#ons chapter 90

[dahmerskitchen]

[muzzlemouths]

i have to do everything myself around here

[maomango-doodle]

[manga-meow]

[beneathsilverstars]

my kid is getting so into the warrior cats it's so cute. she gets all dismayed whenever the cats do something mean or strict, she's always like "if i was there, i would let firepaw eat something, i would catch a mouse and give it to him." or "wow, yellowfang is SO mean, if i was a cat i would hiss and scratch her!" like yes queen go off!!! you would be the nicest warrior cat in the clan!

[the---hermit]

Not me adding annotations to a book to make it more accessible for my mom when she will read it

[britcision]

Dungeon Meshi omegaverse headcanons because I can

1) the different human folks have different versions and different degrees but we’re gonna focus on the elves because I want to

2) afab alphas and amab omegas are just a thing that happens, it’s pretty normal and not considered worth commenting on unless you’re really insular, so while there are some sexist stereotypes (like that afab alphas are more attentive parents, although not as good as any omega) it’s not on the “male omega bad” side

It’s about 20% of the alpha/omega population (and betas make up about 60% of the human population so 8% of people total), so not hugely common but way more common than red hair and only a little less than being left handed

Some amab omegas can carry children (especially with magical assistance) and it’s actually a little easier for afab alphas to sire children, since that’s a one time output rather than a prolonged physical process

You also get things like secondary sex homosexuality (alpha-for-alpha gay, ditto omegas) which are basically ignored anyway unless someone’s fussing about bloodlines, and difficult cases like alpha-presenting-omega; an omega who reads like an alpha in scent and all other aspects except when they’re on heat

That’s hard to detect before the cycle actually starts and causes rampant excitement every time, but since alphas being with other alphas isn’t considered noteworthy except in high society, it’s also only a problem around the cycle

3) just like they don’t have sexual dimorphism, there’s no visible external differences between elves in secondary sex either

They’re more about magic than physical force, so you might be able to tell the difference based on their magical specialties (that’s how elves claim they do it but it’s bullshit they are lying)

This often confuses other folks who do; tallmen alphas are physically larger and more muscular (Falin’s an alpha) and omegas are smaller and slimmer, but all the elves are small and slim so tallmen often think they’re all omegas this is not helped by

4) almost all the Canaries are omegas; service is a doubly beneficial arrangement for noble families, who offer their children to show their loyalty just like canon… and to keep inconvenient extra bloodlines from cropping up if those extra omegas have kids

All of the wardens are omegas (except possibly Flamela; this is actually another reason why she’s not allowed into dangerous dungeons) and most of the prisoners are too, although occasionally alphas are allowed to serve

This is not considered a risk because while alphas are more aggressive, elves also consider them less capable leaders since they’re more likely to lose their heads and act rashly when riled up (like when Izutsumi was a kobold from the changelings and had to be stopped from fighting til she died) and just generally less capable, so an alpha convict with their magic bound isn’t considered a serious threat to a capable omega warden

Alphas also don’t necessarily fight to the death, since there’s all the posturing and fighting for position

Elf omegas, on the other hand, will tear your fucking throat out at the first sign of violence because if a fight gets to them it needs to be ended immediately to protect the babies

They have absolutely weaponized this against the demon and the dungeons by intentionally putting their omegas in combat situations

Alpha prisoners are usually only assigned to a single warden for the duration of their service, because they tend to get overprotective of their omega squad-mates and don’t handle personnel shifts well

5) The wardens get sterilized as part of their training, the prisoners are required to be on birth control for the duration of their service but can also request sterilization - birth control’s usually by magical implant so it’s not a huge inconvenience but listen if you want that ute yote it’s yoten

6) Heat cycles absolutely do sync up between themselves and with rut cycles, and the squads get mandatory downtime for a month on either side; luckily they’re elves so they’re on multi-annual cycles rather than seasonal

(Elves who find out how often short-lived omegas go into heat tend to react with shock and sympathy and an immediate “ooooh this is why you die so early”)

(More than one squad have accidentally maimed their alpha if they have a surprise heat)

How a squad handles group heat is up to them, suppressants are part of the basic gear, as are knotting toys, and there’s a whole industry of “heat hotels” where any human single omegas can go to ride out a heat safely either alone with toys or with vetted beta staff (on birth control) of their choosing - the Canaries semi-regularly take them over and occasionally incite orgies because while the heat demands a knot what elves accept as dominance is magical power, not position, so the strongest arcanist in a squad usually reads as an “alpha” to other humans despite their actual sexes

And since there’s no actual rules that omegas can’t hook up for a cycle at the heat house, so long as everyone arrives and agrees before they go into heat it’s a “the more the merrier” situation

They also sync up between different types of humans, but elves sync very slowly and have such long cycles almost no one notices

For no godly reason gnomes sync the fastest but they have relatively mild cycles and don’t seem to mind

Fuck it cycle table:

Dwarves - 6 month cycle - 1 week rut/heat

Elves - 2-3 year cycle - 2 weeks rut/heat

Gnomes - 4 month cycle - 5 days rut/heat

Half-foots(feet?) - 2 month cycle - 3 days rut/heat

Oni - 2 month cycle - 5 days rut/heat

Tall-men - 2 month cycle - 5-7 days rut/heat

7) Mithrun’s squad are extra goddamn protective of him because his cycle also got broken and doesn’t sync properly, but he deadass will not notice when he’s on heat and just continues as usual, while radiating pheromones. He also will not take suppressants any more than he’ll drink or eat

Luckily he also almost never actually goes onto heat, so he just vibes and trains while everyone else is on their heat break and occasionally gets impatient and starts bar fights

