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ladykailitha · 1 year

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Can Anybody See Me? Part 10

Hey...you know how I said I had another fic I was working on that I planned on putting up the first part for today? Yeah...that didn’t work out. It needed a lot of heavy editing and because this got finished today with only minor edits, you get this instead.

Also...I realized that until this part...I never mentioned the name of the musical they’re doing. Ooops!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

To say Steve was nervous as hell would be an understatement. He had been in drama less than a month and now he was standing on the stage watching people mill around. And there was a lot of people. People who were taking measurements for costumes. Makeup and wigs people. Apparently kids from orchestra and band were going to be playing the music in the ‘pit’. Then there were people working on sets and up in the rafters checking the lights.

He had been to couple of plays on Broadway when he was younger. Of course he had. But he never knew how much went into making it look like magic when he was sitting in the audience.

A girl came up to him and squeezed his elbow.

“You’re Steve Harrington, right?” she asked.

Steve nodded, tongue tied from the sheer panic running through his body.

“I’m Janice Montgomery,” she said gently. “You’re friends with Gareth and them?”

Steve nodded again. “You must be the badass chick of the Hellfire Club.”

Janice grinned. “Oh good, you have heard of me.”

“A middle schooler I babysit for’s younger sister looves D&D so I try to talk you up as much as possible to piss her brother off,” he explained with a grin.

She laughed out loud. “Thanks. But I understand that this is your first time doing a play?”

“Acting in front of other people full stop,” Steve said, nodding.

Her eyes went wide and she tilted her head forward. “Please tell me you at least did the school play in elementary about the benefits of healthy eating.”

Steve scratched his face nervously. “Uh...that would be a no.”

“Fuck.”

Steve hung his head. “I really shouldn’t be here.”

She shoved his arm. “Miss Lucy isn’t the type of teacher to play favorites. Thomson isn’t a large role with a lot of blocking. Mostly standing in front of everyone else reading and being annoyed.”

Steve laughed. “I could do that, yeah.”

“See? You’ll do fine. You’ll dance for the major numbers, and then that heart-wrenching scene at the end.”

“Yeah, I auditioned with that scene, because it has both the singing and the acting in it.”

“Wow,” Janice said. “That’s impressive.”

Steve blushed. “Another middle schooler I babysit is in the drama club and asked him for pointers.”

“Well at least you know how to strategize,” she said. “Marty and I will help walk you through it. If have any questions come to either of us, okay?”

He nodded. “Thanks for this.”

The spot light lit them up and they both squealed from the sudden brightness.

Janice held up her hand over her eyes and screamed, “Eddie!”

Steve heard him cackle before the brightness was severely toned down. And then Eddie dropped down in front of them, landing deftly on the stage.

“Mr Munson!” Miss Lucy called out. “I appreciate your grace as much as the next person, but one day you will break straight through this old stage and the school will not replace it.”

“Harsh, Miss Lucy!” he called back.

She chuckled darkly and went back to her notes.

“That was cool,” Steve murmured.

Eddie grinned. “She is right about the stage though. I don’t think they’ve redone it since it was put in god knows how long ago.”

Steve smiled.

Janice raised an eyebrow and then cleared her throat.

Eddie turned to her. “Congrats on getting Abby, Miss Montgomery.”

“I just can’t believe Tammy Thompson got Martha Jefferson,” Janice complained.

“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her,” Steve said.

“You’ll hear her a lot,” Eddie said. “She has a song in the second act.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”

Eddie and Janice just stared at him.

“Or not...”

They burst out laughing.

“Hey, guys!” Marty said jogging up to them.

Everyone returned greetings of their own.

“So...I found out how Tammy got the part...” he said with a grimace.

“Oh no...” Eddie said. “This can’t be good.”

“Her mom is a seamstress and has offered to make all the costumes for free as well rent the wigs for a low price.”

Janice stamped her foot angrily. “With an offer like that I’m surprised she didn’t gun for my role.”

Steve looked between them confused. “I don’t understand.”

“Have you not seen 1776?” Marty asked.

Eddie and Janice turned to him and stared at him as though he had grown an extra head.

“Um...” Steve stammered, “well...I’ve been meaning to and I just haven’t got around to it, yet.” He scratched his cheek nervously.

“You mean to tell us,” Eddie said slowly, “that not only did you try out for a play you haven’t seen, you managed to get a fairly major roll for said play?”

Steve nodded, blushing a deep red.

“That’s it!” Marty cried. “You coming over to my house and we are watching it!”

Steve frowned. “How are we going to do that? I didn’t know they put plays on VHS.”

Marty clapped his shoulder. “You are in luck my friend because they did movie several years ago.”

“I guess...” Steve said shyly. “I’ll come over on one condition.”

Janice and Marty exchanged a knowing glance.

“What would that be?” Janice asked innocently.

“If Eddie comes too?” Steve bit the bottom of his lip and looked up at Eddie through his eyelashes.

Eddie blinked. “As long as it not on a Hellfire night, I’m down.”

Steve smiled softly.

“Is tonight good?” Marty asked.

Janice shook her head. “I work tonight.”

Steve shifted back and forth on his feet. “We could do it tomorrow at my place. My parents aren’t home and I have a big screen TV.”

“Sold!” Marty said.

“Yeah, man,” Eddie said rocking back on his heels. “That sounds cool.”

“I’ll bring the tape, Marty will provide drinks and Eddie the popcorn,” Janice said.

Steve looked uncomfortable. “You don’t have bring anything I’m sure I’ve plenty of stuff.”

Eddie wagged his finger at him. “Ah, ah, ah, Harrington. That’s not how movie nights work. Host merely hosts. Everyone else provides.”

Steve blushed. “Yeah, okay. Then you guys can explain the Tammy Thompson drama.”

Marty clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “It’s is sooo good.”

Steve just laughed.

“All right everyone!” Miss Lucy said. “It’s time for the read through. Mr Kincade, Mr Munson if you wouldn’t mind helping set up chairs?”

Marty and Eddie nodded. They gathered up as much seating as they could find. Those that didn’t have any lines sat in the audience around Miss Lucy, Mrs Lawson the dance teacher, and Mr Dent the choir teacher.

Steve pulled out his script and waited for his first line.

Eddie sat in the audience and Marty flopped down next to him.

“You’ve got it bad,” he said, nudging Eddie with his elbow. “He know about your proclivities toward members of your own sex?”

Eddie winced. “Tommy called me a fag often enough, but no. I don’t think he knows.”

Marty patted him on the shoulder. “You probably should tell him.”

Everyone showed up at Steve’s house around seven. Marty having picked Eddie and Janice up.

“I got some candy anyway,” Steve said as he led the way to the front room.

Marty and Eddie just shook their heads.

Janice rolled her eyes but they wisely said nothing. They all got set up and sprawled out on the couches.

Steve hit play and lost himself in the music. He laughed at the funny bits swooned when he supposed to, and got teary eyed at “Mamma, Look Sharp.”

“You clearly enjoyed that,” Marty said.

“It was good,” Steve said. “Not very historically accurate, though, right?”

Eddie grinned. “Nope. Barely even close. But it’s fun and over the top.”

“It certainly is that,” Steve chuckled.

“Okay,” Janice said rubbing her hands together manically. “Who’s hotter: Thomas Jefferson or Lyman Hall?”

Eddie tapped his finger on his lips. “Jefferson. Love the lighter hair and tall.”

Marty crowed. “Red heads are hot, but gotta give it to my man, Lyman Hall. When he slams Georgia’s vote to yay...mhmmm...that’s some good shit.”

Steve frowned. “You’re both wrong.” All heads turned to him in shock. “Charles Thomson and not just because that’s who I’m playing.”

“You think Thomson is better looking than Hall?” Marty asked, dismayed. “You can’t mean that.”

Steve shrugged. “Hall’s good looking, sure. Soft spoken, too. But there is just something about how the actor portrayed Thomson that just brought this strength that Hall didn’t have.”

Steve blushed. “Plus Jefferson is married and I don’t look at taken people. No matter how hot they are.”

Eddie leaned forward and put his fingers to his lips. “Steve, I need to you to be honest with us. We aren’t going to judge or flip out but...do you like like boys?”

Steve blinked. “I never really thought about it. I thought it was normal to talk about how attractive other dudes are. Me and Tommy did it all the time.”

Marty and Eddie shared a concerned glance.

Janice shook her head. ‘That’s not something straight boys do.”

“Then why were you asking us about who was more attractive?”

“Because we deemed you safe,” Marty said as if it was the simplest thing in the world, instead of the massive bomb it should have been. “I’m bisexual. I like both.”

“And I’m gay,” Eddie said bluntly, resting his elbows on his knees.

Steve blinked. “Oh. I’m not sure what I am, then.”

Janice put her hand his shoulder. “Hey, you don’t have to figure it out right away, Steve. I didn’t mean to make question your identity.”

“Just don’t freak out, man,” Marty said. “I don’t think I’m equipped to deal with water works.”

Steve cocked his head. “I mean, I guess. But there’s no reason to freak out about it. Yeah, I’ve used fag and queer as insults and that’s not good. Obviously. But finding out I like boys? Not as earth shattering as I thought it would be.”

“And you don’t mind us being queer?” Eddie asked.

Steve frowned. “No. And I understand your concern. But no. Of course not.”

Eddie nodded and then sat back.

“So you thought Tammy would want to be Abigail instead of Martha?” Steve asked Janice. “Because it’s the bigger role?”

Janice flopped back against the cushions. “Exactly. Abby has more lines, more songs, more stage time in general.”

Steve let out a chuckle. “Then you don’t know Tammy.”

Marty and Eddie leaned in.

“Oh, do tell,” Marty pleaded.

“She would want the ‘pretty’ role,” Steve said. “Especially if she’s basing her idea of the roles on this movie. Virginia who played Abby is gorgeous, but in an understated, has had six kids and worked her whole life kind of way.”

“But Blythe Danner is just straight up hot,” Marty said.

Steve snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Tammy is just vain enough to want the Martha role even though it’s smaller...”

“Because she’s prettier than me?” Janice asked incredulously.

Steve laughed. “I didn’t say that. I said that Tammy thought that.”

“Mine!” Janice said throwing her arms around Steve possessively.

Eddie’s stomach rolled. He looked away so he didn’t see Steve blush and shift uncomfortably under her affection. But Marty did.

“Hey, quit hogging the guy,” he teased. “There’s enough Steve for everyone.”

Eddie looked back to see Steve gently push her off of him. “I’ve got a lot people who already have claimed that title, you’re gonna hafta stand in line.”

Janice and Marty looked at each other in confusion.

Eddie pursed his lips. “It’s the kids, right?”

Steve nodded, but Marty and Janice’s looks of confusion didn’t clear.

“Stevie here babysits,” Eddie said grinning from ear to ear.

Steve laughed. “At least that’s what I call it so people don’t freak out. So until Eddie took me under his wing, most of my friends were thirteen year olds.”

“I take in lost sheep,” Eddie said. “Never took in a senior before. Or a former popular kid, it’s been quite the eye opener.”

Steve blushed and ducked his head. “I’ve never been more grateful to see a person in my life then when I looked up and saw you that day in Mr Vinke’s class.”

Eddie shoved his hair in front of his face and looked away, this time for a more pleasant reason then before.

Marty and Janice looked over Steve’s head and grinned.

Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21

Tag List: @shrimply-a-menace @strangersteddierthings @throwbackthrowaway @novelnovella @cursedfoxteeth @babyblender @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @swimmingbirdrunningrock @steve-the-hairrington @winterbuckwild @spectrum-spectre @matchingbatbites @garden-of-gay @anaibis @thing-a-ling @fandemonium-takes-its-toll @artiststarme @sundead @nelotegreitic @gregre369 @butterflysandpeppermint @thedragonsaunt @kodaik97 @messrs-weasley @scarletzgo @deadlydodos @renaissan-vvitch @evix-syne666 @emly03 @justforthedead89 @ashwinmeird @huniibee @phantypurple @stevesbipanic @shucks-yuckyuck @awkwardgravity1 @bookbinderbitch @reportinglivefromsoda @chasinggeese @be-the-spark-bitch @jinxjinn @kohlraedirectioner @cr0w-culture @xjessicafaithx @whimsicalwitchm @jaywhohasthegay @dangdirtydemons @lovelyscot @howincrediblysapphicofyou @the-redthread

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #canon divergence #the boy with the bat #ladykailtiha writes

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withlovemark · 2 years

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i'll follow you everywhere.

warning: idk? some parts are sad

pairing: steve x female reader, slight eddie x reader (again, not really)

words: 11k+ ; this is, by far, the longest thing i've written. that being said, im sorry if there might be small mistakes, i was way too lazy to edit it, im also sorry if some parts feel rushed (i was writing this under a time constraint)

settings: s4 ; so this contains s4 spoilers! (for those who haven't watched it yet)

an: i switched up some of the events that happened in s4 to better fit the reader's plot line. plus, thank you, in advance, to those who take the time to read this! sorry its ridiculously wrong ;-;

one. - everywhere, we were there

(an introduction to who the reader is and how she fits into the story, i suggest reading it first if you haven't already).

two.

steve walks into the gym, right behind heidi. immediately his eyes spot you in the crowd. you looked absolutely beautiful, your green uniform bouncing with every step you took, a wide smile etched upon your pretty face. heidi makes a comment about how it would suck for him if they finally won a championship game the year he was no longer a part of the team. he curses her in his head, thanking her for that reminder. she was right.

jason makes his speech, he has the urge to punch his stupid little face in. he’s sure anyone can see the look of disgust he’s currently wearing. ’he doesn’t even have great hair.’

tammy thompson starts singing and he takes a peek at robin, who was standing with the band kids, instrument in her hand. the pair laughing in their heads. heidi makes another comment, about how good she sounds, and this time he can’t help but roll his eyes. she was wrong.

he can’t wait for this to be over. all he wanted to do was grab your hand, get out of there and just drive. to where? who cares? his eyes search around for your figure once again. this time, unsuccessful.

the game starts.

you made a beeline for the restroom as soon as jason started his speech, nose dripping red. in there, you run into max. you haven’t seen her in a while. you shoot her a friendly smile. “you okay?” she asks, grabbing a tissue from her bag and handing it to you. “yeah, i’ve just been overworking my body lately so,” you pinch your nose, “this happens,” you shrug, the only reason you could think of.

“yeah, i get it,” she whispers, looking down at her shoes. you take the time to really look at her, she looks like she hasn’t slept for days. it was awful, what happened to her brother. even worse that she was there watching the whole thing go down. she’s too young. you should’ve shielded her eyes. you should’ve pulled her away from the scene. you didn’t do either of those things. a flash of guilt.

your thoughts are interrupted when you hear gut-wrenching noises from one of the stalls. eyeing it suspiciously, eyes darting from the stall and back at max, sharing a glance, an unspoken conversation. fear rising throughout your body. max makes the first move. she’s brave, that one.

“uhm, are you okay in there?” she yells out. whoever it was, started sobbing, incoherent noises spilling from their lips. that's when you walk over, banging on the door, “hey, open up, we can help,” your voice, gentler than your actions. you come face to face with none other than chrissy cunningham, your co-cheerleading captain.

“chrissy? what’s wrong?” you stare at her, shocked that she was the culprit.

“i-im just not feeling well,” she refuses to meet your eye. she looks so disconnected. it’s out of character.

chrissy cunningham was always composed, carrying herself with grace and elegance that you could only imagine.

you take one step closer and panic rises to her face, pushing you away, she marches out of there. dumbfounded, you watch her. sure, the two of you weren’t the best of friends but you were teammates. you work together. you help each other. and never, in your life, have you ever seen chrissy cunningham act so disoriented. “that was weird,” max breaks you out of your thoughts. “yeah…it was,” you agreed, staring at the door she walked out of.

much to steve’s dismay, the team won. he was still with heidi. he thinks you’re somewhere with jason. he tries to push those thoughts away, just wanting morning to come bring you in.

you don’t show up when the sun rises. the cops knocking at your front door, preventing you to do so “are you y/n l/n?”

“yes officer, is something wrong?” cops showing up at anyone’s house is never a good sign. you try to think of what you’ve done in the past 24 hours to have them standing in front of you.

“you’re chrissy cunningham's co-cheerleading captain, right?” you nod, a million thoughts racing in your head. your head was pounding.

“when was the last time you saw her?” you tell them you saw her in the bathroom just last night, leaving out the part where she looked absolutely terrified. you don’t exactly trust the cops. not when they haven’t been doing anything, choosing to turn a blind eye to the dangers that lie and continue to lie in town. he writes something down on his notepad and you can’t help but wonder why he’s here in the first place.

“im sorry… but why are you asking me about chrissy?” you question. his reply makes you go cold, body rigid. you may have been the last person to see her and you didn’t do anything. if only you questioned her more. if only you tried harder to lend a helping hand. if only you ran after her. then maybe the officer wouldn't have told you that “she was found dead this morning.” another flash of guilt.

meanwhile, steve doesn't even get the chance to wonder where you were and why you aren't at family video yet. dustin barging in, messing up his tapes in the process, and dragging him into yet another series of unfortunate events. something about eddie munson killing chrissy cunningham…or not killing chrissy cunningham? he’s not too sure. he doesn’t like eddie. but he will do anything for that cocky little shit, dustin. so he lets him drag him around town, robin and max in the backseat to eddie’s knife against his neck to nancy eventually joining them, trying to solve another mystery. at this point, he starts considering a field in law enforcement. why should he keep doing these things for free when the cops out there barely do their jobs and still make a higher salary than him. he’s so annoyed and all he wants is to go to you.

he wonders if you’ve heard the news. he hopes you haven’t. out of everyone here, you were the only one who had some type of bond with the blonde girl. he decides it's best you’re as far away from this as possible, especially since they have no idea what they're currently dealing with, just that it’s “some freaky, wizard monster” that goes by the name of “vecna.”

bickering. lots of bickering. to the point where he just finally gave in. the kids never listen to him anyways. here they were, in possession of a stolen key, breaking into the counselors office. “hurry up and get what you need,” he ushers the kids. max dashes towards the filing cabinet, trying to find something, anything, to explain what’s going on with her and how exactly it links to the story eddie told them about chrissy.

that’s when she found it. her name, chrissy’s name, freddie’s name and …

she glances at steve, worry in her eyes, sending goosebumps all over his skin. “what?” he asks, removing himself from the wall and walking towards her.

“y/n’s here too,” she says softly, afraid that if she said it any louder, it would be a truth they could never come back from. steve snatches the file from her, there, in capital letters, was your full name. a trick of the mind, he tells himself, reading it over and over again to make sure he wasn’t just envisioning it. you were seeing ms. kelly? you were having the same symptoms? and then it clicks. the headaches. the nightmares.

he’s terrified. color draining from his body, almost like he’s seen vecna himself.

a noise outside the halls snaps him back to defense mode. grabbing the nearest object he could find – a green lamp. good enough. he refuses to stay here any longer, just wanting to make sure you’re okay. he keeps the kids behind him as they slowly turn the corner. lucas sinclair. steve scolds him, “jesus sinclair! i could’ve taken you out with this thing!” as the boy muttered sincere apologies. their screaming stops to a halt when they hear yet another unwanted sound. crouching once again, turning off their flashlights, steve getting ready to hit whoever it was that was coming their way.

you heard him, you could spot who that voice belongs to a mile away. plus it wasn’t hard not to when no one else was supposed to be on school grounds. you followed the hushed voices and finally came face to face with four screaming faces. you scream back, hand clutched around your heart as soon as you notice the familiar individuals.

“what are you doing here?!” steve yells, hands slowly releasing the lamp that was once tightly gripped around his knuckles.

“what are you!?” it made more sense that you were here over a boy who’s already graduated. it is your school and you did have a key to the gym, being the cheerleading captain and all. don’t question it. strict authorities barely exist in hawkins anyway.

you look around, eyes darting from steve to the kids. there in max’s hands, you spot your name written on a brown envelope. an envelope you see every morning before your first period. eyebrows furrowing, “is that my file?” you question.

steve remembers where he’s at and the events that just transpired, his voice gaining your attention once again, “you’ve been seeing ms. kelly?” sympathy flashing in his eyes. you don’t want to see it, avoiding his gaze, looking at literally anything else but him. he takes that as a yes. “why didn’t you tell me?” desperation. he sounds heart-broken.

“that’s not exactly something to brag about,” you muttered, embarrassed.

“you don’t trust me?” he eggs on and you feel nothing but guilt. “you don’t want me to know who you really are?” you stare at him. his eyes are darker now and you wonder if your mind is playing tricks on you. “because you know i could never love you if you do.” you look behind him, the kids no longer there. and then you hear the chime of a clock from a distance, almost like it’s taunting you. “steve-”

“you know,” he clicks his tongue, cutting you off. “you’re the reason we’re here in the first place. why we're always running. always fighting for our lives. and now, chrissy cunningham is dead,” his voice morphing into something truly evil. chills spreading throughout your body. eyes, watering. “and it’s all. your. fault.” you can’t breathe. he was saying everything you were afraid to admit. the truth. it rings loudly in your ear. you run.

from the other side, steve stares at your unresponsive body. he thinks back to eddie’s words. taking two large steps until he was right in front of you, his hands going straight to your shoulders trying to shake you awake. “y/n, do you hear me!” he yells, the kids making their way towards you, calling out for you.

“wake up!!” his voice so loud, a hand on your cheek. his eyes trying to find some sort of life in your now, empty ones. that twinkle he was used to seeing, gone.

