#hopefully I will have sorted out my schedule for this week

[humansbgone]

First update for episode nine!

First off, the storyboard is done, both drawn and cleaned up! Not only that, but minor fixes have been made to three of the models! Not bad for what's been mostly another break week as I finish up visiting family. Thanks to my husband at https://bogleech.com for help on some action panels!

Here, we see the last three panels of the board. Spoilers if you can make out what's happening, I guess!

This episode will see mostly a return to just me working on it, apart from DDX.exe for music. However, DarthTheMonster will do some modeling work!

Next week I'll be back home and ready to record voices and put together the animatic. Then, probably three weeks of work fixing existing models, making and rigging new models, and putting together background assets. Then, it's really just staging and animating, plus sound effects and credits, which should hopefully be pretty simple for this episode and altogether take two months at most. So far, tentatively scheduled for a total production time of just over three months...so, probably a release of sometime in early August. We'll see! Until next time!

[xenovair]

PSA:   I am going through a major flareup with my endometriosis + chronic migraines ,  so this greatly affects the quality + quantity of writing as well as plotting that I can put out ,  I only ask for your patience in my replies both ic and ooc as I work through this .  I’ll also be seeking more answers regarding my migraines as I feel like they haven’t been properly treated and as such ,  I’ll be using a lot of my time for appointments + scans + possible procedures ,  I’ll keep everyone updated for those of you that wish to know but yeah .... I’m barely functioning at all lately and this is just to let you know why + whats going to happen around here x

[loverboybitch]

think i am finally going to quit the job that i hate.//.

[oathbips]

Unexpected

summary: the older itoshi brother was caught off guard after seeing his younger brother with a girlfriend

word count: 2.2k

content: f!reader x itoshi rin, slight fluff towards the end, focuses more on sae and rin's relationship, sae being a sore loser with his feelings

author's note: my first fic after like 6-7 years. it was fun writing this but i feel like it's still lacking a lot after reading it so I'm sorry if it's not good. i always try my best to keep everyone accurate to their characters so hopefully, this is not too oc.

It’s been a week since the u-20 match. Itoshi Sae didn’t really expect to still be here in Japan walking around and about. The prodigy midfielder was dead set on going back to Spain the day after the match against Blue Lock but a call from his parents and some convincing on their part persuaded him to stay back a bit longer. He is scheduled to meet them today around noon to pick up a few packs of salted kelp his parents got him to bring on his trip back to Spain.

He’s not one to ever possess this sort of feeling but as he approached the front porch of his childhood home, he can’t help but be hit with some sort of nostalgia. It’s been years since he last stepped foot into this house. Feeling a little weird with how nostalgic he is suddenly getting, Sae stood right in front of the house entrance for a good minute or two, zoning out before he finally felt ready enough to ring the doorbell. 

Distant footsteps could be heard inside the house before the door swung open and his mother was standing in front of him ecstatic to see her son after so long. 

“Sae!” she exclaimed happily and followed with an open hug for her oldest son. “I’m home.” Sae finally exhaled after realizing he’s been holding his breath the whole time. He shifts awkwardly in the hug before his mom releases the hug a second later. It's not like he had anything to be awkward about. He always called and texted his parents when he was away from home, and they would always send stuff over to him monthly. He himself is confused about the way he was acting and feeling. The red-headed boy cannot understand it. 

Before long, another pair of footsteps was heard. He turns around to be met with his father approaching, waving at him. “Ah Sae, you’re home. It’s good to finally see you again. It’’s been a while Sae.” 

“It has been,” Sae replied. “Come in Sae. The salted kelps are set on the table in the kitchen for you. Have you eaten? I just made lunch. Have some before you leave.” His mom insisted as she guides her son into the house before closing the door. It felt like Itoshi Sae was more like a guest at this house now. 

“I'll prepare the food and table. In the meantime, you can look around the house again if you like. Quite a few things have changed since you moved out.” 

As she headed towards the kitchen, leaving her son behind in the living room to take in his old home again, Sae found himself standing stiffly in one spot once more as he looked around the house. It indeed did change a bit. Everything looks like it has been rearranged. He can still see the family portraits he grew up seeing with a few new additions. After a while when his unexplained feelings finally started to settle down, he then soon realizes once he lay eyes on some new framed photos that his younger brother had yet to make his appearance. You can definitely hear when things are happening around the house so it’s unlikely that Itoshi Rin could’ve missed all the commotion that just happened. 

The look on his face was so obvious that his mother took notice after one glance at him. “Rin's not home right now. He’s currently out.” 

“Where did he go to?” Sae asked. “He said he was going out for a bit but didn’t specify where before he swiftly left the house.” She replied before continuing, “We saw the game. Sorry, we couldn’t make it last week. We decided to watch it on tv instead. It was an amazing game Sae.” 

“mhmm.” he hummed absent-mindedly while walking towards the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.

“But you know Sae… he’s been acting different after the game.” That made the older Itoshi do a double take as that statement piqued his interest. He turn towards her and she continues, “Ever since he got back from Blue Lock for his short 2 weeks break, he’s-” She stopped to think on how to explain it. “I don't know how to explain it, Sae. It’s like he’s more distant now because he always seems to be zoning out like there’s something on his mind.” 

Sae took in what his mother had just told him. He honestly didn’t see any deal with it all. “He's always like that even when we were little. I don't see any difference. Nothing has changed with him.” Sae stated. His opinion of his little brother is very complex to understand. It's almost like he doesn’t really have an opinion towards the young striker anymore. Not after their last departure at least. Or so he thought. What the midfielder failed to realize is that deep down, there are still lingering feelings of endearment he’s not aware of himself towards Rin. Even right after the match when they finally talked again for the first time since their fight, he’s still unaware of that feeling. 

His dad who has been listening in on this whole conversation, stared at his older son’s face. Lingering on his facial expressions before letting out a sigh and finally speaking, “My son, I think you’re more unaware of the situation between you two than we thought.” That caused Sae’s face scrunched up in confusion. 

“What do you mean?” 

Now it’s his mother's turn to give a small sigh. “Oh, Sae… It’s okay. Just forget it. I think this is something that you two have to work out amongst yourselves. Nothing your father and I say will help fix anything. Sorry to interrupt your little plan of going upstairs but lunch is ready now. Come eat and you can head up afterward.” At that, Sae gawked at his parents debating whether or not to press them on about it. He was more confused than ever. 

Throughout the meal, he too started spacing out in his thoughts about what his parents had just told him. His thoughts kept swaying back and forth trying to decipher their words. “Our situation?” He thought to himself. “I’m unaware of what exactly?” He debated again if he should bring it up once more but after some more thinking and realizing his mom said to work it out between his brother and him, he decided to just brush it off as no big deal and figure it out on his walk back to his hotel. If it continues to bother him later, he’ll ask his parents to elaborate on their statements. 

After the meal and his little tour of the house again, Sae said his goodbyes and thanked his parents for the package before setting off to his hotel. He suddenly finds himself taking in the neighborhood around him and that uneasy feeling of nostalgia he felt earlier strikes again. The conversations with his parents at noon start to replay in his head. He feels even more uneasy remembering it. This causes him to do what he never expected himself to do ever again after declaring to never step foot into Japan after he left. The Itoshi Sae is now witnessing himself walking around the area of his old hometown. He walked to the schools he and his brother used to attend, to the playground he and his brother used to play at, and to the shops he and his brother used to go to. It was almost as if he was fulfilling his guilty urges that he became aware were the causes of his uneasy feelings earlier. Now here he is, walking towards the soccer field he and his brother used to play together at. He's mentally kicking himself for suddenly being so sentimental about all of this. For him to waste his time so he could fulfill his “urges” that were bothering him so he could shake off that uneasiness. He hates it all. 

As he got closer to the field carrying the grumpiest face ever, he notices two figures on the field. The figures were still pretty far from his vision but he didn’t care for who it was. Too grumpy over his emotions to care, he told himself he is just going to look at the field real quick and immediately leave. So he just kept walking closer and closer until he couldn’t anymore because he can’t help but stop in his tracks. The two figures he’s seeing are now suddenly something he cared for because one of them is literally his younger brother, Itoshi Rin. The black hair boy is sitting next to someone. The prodigy couldn’t believe it as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. His younger brother is sitting next to a girl? Careful to not get caught, Sae is now moving cautiously and quietly as he could to the nearest hiding spot he find himself in, peeking out the tiniest bit to see his brother. “Is that a friend?” He thought. 

“I think you can do it Rin.” She spoke. “I will.” The striker replied. The girl gave a heartfelt smile at him and then giggled. 

“What's so funny?” 

“Hehe, nothing. Just happy to get to see you again. That’s all.” 

Rin gave a little huff at that before standing up and dropping the soccer ball he was holding. “Hey, teach me how to play a little!” The girl exclaimed excitedly. 

“You’ll suck.” Rin quickly commented. 

“That's why you’re teaching me!” 

She took the ball from the tall boy and lightly kicked it around while having the biggest smile on her face. Rin watches her as she attempts to kick the ball into the goal and completely misses. “I told you, you suck.” 

“Cause you’re not teaching me!” 

Rin looks at her before cracking the faintest smile as he got the ball and walked back to her. He ruffles her hair and she tries to fight him back for doing so before bursting out a laugh.

Sae is watching all of this in his hiding spot, baffled. This was not something he had ever seen coming from Rin even in their childhoods. Was this what his mother meant by him acting differently? When was this? Who is she? His mind is filled with questions as he looks at the two people in front of him. He had never seen his younger brother giving such a soft, endearing look like that towards anyone. Well, back then Rin used to look at his older brother like that too but this feels a lot more different. Sae was too deep in his thoughts now to realize that his younger brother has now spotted him. The redhead quickly snapped out of it as soon as he saw the identical pair of teal eyes staring straight at him. Both of them wearing the same expressions on their faces as they're both staring at each other.

Rin was shocked. His mouth was agape at what he was seeing with his own eyes. “Nii-” He let out before stopping midway and changing his expression back to that cold, aloof expression he always wore. Seeing this, the girl turned around towards the direction her boyfriend was looking at, wondering what had caught his attention. She then saw the red hair and those same teal eyes that her boyfriend also possesses. It was now her turn to be shocked. Standing in front of her own two eyes was the Itoshi Sae, famous midfielder prodigy, and the older brother of her boyfriend. 

“What are you doing here?” Rin was the first to speak. 

“…Mom and Dad called to pick up some packages for me to take back to Spain.” Sae quietly stated, wanting to dig a hole for being caught. 

“The house is that way. Did you forget?” Rin said coldly and pointed in the direction of the house. 

“Tch.” The older brother smacked. 

“Huh?!?” Rin snapped back, annoyed. He's not the one going around stalking people. 

Sensing the tension, the girl chimed in hoping to ease the atmosphere, “Uhm! hello, I'm y/n. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Sae turned his attention towards her and stared at the girl who brought out a side to his younger brother he has never seen. His gaze lingered as he wondered how. Seeing his older brother now intently staring at his girlfriend, Rin got irked once more. “What are you looking at? It’s rude to stare.” 

“Apologies… Nice to meet you. I’m Sae.” He gave a small nod and she returned it with a small bow. 

“Well, I’m off.” He said as he turns around and walk off. “Huh?!? Seriously? You came here stalking me and then just leave? You didn’t even answer my question!” Rin yelled out to his brother. Sae ignores his remarks and continues walking away. “Hey!!” Rin shouted once more. 

“Rin-” The girl whispered while reaching out to him to calm him down.

“I will beat you and Isagi.” This declaration from Rin made Sae pause in his tracks. He turns around to his little brother, staring at him before giving a scoff and walking off again. Rin glared at his brother’s back. Seeing his brother again filled him with a new sense of determination. “I will beat you.” He thought to himself. As Sae walks further and further away from the field, he looks back one last time at the two figures. The girl was now holding Rin's hand and placing her head between his chest. The striker soon follows, placing his hands on the back of her head. Sae took one final glance before turning his head and never looking back as he walked away. “A girlfriend huh?” He thought to himself. 

[meowufff]

This is my first actual post on Tumblr ever so pls bear with me. Also, English is not my first language so pls excuse any mistakes I make :)

So, this whole thing here started just as a joke bc I was curious if anyone else was feeling constantly tired all day no matter how long I sleep. But it all somehow escalated a bit and I may have started hyperfixating on it so well, now it actually became a little survey.

I also wanted to mention that I only asked the artist in my little Tumblr bubble, which is mostly tmnt content, so my results are mostly referring to tmnt artists.

In total, I asked 143 people if they could remember the last time they woke up and just felt actually rested for more than half of the day.

I probably could have been more specific with my question but again, I did not actually planned to let it become so big. Personally, for me being rested means, having a clear head, no headache or foggy mind without consuming any caffeine.

So out of 143 people, 100 answered me and I tried my best to sort all of the answers after the criteria “good-sleep-schedule” and “bad-sleep-schedule” and also noted when exactly they last felt actually rested into either the last days, weeks, months, years or “???” when they couldn’t remember or didn’t mention anything specific.

