#Claudia should not have to do this shit on her own; she should not have to assume another role just to be considered seriously | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dwobbitfromtheshire · 9 months

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Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

@estrellami-1

Version 1: False Positive

Eddie and Steve were watching TV, curled up on the couch with the blankets thrown over their heads. Eddie's legs were thrown over Steve’s and massaging his knee absent-mindedly. Bumpy was curled up between them. Steve turned to watch him, a fond smile on his face.

"What?" Eddie asked. "Do I have something on my face? Goddamnit. When I asked you earlier if I had spinach in my teeth, I should have known that you were fucking with me."

"You want to move in with me?" Steve asked.

"Come again?" Eddie asked.

"Do. You. Want. To. Move. In. With. Me?" Steve asked.

Eddie carefully picked up Bumpy and placed her on the floor. He launched himself at Steve, pushing him to lay back on the couch, and straddled his waist. He kissed him soundly.

"I would love too, big boy," Eddie said and then gasped, hitting Steve’s chest. "We should have a housewarming party. Invite everyone."

Steve looked at him and started caressing his back.

"Wanna fool around?" Steve asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Bumpy meowed loudly as she jumped onto Eddie's back.

"Bumpy says no."

A couple of weeks later, Eddie was all moved in, Robin was back from college as well as Nancy when they decided to invite everyone over. Robin had eagerly asked to invite Vickie, so of course, she was coming too. The Hoppers were the first to arrive.

"Oh, I'm so glad things are going so well for you boys," Joyce said as she hugged them both.

"Yeah, we are too," Will said, walking in last with his hand held tightly in Gareth's.

"Gareth?!" Eddie asked.

"I don't know what you expected when you made us co-DMs," Gareth said.

"Well, it wasn't this, but I'm happy for you boys," Eddie said and pinched their cheeks. "Aww."

Gareth scowled and slapped his hand away.

"Jeff and Frankie were right behind me," Gareth rolled his eyes. "Pinch their cheeks, asshole."

Gareth was telling the truth because a moment later, Jeff and Frank came strolling through the doorway. They pushed right past Eddie and hugged Steve.

"We give you our deepest sympathies," Jeff started.

"For wanting to live with Eddie," Frank said.

"We knew there was something wrong with you," Jeff said.

"Yeah, no one is this perfect," Frank said and then said with affection, "Freak."

"Hey! It's his privilege to live with this stud," Eddie said. "Fuckers."

"You guys are hilarious," Steve said, laughing. "By the way, I did make my famous cupcakes."

"Wonderful!" They exclaimed, kissed his cheeks, and wondered off into the kitchen.

"Keep your lips to yourself!" Eddie said. "And don't believe what Bumpy tells you! She has, in fact, eaten!"

Wayne hugged them both when he walked in. The Hendersons followed behind him, with Claudia clutching her cat carrier.

"Happy for you boys and Steve?" Wayne said. "I hope you have as much fun as I did living with him."

"Hey. . .what's that supposed to mean? Uncle Wayne?" Eddie asked, following him. "Uncle Wayne, what does that mean? By the way, I noticed you have been spending a lot of time with Claudia lately. . .what's that about, hmm?"

Claudia blushed as she let Mews out of her carrier. Mews immediately greeted Bumpy by brushing up against her. They looked at each other and then back at Dustin before leaving the room.

"I know they're going to talk shit about me! I know it," Dustin said.

"So, is there something going on with you and Wayne?" Steve asked.

"I'm not saying anything," Claudia said while Dustin held his thumbs up behind her. "This evening is about you and Eddie."

Robin screamed as soon as she saw Steve and threw herself into his arms. They clung to each other tightly. Eddie appeared over Steve’s shoulder.

"You guys talk on the phone every day about everything," Eddie said. "Robin! You had Steve tell you about what he had for breakfast the other day in detail!"

"You're just jealous because you don't have your own Robin!" She said.

"Gareth! Be my Robin!" Eddie yelled.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Gareth said.

"Ugh! Jeff? Are you up for it?" Eddie asked.

"Sorry, man! I'm Frankie's Robin!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Goddamnit!" Eddie cursed.

Suddenly, the front door opened, and Vickie popped her head in.

"Is this the right house?" Vickie asked. "I told Robin I would meet her here! Oh, Robin! Hi!"

"Run, babe!" Robin exclaimed.

"Ah, Lady Victoria! Perfect!" Eddie said and put his arm around her.

"Lord Edward," Vickie grinned.

"I already like her! She's it! She's the one! My Robin!" Eddie said.

"You have to be bound by trauma in order for her to be your Robin," Robin said, narrowing her eyes.

"That can be arranged."

"Eddie!"

The Sinclairs plus Max and the Wheelers arrived last, allowing the party to finally and officially start. By the end of it, everyone had celebrated Steve and Eddie. They swapped stories, loaded them down with housewarming gifts, and just enjoyed each other's company. He laughed when Eddie rolled his eyes dramatically when he started talking basketball with Lucas. He knew he was joking. Steve never thought he would enjoy parties again, but here he was with a huge family and Eddie in his arms. These were the kind of parties he would always enjoy.

Version 2: Baby Bat

They sat in the living room, watching TV when Steve got an idea. Eddie was leaning against the arm of the couch while Steve laid back against him in between his legs. Steve was wearing only his boxers. He was well into his pregnancy now, nearing the end, and he was experiencing hot flashes more often than not. Eddie was busy caressing his chest and belly absent-mindedly.

"Can we have a baby shower?" Steve asked.

"Ooh, I don't see why not?" Eddie asked. "Yes, great idea, Stevie! When do you think we should do it?"

"I know it would be short notice, but a couple of weeks from now Robin's coming down from Chicago," Steve said.

"I would arrange anything for you, sweetheart," Eddie said. "I'm going to make it happen even if it's the last thing that I do."

"I wish you would stop saying that when you swear to do stuff for me," Steve said dryly.

A couple of weeks later, Eddie had thrown the party. He had done pretty much everything, including the cooking. He had hissed at Steve whenever he tried to help. The Hoppers were the first ones to arrive. Joyce hugged them both immediately, cooing at Steve's belly.

"I like your dress," El said. "I like the flowers."

"You're wearing a dress?" Jonathan asked. "You know, just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you have to wear a dress."

"I know, it's easier to slip on, and I do like the flowers," Steve said. "Plus, I like the way it swooshes around my legs. It was either this or nothing at all."

"And the black nails and the fact that you're barefoot? I mean, you're literally barefoot and pregnant, dude," Jonathan smirked, and Steve flipped him off.

"Eddie gave me a manicure. I let him pick the color," Steve said. "It was all part of the spa package he gave me this morning. Also, I like the way the cold floor feels against my feet."

"Aww. A spa? You got a good one there, Steve," Joyce said.

"I certainly think so," Steve said.

"You trying to make every partner in the world look bad, kid?" Hopper asked Eddie, smirking, and Eddie laughed.

Will and Gareth came in next, followed by Jeff with Frank. They both looked weary when Steve told them that Eddie had made the cupcakes.

"Hey! My cooking has gotten a lot better since I've been with Stevie," Eddie said.

"It's true, I think he's even gotten better than me now," Steve said.

Wayne came in next and hugged them both tightly.

"Now, my gift ain't very practical, but I think you may appreciate it," Wayne said.

"A gift from you, Uncle Wayne?" Eddie asked, smiling. "I always appreciate it."

"Where do you want me to put it?" Wayne asked.

"Put it in the living room," Steve said.

Wayne put his arm around Steve as he showed him where to put it.

"He still treats you right, kid?" Wayne asked.

"Well, he's throwing me this party, and he gave me a spa treatment this morning, so you tell me?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, he tends to go all out for the people he loves," Wayne said.

"Yeah," Steve said fondly.

"You boys are going to be great parents," Wayne said.

Claudia and Dustin came in after Wayne. Mews was released from her carrier as soon as Claudia entered.

"Thank you for letting me bring Mews," Claudia said.

"Of course, Mews deserves to party too," Eddie said. "Nice hat, Dustin."

Perched on his head was a hat that said: World's Greatest Godfather.

"I made one for Robin too," Dustin grinned.

Steve came waddling in, and Robin screamed as she threw her arms around her best friend after she planted her new hat backward on her head.

"Look at you!" Robin exclaimed. "Oh, you're going to pop soon, and then Auntie Robin will spend every minute eating up her precious godbaby."

"Auntie Robin will eventually have to go back to school," Steve replied and she hissed at him.

She pressed kisses to Steve’s stomach, and then she whirled around to look at Eddie.

"The dress needs something," Robin said and then looked at Dustin.

"It does!"

Eddie shrieked as Dustin and Robin began removing his vest.

"What the hell - Oh, I see what you're doing. Jesus H. Christ, ask next time," Eddie said as they put the vest on Steve. "Oh. That's cute."

Vickie arrived next, and she giggled profusely when Robin introduced her to the baby first. She laughed even harder when Robin curled up on a chair with Mews and began quoting the Godfather. The Sinclairs arrived next with Max and Harrison.

"Aww, he does look like us," Eddie said. "Aww, Red, do you love us that much?"

"I already regret coming here," Max said sarcastically.

"Hey, pretty soon, you'll be able to play basketball with me again," Lucas said.

"Pretty sure that I'll have my hands full with a baby," Steve said.

"Can't Eddie bring her to the park with us and watch her while we play?" Lucas said. "Eddie says he likes watching you play."

"He did, did he?" Steve asked. "Well, we'll see, but we can't do it all the time."

"Of course."

"Traitor."

"I already know you like me, Eddie," Steve said. "The proof is in my belly."

"Right."

Steve rubbed his belly, really feeling the weight of the baby. Suddenly, Eddie came up behind him and lifted his belly, taking some of the weight off of him.

"Thank you, baby," Steve sighed in relief.

"No problem, sweetheart," Eddie said.

"I remember when Charles did that with both of my pregnancies," Sue smiled. "It felt so great."

"Aww, Charles, that's so sweet," Steve said.

"Well, she carried life inside of her for both of us. It was the least I could do for my own sweetheart," Charles said.

"Have I mentioned lately how grateful I am that I married such a sweet, sweet man?" Sue said.

"Remind me again?" Charles asked.

The Wheelers arrived last. It would be the first time for Nancy to see him pregnant. It wasn't like they were trying to avoid each other. It was just that they were living different lives now. Nancy was busy with school, and Steve had been busy with, well, being pregnant. It hadn't been as awkward as he thought it would be.

"This looks good on you. It suits you," Nancy smiled.

Mike tried to skirt by him with dirt on his nose.

"Eddie! Napkin!" Steve snapped his fingers.

Eddie darted into the kitchen for a napkin and held Mike still, so Steve could clean his nose.

"Mom! Can't you make him stop?!" Mike hollered.

"Oh, honey, even if I wanted to, and I don't, I couldn't. There's no one more determined than a pregnant person," Karen said. "He's been terrible about cleaning his face lately. By the way, Steve, you look beautiful. You're absolutely glowing."

"Thank you, Karen," Steve said and finished cleaning his nose. "There? See? All done. Was that so hard?"

"If you weren't pregnant. . .," Mike scowled.

"You would do nothing, brat," Steve replied.

Eventually, everyone was gathered in the living room surrounding Steve as he sat in the living room. Eddie sat at his feet as he massaged his swollen ankles while Steve opened presents. They received bottles, toys, clothes, and plenty of diapers.

"Jesus, these will last us a year," Eddie said.

"They'll last you two weeks," Joyce joked, and the other mothers laughed with her.

"Unless you're Dustin, then they'll last you a week," Claudia laughed.

"Mom!" Dustin exclaimed.

"What? You were a very explosive baby, Dusty," Claudia said.

"MOM!"

They got cloth diapers from Joyce.

"They're a life saver when you can't go out and buy more!" Joyce said.

The kids had all chipped in and bought them a baby monitor.

"Their first walkie-talkie!" Dustin said proudly.

Holly had given them her favorite teddy bear.

"Are you sure about this, sweetheart?" Eddie asked.

"I don't need him anymore. I can fight off my own bad dreams," Holly said, and Eddie hugged her tightly before plopping her down in his lap.

"You want to help me open the next present?" Eddie asked, and she nodded. "Ooh. It's from Uncle Wayne."

He opened the gift with Holly and pulled out a small wooden guitar. It was exactly like his own guitar. Eddie looked at it in awe and then back to Wayne with wide eyes. It was even painted like his with working strings and a strap to go with it.

"Her first guitar. . ."

Eddie moved Holly to Steve’s lap and got up to hug Wayne tightly. When they finally parted, Eddie was wiping away tears. He smiled when the lights began to flicker. Holly was rubbing Steve’s belly and talking softly to the baby. Eddie sat back down and continued to open more presents. They received a tiny vest from Gareth, a Corroded Coffin onesie from Jeff, and a Hellfire onesie from Frank, along with a tiny yellow sweater. Later that night, they both fell asleep in their bed. They were both exhausted but happy.

"I love our family," Eddie whispered.

"Me too," Steve whispered back, and then they drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Just a couple of more chapters to go, and then I'm finished. The next chapter will be all about the c-section.

Part Eight

#stranger things #eddie munson #stranger things s4 #joseph quinn #eddie stranger things #eddie munson lives #steve harrington #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie fanfiction

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jellybellyblimp · 1 year

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I’ve got this weird little hot take: Book fans for years have tended to say Lestat never stopped seeing Claudia as a little girl/doll he could dress up, while Louis saw the tragedy of her maturing but never growing and this played a big part in the deterioration of Claudia and Lestat’s relationship. HOWEVER, I think it’s the opposite. So recently I reread IWTV and TVL and I honestly think the problem was Lestat did see her as a woman, while consciously Louis could recognize she had grown but he couldn’t ever actually treat her with the weight that deserves. Lestat loved her and the books make his love for her very obvious, but as she grows up, acts out, and does stupid shit that will get all of them in trouble, he believes these actions should be treated with the weight befitting the actions of an adult. He’s often rightfully pissed, but every time Louis intercedes on her behalf and she’s allowed to get way with things Louis would never have accepted Lestat or any other adult doing. This results in a deterioration between not just Lestat and Claudia but Lestat and Louis as well. Lestat is increasingly frustrated that she is allowed to act petty, rash, and angry, while he is not (because let’s be real he’s a big fuckin baby). It’s also why (and I think justifiably) he begins to see her a legitimate rival for Louis’ affection. Because they are vampires and she is an unaging five year old, she mentally passes all the milestones, but will never be able to move out and flourish as an independent adult. They are frozen in this format and she goes from just their child to basically what Lestat feels is a third wheel in their relationship.(And like yeah who’s fuckin fault is that Lestat) Louis however excuses and dismisses her behavior for literally the entire book. He’s even kind of self aware about it. He comments on his own treatment of her because when he sees others treat her as a child he can recognize that he has been as well, but he’s never really able to stop. Because well she looks fuckin 5 and he’s her father.

Anyway my point is Claudia herself said Louis was easier to manipulate, but I think a big reason for that is that he still saw and treated her as a child.

We could also have a discussion about how this recognition of Claudia as a vampiric adult, despite physically remaining five, might have to do with his relationship with Armand or even his own turning.

(Ironically I think the show mirrors this very well, but takes it a step further because I don’t think he saw her as a rival for Louis’ affection until the moment she comes back. Because by aging her up, they made her capable of moving out and flourishing as an adult, but she still came back and asked Louis to leave with her. In that moment she goes from his dumbass child to a legitimate threat to his relationship with Louis. Not that Louis and Claudia have a romantic relationship but it’s basically “I heard your hearts dancing” all over again. He’s got some truly insane jealousy issues.)

#interview with the vampire #anne rice #the vampire chronicles #the vampire lestat #lestat de lioncourt #louis du pointe du lac #claudia de lioncourt

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polydeuces · 2 years

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Di Tua Bontà

Chris Evans x fem reader

faceclaim - claudia tihan

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liked by lilireinhart, captainchris, and 39,292 others

y/nl/n: photos i sent to chris this week <3

the gray man is OUTTT go watch it and see the mustache on the big screen lmao

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evanslover: girl… u should’ve kept these in the drafts

lilireinhart: gonna watch it asap but also, send me more pics like thisss 🥰

selenagomez: you're so cute and i love you but your dog is better

captainchris: fuck the hate babe. he’s the one for you.. remember that. love you

keke: BABE you are gorgeous!!! 😍😍

dianasilverss: I'm in love with you

y/nisover : dude you’re literally like 20 and he’s 40.. don’t you have a life? stop wasting his time

gal_gadot: Magic, you have such a beautiful soul!

chrisenews: now i KNOW you don’t plan on settling down any time soon but he does so why the fuck are you stringing him along?? make it make sense.

liked by evansfanatic, ana_d_armas, mybfchris, and 4,929 others

ilariaurbinati "Here stands a sexy, steaming reckoning for classic tailoring" - Esquire on Chris Evans' look at last night's Gray Man premiere! 😂🔥

Call it a vest, a tank, a beater (not particularly PC), an A-tee, a guinea tea (I can say that, I'm Italian), or call it whatever you want but we are into it with a suit these days, so here we are!

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y/nl/n: one of your best looks girl i love you

ana_d_armas: you never miss

therussobrothers: are you trying to kill us !??

mybfchris: classy, elegant, amazing!! 😘

chrisl/n: our fav stylist/actor duo lets be real

evansfanatic: Ilaria, è bellissimo.

liked by ilariaurbinati, lizzobeeating, and 94,293 others

chrisevans: Press tour fun! Thank you for all the support and love. And huge thank you to ilariaurbinati for always making me look awesome on the red carpet.

