and then I severely edited them on-and-off based on my own Chinese knowledge—so this included grammar and pronouns but also less obvious stuff where I had to check line by line or turn it into audio to listen to. 😂

It’s a really fucking good fic though. So worth it.

And well the author has done other versions; one is where a younger Yu Fengcheng gets transported into current Yu Fengcheng and Bai Xinyu’s life, and I’ve already collected every part of that one (it’s still incomplete).

Except it referenced a case where there were two Jian Suiying’s, a fic the author said they were planning to write back when they released the two Li Yu’s fic, which obviously made me a little feral.

I struggled to find it until I finally did (yay!!) alongside a masterlist of their fics in general (yay!!!), and I really really want to translate and read it right now.

But part of me also wants to save it—because I like saving things I like—to the end, since the author has other fics I can translate first, including one where Li Yu gets amnesia, which will definitely also be quite interesting.

And yet. I cannot get over the concept of there being two Jian Suiying’s and how that might resemble or reflect or differ from the fic where there were two Li Yu’s (especially since the two Li Yu’s one is just very thematically perfect).

I might just translate it first because I can barely resist??? I already translated the second half of the first part just to tease myself, and it has me screaming because like:

(The above screenshots are from this fanfic here by 丧心病狂de凌子 on Weibo!)

The image of Li Yu dragging whom he assumes is his spouse (and he is; just from a different time period) back home only to come face-to-face with his actual spouse (of this time period) being all cute in his soft cozy home clothes with a little mug instead of having gone out drinking (which the Jian Suiying from a different time period in his arms had been doing—as all the fics so far have had the person from the past end up in the present after getting blackout drunk) which was a thing about Jian Suiying that Li Yu used to worry about…

(The above screenshot is canon and from the original novel!)

Yeah do you see what I mean???

I’m just so excited because you’ll get the chaos of two time periods intersecting, but also because Jian Suiying used to go out to such places and it upset Li Yu a lot since he knows Jian Suiying’s past life and their relationship took so long to get to a good place that he’s afraid Jian Suiying will discard him again when out partying—so seeing Jian Suiying here, at home on time, patiently waiting for his husband to come home from his business trip…

*sigh* They’re pretty cute even after all the craziness of their original novel lmao. 🥹

And yeah. Typing all this out…I think I’ll translate this first out of all of the author’s fics. I’m going to go insane otherwise SLFNKSDJSKS.

[gourdberries]

Providence a Doflamingo x reader fic Part 1

CONTAINS: dark content (emotional manipulation) otherwise SFW, slight fluff but mostly angst

Tbh I don't think this series will have more than two or three parts but anyways here's part one. It's gonna be sort of a prequel to part 2. Haven't edited it so it's probably gonna be rly stream of consciousnessy. Also, my first time posting here! Reader is written as a brown woman but read her however you like. Hope you enjoy!

You were raised in a brothel frequented by merchants and scholars alike. They would often hold meetings here, sharing information while enjoying a stiff drink and a woman on their lap. Your mother was the favourite of a renowned scholar from Ohara who had been excommunicated from the archaeologists society. An elderly man who decided to spend the last of his years in this brothel. The closest thing to a father that you’ve ever had. He instilled a love for archaeology in you, taught you how to decipher lost languages and made you an expert in ponegliffs at the age of 15.

He died a few years later. It was around that time Doflamingo and his family came into town. They had planned for it to be a short visit. Word had reached them about a girl of 18 who lived in a brothel – a girl that knew how to read ponegliffs. Seeing an opportunity to make money, your mother sold you off to Doflamingo.

Doflamingo knew your worth and knew how to care for you. A precious addition to his crew. You were a rarity, someone who was essential in his quest for divinity. The day you were sold off was the worst day of your life but the life that came after was one you could never have imagined were you to stay in that port town. Doflamingo gave you books, clothes, and a room of your own. Freedom. The family treated you as one of their own and slowly but surely you began to open up to them. Senor Pink took you to see his wife a couple of times, and you grew close to Baby 5 and Buffalo, them being the only members around your own age. You vaguely knew that Doflamingo had dealings in the underground market but you were often left out of business meetings and missions. To you, Doflamingo was an elusive figure. That is until 9 years later, when you witnessed what this man was actually capable of, when the man they call the great heavenly demon brought an entire kingdom to its knees.

“You can leave whenever you wish to.” He noted the fear in your eyes as you gazed down upon the inferno, “Although... as it is now, I don’t think that you’ll find a reason to leave”. You heard his command loud and clear. You realise that this man is a mirage of gentle greatness harbouring pure evil at the core. Tears prickle behind your eyes as you feared that he was just getting started.

