#this is great i knew she would enjoy epic

[schrodingers-hoarding-problem]

ive officially infected my sister with epic the musical

she has now both walked up to me (we were on other sides of the house mind you) and just sang part of open arms at me

and just now, only an hour or so later, has texted me this:

[worth-the-chaos]

Adventures in Babysitting - Steve Harrington x female!reader - Chapter 12

Chapter Summary: The evil that you thought you had gotten rid of is still very much lurking within Hawkins. You, your boyfriend, and your friends race against time to try and find Eddie before it’s too late.

Content Warning: swearing, violence, knives and blood, jealous Steve

Word Count: 6.5k

Author’s Note: This chapter is starting to get season 4 going, so that’s pretty epic. I hope you guys enjoy it and thank you so much for reading it <3

Message me to be added to the taglist! Also, send me asks! Tell me shit, ask me questions, y’all are fun to talk to ;)

Series Masterlist | Part 11 | Next Part

***

Your Saturday started out like any normal Saturday. Steve peppered soft kisses to your skin as you woke up from your comfortable slumber wrapped in his arms. You ate breakfast together and got ready before picking up Robin and making your way to Family Video. It had taken a significant amount of convincing to get Keith to let the three of you work together, considering there was really only enough work for two people to do, but he finally agreed to it since, in his own words, “Steve barely even counts.”

You all were reorganizing the shelves as Robin recounted her conversation with Vickie at the basketball game the night prior. “Then Vickie laughed. And it wasn’t like a cheap fake laugh either. It was like…it was a real, genuine laugh!”

“Of course she laughed, Rob. It’s my muppet joke. It’s hilarious,” Steve replied as he restocked the horror section. You rolled your eyes from your perch on the counter, glaring up at him as you stopped sorting out the returned movies.

“My point is that Vickie laughed, and everything was just like…it was perfect! But I’m having this problem where it’s like, I should stop talking. I have said everything I need to say, but then I guess I get nervous and the words keep spilling out, and it’s like my-my brain is moving faster than my mouth or…or rather my-my mouth is moving faster than my brain, and…and it’s like I’m digging this hole for myself, and I want to stop digging and I’m trying to stop digging, but I can’t, and I’m doing it right now, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are,” you responded, looking at her with a great deal of sympathy. You knew how she was feeling. You couldn’t even count the amount of times that you had rambled on and on to Steve about something so completely and utterly stupid because you didn’t know when to stop.

“Ugh, I’m hopeless,” Robin backed up against the wall, throwing her head back in exasperation.

“Robin! Don’t say that; you are not hopeless,” you scolded your best friend, “I mean, look. I was completely and utterly hopeless before Steve and I started dating…like if he hadn’t shown up and the planets hadn’t aligned, I’d be single as fuck right now, but everything that the two of us have, started with us just being friends. So, the fact that you’re talking to Vickie and she clearly at least likes you in that capacity is a really damn good sign.”

“I wouldn’t say you would be hopeless, I mean, guys are pretty much throwing themselves at you,” Steve mumbled under his breath, thinking back to how you had interacted with Eddie the night before. You had seemed so comfortable with him and he hated to admit it, but the two of you looked like you belonged together far more than you did with him. Eddie marched to the beat of his own drum. He dressed different, he acted different, he didn’t go with the crowd or hop on the bandwagon. You were exactly the same. Sometimes Steve worried that you would wake up and realize that he was way too stereotypical and boring for you and that you would leave him. He pushed the thought aside as you spoke up.

“What do you mean?” Before Steve could answer, Robin began rushing across the room.

“Oh! I think I found our morning movie!” She held up a copy of Doctor Zhivago.

“Ugh, you know I don’t do double VHS,” Steve groaned, shaking his head as he walked past the counter towards her. You stopped him, smacking him in the chest before he could try and take the tape away from Robin before you spoke up.

“We’d actually love to watch it Robin,” you smiled, your eyes still glaring at Steve. Robin jumped up and down a little bit before turning on the television to get it set up, but all of you paused when the news came on.

“We’re in the Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County. We don’t have a lot of details now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the victim’s name…” the reported stated, detailing all the information that was known and released.

“Holy shit,” Steve whispered, his and Robin’s eyes transfixed on the screen. His voice sounded far away as your vision blurred with tears. You could barely breathe as you thought about the only two Hawkins High students you knew that lived there: Max and Eddie. If it was either of them, you weren’t sure what you would do. You weren’t sure how you would be able to live and move on.

You stumbled backwards, and you knocked over a pile of VHS tapes as you blindly grabbed for the edge of the counter, beginning to hyperventilate. Robin and Steve snapped out of the trance the news had put them in, as Steve’s head whipped around towards you just in time as you collapsed to the floor.

“Robin turn that off!” Steve yelled, and she grabbed for the remote, quickly silencing the news. You were in a heap on the floor sobbing, barely able to hear Steve as he quickly sat with you on the floor, rubbing big circles across your back to try and calm you down. “Shhhh, y/n. I’m right here, okay baby….I’m right here with you and I’m not going to go anywhere,” he whispered into your ear, kissing your temple as you cried.

After a while, you finally found the will to calm yourself down, and you had been the one to turn the TV back on. You wanted to know as much as you could. You wanted as much information as possible to rule out the possibility that it was either of your friends. Really the only additional information you got was that it was definitely murder and that the police hadn’t released the names of any suspects, which was a whole lot of nothing to go off of.

You were biting your nails, staring at the screen with furrowed brows, when suddenly the chime of the bell above the door rang out into the otherwise empty store. You jumped, turning around to see Dustin followed by Max Mayfield herself.

“Max!” You shouted as you hopped over the counter and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. She groaned, not expecting the sudden demonstration of how much you cared before she reciprocated.

“Hello to you too, I guess?”

“I’m just so glad you’re okay,” you breathed out, feeling a sense of relief flood your body, knowing that Max wasn’t the unnamed victim from the news. Max was struck by your words, not really even considering the fact that some of her friends may be led to believe that she had been killed based on the location of the murder.

“Are you guys seeing this?” Steve chimed in, pointing to the TV screen in the back corner of the room.

“How many phones do you have?” Dustin asked suddenly. You looked at him with confusion plastered across your face.

“Someone was just murdered,” Steve replied, annoyed that the boy could be asking about phones at a time like this.

Dustin just slammed his hands on the counter in response, causing you to jump again in your anxious state, before he repeated himself. “How many phones do you have?”

“Two…why?” You spoke up, furrowing your brow.

“Technically three, if you count Keith’s in the back,” Robin corrected you, a similar look flashing across her face.

“Three works,” Max spoke up, looking at Dustin. Dustin paused, looking at Steve and Robin behind the counter before throwing his backpack across and hopping it. You and Max were civilized, walking around the counter to join them while Steve protested.

“My tapes! Dude! What are you doing, man?!” Steve groaned. Dustin had a special talent for making things significantly more difficult for Steve…especially at his place of work.

“Setting up base of operations,” Dustin replied, typing into the computer.

You attempted to shove him to the side, away from your computer, but he swatted your hands away. You glared at him with the might of a thousand suns before hip checking him, causing him to stumble to the side. “What the fuck do you guys need our computer for?”

“To look up Eddie’s friends’ phone numbers,” Dustin retorted as if it was obvious.

“Oh Eddie, your new best friend you think is cooler than me because he plays your nerdy game,” Steve grumbled back, but you were only half paying attention as you made eye contact with Max. Clearly the two kids knew something that you didn’t and you were worried what that meant in conjunction with the shit you were hearing on the news.

“I never said that!” Dustin looked at Steve, and you rolled your eyes.

“Seriously, you guys, maybe on a Monday you can play around, but it’s Saturday. It’s our busiest day,” Robin spoke up, reorganizing the shit that Dustin had knocked off the counter.

“Robin, I totally empathize but this cannot wait,” Dustin sighed as he started writing on a clipboard.

“What because calling all of Eddie’s friends is an emergency?”

“Exactly!”

“Do you want me to strangle him or do you want to?” Steve asked you. The chuckle he was about to let out died in his throat when he saw the look on your face.

“I really think we should hear them out,” your voice was small when you replied. You all looked over at Max and she took a deep breath before she began talking.

“The victim…it’s Chrissy Cunningham,” she started, “I saw her body this morning when the police were leaving. The thing is, I saw her go in Eddie’s trailer and shortly after, my TV started going nuts and the lights started flickering like crazy, which isn’t really super out of the ordinary, my electricity is shit….but then I heard screaming and looked out the window and I saw Eddie leave and—and he looked scared. Like really scared.”

Steve reached for your hand, interlocking his fingers with yours before he spoke up. “So…Eddie killed Chrissy?”

“Steve! No, he fucking didn’t. That’s why we need the phones so that we can find out where he is so that we can prove that he’s innocent,” Dustin glared at your boyfriend, shoving him a bit.

“Just calm down,” you interjected, standing in between the boys. This was all a lot to unpack and you weren’t going to solve anything if they couldn’t stop bickering. When they both grumbled and crossed their arms, you moved around the counter, swiftly moving to the door and flipping the sign to indicate that the store was closed. “Just, you guys can use the phones, okay? But that’s it. We don’t do anything else until we have something solid to go off of. Do you understand?” You looked between Max and Dustin.

They both began to nod and you shook your head. “No, I need to hear you say it. I’m serious, someone was just killed and we are not putting our lives in jeopardy without some serious cause, okay?”

“Yes, we understand,” Max responded. Dustin spoke up in agreement, and you paused to look at them one more time before turning around.

“I’ll get Keith’s phone from the back. You all start making calls.”

You swiftly headed to the back, grabbing the third phone. You were turning around to leave when you about nearly jumped out of your skin, when you were met face to face with your boyfriend.

“Steve! You scared the shit out of me! Don’t fucking do that!” You put a hand on your chest as you tried to catch your breath.

“Y/n, I don’t have a good feeling about this. I mean, the most likely scenario is that Eddie killed that poor girl and now we’re actively trying to find him. He could be fucking dangerous, and I don’t want anything to happen to you, okay? So, let’s just stop all this bullshit before it’s too late,” he grabbed your hands, rubbing his thumbs along the backs of them as he looked you in the eyes. His brow was furrowed with worry, and you felt a pang in your chest. You knew you had to see this through, if not for Eddie, then for Dustin.

“Steve, I know Eddie. He wouldn’t do something like this. Trust me,” you told Steve, looking him in the eyes with so much conviction that he decided to let it go for now.

You brought the phone out and Hawkins’ Family Video soon became a bustling call center as you all took turns trying to get ahold of anyone who may possibly know where Eddie was. Name after name after name got crossed off your list as you found no answers, and you were beginning to feel hopeless when Max spoke up.

“Hey guys, I might have a lead,” she started, “apparently, Eddie gets drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick, and sometimes Eddie crashes there.”

“Alright, that sounds promising. So where does this Reefer Rick guy live?” Robin asked.

“See, that’s the thing. No one knows. He’s more of a…legend than someone that people actually know.”

“What about a last name?” You spoke up, attempting to find any additional piece of information that you could follow to find Eddie.

“I don’t know that either.”

“I bet the cops know the last name,” Steve spoke up. He hadn’t been super helpful in calling around, instead choosing to reorganize the store and do some light cleaning. He was reorganizing some tapes with his back to you all and he had said it so nonchalantly.

“What?” You questioned him, irritation settling in your tone.

“I said the cops probably know,” he shot back, “I mean, listen, if this Reefer Rick is actually a drug dealer, I guarantee you he’s been busted at some point. Means he’s in the system.”

“The cops? Really, Steve? That’s your suggestion?” Dustin asked incredulously.

“I just think at this point they should be filled in on what we know; what’s going on.”

“You think Eddie’s guilty, don’t you?” Dustin stepped forward, but you placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to settle him. You could hear the hurt in his voice and you wished that Steve hadn’t been the one to cause it, but then again, tensions were high with everything that was going on; like the implications of Max’s account of her electricity going haywire around the time that Chrissy would have died.

“Woah, woah, woah, I believe in innocent until proven guilty and all that constitutional shit…I just, you know….I just don’t think we can rule it out,” Steve spoke up, avoiding making eye contact with any of you as he messed with a Rubik’s cube on the counter.

“Steve!” You scolded him. Why can’t he just take a leap of faith and believe you guys?

“That’s precisely what we’re trying to do here, Steve,” Max spoke up, glaring at the boy.

“And maybe we’d have a little bit more luck if you spent less time reorganizing shit that doesn’t need reorganizing and more time trying to find Eddie,” Dustin chimed in.

“Hey, someone’s gotta make sure things are in order here. Do you see how many fucking movies we have? It can be overwhelming for the average customer,” Steve tried to defend himself.

Suddenly an idea popped into your head, as you darted over to the computer, typing away into the system. “What are you doing?” Max asked.

“Maybe we don’t need a last name,” you started as you pressed enter on the keyboard. “Twelve Ricks already have accounts here…now it’s just a matter of narrowing it down.”

***

After determining the Rick most likely to be the Reefer Rick, you waited until it got dark to go scope the place out. You decided that you’d be more inconspicuous at night, not wanting to draw any attention to yourselves while you tracked down a potential murder suspect.

You were all piled in Steve’s BMW as he pulled into the driveway of one Rick Lipton. You felt nerves settle in your stomach as you tried to take a deep breath, Dustin quickly getting out of the car and ringing the doorbell. No one answered and after Dustin pressed the button repeatedly, Steve put a hand on his shoulder to pull him away from the door.

“Okay. Well, that’s settled, I guess he’s not here,” Steve spoke up. This did nothing to stop Dustin from continuing to pound on the door, yelling for the boy to answer. So much for being inconspicuous, you thought as you walked around the side of the house. Your hands trembled a bit, being a tad anxious about being out here at night, when your flashlight finally caught sight of a boathouse on the lake.

“Hey guys?” You called out. Steve was quick to join you, followed by the rest of the gang as you cautiously approached the metal lined shed. There was no real signs of life in there as you entered, and it seemed just as abandoned as Rick’s house. “Hello? Is anyone home?” You shouted into the darkness as you took a hesitant step inside.

“What a dump,” Steve muttered, taking in the sight of all of the clutter. In his mind, there was no way in hell that Eddie was here, so though he was taking all of this seriously, he wasn’t too committed to really inspecting the place with great detail.

You grabbed an oar off of the wall, walking over to the small boat docked in the center of the room as you shoved at the tarps with it, not wanting to get close just in case something was awry.

“What are you doing?!” Dustin whisper-shouted at you, perplexed by your actions.

“He might be in there,” you answered simply.

“Then take the tarp off!”

“If you’re so brave, you take the tarp off!” You whisper-shouted back at him, though when Dustin moved forward to do just that, you and Steve both yanked him back by his shoulders. You continued to poke at the tarp, and Steve placed a gentle but nervous hand on the small of your back, not wanting to stray too far from you.

Max suddenly spoke up from across the room, pointing her flashlight at some odds and ends on a small table. “Hey, guys. Someone was here.”

“Maybe he heard us? Got spooked and ran?” Robin suggested, joining Robin to inspect the items before her.

