#when i say 'i'm 25' 'i'm going to be 26' it does not feel right coming out of my mouth. i do not feel just 25 or 26 i feel far far older | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bet-on-me-13 · 10 months

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Misunderstandings really really suck

Edit: Part 2 is Up

So heres the deal, it's a normal Vivisection AU where Danny had to run away to Gotham after his parents try to kill him, and let's say that he takes Ellie with him too.

They stay there for a few years and after a while they manage to establish a little life for themselves. Danny is running a small Shop that makes them enough money to live comfortably in the apartment right above his Shop, meanwhile Ellie is going to Gotham Metro Academy on a scholarship because she is really smart and they managed to fake some school records for her when they were making themselves new Identities.

(Side Note: Danny is now 26, while Ellie hasn't started aging yet and still looks 12, but she will begin to soon since she just hit her 12th birthday)

Danny also runs a small Ghost Shop out of his store, just selling small bits of Distilled Ectoplasm or Ecto-Infused Treats to the local Ghosts in return for small favors or help around the shop.

But here's the thing. Ellie is still an unstable Clone, even if they did managed to find a reliable treatment in the form of Ecto-Dejecto. But Danny's parents were the only ones who knew how to make that stuff, and the Ecto-Dejecto they stole all those years ago is beginning to run out.

Danny begins to work tirelessly trying to replicate it, diving full on into his Mad Scientist side to try and find a way to make more ED for Ellie. He manages to make some prototypes, but he is nowhere near confident that they are good enough.

He decides to call in some favors from the local Ghosts. He calls the ones he is confident will survive this and asks them to try out his Ecto Dejecto to see if it will work for Ellie, but he does warn them that there will probably be unexpected side effects that they will probably not like.

The Ghosts agree to do it, because in the years that the Fenton's have lived there they have grown extremely attached to Ellie. She is like a little sister or daughter for many of them, they would throw away their afterlives if it meant helping her.

For most of the samples, the ED doesn't work at all. Some of them work for a single moment before cutting out, others don't do anything, and some have crazy effects that affect them for a little while before disappearing abruptly. One guy turned into a Dog, not the worst outcome but not the intended one. Another began to glow brightly and couldn't turn it off, that one lasted for an hour.

They keep testing them, out in the nearby Alley since they don't want to destroy the house or Danny's makeshift Lab, for a few weeks.

They problem comes when they are spotted one night by Red Hood.

...

Jason was crossing the Rooftops while on Patrol. He was going a little farther than his normal patrol range, since he had the time and he wanted to make sure there was no trouble in the nearby areas either.

As he was about to hop from one rooftop to another, he got a weird feeling. It was strange, he didn't feel anything on his skin, he didn't smell anything, he didn't even hear anything, but he somehow knew that there was something strange happening in the nearby Alley. It was like he could sense it.

Peeking over the edge of the rooftop, he saw a group of about 10 people. It was a bunch of strange looking people with green-ish skin, and one normal looking person. The normal looking one was wearing a lab coat, and seemed to be about 25 yrs old. Jason felt like there was something off about that guy, but he couldn't place exactly what. He was holding a box of something in his hand, and talking to the group.

"Ok guys, I'm really confident this time!" He said, "I think one of these may be the one!"

The man placed the box on a nearby Dumpster and opened it up, taking out a strange glowing green Vial. He handed it to one of the Greenish people and watched as they injected themselves with it.

Jason watched as they began to glow slightly before their arms suddenly grew to be longer than they were tall. The Man in the Lab Coat sighed in discontent, before saying "Ok, not that one. But we still have a few to try out!"

Jason watched as one by one the people below injected themselves with the green Liquid, each of them having some strange phenomenon happen to them before moving on to the next. The strange thing was that none of them seemed to be concerned with the changes, just commenting on it felt before moving on.

Finally, they got to the last person in line. As they injected themselves, Jason felt a sense of Anticipation well up in his gut. He didn't know why, but he felt like this was going to he important.

He was proven right as the Man who had injected himself began to glow brightly. Jason was overwhelmed with the sense of Pure Power coming from him. It was intense, he didn't know how, but he could actually feel the man begin to grow stronger and stronger. The feeling was nearly suffocating, but he managed to regain his senses long enough to hear Lab Coat laugh maniacally. He looked over to see that the entire group was enthusiastically high-fiving and fist-bumping eachother, all cheering at the success.

"Hahaha! Yes! Finally!" Labcoat Cheered, "It's done! Once I make some more, we'll be able to-"

The overwhelming power suddenly cut out. It was so abrupt that even the people below didn't speak for some time. They all just stood on slight shock before Labcoat spoke up, "Ok...ok this is fine. All I need to do is take that formula and find a way to make the effect Permanent. After that we're all set." He said, a thoughtful expression on his face, "I think we'll be good to go within a Week!"

The group of people muttered in agreement, and Labcoat thanked them all for a bit before they all began to walk away. It seemed like the meeting was over.

Jason took a moment to collect himself, before deciding to follow some of the group so he could question them. Unfortunately, everybody he followed disappeared into thin air after a short time.

It occurred to him that he hadn't tried to intervene at all. Usually he would have jumped down and beaten them all black and blue for testing drugs right in front of him, but he didn't this time. Why? He also realized that he should have followed the Lab Coat guy first, not waited until it was his last option. Why did he not go after that guy instantly? Why did he hesitate? Was it something to do with that Ominous Feeling that led him to the meeting in the first place? There was just something about the guy that made Jason feel inexplicably sacred of him.

Either way, he needed to tell the others.

Because from what he had seen, a Mad Scientist had been working with a group of Metahumans to create a Super Soldier Drug right there in Gotham, and they needed to stop them.

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wynnyfryd · 5 months

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Trailer park Steve AU part 26

part 1 | part 25 | ao3

cw: period-typical homophobia, recreational drug/alcohol use

He’s marching over the grass with a couple of varsity guys; two on his left, two on his right; V-formation like a flock of geese. Jason's at the head of the group, self-assured purpose of a leader, and it’s weird, seeing this little runt all grown up. The kid used to worship Steve; used to follow him around practices like a lost puppy, called him Captain before he’d even earned the role.

“Is this freak bothering you?” Jason asks. His voice is harsh, winded, winding up for a fight. Steve can see it in his stance: the tightening of his jaw, the clench of his friends’ fists. Plant your feet.

Steve’s gotta shut this shit down before it goes where it always does. Smashed plates, broken bones. All pissing contests flow toward the ocean or whatever.

“Nah, man,” he answers, standing up to dust himself off. The coke zips under his skin, makes him jittery and hot. Hard to play it cool. “We’re good. Busted my ass on the rocks; Munson was just helping me up.”

Munson. Like they’re buddies. Like Eddie’s thumb isn’t still damp from Steve’s tongue.

Jason doesn't seem to buy it. Little pastor-cop in training, he narrows his eyes and turns on Eddie. “Were you following him, Freak?”

Eddie's eyes flash in warning, a muscle jumping in his jaw. Steve shifts his weight to stand in front of him, and his fingers twitch around empty air. He wishes he had his nail bat with him; kind of wants to glue the handle to his palm.

Never know when monsters will come crawling out of the woods.

"Well?" Jason barks, "Answer me!"

His lackeys all pipe up then, the guy to his right sneering, "Not so talkative without his lunch table to stand on, is he?"

"Look at him shaking," adds another.

"Think he was trying to do some Satanic ritual shit while no one was looking?"

"I don't know," says the guy on Jason's left. "Looked like they were sucking each other off to me. Hey, maybe Harrington’s turned fag.”

“Andy!” Jason warns, and Steve—

Steve staggers forward with three arrows in his chest. One for every letter of that stupid fucking word that's been haunting him for years; raging fire in a black box in the far reaches of his brain, belching thick, black smoke, singing his fingertips whenever he gets close enough to touch it.

He wonders if Andy can taste the sulfur in it, too.

“No, go on,” he seethes, voice deadly calm when he lays a hand on Andy’s chest. Steeple his fingers, tips his chin. “Say it again; don't think I heard you right.”

Andy swallows hard, grinds his teeth; tenses to square off for the fight, but Jason throws an arm in front of him. "Easy," he says.

Easy. Down boy.

Andy snarls and backs off.

Jason lowers his voice, searching Steve's face. "You sure you're good? Can't be too careful with..."

His gaze slides over Steve's shoulder, his nose wrinkling in disgust. Steve's never wanted to risk a concussion more. "I'm fine," he grits out, balking at the diplomatic bullshit that's about to slither from his mouth. "Really. Thanks, though, man; appreciate you looking out for me."

Jason gives him a serious nod. "Any time."

—

“So, uh…” Eddie squints at Steve once Jason and his goons run along. His arms are hugged tight around his middle, and he's biting his lip; nervous jiggle of his leg. “How, um— How are we playing this, exactly?”

Steve scrubs at his face; swoons where he stands. Feels like all the blood's drained out of him without the adrenaline to prop him up. Goddamn, he's still so drunk. “Playing what?” he asks, confused.

Whatever it is, it’s already been played, hasn’t it?

Fight’s over; Steve’s exhausted. He just wants to go home.

But then Eddie shakes his head and tuts softly at the ground, his expression gone sour and sad, and there it is again. That feeling that Steve’s fucking everything up somehow.

He’s so tired of that feeling.

Slowly, so slowly, he reaches out a hand. Skims Eddie's side; leather jacket, bony hip, and then he hooks his pinky finger into the belt loop of his jeans. Tugs, just a little. Not hard enough to topple him, just—

Enough.

He hopes.

—

part 27

tag lists in separate reblogs with the tag "#trailer park steve au taglist" if you'd like to filter that content, comment and let me know if you want me to add you tomorrow (21+ only, please confirm your age if you're asking to be tagged)

#trailer park steve au #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #my writing #my fic

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flagbridge · 4 months

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I Saw the Phantom Proshot at the NYPL

Happy 36th birthday to Phantom's first preview on Broadway! I was going to save this post for the actual 36th, but I figure all of us need some more Phantom Broadway "original" content since the official Insta accounts are reminding us today that Phantom is no longer (though it should be) on Broadway. I'm going to post about what I saw, and I'll follow up on January 26 with all my answers!

Some time ago, @or-what-you-will and I went to the NYPL's Theater on Film and Tape Archive, and viewed the archival pro shot of the Original Broadway Cast of Phantom of the Opera, filmed live on May 25, 1988. There is only one copy, and its purpose is artistic preservation (not commercial distribution--the library owns it). It was kept under lock and key during the show's run. All information about how to access the archive is on the website. I can't really tell you anything more besides what's out there because it will become identifying. You get set up in a room with monitors and can pause and rewind, although you can't touch the media.

This was not my first TOFT proshot, but it was the best-filmed. Some, there's a single camera just parked, or there's some generation loss because of when the tape was transferred to digital. This had absolutely vivid colors, a multi-camera shot, and brilliant and clear soundboard audio. I heard lyrics I have never heard (especially during Notes when everyone is singing over one another), the sound balancing was so good. It was as transformative as seeing it live.

These are all the notes we took while there (apologize if they can seem disjointed) More below the cut.

ACT 1 NOTES:

-Multicam shot

-amazing audio (soundboard), vivid colors

-Raoul/Barton is crying in his voice during the auction

-there’s a “voice” that sounds like a woman singing with the overture (maybe a theramin?) We jumped in shock at this. We've never heard this before, not even on soundboard.

