#word is that a new trailer might drop soon

[swan2swan]

Jurassic Park: Survival

[yournowheregirl]

@eddiemonth day 4: rejection

rating: T | wc: 913 | cw: hurt/comfort, general & UD related anxiety, hoh!Steve, pre-Steddie

Eddie flops down on his bed with a load groan.

He blindly reaches for a pillow and once he’s found one, he uses it to muffle his screams. It barely dampens the sound, but he's home alone anyway. He screams and screams until his throat starts to hurt and the tears he tried so hard to ignore, finally well up in his eyes.

Another rejection.

Another place that didn't want to hire him.

Even with all the strings Hopper and those government guys had pulled to clear his name, Eddie can't escape his brand-new reputation of local satanist and serial killer. There was a press conference and everything, and a personal apology from the police department, but it still wasn't enough to sway the public's opinion of him.

But he has to get a job, like yesterday. They'll run out of that government money sooner or later and he can't expect Wayne to continue cleaning up his mess. Wayne's done enough of that already.

Eddie's tried almost every place in town. His first instinct was the record store and the garage, because that's what where his interests and experience lie. They turned him away as soon as he came in to drop off his resume.

When he told his friends about his job search, Steve immediately offered to put a good word in for him at Family Video. Robin would ask their parents if they knew about any job openings and Nancy would do the same, though she'd avoid Eddie's name while talking to her father. Gareth, Jeff and Frank suggested he'd ask for a job at The Hideout, while Jonathan and Argyle suggested the local pizza place, because of course they would.

None of those jobs ever got back to him.

Today was one of his last resorts. The diner on the other side of town had an opening for a dishwasher. Not exactly the kind of job Eddie wanted, but it meant keeping a low profile and it would pay the bills. He'd take the job in a heartbeat, but the restaurant manager took one good look at him and sent him away before she even took one good look at his resume.

"We don't hire murderers." She'd sneered.

Any other day, Eddie would've maybe stand up for himself, made a whole scene, maybe even called the cops to prove his innocence yet again. But he was so burnt out from rejection after rejection, that he just shrugged, got into his van and drove all the way back home.

Even though the screaming helped a little, Eddie can still feel his mind buzzing, thoughts of anxiety swirling around and threatening to swallow him whole if he doesn't do something quick. He rolls off the bed, put whatever tape he can get his hands on into his boombox and turns up the volume to the loudest setting.

Other people might listen to soothing music to calm down, but Eddie needs the loudest, most aggressive music to drown out the thoughts in his head. The thoughts of never getting a job and leaving it up to Wayne to pick up the pieces, driving him to work harder and longer, until his brittle body can't take it anymore. Thoughts of losing their home again, being forced to call Rick again

It's all his fault. Everything is his fault.

Tears slowly roll down his cheeks as the music continues playing, so loud that he doesn't hear Wayne coming home. So loud that he doesn't hear Wayne picking up the phone to call someone. So loud that he doesn't hear the knock on his bedroom door twenty minutes later.

It's not until his bedroom goes completely quiet that Eddie finally notices he's not alone. For a second he thinks it's Wayne, but when he hears a muffled "oh thank God" from the other side of the trailer, he realizes that it must be someone else.

"Y'know, if you were so jealous of my new accessories, you could've just said so. No reason to shatter your eardrums like this." Steve says with a teasing grin. The sunlight reflects on the hearing aids he'd gotten a few months ago and of course, he pulls it off like he's a goddamn Calvin Klein model.

"Sorry."

Eddie's voice is small, barely recognizable to his own ears and Steve immediately picks up on it. His teasing smile fades away as he walks over to the bed and sit down next to Eddie. He shuffles around a bit to find a comfortable seat against the headboard and pats his lap.

Completely drained from his terrible day, Eddie doesn't even try to fight it and cuddles up next to Steve. He rests his head in Steve's lap and lets out a sigh of relief when Steve's hands find their way to his scalp.

"What's going on?" Steve asks softly.

"Another fucking job didn't want me." Eddie mutters against the fabric of his polo.

Steve hums in acknowledgement. "I'm sorry. You wanna talk about it or do you want some quiet time?"

"Quiet, please."

"Alright."

See, with Steve around, Eddie doesn't need the music to drown out his bad thoughts. They float away on their own as soon as Steve cuddles with him and starts massaging his scalp. Or, on other occasions, they float away when Steve distracts him by talking about Robin's hopeless love life.

Steve being there for him just helps, in general.

Eddie doesn't wanna look into that realization too much.

[augustjustice]

You're the One that I Want

@steddie-week prompts: dizzy, drunken confessions @stevieweek prompt: girls night @steddiemicrofic prompt: one | wc: 1111 words rating: T | tags: transfem steve harrington, platonic stobin, sleepovers, phone calls, love confessions

AO3 Link

When the phone rang right around eleven, Eddie had to admit he was sort of surprised.

Not that he was any stranger to nighttime phone calls. One caller in particular had become something of a regular, post-nightmare soothing sessions in the first weeks after Spring Break soon morphing into inane chats about anything and everything. 

But he knew she was busy tonight.

Eddie had been quick to learn, once he’d gotten closer to the Upside Down crew, that weekly Steve and Robin Nights were a sacred tradition. Ever since Stevie came out, the title had transformed into Girls Night, much like their very own lovely jock herself. 

The importance of the day, however, remained the same.

And, it being Thursday, Eddie definitely didn’t expect to hear from her tonight. 

Crossing the trailer, he mused over who it might be instead. Gareth, maybe, since he was still sorting out the kinks of his drum solo in Corroded Coffin’s latest song. 

“Joe’s Pool Hall,” Eddie chirped when he picked up. “We rack ‘em and stack ‘em so you don’t have to!”

“Munson!” Robin’s voice burst out over the line, loud enough Eddie pulled the phone a few inches away from his ear. “Stevie needs to tell you something!”

In the background, he could hear Stevie’s muffled Robbie, nooo.

“Stevie-Evie, come on! Tell him, tell him, tell him.” The speed at which Robin chanted her words left them slurred, tripping over each other. “Exactly what you told me. It’s like–sleepover law. You gotta.”

From the shrieks and incomprehensible arguing that broke out after, Eddie could surmise they’d fallen into a drunken scuffle.

Finally, Stevie’s voice rang out from the receiver. “Hi, Eds!” 

The happiness in her tone made actual butterflies erupt in his stomach. Goddamn, he was such a mess for this girl. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” Eddie answered, twirling the cord around one finger. “Sounds to me like you two lovely ladies are having a fun night.”

“Oh, yeah, totally. We totally were. But then Robin,” in her inebriated state, Stevie put extra emphasis on the end of her best friend’s name, “got this bright idea to play, like. All the girls’ sleepover games I missed out on because…well, you know.”

Though Stevie sounded put-out now, Eddie had no doubt the suggestion had delighted her. Indescribable fondness for both girls swelled in his chest. 

“That right? What game are you at–prank call the hottest future rock star you know?” 

“No, sillyhead!” Stevie tittered.

Eddie could practically see her, smile bright and nose scrunched up adorably. The image was so distracting, he almost missed Stevie’s next words. 

“I’m s’posed to call…” she dropped into a hushed whisper, the crinkling sound the receiver made suggesting she had cupped her hand around the phone, “my biggest crush!”

The sentence hit Eddie like a truck, nearly incomprehensible. He felt dizzy with it, the bottom of his stomach dropping out the same way it had on the Gravitron at last year’s Fourth of July Fun Fair. 

“S-Sorry, uh,” he stuttered out, “bad connection, I think. You know how shitty the service down at Forest Park can be. Cuz, for a second, I almost thought you said–”

But Stevie barrelled on, as though he hadn’t said anything at all.

“You’re the one that I want!” she sang out.

Her voice carried all the passion and fervor as the times she was alone in the car with Eddie, taunting him with her favorite new pop hit, or when she and Robin were goofing off, having a dance off after hours at work. Eddie could hear it when Robin joined in for the follow-up chorus of Ooh, ooh, ooh, honey!

The absurdity of it made Eddie cackle, momentarily distracted from the racing of his heart. 

“Harrington…did you seriously just sing Grease at me?” 

“I did not!” Stevie protested. 

Eddie wouldn’t have been surprised if she had punctuated that claim with a stamp of her foot. But she followed it up with a little hmph, contemplative. 

“–Well, yeah, okay. So what if I did? That-that isn’t the point. The point is…I want you, Eddie Munson.”

He gulped against the nervousness welling up in his throat. “Princess…you’re actually serious right now, right? This isn’t just, you know…the booze talking?”

“‘Course I’m serious, Eds. Don’t know how you didn’t notice–Robin said my mooning was getting so annoying. But that’s only cuz I’m like…totally in love with you, to be honest.” 

It wasn’t as eloquent and romantic, Eddie suspected, as a sober Stevie Harrington love confession would have been–but, heart flipping in his chest, he cherished it just as much. 

“Oh. Well, shit. Looks like…I better shape up, then.” 

And even though he knew what he was about to do would make him sound completely ridiculous–he couldn’t help but smile, knowing it would be totally worth it. 

So, Eddie took a deep breath and belted back, “Cuz my heart is set on you!”

“Eddie!” Stevie gasped like he had just performed a magic trick. “You know Grease?!”

“Stevie, you gotta swear you’re gonna take that one to your grave. But…sure I do, darling. You think I wouldn’t go out and see one of your favorite movies?”

“Really?”

The excitement in her voice was tempered by a sudden hint of shyness, the kind she usually hid behind a bold, confident exterior. Eddie knew exactly what that was like–and he felt lucky, that Stevie trusted him enough to let him see the vulnerability underneath.  

“Really really. I’m gone for you, Stevie. Have been for…well, hell. A really long damn time.”

Stevie sighed, lovelorn and wistful.

“Me, too.”

Eddie was really glad he wasn’t the one that was drunk right now, or he might have suspected he was dreaming.

“Wanted to tell you for so long–” But whatever sweet thing Stevie had been about to say was cut off, as she suddenly huffed into the phone. “Oh my God, okay! I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!”

“All good over there?” 

“Sorry. Robin says I’m hogging the phone,” Eddie could practically hear her eye roll, before her tone turned mischievous. “Besides…now it’s her turn to call Vickie. Talk tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t miss it, Stevie. See you bright and early.” Bright and early for Eddie usually meant around noon, but, for this, he was willing to make an exception. “And tell Buck–I owe her one.”

You’re welcome! he heard Robin sing-song just before Stevie hung up, evidence she’d probably been listening in on every word. 

As he wandered back to his bedroom in a daze, 11:11 blinked at him from the digital alarm clock on his bedside table.

Eddie didn’t even need to make a wish.

Travolta and his flying car had nothing on him. 

[baddiewiththebook]

Over the Years | e.m x reader | p. 3

-> The origin story of Eddie Munson, and how he fell in love with the worst person he possibly could - his best friend.

-> eddie munson x you (she/her)

-> friends to lovers, slow burn, angst

-> warnings - strong language, suggestive themes, smut [18+]

-> <-

July 1979

Sitting criss-cross on a bench might not seem practical to most, but you’re too enthralled by the pages of the book you read to care. Each page gives you a whiff of nostalgia you’ve never known. There’s something more to a story than just the words on paper. The pages themselves hold their own story. You could burry your nose in a book and inhale that rich woodsy scent forever.

As you’re closing in on a particularly rich chapter, you lift your head at the sound of a car door slamming shut. There’s a bit of a scuffle with the rusted handle, but Eddie’s there across the trailer park. He’s got a brand new van that he’s rounding the front with his uncle Wayne. A proud slap on the back from his uncle, Eddie lifts the hood up.

Your smile begins to drop when a certain frizzy headed brunette leaps from the back of the van. Recently, Eddie has found himself a new buddy named Gareth. They met at the arcade when Eddie was in charge of entertaining you for the day.

Gareth is a big theatrical for your taste. Or, maybe you’re a bit jealous that Eddie has someone he can relate too.

You are becoming too much of a woman. That’s according to your mother, who last week had to teach you how to use pads for the first time.

Dropping your gaze back to the pages of your book, you feel the heat creep onto the back of your neck as the warm sun tans your skin. It’s a blazing hot summer that’s perfect for enjoying a day on your porch, while your neighbor leans over the engine of his new car.

Oh, God.

You’re never going to get through this book, while your friend is wrestling with the metal inside that junker. Clang! Clang! Clang! You're thrown from the rhythm inside your book, and now you've gone pages without knowing the plot at all.

You huff.

With your screen door open, your can hear your mom humming a happy tune in the kitchen. She’s baking chocolate muffins for Wayne, which has become her favorite pastime between shifts. He adores being her guinea pig for her new recipes.

Well, there’s less gray across the Munson yard these days. Your mom helped Wayne plant some pink peonies in the months before, so that they blossom in the summer. It doesn't seem to be that Wayne has quite the green thumb as your mother. They've gone limp and forgotten. But, the pink still shines and it brightens up the neighborhood a bit.

Since your mother and Wayne are both single and each of them are raising a child by themselves, eventually they learned to lean on each other for as much support as they need while you and Eddie grow up.

You hated that conversation with your mother.

The day was cloudy, so your mother trapped you indoors. She set down a steaming cup of tea in front of her at the dining table, then beckoned you to come close to her. You were ten. Visually, you can still see the the cat clock on the wall. It's eyes bob back and forth, while the tail swings away. Time ticks forward. Your mom fumbled with the tea bag a lot, and she could hardly hold her gaze in your direction when she began to tell you about your chest getting bigger. You'd begin to wear bras soon after that. She resisted telling you about sex, but you snuck glances at the shows Eddie would watch and that told you enough.