Lycion’s been a permanent squad member despite not being an alpha (he’s a beta but the werewolf gets a knot anyway sooooo he’s busy on heat breaks) because he can smell when Mithrun’s going onto heat ahead of time, way before anyone else can

Mithrun’s gone into heat twice since rejoining the Canaries. Cithis, Otta, and Fleki bitch about this constantly with varying degrees of envy, right up until the next time it happens out of the blue and they have to drag his dumb ass out of a dungeon because literally no one was prepared

Otta’s not even an omega she’s a beta too so she uses their heat breaks to flirt with half-foot women which is why she has enough time to date despite being a convict death squad member

(And yeah she’ll “help out” any half-foot lady omegas if they’re not actually already in heat when they arrive at a house the squad’s taken over and can hold a conversation first cuz while technically everyone else can still go through their heat alone and ignore the elves…

Well they’re loud, they’re expansive, Fleki is allergic to personal space, even in heat Cithis has enough top energy to dominate a city block, and Lycion only has one knot and will occasionally need to sleep - more than the heated omegas. They like sharing and there are no consequences provided the hotel has a room big enough)

Fleki will absolutely still use her familiar while she’s on heat and she will not remember to tell anyone she’s doing it, but since she basically just flies away until the next wave demands she get fucked again it’s not all that different from taking a nap from anyone else’s perspective

(Flying in heat is nowhere near as good as flying on shrooms but it does still beat reality)

(Everyone. Everyone has asked her if she’s fucked in the bird. Absolutely everyone. And she never specifies but makes absolutely filthy and biologically unlikely insinuations.

She absolutely did try it once. And since her familiar has genitals at her own discretion, and didn’t google bird genitals before hand, results were Mid)

Cithis has been denied access - or have had people attempt to deny her access anyway - to more than one heat house because absolutely no one who is not an elf believes she’s not an alpha without proof

All the elves have Elf Twink Disease so their alphas aren’t buff and macho anyway and everyone knows it, so her sheer Step On Me Please energy has gotten the whole squad into trouble

(She blatantly refuses to do anything about this and will often make the situation worse for fun or profit until Mithrun tells her to stop)

8) half elves like Marcille have the extremely exciting and unfortunate bonus of potentially being crosses in secondary sex too, just like the non-linear aging - something about the long-lived/shorter-lived magic combo and the elves’ own permutations in particular mean that other human-alpha and elf-beta/omega sometimes happen on the same gene, and other human-omega and elf-beta/alpha is also more likely than elf-alpha and other human-alpha coming together

Some half elves get lucky and get double beta, Marcille did not and got beta-omega (which is at least easier than alpha-omega, the rarest combo but hey if you’re flexible or magically inclined with that one you can kinda just go fuck yourself)

This is why she gets super over-protective of the people she cares about (see: get back in the kitchen while I take over the world), but doesn’t really have any kind of self preservation instincts or a desire not to run face first into danger and explode it

She’s never had a heat cycle and if she’s lucky she might never get one, so long as the beta side stays dominant

But Falin’s an alpha and possibly the person who activated Marcille’s omega side to get that over-protectiveness in the first place, so if (when) they do mate Marcille is gonna learn some fun and exciting things about her body

(Toshiro’s an omega, but his family insisted on raising him like an alpha anyway because Oldest Son. Falin was the one to actually tell him he was an omega, because Maizuru was ordered not to

This is part of why he’s so incredibly jealous of Laios, who is an actual alpha as well as autistic as hell, so Shuro’s not only jealous of his complete disregard for social rules, he’s also exceedingly jealous that all of the “alpha” stuff he has to work incredibly hard to fake comes to Laios completely naturally

Laios had no idea Shuro was an omega at all (possibly Nakamoto family scent blockers, possibly Laios Not Paying Attention) and has actually been idolizing Shuro as the Manliest Best Alpha To Ever Alpha - like all them flashbacks of Shuro standing between downed Laios and danger

Maybe Laios doesn’t find out until after Falin’s revived successfully. It blows his mind. Toshiro weeps in frustration.)

9) fuck it it’s official, alpha Flamela, that’s why her twin was taken (twin was an omega, elves still think alphas are too impulsive and hot headed to rule) and Flamela wasn’t stopped from running off to join the Canaries

They did try to skip the sterilizing step with her, cuz while the coal black skin definitively doesn’t reliably pass from parent to child there’s still a chance her kids would have better odds of inheriting it

Flamela lost her shit when she found out she was being treated differently from other wardens (doing other elven alphas absolutely no favours about that “too impulsive” thing because she genuinely didn’t even notice that what was happening was that she wasn’t being given invasive and permanently life altering often nonconsensual surgery) and threatened to do it to herself if they wouldn’t do her

Someone suggested they fake it, put her under, make the cut, leave everything alone so she just got a scar, someone else pointed out she might be slightly less knife happy afterwards, the smartest person in the room pointed out she would be Exceedingly Fucking Knife Happy if she ever found out and possibly kill them all

She was sterilised at her own insistence but her genetic materials (eggs and sperm why not) were stored rather than discarded in case she changes her mind

This has also alienated her from the other wardens because not only is she the only one who actually volunteered to be a Canary, she volunteered for the whole thing and genuinely doesn’t get why any of them are unhappy about it

Rut isn’t all that fun and she doesn’t think heat sounds good either, since her default position with people is distrust and keeping them at arm’s length, so she always rides hers out alone and assumes others will too - but both sound way way way better to her than having to carry or raise a child

She’s not cruel or aggressive about it but she’s about as tactful as a rhinoceros and just gets loudly confused, so it’s not worth trying to confide in her or bond over the extra level of being discarded by their families

