#i feel like it's been 84 years since i edited for this

[the-winter-spider]

Good Guy Part 2 - S. Harrington

Word count: 2k

Warnings: angst, swearing

A/N: Long awaited part 2, I’m sorry it sucks. I just don’t have that spark anymore, feel free to give me any ideas on how this story should go! Not edited or proofread sooo if theres any crazy mistakes be kind lemme know? 😅

MASTERLIST

Part one

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“Why didnt you say anything?!”

“We, uh didn't know yet” Your voice was quiet, timid. You felt this pit in your stomach, ashamed maybe? Most likely guilt because now you had added on the pile of crap you and your friends had been dealing with for years, you could see the tiredness in their eyes. You wanted maybe even needed to tell them not to worry about you, to focus on saving Max. But you couldn't find your voice with the way he was looking at you.

Steve ran his fingers through his hair, he was kneeled down in front of you, he was so close his hands on your knees, squeezing gently, you could almost see water threatening to spill over his lash line “It's been 2 hours since we found out” his voice was softer now “Why?”

You shrugged “It's easier to save one of us instead of both”

Steve blinked his eyes going wide “Were you just not going to say anything until it was too late?”

You sighed “I dont know”

He scoffed, his heart shattering, his mood shifting from how nonchalant you were being, he couldn’t believe you would be so reckless, so selfish. He pushed himself off the ground laughing “You don't know” he tossed his head back, he spun around looking at everyone else in the room “She doesn’t know! That's just great, so great, she wasn’t going tell me” He paused briefly “She wasn’t going to tell us that she was cursed” He placed his hands on his hips, moving to look at the ceiling to stop his tears from spilling over “This day just keeps getting better and better”

Nancy took a step forward, her voice soft, her eyes softer “Why?”

You dragged your eyes away from Steve to meet hers, your vision blurring “How many times can I truly escape death” Your memory playing like a timelapse of all of the close calls, from the first time in 83’ when the demogorgon had you pinned to the ground his claws dragging across your stomach, if it wasn’t for Steve that would have been it. To the second time in 84’ at the junkyard when you were too focused on the demodogs in front of you forgot about the possibility that there could be some behind you, which of course happened and of course again if it wasn’t for Steve who knows what could have happened. And to the most recent one of 85’ the summer that this thing between Steve and you finally happened, god you didn't even need to be saved that summer because he was already always there protecting you just in case you got reckless which you always did. “Third times the charm right?” you gave a shadow of a smile trying to make a really bad joke to lift even the tiniest bit of weight off of the room.

“You have got to be shitting me” Steve through his hands up stomping towards the basement door “I need some fucking air” he grumbled before slamming the door shut behind him.

As Steve slammed the door shut, everyone in the room was left speechless and stunned. The room went silent, only the sound of Steve stomping upstairs and the sound of the screen door closing a few seconds later pierced the air. The room was thick with tension, and everyone was exchanging looks, unsure of what to say or do next.

Nancy was the first to break the silence, her voice soft, but filled with anger.

“What the hell, Y/n?”

“Im sorry, i just….” You paused not knowing what to say, all eyes on you. The room now felt heavy, like it was closing in on you, you pushed off the couch, pushing past everyone and making your way out the basements side door. You needed fresh air. You could longer breath in there.

As you pushed past everyone and headed outside, Robin, Nancy, and Max followed after you. You were walking quickly, moving your legs as fast as you could, trying to put as much distance between you and everyone else. You could feel their footsteps behind you, their eyes on your back, and the tension that still hung in the air.

Finally, you stopped and turned to face them, your breath ragged and heavy. They stood there in silence for a few seconds, waiting for you to say something.

The fresh air filled your lungs, you took a deep breath. Hands still shaking “So how does this change the plan?” you sighed

Your friends exchanged glances, clearly surprised by your response. They were expecting you to break down or apologize, but instead, you were still as calm as ever.

It was Max who spoke up first, her voice soft but firm.

"Change the plan? Seriously, that's what you're Focusing on right now? What about the fact that you could die”

You ran your fingers through your hair “Yeah, but so could you! You’re young, you have more to live for, we focus on you first”

Max's eyebrows furrowed, and she took a step forward, her expression laced with anger.

"What do you mean 'more’ to live for'? Do you think your life means less? Do you realize what you sound like right now?“

“A self sacrificial asshole?” You smiled lightly trying to break the tension “You have people who love you Max, who need you” You gestured to Lucas who was inside with Dustin, giving you girls a minute.

Max's anger softened slightly, but her voice was still firm. "And what about the people who love you? Do you think we want to lose you? Do you honestly think we'd be better off without you?“

“One less problem, one less life to worry about” you shrug “Ill be okay if i know your okay”

You slightly leaned on your left foot, your eyes looking between Robin, Nancy and Dustin, you cleared your throat “Someone should go check on Steve, we need to stick together right now”

Nancy nodded, her expression solemn "I'll go talk to him"

She glanced at the others, silently giving them a look that said "stay here. I'll handle this" before heading off to find Steve.

“We should head back inside to talk about this” Robin suggested, gesturing to the situation, your situation.

Max reluctantly nodded, her expression still laced with concern as the group made their way back inside, heading back down the stairs toward the basement.

—-

Nancy found Steve sitting in his car on the street, his head in his hands. She knocked politely on the window before getting in “You okay?”

Nancy nodded, full understanding the situation that was at hand, the one that escalated from just Max being cursed but now you to “She should’ve said something sooner, i get that but we didn’t full understand what the symptoms were till last night Steve, with everything going on im sure her headaches and nightmares seemed normal given the circumstances” Nancy tried to reason with Steves anger towards you

Steve let out a frustrated huff, his hands moving up to run through his hair, pulling on the ends slightly in frustration. "That's just it, Nancy. I thought her being on edge and having headaches was normal too, but I should've known better. I should've been more observant, more attentive. I should have noticed something was wrong even before all this Vecna crap!” He paused taking a deep breath, his voice cracking “I’m with her everyday, I should’ve noticed something was wrong, maybe I could have helped her, no I know I could have helped her and maybe she wouldn’t be a target”

Nancy nodded “You care about her a lot dont you?” she smiled softly

Steve's shoulders slumped and he leaned back against the seat. "Yeah, more than I probably should. It's just... We have a history, y'know? We've been through so much together. And now this...” He gestured towards the house, towards you. "I just can't lose her, Nancy. I don’t what I would do if I did."

Nancy straightened up “You wont” she reached out placing her hand on Steve’s shoulder “Were going to do everything to save both of them Steve, Max and y/n, i promise”

Steve let out a shaky sigh, his shoulders drooping. "I hope you're right, Nance, I really do. But every time we think we've got a handle on things, another curveball gets thrown our way. It's like for every problem we solve, three more pop up in its place. I just feel like we're fighting against the goddamn universe here."

Nancy nodded full understanding “I get it i do. But right now we should be in there” Nancy gestured to her house “With them, brain storming a plan to keep Max and y/n safe.”

Steve nodded, reluctantly agreeing with Nancy. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before speaking. "You're right. I know you're right. We need to focus on the task at hand. Max and Y/N need us, and we can't waste time moping around." He opened the car door and stepped out, looking back at Nancy with a determined expression on his face. "Let's get to work."

Nancy jumped out “Steve wait” she spoke while shutting the passenger door

Steve paused, turning to face Nancy with a puzzled expression. "Yeah, what is it?"

“I know you said you should push your feels aside but just in case” Nancy crossed her arms “You should tell her how you feel” She smiled softly “Just in case”

Steve's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a pang in his chest at Nancy's words. He had been struggling to keep his feelings for you hidden, trying to deny them even to himself. "I... uh" he stumbled over his words, his heart racing a mile a minute. "I don't know,..Do you really think that's the best idea right now? I mean, with everything going on..."

“I do Steve, Maybe not right at this very moment” Nancy joked “But i think you’ll both regret it if you dont, especially if something happens” Nancy was insinuating in case something went wrong which meant in case Vecna got you.

Steve nodded slowly, his expression turning somber. He knew deep down that Nancy was right. But the thought of confessing his feelings in the midst of this chaos and danger was a scary one. What if you didn’t feel the same way? What if his feelings just made things more complicated?

"Yeah... I get what you mean. But how, and when, am I supposed to do it? Feels like the worst possible time for me to bring all of this up."

Nancy smiled softly walking towards her house “You’ll know when Steve” she paused with her hand lingering on the front door handle “Maybe something good can come out of all this bad” before turning it and walking in her house, heading to the basement to come with a plan to kill Venca and save you and max

Steve stood there for a moment, his mind racing with Nancy’s words. Maybe something good can come out of all this bad. That thought echoed in his mind as he watched Nancy disappear into the house. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself as he made his way back to the basement, ready to face whatever lay ahead.

You sat there quietly on the couch at the back of the basement while the kids and robin started to put together a half assed plan. Nancy hit the bottom step before catching your eye and smiley softly before joining the group a few feet from you to come up with a plan to stop Venca.

Robin, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Nancy huddled together, quietly brainstorming and discussing ideas. Every now and then they would glance over at you, checking to see if you were listening or had anything to add. You could see the worry etched on their faces, their expressions clouded with concern and fear for your well-being.

But you remained silent and still, your mind filled with turmoil and anxiety as you sat at the back of the basement, listening to their hushed voices.

Steve finally joined the rest of them. He sighed when he seen you there by yourself, he could tell you were trying your best not to cry. He glanced over at Robin who was with the other group, she nodded her head in your direction. Gesturing for him to go talk to you.

Steve caught Robin's silent message, nodding his head slightly in acknowledgment. He knew that she was right. He couldn't avoid this any longer. He needed to talk to you.

He glanced over at you once more, noticing your attempts to hide your emotions. His heart clenched tightly in his chest, and he took a deep breath before slowly making his way over to you.

“Hey” He mumbled softly “Can i sit?” You nodded still not looking up at him

Steve sat down next to you, leaving a small gap between the two of you. He fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure of how to start the conversation.

He let out a small sigh before speaking again "Listen, I... I wanted to talk to you about something."

Your head felt heavy lifting it up to turn to Steve “Yeah?”

Steve's gaze met yours. His eyes were intense and filled with a mix of emotions, but also a hint of vulnerability.

"Look, I know we're in the middle of a goddamn mess right now. And I know that you've got a lot going on in your head. But I need to say this."

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the right words to say, this was something he truly didn’t want to mess up, he couldn’t.

Your heart was picking up, this was it you thought. You could see the nervousness in his eyes, his hand was plucking the seams of the old work couch. You watched his mouth open before you heard the clock, you tensed. You turned back to Steve something felt off, his eyes were now dark, he laughed, but it was different it was dark, evil, sinister sounding “Steve?” You questioned

“Steve” He mocked “Did you really think i loved you? Did you really think i could love someone like you?” He chuckled “Your pathetic, i cant wait for you to go, to leave for him to take you. It would be a relief”

Tears were now rolling down your cheeks as you got up from the couch backing up “You dont mean that” He was taunting you, as you looked around you realized this wasn’t real, it couldn’t be. Then you heard it, the low growling.

Vecna.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Review of Episode 8x7 "Hotshots"

Before I delve into this I want to make two things crystal clear. First, I understand 9-1-1 is NOT the Buddie show but the reason I started watching it was because of the shooting and Buck's and Eddie's dynamic. Therefore, since I primarily watch for Buck, Eddie and Chris, I want to see movement in their storylines. Second, I enjoy 9-1-1 as a whole, it's the only show I watch on a regular basis and I like all the main characters. I've watched every episode since season 2 and I even watched a few from season 1 but since it's not my favorite, I don't revisit them unless I need to make GIFs.

I'm indicating this upfront so there aren't any misunderstandings because it's one of the first things people say when someone criticizes an episode. Everyone interprets media differently and people watch for different reasons but their reasons for watching doesn't negate their opinions about an episode or a season. Therefore, it would be great if people stop using the "It's not the Buddie show" excuse when they want to dismiss other people's criticisms because two opposing opinions can coexist. The truth is for some, 9-1-1 hasn't been great for a long time. Therefore, just because one person likes it and they believe it's great that doesn't mean everyone else has to agree and vice versa.

Now let's get back to the regularly scheduled program...

IMO, last night's episode WAS NOT GOOD. The editing was poor, the pacing was off, there were entirely too many guest stars and they completely overshadowed the main characters. It gave seasons 5 and 6 vibes and I didn't like it one bit. The episode didn't even qualify as "filler" for me and it shouldn't have been included in 8A since the mid-season finale is next week.

Since my review of 8x7 "Hotshots" will primarily be NEGATIVE, I'm putting it underneath the cut but it will be a fair and balanced review and I will include information about all the main characters.

Let's get started.

Bathena

I'll start this section with Bobby and Athena because I believe their retirement arcs are being reestablished from the beginning of season 7 but it was horrifically horrible the way it was handled.

Athena's been a sergeant for years and the last time her and Bobby talked about retirement, I mean really had a conversation about it was in season 4 and she said she wasn't ready. But she's four years older now and while that may not seem like a lot of years to some, when someone has a demanding job like hers, there are bound to be some challenges. Her leg being injured while she was trying to catch Flash Rob could have happened to anyone and it doesn't matter their age, however my issues with her storyline ARE MANY and each one is valid.

First, it would have made sense to see her talking to Bobby on-screen about how she was feeling. As someone who's counseled people preparing for retirement, her storyline should have been handled with more dignity and respect. IIRC, Athena's close to 60 years old and the retirement age for people in the LAFD is 55 (so they can start collecting their pension), therefore it would have been better if she sat down with Bobby and shared her concerns about what she wants to do. However, instead of getting that, the audience saw her talking to Hen about it which is cool because FINALLY, after 84 years of them not having any best friends time, they talked but at the same time, it would have been helpful for women struggling with a decision like hers in real life so they could see how to approach it with their spouses or significant others. Second, Sparks was a hothead, she knew it but her captain was too concerned about the amount of money the city spends to train them. She should have listened to Athena and if she would have then that innocent woman wouldn't have been shot in front of her daughter.

PSA: I live in the U.S. and tempers have been palpable here for the last 9 years and with everything that's getting ready to happen in 10 weeks, this IS NOT THE TIME to air an officer involved shooting on TV. It was in bad taste especially with everything that's going on and that has happened in the past. I'm a woman of color and flashbacks of four years ago came to mind and I really didn't need to see that on my screen. I live blogged and my post after it happened proved that I was in shock.

