#and honestly this show is just throwing them out left right and center

[tan1shere]

Her Favorite

Teacher Billie Eilish x student female reader !

A/n: the thought of this is sending me feral rn, enjoy 😩 also Claudia is in this and we are pretending you and her are the same ages okur yuh (20-21)(bills is nearing 30s let's say 😋 MILF) - there's going to be links to the outfits on each day that she wears on one of the words, just to help you get a better visual 😁

Summary: you're the teachers pet. Her. Favorite.

Warnings: smut DURH, mdni ! Thigh riding, soft dom bills nothing new here, sub reader, heavy sexual tension GAHH - think thats it ! Lmk if I left anything out 😙

Masterlist - pt 2

You were a college student. That's how most of these go right? You're the popular party throwing, blonde- no. In this case you were the shy, less know girl who sat in the middle of the class, not in the front and center. Or in the back. You were fairly confident, in yourself and what you loved. But all attention on you sent worry through your body. You had one best friend, Claudia. She was the kindest soul, more outgoing than you were but you loved her regardless.

Today was a Wednesday so that means music class. You don't really have any interest in it if you're being honest. But Claudia insisted you join her as a fun class, which you'd argue with and say all classes were fun in a way. But that wasn't strictly true. You couldn't sing, nor play any instrument so it wasn't as fun to you. "You know, I got you to agree to this class because it was fun, not to be good at it!" She says, walking beside you into the classroom. "But we have to try to be semi good at it- and that's not going so well." She just nudges you. "Well I already know you have fun anyway." She winks. Making your eyes roll.

"Don't you just wonder what she will be wearing today." - "You're annoying you know that?" She shrugs with a smile. "I know you love meee." As you entered the room. You spot her. The teacher of this specific class. She was beautiful and you most definitely had a crush on the woman. Was it silly? Maybe, but it was the only good thing about this class. Like Claudia was teasing to you about before. Today Ms O'Connell was wearing something very casual. A brown striped jacket with a collared white shirt underneath. Her hair was down today and she just looked so good. You sat down in your usual seats.

Ms O'Connell then starts for today. Explaining a few things, you honestly had no interest in them. But you just couldn't help staring at her. You then hear your name being called pulling you out of whatever trance you were in. "Y/n? You listening love?" You swallow discreetly, trying to not make it obvious how nervous she made you. You'd never let it fully show. Besides she talked to all the students that way. "Yes, sorry just tubed out for a sec. I'm listening." You replied sweetly, really not wanting to get in trouble. Or maybe that wouldn't be so bad. She nods in reply, continuing.

It wasn't as if you voluntarily put yourself out there, you never asked questions but for some reason she seemed to ask you all the questions, why? You were just writing something down when she eventually approaches you. "Can we speak after this lesson?" She asked you so softly, you thought youd die right there. You nod. Feeling tingles going throughout your body.

That time, was now. You were packing up your things as everyone else leaved, you go over to her, but not as close. Which confused her slightly. "You wanted to see me Miss?" Her head tilts. "You can come closer. I don't bite." Her pretty smile was then to be seen, you reluctantly go closer. "I've noticed the past few lessons you've been distracted." Uh oh. "Are you sleeping ok? You so look a little tired recently. Everything alright?" The way she's checking up on you makes you want to pounce at her and kiss her beautiful lips. But your mind remains, trying to calm it down. And it was slightly true, you always struggled to sleep but that's just been a thing ever since you were a kid.

"It's ok, I'm fine just not a huge sleeper?" You admit, but there was a concerned look on her face. "As long as you're ok." You nod, suspecting the conversation was done going to leave, but she grabs your arm gently. You look at her, into her eyes. Your nerves coming right back. "I'm always here if you need anything yeah? If you need to talk." And there you were again, in a compelling trance. Her eyes were like a spell. Your heart rate picks up, at the feeling of her hand on your arm.

Little did you know, she saw it all. The way you looked at her didn't go unnoticed by the woman. And little did you know. This was just the start of something, so crazy.

It was now Friday, music class yet again. And you couldn't stop thinking about that interaction, the way her hand held onto your arm, her blue eyes casting a spell on your own. You even slept better that night as silly as that may sound. Maybe she was like a comfort? You walk in with Claud, going to your normal spot. Ms hottie (as you liked to call her in your head.) Was wearing something interesting today. It was another collared shirt, with faint lines. Paired with a sleevless jacket ontop. She had a cap on, and those sexy glasses. You loved whenever she wore them.

She admitted to the class that she didn't need them she just enjoyed wearing them. And your immediate thought was hot. So every time she wears them you freak out a little inside. You listened to her voice, speaking, singing. God she was everything. You had told Claudia about the other day and she just made you more delusional about it, saying...

"Oh my god, what if she likes you."

"She was so teasing you with the bite comment."

"She knows."

It had been driving you nuts, like she was a little person in your head repeating those sentences. And here you were yet again, not focusing. Ms O'Connell looks over at you but staying quiet this time round.

There was no doubt about how bored you were, but it wasn't long to go thankfully. For the class and the rest of the year. You honestly couldn't wait to be done for good, this was the last year. Once the lesson was over you go to pack up your things, when you hadn't realized your other books had fallen out of your bag. You sigh, going to bend down to your knees to pick them up. Everyone was leaving, and it was just you and her. You stand once you collect yourself and your things, turning around but only to be met with those beautiful blue eyes.

You gasp, had you of been expecting she was right behind you. "Sorry sweetheart, didn't mean to startle you." You flash her your sweet smile. "It's ok!" She looks over your body, slowly. Hm. Unusual. Unusually hot. "You seem to fade into space alot. Is that normal?" She asks. Referring to you being distracted earlier. Her eyes keep roaming around your body, landing on your eyes... Then your lips. Continuing that motion til she settles on your eyes. "A little yeah, big daydreamer." You laugh a little, nervously. "What do you tend to think about?"

You. You. You. Your brain chants. "Things." Her head casually tilts, but it goes straight to your head. Or maybe your aching core. Because that was way too hot. You swallow, audibly. A tiny smirk plays on her lips. "What's the matter?" She asks with slight concern but her smirk overpowers any of that sympathy. You felt like for the first time you couldn't speak to her, your words gone. "Hm?" She asks with such a velvety smooth tone. You wanted to whine, it's as if she knew what she was doing. Making you feel such a way. But that's impossible, right? You pluck up some confidence. When she gets closer to you before you could speak. "Kinda glad this is your last class for today." Your brows furrow. What? "W-why-?" You then ask, widening your eyes at how pathetic it came out.

"Because, I get to do something that I've been wanting to for soooo long." Your breath becomes quicker, unsteady. Similar to your legs. "Please." You breathe out, too into your own thoughts to care about how wrong this situation may be. In broad daylight. Her lips come softly onto your own, so incredibly slow. Your tongues eventually mingle together, tasting the sudden desire against one another. She pulls back going to swipe her thumb against your lip. Staring at them. You felt dizzy, weak. No way you just kissed her. "Things. I didn't know that was my new name." She looks into your eyes again. Darker, sexy. Fuck. You thought. Her hands reach for yours going to take you into her secluded office.

She shuts and locks the door. Approaching you. "I see the way you look at me angel, I'm very aware." You swallow, louder than the last time. "Just know those daydreams have you soaked huh?" She pouts slightly, in a mocking sense. Your head reluctantly nods. Looking into her eyes, she backs you up against the desk. "Then you must know just how much I daydream of you." Your eyes grew bigger, did she really just say that? No way... Her hands rest on your thighs, face leaning closer to yours. Moving slowly to your ear. "May I show you, pretty girl?" Your breath catches in your throat before you reply, breathlessly. "Please do." Her smirk returns.

Grabbing your hand again and leading you around to her chair, eventually getting you to sit on her lap. Your hands rest on her shoulders. Hers gliding up and down the sides of your body. "Just want a little taste of what I've been mindlessly thinking of, yeah?" Whatever the fuck that meant you didn't care, nodding nonetheless. Her hands then grip your hips, manhandling you so your cunt is directly over her thigh. The change makes you gasp slightly considering you hadn't expected that. Your hands grip her shoulders as your underwear is met with the rough material of her pants. Having your skirt semi out of the way. "Thin. Wet." She says inches away from your face. You bite your lip as you both hold eye contact. The way her glasses sit on her face making it 10x better.

This woman. She's driving you mental. Were you dreaming or something? She begins to slowly move you on her thigh, making your first noise come beautifully past your lips. "Good, you know how to use your voice." She says, averting her eyes to you and her thigh. "You gunna make a mess on ne sweet girl?" Your eyes shut as her movements quicken, feeling your brain fog over with a euphoric sensation. "M-more.." You blurt out. "More she says?" Billie chuckles deliciously. (Like at the end of guess 😵) "Angel wants more, how very sweet." You gulp. "P-please?" Your soft voice made her go nuts. She wanted so badly to ruin you right here right now. But she resisted for the time being. "And she asks sooo-" Her movements speed up, causing your eyes to pop, jaw agape. "-nicely."

Your head lulls back as you feel it coming, the way your clit was throbbing against her rapidly. Soon after feeling that tightness, only to be met with that sticky necter. All over her thigh. She hums in approval. Letting you fall against her, head landing in the crook of her neck. Your breathing slowly coming back to you as her hand rubs gently over the skin of your arm. "That's why you're my favorite."

After a minute or two you come back to reality. Not the right reality but your senses turn back on. She swiftly tucks a strand of hair behind your ears. Smiling at you gently, thinking for you second before taking her hat off and plopping it on your head. She looks at you so lovingly, now seeing that compassion in her eyes. It made you melt, softly putting your hands on her face. Hers latch delicately over your wrists, soon grabbing your hand and kissing it tenderly. This was wrong, not because of any age, but because she was your teacher. Did you really care tho? Hardly. Once you leave it's not like it'd matter. But oh fuck it felt too good.

"Go clean up darling, I'll see you on Wednesday." She then winks, as you leave the classroom. And all your mind could say was.

Oh.

My.

God.

Pt 2 will be out soon. ;)

[raguonmynieceandnephew]

"It's so unfair to the Rat Grinders that they are killed instantly and the Bad Kids get to roll death saves." SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUP

THIS IS LONG, AND HONESTLY FOR MYSELF, SO YEAH READ IF YOU WANT

I swear to god, this discourse is going to fucking be the end of me. Idk what kind of mind boggling spell Brennan Lee Mulligan wove into the fabric of the universe that spread through the data center of Dropout in order to absolutely hijack y'all's brains when it comes to Cocklord Assgape and her ragtag of character foils but whatever it was has made you Rat Grinder stans INSUFFERABLE in this site.

The levels of treating fictional characters as if they were real people have reached a level I honestly have never anticipated, to the point of y'all actually being mad AT THE CAST for "mistreating" them and ACTUALLY QUESTION BRENNAN'S CAPACITY TO DM. Do you not get how fucking insane that is?

We can't make fun of Copperkettle, one of the most pathetic, petty and incompetent villains in D20 history anymore (even though she is masterfully written and developed to generate this reaction from us) anymore because it's bullying apparently. I saw an account flip the fuck out because someone compared her rivalry with Kristen to Drake and Kendrick's beef. KIPPERLILY IS NOT A REAL GIRL. SHE IS A MAKE BELIEVE CHARACTER IN AN IMPROV SHOW SPAWNED FROM THE BRAIN OF A 36 YEAR OLD MAN

And then what truly pissed me off the MOST about this whole hell is the fact that, being chronically online avid consumers of this goddamn show, I would think you would have but a grasp of the main cast of characters' characterization.

Why the uproar about Riz saying they should chop Oisin's head off? The same Riz who tortured that pixie from Freshman year by shooting off their finger one by one? The same Riz who murked a disarmed and unconscious Coach Daybreak without battin an eye? The same Riz who ATE THE CORPSE OF KALVAXUS?

And the whole Fabian vs Ivy debacle MY GOD, THE GIRL WAS RACIST TO HIS GIRLFRIEND AND USED HER LAST BREATH TO CALL MAZEY "OBJECTIVELY UGLY". And the funniest thing is that is not even the most unhinged shit he has ever said.

And finally, Death Save Gate: THE RAT GRINDERS ARE NOT PLAYER CHARACTERS. THEY ARE NPCS! THE RULES FOR EACH WORK DIFFERENTLY, ESPECIALLY THEM BEING BOSS ENCOUNTERS. Imagine having to still hit Ivy or Oisin 2 more times to kill them when there is 14 foot tall Porter throwing legendary actions left and right, with Jace, and other 3 spell casters + Mary Ann and KLCK up and running. It's called balancing the fucking game. Also, game masters are entitled to break, mold and make up any rules they want if they find necessary in order to service themselves and their players. IF YOU PLAY WITH ALL THESE RULES AS THEY COME, GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR TABLE. THIS IS NOT YOUR TABLE.

Not only is Brennan DMing for his CLOSEST FRIENDS EVER, he is also shooting and producing an ENTIRE TV SHOW. So yeah, i think he knows wtf he is doing.

"But the Ratgrinders had no real development": True. But it wasn't for lack of trying from the players. Everytime they tried to know more, the dice didn't let them, so they decided to focus on the mystery. It simply do be like that sometimes.

"But they are just kids!": And so were Penelope, Dayne, Ragh, Zayn, the Bloodrush Players, Aelwyn and Biz. Why wasn't it a problem then? Because most of them were evil to some extent and were about to bring the fucking apocalypse to the world? Yeah, sounds familiar right? And the ones who were manipulated or had any sort of redemption worked their way into earning it, right? Yeah.

In conclusion, I fucking love the Rat Grinders, I truly do, and not unlike 90% of this website, i'm still holding on to hope that they have any sort of development and redemption in the last episode, because I agree, they ARE children and they WERE manipulated by Porter and Jace, but like, can we also agree that they are fucking assholes and had it fucking coming? Also, the BKs are children too y'know. SO STOP BEING FUCKING ANNOYING.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

I mean this politely but why do you like Su She? Maybe it’s because I’ve only read the books/seen the donghua but he seems like such a non-character. Does he play more of a role in the live action adaptation or something?

hey, no worries at all! my biggest su she confession is that when i first read the book and watched the show, i straight up forgot who he was until his death in the guanyin temple confrontation. in cql, his death really is kind of a nothingburger moment for me; it happens very suddenly, he doesn't have much agency in how it all unfolds, and aside from jgy's genuinely crushed expression when he dies (the way he says "minshan!" in that moment while reaching out to him still hurts 🥺), it isn't a character death that held my attention that much.

it wasn't until i read the novel and reached his death scene there that i had a "whoa, this is su she? su 'i don't have control enough over my power to summon my sword from the bottom of a lake or avoid shooting wei wuxian in the arm' minshan?"

As expected, gurgles came from within Nie MingJue’s throat. His body turned away from the empty coffin as well. At once, he realized whom the person lying on Su She’s back was. Wei WuXian’s whistles could no longer stop him either. Like a gust of wind, Nie MingJue rushed over, his palm flying towards Jin GuangYao’s head.

Su She dodged to the side with force. With the tip of his foot he picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground and conjured up all of his spiritual energy in one thrust at Nie MingJue’s heart. Perhaps because of the dire situation, the attack was abnormally swift and ruthless. Brimming with spiritual energy, the blade glowed brightly, enveloped by swirling radiance. It was so much better than all of the previous seemingly-elegant attacks that even Wei WuXian wanted to praise its excellence. Nie MingJue was forced a step back by the explosion of an attack as well. As the light dimmed somewhat, Nie MingJue went forth again, clawing at Jin GuangYao unstoppably. Su She threw Jin GuangYao at Lan XiChen with his left hand, while with his right he sliced at Nie MingJue’s throat.

Nie MingJue’s entire body was as impenetrable as fine steel, but not the thread that stitched his neck together!

...

If the neck attack succeeded, even if it wouldn’t defeat Nie MingJue entirely, it’d still be able to save them some time. However, the sword had been infused with so much spiritual energy, due to Su She’s sudden explosion, that it could no longer withstand it. Halfway through the lunge, it broke into pieces with a crack. On the other hand, Nie MingJue’s punch landed right in the center of Su She’s chest. Su She’s splendor left as quickly as it came. He couldn’t even spit out a mouthful of blood or say a few last words, no matter with dignity or cruelty, before the life in his eyes went out.

Collapsed beside Lan XiChen, Jin GuangYao saw this scene as well. Whether because the bleeding and the pain intensified at his arm and stomach or from some other reason, the glisten of tears could be seen in his eyes.

- EXR translation pgs 1001-1002

so for me, it was reading his death sequence and realizing just how dramatically he had changed from that fumbling, mediocre, and quite frankly cowardly cultivator we meet in the first half of the novel--the guy who can't summon his sword from the bottom of a lake, who wants to sacrifice mianmian to save his own skin, who can't even fire an arrow straight--to this capable, powerful cultivator who is throwing himself in harm's way without hesitation to protect jgy, that made me want to take a second look at him. like... he's not charismatic, he's deeply resentful and bitter, the chip on his shoulder is following him straight to his grave. but he dies bravely and incandescently because he thought jgy was someone worth dying for, and that just hit me right in the gut, honestly.

anyway after that i went a little nuts revisiting almost every scene he's in in both the book and in cql, and i've blogged about my thoughts already!! if you feel like trawling through my "emotional support henchman" tag, that's where you'll find some of my other unhinged sms gushing. this is just the non-tl;dr version of why i like him, so i hope this answers your question 👍

[deliveryboysomewhatequaltoheaven]

The Macaque Problem

I would definitely say Macaque's character is an issue for the show. His redemption arc is not good, and it brings down the other characters and takes up their time and arcs.

When we first see him in S1 and 2, he is an old frenemy of Wukong's bitter over an unspecified falling out. He is angry and lashing out at MK and his friends, projecting this feud onto them. He claims MK didn't notice his friends were gone, but we see him trying to call Mei, and that the others were resentful, but we see tang looking upset being forced to attack MK. Seems like a clear enough villain concept with some room forward right? But S3 and 4 derail that.

Chronologically, we can talk about the Brotherhood, (which he was not a part of in JTTW, and he complained abt being left behind in S2 but here he was?? Eh) He claims that Wukong pushed ahead without thinking or listening and that's what got him trapped in the mountain. But what do we see before Wukong surrenders to the Jade Emperor?

The rest of the Brotherhood trapped by the Celestial Army. We don't see Wukong fight the Jade Emperor. He was an immortal shapeshifter, I have no doubt Wukong could have escaped. But he turned himself in to save his friends. Was he in a bad mood in the mountain? I mean, yeah, but Macaque doesn't seem to consider that he's free because Wukong is not.

We still don't know about the final falling out and Macaque's seeming death, though S5 implies that Macaque pushed the situation. Still, it's not good, because if they can't properly resolve it, than it's just going to remain between them and Macaque's grudge against Wukong can't be properly moved past, which hampers his arc.