“y/n come on, come back!” he begs.

you finally do. letting out a gasp, eyes wide, catching your breath.

“what just happened?” you were back at the school, brown, worried, eyes boring into your very confused ones.

“fuck, you scared me,” steve whispers into your ear, wrapping you in his arms. holding you close to him. his heartbeat calms you down.

the sound of an engine coming averts everyone’s attention. “as much as i love seeing you guys all lovey dovey, we really need to go! that’s jason and he’s after me!” lucas panics. you quickly pull away from steve, feeling awkward at the kid’s comment, steve’s eyes remaining on you.

you have no idea what’s happening but the urgency in lucas’ voice snaps you into action. ever since lucas joined the basketball team, you’ve taken him under your wing, treating him like your little brother. you made sure to watch over him, keeping jason off his back. you’re not going to stop now.

“get out of here, i’ll buy you guys some time,” you declare, finding your voice.

“what?! no!” steve shakes his head “no way! i am not leaving you here! especially not with jason” he argues, rolling his eyes, hands on his hips. the kids look back and forth, wondering who they should listen to.

dustin makes the final verdict, whining, “steve, we have to gooo,” as he pulls on his arm.

“you guys just saw what happened right ?!” he’s frantic now “i’m not leaving without her. that’s final.” he looks down at the kids, standing his ground, arms crossed.

a car door shutting echoes throughout the night. “oh, for the love of god steve, go!,” you push him towards the exit. “i’ll meet up with you later,” you say, making your way to the entrance, heading straight to jason, not bothering to wait for a response. steve is furious, watching you walk the opposite direction, wanting to follow you but the three kids currently clinging unto him makes it hard to do so. he reluctantly follows, accepting defeat, but not before glancing at you one last time.

max looks back at you, only for a second, whisper-shouting a “meet us at the wheeler’s” before they’re dragging their favorite babysitter out of there.

“y/n?” jason‘s shocked expression greeted you. you were the last person he expected to find tonight. but the sight of you has his eyes softening. you feel bad for him. you’re not entirely sure why the kids are running from him. or why he’s suddenly the villain of whatever twisted situation you’re in. you don’t have time to question him, just wanting him as far away from the rest.

“hey jase, you ok?” it was a stupid question, you knew that. how could anyone who loved chrissy be okay in this situation. before he could answer, your eyes drift along to steve’s car that was getting further and further away. the blonde boy follows, a look of betrayal evident on his face as soon as he saw through your eyes.

“you were hiding sinclair?!” he yells at you. eyebrows furrowed. attacking. gaining your full attention.

“sinclair? i have no idea what you’re talking about,” you try to remain as calm as possible, making sure you don’t sound suspicious.

“where the fuck are they going?!” he’s so angry, his face turning a bright red, vein popping out, as he grabs your wrist, forcing you to look him in the eyes.

“i don't fucking know what you’re talking about jason!” you lose your cool.

“he’s hiding chrissy’s killer!”

“what?” you ask, stunned, you’re sure you didn’t hear that right.

“eddie munson. their cult leader. that stupid club they have — hellfire? well turns out, it’s not just a stupid club… they’re - they’re demonic!, they’re sacrificing people to satan and i need to stop them.” he sounds like he’s giving another one of his motivational speeches and if it wasn’t for the gravity of the situation, you would’ve laughed in his face. so fucking hard.

also, eddie munson — a killer? it’s hard to imagine. he’s incredibly annoying, sure, but he couldn’t even hurt a fly.

“do you realize how insane you sound right now?,” you reply, finally pulling your now, very red, wrist away.

“i’ll prove it to you. i will.” he growls, jumping back into his car, his minions right with him. driving away. you try stopping him, knocking on his car window, all he does is press on the gas a little hard, leaving you there, alone.

steve cannot believe he’s sitting on his ex-girlfriends couch, in her basement, instead of being by your side. robin and nancy are still out. he refuses to leave this house without seeing you. he’s anxious, every tick of the clock felt like a gunshot to his mind. his legs, bouncing. it’s been exactly thirty-three minutes and you still haven’t walked in. he really shouldn’t have left you.

damn, these kids.

“she’s going to be okay, steve, we’ll find a way,” dustin assured him, already feeling liable if anything were to happen to you.

“yeah but how about the whole vecna curse, we still don’t know anything” steve answers quietly, making sure the boy knows he’s not upset at him.

“you should tell her” lucas chimes in, “tell her what?” he looks at him, wondering what the boy knew that he somehow didn't.

“that you’re in love with her,” dustin says like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“i-im not in love with her!” he stutters.

“uh huh, sureee, ok,” max says from the desk she’s sitting on. she doesn't even look up at him yet he knows she’s rolling her eyes, her sarcasm apparent. she goes back to writing, or something, god knows what she’s doing.

“i’m not! okay!” he turns to dustin, his eyes bulging out, “you literally just confronted me earlier about being in love with nancy,” he points out, “newsflash guys, take it from an adult, you don’t have to have romantic feelings for every person of the opposite sex!” he explains, hands waving around in large motions.

“ohh kayy, we get it! you don’t have to be so defensive,” dustin comments and steve swears he wants to punch him as bad as he wants to punch jason. dustin’s fate is saved by the bell when you finally enter the room, capturing everyone’s attention.

steve was up in no time, walking straight towards you, arms embracing you. “are you okay? are you hurt?” he inspects your face. you pull your sweater a little lower, not wanting him to see your wrist.

“i’m fine, sorry i took so long i went home to change and grab some of my things, i don’t exactly want to be fighting another monster in my uniform,” you explain. he nods, noticing the duffle bag hanging from your shoulder, “you should’ve called me, i could’ve just picked you up,” you shake your head, “it’s okay, i’m here now.”

max walks up to you, immediately asking “back there, was that your first vision?”

“vision? uhm - i guess? yeah?,” at this point, you’re past confusion. you’re lost.

“ok. good. good. that means you have more time than i do,” they all nod. sadness enveloping the air.

“more time?” your eyebrows raising, sitting on the couch, steve right behind you.

“yeah,” max nods, “by the way, here,” she hands each one of you a letter, steve asking her what it's for. a “fail-safe” she said. you shake your head, closing your eyes for a second before taking a huge breath, “can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” you say it so calmly, it’s almost scary. you were drained. not having the energy to raise your voice.

they explain to you what they do know. starting with where eddie munson comes into play – how he was there the night chrissy died. the mention of chrissy’s name makes you wince, steve notices, his hand going straight to your knee, providing you some comfort. they continue, telling you that everyone vecna has cursed has had the same symptoms (headaches, bloody noses, nightmares) and every single one has died.

“well, isn’t that great,” you butt in. “just, peachy,” max adds and you try to force a smile though it probably just looked like you were hurt. you were the only two people in this room who really has a grasp on how scary this vecna wizard is. max goes on, telling you that she saw a tall grandfather clock in her vision. you confess, telling her you heard it.

“everyone died except for an old dude named victor creel that nancy stumbled upon, being the only known survivor,” dustin finishes summarizing. you try to take it all in, sitting there, staring at the objects on the table in front of you, processing every information.

“so what do we do?” you ask, looking around.

“we wait for nancy and robin,” steve replies, his grip on your knee tightening for a second. right at that moment, almost like everything was an act, the two girls are rushing down to the basement.

“okay, so,” nancy starts, “we have a plan.” determined.

robin spots you, “nice for you to finally join us,” she smiles, the first genuine smile you’ve seen tonight.

“yeah, well, i’m one of the cursed ones,” regretting your words as soon as you saw her face fall.

“oh shit.” no one knows what to say.

“what’s the plan?” an attempt to break the awkward, sad tension that hung in the air.

nancy coughs, “well..” she explains their plan of going to pennhurst asylum and paying a visit to victor creel by talking to the director about a made up thesis on paranoid schizophrenics. they would be going in as ruth and rose.

“ruth?” steve questions, eyebrows raised at nancy. she raises both her eyebrows at him, a proud smile on her lips. you don’t like the interaction. not one bit. but now’s not really the time to focus on that.

“wait..wait.. wait a second,” steve’s voice beside you raises, realization striking him, “where’s mine?” nancy gives him a knowing look before walking away. he runs after her and into her room. from a distance you hear, “you’re out of your goddamn mind if you think im letting you two go in there without me!”

“uhm, excuse you, robin and i actually make a really good team,” nancy scoffs. robin grabs your hand, following the duo into nancy’s room.

“oh my god, you have a tom cruise poster,” robin points out, going straight to the poster next to her bed. you think back to halloween night when the couple was dressed as lana and joel goodsen and you’re very aware what that poster symbolizes. you glance at nancy, she notices, “th-thats old,” she defended as she pulled several clothing items out of her closet. you felt so out of place. you’ve never really had a friendly relationship with the girl, pretending like you don’t know each other in the halls. you’re not even sure you’ve spoken a sentence to her before. there was just never a need to, ironic, since you’ve been on the same boat for so long.

steve continues insisting that he should go, “c’mon nance, i could, i don't know, i could turn on my…my charm,” he snaps his fingers. the use of nancy’s nickname slipping from his lips leaves a sour taste in your mouth. nancy shakes her head, “not the charm we need,”

“ouch,” he gets a quiet chuckle out of you, leaning against nancy’s drawers, eyes falling to your feet. steve looks back at you, nancy still going on and on about how they need to be as convincing as they possibly could, acting as academic scholars, the director they're going to interview being someone who is highly respected and not easily fooled.

“holy shit, there’s a ballerina in here,” robin whispers, gaining another eye roll from steve.

“academic scholar, she’s giving you academic scholar?” robin’s offended.

you come to her defense as quick as you possibly can, finally speaking up, “no, but…” you walk towards nancy, who was still looking at her closet, having a hard time to decide. “may i?” you ask, she steps to the side giving you a full view. you spot a pink dress, perfect for an academic scholar. pulling it out, you show it to the rest, a smile on your lips, “she will,” you finish, sending robin a wink. robin wishes she backed up steve. maybe then he would’ve taken her place and she didn’t have to be wearing nancy’s dress.

“how about you? you can go instead!” robin suggests in which steve aggressively refuses to, “no, what if she has a vision while you guys are there, how are you gonna explain that huh einstein?” he scoffs.

“it’s settled then, it’ll be me and robin,” nancy ends the debate, steve still looks unsure, but then he looks back at you and he knows he can’t, and won’t, leave your side.

“fine, but you call me as soon as you need me nance,” he ordered. his voice stern. a genuine look of concern so visibly seen. you wonder if he still loves her.

you wish the girls good luck. finding yourself back in the basement, on the couch. the boy’s watching over you and max. steve pulls you to the other side of the room, both of you getting comfortable on the floor, sitting side by side.

“do you want to talk about it?” he murmured, hands wrapping around yours. how do you even begin to tell him that he was the person in your vision? you simply can’t. so you shook your head no. he doesn’t press any further, “when you do… want to talk about it, im here, yeah?” he whispers by your ear, only for you to hear. you lay your head against his shoulder, eyes going straight to your interlocked hands. you wonder how long you’ll have this.

max makes her way to the both of you, cutting the moment short, walkie talkie in hand, “if we go to east hawkins, would this still reach pennhurst?” you know exactly what she wants to do. hell, you should probably follow in her footsteps and start saying goodbye to all the people you love. you’re not as strong as her though. you haven’t accepted it.

steve refuses, his eyes begs you to agree with him. you don't. it was four against one. and max makes a rather compelling argument about not wanting to spend her last possible day in the wheelers’ basement. you couldn’t agree more.

“henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach pennhurst,” he sighs, finally unlocking the car doors. it feels normal at first, you sitting in the passenger seat, steve behind the wheel. the kids in the back. the only thing reminding you of the situation you're in was the loudest silence that hung above everyone's head. steve steals glances at everyone through his mirror, making sure that no one has drifted far away. you all make it to max’s house, vecna-free and you thank whoever is up there for the few moments of normalcy. she enters her home, steve warning her not to take too long. max promises she’ll be back in twenty seconds.

the boys go out, making sure they keep an earshot away from max, the drivers seat window remains open, doing the same for you. you stay in the car, feeling like absolute shit. head leaning against the window, eyes closed, trying to relieve yourself from the current discomfort you were feeling.

“hey, hey, you okay?” steve’s voice hushly calls out for you. you open your eyes, ready to tell steve that you’re fine and he shouldn’t worry.

instead you were met with the most heartbreaking frown on the lips of the person you come face to face with. a cry, “why didn’t you pick me up that night?” will byers’ face come into view. “y/n, i called for you. i needed you. where were you?,” once again, you’re frozen, unable to move, “you’re so selfish!,” the boy now shouting at you, “useless!,” his voice gets louder and louder, morphing into that same evil voice, “it’s all. your. fault!”

“please, p-please stop,” you cry out. “you did this to me.” and then you feel branch-like hands brush against your cheek, “y/n…you brought me alive, you belong here, this is all your doing.” he’s right by your ear. the clock chiming again, this time, louder. you turn around, meeting vecna for the first time.

and then you were back to reality, gasping. eye’s scanning, hands going straight to the dashboard of the car, trying to reach for anything that can verify your location. you spot the boys in front of the car, still waiting for max as you try to calm yourself down. quickly, you wipe away the tears that have fallen, composing yourself as best as you could. you’re just glad none of them noticed. you keep it to yourself.

max finally walks out. she’s flustered. demanding steve to, “just drive.” he does. you look back at her, asking her if she’s okay. she doesn’t answer, focusing instead on the trees outside her window. you can tell by her actions that she must have had a vision. you’re sure you looked exactly the same way just a couple minutes before. you all sit in silence once again. driving until you were at the cemetery. max goes straight to billy’s grave, letter in hand.

this time, you sit outside with lucas, leaving dustin and steve in the car. “you okay?” you ask the boy. “no. im, scared,” lucas admits, eye’s immediately watering. you pull him into a tight hug. he’s always been so strong, so understanding to the people around him. seeing him like this hurts you.

“we’ll figure it out,” you say after finally releasing him.

“how are you so sure?”

“we always do.” you’re not really sure who you’re trying to convince. the boy or yourself?

steve anxiously taps on his car window before finally acknowledging that it's been long enough. lucas tells him to give her a bit more time. “i have, ok sinclair, if she wants to get a lawyer, she can, im calling it,” lucas shares a glance with you. this time, you agree with steve. he was out of there in no time, running straight to max.

“max, time to giddy up, yeah?” you hear him ask. no response. you hear him repeat her name. still nothing. he’s fully yelling for her to wake up now. in a second, the three of you are right by his side, all calling out to the ginger headed girl. steve grabs dustin by his shirt, ordering him to call nancy and robin. dustin runs back towards the car, stumbling a little bit, curses spilling from his lips. it takes incredibly long to finally get an answer, but once he does, dustin comes running back, bag full of tapes in his hand.

“what song?! what’s her favorite song?!” he yells.

“why?!” lucas yells back.

“it’s too much to explain right now. what’s. her. favorite. song?!” you all scramble trying to find the song lucas mentioned. he finds it. snapping it into the player, quickly placing the headphones on max’s head, hoping to god it works. she stands, eyes still white, you all watch in shock. and then she starts floating in the air and you’re afraid it’s too late. you find your voice, calling out to her, tears falling freely down your face. she was so high now. you look at lucas, ready to shield him away from the sight that was about to come. instead you hear a gasp, max was falling, hyperventilating. lucas holds her, she grasps onto him, whispering that she’s okay. that she’s here. you reach out your hand, your palm making contact with her knee. just making sure.

none of you can believe it worked. thank you, kate bush.

back in the comfort of steve’s car, he pulls something out of his glove box, placing it in his player. everywhere by fleetwood mac filling every corner of his vehicle. you’re shocked, you didn’t even know he knew your favorite song. steve glances at his rearview mirror, max has her head resting against lucas, kate bush still playing in her ears, dustin with his eyes closed, chest rising up and down, exhaustion creeping up on them.

“i promise we’ll get you your own portable player later,” he whispers, not wanting to wake the kids. you smile, “thank you,” before grabbing his hand and placing a soft kiss on his knuckles. he brings his hands up to your cheeks, “don’t scare me like max did, ok? ever,” he pleads, eyes begging. you don't promise anything. instead you held his hand a little tighter.

he finally drives back to the wheelers, lucky for you, mike had a perfectly working player he left behind. you and max, now matching, everyone hoping that as long as the music is playing, nothing can take you both away. that was the first night everyone really got to rest.

well, everyone except for the cursed two, the sound of blaring music getting ridiculous.

“what if i start hating this song, what happens then?” you joke around with the girl, max chuckles at your statement. “i'm hoping my other favorite songs works,” she continues, you teasingly gasp, “this is the only song i know.” you share a smile before everything got quiet. steve’s light snores right by your ear, your shoulder being his pillow for the night.

“have you seen him?” max asks you, breaking the silence once more. “vecna?” you nod. admitting to her that you had a vision in the car while you were at her mom’s house. she asks you what your visions were and after making sure that everyone was still fast asleep, you guys sneak out, sitting instead in front of the wheeler’s front porch. you tell her about your visions, she tells you about hers.

“if it helps, i can tell he’s completely in love with you,” max advised. a nice thought that you somehow can’t invite in. “he loves me as a friend,” you correct her. because if he ever did loved you as more than that then why was he still looking for love somewhere else?

“maybe he just doesn’t know it yet, let’s face it, he’s not really the brightest,” max urges. she earns a chuckle from you and you find yourself agreeing to the last bit, “no… he’s not,” you smile, picking at your shoes, “but i love him even more for it,” you confess. after a while of sitting in silence, the air gets a little too cold, you both head back inside, taking your place right next to steve, finally allowing your head to fall on top of his. arms immediately finding its way around your waist.

the next morning you all make your way to victor creel’s abandoned house right after nancy pieced together max’s drawings. the dark, cold house sends chills all over your body. the connection to vecna feeling a little stronger, you look at max to see if she feels it too only to find her already staring back at you. the only confirmation you needed. you knew the group was searching in the right place.

steve asks everyone where they got their flashlights, dustin quickly mocking him before you pull the extra one you packed in your duffel bag, handing it to him. he utters a small, “thanks,” shaking his head at dustin. max grabs everyone's attention, a flashlight shining on the grandfather clock you're sure has been the one you're hearing.

“you guys see that, right?” steve and dustin both assure her that they do. facing the clock makes you feel lightheaded, losing your step, steve’s hands making it’s way to your back, balancing you. you remove your headphones for a quick second, just wanting to calm the pounding of your head. as soon as you looked back up, the clock was no longer standing its ground. instead it’s become attached to the wall, chiming so loudly you think that the noise is actually coming from inside your head.

“you came to me, y/n…do you accept it now? your fate”

closing your eyes, you try to shake him away, reminding yourself that this was all a bad dream, that he wasn’t real and that you were safe at the house with your friends beside you. you start hearing the tune of everywhere once again, but you can’t find the courage to move.

in the walls of victor creels house, the group stares at your detached soul. steve places the headphones back on you just as quickly as you took it off.

“it’s almost your time,” vecna whispers in your ear.

their flashlights start to flicker and they’re all unsure of what’s happening. but then you were back. “i told you to not scare me like that,” steve scolds, his hands wrapped gently around your face, while you mutter out a sorry.

“just…don’t remove your headphones anymore, yeah?” robin concludes. you feel awful for making them worry. nancy tells everyone to partner off, in hopes that you can find something quicker and get the hell out of there. steve keeps a hold on you, letting go only once you’re up the stairs. you observe the room that you’re in, flashlight shining on various amounts of picture frames. steve’s on the other side, crouched down, examining a bottle he found on the grate of the floor. he feels a spider crawl up his shoulder causing him to stand and stumble back into the arms of his ex-girlfriend, “why, wh-what’s wrong?” nancy’s voice snaps your head to their direction, your eyes filled with the same amount of concern laced in her voice.

“there was a spider,” steve admits, “a black widow,” he says out of breath, blocking the doorway, “don’t go in there.”

“oh… oh wait,” nancy reaches for his head, steve gets frantic, “stop moving,” he listens. her hands find its way into his hair, removing webs that tangled up in the boy’s locks. robin notices you watching them from across the room, she breaks the moment up for you, making a joke, “if there’s a spider nesting in there you’re never gonna find it until it lays eggs and all the babies spill out,” robin's voice breaking you out of your trance, choosing to focus again on the pictures behind you. you still listen. “what’s wrong with you?” a question directed at robin, making her chuckle.

he continues talking to nancy, bringing up how you should all go on a group date after killing vecna and saving the world. he makes it very clear to the girl that he wasn’t dating robin, robin quick to his defend, “platonic with a capital P.” you hear nancy ask about you. she’s obviously interested in him. it takes a while for steve to answer. he stares at your back before his eyes go back to nancy, shaking his head, “i-i can’t” was all that whispered from his lips. two words that were loud enough to wilt the flower in your heart.

“you’ve been looking at that picture for a while now, what? you think he’s hot or something?” robin’s trying to distract you, you know she feels bad. you smile at her, appreciating her efforts, “i don’t know, he’s kind of growing on me,” you tease, “you’re gross,” you two share a laugh that rings throughout the room, finally walking out and into another.

steve looks longingly at you. you're out of earshot when he found himself telling nancy, “i-i would date her it’s just i-i can’t afford to lose her,” nancy looks at him sympathetically, “why do you think you’ll lose her?”

“i lost you, didn’t i?” he points out, his insecurities getting the best of him. he may be steve harrington but that doesn’t save him from the unwanted thoughts of not being good enough. his last relationship being a testament to that feeling. nancy finally removes all the webs, sending him a sympathetic smile. something in his heart twitches, realization dawning upon him.