Bobby's nightmare with the "Hotshots" TV show continued and what a cluster f~ck that was. First, the new chief is a jerk (I said it last season when he took credit for the cruise ship rescue) and he's a spinless jellyfish. It IS NOT Bobby's job to do the chief's job but he laid it in his lap and told him to handle it. WTF? He did it because he knew Bobby wouldn't say anything but the chief should have met with Gerrard and explained what was happening. Instead, he sent Bobby to clean up the mess. While I'm on the subject, who replaced Gerrard with a pod person? He was so unrecognizable it was ridiculous. Second, why was Brad allowed to job shadow with Bobby after all the mess he's caused? Buck, Chimney and Hen (I'm not including Eddie because in 6x1 he said he didn't want Bobby to ask him about being captain) are all right there and Bobby's NEVER offered to let any of them job shadow with him but there's a rude actor who throws his weight around on set and he just gets to do whatever TF he wants? Ridiculous! Third, it appears they’re setting up Bobby's retirement arc too but why don't they do better by him and Athena? Let them sit down and discuss their career goals. They're building a house so why not let the audience hear them say what they plan to do once it's finished?

OAN: Where is Harry? He was recast last season but he hasn't been back since.

Henren

Hen was barely in last night's episode and even though she had two episodes this season, why has her arc come to a standstill? In 8x5, her and Karen were arguing about Hen working so much especially on the holidays but it was wrapped up with a line from Karen, "I'm glad you were working." 🙄 Since they have two kids at home, it would be nice to see Hen talk to Bobby about working a flexible schedule or adjusting the schedule so they can work rotating holidays. Reminder, Madney's getting ready to have a baby (I'll talk about this next) which means Chimney might go out on paternity leave so there are some things that should be discussed to prepare the 118 for whatever is going to happen. Also, what happened to Hen and Chimney's friendship? They haven't been shown as besties since before season 7. I know Madney stepped in to help them with Mara but it seems like the showrunner replaced Hen and Chimney's dynamic by pushing Henren and Madney storylines together. All four of them were always friends but Chimney and Hen have a ride or die friendship and I'd like to see more of that again. I'm not counting the argument they had in 7x2 about having each other's back because that was a big nothing burger.

Madney

Maddie and Chimney have been relegated to the back since their wedding in 7x6 and used to help Henren keep Mara but once they finally got a storyline of their own (Maddie's pregnancy) it was once again put on the back burner so Maddie could worry about her brother. She's his big sister but she was holding back their good news because she didn't want to make him feel bad. There was a better way to handle this and it sadden me especially after all that Madney went through with their first pregnancy. Granted Buck figured it out and he was happy for them but they deserve to celebrate this pregnancy. It's good news and they shouldn't have to hide it from anyone. While I'm on the subject, I'm happy for them but at the same time, last night gave season 4 vibes and it seems like Maddie's pregnancy will be used to bring the horrible and emotionless Buckley parents back. TM is doing a repeat of season 4 so IMO, Phillip and Margaret will be there in 8B before Maddie gives birth and it seems like it'll be another "Love me anyway" moment for Buck and another rude comment from Margaret about Maddie's age but we'll see.

Chimney hasn't had a storyline all his own since the engagement ring debacle in season 6 (I'm not counting 7x6 because Doug was in it and that was a CHOICE). I'm really hoping they won't sideline him and just make him be the dad again like they did in season 5. KC deserves his own storylines just like the other mains and it would be great if he could get them. Also, I miss his friendship with Hen.

Buddie

Buck is still trying to get over a breakup and I get it, I really do but he didn't know that dude from a can of paint and he spent the entire 6 months doing the same thing he always does and that's identify himself via the person he's with. He did it with all his previous love interests, therefore, it would be nice to see Buck take some time and do some retrospection on why his relationships always fall apart. I'd like to see him ask himself why no one wants to stay. What is it about him that makes them want to leave? Until he answers those questions, he'll remain on the hamster wheel. I know I'm in the minority but I don't want to see Buck going on any dates or hooking up with random people because he has attachment issues. He doesn't know how to separate them like some people do and his first scene in season 1x1 proved it. He had sex with a woman he met on an app but when he tried to get to know her, she told him he was good at whatever they just did but she didn't want to ruin it by getting to know him. That's been his entire existence on this show and I'm ready to see Buck grow. Sure, he stressed baked and that's cool or what not but I would have liked it better if he actually looked at his past to see what he's been doing. It's not healthy for him to identify himself through the eyes of someone else. Furthermore, when is ANYONE FROM THE 118 going to tell him the truth? Family should be able to share the good and the bad so why hasn't someone suggested he do that? I know Maddie deals with him like she's wearing kid gloves and I'm not saying they need to tell him everything but someone should suggest he take a step back from dating at least until he figures out what he wants. Does he want to get married? Does he want a family? No one knows including Buck because he's never said it. He did tell Eddie he loves kids but IIRC, he's never admitted if he wants to have one of his own. Additionally, Buck should have these conversations before he gets in too deep with someone or else things will end up like before. He was on a different page than all his previous love interests and it was clear they wanted different things but they NEVER TALKED ABOUT IT AND THAT'S F~CKING FRUSTRATING.

Be clear, Eddie is my favorite character and I'm frustrated with the way his storyline has been handled this season. For six years, his arcs have been sidelined and made about Buck but the one season when he finally gets an arc of his own, it's pushed aside and not focused on. I didn't expect last night's episode to be Buddie centric but what I did expect was to see more movement in Eddie's storyline. We haven't seen him attempt to talk to Chris but once and that was in 8x1. Why hasn't he taken a quick trip to El Paso? Newsflash, GM doesn't have to be in the scene the same way he wasn't in 5x17 when Eddie and Pepa went to Texas for Ramon's retirement party. I want to see some movement on this front because Eddie's a great dad and it doesn't make narrative sense for him to be helping Mike reconnect with Weston when Eddie hasn't been shown trying to visit his own son. He said he didn't want his parents raising him so what is happening here? Are they just going to let Helena and Ramon raise Chris for the next year? This is unacceptable on all fronts. Also, what does Eddie do besides go to work? Other than showing him dance to "Old time rock and roll" in 8x6 and him packing away his Halloween decorations in 8x5, NO ONE knows what he does when he goes home. They don't have to show it but it would be nice to hear him say he went to a class or he took a weekend trip. It's not fair for Eddie (Chimney too) to be sidelined in favor of others. While it's true a lot of his screen time was wrapped up in Buck's relationship, Eddie deserves to have his own storyline and I for one was excited to see him happy. It appears that's over until 8B and who knows what kind of BS they'll throw in there within four months.

Finally, I want to talk about my overall impression of last night's episode. Why were there so many guest stars when people we know and love haven't been seen? Where's Ravi, Linda, Sue (she was in Aisha's birthday video) Detective Ransone, Detective Romero along with all the others that have guest starred on the show? They brought a rookie cop on for one episode and it was asinine. Flash Rob could have been a no name actor since they didn't really do anything with his character.

I want to see the main characters grow professionally and personally. If they don't, it'll be the same old same old and the show will continue to struggle. People get bored when storylines are rehashed and they aren't moving so TM needs to move their stories along before viewership falls any lower than it already has.

I don't have any hopes for next week and if it ends like 6x9 did, on a dud, I won't be surprised.

This is my overall review and I expected more from last night. The editing was sloppy and a lot of the things included in the promo were cut for who knows what. I wanted to see Buck and Jee-Yun baking but that was maybe 20 seconds. I also wanted to see less of Brad and if he ends up working at the 118, then WTF? It seems like TM is setting it up so he can change careers at an older age but I don't want that. Grow the MAINS WHO ARE THERE NOW BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE IS ADDED TO THE DAMN CAST.

I'll end this here because I'm getting frustrated just thinking about what may happen for the remainder of season 8.

[retrieve-the-kraken]

9 favourite books

Thank you @gwiazdziarka for tagging me (and thanks for all those book recs, I’m adding all of them to my list, except for the ones that I’ve already read), and I agree, maybe all of these won’t be my absolute favorite books, but they’re either books that I think about a lot, or books that have a special place in my heart, but not necessarily something that I go back to over and over.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exúpery

This one is definitely a favorite. It’s a book that I’ve reread many times, because I feel that it has a different feel every time, depending on what I’m going through at that moment. Also a classic. Love it so much that I’ve started to collect editions in different languages; so far I have Spanish (of course), French, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Euskera (possibly one of the rarest), and Swedish (of course, because I intend to be able to read it by next year).

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Also an absolute favorite, classic down-the-rabbit-hole type story that takes place in London Below. Fell in love with it, with the world-building within an already existing world. If i actually had to list 9 of my favorite books, pretty sure the whole list would be Neil Gaiman, but this book is both entertaining and comforting, so I pick this one. The BBC radio drama adaptation starring James McAvoy and Natalie Dormer is also excellent. Still waiting for the book sequel, though…

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

The most charming book in history, composed entirely of letters between an aspiring writer and rare books collector in New York and the manager of a rare books bookshop in London. Their relationship is platonic, and yet one of the most romantic things I have ever read. The movie adaptation is equally charming and it has Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench in it. Read the book first, then watch the movie, then cry endlessly. Rinse and repeat.

Like a Hole in the Head by Jen Banbury

You should know that I get a lot of book recommendations from TV shows, so I decided to hunt down this book when Monica was reading it in more than one episode of Friends (felt like a subliminal message). And it was fucking worth it. Also a book about a book. A dwarf comes into a bookshop where the protagonist works, to sell a first edition of Jack London’s White Fang, and only after he’s gone she finds out just how rare it is. Heist plot ensues. It’s equally strange and exciting, mind-blowing and cathartic.

The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

Very melancholy, this book is a collection of essays, poems and short stories published posthumously, as Keegan died in an accident at 21. She was very talented and could write convincingly about many things. Can’t even pick a favorite one out of the collection, because they’re all very good in very different ways. Very bittersweet.

Los Caballos Estornudan en la Lluvia by Dimas Lidio Pitty

Another short story collection (the title literally translates as “Horses Sneeze in the Rain”), from a Panamanian author, from the region where I spent my childhood summers, which still holds a very special place in my heart, and which has a mysticism about it that he helps preserve in these stories. Dimas Lidio Pitty was very good at magical realism. One of the stories in particular is so brief, but it’s incredible how good it is in such a short narration.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I’m a huge fan of classic dystopic science fiction, and this one has got to be my favorite. The narrative is interesting, moves along at an excellent pace, and it covers everything. Another book about books too. If you haven’t read Fahrenheit 451, the premise is simple: in this dystopic society, firemen don’t put out fires, they start them… to burn books. Book banning to the extreme. What happens next? You need to read it to find out.

El Misterio del Solitario by Jostein Gaarder

I have been obsessed with this book (The Solitaire Mystery in English) by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder since I started reading all his books when I was a teen (I don’t even know how I came across him, I just picked one up one day and went with it, it wasn’t even Sophy’s World, it was Through a Glass, Darkly). Of course Sophy’s World is probably the most famous, and it was very good, but this one is so strange and magical that I read it several times ages ago, and it was such a comforting book, and now I would like to reread. Maybe one day soon I’ll read it in Norwegian!

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Another classic and favorite, which I have also read many times. Some people like Alice in Wonderland, some like Peter Pan, I like the Wizard of Oz. I like anything Oz related, the movie, the musical, Wicked (the musical, not the book, tho), everything. But the source material is still where it’s at.

No pressure tags: @makingupachangingmind , @voldiebeth , @raincitygirl76 and @phoebenpiperx .

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Love in a Ghost Town--Part 2: Small Town Exposure

Eddie Munson’s become content with working his day job. After the crazy stretching of events from 1983-1986, Eddie’s grateful for a little bit of normal in his life.

That is until one day, Valeria Browns shows up in town looking for a quick car fix. And she’s more than he might’ve bargained for on the eve of Valentine’s Day. Valeria is just trying to enjoy her Valentine’s Day weekend after many years of being perpetually single. She has her fun, but it’s never serious. Maybe Eddie can change some of that.

Older!Mechanic!Eddie Munson. 2003 alternative universe. BlackFem! OC.

The Upside Down doesn’t exist in this fic. But strange things do happen to th town of Hawkins, Indianna. Major Character Death that is not canon as a result of the non-Upside Down AU.

Series Warnings: Character death, Implied/Referenced Death, Smut (18+ Content)

Chapter Warnings: Past references to trauma, Implied Steddie, Mentions of Alcohol Consumption

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Edited photo of Eddie by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

Feel free to view my masterlist here

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The question’s been burning at the back of Valeria’s throat ever since Eddie extended the offer to show her the town personally; several hours earlier in the day. A long day if Valeria is going to admit it. But now, sitting in the passenger seat of Eddie’s pickup truck, the radio tuned into the top 40 hits, Valeria keeps replaying his soft confession, Hawkins isn’t bad anymore. From the corner of her eye, Valeria can take in the white undershirt and jeans Eddie changed into. Now the tattoos are easier to see, scattered up his forearms and biceps. Across his lap is a flannel and tucked between them is the jacket Valeria made him grab before they left his trailer. 

His trailer isn’t a lot. But it’s homey. There’s hats and mugs that line the wall the couch is settled up against. The kitchen opens up immediately to anyone who enters. It was mostly neat. Some papers--mail most likely--stacked on the corner of the kitchen counter. The small dining table tucked into a corner held Eddie’s keys, wallet, and glasses as he discarded them. The coffee table in front of the couch held coasters and a bottle that seemingly was left in a rush. Eddie was quick to get it up and into the trash. 

He’d shown her where the second bedroom was and let her know anything in the fridge and cabinets were free to her. Even handed her a fresh set of towels so upon their return she wouldn’t have to worry about them. As Eddie freshened up, Valeria dropped her backpack onto the edge of the black comforter. There was little in the way of decorations. A dark brown dresser on the bedside with a lamp. The walls were pretty bare. A clock rested above the closet and a shadow box with newspaper clippings rested against the wall that is shared with the kitchen. The closet had some spare hangers hanging from the silver bar, tucked into the left side against the wall were several boxes, Wayne, scrawled over one side of the boxes. She assumed it was all stuff Eddie couldn’t dare part with and though it wasn’t her business, she gingerly caressed the edge knowing how hard it is to part. 

But now, she's settling in reality and she can’t help but think about what had happened to this town. “What-what did you mean by Hawkins isn’t so bad anymore?” Valeria asks above P!nk’s voice from the radio. 

