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zer0pm · 1 year

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Imagine waking up with Luis sleeping on top of you while you both take shelter from the storm.

Warning: suggestive content 🤫

A/N: editted for mistakes and added upon by just a little for your reading pleasure ;) thanks for your time

“Think it’s safe?”

“Only one way to find out. ¡Vamos! Into certain danger we go!”

You pinch the bridge of your nose and groan. This man’s optimism was breathtaking, confident in his strides towards the abandoned looking house that you two discovered. You follow behind him, careful in your own steps and had your gun drawn at the ready in case of any unfriendly encounters. Thankfully, your entrance went unanswered and after a thorough search of the building, you both confirm that the coast is clear. Finally, a safe space to squat and wait out the storm.

Sighing in relief, you didn’t realize how exhausted you were until you took a seat on a rickety wooden chair in what you assumed to be the remains of a dining area. Running around avoiding countless plaga in the pouring rain took a lot of your energy and your weary state did not go unnoticed.

Luis speaks addresses you. “Why don’t you take a rest, my friend? There is a bed upstairs. I do not think the owners will mind it.”

Your brow lifts upon reflex, tempted by the idea of laying on something soft after hours of running for your life. However, the consideration of well-being for your present company outweighed your desire to address your own. So you counter him, “And what about you? You look just as bad as I do.”

The man dismisses your suggestion with a wave of his hand, “I’ll keep watch. Make sure no scary monsters come bumping in the night. No te preocupes, I’ll be fine.”

Always the gentleman this one.

Still, you weren’t going to let him get away with it. Especially at the sight of the dark circles beneath his eyes. Chivalry be damned. You take a moment to absorb your dusty surroundings and listen closely to the weather. The two of you were lucky to even find this place amidst the pouring rain and you were certain there wouldn’t be any uninvited guests coming in to hack you both into pieces anytime soon with how bad this storm is raging.

“Pretty sure we’re safe here, Luis. Can’t see anything in this damn rain and place looks like it hasn’t been occupied in ages. Plus, with Leon Kennedy roaming about, think Saddler is commanding his minions to focus more on him than us.” You wave your finger around the air, figuratively drawing the argument back at him. “So if you need some shut-eye too, I was told there’s a bed upstairs.”

Luis chuckles breathlessly, evidently amused at how you effectively countered him. He then hums aloud, seemingly taking your reasoning with careful consideration before a coy smile curves upon his handsome face.

“Qué lindo. So stubborn just to get me to lie with you.”

The color drains from your face in an instant.

“Now hold on a minute-“

The man cuts you off with a rambunctious laugh. “You’re much too easy to tease, my friend. Very well, then. You win!” he says with an affirmative clap before making his way to the stairs. Halfway up, he stops in his tracks to look down at you. “Well? You coming?”

You wait to see if he would follow up with further teasing. When he didn’t, you wordlessly got up from the chair and joined him. As he said, there is indeed a bed on the far wall of the room. Like the rest of the house, it looks like it had seen better days but neither of you were in a position to be picky especially when sleep was beckoning. You approach the bed and lift the sheets off, dusting as much as you can before setting it back down and doing the same for the pillows. The bed was big enough for two people, so it should be fine to share without worrying about bumping into one another in your sleep.

“There,” you huff, satisfied with how you prepared the bed. “Is there a side you prefe-“

Your voice catches in your throat when you turn around and take in the sight of Luis’ bare back. It was only when you see him fidgeting with the zipper of his pants did you find it again.

“What are you doing?!” you practically screech.

The dark-haired man glances casually at you over his broad shoulder, not at all bothered by your sharp tone.

“What does it look like? I’m making myself comfortable,” shrugs Luis. “I suggest you do the same. You’ll get sick if you sleep in wet clothes.”

The desire to argue for the sake of arguing was strong, but you found yourself distracted by his physique. For a man who claims to be just a “simple researcher”, he is pretty cut. The definitions of his muscles are both impressive and pleasing to the eye. It didn’t help that the man is devilishly good-looking as well, not that you will ever say that out loud. The man’s ego was big enough as it is.

If you were taking too long to speak up, Luis didn’t say. He turned his head away from your direction. “I won’t look, prometo. And I’ll take the left side. Muchas gracias.”

A man of his word, Luis did not once look your way as he wordlessly went to his side of the bed and slips himself beneath the sheets. After a moment of inner conflict, you heed his advice and strip yourself down to your underwear as well, taking your clothes and his to hang off the stair railing. Finally reaching the bed, you see that Luis was still lying on his side. The heavy breathing your ears pick up suggests that he’s fast asleep. Although your heart was beating frantically, you settle under the covers as well. Your form mirroring his with your back towards him. Sleep came quickly.

You’re not sure how much time has passed when you woke up, you only know that it is still storming outside… and Luis Serra is on top of you.

His whole body is practically draped over yours. He partially lied with his chest both against the bed and on your side. The heavy weight of his right arm was wrapped around your middle with his hand resting almost possessively on your hip. You can feel his breath fan against your neck, leaving warm, lingering tingles upon your skin. It suddenly felt impossibly hot in this chilly room.

You didn’t need to see the man’s face to know he is still sleeping, snoring soundly against your ear. Careful not to wake him, you tried to move away. However, the moment you fidgeted, Lus stirs and his hand moves from your hip to your shoulder, effectively keeping you in place.

Well, then. This is awkward.

The idea of waking him up came to mind but you thought better against it. Why embarrass you both and deny the other some meaningful rest? That was the excuse you came up with as you feel the man nuzzle against your neck and shoulder. The scratch of his facial hair feeling wonderful against your skin. An involuntary sigh of pleasure escapes your mouth and you had to bite your bottom lip to stop more from coming out. You needed to pull yourself together. The man is sleeping, for god’s sake, and here you were, getting hot and bothered.

Just as you were about to accept your situation with grace, you feel Luis move once more. Followed by a lethargic groan, he twists until he is on his back, withdrawing his hand from your person until it rested on his sculpted abdomen. His eyes are still closed. His expression is peaceful, absent of the coquettish mask he usually wears. The man looks impossibly beautiful like this and you found yourself reaching a curious hand towards his face. You manage to stop right before his cheek, mesmerized by his sleeping form. If lives weren’t on the line, you’d watch him forever.

“How long have you been awake?”

The sound of his thick accent made you jolt, retreating your hand back to your side. You almost thought you were imagining Luis’ voice until your eyes catch the flutter of his lashes. Grey eyes peeking in your direction.

Unable to think of anything better to say, you candidly answer back, “How long have you?”

The Spaniard grins wryly. “Tocado. Point taken.”

He turns his head, his expression telling that the man is well-rested and now focused entirely on you. There was something in his eyes that you cannot place. Or more accurately, there was an emotion within them that you recognized all too well as you were certain you had the same burning in yours but dared not to acknowledge our loud. You mimic his movements, ensnared by his magnetic gaze. When he turned his body so that he was completely facing you, you did the same. Neither of you have broken eye contact. In the corner of your vision, you see him lift his hand until it hovered over your hip at the exact same spot it was before. Luis doesn’t lower it, however, his eyes silently asking for your permission. A slight nod from you was the sign he was waiting for and you are graced by his warm touch once more.

His thumb caresses soft patterns against your hip bone, teasing the skin beneath the band of your underwear. Your breath hitches, his subtle touches already stirring something fierce inside you.

“¡Mierda! Don’t make that face.” the man growls, wearing a serious, pained expression. You blink in confusion. Instead of elaborating right away, Luis earnestly squeezes your hip, earning a wanton gasp from your mouth, and pulls you in against him by the curve of your back.

“If you keep looking at me like that, mi amor,” he says through gritted teeth, his hot breath mingling with yours. “I won’t be able to savor you slowly.”

That undid you.

You weren’t sure which of you two closed the distance. While the storm was pouring freezing rain outside, you and Luis kept one another plenty warm inside.

A/N: Thanks for reading. You can find the next (Rated M) part here ;)

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mister-qi · 1 month

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Mr. Qi Friendship and Romance Mod Devlog 5/9/2024

Previous update

For those curious about the mod progress, read on!

Since the previous update, most of my efforts have been spent on Art and Implementation. While I've made some progress on Writing, that hasn't been my main focus.

Writing

Heart Events: no major progress, besides a bit of writing/blocking for the 4 heart cutscene.

Daily Dialogues: Generic dailies are 64% done. Unique dailies are currently on the back-burner. Marriage dailies are also on the back-burner, but I have quite a few written regardless.

Misc dialogues: A new section! This includes so many little details, which even get as hyper-specific as what happens if you divorce him and then attempt to invite him to a movie. What does he say if you give him a bouquet at low hearts? What does he say if you're married to him and there are slimes in the house? Stuff like that! There are 49 of these written so far, and it's hard to estimate my progress because as I continue looking through both the documentation and existing files I get more and more ideas.

Gift Dialogues: Not a ton of progress since the previous update, though I've written his birthday gift reactions.

Art

Portraits: 2 new portraits finished: blush and shocked.

Sprites: You may have seen me posting about this, but Mr. Qi does not have a walk cycle in the vanilla game, so I had to make custom animations for him. I've also changed his color scheme to better match his sprites.

Besides that, I've also made a walk cycle for the Bouncer, who will show up in at least one cutscene, maybe two.

look at him go!

Maps: I'm really excited to announce that I've recruited someone to help with maps! Their name is wovensong, and they're currently working on the Casino VIP Room, which features in the 10 heart cutscene. They're helping with both the sprites and .tmx files, which is a huge help.

Misc sprites: none yet

Implementation

I have a functional version of Mr. Qi that can be befriended in my files now. He doesn't have a ton of dialogue in game yet, but you can give him stuff, raise his friendship, and trigger some placeholder heart events. But getting to that point has been kind of a hassle, in ways that the average modder doesn't have to deal with!

You see... the vanilla "Mister Qi" has a space in his internal name. If you know anything about coding, this should be setting off alarm bells.

Here's an example of where that's an issue: say you want to trigger a cutscene at two hearts with an NPC. You'd write something like:

f Jodi 500

which the game reads as "trigger this cutscene when you have 500 amount of friendship with the NPC named Jodi"

But if you were to write:

f Mister Qi 500

the game would go "you want me to trigger this cutscene when you have Qi amount of friendship with the NPC named Mister?? WTF?" and then SMAPI throws you a big red error and the cutscene would never trigger. Yippee!

It took me... a while to figure out how to get around this. Luckily the 1.6 update now allows for parsing for quotes in certain scenarios, so what actually works is:

f \"Mister Qi\" 500

So I'm glad that I started this mod now instead of pre-1.6!

However, it's definitely possible that the space in the internal name will cause issues down the line, so I have some (rough) code for what to do in that scenario. This involves hiding the vanilla Mister Qi, and adding a new, identical NPC with an internal name that doesn't have a space. Other mods, such as Morris Redeemed and some NPCs like Marlon and Gunther in SVE, do this as well.

And, if you're thinking that I could just change the internal name itself: maybe?? But probably not. There's some hardcoded stuff surrounding Mister Qi, and I worry about breaking it. Additionally, if any future official Stardew updates added new content revolving around Mister Qi, there's a risk that the mod would break in more serious ways.

Final Notes

Overall, I feel like I'm making pretty good progress! There's still a lot to get done, but I'm proud of the work I've done so far. Thanks for reading!

#MrQiFAR #mr. qi #mr qi #mister qi #stardew valley modding #rambles

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eddiemunsons80sbaby · 5 months

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Everybody Hurts

Chapter 22

Pairing: EddieMunsonxReader

Summary: You needed to escape, escape from your life, your messy divorce, and all the pitying looks. Looks you couldn't ignore when everyone in town had known you and Cam, had known your shame and failure. So, you took the first job you could get, teaching third grade in a town called Hawkins. Little did you know, you were walking right into another messy situation, a messy situation with big brown eyes and long dark waves. But he's resistant, at times unbearable and you start getting curious about the town's past, his past, especially when things don't start adding up.

18+ Only for eventual smut

Next chapter: 01/24

Word Count: 7.2K

Masterlist

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Knock! Knock!

You paused in pouring a cup of coffee from the third pot you'd made, fueling you as you sat up at the table with a notebook and pencil all night, frantically trying to figure out a way to get Eddie out of this. Or if nothing else, a way to get him to fight back, to tell the judge the truth, that he’d acted in self-defense or in defense of you. Anything but to stand there and plead guilty for smashing in the face of a man who more than had it coming.

Opening the door, you found Robin and Steve standing on your porch, looking as frazzled as you felt. Disheveled hair and clothing, purple half moons darkening under their eyes, showing signs that they had just as much trouble sleeping as you had. Your heart gave a hopeful tug. Maybe they’d come up with something. Maybe they’d had some grand epiphany that you hadn’t.

“Have you heard anything?” you asked anxiously.

Steve shook his head, “No, not yet. But Hop’s a man of his word. He’ll call as soon as he’s talked to Eddie. No, we’re actually here for something else.”

