Little 7-year-old Steve taking the locket his mother never wears and meticulously cutting and gluing a picture of himself inside it before giving it to the girl he likes (the girl he's going to marry, he tells Tommy).
19-year-old Steve seeing the same locket on the neck of one Eddie Munson as he's actively trying to stop the guy from bleeding out in the Upside Down. Knowing that if he stops he may lose his first love, the person he's sure he still wants to be with.
Leon who leaves Raccoon with Grace and Emily in tow and tells Grace she should come crash with him just for a night.
And when they reach his home, it's Sherry who opens the door. She greets Leon with a deep kiss and a crushing hug and then greets Grace and Emily like she's not at all surprised to see them. When Leon injects her with Elpis, Sherry takes off her glove and slides on a wedding band that glitters in time with Leon's under the kitchen light.
They have a spare room, which is where Leon says Grace and Emily can sleep. Grace helps her take a bath and then Emily passes out in the giant bed immediately, but Grace is still a little wired and ends up hanging out with Leon and Sherry for a while.
Except she can't settle and it's clear that Leon can't really, either. Eventually Sherry herds Leon up the stairs, and Grace thinks they've just gone to bed or something when Sherry comes back down and takes her by the hand, leading her up the stairs and into the master bedroom.
Leon's not on the bed, but Grace can hear the shower running. Sherry grabs clothes from the closet and then beckons Grace into the ensuite.
Leon is sitting on the closed toilet lid, shirt off but pants still on. He gives Sherry a tired smile and then spots Grace hovering behind her and his face shifts to concern. He asks what's wrong and Grace wants to say "nothing" but can't. She flounders for a few seconds and eventually Leon just gets this wry grin and goes "yeah, me too."
He doesn't seem surprised that she's in his master bathroom nor does it seem to concern him, but he doesn't move to explain or to ask his wife what's up, and Sherry sets the clothes down on the counter and pulls a first aid kit from under the sink without a word. Grace finally asks what's going on and in a firm but gentle tone (not unlike the one Leon had during this shitshow, although Sherry is less gruff) Sherry explains that she wants to help Leon and Grace shower and clean up, if Grace is okay with that.
Grace can't find a reason to say no and she doesn't WANT to say no, and she blinks and the three of them are in the sizable shower. It's fancier than the rest of the house and Leon watches her take it in and goes, "Yeah, I was a snob when we renovated this place. They keep sending me into sewers, a big fancy shower was practically a business necessity." Sherry's shaking her head in the background and Leon goes "I wanted it to be DSO-issued so we didn't have to pay for it but everyone said no :("
Other than that the shower is a quiet affair. Leon and Sherry are clearly fatigued and Leon especially seems a little loopy and ill from the lingering effects of the T virus as Elpis works to cure it. Sherry washes Leon while Leon washes Grace and for all the callouses and scars, his touch is still so gentle.
When they get out, Sherry gives Grace clean pajamas and offers for her to sleep in their bed with them. Grace agrees but goes to check on Emily, except then she can't tear herself away. She falls asleep sitting on the floor leaning against the bed just watching Emily sleep. The next time she wakes up, Leon is lifting her onto the bed and covering her.
Grace and Emily stay the next day. And then one more night, where Grace sleeps in bed with Emily again. And then just one more day.
On that third night, Leon and Sherry seem...charged. Restless. Fiery. Grace doesn't comment on it, figures it's perfectly reasonable for them to seem frisky now that they're no longer dying of a zombie virus. Except that somehow Leon ends up bringing Grace upstairs with them, and this time he kisses her as he presses her down onto the bed. Sherry starts slipping Grace's shirt off and that charge EXPLODES, the three of them suddenly feverish with desperation. Leon can't even get his pants off all of the way before he has Grace grinding her cunt against one thigh and Sherry grinding hers against the other thigh.
Grace had expected Leon to be dominant, and well, he IS, but it's clear Sherry is the one really in control. Leon is bossing Grace around, firm almost harsh commands that contradict his velveteen gentle touch, but Sherry is bossing Leon around, being rough with him, belittling him. Ultimately Leon's balls deep in Grace while Sherry pegs him, and then Sherry eats Grace out while Grace sucks on Leon's overstimulated cock.