It’s been a blast meeting fans, hanging out with the cast and crew.. but I can’t wait to head back home and see my buddy - dodger. Gotta take photos of him using my new phone. Though I’ll always miss my iPhone 6.

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y/nl/n: stealing your stylist, evans. she’s mine.

cevans: you should get with Ana instead of the chick your with now. You and Ana have a better connect anyways ➥ y/nupdates: uh Ana has someone, babe. maybe stop being so obsessed with a relationship you know nothing about? if you like Chris then you want to see him happy.. he’s happy with y/n.

sebastianstan: lookin’ good man! lookin happy too.

thiccandworthy: just found out your girl is in her like 20 or some shit.. crazy just find someone your own age ➥ chrisevans: No thank you, man. I'm pretty happy and she's happy. Thanks for the unwanted input though.

lizzobeeating: come home the kids miss you. . ➥ y/nl/n: i’ll be the new father since Chris isn't home.

yunggravy: y'all this man is a genius ➥ bbyy/n: YUNGGRAVY WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE 😭😭

➥ mtv: he better not ask for Lisa

➥ idontwikeit: mtv here too wtf ???

➥ yunggravy: nah man, his girl single tho? 😈

➥ y/nl/n: for you, Matthew Raymond Hauri, maybe.

➥ chrisevans: Uh, hello?

➥ y/nl/n: I love youuu Chris

#fake instagram #social media au #celebrityinstagram #y/n instagram #y/n smau #famous reader #fem reader #saturns masterpiece #chris evans x famous!reader #chris evans instagram #chris evans x reader #chris evans #y/n insert #Chris Evans fake Instagram #chris evans x you

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jaggedjot · 1 month

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An Extended Set of Notes on a Look at Season Two

Or, an attempt at being cohesive in extenuating circumstances.

"He wants you in pieces for the privilege of putting them back together as he sees fit." Armand has correctly identified Daniel's saviour complex (part projection-denial of his own feelings for Louis, part assertion of the white masculinity he leans into) with Louis.

There is a distinct edge to the smiles that Claudia and Armand give each other.

It is implied through the montage that Louis’ speech about his newfound commitment to pragmatic optimism ("Stop feeling sorry for yourself. A shit life beats no life. And where we're going now, we can't be running away again.") is aimed at Claudia. If that is the case, then Claudia is going to rightfully furious at this implicit criticism of her own despair at being an eternal adolescent, especially as this is coming from the man who played a significant role in causing that about. Not to mention the underlying resentment it suggests Louis has about her willingness to leave him, when Louis will be doing something similar to her later in the season.

I do need Sam Reid to teach classes about how to remove a shirt or waistcoat that smoothly.

The third episode of season one had Daniel point out how different Louis portrays Lestat in the present day to the original interview, namely that at the time he seemed to despite Lestat. Armand though clearly recognised that the anger and loathing Louis exhibited in the 1970s is something of a front to mask still existing love.

Initially I thought that Lestat was eating bible scripture, but, judging by the modern costume, he may be eating one of Armand’s scripts instead; the symbolism of both potential images is wonderful.

While Claudia and Madeline’s heads are already turned away, defeated, we catch a glimpse of Louis watching Lestat leave them to their fate.

Interesting that Armand is not going to pretend that there isn't something between him and Lestat.

Whoever blocks the sex scenes understands the importance of desperately grasping hands. I wonder if this tussle will end, as the previous one did, with Louis’ initial dominance fading as he allows himself to be overwhelmed.

“Let me guess, he’s your companion, finally. Picked another one over me!” It must be incredibly difficult for Claudia to see Louis find love, and be loved so intensely, when she is unable to in large part due to Louis' decision for her to be turned as a child. And for Louis to then decide that he has grown out of their relationship.

The line of "You fear Armand. You should fear the other one." before cutting to Louis smashing a glass against a priceless painting. My crazy girl is back.

Present day Louis actually seems to be wearing a colour that isn't black for the first time.

Even having rewound a dozen times, I still have no idea what horrific creature Louis imagines crawling out of the hollow of Lestat's throat. You would presume it would be a rat, but there is something insectoid to it.

A lot of theories about what happened on that fateful night in San Francisco being refuted or made more valid, specifically the seeming confirmation that it was Louis that left that scar on Daniel, and that the interview did take place the same night Louis and Daniel met.

Claudia and Louis sharing Madeleine is quite something.

The implication of the montage accompanying Claudia’s “You got to give up something to get something.” seems to be that Claudia is going to realise that she can never be fulfilled while maintaining her splintering relationship with Louis. Then for it to be followed up by Louis' "You and me, me and you." speech to her.

Santiago's inclusion in the "You and me, me and you." montage promises many things.

This trailer does nothing to contradict my theory that Armand is standing in the prompter’s box of his theatre during the trial, while claiming in the present day that he had no say over what happened next.

Please tell me Lestat's imagined ghost is not accompanying Louis and Armand during all their Parisian dates.

The shot of Lestat laughing while holding an ashing cigarette further confirms that there will be flashbacks to Rue Royale, as the blurred background looks very similar to the downstairs room.

"Pieces of my life gone. I knew who I was without those pieces." LOUIS.

The toast between Claudia, Madeleine, Louis and Armand seems to be taking place immediately before the trial, because Claudia is wearing the same fateful yellow dress and Madeleine the same blue blouse and, seemingly, red two-piece skirt and jacket.

The collapse of the bookshelves containing memorabilia of the past are not clearly connected to something happening in an interview session. If this is a response to something dramatic or particularly emotional in the story, you would expect Daniel to be up close, not sitting behind a desk alone.

It does hurt me to see Louis cry.

#no I am not okay thank you for asking #I had to abandon the meta I have been working on since the weekend to blurt all of this out #so thanks Rolin (derogatory and grateful)#also if anyone can tell me what the music was so I can listen to it on repeat for another week I would be grateful #Interview with the Vampire

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ilovewriting06 · 13 days

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Mischief and Angel- Part 7

"Okay! Okay! I think this is as good as it's going to get."

I look over to Stiles to see him nod in agreement before I look back at the Stilinski household basement that has been set up to house Amelia's pack, which should be arriving tomorrow night.

After two days of discussion the pack decided that the basement at the Stilinski house is not only the safest but also the only reasonable option. Since there are kids involved we can't just say to hell with it and let them rough it in the woods so Stiles and I have been scrambling since Wednesday (it's now Friday) to set up the basement so that 10 children and six adults could stay until a better solution was found.

The basement was renovated years ago so that it could be turned into a game/play room but Claudia got sick and it stayed empty, except for the two beanbag chairs and tv that were stashed away in the corner. Stiles and I scrubbed it from floor to ceiling before moving in four twin sized air mattresses, small but practical for the space and it allows for the adults to have their own space.

The children aren't so lucky. For the kids there are two queen sized air mattresses and then sleeping bags and blankets scattered on the floor for them to decide from. There is room for everyone to sleep but it will definitely be a little crowded, but we're hoping that this is just a temporary set up.

I smile before bumping Stiles' shoulder, "I should probably head over to Lydia's. I'll try and be home by two tomorrow but you know Lydia when it comes to planning."

Stiles grimaces slightly before grabbing me by the waist and pulling me to stand in front of him, "I sure do, and as long as you're home before Amelia gets here it's fine."

I lean into him as I wrap my arms around his waist and sigh, "I'm gonna miss you."

"I know, I'll miss you too but this will be good practice for us and if it gets too much I can come get you."

I press a kiss to the scar of my teeth on his neck before pulling away, "Alright, come on, you have to drive me."

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"Oh. My. God! He didn't!"

I snort at Lydia as Erica nods and says, "Oh he most certainly did. Most romantic moment of my life."

I lean across the couch and pat Erica's arm, "You mean the only romantic moment of your life."

She rolls her eyes, "You're one to talk, Stiles is the only dude you've ever known. How do you even know that he's the one if you never experienced anyone else?"

Lily snarls at the comment but I smile and shrug, "I just knew. Kind of how you know the sun's bright. No one has to tell you, you just know because it's right there in front of you. It's been like that since day one with Stiles, he was and still is, my metaphorical sun."

Erica snorts, "Kinda taboo to be sleeping with your son there Y/n."

"ERICA!"

I don't even know who said it because I was too busy laughing. When I finally catch my breath, I wipe my tears and move to look Erica in the eye, "But Erica, honestly, I'm glad Stiles was the only one I ever gave my heart to because I never had to experience heartbreak."

There's silence for a minute before I whisper, "At least not yet."

Lydia, who is sitting in between me and Erica whips her head around to stare at me, "What do you mean not yet? Aren't you two tied to each other for like, the rest of eternity or some shit?"

I nod and lean back on the couch, "Yeah, but the witch, Amelia, didn't you hear her?"

Lydia scoffs, "You mean the 'great heartbreak before the great joy?' Yeah, we all heard her but she was probably lying so you felt like you owed her or something."

I raise an eyebrow before Erica shakes her head, "She wasn't."

Lydia, Kira, and Allison look between Erica and I in confusion so I give a weak smile and finish what Erica was saying, "She wasn't lying, her heartbeat stayed steady. And I can just feel it, it's like my whole body knew that what she was saying is true, and Stiles felt it too."

Kira moves so she's sitting on the floor and leaning on the coffee table in front of the couch before frowning, "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know, but it's coming, I can feel it."

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"Oh my gosh, Y/n/n, that place is gorgeous!"

I smile as we crowd around my laptop that currently has the venue Stiles and I decided on pulled up. After everyone got their laugh in about it's name being Enchanted Gardens we scrolled through the pictures and we all decided it was perfect.

The picture we are currently stopped on is the exact area that Stiles and I want to get married at. There is a giant willow tree with a beautiful pond behind it and a lot of open space for seating arrangements, all in all it's my dream venue.

Lydia flips through the rest of the pictures and we silently wait for her final verdict and when she finally speaks I can't help my proud smirk, "I agree, it's perfect, especially with the colors you decided on."

I cross my arms and lean back in my chair, "Mhmm, those were my thoughts. Now I just need to reserve it but Stiles and I want to go see it in person just to make sure it lives up to the pictures and then we'll reserve it."

Allison nods as she looks through the picture since Lydia hogged the laptop when she flipped through them, "That's smart and I have to agree with Lydia, this place just seems perfect for you two."

I smile before Lydia claps her hands together, "Okay, now we need to decide on what you want for the bridesmaid dresses. Do you want the maid of honor dress to be different and if so do you want the style or the color to be different, or both. I personally don't care as long as you like it and I don't look like I'm wearing a trash bag."

I roll my eyes before laughing, "You won't look like you're wearing a trash bag and I was thinking maybe keeping it the same color but I haven't decided if I want a different style or not."

Lydia nods before stealing the laptop back and setting it in between us on the table, "Why don't we just look at some of the different styles and decide on that first and then we can work on the smaller details."

I shrug and look at the other girls before shrugging, "Sounds good to me."

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

As Lydia scrolls through the dresses from the wedding boutique a few towns over, I look for a dress style that would compliment all four of them when I see it. I squeak before repeatedly tapping Lydia's arm, "Up, up, go back up!"

She sighs before scrolling up until I squeak again, "Stop! That one, that one right there." She looks at me with a raised eyebrow but I can see the smile threatening to make an appearance as she clicks on the picture. All of the girls crows around and I smile, "I think that's the one. I like the style and the color, what do you guys think?"

They all nod as Lydia speaks for them all, "I like it and with California temperatures it looks like a reasonably light dress so we won't be sweating our makeup off. Plus that color would go great with the venue. You already have the sage green color you like with the tree and the grass so making the bridesmaid dresses dusty rose will offset the green and give you the colors you want."

They all nod in agreement as Allison speaks, "Plus it has that simplistic look you want."

I hum in agreement before looking between them, "So, we're all in agreement?"

The nod in sync with a quick, 'yup,' before I smile and nod, "Alright then, that's the style and color we want, just have to show the dress boutique what we want when we go for dress fittings but I think that's the dress."

Lydia smiles, "Now for the wedding dress. I've been waiting for this part since you go here. What are you wanting?"

I smirk before opening Pinterest and scrolling through the wedding dresses I've saved throughout the years, "Something like those."

Lydia raises here eyebrows before she nods, "Alright then, simple yet elegant, chiffon or lace, no sleeves, and nothing too poofy. Did I get that right?"

I nod with an approving smile, "Yes ma'am, you sure did. I actually have one picked out but I want your guys' opinion on it."

With those words I'm practically being tackled as all of them, except Lydia who is sitting beside me rather than standing behind me, clamber over me to see the laptop better.

"What is it?!"

"I want to see it!"

"Why didn't you start with that?!"

"OW! Move your bony little elbow, Kira!"

That last one was Erica who had somehow managed to get one of Kira's elbows directly elbowed into her ribs. I roll my eyes before pulling the laptop towards me and pulling up the wedding dress I picked out a few weeks ago, not long after we got engaged.

"Oh my God!"

"It's beautiful!"

"Stiles is going to go feral!"

"Someone's getting knocked up on their wedding night."

Everyone stops and turns to look at Erica but she just shrugs, "I'm just saying, it's gonna happen. They're all over each other and they already said they were going to start trying after they were married. So my prediction is that the night of the wedding is the night Stilinski Junior is conceived."

I shake my head as I chuckle, "You're ridiculous."

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

I jump off the couch as someone knocks at the door at the same time that Stiles walks out of the kitchen. We make eye contact as Scott follows Stiles into the entryway before we send reassurance down the bond to each other.

Once the door open and Amelia steps through, obviously surveying the room, she nods before turning to Stiles and Scott, "Is it alright if they come in now? They're quite tired from the journey."

Stiles looks at me and I give a small nod and as if the flood gates have opened the living room is swarmed with children. I chuckle as a few of them immediately crawl onto the couch and curl up to sleep while the others look around the room in awe. I smile as I walk towards Amelia, "Amelia, it's nice to see you again. I hope you didn't have any issues."

She smiles before motioning the rest of the pack inside and then closing the door, "We didn't have any trouble thankfully. Let me introduce you to the rest of the pack."

Stiles wraps his hand around my waist and pulls me close to him as Amelia introduces the rest of the group. I pay attention until I feel a pair of eyes watching me.

I furrow my eyebrows before turning my head and I feel my breath catch in my throat when I look into whiskey amber eyes, and these ones don't belong to my mate, but they sure as hell look like his. I watch wide eyed as the toddler, who is being held by Leah, and appears to be no more than a year old stares at me, blinks and then coos.

Amelia notices the awe filled staring contest and something about her smile seems like she knew this was going to happen, "This is Lola, she's our newest addition and currently the youngest we have. She doesn't like many people but she seems to have taken to you two quickly."

I tilt my head in confusion until I feel the love and awe rolling off of Stiles in waves. I glance at him to see that the toddler, Lola, is staring at him with the same happy intensity that she was staring at me with. When she turns back to me her eyes flash beta gold and it's like something between us snapped into place and the shocked gasp from Stiles told me he felt it too.

I feel my heart stutter as Lily practically jumps around in my chest chanting, 'Mine. Ours. Baby. Protect.'

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

A/N- I struggled so much to pick a wedding dress so if you don't like it, feel free to change it to whatever you wanted. Let me know your thoughts on this part!

Tag List: @ah-blossom @gabby988

#stiles stilinski #teen wolf #dylan o’brien #scott mccall #stiles stilinksi x reader #dylan o’brien x reader #allison argent #stiles x reader #isaac lahey #lydia martin #mischief and angel #kira yukimura #erica reyes

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feelinglikeineedlotsofnaps · 6 months

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A LITTLE TOWN CALLED HAWKINS.

Word count 1,800

You were dreading the day you had to move in with your aunt Claudia and cousin Dustin. You hadn't actually seen Dustin since he was about 4 years old, now he was a freshman in high school. You had to pack up your life and move to a whole other state since your mother and father decided that they were moving to Europe and you didn't want to go with them and you couldn't afford a place of your own just yet, then came the brilliant idea of moving in with your aunt until you get enough funds to pay your own way.

You packed up the last of your things in your dodge charger, you mainly only took your clothes and your vinyls. You hugged your parents goodbye and set off to do the 9 hour journey.

Meanwhile in Hawkins, Dustin has not shut up about you coming to live with them, everyone has been hearing about you for about a week now. The whole gang are sat in the Henderson's basement watching a movie to pass the time. Dustin turns towards Steve and smiles "she should be on the road now!" Steve slowly looks towards Dustin "I know, you told me about 20 minutes ago." Steve replies with a sarcastic smile. Dustin rolls his eyes and turns back to the TV and continues watching the movie. By the time you arrive in Hawkins it was 9pm, Dustin greets you at the door.

"Hi Y/N!" Dustin says slightly too loudly for 9pm.

You smile and set you bag down on the front porch "Hey Dusty, long time no see" you hold your arms out for a hug which Dustin jumps at. You give him an extra squeeze and look over his shoulder were Claudia has moved into the hallway "Hi Aunt Claudia" you smile and wave.

"Hi darling" she says with a smile "Dustin why don't you show Y/N her room?"

Dustin turns and starts making his way to your new room with you following him. As you walk in, Dustin stays stood at the doorway "I'll let you get settled in Y/N" he smiles and closes the door. You set your suitcase on the bed and let out a really deep breath and tilt your head back with your eyes closed. You slowly start to unpack some of your essential clothes, and pick out the teddy bear that your mom got you when you were a toddler and place it on your new pillow.

