#but karen? she was meant to be a good mom

[clumsykleptorocketscientist]

Can I just say, whoever Nancy ends up with, be it Jonathan or Steve or neither, it is not what matters the most about her character. HOWEVER, I really don't think she should end up back with Steve. Steve is not a bad guy in the slightest. He is one of the best guys and characters in the show. But, he and Nancy want different things and I think that's really important to focus on, because it's why they don't work. Steve talks about how he had this fantasy with Nancy as a mother to his children, and that's okay that it's what he wants from a partner, but Nancy doesn't. Remember the argument her and Jonathan had all the way back in season 1 where Jonathan mentions her "rebelling" and then settling down with Steve just like her mother (which Ted and Karen Wheeler should NOT be your romantic goals). It's clear she doesn't want to do that. She literally wants to fight the government and the patriarchy, seen especially in season 2 where she wanted to "burn the Hawkins lab to the ground" and season 3 where she wanted to stick it to her douche bag bosses. Jonathan, I don't think he wants that perfect family either. He seems perfectly fine with helping Nancy do all her illegal shit. He's fine with standing on the side, holding the camera and telling her that she's doing amazing sweety. Of course, if Nancy ends up on her own, that's fine, although I LOVE Jancy especially for the dynamic of it's them against the world. I just don't think Steve and Nancy rekindling their romance is the best idea.

Quick side note, I like the idea of Ronance, but I personally love Jancy and, from the few bits I've seen, Robin and Vickie ( Rovickie? Unsure if the ship name).

Edit: Let me just address some things.

A.) I think Jonathan talking about going to the community college and not wanting Nancy to follow him and resent him wasn't saying he could ONLY see the relationship becoming loveless, he was just saying that the plan they had was not working for both of them. That he had to deviate, but it doesn't mean Nancy should and he was afraid she would and inadvertently ruin what they had. In a round bout way it's a preservation move. Going to a college because your girlfriend or boyfriend is, is never a good thing. Now, yes, Jonathan and Nancy's relationship seems strained. I don't want to say loveless, but strained. But Jonathan has been in California for awhile now so that's bound to happen. I do think there is still love there, it's just difficult to navigate and they're still technically teenagers ( in the show). I'm just saying strained, yes, but loveless, no.

B.) In season 2 Jonathan was very much willing to help her burn the lab to the ground. They knew it was dangerous, but they did it anyway and he supported and helped her. Season 3 while, yes, at first Jonathan did not want to rock the boat at first, it was because he needed that job. Think about where he comes from vs. where Nancy comes from. Really in that argument, I see both sides. Sexism bad but also he needs a job for his family. Anyway, he came around in the end, from what I remember, which again is difficult with the money decision. Again sexism is bad but he never dismissed that the bosses were douches, just that they needed to put up with it. Something I'm very sure he changed his mind about.

C.) When I say that Nancy doesn't want that, I mean that Nancy doesn't want to be like the perfect mom Steve's fantasy has her to be. I never meant no family, just no perfect family. That if they did have a family they would teach their children to make waves because " Nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world."

D.) as for Steve wanting Nancy in his future and that's all that matters, yeah I may have misread that maybe, but the perfect mom scenario he painted just wasn't something I agree with. But, hey, that's just me.

#stranger things #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #steve harrington #jancy #nancy wheeler is a badass

[ickypuppi3]

post starcourt billy lives au where no one moves to california and el’s super uncomfortable with karen wheeler because now she’s classed as one of the bad people who hurt billy

#billy hargrove #el hopper #tw karen wheeler #i need someone to call her out for the good of my mental health #she cannot just get away with it #i need it to be addressed i need steve to perhaps say something too that would be fun #and el bringing it up to billy ??? i’m upset #and him trying to play it off but if there’s one person he can’t lie to it’s el #he’s all ‘i’m a guy it’s what we do no biggie’ #but el /knows/ how he actually feels #and no one else knowing or understanding why she’s off with mike all the time because that’s all she can think about #because el’s mom never stood a chance right #never had the opportunity to /be/ a mom thanks to brenner #and we all know about billy’s #but karen? she was meant to be a good mom #maybe that’s what el thought moms were like #like in her head yeah joyce karen claudia etc etc that’s what a mom is #but now there’s this conflict and disconnect #because moms can be bad people too #and not only did billy’s own mom hurt him but so did mikes #yeah #idk i have thoughts #i just need el and billy to hug maybe

[luvliewriting]

❦❦❦

Imagine: First Kiss

Warnings: Mostly just fluff, maybe some hints of ns/fw for some

Notes: I'm willing to turn any of these concepts into actual fics if requested

Includes: The Gallagher siblings

❦❦❦

Fiona <3

You worked with her at the diner and it was time for closing, it was just you two cleaning up before you turned the lights out. You kept eyeing her from across the diner; seeing her bend over the tables, tuck her bottom lip under her teeth when she would scrub a stubborn spot, pushing back strands of hair that left her ponytail. It was torturous watching her like that. You knew she just got out of a relationship with Jimmy/Steve so you worried that maybe it would be too soon to tell Fiona how you felt but it was getting more to be harder everyday that you had to watch her and see her. Eventually you couldn't take it so you "accidentally" dropped one of the coffee cups and Fiona immediately offered to help you clean it up. When you two ducked to the back to toss the pieces of the cup, you pulled her back before she could return to cleaning and kissed her. To your surprise, she didn't try to push you off and even stayed back a bit longer after closing at the back of the diner with you

❦❦❦

Lip

It was the same as Karen, you were a little behind on history and Lip needed some extra money so he decided to tutor you. The first couple lessons were innocent enough, it stayed strictly as tutoring. But as the lessons went, you two got closer. He would scoot his chair closer to you, he would stay behind after the lessons for a bit to have a smoke and chill with you till it happened. You were scribbling on the paper aimlessly while Lip read the textbook to you and explaining what it meant in more detail not that you were listening, you were too busy admiring him and his voice but you tried to pay as good attention as you could. Your pencil slipped out your hand and rolled to the floor between you two. You both bent down to grab it, smacking your foreheads together as he groaned and you laughed. He was rubbing his forehead when he looked at you with those eyes, those eyes you could stare at for hours as you began to lean in, as did he till your lips touched. His hands snaking down to your butt and thighs, pulling you off of your chair and into his lap.

❦❦❦

Ian

Childhood friends, you two had grown up with each other and knew each other better than anyone else. He was your first crush and you were his but you were both two stubborn to admit. After Ian dumped Mickey, you were conflicted on what to do; you had a chance to either make your childhood fantasies come true or completely ruin a lifetime of friendship. It started with leaving little crumpled notes in places that he would find eventually, than turned into leaving articles of clothing at his place when you would sleepover till you eventually just flat out said that you wanted Ian in that way. You braced yourself for the rejection, turning to the door to leave his room till he grabbed you and smashed his lips against yours passionately finally admitting what he had wanted to say for years.

❦❦❦

Debbie

You met Debbie through Franny's school where you worked, she was by far your favourite of the mom's to converse with when they would come to pick up their kids. Debbie was typically the last parent to come pick up their kid, not that you complained. You absolutely adored Franny and you liked getting to catch up with Debbie. But one day, it was a Friday so you sat with Franny at one of the little tables waiting for Debbie to come pick her up while you ate lunch with Franny. Franny was eating her typical peanut butter and jelly, her mouth was full as she said "mommy keeps talking about you Mrs/Mr L/N". You weren't sure if you heard her right but she continued when her mouth wasn't full, "she says your name when she's in her room for private time." Okay you were sure you heard Franny right now and when Debbie came to pick up Franny, you decided to follow the two out to your car which was parked beside Debbie's. Debbie was in the car, Franny in her car seat and Debbie's window was rolled down as she talked to you. Eventually you just leaned in and pecked her lips, leaving Debbie flustered as you winked, "I'll see you tomorrow Miss Gallagher."

❦❦❦

Carl

You were at an arcade and challenged him to a game of basketball, Just for the fuck of it. You won of course, by pure dumb luck because athletics were not within your department. Carl tussled for the ball, demanding a rematch and you refused, screaming that he was being a sore loser. He chuckled and reached for the ball that your arms stretched to the back of your head, as it you really could evade him. It was like he planned it yet it also felt so improved, smug bastard. It was fast, his arm snaked around your waist and planted his lips on yours. You could be imagining things, but you could have swore Carl took a second to inhale you, taking you all in. For what felt like an eternity was over in a flash when you heard a thump on the floor. He got the ball and you were subjected to a rematch

❦❦❦

Shameless Taglist:

Thank you for reading

Please reblog because likes don't help with reach at all

❦❦❦

#shameless #shameless x reader #shameless US #Shameless US x reader #fiona gallagher #lip gallagher #ian gallagher #carl gallagher #debbie gallagher #fiona gallagher x reader #lip gallagher x reader #ian gallagher x reader #carl gallagher x reader #debbie gallagher x reader

[kira-broflovski]

Exposed || Kenny McCormick x Reader

note: characters are aged up

Another uneventful day in South Park. Minutes ago, your friend had called and asked you to come over again. You agreed, naturally. Why would you pass up the opportunity to hang out with Kenny?

The walk to his house didn't take long considering you only lived down the street from him, so you were already here. You knocked on the door and waited, before hearing various bangs from the other side. You would be concerned, but this was normal. Well, you are concerned... but you were used to this sort of thing and you knew what happened when you aren't around.

After a couple minutes, Kenny's mom opened the door and smiled at you. "Come in, Y/N. It's nice to see you again."

She couldn't deny the fact you were making Kenny and his siblings happier by being around, she even caught herself feeling relieved as they tended to argue less (if at all) when you were here.

"Nice to see you too, Mrs. McCormick." You smiled back at her.

"Please, you don't need to be formal with me." She waved her hand in dismissal of the formality, "you know you can call me Carol."

"I know—" you were enjoying the meaningless conversation, but you were interrupted by a voice from the hallway.

"Y/N's here!" Karen yelled joyfully and ran over to you.

"Hi, Karen." You smiled down at her.

"C'mon, Kenny was just talking about you!"

She began dragging you to his room at the end of the hallway, where he had music on full volume, so he didn't realise you had arrived yet.

Karen didn't bother knocking as she swung the door open, startling her older brother, and dragging you in behind her.

"Karen! Jesus..." he jumped slightly from where he laid on his bed.

"What?"

"Hey, Y/N." He momentarily ignored her as he greeted you. As he got up, he lowered the volume on the radio and walked over to you. "It's good to see you again."

Laughing at his endearment, you remarked, "you saw me yesterday Ken."

"What can I say?" He shrugged. "I just like hanging out with you."

"Yeah, he likes you a whole lot." Karen snickered from where she stood next to you, and you smiled down at her again. You didn't notice him glaring at his younger sister.

"Does he really?" You asked, deciding to play it cool.

"He has a name." Kenny muttered, "whatever."

"Yeah, he said how he likes it when you—"

"Anyways!" He covered her mouth with his hand, knowing she wasn't strong enough to force it off, so she just shouted. Even if her shouts were muffled.

Raising an eyebrow, you looked up at him and noticed his face had gotten considerably more red than before. You'd be lying if you said you didn't find it cute.

"How about we go get some fresh air, Y/N?" He suggested, changing the subject.

"Sure."

The two of you made your way to the front door when his mom called from the sofa, "take your sister with you!"

"But, mom—" he turned around to argue, only to see Karen swinging on her feet behind you.

"Bring her or you're grounded, Kenny!"

Kenny felt guilty for wanting to leave Karen at home, considering how horrible their home life, but he also didn't want his chance with you to be ruined. On the other hand, if he got grounded it meant he couldn't see you at all for a while.

"C'mon, we can go to the park." He grumbled.

"Yay!" She grabbed her coat and dashed out the door.

"Sorry, Y/N."

"Sorry?" You echoed, making him look over at you while you walked side-by-side. "I love having her around." A soft smile on your face.

Adoration was all Kenny could feel in this moment. The way you cared for his younger sister as if she was one of your own. How could he not fall in love with you?

"He loves having you around too, Y/N!" Karen shouted back from in front of you. "He always tells me about how much he misses you after you leave."

"Oh my god."

"I'd sure hope so," you laughed in response. What was that supposed to mean?

"Do you ever keep to yourself?" He asked, the question clearly directed at Karen.

"It's not my fault you won't make a move on the girl you say you lo-"

"Karen!"

"What!?"

Getting caught in the middle of an argument between the McCormicks was one thing, having the argument partially involve you was another.

Karen was trying so hard to wing-woman for her older brother that was too awkward to just make a move on you already. So she decided to take it into her own hands.

"Kenny's in love with you, Y/N. Do what you want with that information, I'm going home." That was the last thing she said, before turning around in the direction of their run-down house and walking away.

"Karen. Karen! For fuck sake." He considered running after her, or even going home as well, but thought against it when he noticed you stood still in the corner of his eye.

Refusing to look at you, he kicked a nearby stone and internally panicked. Why weren't you saying anything? But what could you possibly say in this situation? How have you just stood there the whole time?

You were stood in shock.

"Uh," you took a deep breath and prepared for the heavy conversation you were about to have. "Were all those things your sister said true?"

"Possibly." He turned his body to face you, but his eyes could have burned holes into the pavement with the way he was staring intensely, still refusing to look at you.

"Just give me a straight answer." You groaned and his head snapped up to look at you. Why were you so persistent.

"Karen doesn't like lying because it gets her in trouble. Does that help?"

You didn't know what to do. He was avoiding the answer, but his response and body language all screamed the fact she was telling the truth.

"Kenny."

The way you said his name was enough to make his heart skip a beat, as if it wasn't already drumming intensely in his chest.

"Look at me." It was a command, but you said it so gently that he complied.

Terrified eyes met yours. Both of you were too afraid to now break that eye contact, in fear of what could possibly happen next.

"Y/N..." he began, but he was unable to find words. What was there to say?

"Kenny, you do like me, don't you?" You asked softly, slowly stepping closer to him.

He wanted to stay silent, he's never felt so embarrassed in his life, but he couldn't stop his emotions pouring out of his heart. "Yeah, and I have for what feels like forever."

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I feel like I've been exposed. I hope this doesn't change anything between us, I mean I can't imagine how awkward you feel as well, Y/N, so I'm sorry—"

"Kenny."

"I understand if—" he kept going, not hearing the utterance of his name.

"Kenny!" You raised your voice, making him jump a little.

"Huh?"

"Shut up for a second," you laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I like you too, dumbass."

#kenny mccormick #kenny mccormick x reader #south park x y/n #south park x reader #south park #fluff #south park fanfiction #karen mccormick #carol mccormick #south park boys

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume Meta 7x02

We are short on the costumes to look at this week as we continue this multi episode arc, so this meta is going to be a pretty short one! I’ve had a pretty busy weekend, so things have worked out for me and its also the reason why I'm only posting this on a Tuesday evening!!!!

There are a few things to point out before I get to the main costumes - we have more bright pink in play here - on the Mom in the car that got hit by the drunk driver. I still have no idea what its trying to tell us a this point, but I have my eyes peeled for more bright pink to appear in the next couple of episodes and see if I can unravel its use.

On the non costume front, on the ship - its a yellow cable that leads to the bomb that ensures communication cannot be restored to the ship when nit explodes - the fact the communications engineer also dies, just re-emphaises the point. Communication is a key theme in this episode.

Back to costumes an in the same vein as the cable, we see Captain O’s deputy in his yellow rain coat when she gives the abandon ship order, and the yellow wire is prominent on the radio when she tells him to do so. He is now the one responsible for communicating her order to the rest of the ship and getting everyone onto the life boats. This is good and effective communication and we see the results of it as we are shown the ship being evacuated. 

Hen and Karen are the only ones we get in a new costume this week.

Lets start with Karen - its an interesting choice - we have her in this navy blue shirt and trousers combo with a brown belt. the top has blue and green Richelieu (cutwork) design on the sleeves and the trousers are also decorated with Richelieu. There are two things at play with this costume choice - the almost entirely navy outfit places her in the same category as Chim, Buck and Eddie. this is very very intentional - Karen mirroring/paralleling them places her in the same position they hold - Karen is meant to be there to show that Hens thought process is flawed and as an outsider to proceedings thats really important for the audience - we need to see that Hen isn't this flawless captain that we've been shown up to this point. The other thing it's designed to do is maintain Hen as separate from everyone else. This visual device helps the script re-enforce things so that when she is then spurred into trying to get hold of Bobby and Athena we are focused on her because of her 'otherness' visually she stands out and we obviously need her to to help drive the narrative forward.

The other thing with Karens costume is the green and blue Richelieu which creates this visual representation of storm clouds swirling and moving in - a subtle reference, not only to Hen's currently cloudy viewpoint on things, but also to the impending storm brewing out in the ocean around the cruise ship. I really love it when they can drop subtle hints like this in set and costuming!

THen we have Hen!

Putting her into her white tee, jeans, green sneakers and this printed silk jacket, and not showing her changing out of her uniform into said outfit while the rest of the firearm are still in uniform helps to separate her from the ‘three Judases’ its a really loud and obvious visual way of separating her from the not only the three boys, but also from the firehouse as a whole. The way the scene is set up helps with this as well -she is on the same side of the bench and room as Chim, Buck and Eddie, until they question her version of events (Eddie is the one to actually ask the question and he is the one dressed differently to Chim and Buck - this isn't about putting him in opposition to them, more just visually signalling that he's the one to ask the important question that we as viewers should be ready for) and then she moves away from them and becomes visually in opposition to them. Its the perfect example of costume, set and direction working in perfect harmony to tell the story visually - we don't actually need to hear whats been said, we can tell it all from the way its shown to us visually.