“Okay…”

You were confused and honestly a little irritated. What could possibly have brought them here that was more important than Eddie potentially going to prison? Shouldn’t that be the main focus right now?

“Steve and I were talking last night and we have decided that it’s time to tell you,” Robin said.

“Tell me what?”

“Everything,” she answered, giving you a pointed look, a look that had your insides jumping with both trepidation and relief.

“I called Nancy this morning and let her know everything that’s going on and everyone is on their way here,” Steve continued. “We’re going to tell you the truth, all of it. We have agreed that it’s time you know. You’ve more than proven your devotion to Eddie and to all of us. It’s not fair to keep you in the dark, especially not if you’re going to be with him. And especially not with everything that’s going on. You need to know what has brought us here, why all of this happened.”

You backed into the house, the two of them following you inside. Mixed emotions coursed through you. On one hand, you were eager to finally learn the truth, to have the veil lifted, to know exactly what had happened here. On the other hand, you didn’t mind admitting that you were more than a little nervous that what you were about to find out was going to be more awful than you could even begin to imagine.

Slow footsteps into the kitchen, your hands grabbing onto the coffee pot, filling your mug to the brim. Trembling fingers lifted it to your lips, sipping the hot liquid, burning your tongue but barely registering it. A hand with ragged fingernails, chewed down from anxious energy, took the mug from your hand, setting it down on the counter.

“Sweetie, you might want to cool it on the caffeine,” Robin told you softly. “You might want something a bit…inebriating for what we’re about to tell you, actually.”

Steve’s eyes roamed around the kitchen, lighting up when he spotted the bottle of amber colored liquid, the color of Eddie’s eyes. Grabbing onto the neck of it, he held it up with a smile, eyebrows lifting.

“Maker’s Mark.” He let out a low whistle. “The good shit. This is definitely what we need right now.”

Glancing at the clock next to the window, you saw it was only ten in the morning. But hell, it was five o’clock somewhere, right? And you'd been up for over twenty-four hours so what did it matter if you partook in an adult beverage?

Stepping around Robin, you opened the cabinet above the stove, pulling down three glasses. You made your way to the freezer, grabbing the ice cube tray. Twisting it, you freed a few ice cubes, dropping two into each glass before sliding them across the table to Steve who gave each of you a generous pour.

You three friends, united in your mission, lifted your glasses, clinking them together before downing the spicy liquid with just a tang of sweetness, notes of caramel and vanilla present. You hissed as the liquor sent a pleasant burn along your throat. Alright, bring it on. Whatever they had to say couldn’t be worse than walking in on your husband and best friend. Right?

_________________________________________________________

You balanced a tray of drinks as you made your way through the tangle of legs in your living room. The space suddenly seemed infinitely smaller, claustrophobic even, with all of the people suddenly crammed into it. Robin and Steve had not been exaggerating when they said everybody had decided to come and fill you in. They were all there. Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve sat on your couch. Robin was in the chair. Max, Lucas, Dustin, El, Mike, Will, and Argyle were sprawled on the floor throughout the room.

You handed out the drinks and then dropped down next to Max, crossing your legs. The young girl offered you what you were sure was meant to be a reassuring smile but you could not find anything reassuring right now.

Eddie’s face, the hopelessness, the despair, the surrender in it haunted you, refusing to let you go. It was noon and still nothing from Hopper. You were certain you were going to lose your shit any minute if you didn’t get some word soon. You were ready to charge into that police station yourself and demand to talk to Eddie. Would the Chief, the man they all seemed so certain could fix anything, actually be able to make all of this okay? Would he be able to get through to Eddie?

“Okay, so who’s gonna start?” you asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence, all of them apparently agreed to tell you but no one seemed to be willing to start.

“I guess I will since, technically, this all began with me,” Will piped up, surprising you. The boy was usually so quiet. He was the last one you'd expected to speak first. “So, you know I disappeared when I was eleven and they all thought I was dead, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I didn’t just get lost in the woods like they said. I got lost in another place. A place not like here, another dimension. We call it The Upside Down.”

“I’m sorry?” you asked, thinking you could not have heard him correctly. Another dimension? Were you in some kind of sci-fi movie? Were they all just messing with you?

“The Upside Down. It’s like another world that’s a mirror of ours but a darker version that exists on a different plane from us,” Dustin explained. “El, her name is actually Eleven. She was taken from her mom by a guy named Dr. Brenner when she was baby because he wanted her for her gifts. She has…powers. She accidentally opened up a rift that allowed this world to bleed into ours.”

“But she did it to stop this guy, Henry, who had powers too,” Mike defended. “He was a psycho as a kid but Dr. Brenner used him. He wanted their kind of power. He wanted to control it but Henry was out of control. He killed a bunch of kids in the lab and he was going to use his powers to basically kill everyone on the planet. He hated regular humans because he thought we were a waste of oxygen or something.”

“I…what are you talking about…powers…what do you mean powers?” you stammered, leaning forward just as Max placed her hand on your knee.

“Just watch,” Max advised.

“Watch…”

But your words were lost as the empty can of Coke sitting on the table suddenly floated up into the air. Your eyes widened as it hovered for a moment and then collapsed in on itself, crushed, before dropping down on the floor. The only sound in the silence of the room was the tin of the can hitting the wood. You had no words, your eyes turning to El, the girl wiping blood from beneath her nose with the back of her hand.

“El has telekinetic powers. She can move things with her mind,” said Max. “She also has telepathic abilities. She can go into other people’s minds and see things.”

El smiled nervously at you who couldn’t wrap your brain about what you'd just witnessed. In all the scenarios you'd come up with in your head, a real life superhero with powers and an alternate dimension was definitely not one of them. Holy shit. When you'd been trying to come up with theories, you'd been nowhere in the ballpark of anything as crazy as all of this.

“You doing okay?” asked Robin.

You nodded slowly. Were you doing okay? You didn’t know. This was a lot to take in but you also didn’t want them to stop. They were finally trusting you, being open with you. Robin had told Steve that you were strong enough to handle all of this and you didn't want to give them a reason to think you weren't even if you felt like you were losing your mind just a bit. Alternate dimensions, superpowers, and crazy villains who stole babies were enough to make anyone think they’d lost it.

“This shit is crazy, man,” Argyle told you. “I had to smoke a nice, big, fat one to get through all this. Shit, man. I smoked quite a few. You’re doing great, my dude. Oh, my apologies, dudette. And if you need one, I got some Silver Haze in my pizza van. That stuff will chill you out. We’ll have you feeling good in no time. Just say the word.”

A joint did not sound half bad right now, something to take the edge off. You were already anxious as hell about Eddie and now you were finding out his nightmares were just that, the stuff of nightmares. Monsters and villains and hellscapes come to life.

“Anyway, I got taken to that place, the Upside Down,” Will continued. “I got stuck there. The gate that El opened was at the lab. She managed to escape after she opened it and Mike, Dustin, and Lucas found her. They had no idea what was going on for a while. No one had any idea the mess we’d just gotten ourselves into. The lab knew exactly what had happened to me. They knew where I was but they wanted to keep it quiet. They planted a fake body in the quarry but Hopper found out it was fake. Then El managed to contact me with her powers and let them know I was alive and where I was. Him and my mom actually went to the lab, went through the gate, and found me.”

“Then El battled the demogorgon,” Dustin told you and when you looked at him confused he added, “right, sorry. So, demogorgons are these nasty monsters from The Upside Down. They are massive, gray skin, with these faces that open like flowers with rows of teeth but no eyes. Creepy bastards. Then you have demodogs, which are younger versions that are a bit smaller and walk on four legs. Then there was Dart who I thought was a pollywog but turned out to be a baby Demogorgon.”

“Jesus,” Steve snorted. “I had to help him find the damn thing because he was trying to keep it as a pet.”

“Yeah and he lied to all of us about it,” Lucas huffed.

“Because you were going to kill him! Dart didn’t hurt us, remember? When we went into the tunnels he let us pass by.”

“Only because you gave him a candy bar!” Steve yelled.

“He loved nougat,” Dustin shrugged. “It worked, didn’t it?”

Monsters…actual monsters with nasty teeth and claws. Okay, yeah. Obviously. You weren't going to lose it. You could do this. And Dustin had kept a baby one as a pet. Sure. Why not? And El had battled one. Well, of course she did. Having superpowers and all, she would be the obvious choice. You could handle this. You had complete control.

“Jesus, you guys are confusing her,” Nancy sighed. “Okay, so Will came back. Eleven killed the demogorgon and we thought that was the end of it. We thought El was gone because she vanished with the Demogorgon, almost like she had used up all of her power. But we were wrong. The gate was still open and only getting larger. The Upside Down had a bigger monster called The Mind Flayer. He possessed Will. We burned it out of him and El closed the gate but the piece that was in Will remained on our side. It was dormant until some Russians opened the gate again and it came alive. Then it possessed a bunch of people. The people it possessed broke down into bones and skin and melded together into a massive monster of people parts. The mall fire wasn’t actually a mall fire. It was us blowing up the monster.”

“Russians?” you asked, as if that was the most illogical piece of it all. “How in the hell did Russians get involved?”

“They wanted to harness the power for evil,” Steve stated. “I actually got my ass beat. They were ready to torture me and Robin but Dustin and Erica showed up just in time and we wound up beating them.”

“Excuse me? You two were high as a kite,” Dustin snorted. “You were like toddlers that we had to keep corralled in one place.”

“Anyway, one of the people the Mind Flayer possessed was my step-brother, Billy,” Max added. “He began bringing people to it for it to possess. The Mind Flayer intended on infecting everyone. What we didn’t know is it was really working on another monster named Vecna’s orders. Vecna was trying to find a way out of The Upside Down and figured out he could use El’s powers to do it so he wanted them.”

“Turns out that Vecna was actually Henry, the guy from the lab with powers,” El added. “When I sent him to The Upside Down he turned into this monster. He was the one who murdered those people.”

“Chrissy, Fred, Patrick…and he almost got Max,” Steve said. “Luckily El stopped him before he could. He could do what El can do, go into people’s minds. But he fed on their insecurities, their worst fears, the things they hated about themselves. He killed them in their minds. Eddie saw Chrissy die and it was awful.”

“Oh my god…” you breathed, remembering the descriptions of the bodies, the horror he must have witnessed. No wonder he had nightmares.

“Not just that. He saw Patrick die too,” Dustin added. “He said they went still, couldn’t move, and they floated up into the air and then their bones snapped. And their eyes…he said it was like something was pulling inside of their heads. They just burst. Anyway, after Chrissy died, he got scared and rightfully so based on how the town reacted. He ran and hid at this guy, Reefer Rick’s place.”

“When we found him he was hiding out in the boathouse,” Robin said.

Steve chuckled roughly, one hand coming to his throat. “Yeah, I can still feel the jagged edge of that beer bottle against my neck.” Your mouth dropped open. “Oh. He, well, he didn’t know any of us that well at that time besides Dustin. He was in shock, you know, running off pure adrenaline. He freaked out, thinking we were coming after him. Anyway, we helped him stay hidden but then Jason and his goons found him and he had to run. He was trying to get away in Rick’s boat and they were swimming after him when Patrick got killed. He got pulled right out of the water.”

“We found Eddie in the woods by Skull Rock and we started putting things together. We figured out a gate to the Upside Down was opening at each murder site,” said Dustin. “So those idiots…” He waved his hand at Nancy, Steve, and Robin. “They dove into the lake and went through a gate. We had to help them escape and Steve here had been munched on by these demon bats that we call demobats.”

“Bats? Is that where Eddie’s scars came from too?”

Robin nodded. “Yeah. Vecna went into Nancy’s mind and showed her his plan. We’re talking end of the world, complete annihilation for humankind. We knew we had to do something so, like the fools that we are, we naturally decided to head back in and attack Henry/Vecna/One.”

“One?”

El held out her arm, displaying a tattoo that said 011, “It was how they identified us at the lab. Henry was the first. He killed his mother and sister the same way he killed the others. His dad thought he died. He got blamed for the murders and spent the rest of his life at Pennhurst, the insane asylum. Dr. Brenner took Henry, saw his power and wanted it so he used him to create the rest of us.”

“Holy shit,” you muttered, dropping your face into your hands. “Jesus. This is nuts.”

“You’re telling us,” Steve snorted. “We lived it. So, Max, Lucas, and his little sister Erica went to Vecna’s house. It had been abandoned for years but it was where Vecna was on the other side, connecting to people in the attic. Max was bait. The plan was for him to go into his comatose-like state to find her in her mind and then he’d be vulnerable for us to take him out.”

“We went in loaded with molotov cocktails and a shotgun,” Robin stated, smirking over at Nancy. “Badass over here sawed it off and let me tell you, she fucked that monster up. No fear from our little Nance.”

“You were all pretty badass too,” Nancy said with a small smile.

“Dustin, Robin, Eddie, Nance, and I went through the gate that had been left in Eddie’s trailer after Chrissy died. The plan was for Eddie to play guitar, a loud distraction for the bats who guarded Vecna. They would go after Eddie and Dustin so we had a clear shot at Vecna,” Steve explained.