“Oh, my sweet girl… you did this”. His large hands cup your cheeks, tilting your head up to face him. “I thank you. I could never have done this without you.” You finally begin to cry at his words. He embraces you and there’s little you can do but let him. Your hands balled up into tight fists, resting on his broad chest.

You couldn’t sleep the first night in his care. “Mother never loved you, she only saw you as profit – nothing but money to be made. You're all alone in this world”. Poisonous thoughts occupied your mind, you needed a distraction. So you sneaked into the library and looked for a book to read. 

Doflamingo was about to enter the library as well, when he caught a glimpse of you. At that moment, he thought that you looked like divine in your stark white nightgown contrasted with long black hair and bronze skin illuminated by warm candle light. You struggled to reach a book at the top of the shelf until you saw a hand shoot up from behind you. Doflamingo grabbed the book and studied the cover, “The Book of Five Rings? Didn’t know that we had this”. His sudden appearance managed to purge your mind of any thoughts of your mother. Completely dumbfounded, the only thing that you could muster up was “Do you read, sir?”

He chuckled lightly as he walked over to a velvet chaise lounge and settled into it with the book.

“Of course you–“ you wished that you hadn’t spoken at all in the first place, "it’s your library after all”. 

“I don’t have much time to read these days.” 

You studied his features for a while, spiky blonde hair and a sharp jawline. He was as handsome as he was intimidating. 

“Uhm… I couldn’t sleep.”

“I see…” 

“I thought I would read instead.”

He looked confused for a short moment until he realised, “Ah, I've hijacked your book.” 

“Oh, no… I’ll read another. I didn’t mean–“ 

He cut you off and pointed to another book “Grab me the blue paperback on the desk there.”  

You grabbed it and handed it to him. 

“I’ll give you back your book and read this one instead.” 

You nodded. “Thank you, sir. I-I’ll read it in my room”

“You can stay,” coming from him, it sounded more like a demand than a suggestion, “Let me keep you company until you feel like you can sleep.” 

You spent the rest of the night together with Doflamingo. In a soothing silence. 

Despite his imposing presence, he has always been gentle with you. Even as he massacred a whole kingdom and turned the king into his own puppet. You knew that you had to leave him, however improbable it may be, you had to escape from this man.

[serenevulpine]

Stray Kids Bangchan: I Know Who You Are Too

Part One

It’s late afternoon and you’re at a local cafe working on Stray Kids edits for your TikTok. You were supposed to meet a friend here and you’ve been waiting for a while. Your phone goes off and when you read the alert, it’s a text from her saying she’s at a coffee shop on the other side of town and you realize that you picked the wrong one. You grab your coffee and run to the door crashing into a guy wearing a mask. As you collide your coffee spills all over him, soaking his shirt.

“I’m so sorry! Let me help clean you up,” you say as you grab some napkins and start dabbing at his shirt. You blush a little bit as you can feel how firm his chest and stomach are underneath the shirt and you drop your hands to your side embarrassed.

He laughs. “Naur, it’s really fine.” He has an Australian accent mixed with something else. His voice seems very familiar to you but you can’t quite place it.

When you finally meet his eyes, they look familiar as well. “At least let me buy you a coffee to say sorry. My name is [Name].”

“I’ll let you buy me a coffee if you let me buy you dinna,” he replies smoothly. “I’m Chris.”

You feel your face flush again. “Okay.” You buy him the coffee and write your number on the cup. “Here’s my number. You can text me whenever but I really do have to go. Nice to run into you, Chris.”

Chris laughs at your joke as you head out and thinks to himself I don’t think she recognized me. He puts your phone number in his phone and meets up with Han.

Han’s eyes widen in surprise when Chris shows up. “What happened to your shirt? You’re soaked. You’ll have to change before the interview.”

“A cute girl spilled her coffee on me. I asked her out.” Even though he was wearing a mask Han could tell Chris was grinning from ear to ear.

“Was that before or after she spilled her coffee on you?” Han asked. They both laughed and started to make their way to the interview while Chris relayed the entire story.

Later that day, you’re at your friend’s house when your phone rings with a number you don’t know and your heart jumps. “Hello?”

“Hey, [Name]? This is Chris, from the coffee shop.”

You do a little happy dance and then calmly say “Oh hi Chris!”

Your friend gives you two thumbs up and mouths “Very cool”.