Grace does fall asleep in their bed that night. And then the next night, and the night after, until it's clear that she's simply never leaving with Emily.
this is where my thoughts come to an end but. someday i'll write this fic
you've known osamu for a long time and neither of you can stand to be where you can't be seen by the other.
status: in progress
tags/warnings: tennisplayer!reader x musician!osamu, friends (🤨) to lovers, pre summer olympics in japan (please just pretend the timeline works i literally cannot think about the times and dates, it is in fact too much work), two stupid yearners, two idiots, probably inaccurate depictions of tennis, kys/kms jokes, self deprecation, poor coping mechanisms, miscommunication trope, ok more like little to no communication trope, warnings will be at the top of each part :).
introductions real ball enjoyers / dynamically dysfunctional
Of course, it takes months for them to use it to play pranks on each other. Steve's cute, wholesome videos of him signing song will never be the same.
All prompted by a convo with ainsalaco that inspired me just a little too much.
rockstar!eddie deaf!steve modern era
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word count: 3207
trigger warnings: the lyrics of wap but honestly they’re mostly implied. let’s just say language though?? it’s wholesome as shit
ao3 link: here
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It started the same way this did for anyone not in high school; morbid curiosity and boredom.
I don’t want to watch a bunch of kids dance.
We’re too old for that, there’s nothing on it for us.
Who wants to be cringy and trendy?
Steve and Eddie had gone through all the stages of grief with TikTok, happier with their Instagrams and Facebooks (though Corroded Coffin also had a Twitter to reach the maximum amount of people) but TikTok wasn’t going away.
Dustin text links relentlessly, if Eddie didn’t watch it then the link was sent to Steve. Or the other way around. Will and Lucas started talking only in references to videos and stopped making sense to those too old, too unhip to get it. Max went viral several times over for roasting her friends and that was enough to have both Steve and Eddie making an account but not using the app to its full potential.
What it took was one weekend. Arguably the worst Christmas one could have but Eddie and Steve got snowed into the airport and entertainment was minimal. Will sent a video to express his sadness and seventy-five hours later, when they were finally heading home, Eddie and Steve had not only perfectly honed their for you pages but filmed their first Tik Tok.
That’s all it took. The monster was created. Everyone rejoiced, of course, and filled the visit with tips and tricks and accounts to follow. Max and Nancy taught Steve how to get captions of videos that came without and how to clear everything off his screen when people were kind enough to turn captions on but not make them accessible.
Will and Mike taught Eddie how to link multiple accounts so he could have one as Eddie: lead singer of Corroded Coffin and one that could be private, for friends and family. Understanding that blending the two worlds wasn’t always a good idea but also knowing they did not want to accidentally go viral for saying something stupid in the background of a famous, blue-checked video.
Erica immediately blocked them both and tried to get them to delete the app. Saying it was like having her dad watching her and that was not going to happen, thank you.
Eddie did get the blue check, verified fairly quickly, and with it came a massive following. The voyeurism of learning what celebrities got up to when they weren’t “on” was the backbone of social media. Comments came in on every video from metalheads playfully cursing Eddie for making them join this god-forsaken app.
He didn’t post all that much. A few goofy videos from backstage, a handful of “what we’re up to”, and the occasional stitch to make someone’s day as they performed a Corroded Coffin song on kazoo. It was as active as the rest of his social media.
However, the private one was nonstop videos. The top comment on every single one was Robin tagging Steve and begging him to take Eddie’s phone. No one needed this much information. Which only encouraged Eddie. He sent Robin flowers the day Tik Tok allowed him to make three-minute videos.
Steve, on the other hand, used his to uplift everyone around him. Look at my amazing husband packing for tour and boldly thinking he needs no socks and five neckties, I love him so much. Watch my best friend argue with a literal light post for ninety seconds. Check out these cute ducks that crossed the street today and made me late for work.
No one followed him other than his friends. He never went viral. Half the time his thumb was creeping into the shot and the videos were shaky. Until El and Max stepped in and started teaching Steve the trendy dances. It wasn’t a side of Tik Tok he was on and they kept it that way for him. Watching him go in blind and attempt the latest trend was the funniest thing they could think of.