The weeks pass by and you end up getting a job in a small bakery in town. You have met the rest of the gang, but haven't spent much time with them. One afternoon, you are stood behind the counter at your job, it has been a very slow day, you don't remember a time that you have felt this bored. You have also been flicking a piece of scrunched up napkin about on the counter top when you hear the bell above the door chime. You glance up and notice the curly mop of hair under the baseball cap of your younger cousin.

"Hey Dusty," you straighten up and smile "what can I get for you today?" You look over to the glass display case. Dustin follows you gaze and puts a finger on his chin as he hums in thought. As he is about to answer, the bell chimes again and you look over to the door to see most of the gang walking in "Dustin, did you leave everyone behind to get in here first?" You laugh.

Dustin glances at you and smirks "well I wanted first pick and they were taking too long" You laugh and lean over the counter and knock his cap down a little.

"Such a little shit" you mumble to Dustin. "Hi everyone" you address everyone else. Mike, Lucas and Max lift their hands in greeting. Eddie smiles and salutes you. Steve smiles a little "Hi Y/N" he is stood at the back of the group so you barely hear him.

Everyone asked for a pastry or cake of some kind and you place each one on a plate for them. You punch the price into the cash register "so that will be..... 7.75" you look at Dustin and hold your hand out and smile.

"So Y/N, I dont actually have any money" Dustin says as he takes a massive bite out of the brownie he ordered. Eddie reaches his hand over Dustin's head and holds out two 5 dollar notes. You reach up and smile at him "Thank you" you then pop open the cash register and get the change out. You hand it back to eddie who automatically puts it in your tip jar, you catch his eye and he sends you a small wink with a smile. You smile and look down at your hands briefly. "Enjoy your treats guys" you look at Dustin "see you at home Dusty" you knock his cap off and giggle.

"Yeah yeah see you at home" Dustin rolls his eyes and picks his cap up and puts it back on, while he holds his brownie in his mouth. As they are leaving, Dustin leans back through the open door "Y/N, we are having our movie night at our house tonight. You can join if you want."

"Sorry Dust, I can't tonight. I have a date" you say with a frown "maybe I can come to the next one?"

Dustin looks down at his feet "oh, yeah sure!" He then leaves and runs to catch up with the group. You let out a sigh and grab the cloth to start wiping down the counters.

Later that evening, you are in your bedroom getting ready for your date. You can hear everyone starting to arrive. You swipe the last layer of gloss over your lips and smack them together. You pick up your bag and head downstairs. You make your way over to the door and pick up your keys “okay Dustin. I'm going now. I'll be back later” you shout into the living room where everyone was getting ready to watch the first movie. Dustin looks up and furrows his brows when he notices your keys in your hand.

“You're driving yourself there?” He questions.

You look down at your keys and then back up in confusion “yeah… why?” You drag out.

Dustin rolls his eyes “because that's a shitty date. He should have picked you up to take you to wherever you are going.” Once he says this, Steve, Eddie and Robin turn their heads to you. They take notice of the short dress you are wearing and how it hugs you in all the right places and the plunging neckline. Steve's eyes widen ever so slightly and he averts his gaze to the door behind you. Eddie swallows harshly and sneakily looks you up and down. Robin waves at you and smiles “he is right Y/N. Your date should have picked you up at least” Robin says with a pointed look in her eyes.

You roll your eyes and take a deep breath “I didn't want him to pick me up, okay? I just wanted to drive myself because I just have a feeling that this date is going to be a shitty one.” You slightly mumble and look at Dustin “so I'm going now. If you make a mess, clean it up. Bye” you lift your hand in a semi wave and open the front door.

Your date goes relatively well, he was some guy that came into the bakery most mornings. His name was Brandon and he works in the office buildings. You tried your hardest to stay interested in his conversations all evening but after a while talking about his love of golf and how his dad owns 2 boats gets a bit boring. You take a sip of your water and smile at him “I'm really sorry to do this, but I have to go because my little cousin is at home and I need to get back to him” you lie a little. You get your purse out and offer him your half of the bill. He looks at the money and then at you “Don't offend me like that. I have to pay.” He takes out his credit card and places it on the table.

You look down at your bag and roll your eyes. Men and their old fashioned ways. You think to yourself. You finish your water and place your napkin on the table. “Thanks again for the nice evening.” You smile at him and stand up.

He looks up at you “I'll call you?” He says it in almost a questioning way and you just nod at him. As you walk out of the restaurant you make a mental note to tell Dustin to tell him that you aren't in if he answers that phone call.

You drive back to your house, you have your music loud and just trying to cheer yourself up after your shitty date. You pull into your driveway and can see the light from the TV still on in the living room. You walk up to the front door and unlock it. When you step inside, that everyone is completely paying attention to the horror movie that is playing and didn't even notice you coming in. You instantly recognise it as one of your favourite movies: Halloween. You sneak up behind Dustin and lean over the sofa and say in his ear at the same time the character on screen does “But you can't kill the boogeyman!”. Dustin screams and jumps up onto his feet and turns to face you. You laugh and grip onto the sofa. Dustin has a hand on his chest and is breathing heavily.

“I hate you. I hate you.” He chants breathily. You keep giggling to yourself as you make your way into the kitchen. As you are getting yourself a glass of water, Eddie walks in and smiles “didn't take you for a horror fan”. You turn around and smile at him “I'm a person of many surprises” you say with a smirk. Eddie steps towards you and you have to tilt your head back a little to keep eye contact. When he gets almost toe to toe with you he leans down slightly. “Maybe I could see some of those surprises?” He whispers and places a hand on your waist. Your smile grows wider and you slowly nod. Eddie is about to place his lips on yours as you hear “Eddie, come on man. How long does it take to get some water?” You sigh lightly and Eddie squeezes your side.

“Maybe later sweetheart” he says and then kisses your cheek. You watch him go into the living room again and then make your way upstairs to have a shower and get ready for bed.

Maybe you will grow to really like Hawkins after all..

TAGS:-

@capitanostella

Please let me know if you enjoyed this. :)

#fluff #eddie munson x reader #joseph quinn x reader #stranger things fic #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #new fic

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bandedbulbussnarfblat · 1 month

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Alright, here are some screenshots from the new iwtv s2 trailer and me theorizing over them like a rabid fangirl. Hafl meta, half madness.

ok, so this bit of dialogue here where they are talking about Daniel and the interview

Armand: He wants you in pieces for the privilege of putting them back together as he sees fit. Louis: It's his job. Armand: It's his drug. He's reveling in it. You should end it.

Is Armand bitter? Is this how he saw his and Daniel's relationship? If so he is big mad. Like, this man has had decades to stew in that post-breakup anger. Memory is a monster and all that. So he's had plenty of time to do that thing where people breakup, get pissed off, and only remember the bad times. We twist our own memory all the time, that's one of the ways people get past shit. So Armand has probably twisted what he and Daniel has. Because my boy does not handle rejection well.

Or maybe he is projecting? Messing with Louis' memories (which it seems like he did. though i do believe he thought he was helping Louis at the time. a monster in love is still a monster) could very well be putting him back as Armand sees fit. That's what he may believe he did to Louis. Though the definition of 'as he sees fit' could have multiple meanings. I think personally that Armand sees (or at least justifies) messing with Louis memories as for Louis own good.

Either way, he does not want Daniel poking into Louis' head.

this is just some loumand cuteness. look, Armand kisses Louis on the cheek. i think Armand is or was probably pretty affectionate when him and Louis were alone together. I remember that interview with Assad saying there was a tenderness to Louis and Armand's relationship. there's a whole bunch of cute little shots of them together. but they are hard to get a cleat shot of because they sort of fade into each other in the video.

like, i know in my heart the loumand breakup is coming this season. but i'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. bc this version of loumand has got me hooked. i have to confess, i was never really a big fan of loumand in the iwtv book. the whole claudia of it all ruined it for me. but i am so fascinated to see how these two made it work for 77 years.

and this. the way Claudia and Armand look at each other when they first spot each other. that quick second before the mask can slip into place. they do not like each other. they are enduring for Louis' sake. at least until he picks one of them.

then like a split second later, she has this tight smile on her face. my baby girl is not happy

look at their faces y'all. this is during Louis' 'life is shit' bit of dialogue. where he tells Claudia to stop feeling sorry for herself. he also says they 'can't be running away again' do they find other vampires before Paris? According to her diaries, they were in Romania in 1941. And Louis says something about they can't be the only 'good ones'

We also know they were in Paris, Nov 14 from Claudia's diaries. The interview is set in 2022. Louis mentions earlier in the clip him and Armand have been together 77 years. So they'd have to have gotten together in 1945. Given how quickly things happened in the book, I'd say they were probably only there a few months.

this has to be Allesandra. it has to be. I can't wait for this Armand backstory stuff.

y'all look at this fuckery. Santiago is kissing some woman while riding a motorcycle. idk if she is a victim or another vampire. and i think possibly the bike might be flying? I can't tell. It looks pretty cool though.

oh look, a scythe. i wonder what that could possibly be foreshadowing. they have to have the scene, the way they've shown a scythe in a few different teasers/trailers now.

this might be Madeliene, but I don't know. The hair doesn't fit what we've seen so far. my theory is that this is Madeleine's sister who dies via vampires. in the books she lost a daughter, and it was why she was so eager to play mother to Claudia. Having a child that could almost literally never die would have had to seem like, the greatest thing ever. switching it to a sister would be fitting, seeing as Claudia is playing the role of sister to Louis

So my thought here, (and I know I am theorizing based on nothing but vibes) is that Madeleine is looking into the vampires bc her sister went missing after going to a show at the Theatre des Vampires. And at some point, Claudia will reveal what they are to her.

That may be why she looked so scared in that other teaser we had. These pics are from it and they are blurry af, so sorry bout that

This could be the vampires warning her to mind her business. Why not kill her outright? Bc they like to play with their food. Or bc Claudia wants to keep her, and Armand knows he has to get Claudia out of the way to be with Louis. So he could just like, order the coven to not kill this one human. And then later 'convinces' Louis to turn her into a vampire, so Claudia will have her own companion and gtfo

like, i know it's hard to tell from this one shot, but Armand seems to be on the verge of having a full on tantrum. while saying Lestat's name over and over. Probably bc he heard how much Louis was talking about Lestat to Daniel. he's probably mad jelly, but like, in both directions.

look at this shit. Armand straight up hisses and pushes Lestat away with his vampire powers. (this I think is may not 1945 Paris, but around when they first meet. idk though)

this is how Lestat seemed to be dressed in the image above. and given the whole look of him (you know, in full health) i think this is around the time Lestat meets the Children of Satan

y'all I am screaming. this is Lestat drinking Armand's blood. did they fuck? did Lestat hit it and quit it?

At least Claudia gets to tell Louis off for picking Armand over her. But she definitely was not loving Paris.

as witnessed here, by Daniel reading from her journal "fuck these vampires"

so here we have Daniel saying he wants to get out alive (then we have him making this strange face where it looks like he wants to cry, another shot of Armand) while this other dude says that Daniel fears Armand and that he should fear the other one. Who tf is this guy? Are they still in the penthouse? Did Daniel leave and go out somewhere to meet this guy? Who is this man? Maybe another vampire that paid a visit? Is he this Leonard guy we've heard about? bc that does not look like David Costabile, but tv hair and makeup can perform magic, so maybe it is?

here we have Louis throwing his cup of blood at a painting. it's ok baby boy, you are entitled to a hissy fit every now and again

Here we have Louis hallucinating Lestat, so that's fun.

And now bitch ass tumblr says I can't post anymore images, but i am only halfway through the trailer. so I guess i will post and reblog

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scoops-aboy86 · 4 months

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I’ve had a really long day and been waffling about posting this it for most of it… Idk, if you like it let me know what you liked. 🫣

🔞 Seven Christmases pt. 3

Part 1, Part 2

The Hendersons (939 words)

rated: T | cw: none | tags: chubby eddie, established relationship, weight gain, belly kink, stuffing, steve has a praise kink, fluff, they’re in love, found family

The door to the Henderson home swings open, and before even greeting them Dustin is already turned back to yell into the house. “Mooom! Steve and Eddie are here!”

Eddie snorts and bustles his way inside. “Salutations and a very merry Christmas to you too, butthead. Where’s the nog?”

Steve drifts along in his wake, a bit dazed from half-watching and trying not to crash the car as Eddie thoroughly licked each and every one of his fingers after every cookie he consumed during the short drive over from Maple Street. He still gives Dustin a noogie on his way past though, through the festive Santa hat that has replaced his usual thinking cap, and it devolves into their usual wrestling match over this kind of thing. By the time Mrs. Henderson emerges from the kitchen in a flowery apron with a tray of the requested eggnog, Steve has Dustin in a headlock and is faux-threatening to stick a candy cane in his ear.

“Boys will be boys,” Claudia sighs to Eddie, who is practically quivering from trying to contain his laughter but manages a more or less solemn nod.

“Speaking as one, they can be quite a handful,” Eddie agrees, sending a smirk Steve’s way as his boyfriend clocks several things at once: Mrs. Henderson’s arrival, Eddie’s word choice, and Eddie’s hands resting on his own love handles in coy innocence.

Jesus Christ.

Dustin takes advantage of the distraction to wriggle free and flip Steve off… then give him a hug, because what the hell, it’s Christmas. And Steve doesn’t do the thing with the candy cane, even though he has a prime opportunity, because the kid is like a brother to him and you give family a break on the holidays.

They do presents first, though since Party gifts are being saved for the party at the Byers-Hopper house later it’s really just Steve and Eddie’s gift for Claudia and vice versa. When she opens the beautiful gift box (wrapped by Steve) and opens the box to find a new apron made from swaths of her late husband’s shirts and decorated with patches made from Dustin’s old baby clothes (every stitch of it sewn by Eddie), she actually bursts into tears that send all three boys fluttering around her in near panic.

Well, Eddie stays put on the couch, not wanting to draw attention to how much effort it would be to get up just now. But he puts his glass of eggnog down, and he flutters in spirit.

“Mom, are you okay?!”

“Shit, should we have gone with the stand mixer instead—”

“I can put it all back together the way they were before if you want me to, almost as good as new, I swear—”

“No, no,” Mrs. Henderson sniffs, laughing through her tears and wiping at her cheeks. “No, it’s lovely, it’s—so thoughtful, boys. I love it. Thank you.”

Steve gets a hand-knit sweater, which he puts on immediately. Since Eddie had specifically instructed everyone not to get him clothes, with the way he goes through them these days, he gets a pair of black gloves with red lining. The leather is supple and well-lined; they’ll actually keep him warm in the snow while still looking totally badass. Mrs. Henderson fusses so much about making sure that they fit, he puts them on immediately too.

“Who’s stealthy like a ninja now, Stevie?” he teases, waggling his black-clad fingers in Steve’s face. “I could totally pull off a heist in these, no fingerprints. Absolutely untraceable.”

A few minutes later, as they’re all getting up to head to the table, Steve hangs back while Eddie levers himself up and then practically plasters himself against his boyfriend’s back, arms around his middle. “What kind of heist?” he murmurs, right near Eddie’s ear in a tone that gives him goosebumps. “A chocolate factory? A bakery?”

In the otherwise empty room, his big hands slide across Eddie’s belly, cupping and hefting it experimentally. The only reason it doesn’t break the unspoken boundary they’ve set for themselves today is because the undershirt beneath Eddie’s sweater doesn’t come untucked from his pants, but there is a peek of white cloth that Eddie hastily reaches to tug down and cover up. “Dude, you’re going to get us caught,” he whispers back, though he has half a mind to grind his ass back against Steve just to see what would happen. “Be good, Stevie.”

Steve nips his ear with a little whine. “Fine. But, maybe in the car…?”

“Nope.” Eddie disentangles them gently but firmly, turning to lay a soft kiss on his lips. “You’re going to be good, and we’re not going to get behind schedule.”

It’s not unexpected, this sudden antsiness in Steve. Their next stop isn’t one either of them are looking forward to, and Eddie can’t really blame him for wanting a distraction. But there’s more than one way to keep Steve’s mind off that, and it’s just one room over.

“Besides,” he adds with a pout that he knows for a fact his boyfriend is helpless to resist, “I haven’t had my lunch yet. You know how I get when I haven’t had lunch.”

Steve visibly sways in his direction, eyes glazing over just a bit.

From the other room, Dustin yells, “I don’t want to know what’s taking you guys so long and I don’t want to know, but can you two stop being all lovey dovey and gross in there and come eat already?”

“Coming,” Eddie shouts back, and leads the way looking very much like the cat that’s about to get the cream.

Part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8

#wg steddie #scoops words #chubby eddie munson #chaser steve harrington #christmas with the hendersons is something that can really be so personal #scoops - do not unwrap fic

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rallamajoop · 1 year

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On Donna (and Claudia) Beneviento

So, having spent the last couple of months absorbed in the world of RE: Village, somehow what’s really got my inner-canon-sleuth going this time is the issue of timelines. Just how long was Miranda posing as Mia before she was found out? Just how old are each of the Four Lords of the village? The game’s not telling us, but can I puzzle it out…

There are probably no ‘canonical’ answers to questions like this, at least in the sense of ‘answers the writers have agreed on and written down.’ Even putting aside all the usual complications of writing for games, RE: Village is a horror title structured around a gothic fairy tale: genres built on dream-logic and atmosphere. You may as well ask the ‘canonical’ backstory of Cinderella’s evil stepmother, or Dracula’s three ‘brides’: there isn’t one, because that’s not the point.