“great, thanks,” he say, “guess we should, uh- get back to the investigation,” ending their conversation with a line from sherlock holmes he picked up from dustin, he’s pretty sure he said it wrong. nancy shakes her head, smiling at the ground. you’re standing in the hall, not missing the way she blinks her eyes, almost like she’s remembering something. a feeling from the past, maybe?

she finally looks up, making eye contact with you. you notice you’re staring, “s-sorry,” you mutter, walking away and joining the rest of the group. nancy let’s out an awkward cough, following.

the chandelier starts flickering, just like their flashlights earlier, the light, buzzing, “it’s like the christmas lights,” nancy points out. everyone but robin understood what she meant. she quickly explained to her how the lights came to life when will was in the upside down, the events sending shivers down your spine. vecna’s words regarding your selfishness repeating in your mind. that guilty feeling you could never let go of.

“vecna’s here,” you say, catching everyone's attention. steve looks worried, how do you even know that? “i can feel him,” you continued. max agrees.

“he’s just on the other side?” lucas mutters. and then the chandelier goes out. “i think he just left the room,” robin states. questions arise, “did he hear us?,” “can he see us?,” amongst the group. lucas turned to both you and max, making sure you both still had your headphones in. nancy suggests everyone turn off their flashlights and spread out. she really is the brain of this group.

separating into different rooms, robin the first to break the silence, “i got him!” in an instant you were all at her side. flashlight immediately flickering from hers to steve’s, “oh, i think he’s moving. he’s moving! he’s moving,” he confirms, leading the way, all of you right behind him, up the stairs, and “shit, i lost him.”

max notices the light that’s flickering through the doors of the attic. you follow it like a herd of moths. dustin making a good point “hold up, guys. what if he’s leading us into a trap?” no one listens. curses, once again, slipping from the boy’s lips. reaching the top, you’re all face to face with a single light bulb, flashlights simultaneously flickering. the energy increases and the bulb explodes. everyone briskly turns away, steve has an arm over your head, shielding you from the shards of glass that went flying across the room, “let’s get the hell out of here.”

now seated in nancy’s car, right in between lucas and max, the group headed towards eddie’s hideout, promising to bring him food. the sight of the police cars alerts everyone. you all scramble out, nancy leading the way, listening to what the news reporters were saying. another person was found dead – patrick mckinney. you place a hand on lucas’ shoulders, trying to provide some sense of comfort.

the police ended up releasing eddie’s name to the public, the nightmare you were all dreading, looking at each other, “oh man, this is not good. really not good,” steve states the obvious. a static sound from dustin’s walkie comes alive – eddie. the group walks away from the scene as fast as they can. you try to keep up but the sound of your name stops you in your tracks, “y/n l/n,” one of the officers. you signal the rest of the group to keep going. dustin quietly tells eddie to wait. they stop at a distance, all eyes on you.

“hi officer,” you greet.

“what are you doing here?” the officer interrogates, looking at you and back at your friends. you follow his line of vision, your eyes glaring at the group for not following your instruction.

“well, as you see, i was driving around with my friends and w-we saw the cop cars and got curious,” you try to sound as convincing as possible. he nods.

“hmm. you ever heard of ‘curiosity killed the cat’?,” the officer questions you, eyebrows raising.

“are you implying something, officer?”

“it’s just a little suspicious, don’t you think? you were probably the last person who saw chrissy before she died and now you’re here at another crime scene…not looking so good for you,” he explains, jotting something down on his stupid note pad and all you wanted to do was tear it to pieces.

“i’m sorry? are you suspecting that i did this?”

“didn’t you?” before you could reply, another officer is calling for him. he looks at you, “we’ll talk later,” he grumbled, walking away. you hastily make your way back to the group, “what the hell was that?,” steve asks. you brush it away, “nothing, it’s just i now may also be a suspect.”

“what? they have no evidence,” nancy points out, you shrug. “not having evidence hasn’t really stopped them before, they just need someone behind bars, someone to blame,” you state. “i mean, that’s why they’re looking for eddie, right?,” you glance at dustin. in an instant, his back to talking to his walkie.

eddie informs him that he’s at skull rock, “yeah, i know where that is,” steve immediately replies. through the walkie you can tell eddie was shaken up. you wonder how he’d feel if he saw you, you haven’t spoken to him since elementary school, when you gave him a peck on the cheek, confessing your love for him and and he ran away from you, crying about how girls have cooties. your first heartbreak. you don’t give it another second, the group heading to skull rock.

steve and dustin banter, as usual, “dude, i’m telling you, you’re taking us the wrong way.”

“it’s north, im positive, i checked the map,”

“you do realize skull rock… it’s a super popular make-out spot?”

“yeah, so?”

“yeah, well, it wasn’t popular until i made it popular, alright? i practically invented it. we’re heading in the wrong direction” steve argues, walking the opposite way. dustin looks at you, like he’s telling you to call steve back and tell him he’s wrong. you shrug, following steve. the kid was smart but he really did have this one wrong.

“really, y/n? you’re betraying me and my compass like this?” dustin sniffled.

“sorry kid but im 100% positive that steve’s right on this one,” you giggled, looking back at him.

lucas looks at you skeptically, “wait… 100%? how are you so sure?” at that, you turn around, quickly catching up to steve. after a few more steps, you finally arrive at your destination.

“boom, bada bing, bada boom. there she is, henderson. skull rock,” steve is proud, “in your face, man, in your stupid, cocky little face,” he continues gloating, you almost feel bad for the kid. “it doesn’t make sense,” dustin mutters. you place a hand on his back, a small smile on your lips. steve tries to get him to accept that he’s wrong, calling him a butthead in the process. even in a life or death situation, those two are still at each other's necks.

eddie jumps out from a tree and you swear you almost passed out, “i concur, you, dustin henderson, are a butthead,” way to make an entrance, you almost roll your eyes. dustin gives him a quick hug, eddie looks behind him.

“y/l/n, you’re here too?,” he comments, an amused expression on his face.

“munson,” you nod, tight lipped. steve glances between the both of you. whatever that little interaction was. he doesn’t like it. he doesnt get to ask how you two know each other, the rest of the group finally catching up. eddie, once again, explains what happened. his walkie, drenched. him, running.

nancy asks him if he remembers what time it happened, the group connecting the dots between the exploding lightbulb and the death of patrick mckinney.

“hey, uh, henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?” eddie questions, you all turn your head towards the curly headed boy who was currently pacing back and forth, compass still in hand.

“cursed? nah, he’s fine. mental? absolutely.” steve mocked, still bitter.

“BOOM!” dustin yells, scaring the living hell out of everyone, you can’t take it anymore, “seriously, i don't think vecna’s my biggest problem, you guys are literally going to send me into cardiac arrest,” you scold, looking back at him and eddie. dustin lowers his voice, whispering now, “bada…bada…boom.” steve shakes his head, unamused.

“i was right,” they argue once again before dustin explains what’s been going on with his compass. something about an electromagnetic field.

and a gate to the upside down.

“we’d have a way to vecna. and a shot at freeing max and y/n from this curse,” dustin finishes, giving you a sliver of hope. he starts walking away, steve stops him, pointing out the fact that eddie is still a wanted man. eddie agrees with steve, it was a bad idea, but that doesn’t stop him from also agreeing with dustin, the group now heading to wherever this gate was. you walk for hours until dustin’s compass starts acting funny once again, right at lover’s lake.

you make your way unto the boat that was conveniently there. eddie has a hand out to you “y/l/n,” you take it, needing the support from the rocky boat. steve notices. dustin tries getting on but you all don’t let him. no one let’s any of the kids go. eddie saying that the boat can only hold four people, tops.

steve pushes the boat out into the lake, quickly hopping in, leaving a whining dustin behind, “sorry,” he whispers.

at the middle of the lake, the compass starts to turn in different directions. steve immediately pulls off his socks, getting undressed. you panic, “steve what are you doing?,” nancy finds the words you couldn’t utter.

“somebody’s gotta go down and check this out, unless one of you four can top being a hawkins high swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then it’s gotta be me. no complaints, all right?” you furrow your eyebrows at him, grabbing his arm, trying to stop him from removing another article of clothing, “no. no. there has to be another way,” your voice, stern. simultaneously, eddie replies, “hey, i'm not complaining. i do not want to go down there,” you glare at him, he puts both hands up, a sign of surrender.

steve continues, getting up and removing his shirt. you can’t help but stare. he always looks good. really not the right time. robin glances between you and nancy, she does not get the hype. eddie hands steve his makeshift waterproof flashlight, snapping you back to reality. nancy tells him to be careful. if nancy can’t even stop him, how could you?

“i swear to god steve, if you die down there, i will find a way to bring you back to life and kill you myself,” earning a chuckle from him. “i’ll come back, i promise,” he tells you, sincerity in his eyes. and then he dove. you keep your eyes on him until it was too dark to see anything. every second that passes feels like an eternity, your heartbeat racing, legs bouncing up and down. the four of you wait, the faint sound of everywhere is the only thing heard, eddie makes a comment, something about everywhere being a good choice of song. you barely care.

steve’s taking way too long. you make your way towards the edge of the boat, trying to spot him.

after a couple more seconds, which felt more like hours, he finally resurfaces, eddie screaming an “oh christ!,” from the sudden, loud movement. serves him right.

“i found it,” steve starts swimming towards the boat, the three glad to hear his sentence. you honestly don’t give a fuck, just glad that he was finally right in front of you. releasing a breath of relief, your hand immediately wrapping around his arm, making sure he was really there.

“it’s pretty wild, it's more a snack sized gate than the mama gate,” steve explains, trying to catch his breath, “but still, it’s pretty damn big.” and then he was gone, the loss of touch causing you to stand up. steve makes his way back up in a second, making eye contact with you before he is dragged under once again. you don’t give yourself time to think, immediately diving in after him, following the bubbles that were created from his screams. the yells for steve’s name above becoming fainter the deeper you go. you’ve never swam as fast in your life, legs kicking as hard as you could to the point where it burns.

everything’s red. this world, laced with branches you only saw in your visions.

steve’s cries swing you into action, grabbing the first paddle you spot, you run towards his direction. bats. they’re circling him. he’s on the ground. you keep running and running, adrenaline coursing through your veins. letting out a cry, you smack one of the creatures away from him. in a second, you notice that the trio have joined you. you’re all trying to get the bats away from him, one has a particularly strong hold on his neck and you can feel your eyes start to water as you crush it over and over again. eddie and nancy watches out for the incoming ones, you and robin still struggling to get the stupid creature off of steve. it wasn’t until a bat made its way unto you that he finally gained strength, biting onto the one around his neck, smashing it to the ground, blood spilling from his lips.

all of you now in action, it feels like a horror movie, the only thing missing was music. shit.

you’re frozen, just now realizing what you did. nancy was the first to march up to steve, asking him if he was okay, “well, they took about a pound of flesh, but other than that, yeah, never better.” the two share a moment, you look away. robin starts talking about rabies and then eddie makes a statement that has you wishing the bats murdered him, “y/l/n, your music stopped playing.” steve is in front of you in a second, turning the player over and over, inspecting it,“no no no, no. fuck!,” he curses, “why did you do that!? are you fucking kidding me!?” he yells at you. he’s angry. you wince, looking at the floor. he’s immediately sorry, eyes softening.

before he could say anything, a group of bats from above startles everyone. “into the woods, c’mon,” nancy thinks quickly, everyone now running, seeking safety, under skull rock. the five of you hid in silence, terrified. as soon as the bats flew by, everyone got back up, steve stumbling back, nancy aiding him in a second. “i’m fine,” slips past his lips as she tries her best to nurse him, ripping off a piece of cloth from the cardigan she was wearing. all you can do is watch, afraid of the fate that now lies ahead of you and the boy you’re in love with. he looks up at you while nancy continues taking care of him. you avoid his gaze.

robin, still on her rabies agenda, tries to distract steve from the pain, “so the good news is i’m pretty sure wooziness is not a symptom of rabies but uhm, if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms, or-or you start feeling aggressive, like you wanna punch me, let me know,” her voice breaking, you can tell she’s trying her best to fight back the tears.

“robin,” steve shuts her up, grunting, “i kinda wanna punch you,” robin forces her laugh.

eddie makes his way next to you, whispering “sorry.” you look up at him, offering him the best smile you could muster up in this situation, “it’s whatever,” you nod. steve watches. nancy finally wraps the cloth around him, trying to reduce the loss of blood, his eyes going from your figure to hers in an instant. he grunts and you look back at the two, eddie leaving your side.

this world is merely a reflection of the real one. robin suggests going down to the police station for armor and weapons. as always, nancy has a better idea, “i have guns, in my bedroom,” she admits, “a russian makarov and a revolver.”

“yeah, you almost shot me with that one,” steve makes a snarky remark, nancy quick to follow, “you almost deserved it.”

you remember that. you were there. eddie notices your expression fall even more than it already was, still feeling sorry for earlier, he throws steve his vest, breaking the moment between the two, “for your modesty, dude.” a loud rumbling from beneath you causes everyone to fall, eddie saves you from the harsh ground, robin falling right next to you. steve stumbles back into the wall, nancy in his arms. everyone checks to see if everyone’s still in one piece.

your hand goes straight to your head, it feels like someone just shot you in the head, “woah woah woah, y/l/n, you okay?” eddie asks frantically. tears fall down your cheeks, the pain being too much. with no music to distract your thoughts, you can hear vecna from every corner of your mind. steve crouches down right in front of you, terrified. no one knows what’s happening.

a sound of a branch snapping to your right alerts you, “we have to get out of here. he’s here.” you whimpered, a sense of urgency in your voice.

“so guns seem like a pretty good idea to me,” eddie piped, robin quickly agreeing.

“ok, ok,” steve nods, “let’s go to nancy’s, that’s where mike’s player is too,” his eyes are back on you and the state you’re in because of him, “we get that first.”

finally putting on eddie’s vest, he helps you up, leading the way. you stay by robin’s side, putting up a brave front. you didn’t want steve to worry even more.

steve goes up to eddie, “eddie, hey man, uh… listen i just uh wanted to say thanks, for rushing to y/n’s side and saving my ass back there,” the two have a heartfelt moment, “shit, you saved your own ass back there, i mean, that was a real ozzy move you pulled back there,” steve doesn't know who ozzy osbourne is, causing the two to have a quick argument. but then eddie goes back to complimenting him, bringing up how dustin worships the ground he walks on, steve gains a bit of confidence with the newfound information.

eddie confesses that he was jealous of him, describes him as the perfect embodiment of man, and still is super jealous as hell, “which is why i would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass, not under any, uh…normal circumstances,” an honest confession.

another branch snaps, causing the pair to quickly look ahead, at you, relief washing over their faces seeing you still walking between robin and nancy, eyes focused on the ground beneath you.

“the only reason i came in here was because those ladies came in straight after you. now i was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind, but y/l/n, right there, she didn’t waste a second. not one second. she just dove right in. now,” eddie has the boy’s full attention, “i don't know what’s happening between you two, but if i were you, i would figure it out. cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen.”

the ground shakes yet again, the pounding in your head stronger, you can feel time slipping away. robin’s hand is quick on your shoulder, keeping you stable as you all try to keep up with nancy’s pace. even in the dark, steve notices every wince you make and after eddie’s incredibly powerful speech, he feels even more awful at his violent reaction. he didn’t even bother to thank you, or ask if you were okay.

finally making it to what seems like the wheelers’ house, nancy, robin and eddie head straight upstairs and into nancy’s room. steve grabs your hand before you could join, you don’t say a word, you’re not too sure what to say right now. he pulls you into mike’s room, searching for his player, and hoping that the boy had everywhere somewhere in his box filled of tapes. he spots both, feeling lucky for the first time, making a mental note to thank mike as soon as he gets out of here.

in one rapid motion, the headphones are back on you, the music instantly bringing a sense of comfort. you watch him, taking in every feature of his pretty face. “i’m sorry,” he whispers, slowly taking a step towards you. “you shouldn’t have followed me in but you did and i-i shouldn’t have yelled at you like that,” you shake your head. you don’t even care about that anymore, you’re just glad you’re here, with him, in what could be the last moments of your life.

“i don’t think you understand,” you find your voice, a quiet hush. finally you look into his eyes, you feel like you haven’t seen them in a while, “steve harrington, i’ll follow you everywhere,” you promised. he feels his heart explode. taking your hands into his.

“i-i have to tell you something before i run out of time,” you say, rushed, his eyebrows furrow at your statement, he doesn’t like it, his grip on your hand getting tighter.

“say it to me when we get out of here, yeah?”

you dont.

“i’m in love with you,” you blurt out. “i’ve been in love with you ever since that halloween night, and y-you don’t have to say it back i know you’re still in love with nancy and that-that’s really okay i just need you to hear it because i might not be able to say it,” he processes your words, feeling various of emotions all at once. happy because the girl he loves, loves him back, confused at the mention of nancy’s name, scared that your last statement will come alive.

he chooses to focus on what he knows.

“i’m not in love with nancy,” he said, you stare at him. “i-i love her, yes, but only as a friend, i-i dont love her like i-,” you can’t believe what you’re hearing.

“i-” steve starts to say, you stop him.

“say it to me when we get out of here,” you beg. he sees the fear in your eyes and he can tell that you’re afraid that all of this is just a trick of your mind. so instead of words, he proves it to you with the way he's always known. gently grabbing your face and bringing in into his own. two lips finally moving as one, your hands finding their way to his chest. nothing about this kiss tasted sweet, feelings of desperation traveled through your hearts. desperate for more time. he pulls away for a second, foreheads softly colliding, his fingers rubbing tiny circles on your cheeks as he pulls you in for another kiss, just wanting to taste you over and over again.

then you pull away, eyes wide, shocked, you look up at him.

“did you hear that?”

“what?”

“i think it’s dustin,” you point out. he listens. he hears him. “great, even through the other side of the world he finds a way to annoy me,” you laugh, gently slapping his chest. he looks at you, in awe. he hasn’t heard your laugh in a while. he loves the sound of it. he loves you.

in any normal moment, you would’ve loved to just stay in his arms, laughing for hours and hours. you think back to all the times you guys did just that, not appreciating it enough when you had it. but none of this was normal so you pull away from him and back into this nightmare. you follow dustin’s voice all the way down to living room, yelling his name. steve quickly joins you. the rest of the group questioned yours and steve's sanity until they heard him as well. soon after, you guys figure out how to communicate – the lights. everyone happy at the small achievement.

a plan unfolds – find another gate.

“there’s a gate at every murder site!” dustin yells at the walls. nancy ask’s eddie how far his trailer was. you all grab the bikes placed on the wheelers’ front porch, quickly making your way there, wanting to get out as soon as possible.

finally making it into eddies trailer, an even smaller gate, right at the exact spot of chrissy’s death, greets you. it starts moving, almost like it was breathing. you all stare wondering what the hell is going on. steve checks it out first, making sure you were all behind him.

cheers erupt, when dustin’s face, though upside down, finally comes into view, “BADA BADA BOOM!”

the kids create an improvised rope, consisting of several blankets and bedsheets all tied together. they place a mattress on the landing spot, making sure you all cross through the portal safe, “those stains are uhhh… i don’t know what those stains are,” eddie lied, earning a look of disgust from you, robin, and nancy.

one by one, the group makes it safely through.

robin, eddie then nancy. his eyes are on you. ready to help you up the rope, you step back, “you go first,” you ordered. he really stands his ground this time, “no way, it’s either you go first or we’re both staying here.”

“promise you’re right behind me?” you plead, he places a quick kiss on your lips, “i promise.”

finally.

you’re back on the other side. steve follows right after you. you look at him, a small smile on your face. he mirrors your expression. max comes running towards you, engulfing you into a hug.

a happy celebration.

no one noticed it.

nothing could’ve prepared anyone from the vine that slowly, quietly creeped its way through the portal, wrapping tightly around your ankle, and just like steve in lover’s lake, pulling you straight down, back in the other side.

the portal immediately closes.

steve yells out a series, “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!” as he stares at the spot that you were once standing, grabbing dustin’s paddle and feverishly stabbing through the ground. blocked by stronger branches, the wooden oar can no longer cut through it.

“steve-” nancy calls out to him.

“SHIT!,” steve lets out a broken yell, “this is not happening, no, no no,-”

“steve, calm down!” robin catches his attention.

“do not tell me to calm down!” he shrilled, absolutely devastated, “not when she’s stuck down there! and i'm here! and i-i didn’t even tell her i love her!” he’s absolutely wrecked, tears freely flowing, words slipping from his lips, not even caring about the fact he just confessed his love to you to the rest of them.

“we will get her back, steve!” lucas yells, trying to stop his own tears from flowing.

“how?” he looks at the rest of the group, breathing heavily. he’s exhausted.

“we find another portal.”

three

an: bada bing bada boom

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #everywhere we were there #stranger things #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fluff #stranger things x reader #stranger things x you

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amuseoffyre · 1 year

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I was mulling on how well OFMD does layers and layers of storytelling in such understated way with framing and sets and dialogue that carries so much weight without beating you over the head with exposition. Especially when it comes to the text and subtext of the history of the characters and what is happening in context.

Like every scene has a surface read, but there’s also so much more going on underneath. It’s like the many strands of threads used in weaving, where even when the things aren’t said directly and out loud, they’re present and building depth and colour to what’s happening.