And let’s just say… it does not really look good. Out of 100 people, only 18 have an actual good sleep schedule. Out of these 18 people, 13 felt really rested in the last days, 2 in the last weeks, only one person in the last months and 2 in the last years.

Out of the 82 of people who have a bad sleep schedule, 10% lastly felt rested in the last days, 11% in the last weeks, 11% in the last months, 30% in the last years, and 38% couldn’t remember or didn’t specify it.

While reading all your answers I came to realize being sleep deprived is not just bc any of them thought “Oh it would be really neat to stay up till 4 am!” or smth like that.

A lot of the artists who answered me mentioned that they have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep due to stuff like insomnia, chronic pain, other issues, or children (yeah, ok, there was just one who had a child but still).

While analyzing I mostly referred the situations to my own experience with going to sleep or rather not going to sleep...

I usually don’t have problems falling asleep but trouble actually putting my stuff away and going to bed bc I don’t want to end the day or just don’t want to go to sleep (don’t ask why, I have no idea why I am like this). While having these “episodes” I often doodle smth, binge reading some fanfics, or watch whatever I can find on the internet until I’m just falling asleep or can convince myself that it is 3 am and I really should go to bed now.

So, my personal theory about why sleep deprivation is so common among Tumblr artists is not bc they do art all night. My theory is that a lot of people who have trouble falling asleep due to insomnia, pain, or other issues are filling the time until they hopefully fall asleep with their art, doodles, writings, or whatever their creative minds can bring up, to help the time pass.

In total that would mean that not all artists are sleep deprived but more that a lot of people who have trouble falling asleep do a lot of art or creative stuff in general.

Something I could also imagine is, that if they start doing art while waiting for sleep, they start to concentrate a lot on creating more and start procrastinating sleep even if they actually get tired bc they wanna do art and fuck up their non-existing sleep schedule even more but that could also just be me projecting here.

I know that is probably no kind of big revelation but for me it was kind of surprising to see how many people here are as sleep deprived as me and due to what reasons.

I’m not going to preach to any of you to get that problem solved or smth, I have no right to tell you what to do and would be a major hypocrite so instead I really which everyone to get some kind of good sleep schedule one day and the joy of waking up and feeling completely rested at least thrice per week.

I absolutely love all your art and thank you a thousand times for helping me with this spontaneous survey!

I would love to hear your opinions on my theory and conclusion so pls don’t be shy and feel free to point out any mistakes I may have made or tell me your own theories :D

Also, if my question is still sitting in your inbox, feel free to answer! I’m gonna keep ma big ass excel table so I can edit all the results anytime. And maybe, one day, I'm gonna continue this survey and go into more detail but for now I need to leave it like this.

Ok, that's all I got

BYE!

Thanks to all participants

@abbeyofcyn @angelpuns @beannary @bulbabutt @camilieroart @cementgeek @cheesyescapade @cokowiii @easterartist @frosteaart @gemini-forest @happyfoxx-art @heckitall @hellishgayliath @holy-sweetsour-milk @icepopcider @idiot-mushroom @iscreamkitty @kovalitics @laseralligator @lieutenantbiscute @matchstique @mightyanxiety @miiukkaa @mr-doodles @pezhead @probably-not-a-rutabaga @pumpkster @sad-leon @sassatello @sewercrocodileart @sheep-turtles-and-pizza @signanothername @spectra-bear @stephuart @tangledinink @tapakah0 @tasenwiththerobots @tblsomedoodles @thegunnsara @triona-tribblescore @turrondeluxe @valen-timez @vangh17a @wraenata @zinovi768 @debb987 @dianagj-art @goatedgreen @indieyuugure

[do-you-know-this-queer-character]

Updates, Apologies, and Moving Forward!

Hello everyone! I am not dead, and this blog is not dead. I know I've been gone for a very long time again, and I'm very sorry.

I had to say goodbye to my cat, my emotional support animal, my baby. I won't say too much here, but she was suffering, and unfortunately there was nothing that could be done. My mental health is fragile at the best of times, and while I am okay and safe, it has been a difficult few months for me. I am also a full-time college student with a job, so all of my free hours were spent in grief. It's taken me a while to feel alright enough to come back, but here I am. I'm still passionate about queer representation in media, and I want to continue to share queer characters with the tumblr community. Starting tomorrow, I will resume the 8 times a day posting schedule that I was starting to utilize before my disappearance, as queueing posts makes my life much easier. I'm sorry if I don't respond to notes or asks left during my break. It's a lot to sort through and I value community engagement on this blog more than anything but I am just one person and I can only do so much. Feel free to re-send asks! Going forward, I'll be making a few changes. I am working on a publicly available google sheet of all characters that have been posted on this blog with results that I will link in a visible place so that people wanting to submit a character can (hopefully) quickly search to make sure that character hasn't been posted yet. I also will eventually be looking for another mod, although that will not be until the summer and I will make more posts when the time comes. I will personally be awol for the last few weeks of may and the first few weeks of june due to a job opportunity out of the country, but I am intending to have queued posts continuing to upload at the regular schedule during that time. Unfortunately this means I won't be able to edit mistakes or answer questions, but hopefully any issues can be addressed when I return. Thank you all for your patience, I'm sorry that this radio silence has gone on for so long, but I've thought about this blog a lot during my absence and I'm certain that it's not a project I'm giving up on any time soon.

[emersonfreepress]

help i'm alive

So! Long time, no see. 2023 was a whole goddamn lot lol

I don't have a demo update to share yet, but that's because I had to scrap nearly everything I managed to write during a very, very, very bad stint of writer's block last year. I hadn't even realized it had been a block like that until I went over my work so far last month and realized it was bad -- like, trust me; a slog to read that didn't even sound like me. It's been extremely frustrating but I've finally broken free of that and it's been easy and actually fun to write again for the first time in actual years. I just hate giving updates that have no actual news in them. And I really had nothing to share other than: I deleted thousands of words and feel so much better now 😅

Anyway, little about my demo plans have changed: I'm still putting out the Chapter 3 demos in Choicescript/on Dashingdon and then will be going dark to move things over to Twine. Where I am in the process right now is... feeling like 35% done with the overhauled version of this chapter and 50% done for the next demo update.

As far as asks, I'm... not really sure what to do?? I believe I've read them all (I love you guys), but so much time has passed since getting most of them that I'm not sure if it's, like... still pertinent??? To go back and answer them?? I suppose some of them like character asks could be, but all the nice messages of support -- that feels weird since I've practically ghosted this blog since August! Idk. Y'all tell me what to do with 'em and I'll do it. Maybe I should make a poll.

Uh... that's really all there is to say regarding the game! I've added some personal stuff after the cut, but if you're done here: Thanks for reading and sticking around. It means the world, for real.

So what has occupied my time all this time? Doctor, therapy, money, and friends. And improv! But especially the first two. There was a lot of non-writing related stuff fucking up my ability to focus and write, so hopefully with my mind and body both feeling a lot better, I can get back to being present and active with the game. I didn't realize how physically unwell I was until last year and it's been like... life-long issues I've been treating. It turns out it's not normal to feel exhausted enough to sleep at any given time, at all times, for your whole life! wow!!

I also uninstalled Tumblr from my phone back in February, so you could say I'm sort of generally focused on offline life. (And what an interesting coincidence that my writer's block dissipated shortly after that...) I also just moved!! The last two weekends have been so expensive and stressful -_- But I can't even compare the old place to the new. We're basically paying the same price for idek how much more space. The cats are so happy; which means the house humans get to be happy.

My schedule is finally freed up from constant medical shit (there was a 3-month stretch this winter with multiple doctor appointments literally every fucking week 🙃🙃🙃). My mental health is doing a lot better -- literally incomparably better compared to where I was this time last year. There's live comedy now (which I dabble in, to be clear lol), but I've finally found myself able to like... balance it all. The physical and creative energy that goes into it all, anyway. The lovely thing about improv is that you kinda just show up and do your thing -- it doesn't cut into my writing time so much as it costs energy. Unless I end up in this comedy debate show thing next month, which I am very excited to give up writing time for

So like... Life is life-ing and I'm just vibing. Or something? I'll be around.

Thank you all again so much for your interest, support, patience, and readership <3

[samaraannhan20]

Harry Styles Imagine: College AU! The Eras Tour

Warnings: college!reader, fem!reader, mentions of anxiety, age gap

September 2023

“Hey luv?” I hear Harry call out for me from the bedroom. 

“What’s up?” I say as I walk in holding my laptop so I can continue the homework I had been working on. 

“Do you still have a lot of homework to do?” he asks, and I look up from what I was doing and look at him, placing the laptop on the dresser and walking over to him, standing next to him as he sits at the edge of the bed.  

“Um yes and no. Why?”

“I have a surprise for you, and I don’t think I can keep it a secret anymore,” he says, and I step in between his legs and rest my arms over his shoulders. 

“What is it?” I say, and then lean forward and give him a kiss. “You know how I feel about surprises,” I say when I pull back and he laughs.

“Yes, to quote you ‘as long as you know every detail ahead of time you love surprises.’ They just can’t be blindfolded in the car with no idea what is happening,” he says laughing. 

“Absolutely correct. I mean, I have really strong deduction skills, so usually even if I’m blindfolded in the car I can still figure it out, but then I feel bad and act as though I didn’t. As long as I know exactly what is happening at least a day prior to it happening it can be a surprise.”

“Right. Well this surprise is two months in advance, so hopefully that is plenty of time,” he says with a small laugh and I smile.

“Okay so gimme. Or tell me. Whichever applies in this situation,” I say, and he gently grabs my waist and pushes me back so he can stand up. He gives me a quick kiss and then turns us.

“You sit on the bed, and turn the tv on. I need to grab my phone so I can airplay this to the television,” he says, and I do what he said. I sit on the bed with my legs crossed under me,  right at the end of the bed so I’m closer to the TV and grab the remote, turning it on. He walks back into the room right as I get it pulled up to the airplay screen, and connects his phone. All I can see is a black screen, so I look at him with a look of confusion. 

“Are you ready?” he asks, and I smile. 

“Babe, I’ve been ready. What is going on?” 

“Okay so you know how at the Grammy’s I got to talk to Taylor for a little?” he asks, and I nod my head, remembering the conversation we had afterwards. “Okay well we talked a little about you, and I left that out when I first told you the story because with your school schedule I didn’t know if we could make anything work.”

“Make what work?” I ask him, grabbing his hand. 

“Just wait. Anyway, I talked to her about you that night, told her all about you, told her how we met, how much I love you, all sorts of things like that,” he says, and my jaw drops. 

“You told Taylor Swift about me? The Taylor Swift? Your ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift?” I say, a look of shock completely taking over my face.

“Yes. What other Taylor Swift is there? And why wouldn't I tell her? We may not be engaged yet but I do fully intend on marrying you,” he says, and then places a quick kiss on my lips before pulling back and continuing. “I also told her about how when she announced her tour  you got all excited and waited in the ticketmaster queue and didn’t get any tickets and how sad you were, she had an idea. So I needed the airplay to show you the video I got from her, for you, the other day,” he says, and then takes my chin in his hand, and gently turns it towards the TV. 

“Hey Y/N!” the video starts as the screen lights up and Taylor appears on the screen. “I’ve heard so much about you from that amazing man of yours! You chose a good man,” she says, and I turn to Harry really quick, just for him to point me back to the screen, causing me to turn back. “He texted me last week and told me he had worked out a day for you guys to come to a show. So you better start looking for an outfit, because on November 11th you will be coming to the Eras Tour in Buenos Aires!” she exlcaims in the video, and I look at Harry, only to be pointed towards the screen again. “Not only will you be here but I told Harry I could get you guys into the friends and family tent, and I have some more surprises for you when you get here. I am so excited to meet you!” she says, and then the video ends, and  I just sit there staring at the screen in silence, unmoving.

“Luv?” Harry questions from next to me after I’ve been sitting there for probably a minute. 

“Hm?” I hum, still not moving my eyes or turning my body from the blank screen in front of me. 

“Are you… um… still with me?” 

“I’m physically still here. My mind is blown though,” I say, finally turning my head to look at him. “I mean, you got your ex-girlfriend to not only give us tickets to her sold out show, but put us in her friends and family tent. I didn’t realize the two of you were so close.”

“Y/N, are you jealous?” he asks with a teasing lilt in his voice. 

“Yes and no. I’m half still in shock, and half jealous because she’s Taylor Swift, a famous popstar, and your ex, and I’m just… me,” I say, looking down at my hands. 

“You don’t actually believe that do you?” he asks, taking my hands in one of his, and lifting my chin up with the other. “She may be my ex, and a popstar, but you are everything to me. You light up my sad days, you care about hearing about my days, how recording is going, how my family is. You are the person I want to come home to,” he says and then presses a quick kiss to my lips. “ Now, if this makes you uncomfortable and you don’t want to go I would complete-” he starts, and I cut him off, placing my hand over his mouth.

“Nope, we’re going. I’ve wanted this for so long. I just got a little jealous and insecure. I want to go and meet Taylor Swift. Can you imagine if we hit it off and become  best friends? I’d be part of her crew and…” I keep going as Harry just laughs and pulls me in for a hug, placing a kiss on my forehead. 