(And since she hates gossip and will aggressively curtail it, she only finds out what anyone else on her squad does for heat if she actually has to help arrange it)

She was so offended to find out she’d still have rut cycles after surgery. The one thing absolutely every other warden can agree with her on

Most elf alphas are actually significantly more level headed and stable than Flamela, she still has her entirely independent emotional baggage but she is what all the elven stereotypes say an alpha is

There’s some real world racist bs about Black women and especially darker skinned Black women being less feminine, but it’s bullshit and fuck that it’s illegal here, alpha women are just a thing that happens and it has nothing to do with gender

Flamela’s not especially feminine either by elf standards, but that’s her decision and she is beauty, she is grace, she will stab you in the face and you’d deserve it if you commented

10) communication pixies are affected by their maker’s heat, but not by getting anything similar themselves; it’s an intentional part of the spell, the pixie gets all sleepy and “drunk” and will not connect any calls without a specific code word, because absolutely no one wanted heat-sex pixie butt dials

This isn’t just an elf thing but it is in the elf-magic version of the spell; if you make a pixie with gnome-magic instead there’s a 75% chance it will also go dozy during your heat buuuuut a 25% chance it just keeps going as normal

General consensus is that the ephemeral will of magic either can’t tell when humans go into heat or considers the occasional magic butt dial necessary to the balance of the universe

A lot of older gnomes just plain don’t care about any of it and think it’s a bit funny when anyone else makes such a big fuss, since it’s just another part of life

(If Falin ever makes a pixie you KNOW it stays active during her rut you KNOW Marcille gets a butt dial dear gods is this how the Farcille confession happens in this AU)

11) orcs and kobolds don’t actually have secondary sexes by dint of not being human (wrong number of bones) and tend to consider the whole thing a little weird, but not their problem

Some orcs suspect the whole alpha-omega thing is why humans get violently territorial for basically no reason, and the sympathetic ones tend to be very gentle with someone once they learn they’re an alpha or omega

Big “oh you poor thing that sounds so difficult, let’s make sure you don’t get over excited” energy

———

I’ll add more later if I come up with anything else, but by all means hop into my sand box and play with anything you like!

A bunch of other characters and their alignments in no particular order:

Kabru - beta, but one of his only decent spells is to fake either alpha or omega pheromones at will. He’ll play any of the roles to get what he wants and what he thinks will serve him best

(He almost always plays omega with elves because 1) they don’t respect alphas the way most other humans do and 2) they’re gonna read him as a child anyway, so having specific “adult” pheromones might occasionally sway them to respect him a little more, but they’re also more likely to subconsciously protect him

He tried alpha on Mithrun when they were alone in the dungeon for all of 15 minutes before determining Mithrun couldn’t tell the difference

(Mithrun could he just doesn’t care))

Namari - alpha, works well with usually being the party tank, but as a dwarf her instincts are more “provide for needs” than “fight off enemies” which is why she loves armour and wants other people to wear it

Senshi - omega, he’s going to see the babies fed by any means necessary (but yeah it’s part of why his mining crew didn’t let him fight the griffin, he hadn’t fully hit his second puberty but they Had Suspicions)

However, since he lived alone most of his life (and was surrounded by alphas before that) he presents almost entirely as an alpha, and unless he hits heat no non-dwarfs will ever notice he isn’t

There’s not a huge difference between dwarf alpha, beta, and omegas anyway, but the alphas tend more towards crafts and making or procuring physical items to see to their loved ones’ needs while the omegas are more focused on acts of service

(Physically they’re just all Like That, like the elves)

Every dwarf who has ever met Senshi clocked him as an alpha in the first five minutes, and clocked him equally hard as an omega ten minutes later and had some mild cognitive dissonance. None of them mention it because that’s Rude

Izutsumi - alpha cat, hates you all

Chilchuck - tallest skinniest half foot omega you ever did see. Has adopted his entire union since he doesn’t see his girls anymore. His wife was a beta and the only reason she got them in the “divorce” was the girls had already moved out

(She moved in with Puckpatti)

Chilchuck is constantly low-grade losing his shit about it

Maizuru - omega, deeply dislikes how Toshiro’s father has treated him and does genuinely believe deep down that an omega like Toshiro might be a better leader specifically because he’s more empathic and considerate than their society’s demanded alpha behaviour

She will be miffed to be told the elves agree with her though

Rin - beta, accidentally presents as an omega because she picked it up in self defence while living with the elves. She does not like it but she does tend to keep herself closed off, avoid skin contact, and comes off as trying too hard not to seem meek, so people with opinions on strangers’ sexes assume she’s an omega who escaped a bad situation

(They’re not fully wrong, she hates that they’re not)

Kaka and Kiki - Kaka’s an omega, Kiki’s a beta but she intentionally presents as an alpha to keep anyone from noticing or saying shit about her brother

If she’s loud and noticeable, they won’t wonder why he’s shyer and quiet

(Kaka 1000% imprinted on Namari the first time she saved his life she is his big strong alpha he is a helpless fucking puppy so even though he’s self conscious about his height he can’t help wanting her to like his legs

Unfortunately for him Namari’s gay as hell and Kiki’s extremely into her as well and he wants his twin to be happy so he’ll be pining forever and make do with a familial alpha bond)

(Namari will never know she coulda had her pick)

Mikbell - beta cuck and a scab

Holm - the only actual alpha on Kabru’s team, has definitely noticed him switching up the pheromones and he mostly doesn’t care, he thinks that secondary-sex-fluidity is actually a really good quality in a leader (it shows he respects all of them and acknowledges the strengths they all have)