And yet, RE: Village provides just enough tantalising hints that I can’t resist the challenge of hunting answers that are, if not definitive, at least consistent with all the (limited) information we get. Which is how I wound up writing up this whole spiel about the four lords and who joined the family when (now up over here) – only to realise that the section on Donna Beneviento alone was getting so long it really needed its own post – so here we are.

Here's what stands out about Donna: Miranda has (very canonically) been experimenting on her villagers for a full century. Her daughter’s death in the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1919 is as explicit as anything in this game gets. The four lords and their household crests are presented like an institution that’s been around for generations (Do Not Ask why a small Romanian village needs as many as four lords. It’s a fairy tale, and that’s the wrong question).

And yet, Donna herself logically can’t have joined Miranda’s family any more recently than 1996 – a mere 24 years ago.

We know this, because it’s the year of death on Claudia Beneviento’s grave (1987-1996) – and that grave already existed when she was adopted by Mother Miranda. What little we know about Donna’s past comes from her gardener’s diary, and he talks about both in entries only days apart. There’s no year provided, but the dates are November 10-29. It could have been 1997, it could have been 2019 – but it’s a year I’m old enough to remember either way.

So did it really take Miranda that long to ‘complete’ her little family collection? Or could there have been a previous cadou-empowered Lord or Lady Beneviento? And should I be reading so much into a date on a gravestone, which for all I know should have read 1896, and which made it into the game by accident? I have no idea, but we're going with it anyway.

But wait: we have more dates! We never meet the gardener himself, but he’s given the name Josef Simon in the note he left on the Iuthier house in the village. And if he left that note in person, he must have been still living in the village as recently as 2017, because (and this is where it all gets deep into nerd-analysis territory), there’s a child’s drawing on the wall of Iuthier’s house dated to that year.

Why does this matter? Well, his last diary entry ominously ends with him taking an invitation to visit Donna’s house to see his ‘departed wife’. And that’s all the more ominous, considering the Duke’s statement that ‘none of her playmates have ever returned’ – not to mention, well, everything that happens to Ethan down there. The looming implication is that the gardener died soon after writing that last entry – meaning those entries were written after he’d shut up the Iuthier house, meaning that Donna only became her mould-empowered self as recently as 2017 (or even more recently still).

(God, do you see why this shit had got me so hard? It’s like solving one of those grid-based logic puzzles where if Mary is wearing a red hat and Adam wasn’t in the house on Thursday, which of the household could’ve been present at the time of the murder? This isn’t even supposed to be a detective game, GDI!)

But before we get too far down this particular rabbit hole, it’s worth remembering we don’t know for sure that the gardener died within days of Donna joining Miranda’s family. Or, to take a slightly darker angle, we don’t know for sure that the gardener who kept that diary was the same gardener who shut up the Iuthier house after 2017. Maybe ‘Josef Simon’ is a completely new gardener, who kept that old diary around to remind himself why he should absolutely never breathe too deeply over Claudia’s grave, or accept any of Mistress Donna’s invitations to come inside for tea…

Claudia Beneviento herself is a figure so mysterious that I’m a little suspicious her grave (let alone those bizarre dates) only exists at all due to some miscommunication between the writers and the environment asset team, or as a relic of a couple of very different stories getting awkwardly redacted into one at the nth hour (notes that came with the artwork say that her house was originally conceived as belonging to a doctor, the doll-theme only added later, which isn’t surprising). Taken at face value, a woman in mourning dress with a creepy doll obsession and a 9-year-old’s grave in her garden screams that Claudia was Donna’s daughter, whose tragic death she never recovered from. It fits with the greater themes of the game too: Miranda and Eva, Ethan and Rose, Donna and Claudia?

Only problem being that the gardener’s diary suggests that Donna's personal tragedy was something else altogether.

If the gardener is to be believed, Donna’s story is that of someone who shunned others from childhood due to ‘the scar over her eye’ (a birth defect?) choosing instead to talk to people only through the ventriloquist’s doll made for her father – then cut off from the world even further by her parents’ tragic deaths. (Notes on the artwork go further, suggesting that her parents committed suicide at the waterfall, but this never made it into the game.) Where does a dead 9-year-old girl come into that? Is she Donna’s sister, her cousin or aunt? It’s damn hard to find space for a daughter in the gardener’s account, but the fresh bouquets on the grave suggest she was at least someone important. It all feels like a story that’s been hastily patched together at the last minute (and very likely, it was).

Donna’s powers present a similar dichotomy: hallucinogenic plants and autonomous living dolls? The only common theme there is ‘spooky shit’. (God, it’s like Heisenberg and the lycans all over again!) I don’t mean any of this as a serious critique of the game or story: Donna’s house stays with people for a reason – horror’s often more effective because it’s incomprehensible – but Donna-the-character is a cypher.

Speaking of Donna's medical report, that confusing line about how she "divided her Cadou among her dolls in order to control them from a distance" is (inasmuch as I am qualified to translate it) a little clearer in the Japanese version. A more literal translation might be more along the lines of "has shared her own cadou with her favourite doll to control it from a distance" ‒ which certainly adds context to why it's Angie's remains you bring back to the Duke. What's in all those other dolls is open to question: more experimental cadou, or is them moving just another illusion? We'll never know for sure.

That's about it for hard info. Still, for what it’s worth, have some rampant speculation!

Suppose Donna and Claudia were sisters, Claudia the treasured ‘normal’ sister, to Donna’s disfigured recluse. Suppose Claudia died, and their grief over the loss of their one 'proper' daughter led Donna’s parents to throw themselves over the waterfall, leaving her all the more alone. Yeah. Just let that settle in for a moment.

Alternatively, suppose both of Donna’s parents (and perhaps even her ‘normal’ sister) lost their lives to Miranda’s quest to integrate all four noble houses into her own twisted family. The success rate for cadou experiments was notoriously low. Suppose she resorted to Donna last because her deformity made her that much less desirable – only for Donna to survive, to be ‘adopted’ by the very woman who murdered her whole family.

Now imagine Donna living under the shadow of inevitably being supplanted (yet again) when her new ‘mother’ manages to revive the true daughter she really wanted all along…

Now there are some horror stories for you.

As a side note, I’ve seen some articles claim Donna had a female family member called Bernadette who died in Miranda’s experiments. This isn’t based on much: the only evidence is a 21-year-old “Bernadette B” mentioned in one of Miranda’s case notes, shortly before the success story of “Alcina D”. Notably, “Alcina D” is recorded as being ‘of noble birth’, while “Bernadette B” is simply noted as ‘no occupation’, which doesn’t really support the idea the B stands for another important family. Being nearly as old as ‘Alcina D’, Bernadette would have lived and died generations before Donna and Claudia. So even if B does stand for Beneviento (and it probably doesn’t), it doesn’t add much to Donna’s story.

And on a final note, did anyone else notice that of all the four lords, Donna is the only one who gets called by her first name? Like, Heisenberg is ‘Heisenberg’ even to his mother, brother and sister. I don’t think anyone but the Duke ever says Dimitrescu’s name aloud (let alone calls her ‘Alcina’). But Heisenberg mentions his other two siblings twice, and both times they’re Donna and Moreau. Not Beneviento and Moreau, or Donna and Salvatore: Donna and Moreau.

Now, maybe he’s just lazy (Beneviento is a bit of a mouthful), but while everyone else in the Duke’s spiel is called by their last name, Donna gets to be Donna Beneviento. Naturally, she’s ‘Mistress Donna’ to her gardener too. Possibly Angie is part of the reason ‒ logically, she's a Beneviento too, and we need some way to distinguish the two of them ‒ but it certainly speaks to how she's thought about, by family and by the writers.

No other first name is spoken aloud at all, AFAIK – you have to find Miranda’s experiment reports at the very end of the game to learn Moreau and Heisenberg’s first names (‘Alcina’ is at least written on her diary as well, much earlier on, as well as in Miranda’s separate case notes on experiment 181).

I doubt there’s much significance behind this detail, but it does kind of back up the idea that Donna may be the baby of the family – the youngest in years and the youngest when she was turned. And somehow still the most mysterious, for all that we arguably have more information about her past than any of the other three.

Please don’t take that as suggesting she’s just an innocent little baby, though. There’s a tendency in fandom to portray her as perfectly talkative and functional with the right audience (never mind that she speaks only a few words in the whole game, and canonically preferred to ‘talk’ through her Angie even to the gardener who’d known her since childhood, and who clearly cared for her deeply). Her backstory is tragic as fuck however you fill in the blanks, but all those fucked up murder dolls didn’t come from nowhere.

It's probably a mistake to treat Angie as a separate entity at all, when she's functionally Donna's own alter ego: very plausibly her way of acting out her own childhood trauma, from which she never recovered or matured. And trauma exorcised into a new vessel isn’t trauma that’s gone away.

#Donna Beneviento #Claudia Beneviento #Resident Evil Village #Resident Evil #meta #Resident Evil timeline

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boldlyvoid · 1 year

Text

Midnight Runner

18+ Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Summary: Steve meets a stranger in the woods and falls in love with him, all while he can't stand Dustin's new buddy, Eddie.

Warnings: Cruising, Homophobia, Robin and Steve have PTSD, anonymous sex, public sex, blowjobs, coming out, violence, borrowed parts of canon but make it fruity, playful flirting, idiots in love, Gareth and Robin are the smartest BFFs our main characters could as for

word count: 9.6k

Fic Masterlist

After the horrors of uncovering a secret Russian base under the mall they worked at, it was pretty hard for Steve and Robin to sleep separately.

Their first after everything, Robin spent at Steve’s house, telling her parents when she got back to her own home that she had been with a friend the last few days and not to worry. They, of course, thought she was lying to sleep with a boy. If only they knew the truth. Either way, they didn’t like that she disappeared for a few days and so she was given a stricter curfew for the rest of summer. She couldn’t have boys (Steve and Dustin) in her room after 9 pm, her parents were in bed by 10:30 and so she should have the lights out by then too.

For a while, Robin would call him at night to make sure he was still breathing and okay in his room on the other side of Hawkins… There was something about not knowing where the other was that now led each of them to feel massive amounts of anxiety. Not being with him for hours and then him coming back unconscious and barely alive, bruised and bloody— fucked her up a lot more than she cared to admit. He ended up driving to her house most nights, sneaking in through the window around midnight, he’d lay with her until she fell asleep. Some nights he sneaks back out before the sun came up; before her mom got any wind of a boy being in her room all night… and he never parked his car on their street, he parked in Dustin's driveway (with Claudia’s approval) and they only lived one street over, so he could easily walk the rest of the way to Robin.

Tonight, however, she can’t sleep at all so he’s not going anywhere.

The two of them are laying on her floor with their legs perched up on her mattress, staring at the dimly lit glow-in-the-dark stars she stuck on her ceiling… she says they’ve been up there since she was in grade 3, its a mystery how they’re still stuck. Side by side, pinkies interlocked so they’re touching but not too much, they talk about anything and everything just to keep her mind off the memories that won’t fade, unlike the bruises that went away long ago.

Schools going to start up soon, people are already talking about their “friendship” due to his “reputation” and Robin has no idea how to handle her thoughts about the attention. On one hand, it’s kinda handy that people think Steve is her boyfriend, they won’t hit on her or ask her out now (as if anyone did before anyway…) Steve would be a good beard but at the same time, he craves love and affection and fake dating isn’t something he’s into. It wouldn’t benefit him in the slightest.

She also craves love and affection but a different kind than what she could get from Steve… She also never wants to get beat up ever again. Somehow the two collided. Love is pain and all that shit. The worst thing she can think of right now is finding a girl she really likes, letting her walls down, letting her in and then she freaks. She tells everyone. The homophobes corner her and kick her ass and leave her there to think about her actions.

Steve doesn’t think it’ll be that bad for her.

“You don’t know what it’s like, Steve, I’ve tried so hard for so long to just fly under the radar… if no one knew who I was then no one would have any questions or suspicions… and now they’re talking about me all the time.”

“But they’re talking 'cause they think you’re doing straight stuff with me, isn’t that a good thing?” He asks, completely genuinely, “right?”

The mere thought of going anything with a boy was enough to make her want to die, hearing Steve say that made her almost turn inside out and combust like a star gone supernova. “Ew, first of all. And no. it’s not a good thing. I don’t want them talking about me at all. And once you start dating again then they’re going to talk even more about how can we be friends and not secretly getting together? Boys and girls can't be friends, especially not when you’ve slept with every girl in Hawkins and then that’s going to evolve to every girl you’re with thinking you’re cheating on them with me and eventually you’re going to find a girl you really love and she’ll be jealous and you’ll have to tell her the truth and then she’ll tell her friend and that friend with tell someone else and then the whole town will know the reason Robin Buckley never fucked Steve Harrington is because she’s a raging lesbian and I’m going to get the shit kicked out of me all over again.”

“Okay that is so much to unpack but I want to start with the fact you think I’d ever be with someone who thought of you like that?” He can’t believe she’d be worried over something so outlandish. “Robs, I would never let that happen to you?”

“I know that but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about it,” she explains, her voice so soft and weak, defeated. “Do you know like any gay history? Especially here in Indiana?”

He shakes his head, “no… I just know it’s not illegal anymore, my dad threw a fit in front of the TV when sodomy wasn’t illegal anymore and then I asked what it was and got in trouble.”

“Every time I learn more about your dad I want to hit him with my car,” Robin reiterates, she’s said it a few times now that they’ve laid their hearts out to dry in front of the other.

“You don’t even have a licence,” he reminds her with a smile.

“Or a car,” she manages to smile right back. “But seriously, that’s fucked up… the sodomy laws weren’t lifted until like a decade ago and they were literally only keeping it a law so they could keep killing gay people with it. They were getting locked up in jail while the straight guys were doing anal before marriage and getting away with it, no problem… like what?!”

“I never got that either,” Steve admits, having thought about it more than he’d tell her. “Like sodomy is a sin to them but they also consider it a loophole so they can have sex before marriage?”

“It’s literally a book of fiction,” Robin shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t live my life because the government officials in this state believe that it’s the end all be all of rules.”

“You can, you just can’t get caught,” Steve proposes. “like… and don’t ask how I know this, but there’s a cruising spot in the woods, near skull rock, I’m sure there’s a lesbian version of that somewhere in Hawkins?”

She sits up with wide eyes, and she turns to him cautiously, “Steve… how do you know what cruising is?”

He sits up in a hurry too, scared and embarrassed. “Uh,” he turns bright red, he doesn’t want to say a single thing because the story is way too long to get into. “I just do?”

Her shoulders drop and she looks at him inquisitively, yet gentle, “you can tell me?”

“I went on a run at the wrong time,” he whispers, his breathing changes and his heart races in his chest… it’s like he was running all over again. “I saw something I wasn’t supposed to… and then— then I went back.”

Her jaw drops as she realizes what he means by he went back. He’s been cruising. Steve Harrington got his dick sucked in the woods by another man and he was telling her in her bedroom at 3 in the morning. It didn’t feel real. A lot of her life didn’t feel real anymore, but the panic on his face sure looked real to him. She didn’t know what to say, her mouth just hangs open while she stares. “So you… you—”

“Sucked a stranger's cock? Yeah.” He admits, instantly covering his face with his hands. He pulls his knees up to his chest and tries to turn himself into a ball.

“Holy shit…” it just slips out. It sounds more judgey than she means it to, but it was a lot to process all at once. He wasn’t on the receiving end like most questioning jocks would be on their first try… no, he did a lot more than a question. He clearly found an answer.

“Steve,” she reaches out and places her hand on his shoulder, “I can’t believe I just dropped my gayness on you like that cause like how do you respond to someone telling you they’re gay just like blah there it is— there’s my truth?”

He laughs a bit and looks at her again, still holding his knees tight to his chest, “now you get why my reaction was so delayed… I was okay with it, duh, but I also realized I wasn’t alone anymore.”

“So now there’s 3 gays, minimum, in Hawkins,” Robin teases, “that’s enough to start a club.”

“I don’t know who he was… it was really dark but his hair was longer than mine when I felt it and he was a really good kisser,” Steve explains with a solemn smile. “I’ve gone back but never seen him again…”

“You’re gone back multiple times? Steve?” She looks genuinely concerned, “you know that’s not safe, right? They could be straight guys wanting out there to hurt you, they’re not all gay. It’s happened before, gay guys have been shot in cruising spots all over the country.”

“I know,” he sighs, “I just run through to see if he’s in our spot and then I go right back to the trail.”

“There are a lot of long-haired guys in Hawkins…” Robin thinks aloud and scoffs, “that should be easy to find.”

“I’ve been looking, trust me,” Steve assures her. “It’s been a few months though, so he could have different hair now… hell, he might now even be here anymore or he could be 30 with kids and that’s… yikes.”

“Yikes indeed,” she shivers at the thought. “That’s also why cruising isn’t smart.”

“I guess I just got lucky with my first guy being nice,” he shrugs. “I hate how much I miss him sometimes… but I’m really glad I get to tell you stuff like this now.”

“Me too,” she smiles, reaching out to see if he wants a hug and he takes it.

He wraps his arms around her and rests his chin on her shoulder, “maybe we can move somewhere gayer when you graduate?”

She laughs, “what, like New York or San Fransisco?”

“Sure,” he pulls away with a smile. “So, yeah actually, I do kinda get it. But I just have it a bit easier cause I still like girls too… I just suck at getting anyone to like me.”

