#//like I even somehow managed to avoid all the trailers too

[feathersofvibranium]

//watched black panther: wakanda forever today at noon and stayed off here all day yesterday bc I hate spoilers and wanted to not have it be spoiled for me. It’s a great movie. annnd I’m gonna shut my mouth before I become the one dropping spoilers but if anyone wanna talk about it, come find me

[lennadanvers]

Hi hey hello! I'm still alive! I accidentally took some time off(? Anyway, I miss Ex-husband!Eddie, so here you have some (kinda sad) backstory to the relationship. I present to you *drumroll*...

Ex-husband!Eddie who still has nightmares about your first break-up, many years ago! When you two still lived in Hawkins. When you both left crying. The first time you broke his heart.

You'd been dating for quite some time by then. When he thinks about this, it seems to him you both were really young. That he was very immature.

But, then again, Eddie thinks that about himself now, and it's been years. And he lost you again, somehow.

There had been a disscusion. It was probably about the future. Most things wrong in his life involved that. Planning, hoping, being ready to move on. The only way he's ever been able to plan is when playing DM. The only hope he's ever allowed himself is you being happy with him there to see it. At least that worked out, more or less. About being ready to move on, well...

Of course, Eddie didn't see things this way back then. Then, it felt like you were leaving with or without him. Like you could leave, and he coulnd't. Like you had a life waiting for you, and all he had were impossible dreams and an always lingering fight for survival. Like you were taking all he had- his heart- away from Hawkins.

Eddie knows it was wrong, now, looking back- but his secret is that he knew it was wrong back then too. Still, he allowed himself to hurt you. He laughed sarcastically. He called himself a freak, to save you the effort. Eddie admitted that he knew you were too kind to tell the truth: he was some sort of adventure, a way to feel good about yourself by making someone else happy. He didn't say the word charity- it hit too close to home- but you heard it anyway.

You also heard him calling you a people pleaser. Someone without a backbone. He'd been your safe space- he knew, even if he didn't believe it- and it turned out he saw you like everyone else did.

You didn't yell. Eddie was used to noise. To metal through the speakers, to the cars in the trailer park, to the screams in his parent's kitchen. But he was terrified of silence.

You looked at him. He was used to people avoiding his eyes, to the uncomfortable faces. Yours was just empty. As empty as a face wet with tears can be. And you were looking at him, at his eyes, at his soul.

And you left.

He did the same. Eddie had had many people walk out of his life, and fuck if he was going to let you do that too. No, this time he was leaving. Enough of waiting for the people he loved to come back to him.

It didn't matter, because you didn't go back. You put everything he had left at your house and put it in a box. Your college dorm room wasn't big enough for all the things you loved anyway. You filled the box- even put in his favorite sweets, the ones you had bought for when he went to say goodbye to the bus station- and left it home.

He only found out about it when your mom, after leaving you to your brand new university life, dropped it off by his trailer.

Eddie swears nightmares are box-shaped.

By then, it was too late. He likes to think that the way he had to grovel to get your new phone number was heroic. It may not have saved you- you never needed saving-, but it saved him.

It took him a week to call. He kept lifting the phone and crying. Eddie still has the notebook where he planned, mid campaign, what he was going to say.

It didn't matter. When he finally managed to call, he crumbled. You said "Hello?", and you sounded happy. He practically sobbed a "Hi".

You went silent. Eddie heard you whispering on the other side of the line, and a female voice saying she wasn't expecting any calls.

"Who is this?"

He hung up the phone.

Years later, after you got married, you joked he had a phobia of calling you on the phone. He doesn't think it's a joke. Eddie still wakes up after hearing his nightmares ask him "Who is this?".

[misstycloud]

Haii!! I've read your work before! And I absolutely adore all your fics < 3

If possible, may I request a yandere actor x background actor reader? (Like they have no speaking role, just their role is to stand there?) And somehow the reader caught the yandere's attention? XD

A/n: sup’ I’ve been gone a while. Sry for not being so active but here’s this.

————-

She didn’t do anything; nothing except standing there quietly in the background, melting into it like one tree among many in a forest. She was worth a penny compared to him- she didn’t even have any lines! So why were his eyes always drawn to her?

Perhaps it was because she didn’t try to cover his attention like all the others. It was offensive, really, how they thought he didn’t notice; they believed he couldn’t se through their over the top compliments and fake smiles.

But it was a small price to pay for such success. ‘You can’t have everything’, his father told him that. ‘You can either be rich, or you can be happy. There is no in between.’

(They were neither, but that hardly seems important)

He had to admit his father’s judgement to be correct.

“Shooting in ten!” Someone yelled.

There was no time for him to ponder over useless things, he was there to work, not to waste away inside the trailer. After having the makeup artist give him a touch-up, the tall man went over to the set(while reviewing the script inside his head one last time) in order to film the next scene.

“It’s all thanks to Gareth’s amazing, awesome, fantastic performance and quick thinking we’ve been able to stay on time of schedule - I really did think we were gonners’ after that last prop broke.” The employee guiltily admitted before his collueges. “But luckily-“ he swung his arm around Gareth’s shoulders “- our dear ‘X- city’s Top Actor’ was here to save us, and to that I propose a toast!”

Gareth held back a sneer. It didn’t matter how enticing it sounded like, he could not do it. Because if he did, then his perfect facade would be torn apart by these…people. That couldn’t happen. Ever. Too much sweat and blood has been shed for his position and there was no fucking way he would let anyone ruin that; that included himself.

Gareth wished for nothing more than to lock himself up inside his trailer and read in blissful silence, however that appeared to be near impossible. The team of employees had all joined forces to throw an ‘almost done’- party, where he was the star. Escaping was not possible.

With a sigh, he drank from his glass of wine. It was not the expensive kind he was now used to, but it would have to do. At least he managed to get some privacy at the party since most were currently drunk, throwing up in the bathroom or busy comverimg about-no doubt- stupid stuff. In a way, it was almost better this way. Despite what his line of work would say, he felt more comfortable when no one was looking at him- searching for faults and broken pieces.

“Enjoying the party?” A curious voice poked a hole in his bubble of isolation.

What surprised Gareth first was the owner of the voice, and secondly that it didn’t sound drunk at all. It was her, the extra from some of the scenes. The third surprise that grazed his mind was the thought:

‘She’s pretty.’

The actor was close to smacking himself in the face. What was he thinking so suddenly? He must’ve had too much to drink as well. Yes, that was surely it. But he found it hard to avoid the kind yet perceptive eyes.

“Ehem,” He cleared his throat, choosing to look straight ahead. “Of course, I enjoy it very much.”

It was but wishful thinking she’d accept his answer and move on.

“Really?”

She sounded genuinely confused now. Why did she sound like the surprised one? It was starting to get on Gareth’s nerves. Who did she think she was, coming here and questioning him?

“Should I not be?” It came off a little harsher than he’d imagined, but if she noticed she didn’t comment.

“Ah, that’s not what I meant, sorry.”

He sighed. She apologised which meant he must do it too if he didn’t want to come across as an asshole.

“No, it is I who have not been in the best mood tonight, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

She laughed in response, pulling some out-of-control hair away from her face. Strangely, a part of him wished she didn’t do that, it was cute and framed her face well. Gareth was always a man of perfection and he enjoyed it on others as well. He was a star, why would he waste time on someone who didn’t even take into consideration to be presentable in front of others. But it’s not like he could voice these opinions to the public, or he’ll be done for.

Maybe he’d still get jobs(celebrities often gets a pass for things), but it would definitely change the view on him.

“I just didn’t think you liked these kind of events- with all the booze and social pressure and fakeness, I mean.”

Gareth turned to her in slight awe, listening as she continued.

“You usually have a detached look in your eyes, like you’re not really there? I don’t know how to explain it, but I just assumed you didn’t like parties. Besides, - I might not be an A-list celebrity- but I can see how it must be hard for you too. People come flocking around you, hoping to gain your favour, and you don’t know who to trust. Who is truly there for you, and who is only there for something else?” The young woman breathed out a sigh of relief. “Sorry if I rambled by the way, it can happen sometimes.”

Gareth, still in awe, stood silently and stared at her. Honestly, what the fuck? How did she- a mere background actor- manage to see through and tear apart the strong wall he’d spent so many hours to perfect? He was an actor for god’s sake, it was his job to pretend, and someone saw the true him anyway. But he was sure he’d never let his face betray him. So, how……?

“Hey are you okay?”

Snapping out of it, the man dismissed any previous thought and focused on the matter at hand. “Yes, I am fine. Thank you.” It was then he recalled something important he forgot to ask. “What is your name? I didn’t ask earlier, how rude of me.”

She smiled back at him, pointing at herself as she said, “I’m (y/n), it’s nice to meet you.” She proceeded to shake his hand politely. When their skin touched, all Gareth felt was the warmth that came with it.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too… (Y/n).”

It was after that night Gareth found himself seeking out (y/n) more. Though he’d tell himself that it was for job purposes and nothing else. He simply wanted to see that there was nothing bad going on and everything was running smoothly. It was a movie he started in, of course it had to be flawless; nothing short of perfect; absolutely splendid.

But whenever trouble arose or someone needed some sort of help, it made it easier for Gareth to sneak off and find his new friend. Were they friends? At least, that’s what he thought. He and (y/n) had shared many more conversations after that fateful party and she never wore a disgusted(maybe he’s exaggerating) expression when talking to him. So they have to be friends, right? It would be strange if they weren’t.

(Y/n) was, in fact, lovely. He’d had that suspicion about her since the beginning and it turned out to be accurate. She always asked how he felt that day, and it wasn’t in the superficial, polite way, she meant it. The thoughtfulness brought a new kind of ache to his chest. It hurt in some ways, yet he couldn’t get enough of it.

Other times she even came to him with a box of home cooked food. She said that he was free to throw it away if he didn’t like it and she wouldn’t hunt him down or anything. Gareth was stunned. Why would he wish to throw out the food she’s so carefully prepared for him? No way. He’d eat all of it. It didn’t matter if he liked it or not, he couldn’t dishonour her like that. It wasn’t polite. (He actually loved the food)

Gareth had at first felt goddy at the prospect that (y/n) willingly spent her free time to cook something for him. He must be special to her then; only that thought was later crushed. The actor was on his way outside to take a breather after a longer shoot, and in the corner of his eye he saw two of his colleagues sitting on a staircase. He paused. In their laps’ were plastic containers - lunch boxes- but that wasn’t what drew in his attention; they looked oddily familiar.

‘Wait a little…this is..?’

Oh, he definitively recognised the pink notes and the same-collection of stickers that attached it to the box. If he looked even closer, he was certain the handwriting would be familiar as well.

How could he be so stupid? Of course (y/n) made lunch for all her close colleagues, not just him. Why would she treat him any special? Yes, he was considered a star on the rise for more success, but he knew that hardly mattered to her. Although he tried convincing himself it hardly meant anything as long as he’s getting good meals and they’re still friends, it made things different. The meals weren’t the only thing he noticed afterwards. There were smiles, plenty of them, all wasted on pathetic nobodies. There were also the affection, the hugs, the hand holding. They were given to crew members feeling down and in need of comfort.

It was good that (y/n) cared about others; a quality many perceived as positive. However, Gareth himself could not see this as a good thing. Instead it left a sour taste in his mouth, just like the meal-donation.

Gareth grumbled over this for a long time and tried to figure out why he felt this way. It was stupid, he thought, that he was this worked up over some woman. Gareth a couple months ago would scoff at his current situation and tell him he was being ridiculous and had to stop grovelling in the dirt over some background actor.

The Gareth from a few months ago wouldn’t believe he had the ability to resort to something so childish, either. He was avoiding her like the plague, and barely glanced in her direction. If he absolutely had to talk to her then his answers would be curt and ‘don’t-bother-me-like’. What the hell was he doing? Giving (y/n) the silent treatment, like a child not getting the attention from his parents as he would’ve liked. He could tell the change in his behaviour made her sad, and she probably didn’t understand why either, which was even more sad. But the saddest part of all was that Gareth’s pride was stronger than his feeling of guilt.

A result from the prince-treatment he’d been getting for years.

It wasn’t until the day she approached him during break and said, “I wanted to say goodbye.” that he broke out of his bubble.

“What do you mean?” He asked, immediately straightening his back.

(Y/n) smiled melancholy, “the scenes I’m in-standing in the background, that is- are all over. It’s time for me to go home now. There’s nothing else for me to do here.”

The gears turned in the actors head. She was leaving? This place? Him?

“No, you can’t leave.” He blurted out without thinking. It came off as desperate and breathless, like a whining kid. He hated himself.

(Y/n) chuckled lightly, “Yeah, I wish I could stay longer, but I’m just a background character. I don’t have that privilege.”

Gareth though he heard her mutter under her breath, ‘-not like you.’

“Well this is goodbye then, it was fun to get to know you Gareth and be your friend.” She said before turning around and leaving him alone.

It wasn’t true. They hadn’t been friends at all the last weeks, and it was all his fault. Because he felt some petty competitiveness. And now (yn) was going away forever. What if he never gets to see her again? The idea hurt more than anything he’s felt before. It definitively hurt more than the time he broke his toe, or the time he slipped and got a concussion. None of it was close to the pain he experienced with the thought of losing her.

His sweet little background actor.

Now he understood. It was love. All of it was love. That’s why he was threatened by others taking up (y/n)’s time and why he enjoyed her company so much. He loved her. It was that simple.

There’s no way he could let her slip out of reach now. Not when she belongs to him.