I’ve picked a couple of examples which tell so much with so little.

Even this frame gives so much context without a word: Ed is from a poor background, his father is pictured beside a tankard of alcohol, his mother is dressed in servant’s clothing and he and his mother are very much separated from his father who is halfway into the shadows.

Then we have the impact of colonisation show in the words and presentation of Ed’s mother. She and Ed are both played by Māori actors, while Ed’s father is white. The way she talks about not being “those kind of people” and “it’s up to God” were lessons drilled into the many Indigenous children who were taken from their families and communities to be forcefully assimilated in church-run schools in British colonies, where they were taught English, indoctrinated into Christanity and were usually trained for roles in domestic service (for girls) or manual labour (for boys).

In three lines and with some simple set dressing and costume, they have set up not only Ed’s own history, but the history of his family and culture and how that impacted him and continues to impact him.

Another scene where this is intensely evident is in the Privateering academy:

For the first time, Ed and Stede are in the same clothing. On a surface read, this puts them on an equal footing, with them both being in the same situation. But once again, colonialism rears its ugly head in the context, especially in regards to Ed.

As mentioned before, the British colonies created schools with the declared intention of educating and improving the well-being of indigenous populations, while the reality was cultural erasure, indoctrination and genocide.

A lot of these schools demanded the pupils all dress in uniforms and in most cases demanded the children abandon all aspects of their culture. The fact that Ed has to physically change his appearance upon arrival in this British-run academy - it wasn’t regulation, it had to go - is a call-back to that legacy.

While less pointed, Stede has also been forced to assimilate into the more traditional and masculine attire. Even in the 1700s, there are accounts of queer men being described as too colourful and flashy and in the academy scenes, they have stripped his flamboyant soft queerness away from him, pushing him into the stiff, colourless cultural masculinity that is represented by the British forces throughout the show.

I could go on and on but it is very cold and I am very sleepy, but I will finish on a note about the Act of Grace and specifically on Hornberry’s “it’s boilerplate, absolution for your terrible crimes, blah-di-blah-di-blah.”

That line alone carries the weight of every single treaty arranged by the British when they colonised countries and it is a very pointed barb because it turns out that the British were very good at loopholing the hell out of their treaties, making sure certain turns of phrase could be re-interpreted to their advantage, something that is still impacting many people today.

The fact that Ed - and Taika - is the one to say “that’s where all the tricks are” is especially loaded given the history of the Treaty of Waitangi in Aotearoa and how the British interpreted it to their benefit.

There’s so much history built into the body of the show and I love that it’s there, adding depth and weight, a realness which I think is what has caused so much resonance with the audience. It provides a grounding foundation and while yes, the show is a comedy and is very funny, the history is always there too.

#our flag means death #ofmd meta #long post #thinkie thoughts

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vestaclinicpod · 9 months

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Audio Drama Sunday - 23rd July ✨

This week has been such an amazing week of listening! I’ve found three new shows that I absolutely adore and I can’t wait to tell you all about them ✨

Spoilers ahead!

🌲@hellofromthehallowoods (126) FIRST OF ALL 🚗🚗🚗 BEEP BEEP GET IN LOSER, WE’RE GOING TO GET MOTH 🚗🚗🚗 So glad to hear from you again, Ray!! This line: “the devil’s a better man than I am” had my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline and that’s all I’m going to say at this time. It’s always a risk listening in public, because the scene on the beach made me want to cry a little. I hope in my heart that they’re all going to make it out of there but I have no idea how right now!

📻 @monstrousagonies (106) the first letter this week made me laugh so much! I was fully expecting the ‘moocher’ to be a brownie or someone like that, so it was a fun surprise to hear of a demonic midnight snacker! I may have to use that excuse when my baked goods don’t turn out so baked or good . . .

🎞 Tiny Terrors (021) What a welcome VA jumpscare from Mx Wellman!! I loved the story (I, too, would feed the mega-toad to make it happy) but the surrounding footage was really creepy... I sure hope the gang goes to investigate the Riverside Institute. What’s the worst that could happen?? 👀

🌍 OOH the most recent episode of @lastechoespod was genuinely empowering! The political pressure the Archivist is under seems to have ramped up this ep, and reading @skyfullofpods’s thoughts on it last week makes me want to listen to it all again with fresh ears!

🧛‍♂️ @re-dracula What a great week! Alasdair Stuart nails it as the Captain of the Demeter. His voice in the first ep is the calm surface of the sea, hiding the teeming mass of life and death below. The Renfield arc honestly unsettles me so much, but I, too, would love a kitten if there’s one going spare …

🧬 Regina Prime (ep 4) The revelations!! I loved the sound design of the getting ready montage in this ep but I loved the lore drop even more! 300 clones?! And cloning is something that’s happening commercially? Damn. The last line actually made me grin, Epsilon is quick-witted and brave (or stupid!) and I like her a lot. Every episode I get more enthralled by this show and everyone needs to be listening!

💫 Wolf 359 (20-22) Hot damn. The tension aboard the Hephaestus is something else… the paranoia is written so well, you’re listening with your most suspicious face trying to unpick it and getting nowhere. I love how I have no idea where this is going but I know the ride is going to be BUMPY.

🎩 I started @ethicstownpod this week and it deserves ALL the hype. The show uses a well-loved audio drama trope to bring us a very interesting new story. The writing and voice acting are spot on from the get-go, and the sound design choices feel fresh despite the radio format. Most podcasts make me feel, but this one makes me think as well! I really love it!! I’ve been following the development of the show on Tumblr for a while and I remember the creator being so excited about January’s VA and yeah, I totally get it. Amazing. Hard to believe the role wasn’t written for him.

SPOILERS: I love how the main ethical issues are presented while January currently seems oblivious to the ethical quandary of keeping important information from someone and who has the right to make that decision . . . ALSO Artemis and Grace are very close in age . . . imagine if they became friends . . . and then Artemis found out . . . . HOO BOY.

🥾@doyoucopypod The first two episodes are very promising! In the first ep, the pod-within-a-pod recording leads to some fun & cheesy dialogue which contrasts well with the jaded but wary interludes from [REDACTED]. I love a spooky woodland mystery and I’m really hoping for a Blair Witch style descent into terrifying found-footage chaos! The second episode really tugged on the old heart strings. I need a Does The Dog Die for this show bc I’ve had Wilson for 8 minutes but if anything happened to him I’d make that Dead Zone REALLY much more dead-er.

🏴‍☠️ @levianpod This show has dropped its anchor right into my heart!!! DAMN. I’ve listened twice this week. I can’t recall the last time I was so immediately ALL-IN for an audio drama. I mean, firstly, that cover art is GORGEOUS. I genuinely think this show has it all, there’s LORE, there’s spiciness, there are sea captains who are also sea monsters (a GIFT for the wlw, thank you 🙏), there’s a teenage romance gone WRONG. Then there’s the voice acting!! Incredible performances right out of the gate. It’s safe to say that I am OBSESSED. Why are you still here? Go fucking listen to Levian.

🎧 In the most recent ep of The First Episode Of, W Keith Tims talks to Packhowl - a creator I greatly admire. I love these interviews! It’s so fascinating to hear how other creators came to audio drama and it’s shed some of the brilliant The Madness of Chartrulean in new light for me. I miss grumpy space Jesus.

That's it from me! PLEASE go listen to Ethics Town, Do You Copy and Levian!!

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takingback-thepenguin · 4 months

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More of One of my Nerdy Prudes Must Die Concepts/AUs

So a while ago I made this post, and since then, more thoughts and ideas have come to mind! Thank you to my friends for giving me the courage to share my thoughts.

Note: I just wanted to say again that this concept takes place in a timeline where Max either chooses not to be a bully or chooses to become a better person post Waylon Place, and as a result, is a bit nicer, and has befriended the Nerdy Prudes gang. They’ve also graduated and are in college.

First things first I wanted to share my thoughts on how I think some of the characters found out about hypnosis in the first place!

Richie definitely saw someone getting put under in an anime or read about it in a manga at some point and decided "Huh, I could do that." or "I'd wanna do that." He’s probably been trying his hand at it since he was a little kid, and maybe his family humored him, but in reality it was just a game of pretend. However, once he got to high school, he actually started doing research.

Pete and Ruth probably found out that it was more than just a movie/tv show kind of thing from Richie during their childhood.

Max found out about it through a HFHS event: they got a stage hypnotist to come in, and Max saw the show along with the other seniors. Something in his brain went “Hmmmm…” and when the hypnotist asked for another volunteer from the crowd to help him with the next part of his act, Max found himself raising his hand. Helping the hypnotist out made him realize that there are ways he could help people while still fulfilling his own need for order and control (because even if he’s not a bully or has gone through a redemption arc, he’d still have that need).

Steph also found out about it through the stage hypnotist, but Richie probably told her it was more than just a stage thing at lunch one day. Grace would have also heard that conversation.

Most of the NP squad aren’t interested in being the hypnotist. The only ones who do actually take a full on interest in that role are Richie and Max. Pete and Steph would only be the hypnotist if one of their friends asked; Steph doesn’t really believe in it, but if one of her friends said “Hey, I’ve been really stressed and I think this might help. Would you help me with this?” I think she would do it. Same goes for Pete. But even then, it would take a lot of researching before either one would be willing to attempt it.

Now that we’ve established that, here are some characters that I think would work well together!

Hypnotist!Richie and Subject!Ruth: I definitely think Ruth would trust Richie as a hypnotist enough to let him help her over the hurdle of letting go and getting out of her head. I also think they'd do some improv/acting exercises with it to help Ruth improve on her acting and get over her stage fright. It could involve him acting as a stage hypnotist (because Richie would get into that performative aspect) and she’s coming up in front of the audience, or maybe while she’s under they just go through a monologue or scene. Either way, Richie would reassure her that she’s doing great. I think Ruth would probably ask him to cuddle at some point, and he’d oblige. Cue the cuteness.

Hypnotist!Pete and Subject!Richie. Pete would only be doing this because Richie asked him to, and he wants to help his best friend out. He would definitely feel kind of goofy at the beginning of the induction, but as he goes along he starts to build up some confidence and by the time Richie's under, Pete is completely serious. Richie would probably ask for cuddles, and I can see fluff ensuing.

Hypnotist!Richie and Subject!Pete. Even though Pete is nervous and feels a little silly asking, like Ruth, he trusts Richie enough to help him get out of his head for a bit. I think he’d also ask for cuddles once under because he just wants to relax. Again, cue the cuteness.

Hypnotist!Steph and Subject!Max. Like Pete, Steph likely would not do this unless asked (and it'd take some convincing), but I think Max truly would let himself be vulnerable around her. I think he trusts her, and would let go if she was the one putting him under. And all he’d want to do is take a breather from everyone’s expectations of him and lower that invincible front that he puts up.

Hypnotist!Steph and Subject!Pete. This would only be if Pete asked, and again, would take some convincing and a lot of research. Pete would probably have to reassure her that this is what he wants and he believes in her. I think he'd definitely trust her enough that he'd get out of his head...but considering his feelings for her, he may actually have trouble getting out of his head cause his mind might be racing. I do think eventually though he’d relax and fluff would ensue.

Hypnotist!Max and Subject!Richie. I think it’d be interesting to see since they’re the ones I have the most thoughts about for this AU/concept. They’re the ones who would be the most interested in the topic and the most performative. And if they had that trust and friendship from the start or built up that trust, it could be interesting, since one is the one who enjoys playing the hypnotist role the most, and the other is the one who goes under the easiest.

Hypnotist!Richie and Subject!Max. This would be an interesting role reversal to see as well. I think Richie would find it a fun challenge since Max isn't so easily hypnotized. However, I don't think he'd get Max under in the end and if he did...well, it would take a good long while. It’d be interesting to see what could happen if they had that friendship and trust from the start or ended up building up that trust.

Now here are some headcanons I’ve come up with:

If Richie is the hypnotist and either Pete or Ruth are the subject, I think he uses something Star Wars related. He spins Pete’s kyber crystal (that they all like to fidget with) around with his fingers and has them watch as it catches the light. Maybe if he does a trigger, he includes the Jedi Mind Trick wave as part of it.

Going off of that last bit, Pete and Ruth have gotten into debates about whether that counts as the Jedi Mind Trick, or just as hypnotism. Pete’s stance is "No he just implemented a trigger to repeat what he said back to him after he waved his hand." and Ruth’s stance is "Hell yeah, the Jedi Mind Trick is real."

Additionally, Richie found that he liked fidgeting with the kyber crystal and so he ended up buying himself a kyber crystal necklace so he could fidget with it. He wears it all the time but it's under all of his layers, so no one except him actually knows it’s there.

Not only did he choose the kyber crystal because it’s Star Wars, but because he figured Pete and Ruth would want something that wasn’t as flashy and in their face. He figured picking something that they fidget with would be more of a comfort to them and would be something that would gently grab their attention but not make them over analyze things.

Once as a fun thing when the group was hanging out (although it was discussed beforehand and Max just didn't give away that he was planning on making it anime related) Max put Richie under and made him think his name was the same as his favorite anime character for a little bit. Everyone got a kick out of that.

Even though Max mainly wants to keep the focus on him during inductions, occasionally he'll pull out a watch or pull up a spiral for Richie cause that is his friend and Richie likes those types of inductions and Max wants to see his face light up.

Someone came up with a football themed induction to try and put Max under that involved watching a spinning football. Max found it funny so he borrows it from time to time.

#hatchetfield #nerdy prudes must die #npmd #richie lipschitz #pete spankoffski #ruth fleming #stephanie lauter #max jagerman #my au #i speak

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hatosaur · 1 year

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ep. 8 thoughts here we go. tw for sexual assault obv.

so i liked the episode, but not really as much as the others. compared to the others, i’m closer to lukewarm. the episode felt a bit rushed in the second half, because the first half spent an adequate amount of time setting up david.

i’m gonna talk about david first to get him outta the way.

i liked most of the details they added for him:

the christian thing -- as i was watching, i thought it was a good way to subtly imply the pedo thing without being overt about it. we also never got to see how much power david had in the game, so those beginning moments of the ep where his unequivocable leadership over the group is shown were really good at silently highlighting that. i’ve also seen it pointed out this being the “traditional” and “correct” way to maintain society and yet immediately turning to eating their own kind because of their one leader, versus jackson being communist and thriving because everyone holds the exact same amount of power, is really, really funny.

the subtle emphasis on traditional gender roles -- i don’t really recall him having this in the game but that moment where he insists he’s that one girl’s father because of his role in the town is a really scary prelude to what role he thinks ellie should take up alongside him.

the teacher thing -- much like the christian thing, but something that doesn’t quite hit till later. creeps me out just thinkin about it.

the detail that i didn’t like, which i feel crumples up all this good subtextual writing and throws in it the bin is david’s attempt to rape ellie. in my post about ep. 7, i was HOPING that they wouldn’t be more explicit about david’s...intentions than they already had been; and they did exactly that, but in the smallest way. in the penultimate moment, in the burning diner, david admits he likes “the part where they fight” the most and reaches for his belt. like...i get it. you want it to be clear-clear that he’s a pedophile, that had ellie gotten to the machete a bit later in the game, maybe he would’ve made that intention clear as well, but why go that far narratively? you already have the building blocks for the audience assuming he’s a creep, you even strengthened it in the subtext, so why make him attempt to sexually assault her, in a burning building i might add????

the only saving grace was bella’s acting chops and, of course, when she kills the mf.

i’m not a fan of craig mazin’s reasoning for his changes nor his understanding of the characters, especially in the bts for this ep. his point about david being right about ellie having a “violent heart” is gross, because no, she doesn’t?? she doesn’t have a violent heart anymore than joel does, or maria, or tommy, because they all live in the post-apocalypse. she’s a literal kid trying to survive and maintain the good that she has, why describe her in such a weird way? when she’s quite literally the embodiment of good and hope in the series??? i know more than you, craig. >:///

a change that i did like was the separation between what happened in the burning building and joel finding ellie. because yes, i agree, the whole point of ellie’s section was for her to come out victorious through her own making. that moment where they find each other again, with all the fucked up additions, did feel all the more relieving, i’ll give it that.

that other change where it’s not joel pulling her close, but ellie going in for a much-needed hug, was really good. to me, it works with the build-up of ellie’s reliance on his protection. “if you die, i’m fuckin’ dead out here” & “i can’t fucking do this without you” were building up to this point where she can (non-verbally) say that she needs him.

in the game, it’s more so “she’s finally safe, thank god she’s safe,” which is still good, clearly because it’s one of the best scenes in the game and because we’re in joel’s shoes, but i like that the show’s depiction of them plays into the dynamic of ellie loving joel’s protection and him just being there for her. shit, i like seeing how much ellie loves joel in the show!!! her cuddling up with joel REALLY felt to me like for a moment, she could pretend for a second that he’s more than some guy transporting her across the country, but like maybe a dad? something like a dad? something precious that she wants in her life for a long time??

the game being from joel’s perspective, we don’t get as much on ellie’s feelings, how she comes to love joel, and i really dig that the show is giving us that. like hey, i know she’s a kid and of course, that means she’ll latch on to him faster but maybe it’s a bit more complex than that, who knows.

HEY, SPEAKING OF JOEL: poor guy’s parts of the ep were way too short :( not just in an “i wanna see joel do more sick shit because this is a gameplay section” kinda way, but also in a “hey, you’re rushing the episode” kinda way. i wanted more of him tearing the place apart in search of ellie. the game had it that way to match the chaotic energies that both parties were going through just to get back with each other! but joel’s portions of the ep were lacking and it seemed like the episode needed that boost. in trying to remember what joel was doing in the episode, the first thing that comes to mind isn’t really his torture scene but him ambling about in the snow. not a great thing. give the man more to do, please. i now see what people mean when they say the action has been neutered a bit.

anyway, back to ellie again lol.

bella was AMAZING in this. they’re so good at acting and acting like ellie that it’s like??? where they born to play ellie???? she killed all the feral moments, the vulnerable moments, the moments where ellie fucks up. the “ellie is the little girl that broke your fucking finger” moment was PHENOMENAL.

last episode next week. it’s 44 min apparently?? i’m not liking how that looks. if it were up to me, it’d be a two-parter. a bigass slow burn. one episode dedicated to ellie and joel only, expands their growing relationship after winter, lets them be soft, has the giraffe moment, makes things seem okay, then at the end they get found by the fireflies. second starts with the anna flashback and really digs into what’s about to happen, rounding off the theme of getting into the scientific side of the cordyceps in a neat way, then kicks off the end segment of the game.

here’s hoping they nail it.

#tlou hbo #the last of us hbo #spoilers #talkies #thinkies #looonnnnnggg post where i get in my feelings about joel and ellie

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coraniaid · 8 months

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I Only Have Eyes For You isn’t a perfect episode – for one thing, there are a couple of incidental lines of dialogue which I really don’t think should have made it past the first draft – but it is certainly a very very good one.

It’s also, I think, the first episode of the show that’s made me care about Buffy and Angel as an actual couple. Before this point it’s been … well, I’d certainly argue that Buffy’s relationship with Angel is pretty fundamental to understanding who Buffy is as a person after this season and why she acts the way she does (when it comes to Faith and Parker and Riley and Spike, yes, but also more generally her reluctance to open herself up emotionally to her mother and her sister and her friends all goes back to that whispered and rejected ‘I love you’ in Angel’s bedroom in Innocence).

But I’d not been invested in it at all before now. The relationship is important, yes, but I don’t think it’s particularly interesting in its own right before this episode. (Obviously there are people who find the idea of a vampire slayer in love with a vampire inherently interesting – “rather poetic, in a maudlin sort of way” – but I am not one of them.) I’m never convinced by how the relationship itself develops, and this rewatch was no different. It’s established as early as Angel that Buffy might be in love with him, but I’ve never really understood why, based on the little screen time they have together. They’re not even properly dating until the end of Reptile Boy and then they only have a handful of episodes of actually being a couple before the events of Surprise. It does not feel that the relationship develops so much as it is suddenly something that has always existed.

And I know a lot of people don’t like this ship because of the age and power imbalance and how unthinkingly condescending and paternalistic Angel can often be, but I think that misses the point a bit. Episodes like this one demonstrate that the writers are very aware of how messed up this relationship is, in ways that will be discussed again next season in The Prom (also written by Marti Noxon). The Becoming flashbacks coming up will also (I think intentionally) do a good job of deconstructing the love-at-first-sight thing that the show’s been relying on up to now. (I’m not convinced, honestly, that Season 3 consistently deals with things with quite the same level of awareness, but I guess that’s something to discuss when I get there in this rewatch.)

I don’t know that I’d have necessarily given David Boreanaz his own five season long spin-off show on the back of it, but the final scene between Buffy-as-James and Angel-as-Grace is really strong. That repeated last confrontation between James and Grace almost feels like it’s being overdone, right up until the pay-off of James/Buffy shouting “don’t walk away from me, bitch” to a departing Grace/Angel. For all that the show’s attempt at feminism is often laughably shallow (even for network television in the 1990s), I think the gender reversal here is a surprisingly clever touch.

Other thoughts:

The anachronism around the song the episode is named after (the version by The Flamingos that plays in the flashbacks was released in 1959, four years after the flashbacks are supposed to be happening) is a little weird, largely because I’m not sure why the original murder-suicide had to take place in 1955 at all. (I could understand if it was 1958, say, making the episode’s original air date the forty year anniversary of the deaths, but what is important about 1955 specifically?) Did the writers just pick a year at random and not check when the song was from until it was too late to change it?