Hens jacket is a fascinating choice - it plays into a couple of themes we’ve seen in action over the two episodes we’ve had thus far. I did write a little bit about it when we got the first stills of it (which I now cannot find - stupid tumblr search!) but essentially it is a jacket that has various places around California - the golden gate bridge, the redwood trees in Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, etc. as well as the victorian style rose pattern running along the cuffs and edges of the jacket.

The pink roses are a really lovely touch - and one I picked up on specifically because Hen is not a flowery kind of person, so seeing them on her means they are important. Pink roses are generally considered to signify a strong friendship or family bond - something that is ultimately at the heart of matters - the fire family are just that - a family and they might have argument's etc, but they still love each other as a family and will go all out to be there for each other. Its a low key piece of

then we have all that water - do we even need to talk about its meaning?!! Its a literal visual play on the entire them of this arc - water! We all know that water is a really key theme that 911 uses a lot in its storytelling, whether thats big water based events such at the Tsunami or this cruise ship disaster, or smaller low key water theming such as the rain being present at so many of the disasters we see. I'm interested that we now have it appearing on Hen - because it hasn't really been connected to her in many of her personal story arcs (by this I mean arcs such as her deciding and training to be a doctor, Henren's journey through parenthood, the ambulance crash or even Karens lab blowing up last season) so its interesting that we're now seeing her pulled into the water theming in a visual way like this. It is also a play on the two aspects of this episode - there is the loud water theming of the Cruise ship, but there is also the fact Hen has landed in hot water/ deep water.

Hen is also wearing her 'H' necklace, not her 'K' one. This is important because her necklaces tend to be a visual indicator of what her arc is about - the 'H' is worn when it's about her specifically and not her marriage/ family, which is when we tend to see the 'K' heart pendant being worn.

Thats all from me this week! Thank you as always for reading and I hope you enjoyed the shortness of this post - I doubt many of the others will be this short 😂

Tagged peeps below!

@theladyyavilee @mistmarauder @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @mandzuking17 @spotsandsocks @loveyou2thecore @rogerzsteven @wanderingwomanwondering @oneawkwardcookie @leothil @copyninjabuckley @shammers86 @crazyfangirlallert @missmagooglie @katyobsesses @radiation-run @gayandbifiremenofmine @bi-moonlight @crazyaboutotps @princesschez75 @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @sherlocking-out-loud @evanbuckleysarms @satashiiwrites

#911 abc #costume meta #911 costume meta #911 season 7 #season 7 costume meta #kym costume meta #kym colour theory #911 costumes #7x02 #costume theory #sorry this is so much later than I'd planned it to be! #Thank you wardrobe team

[not-an-alien-scientist]

Weird Wording

Elvin: Seems Misty is brining her daughter on the ship for a short while

Kay: ... ho boy, Misty is a Momma Bear if I've ever seen one, best tell everyone be on their best behavior around her daughter *laughs*

Si'miel: ... mom...ma ..bear? A bear is a predator on your planet yes

Kay: Well yes but bears vary, some are omnivores like Brown Bears and Grizzly bears, and some are herbivores like Panda Bears

Elvin: Hey! Panda bears have the anatomy of a predator, don't diss them

Kay: bamboo eating goof balls might as well be called herbivores.... anyways then there are carnivores like Polar Bears....they don't actively hunt humans but they'd eat your face off if you attack them

Si'miel: So how is Misty any sort of bear? Is it an insult in human-English that I have not learned yet

Kay: hmmm I have no idea how to explain it

Elvin: Nah, calling her a Karen would be an insult. Momma bear is basically saying shes a really fierce mom whose protective of her child *shrug* of course all good parents are, but its more of a joking compliment.

Kay: Aka, you mess with Misty's daughter and she'll be angry at you

Si'miel: *alarmed* an angry human?!?? I MUST warn the others!! *scurries away before Kay or Elvin can stop them*

Kay: ... well I meant she'd just give you a stern talking to... I should probably be more precise with my words I keep scaring Si'miel.

Elvin: This your first deployment on a multi-species crew?

Kay: Yeh, how'd you know?

Elvin: After awhile you get used to everyone being startled by things that seem rather inconsequential to us

Kay: Still I'd rather not scare a friend *sighs a little downtrodden about the misunderstanding*

#humans are weird #humans are space orcs #momma bear #mama bear #my writing #original posting #my haso

[ktficworld]

The Cinderella Moment

Pairing: reader x (you choose)

Summary: You are a broke college student who works for a very stuck up, arrogant and rude rich family. They give you food and shelter and so you always accept their impossible orders with a nod. But their order to go to a ball, disguised as their daughter might just flip your world upside down.

Warnings: Riches being shitty, reader's broke, verbal abuse.

A/n: This is an experiment and I dunno how it's gonna turn out, but if you like it then please do reblog.

"8 weeks? Can't it heal faster? The ball is just around the corner." The shrill voice of madam Abigail pierced your ears as you discreetly rubbed them.

The doctor who was sitting at the injured Rose's side shook his head and said. "No, Mrs. Thompson. It takes 6 to 8 weeks for a broken arm to fully heal."

Madam Abigail fall down on one of the chairs dramatically and you rolled your eyes as you took in the scene from a secluded corner of the room.

You were a college student. Well, a broke college student to be exact. You did get into a prestigious college on scholarship but the other bills were crippling down on you. You didn't want to burden your parents as your financial background was not favorable. After working in cafes and fast food chains, living in crappy apartments and skipping breakfast everyday. When you saw the job posting for a house keeper with housing and food, you jumped on it like a cat jumping on a ball.

You were finally able to move out of your shitty apartment with not so nice company into a decent maid's room and the food was also better than the leftovers at your previous jobs.

However, not everything was rainbows and sunshines. Your employer was horrible, condescending, rude and overall the epitome of rich, stuck-up assholes. You now worked almost 24/7, having to be present on a whim and maintaining everything into perfection.

It was like retail job, just no off time with Karens screaming at you all the time. But you didn't give a fuck. Every insult hurled at you would fall on deaf ears because you learnt long time ago that detachment really annoyed people with superiority complex.

Mr. Thompson was rarely home so it was only Abigail and her ducklings following her around. The only person who was nice to you was laying on the bed with a broken arm. The only one eligible for the grand ball.

Oh, the grand ball? It was a masquerade party, the most hyped upcoming event, organized by one of the richest man in the country, so he could find someone to settle down with. People called him prince because he was the youngest in the bunch of old billionaires.

Of course it was nothing but arranged marriage and someone actually meeting the prince and catching his eyes would be like finding a needle in a haystack. But there would be many other wealthy suitors than just him. So, needless to say, the ball was a gold mine for potential catches.

Abigail and many of her tea time friends were so furious that only girls above 18 were allowed. They would send their nine year old if it meant snatching a good deal.

And so seeing the only candidate from their family injured and unattractive. Abigail was devasted to say the least.

"Is there really no way for a speedy recovery? Can she not wear her cast on the night of the ball? It's really important." She Shrieked.

The doctor was agitated but contained it well and answered in a balanced voice. "Unfortunately, no. We cannot dictate when the recovery would happen and she needs to wear the cast all the time for the arm to heal properly and effectively. You should take care of your daughter."

Abigail scoffed at that and sobbed into her handkerchief, not even sparing Rose a glance. She was visibly upset by it but probably did not want any drama as she whispered out. "Mom, it's going to be alright. It okay."

Abigail's head snapped towards Rose as she scowled at her daughter. "How is it going to be alright? You're going to miss such a great opportunity. And you're so stupid. How did you fall from the stairs? Do you not have eyes? I'm so unfortunate to have an useless child like you..." Abigail continued to berate her daughter and you sneakily went to the doctor to escort him out as the scene was about to turn ugly and he didn't sign up for a reality TV show.

The doctor thanked you and handed you a prescription. You nodded and went back. Sure enough, they were both shouting at each other now. Rose tried to shot back but since she was injured, she lacked her usual ferocity as Abigail managed to dominated her.

You shook your head in exasperation and opened your mouth to interrupt. You might get into trouble for this but you couldn't watch Abigail scold a sick and fragile Rose, when she did nothing to deserve it.

"Madam, I think you should let miss Rose rest and it might help with a quicker recovery." You said and braced yourself to get chewed out.

Abigail spun on her heels, her whale-like face flushed with rage as she pointed a harsh finger at you and started. "You don't need to meddle-" She cut herself off as a look of awe dawned on her face, like she had an epiphany.

She rushed towards you. Grabbing you by the arm and dragged you beside Rose. What is this woman doing? You didn't want to get yelled at so you remained there with a bewildered frown as Abigail's assessing gaze flicked between you and Rose, her smile widening with each gaze.

After the tenth gaze, Abigail clapped her hands in glee and exclaimed. "Perfect. You are perfect." And stared at you.

"I'm perfect for what?" You asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You are perfect to go to the ball as Rose. Just look at you two both, look like pretty twins." Abigail gushed, her eyes twinkling with hope.

You gawked at her, applaud. "Are you shitting me?"

Abigail snapped her eyes at you and barked. "Mind your language, servant."

You put up your hand. "Ma'am, I won't. I have done everything you asked me to do. From cleaning the deepest corner of the mansion by myself to entertaining pervy men. I have done everything, but I won't do this. I won't go in place of Rose. I don't want to deceit anyone." You ranted.

This woman had asked you to do so many egregious things and you did them without any complaint. However, this is where you draw the line. It was alright when you were the only one taking the brunt of her deviousness but if she wants you to deceive other people, you wouldn't do it.

Considering you had just been lied to yourself. The man who claimed to love you, got engaged with someone else without a peep of protest. You were just his play thing.

Abigail looked like she wanted to slap you as her face flushed red and her eyes twitched. "You ungrateful, brat. I gave you a roof, food, safety and that's how you repay me? By counting all the bare minimum you have done? I thought that maybe you had some sense of integrity but I should have known better," She scoffed wryly and looked you dead in the eye. "Tell me, how much you want me to pay you to go to this ball?"

To all the insults you have been subjected to, this genuinely offended you. "Ma'am, you could sell your morals for money but I can't. Even if you give me a billion dollar I won't go. I don't want to trick someone into believing I'm somebody else. This is my boundary I won't cross."

Abigail sneered. "Just drop your act already-"

"Mom, let me talk to her." Rose interjected and you flashed her a determined look. You weren't going to budge on this one.

"What would you talk to her? You are just as dumb as her." Abigail yelled.

"If I didn't convince her then you can call me as many insults as you'd like. Now please, get out." She responded, softy but firmly.

Abigail huffed and whined but left the room nonetheless, the door clicking shut but you knew she was right outside the door, listening to everything and so did Rose as she beckoned you to the bed. You sighed and sat down beside her.

"Listen, you should go. Have fun, eat expensive food and rob my mother of as much money as you need to get out of here. And before you start about deceit and all that. You don't need to meet anyone, just imagine what are your chances of meeting the prince and catching his eye? Maybe one percent. Every women would be busy fawning over him, you won't even get an opportunity." Rose explained in a hushed voice.

When she put it like that it didn't sound bad but you were still apprehensive. "But I have already said no to the money, if I demand it now then she would be proven correct and what about the other suitors?" You countered.

"Who cares what my mother thinks of you? She already thinks you are inferior and nothing would change that, then why not use the opportunity and get out of her claws? And as for the other suitors, as I said you don't need to meet anyone there. My mother won't be there to make sure you are putting in the efforts or not." She argued.

"You sure you are Abigail's bio daughter? You doesn't seem to like her much." You half joked, half lamented. Now the idea of going to the ball wasn't looking bad or deceitful. Just a solace night in a pretty dress.

Rose let out a bitter laugh. "Unfortunately, I'm. And I don't like the way you are treated but that's the only thing I can do. Plus, the event may cheer you up, since you're going through a lot right now..." She trailed off, probably not wanting to open your fresh wound.

You hummed quietly and let the room get silent. After some hesitation, you whispered. "You did it intentionally." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Rose was far from being clumsy or reckless so for her to fall from the stairs she could navigate blindly. It was rather suspicious.

"I let my love go once y/n. I can't let it go again." She whispered back.

You gulped due to the tension. "So, shall I call your mother?" You asked to lighten the mood and it worked as Rose beamed at you and nodded her head.

"So, you'd go?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, I'd go." You said with a grin, image be damned Rose was right. Scam Abigail and get the fuck out of there.

You opened the door and a very annoyed and impatient Abigail stomped inside. She glowered at you expectantly and you cleared your throat.

"After Rose's arguments, I have decided to go to the ball. If you give me my desired price." You said monotonously.

A look of smugness crossed her face as she scoffed and said. "I knew it. So much for morals. Now spit your price."

And so you did.

You asked for an amount that would keep you afloat for a year. You had initially asked for 4 years worth of money, yes greedy. But you knew it would not make a dent in their bank balance and you really wanted to get back for all the obnoxious and unreasonable things she had made you do it.

However, Abigail wasn't pleased with this offer as she shouted that she would only give you that amount if you managed to woo the prince. You had no plans for doing that so you let go of that notion.

It gave you the much needed vacation from your work but the practice that came afterwards almost made you take back your offer and go back to scrubbing the floors.

The process to become Rose was strenuous. From how you walked to how you talked, everything needed to be exactly like Rose. Cursing was thrown out the window. You had to walk slowly with small steps with a sway of your hips, no long strides were allowed. Heck, you couldn't even slouch. Although you didn't receive a scathing hit by wooden stick, Abigail's earbiting voice and insults were not any pleasant either.

You had to speak like you were talking to crickets, poised and low. Cracking Rose's accent and voice was the toughest task but you pulled it off. Everything was so meticulous, from clothing to manners to behavior. These effluent women had to be perfect, not human. But it was all useless as you wouldn't be behaving like the perfect little doll at the ball. Maybe it would help you further down the line to snatch a rich man if you turned out to be a failure.

Rose also got some relief from her banshee of a mother as she mostly helped you and took care of herself, her mother didn't give two fucks about her daughter's health.

That was how the days passed and here you were now, sitting ahead of Rose's vanity as Abigail dolled you up for the ball. She didn't hire any stylist or artist as it could risk her scheme getting out, no matter how much she paid them.

"You must secure a man for my daughter or you will not be getting any money." Abigail hissed as she zipped up your dress.

"That is not the terms we agreed on. You are paying me to go to the ball as Rose, not to woo a man. I'll try to do my best but you can't hold back my payment." You bit back. You weren't an idiot, you had made her sign a contract and this bit wasn't in it.

Abigail scowled at you and muttered under her breath. "Little wicked tramp." And stepped back as you were ready.

You rolled your eyes, the comment sliding off of your consciousness like butter as you glanced up to assess your reflection.

And you were awestruck to say the least.

Your makeup was minimal as it would get overshadowed by the dim lights and mask anyways. However, it brought out your features to the fullest, making you look like a princess.

The dress was even more mesmerizing. It was a dusty blue fluffy gown with a heart neckline and white embroidery shattered throughout. It flowed like ichor on your body, making you look ethereal.

You hummed in admiration and grabbed the same coloured mask from the vanity, you tied it behind your head as Rose came near you.

"You look so beautiful, even with the mask. I think you would have a hard time dodging men." She teased.

You swatted her forearm and whirled around to glare at her. "Don't say stuff like that, Rose. I'm already a nervous wreck inside." You whined. It was true, going or doing something for the first time always felt daunting but this time you felt like an intruder as you didn't belong in that party at all. Thankfully, the anonymity of the mask was a sigh of relief to you.

Rose chuckled and bobbed your nose. "No, I'm serious. You look really pretty-"

She was cut off by a yell from Abigail. "Come on, you'll be late. Do you want people to think that we are late arrivers?"

You sighed deeply as Rose shook her head. "Okay, have fun and stay away from boys. Bye." She said and hugged you.

You hugged her back and said hastily. "Okay, bye." And jogged out of the room and into the car as Abigail's insults played in the background.

👑👠💃

"Miss, we have arrived." The unassuming driver said and pulled open the car door.

The respect was peculiar as you gingerly stepped outside. Your dusty blue pumps stark against the grey pavement. Abigail wanted you to wear heels but you'd be damned if you risked blisters or a twisted ankle on your precious feet.

You smoothed down your dress and started walking forward, your breath catching in your throat upon gazing at the banquet. The venue appeared heavenly, with white gates and staircase like golden glass, leading to the paradise of the elite. It was bustling with people who had enough money to buy your soul. All hidden behind their customized mask and clothes, some were extravagant, some were elegant.

Their expensive scent mingled in the air, creating a tantalizing and mystical aura. It was amplified by the dim lights of the hall, leaving the mind tranquil and intrigued for the suitors behind the veils.

Although the low light made it hard to decipher the interior of the hall. It definitely was of Victorian style as it was opulent and eloquent at the same time.

You looked around like a curious child as you observed and admired the beauty, upper class deemed normal.

You rushed to the food first, eating every of those stupidly expensive yet tasty dishes from all around the world. They were a lot so you ate small portions but your favorite had to be the chocolate fountain where you may or may not have coated your fingers with chocolate and licked them clean. No, classy ladies like you didn't do such things.

You tried to talk to some other girls as well but they were more interested in finding their future husbands. Hence, all your conversations died shortly after some begrudging small talk.