“You willingly let yourselves be served up as sacrifices?” you asked.

Dustin laughed harshly, “No. That was not the plan. At least it wasn’t supposed to be. We fortified the trailer first…or at least, we thought we did. We forgot about the vents. The demobats started coming in and Eddie and I ran for the make-shift rope I’d made out of sheets to get them out the first time.”

“They weren’t supposed to stick around if things got bad,” Steve interjected. “I told them not to be heroes but Eddie…”

“I climbed up and through,” Dustin continued. “Eddie started to follow but then he stopped. I yelled at him but he…damn it, he cut those damn sheets. Said he was buying the others time and he raced outside, the bats chasing him.”

Your heart pounded so loudly it pulsed in your ears, feeling as if your entire body thrummed with it. All those scars…his arms, legs, neck, abdomen. The pain he must have felt to have those bats gnawing at him, attempting to eat him alive. He put himself in danger, risked his life, to try to protect everyone in this room, the people in this town. How could he ever look at himself and see anything but a hero?

Dustin leaned forward, his voice cracking as he relived the horror of that moment, “I jumped through, hurt the hell out of my leg, but I knew I had to get to him, stop him. But I was too late…or I thought I was. The bats were everywhere. I couldn’t even see Eddie. Then they all just dropped from the sky…”

“That was El. When she defeated Vecna, the bats all died,” interjected Mike. “It was all a hive mind. Everything in The Upside Down was connected to Vecna. He always knew what was going on because he could see everything those monsters saw, feel everything that they felt. So, when El killed him, all the monsters died.”

“I found Eddie and he was…” Dustin closed his eyes, swallowing hard. “He was bleeding out. He was coughing up blood, choking on it as he tried to talk. I thought he was a goner, man. He kept saying how he didn’t run that time. But then the others showed up and we got him out of there. I still don’t know how the hell we did it. We got him to the hospital and somehow he survived. He needed a blood transfusion, multiple surgeries, and he had a long ass recovery but he made it.”

“Hopper was back in town and…”

“And where was he?” you interrupted. “I am assuming the memory loss story was bullshit too?”

“Uh, yeah,” Lucas answered. “He was kidnapped by Russians who found him after the gate was closed. Joyce and Murray flew to Russia to rescue him.”

“Obviously, only makes sense,” you mumbled, fingers coming to your temples, willing away the headache that was insistently pounding behind your eyes. “So, Hopper cleared Eddie of the murder charges?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded. “He figured out an alibi for him, cleared everything up and Eddie was able to leave the hospital a free man. But the town wouldn’t let it go for a long time. Hopper told a lot of people off for it and eventually everything settled down but…Eddie’s never been able to let it go.”

“He cut that sheet because he thought he was a coward,” Dustin said. “He ran after Chrissy died. No matter what we told him, he couldn’t let it go. There was nothing he could have done. He couldn’t have helped her but he was completely stuck on the idea that he was just a coward who runs away when things get scary.”

“He told me he was no hero,” Steve added, “but he sure as hell acted like one when it mattered. If it weren’t for Eddie, I don’t know if we’d all be sitting here right now. But after he almost lost his life for this town, they still hated him. Of course, nobody knew the truth but us, but it’s gotten into his head. Years of being told he’s nothing, that he’s going to end up like his old man, that he’s a freak, a monster…he believes it. He’s acting the way he is now because deep down, he’s always expected his life to lead him right there, into a jail cell just like his old man.”

“He doesn’t belong there!” Dustin yelled heatedly. “Andy belongs there. He would have killed Erica if she wouldn’t have kicked him in the balls. The man has tormented people his entire life, still torments his wife and kid and he fucking gets off on it.”

“Nobody’s arguing with you,” Nancy agreed calmly. “But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s Eddie sitting in a jail cell and we have to figure out how to get him out of there.”

“Hopper’s working on it,” Steve told her. “Just trust him. Hop has never let us down.”

“Steve, you saw him,” Robin reminded sadly. “He’s been broken completely by all of this. Eddie has every intention of pleading guilty to assault and taking whatever punishment the judge hands out. I’m not sure even Hopper can convince him otherwise right now. He’s convinced that this is the fate he’s always tried to run from finally catching up to him. We have to figure out a way to get through to him. To stop him before he ruins his life.”

“We will. If anyone can get through to him, it’s…” Steve paused, rising up from the couch. He walked over, crouching down in front of you, those caramel brown eyes searching yours in concern. “Hey, honey? You okay over there?”

“Hey,” Max called from your side, her hand landing on your back, rubbing gently back and forth. “I know this is a lot. If you need a little time to process before we…”

“No,” you replied, shaking your head, taking a deep breath. It was a lot to process but they didn’t have time for you to fall apart. You had questions, lots of questions, but they didn’t have time for that right now either. You could wrestle with the improbability and horror of everything they were telling you after you all helped Eddie. “I’m okay.”

“Okay, good,” Steve nodded, “because I really think that if anyone is going to get through to him, it’s going to be you.”

“Me? Why me? You’ve all known him so much longer. He’d trust any of you before he’d trust me.”

“But you are the thing,” said Steve, “the thing that he’s never thought he’d be allowed to have. You represent everything Eddie wanted but never thought he deserved. You’ve seen him at his worst and yet, here you sit, ready to go to war for him if you have to. I’m telling you, he’s sitting in there thinking that he’s not good enough, that he doesn’t deserve you, that he showed you the monster he’s tried so hard to keep contained.”

“No, that’s not…that wasn’t a monster. That was a hurt, battered, traumatized little boy coming out in a fit of rage.”

“You know that and I know that.” Steve turned, gesturing to the entire room. “We all know that but he doesn’t know that. And you might be the only one who can convince him of that.”

“I don’t know. I think Dustin would be…”

Dustin laughed, “Are you kidding me? Eddie doesn’t listen to me for shit. None of these guys do. I am always right on the money and they dismiss me all the time.”

“Dude, it’s your tone, man! Maybe if you learned a little humility the rest of us might…”

Everybody went silent at the sound of a knock on the door. You stood, making your way over, relief flooding your body when you opened it to the sight of Hopper on the other side. Maybe you could finally get some good news. Maybe he’d managed to figure something out. He pulled his hat from his head, holding it in front of him with a nod.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Of course.”

Hopper stepped inside, shock crossing his face when he took in the mob that was currently stationed in your living room. Then with a hoarse laugh, he ran his hand over his receding hair, shaking his head.

“Should have known you’d all be here. Not a single one of you can ever mind your own damn business.”

“Eddie is our business,” Dustin told him, jumping up from the floor eagerly. “Tell me you have some good news. Tell me Andy decided not to press charges or Eddie is fighting back or Andy had an unfortunate encounter with a scalpel at the hospital. Come on, Hop.”

“Alright, Curly, just calm down a minute,” Hopper grumbled, stepping into the living room where he was met with dozens of anxious eyes, pinning all their hopes on him, the magic man who could fix anything for them.

You were too nervous to sit back down, tense energy dancing through your toes, so you leaned against the wall. Hopper ran his thumb and forefinger along his mustache and the way he seemed to be hesitating to tell them anything was only making your apprehension worse. Surely he’d just come out and say it if it was good news.

“So, here’s the thing. I managed to convince Andy to drop the charges.”

“What!?” Robin squealed. “That’s amazing!”

“How in the hell did you manage that?” questioned Steve. “That asshole was practically foaming at the mouth to have a shot at putting Eddie behind bars.”

“Let’s just say I spent a long night digging through records, looking for something that could persuade our friend, Mr. Johnson, that pressing charges against Eddie wasn’t in his best interests. And I found it.”

“What was it?” Lucas asked.

At Hopper’s narrowed look, Steve added, “Come on. You know we won’t tell anyone. I mean, who’s better at keeping massive secrets for years and years than us?”

“Yeah, if we can keep quiet about the Upside Down, the Russians, the Mind Flayer, and Vecna, then I am pretty sure we can keep quiet about whatever misdemeanor Andy’s trying to sweep under the rug,” Dustin snorted with a roll of his eyes.

Hopper’s eyes darted over to you and then back to the group, clearly thinking that they’d just told that very large secret that they’d just claimed they were so good at keeping. He didn’t know that they’d all already chosen to share.

“We told her,” Will piped up from his spot on the floor.

“You told her? You mean, that big secret that we all agreed stayed quiet for everyone’s safety? You just told this girl who you’ve known for what? A little over a month?”

“Hop, she’s with Eddie,” Steve explained.

“And? Harrington, you’ve dated plenty since all this shit went down and, last I checked, you hadn’t run off at the mouth about it. Or am I wrong? Are there a dozen girls running around, telling everyone about the insane guy they dated who thought he went and fought monsters in another dimension?”

“No, of course not,” defended Steve. “I would never do that.”

“Obviously, you would!” roared Hopper. “Do you know what it’s taken to keep all of this quiet? Do you have any idea the lengths I have had to go to protect all of you? Did you even think about El? She’s managed to live a nice, quiet life for a decade but that doesn’t mean those damn lab guys aren’t still out there looking for her. What happens if this girl starts running her mouth and the wrong people hear it?”

“I would never say anything,” you tried to tell him but the man was on a roll. You weren't even sure that he heard you.

“The shit we’ve all been through, the shit we’re just trying to put behind us. We didn’t agree to keep this quiet for shits and giggles. We agreed because we knew no one would believe us and because it’s dangerous to bring anyone else in. Too many people have died and yeah, it’s been quiet. Yeah, I want to believe it’s finally over but we just don’t know that! El closed the gate for good, we hope. We think the Upside Down is destroyed for good with Vecna gone, but we don’t know. There could be another gate in the fucking Sahara desert for all we know, just waiting to let more of those damn monsters out! And now you’ve not only endangered all of us, but you’ve endangered this girl who would have no idea what she’s getting herself into.”

“Hopper, it’s been ten years,” Nancy told him calmly. “Don’t you think if something was still out there, it would have shown itself already?”

“Yeah, my dude,” Argyle added. “Things have been chill on the paranormal front. I think we’re all in the clear.”

Steve stood from the couch, stepping toward Hopper, “Look, no, I have not told the women that I have dated about any of this because they were just that, casual dates. Her and Eddie, it’s not casual, man. You haven’t seen the two of them together. I’ve never seen Eddie look the way he does when she’s around. They’re the real deal. And you saw her after the…incident, you saw her in the police station. She’s not going anywhere, Hopper, and if she’s going to be with him, then she deserves to know. She deserves to know why he is the way he is, she deserves to know what we’ve all gone through. Come on, man. You know as well as I do that secrets are no way to have a successful relationship. Do you hide things from Joyce?”

“No, but she was there, Harrington,” Hopper argued. “She witnessed it. Hell, she was one of the first involved considering it was her kid that went missing. I don’t have to hide anything.”

“Okay. But then what? The rest of us have to have relationships built on lies because we can’t ever tell anyone? If you’re planning to spend the rest of your life with someone, shouldn’t they know everything? Shouldn’t you be able to trust them?”

“I, well, yeah…but this is…the rest of their lives?” Hopper spun, eyes narrowing in on you. “Did I miss something? You and Munson engaged or something?”

“What? No,” you stammered with a nervous giggle. “No. We’ve only been dating for a few weeks. I just got divorced. I’m not exactly in a rush to walk down the aisle again and I think it’s a bit soon. I don’t…I mean, nobody said the rest of our lives.”

“But you love him,” Robin reminded you, causing the younger members of the group to gasp.

“Aww,” El crooned.

“You love Eddie?” asked Dustin, that entire adorable face just lighting up. “I didn’t know that.”

“Eddie doesn’t even know that! I barely just realized it!” you snapped. “I just…shit. Can we not tell him that until I get a chance to, please?” You turned back to Hopper. “Look, I can understand all of your fear and concern over them telling me all of this. I have barely had a chance to wrap my brain around the fact that things of fiction, monsters and hell dimensions, actually exist. But I would never do anything to put any of you in danger. I just wanted to know because I want to help him. He has nightmares. Did any of you know that?”

“No, but we all have bad dreams about what happened sometimes,” Mike shrugged.

“I am not talking about bad dreams. I am talking full on night terrors. He screams and pulls at invisible attackers, which I am now assuming are those bat things. He thrashes around in his sleep, sweat covering him from head to toe. And he cries out for you, Dustin.”

Dustin swallowed, closing his eyes with a subtle shake of his head, “Because I was there. I was with him when the bats…well, after, but we were together right before. Jesus, was he screaming for me when they were attacking him? I just, I tried, but if I’d been faster…”

“Dustin, there was nothing you could have done,” Steve told him. “Those bats…they were vicious. It took Nancy, Robin, and Eddie to help me. You did what you could, man.”

“Alright, Hopper, whether you like it or not, she knows everything now,” Jonathan said, speaking up for the first time since the man had walked in the door. “There’s no putting that particular Genie back in the bottle, right? So, it’s done. Now, what exactly did you have on Andy?”