Anyway, the point your mother was making was that you grow up, you fall in love and you make children just to start the cycle all over again.

Again, you hated that talk.

That isn't like you at all.

Boy aren't likeable like that. The boys at your school like to eat mud, or chase the girls around with worms. They will pull at the girls' hair bows. They have to be warned not to throw rocks on the playground. And man, do their armpits stink. Do they even wash themselves?

That's when Eddie yells, then laughs heartily. It distracts you to see him and Gareth tackling each other in the dusty dirt in the trailer park. An oil-like sweat slicks across Eddie's arms where his torn off sleeves should be.

Boys also will play too rough. They never know when to quit.

The boys you read about in books are the men you wait for. Heroic men in shining coats of steal armor. They travel to far-away distant lands and they fight beasts to save their one true love. Their love is the stuff of legend. A true love that even the Gods are jealous of.

You finally slam the book closed because your neighbor's roughhousing becomes too much for you to focus on what you're reading. They’ve kicked up enough dirt to cause a tornado in the center of the trailer park for your liking, and you’re ready to go inside.

Eddie does notice you stand from your spot on the porch. You’ve spent a bit of time away from each other in the past few days, but that’s neither your fault nor his. It’s just that your mother keeps giving him these weird stares like he’s an alien from another planet.

Should he tell your mom that he has no plans to grope you? You're his closest childhood friend. He'd never think to put you in any harms way.

It all became quite clear to him when Wayne sat him down over dinner a few weeks ago. Now, he already had sat through the talk with Wayne about growing hair in different places when he was around ten. Since he'll be heading into high school after this summer, Wayne had a different story to tell him. It's all terribly embarrassing to have to listen to his uncle tell him about the birds and the bees.

Eddie cut the conversation short when he told Wayne he snuck into the adult section at the bookstore. They had some raunchy magazines that Eddie snuck out under his jacket, but he left that detail out of the equation.

Either way, the talk ended there.

Eddie had no plans of doing anything like that to you.

Should he send you mom a card?

Before you can retreat into your house, Eddie jogs over to your porch. He kicks one of his feet up on the bottom step, which surprises you enough to turn around.

“Did you see?” Eddie points. “My uncle got me a van. It needs a lot of work, but when I’m fifteen I’ll be driving that baby.”

A few hours ago, Eddie was sat in a junkyard with his uncle Eddie. It's about time he started learning to drive himself places. But, before he could do that, he'll learn how to maintain his new ride. Wayne told Eddie that he's going to start where he started.

Eddie knows a bit about cars because of his father. He was taught how to jump start them, and to drive away fast before the cops come. But, he's sure that's not the way Wayne wants to encourage him.

It makes Wayne sweat knowing that one of the few things Eddie recalls about his father is his criminal history. Eddie can read it all over the old man's face when he jokes about it. But, Eddie's not going to turn out like his old man.

He's just not.

You turn around just in time to catch the driver's side door of Eddie's new project fall to the dirt with a bang.

“Sweet,” you hold your tongue to keep from laughing. “Hi, Gareth.”

Gareth is nice enough to acknowledge you by giving you a slight head tilt, then a raised eyebrow. Clearly, you two still haven't found a common ground to land on. This becomes difficult for Eddie, who would like to spend time with you equally, rather than like a couple of divorced parents.

“Oh!” Eddie exclaims with the snap of his fingers. Reaching around his back, he juts his tongue out between his lips. Tugging at his back pocket, he eventually unveils his big surprise.

“Eddie!” You wrap him into a bear hug. “How did you get this?! They’re not supposed to be sold for another month!”

Eddie's handing over the newest addition to the book series you've grown so fond of. You've spent a lot of time studying the pages, and the way the author can craft such an immersive experience with just words and paper.

Eddie shies away from telling you the hoops he jumped through just to see this elated grin smothered across your face. The owner can be a bit of a piss head, but you didn’t need to know that. He was hiding them behind the counter, so he could rack up the price for having such a “rare” find.

“I stopped off at the bookstore again, and they had a copy behind the counter,” he shrugs.

Each of the pages have the natural yellowing you could melt into. They’re crispy, and the smell. Oh, the smell! You’re in heaven.

“Thank you,” you drop back onto your heels.

Eddie has had a growth spurt recently that’s left him as tall as a giraffe. You’re around the height of a mouse compared to him now that he’s caught up on growing.

“Oh!” You step back. “Have you thought about a name for your band, yet?”

Eddie picked up a guitar over the summer. Without a single lesson, Eddie is a natural guitarist in your opinion. Those chords he can put together are the most complicated and yet the sound is the smoothest you've ever heard. Eddie has even learned some of your favorite songs, despite telling you that pop music is for the weak minded. Recently, he's gotten into the harder rock music or a metal band or two. You're not allowed to listen to them inside your house, but you've snuck a few of Eddie's records to play when your mom is away.

Also, Eddie is a great singer. You've told him he sounds like a true 'rock and roller.' All he has to do now is start his band, and become world famous. You'll be there at every show to cheer him on.

“You have a band?” Gareth interjects to stare at Eddie completely taken aback. “Dude, I’ve got a setup in my garage. We just need to dust off the drum set, tune a few guitars and maybe find a few extra musicians."

“Who said you’re in this band, pipsqueak?” Eddie jabs at his friend.

Gareth snorts. “Who else would start a metal band with you? This whole town is drenched in tradition.”

“You're going with metal music?” Your eye filled with wonderment.

This makes Gareth’s blood begin to boil. As far as he’s concerned, your nose should stay in your books. Flouncy little skirts and pinched cheeks have no place listening to metal music. You should stick to what you're good at, which could be - knitting - or something.

Gareth elbows Eddie, and tilts in the direction of the van. It still needs a lot of work, and the job wouldn't get done while you stand here needing the definition of what metal music is. Besides, Wayne's trying to get the door back on the hinges himself. He'll break his back if he's not careful.

“I’ll see you later,” Eddie tells you. “I should get back to the van. But, when we do come up with a name I’ll let you know.”

We.

You can only assume that Gareth is officially in the band.

“Bye, boys!” You clutch your newest possession close to your chest.

As they’re heading across the property, Gareth begins his daily grievances about you to Eddie's open ear. Eddie can't come up with the faintest clue about why Gareth's so bent out of shape about his friend.

“Why do you hang out with that little girl, anyway?” Gareth asks rather loudly.

“She’s a year older than you,” Eddie corrects him. “I’ve known her my whole life. What’s the big deal?”

“Does she even know anything about metal music?”

“She’ll learn,” Eddie disagrees with Gareth’s distaste for you. Maybe he's a bit too optimistic about you and Gareth eventually finding peace. But, that doe leave room for Eddie to toy with his friend.

“She’s a girl,” Gareth points out, “she’ll just distract us.”

“Distract us,” Eddie pokes him, “or distract you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He scrunches his nose.

“I don’t know man,” Eddie reaches for the tool box that’s set out in front of the van. “Anything you want to tell me?”

“Yeah,” Gareth threatens, “your head is looking vulnerable under that hood right about now.”

Eddie snickers, “yeah, yeah. Hand me that.”

Your mom dances back and forth in the kitchen feeling the pressure of trying to impress her friendly neighbor. Apron coated in dusty flour. Finger prints drag a layer of dusty powder across the waistline. She accidentally smears the melted chocolate across her forehead, which invites you into action.

Sweet vanilla soaks the walls of your house. Every spot in your house smells heavenly. You set your book on the counter, before grabbing a wet rag.

“Mom,” you hold the towel.

She lowers her head down to your level, “again?"

You try your best not to smudge your mom's makeup. She puts so much effort into every brush stroke that you can't help, but feel guilty leaving a patch of her skin exposed in the sunlight. At least the chocolate is gone.

“Did you have fun with your friends out there?” She swings back around to her mixing pot.

“Eddie got a car,” you point out the front window.

Your mother is less than impressed as you were when Eddie showed off to you just moments ago. In fact, her wild eyes are angry. She holds her fists to her sides when she finally snaps at you;

“Don’t you dare get in that car with him,” she scolds as though you’ve done the unspeakable. “You’ll be barefoot and pregnant faster than you could ever imagine.”

“Mom,” you step back from her. “Eddie’s not like that.”

“All boys are like that,” she ends the conversation there. “Go play.”

Tossing the tea towel aside onto a clean part of the kitchen counter, you don't even bother showing her the book that Eddie gave you. It was a sweet gesture on his part, and you don't need your mother shunning you from the pages of a good book.

Spinning on your heel, you make a beeline for your bedroom before the hot sting of your tears could shed onto the kitchen floor. Your mother has never sounded so fierce before. She's never spat Eddie's name with such venom.

It felt like a slap to the face.

-> <-

[ August 1982 ]

tags -> @leelei1980 @sheneedsrocknroll92 @jesuisbuginette @starrywhitenight

[prof-ramses]

Hollow Sorrows Trailer Breakdown LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO

Obviously, if you don't want spoilers, scroll away. If you've already seen the trailer, LET'S GO!!!

So when we first see possessed Patty, she looks mostly normal, you can't even see her demon teeth through the mask yet. John and Jack probably only came in since they heard a scream and/or struggle coming from the morgue.

So we get a shot of the boys being too chaotic, something Gregor points out and what will likely cause the "bad character development" Pelo ahs mentioned.

Also, since it's 100% what Pelo would do, Costume Bob is the guy in the HF suit. Mark my words.

The scene with the hatz is really interesting to me, since Skid and Pump just annoys Roy for a moment and leave. I think this might be all we get of the hatzgang this time, similar to how Frank only had a brief Appearance in Tender Treats. If my theory that episode 7 will focus on Roy is true, this little scene will be very interesting to dissect when the full episode drops.

We actually get out first proper glimpse at a new character and I think this old man is the very last character in the line up teaser

And there's also a pretty good chance he Roy's grandfather and given the way he reacts to the boys antics here, I can definitely see him being a another reasons Roy's the way he is.

If he actually is Roy's grandpa, then @crossover-enthusiast and I's Roy discussions are going to get really fun pretty soon.

Here, Skid is clearly holding a framed photo, meaning this will almost certainly be the first time his father is brought up directly.

Also, yeah, with Pump's line about "hangover spooky month", it seems my theory about Lila in this episode was at least half right.

Yet more proof that the boys' absent parents will be more of a focus. The trailer as a whole gives me some ideas regarding the Wonder parents, but I feel they're best saved for another time.

The boys get into trouble with the cops and I have 2 theories regarding when, either Gregor tries to get them sent home before going to the hospital, but they talk their way out of it, or they actually do get sent home at the end of the episode.

John's expression here immediately makes we think that something Skid or Pump said reminded him of his daughter. Another plot thread that has yet to be directly acknowledged.

Ignacio watches Gregor lead the boys away, maybe he lives down the street from Skid and Lila to keep an eye on them for the cult?

Either way, I'm surprised his appearance won't take place in the hospital as I previously predicted.

"I will be your guide. And I know your parents would be proud of you."

There's something undeniably sinister about this line, but how sinister hinges on whether Gregor is a cultist or ex-cultist. Whatever the case may be, he definitely knows more about or sees more in the boys than he lets on.

A great title card, and thought the blood everywhere is definitely concerning, I don't think there's anything to really say here, just wanted to get a screenshot of it.

And it would appear the character I've referred to as the cat lady will have the unenviable role of a hapless victim to the episode's villain. But honestly, I'm more surprised by her being at the hospital in the first place and why that never occurred to me before.

The actual progression of Patty's possession confirms to she's possessed by something other than Moloch. And what seals it for me is, fittingly, the eyes. The white of her eyes becomes a more vivid yellow, yet her pupil snot only don't form Moloch's typical spirals, but they're a more vivid shade of baby blue, a color that has never had any significance in the series before. Moloch will mostly be trapped in Dexter before eventually possessing Gregor, I will die on this hill.

AND THE FUGGIN' RELEASE DATE!!!

Alright, that's all, only a month now. We're so back!

[oatmilk-vampire]

Life Worth Missing || Eddie Munson x Reader

Eddie Munson x gn!ex!Reader

Part 2 of Off My Mind (Read part 1 here)

Summary: Reader goes after Eddie, not willing to let things end without everything being said.

Mostly Reader POV.

Inspired by another song I like Life Worth Missing by Car Seat Headrest. Give it a listen!

Word count: 2k of angst, whump, and happy ending.

