#(she also has no idea she’s doing this. every time she does it Van and Tai kick one another under the table)

[ladymarlin]

Desperate housewives au stuff (mostly Duncney) bc it's been on my mind latelyyy

So, Duncan and Courtney were on and off for awhile before splitting. Then a little after they split she meets a decent guy (possibly someone her parents set her up with) and their relationship moves pretty quickly "For the baby" they're having which is actually Duncan's but no one needs to know that.

The whole housewife thing really isn't for her though and it would be a reoccurring argument between her and her husband but she would stand her ground every time. She's too good a lawyer to quit and "become like the rest of the girls in the neighborhood" sooo...

Her and Duncan would reunite years later when he moves onto the street. Courtney would go over to welcome her new neighbor and nearly chokes when she sees it's Duncan.

Duncan has a hard time fitting in on the street. The neighborhood is pretty judgy and he's a total punk, so they're wary of him. And does he have some deep dark secret? Probably. But the neighbors definitely take things too far and assume the worst

Him and Courtney would reconnect and eventually it'd lead to an affair. Courtney would feel Super guilty about it since she was once cheated on, but rlly her and Duncan are falling in love. They'd sneak around a lot, there'd probly be some comical scenes abt it. Courtney would do everything to uphold her reputation. Really, it's the only reason she's married.

Idk how they'd get there but the main angst points would be Duncan finding out the kid is his and Courtney's husband eventually leaving. She'd probly have a s8 Bree Van De Kamp type arc. But some probably traumatic event would bring them back together and they live happy or smth

Aleheather would be the Carlos and Gaby equivalent. Without the cheating ofc. Alejandro wouldn't WANT anyone else and Heather tbh also wouldn't. No one likes her like Alejandro. Plus in desperate housewives Gabrielle's Gardner she has an affair with is UNDER AGE so yeah no.

But they'd definitely have similar fights and similar issues. Maybe they'd divorce for some petty reason, have a few days of trying to mess w each other before just getting back together. Instead of Alejandro going blind like Carlos does he would suffer similar injuries to the ones in the show (volcano robot suit incident) and sustain leg damage that would hinder him.

I don't have as much for them they just rlly remind me of Carlos and Gaby. Like yeah she'd push him out the window on impulse and then call 911

Also if u haven't seen desperate housewives (I highly recommend it's so good) a lot of this probly seems rlly dramatic n stuff but it is very much a drama mystery so it fits. Trust there have been some absolutely insane plots in that show.

Also if u wanna send asks pls do bc I kinda wanna explore this more. Or send ideas too could be cool :3

[novelconcepts]

Jackie and Laura Lee classes?

Laura Lee is probably a cleric, but she flat-refuses to accept any of the in-game gods, so the DM is forced to homebrew a Jesus Christ variant for her. She’s insufferable, but she’s also SO excited, and she comes to healing with truly exceptional creativity that saves the party over and over again, so no one can be THAT mad.

Jackie doesn’t want to play, has to be talked into it, and ultimately goes fighter—probably in the realm of monk—because she can make a graceful hot jock. She slowly becomes one of their most voracious RPers, because she can put ALL of her real-life stress into the game. She has no idea she’s doing it.

[mayasaurusss]

haii I can request modern lottie headcanos ?

Shy: modern jock Lottie

Warnings: Jock (but also nerdy?) Lottie, Lottie is a loser-virgin, use of every single cliche in the book, for the sake of the story let's pretend they have this instant chemistry moment, fluff fic, humorous writing, not proof read, the author regrets begin born.

A/N: hey anon, remeber when I said I had an idea and wanted to make this a oneshot instead of a headcanon? Well, I completley forgot my idea and this brewed in my head last minute, so I tried to put this thing thogeter. This story isn't very good but I hope you will like it!

Lottie is one of the most popular girls in school. She is on the soccer team, she is rich and she is beautiful, men and women alike fall to their feets for her attention. She simply has to get to the top of everything, whether it is school or soccer, making the ones around her jealous of her or to be her. Lottie is tough, both in body and spirit: during practice she manages to get going for hours, even when her teammates are tired. During exams, she remembers almost everything she studied and only a few times she has failed, due to laziness and too much faith in her abilities. She has told herself to never slack off ever again and so she continues practicing after school in her backyard, no matter if it's freezing or raining or just a bad day, she pushes her body to the limit almost every day. She studies hours on hours on hours, just after her endless practice, till midnight; sometimes she consumes her dinner while studying for her next exam. Lottie has virtually no time for herself anymore, but she knows it's her fault. She knows that she does this to appease her father's wishes for her life and that she will never make him proud. She tells herself that she's ok, that she can continue doing this without repercussions.

She is on fire today, she has just passed one of the most difficult tests of the year without breaking a sweat attracting to herself the envy of various people -and Natalie's-, had successfully exposed a presentation in class -"How cults can change people psyche", by Lottie Matthews-, and now is practicing, having just scored a goal after being chased by Taissa and making her repeatedly taking her to the ground. Lottie is triumphant, sweat coating her skin and a smile gracing her lips, the same smile that made people develop crushes for her. "Ok team, I want you to try and score a goal, Lottie, Taissa and Van, you guys try to stop them, ok?" Coach Ben says.

Lottie moves to her place near Taissa, ignoring the looks the girl gives her, Van behind the, waiting for the ball. When the coach blows the whistle, the teams move: Shauna passes the ball to Mari, in a fake attempted attack from right, trying to get past Taissa, the ball is passed to Laura Lee who has already run across the field enough to not be worried about Taissa. The only obstacles left between her and the goal are Lottie and Van. The latter won't be a problem, when Laura will kick the ball from the underside angle, sending it to the far corner of the net; the real problem is Lottie. The girl is tall and strong enough to turn the situation to her favor and virtually leave Laura's and the rest of the team empty handed. And, to top it all off, she's on fire today. So, Laura Lee devises a plan: as soon as Lottie will corner her, she will fall back and kick the ball as high as she can, attempting to send it through the net. Lottie will not budge, she thinks, -"She is too smart to fall for this..."- but she will at least attempt to try.

Lottie has stayed still until now, determined to be the one to stop her teammates. Her muscles tighten, ready to strike, until her attention is on someone else, someone on the seats.

There are quite a few people here besides you and your friends. They had invited you to watch the Yellowjackets practice, more in particular to watch the Yellowjackets practice. You have sat in the nearest line to the field, wanting to crawl out of your seat whenever one of your friends made a loud remark about one of the girls. "Like, oh my God look at Natalie '' Hayley sighs dreamily, "I want to make sexy pottery with her '' Jessica scoffs at her "Say what you want about Natalie. Have you looked at coach Ben? He is so hot!" she says while twirling a strand of her hair. "I think he's gay Jessica..." she gasps "How would you know? The other day I saw him handing to Travis a bunch of condoms, he must like girls!", "That's not how it works Jessica..." you argue with her "Shut up," she scoffs at you. You turn your head away from her to avoid her anger, looking towards the field as you see number seven -Lottie, that must be her name- moving in position to defend the net. "...and how would you know? Your life is so boring, you never even had a relationship yet!"eyes scanning her face up and down, you look at Jessica ``I haven't but at least I don't drool for every human beginning in school" you remark at her, earning a glare that could kill.

"Shut up! Stupid asshole..." your eyes return to the soccer field, now focused back on the players: you see Lottie staring at you, her eyes never leaving yours even for a split second, you and your friends must've been loud for her attention to be on anything else other than practice. Neither you or her break eye contact, both in an almost hypnotic state, so, neither you or her notice Laura Lee screaming out for her teammate.

The second Lottie refocuses back on the game, the ball hits her face at full speed; Lottie stumbles back holding her nose, blood flowing freely from it, she loses her footing and falls on the ground. "Fuuuck!'' The team rushes to their friend, Laura Lee is profusely apologizing while trying to hold her best friend who isn't in the right mood to be manhandled. Coach Ben kneels next to Lottie and inspects her face: on the bridge of the nose, right where the ball has hit her, Lottie has a small red bump and her nose seems to be slightly pushed to the left side. "We need to take the infirmary..." he states and helps Lottie up, before Misty can get her hands on her classmate's face and cause more damage. She walks back with Ben with shame, and when she looks back to see you worried over her, she can't bring herself to look at you.

At the infirmary, she gets a pack of cold ice and after one hour, the nurse, a middle aged old woman who looks like she's done with life, walks over to her and takes away the ice pack. Her hands move and test around Lottie's nose, manhandling her -she looks like a small scared child-. "Take a deep breath with your mouth...", she's confused as hell but does so, feeling the nurse's hands move again on her nose, "...and don't panic". -What?- the nurse's fingers block her nose and push strongly to the right side, readjusting the bone. Lottie lets out a banshee-like scream "Fuck me!" and she hold her face, muffling her scream in her hands, "Don't move too much or you could crook it again". Her fingers move across the nose skin, it definitely hurts but now she can breathe again: the nose still has a small red bump at the middle of its length. "Yeah, that's not going away", the nurse says while arranging some things in a box, "What?".

Her father had wanted to sue both the nurse and Laura Lee's family as soon as he saw how his daughter's nose looked, but with some convincing, Lottie had managed to make his anger drop. Today, some time after the whole fiasco, Shauna has come to pick her up for school, usually she would use her father's limo but today she felt like beginning with a friend -and exploiting her a bit- than with the old decrepit driver her father hired. As soon as she enter Shauna's car, the other girl lets out a small pained hiss at Lottie's nose. "...Is it that noticeable...?", Shauna let's out a small hum and moves uncomfortably under Lottie's dark gaze. "I mean... I see it because I was there, but it's not tha-" Shauna is interrupted by Lottie's frustrated sigh and cries. "God! This is just what I needed..." she mutters into her hand, Shauna drops her hand on her friend's shoulder "Come on...It's not that bad, no one will notice". Lottie moves to look at Shauna, her eyes are tearful, "That's literally the first thing you noticed about me today". A gulp travels down Shauna's throat "Uhm..." the taller girl looks her dead in the eyes "This is the part where you, as a friend, would comfort me". The car engine starts, Shauna lets out a embarassed cough while she starts to move the car "...Let's go".

"Ouch..." Taissa says to her while munching her sandwich, the whole soccer team is in the cafeteria for lunch, Lottie had been the last one to join the team 'cause her classes ended later, of course that would involve her not-so-glorious entrance in the room, where everyone had looked at her weird or with pity. "Laura Lee hasn't come today...She's feeling pretty guilty for what she's done. I think this will stay inside her little fanatic brain for a while" Taissa laughs while exchanging a kiss with Van, "And she's right. If I were you, Lottie, I would have punched her in the face ages ago" Natalie barges in the conversation. "Changing topic, tonight there's a party. At Randy's' ' the blonde girl mutters while focused on rolling something that Lottie is pretty sure isn't a normal cig, "I don't know if I'll be there... I don't feel really good". Natalie lets out a scoff, momentarily messing up her rolling before continuing again, "Come on Lottie, It's only a party. Besides, your 'little incident' is not that visible ''. Taissa stares at Natalie with a look that says 'Really?' , "Geez, how about some fucking decency Natalie?" she spats out receiving a roll of eyes from the other girl "The point is, going to a party won't be that big of a deal". Everyone seems to turn to Lottie, waiting for her response, "...Ok".

Night has come, and with it, Lottie's uneasiness. The party had proved to be a lot more crowded than she imagined, it was packed with people who were beginning to drink by the time the Yellowjackets had come. Jackie had placed her hand on Lottie's shoulder, stroking it reassuringly "Don't worry Lottie, we won't go anywhere" and for a split second, Lottie had believed her and smiled reproaching the smile, before she had looked away -for one fucking second-, and all of her team had left to so their things: Taissa and Van had two red cups in their hands and were flirting to one angle of the room, Jackie had blindedly followed Jeff somewhere with Shauna trailing behind her and Natalie was gone to God knows where, probably doing drugs with those toxics of her friends. So, as she had been sure all this time, Lottie was alone. A sigh escaped her lips, her brows furrowing in annoyance and creating a small wrinkle between them, and worry showing in her eyes. She makes a bee line to the kitchen, finding it almost empty except for a drunk couple in one of the dark corners; on the table amidst all the discarded red cups and leftover foods, sits a clear glass bowl of red-blood punch with some ice and a slice of orange floating in. Lottie takes one of the clean cups and fills it to the brim with alcohol. She drinks her worries away feeling the liquid heat her from within, before she knows she has gulped down half of it. Her hands search for her cigarettes in her jeans pocket, finding only a few left: taking one she holds it between her lips but realizes she has forgotten her lighter at home, "As if this night couldn't be any worse...".

When you walk into the kitchen, you see the same girl who yesterday almost got half of her face blown off -Lottie, you remind yourself-.

She's dressed in high waisted dark gray jeans, a long sleeved black shirt and a pair of glasses which made her look far more nerdy than she might have intended. "Oh, hi!" she turns around so quickly that some of the liquid spills out of the cup and pours on her fingers, but she doesn't seem to care all that much, all her attention is on you. "H-Hi...!". Walking over to her, you smile "You are Lottie right? You got pretty hurt some time ago, huh?", gulping down dryly her eyes focused on your lips resting on the cup ridge "Uhhhh, uh, ehm, yes yeas, yeah that's me...". Eyes hazy and unfocused, she doesn't hear you calling out for her "...ttie. Lottie? Earth calls to Lottie, are you there?" she jolts up a second, straighten her spine and avoids to look you in the eye. "Uh, yeah I'm here, just a little distracted" her throat clears and she lets out a small laugh. You look at her, you notice the way she seems to be around you: gone is the confident jock from the soccer team, all that's left of her is a girl who's too shy to talk without stuttering every few seconds. "Say, would you like to get to know each other?" her throat clears before she nods her head slightly with a little smile. "So, what do you like to do, you know, besides soccer?" you lean on the table while sipping on the punch, "Well, I like partying, usually, and -you know- soccer is all my life. I play the guitar sometimes..." your gasp interrupts her, "You'll have to let me hear something one day!". Lottie tells you more about her life: she tells you about her father and mother, about how she's always alone in that big cold house of hers, about how she likes the soccer team a lot -except Jackie sometimes- and of her love for teen dramas, especially Dawson's Creek.

The alcohol starts to make your body heat, she looks so good under dimmed lights; you sip down the last drops of the alcohol and throw the empty cup on the table, slightly scaring Lottie. "Would you like to dance?" her eyes move to yours and shakes her head in approval "Of course!" you take her cup and set it on the table, placing your hand on hers and leading her to the living room.

The room is lit by red light, the music is so loud it makes her heart jump in her chest, but Lottie can barely hear it over the loud beating of her heart in her ears. You get close to her body and feel its heat, how her skin shivers when you touch her a little too long and how she can't even place her shaky hands on you. Everything is slow, heated, the red lights paint Lottie in a way you haven't seen before; you lock eyes with her and for a moment, you feel the need to kiss her, even if you have known her only for a few hours. You get closer to her, so much so that you can feel the raspiness of her breath when you eye her lips. It isn't surprising then when, in the euphoria you're both experiencing, you don't hear the heavy steps of someone getting closer to you.

You get yanked from Lottie's grip, someone spins you around until you've met with his face again. "What the fuck are you doing?!" he snaps at you, his brows are furrowed and he looks even more of a rabid dog than when you left him. "Hello Brandon..." he grips your arms tighter, bruising your skin underneath; his breath is on your face,reeking of alcohol. "Hello'? What the fuck are you doing with this bitch?!" he starts to tug you around, all the while continuing to spit in your face insults.

As soon as he lets go of you Lottie reaches out and manhandles you behind her; a stern look appears on her face. "Hey, what's your problem?" she looks him up and down, studying him "My problem is you, and people like you" he spats out. "Like me?" she can feel her blood pressure rising, his implication not missed by Lottie.

Brandon's friends are near him, some giggle but others are trying to hold him down from exploding further. "Yeah, people like you and this bitch over here" he gestures at you with a nod, he seems to get even more red than he was before, almost looking rabid, "What the fuck are you talking about?".

Brandon seems to have been pushed over the edge, a wild look in his eyes, he sweats and screams on Lottie's face "You fucking faggots! You gross shit! Scum like you shouldn't even exist!" people are gathering now near, the music seems to almost have gone silent, flashes and giggles surround you. Lottie grips your hand tight, so tight that it hurts, "Lottie..." she turns around, her other hand placed on your hip and starts to lead you out of the party.

"Let's go" her voice wavering: for a split second, she saw her father spilling insults at her after she had told what she really was. "Yeah you better go! We don't want disgusting shits like you around here" Brandon is held back by his friends when he attempts to chase after you.

Through her clouded mind, Lottie doesn't miss Brandon's next words "You aren't even that good at soccer, I bet your father is really proud of his shitty disgusting lizzie daughter". Lottie feels her knuckles crush bone beneath them, and regains her consciousness, realizing she had punched Brandon right on the nose, in the exact same way she was hit the day's priors. He falls on his ass in the middle of his friend group, spurting insults and imprecations at you and Lottie. Before you can look at him, you're tugged out of the party. You run with Lottie, both with the fear that he might get out of his friend's grapes and follow you; you run across the small patch of woods just outside of Randy's house.

