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vidavalor · 2 months

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Great Balls of Fire

Ok, I've got a Final 15 theory on the kiss and the elevator and... pie?

This is for-- and in thanks to-- @indigovigilance, @ineffablelunatics and @somehow-a-human, as their metas reminded me of the idea of something in Aziraphale's mouth after the kiss and their talk of ball bearings and The Bullet Catch has eaten my brain alive and so here we are. Thanks also to @kayleefansposts for drawing my attention to 2/3rds of the metas. 🤗

What, exactly, happened in The Final 15? Maybe this...

As observed by many of us and discussed in the metas of the people I mentioned above, Aziraphale visibly has something in his mouth when he pulls back from the kiss. We also see him move the object around in his mouth-- or, we do, if his expression doesn't distract us first.

Because it's on his tongue, this isn't just light being weird or showing a filling or something. This is, clearly, a piece of metallic-colored something in Aziraphale's mouth. @indigovigilance pointed out how aspects of this parallel aspects of The Bullet Catch and I would agree with that. @ineffablelunatics, off of @somehow-a-human's post on the object, said it looked like a ball bearing and that's actually when I realized that I think the show might have subtly told us over the first two seasons what it is. And if it is what I think it is? The object is the reason for Aziraphale's reaction after the kiss-- not the kiss itself.

So, what is it?

To explain that, we have to start with two scenes, one from each season: 1601 and Crowley in Heaven with Muriel in 2.06.

In the 1601 scene, we learned that Crowley & Aziraphale experimented with their powers after they got tired of canceling each other out and that they discovered Heaven's dirty little secret in the process. That secret is that basically the only differences between them are the colors of their feathers and the lack of immunity to hellfire/holy water. Heaven has been telling everyone that some magic was "demonic" and that angels couldn't do it and they also had told everyone that demons no longer possessed angelic powers. Crowley & Aziraphale realized that this was bullshit-- Aziraphale could do temptations and Crowley could still do blessings. It's this discovery that allowed them to start fulfilling each other's assignments. They didn't tell a soul because of the danger of admitting they knew, especially because admitting it would be acknowledging that they had worked together to figure it out. This means that, with the exception of holy water being dangerous to him since he fell, Crowley is effectively still an angel in terms of the power he possesses.

This would mean he can magically make just about anything he could make when he was an angel. It's relevant because Crowley, as we'll see, made the object he slipped into Aziraphale's mouth during the kiss.

When Crowley is in Heaven with Muriel in 2.06, he opens the file on Gabriel's trial, which we are told can only be accessed by "a throne, or a dominion, or above"-- further showing that the truth is that Heaven actually can't strip angels of their power to do miracles. They're just simply telling them that they have done so as a form of social control and casting some to Hell to use them as way to discourage rebellion. This scene also reminds us of Crowley's awareness of this and shows him using his "angelic" powers to get information to help Gabriel.

The same scene with Muriel and Crowley that showed us that Crowley still retains his angelic powers reminds us again of the rank of throne/dominion in Heaven. (I say "throne/dominion" because Muriel's verbal commas and the way the sentence is structured-- along with the scene in S1 when Crowley goes from his throne to dominate his plants lol-- suggests that it is possible to be both ranks of angel at once, which is another topic so we won't go too far into that right now.) Crowley was undoubtedly a throne/dominion-- and it's not even just the fact that he had that hilariously tacky throne in S1. It's relevant here because of ties of throne-related things to what it is that Crowley made and slipped into Aziraphale's mouth.

Thrones are apparently God's chariots. They are concerned with justice and reside in the areas of space "where matter originates"-- which feels very Before the Beginning, right? They are symbolized by big wheels that rotate and by eyes that change color.

Yes, by wheels and eyes that change color... seems very Crowley, no?

The eyes repeat on the symbolic wheels and are in the position of what we on Earth would call ball bearings, apparently looking kind of like this:

...and remember the interconnected, turning wheels in the scroll that Crowley had Aziraphale hold in the moment they met, at the start of 2.01?...

It could be said that Crowley... a throne, a polymath, a scientist, an inventor... a being whose signature thing is the sexiest old car on four wheels... could make ball bearings from his body when he was an angel and, since we know that he still has basically everything but the ability to make holy water from his angel days, it means that he still can make those ball bearings...

...but we also know what else he can make from his body since he's also a demon-- and not just from his hands but from his mouth...

...hellfire.

Yes, I'm saying that it really was a ball bearing in Aziraphale's mouth-- but it was not hollow or empty. Not by a long shot. It was full of hellfire. It wasn't for Aziraphale's memories as Crowley didn't think that Aziraphale had time or opportunity left to extract them.

It was a suicide pill.

The story was calling back to The Original Ineffable Divorce in 1862...

Think about what Crowley saw when he was up in Heaven in S2...

Crowley is the one who put together what happened to Gabriel. He watched the video of Gabriel's sham "trial" and he saw The Metatron basically order Gabriel killed and cast down through the ranks and he knows that Gabriel only evaded Hell because of how it would have diminished the power of the institution of Heaven to send him there. Crowley knows that Aziraphale does not have this same amount of political power. He knows that The Metatron is a shifty motherfucker and that Michael cannot be counted on. He knows how much danger Aziraphale is in.

So, he takes a page from Lord Beezlebub after seeing that they protected Gabriel with the fly... only it's not exactly the same thing.

Beez's fly was given to Gabriel to help save him. It was a place to store his memories to help protect him long enough to keep him safe until they could make sure he was safe and intact. It worked because Beez and Gabriel had time to make a plan together. By the time Crowley is in Heaven watching the video of what happened to Gabriel and then getting back to the bookshop to sort it all out, there's no time for he and Aziraphale to make a plan. They are not alone again until after "The Metatron" has already shown up and, by then, Aziraphale is already on his way to being lost.

Beez is actually the first character we ever see make their signature thing on-screen and when they do? I mean...

Evocative of a kiss, with that big closeup on Beez's mouth. We watch them push the fly gently out of their mouth with their tongue. It foreshadows Crowley making something in his mouth and ties delivery of it to the kiss. We know that Crowley knows that he can make a single object that is of aspects of both Heaven and Hell combined-- like a ball of hellfire tempered, unless consumed, by a ball bearing.

Plus, earlier in the season, there's Gabriel tying The Fly-- which came about as a result of Beez trying to help him manage his depression by helping him to feel safer-- to metaphorical suicide when he spends the scene where the angels show up chasing it around the bookshop, trying to kill it with one of Aziraphale's Bibles, symbolizing just what Heaven is doing to everyone's mental health here...

But this is just where this possibility starts, really... because why else do I think it's a hellfire-full ball bearing suicide capsule that Crowley gave Aziraphale?

Well, for starters, there is all the holy water that is all over this plot at the end of S2... At the end, Crowley stands in Whickber Street outside The Bentley right across from The Dirty Donkey in a nod to-- among other scenes-- the 1967 scene, when Aziraphale brought Crowley the holy water.

Aziraphale knew that Crowley also secretly wanted holy water as a last resort and Aziraphale initially couldn't handle the idea of losing Crowley and reacted badly before eventually coming around to the idea that maybe Crowley needed to have some supernatural cyanide at his disposal in order to feel safer and that he should have that option. Based on the holy water story, Crowley, then, would be the first person to think that Aziraphale needed a suicide pill as an option if he found himself in trouble he couldn't get out of.

In 2.06, Crowley knows how likely it is that Aziraphale could be harmed by the angels and/or sent to Hell-- which is the domain of Crowley's assailant, who is literally Satan, and who hates both of them for, among other things, turning Adam against him. Crowley knows Aziraphale is a good person who wants to believe the best is possible but he also knows how unlikely it is that this is going to go well for Aziraphale. Crowley can't stand the thought of Aziraphale suffering so he gives him a way out as an act of love because Crowley would sooner lose Aziraphale for eternity than see him suffer.

When it becomes clear that Aziraphale is going with "The Metatron" and Crowley is out of ways to convince him not to, he sees Aziraphale look away and start to cry. Crowley goes back and kisses him as a last resort but Aziraphale is initially resistant-- not because this is their first kiss and not even just because they're upset (though that's part of it) but because to kiss Crowley then would be to let him in... (after all of those symbolic doors and "let me in"s happening in the story)... when Aziraphale making the mistake of trying to shut him out.

Aziraphale eventually, though, can't help but let Crowley in a little...

...because, ya know, it's Crowley...

...and, when he does, he opens up a little, and Crowley slips a suicide pill into Aziraphale's mouth.

It's also definitely worth noting that one of the reasons-- the primary reason, even-- why Crowley kisses Aziraphale is because he needs a cover to both make and give the fireball to Aziraphale without being noticed-- and to do so in such a way that Aziraphale would be assured of the ability to have it on his person when he got to Heaven-- even if he lost his clothes in the process, as like what happened to Gabriel when he was cast out. It has to go in Aziraphale's mouth for easy consumption for it to work and kissing him is the only way to do that. What's really worth noting, though?

Crowley's plan hinged on Aziraphale eventually giving in and kissing him back. He couldn't tongue the fireball into Aziraphale's mouth without Aziraphale parting his lips and Crowley knew he would... because he always does. Not that they're regularly trying to kiss while being super miserable lol but mah point is that Crowley knows that Aziraphale can't ever not kiss him. That's not indicative of this being a first kiss-- that's indicative of the complete opposite of that.

Anyway...

Aziraphale knows what Crowley can make and what it is that he just gave him and that's why this is his reaction after the kiss:

The devastation isn't over the kiss itself. It's because Aziraphale trusts Crowley's interpretations of things more than his own sometimes and, by secretly slipping Aziraphale a suicide capsule out of fear and love and delivered in a kiss, it really hits home for Aziraphale that Crowley thinks they are now in a situation where there probably isn't going to be another way out. It's not because it's a first kiss-- it's because it's likely a last one-- and things are so dire that it came with supernatural cyanide.

It's the realization that Crowley really thinks Aziraphale has been fooled and Aziraphale can't bear it because he knows, deep down, that Crowley is probably right and he's embarrassed. 'Pride goeth before a fall' and all that... Aziraphale is lovely-- an absolute poppet-- but he's imperfect, just like us all. One of his worst traits is that he doubles down when he's been embarrassed as a way of trying to save face and retain pride. It's maybe his worse flaw and it gets very dangerous for him here. Crowley is no stranger to trying to stop situations where it could happen, like this paralleling time in 1941:

Some other reasons why it's a fireball suicide pill before we get to what then happened in the elevator...

There's the fact that the show had a scene set in S2 in The Dirty Donkey-- where the elevator is. (As the start of the scene, Crowley & Aziraphale even walk through the door where the elevator will materialize at the end of S2.) Part of their conversation is very possibly Crowley recounting their first kiss-- at minimum, it's about kissing-- and then Aziraphale makes it also about balls, combining the two to, among other things, foreshadow The Final 15:

The wordplay here is already threefold in this scene off of Crowley's joke that follows Aziraphale remembering Jane Austen's balls: balls (testicles), the phrase that x person "has balls" (is badass), and balls (of the cotillion/dancing variety). This continues into the meeting that Aziraphale hosts-- the disaster of a ball that goes straight into the end game of the season. Here's Aziraphale making yet another ball-related wordplay joke-- this one, during The Meeting Ball:

"We're having a ball" as in they're literally having a ball-- a party-- but also the idiom "we're having a ball" meaning "we're having a great time." We are now up to four different meanings of the word 'ball' in S2, stretched across different scenes, emphasizing the importance of it. One of the missing ones still needed here to complete this idea is a literal ball-- and the ball bearing would not only meet this idea but would then make all of the ball-related wordplay have had the purpose of building towards it. We think it's building towards The Meeting Ball-- and it is-- but all of it, including The Meeting Ball, would actually then be building towards the hellfire ball, which is the actual ending of S2.

Then, there's what this all has to do with the eccles cakes...

Yes, eccles cakes lol... Eccles cakes, as a lot of us already know, are popularly referred to as "fly cakes", off of how the currents sometimes look in them, but the significant thing here is that, despite their name, eccles cakes are not actually cakes at all-- they are really pies.

Ball bearings are also used in Good Omens' favorite metaphor of food to weigh down dough when baking pie crust. Pie weights and ball bearings are basically the same things, just put to different use. It means you literally cannot make eccles cakes from scratch without a jar of pie weights... which are just, structurally, the same thing as ball bearings... and Crowley can make them. You also make pie dough by first rolling it into a ball.

Which is likely why this hilarious moment exists:

Please hold The Cake-Pies of Symbolism, my pie (and Pi)-loving dear...

Crowley's face at having to stand there holding some little pies 😂...

The eccles cakes-that-are-really-pies go along with this theory as well because look how the show presented the forthcoming apocalypse to us back in 2.01:

The horse is Crowley, the rider is Aziraphale, and they're headed for Armageddon-like mental health disaster-- all ushered in by the four eccles cakes, representing Gabriel, Beez, Nina (who suggested & gave them the eccles cakes) and Maggie.

Presumably, The Lords of the Flies are the two eccles cakes that are already canoodling on the back of the plate while Maggie and Nina are the two in the foreground who are aligned but not yet together. Crowley's S2 plot is largely working at the behest of these wonderfully rebellious pies. He looks after Gabriel, finds out what happened to him and connects it all to Beez... and this is after he spent the season on his vavoomy Operation Lovebirds to get Maggie and Nina together. He's responsible for the pie crust-- the containers of the eccles cakes-- in a show obsessed with containers. Crowley is, symbolically, a jar of pie weights in being form by way of his actions-- which is suggestive of the fact that he can probably physically make them. (There's also: "Just a few million years to bake," which Crowley said of his stars-- which he made-- in the opening scene of the season.)

"Nina, what do you sell that calms people down?"

Calm is from the Greek kauma, which means the heat of the day. Heat, as in slang for a weapon. Heat, as in hellfire. Heat, as in what's needed to bake. Heat, as in passion. Heat, as in "bringing the heat." The heat of the day-- the sunny daylight of The Final 15. Eccles cakes-- really: pies-- calm people down... they bring them heat, in every possible way, and it sets them on a path down-- to Hell.

Then, there's Agnes Nutter...

When The Witchfinder Army came to kill Agnes, she hid gunpowder (a weapon) and roofing nails (the construction-related metal that enabled it) in her dress. Agnes blew up-- she became a literal. fireball. Crowley wasn't necessarily suggesting that Aziraphale turn himself into an Agnes-like bomb in Heaven when he gave him the capsule but he was giving him a weapon involving fire with which he could kill himself if he had no other way out.

Then, there's the theme of suicide in examples from earlier in the season:

Crowley saving Elspeth (on the night Crowley was dragged to Hell)... The bit when Aziraphale then calls Crowley from Edinburgh in the present and tells him that he's read that Dalrymple left in disgrace and killed himself... "The Bananafish" being a short story about trauma by J.D. Salinger which ends with a traumatized man suddenly killing himself... Crowley setting Gabriel up to jump from the window and then stopping him from doing it...

There's also the fact that the end of S1 was Heaven and Hell forcing Crowley and Aziraphale into forms of suicide (getting into hellfire/holy water) and the "Aziraphale" in the Heaven part of it was Crowley spitting hellfire-- at Gabriel, no less, whose story is what jumpstarts S2.

Then, there's that the song that is The Clue to everything in S2 is "Everyday", the significance of which is that it's a foundational song of American rock 'n roll. Rock 'n roll is a blend of musical styles that actually wouldn't exist without first the big band/swing that Aziraphale loves that came before it-- symbolizing how Crowley & Aziraphale paved the way for Gabriel & Beez. There's another song, though, that, like "Everyday", is from the pivotal rock year of 1957 that is equally influential and is enormously Good Omens-y, in the sense that it cleverly uses wordplay to the effect of barely disguising sexual euphemisms and often through amusingly church-y language:

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain/Too much love drives a man insane/You broke my will/But what a thrill...

Goodness gracious... great balls of fire...

[Also: less part of the theory and more just a possible nod but... "The Metatron" brought Aziraphale a coffee, there's a threat of non-existence, and Aziraphale might have gotten a 'kiss of death' from a being who is, essentially, a cherry pie lol... so, those of you who know that other greatest television show to ever television show might see a bit of a nod to Twin Peaks in here as well.]

Speaking of kisses of death... the film that popularized the word "vavoom"-- and which GO S2 is homaging all over the place-- is called 'Kiss Me Deadly.'..

So, after the kiss, Aziraphale gets the capsule and keeps it tucked into his mouth and he's gone too far with the conversation and doesn't want to admit that maybe he's wrong and Crowley is right. Crowley goes out, "The Metatron" comes back in, and Aziraphale keeps looking at Crowley staying by the car out the window and he's a bit more nervous now ("what about, um, my bookshop?"). Even if he still wants to be right, he's beginning to doubt even more that he is.

He almost tells "The Metatron" to go. He almost goes to Crowley. We see him start to say that he thinks he made a mistake but he doesn't go through with it. He's too embarrassed. Fraulein Maria can't face The Captain and is trying to run back to The Abbey over here.

Aziraphale goes out with "The Metatron" and the significant moment is this revelation: "We call it 'The Second Coming'."

This is the moment that Aziraphale realizes for sure that he's been tricked and there is no Supreme Archangel job for him. The Metatron doesn't want to change Heaven or save anybody-- he wants to destroy the world, same as he always has-- and there's no way that he'd ever trust Aziraphale to carry that out when Aziraphale is who stopped the first round. Heaven will never admit they did wrong by Crowley-- to do so would be to collapse the system because then every demon would want to appeal their own status and demand justice and the Heaven/Hell regime would fall, in the sense that their little supernatural empire would crumble. The Metatron would never allow that and Aziraphale realizes in this moment for sure that he has been played for a sucker.

It's still possible that, at this moment, Aziraphale might still believe that this being who has tempted him with the possibility of the justice he wants for Crowley more than Crowley actually wants for himself-- and with false reassurances that he and Crowley could be together forever-- actually is The Metatron. Or, Aziraphale might be starting to get the sense of what's actually happening but, either way, he now knows that he's been fooled. He knows now that while he and Crowley both got some things wrong (suggesting they run off and proposing suddenly were not great moves on Crowley's part)... about this bit anyway? About being in danger if he believes the being who came to the door? Crowley was right.

So, Aziraphale has a choice: does he go to Crowley or does he get in the elevator, knowing now that to do so is to go to a form of death?

He can't face Crowley. He knows Crowley would forgive him and just wants him to be safe but, in the moment, Aziraphale is too ashamed and too embarrassed to admit that he was fooled and to deal with how awfully he just behaved. He's also exhausted from being hounded by the weight of his halo and Heaven for thousands of years. Negative thought cycles in overdrive-- he's never truly believed that he deserves Crowley and he has convinced himself that maybe Crowley might be better off without him. Maybe they just don't get a happy ending and maybe Aziraphale is so tired and can't run and hide anymore and just wants it to end.

Imagine spending thousands of years in service of an organization that also doubles as family and who abused you and abandoned you and who now wants to kill you... and you so hoped that change was possible that you clung to the idea beyond a point of reason-- to the point of hurting the one you love, with whom you have the only real love you've ever known. And you know he'd forgive you in a heartbeat because he loves you and he just wants you to be safe but you can't face him because you can't yet face yourself... that's Aziraphale deciding between Crowley and the elevator.

Aziraphale can barely glance over at Crowley and when, he does, it's also The Bentley he's looking at because he's telling the car to play Crowley their song. Crowley said "no nightingales" but Aziraphale says, in response: "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." His last moment on Earth and he uses it to basically leave a suicide note for Crowley that says nothing but I'm sorry. I love you.

Their song plays when Crowley starts the engine of The Bentley, which calls back to the first time they met in the Before the Beginning scene that began the season and showed how they started the engine of the universe together.

Aziraphale might be trying to warn Crowley about Armageddon by sending an "engine trouble"-type of message or he might be calling back to when they first met or, as I suspect, he might be doing both but the show, at least, is referencing Before the Beginning here with this, whether or not Aziraphale intentionally is.

So, Aziraphale? He makes his choice. He gets into the elevator...

...and he swallows the fireball. Which we can see him do here:

Or, as this was foreshadowed in S1 by the being whose own fall and subsequent arrival at the bookshop door set all the events in this season into motion:

(The eerieness of the fake grin on Gabriel after seeing how it foreshadows S2 ending with Aziraphale's mad grin...)

Because, when all is said and done, this poor bastard really would have a death-by-swallowing-something story over here, wouldn't he? Can they just hurry up and destroy the Heaven/Hell system so Aziraphale can have food and sex in peace already, please? 😄

Aziraphale knew he'd been played and he didn't want to go through whatever came next. He didn't want to reach the top floor of Heaven because he knows that only forms of death await him there. They'll take his memories. They'll cast him to Hell. Being a demon is no picnic and Aziraphale has seen that in being with Crowley for so long. Satan is not exactly the biggest fan of Aziraphale and Aziraphale, better than most, knows what Satan is capable of. He doesn't want any part of that. He ingested a suicide pill to avoid being captured by the enemy.