TW: Coping with suicide attempt, talking feelings. No actual death.

~~~

Only when you got to your car did you finally let the tears fall.

All of those months of crying because you missed him was nothing compared to finally realizing you lost him.

He hadn’t even had the decency to break the news to you sober, like you had. Neither one of you ever had a problem with substance abuse but you had given up alcohol and the occasional smoke sesh as soon as you and Eddie went on your break. Drinking when you were sad and lonely was never a good idea, and weed held the same sentiment for you. Plus you would never dare to get it from anyone else, it felt like a betrayal.

But here you are, hiding away in the relative safety of your car in the Hideaway’s parking lot as Eddie drinks. To forget you? You’d think yes, if it wasn’t clear that he already had.

You wonder what she’s like, his new lover. If she makes him laugh so hard his whole face crinkles up. If she holds him when he’s had a bad day, smoothing a hand over his scars that you helped patch up as fresh injuries.

You wonder if she’s waiting for him at the trailer you once occupied.

Before you can make yourself leave you finally notice your now-ex pushing open the door, wobbling and swaying as he fumbles with the keys to his van.

You should let him go. You should accept it’s over between you two; he already had.

But you can’t. Instead when he pulls out you quickly turn your car on to follow.

You convince yourself it’s to make sure he makes it home safe, then you’ll leave him and his new lover alone. But as he turns into Forest Hills Trailer Park you still follow, albeit at a slower pace so as not to alert him to your presence. He pulls into his driveway and goes inside. No one comes rushing out to him as you had expected, but he still rushed in nonetheless.

You have a moment of hesitation before pulling in behind him and turning off your car. You wait in bated breath for him to come out angry and ask you to leave, but he doesn’t. You notice Wayne isn’t home either. If you’re going to make one final attempt at saving your relationship this was it.

As if on cue someone in the park lit a firework, bringing you back to reality. That’s right. It’s New Year’s Eve. How could you ever forget? Some part of you remembered when you asked him to meet, hoped it would end with a kiss between you two. A new beginning, not an end.

You run fast to get to him, suddenly feeling like it’s a life or death situation even if you had no reason to believe so. You just sensed it.

You throw open his door, grateful he forgot to lock it but fearful or what that entails.

“Eddie?” You call out to him, not wanting to startle him. But the lack of response spurs you on until you come across the bathroom, door open.

“Eddie!” You scream in horror, racing forward to rip the toaster out of the wall and out of his reach. You throw it behind you, not even flinching at the way it smashes into a bunch of pieces as you direct your fearful eyes at the man you love.

“Angel?” His voice is broken and eyes wild and wide.

“Oh, Eddie. Why? Why?” You crowd around him not caring if there’s a new girlfriend involved. She would be here if she really cared about him.

You drop to your knees and pull his cold freezing frame toward you, wrapping your arms around him tight as if your hold alone could stop him from leaving you in the worst way possible.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here. You’ll get hypothermia.” You pull him up with all your might, and he helps. If he hadn’t there’s no way you’d be able to lift him. He could almost laugh. Here he was about to electrocute himself and you’re worried about him getting hypothermia.

You grab two towels on the way out, wrapping them both around him, ignoring how badly your own body is shaking. You guide him to his bedroom and leave him standing in the middle of the room as you dig through his clothes in search of the warmest sweatpants and sweatshirts. You gather him fresh underwear and socks, the thickest long sleeve he owned.

He watches in disbelief. You’re here. You’re actually here. His Angel.

Maybe he died. Maybe he didn’t feel a thing and he’s in Heaven now. Now that’d be absurd. What’s more crazy? You coming back or him going to Heaven after all this? At this moment he decides he doesn’t care. You’re here and that’s all that matters.

“Let’s get these off of you.” You wait for his approval, just a slight nod of his head before moving with a purpose. You push off his jacket, unbutton his flannel, unbuckle his belt and slip off his jeans. It’s all much more difficult than it used to be thanks to the soaked state of it all, but you don’t complain one bit.

Once he’s fully naked you dress him in the same sentiment. Careful hands avoiding lingering too long but unafraid to touch all the same.

He’s sitting on his bed by the time he realizes you’ve brought out the hair dryer you gifted him a year ago. He hadn’t dared to use it since you left. The memories attached to it hurt him too bad, so he left his hair in the same state you had met him in. The days of having perfectly diffused hair were long behind him.

He notices the clip on diffuser attachment isn’t on it, you must have removed it.

You put it on the highest heat setting before letting the heat roll over him as you dried and warmed him further.

When you’re happy with the state of his dry hair and his contented sighs, you switch off the hair dryer.

You would have slipped it under his shirt for more warmth, but you really needed to talk to him and you couldn’t do that over the loud motor.

You sit beside him, tired of standing. “Eddie, we need to talk. We can’t leave things like this.”

You didn’t want to leave at all, but if there was someone else in his life you knew you had to.

“What’s there to talk about?” His voice is sobered up but you suppose a near death experience and icy tub will do that to you. Hell, you’re still freezing.

“You know we need to.” You insist. “You know we didn’t mean to end things back then. I didn’t want to end things. It was only a break, Eddie. Time we needed apart, so we could handle our own problems without taking it out one one another.”

“Angel, I–”

You cut him off. “But I understand. I do. Just because I waited for you didn’t mean you had to wait for me. I’m sorry we didn’t talk this over sooner. I’m sorry I found you like this, I’m so sorry. But I won’t apologize for ruining your plans.”

You rest a hand on his shoulder, it’s still too cool for comfort but you find some anyway.

“Where is she? What’s her number? I’ll call her and I’ll leave you be.”

He’s so lost in your words he doesn’t remember his earlier drunken lie.

“Where’s who?”

“Your new lover.” You remind him, and his heart drops into his stomach.

“Angel, there is no lover. I don’t know why I said that. I was drunk and stupid and I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” His dark eyes are boring into yours, glossed over with fresh tears yet to fall.

“You’re not just saying that?” There it was again. Hope.

He shakes his head. “I promise you it’s the truth. I could never move on from you, I tried, not with anyone!” he adds on, “But by myself and I just couldn’t. I was so stuck on hoping you’d walk through that door that I just pushed you away the first chance I actually had at making things right with you. I’m. So. Sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” You apologize as he pulls you in like he wanted to earlier at the bar, like you did when you descended upon him like the guardian angel you actually were. He’s been so wrong.

“Jesus H. Christ.” He shudders and pulls away from you.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re freezing, Angel. Let me get you into some warmer clothes too. Why didn’t you change out of yours? I made them all wet.”

“I wasn’t worried about me.” You answer simply as he runs to his closet just as you had minutes ago.

He helps you change, eyes lingering on your face the entire time. You feel flushed under his gaze but you wouldn’t trade it for anything. You were here. With him. You were both alive.

“Eddie,” Your voice gets caught in your throat as you finally lose control over your emotions. You can’t be strong for him anymore.

“Yes, Angel?”

“You tried to kill yourself.” A sob rips from your throat as you finally break down into his arms.

“I’m so sorry.” He’s crying too now, you’re both shaking.

“Why are you apologizing? I’m sorry. I’m sorry you felt like it was your only option. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you.” You cry into his chest until he pulls you away and places both hands on either side of your face so you’re forced to look at him.

“Angel. Baby, this was not your fault. Please never blame yourself for my stupid decisions. Since you left I hated myself for letting you go. Even though you said it was only a break and it was for good, I somehow convinced myself you were leaving for good. I didn’t blame you for it. I couldn’t blame you for it. If you ever left me, if you leave me, it’s entirely my fault.”

He pauses to kiss your forehead.

“Today I let all those bad thoughts get to me. Instead of being happy to see you I punished myself more. I hurt you. I lied to you. I felt like I was coming up short in a life worth nothing, and I took that out on you instead of being truthful. I thought I was worth nothing. That I wouldn’t even be worth missing. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

You brush a stray curl from his face with a shaky hand.

“Eddie, your life is worth missing.”

“I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry I ever didn’t believe that. Please forgive me for all of my mistakes.”

“Only if you forgive me too.”

“Even if I don’t think you did anything wrong?”

“Especially then. If nothing else please just understand I’m sorry for not getting here sooner.”

He smiles at you, a genuine smile. A smile you haven’t seen in so long it physically hurts to see it again.

“You got here and that’s all that matters.”

You stare into each other’s eyes and hold onto one another.

The both of you think about kissing but are both worried about making the first move. Until the clock chimes, startling the two of you before realizing what that meant.

Midnight. It’s New Year’s.

Now you kissed.

It was soft and sweet and passionate all the same. Everything you didn’t get to say, all of the feelings you both kept bottled up over these six months was felt through the kiss.

When you pulled away to breathe Eddie had a grin on his face and you knew you had one to match.

“Happy New Year, Angel. I love you.”

“Happy New Year. I love you too.”

Everything was so much better than before.

~~~

Tag list: @ali-r3n 🩵

[thefixations-ofmine]

Kinktober 2024 - Watersports

Pairing: Eddie Munson Solo (Stranger Things) Word count: 1.2k Warnings: pee kink, desperation, semi-public, don't drink and drive!! Summary: An unlucky turn of events throws Eddie into a new world of wonders he's not above exploring, and he kicks this off with a bang on the first night. A/N: okayokay, I'm dipping my toes into writing (and actually posting) this kink!! It's not everybody's cup of tea, but hopefully this can reach the right audience. And if it does well, I might explore it further. *goes back into her hiding spot* Main Masterlist | Kinktober Masterlist | AO3

There is no other reason for his predicament than his own stupid judgement, and Eddie knows he’s got under three minutes to finish singing his song and rush off the stage before he humiliates himself in front of the (albeit little) crowd of this bar. He’d gotten so invested in the pre-show drama over his first two beers that he forgot his ritual: a blond beer, a red beer, some wings and a bathroom run!

Now Eddie’s singing the words to Rot in Hell with watery eyes, using his usual body banging movements to hide his desperation. If he’s honest, he could quite literally grab his dick to help himself and nobody would bat an eye, but he doesn’t want to have this become a thing.

Not the movement itself, but the love for the desperation.

Luckily, beating his time at two minutes, Eddie rushes into the stall and proceeds to undo his pants, which proves harder than expected, but once his belt is taken care of, the baggy fit allows his pants to simply fall to his ankles.

He’s unsure what rushes into him at this moment but he doesn’t let go as soon as his boxers are nudged under his balls. He stands there, breathing heavily and clenching his ass as best he can and just… waits. He closes his eyes, lets the feeling run up his spine and allows a few more shivers to decorate his skin. Then with a faint moan, he pushes the first spurt out and holds again. Lets go for another two seconds and stops again. And he swears it feels like he’s about to cum and he’s enjoying torturing himself too much in the semi-public space.

A spark of reality comes to him when the door to the bathroom squeaks open and he leans forward, both hands on the wall and finally lets go fully, his entire bladder raving and he pushes the last drops so hard he gets dizzy, like he does when he’s been jerking off all day and he gives himself dry orgasms. Then perhaps it’s the beers talking, but he reaches down to shake off the remaining drop and wipes it off with his index, which he brings up to his lips. He’s not sure what he expects, but it surprisingly resembles the red pint he had earlier in the evening.

He walks to his van without saying a word to his band, helping pack up the remaining of the gear before slamming the doors shut and driving the guys home rather than all enjoying the rest of the night moving their D&D campaign forward in Eddie’s trailer.

“I’m feeling off today, we can move this to Thursday night guys,” he simply says.

What Eddie knows is that the first pee after drinking beers all night is only the floodgates opening, and for him, that usually means having to pee a full bladder every thirty minutes until he passes out from exhaustion. After his little moment in the stall, he’s more than excited to head home and explore this newly found distasteful thing about his sexual fantasies.

His leg had started shaking just a mere minute after dropping off Gareth when the cold air from the door danced over his skin. Eddie tries to focus on the road and the end goal, but some light traffic keeps him from making it in a comfortable time. Plus the police lights vibrating ahead are an indication that the situation is there to stay. He should have taken the last exit before the next one in ten miles, but the thrill of holding is getting to him and he’d be damned to rush this.

Eddie cracks the window open, he leans his seat back a little and reaches for a beer behind the passenger seat. He expertly pops it open with his lighter and takes a swig, looks around then takes another, and he downs it halfway before the traffic moves for another few feet. He’s visibly shaking by now, writhing in his seat and he plays with the collar of his hoodie to numb the feeling. When the cars stop again he finishes his beer and sets the bottle on the seat next to him. It’s torture at this point, but a delicious one.

It’s been roughly twenty minutes since he got on the freeway and the cars are not dissipating any faster. Eddie’s going to have to get creative in any minute or he’ll have a hard time explaining the horrid smell in the van to the guys on Monday. His first thought was to park the car and simply walk out with confidence to the other side where a cement wall would maybe hide him, though the combination of standing up and the crisp air would threaten some leaks. He wonders if he has anything in the back that could come in handy, until his eyes land on the bottle in the seat as he turns back. Bingo.

He reaches over while his other hand fumbles with his zipper, and he tugs at himself a few times after taking his dick out. He’d been rocking a semi for as long as the traffic slowed down, not helping with the pressure of it all. Eddie brings the bottle to his tip and nudges it hard enough so the glass seals perfectly around his urethra. Unlike his time in the stall, he wastes no time in emptying his bladder in a single go. It’s riveting, addicting. His face contorts and his jaw goes slack, letting out a shaky sigh that stretches into a moan.

“Focus on the road moron!” The voice out his window startles him as he’s lost in his erotic bubble. Thankfully so, because he’s almost overflowing the bottle and has plenty more to go! He manages to stop long enough to get into Drive and make the distance between him and the car ahead. When he’s stopped again, he lets panic settle in and wonders how he will pull off the rest of the moment. Then - thank fuck - a construction zone allows him to take the next exit sooner. It’s no easy path though, the gravel proving challenging to keep the liquid in the bottle and his bladder in check. But he makes it, and keeps driving until he sees the moon glistening on a lake.

Eddie parks by Reefer’s house and as usual, finds it empty and ready for him to spend the night. He jogs down to the lake, bottle in hand although he could have discarded it in the house. He stands there, hidden enough but still showing his dick out to the world, and holds the bottle low so he can aim into it. He’s not too bad despite the narrow bullseye, but his hand is getting a warm shower that he’s not entirely mad about. It’s different, new. His mind runs wild at all the possibilities this kink can take him into, and he’s turned on enough to start jerking off once he’s done.