-Sarah Brightman comes on stage during the Hannibal rehearsal, moving across the stage with Meg during “Rome not Roma”--so she dances in the front row during the Hannibal ballet

-Hannibal ballet then has 10 dancers and since Christine is in the whole thing, there is slightly different choreo

-there’s a synth under Meg’s “he’s there, the phantom of the opera”

-Firmin lights a cigarette and Andre (Future Phantom Cris Groenendaal) stops him right before “Think of Me’ which makes the “Defense de Fumer” on the back of the curtain make even more sense

-Think of Me Gala skirt is not as full (but of note, Carlotta’s Elissa costume is much more ornate than we have now or even at the end of Broadway)

-Raoul sings slightly different notes in Think of Me. Steve Barton goes down a few notes on “young and innocent” (it’s not belted) and is clearly wistful.

-The think of me cadenza is absolutely effortless

-The “Bravi, Bravi” is haunting and perfectly sound balanced!

-Meg can actually sing and the Angel of Music harmonies work

-Raoul (Steve Barton) is nervous before going into the dressing room. He taps his fingers on the banister and takes a deep breath before going in

-He’s also nervous inside the dressing room–you can see him going from seeing an old friend to suddenly having feelings, being attracted to her. When he’s standing behind her he has a slight moment when he nearly touches a lock of her hair.

-Raoul is wearing a ring on his right hand (signet?)

-Steve Barton says MY Little Lotte

-Christine (Brightman) is excited about meeting the Angel of music and has a wanting and longing in “Enter at LAST master” (in a way that Lily Kerhoas does now and we haven’t had many Christines who do this)

-The picture is VERY CLEAR and NO WASHOUT when we see Michael Crawford appear in the mirror for Phantom’s entrance. You see everything

-When the door opens for Raoul to the dressing room after they go through the mirror, it opens slowly (vs banging open). It’s the same tempo that Phantom moves to take Christine through the mirror

-1925 Phantom silhouette vibes at the first “sing for me”

-Not a particularly aggressive cape twirl, but def a twirl.

-They get VERY close on “turn your face away”, almost kiss (like, Russians, Panaro/Joseph close)

- he has a nice portcullis sprawl but she does not press against him, there is visible space between them the entire time

-”Caress” and “hear it, feel it” are explicitly seductive, the former in how it’s sung, the latter because he self-caresses on “feel it”

-the “Touch me” in touch me/trust me is half sung/half spoken order, she strokes her hand over the mask and he does not pull away

-He does have a little panic when she faints and he covers her with the cloak. He’s holding her hair when he sings to her there

-At the unmasking, MC holds for a brief moment before covering his face with his hand so the audience gets a peek of the deformity (before “damn you”)

-Vixen not viper

-Crawls on knees, not stomach. We get…lots of crying and whimpering

-Christine sees his face a lot during this sequence. MC lowers his hand as soon as he’s on her side of the stage from “secretly dreams of beauty” to “Oh Christine”, when he turns away–but she is looking at him the entire time. MC is angled right by a mirror shard so we can see a bit of the deformity reflected back

-Right before “come we must return”, MC is about to cup her face with both his hands before changing his mind–she starts to reach for him as well.

-His Mandarin robe is much longer than we have now (ankle length vs calf length)

-This Giry has witch vibes

-Steve Barton is playing eager puppy Raoul and it shows even though he looks older (Barton was 35 at the time)

-The sound balancing is so good that you can hear lines you don’t normally hear during Notes 1 and Prima Donna–including the Managers thinking that Christine has just been off with Raoul all night.

-Sarah Brightman does a different pose on the bed as the pageboy during Il Muto. She crosses her legs vs putting her hands on her hips.

-Firmin yells “the role of Christine Daae” to the proscenium, clearly directed at Phantom

-Barton Raoul’s “There is no Phantom of the Opera” comes off more as “Christine this is just some dude” vs “he doesn’t exist at all.”

-Raoul loves Christine so much. He strokes her hair gently to comfort her right before “No more talk of darkness”--his eyes are soft and he’s genuinely caring and concerned (vs trying to be a hero)

-”All I ask is for one love one lifetime”--different lyrics, she does it twice (This is on soundboards from the time)

-Raoul puts his face to Christine’s hands at the proposal.

-Christine is clearly kissing his cheek right next to his mouth during the kiss (the final lair kiss is a real kiss)

-Christine’s “I must go” is not as playful as we often see it later. She really is trying to go.

-Raoul is nervous at “Christine, I love you”--he lowers his head for a moment worried that he said something wrong. He’s excited when she replies “order your fine horses”

-AIAOY Reprise: Michael Crawford is partially slumped over the angel, he’s holding hands with it to the audience’s right, and arm is slumped over on the left. We get a lot of anguished weeping, and little distressed moans as Christine and Raoul sing, there is rocking and head shaking and then covering his ears. It’s a HUGE difference then when he stands up fully for “You will curse” (he does this again during final lair between “unfeeling scrap of clothing” and “pity comes too late)

-He also roars before standing

-The Phantom laugh/cackle continues well into the chandelier drop into intermission at the light cut out for about 15 seconds.

Act II

-Carlotta masquerade costume has no mesh in the skirt–it’s much more of a see-through skeleton crinoline, so the feature is the purple tights

-Not surprising since Sarah Brightman is a dancer, but Christine does the proper choreography during Masquerade--she's the center of attention. Barton also does quite a bit of dancing.

-There’s an organ (almost like a circus organ) underlying the finale during masquerade

-Red Death double doesn’t run down the stairs, he stays at the top

-Giry/Raoul exchange after masquerade–both holding the lantern and super closeup

-Reyer is clearly gay–coded. Some voice and hand gestures during Sitzprobe

-Wishing–only one “help me say goodbye” (when did the second one get added?)

-”Far-reaching” gaze, Wandering Child is a duet

-Piangi says “conquest” is assured (at some point, this became “congress”)

-Michael Crawford imitates Piangi until “past the point…”

-Sarah as Christine is listening intently to Phantom’s voice and immediately noticed something is off–she doesn’t figure it out right away but she notices something. She is suspicious the entire time. It's not clear when she knows for certain.

-Christine never flees from him, during the first caresses, he hovers over her body, she turns to kiss him, he turns away, her hand lingers on her back, before she gets up to sing her solo part away from the table

-Michael Crawford’s hands are in in his crotch when Christine’s singing on the other side of the stage (“you have come here”)--he’s moving his palms in his lap the whole time, his hands are shaking, we only get glimpses of him, most of this part it’s focused on her

-There is none of the arm waving circling while their hands are held, she takes his hands, he switches his grip to hold one of hers, and they keep them on him

-She figures it out when she reaches down–she’s holding his hands above him and she pushes her left (our right) hand down and he pulls and she notices something–we can only see to his upper waist but her hand disappears and her expression changes, it’s implied he has an erection

-she doesn’t ever feel the mask, either accidentally or on purpose

-She doesn’t actually ever try to escape. It’s not the current West End or the past blocking–but more accurate in that she is aware of the situation and plays along. She keeps going with the blocking

-they both get up and keep singing, neither drags the other to the centre, they move together and keep singing

-The last “return”--he sings it at the unhooding, she doesn’t

-”Say you’ll share with me”--he is really pleading and almost crying on “say you want me”

-The managers don’t come out to try to usher her offstage, she doesn’t signal to them to stay

-When Phantom gives her the ring, she takes it, but doesn’t put it on–she just holds it

-He doesn’t scream at the unmasking, he just looks shocked and sad

-Ratcatcher order is different–it’s after Raoul and Giry’s first lines, that’s the indication that Giry needs to turn around, Giry screams

-Phantom is crying at “flesh” and through “unfeeling scrap of clothing”, he’s also hunched over through this sequence, and then stands to his full height at “Pity comes too late.”

-Phantom makes a big show of raising the portcullis, hands fully raised

-Raoul swats at Erik with one hand (the other is still on the noose) when Phantom grabs Christine on “start a new life”

-Phantom is probably the “minimum” amount of rough as we see Phantoms be with Christine in this sequence, as in, he’s definitely scary and menacing but he’s not harming her. He does grab her and spin her around on “start a new life with me.” There are a few wrist grabs (which is book accurate). He’s realizing more that his plan is absolutely crumbling. We get some shots of him on the organ looking panicked.

-Phantom makes a low growling noise before “you try my patience”, which is delivered quickly and almost casually. It is not menacing as some later Phantoms do.

-”Pitiful creature”..MC’s hand is subtly shaking by his side

-The kiss: the 1st one MC stands with “claw hands” at his side, on the second one, the “claw hands” start shaking

-MC hunches over after he burns the noose

-He stands over the monkey, conducting it with one hand, he is mimicking the symbol clashes, he doesn’t touch it or cover its face

-When Christine returns the ring, his hand shakes as he takes it, he’s hunched over again.

-She does seem conflicted about leaving, but she doesn’t press her hand back around his, she holds out the ring and his hand shakes as she takes it. She doesn’t linger very long.

-He says a second “I love you” after she’s gone.

-He’s about to say it a third time, he says “I love…” and then see the veil, and grabs it and screams into it, and then turns and sees the boat leaving

-He sobs and keens a lot

-Raoul bends in the boat to caress Christine’s face on “say the word”)--this is halfway across the stage as opposed to during the stage right exit.

-Deliberately cracks voice on the "can" in “you alone can make”

-MC Cradling the veil like a baby at the very end

SEND ME YOUR QUESTIONS! You can put it in comments, reblogs, AMA or DM's. I will answer all of them on January 26!

#phantom of the opera #poto #poto broadway #original poto #michael crawford #sarah brightman #steve barton #cris groenendaal #the phantom #christine daae #raoul de chagny #alw phantom #proshot #toft archive #YOU GUYS I SAW THE PHANTOM BROADWAY PROSHOT #POTO Broadway never should have closed

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scarletwinterxx · 2 months

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sit down with jeong jaehyun

hello! so this is a new format of story I wanted to do, hope you like it🥺 i do have a few works on the way but I've been so busy with work again and this coming months i feel like so I apologize in advance for the slow uploads.

If you want me to make more of this with the other members just let me know😅 or you have a request or scenario you want me to do, just send me a message I'll see what I can do😊💌

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

and if you want, u can buy me coffee(totally optional but any donation is very much appreciated!) thank you🥺💛

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2024 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

The scene starts with two vacant chairs in front of the camera. Then two people walk in, sitting right next to each other.

"Okay, welcome. Can you introduce yourselves please" someone from behind the camera says

Your partner gestures for you to go first, "Hi I'm Jeong Y/N, 25"

"Hello, I'm Jeong Jaehyun, 26"

:Your last names are both Jeong?

The two of you chuckle, not the first time hearing this question "Mhm, but we're not related in any way. Don't worry" Jaehyun says

: So what are you to each other?

"I'm his girlfriend" you smile, so does Jaehyun.

"I'm her boyfriend"

: How long have the two of you been together?

"5 years"

"7 years"

The two of you answer differently, making you turn to look at each other. "That doesn't count" you tell him but Jaehyun shakes his head

"It does, it's been 7 years baby" he says

"We were on a break" you remind him, he gives you the stare so you turn to look at the camera again to change your answer

"We've been together for 7 years"

The person behind the camera chuckles

: You said you were on a break, what happened then?

"We kind of broke up for over a year, life happened and things got hectic. We decided mutually to end it" you explained

: How did the two of you got back together?

This time Jaehyun answers, recalling the memory

"We have the same circle of friends so we still saw each other sometimes, but this one time we went to dinner and we started talking again. It felt right. I realized how much I missed her and I wanted to give us another chance so I pursued her again" he looks over at you

"He saw flowers outside the restaurant and bought it, he gave it to me and now we're here. We haven't been apart since then" you finish

: How did the two of you meet?

