Story [Stranger Things] Some Reason to Believe | Kessel Run 2025

I'm not sure who the character switch was on, because I've never seen the show, but the entire scene 'felt' well done. I don't think it's cringe worthy: you clearly established what was happening and you drew on some heartstrings with the heartfelt (and lying) plea for Jane to come home and then a little character development at the end where Kali somewhat regretted lying.

 

Week 7

Yeah. I think quite a few people have been there. Nothing to see here, move along, and definitely stick to the story!

Week 8

Well, that was supremely creepy Seeing Jane manipulated by her sister into returning to the lab is a dark, dark AU, and one that you pulled off really well – well, in the sense that I'm going to have bad dreams about it tonight! And while I don't remember all the details about Kali in the show, I do remember that she has something of a ruthless streak, and that came out in spades here. I want to say "well done", but I won't because for once I think I prefer the canon version of events!

 

Thank you to everyone who's read and commented. I wanted to try and do individual replies this week, but once again I have no time. It's always either time, energy, or inspiration; I can't get all three or even two at once.

*

Week 9

Prompt: Write a found poem using these selected passages from the novelizations of Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi as your source:

Spoiler: RotS passage

From Revenge of the Sith, by Matthew Stover:

---

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker, forever:

The first dawn of light in your universe brings pain.

The light burns you. It will always burn you. Part of you will always lie upon black glass sand beside a lake of fire while flames chew upon your flesh.

You can hear yourself breathing. It comes hard, and harsh, and it scrapes nerves already raw, but you cannot stop it. You can never stop it. You cannot even slow it down.

You don’t even have lungs anymore.

Mechanisms hardwired into your chest breathe for you. They will pump oxygen into your bloodstream forever.

Lord Vader? Lord Vader, can you hear me?

And you can’t, not in the way you once did. Sensors in the shell that prisons your head trickle meaning directly into your brain.

You open your scorched-pale eyes; optical sensors integrate light and shadow into a hideous simulacrum of the world around you.

Or perhaps the simulacrum is perfect, and it is the world that is hideous.

Padmé? Are you here? Are you all right? you try to say, but another voice speaks for you, out from the vocabulator that serves you for burned-away lips and tongue and throat.

“Padmé? Are you here? Are you all right?”

I’m very sorry, Lord Vader. I’m afraid she died. It seems in your anger, you killed her.

This burns hotter than the lava had.

“No . . . no, it is not possible!”

You loved her. You will always love her. You could never will her death.

Never.

But you remember . . .

You remember all of it.

You remember the dragon you brought Vader forth from your heart to slay. You remember the cold venom in Vader’s blood. You remember the furnace of Vader’s fury, and the black hatred of seizing her throat to silence her lying mouth—

And there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon. That there was no Vader. That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker.

That it was all you. Is you.

Only you.

You did it.

You killed her.

You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking about her, you were thinking about yourself . . .

It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith—

Because now your self is all you will ever have.

And you rage and scream and reach through the Force to crush the shadow who has destroyed you, but you are so far less now than what you were, you are more than half machine, you are like a painter gone blind, a composer gone deaf, you can remember where the power was but the power you can touch is only a memory, and so with all your world-destroying fury it is only droids around you that implode, and equipment, and the table on which you were strapped shatters, and in the end, you cannot touch the shadow.

In the end, you do not even want to.

In the end, the shadow is all you have left.

Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself—

And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker.

Forever . . .

Spoiler: RotJ passage

From Return of the Jedi, by James Kahn:

---

Luke was afraid. Afraid to see his father as he really was. Afraid to see what person could have become so dark—the same person who’d fathered Luke, and Leia. Afraid to know the Anakin Skywalker who lived inside Darth Vader.

Vader, too, was afraid—to let his son see him, to remove this armored mask that had been between them so long. The black, armored mask that had been his only means of existing for over twenty years. It had been his voice, and his breath, and his invisibility—his shield against all human contact. But now he would remove it; for he would see his son before he died.