“Are you free tomorrow night for that date you promised me?” he asks.

“Yeah, that sounds great. Where do you want to meet?”

“I'll text you the info.”

Your friend watches as you end the call and then roll over on the sofa giggling. “You’re pretty excited over a guy whose face you haven’t even really seen.”

You look at her and shrug. “He seems really nice and he has really nice eyes. Do looks really matter all that much?”

“I guess not. Let’s hope he doesn’t ask for your social media. He might get jealous over all the Stray Kids videos you post” she laughs.

Rolling your eyes you throw a pillow at her. “He probably doesn’t even know who they are.”

The two of you brainstorm over outfits and conversation topics before you go home.

The next day you slog through work, unable to focus. It had been a really long time since you’ve been on a date so you were more than a little nervous. You get off at five and race home to get ready and be at the restaurant by 7:00. You manage to arrive at the restaurant a little early and the host seats you. You text your friend to let her know that you’ve arrived safely. You look around for him but realize that unless he’s wearing a mask, you probably won’t recognize him. The minutes tick away and anxiety starts to kick in. What if he stands you up?

A few minutes later you see Bangchan walk through the door. Your jaw drops and you start to reach for your phone to text your friend when you see him smile at you and wave. You look behind you and there’s only a wall. You can feel your face flush as he walks toward you. How could you not have recognized his voice or his eyes? You’ve only spent the past seven years staring at them!

He sits down across from you. “Thanks for waiting, [Name]. I got a little lost.”

“It's fine” you mutter

“So I’m guessing you know who I am,” he says with a smile

You grin sheepishly. “Well, I do now.”

“So what do you do?” he asks, trying to break the ice.

You tell him your job and then, without thinking, add “I’m also a content creator.”

“Oh? What kind of content?”

Just in time the waiter shows up to take your orders.

After dinner he offers to walk you home and you graciously accept.

“So you like k-pop?” he asks.

“Yeah, actually Stray Kids is my favorite.”

Chris grins, “So am I your bias?”

“Well, it would be really awkward right now if I said no.” He seems surprised by your answer and you slap your hand to your face. “Sorry, I can’t always be responsible for what comes out of my mouth.”

He laughs. “No, you’re really funny. And really cute.” He stops on a street corner and leans in to kiss you on the cheek. You misread the signal though and turn your face so that your lips meet. He backs away, surprised for a moment.

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry. I just thought…” Before you can say anything else, he leans in and kisses you again.

You aren’t sure how long you stood there but an older lady passing by on the street coughs loudly and the two of you break apart.

A few days later and you haven’t heard from him since the date. Your friend is at your apartment, listening to you freak out about it.

“I can’t believe I blew it so badly. He hasn’t called or texted in three days. I must be a complete joke to him.”

“Well, at least it’s now instead of when you tell him that you make edits of them on TikTok” she laughs.

You throw a pillow at her as your phone rings. You see it’s Bangchan trying to Facetime you.

“Hey, sorry I haven’t been able to talk to you. I’ve been really busy with work.”he says apologetically.

Felix pokes his head in frame, “He hasn’t stopped talking about you though.”

Chris pushes him away and laughs shyly. “Listen, I have to fly out of town today but I wanted to talk to you before I go.”

“Oh, how long will you be gone?” it’s hard for you to hide your disappointment.

“Just for a few days. We’re doing another interview.” He takes a deep breath like he’s preparing to say something important.

Just as he’s about to say what it is, Felix and Hyunjin start horseplaying and Hyunjin falls into Bangchan and the phone screen goes black.

[get-your-fuckin-star-bitch]

So at the office, while he was away, Michael was basically considered to be a Threat™️ because everyone had wound up seeing or hearing about what had happened to Leitner. Elias being like “oh he just needs some time to work himself out” but in a weirdly sinister way does not help his case.

Jon eventually gets into his own bit of trouble because of the possibility that he could have been an accomplice, has to run away like he did in the original series.

Actually, Michael’s not fully considered a threat by anyone… not anyone who actually knows him, at least.

Melanie’s opinion? Yeah, he was a little weird when she gave her statement to him. Probably evil.

Tim? He’s not responding to anyone’s questions at the moment, and you can kindly fuck off. (Michael saved Sasha’s life with the worms, but he’s not gonna tell the police that he thinks Jon maybe did it instead with some weird mind controlling powers or something. They’ll think that it’s bullshit.)

Sasha’s… conflicted. He has been acting weird recently, but she’s not sure he’s actually evil, she’s actually pretty sure he’s just… stressed. People can change, though, so… she doesn’t really know what to think.