But when it comes to his sister Nope Nope Nope buster don’t you dare seduce her with some mocked up alpha juice

His sister is also an alpha but she’s alpha-for-alpha gay and gender bisexual and he’s not having it

Daya - omega, but prefers to present as an alpha because she’s actually just not that comfortable with the stereotypical omega “role”

(Again for dwarves, it’s mostly “will do caretaking” over “will procure necessary items”, but her birth clan were heavy traditionalists who considered an omega’s primary job to be “be pregnant” so she’s tossed the whole situation)

(Her partner is an alpha and oh boy did he have to work to prove he was nothing like the boys back home. He’s fully happy to be the caretaker while she brings home the bacon and she loves him for that

Most dwarves will assume he’s the omega unless told otherwise, and they’re both very comfortable with that on the extremely rare occasion that it comes up since Island dwarves usually don’t care anyway)

Kuro - kobold, not his problem, but oh boy he’s adopted Mikbell as his puppy and is gonna do his best taking care of this man

He’s fully aware Mik’s a mature adult (despite how often he pretends to be a kid to fuck with people), he can smell his pheromones, he just believes Mikbell needs a father or at least older brother figure to guide him more than just a buddy

(He and Kabru also suspect Mik might be into non sexual (probably?) age play, since he claims he acts like a kid to fuck over assholes who assume half-foots can’t be real adults, but he does it A Lot and with joy and fervour)

(Mikbell can never learn this)

Grandpa Tansu - cranky lil alpha gnome

Granny Floke - also a lil alpha gnome, they’re also alpha-for-alpha gay, but she likes watching her husband get all loud and up in arms so she doesn’t bother getting involved much

(Full Madame Giry from the good Phantom of the Opera productions, she only has to say one word to put her foot down but she actually is a nice smiling little old lady… which makes it scarier when she does it)

Tade - alpha oni, but in oni omegas and afabs are actually much bigger so she’s still pretty small for an oni (bigger than amab alphas though)

This does tend to confuse pretty much everyone else but those little buggers come out BIG and HORNED and it’s just better all around to have more space for the lil niblets

This is why Marcille’s oni form was head and shoulders too big to be seen standing next to her party she’d’ve been around a foot and a half taller than Tade because I said so

Thistle - oh the saddest most broken lil elf omega, he was in a bad way before Delgal’s dad died and then when Delgal did the “only you can save us we’re all gonna die” Thistle reverse-pioneered the Canaries by going into omega-murder-mode so hard he dungeoned an entire kingdom

And since there was not a single alpha older than him anywhere to be found he just never got to turn that off (if only someone scruffed the little bastard idk if that’s an omegaverse thing but the imagery is peak)

Imma headcanon he never actually had a cycle by dint of not finishing elf-puberty before he went Kingdom In A Bottle and stopped aging but honestly any flavour of fuckery and whenever you think he stopped aging is all good

(Since not only was Yaad born post dungeon, he grew to young adulthood and other people did age, they just didn’t die, so aging was for sure happening for like 20 years post dive)

Winged Lion - the alpha and the omega solely for the joke

If you can think of anyone else or if you have any questions lemme know and I’ll spin something off the dome for ya! (This totally wasn’t prompted by me nearly having the first full chapter of. Something. Ready to go. 👀)

If anyone else wants to chop and screw with any bits of this for any reason go wild and all I ask is a tag in because I like free candy as much as anyone else. Despite Farcille commentary it’s technically ship agnostic because honestly that’s the least interesting part of an omegaverse AU for me I’m here to get weird with sex and gender roles and cultural variance

I haven’t actually played in this sand pit much before so we can all thank/blame Omega Jason Todd week for finally tipping my interest over by giving me new levels of fuckery, we stan a 6’ omega built like a tank

[maethologies]

every time i sit down to write i get the distinct feeling i've girlbossed a little too close to the sun

[kari-go]

I wish we got more environmental akumas

especially water and ice ones. 

you can vary it up by having different environments and reasons for the akuma so it doesn’t get repetitive

one water akuma could be trying to raise water levels because they care about sea life. they could also control it (or turn people into fish lol) which could result in a colorful backdrop and obstacles.. 

shark minions? shark minions.

another one could be in the sewers, playing a chase with the heroes because they’re the only ones who can actually navigate through them

or an akuma which floods the catacombs! their power doesn’t necessarily have to do with water hmm

the ice akumas are bound to be more repetitive because it will be a repeat of two environments with very or even same reasons for the akuma. the only thing which would really change would be the actual akumas appearance and behaviour

but someone who likes winter or likes to use the snow as an excuse to not go outside so they make eternal winter and always snowing

a kid not being allowed to skate so they make the entire city their rink

i can’t really think of how a fire/lava akuma could happen? maybe someone is just really angry and that anger manifests as lava. maybe they cry lava tears

or someone who’s really interested in volcanoes (a vulcanologist maybe?) and they’re not allowed to go out to do research so they make their own volcano. in the middle of Paris  :)

[vertigoartgore]

Spider-Man VS. Doctor Octopus by artist Steve Skroce and Bud LaRosa. From the cover of 1997's Amazing Spider-Man Vol.#1 #428.

[cresneta]

90 | Call it copium if you must, but I still think we could be getting more of Yor's backstory soon. This chapter had some content talking about the past and so did the recent Yuri chapter so I still think we could be building towards it.

On a different note, I hope we get to keep the lovey older couple that just moved in next to the Forgers.

I think there's some fun things that can be done with them. I'll admit I'm partial to the idea of someone who is pro Twiyor, but clueless about their relationship being "fake", visiting the Forgers and making a comment about how they can convert the guest room into a baby room when the time is right and these two might just be a good fit for that.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Well.