“How’d you come to that conclusion?” She asks out of genuine curiosity.

He shrugs again, “I knew for sure I liked girls 'cause I mean, girls?

“Yeah,” Robin can’t help but agree. “They’re the best creation on earth.”

“Amen,” Steve teases. “But… I don’t know how to explain it? I’ve just always looked at men and thought they’re handsome in the same way I think girls are pretty? My heart races and I want to be held by them and kiss them and shit, it’s so weird to explain.”

“It makes sense though,” Robin assures him it’s completely normal. “See, I’ve never looked at a boy and felt that, but it’s how I realized I like girls. They make me nervous and giddy… I want to kiss a girl so bad.”

“You will one day…” Steve doesn’t know what else to say, because everything else seems like a brag. He’s been kissing girls since he was 12, he took it for granted while it’s her dream to kiss a girl.

“What’s it like?”

“It’s always different… like Patty Dun sucked, quite literally, it was like making out with a leech. Nancy, on the other hand, she was my favourite because I loved her, but I also really liked kissing Kimmy Peters, but my guy in the woods is the best kisser,” Steve just lets it all out. He’s never had someone ask him about this, and he’s never gotten to gossip about his experiences. “He had soft lips, the bottom one was plumper, he didn’t have a beard but you could feel the stubble and his nose was round and poked my cheek… and he was handsy. He held me so tight like he was afraid to let me go but it was nice? I felt wanted?”

She hums along, “interesting… what made him so much better than Nancy Wheeler if you loved her so much?”

“He was more assertive,” Steve admits with a blush spreading up his neck and over his cheeks. Even his ears burn red. “Girls just want me to do it all, but I liked him being in charge. I liked being manhandled.”

“Damn,” Robin can’t help but chuckle, “I didn’t think I’d ever want to talk to you about your sex life but it’s surprisingly less gross when you’re talking to me about other dudes.”

“Was I making you jealous before? At work?” He asks, thinking nothing of it until now. It must’ve hurt to see him do something she’s basically forbidden from. “Seeing me get to openly flirt with them all probably sucked, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” she waves it off. “At first it sucked, yeah, ‘cause I thought you were just that whore Steve who fucks anyone who walks but you’re not him at all anymore.”

“Gee thanks,” he takes offence at first. “Is that what people think of me?”

She shakes her head, “no, I think it’s normal for all the girls to want to go out with a nice, handsome guy and you just never found the right one to settle down with so you’ve hit up a lot of girls… but you’re not a user. You’re a sweet guy, I’m sure they have wonderful times with you.”

“Thank you,” he takes the compliment genuinely. “I always want them to have a good time even if I know it’s not going to work out.”

“Why doesn’t it ever work out?”

“Ask the tough ones why don’t you?” He laughs, not even knowing where to start.

She laughs too, “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that, I’m just wondering why you don’t ever have second dates with them? None of them have stood out to you? Really?”

“They’re not him…”

“You’re really caught up on this guy?” she can’t believe it. “We’ve gotta find him… what else do you remember?”

“All of it.”

The moon shines through the branches, and there’s barely any cloud cover. The air is crisp and cold, the kind of cold you can taste with each breath. The leaves from last fall still crunch under his feet, it hides how hard he’s breathing as he runs to the same spot he saw the two men before. There’s no one around so he stops running, he stands against a pretty big tree and he waits. He says he’s going to give himself 20 minutes and if no one shows up, if nothing happens, then he’s going to just finish his run.

The sound of a branch snapping makes his eyes shoot in the direction it came from. Being in the woods at night was one thing, being in Hawkins, where he knew monsters were real was another… knowing that men are some of the worst monsters of all was the scariest part, however. His heart almost beats out of his chest when the figure shows up in front of him.

“Hey,” the man's voice is deep but calm. “You out here for… you know?”

“Y-yeah,” he says but he’s frozen. He doesn’t make a move, he waits for the other man to invade his space.

Steve can’t make out any of his features as the shadow of the tree falls on him. He tenses when the man's arm raises and his hand comes close to his face but he’s soft. He reaches out to cup his face but he ends up brushing Steve’s hair behind his ear. His thumb caresses his cheek lightly, causing him to lean into the man's touch.

Steve reaches out then too, he gently holds the other man's waist and pulls him one step closer so that their groins are touching. He’s close enough now that Steve can notice smells like cigarettes and freshly applied, cheap cologne but it’s still nice. Steve leans in to get another sniff, tricking the man into thinking Steve was going in for a kiss.

He kisses Steve gently, anyway, almost missing his mouth in the dark but they correct it quite easily. His lips are soft, his nose bumps into Steve’s cheek with each kiss, his hand moves to the nape of Steve’s neck and his tongue swipes his lower lip. He has a chain attached to his belt that Steve can feel, and when his hands go back to cup the man's ass and pull him forward, he notices the chain is attached to the wallet in his back pocket.

He pushes Steve back against the tree more, kissing down his neck and sucking on his sweaty, exposed skin. Steve uses his knee to push between the stranger's legs, taking the man's ass in his hands and tugging him forward, causing the man's growing bulge to grind against his own thigh. He’s afraid to moan, afraid to give away who he is with the sound of his voice— but it feels so fucking good that he whimpers.

He fucking whimpers.

The man smirks against him, his teeth grazing Steve’s skin. His laugh is so deep, then so is his voice, “you like how my cock feels against your thigh?”

He nods but he knows it’s hard to see, so he takes a leap of faith and speaks.“I—I do.”

The man takes Steve’s hands off his ass and redirects them to his bulge, “you can touch me…”

“Okay,” he melts into his touch, his hands are warm over his own, the print of his cock is ever hotter in his jeans.

He’s never touched another man's cock before, he’s always wanted to, and this guy's cock feels fucking huge. It’s glorious. He slowly reaches for the man’s belt, “can I?”

“Yeah,” he’s all breathy and desperate, growing even more excited as Steve gets his belt open and pops the buttons on his jeans. Steve snakes his hand inside the man's jeans and palms him over his boxers for a moment then he finally pushes the band of his boxers down and takes his cock in his hand.

He’s so close to him that when they both look down to see Steve’s hand on his cock, their foreheads rest together.

The man brings his hand up to cup Steve’s cheek again and brings him into another kiss, pressing him back against the tree once more as Steve starts to jerk him off. Slowly at first, using his thumb to gather up his precum and smear it down his length, adding glide instead of friction. The man didn’t seem to mind either way, moaning against his mouth and biting his lip with a groan every so often… Steve felt like he could cum in his pants, completely untouched, just from getting to experience this finally.

He’s so proud of himself, so excited to be here with another man and making him feel good. He wants to go even further. He breaks the kiss, using his free hand to tug the man back by his hair, “can I suck your cock?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” he practically laughs, just as excited himself.

Steve kisses him one last time, fully taking it in because he expects it to be the last one. Once this guy cums down his throat he isn’t going to want to kiss him again, he was probably going to haul ass out of the woods and never look back with his newfound post-nut clarity. Steve holds him by his hips once more, kissing him hard enough that their lips smack when he pulls away. He slips down to the ground, using the tree to keep himself steady, he caresses the man's thighs on the way and he swoons slightly over how thick they are.

The man uses one hand to push Steve’s hair back and then he grips the locks loosely, his other hand rests against the tree trunk, bracing himself. Steve is stroking his cock again, so close to his face this time, he presses soft kisses to the shaft, reenacting every blowjob he’s gotten in the past. He’s soft, he fondles his balls and drags his tongue along the pulsating vein on the underside of his perfect cock. He’s uncut and thick and Steve’s mouth is watering by the time he takes him between his lips. He relaxes his jaw, he avoids his teeth, he uses his tongue around the head… all things he’s asked girls to do for him in the past.

The man above him grips his hair tighter and groans, “sweet christ… you’re good at this, baby.”

Steve hums around him, so content already but the praise… fuck, was the praise ever good? He gains more confidence, sucking this man's cock like his life depends on it. Wet and sloppy, he gets drool all over his chin but he doesn’t give a fuck. He takes him deeper, letting the man fuck his throat, breathing through his nose with his eyes shut, he gags slightly but it’s bearable, he likes it… the other man really likes it, too, if his moans are any inclination.

“‘M so close,” the man warns through bated breath, like it’s taking everything in him to hold back, either for permission to finish or to give Steve enough time to pull back if he didn’t want a mouth full of cum in a few seconds.

Steve grips his hip tighter, holding him in place without letting up, he wants this. He wants it more than he could ever describe. He’s dreamed about a moment like this for years. Oh, this was the best night of his fucking life.

He knows what to expect, he’s well aware of the acquired taste you have to have to enjoy someone finishing in your mouth… he feels the man's balls tighten and his cock twitch and his hips jolt just as it happens. The man moans something deep, gripping the tree and his hair for dear life while he cums deep down Steve’s throat.

Steve savours it and makes it last as long as possible before the man is pulling back. His spit connects them, his jaw hurts a bit and he’s still rock fucking hard in his track pants but he’s content. Thats what he wanted.

The man helps him up to his feet and much to Steve’s surprise kisses him again. Tongue and everything while his hands work their way down Steve’s chest towards his bulge. Steve knows it won’t take long, just a few strokes and he’s going to cum in this guy's hand and it’s going to be embarrassing so he pushes him back, “you don’t have to…”

But his tone sounds more like he doesn’t want him to, so the man back up, “okay… uh, I, erm,” he turns to look all around, he adjusts himself inside of his boxers once more and buttons his jeans back up. “Thanks,” he says and then he’s off.

Just like Steve expected.

Robin hears a slightly less graphic retelling of the events, staring at him with shock and awe and oddly enough, she never jumped in to ask questions. She let him get it all out and then goes to speak but she doesn’t know what to say. She just smiles, “Dude?”

“I know,” Steve whines, rubbing his face while he shakes his head. “I panicked and sent him on his way and I’ve thought about him every day since.”

“When was this, again?”

“April, right after my birthday,” he explains. “It’s a long story but essentially I was friends with Tommy H, you know him, right?” Robin nods along, moving in a bit closer when she sees the real fear on his face. “We were like… I don’t know, it was just really sexually charged between us, even when we basically broke up and stopped being friends. And then there was Billy… right after I broke up with Nancy he was all over me, in my space, trying to start shit with me… and he was friends with Tommy when I was with Nancy so I think Tommy told him I’m a bit queer and if he wasn’t a piece of shit to the kids, especially Lucas and max, then maybe I’d flatter him but… I didn’t and now he’s dead, so I couldn’t just hit him up and I wasn’t going to drive out to a gay club, alone, for my 18th birthday… so cruising was my only option.”

“Holy shit dude, I’m sorry,” Robin can’t believe it either. “That’s probably so odd to know something could’ve happened there between you if he was a different person…”

“He wouldn’t have been Flayed if he was a different person, though,” Steve sighs. “But it’s whatever, I guess. Not to sound like an asshole but after being that racist and violent, he had it coming to him.”

“True… but are you sure it wasn’t Billy in the woods back then?” She can’t help but wonder, “it just makes sense, you know?”

“Billy is taller than me, this guy wasn’t,” Steve explains. “And billy wears earrings, I remember when I pushed my guy's hair back his ears felt little and cute he definitely never had earrings… and my guy in the woods was sweet and gentile with me, I don’t think Billy had a gentile bone in his body.”

“Hm,” Robin bites her lip while she thinks. She has a feeling she knows who it is but she also doesn’t want to get his hopes up. “No earrings, nice butt with a chain wallet, good kisser so he probably has plump lips, definitely a big nose… we need a sketch artist.”

Steve laughs, “maybe Nancy knows one from work…”

“Can I ask what happened there?” She doesn’t know how much more he wants to share tonight, and if he isn’t ready, thats fine.

He sighs, deep from within and annoyed slightly, but not at Robin, “I think she fell in love with Jonathan when they were hunting the Demogorgon and looking for Will… they bonded and then the Lab people made us promise to go back to normal and act like nothing happened so we got back together and— and I thought we were fine but she was pretending… she resented me a bit because Barb died in my backyard while we were messing around in my room and we should’ve been there to protect her. She’ll never forgive me for the Barb situation.”

“Barb died in your backyard?” Robin gasps, holding her hand over her mouth in shock. “Oh my god…”

He nods, “like most predators, it was attracted to the smell of blood and she cut her finger shotgunning a beer that we pressured her into doing… and then we left her out there all alone.”

“I was friends with Barb too, you know?” Robin shares, “not like best friends like her and Nancy but we were friends… I miss her, too, sometimes— sorry, sorry I didn’t mean to derail the conversation and make it sad we were talking about your gay awakening.”

Steve laughs, “it’s fine, really, it’s okay. I don’t even know what else to say? Like even if I find him, I’m not going to ask if he was the guy in the woods… cause if he wasn’t then he’s going to tell everyone I was sucking dick in the woods.”

“Do you think he already knows it was you?” Robin asks as if that would make the search easier.

He shrugs again, “no… maybe? I don’t know, honestly.”

“How would you feel if he did know?”

He stares off for a moment, thinking about it with sad eyes, “if he did, don’t you think he’d talk to me about it?”

“He might be just as scared as you,” Robin reminds him. “He could be figuring himself out too…”

“Yeah,” he sighs again and sits up straighter. “I’m not figuring myself out though, I know… I know I’m bi.”

Robin opens her arms, allowing him to move in for a hug if he wants one, and he takes it. He holds her close, actually feeling happy about his announcement and having someone else know his biggest secret. “Thank you for trusting me, I would’ve never come out without you,” Steve whispers, holding her tighter.

“I think it was the truth serum, but I’m also glad I told you,” she teases but holds him back just as tight.

— 6 months later —

Steve and Robin get another job together at Family Video and it’s actually the perfect place to scope out other possible gays in the area.

She gives Steve a look when every long hair fella comes in and Steve still aimlessly flirts with all the girls that come in. He’s been dating again, but he still thinks about the mystery guy every now and then. The dates are fun but none of them really stand out. He’s not really interested in second dates and he’s not even having sex after the dates either. He’s just trying to occupy his time so that he doesn’t go insane thinking about Him.

Robin was right, girls have accused him of being in love with her and just using them until she gives in to him, and even Robin's mother has started to ask if there’s anything going on between them. She doesn’t believe her when she says they’re just friends, especially not after she walked in on them all cuddled up in the same bed one night.

It was starting to get really hard to assure everyone that they were just friends without Robin feeling like she had to come out.

She wants to sometime soon but not now. Right now she’s planning on coming out after graduation after she has a college lined up and her scholarships come through… she’ll come out when she no longer needs the support from the people who might hate her if they know she’s gay.

Currently, it’s 2 nights after Christmas and they’re both at work, bored as hell, having not seen a customer in over an hour. The dweebs were coming by later, and Dustin said something about their new dungeon master dropping them off at the arcade after their D&D session. That meant Steve was responsible for driving Dustin the rest of the way home after work while Mike and Lucas would get a ride from Mrs. Wheeler sometime before closing.

Steve’s heard a lot about this new dungeon master guy, how he’s super cool and sooo metal and Dustin thinks he’s just the coolest thing since sliced bread. It makes Steve only slightly jealous like his little brother has a new favourite sibling and they’re both fighting for Dustin's time. He knows the guy in question is Eddie Munson, the metalhead freak who also sells drugs behind the school and drives that god-awful, loud and stinky van all over town. Other than that, Steve never paid much attention to the guy when he was in high school and didn’t plan on spending much time with him now, even if Dustin begged him to.

Speak of the devil, Dustin comes bursting through the doors of Family video with a big smile on his face and his entourage following swiftly behind him. Eddie included. “You’re looking at the only people to ever walk into Graz’zt’s lair and live!”

“Cool,” Steve pretends to a) know that that is, and b) care. “Did you little shits eat while you were out or am I supposed to fork over a 20 for you to get arcade pizza next door?”

“My mom’s got us covered,” Mike pulls some cash from his pocket, “we’re waiting on them to make more.”

“As long as you don’t get grease on the carpet again, you can eat in here,” Robin says from the back corner where she’s putting away some returns. “and save me a slice!”

“We will,” Dustin assures, leaning against the counter and smirking at Steve, “any progress there?”

“How many fucking times do I need to tell you Robin and I are best friends?” He finally snaps.

“Woah,” Eddie, who’s been lingering behind the teenagers this whole time, leans against the counter now too. “Is that any way to talk to a child?”

“One that won’t take no for an answer? Yes,” Steve spits back at him. “And as if you know the right way to talk to children, anyway, I’m surprised they’re not all hooked on crack and sacrificing goats to the devil or some shit with all the time they spend with you.”

“Oh, Harrington, you think I’m big and scary and mean, don’t you?” He pouts at Steve and talks in a baby voice.

“Fuck off, Munson,” he doesn’t have time for this today… not when Eddie’s smile is nice and he licks his lips while looking Steve up and down, making his spine shiver. He’s cute. It’s not fair.

“He totally thinks I’m scary,” he shoves Dustin with a smirk. “But I’m not… I’m just making sure the ducklings get back to mother goose in one piece,” he says while walking towards the door, “remember the sacrifice next week is bring your own goat, Stevie, you’re more than welcome to join us.”

Right then and there, Steve decides, Fuck it. Eddie literally asked for this. “And what happens if I bring a pig instead?”

“Can’t wait to find out,” Eddie shoots him a wink and heads out the door, leaving with a little chime that rings in Steve’s ear long after he’s gone.