“There’s my girl,” he mutters as I continue jabbering on. 

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

October 2023

“I can’t believe you hired Lambert to put together era’s tour outfits for us,” I say as I stand in front of the garment bags that are hanging over our closet doors. 

“It was stressing you out, and you needed to focus on school. It was nothing. Basically it was the same as the outfits for the last show on tour, just different outfits” he says, wrapping his arms around me and placing a kiss on the top of my head. 

“So can I look yet?” I ask, toying with the zipper on the bag that has my name on it. 

“Is your homework done?” he asks with a teasing lilt. 

“Yes it’s done. I wouldn’t be standing in the bedroom if it wasn’t. These garment bags have been teasing me since I got home and came in here to change,” I respond with a little eye roll, and he squeezes my waist before letting me go. 

“Go ahead. Open that bag up,” he says, and I take the step it takes to reach the garment bag and yank the zipper down. 

“Wow. Lambert really kills it every time,” I say as I reach out to touch the fabric of the dress. 

“Yeha, ‘at’s why I keep hiring ‘im,” Harry says, and I laugh. 

“Is there shoes that go with it?” I ask, turning back to Harry and walking towards him, wrapping my arms around his waist. 

“Yes and no. He got a pair of shoes for you to wear with the outfit, but I thought you might like some shoes that were more comfy,” he says, and unwinds from me, before walking into the closet. “So I’m going to show you both options, and over the next month you can make the choice before we leave.” 

“Babe, we both know I’m going to pretend like I want to wear the uncomfortable ones, but I will wind up wearing the comfy ones,” I say as he steps back into the bedroom.

“Exactly. Hence why you have two options. Okay, here are the uncomfortable ones,” he says, and holds out a shoebox. I take it from him and open it. 

“Okay but these are really cute,” I say, putting the box on the bed and taking one of the boots out. “And they would go perfectly with the outfit. And they probably wouldn’t be that uncomfortable,” I say, and then slip it on. I slip the other one on and then stand up and walk around the room. “These aren’t so bad. They just feel like boots.”

“Well they are an option. Do you want to see the comfortable pair?”

“Have you met me?” I ask as I sit down on the edge of the bed and start to take the boots off. Right as I get the second one off Harry steps in front of me holding a box of Converse. “Ooh Converse,” I say as I take them out of his hand, and he laughs. 

“I know you better than you think I do,” he says, pressing a kiss to my forehead before moving next to me and putting the boots back in the box as I take the Converse out. 

“These also match perfectly!” I exclaim as I look at them. “Did you pick these or did Lamb pick them?” 

“I picked these. Lambert sent me pictures before he finalized them, and I saw the shoes, so I went online and ordered you these because I knew they’d get here around the same time.”

“Babes I’m gonna be honest, these will definitely be the shoes I wind up wearing at the concert. However I’ll wear the boots on a date night or something,” I tell him, placing the box next to me and reaching out for him. “Can we go to bed now?” I ask, shoving both shoeboxes to the side and laying back. 

“Yeah,” he says with a laugh. “But before that did you want to see the outfit he put together for me?” he asks, and I sit back up. 

“Yes! I got so distracted that I forgot!” I exclaim, and he walks over to the closet, pulling the zipper on his garment bag down. “Midnights!” I exclaim, jumping up and walking over to him and his garment bag. “This is great! I would have put you in something 1989 style because… well… You know. But this is even better! It is so close to your style!” 

“Well Lambert has been dressing me for years now, he would know my style,” he says, and I laugh. “He also said that he considered something 1989 style, but ultimately decided on this. And I’m wearing my pair of Satellite stompers from the Grammy’s.”

“It was a good choice. You’re gonna look great,” I say, and then grab his hand. “I would love to go to sleep now,” I say, and he laughs, allowing me to tug him to the bed with me. 

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️ November 10th, 2023

“This is so exciting!” I exclaim as we deboard our plane in Buenos Aires. “It’s so pretty here!”

“It is,” Harry replies, wrapping his arm around me as soon as we are both back on solid ground. “So, I have a question,” he says as we climb into the car that was waiting for us. 

“Okay, hit me with it,” I say as I settle in next to him. 

“Would you like to go to dinner with Taylor and Travis?” he asks, and I choke on the drink of water I had been taking. 

“WhAt?” I ask once I can breathe again. 

“Taylor invited us to dinner. Would you like to go?” he repeats, and I just gape at him. 

“What?” I ask again, still in shock. 

“I know you heard what I said and that you’re just in shock. So I’m just going to let you sit there in this,” he says with a smile, and leans over and places a kiss on my forehead. I sit there in silence, still shocked by the question for another few minutes. 

“What time?” are the first two words I mutter after probably five minutes. 

“Around 7:30,” he says, and I look at the time. 

“Yeah I would like to go,” I say, looking at him. 

“Are you sure? I know there’s a lot of things running through your mind right now. You can say no. I’ll understand, and so will they,” he says, and I smile and scoot closer to him on the bench seat. 

“You know me so well. But yeah. I’m sure. It’s going to be amazing,” I tell him, and then press my lips to his. 

A few hours later I’m standing in front of the mirror in our hotel room. 

“I feel like this looks awful,” I say, running my hands over the dress I had put on for this dinner. 

“You look amazing. And honestly, I have a feeling that Taylor will be wearing something similar,” Harry says, holding my satellite stompers from the last show up in the air. 

“No, I feel like I should wear nice shoes,” I say, grabbing a pair of heels from the floor. 

“Okay. If you think you’ll be comfortable,” he says, and I nod. 

“I’ll be okay. It’s dinner. Mostly sitting anyway,” I say, and then sit on the edge of the bed to put them on. I slip them on, and then hold my foot out. “Will you buckle these?” I ask Harry, and he laughs, before kneeling on the floor and grabbing my foot. When he finishes buckling one shoe he drops my foot and taps my other leg, and I lift that foot towards him and he buckles that one as well. 

“Wow,” I say when I stand up a moment later. “I forgot that in these shoes I’m almost as tall as you.” He laughs and tugs me to him, pulling me in for a kiss. 

“Are you ready to go?” he asks when he releases me, and I laugh nervously. 

“Yep. Let’s go,” I say, the nerves coming through my voice. 

“How are you feeling?” he asks as we step into the elevator. 

“What do you mean?” “I mean, you’re nervous and I want to make sure you’re okay,” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into him. 

“I’m going to word vomit all my feelings on you, is that okay?” I say, looking up and into his eyes. 

“Luv, o’ course it’s okay,” he says, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead. “You’ve been doing it since I met you. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

“Okay that’s sweet and you’re amazing. Here is all of my thoughts and feelings,” I say, and then pause and take a deep breath. “Okay, so, I know that since I am with you it has become more common for me to meet celebrities and I should not be this nervous. I’ve just looked up to her for as long as I can remember,” I pause for another breath as we step out of the elevator and start walking through the lobby of the hotel. 

“I’ve listened to her music since I was 7. Her music is so important to me, and knowing I’m about to meet the person whose music I turn on anytime I need to feel comfort. And the work she does empowering women, and using her fame to help people understand who they’re voting for. Knowing that she also suffers from the fear of disappointing or upsetting people. She’s just so important to me and the idea of meeting her is so amazing and one of the few things I have wanted for so long, and yet I am so terrified. What if I word vomit at dinner?”

“Oh love,” he says, and stops walking,  pulling me fully into him, wrapping his arms completely around me. “She is going to love you. You don’t need to worry about being anything other than yourself. You’re amazing as is. I am so excited for you to meet her, because I believe that you two could be good friends.” He presses another quick kiss to my forehead, and then takes my hand, leading the two of us out of the hotel to the waiting car. “Plus,” he says as he shuts the door behind him when we’re both in the car. “Who cares if you word vomit? Literally no one. It’s so adorable.”

“I’m 100 percent sure you are the only person in the world who thinks my word vomit is adorable,” I tell him, leaning into him on the seat. He laughs and takes my hands in his, gently rubbing them as we drive towards the restaurant. 

“Hey, one thing I want to do for you before we go in, to help calm your nerves,” he says, and I close my eyes, knowing where he is going with this. “One thing you can taste.”

“The breath mint I popped in my mouth when we got in the car.”

“Two things you can smell.”

“Clean car and your cologne. You smell amazing by the way,” I say, keeping my eyes  closed but turning towards him with a smile. He laughs and presses a kiss to my forehead before continuing. 

“Three things you can hear.”

“You breathing, the other cars on the road, the quiet music that is playing.”

“Good job. Four things you can feel.”

“The mint melting in my mouth. Your hands rubbing mine. The press of your leg on mine. Um, my eyelashes fluttering on my cheeks.”

“Okay, good job. Last one honey, open your eyes,” he says, and I open them, blinking fast to clear them up. “Five things you can see,” he says, and I lean into him. 

“Your eyes. The inside of the car. The anchor on your arm. A car passing by. The necklace I gave you with a charm from my charm bracelet,” I say, and he pulls me in for a kiss as soon as I finish talking. 

“You did amazing. Do you feel a bit better?” he asks, and I nod.

“Thank you. I love you,” I say, and he leans back in for another kiss. 

“If it helps, I’m a little nervous too because I’m meeting my ex's new boyfriend, and having dinner with the two of them,” he says, and I just laugh and lay my head down on his chest. 

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

“Y/N, Harry said you were still in college. What are you studying?” Taylor asks about twenty minutes into our dinner. 

“Oh, um music education and theatre,” I say, smiling at her.

“That’s so awesome! Are you wanting to teach music or theatre more?” she asks, and I laugh.

“Well it depends on what grade levels. Um, I would love to teach high school or middle school theater or speech, but if I were to teach music I would prefer to teach the younger grades, like kindergarten through fifth grade,” I respond, and Harry reaches out and places his hand over mine on the table. 

“Whatever she winds up doing she will be amazing at though,” he says, and I laugh and shake my head. 

“He’s just saying that,” I say, and Taylor waves her hand. 

“No, I'm so sure you will do amazing,” she says, and I just shyly laugh in response. “Harry, are you working on anything new right now?” she asks, and I gently squeeze Harry’s hand and mouth a silent thank you to her.

“I have a few things in the works. Just enjoying the break right now though. I’m loving being able to be there for this one whenever she needs me,” he says, placing a gentle kiss in my hair. 

“I have to say, I am so glad to see you so happy,” she says to him, and I flush. Travis takes the momentary silence to stand up and head towards the restroom.

“It’s nice to see you happy too,” Harry says, and I watch as Taylor’s smile slips a bit. “I mean hiding out for six years because of a guy isn’t really you,” he says, and I kick my leg into his.

“He doesn’t mean any offense,” I say, giving her a small smile. 

“Oh, no it’s okay. I know he doesn’t. And he’s not really wrong. It wasn’t me, but I thought he was the one and I was hurting, so it seemed right at the time. But now…” she says, trailing off, looking in the direction Travis had gone. “Now I can see that it was all wrong,” she says, looking back at the two of us. 

“I’ve had that feeling before,” Harry says, squeezing my hand. I lean over and press a kiss on his cheek, trying to hide the blush on my cheeks. 

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

November 11th, 2023

“Hazza?” I call out towards the bathroom in our hotel room, and I hear him walk towards me before he pops his head around the corner. 

“Yes?” 

“I’m ready to give you your bracelets, come here,” I say, reaching out for him. He playfully groans and walks over to me. 

“How many of these are you putting on me?” he asks as I start to slip bracelets on his arms. 

“Umm, enough,” I mutter as I slip another one on. He groans again, and then starts playing with the hem of my dress with his free hand. 

“We look great,” he says, and I laugh. 

“Yeah we do. When do we need to leave again?” I ask him, putting the last bracelet on his arm and letting it go. 

“As soon as you are ready. The security will be waiting for us whenever we get there,” he says, and I turn to him. 

“I’m ready. I just need to grab my bag,” I say, and go past him to leave the bathroom. “Oh and I wanted to take a picture.” I grab my bag and my phone, and then pull Harry over to one of the mirrors. I position him in front of it to take a picture of his outfit, before handing him my phone and having him take a picture of me and my outfit. We take a picture together, and then I take his hand and lead him to the door. “Is the car ready for us?” I ask as we head into the hallway. He nods his head and together we walk to the elevator. 

“Are you nervous?” he asks as he holds my hand. “I can feel your hands shaking.”

“Yes and no. I'm buzzing with energy because I’m so excited, but I’m also nervous because I know there is some sort of surprise tonight but I don’t know what it is,” I tell him, and he nods. “Plus, she told us last night that Travis and her dad will be in the tent with us, and that made me even more nervous than I already was about the surprise tonight,” I tell him, and he laughs and shakes his head. 

“Nothing to be nervous about. Dinner last night was amazing. You two really hit it off. She even gave you her number. There is absolutely nothing to be nervous about. .” He pulls me into him as we exit the elevator, keeping our heads down, because the paparazzi had learned we were in town the night before, when they caught the four of us leaving dinner last night. 

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

“Hey Travis!” I exclaim as we get into the friends and family tent

“Hey guys!” he responds. “Your outfits are great!”

“Oh thanks! Harry’s stylist took my ideas and really made them into great outfits,” I tell him, and he chuckles. 