Hopper looked at each of them in turn, face still bright red, appearing that he had much more to say on the subject. He clearly was still not happy with the current situation but released a loud, long sigh of resignation because there was nothing he could do about it now. The decision to tell you had been made by all of the people in this room and unless El’s powers included making people forget, that information was not leaving your brain anytime soon.

“Our guy Andy has a nasty little habit of driving into the city to visit ladies of the night, if you catch my meaning. I found a police report from Indianapolis a few months back and another in Fort Wayne just a few weeks ago. The cops gave him a warning and let him go. But I pointed out that information like that getting out wouldn’t do Mr. Johnson any favors with the in-laws. His wife’s dad might stick his head in the sand about how he treats his daughter but he would cut him off completely if it got out that his son-in-law was stepping out on her with prostitutes. Not that anyone here thinks much of him as it is. But let me tell you, I’ve never seen a guy backpedal so hard. He immediately signed the paperwork to drop all charges against Eddie.”

“That’s amazing,” you breathed in relief.

“Told you Hopper could fix it,” Steve stated smugly with a tilt of his head. “This man can fix anything.”

“Yeah, well, it would be greatly appreciated if I didn’t have to keep fixing shit. You know, maybe, just maybe, you all could just manage to stay out of trouble. That’s an idea.”

Dustin laughed, “Hopper, you’re funny.”

“Man, we don’t look for trouble,” Lucas argued. “Trouble always just seems to find us.”

“You kids are definitely a damn magnet for it.”

“Okay, so where is Eddie now?” you asked, anxious to see him, to wrap your arms around him, to assure yourself that he was okay, to assure him that you weren't going anywhere. No matter what he thought, you weren't scared of him and he wasn’t going to chase you away.

“Well, see, now that’s the thing,” Hopper mumbled. “Eddie didn’t seem quite as happy as all of you when I told him he was free to go. I asked if he wanted me to call his girl so you could come pick him up but he told me to call his uncle instead. He didn’t even want me to tell you that he was out but I told you I would and I am a man of word.”

“He didn’t want me to know?” you asked meekly, not entirely surprised that he was closing himself off but it still hurt like a bitch to hear it out loud.

“I think he’s just doing what he thinks is right. He seems to think you’d be better off without him. I think what he just did, it scared the shit out of him to be honest. He’s spent all this time being told he’s a monster and now he thinks he is. He thinks that’s what he let out, let loose, when he went after Andy. I don’t know. Maybe he’s scared that he can’t control it and he’d hurt you or something.”

You stiffened at his words. “Eddie would never hurt me. Never.”

“I’m not saying he would. I’m just telling you what I was getting off of him during our little chat this morning. I tried. I tried to tell him, as a man who sometimes battles with anger issues, that it doesn’t mean you would ever hurt someone you care about. But he’s completely shut down right now. I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t know if it would be better for you to go over there or to give him a little space for a bit.”

What would be better? If you showed up on his doorstep now would he just push back harder? Would he end things? Tell you that he didn’t want to see you anymore? But what if you gave him time to think and he thought too hard about all the reasons why you shouldn’t be together? What if he thought that you weren't coming around because after what you saw you didn’t want to be with him? If you were a couple, shouldn’t you be there for him when he was in a moment of crisis?

But you'd only been together a few weeks. Were you the one he would want to comfort him or would he be more comfortable with anyone else in this room? These people that he’d known for a decade would surely bring more solace to him, right? Maybe Steve or Robin or Jonathan or Dustin or anyone who wasn’t you should be the first one to go over and check on him.

“Hey?” came Robin’s voice from right next to you. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “I don’t know what’s best right now and I don’t want to get it wrong. What if I get it wrong and then it’s over? How am I supposed to know what he needs right now?”

“He needs you,” Steve said simply.

“Any of you would be a better option,” you insisted, arms wrapping around yourself, holding all of the broken parts together. “We’ve only been dating for a few weeks. We’ve only known each other a little over a month. I mean, what could I possibly offer him that you can’t? You all lived through this hell with him. Steve, you have the same scars he has. You know exactly what he went through. It should be you. Or Dustin, you were right at his side. You were a team when you did the…alternate dimension concert distraction or whatever. Seriously. He didn’t even want me to know he was out of jail. I am probably the last person he wants to see right now.”

“Maybe that’s true,” Nancy reasoned, standing up. “But it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known each other. You’re something special to him. In over ten years of knowing Eddie, none of us have ever seen him light up the way he does when you’re around. None of us have ever seen him truly happy, not until you. We came into his life at the absolute worst moment he was living. And ever since all of that, he’s been Eddie, but he’s been going through the motions.”

“Yeah. I knew him before all that shit went down,” added Dustin. “He was this larger than life, loud, funny, over the top guy. He was fun. He was animated. But after everything, that guy disappeared…until you came along. You’ve given me my best friend back, the way he used to be before he knew monsters existed, before this town decided he was a murderer. Maybe you’ve only known him a short time but you’ve had a bigger impact than any of us ever had and trust me, we’ve tried. We’ve tried just about everything.”

“You said you wouldn’t let him chase you away,” Steve reminded you. “You stood in that police station and said if he tried to push you away that you would push back even harder. Did you mean that?”

“Yes. Of course I did.”

“Then push,” Robin insisted. “He’s stubborn as hell and he’s probably convinced he’s doing what’s best for you. He’s going to hide from all of us and go all broody, sitting in the dark, listening to his heavy metal. Don’t let him.”

You looked at all the expectant faces staring back at you. Now, you were the one they were expecting to work magic, to fix things, to fix Eddie. It was a monumental task, one that could potentially shatter you, but that beautiful metalhead was worth it. You'd break every bone in your body if it meant you got to keep him, if it meant you could break through and make him see his own worth.

“Okay. I’ll try,” you told them, teeth worrying at your lower lip. “I’ll try.”

“He’s hiding at his uncle’s trailer,” Hop told her, “but you didn’t hear that from me.”

Chapter 23

Taglist

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sabertoothwalrus · 2 years

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eep sorry if youve been asked this, but when u go abt drawing bgs for ur comics, do u look up references or use imagination, and how do u practice drawing bgs for storyboards rather than illustrations? im rlly not sure where to start, and i feel like a lot of advice focuses on rendering bgs rather than it feeling ~lived in~ or actively being used or augh not sure how to say!!

hhhh ok this is something I am also still in the process of trying to figure out, and I am not a professional storyboard artist so I will attempt to answer to the best of my ability.

when it comes to storyboards, the amount of detail bgs will have during the boards phase will depend largely on both the studio AND the specific production. some 3D shows will have a render of a commonly used room the board artists can angle around for their shots. Adventure Time boards tended to be pretty loose, while the Owl House boards are EXCEPTIONALLY clean. DTVA seems to have bgs created in a several step process, and I'm not exactly sure of the timeline, but I know they have vis dev artists that do more illustrative, conceptual drawings to get the vibe, then the board artists draw out what general angles will actually be used, then layout artists/bg designers who actually go in and DRAW those bgs and add in all the little details, and THEN the colorist comes in and...colors it. I don't think every studio distributes the work in this same way. Not every studio is going to want board artists to draw clean backgrounds, but MOST will get pissed if you refuse to draw them at all djfhgdjf

If you want some tips about adding small details, this has some really useful advice.

I don't add lighting or grayscale values to my comics unless it's important to the tone/clarity, and I think that's generally the case with boards too (at least for TV, I don't know as much about boarding for feature). Here's some advice about adding lighting.

^ here's a bg I put a little more effort into than usual. I referenced some images of thrift shops I pulled up on duck duck go, some of my own memories of thrift shops I've been to, and even went on the shiftythrifting tumblr. This was just a silly comic I knew I'd be posting on tumblr rather than a serious board, so it didn't matter to me if it was perfectly clean or not. some of the shapes are... vague. and loose. but who cares sdjhfjd I think (?) it conveys the concept that this is a thrift shop.

^ for THIS comic I wanted imply hunter crowded them in the bathroom to "talk in private" which felt like a very 16 year old thing to do + there were already some nifty references of the Noceda's bathroom. and listen I know it's not perfect. I didn't draw ANY perspective guides, did more trial and error than I probably needed to, the cabinet is WAY too high. (even in the original, why is this bathroom so spacious???? why is the toilet so far from the wall where the toilet paper is???) but even with all the mistakes, it doesn't matter! no one probably noticed while watching. you see it so briefly, and your attention is still focused on the characters.

I'd say the main thing when drawing bgs for storyboarding & comics is to focus on Perspective and Composition above all else. It's ok to be loose, but make sure you still have Clarity. Be mindful of proportion ("how big is this character in comparison to the objects around them?") and angles ("if this is a low angle, shouldn't I be seeing the ceiling/sky?") etc etc because even if you know you won't be drawing it perfectly, it helps to still have it in mind.

#art help #perspective #backgrounds #comics #storyboarding #photos

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superblysubpar · 6 months

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It Wasn't True 👀 - probably not Pastel

Ask Me About My WIPs

I see you @pastel-pillows , and I love talking about WIPs, so I'm down 💛

*sigh* I started this LAST December. Here's the banner and the first bit, cause again, the vibes just ain't vibing - this one is all about a kingish version of steve, you have some of your own demons, and both of you just wanna get out of Hawkins.

summary: It started with a can of Coke, the hood of a red BMW, and a kiss that shouldn't have happened.

the tune: cruel summer by taylor swift

How could you know the boy in the fancy house on Cornwallis was putting on a show? That he was more empty than that big house - a charade, a character, and maybe just a little worth a second thought. How could he know the girl who lived down the street wasn't satisfied with her life in Hawkins, or Indiana for that matter.

Lilac dappled across the soft blue sky, a crescent moon peeking out already behind white puffs of clouds, like they were hand painted and then ripped apart by streaks of sherbert orange. It's beautifully reflected in the glass panes of the doors to the Fair Mart, and on any other night perhaps you would take a minute to appreciate it.

Tonight though, your fingers shake as they push open the door, and the beautiful and fleeting sunset disappears and ads for junk food fill your vision in its place. Senses immediately tune into a rumble of the oscillating fan in the corner, a flicker of a fluorescent light overhead, the squeak of your converse against tile, and the pop of pink double bubble in your peripheral.

The bored teenager flicks through her magazine and snaps her gum, droning on without looking up, "Welcome to the Fair Mart. Coke is on sale. Go nuts."

Wandering the aisles, you wonder if tonight is finally the night. The one in which you grab a map, some shitty snacks, a pair of cheap sunglasses and just drive until Hawkins is not even a blip in the map of your life.

Queen plays overhead as you pull your sweatshirt sleeve down over your palms, thundering drums and wailing guitars do nothing to ease rattled nerves as you pause in front of the cooler doors. They hum loudly, like they're working overtime, begging you to please buy the icy cold drinks they've worked tirelessly to keep fresh for you.

Something about the colors of the cans hypnotize you, the reds fade into the blues and the blues into the greens until you realize your vision is growing blurry from tears. Quick to wipe at your lash line as the bell over the door alerts you that you're no longer the only customer.

"Welcome to the Fair - Jesus Christ! Steve, what the hell-"

"I'm fine. It's fine."

Turning to see the boy quickly turn down the candy aisle, a hand yanking a bag of gummy worms, fingers finding a bottle of painkillers without looking. His Nike's squeak to a stop as he rounds the corner and sees you.

Steve Harrington does not look like the kid from school you've heard all the stories about. He's not carrying himself like the boy who's driveway fills with cars and pool with hot girls that you watch from the down the street in a dark and empty house.

Nose swollen, jaw scraped open and purples and blues swirling around his eye so dark you understand why it's called a black eye now. His tongue sticks out and prods at a cut in the corner of his lips. His eyebrows bunch, loose strands of hair falling over a furrowed forehead as he mumbles, "Wanna take a picture or something?"

Staring, you're staring. "So-sorry," you squeak out and grab a can of something and rush to the counter. Pausing to let your fingers trail over the maps, one for New York catching on your thumb.

Someone clears their throat and you grab the map on impulse, shoving the can of soda and it on the counter. Utterly aware of Steve's towering presence behind you, you try to focus on blondie, who snaps her gum as she rings up your purchases and sighs, "Sure you don't want a second one?" Holding up the can of coke, annoyed by your presence.

"Oh, uh, I-"

"Here," Steve holds up his own can of coke down and his other two items, throwing a crumpled bill that is way too much money for all of it on the counter. He turns on his heel and stalks out, the slap of the open sign against the glass makes you jump. He sits on the trunk of his car as you watch him with blinking eyes through the glass, the sign swaying back and forth obscuring him partially.

The clerk snaps her gum again and scoffs, "Good luck with that."

Frowning at her, you grab your items, "Excuse me?"

She looks at Steve, then you again, smirking before blowing another bubble and popping it.

"Your trip," nodding to the map.

#taylor's asks 💋#wip game #pastel 💞#steve harrington #steve harrington angst #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you

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askfallenroyalty · 1 year

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Here's some more deleted scene panels that never made it in

sorry there's no captions, there's just too many panels to describe and i'm tired. hopefully i'll have the energy/rememebr to do so tomorrow ):

IM REALLY SAD THIS ONE DIDN'T GET IN. I even drew asriel shutting flowey in a box for this joke to work. There was going to be a visual gag of it being a "soap" box. Haha.