[littlemissaddict]

I have a request! because with the thoughts that I have with Eddie, I am running out of underwear. Anyway… here’s my idea:

A SMUTTY SMUT SMUT fanfic with Eddie Munson x Fem Reader who is Steve’s sister. Somehow the reader finds her way into Eddie’s trailer (she has a huge crush on him) and things get really steamy. I’m thinking a little something of Eddie wanting to take it to his bedroom but the reader is so needy and wants it now in the kitchen area by the door. Things continue to get really heated but right before the reader is about to climax there a knock on the door; it’s Steve looking for the reader. Eddie being Eddie he opens the door but not all the way while the reader sits in the counter next to the door. I really want this!! Eddie reached his hand to cover her mouth and slowly moves his hand down to her throat to slightly choke her. When he finally gets Steve to leave, he turns to the reader and tells her how much of a naughty little mix she is and continues to punish her.

PLEASE!!!

Eddie Munson x Fem!Harrington!Reader

Okay so I got a little carried away with this and it’s probably the smuttiest thing I’ve ever written so I hope that makes up for how long it’s taken me to write this, anyway I really hope you enjoy it.

Word Count: 2801

Also I don’t think I’ve made this clear in the fic but although reader is Steve’s little sister she is over 18, please don’t come for me. I feel like I need to add that this just pure smut so if you are under 18 please dni thank you.

To say Eddie was surprised when Steve’s little sister turned up on his doorstep was an understatement. “Steve’s not here” he said watching the way her face fell at his words and he figured that was because she was looking for her brother and not because she was foolishly expecting him to be happy to see her.

When she doesn’t answer, Eddie assumes that the conversation is over and goes to close the door only to find it stopped before he can shut it. “I’m not here for Steve” she says, a slight waver in her voice as she drops her arm away from the door as it reopens, revealing an even more confused Eddie.

“Then what’re you here for?” he asks, an eyebrow raised in question as he crosses his arms across his chest while he waits for an answer. Though when she does, he’s even more surprised by her answer and while he tries not to let it show on his face he can’t help it, she’s caught him off guard as his mouth drops open and his eyes widen. Surly he’d heard her wrong but when she carries on, it only confirms that he had heard her right.

“You like me, given that Robin’s nervous ramblings of what Steve had spilled to her of your drunken confession is correct” she says, nerves beginning to creep up on her now that he’s stood quietly in front of her. She’d had this whole speech rehearsed, even practised it in front of the mirror until she was confident that she could deliver it without a problem but now being here all she could manage was a feeble, “for what it’s worth I like you too”

Eddie almost missed her confession, his brian swirling with thoughts of how he was going to kill Steve for gossiping about him with Robin when he knows the girl can’t keep her mouth shut in various situations. Call him a hypocrite considering he was the cause of the problem for opening his mouth in the first place, it gave him hope that Steve wouldn’t kill him in return if anything did happen between him and his sister.

Remembering that she’s still on his doorstep, waiting on him to say something and just when she’s expecting him to turn her away, telling her that it was all a big misunderstanding, he invites her in. Unsure of what to do now that their feelings for the other are out in the open, they each sit awkwardly on the couch, backs straight and hands clasped in their own lap, each of them a mirror image of the other. “So” Eddie speaks, the word drawn out as his eyes flit around the room as he avoids looking at her.

“So” she repeats, her lips drawing into a thin line as her legs bounce beneath her hands, the earlier confidence she’d had completely dissipated now that she was here with him. It takes a second for her to realise that he’s saying her name, too consumed within her own thoughts to realise that he sounds closer as well until she turns to find his face inches from her own, her eyes locking with his as she gives in and makes the first move, leaning the last few inches to close the gap as her eyes flutter closed the moment her lips meet his.

The first kiss doesn’t last long, it’s messy and rushed, filled with clashing of teeth and bumping of noses as they get used to the feeling of each other but when they pull apart, they both are smiling like idiots. Neither have any words for what has just happened and it seems she’s had enough of them skating around the other, deciding to just take what she wants, pushing Eddie back on the couch before sliding off her pants, leaving her in just her panties as climbs onto his lap.

“So that’s how we’re doing things, huh?” he smirks, resting his hands on her thighs, just above her knees as he squeezes the flesh there. Chuckling as she shuffles her body closer so that her chest is pressed against his own as she leans in again for another kiss. This time it’s more controlled so there's less clashing of teeth and more melding of lips, though it doesn’t lessen their want for the other and it’s not long before Eddie’s hands have slid up her thighs to her hips, controlling the movements of her hips as she grinds into him.

She’s moaning into his mouth as he kisses her, urging him on and hoping that he’ll take the wet spot forming on her panties for what it is, her desire for him, all of him. It seems he gets the hint as in one flawless movement, he slides his hands from her hips to under her ass which he uses to lift her body as though she was only a ragdoll as he stands from the couch and goes to make his way towards the bedroom all the while kissing her fervently. The thought of him throwing her around like a ragdoll has a primal need building inside her, taking over the logical part of her brain and telling her she can’t wait the last few steps to the bedroom.

Throwing her arms out grabbing onto anything that’s within her reach, she finally latches onto one of the cupboards as they pass through the small kitchen area. It results in Eddie losing his balance and pushing her, rather roughly, against said cupboard forcing a deep groan to leave her. Worrying for a second that she is hurt, Eddie pulls away and his eyes scan her features for any sign of pain but instead he only finds a deep sated lust shining in her eyes as she pushes forward to try and regain the kiss, whining pathetically when he moves out of reach.

“You are not as innocent as everyone believes princess,” he pants, breathless from their kissing, his eyes blown with desire as he chuckles darkly, a thought coming to mind, “imagine what your brother would say if he found out what his sweet little sister is really like” Her eyes widen at his words. Steve could never know, he was already fiercely protective over her so she couldn’t imagine what he’d do if he found out how she liked to be treated during sex.

“Eddie no please” her plea goes unanswered as he busies himself running the pad of his thumb over her swollen lips, leaning in to kiss her again just as a knocking at the door starts, followed by none other than Steve’s voice.

Eddie brings his palm up to cover her mouth, his eyes bearing into her own, “Not a sound princess” he orders, releasing her mouth only to drop his hand to her throat when he doesn’t get an answer, “got it” he says harshly, increasing the pressure of his fingers that has her stuttering out half a moan and half a cry of ‘yes’ in answer to him. “Good girl” he smiles, dropping an unexpectedly sweet kiss to her lips before he removes his hand from her neck and strides over to the door.

“Harrington” he says unamused as he raises an eyebrow at him in question to his unannounced visit, seems like it’s something the two Harrington siblings have in common. The door bounces as if it’s been pushed but Eddie has a tight hold on it to avoid it opening and revealing her, Eddie’s patience is running a little lower than normal as he groans out a ‘what do you want?’

“Have you seen my sister?” Steve asks and she can hear the frustration in his voice, “she left a note to say she was coming over here to study but mom needs her for something” he explains hoping that it would make Eddie budge if he was in fact hiding his sister.

“Nope not here now if you don’t mind I have company” Eddie urges, hoping that Steve would get the hint that it was the end of the conversation.

What she doesn’t see is the way Steve finally registers Eddie’s appearance from his messy hair to his swollen lips and blown pupils and Steve blushes red in embarrassment when it clicks in his brain just what Eddie means by ‘company’. She doesn’t miss the ‘oh ohhhh’ as the realisation hits and she hides her laughter behind her hand at how much of an idiot her brother could be at times.

Finally getting rid of Steve, he turns back to her but the look on his face wipes her previous amusement off her face. Under his gaze she feels very much like she’s his prey and he’s getting ready to go in for the kill, “You left him a note, you wanted him to catch us didn’t you princess” he says as he makes his way back to her, his hands coming up to rest on the cupboard beside her head as he cages her in against it, “you really are a dirty girl aren’t you?” he smirks.

“I-I just didn’t want him to worry where I was” she defends weakly, her voice faltering under the intensity of his gaze as her hands clutch the ends of her shirt tightly. “I didn’t think he’d come find me, maybe only call,” she added.

“Oh you thought he’d call, was that your plan to talk to your big brother while my dick is buried deep in that wet little cunt of yours” Eddie growls, smirking in amusement as a visible shiver runs through her body and a moan leaves her lips. “You like that princess, yeah, maybe another time though because I’m going to take you right here, right now” he says, leaving no room for arguments, not that she had any, as he rips her shirt from her body and follows it by ripping her panties off as well.

Standing there bare in front of him while he’s still fully clothed has her trying to cover herself with her arms but Eddie’s quick to stop her, grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head in one of his own. “No let me look at you princess” he chides, letting his free hand explore the skin of her chest and she whines pathetically when he pinches her nipple, rolling it between two fingers as his gaze flickers to her face, “So pretty, now how about we give that pretty pussy of yours some attention” he asks even though he knows the answer, smiling when her head nods eagerly.

“Careful princess don’t want to hurt yourself” he says, gently taking a hold of her face to stop her nodding after her head hits against the cupboard door. Once he’s sure she’s okay, his hand drifts south again, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake as it trails over her chest, her tummy and her hips before it comes to a stop on the inside of her thighs which are already wet from his teasing.

“Please” she begs as his eyes drift from where his hand rests to her eyes and that’s all it takes for him to run his fingers through her folds, getting them wet enough that he can slide two of them easily into her. Her knees buckle as she lets out a moan of his name but Eddie’s quick to steady her, removing his hand from hers where they’re still pinned above her head to her waist, where he holds tightly. “So big” she moans as his fingers begin to move inside of her, in and out, in and out, the motion repeating until all that can be heard in the trailer is the wet sounds of his fingers, her heavy breathing and her moans.

Eddie can’t help but laugh at her statement, “If you think they’re big then wait until you feel my dick stretching you out” he smiles as he leans in closer to her face, “because that’s what you came here for isn’t it princess” he growls into her ear as she cries out in pleasure, “yeah I know now come for me and you can have my dick” as soon as the words have left his mouth she’s cumming, soaking his fingers as her body writhes in place from where he’s got her pinned to the cupboard door.

He gives her the time it takes for him to undress to come down from her high before he’s back on her, wrapping her legs around his waist and positioning himself at her entrance. “Ready for me sweetheart” he asks, his voice soft and eyes searching as he checks in with her, waiting for her consent before he slowly eases into her and lets her get used to his size. He knew what she wanted but there was no way that was happening until Eddie was sure she was going to be okay because he may be acting cruel but that was not how he was.

“Shit Eddie so good, so much better than I imagined” she panted, she’d never felt so full than right at that moment with him nestled inside her.

“Yeah you’ve thought about this, tell me” he orders, pulling out and snapping his hips back into her as his hands gripped tight at her waist keeping her back pressed up against the cupboard door so that she didn’t fall. When she whines instead of answering, he snaps his hips faster, pushing harder inside of her listening as it pushes the breath from her lungs, “tell me” he demands.

“Oh just like this and uh in your van after He-Hellfire” she moans, hands like a vice grip on his shoulders as he growls out ‘more’ to get her to keep talking, “those damn handcuffs of yours-fuck and I can’t, I- Eddie m’gonna cum again” she cries, body shaking again and Eddie has to fight, using all his strength not to drops her.

Although when he feels her clenching around him, his legs almost give way with how good it feels and he pushes forward, crushing her against the door as he uses it to support the both of them. “Yeah princess cum for me again” he encourages, warily removing a hand from her waist and bringing it to her clit where he rubs small fast circles as it finally tips her over the edge. Her body arching into him as she clenches even tighter around his dick than he thought was possible and it’s enough to almost having him cumming as well but he holds it off, frantically asking “Gonna come sweetheart, where do you want it”

“In-inside me” she manages to get out with the pleasure still coursing through her, vaguely feeling him thrust once, twice more before he cums. His head falling against her sweat slicked, heaving chest as he moans through his orgasm until her still clenching walls are too much for his sensitive dick and he pulls out of her.

“That was”

“I know” she hums, accepting his lips in a sweet kiss, sighing when he eventually pulls away.

“We should probably get cleaned up” he suggests and she nods in agreement, expecting him to put her down and then lead her to the bathroom but instead he carries her there, setting her gently on the counter by the sink, “didn’t know how steady you’d be so I figured this would be easier” he explains, seeing her confused expression before he turns to look for a washcloth.

Once they’re wiped down, Eddie collects their clothes from earlier, bringing her panties to her with one of his shirts. He’s already dressed himself in sweats and his shirt from earlier as he brings her the phone. “So you can let Steve know where you are or I can give you a lift home” he smiles sheepishly as she takes it, secretly hoping that she doesn’t ask for the latter.

“I’ll be two minutes” she nods, dialling her home number and praying that Steve answers and not her parents, “then I’m all yours” she winks at him before quickly turning her attention to Steve’s voice on the other end of the line, leaving a smiling Eddie running to clear his bed for the two of them.

It takes Steve nearly an hour after she’s rung to let him know she’s staying the night at Eddie’s before he puts it all together. “Motherfucker” he shouts at no one in particular, though it does get him a scolding from his mother who hears it from down the hallway. If only she knew what her precious daughter was up to, he thought as he buried his head in his pillow, trying to erase the thought of Eddie and his sister out of his brain.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

happy trailer Monday! can I trouble you for a few bites? 😉

🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷🦷

🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟

HELLO!

Trying to finish the teeth fic so answering this one asap.

24 for 🦷:

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Eddie exhales, relieved. He squeezes Buck’s hand. There’s a moment where they just stare at each other, neither of them seeming to know what to do. What’s the right next move? There’s no clear playbook for declaring love for your best friend of over half a decade in the middle of your kid’s wisdom tooth extraction. 