“Stylists are the best,” he says, making Harry and I also laugh. “Without them I’d probably walk into games dressed like… well, my brother,” he says with a laugh. 

“Hey, I’ve seen social media posts here and there, he has his own style,” I respond with a laugh. 

“His style is very dad-chic,” Scott pipes up, and all four of us crack up. “Hi, I’m Scott,” he says when we stop laughing, holding his hand out to me.

I take it and shake it saying, “Hi, I’m Y/N, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I heard you are a big fan,” he says, and I look down at my feet, feeling my face flush. 

“Yeah. Um, since I was like 7. This is so much better than I ever could have imagined. Not that I ever would have in my wildest dreams imagined this.” 

“I hear you. It was a shock for our entire family when she first started becoming famous. Everything felt crazy and out of a dream. Still does sometimes,” he says and Harry nods.

“Same here. It’s especially surreal when you fall in love with someone who isn’t famous and you get to experience everything through their eyes for the first time again,” Harry says, looking down at me and wrapping his arm around my waist. 

“I’ve never heard anyone explain it like that,” Travis says, and Harry laughs.

“I’m a songwriter. Coming up with new phrases is part of the job,” he says with a laugh, and everyone laughs right along with him. 

“Ooh I met Taylor last night, but do you think I’ll get to meet Sabrina Carpenter tonight? We’re the same age. Well, she’s a year older, but still the same age.”

“We all get to go backstage after the show,” Scott says, and I jump up and down for a few seconds, before realizing who I am and where I am and what I am doing. 

“Oh, sorry,” I mutter with a shy smile on my face, and the guys all laugh. 

“Sweetie, you’re just so adorable,” Scott says, and I smile and look out at the stage. I go and stand right at the edge as Sabrina Carpenter starts her set, fully turning all of my attention to the stage. Harry comes and stands right behind me, gently resting his hands on my waist as I start to sing along with the music.

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

“Babe this has been the best thing ever,” I whisper to Harry, standing on my tiptoes with my arms wrapped around his neck as we wait on the side with Travis and Scott during the last song. I feel him chuckle, before he takes my chin in his hand and guides my lips to his. I smile into the kiss, and pull away a lot sooner than either of us would have preferred, but we’re both aware that we have an audience. I turn back around in his arms, allowing him to wrap his around my waist again, and turn to look at the path Taylor will be walking down any moment. I look over at Travis who is waiting there with his hands behind his back and smile, tears welling up in my eyes. I watch as Taylor comes down the walkway, her pace turning into a sprint when she sees Travis, running right into his arms. 

“Aw that’s so sweet,” I whisper as they kiss, and then after they pull apart we follow them into the tented area where no one can see us anymore, security trailing after us. 

“So what did you think?” Taylor asks a few minutes later, after she’s drank almost an entire bottle of water and has managed to catch her breath. 

“Taylor, it was so amazing. Thank you so much for inviting us,” I tell her, and she pulls me in for a hug. 

“I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s such a rush being up there and performing every night. Something I’m sure Harry has told you about,” she says, glancing over at Harry. 

“Oh yeah. I’ve heard a lot about it. But seeing you do it was just so insane.” She smiles and then glances around the room, with an arm still wrapped around my shoulder. 

“Oh! I heard you wanted to meet Sabrina! She’s right over here, come with me,” she says, and begins tugging me towards a different area. She stops abruptly and turns back to Harry and Travis. “We’ll be right back,” she says, and they both laugh, and I do too. I allow her to tug me over to Sabrina, trying to control the shaking in my hands. “Sabrina!” she says when we get over there, and she turns to us.

“Hi Taylor! The show was amazing!” 

“Thanks! So was your opening! Your closer gets better every night,” Taylor says with a laugh, and Sabrina laughs too. “Anyway, this is Y/N! She’s here with Harry, she’s his girlfriend.”

“Hi! It’s nice to meet you!” Sabrina says, with a little wave.

“It’s nice to meet you too!” I say, waving back. “I’m a big fan. When Emails I Can’t Send came out I felt like some of the songs were taken right from my brain,” I say, and she nods with a smile on her face.

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it!” she says, and then looks over my shoulder towards where Harry and Travis are. “Wait. By Harry you meant Harry Styles?” she asks Taylor, a bit of shock in her voice. 

“Yeah. We reconnected at the Grammy’s a couple of years ago, and then again this year, and he was telling me about Y/N, and how she’s a huge fan, and about to graduate college with a music and theater education degree.  She was unable to get tickets because of ticketmaster, and I told him if there was a day where they could make it out for a show to just let me know and I would put them in the friends and family tent. This is the show they could make it to,” she explains, and Sabrina opens her mouth in shock, turning back to me.

“Okay, you have to tell me all about what it’s like to date Harry Styles. And how you guys met. And how college has been. I’ve always wondered what it was actually like and if it was like the movies and shows portray it. Actually, if you don’t have to leave right away, what if tomorrow you and I went out and got coffee?” she says, and I just kind of freeze. 

“Really?” I ask, my voice quieter than it had been.

“Yeah! You seem super cool and like you could be a good friend!” she says, and pulls me in for a hug. 

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

“That was the craziest weekend of my life,” I say to Harry as we step onto the plane a couple of days later. 

“Yeah?” he says, motioning for me to hand him my carry on, and then taking it from me and placing it on one of the extra seats on the plane.

“Yeah! Sabrina Carpenter invited me out for coffee, I met Taylor Swift and she joined us, and I got both of their numbers and we’re planning out the next time we can get together. I handed out so many friendship bracelets to people who were fans of you and of Taylor. I met so many of your fans. It was so insane.”

“I love you so much,” he says, sitting down next to me and wrapping his arms around me. “I’m glad we were able to pull this off. And that now we can take the week off and go to see my family,” he says, and I smile. 

“And my family is being flown out to meet us there. Sometimes, life feels like a dream,” I say, looking out the window. 

“A good one, right?” Harry says, and I turn back to him with a huge smile on my face.

“The best dream ever,” I tell him, and then lean forward and press my lips to his.

[rosewaterandivy]

stop making plans / start making sense

Summary: eddie finds himself smack dab in the middle of an ap english iv class, all because some do-gooders at Hawkins High happen to “believe in him” or whatever. the catch? it just so happens to be your ap english class.

A continuation of this blurb and the result of an ongoing eddie munson hc convo with @powderblueblood 💚

Warnings: eddie’s senior year 2.0, no Upside Down, scary smart debate team captain reader, NHS president and tutor nancy wheeler, ap music theory nerd and general nuisance robin buckley, pretentiousness alert - you have been warned!

W.C.: 1771

It’s his second time around as a senior, not even the first week of school under his belt when Mrs. Meloy calls him into her office. The counseling center, which he is unfortunately far too familiar with, is busy as it usually is at the beginning of the year— schedule changes, registration, students complaining about not getting late arrival or early dismissal. Before he can settle in one of the worn chairs by the door, a woman pops her outside of an office door. She glances around, blue eyes searching for someone or something, before landing on Eddie.

“Think the wall can hold itself up just fine Edward,” She calls as she opens the door to her office and waves him in.

He grouses at the use of his full name and rolls his eyes, languidly strolling into the smaller room that smells overwhelmingly of cinnamon.

“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.”

She’s turned around, fingers flicking through thick manilla files in the cabinet in front of her. A cup of coffee sits on her cluttered desk, cold, from the looks of it. Mrs. Meloy mutters under her breath before turning from the filing cabinet in annoyance.

“It’s only the first week of school,” Eddie points out, “I haven’t done anything.”

The yet between them goes unspoken.

The older woman merely raises a knowing brow and takes her seat opposite him. She sorts through a few loose papers on her desk before letting out a surprised huff, “Gotcha!” Flipping through the file, his file, Eddie supposes, her eyes scan over what is undoubtedly his lack of academic achievement.

Satisfied with her perusal, she sets the papers down on her desk and addresses him.

“Round two.” Mrs. Meloy begins, resignedly. “Hopefully the NHS tutoring placement will be to your benefit Mr. Munson. Miss Wheeler is an exemplary student and I have high hopes for you under her tutelage.”

She then runs through his current schedule, emphasizing the classes he needs to perform well in (mostly all of them, save for English and a few others).

“Which brings me to the reason for our meeting today,” she says with a smile. “It has not escaped my notice, nor that of Mrs. Seguin, that you are quite adept in English class. At least,” she qualifies with a pull of her lips, “When properly motivated.”

And yeah, okay, he was decidedly not trying all that hard in Mrs. S.’s senior English class last year and he breezed through with a respectable A minus.

Wayne even got a little choked up when he read that particular report card.

“I guess so,” he says with a cross of his arms.

“Rather than having you repeat the same content and curriculum this year, Mrs. Seguin and I have petitioned the principal for permission to move you into a more challenging and appropriate English class.”

Well, that perks him right up.

“Principal Higgins has agreed to the change, with a few stipulations.”

Of fucking course.

The gist of it is, Eddie’s admittance to the AP English IV class will be probationary for the first quarter, given his past exploits and record. If he can keep his grades at a respectable B across the board, Eddie will be permanently placed in Mrs. Seguin’s advanced class. If he can’t, it’s back to regular Senior English with that crone, Mrs. Cotter.

Easy peasy.

And he’s almost out the door when Meloy stops him with a furitive, “Eddie,” and pauses to look him in the eye. “We believe in you and we went to the mat with Higgins on this.” She says emphatically, standing up to escort him through the office, “You can do this, Eddie, we know you can.”

She smiles and sends him off with his newly revised schedule, the summer reading assignment, and information for Wayne to peruse about Advanced Placement courses.

The rest of that day unfolded as expected despite his new schedule. Slight differences were made, such as: Eddie sitting in the middle of the class instead of the back, hopefully next to Buckley or Wheeler if he could swing it.

With Nancy’s help, he was able to narrow the summer reading options down to books that would hold his interest. The librarian, Ms. Berkowitz, was more than happy to oblige him with checking out a copy of Notes from the Underground by some Russian dude whose name Eddie couldn’t possibly pronounce.

The bell for the final class of the day rang just as he slipped through Mrs. Seguin’s door.

“Timely as ever,” she teased and kicked the door stop into the classroom.

Her room was the same as last year, but the mood within was markedly different— more relaxed and at ease. Students sat where they pleased and chatted amongst themselves while Mrs. S. checked off the roll and fielded a few questions from the group.

Eddie settled in the only open seat right in between Nancy and yourself. He tried not to be offended that you didn’t even glance up from your furious scribbling on the page, seemingly writing a mile a minute, as if you couldn’t get the words out fast enough.

Ink smeared on the college ruled paper underneath your hand.

Eddie found it endearing.

“Okay, okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Mrs. S. set her clipboard on the desk and leaned against it with a casual grace.

She was one of the newer teachers to Hawkins High, from some big name school out west with not one, but two degrees framed on the wall behind her desk. She was young and quick to laugh; the older teachers were a bit weary of her and those “new agey” teaching philosophies, but the results produced were proof enough for her to granted the AP English III and IV courses for this year. According to Nancy, she’d only had AP juniors and regular seniors last year.

Eddie, being one of those regular students, would know.

“Alright, hopefully we’ve brought in our summer reading novels today. The goal is to break you all into thematic groups based on your selected text. From there, you will collaborate with your peers to create a presentation on your findings.”

With this, she steps away from her desk and begins writing on the chalkboard.

“Consider such things as character archetype, thematic resonance, literary merit, of course. But more importantly,” she says, turning to the class with a smile, “How did the story affect you? What new perspective or insights were gained? What concepts were reinforced? Did you despise the protagonist, or did you identify too closely with them?”

The class has fallen to a hush, you’ve stopped writing and are rapt with attention. Eddie, used to overworked teachers and coaches who could care less, is shocked.

“I remind you, as always, that there are no right or wrong answers in here. As long as you can support your interpretation—” She begins.

“With evidence from the text,” The class choruses in reply.

“Good, exactly.”

At that, students break away into smaller groups and begin talking in hushed tones about the project.

“Whatcha got there?”

This, from Robin, who unceremoniously plucks Eddie’s book from his grasp. She flips through it, eyes lighting in interest, just as Mrs. Seguin makes her way over.

“Eddie, always good to see you.”

“Right back at ya, Mrs. S.”

She smirks, eyeing Robin scanning through Dostoevsky. “Had a feeling you’d gravitate toward the nihilists. Got a chance to start reading yet?”

He swipes the book back from Robin and ignores her petulant pout.

“Uh, kinda. Started it during lunch today.”

She nods knowingly, “Well, I’m sure you’ll be caught up in no time.” Surveying the classroom she nods to herself, “And now that I think of it,” She turns back to Eddie, “Looks like you’re in the right group over here.”

He almost says there is no group over here, but then he notices Nancy and Robin chatting with you. Feeling his stare, you turn back from where you’ve set up shop on Robin’s desk and jerk your head, an invitation by any other name.

“C’mon Munson, we don’t have all day.” You say this softly, chidingly, with no real heat behind it. Your eyes narrow as a group gets particularly loud across the way, “Because I’m certainly not about to let Phillips show us up.”