Asgore was originally going to tell Asriel to think of something nice to get his mind off of his panic attack.

Which, while funny, took away the feeling of intense panic the audience and asriel should have been feeling at the time. It just didn't fit the pacing/mood. It also showed that -well, i don't know if this is a legitimate grounding technique or if it'd be read as "its ok just think happy thoughts <3 then ur panic attack would end" which... is not.... how that works. Even if it was only to give Asriel a moment of respite, it's shown as effective until Asgore brings up a bad memory. So. bad comic sequence.

more stuff under the cut

I had a really, really hard time balancing the tone of the scene that is currently happening in the redraw. it's why i'm so behind in my drawings, so i'm only now sketching the next couple month's updates.

This chapter has gone through SO MANY changes. I feel that comes with it being the first chapter to completely diverge from the original tumblr version.

Asriel was originally going to have a very on-the-nose nightmare about Flowey feeling excluded from the family and fearing drowning. Now, the whole darkness/water metaphor for suicidal depression will be introduced when that stuff starts to come into play in chapter 4...

i mean, just to really hammer home how much i had to delete for this: i actually did sketch out the original tumblr version here. I had it all ready before chapter 2 began posting. But as I was finishing the color for the warship section I realized, shoot, I don't wanna repeat it.

When I first made the tumblr version, i was getting burnt out and the characters just became so much... meaner? rude? to each other. some bickering or annoyance is fine but I have a bad habit of going overboard. That's something I hope to correct in the rewrite -and focus more on less drama and more wholesome/loving moments.

(note the above scene is shown not in full. its jumping around a bit)

Even tho I was mostly keeping chapter the same the first time I sketched it for the redraw, I added this scene. The idea was that when the house was on fire, Frisk would of ran off to the right of the house to where you can see Old Home.

There, even tho Frisk can't verbally talk, the two have a nice heart-to-heart. Chara remember Frisk has [spoilers] issues. Chara was going to own up to their bad behavior.

Now well, hm. Chara's got a lot of shit going on. Frisk of course has forgiven them (like they do for everyone in the underground -_- oh frisk...) and it's going to be something that's addressed down the road. for now, they've held hands, and shown solidarity for each other. As kids, they're going to goof around and be buddies and not let the cruddy stuff chara did earlier matter. things are so much less of a big deal when you're a kid.

#redraw #deleted scenes

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bratshaws · 2 years

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goodness gracious 84. brb x oc

a/n: b oy these future chapters amirite. AMIRITE

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff,Bea misses Rooster and we don't blame her.

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64

65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75/76/77/78/79/80/81/82/83

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

@emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads

The way Beatrice dealt with his absence this time was arranging their house, cleaning it, restocking areas. She watched a lot of compilations about restocking and organizing, because it was the only way she could distract herself the best she could.

She cleaned and organized the fridge, then the pantry, then the laundry room and her focus now was her art room. Well, office/ art room. The same way Rooster had his own office with his desk and computer, she had her own. Neither of them wanted any desk in their bedroom, it should be a place to rest and destress, their little sanctuary away from everything.

Her art room didn’t have a lot of stuff yet, mainly some materials she never used during college that she kept hidden for months after grad. The one good thing about it was the large window that overlooked the pool and backyard, and a bit of the patio too. It was a wonderful house…and Rooster barely had the time to enjoy it.

She wasn’t mad at him, she’d never be mad at him, but she did wish he was here. She could only hope he was okay and that he’d return safely so they could enjoy everything that he missed. Beatrice sighs, sitting down on her old couch that now was part of the art room’s decor, clasping her hands between her thighs, chewing the inside of her lip.

It’s been two weeks already, weird how time passed fast since she saw him off. Neither of them wanted to let go but they knew they had to, Rooster kissing her forehead then her lips, keeping the lip lock and only breaking when he stepped back, giving her a small sad smile and walking away.

She was happy she had wonderful people surrounding her, like Shells,Evelyn and Penny. Evelyn seemed to be the least affected by Jake’s departure, but she knew the other woman was missing him. As much as Evelyn keeps their relationship private, it was obvious the Texan wormed his way into her heart more than she expected him to.

Beatrice inhaled softly, “Okay.” she pushes herself upwards, “Time to do something else since I’m done here.” Jolene looked up from her spot in the living room, tail thudding on the wooden floors as the brunette walks past - leaning down to scratch the pittie under the chin - to the second floor.

Their room was already organized and clean but Beatrice stopped on the empty room before their own. They still hadn’t decided what they should use this room for, it was pretty big just like the other rooms in that house, with a large window that showed some of the neighboring houses.

Her feet echoed once she stepped in, running her fingers against the wall. She stood there, looking at the beige colored room with wooden floors, trying to think what it could become. They already had a guest room downstairs, maybe another one up here?

Or maybe, she should just think of what she wanted instead of using smoke and mirrors. A baby room.

It was insane, they never talked about it, but Beatrice could see it. It was big enough for a crib, she could paint the walls how she liked it - maybe some forest motifs or even the sea? She could see herself painting such things there, a small smile on her face.

She was having baby fever, especially since Cynthia was pregnant with her second baby…Beatrice couldn’t really help herself, especially since there was the picture of Rooster and his parents adorning the hallway downstairs, close to the piano in the living room. If they had a baby, would it look more like her or Rooster? Or a mix of both? “This is a terrible thing to think about with him gone.” she murmurs to herself, hugging her arms close and backing away from the room, stopping when she hears the very specific sound of a baby’s laughter.

She looked back inside over her shoulder, clearly there was nothing nor anyone in there, “I’m hearing things…or the house is haunted.” she kept on staring, waiting for the laughter to repeat itself. But it didn’t. It didn’t and Beatrice inhaled shakily, “I need to focus on something else.” anything else really.

Beatrice rubs her face with both hands, closing the door behind herself and looking around, propping her hands on her hips, “Alright.” she murmurs, “What…should I do?” everything was organized and clean…maybe she should watch some other videos for inspiration. There has to be other things she can do.

So she opens her phone and scrolls down YouTube with her thumb nail wedged between her teeth, walking barefoot down to the living room where Jolene remained lying down, only turning her head in Beatrice’s direction when she hears her coming down the stairs. “No, no, already seen this one, no…” she tsked, leaning her elbows on the back of the couch and tapping the ball of a foot on the wooden floor rhythmically, blowing a raspberry in frustration when she couldn’t find anything else.

That is until she found the DIY section of the videos.

Beatrice’s eyes focused on the thumbnail where she could see pictures of different projects. She always was interested in DIY, or flipping things - hence her vintage armoire - for better uses. Maybe that’s what she needed, something she could get her hands on and then see how it worked with the rest of the house.

Since the house was rented there wasn’t much they could do besides paint over certain walls with the condition they’d paint its natural color before giving the house back, so if she could find solutions for other things in the house…and things she knew Rooster would like it too, that is, she could surprise him.

She wasn’t good with power tools, yet, so she should try and find something easier. Maybe something - “Would you like to renovate your rental? Try removable wallpaper!” the overly cheery woman in the video announced, showing a sped up process of her adding said wallpaper to her dining room. Beatrice blinked, then looked around, locking her eyes on the kitchen, in the tiny wall right behind the built in island bar.

While she loved her new kitchen, she felt it could use…something different. Should she even do that? She didn’t know it yet…but she knew who to call in hopes she could figure it out.

–

“Look at this one.”

“Michael that’s horrible.”

Beatrice knew that Michael would like to get out of the house on his off days, his job at his friend’s gym was mainly at night so he had most of the day free. Her brother frowns, pushing the rolled up wallpaper back into the pile, only to grab another one with terrible tacky patterns, “What about this one? It has flowers.”

“Mikey, no,I told you I wanted something with color but not this.” she says, gently pushing it away from his hand, “Not to mention it’d have to be more geometric than that. It looks like it belongs in a museum.”

“Well, you like museums.” he says back only to earn an eye roll from his little sister, who stood on her tiptoes to check the taller shelves. This department store was so full of things, especially for DIY, that she was going to get distracted in minutes. She didn’t even know what she’d do, but she knew it’d be useful. Michael leans his large shoulder against the iron shelves, crossing his arms over his chest, “So…how are you feeling?”

Beatrice sighs, looking around for a stool or anything that could give her a boost - she was tall but not tall enough to reach the wallpaper she liked - “I’m…fine.” she doesn’t look at him when she says it, biting her lower lip and checking to see if anyone was around - anyone of the employees that is, before she stepped on the bottom shelf for impulse. Her brother, who wasn’t stupid, pushed off the shelf he was leaning against to pretty much cover Beatrice like she was some sort of international dignatry and he was the security guard, hiding her from view, “Got it! Finally.” she grabbed two rolls of wallpaper for safety.

She drops the wallpapers into the cart, leaping down from the lower shelf before anyone could notice, then looks back at Michael who just has his eyebrow up, “What?”

“Are you sure you are fine? You are in that house all alone.”

Yeah, don’t remind her, “I know, but I’m fine!” Michael hums, not believing it, “Time will go by fast, Brad will be back before I know it. Plus we’ll be able to talk, like we did before.” Michael hums again, digging his hands in his dark jeans’ pockets as he follows her through the aisles, pursing his lips, “I’m fine,Michael.”

But was she? She was holding on better than she thought, with the fact that it’s been two weeks. She missed him terribly, but there wasn’t much she could do besides wait and pray for his safe return. Beatrice tried to keep her mind occupied so the goblin voice wouldn’t snarl terrible thoughts inside her brain, she didn’t need that. He was going to be fine and they were going to enjoy it when he gets back.

“Do you want me to stay with you for a bit? You know I wouldn’t mind.”Now, normally she’d say no because these past weeks have been quite calm but…honestly she wouldn’t mind the company either.And Michael was always someone who’d be with her if she was scared - honestly any of her siblings would, but Michael always stepped up to it before anyone - “I can help you set up your new project.”

He nods to the shopping cart, which in turn makes Beatrice look as well, laughing softly “...okay.” she says, gently bumping her shoulder against his large bicep, “Thanks Mikey.”

“I accept payments in cannolis and chocolate cake.” Beatrice gasps in fake offense, trying to shove him away but he just leans to the side instead of moving, chuckling at her annoyed look that only melted into a brighter smile, “Plus,I only saw your house like…for a few minutes, I don’t know everything in there. You can give me a tour.”

Beatrice just smiles, then nods her head, pushing the cart forward until they reach another aisle. She didn’t know if it was because of the videos she watched or because she desperately wanted to keep her mind occupied, but she had several ideas. The wallpaper would be the first one of the big projects she was planning, she could also paint something too, maybe that’s how she’s going to keep herself distracted.

Beatrice’s cart wasn’t full of things, only a few essentials that she’d need. As Michael helped her put her things inside the red Jeep, her phone buzzed nonstop, something that wasn’t common since she rarely got calls so early in the afternoon.

But she grabs it, seeing it was Shells calling, “Shells?” she asks while pressing the phone to her ear, “What’s going on?”

“Where are you right now?”

“Right now? Uh, I’m at Mackenzie’s…why?”

“Bea, you need to follow the road down Mackenzie’s and then go to downtown.” Shells sounded way too excited ,”I want to tell you but I don’t want to tell you because it’ll ruin the surprise!”

Now that called her attention ,”Surprise?” Michael looks up from the trunk of her car to her, furrowing his eyebrows, “Uh, but okay? I’ll go there.”

“Park close to Giordano’s and walk down the sidewalk! Bye!”

Well that was weird, she even commented with Michael at how odd it was that her best friend gave her locations to go. But knowing Shells, it was better to not ask and just go. Beatrice hopped in the driver’s seat, her car still smelling new and fresh, wth Michael taking his spot on the passenger’s side as they made their way out of Mackenzie’s parking lot.

She tries to think what would’ve made Shells so excited, a new Kylie Minogue tour that she just saw a poster of? That’d be enough for her to call Beatrice that while she wasn’t a Kylie fan, she’d be just as happy as her friend.

She follows Shells’ directions, reaching a very commercial area that was so packed she couldn’t even park her car close to Giordano’s as Shells asked. But as soon she turned the ignition off, she saw a blonde head appear in the distance, followed by her body jumping up and down with her arms in the air trying to get attention, “What the hell?” she mutters, stepping out of the car with Michael close behind, locking it and then rushing to meet Shells halfway.

Before she could even speak to Shells, the blonde engulfed her in a hug, bouncing on the spot with a very confused Beatrice hovering her hands by her sides, “I’m so proud of you!” Beatrice just blinked in shock, still not understanding what her friend was talking about, but she couldn’t even ask her, because Shells clasped onto her hand with a vie grip and took her forward, through the sea of people, past Giordano’s and to a crosswalk.

