#greetings from my mom who thought that if i wasn't working on my paper i had to be texting people

[kattestrophe]

I am sorry to bother you, but I have obscure knowledge about the 1730 Katte Portrait that is RUINING MY LIFE and I have to share. I have no idea how much of this is already common knowledge, so I apologize for anything you already knew:

It was commissioned by Frederick the Great; he said that he had Katte painted “with great care”, and he said it was to depict “The soul of the man.” Basically, he was saying that the portrait is how HE sees Katte

It depicts Hans with the “Order of St. John” Medal, which had been taken from Katte by Friedrich Wilhelm I. But Fritz made sure it was included.

Katte’s uniform DOES NOT depict Friedrich Wilhelm’s initials; Fritz had deliberately made sure of this.

Fritz gifted the painting to Katte’s father as soon as he was King; at the in-person ceremony to make him a Count and Field Marshal. (On the anniversary of Hans Hermann’s arrest)

Hi there anon! :DD I'm so happy you came to me with this!

I'm unsure where you found the info, but I'll have to crush your dreams a little bit. You got a few things wrong/mixed up, which is completely okay!

Just to have a visual, the painting we're talking about is this one:

Painted by Georg Lisiewski in 1730. Now, Lisiewski did work for the Prussian court, but this painting was decidedly not commissioned by them (Fritz certainly didn't have the means to in 1730). The back of the original says:

"Dises Originalbild hat der seelige Freyherr von Katt mit grossen Fleis vertigen lassen von mich, George Liszewsky, Mahler in Berlin, anno 1730"

Now the first thing that shows is that Katte commissioned the image himself sometime before his arrest. It was then finished post-mortem for his family (they also had it enlarged, Katte originally commissioned a smaller painting). That's the reason for the "seelig" part: It does sound soul related at first glance, but selig is actually used to express something like "at peace" i.e. late or dead in this context. The phrasing "mit grossen Fleis"/"with great care" is standard painterspeak for "I do quality work" from what I can tell, you find it in Dürer's correspondence too.

As you've correctly stated and as we can see, the St John's cross was painted and the ususal monogram for the regent on the cuirass was not. Now the reason for that is somewhat unclear, actually. However, the anecdote about FW ripping the cross from Katte's neck appears to be untrue. The source is Pöllnitz, who claims to have heard it from Grumbkow. It seems unlikely due to Pöllnitz being Pöllnitz and also because Katte appears to have had the cross in his possession until his death. It then ended up with Lepel, the commander of Küstrin, via Major von Schack.

We can only speculate why Lisiewski did not include the monogram, but Fritz in all likelihood did not have anything to do with that. Kloosterhuis writes that perhaps he no longer saw the need to show Katte as the King's man after his passing and more as a man of God, signified by the cross. It is also possible that the monogram was overpainted later on, when the painting was enlarged. As a painter myself, it is also possible that Lisiewski just messed up tbh. There's a lot going on in that specific area of the chest (this is just as if not more speculative than Kloosterhuis's ideas, obvi).

Now, you were also right about Fritz gifting the Kattes a portrait and making them counts! It was not on the anniversary of Katte's arrest but ten days prior, closer to the 10th anniversary of his own arrest. The portrait (which, according to a later source, was "sent" to Hans Heinrich rather than given, without a note "as not to reopen an old wound") was not one of their son but one of himself, this one:

Painted by Knobelsdorff, around 1737.

The portraits were then possibly displayed together (possible reason for enlarging the portrait of Hans Hermann), which is a nice thought.

Also since the last time I've spoken about the yellow portrait, there has been a development! The painting is now on display and can be seen in Schloss Wolfshagen. The Fritz portrait is also owned by the Gans zu Putlitz, so he may be there too? I'll be able to tell you more about it in May.

[fizzing-imagines]

My mom's Billy | Billy Hargrove x Single Mom! Military! Reader

Notes: This is the ending Billy DESERVED, with some good therapy, a nice home and a family that loves him

Warnings: Mentions of abuse

Words: 4.1k

This was your first time in group therapy. It was highly recommend by your therapist to you, after having trouble connection to others. Her idea was that meeting people with similar experience to yours would help you. Two friendly-looking therapists happily greeted the group of eight, then introduced you. "We have a new face joining us today." Everyone looked at you, you could feel your face heating up. "Oh, uhm...Hi, I'm (Y/N). Uhm...my ex-husband abused me throughout our twelve year relationship. And uhm...I used to be a lieutenant in the navy, but I quit when my son Leo was born so I've been a housewife for five years. I work as a waitress now though." The female therapist of the two gave you an encouragement smile. "I, uhm, I left him a year ago. The divorce was actually finalised last week, so...now I'm here." You let out an awkward laugh, but the group also gave you an encouraging smile. A man with ocean blue eyes and curly, blonde hair stood out to you as he looked you up and down. His face was wrinkled, even though he didn't look too old to you yet. There was a stubbly beard on his face, a bit darker than his hair, and while his lips were full they were also chewed up. What stood out most were the hickeys on his neck.

"Thank you for sharing.", one of the participants told you. With a smile, you gave her a nod. "Have you thought about going back to the navy?", another participant asked you. Wow, these people were open. "I have, but I don't have a partner and my mother is too old to constantly take care of my son when I'm on deployment so that's off the table." It disappointed you, really. You loved your career and regretted letting your ex take that joy from you. "And daycare has gotten so expensive.", a man in the group said. "I have two young children, we have them in daycare." He continued talking about barely being able to afford having his kids looked after at a daycare, so the focus was finally off of you. But the meeting itself was nice, the participants were kind and understanding. Even though the man who checked you out in the beginner barely talked, until he was asked towards the end of the meeting. "Billy, you haven't shared today.", the male therapist said. "Anything you wanna say?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Not really, nothing interesting happened. Had a date, but she wasn't my 'forever person'" He put the last to words into air quotes. "Nothing else interesting happened, really." For some reason, he intrigued you. "Well, besides that this is your last session today.", the male therapist added. "Oh yeah, that too. My therapist said I've gotten a well-enough social circle to not attend anymore and I could really use the hour for more shifts at my job." Everyone said goodbye to Billy.

After group, you left the centre to get to your car. As you unlocked your door, you saw Billy walking over to your car. "Hey, (Y/N), wasn't it?" You nodded your head. "Well, since I'm not in group anymore I was hoping I could give you my phone number." Your cheeks suddenly felt hot - you haven't been asked out since you met your husband. It hasn't been a concept that was a possibility for you. "Listen, I think I get that it might be hard for you, so you don't have to give me your number." He took out a piece of paper and wrote something down. "But give me a call if you feel like going out on a date. I'd be happy to hear from you, you can reach me at any time of the day." You took the piece of paper from his hand and let out a quiet "Thank you." before he left to get into his own car. You yourself sat in your car for a good five minutes to process what just happened. Someone asked you out on a date? You really couldn't believe it. Eventually, you started your engine and drove to your mothers house to pick up your son.

After you got him into bed you sat in the living room and kept starring at the tiny piece of paper with Billy's number on it. You told your mother about it, and she encountered you to call him, but your brain had a blockage. But will it ever go away if you don't break it? The clock told you that it was already midnight, you questioned how you could sit there for hours with your own thoughts discouraging you. Slowly, you took your flipphone out of your pocket and dialed the number. After a few rings, you were greeted by a sleepy "Hello?" His voice was raspy, and you immediately felt bad for disruption his sleep. "It's...it's (Y/N)." The two of you talked on the phone for a good while, talking through details of what he wants to do where with you. Billy had good ideas, but you insisted on public places only. He was very understanding and suggested a nice restaurant downtown. When you said that you couldn't afford that, he said "Don't worry about money, I'll invite you for the evening." It made you blush a bit - you can't remember the last time you've been invited to dinner.

You two had a good date. Your mother looked after your son and let him have a sleepover at her place, meanwhile Billy picked you up from your house. He brought you flowers and showered you in compliments before even letting you step into his car. It made your stomachs flip up- and down, especially because you sort of accepted the fact that you'd never find love again. While it didn't have to mean that Billy has to be the one, it was nice to be wooed again. Dinner went just as well, you had nice conversations, went on a walk afterwards and he dropped you off at your apartment afterwards. "I'd like to see you again.", he said to you with a smile while standing in front of your entrance. It made your heart skip a beat and your cheeks heat up. "I'm free next Thursday, maybe we can get breakfast together?", you said while smiling at him. He took his hand in yours, said "I'll pick you up at 8:30." and kissed the back of your hand. You said your goodbyes and went inside your apartment. Once you laid in bed and thought about the evening, you couldn't help but grin until you fell asleep.

You looked forward to breakfast with Billy for days, and it went just as well as the first date. Billy took you out at least two times a week for the next month. What you loved most about it was that he never pressured you into any physical contact - the most he ever did was give you a kiss on the cheek. Everyone around you noticed how much happier you've gotten. It also rubbed off on your son, who turned from extremely shy and introverted to an extroverted ball of energy. Right now, you were at Billy's house, having a few snacks and talking about life.

"Billy, can I ask you something?", you said as you leaned your head against the backrest of his couch. "Anything.", he said with a smile. "You really don't need to answer if you don't want to, but since you know why I was in group...why were you?" You've had your suspicions after being at his place a few times. There were no family pictures anywhere, except one of him and his stepsister, and a few childhood pictures of him and his mother. "Was about time for that question, huh?" He let out an awkward chuckle while thinking of an answer. "My dad, actually. He, uhm, he first abused my mother and eventually me. And when my mother left, I became too much like him. I was a bully, and was a dick to my step-sister. But I eventually got out, moved back here and got help. So my sister forgave me at least, but she still lives in Indiana." You knew that he lived there for a while, until he had an accidentally and came back to California. "Billy, I'm so sorry..." you said while reaching out for his hand. He took his hand in yours and squeezed it once. "I'm okay now, (Y/N)." Even though he just told you what happened to you in his past, he still smiled at you. "He's miserable now, we put him in a nursing home in some shithole town." His thumb started stroking over the back of your hand as his eyes looked into yours. "Uhm, I actually had a question...about your ex and your son.", he said while looking down. Something told you that that question was uncomfortable to him. "Sure, what's up?", you asked. "Well, I know what your ex did to you but...what did your son experience?" Knowing what Billy went through with his dad, this was probably for his own piece of mind as well. "It honestly started when he was born. He screamed at him as a baby to shut up when he cried, then he started pushing him when he was running through the house. But once he punched him, I packed our things and ran away with Leo. Pressed charges the same day and haven't looked back." Now Billy was the one to squeeze your hand. "You did the right thing (Y/N), I'm proud of you." You smiled and scooted closer to him, letting your knee touch his. Somehow, both of you knew what the other thought about - he pulled you into a hug and held you tight to his body, while you wrapped your arms around his torso and rested your head on his chest. You could hear his heartbeat, take in his scent; you felt like you were home. Billy was the one for you, you knew that.

On the next date, you two kissed for the first time. The one after that, he asked to be your boyfriend. Of course you said yes, how could you not? But now there was a problem: You'd have to eventually tell Leo. While you did tell him that you've made a new friend and meet up with him a lot, you never told him that you're dating again. That was your mistake, because now you'd have to tell him. The biggest problem? Leo was afraid of men. He couldn't be near male teachers or any of his uncles, even male cashiers got a massive side eye from him. So his mom now having a new boyfriend, after his biology father abused him for his entire life? It didn't seem possible to you. But you did have to tell him eventually, so you sat him down on a Saturday after you two got ice cream.

"Leo, do you remembered my friend Billy that I have been seeing a lot lately?", you started the conversations with. Leo nodded his head, then took a lick of his ice cream. "Is he coming over?", he asked then. "Well, maybe. I actually have to tell you something else about Billy." Your heart started racing, and you honestly didn't even know where you were going with this. "You know when we talked about how daddies and mommies love each other?" He nodded his head once more. "Well, when daddies and mommies separate, it can happen that they meet someone else who made them as happy as the other mommy or daddy made them. But when the other mommy or daddy wasn't a good person-" You were interrupted by your own son. "Like Dean?" Leo never called your ex dad, he always called him Dean. "Yes, like Dean. Well, then the mommy or daddy might meet someone who makes them even happier." Your son continued eating his ice cream quietly. "And Billy is that other person who makes me even happier, and that's what I wanted to tell you, Leo." He remained quiet for a bit, trapped in his own thoughts, before he talked again. "So is Billy your boyfriend now?" He didn't scrunch his face in disgust or anger, which was a good sign. "Yes, sweetheart, Billy is my boyfriend now and I wanted to tell you so you could get ready to meet him someday." Once again, he thought about your words for a while. "Does Billy hit you like Dean did?" Unfortunately, Leo knew too much about abuse too soon. "No, Leo, Billy has never hit me or insult me. Do you remembered when we talked about how Mommies and Daddies should treat each other?" He took a big lick of his ice cream before answering. "That they always cuddle and kiss and hug each other, and that they never hit or scream at each other." You nodded in agreement. "That's right. And that is how Billy treats me." For the third time, he was inside his head and thinking something over. "My friend Lee, his dad has a new girlfriend and he says that she's his step-mother now. Is Billy my step-dad?" Oh, you were not prepared for that question at all. You actually expected a tantrum. "You can call him that if you want to. But you can also just call him Billy." Leo went on to ask when he was going to meet Billy, if he could cook for him with you, if Billy liked basketball as much as he does.

So the day came. On the following Thursday, you and Leo were making two different pizzas for the three of you. He insisted on making a funny face out of salamies on one pizza while you added mushrooms, olives and spinach to the other one. Once you put the food in the oven, your doorbell rang. "He's here!", Leo said while running up to the front door. "Mama, can I open it?", he asked you. As you were washing your hands it wasn't such a bad idea. "Sure sweetheart, be nice!", you said over to him. Your son opened the door and greeted your boyfriend with a wide grin. "Hello, are you my mom's Billy?", he asked. His question made you chuckle. "I am your mom's Billy. Are you your mom's Leo?" He loudly said yes before leading him inside and telling Billy to take his shoes and jacket off. "Mom's in the kitchen.", he said to Billy. "Leo, go wash your hands and change your shirt. Dinner is done soon." You could hear your sons footsteps running off while Billy came through the kitchen door. "That was quite the greeting.", he said with a chuckle in his voice. "He's uncharacteristically excited to meet you.", you replied while drying your hands. The two of you shared a quick kiss before the timer for the pizza went off. "He even made you smiling pizza."

Leo's and Billy's first meeting went extraordinarily well. In the evening, after your boyfriend left, he asked you when he would come over again. And it didn't take long until he asked when Billy would move in with the two of you. Six months deep into the relationship, Leo and you moved in with Billy. He had two extra rooms and a big backyard that he couldn't use all by himself. Your son loved it, and he loved Billy. At some point, he started calling the two of you "My mama and my Billy", which made your boyfriends heart melt. Billy and you got married two years later, you took Billy's last name and tried looking into how Leo could get it too. Eventually, it all resolved itself.

Billy was looking after Leo while you were at work. He picked him up from school and was making him dinner while Leo was doing his homework. However, math wasn't his strongsuit so he walked to Billy with his textbook. "Dad, can you help me with this?" Billy stopped in his tracks as he heard Leo call him dad for the first time but swallowed it down to not make him feel uncomfortable. He helped him with his homework and didn't let anything show until he was alone in the kitchen and cried some tears; happy tears. He continued lunch with your, and now his, son like he always does. Once you came home, he immediately pulled you into a tight hug. "What's gotten into you?", you said with a giggle. "Leo called me dad today.", he mumbled into the crook of your neck. Your eyes went wide in suprise and happiness, then you laughed. "Seriously? Billy, that's amazing!" You passionately kissed him on the lips as he was still squeezing you against his body.

Later that night, you checked in on your son after he went to bed, just to see that he was still awake and seemed upset. "Leo? What's wrong sweetheart?" You walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge of it. "I called Billy dad today and he didn't react...", he mumbled into his blanket. Oh. "Why does that upset you?", you asked him while petting his head. "Because I thought it would make him happy. And I never had a dad..." You opened your arms as an invitation for a hug, which he gladly took as he scooted closer. "Billy was very happy, but he didn't want you to feel weird about it.", you said to your as you hugged him. "He thought that you wouldn't want to do it anymore if he was too emotional." Leo hummed, a sound he started making when he thought about something, before asking "Can dad come in?" You smiled and told him that that was possible, then gave him a kiss goodnight and left the room. "Billy, your son wants to talk to you.", you said to your husband as you stepped into your shared bedroom. "Alright.", he said while getting up and leaving the room. You went into bed and waited for him to return, which was a good 20 minute wait. When Billy came back, he was quiet and quickly got under the blanket next to you with no words. "Sweetheart, you're awfully quiet.", you said to him while taking one of his hands in yours. "It's okay.", he mumbled while getting closer to you. "Our son just had some questions. But it's all good now." The way he said 'Our son' made your heart melt. "Father-son secret?" You smirked at your own words, Billy let out a small chuckle. "Definetly.", he replied before placing a kiss on your cheek.

Life went on for months. Billy was the father Leo never had, he was happier than ever. Billy finally had the family he always wanted. And you were planning on going back to the navy - that was until a tiny plastic stick with two blue lines came in the way. You've had your suspicions before, considering that this would be your second pregnancy. But how? Leo was nine already and so used to being an only child. Billy and you weren't going to get any younger either - at age 37 now, you'd almost be a senior citizen by the time your child graduates high school. So you did what you always do: Go to Billy.

"Bil.", you mumbled as you stood in the doorway of your shared bedroom, test in your shaky hands. It was only natural to him to see how terrified you were, so close to crying but swallowing it down for the sake of your son in the next room. "Come here.", he said while walking up to you. It was only then that he noticed the positive pregnancy test in your hands. "You know, I always wanted two kids." was all he said before wrapping his arms around you. "We'll manage."

