#and before ANYONE gets on my ass for this shit--WE HAVE NOWHERE TO LIVE

[troglobite]

aldkjfalsd

paying more than mortgage costs for an airbnb house that

was not even remotely cleaned upon arrival (MULTIPLE sticky handprints on every surface in the kitchen, dirt IN THE REFRIGERATOR, muddy footprints, carpets & rugs so filthy that we HAVE to wear our slippers & give up on mopping the floors because they get dirty IMMEDIATELY, hair [human and pet, head and pube] on all the sheets and in every corner that has never seen a broom or vacuum, unidentifiable liquids and stains on every door [bedroom and bathroom] and the sheets & comforters)

was clearly not built to code bc it's worse than a 40s house but was built in the 70s (the stairs are definitely not to code and walking through the house quickly is like walking on the deck of a boat out at sea)

was advertised w central air but that was a lie and it only has tiny wall heaters in most rooms and 1 space air conditioner in 1 room

has a window that is so poorly fitted that the worlds largest creatures can come through it and give me a panic attack and nightmares for a week or more, and we had to physically tape it up ourselves

has a fridge that needs a water filter

has multiple smoke & CO alarms that are malfunctioning and/or need batteries

advertised lots of closet space but upon hanging 7 shirts on the ramshackle, not to code, pathetically cobbled together "hanger" in the only closet that won't leave the clothes dragging on the floor, collapsed completely and was unusable (unsurprisingly given the WOOD ITSELF WAS WARPED FROM THE WEIGHT OF *PILLOWS*)

has an UNBEARABLE mold and mildew stench IN THE MAIN BEDROOM ON THE FIRST FLOOR and what looks like a MOLD STAIN ON THE CEILING which is BENEATH THE UPSTAIRS SHOWER

has no batteries, lightbulbs, screwdrivers, garbage bags, or anything else remotely useful in the house for us to use (the vacuum is old as fuck, dusty, busted, and has hair EVERYWHERE, and the broom is literally duct taped together)

the upstairs bathroom toilet is like an escape room or physical/gymnastics challenge to get in and out of

one of the single-room wall heaters is literally BROKEN--turning it all the way down means it cranks and stays on forever, turning it all the way up temporarily turns it off, and it only stays off consistently if set at some middle temperature, but even then it'll still turn on unbidden--and there is no on/off switch

the furniture is nigh unsittable bc it is so cobbled together and uncomfortable

the chairs are basically unusable from how small and uncomfortable they are

the mattress are MISERABLE bc they have the world's FIRMEST MEMORY FOAM on ALL of them

THERE ARE NO CURTAINS ON ANY OF THE FUCKING WINDOWS AND ONLY THREE OF THE WINDOWS HAVE BLINDS. ONLY THREE!!!! THERE ARE ELEVEN OTHER WINDOWS IN THE HOUSE!!!!!!

everything outside is overgrown and in need of maintenance and care and is therefore unusable (there are just random dogtoys in places--inside AND outside)

there's just a used candle. sitting behind the tv.

the tv is TRASH and the volume is the WORST i've ever heard. we've trying fixing it REPEATEDLY. it ALSO is impossible to consistently get HDMI to connect to it/my laptop. i have to unplug and replug it multiple times.

the laundry room REEKS OF MOLD/MILDEW. it's also more of a closet. we have to have the fan on 24/7.

you cannot open the blinds on the 3 windows that have them. they removed the pulleys that allowed you to do that because "it was a pain/difficult to lower them back down" so they just REMOVED THAT OPTION.

the "guide book" for the home is CLEARLY outdated because it HAS THE WRONG INFORMATION FOR HOW TO GET IN THE HOUSE AND UNLOCK/LOCK THE FUCKING DOOR.

and we've only been here since last weds.

i'm wearing an n95 mask sitting in this bedroom because with my HEPA filter going, the room's wall heater turned off (bc that shit looks rank), and febreze odor eliminator sprayed REPEATEDLY in here after dousing the room in lysol upon arrival, the smell of mold is hurting my fucking lungs.

i literally want to strangle the ppl who think this home is in ANY WAY remotely fucking livable--and also, REMOTELY WORTH THE HELLISH AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAD TO SPEND ON IT.

[silversodas]

Interesting Alastor Insights

I think I may have figured out what was up Alastor’s ass in Dead Beat Dad. On one hand it may be a deeper issue that I am missing some context for, but I actually think it’s a little simpler then we think.

Even before Lucifer arrived, Alastor was clearly not happy about him coming over, and yes Alastor was 100% full of shit in the dad off song, BUT! Something note worthy is that he was not only being possessive of the Hotel (claiming to be its host and even greeting Lucifer as the master of the house does) but is also weirdly possessive of Charlie

And right down to the “fuck you” to Lucifer’s face it was projecting “get your feet off of my damn coffee table and get outta my house” energy. At first I was wondering what crawled up Alastor’s ass and died, and then Hell’s greatest Dad starts playing and..

“Who’s been faithful as a Nun? Who’s been here since day one?”

And it dawned on me and I was like “Alastor, why are you acting like your being replaced?” And Charlie is just as confused at Alastor’s behavior, like this came out of nowhere. Apparently Alastor was determined to show Lucifer who the Genie of this bottle is. But I didn’t believe it at first, I was like “nah it has to be something else” but then Mimzy gave some VARY interesting insight

When Mimzy first arrived, Alastor has a look that says (oh this is all I need right now) but he still seems happy to see her

Like holy shit, he happily reciprocates the hug, but that’s not to surprising if you know who Mimzy is if you have been fallowing Viv for a while

When she mentioned that he frequented the club (speakeasy)that she preformed in I was like “oh! They are drinking buddies!” Drinking Buddies are someone you generally only know the fun side of because you only hang out together at the bar, but Mimzy highlights a different side to their relationship

“Put on some Jazz, and pour a few fingers of Rye, and he becomes a kitten”

This gives me insight that while they were alive, she wasn’t just his drinking buddy and dance partner, she was his comfort zone. The way she phrased this sentence, made it sound like this was something she used to do for Alastor when they were alive, maybe she was a soothing presence as well as an entertaining one in Alastor’s life. But bar friends can sometimes be pretty high maintenance friends outside the bar, actually I think a lot of us have had something close to a friend like Mimzy in our lives. Apparently she is so bad that even Husk is concerned enough about Alastor to try and talk to him about her

“You and I both know Mimzy only shows up when she needs something. That bitch is trouble, and who knows what demon she fucked with to come running to you this time”

Alastor’s response threw me for a loop

“It’s nothing I can’t handle, don’t worry Husker, who would cross me?”

So Alastor is not immune to having toxic friends? I always assumed he would just drop anyone who became to much trouble, this is an interesting surprise. And on top of that he’s…an enabler!? Huh…that is super interesting to know. Putting a pin in the rest of this interaction for another post because there is a lot to unpack with husk and alastor. Except for the being on a leash thing because it made me realize something.

What if the reason he felt upstaged by Lucifer was not because Lilith told him to keep him away (yeah I am subscribing to the Lilith theory, it’s to much to Be a coincidence) but because he is legitimately afraid of no longer being needed by Charlie? What if, if he isn’t needed by Charlie then he has to go back to wherever he was the last 7 years? Everyone assumes he is free because he acts as such, but is he? Like real question, what if he was a straight up gift to Charlie in a way? Even if it was a “look after my daughter” command I would still call that sending a gift.

And oh man, what if he was suppose to tell the whole truth to Charlie but gave the whole, “I am here for entertainment” speech instead.

And your probably thinking, Charlie wouldn’t tell him to leave. Yeah but does Alastor know that? And he probably thinks Lilith might call him back anyway if he is not needed but just hanging out. But as we have seen, he cant even except his own situation

I will unpack this whole encounter later, but for real I don’t even think he is that mad at husk, he was mad at the reminder that his soul doesn’t belong to him any more. Like look at his face, it’s the most upset we have ever seen him, and it’s so detailed. He looks enraged, but also hurt at the same time. He and Charlie are not friends, yet, but I think he does feel some what safe at the hotel and maybe that’s enough for now

I also think there is some stock in Alastor hating that Lucifer is a bad dad theory, because that contempt was so raw and he did calm the fuck down a little bit during the “more then anything” song

But those are my random insights of Alastor, there were more but this is already to long I just hope it’s coherent

[beweepbomp]

I NEEDED TO URGENTLY VENT BECAUSE IDK WAHT ELSE TO DO.

A lil background. I knew my sexuality as like early as 12. I had two gfs but never anything physical. Now as adult trying to venture out to physical things with another woman. This person we will refer to as Lizzy, from the convos we had never was with a woman in any manner ever but interested to try with me. Okay now this is the insane shit i went thru. enjoy.

Lizzy matched on tinder with me and she asked after some great chit chatting to exchange #'s. Sounds great what could go wrong. After several back n forth spicy texts of what we want to do finally we say hey we should definitely meet up. A few days pass by to finally our meet up date. Science. Ghosted. Okay no biggie. 19 DAYS LATER “Hi i got busy how are you?” I brush it off things do happen and I’m trying to be reasonable. I reply with a hello. No reply again. 40 DAYS LATER “How are you?” At this point I roll my eyes. This is not worth the energy but wow she’s actually replying back idk maybe just shit happens. She tells me it’s been a busy summer travel & work. Okay fair. She shows me cute magnets she made and tells me she’s house sitting.

After a few text exchanges she’s asking me to come over. I get hesitant but she insists. WHAT COULD GO WRONG I SAY? I text her I’ll get ready and take an Uber over. Let me tell you i was giving femme hotness. My skirt was so hiked up. My cute shirt low v cut. Had a jean jacket since it was late into the night. I’m jittery with excitement. I call my best friend she gets the address and says to text me after etc. I order the Uber which was $30+ DOLLARS but i was too excited to care. In the middle of my Uber drive she texts she’s having a panic attack and throwing up. I feel awful. Did i freak her out? But i kept reassuring that we don’t need to do anything physical even when i arrive. No pressure. Assuring to have full consent before engaging in anything. But she insists she’s stuck in the bathroom throwing up and to turn around. Now I’m over 20 minutes away from my apartment around 11:30pm in the middle of the damn suburbs. I arrive and ask by text if i can just sit in the living room until the next Uber comes she says no. I’m outside alone in a foreign place terrified. I video chat with my best friend explaining the situation and she’s in shock as well. Putting me in danger in the middle of nowhere , just alone. Just perfect. My gay ass in the wind trying to remain calm since the streets are barely lit and i have no immediate way home. The connection to data is shitty but im able to order another Uber. Another $30+ out of to go back. But it’s fine no one’s fault right.