But then S3 happens, and honestly I think Macaque's motives are dumb. Why is he trying to get in the way of them stopping LBD if he also wants to be free of her? It's a positive for you! But they also start trying to portray him as someone who 'calls Wukong out' because S3 and 4 really try to make Wukong out to be a jerk. He made mistakes but it was a desperate situation against the Lady Bone Demon. I love Mei and Pigsy but they also call him out when they said nothing about the Fourth Ring/visions.

'You will make things worse for MK when I personally attack and threaten him and his loved ones for my own gain' OK Macaque!

But the S3 special is the real kicker. Macaque apparently changes his mind and we don't know why. They show some mistrust at first until MK says he knows Macaque is not a bad guy deep down... but doing one or two helpful things after three seasons of stalking, threatening, and attacking the gang doesn't exactly convince me.

And then this bit from the S3 special finale:

Uh, how??? Wukong is right, Macaque was until very recently willing throw everyone under the bus so he could get away from LBD. It's pretty rich that he would call Wukong self centered. Whatever Wukong did was trying to stop her and protect MK from having to deal with it.

In the S4 special, they also have Macaque talk about Azure Lion, and again I'm not sure why we are listening to him on characters' morality

Says the guy who wrote a play about how 'Sun Wukong is a big old meany who hurt my precious little fee-fees' if I never see or hear the hero and warrior monologue again it will be too soon but I will say he at least seems to consider he might have been wrong, though they don't really dwell on it...

Even in S5, we get this bit.

Once again, Wukong is right!! After 3 seasons of attacking and harassing MK I don't think he really gets to give advice. Plus WUKONG WAS TRYING TO TALK TO MK ABOUT IT RIGHT BEFORE THIS! But MK was not doing well emotionally and Wukong was trying to be mindful and not push!

And honestly I think they all let Macaque off easy for the S3 events, he literally choked out Mei and threatened to kill her! (Sidenote: he can call MK and Tang by their names, but Mei was just 'the girl' throughout S3... urgh)

But when Wukong gets mad at him, Macaque says "I didn't do this!" Well you forced the gang to do something that you didn't know what the consequences of would be! But Tang intervenes saying he did it, even though he awkwardly admits Macaque forced him but that he felt he should because of the golden cicada. Macaque later decides to leave the situation he forced. He later does help some, but doesn't really get held accountable for his part in everything.

But I guess it's fine bc at the end of the special MK gives him this drawing. This is actually kind of really upsetting and again makes little sense considering how much he and Mei care about other otherwise. But nah Macaque is cool now it's fine...

And Ao Guang! This is a tougher one, but in S5 they had Macaque let himself get sent to the Pagoda to buy others time... well I just say that's karma!

And Macaque comes back, of course, but we never hear more about Ao Guang. Even when they send the power of the Stones out, we do in fact see the East Sea Palace and the attendant, but not him, so his fate is unclear.

So yeah, overall, I think he was forgiven too fast, the root issue of his fight with Wukong unaddressed, and he takes up time from the others characters.

[sommerregenjuniluft]

@jegulus-microfic august 28 - injury - 1.6k words - cw: gun violence, blood, shot wound aka hitmen AU aka homoromantic wound caring <3

Regulus throws them behind the battered outside of the building with a shout, presses James against the wall with his body weight while he leans back around the edge to fire off two more precise shots hitting their opponents right in the chest both times. They go down immediately. 

See, Regulus is no amature.

As opposed to James who’d barged right into the middle of his mission without having any business in it apart from the fact that he’s clearly jealous and not handling the fact well that Regulus is leading their kill score. 

He’d jumped in from the roof uninvited, fallen to the ground controlled looking like a fucking death angel in his skin tight hitmen get-up and started taking out people left and right while Regulus had had everything under control and then proceeded to get himself shot. Serves him fucking right honestly. Regulus should have left him there to bleed out slowly and painfully.

He should have.

He didn’t.

Instead Regulus had cursed as he’d seen James stumble and clutch his side, manic grin and hubris blown right out of him. Stupid fucking idiot.

It was easy enough taking out the rest of the lot, not so when James had started looking so distractingly ashy in the face, like he was about to fall over and not get back up again.

Right now Regulus twists back to James’ heavy body and maneuvers him to sit on the dirty ground, taking in the shallow breathing and twist of his annoyingly gorgeous face.

James winces, eyes squeezing together as Regulus goes to straddle his lap and pull up his shirt. 

The injury looks bad. Blood trickling out around the reddened shot wound. Fuck, the bullet’s still in.

James keens when Regulus manhandles both of James’ hands over it with one of Regulus’ to put pressure on it. He sounds pitiful and Regulus nearly feels bad for him so bites out a, “Fuck you.”

That makes him feel marginally better and also James wheeze out a breath that could have been a chuckle under more optimal circumstances so Regulus takes his win as he rumages for his cell in his pocket. Dials Sirius’ number and is met with screaming and sirens in the background that mirror the ones he hears from father away from his current position as soon as his brother picks up.

“The fuck were you thinking?”

Regulus jaw drops a bit at the audacity, “Me? Fuck you, I should let James bleed out on the spot for that sentence alon—”

“James? Regulus, what’s going on?”

“He’s gone and crashed the fucking mission, is what’s going on! Fucking show-off—” he enunciates by pressing harder into James’ stomach, making his stupid brown baby cow eyes bulge behind his glasses, “—always gotta be the center of fucking attention.”

“Regulus—”

“What, haven’t already gotten enough from all of your beloved, loyal friends? From my brother? From the never-ending string of pathetic whores panting after y—”

“Regulus,” Sirius growls again through the static of the phone, “Why is James bleeding?”

Regulus sniffs primly as he glares down at James fluttering eyelashes. He feels very warm and sturdy under Regulus’ spread legs, “’cause he’s a sad excuse of a hitman. You don’t just wake up one day and decide to become an assassin,” James’ lips twitch into an exhausted grin, “You’re born with that sort of talent, obviously. You can only all too clearly see for yourself what happens,” Regulus shifts and presses down on the shot wound again, watching in satisfaction as James tips his head back with a groan, “—when you try to play in the big league when you’re nothing but a doped up street rat.”

James licks at the sheen of sweat building on his top lip and manages to rasp, “Love it when you talk dirty to me.”

A frustrated groan rips from Regulus’ throat as Sirius’ voice comes through the speaker again, “Reg, why is James bleeding?”

James’ eyes unfocus a bit over Regulus’ shoulder and he feels his stomach do something weirdly unpleasant, “Got himself shot trying to play hero. Bullet’s still in.”

“Shit, fuck,” Regulus can almost see Sirius run a hand through his hair in distress, “Okay- okay fuck, text me your locations. I’ll send a distraction team and have Marlene and Pete pick you up, as soon as possible.”

“Yeah,” Regulus watches as James’ eyes flutter in exhaustion, “Make it quick.”

He purposefully wiggles in James’ lap to jostle him while he shoots Sirius the text with his location, “C’mon James, no sleeping.”

James grunts dismissively, head lolling weakly against the filthy brick, hair an awful mess and Regulus feels him let off the pressure over the injury wound.

“Fuck,” Regulus puts his phone away quickly and threads his fingers into the wild strands at James’ nape and clenches.

“Ngh,” James’ eyes shoot open and he fixes Regulus with a sharp squint. That’s better. “Am I not in enough pain already, Reg?”

Regulus rolls his eyes, ignoring the relief, “Don’t be a baby.”

“‘Don’t be a—’ excuse me, have you ever been shot?”

Well, no, but, “That’s completely irrelevant right now.”

“Literally how?”

“Stop coming off topic.”

“You’re the one coming off t—” James tapers off into a groan, cramping into himself in pain. 

Regulus feels his brows knit in worry and he absently scrapes his nails against James’ skull in a soothing motion while he shushes him and curses quietly.

James pants as he squirms uncomfortably in place, then blinks up at Regulus again, “Y’know whenever I’ve thought about you in my lap it was always a more pleasant kind of pain I’ve counted on.”

Regulus rolls his eyes, warmth pooling in his gut. But James is still lucid and talking so Regulus indulges him, “Yeah, what kind instead?”

James hums tiredly, “Well, for one I get weirdly turned on whenever you’re playing with those little daggers of yours.”

The corner of Regulus’ mouth drags up. He nods encouragingly.

James swallows with visible difficulty, voice strained when he goes on, “There was that one time we had a rope seminar.”

Regulus remembers that James had knocked over his open water bottle when Regulus had been timed on preparing a friction hitch knot. He’d thought him the biggest fool on the planet. Not that this has changed much over the months.

“You’re always so mean,” James’ eyes glaze over, smiling to himself, “You don’t even need a weapon, your words cut deep enough on their own mos’times…”

His eyeslids sink shut again as his mouth falls pliant and his hold over the injury slackens. Not good.

“Come on, James, you love talking about yourself, go on,” Regulus licks his lips nervously, keeping the pressure over their hands.

James sighs, “’m tired, Reg.”

Regulus tries yanking at his roots again but James won’t do anything but make little pained noises, body untensing under Regulus.

“Fuck, James,” Regulus taps him against the cheek. Shit, what is he supposed to do?

Shock value, Sirius voice reverberates through his muddled thoughts. Do something they won’t expect, abruptly. Whatever it takes to keep them awake.

Regulus sucks in an unsteady breath and then angles James’ head up and pulls him into a kiss.

He feels the hitch of breath rather than he hears it, sucked in right against the burning skin of his cheek and then James lets out a noise.

Breathes in the air coming out of Regulus’ mouth and tips his chin back into the kiss with renewed vigor. They gasp into each others’ mouths as they continue the press of wet lips and weak nudges of tongue while Regulus tries to stay at least half-focused on holding the pressure over the bullet hole in James’ abdomen. 

He’s a fucking assassin for god’s sake and this might be the most insane thing he’s ever done.

Regulus’ whole body goes stock still, James’ breath ragged on his face, when suddenly a familiar, teasing voice comes from behind, shit-eating grin evident in her voice, “Well, that I’ve certainly never seen in a first aid handbook.”

“Yeah, y’know what Marls,” Peter snickers childishly, “Seems like Regulus got it from here, James looks pretty vitalized to me again.”

“Mmh,” James nudges his nose against Regulus’ as he slurs, “All the medicine I need right here.”

Regulus levels him with a flat stare, “Blood loss has made you delirious.”

They get James up and onto the cot in the back of the van where Peter has already set up his medical tools.

Before Regulus has the chance to step out James makes an unhappy noise that has him turning back, “Ride back to the cove with me?”

“Not a fucking chance, Potter,” Regulus hops out of the vehicle and turns with his hand on the back door, “My bike’s still on the other end of the street, I wouldn’t leave her if Sirius’ life was on the line.”

Peter snorts as he readies the antiseptic and James honest to god pouts. Regulus can see the blood slick injury gaping from where he’s standing. Ridiculous man.

“I’ll see you in the medical wing,” Regulus replies for whatever reason and before the lighting up of James’ eyes can do anything pathetic as elicit warm shudders along Regulus’ spine he slams the door shut and pivots on the spot to head for his bike.

Regulus dutifully visits James in his hospital bed that evening.

They both get whacked over the head when Peter has to redo James’ stitches not five hours later.

[callsign-phoenix]

I simply wrote this because I got the idea, I hope you like it!

It is a Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell x female!reader imagine.

Thank you @footprintsinthesxnd for proofreading!

Warnings: cursing, allusions to smut

You had never quite been the center of attention at Navy dinners, not like your older sister.

Penny was gorgeous and just the right amount of flirtatious, and with you being the daughters of Admiral Benjamin her desirability only heightened tenfold.

You had never been too popular with the Navy men and you were grateful for it, knowing just how much trouble they could be.

Nevertheless you liked going to the Navy functions your dad invited you to because you liked to look at the young gorgeous men gathered around the table.

You weren’t as limited as them as to how to dress so you took some liberties, you didn’t dress as daring as your older sister but definitely daring enough.

You didn’t know if you wanted to attend another celebratory dinner because you were always a little left out and lonely, but as you said you liked people watching so you didn’t mind.

As expected your older sister got most of the attention, which your dad didn’t like, but at least he knew you knew how to behave yourself.

You were happily behaving yourself when a young man approached you, with a wide grin and eyes that gleamed with humor and mischief.

“You’re looking awfully lonely tonight,” he spoke out and you had to take a look around to realize that he was talking to you.

It took you a few seconds to reply, because you had to come to terms with the fact that a gorgeous sailor had approached you without being forced to lead a conversation with you.

“Are you a shy one?” He went on, chuckling as he moved a bit closer and leaning against the wall with his arm propped up against it.

It was intimidating but also strangely thrilling and attractive, and the fact that his eyes didn’t leave your face only entranced you further.

“I could keep you company tonight if you’d like,” he said in a low voice as another crooked grin appeared on his face, showing his big and bright front teeth as well as the sparkle in his eyes.

“I’m Maverick, section leader of my squadron of fighter pilots, it’s a pleasure to meet you, doll, but as much as I like to hear myself speak I’d like to know more about you too,” he continued, and your eyes searched the room to find your dad in deep conversation with one of his fellow admirals.

You reached out to shake his hand and introduced yourself, deciding to throw all caution into the wind and try to enjoy yourself.

“Benjamin, as in Admiral Benjamin?” He asked and his smile faltered just a little, which made you grin at him for the first time since you met him.

That grin was the reason why Maverick decided to risk it all, redoubling his efforts and broadening his smile again.

“Well, Miss Benjamin, how about I get you a drink? Daddy wouldn’t mind, would he?” He asked as he leaned even closer, you could feel his breath brush your mouth and yor eyes lowered to glance at his lips, which were still tugged upwards playfully.

“Daddy doesn’t have to know,” you answered purposely choosing the same word he had, just to rile him up.

Maverick chuckled and disappeared, telling you that he’d be back as quickly as possible.

He did indeed like to talk but over the course of the evening he got a little more handsy, taking the liberty to hold you by your waist or stroke your cheek whenever the opportunity presented itself.

You could honestly say that you loved the way he held you and what he had to say, even if he bragged a little more than necessary.

It was charming and by the end of the night you were ready to go however far he’d like to go as well, your father entirely erased from your mind.

Maverick pulled you by your wrist when the dinner had officially ended and you found a spot that was a little more secluded in another room, with your lips immediately latching onto his when he closed the door.

You were absolutely entranced by him, his smile, his smell and the way his hands felt on your body, following him when he pressed you backwards against a desk, jumping onto it so he could stand between your legs.

Maverick’s hands roamed your back, from your shoulder blades down to the crease of your ass through your dress and you grew more and more breathless, holding onto him and letting desperate moans fall from your lips.

You were so far gone that you didn’t hear your father call your name nor Commander Jardian, whom your father had apparently asked to help look for you.

Maverick’s fingers just enclosed around the zipper on the back of your dress when the door opened and the lights went on, making you and Maverick jump apart immediately.

Your hair and dress was in disarray and so was Maverick’s and his dress uniform, the first few buttons opened and the end of his belt tucked out of his trousers so that you could open it.

You were breathless when you glanced at the door to find Tom, one of your father’s friends look at you in utter disbelief.

Your eyes fell to the floor in shame and Stinger closed the door taking a deep breath before his face and the rest of his bald head turned a deep and unhealthy shade of red.

“Missy, I’m not even going to start with you because you’re not my responsibility but if I see you in another situation like this I will alert your father,” he told you sternly, his breathing got increasingly heavy as he tried to keep his calm, but that failed once his eyes turned to Maverick.

“And you, Mitchell, you just lost yourself your qualifications as section leader! I expected better from the both of you but you can be lucky I won’t strip you of your fucking wings!” He shouted, his anger evident, which had both you and Maverick shrinking in shame.

Stinger had made his way into the room further and he was staring Maverick down as if he wanted to end him, which would have looked funny had you not had part fault in the situation.

“I’ll leave and you’ll sure as fuck follow me quickly, before I forget myself,” he continued and you were sure you saw some spit landing on Maverick’s face, but he didn’t move a muscle.

Tom once again glanced at you before he stormed outside, purposely not bothering to close the door.

There was a moment of silence between the two of you before Maverick spoke again, giving you a cocky grin and reaching for a pen beside you.

He scribbled something down before he gave the piece of paper to you, looking at you intensely and leaning in to give you another quick kiss to the lips.

“This is my number, use it,” he winked, before he exited the room and left you dazed and breathless by yourself.

When Maverick and Goose were called in after the stunt Mav pulled while saving Cougar Maverick knew he was going to be in trouble, but he tried to stay positive.

You had called him the next day and despite Stinger’s warnings Maverick had kept seeing you, keeping you his little secret, even from his RIO.

Commander Jardian continued to drone on about discipline and then addressed Mav directly.

“You’ve been busted, you lost your qualifications as section leader three times. Put in hack twice by me. With a history of high-speed passes over five air-control towers and one admiral’s daughter,” he exclaimed, to which Goose turned to Mav shortly.

“Penny Benjamin?” He questioned in a whisper, but Maverick swiftly shook his head.

“Her little sister,” he whispered with a grin that prompted raised eyebrows from Goose, but both was erased by Stinger continuing his banter.

Maverick didn’t let anyone tell him what to do, and he liked you far too much to let a bald choleric convince him otherwise.

