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sunshine-zenith · 3 months ago

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I mean. If A New Wish takes place roughly 20 years after the original series (which seems to be the case since Vicky was 16 in the original and is said to be 36 here), then wouldn't Peri be RIGHT at college age?? Why is he immediately going into childcare instead of spending some time partying at the club.

Like I kind of get why he keeps getting distracted by his parents- he literally hasn't seen them in years and there doesn't seem to have been any contact between them during that period. Who was raising him while Cosmo and Wanda were gone. Is he still the only fairy born within the past ten thousand years. Did he cope at all with suddenly losing his brother forever, or is he just repressing it like he's apparently subconsciously been doing with Vicky and who knows what else. Peri and Dev can go to therapy together

This ask got me seriously thinking about the timeline between FOP and FOP:ANW, especially in relation to the Cosma-Fairywinkles

So Wanda and Cosmo’s ten thousand year long vacation obviously involved time travel, and from how both Wanda and Peri words things, it sounds like he wasn’t there with them, at least for the last part of it — she specifically says they lost track of him during those ten thousand years and he specifically call it their (his parents’) vacation, not our vacation. That said, this trip, again, obviously involved time travel, meaning that while ten thousand years passed for Cosmo and Wanda, they might’ve only been gone for a few months for Peri. While that’s still a super long time, given how old Cosmo and Wanda are, it might not be that long for them (ex I was talking about school timelines with an older coworker, and she said that while an extra year is a long time for someone in their 20s, like me, for someone in their 40s-50s like her it’s nothing)

That said, even if the vacation wasn’t that long from Peri’s perspective, Peri specifically notes he hasn’t seen them since they got back from it — we don’t actually know how long Cosmo and Wanda were living as a “normal retired human couple” but it’s been long enough that they at least know some of the local celebrations (the lightbulb-ice cream parade)

Wanda and Cosmo don’t seem like the type of people to abandon/neglect their kid, especially after something as presumably tragic and traumatic as their sibling completely forgetting about them, so I’m just gonna assume that they either didn’t start their vacation until Peri was old enough to be on his own, or that they took Peri with them and Peri broke off from them early on when he reached the age of majority

Cosmo specifically notes the year 2001, which is a reference to when the original show started airing. This also technically establishes 2001 as the year Peri was born, since Timmy doesn’t age over the course of the series (ignoring timeline shenanigans from later in the series that ended up being reversed anyway) (also Peri is officially Gen Z rep)

I’m gonna say that ANW takes place in 2023-2024, since that’s when it was animated/aired, so about 22-23 years from the original series, which works with Vicky being said to be in her late 30s-early 40s and AJ looking to be in his early 30s (plus for all the fantastical elements these shows include when history is concerned — ie every they do with dinosaurs — this writers do seem fond of establishing political events in the series as matching the real world — ie Cosmo getting emotional over Obama and wanting to go back to those days. Establishing the show as being 2024 instead of 2021 gives enough distance in universe from quarantines that the writers can get away with not mentioning it. If it was meant to be set in 2021, I feel like the writers would include some kind of reference — a throw away line establishing it as something that did/didn’t happen in universe)

We don’t know how fairies age, how long it takes them to reach the age of majority, but yeah, Peri just feels very Young Adult coded, and him being 20-23 just kinda works with his character. He comes off as someone fresh out of school working their first real job and being blindsided by how different it is from what he expected/studied. Assuming that he aged like a human up until adulthood and assuming that Cosmo and Wanda waited until he was old enough to study on his own (18) in a safe environment (a fairy academy presumably), that means it’s potentially been 2-5 years since he’s seen them and that he spent his adulthood/adult education without them — no wonder they still see him like a kid while he wants them to treat him like an independent adult, he was basically still a kid going off to school when they last saw him while he had years of his own to give the adult thing again (again, in a hard but semi-sheltered environment that would be a school in fairy world). It’s possible Cosmo and Wanda are overcompensating for the thousands of years they missed (for them)/missing important events like graduation (for Peri)

It makes me think of the fact that the writers specifically named the robots that care for Dev and fulfill his demands (ei what ends up being Peri’s job when he comes along) “au pairs” — an au pair is basically a cross between a foreign exchange student and a nanny, someone (typically a young adult) from a different country who moves in with a local family and helps take care of the children and house in exchange for a living situation, and many au pairs specifically take on the role while studying at a local university. That’s not too far off from what Peri/a Fairy Godparent’s role is

All that out of the way… yeah Peri should be in the club. BUT who would he even go out with? Yes he had similar aged peers in the original series (Foop/Irep and Goldie), but we don’t actually know if fairies started having kids again after he was born. If he had classmates as an adult, they would likely be fairies much older than him returning to school, so people he might not easily relate to

Thinking about it, it starts to make sense why Peri was given such a hard case for his first godkid — fairies can chose to go into retirement but for the longest time couldn’t have children, so there wasn’t anyone to take up the jobs they leave behind. In the original series there was a fairy godparent shortage that probably only got worse as fairies working that job got to the point of “okay, this is my last child, I’m done after this.” Peri was possibly one of the only fairy godparents available (who else would go to Dev? Cookie? The fairy still pissed off at Cosmo and Wanda and going after Hazel? Please, she’d probably refuse before even looking at Dev), plus he didn’t have anyone experienced to give him advice going into things, so he couldn’t, say, negotiate for an easier kid to start with or something before taking up the job

Peri is a young adult with almost no one to relate to, choosing a career that he views as “the family business” to make his parents proud, choosing a career he automatically has a unique relationship to because of the timing of when he was born and who he grew up with, who has a strained relationship with his parents because of years of (unintentional but still) no contact (not to mention the very real family loss of having their other kid/his big brother basically go away forever and completely forget about them in the process, which can’t be easy to navigate), who’s working a hard job with no experience and seeming no resources

He really was doomed from the get go, wasn’t he

#peri cosma #fairly oddparents #fop #fop a new wish #long post #ask #anon #meta #you��ve got the guy who was basically unintentionally isolated taking care of the kid who self isolates when upset

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wosoluver · 6 months ago

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La nueva g headcannons

Patri Guijarro x young physio!reader

-> what would it be like for a young physio to join Barça's nueva generación?

Patri Guijarro Masterlist

Meeting eachother

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

Being the new girl had always been your worse nightmare, being the new girl at your new internship, in a country you had moved into recently, sounded like hell.

Yes speaking the language made it easier, kinda, since everyone actually opted for talking in Català, much to your dismay.

Even in school most of your classes followed the same principle.

But you knew that wasn't the biggest issue. You were never good at initial introductions, despite the language.

So here you were, walking into the Barcelona Femeni's training grounds for your first day.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

Soon training was over, the room was filled by a few players.

"Don't worry, they aren't all in recovery. Mapi is the only one who really is.

Pina is here for a look at a mild pull on her right hamstring, nothing to worry too much about. We are just keeping a close eye on it.

Vicky and Salma will head to cryotherapy, after a massage, for muscle relaxation." you took some notes as she spoke. "I'm focusing on Mapi, the second physio will be here in a little bit, to take care of Paralluelo. Can you check on Pina? You just need you to check her leg and write down how she feels, and pain levels, that should probably be low."

"Yes, of course."

You said, walking towards where the woman was laying.

"Hey, I'm Y/N the new intern. Since we have a couple players in today, I'm doing your check up." looking up from your notes to her. She had a stunned look on her face.

"Hi hm- I'm Pina, Claudia Pina." she said giving you a big smile. But you couldn't help but keep your eyes on the paperwork.

"Excuse me." you said moving to examine her thigh. "Tell me if it hurts too much."

"Okay." and you proceeded.

"Can you tell me how it hurt on a scale from one to ten?"

"Two."

"Did you feel it during training?"

"Just a bit. Do you think you could do some taping, just for caution?"

"Yeah, let me go get the kit."

you got up and came back quickly. You did your best and soon you were done.

"Thanks! Nice to meet you Y/N."

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

"Patri you're not going to believe! There's a new intern, she has the prettiest eyes and an accent, I don't know where from but, she's latina for sure." said the forward coming into the room where some of the teammates were in a ice bath.

"Did talk to her?"

"Not much. Just the check up. But she's your type."

"How so?"

"I don't know how to explain it. You have to see her." she said grinning widely at the thought of playing cupid.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

But you two didn't have the chance to meet, until the next game.

Patri had fell to the ground harshly, and didn't get up, after getting hit from behind from the other team's player.

You and the other medic ran straight in. You weren't even supposed to be on field duty but the head physio didn't show up in time, so you had to improvise.

"Hey tell me where it hurts." you whispered in her ear so she could hear you.

"My right leg, I'm not sure what happened but everything hurts!"

"Can you keep going or is it bad?"

"It's bad."

"Vale, we're doing a change." the head doctor signed for you to head to the locker room to evaluate her, while he stayed there at the pitch.

you only nodded and helped Patri.

"Lay here so I can take a look, please." you started to examine her thigh and knee, moving down to check her ankle.

"It doesn't seem anything too extreme, but we are definitely going to run some screening."

"I'll be fine for next game, right?"

"Not quite sure. Sorry."

"You're Y/N?"

"Yes."

"It's just, my best friend had told me about you."

"Pina?" you said sitting on the chair next to her.

"Yeah." she said thinking what to say next. "You usually aren't here for the game right?"

"Yes, but they had an emergency so I had to step up. But don't worry I'm on my last year, that means I can take care of you."

"I didn't mean it like that, you look very qualified an- I-"

"It's okay." you let out a soft laugh. "You would think for a physio team of a big club, they would be more prepared for this situations."

"Wait, what happened?"

"Head physio is running late, the secondary is supposed to be off today. So just me."

"You are quite young, for a doctor."

"I'm twenty five, getting my masters degree. And you are quite young to be a football star." you said preparing some ice to press onto her leg that was already starting to bruise.

"Touché. Ouch." she said through her teeth.

"Now we wait."

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

"Yeah so, good news and bad news." said the doctor. "It's a moderate strain. There's no tear though. You're out for the next few days and then rehabilitation."

"Goddammit!" she said throwing the water bottle she had across the room, missing you by a couple of centimeters.

"Ay chica!"

"Sorry, I forgot you were there." she said looking up, where you were standing on the other side of the room.

"Didn't you hear? You're on physio sessions, you need me alive!" you said tying to cheer her up, seeing how tense she was from the situation.

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

Monday morning getting to the training grounds, you saw Patri getting out of the car, Claudia was the one driving.

"Oye Y/N!" said Pina getting your attention. "Can you help Patri get to the recovery facility? Here's her stuff." she finished putting two bags in your arms.

In truth her friend didn't need that much help. She could walk on her own and Clau could have carried it there. But what would be better than this for her to get you two together?

Patri had her mouth agape. Sometimes she could not believe the way her best friend would act.

Good thing you let out a small laugh, indicating you were okay with it. But before you could even say anything she was gone into training.

"Bon dia."

"Bon dia, sorry about her. You can give them to me."

"Of course not! She's right." you fixed the bags in your arms, so you could keep a free hand, to help her out. "Let's get you there. How was the weekend? Did you rest like you were supposed to?"

"I tried not to, but they stopped me. Overall, it didn't hurt that much."

"Are you saying that so I'll put in a word that you're doing better?"

"It hurt like hell. But I swear it already feels somewhat better." she confessed.

"That's what I thought."

──✩₊⁺⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧──

Thanks to everyone for the ideas and special thanks to @itzzzitzelll and @s0ciety-cxv for basically co writing the plot and everything! 🩷

There will be more parts kind of like 'healers got to date protectors'! So send your requests in!

#woso x reader #patri guijarro x reader #patri guijarro

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tinytalkingtina · 3 months ago

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Fancy Falling Into You Here

Written for the August @steddiemicrofic prompt, using the word "plug" and 437 words.

437 words | Rating T | Ao3 link

On their first date, Steve and Eddie come to realize they had first met under much more embarrassing circumstances.

Tags: EMT Steve, Coffee shop owner/clumsy Eddie, first date, minor injuries (nothing described in detail), modern AU, embarrassment, BBC's Sherlock haunting all of us when plugging in our phones

Inspired by @dreamwatch for making me think of steddifying this post! Author's notes under the cut

"G-d damn BBC Sherlock," Eddie grumbled as he fumbled plugging his phone into its charging cable for a third time. "Stupid Benedict Cumberbatch and his weird attractive cheekbones."

A snort from the couch reminded him he actually had company, oops.

Eddie gave his date a grin. "Sorry, I'd love to say that I'm normally as graceful as a swan or something, but as you've seen, unfortunately abject clumsiness is par for the course. It's a miracle my coffee shop's still standing."

It was fine. He could still salvage this and come off as less of a disgruntled sad wet cat man to Smooth Hottie with Glasses and That ButtTM of daily matcha latte with oat milk order fame. Still, Hottie (who went by "Steve", apparently) didn't really seem turned off by Eddie's whole deal. He just laughed.

"Oh, trust me, I've seen much worse. My first year as an EMT, we got a call to a college dorm. This unlucky dude fell off the top bunk and somehow broke both legs and an arm.”

Eddie froze, his quest to charge his phone completely forgotten.

“Plus the guy managed to down the shade on the way too, honestly it was an impressive amount of damage from a 4 foot drop," Steve continued on, oblivious. “One of the funniest calls me and my partner have gotten, and we once had to take care of someone who accidentally fell on a Buzz Lightyear toy and somehow got it stuck up their—you okay man?"

"I panicked and thought the cord would hold my weight." Eddie hid his face in his hands.

"Oh shit. You're 'broke all his bones man'?”

This was a nightmare. "Oh my G-d, I was so woozy. Please tell me I didn’t say anything weird.”

“You asked if I could ‘kiss your booboos better.’ Guess you’ve grown out your hair since?”

"I had to buzz it all off that semester because I had an Incident with some gum," Eddie groaned. "You can go now, I won't hold it against you."

He heard Steve slide closer. "And what makes you think your whole 'Bambi on ice' thing isn't working for me?"

Eddie cracked open an eye. "You sure about that?"

"Pretty sure," he said with a wink. "Plus, if you meet my friend Robin, she's known me since high school. Which means she unfortunately has photos of my braces years. You’re gonna have to stick around long enough to see em."

Eddie stared. Smooth Hottie still wanted him somehow? "Okay Big Boy, looks like I will."

Steve smiled back. “Good. Now, lean back, I owe you a few kisses.”

Authors notes:

In case you weren't on Tumblr in the early-mid 2010's and remain blissfully unaware of BBC's Sherlock, please watch this clip to understand why Eddie is cursing Benedict Cumberbatch when he fails to plug in his phone fully sober

Eddie, Jeff, and Chrissy run a little coffee shop (complete with monthly open mic/karaoke nights) that EMTs Steve and Robin frequent. Not to worry, Robin will eventually meet her future wife Vickie at the shop after Vickie wins her heart with a rendition of "Before He Cheats."

Originally I had injured Eddie ask Steve about his biblically accurate angel form, but since I decided that Eddie's accident took place around 2010, and the angel meme only took off in 2020, I rewrote the line to be about kissing his booboos. Let's pretend this happens after a separate accident befalls Eddie (he'll be fine): Eddie: Ouch, I was out of it after they gave me the painkillers. I think I called you an angel? Steve: Yeah, you asked if my biblically accurate form had eyes as pretty as my human ones.