He got the tiniest bit of traction because he wasn’t great but he would start yelling at Max in sign language and the internet ran with that. Instead of being laughable (which it was) he became inspiration porn (which he hated).
The nature of Tik Tok, though, was that traction lasted a couple of weeks and soon they were left to do whatever they wanted for the joy of their friends and a handful of people who stuck around. Likely because the videos stopped popping up on their fyp and they didn’t think to go unfollow. And Tik Tok was fun again.
When videos started to go viral of sign language interpreters killing it at various concerts, giving it their all, and in some cases upstaging the performers themselves, everyone flooded Steve with links. It didn’t take long for the geniuses Steve surrounded himself with to suggest that Steve start doing this with trendy songs.
Loads of people got millions of views lip-syncing, Steve should sign the songs. Millions of views weren’t his goal but Steve was a sap and they might have preyed on that a little. He wanted to do this with his friends but a small part of him did enjoy being able to participate in the trends in a way that felt “normal”.
It wasn’t someone stopping something to make special accommodations for Steve, or him missing the joke because no one could translate it properly. This would be his own thing, doing something the rest of the world was doing, and he got to do it with his friends.
Tripods, ring lights, and redecoration of the “best spot” in the house came as Steve learned a bit of the B-52s Love Shack. It came with a silly little dance that was easy enough to learn. A few dozen videos later, proving to Steve that most people did the bare minimum by way of dancing, they'd found their way to participate. Even if it took a little bit of tweaking and a lot of pleading.
Eddie was home and procrastinating songwriting so he was in their way as much as possible. As annoying as it was, he put the work in. He learned the signs, he learned the dance and was willing to be “embarrassed” for fifteen seconds. More than that, every single member of the group wanted video evidence of Eddie dancing to a B-52s/Brittney Spears mash-up in his grungy old Megadeth tee and ripped jeans.
If Eddie had known what he was in for, he might not have agreed to it. Much like Steve, though, he was an absolute sucker for those he loved. That fifteen-second video took four hours to shoot. In part, because it was a little harder to do while staying in sync with someone than either Eddie or Steve anticipated. But mostly because people couldn’t stop laughing. Especially Eddie
Like all of Steve’s videos, it did…nothing. Unlike the rest of the videos, the gang had found something they all wanted to do. Everyone wanted in on it, even Erica. Who wouldn’t spill how she’d seen the video in the first place but signed up to help organize this because that first video was “a mess”.
So they stopped waiting for the trends. It meant less dancing but they made a few of their own moves. Steve and Eddie would hide away for a couple afternoons and listen to the song over and over. They argued about the meaning of the lyrics endlessly and how to best translate it. Which seemed to be as enjoyable as every other part.
A sharp juxtaposition to them going into the studio, Eddie would mess with the levels of the song and let Steve feel it. Every part of the tender moment laughed in the face of pointless arguments as Steve sat on the floor, focused and occasionally reading the lyrics on his phone and Eddie focused on Steve.
Once that was finished Robin would get the final say on things. She sided with Eddie more than Steve and, inevitably, there was more arguing. Behind every Tik Tok was a solid day of pointless arguments. No one tried to stop them, they factored this into prep time.
As if the constant, meaningless argument wasn’t joy enough, they’d block out an afternoon to shoot this. With more than enough food around, people would pour into the Munson-Harrington house to “help shoot” the video. So what if the rest of the world wasn’t watching? The house was filled with people and laughter, getting in the way of “production” and more than once, tossing Steve into the pool.
What none of them knew was that was what made their videos truly great. Somewhere between the imperfections and the pure joy radiating off everyone, they’d tripped into more than just a neat sign language video. It was watching Steve in the foreground, concentrating and hoping to not lose the beat, while Eddie was replaced with Robin and then Max.
These weren’t the people trying to become influencers but those who fall out of frame halfway through talking about the occupants of a midnight train or can’t remember the lyrics to a song that’s been popular longer than they’ve been alive. This was a group of friends having the time of their lives.