[streamafterlaughter]

Fundamental Differing

Chapter XXIV: I’m Not Gonna Crack

prev chapter | masterlist | playlist | pinboard

summary: you’re spending your first week in months away from your band, your friends, and eddie.

a/n: wasn’t sure how to end this chapter but i will say i split it into two so maybe the next one will be out sooner than ya think. i can’t promise anything though sorry! thank u beta reader + wife @children-of-the-grave for ideas for this one i love u

Disclaimer: I do not give permission to have my work reposted on other sites. Reblogs are more than welcome, but please inform me if you find my work elsewhere unless otherwise stated. Reblog to support the author!

cw: angst, misunderstandings, silent treatment, i will never let these two catch a break sorry! , descriptions of nightmares

—

October 1986

Your POV

“I don’t get it.” You shake your head, willing yet another image of your boyfriend dying from your brain. “Shouldn’t you be getting these nightmares, too? Don't get me wrong, I’m glad you’re not. They’re fucking awful, but… You were down there, too. You saw it.”

Eddie shrugs. “I do get nightmares. I’ve had plenty of screaming fits that Wayne has had to jostle me from. You probably won’t ever see that, though.”

You wait for him to continue. “I don’t get them when I’m with you. Not that I can remember, anyway. I always wake up well rested. Not to brag, or anything.” He gives you a goofy grin, and you blush at the sight.

“Damn, I must suck, putting you through this. At least you have the decency not to wake me up.” You’re trying to be funny, but Eddie pouts at your words.

“Nah, I’m being selfish, sleeping next to you every night so I don’t wake up screaming. I’d much prefer to wake up to… well, you screaming, I guess. Though, I do wish I could make your nightmares stop.”

Your smile falters at that. “Yeah. Me too. I’m sorry, Eds.”

He shakes his head, tickling your nose with the ends of his hair. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. Just know I’ve got you, I’m gonna be here when you wake up. I promise.”

—

present day

Eddie’s POV

“Call someone when you land?” Steve pats him on the back, letting the hug linger a little longer than Eddie would usually let him. Eddie nods into his shoulder, only keeping his grip on Steve until he’s sure he won’t choke. Goodbyes are being exchanged by those leaving for LA, and those taking their month off elsewhere. Robin lets her grip on you loosen, only for you to pull her back in with a dramatic outcry. She’ll only be a state or two away, but you haven’t spent more than a few hours apart since the beginning of the summer. Eddie supposes it’s sweet, the way you two lean on each other.

“Hey, you ready?” Gareth nudges him back to the present, where his plane is about to fly him twelve hundred miles away from you, mere hours after you’d both stopped avoiding each other. What kind of cosmic bullshit is that?

“Yeah, one sec.” He drops his bag on a free seat before approaching you, a blubbering Robin still in your embrace. “Mind if I cut in?”

Robin sniffles, parting from you to roll her eyes at the pair of you. “Ugh, I guess.” She winks at Eddie, causing a fresh tear to stream down her cheek. If he didn’t understand her pain, he’d have laughed at that.

“So, I guess this is…” He has no idea what this is.

“See you later?” You offer, and he swears he hears the crack in your voice.

It spurs him on, his next words tumbling out of his mouth without a second thought. “Come with me.”

You blink up at him, eyelashes wet. “What?”

“To Hawkins. Wayne’s place is huge, he’d be so happy to have you.”

“Eddie, you know I can’t do that.” He does, of course he knows. It’s not good for you. He wouldn’t be going back if not for Wayne, if not for having nowhere else to go. “I’ll come visit, okay? I just can’t… stay there. You can also come see me. This isn’t goodbye, silly.” You bring yourself up on your toes, leaving a peck on his cheek. “I’ll see you soon, pretty boy. Call me when you get home.” You land back on your feet, but he follows you, leaning over to capture your lips with his, a kiss that feels more like goodbye than see you later.

“I love you.” He says it against your lips, refusing to detach from you just yet.

“I love you, Eddie. We gotta go, though. You’re gonna miss your flight.”

“Don’t care.” He moves from your lips to your jaw, down to your neck, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

“Eddie,” You’re trying to scold him, but you’re weakened by his mouth on your throat. “Gonna have to fly coach at midnight… Think of all the leg room you’ll lose.”

Eddie finally pulls away from you. “Oh, the horror!” He rolls his eyes, and you giggle, beaming at him before throwing your arms around his waist, hugging him close. “I’ll see you soon, Ed.”

“Promise?”

“I do.” You give him one final squeeze before letting go, and he doesn’t try to pull you back in again. You give him a wave and he blows you a kiss. It’s gonna be a long month.

—

Your POV

Boston

Your parents greet you at Logan Airport with open arms. You run to them like a scene out of a cheesy movie, jumping into your father’s arms as your mother surrounds you both in a bear hug.

“Welcome home, baby!” Your mom holds you at arms length to take you in, and you have to wonder what she sees; does she spot the new lines etched into your face; can she see the tired way you hold yourself in her grasp? While she looks at you, your father grabs your bags from the carousel, ushering you both to the exit before you can make too big of a scene. “We missed you so much, kiddo.” Your dad loads your suitcase into the trunk of your family car, the same one you learned to drive in. You’d offered to buy them a new one, but they had insisted there was no need.

“I missed you guys, too. I’m really glad to be home.”