Crowley gave him the pill because angels are not immune to hellfire. That's what made it a suicide capsule, right? It was supposed to kill him within seconds. It was supposed to be quick and relatively painless-- a way to escape the horrors that might await him. Even when Aziraphale is at his worst-- as Aziraphale was in their last scene in bookshop-- he is still a pure-of-heart, lovely being to Crowley because Crowley loves Aziraphale as he is-- imperfect. Just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing. It never occurred to Crowley that the capsule might fail. Why? Because Aziraphale is, always and forever, his angel.

Both Crowley and Aziraphale thought the fireball should have protected Aziraphale from pain and suffering by killing him almost instantly once he ingested it.

By that measure, Aziraphale should have burst into flames in the elevator, seconds after he swallowed the pill just after stepping inside.

But he did not.

We watch as the seconds start to tick by... and we see the realization play out on Aziraphale's face as each second that passes is another one where he's still here...

...the look gets more and more unhinged as the elevator keeps climbing until we get the slightly mad dark grin as the last shot of him before a fade to a deathly black... with Aziraphale having spent the final splitscreen since he got into the elevator on the other side of Crowley, symbolizing what's happened.

In the elevator scene, we are watching the dawning realization play out on Aziraphale's face as the fireball doesn't work and there's only one reason why it wouldn't-- because he's no longer an angel.

Aziraphale has been sauntering vaguely downward for the season and maybe for awhile before then. He's been letting the darkness in, more and more, throughout all of S2. We have been watching his fall happen. The 'falling from a great height into a pit of boiling sulphur' part of falling? Ceremonial. An aftermath of sorts-- an additional punishment. It awaits Aziraphale when he gets off the elevator in Heaven but it's something we likely don't really need to see and never have seen in the show yet because that's not actually the main point of a fall. By the time you're literally falling from a great height, you've actually already fallen.

Aziraphale's determined-- but also just really half-mad-- final grim smile in the elevator over his understanding of what's happened is both the pain of thousands of years of religious trauma and abuse-related misery and a bit of completely unhinged I'm gonna burn this place to the fucking ground fury.

Aziraphale swallowing the capsule also parallels Gabriel having to "consume" The Fly to open it. The Fly went through Gabriel's eye and allowed him to "see"-- it give him realization and understanding by returning his memories to him. For Aziraphale, he swallows the fireball and it also gives him a kind of sight-- realization and understanding of what's happened and what's to come... all of this also in the moments before his memories (and, so, his sense of self/his life) will likely be taken from him.

(For a time-- he'll be fine eventually. *mantras* South Downs Cottage, South Downs Cottage...)

"And from his mouth go burning lamps and sparks of fire leap out." The Job quote on the matchbox. The matchbox contained the fly-- it's the equivalent to the ball bearing containing hellfire. Works now on several different levels but one of them then is: And from his mouth (Crowley's mouth/the kiss/the fireball/Aziraphale swallowing the fireball)...

...go burning lamps (the light that goes out in the bookshop when Aziraphale is in the elevator)...

...and sparks of fire leap out. Several meanings:

Literal sparks-- in that Aziraphale can now spit hellfire, like how Crowley did in his body in Heaven in S1.

Sparks of fire leaping out, in the sense that Aziraphale has made the leap-- he is a demon now.

Lastly, though... sparks of fire leap out... as in, Hell (and Heaven) hath no fury like this very, very, very pissed off Angel of the Eastern Gate whose whole thing is freeing those imprisoned by corrupt systems...

Visually paralleling the elevator with a grey wall behind him and light/darkness alternately striping Aziraphale is the 'Aziraphale and God' scene in 1.03, setting up its sister elevator scene in 2.06, where Aziraphale realizes that he has been tempted by Satan and has fallen. (Ironically, a realization about having fallen that happens while going Up in an elevator.)

God: "Aziraphale. (dryly) Angel of the Eastern Gate. Where is the flaming sword I gave you, Aziraphale?"

Aziraphale, unintentionally foreshadowing the fuck out of the plot:

"...must have put it down here somewhere."

Yeah. 😉 Give 'em hell, Aziraphale.

Bonuses:

The awning of a new age/Dawning of a New Age joke. An understanding/a daybreak that begins a new era...

"Oh, listen, I think it's about to happen-- the 'awning' of a new age." Yes, indeed, Crowley. A dawning of a new age was imminent...

...and, finally, if you substitute 'Aziraphale' for his parallel of 'Job' in these sentences, Bildaddy summarized the season endgame quite nicely in 2.02:

#ineffable husbands #good omens #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #good omens 2 #good omens theory #aziracrow #good omens speculation #good omens clues #good omens analysis #good omens parallels #long post but worth it #tw suicide #tw depression

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bugsbenefit · 7 months

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hellfire in s5, and how it's Really not looking good for the members

the hellfire club is, in my opinion, one of the most obvious set ups for s5 and i never see enough people acknowledge how blatant the show actually is with it. because it's a directly addressed ongoing issue that slowly worsens over time and directly threatens three main characters (Dustin, Lucas, and Mike), at Least

there's a clear structured progression of the threat getting worse, with a major part of the s4 Hawkins plot being only Jason and his team chasing Eddie down, and by the last episodes of the show the rest of the town sides with them and joins the objective. however, we never get any consequence of the town agreeing with Jason, aside form the kids parents getting reaction shots looking insanely worried. the only thing even resembling partisan participation is a dogwalker (the same man that agreed with Jason first and then caused every other member in the town hall to also agree) informing Jason and co about there being someone in the Creel house. a single character ratting someone out is not pay off for a scene that rallies the entire town with anger and fear. especially because he was the First one to agree with Jason, arguably the next reaction, in parallel to the town house scene, will have everyone else also involve themselves

and everything Jason actually said in the town hall looks INFINITELY worse by the end of the season because he not only died the same day (how odd that must look), the town was also hit by a severe earthquake. (and hell-gates open in town but we don't know how people will react to that yet, or if it will even be immediately obvious to them)

like. it's a Terrible look. and with Eddie being dead now, the main target that represented the hellfire club in s4 and got the primary share of blame is now officially un-prosecutable

s4 also goes out of it's way to associate Lucas, Dustin and Mike explicitly with the hunt on Hellfire, ages before the whole town gets involved

Lucas is put on edge by the basketball's team hostility towards his friends constantly and has to actively lie his way out of the line of fire multiple times. the basketball team is also looking for Dustin to question him about Eddie's whereabouts, even going to his house where a confrontation only doesn't happen because he's not home. and they even manage to go out of their way to drag Mike into it despite him being out of town, when Jason starts a conversation with Nancy specifically to threaten her and then asks about Mike right after

which leads to the other thing; not only are all the kids already on Jason's radar, he's also getting more and more direct with the fact that he doesn't just want to have a nice chat with them (culminating in actually physically attacking Lucas by the last episode)

and if them setting all of the kid members of hellfire up for a bad time wasn't obvious enough, it's also fascinating to see the posters of hellfire we get over the season also show a clear shift in focus

when we see the hellfire club year book photo for the first time the focus is on Eddie. he's who Jason sees as the main culprit and when we get a close up of the burning poster we see Eddie

but when we see the hellfire club photo again 4 episodes later the focus isn't on Eddie anymore. not in dialogue and not visually

the shot is from the Wheeler's pov (Karen's specifically), and the only part of the picture that's in focus is the far right corner, with Mike and Lucas. (makes sense that's her son that's currently being implicated in satanic murders). Eddie never gets unblurred, he's not who the audience is supposed to look at in this shot. verbally Jason is also explicitly blaming the whole club now. it's not just Eddie who's "crazy" and killed Chrissy, it's the whole club who's responsible (it's also very notable that he's handing out yearbook photos of the whole club, not just Eddie. a really distinct prop choice. everyone in town now not only thinks hellfire is directly responsible for multiple ritualistic murders, they also know Exactly who's in the club)

and looking back at the season in hindsight, there's actually more than enough instances that would make the members of Hellfire look kind of guilty, or shady at best, even if someone were to do some research. there's multiple instances of hellfire members lying to the basketball team about hellfire member's whereabouts which definitely doesn't make them look more innocent in the team's eyes. not only do Eddie's band members try to brush them off, Nancy pretends to not even know about Hellfire when Jason asks about Mike, and Lucas goes out of his way to keep Dustin and Eddie's locations from them by deliberately lying and sending them to wrong locations

and that's on top of the entire montage of Dustin and Mike trying to find a substitute player for a single game on the same day a student with no previous affiliation to Eddie Munson dies at his trailer? that looks Horrible in hindsight. especially with them asking pretty much every other student, from almost every club, while both prominently wearing hellfire shirts. if anyone actually remembers them and thinks about the events post Chrissy's death they could definitely make some assumptions

it's just bad looks all around. and that's not even mentioning how they have the potential to look even worse in s5. if it got out Lucas was with Max when she somehow died and broke all her bones? would look horrible. or Dustin now associating with Eddie's dad? and we don't even know how he'll fulfill Eddie's wish to "look after the little sheep"

and even Mike, who didn't even have the chance to attract suspicion post e1 due to being out of town has a whole thing going on with his image paralleling Eddie, with being the other DM and having his s4 style be directly in reference to Eddie's looks

while there's building hostility towards the hellfire members, and the focus (both visually and vocally) switches more to the members Other than Eddie, by the end of the season there just hasn't been a chance for the townsfolk to respond to Jason's speech yet. they all agreed with him, but everything immediately went to shit the same night. however, even the last few minutes of the show, that always have the most direct foreshadowing for the next season, include a shot focusing on the rise of religion and the fearmongering that started with Jason's speech

which serves as a great reminder that the entire town hall just agreed with Hellfire being a satanist cult they need to stop

s4 ends with the hellfire set up being one of the most explicitly obvious plot threads that are about to be a problem for multiple main characters in s5. like the few other obvious established about-to-be struggles: the gates opening, Vecna still being alive, Max being "gone"; we've gotten a full set up there but no payoff yet

and then there's obviously the question of what the people would even DO in s5? they all agreed that Hellfire needed to be stopped, so... what now?

on one hand there's the interesting concept of the town refusing to help the protagonists but they could also be acting as a hostile force against them

say anyone tried to warn the town about the upside down or it's creatures, the chances of people listening to them talk about actual "demons" and reacting in any positive way is probably near 0. even if you saw a Demogorgon nibble on your neighbour an hour ealier, would you really listen to someone you think intentionally opened the Hellgate that let the creatures through in the first place?

but then there's of course the active antagonistic angle they could also take. Jason was calling for Hellfire to be actively opposed and stopped, not passively. and the show Does go out of it's way to show the overcrowded weapons store in multiple shots post Jason-speech

we're supposed to know these people are armed going forward. whether they're buying them to go hunting, or wanting to go shoot Eddie Munson, the weapons are there now... also ignore the 7 separate hellfire wanted posters in the opening shot of the store alone 💀(it's actually 9, i didn't circle the two that are cut off in the bottom corner. that whole board is just plastered with that one photo)

(the implication of what the guns are for couldn't be more obvious if they tried. again, also the scene where Jason tries to intimidate Nancy and directly asks about where Mike is. also the scene where Erica and co try to hide from the basketball team members in the store. the scene features, guns, hellfire posters everywhere, and characters specifically asking about the whereabouts of a member while other people are actively hiding)

and the weapons could play out in a positive way in s5 too, say the lady from next door gets hands on involved and takes shots at the Demobats in her front yard

but the reactionary, scared, and angry town that blames a specific small group of people for everything that's happening could also lead to MCs having to actively worry about getting shot by someone they've seen at the supermarket for 10+ years on top of the supernatural threat

TLDR: re Hellfire, none of these members will have a good time in s5

Edit (because i forgot to include these images and am silly)

Hellfire even makes it on the local news by the end of the season

and in line with the focus shifting from Eddie to the other hellfire members, the news anchor then goes to say that Eddie Munson is presumed dead after the earthquake but that that isn't enough for the town. the news even mentions the conspiracy theory that the hellfire murders CAUSED the earthquake. so anyone who hasn't heard Jason's speech, now they're getting it from a "reputable" source too. call that high quality journalism, let's throw the local highschoolers under the bus

we're supposed to remember the fear of the "satanic cult killing children" that Jason spread to the town. it's still there. and it's not just in the local town hall anymore, its being broadcast on live television. so just in case you didn't catch wind of who caused a "gate to hell" to open in your suburban neighbourhood the first time, the news anchor thankfully tells you who everybody Says is responsible, it's the 14-18 year old satanist serial killers duh

#the hellfire set up for s5 being so obvious gets me okay #i'm excited about it #watching s4 you can really just see how it progressively looks worse for the members #i'm just curious which route they'll actually go with it #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #st s5 #st s5 speculation #stranger things

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emblazons · 5 months

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so I swore I was not going to start speculating off of set images, but given the one's we've gotten of Dustin so far, I cannot help myself (plus it's fun). Still: none of the theories I've seen so far make as much sense to me as this being tied to Dustin's trauma and him having a Vecna Vision/Flashback, which becomes clearer the more you put the details revealed in the images into the context we've been given by S4 + The Duffers.

First, the images I'm referencing (TW: IMAGE SPOILERS):

Separately, these things (the basketball players, Dustin's hellfire fit being the same at both the grave and school + him wearing Eddie's rings + Mike's hair & attire) all feel a bit disparate...until you remember the things both Dustin is trying to cope with (Eddie's death + feeling like an outsider) and the Duffers have said re: Eddie and his effect on the characters (listen if you can, its only 3 min). Why?

Well, because we know for a fact that 1) Dustin and Mike were the ones who felt most aligned with Eddie given their being bullied—

—even though we spent all of S4 building the bond between Dustin and Eddie in particular, because Mike was in California with Will.

Similarly (and while I know it's not primary canon), we get this context from Lucas in Lucas on the Line, which corroborates Dustin's comment about Lucas "making all his sports friends" and feeling deeply betrayed by that fact—

—and even stuff about Mike's appearance "not changing" (pre-hellfire, in the moments he's still in S3/regressive conformist territory +not embracing himself)....something that Eddie talks about in S4 when he comments on the look Mike had when he met him.

(I've also already commented on that Mike's shirt looks a lot like the one El wears post Rink-O-Mania in S4—which plays a lot into the idea of Mike giving El a shirt that represents conformity to him (just like her being his girlfriend does, given he cannot be himself in front of her at all in S4).

Combining all of these things though—Dustin being the only one who is in the Hellfire shirt (while all the other extras look a very "S1 good suburban kid" I/ first day of school), Mike showing up (also looking like his 'conformist' self in contrast), Basketball players being on the scene (the people Dustin felt stole Lucas from him)...combined with him in the same outfit at the grave of the person he felt defended him from those losses and challenges in high school?

It's giving Dustin's grief / worst thoughts thrown back at him 100%.

Given that Eddie, who he lost in an extremely traumatic fashion is the one who said forced conformity (which Mike is showing up dressed as alongside Lucas's basketball friends) killed the kids—

—and now they are facing off with Vecna (and Henry by extension, whose says shit like THIS) on top of asking people to "join him" in his displeasure with the world when he 'takes their souls?'

On top of the fact that we KNOW for a fact there is time fuckery coming for us...and it's likely enough that it's 'now 'canonically 1986 (or near it), which is reminiscent of this moment (likely remembered and traumatizing for Dustin specifically)?

Yeah. Flashback / lead up into Vecna torture is exactly what it gives to me—the things causing the event / the moments that lead into the torture. Especially knowing the scenes shot first (aka now) are generally more SFX complex because they take the most time.

bonus: @magentamee also brought up some great points on this theory here!

bonus bonus: I wrote something on Dustin and standing apart from relationship conformity as early as S3 here and wrote up the relationship he has with nonconformity today, which I think plays into his feelings of alienation / what Vecna might pull him apart from his friends by showing him.

#analysis marie back with a vengance with only 6 pics smh #BUT I HAD TO MAKE THIS. IT WAS PULLING AT ME ON MY DRIVE TO WORK THE SECOND I SAW THE FINN PICS LMAO #st5 spoilers #st5 speculation #eddie munson #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #stranger things #st s5 #my st commentary

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feniksido · 7 months

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For some reason my post about the Heist in the Hells has been getting some traction recently so I thought maybe it's time to talk about my actual thoughts on what I would like to see in the hypothetical Heist in the Hells DLC (my personal hell)

I was trying to figure out a whole bunch of stuff about Mephistopheles and the 8th layer of the hells! First, the vaults are in Mephistar, a citadel on top of a Glacier named Nargus, which is piloted by Mephisto all over Cania constantly on the move. Mephisto has his slowly melting throne at the very center of the glacier, and the rest of the city is like a mini-hell with 3 terraced levels where the lowest level is with “lowly least devils” and mid tier for mid devils i guess and then hellfire masters and nobles and the wizards on the third higher levels. It’s heated on the inside of Mephistar! It has baths and scented fires (not sure what they smell like but I assume something other than fire?)

The rest of Cania is just like barren wasteland full of just the weirdest left over arcane energy cus of Mephisto’s experimentation, its cold as fuck and it has constant surveillance against spies, mostly spies sent by Dispater, mr THE Arms Dealer of all the planes, so you know that motherfucker mephistopheles is very used to these types of people showing up and trying to go into the vaults and such

NOW Helsik very specifically used the words “I punched a portal into the Archdevil’s dusty vaults”, so I assume it was directly into the vaults that they fell into. I'm not sure how this is even possible but i'm not one to ask questions that i will never understand the answers to (lying, im seething)

However, regardless of the fact that I don't know how Helsik the queen that she is did that, she did do it. I imagine the vaults are huge and incredibly elaborate and probably several stories? Layers? Deep. The items and scrolls and information must all be neatly cataloged and kept track of in the most particular way because Mephistopheles is nothing if not obsessively controlling of all his knowledge and information

However the whereabouts of the actual physical objects must be like.. Constantly changing or magically protected so that those with no authorization cannot find their way through the vaults

Mephistopheles’s filing system is… insane but i do think he would keep track. Or make someone else keep track. He’s very busy. He typically hands down experiments he ran out of time to deal with in his busy schedule to his lessers so I wouldn't put it past him to have someone else also take care of the cataloging. The Crown of Karsus is NOT high on his priority list so i understand how this was potentially feasible to Gortash and The Dark Urge

Actually Talking about the heist itself now:

I imagine that if a whole heist dlc (don't think we’re getting one but a man can dream) did happen it would start with a bit of exposition. Probably explaining a little bit of the Letters between Durge and Gortash. Specifically these ones:

Then we cut to a scene where they’re already at Helsik’s place. They’ve discussed the plans in depth, they’ve been doing test runs for this in the House of Hope and now it’s time for the real deal.