The night is lit by countless stars in the sky, wind blows through the trees and inside of your heart an euphoric feeling blooms. When you end up at the other side of the trees, in a clearance, you start to laugh at your heart's content; your laugh is so contagious that it starts to affect Lottie too -who previously was looking at you like you were mad- making her let out chuckles of her own.

You hold on to her, much like you did when you were at the party, she hides her face into your neck while still giggling: you start to notice the position you're in, her breath hitches when she notices how close you are and -more importantly- where her face is. Dark eyes reflect the night sky, she looks at you with something akin to adoration for a second, before she composes herself and let go of you, clearing her throat. "So ummm... who was that guy?" you rethink about the events of the night and -trying not to think- about how good Lottie looks right now. "He was my ex-boyfriend. He has been going a bit crazy since I broke up with him. I told him I... liked girls and he has been bothering me ever since I left him" Lottie let's out a small 'oh' of approval, taking in all that you said. "So... you like girls" she hums in thought; you inadvertently let out a laugh "Of course! I thought it was pretty obvious from how I was looking at you". Her face becomes beet red -'Shit, I looked so stupid! Why did I asked that?!'-, she scratches the back of her head while averting your gaze. Her hand is held by yours, she follows your movement and when she turns around, she's met with your lips on hers. She can't move the lips back, too stunned by your action to reciprocate the kiss but just when you thought of pulling away -'maybe she doesn't like me'- you feel her hands cupping your cheeks and deepening the kiss. -'Whoa... sparks...'- she thinks while deepening the kiss even more, it feels like millions of little light sparks shine on you and her. She's so close you can barely breathe, the air itself feels intoxicating, this is just too good to be true. When you pull away, both of you are blushing and messy, she looks amazing under the moonlight: hair messy, glasses slightly sliding to the side, skin so red and eyes watery. "Wow... this feels very... romantic..." she sighs into your neck, holding your chest to hers "We should do this more often..." you kiss her again, giddy, holding onto her neck "We definitely should!".

Something moves in the bushes rapidly, making both of you jolt up in fear that your ex might've catched up, Lottie is already ready to throw another punch, just when from the darkness between the trees, the Yellowjackets appear, all of them. "G-God!" an echo of 'oooh's' rise up from the group, Van begins the lead of them "Oh so that's what you were doing Lottie! We feared you got into a fight!". Van gets closer to you two, throwing her arm around Lottie's shoulders "Are you gonna introduce your 'friend' to us?", the taller girl puffs out a breath in annoyance "Oh fuck off!".

[madelynraemunson]

CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen's Club series)

(strip club owner!eddie × fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!× reader)

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ minors get out of my kitchen

Chapter 010: The Freak

A fight breaks out at the Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club.

* = somewhat smut

** = smut

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014**, 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020*

word count: 4.4k words

warnings & disclaimers — mentions of seggs tr@ff!ck!ng, lots of blood, violence, physical altercation, profanities, glass shattering, screaming, jealousy

“I feel it coming, my soul cannot be found. I feel it coming, don’t fucking tie me down.”

♡

Eddie is glued to Nina’s hip during her orientation.

You can hardly watch. You can’t even listen. All Back of the House seems to be talking about is the fact that the cute new girl pulled up to work with Eddie. Apparently she skipped out of the passenger side of his van stoned out of her mind, waltzing in absentmindedly while Eddie opened the door for her.

Nina’s excuse was that she didn't have a ride to work. And while that may be true, your jealousy was projecting itself...hard. The times you were in Eddie’s van sitting right where she was were completely unrelated to work.

But Nina is a pretty girl. Eddie does love doing favors for pretty girls who flatter him.

You still couldn’t figure out why no one will talk about anything else. Like how Henry has evidently been spiraling into a lonely, seasonal depressive episode and could snap any minute. Or how whoever is closing isn’t sweeping the aisle all the way through. Also, one of the lights keeps flickering. Totally throws off the whole vibe of VECNA’S LAIR.

But no, the hot topic of today’s shift is still Nina and Eddie.

It's an awakening for you though. Now you really understand and have accepted that you are no different from everyone else.

Eddie’s jokes? He recycles with everybody.

Food? Makes for everybody.

Smoking and drinking in his van? With everybody.

Calls on Henry to fight off the bad guys? Yes, for everybody…

You are not special.

Speaking of Henry…he’s off task again. Luckily lunches are usually not busy so he can afford to be away from the door.

Henry is at VECNA’S LAIR with you, chatting away with Eddie’s buddy Gareth while you give Gareth a lap dance. And you can tell by the eagerness in Henry’s eyes that he’s anticipating his dance that you agreed to do for him to combat his loneliness.

“You gotta let me know how your dance goes, Creel,” Gareth grins. “Shy Girl is one of the best.”

Gareth is one of your regulars. He went to school with Eddie, played in his band Corroded Coffin when they were younger, and he also tips well. Eddie usually stays and chats with him, but today he is off and aloof, avoiding any type of eye contact with the both of you.

Screw Eddie. He’s seemed to have forgotten about you already now that there’s a new toy for him to play with.

“I love how you move your hips, babe,” Henry comments, snapping you back into reality. “And how you bond with every customer. I had no idea men pay you just to talk to them sometimes.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” you nod all while grinding yourself onto Gareth, hands combing through his wavy hair and trailing down to graze his neck. “Some guys just come here just to vent. Business men, teachers, doctors...”

“That’s really nice,” Henry blushes.

“Bouncers too,” you wink at him. “You know, when they’re not clocked in and supposed to be working.”

Henry’s eyes widen as he realizes, and soon he’s back up and starting towards the door. You and Gareth share an innocent chuckle about it before carrying on with your business.

"I can tell that dude is lonely," Gareth makes the same observation. "He doesn't have that many friends outside work."

"I wonder why," you ponder aloud, doing a little dance on Gareth’s lap. "He's so nice."

"From what Eddie told me, it's hard for Henry to open up to people," your patron explains. "Dude had a fucked up home life when he was younger. Dad was a piece of shit to him and his sister. Abused the shit outta 'em and their mom."

There's a pattern here. You try not to think about it.

"Anyways," Gareth says pulling out a $20 bill. "Can you give me scratches on my back? Trying to make an ex flame jealous."

"You manipulative fuck," you banter, snagging the $20 from him anyway. "I'm sure you have your reasons though."

So you honor Gareth's requests and leave some sharp etchings on his back, one large scratch in the shape of a heart.

You scan the club as you work, searching for your sister. Max is spotted near the entrance of the club, acquainting herself with Lucas and Dustin. She also met Steve earlier today and admitted to you that she has an innocent crush on him.

Of course she would. Who wouldn’t have a crush on The King?

You smile at how easy Max makes friends. She tries not to look at you while working but sometimes her curiosity takes over.

Gareth nods towards her.

"I see your sister knows the big secret now."

"Yeah, one less thing to worry about," you shrug sheepishly.

"She's supportive, I'm assuming?"

"Very."

"That's good," Gareth rubs your back. "I'm happy for you."

“Thanks,” you smile.

You catch sight of Steve next as he walks over to you. He greets you with a warm kiss and rests a hand at your waist.

Eddie watches you with Steve and Gareth, attempting to remain composed and professional with Nina as he spots her on the pole.

"What is going on here?" Steve asks you.

"I'm trying to make one of Gareth's ol' lady friends jealous," you explain. "Leaving him scratches and all."

"I love your sharp ass nails," Gareth swoons. He hands you a five.

"You are just spoiling me today,” you coo. “You can pick out my nail color next, Gare.”

"Green," Gareth answers right away.

"Yeah, I second that," Steve agrees.

Steve leans in to kiss you. You kiss him back, affectionately, relishing in how beautiful Steve always made you feel. Meanwhile, Gareth watches, running his hands softly across your thighs and muttering a soft, “fuck…”

And then you hear Eddie clear his throat closeby you.

"Jesus H. Christ," you hear Eddie grimace.

Eddie sounds uncomfortable. Good. It is not until someone else speaks that you realize he was shaken up about something else.

“Well well well,” comes a voice. “Looking just as skanky as you did when I last saw you.”

You look to see the patron standing by the entrance. He’s the scariest he’s ever looked. Your heart sinks to the floor.

It’s hard for you to find the words. “You...”

“Boo,” he grins, amused at how startled you are. “Kinda insulting that you think all these men can give you more than I can.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” you demand.

Frantic footsteps sound not too long after, and Henry comes spilling in. He looks mortified, panicked. He had one job and he failed to do it.

“Hargrove, I’m sorry!”

“Henry!” you scold him, almost at a scream-whisper. “You weren’t supposed to let him in!”

“I didn’t know!” Henry exclaims.

“I thought Eddie told you!”

“I forgot!” Henry says. “It all happened so fast.”

“Yeah, security here sucks,” the man you’re tempted to throw something at smirks.

A crowd starts to form, which is odd because no one said anything that inherently stood out. But energy doesn’t lie. The tension in the room is noticeable.

“You can’t be here,” Eddie’s voice darkens.

Eddie makes his way down from the stage and to the front of the club, Nina watching in confusion as everyone huddled around. Eddie clears his throat and stands with his chest propped forward, chin raised along with his gritted teeth.

“You’re not welcome here,” your boss snaps.

“That’s no way to talk to a customer…”

“I know who you’re here for and you can’t have her,” Eddie growls.

Eddie looks over at you. Making his way into the crossfire, Eddie creates even more space between the two of you. Henry stays where he’s at on high alert.

“And I own this joint. So I can refuse service to anyone… Billy.”

Your twin brother flashes a dangerous, amused smile. “I see I’ve become a household name.”

Billy inches closer to you, leaving you paralyzed in place.

He looks different from when you last saw him. A lot more muscular. His beer belly is gone, and he finally shaved that obnoxious porn stache that he swore drew in all the ladies. Billy looks more satisfied at your horror than angry at who you’ve become.

A million thoughts are racing through your head. How could your brother have possibly known where you are? Did you leave your location on? Did you butt-dial him? Was it 'twintuition'?

Then you remember he's Billy. And a sociopath like Billy always finds a way to win.

“Eddie Munson,” Billy continues. “Owner of The Hellfire Club. Drug dealer. Car jacker. The town FREAK who’s notorious for sleeping with his employees before attempting to sell them into a sex trafficking ring in the outskirts of town.”

“That is SO NOT TRUE!” you hear Chrissy scream from behind the boys.

“Oh, hey Cherry!” Billy chimes. “Huge fan of your work. So is Eddie, though. And a million other men, so what makes me special huh?”

Henry is hovering, lingering between Eddie and Billy with a stance you knew all too well. The angled torso, a hand floating ready to butt in. The memories come flooding into the room in the form of burning tears against your waterline. Your throat is tight.

“How…the fuck…” you choke. “Did you find me?”

Billy flashes you his phone. Looking through his cracked screen, you see that the evidence is all on Reddit. Sure enough, there you were, doing your thing in a video surrounded by tons of men, exposing your birthmark that’s oh so similar to Billy’s.

“This girl is so fucking hot!” a Redditor comments.

“What’s her name?” someone asks.

“She goes by Shy Girl,” another answers. “Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club in Hawkins, IN.”

It’s no surprise that Billy follows the ‘stripper’ Sub-Reddit. You’ve gone viral, so of course he was bound to see it.

“Ever heard of a digital footprint?” Billy questions darkly. “Shy Girl?”

You gulp. In the age of technology, you should’ve known that your cover would be blown if you stood out well enough. How could you be so stupid?

“Oh look!” your brother chuckles. “There it is, the biggest giveaway of all. Right front and center… your birthmark."

“You win,” is all you can say. “You can stop now.”

“I’m not trying to win anything,” Billy jeers. “I’m just saying, if you had a brain, you would’ve at least thought to cover it up with makeup or something.”

Eddie looks over at you with sad eyes. It’s the first time he truly looked helpless. A part of him also looks like his own cover is blown too. You can’t help but wonder why.

“Yeah, you could say I did my research,” Billy draws on. He shoves his phone back into his pocket. “It kept me occupied on the plane. The news articles aren’t hard to find either. Hawkins is pretty small. A whole shoebox compared to Leucadia.”

His eyes dart back to Eddie. “And I’ve read up a lot about you.”

“You know the media loves to twist things,” Eddie hisses. “Especially if everything about me fits the narrative they’re trying to sell.”

Billy decides to challenge him. “So you’re saying everything is fake news?”

Eddie doesn’t comment. It strikes you odd that Eddie doesn’t even try to defend himself. What could he and Billy possibly be talking about it?

“Funny, I on the contrary believe you’ve earned your reputation,” Billy insists.

“What is he talking about Eddie?” you ask.

“Just forget about it,” Eddie shuts down.

“Yeah, forget about it,” Billy somewhat agrees. He turns to you. “You’re coming with me.”

You turn to Max. She watches, terrified as Billy ushers you in the corner. You’re too drained to fight back so you let him. But when you finally meet his eyes, Billy looks like your brother again.

“Seriously, WHAT were you thinking?” his voice shows genuine concern.

Billy sounds more disappointed now than vengeful.

“This is all because of YOU,” you snap. “I had no choice.”

“That’s your bullshit excuse?” Billy demands, eyes welling up with tears. “You’re a fucking waitress! I’m sure Benny’s down the block would’ve sufficed.”

Billy’s an asshole, for sure. But at the end of the day he’s still a multifaceted human. When the trauma doesn’t take over, he’s a level-headed individual. A clear thinker with good critical thinking skills and an ability to read the room. Something you’ve spent your whole life second-guessing yourself over.

Your brother continues his tangent.

“YOU HAVEN’T DANCED IN YEARS, first of all. The only ‘stripping’ you know is when you go skinny dipping with your little hoe friends at Black's Beach. You don’t have a permit to dance, which I’m pretty sure is illegal somehow because EVERYWHERE ELSE in Indiana requires a stripping permit. You don’t even know anything about what this industry entails, yet you cannonball headfirst into it like it’s just easy. This industry is a hotspot for sex trafficking. Millions and women and little girls are kidnapped every year and forced into sex work, don’t you know that?”

Billy nudges the ribbons in your hair.

“Child-like ribbons in your hair too. You disgust me.”

He pauses. It’s like he has an epiphany. The devilish smirk returns.

“But maybe Eddie knew that,” he tuts, waving a stupid finger of his in the air. “BINGO! With the little experience you have, Eddie must’ve known you were naive. Desperate. A little bit of a slut. Eddie knew he just HAD to get his hands on you. Take advantage of you. Exploit you.”

“Shut up.”

You knew Billy was being dumb. But what he says makes sense. And in the depths of your wounded heart, what he said felt true in a sense. Because there was a time you did feel betrayed by Eddie. Meanwhile Eddie has gone pale.

All eyes are on you now, and not for the reason you want. Sure, it’s a strip club. But never have you ever felt so naked. Never has your soul ever felt so exposed.

“Yeah…” Billy grins. It’s like you can see the gears grinding in his head. He flashes Eddie a disgusted look. “That’s exactly what it is. You know, you give me the creeps, Munson. Sure you hear that a lot.”

“You give me the creeps…Hargrove,” Eddie counters. “With how IN LOVE you seem to be with your sister.”

Eddie takes a few steps towards him to elaborate.

“Showing up to the place she strips at…causing a scene when you see her on someone’s lap… and then proceeding to tell her no one will love her like you do?”

Eddie scoffs.

“Yeah. Totally not creepy.”

“We’re family, Eddie,” Billy sighs. “Families love each other. Of course you wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Hey, douchebag—” Steve begins but Chrissy stops him.

“Too fucking far, Billy,” you plead. “Stop.”

“You know what else I found out?” Billy smiles. “Your boy toy Eddie comes from a long line of crooks.”

Billy turns to Eddie. “Your half brother Eagan is a con man in Montauk, New York. And your other brother Ansen Wayne back in Memphis got arrested for, guess what? Arson! Funny.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Chrissy roars again.

But Billy proceeds. “And if I’m not mistaken, your dad Al is a drug dealer who married one of his clients, your mother. And guess what? When she wasn’t bringing him any money? He pimp slapped her in broad daylight and eventually slit her throat.”

Billy looks you in the eyes when he says that.

“How tragic,” Billy breathes. “Dad killing Mom.”

Billy turns back to Eddie.

“One dysfunctional ass family. And a poor excuse of a son.”

“Takes one to know one,” Eddie spits.

Billy laughs and nods. You’re surprised that doesn’t set him off.

“I’m not entertaining this,” your brother refuses. “I’m trying to be a better person, but Munson you are pushing it. Nah, my family is where I draw the line. Come on, sis. You’re coming with me.”

Yanking you by the wrist, Billy pulls you along with him.

“No,” you refuse.

But his grip is too tight. Now you’re just along for the ride.

“I would never do anything to hurt your sister,” Eddie says, running after you both. Henry follows closely behind Eddie. “Surely that’s something you can’t say.”

“You’d never do anything to hurt her?” Billy halts challenging him with the most satisfied grin on his face. “You’d never do anything to hurt her?”

Eddie nods. Billy releases you, sending you flying forward into Max’s arms. She’s shaking when you wrap your arms around her for comfort.

“What happened to Isabelle then, Eddie?” Billy taunts him. “Court records are also public, you know.”

Isabelle. Eddie’s ex-girlfriend. How does Eddie’s ex-GF fit into Hellfire’s narrative? In your mind you always thought Isabelle was a random chick.

The whole room is silent. It’s like a wave washed over everybody. Eddie simply stands there, no visible reaction besides the look of defeat.