It’s quick work. A few tugs and twists and he’s cumming all over his hand, adding to the mess. His groan comes out into a hot fog, like a kid playing pretend and howling at the moon. When Eddie comes to, he empties the bottle by the shore and turns back to the house. He’s going to have to wash his pants in the sink, then wash himself, and if some of his thoughts do come true during the night, he’ll need another shower in the morning.

Thank you for reading!! Let me know if you would like to be tagged in future posts!

[klausinamarink]

One Kid Gone, Another Up and Vanished (part 9)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 | next: Part 10 | ao3

If you miss a path, you take a new one or go back where you started (hiya! It’s been a minute ^^ i hope you’ve all been patient since the last update. and October is already almost over what the f-)

To say the drive to Forest Hills is a quiet one is barely an understatement. Because a quiet car ride wouldn’t send Joyce’s insides on a frenzy and make her debate about just opening the passenger door and jump out like in her younger years.

Wayne hasn’t spoken a word since he offered the ride to his home. He occasionally sends glances at her, but otherwise his eyes are on the road. Despite his soft expression, Joyce is certain that Wayne’s opinion on her is already changing.

At first, Joyce had been relieved that somebody actually believes her about Will. But now, she feels like a soulless bitch. Because what the hell was she thinking about throwing Eddie’s name to Wayne and manipulating his grief? What if the Eddie is with Will isn’t even Eddie Munson? And what would’ve happened if Wayne never believed her? How even would he reacted?

“This is your problem, Joyce. The second you hear someone having the same issue as you, you immediately assume you know everything and you bring them close just to hurt them. Just like how you keep hurting me. Can you please stop using people’s pain against them before this town decides to hurt you back?”

Joyce bites the skin around her thumb. She’s suddenly seventeen or nine again, head down to her chest after the clinic appointment or another school fight with Nicole Crawford. Her mother’s driving with her furious eyes on the road, never glancing at Joyce. And she’s giving the same scolding again and again-

Heavy guitar music suddenly fills the truck. Joyce jumps in her seat with a shriek. She looks over as Wayne immediately slams on the radio, stopping the deafening noise. A cassette tape pops out and he snatches it.

“Sorry about that.” Wayne says sheepishly, fondling the radio dials to a lower volume as another station comes on. “Sometimes Eddie sneaks in those tapes of his unlabelled. Swore to me up and down that it’s supposed to be some kind of wake-up alarm for my early shifts, but…” He trails off, staring at the tape long enough that Joyce’s worried they’ll drive off the road. But Wayne shakes his head and puts it on the dashboard.

Soon he tunes into a station that sounds like country music. Joyce looks at him again anxiously, but Wayne’s already staring through the windshield again. “Thought some music would help.”

“Oh.” Joyce says softly. She looks down at her thumb, already abused by her teeth and the hangnails torn off. She doesn’t say thank you because she’s certain that Wayne won’t like it right now.

The drive is still quiet, but some of the tension eases out of Joyce.

Eventually, they arrive at the Forest Hills park and Wayne’s pulling up to his trailer. Already, Joyce feels the resident’s stares on her even before she steps out. It might just be her paranoia, but she doesn’t dare turn around to check.

She forces her gaze forward as she follows Wayne up the porch steps. She notices how he freezes for a few seconds before he creaks the door open slowly. He pokes in his head through and Joyce wonders if there’s someone else there. But Wayne’s shoulders drop with visible relief and walks right in.

“C’mon in.” He tells her with a tiny beckon of his head. Joyce looks down at the threshold, takes a deep breath, and crosses it.

The Munson home is a bit bigger than Joyce expects, but she feels the rest of her stress lift away almost instantly. It could be just how homey it looks and feels. Warm and inviting without a single space left for the cold.

She just hopes that it wouldn’t turn against her.

As she looks around, Joyce sees a phone laying on the ground with one end almost blackened. A sense of déjà vu overcomes her as she picks it up. She holds it by her ear but, when she hears nothing, hangs it back on the hook.

“So.” Wayne starts, leaning back against the kitchen counter. He suddenly looks tired.

Joyce looks around, eyeing every lightbulb she sees. “W-Where exactly did your lights flicker?”

Wayne points over at the kitchen. “Saw ‘em at the living room too. One of the lamps next to the couch though. And I think one by the door.”

Joyce bites her lip as she studies the kitchen first. She starts making her way towards there, glancing at Wayne for silent permission. He gives her a small nod and she continues forward.

“..Will?” She calls out softly, watching the lights carefully. Wayne’s eyes are burning through her back, judging her. Joyce wraps her arms tight around her stomach, breathing slowly. “Will? Are you there?”

The lights don’t respond.

It brings her back to that first day when her lights had went haywire. Before Joyce had realized it was her boy trying to speak to her. It makes her nervous thinking about it. Why isn’t Will communicating to her?

“Eddie?” She tries, carefully keeping herself from glancing back at Wayne. “Eddie, are you here with Will right now?”

The lights remain dark.

Joyce feels herself biting around her fingernails again and forces herself to stop. She finally turns to face Wayne. He hasn’t moved from his spot, although she notices the lines around his eyes seem to harden. Her heart falls and she’s almost ready to let herself give up and apologize for hurting Wayne like this.

Instead, she braces herself again and asks, “Do you have any Christmas lights?”

Wayne furrows his brows in bemusement, “Christmas lights?”

Joyce nods, “It was better for me to talk to Will. Well, I had to paint the alphabet on the wall so I could understand…”

Wayne finally moves then, walking away further down the trailer. For a moment, Joyce believes he’s leaving. But then there’s sounds of rummaging and he returns, carrying a coil of Christmas lights on top of folded sheets. The ones with bigger bulbs that Joyce also uses.

“We don’t celebrate, but better to decorate and pretend.” Wayne muses, handing the lights to her. Joyce hesitates, waiting for him to snatch it back and bark at her to leave like the psychotic bitch she is. He doesn’t do that - only looks at her with weary eyes that seem to be more sad than angry. Like a man desperate enough to turn to such weird practices to find his nephew.

It feels like a truce when Joyce takes the lights. She’s careful in untangling them and finding one of the outlets to plug it in. She turns back to see Wayne laying the sheet down on the floor. It’s a ragged white with a few grey stains and a faded alphabet spray painted on it.

“When Eddie came to my door, he couldn’t speak at all.” Wayne starts, laying his hand over to smooth down any wrinkles. “The home he grew up in with his parents… it was pretty bad enough to make him mute. I had to do baby steps on figuring how to make him talk again. So I created a couple games.” He sits down on one side of the sheet, nodding at Joyce.

She kneels down first, carefully lining the lights up over each letter, listening.

“This game I made with this,” Wayne continued, “well, it doesn’t have a name, but how I taught him was I would throw a word at him, ask him what letter it starts with, and he would point at one of these letters.” He taps on the ‘M’. “I’d say, ‘Say, Eddie, what does the word muse start with?’ And he just walks over to the sheet I hung on the wall and points at the M.”

After the lights are done with, Joyce mirrors Wayne, sitting crosslegged. His gaze is on the sheet, almost watery.

“After a few weeks of that, I start pestering Eddie a bit. Tell him that he doesn’t need to get up and point all the time. He was a smartass even then so just he points at the alphabet and I have to tell him that I can’t see which letter he was pointing. And eventually… he starts saying the letters aloud.”

Wayne cracks a smile, “He had the most adorable voice. I nearly cried when I heard him for the first time because that’s my nephew, who wouldn’t love him? After that, he starts talking more, all in full sentences. So I folded the sheet, put it in the closet, and that’s how the game ended.”

He takes a shuddering breath, blinking rapidly and rubbing two fingers over his lips. Joyce blinks away the tears that were welling in her eyes and slowly reaches over to wrap a gentle hand around Wayne’s wrist. He meets her gaze and she offers a smile that she hopes is beyond than just sympathetic.

“You sound more like a father than an uncle.” Joyce says quietly.

Wayne shakes his head, wiping under his eyes. “I get that a lot.” He leans back, although he’s careful not to completely rip away from Joyce’s hold. He takes a few breaths before he looks back down at the Christmas lights and sheet. “Now, how is this supposed to work?”

—

“Country roads, take me home…”

The lyrics aren’t as familiar in Will’s mouth as the walk back to his house. He had heard the song a couple times on Jonathan’s car radio and the chorus was pretty catchy, but he doesn’t remember the rest of it too well.

But it’s better to fill the silence between him and Eddie. Maybe a change of songs would help Eddie talk again.

“To the place, where I belong…” Will sucks in a breath and cries out, “Indiana!”

He looks up at Eddie expectedly, but the older boy’s still staring ahead blankly.

Will sighs, feeling guilty for he wanting Eddie to be better and back to normal already. He squeezes Eddie’s hand three times as he looks up. His house is just appearing in view-

and so does the demogorgon.

Will immediately freezes in his tracks. He barely keeps himself from falling over when Eddie continues walking until Will roughly tugs his arm to a stop.

The demogorgon is stalking along the side of his house, its long claws dragging on the wall. They’re both far enough not to catch its attention, but it doesn’t stop Will’s heart from racing wildly. He watches as the monster walks to the front, altering between going on all fours to two legs, its flowery head fluttering close by the windows as if peeking through the glass. Even from this distance, Will can hear it growling.

When it rounds to the other side, Will slowly takes a step back. His grip on Eddie’s hand is deathly tight as Eddie mindlessly shuffles back with him.

They keep going even when the demogorgon disappears behind the house. Once the house is out of view and much farther, Will finally comes to a stop.

This is bad.

He almost can’t think with how hard his heart is racing all the way to his head. The demogorgon is here. It came here. But why would it go to his house instead of Eddie’s when they were there almost all day yesterday?

He tries to rack his brain more clearly. Tries to think about the demogorgon’s stats and the last time he’s seen it. Maybe he had actually managed to stab it with the spear and it had given the monster enough damage to stay in the yard and heal? That makes sense, but if it got better, it could’ve followed him and Eddie to the trailer park again.

“Oh no..” Will whispers when the realization hits him.

The demogorgon’s expecting them to come.

It has enough intelligence to know how important WIll’s house is. So like any predator, it would wait there instead and then-

Will gulps, huddling himself closer to Eddie’s side. He looks at both directions of the road and then at the woods, trying to make a plan. They have to escape, but they can’t go back to Eddie’s trailer. They have to risk going to town and hide there somewhere instead.

But where?

The possibilities suddenly feel too overwhelming. Will sucks in a shaky breath, tears welling up in his eyes. He doesn’t know where to even go and he feels like he doesn’t want to. Squeezes Eddie’s hand so hard that it should make the older boy to react, but looking up to see Eddie still blank-faced only makes him feel like he wants to rip his chest out.

There’s a funeral for him, he can’t go to his house, he can’t hear his friends or talk to Mom, the monster is still stalking them, and Eddie’s unresponsive. He feels cold and tired and little sick. All of it is crushing Will on his back and he wants to kneel on the ground and scream.

But if he does that, then it might attract the demogorgon and it’ll kill them and neither of them will go home. So Will lets himself cry as quietly as possible, hugging around Eddie’s legs as he does.

After he’s done, Will’s other hand goes to his pocket and finds the ZIppo lighter. He flicks the lid open and feels absolute relief when the tiny flame sparks to life.

“Will the Wise, what is your decision?”

“I attack the demogorgon with fireball!”

“Then roll for it!”

Will huffs softly at the memory, not even few days old yet feels like forever ago. He knows he can’t attack the demogorgon in this state. If only Eddie can do his DM voice again to help him out-

A lightbulb goes over his head.

Will takes another sharp breath, twisting his head towards the other end of the road. They can’t go back to the trailer park, no. But he can take them to a place at last where the demogorgon should never find them again.

With a renewed sense of vigour, Will once again tugs Eddie with him. Hopefully, their journey would feel like a few minutes pass by the time they arrive.

—

The sun sinks in the horizon behind the trees, turning the sky to a dark orange-red haze and making the leaves glow. On another day, Jeff would loved the sight.

But today isn’t that day. Even a nature walk can’t lift his spirits up.

He’s alone again, walking to a direction he hopes would led him to some secret place where Eddie might be. Alive, of course.

After their own thorough search through some of the woods yesterday with no luck, Frankie had told Jeff that they should go home and start tomorrow. But then Frankie called this morning and said that with that funeral for the Byers kid happening, he couldn’t bear to go looking again.

Jeff had been kind, telling Frankie that it’s okay and he would still look for Eddie by himself. But now Jeff wishes he could’ve either stayed home or that Frankie hadn’t chickened out today because he’s feeling really depressed being alone right now.

It’s been a new feeling that he can’t shake off him since he had seen Eddie’s poster. Or maybe it started when Wayne had asked about Eddie’s places. No matter, it doesn’t stop making his side feel raw like the worst road rash in his life.

He wishes he can take back every comment of calling Eddie a thorn in his side. Because nobody should feel like they’re bleeding nonstop after the thorn’s out.

Jeff kicks a pebble. A twig. Another rock. A few leaves. It makes him feel a little better until he remembers one story from Grandma how after the war, she had once found a body after kicking some sand on a beach. Their face, to be specific, with glassy dirty eyes staring at nothing yet staring at her too. Jeff shudders and keeps his shoes from kicking anything else.