Helsik “punches” the portal into the Vaults and they jump in. The portal closes behind them, Helsik will not allow herself to be implicated in anything. They take in their surroundings; they have to be quick, although it is heated inside of Mephistar the frigidness of Cania cuts deeper than anything Baldur’s Gate could ever manage. I imagine that they, having never been here before, look for something that can help them navigate/orient themselves in the vaults. Perhaps that whole cataloging system I talked about earlier. You can choose to ignore it and just go straight forwards checking every room making it substantially harder and less efficient which makes Gortash a little pissy at you for not taking his advice and helping him look for that or you can look around for one but the actual system for cataloging is encrypted

Maybe a mini puzzle game can take place here, like the one with the brain in Moonrise Towers

The thingy would then lead deeper into vaults where they would fight Gelugons (the main residents of the 8th layer also known as ice devils) and other assorted devils including pit fiends and pain devils. Maybe a couple dire polar bears also who knows who Mephisto but on his security team

At one point i want to come across an ice devil that much like Yurgir in the house of hope in act 3, can be convinced to side with you and become a temporary ally (perhaps it holds resentment towards Hutijin, mephistopheles’ second in command, and just got sick and tired of the monotony and wants to stick it to the man, i just want a devil in my party even for a second)

If you manage to successfully persuade this devil to join you, Gortash might be impressed and tell you about how tricking a devil is no easy feat, you can ask him to elaborate on that and he might tell you a bit about his time in the house of hope as Raphael’s unwilling guest Who knows

Moving on, I’d like several more puzzles to delve deeper into the vaults, some that lead nowhere some that lead exactly where you need to go, if you did the earlier puzzle Gortash will be able to guide you and say which ones lead nowhere and which ones are the ones you need to do

Eventually I want a mechanically engineered door to be the next hurdle which Gortash takes upon himself to solve on his own since he’s more well suited towards this kind of thing, during this, rounds and rounds of incoming security swarm around you both, and Durge has to defend Gortash while he works on getting the door open. Much like the quest for Halsin looking for Thaniel in the Shadowfell, you gotta keep the portal open but instead of “keep the portal open” its “keep Gortash alive and not distracted”

When the rounds of enemies are done you get a little cutscene where you see Durge being overwhelmed by the many devils and it cuts to Gortash who has just opened the door and he takes less than a second’s pause before he decides that instead of going through the door and escaping to relative safety on his own, leaving durge to die he helps durge and they are both able to get through the door sealing it behind them, now in relative safety, they both take a second to breathe

You as durge now can talk to Gortash and have the dialogue options to say Thank you, scold him for dragging you away from the bloody slaughter, or question his decision to come back for you

I THINK IN MY MIND that the response for all these options would basically be the same, because Gortash is a well practiced speaker and knows exactly what to say but his body language would sort of give him away for the way he’s feeling about the option you choose

Thanking him would lead to a more defensive “pushing away” way of saying “I still require your assistance, we’re not done. Don’t expect it to happen again.” tsundere ass but like imagine that but better written

Scolding him would get a sorta like “I cant fucking believe this” as if he expected durge to be a little more practical about things and not lose focus in the madness that was that slaughter and rampage, like i said still the same but just “Argh! I still require your assistance! We are NOT done. DO NOT expect it to happen again if you intend to act this way.” He needs you to focus, not lose yourself in blood

Questioning and challenging his decision but not outright saying you disapprove would probably be playing right into the whole “equals who challenge each other” thing that he likes to do so it’d probably make him slow down, talk slower, make him really think about why he did it and do the thing where while talking he can't look at Durge in the eyes so he looks off to the side or down at the floor “I still need your help. We’re nowhere near done. Let’s not expect this to happen again, yes?” Like acknowledging that yes that was in fact weakness that neither of their masters tolerate (because obviously the correct thing a baneite would have done is let the bhaalspawn die so that he alone already so close to the crown could take it for himself) and almost regretful that he didn't have a better excuse

You continue forward and finally come into the room with the Crown of Karsus and the portfolio labeled “Accelerated Grand Design”, there they encounter a boss fight, probably not mephisto himself cus they’d be dead tbh but maybe a simulacrum or something idk here things get a bit dicey for me cus what the fuck! How do they get out? I thought maybe they do the fight and once they grab everything they need or want they maybe have an enhanced cloak of dimension door or maybe a scroll of teleportation or something to get them out of the deep deep VAULTS themselves and into a place where they can “safely” create another circle on this side with the components and specific instructions Helsik gave them

They’d arrive home back in Baldur’s Gate and celebrate their victory briefly and bada bing bada boom the dlc is over. If i had it my way at the end right there those two idiot geniuses would get so horny from the powerrush and bloodlust they just experienced that they end the dlc with durgetash fucking nasty

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #enver gortash #the dark urge #durgetash #now when does this take place? great question i dont have an answer for you #do i have it all thought out? no i do not #did i spend a lot of time researching Mephistar just to have nothing to show for it? absolutely baby #helsik #guys please tell me you have your own thoughts i literally feel like im losing my mind #baldur’s gate 3

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rainylana · 1 month

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Eddie x farmers daughter!reader

eddie munson x female reader

summary: introductory head canons about when eddie met the farmers daughter. let me know if you want more. very fluffy! also does that not look like his van in the picture?!?!

• he saw you one morning on his way to school, the big moving van parked outside the large, boarded up home. he had stopped, shielding his eyes from the sun as he observed the scene. he saw you then, in a long yellow summer dress, hair in a long ponytail as you helped your family carry in boxes, brown cowboy boots on your bare legs as you trampled through the soft mud. he fought the urge to go and talk to you.

• he’d asked his friends first if they knew anything about a knew student, getting to know anything he could about you. it was strange, the sudden interest of hawkins new family, but he constantly found himself looking around the area he was in for a familiar face.

• you showed up to school three days later, your boyish outfit catching the attention of some of the popular, cliché group of students. A pair of jeans and a flannel, heavy boots and your hair tousled back into two long braids, cheeks freckled with little brown and tan spots.

• eddie had smoothed back has hair, glancing at the mirror he kept in his locker, ignoring the way his friends made fun of him, before going over to make his move. he sweet talked you very welcomingly, convincing you to sit by him during lunch so he good get to know you.

• he found out you came from a family of farmers. explains the outfit, he had thought. your dad had wanted a fresh start and a new crop, and heard that indiana was a great place to plant wheat and corn. your mother had a greenhouse, or hoped to have one within the next few months. it would be a lot of work, you had told him, so you wouldn’t have much time to socialize much, after he had asked you to attend his hellfire event after school, slapping mike on the shoulder when he whined.

• there was something about you that drew him in. maybe it was the fact you were beautiful. the way your skin was sun kissed from being outside so much or the way your voice had a southern twang to it. maybe it was the way you kicked out your boots and flipped your braids. but you sat with him everyday for the next two days before he was offering his services at your home, hoping you’d need some help moving in.

• he was over that saturday, nervous and anxious to see you outside of school. he loved the way you looked in sun dresses, especially with your boots on, bare legs and let down hair. He was growing to be in love with your boots.

• your father was the a typical farmer. overalls, straw hat and piece of wheat twirling about between his teeth. he shook the munson boys hand, eyeing his metal chains and jewelry before laughing to himself briefly, thanking him for being a helpful neighbor and welcoming his daughter to school. he’d gone red faced and nodded.

• then he met your mother. a beautiful woman who’s beauty you had been passed down. you were almost the spitting image of your. while you had your dad’s hair, you had her face and height. she had fixed the both of you lunch after helping unpack the living room boxes, sandwiches and lemonade. he had three sandwiches and four glasses to drink.

• your siblings were young children. 10, 6 and 2. The last one being a happy accident. He didn’t talk to them much. He didn’t know how to go about talking to children, nor did he really want to. All he really cared about was getting to know you.

• he asked you question after question getting to know you, where you came from, what your interests were, when he was going to see you next.

• he thought of you the entire weekend until he saw you monday, smiling like a goof at lunch when you sat down beside him. you brought him a tin of cookies your mom had baked for him. he wouldn’t share them with the rest of the table.

• he spent almost every day with you after that, helping you move in, helping your dad outside in the field, which he did not flourish at, but he did it to impress you. you had made the comment one day, “sometimes i think he works too hard. i worry about him out there.”

• after hearing that, the next day he showed up in blue jeans, white adidas and a ripped, white tee shirt, ready to get his hands dirty. he didn’t know what to do, but your dad showed him and guided him through towing the soil for a proper crop.

• pretty soon you were attending hellfire, spending time up in your room together working on homework. you worked on homework, he just sat and watched you, occasionally copying down an answer. you went to the movies together, the local carnival.

• one night he was kissing you gently, your body pressed against his van, faces hot and sweaty from the summer sun. “be my girlfriend?” he husked between kisses. you politely accepted, smiling into his mouth.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x farmers daughter reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #stranger things #stranger things season four #joseph quinn #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson fluff #lana’s shit post #farmers daughter

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chirpsythismorning · 5 months

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Fun fact: the shot of Mike stepping off the cliff in s1 was likely a visual parallel to Sarah jumping off the stairs in this shot from Labyrinth (1986).

For those that haven't read this theory, please do because I didn’t make these observations myself and the original post goes a lot deeper into the details from Labyrinth, which in some ways align a little too conveniently with the narrative we’re seeing unravel on the show with Mike over the seasons.

For some basic context, in s4, we even get a reference to M.C. Escher’s Relativity hanging on the wall in Mike’s room, which is also on the wall of Sarah’s bedroom, along with that work being what inspired the scene in Labyrinth.

This next part has actually been talked about before quite a bit in the fandom, even outside of tumblr, so it’s not exactly some breakthrough as a concept on its own.

Every season, in the first scene (re)introducing the main characters, Mike is running late in some capacity. In 1x01 it’s around 3 minutes, in 2x01 it’s around 6 minutes, in 3x01 it’s around 8 minutes, and in 4x01 it’s around 13 minutes.

So technically not the literal season opener, as that’s usually reserved to a flashback at some different location, but obviously still within those first 15 minutes, following directly after the opener…

And since we already have an idea of what the opening of s5 is going to be, what do we think the scene directly after it is going to be? You know, in the scene that Mike has been consistently running late in, for four seasons now?

Speaking of 15 minutes, I think that if they were to keep this trend going for the final season (the full circle-ness of it all is honestly too epic to pass up), it’s likely that this final time it will happen around the 15 minute mark of 5x01, as that would make the build up for it each season pretty consistent.

And not only that, but it would also literally be a callback to what Karen says to Mike that first time he’s late in s1:

And here’s my other favorite line from one of these scenes, in the context of this theory, because it literally acknowledges this concept directly and with this air of foreshadowing I cannot stress enough:

Interestingly, another detail that ties all these ‘Mike being late’ scenes together, is stairs.

In s1 he’s running up the stairs to convince his mom to let them keep playing.

In s2 he’s rushing down the stairs trying to avoid Nancy’s wrath.

In s3 he’s awkwardly bumping into strangers going down the escalator in Starcourt Mall.

And in s4 he’s hurrying down the stairs on his way to school.

The whole point of Labyrinth is that it’s an allegory for growing up, with Sarah going from dressing up as a princess to reenact one of her favorite fairytales after being chastised by her step-mom for not going on more dates like girls her age, to Sarah rejecting her childhood and it leading to an unfortunate series of events, forcing her to face reality and take responsibility of her own life.

Does this sound like anyone we know?

Mike, who starts the show in s1 playing DND animatedly with his friends before being interrupted by his mom to end the campaign despite protests, to his mom in s2 punishing his bad behavior by having him get rid of some of his favorite toys, to him in s3 insisting that they’re 'not kids anymore' and that it was inevitable for them to stop playing games and grow up and get girlfriends, to him now in s4 reverting back to this earlier version of himself, sporting the Hellfire shirt proudly, to then reverting back to pretending when showing up at the airport with Argyle calling his outfit a shitty knock off (aka calling Mike a shitty knock-off), and without the story ever acknowledging why those shifts happened in the first place, and with one season left?

Hint? Forced conformity. That’s what’s killing the kids. That’s the real monster.

They literally told us already that out of all the monster we've seen in the show, this is what is worse than all of that. Meaning that what is about to go down, most likely topping everything we've seen up to this point, is likely going to involve forced conformity.

I also think it’s interesting that the scene in Labyrinth happened during the climax of the film, because arguably if you were to watch Stranger Things in its entirety, from s1-5, the beginning of s5 is going to feel very much like the climax to the overall story.

Things are going to be happening fast. The stakes are insane because they need to top everything that they’ve done up to this point. Something’s gotta give. And Mike is just not looking safe out here guys.

I could go on and on about all the hints that Mike is danger, but I’ll just share my favorites.

How am I gonna survive a whole week without you guys? Mike says, at the tail end of his opening scene in s4, and with s5 set to start at the end of said week.

Mike sitting in front of an antique funeral home fan in the s4 promotional pictures of the party in the Creel attic.

Nancy saying she saw Mike die in the vision Vecna showed her, with the early stages of said vision coming true as season 4 nears its end.

Mike getting hit in the head with an arrow front and center by Suzie’s brother, in a sequence that was loaded with foreshadowing for the end of s4 (and beginning of s5?).

Watch out dominos. Your dominos are gonna fall. Argyle says, with Mike equally in the frame behind him.

Without heart, we’d all fall apart. Will says, after telling Mike he’s the heart.

A Karen lookalike standing in front of the missing person's board at the end of s4.

Mike’s very first line in the show (also the literal first line in the show) being A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you into the darkness. It is almost here…

So maybe, theoretically speaking, what we could get by that 15 minute mark going into s5, is Mike running late one last time, and it potentially being a callback to that cliff scene ie. Labyrinth.

Another scene that I think might've been foreshadowing what is currently going down, is Max and Mike both getting knocked out by Billy at the end of s3. Max goes down first and Mike follows right after, though Max is the first to come to and help them both up.

We know Max is unlikely to be separated from the rest of the characters the whole season, that’s just not feasible. She'll at least be on-screen despite maybe not being back with the others right away, even if it’s just a cryptic cliffhanger at the end of 5x01, followed by her returning more consistently on screen after that leading up to her rescue. With the way things ended in s4 though, we need to know where she’s at and get to finding her. Which is why I think at most it will be a 1-2 episode arc.

So maybe, this moment from s3 was a hint about Max and Mike’s impending doom at the hands of Vecna, as a result of not only their emotional states, but also their bonds with El, and them then being isolated for a short time (presumed dead), only to find their way back?

It’s also worth noting Mike was the only person to witness any of Max’s symptoms from the curse prior to her finding out about it, with the camera focusing on him beside her and looking at her worriedly as her nose bled. We don’t know who Vecna’s fourth victim was going to be, because Max threw herself in as bait, but could it have originally been Mike?

I know a lot of people don't like the Mike getting Vecna'd theories or Mike is depressed takes and so if you find yourself in that position, feel free to subtweet away or whatever you need to cope with my nonsense.

I'm not a big Mike is suicidal truther or anything even, nor do I think it makes sense for him to get Vecna'd in the traditional sense like how it happened with the others in s4 because the gates are open. But Vecna still hasn’t carried out his entire plan, a plan that includes Mike dying. And the imagery surrounding it all leading up to this is compelling regardless.

If one shot at the end of s3, with Max sitting in Billy's room while Hopper was in the background saying and yeah sometimes it's painful and sometimes it's sad was enough to hint at her whole depression arc in s4, then Mike being focused on for multiple shots while Hopper was in the background saying But, lately, I guess I've been feeling... distant from you. Like you're pulling away from me or something.-- And I guess, if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change, with Mike looking longingly at the Byers house, cutting to Will looking out the car window crying, then cutting back to Mike walking into his mom's arms with a dead stare on his face, has gotta be enough to justify dude going through some shit, which coincidentally matches up with everything talked about here.

Turns out getting to Mike, now that was the key…

Maybe the first episode of s5 is about Mike ending up wherever Max is, somewhere caught in between, and them ‘crawling’ back ie. The Crawl.

Definitely might add some context to that funkopop shot-listing video Ross posted, followed by one other photo a few days later with the caption being that they finished shot-listing for 5x01-5x02. Meaning the initial video posted was likely from 5x01...

#stranger things #mike wheeler #are they cool enough to pull this off?#remains to be seen #but why break a four season streak?#something something fifteen after #something something you’re late. again! we’re gonna miss the opening!#something something running up that hill and smalltown boy having almost the exact same fucking beat #also blankly staring at sadie and finn sitting close to each other in the s5 filming announcement pic #with finn being the only one out of all of them holding a script for the crawl 😀

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babybluebex · 1 year

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how do you think baby anthony would react to seeing joe in character as eddie??? like his wife would obviously think it’s really hot but little baby anthony is in her arms just staring at him😂🥺

ok i got like several requests for this concept and i just HAD to write it bc it's so cute (also hella short whoops sorry :/)

You spotted him before he saw you. Of course, Joe was working and wasn’t really paying attention to who came and went from the outdoor set— if you knew anything about film sets, people were always coming and going. The only thing that made you special was the baby on your hip. Anthony was a “wee lad”, as his namesake called him, only 13 months old, small with thin blond hair and giant brown eyes. He had just started walking on his own, babbling away nonsense every day, and you loved having a baby around. The part that sucked was that Joe had been called from home to film Stranger Things.

He hated leaving you two, but you had convinced him to do it. He had auditioned back in 2019, before you even knew you were pregnant, and, by the time Anthony came around, he had already been offered the role of Eddie. Joe wanted to pull out of the project when you found out you were pregnant, mere days after the Duffer brothers had offered him the role and he had accepted, but you told him absolutely not. “This is the biggest thing you’ve ever done,” you told him. “You can’t sacrifice your career for me.”

And now, you had flown from London to Atlanta with a baby in order to visit Joe. You told him that you were coming, but you had fudged the truth a bit, and told him that you weren’t coming for another week. Just that morning, as you were about to leave for the airport, Joe Facetimed you and blew raspberries at Anthony. Joe had lost a lot of weight to play Eddie and the look of his thin cheeks was too different for you, and you had no idea what his costume entailed, so you had no idea what to expect when you got on set.

You didn’t expect the long dark curls that ran down his back. You didn’t expect the ripped jeans and trainers and leather jacket and denim vest. You didn’t expect the shirt he wore, emblazoned with a logo for the Hellfire Club. He looked so different, yet exactly the same, and you bit your lip as the director yelled cut.

You watched Joe fall out of character, and his eyes snapped to you in an instant. “Darling!” he called, and he started to make his way to you. You saw his scene partner (Joe Keery, whom you had never met, wearing a yellow sweater) give you a confused look, but you focused on Joe as he came to you, smiling wildly. He looked gorgeous, but you did take a step backwards as he approached you out of instinct. It was your Joe, but he wasn’t your Joe. It was Eddie.

“Oh my God!” Joe grinned, throwing his arms around your middle and hugging you tightly. “B-But you said that you weren’t coming until next week!”

“Surprise,” you told him, and Joe laughed.

“Jesus Christ, he’s gotten so big,” Joe mumbled, looking at Anthony. Anthony was staring at his father, the way he did with strangers, and Joe added, “C’mere, Ant, come to Daddy.”

The moment Joe put his hands on Anthony’s waist, the little boy whined and moved closer into your chest, and Joe withdrew his arms quickly, as if he had been burned. “Does he not recognize me?” he asked.

“I mean, you do look pretty different,” you shrugged. “Really, really good, but also super different. The hair and the clothes and… God, Joe, why didn’t you tell me that Eddie was so hot?”

Joe laughed lightly, his mind obviously still stewing on the fact that his son didn’t recognize him. “Anthony,” he said softly, smoothing his hand across his son’s downy hair. “It’s just me, it’s just Daddy… Can’t he, like, smell me and recognize me?”

“He’s not a dog, Joe,” you laughed. “C’mon, baby, let’s let Daddy hold you or he might start crying.”

“I definitely will,” Joe chuckled, and Anthony whined in protest as you gave him over to Joe. Instantly, he started to wiggle in Joe’s arms, trying to escape the grip of a stranger, and Joe frowned. “Aw, baby, you’re gonna make your old daddy cry here. It’s just me. I know I look pretty silly, but it’s me.”

Before he could say more, Joe Keery approached the three of you. You had to admit that you were a little starstruck, and your mouth went dry as you smiled at him. “Well, well, Quinn,” Joe Keery said, and he extended a finger towards Anthony, tickling his little tummy. “Who’s this?”

“Keery, this is my wife, Y/N,” your husband began, gesturing at you, and Anthony giggled as Keery tickled his belly. “And this is my son, Anthony.”

“Nice to meet you,” you told Keery, reaching forward to shake his hand, and Keery’s eyes went wide in recognition.

“Quinn’s shown us pictures of you guys,” he said. “I didn’t know that you’d be visiting!”

“I told him we weren’t coming until next week,” you chuckled, and Anthony grabbed at Keery’s finger, sputtering his lips and laughing. “God, he seems like he’s having more fun with you than with his own dad.”

“He doesn’t recognize me,” Joe said glumly, trying his hand at tickling Anthony’s belly. Anthony still laughed, but Joe still frowned. “I think it’s the wig.”

“I mean, probably,” Keery laughed. “It does make you look pretty different.”

“But I thought he’d at least recognize me,” Joe said. Anthony was looking around at everything, smiling his gummy smile at everyone who passed by, and he cooed when you took him out of Joe’s arms and back into yours. “I mean, I’m his dad, for God’s sake.”

“Don’t take it personally, honey,” you told him. “He’s just a little thing, he’ll recognize you tonight when you get out of the costume.”

“But I want it now,” Joe whined playfully. “I want him to do that thing where he plonks his head down on my chest and makes that cute little noise.”

“Aw, yeah, that’s cute,” you mumbled, and Anthony kicked his little legs, obviously wanting to explore. “No, baby, you’ve gotta stay with either Mummy or Daddy, you can’t walk around here.”

“He’s walking?” Keery asked, and you nodded. “How old is he?”

“Thirteen months,” you said, bouncing an increasingly-fussy Anthony in your arms. “But he’s really little, so people think he’s, like, ten or eleven months old. Joe was really tiny as a baby too, so it’s expected.”

“Did my mother tell you that?” Joe asked.

“I mean, if it’s true,” you shrugged. Anthony finally made his tell-tale little whining cry, and you frowned. “Baby, can you get his binky from my bag? It’s in the front pocket.”

