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reds-writings · 3 months

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if only tonight we could sleep?

the dora lange case had come to a close...but was it really ever over?

(pairing: rust cohle x fem!reader)

a/n: inspired by getting lost in the sound of the cure's kiss me, kiss me, kiss me album. this is set somewhere in the same world of jealousy, jealousy!. your feedback, as always, is greatly treasured!

word count: around 2.6k

warnings: angst, canon-typical death (mentions of what happens at the Ledoux shootout), nudity (showering together!), cursing, dread, etc (minors go away)

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The Dora Lange case had finally been closed once and for all. All the bullshit and danger that had accumulated over all these weeks could finally cease to continue. You’re sure that even within the next twenty something odd years or so when all of this would be well blown over and buried you would never be able to truly process the fucked up-ness of it all.

Your mind was thoroughly numb and all of your limbs ached to no end. You could feel everything you’d endured catching up to you as your body finally allowed itself to let go. Adrenaline and sheer will had been what kept you from fully crumbling during the case’s most crucial and final moments. The shit Rust and Marty decided to pull with that druggie Ginger had already left you worse for wear. Discovering Ledoux and the horrors that were transpiring in that shithole was something you couldn’t let yourself dwell on for too long lest you wanted to find yourself having a complete mental breakdown. Bodies and skulls being blown to bits right in front of you. The sight of rich blood and scattered brain matter sprayed to stain onto your boots. Finding those kids like that…you’d never get over it. One was sentenced to a life of trauma that left her catatonic and the other one deceased. You’d had the naive thought more than once telling you if only we'd all been a bit quicker…

But there was no point in dwelling on all the ifs and maybes. That was a guaranteed one-way ticket to self-induced insanity.

You should feel relief that this is over. The weight of one of the many atrocities committed in the world removed from your down-trodden shoulders. Solved. A monster taken down and put into the earth where he couldn’t return to cause more strife. Why couldn't it feel over? Where was the relief?

You didn’t know much of what Rust and Marty felt on the matter, too busy dealing with keeping your stories straight on just how you all had come across Ledoux’s hideout instead of finding the time to have a heart-to-heart on how much this might’ve permanently screwed with your heads for ages to come. You knew well enough that ending the case like this wasn’t easy for either of them given their respective standpoints when it came to kids. Marty discovered those children and both men had carried them back. Rust had shouldered the burden of carrying that poor boy. A small choice of action that had your heart twisting even more painfully than you thought it already had during it all. The Texan could go on and on about the world being shit and there being no control over the horrors one would be put through trying to live life but you found that it was he who tried the hardest to shield others from said pain and horror whether he was aware of it or not. He cared a lot more about the human race than he let on but it would be more than ineffectual trying to convince him of that particular truth.

Things with Rust had been all over the place since the fiasco of a night you had after the bar as well as any event that followed afterwards: surprise, surprise. The time you’d initially aimed for to really sit down and decipher where it was exactly you saw the two of you headed had found itself slipping away at every possible chance. Neither of you was to necessarily blame, as the nature of your work was in constant demand of your full attention, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

You guys weren’t even truly anything yet and it was already this arduous. What kind of shelf-life did a pairing such as this really have down the line? It was more than likely that acting on any idea of pursuing Rust romantically was destined to never end in your favor. He was your coworker for Christ’s sake. Yes, there was no one else who could probably understand what it is you go through like each other but it was harder to separate other crueler aspects of your lives as well. Everything would get in the way of professionalism. It already had when it came to the showdown with Ginger.

Trying not to let your thoughts go down the usual Rust rabbit hole it found itself in you decided that you’d take the longest and hottest shower you hadn’t had the luxury of taking in weeks. Any extra time you had lately was reserved for quick and cold rinses to keep yourself up and at 'em’. Relaxation in any sense of the word was hard to adjust to after long stretches of work such as these. It was like your body had forgotten how to just be. Nothing was chasing you and there was no clock ticking over your shoulder to mock you that time to get shit done was running out. The empty quiet that followed would never not be unnerving to you. You had nowhere to be and nothing to do.

Where was the fucking relief?

With a huff, you set aside the jack and coke you’d been cradling out on your front porch in the dwindling evening light. The air was more balmy than the stifling hot you’d experienced day in and day out though your skin still held that essence of a humid dew that kept your hair and clothes sticking to you like a second skin. Dusting off your pants you made way to get on up from your depressing reverie only to find the outline of a familiarly limber figure at the end of your driveway. How the hell hadn’t you heard him pull up?

“Are you gonna stand there like a regular ol’ weirdo or get up here?” You feigned nonchalance at his sudden presence but your heart told another story with the quickening pace it decided to adopt.

Wordlessly, Rust ventured his way up the pathway and onto your shabby porch. He eyed the abandoned drink you had by your side so you offered it up to him. He loosened the tie around his neck and undid the first two buttons of his dress shirt before accepting the silent offering. It took two long gulps before the glass was drained.

There was a heavy silence for longer than what was comfortable. Where could you even start? You didn’t want to catch yourself in an awkward fumble trying to gauge what it was he exactly needed from you as it was clear there was a purpose in him showing up without a warning. The set of his posture made it seem like he was curling in on himself more and more by the minute. He couldn’t bring himself to look you in the eye, fearful that it would be his complete undoing. This visible deflation in action made you feel panicked for not knowing what assistance you could offer without having him pull away.

“...D’ya wanna talk about it?”

Rust shook his head softly as if in a daze. His eyes growing glassy and increasingly distant while he stared at your porch’s floorboards.

At a loss, you cleared your throat shakily, “Well I was just about to hop in the shower. You can come inside…hang around if you want. We don’t have to talk or nothin’...o-or we can if that’s what you wanna end up doin’ after havin’ some quiet.”

No reply.

“Well, there’s beers and whatnot in the fridge if you choose. Don’t be shy to helpin’ yourself.” You got up and squeezed his hand gently, warm and calloused like you’d been dreaming about since they held you. That already felt like ages ago. He still made no move.

“I’m here.” Was all you could say and with that, you loosened your grip and headed on inside then upstairs to your bathroom. After setting out some comfy clothes and shedding out of the day’s stiff attire for all the press work that entailed you waited for the shower to reach its desired heat. The person looking back at you in your steadily fogging mirror was almost unrecognizable. Bruises from recent incidents had barely begun to make their way towards the fading process. Skin so sullen and hair even duller. When had you started to look so tired? This beaten down? You felt sorry for anyone who had the displeasure of viewing your walking corpse as of late.

The spray of the showerhead above you was nothing short of heavenly. Any pain and misery melted away to be forever cast down into the depths of the tub’s drain. Your bones felt like lead as you let yourself stand there, waiting to gain the sense of motivation to start washing yourself clean. It could’ve been ten minutes or even ten hours before the sound of the bathroom door clicking ajar had you opening your eyes. The silhouette of the cause of your heart’s aching and beating stood beyond the fogged glass as if at a loss of what to make himself do next. You said nothing, not wanting him to feel as if he was unwanted or on the other hand forced to join you. To expose himself beyond what a casual act of nudity could display already.

It was another elongated moment before you heard the clink of a belt and the rustle of clothes being discarded. You were so far gone that it hadn’t occurred to you he was about to see you at your most vulnerable. He’d witnessed you at some of your lowest, shittiest points but this was crossing into an entirely new territory.

And yet you didn’t feel as scared as you thought you would. You didn’t find Rust to be as judgemental about the physical as he was about the metaphysical.

The shower’s sliding door worked its way open and you didn’t turn around until a few moments after it had closed. The look on his face was similar to the one you’d been subjected to all those weeks ago after the bar. One of true fear. Fear of being seen at his very core. Open and raw. Fear that you’d take this all in and decide to turn him away in disgust or disinterest. Rust’s eyes didn’t wander down any further than your face. He wasn’t here out of primal desire. He needed something…someone…you to help him hold himself together for just this moment. Any and all strength he usually had keeping him upright had escaped him after the weight of everything finally penetrated his psyche.

You found your hand making its way up to his face, tracing dampening tendrils out of his line of sight before cupping his jaw. That empty blue fluttered closed, giving himself a moment or two before completely relinquishing himself to your gentle touch. Your other hand met the other side of his face before you leaned forward to touch your forehead to his. The downfall of water in the small cubicle drowned out any other possible thoughts or worries that could’ve been had in the current moment. There was nothing and no one else that mattered.

One kiss to his nose, then his chin, and finally his trembling lips had large palms come up to rest on the supple flesh of your hips, steadily gripping you as if you’d float away from him. You separated for a moment as his hands traveled up to clutch at your back. Before he could bring you closer you kissed him gently once more before succumbing to his grasp. Settling with leaving barely-there imprints of your mouth on the expansive skin of his chest and neck, your own hands brought themselves up to return his embrace. You felt the soft press of a peck linger on the side of your head as his grip grew a bit tighter. Seconds passed until the subtle shaking of broad shoulders had you clinging to him impossibly tighter. His sobs were not all that audible but the shuddering breaths he’d take in every now and then were more than enough to clue you in on just how much he was hurting. Tears began to burn behind your own eyes as your pain melded with his.

Here you were, just two broken people who gave up all notions of stoicism to completely and utterly crumble in front of each other. Fully at each other’s undeniable mercy.

- - - -

You didn’t know how much more time had passed after holding each other but as the water began to grow more frigid you made haste to help each other wash up. You both stepped out so you could wrap yourself in your own towel before making your way to your linen closet to fetch him one as well as to not have him left wet and cold for too long. With your mind a bit clearer from the emotional release experienced, you finally came to realize the presence of the exceptionally athletic physique in front of you. He seemed to be in the same state of appreciation towards you and you caught yourself feeling hot in the face as you clumsily thrust a towel in his direction.

“You don’t have to be shy in front of me.” His voice sounded raw from lack of use. The first words he’d uttered since he’d come here.

You tucked a wet piece of hair behind your ear, trying to casually meet his stare, “I know. Just didn’t expect us to end up here when you showed up is all. It’s just catchin’ up to me…” The pinch of your chin between long fingers drew you to kiss him again.

“You’re everythin'...and then some.”

You fought a self-deprecating scoff but he said it as if it were the most simplest fact in the world. You had no choice but to believe him.

“Let’s just find you some clothes. I am in dire need of one looong hibernation after everythin’. You too, mister.” You flicked his chest then slinked out of the bathroom. You finished any of the necessary preparations for bed by the time he had wandered into your room. The window you cracked open let in a gentle breeze while the warm glow of the few candles that had been lit danced in the haven you created. Whether you wanted a form of light for the sake of your own comfort or it being done out of some subconsciously innate need to keep Rust out of the dark for the night, you didn’t care to unpack.

Climbing into bed once and for all, you lay facing each other. Letting peace and stillness settle in.

“We did it y’know…it’s over. We can be okay.” You couldn’t help but say. Feeling the need to find something to reaffirm the so-called fact that should’ve been comforting at the end of all this. Anything to soothe underlying anxiety as the heavy shadow of the unknown and incomplete loomed over you. It should’ve been over but Ledoux was but a small piece to a hugely fragmented puzzle. Both of you knew it deep down but hadn’t the strength to confirm it out loud. Afraid to shatter this sense of temporary false security.

This was far from being done and dealt with. From being fully uncovered.

Rust didn’t say anything else as he pulled you into the warmth of his chest. Caging you in with no choice but to surrender to the silent feeling of safety he was trying to provide you. You could only pray that the two of you could make it through anything as you both found yourselves victims to the passing of time and any other trials it had ready for you.

Especially with whatever was waiting for you on the other side of Carcosa.

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a/n: ahhhh! hurt/comfort is always a guilty pleasure. sorry for the immense dread at the end. i'm thinking of cooking up another fic that draws back to what exactly went down with our trio and ginger if that's something of interest to you all! thanks for reading!

#reds-writings #rust cohle #true detective season 1 #rust cohle imagine #rust cohle x reader #true detective imagine #matthew mcconaughey #true detective

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jabberwockprince · 3 months

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SPINA VENATORES A small organization of mercenaries working for Manus Vindictae, tasked with erasing people from history as a way to call upon the "Storm". Their targets' names, families, influence and connections to this world will be dragged into oblivion.

Individual profiles and some more info/ramblings under the cut <3

The whole point of Spina Venatores is to be a parallel to Vertin's own independent group of Arcanists - the same way St. Pavlov's Foundation has her, Manus Vindictae has Venison and Spina. They're the mouth and teeth of Manus.

But whereas Vertin aims to create a safe, neutral space for Arcanists to thrive without human influence despite being tied to the Foundation, Venison is aiming to create a paradise for those they care about and no one else due to the heavy influence Arcana and Manus have on them.

Spinas Venatores is, at its core, a cult that was allowed to grow thanks to Venison's codependent and obsessive mindset - with them as the leader, all the troublesome and rebellious members of Manus Vindictae (that are much too powerful to get rid of or who are still clinging on to their former lives) will simply be assimilated into Spina or pressured to comply with Manus Vindictae as a whole. The third secret option is dying <3.

They also serve as a narrative device to remind everyone of the fact that, no matter how hard one may try, there's no way EVERYONE can be saved from the "Storm" - all five main members are related in some way or another to Arcanists that Vertin has met, they're people that weren't lucky enough to be taken in, who found themselves in the right time and place for Manus Vindictae to take advantage of their vulnerable state.

R1999 also portrays a LOT of oppression from various minorities that overlap with each other in very interesting ways, so I also wanted them to tackle similar things that mean so much to me - they're problematic queers is what I'm trying to say lmfao

The thing they share is that all of them are delusional to a degree, and that they're constantly haunted and defined by their relationships to others. The loss and discovery of the self through another, Ship of Theseus, cannibalism, body horror, being transgender as a really visceral and intimate experience, an obsession for love in all of its forms etc etc.

I don't have the FULL scope of their backstories, but I do know who they're tied to!