He climbs up a hill, a small one but it feels like a mountain to him. He looks around and shouts, “Eddie!”

It echoes and vanishes. Just like every time before.

As Jeff glances down, he startles at two people suddenly appearing just a few feet away. “Oh shit- sorry! I’m just, uh, walking by. For no reason.” He grimaces at his excuse, but they’re just strangers so why they should care?

One of them, a teenaged girl with her arms crossed and pinched eyebrows, takes a step forward, “Well, sorry to bother you, but do you-”

Her companion, a boy probably about a year or two older than her, clears his throat discreetly. Jeff squints at him, trying to figure out why he looks familiar. The girl turns to the boy and makes some sort of expression that Jeff can’t decipher.

“We’re just leaving. Sorry, bye.” The boy ducks his head in further and starts to walk away, but the girl grabs his arm to stop. She hisses something to him under her breath, to which he responds in a low mumble.

Recognition hits Jeff. He snaps his fingers, catching the duo’s attention. “Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, right?”

They stare at him for a moment that makes Jeff wish he didn’t say anything and just go back home. But then, Byers nods stiffly, “Yeah. Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.” Jeff replies slowly. “I’m, uh, sorry about your brother. Hope you and your mom are doing okay.”

Byers gives him a stare that almost looks a thousand-yards away of throttling him, but then Wheeler clears her throat. Speaking of which, why are these two on a walk together? Isn’t Wheeler Steve Harrington’s new girlfriend on the line?

“Sorry, your name is..?”

He’s not surprised that Harrington’s girlfriend wouldn’t even know who he is. “Jeff. Jeff Endes.”

“Oh!” Wheeler’s eyes light up in recognition. “I think we have geography class together? With Mr. King?”

Huh. Never mind. Jeff’s lips twitch to a small smile with warm butterflies in his stomach.

“Right, this might sound weird, but have you seen anything unusual recently?” Wheeler asks.

Yeah, my best friend is missing and I think his uncle is butting heads with the cops. Jeff almost says aloud, but he swallows it and shakes his head. Instead he says, “Not really, no.”

“So you haven’t seen Barb around here?”

Jeff tilts his head at her. “Isn’t she your best friend?”

Wheeler’s smile is strained. “Yeah, but-”

Byers gives her another elbow nudge at her arm, which makes her glare at him. And then they’re back at the whispering argument. Seriously, what is up with these two? Jeff wonders if he’s now a victim of a very weird prank right now and wow, doesn’t that remind him of a hypothetical scenario that Eddie had wrote in his Munson Doctrine.

They both look back at him. Jeff contemplates in just sprinting off when Wheeler opens her mouth again, but then Byers says-

“We’re tracking down a rabid bear to kill it.”

Wheeler gives him a wide-eyed look. Jeff blinks slowly, expecting Byers to burst into laughter and give him a pat like Relax! Just messing with you! But Byers’ gaze is dead fucking serious.

“You.” Jeff begins slowly. “Are. Looking. For. A rabid…” He trails off, not bothering to finish that sentence.

“That’s.. something like that.” Wheeler smiles, tight and sweet. There’s a moment where Jeff spots a maniac gleam in her eyes.

“Yeah, okay.” Jeff starts walking backward, something he wouldn’t normally do in the woods but it’s time for desperate measures. “You two enjoy, uh, that. Bye!”

He turns around and starts speed-walking the way back. He doesn’t dare to look back, afraid he’s going to fall in some weird-ass rabbit hole with Wheeler and Byers. Which, again, begs the question: why are these two together bear hunting??

He probably doesn’t go too far when he hears a faint sound somewhere on his left. He narrows his eyes and goes over to investigate. As he walks closer, he registers the sound as a whine as if someone is in pain.

Jeff’s heart quickens. He breaks to a run. Maybe it’s Eddie and he’s been hurt all this time-

He comes to a stop.

“Oh.”

It’s not Eddie. Almost a bit of a relief, but not enough to keep his stomach from turning at unpleasant sight of a wounded deer on its side.

Its head keeps lifting up, emitting faint squeaks of pain. Whatever happened to it must’ve been some wolf or a bear based on its nasty gashes on its flank and belly.

There’s a crunching of leaves as a certain pair approaches. Jeff looks up to see Wheeler covering her mouth with a hand as she sees the deer. She makes a tiny sympathetic noise, muttering, “Oh no…” Byers almost looks more distressed than she is.

Jeff breathes out slowly and catches their gazes. He gives them an unspoken question: What are you going to do?

Wheeler lowers her hand, biting her lip. She looks at Byers, who’s still staring at the deer. He catches her eyes for a moment before he pulls out a small pistol from his jacket pocket, clicking the safety off.

Byers glances back at the deer and a steely expression comes over him. He slowly lifts the gun up, aiming at the head.

Oh god, he’s actually doing it. Jeff shuts his eyes, turning his head away. The last thing he wants to see tonight is deer brains splattering on the ground.

Several seconds pass without anything happening. But then there’s some sort of thudding and Wheeler giving a loud shriek. Jeff opens his eyes and turns to see the deer is gone. Nothing left of its existence except for the bloodstained, disturbed leaves.

“What the-?” He looks at Byers and Wheeler but they’re both staring ahead.

“The- It just-” Byers stammers. And then Wheeler darts off before he could even give an explanation. “Wh- Nancy!” He calls to her before he chases her.

Jeff watches them run off. He wonders if he can run off the other way instead because who the hell goes after something that grabs a deer right in front of them?

But Jeff’s used to idiotic shenanigans so he groans and starts following them.

He’s already lost sight of Wheeler (whelp, she’s dead) but he can see Byers (probably good for another minute) through the trees. Jeff manages to run a little faster just before Byers stops in his tracks and they almost collide.

“Shit- sorry, man!” Jeff pauses to catch his breath before continuing, “Where did Wheeler go?”

Byers doesn’t answer. He’s looking down at something, blinking in bafflement. Jeff follows his gaze to-

What the…

On the trunk of an oak tree, there’s a large hole. At first, it looks like what a fox would dig for a den, but foxholes don’t really look like they’re glowing pink with weird cobwebs in front.

Jeff rubs his eyes before staring back at the hole, unsure if it’s some colour hallucination. But nothing about it changes except that the glow looks a little more orange now.

“I saw Nancy…” Byers swallowed. “She, uh, I think she…”

Jeff very slowly turns to him. “She went. Inside?”

Byers gives a slow nod without breaking his stare from the hole. Jeff looks up at the sky for a long moment, praying to his ancestors for advice to avoid further white people stupidity and apologizing for the most idiotic thing he’s about to do.

“Give me your gun, man.”

Byers shoots him an incredulous look. “What?”

Jeff shakes his empty hand out. “Give me your gun! I’m not going in there even with a very large branch.”

Byers hesitates before he hands the pistol over. “You know how to use it?”

Jeff doesn’t answer, only snatching the gun and crouching down to enter the weird foxhole. He hears Byers calling his name but Jeff ignores him as he ducks his head inside.

It’s… definitely very weird. A little bit squishy and uncomfortably fleshy. Jeff hates it even if he’s in it for three seconds. When he comes out, he takes a thankful gasp of air and almost chokes at the drop of the temperature.

Jeff stands up, brushing his jacket sleeves. When his vision adjusts to the dark, he feels like every blood in his body freezing up.

This is.. Well, he knows this is the woods. The same woods in Hawkins that he swears he just left a few seconds ago, but it’s not. How can it be the same when it’s much darker than night with weird ash sprites floating in the air and thick vines wrapping around the trees?

Jeff keeps a steady count of his breaths, slow and deliberate. He calls out, “Wheeler!”

“Jeff?”

Jeffs whirls around, almost shooting the damn gun in his hand. But it’s just Nancy Wheeler coming right around the tree with the hole - or a portal?

Wheeler looks as bemused as Jeff feels. “What are you doing here?”

Jeff raises his eyebrows. “Seriously? You crawl in a hole that leads to whatever this part of the woods are and you are asking what I’m doing here? What about you?”

Wheeler almost seems ready to argue but she shakes her head and looks around, “I-I saw it. Came through here and I- crap, I don’t really know what even is this place…”

Jeff feels a violent shiver ripple through him. He rubs on his arms in an attempt to get warm. Holy crap, it’s freezing and he can see his breath. Wheeler is shaking too and it’s probably not because she’s scared.

“Hey, listen, how about we ask about the meaning of this place when we go back-”

There’s a low growl.

Jeff snaps his back up straighter, whirling around. Wheeler spins her head to another direction, her sharp blue eyes examining through trees. Whatever the hell it is, it seems to come from everywhere and isn’t that a pretty sign. It almost sends Jeff back to Eddie’s brutal campaigns, but he shoves the memory away before it comes to further fruition.

Wheeler gasps, “Over there.”

Jeff follows her gaze, trying to spot what she’s seeing. He can only see some kind of wolf devouring something not far from them-

“Nancy! Jeff! Are you guys still there?”

Byers’ voice comes out of nowhere. Like literally nowhere because even when Jeff spins around and expects to see him, he only sees

“Jonathan?” Wheeler calls out. Jeff bristles and slaps her arm to remind her that there’s an animal right in front of them.

But it’s too late. It catches the wolf’s attention too as its head snaps towards them-

That isn’t a wolf.

Wolves definitely don’t look large and human-like with slimy-looking skin with a head that opens up like a flower and screeches at them with multitudes of teeth.

Jeff and Wheeler scream together and run.

Except when Jeff rounds back to the tree with the portal, Wheeler runs past him.

“Wheeler, where are you going!? Exit’s this way!” He shouts. But she keeps running and the not-wolf thing is already thundering close.

“Nancy! Jeff! Where are you?”

Jeff facepalms himself and chases after her. He tries to ignore the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as the not-wolf growls closer.

He manages to catch up to Wheeler and grabs her arm. She shrieks, her hand flying up to his face. It stings a bit, but Jeff ignores it and pulls her back to the other direction. He looks up in time to see the not-wolf, toothy face wide open, barging right towards them.

Jeff thanks his wits for taking Byers’ gun. While he screams unceremoniously at the sight, he instinctively takes aim and fires at its mouth. The bang almost deafens him and the recoil nearly makes him drop the weapon.

The monster collapses on the ground, its clawed hands gripping its head, making pained whimpers. Jeff’s not sure if he actually hit it or if the gunfire sound blasted its eardrums. Either way, he takes half a second to catch his breath before running again, gripping tight around Wheeler’s wrist.

“Oh my god…” He hears her mutter and he’s inclined to agree. They dash back to the tree and Jeff sees the portal. But as they get closer, he sees that some of the bark is starting to close over-

“C’mon!” Jeff yells. There’s another inhuman shriek from behind.

“It’s getting up!” Wheeler gasps out.

They make it to the tree. And then Byers is popping his head through the slimy webs-

“Oh no, you don’t!” Jeff puts a hand on Byers’ head and shoves him back, ignoring his yelps as he hurriedly crawls through the gross hole again, dragging Wheeler behind him. Suddenly, it feels too tight and Jeff’s chest constricts at the thought of being trapped and crushed.

And then a whoosh of fresh warmer air refills his lungs.

The three of the them collapse on the ground. Jeff rolls on his back, taking big gulping breaths. The muscles in his legs are spasming mad and he knows they’re going to hurt like hurt tomorrow.

“Wh- What…” He hears Byers say, but he doesn’t bother to try and answer him.

He looks over at Wheeler, seeing her kick her legs free just as the slabs of bark close over the portal. The pink-orange glow remains just for a few seconds as thin rays of lights before it fades away. Like there’s never a hole to the cold woods with a monster.

Jeff stares at the tree where the portal used to be. Then he looks at Byers and Wheeler, then back at the tree.

He stands up with shaking legs. Then he points at the tree, “Fuck that. Fuck that thing.” Then he points at the two people he doesn’t ever want to see again. “And fuck you two. I’m going home.” He throws the pistol at their feet, turns his back at them, and walks faster than he ever did in his life.

—

Taglist: @unclewaynemunson @steves-strapcollection @hellion-child @sidekick-hero @mmmmwaffles94 @hbyrde36 @princessstevemunson @sirsnacksalot @tartarusknight @lyriclight @kodaik97 @plsdontdrinkmylavalamp @bookbinderbitch @gutterflower77 @soaringornithopter @angeldreamsoffanfic @panicatthediaz @renaissan-vvitch @manda-panda-monium @newtstabber @little-trash-ghost @niniel-karenine @tinyplanet95

[pawnshopbleus]

Put Me in a Movie - Chapter Five

Miguel O’Hara x Fem! Reader

Summary - You’re a famous actress and he’s one of the greatest directors of all time. What happens when you get cast in his new movie?

Chapter Four

The California weather was surprisingly cool today. The meteorologist said that it would be in the upper sixties today. It was always hot in Hollywood, so you decided to enjoy this opportunity. Fern was more than happy to join you at work. She happily wagged her tail as she stuck her head outside of the window of your car.

Hair and makeup took less time than yesterday, considering that the hairstylist had everything she needed. There were also no surprise visits from Tasia, which was an extra plus.

Today, you will be filming the scene where James confesses his love for Linda, also known as Polina. Rose overhears this and is hurt because of her love for James. Before Linda can get a word out, Rose comes out and starts shouting out accusations. Some strong emotions need to be channeled for this scene to be right.