(It’s a nice version of the song though.)

I’m also not sure what I feel about Giles's whole “to forgive is an act of compassion. It’s not done because people deserve it” speech. People online seem to really like it, but I’m not sure whether it really means anything, or – if it is meaningful – whether it’s actually something I agree with.

On the one hand, the episode is not actually subtle about the fact that in this episode James is Buffy: so Buffy is really being asked to forgive herself – in fact she’s being told that she needs to forgive herself – for her role in Angel’s death (having been the trigger for him losing his soul in Surprise and now, after Passion, having announced her intention to kill Angelus too). It’s hard to argue against that, given that Buffy (despite her protests) obviously didn’t do anything wrong. But then, the fact that she didn’t do anything wrong means that Buffy obviously does “deserve” to be forgiven, so what’s the relevance of Giles's quote here? Who is it that’s being forgiven who doesn’t deserve forgiveness? (OK, James, literally, but we don’t actually care about James: he’s just a plot device.)

“People who have done bad things need to be forgiven whether they deserve it or not” does not seem like a particularly good take. Presumably this is not what Giles is actually saying. But how else are we to interpret these lines? What does this quote actually mean?

#btvs #buffy rewatch 2023

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lyon-amore · 11 months

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The half of me Chapter 24

Chapter 23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess being an actress is more complicated than I thought. I had to repeat several movements because I move the wrong hand, my hair has to be behind my shoulders, if I look directly at the camera... How could Daliah do all this? And that I am still I have not done more scenes than this. I avoid pinching the sleeve of my blouse out of nerves. Because I also must be careful with the wardrobe. “MC, you should have looked at Josh” Carter cuts the scene “, he's talking." "Sorry." I say nervously, I had been thinking about what background music would be perfect for this scene. "Start again." I nod and take a deep breath.

The next scene was a bit easier, I had to be sitting in class pretending to take notes. Daliah doesn't speak here, but she had to be present because she was one more student. It was the introductory scene of the movie; the professor talks about legends and myths. He is passing images and the more terrifying. There's a moment when they talk about the wendigo that I'd love to look away, but right at that moment when the camera turns on me and I have to pretend it doesn't affect me. I'm thankful that I only have to do Daliah's scenes and not the entire movie. As soon as I'm done shooting, I'm out of here. I stay looking at the drawing of 'The man without a face'. I forget to even take the false notes. I'm to blame for not telling that he was Richy. All because I thought I was going to tarnish his image… A criminal… Who put us through terrible things. And I also remember the good times we had. I never knew what to answer if I forgave him or not, at that moment, I didn't know what to say. Jane asks something, immersed in the role and the "professor" answers her. The scene ends and I breathe in, to exhale heavily. "Perfect MC" Ralph tells me, a little clearer ", your expressions of astonishment were almost real." “Yeah, at least this time we were able to shoot this scene without a problem.” Carter smiles. "Well, it's just that you help me a lot." I try to lie, but I'm nervous. "You're doing well, MC" Grace says to me, smiling ", you look like a professional actress." I laugh shyly, I know she's saying it to encourage me to keep going, but I know I wouldn't reach Daliah's level. Besides, I wasn't even acting.

We take a break and I sit on the stairs of the academy to eat. Everyone has their group already, but it doesn't bother me. Oh, I wish my friends were here, although they might have objected to me helping them because of everything I've been through, but I'd feel terrible leaving them stuck without teacher approval for the film festival. I see Mason sit down next to Seo-ah and I smile as he makes her smile with a comment. Then I remember Jake and the chat discussion this morning, how I'll talk to him on the phone. I take out my phone and see that I have messages from him concerned. I bite my lip hard, feeling stupid. I've known Elliot for years, so it's normal for me to side with him a little bit, but at the same time I don't want to be mad at Jake. I decide to write to him, already a little calmer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MC Jake, sorry about what happened this morning… I'm really sorry But understand that Elliot is my friend, it's normal for me to lose my mind taking his side I even plan on sneaking out again to go to Evergreed to see you and talk it over calmly, okay? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wait for his answer, but he don't answer. Strange, because of his message, he said that he would wait for me to want to talk and now he doesn't say anything. "Can we keep you company?" I look up to see Grace and Ralph, with their respective trays of food. "Sure" I nod, and Grace sits next to me, while Ralph takes a step down, in front of Grace ". I've seen Seo-ah's dolls” Grace looks at me, paying attention “. It’s looks quite similar to the doll that Daliah received." "I know" she admits with a sigh ". I'm scared to think that she sent it to her, it would be horrible, because look at her" she point at her and I see Seo-ah laugh with Mason ", it would be a disappointment to everyone." Jane and Carter walk over to us and she smiles at us. "Can we sign up too?" she asks, not letting go of Carter's hand. “There are plenty of seats.” Ralph replies, pointing to the stairs. Carter sits next to me and Jane next to him. I see that they divide the food and then they kiss. Great… I'm surrounded by couples… This is uncomfortable, especially knowing that Carter cheated on her. “My bet is Carter” Ralph says, then looks at him “, maybe he killed Daliah." "And maybe you're going to be next." Carter snaps back, making Ralph laugh. "Guys, enough" Jane looks at them with a frown ", you can't talk about these things with the MC in front of you-" "Is okay" I answered, concentrating on the food ", also, I don't think you're any of you." "And so?" Grace asks, drinking from her water bottle after her "Anything else to know?" “Well” I clear my throat, prepared to deliver the news “, at the moment there are two suspects: A man named Armando Serrano, a Colville businessman Daliah sometimes worked for, and the alleged son or daughter of Krebs." They all stare at me. Carter's look is scary, like I've said something wrong. Sure, he asks Serrano for money. If it turns out that he is the murderer, he would no longer be able to get money. Grace looks a little pale from the news to which I see her squeeze Ralph's shoulder and Ralph takes her hand lovingly. Jane on the other hand seems the most interested, nodding. "Janis Krebs had a son?" the ash blonde asks me, surprised "How come nobody knew?" "Protection of minors" I quickly answer ". They didn't want the press to ask him or her about his or her father." "And what about Serrano?" Grace asks, resting her head on Ralph's. Yes, they are totally a couple "Have they already asked him?" "I don't know yet" I shrug, brushing my hair away from my face to look at her ", maybe they will today." Whoever Krebs's son is, I think they must be living far from Rosenschwarz by now" Carter takes some of his food and makes a sound as if he's going to continue speaking ". Come on, it would be suicidal to go near this town if you were the son of a child murderer, they would blame you for what your father did. "And if we change the subject?" Grace asks, and I see discomfort in her eyes. "We're just talking" Jane answers ", and you're right, honey, I'd be ashamed to be her daughter. I'm not!" She quickly defends herself. I nod and watch as Grace strokes Ralph's hair, ignoring us. Could it be that… Grace?

After eating, I decide to approach Mason and Seo-ah. I don't want to interrupt the moment they're having, but I'd like to ask her something about her stuffed animal. "Hey guys." I wave, a little nervous. "How are you doing, new Audrey Hepburn?" Mason tells me and I laugh "I hope you're not taking it wrong for replacing Daliah." "It's complicated" I answer ", especially for not knowing where to put your foot or avoid making a strange face." "I'm surprised you agreed to act" Seo-ah gives me a pitying look ". I mean... I wouldn't have minded making the movie from the beginning eliminating Daliah." “Yeah, I think the same thing” Mason looks at her, nodding ". I'm not saying that Daliah was expendable" he looks at me quickly ", but I don't know if is going to be good the day we show this short at the festival" he grits his teeth, looking annoyed ". I think is going to attract more attention because of the publicity they're going to want to give it than because of the plot itself." I nod, knowing what he's trying to say. Everyone will want to see the movie because a girl who died is in it before it was released. And, to top it all off, her twin replaces her in some scenes that she comes out. I hope they really appreciate the talent that Daliah had more than what's supposed to be behind the screen. "Actually, I came to talk to you Seo-ah" I look at the girl and nod ". It's about the dolls you made." "Is something wrong with them?" She asks me concerned "Did Carter say something? We need more?" "No, it's not that" I bite my tongue, trying to find the exact words so she doesn't think I'm accusing her directly, that I just want information ". Actually, Daliah received a doll quite similar to the ones you make." She looks at me starting to turn pale. She seems like she's starting to freak out at my accusation. "Are you insinuating that it's her?" Mason looks at me angrily "Seo-ah can't do that." “I'm not implying, I'm just asking if she knows anything." Seo-ah slowly shakes her head and I can see her looking at me in fear. "Well, I don't know how that's possible" she answers, a little nervous ". I mean... It's not possible since I brought the dolls today-" "I know, but maybe if-" Seo-ah quickly stands up, picking up the food items from her. “Sorry, I have to go over the script for the next scene.” she says with a smile. I stop her by grabbing her wrist. I look into her eyes, so she understands how serious this is. “Enough of the lies” I begg, with my voice shaking ". Please… " I watch her swallow hard and nod. "Can I come to your house tonight?" She asks me, looking around a little uncomfortable "I prefer not to talk here." “Sure” I reply, letting go of her wrist ". If you want, you can stay the night, I would love to have a friend with me." She smiles shy at me, and I hear Mason complain. "And what about me?" He asks embarrassed. "Girls only." She taps his on the forehead playfully ". Boys are off limits." “When I throw a party too, girls will be off limits to her” he says in a proud voice “video games, junk food, and explosion movies." "To think that we girls can't like that is a bit old-fashioned, don't you think?" Seo-ah tells him, with a laugh "See you tonight then, MC." Seo-ah walks away from us, and I watch Mason watch her go. He even lets out a sigh. I smile seeing the scene. It's like watching a romantic teen movie. Only without teenagers. "Is it wrong to say that one day I'll marry her?" He continues watching Seo-ah leave. I shake my head, letting out a laugh. "I think even she thinks the same thing, too." "Really?" He turns his head quickly, like an owl. His eyes sparkle after hearing me say that. "Break is over!" Carter yells from the stairs "Go get ready for the next scene!" “See you inside.” Mason stands up and pats me on the shoulder. I make a noise of agreement and take out my phone again, hoping that Jake has texted me back. Unfortunately, he hasn't said anything to me, maybe he's changed his mind and he's decided it's not worth it anymore because I've sided with Elliot? << But at no point have I said that I love Elliot… >> I look nervously at the screen. What have I done? "Come on MC!" Grace exclaims, coming up next to me "What's wrong? And that face?" "Nothing" I put the phone away nervously, hoping she hadn't seen the conversation ". Seo-ah will come talk to me at the end." "Really?" She looks at me curiously "Do she know something then?" "I don't know, according to her, no." "Hopefully she knows something and tells you" She grabs my arm and pulls me away ". But now, let's go to the next scene" I nod and she laughs, starting to walk quickly ". By the way, who is Jake? “ Oh, so she's seen it? “Someone special?" I look aside. I didn't want anyone to find out, it's too dangerous for him. "More or less" I reply. The list of people who know Jake's name is getting longer, and I don't like it at all. "I remember Daliah hooked up with a guy named Jake years ago." she lets out an exaggerated sigh "God! He was hot! "Yeah, she already told me the same thing" I answered awkwardly ", but I don't think he's the same one we're talking about." "Who knows?" She tells me with a smile "Both sisters are attractive to men." I try to figure out what she means by those words. But I prefer not to think that by chance Jake and Daliah got to know each other at some point in their lives and maybe… No. Stop MC, Jake doesn't like Daliah, you know that. I tried to keep up with her, hoping the next scene would be just like the one before, quiet.

Well…

It is not a peaceful scene. "Well MC" Carter places me in an 'X' on the hallway floor ", in this scene you have to run away from 'The Man Without a Face' " I turn to see the actor playing him and he gives me a smile gentle. As for him not to be afraid of him ". There are some markings in the corridor that will tell you where you have to go, which is to lock yourself in the janitor's closet, okay?" I nod and let the makeup and hairdressers fix me while I listen to Carter "The red marks are the ones you have to act like you trip over, but don't worry, there aren't many and you don't have to fall down either." I try not to touch too much my hair or clothes, which are torn apart as if I've been attacked. "The blood is perfect" Ralph says, looking into the camera ", it doesn't hide her face, so she'll look good" He smiles at me with a thumbs-up ". Perfect." I think he laughs at me. I'm supposed to come out of the corner to prepare to run. I think it will be quite easy. "You'll do fine" the "villain" tells me, putting on his mask ". Good luck.” he punches me in the arm and I groan. He has hit too hard. I prepare to listen to Carter, tuning my ear. I avoid touching my blood make-up, it itches, am I allergic or is it the nerves of knowing that what I feared the most is finally going to persecute me? "Action!"

We repeat the scene at least four times. I've tried to get it right, but I can't. Every time I pretended to trip, I really hurt myself. In the end I ended up with red hands from stopping the ground with it so much. To make matters worse, the wound hurts from doing it. They've done everything they can to hide it, telling me how to position myself so it won't show. "Cut." the way of saying it Carter seems to be tired. It's not my fault, it's complicated "What's wrong? “I can't do it.” I mutter, holding my hand “How do I pretend to trip without actually falling?" "Instead of opening your arms in an exaggerated way" Jane moves her arms just in that exaggerated way and I laugh, calming myself down ", focus more on your feet, look." She bends down and I watch her place my feet ". Trie to think of placing your feet like this, crossed, but watch your knee or you'll fall for real if you hit yourself hard." I nod and they put my hair back on and her blood paints it again, the liquid look it had been gone. I take a breath and wait for Carter to say action again.

Upon hearing it, I run away.

This time, I do better. Looking back from time to time. As far as I know, we have to replay this scene a couple of times from different camera angles, so I try to memorize every move I make, like it's a song. It's easy for me if I think of it that way. I reach the janitor's closet and close the door, just like Carter told me to. "Cut! "He exclaims, with a happy intonation "Perfect!" I smile and when I go to open the door... "What?" I move the latch, but it doesn't open. "MC? You can go out now.” Mason tells me. "I try, but it won't open." I say, trying to open the door again "it won't open! Can you do something?" “Okay, we'll try from outside.” I hear Carter say. I lean back a bit and the sound of a television makes me turn. On screen, Daliah appears crying, with hands around her neck. The screen goes black, as in a movie appearing a few words. <<Say it.>> “I'm sorry.” Daliah says between sobs. <<Say it more convincingly.>> "I'm so sorry!" <<Feeling it is not enough.>> I see him start to squeeze around her neck and she tries to break free. "Don't do it. Please… Please! Don't do it!" It's the same scream that sounded in that call. I start to cry, watching the death of my sister. <<You should have died.>> Little by little I see how Daliah stops breathing. "Daliah!" I scream even though I know it already happened "No, no, no, no!" "MC?" I hear Jane call me "What's wrong?" I walk over to the television and place my hands on the sides of it, as if I want to save it. "Stay with me! Daliah! Don't leave me!" Something on the screen appears. A message. For me. <<One less.>> My tears don’t stop falling. What do I have to do with all this? I was a child! I did what I must do! <<I will finish what I started.>> The screen blacks out and I curl up on the floor. Scared. Shattered. Crying. I can't with this torture. I can't take it anymore... I want it to end once and for all. The door is flung open and someone approaches me. "MC!" I hear Jane approaching me "What's wrong?!" “Da-Daliah…” I try to say as she helps me up “The video… They… were killing her! I have seen her death!" Carter walks over to the television and punches the buttons, trying to turn it on. He even hits it to make it react. “Nothing, it doesn't work.” he says as he sits up. "Who was in charge of the closet, preparing it?" Grace asks "The knob is broken!" I see how he checks that he doesn't get to move enough to open. "Me" We all look at Mason, surprised ". But I checked that it works fine-" "Well, it wasn't! Look at her! She is scared!" Grace walks over to us and looks at me "Are you okay?" "I…" I shake my head "Can I stop recording? I want to go home." "Sure" Carter looks at everyone and raises his voice "Change of plans! Today we shot the scenes for William, Josh and Marcus!"

I leave quickly and hear Mason call my name. "MC! Wait!" "No! I want to go home!" I yell as I headed to the classroom to collect my things. "I just want to apologize!" I enter the classroom and take the clothes that I have in the bag, along with my jacket and my bag. “Listen” Mason stands in the doorway, stopping me “, I swear I didn't leave you locked in there." I stare at him, doubting. He could have made that video since he was dedicated to modifying those of his classmates. Quite possibly he could have made that video of Daliah. He could be the murderer. I move him aside to pass, I want to clean the blood off and change as soon as possible. "I'm telling you the truth" he stops me, grabbing my wrist ", it wasn’t me." "Let her go" Ralph appears and separates our hands ". You look more suspicious, don't you see?" Mason looks from Ralph to me, looking surprised. "I'm sorry, I really-" I push them both and walk away from there.

I go into the bathroom and put the clothes in the sink. I break down crying again when I look in the mirror. I see the image of Daliah crying. Asking forgiveness. I turn on the faucet and start to wipe off the fake blood, though it's hard for me because I don't want to look in the mirror. I can't see myself. I only see Daliah. My hands shake every time I run them over my face, rubbing the paint away. It hurts. It's like a knife was just stuck in my heart and I couldn't get it out. When I finish the face, I continue with the arms and hands, managing to stop seeing myself in the mirror. I hear the notification sound and frantically search for my phone, wishing it was Jake. I need to talk to him.

But they weren't the words I wanted to read... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nym-0s Do not come to Evergreed anymore. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My breath catches reading those words. Now it is as if the dagger Ihad had been pulled out along with the heart. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MC What are you saying? Jake? Please! Don't tell me that! I need you! Now more than ever! I promise I won't side with Elliot again if it's for that! But don't tell me we don't see each other anymore! Please Jake! Don't do this to me now! I love you! Please!

-----Nym-0s has left the chat---- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A gasp escapes me as I read those words. It couldn't be that he really had been mad at me, right? It couldn't be true that over some silly fight about not wanting to risk losing him again. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MC Nymos! Tell me where is Jake!

Nym-0s Scanning user by the name of Jake. … …. ….. …… Scanned name. No user with the name of Jake is detected. Do you want something else?

MC And with the name of Nym-0s?! Please! It's urgent!

Nym-0s Scanning user by the name of Nym-0s. … …. ….. …… Scanned name. No user with the name of Nym-0s is detected. Do you want something else? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I scream and fall to my knees, my phone clutched to my chest. Jake has left me alone. Again, but why? Is it really my fault? Have I lost his trust? I'm so sorry! I didn't want this to happen! I didn't want to fight him! I lean against the wall, leaving the phone on the floor and raising my hands to my head. It hurts me so much to cry, for the things I've seen today. I don't have Daliah. I don't have Jake. I have no one. The door opens and I don't turn to see who is, but the presence of someone sitting next to me doesn't calm me down. "Do you want me to take you home?" I hear Jane ask me. "What… " I look at her still without stopping to cry "What about the short film?" "Carter is now busy giving Mason the talk about what he did" she makes a face ", so he goes long" she offers me her hand and gives me a smile ", shall we go?" I nod and she helps me up. I hug her and she tried to comfort me, stroking my hair. "Everything is going to be fine" she tells me calmly ". You'll see." I cry harder, trying to believe her words. Someone is hurting me in the most terrible way possible and I am powerless to do anything. I have a feeling that everyone wanted to do this with me today, that everyone might be Daliah's killer and I'm the only one with only blood on my hands from not being able to do anything for her.

When I get home, Jane leaves me on the sofa and goes to the kitchen. Seconds later I hear her complain. "MC, the fridge is almost empty!" I listen to her as she returns and picks up her phone from the table " Do you feel like... Some pasta? Or maybe a vegetarian?" "Why has this happened?" I ask without looking for an answer. I already know why all this is happening "Why does they just kill me and that's it?" Jane sighs and puts her phone down on the coffee table, looking at me. "Look, the one who is doing this to you is a first-class psychopath" She looks at me, she is furious ". I don't know what happened in that closet, but whatever it is, I believe you." “It was the video of Daliah being killed” I say, my voice cracking ". Jane... I saw him stop breathing..." "The problem is that that television didn't turn on." she crosses her arms, thoughtful "Why?" "Because they doesn't want anyone except me to see it" I answer, wiping away my tears, "Can I tell you something?" Jane nods and I take a deep breath. "I have access to Daliah's computer" I said slowly ", in it there are files talking about receiving the clippings, the doll... Conversations, a newspaper talking about you all... Everything..." Little by little her face changes. She looks at me scared. "Do you have it here?" She asks me nervously "Why didn't you give it to the police?" "No, I don't have it" I know I'm risking what I'm doing ". The computer couldn't be accessed so I asked a hacker to help me-" "Okay, okay." she moves her hand to stop me "But why are you telling me this? Why me?" I shake my head as I shrug. "Because I'm left alone and I don't know who to trust anymore." I answer, crying again. She sighs and hugs me again. "He left me" I say through tears ". He has left me alone and I don't know what to do..." "I don't know who you're talking about, but I'm sure everything will be fine." she tells me, as she pats me on the back "The FBI won't be after me now that you've told me, will they?" I let out a laugh, although it's not like I'm amused, but I no longer know what's a joke and what's serious. "No, they won't." I pulled her away and brushed my hair out of my face. "I hope so" she picks up the phone again and looks at me ". Ok so we ordered a vegetarian?" I shrug, letting her choose. Not even if I want to, I don’t feel like eating.