A challenge that would soon arise to your newly formed relationship was that you got to know that he had slept with your sister multiple times before meeting you, but Maverick was hopeful that you wouldn’t pay that any mind.

part two

tagging: @starkleila @mayhem24-7forever @green-socks @letsfvckingdance @shadeds-library @a-reader-and-a-writer @yespolkadotkitty @whateverbagman @neptunes-curse @sweetheartlizzie07 @top-gun-rooster @iloveprettyboysblog @ateliefloresdaprimavera @imjess-themess @littlebadariell @angstyjellybean @marchingicenotes7 @midget713 @supernaturaldawning @gspenc @adorephina @gigisimsonmars @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @bespinnn @malindacath @aerangi @kassieesworld @kwanimations @18crazybutcutealsopsycho @marvelandotherfandomimagines @luckyladycreator2 @mavericksicybabe @kendra-rose @desert-fern @mavrellover91 @allivingstone01 @rhettabbotts @withakindheartx @trikigirl271 @cherrycola27 @bonitanightmxres @ratcatcher2world @glowingtree @wingmanvenus

(please tell me if you want to be added to the taglist, or use this link)

[dcminions]

more rp ideas from me and my overactive imagination

a group inspired by all the country music that is constantly playing rn, just like a small town in a southern state where denim jackets with fleece collars and rodeos reign supreme. you could even throw in some yellowstone inspo with there being like one large ranch in town that sorta has a monopoly on like business for the region??? anyways it feels like the type of group that could go a lot of ways, even have a crime element or undercurrent maybe?? either way it’d also be a great opportunity for people to play more people of color in these settings but esp black, latinx, and native people who are traditionally sorta left out of the narrative - now yall could bring them into it :)

a star wars inspired rp, set on a planet that is like the central hub of activity idk listen i do not watch anything star wars related but i play the journey to batuu game on the sims and honestly it made for a nice three hours i think but im also easily entertained either way it could be cute!!just like a central hub city planet place idk it doesn’t have to take place in the sw universe that would just probably be a really great starting point ya know? it also lends itself to a good basis for any magic or technological systems right yall get it yall see the vision it would just take place mostly in one place but it would also be a place for people to get missions, jobs, etc

a city rp with the twist that its like a city from a superhero universe idk ive been on gothamtok for a month now i feel like gotham/metropolis/central city would be so funny like it’s just a regular city rp but you could intersperse it with like news alerts that like deadshot has just killed the mayor or the riddler has taken seven people hostage and is hiding them in a maze that poison ivy created in the center of the city park shit like that idk. your character can even work for them love a henchperson omg it can be the more fantastical versions of the cities like from the animated series or the 90s movies or the more grubby, sad ones from the recent movies or tv shows either way it’d be a nice twist on a classic city rp

BRING BACK BIKER GANG RPS THANKS

college rp centered around a hockey team idk i just love the coho fics that’s just a personal thing

summer is coming up so a summer house/houses rp would eat. maybe like a community omg it just hit me as i started writing this but a community of houses that was built almost specifically for the purpose of it being a party haven??? and it’s like on an island or an two hour drive out of the city and everyone goes up from the city (of your choice) every thursday and leave on sunday/monday (obv some people can stay behind) but either way, the big community aspect could be if you want it to be a bigger group with several houses but if you wanna keep it to 2-3 houses with like 6-8 people per house, that works for smaller groups too omg that would be cute

im watching the valley which is horrible tv but i think a group centered around people that live in a town just outside of a major city would be cute like just far away enough for it be a different county but not so far away that it takes more than an hour to get there and the concept hinges on these being older people who maybe are done living faster paced lives in the city but have a bit of fomo so they wanna settle down out there, idk it feels like a cute idea for a 30+ muses rp esp if you wanna have characters with like full blown relationships, careers, kids, etc

the 30+ idea but inspired by friends / sex & the city where it’s people in their 30s but still living in that major city, trying to ease into somewhat settling down while maybe dealing with the fact that they are getting older??? could be cute i like it

another show/movie to draw inspo from : the gentlemen. i think just a crime rp set in london is actually what im saying here actually, nothing more <3

any city rp set in a city that is not usually highlighted, especially places like rio, mexico city, dublin, singapore, lagos, istanbul, buenos aires, mumbai, etc just to switch it up ya know???

actually this would eat so bad a group in the vein of the gotham idea but actually set in wakanda??? listen i would love that and it could take place before the first movie so it’s still isolated OR OR OR after the second movie so they’re a little bit more open and there’s more people just now moving there, etc. i just love the idea of a wakanda rp and it seems like it would be so much fun as well as give people an opportunity to play more underused black fcs actually thnx

said this last time but a rp set in the 1920s or the 1940s right after ww2 would also be very fun esp the roaring twenties like cmon yall, great gatsby hello???

ive seen a couple of these and they have been so cute but more bridgerton type rps with preset families and shit those just seem very fun and also remind me of jane austen novels/movies JUSTICE FOR THE BRIDGERTON RPS

that’s all i got for now, make some new rps, see yall in 6 months <3

[sleepyheadmike]

MEDIA ANALYSIS: THE PARALLELS BETWEEN GENERATION LOSS (2023) AND LITTLE NIGHTMARES (2017, 2021).

Little Nightmares is a two-game series that follows the journeys of two young children named Mono and Six. As the first game centered entirely around Six, we didn’t get introduced to Mono until the second game, in which he is now the playable character, whereas Six is an AI companion that serves to assist him throughout their journey. Generation Loss is a horror comedy created by a Twitch streamer known as Ranboo, who used their livestreaming platform of their choice to create an interactive horror experience, in which the audience could either click on their screens or vote in the chat to decide Ranboo’s next actions, right down to his fate. Though Ranboo makes many new friends along his confusing journey in the series, none of them seem to stick around for very long, many of them being killed by Showfall Media, the corporate villain in his story. However, one friend did survive all three episodes, despite being cast as a different character by Showfall each time. This friend is Charlie Slimecicle, who plays a spirit haunting a cabin in the first episode, an unfortunate victim of a botched surgery in the second, and his normal self in the finale. Due to the nature of Showfall wiping their victims’ memories, Charlie is not aware that he has been recast for every show that the company runs, and only remembers bits of his past when certain things are shown to him in the third episode. However, Ranboo recognises Charlie immediately upon seeing him in episode three, heavily implying that they were friends. Ranboo stops Charlie from livestreaming and breaks him from Showfall’s control, thus pulling him out of the technology that he had been sucked into; much like how all of the adults in Little Nightmares II were practically glued to their televisions until the broadcasts destroyed them entirely.

Both of these series focus on technology and its dangers, as well as showing the negative effects it can have on people. While this is a great social commentary, one that is honestly worth its own essay, there are also parallels to be drawn between the characters of both franchises. In my eyes, Ranboo can be compared to Six, whereas Charlie can be compared to Mono. To understand why these comparisons make sense, we have to backtrack to the original Little Nightmares game.

In Little Nightmares, we play as a young girl named Six, who is trapped on a ship called “The Maw”. As the player, our goal is to help Six escape the ship as fast as she can; however, this proves difficult sometimes, as there are moments when Six can’t go very fast. This is due to her extreme hunger pains, the first of which is noticed by a boy in a cafeteria who throws her a piece of bread to eat as she begins to keel over from the pain. The things that she eats only get worse, ranging from raw meat left in a trap for her, to a rat, to a woman whose powers she was able to absorb, all the way down to eating a small child who has been turned into a gnome – or, a Nome, as they are called in the game. Six’s eating habits and willingness to kill makes it obvious that she is willing to do ANYTHING to get off of this ship and survive, much like how Ranboo regretfully performed surgery on Charlie in episode two because of how badly he wanted to find the key to his escape. Just from this comparison alone, we can already see that these characters are alike, at least in some way: Both are willing to do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means killing or causing immense suffering. Another similarity between the two lies in their main character status, as Six appears in both Little Nightmares games, whereas Mono is only introduced in the second. This tells us that Six is an important part of the story, and most likely the one that we should be rooting for; the same can be said for Ranboo, who is the only person we see for a while after he wakes up in Charlie’s (or, if we are to use his demon name, G’lop’s) cabin. Both characters are introduced alone, waking up in unfamiliar settings, and are forced to navigate their way out while facing enemies along the way, all while doing whatever they must do to escape.

So, we’ve drawn a pretty clear tie between Six and Ranboo, but what about Mono and Charlie? This is actually a great question, as the very first episode begins to draw parallels between the two already, despite the fact that Charlie is a demon who is meant to be haunting Ranboo. For an evil spirit, he does have a friendly side. However, due to his unsettling nature, Ranboo is obviously a bit apprehensive towards him at first, just as Six was afraid of Mono when he used an axe to break down her door. However, a few scenes later, Six is in the attic, struggling to pull a ladder down from the ceiling, and quietly beckons Mono over to help her, showing that she is slowly learning to trust. Ranboo does the same: They take a while to begin to trust people around them, especially G’Lop, a demon who survives off of a diet of slime and has a suit drenched in the green goop. Despite his off-putting nature, though, Ranboo eventually grows more comfortable with G’Lop, although their final interaction does end in a battle; however, even this can be connected to Little Nightmares, as the second game’s ending requires you, Mono, to fight off a giant, evil, warped version of your best friend, Six.

The second episode doesn’t have any real comparisons to draw between the franchises, so we can move on to episode three, which is possibly the MOST Little Nightmares -coded episode of the series. Upon finding out that the warehouse he was trapped in for the entirety of episode two was actually an abandoned mall, Ranboo immediately searches for other signs of life, eventually finding Charlie streaming from his computer at an empty counter in the food court. When Ranboo yells at Charlie, nothing happens. Even walking in front of him does nothing. It isn’t until Ranboo pulls Charlie’s headphones off that the other man begins to understand where he is and why his friend is so concerned. This, again, can be used as a comparison to the television sets in Little Nightmares II, in which the adults are SO attached to their TVs, that they will literally kill anyone who shuts off the broadcast, as it seemingly snaps them out of their spell once they’ve already become mindless zombies.

Upon taking Charlie’s headphones off and briefly explaining the gravity of the situation at hand, the pair decide to run for an exit, only to be chased down by security guards and forced to lock themselves in an abandoned supply shop. While looking around, Ranboo grabs a small knife and places it into a bag that he finds on the floor. The two look for another exit, but are chased again, this time into a room where we see Hetch, a hacker who had been attempting to assist Ranboo, bleeding out. He explains to the pair that Showfall wiped their memories so that they would remember nothing besides being part of the show, which sends Charlie into a crisis. As they leave, Ranboo appears angry, while Charlie desperately follows behind him and begs for answers. A security guard directly approaches Ranboo as they walk, and with no hesitation, he grabs the knife from his bag and stabs the guard, who has wires leaking out of him instead of blood. After this happens, Charlie looks over and notices the set from the episode one cabin, which is the place that he believed himself to have grown up in. Distraught by realising that none of his childhood memories were real, he is easily distracted, and doesn’t notice a seven-foot-tall monster made out of wires and a TV head, who has creeped around the corner of the set and is now ready to attack him. Charlie has no time to run, and is presumably killed by the monster as Ranboo watches, his last words being, “The button, Ranboo!”, referring to a button in the distance that is allegedly supposed to set down all of the mall’s security. Ranboo runs to press the button, and though it does, in fact, work, he is now entirely alone.

In a stream after the finale premiered, Ranboo stated that there was a limited amount of time for their character to escape the mall, and by stopping to save Charlie, he lost that time, and never would have been able to escape. However, it is important to note that there is no universe in which Charlie could have been saved. Had Ranboo left him at the food court, he would have died in the mall. In the ending we saw, he was ripped apart by the wire monster: There was NEVER any way for Ranboo to save Charlie, and his lack of knowledge about this fact makes the show’s ending even sadder, as we see Ranboo get killed while knowing that he could have escaped if he had simply stayed alone. Even more unfortunately, we know that, since Charlie has died many times, Showfall is able to bring people back from the dead, meaning that Ranboo’s death may have only been a temporary sign of relief for the tortured youth. The point of Showfall having the power of resurrection is incredibly important to mention, as it fuels one of the main theories for this series AND the truth of the Little Nightmares games:

It’s all a time loop.

If Showfall were to bring Ranboo back to life after his execution and send him back to the cabin, he would meet G’Lop, or Demon Charlie, once more. This is similar to the time loop ending of Little Nightmares II: As the building that Mono and Six are in begins to collapse, the two run across an unstable bridge towards an exit. Six makes it there first, and offers her hand to Mono, who jumps and grabs on, obviously expecting her to pull him up. However, there’s a brief pause in this moment, one in which you can see Six looking into Mono’s eyes, then pulling her hand back in fear, thereby releasing him into the endless abyss of the signal tower, where he is trapped for years until he becomes the Thin Man, the game’s primary antagonist. The Thin Man is released from a television set when Mono goes into a TV and finds a long hallway with a mysterious door at the end; upon opening it, the man is able to escape and kidnap Six. However, this time loop would be impossible if Six had simply pulled Mono up onto the ledge with her; though it is possible that she looked into his eyes and saw the face of the man who tortured her just recently, and dropped him out of either fear or anger. Since Six will always feel this way, Mono will always be dropped, and he will always become the Thin Man at the end of the hallway.

So, how could this apply to Generation Loss? Well, if Showfall were to bring a resurrected Ranboo to G’lop’s cabin, he would once again meet the villain whom he was certain was going to kill him. What if Charlie became this villain, not because Showfall wanted him to, but because he was angry at Ranboo for simply standing back in shock as he was violently murdered by the Wire Monster? If the time loop theory is true for Generation Loss, what if Charlie wasn’t reset after his death in episode three, but rather after episode one, in which he still holds all of his memories from episode three? Did he become a mocking villain just to spite Ranboo for not saving him? Or is Showfall always in control of its cast members, just as the Signal Tower was always in control of the residents in Little Nightmares II?

[purplesurveys]

1844

What did you have for dinner tonight?: It's only 10 AM, but last night we went to Solaire to watch Miss Saigon and we went with an Asian spread. I got bao, rice paper rolls, and pad thai.

If you were given a million dollars, what would you spend it on? I'd keep a good portion of it as savings and not touch it until I'm like, 65; the rest I would give to my parents.

Have you ever cried in front of your parents over a boyfriend or girlfriend?: Nope.

What does your bedroom smell like right now?: Like coffee, I'm guessing.

Have you ever shaved off your eyebrow before?: I've never done that but I did have trichotillomania growing up so I had phases where I was missing chunks of my eyebrows.

Do you want to have a boy or girl whenever you have kids?: Girl.

Your pregnant with twins: What do you name them?: Definitely not similar names like Kaye and Kate as it would only make me more confused haha.

Describe your outfit.: Only in loungewear today as I'm at home, but last night I had on a dark green halter dress that went down to a bit above my knees. It also had a slit on the left leg side. I wore black heels and a small black shoulder bag as well.

What gigabyte is your memory card?: I haven't had a hard drive since high school, even though I know I really should invest in one.

What brand is your digital camera?: I don't own a digicam but damn if those things aren't seeing a resurgence lately. I might be the only one in my age group left who still doesn't have one.

When was the last time you hung out with your best friend?: Angela came over last month just to hang out and have some heart to hearts here and there.

What is a movie you're waiting to see?: I've been meaning to watch The Iron Claw. It's not all the time that a movie centered around wrestling gets to be produced and becomes critically-acclaimed at that, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Who was the last person to cook something for you?: Apart from the crew at Solaire lol, my mom.

Do you ever sit and think what if about something?: Sure, I think it's inevitable to come across those thoughts every now and then.

If so, what is it?: It's always very different. Like what if we're one of those families able to migrate, what if Kimi was still alive, what if I chose to be a journalist...there's a million scenarios with a million possibilities and how actively my mind runs I could be thinking about anything.

What’s on tv right now?: My own TV isn't it but I know my sister is watching some streamer play video games in the living room TV.

Do you ever stop and smell the roses?: Sure, if I remember to.

Where do you download music from?: I listen to music on Spotify but never download cause it'd take up so much storage if I were to download all the albums I like.

How many channels do you have on your tv?: Don't really throw around the word 'channels' anymore, but as for apps we have subscriptions to and regularly use it'd be Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Prime, Apple TV, and quite recently this local sports channel since it's the only one in the country that airs WWE live.

What are you most scared of?: Getting cancer or dementia. < This, but these circumstances happening to my family. I honestly don't think I'd care as much if it happened to me.

If you were given a chance to bring someone back to life, who would you choose?: No one. If it's their time, it's their time; and I don't want to fuck around with grief.

Do you talk to any of your ex boyfriend/girlfriend?: Nope.

If so, which one?:

What is your mom doing right now?: I think she's on her phone just reliving our Miss Saigon experience last night haha. I'm glad she really enjoyed it! She watched the 2000 Manila tour – it was still Lea Salonga playing Kim - and I call out Lea cause she set such a high standard for Kim; and it made me worried that her Gen X self might end up simply comparing the 2024 show to what she watched 24 years ago.

I was happy and relieved it wasn't the case and she had so much fun. As for me my soft spot was hit all evening knowing that she originally watched with my dad, and now she got to watch the play with her three kids.

Are you currently listening to music?: I'm not.

What is the weather like right now?: I mean it's your typical weather in the Philippines in April. Approaching 40C, humid, uncomfortably and nearly painfully hot.

Do you like new music or older music?: I think it's a good mix.

Do you agree that abortion is wrong?: No.

If you could make a law, what would kind of law would you make?: I just wanted to get rid of e-bikes on highways but the government has already been on that so yay hahaha.

What was the last video game you played?: Mario Kart 8 on the Switch.

What is currently going on in the room you're in right now?: Apart from me taking this, noting.

Do you know where your best friend is?: I'm almost certain she is at home as it is still quite early.

Who was the last person to comment you on Facebook?: Angela, I think.

What is your display picture of on Facebook?: Me posing in front of the Impact Arena in Bangkok a few hours before Yoongi's concert.

Do you ever sit and think about the past?: Just occasionally.

If you could relive any moment in time: what would it be?: Let's go with a recent memory – Wrestlemania Sunday with 200 Cody-crazed fans watching the ref count to three.

Are you a talker or a listener?: Listener.

What is one food you will not eat?: Mango.

Do you eat anything now that you never used to eat?: Curry and wasabi.

Have you ever kissed the same sex?: Yes.

When does school start this year?: Haven't been in school since 2020.

What genre of music do you refuse to listen to?: Country. Which is why it's taking me forever to take on Cowboy Carter hahaha.

Do you ever shout for absolutely no reason?: I don't think so. If I scream it's always for a reason lol.

Have you stuck with your new years resolution?: I don't make em.

Do you need to lose any weight right now?: No. If anything I need to gain some. I was well under 100lbs at my last physical exam and the nurses also told me I had low blood pressure which had to do with my weight, so it might be healthiest to gain a few pounds.

What is something you want right now?: I wish I can just stay at home but alas I've been booked the last few days haha. Saturday - Work event Sunday morning - Wrestlemania Saturday Monday morning - Wrestlemania Sunday Tuesday - Miss Saigon Wednesday - Afternoon out with Bea and Kata Thursday & Friday - Work Saturday - Rest Sunday - Work event

Even then it's still kinda hard to be excited about Saturday because I know it's sandwiched between two busy days anyway.

Do you hate when you see teachers in stores?: I don't hate it but I also don't wish for it to happen.

What always puts a smile on your face?: My dogs.

Where can I find you on a Saturday night?: At home with a cup of coffee.

What is the best thing about Sundays?: The free time - for the most part, at least.

What is your music provider (itunes, windows media player): I just use Spotify.

How many songs do you have?: I don't download songs.

When was the last time you had a period?: Two weeks ago.

Why do you think the sky is blue?: Idk.

If you could change the sky to any color which would you choose?: I wouldn't change it. We get different colors already anyway.

Is there anything wrong with you right now?: I mean I'm running on 2 hours of sleep so I don't super particularly feel my best rn but I think I'll manage.

Do you hate when people stare at you?: It bothers me a little bit, yeah.

What always makes you angry, no matter what?: Toddlers throwing a tantrum.

[another-dr-another]

head into the rec room, hopefully there’s no bodies- -iris

Maeda, narrating - …Just what are we going to do?

Maeda - I… don’t really have a clue.

Maeda - Eh, whatever… we get noisy enough as is when we’re just trying to eat-

Maeda - Throw some games in there, I doubt anyone will get bored with the ensuing chaos.

Maeda - …

Maeda - Not sure if I want to see what happens if we play Monopoly… god, or if we play Uno?