You were pretty sure that you wouldn't have a problem with Peter. You enjoyed filming scenes with Peter, whether it be a comedic scene or a dramatic scene. He was great at both and deserved more recognition. Not to mention that he is an absolute sweetheart behind the scenes, completely in love with his wife, and a great father to little May.

Tasia, on the other hand, could be pretty difficult. You've gone on and on about her to Fern, who acted like your therapist. Speaking of, you would need to get a real one soon. Anyways, back to Tasia. She's rude to everyone she comes across (except Miguel), she's messy, and she's a bully to her personal assistant. Sometimes you overhear her berate her personal assistant for a simple mistake. It's gotten so bad that you had to take her personal assistant aside to ensure she was okay. You felt bad for the girl, but there was nothing else you could do. You later found out that her name was Gwen Stacy, a college student who wanted to be a director. She was only Tasia's personal assistant to work her way up. If and when Tasia lets her go, you might just end up hiring Ms. Stacy.

Like any other time you're filming with Tasia, there are many mistakes. You and Peter would get to the part in the scene where Rose was supposed to enter, but Tasia would mysteriously disappear and would later be found in her trailer. Then, she would either forget her line or laugh during a serious moment. Now, you can't fault her for breaking, actors do it all the time, but there has to be a moment when it falls back into place. She was breaking every single time.

"Cut, cut, cut. Just fucking cut already!" Miguel yelled - no roared - when Tasis broke for the tenth time. Everyone jumped out of their skin at the sound of Miguel shouting. He threw the headphones he was wearing onto the floor, causing them to break. "What the fuck is so funny?" he asked. Everyone was silent, too scared to say or do anything.

"Am I talking to myself? I asked what. The. fuck. Is. So. funny?'" He took an intimidating step towards Tasia, who puffed out her chest and stood a little taller. You had to give it to her; even if she was a mean girl, she knew how to handle her shit.

"Nothing. God, you're so overdramatic." Taisa rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Get out." Two simple words were uttered from Miguel's lips.

"What did you just say?" "I said, get out!"

"You don't know who you're messing with. My father will-" Tasia was interrupted by Miguel.

"I don't give a fuck who you're daddy is or what he'll do. Get off of my set before I call security." Everyone watched in amusement as Tasia got fired. Eyes were wide, and jaws were dropped.

Tasia stormed off without another word, her fiery red hair blowing in the wind.

Miguel simply looked around at everyone who stood completely still. Many, including you, were petrified at what he might do or say next. He merely shook his head and sat back in his director's chair. He got out his phone and dialed a number.

"Jessica, I need you."

Chapter Six

[callalillywrites]

First Birthdays as a Pack - Alpha! Jake

For my first birthday week piece, I give you Alpha!Jake Jensen from my Their Sweet Omega verse. This contains a lot of fluff and fun for the lot as Beta!Steve and Omega!Reader do their best to give their Alpha the best birthday they can.

Series Masterlist / Steve's Birthday / Omega's Birthday

Relationship: Alpha!Jake Jensen / Beta!Pre-serum Steve Rogers / Omega!Reader

Word Count: ~1300

Summary: It's Jake's birthday. Steve and Omega are determined to give him the best birthday they can.

Warnings: not much really, lots of fluff and fun

A/N: It’s proofread but all mistakes are my own.

I do not give permission for my work to be copied or posted on other sites or fed into an AI machine.

*****

Jake’s birthday is the last one of the year for this pack.

After the wonderful birthdays he’s given Steve and Omega (despite their tiny snafu), they are determined to make his day the best they can as well.

Omega and Steve spend weeks working out the details for his birthday cake from the flavor to its design. It’s only when they settled on the umpteenth design that they send it off to their favorite bakery to get made.

With his birthday so close to one of his favorite gaming conventions, they make sure to book tickets well in advance, splitting the cost between them. They go all in for the VIP experience, too.

As much as Jake wants to ruin the surprises that they have for him by spying, he plays nice. Oh, he’s tempted. So tempted. But because he’s playing nice, he’s definitely an excited Alpha who can’t wait to see what they have planned for him. Though, he’s not sure how they’ll top what they did when he got his promotion at work.

Omega and Steve use all their free time that Jake’s at his office to their benefit. They don’t leave out a single detail.

From breakfast to the convention, they’re not about to forget anything they might do for him on his special day. This includes reservations at the new restaurant he’s been dying to try after his day at the convention. They even set the reservations as late as they could so he can have the most of his time at said convention.

Everything is going to plan…

Until the convention’s location experiences a massive flooding issue two days before his birthday.

Now, they’re scrambling to recoup what they can while they have a little time left. His cake is ready at the bakery. The reservation is confirmed for dinner. All they need is to replace the convention and his VIP experience with something of equal greatness.

Thankfully, their money for the VIP ticket is refunded. They put it to good use, loading up his game console with several games from his wishlist. Omega even picks a few of them so they can play together.

While Steve’s not really into gaming at all, he does enjoy watching the two of them play together, usually sitting with one or the other. It’s his time to cuddle up with them and learn more about their interests in the games they play. He’s even sketched them several times and framed the sketches in his studio.

While Jake is away for work the day before his birthday, they gather everything they need to deck out their living room like a gaming convention, complete with the links to the new trailers that were supposed to drop at the cancelled one. They have them queued up on Omega’s phone which she’s since synced to the TV.

They tuck everything away in Steve’s studio. The plan is to put everything up early the next morning while Jake enjoys a rare morning of sleeping in.

Jake wakes the next morning to the muffled sounds of his Beta and Omega hard at work in the living room. Realizing the day, he makes quick work of getting somewhat dressed and heads out to see what they’re up to.

What he finds is beyond his imaginings as their living room has completely decked out like Steve and Omega wanted. It looks just like the gaming convention he’d been wanting to attend until it’d been cancelled.

They soon spot him watching them and beckon him over. With a flourish, they present him with a homemade VIP pass to their first annual JakeCon where he’ll find his favorite games preloaded on his console with some new add-ones. New games await there as well.

First though, he must try the buffet breakfast they’ve laid out in the kitchen, complete with some of his favorite breakfast foods from his favorite places. He quickly loads his plate and eats his fill.

Then, he’s dragging them back into the living room where he takes in the nest Omega created for them on the sofa. He pulls them down with him. So many kisses are shared for all their hard work.

The morning is spent playing various games with Omega as his partner while Steve watches and occasionally sketches them. He can’t believe they bought him more games and can’t decide which one to play first after he finishes seeing all the add-ons for his current games.

At some point, they make him stop for lunch where they surprise him again with his birthday cake after they’ve eaten. Oh, he loves how well the bakery has recreated his main character from his first-person shooter game. It’s the same game he’s teamed up with Omega since learning she’s one of the top players. Her ability to take out Steve’s best friend, Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier, never fails to make him fall a little harder each time.

Once they have lunch out of the way, they take him back to the living room where they queue up the links Omega has saved on her phone. They enjoy all the new trailers for some upcoming games. The best she saves for last which is a panel with some of the best game developers who’ve come together to discuss future projects and other interesting tidbits.

At this point, Jake has Omega and Steve curled up next to him while enjoying some snacks. He loves how doting they’re being and finds this far better than spending the day cramped in a large building with hundreds of others. All he needs is the two people next to him to make his birthday the best ever.

After the videos are finished, they pull out their separate gifts for him. Steve’s is a new painting for his office. Omega gifts him a new candle featuring his favorite cinnamon roll scent. The last one they bring out is from both of them. It’s a personalized board game complete with mini models of his many different game characters for players to use.

He loves them all and asks them to play the game with him. He, of course, chooses his first-person shooter character. Steve goes for Jake’s favorite MMORPG character, and Omega picks up his favorite strategy game character.

The three of them spend some time learning the rules of the game and playing a few rounds. It ends up being a good time despite Jake not winning. He doesn’t mind though as he loves it, and he’s sure they’ll play with him again sometime soon.

Before they know it, they’re pulling Jake into the bedroom so they can change and get ready for their late reservation. He can’t help grinning ear to ear at learning all they’ve planned out for him.

The dinner is expensive but worth every cent, including the generous tip they leave for their server at the end of the night.

Back at home, it’s late, but Steve and Omega have one final surprise for Jake.

He gets to choose a sexy fantasy for them to play out. It doesn’t take him long to decide which one he wants. Steve and Omega are quick to follow every direction he gives until they are practically begging and writhing for his ardent attention.

The night ends when he has them curled on either side of him, sweaty but sated. He can’t thank them enough for making his birthday so special. A part of him wishes the day doesn’t have to end, but then he remembers he gets to wake up with them every day. That makes him even happier. He feels like the luckiest Alpha on Earth, and he knows he wouldn’t trade his life for anything.

*****

Verse Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Tag List: @thezombieprostitute

[caldeiras-random-fandom-thoughts]

No Way!!!!!! The Natlan Trailer is release !!!!!!!!!!!!

Genshin Impact just dropped a new teaser and it is about Natlan, the next region the traveler will be visiting soon. In the trailer, Genshin showed a handful of new characters: Chasca, Citlali,  Iansan, K'uhul Ajaw, Kachina, Kinich, Mavuika, Mualani, Ororon, and Xilonen. The teaser also showed a familiar character that many people had hoped to see for the longest time is Capitano, one of the Fatui Harbingers. 

The trailer seems to center around a tournament, which was referenced at the end of the Fontaine Archon quest (Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act V - Masquerade of the Guilty).  However, the reason for the tournament is still up in the air but some of the newest clues about it from the trailer are quotes like this one: “This battle is for winners only. The champion... will take all.” 

But something I want to focus on is one of the new characters: Mavuika. Many people believe that she is the current pyro archon of Natlan. However, if she is the current pyro archon then what about Murata?

Murata was mentioned in the official Genshin Impact webcomic in the prologue chapter when Venti was talking to Venessa, where Venti mentioned “the children of Murata, the lady of fire” when talking about Venessa and her tribe. With the way Venti spoke of her, it seemed like he knew her personally, which made her seem like she was a part of the seven archons. But what do we know about her? Other than the title “the lady of fire”, Venti describes her as a lady of war, and warriors from the tribes would perform rites of combat and would celebrate victories in her name. Other than that, there wasn’t much information about it as it was kept vague. 

With the release of the trailer and new characters, many people believed that Mavuika was the Pyro archon. If she is the pyro archon, then where is Murata?  

Theories

Theory 1: Murata is the previous archon while Mavuika is her successor.

It is known that Venti and Zhongli are the only two of the original seven who are still alive in the game as the others have died around the time of the cataclysm in Khaenri'ah and their successors have inherited their titles. In addition, when Venti was to speak to Venessa about her, it was roughly about 1,000 years before the traveler came to Teyvat and started their journey to regain their power and find their sibling. The previous pyro archon was Murata and she died during the events of Cataclysm while Mavuika was someone who Murata trusted and later became a successor to inherit her position as archon.

(Note: Murata might have had the title of the god of war due to being called a lady of war but it is unclear whether the title as the god of war was originally hers to begin with and she chose to pass it down to her successor or the title belongs to her successor first. But all we know is that the Pyro archon is the god of war and it is safe to assume that the title belongs to the current Pyro archon Natlan.)

Theory 2: Murarta and Mavuika are the same person

This part can be done in many different ways so I am going to describe at least a few.

One way is that Murata is a title used by the Pyro archons. The archons have many names and titles they use. So if Mavuika is the Pyro archon, she could have used Murata as a name or title. If this were the case, the previous archon likely used Murata as a name or title as well.

Another way is that maybe it is similar to Nahida/Rukkhadevata or a Furina/Focalors situation.

Murata and Mavuika might be (in Rukkhadevata’s words) of the same nature as each other or the same person with two different identities but have an identical appearance. For the last archons, this has happened where the current archon has a counterpart that shares their appearance or a part of their identities. Nahida and her predecessor Rukkhadevata have the same appearance as they are “of the same nature” and they ended up sharing identical appearances. While Focalors and Furina are the same person but they were split into two identities. Something similar could have happened with Murata and Mavuika. But how? 

If you take a look at the title of the Archon quest for Natlan, the title is Incandescent Ode of Resurrection and in the trailer we see Capitano, a bird with a trail of fire, flying toward him and then we see Mavuika next to him. I believe the bird is likely a phoenix and a phoenix is a symbol of rebirth (for most cultures). They are known to regenerate as when they die they are set on fire and then they rise from the ashes to live another life. If it were to go a similar route as with the other archons, Murata would have died but only to rise from the ashes of her death and live a new life as Mavuika. Even if the bird isn’t a phoenix and is a different type of bird, the concept of rebirth is not that far-fetched, due to the hint of a resurrection in the title of the future Archon Quest chapter. 

(Note: While editing this, I did some quick searches and learned that  Natlan is based mostly on Latin America in the Pre-Columbian era, and African, Hispanic, and Aboriginal Australian cultures. Some of the cultures in Latin America in the Pre-Columbian era like the Aztecs do have concepts of rebirth (wasn’t able to get that deep into it or see the concept about it in other cultures that Natlan is based on due to lack of free time). So the idea of a potential rebirth with the archon definitely doesn’t seem to be that far-fetched but who knows until more information is release about the characters and the region).

That’s all for now 

- Ria 

[boybandbaby]

I'm Not The Only One Part 2

Summary: The aftermath of your enemy Steve telling you that your boyfriend cheated on you.