“I was hoping you wouldn’t catch onto that,” Eddie admits, reaching for his gear shift to shift down a gear. 

“I’m new in town. Of course I’m going to catch onto it.”

Eddie nods. “Fair enough. It really starts back in ‘83. Between two missing kids, one turning up later dead, the other presumed dead but with no body, the town starts to panic. Some government conspiracy theories start to float up. They sound like hocus pocus, but of course they’re supposed to sound like that. ‘84 and ‘85 are a little blurry personally.”

“That’s when your uncle got sick?”

Eddie nods to the question. “Yeah, it’s when we started to suspect something. Didn’t get an official diagnosis until ‘86. But the missing kids and then rumors about Russian infiltrating the town in the midsts of the Cold War. This town really had a stretch of some turbulent years. In ‘86, the town’s still reeling because now it’s coming out that there were government involvements with the missing kid whose body never turned up, and the Russians. Part of the town goes on a witch hunt even still. Religion was prominent, even if we didn’t admit to it. I think they call it the Satanic Panic. At the time, I was really into this game Dungeons and Dragons.”

“I know the game. One of my friend's brother still plays. I think he’s the DM now.”

“I’m glad to hear D&D is still going strong. I founded a club back in high school for a little bit. After everything that had gone down, people needed a reason for why. Why was it all happening to us? Our small, quaint, idyllic town. And when people don’t understand something it becomes the easiest target. There were rumors about a cult being behind the reason for the reason the feds were looking at our town. Really it turns out only one kissing kid is a result of the government involved. Other kid just got lost in the woods. He’d run off, looks like there might’ve been a little trouble at home. A bad storm came through in November. Exposed to the elements like that, it’s only a matter of time.”

“Poor kid,” Valeria sighs. 

“It was Jonathan’s brother that ran off into the woods. Joyce, their mother, she took it hard there for a while. But then she really turned it around for Jonathan before she passed. Joyce was always fierce.” 

The truck stops, running idling mostly to keep the heat going. But there’s so much that threatens to melt Valeria’s teeth if she doesn’t ask. Like why does the town have newer looking roads and what were the feds actually in town about? How did the other person die? Did people start a witch hunt for Eddie because of the club? But she can’t quite get her jaw to open, loosen up enough for any air to come out before Eddie’s turning to her. He gestures to the side of his face. “You’re probably already putting some things together.”

Valeria inches her hand a little closer to Eddie’s outreached forearm. The truck’s parked, no where for it to go, but he keeps a hand on the gear like maybe even he’s unsure of where to place it. “People start blaming the game?”

Eddie nods. “Spring break of my last senior year was definitely a spring break for the records. To backtrack, the feds were in town because there were an increasing number of reports of illness coming from people that were working the power plant. There are old cold mines littering this state, but the biggest one was here in Hawkins before it got an upgrade. Though between you and I, it needs another one. Power plant is technically a safe distance away from old coal mines but the buildings and the conditions aren’t that great. Feds were coming in to try and keep things hush really and at the same time, following leads about Russians too. It’s sort of a mess. But this isn’t exactly public news just yet. So to the town it feels like a plague--you know? It’s a stretch of four years with a lot of turmoil. We had a mall that came in in ‘85, got burned down in the midst of this mess too. Didn’t get rebuilt until the 90’s if I remember right. 

“But Spring Break, man,” Eddie exhales, staring up at the front of the pharmacy. Valeria assumes this is the downtown--where bars, stores, and much of the nightlife thrums for Hawkins. But she doesn’t want to break the spell. The more Eddie speaks, the more she feels like she can see what sort of town this place was and may still be in the depths. 

“Yeah, no, Spring Break was a time. Part of the government cover up is becoming less of a conspiracy theory but between the mall fire and general turmoil, the town needs a reason for everything. I,” Eddie laughs, looking over to Valeria as he rubs his chin. “I wasn’t a straight lace back in the day.”

“You don’t look like one now,” she retorts with a snort. 

Their laughter intertwines in the air between them. Eddie shrugs, turning more now to face Valeria directly, back resting against the driver side door. “Fair enough. I deserve that one. But I was dealing. I’ll admit it. It was putting food on the table. I don’t think my dad was a bad guy. I just hated the situation we were in. Mom died when I was young. Dad’s trying to take care of me but doesn’t know how to grieve his wife properly. He resorted to dealing and got mixed up real bad. When he landed in jail, I got turned into a ward of the state until it came back about my uncle. I sort of felt neglected. Wayne was a good man and I’m really grateful that he took me in. But I guess after everything--bouncing around from place to place, picking up some skills I’m not very proud of--I still wanted my dad, you know?”

Valeria nods. “There’s no one like your parents. And there’s no one else that can fuck you up like your parents.”

“Ain’t that the truth. But, I was dealing, and the founder of the D&D club. And Chrissy Cunnighman- Liv’s mom- she was head cheerleader and approached me about buying. If we run into Chrissy, you’ll understand what I mean by this, but she’s like literally an angel. I’ve known her since middle school and I swear to heaven, she’s a direct descendant. Night of the championship game, Chrissy comes by the old trailer. There was a little bit of settlement money from the feds. I didn’t want to take it, but Wayne made me promise. I upgraded the place a little with the cash. But Chrissy-I didn’t know when she first approached what was really going on. I sort of suspected the more we started to hang out. She originally just wants weed, which is fine. But when she asks for the harder stuff,” Eddie sighs, exhaling deeply from his lungs. 

“I asked her to stay with me. The long and the short of it, that’s basically what happened. I didn’t want her using that kind of stuff by herself the first time. So I told her if she really wanted it, she’d have to stay with me. I’d sort of help her through her high until she knew better how she reacted to it. It’s one thing to have a bad trip and another to have a bad trip alone. It’s terrifying. But Chrissy at the time was dating Jason, captain of the basketball team. The All American couple. Jason wasn’t perfect back in high school--an insecure jackass, maybe. But I won’t paint him to be a total villain. When Chrissy didn’t show up for the party after the basketball’s championship game, it spooked him. He went to her parent’s place and she wasn’t there. Meanwhile, Chrissy didn’t even use that night. Well, not the Special K. We just smoked. She and I really spent most of the night talking. She’d previously been so…untouchable. But she was just a person. Like we all are. With her own demons. 

“One night was enough though,” Eddie sighs. “By the time I got Chrissy back home later that next day, I think half the town was gunning for me. I got cornered that night. It wasn’t pretty. They wanted me to admit that I was a cult leader and I was trying to sacrifice Chrissy and corrupt her. Doctor said I’m lucky to have made it out alive.”

That does it--where Valeria had been playing it safe and keeping distance between them, a hand hovering in the gap, she finally crosses No Man’s Land and grasps at Eddie’s thigh. “If it means anything, I’m glad you did make it.”

“Th-thanks,” he exhales. His movements are measured, but he moves inch by inch to take Valeria’s hand into his. “I’m glad too.”

The calluses are prominent. No doubt a by-product of the work he does with his hands and Valeria fleeting wonders if some of them too are from his days in the band and if he still plays. But even the curiosity is drowned out by the fact that Eddie may not be here if fates were tipped a different way nearly twenty years ago. “I’m sorry it happened though.”

“I gave up on being sorry about it happening long ago. Like I said before, I had other things to be concerned about. And I knew it. I was the town freak, good for nothing drug dealer. People need a reason why.”

“Doesn’t mean you should be sacrificed in the midst of it.”

“You’re right. I made some good friends along the way. This kid, Dustin, I was going to meet up with him because he wanted to talk about the campaign finished over break. And when I didn’t show up like I agreed, he enlisted some help from some of his friends to help start looking for him. It’s because of him that I’m alive. That’s Hawkins then, though. Let me show you Hawkins now.”

Valeria nods, a small smile crossing her face. “Sounds good.”

Eddie squeezes her hand for just a moment and then they both pull away. She works to get her winter coat on while Eddie slips into the flannel and coat. They meet at the front of the truck on the sidewalk. “It’s not a lot. The mall’s got a bit more and we can head that way too if you want.”

“Here’s okay for now. I think I might explore the mall tomorrow while you’re at work.”

“Sure,” Eddie nods. “I’ll jot down the stop to get off at. There’s a bus stop just at the entrance of the trailer park. It’s a bit of a walk and I do apologize for that.”

“I’ve got good walking shoes. But where to first?” Valeria, even with the dark of the settled in evening, can take in the buildings around her thanks to the street lights. 

Eddie takes hold of Valeria’s hand, nodding over to his left. “I could show you where I had my first kiss, which by the way was absolutely awful, but I think you might enjoy a quaint little bar more.”

“Which has cheap alcohol that does the job.”

“Now that it does.”

The Hideout is the opposite of quaint. The worn wood aesthetic gives away its age. The bodies that line the bar counter and some of the booths show a town that feels a bit frozen. Or perhaps is more accurate to say it’s a town that continues to fulfill its own prophecy. They’re not young. The sea is not packed. But the town has a certain prey that feeds its own ecosystem: people who don’t leave because of the haunting reality of responsibilities--the Eddie’s and Jonathan’s of Hawkins--and the people who don’t leave the small town because they are too embedded into a sense of nostalgia who can’t evolve as the times demand them. The latter seems like the best choice for one man at the bar loudly lamenting about the good old days. 

Eddie leans into Valeria’s space, voice closer to her ear than usual. “Meet Jason Carver--he’s mostly harmless now at least. And I’m pretty sure he’s loaded so he’s much too slow.”

“Captain of the basketball team, right?” Valeria asks. 

“Hmm, I might have to move the exam up a day by how quickly you catch on. If you’re uncomfortable, we can go.”

Valeria wouldn’t say she’s comfortable. Eddie is familiar and feels the most trustworthy. But Valeria is distinctly not comfortable in this town. Jason looks like the beers have caught up with him at the same time as age as too. He doesn’t look out of shape, as it seems more likely his cheeks are just full and the bend in his waist from his seat is a result of bad posture and the lack of a court to run up and down. Jason looks like a man who wasn’t ready to let go of something, so he doesn’t. She imagines the letterman jacket he might’ve worn like armor. The replacement, a bomber jacket, holds a familiar silhouette for him most likely. 

“I don’t want to go unless he makes a direct threat,” Valeria returns. 

“As long as you’re sure,” Eddie insists. “I do have backups. Aren’t many but there are some.” 

“Let’s just…give him some space,” Valeria suggests. 

“Absolutely.”

He leads the two of them to a booth right out of Jason’s line of sight. “Wings are the best thing about this place. Besides, my rockstar alum status. That okay? Two basket of fries?”

Valeria nods, shrugging out of her jacket. “I could go for some wings.”

“What about your drink? Whiskey straight? Hurricane? Beer?”

“Cider please.”

Tossing his jacket into the booth, Eddie nods. “Consider it done. I’ll be right back.”

In the absence of Eddie’s presence, Valeria slips out her phone. She hadn’t called Tamara to let her know about her need to stay in the town until now. No doubt to the worry of Tamara, but she hadn’t managed to have the nerves until now. It’s an easy dial once Valeria as she presses and hold the number 3 on her keypad. The line rings only twice and then shouts are filling the line. “Val, that you?”

“Yeah, Tammie it’s me.”

“Where are you? The car fixed yet?”

“It’s the transmission. Friday is the earliest the parts can come in. Eddie expedited it.”

“Shit, so you’re just stuck in that podunk town,” Tammie sighs. 

“Until the car is fixed, yeah.”

“You okay? In a hotel?”

That’s the question Valeria doesn’t want to have to answer. “I’m okay.”

“Is it going to cost an arm and a leg?”

“Add a kidney in there too,” Valeria laughs. 

Tammie’s laughter cuts in through the sounds of her children in the background. “Maybe a spare lung.”

Valeria looks up to Eddie, one foot resting on the foot rest of an empty bar stool. “It’s not…all bad though.” Out of the overalls, it’s clear Eddie’s built. It’s not like he’s cut to tear down houses nor does it look like he’s trying to win a body-building competition. But the lines in his back are visible beneath the t-shirt. He looks strong, and soft. It’s clear he likes a beer or two from time to time. He’s aged, his body gives that away, but he’s done so gracefully. 

“So who is it? Who’s caught your eye?”

Valeria travels the length of his body back up, work boots still decorating his feet to the long tresses. He tied back half his hair, but left the other half from about the top of his ears down loose. “I don’t even know if Eddie goes for Black girls, let alone girls at all.”

Tammie cackles at the retort. “You could be his first.”

“I-I don’t want to imagine that. He is letting stay with him for free, best to not make it awkward,” Valeria states, still half distracted by the ink of Eddie’s arms. 

“You’re what?” The screech pierces hard and fast in Valeria’s skull as it leaves Tamara’s throat. 

Valeria closes her eyes, head dropping. “Shit.”

“You weren’t going to tell me! You were going to stay with this man who could be a serial killer for all we know and you weren’t going to say anything to me!”

“We were just discussing the possibility of me sleeping with him so I’m not sure how that’s somehow any better.”

“Yeah, sleep with him and then frolic off to your hotel room or a motel or something. But you’re staying with him! There'll be no paper trail of you being in the town!”

Checking into a motel would definitely have a hard trail for anyone to follow. “He’s…Tammie, I can’t afford to fix this car and pay for an unknown number of nights for a room. The least I can do is take the free room. And there’s a mall out here supposedly. I’ll make sure to make a purchase there or something.”

“Use your credit card, please!”

“Yes, Mom, I will.”

“You feel safe around this Eddie?”

At the mention of his name, Valeria looks back up to notice Eddie turning with their drinks in his hand. “Safe enough,” Valeria answers. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Are you about to make a move on this man? Oh, he’s not going to make it if you do.”

“I’m out with him, getting some dinner. Trying not to be rude, Tammie,” Valeria whispers. “Later, okay? And a purchase on my credit card tomorrow. I know, I know.”

“Love you, Val. Please call later, okay?”

“I will, Tammie. Love you too.” 

The call ends with a distinct beep. Their ‘Love-you’s’ are punctuations to any conversations. Even if they argue, they still must confess their love. Because it is only and ever love that fuels any of their conversations. 

Valeria slips the phone into the front pocket of her sweatshirt and reaches up for the bottle Eddie holds out to her. He sets his glass bottle down, a silver bottle opener also in his hands. He motions to her bottle, like he’s asking for permission and Valeria can only nod. Eddie then pops the top her drink, the fizz giving the cider just a small head of foam and then quickly settling. “Wanted to ensure you knew there was no funny business,” he confesses, a lopsided grin on his face settles into the cracked red cushions of the booth. 