She insistently asks texting when my Uber will ber here. My connection isn’t great but it shows 9 minutes. It’s been at least 8 minutes now but the Uber isn’t properly showing the accurate time. My best friend what a god send kept me sane as i waited but a car pulls up and it definitely isn’t my Uber. “Oh i thought you were the girl im meeting with.” OH MY GOD i laugh almost loosing my mind. I point to her house, “oh no no she’s in there.’ Thankfully my Uber arrives as the guy calls out you’re beautiful. Oh thanks bud. Lizzy texts me to say that’s my friend helping me with my panic attack. of course i say seriously you have to be fucking joking. I freak out on her thru text and she insists she’d never intentionally try to put anyone in danger and every other excuse in the book and STILL try’s to see if we will meet up again. Of course i tell her she is fucking nuts and maybe next time be a hospitable hoe if you’re gonna be a hoe at all. I’m not against it but also don’t make a crazy lie and embarrass me. I have no idea im like crushed to seek out afraid to have the same experience of wacky shit. What do i do???? Help pls

[pugh-bug]

No.42 Chapter 4

Art Donaldson x reader slow burn friends to lovers

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list 💕 thank you so much for the love on this series so far I’m really grateful !

Part 3

——————————————————————

‘You should see him after a few games, it’s a lot.’

With a mouth full of burrito, you still managed to laugh at the image Liam and Art were conjuring of Patrick’s sunburn turning him beetroot. The three of you were sat at a cute little place you’d somehow never seen before, probably because you didn’t know the area that well. Art’s choice.

‘So how’s living with this one?’ Liam asked, spitting hummus everywhere as he spoke. Neither you or Art had known who his question was for so you both yelped

‘Good!’

A little too enthusiastically for Liam.

Art’s hair had dried perfectly in the piercing sun rays and the smell of his mint shampoo kept wafting in your direction whenever the breeze turned. Shit. You were supposed to be listening to Liam. What was he saying?’

‘Fridays good.’ Art nodded at his friend, not looking at you for conformation. Clearly someone had been listening. You waited until Liam was texting his girlfriend to hiss at Art what he’d just agreed to - the answer ? - a party at Liam’s.

‘Are you sure it’s okay … if I come?’ Neither boy missed the slight sadness in your question. Your search for validation and fear of the wrong outcome. As Liam beamed at you, reassuring your brain that you were indeed very much wanted at his party and that ‘it won’t be the same without you’ Art’s eyes were locked on your face. You failed to notice.

‘So don’t worry about it okay? It’s not a tennis people thing, just a Liam friends thing.’ He smiled, very genuinely, and you smiled back. When Liam went to the bathroom he noticed Art was picking aggressively at the table, something he’d never seen him do before.

Without looking up from his task of picking through wood one mm at a time, Art asked coldly. ‘When did Patrick say he’d be back?’ Oh fuck it was Sunday! Better check your phone.

2 missed messages.

12:03pm - Text from Patrick

It’s not going well at all. She keeps starting shit with me for no reason she’s a lot to deal with if I’m being honest. Hope your day is better than mine so far

1:26pm - Text from Patrick

You’ve gotta pick me up Y/N I can’t stay here with these people until 9 I’ll catch arsehole disease

Just as you thought of a reply that was both supportive and concerned your phone lit up. Patrick was calling.

‘Pat hey! I didn’t expect to hear fro-‘

‘Pick me up.’

‘Jesus okay-‘

‘Pretty please Y/N I’ll send you my location right now just get here.’

He had a tendency to overreact to uncomfortable situations but you could hear the genuine panic and defeat in his voice. You had to help him.

‘Okay okay but … what’s wrong with Uber?’

‘I can’t afford it.’

You took a deep breath, gesturing to Art to stop mouthing ‘what’s happening?’ so you could concentrate.

‘Okay let me just tell Art-‘

‘Art’s there? Get him to come, he knows the way.’

‘Okay.’

Whilst you explained to Liam the rough situation, Art ran to your flat to fetch his car. With how little time it took him to return you wondered why he hadn’t become a runner instead? He must have done track, at-least.

——————————————————————

It was an hour drive to Patrick’s girls place. 45 minutes on Sundays. You waited until Art had gotten to the motorway before you asked the million dollar question.

‘So… Patrick said you knew the way. How? This is nowhere near anyone’s house that we know.’

Art chuckled, his delicate hand barely touching the wheel when he casually changed lanes at 70mph. His car smelt like him, you tried not to breathe heavier to encase yourself in his scent more intensely. It was growing difficult.

‘Well, I actually … dated Hannah before he did.’

He adjusted his mirror to watch the arsehole behind drive up his ass, for a moment you noticed him looking at the window. If Art ‘his mother could have knitted him’ Donaldson was about to roll the window down to flip someone off you were in for a treat.

‘How long for? Did Patrick even ask bef-‘

‘Does Patrick ever ask you for permission to do something?’

No. Not once.

‘It doesn’t bother me. We weren’t serious and it was a few years before he asked her out.’

You both envied and pitied this Hannah girl who Art seemed to care so little for.

‘Is it not a bit weird though? I wouldn’t want my exes fucking my friends.’

Art glanced over to you, he was driving at 60 again so you weren’t as inclined to grasp the door handle. He looked a little puzzled at your remarks or maybe it was amusement. ‘You thought we’d have different types?’

‘Yes, one hundred percent.’

‘We usually do. Hannah is probably more Patrick’s type.’

Your pity for Hannah grew once again.

‘But clearly, not more compatible.’

When you looked at Art he was frowning. He might have been looking at the road but you knew he was remembering something, something bitter.

You reread Patrick’s text: ‘She’s a lot to deal with.’ but that could mean anything from she takes too long getting ready to she needs to be kept away from others. Once Art said you were close you felt a little uneasy, like you needed to mentally prepare to deal with this girl. If she’d frightened Patrick she had to have something very wrong with her.

‘Art?’

He looked out of it.

‘Is there anything I should know, anything I should maybe avoid saying or doing with this… Hannah? Patrick sounded - I don’t wanna say scared bu-‘

‘Oh he’ll be scared,’ you felt genuine dread for a moment until you saw Art looked solemn not worried. He hid it behind a forced chuckle, as if what he was about to say was a funny anecdote he whipped out at parties to break the ice. ‘She can be a lot.’ There goes that word again. ‘She’s probably the only person I’ve ever met who puts tennis above - well - breathing and she thinks if you’re not playing tennis twelve hours a day everyday you’re letting yourself and her down.’

‘Sounds obsessive.’

‘I did warn him.’

As you pulled up to Hannah’s house you felt a twinge, or an aggressive increase, of guilt for your comment the night before. You should have saved your judgement for Hannah, clearly tennis was her entire life and Art had disagreed with her. Patrick certainly would.

He was sat on her doorstep, like a lost puppy waiting for its owner, but he still gave a quick wave before walking over.

‘Thank you!’ Patrick exclaimed once he was in the car. ‘You two just saved me, I was about to let her coach me just so she’d stop fucking yelling.’ He was sweating and slightly out of breath, poor thing.

‘Art, don’t you wanna go say hi?’

‘Funny…’

Chapter 5

Masterlist

Taglist: @gatorgirl007 @imblushingrn

[strangersteddierthings]

Gut Instinct: Chapter 9 - Sunday

[Art] [Ao3] [Prologue] [Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Interlude] [Chapter Three] [Chapter Four] [Chapter Five] [Chapter Six] [Chapter Seven] [Interlude] [Chapter Eight] [Chapter Nine]

Nancy and Robin take longer researching whatever Nancy’s lead was than it takes Steve and his group to steal some keys from Ms. Kelley and break into the school.

And yeah, Steve knows that’s an oversimplification of the events that happened today and the realization that Max might be- that she’s experiencing the same things as- well, he knows it’s been a lot today, but without knowing what Nancy and Robin are learning, there’s not much to do other than go home and wait.

The drive home is silent. None of the kids say a word as they file into Steve’s car. Max takes the front seat and Dustin doesn’t say anything about it, which speaks volumes about the conclusions they’ve come to.

Steve’s barely put the car in park before Max has thrown off her seatbelt and is halfway out of the car. Steve doesn’t even have it in him to scold her for it.

Back in the house, the kids are in the living room, Lucas and Dustin in a hushed conversation and Max folded in on herself in the recliner. Steve does a quick sweep but Eddie is nowhere to be found on the ground floor. Deciding that it’s unlikely that Eddie would go to the basement, Steve heads upstairs.

Without conscious thought, his body pulls him to the first door of the upstairs hallway. It’s a guest room, one of three in this house that’s far too big for the family that lived here. Steve knocks twice on the door, and calls softly, “Eddie, it’s me. We’re back. You in there?”

There’s a moment of quiet before he hears, “Yeah.”

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Steve slides into the room, closing it behind him.

Eddie is laying on the bed, atop the comforter, head on the pillow, facing the door. He’s on the side closest to the door, which makes the skewed pillow behind him suspicious. If Steve were a gambling man (which he is) he’d place good money on Eddie having been clinging to the pillow before Steve knocked on the door and trying to hastily put it back before Steve entered the room to catch him doing it.

Steve’s rarely wrong about these things.

“You could have taken a nap in my room,” Steve says.

“And have to explain why I’m sleeping in your bed to anyone else? No thanks,” Eddie says, tone flat. Steve frowns as he watches Eddie heave a big sigh and sit up. “Time to regroup?”

“No. Not yet. We’re still waiting on Nancy and Robin to get back,” Steve says, shuffling a few inches closer. He wants to be closer. He’s hit with a desire to comfort. “But you still could have slept in my bed. It’s, uh, it’s actually less weird among this group to be in my bed instead of a guest room.”

Eddie snorts, and it’s not a good sound. Just as Eddie opens his mouth to say something is when it clicks for Steve exactly how what he just said sounds.

“OH, Jesus, not like that! Not- we all get nightmares!”

“What?”

Steve feels himself turn red in embarrassment but barrels on. “It’s… this Upside Down shit. Dustin filled you in on it a bit, in the boathouse, but it’s been three years of it. The kids were, like, actual kid kids the first time around. And I know it seems like we’ve got a lock on this-”

“It actually doesn’t but I can see the effort.”

“Ass. Anyway, it’s always terrifying. We all get nightmares from it. And, like I offered last night, the sleeping together, it makes it easier. The company makes it easier. Not being alone.”

Eddie gives him a look, head tilted, before his brows furrow and he drops his head, hiding his face from view.