Those also attracted unwanted male attention so you quickly noped out of there and began exploring the venue however it was way bigger than you expected. Though mostly consisting of bedrooms and suites, you had squealed in surprise when you had found a small library tucked away in the lounge. You wanted to read there so badly, but you had come here to mess around not hide in a corner and read Jane Austen like your usual self.

However your enthusiasm had mellowed down as you now stared out the large bay window, in a secluded corner, chewing on fruits and silently observing the party.

"How come there's no fountain in the garden?" You mused to yourself. You had even gone to the garden and found no fountain and now gazing at it again reminded you of that smidge of flaw again.

"Because it's in the balcony." A deep voice said from behind.

You gasped, one hand flying to your racing heart as the other clutched onto the fruit plate for dear life, your body slightly trembling from the unexpected adrenaline surging to your veins.

You whipped your head to look at the perpetrator as he gave you a sheepish and apologetic look. You couldn't clearly make out his face but the golden light coming from the oil lamp above you and the white moonlight casted an unique glow on his porcelain face, his stark blue eyes twinkling in the lights.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You looked lonely so I thought to give you some company." He said, his black suit and mask made him blend into the surroundings like the devil lurking in the shadows, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

"So, you were stalking me?" You said sharply before you could even comprehend your words. You instantly regretted it as dread filled your stomach. Fuck, he wasn't some random man you could sass around. He was definitely a very powerful man, he dripped from it.

He chuckled, the sound soothing to your ears. "I was not stalking. I was... Observing." He said playfully.

You relaxed at his nonchalance and smirked at him. "So, you were definitely stalking." You teased back.

"Oh, come on. I'm trying to be romantic here. Plus, a little birdie like you, standing alone in a corner while everybody danced? You'd definitely stick out like a sore thumb." He said.

You snapped your gaze back to the main area and sure enough, everyone was twirling on the melody flowing in the air, while you stares out a window like a werido.

"I didn't know people were dancing." You whispered, more to yourself but he heard it.

"Since we are the only loners left, might you enjoy some company?" He suggested with a charming smirk and extended his hand for you, his sapphire blue eyes flickering towards the dance floor.

Rejection must be as clear as day on your face as he retrieved his hand with a pout and walked closer to you. You stepped backwards, your back hitting the window.

"Just one dance with you, pretty please?" He pleaded and gently brought his hand over his heart like it would get wounded by your denial.

It was so coy that it made you chuckle. "Hmmm, I'll dance with you but only on one condition. You'll have to show me the balcony." You offered and he nodded ecstatically.

He stretched out his hand once again and this time you took it. Your skirt twirled as he held your waist and whisked you to the dance floor. No one noticed your presence, too engrossed in their own world. However, you did.

You took notice how in the light of the chandelier, his face was more visible, how sharp his jaw was. You noticed how his muscular arms felt beneath your hands as you clutched onto them. How his body enveloped yours, a cocoon you never wanted to leave.

"You are so beautiful. " He murmured, close to your face. His gaze piercing as his voice sent shivers down your spine.

"But not as Beautiful as you. " You whispered and huffed out a breathy chuckle. You wanted to see him without his mask.

He beamed at you but swiftly grabbed your hand that was gliding behind his head, near his mask string. "Don't do that, darling." He husked out, bringing your hand to his lips, he kissed your palm. Heat rose to your cheeks as you looked away, making him chuckle. He was devilishly charming.

"Your palms are not, soft. Why?" He asked inquisitively. He was observant for sure or had kissed many women's palms.

"I-uh, like to do some manual labour. Some for fun, some for skills." You stuttered out, hoping it wouldn't blow your cover.

"That's nice. But I totally forgot to ask, what's your name?" He asked softly.

"What's your name?" You countered, anxiety brewing inside you.

He shook his head with a chuckle. "What's in the name?" And winked at you.

"Exactly." You gasped when he spun you around, your back hitting his muscular chest.

"So, what are you looking for?" He asked in your ear.

It took you a moment to process his question. "Fun." You replied.

"No, in terms of love. Don't you wanna love someone?"

You didn't like where this conversation was heading as you turned in his arms and wrapped your hands around his neck. 'Don't you?"

"I don't have time for love?" He said honestly.

"It's overrated anyways."

He let out a throaty laugh. "No, it's not overrated," He said and pulled you closer, his earthy scent hypnotizing you. "It's painfully sweet."

"Mhm, you're really poetic." You teased.

"So, you want to see the fountain?" He asked with a smirk.

"Yes, why not?" You instantly replied.

He chuckled and twirled you around, leading to the staircase parallel to the entrance. He led you up and gradually the lighting intensified as as you both left the main floor and entered into a stairway. It was illuminated by enormous chandeliers with wide bronze steps and Victorian style walls. You both stopped ahead of a golden door and he pushed it open.

Suddenly, the glow surrounding you changed as the ceiling was now replaced by the starry sky. You glanced at him as he smiled at you sweetly.

"You wanted to see the fountain and I'm a man of my word, darling." He said, intertwining your hand with his he guided you through the hallway, the balcony coming into your sight as you came to a halt.

You were stunned as you walked deeper into the balcony. The fountain was set in the middle of it, made with white marbles and on top was a skillfully crafted statue of cupid as water sprinkle down from his arrow. The water glinted in the moonlight as you rushed towards it and sat on the edge of the fountain. Looking to your side, the entire garden was in front of your eyes. The balcony was large, but deserted, no one was there beside you and him. You also weren't able to find it when you traversed the venue. It felt like a secret.

You glanced at him as he gazed at you with affection. "How do you know about this? It feels like something only the prince would know." Since it was one of many hotels the prince's family owned for generations.

"Because I'm the prince." He said and your heart stopped. No, that can't be. But to your absolute horror, he removed his mask and yes, it was him as he walked towards you. He sat beside you and covered your hands with his but you were frozen in place. The shock had paralyzed your body, mind and soul.

"I like you, I hosted a masquerade party to let people be themselves behind their mask. And you're the most authentic girl I've met this night. Your shyness didn't feel forced and your boldness wasn't fake. It's like you had no qualms for impressing anyone and that's what I wanted. You're witty, you seem hard working, you're beautiful. I know it's just one interaction but you are everything I was looking for and I promise to put effort into our relationship. So, will you marry me?"

His last words pounded in your ears. No, you couldn't do this. You couldn't trick someone but you couldn't refuse him either. What if he became angry and came after you? What if he came after Rose? You should have never danced with him.

"I-I need to go." You stumbled away from him, your hands trembling over the railing. You needed to get out of there, fast.

"But why?" He asked, bewildered and stood up.

The balcony was big enough that you could rush past him and he wouldn't be able to catch you. Hopefully, his size wouldn't ruin your escape plan. You took a deep breath and braced yourself for a run. "Because my mother told me to come before midnight and I think I'm already late. I should be get going. Thank you for the good time." You blabbered and marched past him and into the hallway.

"No, wait." He shouted and the thumping of his shoes reverberated in the hallway.

You gulped as you ran along the hallway. You breathed a sigh of relief when the golden door emerged ahead of you. You shoved it open and sprinted down the wide and umber colored stairs. The unusually well-lit staircase helped you skid down faster as your dress bellowed behind you.

However, he wasn't far away as his yells for you to stop made you heave in panic and he felt much closer than he actually was.

Thankfully, the lights reduced as you entered the main hall. You quickly darted into the crowd, making him loose you.

"Excuse me."

"please, let me go."

"I'm sorry, can you step aside?"

You said hundreds of times as you weaved through the crowd, checking your surroundings for him once in a while.

Soon, the crowd cleared out as the entrance door appeared in front of you. You dashed out the door and climbed down the golden steps. Your pace had slowed down, assuming you were out of danger when:

"Close the gates." His thunderous command boomed in your ears, making your blood ran cold.

Your eyes widened in fear as the guards began shutting the gates. You regained your ferocity and even pushed your body's limits as you scurried towards the exit, heart in your throat as the gates came inward by each passing second.

You yelped as you slide outside from a small spacing left before the gates fully closed. You stumbled forward as the gates thudded shut behind you just after a moment you got out.

You pulled open the car door and fall inside it. Your body shaking due to adrenaline as the driver wordlessly started the car and you sighed in relief.

However, just before the car sped off, you caught a glimpse of him staring at the recouping car.

He saw the car. He knows the name. He would come for Rose, thinking it was you. The exact thing you didn't want to happen. SHIT.

#steve rogers x reader #battinson x female reader #bruce wayne x reader #battinson x reader #bruce wayne x fem!reader #battinson x y/n #the batman #steve rogers x fem!reader #steve rogers x f!reader #steve rogers x female reader #bucky x reader #bucky x f!reader #bucky x female reader #clark kent x reader #clark kent x female reader #nick fowler x reader #nick fowler x female reader #nick fowler x you #nick fowler x y/n #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #james barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x f!reader #chris evans character fanfiction #robert patterson batman #robert pattinson

[waffleweirdo]

Thinking about Junna’s family rejecting her dream, and her resolving to never return home until she graduates Seisho while at the same time her favorite food is her mom’s cooking. Alongside the fact that she is really good with and kind to kids (see overture and young Elle in Arcana Arcadia)…

How even though she is diligent and the class president she helps Hikari and Karen sneak back in, and all the other ways she helps everyone at Seisho and the other schools!!

Junna was determined to be a stage girl even if it meant her being alone, and she works so hard to support everyone else to make sure they are not alone. To make sure they don’t feel the pain she feels.

But she still aims to be THE lead, to stand ALONE as the top star.

A cruel fate, but one she chose. She can’t back down now, after all a stage girl needs to always be able to stand on stage. To lose their determination, to be unable to stand resolutely as a stage girl, to become overtaken by fear, such a stage girl would be better off dead.

And then we get to Revue of Hunting. I swear I just wanted to talk about Junna’s family dynamic and how that in relation to her treatment of kids inflicted psychic damage on me, but the writing in revstar is too good! It all connects!!!!

#junna hoshimi #revue starlight #revstar

[chaoscradle]

Totally wrote an essay in @booksandpaperss (hope it’s okay to tag you!) post and I wanted to make it into an actual post so here I am!

The Wheelers are so incredibly mischaracterized by a lot of people, to the point where sometimes it’s not even the same character anymore. The only exception is Holly, and that’s because we haven’t seen much of her.

I see Karen characterized mainly as a completely emotionally neglectful and dismissive mom who is fully conservative and very much traditional.

Karen isn’t a good mom, but we see her reach out to both Mike and Nancy in s1 and Nancy again in s3. In addition, yes, we see the Wheelers with a conservative sign on the lawn, but we do know that Karen isn’t fully traditional. She urges Nancy to follow the story in season 3 despite the misogyny, and she makes it very clear that that isn’t her line of thinking. She’s not the best parent, but she’s not an asshole either.

Ted is emotionally distant and definitely not a good father. He’s never shown to really connect with Mike or Nancy, instead we really only see them interact negatively with each other. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about his kids though- he’s shown to be asleep with Holly in season 3, and he does contribute to disciplining Mike and Nancy (although not well at all, he really only made things worse).

Nancy has two characterizations I see that sit wrong with me, the first being her as a prize to win and a slut, the second being heartless.

Nancy is very independent and doesn’t need a man in her life to function, and seeing her as a prize is incredibly sexist. As for being called a slut, she had sex with Steve because she thought that was what she was meant to do, and she cheated with Jonathan because she loved him and made the mistake of not waiting. The characters are flawed and make mistakes, it’s what makes them interesting and realistic. On top of that, many characters are forgiven for their mistakes, but Nancy is constantly being held to hers.

The second characterization I mentioned was heartless. She’s sometimes characterized as not caring about anyone else’s feelings at all, incredibly argumentative and void of any of Nancy’s real personality. Yes, Nancy is independent and a badass, but she cares for other people. She’s stubborn but also kind.

She’s more than The Girl In A Love Triangle, and she’s also more than The Girl With A Gun.

Mike is heavily misunderstood due to some not understanding his arc, as well as us not being able to see from his pov the past few seasons. He’s interpreted as a whiny, moody brat who doesn’t care about anyone except for El. He’s a shitty boyfriend too, for pretty much no reason other than his parents not really loving each other.

Mike is, in fact, a shitty boyfriend to El. He can’t say “I love you” to her face. He can’t even write it. Believe it or not, it’s because he doesn’t love her. He struggled with conformity and internalized homophobia, causing him to have repressed his feelings for Will and trying to force himself to love El instead.

Mike is kind of a whiny, moody brat, but so many people treat it as his only trait. They forget that he’s a leader, a planner, someone the Party looks to when they’re in trouble, etc. They’re far from his only traits. Mike also struggles with his mental health, and it’s something very overlooked by the GA. He canonly has depression and PTSD, and we see signs of it throughout all the seasons, even in season 1. A lot of his withdrawing behavior and acting out in season 2 and 4 is perceived as him being bratty and a bad friend, when in reality it’s his mental health. In season 3 when he was “written badly”, he was affected by his internalized homophobia and external pressures to be normal, causing him to spend most of his time kissing El.

Mike also cares about his friends. A lot. He fights every season for them, he’s been dubbed “The Heart”, he jumped off a cliff for one. Again, his mental health, internalized homophobia, and conformity caused him to struggle with himself and consequentially pull away from his friends and lash out at them.

#I have no idea if any of this makes sense #or if it’s organized absolutely awfully #really sorry if it is but I kinda just threw my thoughts onto my phone #stranger things #karen wheeler #ted wheeler #nancy wheeler #mike wheeler #byler #jancy #< both target audiences #anti stancy #anti mileven #anti milkvan #byler tumblr #holly wheeler #< shes mentioned like once

[danime25]

Jingle All The Way

ao3 // normal masterlist // christmas masterlist

*Summary: Six and his wife take on their first mission as a married couple. Shopping for their beloved daughter Claire

*Content/Tags: Fluff, Couples Taking Things Way Too Seriously, Shopping

*Rating: E for Everyone

*Status: Oneshot/Complete

“So I’m just going to meet up with Jenna and Ashley in the food court. I’ll text you if we go anywhere else.” Claire told her dad

“Okay, love you. We’ll meet back up at 3.” 

“Okay. Love you too.” Claire made a little peace sign with her fingers and made a run for the food court. Meanwhile her father and mother turned around and pulled out a map of the mall that his wife had in her purse

“So we need to hit… Barnes and Nobles for those books Claire likes.”

“On it.”

“I’ll go to Kohl’s and get some sweaters.”

“Then we take on Gamestop together?” Six asked her, looking up from their pre-planned route

“Then we can go to Sephora.” She nodded, her eyes still fixated on the paper

“What do we need from there?” Six raised an eyebrow

“Well I wanted a perfume…” She started, “You bought it for me already didn’t you?”

“Can’t say, sworn to Santa secrecy.”

“That only applies to Claire.” She huffed but shook her head. “Okay, let’s break.”

“Break.” He replied and they went in opposite directions in the mall. He sprinted past people who were on their phones, arguing about what color to buy a toy for their kid. He scooted around teenagers waiting in the mile long line for Starbucks all in an effort to get to the bookstore. The employees gave him a weird look as he dashed into the store from the mall entrance but he made a straight line to the Young Adult section for Claire’s books. He thumbed through the dividers until he found the last name of the author he’d been given by his daughter. There were books written by him that weren’t the one Claire asked for, but he’d definitely seen in her room. Finally, the series seemingly popped out in his line of vision and he grabbed every book from the shelf. He held onto them and carried the stack up to the register. The employees begrudgingly rung the total up for him and he flashed his credit card up against the machine. He flipped through his phone for a second to see where his wife was on the agenda.

“Stuck in line. Sweaters. Go on without me.”

With that, he made a beeline to Gamestop.

---

“Going to…”

“Do you really need to tell your dad everything?” Claire’s friend rolled her eyes as she waited for Claire to finish typing.

“Yes.” She replied, not lifting her eyes up from the screen

“Why?”

“Because… my parents are on a mission.”

“A mission?”

“Yeah.” Claire sighed

“Is that why they’re using maps like weirdos instead of looking up the mall map on their phones?” Claire’s other friend asked

“Yeah.” Claire shook her head, “Mom thought it’d be more fun.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah. I know.”

---

Six had made it to Gamestop when he saw his wife making a run for him. He held his arms out as she basically landed into him

“Hi Honey.” She smiled, “Managed to get out of there with more time than I thought.”

“Good.” He smiled back at her and kissed her, “Ready?”

“Ready.” She replied and let go of her husband. She got in the line to buy a system with a game face on, ready to deck a Karen if it meant getting a system for Claire. Six couldn’t have been more proud of his wife if he had tried. She smiled at him and waved as she waited. He waved back to her and thumbed through the games. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he checked it. Claire was moving from the food court towards Kohl’s, which would put her right on their path. He makes a gesture saying that they either needed to buy the system or get out of Gamestop right now when she makes it to the counter. She quickly buys the console and they hide behind the clearance bins as their daughter passes by.

“I don’t think she saw us.” She sighed out of relief

“We should be clear.”

“Anything else we can get here today?” She asked Six. He pulled the map out from his pants pockets and took a quick glance of his notes

“No, we’re good.”

“Okay, you go to the car and get the presents in the trunk. I’ll go run my errand.”

“Okay. Love you.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek

“Love you too. Whatever you do, don’t move the car. That parking spot is gold.”

“I know.” He nodded as she went off on her own. Six decided that this would be the perfect time to go buy her her gift.

#my writing #my fic #fanfiction #fanfic #ryan gosling character #ryan gosling #courtland gentry #courtland gentry x reader #sierra six x reader #sierra six #the gray man #the gray man 2022 #12 days of goosemas

[angelynmoon]

Eldritch monster Steve

Part 15

Hopper responds to the noise complaints, Almost angry he's been so easily reinstated as Sheriff.