Something tells you something is very, very wrong. Finally, Eddie speaks.

“Don’t you EVER bring up my wife again,” Eddie’s voice is breaking. “I loved her with my whole heart.”

Your world stops. Everyone else’s keeps going.

“Your wife?” you exclaim. “You have a wife?”

Billy exudes a Joker-like laugh as he watches the lore unravel.

“Ex-wife,” Eddie corrects himself. “We’re separated.”

His gaze burns into Billy.

“Since you’re such a historian, Hargrove,” Eddie hisses. “I’m afraid you missed the part where Isabelle used me to get her hands on my business and then weaponized the fact that she’s a woman to try and tarnish it during our separation. But of course, it doesn’t feed your narrative about me so you’re purposely leaving it out.”

“That’s what you get then,” Billy’s tongue glides against his inner cheek. “For getting involved with an employee. They’re all the same. A bunch of gold-digging whores.”

It all makes sense now. You look over at Eddie. Plastered on his face is the same haunted eyes he had the night he tried to resist your advances. Now you know why Eddie was so hesitant to pursue you. He wasn’t playing hard to get. He was guarding his heart. And his business.

“So, you wanna tell us about the trafficking ring?” Billy questions.

“I didn’t try to sell her,” Eddie spat. “God dammit. Our marriage was bleeding into work so I had to send her to a different club. One I thought I trusted. But the owner stabbed me in the back also.”

“Yeah!” Chrissy adds. “He was an undercover pimp! Didn’t you read the court docs on the plane like you said?”

“He’s not exactly book smart, Chris,” Eddie smirks. “Too many big words for his big brain to handle.”

There’s nothing else for Billy to say. His failed attempt to paint Eddie as the bad guy and him as the hero did not go to plan. But as usual, Billy wants the last word.

“Stay away from my sister.”

And soon your wrists are suffocated by his grip again. You whimper in fear as Billy drags you along, angrily pulling you towards the exit while resisting your kicks and shoves.

“This is what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna go put your fucking clothes on,” Billy’s voice shakes. “Grab your shit, and you and Max are gonna come back home with me. Away from this shady bullshit.”

You can tell Billy is also terrified for you. But this is your story to write now. Not his. This is a narrative he cannot control.

“No!” you scream. “My new life is HERE.”

“The fuck it isn’t,” Billy denies. “Your life and Max’s lives are in California.”

“Are you deaf?” Steve demands. “She said no. Let her go.”

“Aw, now Walmart Ashton Kutcher has something to say!”

“Leave me alone, Billy,” you wail. “We are not going with you.”

“It’s all an inside job,” Billy is shaking now. “He’s no good for you, sis. Don’t you understand? How can you be so blind?”

“It’s my journey!” you roar. “And my life. You don’t get to control me anymore, especially since you’re part of the problem. And I’d rather be provided for by men like you than live with you ever again.”

Billy can only chuckle. “You’re delusional.”

He grabs Max on the way out.

“Max come on.”

“NO!” Max refuses.

Steve jumps in front of her and pulls her behind him. Billy rushes to grab Steve but is pushed back by Henry.

“Why are you grabbing Harrington?” Henry demands.

“Why’s he grabbing my sister?”

You’re waiting for Billy to face Henry’s wrath. He’s already trying to create space between the both of you so that you can wriggle free.

“HEY!”

To your surprise, the fist that meet’s Billy’s nose isn’t Henry’s.

“EDDIE!” Chrissy shrieks.

“WHOA MAN!” Steve screams, trying to run and stop the fight but Henry tackles him.

“EDDIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Dustin demands. “EDDIE, STOP!”

Billy is blindsided by Eddie with little to no time to react. Eddie gets two good punches in when he’s sprawled on top of him.

But Billy is quick to bounce back. Already accustomed to punches, Billy allows Eddie a few more blows to tire him out. When his hair gets in the way, Billy grabs Eddie by the wrist and tosses him off, hoisting himself over him to get him in a headlock.

“Son…of…a BITCH!” Eddie elbows him.

And as Billy scrunches to block his ribcage, Eddie gets him with a good left hook and a right cross-jab.

Blood splatters from Billy’s nose onto the surrounding area.

“HOLY SHIT!” Dustin shrieks.

“BILLY!” Maxine screams.

“You guys, STOP!” you order.

You rush over to your brother and attempt to pry him off. Steve rushes to Eddie and tries to do the same.

Billy’s stumbling back, unusual since he always wins fights. This is causing you to stumble back and lose your grip on him. Eddie gets a few more good punches in.

Jab. Jab. Jab. Jab-cross. Upper cut. Upper cut. And a seismic kick to the solar plexus.

Eddie Munson is strong.

“EDDIE, LEAVE HIM ALONE!” cries Chrissy. “YOU’RE GONNA KILL HIM IF YOU DON’T STOP.”

“Yeah?” Eddie mutters. “Well that’s kinda the plan.”

When he hears that, Henry stops whatever he’s doing to charge towards Billy and Eddie. You feel yourself grow lightheaded because of the amount of blood that has been expelled. You can almost smell the iron.

“Nope. That’s enough,” Henry declares, dragging your boss away this time.

Eddie has the advantage now during this time, and he uses all of it, punching Billy mercilessly into the ground. Billy tries to get up, but fails, and just when he’s not looking, Eddie sneaks a few roundhouse kicks to his head and neck.

The blood starts to pool.

“EDDIE, STOP!” everyone continuously chants.

“EDDIE, LET IT GO MAN!” Gareth begs.

“EDDIE, GET OFF OF HIM NOW!” Chrissy pleads.

“IT’S NOT WORTH IT!” Steve says to him.

“YES THE FUCK IT IS!” Eddie roars. “IT IS WORTH IT!”

The sound of glass shattering fills your ears as you look over at the boys. Henry managed to tackle Eddie in one brisk movement, unfortunately taking a small table that housed some beer bottles on it with them.

Now it smells like rust and Corona.

Gareth and Steve take over now, pulling Eddie away while Eddie cusses Billy out through his bloody nose. Meanwhile, Max rushes to Billy’s side and urges him to get out. Henry runs to her aid, dragging out your volatile twin brother so he wouldn’t harm anybody else. Billy’s out of sight now, but the thought of him still lingering in Hawkins until he sees you two again is unsettling.

“Whoa,” Steve exhales.

“What?” you ask him, crossing your arms in frustration.

“Eddie just fought someone,” he pants. “Your brother, Billy at that.”

You try to shrug it off. “Big deal,” you say. “Fights happen all the time here.”

“You don’t understand Hargrove,” Henry says, walking up you. “Eddie never fights anyone.”

You turn to face Henry.

“That’s what I’m here for,” the unscathed bodyguard explains.

———————-

The first person you go over to is Max. Consoling each other, you both hug one another and rock back and forth.

You look off into the corner and see Dustin with a tampon, trying to shove it up Eddie’s bloody nose while Nancy watches in amusement. Eddie swats Dustin’s hands away, mumbling, “Get that shit away from me” and setting for Kleenex instead.

“Shy Girl,” Nancy calls out. “Please come and get your man.”

Confused that she’s even talking to you that way, it dawns on you that Nancy is talking about Eddie. You walk towards Nancy, who is behind the bar, supervising Eddie and Dustin from a distance.

“Do you have some ice?” you ask her.

She holds up a pack she had been preparing.

“Way ahead of you love,” Nancy says.

You chuckle and thank Nancy as you take the ice from her. She gives you a nod, you’re welcome.

“He’s not my man, by the way,” you add, correcting her. “Just did something really sweet.”

“Well does his ass know that?” Nancy raises a brow. “Only a dumbass in love does shit that crazy and stupid.”

You look over at Eddie. His eyes find you at the same time. Chrissy is over in the corner with Nina, talking her down from the anxiety witnessing a fight that bloody must’ve caused her. Steve is over at the lair still, thinking. You can’t read the expression on his face.

Your grip on the ice pack tightens as you walk closer to Eddie. He gives you a nod and a terrible excuse of a wave, slowly wincing in pain after the slightest raise of his left arm.

“You are vile,” you say in his voice from the day it all fell apart. You extend your hand with the ice pack in it to him.

Feeding into your truce, Eddie looks up at you with a faint smile. He takes the ice pack in his hand.

“I prefer the term protective,” he parrots you.

———————————

🏷️ tag list: @battymunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n , @corrodedcoffincumslut , @bebe07011 , @mmunson86, @eddiesguitarskills , @chelebelletx , @imonhereforareasonsadly , @eddies-trailer-babe @hideoutside , @motherfckerr, @jxpsi , @munson-magic , @lindseyj23, @sidthedollface2 , @manda-panda-monium , @elvendria , @micheledawn1975 , @hereforshmut , @siriuslysmoking , @nymphetkoo , @m-chmcl-rmnc , @justinelittlewoodsworld , @ahoyyharrington , @keepittoyourselftellnobodyelse @kellyxo1 @emsgoodthinkin @winchester-angel @chloe-6123

[hippiegoth97]

Cum On Feel the Noize: Eddie Munson x Reader

Collage by Me :)

Master List

Tag List: @rafescurtainbangz @voyeurmunson @xxbimbobunnyxx @taintedcigs @mediocredreams

@slowandsteddie @angel-munson @eldermayfield @munsonsbtch @babygorewhore

@rattkween86 @violetpixiedust @bimbobaggins69 @purplehazed-h @morning-rituals

@eddie-van-munson @msgexymunson @munsoneightysixx @impmunson @mysticalstar30

@jenniquinn @oneforthemunny @succubusmunson @ddeadly-succubus @prettyboyeddiemunson

@sanctumdemunson @stalactitekilla @s6raphic @hellfirenacht @birdysaturne

@ohmeg @h-ness1944 @pretendthisnameisclever @ahoyyharrington @micheledawn1975

@costellation-hunter @josephquinnsfreckles @leelei1980 @yourdailymemedelivery @spacedoutdaydreamer

Description: Robin brings you to see Eddie's band play. His performance blows you away, in more ways than one. After the show, you and Eddie have some fun on your own...

Content Warning 18+ Only, Minors DNI: smut, swearing, female reader, fingering, praise/degradation, alcohol use, smoking, public sex, unprotected sex

Word Count: 4.6k

Divider by @strangergraphics

Cum On Feel the Noize

"So, what do you think? You wanna go to this tonight?" Robin says as she shoves a bright orange flier in your face. You take it from her grasp, looking it over. It reads: Corroded Coffin at the Hideout. 8pm 2nite. $5 cover. Be there, or fuck off! It also has some crudely drawn bats, skulls, and devils all around the border. A metal band. Great.

"You're sure this is how we should spend a perfectly good Saturday night? What happened to rewatching Sixteen Candles and stuffing our lonely faces?" You ask her. It's been your long-standing tradition every weekend to stick together in your singleness and lust over John Hughes characters.

"Yes! I think we need some variety in our friendship activities! Plus, the lead singer/guitarist is super cute. At least, for you he is. I'm still working on Vicki." She rubs her neck shyly at the last part. You take a moment to contemplate this idea. But all you come up with is more questions.

"Do you know him? Do I know him? And how cute are we talking?" You can't help but be a bit intrigued with whoever this mystery metalhead is that Robin wants to set you up with.

"His name is Eddie. He's really cool, I met him a while back and he's friends with a lot of my friends. And he's got long hair, tattoos, and he wears this nice, um, jean jacket." Your eyes go wide as Robin describes the man. You think you know exactly who she's talking about.

"You are NOT talking about Eddie Munson, are you? That creep, really? The one that always made a scene in the cafeteria? The DRUG DEALER? You think that's my type?" You toss the flier to the side, and cross your arms in defiance. You are sure there's nothing she can say to convince you to go to that stupid show to see that stupid band with that stupid man in it.

"Yes, I mean that Eddie. But he's not what you think! He's nice, and kind, and he's been a good friend to all of us. I can introduce you, and I swear you'll hit it off! It's guaranteed to happen! And besides, I've already told him we'd go and that he can talk to you and-" Robin explains herself, her words coming out in a manic fashion. You cut her off, you know she wouldn't babble on this way if she didn't fully believe in what she was saying.

"FINE! I'll go, dammit! Just shut up already! And there are NO promises that I won't smack him if he steps out of line!" You shout, crossing your arms stubbornly.

“Okay.” She nods in quiet agreement. 

"So, what the fuck does one wear to one of these things?" You ask as you go over to your closet. You and Robin spend the next couple hours perfecting your look. Teased hair, red lips, smudged eyeliner, check. Fishnets, a torn t-shirt, and a just-a-bit-too-short denim skirt, check. You debate on wearing heels as well, but decide on Converse as you'll be standing for a considerable amount of time. You want to potentially draw Eddie's attention, but you aren't going to wreck your feet for him. He has to prove himself worthy first.

Robin drives you both to the Hideout, a seedy little music venue on the edge of Hawkins. Old brick, holes in the roof, and a secondhand sound system, all pasted together by posters of rock shows past. Charming, you think to yourself as Robin puts the car in park. You both exit the vehicle, hearing the band has already begun their set. Robin curses you both being late. Oh well, this way Eddie can take notice of your arrival. You walk inside, giving the bulging man at the door the $5 cover. You make your way past some drunks clad in leather. You go to buy a couple beers at the bar, thankfully it's served in the bottle. You shudder to think what drinking from the glasses in this place might do to you. You pay, grab the bottles, and meet Robin at the back of the crowd. You hand her a one, which she quickly takes a swig of.

You both squish your way through sweating bodies and hairspray fumes, until you're smack dab in front of the stage. It's here that you see him in all his glory. And he's so much cuter than you remembered. The hair, the tats, the tight jeans and t-shirt. It worked so well on him back then, as much as you hate to admit it. And it sure as fuck works really well for him now. Robin was right, this was a good idea. He has yet to take notice of you, though.

Eddie's POV

You’ve taken small moments during the beginning of the set to search the crowd for Robin, and for Y/N. You’re a bit worried they won’t show up at all, as your band has played all your original songs already. You transition into the first of four covers you’d rehearsed for this evening, still waiting to see the girls. You figured Y/N would say no, telling Robin you were just the school freak. You’re nothing special to her. Oh well, you can just find some random chick to fuck later if you’re so inclined.

You almost set your sights on one when you see Robin push through the crowd and wave at you. You nod back as you continue to sing, at least she showed up for you. But then you see Y/N, breaching the sea of bodies behind her. Your breath stops for a moment, but you keep playing, not missing a single note. He has to keep his cool, but damn you've really dressed for the occasion. You look her up and down, smirking as her gaze meets yours. You drink in the sight of her, and that sexy outfit. That short skirt, the fishnets underneath, her bra strap peeking out from the top of her shirt. You want nothing more than to jump off the stage and run to her. You want to pull her close, and mess up all that pretty makeup of hers. Hell, you want to mess her up in general. And given how out of character she looks tonight, you know she'll be yours in an instant.

Y/N POV

Did he just check me out? You think to yourself. Of course he did, how could he not? You've dolled yourself all slutty for him, with the kind help of Robin. You just stare in his eyes, transfixed by him. He plays really well, but you wished you'd been here for the beginning of the show. He just keeps looking at you while he expertly plays on his guitar. His voice sounds sexy as hell, and he's singing the final song of the night to you now. It's like everyone else in the room disappears and it's just you and him all alone. You feel your cheeks heat up as Eddie's singing about sex while gazing into your eyes, winking at you. The words are so filthy, it’s having a very strong effect on you.

You suddenly feel so turned on, wanting to jump onto the stage and throw yourself at him. He seems to sense your arousal and proceeds to shred on a massive guitar solo. Every note he hits sends a shock to your core, you feel like he's put a spell on you. He's nearing the end of the song, going as hard as he can, and all you can do is watch him with wide eyes. You're almost panting, feeling the anticipation of the final note of the song building up. You have no idea how he's made you feel like this, it must be all in your head. Maybe you're just feeling the vibrations from the speakers, right? There's no way he can make you come undone by playing a song, that would be ridiculous. Or would it?

You squeeze your thighs together, unbearably close to losing control in front of everyone. He looks at you again, his smile so devilishly handsome. When he hits that final note, your knees buckle as you're rocked by an unexpected orgasm. You almost fall to the floor when Robin catches you.

Eddie’s POV

Holy shit, did I just make her cum? You think to yourself as Y/N falls to her knees once you hit the final note of your last song of the evening. Her eyes meet yours, wide and dilated with lust, Her mouth sits open as she rides out the orgasm you’ve given her. Your cock twitches inside your jeans, this has to be one of the hottest things you’ve ever seen. It’s taking every ounce of your willpower to not get an erection while you’re up here on the stage. “Thank you, everyone! We have been Corroded Coffin, have a good night!” You shout out to the crowd, before bringing your guitar strap over your head and setting the instrument down. You jog off the stage, letting the guys know you’ll be a minute. You make a beeline for the bathroom, pushing the paint-chipped door open. You go over to the sink, running some cold water to splash on your face. You’re soaked in sweat from performing, and extremely hot under the collar from what you just did to Y/N. You didn’t mean to, obviously, as attractive as it was. But you suppose there’s a first for everything. “Jesus christ, this night is gonna be interesting.” You say to your own reflection, smirking at the thought of actually speaking to her, picking her brain about how good it was…Slow down, you’re getting hard again. You exhale deeply, puffing your cheeks. You give your face a couple good smacks, and head for the door. You imagine your friends are waiting for you in the green room. But first, some celebratory beers.