Together they lifted the heavy helmet from Vader’s head—inside the mask portion, a complicated breathing apparatus had to be disentangled, a speaking modulator and view-screen detached from the power unit in back. But when the mask was finally off and set aside, Luke gazed on his father’s face.

It was the sad, benign face of an old man. Bald, beardless, with a mighty scar running from the top of his head to the back of his scalp, he had unfocused, deepset, dark eyes, and his skin was pasty white, for it had not seen the sun in two decades. The old man smiled weakly; tears glazed his eyes, now. For a moment, he looked not unlike Ben.

It was a face full of meanings, that Luke would forever recall. Regret, he saw most plainly. And shame. Memories could be seen flashing across it . . . memories of rich times. And horrors. And love, too.

It was a face that hadn’t touched the world in a lifetime. In Luke’s lifetime. He saw the wizened nostrils twitch, as they tested a first, tentative smell. He saw the head tilt imperceptibly to listen—for the first time without electronic auditory amplification. Luke felt a pang of remorse that the only sounds now to be heard were those of explosions, the only smells, the pungent sting of electrical fires. Still, it was a touch. Palpable, unfiltered.

He saw the old eyes focus on him. Tears burned Luke’s cheeks, fell on his father’s lips. His father smiled at the taste.

It was a face that hadn’t seen itself in twenty years.

Vader saw his son crying, and knew it must have been at the horror of the face the boy beheld.

It intensified, momentarily, Vader’s own sense of anguish—to his crimes, now, he added guilt at the imagined repugnance of his appearance. But then this brought him to mind of the way he used to look—striking, and grand, with a wry tilt to his brow that hinted of invincibility and took in all of life with a wink. Yes, that was how he’d looked once.

And this memory brought a wave of other memories with it. Memories of brotherhood, and home. His dear wife. The freedom of deep space. Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan, his friend . . . and how that friendship had turned. Turned, he knew not how—but got injected, nonetheless, with some uncaring virulence that festered, until . . . hold. These were memories he wanted none of, not now. Memories of molten lava, crawling up his back . . . no.

This boy had pulled him from the pit—here, now, with this act. This boy was good.

The boy was good, and the boy had come from him—so there must have been good in him, too. He smiled up again at his son, and for the first time, loved him. And for the first time in many long years, loved himself again, as well.

Notes: I'm not a poet and any kind of poetry besides haikus is way too complicated for me. The first 2 here are based on canon. The third could also be canon. It doesn't really belong in this set but it popped into my head and I'll just pretend everyone is watching the movies together and arguing about which character is the coolest. The last 2 are absolutely not canon.

Also, because I'm a perfectionist and have to justify this to myself: I got a couple of different counts for the number of syllables in "Leia" and "smiled", so I'm going with two syllables for each because that's what they sound like to me.

Finally, I had a couple hours free today so I wrote these as quickly as I could and wanted to get them posted before I can think about it too much.

*

Father and son, blood
shame rage. The shadow gathers
you unto itself

~

The wave - remember
home. She loved you - for the first
time you love yourself

~

"Darth Vader!" "No, Luke!"
She speaks out, her voice blazing -
"Leia, understand?"

~

Luke lifted Vader's
mask. Tears, a touch, a scar - there
is good in him, too.

~

Sun light on his face,
sand, a shell, the man he loved.
Lips touched; he smiled.

 

Excellent haikus. Very fitting.

As a rule for syllables, I go with 'voiced' vowels. 'Smiled' would be one to me, because the 'e' is silent, but art thumbs its nose hardest at the strictest rules, so 'smiled' works just fine in that last one.

 

Beautiful. I love haikus. The words have a rhythm and the imagery and emotions are always lyrical.

 

Lovely haikus, fitting as found poems

 

Week 10

Prompt: Write a story between 100 and 400 words, and include these three words: privilege, vault, cascade

*

With her cascade of red hair, Max Mayfield was a familiar sight around the village.

But Steve would have recognized her even without the long red braid, by the way she neatly dismounted her horse in an energetic vault and marched towards the shop with a determined air.

"Good morning," he called.

She returned his greeting, then pulled a leather pouch from beneath her tunic.