#steddie #steddiemicrofic #steddiemicroficaugust #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #tinawrites #steve x eddie #yes the buzz lightyear thing was unfortunately a real thing that happened i saw the x-rays at the hospital #we don't know that steve didn't have braces freshman year

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hazybisou · 1 year ago

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❛ FRAT PARTIES & THAT ONE EX ❜

🏹 the drink you spilt all over me, “lover's spit" left on repeat

paring ; fem!reader x luke hughes

summary ; after the win against michigan state, a huge party was thrown at one of the frats. while there, remi just so happened to run into an old flame of hers. obviously they hit it off, she just didn’t seem to remember he was her husband.

author’s note ; (this takes place last year in october) once again this is getting written at night. anyways can we talk about how cute fine asf 😫🥵 luke looks in the photo above. so cute 🥰. anyways continue sending in stuff about these two that i wanna talk about them. i feel like getting ear plugs rn to block out my brothers snoring. i have to share a room with him while i’m home for thanksgiving.

the room felt humid. well, of course it did. there must be over a hundred people in the house, maybe even more. umich football had just beat michigan state with a score of 29-7. the evening of, a party was thrown in celebration.

remi stood off to the side with some of her friends from the cheer team and some of her sorority sisters. although she was somewhat exhausted from all the shouting and stunts she had done earlier, she still went to the party. it was expected of her to be there as she‘s a part of the cheer team for umich.

she never really understood why she came to these things. she would much rather be in her bed, the blankets over her body as she binged watched christmas movies while eating ice cream. yet she was here. remi had this gut instinct saying she should be here, she needed to be here.

“remi, how come you don’t have a man?” katie, a friend of hers from cheer, asked.

remi shrugged, “i mean none of them seem to be the one, you know. every guy i’ve been with, all they want to do is fuck.”

“well, don’t you know?” eve, a sorority sister of remi’s, said. “i could treat you way better.” she said as she wrapped an arm around remi who chuckled as did everyone else.

remi gave her a kiss on the cheek. “i’m sure you can. i’m sure you all can but i dont swing that way.”

“such a shame. you’re hot as fuck.” vicky said. “i’d hit.”

remi playfully rolled her eyes. “i’m sure you would.” she looked behind vicky. “but maybe you should let someone else hit that sweet ass of yours.”

“who?” vicky said as she rose an eyebrow at remi.

remi pointed behind vicky and the group of girls looked to where remi was pointing to see a boy who was leaned up against a counter, staring at vicky.

vicky smiled at him and he turned away towards his friends. “he’s cute.” everyone hummed in agreement.

“yeah, he is.” remi smiled at vicky who had turned to face everyone. “now go.” remi told vicky who shrugged and began to walk over towards the boy.

they watched as the two began to talk.

“well, aren’t you quite the matchmaker?” katie said in a teasing tone. “maybe we should play matchmaker on you.”

remi grimaced . “yeah, no thanks. for all i know, you would put me on with McCarthy.” remi knew how flirtatious JJ could get but he just wasn’t her type.

“worth a shot.”

remi smiled and shook her head. “i am going to go get a drink. outside.” the girls gave her a nod and remi turned around to walk towards the sliding door which led outside. she made her way through the crowd of sweaty dancing bodies, and into the backyard of the frat house. she took note of how there were more people outside than inside despite it being bigger inside.

she made her way down the steps of the patio, red solo cup in hand as she made her way to the keg. some random guy had shown up with multiple kegs on behalf of the fraternity.

remi made her way to where she saw one available and just as she was about to grab the tap, someone else had gotten to it.

“oh.” remi let out surprised as she came to halt and waited for the guy to be down with it. she stood there awkwardly and patiently as she watched the guy pour beer into his cup.

he looked up to see remi standing there, looking anywhere but at him. she turned to look at him and smiled before looking back at the crowd in which was filled with blue and maize clothing. “oh, i’m sorry. were you gonna grab some?”

remi turned back to him and nodded, “yeah, but it’s fine. go ahead.” she dismissed.

“oh, no, go right ahead. i’m sorry i didn’t notice you earlier, i would let you gone first.” he explained.

“are you sure? i’m fine waiting.” he nodded. remi smiled at him before grabbing the tap out of his hand and pouring herself a drink.

once she was done she handed it back to him. “thank you…” she dragged off waiting for a name.

“luke.”

“thank you luke.” remi turned around and began to walk back inside to meet up with her friends again.

luke stood there with a smile on his face before snapping out of his trance, realizing remi had left and began to walk away. “wait!” he yelled over the extremely loud music as he began to jog to catch up with her.

remi looked next to her to see luke standing there. “yes?” she looked up at him. holy shit, he’s tall.

“i never got you’re name.” luke told her as he let out small breaths trying to get it back after his small jog.

remi pursed her lips before smiling. “you’ve got to earn it.” she said and began to walk up the steps to the patio as she drank from her cup.

luke walked next to her. “oh, come on. i told you my name. the least you could do is tell me yours.”

remi bit her lip slightly. “we’ll see.” she grabbed his hand and began to drag him inside. “for now, however, you’re gonna play a round of beer pong with me.”

luke grinned as he let her drag him inside towards the kitchen.

luke and remi were drunk. maybe a little too drunk.

the pair had won at beer pong and remi declared luke as her new partner for the game. after one round, the two had left the table and made their way towards the couch where they happened to spend hours on, talking.

luke had found out that remi was in her sophomore year and was majoring in health and medicine. he also seemed to find out that she was in Alpha Phi. although the team was close to most of the girls from Aphi, he never happened to see remi. remi told him how she was a part of the cheer team and how she has loved doing cheer ever since her junior year of high school.

remi got to know luke better. she found out he was in sophmore year as well and has the intention of majoring in sports management. he told remi how he played for the school’s hockey team as a defenseman. he wore number 43 so if remi were to ever go to a game of his, she would be able to spot him.

the two were too engrossed in their conversation that they lost track of time.

luke was in the middle of telling remi a story from when he was a kid. remi couldn’t seem to stop laughing. luke enjoyed hearing her laugh as he laughed himself.

“wait-wait, so you’re telling me that your brother ripped off his braces.” remi began to laugh again, “omg that must’ve been funny.”

luke nodded. “oh trust me, it was. he got a lecture from our mom.”

remi chuckled. “you’re have very interesting brothers, you know that.”

“i’m well aware.” he told her as the two smiled.

“what about you?” luke asked remi.

remi was confused “what about me?”

“you don’t have any funny, weird story from when you were a kid?” luke wondered.

remi thought. of course there was. she just didn’t know what to say. “i mean i broke my arm.”

luke raised his eyebrows. “must’ve been a fun trip to the hospital.”

“yes it very much was. the EMT was hot.”

luke chuckled. “you had a crush on the EMT?” remi nodded. “how cute.” luke smiled.

“you’re cute.” remi said as her hand rested on the cushion.

luke grinned. “i know.”

remi scoffed and grabbed the pillow next to her, hit luke in the chest with it. “you weren’t supposed to agree.”

“but it’s the truth and i know it is.” luke replied.

remi rolled her eyes playfully. the two sat there in silence for a second. remi took the moment in. she enjoyed having luke around. although she knew after tonight she might not see him.

“hey, i was wondering-”

“oh there you are!” the two turned towards the voice. vicky stood there with her eyes wide. “oh i’m sorry for interrupting whatever,” she motioned between the two, “this is.”

“it’s fine. what’s wrong?” remi asked.

“we got to go.” vicky said.

remi grabbed her phone and saw the time. 12:32. “oh shit. um, ok. luke it was talking to you but i really have to go.” remi told him as she got up and made her way towards vicky.

“yeah it was nice talking to you too.” he said as he sat there before saying, “wait before you go, can i have your insta?”

“oh sure it’s-”

“let’s go, we’re gonna be even more late.” vicky rushed remi.

remi turned to luke. “you know what, just give me yours and i’ll follow you back later.”

luke nodded and wait for remi to unlock her phone and open instagram. once she did, she handed her phone to luke who took it in his hands and began to type out his user. he handed her the phone back.

“i’ll see you later luke.” remi said to luke as she waved bye. vicky grabbed her hand and began to walk them out of the house.

“i never got your name.” he shouted after her but she had already gone out the door.

luke stood there. “well now what?”

remi had gotten back home at the sorority house and was now laying in bed with her pajamas on. a long sleeve and plaid pink pajamas. she had the covers over her as she scrolled through her phone.

she had opened instagram and saw a profile open. she looked at the user and her eyebrows furrowed slightly. remi looked at his bio and saw the name ‘luke hughes’. she smiled at the memory from earlier before she clicked follow and went to her homepage.

she spent the next couple of minutes on her phone before finally she turned it off and put it on her nightstand. vicky and danielle were already asleep as they had a long day tomorrow.

remi turned her small lamp off and turned towards the wall. she stared at a small photo of her as a little girl with a boy next to her. she was wearing a white dress while he was wearing a white polo shirt with khaki shorts. he was leaning down and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

the moonlight that shone through the curtain giving her a clear view of the photo. she looked in the corner and saw the initials l.h next to hers, ‘r.t’.

“huh. kinda looks like luke.”

she shrugged it off before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

remi groaned as the light peaked through the window. she grabbed a pillow and put it over her face to block out the sunlight.

“get up.” she heard. she opened her eyes and peaked over her pillow to see danielle and vicky standing there, up and ready.

“get out and leave me alone.” she grumbled and saw how vicky and danielle shrugged before exiting the room and into the hallway but not before closing the door.

remi grabbed the pillow and set it aside next to her. she stared at the ceiling for a good minute before she sat up. a little too quickly if anything. her eyes close as she brought her fingers to her temple. “oh, drinking is a bitch.”

she grabbed the covers and pulled them off of her as she got out of bed. she slipped on her slippers and began to make her bed.

remi spent the next 1 and a half getting ready. she showered, brushed her teeth, did her hair and much more.

she walked up to her night stand and grabbed her phone. she saw how she had gotten a dm on instagram. “who the fuck texted me?”

she unlocked her phone and opened instagram. remi relent to her dms and saw she had more than 4 dms from luke. she smiled to herself.

she quickly opened them as she began walking down the hallway and read the first one which was a simple hi.

she continued to read them until she got to one that seemed to make her stop what she was doing.

luke

i think we might’ve gotten married

luke

and before you start saying we were probably drunk i mean we got married but in kindergarten

i think we went to the same elementary

seen at 11:43

remi stood in the middle of the hallway and had a blank look on her face. some of her friends came out of their rooms and gave remi a weird look, some asking each other if she was ok.

what does he mean they got married? she didn’t remember any of that. “married? i barely remember anyone from elementary, let alone kindergarten.” remi murmured to herself.

remi got to thinking. surely, her parents must have had a photo of this supposed “wedding”. when remi had moved into her dorm during her freshaman year, her parents had given her a box full of photos from when she was a little girl. when remi moved into the sorority house, she had hung up all photos onto a bulletin board next to her bed. the photo. from last night.

she snapped out of her trance and began to text him back.

remi

WHAT??

that’s crazy

there is no way my husband from when i was 4 years old is you

seen at 11:45 am

luke

oh so you remember

seen at 11:45 am

remi

just now yes

seen at 11:45 am

luke

i doubt that

seen at 11:45 am

remi

oh rlly?? ok what was the name of the school?

seen at 11:46 am

luke

you a stalker or smth?

seen at 11:46 am

remi laughed and watched as luke told her the name. “what the fuck?” she thought out loud.

remi

no shit

i went there too

well for a while until i moved here from toronto

seen at 11:49 am

luke

uhh maybe it’s a coincidence

seen at 11:49 am

remi

sure

yknow what give me a sec

seen at 11:50 am

remi turned around and began to walk back to her room. she opened the door and made her way to her bed before she jumped onto it. she searched her bulletin board and found the photo of her and that boy. she snapped a quick photo and sent it to luke.

remi

*sent a photo*

opened at 11:52 am

luke

ok that’s weird

seen at 11:52 am

remi

how so?

seen at 11:52 am

luke

bc that’s me

seen at 11:52 am

remi’s eyes widened. “holy shit.” it all made sense to remi now. the little boy in the photo was luke. the initials on the bottom, ‘l.h’ meant luke hughes. “aw i got married.” remi smiled. she felt her feet swing in the air.

remi

it all makes sense now

look at the bottom

r.t + l.h

you are my husband 🥰🥰

seen at 11:55 am

luke

i’m guessing you’re my wife 🙄

seen at 11:55 am

remi

you know you love me

seen at 11:55 am

luke

🌚 sure

seen at 11:55 am

remi

shut up

seen at 11:55 am

luke

well that’s just amazing

i meet my ex wife once again

seen at 11:55 am

remi

technically we never got a divorce sooo 😉

seen at 11:55 am

luke

wtv 🙄

seen at 11:56 am

remi

you’re so sassy

i like it 😉

seen at 11:56 am

luke

ok moving on

how abt this

you give me your number and we can go on a little date

i’d like to see my wife again

seen at 11:56 am

remi

oh i’m sure you would

seen at 11:56 am

luke

so what abt them digits??

seen at 11:56 am

remi

never say that ever again pls

but fine

xxx-xxx-xxxx

seen at 11:56 am

luke

thank you

also fully noted

seen at 11:56 am

remi

how about tmrw?? at like 6:30

seen at 11:57 am

luke

let me think about it

🤔🤔

deal

seen at 11:57 am

remi

perfect

seen at 11:57 am

remi

i gotta go

i’ll text you later hubby 😉

seen at 11:57 am

luke

bye remi

seen at 11:57 am

remi smiled at the fact he called her by the name he used to say almost every day when he was little.

remi

goodbye lukey

seen at 11:57 am

omg it’s done after like two days 😱😱😣 anywyas it’s 3:41 am rn and i am too tired and have class early morning today kill me 😣 anywyas hopefully you enjoy this and umm SEND IN MORE STUFF ABT REMI & LUKE 👹👹 i love answering all the asks i’ve been getting 🥰 bye bye ��

#isa’s works 🦭#isa’s au’s #luke hughes x reader #luke hughes #nhl #umich hockey #new jersey devils #college hockey #kindergarten husband au

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mrprettywhenhecries · 17 days ago

Text

✦ Name ✦ Winrey "Win" Jane Lewis

✦ Face claim ✦ Kailee Morgue

✦ Age ✦ 18 (in 1984)

✦ Birthdate ✦ 10/01/1967

✦ Zodiac Sign ✦ Libra

✦ Orientation ✦ Bisexual & Polyamourous

✦ Love interest(s) ✦ Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington

[Read her story: I Don't Think You Notice • tumblr | ao3 ] Note: I'm going to be rewriting/changing parts of this fic soon, since just as I had started writing the third part the Steve thirst hit hard and I decided I wanted to change it from just a Billy/oc fic to Billy/oc/Steve fic. Look for the updated first chapter soon!

✦ Friends ✦ Tina, Carol, Vicky (ex friends), Heather Halloway, Max Mayfield, Robin Buckley, Dustin Henderson, Eddie Munson

✦ Occupation ✦ high school senior, works part time at Sam Goody when Starcourt opens, after the mall closes she gets a receptionist job at the mechanic shop Billy also works at.