Y/N’s POV

"Are you okay?" Robin asks, seemingly unaware of what just happened to you. "Was it too loud? I know it can be pretty intense." She's worried, she really has no idea.

"Yeah, I'm fine. More than fine. Just drank my beer too quickly." You lie, embarrassed about having an orgasm from goddamn metal music. You take a moment for it to pass, regaining composure. You look up to see Eddie again, but he’s already left the stage. You wonder where he went, hoping your little experience hasn’t scared him off. Even more so, you kind of hope he’s flattered.

"Okay well, we can go to the back and sit with the band if you want. And you can finally talk to Eddie!" She wags her eyebrows at you suggestively. You laugh lightly, temporarily forgetting about what Eddie made you do. Robin holds your hand as you both walk to the makeshift green room. You see most of the band putting their instruments into carrying cases. But their frontman has yet to make an appearance. "Hey guys! This is my friend, Y/N. It's actually her first metal show, so please play nice!" She says as you both make your way to a tattered leather couch in the middle of the room. You take a seat, sinking into the cushions.

"No promises, Robin. You know I like it a little rough." Eddie quips from the doorway. His hands are full of beer bottles, one for everybody. He introduces everyone briefly as he passes the beers around. He winks at you again as he hands you yours. "So, this is the famous Y/N I've been hearing about." He bows to you playfully, reaching out his hand. You place your hand into his, and he kisses it, causing your skin to burn with lust. You gasp slightly, and he looks into your eyes, and winks again. He lets your hand go, and slumps right beside you onto the couch. "So, how was it, princess?" He asks as you're taking a swig of your beer. His phrasing makes you choke on it. He chuckles lowly and puts his hand on your back, patting gently to help you. "Oh come now, I'm sure it isn't your first time." Your gaze snaps to him, eyes wide. He knows exactly what he did. "You have had a beer before, right?" He smirks, clarifying himself. But you know damn well that he meant something else.

"Obviously. It just went down the wrong pipe is all." You brush off his innuendo. You have half a mind to move his hand off your back, but it feels nice. Gentle, warm, but suggestive. "But to answer your first question, I actually really enjoyed it. It's not my typical taste, but you guys were great up there, really." You say, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

"Well it certainly means a lot, getting such a glowing review from you, Y/N. Who knew that Little Miss Priss from homeroom would turn out so fun, huh?" He teases, moving his hand from your back to your shoulder, shaking it playfully. The others snicker a bit at that. Robin stifles a giggle.

"Hey! I was not a priss! I was just...focused." You reply, playing up your annoyance. He isn't wrong, but does he need to be so smug about it?

"You were so!" He retorts. "A sexy priss, but a priss nonetheless. It's nice to see you've grown a bit since then." He leans in to whisper in your ear. "And it's nice to see you focused on something other than studying for once." He leans back to his original position, still smirking as he does. Your cheeks flare up again, your whole body has slowly been simmering with all his touches and teasing remarks. It seems the others in the room are sensing the heat as well.

"Jesus, Eddie. Take it outside."  Gareth pipes up. "We have actual work to do before Ol' Vick locks up the place. We'll meet you at the van." The others nod in agreement.

Robin stands, offering to help. "I'll meet you at the car, Y/N. Don't do anything I wouldn't do! On second thought, that doesn't eliminate much!" She jokes. You stand to give her a hug. You mouth 'thank you' to her as Eddie leads you by the hand to the back exit. Most of the crowd has headed off for the night. Eddie acknowledges the bartender, before pushing the heavy door open, moving to hold it for you. It shuts with a slam, and you're both standing under the lone street lamp in the alley. It's cooler outside, but you still feel like you're boiling. It's so quiet, save for a few drunks blasting their car radio in the parking lot. You don't know what to say now. And Eddie seems stumped as well.

"So, uh..." You decide to break the silence. "Are we gonna talk about what happened earlier?" You say quietly. Eddie's silence leaves you unsure that he heard you at all. He takes his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, putting one in his mouth. He motions the box at you, offering you one. You nod, taking it from the box, and placing it between your lips. He reaches forward and lights it for you, and lights his own after. You take in a puff, exhaling shakily. You don't smoke often, but enough to not cough and look dumb in front of Eddie.

"Jeez, she drinks, she smokes, she dresses like the girl from my wet dreams. What don't you do?" He laughs, almost in disbelief. It seems clear he wants you to say what happened.

His last remark emboldened you. "Well, I don't usually have an orgasm from live music in front of everybody. But there's a first time for everything, I guess." You take another drag, your head falling to look at your feet. 

"I don't see why you're embarrassed. It's actually pretty hot." He says, you look up to see him much closer to you now. He reaches a hand up to brush your hair behind your ear. You blush again. "To think I have that kind of effect on you when I haven't even touched you yet. Christ, I had to try my damndest not to go rock hard on stage." Your eyes meet, and you see a mutual fire of lust. He slowly brings his lips to yours. You kiss him back, softly. Your lips move in sync for a moment, every move feels so good but also like not enough. The kiss becomes rougher, you've both dropped your cigarettes and tangled your hands into each other's hair. You turn him around and push him against the brick wall. He groans slightly at this, letting your tongue go into his mouth. He breaks the kiss, and you see your lipstick smudged all over his face. You giggle at the sight. "What so funny, Y/N?" He cocks an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Just my lipstick is all over you now."

"It's all part of my plan, sweetheart." He smiles.

"And what plan is that?" You ask tentatively.

"To absolutely wreck you before the night is over." He pulls you back to him, smashing his lips on yours. His hands move down your back to your ass. He squeezes it roughly, making you moan. "I'm really glad you wore a skirt by the way. It'll make things much easier." He says breathily. "Not to mention, it looks very sexy on you." He flips you around so you're against the wall now. He starts kissing your neck, his lips and tongue and teeth working the skin perfectly to form plenty of hickeys. You moan his name many times while he does this, tugging slightly on his hair as he nips at your throat. He groans, letting you know he likes that. He massages your breasts over your shirt, kissing what he can of your chest. You reach down and start palming him through his jeans. He moans into your chest, and lifts his face to meet your eyes again. "You’re so needy for me, sweetheart. You want me to make you cum again?" His ringed hand slips under your skirt, squeezing your thigh. You want him to go higher, to touch you where you need him most. But he stays put. "You gotta tell me what you want, darling."

"Touch me, Eddie. Finger me. Fuck me. Wreck me." You almost whine, begging him to do something, anything.

"You got it, princess." His hand goes between your legs, rubbing your clothed heat. He can feel your arousal through the fabric, and he kisses you while smirking. "You're so wet for me, you little slut." You moan at his words. "You like when I call you that?" You simply nod, and he chuckles. "Damn, you really aren't a priss after all." He uses both hands now to pull your fishnet tights and panties down to your ankles. He starts rubbing your slick folds with two fingers, slowly making circles around your clit.

"Oh, fuck. Eddie, more. Please." You beg. Every touch he makes feels like hellfire. He obeys your wish, slipping a finger in, curling it just so to stroke your g spot with ease. Another moan escapes you, your head pressing back against the brick wall. He attacks your neck again, hoping to draw more noises and dirty confessions from your lips. You feel a knot building in your belly, Eddie's touches tightening it more and more. "Add another one, please." You plead, and he obliges. You're palming his length again, hoping to gain some reaction from him. But he's too focused on you. Your moans and curses fuel his fire. He keeps thrusting his fingers in and out of your pussy, his thumb begins rubbing circles on your clit. You almost scream at the combined sensations. "Eddie, oh fuck!" You feel the knot getting ready to snap, so close to the edge. Eddie stops and pulls his fingers from you. You glare at him, annoyed that he would deny you like this.

"Calm down, and open." He brings the hand from under your skirt to your lips. You open your mouth and he puts one of his fingers in. You suck it clean, moaning at the taste of yourself. He takes the other one in his own mouth, groaning at how sweet it is. "Fuck, you taste so good." He kisses you again, the taste of cigarettes and your cunt mixing together deliciously. You start fiddling with his belt, struggling to undo it on your own. He gently moves your hands and quickly gets it loose. He lets your hands return to position, you pull down the zipper, and slip your hand inside to grip his length over his boxers. He moans into your mouth, and you go under the boxers to truly feel him. You grasp him, pumping him inside his pants. He gasps slightly, breaking the kiss. "Jesus, Y/N. You're so hungry for my cock, aren't you?" He's breathing hard as you move your hand up and down, his forehead pressed against yours. You're both lightly slicked in sweat. You stop stroking him, giving him a chance to slightly lower his pants and boxers. His cock springs free, the head red and swollen. He's just as needy for you as you are for him.

You bend down slightly to pull one foot out of your shoe, pulling your panties and fishnets down. They dangle from your other foot, and you put your shoe back on. You pull Eddie by his jacket, crushing his lips with yours. He grips your waist roughly, his rings digging into your side. He lifts your skirt so the denim is bunched at your waist. He lifts you up slightly to wrap your legs around him, and you lace your arms around his neck to hold on. He strokes his cock through your folds slowly, mixing the wetness around. You both moan at this, but you want more. He needs to stop teasing you already. "Eddie, please. I'm ready for you, just fuck me. I need you." You whine. He grips your thighs firmly, and presses himself into you. Groans fall from both your lips as he slowly pushes his length in. He gives you a moment to adjust to his size, and peppers some gentle kisses on your neck. "You can move now, Eddie." You state simply. He starts to pump himself in and out of you slowly, savoring the feeling of your velvet walls around him. "Go faster. Please?" You look into his eyes, on the verge of tears from how good it all feels. But you want him to wreck you, and fast.

"Of course, Y/N. I'm at your mercy." He snaps his hips once, slamming himself into your g spot. You moan loudly. He repeats the action, loving the noises he can draw from you. "Fuck, those noises you make could make me cum all on their own. You look so pretty like this. A total mess, and all for me." Eddie picks up the pace, pounding into you over and over, slamming you against the brick. Your moans fill the air, but you don't care if anyone hears you. You want everyone to know who you belong to. And you belong to Eddie, at least in this moment.

"All yours." You moan out, tears pricking your eyes. It's all so much, his lips, his cock, his words. The knot is fully tightened at this point, waiting to snap. "I'm so close, Eddie. Please don't stop." Tears are running down your cheeks from pleasure, ruining your makeup. He stops assaulting your neck to look at you.

"Me too, darling. You feel so fucking fantastic. Cum with me." He moans, lowering a hand to rub your clit again. You feel yourself lose control, making you scream his name. Your pussy clamps down on him, setting off his orgasm. Your legs shake in his grip as he lets the thick white ropes fill you up. His thrusts slowly come to a stop as you ride out your highs. He just holds you for a moment, still inside you. You both look into each other's eyes. "Fuck, princess. I really did a number on you." He chuckles, wiping a tear from your cheek. He gently pulls out of you, your collective cum dripping out onto the pavement. You both moan slightly at the sight. He puts your legs down, but they feel like jelly so you almost fall. "Whoa, I got you." He catches you, helping you steady yourself. He puts his cock away, and closes his pants, refastening the belt. He helps you bring your tights and panties back up, smoothing your skirt down over them. He steps back, looking you over. He's unsure of what to say now. "Well, I had a nice time. I guess Robin's probably waiting for you." He says casually, hands clasped behind his back.

"So that's it then? You're just gonna fuck me and dismiss me?" You feel used now, dirty.

"No, that's not what I'm trying to do." He sighs, pulling his hands down his face in slight frustration. "I just figured, you know. You just wanted to play badass for a night. You'd have the best sex of your life and then go back to normal." Is that really what he thinks of you? You just wanted to use him for a little fun and then leave him in the dust? He couldn't be more wrong.

"I don't know what the fuck gave you that idea! Did I say that, or did you just assume?" You're genuinely pissed now. You stare at him, eyes blazing with anger. You cross your arms. "You know, for a minute there, I actually liked you. And then you go and say that?” You scoff. “You're an asshole, Eddie." You turn to walk away from him, eyes burning with fresh, angry tears. You just want to find Robin and go home. He grabs your arm to stop you, turning you to face him.

"Y/N, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just thought you wouldn't actually want to spend a lot of your spare time with a guy like me. You have a lot more going for you than I do. You're smart, and capable, you have the world at your feet. And I'm just an asshole who plays in a shitty rock band." He says, pleading at you with his eyes to understand. " Look, I shouldn't have assumed anything, that was wrong of me. That's just how this kind of thing usually turns out. One and done. But I'd really like to see you again, if I haven't already blown my chances. I really like you, I always have. I’d like to have a chance to really get to know you. But only if you let me." He takes your hands in his, stroking your fingers gently with his thumbs. It's so gentle and innocent. He really means what he's saying. You take a second to think it over, perhaps you've also judged him too quickly.

"I suppose I shouldn't have assumed you were just using me either. I really like you too. I guess I wouldn't be opposed to a real date." You say quietly. Your eyes meet again and you both smile at each other.

"Sounds like a plan, sweetheart." He smirks again, leaning in to kiss you. You meet him in the middle. The kiss is so much softer now, apprehensive almost. You're both a bit scared of what the future holds, but you're willing to take the risk if it means you'd have each other in it.

The end.

[lastoneout]

Finally saw the SBS where Oda confirms what jobs the Straw Hats would have if they lived in the real world and I cannot take this seriously. Like is he aware that most of these character's jobs are things people do in the real world?? Archeologist, meteorologist/cartographer, doctor, chef, rock star, these are real jobs. Why wouldn't they have the same jobs?? Truly baffling on every level. I refuse to accept any of these as canon.

Anyway here's my objectively correct take:

Luffy: Urban explorer. He posts stuff online but it's all really sporadic and not polished at all. Despite that he still has a moderate yet dedicated following. Not that he cares about having a following. Has broken so many laws it's ridiculous but always manages to get away. Probably lives out of a van, but despite this he does not have a driver's license. Makes money in underground fighting tournaments, but it's not about the money. Spends his free time hanging out with his friends.

Nami: Meterologist and cartographer, like she has a degree, but her "job" is being a storm chaser who has a massive tiktok + youtube following. Zeus is her assistant. The rest of the Straw Hats feature in her videos or tag along sometimes. Probably also takes sponsorships but she does vet them pretty well, and gives a lot of money to charity. Works with her family on their tangerine farm in her off time.

Zoro: Master swordsman that hangs out at his old sensei's dojo giving weird advice to the noobs, but has a "side gig" as a vigilante bcs he gets into fights with creeps at the bars he hangs out at. Luffy, Nami, and the rest of their friends are often present for these asskicking sessions, though it's mostly Luffy. Sleeps in his free time, usually in the back of or on top of Luffy's van. No one knows where he lives or if he even has an apartment in the first place. Tags along when Luffy goes exploring bcs Luffy has no idea how to be safe and someone has to make sure he doesn't end up dead on the floor of some abandoned building or stranded at the top of a cellphone tower.

Sanji: Owns a food truck ever since Zeff fired him. Probably still parks near the Baratie most days(and gets into shouting matches with Zeff when he notices), but he travels around the city. He wants to open his own restaurant but it's slow going bcs he doesnt make anywhere near as much money as he could since he keeps giving free food to pretty ladies and people who are down on their luck. Still, he always manages to scrape by. Typical yelp review says the atmosphere is shit but the food is phenomenal. Doesn't have a lot of free time but spends what he does with his friends. Terminally bitchless.

Usopp: Mad scientist who spends a third of his time building wild shit in his garage, a third working in his garden, and the rest as a playing competitive Fortnite and Overwatch. Has a small but VERY dedicated twitch following. Also he def posts bs on reddit and no one can tell if he's lying or not bcs he really is just that out there.

Chopper: Med student. Doesn't get taken as seriously as he deserves but his teachers love him. He also spends a large portion of his time patching up his friends. And he's a furry. Also I could see him having a small blog where he reviews theme parks. Spends the rest of his time hanging out with his friends.

Robin: Professional archeologist and historian. Could be tenured but she's too much of a wild card for that. Def has a criminal past but doesn't talk about it that often. Absolutely can kill a person in like 10 different ways. No one has any idea why she hangs out with a bunch of weirdos but she seems happy so w/e. Follows SO many pet blogs and tags along with Chopper when he hits the parks. Also does yoga.

Franky: Automotive mechanic who specializes in absolutely absurd modifications. Like flamethrowers and shit. Probably wants to build some sort of car mecha but no one can tell if he's serious or not. Has been banned from most places of buisness bcs he refuses to wear pants. Can be found hanging around Sanji's food truck or with Luffy and his van, constantly begs them to let him do wild shit to both. Sanji says no. Luffy says yes.

Brooke: Lead of a popular local band. They sell out concerts and he has a respectable YouTube channel where he posts covers and original stuff(though he's old and the others have to help him with computer stuff). Is hardly ever seen without his massive dog Laboon, who also is the band's mascot.

Jimbe: Bro he's retired(used to be a union leader and an activist) and spends most of his time ferrying Luffy around in his van. Also helps Nami out and has def saved her life a few times. Her audience adores him, which he gets a kick out of, but he doesn't have any social media of his own. A bit of an adrenaline junkie but it comes and goes. Surfs and does martial arts in his free time, but his priority is to enjoy life and have fun with his friends.