Joe was quick to go to your back, where your backpack sat, and he passed you Anthony’s favorite blue binky. You carefully pushed it into your son’s mouth, and Anthony gratefully took it, his little fists curling in your shirt. “I think someone’s getting sleepy,” Joe said softly, pressing his hand to Anthony’s chubby cheek. “Did he nap at all on the plane?”

“A little bit,” you said. “He was asleep when we took off, but he didn’t sleep for very long.”

“Maybe that’s why he doesn’t recognize me,” Joe said. “He’s just sleepy and cranky.”

“Maybe,” you offered. “Anthony, baby, let’s go to Daddy before he throws a wobbly.”

You gave Anthony over to Joe one more time, and your son made a soft coo behind his binky before his head thumped onto Joe’s chest. Joe smiled widely, bouncing Anthony for a moment, and he said, “He did it! He plonked his head down!”

“Maybe he’s recognizing you,” you said as Anthony started to tug at the ends of the wig, obviously curious about it. You could see him starting to warm up to your husband, and Joe pressed a kiss to his hair.

“My good boy,” Joe said softly, his eyes soft and warm as he watched Anthony suck at his binkie and play with the ends of Eddie’s curls. “My smart boy, my sweetie… God, I missed you two so much.”

“Well, we’re here now, baby,” you told him, and you leaned in to kiss Joe’s warm mouth. His lips were dry and chapped, but you didn’t care. You had missed him so much, and the incoming week would hopefully heal your heart. Anthony whined and nestled further into Joe’s chest, and you smiled at him and kissed his blond curls. “You’ve got us now.”

#joseph quinn #joseph quinn x reader #dad!joseph quinn #joe quinn #joe quinn x reader #dad!joe quinn #joseph quinn rpf #joe quinn rpf

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pinkdaiisies · 2 years

Text

Falling (in love) Eddie Munson x fem!reader

summary: eddie is tired of hiding his feelings for you, but when you mention another guy asking you out he gets jealous. you’re mad at eddie until he taps on your window later that night.

warnings: language, mutual pining, bestfriends to lovers, jealous eddie

word count: 1,662

notes: the guy that asks you out is chance, one of the background friends in the basketball scenes! look him up before you read… he is so cute lmao. also i’m really proud of this so i hope you enjoy!

in eddies mind, you were the most beautiful girl to ever walk the face of the planet. he would do anything to show that he loves you… well except tell you.

you have been eddie’s best friend since 7th grade. around freshman year is when eddie first started to realize he liked you much more than just friends. but eddie was too afraid of rejection to ever tell you. i mean why would you want eddie when almost every guy that saw you did a double take? eddie thought you deserved someone better than him.

little did he know that you have been crushing on him since the summer before freshman year. seeing him and his buzz cut at that awkward stage of growing out made your heart flutter. you’ve always tried to flirt with him that summer, but you thought that he didn’t feel the same and he didn’t want to make it awkward so he just ignored it. in reality, eddie was quite oblivious to your flirting that summer.

eddie was getting tired of seeing other guys look at you in the hallway and you smiling back at them. he wanted you to look at him that way. his only solution was to finally express his feelings for you. he found out it’s easier said then done.

“well when i told suzie i liked her she took it very well! it wasn’t awkward at all!” eddie was so desperate for help he went to dustin.

“yeah well suzie is a 14 year old girl and you guys haven’t known eachother SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL!” dustin did not understand why it was so hard for eddie to just tell you how he felt. it was so obvious that you liked him too!

dustin, lucas, and mike actually thought you two were dating when they first joined hellfire club. they had to ask gareth and jeff if you two were a thing. your guys constant flirting did not go unmisssd by the club.

“listen im like 99% sure she’s in love with you too, so please stop worrying!” dustin tried to reassure the metalhead.

“ok but the one percent! we don’t know for sure!”

“you are the most oblivious man in the world eddie munson.” dustin argued.

eddie could not reel his head around the fact that you could possibly have romantic feelings for him. sure you guys were always together, and you let him call you all sorts of names like sweetheart and m’lady, and you guys always went out to the diner on friday evenings, but that’s just what good friends do… right?

eddie was overthinking. he was pacing around his room like a madman thinking about you. so he did what he always did to calm him down. he reached in his bedside drawer and took out the note you gave him sophomore year.

hey dork,

after class do you wanna go eat at the diner? it’s friday and i’m extremely bored

♡

that note started the tradition of going out to eat every friday. eddie felt so silly that he kept that note for so long. you probably didn’t even remember writing it! but still eddie looks at the heart on the bottom of the note, convincing himself that you meant something more.

he kept everything you gave him. whether it be a note you passed him during class, a pen you lent him, or a cd you recommended him. eddie was just so smitten with you. reading the note and looking through his polaroids of you two, calmed his nerves.

his mind was set on confessing to you tomorrow.

eddie was not so sure about confessing to you the next day.

“hi eds!” you said climbing into his van.

“hello y/n, how are you this fine morning?” eddie said with a smirk.

“pretty good actually! you’ll never guess who called this morning!”

“who?” eddie said curiously.

“chance! the one from the basketball team.”

eddie’s heart stopped beating for a second. what the hell could he want with you? eddie thought.

“he asked if i wanted to watch a movie with him tonight. and before you say anything i said no. friday’s are strictly reserved for us.”

the color returned to eddie’s face. he felt reassured. you did seem unusually happy about chance though… maybe you felt obligated to be with eddie, like he was a burden? eddie’s insecure thoughts returned.

“how do you even know him?” eddie asked.

“he’s in my chem class. we actually kinda talk sometimes. he’s not as bad as the other basketball freaks…” you said defending chance.

sure chance was cute and all, but he wasn’t eddie. no highschool boy could ever compare to eddie. when sharing about the call to him, he almost seemed… nervous. but when you said that you had declined his date offer he suddenly seemed more relaxed.

“your seriously not defending him y/n, are you? he’s literally bestfriends with jason carver!”

“i know! i know! but trust me he’s not like jason at all.”

“god y/n if you really wanna go out with him that bad just say it, and we don’t have to go to the diner tonight!”

you’ve never seen eddie this mad before. yea sure, chance hung around with a bad crowd, but it’s not like you two were besties, you would have the occasional conversation in class!

“okay now you’re just putting words into my mouth eddie! i never said that. if i wanted to go on a date with him i would’ve. but i’m not. i told him no so i could hang out with you and now you’re mad at me!?” you really liked eddie, but man was he acting like a jerk right now.

eddie sighed, and stayed silent the rest of the drive knowing that if he said anything else he would just make the situation worse. man, did he feel guilty. he let his jealousy out, and now you’re mad at him.

once the car was parked, you got out as fast as you could and slammed the door. rushing to find robin. eddie stayed in the silence of his car for a minute before he got out.

at lunch, the first thing eddie did was try to look for you, because he noticed you weren’t in your usual seat right next to him. but instead you were sat with robin buckley at a table in the corner of the cafeteria.

he did the same thing once the final bell rang, and he saw you get into the back of steve harringtons car with robin in the passenger seat.

eddie, sadly, got into his car and drove to his home. he should be driving you to the diner right now. but no! you have to be such a fucking dick, don’t you! eddie mentally cursed himself.

later that evening you sat on your bed listening to a record. i should be at eddie’s trailer right now watching a movie… it was odd how upset eddie had gotten. you had the right to talk to who ever you wanted. it was almost as if he was jealous.

suddenly you heard a tapping noise on your window. you picked up your head and noticed a messy head of brown hair. eddie. you opened your window to let him in.

“hi.” eddie said not making eye contact.

“hey…”

“listen i’m sorry about this morning. i was being a dick, and i had literally no reason to be.” he looked down at you. “does the princess forgive my foolish actions?” you giggled at his words.

“i guess the princess accepts your apology. i just don’t understand why you got so mad eddie.” you said, hoping he’d elaborate on his dumb emotions.

you looked into eddie’s eyes, as he looked into yours. god, you could get lost in his eyes forever.

“it doesn’t matter… it’s dumb.” eddie looked down, fidgeting with his rings. you could tell he was nervous whenever he did that.

“eddie if it got you this upset, then it’s not dumb. you can tell me anything.” you assured him.

“i love you.” he said it so quietly under his breath. you wouldn’t have been able to hear it if you two weren’t standing so close to each other.

oh my god, why did i say that? i couldnt just make up a stupid lie to tell her? now our friendship is ruined. she’s never gonna be able to look me in the eye ag- eddie’s inner monologue was interrupted when he heard you giggle. eddie’s eyes shot back to your face and saw you smiling at him.

“eddie, do you remember the summer before freshman year?” he nodded. “do you remember when we went to the fair, and i held your hand?” he nodded again. “eddie that whole entire summer i was flirting with you like crazy, but you never flirted back. not once! i assumed you didn’t like me. but i’ve loved you ever since.” confessing made you feel lighter. a secret you’ve kept from him for years was finally out in the open.

eddie looked at you with the cutest lovesick smile on his face. it was contagious.

“can i kiss you y/n?” eddie asked.

instead of answering, you leaned your face towards his. you felt a hand rest along your cheek as he pulled you closer to him. your lips met, it felt like all the miscommunication throughout the years was being made up for in this moment. eddie kissed you like his life depended on it, but eventually you both pulled apart.

“well i know it’s late but we better get to the diner before it closes.” eddie said. “but this time i’m making it an official date!” he looked at you with a smile.

“you have no idea how long i’ve wanted to hear those words eddie.”

omg thank you so much for reading! my requests are open so feel free to leave one!! xoxo

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #eddie x fem!reader #jealous!eddie munson #best friends to lovers #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson fanfic #i love eddie munson #eddie munson mutual pining #pinkdaiisies #pinkdaiisies works

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lokiiied · 9 months

Note

before i start this is not hate and the post is a little bit old but it’s about the one saying everyone else sucks for not coming to lucas’s game have you ever had prior plans because personally if we had this super important meeting coming up and like a week before this super awesome event one of my friends asked me to attend their game i would have gone with the plan that was made earlier and vice versa and again this is not hate

hi! first off, i would never take this sort of ask as “hate” !! no worries there. but for me, this was less about the timing of things and much more about the carelessness and way it was handled.

it’s also not like the championship game was that sudden. like, it was a surprise to mike & dustin bc they don’t give a shit about basketball and aren’t aware of the ongoings of the team - regardless of the fact that lucas is on the team and most likely mentioned it. but no one else was surprised by this.

it’s the fact that not only do mike & lucas not care that lucas is on the team, but are actually upset with him for the overlapping events. he asks them to convince eddie to move the game to any other night. to which mike tells him to “talk to his coach. and get him to move the game.” lol. which is. clearly not realistic.

dustin says, “this is the end of eddie’s campaign and we need you!” then mike adds, “yeah and the tigers don’t. you’ve been on the bench all year.” which may be fine points & lucas isn’t that offended but the emphasis of the scene is put on this moment right here, when lucas says,

“i’m asking you guys, as a friend, just talk to eddie. get him to move hellfire. come to my game. please.” to which he’s met with silence. because it is made clear the significance that this game - and them being there means to him. to have their support. and then realising that they would rather choose eddie & dnd (yes, the super cool senior they all look up to but…) over lucas? their supposed best friend?

this is not just a poorly timed double booking where an “oh shoot, well i agreed to this thing first, so sorry!” serves as a reasonable response. these are two important events both involving lucas’ participation. one of which, is non-negotiable, it’s a championship game, if he doesn’t attend he misses an opportunity to play and maybe get his talents recognised & risks possibly being kicked off the team if they found out where he actually was.

the other, although also planned in advance, is an event made up of and controlled by his friends. eddie had complete power to move hellfire to another night at the cost of…literally nothing? the anticipation of waiting one more day but having lucas’ presence and making a small sacrifice to show solidarity/support?? and eddie says absolutely not because?? because it’s lucas’ fault for being in basketball? as punishment? i love eddie with my whole heart but it was not that serious.

what about max? she’s grieving, she’s depressed, she’s going through it. she doesn’t realise that she’s the only other friend he can ask to come. but still he says, “i know you never want to come to any of my games, but this one is kind of a big deal.” implying that he’s asked her to come before and she never has. and while, yes, he could’ve worded it a little differently- do you know how fucking hard it is to try and convince someone that you care about to come to an event that’s really important to you that would mean the world to you if they were there and for them to just…not care? it’s really fucking disappointing.

he tries to reach out to her and to tell her that he knows she’s not okay and that he’s there and she just. shuts down and hands the ticket back. and then later he is STILL the one apologising for not doing enough!! for not being there for max. i get how hard it is to let people in when you’re struggling and not wanting to go to events like that but, fuck he just looks so put out. she also didn’t seem to question/put together the fact that dustin asked her to play dnd that same night (bc lucas couldn’t be there.) but i wouldn’t really expect her to know why.

i do credit steve for being there/cheering him on, though i’m sure part of it was robin being there in band. and nancy was there as well, but for the paper. and sure, i’ll give dustin & mike credit for at least trying to convince eddie to move it. and it is sweet that max at least was listening to the game.

but at the end of the day, lucas is looking out at the crowd and seeing the absence of his closest friends. he finally gets his moment to shine, but they’re not there cheering him on, they’re not there to celebrate with him. and then he sees them leaving their game, not only cheering about their own win that he missed out on, but also that they asked his own sister to act in his place?? when she also probably would’ve gone to his game?? bc in ep. 7 he literally says “you still come to all my games though” ?? and again, just with the emphasis on lucas’ perspective in the episode - the look on his face as he’s leaving with jason and the team just says everything. we should absolutely be empathising with him. we’ve all been there.

all this to say, my post was in no way meant as “they suck” all the time!! i truly, dearly, love them all. but i do think every single one of them played a part and that everyone failed lucas that night. and it says a lot that none of them even realised or apologised to him and ig it especially bothers me because lucas tries so hard to be there for his friends, he’s always the first person to apologise when he says the wrong thing and he’s unconditionally loyal. even after all that you bet your ass he’s still gonna lead jason + co. off on a false lead and bike 8 miles to find & warn his friends. so yeah, i think lucas deserved & deserves better than that.

sorry for the TEDtalk lmaoo there were several factors to this but uhh yeah! hope that helps put it in a different perspective :)

#one thing about me i am not gonna be concise about it #lucas sinclair #stranger things 4 #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #eddie munson #max mayfield #lumax #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #erica sinclair #stranger things rants

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catholic-character-tournament · 1 year

Text

Round 1 - Side A

Galahad art credit @spiralstain

Propaganda below ⬇️

Junk Rat

I wish his Catholicism meant if he got killed in game it would take him 3 days to respawn

Galahad

OKAY SO . "Galahad (played by Jonny d'Ville): a travelling preacher/religious zealot who is told to sit in the Siege Seat by Merlin, and discovers the fact that Fort Galfridian is falling into the star Avalon. He sparks the quest for the GRAIL, and willingly goes to his death to overcome its final defences." DUDE SAT IN THE CHAIR THAT IS KNOWN FOR KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE HIS CRUSH [MERLIN] [AKA HANGED MAN] [AKA DRUMBOT BRIAN] TOLD HIM TO . SORRY I THINK THATS REALLY FUNNY. he found out the whole shitshow of a spacestation he lived on was gonna fall into the sun and he went around yelling about it incomprehensibly and got fucking gunned down trying to get the GRAIL and just kept going through the gunfire because of how Religious [tm] he was . he died . in once and future king it just "galahad's blind faith" . also hellfire goes really hard . he is the definition of going insane with the knowledge of the universe . also jonny dville played him thats bonus points

There was a prophet. The prophet gave three separate people three separate instructions. 1. Stop being racist 2. Love your son 3. Sit in the Chair That Makes People Insane Galahad received number three. He was the only one who followed the instructions. He sat in the Chair That Makes People Insane, saw the sun for the first time, and immediately starts preaching about how everyone will burn in hellfire

i dont know anything about this guy i just wanna help make Kai happy please dont like not count my submission just because i dont know anythinf except for the Kills You Chair im trying my best im sorry 😭

his themesong is called hellfire and it slaps btw go listen to it. anyways he is my blorbo blingus he is Deeply unwell i could fix him but also whatever is wrong with him is incredibly fascinating to watch. a robot dude who's been hanging from the gallows since forever told him 'hey go sit in the Chair That Kills People Who Sit In It' and he was like 'I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT MY ENTIRE LIFE'. the getting-his-brain-fried thing definitely made him worse but he was also clearly kind of fucked up before that. his death is probably one of my favorite scenes in any mechs album. maybe just straight up my favorite. ahem. SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT FAITH, BUT IT CAN HAVE POWERFUL EFFECTS ON THOSE THAT HAVE IT. IT CAN KEEP YOU FROM FALTERING AS THE BULLETS START TO SLAM INTO YOU. IT CAN KEEP YOU WALKING AS YOU LEGS ARE SHOT TO BLOODY STUMPS. IT CAN KEEP YOU LAUGHING AS YOUR LUNGS ARE FILLED WITH SHRAPNEL AND LEAD. IT CAN KEEP YOU SMILING AS HALF YOUR FACE IS BLOWN AWAY. IT CAN KEEP A MAN LIKE GALAHAD STANDING TALL UNTIL THE GUNS. CLICKED. DRY. anyways go listen to high noon over camelot <3

my friends my people my... flock I HAVE HAD A VISION!! A VAST FIERY ORB FLOATIN IN AN ENDLESS VOID!! and there so small so feagile US!!! BUT FALLIN FALLIN FALLIN INTO THE FLAMES!!! your soul is connected to the world youre in youre draggin it down with the weight of your sin surrounded by temptation and y'just give in we're fallin into the flames OF THAT FIRE THAT FIRE THAT HEEEEELLLLLLFIIIRE YOUR BROW BECOMES SLICK AS YOU PERSPIRE YOU THINK YOURE THIRSTY NOW WAIT TIL IT GETS DRIER AND YA FEEL THE HEAT OF THE FLAMES OF THAT FIRE THAT FIRE THAT HELLFIRE YOUR SICK AND SINFUL LIES WILL BUILD A FUNERAL PYRE YOUR PERVERSION SCARS THE STATION SON ITS GONAN FRY HER AND WE ALLLLLL FALL INTO THE FLAMES... oh i have SEEN DAMNATION MY BROTHERS!! ive FELT its searing heat within my VERY BONES !!!!!!! but there is a way me be saved... "OH TELL US FATHER GALAHAD, TELL US" I HEAR YOU CRY "IS IT PIETY IS IT PURITY IS IT VIRTUE?" NO!!! ONLY WAY TO SAVE US NOW IS THE HOLY GRAIL ITSELF... HAHAHAHAHHAAAA.... WELL THAT ORB OF DAMNATION MAKES THE SUN SEEM PALE YOURE QUITE CORRECT TO QUIVER YOU ARE RIGHT TO QUAIL THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE US IS TO FIND THAT GRAIL OR WE ALL FALL INTO THE FLAMES OF THAT FIRE THAT FIRE THAT HELLFIRE YOUR SKIN STARTS TO SIZZLE AS YOU EXPIRE YOU CLAIM TO BE VIRTUOUS BUT YOURE A LIAR !!!!! AND YOU FEEL THE HEAT OF THE FLAMES ... i said HEEEELLLLFIIIIRE HEEEEEEEELLLLFIRE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLFIIIIIREEE HEEEEEEELLLLLLFIIIIIIRE OF THAT FIRE THAT FIRE THAT HELLFIRE AT THE HEART OF THAT INFERNO THAT WILL NEVER TIRE IVE SEE THE END IS NIGH AND DAMNATIONS NIGHER OH WE ALL FALL INTO THE FLAMES

Ok i know this is kind of a shot in the dark because hes so obscure but i need to speak my truth. Hes so insane. The narrator calls him a “holy roller.” He has a vision which is meant to tell him that the place they live is LITERALLY going to get burnt to a crisp because its slowly falling into the sun. But hes like Oh my god i just had a vision of hell i need to save everyone from eternal damnation. And he happily gets killed and turned into a pile of slop because he believes its what he was “chosen to do” he quite literally dies for his religion. Hes also quite funny. I like him. Thank you

#junkrat #overwatch #junk rat #High Noon over Camelot #The Mechanisms #Galahad #cct polls #tumblr tournament #tumblr bracket #tumblr polls

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corrodedseraphine · 1 year

Text

so close | one shot

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: Seeing the movie Enchated for the first time you let an image of romance form in your teenage mindset based on the story. When you watch the film again a few years later, the circumstances are completely different and the situation much more messed up. angst/fluff, friends to lovers, modern!AU

the one shot is also avaliable on ao3

8 428 words

songs that I used: So close and That's how you know from movie Enchanted | Lita Ford ft. Ozzy Osbourne - Close My Eyes Forever

here it is after I almost deleted it twice, here you have super corny, obvious and a little bit angsty love story, enjoy (or not, I really can't promise you will like it.)

eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

"Jeff texted that he will be 20 minutes late," Eddie sighed, sinking onto the couch in the Harringtons' grand living room.