He stayed true to his words. You gave birth to baby Leia and went back to the navy months after. Leo was ecstatic to be a big brother, not wanting to ever leave Leias side at any time of the day since the moment he first saw her. He went so far that he volunteers to bring her to bed on some days, and for whatever reason she'd always fall asleep when he did without fuzzing. And Billy, oh god, Billy was so happy to watch his daughter grow up. Of course he saw Leo as his own son, but he couldn't watch him grow up from the day he was born. Knowing your and Leo's past, Billy made sure that he won't be anything like your ex or his dad. During your second trimester, he went back to his old therapist to see if he truly was ready to be a father. When Leia was a year old, you and your family were send to Finland for deployment. Once again, your husband stayed true to his words: "We'll manage.". Leo was send to an english-speaking school while Leia went to a regular, finnish daycare. If you were going to live here, you want her to learn a second language while doing so. Billy, somehow, got to continue working as a mechanic while you were obvious caught up with the finnish navy. Everything was beyond perfect and felt like a fairytale. The four of you were send back to America after six years in Finland, but to Florida this time. Leia cried a lot when she had to leave, including the entire flight back and the first night in America. You couldn't blame her - she's leaving the place she grew up in. You promised her to go back to Finland during summer break, and while that cheered her up it didn't help a lot. Once again, Billy stuck to his words. "We'll manage.". He did everything he could to get Leia out of her head, helped her with schoolwork, went surfing with her, took her on daddy-daughter dates. She got better eventually and found many friends. You, on the other hand, felt bad that this would eventually be ripped from her again.

Four years later, you decided on a desk job at the navy in California. It took a lot from you to make this decision, but it was the best one for your family. You couldn't watch your daughter sit and cry for her entire childhood. California was the best decision for everyone, including your husband. He was happier, Leo was happier, Leia adapted after a few months. She loved California eventually, especially because her Dad could show her around so much more now.

"Dad, I have a confession to make." Leo made sure you weren't home. He was two weeks away from graduating high school, and already signed up for his future profession. But he told neither you nor Billy. "What's going on kid?", he asked while looking up from the newspaper he was reading. At this point, he needed glasses to even make out a single letter. "Mom didn't want me to, but I signed up for the marines and got in." Billy knew about your opinion in this. You didn't want your children to get into the military at all. It wasn't a taboo theme at home, but it was barely on the table. After what your ex-husband did to you, you couldn't bear to possibly have them go down the same road as you. "Why did you want to join?", Billy asked. He'd form his opinion based on his reply, he decided. "Mom saves so many people. I've always looked up to her, and I wanna be like her." Billy smiled at his sons words. "You know, I'm convinced that she'll be okay with it if you tell her like that."

You were. Leo went to bootcamp, your old bootcamp, where you dropped him off with a heavy heart. Billy and Leia came with you as well to send him off. "Stay safe, son.", Billy told him before giving him a tight hug. Leo promised to not die, and that was enough for him. Leia cried a bit while saying her goodbyes, and had to hold onto her father after hugging her brother. You were last, it was only logical to him. "I'll make you proud.", he promised you. "Leo, I' already so proud of you.", you said to him with a smile. "You'll do just as well. Bootcamp will be the best months of your life, promise." In motherly fashion, you gave him a kiss on his cheek before letting him walk inside.

Back in the car, Billy tried changing the topic as the mood was low. "Well, if my son comes after his mother job-wise, I hope my daughter comes after me.", he said to you and Leia.

"I was actually thinking about Infantry.", she replied.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 47 (Meeting Her Family and Friends)

Conrad's first visit to picturesque Henford-on-Bagley came the day he met Heather and Ash to meet her friends and family. They stopped first in Old New Henford to visit Everett and Spencer, but Heather's parents, Neal and Daisy, greeted them in the yard before they'd even gone inside.

"We were just out for a walk, enjoying a nice fall day without rain," said Daisy, but Heather knew exactly why they were here. Noting her daughter's half-smile, Daisy gave up the charade. "Oh, we were tired of waiting to meet him!"

"It's so good to finally meet you." Conrad offered the polite and welcoming smile Heather had first fallen for. He was warm and affable with everyone he met; it seemed impossible for him to make a bad first impression.

Heather's old friend, Everett - the man she once thought she'd love more than any other - greeted Heather, Conrad, and her family outside the mansion he now called home. His old country church sat just down the road, and he welcomed Heather's new boyfriend with more maturity than he'd once dealt with Malcolm. "It's great to meet you, Conrad. We've heard so much about you, already."

"Good things, I hope."

Heather let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I told them how you got a confession out of me and still kept me from going to prison, so I think their hopes for you are sky high!"

"She's right," said her father, Neal. "But you're off to a good start."

Relaxing on the porch with dusk setting in, Heather held the boy she gave birth to for Everett and Spencer. Jett had Heather's eyes, but his parents looked at him with so much love. Despite his tired mood, he was happy and well cared for. Heather couldn't have hoped for more when she chose to be their surrogate.

"Show your toys!" Ash demanded of Greyson as the two toddlers met for the first time. Ash was more outgoing than Greyson, who was older, and Spencer and Everett's son felt overwhelmed.

Cradling Jett in her arms, Heather reprimanded her toddler. "Ash, you say, 'Please may I see your toys?'"

"Show toys, peese."

The calmer approach worked, and the boys toddled off to see Greyson's toys. Heather offered her friends an apologetic frown. "I'm trying to teach him better manners, but after he spends a few days with the Landgraabs he always seems to forget them."

"He's not so bad," Spencer assured her. "Greyson's always been cautious around new faces."

Heather was grateful to spend time with her oldest friends, and relieved that Conrad got along so well with them. In her arms, Jett began to whine and reached for his father. He was ready for bed.

Everett took his son from Heather's arms, inviting her upstairs while he put him to sleep. Heather watched quietly, leaving Everett to handle the task on his own. She understood what she was getting into when she signed the surrogacy papers, and she never wanted to overstep any boundaries. She didn't want to do anything she wasn't invited to do by Everett and Spencer.

Finally, Jett dozed off to sleep, and Everett turned his attention to his friend. "My Dad says Jett's like me. Malia was the calm twin, and I was always fussy," he mused. "He laughs like Spencer, though. It's funny how that works."

"Ash can be so bossy. Like his grandmother, Nancy. I kind of hope Conrad's manners rub off on him despite his genetics."

"I think the odds of that are pretty good. Your son went straight to Conrad's sofa when we all sat in the family room, and Conrad spent five minutes debating with two toddlers whether a T-rex could swim. He didn't crack once. He really cares about you, and he cares about your son. I know you think you don't make good choices-"

"Name five good choices I've made."

"Becoming a vet, becoming a mom, becoming a surrogate, becoming a business owner, and breaking things off with Malcolm - and me - to make room in your life for Conrad." Heather smiled at Everett's affirmation. "The last thing you'll ever need is my approval, but I want you to know you have it, no matter what."

He was right. She didn't need his approval, but her best friend's words still meant the world.

Everett knew her so well after everything they'd been through, and Heather brimmed with confidence at his support. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

Irish Wish Recap - Part 1

Remember when I did commentary on Midnight Sun? I felt like doing something similar with Irish Wish, in part because I had a great time laughing at that movie when I watched it with Bee, but also because @ali2cann asked me to share my thoughts on it. So I've decided to recap the entire film, but in parts, because that way the fun lasts longer for everyone. Please note that this is all good natured. This movie was ridiculous but I still had a lot of fun watching it.

Anywhere, here's Part 1!

The film opens with a dictionary definition of the word "wish," which is: to want something that cannot or probably will not happen, or alternatively: the website that we ordered this movie from. There is a shot of some Tourism Ireland approved scenery before we cut to stock footage of New York.

A glamorous New York book launch party is in full swing, and has absolutely been filmed at the Clarence Hotel in Dublin. I know this for a fact because Dublin is the place of my birth, the origin of my being, the city that shaped my childhood, and because the filmmakers made absolutely no effort to change the exterior, particularly the massive lintel above the entrance that bears the name "The Clarence Hotel" in great big letters. The only indication that we are actually in New York is the brief flash of a yellow cab and a cunningly placed hotdog vendor, because outside of a swanky New York book launch party is exactly where a hotdog vendor would be.

You know what? Forget what I just said. This doesn't seem to be a book launch at all. The signage near the entrance reads "A NIGHT WITH PAUL KENNEDY." So I guess it's some sort of fancy meet and greet? The book itself is already a best seller. What is this meant to be????

Anyway. Paul Kennedy. Get used to that name, because this movie is about to ram it down your fucking throat. Paul Kennedy, ladies and gentlemen. Paul Kennedy.

Maddie Kelly, played by Lindsay Lohan, arrives at the party and exits her cab. She is wearing a dress that says "fancy book party" and a scarf that says "brunch with mom."

At the same time, Paul Kennedy arrives at the event. Paul Kennedy is wearing a plaid patterned suit to subtly indicate that he, Paul Kennedy, is Irish, rather than the O'Neills GAA jersey that actually forms part of the traditional Irishman's uniform. Paul Kennedy, you see, is a stylish Irish man, a stylish Irish man named Paul Kennedy, and he wears stylish Irish clothes. Maddie is so transfixed by Paul Kennedy's rakish good looks and stylish Irish attire that she doesn't notice that her scarf has gotten caught in the cab door and is nearly garrotted when the cab drives away.

You know, I'm really glad that this mishap occurred. I was so worried that Maddie would not be a relatable character, so it came as such a relief to see that she is Clumsy, which is the most relatable trait that you can give to a female character without detracting from her hotness in some way.

Paul Kennedy greets Maddie and we hear his terrible fake Irish accent for the first time. The press goes wild upon seeing Paul Kennedy. Paul Kennedy is, as previously mentioned, a best selling author, and Maddie is his editor. Paul Kennedy pulls Maddie in front of the press and announces that he owes everything to her and her brilliant writing and editing skills, which tbh I wasn't expecting because he's clearly not the endgame love interest in this movie and that would normally qualify him as a dick from minute one. What a nice guy that Paul Kennedy is!

Just then, Maddie gets a call from her mom, who is the principal of a high school in Iowa and is inexplicably being played by Jane Seymour. Maddie asks her how she's doing and her mom launches into a story about toilet paper, so Maddie tells her to shut up because she's attending this event for work purposes and she's only just arrived. Maddie's mom, clearly aware that this event was taking place, scolds her for her bad time management. Why did she fucking call her then??!

Maddie's mom asks her if she's told Paul Kennedy how she feels about him yet, which is an absurd question to call your daughter about when she is attending a work event. Maddie tells her mom that she hasn't even told her closest friends about her romantic feelings for Paul Kennedy, and asks her to keep her secret. Maddie's mom, her accent veering wildly between possibly English and possibly American, is all, "nobody in Des Moines gives a shit about your feelings, bitch," but Maddie doesn't care about the people of Des Moines because Paul Kennedy wants to speak to her later and she's sure that he's about to make a love confession of his own. She ends the call and immediately runs into her friends, Emma Who Works in Fashion and Heather Who Did the Cover Art for Paul Kennedy's Book. Emma Who Works in Fashion gets all hot and bothered at the sight of Paul Kennedy's smouldering Irish face on the back cover of his novel while Heather Who Did the Cover Art for Paul Kennedy's Book reminds everyone that Maddie basically wrote the book for him, which I guess makes Maddie a ghostwriter/editor hybrid. Either way, Paul Kennedy didn't do shit.

Maddie meets Paul Kennedy in the hotel bar and they talk about how they make such a great team, what with her doing all of the work and him wearing the shit out of plaid suits. Paul Kennedy takes her by the hand to ask if she wants to take their relationship to the next level and Maddie practically starts foaming at the mouth in her haste to say yes. But alas! Paul Kennedy wants her to work with him on his next novel, and by "work with him," I mean conceptualise and write the thing for him so that he can devote his time to shopping for even more plaid suits. Paul Kennedy knows that Maddie wants to write her own book, but his book is far more important so he wants her to put her own ambitions to one side for now. What a shitty guy that Paul Kennedy is!

Maddie agrees to Paul Kennedy's insane request because I guess she has no self-respect and he leaves her to drown her sorrows. Meanwhile, Emma Who Works in Fashion is racing to the bathroom because one of her false eyelashes has become displaced and Heather Who Did the Cover Art for Paul Kennedy's Book is unable to help her fix it. They run into Paul Kennedy, who immediately pushes the eyelash back into place with his finger because apparently that didn't occur to either of them to do themselves.

Emma Who Works in Fashion tells Paul Kennedy that she works in fashion and they immediately fall in love at first sight.

Later, Paul Kennedy reads an excerpt from his best selling novel, Two Irish Hearts, while Maddie and Emma Who Works in Fashion watch him from the bar, their bosoms heaving lustily in unison. They all have a drink together afterwards, and the upshot is that Emma Who Works in Fashion leaves the event in raptures over her and Paul Kennedy's instant connection while Maddie gnashes her teeth with barely-concealed jealousy. They barely avoid a fatal traffic collision and suddenly it's three months and one Aer Lingus advertisement later.

Maddie arrives in Ireland, specifically Knock Airport, for the wedding of Paul Kennedy and Emma Who Works in Fashion. Paul Kennedy is dressed in a ridiculous outfit that would absolutely earn him a savage bollocking from the locals were he to wear it anywhere in his purported home country. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. We've all seen that viral Twitter thread.

Maddie is waiting for her luggage to come through baggage claim and her friends, unwilling to wait the extra twenty seconds it would have taken for her to grab her suitcase, immediately leave her to her own devices. She chases her suitcase along the luggage carousel and runs into Ed Speleers, who is also making a play for the suitcase. A tug of war ensues and the suitcase bursts open. Maddie triumphantly waves Ed Speleers' plaid boxers in the air before realising that she's not holding her favourite plaid skirt. There's so much plaid in this fucking movie. Lindsay Lohan is wearing a plaid jacket and I'm pretty sure Ed Speleers is wearing a plaid shirt with a matching colour scheme beneath his jacket and cardigan.

Anyway, Ed Speleers is all "you clumsy oaf" and gets outta there without bothering to close his case properly. I wonder if we'll see him again.

Alas, Maddie's bag has been lost by the airline, which kind of undercuts the earlier Aer Lingus advertisement. She tells Paul Kennedy to take her friends and leave, and that she'll follow them in a taxi. No taxis are available, however, so Maddie is forced to get on a rickety old bus that looks like it was found by a bunch of Irish stereotype-hungry scouts who came upon it and collectively jizzed in their pants.

Maddie hops on without paying and asks the driver to take her to a specific address, which he happily agrees to do because fuck bus routes, and fuck the other passengers who also have places to be. Just as the bus is about to leave, Ed Speleers jumps on, greets the bus driver by his first name and sits down, also without paying. Why is this bus driver so willing to take people wherever they need to go without collecting a fare? How is the bus company running with no profits?! Ed Speleers and Maddie have a brief exchange wherein Ed Speleers cheekily mentions his boxers and Maddie anxiously adjusts her jacket to hide her lustily heaving bosom, and the bus moves off, possibly in search of a passenger who is willing to pay for the privilege of riding it.

It doesn't take long before Maddie and Ed Speleers get to talking. Maddie learns that Ed Speleers is a nature photographer who smiles a lot in a disarmingly handsome way that I am not ashamed to admit I found very stirring. It also helps that he speaks in his native accent, which the majority of the characters in this movie seem completely unable to do. Maddie's copy of Two Irish Hearts falls out of her purse and Ed Speleers sees it and laughs about how shit of an author Paul Kennedy is whilst making it clear that he hasn't read the specific book that Maddie wrote for him. There is a short exchange about the UK that absolutely backs up my theory that the makers of this movie mistakenly believe that Ireland is part of the UK, which I'm disappointed about, but not remotely surprised.

Anyway, the magically altruistic bus drops Maddie directly off at Paul Kennedy's house in County Wicklow. I know it's in Wicklow because Paul Kennedy lives near Lough Tay. Which is in Wicklow. Thus marks the first of many times that a character in this movie travels from one side of the country to the other in roughly fifteen minutes.

Anyway, Maddie enters the grounds of Kennedy House and immediately happens upon a man who is carrying wood and who I could immediately tell was played by an Irish actor because all Irish men have one of roughly ten generic faces. That's a very true observation and not a joke at all. The fact that people think Niall Horan and Paul Mescal are in any way unique looking is hilarious. You'll find at least a dozen of either in Copper Face Jacks on any given night. A dozen at least. Cillian Murphy is the only outlier.

The genuine Irish man introduces himself as Paul's brother, Kory, which is a name that no Irish person would ever give to their child, and thus, Maddie is welcomed into Kennedy House.

Aaaaaaand that's it for Part 1! What on earth will happen next?!

[siilvan]

Solitude

Characters: Mylène "Petra" Scholten de Ridder

Summary: The feeling of being alone. (Or something like that.)

Genre: Light angst? Idk, it's just sleep-deprived rambling lol

Warnings: Semi-proofread, light cursing, some mentions/allusions to canon-typical violence, again it's just random shit

Word Count: 1.5k

Note: I wrote this in a few hours because I've been an emo bitch lately and figured I'd do what I always do when I'm sad, AKA take it out on my oc (◡‿◡) I might leave it up, I might cringe after I wake up and delete it, who knows honestly? I promise I'm working on things people actually want to read, btw

If Petra was one thing, it was a woman not easily phased by trivial matters. War, violence, exhaustion, death – all things she was experienced with. All things she knew how to handle on any given day. She earned both her call sign and her position for exactly that reason, even.

Now, if Mylène was one thing, it was a woman constantly weighed down with the things she faces on any given day. War, violence, exhaustion, death – it haunts her every waking moment. She had learned to deal with it over the years, how to put a pin in her emotions for the sake of getting the job done. People needed her to be the steady hand, so that’s what she became.

She never quite learned how to deal with the loneliness, though.

"Just call me if you need me, okay? Any time, I don't care when or where. I'm there."

The words felt foreign as soon as they left the captain's lips. She wasn't used to hearing that. She was always the one people came to rely on.

A heavy sigh escapes Mylène's lips as she unceremoniously flops down on the sofa with her old scrapbook in-hand. It was a hobby her mother had, one she didn’t understand until it was too late to even tell the woman that she learned why she loved it so much.

That's another thing she was. Sentimental. All she ever seemed to do when she was alone was reminisce. The good days, the bad days, the moments that she was sure went right in and out of anyone else's brain – her first sniping lesson with Price, the first time Nikolai called her "Mila," the first time she heard Ghost's genuine laugh, when she and Soap discovered their mutual love of art, the one single time she almost beat Gaz in a race… small moments, but ones she held close to her heart.

As she flips the near-overstuffed book open, she's immediately greeted with another memory. One she was honestly surprised she could still recall so clearly, considering she was only six years old during it.