“Don’t worry. Y/n will get him with her oar…isn’t that right y/n?” Dustin spoke to you sarcastically. You were glad you had the self control to not swing it at the infuriating child beside you as Steve moved away from you to pull Dustin aside. He didn’t need the two of you arguing with each other. You two bickered like siblings and now wasn’t the time for a pseudo-familial spat.

“I know you think you’re being funny, Henderson,” you started, continuing to jab at the tarps, “but considering the fact that everyone in this room has nearly died about a hundred times, personally, I don’t find it funny in the slight—“

Your words were cut off as a figure under the tarp sprung to life, grabbing you around the shoulders and pushing you against the wall. You heard the familiar flick of a pocket knife, feeling the sharp tip of the metal press against your throat. The boathouse erupted into a chorus of shrieks and screams, as you leaned your head back, unable to breathe as you stared wide-eyed at the boy you were tutoring for physics.

“Woah, woah, woah! Eddie! Eddie, stop!” Dustin shouted. He took a step closer and Eddie pushed you back farther into the wall, letting you all know that he wasn’t playing games. Steve felt like his whole world was crashing down around him. To Steve, Eddie’s actions confirmed that he was dangerous, that he had likely killed Chrissy, and that he was about to do the same thing to you. Steve’s mind was working double time trying to figure out how to get you away from the freak, as he started to take a huge step towards you when Robin roughly grabbed his arm, preventing him from getting any closer.

“Robin let go of me!” He shouted at her, trying to shake out of her grip.

“Steve,” she warned, and the way that she said it made him stop to reevaluate the situation, realizing the closer he got to you, the more he was putting your life in peril. A small cry escaped your lips as you tried to blink back tears, and Steve’s heart sank in his chest. He felt his hands trembling at his sides, wanting nothing more than to hold you and to tell you that everything was going to be okay, but watching as the knife threatened to break the skin of your neck, he wasn’t so sure he even believed the sentiment.

“It’s me, Dustin. This is y/n,” Dustin continued, gesturing to you, “she’s not going to hurt you, right, y/n?”

“Right, yeah,” you barely were able to whisper, the muscles in your neck all tensed as you tried to get as far away from the knife as possible. Your chest heaved as you swallowed and breathed out a shaky breath.

“Y/n, why don’t you drop the oar,” Dustin cautioned. You hadn’t even realized you were still holding it, barely even being able to feel the white knuckled grip you had on the handle. You willed your fingers to let go and as the oar crashed to the floor, the sudden sound caused Eddie to jump, leaning in farther and nicking your neck a bit in the process. You yelped in pain, and Steve started to freak out, unable to control his breathing. Robin continued to try and calm him down, but it wasn’t working super well.

“She’s cool, she’s cool!” Dustin reminded Eddie, still trying to talk him off of a cliff. Steve wished he had trusted his intuition earlier and kept you all far away from Eddie the freak Munson.

“I’m cool, man, I’m cool,” you spoke up, your voice shaky, “I’m helping you in Ms. O’Donell’s class, remember?”

“What are you doing here?” Eddie asked, his eyes wild as he refused to let you go.

“We’re looking for you, we’re here to help,” Dustin spoke up, “Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin, from band. This is my friend Max, the one who never wants to play D&D. And obviously that’s Steve; I know you know him because you hate him, okay? Eddie, we are on your side. I swear on my mother, right guys?” He looked to the three of your friends behind him who all desperately nodded in agreement.

“Yes, yes, we swear!” Robin agree.

“Yeah, on Dustin’s mother,” you squeaked out. Eddie looked at you and you could tell he was acting out of fear. You knew this wasn’t him. That still didn’t quell the fear in your own chest as you spoke up once more to whisper, “please.”

Eddie paused, his eyes searching yours to try and determine your intention. He knew that you were a good person. Hell, you’d been helping him through fucking physics which wasn’t exactly a cake walk. Seeing the terror across your face as you whimpered, however, was what finally broke Eddie, as he finally let you go.

You let out a small cry as the tears you had been attempting to blink back finally spilled down your face while you crumpled to the floor. Steve rushed to your side, sitting on the floor with you, not unlike he had earlier in Family Video when the news came on. Your hand clutched at your neck. Even though Eddie had only just slightly nicked you, your blood had dripped enough to stain the collar of your shirt, and began to seep through your fingers as you held pressure to the cut. It stung like a bitch, but you were more scared than hurt.

“Hey, hey, hey, let me see, okay baby? Can you do that for me?” Steve asked softly, as one of his hands wrapped around the nape of your neck and the other gently tugged on your wrist. You obliged, trembling fingers dropping from your neck as you shook in Steve’s arms.

He used the sleeve of his jacket to put pressure on the cut to attempt to get it to stop bleeding. You took several deep breaths, wiping the tears away from your face as you began to finally calm down. It helped that you knew that Eddie wouldn’t hurt you on purpose. In your mind, he wasn’t a threat in the slightest, just a boy that was scared and needed some comforting.

“Eddie, we just want to talk,” you heard Dustin’s voice ring out in the empty boathouse. Eddie looked like a mess as he sat in a heap on the floor, looking equal parts defeated and terrified. Dustin tried to take the knife away from him, but Eddie tightened his grip so Dustin relented.

“We just want to know what happened,” you breathed out, your voice still shaky as you continued to calm down.

“You won’t believe me,” Eddie sniffled. You moved out of Steve’s grasp despite his protests, putting a gentle hand on Eddie’s shoulder. He tensed up but soon relaxed into your touch.

“Try us,” you replied. Eddie wasn’t sure if it was the look on your face or the sincerity in your voice, but he decided in that moment that he could trust you guys.

He began by explaining that she was at his house so that he could sell to her, discussing how everything had been fine and normal…until it very much wasn’t.

“…her body just, like, lifted up into the air and, uh…and she just, like, hung there. And her bones…uh, she…her bones started to snap. Her eyes, man…it-it was like there was something inside her head pulling,” he whimpered with a faraway look in his eyes, “I…I-I didn’t know what to do, so I…I ran away…I-I left her there,” he scoffed, “you all think I’m crazy, right?”

“No, we don’t think you’re crazy,” Dustin began to assure him, but Eddie quickly cut him off.

“Don’t bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds!”

You moved in between Eddie and Dustin, pushing Dusting behind you protectively. “Hey, we’re not bullshitting you,” you started, your tone leaning on frustrated, “we believe you and we’re probably the only people who fucking will, so I would suggest you find a way to calm down and shut the fuck up because what I’m about to tell you might be difficult to take.”

“Okay,” Eddie finally said. No one was really expecting you to be that blunt about things, but it needed to be said.

“You know how people say Hawkins is…cursed?” You started, trying to find the right words. Eddie nodded. “They’re not…way off. There’s another world; a world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours,” your hand subconsciously went to the cut on your neck, the bleeding having finally trickled to a stop.

“Like ghosts and shit?” Eddie asked hesitantly.

“There are some things worse than ghosts,” Max spoke up quietly, and you felt a chill creep up your spine as she said it.

“These monsters from this other world,” Dustin continued, “we thought that they were gone, but they’ve come back before and that’s why we needed to find you.”

“If they’re back again, we need to know,” you emphasized.

“That night, did you see anything?” Robin questioned. You all waited with bated breath for Eddie’s answer. You were afraid of what he might say and Steve stepped forward and grabbed your hand, sensing your anxiety.

“No, man, there was nothing you could see or, uh…touch,” Eddie responded, “you know, I tried to wake her man, but she couldn’t move. It was like she was…she was in a trance or something.”

“Or under a spell…Vecna’s curse,” Dustin whispered.

“Who’s Vecna?” Steve asked, pulling you into his chest. He needed something to hold onto.

“An undead creature of great power,” Dustin answered and you shuddered thinking about it. You had thought you got rid of whatever entity was calling the shots from the Upside Down, but maybe you were wrong.

Maybe everything that had happened before was merely the beginning.

***

You all had taken turns recounting the last two years worth of events to Eddie as he sat there in silence trying to take it all in. After everything that he had seen, he really had no choice but to believe you guys, glad that you were all on his side. You promised the boy that you would be back with supplies in the morning, swiftly piling back into Steve’s car.

“Hey, you know when we had that really sweet convertible and I had you drive it up that big ass hill so we could use my radio?” Dustin suddenly spoke up.

“Yeah?” Steve responded, not quite sure where the boy was going with this.

“Well, bad news is we’re gonna need to go use it again before we all go home because I have an idea, but good news is that it’s at my house now so that’s cool.”

Steve sighed and you all silently made your way to Dustin’s house. There wasn’t much to talk about. You tiptoed through his kitchen to avoid waking his mother as you all crept up to his bedroom. He started messing with all his radio equipment as you sat on his bed. While he was searching for the right frequency, Steve darted out of the bedroom and into the hall bathroom, opening the cabinet under the sink and rifling through it. He found what he was looking for and quietly slipped back into Dustin’s bedroom.

“Here,” he said as he sat down next to you. You looked at him confused until you saw that he had a first aid kit in his hands. He took out an alcohol wipe and started cleaning up the dried blood on your neck. You hissed when the wipe touched your cut, the alcohol burning as he disinfected it. He put some antibiotic ointment on a band aid and placed it gingerly over the cut. He noticed some of the hickies he had left on your neck the night before, quickly moving your hair to make them more inconspicuous. “There. All better.”

You couldn’t help but flush with how sweet Steve was being. Even if the world was undoubtedly ending, at least you knew that he was going to be there for you. You could tell that he was on edge, probably more so given how Eddie had reacted, and you just appreciated that he wasn’t overreacting…yet.

Suddenly, Dustin’s Cerebro came to life, and you heard the distinctive sound of police chatter over the radio as you were clued into what the Hawkins police department knew of Eddie’s involvement in Chrissy’s death. Unfortunately, though not released to the public yet, Eddie was prime suspect number one.

“Shit!” Dustin exclaimed. “Fuck!”

“Woah, woah, whoa, calm down Dustin. We’re gonna figure all of this out okay? Freaking out isn’t going to make any of this shit easier, so we might as well all stay calm,” your voice was remarkably even as you said it and it was starting to freak the rest of your friends out. Of everyone here, you should by all accounts be the most freaked out.

“Look, I don’t think that we should split up, given everything that’s going on,” Steve spoke. “My parents aren’t home, so how about everyone spends the night at my house? You can all call your parents and make arrangements when we get there.”

Everyone agreed with Steve, and you all made your way out to his car, Dustin leaving a note to let his mom know he would be gone before he left. “Y/n? Are you, like, okay?” Max asked hesitantly. Your mind flashed back to what it felt like to have a knife held up to your throat.

“I’m fine, Max. I promise,” you said, but it didn’t sound very convincing. You were honestly more worried about the kids. You thought about the fact that they were deprived a normal childhood, and you couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. You were the babysitter, you were supposed to be the one to make sure that they were okay and safe and happy.

Steve finally pulled into his driveway, leading everyone inside and showing them around. “You all can sleep wherever. There’s a guest bedroom upstairs or you could sleep in the family room. I don’t care,” he sighed, just ready to go to sleep. Everyone got comfortable, Max and Robin choosing to sleep on the couches and Dustin taking the guest bedroom. You and Steve went to his room and you collapsed onto his bed.

“This can’t be happening again,” you spoke up as exhaustion from the day’s events settled in your bones.

“Yeah, I can’t quite believe it either,” Steve said, flopping down on the bed next to you. “Y/n, you have to promise me something okay?”

“What?”

“That if this all gets to be too much again, we call it quits. We get the kids out, we get Robin out, we get the hell out.”

“Steve,” you looked at him, trying to read his expression, “I can’t make that promise.”

“Y/n, everything has been escalating. First it was just one demogorgon, then it was a fuck ton of demo-dogs, then it was Russians and a giant flesh monster…I don’t know how we can handle anything worse, I mean we barely handled everything last summer!” He exclaimed, shaking his head at you. You could tell he was getting more irate, anger seeping into his tone.

“Steve, we either do nothing and die when the whole fucking world ends, or we do something and maybe die trying, or better yet, we fix the fucking problem and never have to worry about it again,” you replied, sitting up, slightly irritated with his tone. He stood up, looking down at you with a furrowed brow as he continued.

“You’re not understanding, y/n. Look, someone died. Unexplainably, just up and died in the most gruesome fucking way. We don’t know anything about how it happened or why or if it will happen again, and I’ll be damned if it happens to one of us, okay. Just promise me.”

“Steve, I can’t, and you know I can’t.”

Steve scoffed, trying to find the right words. He felt anxiety creep up in his chest as he decided that now was as good a time as any to get really fucking real with you. “Y/n. I want a future with you. We can’t fucking have that if one of us is dead.”

“We can’t have a future if the world fucking ends either. I have a massive fucking headache and I just want to go to bed, okay?” You got up and began changing into pajamas, and you heard Steve sigh behind you. He remembered his pinky promise to you in the woods that you were in this together. If you couldn’t make a promise to him, the best he could do was uphold his.

“Fine. But I’m not gonna be able to live with myself if something happens to you,” he warned as he crawled into bed, scooting towards you to spoon you. It was odd how casually you two could have a conversation like this, about the end of the world and the possibility of losing each other at any given moment.

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” you replied, turning in his arms and placing a kiss to his chest. You willed the words to be true as you drifted off to sleep in his arms.

***

Dustin threw the door open to the boathouse and you rolled your eyes, knowing it would likely scare the shit out of Eddie. You seemed to be right as you heard him shout from across the room, finally making it into the shed to see him pressed up against the back wall, knife extended out in front of him.

“Delivery service,” Dustin smiled at his friend. You waved sheepishly at Eddie, hoping that he could find it in his heart to forgive you guys for nearly giving him a heart attack…twice.

You all moved to stand around the boat as Eddie sat down in it, tearing into a box of cereal and eating it as if he hadn’t had a meal in days…which to be fair he probably hadn’t.

“So we have some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?” Dustin cut to the chase.

“Bad news first, always,” Eddie spoke through a mouthful of food. Your nose scrunched up in disgust as you scanned the room, noticing similar expressions painted on Robin and Max’s faces.

“We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with Dustin’s Cerebro, and they’re definitely looking for you,” you quickly spoke up as you gave the boy a sympathetic look.

“Also, they’re uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy,” Dustin chimed in.

“Like, 100% kind of convinced,” Max agreed. You rolled your eyes. So much for breaking the news softly.

“And the good news?”

“Your name hasn’t gone public yet. But if we found out about you, it’s only a matter of time before others do too, and once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother will be gunning for you,” Robin spoke up.

“Hunt the freak, right?” Eddie clarified, his eyes staring off, unfocused.

“Exactly,” Robin breathed out.

“So before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence,” Dustin outlined.

“That’s all, Dustin? That’s all?” Eddie fumed. Sure he loved the Henderson kid, but the boy got on his damn nerves like all the time, and this was one of those moments.

“Believe it or not, we’ve been through this kind of thing before…a few times actually,” you reassured Eddie, hoping that your words would calm his nerves but that was definitely a bit of a stretch.

