#Indiana Bell Building

[nekodani]

[shallpass13]

The history of the Indiana Bell Building is so fucking cool. They were going to destroy it but at the suggestion of Kurt Vonnegut, they moved it instead!

Source: https://www.archdaily.com/973183/the-building-that-moved-how-did-they-move-an-11000-ton-telephone-exchange-without-suspending-its-operations

[aci25]

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In 1930 the Indiana Bell building was rotated 90° Over a month, the 22 million-pound structure was moved 15 inch/hr while 600 employees still worked there. There wasn’t interruption to gas, heat, electricity, water, sewage, or the phone service. No one inside felt it move.

[trashmouth-richie]

⛧「 ✦ 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔤𝔬𝔫𝔢 ✦ 」⛧

⛧tattoo artist! steve 💋 ⛧rising rockstar! eddie

⛧eddie x fem reader | previous steve x fem reader

⛧reader is nicknamed cherry 🍒

⛧summary: series of blurbs revolving around you, eddie and steve. after vecna: eddie sold his soul to remain alive— him and steve leave hawkins and indiana to go to college and leave what happened in the past. eddie is on the rise of fame while steve is still battling his demons. they both meet reader at school. reader has no idea what happened, and never finds out the truth. eddie progressively turns into a mentally abusive asshole throughout this story so keep that in mind. he’s not our lovable boyfriend.

⛧part one summary: a surprise for your boyfriend, you decide to get a tattoo of his name in a very private spot, from the only one he would trust to do it, his best friend… whom you have a past with. 

⛧warnings: implied smut, depression, anxiety, possession, selling soul to devil, post s4 where both eddie and steve leave hawkins. there will be a few blurbs in this au, (in other parts: smut, degrading, possessive mean! eddie)

It was your idea to surprise your boyfriend with a tattoo. After months of him joking around about branding you as his in a more permanent way, you decided to do it.

A tattoo would last forever, it wouldn’t heal like teeth marks did or fade away like his hickeys would. His dick kicked up at the thought of his name scratched into your delicate skin. The same night he had mentioned it he had you face down in the sheets, burying himself deep within your walls until you were both out of breath. Panting, aching for and from one another. 

The date was set, and you knew better than to go to anyone but Eddie’s best friend to get it done, and Steve agreed to do it for free, since you’re Munson’s girl. 

He agreed to keep it secret because you had wanted to surprise Eddie, but as the appointment creeped up, you became more and more nervous about trying to keep your present for him under wraps. 

The day of the appointment landed on a Friday, the same night Eddie’s band was set to play at The Bloody Dime, an up and coming bar that was known for fights breaking out and drinks being cheap. 

Per his demands, you weren’t allowed within 10 feet of such a place, already having to find out the hard way when he beat the bricks off a guy who wouldn’t stop staring at you. 

Pretty baby like you doesn’t belong there, kitten… understand?

Steve’s shop was downtown from your apartment, a cozy little space nestled into a black brick building—Inked Demo spelled out with neon blue lights. 

The walls were covered with paintings of strange creatures you couldn’t imagine in your worst nightmares, deep reds and violent shades of purple. Various plants hung from the ceiling and were potted in planters or tucked into ornate little terrariums. 

It smelled of rich cedar and hand rolled cigarettes. The bell on the door dinged announcing your arrival and Steve stepped from behind the back wall. His hair was how it always was, slicked back in a dark wave, and he merely nodded to acknowledge your presence. 

“Cherry,” he greeted, using the name Eddie had introduced you to his friends. He wrapped you in a bone crushing hug, kissing your cheek gently before he held you at arms length. 

Out of all of Eddie’s friends, Steve knew you just as well as your own boyfriend did. 

A smile creeps across his lips as he lets your arms go and walks to a small desk. His tall frame slinking like a shadow as he clicks on a slim lamp and begins flipping through a binder full of current work and past tattoos. He finds the heart shaped cherries with Eddie written in pretty cursive underneath. 

They were perfect— Steve was able to capture your ideas through horrible explanations and give his own little twist to them. A modern mockup of American traditionalism with the speckles of glitter you had seen on Pinterest.

His eyes sparkle through the shadow from the light as he proudly holds up the drawing, “so… where we puttin’ this sucker?”

Originally you had thought to put it on your chest, but decided against it when Robin had told you how much her tattoo had hurt there, even more so when she had to get Barb’s name covered by a butterfly. 

Crossing the tiger print carpet to the black tattoo chair, you sit down gently with your ankles crossed, “umm, would it be weird to put it on my thigh?” you asked meekly, “kinda high up so it’s a little more private?”

Raising your skirt, you show Steve the placement. A slivered peek of scarlet lacy panties are visible beneath the hiked up fabric in your fingers, and he nearly bites a hole in his cheek to not look. 

“You could put it there,” he ponders, moving a large veiny hand through the slick of his hair, only to land on his chin to really sell the act of him thinking, tapping his bottom lip, “but ass tats are really popular.”

Eddie would go berserk seeing his name anywhere on your body, but you had to admit— there was something a little bit sexy about his name being tattooed only somewhere he could see. 

“Will it hurt?” 

His eyes light up as he grabs supplies to sanitize his work area clearing his throat, “haven’t had anyone cry yet, so I’m gonna go ahead and say no.” 

Steve’s reputation for his artwork spread far and wide, he was booked solid for months on end, self taught, making tons of money for a college drop out— despite what his dad had said. 

He had done all of Eddie’s tattoos including the enormous stretch of bat wings that spread across his shoulders and down the expanse of his back. Sharp talons protruding onto the beginning of his hips, curved around to his wrists. Steve had freehanded most of it, as if it were from memory. 

Biting your lip contemplating the placement, you think of Eddie and the swelling size of is cock as it split you open once he laid eyes on his name branded into your skin. 

“Okay,” you smile, “let’s do it.” 

Steve smirked and rubbed his jaw, “cool, lay on your stomach for me.”

Flipping onto your front you lay with your hands under your chin, looking up at him through your lashes, “like this?” 

Steve sits on the stool facing away from you, straightening his table and tattoo gun, looking over his shoulder meeting your eye, “yeah… that’s perfect, Cherry.” 

You watch in amusement as he sterilizes his work station and sets up the ink, “Eddie playin’ at the Dime tonight?” 

“Yep,” you sigh, thinking of all the time you’d spent alone while he was gone, “last show of their College Daze Tour, then back to finals, and normal life.” 

A scoff rumbles from Steve’s throat as he wraps his gun, “what’s even considered normal? Everything is pretty shitty around here.” 

Propping up on an elbow you set to argue with him, “going to class is normal, hanging out with our friends, partying, sleeping in the same bed instead of him crashing in the back of someone’s van— that’s all routine for me, for us…” you sigh a little, picking at your thumbs. 

Steve looks over and sees the sadness in your face, grabbing the pink disposable razor, “last I heard from him, he was looking to leave Corroded and start up somethin’ with a few guys from here. Can’t say I blame him, anything to do with home is hard to deal with.” 

Eddie never talked about Hawkins. The only thing you knew about it was that he and Steve got the hell out of there the year he graduated, never looking back, never visiting. 

“That’s the plan for now at least… honestly, I wish he would take a break for a while, but you know him— he’s really driven to be the best he can be.” 

Steve knew all too well. Spending nights awake staring out of his large apartment windows, missing the way things used to be, regretting everything that happened in Hawkins. 

 “Eddie’s…passionate…about the things he cares about, he’s always been that way.” 

That part was always true, Eddie carried his feelings on his sleeve, never afraid to show his emotions, or make sacrifices for people he loved. Steve himself was a living breathing reminder of that. 

“…alright Cherry,” his voice dripped with smoothness as he got closer to you, “everything’s ready…I’ll need to lift your skirt so I can prep the skin, you cool with that?” 

You reply with a yes, and feel the goosebumps prick at your skin as the cool air hits your exposed cheek. The rubber of Steve’s glove drags across your skin as he rubs in the sanitation spray. “‘m gonna shave you now.” 

This being your first tattoo you didn’t know what to expect, heat flooding your cheeks immediately, “oh my God is it hairy?” 

Steve chuckles low, a fan of his breath blowing warm against your skin, “not at all honey, it’s just standard procedure for any tattoo.” 

He was delicate as he ran the blade across you in small motions away from him. One rubber gloved hand held your skin taut, the other on the razor. Your ass bounced back to him after the last drag of the razor leaves your skin, and you swore you heard him suck in a breath. 

Steve had always been handsome, ever since the first time you met during that freshman year mixer in the backyard of some random frat house it was that he was rushing for. 

He was different then, preppy clothes and expensive shoes, surviving during the week just to live for the weekends. A flask with his name claim permanently pressed to his palm. King Steve. 

But somewhere along the lines of college stresses and life back in Hawkins— he changed, dropped out of college completely and dove into his natural talent. Making a name for himself, carving his own path. 

That was why you had fallen for him to begin with. 

“E-Eddie said you have a date this weekend, are you excited?” 

Steve wipes your skin with a paper towel and spreads a thick ointment to lay the stencil, “I wish he’d stop trying to set me up.” 

His thumbs sweep across the stencil laying it firmly in place, “oh c’mon Steven…Lydia’s cute, she’s in one of my elective art classes, she reminds me of you.” 

Steven. Nobody ever called him by his full name.

“Of me?”

Looking over your shoulder you meet his deep mossy eyes, “in a weird way I guess, yeah.”  

He looks back into your eyes, watching as you slowly blinked and drifted your gaze downward to where his large hands were still splayed across your ass. 

The dusting of hair on his arms tickled your skin when he pulled back gently, pinching a corner of the transfer paper and peeling it from you. He purses his lips and blows on the stencil lightly. 

Steve often thought back to the way things were three years ago. The way your eyes gleamed under the string patio lights, the scent of your vanilla perfume and how it seemed to bake deeper with the sun's rays on your skin. 

He remembered how your lips tasted like melted ice cream against his, and how deeply he craved to be floating in the candy confectionery of sugar and sprinkles with you in the center of it, center of his world. 

Steve shakes his head, trying to erase that time in his life but always coming up short. “This won’t hurt too bad, I’ll stop whenever you need, okay? It’s best if you lay down.”

Your chest tightens with nerves as you nod your head, pressing your cheek into the vinyl of the black headrest. 

The gun starts and Steve tells you he’s going to do the outline of the cherries first. The needle vibrates into your skin and you wince at the first few lines made but eventually getting used to the way your skin buzzed and the pain that came from it. 

You whimpered out in a few spots and Steve’s velvet voice shushed you gently, telling you the worst was almost over. 

“Outlining is finished,” Steve murmurs, rubbing ink from your skin, “you’re doing really good, honey.” 

Your mind slips to him saying those words in a different setting, a miniature golf course with clubs that were too short and a go-kart track. He had said it when you finally sunk your ball after par ten thousand on hole eleven. 

Sarcasm spread across his face and you wiggled your tongue at him and threw a middle finger his way. Only for him to chase you around the tiny windmills and grassy hills, catching up and tickling you under your arms until you were near to tears. 

You thought he would have kissed you that night, but to your surprise and dismay— he had waited for the third official date.

“Thank you,” you smile weakly. 

He returns the smile and looks away, clearing his throat, “the shading will be a cake walk, we’ll be done here before you know it…might even catch the end of Eddie’s show.” 

“Really?” you say with a spring of hope in your voice. He couldn’t dismiss how his friend's name made his mouth taste like poison, but how it made you weak in the knees. “That would be great, Steve.”

“Sure thing princess,” he nearly whispered, “lay back now, I’ll be done soon.” 

Steve tried to blank it all out as his tattoo gun spelled  Eddie in a cursive calligraphy he knew was yours. Letter by letter he swallowed down the feelings he had been harboring from you, from him— from everyone. 

He wished he had never taken you to that concert. He loathed himself for the way Eddie slithered between the two of you, how Eddie could have had any girl at that after party but he chose you simply because you were with him. 

Steve tried to deny him of it, tried to steer him toward another girl, a girl who wasn’t you. One he hadn’t been in love with, one who didn’t appear in his dreams despite the nightmares clouding in. But one low growl and a flash of those sharp fangs and Steve knew he didn’t stand a chance. 

Letter by letter he branded his friend’s name into your skin, giving the girl he loved a silent goodbye with every curve and final dot of the ‘i’.

“All done,” he said with a shaky throat, cleaning you up, “wanna see it?”

You nod and reach for his outstretched hand,  swinging your legs and standing to follow him to the mirror. It was perfect. Equal parts colorful yet traditional with a spark of modern flare added to it. 

“Steve,” you gasp, mouth hung open in adoration, “it’s beautiful!”

He rubs his neck and watches your reflection in the mirror, the way your mouth ticks up on the ends into the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.

His heart was aching knowing it wasn’t for him

[ladykailitha]

Grief (A Friend Indeed) Part 9

Hello, everyone! We are almost to the end. I have all twelve parts completed and will be posting them every Thursday until the story is fully published.

So what's next? With Royal Pain being done as well, I'm going to try and finish Well Met By Moonlight and Find Your Shade By the Moonlight. I will be back working on the soulmate AU Batshit Soulmate and the next book in the Boy with a Bat series called Never Hold Back Your Step for a Moment. I'm also starting that omegaverse story I thought up here.

We meet Steve's family and find out more about why Steve's parents didn't like that side of the family much.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

****

Eddie and Steve wandered around town for a couple of hours, doing a little sightseeing, a little shopping, and a lot just being themselves for a moment or two.

Soon it was getting close to time and they headed to the diner. They pulled up and got a booth.

Eddie and Steve slid into one side and told the waitress that they were waiting for someone and to just grab them a couple of waters.