“What’s going on?” Beatrice could only see the same old buildings and offices in this area, “I don’t know why you mmf-” Shells grabbed her face with one hand, squeezing her cheeks and directing her gaze upwards, past the buildings and to a tall billboard. Beatrice’s eyes widened, her blonde friend’s hand dropping from her jaw so it’d go slack.

There was a billboard there, right on the side of a building and whose face was right on it? Hers. It was her face. It was Marcus’ collection, it was finally launching and he chose her to be the main focus of it. She knew he liked her, calling her his muse and whatnot, but she didn’t expect to be the so called ‘centerfold’. Beatrice gasps, “That’s me.” she remembers when he took the picture, with the low angle and the rosé colored sunglasses and the flowy pomegranate colored off shoulder dress, “That’s me!”

Pure Beauty by Marcus Beverly it said in maroon colored letters right by her cheekbone on the picture. Beatrice was in shock, Shells was still jumping up and down by her side - a few passersby looked at them weirdly but didn’t care much to ask what was going on- “It is you!It’s you Bea!!”

“I-I am…o-on a huge billboard…o-on a building.” she didn’t know if she should cry or laugh or both. Her brother was dead silent, looking up at the billboard as they were. Beatrice let out a cracked laugh, feeling the cry climb up her throat and almost break free, still in complete disbelief at what she was seeing, “I…It’s me…it’s me!!” she finally lets the tears roll down, trying her best to not cause a scene in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Holy shit.” Michael finally speaks once he shakes off the shock of seeing his little sister in a billboard, “Holy shit, it is you.”

Shells grins even more, clapping her hands rapidly “I was driving by and the moment I saw it I almost caused an accident and I had to call you!” She proceeds to pull out her phone, taking a picture of Beatrice looking at her own face while cupping her cheeks, completely enamored by what she was seeing and unaware of Shells’ phone by her side.

That was her, it was her. She knew the pictures looked nice, after all Marcus did send her some but not all of them. And she couldn’t share with Rooster or anyone else since it was part of a collection and they couldn’t have ‘leaks’. But now she could send Rooster the pictures and send him this one! She was so…so happy, a complete opposite from hours before as she tried to keep her mind occupied. She couldn’t believe it, she was still trying to understand that yes it was her and no she wasn’t dreaming, “Wow…I…”

“We gotta send this to Rooster.” Shells announces, “I’ll send you the pics I took, he’s going to flip out.”

Meanwhile,Michael stood to the side, watching his little sister vibrate and cry and just look like she won the lottery with how happy she was. When he found out about it, he wasn’t worried, after all she was a grown woman. But he knew that while their parents said yes - and Guillermo agreed - they might’ve had a bit more difficulty understanding this.

But honestly, there was no way they wouldn’t be proud. Beatrice looks stunning, like she always is and always should be, she was glowing. So much had changed within her and he was so proud of how much she grew mentally. He knew how much she struggled, she rarely spoke about it but he knew how much of a toll it took on her.

Beatrice meeting Bradley and eventually dating him, was meant to happen. He knew that, they were just two peas in a pod with how much they completed each other. At her birthday it was so hard to imagine her without him and vice versa, and to see his little sister blossom into the woman she always was meant to be made his chest warm up with pride. “I’m going to send this to mom and dad, you know they’ll love it.”

She had no fear in her eyes when he said it, no doubt, she just smiled wider, “Okay! Let them know the address too so they can come and see for the first time too.”

Growth.

It was a great look on her.

She stood there, admiring her own face - not vainly, nothing like that…she was just…she was just really happy to accept that gig. For several reasons, but the boost that it gave to her confidence was astronomical, she felt so much better and free and…she felt she could take over the world if there was a chance. And she had Rooster’s support on it too, his support was of the utmost importance. “Come on Bitty.” she hears Michael say, dropping an arm around her shoulders, “I think this deserves a small celebration.”

Bea looks back at her picture, the way her green eyes look greener and her lips look fuller and shiny, “I-I…okay.” she whispers, only stepping away from Michael to hug Shells, who was still bouncing like a child with how happy she was. She said she was going to show the pictures to Penny and Amelia, then to Evelyn if she hadn’t seen it yet. The brunette nodded, backing away from the sidewalk to wander back where she parked her Jeep, waving Shells goodbye and not being able to contain how wide her smile was getting.

“That was me, Mike.” she whispers once she pulls the keys out of her back pocket, looking up at her older brother with stars in her eyes, “Mike that was me!!”

“I know, sis.” he grins, dropping a huge hand on her head to mess the brown strands just a bit, “You look incredible.”

Beatrice sniffles, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands while nodding. What a turn this day did, from wondering about DIY projects to now seeing her face on a billboard and honestly she couldn’t complain about it. She drives them back to the house, where she’s still smiling and not believing what happened, just giggling to herself, picking up Jolene - who looked confused as heck even if her tail wagged - to kiss her cheeks and head, bouncing the dog on her arms before she sets her down.

Michael watches his little sister practically skip around her new house, taking the time of her being distracted to have a better look at the neighborhood and then at the door and front of the house, he could find someone to put a camera there if she wanted. Beatrice’s happy humming was heard all through the house, which made Michael smile and eventually step inside, locking the door behind himself with the key she had dangling from a magnetic shelf, watching it snatch the keys up once he was done.

Beatrice is setting everything inside her art room, Michael letting her know he’s going to get some water but she just tosses him a distracted ‘okay’ when she receives the pictures from both Shells and Marcus. She chews her lower lip with a smile, thanking her friend and thanking Marcus even more, telling him she just saw the billboard and couldn’t believe it was her.

She was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt, reading Marcus’ heartfelt message about how ‘You should believe that beauty is yours, darling. I just worked with was already beautifully done.’ making her eyes sting with more tears…but now she had something else to do.

She didn’t know when he’d be able to see the message, even if it was possible for him to read it now, but she was going to send the pictures to him either way. She chews her lower lip, taking a deep breath before she finally types a message down.

Bea (14:45)

‘Hi Roos! I just wanted to send you a message to say hi and that I love and miss you so much! Something really cool happened today and I think…it’s better if I show you than tell you! I miss you so much, I hope you are safe and I can’t wait to see you!

Love you! Tell everyone I said hi!’

There were so many pictures that they had to be sent in a folder file, which meant it’d take some time until it was fully sent his way. While she waited, she pushes herself to her feet to meet Michael in her kitchen, checking everything in there while sipping ice cold water, “What are you doing?”

“Checking the cabinets,” he opens and closes a few doors, “This is a pretty good house, sis. Gabby really helped you out on finding it. But I think you can ask if you can add some cameras outside.”

“Oh?”

“Just because it’s a nice neighborhood doesn’t mean it’s crispy clean. Not to mention porch pirates. Did I mention the time I fought a guy who was trying to steal my slippers? Slippers,Beatrice and he was lucky I didn’t break his jaw or something.” she wanted to roll her eyes but he had a point, “And now that your face is on a huge billboard…I don’t know, taking extra precautions isn’t wrong.”

Beatrice blinked, then pursed her lips. In her euphoric state she completely forgot about that, “You are right, I’ll see what can be done.” she says and then pushes herself to sit on the counter, with Michael following suit so they are now side by side.

“So, you plan on going professional? Because of your photo shoot?”

“Oh, no, I don’t think so. I mean it’s nice and all but…I don’t know, I love the Hard Deck, and I want to work on my art.” she shrugs, “I don’t see myself leaving it so soon.”

“Fair. But if you did you’d do great. Just so you know.”

Of course he'd be supportive, “Thanks Mikey.I’ll keep that in mind.” she says, gently bumping his shoulder with her smile slowly faltering, “When you asked me if I was fine I…I am fine, you know? I just…I miss him, already. The house doesn’t even smell like him yet besides our room…and…yeah. But I’ll be okay.”

Michael hums, clasping his hands between his thighs as he looks around her kitchen, “You will be, I’m sure he misses you just as much sis.” he says gently, patting the top of her head and then pushing himself from the counter, “I saw some ice cream in your fridge, how about we have a ice cream fest to celebrate your photo?”

“Ice cream fest? Now?” he nods, already opening the freezer. Beatrice thinks on it, biter her lower lip, then shrugs, “Oh, what the hell, why not?”

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader

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iknow-thisisallinmyhead · 1 year

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While we're add it, let's throw in a sneak peak! Just cause I'm in such a positive mood lol 😆

An excerpt from the infamous Buckley-Han Christmas Party™️ 🌲🎅🏼⭐️

The temperature difference slams into me when I’m back inside. The already-too-warm house now has the added body heat of dozens of party guests. By night’s end I’ll have to head out back again, just to be able to breathe. I tuck the two bottles under my arm so I can roll my sleeves up and begin the slow journey back up the hall. Buck and I separated when we arrived: he took off in search of Triple D while I went on the hunt for drinks. Who knows how far he could have wandered? Peeking my head into each room, I scan the crowd for his easiest identifier: a head that sticks up higher than everyone else’s.

He’s in the living room. Catching sight of the familiar head of blond curls, something tugs in my belly. Some invisible tether buried deep within that yanks me into the room and drags me to his side. Someone, thankfully, has turned the TV down to a low murmur, allowing the room to turn into a gathering spot of sorts. Buck’s at the end of the couch with Diana, Daisy and Doris lined up next to him. The women are dressed to the nines in elaborate and colorful outfits and are regaling the room with some adventure they had in their youth. Every seat is occupied; from Bobby and Micheal in folding chairs near the couch, to Maddie and Athena occupying the armchairs, with a glass of wine and a cocktail respectively, to Karen and Hen, taking up residence on the hearth, holding hands and snickering quietly to themselves. Linda, Sue and a few unfamiliar faces are spaced throughout the room on footstools and oversized cushions and more folding chairs. Jee-Yun and Emma have settled in here too, sitting on the floor near the tree and playing with dolls quietly - for now.

Buck’s fingers brush against mine as he grabs his lager, sparks shooting up my arm at the touch. When I move to step away, though, the man frowns, his smile dropping so fast it’s almost comical. Diana gives us a side-eyed glance before scooching herself closer to Daisy without comment. When she’s settled, there’s a spot on the cushion big enough for me and I can feel the weight of her glare every second I hesitate.

Carefully, I sit down, pressing against Buck from shoulder to knee. Diana’s glare intensifies, sending a shiver down my spine when the red solo cup in her hand is jostled. Why is she so terrifying? It’s a tight squeeze, even with the narrow frames of the three older women, but truthfully, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Buck is warm and solid against me as he slides his fingers over my knee, squeezing.

“..claimed he was a naval officer!” Daisy cries. “If he was an officer then I was the Queen of Sheba!”

The room erupts in laughter. Buck’s no exception, tossing his head back where it bounces and comes to a rest against my shoulder. Cutting my eyes over to him, I find those cerulean irises already on me. “Hi,” he whispers with a grin so soft it has the cacophony of the party around me fading away.

“Hi,” I whisper back, unable to look away. Honey, sticky and sweet climbs up my chest and into my throat. His eyes are bright and happy, crinkling at the edges from his upturned lips.

“Did you see Chris?”

“Holding court by the firepit.” I focus on the bottle getting warmer and warmer in my hand. It’s too early to drown in his stupid, pretty eyes. Buck tracks the pine green bottle as it moves to my lips, stares at my mouth as I sip, watches the bob of my Adam’s apple while I swallow. His gaze is heavy and heated and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s steam rising off my face; my body heat rises notch by notch as he licks his lips, meeting my eyes again.

“Ugh,” groans Maddie. “Get a room!”

Something smacks against my cheek, causing me to jerk back. Looking down to my lap, I locate the offending item: It’s a drink coaster, red and white with the Fair Isle pattern Maddie seems so fond of. Pouting, I look up in search of the culprit.

“Oops, my bad,” says Maddie, giggling. She lifts her wine glass, hiding her grin as she takes a sip.

“Rude!” Buck grabs the coaster from my hand and tosses it back the way it came. His sister yelps, nearly spilling her wine as she ducks out of the way.

“These two, huh?” comments Diana. “You’d think after five years they’d be capable of controlling themselves.”

A chill runs down my spine at the words. Suddenly, I remember that we told Triple D a completely different story about us than the one Buck’s family heard. It’s a fight to keep my face neutral as I turn back to the blond. He lifts his eyebrows at my wide and probably crazed eyes. Hopefully they’re conveying that he cannot leave their side for one single second tonight. We’ve almost made it through the week, we cannot get caught in a lie now! He squeezes my knee in what I hope is agreement to stay with the ladies.

Hen snorts across the room. “If you listen to Chim, they have no self control whatsoever.”

The comment has me scoffing, remembering the pettiness of the party meeting. “Well, maybe, after so many years of controlling ourselves, we just don’t want to anymore.” Emphasizing my point, I toss a leg over Buck’s, just like I did this morning. His hand barely moves, fingers still squeezing the curve of my knee. With the eyes of the room on us, I reach over to knit our fingers together.

Buck watches the performance with a fond expression that has me almost choking on the cloying mess bubbling in my chest. He leans forward slowly, planting a kiss to the spot just below my ear. The press of his lips is dry and warm and I can’t breath, can’t think, can’t move. My rigidness has Buck huffing a laugh against my neck. Warm, humid air spreads over my skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. He kisses a second time, smacking his lips wetly against my skin.