Jane stays until nightfall, since she is calm that Seo-ah is coming to my house. According to her, she has promised me not to tell me anything about what I'm doing with Daliah's computer, just to be careful that Elliot doesn't find out what I'm doing or I'll get in trouble with the police again. She understands me better than anyone thanks to the fact that she knows what it is to lose a brother. "Surely if I were in your situation, I would have also hacked into my brother's computer if he had hidden things from me." was what she told me when I explained why I'm doing it. I might really risk ratting us out, but… I really don't know what else to do… I feel completely dejected and without Jake…

I receive a text from Seo-ah and sigh in relief. At least it's okay. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----Seo-ah has connected-----

Seo-ah Sorry, it may take a little longer I've been talking to Mason about what happened 😔 He really isn't feeling well because of what happened to you.

MC No problem But please don't be long

Seo-ah Now I go I collect my things and I'm on my way 😊

MC Okay

Seo-ah See you

-----Seo-ah has disconnected----- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I put down the phone and I wait on the couch, closing my eyes to relax. But every time I do, Daliah shows up. I look at the sofa and get up quickly, remembering that she died on one, so I stay in my room waiting.

I look at the time and Seo-ah doesn't show up, where is she? I decide to send her messages. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MC Seo-ah? Where are you? I've been waiting an hour Let me know if something happened...

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

I leave my phone on loud in case I fall asleep waiting, though I don't think that will happen. I look ahead and see Daliah sitting up in bed, her neck red and her eyes sunken. Her paleness makes her bloodshot eyes stand out. She opens her mouth to speak, but she can't, she has a hard time doing it. I hide my face to avoid seeing her.

Jake…

Why have you left me?

*Jake POV*

I was going to reply to MC's messages telling me that Elliot is her friend and that she wanted to come to Evergreed, I wanted to tell her that it was a bit dangerous at the moment, but the door stopped me from sending her that message. They were knocking so frantically that it made me slowly open the door, finding Mike. "What are you doing here?!" I ask nervously. "We don't have time!" He pushes the door, entering. "Hey! Can you explain to me what is going on?!" Mike stops taking my stuff out of the closet and walks over to me. "Rocco was in class when he saw them through the window" I pay attention to his words, he speaks very quickly ". Men going door to door, some in suits and others in uniforms with the word FBI on it" little by little I start to get nervous ", and they've never been to Evergreed." So I start to go as fast as I can, turning off the computers and starting to put them away. Mike takes my things out of the closet, placing them on the bed and I pile everything into my backpack as best I can. This is not the time to order. "How long do you think they have left to get to the hostel?" I ask nervously, as I put the computers in the bag of what I have left of equipment. "If they were in the school area, probably about forty-five minutes" he closes my backpack as best he can and looks at me ". Thirty if any decide to sing that they has recognized you." I mutter curses under my breath, pulling on my mask and hood. Then put on the gloves. I take out my cell phone and look at the chat. I have to let her know. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nym-0s Do not come to Evergreed anymore. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I send her quickly, to want to continue sending her an explanation. "What are you doing?!" Mike asks me, pointing to the door "You'll explain it to her later!" True, he is right. Unfortunately, it hurts me to read the messages that she has sent me when she notices that I doesn't answer her anymore. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I clench my jaw hard, hoping she will forgive me. But now I cannot use this cell phone, it is not safe. And I decide to do something unthinkable. To disappear from her life again, removing myself from the Nymos chat, leaving it as the program it was before. “Come on, I will give you something to run away with.” I follow Mike running downstairs as we leave the room. On the street, I see a black sidecar. Mike tosses me the key and I catch it. "Here, it will help you to take the equipment." I set the large duffel bag on the seat as I strapped the backpack onto my back, picking up the helmet. "And this too" He hands me a new cell phone and I put it in the bag with the rest of the team. To which I quickly take out the card from my cell phone and destroy it ", the phone PIN is 3618, the number 60421." “Thanks, Mike.” I tell him as I put my helmet on. "And!" He hands me a piece of paper and I read it "Go to Colville. A woman lives in this building who will give you a apartment to hide in" I look at him doubtfully ". Tell her you're on my side and everything will be fine." I nod and raise my hand. “Good luck man, I'll be working on the program." I accept his hand, giving it a shake. I miss doing this again. "If MC comes to Evergreed, make sure she comes back to Rosenschwarz" I tell him in a serious tone ", she does not come here for a while." "I'll keep her far away." I remove my hand and start the sidecar. This is the worst thing that could have happened to me today.

And I am pretty sure who could have done this.

Elliot.

He has broken the deal we had and has given me away again, surely he has tracked my number What an idiot I have been! If he did it once for her, clearly he would do it again to get away from MC.

I have already traveled a long way, I think I can stop for a moment to look at my cell phone. I park and pull away from the road, pulling the item out of the bag. I flip up the visor and turn on the cell phone. At the moment, the only chat there is from Mike. As soon as I get to the safe place where he told me to stay, I will have to reprogram Nymos on my cell phone and contact MC. I just hope that she can forgive me for having sent her that message, I did not have time for further explanations. I put the cell phone away and start the bike again. There are a few kilometers to go. It is a little slower than going by train, but I am sure Mike thought they had been watching the train station. It is already lucky that I was able to evade the police control that was at the exit of Evergreed, I really had to go through alleys until I reached the highway. But the worst thing will be that it will take time to contact MC if I want to reassemble the equipment and program Nymos on the cell phone again. I will not be able to talk to her until tomorrow. A whole year's work wasted. I hope that the copy of the computer accepts to be installed in the new cell phone.

I arrive at the address of Colville. They are part of the suburbs. You can tell that it is a city by the amount of people there. I park the bike and take the travel bag, leaving the helmet on the bike. I call the first floor as indicated on the paper. "Yes? Who is it?" asks an older lady on the intercom. “I am here from Mike Vogt.” I answer, careful not to let anyone else hear me. The lady lets out a sigh and opens the front door. "This son of mine, what has he done now?" She says before hanging up the phone. << Son?>> I enter and the first thing I find is a lady with brown hair with few gray hairs and collected in a bun. She is big and she looks at me like she is glaring at me. "And who are you?" She asks me, in a doubtful tone. "I am just a friend of her son's" I reply, a little uncomfortable to admit. And that she reminds me of when my mother was going to give me the talk for having done something bad ". He said that you could help me-" “I'm not a nun of charity, damn it!” She puts her hand to her head, and then she points to me “Okay, follow me." She turns around at a steady pace and I obey her order. The place is even worse than the hostel, with torn and stained wallpaper. "You would have seen" I hear how he murmurs ", always the same, I don't know who that boy has looks like, but I already tell you no to his father! He was such a wretch." It makes me a little uncomfortable having to listen to this conversation. I do not think Mike would like me to hear his mother talk about these things with a stranger. We arrive at a door, and she takes out some keys with a number, taking 104 from the key ring. "Here." I go to take it, but she pushes her away "But how are you going to pay me?" "Well" I start talking nervously. This woman scares me more than the FBI ", I have some money." "Some money?” She arches an eyebrow, looking at me doubtfully. "It is not much-" "Oh, no!" She puts the key in her neckline and she pushes me " Let's go! Here you pay or nothing!" "The floors!" I quickly exclaimed "I can fix whatever you need in exchange for me staying!" She stops and I see how she looks around the place. After me. "Since my son has left his poor mother alone and helpless in charge of all this" her exaggerated way of speaking is almost pitiful "I suppose a handsome young man could help me in exchange for him staying here safe, yeah" . I sigh with relief. It cannot be that it worked.

I enter the apartment after she enters, showing me the place. Is a bit old too, but at least you can tell she is coming to clean it up. I start to get my equipment out and put everything on the table, turning on Daliah's computer and mine, plugging them back in like before. "Hacker, right?" The lady asks me, whose name she has not told me yet "Now I understand everything…" “I am one of the good guys.” I answer clearly. "Yes, I was too, now I'm retired thanks to the law" I blink surprised and she laugh "What? Did you think that Mike has learned from his father? I've taught that smart boy everything I know.” She holds out hwe hand in greeting ". Rudy Zimmerman" "Delighted." I accept her hand and she looks at me doubtingly. "No name?" "I do not think it is a good idea to tell you" I answer, still without taking off my mask ", it would put you at risk." She chuckles, walking over to the door. "As if I care about risk at this point" she jerks his thumb out ". Remember the deal, tomorrow you start with the boiler room, kid." She winks at me and leaves. I lower the mask and let out a long breath. I would never have thought of accepting help from other people knowing that she would put them at risk, but given the circumstances, I have no choice but to accept. I hope this does not bring consequences to her later.

I take out my cell phone and connect it to the other computer I have, starting to install Nymos.

Please, may MC be okay and they do not go after her again.

Chapter 25

#duskwood #duskwood jake #duskwood mc #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood fanfic #duskwood everbyte #everbyte #everbyte studio

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cosmicjoke · 11 months

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Amazing finale to “Vinland Saga”, keeping with the stellar, incredible quality of this entire series. I especially loved the ending sequence, with Thorfinn seeing his younger self asking where to go if you want to run away from here, and Thors appearing and telling him he already knows the answer. Once again, I feel the anime improves on the manga in small, but key ways, adding just enough extra weight and drama to certain scenes to really drive this story to greatness. I hope to continue to see this as the series goes on, which I assume it will, to see them sort of cut out some of the more glaring and out of place elements from the manga and retain that more serious tone that was established early on in it. The final, quiet interaction we see between Thorfinn and his sister was really moving too, after the more comical interactions between them earlier in the episode, And that’s alright to have comic relief, (Helga after all is a comedic character and has been since the beginning) as long as it doesn’t undercut the drama, which is a minor criticism I have of the manga at times (not to rag on the manga at all, it’s absolutely stellar in its own right, and of course, the art is second to none). But they made sure to pull the comedy back here to a touching and poignant moment between brother and sister, also eliminating the continuing comedy with her cutting Thorfinm’s hair and giving him a bowl cut. I always felt like those moments in the manga detracted from the overall tone and weight of the story, and it feels like the creators working on the anime agree. Although they kept some of the comedy for this last episode, it wasn’t overwhelming or distracting like I felt it was in the manga. And of course, the reunion between Thorfinn and his mother was beautiful and heartbreaking. The manga has gotten more serious again in its most recent arcs, and that makes me happy. I’ll be interested to see how they handle certain things going forward, like with Halfdan, and his relationship with Thorfinn and his role in funding their expedition to Vinland. The manga’s, I guess the word is forgiveness, of Halfdan always struck me as a bit jarring, given the earlier characterization of him as a brutal and uncompromising slave owner. I have a feeling there isn’t really a work around for that, though, unless they simply cut Halfdan from the story entirely, or change the nature of his relationship with Thorfinn, which I also don’t really see a work around for, given his and his son’s heavy involvement in the plot moving forward. Either way, I’m sure they’ll handle it with the same grace and care and seriousness that they’ve handled everything else in this anime with. What’s really struck me about this adaptation has been the creator’s understanding of where the story needs improvement, where it needs to be toned down and taken more seriously, deviating at times from the manga in order to achieve that, but still obviously respecting the source material. It really is one of the best anime’s I’ve ever had the true pleasure of experiencing. Thorfinn’s journey, and watching it unfold the way it has here, with the magnificent direction, animation, voice acting, music, etc... has been nothing short of deeply moving and extraordinary, and I’m sure it will retain that quality moving forward. MAPPA is absolutely destroying it with their output these last, few years. Between Attack on Titan, this and JJK, there isn’t another studio I can think of which has put out such incredible work so consistently and continuously. So thank you MAPPA for bringing this, and the other deserving stories to such astonishing life. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long for season 3. I want to continue watching Thorfinn grow and journey to fulfill his purpose and dream. For anyone who hasn’t read the manga yet, there are some truly incredible arcs coming up which absolutely have to be animated. This is, after all, called “Vinland Saga”, and it won’t be complete until Thorfinn arrives there.

#Vinland Saga #Thorfinn #episode 24

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bripops · 4 months

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omg I'm so giddy I cannot decide which WIP to ask you about because they all sound flipping amazing but maybe 3 or 6, whichever you feel happiest with rn? (ps first time caller, long time listener -- just wanna say I'm a huge huge fan of all your fics)

AHH OMG I DIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULD ACTUALLY ASK ME ANYTHING, YOU GET ALL OF THE ABOVE

3. hopeless, breathless, burning slow [horny dirk gently treatise]

So this one is actually published [ao3 link], but I put it in there because it was published recently and I thought the working title was funny lmao. It was honestly a classic example of this post that's like "yeah bro it's a character study. the 2 thousand words of blowjob is vital to the study of the character" where I wanted to write Dirk getting absolutely railed but I also wanted to talk about why getting absolutely railed is a profound, important thing to him. 5,000 words later, that was the result lol

6. it's dangerous (I'm falling) [megstiel fuckfest]

okay so I've been on the megstiel hype squad forever and got the idea a few years back for a s7 canon divergence AU. the basic plot is that after Cas takes on Sam's madness, he ends up giving his grace to the Winchesters to use as a nuke against the Leviathans, and Meg ends up in the same caretaker role for him because he's not quite human but he's also definitely not an angel and needs to be kept out of the way while they figure it all out. the two of them end up in a shitty apartment trying to figure out where Castiel's limits are, which is of course a deeply satisfying experience for Meg that turns sexual REALLY quickly. they bond over shared trauma, daddy issues, teaching Cas how to smoke a joint, and sexually charged sparring scenes. here's a snippet:

“Tell me about the stars, Clarence,” Meg said lazily, looking up at the sky. The city lights washed out a lot of them, but they could still see a few burning above the haze.

“What would you like to know?” Castiel asked.

Meg shrugged. “I dunno,” she said, “weren’t you there when they were created or some shit? Gimme something that’ll come in handy at trivia night.”

“You don’t go to trivia night,” Cas said, “and the stars came before I did. They were part of let there be light. I have no memory of their creation.”

“Make something up then,” Meg said. “What about that one?”

She pointed up, and Castiel was more or less able to follow to the star she was looking at. It was particularly bright, blinking in the night sky and if he focused, he could almost make out the shift in color.

“That’s a binary star,” he explained. “It looks like one point of light, but it’s two stars orbiting around a common center. In a few million years they’ll collide and be destroyed on impact.”

“Well shit,” Meg said, pulling another joint out of her pack of cigarettes. Her lighter flickered in the dark and she inhaled deeply. Wordlessly, not looking away from the sky, she held it out to Cas.

He shook his head first before realizing she wouldn’t see it. “No thank you,” he said, “I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough.” His throat was still raw from coughing his way through the first joint.

“Oh come on,” Meg said, propping herself up on her elbows and looking over at Cas. “I’m sure you have a few more hits in you.”

Castiel shook his head again now that she could see him do it, and enjoyed the way his body hummed with the movement. He was relaxed head to toe, his fingertips tingling and his skin hyper-sensitive to every shift against the blanket, every brush of the breeze on his face.

Meg took another hit, and blew the smoke into Castiel’s face. He grumbled, closing his eyes against the sting, and Meg laughed.

“How about we shotgun it,” she offered.

“I don't see what firearms have to do with this," Cas said, frowning. Now probably wasn't the best time to check if he could still shoot a gun; he hadn't even brought one.

Meg laughed. “Oh my god, you’ve been alive for thousands of years and still act like you were born yesterday. C’mere.”

Cas shifted up so he was propped on his elbows too and looked at Meg curiously.

“When I breathe out, you breathe in, okay?”

“What--” Castiel started to say, but she was already taking a drag.

Cas watched her do it, transfixed by the easy way her lips wrapped around the joint and how her chest rose as she inhaled. When she’d taken enough, Meg leaned in close until she was just a few inches from Castiel’s lips. He wondered, in a fuzzy-minded daze, if he was about to be kissed.

Instead, smoke poured out of her mouth, and remembering to do what he was told, Cas breathed in. He filled his lungs, but it burned less, and he was too distracted by Meg’s closeness to mind much.

“Better?” she asked with a smirk.

Cas exhaled, watching the smoke spiral towards the sky.

“Much,” he said, lying back down. He had a full-body buzz that felt like TV static on his brain, making his limbs heavy and his eyes close. He felt Meg shift next to him, and when Castiel opened his eyes again she was leaning over him, almost nose-to-nose.

It was a testament to the weed that he didn’t startle, just blinked up at her.

“Want another?”

#writing meme #literally you could ask me about all of them and I would tell you about all of them #I'm so stoked someone actually asked lmao

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rriavian · 9 months

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I’m back with more unhinged thoughts. Now about episode 1 because there’s a specific scene in it that I’ve been obsessed with for months. Again, haven't read the comics, so this is purely based on what we've seen in the show so far. When the Corinthian goes to visit Burgess and they have their nice little ‘so you’ve kidnapped my creator’ chat (which again I could make a whole separate post on) Burgess asks 'what's the good of a god that governs dreams'.

And the Corinthian is quick to correct him.

"Not a god." He says, then specifically adds. ‘More than a god’

And as much as I lean into descriptions of the divine in my fics (and as much as it’s still valid even if 'god' might not be the right word) there is a very clear difference here. It’s an idea I’ve toyed with in some of my wips—to be honest I’ve been thinking about it way too much—but I am just so enthralled by the question implicit in this and I have to talk about it.

What is more than a god?

It could refer to how the world of the sandman includes quite a number of different pantheons other than the Christian one, with various deities represented within it. And the Endless themselves are ranked quite highly in terms of ‘who is the most powerful being in the universe’. The line is a good way to contextualise just how powerful Dream is, both to the viewer and to Burgess, but I don’t really want to stop here so let’s dig a little deeper.

So, what is a god?

Belief. Worship. A creator to be sure but they are usually of something (god of the sea, god of music ect) but Dream isn’t really of dreams. He is dreams. More the primal power itself rather than a being with the ability to control an element. And his sphere of influence isn’t limited to humans either. His threat to the demon Squatterbloat in hell shows that, as does his threat to Lucifer. The Corinthian knows how Dream can affect other immortals, other inhuman creatures.

He's a dream to them too. And he can just as easily be a nightmare.

A personified manifestation of a concept could still be considered a definition for a god, depending on the interpretation, but gods also traditionally divine power and prestige from belief. I haven't read the comics but I believe this aligns with how the gods of the sandman universe work within it. There's also a whole point about them being stories, derived from the Dreaming, and so more than a god is literally saying they come under Dream's power.

But this touches on some of the comic lore I'm not so familiar with and my point still stands.

Gods have temples dedicated to them, demand prayers, need humanity to believe in them to maintain prominence. They interact with human power structures; religion often instructs how a believer should live, sets rules for how to best please their god, a manual for the best way to worship essentially a shortcut for how to stay in a gods good graces. They can fade away if nothing in our world grounds them, if they aren’t remembered.

But Dream doesn’t need any of that.

None of the Endless really do. They aren’t affected by it in the same way. It doesn’t matter if humanity believes in them or not. It matters that humans are human. And as long as we are human, we will dream.

Dream is more than belief.

You can also see it in how he acts. Dream dresses quite simply most of the time, blends in rather than stands out. He doesn’t care enough about other peoples assessment of what’s powerful to pander to it. He doesn’t derive power from how others perceive him and power can't be taken just because someone doesn't consider themselves under his sway. There is a whole other point I could make here about Dream's dynamics with his creations, but I'm going to leave it at how he doesn't really need them to worship him either. Dream doesn't care if you're a follower, if you're a believer, because it makes no difference to what he can do to you.

So going back to the scene. The Corinthian knows all of this, but Burgess doesn’t (honestly he doesn't even know that he was trying to summon an Endless) and I think it’s very telling that the Corinthian focuses his advice on how to keep Dream trapped.

At no point does he make a suggestion about how to get him to cooperate.

And it's because he knows that Dream won't.

To me this is the line that signifies the difference. A god is a familiar concept to Burgess, has a relationship with humanity that he can, and through all his research probably does, understand. For him this is a scientific pursuit, a cold equation to get his son back, and he thinks that logic and reasoning will allow him to use mysticism as a tool. He thinks he's taken the power out of it, has drawn back the curtain to reveal there's nothing there, has mastery over it because he doesn't hold any worship for it.

Burgess knows (or thinks he knows) what can have power over a god. He tried to summon Death on that assumption, so he must also think he knows something of how to bargain with one.

His assessment is flawed, though Burgess doesn't realise it, and even after the conversation with the Corinthian he continues treating Dream as a god. He does it even as he shows no respect for him at all, no deference, no basic decency, because he thinks that's how to prove he isn't beholden to him. Burgess thinks that because he’s taken Dream’s tools he’s taken his power, that because he has him trapped he has a hold over him, has leverage.

Burgess thinks he knows what Dream is.

The Corinthian is trying to tell him he doesn’t know shit.

#the sandman #the corinthian #dream of the endless #Roderick Burgess #wow this got long #more rambling by me #I've been sitting on this idea for months

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protege-not-protagonist · 4 months

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Criminal Minds: The Protégé Chapter 4

Ch 4: My Brother's Keeper Pt. 1

Blurb: After meeting with Dr. Reid, Grace is called away on a case with the team to a double Homicide of children with excessive overkill. It doesn't take long to establish that This Unsub will kill again if not caught soon. But as Grace works the case, certain aspects of it stir up a past she would rather forget. Meanwhile Spencer can't help but start working on the victimology of this new possible serial killer back home.

Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Audience: 16+ mature audience for depictions of violence and sexual references

Author's Note: if you see a trigger warning that concerns you, you can scroll to end and I'll have a brief description what happens. I think that system should work well cause then those who don't want spoilers don't have to read the trigger warnings at the start and get spoiled. Also my apologies to Groton South Dakota. I'm sorry I'm sure your a lovely town, I just threw a dart on the map and looked for a small town in that area. No offense.