“You’re telling me that you, Ms. 4.0, have been off fighting monsters while maintaining a perfect GPA?” Eddie asked in disbelief. “Bullshit.”

“I know, it’s pretty impressive,” Steve spoke up, throwing an arm around you, “we usually rely on this girl with super powers but, uh, those went bye-bye.”

“So we’re kind of in more of the brainstorming phase,” Robin spoke up and you all nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, you really have nothing to worry about,” Dustin reassured Eddie, but all of you knew that that was far from the truth. There was definitely a shit ton of stuff to worry about. Before Eddie could ask anymore questions, you all heard sirens wailing in the distance. He quickly covered up with the tarp as you all ran to the window, watching as several emergency vehicles passed right by Reefer Rick’s house.

A sinking feeling settled in your stomach as you concluded that there must be another body. You all raced to Steve’s car again, following the waling sound of sirens, afraid of what you’d find.

***

a/n: thanks for reading people of tumblr! If you wanted to reblog, I promise I wouldn’t be mad ;)

taglist:

@season4steve @sassyheroneckgiant @tangledinthegreatxscape @maeve-wileyy @palachannie @chaerfull @usaguisenpaisblog @emilieluckwood @sabrinadelreyy @mochminnie @xprloki @kitdjarin1 @kissmxcheek @daemonskitty @bethsvrse @aheadfullofsteverogers

[alex31624]

Those were really good Football team headcanons 👏 I think each one you mentioned fit great with that sports team.

Could you please share more headcanons about the other characters’ fav teams 👀?

Oh, I love this.

Ok, I think not all the characters would be a football fans. So, if is not in this list, they don't support any team, or don't care about the sport.

Webby - Liverpool

It was hard for Webby, her grandma is an Aston Villa fan, her hero is a Celtic fan. Which team should she support?

What moves Webby is love, dedication, passion. And it was the passion the Liverpool fans show what make her a fan herself.

It was a secret, until she found out Donald is also a Liverpool fan. Just another thing to bond about for them.

Huey - All of them

Huey loves his family and friends, so he can't take sides. He supports all the teams, depending on the circumstances.

Dewey - Manchester United

The second Dewey found out that Della was a Manchester fan, he took her side. You know that's a Dewey thing.

Sadly, he forgot that Manchester was on downhill since 2014. He has to watch the Europa League and begs that next year will be better.

Louie - Liverpool

All the triplets were Liverpool fans thanks to Donald. When their circle grew, Huey decided that he wanted to support all the teams, Dewey took Della's side, but Louie stay by his uncle side. Donald made him a Liverpool fan, he will stay a Liverpool fan.

A bit bias for Donald and Louis relationship? Yes. Always.

May & June - Liverpool

Just like their brother, the twins wanted to follow their dad. Easy.

Violet - Internazionale

Violet was never that interested in football. She knew the basics, the big tournaments and big teams. But then, she got a sister.

An italian sister.

An AC Milan fan sister.

And Violet knew what she had to do, and became an Inter fan. Just to get under Lena's skin. That's such a sisterhood thing to do.

Gosalyn - Borussia Dortmund

One more that has her focus on passion. Gosalyn in 2017 is a latina, but her last name has a bit of german flavour. That's where she found her team, a team who's rebel and loyal.

Perfect for Gos.

The last game of the 2022-2023 season broke her heart.

B.O.Y.D. - Real Madrid

Sweet baby B.O.Y.D. has a whole world to discover. He spends most of his time with the rest of the Team Science, so he listens to Fenton's stories about a team that can make miracles happen, a team that doesn't know how to give up, and their victories can only be described as epic.

Yes, Fenton's influence turned B.O.Y.D. in a Real Madrid fan.

Real Madrid bias? Of course.

José - Flamengo

I asked an expert, @fantasticenthusiasttale, for this one.

She told me that José Carioca lives in a neighborhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro called Vila Xurupita, which has its own soccer team, Xurupita FC. He even played for them.

But, her headcanon is that José is a Flamengo fan. And who I am to disagree?

Panchito - Necaxa

To tell the truth, I know nothing about Mexico football. I stared at Panchito and said, this is the face of a Necaxa fan.

So there you have it.

Gladstone - Manchester City

The notorious freeloader Gladstone Gander of course is a Manchester City fan.

He knows nothing about the team's history, but when he found out the team has a almost bottomless wallet, he became a fan.

Matilda - Rangers

Like Violet, Matilda began supporting Rangers only to get under Scrooge's skin.

With the time, she actually became a passionate fan who enjoyed going to the games. She and Scrooge have been in many Old Firm (Rangers vs Celtic) games.

When the team was sended to the 4th division, she went to every game until Rangers returned to the Scottish Premiership.

Ludwig Von Drake - Rapid Wien

In his youth, professor Von Drake enjoyed seeing the football Rapid Wien showed. A team for the working class, who fights day by day.

Von Drake was happy to see that Rapid still was the most successful team of the country.

But professor didn't see with good eyes the grow of Red Bull Salzburg. A team born of a corporation, who denies its own history.

Von Drake awaits for the resurgence of Rapid.

Mark Beaks - Inter Miami

When Messi signed with Inter Miami, Mark Beaks flew to the city because he knew that was buzz worthy.

That's the only reason he has to go to the games.

This was so much fun. Thanks for the ask @ducktales-and-ducks, sorry I couldn't finish this one earlier.

[its-your-girl-geekerella]

EPIC: The Vengeance Saga

I've procrastinated on this post for as long as I possibly could, but I'm here now! Let's get into it:

Not Sorry For Loving You. I love this song and I love Calypso, and you can't change my mind. I will not apologize. I'm not entirely sure why everyone hates her, but she is my smol child. The animatic cracked me up though, because while Calypso is sobbing and singing, Odysseus is hopping on his boat and sailing away like, "I'm just gonna go... yeah. Bye." It made him seem like a jerk, but it was also kinda funny.

Dangerous. It was a genuinely great song. The "Full Speed Ahead" callback showcasing Odysseus's loneliness was great, Hermes was great, the Winions were great. Everything was just great. There is literally nothing I could say about this song you haven't heard.

Charybdis. Honestly? This is the one song from EPIC that I would call truly "mid". Don't get me wrong, all of Jorge's work is epic (haha I'm so funny), but this one was slightly... less epic. Also, I'm more of a dialogue and emotions person, not really an action-enjoying one, so that may have contributed. I will say, however, that Odysseus's "NOOOO" was incredible and deeply relatable.

Get in the Water. Yes. Yes. And yes again. I had waited for this one for so long, and it did not disappoint. The dialogue between Poseidon and Ody? Chef's kiss. Immaculate writing, Jay. Poseidon's "I can't" really made it seem like he wasn't really that angry anymore, like this was something he put on his "to-do" list a few years back, and had to check off. But when Odysseus told him that he should "learn to forgive", implying that a mere MORTAL knew something more than a GOD, he got peeved. The character depth we see in this song is great, especially in comparison to the next song. Part of me does hope that aside from the finale, this is the last "dead people sing to Odysseus" we see for the rest of the show.

600 Strike. I know I said that I'm not super into action scenes, but this song SLAPS. HARD. The singing is so good, and the music really encapsulates the title of the show. When Ody says, "you're going to call of that storm", I got freaking SCARED. That last 1:40 of the song is my favorite part. The vocals are legit my favorite. And "next to my wife"????? WHO APPROVED THIS???? Jorge??? Are you OK???? Am I OK??? After listening to this last song, I literally went into an early-life crisis. I didn't talk to anyone, I ate some ice cream, and silently pondered to myself, "what just happened?" over and over again. I was fine two hours later, though😀

This Saga was everything I hoped it would be, and it was written really well. (Why am I surprised?) My two favorite songs were "Not Sorry For Loving You" and "600 Strike!"

My biggest "thing" with EPIC is that I want it to become a staged musical. I know that Jay at some point said that it may not work out like that, but then a few moths later he said that it could work, so I'm holding on to hope. After all, if EPIC never becomes a staged production, how are countless people supposed to play these characters we know and love? Don't be stingy, Mr. Jalapeno. /j

My largest concern with this Saga is that it would be the hardest to stage, especially with songs like "Charybdis" and "600 Strike". For example, the part where Poseidon drowns Odysseus. How to show Odysseus being drowned and the wind bag floating just above him and the dead people helping him WHILE still showing Poseidon above the water? I have some concepts, but it would still be really hard. Any ideas are welcome!

[sundrop-writes]

Sundrop's Spooky Fics

So because Halloween is coming up, I decided to put together a rec list of my fics that are perfect for Halloween - none of these are really directly Halloween themed, but they have Halloween or spooky vibes. I divided them up between fics that are on Tumblr and fics that are on AO3 because my account is archive locked so you do need an AO3 account to read those fics. Either way, I hope you enjoy some of these fics if it is your first time reading them!

Blood In The Water - Void!Stiles x Fem!Reader (Teen Wolf) (11,700 words)

Being Stiles’s best friend, you are incredibly worried about him when you figure out that he is quite literally not himself - and that the thing currently occupying his body could be destroying it in the process. When you approach him to show this concern, Void takes a particular interest in you. He’s not capable of love, or even fondness, but he likes you. And he likes the way your fear spikes when you talk about Stiles. So he makes you a deal - he’ll agree to take care of this fleshy, mortal host, in exchange for something more precious, more rare, and more delicious than the meal you have brought for Stiles. He wants your pain. He wants your tears. Void!Stiles Stilinski x Fem!Reader. Pining Best Friends. Extreme Emotional Angst, Hurt No Comfort. Set during Season 3 (with flashbacks to Season 1, Episode 11).

Recently posted, and one of the most 'Halloween' fics I have ever written. Very angsty, very spooky. Great if you are looking for some great emotional Halloween dread - like the kind that a horror movie would bring. It was one of my favourites to write, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it.

Precious Time Alone - Gar Logan x Fem!Reader (DC Titans) (11,800 words)

Even with the ability to see the future, you never would have guessed that your life would lead you to falling in love with the perfect man - someone sweet, caring, funny, cute. Someone with the passion and fire to protect the ones that he loves no matter what. A precious guy with green hair who had the ability to transform into a tiger at will. And when you finally made love to him for the first time, you never could have guessed how that unique ability affected his sex life. You weren’t exactly complaining, but you wished you had seen this coming. At the end of the day, it was just another thing about him to love. Or - Neither you nor Gar knew that he has the ability to knot, and you both find out for the first time when you have sex together. Gar Logan x Fem!Powered!Reader. Established Relationship. Smut/PWP. Set during Season 2, Episode 9.

I put this strictly on the list because it is in the style of A/B/O (even though it's not technically A/B/O, because the reader character is technically human) - because what is Halloween without a little monster fucking? I need to write more monster fucking lmao. Anyway, I love this fic and I love this fic so much - and I hope you will too.

Need - Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader (The Walking Dead) (3,000 words)

Daryl comes back from a run acting strangely needy, and you find out that Zach made him jealous. (You may have to thank Zach later.) Or - Daryl fucks your brains out to prove to himself that you’re his. Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader. Established Relationship. Smut/PWP. Set during early Season 4/The Prison Era.

What would Halloween be without some TWD? There is much 'spookiness' to this one, aside from the fact that it's technically set during a zombie apocalypse - it's just pure porn. But whenever I think of Halloween, I do get the urge to watch TWD, so I had to have my boy Daryl in here somewhere.

Damn The Man, Save The Empire (Five Nights At Freddy's) (6,100 words)

Vanessa has always taken care of you. Since the two of you were kids, she has put her neck on the line for you, and you rarely knew how to return that epic kindness. One night, while both of you are raw and on-edge, the dark cloud of your strange past looming over both of you nearly swallows both of you whole - and once again, Vanessa is right there, taking care of you. (Dark)Dom!Vanessa Shelly x Sub!Gender Neutral Reader. Toxic Co-Dependent Relationship. Smut and Angst. Takes place before the main timeline of the film.

The main spooky thing about this one is the fact that Vanessa is very much a sociopath in this, and who doesn't love a dark fantasy where a serial killer fucks your brains out. I really need to write more fics like this, because this one was so much fun to write - I love writing dark characters to their extreme.

Ghosting - Mike Schmidt x Fem!Reader (Five Nights At Freddy's) (3,700 words)

Mike has been in love with you for as long as he can remember. For about as long as the two of you have been best friends. He always thought he would have more time to work up to confessing those big, dangerous feelings for you - until something more dangerous swooped in and stole any time he had left with you. Mike Schmidt x Fem!Reader. Star-Crossed Lovers. Pure Angst. Set during the events of the movie.

Again, this is one that brings horror movie dread - I think that angst is really great for Halloween, especially because this is based off a great Halloween movie. This won't be for everyone because it doesn't have a happy ending, but if you are looking for something very angsty, I hope you enjoy reading this.

These next ones are on AO3, and like I mentioned, my account is archive locked, so you will need an AO3 account to view these fics. But I think they are really great and deserve a shout out too. Also, these fics don't have covers that have been made by me (except for one lmao) - so thanks to Tumblr's gif search system for these ones.

Hold Me Tight Or Don't - Glenn Rhee x Fem!Reader x Maggie Greene (The Walking Dead) (7,200 words)

Everyone should get one last wish. Right? Well, that’s not exactly something you wanted to be thinking of in the middle of a musty old prison library when you have a pack of Walkers crawling up your ass. But you’ll work with what you’ve got. And you have the loves of your life at your disposal and the remaining time that God has given you. Glenn Rhee x Fem!Reader x Maggie Greene. Established Relationship. Major Character Death. Smut and Heavy Angst. Set during Season 3, Episode 4.

This one I put on the list because of the mixture of angst, gore, and smut. I love fics that have a mixture of gore and sex (it's something that I really should do more often) because I feel like sex and death really have such a natural relationship. And this one, unlike the Daryl fic, really brings the zombie aspect to the forefront. It's one of my favourite fics I have ever written, and I think it is perfect for the spooky Halloween mood.

No Brainer - Derek Cho (Steven Yeun) x Fem!Reader x Melanie Cross (Samara Weaving) (Mayhem (2017)) (7,100 words)

When the ID-7 Virus, aka the Red Eye Virus hits Towers and Smythe Consulting, it throws the entire office building into chaos. With a mandatory quarantine from the CDC in action, that chaos builds in on itself, and somehow, you, Derek, and Melanie get everything that you want. aka You have something Derek and Melanie need. Derek and Melanie have something you want. You all agree to make an exchange, and everyone ends up more than happy. Derek Cho (Steven Yeun) x Fem!Reader x Melanie Cross (Samara Weaving). Strangers to Lovers. Smut. Set during the canon of the film Mayhem.

This one is perfect for Halloween because it's based off of an amazing horror movie. Also, it's no coincidence that there's two Steven Yeun fics on fics on this list. He looks really good covered in blood.

Arms Tonite - Bee (Samara Weaving) x GN!Reader (The Babysitter (2017)) (2,100 words)

Sunrise is fast approaching with every second that ticks by - another second you spend with Bee, another second you lose in the fight to gain more time with her. The deal you had made was impossible to complete, and the Devil was eager to get his claws on your immortal soul. But of course, Bee was brewing up some plans of her own. Bee x Gender Neutral Reader. Friends to Lovers. Angst/Horror. Set outside the events of canon.