The Wheelers are well known, Joyce always said Karen could do better and Hopper never really liked Ted.

It should have been a simple keep it down, stop yelling and be apart for a few hours, the way it always was befere but something is different this time as Hopper pulls up.

And that difference is Steve Harrington sitting on the front Stoop waiting for his arrival.

"Holly is with Eddie and Wayne." Steve said as he stood. "Mike is at Will's and Nancy finally got the appartment she will share with Jonathan and Argyle, it's just, Ted and Karen."

"What am I walking in to Steve, something you did or upside down related or what?"

"Ted got violent he's never got like that before, he's not awake, I made him sleep. But I can't, help Karen, I don't know enough." Steve said quietly.

"You should go to Holly." Hopper said and shook his head at the protest.

Karen had told him Holly was Steve's if something happened to her, had to because he was the Sheriff and she didn't want Steve accused kidnapping.

Steve got Holly, no matter what and Hopper couldn't fault Karen for that, had changed El's gaurdianship to Steve too if something happened to him and Joyce. It meant adding Eddie Munson but Eddie had been good for El, she'd became a little more confident, a little loud but on her way to almost normal little girl with Edfie reassuring her it was okay.

But Holly was going to need Steve more than Eddie.

Before Russia Hopper had seen Steve lingering outside the Wheeler's, at the time he'd assumed Steve had been waiting for Nancy or leaving from visiting Nancy but knowing what he did now, having talked to Karen he could guess which Wheeler Steve had really been visiting, been protecting.

Steve stared at Hopper for a long at moment before he nodded.

"Try to save her, Holly needs her mom." Steve said and then faded into the Shadows as he tended to do.

Hopper hated it and it made the kids Shriek because there was no form hiding in the Shadows, Steve was just gone.

Hopper waited a moment before entering the house, calling out as he did, just in case Ted woke or Karen was aware enough to hear him.

Hours later Hopper was walking up to the Munson's new trailer, pausing at the sound of Holly's happy laughter.

Hopper stood there for a long moment not ready to let that sound die just yet.

It didn't take long, though for Steve, to come out, he seemed to spend more time at the Munson's than his house unless he was hosting the kids.

Hopper leaned against his truck and Steve joined him, waiting for Hopper to speak but not forcing him, not yet.

"They aren't sure she'll make and they aren't sure she'll wake up if she does." Hopper said eventually.

"Will Nancy be coming for Holly in the morning?" Steve asked.

Hopper looked at Steve, unsure if Steve was willing to let Nancy have her sister or if he wanted to know so they could vanish.

"Nancy doesn't get Holly, you and Eddie do." Hopper told him.

"But.."

"Karen made it clear that you get Holly, even if Ted wasn't the cause of her absence, you'd get Holly." Hopper explained

"She's mine?" "Steve asked in a soft voice.

"I think, in away, she always has been. You've been checking in on her since you and Nancy broke up, haven't you?" Hopper asked.

"I had to keep her safe." Steve blinked. "What about Mike?"

Hopper scowled "I talked Claudia into taking him for a few days, she's got the room, but he's got an uncle that's coming down to sort some legalities. We'll figure out what to do."

"I can take him too, that way he can stick around, or help Claudia with money to keep him, mom will won't mind. Might even adopt him herself." Steve said and looked at the trailer.

"What are you going to tell her?" Hopper asked.

"Tonight? Nothing. Tonight she's just having a sleepover with Stevie and Eddie. Tomorrow we'll tell her," Steve looked at Hopper, "We can tell Mike too."

Hopper sighed and nodded, "I'll tell Nancy in the morning, then, jesus, is it wrong that I hoped it was upside down related?"

Steve laughed. "The Down Below is simple, Survive, Humans are extreemly complex."

"Yeah," Hopper agreed.

"Steve, you're missing Unicorn Spaghetti!" Eddie shouted from inside the trailer.

"What is Unicorn Spaghetti?" Hopper asked, uncertain he wanted to know.

"Sprinkles instead of meat sauce." Steve said, "Eddie is determined to find something I won't eat or that will make my stomach upset." Steve shrugged. "Besides, he doesn't know how to cook real food so it's been unholy combinations since we started dating. Holly likes it."

"Well, as long Holly likes it." Hopper said.

Steve gave Hopper a look, "Prison won't save him, you know that, right?"

Hopper nodded, "Didn't expect it to."

"Good, I'll be nice enough to leave you a body, if only so they can have the closure." Steve told him.

"Steve," Holly called, "Unicorn Spaghetti."

"You want to join us?" Steve asked as he straightened.

"I'll pass, thank you." Hopper said with a small grimace.

Steve shrugged, "Your loss."

Hopper watched Steve enter the trailer, wondering if he should have protested Ted's inevitable death more but as he thought about Karen in that hospital bed and about telling Nancy that her mom might never wake up, about Mike and Holly possibly growing up without both their parent he realized that he really hoped that Steve made Ted very afraid before he died.

Hopper wondered if that made him a bad man but found he didn't care, he, like Steve would do just about anything to keep their kids safe and if that meant Ted Wheeler left the world of the living then so be it.

Hopper stayed there for a bit longer, listening to Holly's joy as they ate their Unicorn Spaghetti, he could only hope that it wouldn't be the end of her joy.

--

A/n: have I ever had Unicorn Spaghetti, no, is it something I think Eddie would make, absolutly, if only because he thinks having dinner and dessert at the same time is a great idea.

@addelyin @merricatty @lesbiabrobin @apuckishwit @0o-mushroom-o0 @starlight-archer @darkwitchoferie @just-a-tiny-void @swimmingbirdrunningrock @intergalactic-president-awesome @vampireinthesun @goodolefashionedloverboi @adhdsummer @purpleanimeoverart @space-invading-pigeon @lilaclilyroses @nohomoyesbi @plantzzsandpencilzzs @korixae @subversivecynic @flusteredcas @persnicketysquares @freddykicksasses @little-trash-ghost @cupcakesnwhiskey @cats-ate-all-of-my-pasta @planetsoda @paintsplatteredandimperfect @irregular-child @daydreamsandcrashingwaves @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @steddieassheg0es

#jim hopper #eldritch monster steve #upside down creature steve #from the rot #part 15 #steddie #holly wheeler & steve harrington #holly wheeler #eddie munson

[havecourage-darling]

Magnificently cursed

Part 2, follow up to: Right to the bone || Masterlist || AO3

pairing: Eddie Munson x Adopter! Hopper Female Reader

wc: 14K

warnings: cursing, angst with a happy ending, emotional hurt/comfort, post S4, eddie munson lives tyvm, all around healing

A/N: I like using adopted readers so that any race/size/characteristic can be interchanged – also I have last name to use lmao - I do have one tiny bit of dialogue that’s important to the relationship for hopper x reader that’s a little OC tbh. I’m sticking to x reader because that’s all I have in mind for her but absolutely feel free to disregard it if it throws you off.

“Oh, look,” Karen Wheeler said, pointing at an old manicure set that you and Nancy religiously used in middle school. Her eyes softened, the corners looking misty. “You two would be in the basement, giggling and dancing around to that awful music.”

Nancy had insisted that you stay with her while you were in Hawkins. Steve argued the same – Dustin jumping in for additional chaos – and you ended up promising to split your week between the two of them. You’d assured everyone that after you found your sister, you’d stay wherever they wanted.

“Mom!” Nancy protested. “That was good music.”

“Yeah,” you said, bumping your hip with hers. “Sure, it was.”

You were helping everyone pack up donations before you’d start your search for Joyce and El in earnest. While the earthquakes hadn’t been fatal, many were still affected. Steve helped you pack the box into his car and Robin slumped over onto the bumper. “I can’t believe you’re back.”

“Again, you saw me like four months ago!”

“Yeah, that’s four months too long – we’re best friends! Best friends see each other, like daily,” she huffed.

Steve and you rolled your eyes together. “I would happily have you stay over again,” you said, bumping her shoulder with your own.

“You look different, even before you went to see loverboy,” Robin noted, “you look more…you.”

Steve slumped next to you, his fingers coming up to your forearm, and you smiled. Everyone was skirting around you with fleeting touches, like they were afraid you’d disappear if they didn’t. “You look different,” Steve agreed, “better.”

“Are you saying I looked horrible before?” You were teasing but you knew what you’d looked like in November. Somedays it felt like she was still hiding in the shadows within you.

Mischievous smile in place, Steve huffed. “That’s exactly what I meant.”

The weather was a bit chillier than normal, as if Hawkins realized summer needed to wait a little longer. You raised your hand, fingers itching to tug at a strand of Steve’s hair, when a loud honk startled you all.

A pizza van pulled up at the end of the Wheeler’s driveway and you furrowed your brow. “Did anyone order pizza?” Steve asked, standing up, always protective.

Out from the van, stepped Mike.

“Mike?” Steve uttered, looking confused. Your eyes, however, were stuck on the girl whose hand was in Mike’s.

“El?” You called out, stepping out from behind Steve. “Eleven?”

Her eyes brightened, face betraying her surprise, and you didn’t know you were flying up the driveway until her body collided with yours painfully. “Oh my God, you’re okay,” you whispered, clutching her to you like she’d evaporate.

“Sister,” she mumbled, tears in her voice. “You’re here? In Hawkins?”

“Your hair,” you said, rubbing a palm over her buzzed head. What happened? Annoyed, you leaned back and pinched her arm.

“Ouch!”

“Don’t you ever, ever, disappear like that without telling me! Okay? You’re my responsibility! You are my little sister and superpowers or not I will ground you until you’re thirty if you ever do that again!”

“She kind of, uh, saved the world,” Mike added, a few steps behind her. You whirled your glare around to him and he shrank back. Dustin snorted and came up to hug him.

“Stay in your lane kid,” Robin said around a cough.

Turning back to El, you saw the tears fall down her face, your threats completely falling short. “I missed you,” she said, tucking herself into your arms. “I missed you a lot.”

“Me too,” you crumbled, the weight of the last few days finally crashing into you and the reality of having her in your arms caught up to you.

“Crying?” She said, leaning back to look at you. “What’s wrong?”

“What isn’t wrong?” You sighed, then, you caught sight of Will. “Holy shit, you’re all here. Where’s Joyce?”

Will, not needing more than a little encouragement, jogged into your arms. “It’s a long story.”

“I’m sure it is, Will the Wise,” you said, kissing his temple. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

Sinking into the group hug that Mike and Dustin joined in on, you grinned, your heart jumping at the fact that your little family was back together. Glancing over at Nancy, you caught someone else’s eyes.

“Jonathan Byers,” you said, breaking away from everyone else.

He untangled himself from Nancy and shook his head. “Hopper.”

You both blinked at each other before you threw yourself at him. Like always, he caught you. Twirling you midair, you felt tears build at the sight of your best friend.

While you’d become friends with everyone at their own pace – Robin and Dustin had to work a little hard to get you to admit the The King of Hawkins High, Steve Harrington was changed – the very first person to become your friend in Hawkins had been Jonathan Byers. He had been in every single one of your classes in middle school. He was quiet, kind, and let you play around with his new camera that his mom had gotten him.

He listened whenever you started having your panic attacks, he let you sleepover when your dad worked nights, and he never judged you for the time you’d spent crying over a mother you’d likely never see again. He’d been the one to call you every day for months while you sat miles away from each other. Eddie always used to say that he’d met you first but Jonathan had wiggled his way in faster.

Jonathan Byers had been the first person you’d trusted with your secrets, with your truth, and that would never change.

“I missed you shithead,” you said, tucking your face into his neck. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, hand coming up to the back of your head, “are you?”

“I think so,” you sniffled, trying to reel in your emotions. “A lot has happened.”

“Yeah, it has. Nothing hot cocoa and some James can’t help us through?” He asked and the memory snuck up on you.

“Honey, are you sure you don’t want to tell your dad what happened?” Joyce asked, her warm hand rubbing comforting shapes into your back. “He’s going to find out eventually.”

“Not today,” you sniffled, wiping the tears from your face. “Is it – is it that noticeable?”

Carol, a stupidly pretty popular girl had managed to trip you before last period. Her entourage had laughed, giggling loudly, and you had been certain they’d broken your nose.

Nancy and Barb had come to your rescue, picking you up and ushering you off to the nurse’s office. She’d refused to let you go without a parent so when Barb had called Jonathan, who had been so mad he’d kicked a trash can over, he’d called his mom.

“It’s just swollen but it’ll be bruised tomorrow,” she fretted, telling Will to bring you another bag of frozen peas. “Does it hurt?”

“Not as much anymore,” you said, voice thick, “the painkillers are helping.”

“I had bullies too, you know,” she told you as Jonathan sat on your other side. His arm came around your shoulder protectively. “They were relentless.”

“Really?” Will said, looking up from where he sat by your feet, fresh ice pack in his hands.

“Yeah! There’s always girls and boys like that. But let me tell you guys something, they never have the last laugh. My mom always told me – for moments like these, there’s nothing hot cocoa and James Brown can’t fix.”

“Hot cocoa?” Will laughed, the sound filling the home. “Mom it’s hot outside!”

“We’ll put some ice in it!” She said, disappearing through the kitchen. “You know where the vinyl is!” When she didn’t hear the music, her head popped in from the door frame. “Jonathan!”

He laughed and walked over to the record player. With care, he dropped the vinyl into place and James Brown’s voice burst through the living room.

Get up offa that thing,

and dance 'till you feel better!

Will shot to his feet, familiar with the routine. Jonathan and Will bounced around the living room, singing along with the music. You rolled your eyes and let yourself be pulled to your feet. Soon, you were bumping your hip with Joyce’s and laughter spilled from your chocolate-stained lips.

“That song has healing powers,” you said, finally releasing him, “it’s still cold enough at night to make hot cocoa acceptable.”

“If not, we can just put some ice in it,” Jonathan said, smiling. He tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and squeezed your shoulder. “I thought you were never coming back here again?”

“Yeah, well,” you looked at your feet, scuffing your shoe into the gravel. “He had to go ahead and get hurt. Hawkins’ Hospital called me to let me know.”

“You’ve seen him?”

Nodding, your hand came up to the necklace. “Yeah, we’ve talked.”

“And?” He asked, ducking to try and catch your gaze. While it’d taken a while for Jonathan to warm up to Eddie, after four years – you’d all been a misfit group of friends. You knew they still talked often, despite him denying it, Jonathan was always a bad liar. Even through the hundreds of miles and a phone you could always tell.

“And, I don’t know,” you shrugged, “we’ll see.”

Jonathan whistled. “That’s a huge step up from ‘I don’t care if he falls into a lake and drowns.’ You’ve really matured in college.”

“Shut up,” you hissed, pinching his arm.

“Still aggressive I see,” he groaned, rubbing the reddening skin.

Rolling your eyes, you tucked your arm through his and sighed. “You saw me three months ago at Christmas.”

“Yeah, and you were aggressive then too.”

Snorting, you watched everyone pile their donations into Steve’s car and make plans to catch up later. “Shut up, Byers.”

“We actually have to talk,” Jonathan said, motioning for you to follow him into the van. At the look you give it, he sighed. “It’s a long story, just – hop in for a second.”

You climbed in after him and settled in the backseat. The van smelled faintly of sweat and blood but you tried not to question things after everything you’d seen.

“Have you talked to someone named Agent Stinson?” Jonathan asked, eyes on the kids outside. Keeping El within sight, you shifted and shook your head.

“She helped clear Eddie’s name, that’s all I know.”

Jonathan sighed. “It’s been a really, really complicated last few days. She reached out to me, after we started making our way here. She told me that everything was going to be rocky for a little while. That the government was in some type of disagreement.”

“What does that mean?” You asked, not understanding.

“I don’t know but, Hop, she told me to keep El safe. That they’d send reinforcements soon but we needed to make sure she was hidden.” Jonathan’s tone struck you and El’s eyes caught yours. The memory swam up without much need and you remembered the first time your dad had found her. She was so small and scared of him but she’d taken to you almost immediately.

“We’re a family now, we all take care of each other.”

You were her guardian and you wouldn’t let her or your dad down. “Okay,” you said, more to yourself, “where do we hide her? My campus is pretty small and my apartment is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.”

“Don’t you think that’s where they’ll look for her first? With the daughter of the man that hide her?”

Shit. He was right – you’d need to move soon if you wanted to keep her safe.

“Don’t you think the Chief would be upset if you dropped out of school?”

“What other choice do I have?” You said, meaning it. “I can go back any time. I don’t have another sister. They can’t take her too. They’ve taken enough.”

“Hey,” Jonathan said, leaning over to grab your hand when your voice shook. “You’re not alone. The only benefit of this town? You’ve got a lot of help to pick from.”

“This cursed town,” you said, rubbing a hand down your face. “Alright. Let’s see what everyone else thinks.”

“It’s not bad,” Nancy said tentatively. You turned your wide-eyed gaze to her and she winced. “Come on, I’ve seen Mike’s room look worse.”

“Hey!”

You suppressed a smile, not wanting to give her the satisfaction. The cabin was…in rough shape. Almost sure that the last time you’d seen it was in the review mirror as you sped away from it and towards a general store you’d eventually break into.

After everything that had happened that night, returning to this cabin had been your last priority. El and you had gone through it to pick up what little was undamaged – she’d always loved your dad’s flannels and you’d managed to find his favorite watch. A sunbeam blinded you momentarily, the massive hole in the roof serving as an unintended rustic skylight.