TW: Ableism, child death, violence, gore, crime scene depiction, kidnapping.

Quantico, FBI Runway Tarmac Thursday July 2023 1:32 pm

‘Sorry,’ Grace apologised as she entered the jet, ‘It’s worth the wait trust me.’ She turned behind her and gestured to the two people who followed her up the stairs, ‘This is my friend Agent Stiller, from Forensics…’

A neatly dressed young man with dark skin and round glasses smiled widely and offered his hand to the rest of the team, ‘You can just call me Avery, nice to meet you guys, I’ve heard a lot about the lofty sixth floor. Didn't know you guys had a jet.’ That earnt a few laughs from her team.

Grace turned to the older redheaded woman who still stood at her side. ‘And this is our associate, Dr Boland, she's an expert Forensic Anthropologist with the Smithsonian. She taught me everything I know.’

'Well, I don't think that's quite true, Grace,' Dr Boland chuckled slightly and turned to the team offering a small wave, ‘Nice to meet you all, although I wish it were under better circumstances.’

‘Thank you for joining us on short notice, we appreciate having you both on board,’ Prentiss welcomed them, ‘Take a seat where you can find one, budget won’t allow for a bigger jet so we might have to get a little cosy, I’m Section Chief and Acting Unit Chief SSA Prentiss, this is SSA’s Rossi, Alvez, Simmons, Jareau and Dr Lewis, you both know Special Agent Matthews. As soon as we’ve taken off, we’ll start running through what we've got so far.’

The jet started taxiing along the runway. Without too much surprise, Avery and Dr Boland took the couch seat together. Grace smiled and shot them an encouraging smile up before sitting down next to Rossi.

‘Where did you wander off to today, huh? That's the first time you’ve taken a lunch break longer than 10 minutes. I’m proud of you,’ Rossi nudged her.

Across the table from her, Dr. Lewis and JJ listened in curiously.

‘I was still on site, as I’m sure you will all hear from Alvez in his report-’ she heard Luke snort from the seat behind her. ‘-I went to see Dr Reid.’

Everyone sat up in their chairs, suddenly very focused on what she had to say. She even heard the rest of the team's seats creak behind her.

‘What?’ she asked. It felt like she was unaware of some joke that they had with each other. Had they been taking bets again?

‘Nothing.’ Rossi shrugged, ‘We all miss him. Guess we just wanna know how he's doing, How’d it go?’

The jet shuddered as it sped full speed down the runway. They all paused their conversation as the cabin began to rattle. Rossi gripped the armrest tightly and Grace closed her eyes and enjoyed the stomach flipping sensation. They lifted off the ground and there was the pleasant buzz in her body of adrenalin. She loved take offs. She opened her eyes and there were a few pairs staring back at her, waiting. Oh yeah, they had asked her a question.

‘Fine, it was really good actually. He’s nice, gave me some advice, and he's funny too… It was very… I don’t know.’

‘You two just… gelled well? It would be nice having someone on your level to talk to,’ Dr. Lewis suggested.

Grace let out a nervous chuckle, ‘Oh no, he is way above my level, but… he’s not like other people I've met who are like that.’

Rossi gave her a knowing look, ‘He is the smartest guy in the room but he doesn't lord it over anyone. He doesn’t have a drop of arrogance or conceitedness in him.’

‘Yeah, that’s it,’ she smiled. Rossi was right, probably because he knew who some of the ‘other people’ she was referring to.

‘Well, if you think he is funny, you must be closer to his level than us, cause his jokes often go over our heads,’ JJ remarked and there were a few nods of agreement.

The monitor chimed, and Garcia’s bright personality shone through the screen.

'Hello my crime fighters and special guests! I've got an update, not a good one but still an update.'

'What have you got, Garcia?' Prentiss asked. They all got up and gathered around the second table in the jet that currently had all the files scattered across it.

‘Well, I have nothing folks, I looked for two related persons with Brittle Bone Disease in Groton and surrounding areas, and there are none. I trolled through medical records, but knowing they can be tricky and locked up tight, I went with ER admissions for repeated broken bones, then tried health insurance, then wheelchair and braces purchases, then school enrollments with special needs, nada… whoever these babies are, they aren't local and I can't find them and it's making me so sad.'

‘That's okay, keep working on that list, extend it to nationwide; families with two or more individuals with Brittle Bone who are under 25,’ Prentiss instructed.

‘Oooh, that is a big list,’ Garcia winced.

‘It’s okay, we have Dr Boland and Agent Stiller here, they will help give us more identifying features and we can narrow down the list further as we go along.’ Prentiss assured her. 'But are there any missing persons with Brittle Bone reported?'

Garcia shook her head, 'None reported in the entire country.'

Grace felt her chest ache a bit at the thought of a pair of parents out there unaware their kids were missing, or worse, not caring that they were. She held to that thought.

‘Brittle Bone is debilitating for kids. Most breakages occur before puberty, they would require a high level of care. These are kids you couldn't leave them home alone for long periods of time. They wouldn't be able to walk long distances or play on a playground unsupervised. Even if these victims are in their early teens, and they aren't as vulnerable, they're still someone you would notice missing. If they have not been reported missing, it’s likely that their guardian is also missing,' she suggested.

'Or the unsub themselves,' Alvez countered.

Why hadn’t she considered that? It was more likely.

She winced at the thought, 'I hope not. But yeah that's what statistics would point to, most murders are committed by someone closely related to a victim, even more so with children.'

'Well, if that is not the case…' Simmons pointed to a map of Groton they had on the table, 'Two major routes intersect here the 37 and the 12, there isn’t much in the town, it’s basically a rest stop, we could be dealing with a mobile killer. If our unsub knew the town had little in the way of law enforcement, they could dump the bodies, shock a small town, overwhelm law enforcement and continue driving. They’d be long gone before the cops even figured out what to do, it’s a forensic countermeasure. Have we looked at the Highway Serial Crimes database? Any similar scenes in other states?'

Garcia shook her head, ‘I checked that, and I'm keeping tabs, but I’ve found nothing this severe, or with kids, sorry. Ah… and I see you’re getting ready to look at those photos and I’ll take that as my cue, I’m out. Talk to you later.’

The screen went dark as Simmons laid out some of the photos on the table.

Prentiss turned their guests. ‘Can you tell anything from the photos that will help narrow anything down?’

‘Ah, no, I agree with everything Grace has concluded. An MNI of two. Both victims are definitely under 21. Most likely related, both have OI. Most likely Caucasian; their teeth have no shovelling. I would say these victims are more likely have Type One, but we will have to reconstruct and get stature estimates and bone samples to know that for certain. Unfortunately, I can’t rule out one of our individuals being pre-pubescent either, like Grace observed, their 31 hasn’t erupted. And if the victims do have Type One, it is the only type not known to cause unusual dentition. I believe it is a worse case scenario, one of those victims is around 12 years old.’ Dr Boland reported.

Grace already had known that, but somehow having someone else confirm it, made the cabin's recycled air feel heavy.

Avery sighed, ‘I have nothing to add, except I want to let you guys know, we are pretty good, but we are not miracle workers. I just want to prepare you for the possibility that we may not ID these victims if no relative comes forward with DNA or reports them missing. Soft tissue is obliterated, so we’re going to work with what we can and move to bones. Now, with younger victims, it is harder to determine sex with only skeletal remains, and given the condition they are in, the fragmentation will also make it difficult to determine facial features or distinguishable characteristics. Dr Boland will do what she can and I will assist where I can.’

‘Wait assist? So you’re not a bone and body guy?’ Alvez asked.

The rest of the team looked confused. Grace realised she hadn’t really told them much about who Avery was, or much about her old team, really.

‘I dabble but no, on the second floor, I’m the living people expert,’ he explained.

JJ nodded along with a grin, ‘You’re the team liaison.’

He nodded proudly, ‘I specialise in CSI coordination, organisation, and education for local police. Grace called me because I’ve worked cases like this before. It is possible we are walking into a contaminated crime scene, regional PD’s will be trying to work with one another, there will be press vultures, and we will most likely be doing the reconstruction in a country clinic or even a vet clinic. Agent Prentiss, I know you will be head of this investigation, but if you allow it, I will gladly organise and coach Local PD though evidence collection. I will do my best to make sure all evidence is collected and processed so it is admissible in court, if that's what you want me to do.’

‘That would be a big help, a profile is going to be hard enough with not much victimology to go off, we don’t need to be juggling crime scene management as well,’ Prentiss agreed.

Avery pulled out a business card and passed it around, ‘That’s my number, I'll grab all yours as well. I know how important a profile is in a case like this, I need to know any updates on your profiles immediately. In a small town like this, we will definitely work with volunteers. I’ve been warned that having Feds brought in might excite and Unsub, it’s possible I will be working along side our unsub at some point, so I think it’s good if we stay in touch.’

Rossi nodded with an impressed look on his face, ‘Where do you find these people, kid?’

‘Around. I keep good company,’ she smiled.

‘Okay when we land, we have a 20 minute drive to Groton from the regional airport, JJ, Matthews, Stiller and Dr Boland, I want you to go to the crime scene, make sure they get everything under control. Rossi, Alvez, I want you to question the staff at the golf course where the bodies were found. Simmons, Lewis you're with me, we will go to the station and get a lay of the land. We'll meet at the Gold Stallion Inn by seven. That's where we're being put up. I hope none of you snore, because there are only six rooms some of us are gonna have to share.’

‘Shot not sharing with Rossi,’ Dr Lewis remarked.

‘Hey, I do not snore. And I’ve had three wives who can attest to that,’ Rossi defended.

Somewhere along Route 37, South Dakota, Thursday July 2023 3:30 pm

He looked out the window as the radio played country music. It had been a long time since he had been on a road trip, he’d forgotten what it felt like. The crink in his knees hardly bothered him though. This was too exciting. Fields passed him and he smiled as a herd of cows lazily grazed, watching their minivan drive by.

‘Cows!’ he exclaimed with delight.

No one else in the car shared his enthusiasm. That was okay, his mom and dad had been driving for a long time, they were tired.

But then the woman next to him sobbed.

‘Please, where are you taking us? Where are my boys!’ his mother cried.

His smile retreated. She was ruining it.

‘SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!’ he pressed the gun to her head again.

‘Lilly, it’s okay baby, we’ll be okay!’ Dad called from the driver’s seat. ‘Please don’t hurt her, she just wants to know when we are going to stop.’

The man turned back to look at him and the woman with pleading eyes. It was good that Mom and Dad loved each other. If only they would love him as much. This was supposed to be a family road trip. They were supposed to be a happy family now. Why didn’t they love him?

‘We stop when I say we can, and you’ll see your boys again, soon enough,' he promised, and he wasn’t lying this time.

This Mom and Dad weren't right, his brothers weren’t right. He’d find the right ones one day. But he supposed he had to value what little time left he had with this family, it was supposed to be fun wasn’t it? He lowered the gun as the road sign loomed up ahead and he smiled. They were nearly there.

‘Ooh, let’s play a game… I spy, with my little eye, something, beginning with… M.’

Groton SD, Golf Course, Thursday July 2023 3:58 pm

'Deputy Mitchell?' JJ asked as the four of them climbed off the golf cart and approached a middle-aged man guarding a large tarp spread over the ground.

'You the feds?'

‘Agents Jareau, Matthews, and Stiller, and our forensic expert Dr Boland.' JJ introduced, pointing out each one.

'Well, thought you'd be all suited up with earpieces, but I'm glad you're here. Body is under here.' He lifted the tarp partially and they all braced themselves. 'Groundsman found it here this morning, Jesus,' the deputy winced and turned away.

'When did the call come in?' JJ asked.

‘That was about six this morning... Look, other than putting the tarp on and doing a search of the grounds, we haven't done anything else. This is way over our heads. We are a small community. People come here cause it’s quiet and nothing happens, we don’t have resources, certainly not for this. Heck, I’m not even sure how we are going to move the body. We asked the regional centre, Aberdeen, for help. They took one look and told us to contact you guys, but they’re sending us their CSI team. They just radioed that they are a few minutes away.'

Avery began to talk about how they were logistically going to go about this. JJ asked questions about what time people usually played golf, and the opening times of the course. She zoned out and peeled the tarp back fully, and Dr Boland jumped to help.

Immediately it was clear the victims were killed right here. This wasn't a dump sight. Blood spatter was caked all over the grass.

Dr Boland opened her field kit and began taking the ambient temperature, following procedure. Grace however became focused on the thing she hadn't been able to tell from the photos; how was this done.

She fixed her glasses on the nose and knelt down next to the bodies.

'Hello, I'm Agent Grace Matthews, I'm just going to examine you to see what happened, okay? Then we will get you both somewhere safe and put you together so we can bury you okay?'

She always spoke to the bodies. She knew the others on the team thought it was weird. She even felt weird talking to them this time, it was hard to even recognise them as human in the state they were in. But that’s why she had to do it, especially at a scene like this.

It was a habit she started at her first job after she left school and she kept it up when she went into forensics. The practice was quite normal in some fields. It was a humanising technique that gave dignity to a body while acting as a coping strategy for the living person. They taught it at the academy, but few practiced it.

'And I'm Dr Boland, I’m Grace’s friend. I will be putting you together and running tests. I will work as fast as I can.' Dr Boland introduced herself, not missing a beat. Grace looked to her in surprise. The doctor only smiled warmly back at her as if to say, “it's not weird at all.” And kept setting up the scene for the investigation.

Grace turned her attention back to the gore and clasped her hands together and hugged them under her chin; it was time to focus. This is what she was here for, this is what got her into the FBI.

Her eyes darted across the mess and searched for repeated patterns or familiar shapes. Amongst the clumps of flesh, splinters of bone and bloody strips of cloth that would have been clothes, she looked for large pieces that were still relatively intact. A long bone, or perhaps the outline of where the clothes would have sat, hopefully. She moved around, searching from every angle for something recognizable. Eventually, the two bodies began to appear. She could identify different sections of a body and her mind filled in the blanks or rearranged into the form it was supposed to take. The two had died next to each other; one face down, one face up.

Two fragmented bones stuck out to her. A snapped the ulna and radius. Attached to it she found a bit of skin that was bruised and dented in a rough crescent shape.

The scene flashed in her mind;

A young voice cried out as they were hit in the back of the head with the bludgeon, their skull shattered immediately, they fell face first into the grass and their jaw dislocated, which allowed the mandible to remain relatively while the overkill was exerted. This was the younger one. When they hit the ground, the other older one turned to the assailant, who was already swinging the weapon at him now. They raised their arm in defence to block the first blow of a rounded heavy object swinging at them. Their forearm shattered immediately. They fell to the ground, and the blows kept coming in a frenzied rage from the man standing above them. They died relatively quickly. But the unsub wanted to humiliate and disfigure them further, he beat them for what must have been hours.

She shook the scene from her mind and focused now on the weapon.

It was flexible and heavy yet did not leave a uniformed mark. It was malleable and, given the frenzied blitz attack; improvised.

She racked her brain, an improvised weapon on a golf course. It would have to be a club right? But it couldn't be; a golf club wasn't the right… anything. Shape, size, weight distance from the attacker; it was all wrong. This damage was more like a mediaeval mace, something heavy that could be swung but didn’t have much reach- yet, not solid? She stood up and wandered around, deaf to the world as she searched for an object that would fit the disruption.

'Hey Agent Matthews… Matthews… Grace. Grace!’ Dr Boland called to her.

‘Yes?’ she turned around

‘If you're heading over there to the bunker can you get a sample of the sand please?' Dr Boland asked.

She nodded and pulled out a test tube from her forensics field kit. She knelt down and scooped up some sand from the bunker. It was really fine sand, not like the natural sand that was about the town. This stuff would get everywhere if I fell over right now, she thought to herself. Then she had a little giggle to herself, it would get everywhere, but it wasn’t rough, or course, it was powdery and fine. Like Anakin Skywalker, she disliked sand, which was unfortunate, having grown up on a tropical island. She also hated golf courses. In her opinion, and her father’s, they were a waste of space. Swathes of nature manicured into useless fields to chase a ball in. The amount of habitat destruction, water wastage and land metamorphosis places like this went through was… she halted.

The sand wasn't from here.

It was brought here, and you buy sand in bags and sand bags are heavy and malleable. And she knew firsthand, you can scale a sandbag down and make the tried-and-true homemade truncheon with little effort.

She ran back over the body and pulled out her magnifying glass, inspecting a depression that would have been caused by a blow. Sure enough, she could make out a few fibres and sandy particulates in the wound. She pulled out a swab taking a sample.

‘Dr Boland, there are fibres and particulates in these wounds, make sure to get some samples before you clean the bones, have you established a baseline yet?’

‘Yeah, it's that flag there,’ she pointed to the peg in the ground and continued laying out measuring guides getting ready to take scaled photos. Grace stood next to the baseline, took out her tablet, snapped a photo and drew an outline with her stylus.

'I got a rough indication of where the victims are lying. I'll do a diagram, that way you can have a rough starting point for the reconstructions.’ She drew outlines of the victims over the photos and labelled them One and Two and hit send.

Dr Boland glance at her tablet smiled, 'This is great. I've never seen you work out side the lab before.'

'Well I do this quite often, I think it would be more accurate to say I've never seen you work out side a lab before,' Grace grinned.

'True, the field is not usually my scene, especially when the site is this recent. But I just wanted to say, the field, it suits you. You seem... more free.' The doctor remarked.

Another golf cart approached carrying a uniformed officer and a few people in CSI jackets; the team from Aberdeen.

‘Looks like the Cavalry's arrived.’

‘Go, catch this guy, we’ve got this,’ Dr Boland nodded, holding out her hand.

Grace frowned at her and reached to shake it.

Dr Boland laughed and shook her hand back, ‘As much as I appreciate that you are comfortable enough to shake my hand, I actually was after the samples you collected, I need to catalogue them.’

‘Oh. right,’ Grace nodded and handed them over. ‘What do you recon? If we catch this guy by Saturday, will you be up for Sunday Study Brunch?’

Dr Boland smiled at her, ‘Well with your diagram here, it should make it easier to reconstruct. I’ll say, we’re on at this point. I’ve got a new stack of possible US soldiers from Bataan, circa 1940s, that I could use help cataloguing, unless you want to work more on your thesis?’

Grace sighed, ‘Not yet, I’m still stuck. Cataloguing Soldiers it is then. I’ll see you and Avery tonight, I’ll keep you in the loop, but I have to brief JJ, and the team. I’ve got a weapon and a few details.’

Leaving one car with Avery and Dr Boland at the scene, JJ and her met up with Rossi and Alvez after they finished the staff interviews.

‘Anyone stick out?’ JJ asked.

‘Nope,’ Rossi shook his head. ‘All of them have alibis.’

‘Grounds man was a bit too into lawn, but none of them seemed off at all.‘ Alvez added. ‘What if this guy is a worse case scenario; just a random guy with victims of opportunity who motored out of here like Simmons said?’

JJ sighed, ‘Well, apparently opening hours are seven to seven, and people would only interact with staff and leave a record if they paid for entry, or hired equipment or a cart. Most locals have an annual pass, so they don’t need to pay for entry. Not that it’s really barred at all, there is no fence, no security or CCTV. Anyone could walk onto the course at any time. What could you tell from the bodies?’

They all looked to her.

‘It was a blitz attack followed by post mortem overkill. After the initial attack the unsub continued to beat them to humiliate and dehumanise them. There was no attempt to conceal the bodies; there is no remorse. The Unsub, is a man, given the strength, and probably under 30, immature and emotionally stunted. The attack was disorganised and full of rage. It seems personal, if the unsub didn’t know these kids, he must be using them as surrogates,’ she reported.

‘Now that kinda rage at two random defenceless disabled kids makes me think we could be looking at a hate crime; like extreme ableism,’ Alvez surmised darkly.

‘Ugh, can this guy get any worse,’ JJ murmured.

Grace gave her a sympathetic look. JJ hid it well but Grace could tell, she was very shaken by this case. She had said very little the entire time. Anything with kids was hard, especially on JJ, but this level of brutality was something else entirely.

‘You said the attack was disorganised, are you implying that he is organised in another aspect?’ Rossi turned to her.

‘Yes well, I may have some good-ish news in that department,’ Grace nodded, ‘The weapon was an improvised truncheon. Now improvised weapons usually indicate a disorganised individual, but on this occasion the weapon actually shows the opposite. He used something that requires criminal sophistication. This guy used a sock filled with sand. It’s a simple but effective weapon. It's not one that comes to mind unless you’ve been in a situation where you’ve had to learn to make a weapon out of nothing before,’ she smiled proudly. They continued to look at her, confused, so she elaborated; ‘I think this guy’s been to prison. Which means he’s in the system, we can find him.’

Rossi’s phone rang and he answered after a quick glance at the Caller ID. ‘Yes? Yeah everyone’s here, yeah I’ll put you on speaker hang on-’ Rossi held his phone out, and they gathered around it, ‘-Go ahead Emily.’

‘I have bad news and worse news. The bad news is there are only five rooms at the inn, so more of us are going to have to share. The worse news is that there are only five rooms because room one’s key was left in the drop box this morning before the office opened and the guests’ car was gone. Now the manager assumed they had checked out, but when the cleaner arrived this afternoon, the Giles family’s belongings were still inside the room.’

‘Well, that’s not good,’ Rossi voiced what they were all thinking.