Jon’s. Um. Not there, but he’s SUPER sure the guy’s gone crazy and is killing people for sport.

Martin………………………………………………………….

“It’s… complicated? Probably.”

[CONTINUED BELOW oh you BET there’s more ehehehe]

Nikola, though… oh boy.

Two potential candidates. One of them’s rumored to not really know much of anything, and the other knows plenty. But while both have gotten strong, one of them’s going to be stronger.

Kicker’s that the potentially-stronger one probably won’t actually fit properly because he’s too tall. And he’s all twisted, so that won’t do at all.

So instead, she’s been talking to Jon about the gorilla skin, like in the original series.

Being a super creepy motherfucker and all that.

Y’know.

Anyway, Michael did not get anywhere near death, so Oliver didn’t have to go in and help out or anything, but… Elias has realized that michael keeps getting himself into situations where he nearly gets killed, and does not seem to handle them too well, so he’s experimenting and seeing if he can have Jon be a “backup archivist”, which i’m sure Nikola’s absolutely delighted by…

Still… Michael does get visited by some of the stranger’s gang eventually.

Just “checking in on our dear old archivist!”

(Michael does not feel comforted.)

(He is also not particularly thrilled.)

(Especially when she casually mentions not being able to use his skin in particular, because it “just wouldn’t fit right………….! You understand… don’t you, archivist?”)

He tries to burn her with the spiderweb lighter.

No wonder Jude Perry liked him a lot- (he’s actually now tried to set two things on fire because they were bothering him- but I haven’t posted the part where he yeets a lighter at the other thing yet lol-you’ll see)

Obviously, it’s ineffective… but it lights up her face for a moment before miraculously snapping shut upon hitting the floor.

Or… where her face should be.

Michael screams, his friend finally gets the lights working, and Nikola is gone.

…Fun!

OH HEY WAIT WHAT

OKAY SO

If Michael gets this tape! (Which he definitely would, cause he would have completely missed everything.)

Obviously with a few edits!! But!!!!!!! That shit would just.

Like a goddamn jagged-edged sword getting shoved STRAIGHT through his torso, GOD that stupid bit of commentary would hurt so BAD-

Jesus, Elias, stop trying to make your archivist feel like a disposable paper bag that somehow managed to make it out of the landfill, the hell are you doing, man????

Michael’d probably just try and mirror-jump to Jude Perry or something and be like “hey, my boss is a sick bastard and I hate him, want to help?”

Not sure if I’m /j or /srs, but Martin might be on board lol

Michael’s having more and more trouble with the whole… mirror-hallway trap thing. Although, like with canon, he probably ends up figuring out a way to drag out the whole process of victims slowly kinda going nuts so that he doesn’t actually have to kill anyone, he can just… “bother someone” in order to keep things going.

Which actually winds up working better than the “drive em mad and then whoop there they go” method.

He doesn’t like how it feels, cause it’s basically making a bunch of people go through what Ryan went through, but he tries diffusing the messing-with across more than one victim in order to make it not be as horrible for each of them.

Oh, and on top of that, he still has to get statements.

Does Jon send him the statements he gets (and his own notes on them) after he’s done with them, so that they’re both on the same page with things? (And does it work..?)

And if so, does he get to hear the “dust to dust” one, finally?

*Sound of Michael nearly popping a stress ball open with one hand*

(>:(((( Bruh Gertrude what the fuck)

AND HEARING HIS OWN VOICE ON THE TAPE…

Just rewinding and playing it over and over again. Just to hear it.

It hurts to know that his voice doesn’t quite sound the same.

He’s lost the stutter that he hated so much. He almost misses it.

Might actually mumble the words a little, in a half-hopeful attempt at getting his voice to sound like it did back then again. It works, for a moment or two, and in that little sliver of time, he feels like… himself again. Like Michael.

But he can’t hold it for long.

Still… it was there.

He was… there, somewhere. He wasn’t completely gone… so maybe there was still hope.

(HhhgfhhHhhHHHHHH I wanna hug him so badddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaa 🫠)

Anyway, so Jon gets taken by Orsinov-

And the only reason Michael doesn’t pick up every time Elias tries to call him to tell him to get Jon is cause he’s got Elias’s number registered in his phone as “old sod” and just sits there pressing “decline” every time the phone starts ringing with that name.

It’s very fun to do.