They posted more bloopers than they did successes. Corroded Coffin even used their nearly empty account to repost the time Eddie messed up and signed something that would certainly have got them banned if Tik Tok knew what he'd said. And the nearly full minute of laughter as bit by bit everyone either figured it out or was clued in. Steve took the camera off its little stand and filmed his friends rolling in laughter, ending it with a cinematic shot of Eddie looking incredibly embarrassed. It got no views because they didn't translate it but it was Steve's favorite video of all.
Slowly things picked up traction. Which most found slightly exhilarating. Their fully costumed, six-person rendition of Monster Mash for Halloween spread the furthest. And if they’d made another video, they might have taken off, but everyone had holidays to celebrate. Sometimes together but no one wanted to perform and translate anything.
Those that had followed Steve for these song and dance numbers were none too happy to see the videos shift back to Will showing off something he’d made or Nancy ranting as Jonathan and Steve snicker off-screen. They following they amassed was here for one reason and one reason only. Something they didn't mind demanding in the comment section of every cute video Steve put up of his friends. Steve stopped posting for far too long as a result.
When they picked it back up in the new year, it was back to a couple of thousand views. Steve didn’t care about the views but he missed the stitches of people signing along. It’d have been easy to let it fall off here, Steve could go back to his proud “dad” videos and embarrassing his friends who were full-grown adults now but would always be kids to him. Only no one was willing to give this up. If this didn't mean anything to the audience, that was fine, it meant a lot to Steve and his crew of nerds.
To spice things up and keep it interesting, Eddie hatched a plan he barely had to explain to earn support. A prank, of sorts, that worked so beautifully because Steve looked so squeaky clean and, well, couldn’t hear well enough to know what was really happening.
In secret, Eddie would learn to sign WAP. A trendy enough song but one Steve wouldn’t know and went so wildly against that cultivated squeaky clean image Steve liked to keep. They all knew differently but the audience didn't. However, WAP would be a song he would have turned down otherwise. It was the perfect choice to mess with Steve. Though they'd have to lure him into a false sense of security first.
That’s where the meat and potatoes of the prank came in, Eddie and Steve would work together to learn Dustin’s long-time request, Like a Surgeon. He was convinced Weird Al would see, somehow be so excited he needed to meet Steve and Eddie and, of course, Dustin would be able to tag along claiming to be the cameraman or the brains of the operation.
An easy sell because Steve already knew the beat of the song since they’d done the original version before (and he had vague, incorrect memories of hearing the song long ago). Though Dustin, who they didn’t let in on the joke, was dead sure Steve couldn’t sell the comedy needed to go with the song. He’d sign it too seriously and mess everything up.
The way Steve took that as a challenge both to prove Dustin wrong like all good friends would do but to want to get it all correct for Dustin made it almost impossible for Eddie to continue. Twice Robin, Jonathan, and Argyle had to talk him back into this joke. They could make the Weird Al video after this one, it wouldn’t be forgotten.
So everyone descended on the house one Saturday to watch Steve try and make Dustin’s little dreams come true and Eddie dash them in the same breath. The buzz was bigger than anything this house had seen and Corroded Coffin got nominated for an award while they lived here.
Everything hinged on the mirror in the room they’d put up months ago to help everyone stay together and the fact that Steve would watch Eddie the whole time. Everyone knew and they all took turns pretending to gag and barf before this moment.
The music started, Steve was counted in and as he always did, he watched Robin for the first thirty seconds as she kept the beat. All the while, Eddie’s just a step behind Steve, right in his blind spot, signing along to the actual music playing.
There’s some whores in this house.
Robin had to keep the beat this time, occasionally it was Max, but Robin was musical enough to keep the wrong beat as WAP filled the room. Those who didn’t know what was going on quickly caught on. Glances were exchanged and in seconds the room agreed to support this, marking the first time in their short Tik Tok career, the whole room managed to not get caught up in the giggles.
Certified freak…
The patients fading fast
Nothing is matching up as Steve’s focus leaves Robin for the first time, eyes naturally drifting to Eddie’s reflection as his thumbs and fingers connect and it’s moved from his eyes to his chin, tongue out and looking far too delighted.