“Why can’t you be nice to my friends?” Dustin pleads, “seriously, if you just spent 10 minutes with him you’d probably really like him.

In what way? Steve thinks to himself. “Whatever, I’m not in the business of making friends, I’m trying to make money and make sure nothing else tries to kill everyone.”

“Winter makes you so sad, join a gym or something?” Dustin reads him like a book. “Ask your doctor for some vitamin D, you’re acting like a bitch again.”

It was a different D he needed.

At first, he’s offended but then he agrees. Without school, he doesn’t have any sports to play and with the snow, it’s not really safe for him to go running on the roads. He’s been cooped up in his empty house all break and it’s starting to affect the way he’s treating people.

“Sorry,” Steve gives in quickly. “You’re probably right, I’m sorry.”

“You want pepperoni or deluxe?” Dustin changes the topic with a smile, making sure that he knows it’s fine. They were brothers, this is what brothers do. They butt heads and then they get over it.

“Pepperoni,” he says, it’s a no-brainer. He was picky, he wasn’t going to eat vegetables on pizza for fun. “I’ll give Munson a shot if you promise me he isn’t a pineapple-on-pizza guy…”

“Oh, man… His order is pineapple jalapeño and black olives,” Dustin grimaces, “it’s his main flaw.”

“Ew, get out of here, I can’t believe you thought we’d be friends,” Steve pretends to be more disgusted than he actually is, making Dustin laugh as he shoos him out the door.

The rest of the boys follow, headed next door to get their pizzas. Robin pops up beside him behind the counter, “what if it’s him?” She whispers. “What if Eddies the guy from the woods…”

“No way,” Steve doesn’t want to think about that. “He’s too weird, I would’ve known… the guy in the woods was sexy and had a deeper voice, it’s not him.”

“I’m just saying… long hair, chain wallet, and definitely fruity,” Robin lists the things Steve recalled about his mystery man.

“How do you know that?”

“His hanky,” she recalls, looking at him like it’s a simple answer. “Seriously? How can you know about cruising and not the hanky code?”

“I know about cruising because of my dad…” Steve admits. “He said some guy from work got caught by his wife fucking some dude in the woods and I was like ew why would you do that in a public place? So he explained it in a pretty homophobic way making it seem like gay people were predators.”

“Again, I’d love to hit him, just ping,” she pretends to hold a steering wheel and swerve before she mimes someone flying to the tune of a whistle and splatting on the concrete.

Steve laughs, “okay, okay, get back to it, what’s the hanky code?”

“So during the gold rush in San Fransisco, there weren’t a lot of women for square dancing and shit at the local bars so men who wore blue bandanas took the male part and men in the red bandanas took the girl part in the dance,” Robin explains, “it eventually developed into a way for gay people to advertise what they were into, and in 1964 a dude named Bob Damron chronicled what all the different bandanas meant based on the bars he’s gone to and released it in a book 6 years ago.”

“So what does Eddie’s mean?” His eyes light right up at the prospect of him being gay, cause he’s cute as hell…

She holds her hands out to remember her lefts and rights, “it was a black one in his left pocket so that means he’s into sadomasochism and he’s a top.”

Steve thinks about it for a sec and then shrugs, “sounds fun…”

“Ew?” Robin can’t believe he said that. “I don’t need to know what sounds appealing to you… but would you really bottom?” She lets her morbid curiosity win.

“Yeah, I think so,” he shrugs, he doesn’t see why not. “God wouldn’t’ve put my g-spot in my ass if—

“AH! SHUT UP!” Robin plugs her ears and shouts. “I’m so fucking sorry I asked oh my god, never say that again.”

“Fine,” he keeps laughing at her reaction, but he respects her boundaries. She had no interest in his sex life, like a real sister wouldn’t.

Sure enough, the kids come back with pizza and eat it in the video store with a movie on the mounted TV to keep them busy. Mrs. Wheeler comes by around 9:30, just half an hour before closing and takes Mike and Lucas home.

They close up, he drives Dustin home first and drops Robin off second. She’s just about to get out when she notices he’s not taking his seatbelt off to come in with her, “you’re not coming in?”

He shakes his head, “no, I kinda want to be alone.”

She looks him up and down, trying to find a way to believe that, “just… be safe? Call me in the morning?”

Of course, she read right through him. He wanted to go back out to the woods, he wanted to sit there by their tree and see if the same guy would come all the way back, even in the middle of winter. He just sighs and nods, “I will… thank you.”

He waits in the driveway while she walks up to her front door, he doesn’t leave until she’s safely inside. Even then, it’s hard for him to drive off now that she knows what he’s about to do. But he does drive away, he drives home and changes into something more comfortable for running and then he takes off down the street on foot.

The wind is cold on his face, his hands get a bit chilly and his legs tingle as the blood circulates. He hasn’t run in a while so he has to take a few walking breaks, however, he does find a comfortable pace just as he reaches the woods. He finds the snowmobile trail and uses it to run on, not wanting to step into 2 feet of snow the whole way there. Much to his surprise, when he does have to turn off the trail to get to the spot, there are already footprints in the snow that he can step in so snow doesn’t get in his socks.

They lead right to the tree as well, so he leans against the trunk and looks around. It’s a lot brighter this time with how much snow has fallen out here, the moon reflects off the white surface and makes the whole forest shine in a magnificent blue. The forest is so quiet, it’s barely midnight, and anyone could still be out… it looks like someone has been here a few times, however. There are cigarette butts littered in the snow everywhere, too many for just one visit. It gives him hope. Hope that the same man from before would show up for a late-night smoke and he’d get to see him again.

What he didn’t know is that the mystery man had just left, not 5 minutes ago, heading out in the opposite direction.

…

Eddie tossed himself down in his bed with a sigh, getting under the covers with his coat still on because he was cold as fuck now. He gives himself 5 minutes to wallow in self-pity before he gets back up and strips out of his day clothes to get more comfortable. He steals one of Wayne's sweaters with his company logo on it and turns on the kettle to make some hot chocolate. Coffee at this time would be bad and he already hated going to bed on time.

While in the kitchen, he picks up the phone and calls Gareth’s number, the one that connects to the phone in his garage. “Hey,” Gareth answers after just a few rings. “Back already?”

“He wasn’t there, I think I went too early,” Eddie sighs, rubbing his face while he holds the phone with his shoulder.

“Or maybe you were right about him being a one-time jock,” Gareth suggests, having heard the story multiple times as Eddie reminisced on the best sex of his life.

“One-time jocks don’t suck dick like that,” Eddie reminds him. “Most of them go to get sucked and then run, he’s the first guy who didn’t want anything in return… like being on the receiving end was gayer to him than giving head to him or some shit?”

“It’s almost been a year dude, you need to move on,” Gareth complains, “I can't believe it was that dark you have no idea who he was and no one in town reminds you of him. Like was he even real? Or are you just talking yourself out of all the options we’ve related to The Midnight Runner?”

“It’s not Harrington!” Eddie doesn’t want to believe that. “I mean it, sure, he had nice hair and he smelled really good and his lips tasted like strawberry chapstick—

“Which Dustin let slip the other day that Steve does indeed wear,” Gareth reminds him. “He’s best friends with Buckley, dude, gays stick together, she’s gotta know if he is or not… maybe if you came out to her she would tell Steve and then he’d—

“He’d what? Kick my ass?” Eddie cuts him off. “Thats a stupid idea.”

“Oh, come on!! It’s gotta be Steve, all the clues are right there! I bet if I look out my window in a few minutes I’ll see him running. He’s always fucking running!”

“What if I don’t want it to be Steve?” Eddie snaps back.

“Then you’re in love with a ghost,” Gareth replies faster than expected. Like he had it ready and prepared. “Chances are, the guy you met in the woods is Steve and probably the realest version of Steve… maybe he’s so hostile towards you because he knows it was you too and he’s afraid you’ll out him or some shit? Rich gay guys are a lot more complex than us, we don’t have dads who will cut us off if they find out we’re fucking dudes in our free time. He does…”

Eddie sighs because he’s right and he hates to admit it. He has no idea what it must be like for Steve, if he were gay, not saying he is… Eddie fights with his own mind, wanting to give in and crush on him openly but it’s terrifying. Cause if he’s not the guy from the woods and Eddie makes the wrong move he’s going to get punched or worse… he could cuss him out.

Steve was mean when he wanted to be. Everyone in this godforsaken town knew not to fuck with Steve Harrington because while his right hook is strong, he could rip anyone apart with words without even blinking an eye. He can make anyone feel small, useless, and dumb— it was hot to watch, don’t get him wrong, but Eddie never wanted to be on the receiving end of Steve Harrington’s wrath.

“Oh and would you look at that,” Gareth says, tearing him out of his thoughts. “Steve Harrington is jogging towards his house wearing grey sweatpants and a big hoodie… and he looks yummy.”

“Hey,” Eddie gets jealous easily, surprising even himself. “you don’t have to be a dick about it.”

“I’m just tired of seeing you pine over some guy you made up in your head, you’ve glamorized this man from the woods and now it’s like no one is good enough for you?” Gareth reiterates, caring deeply about Eddie and his feelings.

He sighs, “I know… I’m just tired of being alone.”

“Join the club, oh wait, we’re already in one,” Gareth teases. “You still coming over for practice tomorrow?”

“Obviously,” Eddie manages to smile again, they move right into talking about music and hopes for the band, taking eddies mind off of how lonely he felt for a little bit.

— March ’86 —

For the first time in a long time, Dustin and Max are hanging out together…

It’s 10am on a Saturday, the video store has just opened and Steve’s head is pounding from the hangover he’s got. The afterparty post-championship game, win or lose, was always a rager, just this time, they won. And Steve wasn’t on the team… Lucas was. He’s also lucky enough to sleep in right now while his friends bug the piss out of Steve.

Dustin flings himself over the counter instead of walking around like a civilized person, knocking all Steve’s tapes to the ground and immediately logging onto the computer with Steve’s login which he somehow has memorized.

“What are you doing man?” Steve cries out, everything suddenly too loud and there are so many people in his space.

“Setting up base of operations,” Dustin explains, Max somehow beside him now.

“Base of operations?” Robin repeats while picking up the fallen tapes.

“Stop, get off of that,” Steve tries to pry him off the computer.

“No, I need it,” Dustin pushes back.

"Need it for what?”

“Eddie’s friend's phone numbers!”

“Oooh Eddie, your new best friend Eddie who you think is so much cooler than me because he plays your nerdy game—

“EDD— yes. Wait, I never said that?” Dustin softens, sensing how much that hurts his feelings.

Only Robin is too fed up to transition to a serious topic. “Seriously guys, maybe on a Monday you could play around in here like toddlers but it’s Saturday!! It’s our busiest day!”

“Alright look, Robin, I totally empathize, but this cannot! Wait! Until Monday,” Dustin emphasizes, it’s genuinely an emergency in his eyes.

“What, ‘cause calling all Eddies friends is an emergency?” Steve can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“CORRECT!” Dustin finally snaps, using a tone that would get Steve smacked upside the head if he used it in front of his parents.

“Uh, you want me to strangle him or do you wanna do that?” Steve asks Robin, turning away and breathing through the urge to punch him.

“We could take turns?” Robin suggests with a giddy smile.

“Could you just fill them in while I do this?” Dustin finally asks Max, who looks paler than normal. Like she just saw a ghost… or worse.

“Fill us in on What?” Robin asks, scared to know the answer.

She explains it to them carefully, and long story short, something was back in Hawkins and Eddie was the only one who could tell them about it.

—

It takes most of the shift, but they eventually find a pretty good lead on where Eddie could be.

Rick Lipton

2221 Holland Road

They can’t leave work until the next shift starts at 5pm, Sam and Dennis should be showing up, however, it turns to 5:15 and no one is there to replace them… so Steve and Robin lock the doors and they leave. It’s not their problem if they’re not on the clock.

The drive up to Lovers Lake isn’t a long one, it’s the trailing up and down Holland Road for the correct house number that takes the longest. No one wants to have their mailboxes repaired or repainted, so it’s hard to find 2221 as the sun goes down.

Eventually, they find it.

All the light are off, it looks like no one has been home in ages and Dustin won’t stop making a scene as he smacks on the windows and screams for Rick. “Dude, seriously, the last thing we need is for a neighbour to call in a noise complaint while we’re looking for a murder suspect…”

“Stop calling him that!” Dustin finally snaps and shoves him. “He’s my friend. One of my best friends. Help him, it’s not hard to be nice.”

“Fine,” Steve sighs, “let’s check the boat house…”

It’s dark and dingy and smells like the lake and gasoline mixed together. Steve immediately turns off his flashlight and grabs an oar for self-defence because no matter what Dustin says, you never really know a guy. He could be in the middle of a drug induces psychosis and could’ve really killed Chrissy for all they know…

He starts to poke around in the tarp-covered boat with said oar, alerting Dustin once more. “What are you doing?” His voice goes up several pitches, even while in a whisper now.

“He might be in here…”

“So take the tarp off!!

“If you’re so brave, you take the tarp off,” Steve deflects, stabbing the tarp a few more times for good measure.

Max and Robin say something about someone being there, Dustin chirps in: “Don’t worry, Steve will get him with his oar.”

“Ahh, I know you think you’re being funny, Henderson, but considering the fact that everyone in this room has nearly died about a hundred times, personally,” he rants all while stabbing the fucking tarp on the boat and then he picks up his voice. “I don’t fine it funny in the slight—

Suddenly Eddie stands up from under the tarp, gets out from the boat and onto the decking and grabs Steve by the shirt with something sharp against his chest. Steve screams, “wait, wait, wait!!” But it doesn’t help. Eddie slams him up against the wall and holds a broken beer bottle to his throat.

Everyone in the room suddenly screams different things to try and calm him down until Dustin finally screams stop loud enough to break his panicked trance. “Eddie, Eddie, it’s me, it’s Dustin… this is Steve. He is not going to hurt you.”

Eddie looks back and forth between Steve and Dustin, registering that they are in fact who they say they are while he’s still on his highest alert. He’s breathing heavily, and his pressure changes with the bottle as he listens to Dustin talk, calming down only slightly before he holds it to Steve’s throat again.

“Right Steve?” Dustin makes him talk too.

Steve nods, so panicked but also slightly turned on.

You see this is all too familiar for him. Eddie smells like cigarettes and the remnants of cheap cologne. His hair hangs forward as he leans into Steve’s space, they’re the same height, he can look right into the black of his eyes and he knows.

It’s him.

Robin was right.

It was Eddie in the woods that night and he didn’t believe it until right now.

“Right, yeah,” Steve whispers, terrified for more than one reason. He doesn’t want to die, and god forbid he leaves hit Eddie backs up and Steve’s bricked up.

“Steve, why don’t you drop the oar,” Dustin reminds him that he’s holding it.

He drops it quickly and as he does so, Eddie panics at the slight sound and movement, tightening his grip and pushing the jagged edge of the bottle into Steve’s skin.

“He’s cool!” Dustin shouts, drawing Eddie’s attention back to himself.

“I’m cool man, I’m cool,” Steve pleads, whispering, holding his hands up in surrender and staring into Eddie’s eyes carefully. He displays a look of fear and promise and a gentleness that breaks Eddie.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, eyes still fixated on Steve.

“We were looking for you,” Dustin explains.

“We’re here to help,” Robin adds, clutching a flashlight for dear life as she worries for her platonic other half.

“Eddie…” Dustin hesitantly makes his way closer. “These are my friends. You know Robin, from band! This is my friend Max, the one who never wants to play dnd?? Eddie… we’re on your side. I swear on my mother! Right, guys??”

“Right, yeah,” max agrees.

“On Dustin’s mother,” Robin adds.

“Yep, Dustin’s— Dustin's mother,” Steve says for good measure.

Eddie stares at Steve with his jaw so clenched that it looked painful. He was terrified, but inevitably, he gives in. Showing one last display of strength, he pushes Steve into the wall a bit more for good measure and then retreats and Steve fucking moans. He could chop it up to finally getting airflow again, but it’s actually the being manhandled part that made him moan.

And now he’s embarrassed.

He stumbles to the floor while Eddie moves to the corner and leans against the wall, defeated, tired, lost… everyone in the room has felt the exact same way over the last few years. Steve hurries over to Robin, letting Dustin take care of explaining everything to Eddie. He clutches his neck and looks at Robin with wide eyes, talking to her with them.

And she gets it, she looks back with a look that says, ‘holy fuck are you okay?’

And he gives her a look that says, ‘if you only knew…’ he turns around, finding something to sit on and bends essentially in half while holding his neck, he makes it look like it hurts but really he’s bent like that to hide the erection that he can’t control. That was so, so, unfortunately hot.

Through tears and shouting, they get Eddie's side of the story and assure him it’s not crazy. This whole town was fucked up and almost anything was possible.

They tell him all that and then they leave him there. Albeit with a radio so he can contact them and the promise that they’d figure everything out to clear his name… but it didn’t feel like enough.

Steve worried for him the whole drive home. He dropped Dustin off first, Max was going to spend the night on his couch to stay safe and Robin was coming back to Steve’s house with him.

As soon as the car is kidless, he blurts out, “Eddie’s the guy from the woods.”

“I figured,” she turns to him in her seat.

“He smelled the same… he’s the guy,” he’s so sure. “I want to go back.”

“Not smart, there shouldn’t be a car parked outside Rick's house while he’s in jail,” Robin repeats what Dustin had said earlier when he convinced Steve to take them home. Eddie would be fine alone, he had been all day before they got there.