“Oh, bite me!” Phillips crows from his desk.

“You wish, you cretin!”

Eddie does his best to hide the curl of his lips and stifle a laugh while Phillips sulks at his desk.

Robin thumbs through a worn copy of Nausea while Nancy talks Eddie through the plan thus far. She’s read The Death of Ivan Ilyich and come to the conclusion that the novels in the group are both deeply depressing and deal with themes of existentialism, and in some cases, nihilism.

“I dunno. Philosophy is all well and good, but,” you pipe up, “Mine had elements of magical realism and a satirical critique of Soviet Russia.”

Eddie attempts to process what you and Wheeler have just said. Sensing a lull in the conversation, you slyly pass your novel over to Eddie and start to take notes over whatever it is Nancy is rambling on about.

The Master and Margartia.

Huh, weird title.

He reads the blurb on the back cover and kind of regrets not choosing this one to read. Maybe you’ll let him borrow it after the project is over. Setting it back on your desk, Eddie peruses the syllabus Mrs. S. must’ve slipped him.

“So, will that work for you Eddie?”

Lost in a daze of genres and titles, he looks up. “Sorry, what was that?”

Nancy sighs, “We’re going to meet at my house on Thursday for a study group. I know you and Mike have that thing on Fridays, so.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks Wheeler; that’ll work.”

With a smile, she goes back to chatting with Robin.

“Psst.”

A neatly folded paper lands on his desk. Eddie glances at you, curious, taking in your arched brow and smirk.

Scary smart, he reminds himself as he unfurls the page.

I know Nance is your NHS tutor, but if you feel like you need to catch-up for this class, give me a call.

Your deft hand and neatly printed letters dance across the page, an errant smear of ink where the heel of your hand drug across the paper. The digits of your phone number underneath your missive make his heart race.

Annotating your copy of Dune without permission was one thing. And at that you didn’t even bat an eye, but this…

Well, this had potential.

He tries not to let the possibility of what if turn to ash in his mouth.

[fufuheheii]

Cyno Doesn’t Know What’s Wrong

WARNING: A bit NSFW towards the middle but nothing graphic. 

Cyno x GN! Reader 

A little note: I had some requests about making Tighnari and Scaramouche versions of Wooing You, and I’ll be working on those soon! It might take a while especially for Scaramouche since he is going to appear soon and I want to see how much he will change to be able to fit some sort of idea with him XD. So Tighnari’s will be first!

Cyno wasn’t sure what got you grumpy all of a sudden.

Actually, grumpy might not be the right word. You were mad about something and he wasn’t sure what.

It started when he invited you to Nilou’s dance show. You seemed to not be in the right mood that day.

Nilou had come over to talk to you both, and you were especially silent.

“Hopefully my dances were alright!” “Your dancing was quite nice, you looked like a happy lizard.” “...I’m not sure if that was a compliment.”

When Nilou left, Cyno was going to ask you if you were okay, but somehow you ninja’d your way out of the scene. How the hell did you even do that? He was the Mahamatra; no one escaped that easily.

After that he went looking for you, but you were actually nowhere to be seen. 

He asked around, and somehow he missed you by 0.1 second every single time. 

And then a few days went by and everyday he went to Gandarvha Ville, but apparently you filled your schedule up like crazy because you were in the forest everyday now.

“Tighnari I need you to fire Y/N.” “I think you mean you want to see them right?”

Cyno explained the situation to his friend. Tighnari listened intently as he was also worried about you. You never took up so many tasks before, and when he lectured you for hours about taking breaks, you told him to keep scolding you.

He immediately knew something was up, or you were a masochist.

Once Cyno was done explaining, Tighnari pieced together what he heard.

Now, Tighnari had his fair share of relationships (though they all ended pretty quickly since he prioritized work more than anything), so he had an idea of what might be going on.

The thing was, did he want to tell Cyno? Relationships are all about the process, just telling him might just feel like cheating the process. 

He’ll just give him some hints.

Strategy I: Leaving gifts

Cyno knew your likes and dislikes like the back of his hand. 

How could he call himself your partner if he didn’t even know what you’d like?

So he got everything you liked from the desert while arresting some of the scholars and researchers here and there. 

When he was in Sumeru City he got your favorite foods.

He went ‘shopping’ in Aaru Village, and met Candace along the way.

She smiled at the bags of goodies. “Wow, is it Y/N’s birthday?”

“No, they’re not feeling so good.” “Oh, no wonder there’s so many things! What did you get to cheer them up?”

He handed the bags to her proudly. “Only the finest things.”

Candace opened the bags, looked at the contents, and handed Cyno back the bags.

She then walked away silently.

When Cyno arrived at Gandharva Ville, he was excited to show Tighnari what he got for you.

“Wow! That’s a lot of stuff!” Tighnari smiled as he opened one of the bags. “They’ll really like it-”

The bag he opened was filled with dead scarab beetles.

He looked at the other bags with dread. 

Bird eggs, pieces of raw meat from unknown animals, half of a cacti…is that a bag full of sand?

“All grown and produced in the desert like Y/N wanted,” Cyno chuckled while rubbing his nose before taking out another bag that smelled greatly like mold. “And here’s their favorite coconut charcoal cake. I bought this a week ago but it should still be fine.”

“Alright, in order to keep my rangers alive I have to confiscate all of this.” “Haha I think so too…wait what?”

Strategy II: Writing a Letter

“You can’t go wrong with a letter,” Tighnari handed over a draft. “Here, I wrote a sample of what you should write to Y/N.”

Cyno read over it before looking up. “This looks good, but why is it my fault they’re angry?”

Tighnari sighed. “Did you not think it over like I told you to?”

“I did, but I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“Think harder!” Cyno closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could.

Everything started when you went to Nilou’s show. You were happy before until he asked you to go. Then you were angry. Didn’t talk much when Nilou came over…wait, could it be?

Was it because you didn’t eat lunch that day?

“No I’m pretty sure whatever you’re thinking about isn’t the right answer,” Tighnari sighed.

“They’re jealous,” Cyno blinked before swallowing nervously.

You? Jealous of what?

“Nilou, they’re jealous of Nilou,” Cyno gaped at the boy. “It doesn’t make sense they weren’t happy on that specific day, Cyno. And you complimented her too.”

You never striked as a jealous person to him. Heck you shipped him with all kinds of people before you two started dating. But now you guys are dating. Could it be that he was insensitive?

“-and honestly I never heard you compliment Y/N before,” the fennec boy continued. At this Cyno snorted. “I give them compliments all the time!”

“You mean that time you said they were as cute as a fluffy Sumpter Beast? Or that time you said they were sexy like a cacti in the desert? How did you even come up with that?”

“Cactuses are deadly but the water in them is everyone’s desire,’”Cyno argued, but now he thought it was stupid too.

 Tighnari sighed. “You must have said something normal to make them react like that.”

“Yeah, I did compare her to a lizard. I guess it is a lot better than being called a desert plant.” “...what?”

So Cyno went on to write his letter. He forcefully stayed in Tighnari’s room just writing up the letter with all his feelings. He wanted you to know how he felt, how he really knew you were his soulmate.

By the time it was morning, he had written over 27 pages.

‘Right, scholars’ habits of writing essays,’ Tighnari thought as he smiled at the pile. “Y/N’s definitely not going to read all that, but they’ll be happy at least.’

Cyno brought it to your door, and put it down with a padisarah flower on top.

When he came by to check on it again, it was already gone.

Strategy III: Confrontation

It was now the fifth day since he last saw you. He was getting super desperate now.

He thought the letter would reach you, but you still didn’t come find him.

So he went to find you again.

Tighnari gave him your schedule and he went into the forest to search for his beloved. 

‘I gave them enough space right?’ Cyno thought as he got to the area where you were supposed to be. ‘Or is it too soon? It’s probably too soon.’

Just as he finished thinking he stopped at the small waterfall.

You were supposed to be here. He hid in the trees as he peered around.

Finally, he saw you.

You, the naked you.

Why were you naked?

Cyno choked when you appeared washing yourself at the waterfall, your naked body in full glory under the sun. 

You heard his choked gasp and turned to his direction.

And there you saw him, standing in shock with blood dripping down his nose.

“Cyno?” “Y-Y-Y/N?”

Cyno looked won at the schedule Tighnari gave him, the red circle around the one time that said: ‘shower-DO NOT GO THERE’.

“I-I’M SORRY FOR ALL I’VE DONE,” Cyno shouted in desperation, not knowing what to do. “PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I LOVE YOU!”

“Y/N!” A few rangers appeared. “Oh my gosh the Mahamatra is peeping on Y/N!”

Nabil was shocked when an arrest notice on the general came.

Strategy IV: Y/N

You finally gathered the courage to go find your man. 

Truth to be told you missed him a lot, and honestly after reading his letters you knew the misunderstandings had increased.

You were in fact, not jealous about anything. 

What really happened was…well, you were going to tell Cyno about that.

So you went to find him in the one place you knew where he would be.

You finally arrived at Caravan Ribat, where you saw Cyno and a man sitting at a table with their decks out.

“Wow this is your tenth loss Cyno, what happened?” “I left my best cards with the love of my life.”

“Hey Cyno,” you chirp, and the boy flinched so hard his knee hit the bottom of the table.

“Y/N!” He got up immediately and hugged you. The man took the cue to leave the scene.

“Did you get my letters?” “Yes, I did. I’m actually here about it.”

Cyno urged you to sit on the bench and he sat next to you while holding both of your hands.

He bit his lip as you lowered your eyes with so much guilt, and he was already thinking of all the possible things you could say.

Do you forgive him? Did you already find someone else? As long as you’re happy he’s happy, unless it’s Al-Haitham you fell for. 

“Cyno I-,” you started to say before Cyno leaned forward and pressed his lips against yours. He savored your sweet soft lips, the way you sigh into his warmth. He missed this so much that he would turn the world upside down just for you. 

He moved back just slightly, leaning his forehead against yours as he stared with half-lidded eyes at your now red lips before meeting your eyes again.

You both were blushing like mad, and the erumites around you were silently swearing at you two for the public display of affection.

“I invited you to Nilou’s dance because you said you liked to watch her dance,” Cyno explained as softly as he could, not wanting to ruin the moment. 

“I know,” you nodded. “You told me that in the letter. And yes, I’m here about that. Cyno, I have something to say.”

“Okay,” the boy gulped as he closed his eyes, bracing at your response.

“Don’t get angry.” “Okay.” “Don’t kill me.” “I would never hurt you.”

“I may have uh…lost your cards.”

“Don’t worry about it-wait, what did you say?” 

Cyno pulled back immediately, his face turning into pure shock. “You lost my limited edition cards?”

You nod slowly as you gripped your bag. “I realized I lost it the day you invited me out…I didn’t know how to tell you and I was trying to find a way to buy a new set of cards…”

You reached into your bag and pulled out freshly bought cards. “Only two of them are special cards, but I know they can’t replace your limited editions. I’m sorry Cyno, I got careless. They must have cost you a fortune. I’ll pay you back, just give me some time!”

Cyno stared at the cards before letting out a snort followed by a small laugh. “Y/N I’m not angry. These are just cards.”

Now it was your turn to be surprised. “But you treasured them!”

“And I treasure you more,” Cyno held your chin gently before leaning forward again and pecking you on the forehead. He smiled. “You mean more to me than anything, my sweet cacti.”

You smile back and Cyno helps you up from the bench.

“Now let's go get some food,” Cyno said- before he passed out with foam coming out of his mouth.

“Cyno!” You screamed in horror as the boy twitched on the ground.

“...You mean more to me than cards…,” he muttered while foaming. “My…limited edition…”

Yep, it was going to take a while to recover from this.

[moljh]

Starts With A Pen

Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: Steve Harrington likes to flirt with you during class but is definitely not prepared for what you have to say one day.

Fluff, flirting, vague mentions of sex

Unedited - quick idea put together

You had an extra long history class to end the day every Monday, which was just a cruel way to start the school week. Most of your classmates were already exhausted and weren't even thinking about class at this point in the day.

You were trying your best to focus on the monotone drawl of Mr Higgins at the front of the class but you felt you mind drifting. He was talking about some sort of ancient civilisation when the door to the classroom swung open.

It was no surprise who waltzed into the class, late as usual, the king himself. Steve Harrington merely nodded at your teacher, no questions or excuses were exchanged, he was far above that, exempt from regular treatment.

In the short few steps he took to reach his own seat, you could've sworn every girl in the class had awoken from a daze at the mere presence of the boy. Their wandering eyes, watched him at he wove between the desks and unfortunately took his assigned seat beside you.

You couldn't lie, Steve Harrington was an attractive person, he had a certain typical beauty about him. Though any romantic feelings you had towards him were eradicated the moment he opened his mouth.

Flopping down into the seat beside you, he didn't even bother to take out a notebook, just leant back in the chair and stared at the ceilings. You however, despite the enticement of distraction, had to try and at least take notes, as you were afforded the luxury of falling back on a parents money after graduation. You had goals of collage and hopefully a good one, the further from Hawkins the better.

As time seemed the slowly tick by, the room fell back into its usual atmosphere. Heads fell back onto desks, people resumed whispered conversations and Mr Higgins continued the lesson, seemingly not by those not paying attention; as he too was looking forward to the final bell.