~*~

//Taira opens the door- it swings outward, so she steps back, holding the door open, and allowing the others to walk in first. Higa enters, followed by Maeda, then Tsurugi, and finally Taira, who leaves the door open.

Taira - Heyyyy…

Tomori - Guys! Hi!

Tsurugi - Hi-hi~

Maki - …You four have been hanging out together?

//Taira nudges Maeda.

Maeda - We, uh- we waited for Tsurugi and Higa to show up before we came in.

//Uehara shoots them all a curious look- “waited for Tsurugi and Higa” on the first floor, right? 

Ōtori - …Is there enough places to sit?

Uehara - Uh, there’s still room on this couch…

Ōtori - Room for four?

Uehara - Oh fuck off, man, I was just saying…

//Higa has wandered off- he seems to be surveying the options for games. Kobashikawa is sitting on the floor by the table which all the games have been placed on- when Higa approaches, and stops to look at the games, he casually shifts away, ever so slightly. Higa tilts away from him in response. 

Maeda - The room looks totally different… everyone did a solid job of rearranging it.

//The billiards table has been pushed to one corner- people could still play it, probably, but Ōtori is currently sitting on it, propping his feet on the fold-up chair he could be sitting on instead. Kobashikawa sits on the ground in front of him, and a few feet to the right- just in front of him is a small table, close to the ground, without much room on it. Assorted game boxes have been stacked on top of one another, accompanied by card games, all piled high.

//Hatano sits on a chair to Kobashikawa’s left, between the game table, and the wall. A potted plant has been moved, and is now between Hatano, and Iranami, who honestly startles Maeda- he didn’t realize she was there, but she’s seated on the floor, half-leaning against a large pile of blankets. She sits cross legged- Kobashikawa’s legs are under the table, and while they don’t come close to her right now, she’d probably bump into him if she stretched out her legs.

//Directly in front of Maeda is a table he recognizes from his earlier investigation of the rec room. Behind it is a large couch, seating Uehara, who sits to Maeda’s left, and Maki, who sits towards the center of the room. Tomori sits on the floor between the two, completely ignoring the open spot on the couch between them. The couch is up almost flush with the back wall, and there’s another, smaller couch, against the left wall. At the moment, no one’s sitting there. 

Maeda - …Tsurugi, Tomori, Uehara- you did all this rearranging by yourselves?

Tomori - Mhm… it was all fairly heavy, but Tsurugi and I are athletic, so…

Uehara - …

Uehara - Aaah…

Tomori - …

Tomori - And Uehara gave Tsurugi emotional support, so that was helpful.

Uehara - I spent so much time going up and down the stairs…

Uehara - “Oh, Uehara, go grab some blankets, Ue, go grab the cooler from the pool, see if you can find some water, Kinji…”

Uehara - And this is the respect I get!

Tsurugi - …I dedicate my entire life to our lord and savior, Jesus Christ-

Uehara - And this is the thanks I get?!

Tomori - …We also made him move the potted plants. That was just for fun though-

Tomori - We kept asking him to move them back and forth, here and there.

Uehara - I’m so mistreated…

//Off to the side with Higa, Kobashikawa, Ōtori, Hatano, and Iranami…

Hatano - I’m glad everyones finally here…

Hatano - The curse of showing up early… it felt like I was waiting forever!

//She catches Maedas attention.

Hatano - There’s only so much hangman you can play…

Hatano - Thanks for letting me borrow your whiteboard, by the way.

//Kobashikawa gives her a thumbs up.

Tsurugi - Why didn’t you break into any of the games?

Hatano - Iranami said we should wait, so we wouldn’t be in the middle of something when everyone else showed up.

Taira - Hm-hm…

//Maeda jumps a bit- Taira is over to the left, on the floor by the empty couch. He didn’t notice it, but there’s a projector there, with a stack of DVD cases. 

Tomori - Oh, cool, right? 

Tomori - The store is freaky, but there’s actually tons of cool things there. We found the projector, uh…

Tomori - Well, I found it on one of my trips there.

//Maeda realizes now that he’s the only one still standing by the door. Tsurugi has drifted over to Uehara, and…

Tsurugi, quietly - Boy move, boy move, boy move.

//He begins gently pushing at Uehara's legs with one of his feet. Uehara looks up at him, but Tsurugi doesn’t meet his eyes, laser-focused on pestering Uehara. 

Tsurugi - Boy. Boy move. Move boy move-

//Uehara, amused at first, if a bit confused, seems to suddenly notice the way that Tsurugi’s eyes are a bit bloodshot. He quickly becomes visibly concerned, and starts to move-

Tsurugi - Shh, sh. That’s enough, stay still…

//Uehara’s moved, but not enough for Tsurugi to sit at the end of the couch- there’s room for maybe half of him, but…

Ōtori - We were going to play Monopoly, right?

Kobashikawa - You’ve been waiting for that, huh? Huh, you evil capitalist?

Ōtori - Bold words from Mr. Old Money.

Kobashikawa - One of us has actively made the decision to play the game, Ōtori. Which of us was it?

Ōtori - Ōtori Mart is a leading group for labor equality. How exactly did your family see profit?

//While they bicker, and other conversations continue on, Tsurugi places one hand on the arm of the couch. Uehara seems to understand what’s happening, and adjusts himself, but doesn’t move anymore. Tsurugi climbs onto the couch, sitting with his back against the arm of the couch, rather than against the back of the couch. Tsurugi gently tugs at Uehara, pulling at his shirt, his sleeve, and on and on, to maneuver a very compliant Uehara. His legs wind up covering Uehara’s lap, and stretching onto the empty couch, as he rests his arms on his knees, and tilts forward to tuck his head along Uehara’s shoulder.

Uehara - …

Uehara, quietly - Tutto bene?

Tsurugi - Sì…

Tsurugi - …

//He reaches over, pulling at Uehara’s sleeve, until Uehara moves his arm closer- Tsurugi begins toying with Uehara’s fingers while he thinks.

Tsurugi - Io sono… un po’scosso

Tsurugi - …Cazzo coniugazione.

//Uehara laughs a bit.

Uehara - Sarà meglio che tu mi dica…

Tsurugi - Sì! Ahhh… dopo?

Uehara - Va bene.

//Tsurugi was looking at Uehara’s hand, but looks up and smiles at him now- before turning his attention to the game corner, with Uehara following suit.

Tomori - Oh, uh…

//Maeda goes to sit down on the empty couch.

Tomori - Wait, let me see if I can remember everything we found…

Tomori - There’s Clue, and Jenga, and Monopoly… Pictionary, Sorry and Trouble, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit…

Tomori - Game of Life, Uno- Ooh, Twister! We grabbed a few decks of cards…

Kobashikawa - We tried to avoid games which can’t be played by multiple people- not that there’s really single player board games, but…

Kobashikawa - You all get the point. 

Uehara - We brought up… water, and we found a few liters of soda, but- 

Uehara - If anyone wants to find something else, they can always run down to the kitchen…

Uehara - In pairs! 

Uehara - Fuck, uh… we also grabbed some snacks, which are, uh…

Uehara - …Tsu, can you…

Tsurugi - Oh, yeah.

//Tsurugi reaches behind him, and grabs a large bag from the corner between the two couches.

Tsurugi - Snacks!

Uehara - That’s one bag of a few… we don’t really have anything substantial, but, you know… again, kitchen.

Hatano - This must have taken forever…

Hatano - Thanks, guys!

//A chorus of thanks rings out.

Hatano - Okay, who wants to play what…

Tomori - Twister, please, Twister before everyone’s too full on snacks to move…

Tsurugi - Mmm… Tomori, did you used to play Twister a lot with your squad?

Tomori - Yeah… always used the excuse that it was good flexibility practice, but really, I just think it’s fun…

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi, laughing - Tomori, it’s so shit for flexibility?

Tomori, laughing - I- listen, listen, when you’re captain, you- anyone would get a bit power-drunk!

Tsurugi - …Maki, would you play Twister with us in a bit? 

Maki - Huh?

Maki - I mean, sure…

Uehara - …

Uehara - Hey, would someone pass Jenga over, if no one’s playing it?

Ōtori - …Get it yourself?

Uehara - No?

//Ōtori sighs- not genuinely upset, simply fueling some sort of feud he seems to have with Uehara. Kobashikawa passes the Jenga box to Ōtori, who looks further dismayed at Kobashikawa’s refusal to walk it over himself- Ōtori proceeds to not get up, and simply lay across the billiards table to get the box closer to Maki, who leans over, and manages to grab it. She passes the box to Uehara, who seems to realize the predicament he’s in.

Tomori - …Okay, got a plan.

//Tomori climbs onto the couch- Tsurugi moves his legs to give her a place to sit, hovering them in the air just off the couch. Tomori reaches down, and pulls the table to sit directly against the couch, sitting cross-legged so her legs are out of the way. The others on the couch shift so they don’t impede the tables new location- Uehara lifts his legs up, then brings them to rest on the table. Maki shifts around for a moment, watching to see what happens, and keeping her legs to the side of the table until then.

Tomori - Hey, Maeda? Watch your legs- I’m not sure how close the table is to where you’re sitting.

Maeda - !

//Maeda is sitting at the end of the couch further from the quartet’s couch, and the table is short enough that it doesn’t brush against his couch- still, he uses this as an opportunity to shift, and face the quartet more. Tomori tugs at Tsurugi’s legs, letting him rest his feet on her leg-

Tomori - …Beat-up old Converse-

Tsurugi - They will outlive me. They will outlive everyone. This specific pair of Converse is eternal. 

//Tomori snorts, and grabs the Jenga box from Uehara. She’s careful with it- flips the box upside down, and tries to open it so the pieces will land on the table and keep their formation. She succeeds, and gestures proudly.

Tomori - There. Now you guys can play on the table.

Maki - …Can you reach the… uh, the stack?

Uehara - Uh, yeah, just about… long arms.

Uehara - And if I have to move closer, Tsu can just suck it up.

Tsurugi - Or we could move it closer to you?

Uehara - Hm. That seems awfully disrespectful to Maki to ask her to go further to reach the game. 

Uehara - I’d expect better from you.

Tsurugi - .. She could also switch places with Tomori.

Uehara - Okay. Now you’re being ridiculous.

Uehara - Ignoring this crazy guy- Maeda, Tomori, do you guys want to play?

Tsurugi - You aren’t going to invite me?

Uehara - …You don’t like Jenga?

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - Life is a fuck. 

//Tomori wheezes.

Tomori - I’m good, I wanna watch.

Maeda - …Wait, me too- I feel like this has been built up to, for some reason.

Maki - Yeah, wait, why- Uehara, did you just decide we were playing Jenga together?

Uehara - …Yes.

Uehara - I… probably should have conveyed that. Uh.

Uehara - Maki. Play Jenga with me. 

Maki - That doesn’t sound like a question…

Uehara - …

Uehara - Play Jenga with me?

Maki - …Yeah. 

Maki - Gonna kick your ass at it.

Uehara - It’s okay. If I lose, it’s because Tsurugi was an added challenge.

Tsurugi - Maki, if you want to rig this match, I’m willing to attack him so he screws up his move.

Maki - …

Maki - I’d never ask you to do that. Of course, I can win on my own.

//She leans forward, getting ready to play- and gives Tsurugi a incredibly unsubtle wink. Tsurugi nods solemnly in response. 

Uehara - …God fucking damn it…

Uehara - Okay, game on! I am so confident and so glad to have such a fair opponent. 

//Maeda looks over at the projector- at some point, Taira must have wandered away. Over at the other side of the room, the six students seem to have the perfect number for a game of Clue, an opportunity they’ve taken advantage of, as they now seem to be well-into a game.

Maeda - …Seems like they’re having fun…

~*~

//Maki and Uehara play a few rounds of Jenga- throughout the assorted rounds, both Tsurugi and Tomori begin to intermittently steal turns from Uehara and Maki, playing in their stead when they feel like it. Maeda himself has jumped in at points, and played a round as an actual player- however, it seems that no matter what move he makes, the stack never falls… So, he’s opted out of this round, and is watching instead. Tomori pulls off a dangerous move, prompting Tsurugi to gently poke at her, chastising her for helping Maki too much- clearly, she’s insulting Maki’s Jenga skills! She’s saved from his teasing as Uehara leans forward to make his own move- leaning further than necessary, and nearly sending Tsurugi tumbling to the floor, fully distracting him as he laughs and screams. Of course, Maki slides right in, dramatically bemoaning this horrible offense Tomori’s committed, just for Tomori to lean too far forward as she laughs- and knock the Jenga tower right over.

Uehara - NO!

Tomori - Aaaah!

Tsurugi - Oh, you lose! That’s totally on you!

Maki - It was Uehara’s turn!

Tsurugi - Tomori literally knocked the tower right over!

Maki - Clearly this was because Uehara compromised it’s structure!

Tsurugi - That’s not how that works! Isn’t that how the game works, it’s all about risky moves?

Maki - That’s what you got after Tomori for, like… five seconds ago!

Tsurugi - I was defending you!

//Across the room, the group erupts into screams.

Ōtori - FUCK?!

Hatano - What the hell! What the hell!

Higa - There is no way!

Iranami - …Seriously?

Taira - Wait, let me see…

//Kobashikawa claps his hands together and grins, clearly pleased with himself- he won the first round of Clue.

Hatano - No- it’s supposed to take so much longer!

//Maeda is immersed in watching the Clue group, so he doesn’t quite notice when the table is pushed back to its original position.

Taira - He… I mean, yeah, he got it right.

Ōtori - Show me your- show me your notes! What the fuck! 

//Kobashikawa passes his notebook over to Ōtori, who looks at it-

Ōtori - …Why is this so illegible.

Ōtori - I… I cannot stand you. Oh my god…

Kobashikawa - This is like… all my oldest sister ever wants to play.

Hatano - You aren’t allowed to play anymore. I’m kicking you out. 

Hatano - You can’t sit with us!

//Kobashikawa gives a silent laugh, and starts to stand up.

Iranami - …

Iranami - If you still want to play, you can… Hatano is just messing around.

Kobashikawa - Oh! Nah, I’m good… kinda want to go play Twister.

Tomori - Come join us! C’mere! Now!

Maki - …Is there enough room?

Tomori, seriously - Twister Ultimate. Twice the amount of spots.

Tomori - Necessary for any gathering…

Tomori - We might have to move some things around, though…

Ōtori - Wait, if we’re moving stuff, can we move the big table over here?

Ōtori - I keep having to ask people to move my token, because we put the board on the floor…

Tomori - Okay, yeah… that sounds good, just need to think of how to move things…

Tsurugi - We could put some stuff outside, as long as you guys don’t struggle too much with “out of sight, out of mind”...

Higa - …Would the smaller table fit over by the projector? It’d be a tight fit, but we could probably get the larger table over here then.

Tsurugi - Oh! Yeah, I forgot about that area-

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - ADHD horrors.

Tsurugi - Anyways. I think that’ll work!

//The class makes quick work of the arrangements- namely, Higa, Tsurugi, Tomori, and Hatano make quick work of moving things, while the others do their best to stay out of the way. Maeda sits on the arm of the smaller couch, by the corner with the snacks, and watches things happen.

Maeda - …Hm…

~*~

Maeda, narrating - What do I want to do…

Maeda - Honestly, both seem fun, but with how long a game of Clue usually is, I doubt I’d be able to do both- 

Maeda - I can join the round of Clue now, and commit to that, or go play Twister before the others get sick of it, 

Maeda - And have to wait until the others finish their round of Clue to see if anyone wants to play again after. 

{Go Play Clue}

{Go Play Twister}

[perceivedregret]

pt 6 finally!! can also be found on ao3, user is the same over there. part 1 of Extended Hours can be found here.

because i want but don't receive, quarantine me and teach me what you mean

Robin is sitting in the center of the kitchen island with her legs crossed, muttering annoyingly to no one in particular as she inspects the tape in her hand. She cranks her finger in one of the slots before an exasperated sigh escapes her.

“Ya know, there’s literally a sticker right there. It's kinda hard to miss since it’s in big, bold, bright red letters smack dab in the center of the box. Why is it so hard to be kind and rewind?” She sets the tape down beside her with a clatter before laying back and throwing her legs out, socked heels thudding against the island's wall where her feet bounce before settling, hands low on her stomach.

Nancy lets the ladle sink down into the spiked bowl of lemonade she had been stirring, wandering over until she's right beside Robin. She rests her elbows on the counter, leaning into Robin's leg as she scoops the tape into her own hands.

"It looks like it’s only about half way through, it won’t take too long for the player to rewind it. But hey, can you check to see if I put in enough of, well, everything?" She glances back at the mix of different bottles that Steve had pulled from the liquor cabinet that surrounded the punch bowl.

Robin doesn't move, instead turning her head to look at Nancy, arm reaching out. "How does Steve not  own one of those automatic rewinder thingies? How do I  own one but Mr. Moneybags here has to subject us to possibly spoiling the movie like heathens. What if the frame it’s stuck on is a major plot point and bam, it’s all just ruined?"

"Bite me, Buckely," Steve mutters, arms crossing over his chest as he leans against the archway leading into the kitchen. He'd disappeared for a moment to show Eddie where the bathroom was.

It's the door right on the left, just down that hallway. Left! Yea, that one, right there.

Stevie, there are like, a bajillion doors down this one hallway and you just said left and right. Can you just–

"Remind me, Robs, who broke the last one? Also, you could've checked it and had Keith rewind it back at the store. How is this my fault?"

Nancy shakes her head between them as her lips quirk to stifle a smile, already used to their bickering. She sets the tape down and reaches out to take Robin's outstretched hand into her own. She pulls at her fingers then gently massages at the palm. Robin continues, surprisingly unfazed by the contact, her unoccupied hand pointing accusingly in Steve's direction.

"It’s always somehow your fault. And honestly how was I supposed to know that the kids put an Eggo in the damn thing? They're not five! By the way, if we were working at Family Video, this tape would have been set and ready for our viewing pleasure. Just sayin'."

Before Steve can make a retort the front door opens with a bang and all three heads swivel at the sound. Argyle’s voice carries throughout the entire house, the smell of sweet fresh pizza wafting in with him.

"How's it hanging brochachos y  brochachas. I come bearing the fruit of gods." Argyle rounds the corner with two boxes of pizza held high above his head, the smile on his lips full of pride.

"Pizza isn't a fruit," Robin deadpans as she pulls herself up to rest back on her elbows, hand slipping out of Nancy's grasp. She eyes the unmarked pizza boxes warily as he sets them down on the only remaining free space on the counter.

There's the sound of the front door shutting and soon after Jonathan is shuffling in with a pack of Coronas in one hand, the other hand passing a joint over to Argyle. He throws his head back and blows smoke up into the space of the kitchen's skylight before heading over to the fridge.

“Tomatoes are a fruit, Robby. There's probably more fruit in this pizza than veggies, now that I’m thinking about it." Argyle takes a long pull, the cloud of smoke thickening in the skylight before he reaches over to let Jonathan finish it off, Jonathan's arm bends awkwardly behind him to get a hold of it as he continues to search the fridge.