A photo, taken in the dead of winter. Her family was in the states, visiting her aunt and uncle for Christmas. They were at the dinner table – her aunt was to the left, her honey blonde hair tossed over her shoulder as a few streaks of silvery grey finally started to show, with a three-year-old Emiel sitting in her lap and babbling away to her. To the right was her uncle, the grey in his dark hair and beard far more visible as he leaned back in his chair, a soft smile resting on his lips as he watched the six-year-old in his lap frantically scribble away on a piece of paper with a crayon. In the back, standing in the backyard and visible through the half-open glass door, was her father – younger, not yet the man she knew him as – and her two cousins, tossing a football back and forth and laughing away. Even her childhood dog was there, a blur in the picture as she ran after the ball.

Her mom wasn't in the photo. Judging by Emiel pointing somewhere behind the camera, she was the one taking it.

The more Mylène thought about it, the more it almost became funny. There was a point in time when she was surrounded by people, almost too many for her to keep up with. Her gaze lifts from the page; she tries to ignore the wetness clinging to her eyelashes as she looks around her living room. Other than her, it's empty. Her brother was somewhere else in the world, surely finishing another sensitive mission that Laswell assigned to him. "I want the best for the job," she always says. Her aunt and uncle were still in the states, but every time she thought about them, all that seemed to come to mind was how they lost fifteen years to the anger of her father.

After years of losing people left and right – allies, entire teams, patients in her care, civilians, friends – maybe it was for the best that she was alone. Even the task force had some close scrapes over the years, moments when she worried about losing one of the people she had come to consider a second family.

Mylène closes the scrapbook with a heavy thud and sets it down on the small coffee table in front of her. She shifts, pulling her knees up to her chest and eyeing the cellphone sitting next to the book. It was silent, save for the occasional spam email or update from her superiors. If she wasn't a woman ruled by her sense of pride, she'd consider sending someone a message.

Maybe she could text Freya and ask about her progress with the recent training exercises she gave her. Or, maybe she could text Christine for an update on the new batch of recruits. Maybe she could even come up with some lame excuse to text Olga, ask her how she's doing after her company rapidly expanded out of the blue.

No, no… She's a woman with too much pride for that. Johnny, Kyle, Simon… She didn’t have a viable excuse for bothering any of them. Between their work and their partners, she doubted any of those three had time for her, anyway.

Price? No, definitely busy with the missus. Nikolai? She can never predict what he's up to, but she assumed it was probably work or his own love, too. Laswell? God, what weak excuse could she even come up with in that scenario.

"Any time, I'm there."

She lowers her head and lets her chin rest on top of her knees. She was only home because she had to be – the captain claimed she was working herself to the bone and needed the time off before she ran herself ragged.

"You can take a week off," He chuckles, patting her shoulder before squeezing it in a firm grip. "Everything'll keep running when you're gone, I promise. We won't fall apart without you."

She laughed at the time. "Just give me a call if Johnny blows one of his fingers off, he's already almost done that three times this month alone." She said.

Was she selfish for feeling a pang in her chest? "It's natural to want to feel wanted," she can already hear someone wiser than her saying. Who could she actually say that to, though? Everyone around her was too busy and too interested in their own lives. She was just… well, herself. Lieutenant Petra; always stable, always the guiding hand, always the last one to complain when times get tough.

Her phone buzzes as the screen flashes to life. She picks it up and sees her brother's name in the notifications. When she clicks into their messages, it's a picture of him sitting in the back of a helicopter, his gear half-stripped off but his mask still on, covering the lower half of his face and leaving his smeared eye black and messy hair on display as he gives the camera a little thumbs-up.

Always his way of telling her he's okay after a mission. Whenever she was sent out, she'd do the same. Mylène sends a quick reply – "Try and spend more than three days at base when you get back." – and turns her phone off again.

It would be easy to message someone at this point and tell them the truth. "I'm feeling lonely, do you have time to chat?" are just nine little words. She was always the one telling her teammates and the soldiers under her command to reach out if they ever needed her, and yet the thought of doing the same felt like an impossible goal.

She turns her phone on its face and leans back against the cushion. After years of being her own shoulder to cry on, why was she suddenly feeling so lonely? She didn't need to be coddled, she didn't need to be someone's baby, she was always capable of relying on herself and no one else. She promised herself that the last time she broke down in front of someone else would be the last time she let herself do something like that. She didn't need it. She could take care of herself.

Mylène pushes herself off the sofa, worrying at the inside of her cheek. Everyone has their priorities and people they're already focused on caring for. She has herself, and that's all she needs. She doesn't need a shoulder to cry on or someone who knows how she's feeling all hours of the day.

"Verdomme…" She lifts her hands up and presses the heels of her palms to her eyes. "Get it together, Scholten…" She mutters in the empty room, drawing in and releasing slow, deep breaths until she can lower her hands to her sides once more. She handles it, just like always.

She has herself, and that's all she needs.

[writingpei]

wicked games (l.m.) - chapter eleven

previous chapter series masterlist next chapter

pairing: lee minho x reader genre: academic rivals to lovers wc: 2.4k words

savior complex

people tend to say good things don't last. y/n just hoped it could have lasted longer.

it had been a while since she genuinely smiled at things, but that day was really very special, an immense gratification, a step towards her future. but you can't have everything, in fact, she thought it would be asking too much for that feeling to last.

when she stepped into the house and saw her mom sitting at the desk, buried in a sea of ​​papers, y/n knew nothing good was coming.

the tired look, the white hair, the lazy smile. it seemed that her mother aged more with each passing day.

“darling, you arrived” she greets as soon as she steps inside the house.

“you are home earlier” y/n says, cautiously approaching the table where she sat like a boogeyman, facing a truth she didn't want to discover.

the papers on the table were bills, many, many of them.

“got the day off” she explains, going back to using the calculator and noting obscene amounts of money in her old notebook. "how was your day?"

“good” she replies, but she was already lying. the happiness of his success had already become past, left behind. “what is all this?” she then decides to ask.

her mother stares at the stacks of papers for a few seconds, no response. it is then that she gives y/n a weak and apologetic smile, in a kind of apology.

“you're old enough to know…” she starts, and y/n wants to say no, run and cry and scream that she's not big, that she's still a kid, that she still needs to be lied to and protect her ears from what she doesn't need to listen. in the end, she just stands there, anticipating what's to come. “it's getting harder every month. the landlord raised the rent again. i don't know where else to get money from, we can't cut anything else. i think i’m going to have to do more overtime at the hospital or something."

she doesnt have an answer, she just keeps looking at her mother. she already comes home pretty exhausted everyday, if she worked more overtime she probably wouldn't even sleep anymore. worry and pain must be written on her face, because her mother takes her hand in hers, giving her another apologetic smile.

“i’m sorry, i'm sorry for not being able to give you the conditions i'd like” she starts to say, but her voice is nothing more than a calm and affectionate whisper, an apology from the one who did everything he could. “i know you wish you had a better uniform, better materials, a better college outlook, but i can't give you that”

the strange and rare feeling of burning eyes that fill with tears hits her hard. maybe it's her tone of voice, maybe it's the icy touch of her palms against hers, but the melancholy in the air takes y/n in such a way that she relearns the feeling of crying. she had always suppressed crying, labeled as pathetic, the most physical display of weakness there could be, but here, after years without the damned drops running down her cheeks, the hot tears flow freely, devoid of any control she might have had over them.

“i don't care about that” she says, through the water. “i don't care about these things, mom. i don't mind wearing someone else's uniform, i don't mind working and getting into college my way” the tears flow uncontrollably and her knees lose strength, causing her body to wither into the other chair at the table . “i just don't want you to kill yourself at work over this. i don't want you to get sick, to push your limits”

“aw, my baby…” her mother whispers, running her hand through her daughter's hair, sadness abiding in her eyes.

“don't worry about it mom” she says. “i will find a way”

y/n was never a person who feared the reality of the world around her. she wasn't afraid or ashamed to live up to it, to play the game by its rules. so the walk to school was longer the next morning, having to make a detour to print out several copies of her extensive curriculum for a high school student.

the sky was gray, it looked like the light of the day before it was just an illusion, a bad joke. she was quieter than usual too, a flood of thoughts invading her senses. hyunjin noticed that since the tutor session started, she barely looked at him, it didn't seem like she was there at all.

the source of his questions was satisfied when he opened a folder she had held out to him, where the chemistry exercises for the next class were supposed to be. instead, he was only faced with the endless curriculums.

“i think…” he started after a few seconds of just staring at the folder. “i think you gave me the wrong folder”

that sparked the girl's first real reaction that day. her eyes widened slightly and she quickly reached for her backpack and dug around vigorously until she pulled out a folder identical to the one in his hands. she switched the two, extending it the correct one this time, but no words escaped her lips.

"are you looking for a job?" the exercises have been completely ignored and set aside, and he places his elbows on the table and stretches to get closer to her.

“are you looking for an excuse not to do what you have to do?” she rolls her eyes but practically refuses to look at him. “like always…”

“come oooon” he says when he sees her trying to change the subject. “are you or not?”

“yes” she says after a few seconds of debating within herself whether or not to expose herself to him. hyunjin had a habit of digging into her thoughts and pulling out information that she definitely didn't want to speak aloud from her, a natural talent of the talkative boy. “what is it to you, anyway? the test is next week, you better study or else-”

“what kind of job are you looking for?” her words barely get through to him, and he seems strangely interested in it, which only meant one thing: he wasn't going to drop the subject until she'd told him everything he wanted to know.

"any type. one that gives money, preferably” he laughs at her sarcasm instead of taking offense.

“look…” he leans even further over the table, his blond hair falling in front of his eyes since he was without his usual sporty headband. “i think i know of a place that has been in need of some extra help for quite some time, do you want me to mention that i know of someone who is interested in the job?” he asks, a proud smile playing on his lips.

she looks at him with narrowed eyes for a few seconds, frown apparent on her face.

“no” she replies, simply, and hyunjin is extremely confused by her answer.

"no?" he questions, frown now on his own face.

"no"

"why not?"

“what is it to you?” she crosses her arms and walks away, leaning back in the antique library chair.

“what is it to me? what do you mean?" it just gets more confused.

“why do you care? this, the flyers, why do you keep doing these things for me?” she questions. that was something that had popped into her head more times than she liked. the strangeness of the attention that hyunjin gave her caused a pani in her system, an endless confusion. she needed answers. maybe it was just his personality, a savior complex, a teenage boy who considers himself invincible, a superhero. but what comes out of his mouth is not an option she found valid during all the time she invested thinking about the hypotheses.

“oh” when he realizes it, he gives a light chuckle as if he understands it completely. “because we” he points to both of them. "we are friends"

she blinks a few times looking at him in disbelief.

“what?” is what manages to escape your lips.

“friends” he opens a big smile.

“since when?”

“since we started doing this” he points to the table covered with books and notes. “duh”

“is this your concept of friendship?” she asks, genuinely, pushing back the chair and cringing a little.

“what is yours?” he retorts, and she is overcome with a strange feeling. she had nothing to say to him about that and he knew it. “listen, there is nothing in it for me” he blurts out. “to me, we are friends. what you are doing for me means a lot, so i wanted to do the things in my power to repay you. i could never get better the way i’m getting if it weren't for you. because of that, let me set you up with an appointment at this place, i know the owner and he's genuinely been in need of more people for a while, so it wouldn’t hurt”

the sincerity in his voice brings an odd sense of comfort to her, the chance of getting a job sooner than expected also eases her shoulders.

“okay” is all she manages to say amid the unusual feelings of gratitude that bloom without her permission.

“i'll make get an interview for tomorrow right after school. i'll be at the gate waiting for you then let's go together. but listen, no running away huh?” he says, faking a hard face.

“okay,” she replies quietly, rolling her eyes. "i'll be there"

and she amazingly, to her own surprise, thought nothing of running away. when the bell rings the next day announcing the end of classes, she grabs her backpack and strides to the school entrance, not wanting to leave him waiting for her there and risk being late for her interview.

her storm of thoughts is brutally interrupted when, already outside the school, she feels her wrist being held by someone.

“my god, you walk fast don't you?” minho pulls his tie down and loosens it, taking a deep breath trying to recover. “why are you in such a hurry?” he asks, but her attention is diverted to his fingers that are still holding her wrist, even though he made her stop and give him attention, he didn't make any move to break the contact.

her eyes take in the scene warily, the way his hand circles her arm so close to her hand, the audacity of his touch, as if he could touch her whenever he wanted.

“what do you want?” she asks, taking his hand off her arm and taking a step back. “i don't have time today, minho”

“well, it's good that what i have to tell you is quick and you'll love to know” he takes a step forward, recovering the distance she created between the two of them, a goofy smile appearing on his face as usual, holding a secret behind those rosy lips, something only she could know, only she could hear. "i-"

“y/n!” she hears someone calling her further ahead, where the entrance gate is. hyunjin is in his team uniform like he usually is, his duffel bag slung lazily over his shoulders. he comes running towards the two, and the air around them changes completely, along with minho's mood that seems to shatter in seconds. "there you are. come on, we can't be late” he says when he arrives right in front of the two. when hyunjin finally sees minho next to her, a friendly smile appears on his face. “hey man”

“i’m talking to her” is the only answer minho is willing to give, his barriers coming up in a matter of seconds.

y/n starts to think that hyunjin is immune to hostility, as his good mood doesn't waver, his posture remains standing tall as ever.

“sorry to interrupt you two, but we kinda have something” he points at you, and minho's icy gaze hits her skin in a way it never has before.

“it's not like i was dying to talk to you anyway” she whispers to minho, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders and walks over to hyunjin. “you'll have many other opportunities to try to drive me mad, but i’m busy today"

instead of minho's standard sarcastic response, she only gets silence. a weird look comes to his eyes as they flit from her to hyunjin, then back to her again. he takes a little step back with his lips pressing together, as if he's been betrayed.

“okay” is all he says before turning around and disappearing into the school once more. something weird rises in her chest, a feeling she can't explain, almost guilt. but it was obvious that there was something wrong with his own head. why would I feel guilty about telling minho off? him leaving her alone was all she wanted, or at least that's what she thought she did.

“come on, let’s go” hyunjin pokes her on the shoulder to get her attention, and the two start walking side by side. “it's a good walk”

y/n had never walked with anyone after school before, but the walk was strangely quiet and pleasant. when they passed a children's school, a group of kids pointed at hyunjin and started talking loudly about his hair, the different and striking color.

she never had a friend before, and she wondered if this was how it was supposed to be.

“the owner of this place is my cousin. it's a cafe” he brings up the subject for the first time during the journey. “as it is in a very rich part, it is practically only old people who go there, so it will be very easy”

in front of the cafe, the part of being in a very wealthy neighborhood does justice to the architecture there. elderly couples and small families tend the tables, and the smell of coffee that fills her nostrils as soon as they step inside overwhelms her senses.

“sooo, what did you think?” hyunjin asks her, putting his hands on his hips and looking around with a proud smile.

“i like it”

stay tuned for chapter 12! new chapters every sunday ☆

taglist: @liphglos @kiyoomimybeloved @lilactangerine @swiftlydirectioning @lethallyprotected @yhawnnzz @whatthefsposts @sleepyleeji (if you want to be a part of the taglist, send me an ask, comment or message <3)

[psychokinetic-ectoplasm]

Have you thought about doing anything for doctor Detroit? Or Dan's male prostitute character from snl? If not could you consider doing a one-shot where the following scenarios could happen...

DD- teaching assistant discovers the hidden life of doctor Detroit and to take down mom character decides to help him out by posing as a stripper or one of his girls.

SNL- character calls for him specifically (maybe a childhood friend, old colleague or something along thoes lines) basically the complete opposite of the sketch. Main point he is wanted.

Thank you for this request, anon!

Since I have a Doctor Detroit fic already cooking in my head, I decided to go with Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute.

This kinda got away from me and ended up being 12 pages long 😅 Enjoy, anon!

Also here on Ao3

NSFW under the cut!

Let It Only Ever Be Me

“Yo, Fred!”

Fred looked up at Slick, who was leaning around the doorframe. “Yeah, Slick?”

“You got a call. Some lady is asking for you by name.”

Fred blinked in surprise. “Me?”

“Yeah, you!” Slick walked in and dropped a piece of paper on his desk. “Here’s the address. Nice place, too. You must have made a good impression somewhere!”

Fred picked up the paper and stared at the address. He didn't recognize it, but hey, work was work.

***

When you opened the door, you could tell that Fred wasn't expecting to see you. And honestly, you might have been expecting him, but it had been a while since you last saw him. He looked the same, with his same slicked-down hair under his hat, thick horn-rimmed glasses, and a plaid jacket. He was still handsome in Fred's dorky way. But you’d forgotten just how much you liked him. Or, perhaps, more than liked… For some reason, things never really went anywhere between you two, though you were sure there was mutual attraction.

Right now, he was staring at you, open-mouthed, obviously shocked to see you.

“Hello, Fred,” you greeted with a smile.

He stuttered out your name. “You live here?”

You grinned. “Yeah. I’ve done well since college, huh?”

“I’ll say!”

You stepped aside and motioned him in. He hesitated just for a moment before nodding his thanks and walking inside.

“I’ll admit,” Fred continued. “I wasn’t expectin’ to see you. I also wasn’t expectin’ to get asked for by name.”

“To be honest, Fred, when I heard what you were doing… Well, I was curious.”

He glanced at you, seemingly becoming a little nervous. “Is that so?”

You walked backward, further into the house, and Fred followed, his gaze flickering between you and your belongings.

“Sure. I also missed you.”

Now, Fred stopped. “You did?”

“I do.”

He held out his hands. “Well, I service the entire quad-cities area, so I suppose it wouldn’t be very likely for us to run into each other.” He took a few steps closer to you. “And, uh… I missed you, too.”

You took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Good.”

Fred smiled before taking a deep breath. “Well, now that the formalities are out of the way, why don’t we mosey on up to your bedroom so I can roger you roundly til six in the morning!”

You bit your lip to not laugh. “Now, wait a minute, Fred—”

“If you’re worried, I assure you, I’m fully qualified! And you have my personal assurance of professionalism, hygiene, and animal gratification.”

“Oh, I’m sure!” you replied, unable to hide your laughter now. You stepped up to him, resting your hands on his chest. “But that’s not why I asked for you, Fred. Not for your… services.”