“Thanks, Eddie. Next round is on me if you’re up for it of course.”

“Let’s worry about that bridge when we get there, yeah.”

“So you used to play here?” Valeria asks, taking in the stage that doesn't look like it’s been used in years. There’s tables in the middle between the sides of the booths. She tries to imagine what it might be like to have a crowd of teenagers in on the middle of the week. 

“Every Tuesday. Didn’t have much of a crowd most of the time, but it was nice to play.”

“No one is coming to see you play? Were you bad?” Valeria jokes. She wants to deliver with more flatness, but her smile betrays her. 

Eddie snorts, raising the bottle to his lips. After he gets his sip down, he leans a bit more into the table. “I’m a metalhead. Corroded Coffin never caught flight. But enough about me. I’m old and boring.”

“Eddie, you are not old. If you’re old, god, I don’t want to think about myself.”

“No, you are the opposite of old, that is absolutely apparent. You’ve got nails like claws, which are actually really cool by the way.”

Valeria ducks her head. “Thanks. I-” She curls her hands into fists as best as she can before resting her palms around the sweating glass bottle. “I’m realizing how much I definitely stand out. Sorry.”

Eddie reaches, only just a shuffle of his hand over the wooden table, towards her. “You’re in good company then. I’m out of place here too and I fucking grew up here.”

Valeria looks up from underneath her lashes, but nods. His smile is still soft and still makes the dimples on his cheeks stand out. “I think I went to college to get away,” Valeria admits. “That’s why I didn’t really care what I studied or where I landed. Just wanted to get away.”

“Small hometown?” Eddie asks. 

Valeria shakes her head. “Not-not like this. When my parents were still alive, we had a small house--single story, it was nice. Parents were sort of treading water with debt so my grandmother sold that house to help out and I moved in with her. She lived in the inner city. Wasn’t terrible like we weren’t on the verge of having lights turned off, but Gma worked her ass off to make sure of it. Just wasn’t great. Sort of grew up dealing with a lot of people on our block succumbing to drugs really. Wasn’t anything for me to see people shooting dice or shooting up on the walk to friends house. One of the dealers on the block had a thing for me but I was just trying to keep my head down. I had a temper.”

Eddie hums around his sip. “A temper?”

“I got into fights a lot,” Valeria admits, spinning the bottle. She’s not gone in for anymore over her initial sip. But her knuckles throb for a moment before she speaks, “Broke one girl’s nose. Gave a couple people some black eyes. Nearly broke a guy’s ribs. I never needed a good reason, just a reason.”

Eddie whistles. “Before or after your parents’ accident?”

“After. Lost them in 6th grade. All throughout high school and the remainder of middle school, I just didn’t know what to do with what I felt. I was pissed they died. My grief was rage.”

“Understandably so. Really are preaching to the choir, so.”

“Softball saved me. I couldn’t let my grades slip and I couldn’t get into trouble--sort of forced me to face things head on.”

“You mean you couldn’t get into fights,” Eddie corrects. 

Valeria huffs her laugh, taking down her second sip to math Eddie’s fourth, maybe even sixth sip. “I couldn’t get into trouble,” Valeria returns firmly. “I got into a lot of physical fights but I was quick with a slick mouth too.”

Eddie grins at the quip. “If you can almost break a rib, I’d hate to hear the damage you can do.”

Valeria rests her elbows into the table, showing off her nails. “Why do you think I keep my nails done? They’re too expensive now to break in a fight.”

Eddie takes one of her hands, holding mostly on the tips of her fingers to get a closer look at the details. He runs a thumbs over the faux pearls. “Do you keep them decorated for all major holidays?”

“I’ll be skipping on Saint Patrick’s Day if that’s what you’re asking.”

Eddie shakes his head. His smile turns into something more flirtatious. “No, wondering if I can put in a request.”

“You say it like you’ll end up seeing the fruits of the labor.”

“I don’t assume anything.”

“Then what’s your request?” Valeria hums. Right from her periphery, she notices a person approaching with a tray. Eddie doesn’t let go of her hands even though she’s sitting back to accommodate their food. 

“I get to see how they feel. And if I can get a visit between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I wouldn’t be mad either.” 

Valeria knows a flirt when she sees one and Eddie is the biggest fucking flirt Valeria has ever seen in her life. “How long have you been waiting to use that line?” 

“That one I whipped up fresh just for you,” Eddie laughs. He lifts her hand, arms going with the action and the food slips in right underneath. They give their gratitude to the server as Eddie lowers her elbows back down to the table on either side of their spread. “There’s buffalo sauce on the side and ranch, and I’m absolutely biased so I had them put barbeque on the side too. But I hope that’s alright.”

Valeria nods. “Yeah, that’s alright.” Eddie’s grasps on her hand loosens and with a rush, a surge that overrides all logic, Valeria grapes his forearms, fingers bent mostly at the first knuckle to let the nail tips rest against his skin. Why not give him exactly what he wants? Well, he could be a serial killer. But something tells me he’s not. 

They hang in the moment, frozen like stars on cloudy skies, not exactly seen but known. They both know. “Is it curiosity?” Valeria asks. What’s really behind that is: Are you interested in me because you think I’m attractive or because I’m Black? She’s not sure Eddie will truly pick up on the nuisance. He’s lived here, in this town, his entire life probably. Possible escapades to the city and sure Eddie’s not once been rude to her--call it Midwest Manners-- but Valeria has to know before she does something reckless on a whole other level if it’s going to bite her in the ass. 

“About you specifically, yes. I may be a small town guy, but my eyes still work.”

“Eighty percent of the time,” Valeria teases, drawing her hands back, nails dragging lightly down his forearms, then down his palms and over the calluses and tips of his fingers. 

“The other…twenty percent of you is only slightly fuzzy.”

The click of a boot on the floors is easy to ignore, but the tan pants and black belt are hard to not see when a body settles at the edge of their table. It only takes the small glint of the gold badge on the hip for Valeria to snatch her hands back to her side of the table, as if she weren’t already on the way to it. Eddie raises a brow at the action, eyes morphing from something hot to something tender. The core melts as he considers her. “It’s just Harrington, honey,” Eddie explains. As if that’s supposed to take the edge off. “He can be a bit of a ball buster,” he continues on, flicking his gaze up. “Mostly bark, very little bite.”

Valeria follows the line of Eddie’s sight and there’s an easy grin on the man’s face. There’s something soft in his gaze down to Eddie, behind with the graying gray--longer than Valeria might’ve imagined for a small town cop. His jaw is sharp, long nose in the middle of a face that Valeria can imagine was the subject of many potential heartbreaks of this very town. He’s bigger than Eddie, muscle packed on with care and even with all his best efforts, there’s the distinct squish around his waist. Time, too, has settled gracefully on the man. 

But he holds the buckle of his belt in a way that sets Valeria’s nerves on fire. More than once she’s wound up in lock up because of a fight. More than once as an officer shined the buckle of his belt in her face, caressed it like it’s supposed to be something else. Like it’s laying in wait. 

“Wanted to say hi to the new face making buzz in town,” Harrington offers before sliding his gaze over to Valeria. “I’m Steve,” he comments, hand extended out. 

Valeria watches it, hand raising but body rigid. “Valeria Browns, sir,” she returns. 

“Ouch, no, no need for the sir,” Steve laughs, hands settling into his pockets now. “Just Steve. Is Munson treating you right? If he’s not, you like me know. A wanted man in many respects,” Steve tacks on. 

“All you’d have to do is call, sweetheart,” Eddie retorts, resting his chin on the flat of his knuckles. His smile is sickly sweet and he adds a bat of his lashes to top it off. 

These two definitely fucked, Valeria thinks to herself. Their laughter is easy and Steve throws a weak punch to Eddie’s shoulder. He singles Eddie out with a finger. “Just treat her right. I don’t want any complaints about you.”

Steve turns to Valeria. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come down by the station, we’ll be happy to help.”

“Thank you, s-Steve.”

“Anytime, Valeria.”

Steve reaches down into the basket of fries on Eddie’s side of the table and steals a couple. Eddie only smiles at the action. “Someone ought to be feeding you better. Fruits and veggies,”  Eddie returns. Steve only shrugs at the jest and as he takes a step back, winks. He throws Valeria another polite wave before carrying himself back towards the front of the bar. Eddie takes in the lines of her shoulders--rigid and hard--under Valeria’s sweatshirt. “Take it you don’t like cops.”

She shakes her head. Her throat quakes for just a moment. As easy as the taunts were between them there’s still the burn under her skin that Valeria knows will last for hours. “Haven’t had too many good encounters.”

“Steve’s a teddy bear, really. He took over after Hopper retired. The two of them are close, but really, you don’t have to worry. Steve’s—he’s a good guy. Truly he is.” 

Valeria’s sure Eddie’s words may be true, but she can only stare down at the basket of wings and fries in front of her. The glint of the badge, the grasps of the buckle are burned into her retinas. She blinks and they’re still there. She blinks again, I’m her grandmother. You think I’d lie about that? Valeria blinks again, You’re lucky they’re not pressing charges. Another blink, Keep coming back here and I might start to think you like it. Blink. Only thing you're good for is opening your legs in the long run. Blink. Blink. Blink. 

 Nothing had happened, but it still feels like everything had happened. Valeria reaches, hand shaking for a fry. “You two seem like you go way back,” she offers. Her voice cracks a little. Eyes threatening to spill tears. But they don’t. 

“Hey, no, are you okay?” 

It’s thick—the concern in Eddie’s voice is thick and it falls between them slowly. Valeria is so far from okay but she doesn’t want to focus on that. “Please don’t. It’s messy and not sexy. I’ll be fine. Just please answer the question.” 

Eddie can’t help the snort. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost if not more and you’re worried that you somehow can make your trauma appear alluring. I may be many things—a freak, a troublemaker, devilishly handsome. But I don’t care if it’s sexy or not. I want to make sure you’re okay. The last thing I’m going to do is ignore the fact that you don’t seem to be doing well.” 

Her chest cracks. The tears are slipping and she doesn’t care to stop them. Not now. Not when she’s being told it’s safe to crack. Eddie grabs some napkins,  slipping them into her turned up palm. It’s not a sob building. It’s more like the pressuring she’d been swallowing back now marches up her chest. Her exhale is heavy and she feels like she should cough. But still she withholds and works instead to inhale and exhale again.“Damn you, Eddie Munson.” 

He grins—the boyish one that’s a little shy but really it’s hiding all his secrets and desires. It’s the kind of shyness that makes Valeria know he is not so innocent. When she doesn’t move to wipe her tears, Eddie does, dabbing and holding the napkin along her eyes. Her mascara is probably already staining her cheeks. “As long as I get to meet you in the underworld, Valeria Browns. As far as Steve and I—he’s part of the group Dustin was close too who found me in the forest just outside the trailer park that night. Or rather that morning really. He and I, we had our time. I think if this town were a little bit different and he and I were just a little bit different it could’ve worked out, maybe.”

“Town freak, ex-drug dealer, metal head. Wannabe a rockstar and let me guess Steve was what swim captain. Jock. All American but inverse to dear old Carver. A real Wild West love story. Cops and robbers type of situations.” 

Eddie laughs, taking another napkin to dab off what he can of the black lines. “Steve even has a cowboy hat to match. But yeah, he was swim captain and basketball captain before Carver. He graduated a year before I did finally.” 

“I assume people sort of suspected?” 

Eddie shrugs. “Maybe they did. But that’s all in the past, really.”

“It looks more present to me,” Valeria teases. 

Eddie shakes his head, but wears an amused smirk. “You’re always stirring the pot. We had what we had. We have what remains. That’s all, really. So, this,” he starts gesturing between him and Valeria, “is much more present to me. And that’s okay, right?” Eddie says in a whisper. Like he doesn’t want to scare her off or break the spell. Valeria nods but looks back down to her food. Eddie continues on. Like he can’t help himself. The words fall rushed and stumble into each other. “You can say no. I know it’s strange but we can leave it here. I’ll show you around, we’ll go back home, and I’ll give you 6 feet at all times.” 

“I believe you, Eddie.” 

He deflates, shoulders rounding down and he nods. It’s adjacent to relief, if not relief itself that paints his face. “Just let me know. But eat, yeah? Still have an appetite?” 

“I can try. That’s for certain.” Because if Valeria’s had anything she’s always had in her to try. She may not succeed but that’s never been the goal. She just needs to try. 

By the time they finish their food, the night’s gotten even colder. Valeria can feel it cutting across her face, but she walks alongside Eddie, listening to him regal tales of a not so distant past. The cold ease the fire on her face, the heat of fear and some embarrassment strong, but not stronger than the cold. She takes a long glance at the old theater sign in front of her. Eddie’s voice rings out about the time he had his almost first kiss here. Where Steve got into a fight with Jonathan over Nancy, where Steve had someone else graffiti vile stuff about Nancy and then cleaned it off himself when he realized how wrong he was about it, where now dust settles on the inside. If Valeria breathes in deep enough she can smell the popcorn that might’ve been popping during all these events. 

“Tell me--what’s your favorite M&M? And you have to say the red ones,” Eddie adds on.  

“Green Skittles,” Valeria returns. 

“Yeah, okay, those are good. But that’s not the question.”

“Green Skittles,” Valeria hums, bumping Eddie’s arm with her own. “I’m mildly allergic to chocolate.”

“You’re what?” Eddie screeches, the offense pouring from his face. “How-you haven’t even lived if you haven’t had chocolate.”

“I steal Hershey kisses occasionally.”

Eddie grins, hand reaching out for hers. She gives into the silent question with ease, slipping her fingers through his. The rings now are cold too. “I knew I liked you. The candy shop is still standing if you want to browse.”

“Sure. Just no chocolate. I don’t feel like adding an ER visit to this trip.”

“Oh, you’ll just miss Buckley then.”

“Who?”

“Robin. Pediatric nurse. Friend. Ex band geek. Steve’s literal other half in platonic form. She’s kind of amazing, but you can’t tell her I said that.”

“I’m 32,” Valeria returns. 

Eddie grins before leaning down just a little. He whispers, what Valeria knows shouldn’t be a secret, but he treats it like one, “Buckley’s got all the best candy in the hospital though.”