Venison was Pavia's coworker in a constant, obsessive loop of wanting to kill and save each other. Mutton was part of Schneider's mafia and romantically involved with one of her oldest sisters. Chevon was a regular visitor in Necrologist's museum and a friend of hers, she later went on to exhibit his many, many tombstones. Poultry is the "Lilian" mentioned in Darley Clatter's Stories. And Veal is a mystery even to me </3

Their uniforms are meant to look outrageous and outlandish, entirely out of place with the setting and their respective eras/times, inspired by fantasy - just BARELY reminiscent of Manus Vindictae by virtue of using a similar palette, as a way to drive that feeling of not belonging and delusion even harder.

Whereas everyone else is dealing with very real issues, all members of Spina Venatores live pretty much in their own heads (similar to Forget Me Not and how Manus Vindictae causes their recruits to become... YEAH.....THOSE MONSTERS....)

Venison gets the BIG COAT and the biggest silhouette because they're responsible for pretty much 80% of what happens within Spina Venatores! Veal gets the more simple design to allude to their whole unassuming, shapeshifter/Doppelganger thing.

They all have ribcage/bone motifs in one way or another, most of their jewels are meant to look like rosaries, they wear the Manus Vindictae silver cross and Arcana's blue color more often than regular members of Manus. Also! Hands!! Love the fuckin hands!! DID YOU GUYS SEE DIGGERS' MANUS VINDICTAE SKIN???? YEAH.

The naming convention being. types of different meats. is entirely because of Venison, you can ALSO blame that entirely on them <3

#reverse 1999 #reverse: 1999 #reverse 1999 oc #manus vindictae #spina venatores #purinsu art #my beloved r1999 OCs #also i love drawing stained glass GRRR ITS SO GOOD #i have so much info about these motherfuckers idk where to put it

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linkspooky · 1 year

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Jujutsu Kaisen, Chapter 213 Thoughts

Besides setting the entire fandom on fire, Sukuna’s ultimate objective being possessing Megumi’s body is a twist that just makes sense considering the themes of both the culling game arc, and the manga as a whole. Body-possession is a reoccurring idea, the manga starts with Yuji consuming a finger and having Sukuna take over his body, Geto’s body is stolen by Kenjaku a body hopping immortal, Riko Amanai was expected to give up her body as the star plasma vessel, every ancient sorcerer in the culling games is possessing the body of a modern day person.

Body possession, body horror, it’s something that happens over and over and for a manga where the main theme is how the lives of youths are continually taken away and sacrificed in the name of the previous generation and the status quo this just makes sense. MORE under the CUT.

1. Mind, Body and Soul

Jujutsu Kaisen is a manga where the youth have very little rights, not just to make their own choices with their lives, but even in several case their bodily agency is wrested away from them. There are countless villains who mutilate, or even completely take possession of a young person’s body.

In the first four chapters, Gojo’s interference doesn’t spare Yuji from his execution, it only delays it. The only reason he even gets to delay and live his life a little bit longeris because he willingly offers himself up to eat the fingers of Sukuna and be used as a vessel, a task he will get no reward for because he’s going to get executed anyway at the end.

If you use the youth losing control of their bodies and becoming vessels, as a metaphor for losing control of their lives, from this point Yuji’s fate is sealed. He is no longer allowed to live his life the way he wants to, he’s given a choice that isn’t really a choice, die now, or die later.

Yuji is literally referred to as a vessel, an empty thing that only exists to be filled with something else. Yuji himself does not act like he believes he has free will or a choice in the matter, he refers to himself as a cog multiple times, he even refers to the job of collecting fingers Gojo gave him as a “Role” like he’s a character in a script.

If Gojo’s goal is to create children who are free to live out their youths, think for themselves, and are allowed to grow up into their own people rather than existing to be tools of the elders then he has essentially failed with Yuji, Yuji doesn’t want to live his own life, he doesn’t expect even to grow up, he just mindlessly obeys what jujutsu society wants him to do and only sees himself as a cog.

One of the first villains we are introduced to is Mahito, who while he does not take control of epople’s bodies, he touches their souls and warps them into a still living but horribly mutated version of themselves. e does not just do it to side characters or extras, we see him use his abilities on Junpei causing one more young life to be tragically cut short in the most horrific way possible. Junpei’s not just killed, his body is horribly violated and he’s reduced to a mindless thing that exists a few minutes in tremendous pain before it’s heart gives out.

It’s not just his life that’s taken from him, but his body as well. The next arc features Koichi, a character who is born with impressive and unique abilities as a sorcerer in exchange for a body that is barely able to live and in constant pain. Koichi’s body is not being possessed, but it’s not really his own. He’s not free to move around and be a part of the world. His body is like a painful cage with bars made of barbed wire, the more he struggles against it the more he hurts himself, every second of his existence is uncomfortable. The only way he can interact with the world at all is by puppeteering a series of fake bodies.

This is another character who surprise surprise is butchered by Mahito, as a consequence for being desperate enough to try to make a deal to fix their body so they could gain a little freedom to leave their life support and hospital bed behind and be a part of the same world as everyone else. In the origin of obedience arc we are treated to the gruesome method of how Choso and his brothers acquire their bodies, by being forcefully inserted into a completely naked and helpless man.

That’s why possession in Jujutsu Kaisen works so as a metaphor not just for the taking away of young people’s control of their lives, but also the way their bodies are violated, physically, and also yes sexually the subtext is there. Choso and his brothers themselves are the result of a woman’s body getting experimented on, forcefully impregnated, violated (once again... probably sexually) all for the sake of Kenjaku a one thousand year old elder.

Move forward to the star plasma vessel arc, there is Riko Amanai who is expected to give up her body for the sake of the greater good, literally merging with Tengen to become someone and something else.

There is also Toji who is rejected by his clan and has abuse heaped upon him, because he was born with a body unable to use cursed energy that the Zen’in Clan deemed wrong. Despite being just as competent as sorcerers like Gojo and Geto he’s no longer considered even human and refers to himself as a monkey. When Toji returns in the Shibuya arc, it’s at the behest of a necromancer named Grandma.

In the volume extras it states Grandma kidnaps her grandchildren as young children, and basically grooms them into willingly offering their bodies to her to make them into puppets to summon vessels for dead spirits. Then there is Ui Ui who has to literally offer his body up to die as a part of his older sister’s Mei Mei’s technique, he’s expected to sacrifice himself for her benefit and exist to help her even though he is so much younger than her.

Then there is the most obvious candidate of bodily possession, Geto’s corpse is stolen away from them and turned into a puppet for Kenjaku, it’s been his modus operandi for one thousand years, taking the bodies of other, younger people and then using it for their own benefit. Kenjaku not only violated Choso’s mother, created the Death Painting Siblings and then abandoned them (they are literally aborted fetuses, the child abuse metaphor there is not subtle), they are also responsible for hundreds of people living in the modern era (including children like sumiki) having their bodies taken away from them by ancient sorcerers who want to participate in the culling games.

It’s also pointed out frequently that a lot of these ancient sorcerers have basically no motivation or reason at all that would explain why they are so desperate to steal someone’s life away to prolong their own.

Pompadour guy is a walking apettite, nothing will satisfy him and he’s killed another living human being, and he’s probably not going to be satisfied by that either.

Uro talks about how in their first life, they were a victim never allowed to have a name and a face, but they quite literally have not only made someone else a victim, they’ve stolen away the name and the body of a completely innocent woman. They take another life away as their life was taken. But if they’re owed retribution for the tragic backstory they suffered in a previous life, then isn’t the body they’ve taken owed their own retribution. Which is my point exactly, these older sorcerers representing the previous generation are continually stealing from the youth, but like, they aren’t even aware of what they want.

Kenjaku, Uro, Pompadour, they’re taking for the sake of taking. The bodies are a metaphor for the ability and freedom to live in this world.

Choso himself even states that the reason he sided with the curses over the humans is because he believed that the bodies of his brothers would be rejected, which would make it harder and more painful for both of them to live in this world... which true, they’re experiments, if they went to jujutsu college they probably would have just been executed, Nobara killed them pretty guilt free. They weren’t seen as human or even people with the right to live.

Kenjaku even entices the united states and other world powers to invade the culling games in order to kidnap sorcerers, so their bodies can be experimented on by the state for its own gain. They are reducing the bodies of human beings to resources.

It’s clear over and over again, bodies, especially the bodies of young people are abused, violated and outright stolen from them by older people, people in power, even their direct family or parents for their own selfish gain.

Which is where we finally get to both Megumi and Tsumiki, and while their possession is tragic it’s almost the perfect completion of this metaphor. Megumi’s life has never been his own to begin with. He’s a human being who was sold by his father, you know, sold, like he’s an object or a slave.

The fact that he was born with the Ten Shadows Technique has just made him more or less a tool to be passed around and utilized by others, Naobito wished to make him the head of the clan because of his inheritance of the ten shadows, Toji sold him for money, Gojo arrived and positioned him as Megumi’s savior, but really he just recruited Megumi to his own side because of the Ten Shadows Technique was a useful tool to Gojo’s own agenda. Megumi, and by extension Tsumiki are children who were abandoned by the adults around them and because of that have had very little control of their own lives.

They are children in foster care with no money, and no ability to survive in this world and the people who should be doing their jobs and helping them are exploiting them instead.

These two children, with no power, control or choices over their own lives have now even lost their own bodies, both of them taken away by elders who’s only wish is to exploit them for their own personal gain... but really, weren’t they already being exploited?

Megumi was never free to control his own life. He never possessed his own body, he always belonged to someone else. Megumi’s lack of control is just a lot more literal now.

#megumi fushiguro #itadori yuji #mechamaru #sukuna #jjk 213 #jjk meta #jujutsu kaisen meta #jujutsu kaisen theory #culling games #choso #kenjaku #gojo satoru

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eviltransswag · 9 months

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Ashiok Information Post

Nightmare Gender (they/them) and uses their nightmare powers for Evil, such as making most of a plane fall into a slumber, making a god for funsies to scare the other gods, and sending a seriously homoerotic letter to a repressed knight lesbian (Elspeth Tirel)

Non-binary nightmare artist who travels the multiverse causing the most fucked up trauma they can to whoever would be most entertaining. They once created a new god from zero just to spread bad vibes and make everyone in that world who lived in cities to suffer mad anxiety and dread about living somewhere a bunch of other people also live.

Nightmare creature with the coolest outfits

Ashiok does nightmares to people for fun.

Ashiok is a nonbinary planeswalker and powerful magic user who travels the multiverse giving people nightmares and creating monsters from those nightmares. Their head lacks the top half of their face and they have gnarly horns and constant billowing smoke in its place. Ashiok is genderless and mysterious. They revel in being unknowable and incomprehensible to those around them. They dress in flowing silks with all kinds of leather belts and golden ornamentation, and they have six inch claws. Ashiok has so far only been a side villain, but they've accomplished some nasty things in their career. We first met them on Theros, the greek mythology inspired plane. Ashiok manipulated some of the plane's cultures into a small war, made a deal with the god of deception, caused the birth of a new, nightmare-fueled god, Cacophony (didn't last, but pretty impressive), and plotted to curse the entire plane into eternal sleep before being foiled. After all that, Ashiok found the planeswalker Elspeth Tirel in the underworld, and learned about New Phyrexia from her nightmares. (For those not familiar with Magic, Phyrexia is kind of like the Borg, but with necromancy and body horror and religion. They're the game's ultimate antagonists.) As a reward, they gave her nightmares of the divine spear that killed her, which eventually allowed her to fight her way out of the underworld and back to life. So Ashiok goes to New Phyrexia, because giving nightmares to the undreaming, unstoppable machine that the rest of the multiverse has nightmares about sounds like the greatest challenge they'll ever have. They start interfering with the mind of Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, figurehead and ruler of New Phyrexia, and end up not only forcing her to dream, but to have nightmares about Elspeth Tirel, telling Elesh Norn that this one planeswalker is the only feasible threat to Phyrexia's might. Elesh Norn ends up so obsessed that just the possibility of Elspeth's presence at the final battle throws off her entire war strategy and leads to her downfall while Ashiok cackles from behind the scenes. Now, Ashiok is one of the few planeswalkers who's retained the ability to planeswalk, and the next upcoming set is rumored to feature them as the primary antagonist for the first time.

They travel into other people's dreams in order to observe or give their targets nightmares, including inducing horrifying visions to Elesh Norn, an overarching villain and who is a terrifying entity in her own right. They do this mostly because they can. They are a nonbinary body horror cenobitic....entity. AND they're hot.

Pulling a Bush in 2000 on this bitch

#character info

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lovesickbrat · 1 year

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Bunny by Mona Awad (Spoilers!!!)

okay so bunny by mona awad succeeded in areas I think my year of rest and relaxation by otessa moshfegh failed in which she created a satire that actually had something to say. the way awad deals with the concepts of loneliness (both incidental and self inflicted), female friendships, class and the pretentiousness of New England college culture actually feels purposeful. and the reason I compare it to moshfegh is because both books are satires with unlikeable protags but while moshfegh is too busy kissing her own ass and hiding behind “oh all art is apolitical” bc shes to scared to admit that she actually cares about the topics shes talking about, awad cares very deeply about what she’s writing which made it unsurprising to see she based it on her own experiences at brown university.