His expression fell. “Oh. Well, as for my services, you get me for the whole night.”

You took his hands again, leading him toward the dining room. “I know. And I want you here the whole night. And don’t worry, you’ll still get paid. But I want your company, Fred. I meant what I said. I missed you. And I’d like to catch up.”

You didn’t miss the disappointed expression that crossed his face before he forced a smile. “I suppose I can do that. You’re right. It has been a long time.”

“Exactly! Now, won’t you join me for dinner?”

“Be happy to.”

Dinner went well, better than you expected. You both caught up with each other's lives, easily falling back into the comfortableness that you two shared years ago. He told you a little more about his work, you told him about yours. There was something still a little off about Fred, though. Something… sad. You couldn't figure out what it was, but you wanted to take that away.

After dinner, you gave him a tour of the house. Fred seemed genuinely pleased that you'd done well for yourself. You thanked him but secretly wondered what your life would have been like had you and Fred gotten together. You smiled a bit at the thought. Married, probably with a couple of kids at this point… Would Fred have wanted that?

“Bedroom?” Fred asked as you passed by the door.

You nodded. “Yeah.” You'd been avoiding that, not wanting to give him the wrong impression. “But there's nothing really special about it.”

“I think one can learn a lot about a person based on their bedroom.”

His hand was on the knob, but he was looking at you, waiting for your permission. Well, you supposed it was inevitable that this evening would end up here…

You motioned to the door. “Go ahead.”

Fred walked in, nodding as he looked around. “I knew it! Suits you.”

You leaned against the doorframe, watching him. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah! It's also very cozy.” He sat on the bed, leaning back on his hands, and smiled at you. You sensed the change in his demeanor. This wasn't just Fred anymore. “You sure you don't wanna change your mind? Why not give me a whirl, baby? What have you got to lose?”

“Fred…” you murmured, stepping further into the room.

“I can begin the session by striking a few seductive poses.”

“That's really not necessary…”

“Okay, no poses. Then just skedaddle into this bed, baby, and—”

“Fred, listen to me!”

That finally got his attention. He stopped moving, sitting silently and looking at you. You say next to him, taking his hands.

“I told you I didn't call you here for your services.”

He looked away, his typical unflappable demeanor slipping, the sadness from before showing again. “So, you don't want me either…”

You blinked in surprise. “What?”

Fred shrugged. “For a male prostitute, I'm not very good at closing the deal,” he admitted quietly. “I know people don't want me, that they humor me because they feel bad for me. I'm not an idiot. I can see it. But I was hopin’…” He pulled his hands from yours, turning away from you a bit, his voice so quiet now, no longer a salesman. “I was hopin’ it'd be different with you. That maybe, for once… someone would actually want me. You know, prove I'm not horrible at my job.”

“Fred…” you tried to say, but he continued.

“And then there's the trusses. Ya know, I got one for my hernia, my spleen… I know they're a turn-off, but…”

Finally, you grabbed his face, turned it toward you, and kissed him on the mouth. Fred made a surprised noise and pulled away, the look on his face shocked.

“I, uh…” he began a bit hoarsely. “I don't usually kiss clients.”

“Good thing I'm not a client,” you murmured, stroking his cheek.

Fred gazed at you, sighing softly. “No. No, you're not.” 

You softly kissed him again, and this time, he kissed you back, though hesitantly. You smiled.

“Fred… I know I said I didn't call you here for sex, which is true. I didn't know how this evening would go. But that doesn't change the fact that I do want you. It doesn't have to be tonight, but… I don't want just sex. I want to make love to you, Fred. You. Fred, the man, not Fred Garvin: male prostitute.”

He stared at you in awe. “Ya mean, you… you really want me?"

You nodded. “Yes. I do. I have since we were in college together.”

Fred's shoulders sagged in relief. “I've wanted you, too. Well, more than just want…”

He looked away, his cheeks pink.

You smiled and turned his face back to yours. “I love you, Fred. I have for a long time.”

“Oh, honey, I love you, too!” he exclaimed passionately in great relief, taking your hands in his. “But I never thought… I mean, how could you ever love someone like me?”

“Easy,” you replied with a shrug. “You're you.”

The pleased little smile on his face made the whole evening worth it. His smile, however, then turned a little sad. 

“No one's ever truly wanted me before…” he murmured.

You leaned closer, your hands on the lapels of his jacket. “Then let me prove it to you. I want you, trusses and all.”

That made him chuckle faintly. “Okay.”

He stood, and you moved further back onto the bed, watching him as he undid his belt.

“I do work with the glasses and jacket,” he said.

You gave him a look. “Fred.”

He seemed to realize what he'd said and how he'd said it. A bit sheepishly, he removed his jacket. “But I'll make an exception for you.”

You chuckled. “Gee, thanks.” You sat up and pulled him closer to begin unbuttoning his shirt. “We’ll have to break you of these habits. With me, I want you to be yourself, okay? You don't have to put on any airs or strike any seductive poses for me to want you.”

“But I can still pose?” he asked, and the hope in his voice was adorable.

You grinned and pecked his lips. “I'd be disappointed if you didn't.”

You had his shirt unbuttoned at this point, and you were just about to push it off his shoulders when he stilled your hands.

“Wait. Allow me.” 

With a great flourish, he shed his shirt. You could see the top part of one of his trusses above the waistband of his pants, but that wasn't what you were focused on right now. No, you were far too interested in his chest and the hair there. You couldn't wait to touch him…

Fred then climbed onto the bed. “Now, I'd like to begin by striking a few seductive poses to stimulate arousal.”

You bit your lip as he began striking said poses. In all honesty, you weren't entirely sure what was seductive about them, but they endeared him to you even more.

“I call this one The Snake,” he said, laying on the bed before pushing himself up onto his hands. “Are you experiencing symptoms of arousal yet?”

“Oh, I'm experiencing something alright,” you said, trying desperately to not burst out laughing. He was precious.

Fred moved to sit next to you. “I'll take it! Now, enough foreplay, let’s get crackin’!”

Before he could move, you grabbed his shoulders.

“Wait. Listen, Fred… Why don't you let me take care of you? You usually do all the work, right? Why not let someone else pamper you for a change?”

He hesitated. “Oh, I don't know… No one’s ever done that for me before.”

“Then let me. Let me love you, Fred.”

He swallowed hard and nodded. “Alright. Suppose we can give it a whirl.”

“Good.” 

You pushed him onto his back and climbed atop him. As you settled over his crotch, you frowned, looking down.

“That’s my rather elaborate network of trusses,” he explained. “Maybe we should take those off first. I will need your help with them.” You got off of him and let him stand again. He shed his pants, revealing the trusses. “I’ve got the hernia truss here. I got a spleen truss. It undoes with a coupla snaps in the back here.”

You were listening. Honest. But it was difficult to pay attention when, aside from the trusses, Fred was now in just his underwear and socks, and the underwear left little to the imagination. He was already hard, which made you impatient to remove them. But first, the trusses. 

With a hard swallow, you shifted forward to help get them off. You half expected to see something, but there was nothing, no outward sign of anything wrong.

Once the trusses were discarded, Fred laid back down. He then looked over at you, his gaze trailing over you.

“Aren't you, uh… Aren't you gonna, ya know, take your clothes off, too?”

You smiled and climbed back on top of him. “I will, but I want to kiss you some more first.”

So, you did. You kissed him passionately, intent on stealing his breath away and make him mad with want for you. And you got your wish. As your tongue tangled with his, he moaned wantonly, his hands lightly moving over you as if he wasn't sure where he wanted to touch you first. You loved hearing the sounds he made, and more so than that, you loved touching his skin. With a few lingering pecks, you ended the kiss.

“So… if you never take your jacket off, no one ever touches you like this, then, right?” you asked, rubbing his heaving chest, your fingers carding through the hair there.

Fred shook his head, breathless. “N-no. Never. Only you.”

You took a breath. “Only me… Fred…” You leaned down and let your lips just barely touch his. “Let it only ever be me.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

You kissed him with that, and Fred's hands moved to start pulling at your clothes. You let him slowly undress you. It was slow because, with each article of clothes that disappeared, Fred had to touch your skin. They were gentle caresses, occasionally accentuated by a squeeze here and there. They had you wanting him more and more with each passing second.

“Fred,” you whispered as his hands slid up your bare back.

“You're so beautiful, baby,” he whispered back as you sat up. 

His hands moved around to your breasts and gently kneaded them, his mouth falling open into a silent moan. You smiled sweetly and let him continue for a moment before leaning down to kiss his neck. Fred hummed in response. The sound thrilled you, and you wanted nothing more than to shower him with kisses and drown him in pleasure. He deserved it.

You shifted upward, pressing your covered core over his crotch. You both gasped as you rolled your hips over him.

“Please,” Fred all but whimpered.

“What do you want, sweetie?” you murmured, kissing across his shoulders and collarbone. “Tell me.”

“Touch me,” he gasped. “Please, baby, I'm dyin’ here!”

You took pity on him and freed him from his underwear. A sigh left you as you as you wrapped your hand around his cock and began to lightly stroke him. Fred moaned quietly in response, his hands gripping your thighs.

You pecked his lips. “You’re perfect.”

“N-no one’s ever said that to me before.”

“Oh, Fred,” you moaned, kissing his neck again. “You deserve to hear it every day, all day.” You then looked down at your hand moving over him, your thumb swiping up a bead of precum to smear over his tip. “God, I can’t wait to feel you inside me…”

Fred’s hips bucked, and his hands flew to the sheets to grip them. “And I wanna feel you around me.”

You breathed his name again, shifting around to remove your panties before lifting up and letting the head of his cock slide through your folds.

“Gosh,” Fred gasped, watching everything. “Even that feels so good, honey.”

“I know… Are you ready?”

He nodded frantically. “Yes!”

With that, you sank down onto him, sighing in relief upon feeling him finally filling you. 

“Fuck, you feel so good,” you gasped.

Fred threw his head back against the pillow, moaning, as he bottomed out within you. You echoed his moan, taking a moment to adjust to him. And, not about to waste the opportunity, you dropped your head forward to suck marks onto his neck, shoulders, and collarbone. His responding whines were music to your ears.

As you did this, you began to slowly roll your hips, making you both gasp. 

Fred's hands moved restlessly over your thighs and hips. “Oh, you have no idea how long I've dreamed of this with you.”

“Yeah?” you breathed against his skin.

He nodded. “I wanted ya for so long. Loved ya for so long.”

You sat up and began to move a little faster on him. Fred’s hands immediately flew up to cover your breasts, his touch needy. You smiled down at him and covered his hands with yours, watching him as he looked at you. He seemed to be in awe.

“Stay with me, Fred,” you murmured. “All night, tomorrow, the next day…” You then grabbed him and rolled over, managing to keep him inside of you. “I'm yours.”

Fred groaned, planting his arms on either side of yours and picking up at the pace you left off on, but only for a few moments. He became frantic in his need, pounding into you. You moaned wantonly, clinging to him, loving the feeling of his cock hitting all of the right spots within you. If what he'd said was true, he never actually got to do this very often, which made you love the fact that he was now getting to pour his feelings into this as he'd never been able to do before. 

“And I'm yours!” he moaned. “I'm not gonna last much longer, baby!”

“Fred,” you panted as seriously as you could. “Do you want to cum inside me?”

His thrusts faltered, and he choked out a moan, nodding frantically. You wrapped your arms and legs around him, keeping him close. 

“Cum in me, Fred,” you whined. “Make me cum with you!”

He buried his face against your neck, his hot, labored breaths dampening your skin as he strove for release. He was making you feel so good that you fought to hold back in order to cum with him.

“Please,” you whimpered, one hand moving up to hold the back of his head.

That was all Fred needed. His thrusts faltered once more, and he buried himself to the hilt within you, cumming hard, choked moans tearing from his throat. You were right there with him, crying out in pleasure as your walls squeezed around him.

When you both were spent, Fred collapsed against you, both of you panting and trembling through the last vestiges of pleasure. You cuddled him close, not wanting to part from him yet.

“Thank you,” Fred breathed, his hand pushing under you to hold you, his lips softly pressing to your skin. “Thank you.”

You smiled, eased his glasses off his face, and nuzzled his cheek. “What for?”

He pressed a little closer to you, tucking his face fully against your neck now that his glasses weren’t in the way. “For givin’ me a chance.”

“Oh, Fred,” you sighed, tightening your hold on him. “I love you.”

He kissed your neck again. “I love you, too, baby.”

You so wanted to convince him that he was worth it, that he was wanted and loved. No matter how long it took, you vowed you'd be there for him.

No more wasting time, you thought, kissing his cheek as he relaxed further against you — you happily took his weight. There was time to make up for and a whole future ahead of you.

And right here, in Fred's arms, is exactly where you wanted to be.

***

The next morning, you woke up with a smile on your face and snuggled closer to the warm body pressed to you. You lightly ran your fingers over Fred’s chest before lifting your head to look at his sleeping face. His glasses sat on the bedside table, so you were able to admire his face without any obstructions. And he still bore the evidence from the night before.

His usually slicked-down hair was mussed, and his neck and shoulders were covered in the hickeys you left on them… With a smile, you kissed the corner of his lips and rested your face right next to his so your nose touched his cheek.

A smile tugged at his lips as he turned his head slightly toward yours. “I’m not used to actually sleeping in someone else’s bed,” he murmured, his voice rough from sleep. His hand on your hip flexed, pulling you subtly closer. “Could get used to this.”

You hummed and kissed his cheek. “I would enjoy waking up to your face every day.”

Fred returned your hum and gently pushed you onto your back so he could settle on top of you. You grinned, wrapping your arms and legs around him, your hips shifting upward against his erection. Fred lowered his face to your neck, his own hips meeting the movements of yours so you ground against each other.

“I love you, baby,” he whispered.

You sighed, blissfully happy. “I love you, too, Freddie.”

You felt him grin before he lifted his head to look at you. “I missed you callin’ me that. You’re the only one that ever did.”

You pecked his lips. “I know, and I love that. I love you.”

Fred gazed at you for a moment before taking a breath. “Let me make love to ya.”

You nodded eagerly and brought him down for a proper kiss. You both moaned into the kiss as Fred reached down between you two to run the head of his cock through your folds. However, before he could push into you, there was a sudden commotion from elsewhere in the house, followed by voices.

“Who’s that?” Fred asked, startled.

“That’s my housekeeper, and—”

“I assure you, ma’am, the lady of the house knows me.”

“That’s Slick, my boss,” Fred said.

You nodded. “That’s who I spoke to on the phone.”

As the door to the bedroom opened, you and Fred scrambled into a sitting position with Fred in front of you, the sheets piled up over his lap, while you hid behind him.

“Fred!” Slick exclaimed, stepping into the room. “My man! I was worried about you! Usually, I hear from you before sunrise. I was getting worried, so I came down here myself.” He then smirked. “Well… I can see you had no problems with the trusses.”

Fred shook his head, nervously toying with the sheets, making sure they were fully covering him. “No, no problems.”

“And you, ma’am? I assume Fred here has attended to your needs?”

You nodded, half hiding your smile against Fred’s shoulder. “He sure has.” Fred sent you a sheepish smile over his shoulder, and his cheeks turned pink when you lightly kissed his neck. “He was perfect.”

Slick looked pleased. “Ah, of course, he was. He’s my Fred and butter man! I’ve got eight girls and Fred.”

Fred shook his head. “Had, Slick. You had Fred.”

Now, Slick frowned. “What do you mean?”

Fred glanced at you again and took a deep breath. “I’m done, Slick. I quit.”

Slick sighed, regarding Fred for a moment. “I’ll be sad to see you go, Fred, but… I’m actually kind of relieved. You needed someone steady, and I’m glad you found it.”

“Thanks,” Fred replied, turning to share a smile with you.

“Well, in that case,” Slick said, donning his hat, “I’ll leave you to it. But Fred, feel free to drop by from time to time to say hi. The girls and I’ll be happy to see you.”

Fred nodded. “I will, Slick.”

With that, Slick left, closing the door behind him. As soon as it closed, you wrapped your arms around Fred. He melted back into you with a sigh.

“Thank you,” you whispered. “You didn’t have to do that.”

He nodded. “But I did. I don’t want anyone else but you. You’re all I ever wanted.”

You then began to pepper his neck and shoulders with kisses while rubbing his chest, making him hum a bit. “And you’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

You were hoping to distract him, get him worked up again, and this seemed to be working, but something was still nagging at the back of your mind.

“Fred?”

“Hm?”

Definitely distracted, you thought with a smile. “What about your trusses?”

“What about ‘em?”

“You don’t actually need them, do you?”

He was quiet. You moved a bit so you were sitting at his side, trying to get him to look at you.

“They were a way to get you out of ever actually having to sleep with anyone, weren’t they?”

He smiled weakly. “Like I said, I’m a lousy prostitute.”

“Were. Now you can be an amazing boyfriend.”

Fred nodded, his smile a little broader now. “I’d like that. Now, little lady,” he said, his voice stronger as he pushed you onto your back again. “Let ole Fred give you some animal gratification.”

With a laugh, you wrapped your arms around his neck again. “And why don’t you show me that snake pose again while you’re at it.”

Fred grinned. “My pleasure, baby.”

[pxnsneverland]

Don’t Be Cruel | austin!elvis x oc (part 6)

plot summary: Angel Casteel is a small town girl who lucked into working as a makeup artist at a film studio. Unfortunately, her confidence in herself wavers as she is assigned to work with Elvis on his latest motion picture. Overcome by his star power at first, she slowly starts to realize there is a man behind the fame, a man she understands. But as they grow closer, the world grows more turbulent, especially Elvis's world. Will this Angel be able to save Elvis from himself and the people around him? Or will getting mixed up in his word prove to be her downfall as well?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

pairings: austin!elvis x oc

word count: 2218

warnings/notes: N/A

Chapter 6

After a few days, it seemed strange not going to see Elvis on set every morning. I found myself with an unusually large amount of free time. I hadn't even talked to Elvis in the preceding three days. He claimed to be working behind the Colonel's back on a significant operation. Despite my anguish, I saw that he had no choice but to do this. I was eager to help him in any way I could, even if it meant giving him some space to be himself again.