“Robs and I share the bed all the time. Dustin, too, but, uh, don’t tell him I told you. When things are hard for everyone, like around the anniversary of when this shit last happened, a lot more sleepovers happen. Lots of times, it’s just the Party and they’re at the Wheeler’s but, y’know, sometimes it’s sleeping bags spread throughout the rec room,” Steve shuffles closer again. “So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, no one would have questioned it. In fact, if Dustin had found you, he’d probably join your nap.”

“Right,” Eddie mumbles, in a tone that lets Steve know Eddie doesn’t believe that at all. That’s fine. Steve was mostly lying about Dustin joining him. Dustin seems too wound up to be willing to take a nap anyway.

“So, if we aren’t regrouping, what made you come looking for me?” Eddie asks.

“I just wanted to see you,” Steve answers, not thinking much about the answer and just speaking. “Check in. Make sure you didn’t die of boredom while waiting for us.”

Eddie lets out a grunt and then flops himself backwards so he’s laying again. Steve can see his eyes are closed. This is a position that makes Steve want to climb on top of Eddie. He doesn’t do that, because he’s not really sure where he and Eddie stand with ‘random displays of affection’. He thinks it’s a discussion that can be saved for later, though. Maybe once Eddie’s not a murder suspect and the Upside Down thing has been taken care of.

“Not dead yet. I thought about snooping around, finding something to do, but I don’t wanna get you in trouble with your parents. So I didn’t touch anything,” Eddie says.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks. But, um, you don’t have to worry about that. Them. My parents, I mean.”

“Okay?”

“They, uh, they don’t live here anymore. So. Feel free to roam the house without worrying about getting me in trouble.”

“Oh,” Eddie shimmies up onto his elbows, looking at Steve again. “You’re not what I expected you to be.”

Steve blinks, unsure of what to say. “Is that… a good thing?”

“Maybe.” Eddie drags himself back to sitting and then hops off the bed. “Hey, you didn’t happen to get some food, did you?”

“Shit, no,” Steve curses. “It wasn’t even on my mind. We learned there was a connection. Between Chrissy and Fred. And, uh, Max, too.”

“Oh shit. Is Max- how’s Max taking that? Is she… cursed?”

Steve nods. “Yeah. We’re pretty sure she is.”

“Well fuck.”

Steve thinks that’s a pretty good summary. “Do you wanna come wait downstairs with us?”

“Sure,” Eddie nods, stepping towards the door.

Without thought, Steve’s hand reaches out and he grabs Eddie’s hand. Eddie turns immediately, brows scrunched in question.

“I- How are you doing? Really?” Steve asks softly, thumb rubbing softly against the back of Eddie’s hand.

Eddie turns halfway back towards him, looking from their hands to Steve’s face and back again. “I don’t know, man. There’s a lot happening that I never would have guessed could ever happen. Not really sure how to feel about all that.”

“Right,” Steve swallows down the urge to step closer and kiss Eddie’s brow. He’s a hopeless romantic, he knows, and he wants comfort Eddie, but now is not the time. Eddie’s right. There is a lot going on, and Steve’s probably not helped that with how last night went. It hadn’t seemed like a bad idea at the time, he hadn’t felt bad about it, but knowing what they know now.

Still, he gives Eddie’s hand a squeeze he hopes is reassuring, offering a soft smile.

And by some miracle, Eddie returns the smile before pulling his hand free and leaving the guest room.

It’s another hour before Robin radios to let them know Nancy’s a genius, which Steve already knew, and they would be back at Steve’s soon. Steve takes the walkie from Dustin to ask if they have enough cash to bring home some McDonalds cheeseburgers, a promise to pay them back.

Sadly they do not, but Robin suggests he order pizza.

It’s not a bad idea, so Steve decides to do that. He asks Max her favorite pizza toppings are, which gets whining from Lucas and Dustin.

“Why does she get to pick?” Dustin grumbles.

“Because she’s going through some shit and should get to eat a pizza she likes,” Steve says.

Dustin has no real argument to that, so he pouts on the couch as Steve learns that Max just wants a pepperoni pizza, which is what Dustin wanted anyway.

Eddie is sitting at the table in the sunroom, having told the kids he was going to work on making the final fight of their campaign even more epic since he has an extra week to prepare and that they needed to stay away if they didn’t want dire consequences.

Steve’s not afraid of those consequences, since they’re most likely in the game and won’t effect him at all, he ducks into the sunroom.

He finds Eddie sitting in a chair facing the large sliding glass door. He’s got one leg bent with the foot planted on the seat, hugging his own leg.

“What’s your favorite pizza from Pizza Hut?” Steve asks.

“The spaghetti, actually. Brain’s Pizza-Palooza has better pizza,” Eddie answers automatically before turning to look at Steve. “Why?”

“I was planning on getting Pizza Hut. Since I still need to go grocery shopping.”

“Oh. Well, can’t really get pizza wrong. Order whatever and I’ll just pick off the toppings I don’t like.”

“Helpful,” Steve says, using a tone to suggest that Eddie wasn’t helpful at all. Eddie seems to pick up on that if the cheeky grin he gives Steve is anything to go off. “Alright. The kids want pepperoni, which is the most boring pizza, so I’ll get a Supreme, too. That good?”

“A plain cheese pizza is the most boring, but yeah. Sounds good.”

Steve rolls his eyes before returning to the living room to order the pizzas. He wants to order the spaghetti for Eddie, but they had that for dinner last night so he doesn’t. He does store the information away for later.

Nancy and Robin beat the pizza to the house, and they’re about five minutes into telling all they learned when the pizza shows up. They pause to grab slices and migrate from the living room to the dining table before Nancy picks up where she left off.

The lead Nancy had, they learn, had come from Eddie’s uncle. Nancy had interrupted herself to turn to Eddie and tell him that Wayne knows he’s innocent, knows that Eddie would never be capable of this kind of crime.

Eddie gives her a nod in thanks before he sinks into his chair, oddly still for the rest of their discussion.

“So what is the plan now?” Lucas asks.

“I have a few idea,” Nancy says, “but I’ll need some more time to figure out a real plan. We can regroup in the morning I think. Let me think about it over the night.”

“Why do we need to regroup!?” Dustin complains. “We’re already gathered. We can all sleep here.”

“I’m not. So, if anyone needs a ride home, you can come with me,” Nancy says, leaving no room for argument.

In the end, Nancy takes all the kids and Robin home. Robin doesn’t want to go, but with two kids murdered, her parents would be out all night searching the entire town on foot for her to drag her home. They wouldn’t have to look long because the first place they would come is here, but there’s a chance of them seeing Eddie and with Robin not knowing if her parents think he did it or not… Well, it’s not something she wants to risk. So, home it is.

[saturnsbabyboii]

💚Astro Observations my friend and I came up with while high💚 (Also Cause it’s 420)

💚I find that Moon signs don’t necessarily fit into their “descriptions” because it’s not who they are per se but rather what they desire when they’re feeling vulnerable and emotional. 

💚 For example, Capricorn Moons aren’t cold, distant and always practical, however, they do desire a more action based kind of support. Rumination and “talking about it” won’t cut it if they don’t have an action plan or something solid (or someone that they considered to be as such) to guide them. 

💚 Another example, Leo Moons aren’t attention seeking but rather they desire to feel seen and heard. They want someone that can understand what they have a hard time expressing, something very troubling for a Leo. They also find themselves able to be more open with people that are authentic about how they feel and their expression, be it verbal or artistic. 

💚 Despite people calling them flighty, Air placements are usually logical and based in reality. They may exaggerate or get too excited but they never pull shit out of vapor or believe it “just because”. Debating them is not for the weak. Not because they’re strongheaded (not always) but because they know what they’re talking about.

💚Earth placements are great liars, cause no one ever suspects them. A good liar is never known as such, hell they make a good living out of it. (Not calling people snakes or fake just that they don’t do something half assed, including the art of deception)

💚 Why couldn’t Cancers be called Lunarians or Lunars? No offense but who in the f thought it was a good idea to call the crab constellation Cancer? The amount of embarrassing cross over that happen means that we require to take action.

❣️Side bar but shout out to everyone that is going through or went through any form of cancer, whether it was you or a loved or anyone that you know. We love and support you, and your resilience is an inspiration and a testament to what’s important in life.❣️ ⠀

💚 The obsession that Aquarius placements have with cyberpunk/cyber core/Dystopian/Apocalyptia/Futuristic aesthetic is wild. They can’t wait until the world end so they can rock that fashion on the dumpster runway.

💚 I honestly associate cats with Virgos not Leos.

💚What’s with Mars in Fire signs/Fire houses (1st/5th/9th) and throwing things. It doesn’t matter if they’re excited, happy, angry or sad they just go ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ) then (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻

💚 Although Scorpios go hard to defend themselves, Taurus would cut a bitch for their love ones. They don’t give a damn what you say about them but you’ll be getting more than what you bargained for when they start swinging out of nowhere after you bring up anyone they love. Especially when it comes to their animals and babies. 

💚 Out of all the Venus signs, I never heard someone talk about liking a Libra Venus. 

💚 Air Mars natives waiting for you to finish talking before they slaughter your ass is amazing to me

💚 Water signs are true foodies. Foodier than Earth signs even. Water in the 6th house especially can eat a whole cow, or tree if you’re vegan.   

💚 The power of the eyebrow raise that Fire Mercuries make when they know that you got the right one. 

💚 Because time is subjective I believe the 12th house can give us insight on our relationship with it. As a finite part of life, in the house final endings the sign over the house (and the placements as well) can help navigate it. 

💚 For example, Virgo in the 12th may catastrophize and worry about things that are out of their control, such as time, and spend so much of their energy trying to do so. Their growth and ascension into a higher state of mind comes in finding power in learning to separate what we can control and what we can’t, and letting life go as intended without much intervention.

💚 For me, the whole point of learning about astrology is to break your own cycle and to grow out of your birth chart rather than conform to it.

💚Libra placements get so tenacious with age. As they get older, they realize that being in the better graces of others is futile work.

That’s all. I think I might’ve had more but I can’t remember everything we talked about 😅. 

Byeee!

[allycat75]

Screaming into a void time (another long one, sorry)...

Ok, I have tolerated these shenanigans with the Boston bonehead and his merry band of clout chasers and liars, watching his soul decay while everyone (including me) debated whether he was married or not, how many ceremonies they had, how they traveled and where they lived (and was it even their ugly-ass house in MA or NY) but I have to lay down some cold hard truths for our anxiety riddled pothead.

Your decisions, forced or not, have led you to this horrid point. Your only choices may have been between a turd sandwich and a giant douche (thanks, South Park) but you made that choice. And something tells me you didn't just come to this point out of nowhere. There were probably a string of missed lessons along the way that painted you into such a corner.

I know you may be fragile right now but you need to hear this as I suspect you are not hearing it from your loser friends or listening to the ones who do have your best interest at heart.