"We met way back in middle school, he was one of the popular guys. All the girls in our grade had a crush on his and would give him their valentine favors. I really didn't think I had a chance" you chuckled, feeling your boyfriend's gaze on the side of your face

"I always get so many chocolates and valentines letter in my locker, but one year I got a whole cake with a small note greeting me a happy birthday" Jaehyun says

"That was me" you say with a big smile. You feel Jaehyun's hand take yours, then he kisses the back of your hand.

: Who liked who first?"

"I guess I did. I wasn't immune to his charms back then. I didn't expect he would notice me too"

"What do you mean? I knew who you were. I was the one who confessed first"

"Yeah because your ears would always turn red when we talked, you got busted" you tease him, giving his ear a playful tug

: What's one thing you love about your significant other?

Jaehyun answers first with no hesitation, "I love how she lets me be me. I feel the most complete with her. We broke up before so we can both learn and grow more, and we did. But me with her is the best version of me I can be"

You listen to his words, feeling all the emotions. Smiling at your boy before turning back to the camera

"I love his jokes" you hear him laugh from beside you

"Not everyone will get it. You can tell the exact moment he makes a joke in his head before he says it out loud, half of the time it's not even that funny but to me it always is. I just love his humor, I guess"

"I think you just love me a lot" he tells you, you roll your eyes at him

: Who said I love you first?

"He did, but technically I did. He said I said it in my sleep but he never told me about it until after a few years. But he's the one who said with both of us conscious" you chuckle

"She was so tired that day, we went back to my place and was just cuddling on my bed. I asked her if she was tired and wanted to sleep, she tucked herself on my side telling me to wake her up in an hour then she suddenly mumbled I love you. I thought I was hallucinating but I couldn't stop smiling after that. I said I love you to her not long after that, on the same bed while we were cuddling"

"Just cuddling" you clarified, earning a laugh from the staff

: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

"Honestly, settled down with a family of my own"

"Of our own, baby" Jaehyun interrupts you, fighting the smile off of your face

"Settled down with a family of our own. I want to have kids, I love babies so it's definitely something I look forward to in the future"

Jaehyun listens to you, in his head he's already naming your two kids. He can't stop the smile on his face

"How about you, love?" you ask him, breaking him out if his thoughts

"Married to you, with two kids. I'm actually thinking of their names right now"

"Shut up" you laugh out loud, hitting him playfully on the arm

: What would you say is the secret to a long lasting relationship like yours?

"The truth is, it's not always smooth sailing. You will have fights, disagreements and arguments somewhere along the way and that's okay. That means the two of you are learning, growing up together. What's important is learning how to resolve it together, listen to each other and understand each other's side" you answer

Jaehyun nods in agreement.

"Be your partner's friend. It's important to tell them when something's not right, when something upsets you, when something bothers you. You don't always have to coddle them, appease them. Be each other's voice of reason. Of course always love and respect each othe" he says

: Okay, that's all. Thank you so much for sharing your time and your story with us, Mr. and Ms. Jeong. Anything else you want to say?

You shake your head, "Thank you everyone for your hardwork, thanks for having us" you say, then you look over at your boyfriend.

It was quick but you caught the cheeky smile on his face, and it meant one thing.

"Oh gosh he's about say something either really cheesy or really corny, just wait" you tell the staff and the camera

"Thanks everyone for having us, next time when we come back we'll be Mr. and Mrs. Jeong" he says with a big smile

"Okay see, I knew he was going to say something. That's it, valentine boy we're done here. Thank you!"

AND CUT

#tags #story #fic #nct #nct imagine #nct scenario #nct fluff #nct boyfriend #nct au #jaehyun #jaehyun imagine #jaehyun au #jaehyung fluff #jaehyun oneshot #jaehyun scenario

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brbsoulnomming · 6 months

Text

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 26

-----

"You boys all right?" Hopper calls, after the sound of Chief Powell reading Jason his rights has started to fade.

"Can't complain about the rescue," Eddie calls back.

"Doing a lot better than we'd be without you," Steve agrees.

"All right, just hang tight until I get confirmation that Carver's all settled in the cruiser and on his way to the station," Hopper says.

And Eddie sees the merit in that, really, he does, but Steve had dodged directly answering the question of if he was all right the same as Eddie had, and Eddie needs to see him.

He creeps off in the direction that he'd heard Steve's voice come from, sticking to the growing shadows, until he damn near collides with Steve - who must have had the same idea.

"Eddie," Steve breathes out, grabbing the front of Eddie's shirt and hauling him in for a kiss.

Eddie wraps his arms around him, holding him as close as he can as he kisses him back, every last bit of the terror he'd felt in the last however long coming out in sheer desperation.

"Eddie," Steve murmurs against his lips, his voice a little frantic like he needs to say it but doesn't want to stop kissing him. "Eddie, baby, are you hurt?"

"No," Eddie says, muffled by the fact that he can't stop kissing him, either. "No, I'm okay. Are you?"

Steve doesn't answer right away, kissing him again and again, and Eddie cups the line of his jaw, cradles it in his hand for a moment before he pushes his fingers into Steve's hair, checking for any tender spots.

"Hold up for a minute, let me look," Eddie insists, but he doesn't pull away when Steve stubbornly keeps kissing him.

"Stevie," he whispers, the sound stolen up by Steve's ragged inhale.

"I'm kind of trying not to freak out," Steve admits.

Eddie registers the press of something cold and hard against his chest where Steve's still holding his shirt, the clink of metal when he shifts, and he remembers the handcuffs.

"Fuck," Eddie curses. "What can I do?"

"You're okay, right? He didn't hurt you?"

For a moment, Eddie thinks Steve might be deflecting, but the look on Steve's face tells him no, he's answering Eddie's question just fine - that's what Eddie can do to reassure him.

"He didn't hurt me," Eddie says. "He pushed me a couple of times, and one made me lose my balance, but no damage."

"Let me see-" Steve starts, but Eddie shakes his head.

"Uh-uh. You let me see first, then you can look," he insists.

A tiny smile tugs at the corner of Steve's lips. "I take care of you, you take care of me?"

"Bingo. So no trying to get fresh with me again until I've had a good look, all right handsome?" Eddie teases.

This time, Steve lets him cup his jaw again, peering closely at his face. It's getting dark enough that Eddie can't tell exactly, but nothing looks broken. He's pretty sure he's going to have some bruising, though.

"Okay," Eddie says once he's satisfied - or as satisfied as he's going to get until they're home. "Your turn."

Steve lifts Eddie's shirt up without any preamble, peering at his stomach and chest and running his fingers over his skin. His touch brushes over some of Eddie's soulmate ink, and - oh, fuck, if last time was Steve's hands in his hair and hot water washing away a week's worth of grime, this is molten heat running down his spine, the taste of Steve's tongue in his mouth, the feel of his breath on the back of his neck. Eddie shudders, lips parted in a soft gasp.

"Eddie?" Steve asks.

"Soulmate words," Eddie says.

"Oh," Steve says absently. Then, "Oh."

"Yeah. Fuck, we're doing that again once we're home," Eddie says fervently.

Steve's looking at him again, all warm and happy like he's just had the best experience of his life.

"What?" Eddie asks.

"You said home," Steve replies softly, gently tugging Eddie's shirt down and leaning in to kiss him again.

Oh.

"It is," Eddie says. "With you and Robin, it is."

Steve closes his eyes, forehead pressing against Eddie's. They stay like that, tucked in close to each other, until Hopper's voice calls out and tells them it's safe to come out.

Hopper's got a flashlight on him, and he looks them both over when they emerge, the corners of his mouth dropping down lower and lower when he looks at Steve's face and wrists.

"Hey Chief?" Hopper says into the police issue radio he's got hooked on his belt, as they walk back towards Forest Hills.

"Yeah Hop?" Chief Powell asks.

"Get the handcuff master key out and ready for when we get to the station," Hopper tells him. "And you might want to add unlawful restraint to that list of charges."

Eddie blanches. "Who says we want to go to the station?" he grumbles.

"We can't do it tomorrow?" Steve asks.

"You'll be glad you got it over with," Hopper points out.

Which is probably true, but Eddie isn't going to give him the satisfaction of saying it.

"Got it," Chief Powell's voice comes back over the radio. "Which one of them is it?"

Hopper shoots him and Steve a little look. "Better get ready to hear from Lillian Harrington."

"Ah, shit," Chief Powell mutters. "All right, see you soon."

There's no police cars when they get back to the trailer - just Steve's BMW, still parked out front next to the abandoned boxes of Eddie's things.

"Can you help get those in the trunk?" Steve asks.

Eddie wants to point out that they don't feel all that important right now, but Hopper's already crouching down to pick two of them up, and Steve's awkwardly fishing his keys out of his jeans pocket. And it's - yeah, okay, if they went through all of this on a mission to get Eddie some of his life back, he doesn't want to come back empty handed, either. He picks up the last box, tucking it inside the trunk.

"Found this, too," Hopper comments, setting Steve's bat next to them.

Just the sight of it makes some of the tension leak out from Steve's shoulders.

"Get in," Hopper says. "I'll drive you to the station."

"It's my car!" Steve protests. "I've driven with way worse!"

"That's exactly why you're not driving now," Hopper says.

"That doesn't make any sense," Steve mutters.

"Stevie, if he isn't driving, I am," Eddie tells him. "You want me driving your car in my current state?"

"I know you've done it before, kid," Hopper adds, his voice gentler this time. "You shouldn't have had to then, and you don't have to now."

Steve looks away for a moment. Then he nods, clambering into the backseat of the car. Eddie joins him, sitting as close to him as he dares. Once they're in route - Eddie risks slipping his hand over, palm up. An offering, just in case.

Steve grabs it immediately, lacing their fingers together and holding on tight.

"How come the cops are so scared of your mom?" he asks Steve in a low voice.

There's a little laugh. "My mom's a lawyer. She's mostly a corporate lawyer now, but she was a criminal defense attorney for a while, and she'll still take some cases. She's going to be all over this."

Hopper gives a soft snort of amusement. "She's going to threaten to sue everyone from Powell to the mayor if Carver doesn't get charged the way she wants him to."

"She's a good lawyer," Steve agrees, grinning a little.

Hopper's eyes flick down in the rear view mirror, and Eddie knows he can see him and Steve holding hands. For a moment, his heart jumps into his throat - but Hopper doesn't say anything, just slips his gaze back to the road.

Flo's waiting for them with a set of keys and three steaming mugs of hot chocolate when they get to the station.

Eddie takes the keys before Hopper can, hurriedly unlocking the cuffs from Steve's wrists. Steve sags a little when they're gone, leaning into him for a moment before straightening up to accept his mug of cocoa.

"You can wait in the break room," Flo tells them. "The phone's free if you want to call your mom."

She ushers them in and closes the door.

Steve and Eddie take the threadbare couch, squished together, while Hopper plops down on a folding chair.

The phone's on a table by the couch, and Steve puts it on speaker after he dials.

"Wolfram, Hart, & Harrington, this is Lacey Shepherd speaking."

"Hi Lacey," Steve greets. "Can you connect me to Mrs. Harrington? This is Steven, one of her clients. I'm calling from a police station."

"One moment, please," Lacey says, before some truly terrible music drifts through the phone.

"One of her clients?" Eddie repeats.

Steve gives a little shrug. "She's working. She'll answer for a client."

But not for her son?

Eddie doesn't know why he's surprised, considering everything, but getting hit in the face with it like that is still a bit of a shock.