Samantha is not the most likable character and you’re either gonna cone away from the book hating her and her pity parties or deeply understanding why she throws them (especially if you read her as a woman of color like I did). there’s a constant theme of her being obsessed with her own otherness and its true especially when you consider (Spoiler) She created her best friend Ava from a swan in the pond . Ava is Samanthas ideal friend but also the ideal form of herself: cool, self assured and beautiful. If Ava is the good part of herself, then Max is the bad. Her dark thoughts, negative impulses and hatefulness. But he is also how she sees herself as well, or at least what she thinks Ava would find attractive, he’s smooth, attractive in a dangerous way, poetic without being pretentious (he’s a literal vessel for her to say what she feels about Ava all of which is written in her diary) and what I think is very very important he can fuck Ava. Something the bunny-boys couldn't do.

there's also the sense of how we lose ourselves in our friends, as female friendships tend to be all consuming to the point we really do melt into a hive mind and I think even the friendship with Ava is tinged with co-dependency. Samantha dehumanizes the Bunnies calling them by nicknames she gave them, robbing them of agency because of their perceived perfectness but once she is invited to the Smut Salon she begins to call them by their real names until finally in honestly the most disorienting section of the book they all become Bunny, to the point its hard to tell who is talking and I loved that I wish we got more of Sam as a Bunny.

the atmosphere and aesthetics of the novel were so fun a candy colored dark academia where we even see that the bunnies also put on airs around each other like how Kira’s voice deepens when she thinks shes alone, no longer concerned with sounding like. bunny. I like how each of the women have a genre assigned to their writing and personal style showing how even though they are indistinguishable from each other, they were their own people beforehand but they allowed themselves to get sucked into a vacuous pretentious bubble.

the commentary on class was great, especially with how sam is said to be too obsessed with being poor to have been poor her whole life and I think thats a very accurate representation of someone who's financial status has been precarious for much of her formative years and why despite herself shes so intrigued by the bunnies and feels out of place in her writers cohort. rich people love to blow smoke up each others asses, which allows the bunnies to write horrible work because at the end of the day they’re rich it doesn’t matter they're never gonna have to improve themselves. its also why sam feels reluctant to speak her true feelings on their work because she doesn't have anyone to rely on lest she gets ousted

the usage of the all female writing cohort with the singular teacher was a great nod to the secret history honestly the whole book was

I loved how it was a creation horror story as well as coming of age the horrific parts were truly gross and the way the cannibalize themselves (metaphorically) towards the end was satisfying as fuck

and a lot of ppl hate the ending but sam choosing Jonah was honestly cathartic, she isn't healed things aren't sweet and nice but she makes a connection with someone who has been reaching out to her instead of being obsessed with her own otherness

#coquette #coquette aesthetic #bunny mona awad

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legitimatesatanspawn · 7 months

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Since you made the mistake of allowing me to ask you questions, here I am! Who, in your opinion, was the more unlucky between Hurin and Turin?

Oh god who had it worse? I hate comparing suffering but honestly they both had it really bad.

While Turin had the ability to travel among companions and find joy and ultimately had a terrible end, Hurin had to watch the whole thing and then live with the knowledge. We also don't know what Hurin endured alongside all that since he was trapped in Morgoth's castle and that place was compared to Hell on earth but explicitly run by the setting's hateful Lucifer.

But even if it was just imprisonment and suffering, Hurin was still a prisoner in Morgoth's grasp to know no peace or gentle grace. For decades.

Turin's deal was also a heavy mix of curses shoved onto him as well as his own arrogance and pride.

Much like Denethor when he psychically wrestled every time to use the Palantir against whatever poisonous shadow Sauron cast on the scrying tools, Hurin only saw what Morgoth's own powers allowed or maybe even reshaped. A twisted form of Sight that meant that much like someone depressed or cynical, Hurin only saw the worst things or saw things in the worst light. Which is why when he finally saw Thingol, he judged the elf harshly for what happened to their son and his daughter. (I say their son because Thingol may have treated Turin as his own son.)

On the flipside his greatest suffering was watching someone else suffer. His son and surviving daughter, unable to help them, unable to warn them... and in the aftermath forced to live with the knowledge.

Turin had moments of joy and the ability to choose freely what his actions were but everything was always brought to ruin.

I really can't choose who had it worse. Constant misery versus gradual horror. But if forced to, I'd have to go with Turin because he lived it.

For anyone who's like "who the hell are you talking about? Hurin? Turin? Are they dwarves since the Hobbit's dwarves had all those rhyming names?":

By the way trigger warnings for three counts of suicide and two unknowing incest. Everything else is setting typical violence and betrayals. Turin's story is a mix of Sigurd the Volsung, Beowulf, Oedipus, and Kullervo.

Hurin is one of the famous human heroes of the First Age. Hurin is also one of Elrond's great grand uncles through his half-elf father Earendil. Earendil is also the father of Elros who is the first Numenorian king (long story there) and by the way is Aragorn's ancestor (with about 6300 years between the birth of Elros's first son and Aragorn so there's a lot of time there). Half-Elves are able to choose whether they want to live life as an elf or life life as a human. Both choices have their ups and downs but the biggest thing is choosing long life over the unknown of what happens after humans die. As far as I can remember, no one is told what happens to humanity. Not even Mandos (the Valar Archangel God of the Dead), or if he does he keeps silent on the matter. This is part of why Arwen is able to choose to remain with Aragorn and why her choice hits Elrond so hard: because not only is this Luthien all over again but his own brother made the same choice just as Elrond chose like their father to be an elf for other reasons.

Earendil by the way is the "Evening Star's" pilot because of a lot of reasons. The light is from the silmaril on his fancy crown as he drives the enchanted ship. It's THAT bright. How the hell he sees with it on I don't know. It's bright enough to be mistaken for Venus for goodness sake.

Turin is Hurin's son and honestly the person who I would've loved to see a grim edgy AAA action game about instead of the wonderful then mess that the Shadow of Mordor/War games are. Of course, considering his life, it makes sense that he was skipped over for it. Because there were some really nasty bits in it. As hinted in the trigger warning.

Turin's life basically has him picking up cursed objects left and right and being an unlucky SoB. Like the family heirloom helmet? Turns out it's magic and nopes away any attempt to kill its wearer at least through a head-based deathblow. Swords break and arrows deflect. Which admittedly is good, but it won't be the only thing.

His mom sent him off for his safety, he was adopted by Luthien's father Thingol (could do worse than a hidden kingdom's king, honestly)… but one of Thingol's counselors hated him for being an outsider. Maybe also for being a human I'm not sure but the guy was a Grade A prick. Saeros would not let up on Turin and kept provoking him and trying to get him killed, which just caused an escalation in embarrassment and pain on his side… until the elf was forced to run buckass naked through the forest and fell to his death.

Apparently other people hated Turin too because Turin got booted out before Thingol could stop it. I like to think that Thingol was waiting for the right time to bring him back when things calm down but elves hold on to grudges like nobody's business (dwarves do too, as to mortal men, so its not like anyone's automatically in the right here).

By the way I've touched on Thingol and Luthien before here for those just dropping in.

So, like you do, Turin runs across a band of outlaws and tells them his name is something that basically means the Wronged One or the Betrayed. The bandits were quick to follow him because they liked how strong he was and then went along with his leadership after he killed their old boss for trying to do what outlaws often do. So instead of going around robbing people and doing horrible things to people, Turin used the group to hunt orcs.

His best friend Beleg was worried, got permission to go off, and tracked down where the bandits were later and joined them as Turin's subordinate. Although some of the members of the band weren't happy with this fancy ass stranger just making himself home there. One of the people least happy by this was Mim, a "petty dwarf" (not petty as in petty but he is that too but basically it's implied that the petty dwarves are descendants of dwarven exiles so…) because Beleg is an elf and good god there's so much bad blood between the two kinds you don't even know.

Mim barely put up with the outlaws because Turin offered him aid as apology for something. Mim would later sell them all out to Morgoth but in return for a promise that Turin would be spared. Then after Turin's death, Hurin would kill him for is part (however minor) in what happened to Turin but Mim would actually curse his treasure - including or maybe just the fancy necklace that was later combined with the Silmaril Thingol got Beren to get and would later play into Thingol's death so yes these things connect god help us.

But here's one of the fun things: Thingol gave Beleg the black sword Anglachel. This is important because unlike most swords, this one is not only meteoric iron but actually super cursed. It is with that sword that Turin unintentionally kills Beleg. The sword thirsts for blood in a way that no other should. By that metric it is a good sword. But… yeah. The sword had to be reforged as it actually mourned Beleg's death by turning chipped and dull so it became Gurthang.

Turin wielded the sword in battle and slew monsters with it, but it was also used to kill people too. I forget the full details but the dragon Glaurung pulled some Looney Tunes shit by telling Turin that his mother and sister were suffering. Instead of killing the dragon then and there, Turin dropped everything to go back to his original home of Dor-lomin and walked in on an empty house.

Just imagine it. Man runs from a battle field for about 150 miles only to walk in on an empty house.

Turin learns some stranger married a "kinswoman" (cousin? cousin to a sister-in-law to an uncle? I'm not sure) to claim his father's lands. Remember it's been about 25-27 years since Hurin was around so someone must've gone "oooh easy pickings". Turin learns through him that his mother isn't there, then kills the man in a rage like he's Hamlet shanking Claudius. Then runs back. To be fair the murder wasn't exactly of an innocent man since Brodda is said to have forced Aerin to marry him and also intended to have children with her but...

While Turin was running back to find the people he left behind to save his family, Aerin killed herself via fire (not an uncommon occurrence in the setting really), and the kin to Brodda ("Easterlings" who have been under Morgoth and Sauron's banner with the known lands of Middle Earth being one of the large pockets of resistance against them) used it to do even worse things to their people.

Turin believed that all this was what the evil fate would be and yes this is part of why I say he's arrogant and prideful, including the death of Finduilas (Gil-Galad's sister) because of his own foolishness. Considering Gil-Galad was fine with Elrond (at least we think it's the same Gil-Galad), I doubt that he holds his family responsible for his sister's death because I know there's a lot of other people who would. So Turin thinks that's the worst that can happen, that he's now the master of his own destiny.

You can probably hear Morgoth laughing.

But what I want to know is how the dragon - who he fought again years down the line - knew that the wife Turin took later was actually his younger sister (who he never met because his mom sent him away to Thingol) traumatized and possibly cursed into forgetting her past. ... Morgoth, probably Morgoth.

Yeah. Okay time to explain that.

Nienor, the surviving daughter of Hurin (because the other one died when she was 3 to one of Morgoth's attacks), had no memory of her life before meeting the band of orc hunters. She was found shivering in the dark, terrified and half-death from being unable to find any food in the wild. So she was named Ninel and the only peace she was able to find after dark was when pressed against Turin's side. Eventually they married and both found happiness in each other's arms. … But when Turin fought the dragon, it broke through the curse/trauma and made Nienor remember herself. With that horrible truth, Nienor threw herself and their unborn child off a cliff.

So that reveal combined with everything else in his life similarly drove Turin over the edge. He spoke to his sword basically going "in my hand you've killed without care for any but the hand that bears you, so seek my own heart's blood and end me quickly". And the damn sword spoke! Who knows if it's the first time or the last, but it spoke and basically said it wanted to wash out the blood of Beleg and the latest innocent man from its memory. So with that sword Turin killed himself.

As I said, Hurin later threw the fancy dwarven necklace (cursed by Mim) at Thingol's feet and stormed off. The necklace combined with the Silmaril led to the hidden kingdom being attacked and raided and ransacked because you do not send people to get Silmarils (Beren) and then expect to know peace especially not when there's at least one of Feanor's sons in the area who are oathsworn (cursed) to seek them out.

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symbioticsimplicity · 1 year

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I’m in the business of pissing people off so trans!Steve

Stephanie Harrington started requesting to be called Stevie at first because like her mom, she was a fan of Stevie Nicks and wanted to be just like her. Her mom was thrilled by this and the nickname stuck really easily, to the point that by second grade outside of teachers and doctors almost nobody knew she had a full name.

By the time she got to third grade it was apparent to her that she did not like the set of things girls were supposed to do. Sure, there were a few things she liked, like getting her hair done and helping her mom cook and some of the songs her Dad distastefully called “women’s taste”. But dresses? Sitting politely through church services instead of running around outside like the boys were? Burping quietly? Dresses????! No, those were not for her.

She figured out what a tomboy was around fourth grade, despite her father’s constant disapproval and her mother’s repeated attempts to get her into something “propper”, she was stubborn enough to wear them both down. One of the few times she ever dug her feet in and refused to budge in her entire life. She didn’t care what else her family asked of her, would do it without complaint, if they allowed her this one thing.

The summer before middle school she cut her hair short. She cried, her mom cried, her Dad wasn’t there but she was sure if he had been, he would have made some sort of comment she wouldn’t want to hear. After the initial emotion of it passed, she found she liked her hair better this way. It was easier to deal with, and actually made her face stand out more. It the first time the little heavy feeling in her chest she couldn’t name eased a little bit.

In her second year of middle school she met Tommy. Tommy is everything she’s ever admired. She thought she had a crush on him for the longest time, couldn’t explain why else her eye would be so drawn to him in certain outfits that emphasized his shoulders or the narrow taper of his waist. But thinking about kissing him made her want to gag so she stayed confused enough to powder a little bit of tension into their friendship.

It’s not until the summer before high school that she figured it out, and only by total accident.

She walked past a TV shop, playing all different kinds of movies all at once. She wouldn’t normally have stopped but there was one playing a movie she’d never seen before. Later she’d learn it was the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but at the time she just recalled seeing a man dressed as a woman and thinking “YOU CAN JUST DO THAT?!”

She thought about it for weeks after, the idea of just being able to dress up as the opposite gender. Of what it would be like to have people see her as a guy. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted it like she had never wanted anything before. And Stevie Harrington was nothing if not determined when she put her mind to something.

She spent the entire summer at the library, researching anything she could think of to find out a way to make this work. She ended up researching history more than anything those first couple weeks, finding out that her feelings weren’t exactly new. That there were people going all the way back to ancient Greece who thought like she did. That it was something while not necessarily normal, it was still something humans just did sometimes.

She’d cried a lot that summer, but she’d also made a plan.

The first time she asked Tommy just to call her Steve, he’d given her a weird look but he’d done it. The first time she’d asked him to start calling her ‘he’ though...that had been a talk.