The waitress nodded and quickly came back with the waters.

They didn’t have to wait long before Percy came through the door, the little bell announcing his arrival.

Steve waved him over and he smiled in return, hurrying over to the table. Once he was settled he told the waitress they were waiting on one more but if they could get a pot of coffee and two cups please. Eddie and Steve both got sodas.

“Who are we waiting for?” Steve asked nervously.

Percy twisted the ring on his ring hand, looking down at the table. “A friend.”

Eddie and Steve shared a glance, wide-eyed.

Eddie wrote something down on a paper napkin and slid it over to Percy.

Percy took the napkin with frown and then he gasped. “Both of you?”

“Both for me,” Steve murmured.

“Just men for me,” Eddie added.

Percy glanced around the diner nervously, but no one was paying any attention to them at all.

“Oh.” He let out a shuddering breath. “Just him.” He pointed to someone walking up to the diner through the window.

He was a tall man, thin. Long black hair, braided to the small of his back. He wore a suit just as nice as Max’s in a beautiful silver color.

He came over when Percy waved at him. He slid next to Percy and looked Steve and Eddie over.

“Who are these boys, Percy?” he asked gravely.

“This my nephew, Steven and his friend...” Percy began.

Eddie stuck out his hand. “Eddie. Eddie Munson. We’re actually in Kentucky because of my own grandma’s funeral. Steve wanted to come visit his grandma’s grave so we took a drive.”

“Where you from?” Percy asked. “I catch a bit of twang to your voice.”

Eddie grinned. “Indiana mostly, but my family’s from Ashland.”

Percy smiled. “Nice town.”

Steve smiled. “It has been so far.”

“This is David Estevez,” Percy said, shyly. “The reason you’re parents haven’t spoken to me in over a decade.”

“Ah,” Steve said. “Yup, Clint Harrington is a lot of things, but tolerant isn’t one of them and of course my mom just went along with it. Even though it’s her money and her family.”

Eddie clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. “Let’s see, not white, not from here, judging from the accent, and not straight... anything I missed?”

David burst out laughing. “Not the right kind of rich. I’m a self-made man. I worked hard to be where I am today and they hate that. I grew up poor in New Mexico and made my money building computers in my mom’s basement. Now, I’m a multi-millionaire CEO of a major tech company.”

“Dustin would love you,” Steve and Eddie said together.

“Who?” David asked with a chuckle.

“He’s this kid we know,” Eddie explained. “He built a CB tower just so he could talk to his girlfriend in Utah and not rack up his mom’s phone bill.”

“He sounds like fun,” Percy said, rolling his eyes.

David dug his fingers into Percy’s side, causing him to squirm and squeak. “As if you wouldn’t love it if I did that for you.”

Percy blushed. “Maybe.”

He cleared his throat. “How are your parents, Steven? I saw on the news that there was a horrible earthquake last March.”

Steve gulped and Eddie gave his hand a squeeze.

“I really wouldn’t know,” he mumbled, looking down at the table, tucking his hands between legs. “I haven’t seen them in a while.”

David and Percy shared a glance.

“They did come back after the earthquake, right?” Percy pressed. “To see if you were all right if nothing else.”

Steve shook his head. “They didn’t come home when I was caught in the mall fire, why would they come home for something as inconsequential as an earthquake?”

“Mall fire?” Percy asked.

“You remember, darling,” David said, “the one from last year where there were thirty people who died?”

Percy expression cleared as understanding dawned, and then it turned horrified. “They didn’t come home for that?”

Steve shook his head again. “They didn’t come home when I got a concussion so bad I was out for several hours, or anytime I got hurt.” He rubbed a scratch that was in the surface of the table mournfully.

“Mom follows Dad around to make sure he keeps it in his pants. Not that it deters him,” he explained. “I heard him bragging once about how it’s a game to him now to see what he can get away with.”

The waitress appeared with their drinks. “Are you guys ready to order?”

“I’m not hungry,” Steve murmured.

The rest of them ordered, with Eddie ordering a side of cheese fries in addition to his regular side of fries.

Once the waitress had gone, Percy leaned forward. “How long has this been going on?”

“The trips started when I fourteen or so,” he continued. “But the older I got, the longer the trips were, until they just stopped coming home sometime around Christmas of last year.”

“Stevie...” Eddie whined. “Why didn’t you say something?”

Steve shrugged. “I’m an adult. It’s not as though I’m a kid anymore.”

Percy took his hand in his. “No, Steven. That’s not how parenting works. Ever. They’re supposed to care about you enough to at least tell you were they’re going and when they’ll be home.”

Steve looked up and into his uncle’s eyes. “The money changed them. They haven’t been my parents in over a decade. I’ve just been this trophy they pulled out whenever it suited them. Had to be first in everything. I’m surprised they only let me get away three sports instead of making me try everything.”

Eddie looked stricken. “The sports weren’t your idea?”

Steve shook his head. “It was a way that they could legally pawn me off to other adults. Probably the reason for all the piano lessons and the tutoring. How I met Nancy by the way. Gotta have the best grades, until someone puts a plate through my head, then I was just as disappointing as they feared I would be.”

Everyone else at the table let out noises of distress.

“You never should have had to go through that,” David whispered fiercely. “Ever. I’m sorry your parents were awful.”

Steve shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad. I have had adults in my life that cared about me. The Chief of Police always kept an eye on me. Dad stopped hitting me after the second time Hop, Chief Hopper, I mean brought me home after...” he trailed off and looked anywhere but at the people in the booth with him.

He cleared his throat.

Their food arrived and that last sentence was left to dangling in the air like the sword of Damocles over their heads.

Percy watched as Eddie pushed the side of cheese fries between him and Steve, taking a bite periodically, but mostly focusing on the rest of his food.

Steve reached out and took one of the fries, chewing mindlessly. And then another and then another.

David smirked when Percy indicated to what Steve was doing.

Eddie pushed them in front of Steve and he just dug into them like a starving man. He took half of his burger and handed it to Steve, too.

Steve took the half with a blush. “Thanks, Eds,” he said softly.

Eddie just smiled fondly and finished his half of the burger.

David started talking to Percy to help fill the silence and soon the sense of dread dissipated as they fell into easy conversation.

Soon they were done and their plates taken away.

David lifted his chin to indicate to Steve. “Where did you learn that if you got cheese fries Steve would eat?”

Eddie and Steve glanced at each other and Steve blushed.

“Is that what he did?” he muttered.

Eddie laughed. “It’s trick I learned from his best friend. When he’s upset he won’t eat, even when he needs to, but if you put something like cheese fries or onion rings near him, he’ll graze until it kick starts his appetite again.”

Steve looked over at him in shock. “Holy shit, I never realized. Who else does that?”

Eddie smiled at him, that closed mouth, fond smile that he was got around Steve. “Dustin and Max mostly. But El and Will have been known to do it once or twice.”

Steve blinked.

“Sounds like you’ve got a lot of people that care about you, Steven,” Percy said with a grin.

Steve nodded, blushing. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

He looked at his watch and sighed. “How’s this,” he said, “why don’t you use that business card I gave you when you get home and David and me will come out to visit you for a few days?”

Steve lit up. “Yeah? You’d do that?”

Eddie grinned. Steve had just gotten his boyhood wish of having an uncle that cared and he could feel the joy and surprise radiating off his friend.

“I’d love to,” Percy said. “I would love to meet your family.”

Steve grinned. “You’ll love them.”

David smiled, too. “I’m sure we will.”

They got up and hugs were passed around everyone and they said their goodbyes.

“Goodbye Uncle Percy,” Steve said, his voice a little rough with emotion. “Bye, Uncle David. I’ll see you both soon.”

David looked happy and shocked at being called Uncle. Jasper’s daughter would never. But here was this nineteen year old boy whom his partner hadn’t spoken to in literal years being more caring and decent after a single afternoon with him, then Beatrice had her whole life.

So he did the only thing he could, he hugged Steve again, more fiercely this time. “Thank you.”

Steve nodded. He wasn’t sure exactly why David was so grateful, but he understood enough.

As Steve and Eddie walked away, Percy and David watched them get into their car.

“How long do you think it’ll take before those boys realize they’re in love with each other?” David asked.

“I don’t know Eddie very well,” Percy said, thoughtfully, “but I imagine they’ll figure it out before we come visit Hawkins.”

David hummed. If he was a betting man, he would have said the end of the week.

But he just had to wait and see.

****

Pt 10|Pt 11|Pt 12

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @emly03 @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @vecnuthy @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @gutterflower77 @genderless-spoon @hel-spawn @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @mamafaithful @yikes-a-bee @dragonmama76 @flaming-reauxster

[fly1nglow]

WHEN THE BELLS RING (1).

summary ── steve is desperate to make his work environment a less unbearable place and the newly arrived teacher could be a good distraction.

pairings & characters ── teacher!steve x teacher!fem!reader, some ocs

additional info & warnings ── fluff, slow burn, reader is supposed to be a ‘big city girl’, reader is also kinda anxious, little steve pov inserted, i guess steve is not accurate but i tried my best </3, no warnings besides that, i guess

author’s notes: ok… so this is my first fanfic after sooo long, but this idea came to me in a dream and i wanted to write, i feel like it kinda sucks but i also just wanna have some fun writing again. also… i know this must be annoying but… should i say english isn’t my first language (and that i dont know how the educational system of united states works)? :/, that should be all, pls be kind <3

The breeze passed through the leaves gently, taking some to the windshield, it was a really pleasant scene to enjoy in autumn, but it was also a great change of scenery in your opinion: Hawkins, from what you knew and had seen so far at that moment, it felt like that kind of small town you see in movies, where everyone knows everyone and nothing really happens, very different from what you had grown up with and lived with all your life, which were noisy cities, tall buildings and people who really didn't care. they paid attention to you.

But sudden changes weren't very pleasant either, yet here you were, in a small town in the middle of Indiana.

After taking another sip of your coffee, hoping the drink would distract you from something you didn't yet know you feared, you grabbed your bag and threw in the items that would be needed to survive your first day of work at Hawkins Public School. Your keys, notebooks and books were everything he considered really essential for the day.

Getting out of the car, you clutched the cup with the now cold drink in your hands, placed your bag in your arms, and headed towards the clearly old but friendly-looking building in front of you.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ—

Steve was curious to know who would replace Mrs. Brown, because although he got along with most people, his coworkers didn't exactly fit into that category. They were mostly middle-aged people, who thought he was childish, whether because of his age or the way he acted, he still didn't know for sure, but he knew they were his age once and he hoped they would be kinder.

However, he still didn't know how meeting 'the newbie' could help his case, he figured, that maybe by getting to know him first he could get some information and then pass it on to his colleagues, maybe then they would see him as someone helpful and trustworthy, but he still didn't know how that would help him.

It was lost in these thoughts that he found himself in the still empty hallway and in front of Mrs. Brown's old door, now weathered and which he knew made a loud noise when it was pushed in a certain way and now, he was a little unsure, a very different feeling compared to the confident and playful Steve of just a few years ago. But his movements seemed not to follow his thoughts, because now he had knocked on the door.

Before he could step back and get him out of there, he opened the door after hearing a muffled and distant voice say 'come in'.

‘‘Good morning.’’ Steve laughed and hurried over.

‘‘Oh, good morning!’’ A young-looking woman, who was pasting some notices on the wall, turned to face him, left the materials on the table and approached to greet him, as he was approaching.

‘‘I’m Professor Harrington, but you can actually call me Steve, you know, I guess it’s okay, in fact I prefer to be called that…’’

Now he was rambling. He extended his hand for a shake, which she readily accepted. Now closer, he could notice a few more small details about her: her hair was slightly messy, perhaps due to the wind outside, there was also a small piece of adhesive tape stuck near the collar of her pullover sweater, but he pretended not to notice, afraid that she would think he was looking more than he should.

‘‘Well, I’m a physical education teacher. I thought it would be a good idea to stop by and say hi.’’

She then introduced herself.

‘‘That’s very kind of you, Steve.’’

‘‘Well…’’ Steve looked around the room, but his mind was looking for some way to keep the conversation going, or maybe an excuse to leave. ‘‘Do you need help? Do you already know the building? You know I can…’’

Great, he was rambling again. Good way to make a good impression, right?

‘‘Actually, if you guys have a coffee machine, I’d love to know where it is.’’

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ—

You definitely hadn't thought much when you left your room and decided to follow Professor Harrington to the staff room, a small room, with white walls, two windows, shelves full of books, papers, some chairs and tables. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable place you'd ever seen. But you just wanted to distract yourself from the hustle and bustle of your own thoughts, because the first day of work had left you exhausted and it hadn't even started yet.

Also, you weren't the type to jump to conclusions because of appearance, but the first thing you noticed was that Steve had adorable eyes that seemed to match the type of person he was. And at the moment he seemed like a lovely person. That he talked a lot.

He had recently talked about how he grew up in the city and how it was a little strange teaching the children of people he had known all his life. You also shared some facts, about where you grew up and where you studied, all while he observed you carefully and asked some questions to keep the conversation going.

‘‘So why did you come here?’’

‘‘Salary, obviously.’’

You tried to joke and he chuckled weakly at your little attempt at being funny. Steve looked away from your figure, as you were drinking the second cup of coffee of the day, he observed the other person who entered the room, but who still didn't notice the presence of the two of you in the room. This made Steve get a little closer to you, still keeping an acceptable distance but so that only you could hear him whisper:

‘‘That’s Professor Watson, from physics… A pain in the ass at first, but if he likes you, he might get you a discount on drinks at a bar.’’

‘‘Discounts in a bar? Why?’’ You whispered back, while trying to focus on the new figure that appeared: it was a small man in comparison to Steve, his hair already showing signs of getting gray and he had a serious face.