Fuck, he's going to hug Steve so hard after all of this.

Granted, he was going to do that anyway, because Eddie really wants a hug after this, but still.

The hold music stops.

"Steven?" Mrs. Harrington asks.

"Hi, Mom," Steve says.

"Steven." There's comprehension in her voice now. "What happened?"

"Jason Carver," Steve says. "He ambushed me with a gun when I was walking back to my car, threatened to kill me and my soulmate."

"Just threatened?" There's a sharp alertness in her voice now, and Eddie can hear the scratching of writing.

"He handcuffed me to a railing, took my soulmate out into the woods and shoved them around. Punched me in the face a few times."

"Punched you in the face," she repeats.

"In his defense, I was choking him with the handcuffs he made me put on," Steve adds.

"Steven Everett Harrington," she hisses. "I know you didn't just say that in a room full of cops."

"It's just Hopper," Steve says.

"No cops here now, Lillian," Hopper says.

She sniffs. "Once a cop, always a cop, Jim. You don't talk to cops."

If he wasn't for everything else he knew, Eddie might actually like her.

"What did the Carver boy say to you?" she asks.

"Uh - that he was trying to get justice and remove the curse from Hawkins. He said he believed we could do it. He was upset about Chrissy, and wanted to make us suffer. Something about planning to send people to Hell."

All technically true, and Eddie sure as shit isn't going to volunteer anything that puts Jason Carver in a better light.

"I knew that boy was unstable," she mutters. "The whole police force was wrapped up in looking for some insignificant gutter trash, and they're letting the real threats go around right under their noses."

Right, shit, so much for liking her.

Eddie slouches down, until he sees the anger in Steve's eyes. As nice as it would be to let him say whatever he's going to - Eddie puts a hand on his arm, shaking his head.

"You tell Chief Powell to call me after you're done giving your statement," she says. "If I don't hear from him in less than an hour, he won't like the outcome."

"Yes, Mom," Steve says.

The dial tone rings out in response.

"I don't want her to talk like that about you," Steve says immediately.

"I appreciate it," Eddie says, reaching out to gently brush his fingers against the bruise appearing on Steve's cheek. "But you've taken enough hits for me tonight. You can save swinging at your mom for later."

It wasn't until he said it that he recognizes the feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knows Steve doesn't agree, knows he's made it very clear otherwise, but - part of him can't help but feel like this is his fault, like Steve wouldn't have had to go through tonight if Eddie wasn't his soulmate.

He doesn't say anything, but Steve narrows his eyes anyway.

"You're my soulmate," Steve says. "I don't regret it."

Hopper clears his throat, and Eddie jumps, his hand dropping away.

Fuck, he can't believe he almost forgot he was there.

"Hop," Steve says.

Hopper shakes his head. "He's your soulmate, right? Whatever that means, you got nothing to fear from me."

There's a beat of silence, then, "At least it's better than Mike Wheeler, anyway."

Eddie barks out a startled laugh, clamping one hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Hopper grumbles. "I'm sending the little shit to you when he gets on my nerves."

It's not long before Chief Powell comes to take their statements. They give him the same spiel that they gave Steve's mom, with a little more detail about how Jason was trying to make Eddie confess.

Chief Powell sighs. "Boy's not saying much in there. I think he finally gets how much trouble he's in. I better go give Judge Ellison a call, then get Lillian on the phone."

He scrubs a hand over his face, then looks at Hopper. "You sure you don't want your job back?"

"Nah," Hopper replies with a grin. "It's all yours."

Steve doesn't put up a protest when Hopper gets into the driver's seat of the Bimmer this time. He just reaches one hand out, and Eddie takes it, giving it a soft squeeze.

"The whole motley crew's probably at your place by now," Hopper warns them as he drives. "Your girl called a code red. The only reason we didn't have the rest of those numbskulls showing up at Forest Hills in a panic is because she'd already called 911, and the police were on their way as soon as they heard Jason Carver and gun. Joyce took the kids and Argyle over to wait with Robin, so I'm sure the rest of them are there too."

Sure enough, the Wheelers' station wagon, Argyle's van, the Byers' car, and his uncle's truck are all parked outside when they get there.

Part of him thinks so much for getting to kiss Steve senseless, but the bigger part is touched that they're all here like this. He sneaks a glance over at Steve, sees a slightly stunned smile, and gives his hand another squeeze.

Hopper walks in first, mostly so he can fend off the immediate rush at the door.

Robin's the only one that gets past him, flinging herself at both of them and hugging them.

"I'm okay, Robs, we're okay," Steve whispers into her hair.

She hugs them tighter.

Then she steps back. His uncle is in her place immediately, folding Eddie up in his arms - and then hauling Steve in to hug him, too.

"I'm okay, we're okay," Eddie says.

Finally, his uncle lets go, too, letting the crowd get a better look at them.

"What happened?" Dustin demands. "Robin said Jason locked Steve up and dragged Eddie off somewhere!"

"Handcuffed," Steve says. "But I got free."

"Handcuffed?" Erica repeats flatly, shoving her way to the front of the group.

She looks him and Steve up and down. Eddie can see the way the fire in her eyes burns hotter and hotter as she lingers over the welts around Steve's wrists, the bruises on his face, the dirt and blood on Eddie's own hands. He hadn't noticed that before now, but he must have ripped at the edges of a couple of his fingernails, digging his hands into the ground like that.

Then Erica turns on her heel. "I'm going to call Tina."

"Tina?" Eddie asks, confused.

"She's the biggest gossip at Hawkins Middle," Erica replies. "Jason Carver is a ruined man."

"He's already in jail!" Steve calls.

"Yeah, and when I'm done with him, everyone will know what a psychopath he is!" Erica shouts back as she slams the door to the study down the hall.

Nancy makes this little giggling snort sound - the same one he heard her make when he was in the hospital, what feels like forever ago.

Apparently it was a good sound, because she's smiling.

"She's going to be a terror when she gets to high school," Robin says fondly.

"Yeah," Steve agrees. "I'm so proud of her."

"Ugh," Lucas groans.

"Luckily, she's got better friends than I did, to keep her grounded," Steve adds, looking out over all of them.

Joyce worms her way to the front, looking both of them up and down just like Erica.

And just like Erica, there's a ferocity to her as she takes them in, though hers burns cooler.

"Oh, honey," she murmurs. "Come on, let me look at you in the kitchen."

There's a moment of silence, then she looks at them.

"Both of you, now," she orders.

Well, not that much cooler.

"Hopper, will you order pizza for everyone? I know it's late, but I'm sure we could use it," she calls back as she ushers them into the kitchen.

She points them both to the kitchen table, and what the hell else is Eddie going to do but obediently sit? She digs into the freezer, gets out an ice pack and wraps it in a towel, then gently places it over Steve's eye and cheek.

"Hold it there for a little while," she tells him.

Then she wets another towel and comes over to Eddie, taking his hands in hers and gently cleaning them up. She looks at him with such softness and warmth when her eyes catch his that, horrifyingly, he feels his chin quiver a little, and he has to look away.

"I haven't gotten to tell you," she says quietly. "It was a very brave thing you did, helping fight against One."

"It doesn't feel like it," he finds himself admitting.

She hums softly. "Because you were scared?"

"Terrified," he agrees. "But because I didn't do enough."

She makes a tsk noise, wiping away the last of the grime and wrapping a bandaid around the tip of his finger, where a drop of blood had sprung up. "You're here. That's more than enough."

Jesus Christ, he's not going to cry, he's not.

She takes pity on him, patting his hand one more time and then going to check on Steve.

"That goes for you, too," she tells him as she lifts up the ice pack to take a peek, then puts it back down. "You think I haven't noticed that it's always you?"

"They're kids," Steve protests softly.

"So are you," she tells him, in the kind of tone that manages to be both gentle and leave no room for argument. "And you are worth more than how much damage you can take for them."

"Okay," Steve says, one hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

She tsks at him, then gently cleans the dirt off of his face and hands.

"There's juice and stuff in the fridge for everyone," he says.

"You're a sweetheart," she tells him.

Eddie snorts before he can stop himself.

She raises an eyebrow at him. "You have an opinion on that, Edward Munson?"

Shit.

"No ma'am," he says quickly, even though he knows it's a lie.

Steve drops the ice pack away from his face, grinning. He looks - a little punch drunk, a little like how he'd light up so high every time the house is filled with people. "That was a lie," he stage whispers to Joyce. "He definitely has an opinion."

She tries to hide her smile. "Oh? Enlighten us."

Eddie groans. "Look, I love Steve, okay, he's the kindest, bravest, best guy I know, but he's way too much of a bitch to be a sweetheart."

Steve cackles, head tilting back as he laughs.

Joyce has one hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and glistening with what looks like unshed tears. Eddie frowns, tries to think back to what he said - fuck, he'd said love, okay, but everyone knows Steve's his soulmate now, and he hadn't said what kind, so there's no way she'd assume -

She reaches out, takes one of their hands in each of hers. "Will you boys come to dinner on Sunday?"

Steve's brows furrow in confusion. "Well, yeah, of course."

"Good. Will and El missed you," she tells Steve, then nods at Eddie. "And I think Will's unsure about it, but I know he'd like to be in that club of yours. I think having you around, together, will be nice."

Oh.

"Of course, Mrs. B," Eddie says, exchanging a look with Steve.

She squeezes both of their hands, smiling softly at them a moment longer. "Are you ready to go back out and face the questions?"

They are, and they do.

Eddie takes over, dropping into DM mode to spin the story of what happened into something a little more colorful, a little less scary - and manages to cut his poetic waxing about Steve ripping the railing off and choking Jason while handcuffed short when Robin pointedly nudges him.

He's just about done when Erica emerges, looking very satisfied with herself.

"The whole school knows all the details of what a creep Jason is now," she says. "Both schools, by morning."

Steve picks her up, twirling her around.

She shrieks.

"Steven Everett Harrington, you put me down!" she shouts at him, kicking her feet.

Eddie notices she doesn't actually do anything to try to get him to let her go, and her shrieking is definitely the more gleeful variety, but he doesn't point it out for fear of the verbal dressing down he'd get.

She flips her hair when he finally sets her down, loudly commenting, "Ugh!" as she storms off to the couch.

"Me next," El requests, holding her arms out to him.

Steve immediately picks her up, smiling wide and playful as he spins her around to the sounds of her delighted laughter.

When he sets her down, he turns to Max - who was apparently waiting for that, and promptly throws a couch pillow at him.

"Don't you dare! What, just because I'm a girl! How sexist is that, why don't you try to twirl one of the guys?" she demands.

Steve tilts his head like he's considering that. "Okay," he agrees.

Eddie expects him to chase down Dustin or Lucas - but instead, the next thing he knows there's a pair of arms around his waist and Steve is hauling him up to twirl him around.

He cackles, draping his arms over Steve's neck and tipping his head back. "Come on, Harrington, put those muscles to use and twirl me faster," he teases.

Steve spins him around again, then sets him down, beaming at him.

Joyce whacks him on the shoulder.

"Quit that," she scolds. "You should both be resting. Go, on the couch, the both of you."

"How does Erica even know your middle name?" Eddie asks Steve once they're settled on the couch, after Uncle Wayne, Hopper, and Joyce have gone back into the kitchen.

"I know everything," Erica replies smugly.

Dustin scoffs. "Sir Everett is Steve's paladin. She only knows because he told us when we played."

In his indignation, he says it loud enough for the whole room to hear, and Lucas, Mike, and Will's heads immediately swivel over to look at them.