You were mindlessly scribbling down notes when your left arm was poked "Hey"

Turning towards the offender, you shot a look of dismissal at the boy sitting next to you

But once again he poked you "Hey"

"What?" you quickly replied, tone laced with a bit more anger than you meant

"Do you have a pen?"

"Yes"

"Well can I borrow it?"

"You don't even have a book with you"

"Who said I was writing in a book"

Rolling your eyes, you bent down and grabbed your spare pen and handed it to him.

"Thanks" he said

You tried to not take any notice of him, as he doodled on the corner of his side of the desk. Finally the bell sounded and everyone practically leapt up from their seats and fled the room. Packing up your things you realised Harrington had already left, but smiled when you saw the pen placed in the centre of the desk. You were honestly surprised he hadn't just taken it.

Just as luck would have it, you had the exact same class on a Friday afternoon, which was possibly more torturous than the Monday. This time souls were withering and the will to live was slim. It was the final class of the last day of the week and it seemed to go on for longer than anything in human history. Well you may have exaggerated slightly, but it couldn't have been a worst timetable schedule.

Once again, approximately 10 minutes into the lesson, Steve Harrington arrived; late and without an excuse. Again he wandered into the classroom and flopped down next to you.

"Can I borrow a pen?" he asked you once more

"Fine" was all you bothered to say, knowing he'd at least leave it

The class proceeded as normal for a while longer until Harrington once again caught your attention.

"You coming to my party tonight?" he asked you

"I don't know, depends if I can get a lift" you replied honestly, not taking your eyes away from the blackboard up front

"Well you betta, can't have a pretty girl sitting at home by herself all night"

You just chuckled at his comment and tried to focus on you notes.

"What a guy can't pay a gorgeous girl a compliment?" he asked, seemingly confused by your reaction

"Not when it's coming from someone who's used that line about a million times"

He seemed to not know how to reply to that and the conversation ended.

This routine continued for a while. Harrington would arrive to class late, borrow your pen for some reason and hopelessly attempt to flirt with you the entire time.

It was approaching exam week and this particular lesson regarding what to expect during the assessment was quite important to you. However, as usual Steve Harrington wasn't allowing you to focus.

He had progressed to drawing small images on the corner of your pages and whispering in your ear to get your attention. Usually you didn't that much, your quick remarks came easily, but today you needed to pay attention.

"You know if you just gave me a chance I'd make it worth your while" Steve whispered

Turning towards the grinning boy, you were fed up with him more than usual in that moment. Leaning in closely, you brought your lips so close you could feel them brushing against his ear.

"Unless you're going to bend me over this desk right this second and fuck me in front of everyone until I can't walk, I'd appreciate if you would shut the fuck up and let me concentrate"

You'd honestly never seen someone so awestruck. Steve just sat in front of you frozen, mouth agape. Happy with your message, you turned back and followed the lesson until the bell sounded.

Grateful it was the weekend you gathered your things and went to close you notebook when you save something scribbled down at the bottom of the page. Looking closer you smirked at what was written.

'Good thing I have a desk at home too'

[youkaiyume]

So had my consultation with the Oncologist today. (That's a doctor specializing in cancer btw) And it was a lot and also not a lot of information. But also, I finally saw the imaging of my bffs the ovarian cysts. Gross medical things under the cut:

HOLY SHIT I know the left one was huge but apparently both my right and left ovaries are sporting cysts larger than grapefruits each. They're literally shoving all of my organs out of the way what space is there for anything else down there???? And I have a small pelvis, no wide child bearing hips on this gal. The doctor said they are probably dermoid cyst which can have all sorts of things floating in there in addition to fluid like... hair and skin--and she said they detected calcium so I possibly have TEETH in there??? TEETH.

She also said that the cancer markers were high. like really high. Like normal is 30 and my readings were 3600--100x more than normal. She still said that she doesn't think it's cancer because nothing else internally looks like it's affected and there have been one other case who was like, in the 7000 marker that turned out to be nothing. But Also it could mean if it was some type of cancer that it was in the early stages. HOW FUN.

They won't know for sure though until they test the cysts themselves and that can't happen until they surgically remove them. After making sure I don't want children she says that they'll still try to leave me some ovary... nubbins? Nubs of ovaries. just enough to still produce estrogen because they don't want to force early menopause by taking out both of my ovaries cuz apparently that causes a bunch of other health issues I'm too young for. But also if worst comes to worst and it IS cancer they might have to just take all the girl bits out. The ovaries, a hysterectomy. The works. Which is fine I don't ever plan to have children and if I did I wanted to adopt anyway. Again, can't know until they test my GRAPEFRUIT CYSTS.

I have yet to hear back from the scheduling lady for a confirmed surgery date but hopefully it will be two weeks from now. They did warn me that hopefully they can just peel the cysts off and they will do their best to make sure none of it is left but there is an unlikely event that the cyst could burst mid surgery. Which they said they'll try to clean up if that happens but if it does I might have to be hospitalized again just so they can flush all the...cyst juice out. But ALSO because it is potentially cancerous and they don't know we really don't want that to happen cuz you know. the cancer could spread. And ALSO hopefully in the time that I am waiting for surgery we also hope that the cysts don't burst.

I'm totally not an anxiety puddle HAHAHA. I'm staying optimistic but it's still a big waiting game of I don't really know and I won't know for weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

[petite-gloom]

On your ‘I think April of 2022 Megan had it cracked’ post, are you thinking of the avec system then? Or trying to keep the cousin? I’m just curious! I know when you where in the avec you had trouble cause when you’d turn the page you’d forget to move the tasks over (which was my main problem too when I was only doing 1 day 1 page bujo) so I’m just curious what your thoughts are in this! (Also I am NOT one of those anons who cares about your notebook ‘consumption’. Buy however many notebooks you want, find what brings you joy!❤️)

yeah! so here’s my thinking. i don’t use the weekly pages in the cousin anymore because i don’t find the columns good for to-do lists, and any other journal type notes i already have on the daily pages. i keep my sleep log in the calendar, so when im doing my daily updates, i fill the daily page and the calendar bits and then i flip to the weekly section and im like 😐 you.

i’ve been looking for the perfect “companion” book for my cousin as a portable place to keep my weekly to-do list, but am struggling a bit because the weeks feels like a poor fit, the TN passport feels too small/awkward to write in, i don’t really want to go back to field notes, etc.

i was cleaning yesterday and sorting through my old hobonichi boxes and realised that the a6 avec system that i had in early 2022 could be the solution? daily entries and notes in the dated pages, sleep log in the calendar, no weekly section to worry about now that i no longer need it. im looking at the ‘days free’ as my second book- an extra set of calendar pages for appointments/events/scheduling, blank pages for weekly running to-do lists, lots of room for commonplacing and extra notes (with pre-drawn margins and page numbers, too).

in the video i made in 2022 i was saying that i was having trouble maintaining the two books equally, but after working in a5 for a long while and refining my commonplace practice i don’t think that would be an issue anymore. so im like. huh. maybe past megan had it all worked out and i just wasn’t ready for it yet. but now it kind of seems like it might solve everything? using the avec system also means i don’t have to worry too much about bulking, and i get that archive/fresh start feeling midway through the year, while still having a complete set at the end.

idk i might test it for november and see. i’ll probably rehome my 2024 weeks and maybe the TN passport booklets because neither really feel like the right fit for my needs, disappointingly. then by december i can probably work out if the 2-book a6 system is working as imagined or if i should just stick with the cousin (probably without a companion book). i wish i had been able to work it all out without so much experimentation and so many purchases but unfortunately i’ve always been someone who learns best with hands-on practice so maybe there was no other way 🫠 ig it all led to the knowledge i have now, the refinement of my practice, the clarity of what i really, truly need from my notebooks, etc. so idk. but that’s where i’m at with it

either way hopefully whatever i go with at the end of december will be it. whether it’s the cousin or the a6 pair, i’ll have settled. and that’s a nice feeling

[inkblot-inc]

Rough Cut Diamonds

Summary: Wanda Maximoff; one of the biggest names in designer and fashion jewelry, has to stoop down to a level she probably would never have gone herself as she stops by a metal shop to hopefully get a gift done for a friend. While there, she meets R, a metalworker with exceptional skill that might just earn Wanda's respect…and something else.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

[Everything else in the RCD Universe]

Warning(s): There’s smut so 18+ ONLY aka MINORS DNI, oral sex (Wanda recieving), strap-on use (r giving), other than that what else?... I mean there’s most likely language in there, but coming from me you shouldn’t be surprised if there is-

Note(s): So like, Jeweler!Wanda only makes sense to me when thinking of occupations, that paired with a Metalworker!Reader could make for an interesting dynamic. That’s really all it took for me to write this thing, so here's a Pilot. There’s actually a few other characters mentioned here. Maybe I’ll write more for this AU of sorts, but anyways, hope you enjoy :3

Word Count: A good bit past 4.2k

*squints* I give NO ONE permission to repost or translate my work. Make your own shit

Wanda Maximoff, CEO of Maximoff Jewelers. One of the biggest names in designer and fashion jewelry.

Maximoff would be one of the first names said by the everyday person, mentioned among Gumuchian and David Yurman. Your Cartier’s and Bulgari’s, if you will. A staggering feat for what started as a home company based in New York.

While Wanda Maximoff herself is known for her solid presence and upper echelon beauty, her trademark look is her hands: always adorned with her own rings. A mix of her “rookie creations” and her favorite pieces from her line releases.

In our interview with Wanda Maximoff for the March Editor's Choice Article, Maximoff readily said that she has worked to master her craft and artistry for just over a decade, and that her work thrives off of her ambition. Her own distinct engravings and designs are handcrafted with custom soldering tools and specially imported metals from all over.

Maximoff jewelry designs are a rather alluring mix of gothic academia with usage of stones reminiscent of the Renaissance era. There's no need to wonder why Maximoff Jewelers is one of the most lucrative brands in our time-

"And why every person from fashion forward sons to best friends with shockingly good taste want a sneak peak at the Redeemer line set to release before the end of the year!"

Wanda snatched the magazine from her friend's hands. "Enough already, I've got enough of that from Monica." She took a sip from her freshly brewed coffee while she looked through her work notes. There was an upcoming sponsor deal to hash out and get meetings settled in for the following week. And today was simply a maintenance day squeezed into her usual work week.

Kate looked up in the middle of getting her own bag together for work. “Are we still on for lunch this afternoon?” 

Wanda grabbed her thermos of coffee as she thought over her schedule. “Mm, I should be free around two o’clock-ish. It really depends on how the timing shakes out.”

Wanda only heard the brunette give a small hum at her answer as she followed her out of the apartment. “You kept the first week of April free though, right?”

The two women left Kate’s apartment to make their way to the elevator, Wanda reaching said elevator first. “I didn’t forget about your birthday, Kate. You’ve made it impossible for me to, anyway.”

Kate got in after Wanda held the elevator door open for her. “I’m just saying, I’ve seen nary a suspicious anonymous online purchase or shifty bag movement. There was nothing I liked in your trunk either.”

Wanda merely raised a brow as she listened to the brunette ramble on. “Well, aside from breaking into my vehicle, I guess you’re not as good at being nosy as you think you are,”

Kate let out a fake gasp, both of them stepping out after reaching the ground floor. “How dare! I’m going to find out one way or another, Wands. You will not be immune!”

Wanda stopped once they reached the lobby to root through her bag for her car keys. “Mhm, gotcha. Are you done?”

“Eh, enough. Have a good day at work!” Kate burst out of the front doors to the apartment building as she walked the opposite way to her job.

Wanda briefly chuckled to herself as she reached her car. Getting in, she started it up and set her bag in the passenger seat.

She took a moment before she reached for the glove box. Behind important envelopes and documents inside was a nondescript tote bag. More documents and such were inside, but laying at the bottom (presumably due to its weight) was the broken hilt of a sword.

“Thankfully you weren't nosy enough, Bishop.”

—---------

You run a workshop just off the strip not too far from Wanda’s penthouse apartment.

You do a bit of everything, all it takes is an idea or commission really. You’ve made ornaments, sculptures, some abstract work, zippo lighters, and even a few weapons…for display of course.

You’ve been doing metalwork for as long as you can remember, even started working in highschool. Your mentor Logan is a bit of a hard ass, but his biggest rule is to make quality shit because “Your work is an extension of you”. He also said to keep protection on you in and out of the workshop.

A wise man indeed…

It was late in the afternoon with only about an hour and a half till closing. You spent most of the day doing independent projects that you would wind up selling online later on. With Cable out of the shop, you currently took to manning the Maker’s Damned aux cord when you heard the bell above the entrance door jingle…

Wanda remembered there was a metal shop around her place somewhere before coming across “The Maker’s Damned”. Walking into the shop she almost felt itchy. She was hit with the immediate temperature difference, accompanied with the telltale citrus scent of cleaning fluid. Wanda hadn’t been in a shop like this probably since she was just a teenager back home in Sokovia. Danko’s shop wasn’t much smaller in comparison to this though.