Word Count: 2387

Note: Not revised. Part 1 here

As you walked up to Matt’s door, you were afraid of what might happen. You desperately wanted to speak to Robin about what happened but then Steve dropped a bomb on you. Instead of worrying about the Friday incident, you were not concerned your boyfriend was cheating on you. You really hoped that Steve was just being his usual asshole self, but the way he said it and the look in his eyes told you he was being sincere. So here you were, at Matt’s doorstep, knocking pathetically.

After a few moments that felt decades long, the door swung open to reveal your boyfriend. His smile grew when he saw you and you nearly melted at the sight. “Hi baby,” he reached out for you.

“Baby?” You shook yourself out of your trance. “I’ve been calling you all weekend. Where have you been?”

“I just thought maybe you needed some time to cool off from Friday.” He shrugged. “You were really mad at me.”

“I think I had the right to be mad.” You scoffed.

“I mean come on Y/n, we’ve been dating for a month and you still haven’t let me kiss you.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.

“Is that why you were kissing another girl after I left your house?” You question. “And don’t lie to me.”

“Look, Annalise called me to hang out and yeah we kissed but we’re not getting back together or anything. We can just forget it ever happened.” Matt reached a hand out to you.

“Are you insane? It may seem like no big deal to you but it is to me. That’s cheating.” You slap his hand away. “You’re unbelievable really.” You turn, heading back down the path. “Oh, and Grease is overdue, idiot.” You slam your car door as you finish getting in.

The first thing you can think of is to go see Eddie. You know his weird antics and personality can cheer you up in a heartbeat. The drive to his trailer is filled with the noise of sad ballads and your sleeved hand constantly wiping your eyes. Why were you crying? Matt was definitely not worth it and you knew that but you couldn’t help feeling worthless and unwanted.

As you park outside Eddie’s trailer, you look into the mirror and sigh. Your eyes were red, your hair was a mess, and your skin was sticky with old and new tears. You see Uncle Wayne on the porch, “Eddie, your little friend is here!”

You chuckle at his words and grab your bag before stepping out. Eddie rushes down the three steps and opens his long arms to engulf you. “Hey, come ‘ere.” He says quietly. You immediately enter his embrace and wrap your arms around his waist. “He’s an idiot.”

“Yeah, I know.” You sighed and lean your cheek against his chest. 

“You staying for dinner kiddo?” Wayne asks and you nod. “I’ll be heading to the store for food them. Be back in a bit.” Wayne gives Eddie a look.

“Let’s get you inside.” Eddie smiles and pulls you inside. “I can show you the new guitar strap that Dustin got me.”

-

Steve had called Eddie as soon as you left the store. He had filled him in on the entire situation.

“Okay so we’re going to go kick his ass right?” Eddie had told Steve through the phone.

“Eddie, you’re her friend. You have to do it.”

“Okay but you’re…meatier. I’m skinny. You’ve seen me shirtless. I need backup.” Eddie states. “Plus, someone has to comfort Y/n and I know it is impossible for you to be nice to her.”

“Hey, I can be nice.” Steve whines. “I was nice today.”

“Only because you had too.” Eddie snorts. “Look, you go kick his ass and I’ll go comfort Y/n.”

“I’m not kicking his ass alone Eddie.” Steve rolls his eyes. 

“How about neither of you kick his ass and both of you just go check on Y/n.” Robin adds, holding a box of new tapes. “Y/n is plenty capable of kicking Matt’s ass by herself.” 

“That’s true.” Steve laughs. “Well, I don’t think she’ll want to see me so… Eddie just take care of her okay? Let me know if she needs anything.” He ends the call after a few more moments, saying goodbye to Eddie.

“Oh, you’ve got it bad.” Robin laughs. “So so bad.”

“Robin.” Steve scolds. “I’m just being nice because she’s going through a tough time.”

“This could be what you need to start dating her. Swoop in to be her knight in shining armor or whatever.” Robin’s eyes light up. 

“Alright, that’s enough out of you.” Steve shakes his head, “I’m going on break.”

-

“So what did you tell Steve when he told you?” Eddie asks, sitting on the floor, rummaging through an old storage bin. You look down at him as you lay on your stomach across his bed, flipping through a magazine. 

“I mean, not much really. I basically interrogated him on what he saw and tried to verify if it was the truth.” You shrugged. “I seriously thought he was playing a joke on me.”

“I know he’s mean to you but not that mean. I think he likes you honestly.” Eddie bites his lip. “Imagine you and Harrington.” He ponders, “actually I think I almost threw up.”

“Shut up.” You toss a pillow in his direction. “He doesn’t like me. He can barely be in my presence. He said I was the Wicked Witch of the West, ya know?”

“If you’re the bad witch then I must be Glinda the good witch, huh?” Eddie raises a brow.

“Absolutely not. You have the hair to be Dorothy though.” You laugh. 

“I would look good in red sparkly heels and we both know it.” Eddie flips his hair off his shoulder. “But seriously, Harrington’s got the hots for you. He was all like,” Eddie switches his voice to mimic Steve’s. “‘Take care of my beautiful, wonderful future wife Y/n’ and ‘let’s kick Matt’s ass to avenge Y/n’s sweet soul’ and the best one ‘let me know if Y/n needs anything. And I mean anything Eddie.’” Eddie wiggles his eyebrows.

“He did not say any of that, you weirdo.” You toss another pillow at him. 

“You’re going to be pillowless in the next five minutes.” Eddie stands up to hit you in the head with the pillows, then stands a seat on the bed in the most obnoxious way making the entire bed bounce. “Remember when I first introduced you to the group? You thought Steve was cute. You even asked if he was single.”

“Which he technically wasn’t with all the dates he was going on.” You roll over onto your back. “I don’t know Eddie. Steve is cute but the past two years of bickering kinda just made me not really find him attractive.”

“Yeah yeah, I bet you’ll be dating or fucking by the end of the year.” Eddie lays beside you. “There’s so much sexual tension between you guys.”

“I hate you sometimes.” You laugh. “Let’s go see if Wayne needs our help.” You sit up and climb over him.

-

You had decided it would be a good time to thank Steve for looking out for you. It was Friday, only four days since you found out about Matt from Steve and confronted Matt yourself. As you walked up to Steve’s door, you remembered the last time you were here and how Steve had yelled at you. Maybe this was a bad idea. As you reached the porch of his house, you thought better and decided to just give him a call instead of your original plan. You turn back and start racing back to your car when you hear the door open.

“Y/n?” You hear. Your body freezes and you really wish you could just disappear.

Without turning around you reply with a quiet “Hey Steve.”

“You okay?” Steve asks, stepping out onto the porch after grabbing a jacket hanging near his door. “Did you just get off of work?”

“Um yeah, I just wanted to stop by to thank you.” You slowly turn around, scolding yourself mentally for not changing out of your uniform before coming to his place.

“Are those flowers? For me?” He points to the small bouquet in your hand. “You got me flowers?”

“Um… yeah. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to bring over. Robin said you were laying off the sweets so I didn’t bring any desserts over. I’m sorry this is stupid. I just wanted to say thank you for being so kind on Monday and throughout the week. I know you asked Eddie and Robin to keep you updated on me. I’m fine now. Really. So thank you.” You rush out, turning to leave. “Oh wait, here.” You turn back around and shove the flowers into his chest. “Bye. Thank you. I’m sorry. Bye.” You hug your body and run back to your car. He’s quicker than you, shutting the door just as you open it.

“Do you want to come in?” He searches for your eyes. “You look cold. I can make hot chocolate or something?” He offers, unsure. “Only if you want.”

“You sure?” You squint your eyes and meet his.

“Yeah, I wasn’t busy or anything. Just making some food.” He smiles softly. “There’s enough for two.” 

It’s his smile that has you immediately locking your car door and following him into his house. He waits for you to step inside his house before going in himself, like a gentleman. He shivers as he takes off his jacket. 

“I’m supposed to put the flowers in water right?” He sets the bouquet on the counter. You had momentarily forgotten about the flowers. Your cheeks flush with heat and somehow he senses your embarrassment. “You know, no one has ever gotten me flowers before? I don’t even think I have a vase.” He mumbles as he searches the cabinets. “You okay? You’re quiet. You know you can have a seat.” He looks up to see you still standing near the entryway to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be awkward.” You laugh.

“You’re not.” He assures. “We haven’t had a good relationship so it makes sense why this is weird.” He smiles again and holds a red tinted vase he found under the sink. “I found one.”

“Let me help you.” You offer, holding the vase as he runs the water. “So you’ve been on hundreds of dates and not one girl has given you flowers?”

“Surprisingly no. I guess it’s just the whole gender roles and norms. I hope I didn’t embarrass you, I was just surprised.” He turns the faucet off.

“Well, I’m glad I got them then. Robin wasn’t much help. She wanted me to get you a funny greeting card. There’s not really a card that says, ‘I know we hate each other but thanks for saving me from a potential shitty relationship.’” 

“I guess that’s true.” He shrugs. “You know I don’t hate you right? Slightly dislike but not hate.” He nudges your arm as he takes the vase and places it on the counter.  

“It sounded like you hated me when you told me to get out of Hawkins.” You start to unwrap the flowers. “I was never trying to replace you Steve. I just wanted to be part of the group. I hope you know that.”

“I still regret saying that to you. You looked so sad but instead of apologizing I just… I don’t know. I guess I thought it was better to be mean to you then accept the fact that the others liked you. I don’t know how much you know about me but I’m usually home alone and other than my friends, I don’t have anybody.” He says honestly, voice laced with sadness.

“You have me?” You offer. “Like moving forward? We could be friends. We can hang out without the mean comments and stealing my snacks.” 

“Even after everything I’ve done? You’d still want to be friends?” He looks down to his slippers. “I was a jerk.”

“Yeah you were. Especially by calling me a witch.” You laugh. He looks up at you and thinks it’s music to his ears. “I’m sorry for saying you have no heart and that you were a coward. Both of those aren’t true.”

“So I still have no brain?” He fakes being hurt. 

“I mean you can be pretty stupid.” You smile, “like that one time at the fair when you got the hot pickle and immediately spit it out because it was spicy.”

“I thought it was like, going to be hot in temperature.” He defends. 

“Who eats a warm pickle? Pickles are meant to be eaten cold.” You argue. 

“Yeah yeah, that was pretty stupid.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You know, I regret not taking up your offer to ride the ferris wheel that day.”

“I saw that you wanted to go but no one would go with you. You kept looking up at the wheel and the lights of the rides made your eyes look so pretty. I just had to ask you.” You scoot closer to him, your sides touching as you busied yourself with separating the flowers. “But then you rejected me!” You nudged him this time.

“I’m sorry!” He covers his face. “I’m really sorry. Not just about that but everything else.” He says more quietly. 

“I’ve already forgiven you, Steve.” You start rearranging the flowers into the vase. “We’re good now. Promise.”

“Good.” He smiles down at you. “You hungry?” 

“Starving.” You step back to look at your work. “They look so pretty.”

“Yeah, they do.” Steve agrees, though his eyes are on you not the flowers. You turn to look at him. 

“You’re pretty too, Steve.” You bite your lip and take a seat at the kitchen island to distract yourself from the butterflies erupting inside your stomach. What was happening? You thought. How’d you go from hating each other to flirting?

Steve knew once he told Robin about his night, he wouldn’t be hearing the end of it. Enemies to lovers? Maybe, he was a cliche. He really didn’t mind that idea.

Taglist: @yaskna

[ponds-of-ink]

Quick Into The Pit-Inspired One-Shot: “Replaced”

Can’t get this idea out of my head thanks to that new trailer, so here it is. It’s a bit rushed, but at least I got the main idea down.

If I correctly predict this (which I know is unlikely), I’m going to yell.

—

The neon signs served as beacons of light for that the room. They buzzed and hummed as a side door opened. Out stepped an employee with a haggard face yet a glimmer in his eyes. He shut the door, then leaned against it. “Stage, games, tables, extracurricular…” he muttered a few times, rhythmically tilting his pointer finger in the air. “Same routine, different night.”

The tilting stopped. He lowered his hand and looked out into the distance. A strange feeling seemed to churn in his soul. Something that would make someone else tack “but that will change tomorrow” onto his last sentence.

But the employee shook away that thought. He straightened his posture, then began his inspections. As he did, he mumbled some lyrics to a tune that was really only meant to be whistled.

Please, please, little bird

Will you say the word?

Sing to me a different rhyme

Talk to me of summertime

All of the animatronics were in their places. The drawn curtains had no hangups. 

For so long I’ve wandered

And I’ve pondered all alone

Will I ever see good weather

Or me not on my own?

The neon signs were clearly working. Any “out-of-order” notices had been removed from their real game cabinets. Even the tables and chairs seemed clean and oraganized.

So please, bird, little bird

Will you say the word?

Will you sing that happy tune?

Will you chirp or will you croon?

Please, bird, please say

Please…

The employee paused. A plastic ball was lying on the tiled floor in front of him. He cautiously picked it up and inspected it. “Looks like someone tried to take home a souvenir,” he thought to himself as he repeatedly flicked it into the air. “That or the janitor thought something was wrong with it.” He caught the ball one final time, then stared at its netted home. “Might as well drop it off,” he concluded with a shrug. “Don’t want any other kids tripping over it.”

He strolled over to the ball-pit, whistling his tune. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the ball over the net. It bounced into its rightful spot.. Then prompted a small hill to form.

The whistling stopped for good. Our “hero” leaned against the net. The hill drew closer, prompting a rustle from inside the ball-pit.