Whatever’s happening on my face has Maddie giggling again. She snaps a photo on her phone, looking a little manic. I don’t like the look in her eyes one bit, all mischievous and calculating. “I already told you to get a room, don’t make me say it again.”

“Yeah, no PDA unless you’re under some mistletoe.” Hen’s voice fades as she inches into Karen’s space until her lips are too preoccupied to keep talking. Karen gives in to the kiss with an eye roll that tells me she’s just as helpless, just as desperate, just as in love with her wife as her wife is with her. After a moment she giggles, pushing Hen away.

Karen reaches up, curling a fist in the collar of her wife’s ugly Christmas sweater. The lights of the tree catch the diamond on her finger, sparkling. “You better go find some mistletoe if you wanna kiss me like that,” she says, voice breathy and soft.

“What, no one’s gonna throw something at them?” Buck asks, voice dripping with exaggerated offense as he pulls back. “At least we’re not making out over here,” he adds, grumbling under his breath.

Neither my body nor my brain has recovered yet, so I say nothing, sipping at my lager again for a distraction. If my hand shakes a little as I lift the bottle, well, that’s nobody’s business but my own.

So, I have some OCs. I love Diana, Daisy, and Doris- Triple D, as Buck lovingly calls them- with my whole entire heart and if anyone ever says anything mean about them I will cry 🥺🥺🥺

#writing #wip #the holiday lie #buddie #buddie 911 #buddie abc #911 abc #buck/eddie #eddie/buck #evan buck buckely #eddie diaz #maddie buckley #hen wilson #karen wilson #fake dating au #christmas party shenanigans #im poring my heary and soul into this guys #i hope you like it

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galaxycunt · 1 year

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15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

Figured it’d be fun to get to know ppl on here :) tagged by @alphedhel

Tagging @captastra @gayafsatan @clonesupport @the-lastcall @the-laridian @kirjanikv6ilill @socially-awkward-skeleton @incognito-insomniac @darkfire1177 @goatyoat @galaxymermaid214 @toads-treasures @roofgeese @strangefable

If you are not comfortable with putting any information you may use something like “Nice try FBI,” because it’s funny.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Bianca from Taming Of The Shrew

2. When was the last time you cried?

Literally last week when Evan puked from dehydration even tho we weren’t even in the backcountry and had plenty of water and salty food lmao he cried so I cried bc I was worried he was gonna force himself to hike down and pass out. Men are so dumb!!!! Drink water!!!!

3. Do you have kids?

No, but I’m currently trying. Which is the least gross way of saying it bc Evan like to make gross jokes about it bc it’s true lmao

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I’m a weirdo who thinks sarcasm is super not funny lmao like ok I get it ha ha u got the whole club laughing rn 😐

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

I used to play baseball/softball with friends, soccer but not on a real team just with kids at school lmao as an adult I do rock climbing and I played rugby once with my brother in law is running in races a sport? Then I guess that too

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

I like looking at peoples faces

7. Eye Color?

Dark brown the most beautiful color in da world baby 😎😎😎

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Hey man most scary movies have happy endings bc at least someone lives lmao watching yellowjackets rn and I don’t think no one got a happy ending so far

9. Any Special talents?

Used to be able to swallow objects bc I learned sword swallowing on tv lmao I don’t think I have any actual talents for things

10. Where were you born?

Reno 😎 Don’t let the marketing fool u the whip guy lives on!!!!

11. Free space (there was no 11 on the prompt I received)

I am not the best artist even tho I went to art school imo but I do love to paint mini canvas oil paintings of clouds I have them hidden in my room they are okay, alright even. I maybe should’ve gone to the copywriter focus of my ad major Lmao

12. Do you have any pets?

I have my little Iggy boy. My cat biscuit died last year of heart problems no one knew about bc she was barely 5. Odie i had since I was 10 and he died at 18. So yeah doing the strategy of feeding Iggy Mexican food bc odie lived so long on that lmao (not really don’t worry) I just let him eat small tiny bites of my food hehehe

13. How tall are you?

5’4 😔

14. Favorite subject in school?

I wasn’t really a fan of school but I did enjoy my film and acting classes. Had one cool creative writing class senior year. I use this knowledge to nod knowingly to video essays. In college I took a mycology class that was cool bc we brewed beer and baked bread. I also enjoyed my media studies classes and my professor was a porn historian who’s main focus was home video evolution and even more narrowly Betamax. Basically most inventions truly are made for porn and that sets the tone. lmaoo

15. Dream Job?

Me and Evan discussed retiring to be a park ranger and honestly that’s it. Would love to camp all day and just sit in a booth or lead nature walks. Like yeah lots of young people up on the trails doing the hard stuff but I have a friend who was a ranger in Big Bend and loved it and before getting her job in the White House was gonna hop around the parks a bit and that’s living the dream man

#about me

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pbandjesse · 6 months

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My allergies went insane today. It was not fun. My face was swollen for half the day I swear. But thankfully I finally am feeling a little more comfortable. It wasn't a total loss of a day but dealing with allergies was a big focus of the day.

I didn't sleep amazing. I was alright. I remember hugging James goodbye. But I was very groggy. When I woke up at 9 I was feeling a little off but it was fine. I got up and started getting ready for the day.

I was a little overwhelmed though. I had a lot of cleaning to do and was already sneezing and kind of uncomfortable. My eyes were already puffy. And I was just feeling pulled in a hundred different directions.

I would finally give up and eat leftovers first. This made me feel a little better and I was able to finish packing my bag for this weekend and getting my final gifts wrapped up. I was having a pretty good time once I got things going.

I did some cleaning. Cleaned the floors. I went and got the mail. I put some stuff together in the studio. I was doing great.

I had finished all my gifts so I started taking those down to the car. I cleaned that out and brought some stuff up too. It was cold out but it was a beautiful day.

Around noon I ran out of steam a bit. My allergies started kicking off and I was wheezing and having a bad time. I took some allergy meds and hoped it would help.

I spent some time laying with sweetp. I was sorting my bags and trying to purge some but that is incredibly hard so I'm just going to take some to camp to store in the art building. Maybe I can give some away there. I also would pack my purse for this weekend with anything I might want or need. I was being very productive despite not feeling amazing.

In some house news, I had some trouble with our home insurance. Even with a fairly good report our insurance man Frank thinks he will have to find someone else. I'm not sure why exactly, I really don't understand the underwriting process. I'm trying my best but it's just so many people involved. We still have to wait on the appraisal but because it was listed for so much more I am only slightly worried it wouldn't appraise for what we offered. But the slight stress is still there.

But in very positive news our loan has been conditionally approved! That's a while step forward! Amazing. I am excited.

I have spent a lot of the last few days making notes myself about things I want build or change create. Figuring out the designs and such. Colors and styles. It feels like my next big project, because realistically it is. And I'm really excited to get to jump into it.

But I cannot be to excited until we have the keys in hand. I can be excited but I also have to be prepared for something to go wrong. I don't really think something will, but I got to be prepared emotionally.

My allergies would get really really bad. I was laying on the couch and my eyes felt like glass and I felt like I was dying. I took meds and went to sit on the fire escape to try to feel better. And it no did help. But it took a long time.

By the time James got home I didn't feel as bad but my eyes were still swollen. They would do their packing and would start making me a baked potato for dinner. I tried not to whine about it to much but I was not feeling great and that was very hard.

They had to run out to get something from their parents. And when they got back we had our dinners and just hung out and it was a nice evening. Slowly I felt better. And when I did I would take a bath and exfoliate and feel very nice. And thankfully that has continued.

I have a pain in my chest and my wrist but beyond that I'm doing pretty well. Me and James are talking about adding windows and doors and moving others. My heart is very full.

Tomorrow James still has work, and I hope it is busy and fun for them. I will try to tie up anything here and just be chill before we head to my parents to spend the night! I wish we could go earlier but we are making it work. I hope you all have a good night. I love you all. Goodnight!

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cornflakegetmilking · 1 year

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Bittersweet Cravings

Warning: this fic contains possesion, alot of killing, oh also some saucy moments

Sauce Warning - Sauceless

Chapter 5: A New House

"Damn so a shapeshifter huh? I would have never guessed with your human disguise!" Frank looked at their new features in awe as they stood outside by the doorframe waiting for Jack to call on Flakes for their ride home.

Flakes sighed and shrugged.

"Yeah well apparently to Jack i was obvious even with my disguise! And now here i am stuck with him... at least im not dead..." They chuckled bit.

"Yeah but now your dream on being with mister big man is finally coming true!" He laughed at his own joke as Flakes laughed along.

"Yeah but i didn't mean it like this!" They pulled on their collar trying to give Frank a proper view on it.

"Dang... it looks expensive!" He looked closesly, taking in the details.

"Well that's cause it is! He even bragged on and on about how its all purple and shit how the silver stuff is real silver and yada yada!" They laughed a bit as they ended up admiring the collar themselves.

"Well purple is hard to get to..." Frank added as he also admired the collar. "It's a nice shade too!"

"I hate to admit it but yes it is kinda nice... doesn't change my opinion on the whole living trophy bizz tho..." They sighed and looked up, seeing Jack was still waiting on his carriage so they had time to talk still. "However I hate to admit that the idea of being his is intriguing me... I'm not sure if it's really me or if it's my animal genetics talking but something about him keeps pulling me in closer... kinda like a blackhole but instead of trying to get away from it i just let it pull me closer..."

"Have you always been this cheesy?" Frank laughed and received a playful punch on the shoulder.

"I'm having a moment here!" Flakes rolled their eyes as they giggled a bit.

"Flakes!" Jack called, grabbing their attention.

A black carriage was behind him that was being pulled by what looked like colorful horses. He was eyeing them as a signal to follow him.

"I have to go... see ya tomorrow Frank..." They smiled bitterly and walked off to hop into the carriage quickly, not wanting to get him impatient. Jack gave frank a deadly glare before following in as well, with that the carriage takes off.

"The hell did i do?" Frank asked confused as he noticed how Jack looked at him.

As Flakes sat in the carriage quietly they couldn't help but be bothered by the loud silence. And being in a rather thight and closed space with Jack it wasn't helping with their disturbance. They wanted to talk but knowing him, he probably didn't want them to be a chatter box the whole way through the ride.

"We're not too far..." Jack finally spoke up as he noticed Flakes' expressions as he could read them well.

They only nodded and sighed in releif hearing that the journey wasn't going to take too long as they tapped their fingers on their arm waiting. Jack rose a brow and let out a bored groan.

"At a time i want you to be chatty you're now awfully quiet..." He glared down at them.

"Oh... Sorry i honestly didn't think you'd even wanna hear me talk..." They rubbed their arms a bit anxiously.

"Well normally yes but at an awfully quiet place like this it gets incredibly boring! So a bit of sound is appreciated..." He laughed as he looked around the close space.

"A-aren't their magical items that make music?" They stopped rubbing their arms as if they genuinely wanted to focus on their discussion... in which they did.

"Yes but I don't like the idea of having any of my collections in different places other than the trophy room and my mansion. Ever since i decided to be careless of my belongings when i went to find the last wishing star and then lost just about all my magical artifacts i decided to be a bit more careful about them from then on. Haha! Can you believe that though? Me? Being careful? Hahaha!" He let out a loud laughter.

Flakes blushed watching him so, it was almost cute seeing him like this and so close. Jack sighed as he wiped the tear out his eye before looking back at flakes.

"But that being said, with you by my side for now on i hope you can cure my boredom whenever i need you to entertain me!" He smirked.

"I'll do my best Mr. Horner sir." They nodded obediently.

Jack then pouted and placed his finger onto his chin.

"What's wrong? Did i say something bad?" Their ears flopped not wanting to dissapoint him.

"Well now that you're my trophy I don't like it when you call me that..." He tapped his finger as he kept thinking.

"W-what? Mr. Horner?" They tilted their head confused. "But i always call you that..."

"Yes but now it doesn't suit you... For now on just call me Jack! It will make you look less awkward and make you more intimidating to others!" He smiled as he booped their nose.

"I-im sorry but h-how would me calling you Jack make me more intimidating?" They asked.

"Well it will show your place with me! People will understand that you're more than just a magical entity i captured! You're like uhh..." He thought for a second before finding the word he was looking for. "My personal assistant!"

Flakes wanted to say something but shrugged, it didn't sound too bad anyways. Finally the carriage stops and the door was opened for them by their rider. Flakes decided to wait and let Jack go out first as they didn't wanna disrespect him. As soon as he got out they followed him and took a look at their surroundings, their jaw dropped in awe as the massive gate was enough to stun them. The gate was painted black and had the symbol J.H. on the top middle part, this man really was full of himself wasn't he...

"Are you coming in or are you gonna let yourself freeze to death outside?"