Disagree if you want but you AND Oda can meet me on the pit about it <3

[middlingmay]

I've seen a few Hockey AUs around here.

And for someone who's never seen a game of hockey in their puff, I do love a good Hockey AU.

So whilst I'm 100% never going to write one, how about this? :

Imagine John is one of the biggest Hockey stars in the US. Mahoosive. And he's known for being the sweetest guy with no ego about it, too.

He constantly talks up his team mates and is the biggest team player. He's openly critical of the coaching team when he thinks it's called for. He tries the direct approach first, but when they won't listen, the next time someone shoves a camera in his face, something's going to go down. This is usually when there's been an avoidable injury.

He pops up at local kids club games whenever he has downtime, wherever he is, and spends loads of time with them and is really encouraging.

And Gale, being woefully ignorant about the land of sport has absolutely no idea who he is.

Maybe he takes Marge's kid to practice sometimes, and he sees John there and just thinks he's a friend of the coach, given how delighted the coach is to see him (and maybe how the coach hangs off him, too).

Gale lets himself look. It's been a while and John is cute. All bright, easy smiles and patience with the kids, even as they try scaling his legs and back like a jungle gym (but only when their skates are off).

And John notices Gale and keeps catching him looking and they both keep looking away and looking back and blushing like children. Idiots, I stg.

And Marge's kid - let's call her Andy - chatters a mile about about how great John is and Gale figures it's not an uncommon occurrence for the coach's friend to come around if Andy knows him that well, but he makes a note to ask Marge about it. And maybe offer to take Andy to more practices. Give Marge and Rosie some time to themselves after work (because fuck it, Marge is married to Rosie in this).

On their way back from practice, Gale sees a hoard of news vans going the opposite way and just thinks, "Huh. Weird."

So he asks Marge if she knows about John - she does, of course. Andy does not shut up about him - and she clocks right away that Gale has no clue who he's been flirting kindergarten-style with and elbows Rosie in the ribs before he can blab. Oh ho, she's going to enjoy this.

John isn't at the next practice, or the one after, and Gale is disappointed, but he can't focus on that for long because his car won't start to take Andy home.

Who arrives on the scene? John Egan.

He offers them a ride and Andy does not give Gale a chance to say no.

Gale is hopelessly, awfully flustered in the front seat. John talks almost as much as Andy and the two chatter and bicker back and forth, because yes John does argue like a 12 year old.

But, he also gesticulates, and his hands get everywhere and if they brush up against Gale one more time, surely his heart can only jolt like that so many times before it's not good for him??

And cute or not, Gale finds it difficult to talk to strangers. Maybe John notices, and asks Gale yes or no questions, offers him little jokes and pretty much doesn't demand any input from Gale which is...New.

He finds himself laughing and offering little bits of conversation unprompted which have John beaming.

John walks them to Marge's door (he thinks it's also Gale's because Andy has blonde hair, too). And when Marge opens to door and Andy says, "Mom, look who it is!" John's face falls - until Rosie appears and Andy calls him Dad.

Marge, seeing an opportunity for mischief, invites John in for dinner as a thank you whilst Rosie calls Ken to get Gale's car. She drops hints about John's work which sail right over Gale's head:

"All that travelling must be hard. And surrounded by all those screaming people?"

"Oh you're in just about every paper and news report on tv."

So Gale, obviously, comes to the conclusion that John is a journalist.

It takes a very, very, very long time for him to find out the truth. Far longer than it should. They've been dating for a while, but with John's travelling and Gale's studies and his work, it just doesn't come up much. When they're together, work isn't at the forefront of their minds. So Gale doesn't quite cotton on to the fact that the sudden uptick in photographers he sees about town are following him and John. And he doesn't really follow the news, so yeah.

I may post more thoughts about this, but I just love Sports AUs in general. I will read every fic any of you write, God help me

[outlawruben]

Rdr2 modern Au: Family reunion (aka gang reunion) head cannons:

Abigail Marston- Primarily watching all the children, and building charcuterie boards. (She’s snacking on the berries and cheeses that don’t fit) she likes to make sure everyone gets plenty of fresh fruit and protein to go with the barbecue. And later, she sets up the kiddie pool for her daughter while the older boys play in the pool.

Arthur Morgan-If not playing with the kids, he’s drawing pictures for them as the requests come in. He’s also watching football with the boys. He’s eventually asked to play with Issac, Jack, and his niece. Sadie tells them to assault Kieran with the water guns, which Arthur does gladly. When Kieran turns around and notices him, he picks up his niece, and he and the boys book it.

Bill Williamson- screaming at the TV until he has to go to the corner store to buy sodas because they forgot them. He has to go to 15 stores because none of them have the sodas they want, he’s on and off the phone with Dutch, until Dutch yells at him to figure it out himself, to which he calls Hosea instead, who gives him better instructions. When he comes back he sees the score has changed for the worse so he rapidly interrogates John to ask what happened.

Charles Smith- mainly chilling with Arthur, and keeping to himself, but the children love him so they demand he and Arthur play with them all the time. Charles sits out the game when Arthur and the kids shoot Kieran in the back with the water gun. Arthur manages to outrun the boys, who end up splitting up and doing something else. So Charles and Arthur watch over John’s daughter, until she wants to go to the kiddie pool.

Dutch Van Der Linde- trying to make sure everyone’s having a good time (it’s required) and that plans fall into place. He’s also barking orders at people to help out, and desperately trying to keep his house clean. He’s also asking the score every time someone shouts “LETS GOOOOOO!” From the living room.

Hosea Matthews- mainly running all over the place. Going between: bossing people around with Dutch, helping Abigail with the charcuterie boards, tending to the grandchildren, peaking at the game, giving Dutch affection, and bringing everyone snacks/drinks. (He’s a busy man)

Issac Morgan- brought his game system that his cousins beg him to play, until it runs out of battery, then they do a whole bunch of activities that mainly Jack comes up with. He has a lot of fun watching his dad get up to mischief. Until he tells Jack to come with him to play tag in the front yard instead.

Jack Marston/his sister- jack wants to do a whole bunch of things, water gun, catch, tag, water balloons, and swimming. Marston girl (haven’t come up with a name yet) is just aimlessly following everyone, she’s too young to come up with her own ideas. The three of them manage to trail water and grass in the house every 10 minutes.

Javier Escuella- watching the game he’s not really interested in, so he’s mainly on his phone. He likes giving everyone the stink eye whenever they scream at the TV. Suddenly he gets really grossed out whenever he sees Bill lick his fingers and return to the popcorn bowl because he was eating it, so he gets up and wanders into the kitchen for something else.

John Marston- Shouting at the TV like a few others, and apologizing to Javier when he glares at him. Drinking several beers, and then asking Abigail for some more strawberries (she denies his request because it’s for the boards) Defending his graduation photo that Micah made fun of, which started a heated argument between them.

Josiah Trelawny- In and out of the house, he’s got errands to run. He’s there if you look close enough. (He shows up at the last minute for photos)

Karen Jones- Decimating the beers like John. Hanging out with her friends, Mary-Beth and Tilly, and making arrangements for personal hangouts with them to catch up. Thought of ditching the function with the 2 of them all together, but they know how much it means to Dutch, so they decide to stay.

Kieran Duffy- Was in the living room to begin with, but the screaming and loud TV started overwhelming him, so he left to go find Mary-Beth and her friends. Got squirt on his back with a water gun by one of the kids, but when he turned around, Arthur was holding the gun. (Arthur and the kids ran away laughing)

Lenny Summers- Similar to Javier, he’s mainly reading on his phone, until Sean comes up with his idea, so he gets up and helps him out. The kids like asking him to play since he’s a lot younger than Arthur and can last longer, which he agrees to. And in the evening he’s in the pool with the kids and Sean. (He’s winning at Marco Polo)

Leopold Strauss- Showed up late because he had to work. Enjoying the evening on the patio with Pearson and Swanson, and reading a book.

Mary-Beth Gaskill- Hanging out with the girls until Kieran approaches her to ask if he can hang out with them. The other girls say it’s fine and they stick together for the evening. She laughs at Kieran for getting water-shot in the back, but helps him get a new shirt to change into.

Micah Bell- Sulking in the living room with the rest of the boys. (He’s not the football type) either on his phone or scaring the kids that walk into the room. Eventually he gets bored, and looks at the family photos (this is Dutch and Hosea’s house, so the pictures are of John and Arthur). He makes fun of John’s infamous Grad picture, which starts an argument between him and John.

Molly O’Shea- Helping Abigail and sometimes Hosea with food prep, until she eventually gets overwhelmed with the living room screaming so she steps outside for a smoke break. She sees the other girls and Kieran and asks to hang out to which Karen immediately agrees. She and Karen share a whiteclaw in the hammock at the end of the evening, while they watch the sunset.

Reverend, Orville Swanson- Enjoying his time on the patio with Strauss and Pearson, and occasionally Susan. He interrupts his activities to grab another beer every so often, but he’s mostly just enjoying the weather and the conversations with them.

Sadie Adler- inspecting the Barbecue occasionally because she’s convinced that Pearson can’t do it right. Whenever you see her she either has a beer/cigarette (or both) in her hand. Definitely cool aunt vibes, and feeds the children with devious ideas (like squirting Kieran with a water gun) (which Arthur agrees to) and when she goes inside she likes to sneak up behind Abigail and watch her prep the food.

Sean MacGuire- brought sparklers for the kids, but also for himself. The kids love them and dance around in the front yard with them, drawing shapes and writing their names in the air with them. Sean likes watching them for a little while until one of the kid’s sparkler dies, and then he hands them the one he has. And when the kids ask Lenny to swim, Lenny invites him also. (He’s bad at Marco Polo)

Simon Pearson- Mostly on the patio cooking barbecue on the grill for everyone’s dinner. Sometimes he goes in the house for a beer, and to ask the scores. He gets annoyed at Sadie’s nagging, because he believes he’s doing a good job, to which she denies. He enjoys sharing his college and Navy stories with the boys, while they’re telling stories.

Susan Grimshaw- definition of “Multi-faceted woman.” She’s doing everything. Helping out in the kitchen with everyone else, Making sure everyone is fed, helping Mary-Beth get a spare shirt for Kieran, checking on the barbecue progress, splitting the argument between John and Micah, and making Deviled Eggs for everyone (they’re everyone’s favorites)

Tilly Jackson- Mainly hanging out with the other girls, or plucking off Deviled eggs behind Susan’s back. Abigail gives her charcuterie ingredients that don’t fit as well. She’s enjoying spending time with the little one, and braiding her hair before she goes into the kiddie pool. She also bought the boys the water guns, and some little toddler toys for the little girl.

Uncle- Napping. (And if he’s awake he’s drinking and asking when the food is done. Per usual, he’s not very helpful or active.

[vampiric-transsexual]

I’ve got a bit of a theory brewing in my noggin regarding the Guide. I’m placing bets that the Guide’s storyline points towards her villain arc. Hear me out-

In season 3 the Guide is appointed to assist the new leaders of the Vampiric Council, our Staten Island vampires. She has been an underling for the vampiric council for centuries and manages the Temple of Blood-Devourers.

She has followed the orders of many legendary councils, "the best of the best" as she refers to them. Now she is in the hands of a group of vampires who do not care about the rules and who violate the vampiric code by which they live at every turn. But she is required to help them and so she does.

In season 4, she quickly finds that she cannot control them. Laszlo and Colin destroy artifacts from the Chamber of Curiosities. Nandor and Nadja neglect to feed the sire and he escapes. She oversaw the sacred reliquary for hundreds of years and they dismantled all of it in a matter of weeks. Then Nadja suggests they turn the whole place into a bar. She is completely opposed to this idea and only comes around when Nadja tells the Guide that the liquidator of underlings of the Supreme Worldwide Vampiric Council, Lord Tyractus (?), said that it would be better used as a bar.

This is of course a lie but the Guide cares what the Supreme Vampiric Council thinks of her and her dedicated work. So, she agrees to the bar. She can’t get her wraiths to help with converting the space into a bar because “they know what her heart really wants”. To help get through this mental block, Laszlo books her for a therapy session. That’s where we discover her history of falling in love with a Van Helsing. (I would also like to point out that the picture of the Guide with the Van Helsing in her flashback is the same one we see in the open credits for season 5) Her form of punishment is to serve the Vampiric Council as an underling for eternity. She explicitly tells Laszlo in her therapy session that “if anything gets changed here something very bad will happen.” Could this be hinting towards some greater power beyond her control?

Finally they are able to gut the chambers for Nadja’s bar. Nadja treats the Guide and her wraiths so poorly the whole time. Despite all this, she sticks by Nadja’s side. She does her best to fulfill her duties despite their constant mistreatment.

We learn in the beginning of season 5 that she is once again left waiting at the Vampiric Council. At this point she has mostly given up on trying to make them follow the legacy of the vampiric council. So instead, she pursues respect and admiration from the vampires. But she cannot make her way into the clique.

She wants to live with them, but they make up a fake excuse about there being zoning rules that limit four vampires to a house. Then she tries to support a depressed Nadja after the bar burned down from the fire Nadja started. The guide can’t get through to her, so she suggests maybe it is a hex. She asks Nadja if she has been unkind to anyone in her past. Nadja is in denial that she could have possibly hurt anyone, let alone the Guide.

The Guide knows witchcraft, so it would make sense that she placed this “hex” on Nadja. But is the hex even real? Or did the Guide just say that to scare Nadja into realizing her own selfish behaviors?

Now the Roast is where we see things shift for the Guide.

At the roast she tells Baron that Guillermo was the one who set him on fire, because she felt bad that he wasn’t in on the joke. She mentions how bad it feels to not feel included. But then she also tells the Baron that Guillermo is a Van Helsing. This I believe is purposeful.

They have neglected her, given her nothing to actually guide, and left her aimless. She ends up apologizing and admitting to Nandor and Nadja that she told the Baron that Guillermo burned him. But she purposefully leaves out that she told the Baron about Guillermo's Van Helsing blood, too.

In the end, she is an underling for the Vampiric Council. She will not risk everything for these vampires, because her loyalties lie with the Supreme Vampiric Council. I am theorizing that she may end up selling Guillermo out to show her loyalty to the Supreme Vampiric Council and as a way of getting some revenge on the vamps for how they’ve mistreated her. I believe it’s possible she could be working with this “mysterious, illustrious” vampire (possibly part of the Supreme Vampiric Council?) to lure Guillermo into a trap.

In the screen capture for the 9th episode, we see Guillermo and the Guide standing next to each other. I don’t believe the Guide has any good intentions towards Guillermo after seeing how she betrayed him by telling the Baron about his slayer blood.

I mean there’s only so long someone can put up with being left out of a friend group and being unappreciated.

Addition:

I mean, the Guide has barely been a part of the last few episodes. They added her to the main cast/opening credits but her character's only story so far is that she wants to be roomies with the vampires. She made no progress in her own story up until the Roast. She took matters into her own hands by divulging Guillermo's secrets.. and if she continues in that direction then she could very well become the villian. It just doesn't make sense to have so little story for a main cast member. They have to be taking a big jump with her character in these last two episodes. Otherwise the whole Nadja and Guide subplot will fall completely flat. And imagine Nadja's surprise when she finds out that the Guide was behind the hex?

[pumpkin-spice-whump]

Okay I got a little more confident. Here's the first chapter.

This is a while after Jack had first been kidnapped and sold. This is the first chapter of the book, the other one was a flashback. (Sorry that's confusing. It'll make more sense with the whole thing)

--

Jack bangs his head against the wall. 106. He lazily lifts his neck and drops it again. 107. He decided he was on his way to beat his all time high of 318 a while ago. He only stopped then because he blacked out for a second, and he figured that repeatedly smashing his head into the wall wasn’t the smartest.

Except who the hell cares what the smartest thing to do is when you’re bored out of your mind.

108.

Not ‘oh there’s nothing on TV’ bored. Bored like Jack only has eight books in his cell anyway, and never mind the fact that he’s already read them all so much he’s got them memorized, but also the light has been flickering and if it goes out then he’ll be in darkness for months on end so he might as well just sit in darkness now by choice. So that’s what Jack did. He took a nap. Again. And then sat in darkness and banged the back of his head against the wall because that was better than letting his mind wander.

109.

Jack can never let his mind wander. When it does he always ends up sobbing so hard he throws up, or plots how he can potentially end his own life.

110.

If he lets his mind wander he might think of his mom. He might think that she’s forty eight now, and he missed another Christmas with her. He’ll think about how terrified he was when he was grabbed and thrown into a van. How he never even thought about that happening to him and so he had no idea what to do except lash out and kick his attacker.

He’s still got the scar on the side of his head from the man’s rings.

111.

Jack will think about the times he’s tried to keep track of the days on the wall next to his bed, but he just gave up when he stopped being aware of when was day and when was night. He had a little breakdown that day, when he realized that he’d been there so long he didn’t know exactly how long anymore.

112.

He’ll think about the fingers he lost for trying to run. The way he limps every time he walks and keels over every time he breaths. He’ll think about the part of his ear that--

113. 114. 115. 116.

Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!

Jack had a TV once. One of those big box TVs with the VHS player attached that he hadn’t seen since he was in elementary school. He played the few tapes he had basically 24/7. They weren’t good movies, he saw Joe Dirt so many times he dreamt about him, but it was something. Human voices to occupy his time. Voices besides his painful memories and… Mr. Reeder.