✦ Physical Appearance ✦ 5’1", 110lbs, petite, grey eyes, bleached blonde hair in a short bob with bangs and darker roots, pierced lip (right side), small stick & poke tattooed star on left temple

✦ Likes ✦ horror films, sleeping in, mint chocolate chip ice cream & chocolate cake, muscle cars (especially her dad's 69' Chevelle COPO 427), swimming, loud music, collecting chintz, stargazing, big time wrestling/wwf

✦ Dislikes ✦ bugs, fake friends, small towns, being lied to, being underestimated, algebra, spiders/bugs, spicy food, pineapple on pizza, the anniversary of her mom's death

✦ Vices ✦ smoking, weed, whiskey, driving too fast, public/semi-public sex, partying, not wearing pants when home alone

✦ Personality ✦ loyal, determined, street smart, witty, flirtatious, stealthy, moody, aloof, quick to shut people out, stubborn, holds grudges, jealous

✦ Favorite Bands ✦ Blondie, Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, Heart, KISS, Tom Waits, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath, Bon Jovi

✦ Favorite Movie(s) ✦ Mad Max, Blade Runner, The Lost Boys, Halloween, Better Off Dead

✦ Backstory ✦ Originally from Chicago, Win lost her mother, Ellery, as a teenager, leaving her lost and embittered. Not long after her mother’s passing, unable to process his own grief, her father, David, threw himself into his work, spending long hours away from home and leaving Win unsupervised most of the time. In an attempt to ignore her predicament and fill the void inside her, Win similarly found things to distract herself, mostly vandalism and sex.

At the beginning of her senior year, Win's father was offered a job at Hawkins Lab and he accepted, relocating the two of them to the rural town, hoping the change of scenery would be good for her, and Win was quickly branded as the popular new girl. Though Win couldn't really stand the "friends" she made, she figured it was better than being a loner. Little did she know how much everything would change with the arrival of Billy Hargrove.

[ See her Full Bio Here! 💚✨] [ Alternate Outfits #1 ]

#oc: win lewis #stranger things oc #billy hargrove x oc #steve harrington x oc #billy hargrove x oc x steve harrington #otp: lewgrove #otp: lewington #ot3: harringlewgrove #win's info sheet #i'm actually really proud of how this turned out >w<

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fountainpenguin · 3 months ago

Text

Rewatching A New Wish - "Stanky Danky" & "Peace of Pizza"

SDLKFJSDKLFJS, I missed that the news channel refers to Dale as "Billionaire non-philanthropist."

I missed that Hazel actually did wish "people would stop being trash monsters," but Cosmo and Wanda only heard "I wish trash monster"... In my memories, she had a nightmare about a monster that they wished to life. This is funnier because I can't really blame Cosmo and Wanda for granting that.

I like when Danky opens his lid one eyeball at a time. Also ?? his elbow pads?? He's a living dumpster and he wears elbow pads... He's safe...

Also, I've watched Dale's presentation a bunch of times because I think it's silly when he hops backwards, or kneels to talk to someone (This is what I was watching again today when I decided to take more notes).

He has some REALLY fun body language, including finger guns. I like his big-armed gestures. He really puts on a show and I think that's hilarious since he doesn't love being in front of people. But I don't know what I expected considering that he likes to dance when he's by himself.

I like that his logo here is a combination of the D for his name and two stripes like a dollar sign... which is interesting, because the logo people have on their phones is a D-squared for his alliterative name.

We do know he's advertising Dimmazon "in partnership with Dimmadome Global," so they're probably separate logos.

And I enjoy his baby talk and finger guns when he's talking to Danky later. I think I already commented this in my first-watch liveblog, but I like how Dale lures Danky in with a dog toy?? It's a squeaky bone. I have a hard time imagining this man going to the pet store, but ??

I missed the fact that he brought TWO single-use helicopters to the park... something is very wrong with him...

As much as I joke about Dale's extreme amounts of trauma, I hope he talks to Vicky like this-

- when they finally cross paths again so we can see where that gets him.

On the one hand, I think it would be hilarious if he had a complete mental breakdown because he's extremely messed up. On the other... Now that he's an adult, can he TALK to her like that??

Assuming he didn't panic when he saw her again, I feel like this is the natural direction for his character: smug and rubbing his success in her face.

I have to assume she'd wreck him since she yelled in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" about her dislike for him (That he was lazy, but went on to be rich and successful and never gave her a cut). She's unhesitatingly mean to Crocker because she doesn't have to keep up appearances around him...

But it would be funny. Against all odds, Dale is not an easily frightened man. He works hard, plunges into the unknowns with his wild risk-taking, and he's the smuggest boy... but he also has meltdowns on the floor when he loses money. I like that.

- Huh. I wonder if Timmy would've grown up to be a lot like Dale if he didn't have Cosmo and Wanda. I mean, Vicky pushed him around too. - I was gonna make a joke about how I think Dale should be as obsessive over Timmy as he is Hazel, but... It IS Dale who got himself out of his torment, not Timmy, so I guess not.

??? Tina's running every position at the news studio.

SKLDFJSLDFJSD, wait, Dale has a lemon slice, but he specifically has PINK lemonade, which he probably did not have to make considering Vicky never sold any in "Nectar of Odds"....... oh my gosh.

?? That might be another drink, but even if it is, I'm pretty sure that's a lemon?

Dale drinking lemonade despite banning Dev from drinking lemonade is the biggest "Rules for thee, but not for me" plot twist of all time... Oh I HATE HIM /affectionate.

oh my gosh, wait...

It's a LIME.

??? Somehow that is exponentially funnier. Tell us how you really feel.

His drink is very possibly a Paloma cocktail, made from grapefruit, lime juice, and tequila (No lemonade required, can be pink, and isn't weird to drink with ice cubes).

I like how both Dale and Dev like to slam dunk trash... even in different episodes... They are Related and live in the Same House...

I don't think I've said it yet, but I appreciate how the Dimmadome tower seems to reach impossibly high into the sky for no reason, considering Dale's statue seems to be the only thing inside it and the statue isn't that tall. It's a brilliant parallel of Doug's hat.

I particularly think it's funny when you see it on maps or in the distance of some scenes. It's just... there.

Geez. Say what you will about Dale, but he's a very hard worker who pulls things together INCREDIBLY fast. I mean... logically, I know him being a super hard worker who gets sucked into projects is his whole thing and that's why he's not there for Dev, but... ?? Holy one-man PR and marketing team running around this episode, Catman.

Lastly... apparently Dale likes to take over Dev's lounge when he's looking at profit charts, because that's where he's sitting when he has a meltdown about his stock dropping 5 million dollars... I mean, I guess it's both of their lounge, but you get me. And here's his thinking expression because it's funny:

Every time I watch a Dale episode, he gives me huge "Fandom's special boy" energy and I don't look forward to leaving my spoiler-free zone and possibly finding out that is Not True... skldfj. Look at him. He clicks his finger guns and slam dunks and he's getting by on fragments of his soul. We get him for free.

Notes from "Peace of Pizza" I thought of when I went to fetch Dev's trash scene

This vampire at Versaille:

Strat and Oppy change expressions during flashbacks, but Closer's the same... I don't know what I expected.

So ?? I keep going back to this scene because... I swear that's the April Fool, Flappy Bob, and the Sandman... Maybe not Flappy, but the only other clowns I can think of are his parents and Bobo, and none of them fit this either and Flappy already had a cameo in "1500 Minutes of Fame," so they're very aware of him. I'm gonna check.

That's such an interesting choice of characters to use as models?? I don't have anything to say about it.

Hazel specifically wished for Dev to have "extra milk he could share" for kindness day. He ends up with two (Cosmo and Wanda), but he didn't even have one milk carton on his tray because he's lactose intolerant, so... he didn't pick one up to begin with.

And we KNOW that, because he's on the way to the trash can when people stop him to talk. Also, during the close-up you can see he didn't eat his broccoli or carrots and I think that's funny.

?? So, in my 'fic worldbuilding, people generally go along with wishes if they're affected by them unless something REALLY tips them off that something's completely wrong. I like the implication that Dev instantly went on guard because he was confused as to how he suddenly had milk.

Oppy only pretends to be sad when Dev turns to look at him... He is the Optimism Captain to his core...

Strat is once again putting his hand on Oppy's shoulder... they are brothers... he loves him...

why were they even allowed to run around the school and bother children... why was no one supervising the billionaire's kid and questioning the intentions of these mysterious adults hovering around him...

Stackable:

It is their natural state of being... Also, from a budget standpoint, identical triplets whose distinguishing feature is their eyes & who are based on peas so they're simple to design was a brilliant Season 1 move. I hope we see them again someday, though I'm completely fine with them being very rare appearances.

?? Hazel has Class 104 after Guzman's class ("Multiverse of Jenkins") and Dev has it after lunch, is that what I'm getting here?

That is a different design than the other Room 104... oh :'D I guess they only have the one sign model.

Y'know........ that WOULD be weird if Flappy was at that treaty in the flashback. That doesn't seem likely... but it stresses me out that the Pe-Az have a magical briefcase that can hold large items without harming them...

... because Flappy's briefcase ALSO does that. He keeps his clown stuff, dioramas, and employees in there. It's the world's worst conspiracy... The intergalactic diplomats, friends of the Pixies who are all about paperwork and neutrality and raised Flappy... I'm connecting the dots...

omg, do you think the Pe-Az are the reason Fairies and Anti-Fairies decide who gets the godkids with an annual bake-off? They do like their treats. That WOULD be fun to work with in my war & truce 'fics. Oppy: Everyone loves cake and brownies! Strat: Brother, the Fairy King literally just lost his castle and son. Isn't celebrating with treats a bit insensitive? Oppy: Listen, I have one job in this team and I'm going to do it. Their ancestors, anyway.

I don't think I said this in my first watch, but I really like Closer. He's fantastic. Shows up, selectively mute because he's saving his voice for when he needs to throw tantrums and asking the same question repeatedly to bug people, super thoughtful and well-prepared, considered the best at what he does, gets meme'd on by a 9-year-old iPad kid and loses everything. Flawless character.

He's one of my favorites in all New Wish. They all are; I love their dorky shorts and brotherhood.

I really like how Closer insists he'll be done with negotiations in "30 minutes or less" because his whole thing is pizza. But Dev broke this man in like, 20 seconds:

BROKEN HEART!!!

Also, Strat... <3 He's such a ping-pong ball of a person.

For some reason, it's funny to me their language is themed around arrows. That's brilliantly clever for a negotiating species; it kind of reminds me of how the Yugopotamian language is in swirls patterned after their exposed brains.

Also, Some Three Guys having the ability to simply "turn pizza off" for the entire world is such an insane plot set-up and I think they played it perfectly.

Oppy kicking up his leg & Closer's expressions:

Extremely funny to me that when I heard "pea pod aliens," I went on immediate defensive expecting "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" vibes, but they're just cute little guys who like treats and bribery. why do they dress Like That... The suits and ties, the teeny shorts, the white socks pulled high above black shoes... did they get picked on in school?

??? They're just one-offs, but they have so much character and they all have unique body language and speech patterns... love that for them. I want to write something for them. I have no clue what, but I think they deserve to be children negotiating on the playground or looking after one another.

Strat and Oppy I think I can get their vibe as children - the planner and the enthusiastic one - but little kid Closer would be interesting.

What's a good thing to negotiate over when you're a kid... Were they kiddos who made graphs and presentations while arguing over which TV channel to watch or who would bathe first, y'think?

I think "baby Pe-Az in the bathtub" is exactly the type of content people follow me for.

Wanda's face here cracks me up...

... and shout-out for Dev getting instantly weirded out with stranger danger when Cosmo pats him.

I love how when the O-pairs pick the Pe-Az up by their heads and put them down again, Closer's dizzy and he sways back and forth even though his brothers are fine... lmao. I guess people don't usually mess with him?

Also, when Dev switches from playing around to serious talk, all three Pe-Az instantly put their folded hands on the table. They are ready for a Meeting...

That is all.

#Dale Dimmadome owner of Dimmadome Global #Riddle watches FOP #A New Wish #FAIRIES!#Stanky Danky #Peace of Pizza #screenshots #Pending Hazel tag #Dev Dimmadome owner of anguish #Dragonfly parents #Long post #videos #New Wish spoilers

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crybabyddl · 5 months ago

Text

Check You Out

Modern!Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Chapter 2

Warning: swearing, flirtation, alcohol, smoking, eventual smut, strangers to lovers, modern setting

Read Ch. 1 here!

Author's Note: By the way, Steve is 24 and the reader is 23. They both went to Hawkins High, but the classes were kinda big so they didn't directly cross paths. ALSO, I'm sorry, please forgive me for using the iconic, but overused "Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants" line. I saw the opportunity and just had to take it. Please don't think I'm cringe, thanks.😓

—

The car ride to Steve's house was only about ten minutes. During that time, you learned he was a fellow Hawkins alumni, his favorite color is red, and he listens to Glass Animals. You couldn't help but feel envious of the fact that someone who was only twenty-five was driving a BMW 740i. But as you pulled into the driveway of his house, you soon realized his car wouldn't be the only impressive investment he possessed. You must've had a look on your face, because Steve assured you that this was his parents' house, not his. Apparently they were away for two weeks as they took a trip to Turks and Caicos for their thirtieth wedding anniversary. You were nervous about making a good first impression, but as Steve walked with you up to the door, he rested a comforting hand on your shoulder that made your heart flutter.

"It's just a few of my friends from high school. You might even recognize some of them, actually. Were you involved in any extracurriculars?"

"I was in photography my sophomore and junior year, and I did art club my senior year."

"That's awesome! In that case, you might actually see a couple familiar faces." Steve's smile melted some of your nerves.

You hadn't planned on drinking much tonight, but the idea of making small talk with people from high school sober was too awkward for you to handle. Thankfully, as soon as Steve placed the carton of Blue Moon on the granite kitchen island, he took a bottle and popped the cap off with the bottle opener on his keychain, handing it to you. It was still cold.

"Thank you, cheers." you clinked the lip of your bottle against his own before taking a swig.

"Look who's back!" You turn towards the sound of several pairs of footsteps coming from the adjacent room, connected by a large open entryway. It looks like a lounge area; perfectly designed for hangouts such as this one. The first face you see is unfamiliar, but the one behind it is one that you instantly recognized.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants," Steve playfully rolled his eyes. "Y/N, this is my best friend Robin and her girlfriend, Vickie." Steve put his left hand on the small of your back.

"Nice to meet you Robin," you smiled and gave what felt like an awkward wave, but it was reciprocated by the freckled young woman. She looked about as anxious to be in a social setting as you felt, if not more so. "And of course I remember Vickie! We painted the set for Grease together. Nice to see you again."

"You too, Y/N." she smiled, wrapping an arm around Robin's waist.

The two walked off to the refrigerator in search of ice to water down Robin's drink, since she couldn't pace herself--at least according to Vickie. As you took another sip of your drink, you found yourself looking at the artwork adorning the walls. There weren't any pieces you recognized, but you had no doubt they were expensive. Steve ushered you toward a camelback sofa, taking a seat with you. You were met with four friendly, yet unfamiliar faces sharing the sectional across from you.

"Guys, this is Y/N."

"Hey, I'm Nancy, nice to meet you," she gestured toward the shaggy-haired guy sitting closely beside her. "This is Jonathan."

"Nice to meet you guys."

"Wait, were you in photography club?" The question came from Jonathan.

You nodded.

"Yeah, in my sophomore and junior year. Were you?"

"I was. I actually became the president my junior year."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I should've recognized you." you felt slightly embarrassed that you didn't remember someone you saw almost daily after school for a whole year.

"Don't sweat it, I was pretty shy back then. The president of photography basically just had to stay back to develop the photos." His response made you relax a bit.

After a moment, one of the guys occupying the large couch spoke up.

"What, you're not going to introduce us, Harrington?"

"I figured you'd do the honor yourselves."

"We don't know her, man." the guy with straight, dark brown hair reaching his hips sounded like a stereotypical surfer from a 2000s movie.

"Eddie, Argyle, this is Y/N. Y/N, Eddie and Argyle." Steve pointed to each of the young men with the neck of his bottle before taking a large sip.

