#wtf luna

Eddie said he had the purpose of renting The Dark Crystal when he walked into Family Video that day.

"Yeah, our favorite little flock are coming over later. Might as well make it a movie night, right?"

Steve, who knew they were all going over to Eddie's new trailer later because *he* would be the one taking them over, nodded sagely.

"That's a good idea. Creepy Muppets will definitely keep those rag tag idiots entertained for a while."

Depositing an armful of return tapes on the counter, Robin couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh! Steve! I heard that Tammy Thompson is planning to join a band!"

Eddie's nose crinkled. "Is it Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem? Because she sounds like a Muppet, and not even the cool, creepy kind."

Steve beemed at Eddie, happy, fond smile on his face. "Yes! That is exactly what I've been saying!"

The more they were around each other, the more Steve and Eddie found that they strangely had many things in common. Despite outward appearances, it became quickly apparent that the two guys were ridiculously compatible.

As friends, of course.

It fascinated the kids, especially Dustin, how in sinc they were. Like a well oiled machine. If they were not on the same wavelength, they were balancing each other out. More than once Dustin secretly pouted that Eddie would be the perfect boyfriend for Steve. You know, if Steve and Eddie liked guys. The one time he vented about it to Max, Eddie had overheard.

Oh, if Henderson only knew.

At this point, pining was an art to Eddie. To him, his growing friendship was worth a little heartache, if it meant he got to keep Steve.

Hey. Steve looked out for everyone else. Someone had to look out for him.

If he knew how Eddie felt...well, it might not go well.

A costumer had come in in the middle of their laughter. The two employees calmed it down to give the Family Video greeting. In fake, cheery unison.

Eddie laughed again when the customer was out of earshot. "Talk about creepy Muppets. You two are giving the Skeksis a run for their money."

Steve furrowed his brow. "Who?"

Robin rolled her eyes. "The creepy Muppets we have been talking about, dingus!"

Eddie, a glint in his eyes, leaned his forearms onto the counter, getting dangerously close to Steve's face.

"Stevie, have you actually seen The Dark Crystal?"

Steve, not moving away, only shrugged. "No? But, come on, the movie cover has creepy Muppets on it. Not that far a leap, Ed."

That glint danced as he shot an amused look briefly to Robin. "You're coming with the kids, right?"

Finally stepping back for a little space, Steve blinked. "Oh. You want me to stay? I was just doing the drop off."

Eddie tilted his head, eyes never leaving Steve's but calling over his shoulder. "Bucks, you and Big Boy are both welcome to come join our fiasco tonight. We can educate this poor boy on good movies."

"It would take a lot more than one night, Eddie. But sure, I'll go."

Steve moved from the counter and put his hands on his hips. "Hey, I know good movies! Just because I haven't seen some of the nerdy ones does not mean I don't know!"

Looking over, he held up one in triumph. Robin squawked and rolled her eyes.

"No! Not this again."

"Yes! This again! This is a good movie!"

Eddie reached for the cassette. "What movie even is this?" Yanking it out of Steve's hand, Eddie danced away and ducked down next to Robin. Reading it silently, Eddie looked up in disappointment at Steve.

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Really?"

Steve looked at Eddie in astonishment. Besides the debate on heavy metal vs pop, Steve and Eddie agreed on almost everything.

"Wait, you don't like Fast Times?"

Robin actually looked a little worried. Steve face looked like it was a little in pain.

Eddie bit his lip, but shook his head. "Sorry, Steve-o. Not really my thing."

Steve seemed to rally, and bounced on his feet, looking a bit like an excited Dustin. "But, like, come on. Everyone likes at least some parts of the movie."

"Oh my God, Steve! Shut. Up-" Robin tried to speak over when she realized where he was going with that.

Eddie crossed his arms. "Eh, I watched it once. Didn't really like it."

"What about at-"

"Steve, NO-"

"53 minutes and-"

"I SWEAR, IF YOU SAY-

" -5 seconds?"

Eddie twirled the ring in his index finger. "What's at 53 minutes and 5 seconds?"

Steve smiled and opened his mouth.

Robin beat him to it.

"DON'T. SAY. BOOBIES!"

Steve smiled.

"Boobies."

Robin threw a pack of red licorice at him.

Eddie...still did not look impressed. " 'Boobies' ? That's it?"

"That...that's it?! They're boobies!"

"Like, are they enchanted boobs?"

Both Steve and Robin were speechless.

Robin recovered first. " 'Enchanted Boobs' ?! Jesus Christ, Eddie!"

Steve literally shook off his stupor. "There's no magic in Fast Times, Eddie!"

The one customer they had quietly slinked out the doorway.

Noticing this, Eddie wiggled the cassette, only for Steve to step up and take him from him.

"Okay, so what makes that part so special?"

Steve was flummoxed. "The boobies is the special part! Anyone that likes boobies likes that part!"

And all at once, Eddie felt his stomach drop to the floor.