117.

Mr. Reeder isn’t the man who first took Jack. Once, in a bout of quiet contemplation much like this one, Jack let himself realize that he was in fact a victim of human trafficking. In his mind, trafficking was only for sex slavery or organ harvesting. But he was kidnapped, and then sold. For money. It’s not like he’s got Google on hand, but Jack’s pretty sure that’s the definition.

118.

No, Jack’s actually got no idea who first threw him in the car. He was walking home from a friend’s house. Not even a friend, just someone to hang out with so he wouldn’t be bored.

Man, 15 year old Jack had no idea what boredom was.

It was dark. He had headphones in playing music. He was alone. He was an idiot.

He never heard the car pull up beside him. Someone grabbed his shoulder and he turned around to ask them what the hell, but by the time he understood what was going on he was already in the man’s arms, hand over his mouth and phone tossed to the street. Jack had kicked out, managing to kick his attacker in the shin, but it didn’t stop him. He was thrown into the trunk of the car, and before he could even catch his breath to call for help, he was knocked out.

The whole ordeal probably didn’t take more than two minutes, if that. No time for anyone to hear a scuffle and come looking.

Jack woke up later to his arms and legs tied up, duct tape around his head, and the feeling of blood on his face.

119.

He doesn’t like to think about the early days. The constant fear and exhaustion that took hold of him. That still does if he’s being honest. He likes to think he’s more resigned now. Apathetic, if you will.

It makes stomaching his own existence a little easier.

120.

He lifts his head off the wall once again, but pauses before he can get to 121. Jack is a very very good listener, out of necessity. So despite being a floor down and many walls away, he can always hear Mr. Reeder’s car pulling into the driveway. No matter how many times he heard it, Jack can never stop the way his body tenses, the way his heart rate picks up. He swallows and stares up at the ceiling, waiting for more.

It’s been a few days. Mr. Reeder would leave to go to work every day, and sometimes he’d go somewhere for a night or two. But this has been the longest ever. Jack had woken up and went to sleep eight different times (half were naps, he knew, but even still it was at least four days.) He’s running out of food. Even if he didn’t see Mr. Reeder every day, he at least knew he was home.

Sickening that this is his home.

The door upstairs slams and Jack can’t repress a flinch. He stares up into the darkness, eyes following the sound of heavy footsteps across the floor. The footsteps stop. Jack holds his breath to listen, the only unwelcome sound that of his own heavy heart.

A slamming door is not good. Stomping across the living room is not good. What kind of mood is he going to be in?

Jack gasps and flinches at the sound of Mr. Reeder yelling, a wordless, angry shout, and then something crashes to the ground above him. Another shout and crash. Another. And another.

Mr. Reeder’s throwing things. So it’s safe to say he’s in, what Jack would call, a not good mood.

He tries his best to tune out the sounds above and focus on himself. He needs to calm down before Mr. Reeder gets here, or it’s going to be worse. Freaking out beforehand helps no one, and he ends up being in pain anyway so, you know. What’s the point. Jack closes his eyes (he can’t see anyway) and takes long, deep breaths in through his nose, and out through his mouth. His ribs flare painfully with each inhale, but Jack welcomes it. It grounds him. Lets him know he still exists, in this painful body and dark basement. He still exists.

Unfortunately.

Jack makes himself keep breathing as the footsteps get closer and closer, making their way down the stairs and stopping just outside his door.

It never gets easier. The suspense of waiting for his captor, it just never does. Even if his mind knows it’s going to be the same old same old, his body was terrified. It was tired of being hurt, of being hungry, of being tired and bored.

Sometimes he’s so bored he’s actually excited, not nervous, when Mr. Reeder comes. Oddly enough, this was not one of those times.

The keys jingle. A lock clicks. And Mr. Reeder pushes open the door.

Jack squints against the light from the basement filtering in from the cracked door. He lets out his last inhale and stares down at the heavy boots in front of him. They weren’t originally that dark of brown, but … you know. Blood.

Mr. Reeder just stands there for a moment, staring at his captive. He’s silhouetted against the light so Jack can’t see his expression. Jack waits for him to say something, anything. He doesn’t.

Jack clears his throat. “H-hi Mr. Reeder.”

“Shut the hell up.”

Jack nods, looking at the ground, heart pounding in his ears.

Mr. Reeder’s hand shoots out suddenly, gripping Jack by the hair and hauling him up out of his room. Jack hisses in pain, hands clawing at the fist tangled in his hair. If it was up to him, he would’ve shaved his head ages ago. But Mr. Reeder would never give him a razor.

Jack kicks at the ground, trying his best to get his feet under himself enough to relieve the pressure on his head. His bad leg howls in protest at the sudden actions, but he does his best to push through. As he begins to be dragged up the stairs, Jack grits his teeth to stop from crying out, knee painfully banging against each. Individual. Step.

Each step, Jack is able to brace the pain a little more and become more aware of what exactly was happening.

He is going upstairs. He hasn’t been upstairs since he first got here. The current circumstances are much different than those last time, so why the hell is Mr. Reeder bringing him upstairs?

He begins to fight.

Jack has been doing this a long time. Longer than he actually knows, but he’s positive it’s years. He’s an adult probably old enough to drink. That’s a long time to become a professional at getting your butt kicked. And being a professional victim, Jack knows that the less you struggle, the easier it is. Easier to deal with the pain, faster to get it over with, and easier to stomach your own cowardice… Or resourcefulness. He’s a survivor, that much he knows.

So he only fights back when he’s really scared.

And he has reason to be. When Jack was just a brand new greenie kidnappee, demanding to be let back upstairs, Mr. Reeder had leaned down, close to his face, so close that Jack had to lean away from the smell of the peppermint gum he was chewing.

“The only way you are ever going back up those stairs,” he said lowly, coldly, “is if I want to see your brains on the wall in natural lighting.”

It was the first time that Jack had thought I might not make it out of here alive. It took him a much longer time to accept it.

Apparently he hasn’t accepted it at all, Jack thinks as he wrenches his head out of Mr. Reeder’s grasp and dives to crawl away from him. It was never going to work but he needs to try.

Jack Thatcher was NOT taken away from his mother for years just to be shot in the head by some isolated lunatic. At least, he wasn’t going to without a fight.

Mr. Reeder grabs him easily, yanking him back by his bag leg, stretching it out. Jack can feel poorly healed bones in his knee scraping together, pinching the long disused muscles around them. He let out a shout before Mr. Reeder pulls him by his waist instead, hauling him into a room and slamming the door shut and sitting in front of it, trapping Jack inside.

With nowhere else to go, Jack pushes himself into the corner farthest from his captor, arms protectively shielding his right knee. His chest heaves and he can feel the stupid tightness starting in his throat that happens before he cries. He hates crying in front of Mr. Reeder, but it is continuously unavoidable.

Mr. Reeder sits in front of the door, catching his breath as well. He runs a hand through greasy hair, staring at the ceiling. He sighs heavily, like his life is the one here not worth living.

Tragic.

With his captor temporarily distracted, Jack takes stock of his surroundings. A mattress with no sheets is pushed against the corner opposite himself, some dirty clothes thrown at it’s end. A cracked mirror is attached to a dresser, dust slightly distorting the image of the ceiling. Behind Jack is a window half boarded up, letting a sliver of light into the room, washing over his captor. It looks like it’s golden hour outside.

Jack’s struck with the thought that this is the first time he’s seen the sun since he went down those stairs. Really, since he was thrown into that car as a teenager. He always had a blindfold on, or he was transported at night. The most fundamental, most simple and base thing a human has access to, Jack hasn’t for years. Still just out of reach.

His attention is brought back to Mr. Reeder when he sighs again. He warily looks up at Jack. “You’re lucky you know.” Jack doesn’t move. He’s heard the ‘you should be glad I’m not worse’ speech before. “You have no idea what you’ve missed. No idea… what you’ve been spared. What I’ve spared you from.”

Jack only watches apprehensively. His body is tight, poised like he’s ready to try to run again. Where, with Mr. Reeder blocking the door? That’s for future Jack to find out.

“I didn’t mean to spare you from it,” he goes on. “Heaven knows that wasn’t my intention. I think you could have benefited from being in the middle of it all.” He chuckles and Jack shrinks away even more. “Oh the look on your face would’ve been everything… Oh well. It’s just about over anyway.”

It’s nonsense. Utter nonsense. Mr. Reeder is certifiably insane, no doubt about it. He’s gone on long manic monologues before, Jack’s heard about everything.

He’s never seen Mr. Reeder pull a gun from his waistband though.

He can’t help the sharp intake of breath, the sudden urge to run! Run now! Go! He’s got no idea what to do with it so he just stands up, so quickly it doesn’t even hurt, and backs even further into the corner. Mr. Reeder always threatened that he had a gun but Jack had never had proof until right now.

Mr. Reeder looks at him from under his brows. “Sit down Jack.”

All he can do is shake his head, breaths coming out fast and shallow. The floor is liquid beneath his feet, making his body shake where it stands.

The gun clicks and points right at Jack. “Sit. Down.”

He slides down the wall, hands up. His throat bobs with a swallow, just to do something with his mouth other than sob. Tears fall steadily down his cheeks and his lower lip trembles.

Mr. Reeder, satisfied with Jack’s cooperation, relaxes his grip on the gun, hefting it like he’s simply judging the weight.

“There wasn’t much time,” he says. Jack shifts his focus from the gun to his captor, staring with wide eyes and frayed nerves. “I was trying to think about what to do with you but… I mean there just wasn’t much. I’m not sure I would’ve done anything even if there was. You’ve said it yourself Jack, who wants to die alone?”

His eyes meet Jack’s for the first time and Jack can see… tears. Welling in them. It only terrifies him more. “Mr. Reeder…”

“Shh. Shh sh sh.” He shakes his head, working his jaw. “Do you believe in God, Jack?”

Jack swallows. “I don’t know,” he whispers, voice catching on the words. “I used to.”

“What about heaven and hell? Think those exist?”

Jack can feel the panic claw up his throat, making him want to sob and scream. “I hope so.”

“Hmm… I wonder if hell will be any worse than earth.”

This is it then, Jack thinks. He’s going to take us both out, as a sick end to his sick life. He’s bored of me and now it’s over, it’s all over.

“Mr. Reeder please,” Jack begs, tears blurring him, “please don’t. Don’t do it.”

He furrows his brows, and looks down at the gun. He shakes his head. “See you in hell, Jack.”

[bettsfic]

writers' block can have many causes, but one of the most common and insidious is what i call the Bad Faith Audience: the mass of anonymous readers in your head who make fun of and belittle your work. the Bad Faith Audience happens when you're staring at a document, you want to write something, but you think to yourself, "who's going to read this? why should i bother?" it also happens when you restrict yourself: "that's a stupid idea. it's bad writing." that's what's so messed up about the Bad Faith Audience--it's an assumption of a homogenous population of people who somehow get to decide what Good Writing is. "this isn't very good," you think to yourself of your own work. but by what standard are you judging yourself? how exactly have you reached that conclusion? you've built up a non-existent audience of people to attempt to appease. the harder you try to appease that Bad Faith Audience, the more you concede your own ideals and flatten your writing to appeal to the largest common denominator.

you stare at a blank document, and before you've even written a word, you've reached the conclusion it's not worth existing. that it won't be good enough based on an unidentifiable standard. it won't be perfect. and then you don't write it.

possibly you think, "but there are all these writers i admire and i'll never be as good as them." there will always be writers you think are better than you. always. that does not invalidate your work. you have improved from where you began and you will continue to improve as long as you keep writing. the author you admire may be on a different mile marker on their own journey, but you'll get there too eventually. or maybe you won't; maybe you'll walk down a different path than them and be able to acknowledge that their voice and aesthetics are just not what you write, and that's okay. you don't have to be able to write everything. you can admire something and not adopt it into your own goals.

here's a thought experiment that's gotten me to close the curtain on the Bad Faith Audience:

don't imagine many readers. imagine one reader. i call this reader Aunt Janet. Aunt Janet can look down on anything, no matter how lauded or famous. van gogh's sunflowers? "it's just flowers. who cares?" the mona lisa? "she's not even smiling."

Aunt Janet looks at your work and says, "what's the point? go do something better with your time." but the thing about Aunt Janet is that she doesn't know anything about writing or art or music, has no knowledge to help frame her understanding of your work, and so why does her opinion matter? you can never make Aunt Janet happy.

so whenever i think, "i'm not good enough," i ask myself, says who? Aunt Janet says who. and Aunt Janet doesn't know jackshit.

now let's look at the other side of the spectrum: the very opposite of Aunt Janet, the reader who just gets you, gets what you're doing, and loves it. i call this person the Ideal Reader. they're in awe of everything you write. they read your work and leave dozens of keysmash comments in the margins. they can't wait to see what you write next.

Aunt Janet doesn't exist and Ideal Reader doesn't exist either, but in the same way you can define Aunt Janet's tastes by reasons she would hate your work, you can define the Ideal Reader by the reasons they would love it.

Ideal Reader is exceptionally well-read in your genre. they know all the tropes and expectations. they know what authors your work is in conversation with. they have an intimate understanding of where your work belongs and the frame of reference necessary to understand the context of your work. all writing has context; when we dislike something, it's usually because we don't understand its context, and if we were to understand it, it may not be for us, but we can at least understand the kind of person who values it. we can fathom its Ideal Reader and avoid becoming Aunt Janets ourselves by acknowledging that every piece of writing can be loved.

whenever you dismiss an idea as ridiculous or stupid, Ideal Reader is there going, "no, wait, i want to read that." when you can't take your work seriously, Ideal Reader is shaking you by the shoulders saying, "it's serious to me."

now imagine Ideal Reader has a platform. they have authority. they're a BNF who recs your fic. they're an acquisitions editor at your dream publisher. they're a producer asking to buy the rights to your manuscript. imagine Ideal Reader is someone who can champion your work and take it to its highest possible place.

Ideal Reader has been in the business a long time. Ideal Reader is confident and doesn't take shit from anybody. Ideal Reader stands up for what they believe in.

imagine bringing Ideal Reader to a party and introducing them to Aunt Janet. Aunt Janet immediately tries to belittle Ideal Reader: "so you publish books, so what, who cares about books?" "so you have a million followers. why don't you do something real with your time?" "you're a producer? go to med school and do something meaningful."

Ideal Reader is amused by Aunt Janet and her gross misperceptions. but then Aunt Janet goes after your work, and that is too far. Ideal Reader points at Aunt Janet and goes, "you have no idea what you're talking about." and they proceed to list off all the things they value about your work.

imagine the things Ideal Reader would say to Aunt Janet, and write out that list.

that list is your value. it's what you're giving to your community when you share your work. it's why you write.

the sad truth is that you'll encounter far more Aunt Janets than you ever will Ideal Readers. sometimes Aunt Janets are actually very knowledgeable and still demean your work, but it's because they're jaded and insecure and maybe a little pretentious. that's okay. your Ideal Readers, or the people closest to it, are the only ones who matter.

i had trouble fathoming the Ideal Reader for a long time until i published my first story and the editor went wild over it. it was the first time someone i didn't even know read my work and saw merit in it, all on its own. i once got into a pretty prestigious residency and it honestly kind of baffled me, until i got there and found out the woman who ran it was a fangirl. when i workshop a story, usually only one or two people in the group will Get It. the rest will try and they'll mean well, but ultimately they're coming at it from a different context and different personal tastes, and that doesn't mean the work is bad, but that they're not my audience. when my agent offered to sign me, she wrote me this long, lovely email about how much she loved my manuscript, and she appreciated the same things i appreciated about it. becoming a successful writer, however you measure success, isn't about being Good. Good Writing is a myth. there's only the stubborn insistence of staying true to yourself, and the long journey of putting your work in the hands of people you hope are Ideal Readers.

there will always be people out there who will understand your work and champion it. there are people whose personal tastes align exactly with yours. but you'll never be able to find those people if you don't write the ideas that are dearest to you and share them with the world.

[steviesbicrisis]

part 1

[TW: internalized homophobia | compulsory heterosexuality]

Eddie doesn't want to have a problem with Steve.

Steve is great, he's one of his best friends, contrary to all predictions, he enjoys his company, he feels at ease around him, and he knows he can always count on him.

He really doesn't want to have a problem with Steve.

When he had come out to him, a few weeks ago, Steve looked so scared and worried about his reaction. Eddie had reassured him immediately that nothing was going to change and he meant it. He hated the look on Steve's face, the idea that he didn't know if he could trust him.

Of course, Eddie was surprised. Never in a million years he would have thought of Steve as a gay - actually, bisexual - person. But other than surprise, Eddie desperately wanted to be cool with it, to be there for Steve.

It wasn't as easy as he thought.

Slowly, Steve begins to be more open about it - as much as a small town in Indiana could let him: he talks about it with Robin, sometimes with Eddie; he comes out to other people, like Dustin, Nancy and Jonathan; he ventures gay bars outside of Hawkins, he tests the waters until he's comfortable enough to actually make a move on someone.

Eddie feels bad every second of it. For every little milestone in Steve's journey, Eddie has an ugly rancid feeling at the bottom of his stomach. "I kissed a guy last night", Eddie wants to puke.

"There was this hot dude, we got out for a smoke and then-", Eddie stops listening because he knows he's close to snapping.