“We have so much to catch up on.” Your mom pats your knee enthusiastically from the front seat. “I have so many questions!” She’s giddy, and you try your best to keep a smile plastered on your face when you know she’s about to drill you on the events of the last month or so. You watch the city pass you by through the window as your dad throws on his turn signal, merging onto the highway, taking you further away from everything you’d called home these past few weeks.

—

Eddie’s POV

Hawkins

The sun is setting by the time the cab pulls up to Wayne’s house. He has no idea Eddie’s home, and Eddie suddenly regrets not telling him. What if Wayne doesn’t want him here? What if he’s interrupting the old man’s routine? What if he’d gotten a girlfriend while Eddie was away?

He grabs his bag from the trunk before paying the driver, adding a hefty tip to thank him for driving so far out of the city, and takes one final deep breath before knocking on the hefty front door. At first there’s no answer, not even the gruff “hang on” that he’s expecting to hear mumbled from his uncle. He’s about to knock again when the door swings open, revealing his disheveled old man, wrapped in a bathrobe, eyes heavy with sleep. Maybe he should have given him a heads up.

“Hey, Wayne.” It comes out as a sigh, exhausted as his uncle looks.

“No shit. ‘M I dreamin’ or something? C’mere, boy!” Wayne yanks his nephew over the threshold, pulling him into an almost suffocating hug. “They finally kick you out of the band?” He jokes, suddenly perky for someone that looks like he’d just woken up.

“Very funny. Nah, I figured I needed to come watch over my old man before he croaks from isolation.” Eddie drops his bag on the kitchen counter as he slides off his shoes, making himself comfortable in the house he still can’t believe exists.

“Good one. But seriously, and don’t take this the wrong way, why are you here?”

“What, can’t a guy spend his month off from tour with the man that raised him?”

Wayne chuckles, pulling out one of the dining room chairs to sit across from Eddie. “‘Course you can. Jus’ curious why you’d do such a thing, and not say a peep about it!”

“Honest, I didn’t even commit to coming until I got on the plane, didn’t wanna make any empty promises. If I’m interrupting something though, I can go—“

“Oh shut up, kid. Of course you’re not interruptin’. How else are you gonna catch me up on all the Hollywood gossip?” The sarcasm is palpable in his uncle's voice, but Eddie indulges anyway. “Ah, right, the Hollywood gossip you care so much about.”

“I care when it’s about my kid and his, whatcha call ‘em, sweetheart?”

Eddie tenses immediately, posture straightening as Wayne doubles over the table with laughter. “Oh relax Ed, I’m only yankin’ your chain!”

“Are you though?”

Wayne purses his lips. “I guess there’s some truth to it. How are you holdin’ up?”

Eddie wants to tell him everything. Wayne’s the only person his whole life he’s never felt the need to lie to, or to even sugarcoat the bad things. Wayne was there when he was framed for murder, he was there when you and Eddie had broken up. The only reason Wayne doesn’t know it all is because of Eddie.

“I’m doin’ alright, pops. Truthfully.”

“Yeah? And how’s…” He trails off, and Eddie rolls his eyes.

“Y/n is good. We’re good.”

“For Christsake Ed, give me something to work with here.”

“We decided to start again. Strings attached and all that shit.”

Wayne perks slightly at the confession. “No shit. How in the world did you get ‘em to go for that?”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Ye of little faith. Turns out they’ve loved me this whole time. Hard to believe, I know.”

It’s Wayne’s turn to roll his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder how I could’ve raised such an oblivious kid, y’know.”

“How rude!”

He chuckles, standing from his seat at the dining table. “Look, as much as I wanna hear about it, and trust me I do, I gotta get to bed. Your room’s the way you left it, but if you plan on staying I’ll need help with groceries tomorrow.”

“Aye aye, captain.”

“And Ed,” Wayne pauses in the door frame, hand on the light switch. “I’m really happy to hear about you and Y/n. Do what you can not to fuck it up this time.” He switches the light, leaving Eddie in the dim of the dining room.

__

Your POV

“So…” Your dad starts, ending the dreadfully awkward silence over dinner. You twirl spaghetti around your fork sloppily, trying to appear focused on your technique. “How’s Eddie?”

Your mother, sipping her wine, chokes back a laugh, but recovers quickly. You feel eighteen again, shy and anxious about your parents’ curiosity of your love life.

“What about him?” You mumble, not daring to look up from your plate.

“How is he? A-and you? How are you doing, being with him? Wait, not with him—“

“Honey?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Shut up, my love.”

“Yes, dear.”

You blink at your parents, rosy cheeked and gleeful, giddy with each other’s presence. They make it look so easy, and you almost hate them for it. “It’s fine, I guess. Why do you care?”

Your words seem to wipe the smile off your father’s face. “Because you don’t call! All we know about what’s going on, it’s from stupid tabloids and bullshit television. We worry, Y/n.”

“Before you argue, we know you’re an adult, but you’ve gone through so much, so quickly. It would be hard for anyone. We wanted to be there for you, and you iced us out. We still don’t know what happened to you when—“

“Don’t.” You say it through your teeth, willing the tears not to fall. Before either of your parents can say more, you shove yourself from the table, abandoning your now cold pasta and garlic bread. As if you’re still in high school, you stomp up to the guest room, slamming the door behind you.

—

It’s not home. It’s a brownstone on a nice street filled with showroom furniture, smelling of overpriced candles you give your mom for christmas every year. You’d never lived here, and now your idea to come back seems stupid. Your dad’s right, you didn’t even call.

The phone rings then, freeing you from your increasingly frustrating thoughts.

“L/n Residence, Y/n speaking.” You answer, flopping down on the guest bed like it’s yours; like you’d never left, like it’s normal for you to answer the phone here.