"Roach is yours, bro. Anyways, I made these babies from scratch right at home. D'you know they sell empty pizza boxes? Kinda wild. Still tryin' to convince the old boss man to expand. Hawkins is in need of their own Surfer Boy, pronto."

Jonathan closes the fridge empty handed, searching the kitchen with a pout. Steve chuckles as he points towards the living room.

"I got you Twizzlers, Byers, they're in ther–"

Jonathan doesn't wait for Steve to finish, just grabs Steve's face between his hands before pulling Steve's head down to plant a kiss on the top of his head, red eyes as wide as he can make them. "You're great, ya know that?" He disappears into the living room, the sound of him settling into the couch with a loud satisfied sigh following shortly after.

"Aye man, did ya want a slice?" Argyle calls out after him. He opens a box with raised eyebrows, presenting it to the other three.

Nancy shrugs a shoulder before taking a slice. "It smells good. Need to eat something since we're going to be drinking. Especially if we have to follow that list you two came up with. It screams alcohol poisoning."

"Nance, you made the punch," Steve scoffs as he grabs a slice, folding it down the middle to take a bite. "If you end up with a splitting headache in the morning, point that finger directly to a mirror."

"Ew, Steve! You're allowed to chew and swallow your food before speaking. You know that, right?" Robin takes a slice, eyes still skeptical and her nose scrunched in distaste. She shakes her head to herself, muttering fruit should not be hot before pulling all the pieces of pineapple off and eating the slice with just the ham and cheese.

Argyle picks up every piece Robin abandons, popping them into his own mouth. "Keep 'em comin' Robby."

"Wait, does that mean you don't like pies?" Nancy's voice is incredulous as she takes another bite of her slice, fingers picking at Robin's abandoned pineapple pieces along with Argyle.

Robin takes a bite, taking a moment to mull over Nancy's question before answering. "Depends. Do unbaked pies count?"

"Robin."

"Nancy?"

Eddie sneaks up behind Steve, on his tiptoes to peak over his shoulder at the slice Steve is about to take another bite from. "My brain is telling me that this isn't right but my stomach is telling me to devour it."

Steve stiffens, surprised by the sudden closeness. Eddie's chin lowers until it sits on Steve's shoulder, their bodies with just a shadow of space between them. His hair tickles Steve's neck and before he can stop himself Steve sways back until half of Eddie's body is pressed against his back.

He makes the mistake of turning his head slightly towards him because suddenly Steve's senses are overloaded by everything Eddie. He feels the warmth of Eddie's body on the half of his that he's pressed up against, can feel him from his neck all the way down to the back of his knee. The only thing that Steve is able to process in this moment is how he wants to be buried, to be covered up beneath him completely.

And then there's that overwhelming smell of mahogany and apples, with that subtle hint of cigarette smoke in his hair. He has to fight the urge to move, to slide somehow even closer. He wants to turn his head and bury himself nose first into those curls, or to that pulse point where it will definitely be that much stronger. He’s getting dizzy. 

Mistake. Definitely a mistake.

Eddie's arm reaches over until it comes around Steve's other shoulder. He takes the slice from him and takes a bite, his jaw brushing against Steve's. He hums contently before unraveling himself from around him, the half eaten slice officially stolen. He settles against the opposite side of the archway, mirroring Steve who leans back against his own side. 

Steve stands there frozen, staring at his suddenly empty hands. He looks up and makes eye contact with Robin. That look is back again except this time as they lock eyes with each other it finally clicks and he suddenly understands it.

He feels like he just got out of a fight and just barely came out swinging. The air is no longer in his lungs, the ants are revved up and he can't bring himself to shake them off. He's having to rewire his brain, reconnecting all those moments before, those moments where he thought he was going to be eaten alive by those ants, the ants that only started up when–

Oh.

Oh shit.

"Are you responsible for this absolute monstrous creation? I thought the kids were imaginative, that I  was, but this?" Eddie pushes away from the archway, walking towards Argyle to introduce himself just as Robin hops off the counter, making a beeline straight for Steve. “Is this a Cali thing?”

"Yeah man, sup sup, I'm Argyle." He tips his head in Eddie's direction, loose hair that isn't held back from his backwards upside down neon orange visor slipping forward over his shoulders before straightening back up.  "Eddie, right? I like your style bro, it screams hot goth. Think you and Eden would get along great."

Steve doesn't get to hear Eddie's reaction to that because he's being pulled away by Robin, her arm locked to his by the elbow. The yelp that escapes him as he almost trips over her feet that ram right into his as she forces him to move backwards makes everyone look back at them, eyes confused and concerned.

“Nance, can you get the movie set up? Steve and I just need to get some pillows and blankets from the guest room. Oh, and can you get my chips for me? Think I left ‘em in the car. Be right back!” Robin tugs again and Steve can’t do anything other than follow.

Once they get to the guest room Robin all but shoves Steve through the door before backing up to shut it behind her, voice a panicked whisper. “You looked like you were gonna be sick–” rough shake of her head. “We don’t have a lot of time here for you to panic over this so I need you to relax and–”

“Relax? Buckley, you knew. This whole time you knew and you didn’t tell me.” Steve pinches his nose and huffs a ragged breath. “I’ve been drowning and I had no idea why and you knew! Robs, I’ve been in your corner and pushed for you to take a chance on Nance all week and you–” He points accusingly in Robin’s direction before raking a hand through his hair as he spins in place, throwing himself face first into the bed. 

“That’s not fair! No, that’s not even remotely the same thing and you know it, so don’t you even try it, bucko.”  Steve can’t see her but he can hear her patter over to the drawer and pull it open harshly. “I had an inkling, I will admit to that, but honestly? The way you were acting around him I thought you knew and were just being– oh I don’t know, I thought you were just being Steve! Hot and cold, ya know, confident flirt to sudden flustered, dumb idiot.”

Robin continues to shuffle around the room, opening cabinets and the closet door. A pillow thuds onto his head and soon he’s buried beneath comforters and throws.

A beat of silence.

“Rob, what’s wrong with me?”

He mutters it into the bed, so when Robin doesn’t respond right away he thinks she didn’t hear him. But when he pulls his face away from the mattress she’s right there in front of him. She’s looking down at him, hands at her hips with eyebrows drawn together. He sighs, folding his arms underneath himself before resting his chin on his arms.

She lowers herself to a squat, mirroring his position so that they’re almost nose to nose. “What do you mean, what’s wrong with me? I can list a number of things that are wrong with you, Steve Harrington.”

Steve chuckles at that, turning his head to rest his cheek on his arms. “I just… didn’t realize it, ya know? Why didn’t I realize it? I’ve never felt this way over…"

“A guy?”

“Yes. Wait, no. I mean– yes and no? I’ve definitely felt things before. Tommy wasn’t even the first dude to make me realize I liked guys, if I’m being completely honest. But before, it was more of… a physical type attraction–”

“Okay okay, no need to elaborate. I get it,” Robin throws a hand out, eyes squeezing shut as a chuckle bubbles out of her. Her eyes flutter open and she looks as confused as Steve feels. “But then… what do you mean? What's so different about Eddie?”

Steve honest to god whines like a petulant child before shoving his face into the mattress again. “I would like to fucking know Robs, because all I feel when I'm around him is physical. Except with him it’s so goddamn different, it’s not the usual bullshit. It doesn’t compare to anything else, not even Nancy.”

Robin jumps because suddenly Steve is moving to rest on his elbows and he’s reaching out to grab her hands in his. All she does is nod for him to continue.

“There’s been this feeling– it’s like I’m drowning except multiplied by a hundred. And then there were these… ants? I don’t even know how to describe it but I felt this, like, incessant tingly and floaty feeling at the tips of my fingers. It would crawl all the way up to my chest until I felt like I would suffocate from it. It feels like that all the time when I’m around him.”

Robin doesn’t know how to respond but from the look on her face she’s coming to some conclusion, a conclusion Steve is struggling so hard to find. She doesn’t know how to tell him so she just squeezes his hands in hers and let’s him barrel on.

“It’s so god damn different with him, so fucking different. Like, just last night after I got off the phone with you I called him while he was still at the Vibe. I was supposed to wait for him to get home but I couldn’t. I needed to call him because I swear to god I was on the verge of losing my fucking mind. And when he finally picked up the phone….” Steve is shaking his head, eyes unfocused as he remembers that moment of utter relief. 

“When I heard his voice it just… went away. I felt like I could breathe again.”

Robin tugs at his hands. “Steve–”

“Guys, the movie’s ready!” Her eyes cut away from his when Nancy's voice comes muffled through the shut door.

“Oh, we gotta get back out there,” Robin mumbles, moving to grab some of the stuff off of Steve.

“Fuck. Fuck!” Steve mutters, dropping his head to the bed one final time before struggling to dig himself out of the pile Robin buried him under. “Robin, what do I do? What the hell am I supposed to do? Shit, does Eddie even like guys?” 

“Shit shit shit, Steve wait, just–” Robin scrambles to gather the pillows and comforters as Steve crawls backwards and grabs the ones she didn't pull off. He leaves a yellow throw over his head and bundles himself in it. "I’m pretty sure that Eddie’s–”

"Did you guys need help?" 

They both freeze, eyes wide. Eddie's voice is loud behind the door and Steve can feel that bubbling in his chest again. Robin's face scrunches and Steve huffs a laugh and his anxiety makes his chest pang as he's able to read her. He shakes his head at her in response.

No, we won't ever have a moment's peace. 

Steve grabs at a pillow from the head of the bed to hug it tightly to his chest, pulling the throw back around himself. He turns to face the door, fingertips shocked by the coldness of the doorknob. After a deep breath that does nothing to calm his nerves Steve nods to himself determinedly and opens the door.

He regrets exhaling his breath before opening it because as he breathes in again the door wafts in that scent of mahogany and apples.

Steve thinks he might die.

“Stevie. Bobby. I don’t know how to tell you guys this but you two are terrible hosts.” Eddie tsks, leaning against the door with an elbow braced by his head against the frame.

A scoff comes from behind Steve. He’s being pushed to the side as Robin moves to stand in front of him, shoving some of the blankets and pillows in her arms into Eddie’s chest.

“Robs, Robby, Bobby– can you all agree on one nickname, for christ sake.” She pokes Eddie’s arm that now holds some of the pillows and throws, mutters “be nice,” before skirting around him and towards the living room. But not before giving Steve a wide eyed glance once she’s out of Eddie’s line of sight, exaggeratingly tipping her head towards Eddie.

Steve only telepathically begs for her to stop it and doesn’t move to follow her. He can’t move because Eddie is right in front of him.

Can’t move, doesn’t want to move because he now knows that the reason he feels like his heart is going to fall out of his ass is because he likes Eddie Munson.

And he doesn’t know if he could like him back.

Eddie’s eyes were following Robin as she made her way towards the living room, a half smirk exposing one of his dimples. Eddie turns back, giving Steve a full smile that makes Steve swallow hard to avoid saying something stupid, like, I adore your smile, can I please kiss it.

“Ya know, yellow really is your color, by the way.” Eddie tips his head, considering Steve for a moment. “Yup. Your color,” he mutters before turning and heading straight to the living room, hitching the throws and pillows up in his grasp.

Steve pulls his lips into a thin line and follows him. He’s feeling deja vu as he holds his breath. He thought apricots were going to make him melt but no, the apples were going to straight up kill him.

When he finally rounds the corner of the hallway into the living room, Steve stops short.

Jonathan and Argyle are taking up one of the couches, legs tangled into each other as their heads rest on opposite ends of the arm rests. They’re tossing Skittles at each other’s faces, trying to catch the rainbow sweets into their mouths and giggling whenever one misses and they have to go searching into their hair or behind their necks to find it.

Robin and Nancy are on the recliner, which is luckily wide enough for the two of them to sit side-by-side comfortably. They’re under a large purple and pink throw, bowl of pretzels on a pillow that they have on top of their legs, their spiked lemonades in either hand.

Robin smiles nervously at Steve when their eyes meet. She glances down at the floor apologetically but honestly it looked comfortable enough. There were multiple layers of throws and comforters for padding with various pillows thrown about.

Steve doesn't care that he has to be on the floor. Hell, some nights he'll throw a pillow down in his own room because the floor just makes sense for the night.

No, the thing that makes him stop is realizing that the only space left is the floor for Steve and Eddie to share. Steve seems to be the only one fazed because Eddie collapses almost immediately into a pile of pillows, using the blanket to burrito himself by rolling around on the floor.

"Stevie, can you grab my drink before you start the movie? I left it in the kitchen." Eddie is now inching himself like a worm to a stack of pillows to lay back and watch the movie, still cocooned in his throw wrap. 

Steve turns towards the kitchen and makes his way over to the bowl. He ladles two spoonfuls into a solo cup and takes a sip, nose wrinkling. Nancy has always been heavy handed with the alcohol, even for Steve's taste, but surprisingly tonight she kept it reasonable.

Which is not what Steve wants, no needs, right now. He shakes his head and grabs the half empty bottle of vodka and pours himself a generous shot and immediately knocks it back. He exhales a burning breath, completely unfazed and considers taking a second when Eddie's voice directly behind him makes him jump. Steve turns his head to look at Eddie as he leans his hip against the counter beside him.

"Shots already Harrington? What, is your tolerance so high you need to get ahead?" Eddie is bundled in a gray throw, hair a frizzled mess where it can’t be kept in that loose low hanging knot. 

Steve glances towards the living room, eyes narrowing and his heart hammering. “Didn’t you just ask me to grab you your drink, you worm.”

Eddie scratches at his cheek, a smile fighting its way onto his lips before pointing into the living room. “Bobby said Drew forgot her bag of chips on the counter.” Eddie reaches across Steve and past the bowl, bag crinkling loudly in the quiet kitchen as he picks it up with the tips of his fingers.

He slides closer towards Steve. The smell of the spiked lemonade, apples, and alcohol is overwhelming. Eddie takes the shot glass from Steve, fingers brushing along his. He tips his head towards the bottle of tequila.

"I'll try to keep up." The murmur sends a chill down Steve's spine. He's sure the blush on his cheeks isn't from the alcohol but hopes it's what Eddie will believe. Steve doesn't break their gaze as he grabs the bottle and pours a shot. If a few droplets fall onto Eddie's fingers, neither one mentions it.

He doesn't look away when Eddie grabs the shaker of salt. Doesn't look away when his hand is taken and brought closer to the other man's face.

And now he most definitely can't look away because Eddie is tipping his head, the back of Steve's hand brought close to his lips. He licks the back of Steve's hand before shaking the salt over the wet strip, making Steve's breath catch in his throat.

Eddie licks his lips before raising the shot glass with a small intake of breath. “Cheers.” He licks at Steve’s hand again, tongue wide, taking up every grain of salt with him before knocking back the shot. His eyebrows come together as he brings the glass down. “That was actually really smooth, Harrington. Didn't even need the lime. Is this daddy’s good stuff?”

He takes his own cup of spiked lemonade by the lip between his pinky and ring finger that still holds the bag of chips before using his other hand to pick up the bottle to inspect it, corners of his mouth turning down in approval as he makes his way towards the living room.

Steve doesn’t respond, only nods his head even though Eddie can’t see him. He’s stuck looking at the wet strip. but he wipes it away before he can do something abhorrent about it. He takes his own cup and follows Eddie, stops to double back and grab a few different bottles of liquor into his arm and fingering a few shot glasses.

Eddie is already back on the floor but is seated up against the couch Argyle and Jonathan are on, the bottle of tequila between his outstretched legs. He's turned at the waist and he's got two joints in his hands, seems to be asking Argyle about his strain of Purple Palm Tree Delight and comparing it to what Steve assumes to be from Eddie's own stache.

"Uhhh, Steve?" Robin watches him warily as he places the bottles and glasses on the coffee table they moved over by the fireplace.  He pulls the throw that slipped down back over his head and turns to her.

Steve takes a sip from his cup, flinches and decidedly pours more vodka in. He takes another sip and smacks his lips approvingly. He clears his throat, mutters "What's up?" and moves over to the VCR to hit play, then shuffles to the wall and turns off all the lights.

"Dudes and dudettes, it's time to get spooky-ooky" Argyle whispers, moaning like a ghost before almost falling off the couch in a fit of giggles because Jonathan dug his heel into his thigh.

The VHS is rolling and the trailers start playing. Steve considers skipping through them but decides to let them roll, giving everyone a last minute chance to get or do anything before the movie actually starts. He's about to go and settle (a safe distance) on Eddie’s right when Nancy snaps her fingers at him.

"Hold up, bring me that bottle of Morgan." Nancy reaches her hand out and when Steve doesn't immediately move back to the coffee table she rolls her eyes and motions again. "If you and Eddie are going to go overboard then I want to be a part of it."

"Wait, what are those two gonna drink," Robin asks, pointing back to Argyle and Jonathan, voice lofty. "And do I have to-"

"No no, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you wanted to drink water that'd be alright, too," Nancy places a hand to Robin's shoulder, rubbing circles with her thumb, other arm still outstretched expectantly towards Steve.

Argyle reaches behind the armrest to grab the bucket filled with ice and the beers from the floor. "We got the 'Ronas here, Robby. Don't wanna get too wishy-washy, yanno." He digs a bottle opener out from somewhere between the couch cushions and pops two bottles open, handing one to Jonathan and wedging his own between his thighs.

"Where'd you even get that," Steve mutters, slipping Nancy her requested bottle. When he finally settles down with the throw over his legs he realizes he's a lot closer to Eddie than he initially wanted to set himself up to be. He'll just blame it on the room being too dark, sinking deep against the couch.

"I think the last time we tried hard liquor after a sesh we kinda slept for, like, thirteen hours straight," Jonathan mumbles before laughing and flicking a Skittle at Argyle's chest. "Bro, remember that night."

"I can't forget that night, man." Argyle's laugh and the way he pats Jonathan's ankle before letting his hand rest there indicates there's a memory there that everyone else isn't privy to. He pulls at one of Jonathan's legs to settle further into the couch, further tangling themselves.

Eddie is watching the interaction, humming softly and slowly nodding to himself before looking over to watch Nancy and Robin. Steve follows Eddie's gaze.

"I'm not saying I don't want to also drink, I'm just– I think someone should be sober enough to make sure the rest of the group doesn't do or, ya know, say something stupid or embarrassing." Robin chews on her thumb nail before shaking her hand out and grabbing her drink. Her eyes flitter towards Steve and it’s only a millisecond, but both Nancy and Eddie start to swivel their heads back and forth between the two.

Eddie smirks, points a finger gun to Robin, rings bright in the dark room. “Wait, are you worried you’re gonna have to go another round with the Russian spies?”

Robin chokes and starts coughing around her drink. Nancy lowers her hand that had remained on Robin’s shoulder and starts patting her on the back. She leans forward, muttering around an amused smile, “the Russian what now?”