"That means we still have at least an hour before he shows up," Gareth laughed.

"A real star must have a good entrance" Steve commented while switching channels on the TV.

Steve, with much persuasion from Dustin and Eddie, agreed to let Hellfire hold its campaigns at his house from time to time. The rest of the group also took the opportunity to come and watch the game or just spend some time together. Your group of friends looked like a mass of mismatched jigsaw puzzles, each of you diametrically opposed to the other, but that didn't stop you from creating your own little "family."

When you saw the princess fall into the well to find herself a moment later in New York you jumped up on the couch.

"Stop!" you shouted, snatching the remote control out of his hand. "I haven't seen this movie in ages! God I was so obsessed with it!"

"There's no way we're going to watch some princess bullshit." Munson whined reaching towards you to take the remote from you, but you quickly moved away squashing Max in the process.

"Get lost Munson! We are always watching what you want!"

"Because my taste is amazing?"

"And mine isn't?" you muttered.

"And mine isn't?" he began teasing you in a high-pitched tone of voice.

"If you don't like it, there's the door," you pointed in the direction of the exit. "Today we are watching what I want."

"Fine!" He grumbled melting into the soft cushions of the couch.

El was watching the movie enthralled, and Max rolled her eyes every time a song started, but still smiling as she watched you sing along with the actors. Despite the mean comments, Eddie also couldn't get out of his awe at how word by word you kept up with the melody adding a bit of drama to it as if you were getting into the moment in the movie. Additionally, he felt somewhat enchanted by it, but he didn't want to admit it so he struggled to hold back the smile creeping onto his lips. Play it cool, Munson. He repeated in his mind. Just play it cool.

"Now the most beautiful scene in the movie." said in a disheveled voice as the ball scene began.

"Oh my gosh this is so corny. It is obvious, that Robert and this redhead will dance together and this will be the moment when they will realize that they came there with the wrong people." Eddie commented.

"This Redhead's name is Giselle. And even if corny, it doesn't change the fact that it's romantic! And that song? Purest magic."

As the first notes of So Close began to come from the speakers, the metalhead jumped off the couch, standing in front of you with his hand outstretched. "Get up." he said. "Dance with me." A wave of heat washed over you. You nervously looked into his eyes seeking reassurance that this was for real. "Faster before it ends."

Now, Without hesitating you grabbed his hand and walked away the couch so that you were standing behind it. Eddie gently rocked you to the beat. The smell of his colonge intoxicated you. You had never been so close to each other. So close. His large hand rested firmly on your back generating a pleasant warmth that further dulled your sanity. For several months you had been aware that your relation to Eddie was not purely friendly. Every time you managed to shrug off your silly crush, he would then do something like this and your every effort would be in vain. Did he just make one of your teenage dreams come true? Yes. How could you not fall in love with a man who unknowingly made one of the fake scenrios in your head from a few years ago come true? At that time, you dreamed that the real Robert was in Eddie's place, but this change didn't bother you one bit. This version was much better. You looked at him with disbelief and a kind of enchantment when you danced. When his gaze met yours he smiled showing dimples in his cheeks, making you feel that he was about to have to grab you even tighter because you wouldn't be able to stay on your feet on your own. Unfortunately, beautiful moments have a way of coming to an end very quickly. When the music died down he took one last look at you. His gaze went from your eyes to your lips. Did he want to kiss you? the quiet voice of hope in your head made you feel like your heart was about to explode.

"See?" he grunted suddenly snapping out of his trance. "Nothing special."

Your heart didn't explode. Your heart broke. Nothing special. For him. For you, it was special. Too special. Brutally brought down to earth, you returned wordlessly to the couch sitting down between Max and El. When a few single tears ran down your cheeks you explained that it was because of the movie and the touching ending. Everyone knew perfectly well that you were easily moved by movies, so they easily believed it teasing you later because of it. No one needed to know that you couldn't focus a bit on the end of the movie replaying in your head the moment when you had Eddie so close and still so far.

The next day was not the happiest either. Still feeling the weight of Eddie's words on your heart, which dragged you down to the very bottom, you spent most of the time in bed self-pitying. Unfortunately, you eventually had to get up to get ready for work. Not long ago, Eddie helped you get a job as a bartender at The Hideout by recommending you to the owner. So from now on you were present at every Corroded Coffin concert cheering them loudly from behind the counter, where you also had a perfect view of the guitarist, who ran around the stage like crazy and made all your attention not necessarily on the customers.

The bar was slowly filling up as Gareth and Simon sat by the counter waiting for Jeff and Eddie. Sitting with them were members of the band that always performed before the CC.

"So." said Gareth looking you deadly in the eyes. "When are you finally going to talk to him?"

"What are you talking about now?" you asked pretending not to know what was going on.

"Ugh, I'm begging you! I can't look at you two anymore!" He whined. "The latest dance-thing in Harrington's living room? Hello?"

"It was nothing special." You replied recalling Eddie's words to which Gareth rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure if we hadn't been there he would have stuck his tongue down your throat at the end!"

"It's obvious that you like Eddie, and I think the feeling is mutual." interjected Simon taking a sip of beer. As long as the guys played there for half free and paid for the drinks the bar owner pretended to be convinced that they were all 21 years old.

"Aww our little barmaid fell in love with crazy Eddie? How adorable!" at the very sound of her voice you winced. Diana was the bass player in the other band. From the very beginning there was no sympathy between you two and she was always looking for an excuse to get on your nerves. Now Gareth and Simon have handed it to her on a silver platter. Cursing in your soul, you ignored what she said.

"I think that's enough beer for you today." you said taking the drink from his hand.

"You should talk to him as soon as possible, for example today when he drives you home after work."

"There's nothing to talk about." Nothing special. Those two words haunted you on loop.

Never before watching their performance was so difficult for you. You had the impression that Munson was looking in your direction a little more often than usual. However, telling yourself that it was just a delusion caused by your stupid crush, you tried not to worry about it too much. What scared you more was the thought of the way home where you would be alone in his van. You always loved your comebacks. Especially when he took the longer route home because you were having a too-good-to-be-true conversation, or a song that was playing was too good to get out of the car. Now thinking about it, you felt anxious. It turned out that you sensed an impending disaster.

You left the bar accompanied by Gareth. Eddie had disappeared earlier saying he was going to pack his guitar in the car, but when he suspiciously did not return for a long time you decided that you would meet him in the parking lot. As you approached the place, the sounds of muffled moans began to reach you more and more clearly. When the source of the sound appeared in front of your eyes you felt as if fate had dropped a ton of rocks on you. Eddie pinned Diana against the van with his body as she tried to undo the belt to his jeans. They were kissing like there was no tomorrow.

"What the fuck-" Jeff asked loud enough to tear them away from each other. Breathing heavily, all red and with a messy hair, he looked at you. Diana only watched with a smile of satisfaction on her lips as you clamped your mouth into a thin line. Don't give her more satisfaction. Don't cry. Not now. Not in front of her. You repeated in your head over and over again.

"Shit, y/n, I know I was supposed to drive you home-"

"It's okay!" you shouted. "Gareth will drive me home." you said, and without waiting a moment longer you got into the other car. Through the window you saw Eddie saying goodbye to the others and, together with his new companion, getting into the van.

Despite numerous attempts by the guys, you didn't say a word on the way back. Struggling with thoughts of what he might be doing with her now was exhausting enough.

Love is beautiful. Beautifully painful. Especially when only one-sided. You cried for so long until you fell asleep, and in your dreams, annoyingly enough, some ominous voice repeated like a mantra two words.

Nothing special.

Since that evening, Eddie has completely disappeared from your life, except for Hellfire evenings. He forgot all about the whole of God's world with only Diana in front of him, who had him wrapped around her finger. His absence was horribly felt, and although a part of you was grateful for it, the other part was languishing. You weren't the only one hurt by this fact. The younger boys, like lost sheep, missed how they talked for hours about the next ideas for the campaign, Corroded Coffin stopped having their rehearsals twice a week limiting themselves to once a two weeks because Eddie said they didn't need to see each other that often anyway. Their music was still good, but by doing so they also lost something a little bigger, as they always stayed at Gareth's house after rehearsals hanging out and having fun as a small group of freaks. Now that bond was fading and when Eddie finally mercifully showed up for a rehearsal all the positive energy was gone. Instead, there was more and more arguing and disagreement. Even Steve and Robin sincerely missed his presence and how he always managed to entertain everyone with his jokes or stories. Each one of you brought something unique to the group, so it was no surprise when the absence of one of that group left visible traces.

In this way, a month had already passed, and you were wrong to think that time heals wounds. You changed all your Thursday shifts at the Hideout so that you wouldn't be present at CC's performances, kept your phone use to a minimum so that you wouldn't accidentally be surprised by their photo together which would be another stab. For El, high school turned out to be extremely difficult, so you devoted yourself entirely to helping her study, spending most of your free time preparing notes, researching materials, anything that could keep your thoughts away from Munson and his new girlfriend. Still, you felt as if all your life and joy had escaped you that day, not knowing what you could do to find it again. Your worse state didn't escape the eyes of others, but you kept dismissing them by blaming it on fatigue, which wasn't entirely a lie. In fact, you were tired of the whole situation, fed up with the sharp pain in your chest every time you saw him. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, of course you were proven wrong.

Everyone was very surprised that instead of once again turning down your offer to go out for burgers together, Eddie declared that he would be there. Everyone was happy to think that this was a chance to get back to something good. You sat at the biggest table in the diner talking about the upcoming freshman prom. El was incredibly excited, Max even though she wanted to hide it, also became more spirited as she showed you pictures of the dress she wanted to wear and asked if you would help her get her hair done on the day. Suddenly a cold gust of wind that came through the open door cooled the atmosphere considerably when Eddie appeared in it with none other than Diana. Gareth and Steve sent each other questioning glances and Robin just rolled her eyes taking the menu in her hand. As they approached the table a grave silence fell.

"Hi?" he said finally. "I know you all haven't had a chance to get to know each other so this is Diana." The younger part of the group muttered a greeting while looking suspiciously at the girl.

"Ed, I thought kids were the only in your funny club. What are they doing here?" she said with a goofy grin measuring Dustin from top to bottom.

"Hellfire is not silly." replied Mike wrinkling his eyebrows.

"Of course sweetie." she replied with a mocking tone as if Mike was actually 5 years old.

"So what are we eating?" Eddie interrupted before the conversation could go too far. Diana took the seat opposite you sending you a triumphant smile. Because of this, you were forced to watch her whisper something in his ear every now and then, making his cheeks turn redder as he showed his playful smile. Of course, they also gave you a show when their lips couldn't keep away from each other, with each time he embraced her she looked you straight in the eye and winked as if to show that she had won. But was it any competition at all knowing that you never had a chance with him? Nothing special. That's what you were to him. Having no strength left, you let her do it. You let her take satisfaction in the sadness you could no longer hide, and even sitting at the table with the people you loved, you were unable to focus on anything else. Your leg shook nervously under the table as you waited until everyone finished their meals and you could finally leave the cursed restaurant. Before leaving, El and Max went to the bathroom. When they disappeared behind its door Lucas turned to Eddie.

"I know Principal Higgins made you guys play our freshman prom," he said.

"Yeah, the asshole threatened me that if we don't play then once again I won't be able to graduate."

"I overheard Max talking to El about how super romantic it was when you danced with y/n to that song from the movie we watched before hellfire, uh Enchanted? the one from that scene at the ball... I thought you guys could play it at ours?" he explained. And no matter how romantic and touching his plan seemed to you the very memory of that evening was not so pleasant. Would you perform that song with Eddie now? Despite the fact that it could kill you seeing Lucas full of hope and the image of a happy Max won. Seeing your surprised faces he continued. "Y/n knows this song by heart anyway, she could sing it and you would play it, I guess it's not that complicated to learn?"

"I can help you." you finally said, and for the first time since he entered the restaurant you looked at Eddie, who was also looking straight at you. That was a mistake. Looking into his big dark eyes for more than five seconds was a terrible mistake that violated the cracks on your heart.

When Eddie opened his mouth to respond Diana wouldn't let him. "Babe, I don't think you're going to agree? You're a metalhead, you can't play some song from a dorky movie about princesses."

There was thought on his face, however, everyone knew what the answer would be. All of Lucas' hope was extinguished like a candle when Eddie admitted she was right, joking that he wouldn't want his reputation to change because of something like that. He tried to apologize to Lucas, but the boy ignored him completely. When the girls returned, the moment of salvation arrived an you could leave. The next stop was supposed to be bowling, but knowing you couldn't take it anymore you said you weren't feeling well and wanted to go home. The rest of them quickly decided that bowling could wait and you would do it another time. Eddie stopped to smoke a cigarette, watching as everyone parted in the directions of their cars, wondering why everyone had given up on further plans with such ease. Seeing Diana hanging on to him without a word you walked past them, feeling your vision getting blurrier and blurrier.

"Y/n!" you heard Robin calling you and after a moment you felt her grabbing your hand.

"I have to go Robin, really." Your voice was slowly breaking down.

"You're not alone with this." Steve grabbed your other hand squeezing it tightly.

"Do you want to come with us? A movie night for three?" she suggested smiling gently, to which you just nodded. Maybe you actually didn't have to be alone with all this? That evening you cried out in front of them all the emotions that had been boiling inside you for a month. Both of them admitted that they knew from the beginning that you felt something for Eddie, but they were convinced that he reciprocated those feelings, which is why they are unable to understand such a sudden change in his behavior.

Seeing Robin holding your hand was nothing new, the fact that you are close with Steve was not strange to anyone either. He had seen the two of you hugging many times, but now that you had ignored his existence all evening, had not spoken a word to him, and had only looked at him once Eddie seeing Harrington's hand tighten on yours felt something strange. It was definitely not a pleasant feeling. He also didn't understand why, despite Diana lying half naked in his bed, the only image he has in front of his eyes when he closes them is two hands holding each other. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't focus on anything else, and even more surprising was the fact that when he pulled away from the girl who was covering his neck with hot kisses, she just shrugged her shoulders and left, leaving him alone with his thoughts in the trailer, which now seemed very big and empty.

One day at the cafeteria, everyone was talking about a small meeting over the weekend that Eddie, as standard, didn't attend. Everyone was so busy looking at pictures that they didn't even notice when he approached the table.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked finally getting their attention.

"Pictures from Saturday, we had a little spontaneous pool party." replied Will.

"Oh, was it fun?" He couldn't help the upset that was slowly creeping into his system. He felt sidelined, and the worst part of it all was that it happened at his own request.

"Wanna see?" The boy handed him the phone.

Your presence in most of the pictures made his heart beat faster but it was filled with something strange. Longing? And what did he feel when he came across a photo of you making braids out of Argyle's long hair while sending him a wide smile? When you are sitting on Jeff's shoulders in the pool holding an oblong sponge and on the other side is Robin sitting on Steve's shoulders as you imitate a sword battle? The sight of his friend's hands on your thighs made him nervous. The final realization was the photo in which Steve embraces you as you sit covered in one big towel and Dustin in the water poses pointing a water gun toward the camera.

"Too bad you weren't there dude." Gareth said. "What were you doing that you couldn't come?"

"I uh- I was with Diana." What he didn't mention was that after twenty minutes she once again left him alone for the same reason as before.

Confused by his new discoveries, he muttered that he had to go and left the school. He knew that as long as Corroded Coffin played hopeless pop songs at the freshman prom Principal Higgins wouldn't kick him out of school, so skipping the last two classes didn't seem like too big a crime to him. Not wanting to be alone now, he got into the car and headed straight for Diana's apartment. Where another surprise awaited him. She opened the door for him dressed only in an oversized men's shirt.

"Hi Eds! What are you doing here?"

"I thought maybe we could spend some time together?" he replied uncertainly. From the end of the apartment came their male voice calling her.

"As you can see I'm a little busy." she said wanting to close the door but he caught it at the last moment.

"What's actually going on?" he asked trying to comprehend the situation somehow.

"What do you mean?" she looked surprised, which made Edde feel even more confused.

"I thought that me and you... that we..."

"Oh my God Eddie." she paused him. "I think you misunderstood the situation a bit. I like you and sex with you is really good, but there is nothing more between us. I thought you were aware of that." Seeing the shock on his face she continued. "The truth is that I started all this to make your little friend who is pathetically in love with you angry."

"You did what?"

"Y/n? The barmaid at the Hideout? I heard her talking about it with your band mates. I never liked her so I thought I'd get on her nerves a bit." she shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you knew that what we were doing was just fun. Definitely nothing special. And now I have to go, it was nice to see you, bye Eddie!"

Never before in his life had he felt so foolish. Gaining a whole new perspective on the situation, the dots in his head were connecting. Your behavior toward him was also making more and more sense. Everything suddenly seemed so obvious now. The problem was that it was too late.

You were awakened by the sound of several messages in a row.

Gareth: hey y/n, u here?

Gareth: it's important

Gareth: y/n?

Gareth: ?

You: what the hell happened

Gareth: there is an urgent meeting at my garage in an hour, will you come?

Gareth: it's super important

you: fine

Half asleep you rolled out of bed with great difficulty. But considering his behavior whatever the meeting was about it really had to be very important. The thought crossed your mind that it could have been about Eddie. Will he be there? Will he be there with her? Will you have to look at it all again and repress the voice in your head that constantly screams That should be me? Flushing your face with icy water, you returned to earth. Satisfied that you had temporarily succeeded in stopping the train of thoughts in your head as quickly as possible, you finished getting ready and left the house without leaving yourself a spare moment.

You were relieved to see that in Gareth's garage there was no trace of Eddie and Diana exaggerating their feelings for each other. But the sight of Robin and several other kids from the school band sitting fiercely discussing something surprised you. As you approached they all greeted you, and Robin began to explain the purpose of this odd gathering.

"We want to help Lucas, you know very well yourself that these kids deserve one fairy tale evening." she began. "So we've gathered some people who are able to help us and play this song from the movie," she said.

"We just need someone to sing, and since you already know the lyrics we thought you'd want to join in." Simon added smiling.

"Besides, we want to show Eddie how much we don't care about his girlfriend's opinion," Gareth rolled his eyes making a disgusted face at the mere sound of the word girlfriend.

"But...the prom is tonight." you said disoriented.

"We've got four hours to try to figure it out, I think we can make it."

"You can't make it if you keep wagging your chins!" Robin clapped her hands rushing you guys to work.

In this way, for the next few hours the whole neighborhood listened to the same song over and over again, the beginnings were very difficult to synchronize but the final product seemed to be really good.

As you promised before the ball you helped Max to become a divinity. Seeing her smile you yourself couldn't hold back yours despite the fact that at the very thought that you would soon have to be in the same room as Eddie a big nervous knot was forming in your stomach. When Max looked like a princess you dropped her off at the Sinclairs' house from where Lucas' mom was to drive them further. You, Robin and Steve agreed to get ready together at your house. When you pulled into the driveway they were already waiting for you, rushing you and panicking that you were late. Fortunately, the preparations went smoothly, except for the process of making Steve's hair.

Corroded Coffin were moving their instruments into the hall when you drove to the back of the school to park next to them. Eddie watched in amazement as you exited the car. Steve in an insanely expensive, elegant suit and perfectly styled hair, right behind him was Robin in a loose white shirt over which she wore a gray blazer and matching pants, and right behind Robin came you in a slightly airy black dress. All three of you looked like you had walked straight off the catwalk, but Eddie's eyes saw only you.

"Dude you okay?" asked Steve seeing his stupefaction.

"What?" he asked snapping out of his trance.

"I'm asking if you're okay."

"Y-eah, I'm just surprised to see you guys," he answered.

"Dustin declared Steve as the caretaker for tonight and someone to act as a host." Robin explained.

"Always the goddamn babysitter." you teased the boy with a laugh.

"I found two stragglers on the way, so I thought I'd take them with me," Steve bit back.

"Dude! That's not fair, you'd share!" Jeff shouted walking up to you.

"In your dreams!" Steve grinned embracing the two of you. "Ladies?" he asked arranging his arms so you could grab him under the arm, which you did giggling. You said goodbye to the guys and moved toward the entrance. Seeing your hand gently touch your friend's biceps, the gloom that had been with him for days began to deepen. Eddie knew that the evening might be very long and difficult.

To his delight, it turned out that the school had hired another band, so Corroded Coffin played at the beginning, and the second half of the prom was to be taken care of by the other one. When Munson reached the long-awaited ending and left the stage he noticed that the rest of the band was not following him. Surprised, he watched as Steve walked on stage and grabbed the microphone.