‘‘His sister owns one of the bars in town, she always gives discounts to his friends and colleagues.’’

‘‘And you, do you have a discount there?’’

‘‘No, he hates me. But who knows, maybe you’ll be luckier than me.’’

‘‘Good strategy, Harrington, you barely know me and you’re already trying to use me to get discounts at bars?’’

You both laughed and soon the sound caught the attention of the person who was previously the center of the conversation. Steve quickly distanced himself and silently indicated with signs for you to follow him and then, there followed another one of those social formalities that people tend to forget happened easily: introducing yourself.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ—

And introducing yourself was the key word and the pattern that followed for practically the entire day: introducing yourself to your colleagues, students and some parents.

The students were as you expected them to be, lively students who preferred talking to their classmates rather than paying attention in class, but, luckily or perhaps your own teaching talent, you managed to get them to pay attention to what you were saying. and they were able to apply their knowledge well to their tasks. As for your coworkers, excluding Steve, your colleagues weren't exactly the warmest and friendliest people you knew, but that didn't take up much space in your mind.

Not long after the last bell rang, you were getting ready to end the day at work and return to your cozy home. Until two knocks on the door distracted you.

Peeking through the half-open door, you quickly realized who it was: Steve trying to be helpful again.

‘‘Do you need help there, newbie?’’

You didn't mind the small informalities when you were quick to decline his help.

‘‘No need, I was already finishing it anyway.’’

He pretended to look disappointed, you couldn't help but chuckle at his theatrics. You quickly finished your things and grabbed your bag, and left the room with Steve following right behind you.

‘‘You know,’’ Steve began as you both walked down the corridor, ‘‘that’s the good part about being a physical education teacher, I don’t need a room, just some balls and a court.’’

‘‘It’s easy when a good number of children love the chance to be aggressive without being reprimanded.’’

‘‘It is,’’ Steve agreed, a fond smile on his face. ‘‘Kids can be a handful, but they mean well. Today, one of them lobbed a ball right at my stomach, but they made up for it with a lollipop as an apology.’’

‘‘A lollipop," you chuckled, ‘‘the universal peace offering.’’

‘‘If lollipops didn't work wonders, doctors wouldn't hand them out after every appointment,’’ Steve quipped, his laughter echoing down the hallway.

Steve walked you to the parking lot, soon stopping near what you assumed was his car. You turned to see him and to say goodbye.

‘‘See you tomorrow, newbie,’’ Steve grinned.

‘‘See you tomorrow, Professor Harrington,’’ you replied with a playful smirk.

He rolled his eyes and got into the car, making your way to your own car as you watched him get further away. Placing your arms a little closer to your body to avoid the cold, you could reflect a little on that end of the day as you once again observed the parking lot, now a little darker as the sun was already hiding, but which you expected to see for a while, for many more days.

In that silence, you could conclude that the first day of work had not been as horrible and terrifying as you had expected.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Matt Shuham at HuffPost:

The national group representing college Democrats released a statement Tuesday standing with pro-Palestinian campus protesters and criticizing President Joe Biden for his “bear hug” of what the group called “the genocidal acts of the far-right radical extremist Israeli government.”

The statement, released by the College Democrats of America, illustrated a break with the Democratic Party — of which it is an official arm. It was approved by an 8-2 vote of the group’s executive board, which is made up of national leadership that has been elected by representatives of campus and state college Democrats chapters across the country. “Since the beginning of this conflict, College Democrats and students from every walk of life have had the moral clarity to see this war for what it is: destructive, genocidal, and unjust,” the CDA statement read. It commended the “bravery” of students facing arrest and disciplinary action for their protests, and condemned college administrators for those responses. Across the country, student protesters have called for an Israeli cease-fire in Gaza, and institutional transparency and divestment with regard to investments in Israeli firms, or those linked to American military aid to Israel.

The statement also called for the “release of all hostages” and condemned the rise in domestic antisemitism and Islamophobia in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent invasion and air barrage of Gaza, saying Jewish and Muslim students had no control over the conflict. Still, it said, “it should be abundantly clear that calling for the freedom of Palestinians is not Antisemetic [sic], and neither is opposing the genocidal acts of the far-right radical extremist Israeli government.” The statement’s harshest criticism was directed at the president and his reelection campaign. The White House, according to the CDA, has pursued a “cold shoulder strategy for its own base and all Americans who want to see an end to this war.” “Each day that Democrats fail to stand united for a permanent ceasefire, two-state solution, and recognition of a Palestinian state, more and more youth find themselves disillusioned with the party,” the statement read. It earned praise from progressives across the country including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and the former Ohio state legislator and prominent Bernie Sanders supporter Nina Turner.

[...] The national College Democrats group began working on the statement after Columbia University’s president, Minouche Shafik, called in police to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus two weeks ago; overnight Tuesday, Shafik called in police again, this time to clear a building where protesters had set up camp after Shafik began suspending students for their protest. Both instances resulted in several dozen arrests. Pyarali cited other campus protests as inspiration as well, including at Indiana University, where police snipers were stationed above protesters. “It’s insane, it’s not a war zone, it’s a college campus,” he said.

The statement doesn’t necessarily represent the thousands of Democratic college students whose campus chapters fall under the larger College Democrats umbrella. Rather, the only binding vote on its release was held by the CDA executive board. Two members of that body opposed it. One of them, Joshua Martin, the former student body president at the University of Houston, commented on social media: “The only way to bring peace is to destroy Hamas, who through years of terror have subjugated Palestinians to decades of violence.” Allyson Bell, a Meredith College graduate student and chair of the College Democrats Jewish Caucus — and who collaborated with Pyarali in a December call for cease-fire — told HuffPost in an email that earlier statements focused on condemning instances of campus antisemitism had been “voted down by the executive board and replaced with what was released.” She called the final statement “one sided.”

The College Democrats of America's response to the nationwide protests against Israel's genocide campaign on Gaza that criticized President Joe Biden for being too close to Israel Apartheid State government is spot-on.

[agirlwholovesrockstars]

she's my collar

☆AGATHA'S MASTERLIST☆

summary : you and your aunt moved in to Hawkins, Indiana, you got your last year of senior high and got a job at Family Video, you finally made friends and this place feels like home until you met Eddie, you never know what love feels like unbeknownst to you he is not truly human what you thought he is

word count : the is the most longest one part fic that I ever written I'm sorry 😭

warnings : (18+) Vampire!Eddie Munson x FEM! reader, Eddie & reader are virgins, language, use of (y/n) losing a loved one, Eddie is (19), reader is (18), protected sex, Eddie being the most adorable and caring vampire ever, natural disaster (earthquake), reader is oblivious to Eddie's true nature, I added the KAS THEORY a little bit in this, idk if this is considered a spoiler but reader will sacrifice her mortality 👀

what to expect : angst, fluff, eventual smut, but I promise this has a good ending

note to reader : I've been wanting to write a fic about Eddie being a vampire and I hope you'll enjoy this! 🫶🏻

author note : I love Gorillaz so much, they're like my favorite band ever, if you haven't listen to this song yet and yes this is where I got the idea hahaha you should listen to it first! 👇🏻

It's April 16 1988

You and your Aunt Katherine moved to another town again called Hawkins, Indiana

Ever since in your early teens, you got used to it, moved here and there

Your aunt took care for you, when your parents both passed at a very young age of 7

She's the only one you've ever had in your life and you couldn't be more grateful

She did the best that she can to give you what you needed, she treated you well, she thought you the how to deal things with life

You loved her very dearly, it just saddens you to move on again to another town- she wants to have a partner again in her life, on every slight inconveniences the next thing you know is packing up all of your stuff and leave immediately

All the memory of Uncle Charlie is a bit hazy and you couldn't quite remember everything of it but you know, he is an amazing husband whenever your Aunt talks about him, you can see the way her eyes glow

You struggle to adjust into the new environment and make new friends, Perhaps?.... as if you ever made one

But this time, you wanted to stay for real this time, you wanna settle down and have a real life

Thankfully, is the last year of your senior high school and you're just going to need a job after you graduated

Even though your aunt insist not to take any jobs she wants you to go in college as soon after you graduated

But you really wanted to have a job not because of your own needs but you also wanted to help out your aunt

She sadly smiles at you and she sighs in defeat and she saids "Alright, we will look for a perfect job for you"

While your aunt is asking for inquires at a local diner in front of the Family Video

You eye out the store and you don't understand why the sudden pulling inside of you telling you that's the place that you want to work

You cleared your throat "Can I check that out, if you don't mind?"

Your aunt looked around "Yeah, sure, my dear but be back here? alright?"

"Okay" You nod

You crossed down the road and your eyes roam around the small building

You loved movies, you always loved watching movies

You opened the door and the bell chimes, a signal, that a customer enter the premises

"Hi! Welcome to Family Video!" A short dusty blonde hair girl- greeted you with a smile on her face

You like the enthusiastic tone coming out of her voice "uh- thank you" you shrug shyly

You didn't noticed the man coming in a load of big boxes on the side and you bumped to each other and the box fall back down on the ground scattering all of the VHS tapes on the floor

He grunts and sighs warily not until he looked up at you "Oh- I'm sorry I didn't see you there"

"It's my fault, let me help you pick up those"

Before he can protest, he already saw you piling all of the VHS all at once

"My guess this is for the horror section, right?" You held up one "Rosemary's Baby" VHS

"Yes" he responds feeling bad while he watches you picking all of the tapes and placing all of them one by one on the shelf

"Look, you don't have to do this" he says while grabbing all of the VHS at once putting them on the front desk he even doesn't bother to organized them all he just goes straight back to you

"Hey, it's okay, don't sweat it" You say before you crouch down to put the last horror VHS in place

"Actually, I think I might get a job around here" you stand up straight and look at him

He's very attractive, his hazel eyes are pretty and the hair is perfectly styled

He must've been very popular at his school where he studied

"Oh, you are?"

"Yeah"

"I think we have one more available slot for you- he pauses "Shoot- I'm sorry, My name is Steve, Steve Harrington"

He hold out his hand for you and you shake them "it's Y/N"

"Steve, have you-"

You looked around and it's the girl who greeted you earlier

She smirked and you looked back at Steve in confusion

He shakes his head at her "Before you go think of something else, I'm almost finished to organize everything that is delivered right now"

"Ooh, really?" She answers sarcastically

"It's because we have a new assistant now!"

"Wait-woah- Does that mean I'm hired?"

"Yes!" Steve replies fast and you can hear the excitement in his tone

She rolled her eyes at him "Anyways, I'm Robin, Robin Buckley" she reached out for hand and she shakes it aggressively

"You better get used to her over the top energy" Steve chuckles

You giggled "Okay, it's nice to meet you, Robin, I'm Y/N"

"Hey, Robin could you get the papers to sign her up?"

She annoyingly smiles at Steve and goes back to the office

"That was fast?" You furrow your brows in confusion

"What do you mean?"

"That I got the job?" You raise your eyebrow at him

"Ah"

He goes back to the desk organizing every VHS tape in order on the shelf

Not looking at you he replies "It's because you knew the film that you're holding earlier"

"Huh? Is that it?"

"Uh yeah- that's what we needed in here, top 1 most important thing is that you must know or like familiar with films and everything" he says while opening a second box putting out the other new delivered VHS

"Oh"

"and you even place them not just in the horror section" he gestures the last phrase with quotation marks "you also placed them by year!" he breathlessly laughs

"What?"

He motions you to look back at the horror section

"Oh, yeah right" you chuckled

He crouch down to look at it and shaking his head "I can't believe that you know all about this stuff!" he exclaims

"What stuff" Robin says without looking at you both while she's double checking the paper before she gives it to you

"This girl right here" he points to you "is very cultured"

"Say what now?" Robin grins at you as she crouch down next to Steve

She gasps and looks right back at you "You literally organized all of these by year?"

You nod at her and smile

"Wow"

"Exactly"

"Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931)-" Robin cups her face in awe as she reads all the labels again

"Psycho (1960) to Rosemary's Baby (1968)"

"I just place them on the shelf but not like this" Steve is still unbelievable of what you just did

"She freaking place them not just by year but also by decade!"

You watch them as they lose their minds and you can't supress the smile growing widely because you've never had like this before

Maybe.... You finally made friends

Robin stands up straight she walks towards to you "Like how could you know all about this?"

You shrugged "I just love movies that's all"

Steve straighten up as well "Did you go to film class or something?"

"I guess you could say that" you snorted while you put your hands on your pocket

"Wait? Are you in college?" Robin says

"Not yet, I'm going to finish my last year of senior first but yeah Steve's right that's what I want to pursue someday"

Robin nods while Steve listens continuing to put all of the VHS at place

"I-I was supposed to go to college after I graduated that's what my aunt really wanted but I just- you paused

"I want to have a job and uh- I wanna experience it while saving up some money for college" you added

"Well, you found the perfect place" Steve smiles

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun!" Robin agrees

You look in their eyes and you can tell they're very genuine and you smile at them

You heard the car from outside beeping and it's your aunt calling out from you

"Oh, that's my aunt, I- uh I'm gonna go" you say while you're rushing out towards the exit

Steve follows you while your hand rest on the door handle "Before you go, can you start tomorrow? We open at 9am?"

"Yes, I can"

"Good"

"What am I going to wear by the way?"

"You can wear anything you want- we don't have spare uniform around here yet" Robin says while she carries the 2 boxes bringing it outside

"Oh okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow then!"