“I can fake it,” Valeria deadpans, pulling to a hard stop on the sidewalk. She throws her thumb over her shoulder. “Which way to the hospital?”

Eddie barks out a laugh, turning to face Valeria now. His body breaks a gust of wind. “Technically, that way,” Eddie nods his head over his left shoulder. He swings their joined hands in the direction too. “I think she’s looking to get out soon, from nursing. So we probably should get to her sooner rather than later. But I’m sure I can give her a ring tonight and set something more adult up.”

“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother,” Valeria states. 

“You are not a bother. She might even be able to take you up to the mall so you’re not hiking it if she’s not got another shift. She admittedly hates shopping but she’s good company.”

“If she’s Steve’s platonic soulmate, I’m probably going to get a shovel talk.”

Eddie nods, a small grimace taking over his face. “Hmm, that is the down side. She’d kill for that boy and now by a long extension me.”

“You do that a lot.”

Eddie’s brows furrow at Valeria’s statement. “Do what?”

“You dismiss yourself. Like you somehow matter less or not the same as everyone else.”

“One day. One day and you think you have me figured all the way out?” There’s not a lot of heat behind Eddie’s words. But there’s a sternness that lets Valeria know she’s too close. 

“I cried into chicken wings forty-five minutes ago in case you forgot. You cleaned my mascara off too. You can tell me if I’m dancing too close to the fire, but you don’t get to undercut me.” The words fall with an arch brow. Like she’s daring Eddie to say something else back out of line. Valeria’s not afraid of fight--that’s something she’s always known. 

“To be fair, I’m mostly impressed. Took a lot of people I’m close to a lot longer to call me out on it. Wayne doesn’t really count, since he raised me and all.”

Valeria watches the lines of Eddie’s face and the tick of his jaw. There is genuine awe mixed with a clear tell. “Too close to the fire, aren’t I?”

“Maybe just a little.” Edde uses the forefinger and thumb on his free hand to press together just how close Valeria is to the nerve. The pads of his fingers don’t touch, but they are so close they might as well be. He laughs, which hopefully means he doesn’t hate her guts. Her actions may have warranted it, but she likes the ease with Eddie. 

Valeria returns the sentiment with her free hand held in surrender. “I’m sorry.”

“No harm, no foul. Our outs or strikes. C’mon, there’s candy to browse.” The two resume their walk. It’s a short distance but even in the few steps the tension starts to melt. 

“Steve would be disappointed,” Valeria points out. “I’m sure he’s tried hard to teach you about sports.”

Eddie holds open the door to the shop, allowing Valeria to enter first. “I’ve learned a lot. It’s funnier to be a little shit.”

The shop has redwood and red decor up the walls. It’s not quite like stepping into a time machine. The registers are all modern, but there’s something historic about the decor. It feels borrowed, comfortable in a way that lets Valeria that it’s been well lived in, but still is not hers. “What’s your favorite color of M&Ms?” Valeria asks. 

“The green ones.”

“So why did I have to say red?”

“It would complete the set,” Eddie returns. 

He says it like it’s obvious. Like Valeria’s supposed to know what it means. But she doesn’t. She watches Eddie walk over to the side wall, where rows of clear containers sit. You can build your own bag of candy, it appears from the way there are plastic bags on the side and scoops in each clear container. He takes a bag and scoops inside peach rings. Then he gets another bag stowing away red hots inside of it. Eddie goes on until he has a dozen bags. They’re all tied off after they’re about a third the way full.  Valeria grabs half for him when it’s clear he’s done. 

“I got ‘em,” Eddie returns, piling his portion on his forearm pressed up against his stomach, using his torso now as a shelf to leave the bags 

“I can help. For friends?”

Eddie nods. “Bit of a tradition.”

“Is there where Robin gets her stash?”

“Possibly,” Eddie laughs, one hand still extending to take the remaining bags. “But I’ll never tell.”

Valeria turns, still holding six bags in her arms. She gravitates to the candy apples.  She can’t remember the last time she had a candy apple, but the sight of the display is enough to seal the deal. There are some in caramel with nuts and some dipped in the red candy covering. She eyes the displays to see if she can determine the base apple flavor beneath and spots a green apple in red candy covering that she wants. The tower has no glass so she reaches in and plucks the one she wants off the tray. 

Before she can get it fully in her grasps, a hand comes in over her shoulder and picks up the handle. Valeria turns to find Eddie already making his way to the register. “You coming or getting left?” he calls out of his shoulder. 

“You’re insufferable,” Valeria mutters to herself but comes at the call. Eddie’s focused on a display--Valeria’s doesn’t pay attention to what. She’s fishing her wallet out from her pocket and slides her card across the counter as she notices the cashier finishing up. The young girl takes it, red hair pulled back from her face, and she looks bored. Not that Valeria blames her. 

“Got ID?” The girl asks. Valeria holds it out for her to see and only at the question does Eddie’s attention snap away from the glass counter. 

“What are you doing?” he asks, reaching up to swat her card away. But the cashier is faster and swipes Valeria’s card after verifying the name on it and the name of the ID. “Max, you know better!”

Max, the cashier only shrugs, fishing out a pen from the cup for Valeria to sign the receipt. “I don’t really give a shit.”

Valeria hands over the signed receipt and gets her car back into her wallet. The purchase would at the very least solidify her time in the town and it would piss off Eddie: two birds, one stone. “Since you paid for dinner,” Valeria returns. “Thank you.”

Eddie sighs, with a nod. “If you pay for anything else though,” he threatens, but doesn’t finish. 

“You’re going to do what?” Valeria goads. 

“Not in front of the children,” he answers, tucking two fingers under Valeria’s chin to tilt her head back. 

It’s only an arch of her brow. There’s no word.  But the facial tic is enough to communicate everything to Eddie and his eyes darken just a little in the dim light of the candy store. There he is, Valeria notes to herself. 

“I’m taking my Swedish fish now, by the way, Eddie,” Max interrupts, clearly on purpose as she gnashes her teeth into the tough gelatin. 

Eddie’s gaze never leaves Valeria’s. “Enjoy, Red.”  His fingers slowly leave Valeria’s chin, one single digit signaling her out. “You’re dangerous, very dangerous,” Eddie laughs.

Tagging: @munsonology​

[hummingbird-games]

Dev Diaries

March 5th, 2024

So. We're 3 months into the new year. Huh.

Updates from me? I started a new job! I've been reading/catching up on a toooooon of manga lately (I'm also sloooooowly making my way through a nonfiction read and can't help thinking how Corey would heavily sympathize with me. Sigh.)

I also got another free month of Spotify (lol, I think I'm the only person I know who only uses the free plan because I'd rather spend that money elsewhere??) so I've been on a listening spree and flagging songs for a writing playlist I will use for the majority of the HSDJY 2 drafting process moving forward.

I still have yet to play BG3. My family gifted me the physical edition, so I've been impatiently waiting for it to ship out. It's been 84 years JFJEHFJHJF!!

Hmmm...nothing else interesting has happened to me (that I can publicly share ☠️) so on with the game development updates!!!!!

What Has Gemini Been Up To? -> TKD (again)

March 16th!!! Y'all, this is the deadline the team and I are working towards for a finished and published game 😭 unfortunately my plans for full voice work won’t be realized by then (but they will be realized. Just in a few months. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if y'all get the updated HSD 2 demo before the fully voiced TKD….)

What Has Gemini Been Up To? -> HSD:JY and Ko-fi

Ko-fi first!!

It’s only been a few months (since November??) but I’m super proud of my posting consistency! Granted, I’m a little anxious about how posts will look moving forward once I start moving major updates and general silliness to Tumblr. But. We shall cross the bridge when it appears.

March snuck up on me and I only have the free and any-paid-support ready, but the subbies are just There™️. That being said...when I'm quiet or posting non-Hummingbird content here, there's 99.9% chance I've made a free post on ko-fi.

Tumblr is looking like the other social media platforms right now with its flagrant support of AI, and it gives me a headache trying to decide how to keep everyone informed as well as share posts from my peers and new kids on the block. Anyhoo!!!

High School Daze goodies??

At the time of this post, a couple things have been happening that I haven't had the time (or the energy) to talk about. The obvious? HIGH SCHOOl DAZE: JUNIOR 2 HAS AN ITCH.IO PAGE!! I...have no idea when the full game will be out. I have an idea...but I don't want to say it and feel obligated to make that deadline just so I don't disappoint players. (I'm well aware that some people took one look at Crushed, went "Aww, that's nice, Gemini. Now where's HSD??" 🤣)

The first round of sprites have been commissioned!! If you peeped the key art (also done by my sprite artist, heehee she's lovely) you might notice some new outfits, some new hairdos. Fingers crossed I'll be able to update the page--to mirror the debut game's page--at the same time the new demo goes live (which will showcase all of or at least 75% of the common route of the full game. Stay tuned to find out if we'll focus on the friendship route or if I can defeat the Coding Monster to include all the variations for the romances too aha).

Writing wise? Five of the six total routes are outlined. (Florence's I've…barely started 🥲…this pre-production thing is kicking my ass). I’ve started drafting out the friendship route too, as seen by the random posts I’ve made about HSDJY 2. Well, a combination of friendship route + the common route with its lovely variations that aren’t a nuisance at all. Nope. *eye twitch*

I alsooooooo discovered that all the raw and edited music I created for HSD and for personal projects over the years using GarageBand were deleted. And I never backed them up. So. The tracks I made, the jingle for the splash screen, the main theme and it's 2 variations, and alllllll the little cute things I made that are as old as my own high school days are....gone.

Poof!

If I sound very calm about this, what an astute observation! But my anxiety is being used elsewhere, and I decided that I while I can't go back to the original files to tweak them, I've backed up the other files. And I don't mind starting from scratch with this.

But also y'all, please back up your shit. Please. Don't be caught slipping.

That poll I made a while back that now has results and I totally didn't forget about?? The boys won!! And I'm not surprised 🤣 I haven't decided yet if I'll do a live developer stream or a prerecorded one, but either way it'll happen closer to October, the 2nd anniversary date.

What Will Gemini be Up To?? -> Rest?!?!?

I assumed a lot of things about what would be done or not done by March, and that led me to loosely block out March as a 'rest' month. I wouldn't work on any projects, and instead would read, play console and computer games, and basically take the break I didn't take in December.

Well. The Knight Dance is still in production. And I commissioned sprites earlier than expected. And I didn't plan enough ko-fi content to be scheduled in my absence. LOL and I started a new job!? 🥹

But!!! But but but, I do need to take some type of break so I'll do my best to be scarce in this space (and lower the temptation to work because I see y'all are working LOL). Cool? Cool!

- Gemini 💛

[generaltrashshecox]

I just saw a video where they edited beomjun in a live together since it's been 84 years since they've actually done a live together and I'm feeling like I might have to do that for antmien/j

(I have three hyperfixations going on in my brain right now HELP)

[fragilecapric0rnn]

I posted 4,202 times in 2022

That's 4,182 more posts than 2021!

125 posts created (3%)

4,077 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gothbat99

@greenlikethesea

@gingerbreadmunson

@hotcocoaharrington

@gullbones

I tagged 2,123 of my posts in 2022

Only 49% of my posts had no tags

#stranger things - 323 posts

#steddie - 297 posts

#fanart - 130 posts

#steve harrington - 84 posts

#eddie munson - 65 posts

#fic - 62 posts

#sen writes - 54 posts

#writing - 45 posts

#steddie fic rec - 41 posts

#steddie fic - 40 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#obviously so i can send them a quick lil ‘ur story ruined me thank you’ message but to also rb their posts abt it/rec their fics on my blog

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

you can take your heart from your chest to use as a compass when you are lost

The Steddie Missed Connections AU || Chapters: 6/6 || Complete 

Thanksgiving 2009.

Steve, who is about to host the brood of children (who somehow aren't children anymore) in a cabin for the long weekend, after a semi-bad week, all while batting off Dustin's attempts at playing matchmaker and dodging phone calls from his mother. And at some point some strange man on the internet broadcasts his worst public moment for the other Craigslist freaks to see.

What could go wrong? Or right?

Steve is finding his life to be very different than he thought it would be. He’s also finding that maybe that’s okay.

59 notes - Posted November 1, 2022

#4

It’s Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day and there happen to be some writers that I appreciate and want to show my love to them for sharing their talents with us! 

(Steddie Edition bc they are on the mind 24/7)

The Steddie brainrot has led me to reading a TON of fic. So, I am finally making a rec list of all of the fics that have not been able to leave my brain since they walked into my life. 

As I was compiling this list I noticed a running theme and that is that these are all future fics and what can I say? I’m just a simple girl who’s a sucker for Steve/Eddie in the 90s/early 2000s. I think it has something to do with my love for romcoms from this era and thinking of them as older just makes me want to fall to the floor. 

So here they are, in no particular order: 

1. the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you by @greatunironic; 

Sixteen years after the world didn't end for the last time, Max Mayfield showed up on Steve’s doorstep and said, “You gonna walk me down the aisle in May or what?” 

Or, it’s 2002 and Steve Harrington attends a wedding, a funeral, and a birth. (Word Count: 34,990)

The way that this fic bore into my soul, I seriously can’t think about it for too long without getting emotional. This one feels like a given considering the fact that I am now getting TikToks my fyp of people out of context referring to this fic, which is how I stumbled upon a recommendation of it. If you haven’t read it yet, PLEASE DO. It’s a national treasure at this point. 

2. Let us Dwell in Fair Ithilien and There Make a Garden series by @sparklyslug and @greenlikethesea (Word Count: 61,151) (Description from Three Weddings and a Funeral) 

Steve Harrington falls in love and gets married. Not in that order. Some other stuff happens along the way too. But those are the two big things. That first one especially.

(Or: celebrations of life)

This series, much like aforementioned most remarkable thing, is set mostly in the future with the gang as adults, and Steve and Eddie dancing around their feelings for each other for nearly 15 years. That is a gross oversimplification in my opinion because it is honestly so much more than that! Like, it’s set in the future, but there is time jumping, and references to previous parts of the series, its just it’s own universe within the ST universe! Ugh, I got flustered trying to put coherent thoughts to how much I fucking love this series and the way that these two have crafted am entirely new canon for me to latch onto. Go read this. Like right now. I also suggest reading it in the writers’ suggested hard mode! 