"I told Dustin, you wouldn't believe how cool he was with it!", Eddie feels bad, wishing he was a better friend.

Eddie tries to overcome these emotions, he really does. But sometimes he would make a face, say the wrong thing, huff or roll his eyes and Steve would notice every time.

The last straw for both of them comes on an ordinary Thursday evening. Steve is beaming and sighing as he looks out of the family video door, until Eddie has to ask what is going on.

«I have a date, a guy asked me out last night. Like, a proper date!»

«Wow Harrington, I didn’t know you gave up on women entirely» it is supposed to be a joke, but comes out bitter.

They fight. Steve can’t take any more of the snarky comments and the bad looks and Eddie knows that he’s right, but also he’s doing his best, he just needs time.

Steve tells him it’s better if they stop hanging out for a while and Eddie protests, but he can’t do more when Steve tells him «if you can look at me in the eyes and tell me you don’t have a problem with me, then I can go past this and pretend it never happened.»

He tries but Eddie can’t do it, he can't lie to him. Steve’s face falls and Eddie gets out of the store being mad at everything but mostly at himself.

—

No one says it, but it looks like a breakup. Their friends pick up sides: Robin refuses to talk to him, Nancy and Jonathan are disappointed in him but still hang out with him when Steve isn't around, Dustin doesn’t know what happened but calls him a dick for good measure.

Eddie doesn’t complain, he knows what he deserves.

The only person who's still happy to talk to him is Chrissy. After their disastrous first date -Eddie will never ask Robin for movie advice ever again, a musical about pirates with reincarnations and lightsabers, what was she thinking?- somehow she was still happy to keep dating Eddie.

Eddie likes her, she’s nice, pretty and she isn’t as clingy as other girls Eddie dated before. They mostly talk and do stuff together, sometimes they make out but nothing more, Eddie likes it better that way.

They’re going back to his van after dinner when Eddie spots Steve in his own car, with a guy. Steve is laughing at something the guy says and then they’re kissing.

Eddie doesn’t know where the rage inside of him comes from, but he needs to leave. He realizes too late that Chrissy saw them as well. The rage turns into fear.

«Chrissy, don’t tell anyone what you saw, please» he pleads, worried about Steve.

She takes a look at Eddie’s face, then back at Steve. A thought crosses her mind.

«Uhm yeah, sure… can we go back to your place?»

Eddie is nervous for the whole ride. Half of him is worried about Chrissy saying something about Steve around, the other fears that she plans to have sex with him tonight.

Eddie opens the door for her and follows her inside, nervously.

She asks for a drink but she doesn’t step any closer to Eddie which makes him relax a little.

Actually, she sits at the opposite end of Eddie’s couch and only after they had a good amount of alcohol in their system, she faces Eddie.

She comes a little closer to him, and he feels nervous again. She seems nervous too so he completely misunderstands the situation.

«I don’t wanna have sex tonight!» he blurts out, surprising the both of them. She stares at him for a second before chuckling.

«Eddie, relax» she smiles reassuringly «this is not about us- I mean, also us but- I wanna talk about Steve.»

Eddie looks at her, completely thrown aback by her request. She knew that they had a fight but she didn't know about what, obviously, so she probably connected the dots after what she saw and his reaction.

He tells her about everything, the words come out easily and she is a great listener, mostly nodding from time to time. By the end of it, she looks determined.

«So, I get you wanna get over these ugly feelings because Steve is your friend, right? I think I can help. Drink more» she lends him another beer from the coffee table «and bare with me, okay?»

«First of all, let's talk about gay people. Does it bother you if you see two guys together?»

«Well no, not really» he answers, after giving it some thought.

«So this is about Steve» she concludes for him «it bothers you thinking of him with a guy?»

He doesn't want to admit it, but he also trusts Chrissy «yeah, it does...»

«And, does it bother you thinking of him with a girl?»

«What does that have to do with-» Chrissy interrupts him «just answer the question. If he got a girlfriend, someone that he really liked, would that bother you?»

Eddie gives it some thought. He had seen Steve dating girls before, but all of his dates turned into a disaster. It was something he expected, he had noticed and made that comment about him dating nerds.

What if he found another girl like Nancy? or someone like Robin who liked him back?

Horrified, Eddie realizes he doesn’t like the sound of that either.

«Oh shit.»

AN: the final part is almost done, I thought it would be better to split it and not make you wait too long after the first part, I hope it’s okay! Thank you for the support on the first part, really! If everything goes well I'm posting the last part tomorrow.

If you’re curious, Robin made Eddie rent The pirate movie, please google it if you have time. It’s so bad. Robin is a great friend to Steve, not so much to Eddie.

Part 3

----

Tag list: @funnymagicman-named-dandy @manda-panda-monium

[yeaimsafiya]

EUPHORIA

CHAPTER ONE* back from rehab extended

SYPNOSIS the beginning of a teenage girl named y/n who is fresh out of rehab but doesn't intend to stay clean.

FROM THE WRITER I'M SORRY GUYS!! Yes I know I was supposed to post this part FOUR FLIPPING MONTHS AGO but I got so busy with school that I forgot that I was supposed to upload (and also took a break bc school is fckin tiring). BUT ITS HERE, THE FULL CHAPTER! This chapter has most of the first half from last time but if you don't want to re-read it, please skip to the third cut of this one. I Love you guys so much and I'll have most of my chapters out when I can this and next month- Love you all, Sapiyah <3

WARNINGS Lots of unnecessary writing, female! reader, VERY LONG CHAPTER, mentions of drugs and drinking, strong sexual content, nudity, violence, adult content, adult language, scenes might be uncomfortable for some, some scenes might include mentions of mental illness'

SERIES EUPHORIA

CHARACTERS INCLUDED members of the bakusquad & dekusquad, big three(?), some characters of class 1A

NOTES MDNI! Ageless blogs will be either blocked or removed

Readers discretion is advised

Suddenly, the whole world goes dark and nothing else matters except for the person standing in front of you.

i. <3

You were once happy. Content.

Sloshing and swimming around your own private, primordial pool; Then one day, for reasons beyond your control, you were continuously and repeatedly crushed...

Over..and over.. again by the cervix of your mother, M/n.

You put up a good fight, but eventually lost, for the first time, but not the last.

You were born 3 days after 9/11, your mother and father spent two days in the hospital, holding you under the soft glow of the television, watching those towers fall over and over again, until the feeling of grief gave away to numbness.

And then, without warning, a middle-class childhood in the American suburbs.

|

You were sitting at the dinner table with your mother, M/n, and Father, F/n. But it appeared something else had gotten your attention, a set of numerous lights above the dinner table, in which you wanted to count.

"Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen.."

" What are you looking at y/n?"

"..."

"What are you doing? ..Y-y/n look at me."

"One, two, three, .."

"What are you doing Y/n?"

*cries*

|

"Id say she's suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder..."

Its not like you were physically abused..

"...attention deficit disorder..."

..Or had some type of clean water storage..

"..general anxiety disorder.."

..Or was molested by a family member.

"..and possibly bipolar disorder. But she's a little bit too young to tell."

So, explain this shit to me.

|

"Honey, it's just the way your brain was hardwired; Plenty of great, intelligent, funny, interesting and creative people have struggled with the same things you struggle with."

"Like who?"

"Vincent Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, and even Brittney Spears, your favorite!"

You haven't remembered much from the ages of eight to twelve. Just that the world moved fast, and your mind moved slow.

"Does anyone have an idea of what a perception might be?"

And every now and then, if you focused on the way you breathed...

You'd die.

"Slow down, just breathe"

Until every second of the day, you'd find yourself trying to outrun your anxiety.

"What's wrong Y/n?"

..And quite frankly..

"I'm just fucking exhausted"

|

Coming down to the kitchen, you could hear the small talk between your mother and younger sister, S/N.

"You said the doctor was in our network. How can he suddenly be out of network?"

"I can't afford it."

"Did you see that video of the girl who got acid thrown at her face?"

"What? No.."

"It's pretty fucked up.."

"Mom do you know where the tampons are?"

"In my bathroom, right under the sink."

And at one point, you'd make a choice of who you are and what you want.

"Alright s/n, let's go"

"Why do the co-payments cost $300?"

"Y/n did you eat breakfast?"

".."

"What's with the glasses?"

"What glasses?"

You just happened to show up one day, without a map or a compass..

"Attention students, we need to lockdown."

..Or to be honest, anyone capable of giving on iota of good fucking advice.

And I know it all seems sad but guess what? You did not build this system up, nor fuck it up yourself.

But then it happens. That moment where your breath starts to slow. And every time you breathe, you breathe out all the oxygen you have.

Then everything stops: Your heart, your lungs, then finally, your brain. And everything you feel, you wish, and want to forget, it all just sinks.

And then suddenly... you give it air again, give it life again.

You remember the first time it happened, where you were so scared you wanted to call 911. Go to the hospital and be kept alive by machines and apple juice. But you didn't want to look like an idiot, and you didn't want to fuck up everyone else's night.

And now overtime, that's all you've wanted.. those two seconds of nothingness.

ii. <3

You spent a good portion of summer before junior year in rehab. God granted you the serenity to accept things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

"Y/N," your sister yelled from afar, greeting you after your long leave. You smiled, and whilst running up to her, tried to continue the conversation with your younger sibling.

"Hey, Come here!"

"How are you?"

"Good, I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Look at you, are you growing?"

"No."

Looking over, you see your mother standing by your family car.

"Hey," you yelled out to her, only to receive a small smile from her.

And with that. you knew it was your time to go.

|

"I'm very happy for you Y/n. You're about to start a brand-new chapter," Your mother says while driving you and your sister to school. You looked at her with a smile, then turned your attention back to the car window.

You had no intentions of staying clean. And yet, Jirou just moved into town.

"There's some new girl in town that I think you'll be friends with," Shoto said, with you standing beside him in his store.

"Who?"

"Shit, I don't know. She came in looking all punk rock and shit; So I'm thinking to myself, like, 'look like somebody Y/n would be friends with'."

Which was sort of a dead-on observation for Shoto, who's not normally revolving in the same direction as planet earth.

"So how long have you been back?" He asked.

"About five days."

"And how are you feeling?"

"I mean, ever since I gave my life over to my lord and savior Jesus Christ, things have been, like, really good."

"Word? That's what's up," You chuckled at his snarky remark, giving him a small smile.

"I'm fucking with you," you said whilst laughing, "It was a joke."

"Shit, hey, I don't judge," he defended, hands raising to just above his chest.

"But for real, is Deku in the back?"

"Are you serious?" Shoto questioned, seeming very disappointed in you.

"What, you think cause' I went to rehab I stayed clean?"

"I mean, ain't that the point?" he asks.

"Yeah, well, the world is coming to an end, and I haven't even graduated high school yet."

You gave Shoto one more smile before going to Deku, whilst Shoto stared at you the entire way there; There was a hint of sadness in his eyes, but since you were too busy looking for Deku, you didn't see.

You opened one of the doors of the refrigerators, leading you right to him with a bowl of fruit loops,"I thought your ass was dead," he said one he saw your appearance.

"And I thought you had Asperger's till I realized your just a prick," you barked back.

"This a fickle industry, y'all come and go. I'm just trying to stack my cash, pay off our mortgage," he said while pulling out a bunch of plastic bags out of a microwave.

"So what the fuck do you want?" You gave him a knowing look before he handed you needed.

"You sure you don't want to try something new?" He asks you.

"Like what?"

"2C-T-2, 2C-T-7, and 5-MeO-DIPT."

"I'm sorry I have no fucking idea of what you just said."

"It doesn't matter," he stated, "but this shit, is fucking lit."

"What is it?"

"N-diisopropyl-5-methoxytryptamine. It's a fast-acting psychedelic."

Got some similarities to LSD, but with, like, key differences. Not as visual as shit, but definitely a sense distorter.

"What's wrong?" That same dark purple hair girl questioned.

"I'm just so happy," you responded back.

"I don't know, this shits been going off in Tampa, and mad people like to fuck with this," Deku continued on with his descriptions with the drug.

"Okay. Yeah, why not."

"That'll be 120."

"Oh uh, Shoto said he'd spot me."

"Shoto doesn't spot nobody."

"Yeah, well, it's a post-rehab discount, so you should ask him."

"And I will go ask him, cause' I know your full of shit."

Those were the last words he said before you walked out. Those were the last words you heard before you saw the same two boys in their freshman year.

Bakugo and Kirishima.

iii. <3

In truth, you really didn't have a problem with Bakugo, but that was before all the bullshit with Jirou. I mean you never liked him, and once, during freshman formal, he tried fingering you on the dance floor without your consent. But like... This was Japan. And if they were throwing an end-of-summer party...

"Yo, I'd do it for Y/n! Haha!"

..Of course you'd fucking go.

|

"Yo, the whole world's gonna be talking about how Kirishima threw the grimmest banger of the summer," The blonde had said, driving in the front seat.

"I don't know bro. You know my mom's a real OCD. She sees one little scratch on the wall, the dishes are out of order-" His red-haired friend said before being interrupted.

"We'll just take a picture of everything. We'll put it back the way we found it."

"The fuck is this? Mission Impossible?" The red-haired asked.

"Could you please stop fucking worrying about your mom? You need to be worrying about all the pussy that we're gonna smash tonight."

"No, no, no, nonono, isn't Ochako coming tonight?"

"Who cares, I'on give a fuck. She's the one who broke up with me in the first place; So fuck her."

"See, no, 'cause she's crazy bakubro. I don't need her coming here and burning my house down."

"Shut the fuck up you red-haired bitch," he snarled back.

"See this is exactly what I've been talking about. Right here," the blonde haired said at the sight of the purple haired girl riding her bike, headphones in her ears; Jirou.

"Bro, don't do anything stupid. Come on let's just go" Kirishima protested, he was not with the blondes idea. But the blonde ignored him as per usual.

"Yo what up B! How about you come and ride this dick?" He yelled at the indigo haired girl, in which she raised the finger back at him.

He laughed at her as she fell from her wobbly bike, slashing her knee onto the pavement; While the red-haired sat and stared.

"What the fuck bro?!" Kirishima replied, concerned as to why his own best friend would do that but cmon, lets be real, it was Bakugo.. he didn't care.

"Whoops."

Jirou moved from the city to the suburbs right wafter her mom and dad had gotten a divorce. She doesn't really like to talk about it, but dads almost never get full custody, so you know some shit had definitely went down.

She went to about three weeks of summer school with Tsuyu, who failed Intro to Visual Arts.

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |

"Guys, do you think my areolas look weird?" The pink haired known as Mina asked, right out of the blue.

"No, they look fine to me kero," Tsu replied back; confused as to why she would ask a question like that.

"But like on the edges though.."

"Mina, they're fine."  

"Okay; fine like they look strange or fine like nobody's going to notice them?"

"Fine like shut the fuck up Mina; You're over-exaggerating ," A black haired girl known as Momo had said from the bathroom, annoyed by the brunette's self-degradation.

"Disgusting, I look absolutely disgusting."

"Mina, you need to snap the fuck out of your delusions, your hot as fuck! Bakugo's just a big ass loser who cares?" Tsu argued back.

"He's not just a 'loser'. He's a dick."

"All dicks are losers, obviously."

"Look, besides that, y'all need to walk into this party like your pussy costs a million dollars," the black haired shouted from the bathroom.

"Real, I'd settle for like, at least fifty grand."

"Fifty grand is a million dollars Mina."

"I could settle for, like, four Corona Lights and some non-rapey affection."

"That's sounds depressing."

"Either way, Bakugo's just totally ruined my confidence. I thought he was different but he's just one of those people who are constantly criticizing everything about you."

"Yep. That's about almost every guy."

"Honestly, you just need to catch a dick and forget about your troubles."

"Girl, you just need to catch a dick."

"Seriously, Uraraka, the best thing to do after a recent breakup is to fuck someone completely new, and then move on."

"Please, Momo, remind me again how many guys you've fucked before? And yeah, cat-fishing, that don't count.?"

"Tsu, could you not be a fucking cunt for like, 15 seconds?"

"Hey Mina?" Her father questioned, walking in with no knowledge of the situation in front of him; causing a reaction out of her.

"Dad, stop being a damn pervert! We're literally, like, all naked in here!"

And with that response, her dad had left without a sound.

iiii. <3

"Y/n, where the hell have you been?" Your mother asked, upset and concerned.

"I just went out to eat, nothing else," You lied

"What the hell do you mean, 'you went to eat'?" She questioned.

"What?" You questioned back whilst walking away to calm the situation. However, your mom wasn't going to till she had her answer.

"What?! Don't you walk away from me." She yelled whilst continuing to follow you. And if you'd look close enough, you could visibly see that she was pissed by the way her face heated up.

"You know what, Y/n? I don't even think I can trust you anymore at this point."

"Mom, I don't know what you want me to say."

"I want you to tell me where you were."

"I just said I went to fucking eat!"

"Don't you talk to me like that! You know what? I'm gonna drug test you." She said, but in response, you had slammed the door to your room out of anger and frustration.

"Don't be slamming no doors around here."

"It was an accident."

"I don't care. You're not leaving this house until you take a drug test."

"I just peed!" You shouted, slamming another door in the house.

"Slam another door."

"That girl's gonna be the death of me."