As the night went on, you learned that everyone--except for Steve and Eddie--was the same age as you. You still felt somewhat guilty that you hadn't made it a priority to befriend more of your classmates back in high school, but you suppose everyone was just trying to survive the hellhole that was adolescence. You bonded with Jonathan over photography. Nancy told you about her internship at the Hawkins Post, while Robin and Vickie told stories from pep band. You also learned that Argyle was from California and became friends with everyone when The Byers family returned to Hawkins after the earthquake. Eddie was into heavy metal, Dungeons & Dragons, and was working as a tattoo artist. Steve had only gotten up to grab the two of you your second beers once he knew you were comfortable enough to hold your own in conversation with his friends.

By the time he came back, you were laughing along with everyone at Eddie's impression of the old, cranky librarian, Mrs. Davidson. Robin had stolen his seat in the meantime. Steve was glad you were getting along with his friends, but he selfishly wanted to spend some time with you one-on-one. In a serendipitous twist of fate, Robin just-so-happened to spill her drink all over your lap as she was showing you pictures of her aunt's dogs, for some reason unbeknownst to him. Nancy grabbed some napkins from off the coffee table, but they could only do so much to remove the pinot that was already bleeding into your work clothes.

"Here, let's get you to the bathroom." Steve took your hand and led you upstairs, Robin's profuse apologies dwindling in the background.

He brought you into a bathroom that looked like it belonged in a five-star hotel.

"It's a good thing I don't work tomorrow, otherwise I'd have nothing clean to wear." you stated as Steve wordlessly instructed you to sit atop the counter.

"Speaking of, did you want a fresh change of clothes? These stains need to be treated before they fully set."

"If it's not too much trouble, that would be lovely, thank you."

"Not at all. I'll be right back."

You decided to use this time to do some investigating. You can learn quite a bit about someone by going through their bathroom cabinets.

You hopped off the counter and opened the mirrored panel.

The necessities were all there--toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant, and a razor. What you weren't expecting to see was the tub of Kevin Murphy Night Rider paste, along with a bottle of Rene Futerer mousse. You would've thought all Steve's hair needed was a bit of pomade ran through it, but it seemed like it took a lot more effort than that. Not that you minded, you liked when a man put effort into his appearance. You decided that was enough snooping for now, closing the door to the mirrored cabinet.

A few beats later, Steve returned with a yellow t-shirt and a pair of sweatshorts from the Hawkins High sports catalog.

"Thank you so much, Steve."

"Of course. I'll let you get changed-"

"We're adults, there's no need. You wanted to remove the stains from my clothes, right? Here." you found yourself taking off your shirt and pants, handing the articles to Steve.

He wasn't complaining in the slightest, but it was a bit surprising to see someone he'd just met a couple hours ago stripping in front of him. He figured the alcohol in your system caused some oversight of the more... sensual implications of taking your clothes off in front of someone. Again, not that Steve was complaining. Not one bit.

"Would you want to stay the night?"

The question leaves Steve's lips before he has the chance to second guess himself. It's what he wanted, and if he'd been picking up your vibes correctly, it seemed like you enjoyed being in his company. It only takes a couple seconds of silence for him to start panicking. Had he totally misread the situation?

"Yeah, I'd really like that."

"Cool. Alright, awesome," God, why was he bumbling like an idiot all of a sudden? "I'm gonna get some club soda for these and toss 'em in the washer. Meet you downstairs?" You nodded, and with that, he left you to change into the clean clothes he picked out for you.

It was frankly adorable seeing someone who carried this air of confidence with him in a more vulnerable, sheepish state. There was no denying you'd found Steve attractive the first time you laid eyes on him, but something about those moments of accidental shyness had you blushing deeply.

You held the clothes up to your face and inhaled through your nose. They smelled clean, but not overwhelmingly so. Truthfully, you were just thankful the shirt and shorts were actually clean. Most of the guys you knew weren't exactly known for keeping up with their laundry. You quickly realized it was kind of weird to be smelling a recently acquainted person's clothes, but you also acknowledged that it wasn't exactly conventional to be meeting Steve's friends and sleeping over at his house on what you were now considering a first date. Was this a first date?

When you got downstairs, you rejoined the group in the living area. Argyle was in the middle of telling a story, but it was forgotten when he realized you'd returned.

"Just in time, lady-dude! We were about to order a pizza. Any topping suggestions?"

"Whatever you guys want is fine with me, honestly."

"You sure?" You gave nod and a small 'thank you'. "Wicked, let me call this in. Be right back."

Almost immediately after Argyle left the room, Steve returned.

"Your clothes are in the wash as we speak." he said.

"Again, Y/N, I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, Robin. It's not a big deal." you reassured her.

As the group waited for the pizza to arrive, you took shots. Following the shots, everyone went out back to smoke a joint and dip their feet in the pool. Steve sat down beside you, causing you to tear your eyes away from the glimmering water glowing from the pool lights.

"Are you having a good time?"

"Yeah, I am. Thank you for inviting me. Everyone has been really welcoming."

"I'm glad," Steve paused to clear his throat. "You look good in that shirt, by the way."

"Do I?" you raised an eyebrow at the compliment.

"Mhmm. I'd say you should keep it, but I also happen to like that shirt on myself." You couldn't help but chuckle at the somewhat dorky comment.

After a few seconds of eye flirtation, Steve excused himself to the bathroom, handing the joint to Robin. It was barely ten seconds later that her and Vickie were seating themselves down next to you.

"So..." Vickie started.

"What do you think about Steve? Total douche, right?" Robin asked jokingly, taking a hit.

"Oh, definitely," you played along, running a hand through your hair. "But seriously, he's really cool and I appreciate him inviting me over. This has been really fun."

"We're glad you came. We should hang out more often," Vickie chimed in.

"I'd like that."

Robin held the joint out to you, which you gladly accepted. You took a couple long hits before passing it to Vickie, who walked it over to where Argyle, Eddie, and Jonathan were debating the best Nirvana album. Nancy was inside pouring herself another drink.

Steve emerged from the bathroom a couple moments later, stopping to have brief conversation with her before he emerged from the house. He listened to the guys and their respective opinions, only to realize he didn't listen to Nirvana enough to contribute anything meaningful to the conversation. So he just took the joint and walked over to the pool. It didn't seem to bother him though, it meant he got to find his way back over to you.

"Stuff's good, you tried it yet? Eddie's friend Rick grows it."

He took a hit, slowly exhaling through his nose before passing it to you.

"Yeah," you told him, pausing to smoke once more. "Sure knows how to roll it too. Shit's pristine."

You passed it back and forth to each other a couple more times before Nancy walked by and asked if she could have it. You handed it to her with a smile. Her eyes were wide and her lips were pursed, almost like she wanted to say something, but she just muttered a 'thanks' and went over to where Jonathan was.

"Yo, pizza's here!" Argyle exclaimed.

Over the next two hours, the eight of you ate, drank, smoked, and laughed. After listening to Vickie tell the story of how her and Robin started dating, you excused yourself to the bathroom. Robin figured this was the perfect time to interrogate Steve.

"So, when's the wedding?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Steve. I may be crossed, but I can tell when you're making goo-goo eyes at a chick."

"Goo-goo eyes?"

"Yes sir. That eye is goo, and so is that one," Robin points to each of Steve's eyeballs, pretending to go in to poke them. "Goo. Goo. Eyes."

"Remind me again why I'm friends with you."

"For the millionth time, your parents hired me," she rolls her eyes, feigning annoyance. "Please tell me you're planning on seeing her again."

"I mean she's staying the night, so I'm definitely going to see her again in the morning."

"That's not what I meant, but-" Robin stops herself, eyebrows raising slightly. "Is she now?"

"Robin, don't you dare say anything stu-"

"Y/N!" Without another word or care in the world, she sets off toward her with a sing-song-y voice.

"-pid."

God damn it.

The only thing Steve could do now was pray that Y/N still wanted to stay the night after whatever bullshit was about to spew out of his best friend's loud mouth.

—

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#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfiction #stranger things x reader #stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #strangers to lovers #fake dating #romance #steve harrington x fem!reader #modern au #eventual smut #steve harrington smut #stranger things smut #stranger things #stranger things au #crybabyddl writing #original work

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got-into-worm-by-mistake · 3 months ago

Text

Interlude 15.x Live Reactions

(This is going to be a very - no, insanely - long post)

As I noted, after this I'll be trying (ha!) to read faster, and on my phone more so I can just get this done.

This is gonna be an interesting read. Purportedly, after all, this is where we're supposed to get the idea that Amy raped Vicky. Though supposedly Wildbow had to do a line by line analysis to make that point on reddit (which I have not read) and I feel like if you have to do that for something like rape, you've kind of failed your task as a writer, at least in terms of conveying what you meant.

I wish, even more than usual, I could be coming into this fully blind but I'm not. I know the 'official' interpretation of this scene is rape, and that the text of the sequel makes it canonical that Amy raped Vicky here, but I also know large numbers of people never got that take, and Wildbow somehow spent years not noticing massive swaths of his readership didn't realize rape had happened... supposedly.

We'll see if I come away convinced that rape is the best reading that can be constructed from this scene, though from what I gather, it's more that a rape reading in this scene feels wildly out of place with all of Amy's other stuff.

It's certainly hard to reconcile the Amy we just saw in Arc 14 with Raping Vicky, though 14.10 makes it not impossible.

Of course, since I'm not coming in blind - I'm aware of the official version, and I've seen some people make the arguments in support of that reading and I've seen a bunch of arguments against that reading, etc - it's not like that all won't be hanging over all of this.

And the thing is, on a certain level, it doesn't actually matter. In the context of the universe itself, it certainly matters, but from the perspective of all these characters not actually existing in the real world, it doesn't really much matter to me.

On the level of Amy's actions: What she does do to Vicky that everyone agreed on (changing her brain, then mind controlling her in 14.6 and 14.10, not immediately removing the 'love me' change from Vicky's brain, wretching her - intentionally or accidentally or a mix or w/e - and not fixing her brain at any point there, and so on) is a gross and horrifying betrayal and a deep, deep violation of Vicky's mental and bodily autonomy. Making actual, real rape a thing that happened here as well is just icing on a cake, really, in a lot of ways, in the context of Worm. (Ward can and will be safely ignored for the rest of this post - in just a moment anyway)

For another, while it appears a lot of readers and fans did turn on Amy - her popularity in the fandom and in fics and stuff purportedly took a bit of a nosedive after the rape was made clear in Ward and in Wildbow's various WoG, though apparently there were still people who read Ward and missed that rape was made clear (Maybe use the word? Apparently Wildbow doesn't even use that word in Ward), it wouldn't actually change much for me.

(Now ignoring Ward)

See, some of my favorite fictional characters have comitted rape.

Damon Salvatore? Mass murderer and... though the narrative doesn't really linger on it, he rapes Caroline Forbes in early Season 1, and his girlfriend that he gets at the end of S2 (I think) and is dating in early S3 is a relationship so full of Compulsion (mind control ability vampires have in TVD verse) that it's moved well past dubcon, I'd say. And there's probably other shit like that in the man's past. Again, the narrative doesn't linger, but it's fucking rape. Still love Damon, amazing character, my trash son, but yeah, committed rape. Absolute monster, by any reasonable standard.

Regina Mills - again, mass murderer, tyrant, and... at the very least, she raped the Huntsman for possibly up to 38 years. (Again, it's never clearly stated, but she ripped out his heart - which in OUAT verse is a thing dark magic allows that lets the holder of the hard dictate commands to the person and also just kill them if they crush it - and then commanded her guards to bring him to her chambers. Ten years later, she casts the dark curse, and the Huntsman's cursed persona is having sex with her about once a week, at least, for the next 28 years, though given the nature of the curse, only Regina and later her son Henry are aware of the passage of time.) Regina is my favorite OUAT character, has an amazing redemption arc, and is unquestionably a hero to the point where she's crowned the 'Good Queen' in the series finale by Snow White (i.e. the girl she became evil while chasing revenge on). The narrative doesn't really linger on it, I'm not even sure the writers quite realized that it was rape, but I never believed it anything else. Still love her, because she and the Huntsman are both entirely fictional. Not real people.

On BtVS, Faith attempts to rape Xander, and basically does rape Riley while in Buffy's body (Riley is Buffy's boyfriend and thinks it's Buffy he's having sex with. Also she also effectively rapes Buffy by having sex with Riley while in control of her body). I still love her, one of my favorite characters. Again, the narrative doesn't really linger on this (the show in general has a bad habit of not lingering on female-on-male sexual violence or sexual harrassment).

Also on BtVS, Willow wipes her girlfriend's (Tara) memory so she forgets a pretty serious argument they were having, and then they have sex the next day, which Tara would probably not have had if she was still angry with Willow. While the show never calls it rape, I and large parts of the fandom consider it as such. (Tara never calls it rape either, though she is incredibly furious with Willow when she finds out, and they break up - and then get back together 12 episodes later, buuut :shrug) Still big fan of Willow, Tara/Willow is still the biggest ship for willow and one of the largest ships in the fandom.

Now, it's true that in all four cases, the writers either didn't realize it was rape, or didn't care and never really address it, but the key point is that I am perfectly capable of being a huge fan of Amy and wanting to see her redeemed/get better/etc (which I am and do) and accepting that she committed rape. So it's not like I'm going to just insistently refuse to see rape

Now, apparently part of the argument against the 'rape happened' reading is also how 15.x fits into the rest of the work, both before, and after, with regards to the fact that (apparently) Amy doesn't really talk about Vicky with any sort of sexual element, just a worshipful adoration, etc, (and the fact that rape never comes up and so forth) which I won't know until I get that far. But again, it is worth noting that large numbers of people didn't get rape as the intended reading, which again, seems like a pretty big detail to fail to convey to the reader. It's worth nothing that the comments for 15.x on the actual worm website mention 'mindrape' and that it felt 'rapey' but not 'rape' full on.

Now, with a much larger preface than intended, let's actually read this godforesaken Interlude.

Actually, having done the live reaction below, I'm gonna put it all below a readmore

Some of that was fatigue, some of it was hunger, some was thirst. She had no idea how much time had passed. She might have been able to guess from her period, but her body had decided such would be a waste of precious resources. It hadn’t come, and she had no idea how many weeks or months it had been.

You only keep a Kidnap victim for weeks or months if you think there's a chance of a ransom. The fact that Carol's parents refused to just fucking pay the goddamn ransom for that long says a lot about how shit they were. Carol absolutely sucks as a mother, but she did have a pretty shitty starting point (though, somehow, somehow, Sarah managed to be at least halfway decent, so Carol could have come out better, but now I'm trying to compare traumas here and that's pretty sucky, but remember this is a Carol Dallon Hate Blog)

“Amy has always insisted she couldn’t heal brain injuries.” Alan winced. “I see. The worst sort of luck.” Carol smiled, but it wasn’t a happy expression. “So imagine my surprise when, after weeks of taking care of my husband, wiping food from his face, giving him baths, supporting him as he walked from the bedroom to the bathroom, Amy decides she’ll heal him after all.”

Love how she just glosses over the part where Bonesaw actively did even more, possibly eventually fatal, damage to Mark's brain. Even when she does Mention Bonesaw invading the house below, she doesn't mention that part.

I feel like Mark would be able to mention that, so I'm sure Carol is just conviently ignoring the part where Amy was faced with 'Mark fucking dies if I don't break my rule'

“Oh, I imagine she was. Victoria went looking for her after she ran away, returned home empty-handed. I think she was even more upset than I was, with Amy taking so long to heal Mark. She was almost inarticulate, she was so angry.”