“I can’t kiss you for the first time in a room that smells like latex and sanitizer while a surgeon cuts into my kid’s face,” Eddie says eventually. He feels mildly insane. 

Buck snorts. “That’s okay, Eddie. I didn’t want to kiss you anyway.”

“Is that so?” Eddie rolls his eyes. He knows he’s full of shit. 

“Yep,” Buck nods. “Haven’t thought about it all really. Not even once.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Eddie smirks.

Buck turns so he and Eddie are parallel again, loops his arm around Eddie’s shoulders, and pulls him in close. He presses a very gentle, very sweet kiss to Eddie’s temple. Eddie’s whole body goes warm, like melting honey.

“I’m going to take you on a perfect date, and romance you, and give you the best first kiss you could ever hope for,” Buck whispers. 

“That sounds amazing,” Eddie manages to eke out in response. Because he’s too entirely overwhelmed and happy to speak clearly. 

Though, somehow, he doubts they’re going to make it that long. 

---

24 for 🧟:

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They became even closer with this patchwork family of people Hen has grown to love very much. Not that she didn’t already love Chim more than any friend she’d ever had before him. 

And now? Now, sometimes, Hen waits for the other shoe to drop. Like, how can they have gotten off so easily, when everyone else suffered so much? How can whatever tragedy she’s managed to avoid not eventually catch up with her?

She worries. She tries not to, but she’s a mother. Of course she worries. She wants her son to have a future. And not just one where he survives. She wants him to be happy. She wants him to have things to live for. And she’s afraid of how that’s attainable if anything ever takes their weird little oasis out of time away. 

Which is why, when Chimney and Maddie say they saw someone in town with a light from the library roof, Hen is full of worry. 

They call a group meeting. Everyone crams into the cams room so no eyes are off the screens. Not right now. They can’t take any risks.

“Are we sure it’s not Buck and Eddie?” Bobby asks. 

“Why would they be north of the library?” Karen asks. “They’d have had to drive past us.”

[newlacesleeves]

*slams this fic on the counter* Okay, look. I've been thinking about the parallels between Sam/Tory and Daniel/Johnny for far too long now. And then then season 6 trailer dropped and my brain would not let me know peace until I wrote this fic so I wrote it over a 48-hour period until I could finally get it all out. Enjoy.

AFTERBURNER | Lawrusso, Samtory, Johnny Lawrence & Samantha LaRusso | T | 8,634 words | non-linear narrative & parallels all the way down

The thing about history is we're doomed to repeat it. That's what Mr. Murray says on Sam's first day of AP World History. It's human nature, he says, to make the mistakes of our ancestors. The only way to anticipate these mistakes is to learn of them, learn from them, and hope we can use what we've learned to avoid the same pitfalls as our predecessors.  --- A fic about patterns, trusting, and how history is always just repeating itself.

The inciting incident, like most things in Johnny's life, is a punch to the face. 

Before the twerp manages to land it — right into Johnny's mouth pow! right in the kisser! — it's just a game to Johnny. Here's this skinny kid moving in on his girl, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, like a gnat in the sand just buzzing around. And Johnny, sure, he toys with him. Dances around him and lets him try to land one. But it's only when he manages to get a good one in there that Johnny sees red and nothing else. Because who does this kid think he is? Who does this kid think Johnny is? Doesn't he know who he's dealing with here? He can hear Kreese’s voice in his head: the enemy deserves no mercy. And Johnny doesn’t know who this kid is by name but he knows he’s just made a new enemy.

So Johnny shows him. With fists and kicks and a hard landing with a mouthful of sand. Forces him to cover up the dark bruise around his eye with a pair of aviators on his first day of school. Hide those Bambi soft brown eyes from Johnny's field of vision before he can even think about losing himself in them. 

That one punch sets each of them forward on a trajectory they are powerless to change. Their moves are now set in motion, each one preordained: LaRusso ducks left and Johnny swings right, LaRusso runs and Johnny chases. The interference by deus ex sensei only prolongs the inevitable moment: the pivotal accident that the tournament is only a few weeks away. That Kreese will do anything to win, even asking Bobby to fight dirty and deliver that crushing blow to the knee: it’s all a set up for the perfect storm that ends with Johnny’s face getting kicked by what shouldn’t be a long graceful leg but somehow it is. A beautiful kick. And if Johnny’s going to get kicked like that, it had better be a beautiful one. 

Johnny finds himself wondering what would have happened if that fist never swung his way. How different 1984 would have ended. First ever three-time All Valley Champ. Would Daniel LaRusso have found karate without punching Johnny Lawrence first? Would Johnny have found Daniel some other way? 

It's useless to wonder what could have been but Johnny does it anyway. He wastes years on it until one day he’s forced to walk into LaRusso Auto and sees the smug, charming, ageless face that’s plagued him all this time. Another hit, this time a hit and run, that resets the board and puts them in motion again. 

Three and a half decades later, LaRusso swaps a punch for a kiss — another pow! another pop in the mouth! — and just like that first night, Johnny doesn’t see it coming until it’s already happened.

He doesn’t see red but he does strike back. Uses his hands to tell LaRusso just what Johnny thinks about that, one with a grip on his jaw, the other threading through his stupidly soft, dark hair. Pushes him up against the wall of the dojo because this is just another fight that Johnny’s going to win.

LaRusso pulls back with puffed up lips and heavy dark eyes. His hair’s a mess and his grin is infectious. 

Another inciting incident. 

[lhoandbehold]

What Does a 100 Hour Work Week in Animation Feel Like So I saw (and commented on) this post remarking on the working conditions on the new Spiderverse film which were less than stellar. I'm not surprised, I was literally talking to animator friends about how it seemed like it was a tough project even as the trailers were coming out. But I think we see news like this break all the time - ah a game got delayed. Don't worry. "Oh the dev team is working 90 hour weeks until it comes out". Red Dead Redemption infamously had a manager brag about 100 hour weeks. Some members of the team on Sonic the Hedgehog did 120 hour weeks to update the model to something with much less human-looking teeth. It's all very abstract. So I thought I might provide a little insight into how different workweeks feel for me. For context, I am an able-bodied high functioning person who is, by all accounts neurotypical, but who still struggles with overstimulation and needs a lot of therapy. If I feel this way, then imagine how someone disabled is faring under the same conditions, and consider how much of a barrier of entry this really is to the industry. Disclaimer: I'm going to be describing a not great work/life balance from a practical point of view. I work a lot. I try not to. I don't always get it right. Please don't think of what you're about to read as how you 'should' be working in the industry. Whenever possible, insist on your rights to rest and live a life outside work.

40hr week - What would be considered a standard workweek. Animation is a thinking heavy job, so I’m usually tired at the end of the week, but I do still have energy to see friends, do personal work, go for walks, work out. I would prefer a shorter week but it’s doable.

50hr week - Probably my personal average if we’re being honest. This is not always due to the animation job itself - for financial reasons, I usually have small sidejobs next to full-time employment and the hours add up. This week works alright so long as I plan them well. Mealpreps, using google calendars to make sure I'm carving out time for workouts, cleaning and a bit of rest.

60hr week - I have spent a lot of months this year pushing 60 hour weeks and let me tell you, I don't like it. I'm tired. Social life and personal projects go on the backburner. I'm less delighted, less inspired. I still work out, but less. Wrists begin to tingle, shoulders sometimes get more sore than I like. If I fail to mealprep I end up spending so much money on prepackaged lunches. I'm processing stress in my dreams, so I often wake up in the middle of the night and lie awake. Light brainfog starts kicking in. I'm more sensitive to things not going my way because I just don't have much energy left to problemsolve anything that isn't work.

70hr week - This is when I personally start considering a schedule to be 'crunch'. For some the number is higher and for some lower, but for me, a 70hr workweek starts to really fray me at the edges. I have time for work, the commute and sleep, and not much else. I try to get in workouts where I can, to avoid my RSI flaring up too badly. I am no longer seeing friends. I am no longer drawing for myself. I'm not reading books. Maybe I watch a youtube video over dinner. It's not a state I can (or should) sustain for very long. 80hr week - This is where I'm hitting my ceiling. I have done this on rare occassions. My personal max is 85 hours of work in a week, and the personal record of maintaining it was 4 weeks, and those weeks were a shitshow. Cannot recommend. Towards the end, my shoulder was on fire and I had recurring headaches. I was doing all of my stretches and still managing the gym, and somehow it was never enough to soothe the RSI symptoms I can otherwise usually manage. The should injury I got during that month still haunts me to this day.

And I cannot stress enough, I never made it to those famed 100 hour weeks. I honestly don't know how anyone manages anything above 60 for an extended period of time. I know people sleep under their desks to avoid commuting time cutting into work hours, but i just feel like the brainfog would render me incapable of making anything good or even passable.

[comfort-writing]

Some thoughts I have about Eddie:

- He loves watching you play his guitar. You may just pluck at the strings, asking how to play a chord or two, but he loves watching your fingers glide across the neck of it as you strum nonsense. You’re the only person who he allows to touch his baby. Sometimes he’ll sit behind you, chest pressed against your back, legs straddling your own, and he’ll place his fingers on the frets, show you the strum pattern, and you’ll play a little song together. He’ll hum the lyrics quietly into the crook of your neck, making your skin warm and your head spin.

- His love language is physical touch. At first, you noticed the way he liked to have a hand on you. Holding your own. Resting comfortably on your waist. Playing with the frayed ends of your shorts with his thumb, palm splayed out on your thigh. But as time progressed, and as he got more comfortable, he needed to be as close as physically possible. In public, he’d wrap his arm around your shoulder and pull you close as you looked at cans in the grocery store. He’d wrap his arms around your waist and rest his chin on your shoulder while waiting in line at a concert. He’d pull you into his lap, holding you tight on his couch as a movie played on the tv in his trailer. It wasn’t sexual or possessive, but he needed to be touching you at all times. There was a few days early on where you noticed that he’d backed off a bit, and you definitely felt the absence. You wondered if something was wrong, and on day three of him avoiding your touch, you finally asked him about it. His hand went to the back of his neck, scratching the skin there as he explained that he was worried that you thought it was annoying, that maybe he was too touchy or clingy. When you hugged him close and kissed him sweetly, explaining that you’d missed his presence, all fear melted away. You called him your little barnacle and he laughed all the anxiety out of his system in that moment.

- Any opportunity that Eddie has to make you laugh, he will take it !! Sometimes he’ll just start telling you the cheesiest knock-knock jokes, and you don’t even really laugh at the jokes, but really laugh at how earnestly he is telling them to you, looking at you expectantly, hoping you’ll crack. When your annoyed-facade finally fades and you giggle, he will keep coming up with more, and even if they don’t make sense, you laugh anyways. His eyes light up and he looks like a little kid on Christmas morning. He loves giving random objects funny voices, making them talk to you, almost how a parent might entertain a toddler. But dammit, it’s really funny when he holds up an onion in the store and says in an unnaturally deep voice for an onion, “Don’t worry baby girl, I won’t make you cry. You should pick me”. He intentionally picks out really terrible, low-budget movies at Family Video just so he can listen to you laugh at, and make fun of, the terrible special effects and acting. Your laugh is his favorite sound on the planet.

-Eddie befriends any animal he comes across. Just looking at him, you wouldn’t really take him as an animal lover, but during one of your first visits to his trailer, you notice a little food bowl just tucked underneath the structure of his home. When you questioned him about it, he told you that he feeds the strays. He tells you that he was essentially a stray as a kid, and sometimes he would’ve loved a good meal. If the two of you ever go for a walk, a dog might approach him and beg for pets, even if on a leash with their owner right there. If they agree to let him pet their dog, he immediately drops to his knees and cards his fingers through the dog’s fur, cooing and telling it what a good dog it is, letting it lick his cheeks mercilessly. If you take a stroll through the woods, little critters might cross your path, and he bends low, sitting patiently and letting it approach him. One day, he managed to somehow pet a literal squirrel, and when it finally scurried off, you called him Snow White. He laughed brightly and claimed that you were just jealous.

- Eddie hates reading, but loves Shakespeare. Not Romeo and Juliet, but stuff like Richard III. He may secretly include its plots into his D&D campaigns. That is all.

- He is either insanely amazing at or incredibly terrible at flirting. There’s really no in-between. One day, he’s putting on the moves, tucking your hair away from your neck and whispering things that drive you mad into your ear. His hands are teasing, brushing your sides gently as he tells you all the things he wants to do to you later, alone. His eyes rake over you and land on your lips, staying there until you just can’t stand it, finally giving in to his suave advances. The next day he says something like “Damn baby girl, you look.. like a girl.. who I like the look of… shit.”

- It took him a long time to finally admit that he loves you. But every day after that, he spews the three words endlessly. When you hand him his coffee in the morning. When you are tying your hair up for the day or brushing your teeth. When the two of you are swaying to the music on the radio in his kitchen. When he’s wiping down the counter after dinner and you’re watching him from your place on the couch. When he kisses your neck while his hands wander. When your laugh becomes infectious. Any and every moment he thinks it, he says it.

- Eddie journals. Every day of his life is written down in endless notebooks. Sometimes they’re short little blurbs, other times, they’re pages and pages describing his grief. It was a way to process his emotions when nobody would listen to him as a kid. His upside down entry when he got home simply says: ‘I’m grateful to be alive.’