3. Keep It for Me by @stereobone; 

It's 1993, and Steve is attending Lucas and Max's wedding. It's 1993, and no one has seen Eddie Munson in seven years. (Word Count: 9,741)

For one thing, the little NorCal girl in me was foaming at the mouth at the thought of a chunk of the party living in The Bay Area as adults. This one has the meeting again years later element, which is just so good! This also has writer!Eddie which made my heart burst, and the pining and reunification of it all. Again, I have a hard time putting words to how much this fic has nestled its way into my heart! Repeat: GO READ IT!!!

4. alone again, or by @pizzaqueen; 

It’s 1991 and Steve is still in Hawkins, still living with his mother, still single, and still working at Family Video. At least he’s the manager now, for whatever that’s worth. But he’s stuck here while Robin and Dustin and everyone else have moved away. Moved on.

Well, everyone except for Eddie.

They're best friends, spend most of their time together, and it's nice to have a friend like that. But Steve is still looking for love with a capital "L". At least, he thinks he is. (Word Count: 20,765)

This one is definitely different than the ones I talked about above. But, this one is still fucking fantastic! More of a coming-of-age vibe in a we’re twenty somethings and life looks a lot different than we thought it would and I think thats okay kind of way. Which spoke to me in a way that I also kind of need right now as a twenty something who feels just like that :’) Also love the character of Steve’s mom, which is something we don’t see a lot of, Steve having a supportive parent, and it is very sweetly written. This fic felt like a popsicle on a warm day. READ! IT!

Again, happy Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day! Let’s keep showing our favorite writers love every day of the year! 

107 notes - Posted August 21, 2022

#3

Steddie Fic Rec #2

Like most, the Steddie brainrot is still very much active. I’ve also discovered that I love making rec lists, so here is another! There’s not much cohesion to these ones other than the fact that I just really enjoyed them, so you should enjoy them too!  

In order by word count:  

Up the Punks by @sparklyslug 

Steve has good intentions, but does not realize that punks and metalheads are natural enemies

Explicit. Completed. (Word Count: 5,505)

Oh, sparklyslug, how you’ve managed to steal my heart with your Steve and Eddie in only five thousand-ish words. As if I could expect anything less from ½ of the brains behind the Fair Ithilien series, it makes perfect sense for their solo work to be fantastic! 

This fic is perfect if you’re looking for something short, sweet, and hilarious. Like the dialogue and characterization is just so *chefs kiss* I could basically see the interactions very clearly in my head and it’s just too good too perfect. 

the boys of summer by steveharringtoned

(Steve knows Eddie’s alive. Wayne’s the only one who believes him. So they team up to save him.)

Not Rated. Completed. (Word Count: 19,926) 

A very creative fix-it fic and like a very interesting and creative way in which Eddie is saved. I am honestly such a sucker for Uncle Wayne being included in the plot of fics, especially in the context of him being like ok sure there’s another dimension being hidden by the government, so how the hell do we save my boy. And Steve. He is just so stupidly brave and the characterization of him and his grief in this fic is just so good and different than what we typically see in fics from his POV. The dude is hurting and sometimes being hurt can be ugly and the way the writer shows that is just sooooo gooooood. 

all the missing girls are hanging out without us by @greatunironic 

“Here is a riddle: the answer is one.” Eddie Munson lives, and dies, and lives again.

Mature. Completed. (Word Count: 20,761) 

Another instance in which greatunironic does THAT. I have seen people call this a kind of feminist take on the ways in which the D*ffer Bros treat their women characters as plot devices and dispose of them at ease for the sake of the plot, and I couldn’t agree more. I don’t want to give too much away in this, but I will say this: Eddie’s characterization in this is SO GOOD. He spends the first chunk convincing himself that he’s tripping balls and if that isn’t an Eddie mood than idk what is. 

Quick note: the Steddie in this fic is more implied and is not the central focus of this fic. 

Not Exactly Napa Valley by @twiceasfar

The fake relationship AU that literally no one asked for. Featuring Steve and Robin as platonic soulmates, a destination wedding to a winery, and a thrilling quest to piss off Steve’s parents.

Robin lets out an exasperated sigh. “Eddie would be the perfect date for the wedding!”

Steve freezes.

“Whose wedding?” Eddie asks.

Mature. Completed. (Word Count: 28,900)  

This fic reminded my how much I love the fake dating trope. I always find it interesting to see everybody’s different takes on what Steve’s parents are like, and how we just all agree that they’re awful. Despite that, this fic was very fluffy and had me blushing and giggling like a child. The buildup was so good and the pace was perfect and I honestly love this fic so much. 

The Spaces In Between by @indibdraws

Steve Harrington, ex-lifeguard and babysitter extraordinaire, happens to be blessed with knowledge of first aid. Eddie is the recipient of this aid, and as he recovers he must learn to live with the fact that he owes his life to a prom-king with a 12 step haircare routine. This would be easier if he didn’t find said prom king so uncomfortably attractive.

And if the world would stop ending for five minutes.

Geez.

Explicit. Not Complete. (Word Count: 80,210) 

Typically, I try not to read fics that are unfinished, but this one ended up on my dashboard 5 times in the span of an hour and my impulse control is bad and THANK GOD IT IS BECAUSE HOLY HELL. THIS FIC. This writer should be in the writer’s room for s5 and it is honestly a crime that they aren’t. Like yes, this is a Steve/Eddie fic, but it is also SO much more. The use of canon to create an ending that was satisfying to the store and gave the characters their justice. I cannot explain how much this fic has ended up imbedding its way into my heart and soul. As soon as it's completed, I'm going to reread it again and again and even when s5 premieres I am probably going to prefer this over canon until the day that I die.

See the full post

150 notes - Posted September 3, 2022

#2

How it feels when I see new photos of Joe Keery

332 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

LISTEN. I was ready to ride the Steve Becomes A Teacher train all the way home. It’s in my fics, it’s in my planned fics. But but but LISTEN. 

Steve becoming a first responder? 

A little bit post-S4, Steve is driving home to Hawkins after moving to Indy/Chicago/a major city that’s still within reasonable driving distance for him to come see the kids. Eddie is in the passenger seat and they’re zooming down the highway, one of those picture perfect moments where they’re singing along to a Madonna song, that Eddie was complaining about just moments ago. 

Steve, always striving to be the safest driver on the road, mostly because he is almost always transporting precious cargo in the form of his loved ones, isn’t the one who sees it at first. It isn’t until Eddie loudly gasps and points out a pretty horrific car accident unfolding before their eyes in the next lane over. 

Steve pulls off to the side, a fair distance behind wreck. One of the cars is turned completely around in the other direction, the front smashed in. The other cars are also damaged, but the passengers are getting out. No one has gotten out of the turned around car. 

Without a word, without questions from either of them, the two get out of the Beamer. Eddie goes up to the other cars, a woman who’s crying her eyes out and a young family all looking spooked out of their minds, but all seemingly alright. All of this is happening in Steve’s peripheral because he is now sprinting toward the car that no one has gotten out of. He sees the shape of the driver, head laid back on the headrest, unconscious. 

“Don’t move her!” “We need to wait for help!” Bystanders yell at him. Steve doesn’t respond, the driver door now open, as he checks the girl, who looks so young that mental images of one of his kids being in her place flash across his brain, tug at his heart. 

“Eddie!” He yells past the lump in his throat, but it looks like his boyfriend was already reading his mind, as he runs over with the first aid kit that’s always stationed in the trunk of his car. 

He finds her pulse as Eddie settles beside him. He’s checking for broken bones as the girl comes to. He’s telling her to sit back and that everything is okay as Eddie is yelling at the crowd forming around them to back up, he knows what he’s doing. 

Steve gets the flashlight out of the kit, shining it in her eyes, asking her what her name is, what day it is, who the president is, she hesitates to answer but answers all the questions. 

Eddie isn’t sure if this first aid knowledge is from all the times Steve’s been assessed after all the Upside Down shit or if it’s because of his own research, though he realizes as watches Steve keep the girl calm and gently keep her from moving around at all, it’s both. 

Eddie continues to watch when the ambulance gets to the scene. He watches Steve tell the EMTs that the girl is concussed and has no other visible injuries. He watches as they assess her themselves and as they ask Steve if he’s off duty, motioning to his extensive first aid kit. Steve just says he’s had his fair share of emergencies and he knows what he’s doing. 

After the ambulance leaves, Steve and Eddie walking back to their car, even though traffic is backed up all the way to their apartment it seems, Eddie can’t stop thinking about how easily Steve fit into the “hero” role. How, sure, it’s residual Savior Of The World shit, but can’t it also be more now that the world is saved? 

When they’re back on the road, hours later, and close to home, Eddie asks, 

“Have you ever thought about becoming a paramedic?” 

Steve doesn’t say anything. But he’s thinking. No, he hasn’t thought about it. But maybe he should start thinking about it. 

738 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

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[commajade]

I posted 15,880 times in 2022

2,514 posts created (16%)

13,366 posts reblogged (84%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@crystalpalacefc

@commajade

@sawasawako

@mizoguchi

@vympr

I tagged 13,806 of my posts in 2022

Only 13% of my posts had no tags

#asks - 830 posts

#march - 640 posts

#📻 - 522 posts

#april - 474 posts

#may - 466 posts

#personal - 462 posts

#september - 442 posts

#february - 425 posts

#june - 414 posts

#august - 379 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i was gonna be disappointed if fever isnt the title track but also seeing the concept pics i'm just 👁 👄 👁 l will accept anything he gives

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

white t*rfs literally trying to get into contact with skorean feminists because they have such a bad t*rf infestation already is literally colonizer shit these people are disgusting

2,542 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

#4

shinzo abe was the face of japanese fascism and the amount of evil he inherited and proudly continued the legacy of can't be fully expressed in a social media post. a lot of korean ainu ryukyu southeast asian and chinese people (along with jpn people that oppose the state) are celebrating today with their loved ones that an evil man has been made to feel a fraction of the pain he caused and died like so many of us did at his and his ancestors' and political party's hands. it's really unfortunate that more of us could die because of this, that he could become a martyr for japanese fascism as they mobilize in retaliation and a reason for the US empire to tighten its hold in asia. japanese fascists are not subtle about their genocidal goals and have had a special grudge against the entire korean peninsula since the 1500s, when they failed to conquer us during the joseon dynasty. they annexed us with US permission from 1910 to 1945 and that was not enough for them. abe and the nippon kaigi's official platform is that they want a return of the japanese empire, it's genuinely terrifying thinking about what they will be capable of now.

3,574 notes - Posted July 9, 2022

#3

8,261 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

#2

8,555 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

link to article here

edit: this article is actually wrong on several accounts because it was a white guy that wrote it and probably didn't fact check! her name is actually yoon kim myung-woo and she is the third owner of lesvos starting 1999, which started in sinchon in 1996 and has moved to hongdae! it is in fact the first lesbian bar in seoul and there are now several more lesbian bars, clubs, and cafes. yoon kim myung-woo is a very respected and well known figure in the vibrant and fast growing skorean lgbt community that comes to speak at many gay and trans events.

also the article is primarily about the difficulty of passing the lgbt nondiscrimination bill and some key activists in the movement. please read it with a grain of salt because it does not mention at all the role of US neocolonial power and US militarism in south korean political conservatism! there would be no law prohibiting same sex relations in the military if the rok military was not modeled off of US military structure and law! and it would not be such a large factor in gay and trans people's lives if the US would let the korean war and armistice end so mandatory military conscription of every person assigned male in the country could finally end.

36,358 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

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[koraesdoodles]

I posted 190 times in 2022

That's 138 more posts than 2021!

106 posts created (56%)

84 posts reblogged (44%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@koraesdoodles

@unearthlyfromage

@gobblewanker

@starprincess4

@mother-ofthe-universe

I tagged 173 of my posts in 2022

Only 9% of my posts had no tags

#gravity falls - 97 posts

#stanley pines - 79 posts

#stanford pines - 79 posts

#practice makes progress - 72 posts

#stan twins - 47 posts

#gravity falls fanart - 46 posts

#other people's much better art - 31 posts

#ford pines - 19 posts

#stan and ford pines - 19 posts

#stan pines - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 105 characters

#i'm like the dweeb at the middle school lunch table hoping you all don't kick me out since i don't belong

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Heavily inspired/redraw of this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/51228514500114889/ 

EDIT: @eregyrn-falls and  @hkthatgffan found the original for me! Thank you! https://sleepyharpseal.tumblr.com/post/157619413269

84 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

#4

@forduary Week 4: Hug it out

The first time Ford found Stan curled up on his bed with the blanket pulled over his head they’d been six years old. Stan had gotten into the new books Ford had received for Christmas and accidentally spilled paint all over them. Ford was furious, and didn’t talk to Stan for three days. Then he’d walked into their room and found Stan in a ball sobbing his little eyes out. 

Ford sat on the bed hesitantly, looking at the floor while his brother pretended that he didn’t know Ford was there. Eventually, Stan peeked over the blanket and Ford began to talk. 

“I’m still mad.” 

“-- I didn’t -- !” 

“I’m still mad.” He reached out hesitantly then abandoned caution and threw his arms around his brother. “I really liked those books.” To his horror, tears started to roll down Ford’s cheeks. Hiccup’s caught his breath and it felt like he couldn’t breathe. “I can be mad!” Stan held him while he cried. 

Ford forgave him a day later. 

When they were ten, Stan came home sunburnt and angry. Ford had spent the day working on a new project, and didn’t realize why Stan was giving him the cold shoulder until he glanced at the clock. 

“Oh my gosh, Stan I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize it was so late I --” 

“Whatever, Poindexter.” 

“No, I mean it! Did you go to the fair? Did you see any clowns?”

“Leave me alone.” 

“Stan --” 

“Just do your stupid science and leave me alone, Stanford!” Stan shoved his brother out of the way and slammed the door to their room, leaving Ford in the hallway, feeling like a jerk. 

He apologized again that night. Stan said he forgave him. But it wasn’t until a week later that he actually started acting normal again. 

Ford held grudges. When someone wronged him, they were on his black list for life. Crampelter grew up and lived a good life, but Ford never forgave him for his childish bullying. Carla McCorkle would never earn his forgiveness after taking his brother on a date that resulted in Stan getting a black eye and being grounded from the Stan o’ War for three weeks (he never did get Stan to tell him exactly what had happened, but Stan got in trouble enough without some girl making things even more difficult). When someone did him wrong, Ford wasn’t one to immediately jump to forgiveness. 