"Sure thing!" Robin smiles at you

"Bye, Take care" Steve says while waving to you

You look at them for the last time and you push the door forward

"She's really cute and pretty!" Robin says with a eat shiting-grin on her face

Robin feels Steve's eyes rolling "I like her but, very funny, Robs" as he glares at her

She laughs "ooh I wonder what else she likes, maybe she loves rock music" she says as she taps her finger at her chin while thinking deeply

"What makes you say that?"

"I saw her leather bracelet and she wears like black & white colored outfits"

"Just because someone is wearing one doesn't mean they listen to rock music, Robin"

"But what if, she is!"

Steve chuckles "Only way to found out tomorrow"

6:30am in the morning, you woke up

You stretch out your body before getting out of the bed and move the curtains on the side of the window

You're never a morning person as a kid but now you're growing more to like it

You still haven't done unpacking everything yet since you're exhausted yesterday just recently moving in the tow

You sigh as you looked over the baggages in your room instead you showered to freshen up and start rummaging through your luggage

you grab the black bra top, black cardigan and khaki pants

Your aunt made your favorite chicken noodle soup and you smile to yourself as you walk across the kitchen, smelling the aroma more

"Goodmorning, pumpkin" she greets

"Morning!" you smile

Your aunt caught your keen voice as she squints her eyes at you but a smile grows on her lips before she continues to what she was doing

You want to help out your aunt for cooking but she always insists that you sat down on the table

she places the bowl in front of you "What's with you so smiley today?"

"I'm just looking forward for the job that I got yesterday"

"Wait, what- really?" she stopped while holding the serving spoon

"Yeah"

"At the Family Video?"

"Yes!"

"And you're excited about that?"

You smile even wider you can't help but wonder why "Yes I do! I think I made friends as well!"

"You did?"

"Yes!"

"What are their names?"

"Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley"

Your aunt can see the lively vibe into your eyes and she hopes that you will never lose it

She smiles down at you as she fills up your bowl with chicken noodle soup

You sigh at the comfortness around the area and you've never felt this before ever since.... well.... you moved in a lot

You felt happy at those times before but not like this, this is different

Maybe, just maybe..... This is the place that you want to stay

"I'm happy for you, love, but if things go wrong-

"I will always be here whenever you need me" you cut her off by finishing her sentence that she always reminds you

She chuckles as she places a glass of red iced tea

"Eat up, we got a big day ahead of us"

Your aunt drop you off at the Family Video, she decides to take the diner instead, she works as a waitress in there

Steve & Robin are already inside opening all of the windows inside

They seem to focus on what they're doing that they didn't even noticed that you arrived on time

You cleared your throat and they raise their heads in unison

You shyly wave at them

Robin smiles "Perfect timing!"

"Hey there!" Steve greets you

You sheepishly nod at him

Robin walks towards to you and grab your hand as she pull over the desk and she reveals your uniform and your name tag

You gasped as you look over to your uniform

Other people might found this funny because of your reaction looked like you just won the lottery

But this is very new to you and it's a great experience to let yourself feel it, enjoy it and embrace it

"W-Wow, I'm official now?"

"You sure are!" Robin says as she watches you unfold your uniform and couldn't help but smile even more

"You can wear it now, if you want to" Steve says

"Are you kidding? I've been dying to have one of these!"

Steve chuckles and shakes his head at you

"You can go ahead and change in the restroom is just around the corner" Robin says as she directs you to where the bathroom is

"Okay, be right back!" You say as you pick up your stuff and headed towards the restroom

"Isn't she the most lovely human being ever!" Robin admires your kind personality

"I gotta admit, I do" Steve shrugs as he flips the sign on the glass door that says "OPEN"

"We had a bet right?"

"What?"

"A bet that we did, last night"

"Oh- that"

"And I just have the perfect person to talk about it" Robin looks over to Steve shoulder and she grins

Someone enters the store with heavy boots on

Steve already knows who is the person behind him and he sighs in exhaustion

He turns around and he says "Dude, what the hell are you doing in here?"

He's wearing Ray-Bans black sunglasses

"I'll be quick, man, don't worry"

"I'll be quick" Steve mocks him making the man rolls his eyes even though his wearing sunglasses, Steve can see it

"You know it's dangerous for you to go outside, in broad daylight!" Steve exclaims

He sighs "yeah, man, I know, goddamn it just be chill, Harrington" he walked over the Mystery/Thriller section as he halts his tracks

His sensing something..... else

"Don't tell me you're going outside like this often" Steve says sternly

Robin ignoring Steve "Uh- I'm going to say something about-"

The man just hushes them both

They both went silent and Steve looked over to Robin and she just shrugs

He can smell you, he can even hear the beat of your heart

He takes a deep breath and he narrows his piercing red glowing eyes to his friends

But before they can say anything, he heard the restroom door open as he swiftly snaps his head looking at you

you unbeknownst to what's going around at the store and the strange man that came in

You're wearing a walkman and you're listening to "Deep Purple - Child In Time" with your head down and you swing your bag over your shoulder fixing your uniform more properly

He removed his sunglasses with his lips apart

The man could've sworn to himself that he is dead, he felt alive again just seeing your presence, even though his heart isn't the same anymore since.... the disaster happened

It's been 2 years and yet here you are, he thought he would've never feel anything that is human but now.... he is feeling something again and that intrigues him

You feel eyes on you

Your raise your head and you have locked eyes at the peculiar man standing not too far from you

He can feel and read your mind, emotions towards him, you're curious and somehow.... intimidated?

That's what he is afraid of.... but that changes when you started walking towards him with a smile on your face

You remove your walkman headset and pause the cassette

Steve and Robin shared a knowing look with each other as they smirk behind the man

"Oh, hello, I'm Y/N" you offer your hand to shake hands with him

You asking him? to shake hands with you?

He blinked and swallowed he becomes nervous as he couldn't said a word

You furrow your brows while you reach out for his hand and he shakes it "and you are?"

"I-I'm Edward Munson- b-but you can call me, Eddie" he stutters and he winces at the awkward answer but you find it cute

The one thing that you noticed, it's not even winter yet but his hand feels.... cold... not that it's weird is just it's summer but you don't pay attention to it...maybe....it's because he's nervous

"Hi, Eddie is a pleasure to meet you, I just recently moved here."

"You do?"

"Yeah, just yesterday"

He looked back at his friends raising his eyebrows

"And that what I've been meaning to tell you" Robin sighs

"She's on her first day of the job!" Steve says while putting his hands over his waist

"Are you picking up a movie?" You asked

"Uh- yeah- I was"

You nod "What kind?"

He got confused by your question and you chuckled "What I mean what kind of movie genre"

"Oh, I get it" he admires your features carefully your eyes, lips, smile, nose, even your voice.... is making him melt

You move yourself beside him and that shocks him, he's never been close to a human girl in his life.... except for his friends though

"You're looking for a Mystery/Thriller film?"

"Yeah, I am"

You look over the VHS section, you found that catches your eye but before you put it out from the shelf, you ask him first

"Are you looking for something that is uh- spooky?"

He tears his eyes away from you while you lean down bending beside him

You didn't even noticed that he is watching you, my god- you're so beautiful- it hurts

He clears his throat "I-I'm kinda into some kind of action"

Steve scrunches up his brows "Since when?"

Robin elbows him with Steve saying "OW!"

"Don't mess up with the moment" she whispers

You picked it up and give it to him

He take it out your grasps and he reads the title "Die Hard"

"You gotta love it" you told him

He smiles to you "Okay"

Robin presses her lips together as she can't control her excitement

"Say- uh- Eddie- I think Y/N is also into rock music" Robin says as she throw her arm around your shoulder with a grin

"How- did you?-" you say as you turn your head on Robin

"You are?"

"Oh- yeah I am"

"What kind?" he echoes the question that you asked him earlier

"Heavy metal, speed metal, glam rock, hard rock, blues, psychedelic rock and so much more" you say as you motion your hands for far more wide

Eddie's eyes almost bulge out of his head "Really? No way!" he jumps out of exhilaration

"Yes, I do!"

You mirrored his enthusiasm as you jump at the same time- you didn't even realized you both holding each other's hands

Robin face turn into such a satisfaction as she turn into Steve mouthing to him "Pay me"

Steve rolls his eyes at her with a smile as he digs out of his pocket a dollar and gives it to Robin

You share each other's interests as you both looked down

you rip your hands from him immediately while smiling sheepishly at him

Eddie scratches the back of his neck

"Are you going to pay for that, Munson?" Steve asks

"Right" he responds as he holds up the VHS you gave to him

Before he can leave the store he turn around and say "Can we hang out sometime?" he shyly asks

"Sure, Eddie, I would love to"

"Oh, okay good, what day are you available?"

"I could hang out with you tomorrow if you want"

"T-That's perfect!" his voice raises a bit much that gives two of his friends shared giggles and he shakes his head at the sight of them

You laugh "See ya, tomorrow, Eddie"

"You too, sweet thing" he gives you a smile before he exits

and that's where all it began....

Everytime you bond with each other, you two became close, literally inseparable

You even met his amazing friends that you very liked in the first place that you met them

Dustin, Max, Lucas, El, Mike, Nancy, Will, Jonathan, Chief Hopper (but he prefers to be called Jim) Joyce, Murray, Karen, Ted, Enzo

You notice something again in their eyes, you can't even read it what it means but you never really mind it about anyways

The first thought comes to your mind, maybe.... they're observing you- they feel like they should get to know you first before trusting you

Are they hiding something from you? or maybe they're just being careful or it's just their instinct

But at the same time it doesn't add up, if they won't trust you they shouldn't be inviting you to hang out during weekends or inviting you and your aunt on dinner

You have done it, countless amount of times already.... and it's overwhelming to you because.... this never happen to you before

One time though, you made garlic buttered shrimp that Eddie almost runaway at the smell of it, you thought he didn't like the food and you can see he is scared.... like you can't even explain it- it looks like you're going to hate him?

Eddie on the other hand can read your mind and he wishes if anything happens, if ever you found out about him, he hopes that you will never change towards him

"Oh, are you allergic to seafood?"

"U-uh- yeah I am" he quietly sighs of relief

You gasped "My deepest apologies, I am so sorry I didn't mean any harm" you say as you moved away the food from him

You met Eddie's uncle, Wayne, that's your first impression again

You got intimidated, but that got off as well as soon as he acts so friendly to you

He has the exact same qualities with his nephew

He is so sweet and kind like Eddie

Sometimes you caught them looking at each other with a look that again.... you couldn't understand

There's also no mirrors in their trailer

There's mirrors in some of his friend's house but all of them are covered with a fabric

You find it odd but you can't stop yourself from being curious though

Also....

One night, you came home late from work since you insist to take the night shift from Robin- you couldn't quite understand the reason why the sudden she has to leave

It's about a "Code Red?"

Steve didn't want to leave you behind but you heard Dustin's voice coming out from the walkie-talkie shouting

"Bring Steve with you, y-you guys better come in here right now! It's urgent!"

Judging by the tone of his voice, it is very serious and you hate yourself for thinking this is kind of a sick joke but it really is not

You drag your brows together but you don't wanna pry and it's really none of your business but you wanted to know what's going on though

Robin almost dragging Steve out of the store

He really didn't wanna go and you can't understand why, the more you try to convince Steve that you'll be okay and you can see in his eyes that it's highly unlikely that you'll be fine,

alone.

It's closer to 12:00am, you packed up your stuff and you make sure all of doors from the back door and the office are locked and you switch off the lights and close the store

The cold wind made you shudder a little

Your aunt take the bus ride home she leaves you with the car, while on your way to it- you didn't know that there's a man holding out a knife to harm you

Before he can attack you, there's a wind swoosh behind your back, you turn around and you notice there's nothing in there- you roam your eyes everywhere

There's no one

You felt nervous and you grip on your car keys as you quickly unlock the door

There's 'clang' of a trashcan that flew into the air and that made you shrieked and you drop your keys on the ground

You take a deep breath and you shout

"Whoever you are! Show yourself!"

Eddie can feel your fear and he feels bad he's the one that caused it but he doesn't want anyone to hurt you, he won't let anyone to do that to you

His eyes are red, his hands are bloody, and his fangs were out.... good thing that he can go back to normal after a while to calm down

When no one respond, you huffed and shake your head, you pick up the keys on the ground

The moment you look back again, you screamed "AHH" you put your hand over your chest and you're heavily breathing

It's Eddie fucking appeared out of nowhere in front of you and you didn't even heard him coming

"You fucking scared me half to life! Eddie! What the hell?!?"

You clasps his hands together saying "I'm sorry" repeatedly

You wave dismissively at him and he says "A-are you good?"

You laugh in disbelief- you scratch your forehead "What are you doing in here anyways?"

Oh shit

He needs a valid reason

"Uh- Steve asked me to guard on you"

"Guard on me?" You raise your eyebrows while you squint your eyes on him

"Y-yeah since, it's late"

before you can reply, Dustin runs around you and he put his hands over his knees as he tries to catch up his breath

Steve leans over to your car with a ragged breathing

Robin puts her hand over her chest as she gives a small wave

"Oh- good, you're okay" Dustin hugs you and you hugged back looking at Eddie in confusion

He pulled out a forced smile as he doesn't know what to say

Hopper's car arrived and he came out of the vehicle and he gives a glare to Eddie

Eddie gulped and put his head down

"There's a suspect that runs into this area that's why we came as fast as we could" Hopper explained

You nod and that lessens your suspicions but- you want answers

You're still confused by the whole situation going on but they watched you as they saw you're inside of the car and drove away

Eddie watches you closely as he can read your thoughts and he feels so guilty for not telling you the truth about....