However, eventually Martin’s the one who calls him, sounding a little bit panicked, and explains what’s going on, and Michael feels like an asshole, rushes out the door- (“hello good morning I’ve got to go get Jonathan out of situations he keeps getting in don’t kill me don’t get killed please don’t leave things on voicemail if they’re important, lesson learned, ohgosh bye-”)

So the Michael appears! No doom threat, just Michael apologizing for being “so incredibly late” and being like “oh good lord these are creepy oh sh- you’ve got a gag on- I’m very sorry-”

And he notices that Jon’s…. Looking at him, like… he wants to ask something, but doesn’t know if he should.

Michael… forces a smile, getting the feeling — based on the last tape he’d gotten from jon — that he knows what he wants to ask about. “Can we… t…t-“ oh, of course- and just at the moment he’d rather it not be an issue, here it was, again, in the way of him getting his words across. “It- I- We don’t- there isn’t much… much time to share… stories.”

“She won’t be back for-“

“I just don’t want to.”

He didn’t mean it to come out sounding so snappy, and winced a little at his own voice. “She…she’s just… a bit of a hard subject, as of right now…”

Jon looks a little bit… desperate, though, and it occurs to him that he most likely hasn’t been able to get any new statements in days.

If he were to go through the mirrors… he might not be able to keep himself together in there. Or he might get lost, or…

“Ask me.”

Jon blinks, looking a bit confused. “Didn’t you say you-“

“Yes, I know. It doesn’t feel good, but if you don’t-“ he takes a deep breath, and sighs heavily. “Please. Just… this once. And it’s all… good.”

…”What was she like?”

Oh, that question hurts.

A string of expressions pass across his face as he tries to think of the words for the things Jon wants to pull out of him. Needs him to let out.

“…different… she- she told me a lie.

I thought I knew… why she was who she was. Why I was… her… assistant.

I- but i didn’t. Really. She was cold… and… I just fell for it.

He takes another deep breath and sighs, but… no, it… isn’t done, is it.

It all spills out, like blood gushing from a deep, arterial wound.

He tries to twist it, to lessen the tearing sensation that the eye gives as it drags the information out of him, but it just… happens. The words aren’t quite his to control.

The Sannikov trip is the most painful to feel.

Once, it might have been a tale told in horror, of the near-death experience of his mentor, the old woman who fell over the side of a ship in the middle of a storm. About how he almost went insane, but that could have been a dream, and she had been saved, and then they had gone home again.

He told Jon all of this story, the statement riddled with sarcasm and frustration, and hurt.

And then he told… a different story.

The one he’d had in that vision, or dream, or nightmare- whatever it had been.

He told the eye what it already knew, and — in a way — begged it to answer him, instead. Tell him if he had just been… a pebble to be kicked into a trap so that it could be made safe to pass through.

He explained his fear that Gertrude had, in fact, killed one of her old assistants, a woman named Emma Harvey. She’d burned her alive.

And then he recounted his terror upon waking up in the office that one horrible night, when the doors had not been the right doors, and had nearly taken him and swallowed him and taken him apart.

How the fire had roared around him.

The rest of the story, Jon already knew, and so his talking should have ended there.

But he mentioned something he didn’t want to.

About how much Jon had reminded him of her, when they’d first met.

And with this revelation, the story ended.

At once, Michael slid to the floor, his whole body drained of energy, fighting to keep itself together.

It was not a moment too soon.

A door had opened behind him. A horribly familiar one, and as it loomed over Jon’s bound form and Michael’s barely stable one, a voice floated through the room, coming from the figure standing at its threshold.

“That was a very, very stupid thing to do, archivist.”

[of-twilight-and-moonshadow]

Perfect Chance - Tyler Bate x Reader

Finally got around to finishing the Reader x Tyler Bate fic I had started a while back. 

Prompt: I’m sorry that somebody you loved made you think it was hard to love you

EDITED IN: TAG LIST @starwithaheart​ @shedevill22 @amourseculier @regalbanshee​ 

I do love my Big Strong Boi <3 

Y/N = Your Name Y/F/N = Your Full Name Y/P/N = Your Partial Name (for instance, i used Anna to write, so it was An-Anna)

Not sure if the perceived Relationships that he has had with Toni and Liv are true, but for this purpose we are saying yes. 

WARNINGS: Verbal Abuse (Brad Maddox is/was a jerk yall), Self-doubt, body conscious 

Austin mentioned = Creed; Ember, Tyler, Etore and Creed are friends I strive to have yall.

Let me know if you’d read a part 2!