But he always forgave Stan. When Stan lied to him about taking their Pa’s gold chain, Ford forgave him. When Stan stole Ford’s math homework in sixth grade and copied it, Ford forgave him and even let him copy his other assignments (Pa wouldn’t get as mad at Stan if he got better grades, so he figured it was good for both of them). Ford even forgave Stan’s lackluster excitement when Ford was offered the chance to go to his dream school. 

And he would have forgiven Stan after the science fair. He would have, if Stan hadn’t left (been kicked out, but he didn’t have to leave forever. He could have stayed around, explained himself, something, instead of just leaving Ford behind with nothing). 

But Ford deserved to be mad! Stan had wrecked things too many times. He was allowed to be mad about this. That didn’t mean he was going to freeze his brother out forever, he just . . . needed some time. 

Stan didn’t hold grudges. He forgave easily and fast. But he let the pain linger. He held onto it like it was proof that whatever bad things happened to him were proof of an unfair universe that was out to get him. It wasn’t his fault that his dad was unfairly hard on him, or that he wasn’t as smart as his brother, or that the machine broke after a single punch to the table. It wasn’t his fault that he needed to steal to eat and that the supplies he was able to aquire built crummy vacuumes and worse bandages. 

He just needed a chance, but nobody was willing to give him one. 

It was a perfect storm. And things didn’t get better when they reunited ten years later, and there was no quick forgiveness when Ford stepped out of the portal thirty years after that. Too much had happened, and maybe Ford needed more time or maybe he’d just gotten so used to being upset that he didn’t spare any thought into fixing things. And Stan was willing, waiting to forgive his brother, but couldn’t stand that things had gone wrong for him again. It wasn’t until later that they realized something had to change. And by then, it was almost too late. 

Ford walked into his brother’s room three days after they’d defeated Bill. It was the first thing he did every morning, since Stan tended to sleep in and Ford tried to avoid sleeping altogether. Ford liked having breakfast with the whole family, and he couldn’t do that if his brother insisted on staying in bed all day. 

Ford also didn’t like being away from his twin for long periods of time. He’d spent thirty years holding a grudge against his brother, but he never imagined Stan actually being gone. Stan was always safe, which Ford most definitely wasn’t. He’d gone through the stages multiple times over the decades, forgiving Stan and then being angry at him all over again. But when his brother stared at him with those blank eyes, having no recollection of who he was or what had happened, Ford felt a fear that he’d never before experienced. He’d wanted to grab Stan and shake him, force him to come back to him. He could deal with being apart from his brother, he could deal with being angry at his brother, but he could not deal his brother being gone. He could not handle a brother that didn’t know him, who had sacrificed everything in order to save Ford despite everything. 

It felt like if he let Stan out of his sight for too long, then his brother would revert back to that state. He knew it was illogical, but it didn’t matter. He woke his brother up every morning anyway. 

Stan was curled up in a ball under the blankets. Ford went to shake his shoulder but found that Stan was already shaking. 

“Stanley?” Ford’s voice made Stan jolt.

“Morning already?” Stan’s voice was more gruff than usual, though he was clearly trying to sound normal. 

“Are you alright?” 

“Why wouldn’t I be? Now go away, I don’t have on any pants.” 

See the full post

86 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

#3

FINISHED! Late but here. Stanuary Week 2: Identity

96 notes - Posted January 16, 2022

#2

Okay, okay, last one, I swear. I couldn’t let an AU week go by without including @artsymeeshee ‘s adorable Chibi Stan! 

@forduary week 3: AU

124 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Whoops I made a chibi!stan 😆

I was looking at poses and came across this super cute one of a person with this little shoulder angel and I thought to myself: oh yeah, I bet I can make this worse.

Stan is not as excited as his brother, but Joke's on Ford when he starts worrying about his brother getting kidnapped and eaten by seagulls, or that he'll wake up in a coffee-needing haze and accidentally step on his mini-bro.

Chibi!stan belongs to @artsymeeshee

124 notes - Posted July 10, 2022

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[jugheadthejones]

I posted 106 times in 2022

That's 86 more posts than 2021!

22 posts created (21%)

84 posts reblogged (79%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@grumpytrans

@jugheadthejones

@autisticandroids

@sneez

@messmonte

I tagged 87 of my posts in 2022

Only 18% of my posts had no tags

#words - 22 posts

#dreamling - 18 posts

#gay shit - 7 posts

#photography - 7 posts

#sandman - 4 posts

#art - 3 posts

#fic rec - 3 posts

#dream/shakespeare - 3 posts

#romo - 3 posts

#steddie - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#(i see him just getting over the smaaaaaaall moral issue just as dustin and mike roll up starting the issues anew but massively tented now)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i NEED messy jealousy screw dream/shakespeare!!!! i cannot believe!!! dream dips on his date after hearing about his happy marriage to go “””make a deal””” with some lively little dreamy twink PLEASE!! and hob def knowing. def making dream make up for it

25 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

#4

i go back in forth on my headcanons about whether hobs not dying status is enough to clear him of the ‘no mortalsxEndless’ rules but ive starting reading the dreaming (2018) and yknow if dream can fuck his great-great-grandniece he can fuck hob.

38 notes - Posted October 13, 2022

#3

not to perpetuate eddie munsons reputation as a satanist BUT what if one day he accidentally summoned a sex demon. and for some reason it took the form of steve harrington.

+for some reason dustin (&mike?) show up at his trailer (dnd stuff?) and hes gotta try and explain why theres a horned up steve harrington double in his bedroom when theh swear they just left him at family video not an hour ago?

47 notes - Posted July 12, 2022

#2

i want. dream and hob to have an actual conversation about nada. but i dont. bc i feel like hob, even with his own sour history, would see that as just too fucking much man

but also i DO bc hob would punch him, as he deserves

51 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

anyways. hob having sex w dream in the dreaming while lying in bed with his current girlfriend in the waking. shes hearin him moanin abt dream, which is weird but whatever wet dreams be wet dreams. shell wake him up for another round or just let it be cos shes wiped out this isnt about that tho

hob maybe still doesnt know/understand that dream Dream is real Dream while Dream thinks theyre in a fully understood relationship (theyve been doing this for awhile now, after meeting back up in the waking after his imprisonment)(hes still Very Bad at openly explaining things to his mortal lovers), hob just also has relationships in waking since theyre Casual TM (dreams a little afraid of commitment rn) (and Dream can’t physically fuck Be With a mortal in the waking)

Edit: no actually this is a bout weird somno and hob being just totally wrecked by the dueling sensations of his girlfriend in the waking trying to wake him up by feeling him up to go for another round, and Dream using all hos might actually a considerably small amount of his might (but yknow, emotionally all of his might) to keep hob fucking him in the dreaming. the weird relationship status is a secondary concern

59 notes - Posted October 2, 2022

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[ilovemybarricadebabies]

I posted 477 times in 2022

20 posts created (4%)

457 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nasnyys

@/cages-boxes-hunters-foxes

@gene-forrester

@just-french-me-up

@leascno

I tagged 477 of my posts in 2022

#enjoltaire - 209 posts

#fanart - 200 posts

#enjolras - 116 posts

#grantaire - 59 posts

#barricade day 2022 - 48 posts

#barricade day - 47 posts

#aaron tveit - 36 posts

#taylor swift - 25 posts

#star wars - 14 posts

#anakin skywalker - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Here’s my take on the Les Mis official posts about the queen’s death

WHY ARE YOU ALL SURPRISED??? They posted when the UK celebrated the Jubilee. They posted about the wedding of Harry and Meghan. They literally performed a concert at Windsor Castle for the Queen years ago!!!! They’ve posted, and done things, in support of the monarchy many times.

Like WTF were you expecting when the show is produced by grumpy, white, old, monarchy-loving British men???? Those men DO NOT CARE that the whole point of Les Mis was being anti-monarchist. Because at the end of the day, they only care about the MONEY that will line their pockets, which is exactly what the Jubilee and the wedding brought them. Money from the thousands of tourists and UK natives who were in the city those two weekends.

These people DO NOT CARE about Victor Hugo’s message when he wrote the book. They do not care about the people that died 190 years ago in attempt to make their country a better place. Just like they don’t care about the thousands of people who have suffered under the British Monarchy’s rule. These people DO NOT CARE because they are greedy MFers, who just want to have more money.

I mean, are we forgetting that this same producer literally called casting trans people in shows a fucking gimmick??? Or closed the original production in favor of the 25th because it would save him money??? Like it’s been proven time and time again that Cam Mack is an asshole, who doesn’t care about anyone other than himself and is more concerned about how he can earn himself more money.

Like yes, call them out on the posts. Remind them what the show is about. But if you don’t think it won’t happen again during Charles’s coronation or even after that, think again because it will.

67 notes - Posted September 9, 2022

#4

“Happy” Barricade Day, everyone!!! 🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩

See the full post

84 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#3

Since we are a little less than a month out from Barricade Day, and I know that lots of people are already working on their fics, fanart, fan edits, and everything in between.

I just wanted to send out this little reminder to the people who aren’t necessarily interested or don’t really have time to create something. Please do not feel pressured into creating fanfic, fanart, fan edits, whatever for Barricade Day. If you feel most comfortable just liking, reblogging/reposting other people’s posts, that’s okay. You can participate in this fandom on those days anyway that you want to.

89 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

#2

I knew it was coming, especially since they started teasing a big cast change in January/February, and I tried to prepare myself for it, but no preparation was enough for how sad and painful this was/is going to be. 😭😭😭😭😭😭

98 notes - Posted March 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

It’s that time again…

It’s June 1st (where I live) meaning General Lamarque died on this day and there’s only four days to go until we all hold hands (😉😉) and cry together over our beloved boys! Can’t wait to join in the sadness!

🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩🇫🇷🚩

135 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

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[digitaltariq]

Mark O’Meara Recollects His One-Stroke Win in Dubai in 2004

In 2004, Mark O’Meara, a two-time main champion, closed with a three-under 69 to seize the Dubai Desert Traditional by one stroke over Paul McGinley. After McGinley missed an eagle try on No. 18 from over 70 ft, O’Meara two-putted from 12 ft for the victory. It was his first win since capturing the 1998 British Open at Royal Birkdale in England. It might even be his final. With the Hero Dubai Desert Classic starting on Thursday on the Emirates Golf Membership and his 67th birthday across the nook, O’Meara lately mirrored on his memorable week on the membership twenty years in the past, and on a profession that resulted in 16 PGA Tour wins. In 2015, he was inducted into the World Golf Corridor of Fame. The next dialog has been edited and condensed. Are you able to consider it’s been 20 years? I do bear in mind distinctly that week in 2004, going over there with Tiger . I believe I began going to Dubai in 1998 or 1999. At 47 years of age, to win a event of that magnitude was a blessing. What got here collectively for you that week? At any time when I went abroad, I all the time needed to attempt to carry out at my finest. Sure, I used to be most likely getting compensated for being there, however I simply didn’t need to go over at any occasion and never placed on a superb present. What attracted you to taking part in in Dubai, through the years? Dubai, I all the time thought, was a really fascinating metropolis, tradition. After I gained on the Emirates course, there was the Onerous Rock Cafe in a constructing to the precise of the course, and there was hardly something there. And now once you have a look at the 18th gap and guys are hitting in there, it appears like New York Metropolis. The event of Dubai over the past 30 years has been an unimaginable factor to see. And the golf course? It sort of jogged my memory lots of taking part in within the desert. I by no means gained in Palm Springs, however I misplaced a playoff a few occasions. I lived within the desert. I preferred desert golf. Are you glad together with your profession? I'm. At 66, on the brink of flip 67, I’ve had a dream life. Do I believe I might have completed higher? Possibly. However I actually additionally consider I might have completed so much worse. For me, I really feel like the 2 majors at 41 have been the cherry on the highest of a banana cut up. What was it like once you bought the decision you have been within the corridor of fame? Tim Finchem known as me. I thanked him and known as my spouse and I mentioned, “Hey, I bought one thing to inform you, however I don’t need to inform you until I see you in particular person, and I’m coming dwelling proper now. I’ll be dwelling in 10 minutes.” I got here in and I advised her and I broke down. And I used to be emotional when the ceremony went on. Why did you win so many occasions at Pebble Seashore? My first time, I believe I used to be perhaps 19 or 20, and I went as much as play within the state novice, I used to be blown away by the immense magnificence there. It was simply phenomenal. Then to win the novice the subsequent yr. Virtually profitable in ’84 after which profitable in ’85, I believe any time you come again to a spot the place you’ve had fond recollections, it helps offer you an additional little increase. Would you could have maintained your enthusiasm and drive if you happen to hadn’t develop into near Tiger? This final April, on the dinner, I reached over and grabbed his arm, “I simply need you to know one thing. You modified my life.” And he didn’t know what to say. He checked out me, sort of grinned and smiled and mentioned, “We had lots of nice occasions collectively, didn’t we?” I mentioned, “You have got my quantity. Simply know my telephone is all the time on for you or your loved ones.” He made me a greater participant, and I felt like I had a big effect in his life. Read the full article

[severussnapeconfessions]

There's a writer on A03 who writes fics with Snape in non-con scenarios and... I'm sorry but it's so hot. He also has a va-j-j.

Dear lord. It's been 84 years since I've visited this inbox. I'm going to answer and post every message without editing the confessions into an image.

And since I don't know when this was sent, I don't know if anyone is going to reply to this: I NEED TO KNOW WHICH FIC IS THAT. I am reluctant in reading non-con, in fact I run away from those tags, but I've just read a fic called "The Contract" that implies dubious-consent and it was actually well written enough for the reader to assimilate that whatever was happening didn't have any other outcome possible. This, is obviously, fanfiction.

I feel like I must add that in real life, there is no dub-con. it's either yes or no. Don't be pricks.

[millieify5]

Figure 81.  Figure 82. Figure 83. Figure 84. Figure 85. Figure 86. Figure 87. Figure 88. Figure 89. Figure 90.

For this project I ended up working on all the scenes simultaneously as I found it much easier to keep the line art consistent when I didn’t need to keep changing brush (and the size) to work on colouring. I decided to use a brush that emulates a pencil like texture for the line art as the texturing and slight transparency gave the illustrations some more variance than they would otherwise have had, which leant itself to the slightly rough and sketchy style I ended up using. I used this more rough style in part due to the fact it increased the speed at which I could work, and in part because it matches the imperfect and handmade look of stained glass.