“I don’t know about this,” you said to a skeptical looking Will.

He sighed and looked around the corner. “It was worse in my memory,” he admitted. You smiled, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him to you.

“I missed you,” you told him, “I don’t like living so far away from you.”

Will ducked his head, still reminding you of a puppy – ever loveable and something you wanted to protect. “Me neither, it sucks.”

“California must be nice though, make any new friends since Christmas?” You asked, nodding to Jonathan when he pointed towards the door. Nancy shot you a look and you waved her off.

A pointed silence answered the question for you and you turned to look at El. She shifted her face but you’d seen the look she was shooting Will.

“Eleven Hopper!” You called out, feeling silly for being worried about people bullying your sister when her life was still on the line but – that’s what family did. Worried about everything. She pretended not to hear you and grabbed a garbage bag. Following her into what used to be her room, you noticed that it didn’t actually look too bad.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, “it doesn’t matter now anyway.”

You shot her a look and she shot you one back. “Eleven.”

“Did you see Eddie?” She asked, switching the subject innocently. The murmuring outside stopped and you knew those two were snooping. By the wide grin on El’s face – she knew it too. With a shake of her head, she threw out her hand and the door closed. You both glanced at it and you knew she was thinking the same.

With almost a reluctance, she opened it back up. “Three inches,” you muttered, remembering how he’d glare at Eddie and Mike.

“You kissed a lot,” El said, as if she hadn’t been doing the same thing. “Did you see him? Dustin said he was hurt.”

“Yeah,” you said, sitting on the dusty mattress and looking down at your hands. “I saw him.”

The bed dipped with El’s weight as she settled next to you. “Still hurts a lot?” She asked softly, her hands settling on your fidgeting ones. Her warmth sunk into your skin, making you feel like you were a cat curling up in a sunbeam.

Habit had you nodding but you stilled midway through. Had him pushing you away hurt? Yeah. It had. Had you tried your best to not love him anymore? Every day since you drove past the Hawkins’ sorry to see you go! sign. Had it worked? No.

There was something knotted inside you, something messy that you’d been avoiding. It wasn’t an open wound, it wasn’t healed, but it’d stopped feeling like you needed morphine to deal with it. As much as you loathed to admit it – Jonathan had been right.

“I know it hurts,” Jonathan said, arms around you tightening. Nancy placed a mug of tea at the table in front of you and settled into your other side. Her hands came up to your back, soothing and comforting.

“He said he heard me tell Steve that I was considering dropping out,” you sniffled, “he didn’t even let me explain.”

At the silence, you glanced up and saw Jonathan shoot Nancy a look.

“What?” You asked, annoyed.

“Nothing,” Nancy said quickly.

Knowing he was easier to break, you turned your swollen, miserable eyes towards Jonathan. He frowned, eyes not even meeting yours, and Nancy sighed. “I think how he did it was stupid. I’m not taking his side, but…”

“But?” You asked, a little indignant.

“But!” Jonathan squeezed your shoulder. “He’s not entirely wrong. I know you’re grieving; I know that. But…putting off college forever?”

“Some people do it!”

Nancy nodded emphatically, supporting you while shooting Jonathan a withering glare. “Yeah, but are you one of those?” Jonathan asked, his voice quiet but landing sharply. “You have a right to deal with this however you want, but both of you were in over your heads. I think…if you’re not going to college you should come with us to California.”

Before you could interject with all the indignance you could muster, he put his hand up to stop you.

“When Will was missing, what did you tell me?”

Deflating, you dropped your eyes to the steaming mug on the table. “I told you not isolate yourself. That I had your back.”

“We’re family,” Jonathan said, surprising you with the ferocity in his tone – as if he was daring you to object. “You’re my family and you are drowning here. I cannot leave knowing that you’ll be alone.”

“I wouldn’t have been alone! I would’ve had him!”

“Don’t you think that’s a lot to ask of just one person?” Jonathan asked gently. “He doesn’t know what’s going on, what really happened. Eddie would jump in front of a bullet for you, anyone can see that. But…you don’t want to tell him the truth.”

Shame trickled down your back. “No. He doesn’t – I don’t want to put a target on his back. He already has enough to deal with. My dad…he said…no.”

“Okay,” Nancy said, “that’s okay.”

“Eddie would run himself to the ground if it meant your happiness,” Jonathan said softly, “but what we’ve been through – what you’re going through – you need more than just him. I don’t want your happiness to fall solely on his shoulders. California is sunny…it’s got beaches…”

You squared your shoulders. “Well, I don’t have him anymore, do I? He’s decided for the both of us that I’m not worth the trouble.”

They shared a pointed glance but you felt your resolve cement itself in place. He didn’t want you here? Fine. You’d leave because what had this town brought you but heartbreak? You’d never be able to go anywhere without seeing the ghosts of the people you loved. Echoes of memory that would haunt you forever. At least with Hawkins, you would be the one leaving.

“Still hurts, not a lot,” you mumbled, “it’s complicated.”

El nodded, like she understood, and it made you smile. “Do you want to be with him?”

“I don’t know,” you said, not wanting to deal with the repercussions of either answer to that question. Either way, you’d both need to talk and you weren’t ready. Not yet. “It hurts to look at him. He’s not a ghost – like everyone else.”

“He loves you.”

You shrugged. “He says he does.”

“Not a question,” El said, smile small, “not opinion, fact. Eddie loves you.”

Heart skipping, you bit down on your cheek and nodded. “Yeah, I think he does.”

“He’s your best friend?”

Eyes stinging, you picked at a loose thread the corner of the mattress. “One of them, yes.”

“That hurts more?”

“Yeah.”

“Needs more time?” She asked, looking like she understood more than you did.

You brought her into your arms, needing the closeness. “I think so.”

“He’ll wait.”

Saved from having to answer, you realized something. “Do you hear a car?”

El stood, walking out to the window and shaking her head. “I don’t see anything.” The sound of slamming car doors had you standing immediately. You darted over to the window and cursed. They must’ve parked by the side.

Straining to hear what was going on, you made to walk over to the door. El’s grip on your wrist stopped you. “We can’t just sit here,” you whispered, noticing that everyone had gone quiet. Surely if something bad had happened, someone would’ve yelled? Not if they were all unconscious, your mind supplied helpfully. Jesus, you’d been here less than forty-eight hours and this town had you paranoid again.

“Nowhere to go,” she whispered, fingers squeezing your tightly. “I’ll protect you.”

Affection and protectiveness surged in you and you shook your head. “Stay behind me, I don’t want you to be the first thing they see,” you said, pulling a pocket knife from your waistband. A habit you’d picked up again from the moment you crossed the town line.

“Ready?” You asked. El nodded, hand raising, and you listened as heavy footsteps echoed towards you.

When you were in high school, Julia Young had beaten you for valedictorian by half a point. Something you were still a little petty about to this day. Suffice to say, you were smart. You were a good study and an avid reader. Having read thousands of books at this point in your lifetime, you were no stranger to the description of being so stunned, the world stopped spinning. A gross exaggeration, you’d always thought, at this point – nothing had the ability to stun you into immobility. You’d learned to be light and fast on your feet. Being still was asking for trouble.

As the door opened and El pushed past you, flinging herself into your father’s arms, you finally understood what they were talking about. The earth paused in its rotation; time ceased to exist as you heard the knife in your hand clatter to the floor. Your skin felt like it was aflame and every nerve in your body fought the urge to run. It’d been your basic instinct when facing the unknown – flight.

“Hey squirt,” the apparition said, tears in his eyes.

“Sister?” Eleven called out, stepping towards you. Adrenaline kicking in, you felt black spots dance in your vision and you backed away. Feeling like cornered animal, your hackles rose and you wanted to bare your teeth. In the absence of an escape, fight instincts kicked in.

The ghost standing in front of you held out a hand towards a confused looking El and stepped slowly towards you. “I know, sweetheart, I know. It’s me, I promise,” he said, hands up.

Your therapist’s voice echoed her advice. Repeat your mantra when you aren’t sure what’s real and what isn’t. Remember your mantras. “My dad is dead. Sara is dead. My mom is gone.” You said to yourself, pinching your skin. “My sister is in California. The gate is closed. We are safe.” Chest heaving, your breath came in strangling short pants. Your mind couldn’t comprehend how both the man and these facts could exist in the same room.

The moment you saw his heartbreak in his eyes, the worried wrinkle that was unique to Jim Hopper, one you’d seen on his face your whole life, something inside you cracked.

“You hated it when I called you squirt,” he said, knowing that you needed a moment, “Sara gave you that bracelet the day she was transferred into the intensive care unit. Saturday mornings are for cartoons and cereal in bed. Sunday nights are for pizza and dance parties. On your first day of high school, I asked you if you wanted me to drive you in and you looked horrified and told me-”

“-they’re going to think I’m a narc, please don’t even look at me when we’re in public,” you finished for him, faintly feeling embarrassed by teenage you. With reluctance, at a snail’s pace, you stretched a trembling finger towards his offered palm. The moment you touched, his face smoothed like you were a balm over a wound, and everything within you crumbled.

The shock dulled down to a manageable level, your survival’s mode shutting down, and you heaved out an earth-shattering sob. “Dad?” You said, feeling like a little girl running through piles of crunchy leaves in New York, laughing as he chased you around the park.

You watched the hesitance around him disappear and he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his embrace. Body wracking sobs shook you as your fingers clutched at him, like he’d disappear at any moment. How was this possible? How was he alive? He rocked you both, like you were that little girl again and he was what stood between you and the world. You tucked your face into his shoulder and inhaled desperately for air around your tears. The smell of cigarettes, laundry detergent, and wood flooded your senses. A feeling of complete and utter safety – one that had been ripped away from you, almost brutally - slammed back into place like it was a rubber band returning to its previous shape.

“I missed you squirt,” he said, hand cupping the back of your head. “I’m sorry for doing that to you. I’m so sorry.”

Tears burned your eyes and you leaned back enough to see El hovering tentatively, her own eyes watery. You opened your arm and she all but crashed into you both. “Oof,” he grunted, smile widening, “you two are too old to be climbing over me like this. My bones are not what they were you know.”

“You’re so…skinny,” you said, a little dismayed.

He threw his head back and laughed, the sound bringing a fresh round of tears to your eyes. You wanted to bottle it and hoard it forever. You never thought you’d hear that sound again, not in this lifetime.

“Don’t worry, a few weeks back in the U.S. will get me fattened up in no time,” he joked. Everything else may have changed but that glint in his eyes hadn’t dulled. Eleven’s hand came up to cradle his cheek and he squeezed both your hands. “My girls.”

“Dad,” El breathed, looking at you and you knew she was processing it also. “How?”

“It’s a long story,” he said, “I’m realizing you two might have one for me too.”

“Yeah,” you said, straightening. “Are you alone?”

His eyes lit up and you looked over his shoulder to see a beaming Joyce. El jumped up and sped across the doorframe towards her. You waved, her familiar smile warming you. A small nudge to your shoulder moved you forward. “It’s okay, I won’t disappear,” he said, releasing your hand. Bone deep fear had you scrambling for his arm, clinging to it like a life raft. His eyes went round with a mixture of sadness and reassurance. “I’m sorry I did that to you.”

“It’s not your fault,” you said, knowing that without needing any explanation. He would’ve never voluntarily left either of you. Not in any lifetime or dimension. “I may be a little different than when you last saw me. I – a lot has changed.”

Your dad smiled, his arm coming around your shoulder and squeezing you tightly. “Me too but that’s okay.”

“Yeah?” You ducked your head, not wanting to show how deeply that reassurance had affected you. Isn’t that what you’d been searching for? Someone to tell you that it was all going to be okay?

“I’m still your father. You’re still my daughter. That’s all we need to know right?”

Eyes going up to his, you rested your chin on his chest and smiled sadly. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too squirt,” he kissed the top of your head and rested his cheek there. “Deep breaths. Count to ten.”

“Then let go,” you whispered.

You couldn’t sleep.

Which…wasn’t new. The tall order of grief, anxiety, and panic had come with a side order of insomnia for you. It came and went in waves; you’d learned to accept it – knowing usually that sleep would eventually call on you again.

Though, you knew this night you couldn’t necessarily blame yourself. Glancing at the sleeping lump in the bed next to yours, you thought you’d earned some grace in terms of your insomnia considering your dead father had come back from the grave.

Snorting at yourself, you sighed. To say it’d been a long day would’ve been an understatement. Your dad had refused to let anyone sleep in the condemned cabin, you’d gloated when Eleven rolled her eyes, and suggested a motel. So, you’d all piled into two cars and driven to the outskirts of town. Renting two rooms, in a mostly abandoned looking hotel, and buying almost everything off their room service menu, you’d all started explaining your sides to the story.

You had truly seemed to have escaped the worst, in your bubble up on campus. Everyone had rushed to assuage your guilt, knowing you’d asked to be left alone out of necessity and not for lack of caring. The overwhelming wave of emotions had been kept at bay but something inside you had broken when you caught sight of your dad’s scars.

“They don’t hurt,” he said, hand coming up to cradle your cheek. “I’m okay, kiddo. Really.”

“I’m not,” you told him, honestly.

His face twisted into something understanding and you relished in the fact that you’d gotten that back. Someone who understood you without needing any words.

The reason, however, as to why you couldn’t sleep this particular night was something you couldn’t have seen coming.

Your father was alive. Your sister was protected. The gate was closed. You were safe. Trying to ignore it again, you closed your eyes and tried to count down from a hundred.

This was absolutely ridiculous, you told yourself, snapping your eyes open after you’d reached thirty-two.

Eleven shifted next to you in the bed, the blankets pulled up to her ears. Your father’s snores, which at first had incredibly comforting to hear since not a week ago you would have traded your soul to be able to hear them again, had grown annoying very quickly. They’d never bothered you before – but you’d also always had a door between them and you.

But that wasn’t what was stopping you.

Throughout the four years you’d spent together with Eddie, the last two and half had consisted of both of you sleeping over each other’s homes. Wayne and your dad had worked a lot of nights, despite the latter’s disapproval, there wasn’t much aside from a cross country move that would keep you two apart. Two people in love the way you had been, it was almost impossible.

In the summer after your dad had died, with your cabin and home destroyed, El had gone to live with the Byers and you’d alternated your time between Joyce’s house and Eddie’s trailer. One could say, you’d gotten very, very used to sleeping with a stupidly tattooed arm wrapped around your waist.

The first month at college had been the hardest. You’d barely slept in the silence or solitude. In the Byers’ home you could always hear someone snoring, mumbling, playing music, or El’s drowsy huffs on your arm. In the trailer park, aside from Eddie’s sleep mumbling, his neighbors were nocturnal and their noise eventually became what lulled you to sleep.

In a small college campus apartment, one you had to yourself, with quiet and courteous neighbors, you had silence and an empty bed.

Like most things, you’d gotten used to it. And now, on day two hundred and twenty of having had adjusted to being alone, you were going to go insane. You were so tired. The emotional rollercoaster that you’d been through was enough to fry your brain into next year. It had been too much for your body and you needed to sleep before you cracked.

For some god forsaken reason, it seemed like your body had reawakened and knew that stupid tattooed arm was within driving distance. It was like you were an addict and someone had dropped a glass of scotch in front of you, your fingers couldn’t help but twitch towards it. You’d been in town for three days now and hadn’t been back to visit him.

As the shock passed, it was getting easier not to panic when your dad wasn’t in your immediate line of vision. You felt like a toddler, stumbling two steps behind your him, fingers constantly reaching out for reassurance. El had taken it all in stride and you tried not to be jealous, how quickly she’d accepted her new normal. Your dad hadn’t minded, he told you, he knew – like he always did.

Part of you was afraid that all this been a fever dream. Another part of you was scared because you knew you could only avoid the conversation with Eddie for so long. You were worried though, worried that there was too much between you that it’d be impossible to move on from. Despite your dad’s recent resurrection, you had been irrevocably changed. You were marked. There would always be a before and an after.

Before your dad died. After he died. Before mom left, after mom left. Before El, after El. Before Hawkins, after Hawkins. Before Eddie broke your heart, after Eddie broke your heart. You had previously been unmoved in the face of the turmoil but now – there was a you before and you after. What if the you after needed to continue with this new life? What if you owed it to the new you to keep the past in the past? She hadn’t clawed her way up to the surface only to be dragged down into the waters again.

It was exhausting.

After you glanced at the clock for the seventh hundred time, the 3:13AM mocking you, you heaved yourself up. Both deep sleepers barely noticed and you grabbed your keys. Slipping a sweater over your head and your feet into shoes, you hastily wrote a note just in case and snuck out into the hallway.

“This is so stupid,” you mumbled to yourself. And yet, you still slid into your car and drove your way to the hospital.

“Hi Ms. Hopper!” The nurse from the first night waved. You startled, realizing that she had remembered you. “Are you excited?”

“I’m sorry?”

The woman’s eyes brightened. “We just got the news today! Eddie should be able to go home in a few days. Some stitches got taken out and they all looks good.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” you said, actually meaning it.

“Go on, he’s been dozing in and out all night – you look ready to drop at any moment.”

You smiled and padded quietly into Eddie’s room. He was on his side, TV in the corner playing Mary Poppins. “Sadie, I promise I won’t get up again you don’t have to keep checking in on me.”

“Who’s Sadie?” You asked, leaning against the door frame.

Eddie surged up, startled, and winced. His hand came up to his stomach and he groaned. “You scared the shit out of me sweetheart. Sadie’s the nurse on shift tonight who threatened to snap my knee caps if she saw me wandering the halls again.”