"My dear friends, before we say goodbye to Corroded Coffin for good we would like to present one more song." he said in the voice of a TV presenter. "This is a very special request, so don't be afraid to invite someone even more special to dance." He smiled. "Ahead of you is Corroded Coffin in collaboration with the amazing Hawkins High band!" Applause rang around the room. Together with the rest of you, you entered the stage taking your spots. All the younger part of your team pushed straight to the front of the stage looking at you with excitement. The first notes released by the piano were like the bullets of a gun to Eddie. Piercing his heart to the core, making him realize how devastated everything had become.

You're in my arms And all the world is calm The music playing on for only two So close together And when I'm with you So close to feeling alive

Your voice spread through the room, echoing a permanent mark in his brain. He had heard you sing many times, at various meetings you sang together while he played the guitar, but now everything was completely different. The warm light of the reflector illuminated your skin, making it shine from you with a beautiful radiance that enchanted him with every word. Even if he was standing completely in the shadows by the stands, he didn't miss how your eyes found their way to him, but quickly changed direction without giving him a chance to do anything.

A life goes by Romantic dreams must die So I bid my goodbye And never knew So close, was waiting Waiting here with you And now, forever, I know All that I wanted To hold you so close

He remembered that day. He remembered how for about three minutes the whole world was gone and all that mattered was that you were in his arms. Not expecting the whole situation to have such an effect on him. After all, he had always avoided anything related to romance. Even if he wanted to, he never had anyone with whom he could try such a thing. Then you showed up, looking at him much warmer than everyone else. Always available to him, always helpful and giving support. When, after a whole day of listening to nothing but insults in his direction, you met and your heartwarming voice with a hint of something he couldn't identify before dispelled all the coldness leaving only a pleasant calm. Now he knew it was affection. Even when you teased and called him an idiot, you said it in such a way that he felt as if the most beautiful praise in the world had been poured down on him. Why didn't he notice this earlier? Why did it take the entire messed-up situation with Diana for him to realize it? Why didn't you ever mention anything about it before?

So close to reaching That famous happy end Almost believing This one's not pretend And now you're beside me And look how far we've come So far we are, so close

How could I face the faceless days If I should lose you now

At that moment he wanted so badly to kiss you. To give himself to the magic of that moment and just kiss you. But he remembered that you are not alone. He remembered that you are friends, not a couple. Not knowing if you would want the same, he panicked.

We're so close to reaching That famous happy end Almost believing This one's not pretend Let's go on dreaming For we know we are So close, so close And still so far

You were so close. So close, just within reach, yet panic won out over desire. Not knowing how to act, the only thing that came to his mind was to step back and pretend that it didn't affect him even the slightest. Now he understood your sad expression when he said it was nothing special. Listening to the same song performed by you now, he had never felt so far away from you before. He lost you at a time when he was just beginning to understand his feelings for you. At the time he didn't know what was happening to him, now he felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

When the applause sounded in the hall again you started to go backstage. Without a second thought he ran there.

"Y/n!" he called out to get your attention. "Can we talk?" he reached out a hand to touch your shoulder, but you moved away from him quickly enough that he didn't.

"I don't have the strength to talk to you right now Eddie, I'm sorry." Your voice was weak.

"Please, give me a chance to explain..."

"What do you want to explain? There is nothing to explain."

"Why didn't you ever say anything? If only I had known that you felt something for me, things would have been different!"

"What would it change?"

"Everything..." he said almost inaudibly.

"Don't lie to me Eddie!" you blurted out. "Don't lie to me in a situation like this, because I can't stand it. I can barely handle what happened, I don't need your fucking lies!" you didn't mean to sound so harsh, but you were barely holding on.

"I'm not lying, why the hell would I lie to you?!"

"Because this..." you pointed at both of you with your hand "This is nothing special for you."

"y/n, it's-"

"I don't want to hear it Eddie." you said swallowing tears. "I don't want to hear it because I know it will hurt even more. You've made your decision. And as much as I was able to understand that you didn't return my feelings, I will never accept how easily you forgot about all of us. We were so close Eddie! So fucking close, but now? As far away as possible." Without waiting for his reaction, you turned and walked away, leaving him alone with the despair that was slowly consuming him all over.

All weekend, Eddie was immersed in sadness. Your words kept sounding in his head, refusing to let go. He wondered how badly he must have messed everything up that you didn't want to believe his words. Saying that he had forgotten about you wasn't entirely true either, but he realized that from your perspective that's what it looked like. He regretted his behavior. Now he knew that the hot moments with Diana in were definitely not worth it. He didn't even care too much about the fact that she used him. He focused all his energy on experiencing and condemning himself for having participated in breaking your heart. This was something he could not forgive himself for.

Sunday afternoon passed peacefully in the Munson's trailer. Eddie had done nothing all weekend except playing his guitar and sleeping. When Wayne entered his room a picture of misery and despair was painted in front of him, but he didn't want to push his nephew, saying only that if he decided to talk he knew where to find him.

The man was dozing off in front of the TV when a firm knock on the door snapped him to his feet.

"Hi Mr. Munson," his eyes were met by the entire Corroded Coffin squad. "Is Eddie home?"

"Hi boys. He is, but I don't think he's feeling well," he said, letting them inside. "Maybe you guys know what's going on?"

"Oh, it's very simple, Eddie instead of being guided by his feelings was guided by what's in his zipper and lost the girl who for months you were in love with him," said Gareth.

"He was in love with her, too, but he realized it a little too late." Simon added.

"You forgot to add that I also lost my friends." Eddie's voice surprised them.

"We're here, so I guess you haven't lost them yet." Jeff replied waiting for his friend's reaction. He just merely opened the door to the room wider in a gesture of inviting them in. Simon took a seat in a chair at the desk, Jeff on the floor opposite the bed and Gareth, without waiting for permission, spread out across the bed. Eddie sat on the floor next to Jeff playing nervously with the rings on his fingers.

"Dude, you look like shit." Simon finally said, causing everyone to laugh.

"I look just like I feel, asshole." Eddie grabbed the dice that was lying by his leg and threw it towards the boy.

"So..." began Gareth.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I acted like an idiot." Munson breathed out.

"And?"

"I know you guys think I forgot about you, but it wasn't like that. I just-" He couldn't find the words to describe the whole situation.

"Did you think with your dick instead of your brain? How is Diana by the way?"

Eddie with embarrassment told them how the whole situation looked like. About how he let himself be screwed into her hopeless manipulation, about how it all ended, about how he felt when he saw you perform with them on stage during the prom and your conversation after the show. A lot of emotions weighed on his heart, he had been feeling so lonely for a long time that now he did not hold back from opening up and sharing everything he felt with his friends. Even as they continued to make mischievous jokes, he was grateful that he no longer had to be alone with it all.

"Okay, I'm a little guilty about all of this. If it weren't for my loose tongue Diana you would never have known that y/n was in love with you. I feel obligated to help you get her back."

"What?" Eddie didn't expect that. Get you back? Was that even still possible?

"Do you feel anything for her?" interjected Simon

"Yeah, of course I do".

"So I guess it's worth fighting for her?"

"But... I don't know how."

"But I do." Gareth pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Are you ready to make a romantic fool of yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

Eddie didn't get an answer instead the boy smiled broadly and clicked something on the phone from which a song came after a moment.

How does she know you love her? How does she know she's yours?

"Oh my fucking God!" Eddie covered his face with his hands, and Gareth paused the song. Is he really going to seek help from a song from a damn Disney movie?

"This can be your final chance! And I don't have any other idea, so- Remember how excited she was about that movie? You've already used the dance to that song and screwed it up completely."

Eddie pondered his friend's idea for a moment. The truth was that he had nothing to lose, instead he had a great deal to gain. It was definitely worth it.

"Alrigh Giselle... enlighten me."

does he leave a little note to tell you, you are on his mind? send you yellow flowers when the sky is gray?

When you found a small piece of paper and a yellow tulip lying behind the wiper of your car on Monday morning you thought it was a joke, but you knew this handwriting very well. You would recognize it anywhere. Throughout the week, a new note with a flower was waiting for you every morning. On Sunday evening you decided to show them to Robin.

I think about you.

I miss you.

I hope your day will be nice.

So close together, and when I'm with you, so close to feeling alive You made me feel emotions I had no idea about before.

I never thought being romantic was for me, but you make me want to try it.

Romantic dreams must die? What if we tried to bring them back to life and make them come true?

Let's go on dreaming For we know we are So close, and NOT so far

The last change of the text especially reached your heart. Of course you wanted to be the closest to him in every way possible, but what if you once again gave your heart to him and after a while he would say it was nothing special?

"They started to appear so suddenly?" she asked looking at them.

"Yes, I completely don't know what to think about it Robin. First he tells me that one of the most special moments in my life is, in fact, nothing special, and then I witness how in love they are with with Diana, and now this all of a sudden?"

"Maybe it didn't work out for them?"

"And now I'm supposed to be a consolation prize?"

"I am so sorry." she said resting her head on your shoulder. The thought of you being his second choice was killing you from the inside. Why was he doing all this? Why couldn't he let you forget in peace and move on?

does he take you out dancing just so he can hold you close?

Nope. Not gonna happen. The previous dance turned out to be a disaster and he wasn't going to risk it again.

dedicate a song with words meant just for you?

This. He could do that, but a little later.

he'll wear your favorite color just so he can match your eyes, rent a private picnic by the fire's glow

After a week of getting flowers and notes, there was silence. You wondered what you should do. Why did he stop? Maybe because you didn't respond to any of them? Maybe he got upset and decided it was all a mistake? It's been a long time since you felt so confused and lost. Then, suddenly, your phone rang, and you were relieved that it was only Robin.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Hello to you too." you replied sarcastically.

"Steve and I will be outside your house in ten minutes, we're going for a ride."

"Wha-" before you had time to finish she hung up.

This was no joke. Punctually ten minutes later the honking of Steve's car sounded on your street. The ride didn't last long, less than ten minutes to Lover's Lake during which they both ignored all your questions. When you got out of the car Steve stood behind you covering your eyes with his hands and Robin grabbed your hand leading you forward. When Harrington finally let you see, you froze. A large blanket was spread out on the grass with thick candles in glass jars. Next to it stood a vase with yellow tulips, the same ones you had been getting before. Beside it was a backpack with your favorite snacks sticking out of it and Eddie's acoustic guitar.

"Guys, what's going on?" you asked turning around. But Steve and Robin had disappeared from your sight. Now in front of you stood Eddie dressed in his Hellfire T-shirt. But it was slightly different than the rest. This time the skull was in your favorite color.

"Please." he said walking up to you. "Before you leave, please give me a chance to fight for you." He grabbed your hand. Feeling you not snatch it from his grasp he led you to a blanket where you both sat down. The sun began to slowly hide behind the horizon. The warm orange created a beautiful spectacle by combining with other colors and reflecting in the surface of the calm water. The view was calming. It was as if the sky wanted to tell you that everything will be fine. You decided to trust it. Without a word, Eddie grabbed his guitar and began to play a song quietly singing the words. He sang as if he didn't want to startle the moment with being too lound. You listened in silence still not taking your eyes off the setting sun.

I know I've been so hard on you I know I've told you lies If I could have just one more wish I'd wipe the cobwebs from my eyes

This was the moment when you finally decided to look at him. When your eyes met and you saw in his sincerity, you knew this was the moment you forgave him everything. It was the moment you decided to trust him once again. To risk breaking your heart once again. You knew that he was worth it. Not wanting to waste another moment you put your hand on the strings to stop him. Scared that you were about to get up and leave, he swallowed the gulp in his throat, preparing himself for rejection.

"I forgive you, Eddie." Those three words were like salvation to him.

"Really?" he put down his guitar quickly and squatted closer to you.

"If you promise to be honest with me."

"Of course, sweetheart."

"I want you to tell me the truth Eddie, I want to hear it, please." Your voice was nervous.

"Let's start from the beginning when I lied that the dance in Harrington's living room was nothing special. Because it was. So damn special that I think I got scared of my own feelings and panicked and lied. Later that whole situation with Diana? I swear to you on everything that if I knew you had feelings for me I wouldn't even look at her. I couldn't believe that someone as hopeless as me could find his place in your heart..."

"Eddie you are not hopeless-"

"Let me finish, please." he put his hand on your knee. "I've missed you so damn much. Day after day every time I didn't come to meetings with you I couldn't stop thinking about you. And when I saw Steve holding your hand? Believe me it was like a nightmare that haunted me for days without a break. Once Will showed pictures of a pool party I once again didn't attend. I was jealous as Hell and angry with myself for being so distant from you. But what hurt me the most was that in those pictures you were so smiling, so happy... Which made me realize that you don't need me to be like that at all. I know it's terribly selfish, but you wanted the truth so you got it..." he took a deep breath. "It turned out that Diana only needed me to make you angry. She heard Gareth talking about you being in love with me and decided to take advantage of it. Of course, I have nothing in common with her anymore and I am disgusted with myself to the core because I took part in it.

"You didn't know that..."

"But I took part in it, and I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself for it. When I wrote on one of the notes that thanks to you I felt emotions I had no idea about, I wasn't lying. Damn it, before I thought I wanted to have nothing in common with anything romantic, but for you? I even watched that movie again, I planned it all inspired by a song that refuses to leave my head and drives me crazy because I wanted so badly to find the answer to the question how does she know you love her? Letters, yellow flowers, dedicating a song and a picnic? I even tried to train the raccoons from the trailer park to dance and sing but I guess they didn't like the idea." He grinned causing you to giggle. "The whole situation came about because neither of us had the courage to confess what we felt. That's why now I don't want to hide it anymore. I don't want to hide the fact that I am in love with you."

"And I am in love with you too, Eddie." you said without stopping the smile creeping onto your lips. The sun was long gone from sight however the night and its starry sky were equally beautiful. Your faces were illuminated by the soft candlelight making everything look like a scene from a movie. But it was much better than even the best movie in the world. You and Eddie now played the leading roles, and no one else but you decided what to do next.

"From what I remember they also mentioned something about a true love's kiss" No more running away. Early on he had taken too many steps backward and he had no intention of repeating that mistake. From now on, every step he took was forward toward the door behind which lay your future together.

"Oh, and what specifically?" You laughed, bringing your face closer to his.

"Something about pulling a tail," he curled a strand of your hair on his finger and pulled lightly.

"Really?" you asked touching his curls gently.

"And uh... somethin' about the lips I guess..."

"Lips?"

"Yeah. Lips." He nodded. "Listen. I know that I was an idiot. A complete asshole. An obvious blind man. But even the biggest idiot in the kingdom deserves a second chance."

"A chance for what?"

"For true love's kiss."

"Is this our happy ending Eddie?"

"No sweetheart. This is our happy beginning." And then, without waiting a moment longer, your lips finally connected. Kissing him was a much more magical experience than you expected. At first shy kisses became more and more thirsty for closeness. So close. Never before had he been so close as now. You wanted this closeness to consume you completely, so that you were short of breath. And if the true love's kiss was a real thing, you knew that only Eddie's lips would work in your case.

taglist: @i-me-mine

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aloneinthehellfire · 1 year

Text

Chapter 11: Déjà Vu

Season One | Season Two | Season Three | Season Four

Raining Hellfire: Season Four

Word Count: 3810 words

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, blood, violence/ attacked, traumatic flashbacks, knife

[A/N: i felt like reader deserved a moment to show just how badass she is. also yes the majority of the word count is just flashback sequences... i may have cheated]

Déjà Vu

You woke up to clash of red lightning, body aching like you had been dropped to the ground from a height.

Which, to your realisation, is exactly what happened.

On the ground next to you lay the bodies of three dead bats. Demobats, Dustin would probably call them. Up close, you saw the razor-sharp teeth, the scaly skin that made your own crawl. The pain in your abdomen was a memory of what just happened. The demobats eating away at you and Steve.

“Steve.” You gasp, sitting up too quickly and feeling the repercussions in the form of a sharp sting to your stomach. With a groan you clutch down on the wound, attempting to stand.

There’s a flutter above you and you almost start running on instinct. But something in you told you not to be afraid. And, as you look up, your breath hitches.

A swarm of black particles hovered above you and, with chill down your spine, you realised what had happened. The dead creatures, the tingling of power through your veins. Even unconscious, the dust had sensed your anger and you had somehow used that to your advantage. It explained the black blood dripping from your nose. You had promised not to use your power, to yourself and to your best friend. That didn’t work out as well as you hoped.

Stumbling away from the scene, you watch as the particles seem to disappear, trailing away to somewhere you’d rather not follow. You struggle to move properly, body still aching from the drop. Pulling your hand away from your stomach, blood stained your skin and you felt faint. But you couldn’t stop here. Wherever here was.

A quick look around and you recognised the woods, almost instantly. In fact, your small and uneasy steps led you straight to a place you thought you’d never see again.

The bench in the middle of the woods was covered in vines. Considering earlier events, you knew not to touch them. You just hoped they wouldn’t spring to life and drag you away. If another happy memory was tarnished by the Upside Down, you might scream.

“Eddie?”

He didn’t turn, your headphones blocking you out.

“Eds!” You placed your hand on his shoulder and he almost jumped out of his skin. He sprung up and got into a karate stance, his arms held out in front of him. The sight made you double over with laughter.

“Y/n.” He breathed, removing the headphones and letting them rest around his neck. “Hey, it’s not funny. I could have-”

“Karate-chopped me straight to hell?” You laughed. His eyes brightened as he smiled at you.

“You never know.” He ran his hand through his hair and you calmed down, taking a seat.

He pretended to shake off his reaction, walking to the other side of the bench when he looked up and stopped. He just stared at you.

“What?” You say, your hand raising to your face, “Is there something on me? I swear if it’s a spider I’ll-”

“No! No. You just-”

“What?” Your inner panic was showing. Alternate dimensions with human-eating creatures you could probably handle. A spider in your hair? That was the ultimate fear.

“You look different.” He said, sitting.

“Different good?” You asked, looking down at yourself.

“Yeah! Not that you didn’t look good before. I just mean that you look… different. From usual, I mean.”

“Thank you?” You said. Deep down, you were blushing.

“Uh, so…” He clasped his hands together. “Not that I’m not happy to see you or anything but… what brings you to the middle of the woods all dressed up like that?”

He smiled again. You could barely concentrate when he smiled.

“Funeral.” You managed to say. His smile faded and you snapped back into reality, clearing your throat. “Uh… Will Byers. It’s his funeral.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” He said sincerely.

“Yeah…” You replied quietly.

“Can I… help at all? I don’t know what I can do but-”

“Oh you don’t have to. I’m okay. I mean… it’s upsetting, of course it is but…” You struggled to find words that didn’t suggest you thought he was still alive, “I’ve had time to mourn.”

“Then why do you look so sad?” He smiled softly, seeing through you.

“I-” You took a breath. “I don’t like funerals. Not that anyone does, it’s a shitty occasion. I’ve just been to more than I like to admit.”

You looked up and he was agreeing with your words.

“I get it.”

For a few seconds, you just sat in silence before you took in the scene.

“Wait. Is this the famous bench I’ve heard so much about?” You changed the subject, your eyes widening with your smile.

“Thank you for noticing.” He smiled back, sweeping his arm out to display the bench in question. “This baby has gotten me through five whole years of self-reflection. You see, I’m working on myself.”

He held his hand to his heart, sarcasm marking his words.

“So it’s a spiritual bench. I feel honoured to be sat here.”

You smile at the recollection before it turns sour, sadness creeping in. This place held value to you; your first kiss with Eddie, in particular. Your relationship with him had only just begun and you had already been blurting out lies.

You just hoped he knew that your feelings for him were true.

A distant screech caught your attention as you stared back up at the sky through the layers of leaves. The trees provided good protection from the demobats, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other creatures lurking around.

The pain from your wound was worsening with each step you took and you search yourself for some kind of bandage. Your hands fumble across the material wrapped around your waist and it wasn’t until you focused that you remembered the yellow jumper.

Steve’s yellow jumper.

Fear flooded in. You had left him there, demobats tearing into his skin with no chance of escape from their claws. Swallowing the guilt, you tie the jumper tightly around your abdomen, wincing when it adds the pressure you need to your wound. Steve could be dead. You could be stuck in the Upside Down forever. And your only reminder of him was now soaking up your blood.

You didn’t know which way to go, your memory faltering at the flipped version of your home. You desperately wanted to go back for Steve, to find him regardless of if his heart was beating. But you didn’t know the direction you came from. All you knew was the path to the graveyard. So, with a heavy heart, you knew that was the path to take.

With every turn, you had convinced yourself you were going the wrong way. These trees looked similar yet so different to how you last remembered them, and the darkness didn’t help you navigate your way. You wondered if this place even had a daytime.