Flakes was so distracted by a simple gate's decor that they didn't even realize he had already opened them. They perked and ran forward to catch up to him. As they went in their eyes sparkled as they looked around in fascination, all the open space, the hedges and plants, however no flowers but that didnt seem to be a surprise to them since Jack didn't seem that kind of person anyways. The path way they walked on seemed to be made of gold making them tilt their head in the familiarity of the texture.

"Is this?" They looked up at Jack who seemed to be grinning in pride of his riches and his belongings.

"Yes it is in fact the golden path that leads you all the way to the emerald city! I had some men hired to dig up pieces of the pathway for myself to keep! They can't be the only ones to have such a pretty road afterall!" He seemed really proud of this, if egos had a physical form it would be all over his face by now.

Flakes nodded as they looked down one more time before looking around again as they couldn't help but be amazed. The more they looked the more things they saw that made them awe. Jack watched their facial expressions as they kept looking and he couldn't help himself but smile a bit. It wasn't long til they were finally in front of the large mansion doors, Flakes' ears rose in anticipation while Jack took his keys to unlock and open them. Once again Flakes decided to wait for Jack to go in first, only this time Jack stood aside as he held the door open as if insisting them to go in first. Flakes' ears twitched in excitement as they didn't hesitate and ran in to look around their new environment. They walked over to one thing after the other but didn't touch anything. Jack was still watching them as they took pride on their fascination. It was like watching a puppy who was brought home for the first time in years.

"So are all you shapeshifters this curious and easily impressed?" He chuckled.

Flakes blushed but laughed in embarrassment as they shook their head and walked back to them.

"N-not sure really. I don't normally leave my house for my own safety so this is all pretty new to me." They smiled and looked at him as their eyes still glimmered in excitement.

What stupid eyes Jack thought before he chuckled and patted their back.

"Go ahead and look around just try not to break anything." He started walking off only for Flakes to follow for a bit.

"Wait but i thought the collar would choke me if i was too far from you?" They whimpered in fear, remembering the first time it choked them.

"Don't worry as i said i have control of your distance, and right now you have a pretty range from me just don't go out the gates." He looked back at them before walking again. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Flakes nodded as their ears twitched rapidly and started running around the mansion as if they were in zoomies. With how excited they were they practically just opened each door, stating what the room was and closed them immediately.

"Bathroom! Woah a library?! Oh more magical artifacts! Oh! Uh..." They paused looking in the room seeing a massive man eating plant. "... im gonna pretend you dont exist!"

They slowly closed the door and continued to run off from door to door. The place was huge, they were able to see other rooms that not all houses had, they were also able to startle a few servants and maids who lived in the mansion...

Finally they decided to go outside and admire the garden. It seemed as this was their favorite area as they took their time here and took in every detail. They were a bit disappointed about the fact there were no flowers or at least they thought there were no flowers, because after a while of looking around they found a small bud hidden behind a few bushes.

"Oh! Well hello there little bud!" Their ears rose as they hopped behind the bushes to sit down next to the baby flower.

Their ears twitched as they nuzzled the bud gently and gave it a sniff. It had no scent yet which was no surprise since it was still little but it didn't matter. They were just happy to see a flower as it reminded them of their old home out in the forest. Their ears then dropped as they let out a sigh and looked up only now realizing their situation after the thought of home, they got so excited with their new environment they almost forgot they were stuck with Jack. They closed their eyes and tried to transform into a different creature only to fail and get tiredm, they frowned seeing it really was no joke that jack had control of their magic. They looked up once again before taking a deep breathe and getting up to find Jack. It was best they didn't think much of it.

It wasn't hard looking for him as they already have seen the kitchen, they just didn't decide to bother him before. They tilted their head as they walked closer only now realizing he was doing the cooking.

"You do the cooking?" They asked a bit surprised.

"What never seen a big man like me cook?" Jack looked at them and chuckled.

Flakes looked at them up and down seeing he had removed his coat and pulled up his sleeves, Gods did he look good though, they thought before shaking their head to focus.

"No it's not that. I just thought you would be having someone else do it for you since you're uhh... you know... filthy rich?" They looked down at the table looking at the ingredients before them.

Jack laughed at their reply as he put his knife away to face Flakes properly. They only tilted their head waiting for a response.

"Well i would but i honestly don't like other people's cooking! I like my own yknow? Besides if i hire someone to do it for me i also risk someone poisoning me!" He chuckled and went back to chopping his ingredients.

Flakes nodded and watched for a bit.

"Do you need help?" They asked with a smile.

"Oh uhh sure?" He seemed a bit surprised at first but still commanded them without looking away from their work. "Can you get me a pan?"

Flakes smiled more, nodding and went to look for a pan, luckily it wasn't hard to find as it was just on a hanging rack. They managed to grab it but flinched to a sudden sound.

"Ahh!"

They looked at Jack worriedly and saw he had accidentally cut himself with his knife, making their ears flop.

"Crap! Are you okay?" They set the pan aside before running back to jack to check his cut.

"Bah! Im fine its just a cut!" He winced as his palm bled from trying to peel a potato only for it to slip out his hand, he let out a chuckle to hide away the pain he was feeling. "Its been a while i accidentally cut myself like this h-haha!"

Flakes frowned and took his hand gently making Jack look at them confused.

"It's a pretty bad cut tho..." They whimpered looking up at him before pulling him to a sink.

"What the hell are you doing?" He groaned as he followed anyways.

Flakes just looked at him and at the wound as they gently pulled it to the sink and turned on the tap.

"You should clean the wound at least... but I'll get you a bandage just in case!" They gave a soft smile as then ran out the room to find a bandage.

Jack looked at the door where they left. Confusion filling him.

"Im sorry what?!"

To Be Continued

#jack horner #jack horner x oc

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darcyfangirlsfrequently · 2 years

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We Fell in Love in October, chapter 11, - October 11th: Homecoming

For my beta-reader, @gaelic-symphony, and for @dungeons-are-too-cold, who gave me the Homecoming idea

Summary: The night of the homecoming dance

Chapter word count: 1424

Total word count: 12,898

Can also be read here on Ao3

It was the night of the Homecoming dance, and Emily, Tara, JJ, and Kristy were all headed over to Penelope's to get ready. Well, they said house, but it was really more of a mansion. David Rossi was indeed quite rich.

“Girls, welcome, come on in,” Dave said to them when they arrived. “Penelope’s up her room. You know the way.”

“We do, thank you,” they called as they made their way up the large stairs to Penelope’s even larger bedroom. Being the only child of a rich man really had its perks. Hugs were exchanged by all the girls, music was played, and then the preparations commenced.

They each took turns doing each other’s makeup. Penelope already had hers done, because she always did, so Tara and Emily did each other’s while JJ and Kristy did each other’s. It was at this point that Penelope—who had been on her phone while simultaneously following along with the conversation the girls were having—let out a loud laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Emily asked, not taking her focus away from Tara and the gold eyeshadow she was applying.

“Oh, Luke just texted me,” Penelope said. “Apparently Spencer and Derek are being sickeningly adorable and it’s driving him a little bit crazy.” The boys were all getting ready together as well, then they were going to come over in a limo Dave was having commandeered for them to pick the girls up, then they’d all head out together.

“I’m sorry,” JJ said, pulling away from Kristy and her brush. “Luke texted you?”

Penelope squinted her eyes, trying to figure out what was so bad about that. “Yes… Luke texted me.”

“Are you and Luke going to Homecoming together?” JJ pressed.

“You didn’t know about that?” Emily asked, now holding Tara’s jaw firm in her hand as she tried to perfect her eyeliner.

“No!” JJ exclaimed. “So you are?”

“Not like that,” Penelope protested. “He just asked me, and I said yes. It’s no big deal.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Tara said. “He texted me afterward. He was freaking out.”

Penelope blushed. “Whatever. We’re just going as friends.”

“Mm, yes, being each other’s homecoming date, buying a color-coordinated tie and corsage, so platonic,” Kristy teased.

JJ’s eyes went wide. “He’s matching his tie with you and buying you a corsage?”

“How do you know about the tie and corsage?” Penelope asked Kristy. “Did he tell Matt too?”

“Not only did he tell Matt too, he got Matt to help him buy them. That does not scream platonic.”

“Just, it’s not, whatever,” Penelope stammered. “He’s just a sweet guy. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Can we change topics?"

"Okay," JJ said, letting it drop. She added one last swipe of lip gloss to Kristy before stepping back and admiring her work. "I think we're all done with makeup here, anyway. Tara? Emily? How are you guys?"

"We're done too," Emily said.

"Great." JJ stood up and pulled a hair curler out from her bag. "Penelope, you're the only person I trust to do those waves in my hair I really like. Can you help me out?"

Penelope's face lit up. She loved doing her friends' hair. "Absolutely yes. Here, welcome to Salon Penelope. Come, sit at my vanity, I'll have you looking red-carpet ready in no time."

"Do you guys need any help with your hair?" Kristy asked Tara and Emily.

"No, thanks," Tara replied. "I'm keeping mine as-is."

"Yeah, same," Emily said. "But we'll gladly help you, if you want it."

"Yes please," Kristy sighed, relieved. "I can never curl my hair without burning my neck."

Kristy had brought her own curler and Penelope let them use hers as well, so each girl took one and got to work. Just as they were finishing up, there was a knock on Penelope's door.

"Penelope, sweetie, it's Krystall," came a slightly muffled voice through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come on in!"

Krystall, Penelope's stepmom, came in carrying a tray of snacks. "I figured you girls were just about finished with hair and makeup and would like something to eat before you get into your dresses."

Penelope took the tray from Krystall and placed it on the floor for her friends to help themselves to. "That's awesome, thank you!" She gave her Stepmom a tight hug. Krystall had only been in Penelope's life for two years and her stepmom for one, but Penelope loved her like a mother, and was planning on asking Krystall to legally adopt her as a Christmas gift.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Krystall said, giving the girl a small kiss on her head. She had never had children, so when she married David it made her so happy to gain a daughter as well.

The girls ate their snacks, then it was time to put on their dresses. Penelope's was light pink and puffy and covered in sequined strawberries. JJ was wearing a stunning strapless red dress that was covered in lace flowers. Kristy was wearing a simple black dress that had strips of silver that ran down her legs. Tara was wearing a flowy, green silk dress, and Emily had paired a wrap that matched it with her flowery dress.

Almost no sooner than the girls had finished getting ready was there a ring of the doorbell. The boys had arrived. Krystall, ever the mom, insisted on taking pictures of them as a group and then the individual pairing. She promised to send them all all the pictures she had taken, and JJ definitely wasn't going to add the picture of Penelope and Luke to her Proof that Penelope and Luke Like Each Other binder.

The gym was packed when they arrived, and all the couples broke off to spend time with their significant others, leaving Luke and Penelope alone.

She extended a hand to him. "Care to dance, Luke?"

He stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I certainly hope you didn't ask me here just to stand against the wall and do nothing. This girl and dress were made for dancing, Luke Alvez."

"Well of course," he said, taking her hand and following her to the dance floor. "I was just already shocked you agreed to come with me, I honestly didn't think you'd be caught dead dancing with me."

"You'll find I am full of surprises."

And full of surprises they were. During a fast song Emily and Tara–who were taking turns twirling the other–caught a glimpse of them. They watched as Luke spun her around then dipped her and pulled her back up. The two of them were openly laughing and clearly having the time of their lives. Emily and Tara had never seen them so at ease with each other before.

"I can't believe I am actually seeing this," Emily said.

"Me neither," Tara agreed. "Although they are giving me an idea…" she grabbed Emily's waist and dipped her, leaning in to give her a kiss at the same time. When she finally pulled them up and apart, Emily's face was flushed bright red. "You weren't expecting that, were you?"

"No, I was not. I'm not complaining, either."

Later that night, during a slow dance, Spencer and Derek were interrupted by excited shoulder tapping from JJ. "JJ, there better be a good reason for this interruption," Spencer mumbled from where his head was resting on Derek's chest.

"There is, I promise." She pointed across the room. "Look."

They did, and what they saw made their eyes go wide. Luke and Penelope were holding on to each other and swaying softly to the music. She was looking just past him, but even from this distance, everyone could see that he was looking at her and only her.

"I swear to god," Derek muttered. "If she tries to say one more time that he doesn't like her–"

"Oh my god I know," JJ lamented. "She was adamant about it earlier."

"This is great and all," Spencer said. "But I would like to get back to dancing with my boyfriend, so…"

"I got it," Will said, taking JJ by the waist and twirling her away.

On the other side of the gym, Luke was feeling happier than he had in a while. "Thank you for coming with me," he whispered to Penelope.

"Thank you for asking me," she replied. "I'm kind of surprised you actually wanted to spend time with me."

"I always do, Penelope," he told her, brushing a light kiss against her cheek. "I always do."

#Temily fanfiction #Temily High School AU #We Fell in Love in October #Temily #Tara Lewis #Emily Prentiss #Moreid #Derek Morgan #Spencer Reid #Garvez #Penelope Garcia #Luke Alvez #Jennifer Jareau #Will Lamontagne #Matt Simmons #Kristy Simmons #David Rossi #Krystall Richards #Criminal Minds

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