[madnessformunson]

You Belong With Me Part 2

I wrote this instead of doing my physics homework, I hope you enjoy, especially @grimmbunniee who gave me the inspiration for a part 2

You can read Part 1 here

You avoid Eddie like the fucking plague all weekend. You couldn’t face him, not after he told you he was in love with you yet slept with Chrissy Cunningham. Monday rolls around and you regret letting Eddie take you and your sister to school everyday. As you finish packing up your lunches, you call out for Max.

“Max hurry up or we will be late”

“What do you mean late? We have 10 more minutes until we have to leave with munson.” She replies Snatching her lunch off the counter.

“We are riding the bus today,” you said under your breath. You love your sister, but she can be really harsh and you don't need her judgemental eyes right now.

“Seriously y/n? You and Munson get into a fight and I’m the one who has to suffer”

“Come on Max let’s just go” you say, pulling her out the front door to walk to the bus stop.

Just as Eddie was exiting his trailer to get in his van he noticed you and Max climbing up the steps of the bus. He remembered confessing his love to you at the party even though he was extremely drunk.

The whole day you avoided Eddie, dodging him was simple because you knew his whole schedule. You knew the hallways he walked down and the classes he had, so you just carefully went the opposite direction.

That’s until lunch rolled around. You were going to just eat your bagged lunch in the outside hallway but you knew if you did that max would most likely come looking for you, further bringing you avoidance of Eddie to the rest of the parties attention. You walk in slowly, mentally deciding that you will sit next to Max and act like nothing has happened. Once you start approaching the table you look up to see Chrissy running over to sit in Eddie's lap. He wore a huge grin and they both looked genuinely happy.. at least at this moment. You sit down not making any acknowledgement towards Eddie’s presence as you listen to Dustin talk about his science fair project. As lunch ended, Max turned to you and said, “don’t get on the bus to go home I’m not riding in the death trap again” you respond with an eye roll and “you really want to walk home? That would take us at least 45 minutes”

“No” she responded, “I called Steve he said he would be happy to give us a ride” at that comment Eddie began to choke on his pretzels. He coughed loudly, grabbing towards his water bottle for a drink.

“Oh my god are you ok?” You looked at him with an honest look of concern.

He nodded back trying to catch his breath. You went to ask him again just to be sure but the lunch bell rang snapping you out of your concern.

When the end of the school day came you met Max at your usual spot in front of the school. You were upset with her, you didn’t mind Steve but you also weren’t the biggest fan of him. Back in his ‘King Steve’ days he definitely wasn’t the nicest to you.

“Why the hell would you think it is ok to call Steve?” You said angrily as you approached Max.

She rolled her eyes, something she did all the time and definitely something she picked up from you.

“I don’t see what the big deal is? You somehow managed to make us lose our ride so I got us a new one. I’m not riding that damn bus”

“You know you aren’t too good for that bus. That’s your problem max you think you are so much better than everyone around you” you didn’t mean to pick a fight with your sister. You’ve always been the one to take care of her but right now you felt like she crossed the line.

“Well excuse me, it’s not my fault you are in fucking love with Eddie but too much of an idiot to admit it to him!”

Just as you were getting ready to yell back at her Steve pulled up in his car and honked as he rolled the window down. “Hey ladies!” He calls out to you and max “I heard you were in need of a ride”

You sigh as you adjust your backpack and give Max a very annoyed look. You both start heading over to Steve, you want to get in the back but Max jumps in as you open the door so you decide to sit up front. Eddie spots you as he is walking next to Chrissy getting an ear full about how he doesn’t support her cheerleading as much as he should.

“Well how are the two pretty red heads of Hawkins High doing?” Steve said with a smile. You just sit in the passenger seat, arms crossed.

“Well I would be doing great since I got an A on my biology test but my sister insists on being the biggest bitch at Hawkins High” Max comments.

“You know what? This was dumb. I’ll just try to catch the bus since I’m not too good to ride it” you say as you start to get out.

“Come on y/n, let me just give you a ride this time. The bus has already left and you’ll be stuck walking for sure.”

You sigh and shut the door.

The ride home was quiet. As soon as he pulled up in front of your trailer, Max bolted out.

“Thanks for the ride, we appreciate it” you say quietly as you pull your backpack up to get out.

“Anytime” Steve says.

Before you exit the car, Steve gently grabs your arm.

“I need to apologize to you Red, I didn’t mean all those things I said in high school. I was just dumb and trying to fit in. I think you are really cool and I would love to get to know you better”

You smile, “I can only accept your apology if you give Dio a chance. And I mean a real chance”

“Anything for you” Steve said laughing as you pulled the tape out of your backpack and handed it to him.

“You know, this means we are going to have to see each other again soon so I can give this tape back. Preferably longer than the 5 minute drive from the school to your house?” He said as he fidgeted with the tape.

“How about Friday night?” You said with a smile.

“It’s a date”

As the week passed by you focused less and less on Eddie and Chrissy and more on Steve. He was actually a really nice guy. He was really caring and listened to you. He continued to give you and your sister a ride to and from school every day as you promised that you were saving up every penny you had to hopefully get your own car soon.

As you walked up to the hellfire table to sit down Dustin said “well well well, who do we have here?” You furrowed your eyebrows unsure of what he was talking about.

“It just so happens Steve said he couldn’t give us a ride home after Hellfire tonight because he would be on a date…” Dustin started, and Mike finished “..with you!” a huge grin covering his face.

“I never thought I would see the day that you and Harrington actually got along” Dustin said with a laugh as you blushed.

Eddie approached the table, Chrissy hanging on to his arm, “what are we talking about over here? Hopefully about the new character sheets you all should have done for tonight”

“Y/n won’t be able to make it, she has a date” Dustin said wiggling his brows.

Eddie coughed, “a date? With who”

You didn’t say anything, piling a cracker into your mouth as quickly as possible.

“Steve! Steve actually asked her out! I never thought I would witness such an event” Dustin laughed clearly not reading the room.

Eddie laughed, “seriously Harrington? You’ve got to be kidding me”

“What? He’s too good for me too? What does it matter to you anyway” you said as you scowled at him.

“I’m just saying he is not your type at all, Mayfield”

“That’s rich coming from you” you rolled your eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?

“Oh I don’t know, just that last week you were telling me how in love you were with me and how Chrissy wasn’t your type at all yet here you are with her hanging all over you like a prize or something” you didn’t mean for that to come out in front of the whole table.

Eddie sat there scrabbling to find words. Chrissy sat there for a moment taking in the new information you just released before getting up, grabbing the carton of milk off of Gareth’s tray and pouring it on Eddie’s head. Once it was empty she tossed the carton in your direction and ran off.

[another-corpo-rat]

Tributary

It seems I cannot write the dear River Ward without sprinkling in some angst, that’s how you know he’s one of my favs

River Ward/Fem (Nomad) V Summary: V’s doing the rounds, saying her goodbyes. Maybe she should’ve skipped this particular one

.

V’s never been the best at goodbyes. They were awkward things, clunky in her mouth like her tongue was working over words of a foreign language. She’s not good at them; so she’s opted to hate them, avoid them where she can.

Even if it meant sitting quiet at Jackie’s ofrenda, pricking at her nails and biting her lip raw.

She’d avoid this one too, if she didn’t feel like she owed River that much. A goodbye, a final apology. And selfish as it is because she’s certain he never wants to see her again, she wants to see his face one last time; commit his handsome features, as pinched in anger as they might be, to memory. Fuel for the cold, lonely nights, or for when her thoughts veer to fanciful things of what could’ve been if she hadn’t fumbled in those final, crucial steps.

They were on time but-

“They’d consider it a miracle if he wakes up.” River’s voice wasn’t a snarl when he spoke, but there was an edge to his words, a sharpness aimed pointedly at her.

She bit her tongue in the face of it, let his anger wash over her and douse the warmth of her own boiling blood. He needed it then, he’s clinging to it now. She gets it; anger’s always easier, cleaner. The sharp pin of blame on someone else helps to take the weight off your own muddling thoughts, and she was, is still, happy to shoulder that weight for him.

‘And you say I have a complex,’ Johnny griped when she finally let herself mope over it, nursing a cheap beer in a bar she can’t remember the name of. He was hardly the best at comfort but he tried that night, and boy she must’ve been in a state if Johnny Silverhand was somehow the rational one between them.

She almost misses him. He’d be making some wise-ass comment now as she drags her feet across the dust of the trailer park, probably lounging on the steps again. It’d be a tossup if he’d be mocking or irritated about her feelings for a damn cop. Hell, maybe he might’ve shown that rare, gentler side he kept buried under the layers of insufferable asshole, and remind her that they’ve faced down Adam fucking Smasher and came out on top.

Right. She can do this.

Her knuckles rap lightly against the door. Each knock like she was pulling the cord of her own tolling bell as dread bubbles in her gut, heavier than it was when she stormed Arasaka alongside Panam and Saul.

God, she’d rather do all of that again.  

The door slides open and what little courage she had built up in her drive over soundly flees the moment she’s looking at him again. He’s broad enough that he takes up most of the doorway, lit by the soft glow of smaller lamps behind him. It suits him, that homely light, painting him warm even at the late hour.

“V.” He greets, that lone syllable pressing heavy on her chest.

V. Not Valerie.

“River,” She manages. “Can we talk?”

“We are.”

“…Right.” It wasn’t unexpected, but still she finds herself taken aback by the coldness, by the feeling that a brick wall would be a more willing participant, keener to listen. She wets her lips, swallows against the dryness of her throat. “Look, I- I’m sorry.” Something crosses his expression too quickly for her to grasp. “I fucked up and it almost cost Randy his life, and I…” She doesn’t know how to apologise either. It wasn’t a skill she honed with the Bakkers, where the only apologies to pass lips were goading mockeries. But dammit she’ll try for him. “I wanted to let you know that, before I left. That I’m not just running away from you, or the blame, or—”

“The responsibility.” She bites her tongue to kill the insult that pricks on it, unable and unwilling to argue against him. Not when she willingly shouldered it in that hunt, made it hers and then almost fucked it up.

So instead she looks him in the eye and offers him a nod as she commits his face to memory; the brown of his eye, the line of his jaw. The plush of his cupid’s bow that she knows is soft from the stolen kisses that he probably looks back on as wastes of time. And she reads his frustration as she does, obvious in the cross of his arms and how he shifts his weight from one foot to another. “Why are you leaving? Thought your whole thing was wanting to make it big in Night City.”

“Nah, that’s what Jackie wanted and I was happy to ride shotgun.” His brow furrows with that, the sound from the back of his throat a thoughtful thing, not harsh or derisive. His eye veers to her neck, to the jammed slot still killing her.

Whatever his response might be is lost as a squeal echoes from inside; Monique’s high-pitched delight drowning out her brother as he calls for River in a drawn-out whine. His expression softens at the sound, the warmth of it brewing an ache in her chest.

“I’ll let you get back to them.” Her slight smile feels heavy. “Goodbye, River.”

In the old movies she and Jackie would watch, this would be the moment of confession or revelation; where he would reach for her hand and pull her against him, whispering her name with a desperate sweetness as he holds her tightly. It’d be raining, usually.

He merely lets her go, nodding a farewell.

“Goodbye, V.”

[tco-old]

A Mario Obsessed Person's Ramblings on the New Mario Movie Trailer

Here's my thoughts/analysis on the trailer! It's kinda long-winded...

Okay so off the bat let’s talk about the parts before the trailer itself.

The put a lot of praise on Anya (and imo it seems warranted); They seem very confident that she’s done super well with playing the character she’s supposed too in the right way (I know they did same some similar things about Chris Pratt but I think she’s definitely doing better.)

Seth’s bit had me rolling a bit because his entire segment is exactly what Chris Pratt wanted his to be; Seth talks about how he’s loved Nintendo for ages, but actually makes more obscure references (+ gets his facts right) and presenting actual evidence in the form of his (very cute) dog Zelda. Plus he doesn’t seem to hesitate nervously.

But, I digress, going into the actual trailer—

I’m loving this interpretation of where the original Donkey Kong games fit into the lore. It manages to harken back to the “stage play” of Mario Bros. 3, and gives a pretty good reason for how it all fits together.

I’m very curious about the larger setting. At first I thought it was Sarasaland (or maybe the temple from Origami King), but evidently it’s the kingdom Donkey Kong comes from (Donkey Kong’s Country?). Which, as far as I know, isn’t really a concept that’s been explored—we only know like, a couple dozen Kongs in total, but this shows a few hundred at least.

Is Cranky Kong the ruler of this kingdom? Or is he just preceding over the matches in the coliseum? I’m not as well versed in the DK side of Mario lore, but he’s usually just the parental figure in most games, right? He’s definitely never been the ruler.

Why are Mario, Peach, and Toad (evidently the three-man band of the movie) here? Is this some kind of negotiation? Mario puts on a show for the citizens and then he’ll provide them with something they’re after?

Pauline is shown in one of the posters, I wonder if she’s somehow still connected to DK in some way?

Moving onto the Next scene—assumably this is inside Bowser’s Moving Castle we are familiar with from the first trailer.

I find it interesting that Koopa’s are the main troop shown—it’s not a weird pick, but I expected more Goombas than the eight (I counted) total shown in this shot. But I do appreciate the diversity of troops shown regardless; Koopas, Red Koopas, Paratroopas, Goombas + a Goomba stack, Buzzy Beetles, Swoops, Spinys, Priahnah Plants, Bob-Ombs, Sledge Bros, and Shy Guys, and even a Snifit! 

Also a big fan of all the personality in this shot—The animation style really works.

I’m not gonna make this about Bowuigi I swear

I’m loving the characterization we’re getting here.