There's a moment of silence, as Dustin seems to realize what he just said. His eyes widen, gaze cutting over to Steve.

"You told!" Erica shouts delightedly. "Shotgun privileges revoked for a year!"

"You played with my sister?" Lucas asks, sounding betrayed.

"What the hell!" Mike agrees. "He was our friend first!"

Steve raises one eyebrow at him.

"You were!" Mike insists. "We even made you a part of the Party and gave you a walkie everything!"

"You sure that wasn't just to con your way into free movies last summer?" Steve teases, hands on his hips.

"Steve," Lucas protests.

"I think we're forgetting that Dustin knew about this," Will points out.

"Will, come on!" Dustin whines.

"All right, how about this," Steve says. "Will, when are you running one again?"

Will looks thrown. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Steve says.

"Oh, I, uh. I don't know." Will's gaze cuts over to Eddie, then skitters away so quickly he's not completely sure it happened.

Yeah, looks like Joyce was right about him being uncertain. Eddie remembers Steve saying that Will was leaving his party behind and didn't want anything to play for a present, but his friends clearly hadn't done the same. Eddie can see how that'd cause some conflicting feelings.

"I've heard a lot about you," Eddie chimes in.

He feels Steve tense briefly next to him, then relax when it's clear Eddie isn't lying.

"What?" Will asks, looking back at him.

"Oh, yeah. Not to my face, of course, before spring break these little shits were terrified of me - and I already mourn the loss - but I heard them talking." He clears his throat, making his voice all high and squeaky. "'Can you believe that? Will never would have done that! Will would have given him a whole backstory! Will's introduction was ten times more interesting!'"

All right, maybe he's playing it up a bit - but he had overheard them talking about the differences in his and Will's styles a few times, and there were times that they liked Will's better.

"I wasn't the only one who DMed, though, Mike used to do it, too," Will says, face a little pink.

"Yeah, but you're way better," Mike says earnestly. "Remember how long my last couple of campaigns took me to plan and how quick we finished them?"

"Tell you what," Steve says. "You both work up one together, and Eddie, Robin, and I will play."

Jesus Christ, it's like Christmas came early.

Eddie cackles. "Just wait, boys, you haven't seen me as a player yet."

"Why am I roped into this now?" Robin protests, but it's the tone of voice she uses when she's going to do it, she just wants to bitch.

"We'll all play," Jonathan cuts in, glancing over at Nancy and Argyle. "Right, guys?"

"Oh, for sure. Bring it on, little dudes," Argyle agrees.

"Fine," Nancy says, rolling her eyes, but she's smiling. "I'm not dressing up, though."

"Dress up?" Eddie repeats, pouncing on it immediately.

"No!" Nancy retorts immediately.

Eddie wriggles, twisting so he can peer at her from over Robin's shoulder, eyes wide and beseeching. "Come on, Wheeler," he whines.

She glares at him, managing to hold it for a few seconds before she caves. "Fine! Remember this when it comes time for your study sessions."

Shit, that's right.

…eh, worth it.

"Dress up?" El repeats.

"Yeah, but boring dress up, not fun dress up like at the mall," Max says.

Eddie clutches his heart. "Mayfield. Don't you want to be a maiden fair? A tiefling princess?"

Max narrows her eyes at him.

El squeezes Max's hand.

"If I get a mace," Max says. "And I get to hit Munson with it at some point. I'll consider it."

"Deal!" Eddie immediately agrees.

He's pretty sure she means her character, and he can sacrifice a few hit points.

…she definitely means her character, right?

Eh, still worth it.

"Wait, there's costumes now?" Steve asks.

Eddie drops himself back over Steve. "Don't worry, I've got you covered."

Steve pulls a face. "Great," he mutters, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Mike and Will, who'd bowed their heads together to have a quick, fervent discussion, separate to look back up at the group.

"Okay," Will says. "We'll let you know when we've got it worked out."

The pizza arrives not long after, and even though he, Steve, and Robin already put away one earlier - that feels like forever ago, and he still devours a few more slices.

Eddie kind of expects some of them to go home at some point that night, but they never do.

Uncle Wayne takes the guest room that Steve told him he could have, and Joyce and Hopper end up in the other one. The rest of them all crash out in the living room, on couches and chairs and in sleeping bags.

No one bats an eye when he, Steve, and Robin tangle themselves up in each other.

Eddie falls asleep surrounded by his family, and thinks - there's no better feeling in the whole damn world.

Just one more part left, and then this will finally be wrapped up!

-----

Part 27

Tag list (always happy to add more for the last bit!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie fic #robin buckley #dustin henderson #erica sinclair #joyce byers #jim hopper #steddie soulmate au

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mirai-e-jump · 1 month

Text

Masato Yano Photobook: TONE (translations and select pages below)

Publication: March 15, 2024

Masato Yano's 132 Q&A About 13 years ago, "Masato Yano's Style Photobook" was published with a Q&A. Now, a 32 year old Masato Yano answers nearly the same questions again.

1) What's your nickname? Yanocchi, Masanii, Masati

2) When were you born? December 16, 1991

3) What's your blood type? Type B

4) Your zodiac sign? Sagittarius

5) What size family are you from? I come from a family of 4

6) How tall are you? 173cm

7) Your shoe size? 26.5cm

8) What are some of your strengths? My jokes

9) How do you spend your days off? I'll drink the night before, go to the gym

10) What subjects were you worst at? Math and history

11) What are your favorite foods? Sushi and tsukemen

12) What's your assessment of your own personality? I'm easily obsessive and bored. I'm actually shy, but I'm trying my best so you don't think that way (laughs)

13) What are some of your weaknesses? I'm not good at remembering things like people's birthdays or names

14) What are you proud of? That I made my debut in "Shintokumaru"

15) What's your favorite color? Red and white

16) What type of woman do you like? Someone with a good core, someone who eats beautifully

17) What instruments can you play? None

18) What's your special skill? That I can guess who someone is just by their voice

19) What's your best feature? My double eyelids

20) What do you wish would disappear from the world? War

21) The first impressions that are often said about you? That I look scary

22) The person that you respect? Tsumabuki Satoshi-san and Fujiwara Tatsuya-san

23) What do you have a habit of saying? "~nanoyo" and "oh no"

24) Your least favorite type? Someone who only talks about themself

25) What's your treasure? The wallet I received from Tsumabuki-san

26) The ideal self that you desire to be? I want to be liked by many people

27) What's your "theme song"? Recently it's been that I'm the "most powerful king"

28) Your favorite artists? WATWING, the Carpenters, Eric Clapton, GENERATIONS

29) What do you do when you first wake up in the morning? Put on my glasses

30) What do you do right before bed? Put on the radio

31) What habits do you do unconsciously? Touch my nose, do things like suck on the end of a straw

32) What do you usually perform at karaoke? I tend to sing alot by SMAP

33) What foods do you not like? Shiitake mushrooms

34) What's your favorite thing to drink? Mets Grapefruit

35) What was the first CD you ever bought? Jet Coaster Romance by KinKi Kids

36) What do you like to watch and what's your favorite anime? Great Pretender, soccer games

37) How long does it take for you to bathe? 1 hour

38) What's your favorite season? I don't do well with heat

39) When do your emotions become intense? They don't

40) What are your hobbies? Muscle training

41) Do you cry easily? When I feel like it

42) Do you have a pet? What's it's name? I had one. It was a cat named Chaco

43) How many children do you want? I want two. A boy and a girl

44) What's the first thing you look at when entering a convenience store? The bento corner

45) What do you usually buy from a convenience store? Water and spicy ramen

46) What really makes you angry? Nothing much

47) What's the number one thing you want right now? Muscles! (laughs)

48) What have you been secretly interested in recently? The Korean language

49) What's the one thing you'd take to a deserted island? A lighter

50) How do you relax at home? Burn incense and listen to some records

51) What's necessary for world peace? Love

52) What do you wonder about? Why is there a Ladies Day, but not a Men's Day?

53) What would you do if the world ended today? I'd overdo things as usual

54) S? M? I wouldn't say I'm an M💦

55) What's your phone background? Currently it's King-Ohger (for the past 2 months)

56) What animal would you compare yourself to? Some kind of reptilian I guess

57) What are you into these days? Cilantro

58) What do you like to collect? Miniature food sets

59) What's your favorite scent? White musk types, Savon by SHIRO

60) What's something expensive that you bought recently? A vintage varsity jacket

61) How often do you go out shopping? At the very least I go out once a month

62) Can you cook? I do it often

63) What kind of present would you be happy to get from a friend? I'd be happy with anything

64) What would make a girl happy if you gave her a present? Aesop

65) What's your fetish? Legs

66) What would the ideal confession be? Saying it on the way back home after going out for meals a few times

67) At what age do you want to marry by? Hopefully by 40 (laughs)

68) What's something good you do for your body? I go to the gym

69) What's something you always have on you? Chapstick

70) What's the ideal spot for a date? A buffet

71) Which do you prefer? The sea or the mountains? Both the sea and mountains have alot of bugs

72) What scares you? Roller coasters, horror, cockroaches

73) When does your excitement rise? When my work goes well

74) What's your favorite place? Home

75) What's your favorite store? It's a secret ❤️

76) Are you a meat eater? Vegetarian? Are you a fan of cabbage rolls? I eat bugs

77) What's your favorite onigiri topping? Salmon roe

78) What do you usually get at a cafe? I don't go to cafes

79) What's something tasty you've eaten recently? The umeboshi Fukuyama-kun gave me

80) What have you been paranoid about recently? That a big earthquake will hit Tokyo

81) Where do you start washing your body from? My head

82) What's your favorite type of fashion? Things that give off an "American casual" feel

83) At what moment do you fall in love with someone? Sometimes it's not really apparent

84) What words make you happy to hear? "Your performance was good"

85) What's your favorite movie? Grave of the Fireflies

86) What person do you really want to meet right now? Ninagawa-san

87) What's something that's alittle luxurious? Sushi that doesn't come from a conveyor belt

88) How would you describe yourself with a single (kanji) character? "Think," because no matter what I do or say, I have alot to think about.

89) How long does it take you to get up in the morning and leave your house? On a work day it takes 20 minutes. I usually don't go out on my days off (laughs)

90) What changes your mood? When I'm left out

91) What would you consider (if they did) to be cheating on you? If they did a deep kiss (laughs)

92) Are you sensitive to the heat? To the cold? I don't like either

93) Emails or phone calls, which is better? Writing is best

94) What do you frequently use on your phone? Instagram, Twitter, Uber

95) How old were you when you first fell in love? What kind of person were they? It was a kid who lived in my neighborhood when I was in my second year of elementary school.

96) What gestures do women do that make you feel excited? When they put their hair behind one ear

97) Are you enjoying work right now? I want to have fun (laughs)

98) What's your favorite TV program? Programs that only feature comedians

99) What's your favorite sport? Soccer

100) What's your least favorite sport? Baseball

101) Are you the type of person who likes park rides that cause you to scream? I don't do well with them, but if I'm asked to ride one, I will (laughs)

102) Are you good at athletics? I think I'm a good at it

103) What do you take photos of? Tsukemen and sushi

104) What's your favorite flower? Gerbera

105) What's your favorite event of the year? It's New Year's Eve, I'll have a party with my friends and we'll eat alot

106) What's your top 3 favorite stalls at a festival? Beef skewers is #3, grilled squid is #2, okonomiyaki is #1

107) What was your most stressful experience? Performing on opening day for Shintokumaru

108) Your favorite donburi? Beef bowl

109) Are you good with your hands? I wonder~?