“Hey, you.” His voice washes over you, soothing you instantly. You’re eighteen. Nothing bad has happened. It’s the furthest thing from painful.

“Hey, Eds.” You practically sigh, like you’d been holding your breath for days. “How was your flight?”

—

Eddie’s POV

“Eh, nothing special. Neck hurts like a mother.” He rubs the back of his neck as he speaks, attempting to massage out the kinks. What he wouldn’t do to have your hands in place of his right now. “You get home okay?”

“Yeah, guess you could say that.” He notices the hesitant tone, the way it dips when you speak.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Hm.” He barely hears you sigh into the receiver. “Don't wanna be a downer.”

“Nothin’ wrong with being a downer every once in a while. What’s wrong?” Eddie rolls onto his back, spread across his king bed, relishing in all the space, imagining you filling it.

“Just. Doesn’t really feel like home anymore.” He gets it. Hawkins feels less like home now than the tour bus, he has nothing to hold onto. There is nothing here for him he couldn’t find somewhere else. It’s not like you’re still here.

“I guess I know what you mean.”

—

It’s 2am when he hears you snore into the receiver. As much as he’d like to stay on the line to listen to your breathing, he can’t rack up Wayne’s phone bill like that, even if he can afford to pay for it. Eddie drops the phone back into its place, and switches off the bedside lamp.

—

He finds himself in the cafeteria, back at the Hellfire table, but it’s empty. The room around him bustles, voices blending together to create a harsh ringing in his ears. The flourescent lights flicker every few seconds, causing his eye to twitch.

“Eddie…” It’s barely audible, but he can almost feel the breath on the back of his neck. The voice is warm, familiar, sweet as honey. When he whips around, no one’s there, and the cafe goes silent, like a television on mute.

“Eddie…” It’s louder this time, coming from no direction in particular, without background noise to drown it out.

The cafeteria is deserted now, and dark. “Eddie…” Like it’s being spoken over the PA system, summoning him to get chewed out by the principal. Something tells him to find it. He gets up, searching desperately for the source.

“Eddie…” Louder now, he can tell he’s making progress. He can feel it in his gut, he knows where to look. Eddie bursts into what he knows should be Principal Coleman’s office, but instead ends up back in his trailer. Well, not actually his trailer, but the sick imitation of it he’d only seen one other time.

“Eddie…” It’s pitch black, but the voice is right in front of him. “Come here, pretty boy.”

No. He’s frozen, unable to keep moving. It’s not them, he reassures himself. This isn’t real.

“It’s very real, Eddie.” Your voice rings through his thoughts, shattering the barrier he’d begun to build. “It’s me.”

Eddie takes one more step forward, to where a figure sits on the shredded couch, face shrouded in darkness.

“Prove it.” His voice cracks when he speaks, revealing weakness without being pressed.

Instead of responding, the figure claiming your identity stands, revealing its face to him finally. It isn’t you. The furthest thing, really. Where your eyes should sit are black, empty holes. Your skin seems to sag off your skeleton, without muscle or fat to hold it in place. Before Eddie can react, you unhinge your jaw, setting free a swarm of winged creatures that fly right at him, shrieking something awful. He swats at them, thrashing his arms as he tries to run away, willing the image of your decaying, animated corpse from his memory as he screams your name, like you’ll somehow come back to life.

“Eddie? Eddie!”

—

Eddie wakes up screaming, with Wayne’s hands on either one of his shoulders, shaking him back to life. “Eddie?! Wake up, boy, it’s not real!”

“Wayne?”

“Christ, son, what the devil was that?!”

Eddie rubs a hand down his tired face. “Bad dream.”

“Yeah, no shit. But what in the world could’ve happened to warrant that reaction?”

Eddie shakes his head. “I’ll tell you in the morning.”

“It is morning, Ed.”

“What?”

“It’s five am.”

He groans. “You goin’ to work?”

Wayne scoffs. “Can’t get rid of me that easy. Now talk, boy.”

Eddie surrenders, and recites everything he can remember about the terror to his uncle. He wants to throw up at the memory, the way you’d looked, the way you’d spoken to him.

“This a normal thing for you?” Wayne quirks an eyebrow. Eddie shakes his head. He hadn’t had a nightmare that bad since before going on tour.

“So, it’s bein’ home then.” Its not a question, but Eddie shakes his head in disagreement.

“This isn’t home anymore, Wayne. It’s because I’m away from home. From them.”

Wayne screws his face up in thought. “Call ‘em. Wait til the sun’s up. Chances are they feel pretty similar.”

He hates how much he wants his uncle to be right.

—

Your POV

“…and that was Nirvana’s Lithium, thank you for the request Amy, good choice…” The radio wakes you from a dreamless sleep far too early, the sun streaming through the curtain you’d forgotten to close. You groan, throwing the pillow back over your head as the phone rings.

Suddenly, you’re no longer groggy as you pick up the call, cutting the ringing off with a too eager “Hello?!”

“Good morning, sweetheart. How’d you sleep?”

Truth was, you’d slept horribly, tossing and turning without him there to ground you, but you can’t tell him that. You can’t worry him. “Eh, I slept alright, what about you?”

You hear him release a breath into the receiver. “Not great, honestly.” You regret your white lie. “Being here is hard.”

You nod before forgetting he can’t see you. “How’s Wayne?” Maybe you should’ve gone to Hawkins. Boston is starting to feel lonelier by the second.

”He’s good, same old except for the big house.” You can hear Eddie’s smile in his voice, provoking your own to spread across your cheeks. “Hey, so, I was thinking,” Eddie interrupts himself, “I could fly out there soon, maybe next week? You could show me around your old stomping grounds?”