“You’re moving where?!” said my mother over the phone. I knew calling her would be a bad idea, but she needed to know. Half of my apartment was already packed in preparation for my upcoming move to Las Vegas. Elvis' description of it seemed much too excessive for me. Mama wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as I was.

“Las Vegas, Mama,” I said again, “Elvis asked me to move with him after the movie finished filming…and now it’s done so I’m going.”

“Angel Heaven Casteel, I can’t believe you let that man turn you into his little play thing! I thought you were smarter. What happens when he gets bored of ya, huh? What happens when he leaves you high and dry and you’re stuck in Las Vegas without a dime to your name?”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “It’s not like that, Mama. I told you. Elvis and I are together. What we have is deep and special.”

“I bet that’s what every girl he’s ever touched thought too. And where are they now?”

A knot formed at the base of my stomach. When I first met Elvis, I was terrified for the same reasons. Those concerns were still present, hell. But I had to push beyond them. Mama bringing them up sent a familiar surge of fear through me.  “You can’t believe everything you see on the TV or read in the papers, Mama.”

“That information has to come from somewhere, sweetie. That’s all I’m saying.” She let out a deep sigh, and I knew she was looking over her shoulder at my father, who was probably trying to seem like he wasn't listening. “This whole Hollywood idea was ridiculous from the start. I don’t understand why you can’t just move back home, be with people you’ve known your whole life and who know you.”

People that were familiar with me were as or more critical than my mother. My mother was the only one who did it to my face; the rest of the people I knew did it behind my back. No matter how much my hometown scoffed at me, I knew I was destined for big things. The doorbell rang, and I was relieved to have an out for hanging up on my mom. I resolved not to contact her until I had established myself in Vegas. It could make her stop yelling for a little time. As soon as I hung up the phone, I ran to the door, where I was greeted by Elvis, who was wearing a black suit, turtleneck, and gold-framed sunglasses.

“I don’t think I ever told you where I lived,” I said, hinting.

Elvis smiled and laughed. “That’s fine. James knew.”

Faking irritation, I crossed my arms across my chest. “It’s not very gentleman like for a man to come callin’ on a woman without callin’ first.”

“Have I ever claimed to be a gentleman?” He kissed me briefly on the lips, and I reciprocated his affection. “I need you to come somewhere with me today.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see.”

******

For the whole of the hour-long car trip, I pleaded with Elvis to reveal our destination. With a devilish grin on his face, he continued encouraging me to be patient. As the car continued driving up the mountain, past trees, plants, and the odd cactus, I eventually gave up. It was almost like being back in my hometown, when the roads were usually just dirt and we walked instead of drove. Since there was nowhere to go in the small town, nobody ever bothered to own a car. I was curious about life in Vegas. What was it like? Was it more like Los Angeles? Would Elvis have time to show me around or would I be left to figure out my way on my own?

The sudden halt of the car jarred my stream of thinking. I glanced out the window and saw the place we had been headed. Against the cityscape, I could make out the Hollywood sign's reverse side. Elvis got out first then opened the door for me extending me his hand to assist me out the vehicle. Since settling in Los Angeles, I had only made one trip to see the Hollywood sign. I still didn't go all the way up the hill, however. Before, I had only seen it from a distance, but up close, it was much more impressive. I strolled to the 'O' and stared out the center onto the metropolis. It was stunning in appearance, enormous in size, and all encompassing. I understood how little and unimportant I had been in comparison to the vastness of my surroundings. What gave me the idea that I might become recognized?

Elvis came up behind me putting his hands on my hips and pulling me to the side. He sat down in the crook of the 'O' and leaned back. When he reached for my hand, I let him. “What do you think, baby?”

“It’s beautiful, Elvis. But why did you bring me up here?”

“I’ve arranged a meetin’. Jerry told me about these guys he had met goin’ out one night. They’re called Binder and Bones. He kept sayin’ ‘You gotta meet these guys, E.P.! They’re the ones who put James Brown and the Rolling Stones on stage. You gotta meet ‘em’. When we were talkin’ in the trailer about me gettin’ back to myself and all…I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give ‘em a call.”

There was a question in my brain, and even though I knew the answer, I asked it nevertheless. “The Colonel doesn’t know about this, does he?”

A pack of cigarettes appeared from Elvis's pocket. With his lips, he drew one out and lit it. He exhaled the cigarette smoke. “No, he doesn’t. And he don’t need to. I respect the Colonel, but what he’s got planned for me…it ain’t what I want.”

“I know.” I gave Elvis' hand a good, tight squeeze. “I don’t have any objections either. You know how I feel about that man.” 

He cracked a little grin. “That’s why I brought you along, doll. You’re always supportin’ me. Makin’ me feel like I’m makin’ the right decisions.” 

“Who knows what’s better for Elvis Presley than Elvis Presley? You’re doin’ the right thing, Satnin.”

The grin on his face widened. He drew me in and sat up in order to brush his lips on mine. When he kissed me again, I felt those old, comforting butterflies in my stomach and grinned against his lips. When we heard footsteps approaching, we separated. Jerry approached us along with two guys who I took to be Binder and Bones. It was clear that all three of them meant business. I withdrew my hand from Elvis's and he let go. I saw his chest rise and fall as he looked out at the cityscape again.

The guys came to a complete halt. “Mr. Binder, Mr. Howe, this is Mr. Elvis Presley and Ms. Angel Casteel.” 

I gave a friendly nod to each of them. Elvis pretended for a second that he didn't notice their presence. He looked immersed in what he was seeing. Then he spoke, “When I first came to Hollywood, I would come up here and sit for hours. Right over there…” From where he was seated, the Griffith Observatory was readily visible across the distance. “...that’s where they shot Rebel Without A Cause. Man, I used to dream of bein’ a great actor like Jimmy Dean. The sign was beautiful then.” He stopped to examine the rusty metal that was only visible from this vantage point. “And now…Feels as though lots of things are like that these days. Broke down, beat up. Rotten.” 

It crushed my heart to realize that he was talking more about himself than the sign. The want to go console him was strong, but I restrained myself. A business meeting was a formal setting, and I would cheer Elvis on from a distance.

Elvis removed his sunglasses and proceeded. “I really like what you guys did, putting James Brown and the Stones together.”

Binder responded right away. “We’re, uh…big fans of yours, too. It’s just that, Mr. Presley, we don’t usually—”

“Oh, Elvis.” His interruption reminded me of our time together in the studio. Everyone on set, I realized, had addressed him as "Elvis" rather than "Mr. Presley." Only when he wasn't present did I ever hear anybody refer to him as "Mr. Presley."

“Elvis, uh…” Binder continued, “Christmas specials aren’t really our thing.”

That made Elvis grin knowingly. “I know.” His grin, however, was short-lived and rapidly faded. “Tell me honestly, where do you boys think my career’s at right now?” 

Both Binder and Bones gazed at one other, their silence revealing their reluctance to speak. Bones answered, “Well, it’s…”

“It’s in the toilet, Elvis,” Binder said. He gave me a sidelong look. “Sorry for the terminology, ma’am.”

Elvis returned my smile with a grin on his face as he glanced at me. I returned the grin, trying not to laugh out loud. To force it to stop so I could talk, I pressed my lips together. “No need to apologize.”

“My girl may look like a lady, but she’s tough.” Elvis laughed and gave me a knowing grin before returning to the conversation. “Oh Lord. I knew you were the right guys for this job. You know, back when I was starting out, some people wanted to put me in jail or even kill me, ‘cause of the way I was movin’.” He dismounted from his perch and began to stroll. He stopped when he reached a beam holding up one of the letters and rested against it. “So they cut my hair, put me in a uniform and they sent me away.” Once again, Elvis's mind was wandering off into the past. “That killed my mother. And ever since then…I’ve been lost.” 

I approached Elvis and placed a protective arm over his forearm. “Elvis…”

He lowered his head and smiled at me. “I’m alright, darlin’.” Elvis turned to see Binder and Bones, who were still listening intently.  “When you’re lost, people take advantage. It wasn’t until an angel came into my life…” I felt his hand on my arm. “...that I realized how truly lost I was. I need you fellas to help me get back to who I really am.” His tone was pleading rather than assertive.

“And who are you, Elvis?” Binder inquired, peering upward through his oversized sunglasses.

“Well, he sure as hell ain’t someone who sings Christmas songs by a fireplace in a wool sweater,” I commented with my hands on my hips. Elvis's grin filled me with a feeling of accomplishment. Both Binder and Bones laughed nervously to themselves, then quickly resumed their serious businesslike demeanors.

“And what does the Colonel think?” Bones asked.

The question was inevitable from him. Since the Colonel had been handling Elvis's business for so long, few people believed that he could succeed without him. But I saw defiance in Elvis's eyes, too. It was the beginning of a fire that was eager to spread and get out of control. I wasn’t surprised when he answered back, “I don’t give a damn what the Colonel thinks.”

That appeared to arouse both producers's attention as they exchanged happy glances. When they agreed to film Elvis's special and confirmed it with a handshake, I almost lost control of my excitement.

“We’ll start drawing up plans,” Binder said, “Set designs and everything and we’ll run them by you. I promise you’re not going to regret this.”

“No matter if it works out or not, I don’t regret anythin’,' ' Elvis declared.

Jerry waved farewell as he led Binder and Bones back to their vehicle at the top of the hill. When everyone else was gone, I grabbed Elvis hard, throwing my arms around his neck. He buried his face in my shoulder as he stroked calming circles all over my back. We held each other for what seemed like an eternity as we enjoyed Elvis's career take an unexpected turn for the better.

He took a step back to look me directly in the eye, but his hands remained planted firmly on my waist. “This is gonna be big, baby doll. I can feel it. Bigger than anythin’ anyone has ever done before.” He pulled strands of hair out of my face that had blown into my eyes from the wind. “But no matter what happens, I ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen to you, understand?”

I shook my head, chuckling a little. “What’s gonna happen to me?”

Elvis drew me in for a close kiss on the forehead and then lingered there. He took a long breath in. “Nothin’.” 

Stay tuned for part 7!! Click HERE to view!

[starlightsearches]

This is so self-indulgent I should be shot just for thinking it. Anyways, have some teacher! reader x graduated! Eddie headcanons. Warnings for language and some sexual content.

Eddie's not so busy at his new mechanic job that he can't stop by Hellfire on some week nights to haze Mike on his DMing skills and tell a bunch of dirty jokes.

He's still in his coveralls—sleeves tied around his waist and his white shirt beneath stained with grease—dropping a pack of Mountain Dew on the table and slapping Dustin on the back.

The boys, of course, are happy to see him, but whatever greetings they offer are cut off as soon as they see the deep purple bruises sucked into the column of his throat.

Then there's screaming.

The campaign is put on immediate pause. All their energy is directed into demanding Eddie tell them who the fuck did that.

He grins, cheeky in a way that just screams this was the outcome he hoped for, waiting for them all to quiet down before he lets the words slipped out his curved lips.

"Oh those? My girlfriend gave them to me."

Que more screaming.

There's accusations of bullshit. And cries of betrayal (mostly from Dustin) for keeping it a secret. And, louder than all of that, demands to know who she is.

Eddie sits back in one of the chairs, head pillowed in his hands as they sling rapid-fire guesses at him.

That bartender you told us about? The girl at the record store? Or that one scooping ice cream when you took us to the movies? She was giving you eyes. (She was? Eddie blurts out, forgetting for a moment to act cool.)

He collects himself just long enough to drop a real bomb on them.

"Nah, it's none of them," he grins, "you know her."

Total fucking devastation.

The boys are faced with their greatest mystery yet: who is fucking Eddie the freak Munson?

Nobody can pay attention in class at a time like this; they pass notes between the spaces beneath their desks.

It shouldn't be that hard. They don't know that many girls.

Do you think it's nancy? Dustin scratches into the paper.

Lucas stifles a laugh before passing it to Mike. He makes a face.

Neither of the other boys have to read to know he's writing the word gross.

Lucas writes down maybe it's your mom, mike before showing Dustin over his shoulder. He fakes a coughing fit to cover his laughter.

Mike tosses the paper to the floor, punching Lucas on the arm instead of writing out a response.

Your eyes catch on the movement as you turn back from the board, voice strict when you let out a surprised "Mr. Wheeler."

Mike mumbles an apology, ducking his head to hide his blush. He's still uncomfortable with having eyes on him.

With their heads pointed down towards their notes, they're all to busy to notice that Hawkins High's newest faculty member is wearing a turtleneck on a day that's just a little too warm for a sweater.

When Eddie's head pops in the classroom door, though, Dustin's the first to connect the dots.

"Sorry," he smiles, holding out a brown sack lunch, "you forgot this morning."

Holy. Fucking. God.

The whole class breaks out in whispers.

Or almost the whole class.

Dustin, Lucas and Mike still have their jaws on the floor.

You take the lunch, roll your eyes. Eddie blows you a kiss from the door.

You're not at all the type of person he thought he'd fall for.

Mrs. O'Donnell retired at the beginning of the summer, right after he graduated.

(He's only about 70% sure that it wasn't his fault)

Whatever. It brought you here to Hawkins.

And Eddie loves being your boyfriend.

He wakes up in the mornings with you—even though he doesn't have to be to the garage for another few hours—just to watch you get ready and make you coffee just the way you like for your thermos.

He's also the reason you're late to work so often 👀

Eddie can't get e-fucking-nough of your little teacher outfits

He's obsessed with every pair of sheer tights and tight little pencil skirts and the buttons on your tops.

All of your stockings have snags in them from his rings >:(

He sits you on the tabletop the second you get home so he can pet his hands over your thighs and under your hemlines.

That's if he waits until you get home.

Grading late? Eddie will keep you company.

. . . or make out with you on your desk.

He shows up on your prep period sometimes, offering a smile and a "just missed you, baby."

And it always ends with you pinned up against the chalkboard.

You gotta buy more turtlenecks because he cannot keep his hands or his mouth off you.

You'd never make fun of him for repeating his senior year twice.

And hearing you say something like "you're so smart, Eddie"…….

praise kink activated

It just means a lot coming from you, you know? He's not getting a ton of validation, and you've got to know what you're talking about, since you're a teacher and all.

He'll call you teach when he wants to tease you.

Knocks on the wall by your door before Hellfire.

"Hope my kids aren't giving you any trouble, teach."

The boys do not know how to handle this.

Not like they'd even think of being dicks in your class, but still, Eddie can be a little scary sometimes.

So they're on their best behavior.

It's still kind of weird, though.

But not for Eddie.

Because '86 was his fuckin' year.

[shi-daisy]

Misery Business

Day 7 for best boy, this week flew by but let's keep giving Tam love! For the final day I chose to make a songfic and drag everyone back t9 their emo era (not mine, I'm still on it!) And also Elain dunking cuz rereading has made me super salty, apologies to the cross shippers. So enjoy modern-college- band AU with Tamcien and Paramore. Hope you like!

@tamlinweek

Tamlin Week 2024- Day 7: Free Day (Songfic)

Misery Business

I'm in the business of misery

Let's take it from the top

She's got a body like an hourglass, it's ticking like a clock

It's a matter of time before we all run out

When I thought he was mine she caught him by the mouth

They were all standing in the middle of the campus with their mouths agape. Daphne had dropped her books, Azalea's tan skin was pale and Tamlin knew he hadn't fainted because Tamarand held him in place despite his shock.

Lucien and Elain were kissing. Not a French kiss but not a chaste one either. Both he and the triplets were nauseous and rushed off before they could be seen.

"I'm calling Dore to pick Tam up!"

"I have agricultural science after this, Lea! I can't skip-" He tried to protest but his younger sister stopped him.

"Tell me you can sit beside Elain without throwing up and I'll let you stay!" His sister said.

Tamlin wouldn't argue with that. Tamarand and Azalea stayed in college while Daphne who was done with class left with him and Dorevan.

The eldest sibling made a detour for chicken wings and ice cream. "Mom and Dad are coming back today business trip in the meantime Mama Ophelia and Mama Asteria will keep us company." He said.

"Mama will help with the broken heart. She's good with words."

Tamlin knew that to be true. Their head housekeeper and her wife had become family to the Evergreens before he was even born, so when they chose to start a family his father had been more than willing to help them, getting him and his brothers triplet half siblings he loved more than anything and two more parents he desperatly wanted to see.

Asteria had the living room ready with cushions and greeted him with a hug. "It's okay, sweetie. It'll be okay."

"Its my fault Mama. I never told him! I can't be mad about this!"

"Darling if there's anything I know well is that things have a way of working themselves out. If this isn't meant for Lucien then in time you'll get the redhead back, and will be able to confess."

He decided to trust Asteria's council.

I waited eight long months

She finally set him free

I told him I couldn't lie he was the only one for me

Two weeks we caught on fire

She's got it out for me

But I wear the biggest smile

In the coming months he was supotive of his best friend turned crush, while he cried on his siblings shoulders. Tamarand and Dorevan left for military service and Azalea soon started residency in another town, which left Daphne and Andras to cheer him up along with the rest of the band.

During practice Ophelia had nearly drowned them in snacks. Nemesis took his place at the drums while Daphne picked up the bass and Andras the keyboard. Only Feyre and Lucien were left.

He was surprised to see his mother also coming down to the basement with them. Bringing tissues and blankets left on their grey sofa.

Feyre was letting Lucien cry on her shoulder and it looked like she'd been in a fight.

"What the fuck happened?" Andras asked.

"Lulu got dumped and I threw hands with my sister." Feyre said with a grin as if her eye wasn't bruised and he didn't catch a long hair stuck in between her nails.

Band practice was canceled and they all focused on comforting Lucien. Rosabella and Ophelia made sure they were cozy and even barred Oisin himself for making a single comment. Tamlin tried not laugh at his father's defeated look and acceptance of the 'pity party' now taking place in the basement.

"Ugh, well that was a waste of eight months and for The Syphons guitarist?! That band has as much charisma as wet paper towel!" Andras ranted as he took a spoonful of cookie dough ice cream and then passed the pint to Feyre.

"Ugh I know! I can't believe their front man is a creep! Man should be in jail, I knew that martini was spiked just from smelling it!" She said. "Like dude, I am not into men and if I was it wouldn't be your manipulative, self centered, entitled ass!"

"Is that why Ness dumped their bass player?" Daphne asked as she took the ice cream.

"Nah, she said the man always prioritized Rhysand over her. Maybe they should get together and leave everyone else alone!"