“But I need to talk to him,” Steve complains.

“You can talk to him later when we’ve figured out what we’re dealing with,” Robin rationalizes. “We need to get Nancy and contact Eleven and the Byers… do you think Hop told the other cops or?”

“I doubt it…”

“Right,” Robin slumps back against her seat. “I can’t believe this is happening again.”

“I know,” Steve agrees, shaking his head with disbelief. “There’s nothing even here to open another portal so like what the fuck?”

“Well, if something could just show up cause it smelled blood and take Barb then there must be other ways for monsters to get here, too?” Robin shrugs, she has no idea how it all worked. Neither did Steve, really.

“Yeah, we need Nancy and Joyce,” Steve sighs. “I’ll call them when we get home.”

“Okay,” Robin smiles a bit and then reaches out for his hand where it rests on the gearshift. She gives his hand a little squeeze and doesn’t move away after. “It’s all going to be fine. It has to be.”

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dwobbitfromtheshire · 4 months

Text

Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve- Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen - Chapter Fifteen - Chapter Sixteen - Chapter Seventeen - Chapter Eighteen - Chapter Nineteen - Chapter Twenty

@nightmareglitter

Chapter Twenty-One

Eddie was the first one through the door, pushing past his own boyfriend and girlfriend to get inside the Hendersons' home. If the situation wasn't so dire, Nancy would have laughed. She cuddled Mayhem to her chest and watched as Eddie hugged Wayne tightly. Dustin and Max were huddled together on the couch. Max had her arms crossed and was scowling at the opposite wall, her foot tapping on the floor.

"She's going to come back, son," Wayne said.

"We'll never see her again, not with those assholes," Max said.

"Max!" Nancy exclaimed.

"What? You know it's true," Max said.

"I just want to know what's going on," Claudia said. "They didn't tell us what's going on and what happened to that poor girl. . . "

Nancy shared a look with Steve, biting her lip. Meanwhile, Lily coughed, and she looked in her direction. Lily shook her head, giving her a look. Nancy scowled. Fuck this. All of this was getting out of hand, and if shit like was was going to keep happening, then eventually, people were going to know that something wasn't quite right with their town.

"There was another death tonight similar to Chrissy's. My friend, Fred. . . ," Nancy trailed off with a whimper.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Claudia said and wrapped her arm around her. "Are you right? Do you want me to call your mother?"

"No, I will be okay, but thank you," Nancy said. "I want to know why this is happening again, too."

"Again?" Wayne said and pulled away from Eddie's hug.

"Something like this happened before?" Claudia asked.

"No, of course, not," Dustin said quickly and glared at Nancy.

"Look, if this is going to keep happening, then NDAs are the least of our concerns, especially if something bigger is coming to Hawkins. Chrissy already died in Eddie's house. How are they going to be able to face it if they're kept in the dark?" Nancy asked.

"I just don't want us going to prison!" Dustin exclaimed. "Or my mom to get hurt."

"That's a risk that's already going to happen, Dustin," Nancy said. "Who's to say, whatever is doing this will stick to hunting down teenagers? They should know what we've been going through. Plus, we haven't been able to find Lucas, right? Don't you think his parents should know?"

Maybe Claudia had been right. Maybe she should call her mom, maybe she should call all of the parents. It was time that they were pulled out of the dark, especially since they didn't have Joyce or Hopper there with them.

"I don't think that's your decision, Nancy," Lily said.

"I don't give a flying fuck what you think," Nancy snapped. "I know what I'm risking here, but I don't care. We need all the help we can get, and I have a feeling that keeping them in the dark in no longer an option that we can afford. People are dying!"

Maybe the simplest truth of why she was fighting so hard for this was because Nancy was scared. She had lost her friend, nearly lost her boyfriend, and all she could think about was how much she needed her mommy. Hawkins was put on the map. Pretty soon, they won't be able to deny it anymore that this town had never been what they thought it was. . .perfect. There's no hiding behind their own personal shields anymore. It was time for the barriers to come down. The simple truth was and it's the thing that no one wants to admit it is that everyone is just fighting to survive in a world that's trying to kill them. It doesn't matter if someone likes to play basketball or if they like to play Dungeons and Dragons. It doesn't matter who someone loves or what they want to be called. They only thing that matters now, the thing that's going to tie everything together is trying to save the world they all live in. That can all matter later, when the world has been saved. . . When Hawkins has been saved and maybe, they'll realize there was no reason to fight each other to begin with. . .that their hatred of others is what led them there in the first place. Who was Nancy kidding, though? The worst could happen, and people could still come out the other side just as rotten as they were before. For some reason, though, Nancy still had hope.

"Nancy?" Eddie asked.

She realized that she had been staring blankly ahead and she bit her lip, full of guilt when she saw how scared Eddie looked.

"Call my mom. Call everyone," Nancy decided.

"Is this really productive?" Lily asked.

"I thought you liked the girl who broke into the lab?" Nancy asked.

"I do," Lily said.

"Well. This is me breaking into the lab," Nancy huffed. "And I'm spilling all the secrets again, except this time I'm not risking the entire town to get justice. I know what's at stake, and I know what needs to get done."

There was no one else to make the big decisions anymore. Joyce made sure of that when she left, and while Nancy understood why she left, she felt nothing but white hot anger for the kids that were left behind. . .for the parents who don't know why their kids sometimes wake up screaming in the night. . .and for the rest who were barely adults trying so desperately to help the kids with what little tools they had. She hadn't realized she had been shaking with fury until Steve and Eddie were on either side of her, pressing kisses into her hair. Mayhem meowed and nudged her face with her head.

Claudia didn't need to be told twice and went into the kitchen to make the calls. Pretty soon, her house was filled with worried parents, as well as younger siblings who looked like they had been pulled out of bed. As soon as Karen walked through the door, Nancy was throwing herself into her arms and bursting into tears.

"Nancy?" Karen asked. "Honey, what happened?"

"Fred's dead," Nancy cried.

"Oh, no," Karen said and clutched her daughter tightly, making soothing sounds as she held her.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ted asked.

"Why is my mom drenched?" Max asked.

"Sue gave me a goddamn swirly," Susan cursed.

"Dear, your head was already in the toilet. You might as well use the opportunity to sober you up," Sue said, disaprovingly. "Your daughter needs you."

Susan muttered and glared at her, but her gaze softened when she turned to look at Max. Her look quickly turned to guilt, and Nancy watched for a moment as Max looked away, grabbing a pillow to use as a shield. Nancy pulled away from her mother and wiped her eyes. Tews walked into the room and jumped into Claudia's recliner. Mayhem mewed and jumped down to join Tews, cuddling up to the other cat. Nancy smiled for a moment. It wasn't the first time that she had done that with Tews.

"Where is our other son?" Charles asked. "Where is Lucas?"

"We, uh, actually don't know. We haven't seen him since the basket all game since he went to celebrate with guys on the team," Dustin replied.

"So, two teenagers are dead, and my son is missing?" Sue asked, her dark eyes wide.

"Erica, can you please take Holly into the kitchen?" Charles asked.

"But dad - " Erica said.

"Don't argue with me, Erica," Charles said and looked at her. "Please."

"I'm a big girl!" Holly exclaimed with a scowl.

"There's ice cream in the freezer," Claudia said.

Erica grabbed Holly's hand, and they walked into the kitchen.

"That should keep them busy, thank you," Karen said.

"Now, can someone please explain to us what the hell is going on?" Ted asked.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Nancy, and she was wondering now if this had been a mistake. She felt Eddie's encouraging touch on her shoulder as he gently nudged her. Nancy came forward, opened her mouth, and closed it again. She took a deep breath and began to explain everything that's happened since Will went missing. There was stunned silence when she was finished, and it took a long time to explain, especially when she had to stop at the really hard parts, but that's when Dustin would jump into help. When they finished, there was nothing but silence, and then they exploded into a million questions, a lot of them directed towards Lily.

"This sounds like a load of. . .well, bullshit," Ted said. "Nancy, I know you're upset about your friend. . ."

"Get your head out of your ass, Ted," Karen said. "What happened at Starcourt, what happened when Will went missing should be proof enough that something else was going on."

Meanwhile, Dustin was apologizing and sobbing into his mother's arms about Mews. Steve was being fussed over by Sue and Charles, pulling him in a tight hug. Susan was back against the wall, her arms crossed, and her expression pinched. She wasn't even trying to go to her daughter. Nancy watched as Wayne started to argue with Ted about odd this town was ever since Victor Creel. Suddenly, Nancy felt emotionally and physically exhausted. Eddie must have felt that way too because he collapsed onto the couch with her. They were all overwhelmed by the mix of raised voices in the air. Nancy didn't even realize when her eyes drifted close and she fell asleep. When she woke up briefly, she was curled against a sleeping Eddie with Mayhem on his chest. She could hear the parents' voices floating from the kitchen and the smell of coffee in the air. She didn't see Steve or Dustin and Max. She didn't see Lily either.

"The kids are sleeping in Dustin's room, and Steve went to get Robin. She called when she heard about Fred. I'm not sure where Lily fucked off to," Eddie said. "Go back to sleep."

It didn't take her long before she had fallen back asleep. When she woke up again, morning light was streaming through the window. Robin was sitting on the other couch, talking softly with Steve. Eddie was snoring loudly, and Mayhem was giving him a look while he slept. Nancy sat up, alerting Steve and Robin to the fact that she was awake. Robin threw herself in Nancy's arms and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry about Fred, Nance," Robin said.

"Thanks," Nancy said softly.

"They wanted my parents here too, so they're being updated in the kitchen as we speak," Robin said.

"It wasn't my plan to get them involved, you know, it's just. . . ," Nancy trailed off.

"It all got to be too much," Robin finished sympathetically.

"Yeah," Nancy said. "I didn't think of what else to do and I think. . .I think we're getting close to Eddie's dream."

Nancy stared at his sleeping form. She leaned back and tugged her feet underneath her as she loomed over him. She started running her fingers through his hair. Nancy sighed as he leaned into her touch the way Steve did. Steve moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pressed his cheek against hers. As they both stared at him, a small smile appeared on Eddie's face.

"He's going to be okay, Nance," Steve whispered.

His eyes fluttered open, and Eddie's smile widened further.

"Hmm, what a lovely sight to wake up to," Eddie sighed as he stretched.

Steve released Nancy as she moved to lean down to kiss Eddie. Steve moved over to lean around Nancy so he could press his own lips to Eddie's. The kiss didn't last long because suddenly Mayhem was pushing herself between Steve and Eddie.

"Aww, does someone else want a kiss?" Eddie asked.

Eddie pressed a bunch of kisses to her head until she meowed loudly and swatted gently at him. Alright, enough. Nancy noted there was a pleased look in her eyes.

"Bobin!" Eddie exclaimed and hugged her.

"Tedward!" Robin exclaimed and paused. "Fucked up what's happened."

"Yeah," Eddie said and rubbed sleep from his eyes. "Where are the parental units?"

"Trying to figure out a way to keep us out of this," Robin said, nodding toward the kitchen. "I think most of them are finally coming around to the conclusion that they probably won't be able to stop us if we want to help stop this."

"They definitely won't be able to stop Nancy," Eddie smirked and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Badass warrior queen."

She was about to respond when there came a knock on the door, and everyone tensed up. Claudia came out of the kitchen with the other parents and opened the door with Wayne standing behind her, a hand pressed to her back. Max, Dustin, Erica, and Holly came out of his bedroom. Jason Carver stood on the doorstep, looking unhinged with a forced smile on his face.

"Good morning, sir, ma'am, I was wondering if I could speak to your son. I was told yesterday that he spends a lot of time with Eddie Munson," Jason said. "I'm looking for Eddie."

"Why are you looking for my nephew?" Wayne asked coldly.

Nancy turned to Eddie and pushed him behind over the arm of the couch as quietly as she could before throwing a blanket over him. Steve quickly sat on the arm to hide him further.

"Oh, you're Eddie's uncle," Jason said.

"You didn't answer my question, son. What do you want with my nephew?" He asked.

"We just want to ask him a few questions, is all. We're working on a project together," Jason said.

"You and the entire basketball team are working on a project with my nephew?" Wayne asked in disbelief. "Why don't I believe that?"

"Because you're not a goddamn idiot," Dustin said and moved to stand beside them. "Eddie isn't here."

"Now, why don't I believe that?" Jason asked. "We just don't want to fail."

"Son, Eddie isn't here," Wayne asked.

"So, get off my property," Claudia said. "Before I call the cops."

"Ma'am - " Jason started to say.

Nancy stood behind them, glaring at him.

"You heard her," she said.

That's when she saw him, in the very back of the group. He was trying to hide his face. It was Lucas. It looked like Dustin saw him, too.

"Lucas?" Dustin asked.

Lucas froze and turned to face him. Jason turned and looked at Lucas in surprise.

"Sinclair, do you know this freak?" Jason asked.

"Excuse me, my son is not a freak!" Claudia shrieked.

"Lucas?" Sue asked as she appeared around the door.

"Mom?" Lucas asked.

"What's your mother doing here, Sinclair?" Jason asked and paused, his jaw clenching. "Why does this freak act like he knows you?! Do you know him?"

Lucas stared at Dustin, fear in his eyes, and glanced back at Jason.

"Yeah. I'm in Hellfire with him," Lucas said, squaring his shoulders.

"You're in that Satanic club with those freaks?!" Jason seethed. "You lied to us."

"No, you just never bothered to ask," Lucas spat.

"You know that Munson killed Chrissy," Jason said.

"Never in a million years would I believe that Eddie "I can't even get rid of a spider" Munson would ever kill someone," Lucas said, and Jason grabbed him by the collar. "Seeing as you're about to hurt me like you hurt Chrissy, if anyone's a killer, my money's on you."

"I would never hurt Chrissy," Jason snapped as Sue screeched at him to let Lucas go.

"The bruises on her arm from all the times you dragged her around like a rag doll told me otherwise," Lucas said. "She told me not to tell anyone."

Jason roared and raised his fist to hit him. Sue grabbed him by the arm to pull him back. Suddenly, Eddie jumped out from under the blanket and moved towards the doorway.

"I'm the one you're looking for, sweetheart," Eddie glared. "Get your fucking hand off my sheep."

Jason roared again, looking more manic than he did before. He was about to dive on top of him when Wayne and Charles moved to grab him. They pushed him outside. Nancy vaguely heard her mother rushing toward the kitchen to more than likely call the cops. Ted joined in with Steve when the other jocks tried to enter the house to get to Eddie. Robert Buckley quickly moved to help.

"Erica, take Holly to Dustin's room now," Nancy said. "Please. I don't want her to get hurt. I trust you to keep her safe."

Erica nodded solemnly and didn't make a single complaint as she took Holly to the back of the house. Jason made his way into the house and swung at Eddie, his fist connecting with his face. Mayhem hissed. Jason pushed Eddie to the floor as the others fought of the jocks, including Nancy and Dustin now. Max yelled and tried to pull Jason off of Eddie. Jason raised his hand and backhanded Max across the face. She fell to the floor. Suddenly, it was like Susan was awake for the first time in a long time, and her eyes were filled with fire. She let out a holler, and with a strength that surprised everyone, she pulled Jason off of Eddie. Susan raised her fist and punched him across the face, her knuckles connecting with his nose with a loud crunch. Mayhem pounced and sunk her teeth into Jason's neck. Jason screamed, pulled the cat off of him, and threw her. Luckily, the cat landed on her feet. Susan pulled Max into her arms, crying.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she whispered as Max clung to her.

The jocks were still trying to come in, and a couple managed to slip in, including one that looked like an evil version of Dustin. He knocked his elbow into Nancy's face, and judging by the fact her lip was bleeding, it had been cut on her teeth. As she was sitting on the floor in a daze, another one stormed in as Claudia moved to help while Steve and Eddie dove at Evil Dustin. Robin jumped on his back as he punched Steve repeatedly, but he managed to slam Robin into the door to get her off and charged at Eddie. Nora Buckley pulled Robin out of the way and into her arms. The next one who came in knocked harshly into Claudia, causing her to fall backward and hit her head on the door with a loud thunk. She looked more dazed than Nancy, her eyes out of focus.

"Claudia!" Wayne yelled, and suddenly he was at her side, his eyebrow bleeding. "Darling?"

"Mommy!" Dustin yelled out.

"Mom?!" Steve’s scream followed Dustin's.

As Nancy knelt next to Claudia, blood pooling in her own mouth, she caught a glimpse of Patrick McKinney standing outside looking like he wanted to be anywhere else. Suddenly, the sound of sirens and the squeal of tires caused everyone to freeze as cop cars pulled up to the Henderson house. Cops came out and pointed their weapons at the jocks. Leading the charge was Chief Powell. Evil Dustin, who Nancy had remembered, was called Andy, had Eddie by the throat and holding him hostage.

"They barged into my home, hurt my mother, and now they're trying to hurt my friend," Dustin said, his nose bleeding.

"He killed Chrissy," Jason said.

"No, son, he didn't," Chief Powell said. "Tell your friend to let him go."

"Hey, Chief, I think there's something wrong with this one," Callahan called out.

Nancy peered out the door and saw that Patrick was staring ahead as he stood stock still. Suddenly, Patrick flew up into the air. Everyone screamed, and even the cops jumped back. Jason gaped and pointed at Patrick.

"I told you!" Jason shrieked. "He's using the powers of the devil!"