So that would suggest that at least at first Vicky doesn't tell Carol what Amy did to her. Which would fit with Vicky saying she hadn't told anyone back in the early parts of Arc 14 (don't remember which chapter she said it) but the context could have just meant 'didn't tell the Protectorate/PRT' Though, it does still leave the open question: Amy was running around the city for fucking DAYS, a week possibly? between Interlude 11h and when she shows up in Arc 14.2 or 14.3. Did Carol even look for her? Why isn't she looking fucking now? She's your daughter, right, and Slaughterhouse Nine is looking for her too?

Is Sarah looking? Mark? Crystal?

Even if you don't love her or care about her, you shouldn't want S9 to have ahold of her, so maybe look for her rather than FUCKING FILE PAPERWORK?!

Carol fidgeted. “Oh, that wasn’t even the worst of it. Victoria’s been flirting with the notion of joining the Wards, and she went out to fight the Nine just a few days ago. Apparently she was critically injured. She was carried off for medical care and nobody’s seen her since.”

Ah, so this is now happening post-S9 leaving the city (though there's still no mention of Carol looking for her) and she's... not even looking for Vicky?

Like, okay, big city, might not be able to find her, but I feel like if I had a kid that I purportedly loved (as Carol does supposedly at least love Vicky, in her own horrible abusive sort of way) and said kid was missing and I had superpowers making it safe to go looking, I would be looking, damn the goddamn paperwork.

This woman just can't actively not suck.

Also, of all the people to be talking about this to, why the fuck is it Alan Barnes. Just a weird character to use for this. Is it supposed to be a juxtaposition - Carol was a neglectful bitch and Alan a too supportive parent and both ended up screwing their kids up?

“Or dead,” Carol said. She blinked a few times in rapid succession, fighting the need to cry. “I don’t know. I was patrolling, searching, and I felt my composure start to slip. I feel like shit for doing it, but I came here, I thought maybe if I took fifteen minutes or half an hour to center myself, I could be ready to start searching again.”

Okay, so there's that, so she was looking and just (understandably) needed a moment, but again - did you look for Amy at all earlier? Did fucking anyone? Somehow no member of New Wave actually showed up anywhere during Arcs 12 or 13 or 14, apart from Amy and Vicky.

He’d tried to attack them? Carol couldn’t understand it. He was the one who’d taken care of them. When he’d appeared, she’d been happy. And now it felt like that had been ruined, spoiled. She felt betrayed and she couldn’t understand why.

Stockholm Syndrome is a hell of a drug. But trigger trauma isn't much of an excuse, Carol, really fucking isn't.

“We didn’t know where you were. But let’s not fight again. The important thing is that Tattletale pointed us in the right direction. We think we know where your daughters are.” Daughters? Plural? Carol couldn’t put a name to the feeling that had just sucker-punched her.

Right, because with what little you know about the situation, you shouldn't actually have much reason to be that worried.

Technically, you're right this time, which I really kind of hate on the 'Carol Sucks' level of my personality, but you have no valid basis, because your paranoia was not actually well-founded.

The Brockton Bay Brigade closed in on the man who stood by his leather armchair, wearing a black silk bathrobe. He held his ground. “If you’ll allow me to finish my wine-” he started, bending down to reach for the wine glass that sat beside the armchair.

Marquis really is the textbook fucking definition of classy, isn't he? :rofl:

It meant she didn’t fall on her rear end, and she could pick a more appropriate posture as she snapped back into her human shape.

I mean, falling on your ass in a fight is just bad from a tactical standpoint, but also, I mean, you can't go losing style points, right?

The needles retracted. Marquis rolled his shoulders, as if loosening his muscles. “Broke your foot? How clumsy.”

If nothing else, he's fun.

Well, only in a sense. They still hadn’t touched him, and two of their members were out of commission. Three, if she counted Fleur being occupied with a wounded Lightstar in her arms.

And so let's use his child against him! Great move!

Let's invade someone's home without checking to see if there's any innocents around! GREAT PLAN!

Was he distracted?

Maybe ask yourself why.

Though, I will say - Marquis didn't have to play Coy. He quite literally could have just said 'my daughter's in that closet'. They might not have believed him, but it wouldn't have been hard to show them.

I'm not saying I don't get why he didn't, but technically Marquis didn't make the most optimal choice here.

But that... happens.

“Careful now,” Marquis chided her. “Don’t want to get decapitated now, do we?”

*giggle*

Instead, she turned and charged for the closet, creating a sword out of the crackling energy her power provided, slashing through the plates of bone that had surrounded it, then drawing the blade back to thrust through the wooden door-

I dunno. I know it's Amy - we all know it's Amy, at this point, even people reading Blind - and we're inclined to dislike Carol anyway at this point, again, even people reading Blind, I assume - but this just seems incredibly foolish.

Like, I guess maybe leaping straight to 'there's a kid there' might be a bitch much, and Carol in particular probably would have a hard time imagining Marquis as caring about another person because she's projected her issues with her kidnapper onto him for... reasons, but I mean, he could have a wife (or husband, I suppose) or girlfriend or all manner of things in there you may not want to hurt, and like... I dunno, I'd at least fucking open the closet before swinging in there? Maybe?

Fic idea - Marquis is a little too slow, but instead of killing her (I have read one fic where that happened. Marquis, understandably, kills Carol right after) he like, maims Amelia or something, cuts off her arm, or gives her a major scar or something.

That could be a really interesting story. Especially if Marquis still gets beaten, or Carol gets away and has to look at her daughter after having done that.

(I may hate Carol, but I can't imagine she'd be blithe about having maimed an innocent child, even Marquis kid, in the middle of a fight.)

*ads the fic idea to the list, which won't stop growing*

She stared down at him. That long hair, it was such a minor thing, but there was something else about him that stirred that distant, dark memory of the lightless room and the failed attempt at ransom. Her skin crawled, and she felt anger boiling in her gut.

This is so insane and then you take that projection and add a second layer onto Amy and like what the ABSOLUTE FUCK is wrong with you sick little woman?

“What were you so intent on protecting?” Manpower asked. “This where you stash your illegitimate gains?”

Because Marquis didn't just say he didn't really care if they destroyed his expensive home a few minutes ago. Jesus Christ Manpower really is a dumb brute, isn't he?

“Her mother’s gone, I’m afraid. The big C. Amelia and I were introduced shortly after that. About a year ago, now that I think on it. I must admit, I’ve enjoyed our time together more than I’ve enjoyed all my crimes combined. Quite surprising.”

Is that actually a thing anyone does? Or ever did? Is that a Canadian thing? Or a new england slang? 90s Lingo? I feel like no one has ever called Cancer 'The Big C' before.

That feels like something a writer - not necessarily Wildbow - invented and people just ran with even though it wasn't actually a thing people did.

If Marquis had realized how fucking terribly Carol would have raised Amy, I have to imagine he'd have settled for foster care instead. :rofl:

The idea disturbed her.

Why? Maybe get some fucking therapy for that, bitch? Seriously.

WHY THE FUCK DOES THIS DISTURB YOU?!

Maybe ask yourself that question?! But then, I suppose if you were capable of a single iota of self-examination, you would not have been such a shit mother and indeed, shit human.

That cultured act, the civility that was real. Marquis was fair, he played by the rules. His rules, but he stuck to them without fail. It didn’t match her vision of what a criminal should be. It was jarring, creating a kind of dissonance. That dissonance was redoubled as she looked at the forlorn little girl. Layers upon layers, distilled in one expression. Criminal, civilized man, child.

Right, and how dare something not line up with your view of the world? How DARE?! Surely the problem is with the thing, and not you?! SURELY!

“Then you take care of her,” Brandish replied, even as she mentally prayed her sister would refuse. There was something about the idea of being around Marquis’ child, that uncanny resemblance, having those memories stirred even once in a while, even if it was just at family reunions… it made her feel uneasy.

*shakes head* jesus christ.

I wonder what Amy Pelham's relationship with Aunt Carol would have been like. A lot of 'why doesn't Aunt Carol like me?' I imagine. Which might have led to Sarah berating Carol into getting help sooner, because I can't imagine Sarah wouldn't have loved her daughter Amy as much as Eric and Crystal.

Though who knows. May just be grass is greener.

“You should. Amelia’s Vicky’s age, I think they would be close.”

*nervous, awkward, darkly ironic laughter*

“I’m sorry to bring it up,” Brandish said. “But it’s relevant. I decided I could have Vicky because I’d know her from day one. She’d grow inside me, I’d nurture her from childhood… she’d be safe.”

And you did a bang up job with her! Two thumbs up! /s

“That child deserves better than I can offer. I know I don’t have it in me to form any kind of bond with another child if there’s no blood relation.” Especially if she’s Marquis’. “She needs you. You’re her only option. I can’t, and Fleur and Lightstar aren’t old enough or in the right place in their lives for kids, and if she goes anywhere else, it’ll be disastrous.”

I can't believe I'm saying this, but: Sarah, Sarah, look at me.

Listen to Carol. For once in her life, she's actually right about something.

Look at me Sarah. Listen to your sister.

You could grow to love and trust that little girl, too.”

Truth is, she probably could have, but it would have required Carol getting over herself, and that, as it turns out, was borderline impossible.

I don't believe it would have been completely impossible - people always have a choice - and that's why, at the end of the day, I will never let sympathy for Carol rise beyond the barest of minimums, because she had a responsibility to be better, to get better, not just for Amy, but for Vicky, and she didn't, and so again, This Is A Carol Dallon Hate Blog.

Was the girl in shock? Carol couldn’t muster any sympathy. Amy was stopping her from getting to Victoria. Victoria, who she’d almost believed was dead.

See, this is just...

I mean, I'm glad Carol didn't kill Amy here, but Carol has not even an iota of concern for Amy, and yet, once she sees the state of Victoria and supposedly finds out that Amy raped Victoria, she suddenly has enough sympathy for Amy to not kill her?

I -

Seriously. Absolute bizzaro world shit here, Wildbow.

“So I thought I’d put her in a trance, and make it so she’d forget everything that happened. Everything that I did, and the things that the Slaughterhouse Nine said, and everything that I said to try to make them go away. Empty promises and-“

Okay, so like, you can Amy's lying here, but all we have to go on is what she says, you know? If Wildbow wanted us to get the takeway that Amy's lying here, he kind of needs to make that more clear.

Like, far from done, and I am kind of biased against WB at this point, to say the least, but it's just really fucking hard for me to see this girl acting like this if she just raped her sister.

I mean, really, man, if that really was your intent, you did a REALLY bad job of conveying it, and when you fail as a writer you don't fucking take that out on the readers.

(Right, sorry, I said I was ignoring Ward. Back to doing that)

She could never be my daughter because she’d never stopped being his.

She doesn't even remember him, you crazy psycho!

Amy kept talking, her voice strangely monotone after her earlier emotion, as if she were a recording. Maybe she was, after a fashion, all of the excuses and arguments she’d planned spilling from her mouth. “I wanted her to be happy. I could adjust. Tweak, expand, change things to serve more than one purpose. I had the extra material from the cocoon. When I was done, I started undoing everything, all the mental and physical changes. I got so tired, and so scared, so lonely, so I thought we’d take another break, before I was completely finished. I changed more things. More stuff I had to fix. And days passed. I-“

I'm having trouble seeing it. I really am.

I get that we're supposed to see 'break' as like... Amy raping her or something but -

But that -

no.

It might even have been something objectively beautiful, had it not been warped by desperation and loneliness and panic.

Everything about this scene just paints Amy as pathetic and pitiable. She really is a sopping wet poor little meow meow here.

I'm not saying a rapist can't also be pitiable - someone can be victim and victimizer, of course they can - but if you want the pitiable character to be seen as a rapist, or, you know, hated, for what they did -

Especially when it's from fucking Carol's POV, and Wildbow just got done explaining how little regard Carol actually has for Amy, how she has no sympathy for the girl and everything.

If there's any POV that should not be painting Amy as pitiable, but as the rapist we're supposed to believe she is, it's Carol's right?

Then I’d go and spend the rest of my life healing people. Sacrifice my life. I don’t know. As payment.”

Wildbow makes the most woobifiable character in the world, and then gets self-righteous when people woobify her.

News at 11.

And with everything laid bare, there was not a single resemblance to Marquis. There was no faint reminder of Brandish’s time in the dark cell, nor of her captor. If anything, Amy looked how Sarah had, as they’d stumbled from the house where they’d been kept, lost, helpless and scared. She looked like Carol had, all those years ago. The weapon dissipated, and Brandish’s arms dropped limp to her sides.

All this does is make Carol look narcissistic in the weirdest and worst way. She can only give a shit about someone who reminds her of... her?

But I mean, the whole reason she supposedly loved Vicky is because Vicky came from her, so she should have that take priority over...

I'm sorry. I'm just not seeing it. I'm not -

And Carol's actions here, even with the 'she looked like carol had' just...

No. This is weird. This is confusing. This is nonsensical. And I'm sure as shit not getting a 'Amy Raped Vicky' takeaway here.

Even allowing for Jack's comment about 'indulging' in 14.10. When Amy didn't agree or anything, and Jack would have no way to know what Amy did or didn't do when he wrote that letter we see in 14.11.

Like, if I squint and force myself to twist my brain into nots I can... pretend I can see it... but even then...

I mean, maybe Amy's lying, and characters lie and misrepresent and so on, true, but unless the text gives us a good reason to believe they are, which it hasn't yet...

I mean, it's the official version, the official narrative, that it's Rape. That's the WoG. And like...

Even if I didn't have my, admittedly largely unfounded, suspicions that Wildbow is just flat out lying about his original intent or meaning, I do believe that WoG should be an enhancement to and addition to the text, not a direct contradiction.

It really does seem like WB ended up falling into the trap of figuring he could just let his WoG paper over mistakes in his writing rather than getting it right the first time?

Carol stared as Amy shuffled forward. The cuffs weren’t necessary, really. A formality. Amy wasn’t about to run.

I mean, this is another thing I don't get. Amy haters harp on Amy 'running away from responsibility/consequences' but I mean... quietly going to the Birdcage, an unaccountable black box of a prison where (IIRC from what I've heard) 2/3s of the prisoners ended up dying by the time of the breakout is sort of the opposite of running away?

I mean, Amy should have fixed Vicky before going, this is true, but it seems clear she wasn't sure she could, and would Carol and Sarah have even let her?

As if she could convey everything she wanted to say in a single gesture, she folded her daughter into the tightest of hugs.

I -

I mean, I suppose stranger things have happened, but of all the times to actually suddenly start giving a shit about Amy, it's here and now?

Yeah, I can't reconcile this with Wildbow's official narrative of things.

“Victoria is gone. There’s nothing of her left but that mockery.

Yeah, okay, back to Carol just sucking 100%. That's more familiar ground.

The day I cease seeing her as his daughter and see how she could be mine, he takes her back, she thought.

Well, no one to blame but yourself, Carol.

Yeah, my official verdict is: if this is supposed to be the scene that convinces the reader Amy raped Victoria, then...

Yeah, I'm not seeing it. I'm not seeing anything that makes that implied even with a tortured reading. Even with the most hostile reading, I don't -

I don't see it. I really don't. I'm trying to have as open a mind as possible, I tried to look for it -

This isn't me questioning a victim in the 'was it really rape' way or whatever, I'm questioning whether the writing of a scene conveys the idea that one character committed the physical/sexual act of rape on another, and this scene does not. Maybe there's another scene later on (In Worm) that will convince me, but...

This one sure doesn't.