This was one of my first shorter fics, and I am still really proud of it. Also, it's great for Halloween cause it involves literal human sacrifice. This was actually one of my first fics to experiment with major gore and violence elements - which was largely inspired by the film. And I would love to write a longer (smut) fic with Bee sometime. I love her character so much and I feel like she is so underappreciated.

Very Good Bad Thing - Antisepticeye x Fem!Demon!Reader (8,200 words)

Valentine's Day is a busy time for you, seeing as you're a sex demon, and you close most of your deals when people are feeling lonely and vulnerable. Of course, Anti just had to interrupt you. To give you his stupid... "present". Anti x Fem!Reader. Exes to Lovers/Frenemies. Smut and Gore.

So, technically this is a Valentine's day fic - because I got the idea that I wanted to post a seasonal fic on Valentine's day on one of my old blogs and this monstrosity came to mind. But this fic is a heavy mixture of gore and smut, so I feel like it would be perfect for Halloween too. This is actually my first ever smut fic that included any gore (and it's my only youtuber ego fic, though I would like to write more of them, because they are so much fun) - and I had so much fun writing it. I love writing about demons and characters who are amoral on their basis, because there is no rules. And that just makes it so much fucking fun.

Anyway, if you read any of these fics, I hope you enjoy them! And I hope you have fun and have a great Halloween!!

[canmom]

reading Herbert Mason's translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh, as you do!

I went with Mason's translation after I saw it quoted here and there and seemed pretty solidly written - but it isn't precisely right to call it a translation, more a retelling of the story as Mason understands it. so it's not a line by line translation, and some major parts of it are presumably interpolations or paraphrases.

i knew the broad outline of the story but it's fascinating to put it in context, and discover parts of the story i hadn't heard about. for example, i didn't realise the concept of droit du seigneur was part of this story - I'd thought that was basically a goofy myth about the medieval period, but here in the oldest surviving written story, it's just a thing the mythological king Gilgamesh does. though the exact translation seems a little contentious - Mason writes:

As king, Gilgamesh was a tyrant to his people.

He demanded, from an old birthright,

The privilege of sleeping with their brides

Before the husbands were permitted

But Wikipedia quotes a different translation by Stephen Mitchell which says:

He is king, he does whatever he wants... takes the girl from her mother and uses her, the warrior's daughter, the young man's bride.

The general thrust is similar in both cases, but the details of the custom are different. I don't have Mitchell's translation so I can't find how he describes the moment Enkidu arrives to interfere with Gilgamesh doing one of these kingly rapes (like let's not beat around the bush here, it's a different social context and whatever but you can't possibly say no to the demigod king).

Moving on...

Viewed with modern eyes, the transition between the first chapter and the second is kind of abrupt. We've got this great establishing story for Gilgamesh and Enkidu having a rather homoerotic fight and becoming best bros, but then we abruptly skip forward to Gilgamesh declaring that they're going to go fight a monster called Humbaba, and Enkidu is all like, no, that guy is way too high level, you'll die! Modern writing advice would hold that you'd want to spend some time building up Gilgamesh and Enkidu's relationship 'on screen' here, and perhaps foreshadow the existence of Humbaba a bit sooner to build up the threat a bit - but then I'm not carving this into stone tablets, I can afford to be a little bit roundabout, and who knows what's been lost? (scholars of the Epic probably have some idea lol)

The word used for Gilgamesh and Enkidu's relationship is 'friend'. This feels like it's probably a bit of a lossy translation to me - would lover/boyfriend be projecting too much? I obviously don't know the nuances of Sumerian that well, so maybe this is the best available word, but their relationship has a lot of physicality and a lot of affection.

The woman who goes to Enkidu in the wild and has a bunch of sex until he becomes civilised is described here as a 'prostitute'. My understanding was that she belongs to a religious role here, harimtu, that's usually translated as 'sacred prostitution' but apparently this identity is contested, and also she has a name, Shamhat? I don't know why Mason doesn't use her name. Shamhat has a pretty big role in changing Enkidu and convincing him to come meet Gilgamesh, but her own motivation isn't really explored.

Still, I don't want to come off as only complaining. Whether they originate in the Epic or with Mason, I'm enjoying a lot of the poetic turns of phrase in this version - the style is just the right level of minimal - simple appropriate words, but effective for that. Mason writes in verse, but doesn't rhyme - I'm not really familiar enough with meter to say more than that. There are a lot of fairly short, declarative sentences, mixed up with an occasional much longer metaphor across multiple lines. I think you could fairly easily delete the line breaks and just have prose, but having them makes it flow in an interesting way, like waves? Poetry is not my bailiwick so I'm probably describing some fairly basic facets of the medium, but it's interesting to observe.

I'll add more when I've read a bit more, I'll be in this train a while...

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️ Ranking Richonne

#30: This Is It (S7E12)

Their smiles in this 7.12 scene will forever warm my heart. 🥹 And after seeing the palpable yearning Rick and Michonne have for each other in each of these TOWL trailers, you just know that it’s moments like the one on this rooftop that they both long to return to. (Side note: when they said TOWL would be an epic love story they were not playing around 🔥 every teaser and trailer is showing why this is the most epic husband and wife and this is some crazy love for real. 😍)

Now y'all know Richonne's honeymoon episode 'Say Yes' is gonna make multiple appearances on this Top 30 list. Starting with this lovely moment right here where our power couple is so visibly enamored with each other...

(And y’all, at first I really thought I was gonna make these posts a lil paragraph each, but then I saw a post that said, “I’m my target audience on Tumblr,” and I was like - you know what that person is right lol. And I love me some detailed Richonne insights, both to nestle in and read and to write, so instead of short and sweet, these posts are about to be my signature-length and sweet. Cuz truly I can’t help but go all out when it comes to reveling in Richonne)

Lemme start by saying we are so fortunate to have Andy and Danai as the captains of this ship and that this extraordinary TV relationship is in the hands of two extraordinary actors. The way they give their all to these characters and always speak so beautifully about Rick and Michonne’s relationship is just a blessing. 🙌🏾

I remember Andy saying that he likes to think “I love you” is communicated every time Rick looks at Michonne, and it really really is. And this moment in 'Say Yes' is a prime example. The way they look at each other throughout this scene was a loud and clear “I love you” from them both, and I absolutely love to see it. 

Ok so refresher - because the universe was like Richonne deserves to keep winning on this honeymoon, they climb on that roof and find a boatload of guns at a carnival. And I love that they let Rick and Michonne’s run take place at such a date-like environment.

And I am smiling uncontrollably seeing the two of them smile when they realize this is it. They’re so beautiful and their joy brings me joy. It’s great seeing that they’re in such a good mood after being so down in 7A, and I adore every glance and synchronized smile they share. 

I love Rick saying, “I think this is it” and Michonne smiling as she agrees. This line is pretty accurate to their relationship too. This relationship is it. This is the one for them. I mean, Andy said it himself - Rick found the greatest love story of his life in finding Michonne.

Rick asks, “Think we can?” which is also cute cuz he def knows they can. As was shown in the 7.10 ep 'New Best Friends,' Rick thoroughly enjoys the fact that he and his woman are such a power couple and there’s nothing they can’t do. (and the CRM finna learn there's nothing this husband and wife can't do together real soon 💁🏽‍♀️)

When Rick asks if she thinks they can, Michonne is like let me find the coolest way possible to say 'yes we can' when she gets a determined look on her face and shoots those cans from a far distance. It’s nice cuz when she went out practicing her shot in 7.04 it was a very frustrating experience for her, but now with her man by her side and fighting the fight with him, she’s having a far more fun and successful time. And this would be how two of the baddest in the land have a carnival date. 😋

I love how happy Rick seems to be here to see Michonne in her element. He knew she had been practicing out there alone, and now he gets to see that of course his boss of a wife has got good at it. And their smiles and laughs. Food for the soul.  

You can just feel Rick taking in every moment he has with her and cherishing it. His adoration for this woman is so visible. And as we know, at this point, Rick had come to terms with the fact that he may not make it out of this Saviors war and that they’d lose people. So seeing him be so present in this moment with Michonne like they were the only two in the world, is all the more heartfelt cuz he’s trying to enjoy this moment like it’s his last. Cuz realistically, it could be.

And if his days really are numbered, then spending quality time enwrapped in Michonne's love and smiles is a major part of how Rick wants to enjoy what valuable life he has left.

Michonne is so glowy and happy in this scene too. 🥰  This is the face of a woman whose heart is being cared for by a good man who will be by her side through anything. Her adoration and fulfillment with her man are so fully on display, and she's so deserving of this kind of love and happiness. Also it’s sweet how Rick has this impressed look at her as she knocks down those cans.

And truly what makes this a top 30 scene for me is their reactions after she says that. Because Michonne gives Rick the most sincere sweet smile that is just so clear she loves him. And then the lingering way Rick looks at her 😍…based on that look it just feels like my man Rick was a bit overcome with his love for her. 🥹

It was most definitely a moment of Rick thinking, 'How’d I get so lucky finding you?' And I love that Rick can never hide his feelings for her. This is a man who is so deeply in love with his wife. And how he quietly soaks up this happy moment with her melts my entire heart. You can genuinely see that this moment in time with his true love is one Rick treasures and wants to hold onto for as long as he can.

And I just so respect that with his character so aware that life can be cut short, he’s really presently basking in each moment with her. Time with Michonne and their family is what Rick most wants. And it's refreshing to see them both be so fully present in their Richonne bubble and enjoying what they've always wanted in this scene.

The scene ends with them falling through the roof, but then after a moment of silence, you hear them laughing yet again. I love it. Nothing was bursting that Richonne bubble.

Andy and Danai understand the assignment every time when it comes to depicting Richonne’s relationship. And I love that they knew in an ep where they get to just have all this alone time, they would be so smiley and on cloud nine. And this was one of the moments that beautifully portrayed that. 

Joy wasn't often depicted on this show, but whenever Rick and Michonne got alone time together it was joy’s time to shine. They know they can get through anything together so they’re able to just take a moment and enjoy each other and laugh and smile and that is a rare and wonderful thing only the two of them could give each other in this way.

So if you were to ask me what true love is, I’d show you Richonne scenes like these and just have three words - This. Is. It. 😌

[world0fmadness]

BABY NAMES, PART I

okay, wether you guys want it or not, here are the names with their meanings found on websites and what i imagine some of the babies to look like! but i will never name them in the works so if you do not like these names, you can replace them for whatever you want, i would actually love to hear the names you guys think they would like or your thoughts on these that i chose! i know i am not all that great with names at all but i tried to pick nice ones and ones i think actually fit the father… i think this is honestly a little too long and in depth like oh my god, i do not know where this came from, i was not feeling all that inspired tonight then boom… so enjoy this lolol <3

dad! pelle has a daughter named calliope ohlin and a son named casper ohlin…

♡ calliope means “ beautiful voice ” from greek κάλλος meaning “ beauty ” and ὄψ meaning “ voice ” in greek mythology she was a goddess of epic poetry and eloquence, one of the nine muses!

calliope looks exactly like you! she has your hair, your eyes and just so many of your features, she looks like your twin! the only thing she inherited from pelle was his bone structure and that only really starts to show when she enters her teenage years! pelle absolutely loves this though, he thinks it was one of the major reasons he was able to open his heart to her so quickly after she was born, because she just looked so much like you… she was so undeniably your daughter, your child… whenever he looked at her soft face, looked into her gentle eyes, all he saw was a mini version of you, someone he knew he just wanted to shower in love and support, someone he knew he needed to protect…

casper is the opposite and looks exactly like pelle! he has his bright blue eyes, his blonde hair that only shines brighter in summer, his bony nose and a similarly indented chin! this is why in a similar opposite fashion, pelle felt it was harder to immediately bond with his son after the birth, he felt it was harder to open his heart to him because of how much of himself he saw in his son… how much she saw his younger self, how much he felt like he was looking into a mirror of the past! pelle was just so afraid of tarnishing your son, of somehow corrupting him and his happiness by simply being around him… because all he saw was his younger self, all he saw was the child so long ago that would soon run into so much cruelty and sadness in life! but of course, with a lot of support and reassurance from you that he would never hurt your son, that your son would only ever see him as his father, he was quick to open his heart to him too, just as he did for calliope…

as a father, pelle is beyond subtly proud of the name calliope for his daughter! he thinks it just fits her so well! he thinks she has such a creative soul, even when she was so young with her little messy finger paintings and scribbled crayon drawings, he immediately knew he had a strong creative and inspired soul… so much like him, as you say to him which always makes him blush and feel even more shy pride! and calliope is absolutely his muse, she became his muse right alongside you the second she was growing in your womb… he adored drawing you when you were holding her in your stomach and now, he loves to draw her as he sees her! every time he looks at her, he feels a rush of inspiration and a want to craft! both you and her are his muses, eventually his son too!

dad! bård has a daughter named selene eithun…

♡ selene means “ moon ” in greek! this was the name of a greek goddess of the moon, a titan! she was sometimes identified with the goddess artemis!

selene looks almost exactly like bård but she does have a fair few of your features too! but when you look at her, you mainly see bård… she has his brown hair, his big brown doe eyes and his pronounced, naturally slightly pouted lips! she certainly got his height too! despite being a pretty short and petite child, she hit a major growth spurt in her teenage years and is just a little taller than the average girl! but when she was a newborn and toddler, she was definitely one of those chunky little babies! she had the chubbiest little apple red cheeks and pudgy arms, bård thought she was absolutely adorable and always claimed she just had to be the cutest baby in the world, she was too perfect to him! he loved peppering so many kisses to her chunky arms and chubby cheeks when she was a baby, he bathed in the glory that came with hearing her high pitched giggles and squeals as he did it, he could not get enough of seeing a gummy smile with just a few tiny teeth showing through stretching across her rosy red cheeks! it just manages to wash away so many of his insecurities, his fears that maybe he is not a great father…

when selene was a newborn, bård was very aware of the meaning of her name and got her a little astrology mobile to go in her crib instead of the usual sheep or animal one! not to mention how many glow in the dark stars and moons he stuck up on the ceiling of your shared bedroom in your apartment when her crib was in your room… bård thinks the name fits her so well, she is his treasure, his moon! when she is old enough to not choke on things, he buys both you and your daughter a matching necklace, both silver chains holding one half of a shiny moon! to be honest, a lot of his gifts to her in life, from the moment she was born, revolve around astrology and especially the moon! he is absolutely the type of father to fully support her childhood dream of wanting to become an astronaut!

older! bård definitely gets a moon tattooed somewhere in his arm sleeve tattoo, likely when she is in her teenage years! it is a beautiful tattoo dedicated just to his moon… he likely has a star tattooed somewhere on his body too but from when he was younger, it was one of his first few tattoos and it was dedicated you, his special star, the love of his life and mother of his child!

dad! øystein has identical twin girls named alva aarseth and audra aarseth…

♡ alva is the feminine form of alf! derived from old norse alfr meaning “ elf ” in norse legend this was the name of king, the suitor of a reluctant maiden named alfhild! she avoided marrying him by disguising herself as a warrior, but when they fought she was so impressed by his strength that she changed her mind!