“You told him?!” Robin sputters between coughs, opting to take a long pull from her cup to soothe her throat. She groans in annoyance after a sizable swallow. She turns to Nancy and throws her hands up, her cup of lemonade swishing dangerously. She shakes her head at Nancy, mumbles out a quick “it happened once and it was an accident,” before staring daggers at the boys on the floor. “Steve-”

“No, don’t you worry yourself Bobby, he didn’t get into specifics. Stevie here isn’t one to kiss and tell. Nah, he just told me about, oh who was it,” Eddie’s eyes shine as he turns back to Steve, the current trailer playing on the screen painting his face purple. Steve can’t help but smile with him. Eddie snaps his finger guns and redirects them to him. “Bonnie Wriggly’s gummies. I sold her those gummies, by the way. You’re welcome.”

At that Steve chuckles, taking the bottle of tequila from between Eddie’s knees. “Damn Munson, what kinda drugs are you dealing to the kids of Hawkin’s High?” He takes a swing directly from the bottle and Eddie pulls it away from him, an endearing snort escaping him.

"First of all, you weren't supposed to eat them all in one sitting, alright. And I only get the good stuff worth buyin’, sellin', and usin'.” Eddie uses two fingers to pull his hair back to show off the joint he has tucked behind his ear before shaking his hair out to cover it up again. “I trust Ricky to keep the kids happy and safe.” Eddie winks at Steve, tipping the bottle to take a sip.

“Whatever, pour some more here Munson,” Robin grumbles, red solo outstretched. Eddie pulls himself forward, hips first and shuffles on his knees before bending across Steve to pour some into her cup.

Steve’s eyes almost flutter completely shut, that scent of apples clouding him. In this position Eddie’s cut off shirt rides up higher, exposing more of his torso, the battle vest long since abandoned when they’d all first arrived. He can see a tattoo of vines and leaves peaking out from his hips before it disappears back into his black jeans. Oh what he would do to be able to catalog each and every single one of Eddie’s piercings and tattoos.

He exhales slowly, eyes shutting completely as the scenario of being able to get himself into a position to be allowed to catalog Eddie takes over. He shifts uncomfortably, shaking his head to will the images away.

Eddie rocks back, sitting on his heels, free hand thrumming to some unheard beat against his thigh. He tips the bottle towards Steve. “They were smokin’ in here earlier. Do your parents not notice the smell?”

Steve clears his throat with a shrug. “They’re never around anyways. Right now they’re in a conference down south, gonna be gone a few days. I’ll just crack the windows open to air the place out ‘til then, it’s whatever."

It’s not really whatever but Steve doesn’t really give a shit. If his father comments on it he’ll just shrug and play dumb. It works every other time.

Eddie moves back and settles beside Steve against the couch, making Steve's heart threaten to beat out of his chest because now he's closer, much closer than what he had designated to be 'safe.'

The room goes pitch dark, and then suddenly everything is bathed in a bright red as the movie begins. The music is shrill and is accompanied by heavy breathing with the sound of metal sliding against metal, and it rings loudly throughout the room. Eddie leans over, the tip of his nose skimming against Steve's ear, making him shiver. He pulls the comforter up so that it bundles up at his hips, tightly crossing his arms over his chest.

"S'wondering, is it cool if we smoke in here after the movie?" Eddie's voice is low, and Steve knows it’s because he's trying to keep quiet but it makes Steve want to evaporate. "I mean, only if you're up for it."

Steve turns his head as Eddie leans back but it’s not as far as Steve anticipated him to. They're only a few inches away, and Steve holds his breath because if he gets another wave of that scent–

So instead he just nods his head, eyes glancing down to watch Eddie lick his lips. His throat clicks around a hard swallow, barely breathes out a yeah, that's fine, I'd be down before forcing his attention back in time to watch the blonde in a white nightgown trot down the dingy school hallway on the screen. From his peripheral he can see Eddie smile. He almost regrets looking away too soon because he wants to see that dimple.

No, better to have looked away. Smart, definitely smartest decision of the night because if he didn't he's sure he would have tried to close that gap.

The room is bathed in the blue hue as Tina explores the school’s boiler room and everyone gets quiet and they just watch the movie. They take their first drink at about the four minute mark. Steve raises his cup to the screen once the kids start singing Freddy’s nursery rhyme. “Creepy kids, everybody drink,” and they all do.

It doesn't take long before everyone is in a fit of giggles, but only because they can’t take the movie all too seriously. Once Freddy comes on screen they can’t help it, the guy is utterly goofy and comically gross. But everyone gets quiet once they realize Tina is dead.

But it’s only for a beat of silence.

"Oh shit, Tina’s fuckin’ dead, man." Jonathan mumbles.

"Murder!" Eddie cheers, raising his solo up and everyone else follows.

Salud! Here, here! Cheers!

And the night continues on like that. Debauchery? Drink. Someone starts screaming bloody murder? Drink. The dumb teens investigate a suspicious sound or wander off on their own? Drink.

When they had first realized the main girl's name was Nancy they collectively decided to add to their list to drink to every time she did something their Nancy would probably do, which luckily wasn’t too often.

When Glenn and Nancy are introduced, Steve can feel the girl’s eyes on him. He ignores it at first and lets their mumbling go unnoticed, but when Nancy and Robin start to kick their feet and Robin outright cackles, he can’t take it anymore.

“What?!”

Robin waves her hand out in front of her, head falling back against the recliner. “I’m sorry, but does Glenn remind you guys of someone in this room, or is it just us?” Robin giggles, finger pointing at the screen as Glenn is trying to sneak his way into Nancy’s bedroom on screen.

Nancy and Robin are leaning into each other, howling when the guy complains about climbing barefoot on a rose covered trellis to climb into on-screen Nancy's window. Steve narrows his eyes at Robin, miming himself reeling up a fish on a line, except the fish is his middle finger.

When the movie ends everyone is feeling their drinks in some capacity. Or, at least the ones who remained awake were feeling it because Argyle and Jonathan are properly passed out. 

Steve blinks at them because he hadn’t realized when they had moved. Argyle has his face buried in the crook of Jonathan's neck, half of his hair covering most of his face and the rest cascading towards the floor. Jonathan’s arm that pillows Argyle’s head hangs slack at the edge of the couch and his other arm is over his eyes. From the way he’s breathing he’s definitely asleep.

Steve locks eyes with Eddie first, gauging his reaction. But Eddie just smiles fondly at them before putting a finger to his lips with a slight shake of his head. He reaches into his pocket to pull out a lighter before pulling the neatly rolled up paper from behind his ear. He raises his eyebrows in question, to which Steve sighs a breath of relief before nodding.

Steve chances a glance back at Nancy and Robin while Eddie lights up the joint. He waggles his pointer finger between the two girls, tipping his head to the other two on the couch. “Did either of you know about this,” he whispers. They both shrug, unraveling themselves from the blanket they were underneath, the bowl of pretzels long since empty and abandoned on the floor.

When Eddie takes a pull he offers it to them but they both shake their heads as they get settled onto the bed of throws and comforters, pulling pillows underneath their chest and resting on their elbows. A cloud of smoke billows up as he blows out and hands it over to Steve.

Robin's cheeks are flushed, her eyelids low. She rests her chin into her palm and watches as Steve fills his mouth with the smoke and then inhales deeply. He swivels at the hips and leans over towards the stand that's beside the couch to grab an ashtray. He puts it out and lets it sit on the edge and thickens the cloud in the air with an exhale.

"D'ya know that those gummies were the first time I got high," Robin mumbles. The other three all turn to look at her, surprised but also not entirely because it's, well, Robin. "What? I'm in marching band, okay. They don't–."

Eddie shakes and bows his head, trying to stifle his laugh. A hand reaches out to pat the space in front of him. "Oh Bobby. The band kids are one of, if not the biggest host of Hawkins High's delinquent degenerates. My customers range from all social clicks but the band kids, drama kids, and the preps are my top three."

He lifts his hand to wiggle three fingers before dramatically putting up one finger. "And I would bet my life– no, my dear, bright red Sweetheart, that those band kids are my number one."

Robin looks dazed. "Who–" she blinks slowly and tries to picture her bandmates, because seriously? Then suddenly she looks over at Nancy. "Wait, have you ever?"

Somehow Nancy's already blushed cheeks get a few shades deeper. The tips of her ears are bright red as she opens her mouth but no sound comes out. She rolls her eyes and points an accusing finger.

"Only because it was one of Steve's stupid moves, okay. I did it once and all it did was make my mouth go dry and I ended up getting an A minus on one of Kaminsky’s exams because I was too tired to study after." Nancy narrows her eyes at him and tries to taper her annoyed smile.

Steve chuckles at that and shrugs a shoulder. "I mean, it worked, didn't it?"

Nancy mutters idiot, swaying into Robin’s shoulder. She plays with the charms on her bracelet, tangling one of her ankles with Robin's behind them.

"Move, what move?" Robin's mutters, obviously lost. Subconsciously she traps Nancy's ankle with her own before she directs her question to Eddie. "What move could this doorknob have pulled by smoking some pot? Ya know, other than lowering Nance's inhibitions?"

“Okay, now hold on,” Steve huffs incredulously. He moves closer to the girls, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the two on the couch and Eddie follows suit.

He leans back, his palms to the floor beside his hips with elbows locked and his ankles crossing in front of him. “I don’t need to lower anyone’s inhibitions to make a move work, alright. It just so happens that one of them involves a toke.”

“Really, Stevie? Shotgunning is one of your moves?” Eddie says it with a monotone voice but the hint of a smile gives him away. He rolls his eyes before mirroring Steve and answers Robin with the same bored tone, but not before that smirk takes over. “It’s a way to help someone take a hit. If someone doesn’t know what they’re doin’ they can start coughing. It hurts and it’s just a waste of the hit.

“So,” Eddie takes the joint from the ashtray and holds it up in front of him. “To help avoid all of that, you can try shotgunning. One person inhales the smoke and blows it into the other person’s mouth and they inhale that. It’s weaker that way and less intense, so it’s softer on the throat and lungs.”

“Ew?” Robin's face crumples in disgust, shaking her head at the idea. “How is blowing out someone's hot weed breath into someone else's mouth a move?"

"Well when you put it like that," Nancy mutters, taking a sip directly from her bottle of Morgan. She quirks her lips, turning onto her side to rest her head in her hand. She cards her fingers into her own hair, ankle still trapped between Robin's. "It's not so much… it's the intimacy of it."

"I still don't…" Robin looks between Steve and Eddie, still not able to picture it. But then she gets that glint in her eyes and Steve's stomach whirls and not in a good way all of a sudden because he can see it, even in this very tipsy (is he drunk?) stupor, that she's plotting.

"Can you show me?"

A beat.

"Robs, I'm not doing that with you."

"I don't think that's a smart idea, Bobby."

Steve and Eddie respond at the same time. They lock eyes but then immediately avert them. Eddie starts to pick at his already chipped nail polish and Steve is suddenly very interested in the texture of the comforters.

Robin scoffs. "I didn't mean with me." She flops onto her back and sighs. "Nance, they don't want to show me the move." She pouts, and Nancy chuckles as she reaches a hand out to cup Robin's face, thumb hovering over her lips.

"Robs, it's just how Munson described it, there’s nothing more to it." Steve hopes his voice is coming off as nonchalant. Robin taps a finger to her chin and Steve knows she isn’t done. His stomach is in knots because he knows what she's doing and it's making him dizzy, the kind of dizzy he can't blame on the booze. 

"Okay, but, like, what if I'm… I don’t know, what if I’m with someone and they try to do the move on me? What if I don't see it coming? I feel like I should know. Don't you think I should know? Seems like everyone at school already knows. You three know, those two probably also know. Like–"

"Think you’d be fine, Bobby." Eddie lolls his head to the side and rests it on his own shoulder. "'Sides, it would be hard to miss. Pretty sure you'd see it coming if someone tried to pull that on you. Also, you could just say no, considering your initial reaction to it was ‘ew’."

"Why don't you two just show her."

Silence.

"She learns from seeing and doing. Help her get through the– oh what does Dustin call it?" Nancy rocks forward once and removes her hand from Robin's face to snap her fingers. "The curiosity door. You two swung it wide open and now she’s locked out. Just– walk her through it so her curiosity doesn't kill her."

"Why are you two so hung up on this?"

"It's really not that big of a deal."

“Did you just insinuate I’m like a cat?”

They all speak over each other but Robin continues to question Nancy in a hushed tone and ignores the other two because “I feel like I give off more puppy vibes.”

The two lock eyes again but don't look away this time. Steve feels as if he’s in a bubble, Robin and Nancy are suddenly so far away. Eddie thrums his fingers and considers Steve for a moment. Steve doesn’t move, doesn’t want to burst this thin veil of absurdity because are they about to…?

He feels as if he’s going crazy, like he’s on fire.

Eddie is the first to speak.

"Who'd receive?"

Steve is officially ablaze. His breath stutters, he tries to respond but chokes on the words. He clears his throat. “I’ve never been on the receiving end of a shotgun, so I don’t…” He hopes Eddie heard him because he can’t get himself to speak any louder.

Eddie hums that low note that makes Steve’s heart skip a beat and then suddenly starts to move. Steve doesn’t understand how there isn’t smoke coming out of his own ears because he’s burning up.

Eddie picks up the ashtray with the tips of his fingers to clear the space between them. He shuffles closer to Steve until he’s close, too close but still not close enough. He mirrors Steve again except now they’re shoulder to shoulder, hips barely touching. He settles his hand beside Steve’s, just the tips of his fingers blanketing his.

Steve’s body is on high alert because Eddie is way beyond the designated safety line. Except that line doesn’t even exist anymore, it had been absolutely decimated the moment they didn't look away the second time they locked eyes.

Eddie lights the rolled up paper, takes a pull and then inhales. He doesn’t move towards Steve, instead blows it down between them so the smoke shrouds them. He flips the joint.

“Here, you can–”

“Can you–” Steve’s voice is barely above a whisper as he interrupts him, yet he doesn’t finish saying it. He just stares at the damp end that faces him and waits. But when Eddie doesn’t move, he lets his eyes travel up. His gaze trails up his arm, to his neck and then his jaw. When he gets to Eddie’s lips he forces himself to look at his eyes and hopes, begs without saying anything more that Eddie understands that he wants him to be the one to do it.

Eddie’s face is unreadable as he searches his face. Steve starts to doubt himself and the entire situation, thinks he might have messed this up. He parts his lips to just say never mind, forget it, to fix this before the bubble outright bursts but then Eddie nods.

If they weren’t so close Steve is sure he would have missed it. It’s so subtle but he nods and Steve might actually combust with relief.

Suddenly the fire is in his gut and his fingers that touch Eddie’s twitch. He’s lightheaded and it has nothing to do with the booze. A breathy chuckle escapes him and he finds his words again, feeling a bit confident. “You wait any longer to do this and that thing’s gonna go out, Munson.” 

He nods again but it’s impossible to miss this time. “I gotcha Harrington.” Eddie says it low, low enough for only Steve to hear. He pulls away with a smirk and brings the joint towards his lips and takes another pull. He inhales slowly as he leans away to put it out on the ashtray again. He holds his breath and moves back.

Steve shifts, sliding his right foot up and extending his arm to rest it on his knee, his other hand moving just a bit until his hand is almost completely blanketed by Eddie’s. Eddie raises his other hand to the side of Steve’s face. His fingertips ghost over Steve’s skin and Steve can’t help the shiver that sends a chill down his spine.

His body is screaming for him to move, to get back to safety, no to move closer but, fuck, he can’t fucking think. He can’t think because the apples, oh god those apples. His mouth is watering and all he’s able to process in this moment is Eddie Eddie Eddie.

Eddie’s thumb is at Steve’s chin. He pulls at him, his hand no longer a ghosting touch but a searing brand. He gently applies pressure with his thumb to get Steve’s lips to part, bringing Steve’s face closer to his.

Steve’s gaze is fixed for as long as he can onto those chocolate brown eyes until he can’t fight it and they slip down to Eddie’s lips. They get closer and there’s nothing left for him to do but huff out the final short breath he had in his lungs.

There are no ants, there is no anxiety, there is no doubt.

Steve’s eyes have already slipped closed but he can feel it when Eddie is right where he needs to be. He sways forward, lips so close that if he opened his mouth anymore–

When Eddie finally exhales Steve has to fight every single impulse to reach forward and get directly to the source. When the smoke passes his lips and into his lungs he stifles the moan that wants to escape him, but barely. Instead he bends his arm, tries hugging it to his knee in a last ditch attempt to keep himself from reaching out to touch, to grab, to feel him, but he fails.

His hand wraps around Eddie’s bicep and squeezes so tight that Eddie’s arm shifts and his hand slips farther into Steve’s hair, thumb now resting high on his cheek. There’s a flitter of hesitation, his fingers twitching but then Eddie reaches farther, seizes a fistful of his hair and pulls.

Steve’s breath hitches and he can’t take anymore in. His lungs are on fire, not because of the smoke but because the air in his lungs was just in Eddie’s and Steve can’t get enough. Steve’s hand that’s encapsulated under Eddie’s hand balls into a fist and Eddie can only just capture his wrist to steady himself, but not before he slips forward, his bottom lip bumping against Steve’s top lip.

His grip on Steve’s wrist tightens and a gasp escapes him. Steve tries to swallow the sound but there’s no more room in his lungs. He doesn’t exhale just yet, because if he does then this moment ends. No he can’t just yet, he needs a minute, needs an eternity to collect himself before he does something stupid like let himself melt forward.

When Eddie’s grip in his hair loosens Steve exhales slowly, smoke diluted and adding to the current billow. Steve pulls back slightly, eyes slipping open and–

He realizes he's fucked up. Royally, completely, and utterly fucked up because Eddie is so fucking beautiful. Cheeks red, lips parted, pupils completely blown, and damn it. His face is framed by those strands that he can’t pull back into that low hanging knot, eyes dazed, bottom lip being pulled in to bite on and–

Steve is so fucked.

“I missed it.”

“What happened?”

The bubble pops.

Steve’s head snaps back at Robin and Nancy’s voices, eyes blinking away the fog. Eddie blinks with him, eyebrows coming together as he just continues to stare back at Steve. He’s searching his face again and it makes Steve's stomach flutter, makes the ants tick up again because he can’t read him, doesn’t know if what he’s finding is good or bad.

The room is completely silent. Robin inhales, about to continue when suddenly there’s a knock on the front door and everyone’s head snaps towards it because who the hell is knocking at this hour?

The voice that comes through the front door is muffled but unmistakably panicked and familiar. “Eddie?”

“Chrissy?” Eddie mutters, sobering up almost immediately as he pulls away entirely and makes his way over to the door.

Steve looks over to Robin and Nancy and their faces reflect his same confusion. He shakes himself, completely over the moment and follows suit, a few steps behind Eddie who’s already opening the door.