While Wanda could see the wear and tear of the place, it still managed to feel homey in a way that she couldn’t really turn her nose up at it.

“Something I can help you with, miss?”

Turning toward the sudden voice Wanda met eyes with you. She was then reminded why she was here in the first place with the weight of a broken sword in the bag she brought.

Clearing her throat, Wanda opened the bag for you to see. “I wanted to see if I could get this piece fixed for a friend.”

You quirked an eyebrow at the item in the bag. “A sword?”

Wanda opened the bag wider for you to see. “Yes, it’s supposed to be a replica of the Ronin sword,”

“I love those movies!” Your eyes lit up in recognition of the design, except the blade was broken inside the sheath.

Wanda’s eyes held a bit of mirth as she looked at you, “Of course you do.” 

You almost reach your hands out to take a closer look, “May I?”

Wanda nodded, holding the bag open as you grabbed the pieces. You noticed all the rings on her hands as a few of them caught the light.

You listened as Wanda told you about her good friend Kate’s birthday that was coming up and the girl had been complaining about how her dog Lucky knocked over her “baby” and needed to get it fixed.

Now, why exactly Kate insisted on having a sword as a centerpiece in her apartment is something Wanda didn’t even want to begin questioning, but here she was…

Assessing the damage, you look up at the well-dressed woman. “I can work with this if you feel like, miss…”

“Wanda. Just Wanda is fine…Skitch?”

You chuckle as you see her squint trying to read your name patch. “Yeah, it’s Y/n. It’s Skitch in the shop. If you’ll follow me, I can start looking at the sword at my station."

It wasn’t that you didn’t know who Wanda was, it’s just a matter of being professional.

Both of you made your way toward the back of the workshop, passing other metalworkers busy with their own projects.

“It is an active environment and most of these guys are messy, so just make sure you watch where you step.”

The Maker’s Damned is definitely different from her own workspace. The idle chatter mixed with classics playing on the stereo made the atmosphere casual, light. There were more divots and uneven grooves in the epoxy floors than Wanda was used to, but it wasn’t cumbersome.

Both of you reach your labeled workstation. It’s relatively tidy and you shuffle away some scattered blueprints to make room for the sword on the table before sitting down in your desk chair.

“Normally I’d have you see Nathan to get a price estimate for the job, but he’s gone out for parts, so you get my eval,” You look back and meet Wanda’s eyes for a good second.

‘God she’s pretty. Shut up, you gotta focus.’

As you get to examining the replica, Wanda looks you up and down. The sleeves of your welding shacket rolled up to the elbows, fitting snug around your biceps as you manage to free the broken blade from the sheath in one piece and set it next to the hilt.

Her eyes dart back up when you turn to face her. “How much did your friend pay for this initially?”

Wanda shrugged, “Something like six thousand dollars or so. It’s an authentic replica,”

You purse your lips as you eyed the hilt. “They got skimmed on that authentic bit,” You gave a firm shake to the hilt and showed her the thin piece of metal that fell out. “That’s a push tang.”

You watched her brows furrow. “Is there something wrong with it or? -”

“There shouldn’t be one at all. Ronin's sword was made to be retractable. There’s not a single rotation mechanism or spring mechanic in this thing.”

Though Wanda was amused, she scoffed, “Well I’m sure she knew that when she bought it. Retractable swords don’t actually exist.”

You tossed your head back and forth a bit before settling on a smirk. “Challenge accepted.”

Wanda gave a smile of her own as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You realize that you’re making more work for yourself. You could just repair it as it was.”

It was a test of some sort you realize, but you respond honestly, “I’ve got no problem with that. If I succeed, I guess I’ll just be the first. Plus, I’m a Ronin fan.”

You shrug as you spin your chair to fully face Wanda, the view tilting your head up at her as Wanda comes a bit closer. “And what about the price?”

You give yourself a second to try and think as you feel the cool metal of the jewelry on her hands meeting your shoulder and resting there. “Well, the original price was fifteen hundred. Considering that the material’s all here and with the quality of the piece I'm working with, I'm simply not gonna reforge this... It’s supposed to be a gift you said? I’m sure we can work a discount out with that.” You eye the hand on your shoulder as she gave it a brief squeeze before it returned to her side.

You’d both talked it over from there as you told Wanda that you should have the sword ready to go by the end of the week, it only being Tuesday, the idea for improvements already whirring around.

There was a noticeable tension by the time she left your workshop, a subtle sway in her hips and your personal number between her fingers on the card you gave her. You’d be seeing her in three days, so it was time to get to work.

-----

It was a busy week for Wanda at the manufacturing building, but production is still moving smoothly in preparation for the upcoming release of her Redeemer Collection in a few weeks' time.

As Wanda drove down the busy streets, she couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy. Today she’d come in to pick up and pay for the Ronin replica and see you again. She hadn’t used the number you gave her, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t think about it…Or you. Quite the opposite actually.

Kate noticed the difference in her mood when they met up again after she left her building for the day. As the next head of a security company, Kate picked up on just about everything that wasn’t related to herself. After a good bit of pestering, Wanda eventually admitted that she’d run into someone that she’d taken a liking to a few days ago. The jeweler left out a lot of the details of how the two of you met, only that she’d chatted with someone while at work. Any more and Kate would get too curious for her own good.

Wanda parked curbside and took her heels off to change into a pair of flats that she kept inside before getting out. It was clear and sunny, great weather for the weekend. She put on her sunglasses as she made her way down the strip, looking upward to catch the workshop sign.

Making her way inside, Wanda was more relaxed than last time as she was greeted with the sound of Foo Fighters and the continuous clang of metal. She found you easily.

You’d foregone the longsleeve for a gray wife beater, inked arms on display with a visible sheen. Wanda observed you for a bit as you were in a conversation with an older man dressed similarly. Practically feeling eyes on you, your head turned to meet Wanda’s stare, a quick smile forming at seeing her.

You excused yourself as you made your way over to Wanda, taking her in as well.

“Miss Maximoff, ‘afternoon.”

Wanda gave a quick laugh through her nose, “Please I just spent the last few hours being called ‘miss Maximoff’, no more for the day.”

“Alright I’ll drop it. Just wanted to be courteous.” There’s a playful smirk on your face as you watch her move her sunglasses up onto her head.

You catch your tongue between your teeth for a second before nodding toward the back. “Come on, I’ll show you the blade then.”

The two of you took the familiar path to the back before going past all the workstations. Idle chatter in between, a few stolen glances here and there. You used your key to unlock the door to your back office, holding the door open to let her pass through first.

You just went through yourself when you hear a voice boom from not too far away. “Remember what I said Skitch! I don’t need Hank on my ass ‘bout noise, you hear?!”

You could feel a bit of heat bloom on your cheeks, “Yuh huh Boss! I better not hear shit when Jean comes to drop off your lunch either!”

You only heard his gruff laugh in response before closing the door in place. “And for what, man?” mumbling to yourself, you made your way over to the closet with all your finished projects, checking the different labels for the sword. Peeking out, you saw Wanda looking around your office. There were custom designs and blueprints hung up, A few pictures of you with some of the other faces Wanda can recall seeing around the shop. Now that she was paying attention, it was also cleaner than she expected for a metal junky, the smell of cutting fluid and cleanser was noticeably lighter.

“Here it is,” You pulled what was the handle of the ronin sword out to display.

Wanda came a bit closer with her arms crossed. “And this blade is supposed to…pop out, and pop back in?”

She’s seen Ronin before, how could she not? One of her closest friends is the star of the franchise. But it was made with fictional tech in a world of fiction. By all accounts, a real retractable sword is impossible…

Or it was anyway.

Wanda watched as you took a step back before pressing a button you must have installed on the handle’ side. Next thing Wanda knew, there was a blade in the place of the empty space occupying the hilt.

You playfully bounced your eyebrows as you looked at the blade, it held up extremely well. You grabbed a blank piece of scrap paper and held it out and upward before running the edge of the blade across it, easily slicing through it with no effort. A testament to how well the sword was sharpened.

With another press of the button, the blade hid itself away back in the Habaki with no fuss. The last few sleep-deficient nights had been worth it.

You had a wide grin as you looked to Wanda, who looked every bit as impressed as you felt with yourself. “Now that’s what I like to see huh!”

Wanda conceded a mini round of applause as she went to lean on the edge of your desk. She watched you test it a few more times with some practice swings. “I stand corrected. I have to say I’m vastly impressed Y/n,” She kept a small smile on her face as you continued to admire your handiwork before carefully setting the hidden blade in a custom case. You explained how the sheath was virtually useless now that the blade could retract itself and how you repurposed the material to make a case for the blade instead.

You walked over and presented the sturdy sword case to her on your office desk. “Making the impossible possible baby,”

Your eyes met once again, and you catch Wanda’s eyes dart down without care for getting caught.

“So how much do I owe you?”

You both could feel that same growing tension in spite of the honest avenue of conversation.

“I’d say a thousand even.”

Wanda was taken aback, “That’s more than generous of you Y/n. I don’t mind paying full price; you basically remade the entire sword. It’s probably even worth more than the original six thousand now,”

While moving to gather up the bag the sword came in, you looked over to Wanda flashing a quick smile. “Nah it’s fine, really. This is still classified as a simple repair job after all, plus it was a good challenge. I may wanna get paid but that’s what paychecks are for right? Consider it…Special commission. Respects for another Ronin fan, a favor for a beautiful woman even.”

Placing the sword off to the side, Wanda ran her hands down your arm and over your bicep.

Looking up at you, Wanda’s eyes were a much darker, almost velvet green. “I’m sure we can make that work.”

She brought you closer and your lips crashed together in a kiss that was pent up and hungry, first being a clashing of tongue and teeth before your making out boiled down to something more sensual, like a low rumbling fire and tossing coals. You rested your hands on either side of Wanda on the desk, enclosing her between your arms. Separating briefly to look at you, her pupils were blown out and you wouldn’t doubt that yours were as well.

As you both continued to make out with the addition of wandering hands, you felt Wanda grip the top of your waistband before running her hand over the bulge in your work pants.

“Mm, I want to say this is pretty presumptuous of you,” there was a small upturn to Wanda’s lips as she raised a brow at you.

You merely cocked your head to the side as you appeared to give it thought. “Presumptuous? Maybe. I like the word ‘Prepared’ better. And I always am,”

Leaning forward, you captured Wanda’s lips again before moving to kiss across her jaw to her neck right by her pulse point. "I'd say you're presumptuous though," You bring your hand up and push a hand under the fabric of her top, simply caressing the skin.

"Lookin' this good at the end of the day, what're you doin'? Feels like you're teasin' me almost,"

With your other hand fiddling with the buttons of Wanda’s blouse, you laid light kisses on her newly exposed shoulder and collar bone. You continue, sliding the fabric off to pool around her waist.

"Do you think so?"

Wanda’s breath hitched as her hand kept a hold of the back of your neck as you continued your ministrations and moved lower, becoming preoccupied with her breasts as you licked and sucked. The seemingly constant contrast of her warm skin and cool rings sent you into a bit of a stir as she urged you lower.

Pulling you away from her chest, you looked up to meet her eyes.

“You know that’s not where I need you.”

The blunt statement had you welcoming the pressure pushing you down to your knees, becoming eye level with Wanda’s thighs.

Because you did know where she needed you.

Where she wanted you.

Pulling down her jeans, you left a few kisses along her hip bone as you pulled down her underwear.

You almost feel your mouth begin to water at the sight of Wanda’s exposed pussy. Quickly running your tongue over your bottom lip, you lower your head to lick a stripe over her entrance before lightly sucking her clit into your mouth.

"Right there, baby. Mhm,"

Wanda’s hips buck and spasm into your face as she takes as much pleasure you’re willing to give. Her moans and whimpers are a welcome compliment as one of her hands keeps hold of the back of your head.

You bring a finger up to slide into Wanda, keeping a quick rhythm as you double your efforts on her clit. You feel Wanda's fingers clench in your hair.

"Oh- fuck,"

When Wanda reaches her orgasm, you take all of her as her juices flow into your mouth. Your movements are less feverish as you clean her up. Wanda helps pull you back up to meet her, her hand resting on your chin.

There’s a light smile on your lips as you watch her chest heave slightly.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Wanda gives a quick laugh through her nose in response as she meets your eyes. “Certainly, but we’re far from done here.”

She makes quick work of undoing your belt as you push your pants down revealing your strap on. You take it in your hand as you run the toy along her entrance, getting it wet with her slick. You press kisses to the underside of Wanda’s jaw, nipping by her ear as you push into her, and your hands rest flat on desk as you set a steady pace.

You watch, almost breathless as your cock moves in and out of Wanda, already coated in her juices. "God, you're taking me so well, Wands."

Wanda’s arms rest over your shoulders as her hands grasp the back of your shirt. "Fuck, yes! Right there, Y/n!"

Speeding up, you cover Wanda’s body with your own as you fuck her into the desk. Chasing your own release, you go harder while bringing a hand to Wanda’s hip and pulling her to meet your thrusts with your own grunts following your orgasm.

Wanda cries out as she releases on your strap on and you slow down to help ride out both or your highs, savoring the sweet resistance you meet with Wanda’s pussy as you continue to slide out and in. Your forehead rests on wanda’s as you continue the languid pace, breathing in each other.