♡ audra means “ storm ” in lithuanian!

both alva and audra just look like complete doubles of øystein, they look like factory made female replicas of him! sometimes you spend minutes studying their faces, trying to find any traces of your own genes in their appearance but you find very few… they have his natural blonde hair, his small button nose, his soft face and so on… they just mirror all of his physical features! and it only got more and more noticeable as they got older, especially in their teenage years when both decided they wanted to dye their hair black after looking at old pictures of their father! øystein went through a crisis in the early months of their lives, he liked to dress them identically because he thought it was funny to see double of his baby but the humour would quickly turn into panic when he realised he could not decipher who was who… that’s why the both of you spend time stitching their names into clothes whenever they get new dresses or onesies! he does get much better at knowing who is who within a couple of months, he just found little ways to differentiate them! and that is when he finds it funny to dress them in the same outfits once again, seeing them in the exact same outfit, with the exact same ribbons in their hair just makes him laugh so much! øystein is also incredibly smug about how much they look like him, he is just so smug and proud…

whenever a storm rolls around, with rain hitting against the glass windows of your shared apartment, øystein likes to hold audra on his hip and stand in front of one of the windows, looking down at her as shadows of water droplets reflect inside through the window and against her curious face, watching with a small smile as her wide eyes follow the raindrops and her little hands grasp his sweater tightly… audra lives up to her name in two ways! one way being that she loves storms, she was never scared and afraid of rainstorms or thunderstorms! she always just wanted to sit at the window with her father whilst you built a pillow fort with alva! the second way being that she was an absolute storm of a child… she was hyper and rowdy, every time after playing, the apartment would look like a tornado had run through it!

dad! vegard has a daughter named violet tveitan…

♡ violet is derived from the english word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from latin viola! it was common in scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an english given name during the 19th century!

violet is a very balanced mix between both you and vegard! she has your eyes but his frizzy and curly black hair, she has your nose but his mouth and an abundance of other little features… both you and vegard see the others features so strongly in her! he thinks she looks like your twin and you think she looks like his! the only thing the two of you can absolutely agree on is that your genes never stood a chance when it came to his hair! literally the second you told him you were pregnant, he knew that baby was going to have his hair, he just knew it! because the hair type is pretty particular and specific when it comes to care and washing, vegard likes to be the one to help her with it! he is more than happy to help you learn how to deal with her hair better too, obviously, but nothing makes him happier than sitting her on his knee and tying her frizzy black hair into little pigtails with little purple ribbons…

i feel like the name violet would come after a lot of thought with vegard, he was thinking about names every day right after you told him you were pregnant! but the two of you could just never decide on a name, nothing rolled off the tongue right before violet popped into his head when he saw you, late in your pregnancy with a very sizeable bump, wearing a deep violet maternity dress… he just thought the colour was beautiful on you, hugging your bump that cradled his baby… once the name was decided, ihsahn was determined to paint her already prepared wooden crib a light violet purple before you gave birth! not to mention how many little violet bows and outfits he buys for her with what little money he has… i feel like he would even switch his usual guitar picks to glittery violet purple picks just for her, to honour his little girl during emperor shows in the most subtle yet thoughtful way!

a slight bonus one here because i have not made his dad! headcanons yet but i wanted to include him <3

dad! varg has twins with the daughter being named vígdís vikernes and the son being named vidar vikernes…

♡ vígdís is derived from the old norse elements víg “ war ” and dís “ goddess ”

♡ vidar derived from old norse víðarr, which was possibly derived from víðr “ wide ” and herr “ army, warrior ” in norse mythology víðarr was the son of odin and grid! at the time of the end of the world, ragnarök, it is said he will avenge his father's death by slaying the wolf fenrir

whilst vígdís and vidar are twins, they are not identical twins! they actually look pretty different from each other… surprisingly, vígdís looks more like her father whilst vidar looks look you! it turns into a kind of daddy’s girl and mama’s boy situation too… at first, varg was not a super overly loving and father towards his little girl, it took him some time to fully open his heart to a daughter, took him a little while to allow her to practice braiding his long blonde hair with colourful ribbons! but he so obviously loves her, so obviously loves both her and his son! he softens a whole lot and almost entirely drops the front he was putting up of being a headstrong and ignorant guy! when he sees how happy it makes her to be able to play with his long hair and feels his hands braiding her hair, it is worth it… it is beyond worth it for him! with vidar, i think varg would really want him to toughen up and be a manly man, even as a child but that is extremely quick to drop too! especially when you tell him it is just… really not okay, that it will only upset his son and feel like he can never be good enough! he drops all of his bullshit after a good talking to from you because deep down all he wants if for you and his children to be happy…

no one in this world can convince me that varg would not want to name his twins some really norse names, some really strong and kind of uncommon names! he spent months during your pregnancy reading through mythology and history books, looking for meaningful names, unique names… he wants names that highlight their norse blood! even if you, their mother, yourself are not… i have no doubt in my mind that he would have at least two songs inspired by their names, made for them! the first majorly soft thing varg did towards your son was buy him a little wolf plushie from a store! it’s kind of ironic considering the mythology lore behind vidar and fenrir but it was cute nonetheless and the first bit of major affection he showed towards him when he was still a baby!

[zablife]

Hello, Lee! ❤️

Ok, John. No request but imagine/headcanon/something.

John climbing through the window to meet his girlfriend or s/o in the middle of the night? And the next day he returns to Small Heath with leaves on his clothes or perhaps a thorn in his hands, but it was certainly worth it 😂. Probably Arthur finds that very funny, and Tommy "not again" but if his brother is happy...

Flor, I took inspo from your lovely ask and included it here, but perhaps not quite the way you meant. I hope you still like it! In this one Y/n is healed from her wound and is ready for trouble which is good bc she finds it with John right before Tommy's wedding! This is prob the closest thing I will ever write to crack fic so enjoy this bit of utter nonsense!

Read previous parts here.

Plus One (Partners in Crime AU)

John Shelby x Y/n Solomons

“Who’s your man, Ada?” Polly asked, eager to know everyone attending Tommy’s upcoming wedding. “He’s not from one of your political meetings is he?”

“Tommy would hate that, wouldn’t he?” she asked with a smirk. “But no, he’s not. I’m bringing a man from the library.”

“John that only leaves you, love,” Polly noted. “Grace doesn’t want uneven numbers so you’ll have to find someone.”

“Why don’t you ask Y/n?” Ada asked, trying to be helpful.

John pulled a face at her remark before exclaiming, “Are you daft? I can’t ask her!”

“Why not? You’re always together,” Polly pointed out.

“We work together, Pol. Thought this was supposed to be a night off. Besides, she’s a pain in my arse,” John replied, twisting the toothpick in his mouth with great agitation.

“I think you fancy her! Are you afraid she’ll say no and break your heart?” Ada teased, shoving her elbow into his ribs playfully.

“Fuck off!” John said, stomping away. The family had noticed he was spending more time with you recently even when you weren’t on the job and he was tired of the insinuations that there was anything more than friendship between you.

As he took a stroll outside the Garrison, he made a mental list of everyone he could possibly ask, but the only girls he could think of were whores. A few of the girls had serviced Tommy after the war so that definitely wouldn’t do. After careful deliberation, he hated to admit that you were looking like the best option after all. He just didn't know how to ask you, knowing you'd hold this over him for months.

————————————

Despite his predicament, there was work to be done. Tonight your brothers wanted you to report back on the Russian royals living in Hampton Court Palace and their jewels, an interesting task considering the orgy of epic proportions going on in the parlor.

John stole a glance at you from his position at the door, gun in hand in case a partygoer or member of staff should wander in unannounced. “Three minutes,” he reminded you of the time you had left before the guards would check the rooms again.

“Four! Get a watch that fucking works!” you hissed in return.

John tapped at the glass above the ticking hands, then held the time piece to his ear as you continued to pry at the case holding the jewelry Alfie instructed you to find. There would be no robbery tonight, only reconnaissance so you knew you had time for a bit of fun. 

After taking a quick inventory of what was kept in the duchess’ bedroom, you took up one of the rings, admiring the biggest diamond you’d ever seen against your fingers in the dim light. “Look at this beauty,” you cooed at the gem.

“Stop playing dress up, Y/n! Do you want to get shot?” John warned you harshly as he moved away from his post.

“By the cossacks or you?” you asked cooly. Standing to your full height, you paced toward him so he could see the irritation in your eyes as you pushed his arm away from you carefully. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing! You know I don’t like it when you bring that one.”

“And what’s wrong with me Webley?” he asked, looking down at the gun.

“Jumps on the hammer, don’t it? Nearly shot your bollocks off last week,” you said at full volume.

“Stop talking so loud about my balls, alright?” Glancing down the hall, his eyes grew wide as he whispered, “Someone’s comin’” and began dragging you away from the door.  

You tried to shake him off reasoning. “I been practicing my Russian accent. We’ll be fine. Let me do the talking,” you said, attempting to jerk your arm from his grasp.

John whipped you around to face him arguing, “What are you going to say? You brought me up here for a shag?” Looking at you doubtfully, he added, “No one here is going to believe you’re Russian.”

“Yeah? Well, no one’s going to believe I’d fuck a bellend like you either! Not for all the money in—” but John cut you off, shoving you out an open window. He came barreling out after you with a grunt, rolling toward you into the flower bushes.

Just as he did, two men went rushing past, unaware of your presence on the well-manicured lawn. You didn’t understand what they were saying, but the sounds echoing inside of their rough curses and heavy boots were enough to make you grateful you hadn’t attempted your plan.

————————————

As you drove home John stole a glance at you, a smug smile tugging at his lips. “That’s two for me,” he commented.

“Two what?” you said, picking leaves from your hair.

“I’ve saved your life twice, alley cat. Three if you count the lie I’m going to have to tell to keep anyone from finding out you stole that ring tonight,” he chuckled, gesturing toward your left hand. 

You gasped as you realized that in the chaos of your escape, you absconded with the jewel you’d been admiring earlier. “Fucking hell!” you exclaimed, trying to wiggle it free. However, it wouldn’t budge and John watched you claw at your hand helplessly as he shook with laughter.

“That’ll teach you to impersonate a bloody duchess!” he roared.

In desperation to remove the ring, you began sucking on your finger to use your saliva as a lubricant, but John quickly pulled your hand away.

“Stop it! You don’t know where that thing’s been,” he said, disgustedly. “You wouldn’t believe the things Tommy’s told me about what they do with their gems.”

“Like what?” you asked in a distracted, far off voice, too busy watching your finger turn from red to purple as you squeezed at the metal band painfully.

John snickered as he replied, “Tatiana said that’s been inside her aunt’s dusty old cunt!”

“Get it off me!” you cried, thrusting your hand in his face and slapping at his shoulders as though the ring was burning your skin.

The car swerved as John batted you away, scolding you in his deep fatherly voice he reserved for his errant children. “Behave yourself, Y/n. I’m fucking driving!” 

You slumped back in your seat with a frown, feeling the gem snag your dress as you crossed your arms over your chest. Thinking of Alfie’s explicit instructions not to take anything from the house, you lit a cigarette and began to ponder a way to hide your accidental theft. 

It wasn’t long before John’s taunts drew you from your sulking. “So what’s Russian pussy taste like, Y/n?”

Exhaling smoke in his direction you retorted, “Probably the same as the cock you had to suck to get in the front door, you fuck wit. Now help me figure out what I’m going to do about this!” you cried.

“I’ll sort this for you,” John said confidently, eyes trained on the road once more. He knew Tommy would do anything to keep Grace happy, even concealing this massive fuck up from Alfie.

“Yeah, how?” you challenged him, exhausted and definitely not in the mood for his scheming.

“Let’s go see Tommy,” he announced.

“Now?” you shrieked. John just nodded. “Is he even awake?” 

“You’re asking the wrong questions, sweetheart,” John said with a smirk. 

You rolled your eyes at him, letting your head drop back against the bench seat in frustration.

“So do you like weddings?” he asked nervously clutching at the steering wheel, though he had no reason to be. You’d have to say yes after a favor like this.

—————————————-

The light of the pre dawn hours had not yet breached the Shelby household when an ominous scratching noise woke Tommy and Polly. Giving up any hope he had of resting the day before his wedding, Tommy rose cautiously with his pistol in hand. Creeping toward the steps in the darkness, he held his breath as he heard the thud of a body tripping over the low windowsill. 

“On your fucking feet before I put a bullet in your head,” he warned in a low growl. He readied his weapon, fearing the worst before seeing a lighter flicker to life before him and John’s face appear in an orange halo of light.

“For fucks sake, it’s me Tommy!” he called out, brushing off his jacket which was still coated in dirt and grass, a few leaves sticking out from his back pockets.

Tommy came forward to light a lamp and took in the sight of his younger brother helping you through the window, a large diamond ring shining brightly on your left hand. He blinked several times at the sight, rubbing his eyes to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. 

“We need your help, brother,” John said cryptically.

Tommy stood still for a moment, running a hand down his face before exhaling a weary reply. “What have you two done now?”

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

Read next part Birthday Gift

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.167 Tea time

When we walk into Yasmine's house, I notice immediately that she too had a birthday. I used to enjoy admiring her hourglass shape, but now it's a little more pear-like. It's happening to me too, unfortunately. We're getting older, and things are expanding and settling in our bodies in places I did not expect. My waist has gotten so wide, and it has nothing to do with the fact that my workouts aren't consistent. I don't look the same in my shirts. I'm not sad about it or anything. It's just that when you're used to seeing yourself a certain way, it's jarring when things change. I just have to get used to my version of the dad bod, I guess. What I want to know is how Sophia managed to escape the adult body shift. Her body is just as perfect as the day I met her. The Watcher blessed her richly, but what kind of deal did she make, and how can I get in on it?

I have zero lingering feelings for Yasmine, and being around her is no problem for me. But just in case it's a problem for Sophia, I sit in the chair and let her take the sofa next to Yasmine. She's cordial and gives her a soft smile, but I can tell she's uncomfortable. I wish Yasmine a happy belated birthday to kick things off, since "you look great" would probably land me on the couch. Her birthday was just yesterday, apparently. She congratulates us on the baby and jokes that if she didn't know my dad, she'd be looking at Sophia sideways with this blue-eyed baby.

We laugh, and that seems to loosen up Sophia a little. I reply, saying how surprised we were when Desiree opened her eyes for the first time. Her blue eyes were so special to me, especially since we lost Dad a few days later. She offers her condolences, and I mention we've experienced a lot of deaths these past few weeks, and she expresses her sympathies once more. Death is really good at making things awkward, so after a beat, Yasmine begins her epic tale.