You are teetering on the ragged edge, my friend. I just saw the first trailer for Pain Hustlers and I can see why they released it only a week and a half before it is in the theaters- because Netflix wants to bury it. Another in a long line of duds your team should have been adept at steering you clear from. You better hope the strike last long enough to where Red One has to be postponed until next year, otherwise you will pull off the hat trick of working your ass off on three movies that have showcased how little anyone cares (you or the audience). I could be wrong about Red One, but this was filmed during your fugue state where the real Chris disappeared and was replaced with a stoned automaton who had no problem selling out everything he believed in. Not conducive to the best creative energy.

Well, buddy, it is time to wake up. You are aware of what is going on in the world, right? You used to have a website that cared about this stuff. Too bad you couldn't use this time off from the strike to pour into that instead of pretending to get married to a woman you refuse to touch or even sit near, breadcrumming two weddings by leveraging the poor boundaries you have established with your family and friends and giving the worst interview to GQ, making you look like a tone deaf, moronic, pretentious asshole.

You need to separate yourself from these racist, anti-semites NOW. While some outside the fandom are starting to notice, it will catch on like a house on fire if you aren't careful. Remember how easy it was for the fandom to find out all this shit about them last year? And now look at what is going on outside. Hamas is a terrorist organization who wants nothing more than to have Jews exterminated from the planet. And here in the US, we have someone vying to be Speaker of the House (second in line for the Presidency) who describes himself as "David Duke without the baggage"; you remember David Duke, right? You used to stand up to him before you were made to look like a fucking joke).

There is no such thing as a little bit racist, or a little bit antisemetic, and for all intents and purposes, you married one, with all her "baggage". Certificate or no certificate; pictures or no pictures. This isn't one of those things that you can claim plausible deniability. You are in it. And if you think your privlege can save you, maybe it can, but I doubt it. It may not have happened yet, but the Sword of Damocles is hanging just above your head.

It comes down to the difference between intent and impact. No one really believes this has been your intent, but that matters little to those impacted by your actions. I know you have "cyclical unhappiness" when you think about the small stuff too much, but too bad. There is no way to take yourself out of the equation. You are not a used car lot balloon, who frantically moves every which way until the air is let out and deflates into nothing. You are a grown human being and like all of us, have a responsibility to understand your place in the universe. Otherwise, you are just stepping over bodies with such carelessness- the teacher in Portugal who only thought she was supporting a charity, your friends trying to promote one of your crappy movies, only to have it derailed by your drama backstage, fans getting harassed and even receiving death threats for speaking the truth we see with our own eyes. You may not be doing these things with your own hands, but that does not absolve your responsibility.

As I said before, this is your time to wake up. Coming clean with pure heart and honesty is the only solution at this point. If you wait too long or dig your heals in, like we have seen before, it will be too late. Do you think Jinx will want to partner with an antisemite loving dog dad? What studio will hire you, even for your one movie a year? Based on your crappy decision making skills, I have a feeling any pottery you sell will be break even with the amount of pot you smoke. So invest wisely and I hope your accountants are more trustworthy than the rest of the people you have surrounded yourself with.

Now, I am actually a very kind person who for some reason is still rooting for you. I still think there is a good person buried deep in there. These are rare and may be why I can't give up just yet.

You have the con this weekend. I know you can't promote Captain America, but think back to what he stood for. You even referenced him and how you aimed to be more like him in that god forsaken GQ video. So do it, you dummy! You will feel much better when your soul is unburdened. Then follow the advise I and many others have given before:

Get a good therapist and do the work

Decide if you really want to act or not; if so, take some classes to shake the cobwebs off; If not, are you going to be ok giving up the perks?

Don't use weed as a crutch

Establish clear boundaries with family and friends

Remove relationships (personal and professional) that are no longer serving you or even doing you harm

Listen to what your head and the universe is telling you

Do not get into a relationship until you have an idea of who you are and at least get to the "like" stage

To quote Florence and the Machine (Wish That You Were Here):

And now I'm reaching out with every note I sing And I hope it gets to you on some pacific wind Wraps itself around you and whispers in your ear Tells you that I miss you and I wish that you were here

[malwaredykes]

ok. finished honest hearts. most of my inventory is plants and mushroom and Soups And Potions And Elixirs made from said plants and mushrooms. which is excellent.

the salt-upon-wounds confrontation was Tchruly garbo like. first of all they lit up ole josh before anyone even had the chance to say anything LOL that wasnt like Bad necessarily just rly funny. like yeah we can negotiate before anything breaks out *the camera pans to Jotchua Grams lifeless body on the pavement* but um second of all what the hell was that dialogue. "grrrr im gonna kill you" "[speech 75] no thats stupid. dont" "umm okei :) but i'll be back >:(" *runs away* Like. man. listen. throughout the entire dlc i Did Not want to be fighting all those white legs lol. i didnt know those people. you know i generally hate the Hostile By Default Irredeemable Canon Fodder Raiders crap and in this case its just especially egregious to me, with them being a Tribe and with me being some random ass normie strolling into the area getting instructed by the local white saviors. like, okay, since i Was getting involved, then if anyone deserved to Feel The Judgment Of Mine fall upon them it was in fact salt-upon-wounds with his track record of being a horrible fucking person. so i had to fight my way through all those white legs only for the Problem Guy to be like "Hm Okay. Deal. You Leave Forever And I Get To Live. Sounds Good. Sucker" like. fuck no. youre dead. this is for waking clouds husband how DARE you make my bald queen SAD

which btw i did encourage cloud to get mad at daniel for hiding that from her. like yeah girl dont take this shit from him. youre allowed to feel angry. who does he think he is. making decisions for the sorrows like youre all children. be mad at him. chase him out. tell him to never show his stinky mug around these parts. If You Want. ahh but then the ending slides said she forgave him.... well i suppose i have to respect her choice... but... cloud honey if you ever wanna team up and chase daniels stinky mug far away just give me a call

i also encouraged follows-chalk to go out there and experience the world outside... i really hated how he felt obligated to ask joshua permission, and how joshua was like Well 🥺 I wont tell him what to do but 🥺 Is it wise... I just worry about my foolish little lamb 🥺... like. Shut Uuuupppp.... chalk is an adult. i think. either way what do You know. jotchua. last time you ventured into The Civilized Lands (lol) you were a fucked up genocide army general so forgive me for thinking you might not have the most objective and up to date outlook here. Anyway. chalk come hang out sometime. come to the lucky 38. youll meet my epic swag friends and family. LOL bit of an aside but (mostly so i dont become insane because of the dlcs writing) i like to imagine that most of the time chalk expresses incredulity about some Civilized World Concept like gambling (-_-) or big dams or big weapons, hes literally fucking with you. like hes joking around. he used to mess with daniel and jotchua like that and now hes doing it with you. like Wow... How Strange... You Say It Is Called A... "Window".... 😂😂😂...

loving how the ending slides barely mentioned joshua also. like wtf happened to him. who knows. damn maybe he did die and i didnt even notice. im sorry jotchua. may your soul quickly find its way to NOWHERE lol #owned

final verdict: waking-cloud and follows-chalk are great, joshua graham is an extremely funny character, daniel is nothing to me, the area is cool, the plot is dumb as hell, the whole thing is racist, the quests are boring. 3/10

[gingersforeverbox]

Hi, no one asked for this, but have some Nathan Bateman x Reader headcanons/ drabble ideas

A/n: Howdy, I know it's been a hot minute since I posted something of my own, but I've been a simp for this stupid-genius bastard for a while now, and here is just a dump of the thoughts that are bouncing around in my head about Bitchman himself :)

Fem!Reader x Nathan Bateman btw

Content warnings: Nathan for obvious canonical reasons, the good kush🍃, swearing (probably), suggestive material that is +18 (If I find a minor on my lawn I swear to all that's good that I will tell your parents/guardians that you're being inconsiderate of boundaries Ya lil gremlins), that's all I can think of for now, but let me know if I missed anything! <3

Pretty little homemaker Reader? Yeah. Pretty little homemaker Reader who got to happily retire once they married Nathan and be a domestic, feminine person without care? Even better!

Pregnant Reader where we learn about what it’s like to be expecting with him (spoiler: he is a pain in the ass up until you have to snap at him to be considerate to the person who will give him his child, then he surprisingly gets his head out of his ass to try and be better for you and y'all's child).

Reader and Nate have to go to a gala or some shit for the first time as an official couple then there’s a bunch of questions from the press and coworkers about y'all being together, and he is basically like "Honey, I own the planet, whatever you don't want public won't be public. it's that simple, now let me show you this ice sculpture that looks like a dick if you look at it right >:)"

Stoned Nathan and Reader. She does it for fun, he insists that he’s gonna be chill, but he is such a fuckin nerd that he babbles about how scientifically interesting weed is while Reader is just like “M’kay babe, keep talkin’, you’re cute like this iloveyou” and Nathan kinda just buffers for a minute before then is high as a kite when he realizes "oh fuck this woman makes me feel things and I'm too high to try and hide it iloveyoutoo"

Nathan getting genuinely confused when Reader treats Kyoko with basic dignity despite her being an AI, and Reader basically being horrified with how he treats her and actively goes out of her way to be nice to Kyoko. Does Nathan learn to be nicer to his AI? Does he still treat them like shit and it bites him in the ass? YOU DECIDE!

Bossy!Reader who is one of BlueBook's communications experts, and he can't wrap his head around the idea of Reader, the same lady who doesn't hesitate to call one of his ideas bad-shit crazy, being the same lady who easily schmooses his business partners for him until he sees her in action at a conference they both have to attend. Nathan then realizing that he likes his organic women to be a lil fiesty.

*forewarning that this one is a little self-indulgent:* Nathan and a Psychologist reader? I would pay Money to watch those two bicker about everything. like come on, Nathan's fuckin' nuts and Reader deals with emotionally/ mentally troubled people for a living. Just imagine BlueBook deciding to assign him a psychologist since he lives in the middle of nowhere all the time, and Reader taking one look at him and being like "Oh, he's not just a narcissistic rich man, he's a narcissistic rich man with a literal god complex.... interesting :)))" then proceeding to actually help him regardless. Bbgorl wouldn't know what hit him.