Biting back a smile you nodded to the TV. “I thought you hated this movie.”

You expected him to tease you, make a crude remark, or pretend like it’d been the only thing on. Instead, he shrugged. “It’s one of your favorites.”

You reverently ignored the way your heart flipped at his admission.

“It was Sara’s favorite,” you said quietly, remembering your sister’s awed stare whenever the penguins would come on. “It reminds me of her.”

“I know,” he said, brown eyes meeting yours. “It reminds me of you. Sometimes it’s the only thing I can sleep to.”

The honesty on his expression cracked something within you. Another piece of stone fell from your defenses and you furrowed your brows. “You’re so confusing, you didn’t used to be,” you told him.

“I know,” he sighed, shifting onto his back, “I’m trying to get back to who I was.”

“Why?”

Eddie smiled sadly. “He was the one you loved. The one you wanted to stay for. The one worth something.”

“He was also the one who pushed me away,” you said quietly, ignoring the way his face fell, “I don’t think the new Eddie is so bad anyway.”

“Yeah?”

The admission struck you deeply, and you padded over to the seat by his bed. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“I’ve all but asked Sadie to handcuff me to the rail of this bed so I wouldn’t call and ask when you were coming to visit,” Eddie said, “so I don’t really care why, as long as you stay.”

You smiled hating how easy it was to be in his presence. How had you forgotten that being around him was so calming? It made you realize you’d been hiding this too – this longing for him that never really stopped.

“I had to learn to sleep without you,” you told him, eyes going down to his legs, “without all the noise and the people and everything. My apartment faces a row of residential houses so, there’s barely ever any noise. I haven’t…I’m not seeing anyone. It’s been just me, for the last eight months. I learned to sleep alone. I learned how to be alone again.”

“Yeah?” He said, closing his eyes. “I don’t think I ever learned how to be without you. I still can’t sleep on your side of the bed. Don’t think I can. That’s the curse of my life.”

“And it’s been approximately,” you checked your watch, “seventy-seven hours of me being back here, knowing you’re okay, and my body just won’t fucking shut down.”

“What?”

You ran a frustrated hand down your hair. “Eddie, I’ve been awake for most of those seventy hours. After my dad – oh, my dad-” You didn’t know if Eddie knew.

His expression turned soft and his eyes shot you a happy look. “Dustin told me. Even if I had the words, and half a brain to be able to say them, I wouldn’t be able to explain how happy I am for you. How did it go?”

“It’s been weirdly hard. I’m happy, obviously, but I…I’d been moving on and this somehow feels like a huge step sideways,” you waved a hand in the air, “all of this does.”

“I get that,” Eddie said, yawning.

“The point is,” you grumbled, “I’m so strung out, it’s like my mind won’t let me rest. I don’t know why my brain picked you again but it did. I just…I just need one night. Please. I’m so tired.” You were reaching a state of delirious that you’d only ever known during finals week.

“Sweetheart, I don’t know what you’re asking me,” he said, brows furrowing. “Whatever it is you need or want, you can have it.”

You swallowed your pride and tried to avoid his eyes. “Can I sleep here? With you?”

Eddie’s brows disappeared into his hair. “Like…sleep sleep or sleep-”

“Oh my God, Eddie!” Surprised laughter bubbled out of you. “Only you, I swear only you.”

“What? I’m sure we wouldn’t be the first ones to do it,” he huffed, tone letting you know he’d been joking.

A temporary lightness settled between you two, pushing the heavier stuff off for another day.

“I think, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I learned that I was capable of being out on my own but – now that I’m in the same place where you are, I don’t want to sleep on my own.” Admitting that left you feeling oddly vulnerable and you knew you’d blame it on your exhaustion if he asked.

Eddie’s face wasn’t critical, it seemed to grow fond, the way it used to when you asked him if he’d go on night drives with you. “Hop, you never have to ask,” Eddie said, offering out his hand. “You own every part of me, physical or otherwise. Take whatever you need.”

The breath in your chest froze and you didn’t know what to do with that answer. So, you turned slightly towards the door and motioned to the nurse’s station. “I can ask for the fold out bed.”

“Sweetheart, we’ve been apart – how many nights?”

“Two hundred and twenty,” you said, a little embarrassed.

Eddie smiled, his eyes glinting. “Don’t you think that’s long enough?” He scooted over to the left of his bed, clearing a spot for you. “Come on, I’ll let you be the little spoon. I promise to keep my hands to myself.”

Awkwardly, you crawled into the bed – trying to avoid all his wires and any injuries. “I’m not made of glass, Hop, it’s okay.”

Tension settling in your shoulders, you turned your back to him and you could feel his hesitance. His bandaged hand came up to your waist and you fought back the bubbling memories.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie said, his voice sounding strangled, “I don’t – this didn’t used to be so…”

“New?”

His eyes turned down, sadness flashing across them, and you sighed. You’d never be able to sleep if you didn’t try. You’d been the one to come down here. With a few careful movements, you shifted to your other side so you were face to face.

“Listen, if you want to be the big spoon I have no qualms,” Eddie joked and you knew it was his way of shielding himself. Keeping you at a distance in the same way you were. This whole week was giving you whiplash.

Bringing your hand up to his cheek, you traced a finger down his jaw, his stubble tickling you as you went. “Is this okay?” You asked, arms coming around his waist. Placing your head to his chest, you inhaled and the familiar scent of smoke and something sharp, calmed you almost instantly. It’d been so long since you felt yourself enveloped by it that your brain seemed to finally – finally! – shut down.

Eddie’s cheek came down to the top of your head and his arm pulled you tighter to him. “Yeah, this is okay sweetheart.”

 Eyes slipping closed, Eddie’s heartbeat and Julie Andrews’ voice filtered into your unconsciousness.

“Speaking of weather, the other day when it was so cold, a friend of mine went to buy some long underwear. The shopkeeper said to him, ‘How long do you want it?’ And my friend said, ‘Well, from about September to March!”

You huffed a drowsy laugh – Sara had always found that funny. Her giggles would fill the room, eyes crinkled and hands clapping in delight. Eddie’s hand came up to your hair, fingers soothing the ache the memory left behind. “Sleep, Firecracker,” he whispered, “I got you.”

And so, for the first time in days, with more plot twists than you could’ve planned for, you fell asleep.

“I don’t like this one,” Hopper said, nose wrinkling in aversion. El groaned, leaning her weight onto Mike and you sighed.

“There’s only so many houses for rent in Hawkins,” you said, “what’s wrong with this one?”

Your dad sighed, like you were both disappointing him for not seeing what he saw. Narrowing your eyes you crossed your arms and stomped over to him. “What’s really going on?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, pretending to examine the roof.

“Jim Hopper.”

Amusement bled into his expression but he kept his serious composure. “I die for nine months and you forget not to talk back to your old dad?”

“I’m glad we’re at the joking stage of this traumatic event,” you said dryly. “What’s. Going. On.”

He sighed, like you had a knife to his throat, and waved an arm. “Do we even want to stay in Hawkins?” He asked.

“Well, we’re not buying anything, we can leave,” you added. “Why don’t you visit California?”

He immediately frowned. “I was actually thinking Wisconsin.”

“Why?” You made a face.

“Well, that’s where you’re going to be most of the time,” he said, as if it was obvious. You scoffed.

“You can’t actually believe I’m going back.”

You dad blinked before laughing deeply. El smiled, hiding her amusement behind her hand and you glared at her. “Kid, you’re funny,” he said sighing, wiping away an imaginary tear, “you’re going back if I have to tie you to the chair in every one of your classrooms.”

“Dad-”

“It’s not up for discussion.”

Exhaling frustratedly, you crossed your arms and glared at him. “I think you forgot that in your absence I became the one who made decisions for myself.”

Frowning, he glared back at you and Joyce’s bright voice echoed as she came down the stairs. “I think this one’s nice! It’s certainly got enough bedrooms and you know the broker will probably rent it out cheap since it’s you…what happened?” She sighed. “I was gone for five minutes!”

“Ask him,” you said waving a hand in your dad’s direction.

Joyce shot him a disappointed look. “Hop.”

“She’s being unreasonable. She thinks she’s staying with us instead of going back to school.”

“I can’t believe you think I can even be at school right now!” At the sound of your voice cracking, his glare softened. Not wanting to hear it, you walked past them and out into the street. The house had been at the outskirts of Hawkins, near the town line, and in a nice neighborhood.

Following the path up the driveway, you climbed into your car and sighed. What was with all the men in your life trying to make decisions for you? Did everyone think you were incompetent?

“Are you going to slug me if I get in the car?” He asked, voice startling you.

You shrugged. He opened the passenger door and settled in, hands sliding across the dashboard. “Byers did a good job with it. I always thought you’d like this old girl.”

“She does the job,” you said, not wanting to admit how this car had been one of the only things keeping you sane in the past year. “She’s stubborn when she wants to be though.”

He laughed, a soft, short one and you crossed your arms. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have ordered you around. I’m not…you’re a grown adult. The last few years has forced you to grow up faster than you needed to. You know what’s best for you and whatever that is, I support you.”

The words sounded suspiciously scripted and you looked at him from the corner of your eye. “Joyce help you with that?” You asked.

“I think if she could reach, she would’ve decked me,” he said.

At that, you laughed. Knowing Joyce, she probably would have. “I’m overwhelmed, Dad, I need…time to process. I’m still scared sometimes when I don’t have you both in my sight that you’ll be ripped away again. I need to adjust.”

“That’s fair,” he said, his hand engulfing yours. “Can we compromise?”

That sounded more like your dad. You bit your cheek to keep from smiling and raised a brow.

“You finish the semester out, we’ll rent some temporary housing up there with you, and then we figure out what we want to do after? You can take a year, we could travel, whatever you girls want. But, you’re almost at the end squirt, and if I know you as well as I do – you’re probably top of your class.”

You were, but you weren’t going to confirm that for him. The idea bounced around in your mind and you shook your head. “This house is nice and it feels like something you could settle in for a few months. El needs to be back with her friends and her family. This town might be cursed but it’s our curse now. She needs to adjust and I think we’ll be okay for the next two months.”

He eyed you, as if trying to assess if you were lying, and you rolled your eyes. “You were just a baby a few years ago, it feels like. Now you’re a grown woman, making decisions and taking charge.”

“It’s been more than a few years, Dad.”

He shook his head. “Come on then, if you like the house it’s good enough for me. We’ll call the broker. Joyce said she knew a place we could get some nice furniture.”

“Ah, Joyce said, huh?” You grinned when your dad avoided your eyes.

For the second night in a row, you found yourself at Eddie’s door. You could hear the sound of Mary Poppins again in the background, her song starting to wind down.

“I can hear you breathing,” his voice called out once it had ended.

Not wanting to reinforce the teasing, you hid your smile as you pushed the door open. “I am not a loud breather,” you said indignantly. His eyes twinkled and you stuck out your tongue at him.

“How’s the leg?” You asked when he didn’t speak, his eyes crawling over you like he was assuring himself you were really there.

He pulled himself up into seating position and you caught the wince he tried to cover up. “It’s fine, a lot easier to deal with compared to the stitches…everywhere.”

“I see Dustin’s been here,” you said, motioning towards the candy wrappers scattered on the left night table. “I thought you were on this strict diet until discharge?”

Eddie’s eyes went wide with an air of innocence that you didn’t believe for a second. “I don’t know what you mean. I’d never go against the rules, officer.”

Rolling your eyes, you padded over to the foot of his bed, hopping up onto it so you could lean against the railing. Eddie scooted over to the left so you’d have room to stretch your legs. “How’s the Chief?”

“Overwhelmed with the sudden attention,” you admitted, lacing your hands around your knee. “Seems when someone prolific dies and comes back to life it’s a big deal.”

“I understand that profoundly. People keep harassing Wayne for an interview. What’s he going to say? You all thought my nephew was a cult leader and a murderer? I think the hospital is the only thing keeping them at bay.”

“From my understanding, you’re a badass. You beat your monster from the upside down on your first run, none of us can say that,” you said, nudging his good leg with your foot.

Eddie smiled, his hand curling tentatively around your ankle. “I don’t know, you’ve always been badass to me.”

At your disbelieving scoff, Eddie shot you an insulted look. “Alright, alright,” you said with a laugh, “thanks, I guess.”

“Never did know how to take a compliment,” Eddie said after a beat.

The knot you’d been ignoring in your chest tightened at his tone. Breaking his gaze and turning to the window, the urge to turn and leave - before this cautious ease you had between you two fell apart - was strong.

Count to ten.

“I never actually heard your side of the story,” you said after you’d managed to control your flight instinct. “About what happened down there.”

Eddie’s eyes hadn’t strayed from you, in fact, like they usually did – the knowing gaze in them seemed to tell you he knew what you were doing. Feeling merciful, for once, he nodded. “It’s a long story,” he said, “and you owe me one too.”

You thought of Will when he barely reached your shoulder, of Dustin with his endearing gap tooth smile and Eleven – with her shaved head and big wide eyes. Flinching, you also remembered Jonathan as he threw himself over you when you’d tripped trying to shoot at the demogorgon in his house. How Steve had proven himself in your eyes when he all but cracked the baseball bat over its head. The panic you’d felt when the Russians had tied your hands together, punching Steve relentlessly as you screamed, pleading for his life.

You thought of Joyce. Her crumbling expression when Eleven asked her where your father was. How she had screamed, like it’d been ripped from her soul, and sobbed. How you went numb, like someone had plucked your soul right out of your body.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Eddie’s voice pulled you out of your spiral.

Blinking away your sister’s screams, you cleared your throat. “My story’s a bit long.”

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?”

Smiling, you glanced at his open expression and you nodded. “Yeah, okay.” As you recounted your nightmares, the last pieces of you that you’d kept hidden away from him, you felt something within you start to knit back together.

When you’d finished and Eddie had picked up where you’d left off, his wild expressions made you laugh. He’d wave his arms, told you in perfect detail how he’d had the most metal concert ever, and almost smacked you a few times. You wrung your hands together when he got to the part about the bats.

“I’ve spent my whole life running,” he said, earlier teasing tone fading.

Driven by habit, you placed your hand over his – touching him for the first time since you’d come in. “I told you. Anyone who’s new to all of this…. anyone would’ve run. I did. When you’ve got this big ass monster running after you, that’s scary, running is normal.”

“Still defending me huh?” Eddie asked, not really expecting an answer. His hand gripped yours tightly, like you’d snatch it away from him. He stared at the television, the movie long over, and sighed. “I ran from us. From you. And… when I heard them and looked up at Henderson – I thought of you.”

“Me?” Your bruised heart jumped into your throat. “Why?”

“Yeah,” he said, a strange expression taking over, “Wheeler said that if he won, it would’ve been the destruction of the whole world.”

You nodded, having heard Nancy’s side already.

“I care about them, you know, they believed in me. They wanted to help me,” he said, rubbing a hand through his hair, “but, even if it was the last thing I did in my stupidly short life, I couldn’t let him get to you.”

“Me?” You sounded like a broken record and by his smile, he knew it too.

“Wisconsin is not that far and the thought of you being dragged into this shit again, of putting you through that – of the destruction it’d cause. I could see your face so clearly in my head as I biked away from the bats. I know this doesn’t make up for anything I’ve done – or said – but, you’re the most important one out there, Hop.”

“Eddie,” you said, not knowing what to say.

“I didn’t understand how you could have kept this from me,” he laughed, the sound hollow, “I was a little mad after I found that you knew. That you’d gone through all that and didn’t share it with me. Then I thought of the times your dad pulled you from school to take you to visit a relative in what - New York?”

You smiled. The first time, after you’d gotten Will back, your dad had decided you needed time off. He’d booked two tickets to New York and you got to meet all his old co-workers. The second time, after Eleven had closed the gate and begged your dad to stay for the Snowball dance, he’d rented a cabin in the woods in Wisconsin. You’d actually had a campus tour that week. He taught El how to fish and you made her so many s’mores she complained of a stomach ache for the whole night. It…it helped with the nightmares.

“But then I realized when I was in there - how scared you must’ve been. For - for everyone and if you kept it from me how much it must’ve killed you too. And when I thought about what I would’ve done if it had been me. If I had been the one who couldn’t tell you, because everyone told me it was for your safety, well, I’d do anything - I’d give anything to protect you.”

He didn’t give you a moment to react, instead, launched into his rehab schedule and the copious amounts of physical therapy he had line up ahead. How he was probably finally going to graduate this year.

“Hey,” you said, not wanting him to think you were ignoring what was clearly something he’d been wanting to say, “next time, don’t put your life on the line. Nothing is worth that. Not even me. Okay?”

“I’ll do what I need to do,” he said, eyes teasing. He moved onto complaining about the paperwork and checkups he needed tomorrow to be ready to go home. You let him change the subject, neither of you were ready.

But… you saw the tips of ears redden, his eyes not meeting yours, and the way his words stumbled out clumsily. Suddenly, as if a key had latched successfully inside you, the knot in your chest loosened and it was easier to breathe.

For the first time in that week, you’d unglued yourself from your dad’s side during waking hours. Your fingers had tapped nervously along your sides the entire time, but you’d gotten a call from Wayne early in the morning. He’d found a small two-bedroom house a few streets down from the trailer park. It’d been cheap, he said with a wry smile, seemed like the town of Hawkins was finally making amends.

“Well, I think that’s it,” you said, dusting your hands and placing them on your hips. “Not much but a decent start, I think. Plus, the front door has enough space for Eddie’s wheelchair.”