The group laughed but Tamlin was only half listening to the conversation, his focus was on Lucien. Nemesis had all but fed him his ice cream and soda and tucked him in letting him lean on Tamlin's shoulder.

He was relieved but also so very sad, because despite his dislike for Elain or his wish to have Lucien by his side, Tamlin wanted to see Lucien happy. His tears all felt like a burn.

Two hours later, the others were leaving. Asteria offered to let Lucien spend the night and winked at him as she left.

They stayed still on the basement sofa for a bit. Eventually Lucien spoke.

"How come I can stay with you but Andras can't stay over with Daphne?"

"Because neither of us can get pregnant."

For the first time that night he heard Lucien laugh, and that was all the push needed to not let him be stolen away again.

"Luce. I know it might not be the best time now but I have something important to tell you."

"Oh sure. I always love hearing from you! What is it?"

Tamlin took a breath. "I love you. I been in love with you since we were young. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to ruin our friendship but...I don't want to ever see you slip away again, without saying anything.

You're the only one for me and I love you, but I'll respect any decision you make."

Lucien was surprised for a moment but then he smiled and planted a soft kiss upon his lips. "I never thought I'd hear this from you but it makes me very happy.

The truth is I've realized my feelings for you also go beyond frienship. Elain's been dead set on having me focus on college and the future and despite it being slightly overbearing I obliged. But when she suggested I drop off the band and cut you off as a friend I vehemently refused and nearly broke things off myself. She did it for me and well...even if it was time wasted it still hurt, but not as much as it would hurt if I lost you.

It'll be a while until I'm over it, but it'd like to be with you if you'll have me."

"Always."

The next two weeks were full of dates, band practice, and of course lustful fire. His sweet Lucien was all but glued to him except for classes and while they prepared for auditons he also made time for cuddles and less innocent moments between them. Tamlin couldn't be happier, his grades were even improving.

'Ciaran's gonna think I stole his weed stash while he's wedding planning.' He thought as he put everything away in his lab locker. He hadn't noticed Elain standing beside him, glaring ar him.

Tamlin didn't mind, rather her smiled at her sweetly. "Hello Elain."

Whoa, I never meant to brag

But I got him where I want him now

Whoa, it was never my intention to brag

To steal it all away from you now

But, God, does it feel so good

'Cause I got him where I want him now

And if you could then you know you would

'Cause, God, it just feels so

It just feels so good

"We need to talk about Lucien."

"What about him?"

"You're derailing him!"

"Pardon?"

"Lucien is studying to run his father's business, your constant band practice is derailing him from that!"

He laughed. Tamlin knew Lucien's history and intentions better than the woman before him. He'd heard it from his beloved himself. 'Mother and Beron were force to wed and after they had Nemesis and Eris to get their families off their backs they amicably divorced and wedded who they actually loved, I'm the result of Mama's second marriage.'

Lucien wasn't in need to inherit anything, he was the youngest of the Spellcleaver children and unlike Beron's one track mind and high expectations Helion was a relaxed father and worker. The redhead could do as he pleased and only studied for the sake of a degree. His true goals were the band, just like him, just like the others. Funny how Elain didn't know that.

"You really just wasted his time, huh."

"What?"

"If you knew Lucien like I do, you'd know he's a musician first and businessman second. I have no doubts he could excel there if he wanted to, but Luce told me himself his goal was to play, not to do paperwork.

The only reason you're telling me this is because auditions are next month and you want us to fail against your boyfriend's precious band. Don't you?"

"That is not true! I'm saying this because I care about Lucien and you're dragging him down!"

"Please, you didn't even bother to know him. You just wanted to change him into what your perfect man. But Lucien isn't stupid, and he's certainly not one to chase unhappiness.

You're just livid he's moved on quickly and didn't entertain your bullshit. It's not often a man tells you no, is it flower girl?"

"How dare you?!"

"I'm his partner sweetie, I dare defend him because that's my duty. A duty you never upheld when having said title. Let me tell you, you missed out. There's no better man than him and there's no better revenge that having him live well without you.

So keep on yelling at the void. None of us will listen, much less Luce. We're too busy being happy and getting ready to get signed."

With that he left the lab, putting away his lab coat and letting the hickeys Lucien made be seen without the protective clothes. He knew she glared at him even when his back was turned and he left.

Tamlin Evergreen wasn't one to gloat but he enjoyed this more than he should.

I watched his wildest dreams come true

Not one of them involving you

Just watch my wildest dreams come true

Not one of them involving-

It was a perfect night. No other performance of theirs had been this good, and despite big brown eyes being present in the audience Lucien's gaze only went to his family, their managers Vassa and Jurien, and the talent agent who'd sign them if they won this. However when it came to love songs, Lucien only looked at him. Tamlin reciprocated.

By the end of the night they all wrote their names on a recording contract. Both Lucien and Vassa bounced so much he thought they'd break the floor. Jurian spun Feyre around in a hug and Nemesis was squishing him, Andras, and Daphne into a group cuddle. Once the papers were signed and everything was settled he ran into his beloved's arms. "We did it! I'm so happy!"

"Me too sunshine, me too." Tamlin said.

Whoa, I never meant to brag

But I got him where I want him now

Whoa, it was never my intention to brag

To steal it all away from you now

But, God, does it feel so good

'Cause I got him where I want him now

And if you could then you know you would

'Cause, God, it just feels so

It just feels so good

"Why are the Syphon's still on the waiting area? They got a contract too?" Lucien asked as he and Tamlin walked out of the office and into the hall.

Their rival band was still waiting, an exasperated Cassian slumped onto a sofa while Amren made calls and Azriel and Elain looked tired as hell.

"Nope. Rhysand contested their lost and got into a fistfight with the agent. The others are probably waiting to get a bail for batsy frontman."

Nemesis chuckled. "I know they say to act like rockstars but this is a bit too much. I'll go get the van, wait here. Feyre text Lena before she goes overboard with the celebration party."

"Gotcha! I'll make sure she doesn't go overboard."

"Let her. Tonight's for celebration!" Daphne said while she jumped.

"Hey! Not too much celebration! You're not gonna drink for the next nine months!" Andras tried to reel in his girlfriend.

"No but I'm eating for two!"

Tamlin laughed at the chaos of his friends and band mates, he finally got his dream come true, and beside him was the man he wanted to share it with.

"After we're done with the party, want to up to the roof and stargaze? Lunara's been teaching me how to read zodiac. I feel I predicted our win quite well."

Lucien smiled. "That you did. I'll be happy to oblige you. There's something I must know if you cam predict."

Tamlin tilted his head but nodded, unaware that there was wedding ring in Lucien's pocket intended to be given tonight.

He glancef at their rivals one last time before the honk of the van hurried them to leave. He'd gotten everything he wanted from all rivals, including the romantic. It was so good to finally have the upper hand.

Lucien all but princess carried him as they had one last kiss before heading home.

[kcrabb88]

I can't work on this fic properly for a bit, but my QuinObi AIDS Crisis AU is definitely bubbling on my mental backburner stove (the thought is that Obi-Wan finds out he has HIV in the late 80s, progresses to AIDS in the early 90s, but manages to survive until 95 when the post AZT drugs that were much better came out and life expectancy improved greatly). Anyway, this idea popped into my head on my walk home yesterday and I'm too impatient not to share:

"I'm really sorry for bothering you," Shmi says as Obi-Wan shows them inside. "You know how it goes. Unless it's a plumbing emergency, it's always you have to wait until morning, and it's cold out. The thermostat's been finicky for a bit."

"No, of course." Obi-Wan wasn't ready for guests in his blue turtleneck sweater with the hole in the sleeve and his gray sweats, but letting Shmi and Anakin sleep in a cold apartment is out of the question. "Anytime you need it we're here." 

"Hey, you two," Quin calls out from his place at their tiny eating table where he's composing some lyrics idly on paper. "Cold, huh?" 

Anakin, bundled up in an oversize coat--probably from Goodwill--nods, and his nose, Obi-Wan notes, is a little pink. He'll have to pull out an extra blanket. The apartment is mostly clean if cluttered. One of Obi-Wan's flannel shirts is tossed over Quin's drum set. His half-graded freshman English papers are stacked on the kitchen counter. The coffee pot wasn't cleaned out this morning because they were both too busy. ACT UP pamphlets Obi-Wan helped draft are on the coffee table.

"I think we have some hot chocolate, Ani," Obi-Wan adds with a smile. "That might warm you up?" 

Except Anakin, who almost always answers with excitement--and greets him with a big hug when they meet at the diner for dinner--doesn't reply. He's staring at something with a grin. 

Ah. 

One of Quin's old concert posters hangs on the wall, framed. A red slash cuts through the eyes of a smiling Ronald Reagan.

The Annual Alphabet City Fuck Ronnie Fundraiser for AIDS, it reads. 1987. 

Quin's band had been the headliner that year. Before Obi-Wan's diagnosis. Before them. Well, they'd always been them. Official them. 

"Uh," Quin says, running a hand through his locs and shooting Obi-Wan an apologetic look. "Sorry about that." 

"Not at all," Shmi says with a grin. "Fuck Reagan. Bush too." She looks over at Anakin. "You're not allowed to say fuck yet." 

"Mom," Anakin complains. "I'm eleven." 

"Exactly." Shmi taps the edge of Anakin's nose. "Obi-Wan asked if you wanted hot chocolate but you didn't hear? Do you?" 

"Yes, please!" 

"You can have the bedroom," Obi-Wan says. "The sheets are clean. Quin and I can take the couch. And before you argue, it's a pullout. A nice one my dad bought. Insisted on buying. I should have you meet him one day. I think he'd really appreciate your art, Shmi."

"Obi-Wan," Shmi protests. "You need your rest." 

"I'm all right," Obi-Wan assures her. "That cold I had is gone and I'm feeling good this week." 

He shows them into the bedroom. 

And immediately turns red. 

There's still a box of condoms on his bedside table. Black, purple, and with a rainbow across the top. 

Durex Fiesta: for colorful loving. 

Obi-Wan, wanting to replenish their stock and always looking for the best brands, thought these would also amuse Quinlan. He'd been right. So right, in fact, that Quinlan wanted to test them out that very same night. Hence them being out.

"You are so red right now, Obi-Wan," Anakin says, matter of fact. "It's okay though. I know what condoms are."

In the living room, Quin bursts out laughing. 

[strangerficsxx]

Prologue III

story: Midnight Rain wc: 1.5k jennifer comes home from visiting her aunt in michigan, leading her to the newly built starcourt mall where she currently works at an ice cream parlor to keep herself busy until she gets the acceptance letter from the university she's dreamt going to since she was in her first year of high school.

[a/n: all characters, plot, etc. are not mine. The only thing I own is my original character. credit to gif owner.]

{ June 30, 1985 }

The last thing Jennifer wanted to do was come back to Hawkins. Her fear lies on the past events such as; Demogorgons, a child with telekinesis, and demodogs tearing things apart, including her best friend. Speaking of Wilhelmina, it is coming up on the first year anniversary of her death and for Jennifer, she wasn't too thrilled. But she kept her head held high, enduring the moments that were shared with Wilhelmina, holding the memories in her heart.

However, the current thing on her mind wasn't her dead best friend, it was working in a hot store with the heat scorching and the humidity high. It made her think back on her last few months of high school and her first few weeks of summer break. Throughout the end of her senior year and beginning of summer, she was thrown into various types of jobs. From working at Palace Arcade, Melvald's General Store with Joyce, Hawkins Community Pool (where she wasn't too thrilled working her ex-fling, Billy Hargrove) to her current workplace -- Scoops Ahoy.

To keep herself busy for a couple days before she started working at Scoops, she went out of town and made her way towards her aunt, who she got in touch with a couple months after meeting her birth mother. She thought it was help and distract her from the depressed feeling of witnessing her friend die. Unfortunately, it didn't work. She then resorted to smoking. It took some of the edge off, but it wasn't enough. Though, she had other things to worry about like her brother coming home from camp, seeing and spending time with her boyfriend, and awaiting a letter from the University of California–Berkeley.

On her drive home from Michigan was hell in Jennifer's opinion. The weather was hot and sticky. The blazing sun made everything worse as she blasted the ac in her car. The same car she got from her dad before he left. Driving along the road, she glances at a road sign that says WELCOME TO HAWKINS in large, bold letters. Jennifer wasn't thrilled about coming back. Though, she had the idea to leave Hawkins, but stayed. Apart from the last two years she went through; saving a young boy from the Upside Down to saving herself and friends from Demo-dog's. Jennifer was thrilled to leave. But she came back anyway because this is her home, and needed to go back to what she's familiar with.

That thought is still prominent in her head.

Once she pulled onto the road leading towards her house, she continued following it until she made it. Jennifer pulled under the carport at her house, turning the engine off before stepping out of the vehicle. She closes the door behind her then retrieves her luggage from the backseat. Walking up to the house, she enters as her mom Claudia sits in her chair petting her new cat.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, sweetie." She greets, rising before bringing Jennifer into her arms.

"Where's Dustin? I thought he came home today."

"Oh, no. He comes back tomorrow sometime."

Jennifer nods. "Okay!"

stalking off towards her room, Jennifer began to take another step when her mother called out to her. She turned to face the older woman as she held up a letter. Jennifer's eyes lit up at the sight, dropping her bags in the doorway and rushing toward her mom. She pretty much snatched the letter out from her mother's hand, reading who it's from. The University of California-Berkeley she reads before tearing the envelope open. Jennifer pinches the folded paper with her thumb and index finger, sliding the piece out carefully.

Unfolding the letter, she reads it carefully. "Dear Miss Henderson, it is of my pleasure to welcome you to The University of California-Berkeley as a member of Class of 1988."

Tears began to form in her eyes, looking up at her mom as a big grin forms on her face. Her mother smiles back, excited. They approach each other and begin to celebrate. Jennifer pulla back and realizes that she needs to unpack her belongings, so she can be ready for her shift the next day. She takes her letter into her bedroom as she grabbed her duffle bag and sat it on her bed, pulling her clothes out and putting them in the hamper that sat untouched in her closet for a couple days. The previous clothes sat inside, beginning to smell.

She shoves the Duffle bag in as well before closing her closet door and lays on her bed. The fan twirls above as Jennifer lays on her side. She glanced over at the pictures that hung on her wall as tears well up in her eyes staring at the polaroid of her and Steve in graduation robes. They hold diplomas in their hands as the two smile brightly. Her relationship with Steve is still just as strong as it was two months ago when they graduated from Hawkins High School. To Steve, he didn't know that Jennifer would be leaving sometime in late October for the spring semester of college.

——

{ July 3, 1985 }

When Jennifer got to Starcourt Mall, she parked her car and entered the building that was troubling as she walks toward Scoops Ahoy. The young female wasn't expecting to see that many people from Hawkins at the mall, thinking the town only held so many people. But there was more people in the mall, making it difficult to maneuver towards the small ice cream shop. Deep down, Jennifer wanted an ice cream to cool herself from the impending doom of sweat that has already formed on her hairline and body. She made it finally, and approached Robin.

"Hey," Robin greeted.

"Hi, Robin. Ready to work?"

"No,"

"Great attitude," Jennifer chuckles, stepping in the back as she then saw Steve.

He glanced up and saw the brunette entering while she sat down her keys and bag. She approached him, greeting him with a quick kiss.

"How was the little trip?"

"It was good. Surprisingly, my aunt is a hell of a lot nicer than my mom turns out."

"That's good."

"Yeah..." Jennifer trails off. "Steve, there's, uh, something I need to tell you."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I got accepted into the University of California-Berkeley!" Jennifer announces.

"Holy shit, babe. That's great!" He cheers, wrapping his arms around her and plants a soft kiss on her lips.

Jennifer, in between kisses, speaks softly. "Yeah, I leave late October of this year, so I'd like to spend as much time with everyone while I can before I leave."

Steve pulls back, staring down at Jennifer. "Wait. What?"

"Yeah... Oh shit."

"W-What day?" He asks, stuttering.

"Not sure yet, just sometime in late October."

"Okay,"

"I'm sorry, I wish I knew."

"It's alright, babe. Don't be sorry. Everyone has at least something pop up in their plans, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Yeah, so, you can do this. We can do this."

"What do you mean?" Jennifer questions.

"I mean we move in together somewhere on the campus."

"Steve, that's unrealistic."

"So you're saying we do long distance?"

"No, I'm saying that it'll be too hard to pay for rent for two people."

"We could at least make it work...?" He suggests.

"I guess we could try, but what about your parents? Robin?"

"They'll be fine without me. Robin, it'll suck, but we'll manage. We can always send a letter to her."

"When did you become so sweet, huh?"

"Since I met you,"

The corners of Jennifer's lips curl into a soft grin, holding Steve's gaze. She brings him into another kiss as they stay there, making it more passionate between them before pulling away. He whispers a quick I love you, pecking Jennifer's lips once again right when Robin calls out.

"Hey, lovebirds! Get in here, I need some help."

Steve pulls back and looks in her eyes. "Looks like it's time for us to work. We can always continue later." He wiggles his brows.

Jennifer playfully pushes him away. "You are such a dork, Harrington."

"Hey, we could..."

"Steve," She giggles. "We'll see. Let's get through today then whatever time we get off, we can definitely meet up."

"Okay," He replied, almost immediately.

The two teenagers step into the following room, greeting Robin as she flashes them a straight face. She is obviously annoyed since the two were in the backroom making out with each other. Jennifer tried to tell Robin what was going on, revealing that she got accepted into college. The tall female congratulated her with a soft smile before going back to her current exasperated mood. The three teens get to work, slinging ice cream and trying hard to entertain customers, so they'll get more tips. They made a deal to split the tips between them.

Unknowingly, things begin to take a turn in Hawkins when Jennifer's brother, Dustin, stumbled upon something dark. More sinister then last years events. It currently lurks beneath Hawkins and the mall itself. But Jennifer won't find out until her brother gets back.

This was the time to spend her time with everyone before she leaves sometime in October.