That's all for now folks, as you were 😊

....psst, hey, if anyone is interested in reading something with any of these ideas I would happily see what I can do to make a lil somethin'-somethin'. Also, if you wanna take a stab at writing any of these, all I ask is that you tag me so I can get some credit and so I can see y'all's awesome work <3

[mgmm-shifts]

DR: fun fact 11/11

I've decided I'm going to post a fun fact or something about my DR everyday. Not that I think anyone is gonna care but 🤷🏻‍♀️

If anyone does actually read this than thank you 🥹

My DR is modern and like not really a fame DR but we are famous public figures? Idk how to describe it but the military is a huge deal and has a giant following and since it's peacetime things are just calm. We are kinda grouped in as celebrities but there isn't fame toxicity like there is here in my CR, like paparazzi don't exist and people respect boundaries and treat famous people like human beings. But because we are such well known public figures, all the other celebrities (the same as who we have here in CR) know us and we all attend events and whatever celebrities do idk. Anyways... We all have tik tok accounts and insta and whatever and a gigantic fanbase. Like people make ships of us and normal fandom shit and edits and we have collabs. For example we have the Sanrio collab and plushies of us and Gudetama but thats a story for another post. But anyways, me and Connie have a series we make called: "MEL reacts" but it's not me (he just thought the name was funny because it would confuse ppl) it's Miche, Erwin, and Levi. We make them react to random shit or we just do random shit to them and it's the funniest thing ever. We take turns recording/doing it and one time it was Connie's turn and I dared him to tell all of them "I love you" out of nowhere at some point throughout the day. ~Miche: "...boy if you don't get your bald ass outta here with that shit-" ~Erwin: "That's nice. Most people do. 😄" ~Levi: "..........." he just stared at him and didn't blink for 10 seconds before he flinched at Connie and Connie sprinted away. Or it became a regular thing where I go live whenever I'm with any of them after our workouts and we just eat and do whatever. Usually with Miche it's in his truck after we get lunch post workout. ~Miche: "What's up fuckers, I'm back. This little demon dragged me on another live." With Erwin it's earlier in the morning so probably breakfast and it's outside HQ on one of the benches most of the time. His reactions are like Paul Wesley answering questions on insta if anyone has seen that 😭. ~Erwin *reading a comment on the live*: " 'Hello Smithussy...' Smithussy? That sounds inappropriate. *reads another with a straight face* 'Commander Daddy.' I think that's my contact name in Miche's phone." With Levi our schedule is random but it's usually in the officer lounge if we are eating an actual meal, otherwise it's in one of our offices. We just do random activities and he acts like that chimp in the zoo on tik tok that people bring slime too and he's all like ☝🏻👇🏻👉🏻👉🏻 if we are doing something or scrolling through tik tok or ASMR. Or he's like Nicki Minaj where she just reads the most insane and innapropriate comments for no reason. Sometimes we also rate things like snacks or whatever. ~Levi *we did a one minute drawing challenge and we were showing our drawings and he reads a comment*: " 'It looks like shit.' Fuck you, you look like shit. 'Levi marry me!!!' No 😐. 'Kiss you won't' I'm literally eating can we not."

Anyways this was more because I wanted to yap about my DR than anything else but I'll be back tmrw with another detail no one asked for 🧎🏻‍♀️.

It's 11/11 GO SHIFT YALL I LOVE YOU <3

[bi-bard]

Taylor Swift Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Joel Miller - Joel Miller Imagine [HBO's The Last of Us]

Title: Taylor Swift Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Joel Miller

Pairing: Joel Miller X Reader

Word Count: 2,441 words

Warning(s): fear of commitment, argument, mention of fight

Author's Note: I'm think there's a pattern of me using "cowboy like me" for stories involving Pedro Pascal characters.

Also, just a quick reminder that I write for a gender-neutral reader, so no matter the plot line, anyone can enjoy this.

**Not intentionally written in chronological order**

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

Daylight

I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you I've been sleeping so long in a twenty-year dark night And now I see daylight, I only see daylight

It had all been a bit of a blur.

One moment, I was walking with Joel. We were talking about the jobs we had been assigned. Relaxed and calm and as close to normal as we could get in the current world.

The next moment, my memories get lost in a huge jumble of yelling and fighting and fear. It was all such a mess. A terrifying mess.

My next clear moment was dragging Joel down the road with me. I didn't stop moving until we had gotten inside and the door was locked.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled as Joel sat at my dining table.

It had been my fault. At least, partially.

It was all a long and very messy story.

Joel knew the whole thing. I think that's why he was so fast to entertain the whole fight.

Not that I ever wanted him involved. In all honesty, my life would have been so much easier without ever thinking about any of my life before the outbreak... as backwards as that sounds.

"Not your fault," he muttered, looking down at his knuckles.

"Except it is," I moved to sit in the chair next to him. "This wouldn't have happened if you never met me or if I just kept my fucking mouth shut. Now, you're hurt and fuck knows what we're gonna have to deal with now. Shit, I should've been smarter about this-"

"Stop it," he cut me off. "You did nothing wrong. Your ex having his head stuck up his ass is nowhere near your fault."

I let out a sigh as my eyes closed. I shook my head before pushing myself up. I grabbed my little first-aid kit and made my way back to the table.

I grabbed his hand.

"Why'd you do that," I asked. "Nothing good can come from shit like that."

"I doubt he would've let me walk away without getting a few blows in."

I did my best to clean the small cuts along his hand.

He didn't speak up again until I was wrapping the bandage around his hand.

"Y'know...," he started and trailed off. I looked back at him. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"Tell me," I pushed.

Maybe some part of me knew what he was going to say. Maybe I was desperate to hear it out loud. I would like to think that this is why I pushed him to say it out loud.

He let out a small sigh as he seemingly weighed the consequences of his actions.

"There's something else," I continued as I placed his bandaged hand on the table. "You just told me. Why did you do it?"

"Because I love you," he admitted.

I had to bite my lip to keep my smile from getting obnoxiously big.

We had been together for a while now. We had gotten through many days in the hell that was the modern world today. But in all that time, those words hadn't found a place in our lives.

I felt like a teenager again for a few moments.

"Did you get stuck like that-"

I reached forward and smacked his arm in response. He grinned at me.

"I love you too," I said after a pause.

He looked down at the table to hide his smile.

I reached over and placed my hand on his.

For just a moment, it felt like real peace was more than just a far-off dream.

The Way I Loved You

Breaking down and coming undone It's a roller coaster kind of rush And I never knew I could feel that much And that's the way I loved you

It was all such a mess of a situation.

I had never planned on interacting with Joel again after we had separated. I knew that it would've been unrealistic to try to never see him again, but I could always turn the other way and leave.

Now, I was being forced into a situation where the only person I could interact with was Joel.

It was like the universe was attempting to play some stupid practical joke on me and I was failing to see the punchline.

I followed Joel and Ellie back to Joel's place. The only thing we could do at the time was wait for the time to pass.

I dropped my bag on the floor next to the couch before plopping on the seat that pretty much used to be designated as mine. I tried to keep an eye on Ellie without making it seem like I was staring. She went to sit by the window while Joel sat right next to me.

"Kid," I spoke up. She looked at me. "You should get some rest now. You aren't gonna get much of it later."

"Where," she asked.

I pointed behind me. "Mattress in the back."

"She's not sleeping on my bed," Joel interjected.

"I don't wanna sleep on his bed," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "He probably stinks."

I rolled my eyes before grabbing the spare blanket and throwing it to her. "To prevent the spread of germs... and protect against the smell. Now go."

She walked into the back without another word.

I sighed and relaxed into the couch.

"You should take your own advice," Joel muttered after a minute or two. I shook my head. "I'm serious, (Y/n)."

"I am just fine," I looked at him. "Never needed much sleep to function anyway."

He ran his hand over his face. "Always so damn stubborn."

"Can we not start this," I asked. "We've got enough to worry about without biting each other's heads off."

He sighed and looked away.

"You used to appreciate my stubbornness, anyway," I added.

I heard him chuckle. I felt a small grin pulling at the corner of my lips.

"You think we can do this?"

"Don't know," he shrugged. "I doubt we have much of a choice. Just gotta be ready to go."

I nodded. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"Scared? No. Annoyed."

"It's okay if you are," I said. "That's not a bad thing. It's just human."

He looked over at me. "Don't assume that you know how my mind works."

"For fuck's sake," I mumbled. It was my turn to run my hand over my face. "I just asked if we could avoid doing this. I was trying to comfort you. Be helpful. You have no reason to snap at me like that."

"No reason?"

"Yeah, no reason."

"What about you leaving?"

My jaw clenched. "You told me to go."

"You made no attempt to stay."

"I made an attempt every fucking day," I snapped before quickly lowering my voice, glancing back to make sure Ellie wasn't shifting around. "I fucking loved you, Joel. I fought to hold onto you with everything I had. You got scared and threw me out. After everything you promised me, after everything we did."

He didn't reply as I deflated into the couch cushion.

"Don't try to claim that I didn't try to hold on. I still feel like I'm clinging onto any part of you that I can find."

I looked out the window to the sun. I wanted to focus on anything else.

I missed him. God knows that I had missed Joel. Every day. Waking up without him was awful. Having to turn around and walk away because it was all I could do to keep myself from crumbling was hell. I just wanted what we had back.

"(Y/n)," he muttered.

I closed my eyes for a moment, not turning my head.

I felt the couch shift as he moved.

His hand touched my leg. "Please, look at me."

I turned my head back to him.

There was a pause.

One where we were sitting in silence, watching each other's reactions.

Joel seemed to hesitate for a moment before he leaned forward.

I froze for a moment as he kissed me. It was such a soft moment, yet it completely overwhelmed me. I had missed him so much that it hurt. That wasn't new. I had known about that pain for a long time now.

But what I didn't know was the way that the pain could be numbed. It was like a warmth spread through my chest, pushing away any pain, even if it was just for a little while.

I slowly kissed him back, feeling muscle memory take over as my hands reached out to touch his sides. Too long. It had been far too long since I experienced something as monumental as this moment.

I leaned back slowly, only moving far enough away to speak, "I love you."

He paused for a moment. I watched his eyes scan every part of my face. I couldn't tell if he was trying to see if I was lying or if he was trying to confirm that I wasn't some illusion his mind had created.

"I love you too," he muttered after a bit. I smiled at him.

His forehead rested against mine. We just sat there for a little while.

Through all of the chaos and the bullshit, I knew that I would always want him.

I just needed to keep a hold of him.

cowboy like me

And the skeletons in both our closets Plotted hard to fuck this up And the old men that I've swindled Really did believe I was the one And the ladies lunching have their stories about When you passed through town But that was all before I locked it down

Neither one of us planned to have that conversation that night.

It was late. Really late.

It was one of the first times that I had stayed with him for the night.

It was nice. Being around him usually was. But no matter how nice it was, I could not get myself to fall asleep.

It wasn't a new thing for me to not feel comfortable falling asleep. I didn't expect lying next to Joel to change that.

I let out a sigh as I rolled over.