Grace's mind raced, it made sense why they weren’t reported missing; this family was on vacation, they weren’t expected to be anywhere. The Unsub still had the parents, they couldn’t report the kids missing, they might not even know their kids are dead.

Prentiss continued, ‘Hotel manager says the Giles family were a family of four staying one night. Mom, dad and two boys, one around 15, one around 12 with crutches. Garcia got the 411 on them, the Giles are originally from Minneapolis, she can confirm the boys and the father have type one Brittle Bone Disease. Garcia is searching for their car as we speak. We also have moved our base of operations to the inn and called in State troopers to meet us and the sheriff there. We need to give the profile as soon as possible; we’re dealing with a family annihilator.’

Next Chapter

Note: Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this and that you like Avery and Dr Boland, we'll be seeing them and a few other OCs a fair bit in this story. If you love it, or even just like it, please leave a comment and/or like, it is much appreciated and it really motivates me.

TWs:

Ablesim: this is the big one. Unsub is targeting physically disabled people and it is suggested that these murders could be hate crimes. It is not explored why the unsub has this view point in this chapter but it doesn't really matter. It's never justifiable at all to hate like that. unsub is horrible and delusional. Be warned for ick factor.

Child death: sadly the victims are kids.

Violence, gore, crime scene depiction: these all go together, I don't think I'm too graphic, but Agent Matthews goes to the crimes scene and she replays the events in her head. it's a brief depiction of how the children were murdered.

Kidnapping: there is a scene with our unsub who is currently with the kids' parents, who have been kidnapped. He threatens them and is just generally creepy.

#oc #OC Grace Matthews #BAU #criminal minds #mentor spencer #big brother spencer #spencer gets a happy ending #the protege #the protege chapter 4 #fanfic #my fic #criminal minds case #spencer reid

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chidoroki · 1 year

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182 Days of TPN - Day 14

Chapter 14: “Trump Card”

It’s interesting how the scene of Ray becoming Isabella’s spy is done differently on three separate occasions. As he’s retelling the moment to Norman right now, he seems relatively calm about making the deal, whereas in ch181.5 (back when it was actually happening) Ray was so frightened that Isabella might ship him off for knowing the truth that his heart was racing. (I’ll mention the third instance once I get to ch37. this a memo to myself so I don’t forget).

I’ve been trying to avoid chatting about cover & extra pages since they usually are typically pretty scenes that may or may not relate to the current situation of the story and/or try to lighten the mood with humor, but I wanna mention this one. First off, the Grace Field library is huge and it’s crazy to think that Ray actually manages to read every single book before the escape. I’m also intrigued by some of the details on the books themselves, aside from the obvious “never” with an old-styled ship that appears in several places throughout the story, but never really means much in the end. I remember a lot of people used to make theories about them though. Oh.. unless the ship was to reference the shipments themselves..? I only just thought of that. Anyways, there’s also some books that have “treachery” and “betray” written on them. The book on the shelf near Emma’s antenna has “read this yourself” written on the spine and it gets me curious, like what kind of book would say that? Speaking of our girl, I’m sure she was pretty upset upon learning that Ray was in fact mom’s spy, but more shocked and sympathetic than anything (but saving those thoughts for next chapter).

I know this is a serious conversation between the two of them, truly, but those middle panels are so funny to me. They already look so done with each other’s bullshit and the deal has only just begun. It’s gonna be a long six years for them.

This chapter gives Ray many psycho faces, but this is probably my favorite of the bunch. I can hear “Existence of an Insider” in my head perfectly. I still prefer that over his “81194” theme too. I dunno why.

Despite the history he has with Isabella, the fact they can chat so casually about the situation amuses me. Makes me wonder if this is how Isabella would handle Ray’s mischief in a normal life. The “useless dog” part kills me each time. I don’t doubt that Ray knew Norman was very capable of picking locks and he just decided to keep that info from her either. Hell, maybe he even taught him. Ray likes to tinker with stuff, so I can imagine Norman became interested in doing so as well. (for the life of me, I can’t remember if this is factual (and if so, from where) or a popular fandom headcanon..)

Favorite panel/moment:

I love this little interaction with all my heart! All of them are just so precious. I sadly understand why the anime left it out though (and had Ray pause at the top of the stairs and then walk away instead), as an adorable moment like this really wouldn’t have fit the tense mood the RN conversation left us with since “Existence of an Insider” was also still playing at this point.

I still think it could’ve worked somehow. We don’t see Ray & Emma really interact again until he reveals he’s the real traitor to her, so perhaps it would’ve surprised her more from seeing him act so friendly one moment then finding out he’s been sorta kinda betraying her the next? Ah well.

#the promised neverland #tpn manga #182daysoftpn #chidoroki used chatter

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disney-rapunzel-merida-vanellope · 11 months

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Ok so I’m seeing the little mermaid today finallyyyyyyyy and here’s some rambling thoughts, wishes and predictions

First of all, wow… it’s here…. It’s been a 374657 year journey and the day is finally here and I don’t believe it kkkkk. Last year at this point in time we didn’t even know how Halle was gonna look like… wow

I don’t expect to like this movie more than the original, the og is literally in my top5 disney movies so it would be impossible, but I still have high hopes for it. They would be higher if the beauty and the beast and aladdin hadn’t been a lil disappointing. Im not a hater of those movies, in fact I really liked them when I watched them but the more I hear other peoples opinions the more I agree that they aren’t all that. I actually remember being super disappointed by a whole new world on the spot so yeah. My expectations for the little mermaid are high but not that much cause of the previous remakes. I expect to have a fun time but not a mind blowing one.

One of the things I was most excited about were the sisters. I’ve already been spoiled that they barely appear let alone speak so im already disappointed 😭 One thing I love about the og movie is that the mermaids all have the same tail and bra design and the only differences are in colors and hairstyles and accessories but one of the things I love most about this remake already is the complete opposite, that all the mermaids have very very different tail, bra, colors and accessories. I like how they did the complete opposite of what the animation did cause there’s literally no wrong answer here. We did A in one movie so now we are not doing A again. I love it. It would have been very boring to translate that sameness to live action because we’ve seen it already and works better in animation. All this to say I’m very excited for the mermaids. That’s my n1 priority.

The other thing I’m most excited about is the reveal. I hate the reveal in the og movie and this remake has the opportunity to at the very least snatch this one thing away from it and improve upon. The reveal is one of my fave tropes of all time and I already know this Eric is obsessed with the sea and it’s creatures so I’m literally dying to see this scene omg. As much as I love the trope, there’s some ways to completely mess it up and make it cringe and I have a ton of second hand embarrassment all the time so I hope they do it well.

Part of your world is my fave disney song, second only to let it go. I’ve been trying to avoid it but it’s been in all the trailers so I just listened through it and the d23 leaks, but I still haven’t heard the full audio now that the cd is out. What can I say, Halle sounds absolutely perfect no notes there. The scene it self is better than what I was expecting but the animated one is still superior. Animation just allows for so much more than live action, we already know this. Can’t say I’m disappointed cause I’m not but idk why there’s still this part of me that hopes it’s gonna be better when it’s literally impossible but yeah 😭

Rn, I got nothing bad to say about Ariel. Halle looks amazing, sounds amazing, im impressed with her acting in all the clips and trailers I’ve seen. She gives off vibes of a softer and calmer Ariel than the og one, but it’s still very much a Disney princess performance and part. She’s graceful, has a very pretty smile, her eyes are very expressive when she’s happy, determined or curious. I think the only thing that could mess her up is the script for the new original plot bits. Cause other than that I’m very happy. I’m not obsessed with her human clothes. I hope there’s better ones that haven’t been spoiled to me yet. Her tail tho….. I was VERY scared, cause there’s some very specific characteristics that I either love or hate in mermaid tails. But I love hers so much. Her tail is the perfect length with the perfect width, the color is gorgeous, I prefer when the fins are just 2 like the og 1 or like dolphin fins but I also like hers, at least it’s better than some of her sisters, and looks perfect and strong enough to swim. I usually hate little fins on the sides or the back but I don’t mind on her cause give it’s extra detail. The bra is cute and inoffensive even tho i prefer shells any day. Sometimes I wish the hair was red other times I’m fine with the orange… idk but at least it’s not brown

I think I want the movie to be half in the sea, half on land…… it’s gonna kind of depend on the plot but as much as ariel hates being a mermaid I love her more as a mermaid so GIRL U BETTER SWIM A LOT STILL

Ever since I saw the actress for Vanessa I’ve been obsessed with her. I hope she has at least 10 minutes of screen time but I have a feeling it’s gonna be under 5 😭 she looks so good I really want to see her 😭😭😭

I think I’m more excited for Ariel’s journey to become human and learn their ways than I am for the romance plot… Eric is cute but idk…. Maybe the trailers didn’t advertise it well enough but I’m not that excited for the romance rn… they look cute obviously but maybe it’s because I know how it ends that I’m more excited about the new bits about her as a human rather than the new bits about them as a couple.

But speaking or marketing I love love love how they didn’t spoil the new material. The trailers kept using the same footage of the plot points of the og movie and I’m happy. I feel like there’s more room for my expectations to be surpassed this way. I’m very curious about the new stuff even tho I’m still cautious cause I hope they don’t try to change of spell out stuff that was obvious in the og movie but idiots didn’t get so now they need to be more upfront about it to avoid ending up on a cinema sins YouTube video like beauty and the beast tried. Like, there’s no need to cater to idiots and people with bad faith criticism of disney princesses movies. "But Ariel changed for a man-" DHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UPJEVHHJEBVRJHVREBJHVERBHJVERB

Honestly don’t care about the animals in this one. Disney needs to balance better these remakes cause if it doesn’t work in live action then don’t force it. I think cinderella best balances the aspect of being a remake but also just an adaptation. They add and change enough for the story to be different but also keep enough stuff for the movies to be similar. I’m just saying that i wouldn’t mind if ariel had absolutely no friends in this one. If she was just Maloney mermaid. Or maybe she had a few fish friends that don’t speak like the mice in cinderella. But wtv. Rn I don’t care about Sebastian, flounder and scuttle

I didn’t like the casting of Melissa at all when I first saw it but I gotta say she shut me up real fast when her clips came out. She is eating the role up so far. I’m very impressed.

Idk if I got anything else to say rn before watching the movie but these are my thoughts rn.

Watching it today so let’s go!!!!!!

#the little mermaid #disney #long post #rambling

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nonpracticinghumanbeing · 2 years

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The Kraken’s Revenge: Between Violence and Tenderness

[Here comes another sadomasochism-related meta. I had no intention of writing it - or rather I didn’t know I needed to write it - until some very wonderful people commented on my last meta on Facebook and inspired me. YES, this is about the toe-cutting scene. Because as they say, I rewatch that scene a normal amount. I'll try to analyze it according to what actual s&m sessions look like. And I'll argue that in its own particular way, it's actually really sweet. What also needs to be stated in the opening is that this is just about the scene itself. I DO realize that in the larger context on the story it is abusive and manipulative and plain awful. But that’s a subject for a separate piece. Let me have my meltdown, please.]

Let’s first set the stage for what we are about to discuss. Calico Jack is dead. Stede is gone. The only real connection that Edward has left in the world is Izzy. And then Izzy threatens to leave as well - or to betray him again - for reasons that I’ve already discussed here. And no matter how much Edward would like the things to stay how they are, he just can’t emotionally afford to lose Izzy as well. He realizes that he has to do whatever it takes to make him stay and what that really means is that he has to make Izzy see him as Blackbeard again and not as Edward.

Now, as it’s already been wonderfully explained - in this post by @amuseoffyre - despite his reputation as the bloodthirsty Viking vampire king of the pirates, Edward isn’t really prone to violence. He’s aware that it is a part of the life and he loves a good maim, but he very rarely uses violence as an emotional response. It takes A LOT to push him over the edge and make him lash out. This is a key piece of information for what we are about to discuss.

In order to fully understand what is really happening in the toe-cutting scene, we need to first rewind a bit and take a look at the confrontation between Izzy and Blackbeard earlier in the same episode, as it provides crucial context. It’s the moment that pushes Edward back into his old lifestyle - as I’ve discussed here - but it’s also the moment that makes him truly see Izzy for who he really is. During that confrontation, Izzy is able to make Ed lose control of his emotions to such an extent that he resorts to violence. Edward chokes Izzy to stop him talking, it’s almost like a reflex - Ed doesn’t want to hear about Stede, so he has to make Izzy be quiet. Only the reaction he gets is not at all what he expected, because Izzy loves it. He exhibits an unusual tenderness towards Ed just as Ed has his hand on his throat. This makes Edward recoil and we can see he’s quite shaken. I’d say it’s a clear indication that it was the first time such physical violence took place between them and so it’s the moment that finally made Edward see that this is something that Izzy may actually need.

And at that moment Edward realizes that if he wants Izzy to stay, he has to hurt him and (re)establish dominance. I really don't think it's something that he particularly wants to do, but it's something that needs to be done nonetheless. This is not at all the emotional lashing out like the one that happened when he choked Izzy. Of course, Ed is still angry, but he is much calmer now - certainly he’s not angry enough to resort to violence in a blind rage, which as was already mentioned is a rarity for him. This is a premeditated action, which for Edward is more of an unavoidable necessity than anything else. Even the form of punishment is something that he chooses deliberately, as it’s something that he already knows - in Act of Grace he tells Stede that he used to make people eat their own toes.

(As a setup for what is about to happen, Leonard Cohen's Avalanche is still playing in the background carrying on from the previous scene. The exact fragment used here is "You who wish to conquer pain / You must learn, learn to serve me well". So, pain and submission, which are the crucial elements of what we are about to see. Apparently the person responsible for choosing this particular song was the show’s music supervisor Maggie Phillips - who discusses her work in this article - and she is a bloody genius.)

The first thing Edward does after cutting Izzy’s toe off is to cover his mouth with his hand. This is such a simple but effective way to establish dominance. He’s not really doing it to keep Izzy quiet - despite being considerably hurt Izzy isn’t really making that much noise, certainly not enough for anyone outside the cabin to hear. Ed does this to establish hierarchy right from the get-go.

What's also important here is that Edward has his gloves on - yeah, he’s shown putting them on in the previous scene, but it’s also very meaningful here. Because he realizes that Izzy just wouldn’t be able to bear being touched with a bare hand, to stand skin-to-skin contact. It’s also a reference to the confrontation scene when Izzy touches Ed’s cheek with the hand he wears a glove on, which certainly made Edward realize that direct contact would be too much. Now, for those who may not know, submissives in BDSM relationships have two kinds of limits. Soft limits are things a submissive is not willing to do at a given moment, but may be willing to try if properly convinced, with the right person, or in the right circumstances. Hard limits are things a submissive is not willing to do under any circumstances, and those are non-negotiable. Edward recognizes that direct touch is a hard limit for Izzy and he respects that. The fact that Izzy never verbalized this and Edward - who himself isn't really interested in power play here and is pretty much doing it just so that Izzy would stay - still paid enough attention to notice it speaks volumes about what is really happening in this scene.

Then Ed starts to talk. In a low, soft voice, which is clear proof that he’s not doing this out of anger really and that he doesn’t want to hurt Izzy more than is absolutely necessary. Pretty much the only thing missing for this to be just a super extreme - ‘cause it DOES involve permanent bodily harm - BDSM session is Izzy’s consent. Only Edward knows that no matter how much Izzy needs this, he’s never going to ask for it, because that would require him to admit to himself that he wants to submit to another man. And as I’ve already discussed in my previous post, such an acknowledgment would make Izzy feel weak, which in his eyes is the worst possible thing a man can be.

When Edward speaks, it’s obvious that he’s going to do everything he can to guide Izzy and help him get through this. The first thing he says - in that calm yet authoritative voice - is “Stop crying. It's just the pinky. Come on. Open up.” These are words of encouragement, Edward is giving Izzy emotional support for what is happening. What he is really saying here is “I know I’ve hurt you, but I also know you can take it. I believe in you.”

But of course Izzy can’t submit right away, because that would mean he would have to admit to himself that he actually wants this. He puts up a bit of a fight, solely for show and in order to be able to keep his self-image intact. So Edward gives him what he needs and pushes just a tiny bit more. He doesn’t become violent at all, he just raises his voice a little and adds a swearword to make his words come off stronger. He gives Izzy a simple order here: “Open your fucking mouth now! Eat up.” And that little push, that raised tone of voice, is enough of an excuse for Izzy to submit completely.

As soon as Izzy does that, Edward goes back to talking softly, guiding him and giving him support for this ordeal. He goes “That’s it. Don’t forget to chew.” So he praises him, letting him know he’s doing good. And then he directs him, so that Izzy knows exactly what he wants. It may sound strange that Edward tells him such an obvious thing as that he should chew the toe before swallowing it, but we should remember that Izzy is going through such strong emotions at this point it would be quite possible for him to forget even such a simple thing. Dissociation is common in intense BDSM scenarios as the mind tries to split from the part of consciousness that is suffering. By reminding him to chew, Ed is making sure Izzy won’t choke, because he cares about his safety.

With this out of the way, next comes the part where the necessary thing has to be said. “Threaten me again, ever... I'll feed you the rest.” I’d say they both know that after THIS, Izzy wouldn’t ever even think about threatening Edward again, and yet Ed has to say this. It’s almost like a part of a religious sacrament, where some phrases are spoken not because of their direct meaning, but because they are a part of the ritual. These things just have to be said because such rituals have to happen in a precise form. A very similar thing is happening here.

Edward asks Izzy for confirmation that he understood him. He takes his hand away from Izzy’s mouth and lets him speak. And you can see that Izzy is completely in love at that moment. You can see that this was EXACTLY what he needed. That his world has just been rebuilt, and that he feels safe around Ed again. It’s important that he calls Ed “Blackbeard” - throughout the series he uses both Edward’s name and his nickname along with things like “captain” and “boss” - because it confirms that at last he sees Ed as the dreaded pirate king once again. He got a glimpse of that old, pre-Stede Blackbeard when Ed choked him, but now it’s been confirmed that Blackbeard is back for good. And he’s so proud of himself that he was able to get through the punishment that was doled out to him. He’s ecstatic that he proved to his beloved Blackbeard that he’s strong enough to serve him.

(I feel like I need to pause here for a bit to point out how absolutely fucking amazing the acting in this scene is. Taika is brilliant in accentuating the subtleties of Edward’s approach to Izzy in a way that touches my soul directly. Except for that one line when Izzy puts up a fight, his voice is really soft and yet it’s obvious there’s a clear threat just underneath. He speaks with gentleness, but you just know that if challenged he would unleash absolute hell. And Con. Oh my God, Con. This man deserves all of the awards. He doesn’t even have to say anything, just one look at his face and you know exactly what is happening in Izzy’s head. You can see the absolute worship of Blackbeard AND pride that he was able to take it. Someone wrote on Facebook that that's a mix of emotions they've only previously seen in real BDSM sessions and never on screen. It's absolutely beautiful.)

So the deed is done and Izzy has been punished. But Edward doesn't leave right away. He takes his time with Izzy because he realizes just how intense what just happened was. And he needs to be sure that after such an act of great violence Izzy is going to be fine. So he tells him “Clean yourself up and come find me.” Now that is what is called aftercare. It’s an integral part of an s&m play that happens at the end of a session. It’s a time for the dominant partner to make sure that the submissive partner is fine and help them get out of their headspace. It takes many different forms depending on people’s personal preferences and here it’s just this one line of Blackbeard telling Izzy to patch himself up, because with both of them being the way they are there’s no need to say anything more. Ed’s voice is very tender and you can hear that he really cares about Izzy’s well-being. If we translated his actual words into what he means, it would be “I know you’re hurt, so what I need you to do now is first of all take care of yourself and make sure you’re going to be alright. And only then we can proceed with other things”.

And then Edward tells Izzy they have much work to do. And Izzy asks him if he should get Lucius to take notes. They both acknowledge that the deed has now been done and there’s no need to discuss it any further. The penance has been completed, the balance has been restored and life goes on. Yes, what happened was an important - not to say crucial - step in their relationship, but there’s no need to fixate on it any longer. Because neither of them would want to be reduced to the person who did that, they are both their own people with lives that go way way WAY beyond this one act. It’s a surprisingly healthy approach considering just how messed up both of them are.

What needs to be said is that yes, this scene involves permanent body damage and it happens without Izzy’s consent. In the real world that would make it completely unacceptable and right out abusive. But we’re not talking about the real world and we all understand that it had to happen just the way it did. What strikes me the most here is that under these particular circumstances Edward is actually doing a really good job. He respects Izzy’s limits. He pays attention to his safety throughout. He provides aftercare. He reassures him that however violent and intense this act was, it doesn’t have to be the one thing defining their relationship and that their lives just go on after it’s done. The fact that Ed is doing it for Izzy makes it all the more touching.

So. What I’m trying to say is that no matter how counter-intuitive it seems, this scene is at its core really sweet. It is about punishment, sure, but mostly it is about understanding and acceptance, and a very particular kind of respect. For all its violence, it is really tender and almost soft. It’s something that I have NEVER seen in mainstream media. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, I will be answering your questions as soon as I stop weeping over how a silly romantic comedy with pirates was able to get so many aspects of s&m so damn right. And over my own realization that yes, I can and should raise my expectations regarding how it’s shown in the media, because it CAN be done really well.

#our flag means death #our flag means gay #ofmd #ofmd meta #izzy hands #blackbeard #but officer this is my emotional support toe cutting scene #hoo boy was writing this an emotional rollercoaster #it came out way way WAY longer than i expected #but well #i have many many MANY feelings about this scene

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