She’d never told a soul about what she’d learned and how she felt, had never really worked up the courage to start referring to herself as ‘himself’ even in her head before that. But Tommy hadn’t been hostile, just really really confused. Once she’d explained it, he just nodded and said that it reminded him of the way he thought he should be taller and wore lifts to fix it.

It wasn’t the grandest acceptance speech she’d ever heard but it was better than expected.

Steve’s first year of High School was the first year he started living as himself.

It was grating, the disadvantage of having been popular growing up is that everybody knew her and everybody judged him for it. Honest to God if it weren’t for Tommy he wasn’t sure he could have dealt with it. Tommy was like a guard dog, snapping at anyone who was fool enough to mess with Steve. He was witty enough about it, antagonistic enough to the right people too, that they stayed roughly as popular as they used to be.

Steve didn’t stop researching. His parents hadn’t been home often enough in the last couple years to drop remarks on his growing sense of masculinity. He didn’t get made fun of enough in school to really feel too bad about it. And while a councilor had taken him aside and asked him what was going on, she’d also given him the number of a professional psychologist to call.

Steve had been wary, of course he had, he wasn’t actually stupid. But he’d called all the same, since was sure the councilor would be following up with him later. The last thing he needed was her calling his parents instead.

The psychologist he talked to was surprisingly knowledgeable. Sure, he called it a ‘disorder’ which rubbed Steve the wrong way, but he told him that there were treatments for it too. Things to help make him feel more masculine, which wasn’t what he’d been expecting but the prospect was too good to ignore.

By sophomore year of high school, Steve had officially started HRT. He’d snuck the consent form into his Dad’s stack of business papers, knowing he’d sign it without looking. He’d done the same with the waver for the surgery he’d known he’d wanted as soon as he’d heard of it. No more binding, no more sore ribs or aching back. His medical bills were easily explained away as sports related injuries to parents who weren’t there to take him to the appointments anyway.

Steve had finally reached a level where he felt comfortable with himself. The people around him seemed to have mostly forgotten they’d known him any other way, and the few that hadn’t were now too frightened of him too to start shit about it.

His life was about as good as it could be, he thought.

And then the summer of ‘83 came.

#trans!steve harrington #stranger things #this got much longer than I meant it to be as usual #i'm making characters trans and no one can stop me #your faves are trans now sorry not sorry

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mlobsters · 8 months

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supernatural s9e2 devil may care (w. andrew dabb)

isn't it nice to get resurrected or whatever the fuck that was with abaddon naked but with your full face of makeup on

CROWLEY Torture. Brilliant. Can't wait to see Sam in stilettos and a leather bustier, really putting the S-A-M into S&M. Honestly, boys. What are you gonna do to me that I don't do to myself just for kicks every Friday night?

okay.

there's this little drum hit the composer uses sometimes that i swear is used exactly the same way in hannibal and it's been driving me slightly batty for a number of episodes. because can i dredge up a hannibal scene that uses what i'm thinking of...? well. this isn't it exactly but it's in a similar (or same) percussion instrument and reverb/effects on it

supernatural s9e2 / hannibal s2e8 - dramatic drums of doom

lol the transition of sound to the hannibal clip was so smooth i missed the drums i was trying to listen for in the spn one. sigh. this ... is why this watching one episode thing turns into a 2-3 hour ordeal.

SERGEANT (cont'd) So unless you can give me one good reason you got a couple of pretty-boy agents poking around my crime scene, I'm gonna put them in cuffs and spank your ass raw, understand?

all right. they are very pretty, can't argue with that

CROWLEY Oh, I know plenty. For example, I know she'd love you. Skinny, submissive... you're just her type.

crowley's in a mood. needs that weekly torture wank seems like

TRACY I watched a demon slaughter my parents. And the whole time it talked about how it was celebrating. Some dumb kid let Lucifer out of his cage.

that was unnecessary

kevin's a smart cookie, he better not be falling for any of crowley's bullshit

LOL practically a nip slip with how bundled up they usually are

ABADDON So appreciate you boys coming when I call. I think that's what I like most about you Winchesters. You're so obedient. And suicidally stupid. I like that, too.

DEAN Are we gonna fight or make out? 'Cause I'm getting some real mixed signals here. ABADDON I want Crowley. Or what's left of him. DEAN Yeah? What's in it for me? ABADDON I let you die. You give me Crowley's head, and I will snap your neck, quick and clean. You won't feel a thing, trust me. DEAN And if I tell you to get bent? ABADDON Oh. Well... you know, I've loved this body since the moment I first saw it. You're the perfect vessel, Dean. You give a girl all sorts of nasty ideas. So go ahead and play hard to get, and I'll peel off this "no demons allowed" tattoo and blow smoke up your ass. DEAN Ooh. Well, I gotta tell you, between you and me, it is a horror show up there. ABADDON It can get worse. Trust me. 'Cause once I'm on top, I'll make you watch. And I'll use your body. Have you ever felt an infant's blood drip down your chin? Or listened to a girl scream as you rip her guts out? Because you will. It's you and me, lover. We'll have a grand old time.

i don't really see all the threatened sexualized violence against dean in the same way as some people (which i mean, for me is good, because it's upsetting when it does read that way to me). this one is by far way more graphic and clear in intent and distressing. up there with hallucifer's constant mentioning of rape to sam.

angel possessed eyes are cool. janky wings with feathers actively falling off made me snort

ZEKE!SAM You are troubled, still. DEAN Yeah, it's just that, uh... this is on me. I was the one who talked Sam out of boarding up Hell. Okay? So every demon deal, every kill that they make... well, you're looking at the person who let it happen. ZEKE!SAM You were protecting your brother. I am in Sam's head. Everything he knows, I know. And I know that what you did, you did out of love. DEAN Yeah, uh, look, Zeke—I'm gonna call you Zeke—I'm not really with the whole, uh, love, and... love. ZEKE!SAM But it is why I said yes.

i am, however, here for someone making dean uncomfortable talking about his very obvious feelings about sam

DEAN This is nuts. I mean, you're Sam, but you're not Sam, and normally he's the one I'm talking to about all this stuff. I'm trusting you, Zeke. I just gotta hope that you're one of the good guys.

i'm sure it'll all be fine, dean

CROWLEY Please. Your little plan to have me stew in my own... delicious... juices... pathetic. You want intel. I want things, too. Maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement. Quid pro quo, gentlemen.

very hannibal of you

supernatural s9e2 / hannibal s1e13

"Savoureux" is the thirteenth episode of Season 1, and overall the thirteenth produced hour of Hannibal. It originally aired on June 20, 2013.

Episode # Season 9, Episode 2 First aired October 15, 2013

funny. the very special episode that everything reminds nic of hannibal

DEAN Well... if she is alive, then she's dead. In every way that matters, she's dead, Kevin, I'm sorry. I know you're dying to bolt, man. I get it. But out that door, it's demons, and it's angels, and they would all love to get their hands on a prophet. So even with Crowley here, this is still the safest place for you. It just is. And we need you, man. KEVIN Because I'm useful. DEAN Because you're family. After all the crap we've been through, after all the good that you've done... man, if you don't think that we would die for you... I don't know what to tell you. Because you, me, Sam and Cas, we are all we've got. But hey, if none of that matters to you, then I won't stop you.

well i do kind of love how quick dean is to adopt someone, this kind of emotional scene with kevin feels a little out of left field. like i can see the components that led to it, but kevin was out here being miserable and tortured by himself, dean gave some encouragement and drugs. but for dean just gettin all squirrely over ezekial saying he loves sam, now he's gonna have a heart to heart with kevin? i mean, in dean-land i guess talking mushy about family is acceptable, but the L word is not.

DEAN Crap. We're living in a freaking sitcom. What about you, how's the uh, the engine running? SAM Honestly, um, I feel better than I have in a long time. I mean, I realize it's crazy out there, and we have trouble coming for us, but I look around and I see friends, and family. I am happy with my life, for the first time in... forever. I-I am, I really am. It's just, things are... things are good.

LAYING IT ON A LITTLE THICK, SHOW.

choke back that guilt there dean-o

#supernatural #spnwatch #spn 9x02 #andrew dabb #hannibal #brian reitzell #he did the score for hannibal and it's slightly divisive because a lot of it is pretty discordant but i love it #i have had many thoughts and feelings about the hannibal score see the link at the bottom of my pinned post if you want to know more :P #tv score #spnclip

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heavencasteel420 · 8 months

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Steve, Tommy, Carol, and (I think?) Billy being one year older than Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, etc. has caused me NO END of problems in plotting fic. For example:

I just realized that, in Tonight, Tonight, I made Steve, Tommy, and Carol seniors in fall 1985, when they would have graduated in spring 1985. So then I had to choose between making them all high school graduates who have moved on (like, Steve could definitely still be dating Nancy in that scenario but he wouldn't be hanging out with her in the local Tragedy House with his buddies, so the whole first chapter is different), making them all high school graduates who haven't moved on (doable, maybe? But that would require either making Barb's disappearance a lot more impactful to them as a group, which means Nancy is in a really different place, or creating separate reasons which would probably be too busy), and changing the setting to fall 1984 (which means Nancy and Jonathan are both dealing with much rawer trauma, but they are the main characters of the fic so that seems like a better avenue to go down, and also it might actually make more sense with how I planned the dynamics between Jonathan and his New Jersey relatives). I did choose the third option ultimately.

I have an idea for a no-Upside-Down fic that's basically Nancy, Jonathan, Mike, and Will dealing with the conflicts I think they might've had in the absence of all that death and supernatural horror, and (for plot reasons) it bugs me so much that Mike can't be in high school at the same time as Carol.

I've had a couple Stonathan ideas where there's no Upside Down and Steve and Jonathan both end up at the same state college (Steve makes it because his academic/athletic performance is better when he's not dealing with constant physical and psychological trauma; Jonathan's dealing with a more stable family situation so he feels like he can leave home, but nothing ever really changed at home to allow him to consider an out-of-state school as an option). And it would be so much simpler for the set-up of these fics (as I conceive them) if Steve graduated the same year as Nancy and she broke up with him right around graduation before going to a different college.

#fic problems #stranger things #here's the problem with the stonathan fics:#nancy needs to break up with steve because (while he's a good boyfriend) he's pretty narrow-minded and callous generally #jonathan is friends with nancy and is aware of her reasoning #and it tracks with his experience of steve #so when he runs into steve at college he's like ugh. this guy.#but a year of college has broadened steve's horizons so he's cool now #so option one is that steve went off to college after being dumped #and nancy and jonathan hung out at hawkins high for a year #and i have to explain why they didn't get together #which isn't hard per se but it's not my first instinct #option two is that nancy dated steve long-distance for a year and dumped him when SHE left for college #but i think if steve improved in such a way she'd be like. oh. i am into this #so the answer. as it often is. is stoncy

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contrasting-realities · 2 months

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Lore for a Sims 4 Shadows House Game

I have a save file on the sims 4 where I recreated the shadows house. It is a challenge where the goal is to take over the entire map with the shadows house but that's not what I'm going to share today.

Nope. I wrote lore for this iteration of the shadows house and it is quite different from the source material.

To start off, this shadows house is an offshoot of the original, created by four shadows (and one living doll) who managed to escape. They are this house's "3rd floor".

Gabriel: A shadow with the same soot power as Great Grandfather, but who lacks a face. He was a big deal for the OG shadows house due to him being a second source of soot coffee but his doll died before his invitation from a deadly infection. This led the children's wing manager to lock him away in the punishment room to hide the incident, where he met the living doll of the group (who will be discussed later).

Monica & Margette: Two members of Gabriel's debut class, both were invited and passed unification. They wondered why Gabriel hadn't been invited with them considering that the Children's wing manager had such expectations for him. Monica is weird but mostly harmless and Margette is a blunt and impulsive woman who notably is uncomfortable around those younger than her. Monica's soot power is growth/aging acceleration or stalling while Margette can project events occurring in one location somewhere else

Pierre: A second floor shadow who felt like he wasn't being recognized by his superiors, so he hatched a plan to leave and use Gabriel to create a new shadows house. He is the mastermind behind this whole thing, a calm and collected sociopath. His soot power is the ability to control any corpse.

Rohan: The living doll I mentioned earlier. He was locked away in the punishment room because his shadow had died due to the CW Manager's incompetence. As a doll he was called "Roy" but his real name is Rohan, a long time ago he was a juvenile delinquent but the death of his shadow and the time he spent with the others after escaping gave him a paralyzing fear of death (since adult shadows don't age and Gabriel doesn't since his doll is dead). This caused him to allow Pierre to experiment on him, as Pierre is a mad scientist, for potential immortality, because he is immune to soot of certain textures (read: allergic) which Monica happens to fall under.

The new shadows house sits upon crappy land in the middle of a backwater area that has frequently been a battleground in several wars. The locals hated their previous lords and therefore the shadows took advantage of that to overthrow them and take over.

People also tend to go missing in this town, for reasons that aren't widely known but it seems to have stopped since the shadows family took over. The actual reason is that there is an eldritch horror asleep beneath the town who not only eats people from time to time but also makes the place a practical swamp infested with pests, the shadows house only stopped it since the creature assumes that disposed of pairs are sacrifices for it.

Now for the shadows house itself, it's functionally the same as the original with one major difference: no lying. they didn't have the resources to set up the same masquerade that the original had, so they instead offered the villagers the luxuries of soot coal and protection from the constant wars.

The children's wing was only created after a major war was declared by a different country, as this town is part of a region that is constantly changing hands violently, everyone reacted as you'd expect. Pierre took advantage of this to bolster the number of adult shadows to not only complete his final steps of his plan, but to defend themselves against any invaders who might come by (as adult shadows are superior to any humans).