(divider)

February 2017

First, it was all compliments and the unending love that I felt.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

“You’re absolutely amazing, you know?”

“I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

Then came the backhanded compliments…

“We’re perfect together.”

“You’ll never find another guy out there like me. Hah.”

“You’re really lucky to have landed me, you know?”

Then the compliments turned to criticisms.

“You should lose a few pounds… or twenty. Make you look better.”

“Your hair needs to be longer, get some extensions or something.”

“Show some more cleavage, would you? I want other guys knowing what I got.”

And the criticisms to pure insults.

“I don’t want you sitting on my lap—you’re fat!”

“God you’re ugly—put some more make up on or something!”

“What the hell did I ever see in you? You’re pathetic!”

The sucker punch came when I saw him kissing another girl backstage- one of the audio techs. It was the last straw, and I couldn’t take it anymore. Austin told me to move on, Tyler said I deserved better; Ember wanted to knock him out for me and Etore tried to get my mind off of it.

Off of him.

Of Brad.

The worst mistake of my life. The mistake that took up 15 months of my life. 15 months I’ll never get back.

The only thing is—how do you move on from something like that?

He made me feel loved and desired.

Then he made me feel unworthy of such affection. Made me feel like I didn’t deserve to be loved; that I didn’t deserve to be happy.

So here I am now, four months later. I had managed to get myself lost in work, to keep my mind occupied, but that only lasts for so long. Now? It’s February… February fourteenth. All I see are happy couples walking the halls of Full Sail, or in pictures on Instagram and twitter. Happy little ‘I love you’s and words of affection.

Sighing to myself, I shook my head and tried to focus on the outfit in front of me. Ember accidentally tore one of the seams on her outfit last week but hadn’t realized it until she wore it earlier on. Taking a deep breath, I stitched the small tear quick and easily, snipping off excess thread and then folding them neatly for my friend.

“Uhm, excuse me? Could—”

The sudden voice caused my heart-rate to skyrocket as I jumped in surprise, My hand went over my heart as I glanced behind me to find the owner to the voice—only for my once racing heart to freeze entirely.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he apologized, giving me a small smile.

“N-no, it’s alright. I just—I didn’t… Uh… Can I help you—with… something?” I asked awkwardly, tripping over my own words.

“I was hoping so. My last match, I noticed the seam was starting to unravel… on my trunks? Could you fix that? I’d really rather not be wrestling mid-match and them fall off.”

“That would be highly embarrassing,” I frowned, before nodding,” Yeah—I can do it. Er… sew it, real quick.”

“Thank you, here—let me grab them out of my bag real quick…”

“This isn’t fair…” I thought, sighing inwardly,” Cute… accent to die for… nice… Probably in a happy, caring relationship with some—”

“Here we go,” he smiled, handing the black trunks over to me; I felt my face heat up just slightly, but ignored the shiver than ran down my spine.

“Just… give me a moment… I can have these done real quick.”

“Not a problem, love. As long as I have them before my match.”

“Right…”

“Tyler—Tyler Bate.” He held out a hand, waiting patiently with that adorable smile on his face, causing my heart-rate to skyrocket again.

“Uh… Y/P/N—Y/N. Y/L/N. Y/F/N,” I replied, reaching out and shaking his hand.

JUNE 19th 2018

Almost a year and a half. 16 months to be exact. 16 months that Tyler Bate had been on my mind; that I had tried, and failed, multiple times to get him out of my mind. I tried focusing on work, on all the alterations I needed to make to active-roster outfits, fixes to any broken seams… but in doing so, all I heard was the work gossip that floated around endlessly.

“Did you see them together? They’re cute!”

“Right, Liv is interesting. Different that I’d imagine Bate be with.”

“Too pretty, kinda. I don’t know…”

“Maybe so. Out of left field though—just like that time he was with Toni.”

“Must have a thing for blondes.”

Without meaning to, my eyes floated to the strand of hair that was hanging in front of my face. The brown hair seemingly mocking me. Taking a deep breath, I tucked it behind an ear and attempted to keep the U.K superstar out of my thoughts. I knew it was going to be inevitable, running into Tyler today. Hunter had asked if Id be able to go to London for the next tournament show. It was a chance to visit the beautiful country, immerse myself in the rich culture—and torture myself with a secret crush.

So here I was, at Royal Albert Hall, assisting the UK Brand creative department with everyone’s outfits. Right now I was busy, extremely focused on the outfit in my hands. Not only did I have to focus on doing all the stitches correctly; I had to keep myself professional—ensure no mis-stiches. Why?