"I need a gift for Lucas' birthday celebrations," she said. "Something...fine. Suitable for his station."

Steve knew that, much like him and Billy, Max and Lucas were from vastly different backgrounds. They seemed happy enough together, and nobody gave any thought to social standing when the group gathered at Joyce's tavern. But perhaps Max was concerned.

"I'm sure we can come up with something," he said. "But if you're looking for something more refined, more detailed, you should speak with Billy."

"Can I?"

"Of course. Come with me."

He led her around to the forge. Max repeated her request while Billy listened, head tilted in thought.

"Maybe a knife?" he said. "A good, decorative knife...I can engrave it with your and Lucas' initials."

"That would be perfect." Max shifted her pouch from one hand to the other. "How much?"

"Mm, designing, working the metals, the engraving - it's a lot of time and effort," Billy said. "Quite costly."

Max held the pouch out. "I've saved every coin I can. It's all there, everything I have. I'll make the rest up, work it off, anything."

Billy didn’t take the pouch. "Keep it. It will be my privilege to do this."

Steve couldn’t help smiling at Max’s shocked expression.

"I - " She shook her head. "I don't know what to say - "

"I think 'thank you' is the customary response," Billy said, grinning.

"Thank you." Max threw her arms around him, then Steve, her face glowing with joy. "Thank you both."

When she'd left, Steve put his own arms around Billy.

"That was awfully nice of you," he said, a teasing smile on his face.

"She said it was her life savings," Billy said. "I'm not that heartless." He gave Steve a mischievous look. "Besides, you would have done the same."

Laughing, they kissed. Then they parted, Steve to return to his tasks and Billy to begin working on Max's gift for Lucas.

 

Sweet of Max to be wanting something specially made and for Billy to do such detailed work for free. A nice act of friendship.

 

Billy and Steve together making fun and being there for Max to get her a beautiful gift for free

 

Yay, the D&D AU is back! First of all, I love how you seamlessly integrated the prompts in the story, so seamlessly that I had to go looking for them because they were so naturally part of the text that they didn't jump out at me. Second, I love how this particular AU keeps elements of the characters as we know them but transforms them to fit in this setting, e.g. how the difference in social status takes on a different meaning, or how Billy is the smithy who deals with the finer work. And then, there's the fact that (I assume) Max and Billy aren't half-siblings in this 'verse, but you managed to create that type f bond between them with Billy's reaction in this story. It just fits!

 

Very kind of Billy. Few good people these days. Need to cherish the ones there are.

 

Week 12

Prompt: Write a story featuring an embedded narrative, also known as a “story within a story”. Maybe one of your characters tells the other characters a story, or watches a play, or discovers a diary containing some long-forgotten tale. All of these are examples of a story within a story, and they can be as simple or as complex as you want to make them. Click here for further details

Notes: This is pulling double-duty as my KR longfic and an entry for Spring Bingo 2025, using the row Journey, Fertility, Festival, Ram & bull, and Wind.

So once again I ended up writing the exact same trash I've been writing for the past 5 1/2 years. It's not proof-read, there's no plot, none of the characters resemble their actual canon selves whatsoever, and I don't know much about kids but I'm pretty sure telling an upset young child this particular story would traumatize them rather than comfort them. But I wanted to finish the KR and I just don't have the time or energy to fuss over it too much. So it's time to post and move on.

Thank you to everyone who's read and commented. Thank you to @Chyntuck for all the lovely Spring Bingo prompts, and a big thank you to @ViariSkywalker for hosting the Kessel Run once again! Please go and check out all the awesome entries for these two challenges, and show all the amazing authors participating some love.

*

The Ram and the Bull

*

When Steve and Billy parked in Max and Lucas' driveway, the first thing they saw was Samantha framed between the pulled-back curtains, peering out the front window.

She was waiting by the door with her mother when Max answered, and launched herself at her uncles, already talking a mile a minute.

"Sammy." Max smiled ruefully as she tucked a loose strand of that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. "Don't scare your uncles off, okay?"

She led them into the living room, where Lucas was waiting with a couple of suitcases.