Anyone who likes boobies likes that part...but Eddie doesn't seem to see anything special about that part.

He knew he was silent for too long. And by the tiny gasp that Robon let out, he knew his secret was out.

He was out.

Sure, he could have left it as is. Made a joke, run away. Not let them know.

But, Eddie was trying to be braver. And, these were supposed to be his friends. Best friends, really, aside from Henderson. Shouldn't they know him for real?

Taking a risk, Eddie used a luck point to roll.

"Yeah...still not my thing, Steve."

Steve furrowed his brow.

"What's not your thing?"

Gathering ever piece of courage he had, Eddie whispered in Steve's ear.

"Boobies, Big Boy."

He stood back, trying to hide his nerves with a goofy smile.

Robin reached out.

"Oh, Eddie. Are you-?"

"A Friend of Dorothy? Just call my Scarecrow. Or Toto, I guess."

Steve, frozen, said distractedly, "Nah, you wouldn't Bless the Rains in Africa."

Shaking that off, Steve put a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"You-you like guys?"

Eddie, nervous, replied, "Yeah."

He did not expect both Steve and Robin to manhandle him into a slightly awkward, but very warm hug.

Robin squeezed him tighter. "This is so big! Thank you for trusting us with this!"

The door chimed as another customer came in. That time, Robin was the only one to say the greeting, only after untangling herself. It took Steve a little longer to pull away (which Eddie didn't mind.)

When he did, though, his cheeks were red, and he was looking at Eddie like he knew an answer to a question Steve didn't think to ask.

Showing the customer the choices of children's movies, Robin reached out and squeezed Eddie's hand. "We'll talk later. But, I am so proud of you!" Looking over at Steve, she nodded, and smiled at Eddie. "Just, you know. If you're Scarecrow, I'm definitely Tinman." She walked off.

Eddie grinned. "I knew it!"

Seeing as it was only the two of them left, Eddie whistled and grabbed The Dark Crystal. "I better get going. Gotta set up crash space for the flock. And a place for us grown ups to sit."

As he walked out, he heard Steve curse at himself, before being followed out the door.

"Hey, Eddie! Wait!"

Eddie turned, movie in hand.

"You called, Sir Steven?"

Running fingers through his hair and scratching at the back of his neck, Steve asked, "Okay, so, no to boobies, right? Well, w-what do you like?"

"What do I like...?"

Steve smiled, but almost bitterly said, "Nerdy guys, right? You probably like really smart guys with perfect pecks. Or Metalheads! Do you like metalheads? Because you like the same music?"

Was...was Steve...jealous?

Holy shit.

Heart hammering, Eddie locked eyes with Steve.

"Stevie, Stevie, Stevie. I might be awesome, but loving another version of me would get so boring."

He sauntered closer, never taking his eyes away from that beautiful brown.

The words tumbled out. "What do you like, then?"

"I like hairy chests."

Steve actually looked down at himself.

"Eyes on me, Big Guy."

When he knew he had Steve's undivided attention, he spoke in a hushed whisper..

"I like hairy chests. I also really like dumb jocks that are a lot smarter than they are given credit for. I like guys with terrible tastes in movies and music, but God damn do they love their friends and their kids."

The longer Steve was silent, the more dread Eddie felt. Just as he was about to apologize, Steve leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Please let me be reading this right. Because, God Munson, I want to be reading this right so bad."

Eddie, blushing, whispered to Steve.

"Uh...do you happen to like guys too?"

Trying his best to step carefully and not trip, he took in the red flashes of lightning.

"Jesus, this is some spooky shit."

---

*Before*

As soon as he passed through the door that would have taken him to the Afterlife, he had been immediately pushed right back out by Hades himself.

Taking him back to Penny's office, Hades had given Q a Library book.

"Read this, and tell me what you think."

For seemed like both hours and minutes, Quentin perched different way, completely enthralled in this book.

This boy turned man's life, full of strife, struggle, and heartache, blossoming into one of the best, romantic, fun-filled lives he had ever seen. Found family, finding his soul mate, living happily into old age.

Despite him being a fantasy nerd like himself, so many things about this guy wistfully reminded Q of Eliot.

After reading, he closed the book with a sense of melancholy.

He was dead, now. He got to live a full, beautiful life with Eliot and their son, but he could never have that again. Unlike the guy in this book, who adopted five children with his husband, and ran a music store.

When Hades returned, Quentin held the book out.

"Umm, so, I finished reading? It was nice, but I'm not sure why you had me read it in the first place. Is there some-uh-lesson, or-or metaphor I am missing?"

Then Hades explained. Something happened that wasn't supposed to. The poor guy, who was promised a happy ending in his life's book, was cut short unexpectedly. He died young, in the arms of a friend.

"He tried to be brave, and sacrificed himself to save his friends."

Oh yeah. Shit. This was a metaphor.

Pushing that aside, Q got increasingly upset for the guy he just read about. Quentin did always connect with book characters.