The villagers know what the shadows family are, but worship them regardless because of what they've done to help. Living dolls are selected based on who's willing to sacrifice themselves, as unification is a well known fact in this place. It is considered a honorable thing to serve as a shadows face and even though there is memory alteration, it is mostly done to prevent outside families from trying to use their children to gain status/power (there was one incident of a child having a ribbon sewed into her face as a 'gift' for the noblemen, they banned any form of body modification soon after) and living dolls still know that they are humans, shadows also know about unification and that they are originally morphs.

Most living dolls are physically around 15 or 16 when they go to serve the shadows house and have a good idea of what they're getting into. I say physically because due to their small population, Monica uses her soot power to accelerate the growth of any children in the area by a long shot, the population is growing but fairly slowly.

Eventually, portals to different worlds were discovered. One leads to a 1950s type world while the other leads to a town infested with magic, both are alternate versions of this town and the new shadows house has branches in each, to help create more adults of course.

there are also 3 different timelines with different quirks depending on who became head of the first children's wing. Margette's is the standard timeline, Pierre's had him discover magic earlier due to one of the dolls being a bastard child between a human and a witch, and Monica's has her keeping 20 pairs at once out of fear that the recent war will be much deadlier than predicted.

(Also, this is all canon to one of my fanfics, but I'm not telling you guys which yet. You're welcome to guess though.)

#shadows house #sims 4 #shadows house au #shadows house oc

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dalishious · 2 years

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Dalia Hawke

“I have an excellent sense of dramatic timing. And good hair.”

Dalia Revka Hawke is an apostate mage and the infamous Champion of Kirkwall.

Background

Dalia Hawke was born on the 7th of Wintermarch, 9:07 Dragon, in Amaranthine's Chantry-run clinic a month and a half before she was expected. After nearly three weeks under care of the Chantry Sisters with no improvement in health, Malcolm discovered that the Sisters refused to allow magical intervention, fearing it would instill magic in the child. Infuriated, Malcolm stole the infant Dalia away, and began to care for her with the help of spirits. She soon made a miraculous recovery from the brink of death, and finally began the life of a seemingly normal baby. While simply relieved to have her daughter alive at the time, Leandra would one day come to wonder if Dalia could have been "spared" of her magic, had they listened to the Sisters' superstitions.

When Dalia was five years old, Leandra caught her chasing a wisp around the bedroom of their tiny farmhouse. Initially assuming Malcolm had summoned it, she was horrified to find that it was in fact Dalia’s doing. It was a horror Malcolm did not share, instead insisting that he would teach the young girl how to hide it, and that nothing ill would become of their daughter. But hiding magic is not such an easy feat for such a young child, especially one as overflowing with it as Dalia appeared to be. From that point on, the Hawke family lived their lives in a constant state of running. A month or two would pass before someone would inevitably notice strange lightshows coming from the Hawke house in the middle of the night, or in one notable occasion, a spontaneous fire in the midst of a temper tantrum. Things only became more complicated when Bethany too came into magic as well.

In 9:20 Dragon, the Hawkes had made their way south down to the small village of Lothering. By this point, Dalia had finally learned to better conceal herself, and Bethany grew masterfully reserved at a rapid rate. Dalia enjoyed seeing how content her family was here; even Carver, who held an enormous amount of bitterness over their constant running for someone so young, seemed happier. Dalia saw it as her job to not be seen nor heard in order to maintain that happiness, and led a secluded life with limited contact outside her family. She spent most of her time when not training with her father wandering the woods, wallowing in loneliness and fantasizing about friends. She prayed to the Maker that he would deliver her one. One day when venturing further into the Korcari Wilds than she probably should, a 15-year-old Dalia encountered a mysterious Chasind girl who called herself Morrigan, she herself being an apostate. The two instantly hit it off, and Dalia spent every day in the woods in hopes of it would be a day to encounter her again. However, their friendship was unable to last, as one day Morrigan appeared only to tell her that her mother said she could not see Dalia anymore. And she never did. Heartbroken and feeling like the Maker betrayed her, Dalia decided that friendships were nothing but inevitable loss and her family was all that mattered.

Unfortunately, there was plenty of familial loss to go around as well. When Malcolm died in 9:27, Leandra might as well have too, for it was as if she shut down completely. This left Dalia with the responsibility of the family’s welfare, while she herself was also dealing with grief. She tried to take her father’s job in Lothering’s mines, but they had already filled the position. She tried to convince every farmer she could to hire her to work the fields, but without luck there, either. That’s when she noticed the Chanter’s Board was overflowing with miscellaneous requests. Desperate for coin, Dalia accepted every single one, from collecting deathroot in the woods, to taking care of a rabid wolves, to intimidating someone on behalf of someone else. Dalia went from being completely unknown to being the village’s own little mercenary, in a sense. She had a sneaking suspicion that plenty knew of her magic, but said nothing to the templars, as everyone knew if you needed something taken care of, Dalia was the one to get it done. But even still, this only barely kept the family of four afloat, and the minute he was able, Carver enlisted in the army.

Involvement

Dragon Age II

In 9:30 Dragon when Carver appeared on their doorstep, exhausted, injured and speaking almost incoherently, Dalia barely had enough time to put on her shoes before the darkspawn were on their doorstep. The family fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and even still, Dalia would forever wonder what they could have done differently to get out faster and prevent Bethany’s tragic death. It was no small miracle that the rest did not join her, but instead successfully made it to Gwaren, where they hopped on the first boat they could to Kirkwall. (The miracle being a Witch of the Wilds interested in making a deal, of course.)

Act 1

Arriving in the city Dalia would come to call home, she agreed to work for Athenril’s smugglers, in exchange for her family’s entrance in the city and protection from the many, many templars. A year seemed like nothing to lose after having just lost her sister. But while that’s the kind of wound that time can never heal completely, she did eventually grow to better live with it, knowing that’s what Bethany would have wanted. And so when that protection ended with the year’s service, Dalia and Carver refused to accept defeat. They went looking for whatever chance of survival they could find. Eventually, all roads led to the Tethras Deep Roads Expedition.

Collecting the coin required to partner with the expedition was no easy task, but it was one familiar to Dalia after years of working Lothering’s Chantry Board. She might have even decided to simply stay satisfied with the coin she could get as a hero for hire... if not for the fact that Dalia was entirely incapable of keeping her nose out of mage business. With every injustice witnessed, she grew more brazen about her own status as a mage, much to Carver’s worry. Nor did they trust Aveline herself not to turn Dalia in, if she pushed too many buttons. It became apparent that whatever the outcome of the expedition was, getting out of Kirkwall for some time was for the best.

By the end of it though, one of Dalia’s biggest regrets is what occurred on the expedition. After losing Bethany to the darkspawn, she thought she lost her brother, too. The month that followed her lonely return was nothing but guilt and dread, only escalated by the antipathy in her mother’s eyes. When they finally heard that Carver survived the Grey Warden ritual, it was like Dalia herself had her life restored. Even if she could not see him, knowing that her brother was still out there made her feel whole again.

Act 2

Dalia had a hard time adjusting to her newfound wealth. After buying her mother's old family home in Hightown and setting up a steady illicit payment for protection against the templars, she didn't quite know what to do with the rest. Everyone she knew said she wasn't supposed to do anything with it, which didn't make sense to her. Dalia instead decided to create a charitable fund with Lirene's Fereldan Imports and the Alienage Hahren, making her a respected figure among the Fereldan immigrants and elves alike.

It seemed like there was no way for Dalia to escape involvement with whatever game the Chantry was playing with the Qunari. Dalia found the Qun confusing, but the Arishok had done nothing so much as remotely threatening, and even seemed to have a bit of respect for her, after she put a stop to plans on setting them up as mass killers with stolen saar-qamek. Many in the city began to turn her away as a "Qunari sympathizer," spreading rumours that she was secretly a spy—rumours fanned significantly by the fanatical Chantry Mother Patrice, who had a personal grudge against Dalia, for repeatedly getting between her and her plans of war with the Qunari. While her mother tried to warn her how important reputation was, Dalia figured that at least as far as rumours go, better that than the public uncovering her status as a mage. Then it wouldn’t matter how much coin she threw at the Chantry to turn a blind eye.

But having her own protection from the templars was not enough for Dalia. If anything, it only fuelled her hatred for the exceedingly corrupt system. Why should she be free while others suffered increasing abuse in the Gallows? She continued to insert herself into mage and templar matters, dangerously so.

A number of folks tried to insist she was spending too much time with Anders and he was rubbing off on her, but this only strengthened her friendship with the man. And strong friendships, Dalia realized, were really like extended family. She treasured all her newfound family, despite plenty of warnings against associating with them, even from within. Sebastian needed to accept her care for Anders, who needed to accept her care for Fenris, who needed to accept her care for Merrill. There was no convincing Dalia otherwise. Dalia’s friendship with Isabela and Merrill in particular blossomed into something far beyond that, despite all insistence otherwise. As much as Isabela resisted labelling their relationship as anything more than “friends with benefits,” Dalia continued to push for the “L word,” because the “L word” was the only way she could think to describe how she deeply felt about Isabela. As much as Merrill doubted her feelings for Dalia were reciprocated, Dalia adored Merrill beyond measure. She fantasized about them marrying on a boat and sailing off together, no worries about anything but the weather and waves. After years of dancing around the topic, confessions of love finally breached the surface. Merrill was the first to say the “L word” between them, with Dalia immediately behind her. Isabela took more time, but eventually overcame her fear of being loved.

However, marriage was never meant to be in Dalia's cards, after she was forever scarred by the sight of her undead mother in a wedding dress. Leandra's death would haunt Dalia for the rest of her life. In her early stages of grief, it was hard to think about anything like love, or anything at all beyond a dreading sense that she failed her mother for the last time.

In a very complex grief over her mother, Dalia refrained from leaving the estate for nearly two months. She left all house affairs to Bodahn, his son and Orana to handle and if not for her companions routinely coming to check on her, would have gone without any contact with the world. Finally, a letter from the Viscount requesting her presence brought her out of the house. Though Dalia couldn’t’ve cared less about whatever was going on between Marlowe Dumar and his son, Saemus, her instincts told her there was more going on. Sure enough, in yet another attempt to stir up a fight between Kirkwall and the Qunari, Chantry zealots had killed Saemus and planned on pinning the murder on Hawke to cement the rumours of her as a Ben-Hassrath spy. Fortunately for Dalia, Sebastian was able to vouch for her, and Grand Cleric Elthina took their side of the story over Mother Patrice.

After taking a spear through the chest, Mother Patrice was no longer a threat, but there were plenty to carry on her bigotry. Tension grew to a breaking point, and finally came to a head when all the stars aligned in the worst way possible. Isabela revealed the stolen treasure she was after was the Tome of Koslun, the very reason the Arishok refused to leave Kirkwall, at the same time Aveline attempted to arrest two elves who had joined the Qun as viddathari. Dalia was heartbroken over Isabela fleeing after retrieving the Tome, she still adamantly refused to sell her out. Unable to stand Kirkwall’s dysfunction any longer, yet refusing to leave without the Tome that Isabela fled with, the Arishok launched an attack on the city.

Dalia was forced to throw all secrecy out the window and defend the city. She had never in her life fully let lose her magic before, and surprised even herself with just how much she had in her. Figuring that Knight Commander Meredith would have her head after all was said and done anyway meant all the more reason not to hold back. For years to come, people would tell stories of how their Champion could make fire rain from the sky, raise the ground into stone prisons, and crush an entire Karataam to the ground with an invisible force. There wouldn’t have be a soul in Kirkwall who didn’t know about her power after that night, even if things didn’t come down to a very public fight in the Viscount’s Keep. But when Isabela returned with the Tome and the Arishok demanded she be taken prisoner, a duel between he and Dalia was initiated over Isabela’s freedom. In the end, Dalia roasted the Arishok with lightning nearly beyond the point of recognition.

If it was up to Meredith, Dalia would have been executed on the spot, after such a display of massive magic—and therefore in her eyes, danger waiting to happen. But with every living noble of the city cheering and fawning over their saviour, Meredith’s hands were tied, if she wanted to stay in control. She reluctantly declared Dalia Hawke to be the Champion of Kirkwall.

Act 3

In the time since becoming Champion of Kirkwall, tensions between the mages and templars only grew. Exacerbating this issue was Meredith standing in the way of electing a new Viscount, turning Kirkwall into a templar-controlled military state. Dalia grew frustrated with the lack of willingness from people to stand up against this, despite the fact that even the nobility agreed it was not sustainable. At every turn, she used her rule as Champion to defend the mages of the city, yet at every turn, this was met with more crackdowns from the Knight-Commander. The templars openly discussed Meredith sending for the Right of Annulment to Val Royeaux, while rumours from Val Royeaux were that an Exalted March against Kirkwall were in the works.

Before either of those scenarios came to fruition though, Anders and Justice pushed the conflict to a breaking point by blowing up the Chantry, with Grand Cleric Elthina inside. While horrified by the extreme act, Dalia could not bring herself to fault Anders, as she saw his act as that of a desperate man who tried everything he could think of, finally pushed to his own breaking point. Meredith unsurprisingly took it upon herself to enact the Right of Annulment, and Dalia did not hesitate to jump to the Circle’s defence. Though internally prepared to meet her end, Dalia made sure to put on a brave face and insist they could win. She was successful in rallying all her companions against Meredith’s forces.

Dalia was shocked over Orsino transforming himself into a harvester; she couldn’t understand how he could resort to such a thing. But she didn’t even have time to process this before it was time to face off against Meredith herself. For the second time, Dalia reminded everyone just how powerful she was, defeating Meredith and her red lyrium sword with overflowing magic. This display of power led some people to believe it was Dalia who turned Meredith into a statue, and not the red lyrium. Dalia found this so amusing, she has never corrected it.

Dalia and her allies escaped Kirkwall before templar reinforcements arrived. The name Hawke became a rallying cry for oppressed mages everywhere.