Luigi’s still his generally nervous self, but I appreciate that he seems to be holding it together better than he does in some of the games. He’s going along with listening to Bowser’s monologue and trying to avoid saying anything that would upset him. 

Bowser’s motivations surprise me a bit just because it doesn’t seem to be related to kidnapping Peach at all—and, as we see, she definitely isn’t kidnapped (seems like Luigi is filling the damsel role instead). He just wants to rule the world. Pretty stereotypical for a movie, and not a new thing for Bowser by any means, but still interesting none the less that they didn’t go the classic mario route.

I assume the magic around Luigi is Kamek’s doing—the blue and pink color scheme and the fact that Kamek isone of the only major magic users at Bowser’s disposal (and the only one we know is in the movie thus far).

Bowser seems to think being a human (not a Homo Nintendonius or whatever) is significant enough that it’s part of the reason for why Mario and Luigi should know each other, so wherever this is, it’s likely not somewhere on Earth, or at least our Earth. So what does that mean for Peach? She’s human, right? How’d she get here?

I love every Toad in this shot! Their bowties are so cute. There are Peach’s advisor’s right?

Unsurprisingly, with how inconsistent Mario geography is, this looks like no existing world map from any of the games. Though that doesn’t mean there’s nothing of note!

We’ve got most of what looks like a classic set of world themes here;

Lava/Bowser’s Kingdom at the top. Not much to make out other than the grounded Castle that on the north side.

The Snow Kingdom, where the penguins were. Now taking on more of a Bowser-fitting appearance, only recognizable from the small sliver left open and the shape of the now-burnt castle. Is that actually what that kingdom looks like now? Bowser really left a mark.

The jungle kingdom. It looks like Bowser’s headed that way next. That temple looks very significant—the head looks like it could be a Koopa… or a Yoshi? Maybe that’s the new iteration of Yoshi’s Island? There’s only really on brief shot that shows anything that could be there, and it does only have Yoshis in it, so...

The one to the right of the mushroom Kingdom looks like the athletic/sky themed location. This one does get shown later, I’m pretty sure, in the scene with the Cheep Cheep near the end. Not much else to say.

Lastly, the Mushroom Kingdom. We all know the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach’s castle looks pretty standard, though the huge water feature behind it stands out quite a bit. The Mushroom Kingdom also seems quite sizable compared to the other kingdoms as well.

Notably, there seems to be a lack of space for a “Water Level” themed kingdom, unless the beach on the Jungle kingdom is meant to be that?

Is it a controversial take that I like Peach’s design a lot? It’s obviously re-stylized for the movie, but it still pretty close to looking like her! That’s her jumpsuit from the Kart games, right? Or at least something pretty close to it?

The paintings in the background obviously give 64 vibes, though I doubt they’ll be used in that way… maybe?

All the shots of the interior of Peach’s castle are very pretty, too. Love the color scheme a lot.

Toad’s weapon of choice being a frying pan is very funny. I wonder if they’ll give a reasoning for why this specific toad is relevant/unique.

The toads are wonderfully expressive! I’m falling in love with the animation style very fast. (Also look at the Green one’s face. Look at it.)

This. Is. So. Cool. It such a fun concept.

I wonder if they’ll bother to explain the whole “how does everything float” thing or if that’s just gonna be a part of the world.

This shot is also just really pretty. All of the location design is very faithful to the series, and manages to find a pretty damn good middle ground between all of the games without it seeming disjointed.

The gag in this scene is very Illumination-esque, but I’m not mad about it. At least it’s not toilet humor.

That courtyard is so pretty! It does kinda beg the question how anyone gets up or down from there easily, but that’s probably just a floating platform thing.

Toad Town (or at least, I assume it's Toad Town because it's in front of Peach's Castle) being up the front of the cliff is a very fun design for it too.

I couldn’t get a good shot of it, but the undersides of the mushrooms remind me of Super Show! which is not something I expected to get reminded of in this trailer.

Obsessed with this design. They kept the shape but managed to actually make it look like a flower instead of a plastic toy. Is that a whole field of them in the background? Are they native to a specific place?

That’s her 3D World fire flower design for sure. The transformation using the fire effect is very cool.

“There’s a huge universe out there. With a lot of galaxy. They’re all counting on us.” There’s no way this isn’t a reference to Galaxy. Is Bowser’s plan large-scale? The flying castle kinda fits with that, but Bowser’s castle being able to float isn’t exactly exclusive to that series.

It’s the bois!!!! Look at them!!!

Where is this?!?!?! It doesn’t really look like anything I’ve ever seen in a Mario title, except maybe Bowser’s Kingdom in Odyssey, but that’s clearly not what it is.

The ‘tubes’ look very similar to Kamek’s magic from earlier…

The fact that this is shown during the “Whole Universe” quote does feel like it’s significant too.

DK joins them at some point. Was that why they were competing in the first scene?

As far as I can tell with all the Kart-focused shots, all the other riders are also Kongs. I was hoping I’d be able to spot some other cameos, but unfortunately not.

Final Thoughts

First, I’ve gotta quickly address Mario’s voice, and… I honestly hate it less than I did in the first trailer? I think? Maybe I’m just getting used to it. It kinda doesn’t even sound like Chris Pratt in some of the scenes, plus we do get some more classic Mario lines (“Wahoo!” and “Let’s’a Go!”). He’s far more expressive than he was in the first trailer.

Obviously, it’s still not quite Mario, but in the context of the other voices, it honestly kinda fits. (I’d still rather it not be Chris Pratt at all, of course, but I’m starting to think the clips they gave of his lines in the first trailer we’re just unfortunate choices.)

Past that, I honestly think this looks super good. The small references, all the details, it all gives me faith that Shigeru managed to shake something good out of Illumination. It really does seem like they’ve put a whole lot of care into making the story interesting without it just being the Standard Mario Package™, especially with the bits and pieces from various games (Classic Donkey Kong’s level design, Karts from Mario Kart, etc… there’s even a shot with the turn-blocks that replace bricks in Super Mario World!). The animation, the voice acting, it all seems amazing.

April 7th can’t come soon enough.

[edsmcnson]

  When’s the last time anyone heard anything about EDDIE MUNSON? Old friends remember them as WITTY & ENGAGING  but also OVERLY EMOTIVE & EASILY AGITATED, no wonder they’re still known as THE FREAK around town. Today, in 2006, they are 38 and some people say they remind them of the smell of cheap weed and even cheaper cologne; downsizing your passions to fit into an adapted version of your dreams; bite marks on pencils and an abundance of notebooks filled with lyrics that you didn’t have it within yourself to finish; a hopeless inability to adapt.  

THE ROAD TILL NOW.

tw: death mention / injuries / hospital

I: GROUND ZERO / THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH.

Spring break 1986 concluded with a bang. quite literally. Or at least, to Eddie Munson personally, something akin to, well, the biggest bang ever imaginable. A cataclysmic event - his own death. How he had managed to narrowly avoid that fate, Eddie still doesn’t know. What he does know is that somehow, by the grace of whatever gods might loom and linger out there, he’d been granted another shot at breathing.

As fun as breathing and not-being-dead was, it quickly turned out that Hawkins, Indiana wasn’t the best place for the recently traumatized to recover. Someone - Steve, he suspected - must’ve dragged him out of the literal hell beneath Hawkins, because when he came to he’d found himself blinded by fluorescent overhead lighting, hooked up to all sorts of machines and, not to forget, chained to the fucking hospital bed.

Despite the less than ideal circumstances of his recovery, Eddie found some solace in the fact that Hopper, although trying to manage and cope with his own losses, did his best to shield him from the press. The reporters outside the hospital were eventually persuaded to leave, thanks to Hopper’s efforts (well-timed threats). Some shady government officials also paid a visit, and after the public’s demand for answers had dwindled, they’d released a statement, clearing Eddie’s name. Apparently, they’d felt guilty enough to throw in a new trailer for him and Wayne, too, so they could have at least some sort of safe haven to retreat to.

Still weak, but with sufficiently healed wounds, Eddie Munson was discharged and suddenly a free man. But make no mistake - free on paper only. Because when he left the hospital, he was suddenly brutally confronted with the fact that, to the average Hawkins resident, he was still 1) the local drug dealing town freak, 2) the leader of a satan worshipping cult and 3) a fucking murderer. In that order. And so the dirty looks continued to burn into his back, the muttered insults followed him in passing, and nothing, I repeat, nothing had changed. Maybe it was all the pent up rage, maybe something just .. .snapped but either way, Eddie powered through and managed to finally graduate on his third try of senior year. He did as promised: walked the stage, flipped off principal Higgins. Only the running like hell part, that would have to wait until everything had properly healed.

The months went by in a blur. When El and Will’s double funeral rolled around, when his gaze followed as the caskets were lowered to the ground, it was .. for lack of better words a pivotal moment . There was nothing left for him here, was there? His uncle would manage fine on his own, especially since he’d been going on regular coffee dates with that sweet librarian. Eddie was more of a nuisance to him, he was sure. And whatever that weird tension between him and Steve had been, left unresolved post-Vecna and awkwardly fizzling out ever since, it’s just … not enough to keep him in Hawkins. So it’s really an easy decision. A week later Eddie’s van, packed with all the Corroded Coffin equipment, leaves Hawkins, without leaving a note, without saying goodbye, and takes the highway to Chicago.

II: CHICAGO, ROBIN AND THE STONY ROAD TO STARDOM.

Eddie Munson was fully aware that he wasn’t going to become a success story overnight, but he was determined to make it happen. Still haunted by his past traumas, he channeled his energy into his writing, playing guitar, and even experimenting with singing. Taking up odd jobs here and there, dabbling in some dealing if need be, to pay rent and put food on the table. The paying rent part got much easer, however, when a familiar face joined him in Chicago: One Robin Buckley.

Robin brought a sort of light and warmth, a breezy carelessnes, a lust for life previously unimaginable, back into his life. His twenties with Robin in Chicago were the best, it seemed the early nineties were made for them. Going out to bars and clubs where Eddie didn’t need to put a bandana in his back pocket for people to know he was interested in men, playing the odd gig here and there, with moderate success in the local scene. Countless hours spent listening to music as they smoked and chatted away into the night. Life was fucking good, man!

Until, for whatever reason, one foggy morning, reality harshly set in. Maybe his frontal lobe had finally finished developing, but Eddie had untangled himself from the arms of last night’s conquest to get up and reevaluate every choice he’d made in his life so far. How he was working two jobs, as a mechanic and at some gay club’s coatcheck, while claiming he was doing music ‘full time’ and that ‘they were gonna make it big, the world just needed to be ready for them!’ The year was 1996. Eddie was pushing thirty. Corroded Coffin was still playing venues akin to the Hideout. If anything, the world had been ready for metal, like, eight years ago. If anything, the world was getting tired of their sound, and everything was moving into the direction of grunge-y tones. And, if anything, Eddie Munson was getting fucking tired of getting his hard work discarded because ’metal’s just not the vibe anymore, man’. Eddie had promised himself to stay true to his dreams, his passions, the plans he’d made for himself. But so many promises made to him had been carelessly broken. It seemed only fitting that he would break his own, too. So, Eddie got up and proposed a new sound. Most of Corroded Coffin dipped immediately, as to be expected, and so he got to work finding a new band. With him as lead guitar and, for the first time, supporting vocals, he joined a newly formed grunge/alternative rock band called ’Bleach & Burn’, performing music inspired by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Type O Negative and the like. Not his usual scene, but he could get down to their harder sounds.

Bleach &  Burn, to his surprise, generated moderate success and a cult-like following. Suddenly, Eddie found he was able to quit his coatcheck job, able to support himself with just the mechanics and his music. But it was only a matter of time before the world would evolve, move on, repeat the trend cycle and suddenly, just as they were about to sign their first recording contract, the label pulled out last minute with a word of advice: “People are sick of hard rock. Do something a little more … for the everyday crowd. Something for the radio. Trust me, people are gonna go wild if you go a little more tame.”

This marked a turning point, the make or break - Eddie Munson was a lot of things but he’d been determined not to be a sell-out, not to sacrifice his integrity for feeble attempts at fame and success. But now? Seeing his dream slip by his grasp, when he’d been so close? What the fuck was he supposed to do? And so, after much tossing and turning, Eddie Munson, lead guitarist and supporting vocalist of Bleach & Burn, became lead guitarist and lead vocalist of Cornerstone. And so, in the year 2000, at the ripe age of 32, Eddie Munson became Chicago’s biggest sell-out. But, fucking hell, did it pay off!

III. EDDIE MUNSON’s CLAIM TO FAME.

Who knew sacrificing your sound and your dreams could be so lucrative! Their debut album, after reworking their harder sound into a more radio appropriate, alt-indie-rock beat and getting a second lead-vocalist in the talented Alice Phair, hit the shelves not four months after, somehow becoming an instant success. Chicago’s previously best kept secret spread through the nation like wildfire. Cornerstone played their first national tour in 2001, cruising through the country for a solid five months. And suddenly, Eddie was on stage every night in tight jeans and leather jackets while people screamed his lyrics back at him, feeling like a fucking rockstar. Scratch that, feeling a like a fucking god.

Suddenly, he had everything he thought he’d ever wanted and craved. The recognition he’d been waiting his entire life for. Life felt good, once again. - Or was it, really? He’d never aspired for international success, even surprised when his label had told him some little independent radio station in Finland had played their most recent single. But people, no matter how few, were hearing their music, all over the world. People, no matter how few, all over the world were listening to and enjoying the sound of Eddie’s sacrificed musical integrity.