Now see, there's a few ways to beat a drug test. The first is simple. Just stop doing drugs. But if you're in a bind and totally fucked, there are some others.

Option one: niacin. It's a B vitamin that, like, breaks down fat and chemicals or whatever, and if you take a lot of it, like 2,000 milligrams, then chug a few gallons of water, you can flush your system in two to three days. The only problem is, it has a few side effects. Skin flushing, extreme dizziness, vomiting, rapid heartbeat, and sometimes death. I don't recommend it. Nor does any legit drug site on the internet.

Option 2: synthetic urine.. Yeah, fucking right

Option 3: get a non-drug addict friend to piss for you. The only problem is... ...most over-the-counter home drug testing kits come with a heat-sensor strip that detects the temperature of your urine. And if your parents watch you pee, you can't really do the sink trick. So you gotta get it fresh.

"Hey, Rue."

"Hey, I... I need a favor."

"What?"

"I... like for real, Uraraka."

"What?"

"Side effects of this option?"

"Are you serious?"

"Please. Thanks."

"Hey, Rue. How was rehab?" The brunettes mother questioned, sitting on the couch whilst smoking a cigarette.

To be completely honest, it was Shit. But you obviously weren't gonna tell them that were you?

"It was good. It was really good," you lied.

"Well, that's good. How long have you been back?"

"Five days."

"Oh. New chapter then, isn't that great!"

"Mom."

"Hmm?"

You and Uraraka have known each other since pre-school. And like, in some ways she's your best friend, even though you think you've grown apart. You don't really have much in common anymore.

"Did you meet any cute guys there?" Her mother kept asking while you were talking to her.

"Here's that eyeliner."

"Thanks."

"Mom, I have to pee!" You yelled as she entered the bathroom, watching you before her very eyes.

"I wish we could do this in a way that wasn't a complete invasion of my privacy."

"Well, you lost your right to privacy after your overdose."

"That was a mistake."

"Don't be flip, Y/n."

"Could you... Thank you."

You don't understand. This was the most frightening moment a mother could witness. And S/n... ,S/n who absolutely idolizes you...

"Listen, I know Mom.."

"To have her find you unconscious..."

"Can we just... Can we not do this right now, Mom?"

Rue?

Rue.

Rue..?

I know a lot of people probably hate it right now, and you probably get it. If you could be a different person, I promise that you would. Not because you specifically want to, but because they do. And therein lies the catch.

"I'm sorry... for slamming the door earlier."

"It's okay. I forgive you. Come here," she said, embracing you in a 3 minute hug; almost as if she was going to lose you to somebody.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I spend the night at Uraraka's?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Thanks."

"..Yeah."

All work is subject to copyright by © yeaimsapiyah as of 2024.

Do not steal, use or re-upload my work without given my permission or consent. If so, you will either be blocked and/or removed.

[fancyfeathers]

(Again for some reason this only showed up in my email, thank god for email I guess @zainiscompletelydone333 )

The Games We Play of Dust and Ash (Yandere Moriarty the Patriot Masterlist)

Okay this is so cute 🥰

But I’m going to lead with the second idea here for a reason

I definitely think William would educate his darling when he had enough free time to do so, but since he is a mathematics professor that would be much of the curriculum. Then Louis probably would help her improve her reading and writing skills because she probably does know how to read a little bit because of programs at the ballet and names in the dressing room to sort out their belongings. I’m just imagining the two of them when Liam is busy and Louis is free, then just sitting in the library or drawing room next to each other reading more advanced literature before Louis goes and breaks down what’s happening after each page and what certain words mean. This would probably go until Louis went to go make dinner and she would go up to her little studio William had made for her…

Now Albert’s darling may be a bit lonely, she was the first one there and honestly to spend the day with only Louis, and maybe sometimes on rare occasions Sebastian, James, and Fred when they aren’t busy, it gets lonely after a long time. The empty feeling of the halls of the house, the locked doors like the offices of her own husband and her brother in law which she only ever sees the men of the house enter. She doesn’t know the things Albert has done and he would like to keep it that way.

She could go out by herself after all she is a married woman so she wouldn’t need a chaperone-

No no, Albert wouldn’t like that, he would worry about her.

So often times she takes to exploring the house, finding ways to get into rooms that maybe perhaps she shouldn’t be in, besides William’s and Albert’s offices of course, but more like the attic, the cellar, the storage rooms, and even might sneak out to the garden or maybe the stables to see the horses out there. She would soon find every little thing she could about the house itself that she could.

But soon the boredom just had no end.

Then when looking over the rooms for the hundredth time, she peaks into one of them, it had been closed off for a while but when she turns the door handle it’s unlocked, and it’s appears to be a dance studio, like the one she learned how to ballroom dance in when she young. There is a piano in the corner, a small box that holds papers of sheet music next to it and honestly she can’t help herself. She sits down at the piano and takes out one of songs, it’s Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata No. 23, known as the Appassionata, also one of the songs she used to play with her own sister before she got married and came to live with Albert and then their parents died-

Best not to think about that right now

She dusts off the unused keys and begins to play and the music echoes throughout the house, reaching the ears of Louis who just smiles and William’s darling who is all alone…

The door creaks open and Albert’s darling jumps up, nearly knocking the piano bench over and startling them both.

“I-I am sorry… this is your space isn’t it? I should go-“

“No, it’s fine… could you keep playing?”

After a moment she nods and sits back down at the bench and pays the spot next to her for the other to sit down. The song is carried throughout the house once again and both of them are just absorbed in the music, forgetting about everything else for a moment.

Then everything falls silent as she finishes playing and the song ends and her hands slip from the piano to her lap.

“You know Albert and I actually met at the ballet, you used to work there right?”

“Oh… yes I did but- nevermind. Actually would it be okay if I asked you something?”

“Of course, I guess we are technically sisters in law and-“

“Do you know how your parents died?”

She stops for a second, she doesn’t actually know how, Albert just told her after she had woken up one morning that they had passed away in the night…

It was odd really, both of them dying on the same night, she had never thought about it before. She did not exactly have loving parents by any stretch of imagination but they were still her parents and she was sad when they passed but more worried about her younger sister who is now off living with a family friend, a widowed noble woman and a friend of the queen.

“I… I don’t actually know… but why does that matter-“

“Your husband is not the man you think he is, neither is mine or Louis for that matter, you need to be careful-“

Her whispered tone is cut off my a knock at the door, both of them look up to see the faces of their husbands, just returning from work. Albert is the first to walk over, pressing a kiss to his wife’s forehead as she tries to hide the almost terrified look on her face. William watches as his own darling stands up, to leave the other couple alone to go off with her own husband. William wraps a hand around her waist as they walk off to the library to do the last of her lessons for the day before dinner.

“Louis told us that she was playing the piano right before we got home, seems like you two are getting along.”

“I think so… or I hope so at least…”

After all it’s better to have a friend than only your psychopathic husband for company.

[gudfornuthin]

Teenage Dirtbag

Eddie Munson x reader

She’s the most popular girl in school. And he’s just the freak. Maybe people shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

A/N: based off the song narrative of Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. I really loved writing this, I enjoy creating stories based off of songs. So if anyone has other music you want me to base stories on, don’t hesitate to ask! Feedback is greatly appreciated❤️

The Hellfire Club had ended their campaign earlier than expected. They were pissed, obviously, but the dungeon master had good reason to cut it short. That reason being the cheer squad practicing out on the field at the same time. He wasn’t big on school spirit and didn’t care for any form of sport. But the one thing, or person, Eddie took an interest in was the cheer captain, Y/N.

She wasn’t Eddie’s usual type. Popular, athletic, preppy. Way out of his league, obviously. But the boy couldn’t help the attraction he had towards her. Her eyes, her smile, her laugh. God, it was infectious.

Eddie walks out of the building and makes his way to the field, beelining for the bleachers. He doesn’t want to seem like a creep, but he also has a reputation to uphold. If people found out that the freak was watching cheer practice every week for an hour, he’d never live it down. He leans on his arms, peaking through the gaps and scanning the cheerleaders. He spots her in the middle, stretching her arms and leaning from side to side. She wears white tube socks and bright yellow Keds. Most couldn’t pull that off. But to Eddie, she rocks it. He wants nothing more than to tell her that, but she has no idea who he is.

“So this is why we have to cut Hellfire short?”

Eddie jumps and turns around, the sarcastic question coming from none other than Dustin Henderson. He has a shit-eating grin on his face, pleased with the older boys scared reaction.

“Henderson. You shouldn’t creep up on a guy when he’s-“

“When he’s acting like a perve.”

Eddie rolls his eyes but doesn’t reply. He knows it’s weird for him to do this. But he’d rather admire from afar then be put in his place if he so much as smiles at her. Although, she’s the problem. It’s her dick of a boyfriend. He doesn’t know much about him, only that he plays on the basketball team and lives on his block. Somewhere else he sees her frequently. Driving down the street together in his IROC, her bare legs hanging out the window. Her boyfriend also carries a gun around school. Why, Eddie couldn’t begin to imagine. He definitely doesn’t want to find out.

“You know,” Dustin pipes up, “Y/N isn’t judgemental like her friends. Or boyfriend.” Eddie chooses not to question how he knows she’s the one he’s been looking at. “She’s always been open-minded. Might be willing to get to know Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson. Maybe if you weren’t such a pussy.”

At that, Eddie goes to push the younger boy, but misses, as Dustin runs off snorting. He wishes he could believe those words. That maybe you wouldn’t look at him the way everyone else does. That you’d see past the messy hair, leather jackets and unsavoury music. But he couldn’t. because he was just that. The freak. The weirdo. The dirtbag. He huffs and walks away from the bleachers, feeling down on himself.

---

Why Eddie had agreed to take all the kids to prom, he’ll never know. But as they all pile out of the van, chatting animatedly about decorations and people’s outfits, he sits back with a cigarette in hand. He had nowhere to go, and they’d all be ready to leave in a couple hours, so there was no point leaving to have to drive back.

He waves half-heartedly at them as they walk into the gym and lights up. Eddie closes his eyes and breaths out. He hates to sit and mope, but it’s hard not to knowing everyone else is having fun. While he sits alone, waiting for a bunch of 14-year-olds. What a loser.

No soon after the kids have left, Eddie begins to grow restless. He looks at the doors, seeing the flashing lights and hearing muffled music. It couldn’t hurt to poke his head through and scope the place. No one would see him. He’s never been to the prom before, albeit due to being banned from going every year. But it had never been his seen anyways. Having to get dressed up and listen to some shitty cover band play the same three songs over and over. Eddie preferred staying home and getting high.

Either way, he hits his hands on the steering wheel, and gets out the van, flicking the cigarette butt onto the floor. Making his way into the gym, he immediately spots Dustin, along with Mike and Lucas dancing off to the side. Red faced and laughing, he can’t help but smile, glad they’re having fun. He walks further through, trying not to be seen, but standing out completely. Eddie chooses to stand at the back of the room, alongside other rejects who hope that this will be the year they get asked to dance. He crosses one leg over the other and does the same with his arms. Constantly glancing back and forth, using the time to people watch. Couples dancing. Couples arguing. A kid most definitely spiking the punch. Y/N walking over to him.

Eddie stands up straighter, eyes wide and mouth dry. She was still coming closer, a small smile on her face. This can’t be real. Maybe she’ll take a sudden turn towards the doors, or perhaps she’s going to ask him to leave. She is part of the prom committee, and he’s not exactly welcome. Even so, she continues to walk towards him, until she’s only a few feet away.

“Surprised to see you here.”

Eddie can hardly process what she’s said. “Huh?”

“I didn’t think this was your scene. I hope you’re having a good time though.”

Why is she talking to him? why is she acting as if she knows who he is? Why does she hope he’s having a good time? Those are just a few of the several thoughts running through Eddie’s mind. His lip and hands start to shake, and he’s hyper aware that she’s waiting for him to reply.

“You look really beautiful.”

He cringes. That wasn’t what he meant to say. He truly meant it though. A stunning, purple dress hugs Y/N’s figure, the lace wrapping around her collarbone. Subtle, golden makeup shines under the light. To Eddie, she looks ethereal. He’s smitten, and he’s worried he may have just blown it. Then he hears her laugh.

“You’re too sweet,” the music changes, and ‘Like a Virgin’ begins to play. She reaches out her hand, “come on, I love this song.”

Eddie’s still in shock, as the girl takes his arm and drags him to the centre of the gym, lip syncing along to the lyrics. She takes both his hands in hers and moves them back and forth. Eddie tries to keep his focus on her, not wanting to lose a second of their time together. But he can’t help to look around, nervous and on edge. Y/N leans close so he can hear her.

“He’s not here.” Eddie looks confused. “My boyfriend? We got into a huge fight earlier and he left.”

He’s unsure how to respond. He can tell she’s trying to hide the hurt, a tight-lipped smile and eyes glossy. Her boyfriend’s a dick, sure, but Eddie knows what relationships can do to a person. Though it pains him to think of her having to go through anything like that. Instead, he changes the subject.

“So you like Madonna?”

She shrugs. “Well yeah, everyone does. But I’m more into hardcore stuff,” Eddie holds his breath. “You know, bands like Metallica and Black Sabbath.”

Of course he knew what she meant. But it was still hard to process. The head cheerleader, who wore bright colours and was the embodiment of sunshine and flowers, is a metalhead. He hardly notices the song change once more to a slow melody, as she rests her arms atop his shoulders, and his wrap instinctively around her waist.

“Actually, now that I mention it. Iron Maiden are doing a show this Friday. I’ve got two tickets and no one to go with. I was wondering if you-“

“Yes.”

Y/N is taken aback once more by Eddie’s abrupt response but smiles none the less. He shakes his head, a blush forming on his cheeks.

“I mean,” he clears his throat, “I’ll have to check my schedule because you know, I’m a busy guy,” a complete untruth, “but yeah, that’d be really cool.”

She smiles wider and looks down at Eddie’s lips. She looks into his eyes, asking for permission, to which he nods. The pair lean in, eyes closing.

“Eddie,” she whispers.

“yeah?”

“Eddie, wake up.”

He opens his eyes slightly, seeing you staring back at him.

“What?”

“Eddie, you need to wake up now.”

---

He gasps and sits up straight, finding himself in bed. He looks around and sees his uncle looking over him, dressed in work clothes. “You overslept again. Can’t keep missing school if you wanna finally graduate.” He shakes his head and walks out, leaving Eddie alone, replaying the vivid dream over and over.

--------------------------

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Do you think Twilight could have happened in a place other than USA without changes? Your post about lack of parking lots made me think about it. In my country you legally cant obtain a license until you're 18, and most people finish school at 17, so there aren't any school parking lots. In many countries there aren't blood taking days, in some people can't pick and choose their classes or their seat arrangements in class, or they have solitary tables. Could all these small things add up to not having Bella dead or undead until her natural end? /well, except for "Bella lives in Iraq and gets married off at ten" scenarios

Twilight's very American.

Being American myself, it's hard to judge, so @therealvinelle should probably weigh in with her non-American opinion. Or perhaps regale us with a Norwegian version of Twilight.

(Though for the record, I never did blood testing in class, though I also did comparatively little Biology and only did basic cell things. So perhaps it's standard and I just didn't go advanced enough.)

But yes, I imagine changes would have to be made. Whether they're changes we'd call in any way "significant" I doubt. Most of those things you mentioned are just plot devices used to give Bella information and to move the story along.

Bella nearly being hit by the van in the parking lot makes Edward reveal his supernatural abilities. If he hadn't done that, then Bella wouldn't have as much reason to question him/eventually question Jacob and believe him when he says "lol vampire". The blood testing was to give more clues, Edward purposefully avoids the class on the day they're doing it, knowing in advance and knowing it's a bad idea, and also reveal that Bella smells super extra delicious to Edward specifically. It got Bella and Edward talking after the van incident when Edward had been trying to avoid her and helped make "vampire" sound less silly.

Bella's taking gym as a required class is mostly so we the audience can laugh at her sympathize. It also reveals she's stupid clumsy which has plot relevance in that she will never ever win a fight ever. And she never does.

The prom is just so Edward realizes he has rivals and so at the end we get Bella in a hot outfit dancing with Edward in an equally hot outfit.

But they can all be replaced easily with other things.

Instead of a car, a light fixture can nearly fall on Bella's head, but Edward pushes her out of the way in time when he'd been across the room. For some reason, no one else noticed. The blood testing bit can be dropped altogether and be replaced with Jasper staring weirdly at someone's split lip. Bella on grilling Edward about what's up with that says something very vague and enigmatically mysterious. We can drop the upcoming dance and just have boys asking Bella out normally, and her avoidance of it becoming increasingly ridiculous to avoid drama, which intrigues Edward of course. And we can replace the Quileutes in the know with pick your group of people who are very insular/have a poorly recorded history/and are somewhat separate from the place Bella's in who can get weird about the Cullens.

The important thing is not necessarily 'what' happened but what it enabled and how it affected the characters. If the cultural is similar enough to America 2005 that Edward and Bella can get together in a very similar manner, then it's green lights go.

I can't think of a single thing that can't be replaced and keep the heart and soul of the story, every major plot point, intact.

Now, culturally, Bella and the Cullens as non-Americans could be significantly different, but Edward's mysterious hot charm would probably be culturally universal to Bella. And non-American Edward would still be Edward underneath the hood, he just has different cultural trappings.