Wayne leaned against the kitchen counter and wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his wrist. “You think he’ll like it?”

Your heart surged at the question. “Yeah, Wayne, he’ll love it.”

He smiled, a little pleased thing, and you gave in to the urge to hug him. His arms came around you tentatively, like he was worried he’d said the wrong thing, but you just squeezed him tighter.

“I am so glad you’re okay,” you told him, “I missed you while I was away.”

A knowing look took over and you settled into a chair in the dining area. “We’ve known each other a long time, haven’t we?”

You smiled. “Since that first week I moved here,” you said, remembering Wayne’s unrelenting kindness towards you, even then. “You bought me my first cassette. The Beatles.”

“They still remind me of you,” Wayne admitted, smiling, “you sang that song all the time, since you were this tall.”

The silence you both settled in was comfortable, the nostalgia of each other’s company always welcome.

“I know that we’re not – we’re not blood,” Wayne said, clearing his throat, “I know I’m not much either.”

“Wayne-”

“Now, let me just say it,” he said, waving your concern off, “I always wondered if you were okay. After you father died, I saw how lost you were. I tried to be there for you but…it felt like you were disappearing. I know after Eddie – after everything that you wanted to get in that car and drive off without looking back.”

He walked over to the chair across from yours and sat with a grunt. “I don’t blame ya’, I would’ve done the same thing. But, even if life took you and Eddie down different paths, I’d still like to see you from time to time. If that’s okay.”

The surprise you felt was clearly written over your face because he laughed.

“Darlin’ you’ve been attached to the hip since you were middle schoolers. I’ve had the honor of seeing you grow up into an amazing young lady. I only want you to be happy and know that you’re not alone. I’m only an old man with almost nothing to his name but…well, you’ve got me on your side.”

“Wayne,” you started, tears stinging your eyes. He was right – you knew he was right.

How many mornings did Wayne find you sneaking out of Eddie’s room? How many countless nights did he bring you two dinner or reminded you both to study? How many times had he’d yelled at you two to cover up in the winter? To call when you’d gotten home safely? He’d driven you to school, to practice, to the Hideout, more times than you could count. Wayne wasn’t blood but he was still family. He was the uncle you never got to have, the silent but steady presence that you knew you could count on.

“I know my nephew’s made some mistakes,” he said with a sigh, shaking his head, “I can’t speak to things I don’t know but, I pushed away the love of my life and I’d hoped that the Munson Madness gene hadn’t been passed down to him but here we are. I just want you to know, that boy loves you. He’s dumb as rocks sometimes but love makes you do stupid things. It also sometimes isn’t enough to make up for the hurt, and that’s okay. You do what’s best for you, okay darlin’?”

“I hate you,” you told him, wiping a stray tear from your cheek.

His eyes crinkled as he laughed, a deep, throaty laugh and you smiled. Wayne rarely laughed, but when he did, you’d never been able to stop yourself from joining.

“Whatever happens, wherever I am, I want you to know you’ve got me too,” you said, voice a little shaky. “You’ll always have me. The niece you never wanted but you got anyway.”

Wayne chuckled, pleased, and reached out to squeeze his hand. After a moment, you took a deep breath and pulled him up to his feet. “Come on Munson,” you said, hugging him. “You still need to do a grocery run and it’s getting late.”

“Ma’am yes, ma’am,” he joked and you rolled your eyes, following him out to his truck.

“I got you burgers,” you announced, brandishing the greasy bag with a flourish. The aroma instantly filled the small room and your dad grinned.

“You were always my favorite,” he said, digging in.

Laughing, surprised, you elbowed him and joined him on his bed. “You said this morning that El was your favorite because she got you your coffee.”

“It fluctuates, depends which one of you isn’t trying to give me grey hair at the moment.”

Stealing a fry, you laughed when he pulled his container closer to him. Glancing at the time, you were surprised to see it was almost eleven.

“Where’s El?” You asked, grunting when he blocked you from taking another fry.  

Your dad’s smile faded. “Mike’s,” he said with a look and a tone that said, I’m not happy about it. He flipped through the channels and eventually settled on the news. “I climbed out a grave and she wants to be with her boyfriend.”

His new coping mechanism had been joking about his apparent death and you knew it was a way to deal with the sudden media attention. “Can’t a guy die and come back in peace?”

Laughing, you squeezed his forearm. “She loves him,” you said, “it’s hard to be away from the ones you love.”

His eyes slid from the television to you, a knowing glint in them.

“Besides, she loves you the most. After me, of course. She’ll be back,” you said, smiling at him.

“You know,” he said as his laugh died down, “you don’t need to sneak. I’m working on understanding that you’re an adult. It’s hard for both of us, to let each other out of our sights. After Russia…I know we’ve been through a lot. You’re both clinging to me and I want you to know that you’re allowed to.”

Ducking your head, you heard the mattress squeak as he sat up. “If you want to cling to us for the rest of your life, I’ll be here – arms open. We’ve been through a lot, you and me kid, just the two of us,” he smiled, eyes unfocused, “You were the first time I’d ever realized that love at first sight was real.”

You glanced at him, not expecting that. “You were a few months old, tired, cranky, and in a place where you didn’t know anyone. I wasn’t supposed to be on shift that night, you know. But I was. Holden told me someone had left a baby at the door and he needed someone to look after her until CPS got there,” he said, eyes turning to you.

“You wouldn’t let anyone hold you, you cried and cried and cried. The secretary handed you off to me and you took one look at me and I was done for. It didn’t matter what anyone said. You were mine,” your dad looked uncharacteristically emotional, his hand reaching for yours. “You and that one, are the loves of my life. Okay? That won’t ever change. Not if we don’t live in the same state, not if we’re mad at each other, not if we’re apart, not even if I’m dead. The same way we carry Sara with us, I carry you two with me too. Always.”

“Dad,” you said, tears welling. What the hell was it with the men in this town making you cry today? “I know that, I know.”

“Good,” he said, gruffly. “And I meant what I said. You don’t need to sneak out to see Munson. You dated for four years, I got used to the shithead.”

“Dad!”

He laughed, eyes wrinkling more than they did before, his face lean but his smile was still familiar.

“Since you started, if that big old house you pretended not to like is meant for Joyce and the boys too, I wouldn’t mind. She certainly wouldn’t.”

You watched his ears turn pink and he shook his head. “You always did see everything, huh?”

“Apple doesn’t fall from the tree.”

You slipped into Eddie’s room a bit earlier than normal and froze when you saw him pulling a shirt over his shoulders. His soft grunt of pain had you moving towards him quickly. He startled when he felt your hands on his skin, head stuck in the shirt.

“Hopper?” He asked, breath shallow.

“Yeah,” you said, trying not to read too much into the fact that he knew you by touch alone. “You’re going to pull out your stitches, let me help.”

With gentle maneuvering, you pulled his head out the shirt and brushed back his hair out his face.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, wincing as the bandages and wires that littered his torso pulled taut. You couldn’t help yourself and your eyes took in the sight. His skin was mottled with deep purple bruises, the skin around his bandages pink and irritated. You hand moved on its own accord, fingers coming to dance over the red scratches on his ribs. “You think the scars will give me an edge?”

His voice was light, aiming for teasing, but you knew him better than that. You could hear the vulnerability underneath it all. Unable to stop yourself, you cradled his cheek and smiled. “You’ve always been beautiful, Edward Munson. A few scars won’t change that.”

You watched his eyes widen, heard his breath stutter, and without thinking too hard about it – you pressed your lips to his.

His hand immediately cradled the back of your head, pulling you in closer. A part of your mind was surprised at the lack of fireworks. It wasn’t anything clumsy and sweet like your first kisses had been, or earth shattering like the ones that came after, but it felt like seeing land after being lost at sea. It felt…like coming home.

Then his hands trailed down your sides and a small ember in your chest reignited. Your breath started coming faster and you pushed back into him, his hips bumping against yours.

“Sweetheart,” he whispered, teeth nipping at the soft skin at the base of your neck. He placed open mouthed kisses to the sensitive spot he’d always loved to tease you with.

You clutched at his arms, overwhelmed and still wanting more. “Eddie,” you breathed, voice getting stuck in your throat.

“Hmm,” he hummed as you tangled together further.

A loud sound nagged at the edge of your quickly fading sanity and you almost jumped out your skin when the door to his room slammed open. Nurse Smith stood there, looking entirely unamused and with her arms crossed. You blinked, your brain whirring on again, and you stepped back from Eddie.

“Sadie, I can’t say I’m glad to see you this time,” Eddie said, his lips swollen and a small patch of skin on his neck reddening.

“Mr. Munson, you were in the intensive care unit not three days ago. Did you not hear the machine?” She asked, waving her hand over to the quick beeping. “Your heart can’t handle that type of stress right now.”

Eddie, unashamed as always, smiled and turned his brown eyes on you. “She’s always made my heart beat a little too fast, Sadie, there’s nothing you can do about that.”

Flustered and more than a little embarrassed, you didn’t know where to look. Nurse Smith smiled reluctantly and shook her head. She turned to you and nodded towards him. “He’s too freshly sewed together, okay? Give it a few weeks.”

“I wasn’t – we won’t – I would never,” you stammered.

Her face softened and you sighed, mortified. “I’m actually surprised it took you two lovebirds this long, considering how the two of you stare at each other,” she snorted when you both ducked your heads, “get him changed and keep your hands and body parts to yourselves, alright?”

She gave Eddie’s bandages a good look before disappearing out the door. At her departure, an awkwardness settled.

“Eddie, I’m sorry,” you said, closing your eyes, “I shouldn’t have – not when I’m not sure – what’s happening here.”

“Sweetheart,” Eddie said, moving slowly towards his bed, “trust me, it’s okay.”

“It’s not,” you insisted, pulling a fresh shirt out of his duffel and helping him into it. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

His hands caught your fluttering ones and you stilled. “Hop’, it’s okay. I would never turn that down from you, ever.”

You sighed. “Okay,” you said, voice sounding incredibly unsure. “Okay.” You tried again, trying to sound less miserable.

“One more time and I’ll believe you,” Eddie joked, settling into his bed.

“I saw Wayne today,” you said, wanting to move past it. “He said he’s already gotten a pile of homework for you waiting.”

Eddie groaned, letting you change the subject, and flopped his head to one side. “Did you hear?”

Shaking your head, you dropped into the chair and rested your chin on your palm.

“Hawkins High has graciously allowed my teachers to give me one month’s worth of homework and assignments,” he sighed, “if I pass them all I can take my finals early and don’t have to return to school while I’m – well, like this.”

“And if you pass your finals?” You ask, knowing what it meant.

Eddie grinned, his smile hitting you right in the solar plexus. “Then I’m part of class of ’86 baby!”

“Congratulations,” you said, smiling, “I knew you’d do it eventually.”

He snorted. “I haven’t passed yet,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“But you will,” you assured him, you knew he would.

“What about you?”

At that, you sighed. You’d made a decision but hadn’t told your dad yet. “I took an extra week off considering...”

“Your father isn’t actually dead?”

You waved a hand, nodding, “I need a little more processing time,” you said, “but, I’m compromising.”

“How?”

A familiar pang of anger surged through you before disappearing and leaving frustration in its wake. “I’m finishing the semester and taking the next one off. I need to figure out what I’m doing with my life and help El settle back in here, you know?” You frowned. “My dad almost burst the vein in his forehead. We argued a little but he’s right – the semester is almost over anyway. I’m just tired of people thinking they can make decisions for me!”

Your tone came out a little more clipped than you meant it to and your eyes darted up to his. He tried to hide the hurt that flashed across his face but you’d seen it. “I’m sorry,” you said immediately, “I didn’t…it just came out.”

He shrugged, hands playing with the loose string of his thin blankets. You both settled into silence, one that rattled you, and you bit down on your bottom lip.

“So, are you only going to visit me at night?” Eddie asked, tone teasing but you could hear the hurt in his voice. “Slipping away once the sun comes up? Like a lunar sorceress, only able to travel by moonlight?”

Turning your gaze towards him, you decide to stop being afraid. “I’m scared this tentative tether won’t survive the weight of the day,” you admitted. “We’ve talked but nothing has really changed. Me apologizing, you apologizing – it’s cathartic and something we both need to hear but it doesn’t heal anything faster.”

Eddie sighed and his eyes went down to the necklace around your neck. His eyes hardened at the sight of it and you knew he saw it as a reminder of how he’d left you too.

You wanted to explain yourself better but the words failed you. “I trust you with my life. I trust you with El’s life. I know you. I see you, Eddie Munson. I’ve always seen you. I just…I don’t…I…”

Eddie’s face smoothed as he pressed a hand to the side of your neck, offering comfort even as you were hurting him. “You don’t trust me not to break your heart again,” he said simply.

“It sounds so dramatic,” you said, desperate to have him understand but the tears that welled in your eyes emphasized that it was true.  

“Yeah, but when have you or I ever been simple?” His thumb swept soothing circles on your skin. “I understand, Hop, I get it.” Because of course he did. When did he not?

“Eddie, I’m sorry,” you said, feeling like your chest had been cracked open. With the broken shards of your heart on display, you didn’t know what else to say.

“For what?” Eddie smiled sadly, his eyes on your torso, like he could see the pieces and itched to put them back together. “After all this…bullshit that’s been going on. Demobats, alternate dimensions, nightmares, and hallucinations – I’ve finally learned that every action has consequences. This is mine.”

“I’m sorry,” you echoed, tears welling, not knowing what else to say. “I want to trust you with it, I really do but…”

“It’s okay,” he whispered, pulling you into a hug. You buried your face in his neck and wrapped your arms around his chest. “I’m so sorry that I let you think, even for a second, that the loss of us was a price I was willing to pay.”

You were desperate to say the right things, to find the perfect solution that would magically fix you two, but you knew there wasn’t one. He’d still be the one who’d broken your heart and you were still the wolf snarling at anyone who got close enough to it. “I love you,” you said and somehow it cut you deeper hearing how much you’d really meant it.  

“I know.”

After a beat of silence, you pulled back to stare at him. “Did you just Han Solo me?”

Eddie laughed, sadness fleeing temporarily from his eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

He seemed to weigh the question for a moment before blurting out, “Will you give me the chance?”

“What?”

“To prove that it’s different this time?” He looked up at you, eyes nervous and smile half as bright. “I didn’t let you have a say last time and I promise that’ll be the only time I ever make that mistake. If you don’t…if there’s nothing that I can do to prove that I won’t do it again, that I can try and make up for my momentary lapse of sanity, I don’t want to hurt you again by trying.”

A small bit of gratitude settled in your chest. “I don’t know,” you said, feeling infuriated at your own indecision. “I’m fighting the urge to disappear every second of the day. Last summer taught me that I needed to leave before I’m left and that’s hard to unlearn.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again, quietly, his hand hovering uncertainly over your own. You flipped your palm up and intertwined your fingers together. While you stared at your hands wrapped around each other’s, you realized – you’d become those people. The ones who had said everything they needed to say and were only left with apologies.

With a deep breath, you brought his knuckles up to your lips. “I don’t want to hurt you but, I don’t know if I’m ready.” You sighed. “I’m trying, I really am. I don’t want you to wait around for something that may never happen again.”

“You’re worth waiting for,” Eddie whispered and you knew he understood. Neither of you said anything about how tightly you held on to each other, as if worried it’d be the last time.  

He didn’t ask if you’ll still be there in the morning and you didn’t promise to stay.

Eddie was a notorious light sleeper, anytime you had so much sneezed – he’d be twitching awake. You’d tease him about it, knowing that the noise his neighbors made constantly woke him up. While you, having been raised in New York City, slept like the dead. Eddie constantly joked that he’d have to practically push you off the bed to rouse you.

So, you didn’t understand how you woke before him, every single time without fail.

At first, you’d taken it as a sign – the universe giving you the gift of a clean cut. A painless escape. Now, standing with your hand on the doorknob and your heart in your throat, you weren’t so sure. Leaving had felt like your only option before, unable and not ready to face him without the protection of the dark. But now, you hesitated. If you stayed here – with him – you knew what it would mean.

What if you’d misinterpreted the sign? What if the gift was the choice itself?

You let the doorknob slip from your hands and turned slowly. Clenching the strap of your bag, you felt the grooves sting your skin. He shifted the moment you’d slipped out of bed. He slept on his back with an arm thrown outwards to your side, like he was still reaching for you.

And you supposed he still was. The knot in your chest had yet to loosen entirely, the pain still too close to the surface. You weren’t ready, you reminded yourself, the thought alone making you turn to grab the doorknob again.

But…what if you never would be? What if there would never be a moment where it just clicked together? What if you were waiting for something that would never happen? You pressed your forehead to the door, your chest tightening with your indecision.

What if the fresh start that you wanted was something that came gradually? Could you move forward without him? Closing your eyes, you tried to imagine it.

Your small little apartment that faced a quiet tree lined street. Margaret, the widow in the red house, would invite you to breakfast on Saturday mornings like she always did. Kareem, your neighbor, would get you coffees on Mondays and you’d share your dinner with him on Fridays. You’d take your long walks on the weekend, go to concerts with your new friends, and see movies with your old ones.

You’d graduate, start travelling, or try to get your dream job. Maybe you’d go to grad school so you could make your dad cry at that graduation too. You’d bring El with you everywhere, always enraptured by her constant surprise and joy to see the world. You would finish healing. You would learn to let people in again. You’d learn to stop running. Maybe you’d fall in love again. Eddie would be someone special to you, forever etched into the bones of who you were. He’d fade to a lovely memory.