My head ended up on Joel's chest as I let one of my arms fall over his torso. I didn't even realize that I had brushed a scar until he flinched. I pulled my hand away, moving my head so I could look at him.

"You okay," I asked.

"Yeah," he muttered.

"Did I hit a fresh wound or something?"

"No," he shook his head. "You just have cold hands."

"Never bothered you before."

He chuckled.

I sat up and looked at him. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

He sighed. "(Y/n)..."

"I'm just worried about you."

He didn't respond.

He made no effort to stop me as I reached forward and moved the blanket off of him. I furrowed my eyebrows at him as I tried to figure out what I had bothered.

It took me a second, but I eventually moved my hand to lightly touch a scar on his side. He tensed.

"Sorry," I muttered. I pulled my hand away. "What... What's it from?"

I felt like I was watching the scales tip in his mind. Pros and cons changing the balance.

"I'll... I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours," I offered.

He reached out and touched my leg. I placed my hand on his.

"Deal?"

He nodded. "Deal."

I grinned and shifted to get comfortable.

That's when I first found out about Sarah. He told me everything about the day of the outbreak. The panic and the crash and the soldier. I held his hand through all of it. I felt a need to commit every sentence he spoke to memory. I needed to know this all because that was the only way I would be able to properly help him.

"Your turn," he muttered after a moment of silence.

I blinked at him a few times before slowly nodding. "Right."

I took a deep breath. I felt him tapping his fingers against my hand.

"You... are not gonna like this sentence," I started. His eyebrows furrowed. "Technically... I am... married."

"What-"

"Let me get through the story first," I stopped him. "It was a while ago now. I... I was convinced that we were in love. The day that the outbreak happened, we had been inside all day. Our neighbor had broken in... he was infected. I just remember the angry look on his face. It made me sick.

"My husband and I took off. We drove for a while. I can barely remember where we were even trying to get to. I just remember ditching the car in the traffic and taking off on foot.

"We... We got cornered by one of the infected. There was this hole in the ceiling of this building. He climbed up first and I couldn't get up there and instead of helping me up... he thanked me for saving him and took off."

There was a pause between us.

"He sounds like an ass," Joel commented. I chuckled. "How did you get out?"

"I found this old bat. A solid one. I had never fought anything, really. I yelled when I hit the thing over the head. Screamed. I kept thinking about how that person had a family and friends and how many of them could be dead. After that, I hid away until I could safely get to a QZ."

Joel nodded. "Did you ever find out what happened to your husband?"

I shook my head. "And I don't want to. I hate to wish death on someone, but... he kinda did that to me... to my face, so... I hope he got his ass kicked."

"So, you're only married..."

"Because the government's been a little too busy to figure out divorce court right now," I shrugged. "And I have no desire to track the bastard down again."

"Good," he mumbled.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"If you stuck with that guy, then we would've never happened," he explained.

"I see."

Joel pushed himself to sit up.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you any of this before," I said.

"Can't say that I'm too upset," he replied.

He slowly leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. I slowly kissed him back, grinning against his lips.

Maybe, just maybe, there was something that I could let myself hold onto in this shitty world.

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

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[every-dayiwakeup]

Autopilot

For @billyhargrovebingo CW: Character gets drugged. Word count: 702

Fighting with Billy Hargrove in the Byers’ house is not how Steve imagined his night playing out. Of course, he’d once pictured a white picket fence life with Nancy, and that blew up in his face. Fuck, his face fucking hurts. All of him aches. In all honesty, calling this a fight is generous. Steve knows how to take a punch, but to be fair, Billy’s fists are a great deal meatier than Jonathan Byers’. They just keep coming. Steve’s eyes haven’t swollen shut yet. He has nowhere to look but Billy’s face.

The first thing to come to mind is a rabid pit bull. Steve’s cheeks are damp from tears, and he knows they aren’t leaking out of his eyes. Which only means… Billy Hargrove, a boy, is crying as he pounds Steve’s face in. 

What the fuck is he crying for? Why does he look more in pain than I feel? 

Billy’s a good fighter. He has the bite to back up his bark. Shouldn’t he be sweating arrogance and pride? Remind Steve of how far he’s fallen? 

“Max, what are you doing? Stay away from them!” Lucas yells at the red-headed girl. 

She has a syringe in her hand, and she’s- oh shit, she’s actually going to drug Billy. 

Before Steve can think about what he’s doing, he flips Billy over on his back so the needle gets him instead. 

The effect of whatever he’s just been attacked with is instantaneous; his body stills as the world begins to spin. He doesn’t feel any pain. Or anything for that matter. Only his mouth seems to be working fine. “Fuck me… fuck… what the fuck.” 

He’s on top of Billy, who hasn’t pushed him off yet. The blond is stiff under him. His arms fall to his sides as if he too has been drugged. “Harrington? Harrington? Oh my god, is he dead?”

“Do you… ever… stop talking?” 

“If he were dead, he wouldn’t be telling you to shut up,” Max snaps, her hands resting on her knees. 

“Were you really gonna do that to me?” Billy hisses. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know what came over me.”

“You don’t think I was actually gonna kill anyone, did you? Jesus, Maxine-” 

“Heh… Blurry,” Steve slurs. 

“You’re… blurry. Blurry Hargrove.” 

“Eh?” 

“If I could… I wouldn’t… be using you… as a…  mattress. Although I… gotta… say… you’re pretty… pretty comfortable.”

“Can you stand, Harrington?”

“Billy, your face is red,” Max gleefully points out. 

“I think he’s blushing.” Lucas. 

“Why would he be blushing?” Mike? Or is that Dustin? 

“Shut up!” 

“Shut up… all… of you,” Steve groans. 

*****

They keep talking as he’s picked up with a grunt and positioned in the front passenger seat. 

“All your weight training has clearly prepared you for this moment.” 

Billy yelps for some reason. 

“You little shit-”

Steve shushes them and attempts to move his right hand. It jerks a little upward, hitting something soft. 

What did I touch?

“I didn’t take you for an ass man.” 

Oh no. 

Billy chuckles awkwardly. “Your folks’ll be in for a shock when we drop you at home. Since you didn’t wanna go to the hospital.” 

When’d I say that? 

“Since you’re carrying him, does that mean I get to-” 

“Maxine, the day you’re gonna drive my car is the day hell freezes over and it starts raining shit.” 

How did I end up here? 

“Gross! And don’t call me Maxine. It’s Max.”

“Whatever, Maxine.”

“Do any of you fuckwads know where he lives?”

“

“Everyone knows.”

“I obviously don’t, Henderson, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.” 

“Steve and Billy, sitting in a tree.” 

“I will turn this car around and leave your asses in the middle of nowhere.” 

“I think your driving will kill us sooner than any Demogorgon.” 

“Mike!” 

“What do you mean “Mike”?” 

“The fuck is a Demogorgon? Also, fuck you, Wheeler, I happen to be a great driver.”

“You ran two red lights.”

“If the cops aren’t around, then red means green. Green means go. Everyone knows that.” 

“We’re gonna die in his stinky car.”

“He can hear you.” 

Sometime after the second horn honking, Steve passes the fuck out. 

[dandelionflowery]

Well, it all started when I was 12 years old and I signed up for the extra high school dance classes because of my best friend. the first day we were at the gym in the introduction class and I was making a fool of myself and I fell to the floor on my ass.

Then, out of nowhere, this BEAUTIFUL girl appeared and told me: “it looks like you have a rocket in your ass 🙄🤨” and stretched out my hand to help me get up.

And I fell in love HJAJAJAJAJAJA (very james coded and idc)

This girl was a friend of my bff and they knew each other in class (I didn’t go to the same class as my best friend) and I had already seen her before but we had never spoken and it was, literally, love at first sight.

We started to get closer together over the years, because she was from my group of friends (obviously) and we got along super well. On top of that, she was always very affectionate with me (she was not very affectionate with almost anyone, only with me and one or another friend) and she treated me so good and soft and-.

She made me gifts by hand, letters for my birthday, she made me a book point with a song that she knew I loved- it was OUR SONG.

She was literally perfect. And I had a crush with her during the first 4 years of high school until, on the end-of-year trip, I realized that I was in love with her. madly. strongly.

(The last story I uploaded to ao3? I’m literally James :D - based on true events)

And well nothing, the next two years of high school (the last ones) happened a lot of things that are basically summarized to: we drifted away a little (but she still kept giving me preferences above the others) BUT, with the revelation of another friend who realized that she was a lesbian, this girl (my “friend” who knew I had a crush with the girl) and she ended up screwing me up (by literally screwing my girl “crush”)

And well from there it totally broke my heart because on top of that “my friend” told me everything about it and, obviously, me being a fool and in love, I went into a loop of sadness and walked away from both.

To all this, the girl was going to my same university. so sometimes I found her on the bus or on the way and it was horrible because at first she talked to me but I couldn’t talk to her back without making me sad so in the end I stopped talking to her.

Long story short, we stopped having contact until one day I said “well that’s it, I have to get rid of the burden” so I texted to her and told her that I had had a crush with her (BUT I OMIT THAT I HAD PASSED THE WHOLE HIGHSCHOOL AND PART OF THE FIRST YEAR OF MY LAST DEGREE IN LOVE WITH HER. I JUST TOLD HER THAT IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR -when i was 12-).

She told me that she liked me too.

And we never spoke again. She lives in my neighbourhood but we never see each other.

Supossed it’s the destiny or whatever but yea, that’s the tea :)

12 years old and I signed up for the extra high school dance classes

You were in high school at age 12??

On top of that, she was always very affectionate with me (she was not very affectionate with almost anyone, only with me and one or another friend) and she treated me so good and soft and-. She made me gifts by hand, letters for my birthday, she made me a book point with a song that she knew I loved- it was OUR SONG. She was literally perfect.

AWWWWWWFHDSJKLBGH

(The last story I uploaded to ao3? I’m literally James :D - based on true events)

oh yeah wow not just a little (but now i have your ao3 mwahaha)

first 4 years of high school [...] the next two years of high school

HOW MANY YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL DO YOU HAVE OMG?? I have 3??

we drifted away a little (but she still kept giving me preferences above the others)

kinda sucks but it's nice she still liked you

BUT, with the revelation of another friend who realized that she was a lesbian, this girl (my “friend” who knew I had a crush with the girl) and she ended up screwing me up (by literally screwing my girl “crush”)

...ouch holy shit also i totally didn't forget people actually literally screw each other, i'm extremely asexual lol

I stopped talking to her.

:(

She told me that she liked me too.

AHWHAT

And we never spoke again. She lives in my neighbourhood but we never see each other.