You avoid his question with your own. “You’ve never been to Boston?”

”’Course I’ve been to Boston, but I haven’t seen it with you, y’know? I wanna learn the history from the source.”

”Such a scholar, all of a sudden?” You giggle, twirling the cord of your phone between your fingers. “It’s not much, but I’d be happy to have you.”

“Great! I’ll book the flight tonight. It’ll give me something to look forward to.”

”Can’t wait!” There’s a knock on not-your-bedroom door. “Hey, Ed, I gotta go. Call you tonight?”

“Sounds like a plan, sweetheart. Talk soon.”

There’s a long pause during which you almost say “I love you” three separate times, but you don’t. The line clicks, and he’s gone.

“Y/n, sweetie! Breakfast!”

—

After you’ve stuffed your face full of your father’s chocolate chip pancakes and extra greasy bacon, you take it upon yourself to explore the city. You haven’t been here in awhile, unless you count the few hours before a show at the Paradise or Avalon opening for bands you can’t remember the names of, and you’re morbidly curious about the current state of your hometown.

The T takes you from your suburban neighborhood into the city as you gaze out the window, daydreaming. You get off at Boylston, planning to hit up your old haunts; the record stores, the coffeehouse, maybe Newbury Street now that you can afford it. Before any of that, though, you need a cigarette.

When you find the corner store, sign decayed with age, the front of the National Enquirer catches your attention. Munson’s New Boo! Source close to the rockstar confirms new fling with Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna. Your blood freezes, fingers careful as they pinch the corner of the magazine. It’s not real. Nothing in here is real. You repeat the words to yourself as you peel apart the pages, searching for the story.

When you find it, the pages are overrun with pictures of Eddie. In some of them, you’re with him; before the Metallica show, at the restaurant where that guy almost kidnapped you, even one of you and him in Hawkins the night you played there, but your face is obscured by hats or hoods. In others, though, different girls are draped around him in clubs. He’s leaning into one’s shoulder, one that may or may not actually be Kathleen Hanna. One of your biggest idols. Your face heats with embarrassment as you read the sad excuse for an article.

“They’re always together,” Our anonymous source says, “Either fighting or kissing, but always attached at the hip.” From what photos we’ve seen, we can’t disagree. Munson is obsessed with Hanna, and we’re obsessed with them.

You keep reading, each sentence making you feel dirty, exposed in a way you never knew you could be. Your heart is racing as you slam your ID onto the table, demanding a pack of camels to go with your shitty magazine. The cashier, an older man with charcoal hair and bushy mustache looks from the paper to you, squinting at the small photo in the corner that looks a lot like your own side profile. He doesn’t say anything though, much to your relief. You snatch the plastic bag from him as he bids you goodbye, thick eyebrows scrunched together.

—

Eddie’s POV

“Son, what the hell is this?” Wayne has returned from the grocery store with his hands full of bags, and what looks to be a newspaper in his grip.

“What’s what?” Eddie relieves his uncle of the load, unpacking the bags as the older man slaps the paper onto the kitchen table. Eddie’s eyes slide over the headline, his smile wiped completely from his face.

“Kathleen Hanna? I met her, like, once!” Eddie sputters, ripping open the magazine. “Oh my god, what the fuck?!” He scans the article, glancing at pictures of what he knows are you with him. Except one. One from months ago, before he’d even known he’d be spending his summer with you.

—

February 1992

New York City

Limelight is dark, the dance floor grimy with remnants of beverages long lost to the art of gyrating. He’s in a corner booth, reserved for him and some friends to occupy, a gift from his club promoter friend, Barry. Bernie. Something. Eddie’s too fucked up to remember, but it doesn’t matter. Surrounding him are his band, as well as some he’d only ever heard of before tonight. Across the table is Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, stunning as ever in a sheer black dress, nothing underneath. She made Eddie squirm in his seat as she uncrossed her legs, staring him down. Perched next to her is bandmate Tobi, and one table over sit Courtney and Kurt, talking amongst themselves.

It takes forever, but Eddie finally manages to approach Kathleen, only to trip and spill his beer all over himself. Somehow, though, it charms her, and she requests him to join her and her bandmates for a dance.

—

Present Day

“That must’ve been when they took the picture. I don’t know, it was so goddamn dark in there!” Eddie’s pacing his uncle’s living room while Wayne sips his coffee. “You think they saw this?”

“Who?” Wayne asks cluelessly.

“Y/n, Wayne! The one person I can’t lose the trust of right now!”

“Oh. Yeah, there’s no way they don’t know. That thing is everywhere, boy.”

“Shit. Shit!”

“Hey, calm down! It’s a misunderstanding, just call and explain it to ‘em! I’m sure they’ll understand.”

Eddie huffs. Right. Of course you’ll understand.

He punches each button of your phone number and it rings. And rings. And rings.

“You’ve reached the L/n residence, we’re unable to-“

“FUCK!” He dials again, faster.

And it rings. And rings.

—

taglist: @children-of-the-grave @five-bi-five @wiildflower-xxx @beebeerockknot @champagne-glamour @xxgothwhorexx @therensistance @chonkzombie @brxkenartt @sidthedollface2 @bibieddiesgf @gaysludge @eddiesguitarskills @poisonedluv @kellsck @m-chmcl-rmnc @veemoon | send a message to be added🫶

[velvetjune]

the chapter songs in Alan Wake 2,, flawless

[manga-meow]

[celeluwhenfics]

Officially confirming that having deadlines and adulting issues and an upcoming language exam is the #1 way to stir up writing inspo.

I couldn't write a line this weekend, but ideas and solutions to plot problems are fluttering all over the place.