A while ago, she met a man in a bar. Physically, he wasn't her type, but he was nice, so she let him talk. He made her laugh, and they had decent conversation, but that was it. She wasn't attracted to him, yet somehow he ended up going home with her that night. She woke up next to him, very confused, and a little dazed, yet oddly attracted to him. In her gut, she knew everything about that scene was wrong, but her heart was all fluttery around him. He never left her home, and for weeks she lived in this weird limbo between being attracted to someone she would never give the time of day and trying to figure out why she felt that way. The night Sophia and I came into the restaurant after the engagement, she had just found out she was pregnant. She's always wanted children, so it wasn't bad news, per se, but she wanted to be in a loving relationship with someone she trusted first. But that was the thing. When she was around him, she felt in love and trusted him. But when she went to work or anywhere else, she went back to being confused.

He, on the other hand, was very excited about the babies. Learning it was twins devastated her a little. One baby in a confusing situation was enough, but two? She didn't know what to do and tried to take extra shifts and stay away from home as much as possible because she felt most like herself away from him. But he became very needy and obsessive, calling all the time and wanting to know when she would be home. It scared her.

When the babies were born, she felt a tiny sense of relief. Maybe they'd give him a sense of purpose and he'd leave her alone. She could almost smell the peace in her home, but that sweet, faint scent blew away when she saw the babies. I sat on the proverbial edge of my seat waiting to learn the deal with these babies. Sophia's face was like stone, and she couldn't tear herself away either.

The babies were beautiful. It was like looking at newborn versions of her twin. But one baby had eyes as red as blood! Her first reaction was to scream in terror, but something about those eyes called to her. She couldn't explain why they were that way or what it meant, but she had a feeling they were connected to the strange fog she had experienced. Ol' dude confirmed her suspicions by being drawn to her the most. He must have known something she didn't, so she asked him if he knew why her eyes were that color. He gave her all kinds of dismissive reasons, but they only confused her more. Yasmine was a relatively healthy sim, so it couldn't have been related to her own health and lifestyle, and she didn't have weird stuff in her family history. After a few days, however, the man was gone!

That was so triggering for me after dealing with the fallout from Alessia's abandonment. I felt my body tensing up, and I had to take subtle deep breaths so no one would notice my mood changing. Yasmine never heard from him again, and part of me was relieved. I hated that she's now left to raise children on her own, but that guy was a wacko, and she's definitely better off without him.

Within a week, she felt normal again and started trying to figure out who he was, why she felt so strange, and why their baby had red eyes. The eyes seemed to be the easiest part to solve, so she began there. She came across some of the reasons the man mentioned in her search, but an overwhelming number of blogs and forum posts all pointed to the same thing. Only spellcasters of the strongest bloodline have eyes that color.

Sophia gasped, and so did I. All that time, she was under some spell that lead her to believe she was in love with some nut job who only wanted her womb?? That sick bastard! She knew nothing about spellcasters, what they could do, or how their magic worked, so she packed up her babies and moved as far away as she could, hoping he wouldn't be able to find them. That's how she ended up here in Oasis Springs. She'd been afraid to leave the house for fear of running into him or her baby's latent magic sending him a signal or whatever. She knew she couldn't stay holed up in here forever, however, so she read everything she could find about spellcasters. The red-eyed baby is on her way to becoming a very powerful mage and could start using her magic when she's a teenager, but she won't have her full abilities until she either asks her father for the rite, or she goes to Glimmerbrook to go on some quest to prove herself worthy.

Every time I thought this story couldn't get more ridiculous, it did. Me and Sophia sat there dazed at this tale. I barely thought that stuff was real before tonight, but here we are under the same roof with a real life spellcaster. What is happening in this world??

"Why have you told us this?" Sophia asked.

Yasmine mostly needed someone else to believe her. It sounds absolutely like the stuff of fiction, and if she didn't sound so desperate on the phone, I'm not sure I would have believed it either. To protect her girls, she can't tell the truth to everyone, but the truth was eating away at her and she just needed someone else to know what happened to her and what she's dealing with. I told her that her secret is safe with us, and we'll support her however we can.

That was a huge relief to her as she's been thinking about the future a lot. It will be a while before they reach school age, but she's been stressed thinking about the girls being away from her most of the day. She wishes she had sims she could ask to lookout for them while they're at school, but she can't risk it. Although she hasn't heard from the man since he left, she thinks he's waiting for their teen birthday to reappear. That CANNOT happen. If they meet, he'll take her away and she'll probably never see her again. She deleted all her social media accounts and uses incognito browsers when she's online to mitigate her online presence, but somehow she doesn't think any of that matters.

I just want to hug her. I don't know what it is about the warmth of another sim enveloping us that has a way of making us less anxious, but that's what she needs right now. Instead, I tell her if I should ever come in contact with her girls, she can rest assured that I will protect them and keep them safe.

[billpottsismygf]

Empire of Death

That was a very enjoyable 55 minutes, but I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed. So much happened and I enjoyed a lot of it, so it's going to take a while for me to fully untangle all my thoughts, but my current feelings are mixed. First, for things I liked!

I loved Gabriel Woolf's delivery; it's just as good now as it was 44 years ago, with so much menace but also a great subtlety to it. I also actually quite liked Sutekh's redesign this time. It feels like a nicely scaled up version of his bat face mask at the end of The Pyramids of Mars. I also like a lot of the ideas at play here. I like the Doctor realising he has literally trailed destruction in his wake, especially after him saying he brings disaster last episode. I like the Doctor killing Sutekh and saying that Sutekh has won because of that - coward or killer returns, and this time he was forced to choose killer. It also places the Fourth Doctor's lack of remorse for killing Sutekh originally into an interesting contrast. I'm also generally fine with the Doctor taking Sutekh back through the vortex and bringing death to death. I'm not entirely sold on why that works, but it's fine in the context of the episode.

However, there were issues at play. The level of destruction wants to make this feel extremely important and epic, and it did remind me of Flux at times but with more emotional reaction from the Doctor and companions, but, much like Flux, it did more to undermine itself than anything. For instance, Kate's death really shook me (and everyone else in the room, but I was focused on Kate). I fully expected some people to not make it out of this episode alive, so it seemed very possible that she might actually be dead. However, as soon as the death dust spread out a certain amount, I knew it would have to be undone and that Kate et al. would be absolutely fine. Now, I love an 'everybody lives', but it just fails to have any stakes at all when it's so obvious that that will be the outcome.

Mel's death was similarly shocking, though I was a bit more prepared for it. Again, I thought there was a real possibility she might really be dead because she wasn't dissolved like the others but turned into an agent of Sutekh. However, I didn't fully trust it because I could already tell there were going to be a lot of death retcons, and indeed her death seemed to be undone just as easily as everyone else's. Susan Triad too, of course, who seemed entirely unfazed by being a transplanetary and transtemporal being with thousands of different existences.

What actually is Susan's initial origin? We know why she was everywhere and why she's called Susan, but not who she actually was originally or why Sutekh created/used her specifically. Continuing with the agents of Sutekh, what about Harriet? Her name is Harbinger, so is she like that little boy from The Devil's Chord? Or is she like Susan or Mel and is still just a person underneath it all? I think she got killed for real by the TARDIS blast when the Doctor whistles open what I assume is the heart of the TARDIS (though that's never actually said), but this is not focused on at all. Does she not matter? She may be the only person to actually die in this story and I had to go and check the episode again just now to make sure she really had. It all seems rather underexplained and underwhelming - and unfair! Justice for Harriet!

Another underwhelming aspect was Ruby's mother. Now, don't get me wrong, I adored the Doctor's speech about Ruby's mother being ordinary and being important because they think she is, like gods but also like people. However, it's extremely underwhelming after the question of who she is has been hyped up so much. More problematically, I just do not buy that Sutekh cares so much about her. I'll see what I think on rewatch, but right now I'm just left wondering what all this was about. Sutekh's desperation, the extremely dramatic pointing, the way she flickered and moved about in the time window, the way the memory changed, the goddamn snow! What does it all mean? I really liked Ruby reuniting with her, but there's a disconnect between the set up and the pay off.

Mrs Flood is a remaining mystery, but at least she's meant to be. Last week gave the impression that she was malicious, but in her interactions with Cherry this episode she doesn't seem so at all, and her remark about the cup of tea not happening now seems to be just because she knows Sutekh will kill them both. She's even got her arms around Cherry and calls the Doctor 'that clever boy'. We're back to her speaking directly to the audience, and this time as an all-knowing narrator figure. It feels very book at bedtime on Cbeebies, especially with the 'night night', which was in fact name-dropped in The Legend of Ruby Sunday. It also feeds into the unreality/TV theory a lot of people are running with. Mrs Flood's final moments also felt rather Mary Poppins, with the umbrella and the suitcase. The latter perhaps suggests she's no longer going to be Ruby's neighbour, maybe because Ruby is no longer actively travelling with the Doctor (for now).

Speaking of Ruby, this was far more of a farewell than I expected! We know she's going to appear next series, but I wonder how much. Will she jump back in as a main companion pretty quickly? Will she be in a handful of episodes series 4 Martha style? Will she only appear once? I can't remember if much has been spotted of series 2 filming, so I guess we'll find out. One possibility is that she's dragged back into the storyline due to proximity to Mrs Flood, but as I mentioned above, I suspect Mrs Flood is moving out. Does Cherry remember the strange things she said, I wonder?

I don't know where else to put this, but we also got more 73 Yards stuff. My favourite of those was the confirmation that the Doctor stopped Roger ap Gwilliam in the original (and current) timeline, because it solves one of my lingering problems with the episode. Even though I like the episode enough to ignore its issues, I'm still glad to get that resolved. It just makes it a lot neater. It's interesting that the focus this time was on his DNA testing rather than the nukes. I don't mind that, but I think it would have made the reveal of how they can find Ruby's mother more satisfying if that had been seeded into 73 Yards itself. I just checked the transcript, though, and it doesn't look like it was mentioned at all. We also get the TARDIS field being 73 Yards and the Doctor saying that you can see things at 73 Yards, but there's no further exploration of that. I'd be happy to just leave it at that, but that combined with the CCTV footage of the church being 73 yards has me wondering if more will come of it.

So, that's all I have to say for now. It's a somewhat underwhelming finale after all the hype, but then this is also the first RTD finale I've ever experienced fresh as an adult. I knew going in to this era that I probably wouldn't be quite as forgiving of its flaws as 9-13 year-old me was the first time round. Still, I've overall really been enjoying this new era. I wish we'd had more episodes this series, but that can't be helped. At least there won't be such long gaps between series as there have been!

I don't like hating on the Chibnall era too much, especially given all the unwarranted flack it got, but Flux broke me somewhat and even before that there was something a little meh about it for me, so this has been re-invigorating. It should be clear from this review that I don't think RTD is perfect, but I also can't deny the fact that I'm excited about the show again in a way that I haven't been for years and it's been so wonderful and exciting. This finale was messy and ridiculous in a number of ways, but that's kind of the nature of the show and I'm still very excited for what comes next.

Misc:

I really liked the idea of memory dying because the things that created those memories have died.

Likewise, I love that the memory TARDIS was indeed explained and relevant.

Morris literally having guns in his mobility scooter? I know Shirley did in her wheelchair, but who let the thirteen year-old have deadly weapons? And he's shooting them behind other UNIT officers who are higher up than he is. He might be more dangerous than Sutekh.

Kate got to have a little hand hold with Ibrahim, which sure okay. I don't really care about them apparently having a thing and it feels a little odd to just shove it in there, but I suppose it's kind of sweet.

Still no Susan (Foreman), though I enjoyed seeing her in old footage. In fact, I liked all the old footage used. I thought it was funny that the Doctor didn't ever explicitly say that the man with the curly hair was in fact him.

I loved the Doctor calling Sutekh Sutes at one point. That was so extremely Fifteenth Doctor.

Sutekh's been attached to the TARDIS since the 1980s, so like throughout the Time War and everything? When House took it over? That's such an insane lore bomb to drop.

Also, as I keep bringing up, what about Fourteen's TARDIS? Did Sutekh just stick to Fifteen's TARDIS at the diverging point? Is part of him still attached to Fourteen's?

[icycoldninja]

Perhaps writing the DMC men catching the reader singing to herself when she thought that she was alone while hanging clothes out to dry

She’s not exactly shy but she’s not exactly bold either, just somewhere in between but for singing…deadass not wanting to sing anywhere publicly, which results in her awkwardly sitting in a karaoke booth with her frunk friends hyping her up and she’s just “-_-“

So when they said they’ll be out to get groceries or go on a mission, she takes this time to sing to herself:

1/ Dante: Would That I - Hozier

2/ Vergil: Brooklyn Baby - Lana Del Rey

3/ Nero: La Vie En Rose - Edith Paif

4/ V: I’m a fool to want you - Frank Sinatra

Yeah, OK. Here ya go.

Sparda boys + V x Singing!Reader headcannons

¤ Dante ¤

-Dante knew you were pretty closed off in terms of singing, as whenever he took you out for karaoke nights with the rest of the DMC crew, you would just sit in the booth, watching as he and probably Nero screamed their drunken heads off.

-He assured you just couldn't sing or were just too nervous to do it in front of others, and he respected that.

Then he happened to walk out on you singing to yourself while hanging up your laundry.

-"And it's not tonight Where I'm set alight And I blink in sight Of your blinding light Oh, it's not tonight Where you hold me tight Light the fire bright Oh, let it blaze, alright

Oh, but you're good to me Oh, you're good to me Oh, but you're good to me, baby"

-Dante was stunned to hear you could sing like this, and ended up stealthily following you outside when you did your laundry, just to hear you sing.

-At some point he couldn't control himself any longer and decided to sing along with you, nearly giving you a heart attack.

■ Vergil ■

-Vergil was never one to be nosy, so if you choose not to sing around others, then that's your problem, and not his.

-He doesn't make any assumptions or anything about why you choose not to sing in public, because he genuinely doesn't care.

-He can't sing to save his life, but would sooner die than have you know that, so he'll keep his mouth shut.

-At one point he walked outside, where you were hanging up laundry, only to find you belting out some tunes.

-"Well, my boyfriend's in a band He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed I've got feathers in my hair I get down to Beat poetry And my jazz collection's rare I can play most anything I'm a Brooklyn baby I'm a Brooklyn baby

Ta-da-da-da-da-da-da Ta-da-da-da-da-da-da Pa-ta-da-da-da-da"

-Vergil has to admit, he's impressed. He's not gonna follow you around to hear your singing, but he will leave the window open so he can quietly listen in without fear of getting caught.

□ Nero □

-Nero enjoyed singing himself, though he only ever showcased this ability when Dante dragged him out for a get-together with the others, where he would inevitably drink too much beer and lose his self control.

-He won't pressure you into doing something so potentially embarrassing, so whether you want to sing in front of him or not is entirely up to you.

-He is a little bit curious, however. Do you have a hidden talent that you're too nervous to show, or do you suck really bad?

-He happened to be taking a stroll outside when he caught wind of singing that wasn't coming from a pair of speakers. It was coming from a person, and that person was you, singing Edith Paif.