:(:(:(

(... Ny literally lives down the street and we haven't talked in years either so i can't say anything about that but :( anyways lol)

ANYWAYS

I HOPE YOU CAN EITHER TALK TO HER (...i'm a sucker for friends to enemies to lovers ok) OR FIND SOMEONE ELSE WHO YOU'LL LIKE THAT MUCH or be happy alone but most people aren't aromantic

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Imagine: You're Eddie's best friend, and you develop a crush on his uncle, but Eddie thinks that you have a crush on him. (Don't worry, it's purely one-sided. I mean, we've all been there, right? Or is it just me who has a little crush on Wayne?)

You aren't sure how it happened or even why it happened. All of a sudden you started spending more time around him because of your friendship with Eddie. It was so wrong, you knew it, but you couldn't help yourself. You just hoped that Eddie wouldn't hate you. You had to tell him though, he had become your best friend since he joined the party after what happened over spring break and you couldn't keep the truth from him. He always seemed to know when you were lying anyways.

"What's with that face?" Eddie asked. "Was the song really that bad?"

"What? No, it was really good. Who was the song for?" You asked with a grin.

"Who says the song was for anyone?" Eddie asked with a blush.

"Your face for one," you replied.

They were hanging out in his room at the Munson house as Eddie had wanted to borrow your ear for a song he had written. He's had this house for months now but for some reason he still looked out of place and uncomfortable. Maybe it was because he was still getting used to the fact that he was no longer living in a trailer or maybe because it was given to him by the same people responsible for the Upside Down. You wondered if he searches the room for bugs every night before he goes to bed.

"How about we deal with the fact that there's something bothering you? Come on, Teddy!" Eddie exclaimed.

You rolled your eyes at the nickname. He thought it was cute to call you that since his name was Eddie. He had wanted your names to rhyme, but since your names were nowhere close to rhyming, he decided to give you a new one.

"That's not my name!" You said in a sing song voice.

"Don't avoid the question!" He exclaimed, copying your tone.

"Okay! Fine, I'll tell you!" You exclaimed as he put his guitar away and got comfortable on the bed, his legs swinging in the air. "You have to promise not to hate me, okay?"

"Dude, I would never hate you! Not for anything. If you're telling me you murdered somebody then just me where we are going to bury the body," Eddie replied and paused. "You didn't, did you? Because if you did, I am totally throwing you under the bus. I am not getting set up for that shit again."

"Eddie, I didn't fucking kill anyone. Jesus," you said and muttered under your breath. "I have feelings. . ."

"Oooh! You have a crush! Come on, tell Daddy everything!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Ew, never call yourself that again!" You exclaimed and sighed heavily. "I just don't know how this happened!"

"Relax, youngling, this happens to everyone. You are not the exception," Eddie said grinning.

"Stop loving this," you glared at him.

"In the history of our friendship, you have never mentioned being interested in anyone," he replied.

"It's just that I know nothing will ever happen with this person and it came so suddenly, so unexpectedly that I was afraid you wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore if you knew."

"Why wouldn't I want to be friends with you anymore?" He asked.

"Because it's someone you know very well," you replied, biting your lip.

"Oh. OH! Oh, no!"

"Yeah."

"Oh, sweetheart, I would never hate you or stop being friends with you for that. I am very flattered and also, very gay. Also, I'm dating Steve. Ugh, he's going to hate me for telling you without him," Eddie said. "Shit, this is awkward. I am sorry, did I lead you on? What did I do? Is it the daddy thing? It's the daddy thing."

"OH, would would you just stop?!" You exclaimed. "I know you're gay. I have since the night you got really drunk and wrote an entire song about Steve’s ass. I mean, I knew you had a crush on him but I didn't know you were dating him. Anyways, the crush isn't on you."

"Oh," he said, sounding a little disappointed and then he scowled. "Is it Steve? Because he's mine, you can't have him. I don't share my food and I don't share my boyfriends. Well, okay, I love you a lot. So, I guess for you I'll share him. You can have him one week out of the month but the rest of the time is mine, okay?"

"Oh, for the love of - it's not Steve either, Edward!" You yelled at him.

"Okay. . .who is it?" Eddie asked, confused now.

You screamed into his pillow and then sat up.

"Your uncle has very pretty eyes!" You blurted.

"My - my uncle?!" Eddie exclaimed, choking on his saliva and then he burst into laughter.

"This isn't funny, Eddie!" You groaned into your hands.

"It's a very funny! You want to be my aunt! You want to give me little blue eyed flannel wearing cousins!" Eddie exclaimed. "You want to share a last name with my uncle!"

"I am never telling you anything ever again," you sighed and rolled your eyes.

"Oh my God, imagine a little tiny trucker hat and a little tiny coffee mug. Of course, as the cousin of your fat little baby I would have to make its own tiny guitar. Maybe write baby's first guitar on the body," Eddie said with a gasp.

"I am NOT having a baby with your uncle," you said, blushing.

"You don't entirely hate the idea, though," Eddie said tilting his head at her and the pursed his lips. "I'm gonna tell him."

"Eddie Munson, you will NOT!" You yelled at him.

The sound of the front door opened, and heavy footsteps could be heard from the hallway. You slapped a hand over his mouth, your eyes wide, and Eddie then proceeded to lick your hand. You yelped and pulled your hand back, glaring. You heard voices coming from the kitchen, and they got closer to Eddie's closed bedroom door. . . There came a knock.

"Eddie, I found your boy wandering around outside, is Teddy also staying for dinner? The more the merrier," Wayne's voice floated from the door and Eddie grinned.

"UNCLE WAYNE! TEDDY WANTS TO HAVE YOUR BABIES!"

"GODDAMNIT, EDDIE, I HATE YOU."

THUMP.

"Good lord," Wayne sighed.

[wonderland-smile-stories]

~ Chapter 4 ~

I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes and how poorly written this fanfic is. English is not my first language and together with my dyslexia ass things can go wrong I'm sorry.

"Mi-na." 

I let out a deep breath before turning around. I was met with some teary and shocked eyes. I walked away from the door to take a better look at them. 

"Hey," I whisper giving them a small smile. 

Before I could say something else Ji-su had pulled me into her embrace. I was frozen for a second, but quickly wrapped my arms around her. 

"I thought you were gone for good!" I felt some tears fall down my neck when she spoke. 

I let out a deep breath rubbing her back. 

"You won't get rid of me that easily." 

She let out a chuckle before pulling away smiling. 

"Noona!" Ji-su moved to the side and Yeong-su and Su-yeong came hugging me tightly. 

"Hey, guys! You two were so brave out there!" I said wrapping my arms around them. 

They both were crying hanging onto me tightly. I don't know what they have been through when I was gone, but they all looked exhausted and pale. 

"You're such an idiot." I look up seeing Eun-yu looking at me with and angry look. 

There were tears in her eyes, but I also knew that she was angry. I pulled away from the kids before walking up to her. 

"Eun-" 

Before I could finish her hand collided with my cheek. 

"Eun-yu! What the hell!" I hear Ji-su yell walking over to us. 

I grabbed Ji-su's shoulder pulling her back. 

"It's okay," I reassured her with a smile. 

Turning back to Eun-yu I saw her breathing heavily with tears in her eyes. 

"Do you want to tell me something else? Now is your chance." 

Her whole body was shaking. 

"Why are you so stupid?! Every time you do things like that you can die! You almost did! Even now just a few minutes ago you again risked your life for someone else! Don't you care about others and how they will feel when you get hurt or die?! Why are you being so selfish?!" She pushed against my shoulders, but I had a firm hold on the ground. 

"Why would you do that huh?! Don't you know you are leaving people behind who care about you?! Do you want us to be alone?!"

 One after another she pushed me, but just like before I didn't make me move. 

"How can you do that?! How can you just leave me like that huh?!" Her screams had turned into sobs and soon she collapsed against me. 

"I'm sorry," I whisper wrapping my arms around her. 

"I have nobody. You and Eun-hyuk are the only ones I have left and you would have left me both." I nodded my head knowing now that Eun-hyuk had left them for sure.

Even Hyun-su wasn't here. 

With everything that had happened in the last few minutes, I hadn't noticed that they weren't there. 

"I'm sorry." 

She pulled away quickly whipping away the tears. 

"I'm truly sorry, but I had to do it. More people would have died if I hadn't stopped Hyun-su back then. I also know that Hyun-su could not have lived with himself if he would have hurt or killed everyone." I looked at everyone hoping they understood what I was saying. 

"I don't know how long I have been out, so please tell me everything that happened after I was gone." 

I couldn't believe what they were telling me. Everything when to shit after I was gone. The building crumbling down, Hyun-su gave himself over to the soldiers, and Eun-hyuk stayed behind to protect the others. I wish I was there to stop them or to help them. Now, we are all separate or dead. 

"Now, he's taking us to a shelter where it's safe," Ji-su explained pointing at the soldier who was driving the bus. 

I wanted to laugh at the word safe. 

Nowhere is ever going to be safe. Everyone can turn at any second and those soldiers will not hesitate to kill anyone. I know that if they gonna see me they will try to kill me or send me to be experimented on. They could even hurt anyone here on the bus if they found out they were hiding me. 

No, I can't risk that. 

 Besides, I want to find Hyun-su. 

If he got captured by those soldiers then he is in danger. 

"Stop the bus," I said standing up from my seat. 

"What! Mi-na?!" I hear Eun-yu yell behind me. 

"Stop the bus I need to get off." I stood next to the soldier making him look at me before looking back at the road. 

"I can't." He simply answers. 

I grabbed the knife from his pants pocket before holding it to his throat. 

"Stop now or I'll make you." 

"Mi-na! What are you doing?!" Ji-su said from behind me. 

"You don't want to hurt the people in here, so you won't hurt me." The soldier said still not stopping.

I push the knife closer to his skin drawing some blood. 

"That's why I need to get out. You're taking them to a shelter. You know what I am, so you know there is no place for me there. I won't risk them getting hurt for knowing me." The soldier looked at me for a second time before looking back at the road so that we wouldn't crash into something. 

"You can't take them to the shelter safely, but you have to let me out first. I trust you will protect them until you reach it." Without saying anything he stopped the bus after a few seconds thinking about what I said. 

I opened the door and walked off the bus. 

"Mi-na! Wait Mi-na!" Eun-yu grabbed my arm pulling me back. 

"You can't just leave again!" 

I gently pulled my arm out of her grip. 

"I can't go with you guys. The moment they know what I am they will take me and who knows what they will do to you guys for knowing I was a special infectie." Ji-su, the soldier, and some others had also left the bus. 

"They won't know! You can't just go again?! Where even would you go? It's not safe out here not even for you! Please come with us." I shook my head. 