Himself

"What have we told you?" Hopper says sternly

"I know-"

"Listen, kid, you know I like you alright?" Hopper says

He just nods

"I can't help but feel infuriated by your stubbornness"

"Look- I just- wanna help! I caught the bad guy! didn't I?!?" He looks over to Dustin, Steve and Robin

The three of them give unsure looks

"Oh, come on, you guys"

"Yeah, you caught the bad guy but what about you?" Steve says

"I agree with Steve" Dustin can't even look at Eddie in the eyes as he can remembers how he almost lost him before

"What if, someone saw you? Do you think they won't think twice of killing you instantly?" Robin added

"We know that you wanted to help but we can't risk anyone by finding out that you're- Eddie cuts Hopper off before finishing his sentence

"A what?!? A fucking vampire?!?" Eddie exclaims

He lets out a exasperated sigh "I know guys are concerned about me and I promise this is the last time that I will violated what we talked about" he starts

"If there's a bad situation, I will never do anything without your permission"

Hopper, Steve, Dustin, Robin glance at each other as they all know no matter what they do- Eddie will always be there to save someone from harm

"He-" his angry tears welled up behind his eyes

Hopper blinks at his vulnerability, He knows that he is strong but he truly does care for his loved ones

But this is the first time that they saw him like this..... again.... after the incident....

"He almost killed her, Hopper"

"If- if I wasn't there on time, he would've killed her"

"I would've have lost her" he sniffled

Steve gives Eddie a sympathetic smile, Robin softly gasps at his subtle confession about his true feelings to you and Dustin widen his eyes

"I'm sorry, if I was on a rush for making risky decisions again" he says plainly as he flew off

All of them watch him as he flies away

Dustin smiles sadly "What happens if she finds out?" He says as he still looking up in the sky

"What?" Steve asked

"What if she finds out the truth about him?"

"Oh" Steve can't help but feel so sorry for Eddie, he knows that he never loved someone in his life ever since, he never knew this could happen

"What should we do if ever that might happen?" Robin says as she presses her lips together

"She won't" Hopper says while he's walking towards to this car

"She won't" what? Dustin raises his eyebrows as he waits for Hopper to continue

"She won't be scared of him"

"What makes you say that?" Steve added

"Because they've been together a lot, it's over a year since they moved here and Y/N told us that they frequently leave even though she doesn't tell it to me, I feel like she wants to stay here because of him.... and that says a lot." Hopper says as he goes inside of his car and turns on the engine

"You know what, he's right" Robin says

Steve and Dustin looked at her

"She wouldn't be with us, if she doesn't trust us."

"Well, I just hope she won't change after anything if she finds out" Steve sighs

"I believe in Y/N too" Dustin while he crosses his arms

"Remember the time when Y/N defended Eddie from those douchebags at The Hideout?"

Steve chuckles and Robin "Oh yeah, she got heated when they're calling him "monster" and a "freak"- she literally splashes him with a beer and my god she punches the guy after he tries to hurt her"

Eddie rambles the whole situation over and over to Dustin, from what his dear old friend doesn't know even he is just a kid, he can see his eyes shine whenever he talks about you

Dustin is very happy for him, he hasn't seen his friend this joyful ever since

"Just be there for her, if ever, okay?" Hopper says

All of them nod at him, they watch as he droves away

Eddie on the other hand

Thoughts going wildly on his mind while he's flying around the town

He doesn't know what to do, is it a right decision to tell you or to keep it a secret?

but he knows deep down, if he still keeps this as a secret, you would be furious that it makes him look like he doesn't trust you

He angrily shouts as he lands on a forest

He screams "Why?!"

"I know this would've happen, but I never thought it will really happen" he's heavily breathing as he continues to shout

"Why do I have to suffer like this?!" He says as he owns tears getting choked up in his throat

"I really wanted to stay with my friends but right now?!?" He laughs incredulously "I would rather die than seeing my love getting afraid because of me!"

Memories flashes before his eyes as he remembers the one who gave this to him

"You'll live"

Eddie is gasping for air but he feels different

He woken up he is still laying in the upside down

He sits up, the demobats that tear off half of his skin and limbs are all healed

"W-What have you done to me?" He says as he backs away from him

"Shh" he shushes "Don't be frightened"

"I need you to work for me"

"What?"

"I gave you life and powers"

Eddie runs his tongue over his teeth and he shouts "No" his fuelling anger is becoming tears in his eyes

"You can't do this to me!"

"You're my slave, I need you to do something for me"

"I won't work for you!"

He slams him behind the trailer as he threatens him and choking him in the process

"You wanted to graduate is that it?"

"Y-yes, I do"

"Then follow me what I need you to do"

In fact he did follow him, but he had other plans

Everyone was shocked that he is still alive, he showed up first to Dustin, he thought he saw a ghost the first time he saw him again

"I knew it! You're alive!" He hugs Eddie with happy tears

"It's really good to see you, bud" he says as he rubs his back

"But- how did you manage to-" Dustin pulls away but he got cut off by Eddie saying

"I will explain to you everything, we have a problem"

"Copy that" Dustin says as he walks over to grab his walkie-talkie saying "Code Red"

To be completely honest everyone felt weird when they saw Eddie alive and well as if he wasn't got eaten off by demobats

Eddie can understand why and that he is truly himself, just undead that's all

"Steve, Robin, Jonathan and I, will take cover for you" Nancy says

"El and Eddie will corner Vecna to finish this once for all" Mike tightens the grip on El's hand as she flashes out a small smile

"We will be at the gates and guard on it if ever nasty monsters will get out" Erica says as she nods over to Lucas and Max

"Me and Argyle will warn Hopper and Enzo to the townspeople to stay alert and be ready" Will added

Eddie sighs "Do you think this could work?"

"It has to- and I believe you can beat his ass off" Dustin reassures Eddie

The plan is going on so nicely, everything is coming to an order

El uses her telekinetic powers to hold off Vecna and while Eddie pins him down on the ground

"Your time is running out" Eddie grunts

"You're making a big mistake"

"Am I?"

Vecna tries to fight back but El groans and screams harder as she pushes him back down and Eddie stabs him with a sword and punches him

That caused a lot pain to him "Traitor" he says while wincing at the wound

"If you kill me, you won't be able to go back to normal"

El glances over to Eddie and he looks back at her

He gave her a small nod and mouthing to her "it's okay"

"Someday, you'll see, if someone tries to love you, they won't love you back because you're a monster"

Eddie clenches his jaw as he deepens the wound

"They won't accept you, everywhere you go- they'll hate you"

"A freak but also a monster?" He laughs darkly

"Don't listen to him, Eddie!" El yells as she uses both of her hands to hold him back down

"Now, don't you worry, supergirl, I am not" he says sternly to Vecna

His eyes widen as he watches him raises the sword to chop his head off

"I would rather live like this than to knowing that you're still alive killing innocent people" he says in his last blow of his sword

Both of them shout in anger and exhaustion

They both fell back down and the upside down is now crumbling

Eddie, El, Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Jonathan running for their lives as they try to leave the upside down

Erica, Lucas and Max watches the gates closed on its own and it faded like it wasn't ever existed

The cracks are all gone and the wind and the red glow in the area is nowhere to be seen

"He made it" Enzo chuckled

"The kid got guts" Hopper smiled as he closes his eyes finally at peace for this town

Mike speaks over the walkie-talkie asking "Hey, guys? I see the town is going back to normal is everything alright?" Dustin can't reply as he's watching the last gate where Eddie is

He kept saying "Come on guys, Eddie, come on, man"

The 6 of them jump on the ground back into the real world as the watch the last gate finally closed and goes back to where it was before

Dustin sighs of relief "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay" Steve says as he looks over to his friends

Eddie is the only one who is silent as everyone is catching up their breath

He is disappointed of what he has become for all eternity but also the same time, he is glad, that the war is finally over

"Are you good?" Jonathan asks Nancy as she gives him a nod

"Eddie?" Robin asks

El glances over to Eddie and he looks at her giving him a hopeful smile

He finally turns around "I am stuck like this, you guys, forever" he scoffed while shaking his head

Everyone gave him a sympathetic smile

"You're a hero, Eddie and nothing ever changes that" El says as she puts over her hand in his shoulder

"Thank you" he says softly

"You'll be okay and we will always here for you, Eddie" Dustin says

"Yeah, man" Steve agrees

"It never felt any different ever since you came back, Eddie, it's still going to be the same" Jonathan says with a small smile

"We should celebrate, you know" Nancy shrugs

"Oh, I hear you, Wheeler" Eddie chuckles and all of them laughed

"We should cover up those wounds first, Munson" Robin says

His eyes became misty as he is so grateful to have friends like them

Eddie proved Vecna wrong about people not accepting for who he really was....

but... what about you?

Joyce, Murray, Karen all of them decided to keep Eddie's true nature a secret and kept it quiet

Hopper and Enzo agreed with this

So the townspeople won't snoop their noses around him, they'll still believe he's the one that caused it

Fucking close-minded people

"She's deserves to know" he says as he calms down a little bit

"She has to know" he says it himself

No more lies, no more secrets, he doesn't like to see you get betrayed and hurt

But he hopes that you'll won't be disappointed

He's going to admit it all at your first date together

You showed up in Family Video, you went to do all of the tasks as if nothing ever happened last night

Steve and Robin give looks at each other and then back to you

"You know that I can feel your eyes on me, right?" You say while opening the window blinds

"Sorry" Steve says softly

"Y/N, we just wanna know, if you're okay?" Robin says

You bring yourself around to face them "I am totally fine, guys"

You both gave them a reassuring smile

There's still a piece inside of you wanted answers to your questions but you don't want to make things worse, so you kept it to yourself

While you're bringing the storage boxes outside, Eddie approached you while clearing his throat

"Hey, Y/N" he says softly

"Hi" you say sheepishly

"I know what happened last night was so weird, please, forgive me" Eddie says with his doe eyes

His eyes are making you say "aww" on how adorable they are

Wait- you found my eyes appealing? He thinks to himself while he reads your mind

But he stops doing it right away as he feels like he's invading your own thoughts

"You don't have to explain and you don't have to apologize to it anymore, Eddie" you sigh

"Look, just hear me out" he says as he looks deeply into your eyes

You swallowed nervously and you blinked rapidly

Woah- why is your heart beating so fast? Do- do you like me?

He can feel emotions rushing and the energy of it.....is growing wild

You nod for him to continue

"I know this is like way too early but I'm asking you out for a dat-"

"Yes" you cut him off

"I'm not even finished yet" he throws his hand up

"Yes, I would like to go out with you"

"Really?"

"Yeah" you smile at him

He looks straight into your eyes and he might felt come alive again as he doesn't see anything else that is untrue

You're his dream come true

"Are you serious?" He says as he can't believe that you're willing to go with him

You roll your eyes playfully and giggled

Your smile and laughter brings soothing to his heart, even it's not the same anymore

He felt like a normal human being again

You step closer to him and he's taken a back

"You're amazing gentleman, Ed's, that's why I wanted to go out with you, I hope you know that." You say as you place your hand over his cheek and caresses it

He melts into your touch and closes his eyes for a moment and he smile down at you

"Is 7pm alright?" He whispered

"Yes" you replied while you pat his cheek

You walked away leaving a breathless Eddie behind

"Goddamn" he smiles to himself, his smile though slowly fades a little as he remembers what he's going to do tomorrow

You wore a black corset and black ripped jeans

You checked your outfit while looking at yourself in the mirror

"Hmm, it might be too cold outside" so you picked out your sheer white jacket

"You look absolutely divine, honey" your aunt says while she leans over to your doorframe

"Oh, hi, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I have a date"

"Is it Eddie?"

You gasped and you take a double look at your aunt "How could you know?"

She chortled as she sits down on your bed motioning for you to come sit beside her

You smiled at her and she starts "I see the way you looked at him and the way he looked at you"

"Auntie-" you groaned but she laughs "Just listen to me for a moment"

"Never be afraid just to get out there and explore and have a new adventure at your life"

"When I was your age, me and your uncle just go literally everywhere, and it was the surreal experience of my life" she paused as she snifffles a little

You rub her back and she holds your hand "this thing you have with Eddie? Is very special, I see myself through the both of you"

"You both have the same interest and filled with just pure happiness and imaginary at the things you loved the most"

"Never lose yourself and I love that you kept being yourself, honey"

Your tears are threatening to spill "of course, that's what you always told me when I was a kid"

"Hush now" she presses a kiss to your forehead "don't ruin your makeup and I might be the caused of that" she snickers and you laughed

"See you later, auntie!"

"I love you"

"I love you forever, auntie"

You came in the diner that Eddie asked you to come and for moment there you thought you got stand up but you saw him and sigh of relief

"For a minute, I thought you're not going to show up" you say

"I-I'm sorry, I got nervous"

"You're nervous?" You watch him as he sits down across from you

Eddie has always been so handsome to you but you've never seen this close and you're used to see him wearing bandshirts, denims, leather jackets

He is now wearing a decent attire, a little bit formal but still has the touch of his own style

He's wearing a white polo, black pants with his Reebok

His chains and his rings making you feel hot sensation all over your body

"Am I late? Do I look okay?"