Legacy

When Hawke was attacked by deranged Carta dwarves after her blood, she had no idea what was awaiting her in the Vimmark Mountains. That her father was responsible for sealing away an ancient Tevinter magister in a secret warden prison was certainly not on the list of expectations. Discovering that her father was a blood mage just as she was made Dalia feel more secure in that choice, even if Carver was disturbed.

Finding out that Corypheus could potentially end the Blight, according to Janeka, Dalia thought about the loss of her sister and her home in Lothering. She chose to ally with Janeka because of this, although just before opening the final seals, came to regret this decision and at the last minute, saw her as under the thrall of Corypheus. Hawke switched sides and joined Larius, but the end result was the same: Corypheus was freed, and Dalia destroyed him… at least, so she thought.

Mark of the Assassin

Dalia was easily swayed by Tallis into joining her in infiltrating Chateau Haine and stealing a precious relic. It sounded like a fun day out like any other, and indeed, Dalia thoroughly enjoyed playing espionage—at least, up until getting caught. She took the news that this relic was in fact a list of names of Qunari agents rather well, all things considering, and agreed to help Tallis prevent Duke Prosper de Montfort from getting his hands on it all the same. She let Tallis keep the list, and hoped their paths would cross again.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

When Hawke received word from Varric that the Inquisition was in need of her help, she almost didn’t show. It was only out of her friendship with him that she opted to, in the end… that, and she enjoyed scaring the shit out of Cullen.

Dalia was disturbed to find out that Corypheus was not in fact dead as she previously believed. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for him being free, mostly because she was the one who freed him. She joined the Inquisition’s assault on Adamant Fortress, and fell into the Fade alongside the Inquisitor. She was ready to sacrifice herself therein order to see his defeat, but in the end, the Inquisitor chose Stroud over her to cover their escape. This only added to Dalia’s guilt, and she chose to go with the Wardens to Weisshaupt, hoping to help clean up the mess and hoping to meet up with her brother there.

Personality

Dalia is the type of person that commands attention the moment she steps into a room. She is loud, charming, and sociable. It’s not uncommon to hear from a story anyone in Kirkwall about how they met the Champion of Kirkwall at some point, as she has the habit of involving herself in everyone else’s business, for better and for worse. Dalia loves every minute of it, and is easily bored when not the centre of attention.

Dalia has undying loyalty to her friends, whom she considers her family, and would follow them to the ends of the earth if they asked it of her. She hates seeing the people she cares about upset, and will try to cheer them up by making a clown of herself. (Sometimes this toneless approach backfires.)

Dalia doesn’t waste time thinking about the past or present much. She’d rather focus on living in the moment, and living spontaneously. As a side effect, she’s a very poor planner for the long-term.

Her biggest fear is loneliness.

Trivia

While Dalia has a preference for women, she is in fact bisexual, and greatly dislikes people trying to tell her otherwise.

The Amell family are Inghirsh, their ancestors coming from what is today called the Fields of Ghislain.

Malcolm was a city elf originally from the Highever Alienage. He was sent to the Kirkwall Circle as his elder sibling was already a member of the one in Ferelden, and the Chantry does not allow siblings in the same Circle.

Being an elf, it is highly suspected that 'Hawke' was never in fact an officially recognized surname but rather one Malcolm adopted himself, perhaps originally as a nickname.

Dalia is almost a splitting image of her mother, with her freckles being the only sign of Malcolm.

Dalia almost always has a swipe of red kaddis across her cheeks and nose, a touch of Fereldan pride and connection to her beloved mabari. It was the work of a certain dwarf that led said swipe to be rumoured as the blood of the Arishok. It's a rumour that greatly amuses her.

Gallery

#dalia hawke #wiki entry

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colorlesseyes · 2 years

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before i knew it - steddie oneshot

Steve looked at the clock for the fifth time within a ten-minute span. He groaned loudly and Robin chuckled behind him.

“Looking at the clock isn’t going to make it go any faster Steve.” She said as he turned to look at her. She was flipping through yet another magazine, occasionally showing him a page that had a half-naked model promoting Coca-Cola or fancy perfume. Sex sells as they say.

“I know.” He said but he turned his eyes once more to look at the clock. “I just don’t know how it’s only been ten minutes.” He whined. The shift had been dragging on more than usual, it was extremely slow for a Tuesday. Even if they had a two-for-one deal going on for the summer. Keith had implemented the system to draw more traffic to the store, and most days it worked. Today was the odd exception.

The bell chimed, indicating that someone had walked in. Steve turned to the door about to welcome whoever came through. But stopped once he saw Dustin walk through the door, well it was more of a limp. His leg is still in the process of healing from the jump he made into the upside down to save Eddie.

“Hey Dusty!” He said with a smirk. He knew the boy got tired of the constant teasing surrounding the nickname that Suzie had given him. But Steve was allowed to poke fun at the kid, occasionally.

“Hey, Steven.” He shot back with his eyes scowling at Steve, he knew that was one of the things he could not stand to be called.

Steve rolled his eyes at the comment. And even though he wouldn’t admit it, he was glad Dustin came into the store on occasion, especially today. He needed any distraction from the time loop he felt he was in.

“What’s up?” He asked leaning on the counter, watching Dustin immediately go to the mature section of the store. Had Keith been in, Steve would have not allowed Dustin the chance to even browse the films they had located at the back of the store. But he couldn’t care less, as long as he didn’t get caught renting a rated R film to the kid.

“Why don’t we have a movie night, my mom won’t let me take home a horror movie that is above PG-13. So, I was thinking you could host? He says casually, picking up The Shining.

Robin finally looks up from her magazine. “Ooh, I love that movie!” Dustin looks proud of his choice when Robin says this. It was quite adorable how much the kids liked Robin; she was always on their side, so it made sense.

“So, what do you say? Friday?”

They both look at him with big eyes and how can he say no to them? He rolls his eyes and nods “Sure why not, my parents are at a work event.” The house gets lonely without anyone in it anyway, he thinks but chooses to keep that to himself.

“Yes!!” Dustin and Robin high-five.

The next few shifts at Family Video roll by, thankfully being a bit steadier with customers. Steve was working alone on Friday; he was okay with the quiet, but he did miss Robin’s entertaining ranting about Vickie. They had gotten closer since that day making sandwiches together. Steve felt proud of how far Robin had gone from only observing Vickie in private to finally getting to hang out with her more.

He was finishing up with sweeping, moving on to the next task that needed to be done before closing. He still had an hour, so he wasn’t rushing through the list. He sorted the tapes that had been returned into the correct genre, moving them to their designated spot on the shelves.

The familiar sound of the doorbell rang through the store.

“Welcome to the family video, how can I help you?” He turned and was met with none other than Eddie Munson, his all-familiar grin stretched across his face.

“Howdy Harrington.” He walked over to where Steve was standing and grabbed one of the tapes from his hand. The movement caused their hands to brush against one another gently. “Oh Labyrinth! I’ve been meaning to watch this one.” The movie had just been released the month He had wanted to watch it himself, mainly because David Bowie looked kind of badass in the film and he would probably watch anything with the man in it.

Shaking off thoughts of Bowie he grabbed the tape and set it in its correct slot, under recently released. “Couldn’t wait to see me, Munson, you just had to stop in huh?” Steve says returning two other tapes to their spot before moving behind the counter, slightly leaning over it.

“Wait do we have plans that I forgot about or something?” Eddie says looking confused and that’s when it hits Steve, he forgot to invite him to movie night.

“Shit! I forgot to call you after my shift Tuesday. Dustin wanted to have a movie night and I thought I had mentioned it to you.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t have to come, I don’t want you to feel forced to invite me or something” Eddie says as he shifts around awkwardly, while he avoids looking at Steve.

“No! Of course, you’re invited. I want you to come.”

“Really?” He then looks at Steve, a small smile creeping onto his face.

“Of course, I mean if you don’t have anything on the go tonight. It also wouldn’t hurt to have an extra person to tame the kids,” Steve says, and Eddie lets out a loud laugh.

“Well, if you insist on my presence Stevie, of course, I’ll come.”

Steve rolls his eyes but can’t hide the smile on his face. “Good. It starts at 9 tonight, at my place, so I’ll see you then?”

“See you then,” Eddie nods at him before turning and walking out of the store.

Steve runs a hand through his hair, looking over at the time. It’s nearly time for him to go home, so he begins to clean the rest of the store. As he walks past the shelf of new releases, he grabs Labyrinth and rents the film before closing.

Any excuse to see Eddie again. -

“Okay, so we have snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, alcoholic drinks, cups, napkins.” Robin lists all the things that Steve has shoved into the cart. “And we’re ordering pizza, correct? Do you think this is enough?” She asks as she pushes the cart towards the checkout.

“I think we’re good. On another note, I almost forgot to invite Eddie, he came into work before I realized I hadn’t called him Tuesday.”

“I knew you would forget! This is why I plan things.” She says and he wants to roll his eyes, but he knows she’s right.

They make their way to the cash to pay and then they load everything in Steve’s car before making their way to his house.

Just after they’ve set everything up the doorbell rings and Robin yells that she’s going to answer. Mike and Will are the first to arrive. They greet Steve and he lets them know to help themselves to any of the snacks that are displayed in front of him.

“So what are we watching?” Will asked grabbing a drink from the counter and opening it.

“The Shining,” Steve replies.

“Shit.” Will looks a little bummed out at the movie selection, he hadn’t admitted to anyone that he didn’t enjoy horror movies anymore. Not since being trapped in the upside down.

“Hey, I’m here. You can hold my hand if you get too scared.” Mike says, bumping his shoulder into Will’s.

Will smiles and looks down before a blush covered his cheeks.

Steve can’t help but think about how cute the gesture was as Robin answers the door once again.

Dustin, Lucas, Max, and El all come into the kitchen. Dustin helps himself to some of the munchies and Steve looks at the time.

It was only 9 now but he hoped Eddie hadn’t forgotten about the plans they had made.

“Alright! Let’s get set up.” Steve claps his hands together and leads the kids into the living room.

Robin sets up the movie but doesn’t press play just yet. They all break out into their own conversations, as they wait to see if Eddie joins them.

“I wish I dared to invite Vickie. But I don’t want to freak her out and rush into things” Robin says her leg bouncing up and down quickly.

“Hey, don’t overthink things. Next time we all hang out just casually bring it up and see how she reacts.” Steve attempts to comfort her but before he can continue there’s a knock at the door. “I got it.”

He swings the door open, Eddie’s standing there wearing his usual get-up. He had on black ripped jeans and a band tee. He smiles at Steve looking a little out of place.

“Hey! You came.” Steve smiles and stands to the side, gesturing for him to come in.

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t miss the chance to mess with you.” Eddie grins at him, walking into the house.

Steve rolls his eyes, trying to fight a smile. “In my own house too. Want a beer?” He asks, walking over to the fridge and grabbing two but then he grabs another for Robin.

“Thanks.” Eddie winks at him as he turns to walk into the living room.

Steve lets out a quick sigh, cracking open the drink to distract himself before joining the others who were impatiently waiting, mainly Dustin.

Horror movies had never been Steve’s favourite genre to watch but he didn’t mind if it made the kids happy. He sat between Robin and Eddie.

The opening credits began and Steve shifted a bit in his seat. Eddie glances over at him and gives him a look that asks if he’s okay.

Steve smiles at him and nods. Then Eddie moves his leg slightly so that it’s touching Steve’s leg.

A blush creeps onto Steve’s face but thankfully it’s dark in the room as the movie starts.

Jack is screaming on screen, surrounded by the cold and Steve lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. He’s relieved that the movie is over, although it wasn’t too scary he jumped at a few scenes only to have a hand placed on his thigh to ground him.

He was thankful that the room was even darker than when the film started, he didn’t know why he was reacting so strongly to Eddie’s slight touches but he couldn’t help it.

The two hadn’t always been close, but after almost dying in the upside down together they grew closer. Eddie would come to visit him and Robin at work, teasing Steve any chance he got, and even though they were constantly bickering Steve wouldn’t trade it for the world.

He stood up as the end credits rolled on screen, grabbed the empty cans that littered his living room, and walked off to the kitchen.

Robin was behind him with the empty bowls they had used for popcorn, “So did you like the movie?” She asked as she set them down on the counter.

“Yeah, it was good.” He spoke as he grabbed another beer from the fridge.

“I wasn’t sure if you were even paying attention.” She teased with a soft smile on her face.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You and - Eddie seemed to be distracted.” She whispered his name as a way of keeping their conversation for their ears only.

Steve took a drink and narrowed his eyes at her. “We we’re watching the movie, Robin.”

“I know, I know. I just noticed how close you two got. That’s all.” She wasn’t saying this to call him out but he certainly felt like it was.

“I think he knows I don’t like horror movies, I guess I might’ve mentioned that I still have nightmares about what happened and he was just trying to be nice.”

She looked sympathetic at this and she nodded. “I wish I could talk to Vickie about mine. But she wouldn’t understand.”

“ Steve had just dropped off Max, her trailer being the last stop before heading across the street to Eddie’s. He was well aware of the fact that he could drop them both off at the same time but he always wanted to make sure he saw everyone enter their house safely. Eddie pointed out this fact.

“I want to make sure you get home safe,” Steve mutters under his breath.

“What was that Harrington? Could barely hear ya.” He has a smirk on his face.

“Your face is gonna get stuck like that someday you know that right?” Steve says with a laugh. He parks the car as they reach Eddie’s trailer.

Silence fills the car but not for long before Steve reaches over Eddie to open the compartment on his side. He pulls out the Labyrinth tape and hands it to Eddie.

“I thought you might want to watch this, it’s been getting rented like crazy so I figured I’d grab it while I could.”

Eddie looks at the tape and then back at Steve, his big brown eyes looking at him and he grins. “Thank you, man I’ve wanted to see David Bowie’s ass in -“ He stops suddenly realizing what he just said.

“Can’t say I blame you,” Steve replies cooly, not wanting to make him feel embarrassed about his confession.