"I can't. You all would be in danger. Just asked him what they do to people being suspected of being infected." I said nodding my head at the soldier. 

"It doesn't matter! You're stronger than any of them. You can easily take them." Eun-yu argued back not wanting me to go. 

"I doubt I can take them down if they shoot me with their guns. I can only take so much before I pass out. I won’t die from them, but I can't keep fighting when bullets keep raining into my body." I explained hoping she would understand. 

"I'm sorry, I wish I could stay with you guys, but it's better if you go to the shelter." I explain again putting my hand on her shoulder. 

But I’m talking to Eun-yu and she won’t go down without a fight. 

"We aren't safe there! Anyone can turn any second and even if we are not infected they will kill us!  I have seen it with my own eyes. If we show a little bit of signs of turning they will kill us. Some soldiers a mental!" 

I’m happy I’m not the only one who thinks that a shelter isn’t completely safe. 

"Not all." I said looking at the soldier before looking back at her. 

"You have each other. Stay together and you will be okay." Eun-yu let out a huff still not wanting to give up. 

"Besides, I want to find Hyun-su and your brother. If Hyun-su is with those soldiers…." I trail off not wanting to think about the things they will do to him. 

Everyone would be so desperate to find a cure that they wouldn’t care what would happen to those people. 

"How are you sure that my brother hasn't turned completely?" Eun-yu asked. 

"I don't, but I also know what it is to turn and to fight it. Eun-hyuk is strong enough to do so I know it. Also if I don't see him with my own eyes I don't believe he is fully turned." I try to reassure her that Eun-hyuk is strong. 

"How are you even going to find Hyun-su? I can only imagine that the place he's at is heavily guarded. Even for someone like you, it would be difficult." Ji-su spoke up walking closer. 

"I don't know, but my best bet is those red flyers that are lying around." I said with a sigh knowing that it would be hard to find him let alone getting in there. 

“Don’t you know anything?” Ji-su asked the soldier who looked like he knew something but was debating to tell me. 

I couldn’t blame him. His working for the military who’s guarding that place with their lives to find a cure for this thing. It would be a betrayal if he would tell me knowing I’m planning on breaking in and getting someone out. 

“I…I.” He started, but I quickly stopped him. 

“It’s okay. Your loyalty lies with the military. I get why you don’t want to tell me anything. You don’t owe us anything to even help us. So it’s okay.” 

Eun-yu was ready to argue with me, but I quickly stopped her. "I'll figure something out. Don't worry about me. For now, you all need to go to the shelter and be safe there." 

I could tell she wasn’t happy, but I understood the soldier and he seemed to be a good guy who wanted to take them to safety. Heck, he even risked his life back there when the monsters attacked us. 

A selfish person would have walked away from that, but he stood his ground and fought back. 

“I hear about a place, , but I don’t know where it is or what is happening there. It’s surrounded by water that much I know. I’m not high enough in the ranks to know that much, but there were rumors about that place. Your best bet is there if you want to find the person you’re looking for.” The soldier said suddenly surprising us all. 

It was really brave of him to tell me anything. If anyone would fine out he helped a monster he could be banished or worse killed.

“Thank you.” 

He nodded his head at me before giving me a warning. “You’re going to have a hard time getting in. Let alone getting out. There is a chance they will kill you the moment they see you and if they find out what you are there is a chance you will be locked up as well.” 

I know the risks. 

But I also know that I have to try to get Hyun-su out. There is no doubt in me that he wouldn’t do the same for me if I was captured. 

“I know. Please take them to safety for me.” Again the soldier nodded his head. 

My eyes scanned everyone and it was hard not to cry. This could be the last time I see them. I already cheated dead once I don’t know if I can do that again. Giving them one last smile I was about to turn around to go, but Eun-yu grabbed my arm again. 

"Eun-yu plea-" Before I could finish my sentence she pulled me in a hug. 

A small smile came on my face before I hugged her back. 

"Be careful." She whispers before pulling away. I nodded my head. 

"I will and please don't do something stupid again like you just did. Don't let the other's deaths go in vain." She nodded her head. 

I look at the others giving them all a smile. 

"I know that you all can survive. We all have been through shit, but we managed to survive. So don't give up now." I have no idea if I ever am going to see any of them again, but I hope they all will survive. 

"We will. Just take care of yourself and be careful." Ji-su said with a smile, making me nod. 

With tears in her eyes, she quickly pulls me in a hug. 

“You better come back when you find those two. You still have to listen to that song I made.” 

Hugging her back tightly I let out a little laugh. 

“I will.” I promised pulling away trying not to cry. 

I didn’t want to say goodbye to them. 

It felt just as awful like when I had to say goodbye to Miles and Ace, but I know that I don't have any other choice. 

Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter

———————————————————

[beebobeebo]

Title: Tim from Nowhere

Fandom: Justified

Characters: Raylan Givens & Tim Gutterson

Summary:

Tim isn't from anywhere, over there, or somewhere.

He's from nowhere. He likes everyone to think that at least. The little bits and pieces that form a life are his business.

"I asked you where you were from a while ago."

"Yeah. Was there for the whole conversation you had with me," Tim stresses the last word as he tries to casually look around for the fugitive du jour, Jenkins Prater, possible witness, failure to appear, and general dickhead. Raylan becomes sulking eyebrows. His face becomes eyebrows. A handy fuckin' trick, but it's getting him exactly nothin'. "I answered you. You remember that?"

"You said 'nowhere'. That ain't an answer," Raylan says as the rest of his face escapes from his eyebrows. "Unless, this is you being funny, and you lived in a town called that."

"Like that place in Alaska named Hell? Nah. It was more of a general statement." Tim pushes back the baseball cap that would make him appear vaguely incognito if Gene Autry wasn't sittin' in the driver's seat.

"You gonna clarify or leave me in suspense?" Raylan pushes back his hat too, because he is an ass, and leans forward over the steering wheel. Doubts as to how he catches anyone without shooting them have arisen. There's half a beat where Tim thinks about loudly commenting how he's sweating his nuts off because someone parked them directly in the sun, but he relents. "Longest place we ever stayed was Indiana. We didn't stay anywhere long enough to be from there."

"Army brat?"

"Not until I signed on at eighteen. Just the normal kind before that. Freelance." He leans forward like he's messing with the radio. "Does that guy look like he's trying to sneak around the…oh, no…Just pissin' in an alley. You take me to the classiest places, Givens."

"It's not my fault you're a cheap date," Raylan says through something like a grin if his jaw would just let it happen. "So movin' around a lot? You're not from nowhere. You're from lots of somewheres."

"I can categorically say that Oklahoma is nowhere regardless." Tim watches the man wander back out of the alley and resist the urge to wave, possibly salute. Resisting. "Missouri isn't much better, but you could get fully leaded beer on Sunday."

"As a freelance brat?" Raylan is now just looking at him. It's not like they have a job to do or anything. Tim looks at him out of the corner of his eye and sighs."You never played 'Hey, Mister'?"

"Is this goin' to be a traumatic backstory situation?" Raylan's jaw seems to slide too far to one side as he tilts his head.

"No, dipshit, you just have someone older, the Mister in question, buy you beer or a bottle. Let them keep the change." Tim takes his cap off and pushes back his hair. The heat is making the damned curls rebel against his best efforts. "Then you go find somewhere to forget you're in Missouri."

"So teenage Tim is in Missouri. Forming a timeline here." Raylan does bother to peek up for a moment to possibly see the man they're looking for.

"Teenage Tim was nowhere." Very adult, okay, relatively adult Tim was in Kentucky wishing he had kept his mouth shut. "Teenage Raylan was in Harlan, so I doubt he was doin' much better."

"You're not wrong." This time one of Raylan's nostrils quirks up with his eyebrows. "I'm assumin' you hatched somewhere equally as borin'."

"Ruined the shit out of Mama's senior homecoming dance," Tim says with the perfectly schooled expression he would never admit to practicing. He gives Raylan the benefit of a slightly lifted eyebrow to show he's telling the truth.

"So you were born a cautionary tale? This," he rolls his wrist to gesture at Tim's entire person," was always a warning."

"I believe the chosen term varied from miracle to accident, but, sure, warning."

"Where was that?" Raylan says flipping down the visor obviously more for the sake of fidgeting than actually looking at himself. The man was well aware of what he looked like.

"Indiana."

"So you're from Indiana," Raylan explains like he is more qualified to determine this than Tim.

"I'm not from there. I was born there. Very different things," Tim says. He feels suddenly defensive. He rolls his shoulders. Shame is fine, but defensive feels wrong. Why the fuck did he care what Givens thought? Especially that place? "Kinda left a stain on the place."

"The gym floor?"

That was just the right thing to say, damn Givens. He really can't help himself as he laughs. "The fact that I can't shoot a basketball for love nor money ain't lost on me."

Raylan finally smiles that easy smile with enough teeth to make a great white jealous. "No sports?"

"Nah. I was a reader," he says the last word as if it is dripping with disappointment. "Made me real popular in Buffalo."

"New York?" Raylan looks like Tim in New York would cause some sort of incident. He's not entirely wrong, but Time Square has also cleaned itself up since then.

"Nah, South Dakota. You know they're actually bison, not buffalo. No one ever gets that right."

"That's because no one cares, Tim."

Suddenly, Raylan grabs Tim's thigh and Tim's brain blanks completely until he hears," That's our guy. Running down the street from the probable sociopath." Raylan rolls down the window and leans out gun pointing at the man in pursuit. "U.S. Marshal Service on the ground!" The man in pursuit turns tail and runs down an alley. Good luck with your piss shoes, buddy. Prater is still hurtling down the street in their direction, the lesser of two evils.

Tim comes back to the world of the living in time to swing his door open. Prater smacks into it at a full run. "You learn that in nowhere?" Raylan says through a smile.

"Arkansas, actually. That was a rough summer."

"Seems like it," Raylan says as he somehow extricates three people's worth of leg from the driver's side. "Mr. Prater, you have had an accident. Fortunately, we with the U.S. Marshals Service were lookin' to give you a ride anyway. Why don't you go ahead and put your hands behind your back?"

Tim leans back against the headrest as he lets Raylan do his little one-man show. He should get out. He should assist Raylan with getting the man in the backseat, or trunk if Raylan was feeling frisky. He should do a lot of things like keep his mouth shut and not wish that hand was still on his thigh.

Tim eventually stirs himself enough to get out of the car and open the back door for Raylan to shove Prater in and buckle him up.

"Out curiousity," Raylan drawls, "where were you runnin' to?"

Prater leans back in the seat. "Nowhere."

"Ah, you're in luck. Friend here's a native," Raylan says with a smile as Tim plonks down in the passenger seat. "Maybe he'll give us some directions."