Lucas' dad had had an unexpected heart attack and needed emergency surgery, so Max and Lucas were flying back to Hawkins for a few days to be with him and Mrs. Sinclair. They'd asked Steve and Billy to watch Samantha while they were away.

Steve and Billy had babysat for their niece before, and she'd even stayed overnight at their house once. This was the first time she would be away from her parents for longer than a day, but she knew them well, they liked spending time with her, and they felt confident they could handle anything that came up in the next four days.

After chatting for a while and sharing instructions, phone numbers, travel plans, and all the other information they'd need, Max and Lucas said they had to get going and get to the airport for their journey back to Hawkins. Both of them knelt to hug and kiss their daughter goodbye, telling her she was such a good girl, and they loved her and would see her soon.

Samanatha seemed unfazed, even as Steve and Billy stood by the window with her waving goodbye to Max and Lucas. She was energetic and happy. They decided to take her to a park, where Max had said a festival was happening this weekend.

Several booths and vendors offering food, drink, crafts, toys, and games were set up in the park. Crowds of people strolled around in the sunshine, eating, drinking, and admiring the wares.

Steve and Billy let Samantha go in the bouncy castle, then they bought her cotton candy. Then, at the far end of the park, they found the pony rides.

Samantha squealed when she saw the ponies. She had loved animals since she was a baby. Her favorite bedtime stories were animal books. Her favorite places to visit were the zoo and the aquarium. She had several plushies she slept with. She was always curious and excited to learn about new animals, even insects and other creatures that most people didn't consider cute and cuddly.

They waited in line, and when it was Samantha's turn, the attendant helped her onto a small pinto pony. Steve slipped his arm around Billy's waist, and Billy leaned into him as they watched her, both of them smiling.

"She's adorable, isn't she?" Steve said.

"She sure is," Billy said.

Max and Lucas had had to visit several doctors and a fertility specialist before they were able to conceive. They'd been overjoyed when Samantha was finally born, safe and healthy, and they doted on her. They hoped to give her a brother or sister soon, but for now, she was a beloved only child.

Steve and Billy doted on her just as much. Experience and maturity had shifted Steve's dreams of having six kids to a more manageable two or three. He and Billy had talked about adoption, and although Billy had been unsure at first, he'd agreed. He loved Samantha, and he loved Steve. He'd told Steve he wanted his life and his decisions to be his, and that he didn't want his father's influence to shape any part of his life anymore.

Together, they'd started exploring their options. Billy had mentioned to Dr. Owens, who was retired now but still kept in touch with the entire Party, that he and Steve were considering adopting, and Dr. Owens had been thrilled to hear it. He'd even offered to pull some strings if necessary, saying that he still had contacts in various government departments. They hoped they wouldn't need his help, but they appreciated it nonetheless.

They made another loop through the park, and Samantha asked for one more pony ride before they left.

They stopped at the beach on the way back to Max and Lucas' house. The wind had picked up, and the waves broke harshly against the sand. Steve and Billy stayed on either side of Samantha as they all walked along the beach, keeping tight grips on her hands.

"Can I swim?" Samantha asked.

"No, Sammy," Billy said. "Not today. It's not safe."

"Tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

"If it stays windy like this, maybe we can fly a kite," Steve said. "Remember your butterfly kite, Sammy? Do you still have it?"

"Yeah!" Samantha made a little leap, lifting her arms without letting go of their hands. "I'm a butterfly!"

When they arrived back at the house, Steve grilled burgers while Billy and Samantha set the table and got everything ready.

Dinner went smoothly. They had ice cream for dessert, and then they let Samantha choose a movie. Neither of them were surprised when she chose her current favorite, The Lion King. Steve and Billy sat on either side of her, smiling at her excitement and enthusiasm over the movie.

They helped her brush her teeth and change into her pajamas, pale yellow with bright yellow ducks all over them. She held her favorite stuffed toy, a plush seal that she'd gotten for a birthday trip to the aquarium last year, as Steve and Billy each read her a story. Her eyelids were drooping by the end of the second book.

Billy and Steve got up and said goodnight.

"Where's mommy?" she asked.