#This Is A Carol Dallon Hate Blog #Interlude 15.x #Kylia Reads Worm #Amy Dallon #Marquis #Sarah Pelham #I don't fucking no #I just...#I don't see it

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hoffmannwrites · 2 years ago

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On My List

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 + 1 Masterlist

Author’s Note: Look at me! New fic, new fandom, new style, ouhhh! So new, so shiny! Anywho, this is a 5+1 fic based off THIS text post which has been rattling around in my brain for weeks. Thank you @stevietruther for the insufferable thoughts in my brain.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Description: 5 Times Steve and Eddie kiss as friends, and one time they don't.

Warnings/Tags: Everyone lives, Nobody dies, 5+1, Kissing, Fluff, Idiots to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, some pretty brief mentions for drinking, smoking, being inebriated (the gang is drunk here but nothing too bad, just in a fun way), uhhh they're gay your honor, no beta we die like Barb, let me know if I missed anything?

You Spin Me Right Round

One

The first time Steve and Eddie kiss is also the first time Steve kisses Robin and Eddie kisses Argyle. It’s just the older members of the party and a few random acquaintances that tag along, and there ain’t shit to do but get high and drunk and play party games. Later into the night, when everyone is inebriated enough to feel comfortable around each other and they have managed to lose both beer pong balls, Vicki suddenly perks up, chest a blotchy bright red under her button up. “We should play spin the bottle,” she announces, feigning bravery with a hopeful glance in Robin’s direction.

“Oh fuck, seriously?” complains Steve, who is already doing a mental inventory of the people there and how terrible it would be to kiss all of them. Well, most of them, at least.

“What? You afraid someone’s gonna realize that Big Bad Sex God Harrington isn’t actually all he’s cracked up to be?” teases Eddie, pushing his shoulder into Steve’s with a huge smile on his face.

“No- that’s not- I just…the ratio is off!” Steve sputters, going hot under the collar. He knows that at least one of the girls is a lesbian and the other is his ex girlfriend and the OTHER is the girl his best friend has a crush on. And as he has this thought, his eyes shift to Robin who is wringing her hands in her lap, not looking anyone in the eye. Oh. Oh. This is her chance. To kiss Vickie without any one thinking too much about it. To see if Vickie is as into her as she is. To see if there are sparks, without any pressure. Because it’s just a drunken game.

“We’re actually gonna motor,” says Jeff, getting up off the floor and pointing to the two Hellfire members behind him. “As much as I would LOVE to stay and lock lips with Munson, some of us have actual jobs in the morning. And Gareth is 1 beer away from ralphing on Harrington’s front lawn.” Gareth just shrugs, knowing he is notorious for over imbibing.

The three Hellfire boys make their way out the door, leaving just the usual suspects and, of course, Vicki.

“See? Almost even now, Harrington. Pass me that empty Seagram’s,” says Eddie, oblivious to the fact that this is, by all accounts, a horrible idea.

“You go first if you’re so intent on planting one on all of us, Eds,” Steve replies, determined to call the older man’s bluff.

“Gladly.” And with that, Eddie spins the empty bottle and watches smugly as it settles on Argyle.

“Oh, come to Daddy, Surfer Boy!” Eddie exclaims, shooting his eyes from the bottle up to Argyle, who had already leaned over the bottle towards Eddie expectantly.

“Dude. I’m expecting greatness. Lay it on me, bro!” Argyle says so seriously it was startling and puckers his lips in the most cartoonish way possible. Eddie grabs his face with both hands and lays one quick and dramatic kiss directly to the other boy’s lips, complete with a loud “Mwah!” Sound effect added. Everyone chuckled at the display, all relaxing slightly due to the fact that the first victims of the game were the two must unserious people of the group, who had no problem breaking the ice.

The game continues, with Jonathan landing on Vickie. He decides to chivalrously go for a kiss on the hand, as he previously declared his loyalty to Nancy. Nancy lands on Robin and kisses her softly on the cheek, sighting the same reason as Jonathan. Argyle goes next and ends up landing on Jonathan. He kisses the photographer lightly on his forehead and pets his hair, which left Jonathan furrowing his brow, but laughing nonetheless. Vickie goes next. Robin holds her breath as the bottle spins and spins and spins for what feels like a lifetime until it lands on…Robin. The girls lock eyes immediately and Vickie subconsciously ducks her head and pushes a piece of hair behind her ear. They turn to each other and just kiss. No preamble or bullshit explanations or disclaimers. They just kiss softly and sweetly for a few moments before breaking away. Neither girl says anything, but Robin is noticeably redder in the face and Vickie seems to lean into her just slightly for the rest of the night.

Next is Robin’s turn and although she prays to whatever high power she can think of for the bottle to land on Vicki again, it lands on Steve. “Ugh man, no! Gross!” Robin whines. “Dems da rules, sugar plum,” Eddie smirks and wiggles his eyebrows.

“Fuck. Fine! But Capital P, guys. I’m so serious,” she warns everyone before turning to Steve. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best not to woo you with my masculine charms,” Steve says before kissing her so quickly that if anyone blinked they would have missed it.

“Ew,” she states simply when it’s over and wipes off her lips dramatically, like a petulant child wiping away a kiss from their mother. Steve silently takes the bottle and spins it, just begging that it lands on anyone except his ex girlfriend. Anyone! Anyone at all even…Eddie. It stops on Eddie and Steve looks at him, like a big brown eyed idiot in headlights, all that previous confidence gone. Eddie clears his throat, shuffles almost uncomfortably. “So, you gonna show me what Hawkins’s Most Eligible has to offer?” he asks, trying so hard to look like he’s not sweating bullets.

And Steve is just drunk enough that he’s got the balls to shut Eddie up the way he’s been thinking about for months, since he was called “big boy” in that stupid trailer when the world was ending. Suddenly, Steve is all siren-eyes and sex appeal, letting his voice drop just a little when he almost whispers “Get ready, big boy,” and grabs Eddie by the back of the neck. Steve tilts Eddie up just enough and takes his sweet time leaning in and ghosting over Eddie’s lips, just enough to make him shiver a little, but not enough for anyone to notice. They share each others air for a fraction of a second before Steve leans in the rest of the way and kisses Eddie, really kisses him, the way he’s been doing to girls for years. And Eddie kisses back, just enough that somewhere in the back of the rockers head, red flags and sirens are going off. But he doesn’t notice, too lost in the feeling of Steve on him to register anything else. They separate after what feels like entirely too long for a kiss during spin the bottle, and wait with bated breath. What for, they’re not sure. But no one says anything and the air feels like it’ll shatter is if they do. And then the moment is gone, because the doorbell rings and Argyle jumps up, chanting “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” And suddenly they’re all too hungry to focus on that moment that felt just a little too charged. The rest of the night, Eddie and Steve take turns sneaking glances at each other, like they’re really noticing each other for the first time. But come the morning, everyone is too hazy on the night before to read into it. They all remember the nights activities, but no one thinks to question the tension, chalking it up to being cross faded. Except Eddie suddenly pays a lot more attention to Steve.

A/N: Fun fact! Wine coolers came out in the early 80s and have only gotten better tasting and more hangover inducing since!

#Steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #Steve x eddie #Steve Harrington x Eddie munson #stranger things #fluff #hoffmannwrites #5 + 1 #5 + 1 fic #spin the bottle #everyone lives/nobody dies #they're gay your honor #idiots to lovers #friends to lovers #stranger things au #stranger things fanfiction

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trashmouth-richie · 2 years ago

Note

Hello dearest! Congratulations on 200 followers! I have come up with the perfect two words for you to use.

Eddie + “feral” + “bread”

Hehehe love youuu - @corroded-hellfire

of courrrse you would choose this 😮‍💨😮‍💨 this is pretty angsty which I normally don’t do. Hope you like it bb @corroded-hellfire 💓

EDDIE X FEM! READER

W.C 1.5K

WARNINGS: IMPLIED SMUT, MENTIONS OF SEX ACTS

You were sick of the dreams, sick of waking up feeling like you were some kind of rabid dog. It had been years since that mother fucker left your house for good, slamming the door hard, rattling the hinges. Another fight, another failed relationship added to your belt.

Sure you had moved on, dating that cute baker who would come crawling into your sheets at night wafting notes of fresh bread and sweet icing into your bedroom. He was sweet as sugar but the sex was mediocre at best. So you did what you did best, you left him. Finding another cute guy to fill the void and your heart was aching for distraction. The accountant. Ooh yes he was good with numbers and financially stable. But the pressed suits and slicked back hair every day was making the vanilla love making just that— vanilla. Bland, flavorless, like a water flavored lollipop. The twins? Yesss finally. Something you could divulge in…two men to treat you like a queen. Two men all to yourself, sharing a bed, never fighting over you just worshiping you, and maybe it could have been great, could have been something any girl desired…if they weren’t two inch twins. Can’t exactly get off when you can barely feel anything.

So when you had gotten the invite for Hawkins High’s Class of ‘86, 10 year reunion, you thought what the hell? Last you had known he had left Hawkins that night of your fight never to be heard from again, so the likelihood of him showing up was slim to none. And Steve Harrington who was fresh from a divorce was going to be in attendance. The way his jeans always hugged him so tight in the front he was bound to house some kind of mythical anaconda behind the denim. But the dreams had started that night, and they weren’t of Steve’s hammer cock. Someone who hadn’t crossed your mind in almost 5 years.

Walking into Hawkins High with Robin and Vicky on your side they hadn’t stopped talking about how excited Steve was to see you. And you were excited to finally unleash the beast.

And just as most things went, Lady Luck was playing games. Up on the stage sporting a leather jacket and the same black bandana he had since middle school, was Eddie ‘fuck me lips’ Munson. He looked better than he did in high school if that was even possible. His shoulders were broader, angling perfectly to his slutty little waist. Turns out Corroded Coffin had been asked to play at the reunion tonight. Your panties were dripping at the sight of him. You forgot how sexy his voice was. Forgot how wet his hair got during his shows. Fuck.

“Hey there stranger,” Steve seduces as he comes over with a wine cooler for you, Robin and Vicky. You and Steve had been close, Nancy was practically a sister to you, but everytime he fought with Nancy you were there to comfort him. And when Eddie left, Steve was there for you holding you close and assuring you everything was going to be okay. You threw your arms around Steve’s neck, relishing in the smell of his expensive cologne. He put his hands on the small of your waist as he pulled you close. “You look beautiful tonight” he whispered, dancing his tongue against the shell of your ear. You pulled back blushing slightly, tucking a stray hair behind your ear.

The two of you catch up. Steve telling you all about his and Nancy’s nasty divorce. You comfort him the same way you always had, fingers ruffling his hair and holding his hands in between yours. You could feel eyes burrowing into the back of your head, but ignored it. Probably just a jealous ex cheerleader wishing they were the apple of Steve’s eye for the night. Steve excuses himself to the bathroom but not before leaning down slightly and placing a wet kiss to your lips. He tasted like the wine cooler he had been drinking, and Carmex. “Be right back.”

Before you can even comprehend what has happened a familiar voice whispers in your ear, “well isn’t that rich sweetheart? King Steve and the Princess.” Your breath hitches in your throat and your stomach feels like it’s going to leap out of your body entirely.

You turn slightly in the folding chair you’re sitting in to see him. He’s holding a bottle of beer and smelling how he always did, Marlboros and musky cologne. His happy trail was slick with sweat begging to be licked. His chest was more defined, and was sporting more tattoos on it than you could count. Piercings in each nipple, which were new but something you had encouraged him to get since you had gotten yours done. His boyish features were more manly now. His neck was thick and had a vein protruding on the side. The only thing that didn’t change on him was the neck tattoo he had gotten. A red imprint of your lips with your first initial next to it.

“Didn’t think you’d be here.” You scoff trying to avoid his gaze.

“And miss this? Seeing all the people who hated me in high school?” Eddie tries to joke. He pulls up Steve’s chair and slides it closer to you. Swinging his leg over the cool metal and sitting on it backwards, “Sweetheart, we know there’s only one reason why I’m here.”

“I’m not doing this shit with you, Munson.”

“Oh we’ll be doing something, but it won’t be shitty.” Eddie winks as he traces circles with his fingers against your knee. “Tell me baby, how wet are those panties?”

Stammering, you quickly reply, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The collection I had of your wet panties in my dresser drawer tells me differently.” Eddie leans in again, “and don’t forget how excited you would get during one of my shows.” Christ this fucker doesn’t forget anything, it was true. After every show you would be dripping with arousal for him, the way his fingers moved, the way his neck looked when he sang, and his voice… fuck.

“You better go, my date will be back soon, you know Steve Harrington, right?.” You say matter of factly. He wasn’t actually but Eddie didn’t know that. Anything to get under his skin was good enough for you, and if there was one thing you knew about Eddie it was his ferocious hatred for Steve Harrington.

“Oh baby, don't think I didn’t notice his hands all over you tonight. Doing it just to fuck with me, I know your mind games. You forget that you were mine for a long time.” Eddie says, pointing to your lips tatted on his neck. “Still are.”

Eddie had gotten that done for your birthday, “the only marks I want on my neck, are your lips.”

“I was. Past tense. Not anymore.” You fidget in your seat as Eddie presses into you. Your panties were wet, and your pussy was throbbing. You forgot how possessive he could be and it was turning you on. “Besides, that was years ago, haven't you moved on or was my pussy that good.”

The mention of your cunt has Eddie adjusting himself in his tight jeans. “Full of jokes tonight I see, don’t forget I’m the only one in this room who can read you like a book, inside and out. The way your toes curl when you’re about to cum, the fact that you like a finger in your tight little asshole while getting it raw in doggy, or, my personal favorite, the way your face looks when my hand is around your neck.”

Your cheeks are flushed red as you suddenly get up. Walking quickly across the gym floor as you head outside to light a cigarette, kicking balloons and streamers out of the way as you stomp across the floor. You were embarrassed. Embarrassed about the literal choke hold Eddie still had on you. You never wanted anyone but him, and seeing that he hasn’t covered up your lip tattoo confirmed that he hasn’t moved on either. Leaning against the cool brick you inhale deeply, exhaling a stream of smoke upwards as your head is leaned back, eyes catching Eddie’s as he comes through the door.

“Fuck, can’t you just leave me alone, I’m not playing your little feral fucking games tonight, or ever again for that matter.” You lie.

Eddie moved in front of you boxing you in. His arms stretching to either side of your head, hands on the wall. “No games sweetheart, just me and you. It’s only ever, been you.” He leans close and ghosts his lips over yours, “I can’t get you out of my head.” Eddie leans forward, pressing his body against yours, “I know you want this,” he murmurs, taking your hand in his and holding it against his erection. “Let me spend the rest of tonight making up for what we lost.”

“Eddie, I-,” his fingers are twirling in the ends of your hair, his lips are teasing you, softly kissing your neck, biting slowly.

“Say it baby,” Eddie whispers into your ear, “say you’re still mine.”