-----

Buckling your jeans back up you looked over at Wanda, who was fixing her blouse in the small mirror on your desk. “Y’know I was kinda upset you didn’t call me earlier this week. Could’ve figured details out over say, dinner…”

Wanda looked over her shoulder before turning to you and tucking your wife beater back in your jeans for you. “Well I knew I’d be able to pay for it no matter the cost…And I knew that I was going to see you again, so there was no need to worry about it.”

Fighting a smile, you took one of Wanda’s hands in your own, running your thumb over her knuckles lightly. “What if I still wanted to do that dinner thing tho? Go all in for reservations or just head down to Bravo’s and pick up a pie, eat in at my place,”

After finishing up fixing yourselves, you both made your way back to the front of the shop, you could see the sun starting to set through the window. You decided to walk with Wanda down the street to her car as well.

Opening her car door Wanda turned and gave you a quick peck on the cheek before getting in, rolling her window down afterward. “I’d say that you’ve got a date on your hands there Y/n. Pick me up at, say, five o’clock tomorrow?”

You leaned down to be eye level with her as she started her car up, your arms lightly resting on the window ledge. “And where would I pick you up?”

Her head turned to face you, “We can figure out the details over the phone.”

With a smirk, you stood up straight keeping eye contact with Wanda. “I look forward to your call then.” You watched as Wanda gave you a wave before pulling out onto the street and driving away.

Going back into the workshop, Logan was still in his office, but everyone else went home for the day. You were helping close up, so you got to putting away the power tools and sweeping up debris.

The small smile refusing to leave your face all the while.

You were just about done when your phone buzzed in your pocket. Checking the notification to see an unknown number, you read the text that popped up on your lock screen.

-@ Attica Suites on xxx street, top floor. This is Wanda btw-

You finished putting away the cleaning supplies before you went to respond.

-Y: Alright, got it-

Not even a full minute passed before your phone buzzed again

-W: So when will you be over?-

-Y: For tmr? Probably closer to 4:50-

-W: I meant for tonight, I wanna know if I should leave the door unlocked or not-

Your eyes widened at the text before looking up at the clock hanging on the wall, it was quarter past six. You were closing up early for the weekend anyhow…

You quickly knocked and popped your head into Logan’s office before telling him the shop was ready for lock up. He gave you a gruff response while looking over his papers as you ducked back out.

Getting your jacket from your office and checking your pockets for your key ring you all but sprinted to your truck out back, typing back a response to Wanda while dodging a bin.

-Y: Omw, be there in 20-

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @estrellami-1! Most of their works are on tumblr, but they have three on Archive of Our Own in the Stranger Things fandom. You can find all of their tumblr works here.

@finntheehumaneater recommends the following works by @estrellami-1:

If I Should Stay

(Push Away the) Lonely Times

Soft Touch Baby

I’m nominating them because they are just a delight to talk to, and such a creative writer. Honestly, the way they describe things is beautiful and I can see it so clearly in my head. Any character they write is written to PERFECTION. They’re one of my favorite tumblr mutuals…ever :) - finnthehumaneater

Below the cut, @estrellami-1 answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Short, funny answer? Hyperfixation. Longer answer… it just works in a way I don’t see many pairings work. Maybe I’ve just got blinders on, I don’t know, but nothing about their canonical personalities have to change in order for them to be together.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

This is like asking who my favorite kid is… I like SO many, it honestly might be easier to ask what I don’t like! I tend to like the softer things, though; hurt/comfort (emphasis on the comfort), found family, fluff, things like that. I’m a sucker for anything soft and slow, which @ghosttotheparty does an AMAZING job at.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Again, anything soft and sweet! I tend to read what I write and vice versa… though I’m also an avid smut reader, and I’ve only felt brave enough to try writing it more recently. I think writing smut isn’t really my thing, but I am glad to have tried, just to say I’ve done it. But hey, never say never; it could happen one day!

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I can’t possibly pick just one!! @pukner has some AMAZING things, specifically the two series off-script and always burning, world keeps turning. I’m also obsessed with anything by @ghosttotheparty, as stated earlier, and anything by the amazing @steddieas-shegoes.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Honestly, probably 70% of what I write never sees the light of day. Not for lack of want, but because I lose inspiration halfway through. So with that being said, I think I’ve written all the tropes I’d like to; I just haven’t published all of them. Fingers crossed, though; I still have all those docs, and I do go back to them sometimes, so hopefully inspiration will strike again!

What is your writing process like?

In all honesty, I don’t really have one. I tend to start at the beginning and let the characters take over, which means even I am surprised by some of the things I write! One such example is the relationship between Steve and El in If I Should Stay. I never thought they’d get that close, but here we are!

Do you have any writing quirks?

Unless it’s considered a quirk to write alone in my room at night, in complete darkness, with only my phone screen for light… then no. I don’t think so. Although I have definitely noticed I make the faces the characters do, to make sure I’m describing the right thing! 😂

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Since most things I write never get posted… I honestly don’t know! Probably on a schedule, considering I’m not finished writing If I Should Stay yet, but I’m not super picky; nothing else I post is on any sort of schedule, though that may be just because I mainly post one-shots.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Honestly, it’s a tie between If I Should Stay and Falling. If I Should Stay because I never expected to stick with it this long—I’m working on part 61 right now—and I’m exploring a lot of things I haven’t before. Falling because to this day, nothing I’ve done has come out like that. It was effortless in a way I never expected it to be, in a way I’ve never experienced before, and I think the results speak for themselves; it’s one of my most-liked fics, clocking in at just over 4k notes on Tumblr and 6.6k hits on ao3, most of which happened in the first week of it being posted!

How did you get the idea for (Push Away The) Lonely Times?

In all honesty… I don’t remember. Probably a combination of “what if Steve had Good Parents” and “what if Steve and Eddie were childhood friends” Tumblr posts!

When writing If I Should Stay, what was something you didn’t expect?

Like I said earlier, Steve and El’s relationship was a surprise. As was Alli, actually; I had no plans for a sister, but then I saw a “Steve has younger-brother-to-a-sister-energy” Tumblr post, said, “you right,” and proceeded to write her into that very next part.

What inspired Soft Touch Baby?

I swear I’ve got the worst memory… I honestly don’t remember. It was one of my firsts, and at that point in time I hadn’t even seen the show yet, so I wasn’t super confident in the fic, but damn if I didn’t have the balls! Looking back on it now, it isn’t my favorite, but I think it’s important to know where you came from, if only to see that it’s not all in vain, that even I can see how much better I’ve gotten.

What was your favorite part to write from (Push Away The) Lonely Times?

Probably the entirety of parts 3 and 4. I love Jim and Hopper’s banter, and I love Jim’s internal monologue in 4 as he’s taking care of Steve. I love exploring characterizations like this!!

How do/did you feel writing Soft Touch Baby?

As I said earlier, I don’t love it now, but I do like it for the starting block it is. I do remember, though, while I was writing it, I was feeling so smug; I thought I was writing the equivalent of the goddamn Mona Lisa. Laughable, really, which is another reason I don’t delete/orphan it. It helps keep me humble, to an extent.

What was the most difficult part of writing If I Should Stay?

Honestly? Posting the first part. I thought it was a throwaway thing, something that came a dime a dozen, something that everyone and their mother had already written. I posted it far too late at night (or was it far too early in the morning?) because I decided I didn’t give a shit, and woke up to an overwhelmingly positive response. To this day, I’m blown away by the attention it got! My taglists hit 100 people in just 4 days!

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Honestly, pretty much the entirely of Falling, and to a lesser extent, Because of You. In the former, it’s the whole Apollo/Dionysus banter, the way Eddie says Steve’s eyes are hazel and his hair has gold, the way he calls Steve sunshine boy, and the not to me, not if it’s you line. In the latter, it’s Steve saying, “…Because I trust you. I feel safe with you. I believe you’ll take care of me, because you’ve already proven you will.” I imagined him almost upset when saying this; louder than normal, very emotional, just trying to get Eddie to understand. It’s a very raw line, Steve’s being very open, and in the context of the fic, it’s kinda groundbreaking for him, and Eddie knows it.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I think I’ve shared something about most of the ones I’m excited about… all of this will be after I finish writing If I Should Stay, but I have a fae!Steve fic that I’m working on, one where Steve goes deaf (very heartbreaking and emotional and real and so, so much love and family), and I’ve got a lavender prom idea I’m working on, in which Steve and Robin are Platonic soulmates, Steve has an unfortunate crush on Eddie, and Robin’s got an equally unfortunate crush on Vickie. It’s a No Upside-Down AU in which Steve decides to host the first(?) lavender prom at his house. It’s not called a lavender prom, obviously, but I do have something of an idea for a nod to the name. Here’s a snippet, if you want, because I actually am really excited about this one:

  Robin dramatically drapes herself over the foot of Steve’s bed and sighs. Dramatically. He quirks a brow, but otherwise doesn’t react, just keeps trying to focus on the same page he’s been trying to read for what feels like the past ten minutes.      She sighs dramatically again. Somehow it’s even louder than before.      He drops the book and looks heavenward for a moment. “What’s wrong?”      “Prom’s coming up.”      Steve’s nose wrinkles. It’s all anyone’s been talking about. “I know.”      “I’ll have to dance with a guy.”      “You don’t have to.”      “There are rumors, Steven. Rumors,” she hisses, rolling over to stare at him.      “Okay, so dance with a guy.”      “And what happens if he tries to make a move?”       “You reject him? Politely?”      “Steve.” She says his name like he’s an idiot. He’s used to it. “The entire reason for a girl to dance with a guy is because she likes him. I’ll be back at square one.”      Steve sighs, thinking. Truthfully, he isn’t really looking forward to prom, either. After his fall from the social totem pole, he puts a lot less stock in what people think of him, but even he has some societal norms to adhere to still. Societal norms like dancing with a girl when there’s a certain guy who’s been circling his mind instead.      “Okay,” he says, thinking. “Do you know anyone else who has the same problem?”      “Besides you? I can think of a couple of people.” The way she looks at him makes him think they’re thinking of the same person, and he’s suddenly struck once again with gratitude that she’s his friend.      “If you talk to him, I’ll talk to Vickie.”      “I will kiss you. Very platonically. On the forehead.”      He laughs. “Okay. I’m thinking, what if I host something here, the same night as prom?”      “I’m thinking there are a few people who would be really grateful.”      They share a smile with each other before Robin grabs the book. “Okay, where are you, I’ll read, you listen.”      “I love you,” he tells her seriously, moving to lay next to her and look at the page she’s looking at. He points to a section and she nods, tracing her finger down the lines as she reads.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

A VERY big thank you to whoever nominated me!! And a great big thank-you-I-love-you to anyone who’s stuck with me and my writing thus far. I appreciate each and every one of you! ❤️ And, if you’re someone who’s waiting on me to answer an ask, I swear I haven’t forgotten! I’ll get to them all… eventually!

Thank you to our author, @estrellami-1, and our nominator, @finntheehumaneater! See more of @finntheehumaneater’s works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[thetriggeredhappy]

so i know i don’t exactly talk about my personal life very much online except for occasional general details, and that’s for a reason—im a big fan of the privacy inherent to an internet persona. that’s one reason i don’t use any social media except tumblr. but some good stuff is starting to happen to me offline, so i wanted to give an overview!

i’ve been avoiding telling people about this, mostly because i was convinced that with my recent string of bad luck, i would jinx everything in the third act.

basically, i had a falling out with my family years ago and have been supporting myself ever since, financially unstable and, frankly, getting worse every year. but a few months ago, after i moved and was looking for a new job, i got a wild offer—basically, this guy who owned a local restaurant saw that i’d essentially been a head chef at my previous job for years, and he would pay for me to go get some credentials at a culinary school over a thousand miles away, and in return, i would work at the restaurant as a lead chef for a reasonable living wage with a consistent schedule and a lot of creative freedom. the catch was that i had to be able to afford my way on certain things—paying my rent and bills back home, paying for food and transportation once i was at the school, that sort of stuff. so i cracked down, got a different job in the meantime, and started saving money.

my job cut hours a bit, so i started looking for a second one. my job cut hours entirely, so i started looking for any work at all. i ran out of savings. i sold any of my things that i could. i went to any job interview i got, even ones that told me they’d already filled the position but would ‘hear me out’. when choosing between selling my mode of transport and getting a loan, i got a loan.

essentially, i made it here by the skin of my teeth! hopefully, once my time is up out here i’ll start working right away. and once i’m out of that rocky point in the middle, everything will be great! not having to work all hours of the day seven days a week will hopefully mean that i’ll finally have the free time to more seriously pursue my creative interests. that would mean, for example, an average of more than one chapter every few months, and therefore, the end of Taking Shots within our lifetimes.

that’s the gist of it! i’m still going to be offering commissions while i’m out here, since the budget is honestly way tighter than i’m comfortable with. and my kofi is over here, if you just wanna give a funky little gift.

thank you to everyone who drops by to vibe with me about the stuff i make, it really helps lift me up when i’m feeling down. happy new year!