"No- you're not I just arrived 2 minutes early and you look exquisite"

"Exquisite?" He smirks

"Fine" you huffed "you look extremely so handsome tonight, Eddie" you bat your eyes at him

Eddie laughs as he admires your pretty face as he looks at you

You corset goes so finely with you, it hugs your breasts so tightly and he grunts softly at the sight of it, every hairstyle is perfect on you but he loves to see you wearing it down

He loves everything about you

The date is going on smoothly, you both shared laughs and funny stories about each other

Like come on, it's like you're fooling both of yourselves, you've been friends for like over a year now, so this feels so natural for you and so does he

Eddie droves you to over his trailer for a movie date

He put VHS Beetlejuice (1988) as he settles down with a popcorn bowl on his hand and places 2 canned sodas on the table

He froze when you remove your white sheer jacket off and you remove your high-heeled shoes

Good thing, he knows how to control his powers, he can't stand not to see your pulsing veins on your neck as he tries not to take a bite of it

You caught him watching you and he shyly ducks his head down and he moves sideward to give you open space to sit down on the couch

You smirk and sat down beside him

You grab a pillow and you put it in front of you to hug it while you're eating popcorn

He can smell your sweet scent as he exhales slowly, he feels so comfortable whenever you're around

You're paying attention in the movie while he doesn't- he watches you

Your eyelashes are so pretty, he just wants to smushes his own face on you and showers you a lot of kisses

But he doesn't want to do anything rash right now, you're being nice ever since you met him and he hates it he's getting thoughts like this

You looked over to him while chewing on the popcorn on your mouth and you chuckled a little when he looked back at the television screen and he grabs his soda immediately and takes a sip of it

"Whatchu, lookin' at- Ed's?"

"What?"

"I'm not blind, Eddie, I saw you looking at me!"

Oh- his cheeks is on fire

He steals the popcorn bowl from your hands and you gasped "You're making it all up" he says as he throws a popcorn onto his mouth

"Sure, whatever you say, handsome" you roll your eyes as you looked back at the TV

"Handsome? that's the twice she said that to me?!" He thinks to himself

He watches you again

You feel his eyes on you as you quickly turn yourself on him

Once again, you caught him

"Aha!" You point at him "I caught you red-handed!"

You throw popcorn at him and he laughs "Okay, fine!"

"Aww, you feel defeated, Ed's?" You pout at him

God, how can you be so cute and hot at the same time? He thinks to himself

"I am guilty, sweetheart" he says as he smiles down at you

You giggled at him and while you reaching out the pillow that fell down from your lap

"You're beautiful"

"Pardon?"

"I said, you're beautiful" he repeated with a grin on his face

Now, it's your turn to be flustered and you smile at him sheepishly

At this point, you don't even care if you got rejected, you have this crush for him carrying it for a over year now

You gotta take the risk or live with regret

So, fuck it

He loves to see you getting blushed because of him as he takes another sip from his soda while he places it from the table

"Eddie?" You called out for him

"Yeah?"

You and him both stare at each other and he gulped of what you're about to do

You cupped his cheeks and presses your lips into his

You kissed him and his eyes were wide as hell

You pulled back and you furrow your brows at his expression, you can't even read it

You chuckled nervously "oh wow- okay, that was stupid, you know what I'm gonna go-" you get up but he grab your hand

His eyes softens and you look back at him and you slowly sat down again beside him

He tucked your hair behind your ear and he slams his lips onto yours

The kiss was so passionate and it was steaming hot, he tilted his head as he deepens the kiss even more, you moaned

You runs your hands over his chest as you throw your arms around him and one hand over the back of his head as you hold him and pulled him even closer

You both flushed at each other's bodies automatically

His cold hands run over your shoulders and to your thighs

You're both making it out like it was for centuries and he doesn't mind it all

He loves to kiss you forever

You don't even noticed that you both floating up in the air

You pulled away and gasped as you put your hand to cover your mouth

And you look back at Eddie and his eyes are red and you look down at his mouth, you saw his fangs

You're in a state of shock as you felt coming back down on the couch

You breathe heavily of what you just witnessed but you quickly collected yourself

All of the missing pieces are coming together

Now, you understand everything

Eddie is a vampire and you're completely clueless about it

You stare at him and he looks away from you ashamedly but you stopped him from doing it while you place your hand on his cheek to make him face you again

He knits his brows together at your action

You peck a kiss onto his lips and he kisses back "Talk to me"

"I wanna know everything, Eddie" you say to him as you flash a sweet smile

He searches uncertainty on your eyes but he doesn't find anything, he saw compassion and love?

You love him?

He just burst into tears as he goes back to normal again

"Oh, Eddie" you hug him while you rest your head over his chest

He hugs you even tighter and you embrace him even more

You both stayed like this in comfortable silence

Locked into each other's arms

He runs his fingers through your hair and you sigh in comfort

You broke the silence first "Before you can think of anything that I don't want you anymore after this, I won't do it, Eddie, I really mean it"

His eyes are still blurry from the tears as he looks down on you and kisses the top of your head

You hum in agreement with a smile on your face

"I- I adored you ever since, Eddie, I love you" you confessed

You felt him get tensed up and he looks at you in shock

You pulled away from him and you cup his cheeks

"I am willingly to spend my whole life with you, Eddie"

He never felt this much happiness in his life but he smiles sadly at the thought-

He's immortal and you're not, his lifetime will be different in the world and yours will be end up fast unfortunately

At least he got the taste of true love but he really wants to make that happen

Loving each other endearingly

But he also doesn't want to cross over the line, you might want to live your life normally

"Oh, sweetheart" his eyes are brimmed with tears and yours too

He got confused "What is it, darling?"

"I- I thought I will be rejected" you laugh "but I see nothing but the truth in your eyes, Ed's" you say

"Even you don't say it-" he cuts you off by saying

"I love you too, Y/N" he kisses your cheek

"Ever since the first time we met" he added

Your lips clashes onto each other as you make out again

Eddie carried you into his room not wanting to break the kiss

He closes the door and locks it and he places you slowly on his bed

You helped him unbotton his polo and you quickly rushed to unclasp your corset

"No, let me" he stopped you and you nod at him

"Are you sure about this?" He asks before he continues to undresses you

You just nod at him and he sighs as he doesn't want to make this go any further if you're aren't up to this truly

He does not want to make you regret it, it's fine for him, if you're not ready

"Hey" he lifts your chin up to make you look at him in the eyes

"I need verbal answers, sweets" he says as he narrows his eyes on you

"I-I've longed for this, Eddie and I only want you"

"Okay" he says softly as he kisses on your knuckles

You make love for the first time and you're so sure of yourself that he is your person

You're going to settle the life that you want with Eddie

You're naked, laying on his bed, your hair is a beautiful mess

You blushed when you noticed his eyes are roaming around your body from top to bottom

You got shy, you tried to cover yourself by wrapping your arms around you

He licks his lips and his eyes filled with hunger, he chuckles darkly

"Damn- that's so hot, why does he have to do that" you think to yourself

"My love, I was just admiring you" he says as he places both of his hands on your hips

"My love?" your knees are now wobbling at his words

"I can't take my eyes off you, you're a goddess!"

"Oh- stop it! Eddie, I-" he cuts you off with a fervid kiss

You squealed and you can feel his smirk while kissing you

You grab a fistful of his hair and he groaned on top of you and as his hands roam over around your body earning a whimper from you

He deepens the kiss even more as he unbuckled his belt

You're already got so worked up by the simplest touches that he did

The effect he has on you, is freaking unreal

He breaks the kiss and you frown, he laughed while he grabs something on the drawer

"I want to be safe"

Your heart melts as he cares about your pleasure first

He pulled his boxers all the way down and you squirmed

Oh, he is huge, you don't even know if you can take it

"You can take it, don't worry, hunny" he winks at you as if he can read your mind (you didn't know that he can truly do that)

He places himself back on top of you and grab his dick directing to your hole

"You ready?"

"Yes, I am, Eddie"

"I applaud your attentiveness, sweetheart"

He takes himself in slowly and you scrunched up in pain

"Just tell me to stop and I will stop" eying you in concern

"No- no, I'm adjusting, keep going"

The moment his all the way in, you look down and you saw that he filled you up real good

"Oh" you breathe heavily

"Told you can take it"

"E-Eddie- you can move now"

He thrust and he grunts as at your pussy already clenching

"Wow, my darling- you impressed me"

You want to keep your eyes open but can't help by the overwhelming sensation burns through your system

"It feels so good, go harder, please" you beg and he doesn't want to keep you begging for more as his thrusts grows harder and harder

You kept your lustful eyes on him

"Don't you dare look at me like that or I will tore you apart" he thinks to himself

"Ah- Eddie! Oh my fucking god!" You moaned

He grabs your legs and places it over his shoulders

He watches as your chest rises up and down

You got confused ignoring the enrapture that you're feeling at the moment

"Eddie- what are you-" you got cut off as he deepens himself down onto you

You can't suppress your moans any longer as you moaned louder

You grip on the sheets as he fucks you roughly

He even watches your boobs bounce up and down, he smirks at the sight of it, he is enjoying himself

"Holy- shit- oh!" You exclaimed

"Baby, I'm coming, I can't take it anymore"

You arched your back in pleasure as he came undone

He falls down on you even though you felt weak, you still manage to hug him

You can feel him smiling at your action and you run your fingers through his hair

He carefully puts down your shaking legs

Your eyes are heavy lidded, your cheeks are flushed, Eddie slowly pull himself out of you

He wiped you, cleaned you, he pulled a clean bandshirt on you and he chuckles softly on how big it is to you as he dresses you up with his clean boxers

He wore his pajama pants as he cuddles next to you

"How's that?" He asks

"It's astounding" you say while your eyes are closed

He bursted out laughing and you furrow you brows as you slap his arm playfully

"I-I am sorry" he is tearing up from laughter "your choice of words are remarkable" he says with a British accent

You laughed at him "Well, you're not the only one" you snorted

"Oh- how dare you" he says dramatically

You rolled your eyes as you push him back laying down on the bed

You caught him by surprise

You remove his boxers that belonged to him and his

You sat down at him without any warnings and you bite your bottom and you moaned

With his lips apart while looking at you

You place your hands over his shoulders as you begin to ride him, your eyes rolling back as you can feel yourself getting wet because of him

He squeezes his eyes shut on the sweet sensation as you say

"Round 2?" You say menacingly as you smirk down on him

He moans while laughing in the process "where have you been all my life?"

He takes care of you after you both make love again

As soon as he goes back beside you, he's picking up the clothes that he wants to put on you, you're ready to snuggle up with him and yes he will cuddle up with you as soon as he dresses at you up he insists to do that one first but you give him a scowling face

He chortled at how clingy you are

He pulled up the blankets as he lays down and he open his arms out for you

You smiled as you lay your head over his shoulders and hug him and he kisses your forehead

Now at this time, he told you everything about him, about what happened 2 years ago

"I wish I was there for you" you start "they didn't even look hard enough, you're innocent"

"I appreciate that, Y/N, Thank you"

"And I also appreciate your honesty" you pulled back to look down at him and you smile

Your prop your arm up and you say "So there's this other world that you guys called the upside down and this asshole named Vecna did this to you?"

"Yeah, that's sums it all up"

His story sounds like the sci-fic, adventure and action films that you watched before and now knowing that this really happened sends goosebumps into your skin

"Where's Jason now? I would like to punch him in the face"

"Easy there, tiger" he chuckled

"You didn't deserve that! Eddie!" Your eyes are forming with tears

Eddie pulled you into a hug as he rubs your back

He is now sobbing softly with happy tears

You're not afraid, you trust him, you accept him, and you even love him

His eyes flashes with so much gratitude

You suddenly became concerned as you heard him crying

Both of your eyes are stained with tears

"What's wrong, Ed's?"

"Nothing, I just" he sniffles "I didn't know that I got to have you and called you mine"

You smile widely "I'm yours forever"

"I'm yours forever" he keeps replaying it in his head

"I'm so lucky that you exist and you're here with me"

"Because I thought I would never have-

"Someone?"

"Yeah"

"You're my first" you admit

"What?"

"I don't wanna give myself to someone who wasn't true to himself" you paused

"I was never in love with anyone until you, Eddie"

His eyes glint with teary eyes with overjoyed coming into his face

"Me too" he says while you into his eyes and look for dishonest on them but nothing

You fall for him even harder

"I love you, Eddie"

"I love you forever and ever"

You snuggled up together as you slowly close your eyes as you drift away to sleep

Eddie is wide awake somehow gobsmacked at his life right now

He embraces you even tighter as if you might disappeared from him

You hold onto him close as you bury yourself on his chest

His sheets are now covered with your scent and he just loves it, mixed with vanilla and lavender from your shampoo

He can also smell the lotion from your soft skin, flowery and fresh scent

He smiles in content as he fell asleep....

Everything is going so well, why does it have to be like this?

An intense magnitude Earthquake happened all over across the town of Hawkins, Indiana

You and your auntie hold on to each other inside the diner

You both tried to stay calm as you both headed towards the exit

A big rumble on the ground made you both ripped at each others hands

Your eyes widen in fear and you screamed "No! Auntie!"

A big pole that fell back down on her crushes her entirely

The earthquake is becoming more and more stronger as you ran towards her

"Y/N! Stop! Save yourself!" She chokes on her own blood

"No- I won't leave you!" A small wall but heavy enough slams down on the half of your body made you screech in pain

"R-remember what I told you, sunshine"

"I-I love you" she blinks slowly and she dies

"Auntie" you cried out "N-No"

You felt dizzy and you look down wincing in pain, your head bleeds as before you got unconscious the last words you said

"Eddie...."

"I need to find Y/N before it's too late" Eddie says

"Be careful, kid" Enzo says while he and Hopper protect everyone in the open ground area

Eddie gasps as he saw you laying in your own blood, your heart is slowly beating

You're still alive, but losing a lot of blood

"Don't you die on me!" He shouts as he raises the wall that almost crushed you

Eddie saw your lifeless, Aunt, "oh- I am so sorry, sweetheart"

Your mind is hazy but you knew the person who is carrying you

"You came"

"Of course, sweetheart, I'm taking you to the hospital"

"I-I tried to save her" you say weakly your nose starts to bleed

Eddie cries in anger as he quickly finds a hospital

The earthquake is finally over, everyone was wounded, lost a loved a one, lost a home

Emergency vans, were everywhere

The hospital is crowded, every nurse and doctor are running all over the hallways

Eddie's knee kept bopping up and down as he couldn't stay calm at what you're state your in

The doctor finally talked to him and said it's bad news

"She might not make it, I'm sorry"

He cries in agony and this is his greatest fear, losing you.....unless....