#eddie munson #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson angst #steve harrington #eddie x you #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic

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waywardrose · 1 year ago

Text

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY 24

stranger things

eddie munson x reader

rated e

5.6k

spotify playlist

for @punk-in-docs

fem/witch/goth!reader, sweetheart!eddie, magic, slow burn (for me), friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending, no y/n only pet names, series-typical horror, period-typical sexism and homophobia, historical inaccuracies and anachronisms, drug dealing and use, smoking, alcohol use, masturbation, mutual masturbation, fantasizing, one-bed trope, making out, fingering, dirty talk, chasing, oral sex, handjobs, condoms, piv sex, reader’s father is a dirtbag, mild spanking, magical violation, mental torture, body horror, blood, aftercare, nightmares, strict parenting, panic attack, past child abuse and abandonment, semi-public sex, break-ups, running away, guns, fist fighting, everyone survives, tags will be updated as needed

Eddie would have to wait until his lunch break to see this new, hot, weird chick. He wondered which flavor of weird she was. Art weird? Theater weird? Band weird? Weird weird? He shrugged. He liked weird. In other words, you’re the new girl in town, and Eddie is intrigued.

note: Idk if the Cali group arrives in Hawkins on Saturday or Sunday. I'm going with Saturday. If that's wrong, well, this fic isn't canon compliant anyway. Also, Unnamed Freak (aka Dave) has a canon name now with Flight of Icarus: Dougie. I've corrected this entire fic on all platforms. If I've missed a "Dave" somewhere, please tell me. 🖤

The phone rang, jolting you from your research. On reflex, you stretched across the spread of opened spell books for the phone on the nightstand. Then you remembered you weren’t at home. You sat on the bed in one of Steve’s guestrooms.

When he didn’t ask you to answer the phone, you straightened and found where you’d left off. The ringing ceased, then Steve’s voice drifted through the open door. At one time, it would’ve been an annoyance. Now, it reminded you that you weren’t alone. You had people who knew you for who you were and weren’t wary of your abilities.

Last night, Robin had stayed through dinner and Back to the Future. Working at Family Video had its perks, because there was a waitlist to rent it. Robin and Steve had talked through the entire movie, asking about you and sharing about themselves, but you hadn’t minded. You learned that ‘Scoops’ was Scoops Ahoy, an ice cream parlor. It must be a Midwestern chain, because you’d never heard of it.

Robin bragged Steve had slung so much ice cream, they had to put in special orders. Steve shrugged, all bravado, yet his flushed cheeks belied his cool demeanor.

“You should’ve seen some of the girls who came in,” Robin had said, face reverent. “They must’ve come from Fort Wayne or Indy—”

Eyes wide, Steve had interrupted. “Yeah, they weren’t local, that’s for sure.”

You’d glanced at him, then at Robin. He’d tried to divert the conversation. Maybe to protect her? That had made no sense until you remembered you were in the Midwest, where homosexuality — or even bisexual tendencies — was anathema.

To Robin, you asked with a sly look: “That hot, huh?”

“God, I could barely keep eye con—” She curled her lips between her teeth, but rallied. “I mean, they were, like, super intimidating.”

You grinned with a minute shake of your head.

“No, I get it. Girls are hot.”

“Yeah…” she breathed, eyes going glassy. “Girls are hot.”

The conversation had paused as George confronted Biff on screen. When George and Lorraine walked away together, you’d reached for your drink and glimpsed Steve holding Robin’s hand. He noticed you noticing and opened his mouth to speak. You stopped him with an understanding look.

“So, is there a girl at school you like?” you’d asked before taking a sip.

Robin glanced at Steve, who’d offered an encouraging shrug. She’d smiled, giddy and love-struck, and gushed about Vickie. According to Robin, she looked like Molly Ringwald, but even cuter. Vickie was talented and funny and smart. Steve insisted Vickie was into her despite what they’d seen at The War Zone. Robin waved it away, saying Vickie had a boyfriend. It was a lost cause. She’d pine from afar.

You’d said, “Well, not necessarily. She could be bi.”

“I don’t know? It doesn’t seem likely.” She’d gnawed on her bottom lip. “I would normally say that’s ridiculous, because this is Hawkins, but—” She gestured at herself.

You’d narrowed your eyes playfully.

“You could still win fair maiden’s heart.”

Steve laughed. “You sound like Munson.”

“What can I say? He’s rubbed off on me.”

Robin had snorted. “Yeah, I bet that’s not the only thing he’s done.” You’d giggled even as your face heated. You grinned now thinking about it.

Knuckles rapped on the doorjamb. Steve stood in the doorway, the sleeves of his teal henley pushed up his forearms. His perfectly tousled hair framed his face, his jeans showed off the goods, and his Nikes were clean.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, lookin’ good.”

He put a hand on the back of his head and looked down as if bashful. Like he didn’t know how handsome he was.

You asked, “Going somewhere?”

“Uh, yeah, that was Nance on the phone. She wants to donate some stuff at the school, and I offered her a lift. I think I’m going to volunteer while I’m there, too. You know, whatever they need.”

“That’s…” You first thought ‘surprising,’ but that was insulting. “That’s really generous of you.” You glanced at your suitcase overflowing with clean laundry. “Actually, I bet I have a few things someone else could use.”

“Oh, wow, sure.” He nodded. “You wanna come with?” He waggled a hand. “I mean, I know you’re not ready, but I was going to call Robin and Dustin. See if they wanna join.”

“I want to, but I can’t. I need to heal Lucas and Max.” You gestured to all the opened books. “That’s what I’m researching.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

He pointed at his left eye.

“Wouldn’t everything be a little easier if you had both?”

“Probably, but Max is worse than I am, so…” You looked at the books. “I can manage.”

He surprised you a second time when he said, “It’s hard to take that ‘put your own oxygen mask on first’ advice, but you should consider it.”

You met his earnest eyes.

“I will.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. You should be the guinea pig before you sprung a healing spell on Lucas or Max. While you were certain a healing spell would never harm, that didn’t mean it would be effective.

Marking your place in the book you’d been reading, you eased off the bed. You knelt in front of your suitcase to pick out a few pairs of socks, a free promo t-shirt you wore when cleaning, and a pair of tartan trousers you hadn’t worn since moving.

There was more at home you’d be happy to donate. You realized you could drop in after healing Max to pick up more — as long as your parents hadn’t returned.

When Steve stopped at your door, you handed over the clothes and told him of your plan. He brightened with a nod. You jokingly assured him not all your clothes were black and scary.

He lifted the stack of clothes.

“Just most of them.”

You laughed as he smiled at you.

He stepped back and said he was leaving, adding he’d leave the spare key on the foyer console. You thanked him and wished him luck before he skipped down the stairs.

As the front door snicked closed, you plucked the book from the bed and found a white tea-candle in your magic supplies. After placing both on the en-suite bathroom counter, you flipped on the light. With a deep inhale, you found your center. Time to be a guinea pig. You opened the book and lit the candle.

Holding your fingertips above the flame, you said, “Magic mend as candle burns; Affliction end and health returns.”

You brought your warmed fingers to the dark, tender bruise on your jaw and repeated the chant. Your skin heated almost to the point of pain. You closed your eyes to concentrate on the feeling. Tendrils of cooling energy twisted through your flesh. You shivered and breathed through it.

Once the tendrils dissipated, you opened your eyes and withdrew your fingers. The bruise was gone. You wiggled your jaw, then put pressure where the bruise had been to find it recovered. Like Jason had never punched you.

That was one injury — and the lesser of the two.

You slipped the pressure patch from your eye and examined your reflection. The cursed eye was like any other injury, you rationalized. Surgeons removed damaged bits of the eye all the time. You were no surgeon, of course. You weren’t removing damage; you were healing it. That was different.

You couldn’t psych yourself out, though. It was like making the Creel house go unnoticed on Thursday. Size didn’t matter. Hence, the extent of the injury didn’t matter. It was all the same and all connected. There was plenty of energy in the candle, in the spell, in the universe, and in you to heal this.

You took a few deep breaths before holding your fingertips above the flame and reciting the chant. You closed your eyes as warm energy gathered. You brought your fingers to your left eye, swallowed the mounting tension in your throat, and repeated the chant.

Your fingers went numb. Heat radiated from your eye like needles of fire. Lightning burned under your skin. The floor left your feet. Or your feet left the floor. You couldn’t find the counter. You couldn’t move or think or orient yourself.

You clawed at the dark like a panicked animal. Red flashed across your vision. Rotting vines slithered across every surface, growing thicker. Their musty, sour smell invaded your nose. Your heartbeat thundered through the room. Red flashed again. A figure made of sharp edges and pain moved behind the vines. You stepped back. They stepped back. You reached forward. They reached forward. You screamed at them. Their mouth opened as though mocking you.

You charged forward to thrust your hand between the vines. Your palm hit cold glass. You met the figure’s eyes. They were your own.

You stumbled away. Your back slammed into something hard. Each blink of your eyes tore you through different realities. The gray Upside Down, your sunny reality, glowing lava fields, a silent city made of slate, a world full of unvoiced secrets, neon lights and the scent of stale beer. Time curved in on itself. No future, no past. On and on it flowed until you yelled for it to stop, stop, stop.

The soft bathmat cushioned your calves. You held onto the counter edge with your forehead pressed against the wood cabinet. The side of your nose filled the left border of your vision.

The spell hadn’t worked.

“Shit.”

You hauled yourself to your knees and braced your elbows on the counter. Thin tracks of blood ran down your reflection’s left cheek.

“Shit.”

You stood and bent over the sink to examine closer in the mirror. The cursed eye didn’t look any worse. Its milky pupil and iris were the same as before. Rheumy blood flaked under your touch.

If the spell hadn’t worked for you, you doubted it would work for Max. She’d taken part of the curse, the same as you. Your eye wasn’t only injured. It stood to reason her arm wasn’t only broken. Then you remembered both her eyes looked like your left.

This was more complex than any healing spell could manage—

Which you said to Lucas after mending his swollen cheek and eye.

From behind him, Erica asked, “Can’t you kill this son of a bitch already?”

You glanced over her shoulder at Susan, who slept on the alcove couch.

“I don’t know if a spell would reach him.”

Lucas turned to Erica.

“And if she kills him, she could kill Max.”

You frowned.

“Why do you think that?”

“El said she couldn’t find Max,” he said, tapping his temple.

He’d explained when you’d first arrived the other members of the party were back in town. On Thursday, El had fought Vecna by connecting to Max’s mind, while Vecna was also connected to Max. El then said Vecna had roared in pain and disintegrated into smoke in his own mindscape. Nancy had connected that to her shooting him and Robin Molotov-ing him.

El had seen Max unconscious in Lucas’s arms afterwards. She felt Max’s steady heartbeat then. Max’s heart continued to beat, which the EKG confirmed. However, El entered Max’s mind this morning to find a void.

“You think she’s with Vecna?” you asked.

Erica said, “Or she’s brain-dead.”

Lucas’s face became a mask of absolute anguish.

“Harsh,” you said to her.

Erica shrugged in lieu of saying it was a possibility. It might be, but you didn’t want to give up hope just yet. Lucas returned to the bedside chair to page through The Talisman. There had to be something you could do or something you could offer.

Erica cursed under her breath and went to Susan. After Erica repeated Susan’s name and shook her shoulder numerous times, she woke with a grumble. Erica announced it was two o’clock. Susan blinked in sullen confusion. Erica said Susan had work at four.

Susan’s voice was hoarse when she said, “O-of course. Thank you.”

Erica backed away as Susan coughed with a wince and sat up. She sounded like shit. Her pallid face looked more tired than yesterday.

You asked, “Would you like some water?”

Her drowsy eyes settled on you.

“Oh, you’re back.” She couldn’t seem to muster a smile, but she looked pleased. “It’s good to see you.”

Without waiting for an answer, you went to the squat pitcher and disposable cups on the overbed table and poured her some cool water. Her hands trembled as she took the cup from you, but she managed drinking half the water in one go. That appeared to revive her, and you offered her more.

She nodded with a soft, “Yes, please.”

As you filled her cup, you thought of a quick blessing. She needed strength to see this situation through. For all you knew, she might be the key to bringing Max back, because despite what Erica said, you didn’t think Max was brain-dead.

By the time Susan finished the water, her green eyes had brightened. She stood, fluffed her hair, and straightened her rumpled clothes. She announced she was going back to the motel to shower and change before work, and if anything happened, to give her a call.

You, Lucas, and Erica promised. Susan nodded to herself and hooked her purse over her shoulder. She went to Max, righted one of her braids, and murmured something to her. She hesitated a second, taking a quick look around, before leaving the room.

You placed the pitcher on the overbed table and threw Susan’s cup in the bathroom wastebasket. The tense silence made you aware of every noise you made, from the swish of the wastebasket liner to the crinkle of your clothes and faint footsteps. Rhythmic squeaking of wheels came from the corridor.

Watching the EKG display, you thought of something you could do:

“I can look for Max, too. I don’t have El’s powers, of course, but Max and I, we’re connected.” You shook your head. “I… I might have a better chance of finding her or finding a clue to get her back.”

Lucas asked, “Are you sure?”

“What if Vecna’s got her, and he takes you?” Erica leaned her elbows on the overbed table. “Then we’re down a magic-user — and we need as many as we can get.”

“He can’t get me here. He tried before and he failed.”

“But you died.”

“And yet, here I am, talking to you.”

“Died.”

You threw out your hands. There was no arguing that fact. Yes, you had died. Yes, Vecna’s curse had killed you. Nevertheless, you were alive. Also, Vecna was wounded.

Lucas asked, “What’s your plan?”

“I don’t know? Connect with her somehow?”

You thought of psychometry. Through touch you’d seen Eddie’s past. Perhaps through touch you could see Max’s. If you could see when the curse hit her from her point of view, maybe that would show you how to get her back.

“Maybe I can’t communicate with her,” you said. “But I might be able to see how Vecna took her.”

“Then you could reverse his steps.”

“Something like that, sure.”

Lucas sighed in thought, tapping his fingers on the book. He came to a conclusion before looking at you.

“It’s worth a shot.”

Erica huffed in disapproval and retreated to the couch.

You propped a hip on the bed, facing Max. Her delicate fingers curled over the cast. You tucked your hand around them and closed your eye.

Unlike with Eddie, you didn’t have to tell Max to relax and trust you. You loosened your shoulders, breathing deep. You focused on her hand, the stillness of her fingers and the fine skin of her knuckles.

The room went cold. Ambient noise disappeared. The mattress sagged under your weight.

Max’s grip tightened.

You opened your eyes. The pressure patch was gone — as was Max’s cast. She stared at you through milky eyes in a younger face. Her now-smaller hand held fast to yours.

The world went wound-red and drained of life. Only you and she remained in the room. No leaves grew on the trees outside. A motionless, stormy sky hovered close. You were in a frozen, bloody version of your world, like a paused horror movie.

“I can’t sleep,” said Max.

“You’re sleeping in our world.”

“What? How?”

“This isn’t your world.”

“Am I dreaming?”

You hadn’t considered that. She could be dream-walking. If she were, why would she choose this? Why would she be younger?

You said, “I don’t know, but you need to leave this place.”

“You mean I need to wake up?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“I can’t. I can’t switch back. I don’t know how.” She frowned. “Where’s El?”

“I don’t know.”

Instinct kept you from telling her El had been at the hospital to visit her earlier in the day. This younger Max could be an illusion. You could be talking to Vecna. Or Vecna could be listening.

“How did you get here?” you asked.

“I was fighting Vecna, and he threw me. Everything went dark.”

“And then?”

“And then I woke up in the goddamn Upside Down.”

You examined the room, noticing how much differed from what you’d seen through the tumbler.

“You sure this is the Upside Down?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s red, and where are the vines? The lightning? The demo-creatures?”

From nowhere, an invisible force pushed you backwards. Your foot skidded across the floor. You held onto Max’s hand. She bent forward to stay with you, then struggled to her knees. Your hip dropped off the crumbling mattress. You gripped the edge of the tattered sheets until they tore.

Her eyes widened as she shook her head.

“Don’t go!”

“I’m trying!”

But there was nothing to fight against.

You met her panicked gaze.

“We’ll find you! Wherever you are, we’ll find you!”