"Mommy's with your dad, visiting your grandpa," Billy said.

"I want mommy," Samantha said, her voice wavering.

Steve and Billy exchanged a glance.

"She's away right now," Steve said gently. "That's why we're staying with you, kiddo. You like hanging out with us, right?"

Samantha's lip quivered. A sob escaped her, followed by another. Steve and Billy hurried to try and comfort her. She was crying so hard, her face was turning red.

"Mommy," she wailed. "Daddy."

"Your mom and dad will be back soon," Billy said. "I promise."

"Yeah," Steve said. "They'll be back really soon. They'll be so happy to see you, and they can tell you all about their cool airplane ride."

Samantha kept crying. Steve and Billy looked at each other over her head. Billy moved his arm to hold her more securely, and the tattoo on the inside of his wrist gave Steve an idea.

"Hey, Sammy," Steve said. He managed a big smile. "Do you want another story?"

"I want mommy."

"This is a brand-new story." Steve tried to sound upbeat. "It's a story you've never, ever heard. It's a really cool story, too. You can tell your mom and dad when they get back."

Billy gave him a quizzical look. Samantha kept crying. Steve kept talking.

"Okay, so, there was this, um, farm." Steve got comfortable at the foot of the bed so that he was facing Billy, who held Samantha. "And there were lots of animals that lived at the farm, and one of them was a bull. He was a really popular bull, but he wasn't very nice."

Billy tilted his head.

"So, anyway, some bad things happened at the farm." Steve paused. "Scary things. The bull helped out the other animals with the scary things and realized he hadn't been very nice. He was trying to be nicer, when a new animal came to the farm." He met Billy's gaze. "A ram."

Billy's eyes widened a bit, then he gave Steve a little smile of understanding. Samantha's cries had quieted to hiccups.

"That's right," Billy said. "The ram was from...a bigger farm, and he wasn't happy about being stuck in this little farm. He thought he was hot stuff, but he really wasn't nice at all. He was actually really mean."

"The bull was kind of...preoccupied," Steve said. "So he didn't really...notice the ram. Like, he saw the ram, because the ram was always there, showing off, trying to get the bull to pay attention. But he didn't notice."

He trailed off, and Billy picked up the story again.

"Well, anyway, the ram picked a fight with the bull." He bit his lip. "He went after all the other animals, too, even though they hadn't done anything wrong. They didn't deserve it. He was just...stupid and angry and bad. So the bull, he stepped in to protect the other animals, and the ram attacked him. He hurt the bull really badly."

Samantha's lip was quivering again, and she let out another sob.

"The bull got better, though," Steve said quickly. "The ram felt bad for what he did and all the animals kind of went their own ways and hung out with their own friends and did their own things. Until one day a...um, a...bear...showed up. A really big, scary bear."

"With, uh, rabies," Billy said. "The bear bit the ram and the ram got infected too. And, like, the rabies made the ram do things he never would have done...really bad things."

Steve heard the catch in Billy's voice. He leaned forward and put his hand on Billy's ankle, the closest part of him he could reach. He moved closer and squeezed gently, keeping his hand on Billy's leg.

"The bear was going to kill all the animals," Billy said softly. "One of them...she was small, but kind. So kind. She...she reminded the ram that the rabies wasn't who he was. And so...he finally did something right in his miserable life and kept the bear from killing the animals."

"The bull was, um, locked in the barn this whole time," Steve said. "He'd gotten trapped there, and he got out just in time to see the bear attack the ram." He paused. "He thought - everyone thought the ram was dying."

"Even the ram," Billy said. He took in a deep breath. "But the vets fixed him up, and eventually he came back to the farm."

Steve rubbed Billy's ankle again. "The bull, he was relieved that the ram didn't die, but other than that he didn't think much about it. But they started spending time together, and he realized the ram was actually really funny, and smart, and brave..."

"The bull was smart, too," Billy said. He smiled, his gaze fixed directly on Steve. "Smart, and funny, and so brave. So much braver than m...the ram. And pretty. God, the bull was gorgeous."