There is only one solution to save you

He comes inside your room and he weep even harder as he saw you slowly breathing

It's not your time yet, this isn't fair

"I want to save you, but I don't know if it's also that you want" he says as he holds your hand

You heard him and you slowly opened your eyes and he saw it, his eyes are bloodshot from crying, his clothes are covered with your blood

"Do it, Eddie" you say

"But I don't wanna-"

"Please, Eddie, I don't want you to be alone and I don't wanna leave you behind, I really want this"

"If I do this, you might not be able to do the normal things anymore"

"Let me into your world, Eddie"

"I've got nothing to lose, I only have you" you sob

He can feel you're very certain, he warns this might hurt a little and you'll die for a second

He bites your neck and he cut his wrist to make you drink his blood

You drank a lot and you can feel your heartbeat finally comes to an end

Your eyes, your complexion is now similar to Eddie's, your hair became more wavy, your whole appearance changed

You gasped for air and you didn't feel any pain on you anymore

You looked over to Eddie and you laughed slightly and he hugs you tightly

3 months after the earthquake

Hopper grabs the walkie-talkie and he calls Eddie to come over

When he arrived Dustin and Steve and everyone is in there

He showed him the "WANTED" picture as Hopper explains the criminal that you and Eddie need to capture

Before he continues he exclaims "Where the hell is Y/N?!"

"I'm here, Jim" you say as you entered the room with Eddie's black leather jacket draped over your shoulders

Eddie smirks at your entrance

You take a quick sip of your flask with blood droplet on your chin and you wipe it off using your finger

"So, where to- Chief?" You smile with subtle red glow on your eyes

[alexjcrowley]

Whatever you're doing, drop it right now and go watch BlackBerry. I can give a million reasons to watch it and I will.

This movie has everything.

You loved The Social Network and you never really found something quite like it? Go watch Blackberry, then. You got the love triangle, you got the genius who displays neurodivergent traits overtly, the Best Friend, the other woman a.k.a. the real businessman.

BUT, big wonderful but, it's ugly. It's painfully uncool, staged and at the same time terribly realistic. They all look like shit and you can't help but love it. None of that Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Jesse Eisenberg that make you want to jump into a foursome, here the business cool guy (Glenn Howerton from IASIP) is balding and wearing a suit he clearly stole from Micheal Douglas from Wall Street and he looks unfuckable. The Best Friend has a ninja turtles wallet. They're all ugly, but let me be clear with what I mean: I am fucking sick of seeing fashion models on screen, I am talking about ugliness not as insult but as a punch of reality straight in the face. None of that tiktok black cat gamer boyfriends, these 40 year old men should all burn their entire wardrobe and sue their barbers, I love it.

And yes, at the very beginning (just there) the movie is set in the 80s, and thank God it's not Stranger Things/It chapter one aesthetic, it's disputable shirts and the most pathetic athletic hair band you'll ever see.

You said found family? These tech guys are all Best Friends and party together and dance and have movie nights in the middle of the day in which they watch Indiana Jones and They Live.

The first third of the movie is basically The House Bunny for business companies, with Glenn Howerton sweeping in, giving a makeover to the company, toss those glasses away and make it the belle of the ball, so much that quaterback is asking her to dance.

And it's directed with the camera movement of a mockumentary, hand-held camera baby. And I am telling you this as someone who is getting pretty sick of the overabudance of mockumentaries, I hear you if you're complaining, but this is so good you get over it.

How is the story of the Blackberry phone handled, you ask? Well I am no expert, but I think they did a brilliant job. The Social Network is about Facebook but also about connections and human relationships changing, here you see how the phone industry was changed by Blackberry. In TSN you never actually saw how The Facebook was impacting the world, just the main characters' lives. Here you got the other face of the medal.

The soundtrack? It fucking slaps. I don't know the titles of all the songs in the soundtrack, but sure as hell I am going to look for them. And every movie that has Joy Division in it has my respect.

Oh, if you're a cinephile, I must advise you to be real careful watching this movie, because the amount of movie quotes contained in it could make YOUR BRAIN EXPLODE. Same goes for nerd culture quotes, there are just tooo many and you could risk loving them too much.

Afraid this movie it starting to sound too wholesome and happy? Oh, don't worry, there's enough corruption and angst to fill a Scrooge McDuck money deposit. You got corruption arcs, you got a big deal of actual corruption, calls from the SEC, you got fucking espionage, you got straight up lying, committing crimes, betraying your best friend, one of the few man who looks worse as a villain than as a hero, you got bastardization arc, you got Onceler-ization arc, you got Mark Zuckerberg equivalent of "We're not putting ads", you got "Stop, this isn't you".

But I understand, it's not enough for you. How about the FUCKING Apple-Blackbarry War, uh? How about that? Might interest you? With a flavour of tragedy because you already know who prevailed, but you're living the story from the side of the losers. Doomed by the narrative, ladies and gentlemen.

You got resentment building up, you got workers' discontent growing, you got sales dropping, in TSN you stopped very little after the explosion, now you get to see the whole thing collapse. It's the Western Roman Empire and it's 476 AD. It's "we could have it all". It's epic and terrible and destructive and it's the story of fundamental changes in the phone market and what phones came to be. It has an ending that it's bitter and happy and delightfully ironic and leaves you wondering what if.

I had one, one complain about this movie: it all starts in Waterloo and you don't put Waterloo by Abba? But I take back my complain, and if you, like me, are into 60s music you're going to love it. They're one of my favourite bands, if you know who I am talking about, so I was elated.

Go watch BlackBerry. Go. Right now. This is how I spent my one night off, this is how I ended a very shitty day and I was not disappointed. Watching this movie has been the best thing to happen to me today.

[strideofpride]

anything you’ve been watching/reading lately that you’d recommend? i think you have stellar taste in media (aka it often matches mine lol) so am curious! hope you feel better soon 💖

Ummmm yes, love this ask!!! (Also I’m so flattered 🥰 you have great taste as well btw)

Books:

Mo Ryan’s Burn It Down! If you’re at all interested in the entertainment industry and how it all gets made, this is basically required reading

the Succession script books (pricey but personally worth it)

I just finished Jill Gutowitz’s Girls Can Kiss Now and felt very seen, a wee bit too relatable

And I’m currently also reading Ann Patchett’s This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, which is a great book for my fellow writers to read

Substack:

I’m a paid subscriber to Hunter Harris’ Hung Up newsletter and I’ve never once regretted it lol

Gotta shout out Dracula Daily as well as the one podcast I listen to rn, re: Dracula (I listen and read at the same time which is perfect for me lol)

Gilmore Women - a Gilmore Girls recap newsletter that talks about everything wrong with each episode lol. I sped through the first six seasons and now I’m depressed that I’m caught up lol

TV:

Minx s2 - it is on Starz which I know most people don’t have but this season has been EXCELLENT

Only Murders in the Building s3 - it’s like a comfort show for me at this point, despite being about murder it makes me feel so cozy. Nora Ephron vibes

The Bear s2 - everyone’s been talking about it already but I just finished and god it was GOOD

The Sopranos - everyone should be doing # Sopranos Sunday with me!!! It’s so fun!! This show is soooo good, really living up to the hype for me

Acapulco - really cute show, makes me wish I was still on vacation in Mexico

Poker Face - bring back standalone episodes like this!!! Bring back character actors doing incredible guest star roles!!!

The Other Two - just. It was the funniest show on TV. It really was. 30 Rock’s spiritual successor which is pretty much the highest praise I can give it

Movies:

Red Eye - I rewatched it after Oppenheimer and it really holds up. Fun, tight thriller that is only like an hour 20 lol. Also Brian Cox aka Logan Roy is in it (and Jayma Mays my beloved)

Theater Camp - as a Jewish theater kid who went to and/or worked at a summer camp every year of her life from ages 4-20, there was no way I wasn’t gonna like this

Mamma Mia series - obviously everyone on tumblr knows about these already but I made my family watch them with me for the Fourth of July and god if I could live in the world of any movie it’d be this one ❤️

Man Up - very cute & fun British rom com I first discovered in college and rewatched this summer. Everyone has incredible comedic chemistry in this, and Lake Bell & Simon Pegg have great sexual chemistry as well (quite a lot of British faces who were nobodies when this was made who’ve gone on to bigger things - most notably Phoebe Waller-Bridge who’s only in a single scene)

X-Men: First Class - my favorite superhero movie ❤️

Indiana Jones series - I rewatched the whole series and saw the new one in theaters this summer. The first and third are literal masterpieces. Second one is mean spirited and racist. Fourth actually has quite a bit of charm, but then it fell apart in the back half. The new one…woof. Nobody but Steven Spielberg should be allowed to direct Indy movies.

Asteroid City - the longer it’s been since I saw it, the more and more I think it might be Wes’ masterpiece

Past Lives - incredible. But I know you already know that one lol

Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret - perfect, perfect film.

The Other Guys - we need Adam McKay and Will Ferrell to get back together, the fate of studio comedies hangs on this (anyway this movie is hilarious - but also if hell is real Marky Mark is obviously gonna burn for all eternity)

Comedy:

John Mulaney: Baby J - I saw him do this special live when he was touring it and I’m mad he cut the FBI bit but he’s still got it

[hopper-at-heart]

Messages

Wayne looks past you at Eddie, letting the messages play...

Your cheeks burn, as you try to act unbothered by what you hear. Speaking over yet another desperate sounding message, Wayne says, "it only holds 60 Eddie. 60. Every time you go off with her," he nods in your direction,"I have to sit through 60 of these. When it fills up, it starts recording over everything else. What if the plant calls and needs me to come cover an extra shift, and I never hear it because I'm listening to these girls pitching woo, boy?"

"I'm sorry," Eddie says, looking at you.

You ignore him, looking at Wayne. "He's sorry, Wayne."

"Really Uncle Wayne, I didn't give out the number, I don't know how it keeps going around. I'll call Indiana Bell and get them to change it again tomorrow."

"And change the message back, too. I don't have any problem with that Metallica, but you have to remember we live in Hawkins, and no one wants that blasted in their ear when they have to talk to a machine. Can't you play something that won't have half the town chasing me with pitchforks?"

"Yes,sir."

"Now the two of you behave yourselves, and there's some tv dinners in the freezer. And she's to be outta here by 10."

As Wayne drives off, Eddie is already wrapping his arms around you, kissing your neck, his smell returning the rush of blood to your cheeks, and other places. You stop him, and step away from his embrace, leaving him with that sad puppy dog look on his face. Scrunching your nose up, you repeat his words, mostly, "I don't know how they get my number, the god of rock and roll must've passed it out, I'll get it changed again so the skanks can't find me."

He smirks with a half grin, and steps towards you, placing his hands on your face, "don't do that, you know they only want what they can't have, I'm with you, they'll eventually get tired of chasing me and find some other target, probably some jock or other meathead that is more their actual taste, and their parents will be thrilled to death, and they'll continue to tell everyone how innocent and sweet their tiny babies are."

You push him away again, "I still don't like it, they wouldn't be calling if they didn't think they had a shot.

"You are the only one that has a shot at anything. You are smart, you are funny, you are absolutely gorgeous, one might even say that you are the bee's knees," his grin turns into a full smile, that travels all the way to his eyes, as he begins making a buzzing sound and flittering his hands like wings. Before you can say anything, he closes the distance between you, wrapping his arms firmly around you and parting your lips with his tongue.

"What about dinner?" you halfheartedly say between kisses, to which he replies, "I know what I'm eating, it's hot fresh, and doesn't have to go in the microwave."

You both tumble to the floor, entwined and lost in the moment. Eddie throws down the Afghan that was draped over the couch, his mouth and hands exploring your body, the climax building like a wave from somewhere deep inside, by the time he is inside of you, you are riding out the aftermath of your first orgasm, and another is coming fast.

You awaken to the sound of the alarm on his clock radio, and absentmindedly slap at the snooze button, not ready to get up and leave him, but knowing that you will have hell to pay if you are out past curfew again, and not wanting to risk not being able to see him for weeks outside of school, where he plays the role he is delt, and is unable to be completely free in the moment as he is with you.

You hear Judas Priest singing, "Breaking the law, breaking the law," and you hit the snooze button again, just in time to hear Eddie say, "Wayne's not here, he's probably gone to bail me out again, you know what to do" (beep)

You laugh, "He's going to kill you."

"No he won't, I'm just keeping him on his toes. Besides, he only played those messages to embarrass me, and I think he likes you, thinks you're a good influence or something."

"Or something," you say, gathering your clothes from the floor.

[sagemonsters]

Heyo! It’s been a hot second since I’ve posted about any writing activity in my life—the end of my university semester + some familial troubles has really kept me away from my drafts—BUT I’m getting back into the swing of things! I have a new WIP that I’m hoping to finish the second draft of before my autumn semester starts on August 22nd.

The WIP doesn’t have a title for now, but is best described as “Dungeons & Dragons meets Indiana Jones meets monster romance” and is a cis male centaur x AMAB nonbinary human/elf hybrid romance novella. I’m hoping to publish it on Kindle and/or Smashwords once I’ve finished the draft and made all necessary edits.

The story takes place in a high fantasy setting inspired by the pre-Islamic Middle East and northern Africa. If I may gush… the setting itself is what made me fall in love with the story. I’ve been listening to the Fall of Civilizations YouTube channel and really vibing with the episode about the Nabatean civilization + looking at some stunning photography of the real-world Namib Desert along the west coast of southern Africa.