The jacket belonged to none other than—

“Hey, are you finished yet?”

My head jerked up in surprise and felt like my thoughts had been read—but the innocent slight smile on Toni’s face told me otherwise.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

“N-no… it’s—uh,” I felt myself stuttering,” Almost finished. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ll come back later.”

“R-right. Thanks.”

I watched with bated breath as she walked away, not daring to take another breath of air until Toni Storm was no longer in sight. Shaking my head in attempts to clear it, I looked down to refocus on the small sequin I was hand stitching.

“Why’s he gotta like blondes?” I muttered under my breath with a small pout,” Nothin’ special about them.”

“Are you talking to yourself now, love?”

The sudden proximity of his voice, the fact he could—probably already did—know I was talking about Toni. About him.

I jumped out of my skin, the needle going straight through the fabric and into my skin.

“Dammit!” I cried, dropping everything to the desk and clutching my finger as the blood slowly began to pool.

“Bloody hell, I’m sorry love—here—” Tyler frowned, taking the towel from his shoulder and instantly putting it to my finger to stop the blood,” Oi—hey there! Grab a medic kit, will ya?” The passing backstage tech nodded before quickly walking off to find said kit.

“Did I get any blood on—” I panicked, reaching with my free hand for Toni’s jacket.

“Don’t worry about it, it’ll wash off if you did. Toni won’t mind, believe me.”

I had to choke back a scoff—of course he would know if she would mind. Suddenly my eyes landed once more on the towel, and I became hyper aware that he was holding my hand so delicately. Instinctively, I tried to pull it away, only for Tyler’s grip to slightly tighten, his gaze finding mine.

“You’ll be fine. Just a small pin prick,” Tyler smiled to me, as the tech came up to us with the kit and Tyler gave him a nod of thanks. I watched in silence, unable to even form a thought to voice; ever so gently, Tyler brought out a small alcohol wipe and after moving the white towel, dabbed at the bloody spot on my finger causing me to hiss and recoil instinctively. Again, his grip tightened, but not uncomfortably so, and he looked at me apologetically.

“Sorry love, had to clean it real quick.” With a silent nod, Tyler unpackaged the band-aid before gently wrapping it around my finger.

“There… all better,” Tyler smiled to me, causing a blush to cover my cheeks. In an attempt to hide it, I ducked my head.

“Now that you don’t have any pointy objects in your hand,” Tyler chuckled, turning his attention back to me,” How have you been Y/N? Good I hope?”

My head snapped up, eyes wide in surprise.

“Something wrong love?”

“N-no, no. Sorry… I just… I honestly didn’t think you’d remember my name. I mean… we only interacted for like… three minutes… over a year ago…”

“Well, yeah… but you’re a difficult woman to forget,” Tyler smiled and I felt my heart constrict.

“Y-yeah, I… I know…” Looking down, I began to pick at my shirt, my one hand grazing the side of my pant leg,”… Gotta loose some weight…”

“What? No- no, love—” Tyler shook his head, reaching out and gently grabbing my hands, holding both with his own; one hand traveled up my arm to cup my chin, raising my eyes to his own. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach go wild at the look of concern in his blue eyes.

“What makes you say something like that? You’re perfect—”

“Not perfect enough,” I mutter, my eyes flicker once more to the ground, only for the soft touch on my chin to lift my gaze once more.

“Whoever made you think that… They’re wrong. How they could even—” Tyler stopped short, shaking his head and took a deep breath, as if collecting himself. Looking into my eyes once more, I felt his fingers gently sweep a lock of hair behind my ear; Tyler seemed to be searching for the words to say, but what could be said?

“I-It’s fine, Tyler,” I shook my head, slowly pulling from his grip and taking a step back,” I’ve—I’ve accepted it… no one… no one will love me…” My voice grew softer and softer, until it broke at the very end. Taking a breath, I grabbed Toni’s jacket, careful of the needle hiding within somewhere. I busied myself with finishing stitching the sequin on, aware that Tyler was still standing behind me. As I finished the stitch, reaching for the next- Tyler’s hand slowly, gently reached with me, his hand landing on-top mine.

“Y/N… I…” Tyler started, before easing the jacket out of my grip and turning me back to face him. The look of pain, discomfort lacing his features,” I don’t know who… how—” He took a deep breath, composing himself again, before continuing,” I’m sorry that somebody you loved made you think it was hard to love you. You are… perfect— I wish you could see it. See what I see every time I look at you. I would call myself lucky if I had even a chance with you—I mean… maybe… maybe you could give me a chance to prove how perfect you are? Give me a chance to love you like you deserve?”