Again, suddenly, a flip seemed to switch, and Eddie pushed two sleeping groupies off him as he waddled to the front of the tour bus to watch the sunrise. He was living his fucking dream. People adored him. Eddie ’the freak’ Munson had turned into Eddie ’can you sign my tits?’ Munson, posters of his face adorning the walls of America’s alternative youth. But if he had everything he’d ever wanted then why was he so fucking miserable? Why did he cringe whenever he heard a song of theirs on the radio, even going as far as skipping the channel, unable to stand hearing it? He loved, lived and breathed music, but whatever sound they had taken on, he hated it. Hated having to pretend something he was not - he did that oftentimes enough when he’d pose with Alice for a staged PDA picture that could be printed in the tabloids. It wasn’t like he was hiding his sexuality by any means - his label had simply … ’kindly advised’ him to maintain an air of mystery around that subject of his personal life.

Truth was, Eddie yearned to go back to his roots, that early 80s melodic metal sound, that had made him happier than every song on his last, what, three albums? He’d even gone to work writing some songs that fit that genre - but they’d never see the light of day. Only posthumously, if anything. Because he knew the second he’d pitch that idea to his bandmates, or god forbid the label, Cornerstone was good as done. How were they ever going to play another authentic show with the knowledge that their band’s lead fucking hated every minute of it? It was ridiculous. And anyway, Eddie shouldn’t complain about what had been handed to him. He’d never even thought he’d make it this far. So really, he was in no place to complain. He should be fucking grateful.

He tries his best to be. Grateful. Goes on tour after tour, even if he’d rather stay home and never leave his room again, even if he’s fucking exhausted. Dutifully just nods and smiles whenever the label suggests another single, another show, another interview - it’s not even like they’re properly ‘famous’ Eddie thinks, but he doesn’t say anything, never does. Even when some so called ‘music journalist’ has recently in a review called them ‘a delightful mix of Nirvana, The Fratellis, Franz Ferdinand and recently emerged newcomers The Arcitc Monkeys’. He’s been told that it’s a smashing review. Eddie feels a lot like smashing that journalist’s face in.

Eddie’s just finished up a tour, and the past few months have catapulted him to the very brink of .. .something. A cord, maybe, that’s coiled all the way up, ready to snap at the next minor inconvenience. The idea of leaving the band is ever present at the back of his head. Leave Cornerstone to Alice, knowing she’d do an amazing job. Better than him, even, he’s sure. They’re not schedulded to play another show for a couple months, and so when Robin stumbles into his arms, showing him the envelope, it’s really a no-brainer. They’re going. Back to Hawkins.

Eddie hasn’t been back since ‘86. Wayne had always insisted to come to Chicago or visit him in Indianapolis whenever he’d play a show there. Eddie hasn’t been back since ‘86 and he hasn’t seen anyone from … back then since ‘86. Hasn’t been keeping in contact much, either. Still, Joyce Byers had been one of the sweetest souls to ever walk this earth, had shown him nothing but kindness the brief times he’d run into her. And some time in Hawkins, away from the bustling city life, away from the music and the shows and the whole fucking business - who knew, maybe a change of scenery would do him good. Eddie’s willing to try about anything to get a brief respite from the life he’s built for himself.

EDDIE’S PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/edsmunson/eddie-munson-2electric-boogaloo

[vecnasrevengerp]

welcome home EDDIE MUNSON (sam claflin fc)

hope you brought your tissues with you! be sure to check in at home or to your hotel and don’t forget to always look over your shoulder. this is hawkins, after all.

BASICS

[SAM CLAFLIN, CISMALE, HE/HIM] When’s the last time anyone heard anything about [EDDIE MUNSON]? Old friends remember them as [WITTY & ENGAGING ] but also [OVERLY EMOTIVE & EASILY AGITATED], no wonder they’re still known as [THE FREAK] around town. Today, in 2006, they are [38] and some people say they remind them of [ the smell of cheap weed and even cheaper cologne; downsizing your passions to fit into an adapted version of your dreams; bite marks on pencils and an abundance of notebooks filled with lyrics that you didn’t have it within yourself to finish; a hopeless inability to adapt. ]   [soph, 21, she/her, cet].    

BIOGRAPHY

tw: death metnion / injuries

Spring break 1986 concluded with a bang. quite literally. Or at least, to Eddie Munson personally, something aking to, well, the biggest bang ever imaginable. A cataclysmic event - his own death. How he had managed to narrowly avoid that fate, Eddie still doesn’t know. what he does know is that somehow, by the grace of whatever gods might loom and linger out there, he’d been granted another shot at breathing.

As fun as breathing and not-being-dead was, it quickly turned out that Hawkins, Indiana wasn’t the best place for the recently traumatized to recover. Someone - Steve, he suspected - must’ve dragged him out of the literal hell beneath Hawkins, because when he came to he’d found himself blinded by fluorescent overhead lighting, hooked up to all sorts of machines and, not to forget, chained to the fucking hospital bed.

Despite the less than ideal circumstances of his recovery, Eddie found some solace in the fact that Hopper, although trying to manage and cope with his own losses, did his best to shield him from the press. The reporters outside the hospital were eventually persuaded to leave, thanks to Hopper’s efforts (well-timed threats). Some shady government officials also paid a visit, and after the public’s demand for answers had dwindled, they’d released a statement, clearing Eddie’s name. Apparently, they’d felt guilty enough to throw in a new trailer for him and Wayne, too, so they could have at least some sort of safe haven to retreat to.

Still weak, but with sufficiently healed wounds, Eddie Munson was discharged and suddenly a free man. But make no mistake - free on paper only. Because when he left the hospital, he was suddenly brutally confronted with the fact that, to the average Hawkins resident, he was stil 1) the local drug dealing town freak, 2) the leader of a satan worshipping cult and 3) a fucking murderer. In that order. And so the dirty looks continued to burn into his back, the muttered insults followed him in passing, and nothing, I repeat, nothing had changed. Maybe it was the all the pent up rage, maybe something just .. .snapped but either way, Eddie powered through and managed to finally graduate on his third try of senior year. He did as promised: walked the stage, flipped off the principal. Only the running like hell part, that would have to wait until everything had properly healed.

The months went by in a blur. When El and Will’s double funeral rolled around, when his gaze followed as the caskets were lowered to the ground, it was .. for lack of better words a pivotal moment for him. There was nothing left for him here, was there? His uncle would manage fine on his own, especially since he’d been going on regular coffee dates with that sweet librarian. Eddie was more of a nuisance to him, he was sure. And whatever that weird tension between him and Steve had been, left unresolved post-Vecna and awkwardly fizzling out ever since, it’s just … not enough to keep him in Hawkins. So it’s really an easy decision. A week later Eddie’s van, packed with all the Corroded Coffin equipment, leaves Hawkins, without leaving a note, without saying goodbye, and takes the highway to Chicago.

Eddie Munson was fully aware that he wasn’t going to become a success story overnight, but he was determined to make it happen. Still haunted by his past traumas, he channeled his energy into his writing, playing guitar, and even experimenting with singing. Taking up odd jobs here and there, dabbling in some dealing if need be, to pay rent and put food on the table. The paying rent part got much easer, however, when a familiar face joined him in Chicago: One Robin Buckley.

Robin brought a sort of light and warmth, a breezy carelessnes, a lust for life previously unimaginable, back into his life. His twenties with Robin in Chicago were the best, it seemed the early nineties were made for them. Going out to bars and clubs where Eddie didn’t need to but a bandana in his back pocket for people to know he was interested in men, playing the odd gig here and there, with moderate success in the local scene. Countless hours spent listening to music as they smoked and chatted away into the night. Life was fucking good, man!

Until, for whatever reason, one foggy morning, reality harshly set in. Maybe his frontal lobe had finally finished developing, but Eddie had untangled himself from the arms of last night’s conquest to get up and reevaluate every choice he’d made in his life. How he was working two jobs, as a mechanic and at some gay club’s coatcheck, while claiming he was doing music ‘full time’ and that 'they were gonna make it big, the world just needed to be ready for them!’ The year was 1996. Eddie was pushing thirty. Corroded Coffin was still playing venues akin to the Hideout. If anything, the world had been ready for metal, like, eight years ago. If anything, the world was getting tired of their sound, and everything was moving into the direction of grunge-y tones. And, if anything, Eddie Munson was getting fucking tired of getting his hard work discarded because ’metal’s just not the vibe anymore, man’. Eddie had promised himself to stay true to his dreams, his passions, the plans he’d made for himself. But so many promises made to him had been carelessly broken. It seemed only fitting that he would break his own, too. So, Eddie got up and proposed a new sound. Most of Corroded Coffin dipped immediately, as to be expected, and so he got to work finding a new band. With him as lead guitar and, for the first time, supporting vocals, he joined a newly formed grunge/alternative rock band called ’Bleach & Burn’, performing music inspired by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Type O Negative and the like. Not his usual scene, but he could get down to the more harder rock sounds.

Bleach &  Burn, to his surprise, generated moderate success and a cult-like following. Suddenly, Eddie found he was able to quit his coatcheck job, able to support himself with just the mechanics and his music. But it was only a matter of time before the world would evolve, move on, repeat the trend cycle and suddenly, just as they were about to sign their first recording contract, the label pulled out last minute with a word of advice: “People are sick of hard rock. Do something a little more … for the everyday crowd. Something for the radio. Trust me, people are gonna go wild if you go a little more tame.”

This marked a turning point, the make or break - Eddie Munson was a lot of things but he’d been determined not to be a sell-out, not to sacrifice his integrity for feeble attempts at fame and success. But now? Seeing his dream slip by his grasp, when he’d been so close? What the fuck was he supposed to do? And so, after much tossing and turning, Eddie Munson, lead guitarist and supporting vocalist of Blech & Burn, became lead guitarist and lead vocalist of Cornerstone. And so, in the year 2000, at the ripe age of 32, Eddie Munson became Chicago’s biggest sell-out. But, fucking hell, did it pay off!

Who knew sacrificing your sound and your dreams could be so lucrative! Their debut album, after reworking their harder sound into a more radio appropriate, alt-indie-rock beat and getting a second lead-vocalist in the talented Alice Phair, hit the shelves not four months after, somehow becoming an instant success. Chicago’s previously best kept secret spread through the nation like wildfire. Cornerstone played their first national tour in 2001, cruising through the country for a solid five months. And suddenly, Eddie was on stage every night in tight jeans and leather jackets while people screamed his lyrics back at him, feeling like a fucking rockstar. Scratch that, feeling a like a fucking rock god.

Suddenly, he had everything he thought he’d ever wanted and craved. The recognition he’d been waiting his entire life for. Life was fucking good, once again. - Or was it, really? He’d never aspired for international success, even surprised when his label had told him some little independent radio station in Finland had played their most recent single. But people, no matter how few, were hearing their music, all over the world. Again, suddenly, a flip seemed to switch, and Eddie pushed two sleeping groupies off him as he waddled to the front of the tour bus to watch the sunrise. He was living his fucking dream. People adored him. Eddie ’the freak’ Munson had turned into Eddie ’can you sign my tits?’ Munson, posters of his face adorning the walls of America’s alternative youth. But if he had everything he’d ever wanted then why was he so fucking miserable? Why did he cringe whenever he heard a song of theirs on the radio, even going as far as skipping the channel, unable to stand hearing it? He loved, lived and breathed music, but whatever sound they had taken on, he hated it. Hated having to pretend something he was not - he did that oftentimes enough when he’d pose with Alice for a staged PDA picture that could be printed in the tabloids. It wasn’t like he was hiding his sexuality by any means - his label had simply … ’kindly advised’ him to maintain an air of mystery around that subject of his personal life.

Truth was, Eddieyearned to go back to his roots, that early 80s metal sound, that had made him happier than every song on his last, what, three albums? He’d even gone to work writing some songs that fit that genre - but they’d never see the light of day. Only posthumously, if anything. Because he knew the second he’d pitch that idea to his bandmates, or god forbid the label, Cornerstone was good as done. How were they ever going to play another authentic show with the knowledge that their band’s lead fucking hated every minute of it? It was fucking ridiculous. And anyway, Eddie shouldn’t complain about what had been handed to him. He’d never even thought he’d make it this far. So really, he was in no place to complain. He should be fucking grateful.

He tries his best to be. Grateful. Goes on tour after tour, even if he’d rather stay home and never leave his room again, even if he’s fucking exhausted. Dutifully just nods and smiles whenever the label suggests another single, another show, another interview - it’s not even like they’re properly ‘famous’ Eddie thinks, but he doesn’t say anything, never does. Even when some so called ‘music journalist’ has recently in a review called them ‘a delightful mix of Nirvana, The Fratellis, Franz Ferdinand and recently emerged newcomers The Arcitc Monkeys’. He’s been told that it’s a smashing review. Eddie feels a lot like smashing that journalist’s face in.

Eddie’s just finished up a tour, and the past few months have catapulte him to the very brink of .. .something. A cord, maybe, that’s coiled all the way up, ready to snap at the next minor inconvenience. The idea of leaving the band is ever present at the back of his head. Leave Cornerstone to Alice, knowing she’d do an amazing job. Better than him, even, he’s sure. They’re not schedulded to play another show for a couple months, and so when Robin stumbles into his arms, showing him the envelope, it’s really a no-brainer. They’re going. Back to Hawkins.