-"Des nuits d'amour à plus finir Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place Des ennuis, des chagrins s'effacent Heureux, heureux à en mourir"

(Translation from Google: Nights of endless love, a great happiness that takes its place. Troubles, sorrows fade away. Happy, happy to die)

-Nero didn't understand a word of what you were saying, but that didn't matter cause your voice was epic as hell.

● V ●

-V doesn't sing, since his voice isn't exactly made for that, but he would love to hear you sing.

-He is a tad bit disappointed that you don't want to sing, but everyone has their aversions and such, so he let it go.

-He happened to be passing by the open kitchen window, outside of which you were hanging up the laundry, and heard your singing for the first time.

-"I'm a fool to want you I'm a fool to want you To want a love that can't be true A love that's there for others too"

-V was pleasantly surprised that you'd decide to sing outside, doing such a mundane task, and was also quite happy since his wish had finally been granted.

-Since he happened to love the song you were singing, he couldn't help himself and began singing along, startling you with his raspy, mummy-with-a-sore-throat singing.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Several Sentences Sunday

Includes a "Special Announcement."

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

FANON FanFic: Buddie Multi-Chapter - “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Chapters 35 & 36 will be posted soon.

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Currently 34 chapters completed: 1.585M Words; Rated: Mature

Special Announcement: It's been almost a month since I posted Chapter 34 and before I share the good news regarding this fic, I want to take a moment to say "Thank you" to everyone who's been reading along as I post each chapter. When I started writing it in May 2023, I had no idea how impactful it would be on me and those who've read, commented and given kudos. I'm grateful for everyone who's interacted with me and writing this truly has been and continues to be a labor of love. This fic is my baby and I take great care in writing it because my goal is to always make sure the characters are growing and moving forward. Therefore, after I completed and posted Chapter 34, I took some time to reflect on it and I had to be honest with myself because even though I had set a specific goal with the number of chapters I wanted it to have, I knew I wouldn't be able to fit everything in the remaining 6 chapters. I was perplexed about adding more since I had already updated it from 30 to 40. This is a huge fic but once I realized I wouldn't be able to add everything in the last 6 chapters that I want to include for Buck, Eddie and Chris along with the 118, I made a decision and I hope everyone is as excited as I am about it.

The good news is that I've added 35 more chapters to this fic and my goal is to work on it throughout the hiatus. I've been planning to do this for a while but I waited to make this announcement because I wanted to see when the show was going on hiatus and now that we know it'll start after 8x8 airs, I decided to do it today.

Please understand there will come a time when this fic must come to an end and even though I have the way I want I to end in mind, it's subject to change because I don't force the writing, I just let the narrative take me wherever it's going to go. I believe that's best way to do it so the story remains authentic and the characters get to continue to grow and change. There's so much more in store for Buck, Eddie and Chris and I can't wait to finish the next two chapters.

Since it's been about four weeks since I updated it, I've included two snippets below from Chapters 35 and 36. My plan is to post them at the same time and hopefully, I'll finish them soon.

Enjoy and thank you again to everyone who's been reading. I believe you'll enjoy the narrative and where it's taking the Diaz Family and I hope everyone keeps reading along.

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I'm excited to finish writing Chapters 35 and 36 because at the end of Chapter 34, the Diaz family had just returned home after spending the weekend in El Paso. A lot happened while they were there and Helena caused trouble like she usually does but Eddie permanently instituted the "no contact" provision he put into place in November 2023. Furthermore, they told their family about their home in Italy along with a portion of their timeline for when they're planning to relocate.

After they made it back to the hotel, Buck and Eddie had a long conversation about their employment options and they decided once Buck chose which career path he wanted to take, i.e., fire captain with the LAFD, FDNY or with an Italian firehouse, they would chose the option that best suited their family and it had to be one that would provide Chris with the best education. Buck made the decision to accept the job as a Food Network chef and right after he did, they listened to a voice message Bobby left for him while they were on their flight back to L.A. 👀

{Previous snippet}

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Here’s a snippet from Chapter 35 of Buck, Eddie, Maddie and Chimney having a conversation while they're taste testing menu items for Buck's and Eddie's vow renewal ceremony.

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“Buck?”

He smiles, turns to look at her and replies, “Yeah?”

“Someone from the Food Network is trying to reach you.”

His eyes widen and he immediately looks at Eddie.

Eddie’s calm, cool and collected the way he always is while Buck’s trying not to panic.

After a few seconds of deafening silence, he turns back to look at her and asks, “Uh… what was that?”

“Someone from the Food Network keeps dialing your number and it’s not an 800 number because they’re in New York.  Why would anyone be calling you from there?”

Buck sits the carving utensils down, then he sits and immediately, Eddie takes his hand in his and they have a silent conversation.  When they finish, Eddie nods, then they both turn and look at their family.

“Come on guys… is there something you need to tell us?”  Chimney asks with a hitch of nervousness in his voice.

“Yes, we were going to tell you once we got back but we believe it’ll be better to tell you now.”  Eddie explains.

Maddie raises her eyebrows and quietly asks, “Tell us what?”

“That we have an opportunity to move to New York City… well uh… Manhattan to be exact.”  Buck says.

“What? New York?  Why?”  Chimney asks.

“Because uh… I was offered a job to be the new chef of their show “All About Pasta” and I accepted it.”

The silence that fills the room is loud, awkward and uncomfortable.

Maddie and Chimney look at each other and after they have a silent conversation of their own, Chimney says, “Wait a minute… are you not coming back to the 118?”

Buck looks at Eddie and after he nods at him, Eddie takes over.  “Right now, the answer to your question Chimney is uncertain.”

“Why?  I don’t understand and how does that relate to the Food network?”

“Well, Buck and Bobby had a huge disagreement and so far, they haven’t had a chance to discuss it.  The job offer was sent to him before they met last week and after we discussed it and weighed all of the pros and cons, Buck decided he wants the job.  We have an opportunity to move to New York because their headquarters are there and they want us to visit so we can see a live taping of Emeril’s last episode of the show Buck's taking over and while we’re there, the network scheduled time for us to look at some places to live.”

What will be Maddie's and Chimney's responses when they tell them everything that's been going on with Buck's new job? 👀

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Here’s a snippet from Chapter 36 of a conversation Buck and Eddie are having with a real estate agent and the owner of a luxury apartment building located in the Chelsea neighborhood within Manhattan, NYC.

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“You’re welcome.  Now, it’s my understanding you’re considering relocating to New York City and here in Manhattan, more specifically Chelesa, this is the only building you’ll find that has practically everything.”

Cherylynn smiles brightly and replies, “Ron’s right because this building does have everything.  It has both restaurants and shopping available here on the first level and it’s mere minutes away from the Food Network Headquarters.  Parking is available in the garage and spaces can be either rented or purchased.  Also, Central Park is only 2 ½ miles away which means if you want to take a walk or run in the park, it’s within walking distance.”

“That’s great but I have a question.”  Eddie explains.

Ron replies, “Of course, Mr. Diaz.  Please feel free to ask any questions you like.”

“Thank you.  When we arrived, I noticed this area appears to primarily be residential but are there any supermarkets near here?  I’m asking because my husband cooks with specific ingredients and they can’t be found just anywhere.”

Buck smiles and blushes, then says, “Thanks babe.”

He winks at him to let him know he always has his back followed by him gently squeezing his hand.

“That’s an excellent question and my answer is yes because there are five supermarkets within a 5-mile radius.  There’s a Whole Foods to our south and Hudson Market, Ideal Marketplace, Trader Joe’s and another Whole Foods to our north.”

Buck nods and internally thinks how there’s no Super Target and he’s grateful because he doesn’t want them to revisit that trauma.  This is a new opportunity for them and he wants it to be great.  “Uh… thank you but I have a question too.  Is parking available at those supermarkets or would it be better to walk?”

“Parking is not available at most supermarkets but they offer delivery and some of them offer street parking but it’s first come first serve.”  Ron replies.

“Ok and thanks.”  Buck responds and he tries not to be disappointed.

“You’re welcome.”

Eddie already knows who Buck’s thinking about and the truth is, he’s thinking about their son too.  Sundays is their day to run errands and primarily to go grocery shopping.  It’s one of Buck’s and Chris’ activities that they love to do and he doesn’t want that to be taken away from them.

After a couple of seconds, Cherylynn asks, “Do either of you have any more questions before we head upstairs?”

Eddie shakes his head no and responds, “No, we’re good and we’re ready to see the first unit.”

With a warm smile, Ron says, “Excellent.  If everyone will follow me we’ll take one of our ten elevators and once we enter the first unit, you’ll be able to see the fantastic panoramic views.”

Everyone follows Ron and after they get on the elevator, Ron pushes the button for the 48th floor and after the doors close, they talk about other amenities around the area.  When it stops, they exit and walk down the hallway to the end and stop in front of unit #4818.  Ron unlocks then opens the door and the four of them step inside.

As soon as they cross the threshold, Buck and Eddie take in the scenery with the floor to ceiling windows that line the walls from the living room to the kitchen.

“Cherylynn, I’ll let you take it from here.”

“Thanks Ron.”  She replies then she looks at Buck and Eddie and explains, “The rate for this unit is $10,750 per month and it has 2 bedrooms with 2 full bathrooms.  This is the living space and it’s an open floorplan that leads directly into the kitchen and the dining room.” She starts walking towards the kitchen and they follow her.  “As you can see there are stainless steel appliances and the ceilings are double height.  There’s a terrace through these doors and it’s just the right size for growing a small herb garden or for relaxing on a warm summer evening.”

Will Buck and Eddie choose this apartment or are they going to buy a condominium, penthouse or choose a home in Westchester County? 🤷🏽‍♀️

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Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.

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Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.

Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.

Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.

Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.

Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.

Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.

Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.

Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.

Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.

Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.

Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.

Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?

Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.

Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.

Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant. The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.

Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.

Chapter 19 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to their wedding day, the universe begins to align everything so that some of their parent and children's relationships are strengthened while others come to an abrupt end.

Chapter 20 - With only 14 days remaining until Buck, Eddie and Chris depart Los Angeles, CA traveling to Rome, Italy, for their first family adventure, an early morning conversation about “tying up loose ends” helps Buck and Eddie realize there are still several things left unfinished on their ‘To Do’ lists. The question is will there be enough time to complete all of them?

Chapter 21 - Buck, Eddie and Chris are finalizing their ‘To Do’ Lists, double checking their itineraries and packing their suitcases in preparation for their trip to Europe so they can board their flight that departs Los Angeles, CA on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 3:25PM.

Chapter 22 - While Buck, Eddie and Chris spend the first 8 days of their European family adventure in Italy, their primary reason for going will be fulfilled as well as several others they hadn’t considered or anticipated.

Chapter 23 - As the Diaz Family continues their Italian family adventure, they’ll say, “Ciao” or hello and goodbye to a lot of things almost immediately after they become an official and legal family.

Chapter 24 - After Buck, Eddie and Chris arrive in London, England on December 24th; the Diazes immediately start preparing to spend their first family Christmas together. During their stay, each of them will hear a few choice words that will be the life raft to get them home to complete their searches to be seen and to be found.

Chapter 25 - After spending more than two weeks in Europe, Eddie, Buck and Chris are back in Los Angeles and they’re getting ready to attend Maddie and Chimney’s New Year’s Eve party. During the event, they have plans to make two surprise announcements but the question is, who’s really going to be surprised, the Diaz family or their found family at the 118?

Chapter 26 - Buck and Eddie are once again faced with their greatest fear of losing each other but this time it could be permanent and if it is, then they won’t be able to spend the rest of their lives together.

Chapter 27 - After Buck resumes therapy, he’ll continue to face the fact that he “DIED” in March 2023 and during those sessions, he’ll learn about the 7 stages of grief. As he continues his healing journey, Eddie will be right by his side just like he promised and the Diaz family will start to deal with their three minutes and seventeen seconds loss as a family.

Chapter 28 - Two years ago, Eddie was asked, “What are you afraid of?”; twice, once by Frank and once by Buck but he only answered one of them without deflecting. Since that time, he’s been to therapy and him and Buck got married but the question resurfaces when Frank asks Buck the same question and Buck asks it of Eddie for the second time. However, when Buck asks, his reasoning will be about something else entirely.

Chapter 29 - After Buck and Eddie have an emotionally intimate conversation regarding their dreams, they make several decisions that will affect their future. When everything falls into place, they’ll realize one of those decisions will result in them no longer being work partners.

Chapter 30 - In 2018, Buck and Eddie met at the 118 and after some initial apprehensions on Buck’s part, they became work partners and they agreed to have each other’s backs. It’s been more than 6 ½ years, a lot’s happened, they got married in December 2023 and they have the family they both chose. With Eddie leaving the 118 in 3 months and Buck getting closer to moving past his grief, what will him losing his work partner mean for him?

Chapter 31 - As Buck’s life hangs in the balance from what’s suspected to be another bradycardia event, Eddie’s by his bedside, their son is being cared for by relatives and their found family is in the waiting room. During this time, many questions will surface that could possibly lead to the truth but will everything be revealed before it’s too late?

Chapter 32 - On January 2, 2024, the figurative skies over the Diaz family became gray and filled with storm clouds. Buck’s recent trauma, Chris’ school project and Eddie’s paramedic studies combined with the attack on Buck’s life, all those things contributed to the grief they’ve been experiencing. However, as the middle of February approaches, will the dark clouds dissipate so blue skies can return?

Chapter 33 - Now that “New Beginnings” are on the horizon for the Diazes regarding their future as dual residents of the United States of America and Italy, Buck and Eddie review their career qualifications and they consider educational options for Chris.

Chapter 34 - Buck and Eddie are equals in their marriage, they wholeheartedly support one another and they agreed to discuss the big decisions that affect their family. Recent events have them facing a difficult one that will affect their dreams and Buck’s career, Eddie’s job location and plans for Chris’ educational future from both domestic and international perspectives are all included. While they’re visiting El Paso, TX, they’ll discuss the pros and cons of each option.

Chapter 35 - Will be posted soon.

Chapter 36 - Will be posted soon.

__________

Read chapters 1-34 are available on AO3.

Continue reading on AO3

[random-krab]

I have read various variations (6 to be exact) of the iliad here is my ranking. (These are judge on factors such as, How much I personally enjoyed them, Poem vs Prose, Biases, writing style, drama, and how pretty the covers are (Pretty covers may not be a important part of the literature experience but its important to me and I do want I want on this blog)

1. Lattimore, Lattimores translation is beautiful, Its the most faithful to the original, it keeps a good amount of drama with its rythm, I love this translation. most of the editions of this also have a pretty cover

2. Fragles, it was considered the best for awhile and it still is up there, its nicely written and is a great translation for people new to epics!

3. Fitzgerald, a pretty good translation all together but a lot of the words he chooses to use are iffy if not completely changed from the original greek.

4. Caroline, The first woman to translate the iliad, She does a pretty decent job, it's written in a Prose and is easy to read, there is some minor bias but other then that its pretty and a clean read.

5. Samuel Butler, I am currently reading this so forgive me if this is edited later on. This version comes along with the odyssey and it's written in a prose, it pretty simple but there is some major bias in this towards Achilles in the first and second book (I am not on the third yet). Also he strangely uses the Roman gods rather then greek. But other then those things it a easy read and is doing its job as a nice cheap pretty book.