[utahbastards]

❛ 𝐢’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭. ❜

Maya hadn't said a word all day. It wasn't uncommon for her to have quiet spells. Truthfully, she struggled not to get frustrated most days and the easiest way to keep a happy ship was to ensure that she kept silent until she was sure her words were in check. Funnily enough, "Get out of my way and let me do it you fucking idiot before you ruin it again," was not how you got people to work together, so instead she'd say nothing and breathe until her irritation faded. Quiet spells were one thing, this was a silent era in comparison. Not a word since last night to anyone, not even Liam who tried several times to rouse something out of her, even a smile, but she would only avert her eyes.

She'd been hoarding pregnancy tests since she'd left her dorm, finally bringing herself to try one this morning. The abortion was almost a month ago and she'd been bleeding lightly ever since. It had felt over. Not just in her body, but her spirit. That little mom voice that had been growing in the back of her brain like the tumor it was had been silent. She hadn't slept well since. Maya thought it wouldn't move her. Abortions sounded passive on paper but in practice, she was smothered with guilt. She couldn't bring herself to face grief over it, so instead she buried it deep below everything else ahead of them, survival and all that. She was so sure it was done that when those two little lines appeared this morning, her legs had gone out beneath her.

She'd felt like a ghost since, floating around with a quiet vacancy, polluting the air with her disoriented despair. It had all been for nothing. She had a second chance. She was putting everyone at risk. What kind of monster would bring a baby into this world? What did she do? She drifted out the door, desperate to rid herself of the room but nowhere felt truly private anymore, so she settled for currently vacant. Sitting against the wall, her eyed drifted until they became unfocused, staring through nothing in particular. She missed Jack. She missed the normalcy of his shitty double bed and being an ordinary girlfriend to just some guy, before all of this shit and set fire to her life- the universe was hellbent on punishing her for lying and cheating... If she'd just stayed the hell away from Jax, none of this would be happening to her. She just wanted to be home.

The door opened to her left, and she kept her eyes forward, chin on her knees like if she sat still enough they might just leave her be. Liam stepped into her periphery, sliding down the wall opposite her.

"Hey," He said softly. She nodded in greeting but offered nothing further. She stared in any direction that wasn't him, desperately avoiding eye contact. "I know you don't want to talk... But I have to ask, are you okay?" Her frown wobbled before she bit down on her cheek to steady it, managing a shrug. Her jaw felt almost literally locked shut, not a single thought got past the guards. She knew he wanted to help, that in itself made her squeamish. It felt like he could pull the rug at any moment– like every good gesture had someone snickering behind the bushes when it looked like she believed him. Embarrassment, she realized. She felt embarrassed when he tried- like it was a long setup to a punchline she was trying to guess and the more sincere he was the worse it felt.

"You don't have to do whatever this is alone, you know that, right?" Maya said nothing, but her eyes did finally turn to him. Flickering from his face down to his shoes when she couldn't hold his gaze any longer. She could feel the ashamed flush in her cheeks, the awkward tears welling again as she struggled to listen, rubbing the sole of her sneaker against the tiled floor in a self-soothing motion as she tried not to just withdraw altogether. ❛ 𝐢’𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭. ❜

Her arms wrapped around themselves, chewing the skin from the inside of her cheek until it tasted of iron. She didn't want him to be angry with her- that she'd wasted his time or care- that she'd fucked up and was still a problem. That wasn't Liam, her rational mind tried to counter. But fear wormed its way through her belly nonetheless.

"The abortion didn't work," She whispered.

[ivyian]

Story 2 " Love?"

Diary 2

1991.6.3

"I met a boy who made me flip.  He is like the warm wind in the spring, like the sun in the summer, like the flaming red leaves in the fall, and the holy snow in the winter. He is the only one who never laughs at me, doesn’t bully me, and discriminates against me because of my father's drug addiction and my mom leaving the family; he is like a sunshine shining into my heart. The first time I met him was after I was bullied by some girls in my class, I hid in the hallway and cried. There was a piece of paper being handed over by a beautiful hand. I raised my head.  A teenager with brown hair looked at me with concern against the light, and for that moment I felt like he was a god descending into my dim world. I fell in love with him uncontrollably. I went to the same clubs as him, sat in places where I could see him during meals, and happily greeted him whenever I met him.  I never pretend we will have any relationship. However, One day at a club party, I got drunk. I don't know how I kissed him, all I know is that the next day I woke up in his bed at his house. That was the day he became my boyfriend."

Emily put down the diary in her hand, it was the happiest time of her middle school years, the time she spent with her boyfriend, Ronnie.

They sit on the rooftop together and think about the future, they eat lunch together, Ronnie makes her more confident and she meets he best friend at that time.

Ronnie always took her to the gym with him, once she asked Ronnie what was the reason for him to work out every day. Ronnie looked up at the sky and smiled, a smile full of love and longing.

“You know what babe. My dream is to be a pilot.” Said Ronnie. “I aspired to be in the air and serve people.” 

Emily quietly remembered it in her heart. 

Ronnie’s dream is her dream. Learning to fly an airplane also became an essential item on Emily's life list, and everything was looking up.

One day, Emily got a call that her father had taken away to rehab for serious drug abuse, Emily wasn't really that sad because she had moved out of her father's house a long time ago, but at that moment, she realized that no one in the family is with her. 

Heartbroken, Emily returns to her and Ronnie's home. It’s a Thursday, every Thursday is girls’ and boys’ night and Emily spends that night with her friends as well as Ronnie. However, today, Emily just wants the support from her boyfriend. 

She opens the door. 

Ronnie isn’t in the living room, then she walks towards the bedroom. As she is just about to push the bedroom door open, she hears a voice from inside.

"Do you really want to keep talking to her? You know your ex-girlfriend can come back" one of his friends said.

Ronnie grunted and laughed, "Course not! How could I really like her? it's just that she looks similar to my ex-girlfriend and I'm recently looking for an excuse to break up with her. Look at her sad family and the way she lazes around every day, I'm not going to get into a serious relationship with someone who isn't as good as me! "

At that moment Emily's world stopped, she had thought several reasons before that she wouldn't last with Ronnie but never thought that Ronnie didn't love her as much as she loved him.

Early the next morning, Emily packed all her stuff and quickly moved out of the home she lived with Ronnie. 

She is sad. She cried all day at a friend's house then blacked out all of Ronnie's contact info, half a month later she saw a picture of Ronnie with his ex on her friend's Instagram. On the day of their breakup, the day Emily moved out, she secretly decided that she would not only learn to fly an airplane, but she would do it better than Ronnie.

[redrosesandforgetmenots]

Through Your Eyes

Pretty Little Liars (Chapter Four)

3,974 words

The storage closet of Art Room B was quiet, the stiff air smelling like oil paint with a lingering under current of pencil shavings and paper. Tweek was tucked away into a corner, working on the project that would make or break his grade this semester- a mixed media project meant to "evoke the image of the written word." He sometimes wanted to know what was going through his teachers head when she assigned this type of shit.

He had chosen to depict a poem from "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins. And was trying to figure out what picture from a magazine evoked the word "coalescing." Tweek gently pulled the magazines out of his bag, the folder Craig had given him earlier falling out as well. Distracted by remembering its existence, he opened it, curious to see what he had dropped.

He was immediately greeted by Craig's face, the half finished portrait of the boy who sat next to him in first period. Tweek quickly closed the folder, flushed. Craig had seen it? It was the first thing in the folder that the other had assembled. Questions flooded his mind. Is that why Craig came out to him? Did he think Tweek had a crush on him? Did him coming out mean he had a crush?

Tweek quickly shoved the folder back in his bag, turning his attention back to the magazines. He stared blankly at the images in question, but his mind was still racing with thoughts about Craig. Soon the bell rang, and he made his way into the actual classroom, quickly zipping past everyone on their way out and running to Wends' locker. 

Thankfully, they were actually there, in an animated conversation with Stan. Tweek stood behind the dark haired boy, not saying anything. Luckily he was quickly spotted. "TT?" Wends asked, looking behind Stan.

"Hey, Tweek! We were just talking about this weekend-" Stan noticed Tweek absolutely shaking, his breathing ragged. "... You okay man?"

"I-Im- What if I like Craig?" Wends expression went vacant, eyes empty as they measured their response.

"That … would be okay. But hes… I don't think you know him well enough to like him." Wends pointed out, before mustering up a pitiful smile. "I'm not sure he's exactly boyfriend material, T…"

"Craig's a dick!" Stan exclaimed.

"I know." Tweek replied bluntly. "B-but I could get to know him better!" Wends and Stan shared a glance.

"... Well dude… I know parties aren't your thing, but … my dad's taking my mom to a cannabis convention so I have the farm to myself. I was gonna have a little get together. I could invite Craig, if you want?"

Tweek paused for a moment. He knew Stan meant the best, but he was also inviting Bebe and Eric, so chances were their little get together would become a full on rager, and that was absolutely not his scene. But if Craig went, it'd be a nice neutral place to talk. "I'd be okay with that." 

"Cool! Chances are he won't show up unless I invite the other guys he hangs with… I guess this little party isn't going to be that little." Stan said, looking to Wends, who shrugged. With who he was inviting, it didn't seek like it ever would've been in the first place. 

"Charge a door fee, see who still shows up," Tweek joked, before the bell started ringing. He quickly scurried to his next class, dodging others in the hallway.

*****

"Its not l-like it's a full on date Bebe, i-its just a party!" Tweek had once again been dragged out shopping. This time it was just the two who were out thrifting, Bebe holding an assortment of women's blouses up to Tweek, attempting to visualize him in them.

"Mmm… this isn't gonna work, you're gonna have to actually try stuff on." Bebe said, putting her choices into the cart. "And besides, Craig dressed up to give you your papers back! You need to like, return the favor?"

Tweek shrugged. "He probably had s-something else to do, or he just ran out of clean laundry-"

"I've seen Craig wear the same exact shirt for a week straight. And there definitely wasn't anything else going on today, I would know!" Bebe pointed out. She went to the sweater section next, pulling out a mint green cardigan. "Cute… but not super you. Yknow?"

"That colour is f-fucking ugly." Bebe gasped in faux shock, horrified by his hatred for pastels. 

"Excuse you, it's almost spring! You really need to experiment with florals, or something." She pulled another cardigan off the rack. Brown, with little crochet leaves hanging off it in various shades of green, vines giving it more texture as they ran parallel down the front and sleeves. It looked handmade.. Tweek had to admit he liked it. They put it in the cart.

"OK so like… cargo pants are not going to go with my Spring Awakening forest academia vibe I'm trying to go for..  how do you feel about shorts."

"Abhorrent." Tweek replied, but was dragged over to the rack anyway, this time on the men's section. 

Bebe huffed. "You're not being a very good dress up doll!" She joked, pulling a pair of very short corduroy shorts off the rack. They matched the brown of the cardigan, but Tweek shook his head. Who would ever want to see that much of his legs? "Pleeeaaaassseee at least try them on? You'll be so cute!"

"Im n-not supposed to be cute, Bebe." Tweek replied, "I-Im trying to not get peoples attention." He already looked weird enough.

"Okay but, do you wanna look cute for Craig?" She asked, putting the shorts in the cart. Tweek flushed, but didn't push any further. He had to admit, he regretted not putting in any effort today. He literally just picked the same sweater from yesterday off the floor because he knew it was still mostly clean from being washed two days ago. Should he have worn a button down too today? No- he could never get the buttons right. Which was concerning considering how many of them were in the cart right now. 

Bebe rifled through them, picking out one that looked pretty sheer, it was white, and had way too many ruffles for Tweek's liking. They lined the collar, down the front, and the ends of the sleeves. "It's not perfect," she said, "But I have an idea!" She handed him the shorts, shirt, and cardigan. "Go try these on right now!" Tweek groaned, but did as asked, entering the dressing room.

There was a slew of hangers already in the dressing room, and the mirror was cracked on one side. Still, it would work. Tweek changed as quickly as possible, avoiding his reflection before stepping back outside for Bebes reaction. He hid in the door frame, pulling down the hem of the shorts. They couldn't even make it past the middle of the middle of his thighs. 

"You look so perfect!" Bebe replied, but swooped in to make adjustments. She tucked the top into the pants and thankfully did up the cardigan. It left only about an inch of shorts hanging out the bottom of it, and Tweek glanced down to his bony, bruised knees with a grimace. "Okay, so I'm gonna take this blouse, wash it obvi, and then dye it green. So then for jewelry-"

"No." Tweek stopped her in her tracks. He was already uncomfortable enough, the party was bound to be overstimulating, the last thing he needed was the feeling of accessories. "Th-this isn't girls go games, Bebe. I-I was just gonna wear jeans and a t shirt or something. This is… i-its too much."

Bebe was pouting. "Okay… no jewelry, I can do that but please, please at least come in with this? We can bring you a change of clothes, I promise! But you'd look so good next to me and Wends in our matching sweater dresses!" Tweek sighed, but relented. 

"A-as long as I can change … c-can we go now?" The music was loud, and the smell was really starting to get to him, it made his exhaustion feel all the more prominent. 

"Totally, thanks for doing this, TT! You're like, the first customer in my new stylist business!" She joked. Tweek quickly went into change back, ignoring the mirror once more. Now he was gonna smell like thrift store all day… hopefully Bebes trip to Ulta wouldn't take that long, he desperately wanted a shower.

Tweeks phone buzzed in one of his pockets, and he pulled it out as he exited the dressing room.

Unknown Number:

Have a good weekend everyone! Enjoy the party, I'm sure it's gonna be killer!

-L

Okay, what the actual shit? Tweek rolled his eyes and blocked the number. How cheesy, who even signed their texts anymore?

The shopping trip wrapped up with relative ease, and Tweek and Bebe made it to Wends house for the pre party sleepover. 

*****

"But, are you sure you like like him?" Marjorine asked while Bebe was pushing Tweeks cuticles back. Tweek groaned.

"I-I don't know! He's just- AGH! This is too much pressure!" Tweek pulled his hands away from Bebe to grab at his hair. He wasn't sure how the topic of his liking of Craig came about, but he wanted this conversation to be over. 

"Isn't he straight?" Nichole asked, looking up from the TV where she and Heidi were trying to figure out a movie to watch. Tweek simply buried his head in his hands, refusing to answer. He knew Craig wasn't, but that wasn't anyone else's business. He was good at keeping secrets- he'd kept his parents for long enough after all. 

"Didn't he have that crush on that kid with tourettes in the fourth grade?" Heidi offered.

"Craig is definitely gay." Red piped up, "at every family reunion it always gets brought up. He's never had a girlfriend, at least."

"Guys! It's uncouth the speculate on someone's sexuality!" Wends said, "... but I remember in fifth grade he held hands with Tweek all the time until Cartman called him… well, you know."

"Fags?" Tweek replied for them, before letting out a sigh. "I-i mean.. he's always been like that though! H-he was a very clingy kid."

"To you," Nichole said, "I don't remember him ever holding hands with Tolkien or Jimmy."

"H-he held hands with Clyde!"

"Yeah, but Clyde was a cry baby. I mean like, I get it after his mom died, but it's like he never stopped." Bebe replied, gently taking Tweeks hand again to finish her task.

"Well, I think Craig's just afraid of what other people will think! And you can't live your life that way!" Marjorine said with a smile. "And I think all the fellas just gave him shit because they're too afraid of themselves."

"Well said," Wends said, handing Marjorine a bag of Cheesy Poofs. 

"C-can we just not talk about Craig tonight?" Tweek asked, and all the girls nodded and replied in agreement. 

*****

Craig couldn't believe he got dragged to a lame party and Stan's house. He would have absolutely said no, if Stan hadn't promised that Tweek would be there. Now he was in the living room, sitting on the couch with Kenny and Jimmy as they passed a blunt back and forth. 

He still hadn't seen Tweek, but honestly he was just trying to zone out the overly loud music and chatter around him. Thankfully the lights were dimmed, but he still could hardly think. "..  I wanna go home." He mumbled, more to himself than anything.

"H-hang on, the girls aren't even-arent even here yet!" Jimmy replied, before taking a hit. That was a lie. There were plenty of girls at this party, but he knew which ones Jimmy meant. 

"Yeah dude! And they're bringing the tweeksterrrrr!" Kenny replied, sing songing the nickname for Tweek in a teasing tone. "And I heard from Marj that he's gonna look super hot tonight." Craig rolled his eyes, leaning back. He guess he could at least hold out to see Tweek, then go home…

The door swung open, letting in a blast of cold air. Bebe, Wends, and their friends all entered in, Tweek bringing up the rear, wearing the shortest shorts he'd ever seen. Wasn't he freezing? Still, Craig took a long, appreciative look at his legs. They were pale, and covered in light blonde hair and bruises- they looked like they were sculpted out of marble… at least to Craig. Tweeks internal monologue was far less kind.

"Everyone is looking at me- these shorts are too short, I'm fucking freezing! Are my legs turning blue? Oh god fuck everyone can see my goosebumps they must look so gross-" Tweek's mind rant was cut short when he made eye contact with brown eyes from across the room. The door closed behind him,but he didn't move to get closer inside. He and Craig stared at each other for a moment, before Craig finally made a move to get up. 

"...Hey." Craig greeted, feeling much less confident on his feet than he had sitting down. He finally felt the full effects of the weed hitting him, and he was probably staring a little too intensely at the shorter blonde in front of him. 

"Hey…" Tweek greeted back, wrapping the cardigan tighter around the sheer green blouse underneath it. Luckily the cardigan covered everything, but it still made Tweek nervous.

"You look cold." Craig said simply. "Do you want a blanket?" He had no fucking clue where the Marshs kept their spare blankets, but he could figure it out.

"Uuuhh… kinda.. kinda wanted to get a drink first? Maybe a snack or something?" Tweek couldn't give a shit about snacks right now. Truth be told he wanted the blunt sitting plainly in Kenny's hand, but he needed to get a scope of the party first. At least make the rounds before bailing. 

"Oh… yeah, for sure. I'll come with you." The song changed, playing Speed Drive by Charli XCX, which effectively got most people dancing. Craig absent-mindedly took Tweeks hand to lead him through the surprisingly thick crowd and into the kitchen. Thankfully it was mildly quiet, Stan and Kyle having a conversation by the fridge withstanding. There was a good amount of alcohol on the kitchen counter, mostly stolen from Randy's stash. 

"What did you want?" He asked, dropping Tweeks hand, who looked at them briefly, before grabbing a beer off the table. "Gross… that's all?"