Eddie hasn’t been back since ‘86. Wayne had always insisted to come to Chicago or visit him in Indianapolis whenever he’d play a show there. Eddie hasn’t been back since ‘86 and he hasn’t seen anyone from … back then since ‘86. Hasn’t been keeping in contact much, either. Still, Joyce Byers had been one of the sweetest souls to ever walk this earth, had shown him nothing but kindness the brief times he’d run into her. And some time in Hawkins, away from the bustling city life, away from the music and the shows and the whole fucking business - who knew, maybe a change of scenery would do him good. Eddie’s willing to try about anything to get a brief respite from the life he’s built for himself.

What Eddie left in the Time-Capsule:

1. His yearbook picture, complete with devil horns and mustache drawn on, like the jocks would always do. On the back it reads: FUCK. ALL. OF. YOU. !!!

2. A Hellfire shirt, complete with a set of DnD dice.

3. A perfectly rolled joint.

STATS

   Athletics 1Burglary 2Contacts  3Crafts . 1Deceive 3Drive 2Empathy 3Fight 1Investigate 0Lore 2Medicine 2Navigation .1Notice 1Provoke 3Rapport 3Resourcefulness 2Stealth -1Will 1

EXTRAS

   pinterest :  https://pin.it/3mYihEW   eddie’s mixtape : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7khzeAQVKhDiY9yuVDY7tU?si=bd309d1ac35f4561&pt=ccdedcdba1f0897e8bc33578f357a74c   cornerstone’s setlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Lvqa6xD18CRlXDZRLQaBK?si=58f3ebca04d34886&pt=5a40126eb06de4e859b5e133f20ba4a4

[eddiemunsonswhxre]

cold nights / eddie munson

one shot

cw: uh i don’t think anything it’s tame and cute

oh look, your idiot neighbor locked himself outside of his house during a thunderstorm.

—

you’d lived next door to eddie munson for a couple years now. you didn’t interact much with him since you preferred keeping to yourself as much as possible. high school was brutal, so you felt as though acting as if you were invisible would make it more tolerable.

not many people paid attention to you, but you paid attention to everyone. you’d like to say you only focused on eddie because he was a familiar face who just so happened to be ridiculously outgoing. however, that wasn’t the case. you paid attention to eddie munson because you found him attractive and through your limited interactions you’ve developed quite the crush on him.

it was early november when it happened. there was a raging storm going on outside. ice cold rain was whipped into your windows by the wind and the cracks of thunder were enough to shake your trailer. you were home alone at the time, tucked in your bed reading a book while waiting for it to pass. it was pretty late on that saturday night, but the headlights that shown through your window didn’t surprise you.

eddie got home late a lot, his headlights sometimes waking you up at two in the morning on a school night. that was probably a contribution to him missing so much school. you couldn’t help yourself from getting up to see him. was it slightly creepy that you could see into his living room from your window? yes, definitely. but somehow it comforted you knowing he got home safely.

you watched as he ran from his van, trying to get inside quickly to avoid the rain. the way his hair flew back made you laugh lightly to yourself. but instead of making it inside, he stood messing with the handle and trying to shoulder the door open. it wasn’t working. he was most definitely screaming a string of profanities right now, and you felt kind of bad. when he finally gave up on the door, he started trying the window, but that was no help either. he stomped down the stairs to his trailer, kicking over his empty trash can before going back to his van.

but tragically, he’d managed to lock himself out of that too. you watched as he kicked his tire before resting his head on his van in annoyance. you felt bad, it was freezing outside and he obviously didn’t have shelter and who knew when his uncle would make it back. you pushed yourself up from your window and quickly ran out your room and into your kitchen, grabbing your front door and throwing it open.

you were right, it was freezing outside and the rain felt painful as drops hit you. eddie was still leaning against his van, head in his hands. a huge crack of thunder happened, almost deafening you before lightning lit up the sky. the rain was so loud, but eddie wasn’t too far from your house. “munson!” you yelled out your door as loud as you could. eddie’s head picked up, looking around for where the voice had come from. another strike of lightning light up the sky just as his eyes found you.

a flash of light illuminating his guardian angel in her smurf pajama pants. he watched as you waved to him, motioning for him to come in your house. he debated it a moment, but the slight shiver that ran through him told him he needed to take your offer.

he jogged the few yards to your trailer and up your stairs, entering your trailer as you stepped aside for him. you close the door behind him, flipping on the light. the sight in front of you is one you’ll never forget. eddie is looking at you, with widened eyes and reddened cheeks. his hair was plastered to his face and all of his clothes were dripping. “hey y/n,” he said shyly.

you purse your lips before grabbing his arm and pulling him with you. he follows you, too confused to even ask. you push open the door for the bathroom and gesture for him to go in. “i’m gonna go find you some dry clothes, there’s towels under the sink,” you say and watch him reluctantly step into your bathroom. you disappear and eddie takes a moment to process.

he was standing, soaking wet, in his crushes bathroom right now. oh god he was soaked, he was probably making such a mess everywhere. he began taking off his vest and jacket, hanging it over your shower before peeling his shirt off his chest. “gross,” he mumbles to himself, ringing it out over your bathtub.

“hey, i found you some… woah,” you say, trailing off as you see the broad expanse of his back, tattoos littering the muscular canvas. you never expected eddie munson to be toned. he turned to you, your eyes focused on his pale torso that glistened with the rain water. you scanned up his chest, eyes lingering on his tattoos until they found his face, a small smirk on his lips. you shook your head, blinking hard and taking a step towards him. why didn’t he just close the door before starting to change? “these were my dad’s, i think they might be a bit big but, at least they’re dry,” you say, refusing to meet his eyes again as you hold out the clothes to him.

“thanks,” he starts, taking them from you. “and should i hang my clothes in here or?” he asks, turning to look at what he’d already put up.

you nod, looking at his haphazard way of hanging them up. “yeah, that’s fine, when you’re done come find me in the kitchen,” you say, wanting to not look back in his eyes. you see him nod out of your peripheral, so you back up, shutting the door once you’re out.

“oh my god,” you whisper to yourself in disbelief, holding your hands to your temples as you walk to the kitchen. “pull yourself together, y/n,” you huff under your breath before turning on your stove to make hot chocolate.

eddie eventually gets all his clothes off and dries himself off with one of your towels as he tries to process the situation. what the hell was happening right now? he grabbed the plaid pajama pants you’d brought for him, the cold making him start to shiver, and pulled them up before using the drawstring to tie them to where they wouldn’t fall off. he then grabbed the green long sleeve and pulled it over his still wet hair and down his body. it was probably a size too big on him and wasn’t exactly the warmest thing but it would do. after finally pulling on the socks you’d given him, he slowly opened the door.

he stepped out, looking around to take a moment and absorb your trailer. it was 100x cleaner than his, and honestly seemed quite homey. the only lights on in the house were the bathroom one, which he switched off, the one you had turned on in the kitchen and a small lamp in your bedroom. eddie slowly walked towards the kitchen, peaking around the corner to see you pouring hot chocolate mix into a mug as a kettle sat on the stove in front of you.

you looked up at him as he stepped into view and gave him a small smile. he swears, despite his skin feeling like ice, that his heart fluttered with warmth when he saw your face. “i'm making you some hot chocolate, you still really cold?” you ask, your motherly instinct kicking in.

“i- uh, yeah kind of,” he says, crossing his arms. you take a step over, leaning across the counter to feel his forehead with the back of your hand. you frown when he’s ice cold to the touch, moving your hand to his cheeks as well. his face flushes, but thankfully it was already red from the cold so you couldn’t tell.

you walk over to your living room quickly, grabbing a blanket from off the couch and back over to him. “here,” you mumble, standing on your tiptoes to drape it over his shoulders. eddie takes it, pulling it tightly around himself and watching you with awe as the kettle goes off. “you can sit,” you say softly, grabbing the kettle and pouring the hot water into the mug.

eddie obliges, taking a seat at your dining room table. he studied you closely as you bring the mug to him and sit across from him. “thank you, for letting me in,” he says quietly, wrapping his hands around the warm mug.

you wave your hand in dismissal. “i wasn’t just going to let you freeze out there,” you say softly, crossing your leg under you. eddie takes a small, careful sip of the hot chocolate and lets out a sigh of content as the warmth spreads down his throat. “so… you locked yourself out?” you ask, tapping your fingers on the top of your table.

eddie nods, taking another drink. “it always seems to happen at the worst times,” he says. you nod, not knowing what to respond with. eddie bites his lip, wanting to get rid of this blanket of awkwardness that was beginning to settle over you two. “i never saw you as a night owl type of person,” he says.

you shrug, looking at your fingernails to avoid looking at him. “i was reading,” you mumble.

“oh? what book?” he asks, his interest piqued. he didn’t know you liked to read. well… as he thought about it he realized he didn’t know anything you liked to do.

you flashed your gaze up to him before looking back down. “the house of spirits,” you respond lowly.

“huh, i don’t think i’ve read that. is it good?” he pushes, not wanting this conversation to die.

you raise your eyebrow slightly at him. “you read?” you question.

eddie gasps, grabbing at his heart in mock offense. “do i read? i’m almost offended at that sweetheart, i play d&d you know? i love me some good fantasy,” he says, causing you to giggle. a smile spreads across his face at the sound, his heart skips a beat.

“guess i never thought to put those together,” you say shyly, your eyes cast down as you replay him calling you sweetheart over and over in your mind.

eddie takes another sip of his hot chocolate before continuing. “no? just assumed i was some freak who hated everything academic?” he quizzed.

“no, i just don’t think i can picture you sitting down and reading a book,” you defend yourself.

eddie smirks. “so what do you picture me doing then, if i’m not a reader?” he asks.

“uh,” you start, biting on your lower lip. you’ve pictured eddie doing a lot of things, but you didn’t necessarily want to tell him you’ve imagined how his hugs feel. “honestly? just playing d&d and smoking…” you say.

eddie shrugs, “i mean yes, i do that too.”

“what do you think i do?” you ask, your gaze lingering on his fingers.

eddie looks you up and down a moment, taking in your relaxed state. “to be completely honest, i don’t know. you’re a very mysterious girl, y/n,” he says truthfully.

“good,” you laugh lightly, propping your head up with your arm as you finally gather the courage to look at his face. shit, he was attractive.

eddie smirked at you before taking a bigger drink of his hot chocolate. “i’ve learned a few things though in these last few minutes, wanna know them?” he asked. you hummed in agreement, slightly nodding your head. “i learned that,” he started, setting down his mug and removing his hands from it. “you’re very sweet, and very very cute,” he said, reaching up to bop you in the nose.

you look down as heat rushes up your neck and face, a smile stretching across your face. “thanks,” you mumble, refusing to look back up.

“see? so cute, i could just eat you up,” eddie teases causing you to laugh quietly. “what? you’re not gonna say it back? damn, y/n,” he jokes, shaking his head side to side.

“no! you’re cute, so cute,” you say with a giggle, watching the way his face lights up.

“thank you, sweetheart, but i don’t know if i believe you,” he says, continuing to tease you.

you shake your head with a smile. “i’m being honest!” you say happily.

“mhm, that’s what all the pretty girls say,” he says with raised eyebrows before grabbing his mug to take another drink.

just then, a particularly bright flash of lightning hits and your power flickers before going out. “shit,” you say, wrapping your arms around yourself. your attitude drops, and eddie picks up on it.

“you okay?” he asks, squinting to see you in the dark.

you nod, “not a big fan of the dark.” eddie smiles at your confession.

“that’s adorable,” he says without thinking.

with a roll of your eyes a small smile comes back to your lips. “shut up,” you say quietly, dragging it out. it’s quiet for a moment before eddie pushes his seat back, standing up. “what’re you doing?” you question.

eddie shuffles towards the side of the table you’re on and stops. “stand up,” he says, and of course you do just that. he opens his arms that still had the blanket in his hands and takes a step towards you. he closes his arms, wrapping the both of you in the blanket and bringing you to his chest. “there, now you don’t have to be scared of the dark, and you can help warm me up,” he says quietly, his nerves kicking in slightly.

you know your face is on fire, so you thank whatever is up there that he can’t see that. but, despite your nervousness you relax into his touch, wrapping your arms around him as well and tucking your face into his chest. the both of you stand there for longer than you’d thought you would, stupid smiles on your faces as you shared your first moment together.

even though you didn’t know it, there would be many more to come.

[delusionalwritingsofagay]

BAE CAN I GET A FTM READER WITH EDDIE MUNSON AND THE READER IS JUST LIKE SO IN LOVE WITH HIM AND HES ALL "I llohe you" WHEN HES DRUNK OR SMTH PLS ☹️☹️

Universe it's Eddie Munson calling

Pairing : Eddie Munson x Ftm Reader Tags : drunk Love confessions, Fluff. Word count :1101 Edited - 20/06/2024

Eddie Munson had gotten himself into many strange and confusing situations before he thrived on weird shit welcomed it even but this situation was the strangest. He had finally graduated high school and had invited his best friend to his trailer to celebrate but what he had forgotten was that a Drunk Y/n was a very Clingy and emotional Y/n who he may or may not have feelings for.

Y/n was cuddled into his side on the tiny ass sofa His head on eddies lap watching him with such a soft smile enjoying his buzz whilst eddie was internally suffering  All those people who had told him he would one day be punished for his sins were right because this was a punishment and horrible and twisted punishment.

“I like your Stupid Face” Y/n said, slurring his words slightly as he looked up at Eddie's face with a soft grin on his lips “it's so stupid and pretty. I like it ".

Eddie was going to die, he was sure of it. He looked down at the boy resting against his thigh and gave him a lazy grin “ Well Aren’t you a charmer” he said teasingly.