Steve smiled back. "Well, the bull thought the ram was pretty hot too. So anyway, he realized the ram had become a friend, and more than that, he realized he had fallen for the ram. So..."

"...so, the ram was too scared to do anything about it, but the bull made it pretty clear how he felt," Billy said.

"And the ram and the bull stayed friends with all the animals, but they eventually left the farm to go explore and find another farm to live together for the rest of their lives," Steve said. "And all the animals lived - are living - happily-ever-after."

Samantha was watching him, engrossed in the story. She appeared to be thinking.

"No more bears?" she asked.

"No." Billy hugged her. "No more bears."

"I saw a bear at the zoo," she said. "It was big."

"Wow," Steve said. "Hey, maybe tomorrow we can go to the zoo and see all the animals. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Samanatha nodded against Billy's shoulder. Her eyelids were heavy again.

Billy laid her down, and he and Steve tucked her in. For the second time that evening, they said goodnight to her, and then to her seal when she held it out for goodnight hugs.

This time, her eyes closed. Her breathing evened out. They stayed until they were sure she was sound asleep, then checked that the baby monitor was on, turned off the light, and quietly moved into the hallway.

Once they'd reached the guest room, Billy put his arms around Steve and grinned at him.

"So the bull thought the ram was hot?"

"Yep." Steve grinned back. "And funny, and smart, and brave, and not like anyone else he'd ever met."

"Yeah, well, the ram thought the bull wasn't like anyone else he'd ever met either." Billy gazed at Steve from under his lashes, his lips almost brushing Steve's. "He fell in love with the bull as soon as he saw him. Never believed in that love at first sight crap, but...holy **** was it real."

Steve closed the distance between them, sliding one hand up into Billy's curls as they kissed while Billy held him close. When they broke the kiss to catch their breath, Billy touched the tattoo on Steve's bicep.

"You were so good with her," he said. "Coming up with that story - "

"I probably should have asked you first," Steve said. "Since it's your story, too."

"It's our story now." Billy traced the simple black ink lines of the Aries zodiac sign, his eyes on Steve, a smile on his face. "All of ours."

Steve took Billy's hand and turned it over to run his thumb over the tattoo on Billy's wrist, the black ink zodiac sign for Taurus, before lifting it to his lips.

"And it's not over yet," he said. "Just the bad parts."

"You're gonna be a great dad, Steve," Billy said.

Steve smiled. "So are you."

They got ready for bed and settled under the covers, wrapping their arms around each other as they kissed goodnight.

"Goodnight, gorgeous ram," Steve teased.

"Goodnight, beautiful bull," Billy said.

Smiling, they kissed again, then settled down to sleep.

 

Ah, yes. It's a classic. You babysit a kid, they love everything they get to do, it's all hunky-dory... and then they ask "where mummy?" and they start crying. Been there, done that

I absolutely loved what you did with the embedded narrative prompt here, because there are so many layers to the bedtime story! You built up Samantha's love of animals in the first part of the story to explain why Steve would choose a story that takes place in a farm, and he's making it up as he goes along, relying on his own history to come up with the plot – but as time goes by, he stops talking to Samantha, and he's actually telling the story for Billy's benefit.

(Oh, and after you tell them a good story, the kid you're babysitting forgets all about mummy and wants more story/animals/visits to the zoo. Been there, done that.)

I also loved the reveal that the ram and bull are their astrological signs, which gives an extra layer to the story they made up, and it reinforces the idea that yes, they're ready to be parents. Great, great interpretation of the Spring Bingo prompts!

Congrats on completing the challenge! I'm really happy that you're participating in it every time because you always treat us to wonderfully crafted and unusual stories, and if it's helping you in your struggle against perfectionism, it's a win for all of us

 

Nice little tap dance there, lol. Well crafted allegory. Samantha was looking for a story, but she got real life wrapped in some figurative pictures.

Great way to end the Kessel Run and get your Springo on at the same time!

 

Nice to see Billy and Steve babysitting Samantha and telling her a nice story when she begins to worry about mommy. They are ready to become parents.
What a nice way to end your entertaining KR. Congrats on finishing