For many of the scenes I planned to create some movement or blurring effect in the finished PMV, and so any time I wanted some form of change to happen I had to be very careful about how I split the line art up onto different layers so that I could save each section separately and layer them up in the video editing software later. Most of the time this just meant having a background and a foreground layer, however in some circumstances - like the moving cart in fig. 90- I needed a third layer when the moving object wasn’t at the forefront of the scene.

Overall, I’ve been especially proud of many of the backgrounds I illustrated for these scenes. Before this project I tended to end up with mainly simple ‘flat’ backgrounds when I drew scenes, rather than more dynamic perspectives, however with the help of my own reference images and screenshots of google street view I feel like I’ve started to begin to understand how create more 3D feeling backgrounds, as well as how to place characters and objects within these scenes. On the other hand, I do think I could improve the proportions and expressions of the characters in many of the scenes. Before the start of this year I’d hardly had any practice drawing people, so I am proud with how far I’ve come - especially when it comes to dynamic poses that aren’t explicitly from a singular reference image - but as I had to draw so many characters and scenes within this project I know I didn’t have the time to work on each individual one to the standards I’ve managed in some of my other illustrations, and so I fell back into the traps of struggling not to make their heads too big & ending up with over-the-top or slightly off expressions.

Because of the time constraints, there were also a few areas where I reused elements from one scene in another (not including scenes that were specifically designed to mirror each other). I kept this to Dante’s cart, as the two instances were already planned to be in the same position, and the background of scenes set in a town, since all three were taking place in the same town and as such I could justify using the same street to signify that. If I had had more time though, I would have at least illustrated a unique background for each of the town scenes, as that would have been more engaging and allow for more worldbuilding to be fleshed out in the small details of the background elements.

[onetwistedmiracle]

content warning: Auschwitz, Shoah, subject of WP article survived the Holocaust

She survived Auschwitz. Now she’s teaching Gen Z about it — on TikTok.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/washpost/c735a7bb-d04e-404a-9f73-82314e1e810b.png&w=196&h=196

By Marisa Iati

March 29, 2023 at 9:17 p.m. EDT

Viewers frequently flood Tova Friedman’s TikTok account with probing questions: Why didn’t she try to escape from Auschwitz? Could she hear people screaming from the gas chambers? Were there any times when she almost died but got a second chance?

With the help of her 17-year-old grandson, the 84-year-old tries to convey the grim reality of Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp in Poland, while avoiding graphic language that might scare her young viewers.

“I don’t want to turn them off, so I have to be careful a little bit how to do it,” Friedman said. “I’m very careful in choosing my vocabulary.”

Nearly 500,000 people have subscribed to Friedman’s TikTok account, previously reported by NorthJersey.com, since she and her grandson, Aron Goodman, launched the page in fall 2021. They said they’re trying to counter online Holocaust denial and misinformation by sharing Friedman’s firsthand experience — ensuring that the truth lives on, even with antisemitic views widespread in the United States.

“I have a terrific obligation to speak,” Friedman said in an interview. “I don’t have survivor’s guilt, but I have survivor’s obligation, so that I speak to remember.”

Born in Poland on the cusp of World War II, Friedman was forced by Nazis first into a Jewish ghetto and then into Auschwitz. At age 6, she was released from a gas chamber for reasons she still does not know. She once hid next to a still-warm corpse to evade Nazis gathering prisoners for a death march, according to her memoir, and she eventually gained her freedom when Auschwitz was liberated in 1945.

In most of her TikTok videos, Friedman perches on a couch at Aron’s home in Morristown, N.J., and speaks directly to the camera. She also invites her audience into various other settings, including a radio recording studio and a float in a pro-Israel parade.

One post shows Friedman holding up her sleeve as the camera zooms in on the Auschwitz identification number tattooed on her forearm: A-27633. In another video, Friedman holds up the Red Cross card that she used to travel after the Holocaust ended.

TikTok not long ago was totally unfamiliar to Friedman, who initially thought Aron was saying “Tic Tac.” Aron said he recently had to explain to her why they can’t edit a live video like they do to other posts.

But Friedman said her grandson has made adjusting to the platform as painless as possible. He coaches her to make the most of the videos’ short time frame and edits the posts afterward. When she feels uncomfortable while recording, they stop.

Aron also shields Friedman from the antisemitic remarks that their account sometimes receives and said he tries not to dwell on them himself.While much of TikTok’s content is positive, antisemitic extremists have sometimes co-opted the platform to spread hateful content and conspiracy theories, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

“Those give me fuel to try to continue this work,” Aron said. “For the most part, I think about the positive impact we have,” including a message from a teacher in India who wanted to use some of the account’s material for her class.

Holocaust education in Aron’s own classes has been limited, he said. While TikTok videos can’t replace widespread lessons in schools, Aron said he hopes his account will inspire young people to learn further on their own. Friedman, who works as a therapist,also speaks frequently to students and other groups.

All of it, she said, is meant to make people understand the perils of unbridled loathing.

“It’s a warning to be careful with the hatred that you feel about somebody or something,” Friedman said. “It’s okay to feel dislike. … But it’s a different thing to act on it.”

While Aron and Friedman try to expand their content to Instagram and other platforms, they’re also figuring out the future of the “TovaTok” account. Aron is set to leave New Jersey for college in St. Louis this fall, and he’s unsure what that means for the project. He might expand the account to include interviews with other Holocaust survivors, he said, or make videos with his grandmother over FaceTime.

Friedman, for her part, isn’t ready to throw in the towel on their TikTok page.

“I just want to speak as long as I can and reach as many people as is possible as long as I’m alive,” she said.

[uss-kittyhawk]

The original Top Gun was was inspired me to be a Navy fighter pilot  at light age 10 (I later realized my body and brain are too f*cked up to achieve it). I have a little toy F-14, 2 shirts, a book explaining the background of the realities, the DVD, and my favorite, and old piece of filmstrip with the scene where Iceman bites at Mav in the Locker-room. I would have more but my hyperfixations change often so I have been limited to what I can buy for each interest. In place of physical objects, I have learned every piece of info I could possibly find. I’ve never had anybody to share it with, as up until “Top Gun:Maverick” came out, I was bullied for liking the original. So thank you Paramount/Tom Cruise for starting a brand new community. Anyway, here is what I know.

Sources:

Original rendition of the script 

Final Edition

Random military uniform photos

My own JROTC experience

And some random tiktok I found (and lost)

The aircraft carrier that was used for filming was the “USS_Kittyhawk” (inspo for my user) sadly, unlike some other carriers, the kittyhawk was scrapped. (However, you can still go find top gun stuff at the USS Midway in San Diego.)

Maverick’s Top Gun F-14 Tomcat Currently Features VF-84 Jolly Rogers Paint Scheme And Is On Display Aboard USS Lexington

 Mav and Cougar switch RIO’s in the first scene. Goose belonging to Cougar, and Wizard belonging to Mav, with Mav being cougar’s replacement in the office scene

The song used in the club scene is "Lead Me On" by Teena Marie 

There was supposed to be a pilot named “Sundown” drinking a “Flaming Hooker” and catching his hair on fire

There was also going to be no “Mav romancing Charlie with “Lost that loving feeling”” scene

The original script has wayyy more Hollywood screen time (shame they got rid of it, I love him)

Goose was supposed to get flirty with two girls despite being married

And Charlie was supposed to be way more cunty than she was

In the original movie, it was briefly mentioned that Mav had an affair with an admiral’s daughter (Penny) but instead went after Charlie, but in TG:M, Charlie is nowhere to be seen, instead bringing back Penny. The reason for this is that Charlie's actor came out as Lesbian.

Val Kilmer didn't want to do the movie on account of it being military propaganda, but was tricked into it (he tanked his audition on purpose, but still got the role)

Before this, Tom Cruise had never done an action movie in his life, and was on the fence about it, 

to convince him to do it. The Navy sent out the Blue Angels to take him on a ride. The pilots had the idea to make Tom so sick that he would never touch a plane ever again 

They failed, he loved it, making him Tom Cruise: Professional mad man

It should also be noted that Tom had shown up to be flown by the Blue Angels fresh off the set of LEGEND (1985 dir. Ridley Scott) where he played a wood sprite (?), had long hair, looked even twinkier than he did in Top Gun, and had spent the whole movie covered in glitter. So when the Reagan era pilots who were tasked with flying the pretty boy actor to convince him to represent  them in a movie, all immediately decided that the twink needed to be obliterated.

It’s also important to know that they were looking homophobically at a long haired, glittery, 22 year old twink…who we later found out that likes to be obliterated

So say thank you to the homophobic Blue Angels pilots for being the reason your gay fanfiction and sexual photos even exist

Mav’s name was supposed to be Evan….(who tf came up with Evan???)

In the script, Maverick's first name was Evan. It was changed to Pete in the final film as a tip of the hat to technical advisor Pete "Viper" Pettigrew, seen in the film as the man Charlie is meeting at the bar in her first appearance in the film.

Having been in the Navy since the 1980s, Maverick, at the time of the sequel, has been in the Navy for more than 30 years. Unless you achieve the rank of rear admiral or above, normally after 30 years of service, there is mandatory retirement that is extremely difficult to prevent, without intervention from the secretary of the Navy, the defense secretary, the president, or an act from Congress.

There is a discrepancy in his awards from the first movie to the second. In the second movie, Maverick does not wear the Navy Expeditionary Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal, which he wears in the first.

There is also a discrepancy in the order of precedence of his awards in the second movie. Maverick wears the ribbon for Global War on Terrorism Service Medal in the seventh row (second row from the bottom), first position. The ribbon is actually supposed to worn after the National Defense Service Medal in the fifth row, second position (middle). All of his other awards are in the correct order of precedence in the movie.

I know that because I was JROTC before I dropped out…. No I was not one of those kids…I only did it because I wanted to advance my Navy career…which I didn't even get

Nick “Goose” Bradshaw is based very heavily on the real life person, Luis Claudio Jaramillo. He was also a RIO at TOPGUN and flew a decade or so before Top Gun was "set". He died in similar circumstances to how Goose does in Top Gun when he had to eject from his plane after an engine fault. His pilot, Lt. Daniel "Ace" Oxley was investigated for the incident but ultimately found not guilty.

According to his Iceman’s medal record, he had participated in the Liberation of Kuwait during the Gulf War and the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars during the Global War on Terrorism.

In his portrait as an 4-star admiral, there are several errors in the order of precedence for his medal ribbons

The Meritorious Service Medal is used twice. For two of the same ribbon to be displayed side-by-side, it would need to be his fifteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, or twenty-fifth award. Based on one 5⁄16 inch star device (silver), it's only his sixth award. A seventh award is denoted as a single ribbon with one 5⁄16 inch star device (silver) and one 5⁄16 inch star device (gold); not one ribbon with one 5⁄16 inch star device (silver) to denote sixth award and an extra blank ribbon to denote seventh award.

The Sea Service Deployment Ribbon is used twice. It is seen erroneously in the middle of the fourth row down, and again appropriately on the right side of the second row from the bottom.

On the very bottom row from left to right is: Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), and United Nations Medal. The United Nations Medal should be worn before the other two; meaning it should be in the bottom left corner, not the bottom right corner.

The Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy "E" Ribbon, Navy Expeditionary Medal, and Humanitarian Service Medal present in Top Gun are absent in Top Gun: Maverick.

Again…this was my autistic hyperfixation for 6 years, and being in JROTC gives you some good info

Now to the stuff I do know about Top Gun: Maverick

According to Hangman, Bradley's callsign 'Rooster' comes from his tendency of waiting during the fight for the right moment, just like a rooster that waits for the sun to rise.

In real life, Maverick "pulling" Bradley's papers would not necessarily have set him back four years, if he attended a civilian university and enrolled in Navy ROTC, or graduated and then attended OCS. He would enter as an officer, thus making it possible for him to compete for selection as an aviator.

According to Bradley's military file he graduated from The University of Virginia in 2009. It also shows four years of prior enlisted service, rising to the rate of HT2. There is, however, a contradiction in that the start of his active enlisted service is listed as 2006.

Bradley majored and got his Bachelor's degree in Political Science.

Bradley also took Spanish 1010 (SPAN 1010 and 1020 are courses reserved exclusively for true beginners, students who have never studied Spanish before entering UVA. SPAN 1010 and SPAN 1020 are offered during Summer Session only.)

Actor, Glen Powell would later portray another Naval aviator named Tom Hudner in the upcoming 2022 film "Devotion", which was based on the book and set in the Korean War.

Glen Powell is the only actor from Top Gun: Maverick to portray another U.S. Navy pilot in the same year.

After Top Gun: Maverick, actor Glen Powell worked as a producer alongside J.J. Abrams to develop the 2024 documentary film The Blue Angels; using the same type of advanced camera technology that was specifically created and used to film Top Gun: Maverick.

I suggest you go watch both of those movies if you haven’t…I saw the BA documentary in theaters, it was dope…idk if they are putting it on streaming services tho

If you are a fanfic writer and go watch Devotion…. PLEASE write some Tom Hudner x reader shit…. there is quite literally nothing and that man is so hot its not funny

Prior to the special mission detachment, Phoenix was assigned/attached to strike fighter squadron VFA-41 Black Aces.

When meeting Bob, Phoenix mentions he is from Lemoore. The VFA-41 Black Aces also have a homeport in Lemoore.

Payback and Fanboy's fighter jet as part of the mission training group is an F/A-18F model #501.

(as viv mentioned) During the beach football scene, Bob is the only character to wear a shirt. His actor, Lewis Pullman, revealed that he felt Bob wouldn't be the type of person to take his shirt off.

Initially, the scene was supposed to be a 'shirts vs skins' scenario, however some of the cast who were selected to be a 'shirt' wanted to show off all of the hard work and effort they put into getting physically fit for their role and switched to be a 'skin' instead. This inspired others to switch, eventually leaving Bob the only remainder.

However I should also note, a similarity with the 1986 Volleyball scene, Goose is the only one to have a shirt on (and I think that might be the reason Lewis did it, but i could be very wrong)

The font on Fanboy's helmet alludes to him being a "Star Trek" fanboy

And I know much, much more, so there will posibly be a second post

also noting my previous fanfiction statement.....Can we just have more background character fics? Like Slider? Or more fics where the reader is a civilian... I think those are adorable...i have ideas too

i gotta know, what is your favorite Top Gun (1986) or TG:M fun fact?

i... actually don't know many fun facts about these movies. Legit the only one that comes to mind is that Lewis Pullman decided that bob should remain clothed in the beach scene (how dare he)