Y/n giggled as he reached up and twirled a strand of Eddie’s hair around his finger clumsily narrowly avoiding hitting Eddie in the face “ Your hair is so pretty and soft” he said smiling softly watching the curly strand with wonder. Eddie was stuck between celebrating and wanting to die. It only got worse as Y/n clumsily poked his cheek “ and your smile is so cute”.

“ you my Friend” He said playfully leaning down and taking the bottle  from Y/n hand and placing it on the coffee table dislodging Y/n from his lap “ are officially cut off, time for bed” He said standing up ignoring Y/n whines at being moved he grabbed both of his  hands and pulled him up from the sofa with ease. The metal head wrapped his arm around his waist to steady him.

Y/n Rested his forehead against Eddie’s collar bone “ i think i’m going to puke” he said slurring gagging slightly . Eddie's eyes widened as he quickly began leading him down the narrow hall to the bathroom.   

Y/n made a beeline for the toilet bowl when they got close enough staggering to kneel beside the bowl gagging. Eddie shook his head and began rubbing his back in a soothing motion.“Let it out man, let it out”  

y/n gagged again but nothing would come up thankfully he rested his forehead against his arm “I Llohe you” 

Eddie huffed a sound between a sigh and a Chuckle as he kept rubbing Y/n back gently “ i know man, love you too”.

 Truly  Eddie was in hell.

Y/n lifted his head unsteadily swaying back and forth a little he tried to grasp Eddie's arm but failed “No, no you don’t get it, I love you”.

Eddie froze, As much as he wanted to freak out because apparently the guy he loved returned the feelings he couldn't he had to take care of him first. He sighed "I would love to hear those words in any other place than this bathroom, making sure you don’t choke” He said as he leaned down to help Y/n up off the bathroom floor with a grunt.

They stumbled to Eddie's bedroom where Eddie helped him sit down on the edge of the bed before he went to look for something for Y/n to wear coming back with an old band t-shirt and a pair of his shorts he placed them next to Y/n who was swaying a little, He turned around to give him some privacy to change.Y/n struggled a little but somehow managed to do it by himself.

Once Eddie was sure he was done changing he turned back around and helped him climb beneath the covers tucking him in with a fond smile. As he had turned to leave y/n grabbed his hand “Eddie,-ddie Wait” 

“What sweetheart?” He asked with a slight smirk 

“I really love you, like Really Really”  Y/n said pouting slightly as he blinked his eyes quickly to try and stay awake.

Eddie huffed a chuckle and shook his head fondly “Okay, tell me in the morning when you’re not absolutely shit faced”

Y/n seemed to accept that answer as he nodded “kay, Stay” he said yawning not letting go of Eddie’s hand. The metal head rolled his eyes but nodded a soft smile on lips “ Alright sweetheart ” he said, climbing in beside the other boy wrapping his arm around Y/n to help the tight fit in Eddie's bed.

[in-my-feels-probably]

I have an angsty request for Eddie, maybe one where he is suffering from ptsd after all that happened with vol 2 and is turning to alcohol and more drugs, he tries to push the reader away but they refuse and help him get the help he needs and fluff after, thank you!

It’s Metal, Even

Request: I have an angsty request for Eddie, maybe one where he is suffering from ptsd after all that happened with vol 2 and is turning to alcohol and more drugs, he tries to push the reader away but they refuse and help him get the help he needs and fluff after

Hi! So, I’m setting this a month after the last episode, Eddie is alive obviously, and Vecna is gone. This was too hard to write without Vecna being out of the picture, so I hope that’s ok with you. Also, Max is ok in this. And Eddie’s name is cleared, but people are still wary of him, so you generally avoid public situations. I also didn’t focus much on the drugs and alcohol thing, more just how he’s coping in general, I hope that’s alright too. This isn’t my best work, sorry if it’s shit.

(Warnings: mentions of a fem reader, angst, intimate touch, language, let me know if i missed anything)

—

It had been almost a month since Eddie had nearly died in the Upside Down, barely escaping with his life. You’d never felt as much dread fill your chest as you did when he cut the sheet rope, severing the connection you had between him in the Upside Down, and you, back in Hawkins in his trailer. 

Mere feet apart from each other, but to you it felt like miles. Far enough that you wouldn’t be able to go the distance fast enough to save him. 

It has been no doubt the scariest moment of your life, the fear of losing him overwhelming you, but you somehow pulled it together long enough to get him and Dustin out. You had forced the nearest doctor to do what he could to ease any pain either of them were in, and had him make sure Eddie was ok, and then you proceeded to threaten to send the Devil after him next if he tried anything to get Eddie detained, and that seemed sufficient enough to have the doctor turn a blind eye. 

After everything was said and done, everyone was ok. Everyone was alive. 

Eddie was alive. 

But, he wasn’t the same. 

It was to be expected. He spent the first few nights, once you found somewhere safe for him to hang low away from the townspeople, clinging to you. He didn’t let you out of his sight for nearly a week, before he finally decided that it was time for you both to get cleaned up and get out of bed for more than ten minutes a day. He was skittish, paranoid by most noises, and was clearly uncomfortable with anyone coming to visit you both. Dustin came by when he could spare time, Steve too, and they’d try cracking jokes, see if they could get a smile out of Eddie, but a smile was rare these days.

And you didn’t blame him. After everything he’d seen, everything he’d been through, it was a miracle he was still sane. 

Eddie was there with you physically, but he wasn’t really there. He wouldn’t change in the same room as you anymore, he didn’t ask you to shower with him like he used to, and he really only let you hold him at night, when he couldn’t brave the dreams alone. You couldn’t get him to eat much. He mostly drank his calories, not spending more than a day at a time sober. Sometimes it would seem like he was coming back to you, like he was finally ready to talk, but by the next day, he was back to closed off. 

And he did talk to you, he wasn’t that cruel yet. He made you stay with him, not willing to let you go, but he kept you company, kept you entertained. He’d tell stories about Hellfire, ramble about what he wanted to do in the future, tell you about all the places he wanted to roadtrip with you and see.

But he wouldn’t talk about that night. 

You’d bring it up in conversations sometimes. You never pushed him, you never made him talk about what he didn’t want to, but it was getting hard to manage on your own. You knew it scarred him, and that he was scared, but you were scared too. Talking about it made it real, but it had to be real, because you were eventually going to have to face it. And you’d face it together.

You had just gotten back from the hospital, visiting Max. She was awake, doing better. You knew she was bored out of her mind, not able to do much other than sit and listen to whoever was visiting. 

Eddie had wanted to go in the first week, keep her company, but he couldn’t even make it out the door. He’d nearly had a panic attack in the doorframe, the outside being too overwhelming. He froze up, and you tried to stay with him to calm him down, but he made you go without him to see Max. You had reassured him that you’d be quick, and that you’d say hello to her for him. 

He didn’t try to leave much after that, and it was probably the smarter choice anyways. He was a free man, but not a liked one, despite your efforts after clearing his name. 

This cycle continued for nearly a month, before you finally broke through to him. You’d just gotten back from the hospital, stepping inside, calling for Eddie. You heard the shower turn off, and made your way to the bathroom. 

You peeked your head in the door. “Eddie?”

He’d been standing in front of the mirror with a towel around his waist, eyes locked on the wounds from the bats. He jumped at the sound of your voice, pulling the towel up to cover more of his torso. 

Your heart broke at the sight, but you quickly stepped back out of the bathroom, closing the door. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in and scare you.”

“It’s fine,” you heard him mumble, shuffling around while he got dressed. “I was getting ready for bed.” 

You nodded as he pushed past you, climbing into bed. He had only been down a couple seconds when he rolled back over, giving you a sheepish look. He opened his arms, silently begging you to come sit with him, and you couldn’t say no when he looked so vulnerable. Besides, you relished in the moments of affection he showed you these days. 

You curled into his side, hooking a leg over his, throwing an arm across his chest. You laid with your head on the pillow, your face inches from his. You felt his hands come up to hold you, and then the room was quiet. 

“Max ok?” Eddie asked, breaking the silence. 

“She’s doing good. She told me that she wants to come by when she’s discharged. But I don’t think she meant it for me. I mean, I see her every week. I think she’s taken a liking to you. Dustin keeps bragging to everyone about ‘the most metal concert the world has ever seen’ and I think that got her interested. She wants to know if you’d ever want to teach her how to play guitar a little.”

You reached a hand out slowly to push the hair back from his face, caressing his cheek with your thumb. 

He hummed, a small smile visible. “Yeah?”

“She’s probably gonna make you teach her Kate Bush,” you chuckled, Eddie dramatically groaning. 

“You tell Red she’s got herself a deal, if, and only if, she lets me make her a mixtape with some real music. I bet Harrington’s corrupted her with the amount of times he’s driven her around, it’s a miracle Henderson made it out with his taste still intact.”

You smiled at his theatrics, basking in the momentary joy of seeing your boy sound happy again, even if it was fleeting. You felt a tug at your heart, eyes glossing over at his smile. You were too choked up to speak, and the room was filled with silence once more. 

Eddie noticed, smile fading. He let you hold him for a minute longer, trying not to look you in the eye.

“Baby?” You questioned, running a hand up and down his arm. “Talk to me.”

He shook his head, not meeting your gaze. You could see the gears turning in his head, watching him get worked up. He turned away from you, taking deep breaths. 

“Eddie,” you said, giving his arm a squeeze. “Please.”

He curled the sheets in his fist, knuckles going white at the pressure. You could see his shoulders begin to shake, his grip beginning to waver.

“I’m sorry,” he finally choked out, clenching his jaw. 

“For what, baby?” You shook your head, confused. 

He scoffed, rolling and sitting up against the headboard. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, violently wiping away the oncoming tears. 

“For being like this, doing this to you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me!”

You quickly sat up, shaking your head. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Eddie.”

“There is!” He interrupted, scoffing. “I can’t believe you’ve stuck around after I’ve spent a month moping around. It’s fucking pathetic.”

“Eddie–”

“No!” He cut you off. “I mean, seriously. I’ve got the best girl in the world by my side, and I won’t even let you touch me. I can’t even leave this room without panicking, not that you’d want to be seen in public with me anyways, the entire town thinks I’m a fucking brutal murderer now. As if they needed another reason to hate me.”

“Eddie–”

“I keep having these nightmares, waking you up every night. I spend most of the day drunk in bed, not paying any attention to you. I literally pushed past you earlier when you were just trying to check on me. And I know you saw those fucking horrible scars, they’re hideous. You should just leave me here, I wouldn't blame you–”

“Eddie!” You finally cut him off, getting his attention. He flinched at your outburst, and you quickly recoiled, giving him some space. 

“Listen to me,” you spoke calmly. “I’m here because I want to be here. I don’t feel obligated to be here, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be. You think I don’t enjoy spending all my time with you? Baby, I almost lost you, there’s not enough time in the world left to spend with you. You’re not a burden, and you most certainly aren’t getting left here. I would never do that to you.”

He looked like a scolded child, curling into himself. You sighed, slowly pulling yourself up and settling into his lap. He immediately brought his hands up to hold your hips, not meeting your soft gaze. You cupped his face in your hands, bringing his head up so you could look him in the eye.

“I don’t care if I get woken up by a nightmare, or if you’re not in the mood to talk to me. I don’t care if you drink too much, or get too high. I don’t care if you get upset with me or snap at me, it’s a miracle that you even have the energy to speak to me at all after everything you went through.” 

His shoulders slumped, and the dam broke. Tears flowed freely as he gripped at your sides, grounding himself under your touch. You tucked the hair in his face behind his ears. 

“And incase I don’t say it enough, I think you’re fucking beautiful. Scars and all, you’re so fucking stunning. You never have to hide yourself from me.”

You let your hand wander down to the hem of his shirt, silently looking up to him for permission. He hesitated, but finally nodded, letting you inch his shirt up his torso. 

You had seen Steve’s scars, he’d let you look at them after you told him Eddie wouldn’t let you see his. They’d been raised and red, scattered along his ribs and hips. Fresh skin had grown over, white stripes of scar tissue scattered across the wounds. Steve wasn’t too happy about his either, but was eased by the sentiment of you saying they made him look cool, that it was physical proof of how brave and heroic he’d been.

Eddie’s scars were similar.

Deeper, and there were more of them, but nothing you hadn’t prepared yourself to see. You ran your fingers lightly across them, feeling Eddie shudder under your touch, tense. He was looking at you warily, ashamed of them.

You quickly leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“They’re beautiful,” you murmured against him. “You’re beautiful. And you’re a fucking hero. That’s all these scars are. Proof that you risked your life to save us. And I think that’s pretty cool. Metal, even, If that’s not metal, I don’t know what is.”

He let out a watery laugh, and you laughed with him, wiping his tears away with your thumbs.

“I don’t care what you have to do to get through this, but we’re gonna get through it together. I’ll be there every step of the way. But baby, you’ve got to talk to me. You can’t just drink your problems away, or try and change the topic when I check in. I need you to be ok. If we need to find you a therapist, or get you on medication, we’ll do it. If you think talking to the gang would help, we’ll do it. And I’m right here. Whatever you need, whatever you want to talk about, there’s nothing you can’t tell me. Ok, love?”

Eddie quickly nodded, pulling you down to press a kiss to your lips, holding you tight against him.

“Ok, baby. I promise.”

—

A/N - Hi! I don’t love this one, sorry if it’s bad. I’ve got more requests I need to fill still that I’ve got some better ideas for, but it’s been a while since I posted and I needed to get something out, so here you go.