Meanwhile, Eddie was struggling to breathe as Andy held him tighter. Jason clenched his fist angrily as he spewed nonsense and begged the cops to shoot Eddie. The sounds of Patrick's bones snapping caused everyone to jump. Jason screamed and lowered his hand quickly. Just as he did that, Patrick's body fell to the ground. Jason stared at his hands in shock. Nancy knew that there was no way that Jason could have done that, but to everyone else, it looked differently. The cops acted quickly and pointed their weapons at Jason. They were all screaming at him. Chief Powell raised his hand to quiet them and pointed his gun at Jason.

"Son, I'm going to need you to lay on the ground and interlock your fingers together behind your head," Chief Powell said.

Trembling, Jason did as he was told. He was soon arrested along with all the other jocks. Eddie lay next to Nancy, sucking in air as a cop took Andy away. Chief Powell quickly called in an ambulance for Claudia and the coroner for Patrick. Suddenly, Nancy's dad was by her side, helping her up. He was trembling, his glasses crooked and broken as he pulled Nancy into a hug. She clung to him and once again burst into tears, the taste of her own blood still on her tongue.

Chapter Twenty-Two

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sir-phineas-lost · 9 months

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TDP Book 5: Water

So this apparently dropped almost a week earlier than what was announced and I binged all of it at once as usual. Since I only just finished it I can’t quite tell if I like it better or worse than previous seasons (for summary: I loved the first 2 because it looked like they were heading somewhere really interesting, I hated season 3 because it completely dropped the ball and season 4 was starting to head back in the right direction). I feel like I should write a few things down to sort them out. Lots of spoilers below.

I think it was the right decision to split the party up more than they were last season because it no longer feels like Ezran is just hanging around for the sake of it and gives Rayla and Callum more time to interact and rebuild their relationship. I still don’t care one iota about said relationship because they are boring MC-shipping, but at least it doesn’t feel like it is actively eating up others’ screen-time.

The detour to Lux Aurea feel superfluous. It is very disconnected from the other subplot involving Karim and Kim’dael and the one lasting consequence (Zubeia’s wound) is apparently healed by the end of the season with absolutely no input from the main cast. Obviously this is setup for next season and this mysterious mushroom-mage but I can’t help but feel that there had to be a more convenient way to get there.

As usual, Claudia remains the very best part of the show and I will not hear a bad word about her. Her worry for Viren is so absolutely palpable it hurts and for once I think they dodged all the pitfalls of framing it as a sin. Having Terry around proves to be the best change to the show as a whole since the timeskip and he keeps being a positive influence on Claudia without being judgemental about it.

This also makes it pretty jarring when we get to Claudia’s final confrontation with the gang and after a full season of humanizing her and proving that she will listen to reason instead of going for the kill, she goes into full villain-mode from the start with crazy ranting and “I will destroy you all” speeches. All so that the gang can feel uncomplicated in dealing out the most graphic violence in the show so far. I used to joke that I would be ok with Claudia reducing elven cities to ash, I now think I would be fine with her ripping out Ezran’s spine while making Callum watch. As a treat.

Side-note: I am very ok with the trend of Claudia transforming into monster-ladies for big fights.

Please keep that up.

Viren also continues his positive development from last season, but unfortunately it is the exact kind of “redemption” I didn’t want for him and Claudia. The kind where it is all about him agreeing with everyone else that everything he ever does sucks and that dark magic is unambiguously evil. Sorry to people who like this development but I don’t see a lot of moral complexity in doing a 180.

Callum actually has a pretty interesting arc this season. After being convinced last season that it was his curiosity that would make him susceptible to Aaravos’ influence it instead draws direct parallells between him and Claudia by having love for his friends and especially Rayla be the reason he breaks his own moral code. It still relies heavily on the show’s nonsensical policy on dark magic for his guilt to make sense but it is something.

Unfortunately the show seems committed to its policy of character-centric morality. Ezran can make a speech to Callum about how they should focus on containing Aaravos instead of killing him because violence should be a last resort, and yet make no attempt at anything but violence when stopping Claudia.

Overall I just find it ironic how a book called “Ocean” manages to drive home how shallow this whole show is. It paints its main thesis on its forehead but has absolutely nothing of interest to say about it. “It is bad to do bad things for good reasons”. No shit Sherlock. Come back when you actually have something to say about what makes something bad in the first place or how to deal with the things that made someone think the bad thing was necessary.

#the dragon prince #tdp #tdp meta #meta #tdp critical #book 5: water #book 5 spoilers #tdp spoilers

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allhalesterekstilinski · 10 months

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I do like complaining about t*en w*lf, it’s a hobby honestly. I’ve been thinking a lot about the parents lately, so I decided to give my brutally honest opinions about each of them. In case you don’t want to read all of my opinions, TLDR I don’t like most of the parents.

If you do want to hear my reasonings, I’ll put it under the cut because there is a lot of negativity.

These are my opinions and I’m explaining why I feel the way I do. You are by no means obligated to agree with me, and I’m not saying your opinions are wrong, all I ask is you are respectful.

This is my interpretation of the characters and their actions (as parents, not every single decision they’ve ever made). My interpretation may be influenced by my own experiences. If you disagree, I welcome you make your own post. If you really hate what I have to say, block me.

I do try to look at good and bad parenting decisions from each parent, but depending on what the act itself is, some hold more weight than others, as well as the number of good vs bad.

Let’s start with the dads

Noah Stilinski

Good

Said he would burn the sheriff’s station to the ground to protect Stiles

Was frantically looking for him when he went missing (on multiple occasions)

Pointed a gun at Chris when he thought he was going to shoot “Stiles”

Tried to help him get out of the train station

Stopped drinking (this is twofold, it was good for Stiles and for himself)

Bad

In regards to the first point, he followed it up with ‘a good way to forgive yourself is to forgive someone else.’ He made it all about Scott. I know he wasn’t aware of what Scott said, but Scott doesn’t need to be forgiven

“I don’t want to feel worse by yelling at my son” this sounds to me like he blames Stiles for getting fired. He shouldn’t have been fired, but he also shouldn’t be blaming Stiles

Stiles comes to him with XYZ and Noah doesn’t believe him. Scott comes to him with XYZ and he believes him. Not cool to believe someone else over your own kid, especially when they said the same thing. This happens multiple times

Edit to add: He basically calls Stiles a liar and never apologizes for it

Noah agreed to let Stiles to go Eichen. Even if he tried to back out later, he still let him go through with it

This one seems more minor, but not telling your kid who you’re going on a date with. Kinda awkward that it’s his crush’s mom

He leaves Stiles with Claudia. He thinks his job is more important than to support his son and his dying wife. He also did this knowing that Claudia assaulted Stiles. That’s not a great way to say you care about your kid (Noah, not Claudia, her too though)

“Thank you, son I should have had.” This is not funny. I don’t give a fuck what Stiles said before this. That’s not funny. You don’t joke about wanting someone else to be your kid. My dad made it very obvious he loved my step-brothers more than me and that shit is painful. (Additionally I’m sick of seeing “if you think that’s bad parenting, you had good parents.” I think that’s bad parenting and I had a shitty parent. There are real people in real life whose parents don’t like them and wish to trade them for a different kid. I think this is one of the most hurtful things spoken in the show)

He doesn’t know where Stiles is (in "Fury”) when the gun goes off and he calls out for Scott first. Before Stiles. He cares more about Scott’s than Stiles’s well-being. Even if he did know where Stiles was, you call out for your kid first to make sure they’re okay

Yelling “I’m the dad, you’re the son!” Obviously Stiles does not feel like a child in this relationship. He’s too busy being an adult

Additional note: I have no problem with Noah acting like a father figure to those who don’t have dads or good dads, but he should really focus on being a good dad to his own kid first. So far he’s not doing a bang up job.

Chris Argent

Good

Allowed her to take mental health days come season 3

Bad

Told Allison she was responsible for the deaths of everyone if she didn’t tell him who the kanima was. Even if that was true, saying that to your kid’s face and showing them a corpse killed by the kanima is not a good move

Kidnapped his daughter, probably traumatizing her, and implied he would be forced to kill her if she were to change into a werewolf (the last part screams conditional love. And don’t come at me with “that was season 2, he changed later.” No, he didn’t. Chris is not an ally to werewolves, only Scott, and I will fight you)

Emotionally manipulated her into not seeing Scott again by threatening to kill him. (He’s also a hypocrite because in season 1 Kate also held a gun to Scott’s head and he said that wasn’t okay. Doesn’t matter if he wasn’t going to shoot Scott, unlike his sister, threatening it is bad enough)

Allison tells Scott not to laugh when she talks about archery, she also tells Jackson not to laugh before she confides something in him. This sounds like Chris and Victoria blow her off. She still has a box of art she produced from over her life claiming all of it was terrible. It sounds like Chris and Victoria said that to her. If she really truly hated it, she probably wouldn’t keep it. At least not in her room, maybe in storage, but at the moment it’s sitting there as a reminder she’s not good enough

Hid a lot of information from her (the truth about Victoria, the hunter thing – if she was meant to carry on the job, he waited an awful long time to get her into it, but whatever. The fact that he knew about the telluric currents and Gerard being alive)

This is the big one. This is it for me. She told him she loves him and HE DOESN’T SAY IT BACK!!!!

You tell your kid you love them, especially if they say it first. He kissed her head and fucking walked away. I don’t care what your familial love language is, if you can’t tell a person that you either helped make and/or raised or whatever that you love them, don’t be a parent. That shit hurts

He didn’t go to her when she died. She died in Scott’s arms. Chris stood there and watched. Maybe he was in shock, but that doesn’t sound like very good CoMpArTmEnTaLiZiNg. That would have been a good time to say you love your kid, but no. (If you believe the unreliable narrator theory, I certainly do, maybe he did go to her, but this isn’t what we saw in the episode.)

Peter Hale

Good

Wanted to connect with his child when he found out he had one

Was willing to do a big favor for Lydia just to get the name of his child (which was a big deal to him)

Spent thousands of dollars (and we all know how stingy Peter is) to get information on her

Was willing to get burned alive again to see his daughter (6.05)

Used himself as a distraction for the Ghost Riders to save Malia. Twice (the first time was when they were in the tunnels, and then fought them again in the library)

Similarly Peter, who just got done saying he wasn’t sure how Malia could be his daughter since she lacks self-preservation instincts, is willing to potentially sacrifice himself and tells her to run

Her calling him “Dad” snapped him out of the trance

The Anuk-ite used her voice against him, meaning his greatest fear was something happening to her

Bad

Wanted Malia to kill Kate (why? He could do it. Actually, Chris should have done it but he doesn’t have the balls)

Additional notes: The show implies Peter helped out Malia during the brown out in season 5 (through a flashback in season 6), but I never understood what the significance was, so I’m ignoring that until someone can explain it to me.

Ken Yukimura

Good

Was willing to sell out Noshiko, in a way, to help Kira (“Are you sure about that?”)

Was willing to go to prison for Kira when she was (knowingly) wrongly accused of murder

Bad

Didn’t tell her about her kitsune powers until they started to manifest

Didn’t tell her they were planning to go back to New York

Dr. David Geyer

Good

Supportive of Liam and helped him work through his anger

Doesn’t blame him for getting assaulted by Scott (”Are you mad at me?” “No, of course not.”)

Clearly cares about Liam, and his friends

Additional notes: We don’t get to see him enough. I’m mad about it.

Rafael McCall

Good

Tells Scott it’s safer for him to get out of town than stay when Monroe has her army

Bad

Pushed his kid down the stairs. Doesn’t matter if he was drunk or not

Didn’t really apologize to Scott for this incident, instead he pushed the blame to Melissa

Said he would come back soon and then didn’t

Not to mention he doesn’t seem to pay child support since Melissa is struggling and he offers to have dinner with Scott so Melissa can work more shifts instead of just giving her money. But I digress

Proceeded to not spend time with Scott. No phone calls or emails were mentioned (but I guess that doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t exist. Still didn’t spend time with him, though)

Henry Tate

Good

Was gutted when his family died

Thrilled to find out Malia was alive

Bad

Sent her (?) to Eichen to readjust. That is what therapy is for, not a mental institution. (And who gave her the go ahead to go to high school with a third grade education? The fact that she graduated eventually with the academic success of a nine-year-old tells me she’s hella smart. What 9 yo wouldn’t struggle with pre-calc if they skipped all the stuff in between?)

Mr. Lahey

Bad

Abuses Isaac

Mr. Stewart

Good

When a lot of people (Natalie) didn’t believe Tracy had a real condition or problem, he did

Got her help for the problem (the psychiatrist)

Did everything he could to ease her mind (the dreamcatcher, boarding up the skylight)

Mr. Martin

Good

Went to the hospital to see Lydia

Bad

Tells Lydia she needs to choose who she lives with in the divorce

Presumed she had more problems than successes in school

Went to the hospital to see her, though he seemed a little eager to offer her help with a shower, which was creepy to me

Never to be heard from again. He likely abandoned Lydia

Elias Stilinski

Bad

Abusive and openly mocks his son and grandson (not sure how he remembered someone who was taken by the Ghost Riders)

The Moms

Melissa McCall

Good

Supports Scott no matter what

Bad

Except that one week after she found out he was a werewolf. She didn’t apologize for that either. Much like Chris, she did not express her love for her kid during that time even if she was struggling with his identity

(^ Saying forget everything I said before, if you can do something, do it is not an apology)

Her punishments are empty threats or nonexistent. She doesn’t ground him for sneaking out past curfew, does not punish him for assaulting Isaac (that’s not boys will be boys, that’s straight up assault), or stealing money from the Hales (she only demanded he give it back, no punishment ensued), took away his car keys/Stiles but then seemed to drop the punishment when she thought he was acting out because of his father)

^ Also, no Stiles is not a punishment you can follow through on

Instead of trying to have a conversation about the lone condom she found in his room with him, she goes to the MOM of the girl she ASSUMES he’s fucking. She could have been way off

She told the drunk to get out of the house, not the dad to get out of his life. Wrong. If your spouse hurts your kid, get rid of the whole man. Toodaloo motherfucker. Your stuff is in the trash

Instead of telling her son to get out of town for his safety, she tells him to stay. There is an entire army out to kill your child. He’s always going to be followed and hunted, yes, but it just seems irresponsible

I’m positive this is because the writers didn’t think it through that far or they simply forgot, but fact of the matter is it still happened. Melissa let Scott live with the man who pushed him down the stairs. Why? How are you certain it won’t happen again? How are you certain something worse couldn’t happen? I’m not giving up my kid, not for anything, not for any amount of time. If Melissa has primary physical custody, why would she let this happen?

Natalie Martin

Good

Wants Lydia to see a therapist

Electrocutes Tracy to save Lydia

Bad

“Lydia! What did you do to yourself?” sounds judgmental. Perhaps, upon seeing her daughter has cut her hand by punching the mirror, asking what happened would be more appropriate

Lets a strange boy into her house to be alone with Lydia while she’s drugged up and in negligee. Lydia can wear whatever the hell she wants, especially in her own house, but to let some rando into her room is not a good idea. And she left them alone

Says in season 4 she will do whatever she can to help and then turns around and absolutely does nothing (though this may be less of a parenting thing and more of a terrible person thing)

Sends her to Eichen House for the “best medical care.” Excuse me, ma’am, that is a mental institution, not a medical facility. Also, according to the flashback in Season 5, she saw what happened to Lorraine. I’m not sure if she’s cruel or stupid, but given everything else we know about Natalie, I’m going with both

She doesn’t care when Stiles points out Lydia has a hole in her head. She tries to justify it medically. You remember what happened to your former mother-in-law. Do you believe Lorraine did it to herself?

When Noah tells her what’s going on in Eichen, she waits all day to get Lydia out of there

When Tracy injures Lydia and Lydia tells Natalie to run, she does. She doesn’t risk her own safety to be with her child. She saves herself

Victoria Argent

Bad

“What you want doesn’t matter!” Tracks

She’s unnecessarily hard on Allison it seems (of course you shouldn’t be hard on your kid at all, but I feel Vicky was over the top)

Additional notes: I really don’t remember much about her except that she was a psycho. Some of her points are tied in with Chris.

Noshiko Yukimura

Good

Wants to get Kira help controlling the fox spirit

Bad

Hides Kira’s powers from her until they started to manifest

Sends her to the skinwalkers possibly forever (and then changes her mind)

Doesn’t tell her about the plan to move back to New York

Talia Hale

Bad

She didn’t seem like she was a comfort to Derek after he killed Paige. She told him his eyes were pretty and there was nothing wrong with them. There are definitely other things she could have said such as “It was a mercy kill, that doesn’t make you a bad person” or “She was suffering, you helped her” IDK

If Talia and Laura evolved in the same way Derek did in season 4, how come he didn’t know what was happening to him? I’m assuming Talia didn’t tell him

Additional notes: There’s no information about her as a parent, and these are mostly assumptions

Corinne

Bad

Tries to murder her daughter

Claudia Stilinski

Good

Based on Claudia pre-dementia, she would’ve believed Stiles

Additional notes: And this is according to Stiles who wanted to (rightfully) make his dad feel bad for not believing him. Which he never does. (He also yelled at Stiles unnecessarily)

#anti noah stilinski #anti john Stilinski #anti sheriff stilinski #anti chris argent #peter hale #ken yukimura #david geyer #dr. geyer #anti rafael mccall #henry tate #anti elias stilinski #anti melissa mccall #sort of #anti natalie martin #anti victoria argent #noshiko yukimura #talia hale #claudia stilinski

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