110) How long do you sleep in a day? About 3-7 hours. I sleep alot longer on days when I don't work

111) Is your sleeping position good? I think it's okay

112) What's your favorite ramen? I love tsukemen. I have a "cat's tongue" though

113) What color would you compare yourself to? Purple

114) Do you like scary stories? I don't like them in any way (laughs)

115) What subjects were you best at? Gym and art

116) What club activities were you involved in? The soccer club in middle school and the dance club in high school

117) If you were reborn, would you rather be male or female? I'd still want to be male

118) What part time jobs have you had? A bread factory, an Izakaya, a festival stall

119) What do you want to do when you're 40? Meet fans at events

120) What were your favorite school lunches? Nanbanzuke, meat sauce

121) Have you ever seen a ghost? I might've (laughs)

122) What's something you'd like to try that you've never experienced before? Travel overseas

123) Where would you like to take a trip to? Hot springs, Korea, Italy

124) What's your favorite ride at an amusement park? The exploration based ones

125) How many times in one day do you send emails? Currently, I exchange about 30-50 LINE's a day

126) Were you the type of person who finished their Summer homework early? I always felt like I was rushing to finish it at the last second💦

127) Are you more likely to arrive early for a meet up? Or do you arrive late? For work I'm early, in my private life I'm late

128) If you want to go out with someone, how many years older are you okay with? I've never thought about it in terms of age

129) What's an essential item you need when traveling? Earphones

130) What do you do when you can't sleep at night? There are so many things that I'll just give up. I actually thought about this questionnaire when I couldn't sleep (laughs)

131) What do you think about while brushing your teeth? I imagine that there's red paint on my teeth, and then I'll imagine how I have to get it off

132) If you only had one week left to live, what would you do? I'd eat a bunch of the foods I like. I'd meet up with the people I like as much as possible. I'd leave a secret audio farewell message for everyone

#smap and kinki kids...yano-chan my king 🤝#some of these questions though 💀#toku cast #ohsama sentai kingohger #kingohger #super sentai #masato yano #yano masato #racules husty #racles husty #my scans #my translation #ohsama sentai king ohger #king ohger #toku cast pb #as a personal photobook I didn't want to scan all pages #I just did a few of my favorites #note: I misunderstood the context to one question #please check the notes

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haoluvr · 2 years

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smut prompt list!!!

pls request one member + max 2 prompts!!

favs are in italics!

no. of reqs: 34

—

1. “ sit still or ill stop”

2. “does it get you hard knowing our friends are ten feet away?”

3. “touch yourself for me”

4. “aw baby why didn’t you tell me, i could’ve helped you”

5. “aw is my baby getting tired? here, i’ll help”

6. “baby, i have somewhere to be stop trying to fuck”

7. “louder, they need to hear who can get you like this”

8. “you know what you’re doing”

9. “you’re only acting like this because i’m not giving you my strap”

10. “i came so hard last night just from a picture of you”

11. “did i say you could cum?”

12. “move your fucking hand”

13. "i'd hold onto something if i were you"

14. "let me give you a reason to stay in bed"

15. "please don’t stop"

16. "look at what you do to me"

17. "if you want to come, you better beg"

18. "if you insist"

19. "get on your hands and knees, right now"

20. "i just want to please you"

21. "i’ve never wanted to fuck you more than i do right now"

22. "i’m afraid i can no longer remain professional"

23. "i’ll let you do anything if you just touch me right now”

24. "i promise i’ll be good"

25. "i told you to stay still"

26. "maybe i need to remind you of your place"

27. "be a good boy and spread your legs"

28. "don’t worry i’ll take good care of you"

29. "don’t tempt me"

30. "don't make me take you home and punish you"

31. "would you just shut up and kiss me already"

32. "try to stay quiet, understand?"

33. "we’re in public you know"

34. "did you touch yourself while i was gone?"

35. "are you trying to turn me on or are you really that oblivious?"

36. "you make a sound and it’s game over"

37. "were you just masturbating?"

38. "want help with that?"

39. "if we get caught i’m blaming you"

40. "if you don't like my teasing, then why are you moaning?"

41. "i’m going to fuck you so hard you forget that person’s name"

42. "how quickly can you cum?"

43. "i want them to fuck you, just so you know i can do it better"

44. "no one can ever find out about this"

45. "if i have to pull over, you won't be able to walk for a week"

46. "what are you going to do about it?"

47. "why so shy?"

48. "don’t worry. i’ll make you feel really good"

49. "i need you. now."

50. "i want you to touch yourself

51. "do it like you always do"

52. "oh don’t mind me. just enjoying the view"

53. "don’t cover your face, i want to see you"

54. "you were always the quiet one"

55. “use your words, baby”

56. "you can give me another one, can't you baby? for me, please?"

57. "you can pretend all you want, i can see the fucking mess you're making of yourself."

58. "did i give you permission to do that?"

59. "you're so filthy... all this for me? how cute."

60. "what pretty noises you're making for me… am i making you feel good?"

61. "cry all you want… i'm starting to think you're enjoying this."

62. “i won’t bite. unless you’re into that kind of thing.”

63. “it’s hot when you talk back to me”

64. “you look good with my hands around your throat”

65. “if you called just to get off on my voice, i’m hanging up”

---

#sub!seventeen #seventeen smut #seventeen imagines #sub!idol #sub!mingyu #mingyu smut #sub!minghao #sub!svt #dom!reader #smut #smut prompts

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foxofninetales · 4 months

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Liu Sang Watcher’s Guide - Part 18

Man In the Rain. No, Not That Rain, the Other Rain

Link to part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Interlude | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |

Season 2 Episode 16

15:00-21:05

i.e., I hope everyone enjoys dim lighting, whoo!

Wu Xie contemplates mortality. That this also involves contemplating a sleeping Liu Sang is the silver lining in a rather depressing cloud.

Look at these little sleeping beans, aren't they cute. Good thing nothing bad will ever happen to them.

Wu Xie sneaks out alone to continue his quest, as if every single person present isn't 100% expecting him to do that.

This is the closest I could get in still image of capturing the stupidly adorable little smile Liu Sang gives as he catches up with Wu Xie - part smugness at Wu Xie's inability to sneak past his hearing, part resigned amusement at Wu Xie himself.

As Liu Sang acknowledges that Wu Xie is in the final stages of his disease, and Wu Xie says he knows he won't be allowed to go alone, the elements oblige with thematically appropriate rainfall.

Wu Xie asks Liu Sang to get the others out safely and not follow him. He pats Liu Sang's shoulder as he leaves, which has approximately the same affect that it would have on a lonely rescue dog.

Liu Sang watches him walk off with the rest of the Iron Triangle and tries to figure out where he went wrong and started Having Emotions.

Bai Haotian wakes up and realizes Wu Xie is gone. Liu Sang looks guilty (and extremely pretty).

…that's right. Break it to her tactfully.

I'm sorry, how am I supposed to pay attention to plot when he's sitting here being this pretty?!?!

23:52-24:34

Liu Sang and the others watch from a distance as Boss Jiao discovers their recently-vacated hideout, right before Hei Xiazi leads Boss Jiao's men away to try to give the others time to escape.

28:26-32:25

It… does not work. Everything is terrible and everyone is bound and on their knees and Hei Xiazi and Liu Sang stare at each other and intently say each others' names. The author would say that this awoke something in her but let's face it, that happened several episodes ago.

If Liu Sang had a dime for every time he is tied up and sees his team-mates taken out in front of him, he would have TWENTY CENTS TOO MUCH. (Good thing they were only SUPERFICIAL WOUNDS and everyone involved is COMPLETELY OKAY at the end of the series.)

At least this time he has a little more leverage, and bargains his cooperation to help find Thunder City for Xiao Bai's life.

The one silver lining is that we get treated to his 'ooooh parceling that new trauma away for later because for right now screw you' expression.

The author just wants to hug everybody, and it's only gonna get worse from here!

Next time: Blood is like drama-mouthwash, right?

Gifset posts from this episode: Man in the Rain by @ohsehuns

*Please feel free to use any of the screencaptures from these LSWG posts for your own purposes - crediting is appreciated but optional.

#dmbj #the lost tomb reboot #liu sang #liu sang watcher's guide

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widowromanova · 10 months

Text

Natasha Romanoff smut prompts for you guys to choose from!!

Send requests with the prompt number:

1. You can take it.

2. Hands behind your back.

3. Breathe through your nose.

4. I like it when you talk like that

5. You're really red right now

6. You call that jealousy? Believe me, if you can still feel your legs, then I'm not being jealous.

7. I never thought I'd hear you say that, fuck, that's hot.

8. Keep going, just like that.

9. Be good for me and I'll untie you.

10. You're still horny? Didn't I fuck you hard enough last night?

11. Want some help with that?

12. You're so fucking hot when you're mad.

13. What? Does that feel good?

14. If we get caught I'm blaming you.

15. Tell me again.

16. You have no idea how much I want you.

17. If you don't like me teasing you then why are you moaning?

18. Don't give me that look.

19. Please make it rough.

20. Use your teeth.

21. You can get louder, can't you?

22. I could use a hand..

23. So.. I noticed you're kinda naked.. Is that intentional or..?

24. I think I've made my intentions clear.

25. I know a workout you might actually enjoy.

26. Leave the heels on. Just the heels though.

27. I could just pull your panties to the side.. no one will notice.

28. Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?

29. Let me show you why you should stay in bed.

30. Do you like it when they watch?

#smut #marvel #mcu #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff smut #lgbt #wlw #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha x reader

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writing0305 · 5 months

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Prompts.

Fluff.

“If you tell me what happened I can fix it. Whatever it is.”

2. "This cake reeks of resentment and bitterness." - "When we get to the party I'm going to need you to stop talking like that."

3. "Nothing could ever change how I feel for you."

4."I think I might love you."

5. "I can hear your heart beating, relax."

6. “Can… can I have a hug? Please?”

7. “Your mouth says you don’t like me but the way you stare at me tells me everything I need to know.”

8. "I think this is the part where you're supposed to kiss me"

9. "You know, ever since I saw you that day, I haven't stop thinking about you."

10. "Everything would be a lot easier if you fucking sat still."

11. "Glad to see that you decided to show up." - "I knew you'd be bored without me here."

12. "This may not mean much to you, but I have your back."

13. "There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you."

14. "You need to know that I have grown to care for you. Deeply."

15. "Your jacket smells like you." - "Is that a good thing?" - "It’s… It’s comforting."

16. "I trust you. More than anyone else."

17. "I would do anything to keep her safe."

18. "You put a blanket over me when I was sleeping? What are we, an old married couple?"

Angst.

"The only thing about you that never disappoints, is your ability to disappoint."

2. "You couldn't live with your own failure, and where did that bring you? Yeah, right back to me."

3. “Holy shit… that’s a lot of blood...”

4. “Are you okay? does anything hurt? who did this to you?!”

5. "I don't want to see you!" "You can't be serious."

6. "You don't answer my texts or calls, how could I not be suspicious?" "No, you just don't trust me enough!"

7. “Who was that?”

8. “Just a friend, huh?”

9. “You two are so close, it’s adorable.”

10. "You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down"

11. “Please, tell me this isn't your blood.”

12. “You were never going to tell me, were you?”

13. "I get everything I want"

14. "Get the fuck away from me."

15. "I don't know why I am upset about this so much. I never even liked him!"

16. "You know what's the saddest part? There was a time that I would've forgiven you if you just showed a little remorse. No more, though. I'm no longer a fool."

17. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

18. "... who did this to you?"

19. "...who's this?"