“Come on now, Jeremy,” the employee laughed as cordially as he could. “The restaurant’s closed for the night. You don’t want your parents to worry about you!”

The mound stopped before the net. An overwhelming darkness seemed to emerge. Two glowing blue eyes peered up at the man. Staring. Almost as if it was patiently waiting on him.

A chill surged throughout the man’s body. “You’re not Jeremy,” he said breathlessly, starting to back away from the net. “What… even are you? A new security measure? Someone messing with one of the old suits—?”

A yellow, seemingly gloved hand snatched his ankle. It pulled him down onto the floor with a sharp tug. A soft, high-pitched whine rang in the man’s ears. Ever-changing in pitch, but never sounding aggressive.

The man tried to pry himself off, but the thing’s grip was strong like iron. Everything turned into a blur as he was pulled into the ballpit. He definitely shrieked as he plunged, but his body didn’t recognize it as him doing so. It was practically numb, save the sensation of being drained. The darkness that enveloped him soon became strange visions. In one, fire surrounding another Fazbear’s attraction. In another, a strange metal creature panicking as it fell into a lake. And yet others showed him scrambling to survive against monsters of his own making or even arguing with some facsimile of himself.

No matter the circumstances, one theme became clear.

If this whole situation didn’t happen, he would have been utterly destroyed from the inside out. And it would have been all his fault.

..Perhaps it already was..

A few minutes later, the two blue eyes popped back up to the surface. It raised its yellow rabbit ears as it surveyed the area. “Stage, games, tables, extra…” it said in a slow, thin voice. “All… clear.”

Then it lowered itself back into the ballpit.

[siriuslysmoking]

Soft and Gentle

A/N: I saw Gaby Moreno as an Opener for a band I was seeing and I just fell in love with her voice and her music. 'Lost on a Cloud' has no lyrics that are published so all the things that are written as lyrics are just interpetied from me listening, if there is any mistakes please let me know. Also, I don't know how the Grammy's works so bare with me, I'm pulling this shit outta my ass.

Pairing: Latino Jazz Artist! Reader x Rockstar!Eddie Munson

Warnings: fem!reader, she/her pronouns, alcohol consumption,

Summary: You never thought you'd see him ever again, when it comes to the most important day of your life, he's at the table next to you.

I don't know what this is or why this is, it's probably awful but I'm not rereading it.

You might think that finding your seat was the hardest task you had to do all night, but the night wasn't over yet.

You hardly swallowed as you took a seat on stage, the lights dimmed around you and a spotlight circled you.

Your eyes circle the crowd as you strum the intro.

That's when they latch onto the inspiration of the song, those chocolate brown eyes that have haunted your dreams for the last seven years.

You don't move you eyes, he doesn't move his.

What if all the grown ups stopped working so hard

Dropped all their things and stared at the sky

It was a hot summer's day when you had met, you were playing with the hose and had called him over. He was home alone and you mom was inside working, neither of you had anyone to play with.

Those giggles and squeals of the cold water being poured on one another was daunting.

You slept happy that night, making a new friend.

all the busy nothings i could fill a cup, days and nights went by and I've forgotten to be scared of the dark

'cause every minute is filled with things to do and me and you have found that there's no time to see the clouds up so high

"Hey eds?" You look to him, his face still facing the sky.

"Yeah?" He hums with his eyes close.

"When you go to high school will you forget about me?" That's when he looks at you, those eyes so soft and gentle.

"Never, plus you'll be there in one year." He smiles to you, before staring back at the sky

Is it so hard to remember how it all used to be

they say youth is lost on the young who never knew they were free

"Promise me that we'll leave together." Eddie mumbles into your hair as you lay in his bed with him, running your hands through his hair.

"Two bedroom apartment in New York, remember?" You smile, you both have been saving since you got jobs in freshman year. as soon as you both graduate you're leaving.

here we are, we're lost on the cloud

Then he didn't graduate and the next year you did.

You waited for him to, you promised.

darling it's okay to while the hours away while we're here forever I just wanna hear to laughing out loud

"You did it!" You hug him as he swings you up in the air knocking his cap off.

"I did it!" He stares into your eyes as he lowers you to the ground, his lips flicker downward. The next thing you know is his lips are on your.

That night is spent in laughs and ice cream.

That night promises were made.

'cause every minute is filled with things to do and me and you have found that there's no time to see the clouds up so high

"A record label wants Corroded Coffin!" Eddie rushes into your trailer.

"No way!" You turn from the sink where you were cleaning up dinner that your mom and you had just finished

"For real! They want us to relocate to Cali'." He hugs you tightly.

"California?" Your eyes widen.

"Yeah!" His smile is so wide, you feel as though you're going to ruin it with your next words.

"That's far, really far."

"I know but we can make it work." Eddie smiled against your lips, "We'll make it work."

is it so hard to remember what we had you and me

"I miss you."

-I miss you too

-Alright I gotta go!

"o-okay, bye, I love you."

-Bye

they say youth is lost on the young who never knew they were free

Your eyes start to water as you finish the song. He doesn't seem to blink either.

You finish your last few cords before the clapping begins.

Then you're sent back to your seat and you say a final goodbye to the soft gentle eyes.

-

-

Likes, reblogs, and comments appreciated <3

[thedinanshiral]

The time is nigh.

We´re nearly there. we got news this week.

Say goodbye to "Dreadwolf"

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and while the name change isn't horrible, insiders poking at it merely hours before BW got to reveal it was particularly annoying. Insiders are good to expose issues, harrassment and other bad practices in the industry, not spoiling game details barely a moment before official news! While we were all waiting for the Summer Games Fest on Friday, "insiders" spoiled the game would have a name change. Soon after BioWare confirmed this with a blog post, but i'll take a moment here to say this is a game many of us have been painfully waiting for ages, there's unimaginable anxiety and expectations involved on all sides and just when we're right around the corner some people popped up to stir a pot that doesn't need any more stirring, considering the dev history of this game i'm sure many people read these insiders' "i know something you don't tee hee" posts and streams and feared the worst, again. Completely unnecessary. Fortunately the news were rather inocuous but what insiders did at such a last moment was still annoying. They did the equivalent of telling an excited kid at Christmas that they got socks right before they got a chance to open their present, at least it feels like that.

Moving from that, many people feel the name could drop that "the" and be just Dragon Age: Veilguard. It'd follow the pattern of DA games having three-words titles (Dragon Age Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition), and personally i think it rolls off the tongue way better without "the" in the middle too. This name change brought with it the acronym issue, and a sad goodbye to all the DA:D jokes. Now people are deciding if it should be DA:V, DAtV, DAVG. Former DA dev and writer David Gaider has already expressed his wish we all just don't go for DAVG, one presumes because it's too close to his own name. DAD jokes are quickly being replaced by Dragon Age TV and Dave ones, and others about DAD going to get cigarrettes and never coming back. I'm already fond of DAV or simply Veilguard.

The name change is already applied to platforms like Stream and console stores, where it's been possible to add the unreleased game to the wishlist since the latest trailer from last year. This one is from the PS5 store:

As BW explains in their blog post, the name change follows a need to change the focus due to this story's particulars. Yes, Solas is an antagonist, a big bad wolf, he's the Dread Wolf! BUT he's not the only threat we'll face this time, there are others, possibly bigger and more urgent matters to deal with. The Veil is quite the protagonist in this game, seems it's the last barrier between Thedas and utter annihilation, and as BW says, "the Veil needs guarding". DAO had the Grey Wardens, DA2 had Hawke & friends, DAI had the Inquisition, and now DAV has the Veilguard, a group of individuals from various backgrounds tasked with guarding the Veil. Pretty straightforward.

Gameplay details

BW has so far revealed we'll meet 7 new companions from a variety of factions and backgrounds, that we could romance any of them and that got everyone excited.. but we can only take 2 at a time to join the party, and combat will include a wheel menu to pause and strategize. This detail has people anticipating combat this time around will be much more like Mass Effect, with only MC and two party members the player might not control but send commands to instead, while some think BG3 and its success may have influenced some decisions as well.

This comparison reminded me of Mass Effect Andromeda, a highly criticized game many threw under a bus quickly and undeservedly (yes, undeservedly) . While it had its flaws it was a good game and its combat was possibly the best ME combat to date, and i think BW may have taken that for DAV. The one redeeiming grace from their last released game before DAV could have very well served as a base for it.

As for the different factions our companions may come from, it has all been teased before in concept art and side media, namely the Tevinter Nights anthology where we were introduced to entirely new factions as well as shown old ones more in depth. Antivan Crows, Mortalitasi, Lords of Fortune to name possibly the most anticipated ones. And we know the action this time will move all over Thedas, exciting new locales like Antiva, Rivain, Tevinter, the Anderfells, Arlathan Forest..

Lore trove!

On top of all these exciting news, just think of the lore, THE LORE. If Solas is not the main threat, if as BW says there are other gods we'll have to deal with as the Veilguard, who are they? Are we finally getting a double Blight? Are those other gods the last two remaining Old Gods OR is it the remaining Evanuris pushing from the other side of the Veil? Just how many fronts will our party be fighting on to save the world? And what ancient mysteries will come to light as we explore northern Thedas? In The Missing comics we learned there are areas of Arlathan forest that are twisted in time and space, paths too dangerous to traverse where spirits may take control of you, and gods know what else is there, what long forgotten horrors are waiting in the shadows of a history very few may remember. Could one of our new companions be an ancient elf? Many questions and the imagination is flying so high and far ..

But i'd like to focus on a small detail. Remember this? The little red book. It's where my avatar comes from! Here's a bit more on that. I remember back then i quickly edited it trying to get a clearer image

The tower on the cover first reminded me back then of the figurines seen on the map in Inquisition, then the protagonist of what we now know is Veilguard was said to be named Rook (possibly a codename), so there it is. The Warden, Hawke, the Inquisitor and now (the) Rook. A chess piece in the Dread Wolf's board. I think that's what the mystery red book's cover is hinting at. So when i read we'll be getting 7 companions my mind went straight to chess. This game will be about strategy, moving the right pieces the right way, specially if we'll be fighting on multiple fronts. The protagonist Rook and 7 companions.

Also reminded me of Solas' banter with the Iron Bull where they were playing a chess match mentally on the go. Here's a great recap of it. I don't understand chess, never really got to fully learn it, but i appreciate its symbolic value and of course, this will be a race of wits.

Solas, the other gods, the politics, the manipulations and revelations, everything Thedas has to offer is getting closer by the minute. Today it's the Xbox Showcase, in a couple of hours, we're all counting on some kind of reveal after the SGF gave us nothing. I hope for a cinematic trailer and introduction of companions, maybe if i could be so greedy even a release date or the possibility to pre-order, or a date for it. If not, we still have Tuesday 11th for a confirmed and announced by BW 15 minutes long gameplay reveal.

A gameplay reveal, fiften minutes!! It's real, it's happening, we're going home.

[astromechs]

almost paradise

the gotg vol 3 trailer dropped, i had a breakdown, then went completely unhinged to write this in about two days. gamora/peter quill, 5713 words. do mind the m rating, as well as the tags!

“What was she like?”

He doesn’t know what makes him say it — probably the one Centuarian rye too many he’d had back at the bar to celebrate all the new units they’d just gotten their hands on, if he had to guess, which pretty much always gets him talking way more than he should — but as soon as the words are out of his mouth, Peter regrets them. It’s been about three months or so since he and Gamora had started this tentative friendship of theirs, and he knows, he knows, there’s something very specific that keeps it going: patience to give her all the space she needs, and a firm resolve to not push anything too hard. She’s like that cat his grandpa used to have, he’s thought well more than once; she comes closer on her own time, if you just let her.

That’s how she’d ended up out here with him when everyone else had gone their separate ways for the night, sitting in the sand by the water on Xandar, not far from where they’d parked the Milano. He’s without the Walkman (Rocket had insisted that Groot needed it to sleep, and even if he hadn’t actually said anything, Peter knows complete and total bullshit when he hears it), but it’s all right; there’s actually something kind of relaxing about the way that the waves gently crash against the shore. At least, Gamora seems to think so, judging from the way she doesn’t look like she’s about to go for a knife, as she still so often does — and, honestly, Gamora’s right about a lot of stuff.

But now, he’s freaking ruined it, because he knows exactly what happens when he pushes something a little too far. If he’s lucky, she’ll just get up and walk away, barely make eye contact with him for the next week, and pack just a little more punch the next time they’re sparring; if he isn’t — and he figures that’s probably what he’s in for — it’ll be a lot worse. It’ll be total annihilation of whatever it is they’ve been building, and the thought feels like he’s actually been stabbed in the gut.

All because he’d had to open his stupid mouth to ask something that, even half-formed, is way too personal.

He winces, bracing himself for some kind of impact, whatever it’ll be. Only — it doesn’t come.

Gamora doesn’t walk away; she doesn’t even move at all. Instead, she just shifts a little on the sand, turning her whole body toward him. In the half-light that drifts in from the city nearby, he can see glimpses of her face, which doesn’t show any obvious signs of anger. No, her eyes are searching him, curiously.

And her voice is actually soft when she asks, “Who?”

Inside his chest, his heart does a flip.

Well, there’s no going back now, and maybe there’s a chance that they’ll make it out of this conversation without torpedoing their friendship, so he figures he might as well just finish spitting it out. He swallows. Clears his throat. “Your, uh — your mother.”

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