“We could watch it together if you wanted to.”

“I’d like that.”

Eddie opens the door to get out of the car, but he turns suddenly and gives Steve a half hug. Steve can’t help but take in the scent of cigarettes and a woodsy musk smell. “Thank you again for tonight and this.”

“Of course.” He says, biting his lip to refrain himself from saying something dumb like how good he thinks Eddie smells.

“Goodnight Stevie.”

“Goodnight Eddie.”

Steve gets home to his now empty house, he unlocks the door and walks in. He had gotten used to the fact that his parents were never home. As a teenager, he had been thankful but now he didn’t know how to feel.

After a shower he sits on his bed, looking at the bare walls in his bedroom. He felt out of place in his room. His thoughts always got dark as the night went on, the later it got the more he was consumed with loneliness.

He looks over to the phone on his nightstand, he debates calling Robin but remembers she was having a sleepover with Vickie. The thought crosses his mind before he realizes he’s dialed Eddie’s number.

He almost hangs up after the second ring but instead, he hears him pick up the phone.

“Hello?”

He sighs before saying, “Hey.” His voice comes out softer than intended.

“Haven’t had enough of me yet huh Harrington.” He can almost see the smirk stretched across his face.

He laughs softly. “Guess not, you’re just too irresistible Eddie.” He says it jokingly but he knows he means the words.

“What’s up? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, listen this might be stupid but I was wondering if I could maybe, like buy some weed off you?” He asks and then continues “But it’s super late and I know I should’ve asked earlier. So it's okay if you can’t.”

“No- yeah of course. You’re in luck. I just got a delivery yesterday. Premium shit, I’m telling you.” Eddie doesn’t sound annoyed and he sighs a sigh of relief. “Come over in 10?”

Steve nods and then realizes that he can’t see him. “See you soon.”

He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous as he pulls into Eddie’s driveway. Or maybe he does but doesn’t want to admit to it. He shuts off the car and bites his lip nervously.

“You got this, it’s just Eddie.” He mutters to himself, just Eddie.

He locks the car behind him and walks up the steps. Knocking gently on the door. He hears shuffling inside and the door swings open. Eddie was wearing a pair of sweatpants which shocks Steve. He’s never seen the boy in anything but jeans and a t-shirt, alongside his jean jacket. He shakes off the thought and notices Eddie staring at him.

“Earth to Steve!” He waves a hand in front of his face.

“Sorry,” Steve says quietly before Eddie bows his arms out dramatically in front of him.

“You may enter my humble abode.” To which Steve chuckles but he walks by him and into the dimly lit trailer.

“So how much are you looking to buy?” Eddie questions him as he leads him into his bedroom and motions for him to sit on his bed. He opens his metal lunch box and grabs a huge baggie filled with weed.

“Uh, I don’t know. I haven’t smoked in a while.” He says hesitantly and scratches the back of his neck looking at Eddie. “I brought 50$, Is that even enough?”

Eddie lets out a loud laugh, “Dude, be my guest and buy 50$ worth. But I don’t think you’ll be needing that much Harrington.”

Steve feels slightly embarrassed by his lack of knowledge when it comes to a drug deal. Eddie must notice the change in demeanor so he sits down next to him.

“Hey, how about you start with 5g. It’s plenty of bang for your buck, and should last you quite a while.” He reaches to touch Steve’s arm gently, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to poke fun at you.”

Steve can feel the heat radiating off his arm, he looks down to see Eddie’s ring-covered hand on him. “No, it’s okay. Don’t apologize. I just feel kinda silly doing this.”

“Since you’re my newest customer, how about you sample some product before you commit to buying.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Steve with a smile on his face.

“You do this with all your customers?” Steve asks.

“Just my favourites.” Eddie says with a wink. He then stands up, opening the first drawer of his dresser. Pulling out a small tin, removing a perfectly rolled joint out and a lighter.

“Come with me.”

They make their way onto Eddie’s roof. Steve somehow manages to hoist himself up without much of a struggle. Not wanting to face-plant in front of Eddie.

He sits next to him and watches as Eddie cups a hand to light the joint. Eddie takes a long drag, the tip of the joint lighting bright red as he sucks in.

“Enjoying the view?” He laughs passing Steve the joint.

“Yeah, yeah.” He mumbles before cautiously lifting the joint to his lips. Inhaling deeply before passing it back to Eddie. As soon as he does, he’s coughing up a lung. Eddie laughs softly next to him.

“You good?”

Steve coughs a few more times before raising his thumb at him.

“Never better.” He says before coughing once more.

Eddie chuckles and takes a few more hits before once again handing it to Steve.

He grabs it, and brings it to his lips before inhaling. He doesn’t breathe in as aggressively this time. He breathes out, the smoke spilling out of his mouth. He takes another hit before handing it back to Eddie, who’s been watching him closely the whole time.

“Enjoying the view?” He says smugly, using Eddie’s words against him.

“I am actually.”

Steve can’t tell if he’s imagining the words coming out of his mouth or if he’s truly said it so casually. He feels his face get hot, but he’s not sure if it’s because of his comment or the weed having its effect. Steve giggles bumping their shoulders together, before he lays down looking up at the sky.

“Shit, it’s so pretty.” He gasps as he watches the night sky above him. He feels Eddie lay down next to him after putting out the joint on the roof.

“Why do you think I come out here to smoke?” He asks before looking at Steve next to him. He smiles just watching Steve be so enthralled with the stars.

“I could get used to this.”

“You know you’re always welcome to come smoke with me.” Eddie says before adding “or you know, to just hang out.”

Steve suddenly feels dizzy looking at the sky, so he turns on his side just looking at Eddie. “I’d like that.”

“Man, your eyes are so red!” Eddie laughs as Steve protests.

“Are not!”

“They so are. Your eyes don’t usually look like that. As if they could get any prettier.” He seems to almost regret the words as soon as they come out.

“If anyone has pretty eyes, it’s you,” Steve said calmly looking up into said pretty eyes.

Eddie was pretty. Everything about him made Steve nervous. And the way he looked at him made him melt. The way he was looking at him now was dangerous. The high he was feeling was nothing compared to being around him.

Steve reaches his hand out to poke Eddie’s nose. “Boop!”

Eddie laughs which makes Steve laugh and they sit there giggling like children.

Steve stumbles down the roof, still not managing to stifle his laughter.

“Jump and I’ll catch you.” He says up to Eddie whose legs are dangling off the side of the trailer.

“Absolutely not!”

“Come on, you scared?” Steve challenges him and he can see Eddie’s made up his mind. Without much warning, he jumps down.

Steve manages to catch him, well for a moment at least. They both fall to the ground and Eddie groans next to him. Hitting his shoulder lightly.

“You said you’d catch me, you dick.” But he’s laughing so hard he can barely breathe.

“I did catch you!” He protests but he knows he barely did.

Eddie finally catches his breath and stands up, reaching a hand down to help Steve up.

Steve grabs his hand and is then yanked upwards, his head spins from the abrupt movement.

Then he’s chest to chest with Eddie, they are a lot closer than he anticipated but he’s not complaining. He feels Eddie’s hand snake behind his waist to stabilize him and his breath catches in his throat.

“You okay?” He asks softly. And Steve can only manage to nod, not trusting his voice. It would be so easy to just tilt his head up and kiss him but he pulls away.

“Just really baked.” He says, flushed because of the thoughts swirling around in his head.

“Let’s head to bed, yeah?”

They make their way into Eddie’s room. The unspoken agreement that Steve was not driving home made him relax a bit.

“Here.” Eddie handed him a pair of pants and a shirt to wear since Steve had been dressed in his usual jeans and polo tee. He thanked him before heading into the bathroom to change. He glances at himself in the mirror and immediately knows why Eddie commented on his eyes being red. They were glossy and his pupils were larger than usual.

He strips down, changing into the comfy clothes that he had been given. The shirt smells comforting, even though it's probably a generic laundry detergent lingering on the clothes. It still smelled like Eddie.

He walks over to the bedroom door that’s open ajar, he tells himself not to peek before knocking but he can’t help but steal a glance at Eddie who’s putting on a shirt. He then backs away from the door quickly so he isn’t caught creeping on him. He knocks gently and Eddie swings the door open.

They both head to the bed and Steve yawns as he lays down. It’s quiet for a minute or two before he turns on his side, similar to the position they had been in on the roof.

“Thanks for letting me come over tonight, I just didn’t want to be alone tonight.” He says the weed in his system makes it easier to be vulnerable without too much regret.

“I know what you mean, I used to like being alone. But ever since…” Eddie trails off and Steve puts his hand over him, rubbing his thumb gently over his hand.

Eddie looks up at him before continuing “It’s like I wake up from a dream and think I’m back there.”

Silence fills the room once again as Steve thinks about what to say.

“I’m really glad you’re here. I don’t know how I could’ve gone on without you.” He admits looking up at him again.

“Steve..”

“I mean it, Eddie, I know I dance around things sometimes but I’m so glad I got there in time. Because you mean a lot to me. Okay?”

Steve hadn’t noticed that they were practically holding hands by this point. But as soon as he looked down, a blush crept onto his face. He looked back up and he could’ve sworn Eddie was blushing too.

“I think we should go to bed before I do something stupid,” Eddie said quietly.

Steve was too high to question what he meant, so he nodded in agreement. He frowned as he felt Eddie pull his hand from under his own until he felt Eddie move closer to him and reach out his hand to trace small circles into Steve’s side.

He sighed contently and began drifting off to sleep.

Morning came way too early for Steve’s liking. He shifted around slightly in his sleep but found he wasn’t able to move around much. He opens his eyes slowly and sees Eddie in front of him, his hair is a mess and his mouth is open snoring softly.

He smiles and looks at the time, it was still relatively early so he wasn’t in a rush to jump out of bed. He looks down and sees his hand is intertwined with Eddie’s. His smile grows at the sight. Eddie suddenly begins moving around, his hand leaving Steve’s as he does.

After a minute or two Eddie’s eyes flutter and he’s now looking straight at Steve.

“Hey.” He groans, his voice is deeper than usual and it sends a shiver down Steve’s spine.

“Hey,” Steve replies unable to contain his smile as he looks at the boy laying in front of him. If only he could wake up to this more often.

Steve reaches a hand out to move a piece of hair that was on Eddie’s face. He gently strokes his cheek before pulling back his hand.

Choosing to ignore what he had just done he shifts onto his back, now looking up to Eddie’s ceiling.

“How’d you sleep?” Eddie asks.

“I haven’t slept that good in months.” He admitted.

“Me either, honestly.”

Steve then turns on his side again, not being able to tear himself away from Eddie.

“Maybe we should do this more often,” Eddie says jokingly but both of them wanted to. They were just too timid to admit that they wanted to be surrounded by one another’s presence.

After eventually getting up and sorting themselves out, the boys got dressed and made their way to Steve’s car. He did have to leave to get ready to work, he would’ve gladly called in to spend more time with Eddie but he knew that Robin would be disappointed if he didn’t show up.

Eddie stood at Steve’s window before speaking. “So I was thinking, maybe you’d want to come over and watch Labyrinth with me? We could meet up on your next day off.”

“I’d like that.” Steve smiles, wanting to spend more time with him regardless of what they did. “How about tomorrow night? I don’t work Monday so we wouldn’t have to get up early or anything. And we could do it at my place if you want, my parents are out of town until next week.”

Eddie nodded and with that, they said their goodbyes.

Steve walked into Family Video still reeling from the night he had. He clocked in before turning to Robin.

“How was your sleepover?“ He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Robin. She rolled her eyes at his question but then her face lit up.

“I kissed Vickie!” She announced and Steve raised his eyebrows in response.

“And?” He pushed for more details. Which she would gladly give to him whether he wanted them or not.

“So we played a movie, and I sat closer to her than normal. She moved her arm around me, and I felt like that was my way into making a move.” She stated clearly on cloud nine after the experience. “And then after the movie, we changed and laid together in my bed. My bed Steve!” She repeated.

“Then what?”

“We were just talking and I don’t know one thing led to another and I kissed her. But get this, she kissed me back!” She shouted, no one was in the store so he wasn’t too worried about anyone overhearing her retelling the experience.

“I’m so happy for you Rob.” He said, genuinely smiling as she recounted the events to him.

“The rest of the night was a blur, we didn’t do anything much more than kissing but this is progress, Steve!” She was speaking while pacing around the store.

He laughed at her behavior but then said “Why do you look so stressed?”

“What if she didn’t want to kiss me?”

“What do you mean? Someone kisses you and you kiss back, typically means they want it to happen.”

“But what if she didn’t want to?” She looks worried as she asks this.

“Robin. Enjoy this. She wanted to kiss you back, or she wouldn’t have. Let yourself have this.”

“You’re right.” She conceded but she was grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t believe she likes me!”

“Well, I can. You’re amazing Robin. Any girl would be lucky to have you.” And he meant every word, he knew how gravitating Robin’s personality was. He had even fallen for her before she told him she was gay. Not that he thought differently of her. But he knew how likable she was. Knowing Vickie liked her made him smile. She deserved it after all the questioning she had done regarding her.

After she was done talking about Vickie, Steve wanted to ask her a question but he was worried. He knew if anyone wouldn’t judge him it would be Robin. But he was scared to admit to himself that he was feeling this way.

“You look like someone ran over your childhood dog, what’s going on?” She asked, initiating the conversation. He gnawed at the inside of his cheek before deciding to just spill.

“How did you know you weren’t straight?” He asked and she looked puzzled.

“I always knew, I was never attracted to boys. I always wanted to be noticed by women and never really questioned it.” She admitted, “Why do you ask?“

“I don’t think I’m straight.” He decided against dancing around the subject. He felt so exposed having confessed to her but he shrugged off the shame.

“Did anything happen to make you realize this?” She asked curiously. The store was dead anyway so he didn’t mind diving into the topic of his sexuality.