It was a relief to see the gravestones line the grass, as morbidly wrong as that was. But you knew your way home from here. Even if it wasn’t really your home.

You throw quick glances at the stones, mentally saying the names in order to focus and calm your nerves. You were alone in a monster-infested land, covered in blood. You had every reason to be nervous. You pass a familiar patch of land, images of your floating sister burned into your brain. You stopped when you realised that Billy’s headstone wasn’t there.

“What the...” You mutter under your breath, double-checking you had the right spot. That was impossible.

If the Upside Down truly was a flipped version of Hawkins, then the stone should be there. In fact, as you look around once more, there were many missing from the land. Every theory ran through your mind as you stand motionless.

Dr Mornt, a man that had died at the age of 60, had a headstone placed for him, marking the year he died; 1984. Although you hadn’t known him, you had walked past that grave so many times, always remembering the name. And it definitely wasn’t there.

Your eyes widened. That meant that the Upside Down hadn’t aged since-

A loud roar echoed through the graveyard, making your hair stand on end as you immediately duck for cover, hiding behind a statue of an angel, careful to avoid the covering vines. Your breathing was heavy, a sick feeling in your stomach.

You knew the roar all too well.

You heard a gasp and turned your head, seeing Nancy run behind a tree with the creature stalking behind it. That was just you a few minutes ago.

Y/n! Nancy! Follow my voice!

You noticed light shining through the bottom of the tree just next to the one Nancy currently used as a shield. If she moved, it would definitely catch her. She turned her head when she noticed you, her eyes wide. You glanced between her and the creature. You took a deep breath and slowly raised your bat, nodding at her.

She shook her head aggressively, figuring out your plan. You only pointed to the gate. When she went to argue again, you let out a scream.

“Hey!” You yelled, its attention snapping towards you. Your mouth went dry.

The creature roared, its face opening like a flower that held dozens of rows of teeth, blood still dripping from its earlier meal.

You risk a peek over the marble, immediately ducking your head once you saw the grey, faceless figure. Your hands start to shake, chest tightening while tears formed in your eyes. You needed to control your breathing, not make any loud noises.

Not if you wanted to escape the Demogorgon.

Silent tears rolled down your cheeks as you heard its heavy breaths, body slowly making its way through the graveyard. You look down at yourself, the blood smeared across your body. It would be able to smell you. And if it got any closer, it would find you.

Just as the creature swiped at you with its claw, you ducked, swinging your bat to hit it squarely in the legs and it toppled over, rolling in the leaves. You hid behind a tree and you heard it roar again. The gate was so close in front of you. You could still see the light coming through.

But Nancy was still trying to make her way through. The light was dim. It was starting to close. You had a limited time frame to get both Nancy and yourself through before it closed for good.

You grabbed a clump of twigs from the ground and launched them in the opposite direction from the gate. The action caused the creature to lunge away from you and you ran to Nancy, pushing her through.

A distraction. That’s how you had managed to run last time. The Demogorgon never reacted to sight, the lack of eyes proving your theory. But sound and smell were heightened senses. You just needed something to act as a decoy.

Your eyes immediately drift to the yellow jumper around your waist, but part of you couldn’t use it. You couldn’t. So, instead, you quietly take off your own jacket, slipping it off your arms with small tugs against the material.

The next step was easier, smearing it with the blood currently covering your stomach. You tried not to wince at the cold touch of your hand.

A twig snaps not so far from you and you realise you’re running out of time. Bundling up the jacket, you figure out where you need to run to and realise you needed to throw it behind you if you wanted a head start at escaping. Mentally hyping yourself up, you slowly unfold into a stand, the statue still acting as a barrier and shielding your body.

You slightly side step around it, away from the noises from the creature stalking the graveyard. Once you are at the side, you raise your arm ready and silently turn to the direction you needed.

And the Demogorgon stared directly back, barely a breath away from you.

It lunged at you and you barely managed to launch yourself away from the attack, landing on the cold grass and struggling to scramble away, still clutching onto your blood soaked jacket. The Demogorgon didn’t take long to pounce on you again.

It manages to pin you down, trying to swipe at you with its giant claws and it only just missed your face as you lean your head to the side. Instead, it tore at the skin just below your shoulder, scratching above the heart. Your breaths were quick and painful, a scream building up in your throat.

It was happening again.

It was all happening again.

With one swift motion, its claws wrapped around your neck and threw you to the ground. The bat tumbled out of your hand as your head hit the hard floorboards. Its grip on you was tight, restricting your screams to mere whimpers. In the background, you could hear Nancy’s cries.

You struggled beneath the weight, trying anything to escape. It brought its head closer to you and slowly opened its giant mouth, rancid breath blowing onto your face. Each row of teeth brought terror to your mind. You didn’t want to die. It was true that you were willing to sacrifice yourself if it meant that your friends were safe. But seeing what would be your end… you weren’t ready.

Tears escaped your eyes as Nancy fired the gun at it, yelling. But the monster didn’t move.

“Y/N

DON’T BE AFRAID”

A dark voice echoed through your mind as the Demogorgon’s mouth continued to widen. You recognised the voice from the Upside Down, its deep nature once made you shudder. Without knowing why, it soothed you.

You stopped struggling and just laid there, accepting your fate.

Air was restricted, the claws tightening. But you didn’t panic. The light began to fade as you were falling to a fatal sleep.

A choked sob escapes your lips as you struggle beneath it, knowing that Steve wasn’t here this time to save you. No one was here to save you.

But this time, you had everything to lose.

You had promised Max you’d come back to her.

As the Demogorgon lowers its head towards you, you knew exactly what to do. You slide the jacket in your hand to lay below your neck, your other hand reaching to tug at the material so both hands held it tightly across your chest. And then, just before the creature can open its horrifying mouth, you use all your strength to wrap the jacket around its head.

The muffled screeches caused it to lash out at you as you pressed the thick jacket harder against it. Once it raised its body slightly, you kicked your legs out with enough force to push it away.

With all its heavy breathing, the jacket was now suffocating the Demogorgon, clung like film to its mouth. You watched as it struggled against the material, attempting to tear it off before your brain kicked into gear and you scramble to your feet and sprint as fast as you could out of the graveyard.

You ran all the way through town, following the roads. Even when your legs ached, you powered through it, desperately applying pressure on top of the yellow jumper. Your mouth felt dry, fatigue threatening to strike you at any moment. But you couldn’t stop. The glances you had thrown over your shoulder never recollected any signs of the Demogorgon following you, but you weren’t ready to risk that possibility.

Even reaching the familiar road didn’t soothe your anxiety. Instead, you had a whole new reason to be afraid.

The house looked like it had the day you arrived in Hawkins, chipped away paint and all. The vines were new, but not unexpected. The house was a little darker, its homely feel stripped right down to its terrifying core. It felt fitting, considering all that had happened.

An empty house for a girl left all on her own.

Jack had worked hard on restoring his home once he sobered up, returning it to its original shining glory that had made your aunt beg him to buy after their engagement. He would tell you that story over and over, how she refused to hire anyone to paint her new house. Your aunt was a fiery woman with a kind soul, always wanting to grasp the opportunities to make happy memories, even long before she became sick. You only met her a few times, when you were much younger.

And now they were both gone. But you knew that, if there really was one, they were reunited once again in the afterlife.

Unsure of where to go now, you shiver as the adrenaline slowly dissipated from your body. You needed to find a way to communicate with the others and try to find Steve. You didn’t know how long it had been since you were dragged away, but you prayed he was still alive.

A flash of light catches your eye and you freeze, staring directly at the window of the house next door. The Wheeler house.

There’s another shadow of movement and your breath hitches. Something was in that house.

You loved horror movies; you always found a way to make them funnier in your head, always laughing at the idiotic decisions the main characters made. Like, for one, hearing a noise and calling out as if the murderer would just let themselves up and apologise for attempting to kill them.

Or following the noise instead of running away from it. Which, to your horrible realisation, is what you always did.

You weren’t any better than the protagonist of a scary movie. And your feet were already at the window now, eyes peering in.

You barely see anything, nor hear. Shaking your head, you step away and turn around. You were just attacked by a Demogorgon, of course you were going to be on edge.

“Dustin?”

You turn immediately, your heart skipping a beat. That voice. Steve.

“Can you hear me? Dustin!”

You’re quickly moving to the front door, happiness setting in. He was alive. And he was here. You didn’t have to be alone-

You stop. Paranoia attacked the back of your mind. What if this was a trick? What if Vecna had created him to lure you inside?

“Hello?!”

But the sheer confidence and confusion in his voice was pure Steve Harrington. It had to be him.

Rather than use the front door, you slip around the back of the house, hoping that if it was a trick, you’d be able to see it before Vecna got his claws on you.

The back door was tricky to open, a vine wrapping right around the door knob. Not to mention that this door had always been creaky. The amount of times you and Nancy had almost been caught sneaking out after curfew had been the best kind of anxiety.

Now, you were afraid that one little noise could risk your life.

You do your best, barely any noise sounding from the old hinges, your fingers only just avoiding the vine. With a silent breath of relief, you step into the kitchen area, mind already fighting against your eyes as you try and remind yourself that you’re in the Wheeler house.

“Does anyone know Morse Code?”

Nancy’s voice was the last you expected to hear right now. With a gulp, you slowly walk towards the noise, more voices echoing into play. You can just make out Steve and Robin’s muffled responses before another voice surprises you.

“Wait, does SOS count?” Eddie says and everything doesn’t feel right.

Why were the others here? You had left them on the boat.

That same pit of anxiety tells you that it’s Vecna. He found you and now he’s playing with your mind, trying to lure you into a false sense of security.

Well, you weren’t going to let him win.

You grab a knife from the rack on the counter, trying not to react from the cool touch of it. Gripping it tightly, you make your way into the living room and see four shadows stood beneath a glittering chandelier. Eddie, if that even was him, was placing his hand back and forth in the light over and over in a rhythmic sequence. SOS.

“Do you guys think this will work?” Robin whispers out.

“We better hope so. I don’t think Vecna likes visitors.” Steve gestured to his body while Nancy breathes out.

“So… what now?” Eddie steps back, eyes set on the lights.

“We-” Nancy starts before another step creaks the floorboards beneath you and you mentally curse.

They all turn to the noise, jumping back before focusing their eyes.

“Y/n?” Nancy’s eyes widen and she steps towards you.

You hold the knife out and she immediately stops, holding her hands out.

“Woah, woah, woah.” Steve shakes his head, eyebrows scrunched in confusion and surely fear, moving closer, “Y/n, it’s us.”

“Right.” You grit your teeth, hand shaking slightly as that voice in the back of your mind tells you not to trust them.

“Seriously.” Robin nods profusely, not moving, “We swear that it’s really us. Okay? We-we dived in after you and Steve but we didn’t find you when we got to him and it’s been a mess ever since.”

“We tried to find you.” Eddie added and your eyes shift to his, heart beating faster.

“Y/n.” Nancy takes another step, slowly. “Vecna isn’t here.”

Everyone’s breath hitches once they understand why you’re acting this way. You had been affected by his curse for so long, you were beginning to doubt your own instincts.

“I…” You shuffle backwards, knife still held in your hand. “I can’t trust that.”

“Queen of the Demogorgons.” Eddie suddenly blurts and everyone looks to him, confused. He makes sure he’s in your line of vision before continuing. “That’s the name I gave you when you stopped that fight with Tommy. You… You called me King of the Freaks. Would Vecna even care enough to know that?”

You stand there for a moment, pondering the thought. Vecna only ever latched onto your bad memories, bringing up the trauma of your past rather than the joyous moments you cherished. It couldn’t be him.

Lowering your knife, you let it clatter to the floor and they all breathe sighs of relief.

“You okay?” Nancy asks tentatively, now by your side with her hand on your arm. You wipe away the tear that had threatened to fall, letting out a shaky breath.

“Um… actually…” You try before you feel faint, head spinning.

You heard your name being called to you as you stumbled to the floor, eyes fluttering shut.

Chapter 12: Riding To Freedom ->

taglist: @gnnnne / @beepisbeep / @paintballkid711 / @eddiesbirdie / @livasaurasrex / @darktimelegends / @jackierose902109 / @mvrylee / @chervbs / @eternallyvenus / @nervouscatsuit / @f1nn-wolfhard / @hereiamhereigo / @ladybug0095 / @fangirling-4-ever / @astrolockley / @mothmanatemycat / @sheisjoeschateau / @champagnejoker / @umidktbh / @fallinginlovewithqueue / @ilovetaylorswift132006

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emblazons · 1 year

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Thinking about how people who only (or primarily) understand Mike’s arc through a “hes queer and coming to accept it / struggling with heteronormativity/will get his happy ending when he gets with Will” lens are missing at least half of what defines his arc in the wider context / themes of the show.

Forewarning: long post (& also maybe an unpopular opinion)

Even as a queer person myself, I know that his arc isn’t solely about embracing his queerness (though it’s inherently interlinked). In Mike, you have a character who is being radically challenged by both external circumstances and his own decisions through a journey away from all kinds of forced conformity (social, familial, romantic & heteronormative) and into someone self actualized enough to live how they want…while also being strong enough to accept that they made mistakes along the way. Someone who is learning to be brave enough to say “this is who I am, what I enjoy, and what/who I love…and while it took me a lot of time to figure it out, now I can exist in the world embracing that even though it will take consistently resisting the tendency to accommodate people who think it’s unacceptable.”

Like. Even from a time before puberty (see: S3) Mike wants a life that stands apart from what’s expected of him in every area, not just in choosing a romantic relationship with another guy. He wants to continue to be a nerd and “child at heart” even though something else is repeatedly demanded of him by everyone from his parents to El in his romantic relationship. He wants to be a writer and someone who takes those nerdy interests into his adult life (cue aggressive gesturing toward the duffers themselves) and grates against all that’s been constructed for him even when he’s not (yet) brave enough to challenge it directly. Mike liking boys/loving Will is just “the final nail in the coffin” of his social and societal nonconformity—not the first (or the last) aspect of what makes him different from Hawkins or the life he was made to believe would suit him best.

Even the fact that Mike has a desire to be “normal” comes from an insecurity and fear that choosing what he truly wants will lead to him being outcasted and losing the people he cares for entirely—which is partially motivated by his queerness yes, but that also has a basis in his general interests and personality…which becomes especially obvious when you realize we are repeatedly shown that he is punished/has his wishes ignored in all areas he doesn’t conform, even long before we get into a plot where it’s clearer he likes boys.

We see it in how his parents have already started to demand he put boundaries on the time he spends playing his “childhood games” the very first scene of season one, how they demand social acceptable emotions from him when Will is missing, and how Karen & Ted want him to give up toys in S2 when he’s showing signs of depression (because they think the issue is him growing up, not that he’s struggling with loss or guilt for what happened to El).

We see it in how his own father comments about taking his CA trip away from him after calling Hellfire being a group for “dropouts” in S4 (implying that he is failing on an academic and social level that matters to wheelers—and that Nancy is good at).

We even see it in the way everyone from his bullies to his own girlfriend threaten and take things away from him when he doesn’t conform to social expectations...from Troy telling him to jump off the cliff to save Dustin in S1 (as punishment for the one time Mike stands up for himself in the gymnasium) to El jumping straight into breaking up with him and spying on him when he doesn’t do exactly what she wants him to in Season 3.

All of these moments are critical to understanding Mike as a person because they show us that, even without addressing his queerness, Mike’s desire to conform to socialized expectations involves but is not solely about him moving out of heteronormativity—it’s about him moving against everything that WASP, patriarchal, heteronormative and capitalistic and performative “wholesome American” values…and how he is learning to move past the fear of what will happen if he steps outside the lines in general, even though he already knows he hates those standards.

Mike’s “coming of age” arc is about finding the strength to choose the “path less traveled” in all areas of his life—even when it means (potentially) losing the support of the people he cares about. It’s about starting from a place of privilege and becoming okay with being outcasted from it in a way your insecurities never let you be before (which is inherently different than Will, who has always been shown to have some kind of support not just for his queerness but his artistic endeavors as well). Mike’s lack of support is why he starts from a place of deep insecurity, yes—but it’s also why him learning power of choosing to be himself, even if it means “losing” people when he’s honest about who (& what) he is will be universally powerful.

You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of what it means to know you will be okay even if people leave you. You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of stepping outside social expectations or your family’s way of raising you. You don’t even need to be queer to understand the weight of breaking up with someone you were only with to satisfy what you thought you should do, rather than be with who you want to.

The power of being strong enough to overcome your insecurities in order to “step out of line” and live and love as you want to is universal, and a stunningly brave choice no matter what or why you chose to do so. The fact that Will will be there waiting to love him in that honesty with himself is beautiful, yes—but it’s not the only lesson to be learned for Mike’s character.

Mike starting out with everything the world (or, at least America) tells would make you happy, realizing he is not happy with those things and rejecting them knowing it might have consequences is what makes his arc powerful, because he is learning (exactly like his sister Nancy) to be brave enough to accept those consequences (which for him are getting dumped, and feeling like he’s being left behind by some of his friends) to follow his own heart.

Even though The Duffers aren’t writing this into a tragic ending (aka: he’s not going to die or be left alone, because the duffers writing is inherently designed ro champion the outcast), these are the things that have (and will) make him relatable even to an audience that doesn’t know queerness. Erasing the fact that his lesson is the bravery it takes to follow your heart solely to talk about him liking guys (even Will) is to undermine his humanity, and the lessons to be learned from him by even the most general an audience.

TL:DR - the heteronormative aspect of Mike’s character is not the sole or even inherent issue within Mike, though heteronormativity is inherently built into his struggle.

There are deep dives on how his arc is also about a war against toxic patriarchy, toxic masculinity, emphasis on capitalistic and academic accomplishments over artistic ones, and even conformist relationships (whether they’re queer or not) that should be explored for his character—and I for one like him too much not to move out of just “this boy is queer because xyz” and into “let’s talk about Mike in terms of the wider scope of his cultural context and upbringing.” 🤷🏽‍♀️😂

#imma go watch the Oscars now but #i know people mean NO HARM in focusing on the heteronormative part of his arc because on tumblr esp that is inherently relatable but #it’s not the only thing that makes his character interesting!#and it’s not the only thing he’s struggling with in his ‘coming of age!’#understanding white masculinity in America on a wider scale is SUPER helpful to understanding Mike #and in that sense Reddit is actually pretty good at catching his drift—THEY JUST DONT REALIZE THE DUFFERS ARE U N D E R M I N I N G it #erasing Mike’s queerness is to do him a disservice. I absolutely believe this.#but to deny every other part of him that isn’t just expected to be straight is to oversimplify him aggressively #you need BOTH to understand him #which is why you need both El and Will to make sense of his struggle lmao #(I still 100% believe he’s gay not bi)#(but him dating a girl was necessary to make sense of understanding that aspect of socialized expectations).#ANYWAY. Sorry for the rant lmao #mike wheeler core #mike wheeler #my st commentary #byler #< target audience #stranger things

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greenishghostey · 2 years

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Dungeon Master meet Prop Master | part 1

Pairing: Eddie x Drama Club!reader

Summary: A D&D nerd and a drama geek finally cross paths in their little shared paradise realm - the drama storage room of Hawkins High School.

Warnings: None! Just a good, wholesome meet-cute. There is some suggestive language but nothing is graphic/explicit.

Word Count: 4,639 words (this took on a mind of its own super fast)

Author’s Note: I’ve seen a few fics floating around where the reader is part of the drama class but I hadn’t seen a fic where reader is more behind the scenes, thus spending a lot of time in the drama store room - aka The Hellfire Club room. Also, the official title of the person in charge of props is ‘The Prop Master’ so that worked too perfectly. I couldn’t not go down that route. I was a drama kid in high school so I am definitely projecting a bit but at least I’m being creative with it.

I would like to say a little thank you to @manicpixiedreamcurl , @punk-in-docs and @luveline whose works and amazing writing styles inspired me to get back into writing after a really really long spell of writer’s block.

/// Part 2

The best part of being in charge of the props and the set for the drama club was the fact that you got to keep the coveted storage closet key. Maybe it wasn’t the greatest honour to the others in your club, but that closet and the rehearsal room were your domain. It’s where all the stuff was, the mass of stuff you had accumulated since freshman year for the club. Miss Butler had told you just last week that the place was “starting to look like a dragon’s hoard,” she’d spoken with her usual encouraging smile, so it really lit a fire under your ass.

The rickety shelves were weighed down by stacks of old books you’d found in second-hand stores, some of which were actually pretty good - The Hobbit and the first three Oz books being your current favourites. The floor was cluttered with random small pieces of home decor you grabbed from yard sales around Hawkins - the old ladies of your neighbourhood had basically thrown the lamps, ornaments and doilies at you. There were a few pieces of large furniture that had been in the closet long before you were let loose in it - the usual set dressing stuff, small wooden desks, chairs, dusty rugs.