The knot tightened painfully. You opened your eyes and turned back around. Eddie had been through a lot, you knew that – it was one of the things that you’d both bonded over. Mothers who didn’t love either of you enough to stay. He knew you. He’d always seen the real you and never faltered with his utter acceptance of it.

He’d also hurt you, deeply. It was his doing that left the scars you hated to see every time you caught sight of them. You’d need to learn to love them and you didn’t know if you could. 

You shook your head. Liar, your heart whispered, you’re lying.

Pressure built behind your eyes as you stared at him, face slack, and hair wild. He’d hurt you. But you’d also hurt him. Neither of you were perfect and you’d probably hurt each other again but humans made mistakes. Isn’t that what you loved about him?

Could you be happy without Eddie Munson in your life? Yes. But did you want to be? Were you willing to jump again?

With quiet, practiced steps, you felt the tension bleed out of you. The chair beside his bed creaked as you settled into it. Your mind ran in a thousand different directions as the room brightened with every minute that passed. A sunbeam broke through the half open blinds and illuminated his face.

Him, your heart screamed at your mind, we want him.

Wouldn’t you always?

Eddie mumbled, arm reaching for the space where you’d been and his brows furrowed. Eddie blinked drowsily and rolled forward onto the pillow you’d been using. He sighed, a small sad thing, and you tried not to smile when he jumped as you cleared your throat.

“Sweetheart?” He said, confused. “You’re…here.”

His eyes darted over your face, wide and confused but hopeful. And that’s what did it, that’s what made you stumble over the cliff. A leap of faith.  You nodded. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“You stayed.”

You heard what he wasn’t saying. It’s morning. You didn’t leave.

“I did,” you said, reaching out and brushing hair out of his eyes, “turns out the view of the sunrise from your room isn’t all that bad.”

By his smile, he knew what you’d just handed him, and goddamn if you didn’t love him for it. For always knowing. His hand came up to intertwine his fingers with yours and he brought them to his lips. “I love you,” he whispered, like he was afraid he’d startle you. The birds outside sang, the sun continued to rise, and your world righted itself again. He pulled you onto the bed, hands tangled between your bodies, and rested his forehead against yours.

You closed your eyes, overwhelmed. The itch beneath your skin hadn’t calmed but you knew it would with time. “I love you too,” you said, and it sounded like a new beginning.

You inhaled and his fingers tightened around yours. You counted to ten and held on.

A/N2: I got some fluffy bits outlined and written for these two but I cut them out since I felt like it didn't idk fit - might post those up at some point if anyone's interested!

@kik51199 @salembridger @silky-luxe @same-panic-different-disco @scoopsr0bin @slasherbuck @stormsandsea @bebe0701 @celestialallysum @mitsuyas-sewing-machine @meganovich @trinsghost @winchester-angel

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson

[ceterisparibus116]

What's Matt's worst moment ever, in your opinion?

His father's death? Elektra? He's got, like, a trauma per episode (I want to hug him).

WHAT AN ANGSTY QUESTION, ANON, I LOVE YOU.

Here's my top 5:

Jack's death. Matt has just lost the most stable and secure thing in his life, and he has, essentially, nothing left. There's no evidence that Matt really has anyone else to even talk to. (Maybe Father Lantom, but it's possible that relationship didn't really grow until Matt was living at the orphanage.) Then there's the fact that Matt believes it's his fault. I mean...just imagine. On top of all of this, Matt is so young. How is he even supposed to process any of this?

Stick leaving. As might be apparent from my fics, I think Stick is directly responsible for a lot of Matt's problems. The fact that Stick left was bad enough; the way that Stick left makes it all so, so much worse. He basically told Matt to his face that he wasn't good enough (which is one of Matt's worst fears - if it wasn't already, then I think it became so in that moment), and he left in direct response to Matt showing affection, to Matt wanting their relationship to be more than just a warrior training another fighter. No wonder Matt keeps people at a distance. No wonder Matt thinks no one really wants to know the real him.

Foggy leaving (the first time). Foggy was not having a great time in NvM, we all get that, but still: Foggy could hardly have handled that worse. He finally saw the side of Matt that Matt had hidden for so long, and he refused to even acknowledge the good parts, choosing instead to focus on everything negative, and then choosing to leap beyond simply discussing actions to making judgments about Matt's character. That cuts deep. No wonder Foggy had to be the one to reach out afterwards; Matt wouldn't have dared.

Elektra dying (the first time). She'd finally chosen to be good...and it killed her. Now, this was Elektra's choice and we shouldn't diminish her agency by acting like Matt forced her into it (any more than we should diminish Matt's agency by acting like she forced him into some of his Season 2 choices). However, Matt definitely sees it as his fault. Then there's the fact that she died not only choosing to be good, but taking the hit meant for him. Now, in Matt's mind, it's completely his fault. Add to that how he feels that he doesn't really have Foggy or Karen in his life anymore, and...well, we see how it affects him when we check in with him in the beginning of Defenders. He's hanging on by a thread.

Finding out about Maggie (and Father Lantom). This is a vicious one-two punch. His mom knowingly let him grow up alone, despite being right there. And his priest did the same thing. The effect it has is immediate: he shuts everyone out, and basically shuts himself off from his own humanity. The only part of his life that makes any sense anymore is Daredevil.

Other awful moments (the break-up with Elektra, Foggy leaving the second time, the break-up with Karen, Claire rejecting him, etc.) are a bit lesser, I think. With Elektra and Foggy, maybe I'm projecting, but I think the trauma of both of them leaving is mitigated somewhat by his conviction that he did the right thing (by refusing to kill for Elektra, and by refusing to give up Daredevil for Foggy). With Karen and Claire, it's messier because with Karen, he did lie to her, and with Claire, he did think he was too close to the line for her to be with him.

I also want to briefly discuss his blindness. That would have been a horrifying moment for him, going from having (apparently) 20/20 vision, to suddenly having NLP - on top of the pain and shock of how it happened. However, I don't think that moment would be as traumatizing for Matt as the top 5 I've listed above because although sight is important and trying to suddenly live without it is terrifying, I think relationship trauma will always cut deeper for Matt than physical trauma.

Thank you for the very angsty (but fun) question, Anon! What does everyone else think? What are Matt's worst moments?

#matt murdock #daredevil #meta #asks #ask me things i'm friendly

[spockandawe]

Last in first out wouldn't usually be my preference, but I have to dispose of this book tomorrow so my mom can deliver it when she visits, but here we have a present for my aunt for her to give to a former school librarian friend.

'Out of Africa,' by Karen Blixen! I've never read it, and I'll be real, by the time I did this in binderary, I was barely capable of processing words anymore. I still have no idea what's in here, I'm just lucky the formatting was cooperative and consistent. But I did want to give it a very colorful, vibrant treatment. I was out of time to shop, be ut fortunately, I found (double-sided) endpapers I loved, then a fabric to match, and everything shook out from there.

And then.... as you can probably guess from the backgrounds up above, there's also a peller(ish) box. Last time I visited my grandma, I brought some books and boxes to show her what I'm doing with my life instead of producing great-grandchildren. She asked that I leave them behind to show off to visitors, and we compromised and I left some behind, which just so happened to include none of the sexy fanfic that I or my friends have written, lmao

When my aunt showed up to tap in on the elder care rotation, grandma showed her, and she reached out to me to ask if I take commissions. I don't, I give gifts, and I am very bad at planning ahead and didn't realize how bad I was about to burn myself out for no good reason at all, so I said sure. And she wanted an enclosure and most of what I left there was peller boxes, and I was too anxious to ask if she wanted an EASY box or a FANCY box. And then I was blindsided by my mom mentioning she was about to head north!

So I have to drop this off tomorrow, which meant I had to finish it IMMEDIATELY, which meant one non-book binderary project slipped in under the radar XD In a day, I will only have 59 binderary books in custody, which is sad, but it was good incentive to stage photos, and it means I'll have space back soon. We'll see how I space the other photos out, I probably don't want to spoil all the presents for the people I know online, but that means making decisions and I am very tired. But this is an easy one! Huzzah, etc., I should be posting more books soon!

#crafts #bookbinding #binderary #binderary2023 #box making #peller boxes

[pettyrevenge-base]

Middle School tyrant finds out no one likes her.

At my Middle School we had a vice principal who fancied herself a dictator. Any tiny bit of power she got was an issue. But I was a middle schooler at the time and a good kid not often in trouble so I didn't cross her path until 8th grade. Her friend was a Bus driver named Pat.

For 6th and 7th grade years we had an awesome bus driver. He was nice to the kids, let us put the windows down when the Georgia heat got too much etc. But he retired and the bus driver we got was an extremely angry middle aged woman named "Pat" who did not like children and made that clear every day. "The windows stay up or we go back to the school!" she would yell as she had the only fan blowing in her face on a 100+ degree school bus. Ostensibly this was to keep us from throwing things out of the bus but that was never an issue before or after. The real reason was that before the bus driver could leave the bus at the end of the day all the windows had to be back up and locked. So this saved her effort.

My bus stop was the first she drove by but the last to pick up and had been that way for years. Pat changed this and decided she only wanted to stop on the first pass by and kept threatening to leave the kids in my neighborhood if we made her stop twice.

I first got on the Karen VP's radar because Pat left me on the side of a very busy road one morning. She could have stopped but wagged her finger at me as she drove away and left me. I flipped off the kids laughing at me out of the back window but the bus driver Pat thought I was flipping her off. I didn't get suspended because she left me with no way to get to school on the side of an extremely busy road and my mom threatened to sue if it happened again. But after that they had it out for me. Pat tried several times to get me on anything. She even coached a kid to say I bullied him but when the real Principal brought in the kid he said "no OP is my friend it was those other kids" and a bunch of other little shit. Anything to get me in trouble.

So the Petty revenge comes in here. I was doing my best to make the bus drivers life hell in little passive aggressive ways. She got annoyed at anything so it was easy. But Karen was harder to do anything to. After fighting with the bus driver and the Assistant Principal for most of the year, revenge came in the form of a Police fundraiser. They were advertising it on the local tv news and local radio stations. If you put someone up for "arrest" the cops would show up and throw someone in handcuffs and "Put them in jail" until they could call a few people and fundraise the "bail". The person who set up the arrest had to pay like $10 but worth it. My mom after being annoyed by Pat and Karen all year put Karen the Assistant Principle up for arrest. The cops showed up and took her to the room where she could call her friends and raise the money for her to go. The idea was that mom was going to keep having her arrested as long as she could.

Except no one would give her the "bail" money. Not even for a charity. So she ended up missing most of a day sitting in the police precinct trying to get anyone to put up enough money for her to leave. Eventually the cops told my mom that they had to let her go because it had gone on too long. She was the only one who didn't raise the bail money that day. Letting her know exactly how much she meant to everyone at the school felt great. I had a friend who heard her complaining about it later that day. She had called the Principal who did donate some but the other teachers gave nothing and none of her friends would help out. She apparently thought one of the teachers put her up for it. It's so minor and so petty it almost doesn't count. But when I left that school at the end of the year mom went up and asked her "how was jail?" before we walked away for the last time. First time I ever heard a "Reeeeeee" sound from a human.

Source: reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge

#pettyrevenge #lol #omg

[orangevtae]

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy [S.Harrington x Henderson!Reader]

previous - next

Chapter 3: Now I'm Here

There's only two things you can't do on the Henderson's house: Left Dustin too much time unsurpervisioned and walking barefoot.

But there's two things you can do: lie on your mother's face (a little white lie) and be away from home only if mother knows where you were.

So deciding on the first thing that you can do, you and Dustin entered quietly in the house, not doing much of an alarm so that mom doesn't suspect a thing abou the slug like creature inside of Dustin's ghost trap.

"You guys are already home? It's so early" she said looking at the clock "Dustin! Dusty, so how was it? Y/N/N, how was the party, you look a little bit tired, dear"

"I do?" you asked confused "It was a little boring actually, you know, drunk teenagers and all."

"Who was that that droped you off? It wasn't Jonathan"

"N-no, it was Steve...Harrington, i told Jonathan to help a friend of ours cause she was too much wasted and Steve offered to drop me off."

First little white lie, she couldn't know that the friend that was wasted was Nancy, cause she would probably tell Karen Wheeler and you didn't want to Nancy think that you were a snitch.

"Ok darling, glad that you got safe at home. And how was your night, Dusty."

"W-what?" you let out a little giggle because he was about to sneak out to his room

"Come on. How was the greatest night of the year?"

"Oh...oh! It was...tubular!"

You frowned at his choice of word, "the hell tubular means?". Dustin was actually horrible at lying to your mother, even if he did it in a constant basis, you thought that it was because he felt a little bit bad for lying to her.

"You ok, darlin? You acting a little weird"

"I'm not! Everything's fine!"

"Dustin made a little dispositive to look like it really has a ghost on the trap!"

He said, obviously nervous, and then his trap and the thing that was inside of it, made a noise and moved, scaring your mom, who left a little shriek of surprise by Dustin's ghost trap do a move. You and Dustin shared an alarming stare at each other to know what to say to her "Pretty cool right?"

"Yeah, Y/N helped me out before she went to the party!" He said getting on the idea "It was meant to be just like in the movie!"

"Dusty you really scared mom! Wow, i think i got a little scared too haha, you ok mom?"

"Yeah!" she said, a little bit uneasy and still scared

You three laughed a little at the situation and you decided to push Dustin to his room by his shoulders.

"I'm just gonna help Dustin to take off the dispositive and we going to bed, goodnight mom!"

"Good night, sweeties!"

You and Dustin simply runned to his room, as you closed the door, you let out a breath that you had been holding because you got nervous and heard Dustin whisper something like "you litlle shit, i told you to stay quiet".

As you got closer to him and saw Dustin took out Yertle, his turtle, out of it's tank and putting the strange slug on it, a thousand of questions of what was that thing revolved around your head

"I think the light burned him" he said and turned the light to the other side and your little friend eated the pieces of chocolate

You saw as Dustin put some few pieces of chocolate for it, constatating that it might be hungry and you both got surprised when it didn't take it "What's wrong?"

"That's weird"

"Right?"

"Reptiles have cold blood so they like heat, but this little guy here just has an aversion to it" you thought outloud

"How should we call him?"

"Do you think it might be a new species?"

"I don't know, Dusty"

"You want to name it? As in...to keep it?"

"Duh?"

"I don't know if it's a good idea Dusty, we don't even know the hell is this little fella"

"How about...Dart?"

"Another reason to keep it, come think of it, we might have be discovering a whole new species" Knowing that you wouldn't be able to change his mind, you came to terms that he would keep that thing, but something deep inside your gut was telling you to just throw that little weird thing somewhere but you know that Dustin would be upset if you did it and let out a huff.

"Dart?"

"Yeah, short for D'Artgan"

"Y/N/N!"

"Okay, if you want to stick by it" You ruffled his hair and walked to his door, ready to call it a night and really go to bed.

"Yeah?"

"Here, your caramels"

"Yes! I love you!" you said taking the bars he was giving you and kissing his cheek, a big smile on his face

"Oh yeah, before you go, may i ask" you gave him a puzzled look "Why were you really on that jerks Steve Harrington car?"

"Hey, i wasn't lying about what i said! Look, Nancy got wasted, like, really really wasted, i think she fought with Steve and i said to Jonathan to take her home, i would be walking home, that looking now it was a shitty idea, but Steve offered me a ride, that was it. I just didn't want to say it to mom that it was Nancy that got drunk, i don't think she would ever trust Nancy again." you explained

"Okay..."

"Something else?"

"No, it was just that"

"Okay, good night Dusty, and don't stay up too late reading books about reptiles because i just know you will do it"

"I promise, good night Y/N/N"

"Good night buddy"

And off you went to your room.

Before you have fallen asleep, you thought back at Steve, his expression in the car, you didn't want to be noisy but knew that for him to be in such state, maybe the little fight he had with Nancy on the bathroom really has hurt him, deep down, even if you pretended to not care, you hoped that he would be fine and that they could talk this out.

The next day you woke up a little bit late and you knew that if you didn't hurry, you would also be late to school, not that you cared too much to lose a little bit of the chemistry class.

The only thing you did was to take a toast and put some jelly on it and rushed out of the house, saying bye to your mom and Dustin without knowing if he was home or not, and got up on your bycicle and headed to school. You didn't had time to tell Dustin to keep your little friend, Dart, at home nor had the time to check up on it, so you just hopped that your brother wouldn't do anything stupid.

School went out as fast as you thought would go, the moment you stopped to really pay attention, it was free period and was going out a little bit since you couldn't find Jonathan, you decided to watch a little bit of the basketball game that was going on, before you really made a movement to go inside, you heard someone talking.

Nancy really got it bad, you knew that the whole situation with Barbara's death was getting the best on her but you didn't think that it was so hard for her that she would say all of those things to him, no wonder he was so upset last night, if you were on his shoes, you would be mad, upset and betrayed too.

"I thought that Jonathan would take you" Oh, it was Nancy and Steve, clearly talking about yesterday's events, you really didn't want to over hear it and went away, the last thing you heard before you got inside de gymnasium, was Steve saying "As it looks like, our relationship is bullshit, everything's bullshit, i'm bullshit and oh, also you don't love me", you snickered to this last sentence.

#steve harrington x henderson!reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x original character #steve harrington #dustin henderson x reader #dustin henderson x henderson!reader #reader insert #dustin henderson #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things season 2