“Babe, what are– did you walk all the way over here?” Eddie steps out, hands on Chrissy’s shoulders. He whips his head left and right, doesn’t seem to find anything in the night before ushering her in and shutting the door behind him. “The hell, Chris are you okay? What happened, I thought you were having dinner with your family?”

Steve hears the sob that escapes her and he’s suddenly wide awake, brain fog completely cleared. Her face crumples when she sees him. “I’m so-sorry I didn’t mean to crash you’re– but I just– I-I remembered where your place was because of the p-parties you threw and I, just, I didn’t know where else to go. I can’t go home. I can’t.”

“Stop, stop, don’t apologize.” Steve’s tries to hide his concern and just tries his best to keep his voice soft as he crosses his arms over his chest. He looks up at Eddie and Steve is taken aback for a moment because he’s never seen him upset before, let alone angry. When Chrissy hiccups on a sob, his face softens and he turns her, holding her tiny body close to his.

Steve can hear Nancy and Robin shuffling up behind him. He turns and blocks Eddie and Chrissy from their line of sight as much as he can. Robin’s eyes are saucers and she stumbles as she gets close, the throw around her shoulders. “Did he just call her babe?”

Steve shakes his head at her because now really isn’t the time. “You and Nance take my room tonight, okay? Parties over.” When Robin opens her mouth to say something, Steve raises a hand to gently lift her chin. “Not now, Robs. I’ll make pancakes in the morning.” He flicks her shoulder and points towards the stairs.

Nancy tips her head to peak past Steve’s shoulder before putting her arm around Robin and leading her upstairs. Before they disappear completely Robin spins and leans over the banister. “Steve, come up when you’re done with, well, when you’re ready for bed. Okay?”

She doesn’t move until Steve nods. She smiles tightly down at him before turning back, arm around Nancy’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t have spun so fast, I think I’m gonna be sick.” He shakes his head at her, rolling his eyes endearingly before turning back to Eddie and Chrissy.

He doesn’t know what to do or say, so he just watches them for a moment. Eddie is having a silent conversation with her, muttering into her hair as she sniffles into his shoulder. Steve waves a hand to catch Eddie’s attention.

When he does he points back to the kitchen, motioning for them to follow. Eddie nods, giving Steve an apologetic smile but he waves him off. Eddie takes a step forward, making Chrissy have to stumble along backwards with him. His lips quirk as he takes another step and she yelps, and soon they’re both giggling as he drags her towards the kitchen, her feet dragging between his legs.

Steve pulls out three water bottles from the fridge, clearing out some of the mess on the kitchen’s island for Chrissy and Eddie in case they want to take a moment to calm themselves before he offers them his guest bedroom.

He sets two bottles down in front of them, and Chrissy mumbles a shy thank you before taking a few sips. “I’m really sorry–”

“Please, don’t. It’s… I’m just glad you felt safe enough to come here. That Munson was here for you, ya know?” 

“It’s just,” Chrissy huffs and rolls her eyes, annoyed but seemingly with herself.

Steve rests his elbows on the counter, leaning forward. “It’s not Jason, is it? He didn’t–”

An annoyed scoff escapes Eddie. “No, it’s not that meathead asswipe. This one came to her senses after her date with him last week and broke things off, finally.”

Chrissy shoves at him playfully, her laugh still heavy with the residual pain. “Shut up. No, no, it’s just my mom. I had a fitting for this year’s new cheerleading uniforms, then we went out to dinner and she just…” Chrissy’s eyes roll up and she stares up at the ceiling. Her eyes well up with tears, and she pulls her lips into a tight line. She inhales slowly before blowing out a shaky breath, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “My mom fucking sucks, sometimes, ya know.”

“Yea, moms can suck sometimes,” Steve mumbles. He knows well enough how much mom’s can suck. He takes a few sips from his own bottle of water.

Eddie slings an arm over her shoulder, pulling her in. She hugs his side, wiping away her tears with her shoulder. “I’m-”

“You apologize one more time and I’m going to make you sit through an entire DnD session and you will have to participate. You’ll have to make a character sheet, pick out which dice set of mine you’ll want to use, dress up, talk in-character the whole time– I mean, everything.” Eddie deadpans. When she laughs, Steve and Eddie chuckles along with her.

She sniffles a few times, before using her sleeve to wipe at her nose. She leans back  and bumps her shoulder against his. “I love you.”

Eddie rolls his eyes leaning close to kiss the top of her head. “Yeah, you too.”

And that’s Steve’s cue–

He claps his hands once before remembering the other two are still on the couch. He winces and looks over, but thankfully they're still dead asleep. “You two can take the guest bedroom.”

“Oh, that’s not–” Chrissy starts but Steve waves her off again.

“Chrissy, I don’t know you all that well and I know women are very capable of making their own decisions, but I can be pretty persuasive. Well… unless you’re Robin. Or Nance. Or even Max, actually, now that I think about it.” Steve laughs dryly, running a hand through his hair and taking another sip of his water. “No, no– jokes aside, I insist. Please, it’s this way” He motions for the both of them to follow.

“Come on, Chris. I can’t drive right now, anyway, none of us can. I’ll take you back to mine after we pick up Max from Byer’s place. I won’t take you home until you’re ready to go. Yeah?” He reaches out a hand and she takes it with a small nod.

Steve leads them down to the same room where he and Robin got the blankets and pillows, standing clear to let them through.

Chrissy stops short. “Where’s your bathroom?”

Steve’s lips quirk. “Eddie can show you, he knows where it is.” Eddie chuckles at that before leading her towards it. When he returns he stops at the door and leans against, facing Steve. He crosses his arms and stares down at the floor before looking up and Steve has to avert his eyes.

“I’ll let you two, uh.” Steve clears his throat, pinching his nose as that prickling sensation starts behind his eyes. He blinks once and clears his throat again. “I’m makin’ pancakes in the morning, if you two are still here when we all get up.” He raps his knuckles on the doorframe and turns.

“Wait, Steve?” Eddie reaches out, fingers wrapping gingerly around Steve’s wrist. Steve bites his lip and wills himself to stay calm because Eddie’s touch burns.

He doesn’t fully turn to face him, just barely turns his head towards his shoulder to respond. “Yeah, Munson?” When Eddie gently tugs on his arm Steve can’t help but move with it. He holds his breath as Eddies pulls away from the door frame and lets his grasp loosen so that he can drop his hand lower and tangle his fingers with Steve’s.

“I just wanted to say thanks for tonight.” Eddie gets close and Steve shutters a breath. “And that I had fun.” Steve wants to avert his eyes but in his attempts to avoid looking into those eyes, he’s now watching their hands, fingers entwined together and it makes his heart ache.

So, so fucked.

He looks up and wills himself to play it cool. “I’ll be sure to invite you to the next one, then.” Steve’s smile is small but it’s all he can muster. Eddie's grip on his fingers tighten and he shifts, like he’s about to step closer but a door shuts behind them and Steve jumps and pulls away.

“Good night, you two.” Steve doesn’t look back, swings by the kitchen to grab two more bottles from the fridge before taking the steps two at a time to get to his room.

When he shuts it he closes his eyes and rests his head against the door. He doesn’t move or acknowledge the squeaking of the floorboard as someone gets off his bed. And when arms wrap around his middle and he’s hugged from behind he just lets his head fall back to rest on top of Robin’s.

“I’m fucked.”

It’s all he says but he feels Robin nod her head against his back in agreement. “I know.”

Steve sighs, pulling her arms away from him to turn and look at her and Nancy who sits on the edge of his bed, her eyes sad. “You really like him.” It’s not a question, because of course Nancy knows. Steve swallows hard, eyes slipping shut and can only nod once. He covers his face with one hand.

“I don’t wanna talk about it. Can I just…” He points back to the door and peaks at them through one eye but both Robin and Nancy shake their heads at him. Nancy pats the space on the bed and Robin pulls on his arm, dragging him towards the bed. “Guys, I’m so exhausted I just want to go to sleep already.”

“Come on dingdong, be our little spoon for tonight.” Robin pulls harder when Steve starts to resist, but he doesn’t for long. Nancy crawls back to the right side of the bed, pulling back the covers and shutting off the lamp. Robin pushes Steve towards the left side and directs him to sit.

She crawls up onto the bed until she’s behind him, settling in comfortably with Nancy before she pulls on the back of his shirt to guide him down, and he lets her. They don’t throw the cover over him, knowing he doesn’t like to share one. Nancy settles underneath it while Robin adjusts the throw to cover her and Steve below the waist.

A sigh escapes him as he shuts his eyes. “Rob. Nance. This is so weird.”

“It’s only weird if you make it weird,” Robin mutters, looping her arm under his, settling against his back. Shortly after another arm is reaching around and it’s only far enough to reach Steve’s waist, but it’s enough.

Some time passes by and Nancy’s grasp on him goes slack. The room is silent long enough for Steve to think they’re both asleep, but when he shifts Robin’s arm tightens around him. He pats her arm, exhaustion just about to take him under. “M’not going anywhere,” he mutters, but she doesn’t loosen her grasp.

“Steve.” Sleepy grunt. “If I would have known about Chrissy, I would have said something sooner.” No response. “I just, I honestly thought that he…” Her voice trails off, unable to put it into words. Whatever it was, Steve doesn’t know, can’t care right now. He’s exhausted, too exhausted to want to analyze the hurt right now and all he wants is to sleep it off.

“I don’t know what I thought, but Steve, that feeling? In your gut, or, maybe in your chest?”

His eyes slip open and he stares into the dark room. Small sigh. “What about it?”

“Just… don’t let that kill the before feelings. Before you realized that he’s not…” Another squeeze before she lets her arm go loose around him. “Don’t let that slip away, okay?”

“Yeah… yeah, okay.”

part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8

[fallensnowfan]

You said you finished Utena recently, correct? I'm curious what you thought of it.

Do you know? Do you know? Have you heard the news?

Sounds like you got this week's edition of the fallensnowfan times. I honestly wish Wano had had odd ball narrators like the shadow girls, to make a stronger point of important aspects of the story/character motivations. The CP0 guys placing pieces on their board game feels like the right idea, though was too restrained and factual to capture the effect the shadow girls have. Who honestly gives a hoot about the number of background fighters each side has left? Close but no figar cigar, Onigashima narrators.

Black Maria did it better, so it's kind of a shame she also was a fighter. Maybe one of the oirans Sanji encounters later could have filled the role of bizarre narrator the entire battle? (I think Maria was talking about Luffy and the retainers being unable to team up btw, though like that no definitive answer is given.)

I think the show had a strong start, my investment wavered somewhat in the middle, then really picked up in the final third. Secrets kept out of shame feels like a big idea in for the final third, and the music goes hard all throughout.

With the show having many character vignette episodes and theatrical flourishes, it feels like the kind of series where an episode telling a story entirely without dialog would have worked well. Perhaps with the point of view belonging to Anthy. Or heck, how about an entire episode centered on Chu Chu? Have the little fella play out a parody of a day in the life of several of the human characters? Contrasting their various motivations, with some animal antics mixed in.

Really love the way the show can throw in some totally nonsensical ideas and just roll with them. Nanami's egg is one of my favorites. On the surface, what? But the episode pretty smartly tackles the feeling of needing to perfectly fit to any number of social norms, to be accepted/not be an outcast. Nanami is such a wild card in general, she feels like a character that could be placed in any kind of story being told and just work.

As for the ending, I like taking parts from episode 39 and mixing them with the movie's ending. The swords of humanity's anger are visually rad. As is the visual flair of Utena slowing seeing Anthy's pain(the swords stabbing through her,) yet being totally unprepared to face it is shown effectively.

Utena is still trapped in her own coffin, how could someone still trapped in their coffin be the one to free another from theirs? Akio anti-climatically falling out a window with little focus given to the aftermath is fitting for such a character. And chase sequences in anime can be so fun and energetic. This one being one of the better ones I can think of, off the top of my head. While also being about the two breaking free from Akio's influence.

[colorsofmyseason]

cut me open

Summary: Arsenal players figure out Leandro's secret.

Set sometime not long after Leandro transferred to Arsenal.

As usual, part of my supernatural au!

-

"So, how old are you?" Rob asks.

The corners of Leandro's mouth twitch slightly. He gets that kind of question a lot, and while it's honestly understandable considering what he is, he doesn't think he'll ever enjoy getting asked about it. Busying himself to pull a small plastic bag full of red liquid out of his satchel and poke a hole in it with his teeth, he replies, perhaps a tad too quickly, "Twenty eight. You could've looked it up on my Wikipedia page."

"Perhaps," Rob agrees, voice calm as if they're just discussing the weather or something equally trivial. "But how long have you been twenty eight, exactly?"

There it is, the imaginary sound of a hammer hitting the nail right in the head. And judging from Rob's small smirk, Leandro knows it's not just a casual question. The center-back knows precisely what he's saying, and he's expecting the right answer as well.

"Who do you think I am, Edward Cullen?" Leandro shoots back, a little harsher than he's intended to be as he thrusts a straw inside his plastic bag. "Am I in The Twilight Saga or something?"

Rob shrugs. "Well, you look like you could be twenty five and two hundred years old at the same time, so I'm just curious."

Silence ensues as the whole table sits waiting for Leandro's answer, much to the Belgian's annoyance. Taking his sweet time sipping the content of his plastic bag, he thinks about what to say. He knows his teammates are cool with him being a vampire, but some things about his life are better left untold, and he doesn't know how they'd react to it. And while he cannot help what he's born as, he doesn't want to be judged.

But the Arsenal players have been kind to him since he arrived there. Almost too kind. Ben showed him around the training ground, Rob introduced him to everyone including the staff, Martin dragged him to the cafeteria so that he can eat together with the other players regardless of his unusual diet. In no time, they've made him part of them, despite only joining in the middle of the season, and he knows that if there's someone who deserves to know the truth about him, it's them.

So, after much deliberation, Leandro says, rather cautiously, "A while. And it's nothing special, I can tell you. Immortality is overrated anyway."

A wide grin splits Rob's face, and Leandro prepares himself for a barrage of questions from his teammates, until he notices Ben thrusting a few pound notes to Aaron under the table.

"Wait, did you guys have a bet about this??" Leandro asks in disbelief. "That's what all this ruse is about?? You're betting about me and my supposed immortality?"

Ben shrugs unapologetically. "Well, we want to know as well, and since it's easiest to ask you ourselves…"

Leandro shakes his head and puts his head inside his arms. "I can't believe this." 

"Hey, don't be mad," Aaron grins, ruffling Leandro's hair. "This is just for fun, you see. We won't judge you for that either, in case you must know, and we won't make you tell us anything that you don't feel comfortable sharing."

"Thanks for that, I guess," Leandro mumbles, still with his head buried.

Ben pats his shoulder. "And when you're finished with your 'meal', don't forget to throw away your blood bag in the yellow bin. It's still considered medical waste, you know."

He gets the middle finger from Leandro in response.

fin

[stormyoceans]

Puentalay as love languages?

IF I HAD MORE TIME AND WERE A BETTER GIF MAKER I WOULD ACTUALLY ANSWER YOU BY TURNING THIS INTO A WHOLE GIFSET SERIES but unfortunately im afraid you will have to put up with my ramblings instead ;;;;;;;; which tbh i don't even know how coherent they're going to be because as soon as i started to think about it i realized THEY LITERALLY FIT ALL 5 LOVE LANGUAGES AND NOW I FEEL LIKE PULLING A TALAY AND HURLING MYSELF INTO THE VAST UNCARING OCEAN (too soon? yeah okay too soon my bad)

puen in particular pretty much actively gives and seeks most of them:

physical touch: it's honestly pretty obvious how much puen values the feelings of warmth and comfort that comes with physical intimacy. it's in the way he always seeks talay's touch, either by hugging, or kissing, or holding hands, or more. the biggest example of it is actually the glasshouse kiss: the moment he genuinely tries to express his love, this is the first language he resorts to;

gift giving: the hourglass, the way he recreated for himself and talay the friend credits folder and shirt, the watch he gives talay in our skyy..... puen clearly appreciates the careful reflection, the deliberate choosing of the object to represent the relationship, and the emotional benefits from receiving a meaningful gift. it's maybe not a coincidence, then, that a gift is what makes puen realize who talay is;

quality time: puen's desire to actively spend time with talay, having meaningful conversations and sharing recreational activities, is put front and center in our skyy, but even in the main series this is made into a major plot point. "why are you doing this?" talay asks puen in episode 7, after seeing him going out of his way to try making their movie happen. "because it's the only thing i get to do with you," puen answers, and for him, that's love;

acts of service: maybe not as obvious as the others, but it's undeniable that puen likes to spoil talay with little thoughtful gestures (cooking for him, driving him around) just as much as he likes to be spoiled (being given a bath [still can't believe that's actually a thing GOD]).

if i was forced to pick only one, though, i do think quality time is puen's primary love language, followed very closely by physical touch (i'd say it's because they're the two things he missed the most, having lost his parents so young and being alone most of his life, but let's just not go there). on the other hand, the reason i left out words of affirmation is because i do believe that those aren't as essential to him as the other ones are, which is what makes words of affirmation being talay's primary love language even more interesting. talay needs words in a way puen simply doesn't. i mean don't get me wrong, of course hearing talay saying 'i like you' and 'i think im falling for you' was incredibly important for puen, but the biggest reason is because that's how talay expresses his love. compliments, verbal encouragements, words of appreciation and reassurance, those are the things talay always seeks out to feel cherished and safe, and also what he prefers to use to show his affection

maybe this is also why it takes them a while to understand each other and effectively communicate their feelings: their love languages are fundamentally different, so they need time and some effort to find the right balance between their needs. and here's what's making me want to throw myself down a well and drown in 5 cm of water: throughout the series, we can actually see the two of them adopting the other's love language to make sure they feel loved in a way they can understand. so on one hand we get puen trying his best to verbally reassure talay and express his appreciation for him, while on the other hand we have talay giving him more physical affection and coming up with a 30 days love challenge to spend more time with puen

i think that's why they just hit different: i've never found any other ship where both parts were so committed to make things work by actively trying to understand each other and accommodate each other's needs so they can always feel safe and loved

[montanababe7]

*The update of go ministries international is posted after you read my personal go ministries international story.

Thanks for reading 📖. -Jessica Wolf

When I think about all that Jesus has carried me through & What happened to me in 2008, reminds me that no matter how challenging; with Jesus by my side; I can overcome everything. Yes, every word of this is true. I’m not a victim. I no longer have cptsd. Because Jesus healed me. I’m an overcomer. Read what I shared and you’ll learn why. I love you guys. Thank you all for praying and believing in me🙏🏼😭🥹: This is my go ministries international story: this is what I remembered when I asked Jesus to remind me of the things my brain blacked out for many years. *Warning ⚠️. What happened in 2008 was intense. What you are about to read isn’t for the faint of heart or younger readers. Please be advised.