My heart dropped and I forgot how to breathe for a second. Did he just–?

“Are—are you… asking me out?”

“Rather, asking you to be my girlfriend,” Tyler smiled,” But I would like to take you do dinner, before you left back to the States.”

I could feel it—deep within my bones—the fight or flight instincts trying to kick in.

He’s just going to use you.

It’ll be just like with Brad.

Don’t trust him.

Then my eyes focused, looking straight into his baby blue eyes, and I knew.

I had to believe.

Believe in him.

Believe in the possibility—of happiness. Of love.

“Yes.”

I could see his whole body relax with my answer, a bigger smile crossing his face. It was only contagious though, as I too began to smile.

“If there’s time after the show, we can grab a bite to eat. I’ve got to finish getting ready for my match tonight.”

“Best of luck tonight, you and Trent. UE wont know what hit them,” I smiled, blushing as Tyler caressed my cheek; my heartbeat quickened as I saw him lean towards me, before I felt his lips on my other cheek. The mustache tickled a little, but the gesture, innocent and romantic all the same, caused another smile to cross my face.

This was the perfect chance for happiness. For love.

[ncisladaily]

The last episode before the two-part series finale for NCIS: Los Angeles featured Callen (Chris O’Donnell) getting a file on his life — and learning just how he and Sam (LL Cool J) ended up as partners. (And thankfully they did! Could you imagine the show without their banter? We can’t either.)

In “The Reckoning,” Callen came face-to-face with Pembrook (Jere Burns), who had been part of the spy program he’d unwittingly been entered into as a kid. And in their last meeting of the episode, during which he got that aforementioned file, Callen also heard more about Hetty’s (Linda Hunt) role in his part in (and out of) it. She’d pulled him out of the program because she “was consumed with guilt” for putting him in it, wanting him to fulfill his potential. “That world was all she knew. It’s all she had to offer you,” as a parent, and while that may not be exactly what Hetty is to Callen, “you mean everything to her,” Pembrook stressed.

And before he walked away, Pembrook suggested, “take a look in that file. You’ll see who gave Hetty the dossier on Senior Chief Petty Officer Sam Hanna. I thought he’d make a great partner. No, that’s not true. I thought he’d make a great friend.”

So how did it come about that Pembrook would be the one partly responsible for bringing Callen and Sam together?

“That wasn’t ‘til recently, to be honest, because the Callen thing has — with any show that’s been on for a long time, at least in my experience, you lay in seeds and then you sort of harvest them later sometimes. And sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you just leave them and you never go back to them. I think with our show, given enough seasons, we probably would’ve gone back and reaped a lot of the things that we sowed in earlier,” executive producer R. Scott Gemmill told TV Insider. (Read what he said about some of those things here.)

“With Pembrook, we went on this path where Hetty was involved with these kids and then we sort of needed to have a bit of a bad guy so that Hetty wasn’t culpable for mistreating Callen and that’s where Pembrook came in and Jere Burns was so great in that role and really brought it to life and then we just figured a way to tie it into our partners,” he continued.

Something else that they figured out in the process was the trap door in the interrogation room in the boatshed. “I wrote a scene where we had a trap door that went to the ocean and we thought we were going to have to build a replica of that room, our interrogation room, a few feet off the ground and put what looks like water underneath it to do it. And then somebody said, ‘I think there’s a tank in that stage.’ And sure enough, there’s a tank in that stage and we had built over it and we just had to essentially cut a hole in the floor of our set,” Gemmill explained.

“And that was so serendipitous that we knew we had to do it because what are the chances there’s a tank right under your set of where you wanted to put a trap door into the ocean? I mean, it was uncanny. It still gives me goosebumps now when I think about it,” he said. “We just added the weapons thing this last year, so that was a nice edition. And that’s cool, that we got to add things every now and every season, add a little bit more to the legend of the show, and we even have an upstairs for the boatshed, which we haven’t fully explored.”

The word “legend” might make you think of the two-part NCIS backdoor pilot that introduced the Office of Special Projects back in 2009. “I still remember when they were shooting that. I came down to talk to Shane [Brennan]. They were shooting down on the boardwalk or the bike path in Santa Monica. Long time ago,” Gemmill recalled.

And with LL Cool J bringing Sam Hanna to NCIS: Hawai’i in Season 3, they’ll still, in a way, continue to add to the legend of Los Angeles.