Your favourite piece that had greeted you as prop master was that big, ornate wooden chair - more like a throne - that you barely got to touch because the Dungeons and Dragons club’s leader had basically called permanent dibs. Eddie Munson was known to be a lot of things around the school and had been for what felt like forever. Freak, creep, cultist, asswipe - all the classics. However, to you, he was a chair hog, but that was about it. You’d never really put stock into the satan-murder-super-cult schtick that everyone and their mother spewed. He was the head of a roleplaying game club with its own fun little shirts, so how harmful could he be?

For how much time you spent building, fixing, or organising props in the theatre room, you would assume Eddie would have crossed your path much more. But you guys always seemed to miss each other, and he was hard to miss, even on a good day. Fridays were Hellfire Club nights, so you would always have to just head straight home after last period. The rest of the week was fair game, and he never dared to stay on school grounds longer than he had to. You’d seen him tearing out of the parking lot yesterday. He nearly rear-ended Carver’s car while blasting Mississippi Queen - part of you wished he had taken the back off of the jock’s car; Jason was a bitch.

It was Thursday, and you were perched by old plywood and canvas backdrops, surrounded by various shades of brown and grey paints - glasses on because this job was gonna require 20:20 vision or as close as you could get. Miss Butler wanted to direct a show-stopping production of The Crucible this year, so you were getting started on some very sad-looking colonial church backgrounds. The painting had always been one of your favourite parts of your role. Sure, brown and grey weren’t the most exciting colours ever, but you had to give yourself some credit; you really knew how to create faux, mouldy wood grain. Working in total silence just wasn’t gonna work, though, so you dug your cassette player and headphones from your backpack and welcomed the silky rasp of Patti Smith to accompany your Arthur Miller-ifying activities.

With ‘So You Want To Be’ blaring in your ears, you didn’t notice when the door to the theatre room was thrown open, and Hawkins High’s resident super senior rushed in.

Eddie quickly started busying himself with the usual Hellfire set dressings dotted around the room. He usually set up on Friday afternoon but had some “business transactions” to deal with before the weekend, so after-school Hellfire feng shui it was. Eddie had dumped his backpack against the plywood backdrops behind his throne and started rummaging through scraps of notes, general lint and some old food crumbs to find his good set of metal dice. They always sank right to the bottom of the bag just when he needed them.

A loud thud bellowed through the theatre room, quickly followed by Eddie’s voice cracking into a yell.

“Son of a-!”

You shot up from your spot and felt your eyes widen at the metalhead, who was currently hunched under a piece of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, “Oh my god, oh my god, are you okay? I am so so sorry!” you scrambled around the backdrops to heave up the fallen pieces. They weren’t heavy enough to do any damage, but you’d been nearly crushed by them plenty of times. Cardboard, canvas and plywood are a bitch.

“It’s fine, I’m fine. Just dinted my spine is all.” Eddie groaned, rubbing his back and stretching like some old man. “Knew you guys hated me using this room but wasn’t expecting a full-on assault.” He actually looked like he might have been injured from the rogue Cathedral piece. Maybe you were just used to things falling on you or stabbing yourself with craft knives.

“Eddie, I’m really sorry. Do you want me to get some ice? The nurse might still be in her office, so I’ll run - I’ll be like 5 minutes, yeah?” You were scrambling for ways to make sure Eddie knew you were sorry. Rambling, really. God, you pride yourself on seeing past his mean and scary persona when others didn’t, but you’d gone and basically winded him with a church tower. Maybe if you took the hallways that the janitor had already mopped, you would be able to pick up speed and slide to the nurse’s office.

Eddie took notice of your frantic state, eyes shifting around the room and towards the door, shoulders bunched up - you looked like the really nervous stray cat, Frankie, that wandered around the trailer park. “Hey, hey. I was just messing with you, specs,” he chuckled lightly. It was a new experience for him to see someone, let alone a girl, get worked up on his behalf in any capacity. Usually, he’d get an insult at worst or a grimace at best. He stood up straight and did a small half-spin so you could see for yourself that he was, in fact, fine. “See, I’m a-okay. Little offended at getting smacked by a church, but hey, it was gonna happen eventually.”

“Oh, fuck you.” You huffed, a smile sliding across your lips, “fuck you, Munson, I thought I’d actually hurt you!” you swatted him with the paintbrush you’d put in your back pocket, a few specks of grey paint hitting his jeans. You turned to make sure everything was secured to avoid another workplace accident. Then, you heard him laugh, it was something between a snigger and a giggle, and it was actually kind of sort of cute. What fresh hell was this?

“Fuck you,” he said, in a high-pitch, mimicking voice - Eddie had jokes now. Brave of him. “Fair enough. I’m sorry I made you worry about little ol’ me.”

“Wasn’t worried. More frantic concern,” you tried to shrug off his playful comment. It did bring a little heat to your face, but he didn’t need to know that. “What are you doing in here today anyway? It’s Thursday; you’re a day early.”

“Ah yeah, well, I’ve got some important business to attend to tomorrow so…” his voice trailed off as he leaned against the edge of the long table. He could have just said drugs, you were quiet around school, sure, but you weren’t a total square. Possibly more of a square with rounded edges.

“By business, you mean weed?” You asked.

“Yeah, weed.” Huh, he sounded a little bit discouraged in his reply but quickly covered it with a chuckle and a smirk. Typical Munson. “You wanna buy or?”

“God, no. I mean, I'm not judging it, but it’s not really my thing. One of my friends said she’s gonna buy from you for Willis’ party on Saturday, though.” Penny had been raving about scoring some weed for that party since Monday. She’d only smoked a handful of times in her life, but the guy she had her eye on was like a chimney attached to a house on fire. His name was Chris or Keith or something that started with a ‘C’ or a ‘K’. All you knew is that he was a glorified benchwarmer for the basketball team and had ‘sexy’ hair - Penny’s words, not yours.

“Is that the redhead chick who makes you run lines at lunch when there’s a play? She’s bought from me before but didn’t know what papers or filters were.” He couldn’t hold back a snigger when remembering how he had to explain the fundamentals of a joint to the poor girl.

Eddie’s laugh was nice, you decided. You couldn’t find a word to describe it other than nice at that moment. Penny could take being thrown under the bus for a minute as long as you got to hear him laugh again. She’d made you read as Romeo one too many times, so, if anything, this was like karma.

Wait.

How did he know what you got up to at lunch? Penny was sometimes a little too loud when she got really into a monologue but you usually distracted yourself with your sandwich and soup when that happened. But Eddie had noticed. He had noticed the heavy-handed performance of your friend, but more importantly, he had noticed you. God, what if he had heard your crappy take on the witches from Macbeth? You’d done voices.

“That’s her, yeah. Her name’s Penny. If you call her “chick” she’ll go nuclear. Just warning ya.” You needed to keep this conversation on track. You liked talking to Eddie. It felt easy. Like you’d always thought it would. “She’ll buy from you, but it’s for this dude she likes.”

“Awww. That is so gross.” He replied in an airy, cooing tone. You’d moved to join him at the table, getting yourself comfortably seated. You really didn’t want to go back to painting. Eddie was actually kind of funny, and not in his usual loud, antagonistic way - you did still enjoy that, obviously, but seeing a new side to a pretty guy wasn’t something you were gonna complain about.

“You going to Willis’ this weekend? Since pennies and some other drama nuts are, I’d assume you are to make an appearance?”

“Drama nuts, huh?” You questioned, raising your eyebrows and trying your best to look genuinely miffed at the comment. He was right, though. Everyone knew theatre kids were fucking nuts.

“It’s not a bad thing. Everyone’s a nut about something - sports, drama, music, sometimes math for whatever unholy reason.” He was now sitting on the table with you, leaning back on his forearms like he was getting comfy to stay there for some time. God.

“And what are you a nut about exactly?”

“Getting an answer about your party attendance, if I’m honest.” Oh.

True be told, Eddie didn’t flirt all that much. When he did, it was usually to get a rise out of people or make them uncomfortable. But he’d had at least one eye on you for a while now. You were cute, which was the first thing he noticed - all big wireframe glasses and funky sweaters with weird patterns on them.

The more he glanced your way, though, the more he liked. You were definitely the most level-headed of the drama nuts, reining in their impromptu lunch rehearsals. You were always jotting down notes in your little red, paisley-patterned notebook with “WORK STUFF” written on the front. You also snorted when you laughed at one of his comments in history like a month ago, so that had done a number on him for at least a week.

You were a little weird, honestly. But, he liked weird. Weird looked good smacking him in the spinal cord with theatre backdrops. Maybe you could smack him in other, more friendly, situations. That’d be cool.

“Oh? You’ve got some lines, huh? I thought the charm was only for the jocks and Miss O’Donnell?”

“My charm has many layers, thank you very much,” he smirked, the expression taking up his entire face. This guy’s Dante’s Inferno of charm was gonna have you ready to lose layers if it kept up. Wait, what cesspit of your brain did that thought crawl out from?

“Okay, okay, noted. Back to the weed party. Not really my kinda scene, too busy, too loud.” You smiled, a little sad at your confession. Big parties had never really been your thing, even when it came to birthday parties in elementary school. A cast and crew wrap party was always fun but you knew everyone at those, so it took less effort. Penny had been nagging your ear off for the past two weeks to “let your hair down,” but you knew you’d wind up being a buzz kill, regardless of what hairstyle you went for.

“The weed party? I’m gonna steal that one, specs. Could use it for my summer sales and marketing scheme. Business ventures aside, what is your scene if it isn’t weed parties?” He giggled a bit when he spoke. You weren’t going to be able to forget ‘weed parties’, but, hey, it could be an inside joke between the two of you, like friends.

“Well, this, more or less. It’s all like my own big extracurricular craft project, I guess.” You said, gesturing around the theatre room, glancing towards the storage closet door, the backdrops, the variety of sword props you’d made for Othello last year, and stacks of old paper that you had meticulously aged. It wasn’t much of a “scene”, but theatre was your life. Creating all of those little details that could elevate a play and bring it off the page alongside the actors was a great feeling. Most people didn’t understand why you liked painting backdrops or making stuff out of plywood or foam. Penny tried to. Bless her heart, but maybe Eddie would get it. Maybe he could peek behind the curtain and understand.

“Wait. So like, you make all of this stuff? Dude, seriously?!” Eddie lept up from the table quickly and dashed towards the “weapons bin” - it was the name you’d lovingly given to the big crate that was full of fake swords and daggers from previous productions. Miss Butler loved a good Shakespearean tragedy to get her thespians ready for their future Tony award nominations. Eddie rummaged through the crate and pulled out one of the more “adventurous” pieces you’d made. The blade itself was pretty basic, made from some foam with a wooden base to keep the shape and covered in metallic paint you borrowed from your dad. The handle and guard were what you were really proud of. And, apparently, so was Eddie.

It was an aged gold colour, made to look like the metal had been held numerous times but was still well-crafted. You’d taken way too much time to shape the handle to look like finger grips had been hammered into the gold. There were detailed patterns etched into the guard that you’d done with a craft knife at your kitchen table. It had been a bitch to work on since you’d stabbed your fingers a lot, but it looked fucking sick. Eddie held it like it was real, like it was a gift bestowed upon him by the gods themselves.

“You’re telling me you made this?” He spoke earnestly. It was the first time you had ever heard him sound that way. His big, dark eyes felt like they were scanning your whole body, not just your face.

“I don’t handmake everything, but the swords and other stuff that’s production-specific, yeah, I have to make it.”

“This sword. This sword, here. It’s the fucking crown jewel of our Hellfire campaign right now,” he stated. He’d started running his hand along the fake blade while maintaining eye contact with you and wearing an awestruck look. This must have been another layer of that charm he mentioned because warmth was crawling up your neck. There was an innuendo about stroking a sword rolling around in her head, but you weren’t ready to embarrass yourself that quickly - things were going too well.

“The Sun Strike. The most sought after and powerful magical sword. The guys are gonna use it to destroy this cursed rogue knight dude. Or, at least, that’s my plan. The new freshmen might fuck it up; who knows.” He swung the sword around as he told you all about the tale of the weapon, spinning it around in his hand. Eddie was so weirdly unpredictable - the scary satan worshipper could go sword tricks and was grinning like a big goof.

You didn’t speak for a few moments. You just stared at him and the sword from your perch on the table. This guy really was insane but in the best way possible. He looked like an excited little kid with your prop in hand.

Your parents had always supported your passion for building and crafting pretty much anything your little mind could think of - you’d once made a magic staff out of a gross tree branch you’d found on a hike. However, they never really got the enjoyment and sense of pride that crafts gave you. Breathing new life into something that might otherwise be viewed as mundane or as nothing. Transporting even the smallest object back in time to any period with some paint, some brushes and a whole bunch of all-nighters.

It was more than just fun. It was more than just a hobby. And Eddie Munson, of all people, seemed to understand that loud and clear. He’d even named one of your creations. How adorable was that?

“Hey, specs? Specs? Sorry, I should have asked to use your stuff. I didn’t know any of this was actually made by some-”

“No, no. Do not say sorry. Nuh uh,” you yelled, moving towards Eddie and grasping his upper arms. “The Sun Strike. That name is way cooler than anything I could come up with, so no sorry’s. And - and it's magic? Like good magic or bad magic?” Your quiet shock was long gone, and you started shaking Eddie by the shoulders. The bright grin on your face was infectious as Eddie stared at you, his expression slowly matching yours once the reality of your questions had set in. You were excited and asked him about D&D and liked the sword's name. Eddie had never been concerned about how smoking would affect his breathing, but you had him near gasping for air.

“Good magic, don’t worry. The best kind, actually. Like the light of the world, that type of stuff. Crafted by the fair hands of a Sun goddess herself.” Eddie explained with a lopsided smirk. Fuck, he was so proud of that piece of lore now; he could use it as a line on a cute girl. That had never happened before.

“Was that pre-established, or did you just make that up for me?” You laughed, not giving a single shit about what the answer was because you were a fucking Sun goddess. Now that you had calmed down, you made sure to let go of Eddie before you gave him minor whiplash. You were also becoming increasingly aware that being so close to him was feeling a little too nice.

“Nah, ‘fraid to say that I came up with that when I first saw it last year. But how about we change your name from ‘specs’ to ‘sunny’? How does that sound?” It almost amazed Eddie how easily he was laying it on thick with you.

“Keep ‘specs’ gives me the chance to redeem a name from middle school. Besides, one of the other girls in drama gets called Sunny, so no dice.” You were cursing Sunny to high heaven in your head. Her real name was Mary-anne, and she only got the nickname because her last name was Sunderland. But, you didn’t need to start gaining a God complex over a fake sword, so ‘specs’ you would have to remain.

You and Eddie continued to talk about your projects and if he had worked them into his campaign. Funnily enough, he had only used the gold handled sword since he’d never had a real inspection of the other treasures in the theatre trove. You were starting to grasp the fundamentals of D&D, and you could clearly see how fun it could be. What Eddie did with his club was sort of similar to you and the drama club - transforming, transporting, reviving. While helping him move some new stuff into place for Hellfire Club the next night, you both fell into a calm rhythm. You would suggest setting and props that could work for what he had planned in the session, and he would ‘hm’ and ‘haw’ about the place for them. You’d given him a few more fake weapons - two daggers and a wood-cutting axe - along with some weathered books and candlesticks.

This Hellfire set was one of the best you’d worked on, and it wasn’t even for the drama club. It was still just as theatrical and imposing but was also cosy and welcoming. Kind of like Eddie, you’d realised. After the evening you had spent with the town pariah, you were even more against the vile opinions people held about him. He was a huge cheeseball, inside and out. You had handed him a huge, beat-up, leather bound bible, and he nearly shrieked with excitement as he put it on the table. Behind the hair, the leather and the bite was one of the sweetest guys ever.

Eddie lounged back in his ornate, dark wood throne, surveying the upgraded Hellfire Club set-up. Candelabras, weaponry and some gothic patterned fabric draped over the ladder against the back wall. The place had never looked so right, so good. The best addition to the room, however, was you. You, organising the extra boxes and crates to clear up the space around the long table. You, who was giddy while dashing around the room and trying to get the fantasy-medieval-heavy metal aesthetic just right.

“Gotta hand it to you, specs. You can craft a damn good set. Very metal.” He chimed, giving you a soft round of applause from his throne.

“It’s all pure, raw talent, Munson.” You stated, standing proud with your hands on your hips and smiling smugly. Eddie was still glancing around the room with a look of childish wonder on his face. He’d put on the lights and bathed the room in a cosy, honey glow. You couldn’t help but notice his eyes. Wide, burnt umber, and so full of appreciation. This doe-eyed metalhead was past the point of doing it for you. You could feel the budding beginning of a crush - hadn’t had one of those since freshman year when Patrick McKinney was your biology partner for, like, two weeks.

“You know, I used to think you were just a chair thief. I’ve wanted to put that huge thing on stage for ages, but now I’d feel bad if I accidentally tainted its reputation.” You gestured to Eddie’s throne - you were more willing to call it that now.

“Well, I called dibs like a year before you even started here, so there. This bad boy is dripping in my glamorous reputation. I mean, look at this butt groove.” Eddie proclaimed, standing up quickly to reveal a pretty impressive imprint in the leather seat. You were being encouraged to inspect his ass, and who were you to pass up an opportunity like that. His dark jeans hugged his legs subtly and were definitely doing him favours. “Also, it’s 6:30 now, so we should probably think about vacating the premises. Higgins gets antsy if he senses that I’m around for too long.”

“Shit, it’s that late already? I gotta get home. I promised to watch MacGyver with my mom after dinner.” You quickly grabbed your backpack from behind the backdrops, only for some of its contents to spill onto the floor - your tapes, some almost dried-out pens and your copy of A Wizard of Earthsea.

“Oh ho, what you got there, specs?” Eddie, ever the gentleman, gathered up your stuff but didn’t hand it over right away. A chance to see what kind of music you were into? That was far too valuable. “Some Patti, a solid choice. And… Yes. Unexpected, but I’m pleasantly surprised. Didn’t peg you for a prog rock kind of gal.” God, he was annoyingly good at this. Making you flustered but still comfortable - making you want to match him toe to toe.

“I like cool ladies and funky guitar riffs. I’m very easy to please.”

“Noted.” He grinned. The bastard grinned from ear to ear. And you ate it up. “Anyway, you need a ride home? It’ll be dark out by now, and you can even have stereo privileges.”

Riding your bike home in the dark was always a dicey experience. You’d done it a few times after staying late at school accidentally and ended up walking most of the way since you were too worried that a car would run you off the road. Plus, Eddie had a van, so getting your bike home would be easy too.

And control of the music? That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“That’d be great, actually! I live over on Fletcher; I think it’s kinda close to your place.”

“It’s on my route. So, let’s make like a tree.” Eddie picked up his backpack and headed towards the door, nodding for you to follow.

You had to restrain yourself from practically skipping through the halls. Staying late for theatre stuff was always fun, but it did start to get a little lonesome. Theatre kids in Hawkins loved being on stage, but they weren’t huge fans of being behind it.

But Eddie. He was on the stage, behind it and in the goddamn audience. He had a sort of omnipresent energy that followed him around. Most of the student body saw it as annoying, obnoxious or just plain evil, but you knew better. He was passionate - that was the best word for him. He was passionate about his game, he was passionate about his music and-

“Specs? This your sweet ride?” Eddie asked, ringing the bell on your bike. It was a dull, low ding - your bike was old as balls, and so was the bell.

“Yep. That’s her. Gorgeous, right?” You boasted, slapping the bike seat. The bike had been your mom’s many moons ago, and while it was a senior citizen, it was still a great shiny silver. Isopropyl and a wire brush kept her pretty.

“Maybe a little old for my tastes, but got the silver fox thing going, which is doing- something for me.” There he went again - the invitation, the tease to keep the banter going. You were about to quip back at him when he hauled your bike onto his shoulder. He held it so carefully even though it was just a bike. “Van’s across the lot, so I’ll carry the old girl. Come on.”

You just nodded, maybe a little too excitedly, but better than talking with your foot in your mouth. You jogged a little to catch up with Eddie, falling into a brisk pace with him. It was early October, and the wind was starting to get its bite back.

But you couldn’t help but feel a little warmer when you watched Eddie awkwardly shift himself and wrestle to get your bike in the back of his van.

#my writing #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #fluff #fic #eddie munson x fem!reader #stranger things #stranger things fic #tbh this is also kind of a fix it fic #because i'm bad at writing angst #not gonna lie i'm actually pretty proud of this #Eddie is like my dialogue muse because i was horseshit at writing dialogue that sounded believable before this #Eddie #eddie munson x you

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