"Wait, he died? How can that be? He's supposed to live into his 80's. He and his husband are supposed to be one of the first gay couples to get married in their state. They made history!"

"As it stands, Quentin Coldwater, unless there is intervention, he will be dead and stay dead."

"But that's not right!"

Hades actually smiled.

"Such conviction, for a man you don't know."

But Q did know. He had read his whole life's story. Despite never meeting him, he felt like a close friend.

"Perhaps something can be done."

---

Walking the squishy, disgusting earth, Quentin carefully searched the landscape around him.

The "thing that could be done" was to send Quentin back, alive and with his magic, to save the boy himself. Something about "righting two wrongs".

But if he failed...

If he failed, they were both dead. For good.

Quentin was still overwhelmed with the idea that he was alive again, and could just as easily die in this place without finding his charge.

He passed a trailer, and found someone on the ground in the distance.

Going down on his knees, he avoided the bodies of hundreds of...what looked like demon bats on steroids.

He knew what these were. They had been what crawled deep in the caves of the Forgetten Mountain in Fillory and Further. Juliet bats, Jane had called them, because their venom made a person appear dead, when in reality it paralyzed the victim.

Feeling for a pulse, Quentin sighed in relief when he felt a faint one.

He looked dead, but he was still alive.

Barely.

Leaning over his face, Quentin started talking as he prepared to heal him as best as he could.

"Umm, hi! You don't know me, but my name is Quentin. I'm a... wait, you're a Dungeon Master! Okay, okay, so, uh, I have been sent to be your, ah, Cleric. I'm going to get us out of here so you can get you diploma and kiss Steve Harrington, okay?"

Eddie, who couldn't move, somehow managed to widen his eyes.

Holding his hands in front of him, Quentin winced.

"Sorry, spoilers. You'll get to that."

Remembering how he learned to use his, at the time, unknown discipline to heal Teddy's scrapes and boo boos, Quentin concentrated on mending the wounds.

While he did not heal him completely, he did managed to expell the venom and help the wounds not be as severe.

Wiping his brow, he offered the bemused man below him a hand.

Woo-hoo! Thank you so much for asking! 😊

Cactus: Something I am currently learning (about): Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to and have tried to learn sign language, particularly ASL. I thought it was cool, and I wanted to learn to talk to HoH/Deaf people. There was never any classes or opportunities inside school for me to learn (which still pisses me off), so I would check out library books every once in a while and try to learn that way. When I was older, I would look signs up on YouTube and mirror what I saw. This helped me more, to see signs in action.

When I first started to learn about education, I found out that teaching sign language in early childhood was such an amazing tool to give infants, toddlers, and nonverbal children.

In an ironic twist of fate, my mother gets more HoH every year. Her bosses at work have offered to pay for her to have hearing aids...but she is too vain. Because of this, I find myself talking with my hands and facial expressions more around her, and explaining to wait staff and retail workers that she has trouble hearing (you know, when she goes off on them because she thinks they said something they did not, or she is rude because she doesn't think they answered her questions, but that is another story). I feel like my mother would have had an easier time losing her hearing if learning sign language was seen as fundamental as learning English.

Because of these things, I have added ASL in little bite sized bits to my preschool curriculum. Things like learning the ABC's and a word or two a week like "turkey" and "pumpkin" around Halloween and Thanksgiving. The principal of the school *really* loved the idea. I even contacted the local university's Communications Disorders department for collaboration and advice.

TL;DR I'm learning ASL.

Jasmine: Oh dear. When I read this, a book or movie did not come to mind. My mind jumped automatically to the end of Season 4 and all of Season 5 of The Magicians. Because fuck you Sara Gamble, I don't need that shit. But, well, if you folks know me as well as I think you do, you could probably have guess that answers by how much I still scream that, ahem, *clears throat*

QUENTIN COLDWATER DESERVES BETTER

and

I REJECT YOUR CANON, Q IS NOT DEAD

So, instead, I will reach deeper and tell you about yet another show I stopped watching.

Grey's Anatomy.

Once upon a time, I used to watch that show. I found it clever and funny at times. I like clever and funny medical dramas. It is one of the reasons I like House MD. (Another is my undying love of anything Robert Sean Leonard, but I digress). My favorite character on GA was George O'Malley. Spoiler Alert, they killed off George. I stopped watching after that. I would hear from friends how the later seasons were so *gooood* because they would make them cry so much, and I was like, no. I'm depressed enough. I don't need a show to make cry. I need books/movies/tv to make me feel *hope* and *joy* and *wonder*. Sure, sadness will come, but I can't handle that being the focus.

(I know you are thinking of Eddie Munson right now, but I don't think he's dead either, so hah. He and Q are safe with me, thank you very much)

*Trying*, because my brain messed up the lyrics.

"I think I did it, but I just can't prove it"

I just get so annoyed, sometimes. It doesn't happen very often. When it does, I feel like my brain is Aubrey Plaza, side-eying my batshit anxious body.

...