6. Emily Wilson. You knew this was coming, I am the #1 Wilson hater, I have a whole rant as to why and to repeat that would be a waste of time and energy rather here is the link to that post

[anxiouslychill]

Cave Jivin'!

An excerpt from my Kataang/Kataango flash fic. ❤️ Also, if you've seen this on tumblr before, it's because my last acct was deleted so here we are 🙃

Summary: Aang's flirting has gotten better. Katara notices. Partly inspired by Episode 2 of Book 3: The Headband. And also the comic Aang's Epic Adventures/Love Potion #8

Aang flitted and flipped around, proudly showing off the dances he learned over 100 years ago, dances that the fire nation generations before them should have passed down. He was enjoying showing the fire nation kids how to express themselves with dance as he had learned to do, but his eyes searched for Katara. He spotted her looking downcast at her table with Sokka and Toph while they seemed to be having a great time. He saw Katara watching him earlier, smiling.  Could it be because he was dancing with On Ji?  He didn't want to assume this, but could it be possible she was...jealous? Aang blushed at the thought. He was only being friendly and showing OnJi some dance moves, but he quickly thought of what he could do to make sure Katara knew who Aang really had his eyes on. 

"Everybody freestyle!" Katara barely heard Aang over the echoing bass of the drums and sat with her chin resting on her palm, trying to look everywhere but the dance floor. She quickly realized that she didn't like seeing Aang dancing with OnJi and her staring at him in adoration, blushing. She didn't blame OnJi, because Aang was, admittedly, naturally charming.  

I have no right to be jealous…Aang is not mine. Katara could feel herself deflate, her stomach sinking, but wouldn't let it show that she was definitely jealous. Katara’s frown deepened, Aang’s approach going unnoticed until he held his hand out to her with a soft smile, a silent invite to dance. Looking up, she met his eyes and instantly smiled, her heart speeding up a bit, but quickly looked down shyly and began fiddling with her hair in the way she did when she was self-conscious or nervous.

"Oh, I-I don't know Aang, these shoes aren't the best and I don't know if I know how to-"

"Take my hand." Aang interrupted gently, his gray eyes so warm and welcoming. Katara didn't hesitate another second to take his hand. She trusted Aang fully.

"Okay." She grinned and allowed Aang to gleefully pull her to the center of the flailing fire nation students.

He whispered in her ear, "Just like water bending practice," Katara nodded eagerly, great idea! Now this she could do. 

Aang and Katara practiced nearly every day, sometimes just to relax they would push a sphere of water in a circle, so that's where they started. They crossed their wrists in a beginning stance, circling. Push, pull. Beginning stance. Circle. Push, pull. Repeat. Soon they found the rhythm of the music.

As they circled each other, more and more eyes became drawn to them and soon Katara looked around to see every pair of wide eyes on them.

"Aang, everyone is watching," she laughed nervously, looking at him to see if he noticed as well.

But Aang's eyes were not on anyone else, no one but Katara. When Aang answered, there was a new glint of self-assurance in his eyes.  His past flirting techniques got him nowhere fast, but right now in this moment, he felt more comfortable than ever to express his affection and attraction for her without actually saying the words. He wouldn't hold back this time. 

"Don't worry about them," Aang said reassuringly. Katara watched as his cutesy smile turned to a smirk. "It's just you and me right now."  

She flushed hotly for a moment, taken aback at first. She had never seen this side of Aang before…and she quickly realized Aang was flirting with her, no hesitation and no uncertainty. This stirred something in Katara, butterflies began fluttering in her stomach, and she instinctively returned his flirtatious energy, showing Aang she was on the same page. 

When they returned to the dance, Katara no longer paid attention to the eyes on them. She only watched Aang, their eyes stayed locked and in that there was a brief moment of unguarded vulnerability that connected them further.

As the music went on, filling the room with its exciting melody, Aang and Katara found themselves lost in a dance that mirrored the deep connection between them. They flowed naturally much like the water they pretended to bend.  The air between them crackled with an electric energy that neither could ignore as they whirled and spun across the dance floor smoothly. 

Aang let himself get lost in this spark that had was kindling between them there in the dimly lit cave. Most importantly, Katara seemed aware of the spark and invited it, reciprocated it even. Aang watched as the background blurred until all he could see was Katara and the way she moved so elegantly, a confident smile playing on her lips. At one point, they twirled into a move that brought their faces mere inches apart, the chemistry between them palpable. Gasps of awe echoed off of the cave walls.

Their moves had become more complex as they added flips and fancy spins, and sweat had built on both of their foreheads. Aang wasn't sure if the pounding in his chest was the drums echoing, or if it was his heart racing from the adrenaline of their connection, either way he didn’t care. 

For the end of the song, Aang took Katara’s hand and twirled her into a dip.  His heart still raced with new desire that their connection had ignited, as they stared wide eyed and grinning at each other, faces flushed and both out of breath.  Aang knew he could release her now, the dance was over, everyone was cheering, but there was a magnetism holding them there for a few moments longer. 

Thabk you SO MUCH for reading! 💖 But wait, it's not the end yet! ❤️ Please take a look at my AO3 for the rest of the story, you dont even have to be a member! What went down between Katara and Aang after they escaped the fire nation that night? Could a simple dance mean something deeper than what they intended? If not, why were they suddenly so nervous around each other? 😉

https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxiouscontent

[lonewolfel]

Lightning that makes her Kingdom Fall Chapter 4: Taking Leave

On AO3

Chapter Master List

Notes: Some of the dialogue for Odysseus's section comes from what I have of "I'm not sorry for loving you" and "Dangerous". I have no idea how accurate any of this will be to the actual musical. This will likely be the last time that I use lyrics from the musical. After this chapter there will likely be major differences from Epic and I will be using the Odyssey more for the rest of Odysseus's adventures. I just realized that I forgot to post this here.

Warning: Aftermath of character death, mental breakdown

Apollo plucked the strings of his lyre. It was clear the god was bored.  

“Well?” Apollo asked.  

“I’ve done all I can for now. We’ll have to see the full extent of her injuries when she awakes.” The if wasn’t said but they both knew it.  

“Well, isn’t there anything that you can tell me now?” Apollo asked. 

“You already know about the extensive nerve damage in her arms and sides,” Asclepius said.  

“So are you just going to repeat everything I know or are you going to show me what Chiron taught you?” Apollo asked. 

Asclepius rolled his eyes at his father.  

“Most mortals wouldn't have survived against Zeus's lightning bolt," Asclepius said. "I would think that you had more experience with this."

"I do," Apollo said. "Father usually doesn't hit us with it that hard." 

Asclepius kept his thoughts about that comment to himself. 

"You said that she got hurt after winning a game to release a human," Asclepius said.

"Yeah, over some Trojan War hero…what's his name? Ovy…Ondre…whatever…" Apollo said. 

"Odysseus," Asclepius supplied.

"Yes him. I don't see why Athena or father care so much about him. He's just some mortal. I can kinda understand Hermes as there related but well the others. Athena didn't seem to be someone who cares about anyone besides herself. As for father, he isn't even that attractive sure he did some bad things but honestly I just don't see why he cares as he never insulted Father directly."

"If Athena seemed so awful then why did you help her likely against the God King's will?"

"I enjoyed the fact that little high and mighty Athena got knocked down a few pegs, but I don't exactly want her dead. Besides she begged to Father. I didn't even think Athena could say please let alone beg. She seemed different. Besides what happened to her is kinda my fault."

Asclepius wanted to ask more questions but decided not to. He didn't exactly have a close relationship with his father and he rather not deal with a pissed off Apollo. 

"So what is the plan with her?" Asclepius said.

Apollo's hands froze on his lyre. 

"Not sure, yet, I'll think of something," Apollo said.

"Don't you think the God King would be mad that we healed her?" Asclepius asked.

"Well, we'll just have to make sure that Father never finds out," Apollo said.

"How would we do that?" 

"Oh, it's rather simple. Here in my temple and due to her becoming a mortal her presence can only be felt by me."

"I don't thi…"

"Trust me it's a great plan."

Asclepius doubted that this was a good idea. Apollo didn't necessarily care about humans. Not to mention despite being a healing god he doesn't necessarily understand how fragile humans are and how how would he as he had never been mortal. Granted Athena would need help adjusting to being mortal even if she hadn't been severely injured. 

Asclepius knew that this was a disaster waiting to happen on multiple fronts. He knew that he had to remain and help ensure that the fall out of Apollo's improvised plan doesn't completely ruin Athena or either of them. 

~~~

Odysseus stared at the horizon. Sometimes he had imagined that he could see Ithaca. Sometimes he imagined that he had returned home and was here with his wife and son. He would try to imagine his son, now a full grown man. Did he look more like Penelope or himself? Was he a good man?

He heard footsteps coming towards him. He didn't bother turning around or standing up. If Calypso wants him to do those things he wont have a choice but it was still nice to have that illusion of choice. 

"Someone arrived today. They said their taking you away, that you're not mine," Calypso said.

Odysseus rose and faced her in shock. He didn't believe it after seven years, but Calypso's eyes were red as if she had been crying. Odysseus felt the hope that once had been extinguished him rise in his chest. 

"I came by to say you're not like anyone I have ever met because you're all I have ever known. If you hate me; then I'm sorry my love's too much for you, but I'm not sorry for loving you."

"Calypso…"

"Let me speak. I was banished to this island when I was young all alone. So when you washed ashore I thought for sure that you were my dream come true. I thought… I'm stuck in the moments I swore that we had. I wish you would chase me. For once, I wish you would lie and say you love me."

"I can't," Odysseus broke in. "Not in the way that you want me to."

Calypso let out a scream. "I'm angry and tired and restless and sad. I hate that I fell in love with you. Why in the world won't you love me?" She let out a sob and collapsed onto her knees. 

"Calypso…"

"GO!" Calypso cried. "I know that you want nothing more than to return to your precious wife. Just know that you are going to wish you had stayed on my island. LEAVE ME TO BE ALONE FOREVER!" 

Odysseus knows better than to be around an upset goddess. Instead he decided to follow her orders. He began to work on building a raft and gathering supplies. He was glad now that when he had first arrived Calypso took it upon herself to show him everything. 

While he gathered what he needed he began to about Calypso said to him Someone arrived today. They said their taking you away. Clearly they had to be an Olympian as who else could get Calypso to listen to them. A thought rose in his head and he didn't dare to believe it. Was Athena the one that spoke to Calypso? Did she hear his plea while he was in the depth of despair and decided to have mercy on him? Did he not lose his mentor as completely as he thought?

Odysseus tried to push down the thought but it wouldn't die. He needs to focus on getting off of the island before Calypso changes her mind.

He began to build the raft using some of the trees. They were easy to to use as like everything on this false paradise it is enchanted so that chariot is easier. 

By the time Odysseus had finished everything Helios's chariot had long disappeared below the horizon and Selene's glowed brightly above him. He debated if he should go and get some sleep or even say goodbye to Calypso before he left.

He then heard a laugh. One that he would always be able to recognize. "Hermes?" Odysseus turned to face the god.

"Hello, old friend," Hermes said.

The god was hovering above the ground with his winged sandals.

"So you're the one who talked to Calypso?" Odysseus asked. He felt disappointment that it wasn't Athena. That this wasn't her olive branch. 

"Yes, why, you think it was someone else?" Hermes giggled. Odysseus really shouldn't of.

"No, just, why are you here?" Odysseus said. 

Hermes presence could either be a blessing or a curse. After all, he was the god of travelers. It could mean that he will safely get home, but he was also in charge of taking important souls to the halls of Hades. So Hermes here meant either returning home or dying. 

"You're being given disappointment last chance to make it back home. I can help with that," Hermes said. 

"If your plan is so great then why'd you wait to say it." Maybe Odysseus was being bitter but he has been stuck here for seven years with no hope of reaching his home. He has earned the ability to be bitter with the gods. 

"Well it's a little bit dangerous, my friend," Hermes explained. When he said dangerous he summoned a large pair of what seemed to be glasses with the lens colored black and put them on. "You cannot get away with playing safe for this. If you want to go home put it all on the line. You have to put your whole brain in it and remember every trick you have."

Odysseus thought for only a split second. This could very well get him killed, but it's his only chance. "Alright, I'm in, what do I do?"

Hermes grabbed his shoulders and turned him around so that he was facing the ocean. 

"First go to uncharted waters, follow the north star, no matter what you have to keep rowing. Do whatever you have to do but you have to keep moving," Hermes said. 

"Thank you," Odysseus said.

"We'll see if you survive this. Till then ta ta," Hermes said. With that the god vanished. 

Odysseus took a deep breath. He gathered all of his resolve. He pushed the raft onto the ocean and got on it. 

After everything, he has to get home. He has to see Penelope and Telemachus.

~~~

Antinous was dead and his blood was on Telemachus’ hands. He looked up at the remaining suitors. They seemed to be equally dazed and horrified by what had transpired. There was the sound of footsteps entering the room.  

“What is going on?” Penelope demanded. 

Telemachus didn’t want to turn and face his mother. Though he knew that he needs to.  

“Prince Telemachus has killed Antinous,” Eurymachus said. 

Finally, Telemachus turned to face his mother. Her face was covered by a veil but she rose her hand over her mouth. He could imagine the horror on her face.  

“I...I...” The words wouldn’t leave Telemachus’ throat. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to say. His eyes stung with tears. He felt a sob growing in the back of his throat. 

He couldn’t deal with this. Telemachus ran out of the room. He ran through the halls until he finally reached his room. He slammed the door shut and leaned on it. He slid down onto the floor. He sobbed.  

“Why are you are crying? He needed to die. The Moirai have foreseen it all I did was speed it along. Besides it’s your duty to protect your mother,” Ares said.  

Telemachus glared at the god through his tear blurred vision.  

“What about Xenia?” Telemachus demanded. 

“He broke it first. My father would agree,” Ares said. 

“What about his father that will demand blood? What about my mother who is barely keeping our kingdom together?” Telemachus cried. “He didn’t have to die...” 

“Yes, he did. His blood had to soak the halls of Ithaca,” Ares said.  

Telemachus shook his head. He didn’t want to deal with the god. He then got up and began to pack his items.  

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m leaving. My mother will either have to order my execution or banishment. I’m going to make it easier for her by banishing myself,” Telemachus said.  

“So what? Are you going to run away like a coward?” Ares asked. 

“No, I’m accepting my punishment,” Telemachus said. “I want nothing to do with you.” 

“Where will you go?” Ares demanded. 

“Don’t know, I don’t care. I’m done with you. Maybe I will even find Athena,” Telemachus said. 

He walked away. In the chaos of the events that had happened he easily slipped away. He had never really been outside of the palace and on the streets of Ithaca. Finally he reached the docks. He was a bit overwhelmed by shear business of the port. He wasn’t sure what to do. He had to secure passage on a ship but he wasn’t sure how exactly to do that.  

“Hey, kid are you just going to stand there.”