Your heel hit the floor. You lost your hold on Max’s hand. She screamed your name, crawling to the end of the bed. You pitched backwards, your heel the focal point. For a second, it felt like flying.

You landed hard on your side. Your ears rang. Like Dorothy landing in Oz, the world bloomed in technicolor. The pressure patch was back. Hands rolled you onto your back. Above you, Lucas and Erica blurred and sharpened. Their mouths moved, but their voices couldn’t overpower the ringing. You touched Lucas’s shoulder to confirm you’d returned.

The room dimmed. Shadows deepened. The three of you paused.

Red light flared through the window. Thunder vibrated the glass, restoring your hearing. You froze. You’d brought the Upside Down — or wherever you’d been — with you. Any second, those rotting vines would slither over the walls, the floor, Max’s bed.

Lucas helped you sit. Erica peered at the window on the other side of the bed. The clouds darkened further. When the vines didn’t appear, you used the bedframe to hoist yourself to your feet. Erica went to the window first, Lucas right behind her. You followed them, keeping to the shadows. You dared not look at any reflective surface, lest that sharp-edged figure look back.

Red lightning cut through the iron gray tower of smoke now spewing from the mega-gate’s nexus. Deafening thunder shook your bones. Warmth quaked in your gut a second later, silver and true. It filled the emptiness that had settled days ago.

Pitch black surrounded him. He lay on ice — or something like it. It curved around the back of his bare arms, cooled his body numb. So numb he couldn’t move. And he needed to move. There was work to do, someone to find, wrongs to right. Too much had gone wrong in the world. Too many injustices to name. He could make it right. He could help, gather, hunt.

Blood hung in the air. Screeches echoed through his mind, a hungry call for vengeance. Vines pulsed with wrath. The Source promised a righteous purpose larger than himself. The Source was a kindred soul: misunderstood, rejected, and enraged by the world’s hypocrisy. They were misfits together.

And there was no need to be frightened of anything anymore.

He searched the dark, his fingers not offering the answers he needed. He moved his legs and found the curve of the surface he lay on. Raising a foot, his toe bumped into something hard and smooth inches above. He let his heel fall as he walked his hands across the surface. He pulled it down his body. Whatever he was on moved instead.

He walked his hands above his head to find more of the same smooth surface. To his left were round protrusions, like bolts. Yes, he thought, bolts. Bolts meant hinges. Hinges were weak points.

More bolts were on the right. That was the hinge. The left was the handle. Handles were weak points, too.

He placed his palm on the handle bolts.

The Source said he could free himself. Something as mundane as this wouldn’t injure him.

He slammed the heel of his palm below the bolts. The handle rattled. He struck a second time. The handle whined. He struck again. The handle clanged in the background. He waited for someone to come investigate — police, a guard, even an assistant. He pushed the hatch open and waited a few minutes more. It was nominally brighter beyond, yet there was enough light to see he lay on a metal drawer.

He pulled himself through the portal. The drawer rumbled. Still, no one came. All around the portal were similar metal doors with chrome latch handles. He recognized it for the morgue it was.

He’d been dead. He was dead.

The Source contradicted the thought, saying everyone had mistaken him for dead. They’d not looked close enough. They’d abandoned him. They’d thrown him away. Only Source accepted him and had seen him for the valuable individual he’d always been.

He sat and scooted up the drawer to maneuver his legs out. The skin on his torso pulled. He looked down and gagged. Lines of black stitches or patches of missing flesh disfigured his chest and stomach. He touched the flap of skin on a patch on his right side. It should’ve hurt—

Nothing hurt.

He should’ve been cold. He’d been in a refrigerated box for who knows how long, but he wasn’t.

The Source assured him he was beyond pain.

His right calf and left thigh had been gnawed on, too. Someone had attempted to repair the damage with more black stitches. Those injuries didn’t pull like his torso.

That hardly mattered, though. He needed to leave— wherever the fuck he was. He needed clothes for that, because he was very, very naked. Making anything right usually required covering your ass.

He slipped off the drawer, landing on feet that didn’t feel like his own. His legs wobbled. Every wound protested as he straightened. The skin stretched little by little until he could stand.

A shelving unit stacked with linens stood by the main door. He found a scrub top and held it up. His bare hands felt as naked as the rest of him. That wasn’t how it should be. He only took off— No, he hadn’t taken off anything. He was supposed to see someone. They were waiting— No, no one was waiting for him. Everyone thought he was useless — and dead.

He was forgetting someone— No, they’d forgotten him. He touched his upper chest. Something should be there. They’d stolen something from him.

Yes, someone had taken something from them. He needed to find this person— No, wait for this person. They had an essential component in Source’s plan, and he had to capture it.

“Something’s changed,” you said.

“Uh, yeah,” said Lucas, pointing towards the window. “The Upside Down is invading Hawkins.”

You shook your head.

“No, I feel the pull of something.”

You didn’t want to say you felt the silver flame of Eddie’s energy for the first time in days. That sounded hokey even to yourself. If the emptiness — which had to have been Eddie — was filled, it meant Eddie was alive. You couldn’t desert him. You had to find him.

Erica said, “You can’t go now.”

Lucas nodded.

“The party doesn’t separate.”

“Even if it’s for a member of the party?”

“Who is it?”

“I think it’s Eddie.”

“What about Max?” he asked. “Did you find her?”

With a nod, you explained the paused, red world where Max couldn’t sleep. Max thought she was dreaming, but you weren’t sure it was her dream. You theorized it was an illusion to keep her stuck. There had to be something to get her unstuck. She wanted to switch back, but she didn’t know how.

“She exists in two worlds,” you said. “Her body in ours, her mind in another.”

“Or in Vecna’s mind.”

“We have to unite her,” said Erica.

“She asked where El was, but I didn’t tell her. Because I don’t know, and because I didn’t want Vecna finding out.” The pull of Eddie being alive nagged at your consciousness, and you shook your head. “Look, I can’t stay. I gotta find Eddie.” You grabbed your purse from where you’d left it by the door. “Guard Max. Hide her, if you have to.”

Erica and Lucas shared a look.

“We can do that,” he said.

You gave them a nod before leaving the room. Eddie’s energy drew you outside. Though you didn’t understand, you took the service stairs down. Hospital personnel pushed open doors and passed you on the stairs without questioning you.

While the first-floor corridors bustled with people and staff, a hushed tension overlaid every conversation. You swerved around anxious groups of two or three and the occasional thousand-yard-stare loner.

Outside, the scent of smoke and hot ozone had your eyes near burning and your nose on the verge of running. Ash fell like snow from the low ceiling of the clouds. It disappeared when it touched your skin.

You brought your shirt collar over your nose, then crossed the parking lot to your car. You stowed your purse in the trunk and pocketed the keys. There, you hesitated. If Eddie wasn’t in the hospital, he could be anywhere. Perhaps Wayne had identified him and took him to another hospital. However, there wasn’t another hospital in Hawkins. Maybe he was at a doctor’s office. His wounds might’ve looked worse than they were. That didn’t explain his absence from Indra’s net or his reappearance, though.

You turned to the path that led through the trees at the back of the parking lot. Except for funeral homes, only the hospital and coroner’s office could store dead bodies. If Eddie was in a funeral home, word about it would’ve been everywhere by now.

His energy wasn’t far, yet it was muddled, like poor reception on a TV. You tried getting more of a read on him. Pain lit your nerves, making you back off. You pressed your shirt over the bridge of your nose and breathed deep.

Fine, you thought. The coroner’s office it is.

You had to get yourself worked up. An injured girl near tears could get sympathetic assistance and soothing information. You made your breath shallow and rapid as you marched across the parking lot. You brought to mind every stressor: your father rejecting your every idea, being a stranger in this town, Vecna disfiguring your face after stealing your magic, making mistake after mistake and not finding the strength to get over it or fix it, finding Eddie and losing him all in one night.

Tears rimmed your eyes as you walked under the coroner’s office awning. You righted your shirt and pushed at the door. It clanked in its frame.

“What the hell?”

You caught your breath. Maybe you had to pull it. You tried that, earning another clank.

It was locked. Still.

That was complete bullshit.

Your tears evaporated as you grit your teeth. You would not be kept from him any longer. It didn’t matter if he was alive, dead, or undead. You would see Eddie.

You placed a palm over the deadbolt.

“You are undone,” you whispered to it.

Its screws unwound and fell to the floor. The outside cover tumbled off. The interior mechanism flicked open and teetered in the hole. You encouraged it to drop with a jab.

You swiped the cover from the sidewalk before entering the building. Inside, you gathered the deadbolt pieces and dumped them in a potted plant in the dim waiting room. You went to the empty check-in counter to find the area beyond it vacated and dark, save for the blinking lights of the desk phone.

Heavy footsteps echoed behind the reinforced door to your left. With nowhere to run, you put on an innocent expression and curled your shoulders inward. A guard in fatigues tore back the door while another rushed into the waiting room, guns in hand.

“Hands up!” said the closest guard as the door closed behind them.

You raised your hands as your gaze bounced from one to the other. They both had black armbands with MP decorating the side. Military police. Your hunch yesterday about the Humvees had been correct.

“How did you get in here?”

“The front door?” You glanced at it. “The lock’s gone.”

“State your business.”

“I can’t find my-my parents.” You didn’t have to force any nervousness with two guns pointed at you. “They’re not at the hospital. And… and-and the ER told me to check he-here.”

The MPs scowled.

A frenzy of banging and clanging came from behind the door. The MPs turned from you with guns at the ready. You took a step back, heart in your throat.

What were they keeping back there?

The door flew off its hinges, springing off the linoleum by its corner. It ricocheted and crashed into an MP, who toppled to the floor. The door landed to cover his top half. His gun skidded into the waiting room.

“Back away!” yelled the remaining MP. “Hands up!”

You turned your attention away from the gun, thinking he yelled at you. Rather, his attention was on the person in the doorway.

You almost didn’t believe your eyes. You’d expected a demogorgon or some other sort of hellish creature. It was neither. It was Eddie. Unmistakable, even backlit by the severe hallway light. His usually wild hair hung limp around his face. Green scrubs had replaced his clothes.

Eddie hissed at the MP and stomped onto the collapsed door. The MP underneath bleated in protest.

If he kept on like this, he was going to be shot.

“Eddie?”

He turned his focus on you, his blank expression so unlike himself.

The MP shouted, “I said, hands up!”

Eddie’s eyes had you taking another step back. They were like your left: cursed. His skin was waxen like the dead. A tag hung from his big toe. You didn’t know who this was, but he wasn’t your Eddie. He felt like him, looked like him, had his silver flame, but he wasn’t Eddie.

The door was less than a yard away. You could make it out before anyone would reach you. Once outside, you could dash to your car — or lead Eddie away from the hospital.

You pivoted on one foot. A cold body plowed into yours. Hands grabbed your upper arms. The check-in counter dug into your back. Eddie reared up over you.

He’d moved too fast to be natural. In comparison, the MP turned in slow motion.

Eddie pulled the pressure patch down your face.

With a pleased look, he said, “Ah, I see you’re half ours already.”

His breath smelled of old blood.

“Eddie, don’t.”

“Don’t what? Have you join us?”

He leaned in to drag his nose over your cheek, inhaling as he went. You closed your eyes and pinched your mouth shut. His dry, cracked lips skipped up your cheek.

“Pretty, pretty witch.”

“Show me your hands,” ordered the MP.

“Should I let him shoot me?” Eddie asked you.

“Don’t shoot,” you called over his shoulder. “He’s… He’s not hurting me.”

Eddie hummed in your ear. “Take me to Max.”

You couldn’t let him get his hands on her. He’d take her to Vecna. If Vecna had you, Max, and Eddie — all cursed in one manner or another — it would be a recipe for destruction. He’d drain you like a vampire, sacrifice Eddie, and use Max as a pawn. Or maybe something even worse. You couldn’t let any of that happen.

You arched away to look into Eddie’s cursed eyes, so much like your own. You’d tear Vecna limb from limb for this. Apart from El, only you had power enough to destroy him. And you could with the Eradix spell you’d found on Thursday.

“Step away from the girl!”

Eddie snarled and turned his head like a predator. He released your arms before you could protest. You reached for his shirt to keep him with you. Your fingers grasped air.

A triple pop of gunfire had you hunching and covering your head. The waiting room window shattered. A gust of smoke and ash poured into the building. Boots shuffled across the floor. The MP grunted as something clattered.

You wanted to look, make sure Eddie hadn’t been shot, but you needed to get out of there. A wet gurgle and grind turned your stomach. You scurried to the main door, pulling it open. Wind dragged the door from your hand. It thudded against the wall.

With a flinch, you peeked over your shoulder. Eddie stared back. Blood dripped down his chin. The MP hung slack from his hands.

Everything narrowed.

Then everything sharpened as you steadied the main door and sprinted to the street.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson #stranger things #em tagd #waywardrose writes

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loudsnapdragon · 1 year ago

Text

it's a sex shop fic.

Buy Local: Steve Harrington's Guide to Modern Sexuality

steve/eddie. mature. 49,000 words, 5/5 chapters. background platonic stobin, nancy/jonathan, and robin/vickie. read on ao3 here, loudsnapdragon.

Amid the crotchless lingerie and silicone dildoes that litter the floor of Hawkins’ worst and best and only Adult Store, Steve undergoes a very short, and not very stressful sexuality crisis; Robin fails to lose her virginity; and Eddie refuses to admit why he doesn’t use Grindr. It’s not what Steve expected out of life, definitely not what Steve's dad expected out of his life either, but Steve’s not complaining, well, not until he ends up locked in the stockroom, with nothing more than a bag of genitalia-shaped candy, and a prudish Eddie Munson to keep him entertained, with their least favourite gun-carrying regular tearing apart the merchandise outside.

‘Co-captain’s log, the time is…’ Steve checks his watch. ‘4:47pm, the date is 06/10/23, we are currently locked-’

‘You cannot be serious.’

Steve snaps his head away from the security camera positioned in the high corner of the stock room, scowling at Eddie, who sits jaw-dropped, eyebrows set in a furious line, legs sprawled out on the floor, his elbows wresting on a cardboard box marked Penis-Enhancer 2000.

‘What else am I going to do? Dude, we just have to wait this out. I pressed the panic button. The police will be here soon. Might as well be productive.’

Outside the stock room, there’s a loud thump, a swooping noise, followed by the quiet woosh of air escaping an inflatable. Steve winces. Unlucky Doris.

Eddie pulls at his hair with both hands, his feet bouncing faster. ‘How is that being productive?’

‘It’s how me and Robin pass on notes, don’t be a dick. Just calm down and shut up.’ He turns back round to the camera. ‘It’s the sixth of October, and we are currently locked inside the stock room…’

There’s another bang from outside the stock room, the sound of Rodney’s muffled cursing, then a shelf falling over, a clattering of small boxes hitting the floor. Steve silently mourns his beautifully organised DVD displays.

Eddie clumsily jumps up onto his long legs, belt chains clanking on the cement floor, knocking over a box of skin rags in the process, starting to pace manically around Steve. ‘We’ve gotta do something! He has a gun.’

Steve shrugs from the floor. ‘It’s just Rodney.’

‘It’s just Rodney? How can you be so chill? He’s tearing your store apart!’

Steve rolls his eyes, giving up on his captain’s log. ‘Dude, this is like the third time this has happened to me. I don’t really care anymore. Ms. Scarlet has insurance, she’ll be fine.’

From the sounds of it, Doris will be the only casualty, which is a shame, Steve had grown quite fond of the inflatable sex doll.