“I think I like Eddie.” He said, kinda shocked at his bluntness but it was the truth. He had just never said it out loud.

“Oh?” She asked, raising both brows as she sat in front of him. He was trying to avoid eye contact, feeling a little too exposed enough as it is.

“I went over to his place last night and I don’t know I just can’t deny how good it feels when he touches me. Even when he’s joking around I blush like a madman!” He says not knowing where he was going with his rant.

“Have you wanted more?”

“I almost kissed him last night, if that answers your question.” He says as he throws his head in his hands. “Like what kind of friends want to kiss each other?”

“Steve, calm down.” She walks over and puts a hand on his shoulder. “You know there’s such a thing as liking both men and women right?”

He raises his head from his hands and looks at her with confusion.

“You could be bisexual, which just means you aren’t exclusively attracted to men or women. But both.”

“That’s a thing?” He asks and she nods in response. “I feel crazy because I loved Nancy but now I feel the same way towards him and I’m so confused.”

“There doesn’t have to be a label to what you’re attracted to, y'know. Screw labels!”

This conversation grounded him, making him feel accepted. He didn’t know why he had been so nervous to talk to Robin about this, well maybe it was because once he admitted it to her he had to revel in his newfound confession. He liked Eddie.

Sunday rolled around and Steve was anxiously waiting for his meeting with Eddie. He still had to get through the next hour of work. He was working alone because Robin had called in sick, to hang out with Vickie. He didn’t mind, Sunday’s were usually slow anyway.

He was watching Top Gun on the store tv, although he had seen the film multiple times he couldn’t help but gawk at Tom Cruise on the screen.

He was pulled from the movie when he saw Eddie walking into the store. He stood up quickly, trying to look busy. He grabbed random papers from the counter and scribbled on one of them.

“Howdy Harrington.” He greeted him walking over to the counter, leaning over the counter with his hands propped beneath him.

“Hey, Eddie.” Steve smiled at him, discarding the page he was doodling on. “What brings you in? Did you change your mind about the movie tonight?” He asked trying not to show that he was overthinking their plans that evening.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting to see Labyrinth since it came out. I came by to see if you wanted to get a second movie. In case we get… bored.” He said hesitating slightly.

“Oh! Yeah, that’s a good idea. What kinda movie are you thinking of?”

“I was thinking we could switch things up with a classic horror movie.” He suggested and Steve didn’t even care that he disliked scary movies.

“What about Nightmare on Elm Street?” He suggested as they browsed the horror movie section.

“Oh, so you do have good taste?” Eddie said in a teasing manner. Which earned a roll of the eyes from Steve.

“Ha, very funny Munson.”

They chatted for a bit longer before Steve had to kick the man out of the store, he was eager to get home and get ready for their date. Well, a date was a stretch but it was what he was going with.

After nearly 30 minutes of changing his outfit, Steve settled on wearing a pair of jeans alongside a basic black t-shirt. He saw Eddie’s vest sitting in the corner of his room and decided fuck it, why not wear that as well?

He grabbed a case of beer from his fridge alongside a bottle of expensive liquor. He figured they might not even drink tonight but he didn’t feel like driving all the way home for alcohol if they decided to.

He grabs his keys and heads over to Eddie’s trailer. The radio is playing in the background. Steve is so goddamn nervous that his palms are sweating as he gets closer to reaching his destination.

He parks his car in the driveway, locking it but then he sees Max standing on the porch of her trailer. He lifts a hand to wave but decides to just go and say hi to the girl.

“Hey!” He says as approaches the girl who’s standing outside in her pj’s. “What are you doing outside so late?” He asks, his motherly instincts kicking in.

“Couldn’t sleep.” She claims simply. “What are you doing here so late?” She says in an accusing tone.

“Just going to hang out with Eddie.” He says to which she nods.

“I saw you two hanging out the other night. Didn’t know you guys were so close.”

“Were you spying on us, Mayfield?” He asks and she shrugs.

“You guys were smoking on the roof and laughing like you saw the funniest shit. So I was hardly spying.”

Fair enough, he hadn’t even thought about if other people could hear them that night. He was so enthralled with Eddie’s presence that he hadn’t cared.

“He seems to make you happy,” She shifts around on the deck, probably trying to warm up. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses. Anyway, I’m going to bed.”

Steve pauses before saying goodnight to Max, he couldn’t help but think about what she said as he walked over to the trailer across the street.

Before he could even knock the door swung open.

“Jesus!” He cries out as Eddie nearly walks into him. Holding onto his chest only getting a laugh in return. “And I thought the only thing scaring me tonight would be Freddy Kruger.”

“Sorry.” Eddie managed to say between laughs. “No, I saw you had parked there a few minutes ago and I was wondering where you went.”

“Oh, I was just talking to Max.” He says, motioning towards the girl's trailer.

“How’s she doing?”

“She’s good. Just mentioned that we woke her up the other night.” Steve comments, keeping the other thing she had said.

“Shit, well at least we weren’t fucking. Then we really would’ve woken her up.” Eddie teases and Steve’s mouth gapes open for a second before he straightens himself out.

“In your dreams Munson.” And with that, both boys enter the trailer.

“You brought tequila?” Eddie asks as he motions towards the bottle in Steve’s hand.

“I didn’t know if you wanted to drink tonight, figured I’d bring it just in case.”

“Tryna get me drunk Stevie?” He jokes but takes the bottle and shoves it into the freezer.

“Maybe I am,” Steve says with a wink.

Eddie looks unsure of how to react to this so he clears his throat loudly and grabs a beer from the case Steve had set on the table. He tosses it to Steve who still had a slightly smug look on his face. He then grabs one for himself, cracking it open and taking a long drink.

“Where did your tv go?” Steve asks looking in the living room.

“Oh I uh put it in my bedroom because I don’t love being in the living room, you know since Chrissy.” He barely whispers the last part. Steve nods in understanding.

“Well your bed is pretty comfortable so I’m not complaining.”

Eddie’s room looked a lot more organized and clean than the last time he had seen it. Not that he had been bothered by the mess before but it made him wonder if Eddie cleaned because of him.

“So which movie did you want to start with?” Eddie asks setting the two tapes on the bed next to where Steve was sitting.

“Maybe Nightmare on Elm Street. I don’t want to watch it right before bed. I’d rather not have nightmares about Freddie Krueger murdering me in my sleep.”

Eddie lets out a soft laugh, nodding as he begins to set up the movie. He walks back over to the bed, sitting gently and he then realizes how close the two are going to be sitting. His bed wasn’t small but it wasn’t that spacious either.

Steve pats the side of him and Eddie moves closer to him, their thighs are pressed against one another and both of them feel warm despite it being the middle of September.

As the movie went on Steve noticed how they would occasionally inch closer to each other. Not that he was complaining.

As he focused back on the screen, Nancy just finished saying “I’m crazy after all.” When Freddy pops up behind her.

“Jesus!” Steve jumps, his hand grabbing Eddie’s as his heart pounds in his chest.

Eddie tries to hold in a laugh as he turns to Steve. “You okay?”

Steve just nods still focused on the movie. He hadn’t noticed that his hand was intertwined with Eddie’s.

Eddie had a hard time focusing on the movie, he was more engaged with the fact that he had Steve’s hand in his and that he had bigger hands than Steve did.

Eddie tried to focus back on the movie when Steve looked down, blushing as he let go of his hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize-“

But Eddie just clasped their hands back together. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

They both struggled to focus on the movie, just enjoying each other's presence and touch.

“So how was that? Too scary?” Eddie asked, standing up to stop the movie.

“It wasn’t too bad actually.” Steve says, before muttering “Although I wasn’t super focused on the movie.”

“What was that?” Eddie asks turning his head towards Steve, a smile on his lips. He had heard what Steve said, but he just wanted to tease the boy a bit.

“Nothing!”

Eddie looks at the time, realizing it was kinda late now. “So did you still want to watch another movie or should we save it for another night?”

“How about we just chill for a bit and see how we feel after?” Steve suggests.

“I’m gonna grab another beer, want one?” To which Steve nods, “Or we could crack open the tequila?”

“I’m down if you are Munson.”

Eddie runs out to the kitchen and Steve can hear him clattering things around before he reappears in the doorway, looking at him with a devilish grin and two shot glasses.

This might be a bad idea but Steve couldn’t care less.

Eddie sat criss-crossed on the bed facing Steve, handed him a shot glass, and poured some tequila in it, spilling some onto his hand. Steve chuckled as he licked his hand, the two held eye contact and Eddie had to force his eyes away after watching it.

They clinked their glasses together, trying not to spill any more and they both downed them.

Eddie groaned, his face puckering slightly at the strong taste of alcohol. “God that fucking burns.” He stated as his core got hot from the liquor he drank.

Steve just rolled his eyes and laughed. “Didn’t know that Eddie Munson didn’t like the taste of tequila.”

“Oh shut it, I smoke more than I drink. And need I remind you that you choked after one drag off a joint!” Eddie cackles as he watches Steve’s face scrunch up with embarrassment.

“I don’t smoke often!” He argued trying to defend himself to Eddie who was looking at him intensely.

“And I don’t drink often! So fuck off!” Eddie shakes his head trying to hide the smile on his face. “Want another?” He asks lifting the bottle of tequila in front of him. Steve nods eager to get tipsy, he couldn’t handle how much he was paying attention to the boy in front of him. He figured that if he got drunk he would be able to focus more. And so what if he was wrong in thinking this?

A couple of shots in the two are bickering over Steve’s music taste.

“I don’t understand why you’re so set in your ways! Admit it Lay all your love on me is a classic!”

“I would rather chug this whole bottle!” Eddie laughs holding up the bottle in front of Steve’s face. It was nearing halfway empty. The two had had more than a few shots, just talking and getting in each other’s faces.

“Speaking of, pour me one bartender,” Steve exclaimed, he was already tipsy but he didn’t care.

Eddie poured a shot, spilling it all over Steve’s hand again.

“Dude!” Steve began speaking but Eddie looked at him, licking his hand. Steve inhaled sharply as he felt Eddie’s tongue on his skin. Their eyes were locked on one another.

“Wouldn’t want to waste any now would we?” Eddie said as he licked his lips. Steve was stunned, to say the least, he was staring at the man sitting in front of him. Who had somehow moved closer to him during this exchange?

Steve was drunk at this point, he could feel the warmth the alcohol had spread through his chest. He placed a hand on Eddie’s, just wanting to touch him. He had denied any physical interaction between them because he didn’t know if he could handle it.

Eddie looked down and joined their fingers together. Before quietly mumbling, “Steve..”

With a burst of confidence, Steve leaned in, his lips were barely brushing against Eddie’s. “Can I do something stupid?” He asked as he glanced down at Eddie’s lips. Eddie just nodded, speechless at the close contact between them.

Steve closed the gap, his lips softly brushing against Eddie’s. To which he cursed softly. Eddie brought his hand up, snaking it behind Steve’s neck, and brought them together.

Steve felt his face get hot as they kissed, it started gentle and soft but quickly turned into a desperate attempt to get each other closer.

“Fuck.” Steve gasped out as Eddie pulled him on top of him.

Steve’s hands made their way down to Eddie’s waist, grabbing on tightly as their lips seemed to glide against one another’s. His eyes were clamped shut as pleasure shot down his body.

They separated, breathing heavily. Eddie looked at Steve with a hunger he had never seen before letting out a soft grunt.

“Shit.”

Steve might have been drunk but he couldn’t help but feel stupid for kissing Eddie. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I just-“

Eddie shut him up, kissing him again. Their lips fit so well together it felt like they had done this a thousand times before. Steve’s hand tangled into Eddie’s hair, pulling gently which resulted in Eddie moaning against his lips.

“Fuck Steve.”

He loved the way the words sounded leaving Eddie’s lips. He was still reeling from touching him, let alone kissing him.

Eddie collapsed next to him, still breathing heavily. After a moment of observing him, he reaches out a hand to gently caress Steve’s face. “God, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Why didn’t you?” Steve asks, leaning into Eddie’s touch.

“I didn’t think you were into me.” He confesses, “or into guys?”

“I guess I didn’t even really know I was into guys either. Not until I started having feelings for you.” Steve spoke softly, “And I am really into you Eddie.”

Eddie’s face turns a light shade of pink as he hears those words.

“God, you’re cute,” Steve says which only deepens the color flushed across Eddie’s face.

“Shut up.” Eddie pulls him in and kisses him again. Steve’s head spins, the mix of alcohol and Eddie being too much for him. But he couldn’t stop.

Eddie grabs Steve by the waist, pulling him so that he’s sitting on his lap. The tension between the two only grew as Steve unintentionally moved his hips, grinding down on Eddie.

A moan slipped out of Eddie, as he ran a hand through Steve’s hair and tugged at it. Now it was his turn to let out a moan. The kiss got slightly sloppy but neither of them was complaining, Steve pulled away only to attach his mouth to Eddie’s neck. Sucking and nipping at the soft skin.

Steve leans back up, kissing Eddie softly. “As much as I don’t want to stop, I don’t want to take advantage of the fact that we’re both drunk.”

“Such a gentleman Harrington,” Eddie says smiling but pulling him down for one final kiss. It's gentle and slow and they savor the seconds before pulling away. Steve gets off of him and lays down next to him.

“You said you didn’t know if I liked you. I didn’t think I’d be your type.” Steve admits as he strokes random shapes into Eddie’s side.

“If I can be honest, I didn’t think you’d be my type either. But you’re so damn charming and I feel safe with you. You never fail to make me smile, and if I can be even more honest. I’m falling for you, Steve.”

“Would it be okay that I might be falling for you too?” Steve asks looking up at him and melting at the look Eddie was giving him.

“That would be more than okay.”

“Good because I’m falling for you, Eddie Munson.”

“And I’m falling for you, Steve Harrington.”

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