20. "What. the. fuck. is going on in here?"

21. "I need answers and I need them now."

22. "So, what's going on between you and [name] recently? You guys seem to have gotten close all of a sudden."

23. "Why are you so worked up?" "Because they wouldn't stop fucking staring at you like they wanted to eat you."

24. “I can’t leave you alone for one second without you hurting yourself, can I?” - “I mean, I’m fine so it’s okay—” - “No, it’s not okay. Not when I feel like I’m going to go batshit fucking crazy, thinking you’ve hurt yourself.“

25. "You lied to me. was i just a pawn in your game? the easiest one you can sacrifice ?"

26. “Why are you mad?” “I’m not mad, I just think you can choose better people to kiss.”

27. “You know I’d do anything to have you stay by my side, right? Anything.”

28. “I’m not even gonna lie, I’m just so fucking obsessed with you.”

29. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. "

30. "I wouldn't do that if i were you. "

31. “They would be so mad if they found out.” “fuck ‘em”

32. "You have no morals, you know that?" - "Morals will get you killed someday, dear.”

33. “Have you ever cared about anyone other than yourself?”

34. “How did you do that?”

35. ”Where were you last night?”

36. “He deserves to die after what he did to you. And I’ll bring it to him.”

37. “She's my date. Fuck off.”

38. “Why was he talking to you?”

39. “You won't go anywhere with him.”

40. “He touches you again and I won't guarantee you I won't kill him immediately.”

41. “You go near him ever again and I'll kill him.”

42. “Whether you like it or not, you're safest with me.”

43. “Yeah, I killed him! He used to hit you! What did you expect me to do?! Leave him alone?”

44. "I didn’t know where else to go. "

45. "Clean yourself up. You're getting blood all over the place."

46. "Why are you avoiding me?"

Pregnancy/Children.

“Our babies would be so cute.” - “Oh, yeah?”

2. “Wait- we’re having a baby?”

3. “Heartbeats? Plural? There’s more than one?!”

4. “That baby is lucky to have you as a mother.”

5. “Your child has been kicking me all day.”

6. “You’re doing so well sweetheart. Just a few more weeks. My superwoman.”

7. “Go easy. You are carrying my child.”

8. "Of course I'm pregnant! Can't you see that?" - "Well, I didn't want to assume and be rude."

9. "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

10. "Well, we both made that baby." - "Don't remind me."

11. “I have a kid?”

12. “He/she’s mine too.”

13. “Anyone fucking hurts my kid again, I’ll kill them.”

14. “I have a right to be in my kids life.”

15. “How could you hide this from me?”

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izzyspussy · 5 months

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My Whumptober 2023 Fills Masterlist

Day 1: Our Love Is God, Ed/Izzy + Swooning Izzy was the Other Woman (in need of rescue and/or threatening) first. Rated M.

Day 2: the loving needs the bleeding, Richie & The Losers + Delirium [the one where Richie gets sick and hallucinates Pennywise]

Day 3: Kill Shelter, Izzy & The Crew + Solitary Confinement (Not) Hornigold used to use solitary confinement for punishment. But Ed's not like Hornigold. They're so different, in fact, you could even say they're opposites. Rated E.

Day 5: my lamb and martyr (this will be over soon), Ed/Izzy + Pinned Down Izzy gives Edward another piece of himself. At request. Rated M.

Day 6: At Capacity, Ed/Izzy(/Frenchie) + Made to Watch Blackbeard calls Frenchie into his cabin while he's... doing stuff to Izzy. It's a test. There's no right answer. Rated E.

Day 7: [untitled], Izzy & The Crew + Radio Silence [the one where Izzy goes psychologically mute]

Day 9: Plan to Entangle, Frenchie/Izzy + "You're a liar." When the crew insists despite Ed's violent protestations that love is real - Izzy's love, in particular - he demands that one of them make the ultimate sacrifice to prove it. Rated E.

Day 12: another kind of love, Ed/Izzy + Insomnia Ed wakes up from the nightmare in Stede's arms. He knows in reality it's just his own sweat, but he feels like he still has Izzy's blood on his hands, dripping down his face where Izzy in the dream had touched him for the last time. Rated T.

Day 13: Just A Word (I Heard), Ed & Izzy + "I don't feel so good." Ed and Izzy have a talk the morning after their night in pink. Rated T.

Day 15: A Lot to Unpack, Izzy & The Crew + "I'm fine." The crew finally get a chance to Talk It Through, like Izzy wanted. Sort of. Rated T.

Day 17: [untitled], Jamie/Cheryl Barnaby + Touch Aversion [the one where Cheryl wins Jamie in the charity auction when he's just come back to Richmond; on his "date" with her he gets nervous and upset and traumadumps on her, and she backs off and comforts him and has a grown-up kink and consent sex ed 2.0 talk with him. He feels so much better he wants to be intimate, so they hook up. She tells him he can brag, which he does to everyone else's chagrin.]

Day 18: where we begin and end, Ed/Stede/Izzy + Blindfold [the one where Ed and Stede blindfold Izzy and pretend he can't tell which one of them is touching him, because Ed is insecure about treating Izzy nicely] Rated E.

Day 20: hold me fast, Izzy & The Crew + Found Family The grey area is gone. After this, Izzy is one of them. Rated T.

Day 21: [untitled], Ed/Izzy + "Don't move." [the one where Ed does verbal bondage dub con apology body worship on Izzy instead of just saying sorry like a normal person] Rated E.

Day 25: The Changing Water, Ed & The Crew + Storm [the one where they hit a storm and have no choice but to have Ed steer even though it makes everyone very upset] Rated T.

Day 26: don't start counting, Roy/Jamie + Working to Exhaustion [the one where Roy overworks Jamie as a negotiated non-sexual BDSM punishment, that turns sexual during aftercare] Rated E.

Day 27: Light The Candle, Stede/Izzy + Scars When Stede accidentally spills candlewax on Izzy, his first pirating lesson becomes a kink lesson instead. Rated E.

Day 28: ghostin', Izzy & Ivan + "You'll have to go through me." While tending to his amputation wounds, Ivan warns Izzy that he and some of the other crew members brought over to the Revenge from the Queen Anne are planning a mutiny and invites him to join them. Izzy refuses, as Ivan knew he would. But he had to offer. Rated T.

Day 29: that four letter word, Roy/Jamie + "What happened to me?" Jamie doesn't want to be the first to say it out loud. He asks Roy to say it for him. Rated T.

Day 30: Foreshadow, Roy/Jamie + Bridal Carry Cartrick is too intimidated to tell Rupert no. Rated T.

Day 31: [untitled], Jamie & Isaac + "Take it easy." [the one where Jamie tries to get one of Isaac's legendary haircuts, but has a panic attack instead] Rated T.

Alternate #2: some place where there isn't any trouble, Jamie & AFC Richmond + Aftermath of Failure When AFC Richmond is in Manchester to play United, Jamie Tartt turns up at their hotel looking like a puppy left in the rain. Rated T.

Alternate #3: Final Round, Jamie & James + Brass Knuckles Jamie doesn't just fight back this time. He wins. Rated M.

Alternate #9: Tusk, Ed/Izzy + Drugging [the one where Izzy does rhino horn with Ed out of desperation to spend some time with him and it gives him a headache] Rated T.

Alternate #11: [untitled], Roy/Jamie + Panic [the one where Roy has Phoebe at the club because she's out of school for behavior and he yells at her and makes a sudden movement towards her in front of the lads. Jamie says "Don't do that," and Roy stops but tries to say Phoebe's fine with it until she bursts into tears. He immediately apologizes to her, frantically, mentioning what Jamie said about grabbing for her. She 'corrects' him, saying Jamie actually told him not to yell at her. He agrees of course, apologizes again, gives her a big hug, promises he won't anymore. Then he notices that Jamie is having a time of it, with his whole head stuck into his cubby. He sends Phoebe off to see the other coaches to 'decide on his punishment for upsetting her' and then asks Jamie if he owes him an apology too. Jamie insists Roy didn't do anything to him. Roy insists he does; he hurt Phoebe's feelings yelling at her, and he scared Jamie making that sudden move. He comes closer to apologize, touches Jamie's shoulder very lightly, and Jamie jumps hard enough to hit his head on the cubby. He curls his arms around his head, still in the cubby, but Roy slowly manages to pull him out, saying "Let me see." He tells Jamie he's sorry and gives him a big hug too.]

Alternate #12: Among Thieves, Lucius/Izzy(/Ed/Pete) + Broken When Ed tries to ask Izzy if he still loves him but chickens out and asks if he still belongs to him instead, Izzy gets understandably pissed and suggests to Lucius that since pushing Ed overboard didn't make him feel better he should try stealing from him. Specifically, he should take something Ed hasn't properly appreciated having. Like Izzy. Rated E.

Alternate #15: The Nines, Ed & Izzy & Jim + Reluctant Whumper [the one that's a split scene of Hornigold making Ed whip Izzy in the past + Ed making Izzy whip Jim during the Kraken era] Rated M.

View the Full Collection on AO3 -> (Collection includes bookmarks of Whumptober fics by others that I recommend!)

#jack facts #my fic #ofmd #izzy hands #blackhands #ouizzy #stizzy #ted lasso #jamie tartt #royjamie #sprigghands #whumptober #whumptober 2023

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jpitha · 1 year

Text

Just a Little Further 34

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Janais stands. "Come. It is time for bed. The hour is late. I shall call what residents are left here and we shall all return to the Reach. There we can plan our next steps."

"We?" I look up at Janais. She looks down her nose back at me.

"I may not be Empress anymore, but I am still a Builder. You only have what... 5 Builders in total now?"

"4 Actually."

"Oh, That's right, your prisoner is not yet a Builder."

Yet?

Raaden crosses her arms and makes a face.

"Regardless, you need all the help you can get. I shall come with you and remain a Builder and assist you in your task."

"My task?"

Janais looks at me like I'm an idiot. "Rebuilding the Empire and ruling it as is your right. You need people, you need starships, you need Builders. It is a large task, but not an impossible one. It's been done before, it can be done again."

"Wait, wait, what does this mean? Am I going to have to go out and... conquer everyone?"

Raaden sighs. "We've been over this, Empress. They're not going to see a human that can use a Commanding Voice to make anyone who is around her do anything she wants as a friend. If you want to survive, the only option is at the top."

Janais nods. "Your prisoner is wise. You should make her a Builder. She would be an excellent commander of your fleets."

Both Raaden and I blink. "What? No. I can't be Fleet Commander here. For one, there's no fleet. For two, I'm from Venus. For three, MmEmpress would never allow it. I tried to take over here."

"And you failed, but yet you live. The Empress sees value in your still. She hasn't ordered your death, she hasn't even commanded your silence. She listens when you speak, even when you tell her things she doesn't want to hear. You are more valuable than you realize Helen Raaden."

I look over at her. Maybe Janais has a point. It would have been so easy just to order her to be quiet. But, she has experience, she is very intelligent. It would be stupid to throw away such a resource. Is it really just that she was on the wrong side all this time? She is incredibly ruthless.

We could use ruthless.

Ugh. This is going to cause trouble down the line, I just know it.

"Y̸̰̚õ̶̱u̴͚͛ ̸̢̌m̸̜̎a̴̢̎y̴͇͊ ̶͇̈́c̶̩̐ą̶͘l̸̙̓l̶̙̍ ̶̮̽m̵̝̊e̴̼̋ ̵̖͋M̵̟͝e̶̻̿l̴̯̅o̷̱̽d̷̹͆y̵̹͋.̴̻̑ Raaden."