Steve’s brain short circuits and he can’t remember his next sign. He’s stuttering without making a sound as one hand sort of shakes, trying to jump-start the next line in his brain. Eddie is not only not signing the same things but he’s talking about…no. He couldn’t be. Why would he be?
The entire printed-out page of lyrics rolls past Steve’s eyes as he tries to figure out where it says anything like Eddie is saying. Or where those liberties could be taken. Not once does Eddie stop, he barely falters and is now talking about parking in a garage. Steve's eyes go wide, that can't be what he just seen.
No one lets their face change, those who aren’t actors saved their skills for this exact moment. Steve tries to read them but turns back to Eddie fairly quickly. And Eddie loses it, his hands drop to his knees and he’s laughing loud enough that everyone is sure Steve can hear him. And when Steve tries to shove Eddie over they believe, for a minute, he could.
Once it starts, everyone joins in. The Tik Tok jumps to a much calmer room and Steve and Eddie sign furiously. There are tears of laughter in Eddie’s eyes, he can barely keep it together to explain anything. The camera turns around to show most of the gang and Robin saying “I think we’re in trouble.”
Of course, no one was. Steve yelled and stomped his feet for a minute but he proved everyone's predictions right. He was mad because they'd strung Dustin along for days only the pull the rug out from under him at the last moment. After everyone explained they’d already made plans to do the song for real, Steve calmed a little.
The first duet came from Max’s account as she showed Steve watching the video. Making jokes about seeing the exact moment Steve’s soul left his body (complete with a freeze frame of the video to prove it) and that he’d already called the divorce lawyer.
A few others came in the following days, most people laughing and doing little else to add to the content. But a week and a half later, Lucas came over with Gareth and gave Steve the revenge he didn’t ask or plan for.
It was a stitch, started close up on someone who let the silence hang in the air for a while before asking, “What’d you say to me about that last video?”
“I said, ‘Is that Eddie Munson?’”
“Who’s that?” the person on camera asked.
“Who’s that?” the off-screen voice said with too much disgust.
The video cuts, now on the back camera. On the tv across the room is a video on YouTube of Corroded Coffin playing live. It pans over the person who was the off-screen voice headbanging along for a few seconds before saying “That’s Eddie Munson” and then playing some air guitar.
The camera pans back to the tv and down to a tablet playing the Tik Tok and the camera zoomed in on Eddie signing WAP. Another cut and it’s Eddie headbanging on screen. After another camera switch from back to front, it shows the first person looking incredibly confused and that’s where it ends.
While that would be enough for Lucas and Gareth to show off, they have video after video of people stitching or dueting that person’s video with a similar look of confusion. In a chain of events that only the internet is good at, the last video they play shows a tweet from Megan Thee Stallion on the top of the screen. She's cracking jokes and mentioning Weird Al Yankovic, asking when his version of WAP is coming, she has an idea for the video.
Days later, a blushing Steve stood next to Eddie in the same room they did all their Tik Toks in. A dramatic silence was soon followed by the chant "There's some whores in this house". This time, Steve signed along with Eddie. The laughter wasn't off-screen this time as they worked to put their all into it. The top comment was Dustin, furious this came before the video they owed him.
The next comment was Erica refusing to help them ever again.
Steve made it through nearly the entire song before he had to walk out of the room, laughing too hard to stand up. It ends with Eddie standing in front of the phone, rock fingers, tongue out.
His gaze is steady and contemplative as he takes one last pull of his cigarette before crushing its remains beneath his heel. He’s bad. Bad for the environment, bad for your lungs, bad for your heart, bad for you.
Peter looked upon the boy sitting across the fire. His most trusted lost boy, Felix, sat on a log flipping his knife in his hand, catching the hilt in his large palm and tossing it up, catching the sharp blade between his long, deft, fantasy inducing fingers.
Peter didn't want to admit it. For Peter Pan never falls in love. Love was for little girls who put pillow cases on their heads and parade around the room as though they were brides in a marvelous wedding. At least, that's what Peter thought love was until Felix had said those 4 simple words that made his heart soar.