The first draft of this nameless WIP was set in a generic kitchen sink fantasy universe in the standard western European flavor, and I really didn’t click with it; even adding my favorite biome (temperate rainforest) as the backdrop for an important location didn’t make me have fun with what I was writing. However, once I changed the setting to something more geographically & culturally distinct, I started to enjoy it a lot more.

But characters are important too!

Taji Seventhborn is a linquist-mage who specializes in translating a variety of ancient languages into a variety of contemporary ones. They’re newly graduated from a thaumaturgic university in the (ofc fictional) city of Al-Darabous, and struggle with a mild anxiety disorder. Taji is the POV character for the entire novella.

I used the Baydews 2.0 picrew to make a portrait of them, which I’m not 100% happy with because it makes Taji look 14 rather than their actual age of 24. However, it’s still nice to have a visual representation of the character.

Cimitrius Firefoot is the centaur character and love interest. He’s a little older than Taji at 27 and is a warrior rather than a mage. He leads a band of adventurers, and was contracted by Lord Sindiso (along with Taji; that's how they meet) to guard an expedition searching for an ancient temple somewhere among the ghost-wracked dunes of Tindaalo Desert.

Excerpt below the cut!

Taji took a deep breath and looked around the Square. Even though dawn had not yet broken, there were plenty of people about. Veiled women filled pitchers with water from the fountain, their bangles tinkling as they moved, and the first wagons were being admitted through the massive, studded ironwood doors of the Victory Gate on their way to the marketplace. Shutters were being opened in the windows of the tenement buildings that flanked the Square, and street vendors pulled their hand-carts into position in preparation for hawking food, drinks, trinkets, and everything else under the sun. Another busy day was getting ready to dawn in Al-Darabous, and—for the first time—Taji would be leaving it all behind.

Their nerves jangled like the delicate silver chains that the Emperor’s court dancers tied into their braids. They scanned the two major thoroughfares that fed into the Square over and over, shifting their weight from food to foot as time wore on. The gray dawnlight blushed into the full brilliance of morning, and a cacophony of bells tolled in the high white towers to mark the occasion. Taji pulled the papyrus letter out of their pocket and read the last lines for what might have been the thirtieth time:

Prepare and outfit yourself for a long journey through the desert, and meet us in the Square of the Leaping Gazelle before sunrise on the seventh day of Firefall.

[splinteredmercies]

SPRING CLEANING ‘24 ␥ Phoebe Huynh (2/?)

fandom: stranger things

pairing: eventual and implied chrissy cunningham/phoebe huynh (oc)

author's note: originally written during the summer of '22, this hasn't seen the light of say other than a friend or two i've sent it to. it was also the time when i challenged myself to write in present tense. i planned it to be a one-shot like almost everything else i've written in the last two years. phoebe and chrissy are the definition of those middle school female friendships you never truly recover from, lol.

word count: 598

It’s the September of 1979. The Huynhs have moved from sunny California to dreary Indiana to open a nail salon in the heart of Hawkins, and Phoebe is entering sixth grade at the local middle school.

Phoebe’s schedule shows her first class is U.S. History with Mrs. Cassandra Callahan. Phoebe makes her way to the class—trying and failing to ignore how she’s the only Asian person in the building and how all the students stare and whisper.

The stares and whispers are worse when she’s one of the first students in the classroom. Her peers make a lousy attempt at sneaking glances at her while she is busy observing the classroom and Mrs. Callahan.

Mrs. Callahan is younger than the cluster of teachers hanging around their doorways in the Social Studies hallway. She’s newlywed, going off how she fiddles with the simple but shiny gold band on her left ring finger and stares at it with a sparkling gaze. Wispy strands of blonde hair fall around her face, and Phoebe can tell she has bright and eager blue eyes.

The bell rings, and Mrs. Callahan walks to her desk with a sunny smile. “Good morning, everyone! Since it’s the first day of school, we’ll do some ice-breakers before going over the syllabus and the class rules and expectations.”

Everyone is quiet except for the occasional shuffle as the kids move around in their seats. Mrs. Callahan brightens at the lack of groans and complaints. She picks up a clipboard with a pencil. “I’m going to call roll.”

Mrs. Callahan makes her way quickly through the list, but her confidence wavers through the H section.

“H-U-Y-N-H? I’m so sorry I can’t pronounce this—” Mrs. Callahan’s voice is high-pitched and hesitant when her eyes fall upon Phoebe. “How do you pronounce your last name, sweetie?”

Something about how Mrs. Callahan says “sweetie” aggravates Phoebe, but she swallows her pride, plasters on a saccharine smile, and gives her the correct pronunciation.

“Oh, I’m never gonna get that correct,” Mrs. Callahan mumbles, scribbling something down on the page.

In front of her, a girl turns around. The sudden motion makes the straw-colored hair in a ponytail whip around her face. “Hi, I’m Chrissy! I like your nail polish color!”

Phoebe looks down at her hands. The polish—a soft pink by the name of “Pink Almond”—had been applied by her mother during their mother-daughter bonding time she insisted on every Saturday night. Her mother had chosen the color, saying that neutrals and soft polishes on her natural nails suited Phoebe for the upcoming school year, and she promised they’d go back to experimenting with the bolder set of trendy colors during the summer.

“Thank you,” Phoebe replies with a clipped, polite tone. She looks back at Chrissy with the hopes the other girl understands she’s hesitant to talk to her and cools down the cheerfulness. It’s simply too early for this.

“Can I see your schedule? I want to see how many classes we have together.”

Phoebe feels like Chrissy is staking her claim on her. And, strangely, finds she doesn’t mind at all. She passes Chrissy her schedule and watches as the girl skims it.

“Sweet! We have basically all our classes together.” Chrissy seems excited at the thought but hesitates at Phoebe’s stony silence. “I was going to ask if you wanted to stick together, but if you—I mean, you don’t have to say yes—”

“No,” Phoebe interrupts. A smile tugs at her lips, one more sincere than the one aimed at Mrs. Callahan earlier. “We can stick together.”

[dbluegreen]

god bless you,kurt vonnegut

i am currently reading vonnegut’s ‘galapagos’ which came out in the eighties...the nineteen eighties,just to be clear. i’ve long been a vonnegut fan since i read ‘breakfast of champions’ on a several hour bus ride up north in new hampshire for a soccer game. right after that i was a fan. later on,i read ‘slaughterhouse five’ which i didn’t like as much but still liked enough. i haven’t read all of his works,though. i just got distracted,i think. i’ve also read ‘cat’s cradle’,which i think is my favorite,and ‘slapstick’ and ‘god bless you mr. rosewater’ and ‘wampeters,foma and granfalloons’ (i don’t think he used foma like we do now,but i can’t remember) and “palm sunday’ and ‘fates worse than death’. i enjoyed all of those. i think i started some others,but didn’t continue. if i remember correctly,i also read the short story ‘harrison bergeron’ in high school english.

but anyway,right now this is just what a good doctor would order for me...a witty book with a humanist message...and not just by any author, because for me,reading something by kurt vonnegut is a joy.

and so it goes.

“We'd all do well to start over again, preferably with kindergarten.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

moving the indiana bell building,early twentieth century,by kurt vonnegut dad’s and associates

[deafmangoes]

An Album of Christmas Carols - 5

It's time. The one you've all been waiting for. Somehow universally seen as the best adaptation of Dickens' classic.

"A Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992, Michael Caine)

This was the first full-length adaptation of A Christmas Carol that I recall ever watching, and has pretty much been my favourite to rewatch ever since. I was actually so used to this version that the first time I saw a different one I was confused why there weren't two Marleys.

We open with a sweep over London and an introduction to our narrator, Gonzo the Great Charles Dickens, and his friend Rizzo the Rat. From Brooklyn, NYC. The addition of the narrator is a clever touch (and, I suspect, the only way they could think to use Gonzo), and marks this adaptation as the most "book-accurate", according to the BBC (due to the large amount of text quoted directly from the novella).

Michael Caine really epitomises the role for me. Soft-spoken but hard. Trigger temper. Intimidating and heartless. After the opening song, early scenes with Nephew Fred, the charity men, Kermit Cratchit (and the other bookkeepers), he departs home and Cratchit sings a song that gets stuck in my head around this time every damn year.

Ghosts? Ghosts!

Back home, the doorknocker very creatively morphs into (Jacob) Marley's face. I don't know how they did it. Maybe vacuumed it but reversed the footage. We only get a brief bit of the other 'tells' before Jacob (and Robert) Marley appear to heckle their old business partner. Their song is great, probably my favourite part of the film.

"Doomed, Scrooge! You're doomed for all time / Your future is a horror story written by your crimes / Your chains are forged by what you say and do / So have your fun, when life is done a nightmare waits for you!"

Christmas Past looks to me like the thing that comes out of the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones, right before it turns into the angel of death and kills all the Nazis. And because of that, I never feel very comfortable while it's on-screen. Weird childlike angel spirit whatsit.

(In the outtakes, Gonzo manages to get his grappling hook through his own head. The puppeteers play it off wonderfully).

The scenes in the school are hilarious to me, particularly Sam the Eagle's two major jokes:

"Work hard lad, and some day your life will be as solid as this very building!"

/Gonzo and Rizzo break the shelf in the background

"Hrm. I've been meaning to fix that shelf."

And of course:

"You'll love business. It's the American way!"

/Gonzo corrects Sam

"Ah. Hrm. It is the British way!"

Fozziwig's party is shown, where the filmmakers manage to fit in all the other Muppets they'd be hard-pressed to place, like Doctor Teeth's band and the Swedish Chef. Rizzo ends up on fire for the first, but not the last, time this film.

Now, depending on when you were introduced to this film you may or may not realise there's a big emotional award-bait song here after Belle breaks up with Scrooge. It was in the original cut, and the VHS edition, but got cut for broadcast. When DVDs were first printed, the master had been lost so you could only get the version without the song. Apparently it's now back on Disney+ as an extra.

The song isn't all that, to be honest, but without it the reprise later in the film doesn't hit quite right, so... Swings and roundabouts. Past departs, Scrooge is deposited back in bed, just in time for...

... Okay, this might be controversial, but. Christmas Present is the weakest part of the film. The costume is impressive, and made specifically for this film (well, all three ghosts were), and the song is nice, but this version of the ghost just doesn't have the sarcastic bite that I enjoy so much. Even when he does deliver the ironic echo to Scrooge, it sounds out-of-place precisely because he's been nothing but 'nice' up until that point.

Anyway. We get Nephew Fred's party and the Cratchit's Christmas (the second time Rizzo ends up on fire), with the scene-stealing Miss Piggy giving it her all as Emily Cratchit. "It's a chef thing, dear" was a very common refrain around our house when we were eating something out-of-turn.

As Present fades away, Scrooge is left with the tall, ominous Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, who speaks entirely in deep bassoon audio cues. The tone of the film shifts considerably in this segment, so much so they even have Gonzo and Rizzo depart to make it more serious. Old Joe and the others who benefit from Scrooge's death are all creatively shown as vermin and carrion feeders - a spider, a moth, a crow and a bug*.

(*Well, she's described as a potato in Muppet's Treasure Island, but eh).

The Cratchit household sans Tim is a sad place and Scrooge can only bear so much of it before tearfully confronting his own mortality and begging repentance from the mute spirit.

Then, of course, it's Christmas Day! He hasn't missed it! Scrooge engages the services of the caroller seen previously to haul an absolutely massive turkey downtown. In a departure from the book, he stops only briefly at Fred's to deliver presents then goes directly to the Cratchit household, where Miss Piggy violently threatens him. Misunderstandings cleared up, Scrooge helpfully invites half of the entire city of London into this one-up, one-down Camden house and we close out on everyone singing a happy reprise of Belle's "you suck and I'm breaking up with you" song.

Highlights and Humbugs

Despite anything I said above about the film's few flaws, they really are very few and far between. The serious, professional acting of Caine opposite the Muppets is the thing that sells the whole film, and I really wish they'd do more of this sort of classic literary adaptation.

It also holds a special place in the hearts of those who worked on the film - it was the first Muppets outing after Jim Henson, the creator of the original show, had died. The cast were unsure if they should or even could continue without him, though Jim's son, Brian Henson, was encouraged by co-creator Frank Oz to take up the puppets and the result was this masterpiece. Michael Caine has also spoken about this being one of his favourite roles, and how easy it was to forget that he was acting against puppets.

The songs are great. The jokes are funny. The effects hold up. The core of the story shines through. It's just a very good version overall.

10 out of 10 Humbugs. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

[the-metaphorical-jellicle-cat]

Top five movies/TV shows?

I think I'll do both

In no particular order for tv:

1. Vox Machina- it's high fantasy and craziness and I love it

2. Bluey- because it's okay to love a kids show that make you feel something as an adult

3. Only Murders in the Building- just got into it and love it. Selena Gomez is wonderful

4. Gravity Falls- classic, can always have it on in the background, and all around great show

5. Young Justice- one of the best superhero animated shows ever. I've watched it since the beginning, and I hope it gets another season to wrap up that cliff hanger.

Time for movies

1. Back to the Future- classic

2. Indiana Jones (the og trilogy)- we watch it constantly at home and I can proudly say almost every line.

3. Beauty and the Beast- the animated one because reasons. And Belle is my favorite Disney princess of that period.

4. The Lion King- what's not to love. Has one of the best scores of a Disney movie.

5. Treasure Planet- definitely a top movie. Characters are wonderful. Music score is one of the best. And the animation is the best in the period it came out.

I tried to stay away from Disney, but I couldn't help myself.