>

> One memory I just now remembered was the Christmas production in 2008. we put on at lwcc, in that drama I was the emo/goth girl who was a cutter. Somehow, they had chosen to mock me even if they didn’t know I was suicidal for months and had fought the desire to slit my wrists.

Wrote this a few years ago: I’m just so thankful to JESUS and having a 🥵 hot mess moment right now😭🥺.

This might or not be in my upcoming go ministries international story...that happened in 2008 but, I am forever grateful to the intern or staff member who wasn’t fully aware just how depressed I was while at boot camp during the game at night.

(If you wouldn’t have walked over when you did- to where I was hiding in the woods during the pelting raining; and let me know that the meeting was starting. I would have successfully slit my wrists. I had a found a sharp rock and I was ready to end it all). I would have left go. But. It would have been in a body bag.

So. To whoever you are. I am eternally forever grateful Jesus had you walk over to me when you did🙏🏼🤯😭. Thank you. Jesus had you save my life.

> *Why did you decide to join go.

> As long as I can remember, I always wanted to pray for and minister to others. I wanted to show them Jesus. To show them His heart. When I saw that go ministries international they had a youth program; I wanted to learn everything I could, bless others back. So many precious young people are hurting and they just need someone to care. To reach out to them. To let them know they are never alone. To show them Jesus.

>

> 2. What were your first thoughts once you were an intern?

>

> The day before go started, I was with my family at living word Christian center. The core leadership seemed to care about me. They were so kind and seemed to be loving. Other people had a different thought. They told me, “Jessica, are these fake faces or faith faces.” At that point, I honestly did not know. I had wanted to believe the best in them. Little did I know, how truly wrong I would be the next day.

> My parents and family, had already dropped me off and were driving away. I assumed everything would remain happy. Seconds later, the leadership started screaming for all of us interns to get to the front lawn. I didn’t know why I felt complete terror. All I knew and could feel at that moment, was this: my hands went completely numb. I felt like throwing up as we were screamed at to start doing up downs and sit-ups, push-ups, the bear crawl, running back and forth. Many on my left and on my right were throwing up and passing out. The leaders didn’t care. They screamed at them to get back up.

> Next, we were told to fit as much or little into a duffle bag. The next thing we were told was to file into the vans silently. We were not allowed to talk to anyone. We were told to keep our eyes straight not looking in any direction. The bus ride to Wisconsin was several hours long. When we arrived that night, it was already dark out. They screamed at us to file into formation. For years, the memories have seemed like a bad dream. The distant memories blurred into dreams.

>

> 3. What were your most vivid memories of go. Good, and bad. How did it affect you?

>

> Alright, as soon as we all were on the line. They began spray painting numbers onto a T-shirt. I can’t remember what my number was. But, during that week; that number was my name. The week, I was no longer Jessica. I was nothing more than a number. We were told that we had to carry our bible, water battle, a stick, and an egg. We were forced to run far past the point of what seemed normal human endurance. At one point, I thought my heart and lungs would give out from all the running. I was told by one of the leaders that I had to keep running until they said to stop.

> The next thing I remember, was doing military style exercises that involved balancing on a small metal string, I slipped and the metal string slapped into my leg, it had cut my leg deeply into the bone. The bone was exposed. Blood was gushing everywhere. I couldn’t limp, let along walk. But, we were told that the word can’t wasn’t allowed. So, despite the deep pain-the leaders didn’t show me any levels of compassion or mercy. I had to run with blood gushing down my leg. I couldn’t stop crying. After that we were forced to run up and down slippery stairs for 2 to three hours at least nonstop. After that, we were told that we had to carry a hundred pound cross up and down the stairs.

> The other memory that I can’t forget: being awoken out of sound sleep with a blow horn to my heart and being told to clean a building from top to bottom in the middle of the night. The nights turned into days. And the days turned into nights. The mere idea of food or even eating became unneeded to my weary and tired brain at that point. I didn’t want to throw up. Thankfully, I never did. But the feeling was horrible eating and being forced to eat everything on your plate. Then, you had to run. For hours. Or whenever they decided for us to stop running.

> I remember we had rock experiences, where we had to pick up huge boulders that were so sharp. The rocks began to cut my wrists and my arms. I was forced to wear long sleeves for weeks; because the leaders didn’t want people assuming that I’d cut my wrists.

> The next memory is very painful. They called it judgement day. We all had to line up once again and wait our turn. When my name was called, I had to recite from memory Ephesians 6:10-12 from the message or amplified version. But, if we forgot the verse at all-we would be pushed off the dock. Mind you, it was nighttime and freezing out. I was pushed off

> The dock twice, I walked back to my spot in line. I was freezing cold and I worried that I’d die of hyperthermia. I couldn’t stop shaking. No one asked me if I was alright. No one asked me how weak I felt or how numb my body had become. They simply screamed at me. They called me a failure.

> That night, I had to sleep in freezing, wet clothes. We weren’t allowed to shower they week. We were their slaves and how they treated us-we were nothing. They even took our cell phones away. Gee, wonder why.

> The next memory was the communist game. We were awoken once again out of sound sleep with a blow horn to our ears. It’s a miracle I didn’t go deaf or lose any hearing. We were told we were being arrested for being Believers in Jesus. And we had to find the hidden tracks before the other communists found them. We had to run in the freezing rain. I ran to a hiding spot. Somewhere deep in the forest. It was pelting rain. I huddled onto the grass and bawled my eyes out-laying in a fetal position. Telling myself that somehow I’d survive this. I asked Jesus to take me home that night. I wanted to find a rock or anything sharp and end it all. I was done.

> The next second, someone grabbed my arms and told me I was going with them. They brought us to a building where we had to sit completely still. No movement. Zero movement was allowed. We had been up for over 24 to 48 hours without sleep. Anyone who started to doze off had a blow horn to their ears. I kept slapping my cheek just to stay awake.

> We get back to the ranch in mora, Minnesota. We are told that daily we’ll have pt. Every morning at 5 or 5:30 sharp. Meet outside of the house. If we were late. We would have to write down Luke 16:10 100 times. If we failed, they’d add on another hundred more. That was only the beginning of the nightmare.

> One of the days of pt, I heard my back snap when we were doing up downs. I told one of the leaders that I couldn’t run anymore and she screamed at me. Threatening to punish me even worse for simply saying, “I can’t.”

> Fast forward to a month or two later, my confidence was already shot. Not to mention, I had lost 10-15 pounds at bootcamp. My ankles, legs, and feet were so swollen that I couldn’t even put socks on and my pants wouldn’t even fit. The physical breaking was terrible. But the emotional breaking nearly destroyed and almost killed me.

> I was told that I would be put on ministry probation. They prevented me from praying for anyone. I couldn’t speak to anyone unless they addressed me first.

> Only few of the people there showed me one ounce of kindness. I snuck showers, because I was so depressed that I want to slit my wrists. I had a plan to bleed out in the shower. So no one would know. Those thoughts went through my mind for those four to five months I was there.

> One night, the female leadership told us that we had to strip down to our bras and underwear. But, if any of the boys found out; we’d be writing sentences till our hands fell off. We were told to shower with other girls. I never did. I snuck showers.

>

> 4. When did you leave and when did you realize they were toxic?

>

> How go affected me. My dad said hi to me one Sunday. I didn’t call him as dad. I called him, sir. My dad broke down and cried. He looked at me, and said, “Jessica, I’m your father. Not sir. What did they do to you?”

> My birth mother pulled me into the church bathroom one night and said, “we’ve had enough of them treating you this way. We’re taking you back home to Hutchinson tonight. Lie if you have to. But, you’re not going back to go. We’ll leave your stuff there.” I lied to one of my leaders. I felt terrible. I cried the whole way home.

> When I got home. I called friends and they didn’t even recognize me. I didn’t act the same. I had nightmares and my room was blood red. Go gave me ptsd. I was in multiple inner counseling sessions. I’ve had many panic attacks. Flash backs. Different times where I would hyperventilate.

> The signs of go being a cult are obvious:

> *They tell you-that they are your family.

> *zero contact with the outside world.

> *they took our cell phones away.

> *they shut the water off.

> *they stopped communication with me after I left.

> I was told that I lacked faith. Reality: I ran out of money.

> But. Jesus has been healing my heart. I’ve forgiven the leadership. I pray what I have shared with you all today is a warning and an alert to the youth who might consider go ministries international. I’m sharing my story so you never have to attend or experience what myself or others have seen and heard. I want to spare you from this pain. And hold the hearts of the ones who are still suffering because of go or the ones who are stuck in go and don’t know how to get out. Know that I’m praying for you. I’m praying for the complete healing of your heart. That there is so much love in your heart. Never forget who you are. That’s what go wants. But, Jesus wants you happy and whole. I want my life to seen as someone who helps others escape from the trenches and hold you close. You each have giftings and talents. Don’t allow go ministries international to ever steal your purpose or your identity. You are not a mistake. God loves you. He has never stopped loving you. I pray that you can feel Jesus heart even in my message.

> -Jessica

*Copied and shared:

For those curious here is a rough timeline of events that ended up ending Go. (It was keeping me up, had to write it out to get some sleep!)

2019- Pastor at NLT steps down from pastor due to some bad stuff. (I know what it is but isn’t important at the moment.) This is the event that ended up causing Go to stop going to NLT and just stay on property. (We watched Living Words services. Kinda weird dressing up for a TV.)

Late 2019/early 2020- Go is looking for a new place as contract with NLT ends in May (extended to June 2020).

Missions Trip to Guatemala two days later COVID! Everything shuts down.

In May 20, Go moves 2 miles down the road to SC Church taking over the west wing of the youth building. We make dorm rooms and Pastor Dwane (RIP) comes down and builds showers. (For the first month, we had to travel to Evangel High School to shower either in early morning or evening. I opted to drive myself like most sane people.)

2020-2021 at this point Josh and Laci are youth pastors and the absorption begins. (Go becoming one with SC Church)

2021-2022 The last “normal” Go Year. At this point my friend Jano leaves at the mid year point. (Jan 23) He was the last “intern director.” He over stayed but kept a promise to Steve Munds to be there until Steve was 70.

2022-2023 No interns. Only about 5 people left who are in SC Collage. (That year was called SC Collage- Let’s Go). (Any Go staff are getting jobs for SC Church. At least they pay.)

Feb. 2023- Go Dies. Cancels every single road trip (Fusion, New Mexico, C4C).

June 2023- the dorm rooms on campus are closed.

March 2024- I get random phone call from Josh. I ask him about the state of Go. He tells me Go hasn’t even been on the back burner. No future plans as of right now for it starting again but could see it being a Missions Trip focused ministry.

Throw in there Schouty fired from A Glorious Church and C4C Oct. 2023. Literally he feels betrayed because neither the Bredahls or Steve Munds have reached out to him. So it’s like his whole world around him and 15 years of service collapsed to nothing all at once.

[southernwriter-tjamesdavis]

Preview #2

Wayne Corso (Working Title) Chpt 2 Preview

This is still a work in progress (and only a portion of the chapter), but I hope it gives an idea of the book theme:

Chapter Two: Corso

Light from the rising sun began to flow between the tree branches as I stood outside waiting on the forensics unit. This was just another Arkansas sunrise to me, but what must it feel like to the girls who were inside this house? These victims get used and then tossed away. The dawning of a new day brings relief from the terrors of the night and the fears that it could be their last. 

As I was waiting, a couple of uniforms arrived to help secure the scene. I approached the senior officer with a few quick instructions, “We will keep the perimeter small. Mainly just this residence out to the curb. I don’t want to panic the neighbors before we even start canvassing the neighborhood. Hopefully we will get some help with that,” I trailed off at the end as I realized that my last sentence wasn’t likely to happen. “Also, if any reporters show up, tell them to contact media relations.”

 I was heavy-hearted as my mind ran through all the scenarios where I could have been here earlier, where I could have gotten here in time to stop this but I couldn’t find a way.  I always process and act upon information as quickly as I can get it, and the tip that led me here was no different.

While the individual that gave me the tip seemed like they honestly wanted to do some good, it didn’t help. When people on the street stop a police officer and give us information, it is usually because they have some type of beef with the person they are reporting. Cops often see the obvious signs of these attempts at revenge. The reporting party will usually grow more agitated and animated as they speak, throwing in extra offenses at the end. Individuals will usually stand and stare at the police officer waiting on a response of what they are going to do about the perceived injustice. When nothing they described is an actual crime they are left bitter and frustrated. 

This occurrence was different as the man simply said that a lot of young girls were at a residence with men coming and going at all hours of the night. This fit the profile cops so often see of young women being trafficked. The witness didn’t want to give me any personal information, not even a phone number. Traffickers use fear to reign supreme over the neighborhoods they infect, and this time seemed no different. Honest hardworking individuals don’t want to get involved as they could lose too much.

The witness had also stated that he could hear screams coming out of the house on occasion. This brought me to a state of alert. Groups like these will use their victims up and then throw them away. Once all the drugs and sexual abuse have left these women looking haggard, they are no longer a desirable product for the customer base. Unwanted women are of no use and too much of a liability to set free.

 “Who is Leslie Womack?” became the next nagging thought that wouldn’t let go. Have I heard or seen the name somewhere before? As a detective, I get too many bulletins and BOLO’s - Be On The Lookout- these days. It seems like there are dozens of bulletins every week in this region.  The crime in this area has skyrocketed in the last decade with no real explanation. The world has become an evil place where people are self-centered and seek nothing but what is right in their own eyes. I often wonder where it all went wrong and if there was a time in societies’ past where a few small decisions or changes could have given us a better today and brighter tomorrow.

Part of the issue is the explosion of growth in this part of the state. Northwest Arkansas has a major university, the nation’s largest retailer, the nation’s largest poultry producer, and several other large businesses that have their headquarters here. International business is done on a large scale and many corporations have satellite offices in the area with personnel coming and going from overseas. The push for growth has become more important than the customers or the people working hard to grow the company. 

 This has also led to people being left behind in the rush to excel and achieve. The homeless population increases year after year as the corporations trim the budget in an effort to streamline profitability; especially now that we are in a full blown recession.  This combination of a vulnerable population and men from all over the world traveling here for business, has caused a boom in the sex trade. It’s not just the homeless teens needing money or girls ‘working’ their way through college. It has come to the point where traffickers are snatching people from all walks of life and forcing them into sexual slavery. With sex trafficking estimated to be about $150 billion a year industry, too many have sought their slice of the pie. No care for what it does to its victims, their families, or even the families of the men who use these women for sex.  Often bringing home STD’s to their unsuspecting wives or fathering unwanted children.  This is a worldwide epidemic happening right under our noses and few seem to notice or care.

I pulled out my cell phone and began snapping pictures. I knew the forensics crew would get more than I could ever need but I didn’t want to wait on them. It could be a few days before they sent out the final reports with the photos. I could need some pictures for any number of reasons between now and then. I made sure to get good photos of the room where the note was found, hoping something would stand out later. I stood in the center of the space slowly looking around for anything that might seem out of place or stand out.

I exited the building to take photos of the exterior and was struck by a very simple thought. This looked like any other street in this area, or a lot of other places in middle America. The homes were spaced just enough apart to give breathing room yet close enough to know your neighbors. Shade trees gave comfort to those who wanted a place to sit on a warm summer day, gaining relief from the blistering southern summers. These trees decorated the front lawns like a powerful century standing guard, making one feel like this was a safe place to have a family. How could this happen here? Were there no real men left to stand in the gap; to see evil and do something about it?

The neighbors surely saw what was happening. The signs are usually obvious to anyone who observes them, but maybe these streets are controlled by fear. 

I stood observing and pondering when Kristine Delgado arrived with her forensics team and quickly got them to work.  She was one of the most professional and efficient cops I have ever known.  Her work is exemplary and helped the department close more cases than I could count. She knew her job inside and out, starting off as a beat-cop and going to school in her spare time, sacrificing so much along the way.  She is a true example of how hard work and determination breeds success. 

I met Kris during a manhunt shortly after she had graduated from the academy. I only had a few years on the force at that point, so it was my first time for a major search also. We started talking after one of the briefings and hit it off. We dated off and on for the next six years. I was working towards being a detective about the time she graduated school and started her OJT. We knew that it would be a conflict of interest as time went on and ended the relationship. Neither of us wanted to risk losing a promotion or a case due to any perceived impropriety.  The romantic side of our relationship came to a close but our friendship was strong.  This was very important to me as I let very few people get close and trust even fewer. We hung out as much as we could but the barrier had to stay in place to protect the integrity of the cases. No matter how much I cared for her, or anyone else, I loved the job even more. This will always be the albatross around my neck.

“Give me the rundown Wayne, what have we got?” Kris asked as she walked up.

“I received a tip that teenage females were here with a large amount of men coming in and out at all hours. He also said that he heard screams coming from the house.  I came to investigate and found the place deserted but with signs that someone was here recently”. I handed her the scrap of paper with the note on it. “This is all I found, that stuck out to me.”

“We will get to work on it, go get some rest and please call me later”. Kris said as she walked back to her team. She likely knew better though. I still had to canvass the neighborhood before heading to the station for report writing and running the databases for information. If nothing else, I hope Leslie had a missing persons report filled. Past contact with law enforcement would also leave a trail that could give helpful data. 

Before I started knocking on doors, I turned and watched Kris work.  She deploys her team in such a precise and professional manner that it’s obvious what kind of leader she is. If there is anything here, they will find it.

I got the usual response from the neighborhood. Many people weren’t home so I slid my card into their door frame. Most houses that did answer were less than helpful. Pay dirt was hit when I knocked on the door of a small elderly woman named Louise Alcott.

“Come in and sit down Detective,” Louise said as she moved out of the doorway and gestured for me to come in.

Photos hung all around her living room showing generations of happy family moments, prom nights, graduations, and family reunions. A well-worn but cared for living room set completed the homey feel. It was the typical busy patterns seen in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Louise caught me looking over the furniture as I took a seat on the couch and her in the recliner. 

She seemed to know what I was thinking when she spoke. “Yeah, I know living room set is a bit dated, but my generation was taught to care for things rather than replace.”

“I was just thinking how my family had similar furniture,” I said to deflect a little. I tried to bring the conversation back to where I needed it. “A moment ago, you mentioned seeing some odd activity in the neighborhood, can you tell me a little about that?”

“Yes, at that rental house down the street where all your people are working. About a month ago, I got on my robe and stepped outside to collect my Sunday paper. I saw several gentlemen come out of the home and drive away. Then it started happening at all hours,” Louise said with a concerned look on her face.

“Had you seen anyone at the house before that first night?” I asked.

“Not for a while. Ned, the owner had a FOR RENT sign out front for a long time but no one was willing to pay the high rent he was asking. Can you believe he wanted nearly $2,000 a month?” Louse said as she flushed a little with agitation. “I was hoping my youngest son could move in there to be close by and help out a little,  but not at that price.”

“Mrs Alcott, was that Sunday morning the first time you noticed groups of people there?”

....