Tweek shrugged, "I'm a simple man." Craig cracked a smile, before pouring midori into a mountain dew. "That's disgusting…"

"You have your drinks, I got mine." Craig replied, now secured with his stereotypical red solo cup. "Wanna head back out to Kenny and Jimmy?"

"... Not really? I-i mean… it's kinda loud in here, man." Tweek replied, shifting from foot to foot as he looked around. 

"I brought my car. I'm sure we could just sit in it with the heater on and smoke." Craig replied. "Come back in when we're good and stoned."

"... I'd like that. Yeah…" Tweek replied, grabbing another beer. Just in case he finished it in the car. Craig took Tweeks hand again to lead him outside, out to his shitty PT Cruiser. 

"So…" Craig started once they were inside with the heater blasting, and he pulled out a joint from his pocket in a plastic baggie. "You look really nice tonight."

"... Thanks man." Tweek replied, and Craig could swear he saw Tweeks cheeks redden in the dim light. "I never dress like this though… i-its um… I-I'm pretty cold?" Craig passed him the joint, and finally noticed the polish on the others fingers.

"Did you paint your nails?" Olive green had been perfectly manicured onto them, with flecks of gold sitting on top.

"Ummmm… B-Bebe did, actually. Said my outfit needed more green tones." Tweek pulled his hand away protectively, before taking a hit off the joint. 

"Maybe she can do mine sometime." Craig replied, showing off the manicure he'd done in sharpie. It was mostly faded by now, but the black was still managing to just barely hang on. "I think nail polish is pretty cool."

"Damn, you really are gay." Tweek said without thinking, immediately shutting his mouth and looking towards Craig, who was… laughing? He didn't seem to be upset at all.

"I mean… yeah I guess… I mean I had to think about it and..  I guess everyone else realized before I did, and that sucks ass but, I am pretty damn gay." He locked eyes with Tweek again, his gaze hazy. "And you look really pretty…"

"You are so stoned right now!" Tweek replied, going to take a few more sips of his drink. The way Craig was looking at Tweek made him feel butterflies, but he was so obviously high out of his mind- he couldn't really mean it, right?

"Tweek… I am so serious. You're the prettiest boy in the whole damn school I swear- you-you..  fuck man, I don't know what I'm saying."

"...Clearly." Tweek replied. "I-I'm just going to smoke the rest of this, if you don't mind." 

Craig nodded, focusing more on his drink instead. He still stared at Tweek, his eyes drinking in the way moon light looked on him. It highlighted the curve of his nose in pale light, caressing his gaunt cheekbones and long eyelashes. He even looked pretty smoking a joint, his lips wrapping around it in a way that made Craig's recent realizations about his wants prove more than true. "You look like an angel," he said after a while of silence, feeling the warmth of the alcohol fill him.

"D-dont say cheesy shit like that man!" Tweek replied with a laugh, "I'll think y-you have a crush on me or-or something!" The joint was almost done, looking like it was down to the tips of Tweeks long fingers. Piano hands, Craig remembered.

"Do you still play piano?" He asked quietly, now staring at Tweeks hands.

"Uhh… y-yeah. Thankfully my-my parents never cooked anything or brought any-anything to the house so I got to umm… sorry I got to keep my stuff? S-s-sorry I didn't mean to talk about it."

"No its okay… I'm glad you gotta keep your piano." Craig replied. Tweek was still shivering slightly, and Craig took off his hoodie, handing it to Tweek. Tweek graciously took it, immediately putting it on. He'd tolerate the teenage boy stink if it meant that he'd be warm..  and honestly, Craig didn't smell that bad.

"Thank you," Tweek said, zipping the hoodie up.

"Ready to go back inside?" Craig asked, to which Tweek just shrugged, but got out of the car anyway. The hoodie was so long it actually covered his shorts. Something about the sight made Craig feel warm inside- or maybe that was the alcohol. Either way, the warmth kept him going until they got back into the house, where rain started pattering on the windows. It went unheard over the music.

"You do look really nice tonight, that outfit looks good on you." Craig complimented. It looked like Tweek had even made an attempt to tame his wild blonde hair, though any effort was destroyed by the wind outside.

"I feel l-like a ti-tik tok alt kid circa twenty twenty."Tweek replied bitterly. "But thanks man… B-Bebe just wanted t-to dress me up t-to-FUCK. … Tonight. She just wanted to dress me up tonight."

Craig slid a little closer to him, taking his hand again. It was subconscious. It honestly felt natural. He could feel Kenny gleefully staring at them, he looked up to see the bastard flashing him a thumbs up. "Why'd she wanna do that?"

Instead of a reply, Tweek just smiled awkwardly at him, squeezing his hand. "... I think I need another drink."

"Third beer of the night… I'm surprised you're not a lightweight." Tweek just shrugged.

"M-my bodys been through worse."

They made their way back into the kitchen, which had gotten busier in their absence. Tweek quickly grabbed another beer before he was pushed out of the way by a girl with long black hair, and he and Craig retreated to a corner. "T-too loud in here…" Tweek mumbled.

"Hey queers," Came the ever grating voice of Eric Cartman. "You guys need a room or what?"

"Fuck you-w-wait… is that an offer?" Tweek looked at the larger boy in confusion. Eric had the most smug look on his face, but it wasn't evil… it was so odd.

"Figured if you two fags wanted to hook up you should at least have your own room! They've got a spare bedroom now, I could take you to it." Cartman offered. Craig and Tweek looked at each other incredulously.

"I… we.. we're not gonna fuck, dude." Craig replied, incredibly confused.

".... sure, whatever, but isn't it too loud in here, aren't there too many people here for your autistic asses? Don't you guys wanna confess all your gay feelings and shit?" Craig tensed at that, but nodded. There were too many people here for his autistic ass, actually.

They followed Eric up the stairs to a bedroom that looked like it belonged to Stan's older sister once upon a time, and Eric quickly shut the two of them inside alone. Never in his life did Tweek think Eric Cartman would be his saving grace.

Tweek went to sit on the bed, immediately pulling the blanket up over his legs, kicking off his boots. He leaned back against the wall, letting out a sigh of relief as the noise was finally muffled enough for him to relax.

But now the two were alone. In a room. Together.

Sure they'd been in the car together, but being in a bedroom had more expectations. People would certainly talk, especially since Cartman was absolutely running his mouth right now. "Hey so… we aren't gonna be…y-yknow… sleeping together?"

"I'm not interested in sex." Craig said plainly. It sounded almost rehearsed.

"C-cool! Just checking!" Tweek replied, "me neither… a-anyways um… I guess we could talk?" Craig nodded, sitting on the bed next to him, but reached out to hold Tweeks hand again. Tweek didn't protest. Actually, it was kind of nice.

"W-we held hands all the time when we were kids…" Tweek whispered. Staring at the interlaced fingers between them.

"Yeah… why'd we stop?" Craig asked, his words slurring slightly.

"Cartman called you a fag and you stopped."

"Oh…"Craig had a look of concentration on his face. "... sorry." He mumbled finally, his thumb stroking the back of Tweeks hand. 

"D-dont worry about it. A-a-after that I came out and we stopped talking as much."

"Wait- I thought we stopped talking because your parents got arrested?"

"A-are you kid-kidding me? Dude, I came out and you never texted me again! Y-y-you wouldn't pick up my calls-"

"My dad took my phone that year. Shit grades."

"What-why didn't you say that then?"

"I didn't know you were texting me!" 

Tweek and Craig stared at each other for a moment, mouths agape in mirroring expressions of shock.

"Oh… I… I guess I didn't think to ask… wh-why you weren't picking up."

"And then your parents got arrested and you kind of… you kind of stopped talking to anyone but Wendy and Bebe." 

"Yeah…." Tweek bit his lip in thought, before looking back up at Craig. "Everyone thinks you're a complete dick, you know?"

"I know." 

"I-i-its kind of funny… y-you have a reputation of being such an ass wipe, b-but you've always been nice to me… I mean-usually."

"I like you." Craig stated bluntly, putting his other hand on top of the one he was holding.

"Man, y-you can't say shit like that-"

"No. Tweek. I like you. I have a crush on you. I have for years."

"I-you-I-WHAT?"

[bewitchedfeathers]

Eddissy prompt from @ohgodnonotthis ! I hope you enjoy it even though this one ran away from me a bit.

"can i request... chrissy and eddie.. sneezy cuddles from the metalhead boyfriend for a stressed cheerleader?"

It ended up being hurtcomfort. Chrissy is anxious and dealing with shitty parenting perfectionist stuff around school work. And has snz kink Chrissy.

----

Chrissy scratched at her thigh anxiously as she looked over her history essay for the third time. She didn't want to get another lecture from her mom for getting a poor grade on an assignment so it needed to be perfect. Chrissy didn't think it was perfect yet. She wasn't sure she could get it to be. 

She was jolted out of her anxious thoughts by the sound of a pebble hitting her window and she couldn't contain her smile, knowing exactly who was outside her house while her parents were out to dinner with friends from their golf club. 

She dashed to the second floor window throwing it open and sticking her shoulders out through the frame into the chilly evening air. And she was met by the very welcome sight of her boyfriend Eddie Munson in his usual jacket and vest combo over a Black Sabbath Tshirt and tight black jeans. 

"Eddie," she whisper-shouted in greeting.

He beamed up at her with a wide genuine smile. "Hey, Chrissy. Mind if I come up?"

"Like you even need to ask, silly," she teased as she pulled back into her bedroom leaving space for him to climb through her window. He made quick work of the climb, having made it once before.

Once he had clambered over the window sill Chrissy threw her arms around his neck and he caught her and wrapped her in a warm hug. One arm around her waist and the other cradling her head. "Hey sweetheart. It's good to see you," he murmured into her hair. 

"I missed you," she mumbled into his shirt and she could feel the gentle rumble of his laughter through his chest at how she was practically burrowing into his arms. 

"You are so cute. I missed you too. Snf."

She gave him a squeeze around his shoulders and then reluctantly pulled away from his comforting embrace. She looked up at him and met his sparkling brown eyes, feeling her heart melt at the affection in his gaze.

"Oh, um, I still have to finish up an essay. Sorry I thought I'd be done by now," she said frowning apologetically, feeling guilty for not being ready for him to get here. 

"Look at you being so studious. I promise I'll be on my best behavior and won't try to distract you unless you ask me real nicely," he said with a wink trying to get her to smile again. 

She pulled away entirely, immediately missing his comforting touch, and managed a weak smile. She turned and picked back up her essay again, missing his look of concern.

As she fretted over her essay, Eddie took a slow lap around her room poking around knickknacks and flipping through her small collection of pop music. He sniffled and rubbed at his nose with a knuckle when it gave an irritated twinge. His nose acting up was the last thing he wanted right now.

He turned and saw Chrissy rubbing her wrist roughly against her desk and he moved to her side gently pulling her wrist away from the desk and cupping it in his large hands.

"Sweetheart, what has you so stressed out?" he asked, voice quiet and worried.

She looked up at him standing next to her chair like she'd forgotten he was there. Too caught up in the tangle of stress in her head, the sound of her mom's voice berating her in her mind causing her pulse to race.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just trying to finish this essay and it's giving me some trouble," she said giving him a weak smile to try to reassure him. 

He looked at her five paragraph essay that filled the paper, looking complete. "What's it missing?" He asked softly followed by a sniffle.

Her eyes darted to his nose and then away. "It's um just not good enough to turn in yet," she said and wilted a little as she noticed her own phrasing. Her and Eddie had talked about her fears of not being good enough that were only worsened by her mom and her now ex-boyfriend Jason. 

"Chrissy, you are more than enough. And you're good enough and smart enough. Snf. You're amazing," he said genuinely, big brown eyes sparkling. 

Chrissy looked up at Eddie, cheeks flushed but it felt amazing to know he felt that way. To be assured that he genuinely felt that way about her. It made her heart beat faster.

"You're really amazing too. You know that? I'm so glad to have you in my life Eddie."

Eddie smiled wide and bright. "Does that mean you'll let me wear your letterman jacket, Chrissy?" He said breaking the moment but making her laugh in delight. 

"I don't know that it'll fit but you're welcome to try it on," she said gesturing to her closet. He gave her hand a squeeze ambling to her closet, apparently intent on taking her up on her offer. She started packing up her school supplies trying to ignore that niggling feeling that she should keep working. 

Eddie rubbed at his nose that was starting to itch. His allergies had been pretty mild today so he sure as hell hoped that they'd leave him alone now that he finally got to spend some time with Chrissy. "Snfff. Snf. Hh…" he pressed a knuckle under his nose but it didn't help. He pinched his nose been two fingers just in time for a triple. "Hhh-hh'gshxt…ikshxxt…Ih'kshxkt…snfff.." 

Chrissy caught his shoulders shaking as his head bobbed and she nearly dropped a folder onto the floor at the rush of heat low in her belly when she realized he was sneezing. "Bless you," she murmured.

Eddie winced as she caught his stifled sneezes. "Thanks. Scuse me." 

He took off his own jacket and draped her letterman jacket over his shoulders, where is looked almost comically small. turning and giving her a grin. “How do I look?”

Chrissy laughed and Eddie beamed at the sound. “It looks like it might be a little small,” she teased. 

He rubbed his nose with a knuckle and Chrissy’s smile froze for a moment as she watched his nose turn slightly pink at the touch. She jerked her eyes back up to his with an effort. 

“It might not quite fit me,” he said playfully, “Guess you’ll just have to wear mine.” He returned her letterman to it’s proper place in her closet and came back to her side. He leaned in for a sweet kiss before pulling back and fiddling with his rings. And then his nose twitched and he turned quickly away from her pressing the back of his hand to his nose. “Hhhh’ISHxttsht…hh’hh’KDsshhxt…Hh’ErshXxt…shit. Sorry bout that.” His cheeks were a little pink, still embarrassed about sneezing in front of Chrissy.

She swallowed hard and clenched her thighs together. “Um, it’s fine. Bless you.”

“Thanks. What would you like to do tonight, love?”

“Um, would you be up for cuddling? We could put on a movie or something…” she offered, still a little shy about asking for what she wanted. With Eddie she felt safe enough to try though, which meant so much to her.

“I’d love to cuddle with you Chrissy. Love holding you in my arms,” he said, meeting her gaze with a soft, loving look.

She blushed and gave him a tiny pleased smile. And then she stood and grabbed his hand tugging him over to her bed. Eddie beamed, he was so happy when she went after what she wanted. Sometimes she seemed afraid to take up space but she had a spine of steel when she needed it and he was seeing it more and more lately.

She had a cute determined expression on her face and Eddie just grinned. “Wherever you want me,” he said, gesturing with his hand to bed. And she took him at his word, pushing him gently onto the bed and arranging him on his side. He let himself be shifted around and manhandled as she liked. 

Then she laid down in front of him and tugged one of his arms over her waist. He pulled her more snugly against him and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. She let out a full body sigh, feeling like she could finally relax in her boyfriend's arms. They laid like that for awhile, just soaking in each other’s company. The silence was only broken by the occasional sniffle from Eddie that Chrissy tried desperately not to react to.

He sniffled again and she felt his breath catch where his face was pressed against the back of her neck. She tried to keep still desperate to squirm and press her thighs together. And then his chest abruptly expanded as he heaved in a breath for a sudden sneeze. 

She felt like her face was on fire and her head was empty of everything except the feel of him sneezing and the sound of it so close to her ear and unstifled for once. She had never had such emotional whiplash going from slightly stressed and comforted, only the tiniest whisper of arousal, to burning up with desire in the space of a second. "I don't mind!" She blurted out loudly, cutting off his self disgusted rambling. 

"Hhhh'Huh'YYISSHIHKXXT…oh Jesus Christ. I'm so sorry Hih'knxsht snfff Chrissy. Fuck that was hh'ksshxt so disgusting-" He had pulled away immediately in mortification, stifling as he went, and she turned to face him. His knuckles were pressed tight under his nose like he was afraid another sneeze would slip out after his usual triple.

He looked at her wide eyed, surprised by her outburst when Chrissy never raised her voice normally. His expression went pinched with disbelief.

"You don't have to say that, I sneezed on you. I know that's gross," he said eyes pointing down towards her pink bedspread. 

She rubbed at her wrist, an anxious gesture, trying to get the courage to explain herself. She'd rather he be disgusted with her for her feelings than be disgusted with himself over something as silly as a sneeze. 

"I…I…" why couldn't she just say it.

"Fuck. Let me get a tissue so I can least clean you up," he said, too caught up in his own panic to coax out her words like he was usually so good at. He turned ready to jump to his feet and she reached out and grabbed his wrist pulling him to a standstill.

He turned to look at her, caught off guard again. "Chrissy?..."

"I liked it," she was sure she looked like a tomato at this point and she couldn't meet his eyes, her free hand picking at the fabric of her skirt, "I um I like your sneezing."

"You…like my sneezing?" He asked, sounding confused but not disgusted.

"I know it's weird. I'm sorry," she blurted out with a wince. Eddie's whole demeanor shifted into soft concern and he sat back down next to her and pulled her into a hug. 

"Hey, I'm the freak of Hawkins High so trust me when I say it's not that weird. Snf. Kinda cute really," he said, voice even and reassuring. 

"Cute?" She asked, pulling back to see his face, worried he was making fun of her or something even though she didn't think Eddie ever would. 

"Yeah. Snf. I mean liking something as innocent as a sneeze. Pretty cute," he said with a warm smile as he met her gaze unwavering.

"You really don't mind?" She asked despite already being sure of the answer and starting to relax. 

"It's uh kinda nice honestly. I get these real bad allergies in the spring sometimes. It can be kind of embarrassing. It'd be nice knowing I'm not going to gross you out snf with any of that." He looked a little bashful at admitting his allergies, "And my nose can just be sensitive sometimes, it's annoying. snfSnf." He looked up and his expression shifted to sly delight at the sight of Chrissy with her pupils blown out and biting her lower lip like he'd just been using the sexiest dirty talk on her. 

"You like that, huh?" He asked with a grin. 

She nodded, hair bobbing with the movement. 

"Like hearing me talk about how sneezy my Snff nose can get?" He purred. 

She whimpered in response and Eddie smiled like Christmas had come early. Oh he was going to enjoy how responsive she was to this. Like she couldn't help herself. 

He definitely wouldn't be hating his sensitive nose anymore. 

---

Let me know if you enjoyed this one! ❤️ Thanks!

(Snz Fic Masterlist)