Raaden snaps her head over to me and looks at me, eyes wide. "Why did you do that... Melody?"

Ava looks at me flabbergasted. "Yes, why did you do that Melody?

"Let's say that... you've earned it."

Raaden nods. "I did notice that you stopped calling me Helen after interviewing the crew. Who told you I hated that name?"

"Ginny did."

Raaden smiles gently. "Ginny is more observant than she lets on, good girl. It's not that I hate my name, I hate fake casualness. I hate when people use my first name to try and be friendly, when I don't want to be their friend and they really don't want to be mine." Raaden stood and stretched, and held out her hand. "Let's try this again. My name is Helen Raaden. Nice to meet you."

I stand and grasp the hand. "Melody Mullen. Nice to meet you too."

Omar gets up from his chair and starts walking around the room. "Okay, now that we're all best buds here, we need to figure out what we're doing. We're going to sleep here tonight, and tomorrow take everyone home? Empress Janais, how many people are left here exactly?"

Janais holds up a finger. "Builder Janais now. The only Empress here is Melody."

"Okay fine. Builder Janais, how many people are left here?"

Janais closes her eyes and for a moment looks far away. Do I look like that when I'm connecting to the Reach? Her head tips forward just a bit and her eyes snap open. "There are one hundred and twenty three people that I can feel. I think that's everyone."

"Call them here please. It may take most of the night to get them loaded safely. Tell them to bring only what they can carry. If there are precious things, we can leave them and come back. We're moving, not fleeing."

"Of course, Builder Omar." Janais closes her eyes again. "They have heard my call. They will be here shortly. Come with me, I will meet them with you and we can begin loading."

She stands and strides out of the room. Omar looks at me questioningly. I shrug. "Sure, go ahead." I appreciate him making sure I'm okay with it, but I can't think of a reason for him not to follow her lead. Omar shrugs too and hurries after her.

Starlight stands as well. "I will head back to High Line. I... am not comfortable here, I will sleep in my cabin. Good night Empress, Ava, Raaden."

Starlight walks out of the palace and it's just me, Ava and Raaden sitting at the table, alone.

Ava goes first. "Okay Raaden. It's just you and me and Melody. Why the hell are you with Venus? You know that everyone else in the galaxy thinks they're fascist assholes right? It's not a surprise?"

Helen looks down at the table. She then looks back up at Ava. "Venus is where I'm from Ava. I was raised in Regantown, I did ROTC at VPI, signed on right after graduation, majored in Leadership, the works. I've been steered towards the military from an early age. Most upper class Venusians are."

Huh, These are all things about Raaden I never knew. "Are you from a military family... Helen?"

She smiles slightly when I use her name. "Actually yes. My Dad was Rear Admiral Klein Raaden. He served for many years as part of the Inner Planet Defense Force, the IPDF. They handled the defense of the Mercury Array, Venus and Luna. Earth had their own force of course, and then from Mars out was the OPA. Dad was retired when Venus... struck out on their own. I remember being about 13 and Dad getting called back up to "serve his homeland." He... didn't think much of the Emperor at the time, or their ideals, especially around AIs. Dad had worked with and served with AIs for years. He thought AIs were fine and were probably the reason we were so successful with interstellar flight. But-" she pantomimed a salute, "-he was called to serve, and he did. Served until his dreadnought Redemption Arc was sabotaged by an OPA operative and crashed into the floating city Lavinia, destroying both. They sank into the atmosphere and lost all hands. Over one million people died."

My eyes go wide with recognition. "So your ship..."

"Was named for the incident that took my Dad, yeah." She gave me a wan smile and looked at both of us. "I was incredibly proud when I was given command of the Lavinia. It was only my second command. Nobody gets a dreadnought for their second command, that's usually an end of career thing. But 'the daughter of Klein knows what's she's doing' and so it was given to me."

"But all the anti AI rhetoric! They're sapient, have been for more than a thousand years. You must have known that stuff would have made you unpopular." Ava sounds conflicted. I wonder if she's trying to come to terms with the fact that Helen is... a person with good parts and bad parts and not just an attractive woman in a sharp uniform who she can just be labeled "bad guy" and stuck over in a corner.

She shrugged. "Well sure. That's for the folks at home. The AIs don't go to Sol much anymore. That makes it easier to make them out to be an enemy. Give the people a bad guy, and they concentrate on them and... less on you. Or the fact that Venus keeps losing ships and not getting more. They don't notice we've tried to take the Heinlein shipyards in the Earth L2 point three times now and failed every time. They don't notice how our trade deficit is eye watering. We are not self sufficient, not by a long shot. If everyone cuts off trade, we die, it's that simple."

"It's propaganda?"

"Mostly, yeah. Don't get me wrong, the Emperor hates AIs. He is absolutely convinced that they're behind every corner and are all actively plotting to overthrow him."

Okay, my turn. "What do you think about AIs, Helen?"

Her shoulders rolled gently. "I tend not to. I don't work with them, I don't interact with them. Other than the propaganda, I don't know much about them. I do worry that they'll decide we're just not worth the effort and try and take over, but the thought doesn't keep me up at night."

Raaden leans forward intently. "But what about you Melody? What do you think of them? An AI declared your captain unfit if I am remembering your story to Janais correctly. The AI, now in charge, left you here. An AI abandoned you to your fate."

I'm taken aback. "I-I-I mean, she was thinking of the mission and..."

"And what Melody? You just said that she didn't continue the mission. She went home."

Ava raises her eyebrows, surprised at herself. "Raaden... is right Melody. FarReach was scared of you. She only gave us a few minutes to grab our things. Omar and Um'reli came with me because their minds were already made up. Nobody else who was unsure got time to think about it. FarReach locked Q'ari in her cabin, declared her unfit and left."

Raaden sat back. "Sounds like you have your own reasons to not particularly care about AIs Melody."

I sigh. It feels like Ava and Helen are right, but it also feels wrong to agree with them. "It doesn't matter anywhere. There are no AIs on this side of the galaxy."

Ava gestured with her teacup. "You heard Janais, we might be all that's left on this side. We should go to the other locations she knew and see if anyone is there. If there isn't, then... well the other side of the Galaxy is where the action is." Ava looked worried. "Melody, I don't want to lose you. If the only way that you can ensure that you won't catch a sniper's bullet is to be in charge... then be in charge. I can think of worse people to rule."

"Easily" Raaden agreed. "Frankly Melody, if you're half the ruler I think you are, you'll be the best ruler that anyone alive has ever seen."

"Thanks Ava, Helen... I think. You really think I'd be a good ruler?"

Ava nods emphatically. "You're ruling over the Reach now and are doing great. Do you remember how nervous everyone was when we first showed up? Now they cheer you, and tell you about their families when we go for a walk and say hi."

"Believe me when I say, I've known Emperors Melody." Raaden looks around for something to drink, finds her tea and sniffs it. "You're a better ruler than any Emperor I know." She tosses her tea back. "Come on, I don't feel like sleeping in this mausoleum. Let's go back to High Line and sleep. We can make sure everyone is loaded up and leave tomorrow."

We stand and leave Janais' Palace for the last time.

Ava and I have a comfortable night in our cabin. It's not our rooms in the Royal Dawn, but Omar has really made an effort to make our cabin seem homey. I appreciate it. In the morning I left my cabin and almost ran into an Azurian standing in the hall. "Oh, I'm sorry, excuse me."

The Azurian looked up at me and stepped aside. "Empress."

I made my way down the hall to the Command Deck squeezing past people here and there. Thankfully, when I got there, the only people inside were Ava, Starlight and Janais. "Where's Raaden?" I walked up to Ava and bent down and gave her a hug while she was seated at a station.

"She said it was too cramped, and was going to stay in her room." Ava returned the hug quickly, but then bent back down to her terminal.

Starlight looked up at me. "Empress, this is going to be an unpleasant flight. High Line is overloaded as it is. We should get going quickly."

"Good idea Starlight. Omar, how soon can we go?"

"We're ready now. Ginny and I just finished loading everyone. It's tight, but we can do it in one trip. Actually..."

"Yes Omar?"

"Since things are so tight, and nobody wants to be onboard any longer than necessary do you want to give the wormhole generator a spin and link over?"

"Do we have the power for it?"

"Ginny says we have more than enough for a link of that distance. We could clear the Wilds and link over to the Reach in minutes."

"Okay then. I approve linking from here to Reach of the Might of Vzzx."

"Excellent. I'll let you know when we're ready for you to order it. Maybe another hour."

"We're going to use a wormhole generator?" Janais looks nervous.

Ava looks up. "They're common on our side of the Galaxy, we're using an existing design. It should be no big deal."

She is clearly trying not to look as nervous as she feels. "Then I defer to your judgement, Builder."

I spent the hour on the Command Deck. It was the only place I could have more than a meter on either side of me without risking bumping into someone. As we cruised between the Wilds and the Gate Omar came over the PA. "We have reached safe distance from the Wilds of Besmara. Empress, we can link to Reach of the Might of Vzzx on your order."

"Omar, please link us home."

"Aye Empress."

And... that was that. It was like any wormhole link back home. There was a flash of white, and we were back in the system that housed Reach of the Might of Vzzx. I let out he breath that I didn't know I was holding and...

I heard the screaming.

"What's going on? Omar?"

"It sounds like it's coming from the people from the Wilds. None of them have ever taken a wormhole link before. We forgot to tell them about the side effects."

The side effects.

When humanity developed the wormhole generators, it was discovered that about one in one hundred (now one in one thousand thanks to further refinement of the technology) for lack of a better word dies when we link.

It's not permanent at least. But those people swear they died and visited the afterlife. Usually only for a few moments, but enough people do it that it has opened up all kinds of new theological arguments that people thought were closed and gone millennia ago. It doesn't happen to me, or anyone I know, but from what I understand even when you're expecting it to happen, it can be a shock.

I look over to Janais and... she has tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Janais! Are you all right?" I rush to her side.

She turns and looks at me, wild eyed. "I saw her Empress! I saw my Aeche! She was wearing a beautiful gown and when she noticed me she smiled like a dawning star and walked towards me." Janais looked into the middle distance and continued. "She said "You have done it, just like I knew you would!" I said "Done what?" and she smiled and said "Found our salvation." and then I came back here." She chokes back a sob. "Tell me. Tell me Empress. What did I see? Did I see my Aeche waiting for me, or was is all a hallucination? Did I go to the Beyond, or was it a dream?"

I gently touch her hand. It's warm and soft in mine. "Janais... nobody knows. About one in one thousand people experiences what you just experienced. Nobody has ever been able to confirm if your soul really leaves your body, of if it's just some kind of... mirage. A side-effect of going through a hole in spacetime. People who... experience it have tried asking the people they meet, and they always get a cryptic answer, if they get one at all. In the end, everyone must decide for themselves if it's real or not."

Janais looks at me strangely. She reaches into her pocket and takes out a small handkerchief and wipes her eyes delicately. "Thank you Empress."

What? "You're welcome, but why?"

"You have enabled me to see my love again. I do not know if it is real or not, and right now I do not care. I got to see Aeche again, and she as so happy, so beautiful. If I have to wait seventy four years to see her again, it will still all be worth it." She wipes her eyes again and looks at the forward screen. "Is that the Reach?"

"It is, Janais. Shall we go home?"

She exhales, relieved. It was real. "Yes, Empress. I would like to go home. Let's build you an Empire."

Part 35

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #humans go on adventure #humans are space oddities #sci fi writing #writing #humans and ai #humans and aliens #the k'laxiverse #jpitha #just a little further

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